by R. J. Ladon
“No, it’s picture and sound. Not a duplicate of reality.”
“Are you sure? What about that, Megan?” Kragnor pointed to the image of the young woman in the video.
“Pretty darn sure. I’m not a programmer or application designer, but duplicating reality that’s in the realm of physics. And I don’t think they have managed that one yet. That Megan is still me.”
Kragnor’s forehead wrinkled.
She held up her finger. “Observe. No matter how often I replay the video over, it’ll only show the same movements. The words coming out of my mouth are the same.” Megan moved the video forward and back and replayed from beginning to end. “Every time. Megan, in that video, is an image. A complex painting, nothing more.”
Suddenly Kragnor grunted. “It is like a memory. The phone’s memory. It remembers what it sees and what was said.” He thought of the headstones he spoke to. The video wasn’t any different. The image and sound were better, but the result was the same.
“Well, that’s an interesting way to look at it. I can’t find fault with your logic.” Megan smiled, encouraging.
“The magics of this time are quite complex.”
“Magics?”
“Like that object in your hand.” Kragnor pointed to the phone.
“It is not magic. We call this type of object technology.”
“To me, there is no difference between technology and magic.” Kragnor huffed. It didn’t matter what something was called if the result was the same. Humans liked to complicate things with words. That practice, it seemed, had not changed. “What else can that phone or technology do?”
“I can call or text another person.”
“What is call or text?”
Megan smiled. “This might be hard to understand. I can send pictures or videos or notes to another phone or computer.” She clicked a few buttons and waited. Kevin’s laptop made a ding noise. She walked to the desk and woke the computer by clicking on the keyboard. She pointed to the screen. “I sent a message, see?” She held the phones next to the laptop to show Kragnor the duplicate text.
“It would be easier to talk back and forth if you are that close.” The gargoyle tilted his head. “Would it not?”
“Yes. But distance doesn’t matter.”
Kragnor grunted. “Distance is irrelevant? So, if Kevin was in Paris, you could contact him?”
“Yes. But you have to think about the time difference too.”
“Time? How can time be different?”
Megan’s brow furrowed as she thought. “No, you’re right. The time doesn’t change; the location of the sun in association to the person viewing it does. So, the person in Paris, the sun would be down, and it would appear to be night. But to me in Wisconsin, it would be morning. It is the perception of time that changes.”
He grunted. “Because of the curvature and orbit of the planet. That I understand.” Kragnor pointed to the phone and laptop. “Anyone can use these?”
“Exactly, you only need to be taught.”
Kragnor paced the room deep in thought. He poked and prodded Kevin’s clothes. “I want to break our bodies apart. I’m certain Friar Francois and Basal left instructions to remove us from the stones. But I doubt very much if those instructions could be found. Besides, I’m no longer in a stone. I have a different problem. I wish I could see the stone that held me. Perhaps then I could find the secret.”
Megan used Kevin’s computer and went to the Field Museum website. “There are other stones that look the same as the one you came from.” She pointed to the screen, showing Kragnor the protection stones the museum had on loan. An onyx was near the center of the picture. It could be Basal’s stone.
“Where are these located?” Kragnor leaned in and poked at the picture with his claw.
“The Field Museum in Chicago.”
Kragnor looked at Megan, his expression unreadable.
“Um, it’s not far. My father works there.
The gargoyle grunted.
“I think there might be gargoyle souls inside. You should come to the museum.”
“That is a good idea. Will you talk to Kevin? It is his body, too.”
“I’m sure he’ll agree.”
“Would you show me how to use that,” Kragnor pointed to the laptop, “thing?” If it is magic and anyone can use it, then he ought to learn.
“This is called a computer. You push these buttons to compose sentences.” Megan indicated the keyboard. “You have big strong hands, so you’ll need to be gentle.”
Kragnor nodded. “Bring it here, sit, and show me.” He felt the excitement of discovery.
