A Prison of Worlds (The Chained Worlds Chronicles Book 1) (14 page)

“What's
the bad?” Mat asked grimly.

“I
think Mr. Zombie man left,” Mat opened his mouth to argue, but I just
continued.  “There has been a dimensional breach here within the last day.  If
you felt fresh air last night it must have been open then, because it sure as
hell stinks now.”  Mat's mouth snapped shut and a sour look covered his face.  “I
can't be sure what’s in there through the field.  One of the circles he has up
blankets the area, so no one whose name is not inscribed in the circle can use
magic.  He must have thought that there were local mages that may be coming
after him.”

“You
can shut down magic with a circle?” Mat's eyes widened.

“Almost
any kind of magic can do that, but it’s a pretty damn big spell and it's only
of limited effectiveness.”

“Seems
like that would make you the king of the hill,” Mat muttered.

“Well,
it's pretty much limited to defending areas,” I waved a hand trying to
explain.  “When you lock down the magic you are laying claim to the free magic
in the area.  A mage that comes in from outside has to fight to move the magic
inside his body and environmental magic is off limits.  It's pretty much
stationary though.  You can't freeze that much energy and move it.”

“What
if two mages put these things up at the same time?” the officer asked.

“It
is first come, first serve.  The magic's locked to the first caster for as long
as they have the power to maintain the spell.  Ritual magic tends to last
longer and be more efficient so it's great to defend your home with.”  I
couldn't touch my magic reserves while I was within the area either.  I don't
use them for much yet, except parlor tricks, but it was a stifling feeling.  “If
two casters both have smaller versions of these things up almost all they can
do is throw dirty looks at one another.  Fireballs are stopped cold at the
boundary.”

“Almost?”

“Some
spells cause physical effects.  If you take away the magic you still have
something coming at you.  All in all it’s a great defense, especially combined
with a shield circle.”  I gestured at the glowing blue energy barrier in front
of us.  “Magic objects still work but if they have secondary magical effects
they are shut down.”

“So
this won't affect us at all I suppose,” Mat said as he digested the
explanation.

“Not
unless you have some mages hidden away somewhere,” I chuckled.  I had searched
the city pretty well.  All it had was a few natural mystics that could do a few
minor enchantments.  Well, until Jin had started sending his students here. 
Hmm, and I guess I completely missed Mr. Zombie man.  I was starting to wonder
if I knew this city at all.

“Nope,
you're all we have,” he said a bit grimly.  I looked at him, startled.  If they
counted me as a mage they were going to be pretty surprised when a real one
showed up, throwing spells around.

“Hmm,”
I muttered noncommittally.   “The really bad news is that I would really be shocked
if the circle master didn't have a surprise in place when his shield ran down. 
When this thing goes down...” I tapped the shield's surface again, eliciting a
wince from the police.  “I would bet there's something triggered to go off.”

“A
bomb,” Mat asked tensely.

“Could
be.  Could be something magical.  I can't tell with the dampening circle in
place.”

“Is
there any way to tell?”

I
looked intently at the shield.  If it was for purely physical effects, I may be
able to astral project a short distance to see what was inside.  It was a long
shot, though.  Most psionic and magic shields stopped astral travel.  The
astral plane was just too closely tied to the physical plane.  It almost didn't
count as another dimension.  I hadn't tried it in a long time due to the
discomfort and hazards inherent in it, but the rune branded on my chest may not
count that as real dimensional travel, just as it didn't impede too much my use
of psionic teleportation much, limited as that was.  The last thing I wanted
was to peek outside my body in my astral form only to have it yanked to the
rune's anchor in the city.

I
slowly shook my head.  “Sorry, there's nothing I can think of offhand that
would be able to peek inside.”

Mat
looked at me confused.  “What do you mean peek inside?  We can already see
inside, except for the buildings he was holing up in.”

I
looked back at him blankly in turn and cursed under my breath.  I ran into it
pretty rarely, but there's a down side to being able to see invisible objects
and magic.  They appear rather solid to you and often you aren't aware that
other, less gifted people may see through them.  “Okay, maybe there is
something I can do.  I'll need a minute.”

