Chapter 1
What's past is prologue.
The Tempest, William Shakespeare
Ciaran tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of the Bentley. The car wasn’t his taste, but he had to use what he had at hand. He hadn’t given his staff enough notice to prepare anything for him.
He’d changed his schedule at the last minute and had grabbed the car of the manager on site. The arranged transport was waiting for him at Heathrow Airport, and he knew his chief of security wouldn’t be happy that he, again, hadn’t arrived on schedule.
He wanted to be left alone.
Especially today.
His phone buzzed. His was a private number he gave only to family members. He sighed and answered by voice recognition command. “I thought you were enjoying your time with monkeys on the safari, Tadgh.”
On the other end of the line, his little brother chuckled. “These aren’t monkeys, Ciaran. They’re chimps. Totally different caliber of animals. And for your information, I am not on a safari.”
“Should I worry that you’re in a real African jungle?”
“If you’re worried about the animals, don’t be. I’m a vegetarian for the week because I’m praying for your safety.”
“Now I’m worried for whatever god you’re praying to, because if all his followers turn their devotion on and off on a need-to-pray basis, religion will be in chaos. But you’re obviously not calling me to talk about monkeys. What do you want, Tadgh?”
“Robert called. You’re not in London. You stood your team up at the airport.”
“You’re right…I’m not in London. And Robert is my chief of security. He’s not supposed to report to you. Besides, you never get involved in the family business. I’m the one running the show. I really don’t see the point of this conversation.”
“I’m calling to make sure you’re not going to Oxford University. The Bodleian library, to be precise.”
“No, I am not going to the Bodleian library. And I’m not required to tell you where I’m headed. When you take the family business seriously enough to be here, then we’ll talk, and then you’ll get to see where I’m going.”
He hung up the phone and switched it off. He didn’t want to be disturbed today.
A short moment later, he drove into the entrance of an exclusive parking garage, one that accepted only privileged members. There was no public access, so he didn’t have to worry about prying eyes watching his every move.
The concierge at the door greeted him. “Mr. LeBlanc!”
Ciaran knew the man had already scanned his license plate and knew it was a LeBlanc car. Therefore, he made the assumption that the driver would have to be a LeBlanc, but there was no way for him to know which one. Feeling no need to divulge his identity, Ciaran nodded an acknowledgment and smiled. He stepped out of the car.
The concierge handed Ciaran a small silver token. “You’re slot thirty-three today, sir.” Then the concierge drove the car off to park it.
Ciaran walked along the cobblestone road. Oxford was still sleepy at this hour. Soon, this street would be filled with people—business people in town and students traveling to and from the university. But for now, he enjoyed hearing the echo of his footsteps on the cold stones.
He wasn’t moody. But he wasn’t cheerful, either. Tadgh might be right. He shouldn’t be here today.
From the dark outside corner of a closed shop, a black dog darted out onto the road and fled in the opposite direction. An old man muttered profanity as he limped across the road in the tracks of the dog. He soon gave up and sat down on the sidewalk, blowing into his hands to warm them. He wore a threadbare pair of black woolen gloves with holes everywhere.
“That was my only meal of the day, you stupid dog,” he mumbled.
Ciaran approached and stood in front of the man. He reached his hand out to help him stand up.
The man looked him up and down but ignored his offered hand.
Ciaran knew his outfit was worth many months of this man’s living expenses. Standing here alone in the dark was like hanging a sign on his back that said Rob me!
“Was that a local dog? I saw it had a tag. I can have a word with the owner for you if you like.”
“Are you the police? You sure don’t look like a cop.”
Ciaran chuckled. “I’m not an authority figure of any kind and have no intention of ever being one. But if you don’t want me to track down the dog, how can I help you?”
“You could give me some loose change so I can buy another meal.”
“But will the same thing happen again? That dog is still going to be a problem. And I won’t be here tomorrow to give you more money.”
The old man stood up and looked Ciaran in the eye. “The dog isn’t the problem. Its owner is,” he said and began to limp away.
