Void Emissary: The Book of the Void Part 1

by Lon Varnadore

  And then at that moment, he heard a voice cutting through the unceasing racket. “Kyp. Kyp… follow me.”

  He took a step forward and the voices lost some of their noise. He took another and the voices started to fall away. The hissing and sighs in his ear even stopped. Soon, he was moving forward, listening to the voice as it called to him, directed him around obstacles. He felt the voice grow louder and louder. And then, after a ten-minute walk, his eyes closed, his hand touched the bark of a witchwood tree.

  He opened his eyes. Before him was a thirty-foot-tall giant, midnight-blue leaves moving in the warm breeze, the gray bark much like his Sempai’s sword, yet it was a little lighter. “I think this is it.”

  Pieter nodded. “And, now you are on your own. Locate your sword.”

  “Where?”

  “Listen.”

  Kyp closed his eyes, and he felt his hand being drawn down the truck to the roots of the tree. He opened his eyes, not sure what to do next. He saw three knots that looked like they were pommels of swords. He looked at Pieter, his hand reaching down to one of the small knots of the witchwood tree. “Pieter, I mean Sempai, are you sure—”

  “This is the one you were led to?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, you have to focus. Focus completely on what you are doing. Or you will be hurt.”

  “Or die,” Toth said.

  “Toth,” Sarena admonished from her position against the tree.

  “What?” Toth asked.

  “Be quiet. The kid is trying to concentrate,” Sarena said. She gave Kyp a big thumbs up. “You can do it.”

  “Actually, I’d prefer you try and make noise,” Pieter said. “It is a better test and will bond him faster if—”

  “Sempai, I don’t feel—”

  Pieter looked at Kyp and smiled. “I cannot help you now. You have to do this on your own.”

  Kyp took a deep breath and looked down at the three knots that grew from the witchwood tree. He said that I will feel it. He tried to close the Void again, yet it remained open. The longer he felt it open, he was worried. “I don't know—”

  “You will never know until you try,” Pieter said, cutting the youth off.

  Kyp sighed heavily, closed his eyes and tried to reach out with the still burgeoning senses he had. Trying to feel for the Void around him. He thought he felt something when he moved his hand over the first knot. Then, nothing over the middle one. Then the far right. There was a tingle in his hand, something was drawing his hand down to it. This is the right one. It has to—

  He stopped. His hand was a scant half inch from the knot, he knew that at least. There was something wrong. Something was very wrong with the one that he was reaching for. He felt a shadow of pain, as if it hadn’t happened, yet his body reacted as if he had been stuck by something. A wave of nausea swept over him, and for a moment his hand started to clasp the knot anyway.

  Then he stopped. He pulled his hand away and moved back to the first. He took a deep breath and sought out the same feeling. The same tingling was there, yet less. He moved his hand lower and lower. Then, the same feeling of a phantom pain, more so than before. He jerked his hand back and looked up. “Sempai, what is the—”

  “Choose!” Pieter shouted.

  Kyp felt the sheer power in his Sempai’s voice. He felt his hand snap down to the center knot and grab hold of the small end of witchwood. He felt a heat start to build. Not an unpleasant one, but like the heat of the hearth in a kitchen. It felt comfortable, welcoming. He started to pull his hand up, feeling the witchwood give with his hand.

  He looked down, and two things happened. One was the knot he held turned into the hilt of a sword, not dissimilar to the one that was on Pieter’s belt. The other was the two knots he hadn’t touched exploded and large stingers thrust upwards. Two large wingless wasp-lie creatures shuddered under the sheen of witchwood. Free from their prison, they crawled out of their holes and started to move away from Kyp. They avoided the others and moved into the forest.

  Kyp looked at the group, puzzled by what he saw. Pieter had his witchwood blade out, Toth’s hackles rose, and Sarena clutched her small plasma thrower. “What?”

  “Don’t you know what those were?” Sarena asked, her face pale.

  “No, what were they?” Kyp asked, a bit worried and feeling queasy.

