Approaching Storm (Alternate Worlds Book 2)

by Taylor Leigh

  Tollin smiled. ‘Charming. Well, I can assure you, dear lady, that I will do nothing to jeopardise any position you have to be in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have some investigating to do.’

  Arkron released him. Her eyes darted over to Sam. ‘I see you’ve found yourself a new tagalong. Samantha Turner, I shouldn’t wonder. Not the cleverest of disguises I’ve seen. The facial recognition software will pick her out immediately. Rather bold of you to bring her here. Or rather foolish.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Tollin sucked in a breath. ‘Would appreciate it immensely if you didn’t mention that to anyone.’

  Arkron huffed a reply. ‘If you got in this far then you would have needed an expect hacker. Where is that useless brother of yours?’

  Tollin blinked. ‘I thought you liked Marus!’

  Arkron let out a hollow laugh. ‘Not after he left me for that soldier on Rotorlus!’

  ‘Well,’ Tollin scrunched up in his face in thought. ‘Dragons will be dragons.’

  Arkron’s brows lowered. ‘Precisely.’

  Tollin clapped his hands together. ‘Right! Mind pointing us in the general direction of the records room?’

  Arkron sighed.

  ‘So,’ Sam said, flipping absently through an old book as Tollin tried to crack the computer’s coded security locks. ‘That was Arkron.’

  ‘Yup,’ Tollin said distractedly. He keyed in a random set of numbers and watched the screen flash from blue to green.

  Sam sidled over to him, pressing her tongue to her teeth in thought. ‘She was rather pretty.’

  ‘Mmm…’

  She sighed. It was no use. ‘Any luck with the computer?’

  Tollin typed in a few more things. ‘Just…about…through…Aha!’

  Sam chewed on her lower lip as she watched the information well up over the screen. ‘What exactly are you looking for?’

  Tollin shrugged. ‘Anything about what the Myrmidons are doing on Scrabia. Anything about Project Gateway. Or you. Or the void. Or the stone…if we could find where they keep that bloody stone…It has to be in this base somewhere!’

  Tollin accessed a file and Sam watched as more information popped up. ‘This is all encrypted, I can’t read it. Looks like there’s video files here from Avery Roth on the progress these last few months…Ah, hello, and a file with your name on it.’

  Sam pointed to another. ‘What about that one? The Traveller? Looks like they’ve on the lookout for you, too. Now, why don’t I find that surprising?’

  Tollin cleared his throat. ‘Yes, well. Looks like we’ll have some interesting things to read.’ He pulled a file copier out of his pocket and placed it on top of the computer. ‘That’ll take several minutes. Let’s have a look round while that’s working.’

  Sam tailed closely after him to the next door. He pulled up short and Sam, almost colliding into him, peered around his thin torso. She saw what he was looking at.

  A room with a thick glass wall was right across the darkened hall from them. The room was dim, with white lights shining down on what looked like a thick metal doorframe. Wires looped from this frame to a frightening looking chair, which held more wires and a strange headset. A great, thick cable snaked from the back wall, stabbed into the back of the chair. Sam gazed up at Tollin.

  ‘What’s that?’

  Tollin shook his head. ‘I’d say that is the mad experiment they’ve been working on. Project Gateway?’ He glanced down. ‘Your ring seems happy to be here.’

  Sam glanced at him curiously, then down at her hand. The red jewel pulsed strong as ever, shining through the blue paint, making the whole thing a weird purple. ‘Is that a good thing?’

  Tollin made a face. ‘It must be attracted to something nearby, powered by it…’

  Sam didn’t give him a chance to finish. She grabbed his arm, lowering her voice to a whisper. ‘Look!’

  Tollin backed up into the shadows, pushing her behind him. They both watched as Erikson strode into the room. He punched in a few things on a computer and walked around the strange device, frowning.

  Tollin’s expression darkened. ‘Well, well, well, looks like our friend is right in the middle of all of this.’ He glanced down at Sam. ‘I should have let you two chat longer!’

  Sam let out a humourless laugh. ‘Yeah right! And wind up with me in that chair?’

