Wildfire and Steel

by J. J. Green

  The next time Carina woke, she felt tight restraints around her wrists and ankles. Those Sherrerr troops were getting smarter. But when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see Bryce looking down at her.

  “You’re back with us?” He touched her hair affectionately. “Don’t worry. You’re safe. We’re all safe.”

  “Huh?” Carina lifted her head. She was in the same place she’d been in before. Now that she had time to have a good look at it, she realized it was a medical bay. Darius lay in the next bed along from hers, asleep.

  “They put me here to talk to you as soon as you woke up,” said Bryce. “So you wouldn’t go on another rampage. You already made yourself one enemy in that splicer you attacked.”

  “I don’t give a shit about a Sherrerr splicer.”

  “He isn’t a Sherrerr.” Bryce grinned. “He’s a mage.”

  “He’s a what?” In order to see Darius better, Carina had lifted her head. It hit her pillow with a thump. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “That guy you tried to kill? He’s a mage. They all call him a Healer, though. He was cleaning dried blood out of Darius’ hair when you woke up and launched a full-scale assault on him.” Bryce seemed to find what he was saying very funny.

  “I…. Oh.” Carina’s mind was spinning. “Mages picked us up? How? Who are they? Bryce, what’s going on?” Carina wondered if she’d been stunned in the head and was in a waking dream, or going mad.

  “I don’t know what’s going on any more than you do,” said Bryce. “Apart from what I’ve told you. They’ve said they’ll explain everything soon. They also said they aren’t going to hurt us. They’re here to help.”

  ***

  Carina sat opposite the man she’d attacked, feeling slightly abashed about what she’d done. But the scratches she’d gouged on his face were gone and she guessed he must have Healed any further damage she’d done to him. From the look he was giving her, however, she guessed the harm she’d inflicted on his opinion of her would take longer to heal.

  They were seated in a meeting room aboard the mages’ ship, the Haihu.

  Only Carina and her oldest sister had been invited to the meeting. Bryce, as a non-mage, had been excluded, and Carina’s brothers and sisters were deemed too young to attend. Parthenia was making her hatred of Carina clear, as usual. She was sitting several seats away at the round table.

  In all, four other mages were present, including an older woman, a young man, and a young woman. The Healer was a large, black-haired man. Carina suddenly caught her breath. She recognized him. He was one of the people she’d seen in her recurring dream. Parthenia was also looking at him curiously.

  “Shall we get the introductions over with?” the older, white-haired woman asked. “I’m Eira, your captain. This is Ren, our navigator….” The young man nodded. “And Ione, our weapons officer.” The redhead smiled. “I believe you’ve already met our Healer, Justin.”

  Justin did not smile.

  “I’m Carina, and this is my sister, Parthenia.”

  “Thank you,” Eira said. Her gaze lingered a long moment on Carina and her sister before she continued, “Some explanations are in order, from both sides. I’m hoping we can clear everything up today, or if not, over the course of our journey to Pirine. As you are both mages, I’m sure I don’t need to explain the importance of never divulging to anyone what you are about to hear. It is for your siblings’ safety as well as the safety of all mages that we keep our secrets close to our hearts. We can only know what is essential to us at each stage of our lives. If, stars forbid, one day you are forced to give up your knowledge, you will be less likely to imperil the future of our clan.”

  “I know,” said Carina.

  Parthenia echoed, “I understand.”

  “You are here, my dear,” Eira said to Carina, “because you are close to the age where you could choose your match. You’ve been summoned to a Matching.” Responding to Carina and Parthenia’s puzzled looks, the captain went on, addressing Carina again, “You have been dreaming of coming to Pirine, haven’t you?”

  “I think I’ve been having dreams, yes. But they faded quickly when I woke up. I didn’t know what they were about. I didn’t know I was being called to go somewhere.”

