The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles (42 page)
Read The Purification: Book 3 of the Evaran Chronicles Online
Authors: Adair Hart
“It’ll never happen again. I promise.”
“Traveling with Evaran, do you think you could keep that promise?”
Dr. Snowden looked down. “Probably not. Maybe … we should go back home.”
Emily gulped. “This is the only place I feel safe. I’m not ready to leave.”
Dr. Snowden sighed.
Emily got up and walked around the table.
Dr. Snowden stood and hugged her tightly. “I wish this never happened.”
“I know,” said Emily. “But it has. I’ll deal with it.”
“I’m here if you need me.”
Emily’s body shuddered for a moment. “I know.” She stepped back and wiped her eyes, then laughed. “Look at us, crying like babies. Dad would say … well, hell.”
Dr. Snowden chuckled, then nodded. “He would.”
Emily half smiled, then exited the conference room.
Dr. Snowden put a hand on his temple and squinted. A pit had formed in his stomach. The vibrant, bubbly, full-of-life Emily he knew was gone, and in her place was a more serious and guarded version. Nanobot Emily had said she synced up memories, so maybe this change would not be permanent, or he could just be wishing it were not. He decided to visit Evaran on the roof.
Once there, he looked around and realized they were back at the rings of Saturn. Evaran was leaning against the light-blue guardrail on the roof edge. With a sigh, he joined Evaran. “So where, or rather, when are we?”
Evaran glanced at Dr. Snowden. “We are one hour past when we went back in time. It is now 10:00 a.m. on the third of June, two thousand twelve.”
Dr. Snowden shook his head. “If someone had seen us at nine, it would appear to them that we disappeared, then reappeared an hour later, right?”
Evaran nodded. “Correct. How is Emily?”
“She’s okay … I guess,” said Dr. Snowden, glancing at Evaran. “Thought I would never hear myself saying this, but she wants to be alone a lot.”
“Understandable. She went through a life-changing event. It will take her time to sort things out.”
Dr. Snowden nodded. “That’s what she said. I guess I just need to give her space.” His voice wavered. “No need for me to get in her way.”
Evaran scrutinized Dr. Snowden for a moment and then put a hand on his shoulder. “No. She needs you now more than ever, even if she does not realize it. You need to be her anchor.”
“How?”
“Be there for her. If she is training, go watch her. Suggest activities you can do together. Whatever brings her happiness, you need to support it,” said Evaran. He raised a finger. “She has expressed an interest in engineering.”
“What?”
“I suspect it is to understand and build things that she believes will make her safer.”
Dr. Snowden hung his head in his hands. “Go figure.”
“I am helping her learn. You should sit in.”
Dr. Snowden looked at Evaran. “I will.” He cleared his throat. “On another note, I have some questions if you have time.”
“I would not have it any other way,” said Evaran with a smile. “Go ahead.”
“That overlord,” said Dr. Snowden, “what exactly did he do to you?”
Evaran leaned against the guardrail again and looked over the rings. “He took a part of what constitutes me. As a consequence, I am not as physically capable as I was before.”
“Oh,” said Dr. Snowden. “Did he take some of your three-L?”
Evaran shook his head. “No.”
Dr. Snowden narrowed his eyes. “Okay … what did he mean then when he said he could re-form himself, thanks to you?”
Evaran paused for a moment. “Hopefully, you will never need to understand that. What’s important is that he is no longer in this plane.”
Dr. Snowden looked out for a moment. Evaran was keeping these answers close to his chest. He sighed and then faced Evaran. “So the overlord was a Hadryn spawn. Old friend of yours?”
“Not quite,” said Evaran. “The Hadryn are a humanoid race with immense power. They reside in their own plane system, but have somehow crossed over into this one, and more specifically, this plane and this universe. I am not sure what has changed.”
“That guy was crazy. If he’s from outside this plane, why does he care about human supremacy?”
Evaran glanced at Dr. Snowden, then looked out. “The Hadryn form, which you know as humanoid, is one they promote. To them, it is a symbol that even evolution bows to their will. It would appear they fixated on the closest match.”
