ORION: Book Two of The Elyrian Chronicles

By L.K. Hingey

TWO HUNDRED people fled the Earth's surface after the most powerful solar eruption ever recorded was detected, the refugees sealing themselves off from the coming Armageddon in a budding cave city deep beneath the Kentucky countryside.

TWENTY-THREE genetically modified children, engineered to serve as Mankind's last link to the

• Language: English
• Publisher: L.K. Hingey Books
• Release date: Jan 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087922249

L.K. Hingey

L.K. Hingey enlisted in the U.S. military at the age of 17, going on to get her degree in aeronautics. After incurring spinal fractures while piloting the UH60 Army Black Hawk, L.K. left the military to pursue interests outside of aviation. The inspiration for the KIMBER series was born while L.K. backpacked 2,000 miles on the Appalachian Trail. Other influences include Hingey's many passions. As a Certified Personal Trainer, real-estate enthusiast, and author, L.K. is constantly breaking barriers and in turn, pouring the heart and soul of her experiences into her writing. Upcoming works include Books Three and Four of The Elyrian Chronicles.

Book preview

Prologue

Kimberly gazed into the smoldering embers of the dying fire, seeing nothing but blurred orange and red outlines. Though her eyesight was approaching complete failure, the colors of the fire still reminded her of her daughter’s beautiful, fiery-scaled skin. Special skin. Skin that bore the genetic properties of both snake and human, crafted to withstand the solar radiation of the decimated world above the caves. Skin that was shared by only twenty-two other genetically modified children, born from the wombs of mothers who had no idea what their children would look or act like. Skin that, because it was the city’s only link to the surface world, was humanity’s very lifeline.

The last of the fire’s warmth radiated onto Kimberly’s face and she closed her eyes, letting herself bask in the decades-lost memory of the similar sensation of sunshine. Kimberly did not need the fire’s colors to help her see Kimber’s face in her mind’s eye. Kimberly had memorized every intricacy on her daughter’s unique body when Kimber was born into the underground world over twenty years ago, to include her daughter’s strikingly eerie eyes. Some of the Mothers had struggled accepting their children’s snake-like, slit-shaped pupils, but not Kimberly. The moment Kimber’s crystal blue gaze blinked up into hers, Kimberly was not only in love, but also overcome with gratefulness. By all rights, Kimberly should have been left to perish with the rest of the world on the surface, but because of the scaled infant in her arms, Kimberly had been granted amnesty.

A chill ran down her spine. The amnesty had not been deserved. In fact, it had been stolen at the expense of another woman’s life. Murder; that is what it had been. Kimberly had traded her soul for her life, committing herself to decades of pain. Pain, yes, but not regret, she thought as she pulled her shawl tighter around her fragile body. To regret being a bearer of the memories and knowledge of the dark deeds performed by the Bureau would be both pointless and selfish, and there had never been a shred of doubt in Kimberly’s mind that it would have been easier to just have died. Kimberly knew though, that someone had to be a living record of the illegal actions that had brought the twenty-three preciously grafted infants into the world and had since resigned herself to waiting until the time was right to break her vow of silence and expose the council’s past.

Only, the truth was too terrible to simply be known. The truth was so dark, and the council so manipulative, that the only force on Earth that would make the city believe their own awful history was evidence. Kimberly knew that when Kimber had departed the cavern of the Mothers only minutes prior, it was the last time she would see her daughter. Kimber was young and did not yet know the evil Mankind was capable of, but Kimberly did. She knew because she was one of the monsters. In the name of science and survival, Kimberly had done things too dark to speak aloud. Things she had just sent Kimber on a mission to the clinic at Fort Knox to find proof of and bring back to the remnants of the human race.

By the time Kimber would get back to Inanna bearing the burden of evidence, Kimberly knew she would not be around to witness or apologize. Kimberly suspected the council would be coming to finish her off before the next Inannian Address, for there were new proposals on the table to be voted into law—ordinances that would push the Auroreans further into a state of subservience. Ordinances that the council knew Kimberly would fiercely oppose. Ordinances that the council had no idea Kimberly already knew about.

For years, she had been working herself into a position to receive tip-offs regarding new actions being taken by the council, and the work had proven itself invaluable. The council would rightfully anticipate her resistance to the new decrees, and Kimberly suspected that they would elect to silence her altogether versus risking her exposing their past. Seeing as how the annual address was scheduled to take place the very next day, Kimberly had a hunch this was her very last night.

