“I quite agree, however, we must leave him be. As long as he leaves us alone, we’ll do likewise for him.”
“I’m not so certain he’s willing to leave you alone considering how many people in your lives he’s already touched.”
“True. He’ll bear watching, that’s for certain.”
“Do you want to time your arrival in New York, or is it going to be a straight transfer.”
“Straight transfer unless something goes wrong, then I might return for a second trip.”
“I wish I could go with you.” Again he waved his hand in a broad gesture and said, “Except there appears to be so much happening around here, I don’t dare leave for fear of something dreadful occurring especially while Rasa has herself shut in her room.”
“I’m sorry about all of this happening to Rasa. I’m sure it’ll calm down once we find her samara.”
“I hope you’re right. Okay, step down into the Gate, and I’ll program your transfer,” Debbon said as he stepped up to the control panel in the Gate room for the second time that day.
“Make sure you’ve got the coordinates correct, I don’t want to end up in another galaxy,” he teased.
Debbon chuckled, thinking he was wise to remind him, considering his state of mind. He did as requested and triple-checked the plascreen before he was certain all was ready. “Have a safe and successful journey, Riccan,” he said as he nodded and pressed the activation button at the same time.
Riccan lifted his brow mischievously just before the room around him went black and cold as he traveled through the veil of the unknown, between dimensions, and finally reemerged in the hollowed-out tree in the middle of Central Park, which served as the Gate entrance on Earth. As soon as the last surges of elemy dissolved back into the earth under his feet, he stepped out of the hollow and into the dimming light of the forest.
The same as his previous trip, he made his way out of the park and hailed a cab. As soon as he reached the multi-storied building, he paid the driver and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He really did not have much of a plan in mind other than getting Vinia away from the doctor. With a mental shrug, he opened one leaf of the massive glass doors and stepped into the starkly decorated, brightly lit interior.
Thankfully, the woman working at the receptionist’s desk was not the same one who had met Riccan before. He strolled up to the counter and leaned forward on it to wait for her to notice his presence.
She turned and jumped slightly since she had been absorbed in the text messaging on her cell phone and had not heard him approach. Shoving her phone under her leg surreptitiously, she smiled brightly and asked, “How may I help you?”
Riccan could tell the girl found him attractive, a point which he was not above exploiting if it helped him accomplish his goal. “Yes, my sister has gone missing, and I was wondering if she were brought in here sometime in the last three days.”
“What is her name?”
“Vinia.”
“And her last name, please?”
“She doesn’t have one.”
The young woman looked up at him sharply, narrowing her eyes slightly, trying to decide if he were being smart with her.
Riccan quirked up the side of his mouth humorlessly and said, “She used to say if Madonna and Cher didn’t need one, then she didn’t either. She had her name legally changed to just Vinia.”
The receptionist seemed to find this explanation acceptable and simply nodded as she typed the name into her computer search box. As soon as she hit enter, the system beeped and displayed a negative response. “Nope, nobody named Vinia has been admitted. Is there any other name she could have used?”
Riccan tried to look as anxious as possible and said, “How about Jane Doe?”
“I guess it’s worth the try.” She typed rapidly, and the system displayed several hits. “Well, let’s see if we can find out when these women were brought in. You said within the last three days, correct?”
“Yes.” Riccan leaned over the counter a little further, affording him a clear view of the screen. When he located the one entry with January first as the intake date, he swiftly read the entire line, including the room number where the patient was being detained. He almost snorted out loud upon reading it, considering she had been placed in Room 426, coincidentally the same room which had been in Amanda’s dream as well as the room where Shemalla had been held captive.
“Oh, here she is!” The woman smiled up at Riccan as though she had done a great favor for him, her smile faltered only slightly as she glanced away to the clock on her desk. “Unfortunately, visiting hours are over for today. You’ll have to come back tomorrow after ten in the morning. Would you like me to schedule an appointment?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’m glad to know she’s being well-cared for. When she went missing, our mother was beside herself with worry. Now I can go home and tell her she’s finally getting the help she needs. Thank you so much for your assistance, you’re amazing!” He tapped the top of the receptionist’s desk with the flat of his hand once before turning and walking back outside and down the sidewalk until he was out of her line of sight.
Weighing his options, Riccan finally decided he would use his invisibility shield to be able to walk into the hospital without creating an energy spike that could potentially be traced. If Lucinden had any dealings with the doctor or the hospital, the last thing he would want to do would be to create a signature linking himself to the scene. As he moved behind a large SUV, he seemingly disappeared as he activated the shield around him and returned to the front entrance to wait for someone to open the door for him to walk through.
Luckily a couple of hospital workers were just leaving to take a short smoking break just seconds after Riccan arrived. Riccan moved hurriedly past the two women into the main reception room. He knew the layout of the building from the last time he had been inside, which made it easier to go to the correct elevators to get to the wing of the hospital he would need for Vinia’s room.
Several minutes passed before he was able to enter the next car, which was unfortunately occupied by a few other people. Riccan was unable to select the floor he needed without drawing unwanted attention, so he was forced to ride up and down the floors as other staff entered the confined space as the original workers stepped out.