Ciaran pulled out his wallet, opening it to pull out some bills. “I will only give you money once.”
“You don’t have to solve every problem you run across,” the man said as he kept walking away. “You don’t owe anyone anything, Ciaran.”
“I beg your pardon?” Ciaran said as he looked back, but the stranger who had just spoken his name was gone. All he saw was a dark street with mist whirling up from the ground.
Then he noticed that his library card wasn’t in his wallet. He figured he must have dropped it in the car, so he walked back to the garage. The concierge wasn’t at the gate, so he stepped around the boom gate, entered the exclusive area, and headed to the elevator.
The elevator door slid open, and he stepped in and pressed the button for level three, as he figured that was where his parking space—number 33—was. He stepped out of the elevator, glancing quickly at the map on the wall to locate the position of his car. The map suggested there were only thirty-two parking spaces.
He shook his head and pulled out the silver token. It indeed had the number thirty-two engraved on its round silver face. He must have misunderstood the concierge.
Reaching his car, he found the library card in the glove compartment. He couldn’t recall ever putting it there. He had no reason to take it out of his wallet at all.
As he slammed the car door and was about to leave, the ceiling lights flickered. Then the wall in front of him grew semi-transparent, revealing another parking space with the number 33 written on the floor.
He frowned.
The light flickered again, and in front of him once again was a solid wall.
Ciaran shook his head and left the garage. What had happened six years ago didn’t scare him. Nothing would distract him from his intention to do what he wanted to do.
Ten minutes later, he sauntered into the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.
Chapter 2
Distant future—Eudaiz
Madeline nuzzled into her husband’s neck and breathed in his scent. Her hands traveled over his skin. She knew his body as well as he knew hers. But no matter how long they’d been together, they never could never get enough of each other.
Every night they shared their bed was a new adventure. Every time they made love was a new discovery. She moaned as his body responded to her touch and his hands electrified her body. His lips ravished hers, and their bodies moved in the rhythm of lovemaking until they were both sated.
She smiled, opened her eyes, and found herself staring straight into the long pillow that was usually tucked snugly against the far wall, the one she liked to rest against late at night to read.
The pillow stared back at her. It seemed to laugh at her because she had just…
She heard a soft chuckle behind her. She turned around and saw Ciaran standing at the bedside, dressed in his official outfit.
Her husband was magnificent. It was as if he had been born for his role. Ciaran had, indeed, been born to be king, but he hadn’t inherited it—he’d fought the entire galaxy to earn his title. And throughout that battle, she was glad to have always been by his side.
What concerned her now was that, although Eudaiz was the universe of virtue, it had been unfair to her—or at least that was her impression. After all the life-and-death battles they’d been through, Ciaran still looked exactly the same—he was formidable in his warrior body, loaded with perfect, elegant muscles. His fine English skin complimented his striking gray eyes and his face of a dark angel. His thick raven hair almost touched his shoulders but was now tied back, making his eyes appear even brighter.
On the other hand, she was sure her hips had gained at least an inch, she knew her eyes now had wrinkles and her hair was thinner, and she felt her breasts resting two inches lower than they had a month ago.
Ciaran smiled at her. “I hope you were dreaming about me, First Councillor.”
“No, I was dreaming about the gardener who took care of the little backyard of my place in New York.” She smiled nonchalantly and turned away from him to hug the pillow.
And then the sensation shot through her body, the electrifying jolt she felt whenever his skin touched hers, no matter how many times they had done this. She had no idea how he could possibly get out of his clothes so fast, but he held her from behind. The sensation he was giving her now was as real as it could get.
She returned the pleasure…as she always did.
For a while, she lay in his arms, tracing her fingers over the fine muscles on his chest. Outside the wall-length glass window of their bed chamber, a glowing round globe had risen above the horizontal line that divided the time zone. Eudaiz did have a sun, but their time was different from Earth. The globe was the mark of a new day—a much longer one compared to Earth.