In a way, she was relieved. She had surmised that the council had been poisoning her in an effort to make her death look natural, but since it had not been working quickly enough, Kimberly suspected they would try something more immediate. Between the gamma radiation of the surface world and the starvation waiting in the deeper caves, there was nowhere to run. Beyond that, Kimberly was tired. She was ready to let go. All she had wanted to do was to hug Kimber one last time and she had gotten to do just that, knowing it was more than she deserved. She was ready for death.

Everything else was ready for her to let go, too. Kimberly had always had a scientific mind, and order, observation, and preparation were a part of her DNA. She had already asked Marisol to transcribe a set of detailed instructions onto paper. She had already packed a small crate of items to assist Kimber in her upcoming journey. She had even procured a piece of chalk for one specific purpose, having already tied it to the crate with a leather tether. The events of the next day were set to fall into place like dominoes, which would serve as the catalyst that would change the course of the future of humanity.

Kimberly opened her eyes back up and gazed into the blur of coals. Although the space behind her forehead throbbed, her thoughts were methodical and peaceful. She was ready to join her husband and their three-year-old son, Colton Jr, on the other side. She had always regretted not telling Kimber about her half-brother, but choosing life underground was also an active choice to leave little Colton Jr to perish in the wake of the flare all alone, and that had ripped Kimberly’s soul in two. Coupled with the knowledge that, to prevent the laboratory personnel from spilling the secret of the underground city to public, the Bureau had shot the workers in cold blood, which had included her husband, it was too much to cope with. She had buried that part of her heart long ago with her family.

Preparing Kimber for this exact mission that Kimberly had always prayed her daughter would never have to embark upon, had become her new life. She had worked every day to teach Kimber grace, strength, and above all, love. Kimber had grown into a smart, kind young woman and Kimberly had faith her daughter would do what needed to be done. Kimberly doubted if Kimber would be able to ever truly forgive her, but even if all Kimber remembered was how loved she had been, that would be enough.

Minutes ticked by and turned into hours as the last bit of life left the coals in the fire ring. It made no difference to Kimberly; as she sat, she shed her shawl, allowing the coldness to seep into her bones. Her mind had retreated into the safe, happy place of the time before the flare. A time filled with sunshine, the sound of a little boy’s laughter, and three candles on a birthday cake. She was smiling when a member of the enforcement division appeared at the mouth of the cavern of the Mothers and weaved his way to Kimberly, bearing a kerosene torch and leather handcuffs. Kimberly willingly offering her hands up, confusing the man when she offered him a smile.

Her demeanor only became more serene as the man led Kimberly down the halls. The part of her mind that was not locked in the past vacantly wondered where in Inanna he was leading her. She began to understand as they drew ever closer to the cavern room that housed the infamous bottomless pit. The part of her scientific mind that balanced theory with fact was pleased to know she had not simply been paranoid, and when they arrived, there were two other members of the enforcement division waiting near the waterfilled abyss.

So, Nicholas is too much of a coward to do his dirty work himself? Give my regards to my old coworker when you see him, Kimberly said softly, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

The three members of the enforcement division shifted uneasily on their feet, unsure of what to say or do. Because resources and space were so incredibly scarce, it was quite normal in Inanna to let the elderly or sick end their suffering, but it was normally administered by lethal injection. They glanced around at each other; clearly this must have felt different.

We were told your unstableness poses a very real threat to the survival of the city. There is no time to take you to the services sector for injection. This must be done now, one of the men said trying to sound authoritative but succeeding only in sounding awkward.

I’ve been waiting for this for years, young man. Kimberly replied in a peculiar, distant voice. She fumbled towards the chasm in front of her, like a moth being drawn towards the chimney of chilled air rising from the void. The men said nothing, taken aback that she was not arguing or attempting to fight them. Kimberly toed the edge of the pit. She fixed her heart on her children and on her late husband, Colton, letting the memory of their arms blanket her in warmth. She did not even feel the shove that pushed her body forward and she only barely registered the freefall. The excruciating, icy water swallowed her an instant later, and the blackness sucked her down, ever deeper, into the abyss.

