SHIAM Conspiracy- Book 1 (12 page)

Whatever her age, she was young and
beautiful. Zak caught himself wondering if she was a virgin.
Certainly, she was old enough to...

He repressed the thought, perplexed by the
fact that it had even come to him. What was wrong with him? She was
an Elf!

“I appreciate that the Institute was able to
send someone at such short notice,” he said to her awkwardly, “But
I really don’t think I’ll be needing your services after all. I
mean, I do still need the Institute’s services, but I was hoping to
work with Edward Brant. Not that there’s anything wrong with you,
understand. I’ve worked with Edward on several occasions in the
past and we work well together. Not that I think you wouldn’t work
well, mind you...”

He was babbling and he knew it. He was trying
to withdraw from the situation without offending her. After all, it
wasn’t as though he had anything against her personally.

“I can assure you that I am fully qualified,”
Megan said. “I am a certified Level One Sorcerer. I am also a
Sister of the Seventh Circle of the Tah-Kna and I hold a Doctorate
of Paranormal Science from the University of Elenathra in the
Mythnol Forest. I have worked within industrial settings on a
number of occasions in the past.”

“I’m sure you are quite qualified.” Zak felt
awkward to the point of foolishness, but this could not work with
an Elf, beautiful or not. “Would you please wait here a minute? I
need to make an important comm call.”

He was off to the kitchen area before Megan
could answer. Picking up the headset from the counter, he said in a
low voice, “Computer, contact the Institute of Occult and
Paranormal Sciences.”

Zak was surprised when Dr. Raghnall, himself,
appeared on the video comm link. He’d always dealt with one of the
Institute’s public service reps in the past. For being ninety-three
years old, Dr. Galen Raghnall looked to be in remarkably good shape
for a Human. His snow-white hair flowed past his shoulders in thick
waves, seamlessly merging with an equally white beard. His eyes
were a deep blue, and revealed both the merriment of youth and the
wisdom that only age could bring.

“Dr. Raghnall, I appreciate you sending
someone so quickly, but I was wondering if Edward Brant was
available.”

“Is there some problem with Melanthrianis?”
Dr. Raghnall asked.

“Who?”

“Megan,” the wizard clarified. “I assure you
she has all the credentials...”

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Zak interrupted
and then faltered. How did he explain without sounding like a
racist, which he was not! “I...I would just feel more comfortable
with Edward, if he’s available. Or perhaps David Jenson?”

“You do not like working with a woman!”

The words sent shockwaves into his back. He
turned to find Megan standing behind him, her tone accusatory and
her expression incredulous.

“No!” Zak was not accustomed to feeling
embarrassment. What the frag was she doing sneaking up on him like
that! “It has nothing to do with you, trust me. I’d just feel
better working with someone I know...”

“Yes, that is it.” Her smile turned bitter.
“You do not think a woman can be as good at sorcery as a man!”

“No, that’s not it at all!”

“Well, what then?” she asked. “Is it the way
I am dressed? I can look corporate when it is required.”

“No...” Zak was struck silent by a sudden
change in her appearance.

It was as though he were suddenly looking at
a different person entirely. The overstated make-up was now
conservatively done. Her raven hair, although still cut short, was
now minus the blonde streaks. She was dressed in a dark blue
business suit that conformed perfectly to the latest style in
women’s business fashion. Her skirt was cut to just above the knee,
the matching jacket snug in all the right places to enhance her
femininity while maintaining a sense of formality, and the white
blouse beneath showed sufficient cleavage to promote a second look
from any male while not appearing too promiscuous.

“Is this better?” she asked with a smirk.

“Yes...no...” His distraction was nearly
total, but he forced himself back to the issue at hand. “I mean no,
it is not your appearance...at least not entirely.”

“I’m sorry, but neither Edward nor David is
available at the moment,” Dr. Raghnall interrupted as Zak and Megan
argued back and forth.

“Well, surely you have someone available who
isn’t an...” His distraction with the Elf’s sudden change in
appearance nearly caused him to blurt out what was really bothering
him. In spite of stopping short, he knew instantly that he’d
already said more than enough.

