The 4th Pillar

Prologue

She sat comfortably reclined in the office chair with her long, lithe legs propped on top of the large mahogany desk. Her dark hair hung feely down her back and partially obscured her pale face. She wagged her foot impatiently and drummed her fingers restlessly as her bright, alert eyes flashed from the glow of the computer screen to the small black and white television that sat to the left of it. She abruptly moved her feet from the desk and sat up straight, her blue eyes ablaze with triumph as she watched the message flash across the computer screen.

She had been waiting for this moment for months. She had designed the decrypting program specifically for this purpose. Her brother had warned her that her effort would be futile; how many times had he told her that this would be impossible, that they needed another plan of attack? But she had finally done it. She had hacked into the King Company mainframe and for now, it seemed, the vigilant nerds in the tech department were unaware of the breech.

Getting into the mainframe was one thing. She wasn’t some bored techie prankster. She had a specific objective in mind: she was looking for information. It was the only way for them to find their sister. Without her, they had no hope to defeat their enemies.

The King Company was rumored to keep extensive files on a number of people for a variety of reasons. This file, known underground as the P.O.I. File, was essential to the Kings’ objective of protecting the human race. It allegedly contained information on humans of importance; those whose futures the Kings were determined to secure. The file was said to contain a dossier of every important human in history; from those who already had done things the Kings deemed important to infants destined for greatness. It was also rumored to contain detailed information on people with special powers as well as nonhumans so that their actions could be watched and monitored. She suspected that there was also a file on Kings’ enemies. She was particularly interested in that; she wanted to know what information they might have on her and her family. This was war. She didn’t want to be blindsided.

Her senses tingled; Ignatius was home. Her eyes flickered to the television screen. The security gates opened and her brother’s sports car sped up the driveway at a ridiculously high speed. She rolled her eyes warily and returned her attention to the computer screen. Frustrated, she scrolled through the vast list of files as she waited for Ignatius. She scrolled back up to the top of the page and into the search field she typed one word: Shasa.

She leaned back in the chair and waited for the computer to complete the search. The door to the office opened and her brother sauntered in with a smug look on his face.

“Where have you been?” she asked coldly without taking her eyes from the screen.

“I’ve been out for a bite.” He walked over to the couch, sat down and crossed his legs. He smirked up at her angry face and waited patiently for her to erupt.

She looked up at him with her brows furrowed with fury. “Wipe that shitty smile off your face and answer me.”

His smile slipped a notch. “I’ve been out to visit a friend. You’ve been too busy for me lately. What do you expect me to do?” Ignatius reached inside the pocket of his jacket and withdrew a cigar. He inhaled the aroma deeply as she glared at him; she detested smoking. His eyes flashed red at her before they returned to their normal chocolate brown color.

“I expect you to help. Would you like to know what I’ve been up to, while you’ve been out playing around?”

“I can see what you’ve been up to! You’ve been up to the same thing, all day, every day, for the past six months; you’re obsessed!” He made to light the cigar but she was too fast. She was at his side in a flash and had snatched the cigar from his mouth before he had time to react.

“You see? Your extracurricular activities have made you slow and lazy.” He groaned in protest as she crumbled the cigar in her hand. She dropped the broken remnants into his lap and gripped his jaw in her hand. She released him roughly, knocking his head forcefully back and turned to walk away. He grabbed her left arm and pulled her back, his teeth bared in anger. She backhanded him and he released her. “Don’t touch me, you make me sick”, she hissed at him, her eyes narrowed in disgust.

A beeping noise interrupted them; she rushed back over to the desk and stared at the computer screen. Her anger evaporated and euphoria filled her as she threw her head back and laughed. “My obsession, as you called it, has paid off. I found her.” She resumed her spot in the office chair and stared at the woman pictured before her.

He came around behind her and exhaled loudly. “I can’t believe it. It’s Shasa!”

Ignatius reached out and gently touched the computer screen, tracing the contours of Shasa’s face lightly with his finger. She wondered vaguely where they had gotten this picture; it had been taken years before at some charity event in Italy. Shasa looked as beautiful as ever, her tall shapely figure swathed in satin, her hair swept to one side to reveal the chandelier diamond earrings that had been their mother’s. Her blue eyes were lined in black and her full lips were parted slightly in a coy smile. “She looks like you”, he commented softly. She shook her head slightly to shake away the pain left in her heart since Shasa’s disappearance. Soon, she thought.

She double clicked on her sister’s photograph and skimmed quickly over the report. There was nothing there they didn’t already know. She got to the bottom of the page and glanced at her brother as she pointed to the screen. He shrugged and said, “An Easter egg? Click on it. See what happens…”

She clicked on the miniscule clip art picture at the bottom left hand corner; this enlarged the picture and they could now see that it was a map of Elba, the island where Shasa had last been seen. Below the map was a password field. Her fingers flew across the screen as she tried various passwords. She was finally successful; the map dissolved away to reveal a hidden file. She opened the file; it contained a photograph of a spherical rock that appeared to be unremarkable at first. Then she noticed three parallel lines running along the equator of the rock. She inhaled sharply and quickly skimmed through the short report beneath the picture.

The information was scientific and very dull and she wasn’t sure how it related to Shasa. Her brother became bored and went back around to the other side of the desk. She shot him a vituperative glance as he pulled another cigar from his pocket. She reread the report and clicked on a hyperlink name. It opened a dossier which she read thoroughly with interest. She looked up at her brother and smiled. “I have a job for you.”

He exhaled through his mouth and tossed the cigar dejectedly onto the desk. She chuckled and said, “No need to worry, you’ll enjoy this. I want you to find someone.”

Ignatius got up and went back around to stand behind her on the other side of the desk. She pointed with her perfectly manicured finger at the name flashing on the screen: Patia Trace.