Star-Born Mage

by David Estes

  A soldier stepped forward, the one who’d accompanied Miranda to the hospital back on Maxion. “At ease, soldiers,” he barked, lowering his own weapon. The other guns dropped instantaneously.

  At least they’re well-trained, Vee thought. Her adrenaline was slowing, and she had to force steel into her voice. “Take me to the control room.”

  The man looked uncertain, his eyes flicking from the unconscious Miranda and back to Verity before he took a deep breath and nodded, gesturing her to walk in front of him.

  “Do I look like a fool?” Vee said, clenching her fists to stop them from shaking. The ice had returned to her bones, the aura she’d mysteriously generated gone again, as if it had never existed. “You first. The rest of the soldiers can stay here. And if one of them so much as touches their weapon’s trigger…” Vee pointed at Miranda and then made a chopping motion across her own throat. “Got it?”

  “No weapons,” the man barked to the other soldiers. “No exceptions. Stay here, you grunts.” With that, he strode swiftly forward. After a moment’s hesitation, Vee followed him, each step an effort as her knees quivered.

  Halfway along the cabin’s length, she felt so nauseous she was forced to stop. She took several deep breaths, watching the soldier walk further away. C’mon, she thought. Suck it up. It was almost as if she was back in the Mage Academy. Although magical education and training was the core of the curriculum, physical training had been included. It had been hard, but she’d never complained, never given up, never stopped.

  And she didn’t now, swallowing the bitter bile and shuffling forward, taking deep breaths with each stride. In and out, in and out, one step at a time…

  Until they reached a large portal door that was closed off, bearing several warnings about the area beyond being for Authorized Personnel Only.

  The soldier turned around, his hand on the grip of his weapon, but not raising it. “The thing is,” he said, “if I let you in there, I’ll be breaking half a dozen Alliance rules and regs. I’ll be stripped of my rank and thrown in the brig. Stars, I might even be dishonorably discharged. Being a soldier is all I have.”

  “Would you rather die?” Vee wasn’t certain where the threat came from, nor if she was prepared to carry it out—or if she even could.

  The man offered a grim smile. “Yes.”

  Shit. She had nothing against this man, who was only following orders. She even felt like she understood him, that sense of purpose, of honor. Black Hole, she’d even felt the same way once. She knew exactly what it was like to lose the only thing that mattered to her in the world. Would she have been willing to die for it? Maybe. Yes.

  “What’s the code?” she asked, gesturing with her head at the keypad.

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Look, I’m going to knock you out in about two seconds, so give me the damn code or I’ll—”

  “I can’t tell you because there isn’t one. The keypad is a decoy. Fingerprint and retinal scan only.”

  “And you are authorized?”

  He nodded slowly, and she could see the self-doubt in his eyes.

  “Okay,” she said. “Give me your weapon.”

  “You have to take it from me.”

  Oh godstars, Vee thought, feeling utterly spent. He appeared strong, broad-shouldered and muscular. He wasn’t a green soldier, and almost certainly had experienced numerous forms of combat, including hand to hand. She focused, trying to reenact the feeling from earlier, when she’d chased away the cold with that burst of raw power…

  Nothing. Her knees trembled, and she was forced to drop to the unforgiving metal floor, turning quickly to the side to vomit. “Open the door,” she whispered, a line of drool connecting her lips to the floor. Her vision was swimming now. She needed a shot of aura. Regardless of her determination, she needed it.

  “I can’t,” the soldier said, sounding almost apologetic. “I’m sorry.”

  Vee fought to one foot, then the other. She extended a trembling hand, then a finger. The soldier’s eyes widened, but he didn’t move to raise his own weapon. Slowly, she traced a glyph in the air, wishing she had a mag-rifle to help her process the spell. She waited one second, then another.

  Nothing happened.

  She sighed, all energy leaving her as she collapsed.

  Chapter 9

  The deal

  This time, Vee didn’t sleep, although she wished she could. The pain was immense, drawing a ragged scream from her throat as she shook. Foam or bile or drool, or perhaps all three, dribbled from the corner of her mouth, but that was the least of her worries. She swore she could feel her bones cracking, her internal organs shutting down, her heart trying to tear itself from her chest.