Megan laughed. “You’re nothing but a big child, aren’t you?” She unplugged the power source and brought the laptop to the gargoyle. Kragnor reclined into his teaching position. Megan guided his left hand to hold the machine and showed him how to type in searches with his right.
“We’ve already figured out that you can’t use the touch screen. I’ve had some training with shortcuts.” She grinned triumphantly at him. “Click this key and that one at the same time. See how this rectangle opened? That is called a window.” Megan continued to show him shortcuts, and Kragnor learned quickly. Clicking a variety of keys was slow, but she never had to show him twice.
Once he understood the logic, Kragnor tried to figure things out on his own. Searches were the hardest because he didn’t know the proper words for the information he wanted. Megan showed him how to ask the right questions. While videos were entertaining to demonstrate things, Kragnor found that reading was the fastest way to absorb information.
Kragnor didn’t hear Megan say goodbye, but she must have. When he turned away from the laptop, she was gone.
Chapter 45
K evin opened the curtains; the sun appeared lower than before. He looked at his clock,7:01. He frowned and wondered if something was wrong with Kragnor.
The notebook sat on the bed with an ink message in flowing cursive. “I showed Kragnor how to use your laptop. I hope he didn’t break anything.” He dressed and went downstairs.
Grandma Ruby and Johnny were in the kitchen, talking over cups of coffee. “Good morning,” Grandma greeted him. “Fancy that; you’re up at the right time today.”
Johnny nodded to him.
“I decided to go to school on time.” Kevin shrugged.
“You’re not going today.” Johnny sipped from his mug.
“Why not?” Kevin wanted to see Megan. He didn’t know where she lived or her phone number. How would he contact her if he didn’t go to school?
“It’s all very exciting,” Grandma Ruby said. “The school is closed until further notice. A few students were caught rigging lockers with explosives. They broke in, in the middle of the night, and didn’t hide from the cameras or police.”
“Who was it?”
Grandma nodded to the man across the table. “Johnny knows.”
“Tony Meleta, Vincent Russo, and Chad Allen.” Johnny smirked. “Your locker was one of the targets. Surprised?”
“Hardly. The whole school seems to have gone wacko.” Kevin turned away from the small table and opened the refrigerator. “Who else was targeted?” He pulled out the eggs and sausage links. The date on the hash browns was tomorrow. He set them on the counter, along with a frying pan.
“Megan Petrov and Bonnie Schumacher.”
Grandma Ruby made a squeal. “Megan? The girl that was over last night?”
Johnny looked from Ruby to Kevin, his eyebrows raised.
Kevin nodded. “Yea. Same, Megan.” He added oil to the pan and ripped open the bag of hash browns. “Are you guys hungry? We’ve got to eat these before they go bad.”
“I can always eat.” Johnny lifted his mug, saluting Kevin.
“If there’s no school today, I’d like to go to the hospital this morning.” Kevin flipped the hash browns.
“I’m supposed to protect you,” Johnny said. “Especially after this. I’d rather you not go anywhere.”
Kevin sighed. “Who is going to protect Bonnie? Or Megan?”
Grandma shook her head. “No. I don’t like it.”
Johnny stood. “Everyone calm down. First, Megan is safe. Her father will make sure of that. Second, I investigated Bonnie’s situation. The police have set a guard for her.”
“The same police who allowed Annie to escape?” Kevin added the sausage links to the frying pan.
“Touché.” Johnny looked at the meal coming together under Kevin’s guidance. “I’ll make a phone call to rectify the situation at the hospital.” He left the kitchen and shouted from the living room. “Save some of that breakfast for me!”
Chapter 46
“G et up!” Artem’s fist on the door startled Megan awake. “Get up!” he shouted again.
“I’m up, I’m up. What’s going on?”
Artem didn’t respond; he was making noise in the kitchen.
Megan quickly changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. She rushed into the kitchen. Artem struggled to pull a duffle bag up the saferoom’s spiral stairs. “What are you doing?”
