Despite the strange coloration of her skin, Celestia was gorgeous.

  “Good afternoon, Drake.” Celestia said coldly.

  “So you’re still mad, huh?” Drake asked.

  “Why are you here, Drake?”

  “We need to use the machine.”

  “Goodbye Drake.” Celestia said as she turned to walk away.

  “Celestia, wait!” Drake yelled after her. “You don’t even want to know my reason for using the machine?”

  “You have ten seconds to explain.” Celestia said, glaring.

  “There’s a crazy person who learned how to blow up planets and the only way to stop him is somewhere inside of my memory.” Drake blurted out in one breath.

  “In case you have forgotten, Drake.” Celestia said. “I have no side in the war, and I don’t care to join one. I don’t care if the Mystics destroy all the Human planets. At least that would end this silly war. I want to know what I’ll gain if I help you.”

  “You mean the satisfaction of saving people isn’t enough for you?” Drake asked.

  “Goodbye.” Celestia said, turning around again.

  “Wait!” Drake yelled after her. “Tell me what you want.”

  “A kiss.” Celestia said.

  Angela’s heart raced.

  “A what?” Drake said, glancing over at Angela. “I think I heard you wrong.”

  “A kiss.” Celestia repeated. “You know, like we used to do.”

  “Oh come on, Celestia.” Drake said. “That’s a terrible idea. Why can’t you just ask for money like a normal person?”

  “Because I already have money.” Celestia said. “What I want, is a kiss from you.”

  “Celestia,” Drake said. “I know I’m the best kisser you’ve ever met, but you really need to get over me.”

  “Ok.” Celestia said. “I’m over you. Get out of here and don’t return.”

  “Celestia.” Al spoke up.

  “Al Jhurus Khardrasyn Lyersial Othyriodias Ikhardrias yt Hyras.” Celestia said. “Finally, a male worth speaking to.”

  “We’re trying to read the book.” Al said. “The same one we tried to read the last time we were here.”

  A grin came to Celestia’s face.

  “Why didn’t you say so?” She said. “Follow me. You’re free to use my machine as you need.”

  Celestia, and her group of servants walked back in through the door, and down a long hallway.

  “Let’s go.” Al said, striding through the hallway behind them. Everybody followed without saying a word until they all arrived at a large room. In its center sat the machine.

  It had chairs attached to either side of it, with helmets connected at the top of each chair.

  On the center of the machine was a huge screen with wires leading from it to each of the helmets.

  “Here we are.” Celestia said. “Who’s taking the trip into your memories, Drake?”

  “Al will do it.” Drake said.

  “That won’t work.” Celestia said. “The last time we tried this we had to disconnect him without going through the proper procedures. The machine will no longer recognize his neural patterns. It will have to be somebody else.”

  “I’ll do it then.” Vahn said, stepping forward.

  “Won’t work.” Drake said.

  “What?” Vahn said. “Why not?”

  “Because he doesn’t like you.” Celestia said.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Vahn asked. “I’m willing to do it, who cares if he likes me or not?”

  “He does.” Celestia responded. “I don’t expect you to understand the exact workings of my machine, but you should understand that you are trying to enter his mind. If he dislikes you his subconscious will reject you and stop you from accessing his memories. Conversely, the more he likes you, the more access you’ll have to the content of his mind.”

  “This is ridiculous.” Ryker said. “Drake, who here do you like? Let’s get this over with.”

  “I like Al.” Drake replied.

  “He’s not an option.” Celestia said. “But who here is? It’s certainly not the half brother who abandoned you. I don’t believe it would be the King who launched the attack that killed your entire race, nor do I believe you’re overly fond of his spoiled daughter. It must be the extra girl you brought along. She’s the only one here I don’t see a reason for you to hate. Of course I’ve never met her.”

  “Me?” Angela asked. “You want me to go inside of his memories?”

  “Not her.” Drake said. “She’s not doing it.”

