by Daniel Ruth
The plans I had gotten a hold of were very handy. I was able to identify the room below the conference room. I had already tried this tactic in the arena so I was fairly confident that setting up circles below and triggering them remotely would work.
Well, to be honest, since the wereleopards weren't demons, I was not one hundred percent sure, since it hadn't actually had an effect. Still, it had triggered and I had felt the energy being expended so it should work.
The room in question was a area with four cubicles. Two of them were clearly not occupied and never had been. One of them had a paper taped over the monitor 'Working from home'. The last actually had someone sitting at the computer typing industriously away.
"Hey. Come back in an hour," a young man said absently as he saw me enter. "Vacuum under the table too."
I smiled and nodded, then spat out the Sleep spell. Academy practice spells for the win. He slumped forward at his chair and I wheeled him out of the way. After a Silence spell, I manhandled the cubicles off to the side to clear a space.
I took a moment to spread my senses. I could definitely sense that the existing wards that had supported the Rakshasa were above me. Most seemed to be inactive. They were probably damaging effects or some sort of impairment. Without them active or even seeing them I couldn't clearly identify them. They were likely under the upstairs carpet.
I could also sense a subtle spatial distortion. Most likely wards against teleportation. These were active. They were strong enough to prevent my normal psionic teleportation but had not been anywhere near strong enough to prevent my anchor rune from activating.
I pulled my waxes, paints and exotic materials out of my bag and lined them up, ready for use. Then I immersed myself in a world of lines and symbols. I lost track of time for a bit. When I finished my first circle, I checked the time. An hour had gone by.
Dash should presently be on the other side of the world giving a presentation for some trade talks. I briefly checked my terminal and the e-mail I had given the pack leaders. They were given instructions to have eyes on the demon woman and to inform me exactly when she finished.
I opened the interface and the message center chimed and pulsed. I smiled. It wasn't from some lovelorn stalker or even my pack leaders. The network had finally been restored and the system was notifying me.
I didn't have time to examine exactly where the portals were that finally led back to one of the three known worlds but my probes had at last connected back to them. If I actually had time, I would have done a victory jig. I did allocate myself ten seconds of smugness.
Then I moved the cubicles over in the opposite side of the room and started the second circle in the matrix. The first was the Binding circle. The Second was the mystic suppression. Basically, a ramped-up version of my negation ward. Hopefully, it would counter Dash's own suppression enchantment. There were vague rules on which mystic negation took precedence but a lot of it was luck.
In theory whichever circle was active first would more effectively negate the other. However, the creator's skill and power also came into play. Chances are these demons were more skilled but I was hoping to get mine triggered first.
Checking the time again I frowned. I had two circles connected into my matrix. I had a choice to make. I could clean up and head out. A minor illusion would ensure that people wouldn't notice the inactive circle on the floor. Probably. The next time Dash left the building for a scheduled visit I could come in again and add another few offensive or defensive circles. At that point, I could be pretty confident to crush her like a demonic bug.
Of course, if Dash or another major demon adept in illusions walked in this room in the interim, they would most likely detect something was off. At that point, the best outcome would be that they simply destroyed the circle before it could be activated. The worst case is that they altered or sabotaged it and simply waited for me to come back and perhaps crush me like a bug.
Looking at my terminal I bit my lip. No notification so Dash should be at the meeting. I nodded to myself and started to inscribe another circle. It looked like I was going to try to finish off Dash today.
I wanted to hurry. But I didn't. If I messed up this circle I may as well not have even started it. I took a breath to calm myself and began inscribing the third circle. Halfway through it, my terminal chimed.
I grimaced. It was either Beth contacting me through the newly connected network or my hired detectives. I calmed my nerves and finished the line I was in the middle of etching and looked.
[email protected] had sent me mail. Really? Right now? My eyes swept the over content even as I dismissed it.
"My hopes and dreams have been destroyed. You are not my other self. Not my twin. Your world has already murdered me. So be it. Now I know the embodied races cannot exist in the same time and place as me and mine. Consider this warning. My last thank you for showing my true place in this world. [email protected]."
Pausing for a moment in thought I hesitated before going back to the inscribing process. That message certainly had ominous overtones. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to my admirer.
The circle was almost complete when the terminal chimed again. I looked at it. This time it was the detective. Dash had left the conference and was no longer able to be tracked. It was starting to appear as I may only get to finish this last circle.
A final stroke and I closed the circle. Stepping back and looking at the three connected formations I nodded in approval. The last one was a simple sleep circle. I wasn't even sure it would work. It worked on my experimental mice but that didn't fill me with confidence.
If it did work, it should put down most of the non-demons without harm. Considering that most the people around Dash fell into the category of innocent dupes it was the best I could come up with at short notice.
On the off chance that I would have to retreat and try again later, I moved the cubicle back over to the original position and tidied the room. I almost forgot to wheel the man, who had been snoring in the corner for the last few hours, back in front of his computer. For some reason, the screensaver had changed from pictures of a woman and child to simply 'Sn'.