But Madeline didn’t care how Eudaizian time differed from Earth time. Any day she had her family with her, safe and sound, was a day that counted. “Big day today. You’re worried. That’s why you were up early?”
He played with a long lock of her hair. “It’s an important treaty. But Eudaiz has a strong position going in, so I’m not worried. I’m up early because I wanted to swing by the Daimon Gate before going to the tower. It’s Mother’s birthday today.”
She scrambled up. “Jennifer’s birthday? Holy cow, I totally forgot.”
“Relax, Madeline.” Ciaran chuckled and sat up. “I’ve taken care of it.”
She hopped off the bed. “No, no…I’m such a bad wife. This is a poor example for the kids.”
Ciaran held her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You’re a great mother, Madeline. I need you to understand that I appreciate what you do for our family. I can’t take care of Eudaiz without your help. There is nothing more I can ask of you.” He rubbed his thumb over the dimple on her left cheek.
“I’ll take the kids to the Daimon Gate today. What do you think?”
Ciaran grinned. “That would be the best birthday present for her.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Thank you. Caedmon and Lyla will be happy, too.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course they will because they won’t have to practice today.”
Ciaran shook his head and chuckled. He turned to grab the shirt he had tossed on the bedside table.
“What’s that?” she asked, brushing a round red mark on his left shoulder with her thumb.
“I can’t see my back. But if it’s a scar, I do have a number of them, you know.”
“I know how many gunshot scars and stab wounds you have on your left shoulder. But this is different.” She took a closer look to see if it was a bruise or maybe some sort of spy device implanted under his skin. And in front of her eyes, the mark disappeared. “It’s gone,” she said.
Ciaran turned around and continued to dress. “Don’t overthink this, Madeline. Vision can be tricky. Having been in the multiverse for a while, you should know that by now, my First Councillor.”
“It doesn’t mean I’m used to it. I’m hoping it was only a trick my vision played on me.”
“If it were something significant, you would have had a precognition.”
“Well, you know my talent is unstable and most likely won’t work when I need it.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and linked his hands behind her. “Sometimes it’s good when your talent doesn’t work. Then we can be normal people—and be happy.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek.
“The day we left Earth and accepted our roles in the council of this virtuous universe, we could no longer be normal, and we never will be, Ciaran. I don’t regret it. But the thought that something might happen to you or the kids one day is unbearable.”
“As you’ve said, it’s a thought. It might never happen. So don’t let it bother you.”
She nodded, knowing she was lying to him. Her lingering anxiety was worse than a precognition. Her psychic ability was telling her something bad was coming her way, but she didn’t know what it was.
He kissed her goodbye and said something to her, but she didn’t quite hear him. Her mind was preoccupied with millions of questions about possibilities. What had happened in the past? She could recall every incident that had caused injury to Ciaran’s left shoulder. But nothing explained the red mark she had just seen.
The more she thought about it, the more it became clear it wasn’t a trick of vision.
“It will kill him today,” echoed a distant female voice.
“Who’s that?” Madeline whirled around and saw a beautiful woman with long black hair dressed in a flowing red robe with a fur-lined neck. The woman hovered above the ground—a sign that she not only belonged to another world but might be communicating in a mind dimension.
She frowned then said, “You’re the soul trader I met in the woods in the Australian outback.”
“You have a very good memory, Madeline.”
“I traded my soul for you. Of course I remember.”
The woman smiled. “You’ve changed. You’re a believer now.”
“Given what’s happened in the multiverse lately, I tend to take these magical matters more seriously. What does our agreement have to do with Ciaran?”
“You tricked me, Madeline.”
“No, I didn’t. You told me if I agreed to trade my soul to you after I die, you would give me information to save my friend, Jo. I did just that. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“I traded for an innocent soul. You knew for sure when you came back to the hunting camp and killed the devil, your soul would no longer be innocent.”
Madeline looked the woman in the eye. “You didn’t ask for an innocent soul. If you had, I would never have traded. I know I’m not innocent. But what does this have to do with my husband?”