  “Drake,” Celestia said. “I know you. She’s beautiful, but has no power, no money, and no way of helping you. The only reason she’s here with you is because you have feelings for her. Am I right?”

  Angela blushed.

  “Al almost died the last time we did this.” Drake said. “I’m not letting that happen to Angela.”

  “If you had shown such concern for me,” Celestia said. “Perhaps we would have ended our relationship on better terms. I hope you don’t break this poor girl’s heart.”

  “Drake.” Angela said. “You’ve saved me so many times since we met, and the whole time, I wished I had the power to help other people the way you helped me. If I can find the right memory, then the information we get will save billions of lives. Even if it’s dangerous, it’s what I want to do.”

  Drake paused for several seconds before responding.

  “When you go into my memories.” He said. “You’ll see, hear, and feel everything I saw. It’ll feel real. But remember, it’s not actually happening to you.”

  “Ok.” Angela said. “I can do that.”

  “One more thing.” Drake said. “The memory you’re looking for happened a few hours before the memory that nearly killed Al. If you come to a memory of me as a fourteen year old in that tower above the library, the one we talked in the night you were on Rabbit’s Foot, I’ll have a knife, and I’ll use it to cut my hand and draw circles with the blood. If you get into that memory, leave it as soon as possible.

  You’ll hear my thoughts, and you’ll feel my emotions. They’ll feel overwhelming, but you have to promise me you’ll leave that memory, no matter how strong the emotions are.”

  “What exactly did you do in that memory?” Angela asked.

  “Just make sure you stay out of it.” Drake said.

  “Ok.” Angela said. “So how do we do this?”

  “You sit in that chair.” Celestia said pointing to the chair on the left side of the machine. “And Drake will sit in that one. You’ll both put on the helmets, and I’ll turn on the machine. You and Drake will both fall into an induced sleep. The first thing you’ll see is your strongest connecting memory with Drake. However, you’ll see it through Drake’s eyes.

  As he mentioned before, you’ll register his thoughts and all five of his senses. It’ll be as if you’re living his memories.

  Everything is controlled by your thoughts. If you want to go farther back, think that you want to go back. Same goes for moving forward. There’s no specific control, how well you can jump through memories depends on how strongly he feels about you.

  Since the memory you’re looking for is a little over seven years ago, I’d say it’s best for you to just jump back as far as you can and move on from there.”

  “Ok.” Angela said as she sat in the chair and put the helmet on her head. “I’m ready.”

  ***********************

  Al watched with the others as Angela drifted into an induced sleep.

  The screen blared to life showing Angela’s face.

  “Angela, I don't want you to come along with me. I want to go with you." Drake’s voice played through the speakers.

  Angela’s face on the screen leaned in toward the screen. It took Al a moment to realize that they were kissing in the memory.

  Al felt like he was violating their privacy watching this moment.

  Olivia didn’t seem to think so. She burst into cheers as she realized what was happening on the screen.

  “Just jump back already.” Celestia muttered under her breath.

  Nobody else in the room could hear it, but with his sharp hearing, Al could pick out every word she said.

  Almost as if obeying Celestia’s command, the screen changed into an entirely different setting.

  The library on Rabbit’s Foot.

  A strong man wearing regal looking clothes, and a crown on his head was carrying Drake over his shoulder.

  “Dad.” Al heard Vahn gasp.

  Al recognized this memory. He’d never seen it personally, but Drake had described it to him.

  In this memory Drake would only have been five years old. Her jump through Drake’s memories had taken her back sixteen years.

  “There you go, Drake.” His father said as he sat him down inside of a small cabinet in the corner of a large room. “Stay in there until Ezra or I come to get you. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

  “But Dad!” a younger version of Drake’s voice said through the machine’s speakers.

  “Stay put, Drake.” His father said as he closed the cabinet doors. “I love you, son.”

  Drake pressed his eye up against the keyhole and watched his father stop short before leaving through the door, and then draw out his sword, stepping cautiously backwards.

