Conjured Defense (Terra Chronicles Book 4)

by J. C. Jackson

  I jumped at the knock on the door, grabbing the towel where it was wrapped around my chest.

  “Ketayl, you in there?” Silver asked.

  I let out the breath I held. “Yes.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “No. Just give me a few minutes.” I hurried to get dressed, though it was slow going.

  Several minutes later, I opened the door half-expecting Silver to be standing right outside. When I saw it was clear, I grabbed my brush and began working the tangles out of my wet hair. A couple of short brush strokes in and I gave up.

  Then my brush disappeared from my hand. “Come on. I’ll get it brushed,” Silver said softly.

  “It’s fine. I can do it.”

  “No, you’re still exhausted. You haven’t even dried your hair like you normally do.”

  Right then I hated how observant he had become during the time I had known him.

  I gave up the idea of fighting him as he prodded me out of the bathroom. I had not expected to see Jonim sitting in the chair in the corner.

  He gave me a broad smile. “Lass, you look better than the last time I saw you.”

  That likely was not saying much. I could not find the energy to respond.

  “Figured the least I could do was treat you folks to dinner. I’ll get the others you recruited later. Impressive organization. Never thought I’d see the day they stopped fighting let alone actually work together.”

  Silver gently nudged me to sit in the chair at the desk.

  “Thought you’d both also like an update. This little fiasco has the much higher-ups unhappy and they’ve opened a full investigation into how this happened. Pretty sure they’ve already contacted your bosses since you two were involved in helping us keep the ship.”

  “And the others at the main office have been delving into Spelltech so they’ll want whatever the TIO finds,” Silver said as he sat on the edge of a bed to brush my hair. “What are they planning on putting the amplifier in?”

  “We’re treating the damn thing as if it’s radioactive. I remembered you said anything silicon based is bad so we figured err on the side of caution. Especially since you’ll be flying it back. It’ll stay where it is until you’ve concluded your investigation.”

  I sighed. We still had more work to do. “Did Sparks call with an update? I can’t find my phone and I’m not sure if I broke my watch.”

  “No, and I have your phone. I didn’t want it waking you,” Silver said.

  “Hope I didn’t,” Jonim said. “Came by and knocked, but got no answer. Found your boy here down in the physical training room.”

  Of course Silver would be found there. I pinched the bridge of my nose to focus. They wanted to talk business and my mind kept drifting.

  “You’re lower than you should still be, aren’t you?” Silver asked.

  I sighed. “Yeah. The storm pushed the nearest ley line supplying this area away and the other mages were likely actively absorbing any remaining arcane energy after the fight. There isn’t much around until it shifts back.”

  “How long?”

  I shrugged. “Depends on how far out it got pushed. I’ll be fine. It’s just going to take longer.”

  “I’m betting food will help,” Jonim said. He pulled out his phone the moment it rang. “Looks like I’m not off-duty just yet. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll meet you folks downstairs.” Then he let himself out.

  “Think you’ll make it?” Silver asked softly.

  “Huh?” His question startled me and I sat up straight. Had I drifted off?

  Silver paused in brushing my hair and pulled the chair around and knelt down in front of me. “Would you rather I brought food back?”

  I shook my head. “I think I need to move around for a bit.”

  I shifted uncomfortably when I realized Silver stared at me. “Sorry, I was thinking about how to do your hair - I’m not sure how to get it the way you normally wear it.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Could just leave it down. It’s going to take forever to dry anyway.”

  Silver put his hand on the side of my head and rubbed my cheek with his thumb. I needed to pull away, but I ached too much to bother with the extraneous movement. He would want to talk soon enough and I could reset our boundaries then.

  Chapter 16

  “You should have seen these two go. It was like watching a well rehearsed dance,” Mason said. Apparently the casters on the project decided to turn what I hoped would be a quiet dinner into a victory celebration.

  I forced a smile and sat quietly sipping my water, hoping to eat soon. The others had begun drinking by the time we arrived at Watered Down. Silver joined in, laughing and chatting with everyone.

  Playing with a strand of my loose hair, I tried to focus on anything other than what happened between myself and Silver. He did what he thought necessary. Why could I not just let it be? Why was I obsessing over how I reacted when I was free of the system?

  “Ketayl,” Silver said softly. He slid a basket of breaded cheese sticks in front of me. “Eat - you’ll feel better.”

  I nodded and while my movements were slow, I managed. I asked him to order for me because I could not focus enough to read the menu. Perhaps I should have stayed back at the hotel.

  He leaned down so he could whisper to me. “Is there something on your mind?”

  “Just having trouble focusing. Sorry, you were right and I should have stayed behind.”

  Silver touched my hair gently. “We’ll see how you feel after you’ve eaten and had time to get some energy from it.”

  My silent agreement was in picking up another piece to eat. Silver already explained my lack of energy, not that it needed much explaining after the display they saw even through the storm.

  “Did you guys catch the rest of them?” I missed who asked the question.