  Eira sighed and traded glances with Justin. “Our Spirit Mage is very old and weak. Her Casting is not powerful any longer. We’ve heard similar reports from the young mages who have already arrived. To explain, every five galactic years, young men and women mages are Summoned by a Spirit Mage to a Matching. The event takes place over several months, and the young mages can get to know each other and perhaps choose a life partner. That is what your dreams have been about, Carina. I’m guessing you have no living relatives apart from your younger sisters and brothers?”

  “That’s right.”

  Eira looked pained. She continued, “If you had an older mage in your life, he or she would have explained what the dreams meant.”

  “Right…,” said Carina, “but Darius has been having the dreams too, I think. He’s only six.”

  “He has been Summoned too,” said Eira, “though for a different reason. Your brother is a Spirit Mage. Only one or two are born per generation. As I said, our current Spirit Mage who performs the Summons Cast is ancient. She has been Summoning your brother to her to take over from her. She must train him quickly before she dies.

  “She has a stronger connection with your brother than other mages,” said Eira. “That was how she knew he was coming to her, and how she also knew his path had been diverted. We set out to retrieve him. It was a dangerous expedition for us. We were forced to destroy the ship that was pursuing you, and that act will attract unwanted attention. But it was vital that we found your brother. Without a Spirit Mage our clan will die out.”

  “I’ve never heard of a Summon Cast,” Parthenia interjected.

  “That’s because you can’t do it,” Justin replied. “Only Spirit Mages can.”

  “Excuse me,” said Parthenia, looking at Justin, “but you look like someone I met once. Do you have a brother on Ostillon?”

  “Ah, so it was you who wandered up to Jace’s tower by the forest.”

  “It was!” Parthenia exclaimed. “My brother and I. So Jace was a mage all along? And I worked so hard to get away from him. If only I’d known, he could have helped us.”

  “He would have helped you however he could,” said Justin, “and gladly. But by the time he realized what you were, you’d slipped away.”

  “I Cast Transport right in front of him,” said Parthenia, laughing.

  “It was quite a shock, from what he says,” Justin said.

  “That’s the problem with all the secrecy, right?” said Ren. “We could be the friend of another mage all our lives and never know it.”

  “You met a mage on Ostillon?” Carina asked her sister.

  Parthenia’s expression turned sour and she replied without looking at Carina. “He was the ranger who helped me and Darius when we found our way out of the forest.” She turned to Justin. “He’s a good man. He saved us when we couldn’t go any farther. The next time you see him, please thank him for me.”

  “You can thank him yourself,” said Justin. “He’ll be on Pirine soon, if he hasn’t already arrived.”

  “He’s coming to the Matching too?” Parthenia asked. “I thought it was just for young people.”

  Justin laughed, a deep-bellied chuckle. “He’s only thirty-five. I’ll tell him you said that. But Jace is coming to the Matching because—”

  “Justin,” Eira said sharply.

  “Sorry,” said the Healer, suddenly serious. “I was forgetting. Jace will be at the Matching too, Parthenia. He would have arrived earlier, but he was having problems leaving Ostillon due to the war.”

  “Is the war over now?” Carina asked.

  “Yes, the Dirksens managed to repel the Sherrerr attack,” said Eira.

  “Probably with my other brother’s help,” said Carina. />
  “What?” asked Eira. “A mage is helping the Dirksens?”

  “It’s a long story,” Carina replied.

  “We have a lot to discuss,” Eira said.

  “You have another brother?” asked Ione. “You have a big family.”

  “He’s my half-sibling, like Parthenia and all the others.”

  “So you two have different parents?” Eira said. “I’m surprised. You look so alike, it’s obvious you’re sisters. Do you mind telling me, do you share a mother?”

  “We did,” Carina replied. “Her name was Faye.”

  Eira’s features clouded. “I feared it was so. I saw the resemblance right away but I hoped I was mistaken. She’s dead, then?”

  “She died a few months ago,” said Carina.

  “And Kris?”

  “He passed on many years ago, before Parthenia was born.”

  Justin leaned forward and spread his arms on the table. “There are many sad tales to be told here, but let’s save them for later. They’re in the past now. You said you have another brother who you think is helping the Dirksens?”