Part I

Expedition

Chapter 1

A dream woke Kimber. A startling and unsettling dream. She had been drowning in a sea of sickly, yellowish liquid. The nightmare had been so real that Kimber gasped for air as she blinked into the darkness, fighting to clear the mental fog. She swallowed wave after wave of panic, and as her heart rate began to slow, the hundreds of glass jars that had been floating on the greasy sea seemed to drift away. The jars had been overflowing, flooding the sea with tallow embalming fluid, and as they drifted farther and farther away, the flood of strange, oily liquid, too, receded.

Kimber coughed the imaginary liquid from her lungs and felt her senses coming online. It was dark here, but unlike her dream, it was dry and peaceful. It all felt so familiar. The cool of the stone. The low flicker of the fire bowls. The smell of mineral-enriched droplets falling from stalactites. Kimber remembered waking up in a place like this in her mother’s arms—soft, silky arms that would do anything to keep her safe. Kimber’s ragged breathing began to calm.

For a moment, Kimber was a child again, blanketed in protection by the embrace of her mother’s love, and a warm reassurance washed over her. As her groggy mind groped for the shelter of her mother’s arms, though, the feeling of warmth seeped away like the tide. Where was her mother? And why had she not saved Kimber from the agony of suffocation?

Realization dawned on Kimber. The memories rushed back like a tsunami, leaving Kimber wishing she were still choking on the gooey formaldehyde. Her mother was not there to rock her back to sleep. Her mother would never again hold her, sing to her, or read her pages from a book. She would never again see the petite, intelligent woman, whom Kimber was so lovingly named after. Her mother, Kimberly, was dead.

The knife of recollection twisted in Kimber’s heart, making her inhale sharply. Overwhelmed with the recurring feeling of drowning, she jerked herself upright, gulping for air. Kimber looked down, and in the dim light, she realized why the sensation had bled so deeply into her dreams; she had been lying in a puddle of her own tears.

Kimber wiped her face and looked around. She was alone, thankfully, and she immediately relaxed. She was grateful for the emptiness of the records room and the escape it provided. Kimber needed this space to fall apart. She had been strong for her fellow Auroreans. She had been strong for Inanna. Not only had she successfully delivered the evidence necessary to break the yoke of corruption that had infested her home, but she had also borne the terrible weight with grace.

When Kimberly’s body was fished out of the pit, though, and her bloated body laid upon the cold cavern floor, Kimber had felt the elation of emancipation drain from her soul. The horror of the preceding week was suddenly magnified seven-fold, and every bit of strength and grace was sapped from her bones, driving Kimber to her knees next to her mother’s ghostly-white body. When the second corpse was dredged up, Eve, who had been clutching Kimber’s ember-colored hands, let out a moan and had also buckled at the knees. Eve had instinctively grasped her swollen belly and allowed her sobs to rise as she looked down at the father of her unborn child. The entire city, still reeling from the removal of the council from office, would now mourn with Kimber and Eve for their losses.

Kimber did not cry. She had not been able to make a sound. Yell. Curse. Pound your fists on the floor. Hell, do SOMETHING, Kimber had silently screamed at herself, but all she could do was stare mutely. Kimber remembered gazing around in a stupor, first at her mother, then at Eve, and then up into the pained faces of her Aurorean brethren, Raquel and Aaron, who had been standing nearby. The Mothers had also been there, along with a handful of the senior trade masters, both groups standing respectfully behind members of the enforcement division.

Someone had knelt nearby and gently asked Kimber what she wanted to do with Kimberly’s body. Kimber had turned to the figure and stared in confusion without really seeing the face in front of her, and the voice patiently repeated the question. Trying to shake herself out of her trance, Kimber had murmured that Kimberly’s body would be taken to the surface to be cremated. Her mother had been born in a beautiful world above the caverns, and that would be where she would want her body laid to rest. The woman had nodded and then had given instructions to the enforcement division to prepare Kimberly for transportation to the surface. She knelt by Eve as well, and had asked the same questions, in the same gentle voice.

Kimber numbly held Eve, whose weeping had only intensified after being asked about Dameon’s burial. I told him no, Eve wept into Kimber’s shoulder. "When I told him about the baby, he asked me to marry him. The last thing I got to tell him was no," she sobbed.

