Page 54 of Avidian
“This is far beyond anything I imagined,” I murmur, slowly stepping forward, my fingers brushing over a glowing vine. “It’s like stepping into a dream.”
“And this is the beginning,” Malachi says, motioning for me to follow them. “Wait until you see what comes next.”
“You mean there’s more?” I say, throwing my arms up dramatically to encompass the magical garden surrounding us. The sheer scale of it all already feels impossible, like something out of a storybook.
Malachi’s lips twitch, a small smile breaking through.
We pass through another sterilizing chamber, the cool mist enveloping us before we step out into the main hall again. Malachi stops abruptly, turning to me. “Go with Bash to his lab. Pick his brain—he loves questions and showing off. I have a few things I need to take care of, but I’ll find you afterward.”
I nod, glancing at Bash, who immediately slings an arm around my shoulders. The casual gesture catches me off guard, and I go stiff for a second before reluctantly starting to walk with him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Malachi’s smirk as he turns and heads off in the opposite direction.
“Relax. I don’t bite—hard,” Bash quips, his grin teasing as he steers me toward a set of sleek, silver double doors. “You’re in for a treat. My lab is where the real magic happens.”
Chapter Seventeen
RULE 17 OF THE NEW ORDER: POWER IN EXCESS, EVEN WITH GOOD INTENTIONS, BREEDS UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES.
“What is your ability?”I ask Bash, leaning back into one of the wheeled chairs scattered around his lab. The room itself feels like a futuristic hospital—a pristine maze of white walls, glowing screens, and complex machines performing functions that are completely beyond me. The air smells faintly sterilized, like alcohol wipes.
“Bioelectric tuning,” he says casually, and I blink at him, doing a double take.
“Uh...you’re gonna have to break that down for me. What does that mean?”
Bash grins and swivels his chair closer, his elbows resting on his knees. “You know how all living beings have electrical signals running through them?” he starts, and I nod slowly, not entirely sure where this is going. “Well, those signals? They’re like music to me. Avids—especially Avids—have their own frequency, a unique bioelectric signature. I can hear it, feel it, manipulate it. It’s like tuning into a specific radio station.”
I tilt my head, intrigued despite myself. “So what can you actually do with it?”
His grin widens, and he raises his hand. Faint blue static crackles between his fingers, like a miniature storm dancing across his skin. “A lot. I can stabilize someone’s vitals, keep them alive until a healer steps in. I can track an Avid by their unique frequency. I can mess with power grids or short-circuit machines. And I can amplify an Avid’s power for a short time. Make them stronger, faster, more... potent.”
I straighten in my chair, alarmed but also intrigued. “Wait, how do you even do that?”
“Every Avid has a bioelectric signature,” Bash explains. “Think of it like a fingerprint, but for their powers. My gift lets me tap into that frequency and amplify it. But that’s not the most interesting part.” He stands and strides toward a long cylindrical machine in the corner of the lab, gesturing for me to follow.
Curiosity gets the better of me, and I trail after him. “What does this do?” I ask, watching as he presses a few glowing buttons on its sleek surface.
“This,” he says, patting the machine fondly, “is something I built to work in tandem with my gift. It’s like an amplifier for the signals I sense, but it does more than that. It turns those signals into something tangible.”
I watch him walk over to a wall of white cabinets and refrigerators opening one, pulling out a small orb that glimmers faintly in his palm. He tosses it toward me, and I scramble to catch it, nearly dropping it in my lap.
On closer inspection, the orb is mesmerizing. It looks alive—an ever-shifting swirl of stars, galaxies, and structures unfathomable, like the night sky captured only brighter and condensed into a bottle. I hold it up to the light, and the swirling contents shimmer, almost like they’re responding to my movements.
“Do you like it?” Bash asks, proud.
I can’t tear my eyes away. “What... What is it?”
He takes a moment, letting the suspense hang before finally saying, “I call it Avidian.”
“Avidian,” I repeat. “Clever. What does it do?”
Bash steps closer, taking the orb from my hands. “With my gift and this machine, I’ve learned how to extract the essence from Avids—the very core of their powers—and make it tangible. It’s pure, concentrated essence.”
I stare at him, a chill creeping up my spine. “You’re telling me that’s what our power looks like after you...extract it?” My eyes widen slightly, caught between fascination and horror.
“Precisely,” Bash says, unflinching. “It’s not just power in its raw form—it’s potential. Bottled and ready to be used by anyone.”
“Used?” My stomach twists. “You mean someone can take this and...borrow our abilities?”
