I did not like sleep. It meant I was too deep under to wake up quickly if my dreams caused arcane manifestations. It also meant I was not working. Eight hours was simply too long. Although my body demanded extra rest every so often, I tried to stick to the normal four for Elves.
“I’ll see she gets it,” Retanei chimed in quickly. I did not notice her come up behind me.
It was really starting to bother me that I had not seen Artemis since coming upstairs.
I looked down at what was placed in my hand. “Chocolate?”
“It’ll help, trust me,” Doc said, patting me on the shoulder and went to go talk to the others.
Brad came back over as Doc spoke with Savanas. “I just hope this case doesn’t break him. It’s hard enough on all of us, but even with his intern, he must be overwhelmed in autopsy,” he said. “Doc’s a gentle guy. He’s also our doctor on staff so if you need him, his office is on the first floor.”
The low murmur between people continued for a few more minutes.
“Melody just called,” Rathal announced even before he finished hanging up the phone at his desk, “The mage is here and will have the shield up in a couple of minutes.”
I got up and joined the others who were organizing all of their information. I noticed my camera was connected to the computer Savanas sat at. At least someone thought to start downloading the images.
“Ket, glad to see you’re back on your feet. Tell me when the shield is up,” Savanas said, looking up at me briefly before returning to typing away on her computer.
“Savanas?” Rathal asked with hurt on his face. He threw a glare in my direction.
“Not now. I need someone that can actually see it. Take your stubborn pride and stuff it.” That was the side of Savanas I did not want to be on.
I turned my attention to the shield that was supposed to be going up, but saw nothing.
Perhaps I did not realize how large the shield was supposed to be and wandered toward the large windows. “How big is the shield usually?”
I was surprised it was Rathal who answered. “It’ll cover this building. Why? They usually stay in the lobby to cast.”
The sense of strong arcane energy being used hit me hard, but I knew it was not the shield. It was wrong, dark, twisted. It felt too much like the arcane remnants at the crime scene.
At that moment, Rathal and I both looked at each other and ran for the elevator. The stairs were too far away and I did not trust myself to not fall down them.
The arcane energy came from below. The sensation of it crawled up my arms and I forced myself not to shudder. We had been too far away to feel its initial creation and I hoped we were not too late to stop it.
I wished I knew where the energy boost came from, but I was running toward the arcane source the moment the elevator let us off. I was already gathering arcane energy in my hands in preparation for what I would need to change it into. Hopefully Lockonis’ training sessions would pay off.
I followed Rathal since he knew the layout of the building and frankly, he was faster. My attention was on him rather than my surroundings and I slid on the tiled floor trying to make the sharp turn into the lobby. Recovering my footing quickly, I tried to logically parse the scene before me.
A mage was trying to block attacks from a shadowed figure. He was trying to protect both himself and the woman who worked at the front desk. She held a firearm confidently, barking out commands at the shadow.
Artemis had put herself between the woman and their attacker as well, growling at the figure, but unsure of the magical wall between them.
My anger surged and all other thoughts ceased. A level of anger I never felt before shot past the carefully crafted and controlled barriers I kept on my emotions. I reacted on instinct, sliding to a crouch next to the defending mage. I slammed my hastily conjured ball of electricity along the ground, directing the individual bolts toward the figure.
Everything seemed to hang for a moment, and I heard a deep male voice, “Consider this a warning, fairy girl.”
He was gone - like he had never been there. Even the mage standing next to me seemed confused. I looked back at Rathal, who had been getting the woman out of harm’s way. I collapsed to a seated position and put my head in my hands. The dizziness was back with a vengeance.
~*~
That voice… it had sounded familiar, but it was not one I dealt with recently or often. No matter how hard I tried, I could not place it.
Although shaken, the mage was able to cast the shield. The others took over the conference call and I sat off to the side and watched them give their reports to both the Director and his second, Lockonis. Doc was hovering at my elbow, sneaking me a piece of chocolate every so often.
It helped, but I was not used to eating sweets. At least not this much.
“Where’s Ketayl?” Vince asked, his tone too even to try and gauge his temperament.
Savanas signaled to me to come over. I had sat in a spot to stay off screen. “She’s a bit worn out given the day’s events, but she’s here.”
Pushing myself up, I slowly walked into view of the screen’s camera and nervously asked, “Yes, sir?”
Vince pointed up to Lockonis who stood by his shoulder. The fiery redhead shook her head before she said, “Damn, kid, you haven’t even been there a day and you’re making me look bad.”
I was not sure what she was referring to. I wanted to ask, but sensing the people around me, I held my tongue. They were waiting patiently for me to finish my conversation so they could move onto other things.
“Getting back on topic, your preliminary report is that the arcane remnants aren’t degrading at all?” Lockonis was serious now. She was normally very emotional when she interacted with people and it scared me the few times I had seen her switch to what she called business mode.
