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The sensor that monitored the Eye of Time blinked once, twice, and then a string of numbers burst alive inside the Eye’s lens.

“Dragonfly’s back on line,” Ziyi called from the lab.

My enemy’s enemy is my friend.A gleam flashed in Lucienne’s eyes.Soon I’ll know the connection between the Eye of Time and Ashburn.

“Dark matter is flaring!” a technician called. He read off the coordinates.

“Dragonfly on the coordinates!” Vladimir ordered.

An image of Ashburn astride a transparent motorcycle whisked across the center monitor. Someone in the lab whistled. “What’s that?”

“I’d kill to have a ride like that,” someone else said.

The rider and his machine plummeted toward the snow-capped mountains.

A collective gasp rose in the lab.

Clasping her mouth to muffle a cry, Lucienne stole a look at the Eye. Its color was transforming into a shining crimson, as if sucking blood—Ashburn’s blood.

The Eye of Time must be hunting Ashburn!

What if it harms him?Can I afford to lose the covenant key holder?Lucienne moved her hand toward the pin, about to cage the Eye, but halted.I can’t quit when I’ve just begun.“Only the necessary matters.” Jed had burned that motto in her head.I’ll wait a little longer and see what’s going to happen.If he was meant to be the one, he’d survive. Just like Jed had allowed her to experience jeopardy. “If you’re meant to be the Siren, you’ll live through it.”

Dragonfly’s camera gave Ashburn a close up. Pain twisted his beautiful face. His hand clutched his head; his other hand desperately fended off something invisible. Then, for a brief moment, the motorcycle stopped falling and hovered in a valley between the mountains.

Ashburn is fighting back!A light danced in Lucienne’s eyes.

Ashburn let out a cry of pain, and his ride began to descend again.He’ll crash!Lucienne pushed in the pin, and the Twilight Water sucked the Eye back into its vacuum. It was too late. Ashburn’smachine and its semi-conscious rider plunged toward the shadowy canyon.

Lucienne felt a stab of heartache.

“Send Cam from Hell Gate to the mountains,” she ordered Ziyi. “Have him bring the medic with him.” Then she turned to Orlando. “Take BL7 and bring Ashburn Fury to Sphinxes. Take the medic team with you.”

“Yes, Lucia,” Orlando said, already half-way out the door.

“I can go,” Vladimir offered.

“No, you stay,” Lucienne said.

Vladimir shot her a look of frustration. Lucienne met his stare, when suddenly several voices in the lab shouted, “A third man!”

Lucienne snapped her attention back to the screen.

A bare-chested man in white sweatpants moved at superhuman speed toward a falling Ashburn and his motorcycle. The man appeared to be over seven feet tall. The build of his body looked like a god. He leapt from the mountain and caught Ashburn twenty feet above the ground, just before impact. They were thrown downward toward the valley.

The machine crashed first, ramming into the slope of the gorge, sending rocks and twigs catapulting into the air. The giant man and Ashburn collided onto the ground next to it, with Ashburn landing on top of the man. They rolled after it toward the base of the valley as the machine plunged onto a large rock, a ray of light shooting from it.

The mysterious man veered away from the rock. When he passed it, he grabbed its edge, stopping their fall.

“Ziyi,” Lucienne said, “radio Orlando to abort the mission.”

Vladimir narrowed his eyes. “That dude certainly isn’t a native.”

“We can’t afford to let anyone outside Sphinxes find out about Nirvana and Ashburn,” said Lucienne.

“Run facial recognition, Ziyi,” Vladimir ordered.

“Already running,” Ziyi said. “You know I’m always one step ahead.”