  “You can’t be here.” Drake’s father said to somebody outside of Drake’s view. “I watched you die.”

  “I couldn’t stay dead knowing you’d betray our father’s wishes by signing a peace treaty with the Human scum.” The mysterious man said as he stepped into the room, showing his face. King Dathan.

  “Korah deceived our father.” Drake’s father said. “The Humans have no desire to harm us.”

  “You’re so naive, Tiberius.” Dathan said. “Korah is wise, and he has power you could never imagine. He raised me from the dead and taught us how to turn our warriors into invincible killing machines. The Human weapons are descending upon us intent on our genocide. Without Korah’s guidance, we’ll all die.”

  “How many did you convince to commit the taboo?” Tiberius said fiercely.

  “Ten-thousand, strong.” Dathan said. “The Human army will all die.”

  “Korah has deceived you, just like our father.” Tiberius said. “Bring the soul anchors back down from orbit and get our soldiers working on removing their taboo right now. The peace treaty I’m about to propose will go through before the Anti-Lucks arrive.”

  “The soul anchors aren’t in orbit anymore, Tiberius.” Dathan said. “Korah has hidden them away for his own purposes.”

  “It broke my heart to see you die my brother.” Tiberius said. “But if you’ve given yourself over to Korah, then I’ll have to break my heart a second time.”

  Tiberius rushed forward bringing his sword down toward Dathan’s head.

  Dathan dodged nimbly and drew out his own sword, lunging at Tiberius.

  Tiberius parried all of Dathan’s attacks flawlessly until Dathan was foolish enough to leave an opening.

  Tiberius rammed the tip of his sword through his brother’s chest.

  “I loved you, Dathan.” Tiberius said; tears filling his eyes as Dathan dropped to his knees. “It didn’t have to end like this.”

  “You’re right.” Dathan said. “It won’t end the way you think.”

  Dathan tore the sword from his chest and rammed it into Tiberius’s stomach.

  “You see, Tiberius.” Dathan said standing up, the hole in his chest healing over. “You can’t best Korah no matter how skilled you are with the sword. Now that I’ve died once, It’s not so easy to kill me a second time.”

  Dathan turned to leave, then paused turning back to where Tiberius lay dying on the floor.

  “Unlike you.” He said. “I have no regret in killing. You’re my brother, but I never loved you.”

  Dathan turned and walked out the door without a second glance.

  The screen blurred as if the camera had been sprayed with water.

  Al realized the water was the young Drake’s tears filling the eyes that the rest of them were seeing through.

  “Dad!” The young Drake yelled out as he wrestled to open the cabinet doors and leapt out to be by the side of his dying father.

  “Drake.” Tiberius said, writing ancient runes inside a circle with his own blood. “I’m putting a Vhy’ Rai seal around this library to protect you. Ezra is upstairs, he’ll take care of you. I’ve sent Vahn to get help. He’ll save you.”

  “Dad, you’ll be ok.” Drake said. “Don’t leave me here!”

  “You’re my son.” Tiberius said. “I’ll always be a part of you. You’ll survive this. Use the gift of life I’m giving you now to save others. I know you’ll make me proud.”

  “Dad! No! I need you...” The screen faded to black as Angela jumped out of the memory before the young Drake could finish his sentence.

  Al glanced over to see tears building up in Vahn’s eyes.

  Vahn wiped them away, but the pain in his heart was obvious through his expression.

  Despite the negative things Drake always said about Vahn. The man they‘d all seen die was Vahn’s father as much as he was Drake’s.

  Light filled the screen again as Angela entered another memory.

  Drake was still inside the same library although it looked to be in much worse repair than the previous memory. Some of the shelves and tables lay in pieces, and the carpet was worn.

  “Ezra!” Drake’s voice came through the speakers. “When is Vahn coming to save us? Three years is long enough to find some help isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know.” A voice said.