Riccan rolled his eyes as a man and woman, seemingly just co-workers, began to kiss passionately as soon as the doors closed, thinking they were alone and able to sneak in a little work romance on their short ride. The scene playing out in front of him began to become so humorous in its intensity that Riccan almost laughed out loud. Fortunately, the elevator stopped on the sixth floor, the buzzer beeping just before the doors opened, alerting the couple to resume their separate spaces and appear as if nothing had just happened.
Someone was running to catch the elevator as the doors closed, yet they were too late, leaving Riccan blissfully alone and able to finally select the fourth floor. Never before had he spent so much time on an elevator, and he was beginning to regret choosing the invisibility shield rather than just translating himself into the room from where he had begun outside. The buzzer sounded and the doors opened onto the fourth floor, allowing Riccan to escape the confines of the elevator car.
He recalled from Amanda’s description of her adventures that the room was only a few dozen yards away from the elevator. Riccan turned and walked confidently down the hallway, not bothering to pay much attention to his surroundings since he was invisible to any passersby. When he finally looked up to check the next door for the room number, he stopped short as he realized there were several men dressed in black suits having an intense conversation with none other than Dr. Gascon.
Taking the last few steps which separated them, Riccan listened to their conversation with growing alarm.
“I’m telling you, this matter must be authorized by a subpoena. You have no right to my patients or their identity without the proper documentation. I will call security and h
ave you escorted off the premises if you don’t leave this instant!” He crossed his arms and kept his stance wide as he barred the other men’s entrance into Room 426.
“Dr. Gascon, you are mistaken if you believe your security staff has any authority over our AFOSI team. This is a matter of national security, step aside or we’ll be forced to arrest you for treason.”
Dr. Gascon held his ground, gaping at their leap to treason. “How would you account for such a charge? I’m merely treating a mentally unstable patient.”
Riccan did not bother to stick around to hear any more of their debate. He instantly pulled up enough elemy to destabilize the molecular structure of the wall and walked through it to get to Vinia before the men had time to unlock the door. As soon as he saw her lying on the bed, drugged into a witless stupor, he knew this was going to be more complicated. He had only just gathered Vinia up into his arms and inside his invisibility shield when the door burst open, and Dr. Gascon’s outraged shouts echoed within the room.
The men filed into the room, Riccan trying to work his way around them without coming into physical contact. One burly man remained stoically poised in front of the door, preventing Dr. Gascon’s entry as well as Riccan’s escape. His options were swiftly evaporating, and he was going to have to decide his next course of action within the next few seconds.
One of the black-suited men reached down and touched the bedding. “This bed is still warm. Men activate your laser lights and sweep the room for any anomalies. The alien is most likely still in this room, and we’re not leaving without it!”
Riccan knew his time was up. He gathered a massive amount of elemy, enough to surround them both, and translated himself and Vinia out of the room just as the red beam of light shone over the area he had just vacated. His gaze happened to fall on Dr. Gascon’s face as he peered around the man barring the doorway, his eyes revealed his fear as he felt the familiar pulse of energy. Riccan wondered if the doctor had disgraced himself again by uncontrollably urinating.
Only a second passed as Riccan had directed them to translate to the Gate in Central Park. The transfer had eliminated the need to maintain his invisibility shield, but he was thankful all the same for the cover of darkness as night had fallen completely. He was grateful Vinia did not weigh more as he entered the hollowed-out tree. “Inside Ascension,” he whispered to activate the Gate to take them back to Manzanit.
Six seconds passed as the pair moved between the worlds. The drugs evaporated from Vinia’s system as the elemy restored her to perfect health before they even made it all the way to Manzanit. As soon as the Gate room became apparent, Vinia looked around her in alarm, belatedly realizing she was being held aloft.
“Riccan! What’s going on? Where are we? How did we get here?” Vinia began to struggle to be let go.
“Hold still, Vinia! Let’s make sure the transfer is complete before we step outside of the Gate. I’d hate to see either of us missing body parts in our haste.”
His admonishment instantly stilled her struggles.
The elemy no longer hummed around and through them, letting Riccan know it was safe to exit the Gate. He stepped up from the depression in the ground and leaned forward to set Vinia down gently onto her own feet. Riccan kept his hand behind her back to be certain she would be able to keep her footing as they stepped further into the empty room.
After a few steps, Riccan began telling Vinia what had transpired. “You were abducted by a man named Dr. Stephen Gascon, where he’s kept you drugged for the past three days.” Not wanting to alarm her with the actual details of the rescue, Riccan skipped over some key details. “We’re in Manzanit where you can stay to recover or we can take you home to Roanoke, it’s your choice.”
“Home! I have to get home! Oh my poor baby, Danika! I can’t have been gone for three days, surely I’d recall something if that were the case!” Vinia tugged at Riccan’s sleeve, wanting him to reassure her.
“Come, let’s find Juila so we can be on our way.”
“Is Juila missing as well?”
