4 Terramezic Energy (21 page)

“You’re right except that he’ll experience much less control of his power due to the sudden loss of his magic network. As soon as the portal closes, your distance from him will cause the link to become dormant and for him, it will have the same effect as if you had all died very suddenly,” Virginia explained.

“You’re right, of course. I should have realized that would happen,” Josephine acknowledged.

“What I would like for you to do is to call me and report that Helen has accidentally made a portal that can bring you to Mark and you’re going through before it closes. Act as though this is the first time we spoke of this and do it right before you leave. I’ll need you to hang up on me because it is my duty as your supervisor to ask for more details and I’ll want you wait,” Virginia said.

Of course, Josephine understood the reason for the call and the staged conversation. Because all phone conversations were randomly monitored and recorded, it was best to assume this would happen every time and it would corroborate their report.

“All right,” Josephine said. “That’s exactly what I will do.”

“Great!” Virginia beamed with approval.

Chapter 27

Perry, Helen, Josephine, Alice, and Maggie gathered in Helen’s room facing the large circle of quartz clusters that rested near the center of the room. With Helen’s king-size bed, three huge polished oak dressers and the large book case filled with novels and craft books, there wasn’t much room to maneuver. It was almost a little after midnight and the portal was fully charged. Josephine had just ended her staged conversation with Victoria over the phone so now it was time to leave.

“I hope we can trust Virginia. It may have been better to wait until we got back to tell her,” Alice said.

“Unfortunately, that would have created a lot of serious problems. That’s too big a secret to keep.” Josephine agreed with her friend but logically she knew that Virginia was correct. She turned to level an expectant gaze at Perry. “Go ahead and activate the portal.”

“All right.” Perry raised his arms and held his palms towards the ring of stones. After several seconds, a transparent silver layer of barely visible energy appeared in the form of a sphere measuring approximately twelve feet in diameter within Helen’s enchanted stones. The energy field flowed like water in a clockwise direction.

“Is that the portal?” Alice peered intently at it.

“Yes but Mark is very far away. He’s close enough that I can feel his connection to our network though.”

“Me, too.” Excitement welled within Josephine and she was tempted to step through the portal now. However, Perry could try this once or twice more for sure. “Let’s try this again, Perry.”

He made a sweeping gesture with his right hand and the energy field winked out of existence. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment before activating the portal once again. Perry opened his eyes and adopted a faraway expression as he gauged the distance for Mark.

He blinked and focused his gaze on Josephine. “I’m sorry but he’s still pretty far away.”

“Can you open the portal at least one more time?” she asked.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

Josephine chewed nervously on the inside of her lower lip. “Let’s try again then.”

Perry repeated the process and everyone watched him with hushed anticipation.

“I’m sorry but he’s not any closer,” he said.

“Can you open the portal again?” Josephine asked.

“No. We will need time for it to recharge once it closes,” Perry advised.

“Damn!” Josephine exclaimed with frustration. She shot Perry a grateful look. “Thanks for your help, Perry. We couldn’t have done this without you.”

“You’re welcome.” Perry beamed at her and his warm brown eyes twinkled with excitement.

“I don’t like this at all,” Alice grumbled.

“Last chance to change your mind and stay.” Josephine threw her friend a warning look as she breezed over to the energy field and disappeared inside.

Josephine stumbled with confusion over the abrupt change in surroundings. She now stood in a meadow in the afternoon near a large cluster of blue spruce with large gold pyramids and a couple of green ones surrounding them. She continued moving forward so the others wouldn’t run into her and turned to gaze at the interplanetary aperture which appeared the same as it did in Helen’s room. She glanced around but found no one in the immediate vicinity. Alice emerged from the silver energy field next then Maggie.

“I hope the feds don’t storm Helen’s condo and arrest those two. We could end up stranded here for a very long time.” A dour frown marred Alice’s face.

Her words elicited a chill of dread that snaked up Josephine’s spine. An instant later, the portal winked out of existence.

“I wish you hadn’t said that.” Josephine leveled a disgruntled look at her friend.