“Ciaran is your soulmate. Before he met you, he encountered a soul trader who marked him. Because his spirit was too strong for it to take over, it gave up—but it always wanted him. I recently made a deal with it, without knowing its background with Ciaran. I traded your soul as an innocent, and it called me out as a cheater. The house of the underworld gods has ruled that I have to compensate by giving it your associated soul—and that is Ciaran’s.”
“What kind of hideous rule is that?”
“It is not for me to say. The soul trading business has operated for thousands of years, regardless of whether I agree with their rules. That soul trader knew all along that I had a faulty trade and it could get to Ciaran by pretending to bid high for your innocent soul. It was cheating. It tricked me. But I don’t have proof.”
“And what is it? Does it have a name or a form?”
“No. And that’s why I’m here. I want another trade. You don’t want to lose your husband, and I don’t want to lose to that cheap trader.”
“How do you think I can help?”
“I believe you can time travel.”
“I can’t. But the technology here can help. I presume I’m not to let Ciaran know because he isn’t allowed to come back to fix his own fate.”
“Correct.”
“What exactly do you want me to do when I travel to the past?”
“Kill the soul trader at a time before it marked Ciaran. It’s dangerous to do so, but it’s the only solution for both of us.”
She nodded. “When exactly in the past?”
“Approximately seven days before Ciaran met you. I don’t know where…or how.”
“I’ll talk to Tadgh, his brother. He’ll figure out the precise time, and he can help me handle the technology here.”
“One more thing…”
“What?”
“I think that soul trader has something to do with vampires.”
Chapter 3
Tadgh gazed out the wide window of his capsule and saw that the glowing globe marking the new day had risen high in the sky. It was indeed a new day. No matter whether it was on Earth or Eudaiz, a new day brought hope, and he should be grateful he was standing here in the most advanced capsule designed for Sciphils.
Capsules in Eudaiz were the equivalent of the spaceships he’d grown up watching in science fiction movies on Earth. Sciphil stood for Scientist Philosopher and referred to the nine council positions, each one in charge of one of the nine towers that governed Eudaiz, a universe of six hundred billion citizens, far away from Earth.
The most ironic joke that fate had played on him was that even though he’d grown up avoiding the LeBlanc family business, he had ended up as Sciphil Seven and was now governing a district of a multibillion Eudaizian citizens.
Not long ago, he had been on an adventure in the African jungle. He wouldn’t have come back to London if it hadn’t been for Ciaran. Not that Ciaran had called him home—it was his mother who had asked him to keep an eye on Ciaran.
His family rarely asked anything of him. But when they did, it was always due to a life-changing event of some kind. And for one of those events, he was now standing here in the control station of a capsule in Eudaiz.
“Stop circling! You’re making me dizzy, Tadgh,” Ciaran said, his eyes still fixed on the navigation panel on the dashboard.
Tadgh didn’t realize he was pacing the control room. He glanced at his wife, Jo, who had anticipated his look. She winked at him.
Isn’t she worried at all? he wondered. Apparently not. She was always cool-headed. She was a Sciphil now, not the computer game designer she had once been when he met her. And Madeline trusted her for very good reasons.
“Anything yet, Jo? Why can’t I get any signal from the navigation system?” Ciaran asked.
Jo shook her head. “We’re close…I’m sure of it. The rescue signal Madeline sent was weak, but it was a short frequency. That means we’re close to her and the children.”
“What sort of creature would ambush a woman and her children?” Tadgh asked.
“They’re not just an ordinary mother and children, Tadgh. You know better than that,” Jo said.
Tadgh shook his head. “Yes, she’s Eudaizian. And yes, she’s first Sciphil. And the children are the best beings in the multiverse because they were conceived in the Red stage of the Daimon Gate test. But Madeline only brought the kids with her to travel within the safe zone between Eudaiz and the Daimon Gate. If we weren’t on the same route to visit Mother today, we would have gotten her rescue signal. Only Xiilok creatures would do this sort of thing.”
Ciaran was dead silent. Tadgh knew that no matter how capable Ciaran was as a warrior and king of this universe, when it came to his family, he was vulnerable.