  “Ma had six children after me,” said Carina. “Parthenia is the eldest. The second child is a boy called Castiel. My mother thought he wasn’t a mage, but then around the time she died he developed mage powers. Unfortunately, he’d watched the lessons she had given the other children so he knew what he had to do in order to Cast.”

  “You say ‘unfortunately?’” said Eira. “I’m guessing his behavior is not what you would expect from a mage.”

  “No, it isn’t,” said Parthenia. “Castiel is cruel and he lusts for power and control. He has to be stopped. I wanted to try to stop him, but Carina forced me to leave Ostillon.” The venomous look she shot Carina left the room in an embarrassed silence.

  “Well, that seems to be yet another subject we can explore more deeply another time,” said Justin. “Are you in agreement over the nature of this young man?” he asked Carina.

  “There’s no doubt about it,” she replied. “I’m not sure why he is as he is. Perhaps he takes after his father, or perhaps growing up without mage ability in a family of mages has warped him, but Castiel is evil.”

  Eira’s somber expression deepened.

  “I’m so glad you found us,” said Parthenia. “Maybe we can work together to defeat my brother?”

  “We certainly need to address that question,” said Eira. “I’m not sure what the answer is.”

  “I’m worried that Castiel and the Dirksens may follow us,” said Carina. “I think the ship you attacked when you found us belonged to that clan.”

  “It did,” Justin said. “We had a rather terse exchange of comms. The ship’s captain stated you were escaped prisoners of war. We declined to believe them.” He smiled grimly.

  “But when the Dirksens don’t hear anything from their ship they’ll send out another to find out what happened to it. Then they’ll pick up your trace and follow it the same as they followed ours.”

  “No, they won’t,” said Eira. “Don’t worry, Ren has Cast Obscure on our trail and will continue to do so. It’s extremely unlikely they would discover our path, and if they do, they would also need to search all of Pirine to find us.”

  Carina wasn’t entirely reassured by Eira’s words, but she bowed to the older woman’s long experience. She also had more questions she was urged to ask. “Can you tell me more about my mother and father? I grew up without them. My Nai Nai brought me up. I only met my mother again not long before she died.”

  “I would love to,” Eira replied. “I propose that we bring the meeting to a close first, however. I think we’ve touched on all the important topics for today. Thank you for what you’ve told us. Remember, do not tell anyone else anything we’ve discussed here. Your non-mage friend and your brothers and sisters will naturally make some guesses about what’s happening, but it’s really best for everyone that they know as little as possible for certain.”

  Carina imagined it would be hard to not tell Bryce why they were going to Pirine, how the mages had found them, or answer any other mysteries that had been cleared up for her. But he probably wouldn’t press her for answers. He understood the need for secrecy.

  The fact that she was supposed to attend this ‘Matching’ troubled her more. She wasn’t of a mind to match to anyone.

  People were leaving the meeting room. Justin had risen from his seat and was walking past Carina when he halted and she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. When she looked up at him, he held out his other hand. Somewhat bewildered, she grasped it and they shook.

  “There are not many who have made me cry for help,” he said, a twinkle in the depths of his deep-set eyes.

  Carina said, “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

  “Nothing a little Casting couldn’t fix.” He released his grip and walked out.

  ***

  Carina was pleased to see her brothers and sisters put on weight and lose their worry lines as the days passed while the Haihu took them to Pirine. Bryce also relaxed and cheered up considerably as the journey wore on. As Carina had predicted, he didn’t push her for information.

  Eira spent some time reminiscing with Carina about her mother and father. It turned out that she’d gotten to know them at a Matching long ago, when Carina’s parents had met. Eira told Carina what she recalled, mainly about how much in love her parents had seemed. That was one reason Eira remembered them so well.

  Carina listened hungrily as Eira spoke of her mother. She wanted to overlay her final memories of the poor woman, ravaged with disease and long years of cruelty, with mental images of her as a young, happy, innocent young person in the first flush of love.