I nodded. “Arcane mites should have appeared by the time we arrived - likely entering their second phase, but there were none. There is a supply of power at the central axis of each arcane remnant that may be feeding other information which is causing a strong, mostly negative, emotional responses for anyone near them who is arcane sensitive.”
“Wait, what?” Lockonis seemed lost and then I realized I also lost everyone else involved in the call. “What could be supplying that kind of power?”
“Better break it down a little more for the rest of us, Ketayl,” Vince said.
How could I word it and still get the relevant information across? “Normally, an arcane source of power would be quickly used up since it’s all burst energy. A mage could directly maintain something like that for an hour or two at most before it exhausted the mage’s reserves. Whatever is acting as the power source is beyond my ability to see.”
Vince looked up at Lockonis, who translated, “There was no mage nearby to maintain it so the power source is currently unknown. And that is a very disturbing statement, kid. You see a lot more than anyone else I know.”
I ducked my head a little at Lockonis’ statement about my ability to see the arcane. I often thought she overrated my ability.
Lockonis continued, “What she’s saying about a connection at the central axis, I can point out in the images they sent over later. The emotional part?” She looked at me expectantly.
I bit my bottom lip for a brief moment, quickly pouring through whatever information I could remember. I tried to explain, “I don’t fully remember what I have read about the phenomenon, but it’s extremely rare. The chances of it naturally occurring in three reactions at the same time created by the same mage are slim to none regardless of skill.”
The others around me were making it hard to concentrate - I did not do well with an audience. I focused on Retanei briefly. She made a small hand gesture for me to keep going.
Taking a breath, I added, “I’ll have to research more to find out if there is a method that can purposefully create them, but I have a feeling that it’s coming from whatever the power source is. It’s too evenly distributed t
hrough the arcane remnants to be from much else.” A very long way to tell them that I did not know.
Vince’s gaze pinned me in place as I started to consider my escape route. “You said something about a negative emotional response.”
Forcing myself to not back away from the screen, I answered, “Anyone who is arcane sensitive is going to react more strongly the longer they are exposed to it. I can see it and understand what is going on, but…”
Lockonis rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, I’m going to need a VERY large cup of coffee after this. Your level of arcane theory is usually beyond me. I’ll scour the net and see if I can dig up something that can help you.”
I wondered whether to tell them about the brief interaction with the shadowed figure and about the feeling of someone watching me at the crime scene. I was not sure if it was just me or I was overtired and my mind was making it up.
Vince asked, “Something else bothering you, Ketayl?” Despite being on a video feed, he looked directly at me, which made me want to squirm under the scrutiny.
I bit my lower lip to give myself a moment longer before replying, “The attack downstairs… I’m not sure. I think it might have been to deliver a message. He told me to consider this a warning. I don’t really have anything else other than it felt like someone was watching me at the crime scene.”
Lockonis’ sapphire eyes went wide and she was off of the screen the moment Vince signaled her. He said, “We’ll handle it from here. What are the chances of this happening again?”
I looked from Retanei to Savanas who both were waiting for an answer. The others were behind me out of view. “I…” I knew this. I could calculate the amount of arcane energy that was used and the average capacity any particular rank would have. “If they were to try it again, it would not be anytime soon. It should have drained the mage significantly. They would need a couple of days to recover. Not to mention whatever else they may have been casting recently.”
“Is it possible there’s more than one?”
I shook my head. It was something instinctual that I had trouble describing. “No, it felt like the same person.” But even then, I was having trouble getting the numbers to match up in my head. It was possible I was underestimating this mage’s arcane capacity, but even at a person’s potential maximum capacity the numbers did not add up.
Vince moved his hand over a button on his computer. “Conduct operations as normal, but put yourselves on alert. I’ll have more detailed instructions shortly.”
The connection was cut and I became unsure of myself again. I hoped I was not wrong in my assessment.
Chapter 4
Savanas explained en route to her house about the customary event for the Ocean’s Edge crew: they often gathered at her house for a meal - especially for large cases where they were going full force. She told us she found it would help the others step back and see things they otherwise might not have if they got too caught up on one aspect or another.
There were smells of pastries greeting us at the door. My stomach tried to loudly proclaim its desire for food, but thankfully my thick coat suppressed the sound. I was not sure I could take more sweets after all of the small chocolates Doc kept handing me.
Doc, Sasha, and Melody would not be here tonight as they all had work or other plans.
Hanging back behind Retanei, I looked around her with caution. I avoided social gatherings when I could. Darius was right behind me so I could not linger outside the door.
Savanas hung up her coat and then took mine and Retanei’s. She said, “Sorry, I forgot I told Da he could crash here until he could go back to his apartment. He lives above the bakery next door to the Waking Dawn. Granted, he practically lives in the bakery with how often he’s either working on an order or trying to concoct something new. Just a heads up that he’s a little eccentric.”
She left the others to their own devices.
Kneeling down, Savanas pet Artemis and told the wolf, “Your dad’s friend is probably in the common room if you want to meet him.”
Artemis trotted off - the wolf’s sense of smell likely providing her directions.