Mat
just shrugged.  Apparently, if I could help he wasn't in a hurry.  I looked
around noticed a bench off by the wall, next to the remnants of an overturned
waste drum.  Walking over to it, I sat down and assumed the thinker position
while entering a light meditative state.  I could have just sat down in the lotus
position, but I dreaded having to clean my pants off after sitting on the
remnants of undead flesh that lay scattered on the floor.  It also lacked a bit
of dignity.

Concentrating,
I worked to suppress my higher mental sensitivity.  I had spent years honing my
mental prowess and it went against the grain but at the moment it was hindering
me.  I imagined it as closing certain doors in my head and almost winced as I
felt the world around me get smaller.  On the bright side, the oppressive
background noise of the city that drove away the human psychics almost
vanished.

After
about five minutes I was done and stood up to walk over to the barrier.  The
change in my senses was not physical, but it put me off my stride enough that I
almost felt unsteady as I approached it.  The barrier still glowed a faint blue
due my heritage but now it was transparent enough to clearly see the details
inside.  I assume the people around me didn't even see the barrier at all, but
didn't feel like advertising my limitations. 

On
the other side I saw rows and rows of circles, each several yards wide, etched
into the concrete floor.  Lines connected them in some pattern that would
probably make sense one day if I gained more proficiency in this type of
magic.  My instinctive sense told me that each of these circles unleashed waves
of fire and necrotic energies that would simply stop one's heart if it overcame
a person's innate defenses.  Considering how that mess was layered, it would be
like waves of magic beating on a sandy shore.  Once activated they would go off
in rapid order.  If a person withstood the first, the second or even the sixth,
the twentieth would probably finish off the person.  I felt a chill down my
spine as I looked over the field of death.  I am pretty resistant to hostile
magic, but I really wouldn't want to be here when this was triggered.

“The
man that did this was a really vindictive bastard,” I said to myself.  I wasn't
really talking to Mat, but he responded anyway.

“How
so?” he asked warily.

“When
this shield goes down... whether you blast it or just wait... this entire area
is going to be filled with fire and death.”

“What
do you mean 'and death'?” Mat asked tensely.

I
looked at him, thinking of how to explain to someone that didn't know anything
about magic.  “This area will be flooded with death magic.  Enough to make your
heart stop.” An idea occurred to me.  “Or it could make you wither and die.  I
am not sure exactly what that much necrotic power would do to a person.”

“So
it's all one big death trap.  Will the explosion take down the ceiling?”

I
winced; if the ceiling came down I wouldn't be able to study the circles. 
Doubtless, the circle master had taken his books when he abandoned his lair but
if I could examine those circles, perhaps capture some psychic impressions on
what the creator was doing when he made them, I might someday be able to
recreate them.  The death and fire circles were a bit overkill for home
defense, but they would be fascinating to learn.  The real gems would be the
shield and portal circle.  With that, I may be able to get out of this
dimension.

“It's
not quite like that.  I don't think there will be an explosion.” I gestured
with wide sweeping motions.  “It will just fill this area with fire... and
death of course.”  Death magic doesn't have any concussive force, you just drop
dead.

“So
this cavern isn't going to collapse?”

“Well,
it’s going to get really hot in here. You may want to talk to an engineer and
see if the supports will survive.”

“Well,
how hot is that?” Mat elaborated.

I
looked at him, annoyed.  How the hell would I know?  Did he think I had walked
into a death trap before with a thermometer?  “I don't know, I would guess it
would depend on how much power he pushed into this.  Considering all this is on
a node it’s going to be hotter than hell.”

The
police looked really unhappy.  Mat turned to his companions and started talking
tech speak.  I tuned him out and looked at the circles again.  They should be
okay after the trigger.  Their power would be exhausted, but I should be able
to examine them.  The circles should be immune to their own effects.  I hoped.

