Entangled with a Golem: Beyond the Veil Book 6

Entangled with a Golem

 

 

Book 6

M. B. Mooney

COPYRIGHT

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons, organizations, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

The book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. All rights are reserved with the exceptions of quotes used in reviews. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without express written permission from the author.

Beyond the VEIL Series

©January 2020 MB Mooney

Cover Design by Virginia McKevitt

Chapter 1

 

The Golem’s first memory was pain.

The Queen created it with her magic, forcing formless material into a monstrous shape with her hands and power. Even though she ruled the land of Velona, the material didn’t want to obey her commands; her incantations manipulated and forged its figure. The soil and clay of its body rebelled, causing it great pain.

Its first act would have been a scream if it could speak.

But why would a tool need to speak? It existed for her alone. She gave him eyes to see – smooth, black stones – and ears to hear – holes in the hard mud of its flesh. It had a mind to think simple thoughts to relay information through the Queen’s connection in the brain she created.

It did not understand her magic. That was not its place.

The Golem lumbered through the dense forest of thick trunks and wide leaves. A heavy mist hung around, almost alive in its shifting and churning, and the mist plunged every sight in a haze.

The mermaid in its hands fought to escape – she had red hair and glistening purple scales from the waist down. She tried to escape, writing and twisting, but the Golem was too strong. Layla had made it stronger than any other creature in Velona. The one she could control without question.

After a few minutes, the mermaid stopped fighting, panting with exhaustion. A gray-yellow light glowed around her, anxious. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

The Golem didn’t answer. He couldn’t. The mist around its brown legs swirled while it plodded toward the rendezvous point with Layla.

“I’ve heard about you,” she said. “The Golem. Do you have a name?”

It didn’t have a name.

“I gotta admit, I thought I was pretty well hidden,” the mermaid said. “I feel like an idiot. You some sort of mind reader or something?”

No, but Layla had given it magical abilities to track her targets – enhanced sight and smells and knowledge of the land of Velona gave the Golem advantages. The man wasn’t from Velona, the Golem could tell that at least, and made the mark easier to find, easier than other beings from the planet.

An opening appeared in the canopy above, and through it the Golem spotted the floating mountain up ahead – massive, jagged piece of land that hovered high over the jungle, above the branches and the mists, and Layla ruled from the top of a vast castle that even now emerged into view.

The canopy closed once more to drape them in shadow, and the Golem tread forward.

“Are you going to answer me? Or can you even talk?”

The Golem thought that would have been obvious by now. Perhaps the mermaid was an idiot.

It sensed the red, roiling light up ahead. She must have, too, because her glow turned orange-pink, the color of alarm.

“My name is Tellurel,” the mermaid said once she caught her breath. “In case you’re wondering who you’re dragging to her death. Or worse.”

Tellurel pushed against its forearm, to use leverage and pry herself free, but for nothing.

“She lies to us,” the mermaid said. “Or do you even care?”

It did not. The Golem shouldered its way through branches and dark green leaves and stepped into the clearing.

The Golem had tried not to hurt the mermaid. Layla wanted her targets delivered as whole as possible. She understood damage, but it wanted to please its creator. Only she could give its constant pain a measure of relief.

The clearing was thick with mist, and the red and green colors of hate and smugness were like a shell around his master, difficult to see the form she wore today, one of white, smooth skin, dark hair, and a sheer blue dress. The Righteous Queen. Layla.

A minotaur with a long spear glared at them from behind the Queen. When he saw the Golem, however, he straightened. Creatures feared the Golem.

Layla smiled. “Well done, my Golem. I knew I could count on you.” Her gaze dropped to the man. “Tellurel. You’ve been causing trouble.”

“Trouble?” the mermaid said. “You mean telling people about love? About how you’ve lied to them?”

“Old myths and lies,” Layla said.

“No,” Tellurel said. “Love is not a lie.”

“It is a lie,” Layla said. “It is a lie because it cannot save you from me now.”

The Queen’s hands stretched forward and lifted the mermaid from the Golem’s arm. The Golem knew Layla’s power and touch, and her presence in its mind led it to release the mermaid gently. She shivered and lay suspended in the air.

“You will tell me where they are. All of them,” Layla said.

“Who?” Tellurel’s voice shook.

“The faeries and the others that are building a rebellion. You will tell me where they are hiding.”

Tellurel’s gaze flashed to the one in a small cage around the Queen’s neck. “I don’t know.”

The Queen leaned closer. “I will find them all. But I have something else to attend to first. You can wait.”

The mermaid crashed to the floor of the clearing, and long vines crawled from the nearby trees and wrapped her up, covering her from toes to the top of her head with only an opening for the nose to breathe. The vines snapped free, tying together, all controlled by Layla. Then Tellurel lay silent and still; her aura went blank.