I got caught in the flow of people trailing into the kitchen. A Human man with dark gray hair sat peeling apples at the center island. He smiled at all of us. “Ah, wonderful, you brought home guests, Savvy.”
I tried to keep to the back of the group. Retanei seemed to have the same idea.
Savanas went to the refrigerator and started digging. “Have you been baking all day?”
The crinkles around his green eyes spoke of mischief. “Of course. When I’m upset, I bake.”
“Da…” Savanas’ tone was of resigned annoyance. “And then you keep baking. You bake for any reason, not just when you’re upset.”
“Part of running a successful bakery I’m afraid. It could be worse - I could drink instead.” He glanced at the crew gathering in the room before focusing on myself and Retanei. He smiled as he commented, “Oh, you have new guests also.”
Savanas started placing stuff on the already cluttered island. She introduced us, “Ladies, this is my father, Lou Maponus. Da, this is Retanei and Ketayl. They’re here from the main office so please behave. They don’t know you as well as everyone else.”
“Lou, if you would please. It has been many a year since I have been graced by such fine ladies. Perhaps I should clean up and see if these old fingers can pick out a few pieces to play.” Getting up, he came and bowed before each one of us, greeting us individually and kissing our hands.
Eccentric, right. I rubbed my hand trying to get rid of the feeling as soon as his attention was elsewhere.
“I’ll take care of things here.” Savanas ushered him out of the kitchen. Once she came back, she apologized, “In his youth he fancied himself a bard. You know, like the ones in the old tales. I don’t think it ever left him even after he settled down and discovered a talent for baking.”
“Can we help with anything?” Retanei asked. She also seemed at a loss of what to do.
Savanas waved us off. “Go relax. I cook, everyone eats. We’re all less edgy and can get back to work refreshed. Brad, can you handle setting up some room arrangements for them? I haven’t had a chance to contact the hotel we usually contract with.”
“No problem.” Brad pulled out his phone and left the room.
“We only use them for visiting agents. It helps they have some impressive security, but they also often host military and media because of it,” Savanas said as she pulled out a cutting board and a rather large knife. “Darius is probably in the common room playing a video game if you want to join him. Rathal, can you show our guests?”
Rathal stared at us for a moment, his face neutral. Letting out a breath I did not realize he held, he said, “Come on, I’ll show you where the common room is. It’s the least I can do after acting like an ass earlier.”
As he passed by me, I whispered, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you - it was unprofessional.”
Rathal’s hazel eyes caught mine before he said, “No, I’m the one who should be apologizing. Not sure what I was going to do running down into the lobby like that. Just because I can sense it doesn’t mean I can do a damn thing about it. Not to mention both of you have impressed the boss lady. She’s the better judge of character.”
~*~
The fresh venison and vegetables were simple. I stayed quiet during the meal, choosing instead to watch the interactions between the others. They acted like a family, or what I came to understand of one in the last couple of years.
Even Big Black, aptly named for the very large black dog, curled up by Savanas after having eaten his own meal. The fur on his wrinkled face had started turning white in places, indicating he was an older dog. She had said what breed he was, but I did not remember. What I remembered was being greeted by a low growl when I first entered the common room. I was grateful for Artemis’ presence calming the old dog, showing him I was not a threat.
Arte
mis decided at that moment to put her head on my leg, looking longingly at the food on my fork. Retanei tapped her shoulder and gave her a piece of meat. I glanced over and saw that the wolf’s plate was clean.
We sat comfortably around the large table in Savanas’ dining room. A simple black and silver chandelier hung over the table, but was easily ignored for the large glass doors and surrounding large windows that looked out into the snow-covered backyard. I could make out an equally large table sitting on the darkened patio. Savanas must entertain frequently.
When Savanas was not busy trying to get her father to tone it down, she would chat lightly with whoever drew her into conversation. Rathal and Darius continued to argue over a video game, which was apparently the argument they were having earlier. Rathal still pointedly tried to ignore Retanei. Brad spoke with Retanei and Savanas primarily, but would throw an occasional jab at the two arguing. Lou finished his gallant tales and was content to observe the table.
Darius grinned at me between bites and I had a feeling my quiet time had passed. “So what does an Arcane College mage do for fun?”
Fun? “Um… technically, Arcane College mages aren’t supposed to have hobbies. It takes away from the focus.” My wording was deliberate. The Elven Arcana Consortium pushed their students to take up other interests. It was something that I had whole-heartedly adopted.
“I sense something more to your story here,” Lou said and smirked, “What was your rank, out of mild curiosity?”
With the exception of “Researcher” that the Arcane College used, the ranking system was the same throughout all schools and territories. It was something that was put into place shortly after the war. Asking for rank was common enough, though I had not expected the question from Lou.
It surprised me when Rathal spoke up next. “With what happened in the lobby, I’m thinking at least High Mage, though you’ve got some serious speed. I didn’t even hear the incantation.”
Twisted Magics (Terra Chronicles Book 1) Page 4