{Cinder}

Nox’s castle wasn’t always constructed of black rock. And not always shaped so blocky. Sometimes it was red, gray, or white and rounded. Li always blazed in the sky in every Probability. The Martyr Complex always sat on the lonely island in the center of the lake. But sometimes the Tritans guarded Rayne. Did unspeakable things to her. To her friends in front of her.

The other realities teemed with infinite horrors.

Andrew much preferred this one.

Except Rayne’s unresponsiveness dismayed him. He, Silence, and Kyle asked her yes or no questions, suggesting she beam once for yes and twice for no. And after thirty minutes of nothing, they gave up.

Sitting on the sofa and scarfing a bag of Fritos, Lamassau suggested, “Maybe she’s tired from the meteorological activity?”

Kyle shot the green Tritan an exasperated look and snatched the bag from him. He offered it to Silence, who shook her head before Kyle tipped it upside down into his mouth.

“Hey!” Lam cried, heartily offended.

Andrew considered his observation. Storms, floods, tornadoes—they implied Rayne struggled with something. Presumably their unfortunate circumstances. But he hoped everything was all right in her head. He thought about sweeping her intentions, but it felt wrong since she laid there unconscious and exposed.

Beautiful, sad, alone. Always.

No matter the faces that shifted around her, the lost girl in the box always remained.

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Exhausted and washed up, Andrew needed a shower. Or a bath. And ten nights of good sleep.

Over at the kitchenette, Silence and Kyle brushed hands, passing food from the fridge to the counter. Bumped into each other once by accident but more intentionally with each subsequent collision. Their eyes met and held longer than necessary for their task.

Andrew was happy for them. Once this mess got cleaned up and Kyle refreshed Andrew’s purchase on this Probability, he planned to spend many days of quality time with Lucas. But for tonight…

“Is it all right if I head to bed? I’ll take watch all day tomorrow.”

Kyle and Silence deflated for a second. Eventually, he straightened and waved Andrew off. “Yeah, man. We’ll keep the Chef company.”

“Fine with me,” Lam offered, with his eyes glued to the buddy cop movie on the screen. “See you tomorrow.”

Andrew dragged his heavy muscles up the ramp to the tunnel. Taking one last look over the pit, he whispered to Rayne, “Sweet dreams.”

The beautiful girl trapped in a casket of her own blood pulsed once. Her entire body surged with blue. As did Silence’s body across the lake. A simultaneous azure pulse.

What the fuck?

The tall female turned from Kyle and waved to him. “Good night, Conscience.”

Tomorrow will change everything.

Her intentions.

Ambivalent didn’t cover it. Andrew pressed, “Tomorrow, we’ll start your inquiry with Rayne and Lamassau present.”

Silence’s face fell at the reminder of her untrustworthiness. Kyle looked between them with naked concern. He put down his plate before assuring, “She’ll make sure we know everything—”

“You’re right.” Silence cut him off. Determination burned in her gray eyes. “I’m ready. It will be difficult. But I won’t fail the Shadow.”

Feeling like an ass, Andrew waved to them as he walked out. “I promise to be in a better mood after some rest. Good night.” He laid out in the first room with a bed. Within seconds, he fell asleep and let his battered nacre recharge.

A few hours into Andrew’s rest, a streak of lightning flashed bright enough to startle him. And he thought he heard… singing? Confused, he took to the tunnels. As he climbed higher in the castle, the sound grew more distinct. Definitely singing. Chop Suey by System of a Down. Andrew sang it at the skating rink once for karaoke night with Rayne.

But it wasn’t one voice singing. Male and female in at least six pitches.

Andrew exited the tunnel onto the viewing platform. There sat Nox’s throne. Lightning splintered along the horizon. The King of Earth and Cinder sat on the rock monolith. She looked comfy in a long green blouse over black leggings. Her predecessor stood beside her. Not with his usual maniacal expression. Nox looked as contemplative as Rayne.

They both faced him as she finished the song.

“Andrew.” When she beamed at him, so did the giant Icarus. Warm and familial. She spoke in all six pitches, three hers and three his. “I want to answer your questions.”

Ignoring Nox, Andrew addressed her. “I hate bothering you, but we need to know what you want us to do.”

“I love hearing from you, and I miss your guard shifts. Ask me anytime. But what you ask required more than a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’” Another bolt of lightning cracked in the distance. She and Nox turned to watch. Three seconds later, they turned back to him.

So eerie.