The Queen gestured to the minotaur. “Watch him. I will return.”

“Yes, Righteous Queen,” he said.

Layla turned to the Golem. “Come.” She floated into the forest.

It lumbered behind her.

“An accident opened a doorway between our world and another. The First World. Some from our land have gone there. I sent one of the minotaur to kill or bring them back, but he has not returned.”

They rounded a tree with a broad trunk and came to a ledge over a deep chasm. A rainbow-colored shape hung in the air near the edge, a long serrated shape that glowed and made a faint humming sound.

Two minotaur also stood near the glowing rip in the air; orange-yellow colors of fear surrounded them when they saw the Golem.

“I know this is the only world you’ve known,” Layla said to it. “But there are other worlds and places. They are dangerous to the peace I’ve built here.” She fixed it with her stare. “You will go and find every creature from our world. Track them. Bring them back to me or destroy them if you can’t return. With this rebellion, you’re the only one I can trust.”

Her presence flared in its mind, making sure it understood. It did.

“I do not know how the doorway will affect our link,” she said. “It may be weaker. But I will see what you see and hear what you hear.” She gestured with a graceful hand to what she called the doorway.

It took a step but hesitated with a sideways, pleading look.

“Ah yes, your pain.” Layla cupped her hands, one over the other, and a dark blue ball of energy formed in the space. She pushed the orb forward; the energy hit the Golem in the chest.  

The pain subsided until only an echo remained.

The Queen stroked its cheek. “You are blessed, my Golem, to not know this love they speak of, for love brings more pain than you have or ever will know. You may be the being with the greatest freedom in all of existence.” She reached up and traced the symbol etched in its forehead. “I’ve arranged with men from the First World to allow you passage.

“Bring my creatures back to me or kill them all. Now go.”

The Golem obeyed. It turned its hulking figure and stepped through the doorway into the unknown.

Chapter 2

 

Pain waited for Lieutenant Sebastian Stone every morning.

Not great pain. Not pain that debilitated him. He had felt that kind before, clear in a memory that hung around in the back of his mind and forced its way into his life uninvited and at inconvenient times. Sometimes the memory would cause physical pain in a leg that no longer existed.

His morning pain was dull and faint, and it woke with him in his joints, his ankle, and foot, all in a leg that ended at the knee.

Doctors and supposed experts called it a phantom limb, the feeling in an area of the body that had been removed or amputated. Or blown off on a road in the middle of Afghanistan while riding in a Humvee.

The phantom limb ached, the stump sore, and sitting on the edge of his bed, he massaged it. The rub from his palm and fingers didn’t really help all that much but gave him time to wake up before attaching the bionic limb.

When he used the word bionic, he often thought of the old 6 Million Dollar Man show that one of his foster parents had watched on late night TV, but it was a word that worked. Before last year, he would have thought the whole idea science fiction like something out of a movie, but the  limb made of titanium, carbon, and other synthetic materials was too advanced and different to be called a prosthetic.

Reaching over, Sebastian grabbed the limb and pulled the socket where his right leg ended, making sure the EMG sensors fit right, and tightened it down.

The limb was the ultimate model of biomechatronics – studying and mimicking natural limbs with programming that constantly updated stiffness and power at different speeds and situations; it reacted like a real limb would, moving as if made of flesh and blood. Once it was designed and fit to his body, it required almost no training. In fact, it was only the previous years of wearing a regular model prosthesis that required any adjustment.

And it cost more money than he had ever made or seen in his life. One of the perks of being an independent contractor with DARPA.

Running a hand over his short, cropped hair, he cleaned and shaved quickly before dressing and heading out for the most important meal of the day.

Coffee.

His studio apartment sat on the second floor of a building on the main drag of the city of Loville, a Mexican pizza restaurant called Papa’s Pizza below him. He locked the door behind him when he left, adjusted the 9mm at the holster at his hip and shifted his sweater past his waist to cover the weapon. Walking down the narrow staircase, he emerged into the cool, crisp morning.

The sun waited behind the snowcapped mountains, and the town was just as quiet this early. The only place in town open was the coffeeshop across the street. Breathing in the fresh and clean air through his nose, he stepped off the curb and walked toward the coffee shop.

Java the Hutt had a neon OPEN sign constructed from different color lightsabers, and when Sebastian opened the door, in place of a “ding” sound it was a Wookie roar. Framed posters from the Star Wars films covered the walls, and the tables had glass tops with sci fi memorabilia underneath.

Only a handful of people sat around the shop; Sebastian weaved through the tables and approached the counter. The local station, KLVL 1400 played through the speakers in the ceiling.

