She kept her lips clamped and worked until her limbs trembled. She finally collapsed into a panting hunch, the saber across her knees.

  Enough.

  She stepped away and returned the blade to its matte steel scabbard. It was not a decorative covering. In battle, such sheathes were weapons themselves. She rested the scabbard atop a rosewood stand next to a bowl of white chrysanthemums. To the side, a single candle burned in front of a framed photo of Zhuang.

  A week ago, Seichan had returned from the lieutenant’s funeral in Macau. The affair had spanned seven days. The entire Duàn zhī Triad had been in attendance. Even the Blue Lantern boy, Bolin Chén—who had been initiated into the triad fold, rewarded for the bravery he had shown. Yeung had also been elevated to a lieutenant, standing now at Guan-yin’s right side.

  During those somber days, Seichan had done her best to console her mother. Guan-yin had put on a stoic face to the public, gowned in white. A sweep of silk across her features had helped to maintain her façade.

  But behind doors, she was a broken woman.

  In the quiet of the night, her mother had shared Zhuang’s past. It was Zhuang who had taken Guan-yin in after she had fled her Vietnamese persecutors. He had been raised by a Buddhist monk after his own family had been killed during the Maoist siege of the city of Changchun. Nearly two hundred thousand civilians had died, including his parents and a younger sister. All he had of his family was his father’s dao, which he had used to kill a soldier to flee the siege and survive.

  Sharing a root of pain and loss, Zhuang and Guan-yin had found a common spirit in each other. They both burned with the same righteous fury, eventually founding the Duàn zhī Triad. Over time, while he remained fierce, he had eventually reached a calmness that still escaped Seichan’s mother. Guan-yin expressed regret that because of her position she had kept him at arm’s length. They were intimate in private, loved each other, but there had always remained a veil between them.

  After the funeral, Guan-yin had sent Seichan home with Zhuang’s sword. It had been something Zhuang had asked her mother to do. He had wanted the sword kept in the family. While Seichan was not his daughter, he had taken her into his heart. He had taught her the sequences that she had just practiced with the ancient sword. As it sang through the air, she had heard his voice, still teaching her one last lesson.

  She touched her fingertips to the photo and readied herself.

  With time running short, she quickly showered and donned a black silk dress embroidered with gray roses, each petal outlined in silver thread. She dabbed drops of jasmine on her wrists and pinned her hair back.

  She went downstairs and opened a bottle of pinot noir and lit the candles on the table. Jack was spending the night at Monk and Kat’s.

  Behind her, a key turned in the front door lock. She stiffened, having failed to hear the throaty engine of the restored Thunderbird. A part of her wanted to bolt, but she centered herself, mentally sweeping steel around her.

  She checked everything one last time.

  As Gray opened the door, she glanced to the memorial table and gave Zhuang a small bow of her head, for teaching her this one last lesson.

  Gray called to her. “Why are all the lights out?”

  He stepped into the living room and spotted her in the dining room, bathed in candlelight. He stopped in confusion. “What are you—?”

  She dropped to a knee and pressed the detonator in her hand.

  Out in the backyard, seen through the dining room window, a cascade of fireworks burst into a brilliant splendor, booming with small explosions.

  Kowalski—Sigma’s demolition expert—had helped set it up.

  She opened her mouth to explain, but she was cut off by a huge blast. It flashed as bright as a magnesium flare. The dining room window shattered behind her, scattering glass.

  Seichan grimaced, knowing she should have expected as much from Kowalski.

  Gray hurried over. “Are you all right?”

  She stayed down on one knee. “I’m afraid this moment may not be as good as the Chinese New Year, but—”

  She held up the ring box and opened it. The steel circle had belonged to Zhuang, too. She stared up at Gray. She had lived with many regrets. She would not add this one.

  She ripped down the last veil between them.

  “Will you marry me?”

