{Cinder}

John and Caedes heard the commotion from the pit all the way in the dungeon. With most of the family trying out the Reipon safe house tonight, they expected quiet for their game of poker and Lyrik watch. The deal was simple. Overnight babysitting with a friend to help him get a date with a particular orange-feathered badass.

Now that “wingman of the year” award looked less and less likely.

What the fuck was happening out there?

Hiding near the entrance to the pit, they could see Lamassau and Jack unconscious on the ramp. Somewhere further inside, Andrew and Kyle carried on a rather painful conversation with Lucas, Silence, and apparently Celindria’s many faces. Abresson and Smith—also team Imminent—lurked within. The Anthrax Guy betrayed them. What an unexpected letdown.

This was bad. Worse still, their comms devices weren’t reaching anyone at the Reipon safe house.

Crouched, they waited and listened for the best opportunity to intervene.

Abresson and his smugness asked from outside their line of sight, “So, you’re the one who started it all. The Mother?”

Kyle barked in disbelief, “What?!”

They didn’t need to see the Tritan to know that he sneered unpleasantly. “Your lover—yes, we can smell her on you—founded us millions of years before you existed.”

Lucas chastised. “Do tell them more classified details, Abresson. Did you forget they’re capable of cutting off our supply to Aegis blood? Maybe you want to tell them how to disable our source of nacre ore?”

Someone shushed them. Celindria as T.a.o. announced, “Remorse wants to join us. Mother, does that suit you?”

“By all means.”

The evil Primary from Nox’s Verse nervously greeted the Icarean female, “Surra, I’m so pleased—”

Strangled noises followed. And holy shit. Silence’s voice carried six pitches. “You sabotaged my sleep. In all the other Probabilities, I never woke. Until now.”

Everything went totally quiet, aside from the Tritan’s attempts to breathe. Wait. There was some begging in there, too. “Please. Mother. Forgive my ignorance.”

“My daughter lived and died without me. Elden—Everything I knew. I will kill you now and rid the galaxy of your lies.”

T.a.o. suggested, “Mother, I beseech you to leave him alive. Much of our work is interwoven in his dealings with Three Two Four. We may not proceed as easily without him.”

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The strangling noises stopped, and Silence’s voice got real low. Almost too quiet to hear. “You set us off the course I designed. You will recompense by aligning us once more. One misstep from you, and I will melt you on the spot.”

John mouthed at Caedes with wide eyes, “Melt?”

The bald man nodded, serious as fuck.

Hard to know with all the gifts people possessed in the Vast Collective if she meant “melt” in the literal sense.

Remorse’s voice came nearer to Kyle and Andrew. “Where are Triss and the other Lyriks? They’re our property, and we’ll have them returned to us.”

“Fuck you.”

John felt a little thrill at Kyle’s audacity. Caedes smirked at it. The Shadow. Almost too smart to be so stupid.

Silence’s answer to Remorse’s question threw John for a loop. “They executed them. Three Two Four damaged them beyond salvation. Triss was inconsolable after his death. The Shadow considered their euthanasia a mercy killing.”

Caedes and John frowned at each other. What game was this woman playing at? Even Kyle and Andrew kept quiet. Why didn’t Lucas or Smith contradict her?

John crawled on his stomach to risk peering around.

Oh, that’s why. Silence was fucking scary. Maybe it was Rayne’s blood that made the woman’s Atramentous eyes glow bright blue. Her blue wings spanned the island. All while holding the Martyr Complex like a serving tray.

“Then, if the Mother is finished, we should be on our way.” Remorse wandered with his hands behind his back across the shore to Lucas and T.a.o.

The small woman opened a conduit to a lecture hall on Enki. “Mother?”

Silence walked across the lake’s surface, spared one look around the pit, and disappeared into the conduit with Rayne. Chris, Karter, and Para followed her. Remorse stopped Abresson from leaving.

“You and Smith stay behind and see that everything goes according to plan.” The Primary bowed to Andrew and Kyle on their knees. “Good evening, gentlemen. Give my regards to the Seamswalker. She brought this on you.”

Lucas left behind him with a lingering glance in Andrew’s direction.

Damn.

Caedes gestured with two fingers and pointed at himself and John.

Okay. Right. They could take on two alone.

From the island, Abresson waved at an explosive charge. “Check those, would you, Smith?”

Kyle glared at the soldier. “Yeah, Smith. Do what your master tells you.”

Smith ignored the man on his knees and examined the fixed explosives.

“Why?” The hurt in Andrew’s voice squeezed John’s heart. “Why work for them?”

Abresson chuffed. “Better perks to be gods than to answer to hypocritical, self-righteous hero-types.”

While Abresson gave his diatribe, Caedes gave the signal.

With too much adrenaline to swallow, John jumped with Caedes off the ramp and onto the island. But gravity went the wrong direction. John hit the water when Smith shot him with the nacre disabler. The sounds of conflict muffled through the lake. Struggling to breathe, he broke the surface. Caedes grappled Abresson from behind, using him as a shield.

John hopped up from the water and punched the Tritan in the gut. With no nacre juice, it lacked the force he wanted, but the wind still blew out of the indigo man’s lungs.

Sounds of struggle erupted from the shore. Kyle and Andrew jumped their cuffs to the front and used them to batter Smith.

They might actually win this—

Abresson froze Caedes’ arm to the remnants of Rayne’s blood. John jumped on the Tritan’s back. But too late. Abresson knocked him off with enough force to send John under the water again.

Everything got really cold. The coldest John ever felt. Solid. He couldn’t move. The surface was inches from his face, but he couldn’t move his arms and legs to break through it.

John made out some commotion. Shouts. It was all so unclear. And so very far away.

Explosions.

Then Caedes. His face as bombs went off behind him.

Punch.

Punch.

The ice didn’t crack.

But that bald Icarus kept trying, screaming the frozen man’s name.

In the last moments of John’s life, he felt so much warmth and gratitude for knowing people that loved him this much.

Take care, big guy.