I resisted the urge to throw my hands up. I tugged on the ends of my bangs instead.
What part of we were here to help did he not understand? Could he not put aside his bias just long enough to let us do our work? And why did Silver ask me to leave? What happened to working together?
Were we going to have the same issue with the others? If so, how would I handle the Magister?
Looking up information on the Magister would keep me distracted and more importantly where Silver expected to find me.
Once I calmed, I could feel the pull of the system again. How was a machine doing this?
Dropping down into a nearby chair, I dug out my tablet and searched for the name in the records I originally brought with me from the Arcane College when I transferred.
I would be missing the last few years, but I could get a rough idea of who I would be dealing with. Gerard Murkell, where was he? Finally I found his record.
He was awarded Magister a couple of years before I left. He went out on a couple of assignments, but had been recalled from each for misconduct.
That he managed so much in only a couple of very short assignments either impressed or disgusted me - I could not decide which. I wished I had more updated records, but these would have to suffice.
No real focus on study. Made effort only when he was coming up on being removed for not advancing. There was nothing here I found useful. Though his lack of ambition in the arcane arts explained why he struggled with the system.
I switched over to the case file. Sparky should have updated it with the new information we sent by now. Once I found it, I pulled up the spreadsheet again. What other tests had Mason Holland taken part in?
“Please don’t tell me there’s been another accident,” Jonim said. I looked up to find him coming down the hall.
“Oh, no. Silver’s doing an interview. Priest Holland took offense that I’m an arcane caster,” I said, keeping my voice as even as possible.
“Not surprised. Mason is one of the more aggressive ones. Guess I should wait my turn.” Jonim sat down across from me.
Now seemed a good of time as any. “We were hoping to have a chance to talk with you about the accident since you were there.”
“I knew the two of you would come looking for me soon enough. Hoped to catch you at the airport. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Jake since you’ve seen how he can get.”
I raised an eyebrow at the admission. “Is there a place we can talk privately?”
“Yeah, my office is good. Do you want to wait for your partner?”
Glancing at the door, I thought it over. “If you don’t mind. He’s been in there a while and I’d go check, but I don’t feel like taking insults again right now.”
Jonim smiled softly. “Alright, besides, I want to have it out with the bastard anyway and you gave me one more thing to come down on him for.”
He disappeared through the infirmary door leaving me alone again with the siren’s call.
I needed to focus. Maybe read through what they uncovered so far regarding Spelltech?
Sparky had done me one better and included copies of the papers Jake authored. This could make for an interesting read. Settling further down in the chair, I hoped to gain some insight into the archaeologist turned weapons developer.
I browsed the titles and chose one which sounded appropriate for the particular system being developed. About the time I got fed up with Jake repeating himself and started skimming for new information, Silver and Jonim came out of the infirmary.
My partner appeared relieved when he saw me. What happened in there? I figured that conversation would have to wait.
“I know I shouldn’t be the one doing it, but sorry about Mason’s attitude. He’ll probably still be a stuck up bastard, but he knows not to impede your investigation,” Jonim said.
“Actually, you might get an apology out of him. I came down pretty hard on him,” Silver added. “I just wouldn’t go in there right now looking for it.”
Is that why he asked me to step out? I was both touched and annoyed at the gesture. I nodded and put my tablet in my bag, waiting for Jonim to lead the way. His office was a couple of buildings over. The thought crossed my mind that Jonim was possibly being too helpful, but I would wait and see where things went.
Taking a seat, Jonim settled behind his desk and looked back and forth between us. “Like I said before, I ain’t trying to impede your investigation, but I didn’t want to say anything in front of Jake.”
“Because of how he reacts to things, correct?” I asked.
Jonim sighed. “Yeah. As much as it might look like it, Jake and I ain’t friends. Frankly, I only tolerate him because it’s my job.”
“Does he know you were at the test?” Silver asked.
Jonim snorted. “He better. He asked me to fill-in for him. Had some important appointment he couldn’t miss or something. I might sit in normally if I’ve got the time because the military obviously has interest in the project, but ain’t seen him miss one yet.”
I jotted down what he said on my tablet. That saved us time in reviewing footage from previous tests.
“Anything out of the ordinary outside of that?” Silver asked.
“Just that we were testing only the defense part of the system. Seeing if there was something that could help figure out why they’ve been struggling with the offense part.”
“Makes sense to some extent,” I noted. “Spelltech treats both parts of the system similarly.”
“I take it no changes were made to the system since the previous test then.” I was glad Silver was here. He was better with people.
“No. Or at least there shouldn’t have been,” Jonim said.
Silver stroked the small patch of hair on his chin. “Why bring both an arcane and a divine caster if only one system was being tested?”
Jonim shrugged. “Beats me why Jake ordered it. I assumed he wanted to see who could get more out of it. And I can’t help but notice you’re a bit better armed after yesterday.”
