“Accomplished DuEller, remove this husk and then bring in the next offering,” Tarin spoke out loud while sending his thoughts through the array. “Vance, I want you to send a hundred teleportation circles to as many areas within Ducaun. The choice of targets is up to you. Daniel must pay a high price for the victory on the Taltin Sea.”
“It will be as you say, Supreme Maestro,” Vance replied, and the mental connection ended.
Serena had been watching DuEller levitate the remains of the sacrifice and when the No-bolt exited the room, chose that moment to speak. “I have received word from Ferren Duzolta. The palace in Ducanton has been destroyed and the official word is, Queen Cleona, her husband, ministers, and some other nobles were evacuated by the Accomplisheds of the Atlantan Guild. One of the evacuees was the third son of King Van Efery. Ferren does not as of yet know where the government officials have been taken, but is confident the information will be forth coming. Security in Lanta has been tightened due to the destruction of Cana, which we expected, but so far our spy has not been detected,” she reported, and paused while DuEller walked through the room and out the chamber door. “Project Sky-cruiser is complete and ready for implementation.”
Tarin was pleased to hear the report. “Wherever the Atlantans have taken the royals does not matter so much as the fact that your Ferren is in a position to know when they return, which at some point they must,” he paused, collecting his thoughts about the various projects. “Just as Daniel took and used my ideas for teleportation, condemnation, and my Anaconda design, I have taken his idea of combining an amulet with a crescendo. Of course I will not make the Melody amplifiers, that task will fall on our Two-bolt members, an Accomplished of my standing would never need to rely on such devices, but I see where they can be useful to spell-casters of lesser talent and even the commoners. I have not yet composed a shield Melody that can absorb the energy of whatever spell it is struck by, but I have produced a few new ones that are quite effective.”
Serena nodded her head. “Oh yes, I particularly like the alternating shield. Timed properly, we can attack and defend without relying on a partner.”
DuEller walked in with a young man who was not much taller and about the same age as Suzie had been. “Supreme Maestro, Jochiwa is ready to be of service.”
The commoner’s eyebrows were arched in anger and if he had a trace of fear, it was for someone other than himself. “Where is my wife?” His demand explained much.
“Your wife is right outside that door,” Serena answered the impertinent young man. “Provide the service my husband requires and we will allow you to join her.” She had learned quickly how to deceive a person with the truth.
The young man blinked and seemed surprised by the answer given him or perhaps because he was still alive after demanding anything from the greatest spell-caster of all time. “I thank you for responding, First Lady, and ask that I be forgiven for my tone.”
Tarin chose that moment to extend his hand. “Bygones shall be bygones.”
Jochiwa immediately responded, reaching out to complete the ancient custom. With a firm grip, Tarin cast the spell, Feed Me. He could have pulled the life-force energy from the sacrifice quickly, as he had done previously, making the process painless, but decided to drain it slowly so he could watch the horror grow on the face of the commoner who actually thought he could speak disrespectfully to the most powerful Accomplished in existence.
When the incessant moaning weakened to a final and feeble gasp, Tarin released his grip, allowing the shriveled corpse to fall on the floor, and then lifted his left hand with the black mamba in his fist, pointing the tip down. “Dispose of this one and then bring in the next sacrifice.”
He knew the process would take up much of his time and so no matter how the rest of the commoners spoke to him, over the next eight and a half marks, he drew the life-forces from the sacrifices as quickly as he could. None of the other females had been pregnant, but there were a couple of young boys whose bodies were brimming with energy and ready to begin what probably would have been an impressive growth spirt. Their sacrifice was much appreciated.
After draining the last commoner, a thirteen year-old girl from Aczencopa, he played Potentializing the Baton in his mind, summoning the potential, and the spell caused the lightning bolts on his shoulders to tingle. With that part done, he cast the spell, Assess, which revealed what he had hoped for, the newly made crescendo could amplify potential by thirty bolts. His aura had come out in two hues, urine yellow and clear as spring water. In time, if he fed on human life-forces exclusively, the ugly color should go away, leaving his aura a pleasant uniform color, which suited his sense of the appropriate. His spells would have the color of purity.
