Etheric Adventures Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by S. R. Russell

  Bethany Anne gave her head a figurative shake and returned her attention to Anne’s video. Despite thinking she was ready for anything, she felt her eyes widen in surprise when the gem flared red and ate through the table and into the floor.

  The video paused and ADAM asked, “There are several hours of video showing the recovery of the gem from the floor. Do you wish to view them?”

  “Do they show anything relevant?” Bethany Anne wanted to know.

  Anne shook her head, quite happy to avoid having Bethany Anne watch her recover the ruby.

  “Okay, let’s skip that then, ADAM, and move to the next demonstration,” Bethany Anne said, after taking a long swallow of her Coke.

  “Stop,” Bethany Anne commanded after the new video had been running for about thirty seconds. “Where’s the video originating?”

  Anne froze in surprise, then turned her head to glance at Bethany Anne. Looking back at the monitor, she realized that Seshat had used the camera in her eye to record the experiment. “Jinx and I needed a little time in the Pod-doc for a communication upgrade to link us to Seshat, so we each had a camera implanted in an eye while we were in there.”

  I take it you two were behind her getting in the Pod-doc? Bethany Anne asked her companions.

  It was such a minor procedure it didn’t seem worth bothering you with, Tom responded.

  You’re more than likely right. It was just unexpected, Bethany Anne confessed. “Please resume the video, ADAM.”

  Having watched the video from Jean’s workshop, Bethany Anne was impressed. “What are you thinking?” She wanted to know what Anne’s plans were.

  “Well, I was trying to find an energy shunt to reduce the force Jinx has to contend with when her armor gets hit. Obviously…” Anne waved at the screen that had been displaying her experiment, “that isn’t what I have. It’s powered by Etheric energy, so—for now, anyway—it needs someone who can channel Etheric to make it work. I’ll need to experiment to see how long a person can power it, but to do that I have to find some way to contain it so I can conduct tests. That was why I went to Ms. Dukes for help, but Jean says she isn’t the person I need for the job. I’m guessing you want to keep this secret, so she said I’d need your permission to find my own, umm…staff, maybe?”

  “Staff, team, flunkies—it doesn’t matter what you call them. And you’re right, you need the Anne version of Team BMW.” Bethany Anne held up a finger, a slight smile showing on her lips. “Team BMW would be a good place to start. Not that they have time to help you, but Marcus and William might know or have heard of people you could interview and recruit. If they don’t have any recommendations, talk to Frank Kurns. He’s almost magical when it comes to ferreting out that sort of information.”

  Anne had been expecting something like this after visiting Jean, but the scope of what she needed to do suddenly hit her like a physical blow.

  Jinx noticed the change in her person and leaned against Anne’s leg to offer silent support. “If... No, I guess it’s when we find someone, what do we do? Bring them to you?” Jinx asked her dad’s person, taking over from Anne momentarily to give Anne a chance to recover from whatever was bothering her.

  Bethany Anne drained the last of her Coke, giving herself a couple seconds to consider Jinx’ question. She shook her head, disgust on her face. Noticing Jinx’ reaction to her expression, she held up a hand. “That wasn’t directed at your question. It just brought to mind how extremely limited my time is nowadays. I think your best option would be to have Barnabas be part of your final interview process.” Bethany Anne stopped as she noticed a strange expression on Anne’s face.

  “That’s Ranger One, Tabitha’s boss?” Anne asked into the sudden quiet.

  Bethany Anne nodded. “Yup, that’s the one.”

  “Umm, wouldn’t it be easier to ask Tabitha instead?”

  “Easier, possibly, but as you said, your work is going to be classified. You don’t need a Ranger-Ranger, you need someone who can read minds. Tabitha doesn’t have that particular skill but Barnabas does, so he can ensure you recruit people with the appropriate ethics.”

  “Oh my God!” Anne jumped from her chair, both hands going to the top of her head. “I’ll be hiring people!” She looked at Bethany Anne with an expression of near-panic. “How do I pay them? How much do I pay them?” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’m ready to be someone’s boss.”