  Jonim smiled broadly. “Definitely. The lass hit them where it hurt and crippled the ship - they couldn’t limp away fast enough. Now the fun part is figuring out how they got on base and if someone hired them.”

  “You folks certainly brought an epic tale tonight,” the owner, whose name escaped me at the moment, said. “Thought it couldn’t get much better than when Joni sent the lass my way. Though I don’t think she’s up for a reprisal this evening.”

  Heat rushed to my face and I hid it behind taking a drink of water. I hoped the topic of conversation ended there.

  “Sounds like she’s got more hidden talents than I bargained for,” Jonim commented.

  I prayed they would stop.

  They laughed and thankfully the subject changed. I quietly ate while the larger conversation split off to smaller ones.

  Eventually my basket sat empty before me and Silver moved it away before replacing it with more food. How much does he expect me to eat? My stomach reminded me I missed a meal earlier.

  It did not look like something I would normally order. I looked at my partner.

  “Just trust me on this one, okay? I know you usually go for something else, but your body needs fuel.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “Since when did you get into nutrition?”

  “Well, you didn’t give me much to do in Ghost Forest so I found new ways to keep myself occupied.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Just eat.”

  “You’re such a pain sometimes,” I said softly.

  “Yeah, still can’t translate.”

  I sighed and forced myself to eat. I felt a little better.

  “When we’re done, what do you want to do?” Silver asked. The others were engaged in another conversation.

  With my mouth full, I gave Silver I sidelong glance. I swallowed quickly and asked, “What do you mean?”

  “We’ve been ordered to take a few days off after we finish. Is there anything you want to do while we’re here?”

  I shrugged. It was not something that crossed my mind. I did not even know what Sandpoint h
ad to offer.

  “Anything in particular you’re looking for? Adventure? Excitement?” the owner asked, reappearing at the end of the table near us with more food.

  “Peace and quiet,” I said flatly. “Think I’ve had my fill of excitement.”

  He winked at me. “I know just the place. It’s a small resort, but I can put in a call and see if they wouldn’t mind letting you in for the day.”

  “The beaches are easier to get to,” someone else at the table said.

  “Yeah, but they’re always packed and loud,” another argued.

  So was this place, but it did not bother me as much as I thought it would right now. “I’ll have to think about it. I’ve still got work before then.”

  “You need to stop working right now,” Silver chided. “You’ve been analyzing what happened, haven’t you?”

  “A little,” I admitted. I would not specify what though. It was not something I would classify as work.

  Though Silver pointed out what I should be focusing on. I took to mentally cursing Kitteren for putting the idea in my head.

  “Do you want to call it a night after you finish?” Silver asked quietly.

  I opened my mouth to reply, but someone beat me to it. “Come on! The night is still young. You can't leave this early.”

  “You idiot, can't you see she's still exhausted? We all fought to get that damnable system operating. Actually using it has to be a few Hells.”

  “Wait, I don’t remember any mention of it in the reports,” I said.

  “Did you have to get her started?” Silver muttered and took a drink. I wrinkled my nose at the smell. How could he drink that stuff?

  “Not surprising,” Mason said, “Jake would edit our reports before giving them to the Navy. He insisted it was because we didn’t know how to write properly.”

  “More like he needed a few classes,” I said flatly. “I had a hard time reading his papers.”

  “Papers?” Jonim asked.

  I took a sip of water before explaining, “He’s published multiple papers about Atlantis. He used to be an archaeologist. That’s where he said he got his inspiration for the system.”

  “How do you go from digging up the past to creating cutting edge weapons technology?” Mason asked.

  “More like trying to create and failing,” someone out of my view remarked.

  “Technically it worked, but I don’t want to give him too much credit,” Mason corrected.

  I needed to read the book I took from his office. But how? There must be a cipher of some sort. I would have to go through more of his belongings.

  “Stop working,” Silver said sternly.

  I looked down and realized I had been tapping the tip of my fork on my plate again. I had done the motion enough times for him to recognize the habit.

  Frowning, I said, “I think we’re going to need to go through Jake’s personal belongings to make sense of it all.”

  “I’ll arrange it,” Jonim said, “but only on the condition you do as your partner says.”

  I sighed and tried to stay engaged in the current ongoings around me. But now I was concerned about the misinformation Jake kept feeding.

  At least I had a little more energy and was able to focus more. This celebration still felt premature. There must be more going on.

  ~*~

  I laid in my bed staring at the ceiling. Why would Jake bring the project to the Navy if he planned to sell to the pirates? Why not sell the idea to them directly? Certainly they would be able to acquire the materials and manpower he needed.

  Had he simply not known when to keep his mouth shut and tried to hide the problem he found himself in? Why was Sparky taking so long to process the evidence we sent? I needed answers.

  Sitting up slowly, I made sure Silver remained resting. I knew I would get lectured if I disturbed him.

  And I still felt exhausted, but my mind would not stop.

  Sliding out of bed, I quietly padded over to the window, staring out at the city and the base beyond. Was the answer in his papers? In the book? Maybe one of the other books? On the computer we sent off?

