“Get to the point, Riccan. I don’t have all day.”
Riccan turned around and looked at the cluster of awards and locked his gaze on the award presented by ‘Faegan’ and realized it was large enough to hide the samara inside. He started to go over toward it when Ela Nena spoke.
“Really, Riccan, I don’t have time for you to admire my awards. Get to the point or get out of my office!”
He spun around and asked without thinking, “Have you ever heard of the samaras?”
“What? No! What are you babbling about?”
“The thirteen crystal skulls. Have you heard of them?” he persisted. The look of shocked horror on her face told him what he needed to know. “I have reason to believe one of those skulls is somewhere here in your office.”
“Seriously, Riccan, did you take resh before you came to work today? I think you should leave before I fire you for insubordination.” She started to rise from her desk in her growing anger.
Riccan was not to be deterred by her irrational mood. He was only going to get this one opportunity to prove his point. He walked over to the Annual Achievement award and picked it up. Immediately, he felt a familiar surge of energy almost as intense as his own samara gave him. He wondered how Ela Nena had held the award and not notice the power contained within.
“Put that down before you break it! Do you hear me? Put that down right now!” Ela Nena came around her desk to forcibly remove it from his hands.
Immediately Riccan examined the craftsmanship of the award to find out how the samara could be contained within. He noticed a small switch set very neatly into the side of the design. Ela Nena made a grab for the object just as Riccan pressed the lever. The front panel dropped open to expose the skull hidden within.
Ela Nena jerked her hands away, took a step back, and gasped in fear. “What did you do, Riccan? What kind of a trick is this? Get that thing out of my office. You brought that thing here to scare me, didn’t you? Get out! Get out! Get out!” With each exclamation she backed further away from Riccan and the offending object.
“Do I have your permission to dispose of this?” Riccan asked calmly as he held up the samara still encased in the award’s base.
“Yes! Get out of my office. Get out right now or you’re fired!” she screamed.
The commotion inside the office had finally drawn the attention of the staff outside. People were starting to gather near the door trying to get a glimpse inside the narrow office window.
Riccan carefully closed the compartment to keep the contents secret from curious eyes. With the award tucked in close to his side, he walked to the door and put his hand on the knob. He turned back to Ela Nena and said, “Please don’t tell anyone about what I found in here. There is already a bad stigma around this thing and you don’t want people to think you had anything to do with it. People might think this was the cause of the explosion in the telepod trial last week.”
With nothing more to say, Riccan opened the door and pushed his way through the crowd. He took the stairs up to the roof. Without breaking his stride, he hurried to get into his telepod. He palmed the side door closed even before he had taken a seat himself. Just as he entered the coordinates to return to his mother’s house, he saw a stranger come out of the stairwell door and begin to cross the rooftop toward him.
Not wanting to have any type of confrontation or delay, Riccan pressed the activation button and blinked out of sight. Something did not feel right about the transfer and Riccan began to worry if he were going to arrive at his location in one piece. When the telepod popped back from between, Riccan immediately set the aircraft on the ground and powered everything down.
Thankful for the fact he had not had time to fasten his seatbelt, he jumped up, hit the door button on the dash as he grabbed the award, and rushed out of the telepod. He looked back at the telepod fully expecting it to implode. When another few seconds went by and nothing happened, he began to circle his craft to see if there were any visible flaws in the hull.
When he got to the far side of the telepod, he noticed something very strange. He stepped closer to see what the object on the side of the telepod could be. His curiosity instantly turned to anger as he realized the small object was a tracking device.
The man on the rooftop must have fired the tracker onto the vehicle just as it disappeared. The slight disturbance at that important juncture of the transfer had caused the whole telepod to vibrate unnervingly. Surely the guy would have known it could have killed Riccan. Then he had a disturbing notion that it might have been the unknown assailant’s intention to make the transfer look like an accident.
Without hesitating another instant, Riccan grabbed the small metallic object off of the telepod. He could see the light was blinking which meant it was transmitting a signal. He definitely did not want to find out who would be coming over to finish the job. He dropped the tracker on the ground and crushed it with the heel of his shoe.
Riccan leaned over to check on the little electronic device to make sure it no longer functioned. To be certain all was safe, he concentrated on the remains and used a focused amount of elemy to incinerate the tracker. He looked up and glanced around the landing field hurriedly to be sure he had not been followed.
With a paranoid feeling, Riccan jogged across the landing field and took the stairs two at a time. He kept hurrying along until he had to stop because his mother stood in the middle of the hallway.
“What’re you doing back here so soon? Did you quit?”
“No. I brought the award back here for you and Dad to see.” He held out the object as if to prove a point.
“Your dad left a few minutes ago. Come into my office,” she said as she turned and led the way.
He entered the office and set the award down on the desk for his mother to view. When he had her full attention, he touched the lever on the side panel. Riccan kept his eyes on his mother’s face as the front piece of metal dropped forward and displayed the samara held within.
