Hunting the Rogues (Shadow Claw Book 8)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “A few months,” Devon answered. “And I hope to take a few medic courses while I'm there.”

  “Medic courses?” Desmond said, surprised. “Online?”

  “Yes,” Devon said, “so that when I come back, I'll be better prepared.”

  He held Desmond's gaze, and the Maestro nodded. “That you will,” he said. “At least for one path in life. Good luck to you, Devon.”

  “You too,” Devon answered, and headed off.

  Desmond watched him go. “To be that age again,” he said to Mariah, who smiled.

  “And give up all the memories that we've made?” she said. “Never.”

  “Whatever happens, would you do it differently?” Desmond said. “If you were his age again?”

  “Not a chance,” Mariah answered with a smile. “You?”

  Desmond glanced between Dorian and Mariah, and then back again. “No,” he said. “I wouldn't.”

  “That's how you know you've made the right choice in life,” Dorian said to him with a smile. “No matter what the consequences.”

  Desmond felt comforted by that fact. Mariah moved to get up, and he reached to take her hand.

  “But Maestro,” he said, suddenly, thinking of something else. But when he turned back to the spot where Dorian was, he wasn't there anymore.

  Desmond felt a sudden rush of magic that he knew too well. It felt like death – like loss.

  “He's gone, isn't he?” Mariah asked, squeezing his hand.

  “Yes,” Desmond said, stunned.

  “But he left us with a plan,” she said.

  “Maybe she did know, somehow, that I needed him. That without his guidance, I'd be lost.” Desmond glanced toward the door where Sienna rested inside.

  “Thank Creator for your choice of Tiros,” Mariah leaned on his shoulder. “Shall we go and save our Sienna any way we can?”

  “Yes,” Desmond said. Despite Dorian's disappearance, he felt stronger than he had in a long time.

  Chapter 20

  Nathaniel felt like he couldn't breathe as Christa lay underneath the navigation panel, tinkering with it. Being a royal ship, there was security measure on top of security measure. They took the utmost care on Jeffro to protect Eliza, her whereabouts, and her plans. But luckily for Nathaniel, Christa wasn't bothered by any of this.

  She simply calmly slid under the panel and started working with the internal computer.

  “How's it going?” Nathaniel asked, trying to calm his heartbeat. If Eliza was only here because of a ripple effect, he wanted to spend every spare moment with her. And right now, she was potentially wasting those moments inside the Jurors' room on his suggestion.

  “Have patience, Nathaniel,” Christa said. “These things take time.”

  “Creator,” Nathaniel hung his head. His com-link beeped, and he hit it half-heartedly. “What?”

  “Maestro Nathaniel?” he recognized the voice of the outside doctor they had called. They had used him once or twice before when they had brought back non-witch refugees from quests. “I've examined your Tiro. I'm just calling to give you a report.”

  “Yes?” Nathaniel answered anxiously. “Is she okay? Do you need me to come there?”

  “She's all right for now,” the doctor said. “And I can maintain her levels for a while. But she really should be in some sort of advanced med bay. How long do you think you will be?”

  “Less than half an hour,” Nathaniel said. “Please, if you could just stay there a bit longer, that'd be great.”

  “Of course, Maestro,” the doctor said. They had always gotten along, and he didn't mind staying longer. But his call put Nathaniel on edge.

  “Thank you,” Nathaniel answered as he hung up. He tapped his fingers against the navigation panel, nearly driving Christa insane. She was tempted to magically bind him, but she realized he was quite nervous. She gritted her teeth, bypassing more security systems as she put every skill that she had ever learned to good use.

  Finally, she slid out from under the panel, her tablet getting a readout.

  “Where's Eliza's pilot?” she asked Nathaniel as she looked at the numbers that scrolled through.

  “She didn't have one,” Nathaniel answered. “Which is common on Jeffro. The pilots tend to pre-program the ships and then send them off. It's one less person that could be a threat to the queen. The guards can fly, but they don't unless they need to.”

