A Prison of Worlds (The Chained Worlds Chronicles Book 1)

by Daniel Ruth

  Of course, street traffic these days was mostly zoned for pedestrians and alternate quirky modes of travel, so we had many people leaping out of the way of the car. The vampire managed this with aplomb and barely appeared to notice the curses that followed in our wake.

  Jeremy’s home was a bit more damaged than I had imagined. Police buoys floated just outside spouting their holographic lightshow that was intended to show the house was a crime scene. I pushed past one, ignoring the high voltage discharge while Mei paused to call Conrad on her wrist vid terminal.

  There were blackened and charred parts on the wall, likely curtesy of the electrical powered shifter. Half the living rooms couch was burned to the frame. I looked up at the ceiling and down to the floor and noted that there was a faint residue from the fire suppressant foam. Apparently once the minions had left, the electrical system reset. There was also a lot of overturned furniture. Considering how little Jeremy had resisted they might have been looking for something. Jeremy kept a physical notebook in his personal code but as far as I knew he wasn’t really digging into Jin.

  Unless of course he did it on his own. It wouldn’t be the first time Jeremy took the initiative and then came to me once he had answers. He became a detective because he liked solving puzzles, not because he liked money. It was why I had him on retainer. I liked his initiative, even if it did get him shot at with his other side work.

  Apparently, Jin did not like initiative. I was starting to wonder if I had been attacked because of my relationship with Jeremy, rather than the reverse. That was an amusing thought, though it gave my ego a kick in the pants. While I was contemplating the situation I had moved back towards the bathrooms. His parents had a very modern bathroom and some odd tools by the sink. Examining them, I realized they were personal grooming tools that disintegrated dead skin, loose hair, saliva and all other bodily waste matter as the person groomed. For a moment it occurred to me that a paranoid person who was aware of the magic and the use of sympathetic spells might just live this way, before I recalled that the parents were hosts to nanite colonies. Colonies that there were very strict laws about.

  Afterward, I went to Jeremy’s room with some trepidation. If he had the same grooming tools I would have to come up with another plan. I breathed a sigh of relieve, as I noticed that my friend was far more traditional and actually had a real hairbrush. I should have known. If I could count on archaic behavior from anyone it would be Jeremy. I quickly grabbed a tuft of hair and made my way to the car while attempting to wind the unruly tangle of fibers around my tooth.

  Sebastian hadn’t even bothered to exit his baby and when I noticed that Mei wasn’t in the couch-like seat I looked back to see her still talking angrily to her vid terminal while absently swatting away the buoys.

  “Stop playing cat and mouse with the drones and come over here,” I said, finally succeeding in knotting the hair in place. Mei growled at me and in a last burst of exasperation backhanded the drones into the wall as she turned to walk over to the car.

  “Conrad is having a hissy fit about us ignoring protocol,” she complained.

  “Yeah, he takes that whole police thing way too seriously,” I commiserated. Sebastian grunted in agreement and quickly got the car up to speed. “If Mat was still alive he could have come with us and Conrad wouldn’t whine as much. Damn. I wish I could work that resurrection spell.” This earned an odd look from my companions that I ignored. Shaking off my mood, I concentrated on keeping the tooth balanced while hanging from the golden chain.

  The tracking part of the tooth wasn’t as clear as I liked. As the tooth hung in the air it wobbled a bit, similar to a compass that didn’t quite know where north was. It bobbled about thirty degrees and I scowled as I wrestled with my new wrist terminal to integrate the direction the tooth was pointing onto the map. Thirty degrees is a huge margin of error and only the fact that we were traveling through the city helped triangulate the area to something that was hallway reasonable. Still, I was slightly encouraged that I had anything. Either he was moved to an area with anti-scrying spells on it or this tracking rune could punch through such protection. Well, at least somewhat.

  My frustration must have been somewhat visible, because Sebastian was giving me glares himself. “Calm down. This car is very well shielded, however I am starting to feel your agitation and I would rather not tempt fate.”

