Counselor tya-5

by P. S. Power

  “Stop that right this instant young man!” The voice was dark and filled with lemons still.

  Proctor Campbell.

  Good.

  “Campbell, get this girls hands, don't let her touch her pockets. I can't prove it yet, but she may be an Austran agent.” Tor smiled then. “Or she may just be a girl faking her way into a good school using the name of a dead girl. If it's the later we don't want her hurt, but if it's the first…”

  “What?” The man balked for a few seconds.

  “Just do it! I don't have time to explain! Hands. Keep them out of her pockets.” The whole time Tor had to keep her pinned down, which stopped the second the black clad bald man stepped in the way. Freaking hell.

  Whatever the girl had in her pocket, it wasn't a weapon. At least she seemed to be trying to swallow it. Grand. There was an obvious biting down and about ten seconds later as Campbell stood looking shocked the girl’s mouth started to foam, white first, then pink. Some kind of poison? That or Nanos. That last was confirmed a second later when his shield started sparking with small purple lights, then it turned into a storm of them.

  Then the man just fell down, face to the stones of the commons.

  “Shields on, get your shields on!” Tor yelled. Judith's already was, but one of the girls on the ground the one that wasn't the ring leader, started to shake and foam too. The hurt girl screamed and tried to run, but had enough presence of mind to turn the shield on herself. The nanos didn't trigger it? Not good. They must have slipped under the girls idea of what was a threat. They'd never encountered them before, so their deep minds didn't know to get the shield in place. A gap in it he'd never even though about.

  The people standing around to watch caught on, except a few, who hadn't bothered to wear theirs apparently. The rest lived. Those others died and the healing amulet didn't save them. It just made them nearly die over and over again, until, after several healings, they just died anyway, bodies unable to heal fast enough, even with help. Crap.

  Tor didn't know what to do. Not at all. For a few seconds he just sat, but then he shook himself a bit. Right. They had to warn… everyone. Plus there could be another attack.

  “Shields on! Spread the word. If you don't have a shield, lock yourself in a room and don't come out until you have the all clear. Go! Tell everyone! There's an Austran attack, shields on!” Damn, his voice was too soft. Judith tried to call it out, and she got volume, but her accent was too heavy for most of the people listening to understand at all.

  Except Guide. His accent was much, much clearer, luckily he came running up and after one repetition from Tor started yelling.

  “Shields on! Go, tell everyone! Austran attack! Shields on!” He didn't stop screaming it either, bless him. Tor just hoped it worked. After nearly a minute, someone else started repeating it. Then dozens of voices rang out. Thank god.

  Tor reached into his pouch and hit the sigil for the palace on his communications device, just floating where he was. Really, he just couldn't think of anything else to do.

  “Hello? Tor?” Connie's voice was warm and sounded gentle. Kind even. Happy.

  “There's been a nano attack on Lairdgren. Three, no four dead here. I'm standing at the point of attack. I believe it was an Austran agent, but I don't have that confirmed yet. She had the accent and she gave her name as one of the dead girls in the murder investigation going on there. Ginger Coltress. We need to get all the… cargo, pulled from here now. Can you get that done?”

  A gasp came from the device, “Is it-”

  “None of ours so far. Shields stop it. It was like death dust I think, but different. I don't know how far it will spread, but if they hurry…” He just hoped she got who he meant by “they”. He didn't want to spell it out in case there was more than one agent in place.

  “Oh, thank goodness. Yes. It will be done immediately. Take care of yourself too.” The device went silent.

  “Right, Judith, Guide? With me. We need to get with the school officials, especially Kolb and his people. Jude, got your flying gear?”

  She held up her left hand and showed him the winged glowing design on focus stone.

  “Sleep with it.”

  “Good, get with Kolb and let him know exactly what happened. We may have more spies or whatever the hell she was. We need to make sure that all the new people are interviewed. Can you do that?”

  She didn't wait to say yes, just tapping her hand and flying off without hesitation. Guide watched her for a second.

  “Fuck.” He said, his accent coming back for a second, making it nearly into a two syllable word.

  Indeed.

  “Guide, get with the working group. We need shields now. God, I… Focus and do batches of fifty. One per hour. When you can do that, try a hundred, got it? We don’t have time to play around anymore.”

  The boy hesitated. It was a lot to ask after all. So far the only person any of them knew about that could do more than ten at a time was Tor and, well, he couldn't just then. That just meant that some of the others needed to step the heck up then, didn't it?

  “Alright Sir. We'll do that directly.”

  Tor knew they might not get it done at all. That was fine, it was mainly that people needed to be busy and also to know they were protected. Someone making more devices than the next best manufacturing concern in the kingdom could manage in a month in the course of hours would be reassuring. Even if it didn't work, he could pretend it was. After all, he was the new Counselor of things like that. People had to believe him in regards to magic. Even if he was lying.

  A few minutes later his communications device started to glow and the palace sigil lit up. He tapped it, hoping it was, at least not bad news. Good was a bit much to ask, he guessed, given everything.

  “This is Tor.”

