The Augenspire (Origins of Elaria Book 1) Read online

  Either way, he wasn’t sure it could even hear his mental responses when he tried to give them, because it never seemed to matter what he thought or what questions he asked of it; it never answered them.

  You can’t ignore the truth forever, little hero…the voice whispered in his mind.

  Topher twitched in irritation and grabbed a Talent from his belt to slip into an enhancer without looking at it. He was immediately free of any minor aches and pains he was feeling—his feet had been sore from all the standing around—and he exhaled in relief.

  The voice in his head was immediately silenced, and his mind was once again his own.

  “Is everything alright?” Jessamine asked from the couch, seeing him twitch. He hadn’t realized she was still watching him.

  “Yes, Vicerina,” he lied. “Nothing to report.”

  13

  Risa Vorhees

  Risa stared mulishly at the building across the street as though contemplating the storming of a fortress. Gastelain Memorial Hospital was in one of the more affluent areas of Silveria; the heart of the big business district itself.

  “Under normal conditions they might have let us in to see him,” Ana interrupted her dark musings, stirring a coffee spoon idly around in her cup, though the sugar had long since dissolved. “Talk about bad timing for a terroristic bombing.”

  Risa sighed and looked away from the shiny, slate-grey marble structure across from their café, facing her friend at last. There were dark circles under her eyes to show she clearly hadn’t been sleeping, and there was something grey and dull about her complexion.

  “Is Hera still getting the blame for it?”

  Ana pursed her lips and said, “Yes, haven’t you been watching the news? If I drank a shot every time they said her name I’d have died of alcohol poisoning on the first day.”

  “I haven’t really had the energy to care about what’s happening in the city,” Risa replied unrepentantly. “I’ve been a little preoccupied these last few days wondering whether Carl was dead in a gutter somewhere.”

  This was certainly true. Carl had been missing for days now, ever since he went to visit Hera and never returned to the Academy. The first night of his absence he was reported missing by the lackeys who guarded his dormitory, and Risa feared he’d gone rogue and decided not to return to the Academy at all. By the second night no one even seemed to be looking for him anymore, and Risa had grown suspicious and checked the Gifted directory on her computer. His listing was short and maddeningly vague on details, giving her just enough information to be truly terrified for him.

  Carl Vucanis: Full-spectrum D-R (classic). Secondary association in Physman. 1B classification: Level-3 or greater clearance required for full records. Full-time resident of Academy.

  Note: Confirmed at Silveria University Hospital—condition critical. 5/6/2460 by #3245 CAR.

  Note: Applicant #02091 for position GC-56687A. Transferred to Gastelain Memorial Hospital. 5/7/2460 by #22230 VMR.

  At that point all she knew was that something horrible had happened to Carl and he was in critical condition at the hospital. It had taken her a while to figure out why he had been transferred to Gastelain, since the application and job posting numbers were unfamiliar to her. It had been Ana who calmed down long enough to figure out it must be referring to the position they discussed with him at the Augenspire recently. Most government employees were treated at Gastelain when injured, as it was in contract with the Augenspire to receive huge amounts of funding in exchange for the partnership. It also made it the most technologically-advanced hospital on the continent and therefore the most expensive to anyone who wasn’t a government employee. Risa had never set foot inside it before now.

  “The media is reporting that the attack on First Orbital was a suspected terrorist strike by Hera’s group,” Ana broke her train of thought once more. “They claim the Augenspire is still investigating, but all the bodies on the ground floor were burned pretty badly before the fire went out, so other than identifying them, I’m not sure they’ll find enough evidence to determine a motive for the attack or to prove Hera wasn’t behind it.”

  Risa, still darkly depressed because Carl was across the street from her in unknown condition and she couldn’t see him, said, “The blast doors were in place as soon as that speeder crashed through the main entrance, making the ground floor nearly air-tight. The initial explosion consumed most of the available oxygen and then died out pretty quickly, leaving that poor guy in the bathroom to die of smoke inhalation before the rescue crews could even get in. I don’t see how anything they find in the remains will be able to exonerate or convict Hera of guilt.”

  “I thought you haven’t been watching the news.” Ana raised her eyebrow skeptically. Risa shrugged. “Anyway, whether they find evidence or not, the government will continue to blame Hera for everything it can. It helps support their story that she’s running a mad terrorist organization and killing off innocent people the government is trying to protect.”

  Risa glanced around at the nearby tables to make sure they weren’t overheard, but all were empty so the risk was relatively low. Since the hospital—and the café they were in—was less than a mile away from where the attack on First Orbital Bank occurred, people weren’t lingering in the area for lunch these days in case of a second strike. Risa personally thought they were safer here than anywhere else in Silveria right now with all of the heightened municipal police and security guards running around.

  She looked again at the hospital, steeling her nerve.

  “You’re thinking of going in there and asking to see him, aren’t you?” Ana said. “They already said you can’t. He’s in one of the upper-level rooms, which means he’s getting top-notch care thanks to his application with the Augenspire. There’s nothing more we can do for him until they release him.”