  ‘Ah! Sam, look at the top of the chair. See there, that red light?’

  Sam nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s a light.’

  His dark tone caused her to shudder. ‘You think it’s the other stone, don’t you?’

  ‘Oh, yes, I am quite sure of it now.’

  Whatever was inside of her must have sensed it too, for Sam’s limbs started to seize up. Alarm flashed through her as her body struggled to break into a run straight towards the chair and Erikson. Just as a cry was welling up in her throat, Tollin grabbed her. He must have been looking for the signs, or perhaps he’d sensed it. His grip was strong, commanding, calming, and the things in the ring did not like it at all. She struggled wildly against him, trainers slipping against the metal floor.

  Stop it, Tollin, please, please, make it stop!

  ‘Sam,’ Tollin whispered breathily, arms winding round her waist. ‘Sam, you’ve got to fight it. This is your body, not theirs! Now, don’t let them take over like this!’

  A flare of righteous anger surged through her. This was certainly not the time for this. Not only was she infuriated, she was also humiliated. Why did Tollin have to see her this way? Why did he always have to snap her out of it? That embarrassment was a hell of a motivator. Slowly, surely, she sensed the invading power slink back, almost sheepishly, from her. She felt power return to her limbs and she straightened up triumphantly.

  ‘I’m good,’ she gasped shakily. ‘I’m back in control. You don’t need to hold me.’ The last bit of that statement was a little harder to say. She rather liked his arms around her waist.

  Tollin released her and spun her around to get a good look at her. His dark eyes flicked over her face, possibly judging if she truly was no longer possessed. She offered him a smile just in case he had any doubts left. He returned it. ‘Looks like you’re finally starting to show it who’s in charge. Good job.’

  Sam pulled her short hair behind her ear and beamed, watching Erikson, completely oblivious, in the next room. ‘I don’t think they like you touching me much. This time was easier than the last.’

  ‘Ah, you’re just more confident than you used to be, that’s all!’ Something flickered across his features at that, yet it evaporated before she had a chance to work it out. Tollin turned away from the hall and back to the records room.

  ‘Now, the Myrmidons have spent their entire existence trying to break through to other Realms. They’ve relied on Daemon text up till this point. I wonder if they’re moving on to other sources, like technology. I didn’t think it would work. It theoretically can’t work unless you have someone able to Realm jump…It’s DNA, not wires, that makes it happen. But…they’ve got that whopping big generator fired up and that stone…Maybe they can’t connect to another Realm, but they’re certainly causing some damage, we saw that with the void,’ he whispered quickly.

  Sam crossed her arms. ‘So they need DNA to make it to a real Realm. I’ll assume that’s why they have a chair. I don’t know about you, Tollin, but it looked just your size.’

  He pulled a lemon sucking face. ‘Not too keen on trying it out. Come on. We’re done downloading, let’s get out of here!’

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Erikson cradled his cup of coffee and walked up to the black screen of the computer monitoring the chair. He woke the machine and sat down with a heavy sigh, putting the steaming mug to his lips. It was looking to be another long evening.

  The screen blinked to life, along with a notification. He scowled, opened the waiting box and scanned over it, pulse quickening with the news.

  Facial recognition software had picked up on
a face—though well-disguised—in this very room earlier.

  Erikson swallowed a hot mouthful and set the cup down with a clunk. Samantha Turner had been in the headquarters. The security cameras showed it clearly. Samantha and another man, the same man he’d seen at the grocer. The impossibility of it made his head spin. How could they be here? It was almost enough for Erikson to consider accepting the outrageous statements Roth made about the two of them.

  He stared at the fuzzy image of Samantha Turner in puzzlement. What was she doing here? Why, out of everywhere she could have gone, would she come here? It was completely illogical. And what were they doing? Stealing information…but why? Turner had the ring, but surely she couldn’t know what that really meant.

  The image of the girl rotated, causing an uneasy pricking to start at the back of his neck. The last thing he wanted was to get her in trouble. Especially with Roth here. Nothing about capturing her would end well.

