by John O'Riley
“You’re like a cockroach, human. Your lives are short and fleeting and meaningless.” Dorionus’s gaze became intent as he studied his victim’s face as if memorizing every detail.
Mark shoved the light energy into his protection amulet which hung loose around his neck on a black, silk cord beneath his uniform. He knew he had only a second or two. Dorionus plunged the blade into Mark’s chest as a layer of shimmering white light formed a skin-tight layer over the young White Knight. The blade twisted to the side against the brute force of the android as the shield deflected the attack. Dorionus’s eyes widened with astonishment then narrowed with hostility and frustration. He lashed out with his fists, pummeling the source energy shield with such extraordinary force and speed that his arms were a blur of movement. Mark emptied all thoughts of retaliation and fear from his mind then rose to his feet. The shimmering white luminescence of the shield expanded abruptly to form a sphere around him which knocked Dorionus backward. The android lost his footing and landed on his butt in an awkward sitting position as Mark towered over him.
The guards aimed their brass wands at Mark and fired telekinetic waves which bounced harmlessly off the protection. Light energy continued to flow into Mark and he was careful to maintain a calm and neutral state of mind as he gathered the magic he would need for another spell. Josephine must have realized he was in danger and had the group concentrate on sending a much stronger dose of source energy his way. He wondered how they had accomplished it. Mark knew the basic properties of light energy well enough to realize that his protection would shrink or fail if he harbored any violent or vengeful thoughts or intentions. He strode toward the guards who now blocked the doorway. Mark’s expression remained stoic as they released another volley of telekinetic waves that bounced harmlessly from his shield. His protection pressed against the guards as he slowed his paced so he wouldn’t shove against them. Mark’s intentions towards these men remained benevolent as he pressed forward and they were prodded out of his way by the shimmering white luminescence. The door slid open and he strode down the corridor as all five guards resumed firing on him from behind.
There was always varying degrees of source energy in the environment and this would be enough to keep Mark’s shield active as long as he maintained his current state of mind. After another moment, Mark sensed his connection with the magical network go dormant again. He made sure to sustain a firm grip on the extra source energy they’d directed his way as he continued his trek outside of the building. A large group of guards followed him down the trail. Obviously, Dorionus had called for backup. The violent thoughts from the attackers generated subtle dark energy currents that would eventually choke off the supply of light energy that kept Mark’s shield active. He wasn’t sure how much time remained so he began jogging toward the smaller green pyramid that offered transit to his destination. Inside the transit center, Mark made his way down the corridor to the main room that offered about a dozen circles of tall monoliths comprised of blue wizard glass.
The guards stormed inside the room in pursuit. Mark managed to activate the nearest portal with ease. He dashed into the portal and closed it behind him. He now occupied the main room of another transit center and to the untrained eye, it looked identical to the one he’d just left but there were subtle differences in the design. Additionally, this room harbored no assailants intent on capturing him. Mark jogged down the corridor to the outdoors and slowed down to a brisk walk to catch his breath as he headed for the Interplanetary Transit Center. The sphere of white luminescence continued to shimmer and emit a low-level electronic-like hum. Mark approached the entrance to the large, blue dome structure and the doors slid open. He made his way to the main room of the facility where Hermina and Ludovic still waited along with three guards. The group turned to face him with evident surprise.
Mark walked toward the circle of monoliths as he took a brief scan of them. Even though the ancient language sprawled across the surface of them was still lit up in green, he couldn’t detect the terramezic energy. He must rely completely on his intuition to make this work.
“You were foolish to come back here,” Ludovic said.
Mark ignored him as he raised his hands and released a stream of light energy at the monoliths and willed that a portal open to Earth. He focused on his love for Josephine which always burned bright like a star in his heart and mind when he thought of her. Ludovic took a black crystal out of his pocket and wrapped his fingers tight around it. Dark energy gushed from the crystal in the form of black smoke that sparked with angry crimson light. Mark’s attention faltered as he sensed the surrounding light energy that fueled his protection amulet begin to recede. The power boost from Josephine and his group hadn’t been a permanent solution. He still lacked any active magical connections or access to any power centers so his magic remained extremely limited. He still possessed the reserve energy but it was slipping from his grasp due to its instinctual repulsion of the nearby dark energy. Dorionus and a large group of guards burst into the room.
Ludovic leveled a questioning gaze at his son. “Did you take the genetic samples I require?”
“Yes, father.”
“Then kill him.” Ludovic gestured at Mark.
Dorionus and the guards fired powerful telekinetic waves that smashed against Mark’s shield. The dark energy smoke continued to creep along the walls. The sphere of white luminescence surrounding Mark flickered as it threatened to collapse. Mark activated his teleportation enchantment and willed it to take him someplace safe. The amulet remained active for several seconds without whisking him away and he wondered if he’d have to be more specific on a location. He tensed reflexively and his thoughts scattered with panic when his shield winked out of existence. Some of the guards had already fired another telekinetic blast which hurtled towards him. A split second later, he vanished from the room.
