Sac'a'rith

by Vincent Trigili

  “The reason the Sac’a’rith fell the first time was due in part to the dilution of the order, allowing in members not born with the gift. Crivreen and Ragnar do not have the gift, and we should learn from our past mistakes.”

  “What do you mean to do?” I asked.

  “Nothing. You’re still in charge of your ship and team, and I would welcome the others as fellow wizards, just not as brothers in the order,” she said.

  “What about Shira?” I asked.

  “That poor girl,” she said with a deep sigh. “The necromancer who enslaved her knew she was gifted with the powers of a Sac’a’rith and rubbed it in her face constantly. He used it frequently to tear down her will. That’s why she follows you around so closely; she knows you are family and doesn’t know who else to trust.”

  “This is an awful lot to take in at once,” I said.

  “Then let’s start small. We’ll work together to get this armor order filled, I’ll push through the forms to obtain your citizenship of the Wizard Kingdom, and we’ll see where that takes us.”

  I needed time to think on this. She brought too many changes with her at once. Then there was Shira to consider: if I couldn’t find a way to resolve the fear she suffered, then Raquel would be a destabilizing force on the ship. Just two days previously, I knew what was expected of me as a special agent for Phareon. I had missions, objectives and goals. It was not a great life, but it was simple and I could feel that I was trying to do something good by upholding the law. Raquel’s offer was just too much for me to take in.

  “Hold off on the citizenship, but I agree to the rest. Now I’ll leave you alone so you can open the chest. I hope we chose well, but it was mostly random selection dictated in part by what would fit,” I told her.

  “It’s a window into a part of his life I never knew,” she said quietly. “Whatever you chose, it’s more than I could have had if you had not chosen it.”

  “If you have any questions, ask Ragnar. Narcion lived with Ragnar’s tribe for at least part of his time there.”

  “Thanks, I will,” she said as she knelt back down in front of the chest. “Where is our next stop?”

  “The Siden system. The necromancer had a storehouse of natural materials and Shira knows the way in,” I said.

  I noticed a tear in her eye and then it occurred to me that this was also the burial site of her late husband. Quietly I left her and closed the door behind me.

  Chapter Seven

  Henrick was busy working at his terminal when Curetes walked into his office. Henrick was dressed in an expensive suit, the kind only the upper echelon of businessmen wore. Everything about him and the room spoke of precise control. Everything in the office appeared to be placed perfectly, and there did not seem to be anything there without a purpose.

  Curetes was dressed in metallic body armor that seemed to flow with him as he walked. It was impossible to tell where his body ended and the armor began, giving the impression that the armor might actually be part of his body, a shiny exoskeleton of metal. His piercing steel-grey eyes took in everything as he approached and stood before Henrick’s desk.

  “News?” asked Henrick.

  “Raquel is on the move,” said Curetes.

  Henrick was an older-looking human and his features were those of a man who had seen many generations come and go, but he was by no means frail. He had a presence that spoke of perfectly-controlled power. His eyes had ancient depths and spoke of deep understanding and wisdom. He slowly looked up and locked gazes with Curetes. “Where?”

  “We aren’t sure, but someone just locked the gate on the Night Wisp, and one of our men on Zenfar said he had seen Zah’rak leaving the station with an unusually tall woman in battle armor.”

  “She’s hiding herself somehow. I wonder if she’s using an artifact that she brought with her from the past,” mused Henrick.

  He stood and activated a holographic map of the Phareon region. “She was last seen here,” he said. “Which exit lane from the station did they use?”

  Curetes smiled, but it did not generate warm feelings in the observer. It was more like the smile of a predator as it closed in on its prey. “One that puts them on the jump route to Siden.”

  Henrick smiled back. “She might be from a day gone by, but she is just as wonderfully predictable as the rest of them.”

  He walked over to a window and waved his hand before it. The scene changed from idyllic pastures to a view of the stone table which had recently been used for Narcion’s funeral pyre. Plants had started growing nearby as the forest began to reclaim the land, but the table showed no signs of being disturbed.

  “We have people watching it around the clock. When the Night Wisp arrives, we’ll know,” said Curetes.

  “Not if she uses whatever artifact she has to hide the ship also,” said Henrick.

  “Our people saw her on the station. Whatever it is that’s hiding her from scrying doesn’t seem to block normal vision. We watched the Night Wisp leave, so it must be beyond her power to hide the whole ship. We will see her come in, one way or another.”

  “See that you are personally on hand when they are expected to arrive,” said Henrick as he made to return to his desk.

  “One more piece of news you might be interested in,” said Curetes.

  “What?” asked Henrick.

  “Felix stayed behind in Zenfar,” replied Curetes.

  “Really? What is he up to?” asked Henrick.

  “We don’t know, but he’s destroying his Felix identity as quickly as he can and is converting all his funds to credit sticks,” said Curetes.

  “Sounds like he’s getting ready to leave the region,” said Henrick. “I wonder why, and where he’s headed.”

  “Yes, it’s a shame. He was our best chance of placing a man inside Zah’rak’s team,” said Curetes.

