Deadly Designs (Design Series) (23 page)
Read Deadly Designs (Design Series) Online
Authors: Dale Mayer
"Yeah. I'm hearing it, myself." His voice was grim, his eyes never still, darting from place to place. "Are they coming toward us, then?"
"I'm wondering. At only twelve left behind, I doubt they are all approaching." Turning the stylus around in her fingers, she asked, "Stylus, are the Louers approaching us?"
Yes. A group of four is approaching from inside the cliff.
Storey's voice rose as she bolted to her feet. "How did they find out about us?"
The stylus's answer came quickly.
I told them.
Eric's jaw clenched. Storey felt betrayal sweep through her, although she fought it, didn't want to believe it would have done such a thing.
It's the fastest way to find your father and get you home to help the rest of your world.
Storey took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She gazed into Eric's furious eyes. "We might not like it, but he's right." A muscle twitched on the corner of Eric's jaw. "If we can rescue him, we can jump through a portal together."
"We
had
the element of surprise. Not now. We have portals but only for the moment. Remember last time?"
"Shit." She didn't know what to do. "Stylus, how can we get in and out without being caught?"
Port in.
"What?"
Port to where you found Tammy.
Her mouth dropped. She should have considered that. With Eric supporting the paper on his back, she quickly drew an image of the cave where they'd rescued Tammy from. "Almost done."
"Then draw faster and make sure you're drawing this location or something similar so we can get out cleaner."
"Except for the time travel issue."
"Right. So scrap the second portal then. We'll codex out."
Her hand flew as her pulse screamed at them to run.
Eric continued to talk while she worked. "We need to search for the stuff they stole from us last time. Though I've been thinking. Would they have gone through a portal or used a codex when they didn't know where they were going or how to get back?"
She frowned. There's no way she would.
Eric twisted slightly to see her. "We used the one portal to go to my world, remember. The others, although which ones I don't remember exactly, would have taken them to your world."
"And they would have had to deal with the time travel issue," Storey said, not raising her head. "Maybe they used your father's codex? With his help?"
Finally she finished. It felt like a half hour but she'd whipped the sketches together in minutes.
The buzzing in her ears was getting louder. Almost a bee sound. Incredibly hard to listen to. She smacked the side of her head. "They have to be close. Let's go."
As if the approaching Louers could sense what they were planning, the noise became deafening.
"Hurry, they're trying to knock us out before we can leave."
Storey dropped the portal on the ground, almost pushing Eric into it. He grabbed her hand. "I want you with me. Let's not get separated."
Warmth wrapped around her heart. "I'm here. I have to make sure we grab this portal as we go through. We can't take any more chances."
The pressure in her ears built up. She gasped at the pain, dropping to her knees at the edge of the paper. "Go, go. They're almost here."
Holding her left hand, the corner of the paper clenched in her right, Eric jumped in and pulled her with him.
Blackness surged through her consciousness as she fell into the hole.
S
omeone moaned.
Storey wished they'd stop. Her headache boomed deep inside. "Easy, Storey." Eric's voice split right through her skull. She shuddered.
"It's over now, but we almost didn't make it. We're still feeling the effects of their telepathic weapon."
Storey sat up in a panic, grabbing her head as it threatened to explode. "Did the portal come with us?"
The large sheet of paper landed in the dirt in front of her. Groaning, she dropped back to the ground. "Thank heavens. I don't think I'd be able to run anywhere right now."
"Too bad," snapped an angry voice behind them. "You took so long to get here, we don't have a choice. We have to leave now."
Storey closed her eyes. Damn. The Councilman still lived.
"Hello, father." Eric struggled to his feet.
Storey didn't bother. Besides, she wasn't sure she could. The pounding inside her skull had eased slightly, but not enough to make movement a good idea yet.
"Storey? You can recuperate back home."
Home? Her eyelids popped open. "That much effort might be possible."
"Better yet," the Councilman snapped, "we leave you here. You're responsible for this mess. Let's go, Eric."
"No." Eric's harsh voice left no doubt about his seriousness. "She comes with us or I leave you here."
Storey's gaze landed on the Councilman's face long enough to see the hate glazing his eyes. He obviously hadn't come to terms with her presence in his world. At least back at Paxton's lab, she knew they'd take care of him. With false energy, she struggled to her feet, but was forced to stay bent over for a long moment to adjust to being vertical.
"Can you see any of the other codexes? Portals?" She studied around the dark space. It appeared empty. But in the darkness, who could tell for sure. And they didn't have time for a full search right now.
"Father, is there anything left here with you?"
"No, they didn't understand and ruined them with water and they are wearing the codexes. That's how they went home." He snorted as he scrambled to his feet. "They didn't need much guidance on their usage."
Storey exchanged an appalled look with Eric. How much did the Louers know of Toran technology after their session with Eric's father? "If Paxton can shut them down that might be the easiest way to deal with any that can't be retrieved."
"And if he can't?" Eric glared at his father. "Did you really help them use the codexes…against your own people?" His jaw worked furiously. "Have you so little regard for your home? That you would bring something like this on them?"
The Councilman turned his back on Storey to glower at Eric. He sniffed hard and lifted his nose into the air. "It was the only way to secure my safety."
"Jesus," Storey muttered under her breath. "Eric, are you prepared to trust his word about the portals and codexes?"
Running a hand through his short cropped hair, Eric frowned. He walked the small space where his father had been held. There were small pieces of paper on the ground at the doorway to the next cavern, soaked and damaged beyond use. "He's correct about these." Eric pointed to the fragments. "Let's hope Paxton
can
disable the remaining codexes."