He didn’t need to look at the Death Star name tag to know the name of the woman behind the counter – Casey Kim. The brooding barista. Every morning he got an amazing cup of coffee and an extra topping of cold shoulder.

Sebastian had been to several independent coffee shops over the years, and introverted baristas seemed to be the norm, but Casey’s shoulder was colder than most.

She wiped her hands on her apron and stepped to the register. “Good morning,” she said. “Your regular?”

“Uh … yeah. Café Mocha”

“You mean the Lando Cal?”

He nodded. “Yep.”

A strand of her jet black, chin length hair swung over her cheek, and she swiped it back behind her ear, reminding him for a split moment that she would be an attractive woman without the attitude.

She pushed buttons on the register. “Anything else?”

“Um,” he squinted over at the glass display case. “One of those Danishes.”

“You mean a Sarlacc?” The sarcasm was not subtle.

Chuckling, he said, “Sure. The Sarlacc. And that’s it.”

Another few buttons, and she told him the total.

Six months of coming into the Hutt and the Hoth shoulder, the brooding wore on him. Since it was the only decent coffee in town, he was compelled to return every morning for his own survival. He decided to take the challenge and have a real conversation with the barista.

Hadn’t worked yet.

Sebastian fished the credit card out of his back pocket. “You guys been busy with all the new people in town?”

She ran the card and shrugged. “Kinda.”

He took back his card. “What are the chances there’s a Star Wars coffee shop in a town where we have rumors of aliens and things?”

“Pretty strange,” Casey agreed.

“Wait,” he said. “You’re not behind all those rumors, are you? Just to drum up more business and get your picture in the paper?”

Her dark eyes flashed up at him, like fear, her whole body frozen for a split second before she relaxed and said, “Huh. Funny.” It didn’t sound like she thought it was funny. “I’ll have that drink and Sarlacc up for you.”

Opening his mouth, he stopped before he said something stupid, and her odd reaction also gave him pause. By the time he recovered, she had moved on behind the espresso machine that looked like a spaceship from an old Buck Rogers film.

“You accusing me of fake news to get more customers?” came a voice to his right.

Sebastian turned to see a man with long, thinning black hair and a thick beard. He rounded the corner of the wooden counter with a T-shirt stretched over his large belly. The shirt had Darth Vader on it reading a book with the title, How to be a Better Boss. Jimmy Clowney, the owner.

Forcing a grin, Sebastian said, “Hey Jimmy.”

Jimmy beamed. “What’s up. Great idea, actually. Wish I had thought of it.”

Chewbacca growled behind Sebastian when someone entered the shop, so he moved from the order sign to the pickup area, which took him further from Jimmy. “Just joking,” he mumbled. Always ruins a joke when you have to explain it or label it as one.

Jimmy stood behind the register now, waiting for the next customer, a young hipster male with a man bun. “Those Area 51 weirdos aren’t giving you a hard time, are they?”

Sebastian glanced at the tattoo on Jimmy’s forearm – a droid in a seductive pose with C3P HOE underneath it. “No, Jimmy. Those weirdos aren’t bothering me at all. Hardly ever see them. Have too much work to do.”

The espresso machine hissed, and Sebastian watched Casey’s arms and hands fly smooth like a master from the milk to the shot and the pour. If only there was another place in the town to get a great espresso.

“Work been keeping you busy, huh?” Jimmy asked.

Oh yeah, Jimmy. That’s what happens when you open a portal to another dimension and creatures come through. Keeps us busy.

He said, “Uh-huh.”

Casey didn’t look at him when she spoke, the hot milk poised over the shot. “Rebel Alliance or Empire?”

“Rebel Alliance, of course.”

She poured the steaming milk with a flick of her wrist and made art. Lifting the paper cup and writing on it with a sharpie, she set it on the counter. “Order up.” Like he wasn’t standing right there.

Jimmy greeted the next customer

Sebastian gripped the cup of mocha with a perfect Rebel Alliance symbol on the top. “Thanks.”

Casey nodded back and turned her attention to the next order.

Twisting the paper cup and sleeve in his hand, he read the name on the cup. Sabastion.

I’ve been coming here almost every morning for six months and she still can’t spell my name right.

Sighing, he left Java the Hut with Chewbacca’s distant roar and another failure behind him.

Chapter 3

 

The VEIL facility was a security nightmare.

A few of the scientists, techs, and security lived on site in an apartment, but most lived in town. It made sense for security to live on site for emergencies and overall conveniences, but with so many coming in and out of the facility every day with five different levels of security, Sebastian lived in town to constantly do evaluations.

That explosion in Lab One had blown a hole in the eastern wall, most of the northern wall destroyed or sucked away, maybe even into whatever was on the other side of that portal to another dimension. It had been seven days and still only temporarily contained with whatever makeshift materials they had on site.