“No, I just meant she’s somewhere here in the Residence. I’m sure she’s with Ulwin or Elder Debbon, most likely still near Rasa’s private quarters.” He led the way out of the secure room and down the hallway. Riccan had to walk briskly to keep up with Vinia’s quick pace. He could tell she was quite upset by the way she wrung her hands and the tense expression on her face. “Can you tell me what Dr. Gascon talked to you about?”
“Who?” Vinia asked distractedly.
“Do you remember any conversations you had with anyone at the hospital?” Riccan rephrased his question just in case Dr. Gascon had sent someone else to question her.
“No, I don’t even recall being in a hospital, let alone talking to anyone. I can’t believe I’ve been gone for three days. Are you certain that’s true?” she beseeched Riccan to deny it.
“I’m sorry, Vinia. Ozian alerted us to your failure to return home; otherwise, we might not even have known for some time.”
“Oh, Ozian!” she wailed as she realized he had been in charge of Danika for the few hours she was supposed to have been gone. “Was Danika okay? I’ve never been away from her for even a whole day before.”
“Amanda assured me Danika was well-cared for. Please don’t worry, Vinia. We’ll get you home shortly.”
They had arrived in the hallway leading to Rasa’s private quarters, where Riccan spotted Juila and called out, “We need to get going.”
Playing along with her father’s casual tone, Juila thanked Ulwin and Debbon for keeping her company while she waited for her father’s return. She stepped away from the pair and came up alongside Vinia. “It’s good to see you, Vinia!” she said for the benefit of their audience. She leaned in as if to give the woman a hug and whispered in her ear, “Don’t say anything until we get inside the telepod. We don’t want Ulwin to know what happened to you or where you’ve been.” She pulled away and smiled as if nothing disastrous had happened to Vinia.
Nodding stiffly, Vinia kept her mouth shut. She glanced over to where Ulwin and Debbon remained standing in the hall, acknowledging them with a tip of her head in their direction. Vinia was relieved when they turned to leave since Elder Debbon seemed to be regarding her rather critically.
The flight home to Roanoke was uneventful and mercifully quick. Riccan landed expertly on the beach and palmed the door open. He happened to look out the window just in time to see someone running away from the beach, presumably to alert Ozian of news.
Vinia had herself unbuckled and out the door in record time. She did not even bother to look back to see if anyone else was coming, nothing was going to get between her and her reunion with her daughter. Luckily she did not have that far to go as Ozian came running up the path carrying Danika on his hip with one arm bracing her against his jarring steps.
Thinking explanations could wait for another time, Riccan closed the side door.
“What are you doing?” Juila asked in confusion.
“We’re heading home. Her other children will want to know we’ve accomplished our goal. Are you ready?”
“Sure!” Juila re-clipped her harness as her hands had yet to release it from when she had unbuckled in the first place. She could feel Jena’s relief as the news was relayed through their mind link. We’re coming home now.
Chapter Five
THOUGHTS OF THE troubles on Earth kept going through Debbon’s mind. He had known there had been issues in the past with Earth’s government showing interest in his people; however, he had no idea the medical community also harbored some curiosity. Seeing Vinia safely returned had alleviated some of his fears, yet this near disaster had just confirmed his idea that he needed to begin training Valentina how to defend herself using her birth crystal.
Knowing Vinia had been raised in the backwoods village of Roanoke, where she had been taught that using elemy was evil, it was no wonder she had been unable to prevent herself from being abducted. If there were more people on Ear
th interested in studying the Tualans, then none of them could be safe unless they returned to Tuala.
“What was that?” Debbon asked, having missed Ulwin’s last statement.
“I was just commenting on that woman’s strange outfit.”
“What? Oh, Vinia’s? Please just forget you saw any of that, will you?”
Returning to his training, he formally bowed and said, “As you wish.”
Changing the conversation to another persistently nagging thought, Debbon asked, “Did Elder Senjin have an appointment with Rasa?”
“No, Rasa was displeased to have him arrive, considering…” he left the part about her foul mood for Elder Debbon to assume.
“Yes, I see, but you said her mood had changed for the better when Elder Senjin left?”
“Very much so. She seemed happy, almost elated.”
“Was that all you noticed?”
“Yes, should there have been something more?”
“No. I just wondered. If you’ll excuse me, I have a matter to which I need to attend.” Debbon saw Ulwin’s bow acknowledging his departure as he turned to rush back to Wilken’s old study. He glanced at his time piece, calculating at least twenty minutes had passed since Senjin had left Manzanit, which would have given him plenty of time to return to Argot.
Debbon sat at the desk in front of the patil, tapping the sequence to begin a video call. Several seconds passed before Senjin’s face appeared on the screen.
“Elder Debbon, how may I be of assistance?”
Getting right to the point, he said, “I understand you were just visiting with Elder Rasa. May I ask what matter you discussed with her?” He paid close attention to Senjin’s reaction, hoping to find some answer to the man’s visit even if he chose not to disclose it to him.
“I’m sorry, Elder Debbon, but that conversation was entirely private. You’ll have to ask Rasa if she wants to share with you.”
Ascension Watchers Page 4