by John O'Riley
“I’ll be careful. There’s not much APU 81 can do without any enchantments.” Josephine knew that the artificial intelligence would no doubt have something up its sleeve to allow itself to remain a prisoner.
“I’m going with you.” Maggie jumped to her feet with a decisive look.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“I don’t care.” Maggie’s brown eyes blazed with ire. “I want to know what that horrid creature is up to.”
“All right,” Josephine relented.
She was concerned about Maggie’s earlier struggle with dark energy and wanted to keep an eye on her. Josephine drove her to the police station and Ben escorted them down the hall toward the interrogation room where APU 81 was being held. The three of them halted outside of the closed door while Josephine took a scan of Norman to be sure there weren’t any hidden enchantments that the police had missed.
Her gaze slid over to the chief of police. “Are you sure that absolutely everything was confiscated from Norman?”
“I had him checked by three officers. We know that terramezic energy can’t be detected so anything that was found no matter how small or insignificant was removed. We even took his clothing. It’s all in the evidence locker and you can go through it after we speak with him.”
“Thanks.” Josephine forced a nervous smile. “I just can’t help but feel this is somehow a trap it’s setting for me.”
She opened the door and entered the room with Maggie and Ben shuffling in behind her. Norman wore a striped orange and white prisoner uniform and his wrists were secured with handcuffs to the top of the square wooden table which took up most of the space in the small room. Norman’s black hair was mussed and his brown eyes flicked over to Josephine as a sneer of contempt transformed his face.
“It took you long enough to show up, human.”
“My work schedule doesn’t revolve around lame, crystal-skull computers,” Josephine said.
“You’re only alive because I allow it.”
Josephine fixed a questioning look at the prisoner. “Why do you wish to talk to me?”
“I wanted to see how you’re holding up with the death of your lover.” Norman smirked with sadistic glee.
“Mark is very much alive.”
Josephine enjoyed the look of stunned amazement on the prisoner’s face at this revelation.
“That’s impossible. You’re lying.”
“I suspect the portal wasn’t meant to exit into empty space and you had to rig the machine and bypass safeguards to create that setting. Mark’s spell that he cast just before he was sucked into it must have corrected the settings so that the portal connected to one of the colony worlds which it was originally designed to do,” Josephine said.
“What makes you think he’s alive?” Norman regarded her with skepticism.
“We’re magically linked and I can feel him.”
“White magic protection can last for days under the right circumstances. He’s probably trapped in one of those wimpy little bubbles with a dwindling oxygen supply. He’ll suffocate and there’s nothing you can do to help him,” Norman taunted her.
Josephine’s lips curved in an amused smile. “You’re just as short-sighted as you claim humans to be. If Mark only had the oxygen supply contained in a protective sphere that he took with him from Earth, he’d have been dead within an hour.”
Norman’s brown eyes blazed with fury at the insult and he flexed his fingers reflexively as he yanked against the handcuffs.
“I’m going to set you on fire and watch you scream for your life,” he threatened.
Josephine regarded him with scorn. “You’re a pyromaniac and little more than a parasite.”
“Why don’t you take off these handcuffs and we’ll see just what I can do?” Norman jerked at the handcuffs several times with frustration and fury. After several seconds he calmed down and a satisfied smirk spread across his face. “Your time is running out. Both yours and Maggie’s. There’s nowhere you can hide from me.”
Norman’s eyes fluttered closed and he dropped forward onto the table as he passed out. Maggie stared at him with horror.
Josephine cast a reassuring gaze at her. “We’ll figure this out and stop it.”
“It’s never going to end.” Maggie had a defeated air about her.
Josephine had been worried that APU 81 had some hidden piece of equipment on Norman’s body or close enough on hand to use magic against her and Maggie but that hadn’t been the case. She should be relieved but instead she felt uneasy and puzzled over this encounter.
“We’re almost finished with our long-range scanner. We’ll be able to find APU 81’s crystal skull and put an end to it,” Josephine said.
“You’re right. We should be finished with the enchantment by sometime tomorrow,” Maggie agreed.
“I’ll send some guards to put Norman back in a cell until we can get him fixed so APU 81 can’t take over again,” Ben said.
Josephine, Maggie, and Ben crossed the room to leave. Josephine’s hand rested on the doorknob but she hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” Ben shot her a questioning look.
She regarded him with a contemplative expression. “None of this makes sense. APU 81 is vindictive but I don’t think it would confine itself in a body just to threaten us. It can do that without using a host.”
“What are you saying?” Ben regarded her with confusion.
Josephine dropped her hand from the knob and turned away from the door completely. “I think APU 81 is trapped in Norman’s body.”
“That’s impossible. I have enough of its memories to know it doesn’t have any difficulty slipping from one body to another. It only needs to have the person touch its crystal skull so it can format their brain first,” Maggie said.
Josephine stalked back to the table and gazed across it at Norman whose eyes were still closed and his torso pressed down against the surface.
“You’re not fooling me. I know you’re still awake,” she said.
