Oriel

by Alisa Woods

  Lizza nodded, eyes wide. A prickling sensation ran up her back.

  “When I said this technology could change the world, I was dead serious,” Charlotte continued. “And I’m not talking about inventing a new iPhone or a better way to sell groceries. I’m talking the kind of change that could bring about great or terrible things. The kind that is dangerous. The secrecy for this has to be absolute… or people could get hurt. A lot of people.”

  Lizza’s mouth had run dry. What had she gotten herself into?

  “It’s not too late to back out.” Charlotte’s words were almost a whisper, but they rang through the lab, which had gone silent. The crowd had thinned out, leaving just three lab techs gathered by the monitor on the far side, but they had stopped working to listen. Oriel and Tajael were both watching Lizza closely. Everyone was looking at her.

  She swallowed down the dryness in her throat. “Great science isn’t about publishing papers and winning over your thesis committee. Great science is about changing the world. I want to change the world, Dr. Netherman. I’ve dropped everything to come here. I’m not turning back now.”

  Everyone must have been holding their breath because an audible sigh went through the lab. Charlotte grinned and gave some kind of hand signal to the techs. They turned to the monitor and tapped away. Oriel and Tajael were having a whispered exchange—she could almost hear it, but it was a foreign language she didn’t recognize. Then Tajael stepped to the far side of the lab and called someone.

  The MRI started humming.

  Charlotte grabbed headphones off a rack—a pair for each of them. “Put this on,” she said over the rising clacking sound. “We’ll talk over the headset.”

  Lizza quickly did so. Everyone else in the lab donned ear protection as well. Charlotte reached out to tap something on the side of Lizza’s headset. It beeped, and then Charlotte’s voice came through loud and clear over the now-muted hum of the MRI.

  “Can you hear me all right?” she asked.

  “Yes.” There was no microphone, but the headset must have something built in.

  Charlotte edged closer to the MRI, bringing Lizza with her. “You know my theories about transdimensional travel, right?” her voice said over the headset.

  “That there’s an over-dimension connected to ours,” Lizza said quickly. Of course, she’d read all of Charlotte’s papers, including her thesis. The published ones, anyway. “Like a 4th physical dimension that might account for the source of gravity… and other quantum effects.”

  Charlotte nodded and pointed to the inside of the MRI. Sitting in the middle was a small clay pot with a patch of grass. “This machine—I call it the dimensional drive—uses Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to shove physical items into extra-dimensional space.”

  Lizza leaned back and frowned. “You mean, you’re using the MRI to measure the part of the plant that exists in extra-dimensional space.” Her brain was reeling. How was that even possible?

  “No.” Charlotte grinned. “I’m sending the whole thing there.”

  Lizza glanced at the potted plant. “Like… right now?” The MRI had started clacking and banging in earnest, its magnets revving up to take a measurement. It looked like a standard MRI, the kind used in hospitals all over the country, except for all the tricked-out extra gadgets.

  “Ready when you are, Dr. Netherman,” one of the lab techs said over the headset.

  Charlotte pointed to the plant. “Keep your eyes on it,” she said to Lizza. Then she glanced at Tajael, still on the phone in the back, and then the techs. “I’ll count it down for our new physicist. On my mark… three… two… one…”

  The plant disappeared.

  Lizza blinked.

  It was there one moment… and then just gone. The pot, grass, dirt… everything. Like it had never existed.

  She turned to Charlotte. Her mouth was hanging open so wide she could barely form words. “Where? Where did it go?”

  “That is precisely the question.” But Charlotte was grinning like she already knew the answer.

  “You sent it to the over-dimension.” Lizza’s gaze was dragged back to the MRI. To the empty space where the plant had been. “Ho-ly crap.”

  Charlotte beamed. The MRI was already winding down.

  “I thought…” Lizza was sputtering now. “I thought you said you had a prototype.”