“I’m just speaking the truth. I warned you this wasn’t a good idea.”

“Let’s get over there where we can’t be spotted so easy.” Maggie pointed at the cluster of trees nearby.

“Good idea,” Josephine acknowledged.

The three of them took shelter within the mass of blue spruce. Each of them carried a small cloth bag filled with a jug of water and protein bars. Josephine became aware of the presence of a power vortex. Her psychic senses stirred under its influence and she reached out to connect with it. Energy flooded her body and mind and she could sense Maggie and Alice tapping into the nearby vortex as well. As Josephine’s awareness expanded, she noticed a group of five men clad in black uniforms marching towards them.

“We’ve got company.” Josephine’s lips curved in a grim frown.

“I see them too.” Maggie’s gaze was distant as she focused her scan on the approaching guards.

“I suppose we might as well step out into the open instead of cowering behind a bunch of trees,” Alice remarked.

“It might make them walk faster. Let’s stay here for now and give Mark enough time to track us down. Too bad we don’t have any invisibility enchantments.”

“They would come in handy,” Maggie agreed.

Josephine’s scan stretched further and she was struck with an idea. “Alice, do you still have the two teleportation enchantments Mark and I made for you?”

“Yes, why?”

“I’ll use one of mine to take Maggie to another cluster of trees. They’re in that direction behind the second green pyramid. It’s about a mile away,” Josephine explained.

“I’ve never scanned that far away before. I don’t think I can do it,” Alice said.

“We’ll have to go somewhere closer then. What’s the farthest – ”

“We don’t have time for this! I know exactly where you’re talking about,” Maggie interrupted. “Just give me one of those enchantments and I’ll teleport myself and you can take Alice.”

Josephine fumbled to remove one of the necklaces from inside her uniform. The presence of the guards loomed large in her mind and they had reached the trees. With her extrasensory vision, she could see them remove their brass wands and aim them as they moved cautiously into the shelter. Josephine handed the opal amulet to Maggie whose fingers wrapped tight around it. An instant later, Maggie was gone. Josephine reached out and gripped Alice’s left shoulder as the guards came into sight. One of the men spoke in a musical language similar to Italian as their wands swerved to point at their targets. Josephine and Alice teleported to the other grove of tall trees which spanned a much larger distance than their first shelter.

“It won’t take them very long to find us here,” Alice remarked.

“I think there are windows at the top of almost every pyramid. That’s probably how we were discovered,” Maggie said.

“You’re right. We should scan the area again and find out exactly where all the guards are posted,” Josephine said.

“Yes, we need some intel,” Alice agreed.

Josephine and Maggie had lost their connection to the vortex and it was a little farther than their previous location but not by nearly a full mile. Josephine felt better once she managed to regain that link. Her psychic awareness expanded and she focused on the nearest pyramid which contained about three hundred people. Boredom, anger, oppression, and fear mingled in a volatile keg of emotion within the confines of the building. Disjointed information whispered in Josephine’s mind. She could have learned a lot more if she could traverse through the pyramid but this would have to do. She couldn’t risk capture when all signs pointed to something dangerous about this society.

“Josephine, can you hear me?” Mark asked.

Josephine lost her concentration at the unexpected mental contact with her boyfriend.

“It’s so good to know for sure you’re all right. Maggie, Alice, and I are on the planet looking for you,” she thought.

“This world is called Adamas. There are AI’s like APU 81 who rule this world and others like it.”

“Are you a prisoner?”
Josephine fervently hoped he was no longer in immediate danger and tensed as she waited for his response.

“I escaped. They were going to kill me.”

Mark brought her up to speed on what had happened while he was stranded on Adamas.

“Where are you now?” Josephine asked.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s underground but it was built by White Knights. There are lots of enchantments lying around that I don’t know how to use. It’s really dusty in here. It’s a huge space. One room after another. There’s water and food stored so if this place is well hidden, we can stay for a long time.”

Josephine lost her connection with Mark and realized their telepathic conversation had dragged on for too long. Maggie and Alice regarded her with expectancy so they must have realized something had happened. Josephine filled them in on the details.

