{Enki | New Cinder}
Tameka gripped the bars of their cage, sagging not in defeat, but in impotent rage at the injustice she couldn’t stop. Chris deserved better than this torture. No matter how she tried, Tameka’s ability had no effect on Celindria. Ross’, too.
When organizing this mission, Devis warned them this might be the case, but Tameka didn’t want to believe it. “Celindria’s capabilities are unpredictable. Neither Andrius nor myself have ever successfully subdued her. That’s why I have this.” He held up a memory drive like the ones they retrieved from Razor’s Emporium of Exotic Experiences. “With this, I might reach her.”
Ross peered at it. “What’s in it?”
Jack kept his eyes locked on Devis’. “It’s a memory that’s important to you, right, Devis?”
The First Wave Progeny nodded. “It will sway her.”
Well, Celindria needed a little swaying right now. “Unpredictable capabilities” explained why Ross couldn’t detect Celindria’s nacre. Elden, Tameka nearly fainted at the sight of the woman’s eyes in the darkness, but she swore she’d checked that corner. Another mystery to go unsolved.
Since assaulting Chris, Celindria returned to her workstation, tinkering with their guns and running some simulations on her terminals. If Tameka looked close enough, the three-dimensional renderings of Tameka and the others on that screen chilled her blood because she wasn’t behind the wheel in those simulations. Celindria was. Or Remorse. Honestly, sitting in this cage, one found themselves contemplating which parasite was worse. The homicidal angel? Or the tyrannical hypocrite hellbent on reproduction?
Poor Chris.
And what about Lucy? Both Remorse and Celindria were on her trail. The couple with the highest body count swore to Tameka and Xelan they could handle themselves before embarking on their dangerous mission. She would have to trust them on that.
All the while, Xelan had listened through the earpiece, careful not to distract Tameka with any response. It must kill him to listen to all this—All his people in danger at the hands of his first creation. She wanted so badly to reassure him, but she wanted to rescue her son even more.
Pax laid peacefully asleep in Celindria’s Spartan bedroom. The bed was big enough to swallow his small body. Tameka tried her best not to speculate on what went on in those sheets and focused on her son’s breathing instead. He was fine. Alive. It begged the question.
Why?
A shuffling movement beside Tameka distracted her thoughts. Bones handed Andrius an earpiece. They brought more spares for Karter, Chris, and Pax—Really for anyone else on their side, including one for Rayne when they found her. Each group grabbed an extra earpiece meant for her, looking after each other.
An idea occurred to Tameka. She was well-acquainted with Enki’s star. Drawing a bit of energy, she glanced over to see if Celindria noticed somehow.
No reaction.
A little more energy, and Tameka filled her well. Easy, carefully, she fed the energy into T.a.o., hoping to wake her. Maybe she could get Ross, Karter, and Para out of here before Celindria noticed. They didn’t need to be subjected to this.
The small woman’s lashes fluttered until T.a.o. opened her eyes. The others stood back, but Tameka tried to keep her down. She shook her head at the Seamswalker. Let Celindria think she’s asleep.
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T.a.o. nodded and closed her eyes.
They’d get their chance.
No matter how much energy she fed Karter, the Valkyrie remained asleep thanks to Celindria’s fail safes.
Now. For Chris. Tameka took a sip from the star and fed it to him, hoping to speed his soft tissue repair system. This was risky. With Celindria inside him, Fury risked exposing her attempts to revitalize her team. With that in mind, she fed everyone else.
Andrius, the longest in captivity, gained some vibrancy to his deep skin and mouthed, “Thank. You.”
Devis nodded his thanks at her.
Ross took Tameka’s hand and squeezed it.
Bones tapped his fist to his chest.
Then Para pointed at the mirror. In the reflection, Chris’ eye re-inflated in a terrifying but encouraging spectacle. Jack kissed Tameka’s cheek and hugged her from behind, clearly withholding a cheer of gratitude and relief for his friend.
A small, yet much needed celebration—
The sound of Celindria slamming something down startled all of them. Afterward, she reached for a vial, popped the lid off, and poured the blue liquid into her mouth. When it hit the air, it turned red. Human or Progeny blood.
Tameka knew it. “So that’s why I can’t affect you with the power drain, but if you’re using Rayne’s blood, you full-well know her nacre is locked.”
Celindria set the empty one aside next to a rack, holding dozens of identical vials filled with non-oxygenated blood. Magnanimously, the queen of evil divulged, “Unless I acquired it before our Mother administered the virus.” She turned and met Para and Bones’ eyes. “You two were instrumental in making Rayne available to me during several shifts.”
They both looked away, faces flushing blue with shame.
Oh.
Guard duty got boring, or so Tameka was told. Was she angry they left Rayne unguarded to make out? Not really. Especially when Rayne intentionally requested a light surveillance in hopes Imminent would take her to their hideaway. Guess their King didn’t consider Celindria might steal doses of her blood. Or maybe Rayne did. Maybe her blood was having some adverse effects on the First Progeny, but judging from that superior attitude, Celindria was doing just fine.
A pretty, yet horrifying smirk spread across Celindria’s lips as she switched her attention to Tameka. “You always perform so well with my tests. My toy is good as new. Now, we’ll see how many wounds you can heal at once—”
“‘So evil, he isn’t permitted light.’” Tameka blurted the line from Xelan’s time in the resurrection casket that bothered her the most, hoping like hell to distract Celindria. “Why ‘evil’?”
The First Progeny cocked her head curiously to the side.
Encouraged, Tameka continued. “The Tritans, Tumu… they described Xelan as ‘So evil, he isn’t permitted light’ when he was in the resurrection casket. Why ‘evil’?”
Celindria sat on a stool with her back straighter than an exclamation point, legs crossed under her skirt, and hands patiently laced in her lap. Regal. She brushed the skirts aside until a gap in them exposed the length of her dark thigh against the white fabric. All the while, her expression remained contemplative. Eventually, she said, “I wouldn’t call father evil. I’d call him reckless.”
Tameka wondered what Xelan thought of that on the other end of the earpiece—Anyone listening, for that matter. She licked her lips before pressing, “May I ask how is he ‘reckless’? From one woman to another; he fathered my child. I would like to know these things.”
“He created us, after all. Like an excellent scientist, he researched and experimented until he learned how. Then he did it, but he didn’t consider all the consequences of our making. Fortunately, he created me first, and I could make the later iterations without the same… kinks.”
With Xelan listening, Tameka asked, “But the answer is in there, isn’t it? Why you hate him—”
Devis clutched her arm, and Tameka recognized the signal by now. She didn’t finish her question.
Celindria swiveled on the stool and returned to her work. At first, Tameka thought that was the end of it, but with her back to them, Celindria said, “Hate is not within me.”
This time, Andrius also grabbed Tameka’s arm. A fierce warning to back the fuck off.
Only then, it occurred to Tameka. Both brothers knew more about their sister than they had let on. Especially Devis, who spent the most time with the Shadow without divulging much of Celindria’s secrets. There was still loyalty there for her.
It didn’t matter. Tameka woke T.a.o. and helped Chris without further punishment from Celindria. The last twenty minutes were a win, lessened only by the unpredictability of the next twenty minutes.
Breathe and survive this.
Tameka prayed to Elden the vaccines would work.