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

by Daniel Ruth

  “I may be able to help,” Estella piped in again. “I would be happy to commune with the elements and see if there is a disturbance.”

  Mei and Conrad looked at each other and then at me for clarification.

  “She means that she’ll be able to sense if there is a gap in the rock... er, congealing permacrete sludge.”

  “Great! I’ll send Officer Cromwell here tomorrow at noon for both of you.” He nodded politely to all of us and backed out of the door. He was probably just happy to leave with most of his sanity intact.

  After I closed the door I turned towards the girls and clapped my hands together. “Well now that’s out of the way let’s wait for Jeremy so he can enter the data points the vampire council has kindly left us.”

  Mei stared flatly at me for a second. “You’re going to make a lousy consultant. Why did you wait until Conrad left to bring this up?”

  “Well, I got a little distracted,” I hesitantly defended myself. “Besides, until we enter all the data I don’t see any reason to get Conrad all excited about it. He can help once we figure things out.”

  Mei held out her hand. “You may be a genius, but you’re an idiot. Telling Conrad after the fact is just going to make it obvious you were leaving him out of the process of finding Jin. Considering he organized the shifters to do the grunt work and is now officially responsible for protecting the city against supernatural threats; that seems like a poor career move.”

  “Do you think he’ll take away my parking space?” I said as seriously as I could. “Vivian came by just before you got here. She was that big billowing cloud. There nothing we can do at the moment anyway.”

  “Vivian Delargo? She is pretty high on the council. I suppose it’s a fortunate thing you have a good relationship with her.”

  I thought back to the damage to my door and the fire in Vivian’s eyes. Well, figuratively speaking. “Well, that may be stating the situation a little strongly but I am sure we will work fine together,” I said optimistically. “As soon as the council stops pissing themselves at the sound of Jin’s name.”

  “You are very aggravating,” Mei said tensely, before she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, we’ll deal with it. Give me the chip. We don’t have to wait for Jeremy, I can do data entry as well as he can.” I doubted that but handed over the chip.

  “This is ancient. Is this even compatible with your holo box?” she asked as she turned over the chip in her hands.

  “It’s actually the same generation as my box,” at her surprised look I continued. “You can tell because it’s the same form factor as the port. Keep in mind that Vivian is very old. She has the same problem as I do,” I shrugged uncomfortably. “You know with my... magical lab downstairs that causes so much interference and blew up your wrist terminal.”

  “Right. Your lab.” She stared at me without expression, before she turned away and marched over the vid box. She inserted the data chip and then started working with the holographic interface.

  I turned to Estella. “So where is tall, dim and muscly?” I almost made a snarky remark about him attacking me, but held off. Since I was the one to last haul off and attack him without provocation, I was trying to be the better man. Failing, but trying.

  “You should try to get along better, you have so much in common.”

  I stood there with my mouth open for a minute. “I... I... what?”

  “See, you’re both so cute like that,” she smiled, as she walked over to where Mei was.

  I just stood staring after her. She had to be nuts. Maybe all elves were crazy. Of course, she had just avoided answering my question, so maybe the birdbrain act was just that, an act. It was a very good one though.

  Once I shook off my stupor, I joined the women and looked over the interface. She had already imported the data and was about to overlay all the data points onto the three-dimensional map of the city. It was rather tiny on the interface so I gestured at the wall where we usually projected the movies. With a nod of acknowledgment, she pointed the emitter and the wall suddenly disappeared to show a large representation of the city.

  Red dots littered the city. Some had little icons of creatures. I assume the vampires had included data on the creatures found near the sites. I walked over to the projection. Through some technological trickery of reflections, I did not interfere with the image as I stepped into it.

  “Lines here, blue,” I directed the lobotomized AI as I pointed my fingers at two dots. “Lines here, blue. Lines here, red. Circle here, translucent, red.” I continued a series of directions as the map of the city gradually came alive with crisscrossing lines and nodes. Occasionally, I would erase one or make one darker or lighter. Ones with creatures were generally stronger and became darker circles or lines. Unfortunately, those were the ones we were too late for.