  Epilogue

  TWO MONTHS LATER

  The crisp morning air heralded the first day of spring. The sun shone brightly over the greensward of a wide park. Families strolled. A few dogs bounded. A happy chatter carried on the breeze. Overhead, the sky was an aching blue that looked painted in place.

  A gleeful shout drew her attention back down. A child sped toward her, tripping along the sidewalk, half dragged by a string tied to a bat-winged kite.

  Valya Mikhailov stepped out of the way. “Careful, rebenok.”

  An arm waved in acknowledgment, but her warning was ignored.

  She continued to the far side of the park.

  Despite the bright day, her thoughts remained dark. Over the past two years, she had rebuilt her forces as she kept her head low. She had expanded her organization, both in number and expertise, including their intelligence-gathering capabilities.

  When the opportunity had arisen to rid herself of a thorn in her side, she had foolishly taken it. In her haste, she had made mistakes. She recognized that and accepted it. Still, she had made one last attempt in Jakarta. She had called Major Xue and alerted him to where Commander Pierce and the others were headed, to the city’s history museum. She had hoped by co-opting her former employers that the situation could be rectified.

  Again, I was mistaken.

  No matter, if she was truthful with herself, she preferred to exact her own retribution. Yet now, the others knew she lived, which was problematic. She refused to be hunted. She was done hiding and biding her time. She was ready to go on the offensive.

  If it’s a war they want . . .

  She glanced over her shoulder and stared up at the spire of the Washington Monument. Beyond it, the redbrick façade of the Smithsonian Castle stood tall.

  She paused to listen to the laughter and shouts on this crisp morning—and pressed the transmitter button in her pocket.

  The thunderous booms carried like cannon fire.

  She continued across the street as the Castle shattered behind her.

  . . . then a war we shall have.

  Author’s Note to Readers: Truth or Fiction

  It’s high time I stepped aside, pulled back the curtain, and revealed how much of this book is based on fact and how much is fabrication. While the tale I’ve told is a wild story of exotic organo-silicon lifeforms, lunar missions gone awry, and tectonic disasters, there are indeed plenty of facts upon which this novel was built—and even a fair amount of fabric in my fabrications.

  So let’s begin with where this story starts. In the past.

  THE MOUNT TAMBORA ERUPTION

  First, I must admit that there was a movie that captured my imagination when I was a boy: Krakatoa, East of Java. It came out in 1968 and starred Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. It was a disaster film dramatizing the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. The movie stuck with me over the passing decades. It instilled in me a fascination with volcanism. As a writer, I wanted to try to recapture that excitement I experienced watching the movie.

  Many of the details that appear in the prologue came from firsthand accounts of Mount Tambora’s eruption: the cannon-like explosions that were heard hundreds of miles away, the ash-covered seas dotted by islands of floating pumice, the exploration ships covered in ash. Days turned into night; coastlines crushed by tsunamis.

  All of this was related in a wonderfully exciting history book that I highly recommend:

  The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History, by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman

  In that same volume, I learned of Sir Stamford Raffles—the lieutenant-governor of the region—and how he played a pivotal role during the cataclysm, recording many of his experiences. He was also an avid naturalist and had a great interest in the history and culture of the local people. During his stint in Jakarta, he had served as the president of the Royal Batavian Society, a major scientific organization in the region.

  Raffles also later established the port of Singapore with William Farquhar. The two famously competed for discoveries in the region and had a dramatic falling-out. In the end, Stamford assigned governorship of Singapore to a physician he knew from his time in Jakarta: Dr. John Crawfurd. Their tangled webs of intrigue, backstabbing, and scientific competition are all true. For me, there surely had to be more to their story—so I wrote it.

  One other detail I found intriguing during my research was the discovery that British and Dutch ships in the region often had Aboriginal crewmates. The First Nations peoples of Australia were highly valued for their knowledge and expertise. They served as pilots, trackers, negotiators, interpreters, and guides. So it would not be unusual to find a ship with a cabin boy like Matthew.

