Deadly Designs

by Dale Mayer

  His arms tightened.

  Storey rested her cheek against his chest. How nice to be held by him again. He smelled so masculine and seemed so strong. It had been a long time for her. She could hardly remember what it was like to be in a relationship. As for her old boyfriend, well, she could hardly remember what he looked like either. Eric had taken his spot in her life.

  “Are you okay?”

  With a warm sigh, she rubbed her cheek against his chest. His arms squeezed and released. She did it again. He gripped her tight. “Witch, that tickles.”

  She giggled. “Sorry. Shouldn’t tease you.”

  “Teasing is fine, but I’d just as soon be back in one of our dimensions where we might be able to do a little more than tease,” he responded gently.

  Storey cuddled closer. She hadn’t known Eric long enough to be comfortable taking the next step in their relationship. But she wasn’t far off. She’d almost made it there with her ex before he’d moved.

  The black mist seemed to last forever. Considering this was a short hop distance-wise, not even leaving the dimension, she didn’t understand why it hadn’t been a short port. Sometimes though, it seemed like the Internet; the more users, the slower the speed.

  Although there was only she and Eric traveling here at the moment, there could be any number of people traveling this way in Eric’s dimension. And hadn’t Paxton said something about still having trouble with tears and gates?

  Finally the mist lowered. Storey found herself regretting it. The tiny space was peaceful, almost intimate in a way. As if there were no other beings, no other pressing issues to deal with – just the two of them.

  “Looks like we’re back to saving the world again.” Storey did a slow turn to make sure they were alone. She kind of recognized the area, but couldn’t be totally sure. A group of trees lined the left side of the meadow they now occupied, and she thought the creek would be down a ways but in the same direction. “Can we determine where your father is from here?”

  “I think so. Being the Councilman he has a tracker chip embedded in his arm. It was done decades ago. With any luck, it’s still active and the codex can read it. It’s always an iffy thing in another dimension as you don’t know what might have been screwed up with all the traveling. The energy is going to affect it somehow, at least over time. This is my father’s first offworld travel though, so it should be okay.”

  “Let’s check first.” She kept an eye out as they walked toward the trees again. Seemed like that’s always the first thing they did when they arrived at one of these dimensions. Still, shelter was shelter.

  After what seemed like a long time, but was probably only minutes, he said, “Got it.”

  Storey tilted her head, hearing a steady beat coming from his arm. “Straight ahead.”

  At the trees, they stopped to check the beacon again. Following the same path, they came to the creek. Storey had a drink, but kept glancing around, ever mindful of the women who’d come upon them last time. Neither of them saw anyone walking around this time, and the tracking system was leading them back to the caves in the cliff.

  “Well, at least we know we’re in the right place.” Storey ran a hand over her hair, wishing for a long hot soak and for this to all be over with. She was feeling melancholic over leaving Tammy behind.

  As they approached the cliff’s edge, they stopped at the same bunch of trees as last time. She surveyed the cliff dwellings, thankful the sun was behind clouds. “The place looks deserted.”

  “I wish, but so not likely,” Eric snorted. “I sent a message to Paxton. Haven’t heard back from him yet.”

  “We could use that backup team.”

  “I know. I asked. We need to have portals out at the ready this time, too.”

  Storey, winced, remembering how they’d had to jump, or in her case tumble, through the last portal as the Louers rushed them. “Yeah, I’d like to not have a repeat of last time, thank you.”

  “Me too. We’ll wait here a bit longer until we hear from Paxton.”

  “In that case, there is something I need to ask the stylus. I should have asked him earlier.” She plunked down on the ground, and removed the readymade portals she’d stashed in there and some blank paper. “Stylus, we need to fix the portal from this dimension to the Louers’ old dimension. Then Tammy’s father will remain the leader and these people can travel back and forth at will.”

  Yes.

  Immediately Storey’s hand flashed and danced on the paper. She watched, fascinated, as her stylus created something so advanced and difficult in mere seconds, that it was more like science fiction to her than reality. Moments later, her hand stilled.

  “Is it done?”

  Yes.

  She gave Eric a wide smile. “We’re good.”

  Eric crouched down to stare at the mess on her paper. “Does that mean anything to you?”

  Giving the paper some serious study time, she finally shook her head. “Not at all.” She turned the paper around slowly, looking for anything identifiable within the weird scribbles. Nothing. “Stylus, is the portal now functional?”

  Yes.

  “Can you tell Tammy’s father that the portal works?”

  A weird buzzing filled the air.

  “It can’t do that. Can it?” Eric’s puzzled voice spoke right at her ear.

  “I have no idea. I was going to ask it to write a letter and explain everything about Tammy and the portal, but…” the buzzing became louder and louder. Just as she was ready to clap her hands over her ears, the noise stopped.

  She exchanged a surprised look with Eric. Cautiously, she asked, “Stylus, what was that all about?”

  I spoke with the leader.

  “Um, just like that? You can communicate with him? Why did you not say so earlier?” she asked in exasperation. “We could have told them about Tammy before. And set up a way to return her.”

  Yes. I, too, am a Louer.