  “There’s a ton of work yet to be done,” Charlotte said, but she was still grinning. “That’s why we need you. I’ve worked all the math for transporting physical objects, but living things present a whole new level of difficulty.” She gestured to the machine. “We’ve tested it on plants, and the theories hold, but we don’t know the status on the other end.”

  Lizza’s head was spinning like crazy. “Cellular function. The spark of life. You don’t know… you don’t know how—or even if—it transports.” Holy crap. She knew precisely why Charlotte had brought her in now. This was exactly what she was looking at with her quantum effects of biosystems research.

  “For all we know, it’s a lump of lifeless jelly in the over-dimension,” Charlotte said, nodding. “And there’s the small matter of getting it back.”

  This was it. This was the thing Lizza was meant to do. She had to fight back the tears as the realization slammed into her. All those years ago, as her father lay dying from his cancer, he’d made her promise she would do something great with her first love—science. He was a physicist too, so there was no question about which field. She was only sixteen at the time, but she’d made a solemn vow that day. Then, when she and her mom were in the accident just a few months later—the car crash that killed her mother and kept Lizza in the hospital for three months—she’d doubled down on that vow. She’d been given a second chance at life, and she would do something great with it, just as she’d promised.

  And this was that thing.

  “I need everything you’ve got,” Lizza said in a rush. “Theories. Calculations. Experiments. All the data.” The words were breathless, and her hand had gripped Charlotte’s arm without her realizing. She forced her hand to unlock. “Oh. Sorry. I mean… when you have a chance.”

  Charlotte laughed and pulled off her headset. “I was hoping you’d say that.” The machine was quiet now, so Lizza took hers off too. The security guys—Oriel and Tajael—had edged forward, standing behind Charlotte and watching the two of them closely.

  “But you’ve been traveling all day,” Charlotte said, “and you have to be tired.”

  “No, not at all.” And it was true. Energy was surging through her. “I want to get started.”

  “Let’s get you settled,” Charlotte insisted. “Then we can get you started.” She beckoned Oriel forward with a finger, and he stepped up. “Oriel will see you home. Get some rest, and we’ll see you back here in the morning.”

  Home? “Oh, um…” Lizza had rushed out here so fast… “I haven’t got a hotel room yet. Maybe I can just camp out here tonight. Find a cubicle. I could get started on reading up on what you’ve done—”

  Oriel was frowning and sending pinched looks to Charlotte, who was practically laughing at Lizza. Her hot security boyfriend Tajael seemed like he was getting a good laugh at her, too. Okay, maybe she was a little over-enthusiastic, but she really had no place to stay, and she really did want to get started…

  Charlotte put her hands on Lizza’s shoulders and peered into her eyes. “We are going to do great science, Lizza. In the morning.”

  Lizza forced her shoulders to relax. “Right. Of course.”

  Charlotte released her. “Besides, I was serious about the security on this project. Everyone working on it has personal security at work, home, and in between. I’ve already arranged an apartment for you. Oriel will take you there and bring you back in the morning. If you need to make any trips outside the apartment, please make sure you’re escorted at all times. I know that’s kind of draconian, but believe me, it’s vital. And it comes with the job. Also required is getting enough rest so you can
bring that brilliant mind to work fresh in the morning. Understood?”

  “Understood.” Lizza swallowed. An apartment? Round the clock security? But it made perfect sense. They were going to change the world.

  “All right then.” Charlotte gave a nod to Oriel.

  He looked a lot more relaxed as he swept his hand toward the door to the laboratory. “If you’ll come with me, Lizza…”

  “Right.” She strode to the door but turned at the last minute. “Dr. Netherman?” Charlotte was already conferring with her hot security guy. She turned to Lizza. “You don’t know how much this means to me. Being on this project. Thank you.”

  She smiled. “See you in the morning.”

  Lizza ducked her head and hurried out before she gushed anymore. Oriel stuck close to her side, even as she scurried away. For a minute, she didn’t even try speaking—she really was tired. And hyped. And overwhelmed with finally getting a chance to make her mark. To fulfill her vow. To do the thing she was meant to do with this second-chance life of hers. As she and Oriel rode the elevator down, she had to keep blinking and looking away to keep the tears from leaking out. Totally embarrassing, but also nothing she wanted to explain.

