Vince grimaced for a moment. “That’s about as much as I can ask for. You two will be taking a Shrike over there as soon as it is prepped.”
I knew Retanei well enough to hear her mental groan at the thought of having to pilot. She was more than capable, but preferred other methods of transportation. “Ted?” Retanei asked. He was her normal partner for assignments.
Vince shook his head. “Too delicate to send him. It’s up to you if you want to take Artemis - she could prove an asset.”
Artemis, Retanei’s other partner, was a gray wolf. Rarely were they seen apart, but something about Vince seemed to frighten the animal companions people kept.
“I know you keep a bag at the ready so help Ketayl pack. Ketayl, you need to bring the prototypes you’ve been working on.”
Perhaps he forgot, so I reminded him, “Sir, they haven’t been cleared for…”
Vince barked, “I don’t care if they haven’t been field tested - you’re doing it now. I want as much evidence as possible to take this bastard down.” He made sure to look directly at each of us in turn as he spoke, but focused on Retanei when he said, “Your primary objective is to get information. Now go.”
~*~
Hurrying to match Retanei’s long strides, I started to wish I had not skipped physical training as often as I did. It was also late and my stomach was demanding attention.
Part of me really just wanted to go clean up the lab and go to bed, but the images from the news broadcast were still fresh in my mind. How many dead? How many injured? Was it an accident? Deliberate? I had not given the severity of the situation on the newscast much thought until I was being sent to investigate.
Perhaps this would better help connect me with my work - to see the personal side of it rather than just numbers and puzzles.
It could have been an accident by an untrained Arcanist. Thinking further on it, even if I lost control at my current level of ability, I could not cause nearly as much damage as I saw on the news report.
That brought me back to it being a deliberate attack. If it was arcane-based, how much power would be required and what would the caster have used? I was going to have to get there fast to find out before the arcane remnants were consumed by the mites.
“You need to eat.” The sound jarred me from my mental evaluation. Retanei was always hyper-observant. “Go to the dining hall and I’ll meet you there after I get Artemis.”
“You’re going to bring her?” I found myself questioning the air and sighed. I could not talk to someone that was not there, and I was, admittedly, hungry. Cadwr usually kept leftovers from the day’s meals in the front refrigerator for those of us who wandered in late.
~*~
Within two hours after the initial phone call, I was fed, packed, and leaving instructions with a tired Lockonis, who merely waved me out the door with a gear pack of the field equipment that we had been developing.
A male Human mechanic, whose name escaped me at the moment, stood by the control station for the lift, yawning. He said, “I got the flight plan logged and programmed into the auto-pilot. She’s fueled and the Chained Lakes office has been notified. They will be sending some of their mechanics to meet you to help refuel and whatever else you might need. Zenmin is just doing a final check.”
A small form crawled out from under the Shrike and tossed a thumbs up in our direction.
Zenmin, the Halfing mechanic in question, ran a grease-covered hand through his curly hair. I never was sure what color his hair was actually supposed to be.
The smell of the oils and other fluids used in the machine were fresh and overpowering. I swallowed, trying to keep my hastily eaten meal down. Even Artemis tried to cover her nose with her paws. From the random piles of rags tossed around the platform, I could see they were also in a hurry to get us in the air.
I looked at the flying machine that I was about to board. The Shrikes were used on a regular basis, but as much as I liked watching them take off and land, I still found the twin tilt-rotors intimidating and had not been in one since I arrived at the TIO.
Getting settled into the co-pilot’s seat, I focused on the control panel in front of me as the platform the Shrike sat on started to rise. I felt the propellers come to life, vibrating the aircraft. At least the smells drifted away quickly. I was not sure I would survive the four hours to Chained Lakes otherwise.
I turned my attention to Retanei once the control station was out of sight. She was busy getting ready for takeoff, but never seemed to miss a beat and said, “Nothing I can say or do will make you stop being nervous. Comes with the territory. I never know what I’m going to find when I go out - especially on such a high profile case.”
I rolled my eyes as Artemis nudged my arm. Running my hand through the soft fur on her head was calming. “Should I mention you’re not helping?” I was still working on my sarcasm and was never sure if it came out right.
I was pretty sure Artemis was not happy about the flight either, but there was not a mage in the world who could teleport us as far as we needed. Trying to set up chained teleports was both expensive and time consuming, and not necessarily in as straight a line as we were flying.
My free hand gripped the seat tightly when the platform locked into place, jarring the Shrike. The snow had not stopped, but I did not think the weather was going to get me out of this.
Retanei grinned mischievously as we started to ascend. I was starting to think she enjoyed flying more than she let on. “At least you know you’re not alone.”
I took a deep breath and reminded myself on why we were in a rush: I needed to get there as fast as possible to observe the arcane remnants before they had degraded too much. The mites would have begun showing up by now and started breaking it down. I hoped there would be enough left to work with.
Chapter 2
A couple of local Ocean’s Edge TIO members were waiting in a car by the landing pad. They got out once we had settled enough to approach. It was already early afternoon here.
A short, dark haired Human woman, dressed in a mechanic’s orange jumpsuit ran in our direction. She headed straight for Retanei’s door.
