Cracks in Reality (Seams in Reality Book 2) (13 page)

Runic gave him a funny look. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm sensing a friend with her. The energy is weaker."

Runic shook his head. "There shouldn't be anybody else."

"Well, there is, and that's a problem."

Andrew looked at the five BPI agents gathered around. Bringing the entire group into the building like an assault team seemed overly threatening.

He turned to Charley. "How do you want to do this?"

"I'm not sure." She frowned. "We can take Dan, Tungsten, and maybe one more? We need a local who knows the building."

"I suppose. I would really like to talk to Vivian and not just go straight into a fight."

"Yes. She might have a good explanation."

"We can't trust her word," Andrew said. "One way or another, we'll have to use truth sorcery."

"Which means we'll need her seam. She won't like that. Sorcerers are very territorial."

He grimaced. An ugly outcome seemed inevitable no matter what approach they took.

"I guess Runic will be the third agent," Andrew said. "Let's go in."

Runic grabbed a bunch of flashlights from his car and handed them out. He led Andrew, Charley, Dan, and Tungsten over to the fence. Runic used a key to unlock a padlock and a chain, and everybody went through a gate. The fence was starting to rust, and Andrew was pretty sure he could've pushed it over with brute strength.

He sensed Vivian moving quickly inside the building.

"She knows we're coming up," Charley said.

Andrew nodded. "Yes."

The group entered through a door which was already unlocked. The stench of bird poop and mold made him wrinkle his nose. Smoke and water damage was everywhere. Some of the drywall had fallen off the wall studs to form heaps on the floor. He couldn't even tell what the original color of the carpet had been.

"Vivian actually lives in this dump?" he said.

"She has the whole place to herself," Runic said.

The agents drew their weapons. The electric lights were out, but a little sunlight leaked in, and everybody had flashlights. They proceeded cautiously. Runic was in front and obviously knew the right way to go.

Andrew peeked through open doorways. He saw apartments, and a few still contained a little ruined furniture. It was a depressing place.

"Why haven't they torn down this building?" he said.

"Because of the seam," Runic said. "The BPI bought the property to keep it secure. We don't want civilians living here until the seam fades away."

"How long will that take?"

"Our estimate is between fifty and a hundred years."

"Until then, you'll just let this place rot?" Andrew said.

"For now. A condemned and supposedly haunted building is a good cover story as long as we keep the vagrants out."

"Theosophical University was built on a giant seam. The BPI doesn't seem to have a problem with that."

"That mistake happened before the BPI existed," Runic said. "These days, we're a lot more careful."

He took the group up a flight of stairs. The steps seemed solid, but Andrew still kept a tight grip on the rusty railing. Sunlight leaked through a hole in the roof at the top of the stairwell. He heard birds cooing.

The group reached the third floor, and Andrew sensed Vivian directly ahead. The seam was right behind her. Pretty soon, the sorcerers would have to leave the agents behind for the sake of their safety.

The sound of a gunshot made everybody drop to the filthy floor.

"That's far enough!" a woman yelled. "What do you want?"

Andrew lifted his head as much as he dared and stared into the gloom. The silhouette of a woman was at the far end of a long hallway. A couch was standing on end, and she was using it for cover.

"We just want to talk!" He yelled back. "Are you Vivian?"

"Sorcerers don't come here just to talk."

"Vivian!" Runic yelled. "It's Agent Runic! What are you doing? You're acting crazy."

"I told you before," Vivian said. "I don't want anybody else near my seam. I like my privacy."

"The Tribunal sent us," Andrew said. "We have a few questions."

"The Tribunal?" She paused. "Come back later. I'm busy."

"Busy with what?"

Vivian didn't answer.

"Put the gun down," Runic yelled. "If you shoot anybody, you'll only make the situation worse for yourself."

She still didn't respond.

He continued, "You can't hold out against the BPI. We can cut off your food and water. We can flood the building with tear gas. You'll have to surrender eventually. You're a very intelligent woman. I'm sure you understand what will happen if you don't cooperate."