  Henrick was quiet for a moment as he looked across the room to the landscape visible in his window. His face was hard and cold when he turned to Curetes and said, “Bring him in for questioning.”

  “With pleasure,” said Curetes.

  Chapter Eight

  A week had passed since Raquel had come on board. She had taken Narcion’s chest into the quarters we’d alloted her and suggested we dedicate Narcion’s quarters to the gate. I agreed and removed the locks from the room so that we could go in and out as needed. That chest held all of Narcion’s personal belongings apart from the curtain and gate. We decided to leave the curtain up to cover the gate for the time being.

  Shira was still afraid of Raquel and would only come out of hydroponics when I was nearby. I didn’t know what it would take to heal that relationship but it had become my priority to fix it, even if it meant kicking Raquel off the ship. Shira was my responsibility, and Raquel could take care of herself if need be.

  Ragnar, Raquel and I were eating our morning meal and I was thinking of broaching this issue when Raquel said, “Today, Zah’rak, we have a trip to make.”

  “What?” I asked. We were in deep space between jump points. I couldn’t guess what she meant by that.

  “There’s something I want to show you. Ragnar can handle things here for a while without us,” she said.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “Through the gate, and I want Shira to come with us,” she said.

  “But - ” I began.

  “Zah’rak, Shira needs this more than you. I’d offer to take her alone, but I doubt she’d come,” said Raquel.

  She was right about that. Not even I could convince her to go, and I’m sure I wouldn’t let her. “But where are we going?” I asked.

  “As I understand it, you found Narcion’s house in a large forest. Is that right?” she asked.

  “Yes, but we would not be welcome back there,” I said.

  “That’s understood, but do you remember what that forest felt like? Smelled like? Tasted like?” she asked.

  I sighed slightly. I had never felt
more alive than when I had been there. It was as if I were decades younger and not carrying the weight of a lifetime of hard slave labor. I could still smell the air, how alive it was. I touched my neck where the scars from my slave collar had healed completely. There was nothing like the feeling of being surrounded by life, and I would jump at the chance to go back. “Yes, very much so.”

  “Then help me bring Shira to a place like that,” she said.

  “We can’t go to Korshalemia,” I said. The idea of returning to the woods was very enticing. I wanted to jump up and go, never to return, but I had to consider my responsibilities to the team and especially to Shira.

  “Well, we could but it would be unwise,” she said. “I have a different forest in mind.”

  I looked over to Ragnar who said, “Go, we’ll be fine.”

  Ragnar trusted Raquel, Shira feared her, and my mind wasn’t made up. I wanted to believe she was being honest with us but felt there was something behind it. It was as if there were always plans within plans in her mind. She had given me no solid reason to think that, but still that nagging doubt preyed on my mind.

  “You really think it will help her?” I asked. I wanted to believe it would. It had helped me so much, although I didn’t know why.

  “Without question, it will; how much it helps will be up to her, though,” she said.

  It was worth a shot. If there was any chance that this could help Shira to overcome the darkness that had infested her life, then I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. “Okay, meet us at the gate in a few minutes. I’ll try to convince her to come,” I said.

  “Excellent. I’ll gather the supplies the three of us will need, but you’ll want to take your swords just in case,” she said as she left the common area and headed towards her quarters.

  I took my swords from the equipment closet and headed to hydroponics where I found Shira sitting and reading a datapad. She was dressed in her typical black jumpsuit and had recently changed her hair and eye color to pure black, matching her clothing choice. She was sitting in a corner where she could easily watch all the entrances, but was too engrossed in her reading to notice me walk in.

  “Shira,” I said softly, hoping not to startle her. She sprang to her feet and drew a wand almost faster than I could see. I was sure it was trained on me before the datapad she had dropped even hit the floor. “Easy, it’s just me.”

  “Sorry,” she said, embarrassed. She put her wand away and picked up the pad.

  I looked around at her handiwork. There were lights and tanks everywhere and the quiet hum of machinery doing whatever it did. “Well, I must say, I have no idea what I’m looking at but it looks like you’re making great progress.”

  “I should have self-sustaining oxygen production ready soon. The plant matter just needs some more time to reproduce and mature. Food production is some time off yet.”

  “Remarkable,” I said. “You have really done well!”

  “I don’t understand how. It was so overwhelming at first, but soon it all seemed so natural,” she said.

  I walked over and admired the tanks. I could feel the life growing. The plant matter didn’t look much like plants, more like green goo, but it was very much alive. Its voice was weak but it was definitely there. “I can feel them. They’re small in number but strong and healthy. You really are good at this!”

  “Thanks,” she said. “The organic mash that handles the carbon-dioxide and oxygen exchange is remarkably easy to grow, but I guess that’s because it has been engineered that way. I haven’t started the food yet; I was just reading up on our options, but it seems a bit more complicated.”

  “Will we be able to be completely self-sufficient?” I asked.

  “No, we don’t have enough space for that, but we can supplement our stores with fresh fruit and vegetables at least.”

  “We need to go on a field trip. Will the tanks be okay if left alone for a little while?” I asked.

  “Sure,” she said. “The system is designed to take care of the mash, and there’s not much to do so early in the life-cycle.”