I wheeled my cleaning can out of the room and headed towards the elevator. The people that I passed were loudly complaining that their computers had all crashed. I didn't care that much but I did note that the computers seemed to be on, simply unresponsive, with that familiar 'Sn' glowing on the screen.
This was excellent news for me. The security guard barely glanced at me as he waved me past. Instead, he was talking to some guy in a suit, telling him heatedly that he had already tried to reboot the system three times.
Smiling smugly, I waited for the elevator. Then I waited a bit longer. After being patient for over five minutes I finally figured out that the elevator had been taken out too.
I indecisively was tapping my feet and thinking about my next step when I felt the fabric of space flex and then snap back into place. Dash had teleported back. Naturally, she wouldn't be affected by her own restrictions.
Abandoning some of my disguised affectations I left my cleaning kit by the elevator door and jogged to the stairs. This earned a few brief startled looks but most people were complaining about the computers too much to pay me any attention.
I leaped up the stairs and only slowed down to a jog again when I exited the stairwell and was in sight of the second guard station. This guard was crawling behind his terminal and was in the process of unplugging the device.
I moved up to the armored door and finally grabbed the man's attention. "Wait a moment. The computers are down. I'll call up to the security center and we can manually..."
He stopped as he pulled out his phone and stared at the screen in dismay. All it showed was an 'Sn' on the tiny display. Despite his desperate stroking of the screen it didn't react at all.
"Sorry Sal, I can't let you in without..." he started to say when the lights went out. I immediately moved to the door and with a s
ilence spell and a firm jerk, tore the door out of the frame. Slipping through I quickly fit the door back in place and affixed it with my adhesion spell.
I was sprinting down the corridor with the panicked cries of the people around me as they stumbled into furniture, banged against walls and complained about the dark when dim red lights flickered on. Apparently, the independent battery powered emergency lights still worked.
I slowed to a brisk walk but I probably shouldn't have bothered. At this point, people were panicking and had better things to worry about than an elderly janitor that was more lively than usual. After going down a few corridors and breaking open a few metal security doors I found myself in the conference room.
It was empty. Combined with the flashing red light it looked completely different than my first visit. I could feel the magical energies this time. Most were still not active but I felt one trigger as I walked in the door. That was likely the alarm.
"Sal, what are you doing here," a seductive voice asked me from the far side of the room. Dash stood in the opposite doorway. I wasn't sure if she had teleported there or simply been nearby. I hadn't felt any ripples in space, so I suppose she was already there.
"Mr. Patriot asked me to vacuum the floor," I said in my creaky disguised voice. I pointed to a nook by the table, "I am not sure what to make of this. Could you come over and let me know if it needs to be cleaned?"
"How did you even get in here," she asked. "Patriot was boasting that he has six turrets aimed at the corridor to the offices."
"All the computers are down," I said with a feeble shrug. She still was standing in the door. That was not in range of the circles I had set up. "I suppose its fortunate for me. Patriot was supposed to be here to let me in."
"Well he's not here," she snapped back. "The power is out. How would you even do anything?" I frowned. How was I going to get her to move her butt out of that doorway? "Wait a minute. Why would anyone be cleaning during a power outage?"
"The cleaning has to get done rain or shine, sleet or snow," I replied proudly.
"That's the mail," she said flatly. "Who are you? How did you bring down Patriot's systems?" She started to stalk towards me. Although I was elated, I cautiously retreated.
"Hey now," I said putting up my hands as if to fend her off. "No need to get all riled up." She stalked closer and closer to me as I backed up. She finally started to skirt the conference table at which point I bit my tongue and spat out an activation word along with a drop of blood.
Magics flared about us, almost seeming to warp the air around us. A phantom shower of sparks circled her, their rotation growing faster as magic pulsed upward. Her head jerked around as she sensed various enchantments triggering. Initially, her head was almost a blur in motion but as the binding came into effect she slowed down to more human speeds.
"Magic," she spat. A moan of pain escaped her. "Strong magic. Are you one of the mages that have been hiding in the nooks and crannies? I thought the sidhe had driven you out of this city."
"Was that why you chose it," I asked as I reformed into my favorite human shape, complete with a faux tweed suit. "No one to recognize the demons in their midst?"
"Professor," she spat. "I thought you'd be back. Just not so soon. You ran away so fast last time I'm surprised you had the nerve to come back."
Despite the demon bindings encircling her body, she made a gesture and I could feel the quiescent magic roar to life and struggle against my own nullification circle. Sparks and thunder crashed as they pushed against one another.
After a few seconds, a new equilibrium was reached. I felt a sluggishness in the air as magic became harder to reach. Not impossible, simply more reluctant to move to my will.
"I made a few preparations this time," I said with a smile. The important thing was that she was still bound. I pulled out a crystal vial with a stopper. It was about the length of my finger.