  “Well, that explains that,” Christa said. Nathaniel felt like he was going to throw up.

  “What? What does it explain?”

  “How they made a twelve-hour trip in less than six,” she replied. He gripped the navigation panel. “And why they don't remember.”

  “Why?” Nathaniel answered. He prayed to the Creator for an answer that didn't end with death.

  “The pilot made a mistake in the navigation,” she said. “It got them here, but at double buoyant speed.”

  “Double buoyant speed?” Nathaniel's eyes nearly popped out of his head. “That would knock anyone out.”

  “He must have been in a rush to get them off planet,” Sienna said. “It slowed down just outside the planet's atmosphere. The speed would have knocked them out, and they would have come to just as they entered.”

  “So…” Nathaniel asked, looking for a solid answer.

  “The navigation was programmed just seconds before the bomb blew,” Christa said. “As far as I can tell, it's all explained. Eliza is not part of a ripple effect, according to her ship. She's really here.”

  “Oh, Creator,” Nathaniel let out a huge sigh. “Thank you. Thank you.”

  “No problem,” Christa answered. “But you owe me one.”

  “I will literally give you anything that you want,” Nathaniel answered. “It doesn't matter how far I have to go to get you a rare candy or some stupid jacket. I will get you anything.”

  “You could answer your com-link,” Christa said, annoyed by the buzzing he seemed to be ignoring.

  “Right,” Nathaniel jumped back to reality, hitting the button. “Doctor?”

  “Nathaniel,” he recognized Juror Thomas' voice. “You and your Tiro are summoned to the Juror's chamber immediately.”

  Nathaniel reacted in shock. “My Tiro is in no shape to attend,” he said. “Is her presence necessary?”

  Thomas paused. “No,” he said at last. “You'll just have to relay the information. When can you attend to us?”

  “Immediately,” Nathaniel said, “I'll see you in a moment.”

  Christa stood up. “I guess this it,” she said. “The final verdict.”

  “I have a funny feeling,” Nathaniel said, “that things are going to go our way.”

  “Good luck,” she said. “I'll put Eliza's ship back to together and then meet you in Sienna's room.”

  “Thank you again,” he said, and headed out of the ship and toward the Jurors' chambers.

  There were a lot of reasons to expect bad news; he knew that. But he had a feeling that they were about to get good news.

  He was half right as he entered the Jurors' chambers. Eliza was standing off to the side, which surprised him. Mariah and Desmond stood side by side, and the Jurors looked solemn. Nathaniel raised an eyebrow at Eliza, but she said nothing.

  What exactly was going on? What had Eliza done? She seemed serious, and she didn't even give him a nod like she normally did.

  “Nathaniel,” Thomas said. “Please take a place beside your co-Maestro.”

  Thomas sat down in the chair in front of them.

  “Maestros Desmond and Mariah, we have reviewed the evidence presented against us by the healer, Tara. And we all have to admit, it's very compelling.”

  Nathaniel tensed, glancing to Desmond, who remained stone-faced.

  “But we have also reviewed your case,” he said. “That no matter what our decision, you have a Tiro who is a very special child. And if what you say is true, she is more special than anyone realizes. Examining a claim of resurrection and the ripple effect will take
time. As will examining evidence that Tara claims have taken place for years.”

  Nathaniel stood tall, hoping that the Jurors had a heart, if nothing else.

  “And so, while we examine all this evidence, we have decided that you and your team are on suspension,” Thomas said. “The Queen of Jeffro has offered to house and feed you until we determine your fate, as a thank you for the favors the witches have done her planet. You are not under obligation to serve her or help rebuild her palace, but we will not stop you. However, nothing you do is on official witch business until your fate is decided. Is that clear?”

  “Yes,” Desmond spoke for all of them. Nathaniel had a flashback to years ago, when he stood silent while the Jurors decided his fate with Sienna. He had no say then, and it made him angry. Now, however, he was grateful to be included. They wouldn't be separated – any of them. “We understand.”

