“Seems a little macabre even for you, Pol. No, I think that I’ll just sit tight here with my coils. Plus, it gives me time to discuss with them all of the ways I can kill you . . . and there are so many delicious ways of ending you, Pol.”

  The statement hits Luci in her gut. She’s antsy and not certain how much longer she’s willing to wait for Cavazos to gesture to her.

  “Talking to your restraints? You can’t be serious about staying in here,” Cavazos argues. “That’s crazy.”

  “If I’m crazy, this place made me this way, old friend.” Malom rattles the coils around his arms for effect. “Remember when we used to play chess through our Viatorio linkups?” He tries to lean forward toward Cavazos, but he can’t move more than a few inches. “You were predictable, Pol. You were then, and you still are now. I know that you haven’t captured Cyphor Gicul, because if you did, you wouldn’t be here. You’d never come here.”

  Luci is frustrated that Cavazos is allowing this man to dominate the interrogation. She wants to scream at him to bring her in to confront this jerk.

  “Pol, you can still do what’s right, despite everything between us,” Malom says. “Macer has to be stopped, and you can play a key role in that. You have access to him.”

  He sounds so sincere that Luci wonders what this madman thinks he knows about what’s going on in Relicus City.

  Cavazos scoffs. “You’ve lost what little thinking capacity that you had before coming in here.”

  “I have proof of what and who he really is and what happens if we don’t stop him.”

  “Proof? What proof?” Cavazos scoffs, shaking his head. “I don’t see any such thing in here. You have no proof of anything.”

  “I sent it back to Relicus City when I was captured by Macer’s goons in the future.”

  “The future? Then where is it? Where’s this proof? Regardless, Hi no Kawa can’t be avoided. You can’t just reset the world without consequences.”

  The image of Ish’s face flashes across Luci’s mind. She wishes he was here right now, or better yet, she wishes she was with him and far away from both of these madmen.

  Malom answers, “It kind of sounds like something Macer would’ve said—Waleen Macer, that is.” Even with the peculiar effect on their voices, his sarcasm is unmistakable. “You have no idea what he’s up to, do you? He is still chancellor, right? Or has he set himself up as pharaoh or something while I was away? That’s his end game to all of this, but you can help us stop him before it’s too late. Set me free and join us. I’ll show you everything.”

  Luci has heard enough and waves to get Cavazos’s attention. She points at herself and mouths the words, “Bring me in.”

  Malom must see Cavazos looking at her, because he says, “By the way, I have no idea how long you’ve imprisoned me, but it must’ve been long enough to solve what made your cybo henchmen stink so bad. I know you’ve got one behind me. I heard it come in with you.” He makes a comically long sniff at the air. “I can’t smell that unmistakable odor that they used to have. Is it a member of Relicus the Great’s new military?”

  Luci stiffens and takes a deep breath as Cavazos finally motions her over.

  “Actually, my dear old friend, it’s not a cybo. In fact, it’s the person who was shocking you in the foyer before we came in.”

  She’s surprised there’s no vomit running down the front of his white shirt until she realizes the room reset the moment they entered. Malom has a beard stubble growth of a week or so that matches the salt-and-pepper locks of hair. His intense blue eyes sparkle like perfectly mounted sapphires. He studies her, and then he bursts into laughter, displaying perfectly aligned teeth a size too large for his mouth.

  His delight infuriates her, easing some of the guilt she felt at shocking him. “What’s so funny?” She crosses her arms tightly. “Yeah, ha ha, jerk,” she shouts, but the volume doesn’t change. “The woman you killed is back to confront you, you murdering bastard.”

  He regains his composure. “I’m sorry, Luci. I can’t believe he brought you here to me. It only proves that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Pol, there’s still time to change sides.”

  She fights the urge to step backward when he says her name with such familiarity. She regroups and points defiantly at him. “Yeah, I bet you didn’t expect to see me ever again.”