“Okay,
we'll put in electronic surveillance and evacuate the buildings above us,” Mat
finished emphatically, making me start and breaking my reverie.  I nodded
absently; that would be the smart thing to do.  I gave a last look at the
circles before slowly turning away.  “Thank you for your help, Professor. 
Let's get you back home.”

I
gave him a frown as I headed out.  I had told him to call me Derek, and he
still called me by that title the bibliophiles had given me.  What's the point
in making up an identity if no one is going to use it?

Back
home once more, I cleaned up the mess the guests had made and polished a few
scuff marks in the wood floor until it shone.  I really find it hard to
concentrate unless everything is perfect.  I put up with it for my friends, but
it is really disruptive for my concentration. 

Once
that was done, I went to the local market for some more food.  I eat quite a
bit, and having a shifter guest isn't going to lower the household food
intake.  I got an odd look from the checkout girl as I picked up the bags and
carried them all out.  The weight was hardly noticeable, but the bulk made it
very awkward.  Still, the odd looks would have been worse if I had used my
telekinesis to float the bags in a line behind me.  These days most people just
had their groceries delivered, but without a computer or a reliable vid terminal
I had to do things the hard way.  Maybe I should bring a pallet and tell
everyone it’s a lev disk.

As
I walked through the door, I saw Jeremy had let himself in and made himself at
home.  I groaned to myself at the thought of more housework later that night
when I could be researching the new circles I had seen.  I should get a
housekeeper, but I can barely tolerate my friends touching my things let alone
a stranger.  A robot would work, but even if it didn't blow up the first day
from the ambient mystic energy, the brain dead AIs that are the only ones legal
these days would likely break more things than it fixed.

Throwing
off my mood, I mustered a smile and greeted him.  “Did you get it?”

“Hello
to you too,” he grimaced.

“Yeah,
whatever,” I teased him as I set the groceries down in the kitchen and started
to put them away.  I also started the oven; Jeremy would probably be hungry and
Mei would want a meal too.  Shifters always want a meal.

“I
got it,” he continued.  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I
gave him a skeptical look.  “I admit I have no qualms about killing a vampire
assassin, but if you want to keep the human death count down to zero I really
don't have a better idea.”  I looked him in the eye and he started to fidget
uncomfortably before glancing away.  “Do you have a better idea?”

“No,”
he muttered quietly.

I
quietly prepared and placed the turkey in the oven, and then went over to the
tiny sphere the size of my thumbnail Jeremy had placed on the counter.  I grimaced
when I picked it up, tightening the shields on my aura as much as I could. I
really didn't get along with most technology, but once in a while it made
things a bit easier.  Looking at the object, it suddenly occurred to me that I
needed something to keep it in place.  Looking around the kitchen my sight fell
upon some mesh that had held some of the fruit.  Nodding to myself, I grabbed
it and walked outside.  Jeremy looked like he might follow, but for his own peace
of mind I asked him to stay inside.  He glanced at me gratefully as he turned
around and went back in the house.

 I
walked over to the neighboring house and entered inside.  No one greeted me.
This was to be expected since I had bought all the houses in the area.  These
houses all had maid service for the nonexistent people that lived in them.  The
houses were listed for sale, but no offers were accepted.  I really liked my
privacy.

I
walked into the barren kitchen, down to the basement and found the bagged parts
of the vampire.  It was a small miracle the body hadn't turned into mist and
floated away.  It was probably due to the ward I affixed to the floor or the
airtight bags, but I was just guessing.  I had planned on simply dunking the
pieces into a barrel of holy water, but my new idea necessitated that this
assassin live.  Frankly, this gave me the creeps since the bloodsucker had come
so close to cutting my life short.  Outside of a dragon that had dwarfed me in
age and power, I had never come closer to death than last night.  I may be brash
and perhaps a bit overconfident, but I would remember that lesson for a bit. 
My cheek had completely healed and my index finger had almost reformed, but the
memory stayed fresh.

