“Phoenix and Lumi are making some headway with the gear, though,” Rose added, her expression lighting up a little. “They’ve figured out how those awful cubes work. It’s like we suspected, a combination of physical technology and the clones’ special magic.”
“Do they think it’ll help them identify the magic itself?” Derek asked as he settled into one of the chairs. I couldn’t sit still for more than a minute, so there was no point in even trying.
“We’re not sure yet,” Rose said. “But it’s keeping Phoenix busy. That’s got to count for something.”
“Jovi and Field are with him,” Caleb replied. “I think they’re helping, too. The Parents with Missing Children and Wives Club, I guess…”
Derek let out a heavy sigh. “It’s going to be okay. I have faith in our children, and I have faith in our ability to prepare for future attacks. The Shade is already stronger than it was six hours ago. The covert ops are in motion, albeit with modified directives. We’ve got clusters of agents positioned all over, ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble.”
I moved closer to the screen, skimming over some of the text messages coming from outside. It was hard to get Thayen out of my mind even for a minute, but Viola’s absence worried me the most. If the clones were so determined to kill Astra, then what would they do to her mother? What had been the purpose of taking her? If they’d wanted to use Viola to capture Astra and kill her, surely they would’ve said so. These creatures had done things that didn’t quite make sense. Hell, there were multiple copies of certain Shadians, and we hadn’t figured out why.
“We’re getting constant encouragement from the others in the GASP federation beyond our realm,” Rose told me, inching to my side. “Ben and River are organizing new patrols for the Vale and the civilian areas, and our kids are manning the distribution of equipment and weaponry for the agents and any other Shadian volunteers willing to help.”
“That’s good,” I murmured, barely able to smile. “Is there anything else we could do?”
“Yeah, give yourselves a break and put your hands out,” the Time Master said as he joined us inside the Great Dome. Some of the glass panes were still missing, but there was a crew outside working on fixing the building and returning it to its former glory. Granted, they had some magical help from Shayla, who took a swift moment to give me an encouraging wink before she got back to telekinetically mounting a new glass pane on the south side of the structure.
“Hands out?” Derek asked, slightly frowning.
The Reaper stopped in front of the council table, his scythe glimmering blue. “I figured out a way to mark you all as originals,” he said. “It’s a tattoo the clones can’t reproduce, not even with death magic.”
“Oh? How come?” I replied, my eyebrows raising in surprise.
“A little tip from Death. She may not be the most helpful in terms of resources right now, or helpful in general, but she was kind enough to dispense some advice,” he said. “I gave her a full report of what happened. Every detail. Every missing person. Every weapon used. She has never seen anything like this either, but she taught me a combination of words and sub-words to create this tattoo. It will never go away. Once I burn it into your skin, it stays there forever.”
“It bypasses our healing nature, then,” Derek muttered, though he wasn’t in any way displeased with the prospect. It didn’t really matter, anyway. We all needed protection and identification as originals, especially since we didn’t know when or how the doppelgangers would return—or if they’d return—but that was a whole different conversation.
“It bypasses everything, including decay. Basically, even after you’re dead, after decomposition—after any form of destruction, for that matter—the affected skin cells of the tattoo will remain,” the Time Master explained. “Someone could burn you into a pile of ashes, and the tattoo would still survive.”
Caleb cleared his throat. “Okay. But what if the clones figure it out and tattoo themselves using conventional methods? They can just flash the tattoo and get past our defenses, right?”
“Oh, no,” Time said, chuckling, so sure of himself that I knew his solution was perfect. “The tattoos react in the presence of each other. You’ll feel it on your skin. And they’ll glow faintly. Trust me, you’ll know if you’re dealing with a fake.”
I put out my hand. “Show me.”
The Reaper obliged, gently pressing the tip of his blade against my wrist. Something burned through my skin, the sensation spreading all over me before gradually gathering to focus where the metal touched my wrist. I hissed from the increasing pain, but it was bearable. I looked as soon as he removed his scythe, but couldn’t see anything except the red blotch where I’d felt the burn.
“Huh…” I mumbled as a symbol emerged with a tickling sensation. It was shaped like a stylized half-moon with three tiny runes along the outer curve. I ran my fingers over the tattoo, which was a peculiar shade of dark blue. It felt hard and rough, as if fragments of my skin had been morphed into metallic particles.
“And now you’re branded,” Time said, moving to do the same to Derek. “I’ll be done with the entire island by tomorrow morning. It’s as fast as I can go, but I should be able to mark every original on this island and match the official number in Rose and Caleb’s report.”
He brought us up to speed with progress from his side, particularly with Sidyan, Seeley, Nethissis, Kelara, and Soul’s endeavors to fortify The Shade’s defenses. We were moving like a well-oiled machine, but we were all under tremendous pressure as there was still an ongoing effort to find a way into the clones’ hidden dimension.
“Assuming we can’t open portals into that realm, we will need the Daughters’ help with detecting any the copies might open from their side into ours. The witches aren’t getting anywhere, so I’m thinking we get the Daughters involved next. Something’s got to give eventually,” Derek said, touching his tattoo. I finally settled in the chair next to him, and we brought our hands close together. The marks responded. I felt it in my skin and bones, and the symbol itself lit up a brighter blue, burning slowly. It was an uncomfortable sensation, but it verified Time’s theory—we would be able to feel the authenticity of real Shadians. These tattoos were our best protection against future infiltration efforts, so the Reaper went on to mark Rose and Caleb before preparing to take on the rest of the island.
“I know,” Time replied. “Sidyan will bring them over shortly. We would’ve teleported them sooner, but they weren’t that easy to find. It turns out they’ve been busy adding layers of magical protection to every planet in Eritopia after the clone attacks here. The Daughters were adamant about securing their realm before anyone else’s, especially after Viola was taken.”
“How are they feeling?” I asked. “I assume Sidyan has spoken to them.”
Time nodded. “They’re mad as hell, and they want Viola and Astra back.”
“I can only imagine how Phoenix must be feeling. At least we know Viola isn’t dead or wounded, otherwise he’d have known through their bond.” Caleb sighed, then gave Rose a soft, lingering look. “I don’t know what I would do if they took you.”