The Augenspire (Origins of Elaria Book 1) Read online

  “I’m sorry I upset you.”

  She shook her head and said, “Why? It’s the truth, whether I like hearing it or not.”

  “Yes, but I can still be sorry for causing you pain.” He looked like he was debating whether to continue speaking or not.

  “I only asked because I know your facial expressions well enough to know when you’re looking neutral because you’re covering up a whole host of other emotions and thoughts you don’t want people to see, and when you’re looking neutral just because you actually feel neutral,” she explained. “Tonight it was the former, and I wanted to know why, since it could be a matter of importance to my family.”

  Topher looked slightly surprised to hear she could read his lack of expression so well, but then he sighed and said, “There are a few…facts, I can share with you. What conclusions you choose to draw from them will be entirely up to you.”

  Brightening slightly at this concession, Jessamine invited him to continue, trying to ignore his nearness and focus on the subject at hand.

  “I visited Fox’s prisoner—Maxton Mercuria—yesterday,” he admitted. “It was my first experience with a prisoner in the advanced cells, and I was bored and thought Fox might be able to use some help getting information out of him.”

  Jessamine nodded for him to go on.

  “When I met him he was very weak. Dehydrated. He stayed slumped in a corner on the floor even after I shut the door behind me and he was free to move about. He told me he didn’t know anything about Hera and the information leading to his arrest was planted by a Minor because someone thought his Gift would make it easier to get to her.”

  Jessamine raised her eyebrows in shock at this.

  “Do you believe him?”

  “Facts, Jessa,” he reminded her. He didn’t appear to notice the casual nickname he had used, which nearly made her blush. Only her father and sister ever called her Jessa, though she liked the way it sounded coming from him.

  “What I do know is when Fox interrupted us, he was not happy to see me—which could be because he thinks I’m a young upstart with too much favor from your family. However, I told him I wanted to review the evidence the Minor found against the prisoner, and Fox said it was gone.”

  “Gone?” Jessamine asked in a hollow voice.

  “Accidentally destroyed, to use his exact words.”

  “That’s…suspicious.” Jessamine said after a pause. Topher looked like he privately agreed with her but didn’t say so out loud.

  “I left at that point, but it was clear to me Fox had been using some of our more arcane interrogation techniques to get information out of his prisoner.”

  “Is ‘arcane interrogation techniques’ the nice way of saying ‘torture’?” Jessamine asked pointedly.

  Topher pursed his lips and said, “To put it bluntly, yes.” He paused, then added, “Would you remain in a cell for weeks under those conditions before escaping, if you had the power to do so at any time?”

  Jessamine pursed her lips thoughtfully and said, “I thought it seemed dodgy he should suddenly discover a way to escape after so much time in captivity. You know I’ve been studying the Gifted extensively, and an established Gift like his shouldn’t take weeks to figure out how to use—it should either work or not.” She frowned momentarily. “So if Maxton wasn’t able to escape under his own power, then he either overpowered Fox and escaped, or Fox let him out on purpose….But why? Did the prisoner claim he would take him to Hera, or was Fox just trying to start trouble by making it look like a break-out and things got out of hand?”

  She didn’t even bother pretending to believe a dehydrated, tortured Gifted was able to overpower an armored Provo-Major to make a break for freedom.

  Topher said, “Here I’ll stray perilously close to speculation, so please treat it as such, but I was sitting fairly close to Fox tonight in the High Chamber.”

  “So?” Jessamine prompted immediately.

  “His eyes were a little glassy and he smelled like burnt sugar.” He switched topics abruptly, before she could address this point. “I find it odd that of the five or six Gifted who allegedly attacked him, he could only identify two of them.”

  “Well, he did say that the others were wearing masks,” Jessamine offered, as a prompt to continue his thought.

  “Then why was the girl unmasked? She knew there would be an ambush but she wasn’t prepared like her peers? That seems unlikely to me.”

  So much for not speculating with me.

  “You’re thinking…what?” Jessamine finally asked him, when more information didn’t appear to be forthcoming.

  “I think Fox is the type of person to embellish his story as needed to prevent himself from looking bad.”

  Jessamine arched an eyebrow and said, “I think he still looked pretty bad in there. He lost his entire Talent set, and his ion-sword.”

  Topher waved this away with one hand.

  “If the hospital records don’t turn up anything suspicious, then I propose another scenario.” He held up two fingers. “Two assailants, instead of six. Maxton and the girl overpower him and relieve him of his weapons, which is humiliating enough that he would conjure up another four Gifted attackers in the retelling.” Then, as though doubting his own assertion, he added, “How were two Gifted—one injured and definitely unarmed—able to overpower one of us in close combat.”

  “It is…surprising…with all of your armor and training and weaponry…though your heads aren’t well-guarded by your light armor and he clearly had his face stomped on a few times,” Jessamine allowed.

  “If he was expecting a fight then he definitely would have worn his heavies, and his head would have been protected.” Topher frowned. “Even if Maxton transported them to one of his allies, that ally can’t have known in advance they were coming; how would he have gotten a message out of the top floors of the Augenspire?”

