The Nullification Engine (The Alchemancer: Book Two)

by Scott Marlowe

Ingrid laughed. "Go ahead. In a little while, death will no longer have any meaning. It certainly won't stop me from continuing my work."

  "What...work?" Aaron asked, though just then something else occurred to him, and so he also asked, "You did something to the input mechanism, didn't you? That's why the aversion sequence didn't work."

  In answer, she removed a small metal ring from her pocket. "The pin-plate will just spin and spin without this. Sorry." Then she tossed it over the side of the platform where it vanished into the chasm. "I removed a few other parts for good measure. Those are already at the bottom, or still falling. We never did determine the chasm's depth, did we?"

  "Why would you do all this?" Aaron asked. "You're going to kill everyone and maybe us too. I had a chance at stopping all of that." Then, in a voice tinged with anger, he said, "You betrayed me."

  "You betrayed both of us," Jakinda Rhe said in a tone to match Aaron's.

  Ingrid looked from one to the other. "I betrayed neither of you. Jakinda, the instruction I gave you in accounting and business was true and accurate. Aaron, we worked together toward the common goal of ensuring the engine did not meet catastrophe. All in all, we each walk away with something learned. That's hardly how I would define betrayal."

  "What of me, then?" Ensel Rhe asked. "Explain how you did not betray me, or how your and Balrabbek's scheming did not result in the murder of my son."

  She did not answer that so quickly. "Those are good questions for Balrabbek. Your feud is with him, Ensel Rhe, not me. I know you will not believe me, but I was pained when I learned of Hannu's death. If only you'd stayed away. Instead, you forced Balrabbek's hand."

  "Hannu's death was not my fault," Ensel Rhe said, "and you will not speak his name."

  "Uncle Bal...really did kill Hannu?" Jakinda Rhe asked, her voice subdued now.

  "Your father got too close and knew too much. Balrabbek did not wish to take any chances. All of this," Ingrid said, waving a hand to encompass the whole of the chamber, "is only part of the plan. And don't bother asking me what the rest of the plan is, for I've no idea."

  "It doesn't matter," Aaron said.

  Ingrid turned her head, perplexed. "What's that?"

  "Your plan doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it starts with the Nullification Engine. You need it to reach a state of full nullitivity. But I'm not going to let it."

  Ingrid shook her head in disapproval. "Aaron, you're very smart, but you allow yourself to become too wrapped up in your emotions. You know the engine's process cannot be stopped without risking a major breach. I've disabled Melkor's failsafe, though it's a nice bit of work on your part figuring it out. I truly believe you decoded the correct sequence. But, with the engine so close to full activation now, and you with no other remedies in place, what can you possibly do to stop it?"

  "You aren't the only one who's been holding back information, Ingrid. I'll show you what else I can do." Aaron ran for the ladder, not caring if Ingrid tried to shoot him with her projectile weapon.

  Ingrid followed his motion with a curious stare, but nothing more. It was all the distraction Ensel Rhe needed as he lunged for the woman. Not quick enough, as Ingrid fired her weapon. A thump of noise and a quick puff of white smoke, and one of the glass spheres shot out from the barrel. The sphere shattered on impact, enveloping Ensel Rhe in a voluminous cloud of black gas. Coughing and choking, the eslar doubled over and collapsed to the floor.

  Meanwhile, Aaron slid down the ladder, sailing past the control deck all the way to the collection platform. He didn't glance up, though he suspected Ingrid followed. From one of his pockets Aaron withdrew the Inferno, which he'd retrieved on his way from the ballroom. He dropped to his knees before one of the access panels. Though raw elemental energy pulsed through it, he tore at one of the tubules, pulling it loose. Energy spat and crackled from it. As soon as Aaron heard Ingrid drop down behind him, he spun around and directed the loose end of the tubule at her. A stream of energy arced out, connecting directly with her projectile weapon. She cried out even as its magazine of spherical projectiles exploded into a blossoming black cloud which swallowed her whole.