  “Mariah, your missions working with other disabled Tiros are also suspended, even in consultation,” Thomas said. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Mariah answered. “And I thank you for your understanding in these matters.”

  “The Jurors cannot ignore the rarity of power Sienna has,” Thomas said. “Even if it is not sustained. You are dismissed until further notice.”

  “Thank you,” Desmond said again, and they all swept out.

  As soon as they were outside, Nathaniel grabbed Eliza's hand. Desmond made a noise, and Nathaniel shrugged.

  “What? We're suspended, aren't we? It's the best time to do this. My love,” he smiled at Eliza, “thank you. You must have made an amazingly compelling case.”

  “I just threated to pull Jeffro's business,” she answered with a smile. “It seemed to work. You will have to help rebuild the palace, by the way. You won't get away that easily. And protection from Ladd–”

  “Ladd is gone,” Desmond said. “Or he will be shortly.”

  “How do you know?” Eliza asked.

  “Because Dorian is,” Desmond said sadly. “I will explain all of it to you. What we should do now is tell Sienna. Thank you for offering the medical services of Jeffro.”

  “The witches may want to ban her,” Eliza said, “but she is from Jeffro; she is one of ours. We will take care of her.”

  “We'll all be together,” Nathaniel said. “That is what matters.”

  “Yes,” Eliza smiled at him, “we will be.”

  “We should pack if we are to be gone for several months,” Desmond said.

  “I don't think it will take that long,” Mariah said. “They will see the value in what we are doing and what we are teaching. And hopefully, our collective efforts will help more than Sienna. Hopefully, we can help witches like her for generations.”

  “And she can help us.” Desmond dared to put an arm around her as they walked. “Someone should tell her, by the way.”

  “She'll be thrilled,” Nathaniel said. “All she has asked for since that first mission is to go back to Jeffro.”

  “Do you think it might be a little harder now?” Desmond asked. “Now that there is someone else in the picture for her?”

  “Devon?” Nathaniel glanced at him. “I don't know. Do you think it's serious?”

  “I think that each one of us has had to learn how to prioritize matters of the heart – learned to live with our hearts, and without them,” Desmond said. “Maybe if we can teach her nothing else, we can teach her that.”

  “I think you can teach her much more than that,” Mariah said. “But the first thing you are going to need is to teach her is how to pack for several months without taking everything and the kitchen sink.”

  “I've been on tours for months all the time,” Eliza said as they entered the residential building. “I'll do that.”

  Nathaniel watched her go with a smile, standing beside Desmond. “Well,” he said, “despite how much things are about to change, I think this is a pretty good outcome.”

  “Probably one of the better outcomes,” Desmond said with a quiet smile. “Are you ready for a new adventure?”

  “I'm always ready for a new adventure,” Nathaniel said with a grin. So long as his family was by his side and a heart was beating in Eliza's chest, he could take on anything. He knew it wasn't going to be easy going forward, but it was going to be worth it. Whether they were on Jeffro, or whether they were in space, or here, he was ready for whatever life threw at him.

  ***THE END***

  Book 3: The Lost Tiro

  Chapter 1

  “Make way! Make way for the queen of Jeffro!”

  Sienna took a step back instinctively. She had heard that call so many times over the past eight months that it barely made an impact on her that day.

  There had been a day, of course, when she dreamed about meeting Queen Eliza of Jeffro, imagining her beauty and the glory of the palace. As a small child on Jeffro, Sienna had little else to do; ill health plagued her every movement. The one thing that saved her, was that her body contained a level of magic that was off the charts. Having magic that was identified from a young age was many children's ticket out of poverty and into a life of luxury. Witches trained all their lives–devoted to the magic–to serve as the peacekeepers and overseers of the whole galaxy. They were expected to focus on nothing but the magic, being trained, and then training others. Their entire lives were paid for, sponsored by the galaxy, and they wanted for nothing.

