Adam's Journey (The Aliomenti Saga - Book 8) Read online

  He set the time machine coordinates to go back thirty-six hours in time, to the evening before Genevieve’s murder. He activated the time circuits and watched the cabin’s clear windows snap opaque, his jaw firmly set.

  No, he couldn’t help Elizabeth right now. But he could save her mother. And that’s just what he’d do.

  Even if it killed him.

  ~~~28~~~

  1015 A.D.

  He landed the time machine in the tall grasses beyond the far shore of the Halwende River, a spot he knew the villagers avoided due to the rumored presence of some type of poisonous lizard. He didn’t know if that was true, but it certainly helped his cause. After deploying an Energy Eater inside the cabin and reforming his exoskeleton, he opened the lid and flew out, closed the lid with the remote, and headed up into the air, floating above the trees until he reached the scant opening in the tree canopy above the village.

  He sensed that everyone was asleep and nearly pushed everyone into a forced sleep state to hide his presence when he remembered a slight problem.

  Elizabeth.

  At this point, she’d been Energy activated for nearly a decade. Even if she’d done little to grow her Energy during that time, she’d still notice Energy floating around inside her mind. He frowned inside his invisible cocoon. If she’d been sneaking zirple to her mother as she’d intended when he offered her the powder, though, Genevieve ought to emit some Energy, enough for Elizabeth to notice. Would Elizabeth think any stray Energy wisps she might feel belonged to her mother? Or would she realize “Adam’s friend” had returned for some reason?

  He slid through the tree canopy and floated down to the ground, landing just outside the large Lowell family cottage, unconcerned at the moment about detection. He looked inside the window and frowned.

  He saw only Arthur. No sign of Genevieve or Elizabeth. And no indication that they’d slept in the extra beds in the oversized cabin.

  He nearly smacked himself in the head when he remembered. The growing rift between Arthur and Genevieve—primarily, but not entirely, because of Elizabeth’s treatment orchestrated by Arthur—had led mother and daughter to move to the cottage next door, ironically taking a normal sized cottage for the two of them while Arthur remained in the larger dwelling alone. No, not ironic. Predictable. Another sign of Arthur’s growing and unquestioned power over everyone in the village, the fact that he called home a larger dwelling for his personal use than any other resident.

  Power that he gained without Energy. Adam shivered.

  He floated inches off the ground and peered inside the window of the cottage next to Arthur’s, seeing the familiar hints of white blond and fiery red hair glinting in the faint moonlight. Adam focused his thoughts on a solution to the problem of Elizabeth’s Energy skill, and realized a solution was close at hand. He sent a small swarm of nanos to surround Elizabeth and ordered them to block any Energy from reaching her. Once convinced she could sense nothing, Adam put the entire village into a deep sleep. It would let him move about without fear of waking anyone.

  He sighed, realizing the mistake he’d already made and would continue to exacerbate. He teleported to the time machine, grabbed several Energy Eaters, and teleported back to the village. He set them up around the village at strategic points, reminding himself repeatedly that he’d need to set them off before he left this time.

  Prep work done, he opened the door and slipped inside to fetch the sleeping Genevieve.

  He moved toward her bed, invisible boots grazing the soft dirt comprising the cottage’s floor, making just a hint of noise. But it was enough. To his horror, Elizabeth sat up in bed, instantly alert, looking around for the source of the unusual sound.

  Adam froze. He still had enough nanos surrounding his body to retain invisibility, but he’d still managed to make enough noise to rouse her attention. He had the tiny bots lift him silently off the ground, twisted himself until his body turned parallel to the ground, and floated up until he touched the simple roof.

  Elizabeth’s eyes flitted around, first to her mother—still sound asleep—and then fell upon the open door.

  Adam gritted his teeth at his stupidity, hoping she’d just go back to sleep.

  And that she wouldn’t notice the fresh footprints he’d left on the ground near Genevieve’s bed.

  He swallowed. Quietly, he hoped.

  Elizabeth, muttering about strong breezes and poorly made doors, moved from her bed, shut the door, climbed back under the warm quilt, and, twenty minutes later, was soundly asleep once more.

  Only then did Adam breathe again.