  “Fine. I think I almost have something.” The thought of us all tumbling end over end before plowing into a building was worth a smile. After all, we would be mostly unhurt, just a little jostled. Still I wouldn’t want to traumatize another companion so soon after the last one. “I think if we make another circle around the city I should be able to get a firm location. Let’s hurry and finish up with Mr. Sully.”

  The building we were headed to was smack dab in the center of the land previously known as the Blight. They were going to have to rename the district. Although I had never been there, I had seen some very realistic holograms of the state of Las Vegas, especially the capital, and the block seemed to be a microcosm of the entertainment capital of the world.

  The construction at this location was complete and crowds of well-dressed fun seekers roamed through a forest of garish lights and holograms. These weren’t advertisements in the traditional sense. These were displays to draw the eye and entertain. They varied from mere fireworks to dance and choruses writ large on the sky, to large shows accompanied by music. Okay, I suppose some may still call it a blight, just in a different manner. It certainly clashed on my senses and I am sure that they were not nearly as sharp as the average vampire or shifter.

  We finally stopped outside a huge palisade with glowing fountains. A valet dressed in an old style tux stepped up to Sebastian. “May I park your car sir?”

  “Here’s the valet code,” he muttered while tapping something out on his wrist terminal. “Damage my car and I’ll report you as an unregistered newbie to Fiero.”

  “Here in Purgatory we only answer to Master Sulayman,” the valet stated haughtily. Sebastian nodded tensely. “Okay, let me put it this way. If you damage my car I will hunt you down, cut off your head and soak both parts in a barrel of holy water.”

  “I have the barrel if you need it,” I volunteered. Both vampires glared at me and Mei coughed off to the side, ignoring the testosterone display and obviously trying to disassociate herself from all of us.

  The valet went silent as whatever vampire aura Sebastian was putting out thoroughly cowed him. As amusing as it was, it never the less pointed out some rather disturbing things. The first was simply Sebastian was a power tripping ass. I knew this already, so I discarded this tidbit of knowledge. Second was the vampire valet was acting very atypically. Not acknowledging the master of the city was absurd. Vampires just didn’t abandon territory like that. There was a hierarchy that was almost hardwired in. Shifters could fight it out and change their status if they had the physical prowess and the guts, but vampires weren’t built that way. Except now it seems.

  Looking around I could see human, vampires and shifters mingling on the streets. The humans should have been twitchy and fearful as the psychic energies and auras they weren’t fully equipped to sense grated on their nerves and warned them on a subconscious level that an apex predator was stalking them. Yet here they were, completely oblivious and having a marvelous time. The shifters and vampires talked politely and traded small jests rather than insults and there was no violence or bloodshed as far as I could see. Something was up.

  The biggest thing was that Sulayman had managed to instill his authority in two diametrically opposed supernatural factions. Something that ten minutes ago I had thought was an impossibility. Not to mention it was throwing down the biggest gauntlet in the city. Forget the tiny power play from Eddie Prince that presaged Kingston’s comeback into the underworld. This man had spit in the eye of every vampire and shifter in the city. And they were rolling over and asking to have their tummy scratched. I turned towards Sebastian.


  “So do you see anything wrong with this area,” I asked the old vampire.

  “Yes, the newly turned ones don’t know their place,” Sebastian folded his arms in disdain.

  “Nothing else? You don’t feel the need to put Sulayman in his place or drive away all these pesky shifters near you?” I ventured hesitantly.

  “Bah, not worth my time,” he shrugged impatiently. “Let’s finish this meeting so we can find your friend.”

  I looked over to Mei, who was looking at Sebastian in startlement. Shaking her head, she looked around as if noticing it for the first time.

  “I... I don’t feel any need to... er,” she struggled to verbalize her confusion. At least she had noticed something was off when it was pointed out, unlike our resident vampire assassin. It could have been her artifact. The more powerful ones often act to protect their wielders, beyond the obvious physical way.