  Risa scowled, refusing to feel reassured. Yesterday, they’d braved the main entrance only to be informed that Gifted were not permitted onto Carl’s floor except in extraordinary circumstances or with high-level clearance. Their ID-chips were even scanned by the administrative assistant working the desk to log their visit in their permanent records, since it was apparently suspicious for a couple of Gifted to attempt to see someone on an upper-level of a government hospital.

  “They won’t even tell us what happened to him,” Risa clenched her mug of tea defensively. “We don’t even know how he got hurt!”

  Risa had even dared calling Hera directly by communicator—something she tried to avoid except in absolute emergencies in case the Provo were ever listening—to ask what had happened to Carl. But Hera hadn’t even known he was injured until a sobbing, frantic Risa shouted it at her. She certainly had no idea what could have possibly happened to him.

  “It was probably that bus crash,” Ana mused thoughtfully, staring at the entrance to the hospital. It was hard to tell what was going on in Ana’s head most of the time, since she kept so much of herself contained behind that faraway gaze.

  Like the fact that she can see into people’s thoughts when she uses her Gift. What a thing to hide from one of her closest friends for years.

  They had scoured the news articles for anything that could explain a critical injury to Carl, and the only thing that seemed likely for the day and time he went missing was a bus crash several miles away from where they were now, in which the driver of an aerial bus had gotten drunk and flown over the edge of the sky-lane during a storm, hurtling to the ground and smashing into another bus, killing most of the passengers on impact.

  “For all we know he wasn’t even on that bus,” Risa argued, not for the first time. “He could have been knifed walking down the street, or had a heart attack, or anything else…”

  “He’s a bit young for a heart attack, and they could have made him a new heart without transferring him to GMH...” Ana turned back to her and saw Risa’s expression, “but I get your point.”

  “I’m going back to ask about him again,” Risa decided on
the spot, standing up and scanning her ID-chip on the reader attached to their table to pay for their drinks, ignoring the low balance message flashing at her from its surface. Money felt like the least of her worries right now.

  “They aren’t going to let you in,” Ana insisted. “They’ll only add another note to your file, and at some point a bored Provo-Minor might start to wonder why you’re trying to get into a secured area and come around asking questions.”

  “Then I’ll tell the Minor that I’m trying to see an injured friend and ask them to help expedite things for me,” Risa insisted angrily, moving towards the street. Ana came with her.

  “Yes, but the last thing any of us need right now is more scrutiny,” she whispered. “The Augenspire is out for blood where Hera is concerned, especially after First Orbital. If you need more proof of that, think back on the scores of Minors and Majors that descended upon the Academy last week and rounded up those poor girls. Three of them haven’t come back yet, and the others are still receiving psychological care since their return—I heard Chrissy is terrified of the dark and has panic attacks every night now. This revolution is bigger than you or I or even Carl,” she insisted quietly as they crossed the street at the intersection. “If we lead them back to Hera, everything is going to fall apart and things will never get better for our people. Do you think Carl would want any of that just for the sake of checking up on him?”

  Risa saw the sense in her friend’s words and some of her anger abated. They were standing in front of the towering marble monstrosity of the hospital now.

  “Fine, then I won’t ask to see him, but I still want an update on his condition. They should at least be able to tell me if he’s still critical.”

  Ana looked like she wanted to argue, but she kept silent and approached the entrance. As peeved as she was, Risa appreciated her friend for staying even though she knew it was dangerous.

  On the heels of that thought, Ana stopped abruptly in her tracks and said, “What the hell is he doing here?”

  “Who are you talking about?” she asked. Risa followed her friend’s gaze but couldn’t see who she was looking at in the general flow of people coming and going from the main entrance.

  “I just saw…someone I know. I’ll be back in a minute. Wait here.”

  Before Risa had a chance to open her mouth to argue, Ana was gone, disappearing around a corner and leaving Risa standing there in the entryway like an idiot.

  Not knowing what else to do, she drifted out of the way and stepped into the main lobby, moving off to one side so others could pass her without issue. She wanted to punch her friend for bailing on her at a time like this, but unfortunately she couldn’t exact her revenge until Ana actually returned. Instead, she studied the massive foyer to kill time.

  The floor was tiled in cream-colored stone and the walls were adorned with geometric art from all the best-known artists on Elaria. Curving sectional couches were linked together in a chain, snaking along the back wall near a section of twenty-foot high windows that let in the sunlight. A memorial stone set up in the center aisle forced people to part around it on either side. The engraving on the stone was in loving memory of Jean Gastelain, the acclaimed Gifted physician who founded the hospital one-hundred-and-fifty years ago, back when being Gifted was desirable and not a lifelong curse. Water flowed in a smooth stream down the stone tablet and into a pool of water at the bottom, where it was recirculated once more. A chip reader was set up to one side for those wishing to donate funds to the hospital and Risa found it bitterly ironic for the official hospital of the government to be founded by someone who would have been murdered if he were alive today. Jean Gastelain could see the cause of any illness just by looking at the afflicted person, which made him the best diagnostician Elaria had ever seen. These days the Augenspire wouldn’t allow anyone with the ability to see their individual weaknesses to walk free.

