Starbreak (Rise to Omniscience Book 2)

by Aaron Oster

  Then again, the mercenary had left through a portal, so maybe he had help. He wasn’t really sure who the man was, but the goddess had assured him that he was there to watch over Morgan and that he shouldn’t interfere.

  The man shifted on the tree branch he was perched on, wondering what he should do next. His mission over the last few months had been to follow Morgan. Now that he was gone for an indeterminate amount of time, what would he do? Should he be looking for a key to get them out?

  A light whooshing sound off to his right announced the arrival of the goddess.

  “Did I miss the party?” she asked, her light girly tone not at all matching her current features.

  She looked the same as last time, with the exception of the heavy cloak now gone.

  “I’m sure you know what happened here and probably had some hand in it as well,” the man replied, not bothering to move from his seated position.

  “No fooling you, is there?” she giggled, walking lightly down the branch without so much as a wobble.

  “Why did you send him in there? Doesn’t this defeat the whole purpose?”

  “Not at all. I need him in there. Otherwise, he’ll never progress in time,” she replied, stopping only a foot away and grinning down at him.

  “From what I can see, he’s actually progressing pretty quickly. Normal ability users take months in between ranks at this point.”

  “That they do, but ranks aren’t what I’m referring to. If he’d kept going at his current rate, he would never have-shall we say- found the true power he needs.”

  The man cocked an eyebrow.

  “Care to elaborate?”

  “Nope,” she replied with another giggle, twirling on the spot and beginning to hum to herself.

  The man sat in silence as the crazy goddess danced around on the branch, wondering just what kind of power she could be referring to. After all, wasn’t increasing in rank the only way to increase power?

  He was rudely snapped from his thoughts when a warm hand suddenly clamped down on his arm.

  He looked up to see the goddess’ face not five inches from his. He jumped in surprise and her red painted lips quirked up in a mischievous grin.

  “Don’t go overthinking what I said. Mortals are delicate creatures and I wouldn’t want to break your poor mind.”

  She tapped her lips for a few seconds, making him squirm uncomfortably in her steel grip. Her smirk widened a bit, but she mercifully continued speaking.

  “Right now, though, I have another job for you.”

  “And what would that be?” he asked, feeling his heart rate increase, despite his best effort to control it.

  Her proximity was unnerving and her looks definitely weren’t helping the situation.

  “Oh, just a little job in the South Kingdom. I’ll fill you in once you get there,” she then stepped back, simultaneously winking at him and blowing a kiss, then vanished into thin air.

  The man sat there for a few moments feeling his racing heart slow to a manageable level. Then he rose from his seated position and hopped down to the ground, fifty feet below. Landing lightly on the balls of his feet, he surreptitiously readjusted his pants, telling himself that any man would have reacted the same in his situation.

  He took one last look around the clearing, wondering just what the goddess could have planned for all of them next.

  Whatever it was, he just hoped he would live through it. After all, it would suck to die after all the time he’d spent on Morgan without seeing what the goddess had planned for him.

  19

  Sarah watched as Morgan hacked the large log they’d been tied to into smaller pieces with his wind blade. Small chips flew with each slash and he’d stop every few minutes to collect them. She watched him as he worked and her mind began to wander.

  They’d been trapped in here for about three hours so far. Morgan had already tried to contact Katherine, but the amulet wouldn’t work. He thought that it might have something to do with the magic of the zone and she tended to agree. She’d fished their winter gear out of their packs while Morgan was wracking his mind on how they might escape or even survive.

  The beast zone they’d landed in was freezing and even with their winter gear, they wouldn’t last more than a few hours. Morgan had remembered something Gold had told them about staged beast zones. He’d said that there was an exit portal that could take them anywhere, but the problem with that was it was on the top stage.

  There were a total of nine stages in this zone, the last of which was rank 31. Neither of them was stupid enough to believe that they were strong enough to even survive on that stage, let alone beat it.

  So they’d come up with a plan, both for survival and escape. They knew that this stage was only rank 6, so they could easily kill off anything here. They also knew that it would be impossible for them to survive if they stayed down here. Their plan was simple. They’d fight their way up the mountain, absorbing cores and growing stronger. Morgan also had a theory that they would be able to get out of the wind and snow once they got higher up.

  She had wanted to set out immediately, but he had insisted on chopping up the wood, as there was no way of knowing if they would find any at all. When she’d asked how he planned to start a fire, he’d actually grinned; reaching into his armor and pulling out the piece of flint he’d found earlier.

  So now she stood here, watching out for beasts while he cut up the huge log. She’d already killed off three packs of frost-foxes and six ice-clawed wolverines, but no other beasts had shown up in the last hour.

  Her eyes turned back to Morgan, who had been forced to work with only one hand. His other had been too horribly mangled and would only heal in another twenty or so hours. As she watched him chopping the wood, her mind couldn’t help but wander back to when they’d been tied up together.

  She felt her heart skip a beat at the memory and her cheeks flushed a bright red. She knew they’d been in a tight spot, but Morgan had practically groped her when he’d been rooting around inside the compartment in her armor. To her great shame, she had to admit that she’d been excited by it; almost hoping that he’d do more, but he was clueless as ever.

