Chasing Portals: Swords and Science Book 1

by Jason Parker

  She exhaled.

  Simply adorned in a white blouse and dark blue pants, her long dark hair was held back from her face by a willow headband. Wincing as she reached into her pants pocket, she pulled out the small triangular amulet with its dark indigo colored gem. As Moros instructed, she never placed it around her neck but always made certain she had it with her.

  Holding the amulet by its leather cord, she located a spot on the wall directly across from the stairs that was little more than an indentation in the smooth surface. She placed the lantern on the floor, raised the talisman to the indentation, and spoke, “Show me the way.”

  The indigo stone flashed brightly for a moment. The surface of the wall seemed to swirl and then slowly resolved into a brass panel. Embedded in the panel were nine coin sized disks arranged in an arc pattern with the arm of a brass dial beneath. The disks were of different colors and made of glass-like translucent material. From left to right the disks were silver, pink, yellow, orange, purple, green, red, blue, and teal. Below and to the right of the teal disk was a larger, spring mounted black disk, or more accurately, a button. The dial arm pointed up toward the purple disk in the middle. All the disks emitted a faint glow in the dim light except for the silver one, which was dark and dull.

  Daria returned the amulet to her pocket and moved the dial arm to the left until it pointed toward the pink disk and then pressed the black button. To the right of the panel a faint outline appeared on the wall and slowly solidified into a functional door. It opened to a short narrow passage that terminated at another door. She’d done it all before. Having set the dial to the pink disk, she knew the second door would open to a room virtually identical to the one in which she now stood. The difference was this new room was below the main building of the Delon Science Institute.

  Moros referred to the mechanism as part of a short-cut system which enabled her to quickly travel to many distant locations. He said the dial and disk system was a relic from the Age of Magic and still retained mystical energies that could be triggered by certain magical devices, such as the amulet. Moros provided no additional information.

  Daria thought back to her first encounter with the disks and dial. She was eager to find out where she could travel. She started with the silver disk and worked her way around the arc. The silver disk’s door at the end of the passage was locked. This was disappointing. Despite her best efforts to pry it and ram it, the door remained impenetrable. She achieved greater success with the pink disk which resulted in the short-cut to the Delon Institute.

  The yellow disk led her beneath an abandoned storage facility on the outskirts of a city near the shore. She did not recognize the city, but the presence of cargo ships in the ocean narrowed the possibilities to Dalisus, Port Tarken, or Namastrova.

  The orange disk provided a doorway to Castle Markov in Dirka, the ancestral home of Lord Dumare Markov. Since Lord Markov resided in Corava with the other lords of the Triumvirate, the castle was quiet and occupied by only a few of his relatives.

  The purple disk produced no doorway when she pressed the black button. She eventually understood the purple disk represented her current location. She was able to confirm this by using the purple disk to return back from other locations.

  The green disk led to ruins within a sparse woodland. When she first traveled here and walked through the doorway into the chamber, she immediately felt Vladrik’s presence. Even though the command she held over him was now weak, she could still sense his general location. Being in close proximity to him, it was simple to pinpoint his precise location. Then after walking a few miles she reached a large gathering of infected creatures. This was the base camp of Vladrik in Marn.

  The red disk provided access to an unoccupied building on the grounds of Castle Delon in Egenton. She made a note of this. It would provide quick access to the court of King Vonador should the need arise.

  The blue disk led to an area beneath a large building housing a variety of laboratories. It was the Tuvir Science Institute. Her exploration of the site and its component parts made the conclusion logical even though she’d never visited the school.

  Finally, when she opened the door at the terminus of the narrow passage for the teal disk, a stack of crates clattered to the ground of a brightly lit chamber. Hearing voices from the staircase, she quickly closed the door and retreated back down the passage. Through her travels with the other disks she found the entrances to the staircases and subterranean chambers below to be well hidden. She made precise notes of their locations. The entrance to the home chamber for the teal disk, however, had clearly been discovered and the chamber was being used for storage.

