Shadow Stars (Universe on Fire Book 2)

by Ivan Kal

  “Listen to me, we can help you—” Kane started but Kovac raised his rifle.

  “No one can help me now—you don’t understand. Even if I could refuse, I wouldn’t. I have seen them, Captain. Chaos and Order… They are real. And they are everything,” Kovac whispered, his voice awestruck.

  Kane could see that he wouldn’t be able to get him to surrender. He didn’t know how much control the Val’ayash had over him, but he knew that if he was to help him he would need to disable him and take him prisoner himself. Without his CES suit, that would be dangerous, but Kovac had been green when he had been captured. He didn’t have Kane’s experience, and even without the power cells of the suit and the extra spellscripts in the spellslingers, Kane was the most powerful human mage there was.

  Before Kovac had a chance to pull the trigger, Kane raised his hand into the air, dropped his pulse rifle to the ground and blinked into the air. He reoriented down and cycled the chips in his single spellslinger manually with his other hand. Each spellslinger held only three chips, and Kane had taken the blink spellscript, the invisibility, and the lightning spellscript. He selected the lightning one, and with his arm pointed at Kovac, he closed his eyes tightly and triggered it.

  The thunder nearly ruptured his eardrums, and as he fell to the ground he barely managed roll to soften the fall. His augmented bones and muscles took the impact easily enough, but he was still disoriented. He blinked away the last of the flashing lights before his eyes and turned to look at Kovac. He was crouching on the ground, his arm above his head as if he had used a shield to protect himself. But Kane could see in his tight movements that he had done some damage. He knew that the lightning wouldn’t have killed him; it took a lot more to kill someone like them.

  The battle around them paused as the lightning shocked the ground, but Kane didn’t take his attention off Kovac. As the man rose up from his crouch, Kane jumped forward, running as fast as possible toward him. Before Kovac had the chance to gather himself, Kane was there raising his left arm up into the air and activating his implanted spellscript. With a burst of power he slammed his forearm against Kovac’s helmeted head with magic-augmented strength. His spellslinger cracked and broke apart from the impact, sending Kovac to the ground, his head slamming into the rock and breaking his helmet.

  Kane was breathing hard as he looked down at Kovac, who rolled over on his back. As pieces of his helmet fell off, Kane could see half of his face, and one eye glaring at him. “That was not fun at all, Captain,” Kovac said.

  “Stay down! We have a way to help you,” Kane said between breaths.

  Kovac looked sad. “Sorry, Captain, but I can’t do that…and I am sorry for this.” Before Kane could react, Kovac’s hand flew to his waist and pressed a button on a device there. Kane pointed his hand at him and waited, but nothing happened.

  He could see confusion in Kovac’s eyes as he tried pressing the button a few more times. “Why are you not unconscious?” Kovac asked.

  “Was that supposed to do something?” Kane asked as he kept his hand pointed at him and his magic-bolt spell ready.

  “They said that it would work, the implant… It should’ve worked,” Kovac said, more to himself than to Kane.

  Kane then realized what he had tried to do. “Did you really think that Earth would’ve let us come back here if we could be compromised like that? When we last met with the Val’ayash, they interacted with the bio-implants, and we knew that we couldn’t have that. Thankfully, we have learned much from the data we recovered from their temple, and among it the way to close off the bio-implants to outside interference. I told you that we could help you, Kovac, and we will.”

  There was something Kane couldn’t recognize in the man’s eyes, but he shook his head. “No, you won’t. It doesn’t matter anymore. Soon there will be nowhere left to go back to.”

  “What are you talking about?” Kane asked, but somehow he already knew. Kovac had been with them for years, and they could control him through his bio-imp.

  “They asked, Captain. And I can’t refuse,” Kovac said.

  “You told them about Earth? Told them where it is?” Kane whispered.

  “I can’t refuse,” Kovac whispered.

  “When? When are they planning to attack?” Kane urged the man to tell him, to fight whatever control they had over him.

  “Soon. I am sorry, Captain,” Kovac said. He triggered a blink, and after a flash of blue both he and a big chunk of the ground were gone. Kane looked in the direction where Kovac’s hand had been pointed in and saw him stand from the rubble he had blinked with his body. Two Val’ayash rushed over to him and gave covering fire as they retreated to the ship.

  Kane grimaced and raised his shield as one of the Val’ayash fired in his direction. He could feel himself getting weaker—he had used too much of his power. He took a step back and jumped behind cover. He looked around, searching for Imari, and saw her shooting at another Val’ayash near the entrance to the vault. One of the guards added his fire to hers and they managed to kill him. A moment later, Imari blinked twice to reach Kane’s side.

  “Captain, was that—”

  “Yes,” Kane interrupted.

  “We need to go and get him.” Imari made to move, but Kane grabbed hold of her.

  “Don’t,” Kane said as the ship’s landing platform started rising. “We won’t get there in time.”

  “But we can’t leave him with them,” Imari argued.

  “We have no choice. He is under their control now, and he will not come willingly.”

  Then the Val’ayash ship started rising up, it floated a bit in the air and then it shimmered and disappeared.

