by Bob Blink
“Watch him,” he said. “I’ll get the car.”
A few minutes later Randy returned with their “police car”, and they loaded the unconscious Ryltas into the back seat. They climbed into the car, and Randy drove away, dropping the glamours as they pulled out into the street at the far end of the alley.
“What about the house?”
“We can’t take the chance. Someone may have called the real police. We need to get out of here. Vaen will have to have her people drag the information out of this bastard. Shoot him again with another dart. The first one didn’t seem to work very well.”
“Are you sure it’s safe? How much of this stuff can he take?”
Randy shrugged. Asari turned and shot Ryltas with another dart, then he put the pistol on the floor of the car. As they drove away they could hear sirens in the distance headed their way, but sirens here were common and Randy had no idea if they related to their encounter with Ryltas. They didn’t see any police and made it back to the airport unhindered.
They had been able to park well away from the buildings at the Torrance airport, so they were able to load the unconscious and bound wizard aboard the plane without being observed. After placing the rest of their gear aboard, Randy returned the rental car and walked back to the plane. They had refueled on landing, so they only needed to get the proper permissions and depart. Normally he would have spent some time in the control center and checked on the most recent weather changes, but something told him he’d best get on his way.
For some reason traffic had been light, and they had only a short wait before they were passed instructions and given clearance to take off. As they cleared the pattern a short time later, Randy turned toward Utah, and climbed to his cruising altitude. They had a number of hours of flying, but hopefully no more surprises. They could monitor the wizard, and hold him unconscious with drugs or the power.
The winds helped them on their flight, and they made their final approach into the Boulder airport almost an hour earlier than Randy had expected. It was still near midnight, and he turned on the landing lights of the deserted airport, and made his landing unobserved. They taxied over to the rental office, and parked the plane in its usual slot. Randy walked over to where he had parked the car and drove it over to the plane. After offloading their passenger, the guns, and everything else they had accumulated, Randy locked up the plane and dropped the keys in the slot in the door of the rental office. The staff would find them in the morning and log in the plane’s return.
They drove through the silent streets of Boulder back to the house. Randy was surprised to see the lights on, indicating Janie was probably still up. He parked the car in the garage which would make handling their passenger easier. They could take him through the back door directly out to the yard. He left Asari with Ryltas and went in to tell Janie they were back and that he’d be leaving soon.
“You’re on television,” was the first thing she said when he walked into the kitchen. She had been watching the Los Angeles news feeds via the Internet and had picked up on the police report.
Someone had gotten his picture. From what he could see when the news repeated the story, it must have been taken when he was sneaking through the back yards trying to get behind Ryltas. They didn’t get one of Asari, or if they had, it wasn’t being shown.
“They don’t seem to know who you are, at least not yet.”
That would change. It would take them some time, especially since he was still officially listed as being dead. The police could be thorough, and sooner or later they would come here with questions. It was time to get back to Gaea.
“Asari and I are going to leave now. It looks like I shouldn’t be here for a while. The police are going to get around to talking with you eventually. Answer anything they ask. Tell them I reappeared a few months ago, and told you I had been out of the country. Tell them I said I’d cleared things up with the police about my being missing, and I hung around for a few months, but left the other day after telling you I had to make a trip. Just don’t tell them about Gaea, or about the Nexus. That would cause you lots of trouble, and might make it hard to use it in the future. Don’t try to hide that I was here. They will find out. They can’t do anything to me and can never get to Gaea.”
“Will you come back?”
“Not for some time. There’s too much to do on Gaea right now, and I need to find Shyar. Later maybe I’ll send Tishe or somebody to see what it’s like here. Eventually I should be able to visit. They can’t keep watching this place for very long. They’ll lose interest.”
She nodded, but looked nervous.
“Janie, thanks,” he said, giving her a hug. “You really helped me. You may have helped save a world. I don’t think you’ll see anymore people in the yard. There’s about fifteen thousand in cash up in my room. There’s also a fair amount left in the bank in the account Gene’s Dad set up. He arranged for two accounts. One is private and held the funds from the converted gold. He transferred money into the active account we used for purchases as needed and back adjusted the initial deposit amount. I doubt the money in the private account can be traced. Ask him for those funds as well. You should have it as a backup.”
Janie followed them out, and watched as they moved their few belongings onto the node, and then pulled Ryltas from the car.
She nodded to herself when she got a look at his face. “That’s him,” she said unnecessarily.
They lowered Rytlas to the ground, and after a round of hugs where Janie told Asari he needed to come again sometime, they returned to the knoll and made the jump back to Gaea.
Chapter 123
“What happened to him?” Chancellor Vaen asked Jolan when they got back together a day after his return to Gaea.
“I don’t think anyone knows for sure, but I’ve heard several theories expressed,” he replied. When he had returned from Earth with Asari and the unconscious Ryltas, they found him quite dead and mysteriously light. It was as if much of his body mass had been lost during the transition.
Vaen indicated he should continue.