  As far as he was concerned, the chair was working; they’d managed to break through to another dimension, an empty dimension, but one nonetheless. And when the anniversary rolled around, who knew what would happen? The ring seemed completely unnecessary to what they were trying to accomplish. Or at least what he thought they were trying to accomplish. Since Roth’s arrival the goals seemed to have changed. Now Roth was desperate to get his hands on Turner and her male companion, and he’d made it clear to Erikson he was going to use any means necessary. He’d also made it clear that if anyone were to protest, there would be consequences.

  He was going to have to report this. Roth might already know. A security breach like this had to have been reported on all the important computers.

  As if on cue, Roth burst into the room. Erikson mentally winced. No time to hide the evidence. He couldn’t explain where his sudden urge to protect the girl had come from. Perhaps when he’d met her. What they were doing was illegal enough. He wanted it to stop.

  ‘When exactly were you going to tell me about this?’ Roth demanded.

  Erikson swung round. ‘I thought you already knew. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?’ He didn’t know precisely what was off, but something was different about Roth, something wasn’t right. All Erikson knew, Roth had changed since their days at Academia, and not for the better. Maybe that’s what happened when one moved on to grander things. Erikson thought he knew him. Apparently not.

  ‘Samantha Turner knows about the chair project.’

  Erikson shook his head. ‘How is that even possible? She’s just a kid.’

  Roth nodded to the image. ‘Because of that man. The Traveller. He understands what we are doing. He’s going to try and stop us.’

  Erikson scowled. It was impossible. The Traveller wasn’t real. ‘Well…you don’t sound very concerned.’

  A wicked smile pulled at Roth’s lips. ‘No. I’m looking forward to it. He’s coming back. Tonight.’

  Erikson gaped at him. ‘Why would he do that?’

  Roth chuckled. ‘Because he won’t be able to keep away. And you know what; we’re going to let him.’

  Erikson frowned in confusion. ‘Why would we do that? All of our hard work, if he somehow manages to sabotage the gateway, it will all be for nothing.’

  ‘Trust me, we need him. Once we have him, you’ll see just how foolish you’ve been with your fascination over that gateway to nothingness you’d been studying so devotedly.’

  Erikson winced at the jab and looked away. He didn’t quite think he did trust Roth anymore.

  ‘Tell me,’ Roth continued nonchalantly. ‘Can you still alter the files that they copied?’

  Erikson nodded. ‘Yes, the tracer is still attached to them, I was about to delete all of them right now. I’ll have to move fast. The tracer will lose connection once they reach Bridle.’

  Roth ran a hand over his scraggly chin. ‘No. Don’t delete them.’

  ‘What? But—’

  ‘I want to you to add a file for me.’ He handed Erikson a data stick. ‘Put it somewhere where they’re sure to find, but not somewhere blatantly obvious.’

  Reluctantly, Erikson accepted the bar. ‘What’s on it?’

  ‘Bait.’ Roth leaned over the computer, bringing the image in on the Traveller’s face. ‘If all goes as planned, then things will not only be in our favour, but well beyond your wildest dreams.’

  Erikson turned back to the screen, to the image of the two people. He felt a chill slide through him. He wondered, silently, in what dark vision in Roth’s mind did destroying Samantha Turner bring his wildest dreams to life?

  * * * * *

  Sam leant in to Tollin, arm wrapped around his, unable to stop the grin forming at her lips. Tollin was smiling as well. Their emotions were contagious. She wasn’t sure, really, if the feelings were her own, or her companion’s. Frankly, she didn’t care, because wasn’t that what every human craved from a relationship? Complete understanding, completely familiar. It was unnerving, this sudden exposure to someone whom had been so recently a stranger, yet with time Sam thought she could come to very much appreciate it.

  Marus followed them in, tossing his jacket to the nearest chair. ‘You two seem awfully chuffed with yourselves! Care to tell me what happened now? After all, I went to all that hard work!’

  Tollin held up the data bar. ‘All on here. All of their mysterious little projects. There’s a file on you. I’m afraid it’s all encrypted.’

  Marus eyed the data bar and took it from Tollin. ‘You know,’ he said, sitting down. ‘It’s growing a bit tiresome being your tech boy.’