  “You don’t feel the need to beat the crap out of all these vampires in your territory?” I finished for her helpfully.

  “Um, sort of,” she said slowly. “I travel a lot and have gotten used to being in someone else’s territory. But I don’t feel a thing. And poor Sebastian obviously isn’t connecting what this means.” She paused for a moment, “I didn’t even think what it means until you pointed it out.”

  “What are you two babbling about,” the vampire snapped out irritably. “I thought we were in a rush. You certainly ran in and out of that apartment fast enough.”

  I gripped my rune etched tooth tightly where it once more hung from my neck and concentrated on seeing various energies. Auras popped into view and a sensation of magic lapped against my senses. Actually a significant amount of magic. Enough that I should have immediately been aware and on my guard. And yet I wasn’t. Now that I was concentrating on it I could detect two elements, a calming effect and another that whispered that everything was as it should be. Being an adept of many mental abilities, I realized that it was similar to my invisibility field. There I encouraged everyone to ignore that I was there or anything was out of place. Of course, my ability was a bit more intense, but then again it didn’t cover an entire district. It also would not be nearly as effective against supernatural entities.

  “Fascinating, it’s a huge spell. Likely a circle or ward. Anything less powerful wouldn’t have the range,” I rambled a bit, as I analyzed the effect. Hopefully, it wasn’t a rune. Beings that have access to runes are high rollers in the supernatural world. God level or like my old friend Mr. Evil, wanting to join that heavyweight class and either brave enough or mad enough not scared of the consequences. Or a dwarf. Somehow, they get a free pass. Don’t ask me how that works.

  “What does it do?” asked Mei worriedly.

  “What does what do?” interjected Sebastian. I ignored him; he was already under the effects and evidentially couldn’t resist it as much as Mei could. Despite our discussion earlier in my house, where we had brought up this very situation as a mystery he was now completely unaware. It may actually be just as well.

  “There’s a calming effect, combined with a very strong suggestion that everything is precisely the way it should be.” I would have continued, but a cacophony of honking noises flooded the area. Other people with old car fetishes had come up behind us and were waiting to have a valet park their car.

  “Get out of the damn way,” called out a large man leaning out of his window in a pinstriped suit.

  “I thought you said there was a calming effect,” Mei said looking pointedly at the angry line cars forming. We stepped sideways a few feet to give them room to pass.

  “There is, imagine what assholes they would be if it wasn’t up,” I nodded at the now fuming Sebastian. He didn’t know what we were talking about. It just would not connect in his brain, however us going on about it was wearing on his nerves. “This entire place would likely be a bloodbath in seconds.”

  “Whoever the heck Sulayman is he isn’t a simple entrepreneur,” I nodded towards the building in front of me. Like the newly renamed district, it had over the entrance, lit in large flashing letters ‘Purgatory’.

  I was holding my magic tooth when I entered the building hoping to get some insight into spells that seemed to be floating around so freely. I had very little warning when the rune on my chest restricting me to human form flared. Agony bloomed next to my heart. I am not sure, but it felt like several ribs broke at once. This was absurd since the force required would be monstrous, yet a loud cracking sound did echo through the entrance room. While the background music and lightshow continued, dozens of fellow guests paused in their conversations to look around for the noise.

  The sensation, though agonizing, was getting familiar. It was the same I felt when I first touched the rune of truth engraved on the tooth. Through the pain, I realized that I could feel the energies of the binding rune shift, as a synergy of opposing forces of a slightly lower magnitude slammed into it and reverberated. I clumsily tried to grasp the energies while they were in flux, but my mind was slowed by the pain and simple unexpectedness of the event. By the time I had gathered enough focus to do anything, the rune’s energy had stabilized and achieved a new equilibrium. Still it was weaker. Perhaps looser was a better description.

