by TR Cameron
Nylotte’s hair flowed strangely as she shook her head. It was as though gravity had less authority in the liminal space. “That is beyond today’s efforts. You will need to be much more skilled to manage that. But if a blockage exists, we may one day be able to clear it. Today, we shall limit ourselves to understanding.” She gestured again, and the white line that intersected the highest Chakra intensified. Both the thread and the nexus appeared to be constructed of faceted crystal, and power pulsed within them.
The elf traced a fingertip along a crevice on her student’s palm, and the ivory path on her virtual body pulsed again. “What we’re looking at is your telekinesis. As you can see, it is unblocked but also isolated.” Diana followed the trail and noted that it crossed no other lines and intersected with no other Chakra points. “This makes that skill dependable and easily called upon, but not as powerful as it would be if you could add other energy.”
She leaned forward to peer more closely at the Crown Chakra. “So, more intersections, more potential?”
“In part.” Nylotte nodded. “Additional overlaps with other lines also provide a way for power to travel to that talent.”
“Is there anything I can do to increase a particular ability?”
“Not at your current skill level, and likely not without making sacrifices in other areas. Nature doesn’t want us to possess unlimited capacity, or she would have designed us differently.” Her teacher waved, and a second line illuminated, more impure than the other. It shimmered blue but was less crystalline and vibrant. Its top loop extended near the Crown Chakra but didn’t quite reach it. Instead, it intersected the Third Eye Chakra and flowed out toward her hands, where the path met one other on each side. “This is your force talent.”
“What are those that it crosses?”
The Drow illuminated them to reveal a uniform brown that intersected with a lower point. “Unknown. Another kind of magic, certainly.”
“So everyone has the potential to do everything, as long as they have magic in the first place?”
Her teacher shook her head before she’d finished the sentence. “The pathways are present, but an individuals' ability to access them is dependent upon their own natures. There are no absolutes.” She pointed out the rest of the lines, which overlapped one another and her force power. “When you use magic in the unconscious fashion you’ve described to me, the energy from somewhere jumps paths without your direction. That is…unusual, to say the least.”
“So most magic users can control that?”
“Most magic users lack the potential to do so, intentionally or otherwise. As I’ve said, you are a rare specimen.” The intonation on the last word conjured the image of a frog in a jar.
“How do we find out what the others do?”
Nylotte sighed and released her hands, and the image fell away. Diana blinked as her vision returned. “We wait until something manifests and go in to discover what has changed. Were you weaker in power, I could remain in your mind and help you map them by trial and error. But to do so in our current states of power would be dangerous to both of us—probably fatally so, given your abilities.”
Her hopes vanished like they’d been sucked from the world, which reminded her of the request she’d talked herself into earlier as she walked through the Kemana. “I need to know how to create a portal.”
The Drow raised an elegant eyebrow. “We can attempt this, but it’s dangerous, for many reasons.”
“Like teleporting into a solid object kind of dangerous?”
She nodded. “Possibly. But more perilous is the portal that goes awry and rips the veil between this realm and the World in Between.”
Diana frowned. “Is it mostly colorless, dark, and as scary as hell?”
“That is one way to describe the place, certainly.”
“What is it?”
“A hellscape. Eternal purgatory. The land where demons come from. Damnation. There are many names for it.”
“So, basically, don’t go there. Ever.”
“The World in Between is not a place one enters with hope for return. And if a return occurs, stories describe life afterward as almost always worse than death, for the horrors experienced within change one forever.”
“Gotcha. Never screw up the portal.”
Her teacher smiled. “Exactly. Now, let’s see what you’re capable of.”
Hours later, she emerged from the shop, having failed yet again to live up to Nylotte’s expectations.
It’s probable that no student manages a portal on their first day. She’s ridiculous.
Diana stared at the long walk back to the surface and sighed.
But the sooner the better. To hell with the job reasons. I’m tired of walking those stairs.
Chapter Six
Morning sunlight glittered on the river outside the window as Diana poured a cup of coffee from the pot on the credenza. Cara and Tony were already seated at the interview table, alongside their candidate for undercover investigator, a man by the name of Sloan Woodham. They had moved quickly from making fun of his name when opening his file to wanting him on the team after reading it.
Her team had returned from the initial meeting with him in St. Louis convinced that he was the one, but they’d all agreed that she would need to vet any candidate before an offer could be made. His back was to her, so all she knew so far was that he had long hair with a subtle curl to it.
It’s probably prettier than mine, at this point.
She’d managed a hasty ponytail after sleeping in. The training with Nylotte sapped both magical and mundane energies, despite the reservoir of power contained in the purple crystals of the Kemana’s roof.
In silence, she circled the table to sit beside Tony and stared across at Cara and their candidate. The word cute popped into her glasses, which confirmed both Kayleigh’s access to the room through the newly installed cameras and her opinion of the newcomer. “Thanks for making the trip. I hope these two have treated you well.”
“Definitely.” His voice was smooth, much like the rest of his appearance. “I’d heard about the whole fries-and-slaw on the sandwich thing, but to actually experience it was something else entirely. I certainly wasn't ready for breakfast this morning. In fact, I may never eat again.” They all laughed. Primanti’s was a legend in Pittsburgh, and rightfully so. Rath was a big fan, naturally. “It’s a cool place you have here.”