  “Well, you got me there,” he says, still smiling. “Welcome home, Luci. I left the place exactly like you had it.” He shifts his gaze to Cavazos. “Although she may have been in one of the adjoining chambers. Pol, do you recall which one you put her in?”

  Luci spins to look at Cavazos. “What’s he talking about? What does that mean?”

  He shakes his head, flicking his hand. “He’s lying. He’s just trying to pit us against each other, that’s all. Don’t fall for his lies. Don’t let him inside your head.”

  She studies Cavazos before turning back to Malom. She’s got to play through the ruse; she can’t allow herself to be distracted. There’s too much at stake here. She shifts her weight from one leg to the other. “You’re surprised to see me? You know what me being here means. Like Security Minister Cavazos said, Cyphor Gicul is in custody.”

  Malom shakes his head slowly, making a clicking sound with his tongue. “The very fact that you are here, Doctor, assures me that my friend Pol is lying. You don’t have Cyphor Gicul.” He turns to face him again. “In fact, like I said, him bringing you to me is quite possibly the dumbest thing he’s ever done.” He winks at her. “And that’s saying a lot, because he was behind some very inept decisions when I served with him on the council.”

  Without warning, Cavazos strikes Malom, causing Luci to jump back. A mix of emotion floods her mind; she wants to scold Cavazos for hitting a defenseless prisoner while part of her wants to slap Malom too for his smugness.

  He tongues his split lip, dribbling blood onto the white of his garment for a tense few seconds.

  “They say you murdered me,” Luci says. “Why’d you do that?” Her fingers curl and lock into fists. “Why did you kill me . . . the other me, the older one?”

  He glances over at Cavazos and then back at her. “Do you know who G.K. Chesterton is?” His Viatorio catches the light.

  Luci’s certain the device is deactivated in this time loop environment. Even if it wasn’t, he can’t reach it to press it anyway. “Just answer me.”

  “Chesterton said that idolatry is not merely the setting up of false gods, but also setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or economic law when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.”

  Luci glances at Cavazos, wondering if he’s referring to New Australia. She takes an uneasy step up to Malom. “Answer me. Why did you do it?”

  “We’ll get to all that, but first tell me, Luci, did he throw a bag over your head and bring you here like a hostage or did he give you more like the grand tour and show you the works?” He pauses and looks up at her in a way that makes her feel uneasy. They’re supposed to be getting answers from him, not the other way around. “Did you see everything, my dear Luci G?”

  Something is off about the question. She looks to Cavazos, who’s shaking his head. “Enough of all of this, Malom. Do you accept my offer or not? You tell us what you know about Gicul’s plans and I’ll take you out of here.”

  Malom looks back at Luci. “You know, I’ve spent a lot of time with these coils around me. They’ve become my only companions for the duration of my stay here. I’ve even taken to naming them and giving them personalities.”

  Luci subconsciously steps back, absorbed by the intense look in his eyes. “Luci, I’ve given every one of them the name of a friend or family member.” He wriggles his hands and legs, rippling the coils for dramatic effect, and chuckles.

  She shoots a nervous look back to Cavazos. This is completely going off the rails, but he gestures to her to keep the lunatic talking. She can’t imagine how pursuing this line of conversation will lead to anything, but Cavazos knows him better than she does. “Yeah, so you name them. Who cares?” she asks sharply. “So this little piggy went to the market, and this little piggy stayed home . . . so what?” She forces herself to close the space between them to show strength, though all she wants to do is run from this guy. “For the last time, I want to know why you killed me and where Gicul is and what he’s doing. I don’t really care about your coils.”

  As if he hasn’t heard her, he says, “See the sixth coil from my left hand? That one’s you, Luci G. Do you want to know who the coil next to it is?”

  Her fists clench, and she fights down the nausea swimming in her belly. “I thought you only named friends and family.”

  He nods. “This is true. The one next to the one named Luci is ‘Newt.’ Not really a person, Newt, but I made an exception and named it after an old-world animal.” He studies her again.