Chapter 26
Josephine and Helen sat cross-legged in front of a palm tree in Josephine’s lush garden in the backyard with Perry’s enchanted stone resting between them. Maggie, Alice, and Perry waited at Helen’s condo to activate the other stone.
“Do you think this will work?” Josephine asked.
Helen offered a reassuring gaze. “I’m fairly certain. Perry knows his way around white magic. He was born of the Light.”
“That’s true.” Josephine pulled out her cell and dialed Alice. “It’s me, I’m ready to activate the stone on this end.”
“All right, here goes nothing,” Alice said.
Josephine disconnected the call and set the phone down. She directed the small trickle of light energy she controlled into the stone which wasn’t much because she was a mainstream wizard but it was still more than usual because she was seated in the middle of a powerful white magic power center. Helen pointed the palms of her hands at the stone and reached closer so they hovered a few feet over it. Cascades of white and turquoise luminescence gushed from her hands and infused the rock with abundant light energy. After a moment, the stone radiated with a vibrant white and turquoise glow. When the spell activated, the two women pulled their hands away and the rock continued to emanate a sparkling luminescence that began to slowly fade. Josephine performed a scan of the perimeter but couldn’t detect any drop in source energy.
She peered at her friend with uncertainty. “Do you think it worked?”
“Yes, it did.” Helen grinned with triumph. “I can feel the connection. There’s so much source energy in the power center here that I don’t feel a drop in energy.”
Josephine rose to her feet and placed a call to Alice to share the news. Josephine advised that she would be right there and disconnected the call.
She and Helen turned to head for the side of the house and saw Virginia striding towards them. They froze as the director approached them with a smile of greeting on her face.
“Hello, ladies,” Virginia said. “I came to see Josephine to get a status report.”
“Did we have a meeting scheduled?�
� Josephine leveled a wary look at her supervisor.
“Oh, no. I just drop by occasionally when time permits.” Virginia halted as she reached the two women. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but when no one answered the door and I came around the house, I couldn’t help but hear you discussing your enchantment that bridged your white magic power center with Helen’s.”
“Yes, we did.” Josephine’s mind churned with panic over this unexpected visit. She was keeping a big secret from Director Hamilton and noticed that she emanated very little psychic junk energy which meant she was either a category six or a latent six. This could be problematic because if she possessed psychometry, she may pick up on Josephine’s secret.
Virginia’s amiable smile melted away to a look of concern. “You’re worried that I’ll find out about something. What’s wrong, Josephine? You can tell me.”
Josephine was struck speechless for several seconds as her worse fear became a reality.
“I was going to say something but I wanted to wait until later,” she said. When Virginia peered at her with expectation and didn’t interrupt, she continued her explanation. “I’m not sure if you already know this but Helen is a White Knight.” The director nodded in silent affirmation. “She’s been working on an enchantment for quite some time using her intuition. I know it sounds crazy but she created an interplanetary portal in her condo by accident and it can possibly take us to Mark so we can rescue him.”
“That doesn’t sound crazy at all.” Virginia’s cordial smile returned. “It’s just the kind of thing I would expect. White magic always comes with unexpected rewards.”
“It does?” Josephine regarded her with astonishment.
“Of course! That’s why I’d like to recruit Mark to my team. White magic is a rare commodity.”
Helen gasped with startlement. “You’re a White Knight!”
Josephine heightened her psychic receptors so she could more closely perceive the energy around her. Virginia definitely radiated source energy but it wasn’t very much. No mainstream wizard would ever detect it.
“I’d appreciate it if you would keep that a secret,” Virginia said.
“Why?” Josephine asked.
“White Knights are targeted by some individuals like APU 81 and the Valituras. I know the Valituras aren’t considered a threat anymore but there are still a lot of members scattered throughout the states. It might also hurt my professional standing in MADA. A lot of people don’t take white magic practitioners seriously. I hope to change that someday.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word,” Josephine said.
“I know it’s hard to keep secrets from Alice and Mark so you can tell them.”
“Thanks.” Josephine offered a smile of appreciation.
“You were right in your decision to wait until your return to Earth before telling me about the portal.” Virginia’s expression was contemplative. “I’m not entirely sure how the government will react to the news except that they would insist on going with you. They often require the owner to sell their property if it contains something this valuable but this is white magic so they know they would need a White Knight. There will be a lot of discussions behind closed doors. I think the end result will be an extension of employment to you, Helen. I would strongly encourage you to accept if that happens. It will be a generous offer and you would work for the FBI, the military, or MADA as a field agent, a consultant, an enforcer, or a researcher. I can exert influence over what happens but I can’t guarantee anything. What would your preference be if you were to work for the government?”
“I’m not really sure.” Helen looked overwhelmed by the news. “What if I decide not to accept employment with them?”
“If you were to reject their employment offer, the decision-makers would reconvene and either make you a mandatory consultant or force you to sell your condo and portal.”
Helen regarded her with indecision. “I didn’t realize my enchantment would be considered so valuable.”