“Nice of you to say so. We like it so far. So, tell me about yourself.”
His humble shrug didn’t quite ring true. “Degree in Criminal Justice. Recruited by the FBI. Spent some time doing normal agent stuff, then went undercover. Domestic terrorist organizations.”
He has the right look for it.
Sloan was visually perfect—a square jaw, sharp cheekbones, blue eyes, and perfectly styled blond hair. He still had the build of the high school quarterback he’d been.
And a good one, too, according to the record books.
“I was ready to head back under when you contacted me.”
Diana grinned but kept it as non-aggressive as possible. “That’s a perfect rehash of your file. Now, tell us something we don’t know.”
His laugh was surprisingly deep and cheerful. “Okay, I can do that. Last year, I was part of this group of good old boys out in the Midwest. They were working toward a fertilizer bomb but weren’t able to buy what they needed in bulk, so each of them would go to different stores every day to pick up a few bags.”
He scratched the back of his neck and shook his head. “I gotta hand it to them, they were willing to put the work in. Anyway, I passed the word along and the local PD found the evidence they needed. When they came in for the bust, there was a lot of shouting, but it went down easily. Anyway, one female cop was absolutely gorgeous, even under all the armor, and I couldn’t help myself. I was cuffed, assumed I was safe, and asked her where she’d been all my life.” He laughed. “She fractured my cheekbone with a right hook. Apparently, you do not flirt with t
he Midwest police.”
They chuckled, and he delivered the punch line. “That woman is now my wife.” They stared at him in utter disbelief. Finally, Diana slapped her hands on the table and snorted.
“You’re good. I almost believed it.”
He grinned and nodded. “It’s what I do.”
“The person who pointed us to you said you had some magic ability. That’s a desirable thing in this organization.”
He looked a little uncomfortable, and she knew what he felt, having gone through it herself for many years. Still, he didn’t pause for long before he spoke. “I can often sense others’ emotions and actually hear their thoughts on rare occasions. I can’t control either of those, really. They come as flashes of insight. For instance, you were positive toward me as you sat down.” She nodded. “I also apparently have really good mental shielding to prevent people from reading me. I don’t do anything.” He shrugged. “It’s a built-in feature.”
Tony smoothed his mustache thoughtfully. “That would be beneficial in your line of work.”
“Undoubtedly. The FBI folks decided that having these abilities drew me to a job where I could use them.”
Cara laughed. “So, it was either undercover cop or Vegas mentalist extraordinaire?”
The smile he gave her was way flirty, in Diana’s opinion.
I wonder if I need to make a policy against fraternization. Actually, I wonder if ARES already has one.
Bryant came to mind, and she squashed the thought as Sloan resumed his explanation. “I was fairly good at party tricks in college, that’s for sure, but the fun evaporated quickly because I couldn’t control it. It made asking girls out on dates easier, though, since I usually knew how they’d answer ahead of time.” He stared at Cara with a raised eyebrow.
Diana interrupted, “Okay, it sounds like you have some useful skills. We’ll have to chat about you behind your back, of course.”
They stood and shook hands and Tony asked, “Do you ever use illusions of any kind?”
Sloan shook his head. “I know there are artifacts out there to do it, but I wouldn’t trust it on a job. It’s too risky. I would consider it while not undercover, probably—hide my good looks, that kind of thing.”
Tony and Cara led him from the room, still chatting. Diana tapped her glasses. “What do you think?”
Text popped onto her display.
Cute. Seems to like Cara. Would fit in well.
“My thoughts exactly. I bet you could turn his head if you tried.”
The next letters came in caps.
I’M NOT STAYING.
Diana smothered a grin.
Oh yes, you are.
They reconvened in the core so Kayleigh could join them in the flesh. The tech wore her AR glasses and smiled at her teammates. “The drone is following the marker we put on his rental car. I’ll have to take over in person once he stops.”
Cara nodded. “Hopefully, he won’t do anything stupid before we can make him an offer.”
“Or after,” Tony added,
“Why?” The ex-Marshall grinned. Are you afraid he’ll muscle in on your exclusive area of doing stupid things?”
The former detective folded his arms. “Funny you should use the word ‘muscle.’ Was that a Freudian slip?”
Diana laughed as Cara stuck her tongue out at him. “Okay, children, let’s focus, shall we? Are we all in agreement that he’s our choice?” There were nods all around. “Good. On to the Demolition Man. Or Woman.”
Kayleigh gestured at the table between them, and three pictures appeared. “Preliminary research says all of these are viable options, but none are known to have magic.” She pointed to the image projected on her left, a dapper man with dark hair and eyes. “Kensington is SAS but holds dual citizenship. He’s currently stationed in Manchester.” A flick of a wrist scrolled to the next image, an older stocky woman with blonde hair. “Addens is with the LAPD Bomb Squad. She’s been there for a decade and a half.” The last picture cycled in and doubled in size. “Anik is the nearest. He’s with the Virginia State PD Bomb Squad.” He was a dark man who clearly had ancestral roots in the Middle East.