  Bethany Anne reached down and pulled two more Cokes from her refrigerator. Offering one to Anne, she said, “Calm down! Here, take a sip and sit back down. The man I mentioned, Frank Kurns? Well, he’s amazing with stuff like that. I’ll get ADAM to ask him to contact you.”

  “Message sent.” ADAM’s voice came from the room’s speakers.

  “Great.” Bethany Anne smiled. “Glad I could solve that so easily.”

  The sound of a person blowing a raspberry came from the speakers.

  “No fair,” Jinx groused. “I can’t do that, but an AI can?”

  Bethany Anne spent several more minutes helping Anne develop a plan of action. Once they had everything settled, Bethany Anne rose and motioned for Anne and Jinx to follow her to a spot in the room big enough for all three of them to stand together. “Hold still and concentrate on a big empty spot in your apartment,” she said, taking Anne’s arm with one hand and laying her other hand on Jinx’ head. Seconds later the office of the Etheric Empire’s Empress was empty.

  “Can you do that?” Jinx asked Anne after Bethany Anne had transported them to Anne’s apartment and then transported herself out.

  “No idea,” Anne answered. “Want to try?”

  Jinx’ ears standing to full alert and her tail wagging like crazy were all the answer Anne needed. She reached down and carefully grasped the scruff of Jinx’ neck. “Seshat, if we’re not back or you don’t hear from us in thirty minutes, contact ADAM and have him tell Bethany Anne we got lost in the Etheric somewhere.”

  Before Seshat could respond to the order, Anne focused on the spot in the park where she and Jinx had found Christina banging her head on a tree.

  “Well, this is going to make it more difficult to keep track of her,” Seshat said to the empty apartment.

  Anne and Jinx were both drenched within seconds, and Anne’s shoes filled with water. She had managed to port them into the park as planned, but the sprinkler system was on and their arrival area was in a shallow depression, currently filled with standing water.

  Jinx shook the water from her coat. Deciding that the sprinkler was fun in a messy sort of way, she ripped a mouthful of grass from the ground and tossed it into the air. Then dashing to what they now called “Christina’s tree,” she ran a loop around it and raced back to Anne.

  Anne just stood there, clothing soaked and water streaming down her face. She watched Jinx, chuckling at her friend’s antics, but then the ramifications of what she had just accomplished sank in. She fist-pumped and, ignoring the soggy ground, knelt to throw her arms around Jinx. “We did it!” she shouted.

  “I don’t think I did anything other than coming along for the ride,” Jinx chuffed. “And while I don’t mind the water, what if this had been on fire or something else was happening here?”

  Anne sank back, her expression morphing from giddiness to shock as the ramifications of Jinx’ comments hit home. “Oh my God!” she exclaimed, her hands going to her cheeks. “I never thought of that.”

  Jinx couldn’t refrain from shaking her head as some of the falling water trickled into her ears. “You could ask ADAM, or I could ask my dad to find out if Bethany Anne has a procedure she follows.”

  “Would your dad keep quiet about it?” Anne voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m not sure I want the Empress to know how stupid I was.”

  “I see I won’t need to contact ADAM,” Seshat’s avatar was on the monitor when they returned, arms crossed on her chest and a look of disapproval on her face. “What happened to you two?” Seshat had noticed the “drowned rat” look of both An
ne and Jinx.

  Anne sighed. “Just a second, let me towel Jinx down.” She followed her words with action as she took a towel from the linen closet and began to dry Jinx. “The short version is, I can port through the Etheric. We arrived at the park while the watering system was active, which explains why we are wet. Jinx then pointed out that we could have arrived during a catastrophic event, which means we were fortunate this time. I need to figure out a safer way to do this.”

  Anne gave Jinx a brief hug once she got most of the water out of her coat. She headed to the bathroom to correct her own situation, hearing the voices of Jinx and Seshat in the room behind her.