  Before an hour had passed, we had a revised map that I was fairly certain mostly reflected reality. “These locations need to be staked out,” I tapped the darker circles. “It is likely the apprentices will test these out next. I would also like these watched, even though they have been ‘visited’ already. They seem to be strong nodes. Maybe strong enough for what he wants. If not now, then when the energies peak.”

  The girls had stayed mostly quiet during my work. “That’s twenty-four locations, ten in vampire territory. We’re going to need their help or at least their promise to let us move through their territory,” Mei responded uneasily.

  Uh oh. That didn’t sound good. “Didn’t you say the territory divisions were fixed in stone?”

  “With the exception of the Blight, yes.” Mei responded.

  “It’s a good thing you have such a fine relationship with Vivian. I am sure she’ll be happy to help you.” Estella had said the last. Apparently, she had been listening to Mei and I argue. The funny thing was, she sounded very earnest. Either she hadn’t picked up on the subtleties of how Vivian actually didn’t like me or she was being sarcastic. If so, she had an excellent poker face and I couldn’t swear to either one. Mei snickered.

  “We’re both reasonable adults,” I replied, with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “I am sure we can work something out.” It may be prudent to talk to her when she had a chance to cool off. “But not tonight.”

  Chapter 15

  “Hello Mat,” I nodded cheerfully to the policeman, as I met him at the door. It was actually a few minutes before noon, but I had been up for a while. I still didn’t dare to sleep too deep, so I had spent the night with my studies and a few hours of meditation. It doesn’t sound very restful, but I was slowly catching up on my beauty sleep without actually sleeping. All that really meant was that my energy reserves were back to normal and I may be able to try real sleep without risking an accidental ‘Sleeping Beauty’ moment. That would be embarrassing. A narcoleptic dragon is just silly.

  “Hey, there Professor, how is...” he paused a moment as he looked at the living room. “What the heck is that?”

  I glanced at the living room and noted the images of circles slowly rotating in the air. They were all canted at varying angles, but they spun in synchronization. “Oh, that’s just some of my work. I recently figured how to not blow up my vid player. This is an older model, but it has all the basic functions. I was playing around this morning and I figured out how the simulator worked. I think I may get another one for the work space below. It may really help. You know that old adage ‘Measure twice, cut once’.”

  “Does that mean you may actually have an address to call?” Mat asked with a smile.

  “Well, I would hate to be mobbed by all my fans,” I mimed looking behind him fearfully. “But it would keep everyone from looking at me as if I am a caveman.”

  “It certainly would make arranging a pickup easier. Are you going to get a portable terminal too?”

  Shrugging, I followed him out to his vehicle. I was still reluctant to join the current century. Besides, most people used implants except for the supernaturals. Vampires mostly went for
a ring that projected an interface. Older vampires and shifters usually used a wrist mounted device. They were old tech and bulkier but more reliable around mystic energy. Jeremy used one, but his was tricked out with more accessories than Batman’s fabled utility belt. I might be able to put a ward on the back of the case of the wrist device if I was careful.

  “Maybe, no rush. Rome wasn’t built in a day.” I paused as I was about to get in the car. “Wait a second, I need to get Helga.”

  “Helga? Who’s that?” Mat asked, somewhat confused. “I thought it was you and some woman named Estella.”

  “Well, if we’re lucky it will be. If we’re not we’ll have to get another car to fit her pet caveman into.”

  The model home was only across the street, so it literally took less than a minute to walk over and knock on the door. When the door finally opened I blinked in mild surprise. Estella had actually dressed up even more than the first time I had seen her in the alley. Colorful gauzy silks hung tastefully from her gown. Honestly she looked more like she was heading to a festival than a police scene.

