Chapter 17

Michael caused quite a stir when he revealed himself to Lao’s PDI handler at what, from the outside, appeared to be nothing more than a storage facility full of parts for Lao’s Techspot. Daelen StormTiger was seen as something of a superhero to these people, however, and that connection served to engender trust. Had Jessica been there, the Champion of the Gods was sure she would have teased him about being Daelen’s sidekick. Still, from what he knew about such Earth entertainment, such sidekicks sometimes ended up with their own spinoff story. He supposed this was his.

The PDI arranged discreet transportation in the form of a flying cargo transporter, a passenger transport being too small. They had initially been resistant to Lao accompanying him – he was an analyst, not a field agent, but Michael insisted.

“I need someone familiar with this world and its technology, and there may be times when I have to turn off my perception filter. How many people do you want to know I’m an alien?”

The PDI conceded the point and authorised it.

Wherever he went in Wirathia, their PDI contacts had arranged for ‘quarters’ which was a polite term for ‘warehouse’. That was OK. He’d spent most of his life in a high-tech coffin in a tomb. Compared to that, anything else was luxury.

To his credit, Laoghaire didn’t complain, either.

“I’ve always wanted to travel around Wirathia,” he told Michael, excitedly, “but I could never afford it. Thanks to you, I’m getting paid to do it. It seems a bit ungrateful to complain about the accommodations.”

While it was winter in Weslend and across Vrania in the Northern hemisphere, it was of course summer down in Wirathia. Precisely what that meant depended on whereabouts they were on the island continent. As they were taken from city to city, conditions ranged from warm and dry, through hot and humid, to a more temperate climate. Everywhere he went, dragons filled the sky to the point where he imagined, if Mandalee had been there, as a Cleric of Nature, she’d probably hear the native birds complaining about immigration and overcrowding. What he really needed to see, however, was the barrier. Unfortunately, there was no way to do that until it was put into operation. In the meantime, he would just have to continue to play the part of a VIP tourist.

*****

A news vidcast began circulating on the GlobeNet that included ‘released footage’ of some anti-dragon terror group ranting about ‘wiping out the threat for good.’ In response, the allied governments, led by Weslend, had called for dragons everywhere to head for Wirathia as quickly as possible, because this group was ‘deadly serious’ and ‘well capable of carrying out their threat’ against any dragons who remained outside Wirathian protection. Intelligence services were ‘working around the chronometer’ to try and counter this terror plot, but there was ‘regrettably, every chance’ that the terrorists might at least partially succeed. To try and avert that as much as possible, they said the decision had been made, with the full co-operation of the Wirathian government, to bring forward the shield activation, to rob the terrorists of more time. The plan was now for the shield to be activated in just seven days.

They estimated that more than ninety-two percent of the world’s dragon population had already taken refuge there. The Weslend authorities now ‘implored’ the rest of the dragon community to accept the protection and warm hospitality of Wirathia for the sake of their safety and survival. They said that ‘additional resources’ had been allocated to Wirathia from the Northern continents’ emergency fund to help speed up the process. It was their ‘dearest hope,’ they said, that they could get the final figure up as close to one hundred percent as possible. Then, as soon as the current threat was passed and the ‘hardline elements’ dealt with, the system of dragon passport allocation could start to be introduced.

“What dragon passport system?” Lao yelled at the screen as if it were an interactive vidcast. “There isn’t one, and you know it! So, what are you really doing with the money, hmm?”

The PDI still hadn’t found the answer to that yet, but they had made a breakthrough of sorts: there were fewer branches than yesterday.

For the first time since Lao had begun his illegal investigation, following the money trail as it continually split, a few had merged. Whoever was behind this was still trying to hide it by using different trading names for the same company, but it hadn’t worked for long. If these strands were beginning to converge, then they had indeed turned a corner. It was a race against time. Trouble was, they now had a week less than they thought they had.

Because of his PDI work, Lao hadn’t had time to help Sara with her side of things. Still, she was clever, so it hadn’t hampered her efforts. He had granted her full, free access to the resources of his Techspot and had managed to help her get a few hard-to-find components for her device. As for Jessica, she might not have an aptitude for technology, being more at home tending the garden with strange powers Lao didn’t know she possessed, but she was always ready to offer a helping hand or encouraging word when her sister needed one.

She hadn’t just been tending the garden for the sake of aesthetics, either. She’d been trying to practice her fledgeling druid magic. It was a bit hit and miss as to whether it would work at all, let alone work as she intended, but she was improving, slowly, as she began to tune her senses into the nature of this world. From this exercise, she was sure she was starting to feel something out of place. Nothing she could put her finger on and certainly nothing she could prove, but she believed it more and more. It surely had to be in Weslend somewhere. She didn’t think even Catriona’s highly attuned druid senses could stretch much further.