  Jessamine frowned thoughtfully at this.

  “So they likely surprised this psychic friend of his, who may or may not have been armed at the time, and they just happened to overpower a fully-trained veteran of the Provo-Major, though Maxton was weak from weeks of torture by then. If I’m following your line of thinking on the relevance of the burnt-sugar smell and glassy eyes from earlier, you’re thinking…drugs?”

  Topher shrugged and said, “It wouldn’t be the first time one of us took liberties with illicit substances, some of which are notorious for affecting higher functions as well as equilibrium. Norocal is the most popular brand of rapid-detox drugs on the market right now, and it leaves behind a distinct smell of burnt sugar after its use.”

  If Fox had been using drugs, he would seek a rapid-detox injection before notifying anyone of the escaped prisoner. Glassy eyes were also a common side-effect of both drug usage and rapid detox.

  “So he gets loaded, frees the prisoner for whatever reason, and they are transported away from the Augenspire where they stumble upon one of Maxton’s friends, at which time the two of them overpower Fox because he’s at a cognitive disadvantage. Together they steal his Talents and ion-sword, then escape,” Jessamine summarized.

  Topher said, “There’s no proof of any of this, of course,” but it was obvious he agreed with her line of thinking. “But I can’t fathom letting an enemy get close enough to me to remove my Talents unless I had no choice, and Maxton was in no condition to put up a real fight against an armored and armed member of the Provo-Major.”

  Jessamine said, “I suppose if that’s the way it happened, he would have to lie about it to the group, or else he’d be fired for breaking the ban on illicit substances and then killed for allowing such a disgraceful thing to tarnish the fearsome reputation of the Majors.”

  Topher grimaced at this but said, “Yes, forcible retirement from the Provo usually entails a violent death as a warning to others. We have standards to maintain, after all.”

  “I don’t suppose you want to share any of these illuminating insights with my father when we’re fini
shed here?” Jessamine asked, already knowing the answer.

  “I didn’t even want to share them with you,” he gave her an incredulous look. “That being said, please take great care in how you use this information, as there are parts of it only I could have provided you with, and I really don’t want to alienate myself even further from my peers if possible.”

  “I understand,” she assured him. “I suppose now you’re off to hunt this man who may have been falsely imprisoned and tortured by us for no good reason?” she asked regretfully. She knew Maxton couldn’t be allowed to walk free, as a matter of principle, but she could also understand why the Gifted still had so much hatred of her father’s government if this was really happening right beneath their noses.

  One day, it will be my government.

  “Actually,” Topher surprised her. “I’m much more interested in his psychic friend—and heaven only knows how a psychic managed to get through our surveillance and screening all these years,” he added with a note of admiration.

  “Eager to help protect our secrets?” she guessed.

  “That, too,” he admitted. “Jessa,” he gave her a wry grin, taking her hand in his without seeming to notice what he was doing. His palms were callused in places but warm and comforting. “How did Fox know this girl was a psychic?”

  Jessamine raised her eyebrows in confusion, because it was obvious.

  “He said she saw things in his head and said them out loud…things only he could know.”

  “Your father has given the order to kill her if necessary because she is very dangerous to anyone who approaches her. We have enough top secret information between us to be disastrous if the resistance got their hands on it. I’d love to know what she got out of Fox before we terminate her, since I doubt he would be so pale and terrified at her plucking out a few access codes we can easily and quickly change.”

  Jessamine raised an eyebrow and said, “But even if it isn’t the access codes for the building, wouldn’t it just be secrets you already know as well? There might be a few things Fox is privy to that you aren’t—my father doesn’t like putting all his eggs in one basket—but in the grand scheme of things…”

  “Knowing Fox, I think he would’ve mentioned the psychic much earlier if that were the case. It would have ended the arguing over whether we launch a manhunt to recover her and Maxton, which is what he and Andro were itching for from the beginning. He only brought up the fact she was psychic at the end, when it seemed like your father wasn’t going to give us permission to kick down doors at the Academy looking for them.” He paused, then added, “I think she saw something Fox doesn’t want anyone to know about, not even us. In which case, I must do all I can to be the one who finds her before any of my over-enthusiastic peers slaughter her.”

  What happened to not sharing your personal thoughts and opinions with me? Jessamine suppressed a smile.

  “Happy hunting then, Major,” she said with all sincerity. “And you will be careful…”

  “Always,” he smiled back at her, only then noticing his hand on top of hers. The easy, relaxed air about him vanished instantly, replaced by his usual neutral expression as he jerked his hand back. “Apologies, Vicerina. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve already gotten a late start on my work and I must now catch up.”

  “Of course,” she replied sensibly, though she wished she could command him to stay here with her all night, even if they were just sitting on the couch talking. These moments were so few and far between, and about to get even scarcer once Darius Hamish arrived.

  Hanna saw Topher get to his feet and she removed her ear-caps in time to hear them exchange farewells. When the door was shut and locked behind him, her maid said, “That boy has a good head on his shoulders, but you still need to be careful if you want to maintain your arrangement with Darius Hamish.”