  Chapter Six

  The following morning Anne spent several more hours testing samples while she waited for All Guns Blazing to open. From their reputations, she figured that would be the best location to find William and Marcus on a Saturday afternoon. Anne flexed her shoulders, stretching out her tight muscles, and put her two containers of samples away.

  Jinx jumped down from where she had been napping on the couch. “Time to go see Team BMW?” She wanted to confirm they were going out for a while.

  Anne nodded. “Yes. I can only take doing this testing for so long, then I need a break. If we walk instead of taking the tram, we should get there just about the time they open.”

  Jinx’ tail started to wag as they headed for the door. “Good. Since I was asleep most of the morning, the exercise will be welcome.”

  Anne reached down to stroke Jinx’ ears. “Sorry it’s so boring,” she told her.

  They exited the apartment and headed for the most famous bar in this sector of space.

  Jinx gave Anne’s hand an affectionate lick. “No, I’m sorry. I ended up falling asleep while you were doing the testing. You’re trying to find something that will benefit me, after all. You’d think I could stay awake for it.”

  “Don’t worry. If I had to watch someone do what I’m doing I’d fall asleep too,” Anne confessed.

  “How do you keep doing it, then?”

  “Every time I get bored or frustrated with the lack of progress I visualize you getting kicked several feet across the room. Then I imagine the possible outcome if that were to happen in a fight for our lives. The thought of you being seriously hurt or possibly killed because I got bored with testing…” Anne’s explanation came to a halt as she sniffed and brushed a tear from her eye. “Let’s just say I don’t ever want to be responsible for you getting hurt.”

  Jinx leaned into Anne’s leg. “Good,” she told the girl. “Keep testing then until you find the solution. I don’t want to find out what it feels like to see you get hurt because I wasn’t there to protect your back.”

  “Deal!” Anne exclaimed, then smiled down at Jinx. “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?”

  Jinx was silent for several seconds while she padded along with Anne. “We’re soul mates,” she said earnestly. “Not in the way humans like to claim their lover is a soulmate, but in the way we think, the things that are important to us. We just mesh.”

  Anne stopped, and when Jinx turned back to her she knelt and hugged her tightly. After several seconds, she released Jinx and leaned back to look at her. Seeing the same sort of love and devotion she felt for Jinx reflected, she gave Jinx a quick kiss on the nose.

  Anne rose and, content in each other’s company, they quietly resumed their trip.

  All Guns Blazing was already busy by the time Anne and Jinx arrived. They were standing inside the door, not quite sure how to proceed, when a waitress hurried over to them.

  “What do you want, sweetie? You know I can’t serve you alcohol,” the waitress remarked.

  “Why’s that?”

  “You’re with Jinx. That means you must be Anne, and I know you’re not old enough to drink.”

  Anne wasn’t here to drink, but she pouted playfully anyway.

  “Oh, don’t give me that look,” the waitress said. “It is not my fault there are only seven dogs on this rock.”

  “Hey, does that mean I’m famous?” Jinx wondered.

  “I don’t know about famous. ‘Rare’ might be a better word.” The waitress smiled down at the sable German Shepherd dog.

  Jinx’s ears drooped a bit. She’d hoped to be famous, like her parents.

  Anne reached down to scratch Jinx’ neck in reassurance. “You can be rare, like a precious gem. I’m sure famous will come in time.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing I wasn’t planning to order a drink.” Anne looked at the waitress. “I need to get in touch with Marcus and William. I was hoping to find them here.”

  “That was a good guess,” the waitress agreed, and smiled. “Let me go check and see if they’re here yet.” She pointed to a bench inside the door. “If you will just wait here?”

  Jinx waited until Anne had settled on the bench and then planted her butt on Anne’s feet. The waitress was gone for several minutes, but the two of them didn’t really notice the passage of time. Watching the constant stream of different beings entering and exiting the bar kept them entertained.

  They stood as the waitress emerged from the stream of traffic. “They are all in the office arguing over who brews the best beer,” the waitress informed them.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want to interrupt them if they are busy,” Anne confessed.