Chapter Fourteen: A productive Afternoon
Daniel sat alone in his office with his guitarn in hand. He had cast the spell, Inspiration, which allowed him to remember the feeling of growing appendages. The resulting emotions caused a stirring in his soul and he began plucking the strings, each note ringing true to the developing Melody flowing from his spirit. The instrument was a gift from his father, and the ability to play, a talent inherited from his mother.
Simon had taught him how to play a wide variety of instruments, but the six-stringed acoustical attracted Daniel the first time he saw one in the hands of his mother and heard the rich tones. She taught him how to play and from then on music became a big part of his life, way before he had cast his first spell. He reached the point where his ability to compose and perform music had become a need larger than life, certainly more than his own. People were depending on him to provide the spells needed to make them whole again, more, to survive the War of the Champions.
He remembered the pain of having flesh and bone pushing out of two stumps extending from the hips. Muscles, veins, arteries, cartilage, and ligaments, all newly formed had been forced to follow the pattern demanded by the recipe strands. He remembered nerve endings screaming at the growing of knees, ankles, feet, and toes. People often referred to youths as experiencing growing pains, but he had been feeling them keenly while growing eyes, noses, ears, arms, and legs for his patients. He took all of the pain, all of the emotion, and with the rhythm of a beating heart, produced a Melody he knew in his soul would give maimed people back what they had lost. He added chords and gave the new Symphonic the title, Replace.
Flushed with the sense of accomplishment, he rested the guitarn against the desk and stood up. “Good, I still have a mark and a quarter left of the time Simon allotted me,” he spoke softly and double-timed it out of his office and into the hall.
The pale green carpet, sky blue ceiling, and pearly white walls of the hallway leading to and from his office sometimes took Daniel’s mind away from the fact that he was walking deep inside a mountain with an incredible amount of weight over his head. He had no fear of being buried alive, his mindset as a Ducaunan backwoodsman simply caused him to prefer open spaces, and the halls made him feel less closed in. This was especially true when Simon cleared everyone out of the area, “So the Maestro can work in peace,” his words. The Chief Aid’s explanation had been used on Daniel’s escorts who did not want to be parted from their Maestro. His trip to the Health Department did not require the presence of an assistant, bodyguard, or a pair of Teki.
Daniel did not feel crowded, but it occurred to him as he jogged along that there were a lot of people between where he was and where he wanted to be. This time he did not care about getting exercise.
Wally should be able to provide a visual, he thought, and came to a stop and concentrated on the mouse that lived in the ventilation system in the health section. Through the eyes of the friendly rodent, he could see a wardroom. Nineteen of the twenty compartments had patients and the twentieth, an empty bed.
Through the array on his head he sent, “Conductor Obenport, meet me in wardroom seventeen. I have composed the new Symphonic and am ready to teach the spell to you.”
A wave of excitement that was qui
ckly dampened down to a controlled feeling of pleasure came ahead of the words, “Maestro that is more than acceptable, the news is wonderful. I will join you shortly.”
Daniel stared through the eyes of Wally at where he wanted to be and Conveyed into the compartment. Thanks pal, he told the little scout. What came back was a picture of the mouse eating a huge chunk of cheese, his way of conveying, “You are welcome, it was a pleasure.”
The bed was comfortable enough to sit on while waiting for Jennel to arrive, which did not take long. She entered the wardroom and Daniel came out of the compartment. “Conductor, the new spell is titled, Replace. I know you have the Symphonic, What Is This, in your repertoire, but do you have the spell, Hunger?”
Jennel nodded. “Yes, although I have not had many occasions to use it.”
“Well, you will now. Are you prepared to receive instruction?”
“I am,” she replied.
