by John O'Riley
“And when the centers are connected, Helen’s portal will power up faster.” Josephine fixed a contemplative gaze on Perry. “How much time will it take if we’re successful before we can use Helen’s enchantment?”
“It shouldn’t be more than a day or two. Your power center generates massive amounts of light energy.”
Maggie’s expression remained skeptical. “I find this very hard to believe but if it works, I think it’s worth the time and effort.”
“Maybe I should call Helen and run this by her,” Josephine said.
“There’s nothing we can do until tomorrow,” Perry said. “We can discuss it over coffee and I can help her finish the portal afterwards.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Josephine’s lips formed a pleasant smile. “Thanks for suggesting this.”
“Sure.” Perry grinned back at her and his friendly, brown eyes twinkled with anticipation over the new plan.
“Can I take a look at the power center connection enchantments you made?” Josephine asked.
“Sure.” Perry dropped down on his hands and knees so he could pull out a couple of large rocks from underneath the couch he’d occupied.
Josephine regarded him with fond amusement. He stood up and handed her the rocks.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
Josephine directed her psychic awareness at the enchantments in her hands. The matrix that comprised the spell formed a beautiful array of silver, blue, and green that pulsed gently as she examined it. Understanding how light energy functioned remained a mystery to her even though she’d worked with Mark in creating mainstream magic infused with white magic. When the two magics combined, the spells operated within the guidelines of mainstream magic. Light energy enchantments functioned entirely different and were often unreliable – especially in the proximity of dark energy of any kind. Regardless of the mixed results she’d experienced with white magic, Josephine looked forwarded to trying out Perry’s idea.
Chapter 24
Josephine hadn’t slept much last night as she wanted to rescue Mark as soon as possible and knowing there might be a way to accomplish this feat kept her mind racing. She hoped this wouldn’t lead to another dead end. Josephine, Alice, Helen, Maggie, and Perry gathered in Helen’s living room with their mugs of coffee. Josephine explained Perry’s plan to Helen and Alice and tensed as she waited for their reactions.
Alice scowled with displeasure. “I’m not sure I like this. We’re trusting white magic to transport us to whatever strange world Mark is trapped on and then we’re trusting white magic to swoop us back to Earth. How exactly do we return here?”
“The portal can only be activated from this end. Perry will have to remain here to activate it in case it closes before we can return,” Josephine advised.
“I don’t like the sound of this at all,” Alice grumbled. “And how long do we have to find Mark before that contraption closes up?”
“There’s no way for us to accurately predict that but Perry’s best guess was about ten minutes,” Josephine said.
“Ten minutes!” Alice’s expression reflected incredulous disbelief. “That’s outrageous! What if we’re always more than ten minutes away from the portal when it opens? I’m assuming it will always open in a different spot because this is white magic, after all. It would be too easy for the portal to pop up in the same place each time.”
Josephine hated to admit her friend had a point. “That’s true. The departure point will manifest in a different location each time. Mark is good with tracking spells and he’ll be able to get us there.”
“Assuming we’re within walking distance,” Alice pointed out.
“I’m willing to take the risk,” Helen said. “I’ll go with you, Josephine.”
“You can count me in, too,” Maggie said.
Alice rolled her eyes with exasperation. “Of course, I’ll go. But I don’t like it.”
Josephine took a sip of her coffee to hide the amused smile on her face. Alice always came through for her and she was grateful for that. Josephine cherished the life-long friendships she shared with Helen and Alice. She considered herself truly blessed. Perry slurped his coffee as he took a drink. He often did that as he didn’t require food but instead, light energy for sustenance.
“You’re not supposed to drink like that,” Alice said.
“I’m not?” Perry eyed her with puzzlement. “How should I do it?”
“Watch me carefully.” Alice lifted her mug to her lips and took a quiet sip with slow movements so he could see. “Do you see the difference?”
Perry’s intent gaze never strayed from her. “Not really.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter.” Alice tossed her shoulders in a dismissive shrug. Her expression turned contemplative. “I’m wondering how we deal with this new threat from APU 81. Now that it has unlimited potential for host bodies, we’re never going to be safe. We need to understand how this thing works so we can discover weaknesses. Now that the skull itself is fully operational because it is directly hooked into a source of terramezic energy, why would that make it trapped in a host body? Why would the artificial intelligence be designed to function that way?”
Maggie’s eyes lit with comprehension. “It’s not! The crystal skulls were never designed to seize control of a person. They did that to survive when they fought in the war. Their function was to operate facilities. They were the apex of computer technology and so advanced that they started to become self-aware. It makes perfect sense that they would encounter limitations when submerging their consciousness into a human being.”
“What kind of side-effects do you think APU 81 might suffer?” Josephine asked.