  “This is Smythe. The Queen asked me to inform you that we have several hundred military incoming and that the “cargo” has been removed, including yours…. Is that clear to you?” He sounded as if he though Tor might not get it. He did.

  “Clear. Um, not to be a pain, but… um… I'm taking control of this situation until you get here. We need the military, but also investigators and really, any time the military gets involved in anything with me in it, some big and stupid fight erupts. I'll back your plan on the ground here for now, until we know it's all secure, but you know, I can't really fight with anyone for the time being. So if you could mention that to whoever is coming?” It was pushy and heavy handed and Tor figured he was about to be told off. Well, as long as they didn't kill him, but if they tried to arrest him for some stupid reason, he was just fighting.

  He wouldn't last long with a bunch of abuse.

  “They're already in the air… I don't think I can reach them until they land. Can you secure the area?”

  “Yes. It will take about half an hour. Faster if possible.”

  That was the best they could do, so Smythe just asked him to try. After a few fumbled seconds Tor got it. He didn't know what they should do either. Yay. Grand.

  “OK. Well. For now, I'm taking anyone I don't recognize personally into custody. Just in case. It's harsh, but…” Tor didn't want to finish it, and Smythe didn't make him.

  “Do it. Try not to use force beyond what's needed.”

  “Understood.”

  Kolb and Judith flew towards him just as he shut the communications line down to try and do… something. They landed “hot” slowing just about fifty feet from the ground and settling faster than Tor ever did. It made deep popping sounds from the ground as the force of impact buried itself to protect the fragile people inside the shields.

  “Kolb. We're locking down the town. All your people are needed. Best students too. Anyone not recognized needs to be brought here. That includes any new students. First years too…” Tor glanced at Judith and shrugged, he had a truth amulet at least and more in his room.

  He slipped his over her head and cleared her in about fifteen seconds. Then he took the field back and sho
wed her the sigil, so she could get his out the trunk under his bed, if it was still there. If not they'd have to improvise.

  Tor looked around and found the scared noble girl that still clutched her arm and looked to have taken a pretty hard beating already. He pointed at the girl.

  “Her first. She was with the agent that did this. That doesn't mean guilt, but…” Tor just kept pointing as Kolb went for her. She tried to run first, which got her knocked down, shield or not, when the weapons instructor used an imploding weapon to hit the ground to her right, taking the stone out from under her. It wasn't anything he'd made at all. He didn't think, except, when he looked at it, he realized it was. It just wasn't a weapon. It was a stone concentrator, for turning rock and sand into a single piece. It was just a totally unexpected use for it.

  Tor smiled as the girl fell to the ground and floated over, turning her shield off. It wasn't a good sign, running away, but when they questioned her, the light stayed steady the whole time, glowing away merrily.

  “Then why,” Kolb asked her, suspicious still. “Did you try and run.”

  “Because you're scary.” This came out in a tiny voice, slightly high pitched and very youthful. It wasn't a lie.

  Kolb just chuckled.

  It took a bit to secure the town, but they had about fifty people in the commons, waiting to be questioned when the military showed up. Half flew, half came in transports, but none of them were people Tor recognized. All tall, so special elites of some kind, most likely. He expected problems. The man in charge was older, over fifty, but thin and with a lot of black left to his hair still. He was also a bit of a jerk, yelling at Kolb's people to drop their weapons, which presented a problem. They really weren’t going to do that at all.

  Tor waved the man over, hoping it wouldn't come to a fight. They really didn't have time for it.

  “I'm Torrance Baker, Magics Counselor for the kingdom, yes it's new, and yes, you and your men are military. I'm working directly for Smythe of Westend however and will contact him right now, so we can settle this. But for the time being, could you deploy your men and work with the people who already have control of the situation please? You have my word that their solid.”

  The man stopped talking for about fifteen seconds and just glared at Tor as if he was suggesting they eat a live cow together. Finally, going narrowed eyed he spoke, his voice suspicious.

  “I haven't heard anything about any of that. I was just told to take control here.”

  Tor shrugged, “things changed after you were in the air, because I was already here and had assumed control. Odds are you'll be in control anyway, but I have a communications device and it will take just a few minutes, trust me it will take a lot longer to try and fight these guys, since there already spread out all over town.”

  The man glared and then just… Harrumphed.

  “Good point. Alright.” He called out for his people to work with Kolb's, who were all in dark fighting leathers that matched, using their amulets just for that. It worked in this case for sure. As good as an official uniform.

  The men deployed rapidly, as if they had a plan for something like this. If they did, Tor would gladly give over control. As long as the plan didn't involve smacking him in the back of the head for an hour or anything.

  That was the nice way of explaining what had happened the last time he'd been taken in by anyone. That time was for “questioning” and was just the Capital city guard. Tor hated to think what the elite forces would do if they had a chance.

  Connie answered almost immediately, sounding less tense this time, which Tor took to mean that everyone else was probably safe. She didn't mention that specifically, but, to his great relief, Tor could make out everyone talking in the background. Ali called out hello even, which was happy making.