  “Busy!” The waitress put a hand to her face and turned away briefly when she couldn’t contain a snort. “They are not busy, this is just their pastime. The three of them have turned betting and arguing into a hobby and an art form.”

  “I thought brewing beer was their hobby?”

  “No, brewing is something they all take very seriously. Betting and telling bullshit stories are their hobbies,” the waitress informed her with a smile. “You two just follow me.”

  The waitress led them to a door in the back area of All Guns Blazing, where she knocked and announced, “Anne and Jinx here to see you.”

  “Well, let them in,” a male voice called. “They can’t see us through the door!”

  Anne and Jinx looked at each other as they heard laughter from the men in the room. Did they think that was funny? Jinx wondered.

  Don’t know, but we need their help so let’s be polite, Anne suggested.

  Polite! Laugh at lame ass jokes, got it, Jinx commented as the waitress opened the door and waved them in.

  A distinguished-looking man stood as Anne and Jinx entered the room. “Greetings! I’m Marcus. Please forgive these two reprobates their lack of manners. They don’t know any better.”

  “Hey, I resemble that remark.” One of the men chortled.

  “Word!” said the other, holding his hand up for a fist-bump.

  “‘Resemble Man’ is William, and ‘Word Man’ is Bobcat.” Marcus pointed at each as he made the introductions.

  “Jinx,” Anne said, indicating her friend. “And I’m Anne,” she continued. “We appreciate your help.”

  Marcus waved her to a chair, and sat back in his own seat. “Oh, I’m going to like you.”

  “Why?” the man introduced as Bobcat asked.

  William cleared his throat and looked sheepishly at his friend. “She said she appreciated our help, not that it was nice to meet us.”

  “Word.” Marcus imitated Bobcat before dissolving into laughter.

  Bobcat started to give Marcus the middle finger, then quickly pulled his hand into his lap when his brain caught up to the fact they had a strange young woman in their office. “Sorry,” he offered. “Working with and for Bethany Anne, you…”

  “People don’t have to be polite or politically correct around Bethany Anne. Our Empress could and does give lessons in the art of swearing,” Marcus finished for Bobcat, who couldn’t figure out a polite way to complete his sentence.

  Anne bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from giggling at the men, who all looked uncomfortable. “No problem,” she assured them. “Both of us have been around the Empress enough to know what she’s like. In fact, she was th
e one who suggested we come to you for help.”

  Bobcat, William, and Marcus glanced at each other, mild concern in their expressions.

  Jinx found it all very amusing, but figured she and Anne might have better success if these men weren’t more concerned with protecting their tails than helping with the situation. “It’s William and Marcus she suggested we talk to,” Jinx informed the men.

  “Great!” Bobcat said, jumping up from his chair and heading for the door. “I’ll go get us all something to drink.”

  “I’m a loyal subject of the Empress,” Anne commented as Bobcat opened the door.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked her, somewhat perturbed that she might imply he wasn’t loyal to Bethany Anne.

  “Coke, not that other stuff.” Anne smiled at him.

  “Oh, I try to avoid that conversation altogether. I drink beer!” he exclaimed proudly as he left the room.

  “All the time?” Anne asked the two men she had come to talk with.

  “Nope, he doesn’t drink while he’s sleeping,” William told her with a huge grin.

  “Well, that’s good to know.” Anne smiled back. “He probably would have needed an intervention otherwise.”

  Marcus started to laugh and pointed his finger at Anne. “I knew… (chuckle) I was… (chuckle) Going to like you!”

  Anne held up her hand for a high-five with the rocket scientist, then turned to William. “Bethany Anne suggested you might know someone I could interview for a research job.”

  “What kind of research?” William scratched a raised eyebrow.

  “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” Anne said to the man.

  William’s smile slowly faded as it became clear to him that Anne wasn’t entirely joking. “Ouch,” he remarked, looking at the ceiling briefly. He let his gaze come back to Anne. “What can you tell me without going to extremes?”