Fallen One (Book three of Alfireán age)

- Obsolete Junk? -

"Here," Olivia offered. "Let me help." Navigating through the fallen merchandise, she channeled energy into her eyes and gazed at the solid white wall.

Ruff, Ruff. An electronic bark echoed throughout the room and Zaphaniea grinned at the robotic pet wagging its tail in her hands.

Rex abandoned his post by the wall and flash stepped over to the noisy plastic animal. "Why would anyone want something like that?" he asked, poking at the creature. "If you ask me, it's freaky looking."

The entrance was indeed 'locked', Olivia observed: which meant the earthen structure had been imbued with anti-earth frequencies to keep it from being rearranged by another magic-user.

"It doesn't chew up your dad's favorite model car collection and poop in your favorite pair of shoes, for starters," Zaphaniea retorted back, turning off the puppy dog and placing it back on the shelf.

"What in the world is a model ca-"

Olivia tuned out the conversation as she stared intently at the wall. Besides being 'locked,' the barrier had also been saturated with anti-peeping Tom spells, something commonly used in bathrooms and bedrooms to stop Ra'avah from seeing into them.

"Hello?" Pony yelled out, breaking her concentration and waving the tiny object around. "Someone has to know what this is," she said emphatically clicking the buttons.

"It's a mouse," Zaphaniea finally told Pony as she ditched the fake pet altogether and casually strolled to Olivia's side. "Something used to control old-world computers."

Olivia glanced over at the grand champion, surprised she even knew what an old-world computer was, much less how it was controlled. Zaphaniea smiled secretively back at her. "Of course I know," she said as she melded several of her glowing, pink spheres into a larger one. "I'm smarter than I look." So saying, she drew back and punched forward with her right fist.

Like a pink bird of prey diving for the kill, the sphere whistled as it raced through the shadowy air, over the piles of ruined electronics, and smashed into the locked wall.

Boom!

The flat surface shattered into hundreds of pieces, and with a bone-rattling shudder, the wall tumbled away to reveal an oval passageway.

Drake turned to glare at Zaphaniea while the dust from the crumbling stone coated his bluish-black hair and blanketed his stiff shoulders. "I said carefully," the prince hissed, his blue eye narrowed in accusation.

"I don't have to do it carefully," the grand champion answered him with a saucy wink and grinned ear to ear. "I can see the future remember," she said, tapping the side of her head.

The prince's glare turned into a scowl as the champion strolled past him, tossed him a cheeky grin, then casually led the way down into the narrow tunnel.

Let the teasing recommence, Olivia thought as she followed the disgruntled prince into the passageway. Strolling through the short, well-lit tunnel, Olivia dusted herself off and eagerly peered into the Imperial spy's lair.

The smell of metal and cleaning agents greeted the group as they entered a spacious, circular room crowded with old-world tech. Olivia stared at the electronic devices hanging on the rounded walls and sitting on the floor in disbelief. She had seen pictures, or actual replicas, of some of the weird objects before, but for the most part she didn't have a clue what they were or what they had been used for.

Alf strolled over to where an assortment of oddly shaped glasses with straps attached to them sat displayed on a glass shelf. "What is all this stuff?" he asked.