At last, Sara called her sister over and told her the device was ready. She would be able to test it using a ring that Michael had left her, which was imbued with a small amount of higher planar energy. It was barely enough to power an Earth watch, but if her device could detect that, it should have no trouble picking up a trace of the kind of power the fragment must contain. It wouldn’t do much good if it were halfway around the world where Michael was, but it should be good for a hundred miles, at least. If her sister was right about the proximity of the fragment, and if her device worked properly, they should at last be able to begin their search.

Frankly, Sara had more confidence in the former than the latter. If she told her sister her tech device could do something, Jessica would never question it, and if it didn’t work, she would just shrug and say, “You’ll fix it.” So, if Jessica claimed her new magic could detect something out of place in Weslend, how could she not have that same faith in her?

“OK, Jess. Here goes. Make a wish!”

They both closed their eyes as Sara activated her device…

…which promptly burnt out and shut down.

“Never mind, sis,” Jessica chirped, breezily, giving her a reassuring hug. “You’ll fix it.”

Sara smiled. No matter what world they were on, she was still the same Jess, and with that on her side, how could she fail?

*****

After a while, Sara called her sister back, excitedly.

“Jess, I’ve figured out why it went wrong!”

“Go on,” Jessica encouraged her, prepared for a technical explanation she probably wouldn’t understand, but she’d nod and smile while her sister told her how clever she was.

“It didn’t!” Sara exclaimed.

“Huh? Did you bump your head or did I?”

“No, listen. It’s supposed to detect higher planar energy, right?”

Jessica nodded. She was clear on what it was meant to do, and while she wasn’t certain precisely how, she was pretty sure it wasn’t by burning out.

“It burnt out because it was too sensitive. The input was more than it could handle.”

Jessica screwed up her face in puzzlement. “What? From that little ring?”

“No!” Sara grinned. “That’s what I couldn’t work out at first, then I realised it wasn’t detecting Michael’s ring – or if it was, it was like a drop in the ocean.” Jessica still wasn’t getting it, so Sara spelt it out, “Jess, you were right! There is something out of place in Weslend. Something either very powerful or relatively close…I think it’s both. Whatever Michael’s doing down in Wirathia doesn’t have anything to do with the control device fragment. It can’t do, because it’s here in Weslend! And now that I’ve turned the sensitivity in this device right down…” she activated it again, and this time it lit up and began bleeping. She turned around on the spot until the bleeping accelerated. “…I can tell it’s that way!”

“That’s brilliant, Sara!” Jessica cried, hugging her tight at the same time as their tails did a high five. “I knew you’d do it!” She broke the hug. “So, any idea how far it is?”

Sara shook her head. “Haven’t had a chance to calibrate distance, yet. I can do that as we travel.”

“Then let’s go,” Jessica declared, grabbing their warm coats.

Sara picked up their perception filters, handing one to her sister. “Should we tell Michael?”

“Why?” Jessica asked as they both prepared to leave Daelen’s base, activating the devices. “No point dragging him back here. Whatever’s going on, we can handle it ourselves, right?”

Sara gave an emphatic nod. “Right. Michael can save the dragons, and we’ll save the world.”

“Then we’ll be heroes.”

Sara nodded, “And we can find you a nice Lavosian to snog, so you’ll stop going on about me and my elf boy.”

“Hey!” Jessica objected. “I haven’t teased you about that for days!”

Sara smiled as her sister linked arms with her. “I know. I’ve kind of missed it.”

Jessica laughed and activated the control that would allow them to pass into the world outside. “Well maybe, when we’re heroes, we can find you someone new to snog, and I can tease you about that instead!”

As they stepped out into the snow, Sara remarked, “If only we had a nice yellow brick road to follow.”

Jessica shook her head. “Don’t need one. Your gadget will take us all the way to Oz.”

“It’d still be easier to keep our footing, though,” Sara pointed out as she slipped slightly.

Jessica gave her a quizzical look. “Why do you think I linked arms? We can just support each other, as always.”

“As always,” Sara agreed with a smile.

She’d been wondering what their lives might be like, now that they were no longer Daelen’s domestic help. Well, life surely didn’t get any better than this: here with her amazing sister by her side, off on an adventure to save the world.

So, together, they followed the pull of the bleeps wherever they might lead.

*****

Somewhere in the dark, a countdown had started, Jessica was sure of it. That’s how it always worked in the movies she’d watched on Earth. An unnecessarily large clock counting down the seconds to catastrophe. She didn’t know where it was, but she was convinced of its existence, nonetheless. Just a few days, now, until the barrier went up around Wirathia and she didn’t share her sister’s belief that it was unrelated to what they were doing. Again, that was how it worked in the movies. Two seemingly unconnected story strands coming together at the last minute as that clock counted down.

They had been walking on and off, for several hours before they realised they were wasting their time. Now that Sara had calibrated her tracking device, they could see that if they were ever going to make it to Oz in time, they would have to make use of something Dorothy never had on her journey: public transport. A combination of the approximate distance reading and a few logical assumptions led them to decide on Kaelia Capitolina as their destination. As the name suggested, it was the capital city of Weslend, and as such, transport there was abundant, if crowded.

