Yearning, page 17
even heard of!”
After Philber calmed down to mark his box with an
orange nail polish, it was Raoul’s turn. To Samantha’s relief,
he easily overcame his vertigo. They had found the method
of not waiting to stick your fingers into the lid to be
preferable.
Sitting perfectly still, his eyes brightening, Raoul then
began to smile. “Still a doctor, but I remember medical
procedures, instruments, and illnesses that I know I’ve
never seen, or even heard of…and now I just know.” He
marked his box with a light-yellow dot.
Samantha glanced over at Darian and noticed the
pensive look on her face.
Brandon was the only one not having to part his hair,
being bald. Samantha held his NIEC against the base of his
skull, but to her surprise, nothing happened. The filaments
didn’t move.
“It could be malfunctioning.” Darian fetched another
scroll box, but the result was the same.
“I’m sorry, Brandon,” Samantha said, “but I can’t get it to
work.”
“I wonder why this is.” Camilla took Brandon’s hands
between hers. “There has to be a reason.”
Philber looked up from his notes. “I think it’s pretty
obvious. Brandon’s not from Dennamore. I mean, he has no
ancestors here. It’s the most obvious conclusion.”
Samantha frowned. “We haven’t tried this on more than
a handful of people. It’s too early to draw any conclusions at
all.”
“Perhaps,” Philber said, “but it’s the best I can come up
with at this point. Unless you want to round up people and
conduct some double-blind study.”
“I can tell the NIEC didn’t alter your acerbic personality,”
Camilla said. “Good to know.”
“Oh, I don’t mean to sound dismissive, but that’s the
logical conclusion for now.” Philber had the good taste to at
least try to look regretful.
“Now to another matter.” Darian reached around her
neck. “Let’s see how these things detach. “Something tells
me that we should have tried that before we started
handing them out like freaking candy.”
“You’re just going to pull?” Camilla looked aghast. “How
about reading the damn manual first, child?”
“That’s what we did when we tried them on our hands.
But you have a point.” Darian pulled the scroll to her again.
Samantha did the same. “Hm. Wait. Let’s see,” Darian
muttered. “Ah. Here. For removal…allow vacuum seal to
break.” She locked her gaze on Samantha. “Is that what you
have too?”
“Yes,” Samantha said, having found the paragraph as
well.
“Same,” Raoul said, and Philber nodded.
“Not sure what it means exactly, but I should be able to
gently pry it loose.” Samantha moved in behind Darion. She
slid her blunt nails around the edge of the NIEC. “Just relax
and envision it detaching. All right?”
“Yeah. Envisioning.” Darian leaned back against
Samantha, her shoulder blades touching Samantha’s belly.
Pulling gently, she thought at first that it did seem stuck,
but she didn’t let on since Darian didn’t express any
discomfort. Then the NIEC came loose, and the filaments
dangled after creeping out from Darian’s hair.
“Oh!” Darian gripped the edge of the table. “Damn.”
“Vertigo?” Samantha sat down next to Darian, still
holding on to her NIEC.
“No, not really. Just a whoosh…and then, well, I feel, not
empty, exactly, but depleted? The knowledge went away. Or
the brunt of it, at least.” She ran her finger along her NIEC.
“Put it back again. Please.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Samantha repeated the, by now, familiar procedure and
was still just as fascinated by how the filaments wormed
their way along the scalp and into Darian’s hair.
“Ah. Good. It’s all back.” Darian grinned. “Obviously after
the initial attachment, we don’t have to go through the
whole thing with placing our fingers exactly right and so
on.”
“What is the purpose of these items?” Brandon regarded
the boxes with a certain exasperation. “I mean, of this
elevated knowledge?”
“I think Darian and Samantha have started to figure it
out. To me it’s obvious.” Philber crossed his arms over his
chest. “This is required knowledge when you’re putting
together a crew.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A crew. Darian stood by the window in the parlor, trying to
wrap her mind around Philber’s laconic words. They had
merit, but still, how could it be? When the people who once
founded Dennamore arrived in this part of the world, no
matter how forward thinking they might have been, they
couldn’t have used, let alone, constructed, this advanced
technology. Still, these aptitude neural interfaces had
enhanced her proficiency for police and security work, which
would be useful on any ship. Samantha as some kind of
navigator? The woman was methodical and more organized
than anyone Darian had ever met, that was true. Raoul
would be a given as a ship’s doctor, which was only logical.