  “Great, let’s go then,” I said, leading her up to the gate room. We arrived to find Raquel there with two backpacks. I noticed that the smaller one was completely black.

  “Here. These should have everything we need for a couple of days,” she said.

  Shira didn’t say a word but took the smaller pack and moved behind me. I couldn’t see her, but I suspected she was carefully watching Raquel, ready to bolt.

  “A couple of days?” I repeated.

  “Yes, we’ll have to hike a bit. I can explain as we go,” she said and then sent to me privately, “Zah’rak, you must appear to support this fully if it’s going to help her.”

  I silently sighed. She was right, but I didn’t like not knowing what was going on. “Did we let the others know how long we’ll be gone?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I told Ragnar,” she said. “He’ll take care of everything.”

  “Okay, then lead on,” I said.

  “First, let me show you how to unlock and relock the gate.” She pointed to the symbol on the top of the gate. “That’s the lock rune.” She placed her hand over it, which was a bit of a stretch for her, and said a command word. The center of the gate pulsed with azure energy. “You can tell it’s unlocked by touching the gate. You should feel the energy flowing through it.”

  I nodded. I had felt it months ago when I activated it the first time. “But that would mean Narcion had left it unlocked for me to find.”

  “Yes, he did,” she said. “To lock it you do the same thing again. The gate can only be used when it’s unlocked.”

  “But that means we have to leave it unlocked to get home?” I asked.

  “No, it’s part of a system of interconnected gates.” She pointed to a different rune. “This one is where we’re going. By placing your hand on it and saying the same command word it will unlock the other side and link the gates.”

  “So anyone can unlock this gate from a remote location?” I asked.

  “No, only natural-born Sac’a’rith who are bound to it,” she said.

  “So I’m bound to it, then?” I said.

  “Yes. Why don’t you activate that rune and lead us through?”

  I wondered how I had become bound to it, but decided to leave that question for another time. At the moment, I was more interested in learning how to use the gate.

  I activated the rune she had pointed out. In the center of the ring a small azure dot appeared and grew until it filled the ring. As had happened on the last occasion I used it, when I touched the rune I had a vision of a great forest and wildlife. It was a different forest from the one I had seen in my previous trip. I scooped up my pack and walked through the gate. Shira followed closely behind me, and Raquel came through a few steps behind her.

  We stepped out of a rock face into a densely wooded area. There was a small clearing in front of us. I inhaled the fresh air deep into my lungs and could almost taste the life force that was surrounding me. Strength returned to my muscles, and my mind was more alert than it had been in a long while.

  My life as commander of a special forces team operating in deep space had brought weariness on me; this lifted and once again I felt I was where I belonged. I wished we could just stay here and forget all the responsibilities we had back in Phareon, but I knew that wasn’t possible at this time.

  “Yes,” said Raquel. “Let the power of nature flow through you and restore you.”

  I looked back and saw the gate still open behind her. “How do we lock the gate?”

  “First you activate the rune where we came from, and then activate the rune where we are,” she said. “Go ahead, you try it.”

  I locked the gate as per her instructions and turned to catch a slight smile on Shira’s face as she looked up into the trees. She was lost in the moment, just taking in the air and life around her. She seemed to be as much at home here as I wa
s.

  “She feels the same thing you do. Let her enjoy it for a while,” sent Raquel privately.

  The last time I had traveled through the gate, coming out in a lush forest like this, I had felt the same way. There was something about being surrounded by nature that seemed to bring vital energy to me. I could even tap it for healing physical wounds.

  I watched Shira for a while as she drank in the life around her. There was a tear in her eye, but her face had a hint of joy in it for the first time since I had met her: real, genuine happiness. It was slight but it was there. It seemed that Raquel was right: Shira did need this.

  “These woods won’t be safe after dark, but we should be able to make it to shelter by mid-afternoon,” said Raquel.

  I couldn’t see any obvious trails. “Which way?”

  “We need to keep the rising sun on our left shoulder. Eventually we’ll hit a roadway, but we won’t be on it for long. Do your best not to leave a trail as we move through the brush,” she said.

  “Shira, can you find this place again if we get separated?” I sent privately.

  “Yeah, I’ll mark it so I can gate back if need be,” she sent.

  “Let’s go,” said Raquel. “We can follow the game trails to make movement easier.”

  She led us down some very narrow breaks in the bush. We didn’t speak much, and Shira kept me between herself and Raquel the entire time. I still didn’t know why we were here, but I couldn’t deny the uplifting effect the walk was having on Shira. That made it all worthwhile and easily convinced me to stick with whatever plan Raquel had.

  It was good for me too. It had been too long since I had breathed fresh air filled with the taste and scent of life. I inhaled deeply as we walked and tried to pick out each variety of life that I scented. There were so many of them and my knowledge of nature was so limited that I didn’t even have enough names to choose from. I wondered if Raquel knew them all. No, probably not, I thought to myself. Her nose was too tiny to be of any use, and she couldn’t use her tongue to taste the air properly. Heck, I didn’t think she could get her tongue more than a centimeter past her lips, nowhere near far enough to work properly. I wondered if she could smell much at all.