“It’s hard to say but I would guess that the host thoughts would be more prominent. It might be confusing for an AI to have the thoughts of multiple minds that it can’t shut out. The more hosts that it controls, the more magnified this side-effect would be. Another problem it might encounter is a longer reaction time due to the processing requirements of controlling multiple hosts. Of course, I have no idea if these are things APU 81 is suffering from or not.”
“Is there anything you can think of that might give us an advantage we could use against it?” Josephine asked.
“I’ve been thinking about that. If we could capture it again, we may be able to disable it. We do have those short-range terramezic detectors and if we can sense the connection, maybe we can send a power surge through it to the skull,” Maggie suggested.
“That’s a great idea. We should include that in our report to Virginia,” Josephine said. “I wonder if we’ll get a chance to capture one of its hosts.”
“It might feel vulnerable if it’s suffering from any of these side-effects. That could be why it didn’t attack us at the beach last night,” Maggie said.
“Chances are APU 81 will strike again when we least expect it.” Alice took another sip of her coffee. “I think you may want to hold off telling Virginia about this trip you’re taking.”
“Why is that?” Josephine asked.
“Because she’s answerable to her supervisors and Arthur tends to rain on our parade. For all we know, they might tell you that you have to stay here and let Arthur’s team find Mark.”
Anxiety churned in Josephine’s gut. “I hadn’t thought of that but you’re right. We’ll have to keep this quiet.”
She pinned a worried look at Maggie and wondered if she’d cooperate.
“Alice is right. We can’t take any chances that the FBI or MADA will muck this up,” Maggie said.
Josephine relaxed just a little but she was still nervous over the necessity of keeping this a secret from Virginia and the unreliability of white magic bothered her. The entire success of their plan hinged on source energy and she wished that there was some other way.
“I think Helen and I should finish her portal. It shouldn’t take us long.” Perry turned his attention to Helen. “If that’s okay with you?”
“That’s fine. I’m too nervous
to enjoy my coffee right now anyway.” Helen offered a faint smile as she rose to her feet.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Josephine threw Perry a questioning gaze.
“Thanks for the offer but I need a White Knight,” he said.
“I’ll watch then.” Josephine followed Perry and Helen down the hallway.
She leaned against the door frame to the bedroom as Perry and Helen took up a position in front of the circle of rocks. Josephine opened her awareness to the subtle energies that wafted and flowed through the room. Breathtaking streams of gold, turquoise, and silver whirled through the air. The energy matrix of the enchantment contained within the circle of rocks reminded her of a sculpture at an art exhibit. Perry and Helen pulsed light energy with care and precision. Their bodies blazed with a white luminescence mixed with thin streams of green, turquoise, and silver that sometimes sparked like mini fireworks as they worked. The energy matrix of the enchantment shifted and stirred as they tweaked it. Josephine found herself holding her breath with anticipation as she could feel its completion imminent. She hoped with every fiber of her being that they succeeded. She needed this to work. She simply couldn’t allow Mark to remain marooned and helpless on an alien world for countless weeks and months when his life may be in danger.
The energy matrix brightened for several seconds as its pattern was set and then its light died down to a soft glow. Perry and Helen turned and grinned at each other with excitement over this accomplishment.
“It’s beautiful,” Josephine murmured.
It was obvious Perry and Helen hadn’t heard her as they locked gazes with each other. Their senses were still heightened and Josephine could see a white mist-like energy mixed with bits of turquoise and pink drift from their bodies like an aura. Subtle energy currents from their major and minor chakras flowed between Perry and Helen as their attention transfixed on each other. Perry’s gaze was heated yet confused. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Helen’s. His hands settled on her shoulders in a loose grip as the kiss deepened. Josephine stared with shock at this display and prepared to slip out of the room to give her friends privacy but Perry pulled back with stunned amazement and confusion.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened,” he apologized.
Helen regarded him with a warm smile. “You must have thought I needed it.”
Josephine left the room and her heart sang with joy at the thought of Helen in love. Another part of her wondered how it would work out since Perry was a light being with no experience in romantic love. In fact, corporeal existence seemed very alien to him. On the other hand, she couldn’t help but think they were well-suited for each other and wondered why the idea hadn’t occurred to her before. She sat down at her spot at the dining room table.
“What are you so happy about?” Alice peered at her with curiosity.
“It’s nothing.” Josephine decided she should keep this to herself for now. She didn’t want to spoil a relationship that hadn’t even officially started yet. “Perry and Helen finished the enchantment. All that’s left is to connect the power center here with the one at my house and we’ll soon have ourselves an interplanetary portal.”
Without warning, an icy tendril of dread snaked down Josephine’s spine. Her intuition kicked in and she knew Mark was going to die within moments. The mug of coffee almost slipped from her grasp as stark terror scattered her thoughts and churned through her mind.
“We need to strengthen our connection with Mark. Something’s terribly wrong,” Josephine announced.
