Something else caught my attention - I could access other systems I should not be able to. I returned to checking on Silver. He ran out of the room when his call went unanswered, but stopped, not knowing which way I had gone.
The lights. I could turn on the lights. Sequentially, I turned the lights on, creating a path for him. I also turned the lights on in the room I was in. This room appeared unused.
While he ran, I pulled again. Finally I landed face down on the floor with a loud thud. It took everything I had to stay flattened to the floor. The promise of balance and calm was so strong. Part of me needed to return to it.
I heard someone in the hallway and hoped it was Silver. I could not find my voice.
The sound of doors opening continued until finally Silver shoved his way into this one. I managed to pick up my head enough to see his boots before returning to staying attached to the floor.
“What in the Hells is that?” Silver asked as he knelt down and pulled me to him.
I shook with the strain of resisting the orb’s influence. My hand refused to listen and reached for the orb.
“No,” Silver said firmly, pulling my arm down.
The door slammed shut again and I made a noise somewhere between a scream and a whimper. Thankfully Silver held on tightly because I would have run for the safety of the orb.
We sat in silence for several seconds before he asked, “Did you connect to the system?”
I nodded.
“Through that?”
I nodded again. “Hit me,” I whispered. I needed to break the connection fully. I would be willing to suffer another concussion.
“What? No! Ketayl, knock it off. There’s got to be another way. I mean, you were able to pull away from it.”
I could not stop shaking and it only got worse.
Silver shifted me so I was tucked up underneath his chin and held my head to his chest. He wrapped a leg over my hips, pinning them to the floor.
My worry about getting free and reconnecting diminished, but had not fully been put at ease. I knew how to get away from him, but it required teleporting and right now I could not concentrate enough to do it.
After a couple of minutes of whimpering, shaking, and attempting to physically break out of his hold, a sense of calm began to push through the draw of the system. I eagerly let it through, knowing it was Silver doing it.
“That’s it. You’re going to be okay,” he whispered.
Peace followed the calm and the shaking diminished. I was able to focus some again.
I needed to stay where I was despite the awkward position we were in. I could not say for certain I would not give into the small pull still coming from the orb.
“Can you talk?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes.”
“What is going on?”
“I’m not sure.”
Silver stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Okay, how about we start with why you touched that… thing.”
“I… I hadn’t meant to. I was getting my camera out to take pictures when the door suddenly closed. It startled me and I lost my balance.”
He kissed the top of my head and held me tighter.
I struggled against the slowly strengthening pull of the system. “You're going to have to knock me out.”
“No, Ketayl. I’m not entertaining that option. It still has a hold on you?”
I nodded. “It’s getting stronger. Please?”
Silver shifted and I held onto him. “Let go for a moment. I want to try something, but you need to be in a different position. I won’t let you go, okay?”
Slowly I released my grip on his jacket. He set me so I knelt on the cold, hard floor in front of him. I fought the pull of the system. The shaking started again and the chill of the room went right into me.
Large hands held my head and I closed my eyes when Silver rested his forehead against mine. The magic this time was similar to when he healed my concussion.
The world righted itself and my mind cleared further until I felt the final break from the system. Then the lights went out.
My handlight still shown on the floor where I dropped it. And of course, the blue glow from the orb.
“Can’t say I expected that,” Silver said. He held me at arm’s length. “Are you free of it?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Silver kissed my forehead. “See, we found another way.”
“We should get out of here.” I moved away to pick up my handlight and repack my bag.
Large hands stilled mine. “As much as I want to agree, I think we need to finish in here. Give me your camera.”
Hesitantly I handed it to him.
“Can you find the lights?”
I moved toward the door, hoping the switch was as far from the orb as possible. Finding a switch panel, I tried a couple before the lights flickered on.
Silver was already looking through the wires. “I don’t see any damage.”
“I was thinking it might be back, but I’m starting to wonder about the system. I was able to access systems I shouldn’t be able to like the lights and the cameras.”
“So that was you. Thanks for leading me here.” Silver went deeper into the wall. “Why were you planning to take pictures?”
“Just to document. I think the orb is the amplifier and it’s based off of whatever Atlantian knowledge he acquired. The shielding has also absorbed quite a bit of arcane energy.”
There was a pause before he said, “Divine as well.”
I frowned. “It’ll be hard to get an idea if it’s hitting capacity.”
“We should save the analysis for another time. I don’t think it was the cause otherwise we’d be seeing damage here.”
“Maybe we should head back up and call Sparks and see if he has anything.”
“Good idea.”
We only had the one handlight. Thankfully the door opened, though Silver needed to pull roughly on it. I led the way back up, the darkness being more frightening than before.
“I wonder if the lights turned off because you disconnected fully from the system,” he idly mused.
“Maybe. I know I felt torn between wanting to break from it and wanting to return to it. Might be why the door closed also.”
“Are you suggesting the orb is sentient?”