  Aside from the unbreachable door at the end of the silver short-cut, the doors at the end of the narrow passage for all other colors opened to an identical mud-colored subterranean chamber. Each chamber contained an identical indentation in the otherwise smooth wall. Each chamber contained an identical spiral staircase leading to the surface.

  In all of these rooms she could use the amulet to summon the brass panel with the same nine colored disks and dial. Fast travel to multiple locations.

  Daria returned her focus to the present. She confirmed the dial was pointing to the pink disk as she attempted to massage the pain out of her legs. She grasped the knob and pulled the door open. She walked through it into the passageway and closed the door behind her. Darkness. She knew it was only about ten steps to the other door. She knew from previous travels she would find only a blank wall at the end of the passage if the first door was not closed. Gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the pain she felt with every step, she walked the ten paces and opened the door to the Delon Science Institute.

  Once inside the chamber she closed the door and grimaced at the familiar spiral staircase. She paid little attention as the door she had just emerged from disappeared behind her. Instead, she focused on willing the pain to the back of her mind as she began her ascent up the stairs.

  The door at the top of the spiral staircase opened to a secluded area on the bottom level of the basement beneath the Institute’s main administration building. Judging by the thick layers of dust, she doubted anyone, aside from herself and some mice, had visited the area in years.

  She knew the way out of the building from prior trips. She inhaled a stale musty breath and started off. She quickly wove her way through the maze of passages and finally up the stairs to the ground floor.

  Daria was dressed plainly in loose-fitting clothing. She had applied makeup to create the illusion of age and diminish her exquisite beauty. She removed her headband and tousled her hair to heighten the effect. She needed to be unremarkable and blend in. Since classes had not yet resumed for the fall session at the Institute it would be more difficult. There would be no student foot traffic to intermingle with.

  She saw no one, but her empathic ability to sense and interpret the emotions, moods, and temperaments of others was triggered. This perception did not require visual contact. She closed her eyes. Her sense receptors filled with boredom and weariness. Two people were around the corner. She circled around them and quickly exited the administration building unseen. As she walked toward the building housing the laboratories she passed three individuals who returned her polite smile but said nothing. Here empathic sensors detected no hint of suspicion. Good.

  Daria entered the building and turned left down the south corridor. The hallway was well lit, but stark. Behind some of the doors she passed, she sensed varying degrees of elation, excitement, and frustration. All seemed deeply involved in whatever they were working on and were of no concern to her. When she reached the lab she was looking for, she paused in front of the closed door. The mood she felt from the person inside was neutral. This did not mean the person was emotionless, but balanced with no predominant emotion. Daria smiled. That would soon change.

  She opened the door to see the back of a brunette-haired woman in a white lab coat sitting on a stool at a lab bench. “The door was closed for a reas
on,” the woman said without turning. “Please shut it and try knocking.”

  “I thought your door was always open to me, Ambernifer,” Daria said.

  At the sound of her voice, Ambernifer quickly stood and turned, knocking her stool to the ground with a loud clang as she exclaimed, “Daria!”

  Ambernifer’s emotions were now a swirl of excitement, joy, and anticipation with a slight undertone of fear. The last of which Daria found particularly pleasing as Ambernifer rushed toward her, enveloped her in an embrace and kissed her passionately. Despite the surge of pain caused by the contact, Daria drank in the kiss, returning it with her own heat for several moments before reluctantly separating herself.

  “I’m afraid I’m here on business rather than pleasure,” she said, stepping back, feeling the wave of disappointment from Ambernifer. “Lord Moros is not pleased with us. Be happy you were spared from his wrath. I was not so fortunate.”

  She stared at Ambernifer, sensing a blend of concern, fear, and uncertainty. Her brunette hair, a shade lighter than her own, spilled down about her troubled features. Despite her distress, she was quite beautiful. Even dressed in an unflattering lab coat and loose fitting clothes hints of her firm, deliciously curved body peeked through, filling Daria with desire. She brushed it aside. Now was not the time.

