Until My Dying Day by S. C. Stokes

Author:S. C. Stokes [Stokes, S. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Prescient Publishing
Published: 2019-08-27T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The earth shook beneath them, and then as suddenly as it had begun, the tremors ceased.

The chamber grew still.

After a moment, Kasey got to her feet.

“What was that? What’s going on down there?” Bishop’s voice crackled through the earpiece.

“We’re okay,” Kasey replied, staring down the chamber. “I thought the weapon had detonated, but it seems I was mistaken.”

“Whatever that earthquake was, it shook the whole block,” Bishop said.

Kasey exhaled as she tried to calm her racing heart. “That’s exactly what it was, Bishop. An earthquake. They’re drilling toward the fault line. They must have triggered some tremors.”

“You sound relieved,” Sanders interjected.

“Well, first off, it wasn’t the weapon, so it means we still have time. Second, did you hear that racket? It rolled through the basement like thunder, but it didn’t come from beneath us, it came from over there.” Kasey pointed through the cavernous chamber. “Don’t you think it’s odd that the building’s foundations pass through this room, and yet there is this large aisle running between the pillars? It leads directly to that wall. Why leave a space that large unless it was needed for something? I think they built the machine right here. This is where the tunnel started.”

Sanders nodded as he studied the space. “If that’s the case, where is the tunnel now?”

Kasey pointed at the wall. “It’s right there, hiding in plain sight. Just like Akihiro was.” She raised her hand in front of her and chanted, “Pêl Tân.”

A wisp of flames flickered into being above her outstretched hand. With practiced art, she poured energy into the enchantment. The wisp grew, and soon a broiling ball of flames hovered in the air before her. Channeling her will, she hurled the ball of fire at the far wall. The flames hurtled through the room before striking the brick wall.

When they hit it, the spell’s structure collapsed, and the flames washed over the exterior of the brick. As the spell licked at the surface, the wall shimmered and went translucent. The fire played across the clear facing, illuminating the chamber that lay beyond. The flames flickered and died, leaving the shimmering barrier intact. As the last vestiges of Kasey’s spell faded, the wall flickered and the brick pattern emerged once more, leaving the illusion of a wall where the barrier divided the subbasement from the tunnel beyond.

Kasey stared at the brick wall. The scale of Akihiro’s illusory barrier was staggering. The entire wall of the chamber itself was actually some kind of enchantment.

“Morales, you keep a lookout while the technician dismantles that C4. The rest of you, let's go.” Kasey led the strike force back through the immense subbasement.

Reaching the illusion, she weighed her options. At a glance, she wasn't sure what type of ward Akihiro had conjured. Was it simply an optical illusion? Or was it actually a barrier that would prevent them from gaining entrance to the tunnel beyond?

Not willing to leave anything to chance, Kasey picked up a loose brick and hurled it at the wall.

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