  Sienna had thought she would never be trained because of her health, which seemed to confuse everyone. As a witch, she was entitled to care, to school, but not to training. It had been her greatest dream to be a Tiro, a student of the magic. But it wasn't until she was almost eight that someone saw beyond her weak body and into her power. Her case was so complicated that she had two teachers–two Maestros–who had once been Maestro and Tiro themselves. Desmond and Nathaniel had radically different styles, and the first few years were rough as they clashed on everything. But now, five years later, they were quite settled into a routine.

  At least, they had been until eight months ago, when they had been exiled to Jeffro after Desmond had been caught one time too many with the witch he had been in love with for forty years, Mariah. It had been more complicated than that, with the head witch healer finally getting revenge for the years of arguments that Desmond and Nathaniel had given her about Sienna's unique care.

  She didn't blame Desmond for their exile, nor did she mind as much as she was supposed to. She was on Jeffro, where she could speak her first language, and she didn't have the rigorous schooling or quest schedule that she used to. Mariah was here in exile as well, and Nathaniel's long-term relationship with Eliza was barely kept under wraps. In a lot of ways, it was the best of both worlds.

  She missed the young witch, Devon, she had gotten to know at school, but they kept in frequent touch. Her Maestros were experts on long distance relationships, and she had learned much.

  She knew she wasn't supposed to speak about how happy she was, but she was. She beamed at Eliza as she went by. When Eliza's palace had been destroyed in an attack last year, they had relocated to a smaller, summer house in the south. It was still beautiful, Sienna thought as she bowed low. Despite the tragedy that had befallen Jeffro with the destruction of the palace, they were quite lucky.

  Her mind jumped, and she looked up to see her older Maestro, Desmond, standing across the room. He waited until Eliza's procession went by and was exiting the room before he crossed the marble hallway in her direction. With two Maestros, she was in the unique position of working with them in shifts if she needed something. Often, she didn't see Desmond from dinner until morning, which was far longer than most Tiros went without seeing their sole Maestro.

  “Good morning, little one,” he said. “I was looking for you.”

  Sienna smiled, wondering if she was always going to have the nickname, despite being almost as tall as both of them these days. She was still razor thin, her bones jutting out, but the fact that she had grown at all from her youth was an unexpected mir
acle. It was only thanks to her Maestros' persistence in finding medication that would not make her gene defects worse that she was alive at all.

  “I was awake,” she said, with a shrug, her accent still strong when she spoke Basic. The months on Jeffro had made her fall back a few steps in language, made worse by the fact that she could telepathically communicate with both of her Maestros. “I swam.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You went to the lake alone?”

  She backpedaled. “I went…with other people.”

  “With other people that know you?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Sienna, please do not go swimming alone, when no one knows what could happen.”

  She blushed, looking at the floor. “But you were both asleep.”

  “Mariah was up at dawn,” he said. “She is happy to go with you.”

  The fact that Mariah had been blinded in a quest over ten years ago was not lost on either of them. She was very skilled at using her magic to see beyond normal sight, and Desmond felt it was safer for her to at least be accompanied by Mariah than to go alone, when his Tiro was prone to fainting or seizures. She knew this without a shadow of a doubt.

  “I didn't…,” Sienna searched for the words. “I don't want to fight.”

  “We aren't fighting, little one,” he said. “I came to fetch you because the Academy has uploaded a new module for you to work on, and it seems to have a quick deadline. I can help you if you'd like.”

  “Suspension of services, but not school,” she answered. The truth was, none of them knew how long they would live in this limbo. The Jurors–their governing body–said it was until they had reviewed all the evidence of the case against Desmond and Mariah, which, given that they had been circling around each other for forty years, could be a while. Sienna knew that if they dug deeper, they could find evidence against Nathaniel and Eliza, too. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she lost both her Maestros. They were the reason she was alive at all. “You want to work on it now?”

  “What else are we doing, Sienna?” he asked. It was meant to be a joke, but she felt the pang of sadness from him. They were stuck in limbo until the Jurors said it was all right. Or until they said it wasn't.