  She’s silent while wishing she had a better poker face. It feels like the wind has been knocked out of her. She thought she was prepared for anything, but how this man knows such an intimate detail about her childhood floors her.

  “You remember that animal, right? You remember . . . Newt?”

  Her entire being stiffens as she tucks her hands into her armpits.

  “What is it?” Cavazos demands of her in an anxious voice. “What’s he talking about? Is it code for something?”

  Luci looks down. “No, Newton . . . Newt was my cat when I was in foster care.” Her head is spinning. She never expected this man—her killer—to know anything as intimate about her like this. She has to keep it together. They have to regain control of this interrogation.

  Malom continues slowly and deliberately, “After your accident on the bridge, you lived with the Joyners for a time, I believe.” He adds delicately, “You named the animal after Isaac Newton, right?”

  She can’t believe what she’s hearing. The room won’t stop spinning, and despite her better judgement, she plays into his hand, asking, “Why would I have . . . the other version . . . why would I have told you that?”

  His response flows quickly like a tactical assault of information. “But you did. You told me that the animal went missing, and you, my dear Luci, as a fourteen-year-old girl, were afraid and heartbroken. You said that you posted fliers all around the neighborhood, even went door to door alerting everyone to the creature’s disappearance. After a day or so, you were convinced that Newt had been attacked by some other animal or it had been killed somehow.”

  She’s stunned.

  “This is pointless, Roderick,” Cavazos cuts in. “Do you accept my offer or not? We’re running out of time here.”

  Malom continues willfully, “Newt wasn’t dead, though, and Newt wasn’t a he. Newt was female, and it—she—had been hiding in the backyard—”

  “She was delivering kittens,” Luci says, finding the stagnant air even more difficult to breathe. Remembering the sterilization side effect of every leap skip she’s taken, she answers between gritted teeth, “Delivering her babies.”

  “Hidden in plain sight the entire time,” Malom finishes, blue eyes smiling.

  She manages to recover partial composure. Taking a deep breath, she asks, “I suppose I told that to you before you murdered me?”

  “You did tell me about that and your love of animals,” he says stoically.

  She presses her teeth into her bottom lip, forcing herself to focus. “You still haven’t answered my question. Why was it necessary to murder me? Did Gicul order it?”

  “One of my favorite passages in Shakespeare is when Ophelia says in Hamlet, ‘We know what we are, but not what we may be’. The question is, do you know who you are, Luci? Who you truly are?”

  She inhales sharply. “I know who you are and that you want to destroy Relicus City, and that’s all I need to know.”

  “Luci, I want to save the world. These men that you’re entangled with are ten thousand times more dangerous than I could ever be to you.”

  “But you were dangerous enough to kill her.” Cavazos waves his plump index finger in Malom’s face. “That’s quite enough talk of the words of Shakespeare and pre-Hi no Kawa creatures.” His face is bright pink. “Time’s up. Tell us where Cyphor Gicul is and stop playing around. This is not a game, damn you!” A burst of spittle erupts from his mouth, though the volume of his words remains the same. “Over six million lives are at stake. Tell me where Gicul is!”

  Malom leans in, allowing his chest to brush against the other man’s extended finger. “Ah, but it is a game, Pol, only the side I’m playing for is fifteen hundred times six million. When we win—and the fact that you’ve come here today tells me we must be getting close to winning—all of this will go away, and the world will at least have a chance of not experiencing a Hi no Kawa, despite what you say about taking drops of water from the sea. We will win for the past and the future.”

  “Win by killing me,” Luci says, feeling tears welling up.

  His face changes to a solemn expression. “You have to trust me that something bigger is happening here, something better than Macer’s plan for the future.”

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Cavazos says, pointing at the counter in the sealed spot where the entrance materialized a few minutes ago. “We’re almost out of time.”

  “Can we go out and come back in?” she asks, irritated that Cavazos has allowed Malom to hijack this interview. “He hasn’t told us anything of use.”

