Read Online Kirev's Door by JC Andrijeski - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: JC Andrijeski
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panting from the shock to his light and body from when Wreg caught hold of his hurt arm. Then, glancing back inside the glass case a last time, he found himself hearing the other seer. He nodded, tearing his eyes off the mewling thing inside that glass case.
“Yes, sir,” he said, looking back at Wreg. “Yes. All right.”
Wreg’s expression remained taut as he continued to assess Kirev’s body and light.
Looking at him, Kirev realized the seer was worried about him. He was afraid Kirev would crack up, that they’d put him through too much for one evening, between being shot and now this and it being his first real field op since they’d brought him on board. Kirev could almost feel Wreg’s nerves as he scanned Kirev’s light, his awareness of how young he was, how he might have been pushing his luck allowing him to come inside here, how these machines would test the emotional stability of any seer.
Kirev firmed his jaw, meeting his gaze directly that time.
“I’m all right, sir,” he said, his voice decisive. “Really. I’ll take your advice.”
That time, after a faint pause, Wreg’s expression cleared.
“Good,” he said. His dark eyes flickered with worry again, even as he gestured towards the boxes. “It is no reflection on you, brother…I promise.”
Kirev shook his head. “I didn’t take it that way, sir. It’s good advice. I’ll take it.”
Wreg nodded again, not speaking that time.
Touching Kirev carefully on his unhurt shoulder, he walked past him then, gesturing for Kirev to follow. He spoke to all of them as he began making his way through the middle of the room, but Kirev still felt the male’s attention focused the most on him.
“Take imprints of whatever you can,” he told the others. “But we cannot spend much time here. We need to press on. There is a more sophisticated version of this up ahead…it is what the human military, as well a SCARB, have the most interest in. It is why we are here, too.”
“More sophisticated?” Ute said warily. “More sophisticated in what way?”
Wreg shifted the direction of his gaze without slowing his graceful steps.
“It is being used as a brain, sister,” he said, blunt. “Inside one of their more sophisticated computational devices. They think this will solve many of their issues around data processing speeds and storage.”
Ute frowned.
She didn’t speak however, but continued to follow him deeper into the room.
They all followed Wreg now, walking among the glass cases in an uneven line as they aimed for the back wall to the low-ceilinged room. Only a few of the seers still peered in the glass cases as they passed, grimacing at whatever they saw or felt there. Tan seemed to look at every single case he passed, Kirev noticed. So did the seer in the back, a tall, blue-eyed male named Jorag who had not been with them when they were at Sutro Heights.
He’d met them at the gate outside the Black Arrow research complex, along with a female seer named Neela whose light had been so sharp and structured it made Kirev nervous. Neela was up top now, watching over the security station with another male seer. A third male with light almost as sharp as Neela’s walked on Kirev’s other side now, not looking at anything but his direct line of sight, his hands gripping a military-looking rifle.
Kirev kept his eyes carefully in front of him too, apart from his few glances at his fellow seers. He also held his light more closely wrapped around his physical body than he perhaps ever had in his life. He pulled it so tight around himself it nearly hurt to hold it there, but he didn’t loosen his grip. He didn’t want to feel so much as a whisper of the consciousness of any more of those things inside the glass cases.
They reached the other side of the room in a very long-feeling handful of minutes.
Once they had, Kirev realized the wall looked strange, almost like the white one had on the floor above. This one shone a strange, pale,
“Yes, sir,” he said, looking back at Wreg. “Yes. All right.”
Wreg’s expression remained taut as he continued to assess Kirev’s body and light.
Looking at him, Kirev realized the seer was worried about him. He was afraid Kirev would crack up, that they’d put him through too much for one evening, between being shot and now this and it being his first real field op since they’d brought him on board. Kirev could almost feel Wreg’s nerves as he scanned Kirev’s light, his awareness of how young he was, how he might have been pushing his luck allowing him to come inside here, how these machines would test the emotional stability of any seer.
Kirev firmed his jaw, meeting his gaze directly that time.
“I’m all right, sir,” he said, his voice decisive. “Really. I’ll take your advice.”
That time, after a faint pause, Wreg’s expression cleared.
“Good,” he said. His dark eyes flickered with worry again, even as he gestured towards the boxes. “It is no reflection on you, brother…I promise.”
Kirev shook his head. “I didn’t take it that way, sir. It’s good advice. I’ll take it.”
Wreg nodded again, not speaking that time.
Touching Kirev carefully on his unhurt shoulder, he walked past him then, gesturing for Kirev to follow. He spoke to all of them as he began making his way through the middle of the room, but Kirev still felt the male’s attention focused the most on him.
“Take imprints of whatever you can,” he told the others. “But we cannot spend much time here. We need to press on. There is a more sophisticated version of this up ahead…it is what the human military, as well a SCARB, have the most interest in. It is why we are here, too.”
“More sophisticated?” Ute said warily. “More sophisticated in what way?”
Wreg shifted the direction of his gaze without slowing his graceful steps.
“It is being used as a brain, sister,” he said, blunt. “Inside one of their more sophisticated computational devices. They think this will solve many of their issues around data processing speeds and storage.”
Ute frowned.
She didn’t speak however, but continued to follow him deeper into the room.
They all followed Wreg now, walking among the glass cases in an uneven line as they aimed for the back wall to the low-ceilinged room. Only a few of the seers still peered in the glass cases as they passed, grimacing at whatever they saw or felt there. Tan seemed to look at every single case he passed, Kirev noticed. So did the seer in the back, a tall, blue-eyed male named Jorag who had not been with them when they were at Sutro Heights.
He’d met them at the gate outside the Black Arrow research complex, along with a female seer named Neela whose light had been so sharp and structured it made Kirev nervous. Neela was up top now, watching over the security station with another male seer. A third male with light almost as sharp as Neela’s walked on Kirev’s other side now, not looking at anything but his direct line of sight, his hands gripping a military-looking rifle.
Kirev kept his eyes carefully in front of him too, apart from his few glances at his fellow seers. He also held his light more closely wrapped around his physical body than he perhaps ever had in his life. He pulled it so tight around himself it nearly hurt to hold it there, but he didn’t loosen his grip. He didn’t want to feel so much as a whisper of the consciousness of any more of those things inside the glass cases.
They reached the other side of the room in a very long-feeling handful of minutes.
Once they had, Kirev realized the wall looked strange, almost like the white one had on the floor above. This one shone a strange, pale,
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