Chapter 25
Mark struggled to squelch the overwhelming terror that slashed at his mind as adrenaline surged through his veins. Two of the guards escorted him in front while two remained behind and another marched beside him. Their crisp black uniforms seemed identical to each other at first glance but he noticed the man next to him had different letters on the upper-right hand portion of his chest. They must be a rank and identification number. It couldn’t be a name because there weren’t enough letters for that. This particular guard shared similar features to Ludovic such as the shape of his face, the cerulean eyes, the black wavy hair, and the lean muscular build of his body. Mark would have guessed they were relatives except that Ludovic was an AI using an android as his avatar. Mark didn’t see any possible avenue of escape but if he gathered as much information as possible, perhaps he could discover a way out of this dire situation.
Mark leveled an inquisitive gaze at the man beside him. “Are you somehow related to Ludovic?”
“You could say that.” The guard’s lips curled in a mocking smirk. “I’m Dorionus, his son.”
“How can that be? He’s an AI.”
“He has many children. Just because we’re not biological, doesn’t mean we can’t reproduce, human.” Dorionus regarded him with contempt.
Mark believed he understood. “So you’re saying he’s made more crystal skull AI’s.”
“All of the original AI’s have made children,” Dorionus confirmed. “Ludovic has made many more than the others.”
“Do YOU have any kids?” Mark asked.
“It is not allowed until we reach a certain age and receive approval from the Parliament.”
Mark briefly activated his intuition and detected that Dorionus resented the fact that his request for permission to create offspring of his own had been denied.
“It’s a shame you don’t have the freedom to do what you really want to.” Mark shot him a commiserating look.
The android’s expression turned murderous. “What I enjoy the most is carving up humans and watching the life slowly drain from their eyes.”
Mark’s intuition warned him that this was indeed true and it sickened him. He turned away so he faced forward and struggled to squelch the rising panic. Dorionus hadn’t slowed his stride during their brief conversation and they had almost reached the entrance to this facility. Mark was tempted to make a run for it but knew that was pointless. The guards possessed brass wands and other enchantments hidden within the pockets of their uniforms. Mark was amazed that he still carried his own restoration wands, protection amulet, and teleportation enchantments tucked away in his own pockets. Even though someone had changed his clothing while he’d been unconscious flirting with burnout, this person had transferred all of his possessions to his uniform. Had it been Hermina? She probably figured his white magic wasn’t a threat because he was too weak to use it and that assessment was accurate. He couldn’t even summon enough source energy to ignite the protection spell.
All too soon, they entered the facility and marched down the long gold corridor that was lit with the soft, shimmering luminescence from within the depths of the wizard glass along with the lighting strips on the ceiling and the simulated skylights placed strategically throughout the facility. They entered a spacious room with large chairs tilted slightly backward, cots, and long rectangular work tables.
“Sit down.” Dorionus gestured at one of the chairs closest to them.
Mark sank into the seat which had a softer texture than the composite of the walls even though it appeared to be constructed of the same material. As soon as he put his arms on the armrest, two sets of straps whipped out of hidden slots to secure his lower arms. He was immobile and all chances of escape had banished. Stark terror clouded his mind as Dorionus took a syringe shaped like a gun and stabbed it into his upper arm. Mark’s magical network flared to life and light energy began to trickle into him. Josephine and the others must be working on their connections but it would only be enough to stave off burnout. There wasn’t enough magic to cast a spell except for scans which would not afford any chance of escape. Dorionus withdrew five samples of blood from Mark contained in blue, cylindrical-shaped vials of wizard glass which he placed in a storage box embedded within the wall of the medical room.
When Dorionus turned back to face Mark, his blue eyes gleamed with pleasure and anticipation. “Now comes the fun part.”
He picked up a da
gger from the worktable beside him as he approached Mark. The other four guards had all taken up positions on either side of the door and watched with sickened expressions on their faces. It was obvious they’d seen Dorionus in action before. They averted their gazes as the android’s lips curled in a demented smile and the blade of the knife hovered over Mark’s chest. Mark squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the pain and imminent death.
“Open your eyes and look at me, human,” Dorionus said.
Mark refused to obey, he would not give this sadistic bastard the satisfaction of playing his sick and twisted game.
Dorionus reached out with his left hand and squeezed Mark’s throat savagely. “Open your eyes or I will make you suffer.”
Mark’s lungs burned as every breath turned into a laborious and painful struggle for oxygen. After a long horrible moment, Mark realized that Dorionus knew precisely how much pressure to apply to make it painful yet to keep him conscious. He wanted to stab Mark and to see the flicker of life leave his victim’s eyes. Mark abruptly realized a larger concentration of light energy flowed to him than the previous times and if he focused hard enough, he may be able to trigger his protection amulet. He gathered all the light energy he could muster but with his body suffering from oxygen depravation, he couldn’t control it well enough to use it.
Mark opened his eyes. “Why is this so important to you?”
Dorionus released the grip around his victim’s neck and his striking blue eyes conveyed a sick, demented enjoyment as he savored this moment.