“Damn,” Richard cursed. “It’s a trap.”
Chapter 3 – Trap
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Dropping his active scan to conserve Power, Richard began levitating back toward the stallion as fast as his telekinesis would take him. If it wasn’t for the line of Power he’d attached to his mount earlier, he’d have lost his way.
“Fifty percent Power remaining, Rick. In case you haven’t noticed, some of those scaled-cats are trying to cut off your escape route.”
As if confirming his battle computer’s warning, two nearby life forms moved in for an attack. Reaching over to his left hip, Richard grabbed the handle of his phase rod. With the flick of a switch, he activated it in destructive mode. The phase rod kicked in his hand as the meter-long length of brerellium with its creallium core shot out the end. Small bolts of phase energy ran up and down the metal rod. As soon as the phase rod activated, an emotion of intense hunger came from the demon essence embedded within the rod.
The two scaled-cats approaching him must have sensed the demon essence as well because they appeared to hesitate, but only for a second. Almost immediately, one of the scaled-cats ran in to attack from the left.
Richard swung his phase rod where he sensed the scaled-cat’s head to be.
The cat twisted in an attempt to dodge his blow. Its defensive maneuver partially succeeded in that Richard missed its head, but the phase rod still contacted the scaled-cat’s shoulder. Microscopic explosions from the rod’s phase energy penetrated the cat’s flesh and shattered the bone beneath.
The rod’s demon essence sucked out a sizeable portion of the scaled-cat’s life force.
The cat withered in agony as it was thrown backward.
The second scaled-cat came in from the right.
Richard jerked himself up with his telekinesis. As the cat passed beneath him, Richard made a wild swing with his phase rod and caught his attacker on its spine.
The scaled-cat’s back snapped. The cat shuddered, and its dimensional shift cut off.
Richard sensed a split-second emotion of agony from the cat before it ceased to exist.
“Forty percent Power remaining, Rick. I highly recommend you stop playing with your new friends and expedite your return to the stallion.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do, buddy. I don’t see you helping any.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault I don’t have arms or legs. All I can do is give advice and go along for the ride.”
Richard added more Power to his telekinesis in an attempt to increase his speed. Within a couple of seconds, he burst out of the last of the titanium deposit. His mount was just ahead. As he levitated onto the stallion’s back, the spirit-horse’s aura wrapped around him and took over his dimensional shift. Long tendrils came out of the stallion’s back and sides to secure him in place.
“Thirty-four percent Power remaining.”
The spirit-horse began galloping upwards. Richard sensed dozens of life forms emerging from the titanium deposit behind him. The stallion wasn’t stupid. He saw them too. His mount needed no urging.
Gathering together his strongest emotion of fear, surprise, and concern, Richard sent it out in all directions. It was as close as he could come to shouting, “It’s a trap!”
Within seconds, the stallion broke out of the rocky surface directly in the midst of the caravan. Surprisingly, the dolgars hadn’t attacked yet. Richard felt the stallion shift out of the void. Swinging his M12 plasma assault rifle off his shoulder, Richard aimed to his right and shot a 20mm grenade round into a nearby scaled-bird. The scaled-bird wasn’t in the void. The 20mm grenade exploded, sending pieces of bone, meat, and dark liquid into the air.
Richard once again sent out the emotions for “Trap!”
Picturing Takar and his three companions, Richard sent the image to the stallion. His mount must have agreed with his suggestion because the spirit-horse turned toward the four dolgars and began running hard. From his passive scan, Richard could tell Takar was still at the top of the cliff where he’d left him and that Draken and the remainder of the dolgars were spread out all along the opposite side of the valley.
“Run,” Richard shouted at Takar with the strongest emotions he could garner.
Neither Takar nor the other three dolgars in Richard’s personal guard ran. He had a feeling they wouldn’t run until their commander, Draken, gave the order. The dolgars were well disciplined.
Dozens of the scaled-cats began emerging out of the valley floor. Richard sensed hundreds more behind them. He could tell the demon was slowly moving upward as well. The demon had dropped its line of Power to the strange circle of energy that had connected the scaled-cats. Without the energy from the circle of links, the stealth shield that had been protecting the cats and the demon was also gone. In addition, whatever had been keeping the scaled-cats in the void had also disappeared. From the cats’ dwindling Power reserves, Richard could tell they were maintaining their shifts in the void on their own now.
A large blaze of Power came from the center of the titanium deposit.
“Spell,” said his battle computer. “The type is unknown.”
“Shift,” Richard shouted in emotion-speak. “Void. Now.”
Takar sent out a set of strong emotions. Richard caught the words ‘shift’ and ‘void.’
The stallion shifted back into the void as Takar and the other three dolgars completed their shift into the void at the same time. As the stallion continued running toward Takar, the other three dolgars of his guard emerged out of the cliff face and gathered around Takar. From their emotions, Richard had no doubt they were prepared to fight to the death if necessary.
A strong emotion came from the other side of the valley, from Draken.
“Withdraw,” the dolgar commander shouted in emotion-speak. “Evade.”