Artem leaned over, his hands on his knees, huffing. He pointed to the bag. “Heavy.” He held up his finger as he caught his breath. “School has been canceled. Some Tony person put a bomb in your locker.”
“What? My locker?”
Artem waved his hand around. “and Bonnie’s.” He shrugged.
“He was caught then?”
Her father nodded. “With two accomplices.”
Megan looked from the duffle bag to her father. “So, what’s with the bag. No, don’t tell me. We’re bugging out.”
To her surprise, Artem shook his head. “No, we are leaving.”
“Leaving? Explain.” Megan folded her arms.
“First,” he waved his hand, “undead assassins try to kill you.”
“Not me, Bonnie,” Megan interrupted.
“Yes, Bonnie,” he agreed, frowning. “And now a bomb in your locker. This little town isn’t safe.”
“Father!”
Artem held up his hand. “Let me finish! We moved here almost three years ago, and Avalon was peaceful and quiet. In the past week or so, hell has broken loose, and it seems that Bonnie is the epicenter. I have a hard enough time protecting us from Russia. I let you stay too long in one place, you made friends, and this is what happened. We are moving away from this nonsense.”
“You can’t blame Bonnie for this.”
“It isn’t just Bonnie. That AKG guy was right.”
“What guy?”
“The guy who came over the other day.” He paused, tapping his bottom lip in thought. “Johnny Conner. He was right. Tai Lu, the Chinese woman that let the museum use the cuneiform stones, she wants the stones back.”
“Did she say why?”
“She accused me of trying to steal her protection stone. I told her that I located another stone with the same inscription. I don’t think she believed me.”
“So, let her have the stones back. What does that have to do with us leaving?” Megan paced, feeling like her father would never get to the point.
“If Johnny was right about the Chinese. Then he is probably right about the Russians too.”
“You want to leave based on a rumor?” Megan felt sick to her stomach. She had six or seven months until she graduated and moved out. She could get away from her father and the chaos he exuded.
“He was right about Tai Lu.” Artem shook his head as if explaining his worries was as tricky as defining the laws of physics to a cat. “The Russians are dangerous. They will kill me, and you, if you’re lucky. At the very least, they will bring you back to Mother Russia.” Artem paused. “Then you will wish you were dead.”
Megan sighed. “If you want to leave, then leave. I have no intention of going anywhere.” She narrowed her eyes at her father. She would find a way to finish school on her own if she must.
“You don’t understand what these people are capable of. No one understands.” Artem looked around the room. His face brightened. “Except Nikolai. You’d listen to him, wouldn’t you?”
Megan threw her hands up. “Sure, Dad, sure.” If someone with more rational thought backed him, then she might believe him. “Why don’t you go to Nikolai. Maybe he’ll agree with you.” She hoped Nikolai would talk some sense into him.
Artem grabbed his jacket hanging by the door and left through the garage. The engine of his car revved to life, and then he was gone.
Megan stood in the kitchen, uncertain of what to do. Should she stay and wait for her father to come back? Should she leave? Megan needed friends, friends that would give her a place to stay.
Megan parked outside Kevin’s house. The tan Honda Civic was parked nearby, but it was empty. She looked up and down the street, but Johnny was nowhere to be seen. She knocked on the front door.
Ruby opened the door; a smile crossed her features. “Hello, dear. Come in, I’ll call for Kevin.” Ruby shouted up the stairs.
Megan stepped into the living room and noticed Johnny sitting on the couch.
“Hi, Megan.” He tossed his head in greeting.
Megan felt afraid, trapped, and confused. She looked back at the closed front door.
Johnny chuckled and drank from his glass. Rapscallion lay next to him, perfectly content. “No need to fret, Megan,” Johnny said.
“Oh, good, you two know each other.” Ruby sat next to Johnny with Rapscallion between them.
Footsteps on the stairs announced Kevin.
Megan rounded on Kevin. “What’s he doing here?” After finding her voice, she looked at Johnny. “What are you doing here?”