Didn’t mean the front gate could go lazy, though.

He drove up to the main gate in his black Jeep Grand Cherokee and stopped at the guard station with is window down.

“John.” Sebastian handed the guard his ID.

“Sir.” While everyone on his security staff had some military background, they weren’t technically a military operation, but Sebastian wanted the standard of professionalism and focus.

John ran the ID. In the first month, when even Stettler hadn’t shown up yet, the guard on the first day had waved Sebastian through without checking the ID.

Sebastian had used some creative and graphic language to tear the guard a new butthole and sent him home without a warning. He felt bad for the guy but that guard had to be the warning for everyone else.

John handed the ID back.

“You all right this morning?” Sebastian said.

“Yes sir.” John grinned. “No unicorn or alien sightings or anything.”

Sebastian smirked back. “You let me know when you get any.”

“Oh, I will.” John now waved him through.

Sebastian drove the long path to the main admin building for his daily check-in with Stettler.

If he was there.

Ever since the explosion, Director Adam Stettler had been acting stranger than usual. Before the incident, the Director’s behavior had been aggressive but not unreliable. While most people didn’t like the aggression, the secret and sensitive nature of the experiment required the tightest security, and Sebastian understood making clear the seriousness of the situation, especially to creative geniuses who might need help putting on their shoes in the morning.

But Stettler had never missed a morning meeting before, even if for only a few minutes.

Sebastian parked and entered the building – another checkpoint appeared secure – and walked down the hall to the admin offices.

A man stood outside Stettler’s office. Dr. Joseph Assad. When he saw Sebastian, he raised a brow at him. “Stettler and I had a meeting. Where is he?”

“Good morning to you, too, Doctor,” Sebastian said.

Joseph sighed. “I’m sorry. Good morning. I need to talk to the Director. When I found him yesterday, I made him give me an actual time to meet to discuss what we need to do next. That time was 20 minutes ago. Do you know where he is?”

“Not at this moment, no.”

Joseph’s dark eyes narrowed. “But you are security, correct?”

Stone cocked his head at him. “Director Stettler might be the only individual I don’t get to keep tabs on. And I don’t need to know where every person is in the facility at all times. I don’t think you would appreciate me knowing your every intimate detail, for example.” Sebastian knew, actually, about the amount of time Joseph had been spending with Abbie Crossan.

Dr. Assad pursed his lips. “That may be. But the Director is avoiding me. Legitimately and successfully avoiding meeting with me and Dr. Crossan about getting the Lab back to some semblance of working order. We need to get working on some real solutions here.”

He’s been avoiding me, too. “I’m sure he’s busy. This is a unique situation. I don’t even know how to wrap my brain around opening a portal to another dimension. It’s putting us all under stress beyond our expertise.”

“That is just it,” Joseph said. “He has Dr. Teak in lockup, but I need her to help me figure out what the accident really was, if it was an accident, and as soon as possible.”

If it was an accident? “I commend your scientific curiosity, Doctor, but we have to make sure the Lab is secure and stable for anything more to occur in there. The whole building may be structurally compromised. We don’t know what the effects of that portal is on everything.”

Dr. Assad grunted. “It is more than scientific curiosity, Lieutenant. A man’s life is at stake.”

Sebastian hesitated. “I remember.”

“Dr. Crossan is down there right now taking what readings she can. We believe that Zeke is on the other side of that portal.”

“Okay. But we have no evidence of that.”

“Which is why we need Holly’s input and data so we can figure out exactly how it happened.”

Sebastian frowned. “What does that mean?”

Dr. Assad met his eyes. “Dr. Crossan and I want to recreate the incident.”

Sebastian’s brow rose. “You want to rebuild the lab so you can blow it up again?”

“No, no. Not blow it up again.” Joseph winced. “Okay. Perhaps we blow it up again. But only if we have to. We can run simulations, but we need more extensive tests and Dr. Teak’s data and input to make progress. If we recreate the incident, then we may be able to undo what was done. Maybe close the rift.”

“Sounds risky.”

“A man was lost, Sebastian. We have to try.”

“My heart goes out to Zeke and Miss Parker. But it’s not my decision.”

“Which is why we must speak with Stettler.”

“And he’s not here.”

“That is true.” Joseph leaned closer. “Stettler is stalling. We know he is. You know he is. We have some of the most intelligent people on the planet and we can’t rebuild a wall? Suspicious to me.”

And stretching my security teams to watch the portal and the lab. “All I can do is promise to bring this up with him when I see him. Two of my men were attacked by something that came out of that portal. Believe me, as head of security, I also want that Lab stable, that construction finished, and everything secure.”