  “Nice get up, are you going to the Ball afterward?” I asked. It just better not be in my house or she was losing her deposit. Or she would if she was actually paying to stay at my extra house. Hmm, how did that happen again?

  “Don’t be silly Derek, these are just ceremonial clothes. If I have a chance I like to dress up to show my respect for the elements.”

  “Do the rock monsters and wild wind elementals criticize your fashion sense if they see you dressing down?”

  She giggled, “I doubt they even realize the difference from what I am wearing and what I am. I believe they may consider this comparable to a bird’s feathers.”

  “Then why...”

  “Because I know that I am dressing this way to show respect. I commune directly with them. They know no human tongue. The elements feel what I feel. I wear this to remind myself that this is a solemn occasion and help me project the proper emotions.”

  I found it hard to believe the elf had any other setting other than bubbly, but I suppose that she would know how to commune with elemental spirits more than I would. To be honest, I tend to ignore the elemental planes. You can’t live in them for more than a few minutes and the elemental inhabitants don’t even perceive you as a sentient unless you have a link to them.

  A polite cough interrupted our discussion. “I hate to rush you, but Conrad only gave me two hours. I can call in if you need more but...”

  “No big deal,” I said with a nod. I was just along for the ride. I didn’t think I would be much help in this situation. “Is tall dark and brutal coming?”

  “Sir Faramond is running some errands in the Blight for me. Would you mind escorting me today?” she asked with a warm smile.

  My own smile froze. Now I was stuck escorting the elf princess around. “Sure, no problem.” She was nice enough but so sweet she made my teeth hurt. Then again, I had been stuck in my house for days. I mean I love research and after a year of dead ends I was finally moving forward, but unless I am hibernating I like to stretch my legs a bit. I used to go to the few surviving books stores in the Blight, walk around, browse the old books, talk shop with the armed shopkeepers, and beat up muggers.

  While I was psyching myself up to something resembling enthusiasm, we both entered the rear of the police craft. The car’s door was newer than the rest of the vehicle and I had a strange feeling of deja vu. If we had missiles shot at us again I was raising my rates.

  It was a fairly quiet flight. I was balanced on the precipice of depression and acceptance and the others in the vehicle just talked about the weather. Literally. Apparently, Estella could predict the weather for days in advance. Normally not a large trick considering they have limited weather control in this world but apparently the Álfar was telling Mat that there would be a huge storm in a few weeks. I tuned their chatter out as I wrestled with my inner child.

  When we finally arrived at the location of the first circle mage’s hideout, I was a bit startled. Conrad had mentioned the melting, but it wasn’t quite what I had imagined. Previously the area was mostly residential with some urban buildup. Meaning the housing rarely exceeded ten floors with mostly 3 story housing and minor shopping centers. I had only seen it devoid of life after the evacuation but now it just looked bizarre.

  As Conrad had said, the buildings were made of permacrete and durasteel. Both artificial materials that were very strong. Unless you had super strength it took solvents and heavy duty power tools to make a dent. It was mostly immune to heat, but plasma would eventually burn it. It just wasn’t supposed to have a liquid state. Yet it had melted. The buildings for hundreds of meters around us had been completely turned into a gray and black sludge.

  Towards the perimeter of the event, the building looked like they had been made of wax. At the edge, you could make out the carcasses of the complexes but they were rounded and slumped at odd angles. Humans liked right angles, except in art, and here there were none to be found. A little further in and it all sloped steeply to the ground as walls and towers all swirled together. Here and there a lump formed that may have been a parked vehicle. Obviously something that either didn’t share the common liquid state of at least resisted it longer.

  The center was just flat. I had expected to see a crater. Seeing the perfectly flat ground, I realized how foolish that idea was. Liquids don’t form craters, they settle. The ground zero may as well have been professionally molded into a picture perfect parade ground. A tiny voice in my head also suggested it would make an excellent staging area. I immediately hushed it. No need to borrow trouble until we knew more.