  When Eira told Carina about her father, she built memories of a man she had all but forgotten. She wished so much that mage lore didn’t prohibit keeping images of loved ones. She could barely remember Ba’s face.

  Carina didn’t tell Darius anything about what lay ahead of him on Pirine, partly because she didn’t have much of an idea what Eira’s mention of ‘training’ actually meant. The captain had said she couldn’t tell her any more. The prospect worried Carina. Darius was only six years old. He might be a Spirit Mage but he was still only a little boy, much too young to have the responsibility of the future of mages on his shoulders.

  Finally, the day came when they arrived at Pirine’s star system. Eira announced the fact when she came into the small mess one morning.

  Oriana clapped her hands. “Wonderful! I can finally have a proper bath. And real food…though the ship’s food is also nice,” she added, remembering her manners.

  “We’re all looking forward to real food,” said Eira kindly. “But I’m afraid a bath won’t be possible where we’re going. I’ll explain to you what happens next. We have to hide the Haihu at the edge of the system, then we take a shuttle in.”

  “How come we don’t go straight to Pirine?” Ferne asked. “I thought it was a mage planet.”

  “There are no mage planets, Ferne,” said Eira. “Not any longer. Whenever mages settled a new planet, non-mages would come along and drive them out, until finally they had to hide within non-mage populations. Pirine is no exception, though the people there are more tolerant and less suspicious of outsiders than most. We must keep our abilities secret on Pirine the same as everywhere. However, at the place we’re going, everyone is a mage. It’s a temporary encampment. After we arrive there, I must ask you not to question anyone about where they’re from, or even ask their names if they do not volunteer them.”

  “How long will we be staying?” asked Darius.

  “That isn’t clear yet,” Eira replied. “We’ll be transferring to the shuttle in about an hour. Make sure you’re ready.”

  The Haihu’s shuttle was a small silver oblong that barely fit everyone. Carina was quiet as they sped through the system toward the distant sun. So much had happened in the previous weeks. They had been in so much danger, but they had all survived relatively unscathed
. Bryce, who was sitting next to her, took her hand. She smiled, but then an idea struck her. Would the mages at the encampment accept Bryce and Nahla?

  Darius was sitting on Parthenia’s lap because there weren’t enough seats for everyone. He piped up, rather proudly, “Eira, do you want me to Cloak the ship?”

  “What’s that?” asked Justin.

  Carina explained about Darius’ special Cast, and Eira said, “Yes, we would like that very much indeed. The Pirine authorities aren’t tight on security but there’s no point in taking risks we can avoid.”

  Two hours later, the shuttle touched down. It was a relief to leave the cramped ship. When Carina walked out the exit ramp, she was greeted by a familiar sight. They had landed in the middle of a grassy plain that stretched out in all directions.

  Carina had never been to Pirine in her life, but she realized she’d visited the planet many times in her dreams.

  “Please move forward,” said Eira from behind. “You’re blocking the exit. We must hide the shuttle as soon as we can.”

  Carina walked out into the hot, dry atmosphere of Pirine. It was around midday, and the air was exactly as she’d dreamed it: full of the scent of wildflowers and the sound of insects.

  “But where are we going to sleep?” asked Oriana.

  “Over there,” said Justin, pointing behind the shuttle.

  Carina turned and saw a collection of tents in the distance.

  “Ugh,” said Oriana, “we’re going to sleep in those?!”

  “Oh shut up,” said Ferne. “It’ll be great.”

  They headed out toward the campsite, along a lightly worn path through the tall grass. A sound from behind her made Carina turn, and she was just in time to see the shuttle disappearing beneath a shelter disguised as a pile of boulders.

  Before they had crossed half the distance, another sight familiar to Carina appeared. A very old woman hobbled from out of the shadow of a tent. It was the woman from Carina’s dreams, who she now remembered clear as day, right down to the woman’s piercing stare. Though she was almost bent double, she moved at a surprising speed as she closed the distance between them.