Artifice: Episode One by K. P. Alexander

Author:K. P. Alexander [Alexander, K. P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

“Wake up, John,” he heard Venarya say.

He opened his eyes, as vague and fragmented memories of last night came flooding into his mind. He turned to his right, expecting to see Venarya next to him, but she wasn’t there.

“Over here,” he heard her say.

Confused, he looked around the room, and saw Venarya standing by the door. She wasn’t wearing that sheer nightgown anymore, and was now garbed in a dress similar in fashion to the one she wore yesterday.

“Back in the land of the living, are we? Sorry to intrude, but you slept through my knocking,” she smiled.

Had he imagined the whole thing? Some fevered dream or bug he had picked up? Hallucinogenic mouthwash?

One way to find out.

”Venarya…” he started.

“Yes, John,” she replied with a perfectly straight face.

“Last night…” he trailed off, now unsure of how to approach the situation.

Venarya suddenly laughed and walked over to his bedside. Sitting down, she said, “Sorry, John. I couldn’t help doing that.” She continued with a solemn face, “Last night, as you put it, is something you probably shouldn’t mention to anyone else – particularly, Rheus, who’s incidentally on his way over right now.”

Confused, John could only say, “Huh?”

“I’ll start at the beginning. The truth is that, yesterday evening, I didn’t relay Mag’s entire message to you.

“Okay…” said John, still confused.

“The last part of her message was that, when she returns this morning, she will give you the ability to control the portal between our worlds at will.”

She paused and watched John’s sleepy eyes start to widen, then continued, “For what purpose, though, she didn’t say. I can only trust that she has important reasons, for I’ve never known her to do anything on a whim.”

Momentarily forgetting about his encounter with Venarya and still a little groggy, John was stunned by this revelation. “I don’t understand. Why are you telling me now, then?”

Venarya continued, “To be perfectly blunt, John, you were an unknown quantity. The power to bridge our worlds, by force of will alone, has the potential to have staggering repercussions. Should the worst happen, Iathera will instantly become the bridgehead of any battle.

“As much as I liked you, I convinced Mag that we needed to be absolutely sure of your character before you could be entrusted with that kind of capability.”

“That’s understandable, so far.”

“You should know, as well, that your assumption after our first meeting was correct. As demonstrated by my meeting with Mag last night, I do have some small ability to probe minds – or ‘weird telepathic thing’, I believe you referred to it – but I would prefer for others not to know. I trust Rheus, but he does tend to get a little long winded at times, and may end up saying the wrong thing to the wrong person.”

John said nothing, but had the funny feeling he knew where this was going.

“Furthermore, my ability can be easily thwarted if the target mind is focused and alert. The fastest and most direct method to determine your trustworthiness was to put your mind in a state of pure emotion, rather than thought.

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