  The screen changed as Drake moved his head to show a middle aged man in an old tattered robe. Al presumed this man was Ezra.

  Drake’s gaze moved to look out the window. “I’m just so sick of having to hide from those things.”

  In the street outside, Al could see several of the monsters Drake had always referred to as Nightmares.

  He couldn’t think of a more appropriate name for them.

  Their eyes were as black as midnight. They had long, bony spikes protruding from all over their bodies. Their freakishly long arms dragged along the ground as they walked through the streets, unhinging their oversized jaws to let out ear-splitting screams.

  “Come away from the window.” Ezra’s voice said. “It’s time to continue your studies. A prince must be educated.”

  “Are we going to sword fight more today?” Drake said excitedly.

  “Yes.” Ezra said, “A prince must know how to defend himself as well. I worry you may enjoy fighting a little too much though.”

  “Is it possible to enjoy something too much?” Drake asked as the screen faded to black again and Angela jumped forward to the next memory.

  The screen lit back up once again showing the front room of the library.

  “Don’t do this!” Drake’s voice came through the speakers, as the screen showed Ezra walking toward the front door.

  “There’s not much choice,” Ezra said. “We’ll be out of food in six months. But if I leave now, you can last for another year while you wait for me to come back for you.”

  “Vahn is coming to save us!” Drake yelled out. “Dad promised!”

  “Vahn isn’t coming, Drake.” Ezra said. “We’ve already waited for eight and a half years. Vahn has forgotten about us. Don’t worry, I can make it to the tower and get away. I won’t let the Nightmares stop me from saving you. It’s your destiny to take the throne and end this war.”

  “Don’t leave me here alone!” Drake yelled as Ezra ran out the front door.

  Drake ran up to the window and watched as Ezra ran through the streets of the city being chased by the Nightmares.

  He stretched out his hand as he ran, sending out Vhy’ Rai attacks of fire, ice, and lightning. As the Nightmares drew closer, he cut their heads free from their necks with his sword and continued to run. But more and more Nightmares poured out from the buildings, overpowering him and ripping the limbs from his body.

  Water filled the screen again as the younger version of Drake cried and screamed at the loss of his friend and mentor.

  The screen faded to black as Angela moved forward to yet another memory.

  Al glanced around the room. Despite his attempts to wipe them away, tears were coming from Vahn’s eyes, and Olivia wasn’t even attempting to cover her sobbing.

  The screen lit up again.

  This time the memory was in an upper room of the library. Drake was using a knife to slice a gash in the palm of his hand.

  “You’ve gone too far, Angela.” Al yelled out. “Go back!”

  But Angela was immersed in the memory. She couldn’t hear what was being said to her. They all just had to hope she would remember Drake’s instructions.

  She didn’t.

  The memory continued on the screen.

  Drake used the blood from his hand to draw circles similar to the one Tiberius had drawn. One around himself, and one around a revolver. The screen went black for a moment.

  Thank Knune. Al thought. She left the memory.

  Light came back to the screen and to Al’s horror, the memory hadn’t changed.

  Angela hadn’t jumped, Drake had just closed his eyes in the memory.

  The screen turned a bright shade of red, and Angela let out a blood curdling scream from her seat next to the machine.

  “Unplug her!” Al yelled out.

  “If we do.” Celestia said. “She’ll never be able to interface with the machine again.”

  “If we don’t.” Al said moving toward the machine. “She’ll die.”

  Al ripped the helmet from Angela’s head, and the screen went black.

  Drake sprang out from his chair as he awoke from his induced sleep.

  He ran over to Angela immediately.

  “Is she ok?” He asked.

  She hadn’t awoken.

  “Her vitals are fine.” Al said. “We need to hook her up to life support until she wakes up. If it’s anything like when I went into that memory, it’ll take a few days.”

  “We’re going.” Drake said as he lifted Angela from the chair and walked back to where the Basileus had docked.

  “Drake.” Ryker said. “We need the information in that book.”