SHIAM Conspiracy- Book 1

by Joseph Heck

  When Megan sat down on the overstuffed leather couch, Ke’aira took a position right next to her and the Elf girl began making a fuss over her again. Ke’aira returned the affection freely. As Megan stroked the dog’s coat, she looked over at Zak, who was still standing looking down at them.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No, of course not,” Zak said as he sank into the overstuffed chair across from her. He fought down the irritation he felt over Ke’aira’s affection toward the Elf.

  Megan’s gaze met his. Her eyes were mesmerizing. The emerald green seemed almost liquid, creating the illusion that the golden flecks suspended there were actually moving within a subtle current. At least, Zak thought it was an illusion.

  He judged her to be in her late twenties, perhaps a bit older. It was difficult to tell with Elves. They matured about the same as Human children, but in Elvish culture young adults were not considered to have come of age until they reached the age of thirty and, of course, they lived a lot longer than Humans.

  Whatever her age, she was young and beautiful. Zak caught himself wondering if she was a virgin. Certainly, she was old enough to...

  He repressed the thought, perplexed by the fact that it had even come to him. What was wrong with him? She was an Elf!

  “I appreciate that the Institute was able to send someone at such short notice,” he said to her awkwardly, “But I really don’t think I’ll be needing your services after all. I mean, I do still need the Institute’s services, but I was hoping to work with Edward Brant. Not that there’s anything wrong with you, understand. I’ve worked with Edward on several occasions in the past and we work well together. Not that I think you wouldn’t work well, mind you...”

  He was babbling and he knew it. He was trying to withdraw from the situation without offending her. After all, it wasn’t as though he had anything against her personally.

  “I can assure you that I am fully qualified,” Megan said. “I am a certified Level One Sorcerer. I am also a Sister of the Seventh Circle of the Tah-Kna and I hold a Doctorate of Paranormal Science from the University of Elenathra in the Mythnol Forest. I have worked within industrial settings on a number of occasions in the past.”

  “I’m sure you are quite qualified.” Zak felt awkward to the point of foolishness, but this could not work with an Elf, beautiful or not. “Would you please wait here a minute? I need to make an important comm call.”

  He was off to the kitchen area before Megan could answer. Picking up the headset from the counter, he said in a low voice, “Computer, contact the Institute of Occult and Paranormal Sciences.”

  Zak was surprised when Dr. Raghnall, himself, appeared on the video comm link. He’d always dealt with one of the Institute’s public service reps in the past. For being ninety-three years old, Dr. Galen Raghnall looked to be in remarkably good shape for a Human. His snow-white hair flowed past his shoulders in thick waves, seamlessly merging with an equally white beard. His eyes were a deep blue, and revealed both the merriment of youth and the wisdom that only age could bring.

  “Dr. Raghnall, I appreciate you sending someone so quickly, but I was wondering if Edward Brant was available.”

  “Is there some problem with Melanthrianis?” Dr. Raghnall asked.

  “Who?”

  “Megan,” the wizard clarified. “I assure you she has all the credentials...”

  “No, it’s nothing like that.” Zak interrupted and then faltered. How did he explain without sounding like a racist, which he was not! “I...I would just feel more comfortable with Edward, if he’s available. Or perhaps David Jenson?”

  “You do not like working with a woman!”

  The words sent shockwaves into his back. He turned to find Megan standing behind him, her tone accusatory and her expression incredulous.

  “No!” Zak was not accustomed to feeling embarrassment. What the frag was she doing sneaking up on him like that! “It has nothing to do with you, trust me. I’d just feel better working with someone I know...”

  “Yes, that is it.” Her smile turned bitter. “You do not think a woman can be as good at sorcery as a man!”

  “No, that’s not it at all!”

  “Well, what then?” she asked. “Is it the way I am dressed? I can look corporate when it is required.”

  “No...” Zak was struck silent by a sudden change in her appearance.