But Draken’s order came too late. An enormous blast of magical energy erupted from the titanium deposit. Rock, dirt, and titanium-laden dust shot into the air as the ground exploded. The wall of debris and magical energy tore the flesh from any creatures not shifted into the void. All of the six-legged, elephant-like creatures in the caravan were obliterated. The wall of debris passed through Richard and the dolgars, doing no harm since they were in the void. Whatever spell had caused the explosion also stopped the wall of titanium-laden debris just past the edge of the cliff. The titanium particles remained hanging in the air as they formed a translucent shield around the entire valley.
A second wave of magical energy sped outward from the demon. Richard recognized the magic as the same weave of energy that had been connecting all the scaled-cats together earlier. The wave of energy reached the edge of the valley and latched onto the titanium particles. As he watched, the magic jumped from one titanium particle to another until they were all connected. With each jump from one particle to another, the magic grew in strength. The particles of titanium began glowing brightly until the shield surrounding the valley turned into a solid wall of light.
A quick sweep of Richard’s passive scan confirmed the energized shield of titanium particles completely surrounded the valley both above and below ground.
At the sight of the glowing shield, Richard said, “Nick. That’s creallium.”
“Affirmative,” said Nickelo. “Creallium exists in the void as well as this dimension. The demon has effectively blocked our escape route.”
The stallion ran toward the shield. Just before the spirit-horse made contact, he stopped abruptly, snorted, and tried to jump through the shield of creallium particles. Instead of passing through, he bounced off the shield.
“Hmm,” said Nickelo. “That’s a good spell. It’s got the creallium deep inside the void. In most cases, your stallion and the dolgars can bypass creallium by doing a full shift into another dimension. I calculate this spell was created specifically to prevent them from doing so.”
Richard glanced left and right. “Run your electronics and do an analysis of the shield. See if there are
any breaks. Find us a path out of here, buddy.”
“Compliance.”
Nickelo’s answer was followed almost immediately by the results of his analysis. “The valley is completely encased in the shield. Based upon the information from your scans and the battle helmet’s sensors, no path exists through the creallium shield. It looks like you’re trapped. That circle of energy is like nothing we’ve ever encountered before.”
The stallion started running back and forth along the shield wall trying to find a weak point, but to no avail. Richard felt his mount try to do a full shift into a second dimension. That attempt failed as well. While the stallion was still able to maintain his shift in the void, he couldn’t penetrate the shield of creallium particles.
Richard noticed the stallion’s hoofs touching the ground.
“Your mount isn’t able to shift into a second dimension,” explained Nickelo. “That’s how the dolgars and he are able to walk on air. They’re earthbound now.”
Takar and the other three dolgars arrived at the shield wall. They began pawing at the shield as if trying to dig their way through. Like the stallion, they were unsuccessful in their efforts to get past the wall of creallium. The dolgars attempted to shift into a second dimension. Their attempts fared no better than his mount’s.
Twisting in his seat, Richard looked back toward the center of the valley. An enormous mass of scaled-cats was continuing to boil out of the ground. As they emerged, the cats formed a large perimeter about a hundred meters across. The scaled-cats stayed on the outer edges of the perimeter while keeping the center clear.
“They’re just standing there,” Richard said. “Why aren’t they attacking?”
“Unknown, wizard scout. The highest probability is that they know the dolgars and you can’t escape. I think they’re waiting for the demon to arrive. It appears to be moving upwards at a slow rate. The demon isn’t in the void. It’s physically clawing its way to the surface. My calculations indicate the demon should break free of the surface in about two minutes.”
“Give me a count of what’s facing us, buddy.”
“One thousand six hundred of the scaled-cat creatures are massed in the valley. I’ve marked them in yellow on your heads-up display. An additional two hundred and forty-three of the scaled-bird creatures are also in the valley.”
Richard shook his head. “This ain’t looking good.”
Nickelo didn’t argue the point.
Richard kicked himself for not detecting the trap during his earlier recon, then shoved his self-chastisement to the side. Casting blame now wasn’t going to help. Desperate to form some kind of plan, Richard looked at his heads-up display. He noticed some of the yellow dots were no longer in the void.
“It looks like the scaled-cats are setting up a rotation schedule,” Richard told his battle computer. “A third of those scaled-cats are materialized now. That means they’re vulnerable. Let’s see if we can take advantage of the situation before the demon gets here.”
Richard pulled his dimensional pack off his back. With it, he could summon just about anything as long as he had Power and ‘the One’ had thought to stock it in warehouses on the planet Storage.
Richard imagined a K12, man-portable, rocket launcher along with half a dozen cluster rockets. He waited, but no Power left his reserve. Raising the flap, Richard peered inside. It was empty.
“What gives?” Richard said. “I’ve gotten these rockets before. I should have more than enough Power to summon them.”
“I calculate an eighty-two percent probability the shield around the valley is preventing your dimensional pack from operating.”
Richard felt panic trying to rise up. He forced it down. He’d been a marine, and marines didn’t panic. Trying something easier than the rockets, he imagined a bag of J22 plastic explosives. No Power was drawn from his reserve. He opened the flap of his dimensional pack. It was empty.