Philber, in turn, the scholar among them, had been pegged
as the person most able to make sense of a new world. How
the hell had their ancestors used these devices when
coming over from Europe? Just thinking about it gave her a
headache, and it didn’t help that she still was wearing the
NIEC. She planned to take it off once they’d looked at how
far she had come in uncovering the glowing rock below.
“Darian. Raoul and Carl are ready to go down into the
basement. Let’s get that over with so we can remove the
NIECs. We probably need to get used to them little by little.”
Samantha came up to her, placing a gentle hand on
Darian’s shoulder.
Normally, Darian’s heart would have skipped several
beats from the unexpected touch, but now she just kept
looking out the window at the starry sky. “Little by little? Are
you kidding me? We’re running headlong into this, and
before you say anything, I know I’m as head over heels
about this as the rest of you.” She waved both hands in the
air to indicate what she meant—which was everything.
“What if we get addicted to the NIECs? The way I reacted
when we took it off me bothers me.”
“Hey. Come here.” Samantha put her arm around
Darian’s waist. “I think it was the novelty of it—and that you
and the rest of us feared you might not get the knowledge
back when we reattached it. Now that we know that you did,
we’ll be more relaxed.”
Darian gave something between a snort and a huff.
“Really. Relaxed. I haven’t been able to think about anything
else. The knowledge. It’s been many things, but relaxing
isn’t one of them.”
Samantha stood quietly for a moment. “True. I’ve felt the
same, but perhaps it’s different for me since I was actually
born and bred here. You’re as much a part of this town as I
am, and the others here, but you don’t have the same
connection to it. No wonder you’re hesitant. I promise you,
I’d never dream of putting any pressure on you to continue
with this—”
“Stop right there.” Darian pivoted within Samantha’s arm
and glared at her. “That’s not what I mean. I’m in, all the
way, just like before. I’m just worried that things are
happening too fast and that we’re rushing in. You were the
one who set the limit when it came to a young person such
as Carl. I didn’t even think about that. When you brought it
up, it made total sense. Well, perhaps not to Carl at first, but
to the rest of us, me included. We need to be less pushy and
more reflective.”
“Hear, hear,” Camilla said from behind Samantha. “I
couldn’t agree more. Why don’t you two take our guests into
the basement to look at that thing? Then I want you all out
of those little machines.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Darian said, briefly pressing her forehead
against Samantha’s shoulder before she stepped away.
“Let’s go.”
The men were already walking down the stairs when
Darian and Samantha joined them. Brandon had installed
excellent lighting in the basement, and Philber didn’t need
any guidance as he rounded the wall to the old pantry.
“Ah. Just as in my basement. You’ve been hard at work,
Darian.” Philber regarded the large pile of discarded boards
on the floor. “Those things are massive.”
“Tell me about it.” Tension gripped Darian’s upper arms
just thinking about the logs. “I’ve uncovered about a third of
the smooth wall, or stone, behind it. If you look here—oh,
shit!” She stared at the wall.
“What is it?” Samantha was right behind her and now
gripped Darian’s arms firmly.
“I couldn’t make that out before. I couldn’t see the words.
Is it the NIEC at work? It has to be.”
Philber and Raoul joined them, and the four who were
outfitted with NIECs stood side by side, trying to figure out
the meaning of the words.
“Think of it this way,” Philber said. “We’re reading from
the right bottom and up, and that means we’re starting
somewhere in the middle here and just getting the last
thirty percent of what it says.”
“What about the lines?” Samantha placed her finger
along one in the middle. Immediately, the coloring of the
light shifted faintly, and some lines moved marginally. “Wh-
what was that?” Samantha yanked her hand back. “I
suppose this is what you meant by acting before thinking,”
she said as she took Darian’s hand.
“Yeah, yet I want to try that too.” Darian sighed. “Unless
someone else feels the urge.”
“Allow me,” Raoul said and put his entire palm against
the stone surface, in a different spot. Some lines shifted to a
blue-green light, and a couple of the words glowed stronger.
“Alert zone one. Pathway gates ready.” Samantha read
aloud. “Better let go, Raoul.”
Raoul backed up. “I’ll say.”
“Let’s not experiment with this one,” Philber said calmly.
“In my basement, this part is entirely exposed, and we
tested it in a more structured way.”
“What did you think your smooth wall was about before
we reached out?” Darian asked.
Philber grimaced. “You sound as if we know what it is
right now. I realized I was on the verge of discovering
something remarkable but had no way of knowing where to
begin, or how to continue from where I was. I’ve touched my
wall all over. It’s never switched colors or showed any words
or warnings.” He glanced at Walker. “Why don’t you place
your palm in the same place as Raoul did?”