  I could send a message to Sparky requesting an update. What time was it there? He probably worked late and was asleep. Hopefully not under his desk in the office again. I used to do it and I wished he would not copy my habits.

  Resting my forearms on the window, I hung my head. There had to be something else. Something we missed. Was I too close to see the bigger picture?

  I shivered slightly at the coolness of the window, but refused to move as my mind ran in circles for a while.

  Eventually strong hands pulled me back. Dammit, I hoped I would not wake Silver.

  “How long have you been here?” he asked, his voice gentle. I doubted it would last long.

  “I don’t know.”

  My partner turned me to face him. “Is it the system?”

  “No.”

  “Are you certain?”

  I clenched my teeth. “Yes. You completely broke whatever connection I had to it.”

  “Then why are you up before me?”

  I picked my head up. “What time is it?” It was still dark, though I noticed the sky had lightened to predawn.

  “Shortly before dawn.”

  I had been up all night. I sighed and went to move away from him, but he held onto my shoulders. “Let go.”

  “No, not until you tell me why you’re up.”

  “I couldn’t rest, okay? I rested too much earlier in the day I guess.”

  “Kela…”

  That name made me pause as brief flashes of the faces who used to call me by it crossed my mind. Why now and not previous times? I shook my head slowly. “Don’t. Don’t call me that.”

  “I only plan to use it when it’s just us. Your secret is safe with me.” Thinking on it, he had waited until it was only the two of us.

  I clenched my teeth. “That’s not what I said.”

  “And I like it so you’re going to have to deal with it.”

  I sneered at him. What little power I managed to regain pushed at me as my anger rose - a sensation I had not had in a while, though it felt off. The power bled through into my voice. “I do not…” The world suddenly became disjointed and my legs gave out from underneath me. All my power was gone.

  Silver caught me before I hit the floor. “Kela? Kela!”

  “Told you not to call me that,” I mumbled into his chest. Why was I so tired now? I closed my eyes.

  “Dammit, how are you lower than before?” Silver muttered.

  When had I made it back to bed? I squinted at the light in the room. Silver stood at the foot of the bed with a camera pointed at me.

  I gave up and put my head back down.

  “Are you going to be okay for a few minutes?”

  I pulled the covers over my head. Why was he bothering me?

  He gave a light laugh. “Okay, just rest. I'll check on you when I'm done.”

  Silence followed along with a sense of peace and tranquility. I let myself drift in the familiar sensation.

  Where did I know it from?

  After a while, as the sensation faded, a gentle hand with rough fingers brushed my hair out of my face. I remained still, drifting.

  “Dammit, what am I supposed to do?” Silver said softly. “I don’t even understand what happened.”

  “What happened?” I asked, my voice still sounding sleepy.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “Just remember being tired all of a sudden.” There was more - there had to be.

  Silver slid off the bed and knelt next to it so he could be closer to eye-level with me. “I swear I didn’t force you to calm down this time. I really don’t know what happened. I don’t know how to fix this.”

  “Fix what?” Why could I not follow what he said? What had I been worked up about? I forced myself to sit up. Silver was distressed about something and I needed to figure out why before I could decide what to do about it.

 
; “How about we reset this conversation? Why were you up, I’m assuming, all night?”

  Why? “Couldn’t stop thinking about…” I knew that much. I struggled to get more. “The case. Think there’s something more, but I don’t have enough pieces of the puzzle.”

  “So nothing to do with the system.”

  “What? No! We’ve already been over this.”

  “Okay, how about what’s been on your mind since you woke up in the infirmary?”

  “What was…?” I forced down the heat rising to my cheeks. “That can wait.” Forever if I had my way. “I’m concerned we’re missing something important.”

  “Okay, just stop right there. No more work right now. You went from about ready to tear my throat out to passed out and I don’t know what happened.”

  I tilted my head and tried to recall what happened. My power had pushed at me as my anger rose. No, that was not quite right.

  Closing my eyes I dug past the obvious. My power had not reacted in that manner for months. Not even when Kitteren pushed my patience past the breaking point.

  I had been gathering it. Maybe not consciously, but it moved more in that manner than pushing at my restraints. I may have been angry, but I really wanted to run. When I ran out…

  Digging my hands into my hair, I groaned at my own stupidity. I had been so mad at him over something so simple and never paid attention to what instincts were running.

  A weight landed on the bed and Silver tugged at my hands. “Look at me, please.”

  I released my hands from my hair, but refused to look up. “I did it to myself.”

  “How?”

  “I wasn’t thinking about it - it was more instinctive. I needed to leave and started gathering the energy for… something. To run? I just ran out.”

  Silver took a long, deep breath. “Where were you planning to go?”

  “I don’t know. Away is all. I originally thought I was reacting the way I used to, but it was something different.”

  “The way you used to?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Can we stop for now? There’s work to be done.”

  “Only if you promise we'll talk about it later today.”