Dyed in Red

Eighteen: Embark

"Oh, shut the hell up! Did you hear what she said, or is your head too full of your own bullshit to process anything else?"
~ Ashlynne Nolan (Achleides Nœrlaide)

EIGHTEEN

"Things have worsened since I left," Irinea mumbled.

My imaginary pulse seemed to beat out of my chest. I expected her reaction to be milder than Gersełna's. But still, she sounded borderline monotone as if none of this was any of her business.

"It looks like they set a trap to lure your mother and father," she suddenly added.

"What... do you mean?" I asked.

"The experiments heavily relied on me to rewind time whenever something went wrong. We would use one test subject hundreds of times instead of hundreds of test subjects once. When I left, they needed another convenient ability similar in function."

I realized I was holding my breath. Gersełna blurted, "You mean they intended to capture Mihaela from the start? To use her revival ability?"

"You said Mihaela disappeared around twelve years ago, yes? That should be a few months after I escaped."

I forced myself to sit still. I was familiar with the extent of Ceallakánn and Nœrlaide's cold-bloodedness. Now was the valuable time to ask Irinea questions, not the time to cry. "From what I've experienced with Nœrlaide, I'm guessing that my father was killed as a means to destroy my mother's mental strength? Just a quick tool to make it easy for Nœrlaide to control her?"

"I'm afraid so. The entire incident was no coincidence." Irinea paused. "If what you've told me earlier is all true, it looks like I didn't manage to slow them down nearly as much as I'd hoped."

Gersełna urged, "What did you do?"

"The lowest floor was, or at least used to be the lab. Vampire abilities must be activated there to run experiments, so it was rarely under nullification. Right before I fled, I rewound the time in that room by eight hundred years."

I heard Ashlynne gasp out loud.

"That erased all of the researchers' memories and data stored in files and computers. I was careful to choose a time when Ceallakánn, Nœrlaide, and Anderson were elsewhere. I used the dwindling remainder of my power to go to Hëdvig, and here I am today."

When none of us could react, Irinea continued, "Mihaela Ceallakánn is the perfect replacement. She isn't an Irinea and can't control time, so she doesn't pose a threat. And her power is even more convenient than mine, as I cannot rewind death."

My eyes popped open. Even the progenitor of time manipulation couldn't cheat death. My mom was truly one-of-a-kind. I shook my head, sliding my eyelids shut. Enough reminiscence. "What is their plan?"

"... It's senseless for you to know."

I could feel a vein pop on my forehead. "What do you mean senseless? I need to know why and what they're doing to stop them."

Irinea didn't bother to restrain a scoff. "Give it up, kiddo. Without our abilities, we're nothing against them. Ceallakánn outranks any living being in physical combat; Nœrlaide outranks any living being in intellectual combat; Anderson has their backs like a mountain, and she possesses nearly every ability known to vampirekind. It's impossible."

I exhaled deeply. Okay, problematic. Crysanthė, Reįglii, Gersełna, and Hëdvig had all been so keen to stand on my side that I almost didn't consider the possibility that Irinea would be uncooperative. Almost.