  Strong hands surrounded her, held her tight so her seizing body wouldn’t smash against the metal insides of the ship. She tried to open her eyes to see who it was, but they were glued shut, tears leaking into rivers on her cheeks. “Give me a shot of aura,” a voice shouted, and she tried to protest, tried to shout No! but all that came out was another scream as a wave of agony assaulted her.

  Something sharp pierced the flesh of her left arm, but it was nothing next to the onslaught of the beast inside her, which was sinking its teeth into her, ripping, tearing, devouring, and then—

  She gasped, her back arching as a feeling akin to ecstasy filled her. She felt like she was…floating, drifting away like a balloon filled with helium. “Oh,” she said, her eyes fluttering open, her vision rapidly clarifying as she took in the concerned eyes of the soldier who held her in his arms. The man whose life she’d threatened—who she’d tried to attack with a spell she hadn’t been able to cast. A man who should hate her.

  “Shhh,” he said. “You’re okay now. Just breathe. Breathe.” Hovering all around him were other soldiers, looking confused.

  “What is the meaning of this?” a female voice said. Miranda stumbled into the circle, clutching her head. Blood ran down her wrist and arm. Her eyes widened when she saw Vee in the soldier’s arms. They widened further as they locked on something on the ground. Vee had the presence of mind to angle her head in the same direction, finding an empty, discarded syringe. The inside of the glass vial was tinged with what was left of a black substance. Pure aura, Vee thought with shame. Despite all her efforts, she couldn’t resist the need, betrayed by her own body.

  But why had this soldier given it to her after all she had done?

  “Captain Tucker,” Miranda said coldly. Captain Tucker? Why did that name sound so familiar? “You are hereby under arrest for the crimes of wasting magical resources and”—she glanced at the door to the control room, which was still sealed—“aiding a violent criminal.”

  The man—Captain Tucker—gently laid Vee’s head down on a pillow he pulled from a shelf and stood. She watched as he turned, placing his hands behind his back. Miranda stepped forward, holding a circular, silver device. She placed it on the back of his hands and traced a small glyph across the device’s surface. Bright blue beams shot out from each side, curling around his wrists and reconnecting with the silver disk.

  “He didn’t mean to…” Vee said but trailed off as two soldiers stepped forward and escorted the captain away. Nothing she could say would sway Miranda’s mind, not after what Vee had done to her.

  “Leave us,” the mage said, her eyes never leaving Vee.

  When the soldiers were gone, Miranda crouched down and hissed, “How did you do that?”

  Vee felt stronger already, and she managed to sit up to face the mage. “I—I don’t know.”

  “Don’t lie to me. You’re a Class 3 mage. I’ve never heard of any mage generating a spell out of nothing.”

  Vee had, but only one man. Someone she hadn’t thought of in a long time. And anyway, that man had lost his mind years ago. Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that she didn’t know how she’d done it. “Maybe there was residual aura somewhere in my bloodstream, and I managed to channel it together, or—”

  “There w
as no residual aura. We tested you, remember? Before we boarded the starship.”

  It was true, Vee knew. They’d pricked her finger and dripped her blood on the scanner, the result returning a moment later: 0% aura. Unless the machine was faulty, or…no, she was lying to herself. Vee knew she’d done it. Generated aura out of thin air. She would think it was impossible if she hadn’t been there to witness it. “I don’t know. It just happened. I was angry. It’s not fair, what you’re doing. Using my…condition…to coerce me into helping you.”

  “The galaxy isn’t fair,” Miranda said. “But that’s life. You’re addicted to aura, and I can help you live a normal life. But I need you to help me find Dacre.”

  Now that the aura in her bloodstream had been balanced, Vee was thinking much more clearly, and something occurred to her. An idea. A plan. A hope. For the first time in a long time, she felt excited about her future. “I’ll help you,” she said. “But I want something more than aura in return.”