“
Who is not what?”
Megan questioned
him. “If it is not about me being a woman or the way I am dressed,
then what...” Realization hit, her expression changing to one of
distaste. “You do not want me because I am Elf!”

“No,” Zak denied the accusation.

“You dick! Have you not noticed that you are
Elf, yourself?”

“Really, it’s nothing personal...” he tried
to explain. “And I’m only part Elf.”

“Nothing personal?” Her sensual voice was now
laced with enough venom to kill. Her appearance snapped back to the
degenerate look of before. “Nothing personal... You bastard, it is
very
personal!”

Zak and Megan began shouting at one another,
Zak on the defensive while Megan attacked.

“Please, Mr. Harris, Melanthrianis... Calm
yourselves!” Dr. Raghnall’s commanding voice suddenly filled the
room and they both stopped arguing. It didn’t occur to Zak to
question how they could both hear the Wizard when the comm was
still set for headset privacy. “There is a reason why I sent Megan.
There’s something I must explain to you both. Please set your comm
to speaker, Mr. Harris.”

Ah, here we go, Zak thought as he switched
from headset to speaker. He never liked dealing with sorcerers.
They were always much too –
mystical
- for his liking.

The wizard paused, as though waiting until he
was certain he had gained both their attentions fully. Zak watched
the old man on the monitor, knowing that he was not going to like
what the wizard had to say. Megan stepped closer to the comm, now
standing uncomfortably close to him. Ke’aira refused to acknowledge
there was a problem, moving as Megan moved, her body pressed
protectively against the Elf.

“I’m afraid you are both bound to one
another...at least for a time,” the wizard finally said.

“What?” both Zak and Megan said in
unison.

“What do you mean
bound to one
another
, what are you talking about?” This confirmed Zak’s
apprehension about wizards. He had
known
that magic was the
cause of his sudden attraction to this Elf. “You used magic on
me!”

“Of course not!” The wizard’s brow knitted
with impatience. “I am afraid this goes well beyond the control of
any one of us.”

“What are you talking about?”

“One of our Seers has had a
foretelling
.”

“A foretelling?”

“Surely you know what a foretelling is,”
Megan said.

“Yes, of course I know what a foretelling
is!” Zak snapped at her. “I just don’t happen to believe in
them.”

“What was the foretelling, Dr. Raghnall?”
Megan asked, ignoring Zak.

“
The words came to the Seer two weeks
ago,”
Dr. Raghnall said. He then recited the foretelling to
them.
“The false man will be taken by those on a false path. One
will rise in a false body. The world will be thrice at risk while
evil ripens. Only the one who is two unresolved and the estranged
daughter of the circles will deliver us.”

“What the hell does that supposed to mean?”
It was just as Zak thought - a bunch of mystical gibberish. In
spite of his skepticism, he couldn’t help but think of the missing
SHIAM after hearing the phrases
false man
and
false
body
. Nothing more than coincidence, he told himself. There
couldn’t possibly be any significance to it.

“Unfortunately, we did not immediately
understand its meaning,” Dr. Raghnall said. “We still do not know
the entire meaning. But we were able to deduce that the reference
to the
estranged daughter of the circles
was a clear
reference to you, Megan.”

“Me?” The young Elf’s first reaction was to
become indignant, “Oh, come now! I am
hardly
an estranged
daughter...”

“Melanthrianis!” The Master Wizard wore a
stern fatherly expression. Not angry, but unwilling to accept
nonsense. “The
daughter of the circle
is obviously a
reference to a Sister of the Seventh Circle. This reference has
appeared in other foretellings in the past. And you were sent to us
because the sisters found you rather –
disruptive
- to their
traditions. The Abbess felt that you, with your predilection for
Human culture, could better serve the Seventh Circle as a liaison
to our Institute.”

“Oh, all right!” she said, suddenly
flustered. “Perhaps the sisters were a little upset with me before
I left.”

“What a surprise,” Zak mumbled.