  “You’re wrong,” Malom says, shaking his head. “I’ve told you everything.”

  “We can go out and let the chamber reset,” Cavazos says, making his way to the wall with the large blue digital numbers counting down. There’s under two and a half minutes remaining. “It only takes a few minutes, and then we can return to continue.”

  Luci hurries to follow in Cavazos’s slow, waddling footsteps.

  Even though his back is to them, Malom still speaks. “Pol, you know history has seen plenty of good leaders and bad leaders. The same with rulers, presidents, pharaohs, monarchies. They all share one thing in common, a common denominator that no matter how despicable or tyrannical a regime may be, there’s always one saving grace. Care to guess what that is?”

  The heavy man turns to look back at him. “What’s that?”

  Luci is antsy as the numbers on the wall count down. “Save it until we come back in,” she urges, giving Cavazos a mild nudge. “He’s trying to trick us into being trapped in here with him or something.”

  He flicks his hand away from her dismissively. “What’s the thing rulers share in common?”

  “They always—and I mean without fail—they always die off. Eventually, social systems self-correct. It may take a few generations after someone shouts ‘let them eat cake’ or something idiotic like that, but eventually, they even out, and life is bearable again.”

  The countdown displays 126 seconds.

  “Come on,” Luci pleads.

  Malom continues, “But what if the bad weren’t removed from power? What if they didn’t die off? What if their rule of tyranny lasted forever? That would be a pretty hopeless existence for those who were not in power.”

  Cavazos presses his Viatorio, and a blue rectangle the size of a door reappears on the white wall to the left of the digital numbers. “Well, Malom, I’d recommend that one be on the side of the ones with the power rather than the bourgeoisie.”

  The opening finally materializes for them to pass through. Not that Luci ever would expect him to be a gentleman and allow her to go through the doorway first, but he moves so slowly, it peeves her.

  A flood of relief fills Luci’s heart as she exits the chamber into the longchair area.

  Malom calls from within, his voice still sounding close in Luci’s ears, “Release me and I’ll take you both to Cyphor. No churka weapons, no cybos, just the three of us, and I can show you both what’s really happening here and in the future.” He pauses. “For you to make an informed decision.”

  Cavazos pauses and turns to look back inside the room and then to Luci beside him. His expression of frustration and contempt for her is undeniable, and she resents it. It was a stupid plan for him to bring her here. She’s about to remind him that she did everything he told her and it’s not her fault. He should’ve known that Malom wouldn’t be jolted to slip up at the sight of her. It’s his miscalculation, not hers.

  Before she can argue this, Malom calls to him again.

  “Pol, you and I have been at odds since we first met, serving alongside each other on the Directorate long ago. I’m asking you one last time to abandon your pride, let go of any past conflict between us, and let’s start over. I’m offering you a chance to do the right thing here for the human race.”

  “Look around, Malom. You’re not in a position to offer anything to anyone. I gave you a chance to end this here, and you refused.”

  “You’re making a big mistake. You made a mistake in bringing her here, and if you don’t agree to help us right now, I will kill you the next time I see you. I promise I will, just on principle.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think so,” Cavazos answers, and with a press of his Viatorio, the doorway turns into a wall with a neon red rectangle in its center.

  “What did he mean about me being here before?” Luci asks. “Was the older me put in Carcerium?”

  “What? Oh, that. That was nothing. He was just trying to distract you.”

  She recalls Cavazos’s claim that he’s never lied to her and wonders if that’s still applicable as she searches his eyes.

  He looks away, making his way to lean against the longchair. “He was lying. What do you expect?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t seem like he was lying, and what was that stuff about the future?”

  “He said that he named one of the coils after you. The man is insane. If he seemed sincere, he probably was, because he’s obviously out of his mind.”

  Luci considers this. “How long until we can go back in?”

  “His Carcerium chamber reloads in two or three minutes or so, and then we can—” His normally pink, ruddy face turns white as a sheet.

 

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