The Last Mystic by Susan Kaye Quinn

Author:Susan Kaye Quinn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Twisted Space LLC

Eleven

The empty rental bodyform lies on the sleeping mat next to mine.

Everyone’s cleared out of the tent except Leopold, Lenora, and me.

“He’s going to be scattered.” I grimace at the bodyform then look to Lenora. “But Marcus has a backup, right?” He’s trapped… somewhere. We last saw him in Hypatia’s citadel when we were trying to stop Augustus, who we’re pretty sure broke Marcus’s mind apart for information on the Resistance. Triggering his backup might be the easiest way to bring him back together. Technically, that means killing him—but I’m sure the scattered state of his mind is nothing short of pure, constant torture, so I’m looking at that as mercy.

“He had a backup,” Lenora says, expression flat. Her bodyform has gone neutral gray, which means she’s hiding a whole lot of emotion behind those few words.

I frown up at her from where I’m seated on the mat. “Wait, what? I thought his backup was in an impenetrable citadel.”

Lenora glances at Leopold, but he simply shrugs. “He should know.”

“Know what?” I swear… ascenders and their secrets. Although I can see it from Leopold’s perspective now, echoing up from the deep well of his memories: communicating with humans is tedious. Rather than a microburst of data transmission—sounds, images, instantly consumed stories, fully formed thoughts—there’s an effort required to simply slow down to verbal communication, maybe a few gestures, the occasional non-verbal skin response to add nuance. It’s like chiseling in granite.

“Things have considerably worsened in the ascender world,” Lenora says.

“Just since last night?” I ask.

“Just since this morning,” Leopold replies.

I’ve only been up for an hour, maybe two. My stomach is grumbling from the lack of breakfast—I need to get one of those ration packs from my mom. “Worse how?” I ask, rubbing a hand across my forehead and wondering if I should eat before attempting this.

“I tapped into Orion briefly,” Leopold says. “But it was enough to realize my resurrection—and then disappearance—truly tipped the balance toward Hypatia-Diocles. A majority of Orion has now voluntarily joined their cult, eager to transcend this mortal plane, as I apparently have rather convincingly demonstrated is possible.”

I cock my head. “Could you go back? To the other side, I mean? And would you, if you could?”

“I have not attempted it.” He shrugs. “As long as I’m needed here, I’ll be staying with you, Eli.”

“Thanks.” I honestly wouldn’t blame him for punching out and returning to that serene temple he conjured in his version of nirvana.

“What’s important,” Lenora says, her skin still gray, but her tone definitely agitated, “is that Hypatia-Diocles is moving forward. With Orion behind them, they have permission to proceed with whatever experimentation they wish. They’re rewriting the rules in a way that hasn’t happened since the first Singularity. Anyone who hasn’t voluntarily joined the cult is being brought to the front of the line for experimentation.”

I lean back. “That sounds bad.”

“It’s very bad.” Lenora is visibly upset, even with the lockdown on her skin tone hiding some of it.

“The crackdown on legacies was just the beginning,” Leopold explains.

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