I
ripped open the bag containing the torso and used the assassin's own blade to
open the abdominal cavity.  I suppose I could have just used my psychic surgery
trick to place the device, but I wasn't feeling charitable.  I used the netting
to tie the sphere in place around the organs.  I twisted it all around and tied
it off.  Many supernatural creatures regenerate quickly.  This regeneration
includes the ability to regrow limbs and expel foreign objects from the body. 
I reached into the pocket of my coat and poured a dash of silver nitrate inside
the stomach opening.  Hopefully, the combination of silver, impure though it
was, and the netting, would slow the process down enough to get this to work.

Once
I was done with my grisly task, I unbagged the head and placed it next to the
body.  Once the night had fallen, the corpse's limbs would doubtless transform
to mist, the parts rejoin and merge.  The torso never showed any indication it
was going into a gaseous state so it was all theory and guesswork.  It was my
plan that the vampire simply think I was ignorant of how difficult it was to
put an ancient vampire down permanently.

I
washed my bloodied hands in the upstairs kitchen and thought about the next
part of the plan.  Looking at the dagger the vampire had almost killed me with,
I sighed in sadness.  It was a beautiful piece of work.  Runes ran the length
of the blade and glowed a soft blue even in the daylight.  The hilt formed a
tightly coiled serpent with the head of the snake open and hissing at the
pommel.  It was so detailed, it looked like it would spring and bite me.  Since
it was a rune blade, I didn't rule that out.  Like Mei's more powerful sword,
it was a rune blade created millennia ago.  Probably by dwarves.  They didn't
seem to be around in this world anymore, but they seemed to have left some very
nice things behind.  Nice enough that it almost killed me.  I stepped outside
and moved to where the final confrontation had taken place.  Bracing myself, I
flipped the dagger straight up and let it land with its blade fully imbedded in
the sidewalk.  The vampire would reform and go looking for the dagger.  If I
still had it, he may think it valuable enough to attack me once more before he
had fully healed.  That would put a kink in the plan.

I
would miss it though.  I admit that I am not a knife fighter, but it was
certainly more elegant than my own youthful weapon selection.  You begin to
appreciate elegance as you get older.  It also crossed my mind that if I one
day found this blade imbedded in my heart, I would only have myself to blame. 
With that disturbing thought, I reluctantly walked back to my home.  I seemed
to be walking away from a lot of magic lately for someone that put so much
energy in finding the damn stuff.

I
checked the turkey and it looked like it was cooking a wee bit slow.  I frowned
at the meal.  I had thought about trying to develop my latent pyrokinesis
abilities, for cooking if nothing else, but never had the time to focus on the
less well-traveled psionic disciplines.  With my segue into the mystical arts,
I may never have the opportunity. 

So
I waited for the food, and I sat down in my favorite chair while Jeremy watched
the news in the next room and used his phone to track things down.  It was
subtle, yet I noticed that the holographic terminal on his wrist would be shut
off whenever I entered the room.  Obviously he didn't want to repair another
defunct device around me.  Occasionally, out of the corner of my eye, I would
see his device’s tiny holographic emitter and the images of the tiny humans he
spoke to.  I did my best to ignore it.  If I looked at it wrong it would just
self-destruct.

I
was getting ready to go down to the basement to try a variation of one of the
minor circles I know, based on what I had gleaned from seeing the zombie king's
circles and some interesting books on ancient Nordic runes I had just been
examining, when the food timer went off.  Looking out the window as I finished
the dinner preparations, I saw the sun going down.  I sped up my work.  I
didn't want to leave on an empty stomach.

Jeremy
and I were just finishing up the meal when his phone started buzzing.  I
glanced over at it, then at Jeremy.  He walked to the other side of the room
and fiddled with the interface for a bit, then looked at me and nodded.  “Looks
like he's on the move.”

“Already,”
I whistled.  “He must be older than I thought to recover from...” I caught
myself from going into too many unpleasant details. “...what happened to him.” 
I just hoped his regeneration doesn't pop out the tracker before it does its
job.

A
knock came from the front door, and I have to admit I looked over at the
floating holographic image Jeremy was studying intently.  I didn't understand a
thing I saw, but Jeremy seemed to understand my intent.  “It's not him.  He's
already halfway across town.”