“He transferred to Earth using the two-way spell, and his return was still open or active. We know that he had at least two months before it would expire because he typically waited that long between trips. We never have learned how they might have extended the length of stay allowed, but it is clear they have found a way. When Asari and I brought him back to Gaea, he was included in the two-way spell I initiated with a different target destination. One of your experts has suggested that the Nexus somehow acted on both spells involved in making the transfer when I activated our return spell.”
“That would have done exactly what?”
“The thinking is that it might have tried to return him to two locations simultaneously. He normally returns to the pseudo node that Cheurt discovered, and we were returning to the true node in Tilano. It is possible that two versions of Ryltas now exist, both quite dead. We have the one body. There could well be another at the site that Cheurt normally uses.”
“This body would also exhibit this strange loss in mass?”
“I think that’s why they think there might be two bodies. We don’t know exactly what Ryltas’ weight was, but the body we have is consistent with about half of his expected mass. The rest of the mass could be in another incomplete body up in the Land of Giants.”
Vaen was quiet for a moment. “That could work well for us if the body was left alone. It is likely that some creature will drag it away before the next planned visit.”
“It is still winter, and it is possible that won’t happen. If Cheurt or his wizards were to arrive, find the odd body of Ryltas along with no sign of the Nexus, they might jump to a very wrong conclusion. They could think the Nexus failed while he was transitioning. Even if the Nexus is not completely shielded, which we can’t know without going there, they might be very uncertain about attempting to make the trip.”
“Let’s hope it works out that way,” she said. “It’s u
nfortunate. I would very much liked to have known what he has been doing.”
“Actually, I think we can consider ourselves lucky,” Jolan said.
Vaen raised an eyebrow.
“We could have all ended up being delivered to multiple sites instead of just Ryltas. Or, after all of our hard work, he could have been delivered whole to the alternate site, free to tell Cheurt what we are up to. That would have been upsetting.” Jolan also had a moment’s idle thought about what might happen if someone tried to return from Earth with the Nexus blocked. Would they simply not transfer, or would they end up in some kind of limbo? All of this reminded him that they had become far too casual about using something they really didn’t understand.
“You got nothing from his residence?” Vaen asked when he was silent for a moment.
“We didn’t have a chance to look around. When Rytlas bolted after we shot him with the Karonabark, we chased him down. By then it was likely the police had been called. It was clear later that had happened, and as I told you the other day someone got my picture. Eventually the connection will be made.”
“Maybe that extract isn’t as strong as the original,” she suggested.
“It is actually far stronger. I’ve tested it since getting back. Ryltas knew Cheurt’s secret for resisting the drug.”
“That’s another bit of lore that it would be nice if you passed along. It appears that we have lost any opportunity to learn what he has been bringing back. It also seems that you probably won’t be making trips for a while, although that was the plan anyway. What are your immediate plans now that you are back to stay? How about your plans for blocking the Nexus? Has that happened yet?”
Jolan nodded. “Last night we went back out to the Nexus and moved the copper painted barrier in place. It seems to work. I couldn’t sense the presence when I moved into areas where I’d been able to sense it before. I even put in a large ladder so I could climb up above it. The field is extremely weak there, so I suspect it isn’t detectable at all where Cheurt normally goes.”
“What about your friend?”
“I need to coordinate with Gene. I talked briefly with him, and he and Tishe made his short return home. He is serious about staying here, so he will be able to handle many of the technical matters I might have been tasked with. He will be better at it than I, and has already impressed Buris. I also need to get with Major Wylan and Samm. I ran into Rifod, and he told me the team you have at Ygooro has already made progress.
“It’s working out well. We actually impressed the language onto mostly non mages. They can perform the research just as well, and if they encounter any spells, they won’t know what they mean or how to use them. Interesting discoveries will be passed to Nerila or Rifod who will decide what is important. They have been given Oscar’s knowledge of the old language as well.”
“I was told they have already learned the secret of controlling the portals. They can now turn one on or off remotely.”
“Someone isn’t very good about our secrecy,” Vaen said annoyed.
“Buris assumed you’d already told me. That’s going to make a huge difference in what we can do. I want to spend a few days with the assault teams and work out some plans for how we will operate.”
“Tishe is going to want to meet with you also. She has been getting more faint images from Shyar.”
Jolan had heard this as well, and was mightily relieved. Maybe now that he was back they could think about how to improve that communication.
“I also need some time to sort through the other knowledge that was in Oscar’s crystals. I have a number of spells in my mind, but haven’t had a chance to look through them, or try them in a careful manner. There might be something of use there as well.”
“Let me know if you need anything. And don’t forget, the Queen wants to see you two days from now.”
She smiled when Jolan sighed. “You’ve done a remarkable amount in such a short time. Angon is far better prepared to engage the wizards than we could have been without your efforts. I think the Queen actually wants to thank you this time.”