“I know you do,” Dr. Assad said. “Will you message me when you find him?”

“I will. Have a good day, Doctor.”

“You, too.”

Dr. Assad strode back down the hallway to his office and the secondary labs.

He’s stalling. We know he is. You know he is. If we can recreate the incident …

Sebastian glanced at Stettler’s locked, empty office, then went to check on Sharp and Gonzales in Lab One.

Chapter 4

 

Casey Kim tried not to cringe sometimes when her boss talked.

He really wasn’t a bad guy. Annoying, yes. But not a bad guy.

The shop was busier than normal. Over the last couple weeks with the rumors of strange creatures in the woods around the town, and a scientific facility nearby, it had struck a nerve with the conspiracy theorists. While the media outlets had left a few days ago, the more serious alien chasers remained, full of their own wild ideas.

Sebastian had been correct earlier. It was like a perfect storm of crazy and stupid.

With local channels and obscure papers around the town taking pictures, it was difficult to duck and cover and keep herself out of any of them. She refused direct requests for a picture, and since her radar for strangers was well developed, she could hide behind the large espresso machine if they ever came in the shop. Which they did. Java the Hutt had been an unofficial headquarters.

She had moved to nowhere Colorado from Atlanta over two years ago on purpose, to get away from large groups and the fast-paced lifestyle … and more. The sudden attention on the town made her uncomfortable.

Like Sebastian’s misguided attempt to engage her in conversation every morning. The broad shoulders and military haircut also made her want to roll her eyes, but she managed to be cordial despite his stiff Army walk.

Jimmy himself was not immune to the temptation of speculation. He stood near a table at the front window, speaking to a man with a colorful T-shirt that said, I’m not saying it was aliens, but it was aliens.

“But the sightings, all the creatures, they don’t look like little green men,” Jimmy said. “People are talking about a freakin’ cyclops and a faun. Even faeries.”

“Pshaw,” the T-shirt guy said. His name was Lester. “People been watching too much Lord of the Rings. And that Narnia festival didn’t help.”

“True, true …” Jimmy nodded. The two other men at the table also agreed.

Lester changed his voice to a high, mocking tone. “ ‘Oh, we like the Hobbit so we’re going to make a short little book into three movies 8 hours each.’ ” His voice went back to normal, not really less annoying, and said, “Seriously. All the fantasy crap is hurting people’s brains. Who said the aliens need to be little green men? Aliens could be anything. And hey, maybe the myths of those fantasy creatures in all the literature weren’t magical. Maybe they were alien contact and since humans were in the crappy middle ages, they thought the science was like magic.”

“It happens,” Jimmy said. “Makes sense.”

“And now, they’re back.” Lester waved around the shop. “Here in Colorado.”

“They wouldn’t show up around a big city with all the people,” Jimmy said.

“No. They want to study us, but they don’t want to be seen.” Lester upended his mug. “Here is this town, remote but with enough people to observe. And who knows? Maybe this great coffee shop with all the spaceships make them feel at home.” He chuckled. “And the weed is legal. Who wouldn’t want to hang out here?”

Jimmy smiled. “But what happens when all the people show up? Would scare them off, right?”

Lester shrugged. “Probably did. I mean, hasn’t been as many sightings over the last few days.”

“True, true,” Jimmy said.

“That’s why some of us stayed.” Lester lowered his voice, like someone was listening. “They’ll show up again. And maybe we can get pics.”

“But wouldn’t that bring more people?” Jimmy said.

“We’d have the pics, though!” Lester lifted his white mug. “And Craig here, he said he saw one.”

Jimmy scoffed. “He did.”

One of the men at the table grinned wide. Must be Craig.

“Oh yeah,” Lester said. “A big one. We’re going out to look for it.”

One side of Jimmy’s mouth turned down. “I don’t know about all that.”

Lester shrugged. “Either way, I need another coffee.” He hopped up and brought his mug over.

Casey forced a grin. “Can I help you?”

Lester handed her the cup. “Another Cortado please.”

“Sure.” She placed the mug in the sink, grabbing a new one from the dish drying rack. “Be right up.”

“Good deal,” he said. “Haven’t heard what you thought about all this, Miss Casey.”

She thought about using decaf beans with some customers. She didn’t become a barista to talk to people. Maybe some did. But she didn’t. There was artistry and science in making these drinks – the perfect grind and extraction, dialing it all into the specialty beans, and then the mix and the pour and the designs in milk on the top. The taste, the enjoyment, all of it fascinated her still.

Lester wouldn’t notice the difference, and her hand hovered over the decaf beans, dark roast like the espresso, right next to them. Instead she took the scoop and poured regular expresso beans into the grinder.