  “They were assassin bugs,” Pieter said. “I have never seen two in a Initiate Ceremony. That is very peculiar.” He touched his chin. “Most unusual.”

  “Unusual?” Sarena shouted. “Those things could have killed Kyp. And all you can say is ‘most unusual?’ What in the hell runs through your veins? Ice water?”

  “He’s an Emissary, Sarena, he has no emotions,” Toth said, narrowing his eyes at Pieter.

  “Quiet Lasha, Emissaries have emotions. We are still human beings.”

  “Of course,” Toth said, “Ones that only have emotions that can destroy planetoids and colony ships.”

  Kyp saw Pieter’s grip on his blade tighten. “Have a care what you say, Lasha. Those were black days for the Emissary as well.”

  “As you wish, Emissary,” Toth said, throwing more than his usual bile into the word.

  Kyp was ignoring them. He felt the hilt in his hand grow warmer. It wasn’t uncomfortable, yet he looked to Pieter. It wasn’t like Sempai’s sword. His was thicker and had a slight curve to it, and the crossguard was circular. The sword in Kyp’s hand was straight, three-feet long, and a crossguard that bent down to cover his fingers when he gripped it. It was even lighter than his Sempai’s. “Sempai, what do I—”

  Before he could speak, his tongue felt thick and full in his mouth, his movements sluggish. He tried to moved, and he pitched forward, striking the ground hard enough to black out.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “You must feel the Void, and it will come through the sword.”

  “What?”

  Pieter sighed at Kyp’s question. “Was I ever this bad?” he whispered, though Kyp heard it.

  “Sempai, what am I—”

  “Embrace the Void,” Pieter said.

  Kyp closed his eyes and found the part of him that was his center. He touched it and felt the Void flow into him.

  “Now, hold your sword up and ready in the guard position.” Kyp did so, opening his eyes.

  “And now?”

  “Now, I want you to push some of the Void into the sword.”

  “How?”

  “Feel it flow through you. You are connected to the Void and to the sword. Let the two become one.”

  Kyp let out a pent up breath. Easier said than done, he thought. He took a deep breath and tried to channel the Void into the sword. He took hold of the stuff and tried to push it. It slipped out of his grasp. He grabbed at it harder and harder until finally, Pieter told him to stop.

  When Kyp felt the Void leave him, he felt that his arms and legs were made of lead. He fell to Benny’s deck and groaned. “What, what is—”

  “You have to grow use to using the Void’s power. At the moment, you are forcing it, and that causes issues.”

  “But, I never felt like this before when—”

  “Your sword is a conduit. It allows you to draw more of the Void, yet it is harder to control.”

  “Then, why would I want to—”

  “Apprentice, if you want to quit, I can make sure you can’t hurt anyone with the Void and send you on your way.”

  “No Sempai, I want to learn,” Kyp said. He pushed himself into a kneeling position, yet his arms still hurt. It was very hard for him to lift the sword more than an inch.

  “It will take time. Time we might not have with the Embassy branding as they will.”

  “What is he talking about?” Serena asked, walking into the room.

  “We will be branded apostates, to be hunted by all Emissaries.”

  “So, you just painted an even bigger target on Benny’s hull?” Serena shouted.

  “If you are going to look at it that way—�
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  “No, you idiot. You have no idea what you have done. Dammit!”

  Pieter stood up, leaving Kyp laying on the floor, trying to breathe and move the sword at all. He looked across the floor and saw Toth striding toward him.

  Having fun, human?

  “I have a name, Toth. It’s Kyp.”

  Yes, but it doesn’t mean I will use it, child. I rarely use Sarena’s name. And the Emissary he is a different matter. What are you doing gasping on the floor?

  “I’m training.”

  “Training?” The Lasha asked out loud. Kyp found it disconcerting that the creature flipped between telepathy and vocalization so easily.

  “Yes, Sempai is training me on how to use the witchwood sword.”

  “Ah yes, the symbol of the Emissaries. It is an elegant weapon.” Toth then leapt at Kyp, batting the wooden sword away. “And yet a fledgling Emissary and his weapon, his symbol, are easily parted.”

