Darkfeather by Andrew Demcak

Author:Andrew Demcak [Demcak, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult
ISBN: 978-1-64080-863-8
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2019-02-05T05:00:00+00:00

“IT REALLY is a cube,” Lumen said as she examined the shiny onyx object in her palm. It was a little bigger than regular gaming dice, but all black, engraved with unusual hieroglyphics, and it felt strangely heavy. She walked around Cedric’s dorm room and then sat on his bunk. “How does it work?”

“The tech wrote down the instructions here,” Cedric said and handed Lumen a folded piece of paper. “But we have to get it back to him before tomorrow.”

“Can’t you just touch it and know how to use it?”

“Not always,” Cedric said, sitting next to Lumen. “My power lets me see all the people who have encountered it: where they were, who they were with, what they were thinking or saying, that sort of thing.”

She nodded and unfolded the paper. “Huh, it says here that there isn’t much difference between an alien and a human brain. Both have the same basic parts and functions. The Cube sends a short musical frequency into the brain that stimulates the amygdala, the nucleus accumbens, the ventral tegmental area, the cerebellum, and the pituitary gland. Basically, it activates all the pleasure producers at once.”

“That’s wild!”

“It sounds like having an orgasm,” Lumen pointed out, and then—remembering she was sitting on a bed in the dorm room of a handsome young man who she had just seen naked—blushed. “I mean, it sounds like the same bodily response. You know what I mean.”

Cedric grinned.

Lumen continued. “You hold the Cube in your right hand and then press it up against your forehead for a few seconds.”

“Like Homer Simpson?”

“What?”

“D’Oh!” Cedric said and slapped his forehead.

“Yeah,” Lumen said and tittered. “Just like Homer.”

“You go first,” Cedric said.

“What? Why me?”

“You’re already holding it.”

“But you’re the one who wanted to try it in the first place,” Lumen said. “Did they say anything about its side effects?”

Cedric was silent for a moment, and then Lumen realized something. “Wait, you stole this from the lab, didn’t you? I can see your thoughts, Cedric, even with the cuffs on. They didn’t let you borrow it.”

“Does it matter? We’ll have it back before they notice.”

“I guess it doesn’t, but are you sure it’s safe?”

“If it was really dangerous, would they just leave it lying around?”

“You’re probably right,” Lumen said and smiled wryly at Cedric. “Okay, I’ll go first.”

“Cool!”

Lumen positioned the black cube in the middle of her right hand. It glinted in the fluorescent light. She brought it slowly up to her forehead and pressed it there. The Cube felt warm against her skin. It vibrated faintly. Lumen pushed down against it and waited. She felt a pulse of an unknown sensation, then a tickle that made her want to sneeze. And then it rushed into her. Lumen’s ears sang with a resonating drone like the sound of a tambura in an Indian raga, and her vision filled up with blue-white light, shooting stars, and dancing fireworks. She tasted ripe watermelon and smelled dewy honeysuckle. Her skin rippled with thousands of tender caresses, stroking and touching her.

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