I glanced down at the holster attached to my thigh and then at Silver. He was the one who insisted I wear it.
“A hopefully unnecessary precaution. Besides, she needs to break the holster in,” my partner explained.
I rolled my eyes.
“Have there been any odd reportings from the casters testing the system?” Silver asked.
“Odd as in how?” Jonim asked.
I kept my eyes down and silently pleaded for Silver to stop.
“Any type of feedback. Something beyond what would be expected in operating the system.”
“Not that I’m aware of. Most of them complain it’s like trying to push through a wall. You got something else though, lass, I’m sure of it. You barely touched one of the grips and the system fired up like it never has before. Great it works. Not so great you’re the only one to manage it.”
I refused to look up.
“Why is that a negative?” Silver asked.
Jonim took a deep breath. “Because it means we’re really limited on who can operate it. That’s not going to work for the higher-ups.”
“Good point,” Silver noted.
“Would anyone have wanted to hurt Mason specifically?” I asked. I had to change the subject. I needed to keep Silver from bringing up what I experienced.
“Not to that extent. They have no idea who might be testing what and when until they’re called on.”
I frowned.
“But likely Jake knows,” Silver said.
“Sabotage his own project? The man might be a bit crazy, but he’d be insane to do it. It’s his brain child - I can’t imagine him doing anything of the sort. Not to mention what benefit would there be?”
I shrugged. “Just exploring all avenues.”
~*~
“Did you have to come up with another theory?” Silver whined as we left the building.
I signaled him aside and dropped my voice. “Look, I just don’t want them
finding out everything that happened yesterday. I mean, I don’t even understand it myself. Hells, I don’t even know what the eye-color changing thing is.”
My partner eyed me for a moment. “You don’t?”
“It’s not like I can see it.”
Silver glanced around for a moment before pulling me closer against the building. “Before when it happened, it was just the gray part of your eyes that continuously shifted colors. Yesterday the effect covered your entire eye. They didn’t see it because your back was to them.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
“It doesn’t mean I’m not still worried. Ketayl, you’ve been distracted since you touched the system.”
Mentally I cursed - I thought it went unnoticed. “Just a lot to think about. So many possibilities and I’m no closer to an answer than when we arrived.”
Silver stared at me for a minute before backing away. Lying to him hurt, but what was my other option?
“Have you thought about the fact it’ll happen again when you test the system?” His back was to me.
I bit my lower lip. “Yes, but I plan on being better prepared next time. We should finish our interviews and then start in on the files.” I wanted this conversation over and strode toward where we parked our loaner vehicle.
My feet halted when I saw the rear tire on the driver’s side was flat. First getting insulted by Mason and now this. Today was not going well.
Silver went over and knelt down next to the tire, examining the problem. He pulled his phone out and a business card.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“It’s been slashed. I’m calling Jonim.” Silver stood up and took a few steps away once he put the phone to his ear.
I sighed and pulled my camera out, taking pictures of the tire. Was this targeted or simply someone wanting to cause damage? The rental stickers in the back driver’s side window and the temporary tag in the front would easily mark it as a visiting vehicle.
While we waited for Jonim to come out, I pulled out my tablet and the cable to connect it to my camera to upload the images to the case file. Should I inform Lockonis?
Jonim arrived with a couple of other officers. “You two okay?”
“Yeah,” Silver said, “Just found this little surprise when we got here. Figured I’d wait to have you guys look at it before changing it.”
“Appreciate it. Actually, we can have it pulled into the garage to be dealt with and better looked at.” Jonim stroked his beard.
“You want a full investigation, sir?” one of the men with him asked.
“Yes. Ain’t dumb enough to think this a coincidence. No one else in the area has been touched and they ain’t the only visitor.”
Once the files uploaded, I packed the camera away and examined the images I took. “I’ll have Sparks look at these, but I’m thinking a knife with a serrated edge was used.”
Jonim stroked his beard. “It not be a common type of knife around here. We don’t host combat units.” He signaled for the men with him to begin and then for us to follow him. “I can set you up with one of our fleet vehicles if you would like.”
“We can walk for now,” Silver said.
I mentally groaned at the thought. Spelltech’s warehouse was on the other side of the base.
“Alright, I’ll check in on you folks later and see if you need anything.” Jonim returned to the others.
I sighed and hefted my bag up on my shoulder. “Is this area under video surveillance?”
Jonim stopped and turned. “Yeah, planned on pulling the footage myself, why?”
“Can we get a copy?” I asked.
The Commander nodded. “Yeah, don’t see a problem with that. I’ll forward it to you when I get it.”
“Thank you.” I looked up at Silver. “We should get going.”
Chapter 7
“What are you reading?” Silver asked. We had taken a break from sorting through the mountains of papers and plans stacked all over the office. We ended up creating a file system to some extent while we slogged through.
“One of the papers Jake wrote when he was an archaeologist. It might have something to do with the system.”