“Here they are. They’re surrounded, and I don’t recognize these spaceships,” Ciaran said softly.
Outside their window now was a vast stream of green beams coming from strangely shaped vehicles. In the middle of the light beams was the capsule that held Madeline and the twin toddlers, Caedmon and Lyla.
“Madeline and the kids are surrounded. Do you want to engage communication, Ciaran?” Jo asked.
“No, it’s too risky. We don’t know the creatures in these vehicles or what they want. We don’t know the properties of the beams surrounding the capsule.”
“I can dematerialize and go in to talk to Madeline,” Tadgh offered. “They can’t see us now, so they wouldn’t see me going in.”
“No, Tadgh. We don’t know enough about those beams. You’re not going anywhere near them in your dematerialized form. If they were something familiar, Madeline would have used her psychic abilities to communicate to me by now.”
“So what’s your plan then?” Tadgh waved his arms. “Should we call in the troops?”
“I’m afraid they’d be dead before the troops got here,” Ciaran muttered. “I’ll have to get them out.”
“How? And don’t even think about going in there yourself,” Tadgh growled.
“Do you have a solution, Tadgh?”
“Yes, I do. I dematerialize, go in, and talk to Madeline.”
“And then what?” Jo asked. “Ciaran is right, Tadgh. If they wanted to communicate with Madeline or negotiate for a ransom, we would have known by now. I think they’re waiting for orders.”
“From whom?” Tadgh asked.
“I’m going in,” Ciaran said decisively and placed his palm on the control panel. “Engage satellite capsule.”
“You’re king of Eudaiz, Ciaran. You have a responsibility to your citizens,” Tadgh said.
“I’m not suicidal. I’ll turn off my eudqi. Please just stay put and call the commanders if things go pear-shaped and I need back up.”
Tadgh had been waiting for that very moment. As king Sciphil, Ciaran’s eudqi, his special energy, was not only strong but also a wicked protector. If he turned it on, it would give him super power. But if he was attacked at his critical point, it would be fatal. If he turned his eudqi off, he would no longer have super power, but his energy would still heal any injury he had, provided he wasn’t dead.
If Ciaran left his eudqi on, Tadgh had zero chance to execute his plan.
After Ciaran had confirmed with the machine that he would be traveling without his eudqi, Tadgh pulled out his tranq gun. He could never be as fast and strong as Ciaran was, so Tadgh had his Sciphil eudqi on to increase his chances.
But Tadgh underestimated his brother.
As fast as lightning, Ciaran grabbed his gun hand, causing the tranq dart to fire into to the ceiling of the capsule.
“What are you doing, Tadgh?”
Tadgh cringed but then was delighted to see a tranq dart hit Ciaran’s shoulder.
Ciaran turned to see Jo with a tranq gun in her hands.
Ciaran’s legs buckled.
Tadgh grabbed for his brother, but Ciaran pushed him away and fell to the floor.
“I’m sorry, Ciaran. It’s my new simulation game on vision,” Jo said and punched a button on the control panel. The screen in front of their capsule dissolved. Madeline and the children rushed in.
Caedmon and Lyla, mere toddlers, held their father’s hands. Caedmon cried, but Lyla didn’t shed a single tear.
Madeline brushed a stray hair from Ciaran’s forehead. “I’m sorry to do this to you, Ciaran. I know you’ll be angry with me, but I didn’t have time to explain. And you wouldn’t approve of my solution anyway. I’ll talk to you once I sort this out.”
Ciaran said nothing. He closed his eyes. And with that, he went into a drug- induced sleep.
They placed him in an exclusive chamber and closed the door. The computer flashed a red signal.
“The Still procedure requires three Sciphil palm prints simultaneously. Only one attempt allowed.”
“Are you sure, Madeline?” Jo asked.
Madeline nodded. “Thank you for your help. Both of you.”
At the same time, they placed their palms on the three rectangular light boxes.