While they talked, I got out, grabbing my bags in the process. I approached the car and could make out a black-haired male Elf wearing an agent’s coat and hat - the same as Retanei and I wore. He stood several inches taller than me - his short, black ponytail whipped in the wind. Even from only a few feet away, he had to shout to be heard over the wind and the engines powering down, “My name is Rathal Dawnseeker and that is our mechanic Sasha Larsen. She’ll see to the Shrike. Savanas wanted me to get you two down there hours ago.”
I looked back for Retanei, but saw only legs from under the Shrike. I wanted to get back in there because it was warm - I certainly did not want to fly anywhere for a while. I had been too anxious about both the flight and what we would encounter here to get much rest.
“I’m Ketayl, an Arcane Investigator. Retanei is a Rural Tracker.” Introductions were not something I did and I bit my lip, feeling nervous. Feeling a bump against my legs, I freed up a hand to quickly pet the wolf next to me and added, “This is Artemis, Retanei’s animal companion.” That sounded more awkward aloud than in my head. I hoped he chalked it up to having to shout to be heard.
Retanei finally joined us, offering Rathal a formal Elven greeting. He made a face at her and half-heartedly returned it. She slid into the backseat with Artemis while Rathal held the front passenger’s door open for me. Nodding my thanks, I got into the blissfully warm car. I tried to not melt into the heated seat with relief - I had not realize exactly how cold I was.
Tapping my shoulder, Retanei said, “I’m going to try and catch a few before we get there.” I turned to watch her get settled. I was not sure how she could be comfortable half-stretched out on the back seat with Artemis across her lap.
Rathal slid into the driver’s seat and started making a phone call pointedly ignoring us. It was short, but I could make an educated gues
s he spoke with Savanas.
About 10 minutes passed after the call ended and we were finally making our way off the airport grounds. I could not decide if I was nervous or excited. I loved puzzles and I always enjoyed the challenges sent to me in the lab, but this was the field and it was a very different set of variables to deal with. There was no controlled environment here.
“Why’d they have to send a damn Drow?” I barely heard Rathal mutter over the heater blowing. His hazel eyes were focused on the road ahead.
Not sure if I should say something, I looked back at Retanei, but she had her hat pulled down over her face and looked every bit like she was asleep.
It was not fair of him to judge her, but I was not sure where my boundaries were at this point.
I bit my lower lip for a moment before finding a neutral comment, “She’s a Dark Elf, not Drow.”
The surprise on his face told me that he had not expected a response. “They look the same,” Rathal shot back. Well, I could not argue his point. They were essentially two factions. The tension in the air was nearly tangible. “Next you’ll tell me that there are actually Arcane College mages without a superiority complex or that dragons exist.”
That hit a bit closer to home. Sinking into my seat, I pulled my coat tighter around my neck - my Arcane College pin sat just below the zipper on my scarf. I was not sure how to handle his attitude. I knew of the disdain for the Arcane College in general, but at the main office I never encountered such hostility. I could not recall any instance Retanei received it either.
The silence stretched out. As we crested a hill, I took brief note of how the snow-covered canopy of trees got thicker the further inland I looked. I was sure it was the last peaceful moment I was going to have for a while.
Something arcane caught my attention and it was close. I had barely noticed it. I closed my eyes to help my focus. It was too faint to make out any details.
“Okay, I’m sorry. We’ve been going pretty much nonstop since it happened. I guess I’m a bit edgy,” Rathal said and the anger in his voice lightened, but did not disappear completely. “Is this your first time in Ocean’s Edge? I could show you around. There are some great restaurants near my apartment.”
I was so focused on what had the faintest arcane scent to it that I needed to replay his words in my head before trying to answer. I was at a loss. He had apologized, but I still felt uneasy about him.
Looking out the window, I could see we were coming up on the crime scene. We were quickly waved through the roped off area. “Waking Dawn” was on the side of the blown out building. There was an Elven woman with dark hair waiting for us - her arms crossed over her chest. Her ears were shorter - perhaps half-Elven?
Reaching back, I tapped Retanei’s leg, though I was pretty sure Artemis’ stirring would wake her.
As soon as we stopped, I got out. I did not want to answer Rathal. I was still upset about the comments he made toward Retanei. He came around to my door and leaned against the car with a smirk on his face. “So, what do you say, little lady?”
His reference to my lack of height grated on my nerves. The woman was approaching us and Retanei was already out of the car.
Unzipping my coat to show my Arcane College pin, I found my response, “You don’t like my type either.” Closing it quickly, I went to stand next to Retanei.
I never spoke out. It was never my place to question or judge. At least not openly. It felt like my emotional control was slipping. It must be because I was tired and hungry.
I closed my eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of my nose to pull myself back together, but I was distracted by the sensations around me. The heaviness to the air. The sense of the arcane, but tainted somehow. I did not know dark had a feeling, but it was the best I could describe at the moment. It all felt incredibly wrong.
I knew my being here was part of it, but it also felt like voices were raised in pain and anger. At least it sounded something like voices - they were distorted.
