Aetherial Annihilation by John Corwin Page A

Emily said, shaking mine and Elyssa's hands. "I hope to see you again under better circumstances."
    "That'd be nice." Elyssa seemed to like the other woman, judging from her smile. "I'd really like to hear your version of the Demonicus Incident."
    "It's a doozy," Tyler assured her.
    I felt a bit strange after they left. Why hadn't my father mentioned this Tyler Rock fellow to me before? I planned to grill him the next time I saw him.
    "The OTA files sound like a good lead," Shelton.
    The Overworld Transportation Administration used all-seeing eyes, ASEs, to record and track all magical forms of travel, primarily to make sure no one broke Overworld law. Shelton and I had once used it to track down my mother so we could rescue her from Daelissa.
    If it could help us discover the origin of these meteors, I had to believe we could be well on our way to solving this thing.
     

Chapter 8
     
    "Maybe we could investigate this OTA footage Agent Walker mentioned," I said.
    "Wish Cinder was here," Shelton said. "He loves digging through data like a troll loves dirt."
    Our golem friend, created by a Seraphim named Fjoeruss, had somehow achieved sentience after being the subject of experiments by an Arcane. He'd come through for us many times when it came to analyzing reams of data.
    "Where is he now?" I asked.
    "Probably learning how to smile without scaring small children," Shelton said.
    "I'm ready to offer assistance wherever necessary," Victus said. "Science Academy hasn't been nearly as affected as the Arcanes."
    "Are you an Arcane?" I asked.
    He nodded. "I'm a level sixteen Arcane, though I far prefer scientific pursuits. My wife, Delectra is a nineteen, and is far more skilled at the Arcane arts than I."
    Shelton whistled. "A nineteen? She just about tops the scale."
    I almost pulled out my level forty-one rating, but it wouldn't be a fair comparison. My Seraphim side gave me a lot of raw power. Besides, we had more important things to talk about. "Do we have any ASE footage available here?" I asked Thomas.
    "Not at present with the aethernet down." He put a hand on his chin. "You'll probably have to retrieve it in person."
    "Bella and I can do that," Shelton said. "Better than sitting around doing nothing."
    "Maybe I should brief everyone on what we know so far," I said. "I don't know what actions you're considering with regard to the meteors, but I have vital information."
    Thomas nodded. "Go ahead."
    I told them about the incident in Thailand. Thomas, as usual, remained stoic, though his eyes flared when I told him about the explosion.
    "Amazing," Victus said. "Think of the power we could harness if we understood these meteors."
    I shook my head. "This is the kind of power we don't want in Eden."
    "We've tried moving the crystals," Thomas said, "but digging revealed crystal roots piercing deep into the earth."
    "I wonder what would happen if any of those roots broke," Elyssa said.
    "It could trigger a reaction like the one Justin described," Thomas replied. "We can't move them and we can't destroy them. We have to deactivate them."
    "I'd like to see one up close if possible," I said. Another question came to me. "What happens when you touch the crystals?"
    "So far we haven't risked it," Thomas said. "We've used nom construction vehicles to dig around one under our control."
    "Don't even think of touching one, Justin." Elyssa gave me a pointed look. "I don't want you getting vaporized."
    Shelton blasted a breath. "How are we supposed to know what'll happen if someone doesn't try?"
    "Let's think about this logically," I said. "From what we know, the crystals absorb aether, or somehow distort it. I don't think they operate like interdictors and turn it into malaether." It suddenly occurred to me how we could see what was happening. "My demon vision allows me to see the aether. Maybe it would help if I looked at one of those things."
    "You can see aether?" Victus raised an eyebrow. "I've never heard of such a thing."
    "Yep." I