The Rise of Onyx Read online

  “No, not entirely. But I know enough.” He brings it toward the time machine, and looks for the appropriate place to deposit it.

  “Griffin, can you hand me that wrench over there, by any chance?”

  Griffin moves to get the wrench, but somehow, it rises into the air on its own. He rubs his eyes, thinking perhaps he just needs some sleep. “Evander, I think I need a nap. I think I’m overtired, because I just saw that wrench levitate.”

  Evander turns his head in that direction, and watches in shock as the wrench floats directly over to him and lands in his hand. “What in the Underworld just happened?”

  Griffin freezes in pure terror. “I… have no idea. Did you just… did you make it float like that?”

  Evander pauses, and puts the uranium down, back into its protective case. “I don’t know… I didn’t mean to, anyway. Did you?”

  “What? How would I have done that?”

  “Well, how did I do it then?”

  Both men are quite spooked at this anomaly that occurred, but that is nothing compared to what is about to happen. They catch their breath and steady themselves, long enough to have a drink of water.

  “Thanks, Griffin.”

  “For what?”

  “The water. You got me a glass of water.”

  “What? No I didn’t. I’ve been right here the whole time.”

  “Well, if you didn’t, then who did?”

  The two of them gingerly turn around to see the pitcher of water moving, seemingly of its own accord, through the air and back to the counter where it belongs.

  “I, think we’re losing our minds, Evander.” Griffin sits down on the nearby chair, resting his head in his hands. “I can’t process this. There’s no sense to be made.”

  Evander opens his mouth to speak, but then it comes to him. “Don’t admit yourself to the psych office just yet. I think I know what happened.”

  “Really? How in the universe are you going to explain this?”

  Evander wastes no time, and picks up the container of uranium on the countertop. “Uranium. It’s radioactive, you know. That’s why humanoids keep it under such strict lock and key in a laboratory.”

  “Okay. And that explains this… how, exactly?”

  “We’ve been affected by carrying around this sample. It hasn’t harmed us, at least I don’t think, anyway. But now, it seems we have acquired some… telekinetic abilities.”

  “Meaning?”

  “I think… when I asked you to grab that wrench, I made it come over to me. And when you started to panic, you caused the water pitcher to come over to us without meaning to.”

  Griffin leans back on a nearby countertop. “So, does that make us… special?”

  Evander shrugs. “That’s one way to put it, I guess.”

  “Are we okay to keep working on this?”

  “I suppose, just be extra careful nothing important accidentally moves or breaks. After we finish working with it, I’d suggest we both head over to the infirmary to be treated for exposure. I wouldn’t want my tools floating around like this for the rest of eternity.”

  “Really? I don’t know, I think it’s kind of cool.”

  “Cool? No, not really. Being a record keeper requires utmost knowledge of where everything is and how to get it. I can’t be accidentally relocating important documents or tools, that would be a very bad thing. And don’t tell anyone about it.”

  Griffin nods, and fiddles with his hair. “Okay, I suppose that makes sense. And, I think I’m ready.”

  “Good.”

  Over much of the next few Earth-equivalent hours, the mechanical genius and the tech prodigy work together to figure out the best placement of the uranium, as well as referring to the latest in inter-dimensional theories and past experiments. After a small eternity of hard work, Evander flips on a switch, and the entire, one-person time machine lights up in a myriad of rainbow colors. The subtle humming of the motor and the various lights sparkle in the relatively dim light of the record keeping office.

  “I think… we did it.”

  ✷✷✷

  “Luna, you did really well. I’m just wrapping up your wrist now. You can look now.”

  She turns her head to see that the doctor has covered her wrist with an almost jelly-like wrap, that seems to comfortably cool the affected area.

  “This protective wrap is somewhat water proof, but also do your best to keep it as dry as possible - don’t trust it too much. The stitches will dissolve on their own, but I’ll expect you to come back in here after your next shift so I can check to make sure everything is healing properly. You’ll be able to use your device once I activate it and take the wrapping off. Oh, and one more thing.”