Silver put his hand on my tablet, pushing it down. “Take a break.”
“I’m fine.” I needed to stay busy being this close to the system.
“No, you’re not. Why don’t we go see how they’re doing with fixing the tire and then get something to eat?”
His plan would put some distance between me and the system. “Yeah, okay.”
“We can compare notes since it’s a long walk.”
We reached the door before we were stopped. “Ketayl! Good, I caught you before you left.” Jake was out of breath from running across the warehouse. “I’d like to have you fully test the system.”
I heard the faint creaking sound of Silver’s fingerless gloves. If he was clenching his fists, then I was about to have a different problem on my hands.
“Now isn’t a good time,” I said quickly, resisting the strong desire to jump at the opportunity. “Besides, I haven’t seen anything resembling a manual so I know how to navigate it. I’d like to read over the documentation on the system first.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from going over there to test the system now without any precautions.
Jake gave me that creepy smile of his. “Oh, absolutely, I can pull the information together for you.”
“The offense system can also be operated by a divine caster, correct?” I glanced up at Silver.
My partner raised an eyebrow at me, his face softened slightly.
“Yes, yes. The system is built to handle either type of energy.”
I turned back to Jake. “Then it couldn’t hurt to have another data set to work with, correct?”
Finally he looked at my partner. “Oh, of course. How rude of me. I got so wrapped up in what happened yesterday I didn’t even think about that.”
“But first we’ll want to look over and make sure there’s nothing wrong with the system per your specifications,” I added. “For now, we need to get something to eat before coming back to the reason we’re here.” I pleaded to whichever deity would listen that my words were enough to ease Silver’s concern. The system pulled harder at my resistance and I clenched my teeth at the strain.
Once we got some distance between us and Spelltech’s warehouse, Silver commented, “That was some smooth talking. I thought for certain you would jump at the chance.”
“I didn’t turn him down,” I pointed out. And with how strong the pull was, it had been difficult to say the least.
“No, but thanks for taking the precautions you did.”
I felt a little better about being able to keep Silver’s concern at bay.
“So how much did you manage to get copied?” he asked.
“Everything I put my hands on.” Which was much of the room since I spent quite a bit of time sorting information. Anything divine I gave to Silver to look over.
He grinned broadly. “Are you planning to take it to your tablet later?”
“It’ll make it a lot easier to sort through and access.”
We were about halfway back to Jonim’s building when Silver suddenly slammed into me and we fell to the side against a nearby building. I twisted in the fall - the side of my hip against the pavement and the back of my shoulder, neck, and head against the metal siding of the building. The instant headache made everything go out of focus.
I tried to push Silver off of me until I realized his actions kept us from being hit by a speeding vehicle. This day continued getting worse and it was only noon.
“You okay?” Suddenly Silver’s face was too close to mine.
I had no room to back away. “Yeah, but you’re heavy.”
He gave a quick laugh and stood up, taking me with him. I rubbed the back of my head. I hit the building harder than I thought.
I winced when he touched my head. Others were running over to us.
“We should go to the infirmary to get you looked at,” Silver said quietly.
I shook my head and immediately regretted the decision as the world spun too quickly. I grabbed Silver for support.
“You two okay?” a female Dwarf asked. She wore a Navy uniform. “I swear they never should have let some of these morons pass the drivin’ test.”
“I am, but she needs to get to the infirmary,” Silver said.
“I’m fine,” I shot back. Overprotective big brother was out and I was going to have a fight on my hands.
Others gathered around and I shifted uneasily being one of the subjects of attention. The dizziness would not let up. Actually, it had gotten worse.
The female Dwarf got into my vision. “I think not, lass. You likely have a concussion. Watched you hit the building pretty hard, but hey, it’s better than getting hit by a car.”
I gripped Silver’s forearm tightly to remain upright. Usually dizziness began to fade by now. “We should get going.” Moving would help.
Vehicles began showing up nearby. They seemed to be in a hurry.
“Ketayl, no, you need to get looked at. Do you remember anything about the last five minutes?”
“We nearly got run over.” I moved to stand up and then wondered when I sat down. Silver’s grip on my shoulder held me in place.
“Lass, that was over 10 minutes ago. You faded out there and stopped responding.”
I touched the back of my head and felt something wet. Bringing my hand forward, my fingers were covered in blood. When had this happened? I could not remember hitting my head so hard.
Thinking on it, I could not remember what the car even looked like. I turned my attention up at Silver, confused, but had a hard time focusing.
People in medical uniforms hurried over to us. There were others in Navy uniforms. Why was it so hard to concentrate?
~*~
I sat frowning at the wall in the infirmary while the doctor on duty tried to see how badly I hurt my head. There were a couple of other scrapes and bruises, but nothing I would complain about.
What confused me is why Silver had not simply used his power to deal with it. Of all the times for him to listen to me about not using his power on me, he chose now.
Conjured Defense (Terra Chronicles Book 4) Page 6