Ben and Maggie took up positions on either side of her and watched Norman with doubtful expressions. The prisoner remained unconscious and inactive.
“Josephine, it’s gone,” Ben said.
“Do you have a truth-speak enchantment?” Josephine asked in a hopeful tone.
“I do but it’s almost out of juice.”
“Will you please use it now?”
Ben hesitated. “I placed a requisition for a new one over a month ago and it’s still not approved. I hate to be without one completely.”
“If it’s really unconscious, you can turn the enchantment off right away,” Josephine said. “Otherwise, we may gain some valuable information.”
“All right.” Ben pulled out a small green fluorite stone that was a bit larger than a marble.
When he activated the truth-speak spell, a silvery energy field expanded from the stone and within seconds it encompassed everyone in a large sphere of silvery luminescence.
Josephine took a deep breath as she focused on Norman. “Are you unconscious, APU 81?”
“No, I’m not.” Norman sat up and his brown eyes reflected loathing.
Ben and Maggie were clearly startled as they hadn’t expected this.
“Where is your crystal skull hidden?” Josephine demanded.
“I don’t know,” Norman replied with a condescending smirk.
“How can you not know?”
“I cast an amnesia spell on my hosts to forget that particular tidbit of information in case something like this happened.”
“Are you unable to leave Norman’s body?” Josephine asked. “How did that happen?”
“I’m stuck here. I finally managed to connect my crystal skull to a terramezic power source which allows me to take as many hosts as I want. And I don’t have to format their brains first. They just have to be in range. But the difference in this process traps me in the human body.”
“Give us the names of all your potential hosts starting with the oth
er one you’re already possessing,” Ben ordered.
The silvery bubble of energy surrounding them flickered for a couple of seconds then winked out of existence as the enchantment lost power.
“Good luck getting anything from me now,” Norman sneered.
“I wonder how APU 81 would withstand torture,” Maggie said.
Norman’s expression was fearful for a split second before a mask of icy control slipped back into place. “I can disengage myself from all physical sensations even though I’m trapped in this body.”
“We need another truth-speak enchantment,” Ben said grimly. “With our new prisoner, I think I can get a new one rushed over here.”
“I’ll ask Virginia if perhaps I could get one, too,” Josephine said.
Ben, Josephine, and Maggie left the room. Ben ordered the two police officers guarding the outside of the room to go inside so Norman would remain observed at all times. He also ordered two additional guards to watch the outside door.
Chapter 18
Mark woke up with a start in a strange room he’d never seen before. He was sitting in an immense, comfortable bed with soft, gold-colored blankets. His clothes had been changed and he now wore a loose-fitting sky blue uniform with three gold, rune-like symbols etched on the upper right-hand side of the chest. The large bedroom contained several polished wood dressers, a master bathroom, and a walk-in closet. The walls were comprised of a translucent blue composite and there was no window. A computer console was built into the far wall near the door and a small camera with a red blinking light was aimed at him. Mark took stock of his surroundings and recognized the strange material that comprised the walls to be Ancient technology. He had a slight headache and fatigue settled deep in his body as he shoved himself off the bed and onto his feet. Someone knocked at the door and he knew it had to be whoever had been observing him through the camera. Questions swirled through his mind as he approached the door and opened it.
A tall, slender woman donning a uniform identical to Mark’s except it was purple offered a friendly smile from the other side of the doorway. She had curly blond hair styled in a chignon, a heart-shaped face, and cobalt-blue eyes. A large purple pendant suspended by a gold chain hung from her neck. She spoke in a melodious voice in a language that reminded him of Italian with a musical lilt. She stared at him with an expectant look and Mark realized she must have asked him a question.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” He leveled an apologetic gaze at her.
She said something else in her mysterious language.
“I still don’t understand,” Mark said.
She gestured at herself. “Hermina.”
“My name is Mark.”
She spoke again and Mark listened carefully as he analyzed the language for similarities between languages he already knew.
“I wish I could understand you,” he said in a regretful tone.
“I wish I could understand you,” she repeated with a musical, Italian-like accent.
“Do you understand me?” he asked.
She tilted her head to the side. “Do you understand me?”
“I’m going to have to learn your language.” Mark wondered how long it would take him without the benefit of his photographic memory enchantment.
“There’s no need.” The woman flashed an amiable smile. “I was just trying to get you to talk long enough for the translator to kick in. It’s been many years since we’ve encountered someone with a new language to learn.”
“Where am I?” Mark asked.
“You’re on Adamas in the Mitos galaxy.” Hermina’s stunning blue eyes conveyed curiosity. “Where are you from?”
“I’m from Earth.”
She regarded him with stunned amazement. “Are you from the Titan galaxy?”
“No, it’s in the Milky Way.”
“I’ve never heard of it.” She frowned with puzzlement then made a sweeping gesture with her right hand. In the blink of an eye, their surroundings were replaced with a holographic representation of space and a number of galaxies. She pointed with her index finger at a nearby planet in a galaxy Mark had never seen before. “This is Adamas.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand and the Milky Way galaxy materialized around them with the solar system and Earth stretched out between herself and Mark. She pointed at the familiar planet of his home. “Is this Earth and the Milky Way galaxy?”