  “Good, it seems like that part is going well. Not to be annoying and have you playing servant, but is Smythe of Westend around? I have his…” Tor had no clue what to call the man in front of him and went quiet for a second. Well, the rule was to promote up, when in doubt, right?

  He hoped so.

  “I have his elite forces general here, his best man, but we need to get the orders straight. We've secured the town already, as best we can.”

  Connie murmured “one moment” and there was a rustling from the device in front of him after less than a handful of seconds Smythe's voice came from in front of him, sounding very professional.

  “General Teller is on hand?”

  Tor nodded, then had to fight blushing, because that couldn't be heard. Duh.

  “Yes Sir. He's right here.” That got the guy waved over, to stand next to him so that they could both speak. The guy was so much taller than Tor that the device had to be held up a little for comfort.

  For some reason the man seemed really uneasy suddenly.

  “Lord Smythe. This is Teller. As reported the situation is secure and we were about to consolidate that with military forces. The school personnel and students… Actually seem to have the situation in hand remarkably well, to tell the truth, right now the… Magics Minister is in charge of the situation. Is that correct?” Small beads of sweat broke out on his forehead then, tense and like he really didn't want to be talking over a magical device to his boss or something.

  There was a pause, finally Smythe came back, sounding genial.

  “Well, one minister can't over rule another directly. By preference I'd feel more comfortable if the military was in charge of security at the moment, but I can only suggest that…”

  Tor shrugged, bobbing a little, his mind having started to integrate the Not-flyer controls to a much finer level of control.

  “Alright, Um, Instructor Kolb, if you'd call your people in? I'd like to do the first round of questioning? We probably shouldn't bring anyone else in until we know for certain that there aren't more attacks coming.”

  It didn't take long for Smythe to agree. A deep voice came over the device, sounding calm and commanding, but Tor thought he caught a fine tone of worry too. The King.

  “Tor… Be thorough and keep us in the line of communications, will you please?”

  “Got it… Rich. Oh, just in case it comes up…” Tor explained the shield building project, and the expected numbers. There was a gasp from the people on the other end of the device and one from Teller who openly stared at him.

  The King chuckled though, “Very good. Outfit the forces there first please?”

  “Of course.”

  They'd have to, if nanos were involved. The elite forces had no more than class four shields and sometimes less than that. Class two was still the military standard, but some had managed to get their own. The first ones that stopped death dust were six's. Tor was wearing an eight himself. Most of the kids had sevens, the only difference was that his would resist being turned off remotely. That was why it had taken Rolph half a day to get it done even at close range.

  The effort for that must have been nearly superhuman. Rolph wasn't even a builder. Frankly, if he could do that though, the man could build too. At least copy. Tor decided to bring it up with him if he got a chance. It was a handy skill to have if nothing else.

  When they got off the line Teller sighed.

  “I'm… not a General you know. Just a Major. I just happened to be on duty when the call came in.” He sounded guilty.

  Tor smiled as he walked over to where the people to be questioned stood waiting, “Well… I don't know if the promotion will stick or not, but until told otherwise, you're a General. I don't want the Queen to think the military isn't taking this seriously. Notice, Smythe backed it with the royal family in the room. What that means for your weekly pay remains to be seen. Can't hurt though.”

  Kolb had gone to get his forces back which took runners, or in this case, two of the military flyers along with Judith, who was sent to actually get the people and pass the code phrase along. It was a slower way of doing things than they should be using, but no one had made them a communications device yet.
Since he was the only one that knew how so far, that oversight was all on him. No one mentioned it, thankfully.

  Tor took a handful of amulets and started questioning people.

  It was going to be a long day.

  Longer.

  A longer day.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The kids from the school were mainly what they seemed. A few had been sent to spy on people, but it sounded almost like an afterthought for all but three of them. Those had specific missions, and one, a good looking girl that was older than most first years by a bit, was targeted directly at Rolph. Tor remembered having seen her trying to flirt with him a time or two.

  Ah.

  Tor got her to admit that she was working for Countess Thorgood and that she was just there to get close and collect information.

  “Hmmm…” Tor said, looking at her, shaking his head. “I suggest you back off for the time being, and make sure you don't disclose anything about your target.”

  She agreed readily enough, but Tor would still be following up on it. Teller didn't seem all that pleased with him, leaving a spy in place, but Tor just had to throw his hands up the second time the man mentioned it.

  “What can we really do? Half of the upper class people are probably spying for someone or another. With an economic crunch on, they kind of have to be, don't they? For that matter most of these kids would probably feel obligated to answer to me, if I asked them to, or Countess Printer. Right now we need to just make sure no one is trying anything dangerous or planning an attack. Especially the Austrans. If we find any of those, don't let them get a hand in a pocket, eh? Try to take them alive though… easier to question that way.”

  After that was finished Tor did something no one expected and started questioning everyone. The people that were cleared were sent back to their rooms, and each dorm got a set of questioners coming to every door. It was invasive and a prickish thing to do, but Tor had orders to be thorough, which meant everyone got questioned. Including him, Kolb and all the military men.