She looked up from the crystal in amazement and asked, “Did you know you were going to find this? Is this what Jena had figured out?”
“I had a suspicion this was the cause, and yes, Jena was the one who put the pieces together.” He sat down on the edge of the desk near his mother and smiled with satisfaction. “Now we just have to figure out whose samara this is.”
“How do you do that?” Nena asked curiously.
“We believe the samara’s main aura color matches the birth crystal color of the proper handler. Why don’t you check this one since auras are your specialty?”
“Okay. How exciting!” She only took a few seconds of concentration before she gasped. Her hands flew to her chest and she looked up at Riccan with wide eyes. “It’s an orange yellow!”
“Isn’t that the same as your birth crystal?” Riccan asked with eagerness. “Put your hands on it and see if it talks to you.”
“Riccan that’s the most foolish thing you’ve ever said. This samara was making Ela Nena do and say evil things and now you want me to just pick it up like it’s a harmless, shiny object? No thank you!” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest and tucked her hands to her sides.
“I can see you’re scared. Maybe you and Dad should come over to my house tonight and we can discuss it further. Jena and Juila have done quite a bit of research on the samaras when they were living on Acaim. They may be able to help you understand what samaras are capable of and what they are not.”
“I can agree with that suggestion. Besides, I’ve missed those girls and your lovely wife. I don’t know why you never bring them over to visit,” she teased.
“Okay then we’re agreed, the two of you will come over after I get off of work. We’ll have dinner together. I really have to get going. I’m going to take this home and put it in a safe place before I go back to work.” He stood up and pushed the compartment closed as he picked up the award. Riccan still felt as though he were being followed or possibly in dang
er and he wanted to get to Earth as soon as possible.
Nena stood at the railing of the balcony and watched Riccan go out to his telepod. She wondered why he circled the craft so slowly before he got into it. She knew it was important to perform visual inspection before each flight, but Riccan seemed slightly obsessive in his examination of the hull which was different from his norm.
Riccan had to be certain there was no other tracking devices before he took the telepod to his home. He did not want to draw anybody dangerous to their house where his wife and children could be put into danger. Just the idea that he had unknowingly drawn attention to his parent’s house was bad enough, he had to keep everyone safe. He took some solace in knowing the Residence had wards in place to keep violence from entering the house itself.
He entered his telepod and sat down in the pilot’s seat. He placed the award in the seat next to him. Riccan waved at his mother and then activated the telepod. After selecting his home destination, he hit the activation button and waited anxiously for the transfer to finish. He breathed a sigh of relief when the telepod was, once again, shut down in the garage. Nothing had felt different on this transfer so he felt confident in getting out.
Riccan ran into Amanda as he was leaving the library after he had secreted the sixth found samara with the rest of them in the hidden room. “I’m surprised to see you still at home. I thought you were heading out today.”
“I was just getting ready to leave. What are you doing home so early?” she asked as she gave him a warm hug.
“I found another samara,” he replied casually to see how she would react. He was not disappointed.
“What? Seriously? Was it in Ela Nena’s office?” Amanda pulled away from him and waited for his answers.
“Yes. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home tonight. In fact, my parents are going to come over for dinner. I hope you don’t mind my inviting them over. I wanted them to be able to talk to the girls about the myths and legends of the samaras.”
“Great! The girls will be ecstatic to be able to visit with them. Dinner won’t be a problem, either, because you’re going to be making it tonight!”
“Wait, I thought you said you wanted to practice?”
“Oh, no you don’t. I only practice on you, never on your parents. I don’t want anyone to be able to accuse me of trying to kill them with my ineptitude.”
Riccan threw back his head and laughed at her audacious statement. “Fine, I’ll do dinner. Give me another kiss before I go.” He pulled her over to him and bent down to kiss her deeply and thoroughly. “I love you!”
“I love you more.”
“Thank you,” he said with a slightly nasal tone as though it hurt him to have to say it. “I’ll see you after work, love.”
He chuckled even as he walked back through the house to go back to his telepod. The situation at work would probably be pretty tense when he returned and he was unsure how he was going to handle the questions which were sure to come. Without further delay, Riccan returned to work and hoped he still had a job after Ela Nena’s outburst.
Chapter Twenty-Six
LIKE A WHIRLWIND, Neal and Jessica had their trip to New York arranged and they were sitting in First Class on the airplane. He hated to have to admit it, yet Neal had been anxious in the airport with all of the people swarming around him. When he was younger he had loved to travel so he had not expected to have any anxiety about this trip. Whatever had happened to him over the past seven years must have made more of an impression on him than he originally believed.
His breath came faster just thinking about the crowds he could expect in the John F. Kennedy Airport. The drive to the center did not even bear thinking about until the time came and he had no choice. The captain had just announced their imminent landing so he pulled the seatbelt tighter in anticipation of the wheels touching down on the ground. Neal had taken the window seat and could see they were almost on the ground. His hands went to the armrests where he unconsciously gripped them until his knuckles were white.
