BEATRICE:

  Jackie focused on the fireplace in front of us; leg shaking under her hospital gown, hair a mess, with the energy of a drug addict looking for a fix.

  “I’m surprised you’re Grace’s daughter.” My blood pressure spiked. They hid Jackie to protect her from me, and this is how she turned out?

  I gently touched her knee to stop the incessant bouncing.

  She stiffened and stayed focused on the flames she said would take us into the Slipstream.

  I endured years of searching, unraveling threads of evidence, only to come up empty-handed every time. I finally found what had eluded me for decades.

  Jackie exhaled her wrecked nerves.

  Grace should be ashamed of what became of her offspring.

  Jackie’s resemblance to Grace was well-hidden under her matted ponytail and dirty janitor jumpsuit. Her initial blood test looked promising, but her knowledge of the Slipstream made the connection complete.

  She was clueless, but her intense concentration on the flames was admirable.

  “See you on the other side, Mrs. Claudi.” Jackie’s eyelids fluttered closed, and her head fell to the pillow.

  She lost consciousness and entered the Slipstream, leaving her physical body behind.

  I lifted her hand, and it fell onto the couch, limp.

  “Wow, she actually did it.” I chuckled, now aware of fire portals as an entryway into the Slipstream. Previously known methods were much more extreme, evidenced by Feraz’s stunt in the lab.

  “Alpha, take another blood sample while she’s out.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Stay close and wait for my next command.”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Here we go.” I rolled my shoulders, took a deep breath, and stared into the fireplace.

  Nothing happened.

  I wafted away Jackie’s sulfur scent and shifted in my seat.

  After rubbing my eyes, I looked into the fireplace. As I watched the flames dance, my jaw fell slack. Their performance delighted and entranced me. The sparks’ rhythmic movements lit my soul and silenced my mind.

  In a lucid haze, the sizzle of the flames echoed around me.

  My eyes rolled back as I slipped from the physical to meet Jackie in the Slipstream.

  Unlike her sloppy entrance, I gracefully took my body with me. Amateur!

  Jackie and I stood together in the void.

  “Well done, Jackie. We’ve arrived.”

  She blushed.

  Sparks rained around us, filling the Slipstream with probabilities.

  A stream opened near Jackie. She stared into a memory of Grace leaving her with that janitor, Baxter.

  Toddler Jackie sobbed, kicking and screaming, begging her mother not to leave her behind.

  Grace covered her tracks well; I’ll give her that. Who would have guessed her child was with someone who cleaned the toilets?

  Being Grace’s child should have provided a life of luxury, not struggle. Why would Grace abandon Jackie, leaving her to fend for herself in this cruel game of Dusters and Flyers?

  I put my hand on Jackie’s ethereal shoulder for comfort. “I’m sorry, Jackie… Cooper. That must have been difficult, being abandoned by your mother. You’re not the first family member Grace turned on.”

  Jackie wiped her tears, but more came. She didn’t have the guts to look me in the eye.

  “Let me show you the truth about your mother.” I waved my hands with an exhale.

  The pitiful number of portals Jackie had access to swirled away, replaced with sparks under my control. I shuffled through the portals to find the perfect moment.

  I had to be strategic about what to show Jackie so she could understand the complexity of the situation. Things could still work out for her if she played her cards right.

  “Let’s go back to Bennu Island,” I said. “Where did you leave off?”

  “The villagers were storming the complex,” Jackie said in a small voice.

  I nodded. “It’s a painful time to revisit, but crucial for you to see the devastation, the true cost of Grace’s idiotic actions.”

  I bit my quivering lip. This was the hardest stream to enter. The one I kept locked away deep inside.

  I concentrated my efforts and called that portal to me.

  One could run through the Slipstream to find key moments, but my skills were more advanced, enabling me to call forth sparks on demand.

  Jackie nodded, admiring my skills. “Wow, you’re good.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Who had shown her the Slipstream in the first place? I had an inkling, but would get confirmation in time.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Follow me, Jackie.”

  The desired stream opened itself to me. I hesitated at the threshold, my stomach giddy. I steeled my nerves and dived inside.

  Jackie followed, but stayed on the outskirts as a passive observer.

  She knew how to watch, but did she engage and manipulate? More details I’d surely get out of her when the time was right.

  I fell deeper into the past stream; Bennu Island, the night the villagers stormed the complex, the day I lost everything.

  I knew I’d need to face it again someday.

  “Here we are.”

  Villagers bled onto the front steps of the Camp Claudi complex on Bennu Island.

  The guards shot anyone not smart enough to flee.

  Advancing savages bludgeoned patrolmen in return, collapsing their skulls with primitive weapons.

  Order needed to be maintained.

  “This is awful.” Jackie dryheaved. “There goes my supper.”

  “Yes, but the real story isn’t out there. It’s inside.” I flew over the carnage and settled onto the impressive balcony overlooking the volcano.

  Mark Claudi sat at a table, tinkering with his drone.

  Alpha was basic in those days, with no attachments built into its signature eye-like structure yet.

  Mark was exploring appendages to give it a broader scope of duties.

  Presently, he attempted to attach a gun to its faceplate to support the guards against the restless natives knocking at the door.

  His musky cologne made my chest swell.

  Mark was handsome as ever in his signature polo shirt and boat shoes. Broad shoulders, chiseled cheekbones, striking blue eyes. Perfect in every way, not to mention his genius.