  It was as though he were suddenly looking at a different person entirely. The overstated make-up was now conservatively done. Her raven hair, although still cut short, was now minus the blonde streaks. She was dressed in a dark blue business suit that conformed perfectly to the latest style in women’s business fashion. Her skirt was cut to just above the knee, the matching jacket snug in all the right places to enhance her femininity while maintaining a sense of formality, and the white blouse beneath showed sufficient cleavage to promote a second look from any male while not appearing too promiscuous.

  “Is this better?” she asked with a smirk.

  “Yes...no...” His distraction was nearly total, but he forced himself back to the issue at hand. “I mean no, it is not your appearance...at least not entirely.”

  “I’m sorry, but neither Edward nor David is available at the moment,” Dr. Raghnall interrupted as Zak and Megan argued back and forth.

  “Well, surely you have someone available who isn’t an...” His distraction with the Elf’s sudden change in appearance nearly caused him to blurt out what was really bothering him. In spite of stopping short, he knew instantly that he’d already said more than enough.

  “Who is not what?” Megan questioned him. “If it is not about me being a woman or the way I am dressed, then what...” Realization hit, her expression changing to one of distaste. “You do not want me because I am Elf!”

  “No,” Zak denied the accusation.

  “You dick! Have you not noticed that you are Elf, yourself?”

  “Really, it’s nothing personal...” he tried to explain. “And I’m only part Elf.”

  “Nothing personal?” Her sensual voice was now laced with enough venom to kill. Her appearance snapped back to the degenerate look of before. “Nothing personal... You bastard, it is very personal!”

  Zak and Megan began shouting at one another, Zak on the defensive while Megan attacked.

  “Please, Mr. Harris, Melanthrianis... Calm yourselves!” Dr. Raghnall’s commanding voice suddenly filled the room and they both stopped arguing. It didn’t occur to Zak to question how they could both hear the Wizard when the comm was still set for headset privacy. “There is a reason why I sent Megan. There’s something I must explain to you both. Please set your comm to speaker, Mr. Harris.”

  Ah, here we go, Zak thought as he switched from headset to speaker. He never liked dealing with sorcerers. They were always much too – mystical - for his liking.

  The wizard paused, as though waiting until he was certain he had gained both their attentions fully. Zak watched the old man on the monitor, knowing that he was not going to like what the wizard had to say. Megan stepped closer to the comm, now standing uncomfortably close to him. Ke’aira refused to acknowledge there was a problem, moving as Megan moved, her body pressed protectively against the Elf.

  “I’m afraid you are both bound to one another...at least for a time,” the wizard finally said.

  “What?” both Zak and Megan said in unison.

  “What do you mean bound to one another, what are you talking about?” This confirmed Zak’s apprehension about wizards. He had known that magic was the cause of his sudden attraction to this Elf. “You used magic on me!”

  “Of course not!” The wizard’s brow knitted with impatience. “I am afraid this goes well beyond the control of any one of us.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “One of our Seers has had a foretelling.”

  “A foretelling?”

  “Surely you know what a foretelling is,” Megan said.

  “Yes, of course I know
what a foretelling is!” Zak snapped at her. “I just don’t happen to believe in them.”

  “What was the foretelling, Dr. Raghnall?” Megan asked, ignoring Zak.

  “The words came to the Seer two weeks ago,” Dr. Raghnall said. He then recited the foretelling to them. “The false man will be taken by those on a false path. One will rise in a false body. The world will be thrice at risk while evil ripens. Only the one who is two unresolved and the estranged daughter of the circles will deliver us.”

  “What the hell does that supposed to mean?” It was just as Zak thought - a bunch of mystical gibberish. In spite of his skepticism, he couldn’t help but think of the missing SHIAM after hearing the phrases false man and false body. Nothing more than coincidence, he told himself. There couldn’t possibly be any significance to it.