“Lucky us,” said Dr. Snowden with a smirk.
“Indeed. Their true form is more akin to what you would refer to as a titan, just made of a type of energy instead of flesh and blood. However, when they came to this plane, they had to spawn a form, as I have. Plane’s rules.”
Dr. Snowden narrowed his eyes. “The plane has rules?”
Evaran’s eyes twinkled as he cast a sidelong glance at Dr. Snowden.
“Okay … so if this Hadryn race has a different form outside the plane, what’s yours?”
Evaran smiled. “Not something you would recognize.”
“I feel like I’m playing the question lottery,” said Dr. Snowden with a chuckle. “Just trying to wrap my head around all this. One thing that still puzzles me is that the overlord talked about a female Evaran.”
Evaran nodded. “Your curious nature continues to be a defining trait I like about this evolution of humanity. I am unsure who this other Evaran was, but it was not a past or future version of this form. Something to investigate at a later time.” He looked down and swallowed hard. “I sensed that she suffered horribly at the hands of the overlord before dying.”
Dr. Snowden’s eyes widened slightly. The thought of Evaran dying was a foreign concept to him. Evaran was eternal to Dr. Snowden. He knew Evaran could be hurt, but in the short time he had known Evaran, it just seemed unimaginable. “I suppose we couldn’t go back in time and save her.”
Evaran shook his head. “We cannot. It has been established that she dies, and I must respect that. Time is fluid, like a river. However, I try to avoid making ripples unless absolutely necessary.”
Dr. Snowden smirked. “Paradoxes.”
“Yes.”
Dr. Snowden sighed. “Nothing can ever be easy.”
Evaran nodded.
“I’m just glad Emily’s back, but I do miss Nanobot Emily. She gave her life to save us,” said Dr. Snowden as a lump formed in his throat.
Evaran raised a finger toward Dr. Snowden. “She did, and remember, she was a version of Emily. The one with us now would most likely have made the same decision.”
Dr. Snowden exhaled hard from his mouth as his eyes misted. “I know.” He rubbed his eyes. “Can we choose some place for our next visit that doesn’t involve genocidal maniacs?”
Evaran half grinned. “Of course. Everything is as—”
“I know … I know … as it should be,” said Dr. Snowden, tossing his hand out at Evaran.
Evaran cast a sidelong glance at Dr. Snowden, and then they shared a laugh.
Note from the Author
I hope you enjoyed the third book in the Evaran Chronicles! It had some major events for the series and was fun to write! If you enjoyed the book, and have the time and inclination, a review would go a long way in helping out this new indie author. If you do submit a review, I’ll put in a word to Evaran to rescue you from a prison planet in a pocket universe should you find yourself stranded on one! Want to be notified about new book releases? If so, you can sign up below.
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About the Author
I have been dreaming about fictional worlds since I was a kid. I devoured anything related to fantasy and science fiction. I developed a setting over the last twenty years and struggled to find a medium I could express it in. Several years ago I discovered I enjoyed writing. It is a passion of mine now, and exploring my setting with it has been an awesome journey.
I work in the information technology field and have my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in it. It has helped me to shape some of the concepts I write about. I also enjoy keeping up on futurology and science in general.
I live in central Ohio and enjoy walking, reading, gaming, learning, listening to music, and trying to keep up on my never-ending list of TV shows and movies to watch. If you want to contact me, you can do so on my website at
You can also reach me on:
Dedication
To my grandmother who passed away on March 6, 2016. The world is a bit darker without your light. I will forever treasure the impact you have had on my life and strive to live in a manner that would make you proud.
Acknowledgements
This was a great journey for me, but I wouldn’t be here without the help of others. I would like to thank, in no particular order,
My great editor, Laura Petrella. It is through her that I continue to fine-tune my craft. She is an excellent mentor who guides me in the right direction. I am honored to have her along with me on my journey. Her involvement helps me shape my voice, and we have great synergy together.