by J A Raikes
A moment later there was the sound of breaking glass. We hustled toward the room to check, the three Ekori leading the way. Sure enough, the room was empty, save for a broken window which the Felmaven had apparently jumped through.
Elston turned to the other Council members and spoke in rapid succession to each.
“Percipity, secure the room. Make sure that the Felmaven or any other Voidkin are unable to return this way. Kingsley, head down the hall to the back entry for the enclave and see how the Felmaven made his way in here. Once you know, do your best to secure it or send for reinforcements. My guess is that the security teams on the other end are either dead or didn’t know that it was a Felmaven. If he was truly disguised as Mr. Archer, it would be nearly impossible to tell. I will ensure these three are escorted safely back to the Proterezar chambers. Once you are through, reconvene on our location. We have some decisions to make.”
The other Council members nodded once and without a word, headed to their tasks. Elston turned to us, and strode past without giving us a second glance. His pace was brisk and it was hard for me to keep up. Thankfully, Eva and Harris helped me along and movement got easier every passing minute.
We arrived back at the Council chamber and the guards nodded to the Ekorius and opened the door for him. Ekorius Blackwell stopped and spoke to the guards for a brief moment.
“Double check security on anyone entering the complex. There has been an attack, which you likely just heard the result of. The creature attempting to infiltrate was assuming the appearance of one of our young guests here and could very well try again.”
“Yes sir,” the guards replied in unison.
Elston brushed past them, his jacket tails billowing out behind him as he walked. We followed him into the chamber and the large metal doors closed behind us.
As soon as they were shut, Elston turned on his heel and got within about two inches of my face.
“Why are they after you, boy?” he demanded, his voice stern and abrupt. He had a finger raised toward my chin and was very clearly trying to intimidate me.
You see, here’s the thing about me. When someone wants to intimidate me, I’m much less inclined to comply. I was bullied a lot as a kid and I learned pretty early on that the easiest way to take the wind from their sails was simply to not give in. So I checked my attitude and stared disinterestedly at him as he fumed. Add to that the fact that he and I were about the same height, and I wasn’t about to give in to this belligerent old man.
“Look, I have no idea what is going on here and I have no idea why they keep coming after me,” I said, tone even and staring through Elston.
“I appreciate that you came and saved me, along with the other Council members. There was no way I was getting out of that alive if you guys hadn’t come along when you did. But I don’t know why they want me, aside from the fact that the creepy old guy keeps asking me about a shard.” I took a step back and tried to diffuse the tension by giving Blackwell some space.
I continued, “I have no idea what shard they’re talking about and I’m not about to give him anything even if I did have it. But I don’t. And I don’t know what it is.” I kept going, pushing the point. “Are you getting the fact that I don’t know what is going on!”
Elston put his hand down and took a moment to straighten his waistcoat and compose himself.
“Yes, well…” His voice trailed off as he fumbled with what to say next.
Eva broke into the conversation, putting a hand on my chest and a hand outstretched to the Ekorius.
“Look, gentlemen, please. Ekorius Blackwell, Finn is telling you the truth. He really has no idea what is happening right now and is probably not going to be able to shed light on the events of the evening, aside from being attacked several times by agents of the Void.” Her tone was placating but carried an air of authority with it.
“We need to establish how the Felmaven even got in here and the other Council members are already on that. We also need to figure out why no one has checked in yet and what has happened to my father.” Ekorius Blackwell gave a little “humph” and turned to go back to his chair at the boardroom table. Eva turned and looked at me, blue eyes pleading to ‘play nice.’ I nodded at her and the three of us walked to the table as well.
Eva sat down and surveyed all the papers in front of her. Sighing heavily, she rubbed at her temples, tilted her head to each side, stretching her neck and then seemed ready to dig in.
I walked over and sat down beside her. Harris and Blackwell joined as well. A few moments passed before anyone spoke again.
“So what do we know?” I said finally, breaking the silence.
Eva turned to me, her soft voice quivering. “Nothing. We know nothing. Last we heard from the teams was when they left our facility. No one has checked in. I’m beginning to get really worried.”
She absentmindedly chewed on her thumbnail and looked up at me worriedly. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder but didn’t know what to say.
Blackwell spoke up, clearing his throat. “Yes, well. It is highly unlikely that they are in any imminent danger, though it is surprising that none of them have checked in whatsoever.”
To me, his voice sounded like a mouse getting pressed slowly through a cheese grater. The only retort I could come up with was “thanks captain obvious” but that seemed petty. I changed approach.
“Have we double checked to make sure that the landlines are working?” I offered. “I mean, I even had a problem calling down to you guys from the quiet room earlier.”
The three of them abruptly turned to look at me.
I shrugged. “Yeah, the first time I picked up the phone,” I gestured to the device on the wall near us, “it sounded like dead air, except for heavy breathing. Then a creepy voice came on and told me they were going to find me. Clearly, they were right.” A shudder slid down my back and I felt uneasy just thinking about it.
“The only time we heard from you was when we realized you were in danger,” Eva said.