“No, but that’s also a possibility. It could be riding off of the arcane and divine energies from all of the tests.” It was a theory I could not ignore. “But I was more aiming at the system attempted to preserve itself by acting on my thoughts.”
“That’s not far from what I said.”
“No, but mine is dealing with programming and me being the cause of it versus it acting completely on its own.” A fine line, yes, but enough of one to make a difference.
When we reached the control room for the system, I sat on the floor as much away from both stations as I could and dug for my tablet.
Silver came and sat down next to me. “Wait.”
“Why?”
“Do you want to be fielding questions right off?”
“Questions about… oh.”
Silver had turned on the front facing camera on his phone. I was a mess. Sweat soaked with probably tear stains mixed in and my hair frazzled where it was not stuck to my face.
“I know you want an update, but let's break for a bit. I still have questions.”
I sighed and withdrew my hand from my bag. I hoped it would have ended there.
“The door closed before you touched it?”
I nodded, pulling my phone out to use it as a pseudo mirror. Using my power, I cleaned up the mess as much as possible, spending some time getting my hair back in order. Then I realized he had not asked another question for a bit.
Silver sat, staring at the floor, flicking the tail of his braid back and forth rapidly.
“What’s wrong?”
That snapped him out of his trance. “Your theory is sound except for that one piece.”
“There are other explanat
ions I’m sure. With as much residual arcane and divine energy as there is in the shielding that close to the amplifier, I can only imagine what it’s doing to it.”
Silver sighed and sat back, crossing his arms. “I just wish I was better versed in divine theory. Not that there is anything even remotely organized like it is with the arcane.”
I tilted my head, awaiting an explanation.
My partner tugged on his braid. “Arcane theory is very scientific in its approach, right?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
He sat forward, rubbing the bridge of his nose - a movement he rarely performed. “Divine isn’t - it’s based off of the scriptures and beliefs surrounding each of the Gods. Anyone who takes a more pragmatic view of it is often shunned because they are not considered a true believer. There’s a lot that could be learned from taking such an approach. Who knows what we could actually do if it was better studied.”
I sat forward so I could look at him. “There’s no one stopping you. Or at least I won’t.”
“I wouldn’t know where to start. I fear much of my training was in how to fight. I’ve picked up a fair amount over the years, but nothing at the level of the scholars,” Silver said.
“I think you’ve picked up more than a fair amount. Your curiosity led you to studying things outside of normal practices, right?”
“Yeah, but that’s different from…”
I held up a finger. “It’s really not if you think about it, but it’s up to you if you want to pursue it. Like you said, who knows where it could lead.”
Silver gave a short laugh. “Many would say you’ve been a horrible influence because you’ve had me questioning things I previously never would from the moment we met.”
I shrugged. “Not trying to.”
“I think I prefer it this way. You made Mason question his views.”
I shook my head. “That one is because of how we work together.”
My watch vibrating with a message ended the conversation. I turned my wrist over and read the short message from Sparky requesting a call.
“He knew we were coming for him,” Silver mused, reading the message on my watch from over my shoulder.
My phone was still out and figured it would suffice. I started up the call and Silver put his chin on my shoulder.
“Must you?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I rolled my eyes right before the video call connected. “What have you got, Sparks?”
“What don’t I have is a better question. How all of this escaped the military, I have no idea.” Sparky held up his tablet to read. “Jacob Martin has been getting money from outside sources. It’s been going to various accounts around the world. It's not a small sum and it’s growing.”
“From who?”
“It’s a lot of shadow companies upon shadow companies and the cyber team is still backtracking all of it, but so far, pirates. Or rather companies suspected of criminal activities who also happen to own ships. Primarily cargo, but you’ll get the occasional yacht. Often seen armed.”
“Pirates,” Silver said flatly.
“And those fingerprints you sent, and you sent a ton by the way, most of them belong to Spelltech employees or military personnel. The rest aren’t even in the system. So unless Spelltech has been slacking in making sure all of their people are properly documented, you’ve got people who shouldn’t be anywhere near the system.”
“Something Jonim was concerned about,” Silver noted.
“Oh, wait, there’s more. You’ll love this one.” Sparky sent a picture in place of his video feed. “I can see how you guys would have missed it because of the sheer amount of damage and collecting all of those prints. But right here,” he said and a yellow circle appeared around a piece, “looks like it belongs to a transmitter of some sort. Don’t suppose it’s still there and you can send it to me?”
“Yeah, I can get it down,” Silver said.
“Did you ever find the source for the defense station?”
“No,” I admitted, “I found the amplifier though. Or at least I think it’s the amplifier. It’s somewhere in between.”
“Those plans you uploaded are incomplete,” Sparky said.
“Those are the most current plans,” Silver said.
Sparky rolled his eyes. “How did this project ever get off the ground?”
