Read Online The Far Shores (The Central Series) by Zachary Rawlins - Free Book Online Page B

awareness, that he would go mad. There was a macabre temptation to
lose himself in the contemplation of the lights that were not lights, the
vision that was something else entirely.
    Instead, he focused on a
series of key points, working from a pattern he had memorized from diagrams and
simulations, relying largely on a protocol subroutine that Vladimir had
designed and Rebecca had implanted during days of intensive sessions. It seemed
like a great deal of work for a very small effect, but he felt satisfaction
nonetheless when the last step of the routine was completed, minute disruptions
introduced in a closed system. Vladimir had told him that devices wanted to
function, that programs wanted to run – but then he followed that with his
unhinged, almost mocking laughter, so Alex wasn’t sure that he believed him.
    The polarity of the
electromagnets reversed, composite steel bolts sliding smoothly back into
housings as if the proper access codes and biometric parameters had been
supplied. Alex shifted back to normal perception with a faint sensation of
reluctance, easing the Black Door shut and watching with restrained pride as
the compound door slid open.
    That lasted until the vampires
charged out.
     
    ***
     
    Alex was spacing out with a weird
half-smile on his face, no doubt impressed with his own usefulness, when the
door started to open, and Katya’s eyes picked out motion in the darkness on the
other side. In a normal situation, there wouldn’t have been much anyone could
have done for him – Alex had just taken his hands off the metal surface of the
door, after all, and they had been waiting just on the other side – but this
wasn’t a normal situation, and Katya had prepared accordingly, hovering just
behind him in case something of this nature happened.
    Oppa, barrier!
    Katya hoped the
telepathic network was intact, because there was no time for words. Neal had a
reputation for losing it at critical moments. Katya would have felt better if
Haley or Miss Aoki were maintaining communications. With any luck, this
wouldn’t be one of those times that Neal failed. Otherwise, Katya would
probably be ripped to shreds by the vampires’ outstretched talons,
nanite-infused bone protruding through reanimated flesh, before she had a
chance to turn. Katya dove into Alex, knocking him away from the door and
rolling on top, putting her vulnerable back between him and the approaching
vampires, trusting that Min-jun would react in time to save them.
    He must have, because
she didn’t die.
    Alex had barely begun to
squirm when she pushed him aside and spun, lifting herself into a crouch to
face her enemies. Two vampires were in feral mode, claws on every finger and a
grotesque mess of teeth gnashing in hyperextended jaws, with more crowding the
door frame behind them. Min-jun’s barrier was a barely perceptible cerulean
tint separating them from a couple hundred pounds of undead fury. Katya glanced
behind her, and could see the massive strain on the Korean’s face, grimacing and
clutching his head near the edge of the barrier.
    The barrier saved their
lives, but it didn’t give her much more than seconds to work with.
    Min-jun’s barrier
protocol was unusual. He was an E-Class Operator, normally below the threshold
that would be considered for Audits, but his protocol had a number of atypical
properties that had caught the Audits department’s interest. His barrier was malleable;
he could mold it temporarily around moving objects, as he had done earlier
during combat with the perimeter sentries. Even better, the barrier was as effective
against psychic assault as it was against physical. Of course, nothing came
without drawbacks. Min-jun’s protocol was temporary, manifesting as long as he
could hold his breath, for whatever reason. It also had a limited capacity to
absorb damage, probably due to the same plasticity that Katya had taken
advantage of earlier, which meant that it couldn’t hold the vampires back