  Tollin waved a dismissive hand. ‘Oh, you’re delighted to be doing something besides tossing off and watching the telly!’

  Marus grunted. ‘Actually, that sounds pretty good.’

  Sam sat down on a desk and spun Tollin round to face her. ‘So, what are we gonna do about that doorway?’

  Tollin’s brow came down. ‘Yes. What indeed?’

  Sam looked Tollin over, feeling a twinge of concern for his wellbeing. ‘You said they can’t get that thing to work unless they have a Realm Jumper.’

  ‘Well, for now we don’t have to worry about that. They don’t have a Realm Jumper. But, it appears to be working, or it’s sort of working. Not properly. I worry about what will happen if they increase the power. Could be like a black hole. It may just suck Scrabia and Scottorr into it.’

  Sam sighed and sat back. ‘Way to be optimistic about it. Funny, you’d think Roth would get that if he’s as smart as they say.’

  Tollin nodded. ‘What troubles me is the fact that they have actually figured this technology out. That they actually know that Realm Jumpers exist. They shouldn’t know that. Any of it. Including those stones.’

  Sam waggled her fingers at him. ‘They seem to know more about them than we do. Maybe they don’t think they need a Realm Jumper. Maybe they just think they need someone wearing the ring. You were right about my ring wanting to be there. We could be assuming things.’

  Tollin caught her hand in his and studied the ring. ‘I know,’ he said slowly. ‘It’s certainly a problem. All of us need to keep an eye out for anything suspicious around here. They’re interested in Marus, too. That chair could fit a good many people.’

  Marus leaned forward to look at them. ‘Someone wants their hands on me?’

  Tollin eyed him. ‘Don’t get so excited. It wouldn’t be as much fun as you’d think.’

  Sam chewed on her lip nervously. ‘If the stone in the ring has a connection to the one in the gateway, can I accidently set something off?’

  Tollin released her hand. ‘Oh, don’t worry about that, Sam. If I’m not mistaken, the ring and a Realm Jumper will have to be used in conjunction. Preferably the jumper wearing said ring. Since you can’t jump Realms, and since I’m not in that chair, there’s nothing to worry about. If they get their hands on the ring, then those two stones will be able to connect with their original Realm, but not until the anniversary hits—I think—and then only for a short amount
of time. Enough to let something very bad through, but not strong enough to last long.

  ‘Though, of course, we can assume the generator is their attempt to solve that problem. With the help of an immense amount of power the single stone does seem to be able to be forced into a weak connection to the void, but it’s just a dead void. If the ring is added to the stone, a jumper is added and the same amount of power is applied, I’m not sure what will happen. Perhaps when a connection is formed at the anniversary, the generator will form a stable connection. That gateway they’re wanting. Or will it just rip the tear the void even wider?’

  Sam locked eyes with him. She shuddered. ‘And then that could just suck in everything in this world, yeah?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Tollin sensed her unease. ‘So,’ he said easily, after a moment, ‘considering that, I don’t think we can allow their little science experiment to continue. Even if their motives are not nefarious, what they are attempting to do is still foolhardy—not to mention downright dangerous. They can’t be allowed to continue for the sake of this Realm. Hang the science.’

  Sam raised her eyebrows at him in surprise at his statement. Tollin wrinkled his nose at her, clearly a message of “Not a word”. She grinned.

  Marus glanced over at them from the computer. ‘Alright quit your flirting. Come here.’

  Sam hopped off the desk and followed Tollin to look over Marus’s shoulder.

  ‘Can you decode all this?’ Tollin asked.

  Marus cracked his knuckles. ‘Already have.’

  Tollin, rather unceremoniously, rolled Marus’s chair out of the way and narrowed his eyes at the screen. He muttered to himself as he read, finishing at an ungodly rate.

  ‘What’s it say?’ Seeing over Marus’s and Tollin’s shoulders was proving to be impossible.

  ‘It’s a memo,’ Tollin finally stated. ‘Reminding all major employees that on the date of the fifteenth on the third month, a massive search will commence at twenty-one hundred.’