  ~~~29~~~

  1015 A.D.

  Once certain Elizabeth slept soundly, Adam amended the instructions to his nanos. They should block out Energy, light, and sound. He risked a rather awkward experience for her if she woke up—she would think she’d gone deaf and blind.

  He almost sighed out loud. This is what happened in these actions when he didn’t put in the proper planning.

  He floated back to the ground and opened the door. Then he floated to Genevieve’s bed, moved her quilt aside, and picked her up, thankful that he’d already ensured she wouldn’t wake up. He could only imagine how loud she might scream.

  He floated out the door with Genevieve in his arms and rose up through the tree canopy and headed back to the time machine, chuckling. If any of the villagers had been awake at that moment and looked up to the sky, they’d see a sleeping Genevieve flying around in her night clothes. Their reactions would be priceless.

  He let the exoskeleton melt around him and reform into a large platform floating ten feet off the ground. He doubted the veracity of the poisonous reptile rumor, but he couldn’t take any chances. He set Genevieve down on the platform and used the remote to lift the time machine level with them and triggered the security system. The entire exterior body buzzed as electricity coursed through the metal skin for a few seconds.

  If there had been any nasty creatures clinging to the craft’s exterior… well, they weren’t there any longer.

  He opened the cabin top, picked Genevieve up, and set her on the back seat, positioning her comfortably to the best of his ability.

  He pulled the miniature cloning machine out of his bag and carried it out to the platform. The newer devices were much smaller than those he’d operated back in the late twentieth century, and he took several minutes to familiarize himself with the controls. They’d been greatly simplified; he punched the button labeled “Full Body Clone” and watched as a slot labeled “Deposit Specimen Here” opened in the side. The small machine hummed and grew until the top platform, where the cloned sample would grow, was large enough to hold a fully grown adult human.

  Simple enough, then.

  Adam moved back to the time machine and pulled a single golden hair from Genevieve’s head and surrounded it within a cocoon of Energy. The cocoon floated from his hand and bathed the hair sample, destroying any dirt, grime, viruses, parasites, or other undesirable material. He floated the cocoon to the deposit slot and released his Energy, letting the golden hair strand drop into the slot. The slot closed automatically and processed the sample. He checked the battery levels and the computed time remaining for the cloning process. Thankfully, he’d not need to go through any recharging exercises.

  He returned to the time machine and allowed himself a few hours’ sleep while the cloning process ran its course, waking to the sound of a gentle chime.

  He yawned, stretched, and climbed out of the machine over to the platform, glancing at the fully cloned human resting inside the clear cover.

  Then he looked away, surprised to feel his face turn red.

  He’d forgotten that clothes didn’t clone with the person.

  And he needed to get this clone back to Genevieve’s bed. Quickly. Before Elizabeth woke up.

  He turned and looked at the sleeping woman in the back seat.

  There would be no easy way to do this.

  He slid nanos under her nightclothes and
had them form a bodysuit like those worn in the future, mimicking the process on the clone. With both Genevieves afforded at least some modesty, he grimaced and carefully pulled the nightclothes off the original. Then he carried them to the cloning machine and, after ensuring the clone’s sleep centers were activated, he opened the machine, dressed the clone in the nightclothes, and recalled the nanos beneath.

  He sighed.

  Then he cursed silently.

  Her nightclothes were on backward.

  Muttering under his breath, he rebuilt her nano undergarments and reversed her clothing, then set the clone down gently on the floating platform.

  Now satisfied he’d done the job properly, he deactivated the cloning device—which automatically returned to packing size—and loaded it back into his supply bag. He stepped back onto the platform, closed the time machine top with his remote, and picked up the clone Genevieve.