“Well, I did try it twice. But the first time apparently the Void had tapped into it or something.” I said.
“We’d best check the lines, then!” Elston chimed in, his shrill voice causing me to twitch slightly as he scrambled to the landline on the wall across the table from him. “If you experienced some sort of interference, then it’s entirely possible that the teams are experiencing that as well. Maybe the Void has wormed its way into our system and has command of our communications.”
Just then, the large metal doors slid open and Percipity and Kingsley both walked back into the Council chamber.
“All of the rooms are secure and we should be safe for the time being,” Percipity offered, unhooking the sheath of her katana from her waist and walking toward the table with it in hand.
“And the guards on the far end are also safe. They’ve been alerted to the situation and will be taking exceptional measures in admitting anyone to our level. I also took the liberty of stationing a double post on both ends,” Kingsley said, his voice upbeat and full of life.
“Superb,” Elston agreed, shifting back to the conversation at the table.
“We’ve established that the Void may have wormed into our communications at the very core of the hardwired landlines. It will take a few minutes to examine things on our end so let’s not jump to any conclusions until we diagnose our situation here,” he said, gesturing to Kingsley and escorting the shorter man to the phone on the wall.
The two men managed to get the casing off the wall without issue and set to investigating the wires and the inner workings of the contraption. From my vantage, I couldn’t really see what was going on, but there were occasional sparks and flare ups and I was sure that one or both of them were using their Adrinyn to figure things out.
As they worked, Harris dragged his chair over closer to me and Eva.
“So, if we don’t hear from the teams...?” he asked, letting the question hang in the air.
“I don�
�t know,” Eva replied. “I can’t stand the thought of leaving my dad out in the darkness. I’d want to go find him. Or at least be able to locate him and send help.”
“At this point, this place doesn’t seem any safer to me than the outside did.” I added, gesturing around me. “Terrifying creatures posing as people I know? How did he even do that?”
“No idea,” Eva replied frankly, half heartedly shuffling through papers . “Felmaven were somewhat of a myth up until a few hours ago when you met one. If we all hadn’t been there to see it too, I’m not sure anyone would’ve believed you earlier. I mean, I can understand where Blackwell is coming from, but he can’t deny that fact even now. I’m sure he’s a bit rattled like the rest of us, even though he’d never admit it. He’s a stubborn old man.” She periodically glanced over at the men working on the landline as she spoke.
“Great,” I offered in exasperation. “I barely knew you guys two days ago, but over the last day, I felt like I at least had someone I could trust. Now I feel like I can’t trust my own senses.”
“Maybe we should come up with a code word?” Harris offered.
“Given the circumstances, I think that’s actually a pretty smart idea,” I said, nodding to Harris.
“Let’s use something so obscure no one would actually think of it!” he said, excitement gathering in his voice.
“I know, let’s say, ‘the Hemshult gives the Turnblad a Jillywoppen,’ ” Harris continued.
Eva and I looked at each other, then at Harris. If question marks could have literally floated above my head, I believe that they would have.
“Or what if we just said ‘The Raven’ and you reply ‘flies at night.’ Then we both have to say something and we don’t have to memorize crazy talk,” Eva said, one eyebrow still raised toward Harris.
Harris’ shoulders drooped a bit at being shot down, but he nodded. “Yeah, I suppose that works too.”
Eva and I smiled at him. He looked really young right now and it was fun to see him so excited over something so trivial. Sometimes all of us need to let our inner kid out more often. I’m guessing Harris liked to pretend he was a spy back when he was a kid and he was finally getting the chance to live some of that out. I bet he wishes it was under better circumstances.
“I’m not waiting around here much longer. I may not be ‘council level’ status in my Adrinyn ability but I can fend for myself out there,” Eva said.
I wasn’t convinced. She was feisty and doggedly loyal, I’d give her that much. But we’d already tangled with the Voidkin on multiple occasions and I didn’t see her using any sort of tech style magic. The Voidkin were seriously nothing to shake a stick at. Even worse, the Felmaven was still out there, and it had given three Ekori a run for their money. Supposedly, they were the top of the top when it came to using those skills.
Just then, a small flash and crackle came from the duo working on the landline and Kingsley yelped. He held one hand clutched in the other and was hopping from one foot to the other.
“I believe we got it!” Blackwell said.
“Except for my hand!” Kingsley said through clenched teeth.
Ekorius Blackwell replaced the casing and picked up the receiver to listen. We all turned to look, hoping that they’d gotten it all fixed.
Kingsley, still bouncing up and down spoke up as Elston listened in the phone. “There was definitely something blocking our communication to outside sources. They were using a Scarab device to burrow into our end and block any incoming and outgoing communication. Hopefully we got it fixed and we’ll be able to make contact now -”
As Kingsley spoke, Elston’s face grew long and his eyes darkened. He grabbed Kingsley by the shoulder and squeezed, and abruptly the little man ceased speaking.
