Heir of Shandara (Book 4) Read Free

him.
    “Sam, what happens to the anomaly if the temporal matrix moves out of alignment?”
    “The anomaly will cease to exist, sir.”
    The pieces clicked into place. He was the anomaly, and if he was able to change the time line, then he would die.  
    “Temporal matrix alignment changed,” the AI said.
    “What? How? I haven’t even done anything yet,” Bayen said, wondering if the AI was broken.
    “Updated calculations. Anomaly has approximately fourteen days until matrix moves out of alignment.”
    Bayen felt a sinking feeling in his gut. “Define updated calculations in context of matrix alignment.”
    “Time line connections with the anomaly—” the AI began.
    “Sam, it’s me! I’m the anomaly. I want all future references to the anomaly to be as you would refer to myself.”
    “Preferences updated, sir. Your connection to the time line is maintained by the energy source from your point of origin.”
    “Point of origin,” Bayen repeated, coming to grips with what the AI was trying to tell him. “Are you saying that my connection is maintained by an energy source from the future we’re trying to change?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “And you’ve calculated that the maximum amount of time that I have to do what I came here to do is fourteen days?”
    “Precisely, sir.”
    Bayen clenched his teeth and cursed. “And after fourteen days?”
    “You will be pulled back to the future, sir.”
    He tightened his grip on the haft of the halberd. He had fourteen days… maybe. Twenty years stolen from him. Everything he had ever known was gone. The creatures that broke into the chamber were like nothing he had ever seen. They were a mix of human and beast, coming in all shapes and sizes. Bayen called up the log on the AI, preferring to read some of the history so he could figure out a way forward. The Ryakul plague had only affected humans and had been unleashed by the Zekara. The war with the Zekara had stretched on for years. Keep General Halcylon alive. Fifty-five percent success probability rate. The thoughts tumbled through Bayen’s mind. Was Halcylon really their best chance to prevent Safanar’s destruction? He didn’t like it. The Hythariam was a monster.
    “Sam, can you give me the location of General Morag Halcylon at this time?”
    “Unknown,” the AI replied.
    “Best guess then.”
    “Cannot estimate probability,” the AI said.
    Bayen shook his head and then chided himself. What would he have done if he had found Halcylon anyway? He hadn’t come all this way to take up guard duty.  
    He needed to find another way to prevent the plague from starting to begin with. He rolled his eyes, trying to think.  
    “Sam, when is the first reported incidence of the plague?”
    “Today, sir.”
    Bayen swore; if he could stop it today, would that be enough to change the time line?
    “Sam, can you give me the location of Safanarion Order leader, Aaron Jace?”
    Bayen’s holo display above his wrist showed a flurry of activity as the AI disseminated all the bits of data flowing through the comms network.
    “Sam, restrict search to encrypted security channels stemming from Hathenwood and Shandara,” Bayen said, playing a hunch.
    After a few moments, coordinates appeared for Aaron Jace’s location, and he sent the information to his keystone accelerator. Perhaps he could stop Aaron from unleashing the plague and dooming all of Safanar in the first place. Bayen noted the matrix alignment estimate that the AI had placed in the top right corner of every screen. Fourteen days, and that was the machine’s best guess. If he had more time, great, but what if he had less? Bayen suppressed a shudder, steeled his gaze forward, and stepped through the portal.  

C HAPTER 3
    FIRST MEETING

    Aaron saw his breath rise up in the crisp air. He was up among the tallest branches of a tree, studying the Elitesman stronghold below. They had been clearing Elitesman strongholds for weeks, but this was one of the biggest they