“Still procedure confirmed. The procedure will be performed on Ciaran LeBlanc—Sciphil Three, King Sciphil.”
Still procedure was a mechanism that locked the profile of the subject in the still mode. In lay terms, it froze the individual until the procedure was stopped by the same people who triggered it.
They couldn’t just simply put Ciaran to sleep. They had to temporarily stop his existence to buy time for Madeline to return to the past to fix the soul trading problem. They didn’t know much about the soul trading business, but there was one thing they were sure of—no creature of any kind in any world could access the Still chamber.
Tadgh picked Caedmon and Lyla up, holding them in his arms. “I’ll take the children to the Daimon Gate. My parents are expecting them, so there shouldn’t be more delay, or they’ll be alarmed.”
“Thank you,” Madeline said.
Tadgh exited the room and headed toward his private capsule. Then Lyla started crying. He stopped and put the toddlers on the ground. These kids were too smart for him to say anything silly or untrue to calm them. They knew what was going on. Caedmon had been crying, which was good. He was an emotional and affectionate boy.
Lyla always worried Tadgh. She was so much like her father, never showing emotion, even when she was an infant.
“You’re going to say Father will be fine, aren’t you, Uncle Tadgh?” Lyla said. “But he won’t be. I can see it on Mother’s face.”
Caedmon wiped his tears with his little hands. “I know what the Still chamber is. I know what it does, Uncle Tadgh. Please tell us the truth. What’s going on? We won’t tell our grandparents.”
Tadgh nodded. “A very bad creature from the magical world will kill your father if your mother doesn’t go back and fix something in the past. We don’t know what form the creature will take or how it will attack. We can’t talk to your father because if he attempts to manipulate his own fate, things could get a lot more complicated than they are already.”
The twins nodded.
“So Mother just needs time and your help?” Caedmon asked.
Tadgh nodded. “Aunty Jo and I will help her. We’ll handle this. Your father will be fine.”
“But you can’t promise that,” Lyla said.
“Nothing can be said with certainty in the multiverse. But you know what your father would say.”
Lyla nodded with determination. “Goodness will win. We’ll destroy evil at all costs.” She wiped away the single tear on her face. “Please take us to the Daimon Gate, Uncle Tadgh. We’ll stay with our grandparents and won’t say anything.”
“Good girl.” He kissed Lyla’s forehead and promised himself that when he had his own children, he’d resign from the council and live a normal life so they wouldn’t have to deal with things like this.
Chapter 4
“What?” Madeline asked, looking at Jo, who was staring at her with striking green eyes.
“Tadgh and the children are gone. Ciaran has now settled in for a bit. If you want, you can cry now.”
Madeline shook her head. “Are you sure we can get Ciaran back safely?”
“Only if the three of us stop the Still. In theory, it will work. But I think it’ll be best if you give me a bit of a background. Something more than just a soul trader bitch met us in the woods years ago and now lost a bet to another soul trader bitch who will claim Ciaran’s life.” Jo panted a bit, out of breath after spitting out the long sentence without a break.
“I’m not sure about the gender of the one that wants Ciaran’s soul,” said Madeline. “But what you just said sums up about all I know.”
Jo arched one beautiful eyebrow. “But that means you know next to nothing!”
“Well, all you and Tadgh have to do is get me back to the time before I met Ciaran and before the other soul trader marked him. Then I’ll kill it and return. It’s as simple as that.”
Jo nodded. “All right then.”
“So,” Madeline continued, “please engage with the vampire city. We talked about this.”
“Now that’s the part I’m unsure about. Surely we have someone on staff in Eudaiz who could help with this. What about the were-fox commanders, Roy and Mori? What about Lorcan and Orla? You can’t possibly ask for more than a computer geek shapeshifter and a sorceress!”
Madeline shook her head. “The soul trader said our adversary has something to do with vampires. That makes this a totally different game for us. We know nothing about the soul trading business. Now, having Alex, we can reduce one factor of uncertainty. He’s a vampire, but he’s a good guy. Plus he owes Ciaran one.”