“The ability to visit other worlds colonized by our ancestors will make the government drool. We won’t be able to hide this from them.” Virginia’s smile turned regretful. “This is a lot to take in and you don’t need to make a decision now. I was just warning you about what will happen.”
“What about burnout? I was planning on eventually leaving retirement but I would risk losing my power if I don’t have daily access to my condo.”
“The government realizes the limitations of white magic so your work schedule will give you three days off a week and access to private jets so you can return to your condo more quickly between assignments and recharge. If you start to feel burnout, you will be excused from your work detail and allowed to return to your power center right away. This portal you’ve created is going to come as a huge shock and it will be viewed as a very valuable commodity that everyone in the government will want to have access to,” Virginia said.
“I would like to be a field agent for MADA as part of your team,” Helen said.
“Perfect! I’ll work my magic to make sure things turn out that way.” Virginia’s lips formed a pleased grin.
Josephine regarded her supervisor with curiosity. “You sound like you’ll be casting spells.”
“No one can sense white magic except for a White Knight unless huge quantities of light energy is used. It definitely helps with influencing decisions.”
“I didn’t realize it could be used to manipulate,” Josephine said.
“Light energy influences emotions and thoughts but it never controls. What I do is allay fears people may have over something that would impede the end result I want and to give them a small intuitive nudge in the right direction,” Virginia explained.
Josephine remembered Mark’s first assignment with Virginia. “That’s why you weren’t troubled by the fact that Mark was a white magic practitioner when you hired him to restore the ancient facility at American Stone Henge.”
“That’s right. I’d already known but I wanted it to be out in the open so Mark wouldn’t have to hide it from me.”
“That was clever,” Josephine remarked.
Helen scrutinized the director with keen interest. “I’m wondering how YOU prevent burnout when you don’t seem to be linked with other White Knights and you’ve got a job that keeps you from daily access to a light energy power center.”
“I’m actually a hybrid. I do both mainstream and white magic. My abilities to use source energy is extremely limited. I can’t create enchantments like you or Mark but I can activate them and I can cast minor spells that can be done on the fly.”
“What are minor spells exactly?” Helen asked.
“Negotiation spells which influence people in the way I mentioned earlier, intuition, and scans,” Virginia replied. “Now, let’s talk about our plan to rescue Mark. How long can you keep the portal open and how long will it take before you can try it out?”
“It should be ready to use in about a day. It can remain active about ten minutes or so,” Josephine said.
Virginia frowned with thought. “Chances are that it will take a lot longer than ten minutes to find him because of the vast distance involved between Earth and whatever planet he’s on.”
“Perry will make sure the portal focuses on Mark though. Shouldn’t it get us pretty close?” Josephine inquired.
“I’m afraid not. Have you ever tried teleporting to an unknown location in a different country when you’re trying to find someone?” Virginia asked.
“Light energy teleportation enchantments can bring you to a destination by focusing just on a person,” Josephine said.
“That’s true. White magic is a family secret of mine. One of my ancestors experimented with teleportation and recorded her results in her journal. She lived in England at the time but when she visited different family members in other countries without knowing precisely where she was going, she would end up randomly materializing within a one or two-mile radius. I performed my own experim
ents in college with teleportation and ended up with the same results.”
“How did you teleport? I thought you couldn’t create your own enchantments?” Helen asked.
“I have three teleportation amulets that I inherited. I do have some enchantments I created before I burned out,” Virginia explained.
“Wait a minute.” Helen peered at her with confusion. “How can you still use white magic if you’ve burned out?”
“That’s a long story. There’s a process you can go through if you have the right tools to reawaken your light energy talent after you’ve recovered from burnout. Of course, the symptoms of burnout the second time are even worse than the first,” Virginia said. “However, the point I was trying to make is that if teleportation from one country to another country will take you to a random point within a two-mile radius, you’ll probably end up even farther away from your destination if you’re traveling to another world.”
“I was kind of afraid of that,” Josephine said.
“You were?” Helen regarded her friend with surprise.
“I didn’t want to worry you or to give Alice an excuse to campaign against my plan. You know how distrustful she is about white magic.”
“That’s true,” Helen acknowledged.
Josephine fixed her attention back to Virginia. “So it’s possible we may end up somewhere really far away from Mark.”
“That will be the most likely outcome. Perry should be able to gauge whether Mark is close or not while the portal is open. What I would recommend is for Perry to activate the portal without anyone going through and to scan for Mark. It should take less than a minute for him to determine if Mark is within close proximity. If he’s far away, Perry should close the portal and try again. The enchantment should contain enough power to do this three or four times between charges. If you’re unable to get close to Mark, wait until the next day and try again,” Virginia instructed.
“That sounds like a good plan except that Mark is in some kind of danger. I could feel it earlier. He almost died. I had the group strengthen our connection and while we were doing that, Perry sent as much source energy to Mark as possible. I know Mark is still alive so I will definitely go through that portal to get him,” Josephine said.