  “Just as Norvi thought, a stealth system,” Kane said. He was right about how they got by the orbital defenses.

  As the Val’ayash disappeared, Kane took a look at the yard. Two of the guards that had come with them were dead. Captain U’koll was crouching over them, and behind her the bodies of the dead Val’ayash were spread among the rubble of the towers. It was chaos.

  Then a sizzling sound grabbed Kane’s attention and he took a look to the source. A Val’ayash corpse suddenly burst into a short-lived, brilliant flame, and a moment later there was nothing left of him. No body, no technology, nothing but ash.

  “Of course.” Kane shook his head, then turned to face Imari. “Let’s get back inside—we need to find a way to get in touch with Prometheus.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Grimm watched as the nine Dragons trained, though their “training” looked more like full-fledged battle to him. They were doing a version of free-for-all, only theirs included magic. Their battleground was an interior arena which was made to resemble a forest setting. Currently Remi D-002 was standing on a small hill which had a flat top that was about five-meter-wide circle. And she had been kicking and blowing everyone that attempted to get to her down the hill. Each of them wore small devices which ‘‘recorded’’ their damage, and once they accumulated enough they were out of the fight. Their fighting was still real, but they were at least somewhat holding back.

  Grimm was amazed at the brutality and skill that they demonstrated. Magic was flying everywhere, with them blinking all over the place, zipping around the trees, a few of them trying to get Remi off guard and take her down. As the one who currently held the most points from taking down her brothers and sisters, she was a prime target. But the points weren’t the victory condition, the victor was the one who was the last one standing.

  Duncan D-010 blinked low, and yet again Grimm was shown just how advanced the Dragons’ scripts were. Their blinks teleported only their bodies, not everything in a radius around them. It allowed them far greater freedom of movement. Duncan tried to tackle Remi from behind but she somehow sensed that he was there. She jumped and twisted in the air, letting him pass below her, and as she came down she sent a magic bolt at her brother’s back, which splashed against Duncan’s raised shields—even though he wasn’t looking at her and couldn’t
have seen the attack coming he had still managed to get a magic shield in place.

  Dario D-006 jumped over him and rushed Remi, getting into a quick and brutal exchange of blows until he managed to land a hit on Remi’s face. Then he went flying as an invisible force picked him up and threw him behind her at Julian D-009, who had been attempting to take her off guard.

  Then the twins, Emma D-008 and Anna D-007, jumped of a tree together and attacked in sync, engaging in hand-to-hand combat before jumping back and launching magic bolts at Remi. Remi caught the first wave on her shield, and then she blinked into the air and a wave of force came down beneath her, sending everyone who was on the hill tumbling out.

  Duncan D-010, stood from the base of the hill and seeing his siblings being taken down by Remi he took advantage as he was the only one not caught in her blast. He sent several magic-bolts toward the Dragons on the ground, hitting Julian and Dario. Their devices turned red and a beeping sound announced that they were out of the game. The two grumbled but quickly blinked out of the arena.

  The twins, Remi, and Duncan were the only ones left standing. They looked at each other for a long moment, and then they rushed into combat. The first move was made by Duncan who fired magic-bolts at the twins, who took them on their shields, and then he blinked into the air and made a grasping motion with his hand behind him and then swiped at Remi. A load cracking filled the arena as one of the trees nearby split near the ground and the rest flipped and flew at Remi.

  Grimm could see Remi’s eyes widen and he waited for her to blink away, but instead she stood her ground. She put both of her arms in front of her then made a pulling gesture with her hands in different directions. The tip of the tree split apart as the sound of breaking wood echoed. The wood splintered apart and flew around her, a few larger pieces flying straight at the twins who blinked out of the way.

  The twins came out of the blink in the air, but Duncan was ready for them his magic-bolts hit their shields and broke through then a wave of air slammed into them sending them flying into the treetops with their devices beeping.

  Duncan fell to the ground, his eyes searching for Remi. Grimm saw her step out from behind a tree and then surge forward faster than humanly possible to slam into Duncan’s back. They fell to the ground and Duncan’s device went off. Remi got to her feet, letting Duncan do the same. He blinked away leaving her alone in the arena. Remi turned around looking straight at Grimm in the viewing deck and grinned, just as another Dragon decloaked next to her.

  Ethan D-001 put his hand on her shoulders and chains made of magic enveloped Remi, clearly surprising her. Grimm saw Ethan grin at his sister and then he blurred, twisted and sent the bundled-up Remi flying toward a tree. The moment she hit the tree her device beeped, and then a loud horn sounded, announcing the end of the round.

  Grimm shook his head in amusement and started walking over as the others got to their feet. He reached them just in time to hear Remi complaining to Ethan.

  “We should change the rules. I most points, I should get the win,” she said.

  Ethan shrugged in amusement. “The rules are the rules—the last person standing is the winner. Not my problem that you all forgot about tactics.”

  “This was not supposed to be about that, but training us to fight multiple opponents at the same time,” Remi reminded him.

  “Sure, but it was also about making sure that you kept track of everything. You shouldn’t have allowed yourself to miss the fact that I wasn’t present for most of the match,” Ethan added.