Jo sighed. “Time isn’t on our side right now. I guess we’ll have to go with your plan.” She engaged the communication channel.
Alex’s face appeared on the screen. He hadn’t changed much. Still as lethally handsome as most vampires described in fantasy novels. He looked to be in his thirties, but Madeline knew he was a few hundred years old.
“Madeline, as beautiful as always.” Alex smiled. “And who might the beautiful lady standing next to you be?”
“Jo,” said Jo. “I design the game lock for your city gate.”
“Oh wow, a beauty with a brain. I’m impressed.”
Madeline cut in. “We’ve discussed this, Alex. We need to go now.”
“I’d hardly call it a discussion. Yes, I owe Ciaran a favor, and I’ll certainly jump when he calls. But this isn’t his call. I have a city to take care of. I need more information before I can drop everything to go with you.”
“Ciaran is in trouble. That’s all you need to know,” Jo said.
“If Ciaran LeBlanc is in trouble, I don’t think we can fix it.”
Madeline shook her head. “It’s because of me that he’s in trouble. Ciaran is the main advocate for the protection of your city in the Eudaizian council. Imagine if Xiilok knew the trouble we’re in. Do you think they’d leave your vampire city alone?”
Alex shifted his stance. “What exactly is the trouble? And why can’t we talk about it now?”
“Someone might be listening to us. I mean, from your end,” Jo said. “There’s a lot at stake. Madeline needs to talk to you in person.”
Alex shrugged. “All right. Where?”
Jo entered a string of commands into the computer and spoke as she typed. “Go to the cross-zone in Antarctica and wait there. I’ll arrange a pick-up for you. Then I’ll transport you to the time traveling chamber. There, you’ll find out where you’re going.”
Alex snorted. “You’re certainly not asking for a lot.”
“If you do this with Madeline, I have to ensure it’s absolutely safe—”
“Sure, like I have nothing to worry about,” Alex cut in. “It’s not like I have the whole city relying on me or anything!”
Jo raised her eyebrows. “Eudaiz has more than six hundred billion citizens. And I haven’t even mentioned the chaos the multiverse will be in and the possible casualties there will be when they figure this out. Would you like to take a head count?”
“Enough you two,” Madeline said. “If you agree to help me, you have to go all in, Alex.”
“It doesn’t look like I have a choice,” he muttered. “All right, I’ll go to the cross-zone now.” Then he logged off.
Madeline packed her Sciphil sword to take with her.
“If you’re prepared to take a sword that size, then use this thing instead.” Jo handed Madeline a gigantic sword with a steel blade that shone in a shade of crimson. “It’s a duplicate version of the Sciphil sword. If the rumor is true, it has silver properties and can decapitate a vampire.”
“And you just happen to have this sword handy?”
Jo shook her head. “I made it for the game I just developed.”
“It’s a toy?”
“No, it’s a real as can be. It doesn’t have the Sciphil sword power, but if vampires are what you have to kill, then you’ll need this to stand a chance.”
Madeline nodded. “Understood. Unlike other creatures, vampires are special types that we don’t quite understand yet. And our technology hasn’t helped much.”
“You know this sword could kill Alex, too, right?”
Madeline nodded again. “I’ll be careful. How precisely can you manage the time travel?”
“I can’t be sure until you land. I’ll take you to Earth just before you met him. The ideal scenario is that you kill the vampire soul trader and return here. I’ll arrange the portal for you as soon as you complete the task.”
“Thanks. And I know about the time travel paradox. I’ll try not to allow myself or Alex to run into Ciaran. We’ll get in, kill the soul trader, then get out.”
“All right.”
“You don’t look too confident.”
“Because I’m not. But we have no choice now except to keep going.”
Madeline turned to leave. Then she quickly turned back. “Just in case—”
“No, we can’t wake Ciaran without your palm print. And I won’t promise to take care of your children. So you get yourself back here in one piece. That’s the only acceptable scenario.”
Madeline saw tear gleaming in Jo’s eyes. She nodded quickly and turned for the door.