Knowing he was going to be as busy as ever, at least for a while, Jolan stood in anticipation of leaving. It felt good to have his staff in his hand once again. He also wore two of the rings. Luzoke still wore the beam ring, and Jolan intended for him to keep it. Vaen would hold the second staff for Shyar. Jolan also now wore the amulet which he’d already carefully switched back to work here on Gaea. He wanted to experiment with that as well, and see what it really could do.
Chapter 124
The cage proved to be more of a problem than Shyar had anticipated. It was clearly something very special and very old. Whoever had built the cage had obviously been skilled and strong in magic. The many bars that ran across the top and bottom and vertically up the sides were of a dark, almost black, metal that she had not seen before, and seemed to be constructed from a single continuous piece of material. The joints were not really joints, but rather an uninterrupted flowing of the metal even when the bars seemed to reach a “T” joint. Even the door was part of the whole. The hinges that allowed the door to be opened somehow flexed, while maintaining an integral bond with the rest of the structure. Through it all, power flowed and circulated, only occasionally being renewed by one of the wizards that seemed to always be around Cheurt’s residence. The result was a cage that robbed her of any sense of the power, and which seemed completely immune to any physical attempt to defeat its function.
The cage was located in a back hallway of the wizard’s residence. She had been able to overhear enough conversation to learn where they had taken her. It was the obvious location, but she had wondered for a while. Cheurt had shown only passing interest in her. For the first few days he had walked back to the cage and stared at her through the bars. His dark eyes were difficult to read, but the evil in the man was easy enough to detect. She cringed to think she was totally within this man’s control, but was determined not to let her discomfort show. Each time he visited she was certain he was closer to taking some action against her, and then suddenly he seemed to lose interest. A whole week went by without him even glancing in her direction.
It took time, but she gradually learned that Cheurt had received word that Jolan was no longer in Angon. The long distances between Ale’ald and Angon made communication and planning difficult. Jolan had apparently left the city, and the men Cheurt had expected to keep track of his whereabouts had not reported in. Not knowing where Jolan had gone disrupted Cheurt’s plan. He could hardly make threats when he didn’t have any idea where to deliver them. He sent more couriers to urge his spies and followers to pursue the matter, but it would literally be months before word could be expected. That meant Shyar had a long miserable wait before anything might change, but it seemed it also meant she had become unimportant to Cheurt, who was extremely busy pursuing his war. His plans were apparently proceeding well, not without setbacks from time to time, but well enough he had the support of the Council. In fact, it appeared he had gained enough support that he directed much of their effort without needing to get formal approval for his plans.
As the days settled into weeks, Shyar adjusted to being confined. She had a small curtain and waste buckets within the cell, and once a week she was taken out so she could bathe. Each time she was removed, a minimum of three wizards were assigned to block her from the power. They never used the Karonabark. Cheurt seemed to have a low opinion of the drug. Jolan had told her it didn’t work on Cheurt, so perhaps he suspected others might be able to resist its effects as well, even though her trip had demonstrated that when applied properly, she was as helpless against it as most other mages and wizards.
Shyar had grown to accept the fact she would remain cut off from the power, and her guards became a bit complacent after weeks of routinely taking her out. She was therefore surprised on one such outing when she realized she could feel the smallest trickle of the power. It wasn’t much, but it felt so sweet. She wasn’t about to
attempt anything. The amount of power she could touch wouldn’t give her any useful abilities against the wizards who guarded her, and she feared if they knew she had even this small access they would tighten the block and take away this small taste. She was almost through her shower when she realized something was different. At first she thought it was simply because she hadn’t been able to sense the power for so long, and its return was such a shock, but gradually she knew there was more to this anomaly.
She wasn’t sensing the power because her guards had gotten careless. She was sensing the power because she had grown, and they were not aware of the change. The three wizards that had been assigned to her were tasked with blocking a level six. She wasn’t a six any longer. She had transitioned to a seven. The block they were using wasn’t strong enough to deny her completely, and she knew that if she desired she could probably crush one of the three before they realized the danger. With one of the wizards disabled, the remaining two would be unable to constrain her, and she could then handle them as well. If it was done when Cheurt was away, she might actually be able to escape the residence. He would be the real danger. He was a long standing level seven, with great skill with spells of destruction. She probably wouldn’t be a match for him. Not yet anyway.
The problem was where to go if she got away. She was deep into Ale’ald, and had no idea of how to make her way back to Angon. They would spare no effort to find her, so any move would have to be swift and decisive. She needed information. That meant biding her time and learning what she could before taking any action. Once they learned she’d advanced, additional measures would be taken to limit her once again.
Knowing she was a level seven, she allowed herself to search through her mind and try and sense if anything else had changed. Could she tell if there were any new abilities that came with this transformation? The advancement allowed a mage to perform higher level spells, but sometimes, especially in her case, additional abilities seemed to appear spontaneously with each jump in level. Her mental search showed her areas that seemed to be developing, and then one area that was new and whole. Carefully she touched it with the smallest trickle of power. Then a bit more, until she had given all she could draw to the new part of her mind. The wizards guarding her were careless, and didn’t seem to be monitoring her at all.
