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Jarol held his hands up. “I was joking.”
The general’s eyes narrowed. “I am not. I know you have tried it without contact, but have you tried it with?”
“That is precisely what the government is trying to avoid. If this embeds even a fifth of that energy, you would have a very dangerous creature on your hands.” He looked at the general. “Where would you even find a volunteer?”
Awor snorted. “This is the military. Volunteers are not needed. I simply order it, and they do it. It’s called discipline, your lordship.”
“I think brute forcing it is the wrong way to go.”
“We have been trying it your way. We need to take other measures. Leave it with me. We will be trying my way this afternoon.”
Shock ran through him. “I didn’t sign up to watch men die.”
General Awor looked at him. “I did. Go and prepare your research team. I have to go through some files to find shadowborn.”
Jarol stared at him in shock.
“You can go, your lordship. Get your team ready.”
Jarol’s head was spinning. He left and watched the woman in the document room sorting and moving with quick and graceful movements. It was like watching a squirrel categorizing nuts. She bit her lip and darted from one side of the room to the other, and while it appeared to be disorganized, the piles of paperwork were melting away as she moved.
He looked at the one bright thing in the home that had been in his family for the last five defensive generations. He had let down his proud heritage by springing at the chance of funding that would let him start conservation measures across the property.
Focusing on ancient research had not been favoured by his mother, but thankfully, his father had already passed. The number of artifacts that his family had was known to the governing officials, and they had encouraged and paid for Jarol’s education. When they asked to use the manor for some of their defense research, he had signed a five-year occupation lease which would end when the rift in the distant forest was due to open.
He rubbed his forehead as the steps that had been carved from one piece of granite by ancient hands went by one by one. He headed to the lab and looked at the two research fellows who had been trying to coax a response from ancient jewellery that radiated power.
“Anything yet?”
Desmond and Arlon shook their heads.
“The general is looking for a shadowborn to experiment on this afternoon. Have the safety gear in place, and keep your protective gear on your face. You don’t want to be the last face some military guinea pig remembers.”
They blinked, and Desmond asked, “Are they really just going to shove them in and see what happens?”
Jarol shrugged. “No idea.”
Studying the jewellery that was part of his family legacy had been his focus. Finding out the purpose of the magically radiating stones that didn’t occur anywhere else on the planet had become their life’s work.
They used the waldos to move the objects around the room to their podiums. Stacking them in the centre of the room had built the charge, but he didn’t want them together. If someone was going to paw the collection, he wanted it nice and separated.
The glow from the jewellery was getting brighter by the day. A week more and the light would be blinding, and whatever was going to happen would happen.
Jarol had a sick feeling in his gut. This wasn’t going to be good.
* * * *
Haley finished her lunch and her bathroom run. She opened a new box of documents and hauled out the first fifty to begin sorting. She set them down and heard a clunk.
She pawed through the files and found one that bulged. A silver clasp was sticking out. She pulled the item out and was holding a bracelet in her hand. Haley quickly opened the file and saw a bunch of references to the bracelet and control.
“What to do, what to do?” She looked at the bracelet and knew the research was being done on lower levels. If she was quick, she could get the bracelet to the researchers and be back at work before the general returned to his office.
She tucked the bracelet into her vest pocket and left her office with the original file held against her chest.
Haley walked through the halls with the I know where I am going walk of a professional temp. Her skirt swished above her knees as she headed for the back staircase that she had scoped out on her first day.
She went as quietly as she could and crept down the two levels to the lab. Haley paused inside the stairwell, where she could see the lab through the heavy protective glass. Something was going on. The general and one of his men were in there and talking to the researchers.