  “I don’t understand why he’s so upset,” Ambernifer said quietly. “Has some sort of irreparable damage been done?” She reached down and picked up the stool. “Here, Daria. Sit down.”

  “No, you wouldn’t understand. You don’t know Moros as well as me. You have only been in his presence once,” Daria laughed bitterly and seated herself. “He does not tolerate failure, large or small.”

  “But I wasn’t aware I failed,” Ambernifer insisted.

  Daria pointed a finger at her. “He told you to be sure the new Scientist, Nightlocke, remained at the Institute, but he is not here. How is that not failure?” she accused.

  “Lord Moros said to try and keep him here. It was all supposed to be voluntary with Nightlocke. He said of all the possible futures he saw, favorable events occurred only when Nightlocke voluntarily remained at the Institute after graduation.” Ambernifer said.

  Daria gazed at Ambernifer and folded her arms.

  Ambernifer pulled up another stool and sat down. “I tried my best. I offered love, sex, companionship, the prospect of scientific discovery—and even tried to make him feel guilty when the others didn’t work. He was insistent upon leaving and Moros said if he was forced to stay against his will, then the advantages were negligible.”

  Daria frowned. She did not fully understand what Moros meant when he spoke of multiple possible futures. Ambernifer apparently did and was now exuding confidence which angered her.

  Daria stood and paced around the lab. She wanted Ambernifer to share her pain and disappointment. She gritted her teeth. She was loathe to admit it, but Ambernifer was correct. Moros had said her task concerning Nightlocke was desirable rather than mandatory. Daria clenched her fists. She knew it was her and her alone that was failing.

  She returned to her stool and stared at Ambernifer. “I have a new task for you. This one has no gray areas or loopholes. You will either succeed or fail. You must kill Calvor.”

  Daria smiled at the storm of confusion and panic emanating from Ambernifer.

  Ambernifer stammered, “I thought…I thought Vladrik was supposed to kill all the remaining great wizards. Why the change? Why me? I’m not an assassin.”

  “I have set Vladrik upon another course,” Daria lied. “This task has now fallen to you. You will see much death in the days to come. You need to accept it and learn to enjoy it.”

  “The new session of classes begins in two weeks, I can’t just disappear without raising suspicion or concern,” Ambernifer countered. “We’re in the middle of faculty meetings and preparation.”

  Daria smiled and grasped Ambernifer’s hand. “Well, then you’re lucky Calvor is nearby. He’s posing as a member of the clergy and Moros seems certain he is staying at a small church in Crossroads, in fact, the only church in Crossroads. You should have no trouble locating him and you can be there and back within a couple of days. You’re clever, I’m sure you’ll find a way to excuse yourself.”

  The flood of apprehension and uncertainty from Ambernifer was palpable.

  “Oh,” Daria said and pulled the amulet from her pocket. “Be on the lookout for an amulet like mine. Calvor may have one. If you find it, secure it out of sight. Do not, under any circumstance, place it around your neck.”

  “Okay,” Ambernifer said weakly. “I’ll do what I must to prove my devotion to Lord Moros.”

  Daria smiled and kissed her deeply, feeling her fear and apprehension melt away, replaced by desire. Pulling away before being overwhelmed by her own desire, she smiled and held Ambernifer’s hand. "You’ll be fine. Complete this simple task and I promise you’ll find my gratitude to be extremely pleasurable.”

  Now that the wheels of fate were in motion, Daria felt nothing but passion and determination from her. Ambernifer would kill Calvor and provide a measure of redemption for the mess Daria’s own failings allowed Vladrik to create.

  “One final thing,” she said pulling a piece of paper from her pocket. “In Rainstel’s office you should be able to find an object that looks like this.”

  She handed the paper to Ambernifer. On it were drawings of the front, back, and side of a circular object. The object resembled a coin with the exception of a hole in the center and three small raised mounds positioned around the hole on the front.

  “I think I’ve seen it before. What is it?” Ambernifer asked.

