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“Where is this chamber?” Max asked. “What’s it called?”
Roark kept his eyes on Darien, refusing to look at his daughter’s boyfriend. “The Fleet calls it the ‘Reverse Chamber’. You would need to go to Caliginous on Silverway, on Yveswich’s neutral ground, and request Chamber Number Five.”
Request. Darien wouldn’t request anything, he’d fucking demand it.
Caliginous on Silverway was a business name he’d heard before. It was the place where his cousin Roman Devlin went to deal with his Surges.
Roman—who’d called Darien after Angelthene had nearly been destroyed by the monsters of Spirit Terra. Roman had seen the horrors of that night all over the news. Darien hadn’t been able to explain the situation to him in full, so Roman and the other Shadowmasters in the House of Black were under the same impression as the rest of the world: that Angelthene had suffered a security breach during a Blood Moon.
It was the farthest thing from the truth, but revealing such sensitive information over the phone wasn’t a wise thing to do.
As for Roman, Darien knew his cousin suspected there was more to the story than he was willing to share. But Roman hadn’t prodded—he never did. The only thing that mattered to him was that everybody was okay—especially his brother, Travis. Roman was the reason Travis was here in Angelthene; he had given him a way out years ago, all but forcing Travis to leave the House of Black so he wouldn’t need to remain under their father’s strict control. Part of the deal was that Darien would keep Roman in the loop regarding Travis’s safety—and would make sure Travis never returned to Yveswich.
“Are there any chambers closer than Yveswich?” Dallas asked Roark.
“No,” Roark replied. “One is being built at Lucent Enterprises, but it is strictly for government use. The chambers in Yveswich are the safer choice for Loren. The only choice right now.”
“Has the chamber ever been tested in other ways?” Atlas asked. “Like seeing if it can heal the Tricking?”
“It cannot,” Roark replied. “The magic it gives is temporary, sort of like a battery charge. It’s not a miracle machine.” Which explained why the imperator hadn’t attempted to use the chambers, either to open a gate into Spirit Terra or to fuel his supply of aura ammunition, instead of going after Loren and the Elementals for his diabolical plans. Clearly, there were limitations—lots of them—surrounding the magic generated by these chambers.
There was only one miracle machine, and it was sealed away in Spirit Terra.
Darien said coldly, “Not like the Arcanum Well, then.”
Silence.
Darien held Roark’s stare. “You wouldn’t finally be willing to discuss that with us, would you?”
Roark’s unwillingness to speak prompted Max to mutter under his breath.
But then the Red Baron reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out a small, black-cloth carrying case with a zip closure. He opened it to reveal nine empty syringes and nine vials filled with luminescent teal liquid.
Darien straightened. “Where did you get those?” It was the serum the imperator used to enter Spirit Terra, the same serum Darien had injected into Loren’s heart to get it beating again.
“Lucent Enterprises. It’s the only place in the world that has it. They keep their supply under heavy surveillance, so this was the most I could take without raising suspicion.” He zipped it shut and handed it to Darien. “They should keep her alive long enough to get her to the chambers for treatment.”
Dallas said, “What happens if he runs out?”
Nobody answered.
“Monitor her closely,” Roark said. “Clocks aren’t a part of the makeup for these. They were an extra feature the imperator added to his own supply.” Clearly, Roark had been digging since the night of the Blood Moon; Darien wondered what else he’d unearthed.
Tanner said, “What about all of this?” He gestured to the machines, the IV lines, the heart monitor.
“You won’t need any of that when the serum’s in her bloodstream. It’ll keep her body in a state of limbo—frozen, in a sense, until she wakes up or—” He didn’t finish his sentence. Darien watched as the Red Baron’s eyes fell to the floor, his throat shifting with a swallow. He stepped toward the door. “That’s all the information I have for you. It’s rare for a person to survive in a coma for longer than two, maybe three weeks.” Darien heard the implication behind his words.
It had already been ten days.
“Why did you wait this long to tell us?” Max called, following him to the door that Tanner was still blocking. “You haven’t even been around. What do you care if she wakes up?”
Roark spun on his heel, a flush of anger reddening his face as he came within three inches of Max. “Don’t ever ask me such a disrespectful question again, Reacher. I’ve been the closest thing to a father this girl has had for the past twenty years, and you haven’t even been around for one.”
He didn’t wait for Max to reply; his next words were for Darien, fire still burning in his stare. “I had hoped she might wake up on her own. The chamber is a last resort—whether or not you risk using it is your choice. But as her father,” he added, enunciating the word with a glare in Max’s direction, “you have my support.”
He made for the door again, waiting for Tanner to let him through.
The hacker didn’t budge, face cold as stone. After a moment, Tanner looked at Darien for instruction.
