Page 101 of Blinding Light

“Who are you and why are you here?” The tallest of the two guards demanded.

Cyprian cleared his throat. “My name is Cyprian Creighton, and I’ve come to visit my mother.”

“Invitation.” The guard held out a hand.

“Uhm—”

“We don’t need one,” Archer supplied.

The soldier retrieved his hand. “No invitation, no access. This place is not open to the public.”

“I don’t need an invitation to visit my mother.” Cyprian pointed toward the iron fence. “She’s behind those walls. Please?—”

“No invitation, no entrance. Please leave.”

Cyprian sighed, mind rattling to come up with an argument. Archer was right. He hadn’t thought this through. But then he hadn’t expected to find a closed facility that was guarded with weapons. He balled his hands, jutting his chin forward. “Patients have the right to have visitors.”

“They do. Theyinvitethem.” The second guard took a threatening step forward, pointing his laser right at them. “You don’t have an invitation.”

“That’s because I’ve never seen her before. Please. I have searched for so long to find my mother—” Archer’s hand grabbed his.

“Don’t,” he whispered.

The soldier scoffed. “In this hospital, the rules aren’t made by patients, and certainly not by visitors, but by the Imperial family. We have the authority to use force to keep this facility safe. We will use this right against you if we see it fit.”

“And I have arightto see my mother,” Cyprian snarled. Desperation clawed up his insides, creating an erratic fear that he might never get to meet her. Because ofthesemen. He shook his hand free, pointing a finger toward the guards. “A right that I won’t have taken away by two big-sized heads like yourselves. So, if I were you, I’d step aside?—”

“Or? Let me tell you something, kid. The hospital still has space for more patients, and if you don’t get the fuck out of my face now, you will end up being one of them.”

“That way he can play cards with his mother every Sunday,” the other guard smirked, and they both chuckled. A chuckle that turned into a grunt, when Cyprian shoved one of the guards back and against the metal door. Rage made him feel light-headed.

“I won’t be told what to do by the likes of you. Ineedto see my mother. Now, step aside.”

“Cyprian,” Archer warned. One of the guards lifted his laser gun and Archer yanked Cyprian back. “They’ll get us arrested. Let’s go. We’ll find another way.”

“No,” Cyprian growled. His eyes burned as he struggled in Archer’s hold. “I won’t let them keep us apart. If she’s in there, I want to know.”

But at the sudden, piercing sound of a siren they both froze. The doors clicked open, and more soldiers came out of the building. They filled the entrance and littered the wall, taking position and glaring straight ahead.

“Oh, shit,” Archer swore, then pulled on Cyprian’s arm. “We really need to g?—”

Behind them, a black hover car stopped with a shriek.

“Good light. Cyprian?” Archer’s hand found his and he squeezed. But Cyprian didn’t respond. He couldn’t move. A sudden vision had swallowed him whole. It was like something inside him had been switched on. He felt like he was floating. His eyes were looking, but he couldn’t see. Just that basement. Always that fucking basement lost in a labyrinth of stairs.

“Cyprian!” Someone called out, but he wasn’t sure who.

Can you hear me?

His eyes fluttered at the sound. He recognized that voice.

Please hear me. Please help me.

Rough hands picked him up, and the vision flapped away like a bat in the night, taking away those scattered words in its wake.

No! He wanted to scream, but his throat was locked up. I need answers. I need to understand. Nothing came to view, except for a dimly lit office. Cyprian blinked fiercely until he saw Archer, whose eyes were wide with fear. His friend carried a purple bruise on his temple and had a scratch on his lip that leaked blood.

“Can you hear me?” Archer asked.

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