4 Terramezic Energy

Terramezic Energy

by John O’Riley

Terramezic Energy

John O’Riley

Copyright 2014 by John O’Riley

Smashwords Edition

No part of the book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Name of Cover Artist / Shutterstock.

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously,  and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank all of my readers and fans. I also want to specifically mention Joy O’Riley, Dolores Peterson, Tracey Koch, Rosemary Blair, Ryan O’Riley,

Mary O’Riley, Sue Otterness and Cathy Abel.

Terramezic Energy

by John O’Riley

Chapter 1

Josephine’s intent gaze was locked onto her computer screen as she worked on finishing up her report for the murder case she’d just solved. She was a category six wizard which meant her power measured at the top of the scale and even though she possessed over eighty years of life experience, her body was that of a young woman in her early twenties. Her recently discovered immortality was a closely guarded secret that she only shared with her closest friends but she knew that eventually the world would discover that all category sixes shared this potential. Before Josephine had realized that she could live forever instead of just aging very slowly, she had languished in retirement except for consulting work for the police. Now, she was an OC enforcer for the Sarasota PD whose psychometry skills were legendary in the field.

She was beautiful, tall and slender with warm brown eyes and long, silky black hair that flowed down just past her shoulders. Her grandson, Jake, was a detective that worked with her and his desk was positioned directly opposite from her. Jake was handsome, in his mid-twenties and thin with black hair and brown eyes. One of the main enticements that had lured Josephine away from retirement was the fact that she would be able to spend more time with her grandson. Detective Alex Riley was Jake’s partner and one of those rare humans in a world full of wizards who lacked any magical ability. He could use enchantments that were already made but would never be able to create his own. His desk was positioned beside Jake’s. He was average weight and height, in his mid-forties and had brown hair and green eyes. For many years, he’d been a thorn in Josephine’s side as she’d performed consulting work for the police but now that she was an enforcer and making an effort to be civil to him, she had discovered he wasn’t so bad. He definitely had many redeeming qualities even though he sometimes made her want to slap him silly.

Josephine reached for her mug of coffee and took a sip. She glanced at the clock across the room to see it was still early and noticed Alex was peering at her with a strange expression on his face.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Josephine cocked a brow of bemusement. “I’m perfectly fine. Why do you ask?”

“This is the third day that you’ve had coffee at the station.”

“You drink coffee all day long,” Josephine pointed out.

“That’s true but I can’t help notice that your habits are changing.”

“I’m just having one cup of coffee at work to jumpstart my body in the morning.”

Jake watched the exchange with undisguised amusement.

“Are you feeling tired or something?” Alex asked.

“If you must know, I’ve been feeling a little bit nauseated when I try to eat or drink anything until it’s later in the morning. So I wait until I’m here before I have my cup of coffee,” Josephine said.

“Aren’t you worried about this change in your condition?” Alex’s questioning gaze bore into hers.

Josephine quelled her rising annoyance. “Thank you for your concern but I’m fine.”

“Maybe you’re catching the flu,” he suggested.

“I don’t think so. I don’t feel achy or tired and it’s just in the morning.” Josephine reached for her mug of coffee and brought it to her lips for another drink.

“Maybe you’re pregnant.”

Josephine choked on her coffee and set the mug down hard as she coughed uncontrollably for several seconds.

She caught her breath and fixed an exasperated look at Alex. “For heavens sakes! I’m eighty-four years old! That ship has sailed a long time ago.”

“Maybe not. Your body ages slowly and you’ve got a young, virile boyfriend. You might be in for a surprise,” he said.

“This conversation is over.” Josephine’s eyes flashed with annoyance.

“All right! All right! I can take a hint.” Alex held his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

Josephine returned her attention back to her work. She was just about to submit her report when the chief of police, Ben Nutter, rushed over to her desk. Ben was a tall bulky man in his forties with close-cropped blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and a mustache.

“I was just about to send you the report,” Josephine said.

Ben waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not concerned about that. There’s a major energy disturbance just east of the intersection at Fruitville and Tuttle Avenue. It could be APU 81. I need you to get down there right away.”

Josephine’s blood ran cold at the mention of APU 81, an artificial intelligence created by an advanced civilization over a millennia ago. Its program resided inside a crystal skull and could take possession of the body of any category six or latent six that made physical contact with it. Her boyfriend’s sister, Maggie, had fallen victim to this sinister life-form for most of her life. When Mark had liberated her using white magic, APU 81 had seized control of Jake for a short time. Even though Jake was just a category four wizard, he had latent six potential. Josephine feared that the artificial intelligence may someday set it sights on Jake for a host yet again or someone else she cared about.

One of the more serious threats that this hostile entity posed was the use of terramezic energy to launch its magical attacks which no one could detect – not even her. The U.S. government was currently researching ways to develop technology that could scan for terramezic energy but so far, all their attempts met with failure.

“We’re on our way.” Josephine leapt to her feet.

Alex drove Josephine and Jake in the police cruiser while six officers followed as backup. Their lights blazed crimson and blue while their sirens blared as they rushed down the streets toward their destination. Even though Josephine dreaded a confrontation with APU 81, she was glad that she was an enforcer and that Jake wouldn’t be facing this threat without her. When they reached the area, the street for over a block was completely clogged with abandoned cars. Many of the vehicles had shattered windows. The traffic lights blinked erratically. No one was visible outside as everyone had fled the scene to get away from the disturbance. Josephine, Alex, and Jake emerged from the police cruiser and surveyed the area. Potent fear and panic from the people who’d witnessed the terrifying phenomenon slammed against Josephine’s mind. So far, she wasn’t receiving any useful information. Broken glass was strewn on the sidewalk at their feet from the store windows nearby.