  The doctor turns around to take a small bottle of pills off of a nearby table. “Here’s some painkiller, in case it starts to hurt a bit once the sedative wears off.”

  Luna looks visibly concerned at his acknowledgment of possible pain that she might feel.

  “There’s no need to be concerned though, this was a very minor procedure. You’ll be just fine, trust me.”

  Luna nods, and takes the small bottle from him. “How many, how often?”

  “Take two every eight or so Earth hours.” Luna nods, making a mental note to keep track by looking at the Earth clock that is kept in the Sorting Room. Time moves a lot quicker on Earth than it does in the Upperworld, so Luna surmises that eight hours on Earth won’t seem very long at all here.

  “Take care, Luna. And remember, come see me after your next shift.”

  Luna nods, and heads back to her pod. She’s feeling quite upset at Vidia for strong-arming her into this, but rules are rules, and as much as she does understand that, it is possible that the overly-zealous sorter may be a bit overbearing at times. Luna rolls her long sleeve over her operated wrist, and marvels at how comfortable the cooling wrap really is over the incision. But then she grimaces at the realization that the doctor gave her painkillers for a reason, and any comfort she feels now could wear off at any moment. She grits her teeth and continues walking, hoping to get her mind off of it.

  On the way to her pod, she sees Evander and Griffin rolling some sort of large, mysterious object on a rolling cart toward the Grand Hall. Curious, but not wanting to seem too nosy, Luna puts off her nap a bit longer, and follows behind them without being detected.

  CHAPTER 14

  Onyx sits on his throne, as exhausted as ever. His hair and eyes are both glowing brighter and brighter every day. And more recently, his face has gotten more and more pale. He still manages to retain a bit of his natural pink complexion, but it looks to be on its way out. Onyx manages to sit up a little more and force a smile when he is met with the two Upperworld beings who might be able to set him free.

  “Hello, Evander and Griffin. How’s the time machine coming?” The two exchange knowing glances and then smile hesitantly at Onyx.

  “Well, that’s the thing…”

  Onyx stiffens, waiting for them to announce some bad news.

  “It’s done.”

  “Seriously?” The glowing portions of his hair flare up, but only slightly. His fluorescent eyes glow a little brighter as well.

  “Seriously! Now we came to talk to you because we’re about ready to send someone to visit your mother. And since the machine appears to be only big enough to send one person, who are you most comfortable sending to retrieve the time coordinates?”

  Onyx’s mouth stands agape, trying to process all that they are saying about being ready to dig into his past. The thought of what they might find makes him feel more than a little uneasy and embarrassed, but it was necessary, and he knows that.

  “It’s up to you guys, I really don’t have a preference.” Evander and Griffin exchange confused glances.

  “Really? Okay. So we’ll post an ad and start interviewing candidates for…”

  “Oh no, not that.”

  They both look back up to Onyx, who clears his throat. “I thought you meant between
you two. It’s gotta be one of you, and not just anyone. It’s… sensitive information. I guess I do have that preference, at least.”

  Evander and Griffin look at each other, and then toward the machine. “Onyx, you should know that we really don’t know what’s on the other side of this. We think we’ll be able to type in the year and geographic area, but beyond that, we aren’t completely certain what would happen to the traveler.”

  “Yes and?” Onyx clearly isn’t getting their point - usually, he’d be quite a bit more sympathetic than this. But right now, he is, understandably, very tired of being stuck on that throne.

  “Well, uh, okay. I guess it’s between us then.” Evander turns to look at Griffin. They look at each other, and then back at Onyx, many times.

  “I’ll go.” Both of them turn around to see Luna walking toward them down the long corridor of the Grand Hall. Onyx’s hair burns even brighter, and his eyes seem to be ready to bore a hole in anything in their sight.

  “Absolutely not!” Onyx doesn’t bother with the pleasantries at this point.