  Unable to get the gun to adhere to the drone, he pushed it away with a huff, his lips curling. He stood, pushing his chair back with a clamor.

  The gun dangled half-off the table, half connected to Alpha.

  Mark walked to the balcony’s edge and looked into the massive volcano below. He inhaled its power as his own.

  He gazed at the castle tower, still half built. Despite the minor snag with the drone, his accomplishments pleased him.

  Years of struggle and sacrifice were about to pay off.

  But then two guards burst into the office adjoining the balcony, with Grace and that village boy under their control.

  “Sir, we caught Miss Grace with this punk in the fray.”

  “Bring them to me,” Mark said without facing them.

  The guards pulled Grace and Zayne, I believe his name was, out onto the balcony. He was handcuffed.

  Gunshots sprayed in the distance.

  Grace called out, “Father, where have you been? I thought someone had kidnapped you.”

  Mark turned and nodded to the guard, who released Grace.

  She ran to her father and wrapped her arms around him.

  Grace looked at Mark with watery eyes. “I was worried sick about you. I haven’t seen you in days, and I thought…”

  “Shhh.” Mark wiped away her tears. “I was working on something extremely important. It’s time to reap what we sow.”

  “You didn’t even say goodbye,” Grace whispered. “And Mother? Is she alright?”

  Mark replied, “I’m sorry, Grace, but I thought you were mature enough to be on your own for a few days. Perhaps I was wrong to think you’d outgrown your naivety. Hmm?”

  “Well, I…” Grace fumbled for an answer.

  “How did you get involved with… this boy?”

  Mark and Zayne looked at each other with recognition.

  “Dad, this is Zayne.” Grace glanced at her new friend, who stood in a battle stance under the guards’ control.

  “People shouldn’t be in cages, Father.” Tears streamed down Grace’s face as she struggled to deliver those words to Mark.

  “My dear, this world is too complicated for your sensibilities. There’s a lot you don’t understand, but it’s okay. I’m here now. I’ll always be here to fix your mistakes.”

  Mark hugged Grace and nodded to the guards, who pulled Zayne toward the door.

  The boy struggled, defiant and strong.

  “Don’t hurt him!” Grace called out. “Father, please tell me. What did Zayne do to deserve that cage? Maybe he can make things right somehow.”

  Zayne screamed, “I was taken.”

  The two guards struggled to pull Zayne off the balcony. He was almost as strong as both men combined.

  “Grace, please,” Zayne called out as they dragged him away.

  He was desperate to stay with her, but in her father’s commanding presence, their connection crumbled.

  Still, Grace tried to wield what little authority she still had. “Let him go, Father.”

  Mark smiled. “Forget about him. I have a surprise for you, Grace. You won’t believe this.”

  He strolled past Zayne and the guards into the complex.

  Grace yelled to the guards, “Stop! Keep him here. Let my father and I come to a solution.”

  The guards let up, and Zayne collected his strength.

  Mark emerged onto the balcony, pushing his wife’s wheelchair.

  Grace ran over for a hug. “Mother, where have you been? I thought I lost you, too.” Her forehead wrinkled with concern.

  Jackie called out from the edge of the Slipstream. “Wait, is that… is that you in the wheelchair, Beatrice?”

  I stood and kicked that godforsaken wheelchair that had kept me prisoner for years.

  Stronger than ever and excited to show it, I grabbed the wheelchair and threw it over the balcony into the volcano.

  Grace’s mouth hung open. Then it contorted into a scowl.

  Instead of being excited about her loving mother’s cure for paralyzing muscular dystrophy, she was jealous.

  “Mother, how?” Grace asked. “I don’t understand.”

  She looked as if I had taken her credit cards away. Perhaps she preferred to be the sole recipient of Mark’s love. Being adored by a man like that was intoxicating, after all.

  I explained, “Your father has developed an astounding cure for my muscular dystrophy using those disgusting bird eggs from this miserable island. I didn’t think it would actually work, but I feel better than ever.”

  I wrapped my arms around Grace to celebrate this monumental occasion.

  She pulled away, shaking her head.

  I rubbed her arms. “Honey, we can all go home. Get back to normal. Can you imagine the gala we’re going to throw? A celebration is in order!”

  I squeezed Grace tight.

  It killed me not to hug my family for all those years. I was a prisoner in my body, trapped as a passive observer.

  Instead of embracing me back, Grace pulled away again.

  “The serum…” she whispered.

  She looked at Zayne and then back at me.

  That little ingrate pushed me. “You used Zayne and… and how many other boys from the village? You experimented on them. You kept them in cages.”

  I gasped at her insolence.

  Mark pleaded, “Don’t be ridiculous, Grace. Of course, we’ll make things right. Retribution payments, schooling, jobs, you name it. We’ll take care of the boy. I promise.”

  I approached Grace with open arms. “Do you realize how many lives we can save with this serum? Think of all the people we can help. It’s a miracle drug. Your father is a genius.”

  Zayne yelled, “Look what you did to me.”

  He screeched like a Bennu bird, making my skin crawl.

  Zayne ripped his hands apart, snapping the handcuffs off his wrists with ease. He flexed his sculpted muscles. His veins glowed under his thick skin.

  The guards ran like cowards.

  With another flex, Zayne’s flesh lit on fire. He roared like an animal and stretched his powerful body. Two fiery wings grew from his arms and extended down to the floor, massive and glowing.

  We had created a monster.