Tony clenched his hands into fists and growled “Khaaaaannnnn.” The room filled with groans and Cara slapped him on the shoulder. He laughed. “You know, this team needs call signs. Obviously, if Anik joins us, he has to be Khan.”
Diana rolled her eyes. “Call signs. Right. On the list, at the bottom. Moving on.” She gestured at the images of the potential new agents. “Thoughts?”
The investigator studied the images. “Well, it’s currently three women and one man, so it’s only reasonable that we add another male to the team.”
“Sloan is male,” Cara replied dryly.
He laughed. “I didn’t think you’d noticed. Okay, that’s still three-to-two.”
“Rath is male, too,” Kayleigh pointed out.
Tony shook his head. “Rath is a troll. That doesn’t count unless we want another troll to balance the species in the group.”
Diana groaned. “One is enough, thanks.”
The tech snapped her fingers. “Bryant is male.”
Their boss shook her head. “Bryant identifies only as annoying.” They all laughed. “Well, seeing as there’s no clear frontrunner, how about we start with the closest? Virginia is only a hop, skip, and a jump away.” They nodded. “Good. We can reserve Kensington and Addens for later expansion.”
“ARES UK,” Tony said. “I like it.”
Cara folded her arms and nodded. “Me, too.”
“I’m surprised you have any liking left in you. I thought you spent it all on Sloan.”
“Tony, stop trying to make funny happen. You lack the skill.”
He answered with a gesture that invoked another round of laughter.
Rath had seen disorganized spaces before—Diana’s room, for one—but Professor Charlotte Stanley’s office was in a category all its own. The back wall had two tall windows, both clean and sparkly, that filtered the late morning sun. Her desk sat in front of them and put the woman in silhouette as the light bent around her.
Every other wall was covered in bookshelves, except for the entry door, and every flat surface in the small room was stacked with books, papers, and ancient-looking things of every description. A meandering path led from the entrance to the desk, bound on both sides by more piles of stuff.
It was marvelous.
He had given Max a stern warning not to knock anything over when they entered, and the dog had obligingly found a patch of unstacked floor under one of the room’s two visitor chairs. Rath had vaulted onto the desk and sat on a coffee mug the professor had overturned for him. The fact that it featured a picture of a troll appealed to him. Clearly, the professor liked Oriceran things judging by all the foreign items around the room.
She hit a final key with a flourish and said, “Grading complete. Thank you for waiting, Rath.”
“No problem.”
“So, how have things been? Do you still like your new hometown?”
He nodded. “Yes. Is good. We are the Pittsburgh Law.”
Her long crystal earrings bobbed with her nod. “I wondered if the rumors that there was a troll present at that dreadful prison thing were true and if it was you. I assume that’s a yes to both?”
“Yep. Not Max, though. Max isn’t ready. Still training.”
The dog gave a soft, offended growl, then put his head down again. The professor laughed. “Well, perhaps he’s simply smart enough not to get involved in exploding buildings.”
Rath shrugged. “Maybe. Is great partner, anyway.”
“Your loyalty is a mark in your favor, my friend.” She gasped. “That’s right.” She rummaged in her desk and retrieved a pale purple gem. “I found this in a collection of artifacts the University had in storage. Is it what I think it is?”
He took it from her and a tingle spread into his hands as the energy flowed out of it and into him. “Ooh!” He set it down qui
ckly and felt jangly from the magical flow. “Power crystal. From Kemana.”
She smiled. “As I thought. Please, take it with you. It's yours now.” The smile thinned a little, and her words were hesitant. “Have you visited a Kemana? I’ve never been able to manage an invitation to the one below Pittsburgh.”
He shook his head. “No. But will soon. Promised.”
“Someone in your family has been?”
He nodded.
“Well, when you go, you must remember everything about it for me. I’ve put in a request through the right channels, but I haven’t heard from them yet. There’s so much to learn. I’m sure…” Her voice trailed off.
“Will.”
Charlotte smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, Rath. I can only imagine what kinds of beings might be down there.”
He snorted. “Stupid Mirennas, probably.”
She blinked, stared at the stacks on her desk with a small frown, and pulled a volume from the middle of the nearest one. A steadying hand on the top of the pile prevented the makeshift Jenga tower from collapsing. She folded the book open to a page near the center and showed him a picture. “Is this what you mean?”
“Yep. Bouncy stupid monkeys.”
The professor turned the book toward herself and read out loud. “The Mirenna is one of the more aggressive creatures found in the Dark Forest.” Her eyes widened as she looked at him. “That sounds alarming. Did they hurt you?”
“No.” He flipped and mimed fighting them with his batons. “We won. Monkeys lost.”
She shook her head. “Well, it seems you have things properly under control in your new home. I wondered if you would like to come to my class in a couple of days? I’ll do a talk on Oriceran history, naturally, and you might find it interesting. At best, you could share some of your perspectives. I’m sure the students would enjoy seeing a real troll in the flesh.”
Rath nodded. “Would love to.”
She grinned. “Excellent.”
Chapter Seven