Waygate: Vid:ilantes, #3

By K.M. Carroll

A novella that takes place a few months after Bloodbound. Kari and Jayesh send emails back and forth, slowly becoming friends. But Jayesh is dealing with a mysterious super, a knight in armor who can destroy supers with a touch. At the same time, Kari is watching a creepy house where the inhabitants are building an Atlantean waygate--technology that has been lost for three centuries. Can Kari and Jayesh trust each other enough to work together, or will the knight and his magitech destroy them both?

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.M. Carroll
• Release date: Jul 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393233411

Book preview

Vid:ilantes book 2.5

Waygate

by K.M. Carroll

Table of contents

Part 1: Letters

Part 2: Waygate

Part 1: Letters

MARCH 6TH, TOPEKA, KS

Dear Jayesh,

I've been thinking of emailing you for months, now. Ever since January, when ... all those things happened. I lost my fiance. You were hurt by people who should have known better. I can't find you anywhere on social media, and I hope this is your email address.

I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I wish I had ... stood up for you. Even when all the evidence pointed to you being a smuggler, my heart knew that you weren't, that my blackmailing you was wrong. I watched the trial every night and I've hated myself. I should have been up there with the rest of the supers, being raked over the coals by the lawyers.

I've sat here and stared at the screen for ten minutes, trying to think of what else to say.

All I can think of is this.

I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me, someday.

Sincerely,

Kari Winters

March 7th, Phoenix, AZ

Dear Kari,

Hello! I can't believe you found my email! I should have given it to you, but I wasn't thinking too clearly when you left.

Kari, I forgave you over and over through that whole ordeal. You were hurting. I'm a healer. I notice when people are in pain. I wish I could heal your heart, the way I could heal a wound. But these things take time. Don't hate yourself on my behalf, I'm not worth it. The trial is over, and I've had a change of address to stay away from vengeful supers. I'm still working at the Desert Hospital, though. My powers have gotten stronger.

How have you been? You haven't been posting any Amberlit videos. Have you given up being a superhero? Heroine? I never know what word to use.

Love,

Jayesh Khatri

March 8th, Topeka, KS

Dear Jayesh,

You don't know how many times I've read your email. I want to print it out and hug it. You're too kind, really. I don't deserve any kindness from you, not after what I did.

I've taken a break from being Amberlit. Every time I look at my costume, I see Thunderfist dying, and you hiding from that mob with terror in your eyes. I can't even look at HeroTube right now. So many of those supers are right back to regular business and it makes me sick. I've started working with a courier service, delivering packages. Lots of driving, lots of time alone in my car. I think about things. Sometimes I cry. Nobody cares. That's why I took the job. I need the space.

How have your powers grown stronger? My lightning powers plateaued when I was about eighteen. They're strong, but I can't make them any stronger. It's frustrating.

Sincerely,

Kari Winters

March 9th, Phoenix, AZ

Dear Kari,

I think getting space sounds healthy. I hope emailing me doesn't intrude on that.

My powers have drastically changed in a short amount of time. It's a little complicated, so let me try to explain.

First, when I was ten, the shard test showed that I had a butterfly shard. Two halves joined by a filament in the middle. One half made light and the other half healed.

Second, when I first encountered Omniscient, he punched me with his power. He had learned to directly manipulate shards with it, and he snapped my shard in half. I almost died.

Third ... that's the part I can't explain. But my little dragon, Suntala, is my light shard. It was removed and became him. It sounds unbelievable, and it is. But that's where he came from.

Fourth, when I was working undercover, Omniscient figured out I was an operative. But instead of killing me, he gave me this monster shard called the Pandora. Usually it burned people up. But I was able to use it, somehow.

The Pandora shard has powered up my healing shard and Suntala. It's been a little tricky, dealing with my powers changing like this. But I've been able to heal certain kinds of diseases, like Crohn's and celiac. I keep trying to tackle cancer, but cancer's a sneaky beast, and I don't know how to do it. Once I figure it out, though, watch out world!

Sorry this letter got so long. I could talk about powers for days. I'm writing my thesis on them. I'm on my third draft, now, and it's just not going well. Not enough studies have been done that I can reference.

Love,

Jayesh

March 10th, Topeka, KS

Dear Jayesh,

I had no idea you were going through all that stuff with your shard! You never told me Omniscient almost killed you! And you still healed him?

I admit, I'm in awe. You're a far bigger person than me, healing someone who broke your shard and tried to murder you with a new one. How do you do it?

I knew