Kevin grabbed Megan’s hand; concern was written on his face. “It’s okay. Johnny’s all right, even though he spends way too much time with Ruby.” His eyes rolled.
Megan took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to find her focus. “Fine. Johnny’s okay. But what is he doing here?” She looked at everyone, in turn, stopping her gaze on Johnny, her eyebrows raised.
Johnny said, “Annie escaped jail. I’ve been tasked to protect Kevin until she can be apprehended.”
Megan blinked back her confusion. The same Annie that sent assassins to kill Bonnie and her, and this guy, this old man is going to stop her? She couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny about that?” Johnny asked.
“She almost killed Bonnie, and if I wasn’t there…” Megan shut her mouth and looked around. She should not have said that.
“If you weren’t there, what?” Johnny prompted.
He wanted her to finish the sentence. Megan narrowed her eyes.
“Your trick with the steel needles didn’t kill that man...”
“Because he was already dead.” Megan finished for Johnny. “They both were.”
“That’s why you should have used silver or jade.”
“You said that before. Why?”
Johnny looked over his audience as if making a decision. Then nodded. “You know silver hurts vampires and werewolves. It also can kill undead bodies. Like those men, but their souls could return to animate something else. Jade is more powerful. It can kill the undead body and trap the soul that powered the body. Jade can kill a ghost or trap a poltergeist. Silver has limitations.” Johnny shrugged. “See the difference? Both are powerful against the undead, but Jade has an advantage that silver does not.”
Megan stared dumbstruck at Johnny. “AKG, Sanctuary of Hidden Knowledge. There is more to you and your company than you let on.”
“The same could be said of you.”
Megan felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “You have no idea.” She turned to look at Ruby. “How long has that portrait been there?” She pointed to the framed picture above a small desk.
“A few years, why do you ask?”
Megan looked at Kevin. “I never met the rest of your family. I didn’t know you had three sisters.” She took a deep breath, then continued. “Annie is part of a group called the Orde
r of the Eye and Tooth. She was after Kevin because she wanted to befriend his triplet sisters.”
Johnny stood, eyes wide with surprise. Ruby grabbed Johnny’s hand.
Kevin stepped closer to Megan. “How do you know that?”
“Bonnie and I were in the bathroom when she received a phone call. The topic was her latest mark and his sisters. I didn’t know it was you at the time, but now it makes sense.” Megan pointed to Kevin’s family's photo, including Ruby and an older gentleman, who she assumed was Grandpa. The triplets stood in front, wearing the same dress, drawing attention to their sameness. “The Order is related to the Greek Fates, and you have three identical sisters. You can’t tell me that it’s a coincidence.”
“Is that why she tried to kill Bonnie and you?” Kevin asked.
“I don’t think so. Annie didn’t know we were in the bathroom. She discovered we were looking into her background. Her fake parents, her criminal record.” Megan sighed, feeling guilty. “We didn’t realize what we got into until it was too late.” Megan shrugged apologetically. “I would have said something sooner, but I didn’t see that picture before today.” She looked at her feet. “And there has been a lot going on at home.”
“Her parents are not her parents?” Johnny said. “That seems like an obvious thing to look into. Why didn’t my people investigate? How did we miss that? Kevin, did you know?”
“Now that Megan said it, yes, I knew.” Kevin scratched his head. “I think I always knew. For some reason, I forgot.”
“A memory spell,” Ruby hissed.
Johnny’s lip curled. “This goes deeper than I thought. Something bigger than a charm on a girl who wants revenge. I need to contact AKG and tell them about this Order of the Eye and Tooth. Do me a favor, check on your sisters.”
“Johnny,” Megan said. “Nikolai has done some digging on Annie for me. You could check with him.” She paused. “Wait, my father is with Nikolai right now. And he’s kind of mad at you.”
The older man nodded, then headed to the door.
“You’re supposed to protect me,” Kevin reminded Johnny. “That’s why you won’t let me leave the house, remember?”