“Seems all a bit crazy to me.” She started the grinder, which was loud.

Lester opened his mouth to talk, but she gave him a questioning look and shrugged since she couldn’t hear him over the grind.

The grind ended, and Lester said, “You don’t believe all the sightings? All the reports?”

Casey shrugged, concentrating on the extraction.

Lester leaned closer. “Some of us are going out to search for some of these aliens.”

She almost recoiled at his nearness, his closeness, and the mild and sweet smell of weed. Instead she focused on the Cortado. Clearing her throat, she said, “You’re going to actually look for aliens that don’t want to be found?”

He must have caught her sarcasm and stood up straight. “Heck yeah. They aren’t coming into town, right? We’re going tomorrow night.” He raised an eyebrow. “You want to come?”

Casey almost dropped the drink, blinking to recover. “You … want me to come hunt aliens with you?”

“We’re not hunting them,” Lester corrected. “Looking for them for pictures and stuff since people don’t believe they’re out there. But they are. I know they are.”

Finishing the drink, she handed him the new mug. “Oh, I’ve got plans.”

Lester took the mug, careful not to spill the hot coffee, and half his face frowned. “You do?”

“Yes, I do.”

“What plans?”

Pretty much anything else. “Time with a friend is all,” she said. “Enjoy your drink.”

“Leave her alone, Lester.” Jimmy walked up to the counter. “You guys are gonna get someone hurt out in the woods looking for aliens.”

“Ah.” Lester made his way back to his seat with the other guys, all looking at her now. “It’s a free country.”

“It is,” Jimmy said. “But there’s other stuff out there besides aliens, especially at night, that you don’t want to mess with.”

Lester and his friends looked at Jimmy. “Like what?”

Grateful for the distraction, Casey turned to wash the dirty mugs in the sink.

“Coyotes. Mountain lions.” Jimmy wiped off the end of the counter near the glass display. “And bears. You know.”

“Coyotes, lions, and bears? Oh my.” Lester grinned. “We won’t go out that far.”

“Don’t have to go far,” Jimmy said. “Just like the aliens, we’re far enough from everything that those animals stay pretty active. It’s a free country, like you said. Just warning you.”

Lester raised his hands in a type of surrender. “Sorry. Warning received loud and clear.” He lowered his hands. “Since we’re talking about it. Where would be a good place to look, one that’s safer?”

“Hmm.” Jimmy crossed his arms and stopped to think. “Not sure. Where did Craig say he saw it?”

“Out to the west of town, but it could be anywhere. Put it this way,” Lester said. “If you wanted to look, where would you start?”

“I guess the south side of the town, towards the lake and the foot of Mount Franklin,” Jimmy said. “The train runs along the north side of the town, so it scares a lot of the animals away out there. Probably aliens, too.”

“Cool. Thanks, Jimmy.” Lester swung around to his friends.

Jimmy didn’t answer but rounded the corner of the counter and started drying the mugs Casey washed and placing them on the rack. “You okay?” he said under his breath.

Annoying, yes. Sometimes. But not a bad guy. “I’m cool.” She matched his quiet voice, looking over her shoulder to make sure they couldn’t hear her. “They’re just stupid.”

Jimmy scoffed. “Putting it lightly. But they won’t find anything. Loville’s a boring town. This won’t last long.”

“Probably.”

“Not that I won’t take the business, mind you,” Jimmy said. “All this will help me save up for that cruise.”

Jimmy had been talking about a Star Wars cruise on the Disney Star Line for a few months now, brochures and details pinned on the wall of the office in the back. She smirked at him. “I hope you get to go.”

“Me too,” he said. “Anyway, don’t worry. All this excitement will die down and it’ll get back to normal soon.”

“Good.” Casey finished the last mug and dried her hands on the towel. “I hope Lester gets his next drink to go.”

“Why? So you can misspell his name on it?” He was already laughing.

“Yep.”

Chapter 5

 

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Abbie Crossan put her hands on her hips. “It’s been a week already.”

They stood near the temporary eastern and northern wall in the remains of Lab One. The area had been cleaned up but was now bare and lonely. Sebastian tried not to look at the quartz rock to his right. Mist gathered at their feet, and Frank Gonzales stood over near the portal.

Where was Sharp?

“I just talked with Joseph and had this same conversation,” Sebastian told her.

“Stettler stood him up again, huh?” Abbie shook her head.

“What’s the holdup?”

“Last I talked to Stettler, back when Axel was working on this, the Director said that it was a money issue. He had to go through all the channels – that’s how he put it – to get the money and resources we need to rebuild the wall.”

“To be fair,” Sebastian said, “I’ve worked with DARPA and other government organizations before, and it takes an act of God to move money. Especially when there’s an accident.” He sighed. “You ever see that movie with Tom Hanks and that actress from Cheers?”