“It’s good to know for sure my brother’s safe and sound.” Maggie’s expression was relieved. “While you were talking to him, I discovered that guards are stationed at the top of many of the pyramids where they can see out. They also scan the area for different threats. This occupation is relatively recent. Hermina was already the president of this world and there were quite a few AI’s that lived here in peace but they were killed when Ludovic and his army invaded. Ludovic spared Hermina and allowed a third of the previous government to remain in power under his regime. He discovered it is easier to control territories if he allows some of the leaders to remain.”

“She must have helped him seize control of this world for him to allow her to live when he slaughtered every other AI,” Alice hypothesized.

“It certainly looks that way,” Maggie said.

“Did you see any place we could hide out?” Josephine asked.

“No, I didn’t and there are half a dozen search parties out there looking for us.”

“Maybe we could climb one of these trees.” Alice tilted her head to gaze up at the nearest one which towered far above them.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” Maggie regarded her with frank disbelief.

“It’s our only chance to escape these bastards.” Alice’s green eyes glittered with resolve.

“I guess it’s the only place to hide.” Josephine dreaded the climb as she wasn’t fond of heights or tree sap.

Maggie shrugged. “People generally don’t think to look up so maybe you’re onto something, Alice.”

They chose a huge tree and the three of them began their arduous ascent up the trunk. They remained tapped into the vortex to enhance their strength and endurance but it was still an awkward climb.

“This better work,” Josephine remarked.

She had half a dozen spots where tree sap had dried on her arms and hands and it was very uncomfortable. She was pretty sure the sticky stuff had found its way into her uniform as well and she knew the stains would be hell to remove. They didn’t venture all the way to the top but the thick branches hid them from sight and they could peer through them to see the surrounding landscape and buildings.

“Look down there.” Alice pointed at a group of guards approaching their grove.

“We got here just in time,” Maggie said.

“We need to let go of the power vortex. They have scanning wands that will detect the connection,” Josephine said.

“How will we defend ourselves if they discover us? The vortex is so far away it will take a few minutes to reach it again.” Alice eyed her friend with renewed urgency.

“Scanning wands are very limited. I’m going to put a dampening field over us that should prevent our detection,” Josephine advised.

Maggie and Alice hesitated before they relinquished their grip on the power vortex. Josephine set to work on the dampening field. The guards reached the edge of the grove and one of them held a fluorite mini wand with a scanning enchantment. Josephine sensed the spell reach out with subtle energy currents. The guard gestured at the one in command who in turn signaled for the group to proceed into the cluster of trees. The guards were no longer visible but Josephine kept tabs on their whereabouts with her third-eye chakra. She didn’t dare speak, not even to whisper, because scanning wands picked up on sounds. The guards drew closer but their pace was agonizingly slow and thorough. However, Maggie was right that they didn’t spend much of their attention examining the view above them. Only cursory glances were made because they relied on their scanners to alert them to the mysterious wizards visiting their world.

Josephine took slow, deep breaths as the subtle energy currents of one of the guard’s wands reached the dampening field which would hopefully be perceived as the top of the tree. It was a gamble but there was nothing else she could do. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and her body tightened with tension as she anxiously waited. The guards reached the area directly beneath their tree and the signal strength of the scanner pressed firm against Josephine’s dampening field. To make matters worse, fatigue seeped into her and her strength waned. Neither Josephine, Maggie, nor Alice could see the guards but they could perceive them clearly through their third eye chakras. The guards continued their journey past the hideout and Josephine let out a sigh of relief. Her head ached and she eased down on the dampening field just a bit. The scanning wand still issued the steady stream of questing energy and Josephine hoped it wouldn’t detect them as her protection began to dissipate. Maggie realized the problem and added her efforts to build the dampening field back up again.

Josephine flashed her a smile of appreciation and relief. She couldn’t maintain the dampening field for much longer. Soon, Maggie had to take over the important task of keeping their position hidden. She maintained the field until the search party had completely vacated the grove. She let out a soft groan and clutched her forehead with her right hand.