  “I can do it, Onyx. I’m stronger than ever, really.” She approaches the throne, the same way she always has, and plants her feet solidly at its base.

  “This is not up for debate, Luna. Time travel is even more risky than what you’ve done already. I’m not about to risk you getting hurt or… worse.”

  “But Onyx! I want to do something to help you! I hate sitting back, watching you suffer.”

  His eyes soften momentarily at her affections and bravery, but then brighten again. “Well be that as it may, I refuse to take that risk.” He pauses. “Here’s what I propose.”

  Griffin, Evander, and Luna all turn to look directly at Onyx, as his bright, shining blue eyes meet theirs.

  “Griffin, I’d like you to be the one entering my past existence. Evander, as the more experienced one, I want you to monitor him to make sure he is okay and stays calm.”

  “What about me, Onyx?” Luna holds his gaze with the intensity of a thousand stars, awaiting his response with baited breath.

  “Luna, for the first time ever, I don’t want you involved in this at all. There’s just no need, Evander and Griffin will handle it.”

  Both Griffin and Evander are stuck in silence, but they slowly nod their heads and prepare to put their plan into motion. Luna doesn’t give up so easily.

  “Onyx, why? I have more experience on Earth than they do. I can do this!”

  “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Listen to me - if you want a life with me, off of this throne, you cannot and will not jeopardize your own. Do you understand me?”

  Luna nods, with her fists at her side and her cheeks turning red with frustration.

  “Griffin, are you prepared to go now? Is the machine ready?”

  Both Evander and Griffin nod. “Yes, it appears to be ready to work.”

  “Excellent. Evander, I assume you know the time and place, right?”

  “I do - Earth year 1790, New England area of the United States of America.”

  Onyx frowns. “You’ll have to be more specific than that - did you seriously expect to drop him somewhere in that region and have him find my mother completely randomly? No, absolutely not. Figure out where to put him or I’ll have to do it myself, and we both know I really don’t have the energy for that kind of thing anymore.”

  Evander shuffles his feet nervously - he’s not used to Onyx being this testy, but, then again, he supposes anyone would be if their butt was perpetually stuck to a chair draining the energy out of them as well. “I’ll figure it out, don’t worry about it.” He then takes out his tablet and begins typing in his login credentials. “Oh I’ve got it - She’s in Massachusetts. Or, she was in Massachusetts… when she was alive.”

  Onyx grimaces at the thought of his own mother’s death - or, at least, the mother he was supposed to have, had she not ended his life before it even had a chance to begin. He harbored many mixed feelings about the woman, ever since he had heard of her existence.

  Evander begins going to work, inputting the information into the digitized screen that he recently installed onto it. He then hands the tracking / communication wristband to Griffin.

  “Griffin, this wristband will allow me to track you on the screens in the record keeping office. Also, it will work as a back-up so that you can still talk to me even after your embedded device expels itself.”

  “After it does what now?”

  Evander takes a deep breath, and steadies himself by placing a hand on Griffin’s shoulder. “After twenty-four hours on Earth, your embedded device will expel itself from your body. DO not panic, and do not fight it. That is why you have the wristband. Needless to say, that wristband is your lifeline here. That’s how you get back, once you tell me what the time coordinates of the turning point are. I cannot zap you back like the transport room can because this is a whole new venture entirely, and it is quite far out of the transport room’s domain. I don’t want to scare you or anything, but lose the bracelet, and it’s game over. Understood?”

  Griffin slowly nods, but is understandably apprehensive.

  “I know you can do this.”

  They both turn around in response to Onyx’s booming voice. Something about that throne must be amplifying him more than usual. “You can do this because I believe in you. Now, try to take confidence in that, okay? Oh, and when you see my dear mother… tell her to go -”

  “Onyx! That’s so rude…” Luna interrupts his vulgar suggestion, obviously mortified and surprised that he would allude to such a thing.

  He rolls his eyes. “Well, killing isn’t all that nice either, you know!” His attempt to lighten the mood has quite the opposite effect.