Elston set down the receiver on the small table attached to the phone casing and lifted his wand to it. Instantly, the sound from the earpiece was magnified and filled the entire room.
Giles’ voice came through in broken static.
“...Couldn’t stop it…..you…...the ritual…..before we got he…….need help.”
It was difficult to figure out exactly what he was saying. Sounds of terrifying roars and screams littered the background behind his voice, punctuated by the occasional crack of a whip. The next part of the message came through more clearly, though.
“...Ambushed...August and Lydia are down...I can’t hold them off much longer...please reply, Cogspit!”
An explosion sounded in the background and the line went dead.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I felt the blood drain from my face. Everyone in the room was stunned. No one spoke for a long minute.
“We have to go help them,” Eva said, breaking the silence. Her voice was quiet and choked, a whisper.
“We have to,” she said again, clearing her throat and forcing confidence into her voice. She gathered her coat and stood to her feet, wasting no time.
“Eva, wait,” Percipity called out. “We don’t even know how long ago that was. They could have sent that message an hour ago. There is no telling what could be waiting for us out there.”
Eva spun on her heel and glared at the taller woman. “My father is out there, possibly dying. He is the only family I have left and by the Ember, if you so much as try and stop me I will put up a fight like you’ve never seen.” I could see the tears forming in her eyes.
Percipity’s face softened, her rich voice soothing. “No, Eva. I’m not going to stop you. I don’t want to see your father harmed any more than I do the others with him. I just don’t want you to go alone and without someone to help keep you safe.”
The tall Ekorius stood and picked up the sheath holding her katana and clipped it onto her back.
“Ekori Elston and Kingsley,” Percipity said, turning to the two older gentlemen, “I will accompany young Ms. Fleming to the Thornsby estate. If you are able to restore any more of the communications, I will make sure we check in each opportunity we come across a landline throughout the city.”
“We’re joining you,” I chimed in. “If someone has a spare weapon or something, I’m sure I could be of some use.”
Harris nodded and echoed my sentiments and we moved to join the ladies. Eva smiled a small, thankful smile but her face was set and I could tell she was mentally preparing for the worst.
Eva pulled together her outfit. I hadn’t really noticed until now, but she had changed at some point since we arrived in the Council area, probably while I was ‘sleeping.’ Her dark brown pants had been exchanged for black pants and high laced combat boots. On top, she was sporting a forest green tank-top of sorts, covered by a thick black wool coat that cast down to her ankles. I’m not sure how or when she managed to scrounge one up, but she was also wearing a shoulder holster, equipped with one of those small handguns with the electricity crackling through it and was busy tightening the leather strap across her chest.
It took a second for me to notice, but as I watched Eva gear up, Kingsley appeared at my side, holding out a similar looking gun to the one he was using earlier. I glanced down at it and nodded in affirmation. I took hold of the grip and hefted the gun from his hands.
I’ve used guns before in my life, but never in anything more than a recreational experience. My buddies and I spent a few afternoons at the shooting range and I even had the chance to go skeet shooting with shotguns at an Olympic size shooting range, but I wouldn’t say that I was a pro at using a firearm. Given what I’d seen of these particular weapons, I felt doubly sure I had no idea what I was doing.
Kingsley must have sensed my discomfort. He spoke up, voice clipped and informational, not at all the chipper, somewhat crazy I’d come to expect at this point.
“Now, if you’re going to go with them and not end up killing yourself or any of them, here are a few pointers. First, ensure that the safety is on until you are in a hot situation.” He motioned to a small lever on the side of the barrel. He switched it once to the “off” position and then back “o
n” to show me.
“Second,” he continued, “in the event you do need to fire on a Voidkin or some such, note that this particular weapon isn’t going to stop a monstrosity barreling down on you. It is designed more for suppressive fire or to take out targets at medium range if your accuracy is spot on. Always aim for the head if you’re able, but don’t sacrifice a hit for the sake of a kill. Sometimes, wounding is as useful as killing.
“Third, ammunition. This photon pistol discharges bolts of particalized energy which will disrupt the electromagnetic field of whatever you hit, which is typically enough to stun a person in addition to wounding them. Voidkin are significantly larger than normal humans, so it’ll probably take a few extra shots to bring them down. Once they’re down, though, they won’t be getting back up.
“Speaking of a few extra shots, the ammunition is stored in these small containers and has a set number of charges.” He handed me several vials of what looked like blue curacao. There was only a small bit of room in the vial aside from the liquid, but as I rotated the vial, the liquid moved and revealed small metal prongs on either end inside of the vial. I glanced back at the pistol in my hands and took note that the barrel of the gun housed the blue vial, with only a small muzzle on one end and the body of the gun on the other. An electric charge ran through the blue liquid on the gun.
Kingsley continued, “If you need to reload, simply press this mechanism and it’ll discharge the empty canister.” He pushed a clasp at the end of the barrel and the vial currently loaded in the gun clicked slightly out of place. The electricity flowing through the liquid immediately ceased and the vial darkened. He pulled the vial out and held it up for me to see and continued speaking.