The pilot executed a perfect landing, much to Neal’s relief. The plane taxied for a long time before it came to a stop in front of its assigned gate. As soon as the ‘fasten seat belt’ sign turned off there was a flurry of activity as everyone stood up and started gathering their personal belongings to disembark.
The door opened and Jessica moved into the aisle followed immediately by Neal. Once he retrieved his carry-on bag from the overhead compartment, he kept his gaze on his mother’s back to keep from feeling overwhelmed by the press of people around him. They walked up the gangway directly into a throng of people waiting for the next flight.
“Hold my hand,” Jessica said to Neal and reached toward her son. She knew it was a slightly overprotective gesture and yet she could not contain herself. As soon as she felt the pressure of her son’s fingers around her own, she felt relieved.
As soon as he made physical contact with his mother, Neal felt himself relax. Together they followed the signs to the baggage claim. By the time they reached it, the belt was already moving and the luggage was being unloaded. Their only bag moved around the bend and Neal picked it off of the belt and set it on the ground beside them.
They moved with the crowd into the exit line before they went out to the curb to catch a taxi. Neal breathed a little easier once he was outside the building. He let his mother attract the attention of a driver while he stayed with the luggage.
Inside the taxi the driver asked, “Where to?”
“Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens,” Jessica replied with a clipped tone.
The taxi moved into the flow of traffic and they were on their way. The scenery along the way kept Neal’s attention distracted from the end of the journey. He did not want to think, in another twenty minutes, his whole life would change.
Jessica’s thoughts were mirroring her son’s. She hoped he would find resolution with this new treatment program. At first she had had reservations about the change of doctors until she had done some research of her own. She had been quite impressed with Dr. Gascon’s achievements and recognition for the advancement of psychiatric care.
The taxi pulled into a gated driveway and stopped at a guard shack. When the security guard asked them to state their business, Neal rolled down his window and told him his name. The guard looked through several sheets of paper on his clipboard before he located Neal’s name.
“You’re clear. Go on in,” he said as he pressed the button to raise the wigwag so they could drive up to the entrance of the facility.
Neal got his first glimpse of the building as they rounded the circular entrance. Somehow he had thought the building would be more quaint and personal instead of this twenty story hulking structure. He had a serious case of nerves setting in and making his stomach feel queasy.
Jessica paid the driver and got out of the taxi. Neal opened the door next to him and met her at the trunk to get their two pieces of luggage out. The larger bag was his mother’s and the carry-on was all he thought he would need for his stay in the facility. He hoped he would only need to be in the new doctor’s care for a couple of weeks at the most.
The taxi drove away while Jessica and Neal walked into the front lobby. The wheel on the luggage got caught on the threshold of the door so Neal had to yank harder on the handle to get the bag inside. The exertion was a bit too much for it and the handle snapped off in his hand. The bag crashed down onto the floor and caused many people in the lobby to stare at them. Neal hastily righted the bag and felt foolish for having caused a scene.
Jessica felt sorry for her son’s discomfiture. She had been checking out the lobby’s décor and had missed the whole incident until the noise startled her and caused her to look as well. She waited for Neal to catch up to her and they walked through the lobby together.
The receptionist was a friendly young woman who smiled up at them and said, “Welcome to Creedmoor. How can I help you?”
“My name is Neal Taivas and I’m
scheduled to be treated by Dr. Gascon.”
The lady nodded as she typed his information into her computer. She gathered up several pieces of paper and put them on a clipboard which she handed over to Neal. “Please fill out these documents and sign here, here, and here.” She flipped over the pages and drew an x where he needed to sign.
“Thanks,” Neal replied as he took the clipboard and looked around for a place to sit down.
“Let’s go over here,” Jessica offered. She wanted to be near the windows so she could see the landscaping while Neal was busy. She helpfully took charge of the carry-on so Neal would only have to worry about the larger piece.
He still held the broken handle in his hand and wondered what he should do with it. Neal knelt down and unzipped the front pocket of the suitcase and shoved the handle inside before zipping it back up. Now his hand was free to roll the bag across the marble floor to where his mother had taken a seat in the sun next to the oversized window.
Once seated, Neal turned the clipboard so the light from outside shone onto it. He pulled the pen off of the clip and began answering all of the questions regarding his personal history. Several of the questions made him chuckle since he had to write down that he did not know what he did not know which seemed ridiculous.
Tapping his pen on the clipboard as he considered how to answer the last question, Neal looked over to his mother and asked, “How would you describe my behavior in the past seven days?”
Jessica smiled and replied, “Tired and hopeful.”
Neal nodded agreement and wrote it down and then scribbled his signature on the last form. “Done! Let’s get this show on the road!” He stood up and strode across the lobby and handed the clipboard back to the receptionist.
“Go ahead and take a seat and I’ll let the doctor know you’re ready.”
“Thanks.” He turned around and went back to sit next to his mother.
“How are you feeling, honey?” She put her hand on his knee and leaned forward with concern.
Levels of Ascension BoxSet Page 72