Maybe, he thought, there is a way I can be certain of a few things first.
As if reading her mind, he pointed to Sofia. “We will test this out on her. You’d better not be lying, for her sake.”
CHAPTER 21
Rick immediately objected. “No!”
Diego stood in front of his daughter. “You will not harm her.”
Luis was panicking.
Oz glared at Rick. He pointed his gun at him, then at Javier. “Are you telling me you’ve both been lying to me?”
Rick shook his head. “I told you the truth.”
“We have told you what we know,” Javier replied.
Oz gave them a sly smile. He looked at Diego. “Then you have nothing to worry about.” He turned his attention to his men. “Alpha-4, ensure she does as Javier here instructs.”
The man nodded and took Sofia by the arm. He led her closer to the wall of tablets. “Go,” was all he said.
Sofia’s eyes went wide. The idea both terrified and thrilled her. She looked at Rick.
He gave her a comforting look and nodded his head. “It’ll be ok,” he said, hoping it would be.
She was breathing heavily, as her heart started pounding wildly in her chest. She decided to trust him. “I’ll do it.”
Javier pointed to the specific symbol on the tablet Rick had made contact with. “This will be brief. It’s not necessary to remain in contact with it for too long. I will guide you.”
She looked at him; fear clearly etched across her face. She could feel the strong energy field coming off of the metallic tablets. Her skin warmed and tingled just being in proximity to them.
“Don’t let anything happen to her,” Rick said.
Javier shook his head. “I won’t.” He looked at Sofia. “Calm your thoughts if you can. Open your mind. Take slow, deep breaths. I will be right here.”
She nodded, trying to do as he said.
Oz edged closer, watching every move she made.
With a shaking hand, she reached out, sweat beading on her forehead.
Luis and Diego both fought back tears, as they held onto one another, fearing what could happen to her.
Sofia felt heat and a strong electrical sensation in her fingertip as she gingerly touched the symbol, then a whooshing sensation that felt as if it was pulling her out of her very body.
Only moments after she touched it, Javier pulled her away. But that was all the time she needed.
She fell to her knees and wept.
Diego and Luis rushed to her side.
Oz watched, fascinated by how simple it seemed.
Like Rick, she was disoriented at first. She took a few minutes to come out of the fog the experience had left her with. After regaining her bearings, she started speaking rapidly in Spanish, telling her father and brother all about her experience and how she’d seen her mother. She told them how her mother had never had a heart problem and had lived to see Sofia and Luis each get married and have grandkids. She told her father how the two of them had grown old together, happy and in love, just as they’d always been.
The family cried together, hugging one another.
Oz listened. He knew enough Spanish to understand what she’d told her family. He was convinced. He wanted this for himself. Now. A lifetime of suppressed longing came surging forward, overwhelming every other consideration.
“Alpha-4,” Oz ordered, “I want to test this out myself. You will stand guard over me while I do this. Pull me away after a few moments, understood?”
“Sir, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the man protested. “You can’t trust whatever voodoo magic this is, or these people. They’re probably all lying to you!”
Oz looked at Rick, then at Sofia and finally at Javier. “Maybe, but I want to find out. She survived. I won’t do anything different than she did. You’ll see to that. Understood?”
The man’s mouth was agape at his sudden rash decision. He felt they were being pulled into a trap.
Oz ignored his reaction. “I think there’s something here, something vitally important, and I want to know what it is. I want to see this for myself.” He didn’t want to let on to his men just how all-consuming his desire was to experience this. He didn’t want to tip his hand that this was intensely personal. That he wanted the metal library for himself. “Besides, it’s prudent to test this out before we report back,” he lied. “Don’t you agree?” He knew there wasn’t anything prudent about what he was doing, but he no longer cared.
“Sir,” the man said, shocked at the sheer recklessness of what his boss was proposing, “it’s killed two of our men already and we don’t know why. Despite what they’ve told you, we don’t actually know how any of this has happened. Don’t do this!”
Oz was barely listening at this point, the draw was far too powerful, far too irresistible to him. “I’ve made my decision.” He nodded his head in Rick and Javier’s direction. “Just shoot anyone who tries to interfere with me.”
“I really don’t think...”
Oz raised his hand and cut him off. “I pay you to follow my orders!” He pointed to Alpha-3. “That goes for you, too. Clear?”
The man nodded.
Alpha-4 gritted his teeth. He wanted to argue more. His boss was losing all perspective. He’d lost two teammates to this madness tonight—the situation was already out of control. He couldn’t fathom why Oz couldn’t see that.
Oz’s heart was pounding in his chest like a boxer trying to win the biggest prize fight of his life.
“The rest of you back away,” he ordered.
Alpha-3 and Alpha-4 aimed their guns to make sure they complied.
They did.
Alpha-4 turned his attention to his boss, while Alpha-3 kept watch on the group.
With his gun in one hand, Oz reached out towards the symbol with his other hand,