"You're right," Vivian said. "I do understand. The BPI is a bunch of bullies. You push sorcerers around and treat us like garbage. If we step one inch out of line, we go to prison. We get less respect than your average dog."

"That's not true. The rules are very clear. If you follow them, you get plenty of respect."

"Rules written by frightened men in the dead of night. Rules meant to suppress sorcery. You'd be happy if all of us were dead. I'm just trying to do my own thing in my own place. I'm not hurting anybody. Why can't you leave me alone?"

"Vivian," Andrew yelled. "We heard you were experimenting with organic sorcery."

"Who told you that?" Vivian said.

"Morris Shanis."

She let loose a string of curses that even Andrew found a little shocking.

When she settled down, he said, "The Tribunal hasn't convicted you of anything yet. We know Morris isn't trustworthy. The Tribunal sent us to find out the truth. If you're innocent, we'll leave, and there won't be any problem. You'll have to answer the charges eventually, so what's wrong with right now?"

"This isn't the best time," Vivian said.

Andrew whispered to Charley, "What could she be doing back there?"

"I don't know." Charley shrugged.

Runic leaned towards them and whispered, "I could sneak around and approach her from the other side. I know this building pretty well. She won't see me coming."

"And then you'll do what?" Andrew whispered. "Shoot her in the back?"

"I'll figure something out."

Andrew shook his head. "If she catches you near her seam, you'll be completely at her mercy. She could twist your mind into knots. That's why the Tribunal sent Charley and me. We have to deal with her."

"Then what do you want to do?"

Andrew sighed. "That's a good question."

Charley stood up carefully with her hands in the air.

"Get down!" he said in a harsh tone.

"No." She faced forward and yelled, "Vivian! We're coming to talk to you. If you shoot us, the BPI will shoot you, and that will do none of us any good. We just want to discuss the situation like mature sorcerers. There is no need for violence. OK?"

Charley didn't wait for a response. She walked slowly down the hallway.

Andrew grimaced. He couldn't let her go alone, and he probably couldn't convince her to come back. He jumped up and went with her.

They were passing through the part of the building that showed the worst fire damage. Walls were charred and in some cases missing entirely. The concrete skeleton showed through in spots. Holes in the floor forced Andrew to watch where he was putting his feet, and he had to step over chunks of burned wood. The smell of mildew made his nostrils itch.

He tried not to think about the people who had died. It was easy to imagine smoke and flames sweeping through the structure. The elderly residents couldn't move fast enough to escape if they could move at all. Andrew expected many had died in their beds, their last moments full of pain and terror.

That Hell on Earth had created the seam. His inner eye saw it as a black corkscrew spinning on its axis. Energy spewed from the top like a fountain. As he approached it, the chaotic power infused his mind, and his awareness expanded. He became more than human.

"Vivian's friend left," Charley whispered.

Andrew scanned the area for the weaker source of energy which had accompanied Vivian earlier. He found it about a hundred yards away on a lower level.

"Over there," he pointed to their right.

"Is he trying to hide from us?"

"I don't know, but at least we don't have to deal with two hostile sorcerers at once. Let's focus on Vivian."

Andrew saw Vivian crouching in the shadows. Black ashes smudged her freckled, gaunt face. Her red hair was such a filthy, tangled mess, the only way to fix it was cutting most of it off. Her bloodshot eyes had dark circles beneath. A slack jaw and a glassy stare suggested she needed a lot more sleep. A shawl wrapped around her body was so dirty, it was hard to tell its original color.
She's been living like an animal,
he thought.

"Vivian," Charley said in a gentle voice, "thank you for agreeing to speak with us."

Vivian was holding a revolver against her body in a defensive manner. The weapon was in visibly poor condition like its wielder.

"Please, tell us your side of the story," Andrew said.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Vivian said. "I never experimented with organic sorcery. Morris was trying to get me into trouble because I refused to do all the kinky crap he liked." She narrowed her eyes. "How old are you guys? You seem very young."

"We're apprentices."

"Huh?" She stiffened. "The Tribunal sent apprentices to take me out. I'm insulted."

"We work with Tonya," Andrew added.