  “You’re hardly in a position to make demands,” Miranda said, but it was a hollow statement.

  “Wrong. You need me as much as I need aura. Otherwise you wouldn’t be wasting your time trying to convince me to help you.”

  The truth of her statement was written all over Miranda’s face. “What, exactly, do you want, Verity?” she asked, her jaw hardening.

  Vee’s heart pounded. Was this really possible? Had she finally caught a lucky break, all because Dacre had done something stupid? Something about it was almost poetic, a rebalancing of a scale that she always believed was broken beyond repair. “I want…I want my record expunged. I want a chance to reenter the Mage Academy and continue my training. I want to become a Class 5 warrior mage.”

  Miranda didn’t blink. “I can make that happen. If you find Dacre Avvalon, that is.”

  A tremor ran through Vee, but this time it wasn’t from aura withdrawal. “I’ll need that in writing.”

  “Done. Anything else?”

  What more could she possibly ask for? Well, there was one thing… “Yes. I want to choose my own team for the mission. And I want to have my own ship for the job. I can’t stomach being near you more than I have to.”

  The look Miranda Petros gave her was lethal, but it wasn’t one of rejection. “Fine, but you must agree to have a galactic locator imbedded in your ship’s mainframe, as well as your own body. If you try to remove or tamper with them, the contract is null and void. Is that agreeable?”

  Vee didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I can work with that.”

  “I’ll draw up the contract. Now, do you want to see your friend?”

  Vee cocked her head to the side. “What friend?”

  “You know, the one you’ve been asking about. Minnow the Minot. We took the initiative of bringing him along. I’m assuming you’ll be choosing him for your team?”

  Chapter 10

  A hot mess

  “Vee?” Minnow said, breaking into a huge smile as they entered the control room.

  Verity was surprised by the sob that took her breath at the sight of the big Minot. He was wearing med scrubs, sitting on a reclining bed and facing a large holoscreen that was playing an old episode of Magical Artifacts Pawn Shop. Behind him was a massive control screen and a small platform for the control module, currently manned by a woman pilot wearing a red Alliance uniform. The pilot lightly grasped the fluorescent control ropes, her eyes trained on the screen.

  “You big fool,” Vee said, brushing away the tears and walking on shaky legs over to Minnow.

  “That’s the thanks I get?” he said, still smiling. “That’s the last time I save your life.”

  “You save me? Ha. Not in this millennium.” She took his hand carefully, relishing the warmth she felt through his dark, gray skin.

  “I’m not going to break,” he said. “I feel great.”

  “What about the withdrawal? You got hit by a poisoned Jackal dart.” Vee’s eyes roamed over the huge man, searching for other signs of injury.

  “Aura isn’t the same as poison,” he said. “You of all people should know that. See this?” He held up one meaty arm to show an IV hooked up to his vein, the tube dangling to the floor where it disappeared into a hole. The clear tube was filled with a light gray liquid.

  Diluted aura.

  “Are you high?”

  “Of course not,” Minnow said, an affronted expression crossing his face but quickly vanishing into another smile. “Maybe a little.” He pinched his forefinger against his thumb to show how much.

  Vee whirled around to face Miranda. “How much did you give him?”

  One of her eyebrows lifted. “You have a funny way of showing gratitude,” she said. “He’s getting enough to come down from the mortal danger he was in when we found him.”

  “The doctor back on Maxion said he was going to be fine.”

  “Shall I take him back?”

  Vee drew in a deep breath, trying to calm down. Her fingers were tingling strangely, her legs not nearly as weak as they’d been a few minutes ago. She had to admit, Miranda was right. Minnow was here, and alive, which was more than she could’ve possibly hoped for after seeing him get hit by the deadly dart.

  Her gaze found the holoscreen. An arm had reached out, so lifelike it might’ve been real enough to touch. From its fingers dangled a necklace bearing three hoops, each inlaid with a circular gemstone—one turquoise, one topaz, one ruby. The pawn expert’s voice emerged from a hidden speaker. “The Shinto Collar, as it was named by the discoverer, Clay Shinto, is believed to have been formed thousands of years ago during the First Godstar War, before the Godstar Galaxy was even formed. Dozens of mages have tested it for magical properties, but none have unlocked the power thought to be held inside. It’s one of the Five known prime artifacts.”