“All right.” Walker did as asked without hesitating. The
glow remained steady and nothing reacted. “One probably
needs a NIEC to use this, whatever it’s meant to do.”
Darian squeezed Samantha’s hand. “We need to rethink
who works with whom.”
“Agreed.” Samantha let her gaze move around the
basement, a slight frown on her forehead. “We need one
NIEC wearer in every team. How about Carl and Raoul deal
with the tunnel survey, and Philber and Walker explore
Philber’s basement wall? When it comes to the journal,
Darian and I can work with Camilla and Brandon, as it is her
book, after all, including the map and other documents we
might come across.”
“You’re the born organizer,” Darian said, still not about to
let go of Samantha’s hand. She needed something to steady
her, help her through her doubts and, yes, downright fears.
“Sounds good to me.” She hoped she and Samantha would
automatically work together as they’d be in the same place,
when Samantha wasn’t busy with her day job.
“Agreed,” Philber said. Raoul nodded and so did Walker.
Carl didn’t look as if he’d been paying much attention.
He was still mesmerized by the wall.
“Carl? That okay with you?” Darian asked.
“Hm? Sure.” Carl was now tapping on his phone.
“What are you doing?” Philber sounded annoyed. “If
you’re on social media then—”
“What?” Looking surprised, Carl snapped his head up.
“Social media? Not my thing. No. I’m just writing down what
Samantha read just now. I had a thought. I know I’m not
trusted with a NIEC, but I can still think, Mr. Beresford.”
“Philber. I told you.” Philber huffed and scratched the
back of his head. Darian interpreted this response as
possibly as close as the stubborn man would come to an
apology. “What were you thinking?”
“Samantha read: Alert zone one. Pathway gates ready.
Right. Pathways can be tunnels. If you go with that thought
—couldn’t gateways be these things? Or the odd things Mr.
Be—Philber—spotted on the old map by your old houses?”
Philber slapped Carl hard enough on the back to knock
him off balance. “You’re not the measly asparagus you
pretend to be, kid.”
“Philber.” Walker covered his eyes and then shook his
head.
“Thank you. I guess,” Carl said dryly, but he smiled.
“I think this is as far as we’ll get tonight.” Samantha
glanced at Darian. “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired,
and we probably need to rest our heads from these
devices.”
“Agreed,” Raoul said. “I admit, I’ve got a bit of a
headache.”
Darian walked ahead of the others up the stairs, where
she found Brandon waiting. He had placed the scroll boxes
on a dresser for their convenience, and she kissed his
cheek. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Briefly touching her arm, he stepped out of
the way. “I’ll put them in one of the large cabinets in the
library when you’re all done.”
Samantha had already pulled her NIEC off and now let it
settle into the casing. One by one the other three followed
suit. Afterward, they all seemed subdued. Darian looked at
Samantha and saw dark circles under her brilliant green
eyes, which looked bloodshot. Feeling like she must look
even worse, Darian tried not to slump until the men had told
them good night and left.
“Would you mind staying for a little while, or are you very
tired?” Darian prayed Samantha would say yes.
“I was going to ask just that.” Samantha peered into the
parlor. “However, Camilla and Brandon are settling down in
there, and I don’t want to disturb your grandmother. She
must be tired.”
“She is, but clearly not tired enough to forgo a game of
chess with Brandon. One day I’ll tell you about their long
ongoing torment of each other.” Darian hesitated. “If you’re
okay with it, we can use my room. The room Camilla intends
to use as a family room is undergoing major work.”
Samantha blinked. “Naturally. If that’s all right with you.”
Darian wanted to groan. “Sure thing. Hang tight.” Darian
poked her head in and told the two who were focusing on
the marble chessboard that she was heading back upstairs
with Samantha.
“That’s fine, dear,” Camilla said absentmindedly and
waved dismissively.
Turning back to Samantha, Darian crinkled her nose. “I
think she heard me.”
As they ascended the stairs again, this time taking a
right turn when reaching the mezzanine, the thought of
being alone with Samantha in her room made her pulse race
faster than it had when she attached the NIEC.
* * *
Samantha stood motionless just inside the door of
Darian’s bedroom. It was a good-size room, albeit with the
lower ceilings typical of the era when it was built. In here,
the logs were visible, and it boasted exposed beams. A four-
poster bed dominated the room. No curtains attached to it,
but it still added to the old-fashioned ambiance of the room.
“We invested in new mattresses, naturally. I mean, the
old ones were thrown out a long time ago, which was a
relief, since I’d never sleep on a mattress from the sixties or
something.” Darian stood by the bed, her hands deep into