  She shuddered violently as a freezing gust of wind tore at her hair and clothes. For once, she was actually grateful for it.

  Morgan would have no idea of the implications of what she’d asked him to do by fetching the pouch, which just solidified the idea in her mind that something must be wrong with him. The only thing on his mind right now would be how to survive and get them out of here alive.

  She let out a long sigh, feeling her tension ease up a bit.

  If there was one bright side to being stuck in here, it was that she would have him all to herself, even if he wasn’t attracted to her in the way she wanted.

  “That’s the last of it.”

  She looked up, surprised to see that Morgan was finished with his wood chopping.

  “Do you think it’ll all fit in the bag?” he asked, nodding to the large pile of logs, chips and small twigs.

  “I hope so,” she replied, looking up to the sky.

  Time seemed to run differently here than it did in the Five Kingdoms. She could tell it was nighttime, but it wasn’t quite dark outside. The nights here, it would seem, were more like a perpetual twilight.

  She pulled the leather bag from inside her coat and together they began piling the logs inside. This took them a good ten minutes, after which Morgan leaned back, yawning widely and rubbing at his eyes.

  “We need to find somewhere we can rest for the night. Tomorrow morning we’ll head for the Matriarch and move up to the second stage.”

  Sarah nodded in agreement.

  It was at least a few hours to the Matriarch’s territory from here and she was way too worn out to trek all the way. There was just one problem, though.

  “Where can we find shelter and how will we stay warm?”

  Morgan looked around for a few seconds, before pointing over to a large
, ice-covered boulder about half a mile away.

  “We can set our backs to that. I’ll explain the rest as we walk.”

  Sarah just sighed but followed all the same.

  If she stood still for too much longer, she’d likely freeze to death.

  “The boulder will give us some cover from the wind,” Morgan began as they walked. “You’ll use your skill and build us the other walls and a ceiling, then we’ll clear out a small area where we can build a fire.”

  Sarah felt her spirits rise a bit at this.

  She’d had no idea that Morgan knew so much about survival in the cold. Then again, the North Kingdom did have bitterly cold winters, so it made sense that he knew how to make it in terrain like this. They still had a problem.

  “What are we going to do about food?” she asked, lifting her arm to shield her face from the wind. “Water isn’t an issue, but we’ll starve to death if we don’t eat.”

  “Last I checked, there was no shortage of beasts around here,” he replied with a shrug.

  Sarah grimaced at that.

  She’d never eaten beast meat before and didn’t think that fox or wolverine would be particularly tasty.

  They finally made it to the large boulder and Morgan began stamping down the snow underfoot, while she built thick walls of ice around them. She made sure to leave a small hole in the ceiling for air and for the smoke to escape, but other than that, didn’t leave an opening.

  She didn’t want to take the risk of beasts getting in.

  Morgan had been right, though. Once they were out of the wind and enclosed in a small area, it became noticeably warmer, though she still didn’t think she’d be able to sleep here.

  “Get some wood out and we’ll start a fire,” Morgan said, blowing on his hands and wincing.

  Sarah was quick to follow his instructions and pulled two logs, some twigs, and woodchips from the bag. She didn’t know how to start a fire, but she’d seen it done before.

  Morgan reached into his uniform, getting out the small piece of flint, then directed her on lighting the fire. After only a few minutes, a small fire sat burning in the middle of their impromptu shelter.

  “What are you doing?” Sarah asked, as Morgan pulled off his coat and then his uniform shirt.

  “You do realize that the fire won’t keep burning all night. We’ll have to huddle together for warmth. You can leave the pants on, but you’ll need to take your shirt off. The metal on there will only leach the little warmth we have.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened and she felt her cheeks flush a deep crimson.

  “There is no way I’m going to do that!” she exclaimed as Morgan set his coat on the ground near the fire.

  “Sarah, this is no time for you to be getting upset,” he replied in a calm tone. “I know we’re in a tough spot, but if you want to survive, you’ll need to keep a level head.”

  Sarah gawked at him.

  He thought she was angry? Didn’t it even occur to him that there might be another reason she was loath to strip in front of him?

  She let out a long breath, then began working herself out of her coat.

  In truth, it really wasn’t a big deal. She was still wearing a bra under the uniform and Morgan seemed to be completely uninterested in her. It was like getting undressed in front of a child, really.

  She shrugged out of her coat and reached down to the hem of her armored shirt, then closed her eyes. She felt her heart pounding as she slowly drew the uniform up, revealing her bare abdomen, then stopped, shivering in the cold.

  Not a big deal, just pull it off quickly. He won’t even care, she told herself.

  No matter how much she tried to convince herself, she was still having a hard time going through with it. Shaking slightly, she tugged the shirt over her head in one smooth motion, leaving her in only a bra. Heart racing, she cracked an eye to see what Morgan would think, then felt her cheeks flush. Not in embarrassment, but in anger.

  He wasn’t even looking at her.

  Morgan was facing the other way, pulling small logs from the bag and piling them against the wall, completely oblivious to the trauma she’d just gone through.