  Kyp pushed himself up and glared at the Lasha. “Was that necessary?” He pointed at Toth. “Seriously, was that—”

  “Kyp, how are you moving around so easily?’ Pieter asked. He had turned around, and Sarena had stormed out for some reason.

  “Toth pushed the sword out of my hands and—”

  “Hmmm. Interesting. Take up your sword again.”

  Kyp did so. It was heavy, though not as heavy as before. He then felt…

  Kyp looked out through the port screen of Benny, wondering what he felt. He looked at Pieter, his Sempai was busy trying to read something. He didn’t say anything, simply looked out of the view port again. He took a deep breath. Benny was hurt, but the ship was limping to a spaceport that could help them. Sarena wasn’t very happy about it.

  “There is not going to be anyone who knows how to fix an Ilvan there,” Sarena said.

  “Then what do you suggest?” Pieter asked. Kyp saw he was avoiding looking at Toth. The creature was pointed ignoring Pieter as well.

  “I have no idea,” Sarena said. “But we can’t bloody go back to any place we have been. You are being hunted by the Emissary.”

  “And you have a warrant on your head by the King of Centauri. So, we are somewhat limited of options,” Pieter said before looking back at his book.

  Sarena grumbled and stalked over to Pieter, slapping the book out of Pieter’s hands. “Thank you for remarking on that again. Care to shove another dagger in my back while you are at it?”

  Pieter stood up and took a step back, Kyp turned to watch, while Toth came up to him.

  “Boy, you shouldn’t watch this. It is stupid human mating.”

  “This is mating?” Kyp asked, looking at Toth and then at Sarena and then Pieter. The two were screaming at each other, Pieter’s hand gripped the wooden hilt of his blade more than once before it was pulled away as if it were hot to the touch. Finally, Pieter sat down and started to breathe.

  “They are both odd ones, I’ll give you that,” Toth said. “Yet, we should talk in private.”

  “Ok,” Kyp said. He followed the small cat-like creature out of the room were Sarena was trying to shout at Pieter as he went through the calming breathing exercises that allowed him to keep a control on his Rift.

  “There is something I wish to speak to you about,” Toth said when they were in another section of Benny. It looked like sitting room, much like the one they had left.

  “What?” Kyp asked.

  Toth settled onto the seat of one of the chairs, Kyp took the other. “This Rift thing? What is it?”

  “It is something Emissaries have, well according to Sempai, all people have it. It is the dark portion of us. The part of us that is… well, controlled by our selfish and dark impulses.”

  “Interesting,” Toth said. He began to clean a forepaw. “Have you tapped into it? This Rift?”

  “No,” Kyp said a little too quickly. He turned away before Toth could say anything. “I think there is something outside—”

  At that moment, Benny rocked violently. Kyp was thrown to one side, then he was floating. He looked to see Toth was floating too.

  “What in the hells is going on!” Toth shouted. He started to try and paddle his legs, yet nothing worked. He stayed in place.

  Kyp looked at the creature. “Your claws work, right?” he asked. He was already gathering his legs up while he asked.

  “Yes, why?”

  Kyp kicked outwards, connecting with Toth. The cat-like creature sailed one way towards the inner hull of Benny, while Kyp went whirling the other way. Toth let out a screeching yowl, hit the bulkhead of Benny and latched on.

  “What in the Pit was that for? I could have been—”

  “You have claws; you can climb around Benny better than swimming in place. Go!”

  Toth growled. “I am doing this because we need to move, not because you told me, human.” He then scuttled away from Kyp faster than he thought Toth could move. He watched another moment, then felt something pull him away from the view port and move him closer to the inner hallway that was Benny’s main corridor. At that moment, the ship shuddered again and Kyp hung in midair, until a piece of Benny shot from the outer hull towards him. At the last second, he brought up his sword and felt the strong thud of the impact go up his arm. The shuddering stopped and he was in a quiet room again.