It was another question we all wanted an answer to. “I’ll upload the images we’ve got, but I’m not even sure what it is,” I said.
“Don’t they normally use a gem of some type to amplify?”
“This isn't a gem,” Silver said.
“Anything else?” I asked.
Sparky shook his head. “Lockonis will probably have more soon regarding the personnel on the base, but last time I was in there, she was pissed, and frankly, I like not being charcoal.”
“Thanks, Sparks.” I ended the call.
“Now what?” Silver asked.
“Let's gather the piece and anything else that might belong to it.”
No sooner had Silver left to go get the ladder from down the hall, I shuddered. I turned to stare at the offense station. The difference between accessing the system through the station versus a direct connection to the amplifier had been dramatic.
A body blocked my view. Silver said, “Ketayl, look at me.”
I blinked, wondering how long I stood there staring.
“Is it still affecting you?” he asked.
“No. At least not in the way it was.” My fear of the system at this point was a far cry from the pull it previously held over me.
“Okay, let me get this for Sparky and then we’ll take a break - get off the ship for a bit. Maybe see if we can’t find Jake and get some answers.”
“That won’t be possible,” Jonim said.
Both of us turned at the same time.
Jonim crossed his arms. “We found him alright. But he not be drawing breath to speak anymore.”
“He’s dead?” Silver asked. “We just saw him a few hours ago. What happened?”
“Hung himself. Could use your folks’ expertise ‘cause it has all the trimmings of a suicide, but something doesn’t feel right.”
I looked up at Silver. “Not when we found evidence to support the sabotage theory. At least with the screens.” I pointed at the ceiling where the shattered screen hung from. “We still need to find the source for the defense station itself.”
“We should go see what happened. Where was he found?” Silver said.
“In the Spelltech warehouse.” Jonim signaled for us to follow.
This case continued getting more bizarre.
~*~
What Jake’s previous tour did not show was another office hidden above the one we worked out of. This one was kept incredibly neat.
A suicide note printed and signed by him laid in full view on the desk.
I may not have liked the man, but I never wished him dead. I folded my arms and looked up at Silver. “This is getting more complicated.”
My partner frowned. “The man had his secrets.”
“That he did. Found him myself ‘cause he didn’t show up to the weekly progress meeting. He ain’t used this office much. Most likely to come up here for a nap,” Jonim said, “I take it he hadn’t shown you this place.”
Shaking my head, I bit my lower lip and looked around the sparse room. “He promised to show me information about the amplifier. Would you happen to know about it?”
Jonim shook his head. “That was his pride and joy. The higher-ups let him keep it to himself until we started seeing results.”
I took a deep breath, considering the work ahead of us. “You want to message Sparks and let him know the case got bigger? I’ll get started processing this.”
“Want me to run interviews?” Silver asked.
“If you don’t mind.”
“You’re better with this.” Silver signaled for Jonim to move aside with him.
Even once he left to go t
alk to other people, I would not be alone - our escorts stood outside of the office door. Looking up at Jake’s dangling body, I did not want to be alone in here. Even dead the man unsettled me.
Once I finished documenting, I would need help getting the body down. I wanted to get him out of here. Then I could search for the information he was willing to trade for.
Silver left with Jonim while I worked. I ended up needing to climb up on the desk to get pictures. Something sounded off under my shoes.
I tapped the top of the wooden desk with my heel, getting a hollow metal sound in return. I glanced at the escort who stayed, but his attention remained outside the door.
Debating what I should do, I noted the oddity and resumed my work, hurrying to get back to it.
Once I hit the point of needing Jake’s body to be lowered, I figured it was as good of a time to get back to the desk. I knocked on the top of the desk, again getting the same sound.
I pulled out drawers and felt around, searching for whatever caused the metal sound. The top of the desk seemed rather thick and I looked for a possible secret compartment. Finding a seam in the ornate carving, I managed to pry the drawer open.
The inside was disappointing - prescription bottles filled the small drawer. They might explain Jake’s erratic behavior. I documented what I found and moved on, needing to find something to keep me occupied until Silver returned.
Jake kept a collection of books on a shelf across from his desk. There weren’t many, but perhaps some insight into the man. I browsed the titles. He had a few different collections of his essays. More collections of essays by others on Atlantis. I stopped when I found a book on beginner arcane theory.
Why is this here?
Gently I pulled the book from its place with my glove-covered hands. It felt frail despite the newer cover. The cover creaked in protest at being opened and inside was not what I expected. Foreign text and drawings scrawled across the pages, but still it seemed familiar. It was as if being able to read it was just out of my reach - a skill I merely forgotten though I could not recall having seen anything like it before.
Notes were stuffed in between the pages - attempts to translate the content. I recognized Jake’s handwriting. Going back and forth between the original and the translation, I knew some of it was wrong, but no idea why let alone what the correct translation would be.
Conjured Defense (Terra Chronicles Book 4) Page 12