  She exchanged an irritated look with Eric. She’d have to think on the implications of this. Later. “So does he understand about Tammy and the fixed broken portal? About our visit and the new dimension?” It sounded too good to be true, but given all the other things the stylus had done, it seemed on par.

  Yes.

  “And he won’t interfere with our mission to rescue my father?” Eric asked, doubt, turning to almost disbelief in his voice.

  No. He will deal with the other group after we leave. Now that the portal works, he will be able to get their tools and the rest of their people over.

  Eric pursed his lips. “Really. And they will leave my dimension alone?”

  He says they want nothing to do with your people. They want to be left alone to build a new life here.

  “I’d like that, too,” Storey muttered. “Now we just have to muzzle your father so he stops interfering with the Louers!”

  That was the leader’s request. Take your father home and keep him there.

  “And we’d be happy to. Just as soon as we can rescue the Councilman.” She sighed. “Stylus, please make sure Tammy knows how much we miss her.” Her stomach growled. Talk about a reminder of Tammy. Storey groaned silently. She’d love a home cooked meal right now. Her mom was a great cook; she just didn’t have much time or inclination to do much these days. Come to think of it, her mom hadn’t dated in years, either.

  Storey had been grateful to not have to deal with a long line of “uncles” but still, she had to wonder if her mom was happy or if she’d abstained from the dating scene on purpose as Storey had gotten older. She’d never taken the time to ask her. There’s nothing like having your perception of reality blown apart by crossing dimensions to make you take a hard look at who you are.

  “Heavy thoughts?”

  Storey glanced up. “Lots. Just looking back on my life.”

  He grimaced. “I’ve been doing a bit of that myself. Once you uncover one lie, like my perception of my father, it’s almost impossible to not dissect the rest of your life looking
for more.”

  “I think you should contact Paxton again.”

  Eric frowned. “I’ve been contacting him every ten minutes. There’s no answer.”

  Storey frowned. Figures. “So are we going in without them? Waiting longer? What could be wrong?” She was pulling out her stylus as she spoke. Grabbing one of the small pieces of blank paper, she asked the stylus, “Contact Paxton and find out what the holdup is, please.”

  Her right hand jerked immediately. Even after all this time, she still watched in fascination as the stylus communicated through to Paxton in an alternate dimension.

  He’s under attack.

  “What?” Eric stared at her before pulling the sketchbook away to read the message himself. “Surely not from the Louers again, right?”

  At Eric’s question, the stylus jumped to answer. Yes, they attacked after you left. They are holding the Councilman hostage in the new dimension.

  “If we rescue the hostage, will that stop their attack on Eric’s dimension?”

  No. They are there now.

  Eric, anger glinting deep in his eyes, added, “That also means that the force here is small. We will have an easier time rescuing him.”

  “Sure, but why would we?” she couldn’t help but mutter.

  “I understand your feelings, but imagine what trouble he could stir up for us if left here for a week or two.”

  She’d give him that point. “So what do you want to do? Go home and help fight the Louers off, stay here and rescue your father?”

  “Damn.”

  Storey’s gaze widened. A hint of laugher sounded in her voice as she said, “Now I know you’re upset. That’s like the third time I’ve ever heard you swear.”

  He frowned at her. “Now is hardly the time.”

  Storey sat back down. “Stylus, how many Louers are left guarding the Councilman?”

  There are twelve adults here.

  Twelve. That wasn’t so bad. “What about women and children?”

  There are no children here and that count includes the females. They are guards in this group.

  “The stylus has to be communicating telepathically with the Louers to know this stuff.” Eric stared at Storey and her sheet of paper.

  “That would mean he’s still more person than computer – right?” The concept confused her. She’d assumed and was sure that she’d clarified the issue at one point. She’d believed the stylus was more computer thingy than alive. That assumption made it easier for her to deal with the concept of the prisoners held indefinitely inside the pencil.

  An intense humming filled the air. This time there was an unpleasantness to it. Storey looked around uneasily. Up to this point, the humming had always had a benign feeling to it. “Eric, the buzzing is stronger.”

  “Yeah. I’m hearing it, myself.” His voice was grim, his eyes never still, darting from place to place. “Are they coming toward us, then?”

  “I’m wondering. At only twelve left behind, I doubt they are all approaching.” Turning the stylus around in her fingers, she asked, “Stylus, are the Louers approaching us?”

  Yes. A group of four is approaching from inside the cliff.

  Storey’s voice rose as she bolted to her feet. “How did they find out about us?”

  The stylus’s answer came quickly.

  I told them.

  Eric’s jaw clenched. Storey felt betrayal sweep through her, although she fought it, didn’t want to believe it would have done such a thing.

  It’s the fastest way to find your father and get you home to help the rest of your world.

  Storey took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She gazed into Eric’s furious eyes. “We might not like it, but he’s right.” A muscle twitched on the corner of Eric’s jaw. “If we can rescue him, we can jump through a portal together.”

  “We had the element of surprise. Not now. We have portals but only for the moment. Remember last time?”

  “Shit.” She didn’t know what to do. “Stylus, how can we get in and out without being caught?”

  Port in.

  “What?”