  Let’s explore that latter topic in greater detail.

  THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES OF AUSTRALIA

  In this novel, there was some discussion of when the Australian continent was first populated. The currently accepted date is between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. But that timeframe has come into question by the recent uncovering of older hunting and fishing camps. While the dating remains controversial, I tangentially discovered research articles that challenged the Out-of-Africa theory, shifting the cradle of humanity to Australia. Most astounding was the fact that the geneticists who first proposed the Out-of-Africa model were the very ones who later recanted their own work. The quote that is paraphrased in this novel (“mitochondrial DNA puts the origin of humankind much further back and indicates that the Australian Aborigines arose 400,000 years ago”) came from one of those scientists.

  Moving on to the legends among the First Nations peoples, I could only glancingly cover their rich and diverse belief systems. But what is covered in this book is based on true Aboriginal stories. The Rainbow Serpent legends are as written in the novel: the creation myth, the giant snake sleeping deep under Earth’s crust, the ability to flow through a watery lair from place to place, the conflicting nature of a serpent that could bring destruction or salvation, even the seeding of “little rainbows”—miniature versions of themselves—into people to wreak havoc.

  As to the bullroarers, they are indeed the “secret-sacred” tools of the First Nations peoples. They are considered to be the “voice of the Rainbow Serpent.” And that voice is indeed loud, capable of traveling miles, of reaching a hundred decibels—the equivalent of a revving chainsaw.

  The aspect of the novel that covers the “Dark Dreaming” is a merging of Aboriginal dreamtime mythology with a bit of speculation on my part. I find it intriguing that the eruption of the Toba supervolcano happened in the region 74,000 years ago. I’ve always wondered if such an event—an eruption that darkened the world for decades and drove the human population to less than 30,000 members—could have been the inciting incident that pushed the Aboriginal people into Australia. Especially as their origin stories speak of a great fiery cataclysm and giant destructive waves. Could this be a firsthand account of the Toba eruption? Someone should research this.

  Speaking of research, let’s move on to some of the scientific topics covered in this novel.

  EXPLORING THE DEEP SEA

  I thought I should first cover the vehicles used by the characters in this book. I based them on intriguing research vessels—one in development and two that have been well tested and traveled.

  The Titan X is based on a nuclear-powered gigayacht—the Earth 300—that’s currently in production and is scheduled to start its first oceanic research voyage in 2025. If you’d like to learn more, check out the website: earth300.com. The ship will hold a complement of 160 scientists, with the same number of crew. The thirteen-story glass orb (or “science city”) has twenty-two state-of-the-art labs, and the yacht will carry a host of underwater expedition vehicles. Upon learning of this ship, I decided to give it a test drive. Note that I barely dented it, even cleaned it up afterward. I’m still waiting for my invitation to its maiden voyage—I’ll bring the champagne.

  As mentioned above, the Earth 300 will be equipped with underwater expedition vehicles. Maybe even a Triton 36000/2 DSV. The Cormorant featured in this book is based on the latter vehicle. I did make it a four-seater instead of two. And I gave it a pair of wings, which I borrowed from another of Triton’s submarines: the Titanic Explorer. Otherwise, I stuck to the reality and limitations of the Triton 36000/2. Even the acoustic modem—capable of voice and text communications—is based on current technology and can reach down to the deepest trenches.

  The DriX autonomous vessels that were featured prominently in this book are also real, designed by the wonderful people at iXblue.

  Moving on to what those vessels might find:

  DEEP-SEA LIFE

  Much of our oceans remains unexplored. We’ve only crudely mapped about 20 percent of the ocean floor. And if you’re talking about finer imaging—sharp enough to detect a plane wreck—that percentage drops to a mere 0.05.

  As to what is down there, no one can truly say. New discoveries are made all the time. Giant squids were once considered mythical until they were found washed up on beaches. In this book, I tried to adhere to the biologically feasible. In the opening chapters, I described life at the depth of two miles. That description is accurate. There are wonderful oases that thrive in the sunless deep.