  Aaron let go of the arcing tubule and turned his attention to a brass, cylindrical chamber he'd inlined between the collecting arms and the core. The chamber was just large enough to accommodate the Inferno. Behind him, he heard Ingrid coughing. A quick glance over a shoulder showed her recovering from the energy shock and whatever effect the black gas induced as she stumbled toward him. The wind the collecting arms generated had already blown most of the gas away. Aaron had the Inferno poised over the cylindrical chamber when Ingrid's voice stayed his hand.

  "The first rule when dealing with necromantic alchemicals," Ingrid said, still coughing, "is to make sure you're immune to the effects. One never knows when one might have an accident, or have someone direct an elemental discharge your way."

  Aaron took another look back. She'd stopped, though she craned her neck, trying to see what he was doing.

  "A harmonic field generator?" she asked. "Interesting. You borrowed my idea for the personal suppressor and expanded it a thousand fold. But...this is your plan? You do realize there's no way for such a device to generate a strong enough suppression field to contain the effect of the engine, don't you?"

  Aaron moved out of the way just enough for her to see the Inferno. Even if she lunged at him, she'd never reach him in time to stop him from putting it into the field generator.

  "What is that?" she asked, shaking the hand which had held her weapon to help relieve it of pain.

  "I'm surprised you don't know. It's another Element of Fire, a sort of prototype." Aaron needed to perform some final calibration to the generator. He did so while keeping one eye on Ingrid. "The elementalists built it. But when the Four Elements were completed, they abandoned this approach. Too much science and not enough elemental sorcery, so they reasoned. Cyrus Melkor talks about it in one of his books. I was studying it when I should have been studying the filament. Maybe I would have figured out what you were up to if I had." He held the Inferno over the receptacle, ready to drop it in at the first sign of movement from Ingrid. Far from making a grab for it, Ingrid continued to look on with interest. Curious, he asked, "Aren't you going to try to stop me?"

  Flexing her fingers, Ingrid said, "No."

  "No?"

  She gestured at the Inferno. "That's fascinating. The elementalists, you said? I imagine we're a lot like them, you and I. They studied and put into practice many of the same disciplines: alchemy, mathematics, physics, even sorcery. It took all of that just to create the reactant."

  Ingrid's mention of the catalyst piqued Aaron's interest. "I never did find any references in Melkor's journals to it, as if he'd left it out on purpose."

  "Maybe he did," Ingrid said, continuing to keep her distance. "It's the final piece in the puzzle. The engine isn't useless without it, but it's nothing more than a very large explosive unless a specific composition of material is inserted into the catalytic chamber. When I came here years ago, that was my first order of business, for not even Erlek knew much about it. Two years of effort provided little progress, though. It wasn't until I came across a paper entitled The Principles of Alchemical Energy Transfer, written by a certain Aaron Shepherd, that I finally had a breakthrough."

  Though he did not turn around, Aaron did stop working.

  "Your paper opened up a vast array of new possibilities not only in energy transfer, but in materials composition as well, for, as we know, energy and matter are linked, and so one influences the other. It took another year of work, but I did finally succeed in creating a suitable reactant. It's mostly iridium, with a hint of copper, silver, and a few other materials. Testing, of course, was difficult, but I have examined every detail, and I am confidant today's experiment will be a success."

  Experiment? This wasn't an experiment. People were going to die. Rather than argue the point with her, Aaron sensed an opportunity to gain more information. Specifically, h
e wanted to know more about the reactant, and so he told Ingrid how Serena had touched it and gained greater mastery over the Inferno.

  "That doesn't surprise me," Ingrid said. "Think of the reactant as an enhancer. It increases control and multiplies energy output levels." She took out her special encorder and waved it in the direction of the machine. "You'll get to see it work very soon, I think, based on the accumulation levels in the core. Unless, of course, your plan to counter it succeeds. Speaking of which, the Inferno...place it in the generator capsule."

  Aaron turned all the way around, not sure he'd heard her right.

  "Put it in," she said again. "I'd like to see what effect your suppressor field has on the engine. How many other modifications did you have to make to accommodate the generator?"

  Lots. But he wasn't about to give Ingrid any of the details.

  She saw his answer in his face and laughed. "Keep your secrets for now, then. With such a power source, your idea might just stand a chance. I don't think so, though."