  But when they didn’t stop in the lobby, just went straight to the parking garage where a black sedan waited, she finally had to say something. “Um, where are we going?”

  “To your new apartment, of course.” Oriel held the car door open for her. The driver was the same forty-something guy from the airport.

  Lizza climbed in, setting her tote on the bench seat in back. Oriel joined her, and a nod to the driver had them whisking away.

  They were two blocks down before she remembered… “Wait! My luggage is back at the office.”

  “That’s all taken care of,” Oriel said. “And your apartment is stocked with food and any other necessities you might need. Just let me know if there’s something different you’d prefer, and I’ll make sure it’s brought to you. It’s truly better if you don’t leave the apartment for any reason, but if you must, as Dr. Netherman said, please make sure you call for an escort.” He pulled a phone from a pocket in the leg of his black body-armor suit and poked hesitantly at it, frowning. “We are supposed to exchange phone numbers.”

  It was like the guy had never run a phone before.

  “Here,” she said, reaching for it. She quickly tapped in her number and sent herself a message. Since he seemed kinda new to the phone thing, she smiled for a selfie then entered her name and picture into his address book. When she was done, she handed the phone back to him.

  His eyes were alive with curiosity.

  “I sent myself a text, plus now I’m in your contacts,” she explained. “See, right here.” She tapped at it and brought up her contact listing with the picture.

  He just blinked, seemingly mesmerized by the selfie.

  “You got this?” she asked. It was so strange—like he totally understood some ordinary things, like taking care of her luggage, and was complete mystified by others, like the phone. Her theory about him being from Planet Hot Guy was gaining ground.

  “Yes,” he said, and it was convincing enough.

  They quickly arrived at a towering apartment building—still in downtown and close to the office. While she was climbing out, Oriel retrieved her roller bag from the trunk. The sedan slipped away, but Oriel kept close by her side. His gaze was sweeping everywhere as they entered the lobby and summoned the elevator. They were alone on the ride up, and Oriel finally broke the temporary silence when they exited on the tenth floor.

  “Dr. Netherman’s apartment is just a few doors down.” Oriel pulled her bag up to a door with 10B shining on it in brass.

  “Really?” Lizza stared at the door he’d pointed to. “Does everyone on the project live here?”

  “No, just the two of you.” He unlocked her door, gestured her inside, closed it behind them, then said, “Stay here.” Before she could respond, he was off hurrying through her apartment, apparently checking for lurking bad guys. Or whatever. It wasn’t a huge place—Lizza could see most of it from the door. A tidy living room and an open kitchen were most of it, with a hallway disappearing down to the left. Oriel went down the hall then re-emerged a few seconds later.

  “All clear,” he said.

  “Are we going to do that every time?” she asked.

  “Probably.” He grabbed her suitcase and wheeled it toward the back. “Come. I’ll get you settled then leave you to your privacy.”

  Such an odd way of talking. As Lizza followed him to the bedroom, she was just now realizing Oriel was her “personal security.” She’d won the lottery with that. He was ridiculously hot, seemed totally uninterested in leering at her body, and had this gentle way that seemed discordant with the black body armor. He also carried no weapons that she could see—was he some kind of martial arts expert? That flashed up an insanely sharp curiosity about just how muscular he was under those black Security Guy clothes.

  Heat rushed to her face. Get a grip, Lizza. Sure, he was hot, but this was a professional relationship—she wasn’t going to break her long-standing streak of avoiding romantic entanglements, professional or otherwise, now. Not on the most important project of her life. And definitely not with her personal bodyguard.

  Oriel set her suitcase on the bed and turned to her. “You should find everything you need in the kitchen. If you don’t…”

  “I’ll message you.” Lizza frowned. “Wait… you’re not like hanging out the hallway, guarding the door, are you?”