“We need to get closer,” Josephine said.

The sound of sirens from approaching police cars and ambulances could be heard. She opened her senses to the psychometric energy that flowed in the area. Impressions from hundreds of people bombarded her mind. She cringed inside as she sorted through the information. Almost everyone had taken shelter in the nearby stores but some people had walked farther away to put some distance between themselves and the attacks. The damage had been caused by a combination of telekinetic blasts, microbursts, and electrical discharges. Josephine halted so she could focus on the psychic input.

Her brows furrowed with concentration. “This wasn’t an attack at all. This was uncontrolled magical energy.”

“Are you sure?” Alex regarded her with incredulous disbelief.

“Remember what would happen if I drew too much energy before I started tapping into vortexes and my power stabilized?” Josephine asked.

“There was the wind and sometimes things were shoved around. It was beyond your control.”

“That’s right. What we’re seeing is something similar except on a much larger scale.”

“Nothing is stronger than a category six though,” Alex argued.

Josephine cocked a brow of bemusement. “That’s not true. We don’t have the capability of measuring beyond a six but there are definitely wizards much stronger than that.”

“Are you one of those people?” Alex asked.

“Yes, I am,” she confirmed. “Especially now that I’m magically linked to Helen and Mark.”

“Can you find out who did this?” Jake inquired.

“Maybe.” Josephine frowned with contemplation as she focused on another scan of the perimeter. “Sixes don’t leave much psychometric energy but if someone saw them causing the damage, I can definitely read the witness.”

“The disturbance is over, right?” Alex asked nervously.

“Yes, it’s over. There’s no more uncontrolled magic here,” Josephine said.

“It looks like we just missed it.” Alex surveyed the area with a dour frown.

Josephine led them down the sidewalk and across the street to O’Malley’s Espresso. The windows had been shattered and the store was devoid of any customers. Chairs and tables were overturned and a flood of impressions from the individual patrons cascaded through Josephine’s mind.

“No one took shelter in here because this was the source of the disturbance. Microbursts and telekinetic blasts continued in here. Even the employees took off.” Josephine took up a position near the center of the eating area as impressions continued to deluge her. Her brown-eyed gaze honed in on a table near the far side of the coffee shop. “Two people were sitting there. One of them was a category six. The other was casting some sort of enchantment.”

“What type of spell was it?” Alex asked.

“I have no idea.”

“Can’t you tell by what’s left behind?”

Josephine frowned at him with annoyance. “After you’ve cast a spell, the energy is utilized and therefore nothing is left to read. You should know that by now.”

“I wonder if the two people are experimenting with a spell that increases magical ability. We’ve had cases like that before,” Jake suggested.

“Yes, that’s a possibility. Maybe that’s why the category six wizard’s power is out of control and caused so much damage. There’s always someone out there who wants to be stronger,” Josephine said.

Her attention reverted back to the psychometric energy of the room as she performed another scan and sorted through the impressions. Public places were extremely difficult because there were literally hundreds of individuals – not just the ones who had recently occupied the area but all the people who’d frequented the location for weeks. Sometimes, impressions were left after months or even years. As Josephine continued to work in silence, she glimpsed an image of the wizard who’d cast the spell on the category six. A guy had noticed the individual who was a young woman because he thought she was cute. Josephine crossed the room and righted an overturned table where the guy had been sitting with his friend. She picked up the chair that was lying on its side and set it upright so she could sit down in it. By physically touching the source of the psychic impressions she wanted to tune into, she could obtain a stronger read and hopefully get a better image of the category six wizard.

Josephine sensed Alex watching her and thinking about making an obnoxious joke about sitting on the job. She wished he would stop broadcasting so loudly. It was very distracting in a room that was already packed with junk energy. She closed her eyes so she could concentrate better. Unfortunately, the guy hadn’t noticed the category six wizard that caused the magical disturbance. He’d only paid attention to the companion who was pretty, short, had an average build, was in her early twenties with brown hair styled in a page cut and had brown eyes. Once the microbursts and telekinetic blasts had started, he’d stopped paying attention to the young woman. No one had associated the disturbance to the category six wizard. Everyone had fled from the coffee shop with no inkling that someone among them had caused the terrifying incident.

Josephine made her way over to the table that the category six wizard had occupied and sat down on that seat. She rested the palms of both her hands against the surface of the table and strained to pick up any details about her. Josephine took in a deep breath then exhaled in a rush as frustration over the lack of information began to take its toll. Her gaze swung over to Alex and Jake who were standing off to the side watching her in silence. Voices could be heard as people began to venture outside now that the disturbance had stopped and it seemed safe. Josephine explained what she’d learned and rose to her feet.

“That’s not much to go on,” Alex said.

“No, it’s not,” Josephine agreed. She slipped into the other chair at the table to see if she would somehow obtain more impressions. “The woman who was sitting here didn’t leave hardly any psychometric energy. That means she’s either a category six like her companion or a latent six. I do sense that she was terrified by what happened.”

“Anything else?” Alex asked.

“I’m afraid that’s all I’ve got.”

“Is it possible APU 81 was possessing either of the women?” Alex inquired.

“No. APU 81 doesn’t leave any psychometric energy while it’s inhabiting someone’s body,” Josephine explained. “I wouldn’t have sensed anything at all from them.”

“Maybe they’re Valituras agents,” Alex suggested.

“That’s possible but the Valituras leaders and most of its members are incarcerated. The remaining members are unable to contact each other and have no leadership so I don’t see why any of its agents would be doing something like this,” Josephine said. “I think what happened is that the young woman was a latent six and her powers just activated.”

“Why didn’t she just step forward then?” Alex said. “Everyone is required to register their talent.”

“They have thirty days to report a change in their ability,” Josephine pointed out.