Andrew took the lead. “Let’s talk about Silence first. She’s a major concern.”

Rayne and Nox nodded. “I’ll need to see her life. Kyle can do this. Interrogate her on the island in the pit. That way if anything goes wrong, I can stop her if needed.”

Nox spoke to her in his own three pitches as he elaborated, “She is familiar to me, but I’m uncertain why.”

Rayne confirmed with her own voices. “That only raises more concerns.” Both of them spoke to Andrew. “Tomorrow. We get everything from her tomorrow.”

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Feeling hesitant about Nox’s presence, Andrew said, “Okay. We’ll do that.” Out of curiosity, he tried to sweep their intentions.

I must try everything I can to make this right. I cannot let Celindria win.

The insight was reassuring. He pressed, “What about Kyle?”

“Monitor him. Check his intentions. Keep him safe. We can’t let Celindria have him again.”

“Ross?”

Rayne frowned and bit her thumb. Nox copied. Both looked like Xelan in the familiar gesture. After a few moments, she suggested more than demanded, “Tumu is responsible for her. Last I heard, he left her with Iuo in Reipon before she disappeared. Both assure us she’s on her way to finding her sister. But I don’t trust that entirely. Something feels wrong.” In her voice, she turned and asked Nox, “What do you think?”

He looked down at her and shook his head solemnly. “I never trust the Tritans. The Lamias are more their pawns than even the Lyriks. I recommend a separate, covert investigation.”

Together they told Andrew, “Then that’s what we’ll do. Find volunteers. Someone other than my brother. I don’t want him out there in the Vast Collective. Do you agree?”

Andrew couldn’t hold back anymore. “Rayne… what is Nox doing here? Is he part of the dream? Like a manifestation of your conscience?”

The Kings of Cinder shared a look. A question. Eventually, Nox shrugged, and Rayne faced Andrew. “He is my council. Through an exchange way too complicated to explain, he semi-exists in my conscience where I use his history with the Tritans and the Vast Collective to guide me.”

“Can he… can he hurt you?”

Their King sat proudly, smiled sadly, and reminded gently, “I killed him. He can never hurt anyone again.”

Fair point.

At her proclamation, the giant Icarus gazed down at her with something akin to admiration.

Bewildered, Andrew shook his head to process or erase this new development from his brain. After a long pause, he asked the hard question, “Do you know Sagan is missing?”

They both shook their heads. Rayne smiled. “She’s in the Seam. She’ll come home soon. After a reckoning that’s owed to her.”

Nox tried to hide an impressed smirk. Almost to seven feet and built like a mountain, “hiding” should prove quite the challenge, but he almost managed it.

Sagan was alive. And Rayne knew where she was.

“I can’t tell you how much that relieves me.” Was Andrew crying in his dream?

Rayne abandoned the throne and walked across the platform to him. Softly, she asked, “Does the affliction from Cascading Light lessen your survivor’s guilt?”

Her words sliced through him. Andrew never meant for his family to know how he felt after the war. Like he lucked out and endured so much less than the others. But after considering her question, he understood. “My life better compares to yours and the rest now. Yes. It feels like what I deserve.”

“Oh, Andrew.” She sounded so sad. Her long hair swayed around her as she shook her head pityingly. “We sacrificed so much to carve a way for this world. For humans and the Icari. You lost your entire family to this cause. That should be enough. The enemy wants you distraught and unable to work because your work was the most important. I need you to return to it once we clean this mess up. Go home to the zeppelin and Pisces. Spend your nights at peace with the love of your life. For me.”

Andrew glanced at Nox as he said, “What about you? It feels unfair.”

“I belong here. And it’s where I want to be. Now rest. Then see if Silence is trustworthy enough to join our family. Straighten everything out. You know what to do if you need me.”

In a rush, Andrew reversed his steps through the castle until he woke up in bed. He stared at the black carved ceiling and watched it shift in holographic red and white until his eyes crossed. He needed to refresh his hold here soon. Finding his chain, he gripped the pendant.

Rayne.

With renewed purpose, he headed for the pit. Kyle sat at the table with a plate of pancakes and the comms device. Lam slept on the couch. Wait. Pretended to sleep according to his intentions. Strange Tritan. Silence stared across the lake at the Martyr Complex. It prompted Andrew to look below.

Rayne smiled.

“Yeah, Cypher. Thanks for the update. As soon as we’re done here, me and Andrew will check out the woman’s nacre.” Kyle gave a thumbs up to Andrew as he spoke into the comms. “Good to know the dispensation is going well. Pass on our thanks to Colton for clearing the way to the stronghold. We’ll plan time for a cleanup. Any news on the quantum communicator in Nevada?”