Eve’s words had not fully registered in Kimber’s brain. Kimber had simply continued to hold Eve, feeling only hollowness, and as Raquel walked over to help them up, Kimber remembered feeling surreal, as if she had been watching herself from one of the spectator’s eyes. Raquel had hugged Kimber tightly and whispered, Go. We will take care of Eve, and I will make sure none of the Auroreans bother you for a while. Not even Tristan. He will understand. Kimber had nodded at Raquel and backed out of the room in a daze, turning at the entrance to break into a sprint.

As she ran, hot tears had finally begun to well. Her eyes stung, and the underground world became a blur of rock and fire as her sobs grew. Kimber raced her hardest, knocking over fire bowls and not caring who she crashed into along the way. The last thing she remembered was collapsing under the shelter of her painted ceiling in the records room. The archangels, Ganesha, Buddha, Allah, and David’s star had protectively looked down as Kimber lost track of space and time, convulsing in the center of the room until sleep, mercifully, overcame her.

Now, Kimber was blinking up at the familiar menagerie of colored glass, wondering how long she had slept for, and listening to the bells ringing deep in the heart of Inanna. She had lost track of which cycle the bells were tolling for, and for the first time in her life, she did not care. What did it matter if it were day or night? In the cavern system, day and night was only a notion, observed simply to grant the citizens a sense of normalcy. But nothing was normal anymore.

Raking her scaled body against the chill of the stone floor, Kimber refocused on the angelic scene above. She tried to ignore the bells, trying to push reality away. She was not ready to face the world yet. She was not ready to face her city, the only home she had ever known, without her mother in it. Would her home even be recognizable in the days to come? Now that the corrupt council was removed from government, what would a new normal look like? Would all of the chaos and pain of the past two weeks be worth it? The harder Kimber tried to empty her mind, the more reality intruded. Her head was already splitting from the pain of sobbing, and now questions were pooling in, unchecked.

It was almost a relief when Kimber heard footsteps approaching from down the passageway. She was not in the mood to see anyone, but the footsteps helped free her mind from her bubbling anxiety, and she decided to slip into the shadows behind a bookshelf, listening intently. She could hear a man’s stride: long legs, a quick pace, and the padded footfalls of moccasins. Kimber felt a flutter in her chest knowing the steps could only belong to Caleb.

As she started to walk out from behind the stacks of books, Kimber wondered bittersweetly how a heart could register anything but pain at a time like this. She felt confused and apprehensive when it came to Caleb, not to mention a bit guilty. All that aside, he was still one of her oldest friends. Kimber started to drag her fingers through her tear-matted hair, trying in vain to tame the mess it had become, when her ears caught another sound.

Fast footsteps. Not a walking stride but rather a relaxed jogging gait, as soundless as a mountain lion and longer than a female’s steps. Realization dawned on Kimber, and she instantly retreated back into the shadows. She was too emotionally drained to deal with Caleb and Tristan at the same time. She heard the cat-like footsteps slow to a walk followed by the abrupt stop of the heavier footsteps.

Can you just back off? Caleb’s voice tumbled down the hallway, accompanied by the echoes from both pairs of steps as the males resumed their cadence.

What’s your problem? Kimber heard Tristan’s retort and grimaced. She was not in the mood for childish squabbling and prayed the boys did not come to blows. She was reconsidering greeting them to help diffuse the tension, but they had sped up and were already at the mouth of the records room. Kimber stayed tucked in the shadows and could see the disappointment on both Caleb’s and Tristan’s faces when they saw that the room was empty.

You’re my problem, Caleb said bluntly as his gaze swept around the room and stopped accusingly on Tristan. Caleb had always been slow to anger, but Kimber could see that below his calm surface, a storm was brewing.

You don’t even know me, Tristan replied casually as he walked into the room. He scanned the walls for the chalked drawing of the mouse that had been the solution to Kimber’s riddle, but Musika, in his miniature golden collar, had been erased.

I know everything I need to know about you. Caleb’s eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms in contempt towards Tristan.

Tristan sighed. He looked genuinely confused but also agitated, and as Tristan turned to Caleb, Kimber could see his colors deepening. Tristan was now faced away from Kimber, but she did not need to be looking at him to know exactly what Caleb was seeing. Tristan’s eyes would be dilating, the slit-shaped pupils swelling to take in as much detail as possible. His hazel chest would be brightening in coloration as his blood started to heat. Even Tristan’s stance would change slightly, as his muscles spring-loaded themselves. The Auroreans shared these fight-or-flight traits with the venomous snakes they shared their DNA with, and although none of Tristan’s natural responses were voluntary, they were undeniably aggressive.