  “How much is it worth?” the museum proprietor asked, licking his lips greedily. Is this guy really looking to pawn a priceless magical artifact? Vee wondered.

  “It’s a fake,” the pawnist said, letting the necklace slip through his fingers and tumble toward the ground.

  “No!” A second hand emerged from the screen, desperately grabbing at the artifact. He missed, and there was a tinkling sound as the jewels hit the floor, smashing into thousands of pieces.

  “See?” the man said, retracting his hand. “Colored glass. Whoever sold this to you got a good deal.”

  Vee shook her head at the sheer quantity of stupidity spread across the galaxy. You should talk, she thought. Kicked out of the Academy, nearly killed by Jackals during the Miss Universe Pageant, and now addicted to pure aura and forced to make a deal with a woman she’d rather feed to the massive sea monsters known to roam the icy oceans of Polaris.

  “Verity,” Miranda said, making her cringe.

  “What?” she said angrily.

  “We are out of time. Dacre is getting further and further away while we watch pointless holotube shows.”

  Vee could feel Minnow’s eyes burning into her from the side. “Dacre?” he said. “What is she talking about?”

  Vee faced the music, meeting Minnow’s eyes. “You know the guy I told you about from the Academy? Dacre Avvalon?”

  “The cheating bastard? Yeah, I remember. I still dream about smashing his skull between my fists.” To demonstrate, he ground his fists together, his knuckles crackling.

  “Well, it’s time for revenge. I’ve always wanted to be a bounty hunter. You?”

  “Considering Jin stopped by the hospital just to cancel my contract, I’d say I’m available for some freelance work.”

  “What? She fired you? Seriously?”

  “Well, I did fire a rocket launcher in a crowded amphitheater in front of a galaxy-wide audience. The damage alone will send her insurance premiums through the stars. Anyway, I’ve been working security for Jin for six years, which is long enough. When do we start chasing down this deadbeat ex-boyfriend of yours?”

  She didn’t correct him with ex-fiancé, instead turning back toward Miranda. “As s
oon as we collect the rest of my team. And I’ll need a ship with a pilot. This one will do.”

  Miranda rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a fool. You’ll never catch him in this transport vessel. We’ll get you a proper starship, one with a fully charged hyperdrive. They can rendezvous with us in less than twenty-four hours. We’ll track you from a distance.”

  “Good,” Vee said, trying to play it cool when inside she was fist-pumping and chest-bumping and high-fiving. Despite her reliance on the woman she hated most in the world, the entire situation seemed like it was going to turn out all right. No, better than she could’ve ever dreamed of. Catching Dacre was her ticket back into the Academy. “Have the starship meet us at the Archimedes launch field.”

  “Archimedes? Why would you want to go there?”

  Vee smiled. “Because that’s where we’ll find the rest of my team.”

  ~~~

  Vee’s heart skipped a beat as her childhood planet came into view. Archimedes was a mixture of pink and green, its vast oceans dotted with the jungle islands known to harbor more indigenous species of insects and marine creatures than any other planet in the galaxy. Scientists flocked to the planet hoping to discover a new bug or fish that hadn’t yet been identified.

  Vee’s father, Dr. Tyrus Toya, had been one such scientist two decades ago, and had since named and studied half a dozen new critters. Vee even had one named for her: Veritanous Fierious, a bright-red, tentacled creature that glowed in the dark and fed on the hot magma that swarmed from the underwater lava tubes on the ocean floor.

  Father, Vee thought, a slash of fear cutting through her. It has been a long year since she’d taken a trip home to visit. It was hard enough seeing his disappointed expression over the holocom.

  They’d once been so close, but now…

  Now she felt like she was going home to see a stranger, and not just the one she saw in the mirror sometimes.

  “I’ve never been to the Arch,” Minnow commented, leaning closer to the glass.