Staring at the side of the building still standing, I wondered what awaited me around the corner. Rubbing my arms, I could not get rid of the sensation of wanting to have said more against Rathal’s blind judgment. I could not. I would only draw the wrong kind of attention to myself.
And now I was getting distracted. Normally I would jump from one thing to the next and then back, but I needed to focus.
“What’s going on?” The woman stopped next to Rathal, holding out her hand to which he relinquished the keys. “Is your mouth getting you in trouble again?” She glared at him. Without waiting for a response, she rolled her eyes. “We’ll talk about this later.” I thought I heard her make a off-hand comment about womanizer, but I could not be certain. Her face was still hard as she approached us.
I moved behind Retanei. This person was not happy and I just told off one of her agents. Why could I not have kept my mouth shut? I mentally prepared myself for a lecture. Hopefully that was the worst I would have to deal with.
Looking again at Rathal, I saw a correlation between the odd phenomenon I had been puzzling over in the car and what little was emanating out of this part of the building. It was not something I had encountered before.
“I’m terribly sorry about whatever that was. I sent Rathal because he needed a break. Retanei, it’s good to have a chance to work with you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances.” The Half-Elven woman was greeting Retanei informally, and I wondered why my friend had not mentioned she knew her. “And this is?”
Then I remembered I was supposed to be part of this conversation. Retanei spoke for me before I could open my mouth. “This is Ketayl. She’s the Arcane Investigator you requested. She’s quiet and this is also her first time in the field.”
Giving me a more formal Elven greeting, she said, “Savanas Farstrider. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Rathal is the one who gave the initial report about arcane usage. He’s the only arcane sensitive one amongst the lot of us and the closest thing to an Arcane Investigator we’ve got. My other two field agents are in the back finishing up. The last of the bodies were cleared out a couple of hours ago, though there might still be a finger or two floating around.” She signaled for us to follow.
“How much damage?” Retanei asked, all business.
Savanas hesitated a moment before continuing, “I’d watch your step. The floor is structurally sound, but I’d rather not take chances. Trevyn Lavabasher owns the place and he keeps his stock in the cellar under the restaurant so it was built quite thick. The brewery behind this place wasn’t touched. We’re evacuating a one block radius for now and have a media blackout. The emergency response team leader will let me know when they’ve cleared the area for safety.”
I was grateful I was not going to have to deal with dead bodies right now. Pictures were one thing, but I was not sure it I was ready for an actual body.
A wave of pain and anger hit me and just as quickly receded. The voices becoming a blur once again in the background. Where were those voices coming from? As far as I knew, arcane energy, the stuff I could see and feel that simply existed, did not have sound. Perhaps it was from something else.
“What do you have so far?” Retanei was not missing a beat and I was behind them fumbling, trying to dig out my gloves and camera.
Rathal spoke, which I had not expected since he had been silently glaring at me. “Whatever it was, it was big. I can’t pinpoint a location of origin. There’s a lot going on in there arcane-wise and I can’t make heads or tails of any of it.”
Savanas took over, “23 Naval crewmen, 24 civilians dead. I haven’t gotten an update on injuries. All but one witness report puts it at one explosion. Trevyn swears he saw two or three, but after that, I wouldn’t be sure if I wasn’t seeing double or triple either. I know of one mage who could cause this much damage, but even she wouldn’t have been able to do it in one cast.”
I shifted uncomfortably as we got closer to the hole near the front of the building. S
omething did not feel right. I knew arcane explosions. I knew how they felt even before I could see the arcane remnants. There was a common core - a common feel to them despite whether the base was fire, ice, or what have you. This was… twisted. It did not feel like true arcane. Dark came to mind again and I shoved that thought back. That would make little sense to anyone.
“Is something wrong, Ketayl?” Savanas was staring at me. I did not realize anyone was paying me attention.
Biting my lower lip, I thought about saying that it was probably nothing, but I knew I was not wrong. “Whatever it was, it wasn’t a normal arcane explosion, but I can’t tell what it is without seeing the arcane remnants.” I could feel Rathal glaring at me. What did he want me to do? Lie?
As we rounded the corner, I turned away for a moment. All the images of crime scenes I had gone over had not prepared me for the real thing.
Taking a deep breath, I looked back inside. I ignored the arcane for a moment to look at the large interior. Blown out large screens hung crookedly on the remaining walls. Blood splattered everywhere as if done by an abstract painter. The stench of death, alcohol, and expiring food was overpowering.
Then I focused on the arcane remnants and liked less what I saw. Colors swirled like angry balls of fire. Gold-white light shot out of the center of the arcane remnants at regular intervals. Bands of green arcane text spun wildly about the outside making it a blur. Reading them was going to be next to impossible. I was going to have to observe the remnants for information.
“There are three points of origin,” I said softly, unsure if I should voice my observations without a full analysis.
And that was all I was going to say without a closer inspection. I had a fairly good idea of what was used from here, but I needed the details. Being able to see the arcane was both a gift and a curse, and right now I was thinking the latter. I needed to turn it to an advantage. Now I understood why Vince insisted I take the prototypes with me - trying to explain this to people who could not see would be beyond difficult.
Twisted Magics (Terra Chronicles Book 1) Page 2