Aetherial Annihilation by John Corwin Page B

didn't trust the man enough to go into details.
    Thomas consulted a tablet. "The closest meteor is in Sweetwater Creek State Park. We haven't tried to access it because the National Guard cordoned off the site."
    "What're we gonna officially call these things besides crystals and meteors?" Shelton asked.
    "Crasteroids," I suggested. "Or how about meteocrysts?"
    Elyssa groaned. "Awful. Just awful."
    "Meteocryst sounds like fast food," Bella said.
    "I vote for crystoids," Shelton said. "That has a nice ring to it."
    Elyssa smiled. "Better."
    "Fine, crystoids, whatever." I turned to Thomas. "Let's go to Sweetwater Creek and check out that crystoid."
    Shelton pounded a fist into his palm. "Let's infiltrate that bad boy."
    "We'll need to wait until dark." Thomas folded his arms. "Unfortunately camouflage armor and most functions of Nightingale armor won't work without aether. The built in charms should be okay, but there are no guarantees."
    "A small team would be best," Elyssa said. "Justin and I can do it alone."
    Shelton growled. "Why do you get to have all the fun?"
    Bella put a hand on his arm. "I know something fun, Harry. We can go to the OTA and get the meteor recordings."
    Shelton wasn't appeased. "Now I'm an errand boy."
    Bella elbowed him. "You're the one who suggested going in the first place."
    "Yeah, but busting a military perimeter sounds so much more fun." He threw up his hands. "Who am I kidding? I'm just a nom without magic. Might as well fetch those ASE files."
    "Better than getting shot," Bella said brightly.
    "We have a nom vehicle you can use," Thomas said. "Just ask the carpool attendant."
    Shelton put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't do anything stupid, man. I have a bad feeling about this."
    "Hey, you know me." I grinned. "I'm always careful."
    "Yeah right." He gave me a dubious look. "We'll be back soon."
    After he and Bella left, I checked the time. "We've got an hour before dark. Maybe we can head that way and recon the area."
    "Do lancer darts still work?" Elyssa asked.
    Thomas nodded. "You can get outfitted in the armory." He gave us a steady gaze. "No nom casualties. I want you in and out without them ever knowing you were there."
    Elyssa saluted her father with a fist over her chest. "Yes, Commander."
    I wasn't sure if she was being serious or not, since she didn't usually salute her father. Thomas simply nodded and handed her a paper map with a red X on it. "Here are the coordinates."
    Elyssa's forehead wrinkled with confusion. "This looks archaic."
    "Desperate times and all that," I said. I told Thomas about the call from Nightliss.
    His eyes actually brightened and his shoulders straightened. "I wish I had the means to get her here faster."
    "We hope she can reach an Obsidian Arch," Elyssa said.
    A small smile curved the tips of Thomas's mouth. "I'll tell the troops. They could use the morale boost."
    I nodded. "Well, we'd better get going."
    "Good luck," Thomas said.
    Victus put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm certain you'll do us all proud."
    This dude is downright creepy. I gave him an uneasy smile then turned and followed Elyssa out of the room.
    After outfitting ourselves with lancers at the armory, Elyssa and I went back to the garage and took the car across town and about twenty miles outside the perimeter to Sweetwater Creek State Park.
    "It's so inconvenient having to drive everywhere," Elyssa said as we cruised down the interstate.
    "I remember the days when we could infiltrate any place with an omniarch portal." I was a little nervous about trying to sneak past the nom military without magical aid. The lancers would give us the option of incapacitating anyone who got in our way, but leaving a trail of unconscious people hardly fit Thomas's command to get in and out without detection.
     "This is so different than what we've faced before." Elyssa stared at the road ahead. "I just can't figure out what the endgame is here. Why would Serena destroy magic? She's an Arcane and needs magic as much