  “Unfortunately, we did not immediately understand its meaning,” Dr. Raghnall said. “We still do not know the entire meaning. But we were able to deduce that the reference to the estranged daughter of the circles was a clear reference to you, Megan.”

  “Me?” The young Elf’s first reaction was to become indignant, “Oh, come now! I am hardly an estranged daughter...”

  “Melanthrianis!” The Master Wizard wore a stern fatherly expression. Not angry, but unwilling to accept nonsense. “The daughter of the circle is obviously a reference to a Sister of the Seventh Circle. This reference has appeared in other foretellings in the past. And you were sent to us because the sisters found you rather – disruptive - to their traditions. The Abbess felt that you, with your predilection for Human culture, could better serve the Seventh Circle as a liaison to our Institute.”

  “Oh, all right!” she said, suddenly flustered. “Perhaps the sisters were a little upset with me before I left.”

  “What a surprise,” Zak mumbled.

  “We were able to identify Megan fairly quickly, but we had no clue as to who the one who is two unresolved referred to,” The old man went on, turning to Zak. “That is, until your comm call requesting our assistance, Mr. Harris. After you contacted us, we took the liberty of looking into your background. You are obviously the one who is two unresolved. Your parents were of two different races, Human and Elf. And you have remained at odds with your Elvish blood all these years, never allowing your two natures to become one.”

  “You have no right snooping into my life!” Zak raised his voice in anger. “And I am hardly the only one with a mixture of Human and Elvish blood.”

  “Please, Mr. Harris,” the wizard said evenly. “This is a serious matter. There is no time for delicacies. The point is that you fit the profile. Our Seer, once presented with both your identities, was able to determine that the lines of your two destinies do, in fact, meet at this point in time. So you see; it is clear that you are both bound to this situation. You are both destined to work together to resolve this threat.”

  “And what exactly is this threat?” Zak asked, still unconvinced.

  “An excellent question,” said the wizard. “Unfortunately, we do not know. The only thing that is clear is that there is some great evil at work and it puts us in grave peril. We believe that whatever is responsible for the atmospheric disturbances we are experiencing is a part of it. Since you have contacted us, we also suspect that whatever it is that led you to us also plays some part in it as well.”

  “You’re assuming that just because I came along when I did, that it means I am some sort of chosen one?” Zak shook his head, attempting to appear amused although he actually wasn’t. He was really beginning to regret contacting the Institute for help. “You do know what they say about when you ass-u-me...”

  “Mr. Harris! There is nothing humorous about this situation.” The wizard gave Zak a hard look. “And I assure you that when a wizard assumes, it is only those who do not heed his assumption that are the asses!”

  “You cannot be serious!” Megan blurted out. “You cannot really expect me to work with this racist creep.”

  “I am not racist!”

  “Aht!” The Wizard held up his hand to cut Zak’s protest short. “Melanthrianis, you are Sister of the Seventh Circle of the Tah-Kna. You know very well that the Te is not to be taken lightly.”

  Megan bowed her head in resignation, “Of course, sir, I will do my part.”

  “And you, Mr. Harris. You have been trained in the Ways of the Te’n Kha. You, also, should know that the Te runs deep in all of our lives, and this fate goes far beyond any petty differences.”

  Zak didn’t appreciate becoming a pawn in some mystical game, but he had learned during his service with ASID that some games had to be played regardless. As reluctant as he was to admit it, some instinct told him that all this mystical prattle could somehow fit into the Grimrok theft.

  “Okay, I will accept the Institute’s assistance...for now.” He refused to recognize that a part of himself actually anticipated working with the beautiful Elf woman, who was even now glaring at him with hostility. “But get one thing straight. I have my own free will. There is no invisible force or fate driving my life!”

  Megan’s smirk irritated him and he wanted to snarl some indignity back at her, but he didn’t.

  11

  “We can take my car.” Megan suggested as they headed around the side of the building towards the parking lot.