  The platform bent and contorted around him, reforming the exoskeleton around him without letting him or the clone fall. Invisible once more, Adam flew the clone back to Genevieve’s cabin. He checked his nano cocoon around Elizabeth—still intact and reporting that she’d remained asleep the entire time—and he moved back inside, set the clone in the bed, and pulled the quilt over her.

  He lifted the sleep commands from the village before walking around and detonating each of the Energy Eaters he’d planted before. After confirming that the cabin door was closed, he recalled the nano shield from Elizabeth and flew, silently and invisibly, up into a sky showing the first hints of sunlight and the start of a new day.

  He then returned to the time machine, entered using the remote, and floated the machine up into the sky. He had no more need to stay in this time, but could certainly use the extra sleep. His lids were heavy, and he looked at the woman sleeping in the back seat, wondering how she’d react when she woke. Would she figure out how to open the top and escape, leaving two Genevieves running around in this year? He frowned, then implanted a small batch of nanos in her, just as he’d done with his father. If she escaped, he’d be able to find her.

  He drifted off to sleep, content in the knowledge that he’d done the right thing, thinking only of his next stop… when he’d see his father once more.

  And it was only as he lost consciousness that he realized that Genevieve wouldn’t be alive if she escaped the time machine, and that the nano implant was unnecessary.