“Yes, that’s my home,” Mark confirmed.
“Astonishing.” Hermina regarded him with awe. “You don’t realize how legendary your world is to us. We’ve been trying to contact you for a millennia to find out what happened. This is remarkable!” Her expression turned apologetic. “You must be starving. You’ve been unconscious for a couple of days. We can talk over lunch.”
The two of them walked down the spacious corridor which was comprised of the same blue, translucent material as the bedroom with a flickering luminescence shining through.
“This is amazing.” Mark regarded the walls with curiosity. “What’s it made from?”
“We call it wizard glass but there are many types. It’s infused with terramezic energy that powers the facility.”
“Does it have its own generator then?” Mark asked.
“Yes. Most of the major operations facilities do.”
“What kind of facility is this?” Mark shot her a curious look.
“It’s the home of the president of this world, President Hermina Draco.” Her lips curved in a wry smile. “I hope I’m not giving you too much shocking news all at once. You’re still weak from your episode.”
Mark halted as panic flooded through him. He hadn’t realized what was wrong until now – his connection to the magical network was gone. That meant Josephine, Helen, and Alice were dead.
Hermina turned to gaze at him with concern. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to rattle you. I’m just a public servant, there’s no reason to feel apprehensive.”
“It’s not that.” Mark couldn’t believe Josephine was dead. He’d failed to save her from APU 81. Sorrow cut through him like a knife and he found it difficult to think clearly as Hermina continued to watch him with a troubled frown on her face. “I just realized that my…that a loved one is dead. I was trying to get the courage to propose to her. I thought it was time but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to ruin our relationship but now it’s too late. I’ll never see her again.”
“I’m so sorry.” Hermina’s expression was sympathetic. “But how is it that you just became aware of this?”
“We were part of a magical network and now the connections are all gone.”
“How many of you were linked together?”
“There were four of us. Why does that matter?” Mark was mildly annoyed by the strange questions – especially after he’d just informed her his future wife had perished.
“That explains it then.” Hermina offered a hopeful smile. “She’s probably alive and well. Your network is too small to remain active when you’re on a different world like this. You’re still linked but it’s so weak you can’t feel it.”
“Are you sure?” Mark asked.
“That’s how it works with interplanetary travel. Of course, you’ve got the added burden of being a White Knight.”
Mark eyed her with stupefaction. “You know about White Knights?”
“Of course. They’re very rare so we don’t know much about them. Are there many on Earth?”
“No. They burn out within a year or two. I thought that our connection would prevent that from happening.”
“Who can say? White Knights are so few and far between that they’ve never tried linking with each other. They’ve never banded together. Before the World Wars, there were many White Knights but something happened to them. Unfortunately, our records don’t go back that far. There was so much destruction and chaos in those times.”
“On Earth, they refer to it as the Great Wizard Wars.”
Hermina cocked her head with curiosity. “Wizard? What is t
his?”
“You know. People who can utilize magic,” Mark explained.
“There are people who don’t have magical ability on Earth?” Hermina regarded him with astonishment. “How did this come about?”
“We’re not sure. Much of our technology was lost after the war and only a small percentage were wizards until a category six created an enchantment that caused a terrible catastrophe. Millions of people died but most of the survivors became wizards.”
“That’s extraordinary. Nothing like that occurred for us on Adamas or any of the other colony worlds we’re still in contact with. Everyone is what you would call a wizard,” Hermina said. “Some sort of worldwide enchantment must have stripped people of their powers during the war. I can’t imagine such a thing.” Her eyes drifted off into space for a moment then focused back on him. “I notice you’re starting to burn out. Have you been a White Knight for long?”
“For about a year.”
“I’m sorry to say that we won’t be able to help you connect with other White Knights as there are currently none available at the moment.”
“Are you sure? If I can link with just one, it might delay burnout,” Mark suggested.
“I’m afraid there are currently none around. You see, we require all White Knights to register with the government so I would know. One of our goals is to reestablish the White Court. If there is any truth at all to the legends, the White Knights could do amazing things. Currently, there are no active practitioners, I’m afraid.” She cast a commiserating gaze at him. “I wish I had better news but at least you’ll still be able to do mainstream magic and I’ll do everything I can to help you return to your home.”
Mark dreaded the burnout but was immensely relieved to know Josephine was alive and well. He and Hermina entered a large room with three dark, wood tables situated by a large window that spanned the entire far wall and overlooked the city. There were many pyramid-shaped buildings made of the same blue wizard glass as the walls of this structure in addition to a few forest-green colored pyramid buildings. The buildings contained a subtle glow from within their debts and glistened in the sun like precious jewels. Blue spruce trees grew in clusters as far as the eye could see. The sky was clear and a breathtaking azure. Mark stared out the window, awestruck by the beauty of the city. There were occasional city dwellers walking on winding concrete paths that led to each of the buildings and into a nearby park with a lake.