  He hesitated, searching her eyes, then dropping his gaze.

  Okay…

  Then he looked up. “No.”

  That was the most yes she’d ever heard in a no.

  “All right.” What in the heck? And then she remembered… Tajael and Charlotte… they were together. Was that… expected? No. Even now, Oriel’s steady gaze was entirely on her face—watchful, concerned, overridingly gentle—but there was nothing about that which said I’m trying to get you in bed. “So… you’re going to be nearby enough that if I need something, you’ll be able to help out. But you’re not lurking by the door or anything?”

  Relief seemed to loosen his shoulders. “Exactly.”

  He stepped forward, getting way too close into her personal space, but somehow it wasn’t uncomfortable—the opposite. Comforting. “Lock the door behind me, but rest assured. The entire building is under surveillance, and security is a moment’s notice away. Myself and others. But I’m to be your point of contact, plus it’s my job to make sure you’re safe, comfortable, and ready to do your very important work. So please don’t hesitate to call me, no matter the time.”

  “Um… okay.” Her brain was still spinning with all this. She frowned. “What is it exactly you all are afraid is going to happen?”

  “Nothing’s going to happen. I promise we’ll keep you completely safe.” But he grimaced, and she could tell she was pushing the boundaries of what he was supposed to tell her. Like there were Top Secret things she wasn’t supposed to know. And somehow this was tormenting him.

  “It’s okay.” She reflexively put a hand on his arm to reassure him. “You don’t have to tell me.” His muscles were like steel under the thin fabric of his shirt, and her touch seemed to startle him. She quickly dropped her hand. “I’m sure it’ll all be fine.”

  He stepped back from her, eyes a little wide.

  Why had she touched him? That was a stupid thing to do.

  “If there’s nothing else, then?” He looked like he couldn’t wait to bolt for the door.

  “No, everything’s great.” She tried a smile to erase some of the awkwardness, but that just seemed to make him more agitated.

  He gave her a sharp nod and high-tailed it toward the front.

  She hesitated then realized she had to lock the door behind him, so she followed him out. Sure enough, he was waiting by the front door for her. Somehow, with his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave, he seemed like he’d compose
d himself again.

  “Remember to lock the door,” he said.

  “Sure.” He was halfway out the door, when she blurted out, “Oriel.”

  He stopped.

  “Tajael and Charlotte… they’re together, right?”

  His eyes went wide, then he locked down his surprise. “He will be in her apartment most nights—keeping guard as well as… other things. But if you require assistance, I would not interrupt them.”

  “No, of course not.” Did he really think she would?

  “You should contact me if you require anything.”

  “Right.” She would wait until he was gone, then she would kick herself—hard—for even bringing that up. What was her problem? She was all nervous knee-jerk responses around this guy. Was it just because he was blindingly hot?

  He stood half-in and half-out of the door, staring at the carpet again. Then he looked back to her. “It’s going to be all right, Lizza. I promise.”

  She nodded, keeping her stupid mouth shut before it got her in any more trouble. He finally left, and she closed the door behind him, locking it as instructed.

  On the one hand, she completely believed Oriel would keep his promise and keep her safe. On the other hand… what in the world had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter Two

  “I’m really bad at this.” Oriel grimaced.

  Tajael shook his head with infinite Patience, and surely Oriel was testing it. “No, you’re not. It hasn’t even been a day.”

  Indeed. He’d known Elizabeth Robinson—his charge, the better part of his soul attempted to remind him—less than twenty-four hours, and he was already feeling the heat of Sin burning inside him.

  Oriel scowled at the floor. “Markos should have put someone else on Guardian duty for her.”

  Tajael glanced at the door to The Point, the secret research company which the humans were using to push the boundaries of interdimensional space—their boundaries. It was precisely because of the dangers which lurked on the other side of that barrier, including every manner of immortal creature, that the boundary existed in the first place. But it was not Oriel’s job to question the decisions of the Angels.