Daniel played Teach Me in his mind and focused the potential in a beam that shot into Jennel’s forehead, creating a mental link deeper than any communication amulet could ever provide. He mentally performed Replace. The music summoned forth life-force energy from his vat, but he did not focus the potential, he was implanting the melody and harmony directly into her mind. No need for an instrument, no need for writing the music on a page, and no need for repeated practices and rehearsals, the spell was firmly locked into her memory and a permanent part of her repertoire. Daniel ceased the performance.
“I feel competent to perform the spell,” Jennel stated and then entered compartment three where Sentinel Barcoby was lying full length on the bed with his right foot exposed, his left was missing from the ankle.
“Sir Daniel,” he called out and then sprang up, balancing on one foot, and giving a salute.
Daniel returned the salute and motioned for the clean-shaven soldier to sit down. The young man was four years older than him, but still young. “Please, Ronald, rest there and let Conductor Obenport give you a new foot.” He reached over and placed the bucket of water below the left calf.
Ronald nodded, stuck what remained of his shin into the water and Jennel went to work. “Open your shirt,” she told him and then nodded at the sight of his hairy belly. “Now lie down. I can spell you to sleep or cast Pain Relief if you want to be awake for the procedure.”
“I want to watch,” the Sentinel replied, and so Jennel cast the spell.
Daniel began the practical instruction. “While placing your right hand on his forehead and your left palm flat over his navel; summon and focus the potential for What Is This. Good, now focus on his recipe strands. Add the Da Capo and summon the potential for Hunger. Right, now add the Da Capo and cast the spell, Replace. These three spells must run at the same time from this point on. Maintain these until the foot is fully formed. As you know, the side effects are rapid hair growth and the strengthening of muscles and organs throughout the body of the patient.”
“Yes, I know,” Jennel assured him while watching the water vanish from the bucket and the limb forming a new shin, ankle, foot, and by the time the bucket was dry, fully formed toes.
Ronald’s hair had grown down below his shoulders and he was no longer clean-shaven, but as side effects go, that was a small concern. He whistled at the sight of the new foot and immediately hopped to the floor, testing its strength. “This is great! Thank you Conductor, and thank you Sir Daniel for making it all possible.”
“Seeing you whole again is thanks enough,” Jennel replied. “I must go to the next compartment. Maestro, I can handle the replacements from here.”
“I am confident you can,” Daniel told her. “Sergeant, I thank you for your service. I would tell you to stay safe, but none of us will be truly safe until the Serpent Guild and its founder is no more.”
Ronald saluted again. “It is an honor to serve and I will continue to do so to the end of the war and beyond.”
Daniel not only returned the salute, he then gave a nod of respect. “Maestro,” Sandra Treena’s voice entered his mind through the array. “Our guest, brought in by Accomplished Cree, is awake.”
“Thank you Conductor, I will be there shortly,” Daniel sent his thoughts. “Jennel, please see that some cheese is placed in the vent,” he said while pointing to where Wally was peering down.
Only those outside of Daniel’s dedicated associates would think there was anything strange about the request. She merely nodded her head affirmatively without asking for an explanation and he turned, heading for the Department of Seekers.
-----
Sarah heard voices around her and so kept her eyes closed in the hope of learning more about what was happening; why she could not hear the sounds of the ocean, and why she was feeling no pain. “They actually made these copper silks while I was standing there,” a young male voice was saying.
“I imagine they will be making many more for you over the next ten years or so,” replied a voice Sarah recognized. It was the voice of the blue-cloak that had been fighting the black-cloak over the boy whose parents had been killed.
Sarah opened her eyes. To her right was a chest of drawers and beside it a small door, and to the left, a night table, upon which was her uniform. She was wearing a blue robe and still had five rings of power on her left hand. With them she could levitate light weight objects, light a small fire, create a globe of light, cause plants to grow, and control the minds of Phodons. Her options were decidedly limited but she was not helpless or harmless if attacked. Even lacking the proper ring, if Rosebud were near, the Quetzal would obey if close enough to hear verbal commands. But the Air-steed would do as she was trained and most likely had flown back to the Lucia.