  Likewise, the discussions of the unique biology of deep-sea coral are also factual, including the intriguing detail that coral has been growing continually in the Mediterranean Sea for 400,000 years. And while no corals have been found six miles under the sea, we’ve barely begun to look, and biologically they could be (with a little organo-silicon tweaking).

  Exploring further, the conversation about gigantism in the deep sea is fascinatingly true. The biological reasons for why this happens (oxygen saturation, salinity, and pressure) are also accurate.

  Moving on to some finer points: pistol shrimp are indeed raucous creatures, firing their plasma-charged water bubbles. DARPA is actively researching how to use these natural oceanic noises to develop a new sonar system. In the meantime, military submarines do use those boisterous shrimp colonies to hide themselves from the sonar searches of surface ships—like what Phoebe does in this book.

  In regards to the geology of the deep sea, I mention submarine volcanos that spew out liquid carbon dioxide and huge pools of molten sulfur. Those both have been found in the dark depths of the unexplored ocean.

  And speaking of geology . . .

  LARGE LOW-SHEAR VELOCITY PROVINCES (OR “BLOBS”) AND THE MOON’S FORMATION

  The two huge mysterious fragments under the Pacific Ocean and the African continent are truly there. The growing consensus is that they could very well be pieces of the planetoid Theia that crashed into the early Earth and blasted our moon into orbit. It’s also suspected that tiny pieces of the same could make up part of the moon’s composition—but that’s not been verified. At least not yet.

  On a minor note, China’s Chang’e-5 lunar lander did mysteriously malfunction while drilling into a strange stratum. The lunar rocks that returned with the mission did indeed show that the moon had cooled far slower than any model predicted. One of the explanations for the slow cooling was the possible presence of an exotic, radioactive material that has kept the moon hot. What could that be? I have my own theory, and you just read it.

  Digging deeper, the two “blobs” do seem to be the source for much of the planet’s tectonic instability, triggering volcanic eruptions and quakes, especially along their borders. Trond Torsvik at the University of Oslo has linked these blobs to the greatest catastrophe in Earth’s history. He believes it was a change in one of those blobs that triggered the Great Dying, a mass extinction event that snuffed out most life on the planet. And he believes it could happen again, that we’re all sitting atop an “antediluvian time bomb.”

  As to the strange prevalence and reports of UAPs around areas of tectonic activity, that’s also true. Is someone up there minding a garden that they planted? As Painter says: If so, let’s hope they don’t have a harvest season.

  OCTOPUSES FROM SPACE

  I thought I’d single out this topic from the general discussion of sea life. I watched the documentary My Octopus Teacher and read countless articles about the species’ unique biology and intelligence. So I was not entirely surprised to read about challenges to the evolutionary pathway of octopuses. Of late, there has been an uptick in media exposure on this very topic, much of it mocking. But upon digging deeper, I discovered it was based on a peer-reviewed scientific article about panspermia and the cosmic seeding of our planet by extraterrestrial retroviruses. It’s titled “Cause of Cambrian Explosion—Terrestrial or Cosmic?” It was authored by astrobiologists from around the globe. I read it and found their conclusions dauntingly convincing. So I decided to extrapolate what that might look like.

  And continuing on the topic of extraterrestrial lifeforms and how to find them:

  BIOSIGNATURES

  Over the past few years, the scientific community has been shifting away from the search for technosignatures (radio signals, etc.) as an indicator of life on other planets. They’re now focused more on the search for biosignatures. In his novel, Dr. Datuk Lee touches upon this pursuit. His discussion is based on current and ongoing studies. The organization he works for—LAB, or the Laboratory for Agnostic Biosignatures—is a real group out of Georgetown University with a global presence. The MinIon nanopore sequencer that he uses in the Cormorant is an organic analyzer that is currently being tested for installation into future exploratory spacecraft.