  “He is right,” Grimm said as he walked up. The Dragons turned to look at him, and again Grimm was struck by how young they looked. Not in their bodies; no, it was the eyes. He could see the intelligence there, the turning of gears, but they lacked weight, experience. “You allowed your desire for victory to hamper your ability. But it happens to all of us,” Grimm said. He might not have experience quite like theirs, but he had been in similar situations, when he had ignored or missed details because he was too focused on something else.

  “I know,” Remi relented, then turned to look at Ethan. “It will not happen again.”

  Ethan nodded.

  “So, how goes the training?” Grimm asked.

  The other Dragons looked at one another and then to Remi and Ethan, the two who had become their leaders. “We feel,” Remi started, “as if we are not improving as fast as we should. As if we are lacking something.”

  “Any idea on what it is?” Grimm asked. It had been months already since they had stopped being instructed by others. Now they were designing both their own training regimens and the regimens for the other Dragons who were just now going through their augmentations, with their former instructors serving only as advisers. Currently about a hundred of them had gone through the process, and more would be added to their ranks as they reached the right age.

  “We believe that we need to experience the real thing,” Ethan said after a moment.

  Grimm raised his eyebrow. “You know that that will not happen anytime soon,” he said.

  “But it will eventually,” Remi added with certainty. “Even if the council decides to wait, humanity will inevitably be in conflict with the other star nations. We will be needed.”

  Grimm sighed, but he nodded in agreement with her words. “Yes, you will.”

  The Dragons all nodded, as if they had been waiting for his words. Then they looked at each other, and Grimm felt as if they were deciding something. Finally, they seemed to come to a decision. Ethan stepped closer to Grimm and looked him directly in the eye, his expression serious.

  “We wish to ask you a question,” Ethan said.

  Grimm could tell this matter was something that mattered to the Dragons immensely, so he nodded. “Of course. You may ask me anything.”

  “This question concerns us all,” Remi added. “We speak for all the Dragons on this matter. The others have allowed us to make this decision.”

  Grimm suddenly had a really bad feeling in his stomach, but again he nodded.

  Ethan waited for an excruciatingly long second before he spoke. “Are we really orphans?”

  Grimm felt his stomach drop, and dread grip his heart. He stood before them, frozen, and he realized that any one of them could kill him in an instant. The lie was on the tip of his tongue, but he knew that they would know if he did. He had been lying for most of his life—lying and lies were his job—but he knew that he couldn’t lie to them. It took him a while to get his mouth to work, and the Dragons remained quiet, watching and waiting.

  Finally, he managed to get an answer out. “You are not orphans.”

  He waited for his death looking Ethan in the eyes, but it did not come. Instead, Ethan asked another question.

  “We had already detected similarities between us all, we know that most of us are related. We were not conceived in the natural manner?”

  This time, Grimm answered immediately. “No.”

  Ethan nodded. “Are we clones?”

  “No,” Grimm said quickly and firmly. He did not want them to even consider that. “You were all born naturally, you all have a mother and a father, you were just carried to term by surrogates.”

  “Who are our parents?” Ethan asked.

  Grimm paused, he had already decided to tell them everything. He just needed to find the right words. “The previous generation of our magic troopers.”

  “We are too old,” Ethan said to himself, but his eyes were telling Grimm that he was thinking. “McCullagh, he is father to some of us... they don’t know, do they?”

  “No, we took what we needed under the guise of medical procedures and tests. They were the only magic capable people on Earth, we couldn’t wait for more to come into being naturally. The council was desperate—we needed a weapon against the Qash’vo’tar. A weapon which would remain a secret.”

  “Do you know who our biological parents are?” Ethan asked in a quiet voice.

  “Yes,” Grimm answered.

  Ethan t
ilted his head. “None of us had a normal human childhood. Never in our entire lives have we had a normal human experience, and yet we are asked to protect humanity, a thing that we are not a part of, a thing we will never be a part of. We were taught everything about humanity, good and bad. We were taught to act from logical thought instead of emotion, to be arbiters and protectors.” Ethan paused, looking at Grimm with his cold blue eyes. “Why did you think that we would agree to do it? You knew that we would know. The moment you decided to give us augmentations that would make us better, smarter, you knew that we would realize that you lied to us. You created us against the knowledge of our parents, you took us and put us through all of this. So why would you think that we would obey blindly?”

  Grimm took a deep breath. He knew that he was going to die, yet he felt lighter than he ever had. This was the time for the truth, the moment he knew would come, and so he let it all out.

  “Most of the council believed that it would never be an issue, that you would never know. But some, like me, knew that you would realize everything. We made you this way, free by design. We made the Articles for this very purpose, for this moment. Because the few of us who understood what we were truly creating did not want blind followers. We wanted people who were better than us, and we wanted you to choose. The Articles give you that right, and they will always give you that right. We knew that we would pay for what we have done, but we were willing to pay the price if that meant that humanity would have you as protectors.”

  Ethan glanced at his brothers and sisters, then back to Grimm. “We will wait for the council to call on us, then. After we have seen what they will ask us to do, we will make our decision.”

  Grimm closed his eyes in relief. “Will you kill me now?” he asked, his eyes still closed. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder, and he shivered.