  "But what if it does? All of your work and planning will have been for nothing."

  The light in her eyes grew brighter. "Not for nothing. This is what it's all about, Aaron. The thrill of the experiment and the rush of breaking new ground. No matter what happens here today, the fields of alchemy and science will be the better for it. I know you feel the same way, so turn on your device, and let's see what wonders you've discovered."

  A shadow dropped down behind the woman.

  "I have something for you to discover, Ingrid. It's called a sword through the back."

  Ensel Rhe's jab came up short as Ingrid lunged forward. She spun around, eyes gone wide. The light in them had not dimmed at all. "How are you still alive?"

  Jakinda slid down the ladder and came to stand next to her father. Ensel Rhe stood hunched, and his sword drooped in his hand, but he appeared no worse for having been engulfed in the necromantic gas.

  "You should be dead," Ingrid said. "The gas should have consumed you."

  "It did not," the eslar said, taking a step toward her.

  "Huh," Ingrid said, thoughtful. "A mystery to solve another day, I think."

  "You do not have another day," Ensel Rhe said, lifting his sword.

  "No, don't!" Aaron shouted. "We may need her." She knew too many things about the engine which he did not, not least of which were the changes she'd made without his knowledge. "Just in case."

  Aaron turned back to the field generator. He placed the Inferno inside. The reaction was immediate as the Inferno came to life. Aaron activated the generator's concordium containment field—the same type of field containing the Nullification Engine's core—just in time, as fiery energy began streaming from the Inferno. The field kept the energy in check as he took out his encorder and, based on the readings, adjusted the outflow. Soon energy flowed from the Inferno into the subsystem of the engine which he'd repurposed to modulate and carry the Inferno's energy. Aaron stood and turned to address the others.

  "Once the engine reaches full activation, it's going to radiate an enormous field of energy which will kill every living thing within its range. Unless my suppressor stops it. It's connected to the collecting arms. Once the nullification process starts, they aren't used, so I reversed their polarity to carry the suppressor wave instead. If this works, the engine's nullification field won't even go beyond this chamber."

  "And if it doesn't?" Jakinda asked.

  Aaron didn't want to think about that. "It's going to work," he said. "But we still need to get out of here."

  Ensel Rhe instructed his daughter to go up the ladder first, followed by Ingrid. The eslar went next, with Aaron last. Ingrid cooperated up until they reached the middle platform, for then she kept climbing, shaking off Jakinda's attempt to hold her and not looking down to see if anyone followed.

  "Let her go!" Aaron said, realizing there was no time to pursue.

  With the engine rattling around them and the hum of the core growing ever louder, no one disputed his suggestion, though Ensel Rhe looked like he might. His gaze settled on his daughter, though, before he hurried along with them from the machine chamber. At the surface, inside Aaron's laboratory, they ran into Serena and an odd assortment of others.

  Serena did not look good at all. She barely remained standing, though some life started to return to her as Aaron drew near with his suppressor device. Aaron took hold of her at the waist.

  "We need to get as far from here as possible," Aaron said.

  "But," one of the dwarves said, heaving in breaths, "we just got here."

  The other two dwarves grumbled their assent, but it was a murmured response. The dwarves didn't look so good, either. No one did. Only Ensel Rhe, who had recovered from Ingrid's gas now, remained unaffected at all.

  Aaron started moving toward the stair, not looking to see who followed. Everyone did. They made it as far as the curtained hallway where Lord Phillip had first spoken to Aaron and Serena about the engine when the air around them grew warmer. The increased temperature was accompanied by a chill which each of them felt across their skin.

  "What sorcery is this?" the krill asked. "How can it be both hot and cold?"

  "Not sorcery exactly," Aaron said. He stopped, still supporting Serena as he took out his encorder. Jakinda came up next to him. She looked at the device.

  "What does it say?" she asked.

  "That we're in trouble."

  "But, your force field—"

  "Isn't working! It's not containing the radiation! Here, take her."

  Jakinda took hold of Serena, who was barely conscious now.