Kimber watched Caleb size Tristan up. Caleb was taller, older, and held the higher ground closer to the mouth of the room’s entrance. Caleb did not even blink; he just stood there with his arms folded. They all knew who would win if it came to a real fight, but Caleb did not look nervous. He just looked cross.

"Okay then, Lal. Tell me, what do you know about me?" Tristan countered, testing the mood to see if there was room to jest. Mohan Krishna-Lal had been the Einstein of the seventy-seven-year time of peace, a humble man from south India who had invented the system that had united the Earth in prosperity after the Last War. Tristan quickly found that there was not room for humor though as Caleb continued to stare coldly.

When Caleb finally spoke, his voice was haunted with honesty and pain. I saw you holding hands after the trial of the council. I heard what she discovered as you stood around, above ground, when Kimber could have died in those laboratories. And I am sure you have been poisoning her mind to leave Inanna behind so you can go on some big surface adventure together. She could stay here and rest, you know. She could help rebuild this city. She clearly should be one of the ones reforming the new government. She deserves that.

Tristan broke in a little hesitantly, sensing something deeper than gratuitous anger radiating from the man in front of him. Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but Kimber is free to make her own choices. She doesn’t want to be involved in the new government. She has made that pretty clear. If she didn’t want to go west, she wouldn’t. Tristan jokingly rolled his eyes. Trust me, I would know.

Caleb’s jaw clenched tightly. Tristan had been trying again to lighten the mood, but he was clearly only succeeding in making Caleb dislike him more.

Oh, you would know, huh? Why, because you spent what, a week with her? Wow. A whole week. I bet you know everything about her, Caleb said in mock awe before he spat at the ground just before Tristan’s feet. You barely even kept her safe while you were with her, he finished angrily.

Tristan bit back before he could stop himself. I was there when she needed me. Where were you? Hiding underground because you’re too weak to go to the surface?

Panicked but still frozen in place, Kimber figured this would be it; this would be the camel’s straw. She cared about both males and did not want them physically or worse, emotionally, hurt over her. To her surprise, Caleb did not lash out. Instead, something akin to hatred flicked across his stormy eyes. The look alone sent chills down Kimber’s spine and she shrank even smaller, glad to be invisible.

"I may not be able to travel to the surface but you, Kashgar, are a coward, Caleb said quietly. Kimber winced at the slur. Caleb was returning Tristan’s insult but had taken it to a whole new level in reference to the terrorist faction responsible for the nuclear power plant bombings of WWIII. You are a snake in the grass. Maybe there truly is a reason why your kind was hated for so many thousands of years."

Tristan’s fists were balled up tight. Kimber could see the firelight reflecting of his scales, swaying from the movement of his pumping chest. He glanced up and saw the angels flying above them. Christianity had forever damned snakes, and every Aurora was keenly aware of their historic link to sin and temptation.

"Our kind? Tristan asked in a soft but venomous tone. Our kind is the only thing keeping your kind alive. I may not be perfect, but I would have moved Heaven and Hell to keep Kimber safe... and it is a hell of a lot more than you did. I can tell you’re hurting, but I owe you nothing. Now, get out of my way. We’ve got a trip to organize."

Kimber could not be sure what last looks were exchanged between the two males, but she did see a resignation set in, mingling with the loathing in Caleb’s expression. Kimber’s heart was silently breaking for Caleb. She had never intended to hurt him so deeply. She had not intended any of this. She felt the salt being ground deep into the wound of his fragile human condition; the insult amplified by the cross-country trip the Aurorean team was about to embark upon. The insult Tristan made sure to rub in when he mentioned the trip that they had to organize.

Caleb glared at Tristan, wordless. His lips curled into a sneer momentarily before he turned, allowing Tristan’s shorter frame to stomp past him. Both men were angry, and Kimber could understand why. After the Aurorean’s silhouette disappeared from the cavern’s entrance, Caleb let his guard down. Kimber wished with all her might she could just disappear and leave Caleb alone to his own coping, but she could not. She dared not rush out to him either, so she remained glued to the shadows, watching Caleb uncomfortably.

Caleb’s face looked twisted as he started to pace. His fists were clenching and unclenching methodically. He looked more lethal than even Tristan had. Caleb looked dangerous, unhinged, and worst of all, heartbroken. Kimber realized he had been doing everything in his power to fight back the tears from welling up the entire time.