Once there, they had checked into a small hotel for a few days while Sara repaired her device. It had burnt out again a few miles outside K.C., as people called it here, and Sara had to search local electronics outlets for parts. Lao had helped with that when Jessica called him. Being in the trade, he could recommend places to go, as well as warn them about the more disreputable ones best avoided.

The power readings here were so high, it had not been easy to recalibrate her device to cope with the input and give them a sensible reading. She’d also replaced the bleeping with a tiny flashing light that was less likely to attract attention in these crowded city streets. Finally, though, after staying up until midnight, at Jessica’s insistence, the device was functioning correctly.

It was Barrier Activation Day and early that morning, after a few hours’ sleep – not as many as Sara would have liked – the tracker led them into the warehouse district and finally to one particular building that couldn’t be more nondescript if it tried.

Jessica remembered Mandalee telling her about Catriona’s plan to cross the ocean while avoiding Kullos’ prying eyes. To that end, they had hired an unremarkable vessel called the Dolphin. When the attack finally came, Daelen’s pride and joy, the StormChaser had been targeted, while their real transport had gone unnoticed. The Chetsuan had a hunch that this building had been chosen for a similar purpose and they couldn’t afford to make the same mistake Kullos had.

The people milling around it appeared to be a mix of general maintenance workers who looked so completely unlike security guards, that Sara was convinced that was exactly what they were. Moreover, she thought the way the ‘gardener’ was walking around ‘noting’ the presence of weeds without doing anything about them was highly suspicious.

Jessica noted the weeds, too. They could prove useful.

After walking around for half an hour or so, she grumbled, “It’s no use us wandering around here all day, sis. We need to get in there. Soon. Something here is very wrong – more than your gadget is telling us. I’m sure of it.”

The way Jessica’s ears were pricked up and her tail bushed out, her body language on full alert, Sara didn’t doubt her at all. Her own heart was pounding in her chest as she picked up on her twin’s feelings, but she forced herself to concentrate. Concentration that was broken when Jessica’s phone rang.

It was Michael. He’d been consulting with Laoghaire, who told him they’d traced at least a portion of the money and it definitely had something to do with the barrier around Wirathia. Except that didn’t make sense, because the funds for that had already been allocated through official, traceable accounts. That suggested there was something about the barrier that they didn’t want people, even the Wirathian government, to know.

The PDI had also traced a reference to something else that didn’t make sense: some kind of holding in the middle of the Central Wirathian Desert. A holding that needed electrical power. But there weren’t supposed to be any such permanent buildings in the desert. They had searched through old records to try and find anything that would explain this. Eventually, they found something on an old computer printout from just about the dawn of the first digital age. According to that, there had once been an experimental power plant built there, a hundred miles from anywhere, just in case something went wrong. It was decommissioned and abandoned after about a decade when advances in solar energy technology made the whole experiment redundant.

Jessica, already quite chilly in the Wirathian winter, felt her blood run cold. “Whatever they’re doing, it’s something to do with that power plant.”

Michael agreed. “That’s why I’m going there. The PDI are arranging transport. I should be there in about two hours.”

“But what does that have to do with this place?” Sara wondered, her brow furrowing as she tried and failed to figure it out. “The fragment is definitely here, not over there.”

“I don’t know,” Jessica admitted, “but it’s connected. I know it.”

“Oh well, even when Michael gets to this power plant, there will still be a good three-and-a-half hours before anything happens,” Sara pointed out.

“True,” Jessica agreed, relaxing a little.

There being nothing more to discuss, for the time being, the Chetsuans exchanged goodbyes with their friend and hung up.

“Now then, dearie, how the hell do we get inside that building?” Jessica wondered.

“Well, as Cat would say, I have a ridiculous radical plan.”

Jessica grinned. “I love it already.”

“I just need a few components and a bit of time and space to work.”

“And then?” Jessica prompted.

“Then I make us disappear.”

“Huh? I thought I was the one dabbling in magic.”

What Sara had planned wasn’t magic, but technology. They were both wearing perception filters, devices that changed how people saw them by filtering the light around them. With a bit of tweaking, then, she thought, she could probably make the light filter them out completely, rendering them practically invisible to anyone who wasn’t specifically looking for them. It would put a strain on the technology as it would have to continually shift the image it presented, and it would undoubtedly drain their power supply, limiting the time they could remain invisible. Hopefully, it would be time enough.

As Sara outlined her plan, however, Jessica’s phone bleeped as it notified its owner of a news vidcast that it had just picked up. It was a spokesperson from the Weslend central government. She explained to the citizens of the Vranian Alliance that the President had just finished consulting with his ‘esteemed Wirathian counterpart’ sharing the ‘dread intelligence’ that the terror attack they had been monitoring for the past few weeks was now an ‘imminent threat’. As such, Weslend had ‘offered all possible assistance’ to ensure the barrier could be ready as quickly as possible. After consultation with Wirathian technical people, it had been agreed that they would bring its activation forward by three hours.

Somewhere, in the dark, a countdown had just skipped down to a little over two hours and thirty minutes.