She frowned. “What movie?”

“Called The Money Pit. One of my foster parents made me watch it.”

There was always that honeymoon period with a foster family, where they would try to connect with the new kid. What’s your favorite food? They’d cook it. Have you seen this movie? They’d find one he hadn’t seen and have a movie night complete with popcorn and whatever candy he liked.

Honeymoons didn’t last long.

“No, haven’t seen it,” Abbie said. “What about it?”

“There was this construction guy, and they’d ask him how much longer for repairs, and he’d always say, ‘Two weeks.’ Even like months later. ‘Two weeks.’”

“Ah, okay,” Abbie said. “Funny.”

Not funny when I have to explain it. “Anyway, that’s what this sounds like.” He pointed at the temporary walls. “This is a security risk. I can’t even calculate how much of one. Makes me very nervous.”

“Well, it’s difficult when we can’t talk to the Director.”

“Like I said, when there’s an accident, organizations want to do investigations, make sure their money is being used right, all of that.” Sebastian shrugged. “I’m sure he’s doing his best.”

“You think he told them what happened?” Abbie said.

“Don’t know,” he said.

“Right,” Abbie said. “It’s almost like he doesn’t want to move this thing forward.”

She let the comment hang in the air. Not the first time today Sebastian had heard that implication, and he knew Abbie the geologist and Joseph had been spending a great deal of time together. Sebastian didn’t consider romantic relationships at work a security risk, but it did make him question motives.

Through his own investigation, Abbie had warned Dr. Teak and others of the possibility of an accident. Now that Teak had been blamed for the explosion and sequestered away, Abbie and Joseph were trying to get answers. Sebastian could understand some level of frustration at not being able to speak with Holly Teak. How much of their frustration stemmed from legitimate issues and to find Zeke, and how much was from a desire to clear Dr. Teak’s name?

Sebastian got good grades in science, especially at the university, but this was way beyond college Chemistry.

Back when he went to the prison, Axel and Holly had explained that the original power coupling had been stolen, what they believed the real reason for the explosion. Some sort of sabotage and cover up. No cams nor any of his guards had seen anything.

Even the video of the attack by some creature on his guards went missing. Poof in the air. Fortunate they didn’t have any more than contusions and bumps on the head.

And Minerva Wong couldn’t find the third sublevel protocols she had programmed for the experiment. More mystery.

It didn’t help that Stettler’s behavior was curious. Sebastian had worked in other high security facilities – why he got this job, in fact – and he couldn’t make sense why some things like the damaged wall hadn’t been solved in hours.

And where his other guard was.

Sebastian scanned the lab. “Where’s Sharp?”

Abbie crossed her arms. “Stettler called him away.”

His jaw tightened. “Away where?”

“Don’t know.”

He tried not to growl and barely succeeded. “How long has he been gone?”

“An hour or so?”

“And he left without being relieved?”

Abbie met his gaze. “I guess.”

Sebastian ignored the embarrassment and failure he wanted to feel that one of his own men was on an assignment without his knowledge. The anger easily drowned it all out. “Thanks, Dr. Crossan.”

“You can call me Abbie, you know,” she said. “We’re all on the same team, right?”

“That we are. I’ll check on you later, okay?”

Abbie gestured at the lab. “I’ll be here all day trying to figure out what’s going on with that rock.”

Sebastian glanced over at the wall of quartz stone that had become opaque and allowed the people of this world to see into somewhere else, a small opening that gave clear vision to a jungle. Mist eked through the wall.

How do you keep a portal to a different world secure? With more than one guard and some cameras for sure. What things could get in? Something got in that first moment, although some swore it was a bear.

He was no Steve Irwin but that was no bear.

Whatever could be done, Stettler wasn’t making it any easier taking the guards from the Lab for his own reasons.

We’re all on the same team, right?

Sebastian didn’t think so anymore.

Chapter 6

 

Java the Hutt got slow late in the afternoon. Most of the town migrated from the coffee shop to the craft brewery on the other end of the street beginning at 3 or 4pm, and the alien chasers would do the same, fueling their conspiracy theories with alcohol instead of caffeine.

At some point, undetermined and varied depending on the day, Jimmy would suggest she head on home, using those exact words.

Today was no different. Jimmy gave a big sigh, surveying the empty coffee shop. “Why don’t you head on home, Case.”

Casey sniffed and wiped her hands on her apron, ready for the next line of the script. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Gonna close up here soon.”

“Anything you want me to do before I go?”

Sometimes he would, a last minute job to help him when he closed later, also something that varied according to the day and his mood. The town was used to it.

“Nah,” Jimmy said this time. “Looks good back there. You go on ahead.”

Casey was already taking off her apron and moving into the back office, looking forward to a nice evening alone. “Goodnight.”

“See ya.” Jimmy’s voice was distant while she folded her apron and exited out the back door that led behind the shop where she was parked. She scanned back and forth, aware of every shadow, old friends by now.

She got into her Toyota Prius. It made no sound while she backed into another spot and took the narrow road past the north side of the town to her little house nestled at the end of a street and surrounded by trees.

A train roared through the trees behind her house – a hundred yards or so away – while she got out of the car, locked it, and went to her front door. Two locks with different keys allowed her to enter the house, and she locked the door behind her with an additional chain lock once inside.

Walking to the small kitchen, the setting sun an orange yellow and blaring in her eyes through the window, she ditched the dirty apron in the basket in the corner and walked to the kitchen sink to wash her hands. The fridge was only a step away, and she pulled out a tub of kimchee and another container of noodles to make some Japchae. The pink squares of tofu completed the meal, and taking a sectioned plate, she arranged it all.

Grabbing a pair of chopsticks from the purple cup on the counter, she took the plate in the other hand and went to turn to her couch and TV for her nightly dinner alone, when movement caught her eye.

Something in the trees. Was it him?

A large, dark figure crossed from one shadow into the brush a few yards from her house, toward the back door. No more detail than that.

She gasped and dropped the plate on the counter with a clatter. The train was gone, so it hadn’t been that. Casey leaned forward over the sink, the setting sun making it difficult to see anything, and she brought her hand over her forehead like the lip of a ball cap, keeping the rays of light out of her irises. Didn’t seem to help.

The trees swayed back and forth more than they should. Or maybe. How much wind had there been? She couldn’t remember. The setting sun created dark, shady areas.

It wasn’t him, not the one she was hiding from. No. It had been too big. She saw that much.

What had it been? Lester would say it was aliens, and not little green men. She gave a nervous chuckle at herself. Had she imagined it?

She hadn’t.

Craig here said he saw one. A big one.

Casey’s jaw went tight while she stepped to the back door, making sure it was closed, locked. She scanned behind her house for another hour, even after another train came and went. The rhythm of the tracks and the loud whistle comforted her.

Her hand rose to her chest, her heart – it pounded between her breasts. Taking deep breaths, she went through the calming exercises the therapist had taught her. Start with the toes, the feet, then feel the way up the rest of the body to the top of her head, breathing even and calm. She was safe.

She had made a promise to herself years ago to never give in to fear again. With another breath, she unlocked and swung the back door wide open. Her body tensed, but she took the few steps out to the small deck out back, gazing defiantly into the trees.

Whatever had been there was gone.

*****

The Golem had seen the woman and faded back into the shadows. Had she seen it? Although large, Layla had given it the ability to move quiet and blend with the darkness; also, she muted its ability to feel emotions – no colors to give it away.

Humans fascinated it. None of the animals the Golem encountered here could talk. The humans possessed massive auras of emotion and yet none seemed to see the wild colors.

It felt Layla’s presence in his mind. She had been right, her presence wasn’t as strong. Every now and then it could hear her words and know her wishes. Most of the time she existed as an awareness.

The sheer amount of information in this new world overwhelmed him. The Golem had only been here a half day. Finding the other creatures from Velona seemed impossible. But Layla’s insistence drove him and conflicted with the human fascination.

This particular human was more interesting than most. The colors of terror and fear flared around her when she glimpsed the Golem – orange-black and gray-yellow. But instead of being ruled by those colors and those emotions, another eked through – the blue-green of bravery.

It had seen those colors of bravery before in the creatures of the rebellion against the Queen.

This female stood at the back of her house, staring out in its direction with a confident gaze, and the longer she stood there, the more the colors of bravery surrounded her and overpowered the colors of fear. They still existed but were muted by the courage.

After a few minutes, the female huffed and turned and entered her house once more, slamming the door behind her.

Interesting, indeed.

Chapter 7

 

Without much food in her body and less sleep, Casey left to open at the Java the Hutt the next morning.

When she went from her house to her Prius, her head swiveled to search the predawn dark. She hurried from her car to the back door and then had to count the money three times since the numbers wouldn’t stay in her head.

She barely got the shop open in time, the lightsaber Open sign glowing before the first customer. Four others came after, and she had to remake drinks twice because she forgot what they ordered.

The back door creaked and slid open, and she gasped at the sound. But it was Jimmy. He came in a couple hours later since he was closing. “’Mornin’, Case,” he said.

She didn’t answer.

He frowned at her. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she snapped.

That was a preview of Entangled with a Golem: Beyond the Veil Book 6. To read the rest purchase the book.

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