  After strapping on the bracelet as tightly as it will go without cutting off circulation, Griffin hesitantly climbs into the time machine and locks the door behind him. After a few labored breaths, Evander hits the launch button on the machine. As it hums to life, the lights begin blinking erratically, until a bright blast of light makes everyone in the room cover their eyes. And then it is done. Evander gingerly opens the door, to find that Griffin is quite gone.

  “It worked.”

  VOLUME TWO:

  CONSTANCE

  CHAPTER 1

  “Fae, ready yourself for school! We are both going to be late.”

  I pull on my own apron and head covering, and then pick up my rucksack from the kitchen table with the graded assignments from the children I teach at the schoolhouse.

  “Constance, just a minute!” My younger sister emerges from our shared bedroom, as my mother enters the kitchen, holding our crying baby brother, Jedidiah.

  “Good morning, mother.” Our dual chorus elicits a calm smile from my mother’s lips as she settles down onto the wooden bench Father built years ago when our family home was built.

  “You are both going to be late - that is unacceptable, especially for a schoolmistress.” Mother’s bright blue, well-meaning eyes mirror my own, but double their intensity.

  “I realize that, Mother, my apologies. We were just about to leave. Come along, Fae.” I give Jedidiah a quick kiss on his soft little forehead, and then follow my younger sister out the door. We make the long trek through the compound, waving to our friends, the Abbotts, as we pass. I try to hide my smile as Finn’s gaze lingers over me probably longer than it should. If the elders noticed, we’d be sternly spoken to. I shake off the slight blush emerging on my face, and follow my sister to the schoolhouse. We make it there just before the students enter the room, taking their places behind their assigned desks and pallets.

  “Good morning students.” I smile at them as they all file into to the small schoolhouse, and then I walk around opening as many windows as I can to let the warm sun in on this beautiful spring morning.

  “Good morning, Mistress Miller.”

  “Today, we’re going to work on our times tables. Who can tell me what five multiplied by seven equals?” Many hands shoot up in
to the air in excitement. The rest of the morning flies by quite quickly, so by the time I realize the students should be dismissed for lunch and recess, I barely notice my younger sister lingering at my desk.

  “Is something the matter, Fae?”

  She shakes her head in the negative, and I notice a small smirk form at the corner of her lips. She pushes some of her medium blonde hair out of her face, and then opens her mouth to speak.

  “I heard Mother discussing something interesting yesterday.”

  “Oh?” I try to hide my amusement as I busy myself with clearing the chalkboard from our arithmetic lesson earlier. Usually Fae loves to share the latest gossip with me, as she’s always been rather precocious despite her meager age of only twelve years old.

  “Mother was speaking with Goody Brewster about some interesting matters.”

  “Such as what?” I finish wiping down the chalkboard, so I move toward my own lunch pail to open the sandwich I had packed earlier. I waste no time in indulging in a generous mouthful of mother’s homemade roast beef and garden-grown lettuce and tomatoes.

  “Such as you.”

  “Me?” My interest is piqued at this point, but I continue eating nonchalantly.

  “Yes you. She finds you to be a favorable match for Silas.”

  And that’s precisely when the roast beef bits fly out of my mouth and onto my otherwise pristinely-kept desk.

  “Silas? Me?”

  Fae nods excitedly. “Isn’t that fantastic! Silas is so nice and friendly…”

  She seems thrilled on my behalf, but truth be told, I still can’t quite swallow either the news she divulged or the bit of sandwich caught in my throat. I start to sputter, and quickly reach for my water jug. I douse my throat with the lukewarm liquid, and then try to process what my sister said to me.

  “Honestly, Fae. I’m not… interested in Silas. I never really have been.” My mind wastes no time conjuring the latest image of Silas from last week’s church fellowship, and all I can see is the rotund, fatty portion of his protruding gut that seems to threaten to bust his clothing at the seams. He always chews with his mouth wide open and is utterly disgusting - but I elect to leave out those insensitive details for my sister’s sake.