  He’d forget he’d planted them in her by the time he woke up.

  ~~~30~~~

  1015 A.D.

  If he’d planned this stop out like he had with the others, he would have included something in his notes along the lines of “wake up before Genevieve does.”

  She rewarded his lack of preparation with a fist to the side of his head, startling him awake and piercing his eardrums with a loud, high pitched scream.

  His eyes snapped open, fully alert, and his left hand moved to his jaw, massaging the damaged cheek, reading her intent quickly enough to avoid the elbow flying at the top of his head, sliding to the passenger side of the cabin and spinning around, facing the rear of the craft.

  A pair of enraged blue eyes glared back at him, eyes that did everything to use her rage to mask the fear she felt.

  Another error. He’d put her in a position where she had to feel deeply threatened, and now he’d have to figure out how to get her to trust him despite the less than ideal—no, horrific—situation he’d created.

  She slid across the seat and lunged forward, swinging her fist again. Adam slid across the seat and watched as Genevieve’s momentum sent her toppling face first onto the front seat, waist atop the seat divider, legs flailing in the air. She screamed again, a sound of sheer terror, as she imagined he’d take advantage of her compromised defensive position.

  “Are… are you okay?” He pushed the words into her mind, resisting the temptation to send calming empathic Energy along with the words. He’d messed up, and he felt that he owed it to her to let her determine his trustworthiness on her own. Even if it meant he’d take a few more fists to his face.

  Or elsewhere.

  She flailed around, getting her feet beneath her and her raging, terrified blue eyes facing him. Her cheeks flushed with the strain and the stress. She waved a finger at him, shouting at him in her eleventh century English dialect. His mind translated the thoughts behind the words, but the gesture made her intent clear. “Stay away from me!”

  He held his hands up. “I will.”

  “Don’t hurt me!”

  “I won’t.”

  “Where are my clothes?” She gestured at the sleek white bodysuit.

  “Wh—.” Oh. The clothes. She knew she’d been in bed before… and that meant he’d… He just resisted the temptation to let her punch him again, because he’d butchered this so badly he probably deserved several blasts to his stupid head. “They’re… being used by someone who needs them.”

  He almost winced at the stupidity of that comment. Genevieve didn’t care for it either. “You took my clothes and gave them to someone else?”

  He allowed a small smile to reach his face before realizing that wasn’t helping. He erased the smile. “Not exactly.”

  She stared at him; the strangeness of his answers bringing a grudging curiosity to her general terror. “Where am I?”

  “About a mile from your bed.”

  She held her hands in front of her, balling her fists. “I’ll scream and they’ll come and find me and then they’ll kill you!”

  “You’re free to scream all you’d like, but nobody will hear you but me. I know you find this hard to believe, but you’re in no danger with me.” He held his hands up in a submissive gesture. “I admit I… didn’t plan this well.” Understatement of the millennium, he thought. “I came to save your life, Genevieve. Not hurt you.”

  Her eyes flicked down at her new wardrobe. “You can’t expect me to believe that.”

  He shook his head, but she didn’t notice. She’d turned away from him, trying to find a door or opening through which she might escape, eyes flicking back at him every few seconds. “I don’t. You won’t believe it because I’ve told you. But you will come to understand the truth, and in time what I’m telling you will become completely clear, and you’ll know I’m telling you the truth.”

  “In time?” She stopped trying to push her way through the cabin wall, and now she leaned forward a trace amount. He read that as meaning she’d begun to accept the idea that he’d not hurt her—yet—and thus far had done nothing to suggest he intended her any harm. He didn’t take much solace in that; there was a long way to go to build the level of trust they’d need. “Why not prove it now?”

  He’d sensed her thought before she got the chance to voice it aloud, and nodded. “How?”

  “Let me go.”

  “You’re not a prisoner, Genevieve.” He turned toward the dashboard and leaned in her direction, watching as she tensed. He tapped the button that opened the lid before sitting back. “You can leave if you’d like. Just… be careful.”

  Her eyes had gone wide as she watched the lid of the time machine open. “This is magic. You’ve found magic.” Her eyes snapped back into focus, as if she thought she’d said the wrong thing. Her gaze raked across him, her eyes now more suspicious than angry or fearful. “What is this? How are you doing this?”

  He kept his expression neutral. “It’s just like you said. Magic.”

  “Liar.” She scrambled toward the side, gripped the low wall forming the time machine’s body, and prepared to climb out. “I’m going home.”

  She threw one leg over the side before she looked out more carefully.

  Then she looked down, and her face paled.

  She looked back at him, her expression incapable of expressing her emotions at the moment. He saw a tear leak from her eye, a sign not of joy or sadness, but of too much being revealed too soon.

  She needed to know everything. And the best way for her to learn… was to show her everything.
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  He moved at his highest speed, a blur to her human eyes, grabbing and detonating an Energy Eater to chew away the Energy that hadn’t already escaped the cabin when he’d opened the top. He moved toward her, faster than she could comprehend, throwing an exoskeleton around both of them, sliding a barrier between them so that they could move and talk without physical contact.

  Her eyes stared at him, too shocked at what she’d seen, what she now felt inside the invisible cocoon, to react in any way. Her eyes flicked away once, down at the tops of the trees surrounding her home, and she asked the only question that came to mind. “How… how did we get up… here?”

  He smiled, his eyes twinkling. “Like this.”

  He moved his body as if jumping, and the nanos mimicked the movement, propelling both of them out of the time machine and into the air above the trees before they began falling, accelerating toward the ground of the place she called home.

  ~~~31~~~

  1015 A.D.

  The nanos kicked in, stopping their acceleration and bringing their descent to a controlled stop twenty feet above the ground, leaving them hovering just above the stone ovens at the center of the walled village.

  Genevieve’s screams eventually stopped, the immense oddity and curiosity leaving her temporarily forgetful of her fear of her situation and the strange man dragging her through it. He felt some degree of guilt about the freefall, but he’d assessed her as one possessed of a personality that demanded immense proof of claims, that recovered quickly from shocks. Even as she slept, her dreams showed her skipping out in the middle of the night, leaving Arthur behind, freeing herself. Then Elizabeth’s face came into view, her suffering greater than at present whether she accompanied her mother or not. Genevieve would leave, would take Elizabeth, but her mind had been poisoned, probably by her husband, of the horrors she and Elizabeth would face elsewhere.