  Jessamine said, very calmly, “There is no problem, Hanna. Topher was simply reporting on the status of an assignment.”

  “But in your private quarters? Mr. Hamish will—”

  “Darius Hamish will be made to understand that while he may inherit control of a considerable amount of our trade, I will inherit control of this planet, and I will conduct my business as it pleases me.”

  Hanna raised her eyebrows at this and said, “Of course, Vicerina. I should not have—”

  “Don’t apologize, Hanna,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument. “I have always appreciated candor in my associates, even when we disagree. I’m going to bed,” she changed the subject. “Please ensure I’m not disturbed unless we are in another state of emergency.”

  “Yes, Excellence,” the maid said, but Jessamine had already closed the door to her bedroom behind her. She was exhausted, but wasn’t sure if she would be able to return to sleep after all the excitement. Of all the thoughts whirling around in her brain, somehow the one that stayed with her as she lied down in bed was the warmth of Topher’s hand on hers.

  9

  Risa Vorhees

  Risa knew something was wrong soon after waking. At first she thought it was her overactive imagination, naturally assuming the worst of things, or perhaps she had a nightmare and couldn’t remember anything but the feelings it left behind.

  She yawned and sat upright in bed, turning on a light. Her roommate was sitting in her own bed, staring worriedly out of the closed window in the direction of the ground. From her vantage point, Risa couldn’t see what was so fascinating outside.

  “What are you looking at?” She startled the other girl, forcing her to look away from the window.

  “Risa, you scared me,” Vima touched a hand to her heart to calm herself and then turned back to the window, the sunlight glinting off of her sleek black hair. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I think something really bad has happened.”

  Immediately thinking of Carl, Risa leapt to her feet and moved to join her roommate at the window.

  “Something bad? What makes you say that?”

  In response, Vima pointed outside. Even from the eleventh story, Risa could clearly see the unique uniforms of the Provo-Minor scurrying about below.

  Risa raised her eyebrows in shock.

  “Why in the world are so many of the Minors here?” she asked. It looked like they were fanning out all over campus as far as the eye could see, setting up outside of buildings and blocking main roadways out of the Academy. She could see a formal blockade being set up in the distance.

  “No idea, but it can’t be good,” Vima frowned. “It looks like they’re locking down the entire Academy.”

  “You don’t think it has anything to do with that guy from Physman who tried to scale the Augenspire the other day, do you? We haven’t been under full lockdown in years…” Risa asked without much hope. Surely the Provo-Minor dealt with worse scares than one lone madman trying to attack their fortress and failing.

  Unless they’ve found out something about Hera during their interrogations of the people here, she thought uneasily. If someone had given up any of Hera’s meeting locations or confirmed allies, then Risa herself might be in quite a bit of trouble.

  “I wonder if there are still classes today,” Vima frowned, which was the last thing on Risa’s mind right now.

  “If there aren’t, I’m sure they’ll stop us and let us know before we leave the dormitory.” And with that, Risa began getting dressed, moving around much more calmly than she felt.

  They either knew she was part of the resistance or they didn’t. If they didn’t, then there was no reason for her to act strangely or it would only draw unwanted attention to her. If they did, then they already knew where she lived and there was nothing she could do to prevent them from taking her away, so she might as well get it over with now.

  She pinned her hair away from her face, grabbed her book bag as though this was a perfectly normal day, and made her way down the hall to the elevator. Once she arrived in the lobby, it became very apparent this was not going to be a normal day by any definition.


  Two Provo-Minor were standing on either side of the door, blocking the exit as a line formed in front of them. They looked like they were scanning people’s ID-chips and checking for something before allowing them to go outside. But they weren’t sending everyone back to their rooms, so it wasn’t a complete lockdown like she’d feared. Nervously, Risa got in line.

  No one was speaking except for the Provo; the entire line of Gifted was silent, the tension saturating the air like a thick fog. Even the Gifted guards who worked the front desk during the day were unusually serious.

  Risa inhaled deeply and tried not to look more or less concerned than anyone else in line, despite being intensely curious about what the Minors were searching for. As the line inched slowly closer to the Provo at the doors, she could hear bits and pieces of what they were saying to the people ahead of her.

  “—to class as normal for further instructions. Do not attempt to leave the Academy for any reason until further notice or you will be detained and held for further questioning.”

  Risa narrowed her eyes unhappily. So they were under an official lockdown, if not one that kept them confined to their rooms all day. This dashed her hopes of getting any news from Hera on whether she knew what happened to Carl, unless by some miracle Ana managed to get any good information last night. She wondered if she would be able to make contact with Ana today, or if the presence of the Provo en masse would prevent the two of them from meeting. Perhaps this would all blow over by lunchtime and they could discuss what had happened. Surely this many Minors couldn’t be here for too long or things would slow down within the government itself.

  Risa noticed the boys in the line were getting through much faster than the girls, but maybe it was only a coincidence.

  It was her turn to be checked. Risa made eye contact with each of the Minors and attempted a cooperative smile, but she wasn’t sure how successful she was at pulling it off.

  “Wrist,” one of them said in a bored voice, while the other studied her face carefully.