“Ok, Nick. I give up. My ideas aren’t panning out. Do you have any suggestions?”
“I’d recommend killing all of your opponents and destroying that shield. I’ll leave the specifics of how to do it up to you. Other than that, I’ve got nothing with a probability greater than one percent.”
With no help forthcoming from his battle computer, Richard concentrated on his heads-up display in the hopes something would come to mind. He noticed Draken and the other dolgars consolidating into a tight knot on the other side of the valley. The scaled-cats were still staying on their circular perimeter. Some of the yellow dots denoting the scaled-cats on the outer ring of their perimeter were starting to blink. The orange dots identifying the scaled-birds were evenly spaced around the outside of the perimeter. They remained a steady orange. From previous experience, Richard knew the birds could stay shifted for long periods of time.
“How much time before the demon makes its way to the surface?” Richard asked.
“If the rate of movement remains constant, the demon will break the surface in one minute and thirty-eight seconds.”
“Why’s it taking so long? And what is it?”
“The identity of the target is unknown. As to why it’s slow, I don’t know. Maybe it’s just being cautious.”
Richard didn’t think his battle computer’s information was all that useful. What he did know was that the demon had been two hundred meters underground when he’d spotted it. He had trouble imagining the strength required to physically dig its way to the surface.
The idea of shooting at the one-third of the scaled-cats that were materialized crossed his mind, but he discarded the thought almost immediately. Doing so would break the status quo. It might force the scaled-cats and birds to attack prematurely. Of course, he was pretty sure the status quo was going to change the moment the demon broke the surface.
Glancing at the readout on his M12, Richard confirmed the isotopic battery was full. That would give him four hundred rounds. While a lot of ammo, it wouldn’t last long against eighteen hundred plus enemies. The magazine of his M12 only had six 20mm rounds left since he’d used one to kill a bird earlier. Unless he could get his dimensional pack working, he’d run out of ammo long before he ran out of targets.
What am I supposed to do? Richard wondered. His mind raced at a hundred kilometers per minute searching for a solution. I hate waiting. Surely those scaled-cats know they can overwhelm us with no problem. They don’t need to wait for the demon to get here.
“Is that question directed at me?” asked Nickelo.
“It is if you’ve got an answer with a probability greater than one percent. If you don’t, you know how I feel about your listening to my private thoughts.”
“Okay. I do have a theory. Based upon all current data, there’s a sixty-seven percent probability this trap is designed to take prisoners.”
Richard shivered involuntarily. Since he could self-heal, one of his greatest fears had always been being taken prisoner. A torture session could be stretched out for years if his captors were careful.
“Prisoners? Why?”
“Unknown. However, if they’re intending to take live prisoners, that would account for the delay in their attack. They must trust the shield surrounding the valley to prevent our escape.”
Richard went over the little information he had and tried to formulate a plan. The stallion and the four dolgars with him had stopped scrambling back and forth in front of the shield wall. They seemed to have accepted their fate. Draken and the remaining dolgars grouped together on the other side of the valley were stuck on the ridgeline above the valley. They could only move where their feet could touch the ground.
Takar caught Richard’s eye and growled, “What now?”
What indeed, Richard thought as he eyed the shield of creallium just a few meters away.
“Nick,” Richard said in command voice. “Activate your electronics and scan the valley for any remaining deposits of titanium. Also, feed me the specs for this shield. I want to know the frequency, energy level, and anything else yo
u can tell me about it. Then calculate the probability that I can replicate this shield with the remaining Power in my reserve.”
Nickelo delayed less than a second before answering. “Scan is complete. Multiple concentrations of titanium particles still remain in the valley. I’m sending you the location of the nearest deposit. I’m also sending you the specs for the shield wall. It appears to be a combination of pure Power and magic. The weave of the energy is strange, but I calculate you should be able to duplicate a small version of the shield by using twelve percent of your Power reserve. My calculations include a four percent buffer for inefficiency.”
“Good enough. If I gave you control to create the shield and gather the titanium, how much Power would it take.”
“I could accomplish the task using seven percent Power.”
“Fine. Pinpoint the nearest titanium deposit so I can levitate it here. I need enough titanium particles for a shield that can protect all the dolgars and this nightmare of a horse I’m riding.”
Within twenty seconds, Richard had a double handful of titanium dust gathered in his ammo pouch. Drawing Takar’s attention with a growl, he sent him an image of the dolgars gathering close around the stallion. Surprisingly, none of the dolgars questioned his orders. They just drew in close.
After wrapping the stallion and the dolgars as well as himself with Power, Richard levitated a meter off the ground. Since they were all still in the void and had no weight, he had high hopes he could levitate them all without draining his Power reserve completely. Using his telekinesis, he levitated some of the titanium out of his ammo pouch. He drew Power from his reserve and allowed his battle computer to form a sphere of energy around them as a shield. Continuing to use his telekinesis, he distributed the titanium dust evenly throughout the energy shield.
Wizard Rebellion (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 5) Page 4
