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Élisa placed a hand on Riv’s arm, and he wrapped it around her waist, pulling her to his side.

Riv darted his eyes to the other Riders, gazing at Ankis with great concern. ‘What the freak is going on? Will someone tell me?’

Ki’Remi drew to his side. ‘We believe he’s someone we know very well. We need to let Zane do his thing to confirm it.’

The figure in Zane’s arms was spasming. ‘The monks’ psi energy was the only thing keeping him upright,’ Ki’Remi observed.

Zane bobbed his head. ‘It would seem so.’

‘Now let’s see whether I can make this work.’

He placed his hands over Ankis’ broken body, over two sections. One was on his chest, and the other was on the side of his mask, where Riv, peering closer, spotted what looked to be a black spinel gem.

Both were caught in a glitching kinetic reaction that spurred his spasms in a wild frequency.

Zane opened his eyes and let his psionic vision extend into the sky. Wild blue arcs shot out of them, and he tipped his head further back as the lightning-like bolts reached into the air, searching an unseen realm.

‘What are you doing?’ Élisa asked.

Zane turned to her. ‘I’m interrupting the uncontrolled oscillations of his form. By disrupting the vibrations and pausing them at a molecular level. Something I picked up from a Ccyth jewel master, if you can believe it.’

His hands vibrated against Ankis’ body, blurring from view until it slumped in shock into unconsciousness.

Xion huffed, part in shock. ‘Lights off, suckerkinaipunched out.’

‘Wiped for sure,’ Riv murmured.

‘Here we go,’ Zane growled.

The oscillations slowed, and a single face began to form under the twisted mask. His body, too, began to reform as Zane’s hands came into focus.

‘Damn, it’s what I thought.’

With a sigh, the Rider sat back and lifted his hands away, revealing a silhouette that elicited a wave of shock among the Riders.

Most astounded was Riv, who almost slumped to his knees with a cry before faltering towards the slack form.

Killen held his distressed mother back as the Riders surged to the form’s side.

Riv snarled, inconsolable. ‘Nada. It can’t be.’

He got to the side of the unconscious man’s face and touched his forehead. ‘How?’ the silver-haired Rider cried, looking up at Zane.

His brother twisted his lips in regret. ‘I’m not sure. I’ve only had disparate puzzle pieces, most of which I discovered when speaking with the Eden Shard.’

Riv froze, his silver eyes fixated with sadness on the senseless figure.

Disturbed by his anguish, Élisa blurted out. ‘Who is he? Will someone tell us?’

20

The Enigma of The Lost

ÉLISA

Élisa’s question hung in the air for a long moment.

Zane sighed. ‘His name is not Ankis but an anagram of it.’