Although von Braun’s journal isn’t specific as to the technical or magical details of what he was working on, he did explain that the key to the project was a “powerful contained-fusion reaction that would rely on specialized air sorcery provided by the Dark Valkyries and would potentially give the Luftwaffe the ability to strike the foes of Germany from the heavens themselves.”
Interestingly, von Braun spends more time in the journal later describing the implications of using the technology to colonize other planets and even says the war is “a mere trifle, a testing ground. A spaceship has already been born in our rockets, but they are primitive. They [the Dark Valkyries] will grant humanity dominion over the stars themselves, as is our God-given right.”
Questions linger about the authenticity and provenance of the journal given that von Braun’s later work at NASA didn’t involve similar projects, but many scholars have argued that if von Braun were aware of magic, he might also have been aware of the strict rules concerning magic and once denied the aid of the Dark Valkyries, he didn’t want to risk the wrath of organizations such as the Silver Griffins, who were previously responsible for magical control on Earth.
“What’s got you so interested?” someone asked.
Peyton jumped out of his seat and spun, startled. Had Randy finally come to get him?
Shay stood in the doorway of the office with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. “You’re jumpy.” She nodded. “Maybe that’s a good thing. Never get too comfortable.”
He sighed and dropped back into his seat. His heart was still galloping. “Just…was thinking really hard.”
“Be careful not to break anything.”
Peyton rolled his eyes. “Very funny.” He nodded toward the screen. “I think my girlfriend is helping do computer simulation testing work for modern vimanas.”
Shay blinked. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Yes. I mean, she’s really on the outside of the project in a support role, but some of the stuff she described earlier lines up with some things I’ve read about World War II German research into vimanas.”
Shay shrugged. “Guess it’s inevitable that a lot of the wonders of the past start getting reproduced. Probably only a narrow window to make a good living as a tomb raider. In a few decades, Earth might be as choked with magic as Oriceran.”
“Maybe. Just weird to think about.”
Shay gave Peyton a funny look. “Huh.”
“What?”
She grinned. “Just wondering if your girlfriend might actually prove to be useful beyond booty calls.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Shay shrugged. “If she’s doing a lot of work with these magical research projects, she might end up having insight into something that could be useful for me down the line.”
“I’m so glad you’re already thinking of ways to exploit my girlfriend, Shay.”
The tomb raider grinned. “Come on, you know me. I’m always looking for an angle on everyone.”
Chapter Twelve
The next day at lunch, Bella eyed Shay with a smirk on her face, like she was watching the most hilarious thing she’d ever seen.
The tomb raider put down her huge pastrami sandwich with a frown. “What? Something I need to know?”
Her gaze flicked to the windows. Nothing but normal passersby. Despite all the times Shay had gone out to eat with her friends, none of them had recognized that she refused to sit with her back to the window. She wasn’t sure what she would tell them if they finally noticed and asked.
Bella shrugged. “It’s just a very big sandwich.”
“Langer’s is famous for their pastrami, and after running all those stairs, I think we could eat every scrap of food in this place and be okay. I know I’m hungry as a starving horse in the desert.”
Janelle and Kara both laughed.
Bella smiled and downed a forkful of her kasha. “You do have a point, and it’s not like you have an ounce of fat on you. Sometimes I think after you’re done working out with us, you go to the college and just spend the rest of the day working out. Shay Carson, super-athlete.”
The university’s gym is nothing compared to what I have in Warehouse One, but yeah, you’re closer to the truth than you realize.
Shay smirked. “I do dabble in a little bit of extra exercise now and again. Nothing wrong with that.”
Janelle took a bite of her modestly-sized turkey sandwich. “Are you addicted to exercise, Shay?”
“I’m not addicted. I just like to keep fit. I need it for work.”
Shay managed not to wince. All these months, and she still screwed things up by saying too much at times.
“Don’t you mostly dig up stuff very slowly with very tiny shovels and brushes?” Janelle looked at Kara, who gave her a quick nod. “Don’t have to be that fit, I’d think. Sounds like something you could do as an old woman.” She waved a hand. “If this is you worrying about your man, you don’t need a man who’ll start looking for someone new the second you gain a few pounds. Trust me. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Kicked his ass to the curb, girlfriend.”
Shay considered that for a moment. Whatever James’ faults, he didn’t strike her as the kind of man who’d lose interest in her so casually. In everything, he was slow to start, but intense, unyielding, and difficult to stop once he did. Maybe they were more alike than she thought in that sense.
Fuck opposites attract.
Shay shrugged. She needed to paper over this with a good lie. “My fitness is just something I need. I’ve been in…strange situations on the job. You never know when you might need to hike out of a desert and your phone isn’t working.”
“That’s happened to you?”
The tomb raider nodded.
Janelle chuckled. “Archaeology is more dangerous than I would have thought.”
“You’d be surprised.”
A young woman stepped into the deli. She looked Shay’s way,