“We were able to identify Megan fairly
quickly, but we had no clue as to who the
one who is two
unresolved
referred to,” The old man went on, turning to Zak.
“That is, until your comm call requesting our assistance, Mr.
Harris. After you contacted us, we took the liberty of looking into
your background. You are obviously the
one who is two
unresolved
. Your parents were of two different races, Human and
Elf. And you have remained at odds with your Elvish blood all these
years, never allowing your two natures to become one.”

“You have no right snooping into my life!”
Zak raised his voice in anger. “And I am hardly the only one with a
mixture of Human and Elvish blood.”

“Please, Mr. Harris,” the wizard said evenly.
“This is a serious matter. There is no time for delicacies. The
point is that you fit the profile. Our Seer, once presented with
both your identities, was able to determine that the lines of your
two destinies do, in fact, meet at this point in time. So you see;
it is clear that you are both bound to this situation. You are both
destined to work together to resolve this threat.”

“And what exactly is this threat?” Zak asked,
still unconvinced.

“An excellent question,” said the wizard.
“Unfortunately, we do not know. The only thing that is clear is
that there is some great evil at work and it puts us in grave
peril. We believe that whatever is responsible for the atmospheric
disturbances we are experiencing is a part of it. Since you have
contacted us, we also suspect that whatever it is that led you to
us also plays some part in it as well.”

“You’re assuming that just because I came
along when I did, that it means I am some sort of
chosen
one
?” Zak shook his head, attempting to appear amused although
he actually wasn’t. He was really beginning to regret contacting
the Institute for help. “You do know what they say about when you
ass-u-me...
”

“Mr. Harris! There is nothing humorous about
this situation.” The wizard gave Zak a hard look. “And I assure you
that when a wizard
assumes
, it is only those who do not heed
his assumption that are the asses!”

“You cannot be serious!” Megan blurted out.
“You cannot really expect me to work with this racist creep.”

“I am not racist!”

“Aht!” The Wizard held up his hand to cut
Zak’s protest short. “Melanthrianis, you are Sister of the Seventh
Circle of the Tah-Kna. You know very well that the Te is not to be
taken lightly.”

Megan bowed her head in resignation, “Of
course, sir, I will do my part.”

“And you, Mr. Harris. You have been trained
in the Ways of the Te’n Kha. You, also, should know that the Te
runs deep in all of our lives, and this fate goes far beyond any
petty differences.”

Zak didn’t appreciate becoming a pawn in some
mystical game, but he had learned during his service with ASID that
some games had to be played regardless. As reluctant as he was to
admit it, some instinct told him that all this mystical prattle
could somehow fit into the Grimrok theft.

“Okay, I will accept the Institute’s
assistance...for now.” He refused to recognize that a part of
himself actually anticipated working with the beautiful Elf woman,
who was even now glaring at him with hostility. “But get one thing
straight. I have my own free will. There is no invisible force or
fate driving
my
life!”

Megan’s smirk irritated him and he wanted to
snarl some indignity back at her, but he didn’t.

“
W
e can take my car.” Megan suggested as
they headed around the side of the building towards the parking
lot.

“That’s okay, we’ll take mine,” Zak
countered. Jacob, Zak’s mechanic, had returned his car to him and
he wanted to take it for a test drive. Besides, he really didn’t
want to be dependent upon Megan for transportation.

The rain had stopped for the moment and the
wind had died, but storm clouds continued to press low against the
city. Thunder still rolled angrily across the sky, punctuated by
violent flashes of lightning. Since conceding to Dr. Raghnall’s
insistence that he and Megan work together, Zak had decided to
continue with his investigation as planned and briefed Megan on
some of the details. They were now on their way back to Grimrok
Corporation. If she was the hot-shot sorceress Raghnall claimed her
to be, she may at least be able to detect something that he wasn’t
able to.

“No really, I would rather take mine.”

“What’s wrong with my car?” Zak was more than
a little annoyed with her controlling attitude as he gestured
toward his vehicle. “This is a 5095 Subana Sport Classic. It’s a
collector’s model.”