  “Derek,” a low, intense voice called to me. I opened my eyes and saw Mei standing over me, gently patting my face. Sebastian was just behind her smiling in amusement at my apparent clumsiness. I was down on my knees just past the door, with a rapt audience made up of the entire room. I shakily got to my feet, letting Mei support part of my weight. I could feel my strength rapidly returning but at the moment it was a challenge to stand.

  “What the hell was that?” whispered the petite Asian.

  “Conflicting magics just kicked me in the ass,” I groaned, as I released the grip on my tooth and gingerly rubbed my chest. I sighed, as I saw the mirror image of the rune of ‘truth’ burned into my palm. It was an angry red with blisters that were fading as I watched it. “They have settled down, it shouldn’t happen again.”

  I glanced back at the threshold and saw it was blazing with energy. Likely in a wavelength only I could see, since no one else was paying attention to the new light show except me. It was obvious in retrospect that the very bricks were etched with wards against lies and deceptions. It must have had an interesting twist to prevent all the shifters going through the entrance from bursting into full-fledged beast form. It was extremely powerful. If I hadn’t already been put on notice by the district-wide magic ‘suggestions’ outside this would have clued me in.

  “Just tripped and sprained my ankle,” I called out to my audience. “No need to rush to my aid.” This last was said with some sarcasm, since it was obvious they were treating me as a spectacle rather than anyone that needed help. They almost immediately turned and went back to their conversation. Either they were all callus bastards or the spell that made everything seem mundane was blunting their reactions. Could have been both.

  We made our way through the reception area and a waiter came over to greet us. “Master Sulayman is waiting in the foyer above the serving area. I would be honored to lead you to him, Professor.”

  I frowned at the use of my unwanted moniker but didn’t say anything else. I had almost gotten used to the title. I was a little more interested in how they knew who I was. Most facial recognition doesn’t work on supernaturals. In fact, this place in general had a high level of technology considering the accidents such devices were prone to when around our population segment. I looked around at the tiny floating cameras, terminals and projectors. They didn’t really radiate magic, however I had a feeling there would be a ward of negation that damped down those environmental influences, similar to what I had recently placed on my own terminal.

  I came out of my reverie as we went up the graceful curve of the stairs to the second floor that looked over the dining area. Most of the eating area was still in the middle of the bright displays. Yet there were areas where darker and smaller booths, were
available for more private groups. We circled to the back of the overlook and were led into an elegantly decorated area. Of course, it was adorned in a style that was an odd hybrid of Victorian and the 1920’s. All I could tell was it was trying to be old. Maybe trying a little too hard.

  “Greetings Professor,” a dusky-skinned man in a suit greeted me from the single table there. He had a thick, well-groomed silvered beard, but his eyes were sharp and a piercing blue. “Have a seat. I have been trying to get in touch with you for some time now. Unfortunately, your terminal isn’t connecting any calls and the messengers I have sent haven’t come back. If I didn’t know better I would think you have been avoiding me.”

  “Well, actually I never heard of you until about an hour ago,” I said with a smile while seating myself. “So I made excellent time, if you factor that in.” I saw food laid out on the table and since my stomach was loudly complaining about the lack of meals in recent times I helped myself to the dishes around. Mei elbowed me in my side; I mostly ignored her while I continued to examine the food. Sebastian was staring off in the distance, as if captivated by some inner dialog. Likely spell induced. I wondered if hallucinations were involved.

  “I see,” the stout man drawled slowly, as I gathered my meal to the plate in front of me. “Well, it appears you aren’t one to stand on formality.” I nodded as started to eat. Mei sighed in defeat and with a shrug began to pick at the meat dishes.

  “Yep, I am just stopping here on the way to track down my friend,” I stated around a mouthful. “He was kidnaped today and I want to get him back before morning if at all possible. Sebastian said that you wanted to talk with me.”

  “I’ll get to the point,” he said as he delicately dipped his fingers into a goblet before wiping them dry on a folded cloth. “You and I are not from around here,” he acknowledged simply.