  “That’s okay, we’ll take mine,” Zak countered. Jacob, Zak’s mechanic, had returned his car to him and he wanted to take it for a test drive. Besides, he really didn’t want to be dependent upon Megan for transportation.

  The rain had stopped for the moment and the wind had died, but storm clouds continued to press low against the city. Thunder still rolled angrily across the sky, punctuated by violent flashes of lightning. Since conceding to Dr. Raghnall’s insistence that he and Megan work together, Zak had decided to continue with his investigation as planned and briefed Megan on some of the details. They were now on their way back to Grimrok Corporation. If she was the hot-shot sorceress Raghnall claimed her to be, she may at least be able to detect something that he wasn’t able to.

  “No really, I would rather take mine.”

  “What’s wrong with my car?” Zak was more than a little annoyed with her controlling attitude as he gestured toward his vehicle. “This is a 5095 Subana Sport Classic. It’s a collector’s model.”

  “Yeah, and it should be in a museum, not a parking lot,” Megan laughed as she gazed over at the vehicle. “It would not even get ten meters off the ground! We can take mine.”

  She pointed to a brand new bright red CM Grand Turbo Pegasus.

  “Holy crap!” Zak couldn’t believe she was driving a brand new Pegasus Runabout. “That’s your car?”

  Megan smiled and shrugged. “Daddy is rich.”

  “Damn,” Zak muttered as he followed her to the Pegasus. He had given in again, first to Raghnall about working with her and now to Megan. He was not normally that easily swayed, but this time he was willing to make an exception in order to ride in the Pegasus. “This vehicle is probably worth more than everything I own!”

  “Yes, it probably is,” Megan said, unlocking the doors. She slid behind the wheel and waited with a satisfied grin for Zak to get in.

  Drop dead gorgeous and rich, too!

  Zak climbed into the passenger seat. It was plush, comfortable beyond any car seat he’d ever sat in. The vehicle was all luxury, with a stylish padded dash that housed an entire bank of sophisticated computer readouts. When Megan started the Pegasus, he could barely hear the purr of the anti-grav engine.

  “Better buckle up,” she warned.

  He didn’t have time to question her. She put the machine in gear and they were off so quickly that he was certain he’d just gotten whiplash. She pulled out of the parking lot already going above the posted speed limit. Once on Slough Street, she climbed to two hundred meters so abruptly that Zak’s stomach was left somewhere on the ground behind them.

  “You should probably drive a bit slower,” he commented.

&n
bsp; “Do not worry.” She actually sped up a bit. “Cops will not be out on a day like this.”

  “It isn’t the cops that I’m worried about,” Zak mumbled.

  Megan turned south on River View Drive and headed for the nearest bridge to Sol Kappur West. For the most part they had the driving lanes to themselves, as the threatening weather limited the amount of traffic in the skyways.

  “You really don’t look very professional in those delinquent clothes,” Zak said as he watched the distant buildings across the river.

  “You should talk...you are wearing jeans and a t-shirt!” she shot back at him. After a long moment, she asked, “Is this better?”

  She was again the professional business woman that she’d transformed into during their argument in his loft. Zak couldn’t decide which was more distracting, the degenerate delinquent or the business Elf. Both personas were quite attractive in their own unique way and the contrast between the two was fascinating.

  “Stop staring at me!”

  “I wasn’t staring.”

  He found it difficult to keep his eyes off her. Beside the fact that he found her irresistibly attractive in spite of himself, there was something...familiar...about her. What that meant exactly, he had no idea. He could neither shake the feeling nor put his finger on it. When he felt a stir of desire from the more obvious aspects of her appearance, he reminded himself again that she was Elf. That realization in itself should have soured his attraction to her, but it didn’t. He intended to look away, but he didn’t.

  “What!” she said, now sounding embarrassed. “It is an illusion, okay?”

  They drove on in silence for a time. Zak was the first to finally break it. “What do you make of this foretelling? I mean, you and me being the chosen ones and all?”