“Tempest confirmed they resurfaced the entire building. It is in fact intact. The Dwarves plan to start again tomorrow. We’ll recover this project. Like the Vittle crop plantation. Two hundred thousand Icarean hands volunteered over the last week. Dolor got approval from the rest of The Brethren. And Boklo finished planting this week. We now have several thousand acres of fire-free Vittle crop. And it’s under heavy surveillance.” Cypher sounded properly enthused. Awe entered his voice as he added, “And get this. They all said it was Rayne’s idea. That she talked to them in their dreams. If it were about anyone else I’d say they were crazy but…”

“But we’ll never underestimate her.” Kyle beamed at them. “Thanks so much for the updates, man. Lynn and Smith will get the disabling rifles out soon. Disabling range is only fifteen feet, but they also shoot stun charges to knock the targets out. She should have some ready today.”

“That’s good news. Thanks. There’s one other thing causing some anxiety.”

“Shoot.”

Cypher sounded genuinely concerned, judging by the tightness in his voice. “Rayne cautioned against accepting untested nacres from the Tritans. But it’s too late. I don’t know if it’s possible to stop it. The Brethren ruled to continue accepting nacres while they send some as samples to the Iona facilities. Do you think that’s okay? I hate going against her.”

They all looked at the Martyr Complex. One second passed. Two. After a few heartbeats, she emitted a warm light. But Andrew was closest. Only he saw the frown on her lips. She didn’t like this.

“Do what you can, Cypher, but make sure we’re tracking people as they receive nacres. I don’t care how you do it. In case those samples come back bad, we may need to retrieve them.”

“Affirmative, Story Taker.”

Silence snickered into her hand.

Kyle groaned. “Shit. You know I hate that name.”

“Thanks for all your help. Over and Out.”

Lamassau jumped off the couch and cut through the moment. “Rayne should be concerned. It’s very Enki of us to contaminate your entire species with failsafes in the population’s nacres.” He stretched his seven feet of long, strong limbs with an audible crack.

“Your vote of confidence kinda took away my appetite.” Kyle pushed his pancakes with a sigh. After a few seconds, he asked, “Do we try again with Rayne?”

Andrew checked Kyle’s intentions.

I hope we make progress today. I need a break, and I wanna ask Silence to join me. I hope she’s not evil. No. I know she isn’t.

Andrew smiled, happy to have good news to share. “No need. She answered our questions in my dream. A very peculiar dream that has me questioning what she’s been up to. But I digress.”

Kyle’s brows shot up.

Silence’s steely eyes snapped to him and stared intensely. Idly, she gripped the pendant on Kyle’s chain around her neck. Andrew only just realized they forgot to make one for her.

Lam chuffed. “Well?”

He walked down the ramp and elaborated, “Our King wants to see your memories, Silence.” He gestured at Kyle. “And at some point, you and I will refresh my grip on this reality. While we’re in there, we can investigate who pushed me into Cascading Light.” Crossing the pit to the kitchenette, he dug into the Progeny’s pancakes.

Kyle looked contemplative as he processed Rayne’s idea. “Yeah. Yeah. That should work. You can help, Andrew. That way we’ll know your intentions at the time, Silence. We can get a complete understanding of your actions and your motivations. Is that an invasiveness you’re willing to accept?”

She looked out to the Martyr Complex and stared a long time. Meanwhile, Andrew polished off Kyle’s breakfast. Lamassau crossed the quiet space and worked up a cup of noodles. He moved too quietly and intently. Eavesdropping with intensity made one stiffer.

Eventually, Silence turned back to them with that beautiful movie star smile of perfect lips and perfect teeth. “I agree to this. I want to help. I’m… I’m not proud of the life I lived before I met you. Please keep that in mind.”

Kyle beamed at her with—Dammit. It was love. Warm and pure.

And she returned in kind.

Andrew almost rolled his damn eyes. If they deemed any of her actions unforgivable, it would ruin Story Taker. Great.

Lam caught his gaze and gave a discrete nod. Even the Tritan saw it.

“Well.” Kyle put his arm around Andrew. “Which do you wanna do first? Your refresh or the memory dive?”

Conscience squeezed back in a side hug. “Only one way to decide.”

The coin soared high into the air before plummeting with purpose.

“Tails. It’s refresh time.”