“Yes, sir,” she said.
I waited in silence as more orders were presumably given over telepathic channels.
“Based on your analysis, when will the magi next visit that warehouse?” asked Starfire.
“Eighteen hundred hours, local time, sir,” I said.
“So - ” he began, then stopped talking for a moment. His eyes went wide and a hush fell over the room. The area was quickly cleared out and Joan was brought in.
“What’s going on, sir?” I asked.
Laurel turned to me. “Grandmaster Vydor and the Emperor will be here shortly.”
Engage combat level two.
I scanned the room for any possible threats, but the wizards were already doing a good job of securing the room. The idea of the Emperor coming here was insane. He was never seen outside his complex; there had been too many attempts on his life. Grandmaster Vydor often traveled about wherever he chose, but not the Emperor.
“Do you think this is it?” asked Joan.
Before I could answer the azure oval of a gate appeared in the center of the room. The Emperor stepped out, followed by Grandmaster Vydor. The gate closed behind them.
“So this is your command center? Quite small,” said the Emperor.
Grandmaster Vydor smiled. “No, this is just an outpost.”
No one moved. No one bowed. No one saluted. The energy levels in my body screamed for action, but I held my ground and waited.
“Prospect Lyshell, stand down,” said Grandmaster Vydor.
Engage duty mode.
I responded to the command automatically, as I had been trained.
“Get ready to catch Joan,” said Grandmaster Vydor.
Before I could grasp what was going on, the Emperor addressed Joan.
“Joan, I hereby grant your request to transfer your citizenship to the Wizard Kingdom,” he said.
Joan started to fall but I caught her, thanks in part to Grandmaster Vydor’s warning.
“What’s wrong with her?” I asked.
“She will be all right,” said the Emperor.
I looked up from her seemingly lifeless body. “Honored one, what has happened?”
“She is reconfiguring. She will awaken soon with her memories intact,” he said.
I looked at her and then at him. I wanted to ask if he was sure, but one did not interrogate the Emperor.
He smiled. “You are wondering if I am sure. I do not need to be a wizard to read that in your eyes. Yes, I am. She has certain fail-safes in her implants and they have to be disabled. My voice command initiated the process, but it will take some time to complete it.”
What he said made sense, but it was hard to reconcile that with the lifeless form in my arms.
“Now, what is this I hear about Prospect Lyshell finding a cell?” asked Grandmaster Vydor. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, then he continued, “Please speak aloud, as we are in the company of those who cannot hear telepathic conversation.”
“Yes, Master,” said Starfire. He proceeded to brief them on my findings. “We are planning to send in a strike team when his findings have been verified by our advance group.”
The Emperor turned to Grandmaster Vydor and said, “I would be greatly appreciative if you could send Lyshell as part of that strike team. We have never had a chance to test all those implants in a real battle with magi.”
Grandmaster Vydor turned to me. “What do you say? One more time for the Empire?”
“I’d be honored,” I said.
Grandmaster Vydor and the Emperor took their leave after that, and the room slowly started to return to normal. Laurel walked over to me, I assumed to give me new orders, but then Joan began to stir in my arms. Her breathing resumed and I could feel her heart restart. Color flushed through her face and she slowly sat up.
Her eyes opened and a tear trickled down her cheek. “He did it, Ly! I’m free!”
29
03-25-0065 — Shea
“Good morning, Nemesis!” I called as I left my personal quarters and headed to my office.
“Morning, Shea,” he responded, much less cheery than his normal self.
“Chrimson hasn’t finished the repairs yet?” I asked.
“No.”
I smiled sympathetically. Oh, Light, please help them to work quickly and resolve this issue, I silently prayed. Greymere had returned from the shipyards with an extensive list of things to try, but they all involved shutting down part of Nemesis and that made him grumpy.
A grumpy spaceship. What have you gotten yourself into this time? I hummed one of my favorite hymns as I moved down the corridors that would take me to my office and my plants. My own room was also filled with plants; it was the one small part of home I carried with me everywhere.
Light, please look after Craig. It has been so long since I heard from him. Please, if it be your will, have him find a way to get a message to me.
Nemesis turned on the lights as I entered my office and began my rounds, caring for the plants. They were more than just a piece of home; they were the ingredients for my potions, the potions that could go with my new family and help them when they were far from my reach.
Nanny came in with breakfast, as had become her custom. “Good morning, honored one.”
“One day you’ll pretend you know me well enough to call me ‘Shea’,” I chided.
She smiled warmly. Nanny was a friend I should not be able to have. She was a Dinjini, a powerful spirit; the kind of being which clerics like myself were created to banish to the prison of the spirit realm. She should hate and fear me, and I should remove her permanently from this realm of existence.
Instead, she often joined me for my morning devotions and evening prayer.
Light, thank you for Nanny.
A cleric with a Dinjini friend on a living ship of war crewed by spiritualists: none of that should be possible. Even a few years ago I would have laughed at the idea, but here I was in just that situation.
Light, thank you for continuing to stretch and grow me. I pray that you give me many more years to help these people.
“Today will be a big day,” commented Nanny.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but I can sense it,” she said.
“Have you mentioned this to Dusty and Spectra?” Nanny was a powerful spirit, tuned in to the spiritual forces moving through this realm.
“Yes, first thing this morning,” she said.
“And?”
“Well, they’re just kids, you know,” she said.