  Estella was silent as she exited the vehicle. She looked slightly upset at the havoc around us. I wasn’t sure why. She wasn’t a druid so I wasn’t aware of any particular love of nature. Unless it was an elf thing.

  “This ground is more like plastic than rock,” her statement came out with a slight quaver. “I didn’t think it would be like this.”

  Her surprise made sense when you thought about where she had been. From what I can tell she spent a lot of time in the Blight and my housing complex. The Blight was old construction that hadn’t been rebuilt or repaved with newer housing material. I think they still used cement and concrete in a good portion of the area. My neighborhood was also old but was known to be a quaint area of historic middleclass. It likewise did not use the newer materials except as part of the actual buildings.

  “Can you still do it?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if the elementals would be offended at not having natural rock anywhere in the area. I really didn’t know much about them.

  “Yes,” she started doubtfully. “The elemental plane doesn’t really need the ‘natural’ elements. I’ll be far more put off than they will be.” Ah, an elf thing then. “I better start.”

  She moved away from the vehicle to the center. I could tell that she was directly above the node the circle room once sat on. Stopping she placed her hands together and almost appeared to enter a prayer. On the edges of my senses, I could feel something probing at the dimensional barriers, seeking the weaknesses in the fabric of reality. The cracks were being gently pried open. Not enough for a portal to form or more dramatic yet, a tear.

  “How long does this part take?” Mat loudly whispered.

  “Not sure, never saw this done before. I think she made contact, now it’s just a matter of bringing it over.”

  At that moment, the fabric of space around us seemed to ionize. It was almost like being hit by lightning. I staggered back, slightly disoriented and blinking away spots in my vision. Mat seemed oblivious to the brief light show, so it must have not been in his sensory range. However, I was still seeing flashes of lights that seemed to coincide with the dimensional reverberations I felt.

  Another flash and before us stood a ten foot tall vaguely human shaped rock creature. I felt mystic energy bleeding off of it in huge transparent gouts. Obviously, it came from a plane at a much higher l
evel of mystical energy. Just being in the same area made my body tingle as very briefly as my body absorbed the magical energy being ejected from the creature. I sighed in pleasure, as a deep seated background hunger I hadn’t even been conscious of faded away. For the first time in over a year, I didn’t feel I could literally eat a horse.

  Naturally as my hunger subsided, my hackles rose. For some reason, I found the presence of this creature an offense to me. I wanted to either attack it or shout that it leave. Great. My territorial instincts had come out to play. Lesser creatures, humans, werewolves, magic elf ladies and vampires were beneath me, or at least to my primordial hindbrain, but this creature set them off. I had felt this way before with my own kind at home, where I was born, and with Mr. Evil, but this was the first time I had the sensation since I had crossed over. I definitely didn’t miss it.

  Gritting my teeth, I did my best to ignore the insane little voice in my head telling me to jump on the elemental and start pounding away. I started to turn away, but I caught the elemental merging in the glass like surface surrounding us. I made a point to look away as I opened the police craft’s door and sat down. It was either sitdown and practice breath exercises or pace back and forth trying to burn away excess nervous energy.

  “Wow, that was impressive,” Mat whistled nearby. “Is that thing dangerous?”

  “Immensely. But not to us, at the moment. She seems to have it in hand,” I grunted out, tensely flexing my hands, almost as if I were kneading dough. From what I felt, that thing was about as powerful as an adult dragon. Significantly more powerful than me. At least it felt that way. This was making me feel more than slightly grumpy.

  A few minutes later, the creature bubbled up from the perfectly flat surface like a monument rising from a lake. I scowled at it sourly. There were fewer flares of invisible energy being spat out by the elemental. This most likely meant its energy level had equalized with our own dimensions. It felt less like a mystical juggernaut to my senses, but it still grated against my sensibilities. I wanted to stomp over to the elf and demand she send it back or just start dismantling the thing.