Storey walked over, the portal in her hand. "I'll ask the stylus to disable any still functioning portals as well. Soon as we get somewhere safe."
"That makes sense."
"Enough already," snapped the Councilman. "The guards will be here any minute. Let's go."
Even as the words left his mouth they heard heavy sounds of someone running. Then another set of running footsteps.
"Shit." Storey stepped back to give Eric room. "Hurry."
Eric bent over in agony, his hands clasped to his ears.
"My head. The pain. I can't think."
That same horrible noise built up inside Storey's head. Damn the Louers' and their secret weapon. "We have to go. Punch the codes." Storey gasped as the pain increased.
"Hurry up," snapped the Councilman. The noise twisted his features, but didn't seem to be crippling him the same as Eric and her. "Why can't we travel by codex? Or portals?"
Time. That's why they couldn't go by portal. "It has to be codex. Time is a problem with portals." Storey yelled to be heard over the pounding in her head.
Eric's gaze widened as he understood her. "Right. I forgot." He took a deep breath, pulled back his sleeve and tapped a sequence of numbers.
The Councilman stepped closer, his nervous gaze searching the darkness around them. Hissing, he said, "Hurry."
"It takes a moment." Eric's face twisted against the unbearable noise. He bent over gasping for breath. Mist swirled up from the ground. Storey struggled to remain conscious as pain turned her world black. She didn't know how Eric was faring or why the Councilman seemed unaffected. Unless his sheer size had something to do with it.
Gratefully, she realized that the higher the black mist, the less the noise penetrated. It didn't take long before she could stand up straight. Over Eric's shoulder she watched several Louer guards race into the chamber. "Uh, Eric? How far does the mist have to climb before it's too late to reverse?"
She nodded behind him. He turned his head, his shoulders relaxed. "It's too late now."
The Councilman glared at her. "Don't be telling her any of our secrets."
"It's hardly a secret, Father. Besides, it's nothing to what you've told them."
Keeping a wary eye on the two Louers, Storey held her breath until the mist blocked her view. They were safe.
The black mist was damn freaky. She didn't understand how the system worked. If she was in the middle of the haze, would it only transport part of her? If the Louers had tried to jump in, would only part of them make it? That thought shook her.
Still, they'd gotten away clean. Eric was here with her, Tammy was home and they were even bringing the Councilman back. There might be some skirmishing going on in Eric's dimension, but his people were perfectly capable of taking care of that problem now. Maybe she could finally go home. In truth, she wanted a hug from her mother. She couldn't believe how much she'd missed her.
The mist closed over her head.
"Thank heavens for that," she whispered.
"We're fine. Almost home now."
She closed her eyes and waited for the endless darkness to lighten. And waited. "Eric?"
"Another moment. The codex has stopped signaling."
His comforting tone of voice reassured her almost as much as his words. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, I was afraid something else had gone wrong."
"No. Everything's fine. Almost there."
The stiffness eased from her shoulders and her insides relaxed.
Just then two hands reached out and gave her a shove – hard. She lost her balance.
A shocked shriek escaped her.
***
Eric reached out to grab her and yelled, "Storey? What's the matter?"
There was only silence.
And empty space.
Gem Stone
A juvie kid trying to stay on the right path stumbles into trouble...
Gemma takes her camera everywhere. From juvie hall to a halfway home, the new hobby gives her a focus she'd never had before and...hope in a future. Until she takes pictures of something that could get her killed.
And not just her...after she and another juvie girl are chased by a stranger to the halfway home that same night, the other girl goes missing and Gemma knows she needs help. But who can she trust?
Not the authorities that's for sure. Trusting them is impossible for a girl with her damaged history, and besides, who cares about a troubled kid...especially when trouble just naturally seems to find her.
Blood doesn't just make her who she is...it also makes her what she is.
Like being a sixteen-year-old vampire isn't hard enough, Tessa's throwback human genes make her an outcast among her relatives. But try as she might, she can't get a handle on the vampire lifestyle and all the...blood.
Turning her back on the vamp world, she embraces the human teenage lifestyle-high school, peer pressure and finding a boyfriend. Jared manages to stir something in her blood. He's smart and fun and oh, so cute. But Tessa's dream of a having the perfect boyfriend turns into a nightmare when vampires attack the movie theatre and kidnap her date.
Once again, Tessa finds herself torn between the human world and the vampire one.
Will blood own out? Can she make peace with who she is as well as what?
Faith and loyalty are tested as a young girl learns what it is to believe – in herself, in her friends, and in life after death.
Cassie's best friend, bad boy Todd, is gone. Gone as in dead. Gone as in ghost. But she doesn't realize that when he wakes her in her bedroom and begs her not to believe what they say about him. It's not until the next day when her parents tell her about the accident that she learns the truth... The police believe Todd was living up to the family name, drinking and driving and coming to a predictable end. It's up to her to find out the truth and clear his name.
Todd is shocked at his sudden change in circumstances...and angry. He struggles with his new ghostly reality, realizing all he's lost as he watches his brother build a relationship with Cassie as the two pair up to find out what really happened to him. The truth isn't always pretty, and Cassie has to be stronger than ever before.
Especially when the whole world seems to be against her.
Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She's best known for her Psychic Visions series. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres. To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in digital and print formats.
Deceptive Designs (summer 2013)
Psychic Vision Series: