Chapter 120 - Thieves in the Night

Blake visualized himself stepping through space to appear atop the restroom building. He released a slow breath and concentrated on replicating the same sensations he underwent when he teleported with the Architect’s assistance. This time, he endeavored to do so without the alien AI. His focus deepened, and he raised his arm as he manifested his desire.

Nothing happened.

He was so engrossed in his pursuit, he failed to notice when Montgomery approached him. “Yo. What’cha doing?” he whispered loudly.

Blake sighed.

Seven hours ago, just before dark, they arrived at Goldwater Lake. Once he located the portal, he immediately unloaded the materials required to build a faction hall and began its assembly in the center of the large parking lot. Construction took six hours to complete, and could not be hastened with a constructor or laborers. Jennifer seemed to intend to record the entire process.

While light still remained, Blake had ordered his faction members to collect firewood and keep an eye out for monsters. A half hour later, they had a large pile of dead wood, which Montgomery eagerly lit with a fireball after ensuring his audience was attentive and Jennifer was recording. With the moon absent for the next few hours, it provided necessary light for the guards to see.

Now, the faction hall was completed, and the laborers and constructor who accompanied him were in the process of digging out their quarry. They would continue to work through the night, their progress illuminated only by the many fires littered around the area.

Meanwhile, half the guards, along with Jennifer and Bobby, attempted to sleep through the racket. Blake could have joined them inside the restroom, but he could not quiet his mind. There was too much to do, and he could only be in a single location. He longed to enter the nearby portal to find out what kind of creature lay within, but he was too tired, and needed to be here in case they came under attack.

Instead, he attempted for what seemed like the hundredth time to cast a spell without the aid of the Collective.

“I’m trying to teleport without relying on nanomachines,” Blake informed his old friend.

“Wait, you can do that?” Montgomery’s brows rose.

Blake nodded. “Evidently, we can all use magic naturally, but it takes too long to master. To speed things up, the Architect steps in and provides us with assistance. Think of it like training wheels on a bicycle.”

“Holy shit!” Montgomery exclaimed loudly. “This whole time, I thought it was the AI giving us magic.”

“Shhh,” Blake shushed his friend. “People are trying to sleep.”

Montgomery rolled his eyes. “If they can sleep through those pickaxes breaking rocks, they can sleep through me cursing.”

Blake shook his head. A moment later, Jeff appeared as if summoned. The quiet man nodded in greeting, but remained silent.

“So, how do you use magic without the AI?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“You mean you didn’t ask the Architect when you had the chance?”

“I was kind of busy keeping it from killing us all,” he reminded Montgomery.

Jeff snorted.

“Fair,” Montgomery conceded. “But, did it at least give you a hint?”

“Not really. It said that learning magic on your own takes decades unless your affinity is really high. Even then, it can take years.”

“Shouldn’t it go faster, though, since you’ve already cast some spells?” Montgomery asked.

“That’s what I’m hoping for, but so far I haven’t had any luck. I’m trying an aether spell since that’s my highest affinity. I should be able to learn it the fastest.”

“What’s it at?” Montgomery prodded.

“Ninety-four. Wait, ninety-nine,” Blake corrected himself. “The Architect steals five percent to power our nanomachines.”

“Holy shit!”

“Damn,” Jeff rumbled.

“Mine’s at forty-two,” Montgomery complained. He then grinned. “But my mana’s at fifty-nine!”

Blake grinned.

That takes me back.

For years, Montgomery had crowed about his relatively high affinity for mana. It had annoyed Rajesh to no end, since the Indian’s was only forty-one. Jeff’s psionic affinity was forty-nine, but he remained true to form and never spoke of it. 

Meanwhile, Blake had been stuck with a chi affinity of fourteen percent. Spells had taken him forever to master, and he had eventually given up on evolving more than one or two. He had been forced to compensate for his weak magic with pure skill to overcome his handicap.

“So, are you just thinking real hard or something?” Montgomery then smirked. “You looked like you were constipated.”

Blake snorted. “I’m trying to mimic how I feel when I cast a spell, but it doesn’t seem to do anything.”

Jeff shook his head. “Too much.”

Both Montgomery and Blake furrowed their brows as they turned to their normally silent friend.

“What do you mean?” Blake asked, curious about Jeff’s thoughts.

“Start small. Modify a spell.”

“Huh,” Montgomery slapped his friend on the back with a grin. “Not a bad idea.”

Blake frowned as he considered the approach.

Why didn’t I think of that?

He had already accomplished something that should have been impossible, and channeled two aether spells simultaneously, without the aid of the interface. In a way, he modified the framework the nanomachines provided, and broke through its bounds.

Maybe I can try and overload my Spatial Step. See if I can extend its range.

“Hold on,” he told his friends. “Let me try something.”

Blake glanced up and chose a destination, a large boulder in the woods, thirty feet away. The location was ten feet outside the range of his Charged Guided Spatial Step. In theory, he could attempt to funnel additional aether into the spell and overload it. That would allow him to travel an additional ten feet.

Here goes nothing.

He narrowed his eyes and mentally pushed as he focused on the large stone formation thirty feet away. Blake maintained his concentration and activated his spell, confident in his new approach.

Suddenly, he appeared in the woods, ten feet short of his destination.

Damnit! Why didn’t it work?!

Blake breathed in frustration and turned back to see Montgomery holding both thumbs up. Blake shook his head as he reviewed the sequence of events. He remembered a resistance, as if he struggled against a barrier.

He held up a finger to his friends.

“You got this!” Montgomery yelled.

Let’s try again.

He once again chose a spot, even further into the woods, and focused on his objective. Blake strained his mind while he simultaneously activated his last charge. Just as he stepped through space, pain blossomed within his head, yet he once again fell short of his goal.

He heard a whoop from Montgomery, and he sighed at his friend’s misplaced enthusiasm.

“Not quite,” Blake yelled back.

That’s got to be it. The pain means it almost worked!

When he had first attempted to cast his Spatial Step at the same time as his Dampen Sound, he felt a mental resistance. That barrier registered as pain, which continued to build the harder he strained. However, once he broke through the mental block, it felt as if something came loose within his mind.

Could that be the Architect’s framework adjusting itself?

Blake was about to walk back to their camp, when he heard a muffled curse to the east.

No one should be that far out.

Curious, he cast Oblate Mind Sense. His brows rose in surprise when the pulse returned with a tight-knit grouping of twenty minds.

What the hell is this?

Blake turned and returned to camp as quickly as he was able in the dark. When he reached his two friends, he whispered, “A group of people are coming, let the other guards know about them while I go check it out.”

“Are you going to kill them?” Montgomery asked in a subdued voice.

Blake shook his head. “Not unless they attack.”

“It’s like three in the morning, there’s no reason to be out this late unless you plan on doing bad things.”

Jeff nodded in agreement.

“True, but I want to question them and find out why they’re here.”

“You think they’ll talk?” Montgomery asked.

Blake smirked. “You forget. We have Jennifer. They don’t have to talk. Wake her up too.”

After that, he left his friends and travelled along the paved road in the dark toward the main road. On the smooth blacktop, his pace quickened as he no longer worried about roots or stones. A few minutes later, just before he joined the main road, he found the group of humans.

They stood before the Goldwater Lake Park sign with lanterns raised. Duct tape and aluminum foil had been applied to their light source, so the small fire’s rays were magnified and could only escape in a narrow beam. 

Blake cast Adjustable Dampen Sound on himself and approached the distracted group so he could make out their whispered conversation.

“... telling you, that hammering is coming from the lake,” one insisted.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” another argued. “Why would anyone go there when there’s cabins just down the road?”

“Who gives a shit?” the first replied. “Let’s just go check it out. It’ll only take a minute.”

“Fine,” the second man relented. “But when they aren’t there, you owe me a six-pack.”

“Deal.”

Those two must be in charge.

While the two men argued, the others remained silent. They kept a wary eye on the dark forest, but did not take part in the group’s decision. After their course of action was locked in, they followed behind their leaders as they took the spur toward the lake. 

Okay, that’s close enough.

Blake was between the hostile group and his new faction town. In just moments, he would be exposed to the light of the lanterns, so he dropped his Dampen Sound ability and spoke up. 

“Howdy neighbor,” he greeted them with a false affability as he slowly walked toward them. “What brings you all here at this time of night?”

Immediately, cries of alarm resounded. Twenty firearms were raised and aimed in his direction.

“Who’s there?” one of the leaders asked as he searched the darkness.

“Show yourself!” the other demanded.

Blake stepped into the light with a smile on his face. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Once he was visible, all rifles trained directly on him, while the leaders demanded his surrender. “Get down on the ground, hands behind your back, right now!”

“Hands up where I can see them!” the other ordered.

Blake chuckled. “You guys should really make up your minds. I can’t exactly raise my hands and put them behind my back at the same time now, can I?”

Both leaders scowled.

“Don’t get smart with me, kid, or you’ll end up a puddle on the ground!”

“Yeah!” the other commander agreed and stepped forward. He then called over his shoulder, “Guys, fan out and search for others. There’s no way he’s out here alone.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Blake warned.

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Right now, you guys are bunched up so tight, I can hit all of you with a Mind Blast. That gives me the freedom to talk. But, if you move, I’ll have to release my spell before you’re out of range.”

“Shit!” One of the group members cursed. “I think that’s the Scion!”

Blake watched as sudden recognition flared across the two leader’s faces and their eyes widened. 

“Run!” the first leader screamed and braced himself to follow his own advice. However, before the group even had a chance to move, Blake released a Directed Mind Blast. The spell encompassed the entire group, which promptly fell to their knees in agony. 

Three people accidentally discharged their rifles, while others dropped their weapons as they cradled their heads. They were grouped so tightly, two people were hit by friendly fire and began to bleed out before him.

Blake shook his head and loudly berated them, “You really should learn some gun safety. Never rest your fingers on the trigger. Accidents happen.”

As the men screamed and moaned on the pavement, Blake approached their crumpled forms and collected their firearms. Most weapons lay on the ground beside their previous owners. However, a few were still clasped tight within hands. When Blake grasped the rifles from their fists, bones snapped like kindling and prompted further screams of agony.

By the time the enemy’s weapons were piled together on the ground, Montgomery and Jeff arrived along with backup. Jeremy and Jimmy warily approached and searched the dark for additional threats.

“Don’t worry, this is everyone,” Blake assured them. He tapped his head. “I have Mind Sense, remember. And no, I didn’t shoot them, they did that themselves.”

Jeremy nodded, but kept his rifle readied. “What are they after?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Blake admitted. “I haven’t had time to question them yet. But, they were nice enough to bring us some more guns,” he gestured to the pile.

Jimmy snorted.

“I woke Jennifer up,” Montgomery informed him. “She said she’d be happy to help. She just needs a bit to wake up and relieve herself first.”

“Great!” Blake smiled. “It’s going to take a while for them to recover, so we can march them back to camp anyway.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Jeremy asked. “We don’t have cuffs, and they might have weapons concealed on them.”

“Well, go ahead and pat them down while we wait. And, don’t worry about them causing any issues, we can stuff them all inside the men’s restroom tonight. They can’t hurt anyone in there.”

Jeremy nodded and handed Jimmy his rifle. He unsheathed a knife from his waist and kneeled down beside the groaning leader. For the next ten minutes, Jeremy searched everyone for hidden weapons. In the end, he walked away with six pistols, ten knives, and two cans of pepper spray to add to their collection.

By the time the spy finished his work, all but two had recovered from their affliction. The victims of friendly fire had quickly bled out. Those who remained, stayed silent and afraid as rifles were trained on them.

“Okay, everyone on your feet,” Blake ordered. “You all are going to get a little tour of our camp before we sit down and have a nice little chat.”

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