He fought it valiantly, but eventually, the frustration and the weight of what he was about to lose, was too much to bear. Kimber felt as though she had been kicked in the stomach as she watched the hot tears forming in the frenzy of Caleb’s eyes. His pacing sped up and suddenly, Caleb was standing next to one of the glossy wooden tables in the room. Before Kimber knew it, he punched the tabletop with all his might.

Caleb drew his hand back without so much of a wince and in a single movement of surprising explosivity, Caleb flipped the table. As if the violent act had flipped a switch in his brain, Caleb blinked and looked around in surprise. He realized what he had done as he sunk to his knees and grasped his injured hand. He did not have self-healing DNA like the Auroreans, and Kimber could tell he had hurt it badly. He put his uninjured hand up to his head and massaged his temples.

After a length of time, Caleb finally stood, circled around to the other side of the supine table and flipped it back upright. Kimber could see the muscles in his neck as they strained against the weight of the heavy wood and years of lacquer. Caleb groaned and looked around in sadness; he and Kimber had spent hours in this room as children pouring over encyclopedias. He shook his head once last time and left, the echoes of his moccasins lingering long after his frame disappeared.

Kimber let out a deep breath when she was certain Caleb was far enough away not to hear it. She felt weak and was not sure if she was shaking from hunger or from the quarrel that had just ended. Kimber knelt in the center of the room and looked up. The goddess Ganesha’s sad eyes seemed to resonate with all the pain she had witnessed in the past twenty-four hours. Ganesha’s massive elephant trunk and glowing bare chest gleamed in the firelight, just as they had for the last twenty years of Kimber’s life, calming the trembling that had spread throughout her body.

The world felt like it was spinning around her. The storm that had started to rage a week ago seemed only to be intensifying. Kneeling here though, under the grandeur of the mosaic ceiling, it was quiet. She was in the eye of the hurricane in this place that held more memories than she could count, and as Kimber breathed the damp air of the caves deep into her lungs, she relished the earthy, mineral smell that flooded her senses. No matter what happened and no matter where in the world their journeys would lead, Inanna, the city celebrated for being the last surviving metropolis on Earth, would always be her home.

Knowing that she had but moments of stillness left to savor, Kimber shut her eyes with a deep sigh, letting the tranquility surround her. The gentle echo of water droplets falling from stalactites filled the cavern with their steady rhythm, and as Kimber let the music of the caves seep into her, a song swam to her from deep in the recesses of her mind. Swaying as the melody filled her mind, Kimber recalled her mother’s clear, haunting voice as the words of the soothing Celtic lullaby bounced off the stone walls in their humble cavern room, the memory coming to life from over a decade ago.

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li lai-lay

Lay down your head and I'll sing you a lullaby

Back to the years of loo-li lai-lay

And I'll sing you to sleep and I'll sing you tomorrow

Bless you with love for the road that you go

May you sail far to the far fields of fortune

With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet

And may you need never to banish misfortune

May you find kindness in all that you meet

May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

May you bring love and may you bring happiness

Be loved in return to the end of your days

Now fall off to sleep, I'm not meaning to keep you

I'll just sit for a while and sing loo-li, lai-lay

May there always be angels to watch over you

To guide you each step of the way

To guard you and keep you safe from all harm

Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay

The melody felt so real that Kimber was not sure if the voice was echoing only in her mind or if it had joined chorus with the falling water droplets. Kimber lifted her own voice, the lyrics coming to life in her imagination as she sang softly into the shadows. The dangerous road ahead shimmered in her mind’s eye, and despite the uncertainty of the journey and the pain of losing both her mother and Caleb, Kimber took comfort in the knowledge that Kimberly, the newest and most beautiful angel of all, would now be watching over the Auroreans.

Kimber desperately clung to the melodic memory as it began to fade, sinking into the darkness like the phantom of her nightmares which slipped endlessly down into its watery abyss. Kimber was left only with the echo of her own song, her quivering voice reverberating off the chilled walls. When silence finished swallowing the music, Kimber did something she had never done before and something that was highly frowned upon in Inanna. She bowed her head to pray. Not a prayer born of panic and desperation, but one that came from a stillness somewhere deep inside of her.

With her eyes still shut, Kimber focused on the plea inside her