Light seemed to be glowing from the walls, she did not know the power source, and yet was certain spell-work had to be involved. Standing at the foot of her bed were the sources of the two voices, beyond them was a larger door that probably granted exit from the room. She raised her arm and could not stop the gasp that escaped at the shock of what she saw, a fully formed hand! Somehow the miracle had to do with a familiar presence that was not far away and up on a higher level. She could point right to it.
“Welcome back to the waking world. Before you ask, I am Seeker Ginnie Cree, a Two-bolt Accomplished, and you are in the Department of Seekers.”
“What is that mark on your head?” The little boy, dressed in copper-colored silk pants, shirt, and hooded cloak, shot in his question while Sarah’s mind was trying to sort through what she had been told, while dealing with the miracle performed on her hand. Her mind was clear enough to identify the boy as being the same one she had seen on the beach.
“The trident is the mark of a Nephilim,” she replied automatically, while she was pondering what a Seeker could be. Responding to the question had been against procedures.
The Seeker had silky-white hair and approximately six foot nine inches in height. She could almost pass for a tall Nephi. There was no mark on her forehead, but Sarah knew the person standing at the foot of her bed was a Nephilim. She could see the Conductor’s baton at her waist and two golden lightning bolts on the hood of her cloak.
“What is your name?” the Seeker asked.
Could a Seeker be like a Spotter in Zeutha? If so, it would explain the fight over the boy.
The thoughts were valid and worth exploring, but for the time being Sarah decided to give the standard answer while staring into the oddly bright pair of blue eyes. “I am Scout Sarah Shareen of the Grand Imperial Ship, Lucia, of the Zeuthan Empire.”
The Seeker nodded and then asked, “I have never heard of this empire of yours, where is it?”
“I am Scout Sarah Shareen of the Grand Imperial Ship, Lucia, of the Zeuthan Empire,” Sarah gave the required response when captured. These people had been good to her so far, but rules were rules. However, regulations did not stop her from asking questions of her own. “What is the function of a Seeker?”
“You are not a captive,” the perceptive Seeker stated. “That being ma
de clear, my function is to seek out Aakacarns, what you might call a Nephilim.”
Sarah kept her face blank. She would find out about being a captive when it came time to leave. For the time being she wanted to learn a little more about this particular group of Nephilim that seemed to be at war with the black-cloaks. “You have no rings, yet have been given a Musician Conductor’s baton, why is that?”
The Seeker smiled. “I will go along with answering your questions, for now. I take it you are referring to rings like what you are wearing. We do not place spells into rings, but we do place them in other things,” she replied and then pointed to the section of wall near the door. Half way up was a gold amulet with an amber stone set in the center. “Touch that once and light shines from the walls, touch it twice, and this room will become dark as pitch.”
Sarah understood, but the response only answered part of what she wanted to know. “Did you find my hand or any of the rings that were on the fingers? Are you a Conductor and what is the meaning of the lightning bolts on your garment?”
“I am not a Conductor, but every Accomplished is a master musician, and the lightning bolts are the amount of personal potential I can wield. There was no time to look for the other part of your hand. Hostile spell-casters were expected to arrive at any moment and we needed to leave the area in a hurry. See, I have answered your questions freely. It is only fitting that you answer some of mine. Where is the Zeuthan Empire and why are you here O’ scout for the Grand Imperial Ship Lucia?”
“I am Scout Sarah Shareen of the Grand Imperial Ship, Lucia, of the Zeuthan Empire.”
Sarah had no intention of providing answers but did sense the familiar presence that was not far away and at a higher elevation suddenly shift. It moved from one place to another in not much more than a few blinks of the eye, how could that be?
At that moment another woman, about nine feet tall, dressed in blue, entered the room. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties with green eyes and a freckled face that was framed by long tresses of flame-red hair. Attached to her belt was a topaz blue silver-capped baton. “Conductor Treena, this is Scout Sarah Shareen of the Grand Imperial Ship, Lucia, of the Zeuthan Empire. Sarah, you are in the presence of the Musician Conductor to whom I report, a Two-bolt Accomplished.”
To Be Victorious: The Maestro Chronicles Book 6 Page 32
