Chapter 10: Dauphine

I almost protest when Beckett and Poppy are held back.

"They'll be fine," Dauphine says. "I swear it to you. And we need to talk alone."

I hesitate another moment before she smiles at me, a lovely expression making me trust her immediately.

A glance over my shoulder, the view of brother and sister waiting, surrounded by guards but untouched, unharmed, is enough to finish the job. I follow Dauphine into the darkness, deeper into the building, all the way to the far wall. There we ascend a set of thin steel stairs, my boots ringing on the rungs, up to the top and a glass door.

Inside I find she's made a boudoir of sorts for herself. And instead of the tang of body odor, I smell flowers, herbs, scents I remember in flashes of memory. Cinnamon on toast with lots of sugar in a sun-filled kitchen. Picking daisies and lilacs in a garden. The cold and pleasure of vanilla ice cream on my tongue. All of these swirl around in my head while she turns and settles cross-legged in the center of what must be her bed. It's draped in lovely fabrics, old and dusty, but still intact, reminding me of a Bedouin tent or Arabian décor. I settle before her, fascinated by her eyes and the ripples of memory and emotion I'm experiencing.

"Welcome." Her voice is rich and deep and full of her smile. "I've been waiting for you."

Her words make me shudder, but I'm not afraid. More of a delightful shiver, as if I'd found a slice of something I'd been missing.

"How did you know my name?" Clone Three. Trio. Both.

Rather than answer, she leans forward and takes my hands in hers. "You're not afraid."

"Should I be?" There is nothing to fear from her. Is there?

She laughs and lets me go. "No. You don't have the memories of the others. You're from a place where fear isn't a daily weight." Dauphine sighs. "I just wish I knew where that was."

"So do I." I reach for her again and she allows me to hold her hands. Again I have the sense I've met her before, as I did with Poppy and Beckett. But the memory is elusive, not nearly as forthcoming as the sensory visions I'm having.

Dauphine grips me harder and closes her eyes. "Hold on," she says. "It's coming."

I'm about to ask her what she means when the room flickers and disappears.

***

I'm in a lab. The man's face hovers before me. I look around, at the monitors, the odd equipment. The glass cases full of fluid. It's darkish, but I'm not afraid. Then the woman's face, so beloved to me, I cry and reach for her, but she is gone, replaced with another. I know her, too. She is me. Only not me. Covered in scars, plated in metal parts, one eye glowing green. I want to hold her, to protect her, but she vanishes and it's me again. Only it's not. Or it is? Dressed in a Crawler's uniform, a smile on her/my face. Is this my future? Will I betray the others?

She/I am gone in a flash. I'm suddenly enveloped in white light and the hum of sound, as the image of the statue looms over me, the tall, green tinted woman with the crown of spikes, her torch aloft. I try to reach out, to touch the image, but it's all tumbling forward and around and sideways and I'm falling-

***

I gasp as Dauphine pulls free, my hands aching from clinging to her so tightly. She is panting herself, a slight sheen of sweat on her upper lip and brow. She dabs at her face with the corner of her canopy while I struggle to comprehend what I've seen.

"Did you see too?" I squeeze my hands together even as I grasp for each image.

"I did." She shudders delicately before nodding. "You know these people, these places?"

"Yes," I say, "and no. I recognize them, feel like I should understand."

"But your memory remains lost." Dauphine sighs. "I had hoped the connection would shake you free of whatever holds you back. But there is damage I cannot repair." She pauses, head tilting to the side. "Whatever's been done, whoever you are, the mess in your head was created on purpose."

Someone's done this to me. My anger rises. "Do you know who?"

"That I cannot see." She rises from her bed and I stand to join her. "Sometimes this gift of mine is so specific. I knew your name the moment you arrived here last night."

"Arrived?" I stepped aside as she moved past me, crossing the room. She had an old dresser, the mirror oddly intact.

"Yes," she says. "I felt you, as though you weren't here one moment, but were the next." She pauses then shakes her head, fingers searching for something. Dauphine makes a small sound of happiness before turning and holding out her hand. Something shines in her outstretched fingers and I automatically reach for it.

"One thing is clear to me," she says. "You must continue on. There is a great feeling of urgency to this, Trio. A pressure on me I can't explain. On you. As though we all hang in the balance of your success."

I examine the coin she's given me. A silver dollar. "What is this for?"

"The next step in your journey." She comes to stand next to me, hands folding my fingers over the coin. "You must go to the library. It's far, but not so far you can't reach it. You'll find another group there, run by a boy named Socrates. He owes me a favor, he does." She pats my hands. "Show him the token as a reminder of that debt. He will help you."

"Thank you." I'm humbled by her kindness, the first, aside from Poppy's open heart, I've experienced. The coin slides into the front pocket of my pants, the weight of it giving me hope.

"Clone Three," she whispers, her voice vibrating, overlaid ever so softly with the voice of the man. "Pay attention, dear. Final instructions."

"Do you know what they are?" She looks so far away, but I don't want to draw her back, just in case.

"No," she says. "But the fate of everyone lies with you. I'm sure of it."

***