  “It’s a key to operate the short-cut system we’ve used before. Just insert the key into the indentation in the chamber wall and the panel with the colored disks and dial will appear, just as it does when I use my amulet,” Daria explained. “After you’ve disposed of Calvor, use it to come to me.”

  She winked and smiled at the anticipation and eagerness coursing through Ambernifer’s delightful body.

  CHAPTER 23

  Dagan Garris sat in his quarters staring at the wall. Teylan was in his mind, tugging at him. Teylan, the son of Pargon and twin brother of Keyaul wanted to speak with him. Most likely about something that involved Nightlocke. Dagan was pointedly ignoring him.

  Since his confrontation with Nightlocke a few weeks earlier, the two had worked closely together. They had found common ground and formed a bond. The force beam Nightlocke was now putting the final touches on was remarkable.

  It was at Teylan’s request Dagan had accepted Nightlocke as an apprentice. In truth, Dagan knew little about Teylan, but out of respect for the sacrifice his father made many years ago during the Vladrik war, he agreed to the apprenticeship. Teylan claimed Nightlocke was a key player in the fate of Gandany and needed to be properly guided.

  Dagan shook his head. His mentoring of Nightlocke ultimately turned out well, but he was ashamed. Headmaster Rainstel had raved about how gifted Nightlocke was, but Dagan hadn’t really cared. The apprenticeship was offered under false pretenses—a part of Teylan’s schemes. Now, however, Dagan did care. Whatever Teylan wanted, Dagan had no interest in further manipulating the young Scientist.

  Teylan communicated with Dagan through a gateway he called the Ingress, a link between Gandany and the Nexus, the term he used for the higher plane of existence where he resided. Through the Ingress, Teylan could see all of the permutations of possible futures for Gandany. Dagan understood the concept, but could not comprehend seeing an ad infinitum of possibilities without going insane. Teylan said in all the fractal futures he saw through the Ingress, the most favorable outcomes occurred when Nightlocke spent time with Dagan.

  Dagan walked to his desk and opened the center drawer. He reached under some papers and pulled out a gold and emerald brooch in the shape of a scarab. He held the brooch in his palm and stroked the emerald elytron on the beetle’s back. Suddenly, the air shimmered in front
of him. Wisps of emerald cloud-like filaments swirled together and slowly resolved into image of a woman, pale green and translucent. The woman was petite. Her hair was a darker shade of green than her skin. She wore an elegant floor-length dress with a brocaded bodice.

  Dagan smiled. “My dear, sweet Araphel.”

  The woman returned his smile. “Touchstone, my love.”

  Dagan reached out a hand. It passed through the woman’s arm. The woman appeared not to notice. The woman was an image of his long dead wife, Araphel. As she was dying Dagan captured her essence in the scarab brooch, a relic from the Age of Magic.

  “I grow so weary of the world,” he said. “I wish you were here with me. I need you.”

  Araphel giggled. “I am here, silly.”

  Tears welled in Dagan’s eyes. Physically, the image of Araphel was as he remembered her, but in all other aspects she was different. It was an innocent, naive, child-like version of her. Yet it was something—a piece of her.

  Dagan wiped his eyes. “I need to hear your sweet voice. Tell me something—anything.”

  “Of course, Touchstone,” she said with bright eyes and a smile. “I always like thinking about when we were all together. You know—you, me, and all the other great wizards.”

  She paused a moment and tucked her hair behind her ears. Dagan smiled at the simple action—a habit of hers.

  “You were the most dashing, of course,” she continued. “Touchstone the Paradigm, the great silver wizard. Then there was me, Araphel the Blessed, the pink wizard; Starcrest the Celestial, the yellow wizard; Apex the Paramount, the orange wizard; Duke the Majestic, the purple wizard; Natresse the Provenance, the green wizard; Jamis the Inimitable, the blue wizard; Calvor the Unique, the teal wizard; and finally, Vladrik the Dominant, the red wizard. We could do such wondrous things with the four mystical energies: fire, water, air, and earth.”