CHAPTER 10_THE ALLIANCE
"We're stuck in a room with a dying alien and a scientist on the run. You're telling me my whole life is a lie made up by people I've never met."
I stare at Kael while they lean against Elena's sofa. Their skin looks pale. Every time they breathe it sounds like a faint whistle. Elena paces around the kitchen area with a mug of cold coffee in her hand her hair a mess. The air in the apartment feels tense. The blue light from the System keeps the shadows at bay.
"It wasn't a lie, Ethan. It was a mercy " Kael says while coughing into a rag. "Our home is the Frozen Realm. It's been breaking for a thousand years. Some of us had to leave to save the rest of the multiverse. You were brought here as a baby and given a life so you wouldn't destroy this world by being here."
"Memory suppression " I mutter, rubbing my face. "Standard protocol."
"If you knew what you were at ten you would've flattened this city the time you skinned your knee " Kael says with a weak smile. ". Marcus found you. He used trauma to force the door open before you were ready. Now the lock is broken."
Elena stops pacing. Looks at us with sunken eyes. "So let me get this straight. If Ethan dies the Veil breaks. If Kael dies it breaks more.. Marcus is building a giant drill to poke a hole in the thinnest part of the fabric while both guardians are bleeding out."
"Total dimensional collapse " Kael confirms, sinking deeper into the cushions. "Not just a disaster, Elena. Reality itself will fall apart. Physics will stop making sense. Time will loop until everyone is screaming. Billions will be gone in an hour. The rest will wish they were."
The System chimes in my ear. The blue screen flickers with new text that makes my heart sink.
MISSION PARAMETERS REVISED. Primary Objective: Stop Marcus Vance. Secondary Objective: Survive extraction. Success probability: 23 percent.
"Twenty-three percent " I say with a laugh. "I've had odds in this office."
"We can't just sit here and wait for him to come for you " Elena says, slamming her mug onto the counter. "We need a plan that doesn't involve you ending up on a slab in that subbasement."
"He needs me alive Elena," I say, looking at Kael's fading shimmer. "He needs material because the fake stuff he's making dies in a few hours. He won't kill me on sight. He'll try to capture me. He's going to use the one person he knows I won't fight back against."
"Morgana " Elena says, her voice low.
"She's the key " Kael whispers, their eyes fluttering shut. "Marcus knows you're sentimental, Ethan. He's betting on the fact that you won't hurt her to get to him."
"Then we use that " Elena says, grabbing my arm. "We let him think the gaslighting worked. We let her bring you in. We control the playground. We set a trap inside his house."
I look at the System and a new quest chain starts scrolling across my vision.
OPERATION REVERSAL. Stage 1: Allow capture. Stage 2: Gather evidence. Stage 3:. Expose. WARNING: Extreme danger of death. Accept?
I hit the prompt and the screen turns green.
"I'm in " I say, looking at Elena. ". You have to be ready to pull the trigger on the evidence the second I'm inside. You can't wait for me to give a signal if things go sideways."
"I'll be there Ethan " she says, her voice hard. "I'll be outside with the uplink. Kael can recover enough to jump in if the security gets too thick. We're going to record every word that comes out of that bastard's mouth."
We spend the six hours over a map of the university guest house. Elena wires a camera into my shirt button and Kael teaches me how to pulse my energy so the sensors won't pick up my location until I want them to. Everything feels like a movie until the sun starts to rise.
Kael is asleep on the couch and the room is quiet. I'm sitting on the floor with my back against the wall and Elena is sitting next to me. She's been holding my hand for an hour.
"You don't have to go through with this Ethan " she whispers, leaning her head against my shoulder. "We could grab Kael. Drive north. We could disappear in the mountains. Let the world figure it out."
"Eight billion people, Elena " I say, looking at the dust motes dancing in the light.
"I know " she sighs, squeezing my fingers. "I just needed to say it loud. That you have a choice. You're choosing us anyway."
"If I don't make it out of that lab—" I start to say. She cuts me off.
"Don't you dare " she says, her eyes welling up with tears. "You make it. We make it.. Then we deal with whatever comes after this. You're not dying twice on my watch."
My phone buzzes on the floor. I don't want to pick it up. I know who it is. I slide the screen open. The light feels like a physical blow.
Ethan I'm scared and everything is so confusing. Marcus says he can help you. He knows what you are. Knows how to make the pain stop. Please just let me bring you in so we can be together again. I promise he won't hurt you if you just cooperate with the treatment. I love you enough to save you from yourself. Meet me tomorrow at noon at our place. Come alone Ethan. Trust me one time.
I stare at the phone hearing the lie in every syllable. She's not even writing it herself. I can see Marcus's fingerprints over the phrasing.
"Stage one begins in twenty-two hours " I say, showing the screen to Elena.
She looks at the message her jaw set tight. "She's the bait, Ethan. She's literally the cheese in the trap."
"I know " I say, standing up and stretching my muscles. "And I'm going to walk into it."
"Be careful Ethan " Kael says from the couch opening their eyes. "The Veil is thin. Marcus is hungry. He won't just take your blood; he'll take your soul if you let him."
"He can try " I say, looking at my reflection in the window.
My eyes flicker with that blue glow for a second and then fade back to brown. I don't feel like a victim anymore. I feel like a weapon that's finally been loaded.
I walk to the door. Look back at the two people risking their lives for a ghost.
"I'll see you at noon tomorrow " I say, pulling my hood up.
"Ethan " Elena calls out.
I stop with my hand on the knob. "Yeah."
"Make him regret ever touching your life " she says, her voice cold and lethal.
I. Walk out into the hallway. The System pulses one message across my vision as I descend the stairs.
Stage 1 loading. Probability of success updated: 24 percent.
I walk toward the apartment the air growing colder, with every step. I don't know if it's the weather or the realm bleeding through. I don't care. I'm going home to meet the woman I loved. I'm going to let her betray me one more time.
The sun is high when I reach the street where we used to live. I see her standing by the entrance of the building wearing the dress I bought her for her birthday. She looks like an angel. She looks like a lie.
I take a breath and steady my heart.
"Hey Morgana " I say, walking toward her.
She. Her face lights up with relief that would be beautiful if I didn't know it was a target lock.
"Ethan you're here " she exclaims, running towards me and wrapping her arms around my neck.
I hug her back. Feel the weight of the needle, in her purse pressing against my side.
"I'm here baby " I whisper into her hair. "Lets go see Marcus."
As we enter I spot Marcus standing in the lobby's shadows. I feel the System kick in for the sequence.
Stage 1: Commenced.