Vivian's eyes widened. "Oh. Both of you?"

"Yes."

"She has two apprentices at the same time?" Vivian raised her eyebrows. "That's
very
ambitious."

"Let's talk about you instead," Charley said. "You admit you slept with Morris."

"There's nothing illegal about two consenting adults hooking up."

"We were told sex between sorcerers is very risky."

"I suppose it is," Vivian said. "The connection is more than physical. The moment of release can blow your mind
literally
. Hold on. You two?" She looked back and forth between Andrew and Charley. "That's really cute."

Charley blushed.

"We didn't come to discuss sorcerer sex," Andrew said. "I'm sure you're being honest, but I don't think the Tribunal will be satisfied with my opinion. We have to use truth sorcery on you."

Vivian shook her head. "That's not going to happen. Besides, you're just apprentices, and I'm a full sorcerer. I don't see how you can compel me to do anything much less tell the truth."

"You have to let us try." He took a step towards her.

"No." She pointed her gun at his chest. "Now go away."

Andrew couldn't use sorcery because the seam was still too far away, but he realized he could take the weapon away from her. Tungsten had trained him for exactly this situation, and Vivian wasn't even holding the revolver with a firm grip.

Andrew slapped it out of her hand. While her eyes were still following the arc of the weapon through the air, he drew his own gun from his pocket. She backed up when she saw the semi-automatic GLOCK aimed squarely at her face.

"Enough messing around," he said. "Let's go to the seam."

He glanced to the side and saw Charley had drawn her gun, too. She hated guns, but Tungsten had insisted she learn how to use them properly. For the first time, Andrew felt glad for the extra training. The soldier had known what he was doing.

"You're not ordinary apprentices," Vivian said.

"That's right," Andrew said. "Move!"

Vivian turned and walked deeper into the building. Andrew began to settle into a meditative state. He knew he might be forced to fight with very little warning.

"Be ready," he whispered to Charley.

She nodded. "Working on it."

After a few turns, they entered the room where the seam was located. Fire had gutted the space, leaving just blackened wood and the exposed frame of the building. A temporary platform covered the holes and served as a replacement floor, but the raw plywood construction wasn't even painted. It flexed alarmingly when Andrew put his weight on it.

Vivian had obviously been living with her seam. A cot with a foam pad on top served as her bed. An electrical generator was attached to lights and a radio, but the generator was off. Sunlight coming through windows provided enough light. Jugs of bottled water were stacked alongside gasoline cans. She had a bowl of fresh fruit, but it appeared most of her sustenance came out of packets and cans. A tremendous assortment of nuts, dried fruit, beef jerky, beans, tuna fish, sardines, potato chips, candy, and similar items were on shelves. With such a high-calorie diet, Andrew didn't understand how Vivian could be so skinny.

She only had a few of the usual toys sorcerers used for training. A clear plastic puzzle shaped like a snowflake was next to a wooden puzzle box. A large sketch pad was mounted on an easel, and she had a broad selection of pastels and chalks. Clearly, they were meant for practicing visualization skills. An exquisitely detailed portrait of a man was drawn on the pad. Andrew made a mental note to try the same training technique when he got home.

The seam dominated the room. It hovered in the air, perpetually spinning and spewing energy. After spending so much time with the Theosophical Seam, Andrew wasn't greatly impressed, but Vivian's seam was still pretty big.

Tiny sprites flittered around it randomly. They had come from the chaotic realm outside the universe. Sprites weren't alive, but they could suck thoughts and memories out of people like psychic leeches. If they absorbed enough, they could take the appearance of a living thing. The power of belief made them real.

"Let's begin," Andrew said. "Open your mind to me."

He looked at Charley, and she nodded to indicate she was ready.

"I don't think so," Vivian said. "This is my seam, my place of power. Do you really think you can beat me?"

"If you're innocent," he said, "why would you fight?"

"I don't want my mind violated by a couple of punks. I have a right to resist oppression. I have a right to privacy. I even have a right to lie if I want to. These are basic human freedoms. You may be young, but you're old enough to understand you sold your soul to the BPI. You serve your worst enemy."