  He finally looked up at her and his brow furrowed in concern.

  “You really shouldn’t stand there for too long. You’ll get frostbite. Grab your coat and come over here so we can get some sleep.” He pat the coat he’d spread out on the ground.

  Sarah felt her anger evaporate in an instant.

  Here she was angry that he wasn’t ogling her, while he was busy being concerned for her health.

  Cracking a smile at her own hypocrisy, she leaned down and grabbed her coat. Making her way over to Morgan, she sank down onto the coat he’d spread out with a sigh. Taking her coat from her, he draped it around both their shoulders and snuggled up close to her.

  “As far as I can tell, we have about six hours until it becomes fully light outside, though I could be wrong,” he said, leaning a bit closer to the fire.

  She nodded, still feeling a bit subconscious about sitting practically topless next to him.

  “Best if we get some sleep then,” he said, yawning widely.

  “Yeah. Um, how exactly will this work?” she asked, gesturing vaguely to the makeshift sleep roll.

  “Just lay down with your back to me and our combined body heat, along with the fire, should keep us relatively warm. I’ve also stacked some logs so we can easily get one going in the morning as well.”

  She nodded again, then slowly lay down on the coat, feeling her heart begin to race. Then she felt him press up against her back and her coat was pulled more snugly over them. She expected him to drape an arm over her, but he didn’t, keeping it at his side instead.

  She could feel the warmth of his body pressed up against her back and feel the hard muscles of his chest and abdomen, and the steady beating of his heart. She smiled to herself, despite her nerves and their dire situation.

  If only Katherine could see her now.

  ***

  Katherine watched as Arnold stepped through the portal. He looked quite the worse for wear, which didn’t bode well for Morgan.

  “What happened?” she asked, allowing just a hint of her displeasure to show through.

  When it came to dealing with Arnold, she had to be every bit as intimidating as she could. People like him only responded to one thing- fear.

  “I was attacked by the Assassins Guild,” he said with a grimace, reaching over to clutch at his dangling right arm.

  “Obviously. Why else would you be here, dripping blood all over my floor?” she said with a sneer.

  “By your presence here, I can assume that Morgan is still alive.” She leaned forward in her seat and steepled her fingers. “So, where is he?”

  Arnold shivered lightly at the icy tone in her voice and she felt a small hint of satisfaction at that. She’d worked long and hard to perfect every aspect of her personality and even though she was extremely worried, not even a hint of that showed through.

  Arnold licked his lips a few times, then began to recount the events of the last few hours.

  “Don’t worry, though” he quickly said when her expression hardened. “The beast zone they went into was staged, so there’s at least one more key. If my guess is right, it’s back at the academy.”

  Katherine felt a huge sense of relief at those words, though she didn’t let it show.

  Beast zones were the only places where her ability to open portals wouldn’t work. Even the pendant she’d handed Morgan wouldn’t function there. She’d been afraid that they’d actually be trapped in there forever, but even if they didn’t find a key, they could technically still get out.

  “You’re going to fix this for me,” she said, rising from her seat and smoothing the front of her uniform.

  “I won’t have my plans ruined just because you were lax in your duties. Do I make myself clear?” She made sure not to raise her voice even once.

  The effect would be far more terrifying this
way.

  “Of course, Princess,” he quickly replied.

  “Good, now go get yourself fixed up. I expect you back here in an hour.” She turned her back on him, waving a dismissive hand.

  She heard the quick pattering of footsteps on the marble floor, then the sound of her door closing. As soon as the door closed, her shoulders sagged and she sank into one of the many couches in her room.

  This wasn’t good. Morgan was trapped in a staged beast zone and his only way out was to either beat the most powerful beast in the zone or for them to rescue him. Knowing Morgan, he would likely attempt to battle his way out.

  Sarah seemed less battle-crazy, but she would likely go along with what he said if she thought there was no other way out.

  She lightly drummed her fingers on the armrest of the sofa as she tried to figure out her next move. The war was going well for her father, with King Herald being pushed back further and further each day. At this rate, she might be forced to accelerate her plans, but with Morgan trapped, that wasn’t an option.

  And those damned assassins.

  She grimaced as she thought of the pompous and self-important Simon. The man had come by the palace the other night for dinner and she had been forced to attend.

  A man after her father’s heart.

  He’d spent most of the night talking about his daughter, Sarah, and how Edmund’s oldest son, Daniel - her younger brother - would make an excellent husband for her.

  The worst part about it was that her father had actually seemed to be swayed by him and was likely considering the marriage.

  She stood from the couch and began pacing, trying to figure out her next move. She couldn’t act until Morgan was safe. She also couldn’t move against Simon directly. She stopped in her tracks as an idea suddenly came to her and she smiled for the first time that night.

  It was about time that she had someone visit those damned assassins and discouraged them from pursuing her future husband.

  20

  Morgan opened his eyes, blinking slowly as sunlight streamed down overhead. He was warm under the thick coat and felt Sarah shift slightly in her sleep. He was loath to get out from under the warm coat, but he knew that they would have to get moving soon and it was best to get these things over with quickly.