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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’s machine 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.”

A beta computer flashed data and images of headshots. A few minutes later, a message appeared on the screen: No record.

“He isn’t in the system,” Vladimir said, his face hardening. “He’s a new threat.”

Lucienne watched Ashburn break free from the bare-chested man. Still dazed, Ashburn sat on the slope, his breathing labored. “What are you doing here?” he asked the man.

The man wasn’t a native, yet Ashburn seemed to know him. Lucienne studied them closely.

“What I came here to do,” the man said. “Protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection.” Ashburn struggled up. “Stay away from me!”

He wants everyone to stay away from him, Lucienne thought wryly.

“We’d better get back to the Rabbit Hole,” the man said. “Only inside it, will you be safe.”

Rabbit Hole? Lucienne narrowed her eyes.

Then she heard a whisper inside her head, Siren, let me out.

The voice was neither human nor machine.

A chill climbed up her spine. She darted her eyes around until they fixed upon the open locket—the silvery eye amid the Twilight Water. The bloody red hue had faded.

Was it using telepathy with her, even in its cage?

There’s only one way to find out. Lucienne considered the Eye of Time for a few seconds, then turned to the screen to watch Ashburn stumble toward his motorcycle, followed by the giant.

No, she wouldn’t let them walk away just like that.

Now that Ashburn had landed safely, she wanted to know what else the Eye wanted from him.

Siren, let me out, the Eye of Time called again.

Lucienne released the Eye.

It came alive instantly. As Lucienne heard its satisfied breath of fresh air, the chill and thrill brought bumps to her skin.

Atop the sensor, the Eye pulsed, blazing brightly.

The sensor responded with rapid flashes, and the quantum computer hummed.

Then mysterious writing appeared on the monitor .

“Copy them down,” Lucienne ordered a technician and looked at the main monitor. On it, Ashburn swayed like a drunkard before collapsing against the slope.

The giant man caught Ashburn.

“The Eye of Time!” Ashburn hissed. His veins throbbed violently on his temples.

He clutched his head in pain. “Leave me alone!” he cried.

“I’ll give you back your data. I’m not who you think I am.

Listen. Listen! I’m not the bloodline of the Exiles.

My double helix isn’t superior. It’s actually inferior.

Just let me go! You have the wrong kid. Agghhh! ”

This time, instead of turning red, the Eye’s lens grew darker. The numbers and symbols on the lens tangled like messy threads.

“It has connected to the TimeDust—the program in you,” the giant man said, picking up Ashburn and hoisting him onto his shoulders. “Resist it, Ashburn!”

“Suddenly you’re the expert at resisting it!” Ashburn said, then screamed into the ether, “Stop, you crazy Eye! I’m not your dumpster. My brain can’t take any more of your garbage. Agghhh!”

Lucienne watched Ashburn’s body flail and bend like a bow at its breaking point, his legs kicking against the firm grip of his protector. Finally, Ashburn stopped begging, but resorted to screaming like a pig in a slaughterhouse.

Lucienne smashed the pin into the locket and shut the charm. She hadn’t realized until now that tears had been streaming down her face. She was ashamed at her cruelty, and at the same time surprised that she wasn’t capable of being more callous than she thought she could be.

Righting the motorcycle—surprisingly intact after the crash—the man put Ashburn down on its back, held its handles, and climbed behind him. The machine roared to life and soared into the sky.

Within seconds, it had reached the Ghost House.

Ashburn lost the ability to block the satellite, so Dragonfly followed the motorcycle as it dashed into the house.

As soon as Ashburn flew in, the door shut automatically.

On the screen, it showed only one infrared form moving inside the arena.

Lucienne widened her eyes. Was Ashburn’s protector a machine, not emitting heat, like his motorcycle?

The single infrared form stopped at the center of the Ghost House, then, suddenly, vanished.

Lucienne and her crew knew they had found Ashburn’s final fortress—the dead zone they had been looking for.

“Analyze the data you collected,” Lucienne told her team. “Ziyi, have you cracked the code to the Ghost House?”

“I have a few combinations for you to use,” Ziyi said.

“Good,” Lucienne said, heading out of the lab.

Vladimir followed her out. “I’m going with you.”

“I’m bringing only a physician with me. I’ll be back in no time.”

“If you feel it’s not convenient for me to go with you, at least take Kian.”

“Kian is heading for the Red Mansion,” Lucienne said, gazing up at Vladimir. “If you’re so worried, I’ll take Orlando.”

“And Duncan, too.”

“Fine, if you’ll behave here.”

“I’ll behave. I always do.”

“No more using anyone as a punching bag.”

“I’ll break no noses, that much I can promise,” he said, reaching out and tracing his callused thumb across Lucienne’s cheek.

Lucienne swallowed, feeling her evening gown shivering against her skin. Vladimir’s touch always had that effect on her. She fought her desperate need to throw her arms around his neck. She had to go now and once again leave him behind.

“And when you come back, I’ll cook dinner at my place,” Vladimir said. “I’ll make sure there are no surprises.”