  "Everyone, get closer to me," Aaron said. He took the suppressor off his belt and opened the hinged compartment at the back. He had no idea why the Inferno-powered field was not containing the engine's radiation. He wondered if Ingrid had changed her mind and decided to sabotage his work after all. He also wondered if he shouldn't have remained behind to stop her. Too late for such thoughts now. He looked at his encorder again. The radiation frequency still converged, on its way to the final value of 1.618. But it wasn't there yet. He still had a little time.

  "Get closer!" Aaron yelled, fumbling at the mechanism inside the suppressor. Jakinda knelt with Serena held close. Aaron moved down beside them. The dwarves crowded in along with the human and the krill. Only Ensel Rhe did not move closer.

  "What are you doing?" Jakinda asked him.

  Ensel Rhe ignored her and instead asked Aaron, "Is this Ingrid's doing?"

  Aaron shrugged, his attention on the encorder. "Maybe."

  "Then I go to stop her. Jakinda, you are safe here with Aaron and Serena."

  That was all he said as he turned and ran back down the hall.

  "Father! Wait!"

  Aaron took a chance, putting his hand on her arm. It kept her from running after him.

  "I think he'll be all right," he said to her. "I don't think the engine can harm him." Not right now. But once it reached full activation? He wasn't sure.

  Aaron returned his attention to the suppressor device. "The field is extended as far as it will go while still maintaining its integrity. We'll have to stay here until the engine has completed its process. It shouldn't be long now before it starts."

  No one said anything as Aaron continued to monitor the alternating frequency of the engine's radiation. 1.625. 1.611. 1.621. 1.615. 1.619. 1.617. 1.618.

  The convergence value held steady at that last value. The Nullification Engine had reached a state of full nullitivity.

  * * *

  Once more, as he ran into the machine chamber, Ensel Rhe saw Ingrid standing on the engine's upper platform. Once more, he confronted her there. As he took the last of the ladder's rungs and stepped onto the deck, he saw she worked away at the triggering mechanism. Though her gaze flicked his way, recognizing his presence, she did not stop working. The engine vibrated worse than before. Steam billowed from exhaust pipes lining the central shaft. Far below, the arms spun steady, each now glowing with the color
s of the four elements: red, blue, green, and white. The core shone golden.

  Ensel Rhe lunged for Ingrid, grasping her by the throat. He shoved her against the catalytic chamber. Inside, her metal, the reactant, radiated silver. Conduits leading into the chamber pulsated with the golden energy of the core.

  "Have you anything to say before I squeeze the life from you?" Ensel Rhe asked.

  "Only that you are a fool for coming back. You've no idea what is about to happen. Aaron's field suppressor will not work." Then, with an air of defiance, she said, "Nothing can stop the engine now."

  Ensel Rhe was reminded of the engine's effect. He'd noticed the change in others, as if their very vitality was sucked away. But he had yet to feel anything himself. He wondered how Ingrid planned to resist the effect, for he suspected her as vulnerable as the others. Yet, she looked as if she were immune like him. Ensel Rhe saw why as he noticed, at her belt, a suppressor device just like Aaron's. He tore it from her, holding it up to her. For the first time, she looked worried. Worry turned to horror as Ensel Rhe tossed the suppressor over his shoulder. It did not hit the platform, but sailed right over the edge, into oblivion.

  Ingrid tried to sputter out a curse or a verbal lashing, but he had her throat so tight now she managed only a gurgle. Realizing he'd kill her before the engine did if he did not relax his grip, Ensel Rhe loosened his hold.

  "Fool!" Ingrid said, choking. "You've killed us both!"

  Ensel Rhe reached into her lab coat pocket, withdrawing her modified encorder. "Turn your measuring device on me and tell me what it says."

  Unsure, Ingrid opened the device and did as she was asked. She shook her head at the result. "This is impossible. Something is wrong with the calibration."

  "Nothing is wrong with the device. It reads true. You have heard of Barathrum?"

  Her confusion grew. "Hell?"

  "I suspect all who come from that place or have visited it have this same negative reading. I gave up much to gain the tools to fight Balrabbek and all his minions. Never have I felt content in my decision, until now. I haven't killed us both, Ingrid. Only you."