Free Chasing the Storm by Aliyah Burke Page B

demanded.
    Cale did and watched as Tiarnán stared at it, flipping it over in his hand. Then he set it down on a metal plate on the desk and pressed some buttons.
    The screens on the far wall lit and a pale blue light shot up around the necklace. Three dimensional images of the item showed on the screens, different angles and views.
    “What is that?” Taylor’s question was full of awe.
    “Computer,” he said. He pushed his chair back and went to the middle one. “Enlarge this one, T.” He pointed at the frontal vision of the pendant with all its symbols and markings.
     
    She’d never seen anything like this before, except in the movies. If something from one of those science fiction or paranormal movies had ever come to pass, this was it. In spades. Taylor watched her grandmother’s pendant hovering in the air, the blue light surrounding it and projecting numerous views of it on the many screens.
    Part of her wanted to snap it away from them and return it to where it belonged. Around her neck. The stronger urge, however, was the one to see what all this stuff could do.
    X-Men, hell. This is like Iron Man, and who knows what else. Batman. The Batcave probably had this kind of shit going on in there.
    Her eyes drifted back to Cale, where he now stood in front of one screen. Tiarnán had risen to his side and they stood talking softly between one another. Billy seemed interested in another image.
    Tiarnán scared her, if she wanted to admit it to herself. Hell, even if she didn’t want to admit it. He did. It wasn’t like she was worried he would do something to hurt her. Not at all. He was just so intense and serious. She knew if what they said was true and all this was coming down the pipe, he would protect her, but she doubted he even liked her.
    A good looking man for sure, with his thick black hair and hazel eyes. Well-muscled and if a woman wanted a man who looked like he’d just strolled off a ranch or the back of a horse, well, he was the one. She’d thought Cale was a good size, but as they stood now, side by side, she realised that Tiarnán was much bigger. Still, both men were without body fat. She couldn’t say that about herself.
    Billy was the leanest of the three. He was built more like a runner, with wiry muscles. Tiarnán was taller than Cale and Billy as well. She liked Billy—he made her smile and feel at ease, quite the opposite of Tiarnán. Billy caught her looking at him and gave her a wink and a grin.
    “Come here,” Billy said with a wave.
    She pushed back the chair and it rolled soundlessly over the carpeted floor. Taking her time, she made her way down to where Billy waited for her, gesturing to the seat beside him.
    “Look at this.”
    Hell, they had a small monitor built into the tabletop, which had his attention. She sat, grateful for the comfort of the chair.
    “Zero gravity.”
    “What?”
    “The chairs. They’re zero gravity, which is why they feel so nice. I heard your groan when you sat.”
    What was she supposed to say to that? She gave him a slight smile. “What are you looking at?”
    “The chain.”
    “Why?”
    “Because it’s not just a filigree. Look here.”
    He pressed some buttons and up popped a 3D image right between them. The entire length of the chain was there, like someone was holding it in a circle so they could look at it from all sides.
    “Incredible.”
    “Look closer.” He blew up the image and stretched it out even more.
    Taylor frowned as she stared at it. “Wait, are those symbols that make up the chain?”
    “Yes.”
    “I never noticed.” She reached out towards it only to pause. Billy took her wrist and put her hand into the image. She could touch, turn and manoeuvre it. “Wicked,” she breathed.
    The filigree chain was gold, like the pendant. Inside each oval, seemed to be a collection of Asian characters. She didn’t know what language, but she’d seen enough on tattoos and things like that.
    “What is this?” she asked him,