  “What is going on?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Sarena looked up, down, she wasn’t sure which was which. She got tangled up with Pieter when the first blast hit. The viewport was irised closed. “Benny, please, open the—”

  “No, don’t the only thing keeping us from being pulled out is the screen there.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I can feel the æther pulling on the wooden structure. The viewport is gone and the only thing that is keeping us in here is Benny’s protection.”

  “Now what?” Sarena asked, pulling herself away from Pieter. She was already upset with the fight. Then, someone attacked her ship. She wanted to spit.

  “We try and get to the main control and—”

  “I should be able to access Benny from anywhere. The cockpit isn’t someplace—”

  “We need to get to the cockpit,” Toth hissed while he scuttled along the bulkhead, moving fast. Sarena watched him and then realized that she was hanging in midair with Pieter. She pushed against him, sending herself into the bulkhead of Benny. She hit with some force. “Damn it, Toth, what are you—”

  “We need to get to the cockpit, now. Move lazy human,” Toth said, continuing his rapid progress across the inner bulkhead. He scuttled along, and Sarena launched herself forward, passing Pieter. He tried to reach out for her, yet she pulled her arm in, spinning herself onto her back. She reached out to grab one of the random roots that hung from the roof of Benny’s ceiling to stop herself before kicking off and heading towards the main corridor. At that moment, Benny was struck by something again, something that caused the whole ship to shudder. She felt something in the back of her head wince seeing Benny taking more damage.

  “Dammit it, human! Come on!” Toth screamed in her head and out loud at the same time. Sarena launched herself after the Lasha and grabbed onto the various roots and vines that made up the bulkhead of Benny’s inner corridor to move her faster toward the cockpit.

  She never did like going into the cockpit. There was something about the place that seemed wild and untamed there. When she emerged into the main area, the same smell of earth and dirt was heavier here somehow. The moss and thicker ropey vines hung in various stages of decay from the wounds that had been caused by the attack before and from the attack that was occurring.

  “Message incoming,” Toth said.

  Sarena looked at the main viewport that crackled with a strange static as the communication went from the ansible of the other ship to the relays of Benny’s internal sensors. She was awed by how Benny was able to convert a normal message on an æther ansible to that of his own inner ansible. Then, her face went blank when she saw the black mask of Du
ke Harkness staring back at her.

  “Greeting, Sarena Corr. I do hope that I haven’t hurt your little tree ship too badly.” He smirked as he spoke, causing her to grit her teeth hard.

  “What do you want Harkness?” she snapped back. She took hold of the command chair, and the pulse of Benny’s internal life beat soothed her.

  “Simple. Give up. Send over the Void Emissary and his little champion, and I will let you go.”

  “Why?” She asked. “What is the guarantee that you won’t fire on me again and obliterate Benny?”

  “Benny?’” Harkness asked with a smile. “What a strange name for a ship. But, you have my word as a nobleman who—”

  “Don’t trust nobleman. I’ve known too many,” she said with a small smile.

  Woman, what are you doing? Get the damn Emissary off this ship, and we can go, Toth hissed in her mind.

  “I am sure we can come to some kind of arrangement. There must be something that you desire.”

  “And you can do that, can’t you?”

  “It is my specialty. I love to give people their heart’s desire,” Harkness said, a small bow and flourish of his hand. “There is something everyone desires.”

  He has done this before. Many many times before, Sarena thought. “What is my heart’s desire, then?”

  He let out a small laugh revealing a set of very white polished teeth. “Simple, you wish to kill Lightman.”

  Sarena stared at Harkness for a moment, the image split into three separate colors before coming back. “You will have to speak up, you did damage a significant portion of my—”

  “Lightman, you silly girl. I give you Lightman, you give me the Emissary and his whelp, and I leave you be.”

  Harkness remained calm. It annoyed her. She thought of a stalling tactic she usually used. “I will need a moment.”

  “By all means, I will give you an hour.” Harkness pulled out a thick gold and silver pocket watch. “And, then I will destroy your ship. One hour.”

  Damn, nothing. He is good.

  The image cut away, and the ship Harkness was using came into view. It was a dreadnought-class ship. The triple solar sails and mid and aft sails were reefed to battle position, the cannons ready for another broadside.