I
had kind of figured a vampire assassin wouldn't knock, but it was good to be
sure.  Perhaps it was Conrad. 

I
opened the door.  It wasn't Conrad.  “Oh, hello, er...” I jogged my memory to
recall the fellow's name. “Eric.  Welcome back.”  The young vampire was restored
to his normal pallid complexion so the effects of the wards seemed to have worn
off.  I gestured him to enter.  Maybe this trial I should time the onset of the
effects.  That may give me a baseline idea for how strong the wards are.  I could
invite Eric over if I change something and see how long the appearance of the
rashes takes.  I looked over to the kitchen clock to note the time.

“So
what brings you here?” I asked, as I went into the kitchen to load up my
plate.  Eric followed me, seemingly unsure of where he should be.  When I
walked past him with a heaping plate of turkey and a tall glass of milk, he
trailed me like a kite on a string.  I may have just had a meal, but if I had
to talk to the vampire neophyte again I may as well enjoy a second helping. 
It's not as if I'll ever run out of room.  When we got to the living room I
gestured for him to sit on the couch while I sat in my usual chair.  Jeremy
looked at me oddly, but went back to fiddling with his phone after watching me
eat for a time.

“Well,”
I grunted as I stuffed my face.  “Why are you here?”  I asked again.

“The
master of the city has asked for your presence,” the vampire told me somewhat
hesitantly.

“Has
he agreed to give me the resources we would need to track down the nodes?” I
prodded.

“I
don't know,” Eric admitted reluctantly.

I
stopped eating and stared at Eric.  His skin had already begun breaking out and
although he didn't really need to breath, his was coming at a rapid rate.  He
must be very young.  It was obvious that I wasn't going to get any answers from
him.  I was getting the feeling he was less of a messenger and more of a canary
in the coal mine.  I would lay odds that he was unimportant in the extreme and
probably not very well liked.  Of course, if I was correct it also meant his
leader had an idea I wasn't human. 

“When
does the master want my presence?” I asked thoughtfully before taking a slug of
my milk.

“Tonight
at midnight.”

I
exchanged looks with Jeremy.  That might be a bit tight for my schedule but if
we wanted to canvas the city properly then vampire participation was vital.  As
I understood it, the shifter and vampire population stayed in their own territories
and weren't welcome in another's except in extraordinary circumstances.  I
wasn't aware of any other significant supernatural presence in the city, so
between the two groups we should be able to cover the entire city.

“Okay. 
Where?”

“Tower
Plaza.  The receptionist will let security know your there.”

I
grunted to myself.  The Tower Plaza was a monolithic complex just on the other
side of the Blight.  The area itself was for the extremely wealthy, but it
overlooked the worst part of town.  Pretty much an example of contrasts.  I
hadn’t realized that the vampires owned it.

“Tell
him I'll be there.”

“Of
course you will be,” he said with an arrogant look.  It didn't match his now
blotchy and swollen face, so it was difficult to be offended, but it did do
much to support my theory on his popularity. 

I
scooped up the last of my dinner and walked to the door.  “Perhaps I'll see you
later tonight but I have a lot to do before I meet your master.”

“Of
course.  Until then,” he stood up and may have tried to gracefully saunter out
the door.  He swayed dizzily, caught his balance, and staggered outside.  I
really liked those changes I made to the wards.

As
I closed the door behind him, Jeremy spoke up for the first time since our
unannounced guest.  “Why do I get the feeling you didn't like him?”

“Must
be your undeveloped psychic powers.” The lanky detective just stared at me a
moment.  “Okay, I guess I wasn't very subtle.”  I brought the used plate and
glass to the sink and started cleaning.  “Where I come from, vampires are a lot
more bloodthirsty.  Not mindless, but you may call them evil,” I said quietly. 
Jeremy listened from the door, temporarily putting his toy down.  “I know local
undead aren't the same but I'll wait to see how different.  The only ones I
have had real contact with are a super ninja and a guy that has to have been
brought over in the last few weeks.