  Jessamine can pretend to want peace with the Gifted all she wants, but when she’s done making televised speeches every few months we’re still oppressed.

  The entire ground floor was immaculately clean, bright, and imposing; it killed her confidence. How could she ever convince herself that Hera and her rag-tag group of allies could pose a threat to such a large and omnipotent organization with this kind of funding behind it? It must cost billions to run this hospital each year, which was nothing given how much revenue it was surely generating every day. The Augenspire’s shadow seemed to loom over the entire city in the distance. It was always looming over her these days. There was nowhere she could legally go without being able to see it…

  She shook herself mentally. Her nerves were getting to her. The sooner Ana came back and they got through this unpleasant task, the better.

  Where the hell did she go?

  14

  Ana Crumb

  Ana darted deftly through the crowd and rounded the corner, trying to convince herself she hadn’t been making things up. Even without the enhancers and the plated armor, a face like his was impossible to forget—and he had made eye-contact with her for a brief moment…hadn’t he?

  She was in the courtyard behind the hospital when doubt began to set in, stopping her dead in the middle of the sidewalk. Could she really be sure it wasn’t some other good-looking guy who happened to be visiting the hospital today? After all, why would a Major ever want to dress like a civilian and hide his enhancers under a cap? The Provo-Major were at the top of the food chain, and could get anything they wanted in their normal uniform.

  Staring around at the trees and benches dotting the walkway, she hesitated. Even if it had been him walking away from the hospital, what was she hoping to accomplish by chasing him down? Was she expecting a reunion of some sort, or for him to answer her questions about Carl and the explosion at First Orbital and what was happening to those three girls who were still missing from the Academy? The last time she was in his presence, all she could think about was how badly she wanted to get away before he outmaneuvered her into revealing the true nature of her Gift.

  Just as she was preparing to turn and walk back to the main entrance of the hospital, a hand touched her waist from behind and a voice whispered in her ear, “Any sudden movements and I’ll paralyze you.”

  Ana almost jumped out of her skin from shock, but thankfully managed to keep her head about her and remain still.

  “Major Topher Augen?” she asked softly. “Is that you?”

  “Don’t call me that right now,” he sounded annoyed, though she still couldn’t see his face. “Why are you following me?”

  “I—I thought I recognized you when we were walking into the hospital, only you aren’t wearing your uniform.” After a moment of silence she added, “Do you mind taking the knife away from my back? I’m not here to fight you.”

  She heard him take a step back, and exhaled in relief as she turned slowly to face him, careful to keep her movements slow and deliberate. His knife was hidden before she could even get a good look at him in his jeans, long-sleeved t-shirt, and black cap. If she didn’t know otherwise, he would pass as a normal twenty-something year old man who clearly spent some extra time working out.

  “Given the recent attack on one of my peers and the explosion at First Orbital, you can see why I would be jumpy about being stalked by one of the Gifted.”

  Ana pursed her lips and said, “I’m not stalking you; I had no idea you’d be here today. My friend Risa and I have been coming here and trying to get them to let us see our friend, who is apparently critically injured and on one of the upper-levels, but they won’t tell us anything about his condition or let us visit him because we’re Gifted.”

  Topher’s eyes narrowed fractionally in surprise and he said, “You have a friend with top government clearance?”

  “What?” It was Ana’s turn to be surprised. “No, he’s not even a part of the government; he’s Gifted, actually. The Provo-Minor have been trying to recruit him recently as a captain of ground troops, I think, so he was transferred
here.”

  Topher’s skeptical expression cleared slightly as he said, “Ah, yes, the Integration Initiative.” He became serious once more and said, “Why did you follow me out here?”

  Ana frowned.

  “Risa and I already have a note in our permanent files about our apparently unhealthy interest in wanting to see our close friend, and she is dragging me inside for another attempt right now because she’s terrified he’s going to die in there. I had this wild idea that maybe you could…ask them to let us in this time?”

  She had no idea where she got up the nerve to beg favors from the Provo-Major.

  I blame it on the civilian clothing. He doesn’t look as omnipotent and terrifying without all the heavy armor and visible Talents.

  Come to think of it, why was he trying to blend in with the crowd right now?

  “Why would I do that?” Topher asked with genuine interest.

  “Because it’s the nice thing to do?” she suggested hesitantly. “My friend has already lost someone she used to love—” to you, the terrifying thought struck her in that moment, “—and even though she’ll never admit it, she is crazy about Carl and all we know is he’s critically injured and no one will tell us anything about him. Even if I can’t see him, please at least let her go to him for long enough to determine whether he’s going to be all right or not, or ask the receptionist to give us an update on his condition or…something.”

  Topher had an unreadable look on his face—doesn’t he always?—as he considered her. Finally he said, “Our last conversation was truncated. Let’s sit down.”

  Not knowing where this was going but sensing danger, Ana nervously took a seat at the nearest vacant bench, noting that they were out of immediate earshot of anyone who might walk by. How long would Risa wait for her before she decided something had happened and come looking for her? What would happen if she found Ana here talking to the man who murdered her childhood love? Would she even recognize him in civilian clothes?