  Port to where you found Tammy.

  Her mouth dropped. She should have considered that. With Eric supporting the paper on his back, she quickly drew an image of the cave where they’d rescued Tammy from. “Almost done.”

  “Then draw faster and make sure you’re drawing this location or something similar so we can get out cleaner.”

  “Except for the time travel issue.”

  “Right. So scrap the second portal then. We’ll codex out.”

  Her hand flew as her pulse screamed at them to run.

  Eric continued to talk while she worked. “We need to search for the stuff they stole from us last time. Though I’ve been thinking. Would they have gone through a portal or used a codex when they didn’t know where they were going or how to get back?”

  She frowned. There’s no way she would.

  Eric twisted slightly to see her. “We used the one portal to go to my world, remember. The others, although which ones I don’t remember exactly, would have taken them to your world.”

  “And they would have had to deal with the time travel issue,” Storey said, not raising her head. “Maybe they used your father’s codex? With his help?”

  Finally she finished. It felt like a half hour but she’d whipped the sketches together in minutes.

  The buzzing in her ears was getting louder. Almost a bee sound. Incredibly hard to listen to. She smacked the side of her head. “They have to be close. Let’s go.”

  As if the approaching Louers could sense what they were planning, the noise became deafening.

  “Hurry, they’re trying to knock us out before we can leave.”

  Storey dropped the portal on the ground, almost pushing Eric into it. He grabbed her hand. “I want you with me. Let’s not get separated.”

  Warmth wrapped around her heart. “I’m here. I have to make sure we grab this portal as we go through. We can’t take any more chances.”

  The pressure in her ears built up. She gasped at the pain, dropping to her knees at the edge of the paper. “Go, go. They’re almost here.”

  Holding her left hand, the corner of the paper clenched in her right, Eric jumped in and pulled her with him.

  Blackness surged through her consciousness as she fell into the hole.

  Chapter 17

  Someone moaned.

  Storey wished they’d stop. Her headache boomed deep inside. “Easy, Storey.” Eric’s voice split right through her skull. She shuddered.

  “It’s over now, but we almost didn’t make it. We’re still feeling the effects of their telepathic weapon.”

  Storey sat up in a panic, grabbing her head as it threatened to explode. “Did the portal come with us?”

  The large sheet of paper landed in the dirt in front of her. Groaning, she dropped back to the ground. “Thank heavens. I don’t think I’d be able to run anywhere right now.”

  “Too bad,” snapped an angry voice behind them. “You took so long to get here, we don’t have a choice. We have to leave now.”

  Storey closed her eyes. Damn. The Councilman still lived.

  “Hello, father.” Eric struggled to his feet.

  Storey didn’t bother. Besides, she wasn’t sure she could. The pounding inside her skull had eased slightly, but not enough to make movement a good idea yet.

  “Storey? You can recuperate back home.”

  Home? Her eyelids popped open. “That much effort might be possible.”

  “Better yet,” the Councilman snapped, “we leave you here. You’re responsible for this mess. Let’s go, Eric.”

  “No.” Eric’s harsh voice left no doubt about his seriousness. “She comes with us or I leave you here.”

  Storey’s gaze landed on the Councilman’s face long enough to see the hate glazing his eyes. He obviously hadn’t come to terms with her presence in his world. At least back at Paxton’s lab, she knew they’d take care of hi
m. With false energy, she struggled to her feet, but was forced to stay bent over for a long moment to adjust to being vertical.

  “Can you see any of the other codexes? Portals?” She studied around the dark space. It appeared empty. But in the darkness, who could tell for sure. And they didn’t have time for a full search right now.

  “Father, is there anything left here with you?”

  “No, they didn’t understand and ruined them with water and they are wearing the codexes. That’s how they went home.” He snorted as he scrambled to his feet. “They didn’t need much guidance on their usage.”

  Storey exchanged an appalled look with Eric. How much did the Louers know of Toran technology after their session with Eric’s father? “If Paxton can shut them down that might be the easiest way to deal with any that can’t be retrieved.”

  “And if he can’t?” Eric glared at his father. “Did you really help them use the codexes…against your own people?” His jaw worked furiously. “Have you so little regard for your home? That you would bring something like this on them?”

  The Councilman turned his back on Storey to glower at Eric. He sniffed hard and lifted his nose into the air. “It was the only way to secure my safety.”

  “Jesus,” Storey muttered under her breath. “Eric, are you prepared to trust his word about the portals and codexes?”

  Running a hand through his short cropped hair, Eric frowned. He walked the small space where his father had been held. There were small pieces of paper on the ground at the doorway to the next cavern, soaked and damaged beyond use. “He’s correct about these.” Eric pointed to the fragments. “Let’s hope Paxton can disable the remaining codexes.”

  Storey walked over, the portal in her hand. “I’ll ask the stylus to disable any still functioning portals as well. Soon as we get somewhere safe.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Enough already,” snapped the Councilman. “The guards will be here any minute. Let’s go.”

  Even as the words left his mouth they heard heavy sounds of someone running. Then another set of running footsteps.

  “Shit.” Storey stepped back to give Eric room. “Hurry.”