"So did I," she smiled back, revealing sharp canines. She snapped her fingers and I heard an explosion from the wall off to the side. I barely had time to cock my head before I felt a massive impact in my stomach that basically folded me in half like a contortionist, propelled me backward, blew me through the wall and out of the building. I vaguely perceived Starman standing in the place I had been a moment ago with his fist outstretched. It was only then I realized my clairvoyance was telling me there was danger nearby.
Then I lost track of how many buildings I ripped through before I found myself embedded in the wreckage. Groaning in pain, I struggled out of the twisted metal and shattered concrete. I forced myself to focus past the agony centered in my stomach. I had planned for this fight. Obviously not enough but I knew what to do.
I activated my force field as I held up a cheap plastic ring I had stored a spell in. Releasing it I felt the world slow down as my personal time sped up. My danger sense triggered and I had time to look to the side as my least favorite alien burst forth from the wall again and screamed towards me.
I had just twisted myself so that I didn't get hit in my already injured stomach. As I had before, I pushed telekinetically against his brain in hopes of paralyzing him. Just as before I failed, but his swinging fist visibly slowed. Then it struck me in the chest.
Once more I was rocketed through building after building. My force field instantly burst upon that single initial strike. Plowing through the structures stung but it was trivial next to the alien's impact. Mundane construction material simply didn't compare to Arc's more modern formulations.
Of course, despite doing my best to mitigate the damage, now both my stomach and chest felt like a mad superpowered alien had done their best to crush them. Struggling out of the wreckage for the second time, I once more activated my force field and readied my second prepared spell.
This time when Starman broke through the wall I was ready and aimed my Slow spell at him. Finally, he was barely sluggish enough to react to. Instead of blurs I actually saw his strikes. I was able to raise my arms to block his punch. I slide back about a hundred feet, through several interior walls, and out a window.
My shield did not shatter, though its power was seriously depleted. This was satisfying though I was still falling after being knocked through a building. However, it was being knocked through a single building instead of multiple buildings. It may have merely been the adrenaline but it was a pretty good feeling.
With a small exercise of will, I levitated in place. Floating in the air I was a bit exposed but I needed to get my wits about me after being made into a ping pong ball.
The first thing I noticed was the ringing in my ears. A moment later I realized that it wasn't just my hearing. There was some sort of horn going off. It sounded remarkably similar to the air raid horns I had heard back in Arc. Instinctively I looked up.
Sure enough, there was some sort of flying craft far above the city. Occasionally thin beams of light would lance down towards the ground and I would see plumes of dust and smoke float up in between the buildings.
This reminded me a lot of when Mars had attacked, unfortunately without the defending forces. New York in the early 2000s wasn't nearly as well defended as Arc. Then I was blindsided by a big alien and thrown backward in the air.
My field was gone again. I wasn't catapulted through buildings this time so it was easier to keep my bearings. I ignored the space invasion to concentrate on my own personal alien issues. Looking around I saw Starman and identified the tower I had started out in. As the big dumb alien approached, I teleported towards where I thought my circles were.
I felt a lot like I was playing chicken. My range with psychic teleportation wasn't great. Luckily, Starman was under the influence. The demon's mind control made him clumsier than I remembered him originally being. Combined with my own attempts to slow him down and I was barely able to keep ahead of him.
There was an awkward moment when I entered the effect of Dash's teleportation suppression. Or rather when I tried and failed. Starman happily took care of this for me by p
unching me through the now massive hole in the side of the building. My field went down again.
Force fields all take a bit of energy from my pool. In the past, I would have already been exhausted of my psychic resources. That was in the past though, thanks in part to the Baron Samedi. He had conveniently left behind the crystals that had been responsible for mind controlling the mage council in West Noland. Through a convenient bit of alchemy I had converted these weapons of mind control into the more useful psychic storage crystals. I was presently burning through my batteries at a worrying pace but I was able to not get completely crushed by my opponent. For the moment.
I crashed into the floor of the conference room not far from Dash. She was inscribing a design on the floor, completely ignoring the mayhem around her.
"Nice," I complemented confidently her as shakily stood up and activated my force field again. In addition, I placed a bubble around me. "Trying to counter the Demon Binding circle from inside. Ingenious but unlikely unless you had the basic design already etched on the floor." I stealthily looked at the carpet. I was pretty sure she hadn't placed that type of circle in her matrix. Who would possibly be paranoid enough to expect to be trapped in a circle within their own headquarters? Even building on the existing formation structures it would take her at least fifteen minutes to create something suitable enough to weaken the trap. In theory.
"I suppose it will be a race to see whether I can counter this first or my 'teammates' will crush you first. Unless you think you can free them while fighting them?"
Usually, the sight of the crystal would put the subject into a highly suggestible state. Expecting this while fighting them was a pipe dream.
Starman punctuated our conversation by charging me. He bounced off my invisible force wall and rebounded twenty feet. The glow by which I perceived my force bubble dimmed significantly. I placed another bubble directly on top of the alien.
"I think you overestimate the time you have," I replied to her as I activated my psychic swords. They slowly formed on my hands. Starman took this time to start smashing away at the force wall.