A chuckle escaped my lips. “Not exactly. What did they say?”
“Dusty was his normal pensive self, but Spectra made her typical ‘bring it on’ response.”
It was unlikely that Spectra had actually used those words, but Nanny could see right through people to their real desires.
“Shea, can we come to visit?” came Kellyn’s sweet voice. She must be close already to be able to reach me with telepathic communication.
“Kellyn! Of course, any time!” I sent back. Now that the treaty was broken between my birth realm and this one, there was no longer any reason to hide the fact that I had the same basic powers as the others. I had hated the deception and was relieved to be free of it. Light, please forgive me for that! I prayed for probably the hundredth time.
An azure oval appeared in my office and Kellyn came out with a wizard I had not met before; by her aura I knew exactly who it was, Raquel the undying. Light, please give me wisdom and discretion!
“Oh, Empress! I didn’t know you were coming today!” said Nanny.
Raquel stiffened visibly at the sight of Nanny. This was an impressive feat, as she was already as stiff as a board when she came through the gate. I could feel her stress and tension. I began a silent prayer designed to calm. I could feel the deep-repressed pain in her. I must draw it out or it will poison her soul. Light, please give me the words to help her.
“Raquel, how wonderful! I finally
get to meet the wife of the hero Narcion!” I said.
She turned away from Nanny and looked at me. “Hero? Do you mean that?”
I nodded. “Yes, hero.”
That broke her and she collapsed into one of my comfy chairs. The pain that had been hiding behind the tension finally surfaced and she wept. I could feel her pent-up grief, and knew she hadn’t allowed herself to mourn for her husband whom she’d lost just six months previously. It was only the beginning; I could feel that she carried even more pain than that loss. Oh, Light, please help her!
I moved over and sat beside her. I wanted to put my arm around her but knew it was too soon. I continued my prayer of calming, pushing back her tension and allowing her finally to grieve properly. That’s it, let it out, I thought, without actually sending the message. Raquel was too independent, too focused on being strong; if she heard me say that, she’d close up. I had to tread carefully so that she could grieve, or the anguish would destroy her.
“I’m sorry,” she said and slowly sat up, steeling herself.
“No, nothing to be sorry about,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder.
“I cannot believe he has really gone,” she said.
“He is in a better place now,” I said softly.
She looked up with tear-filled eyes. “Truly?”
“Yes. Light showed it to me,” I said.
A smiled cracked through her tears. “For you to say that means so much, High Priestess. Thank you.”
“You sure have a way with people. I will never understand how you do it,” sent Kellyn. I had been so focused on Raquel that I had forgotten we weren’t alone.
“It is not of me, but a gift of Light,” I sent back. Thank you, Light, for giving me the words to speak to Raquel.
Nanny came forward and put a plate and a mug in front of Raquel. Raquel looked up at Nanny and said, “I do n0t understand what I am seeing.”
Nanny smiled her grandmotherly smile and said, “Don’t understand, or don’t want to accept?”
Raquel frowned and then sighed. “Possibly both. A Dinjini befriending a cleric of Light? You have to acknowledge that it is an odd situation, to say the very least.”
“As odd as a ten-thousand-year-old mortal?” asked Nanny.
Raquel smiled. “True.” She took the mug and sniffed it. Her face lit up. “Mead?”
“Emperor Vydor’s special mead. I hope it’s okay?” said Nanny.
Raquel lifted the mug to her lips and drained it in a single swallow. “Oh, this is grand. I thought I would never taste this again, and yet I have had it twice now in recent days.”
“Nanny, you are amazing. How did you know Vydor had a special recipe?” asked Kellyn.
Nanny just smiled. “I’m glad it is acceptable. I’ll get you some more.”
I sat quietly while Raquel stared into her mug. Eventually she sighed and said, “I’m sorry, I am not usually so emotional. Things finally caught up with me, I guess.”
“It’s fine, Raquel; we’re all family here,” said Kellyn.
Raquel smiled. “Thank you.”
“I always enjoy your visits and you know you’re welcome any time, but what brings you out here today?” I asked. Kellyn might drop in randomly to say hello, but not Raquel. Something must be up.
Nanny returned with a second mug filled with mead and a mug of tea for Kellyn.
Raquel took her mug, and this time she savored every sip.
Kellyn thanked Nanny and said, “Shea, I came here to get help. I have not yet worked out how to cure Raquel. I hoped you might have some advice.”
Looking closer at Raquel, I could see a darkness woven through her aura. It was not a pattern I had come across before, but it had been a long time since I had seen anything I recognized. There were too many new problems in this realm.
“Hmm. If I’m reading this right, you lose some life each time you cast … ” I let my words trail off as I peered deeper. “… and you have to return to your place of birth to recover.”
Raquel’s eyes widened. “Did someone tell you this?”
I smiled. “Light reveals things to me so that I can help people.”
She put down the mug. “Yes, that is right, though Master Kellyn can restore me fully in an instant.”
I nodded. “I can make potions for you to carry that can do the same.”
“But you cannot cure me?” she said.
Oh, this was going to be hard. Light, please help me. “Your cure is tied up with the restoration of your homeworld. I see a great darkness there. Someday you will have to journey there to free it and yourself.”
To my surprise, Raquel smiled. Real joy broke through. “That I will do.”
30
03-28-0065 — Lyshell
“We’ll move on the building at sunrise. That way, the sun will be at our backs when we go in,” said Laurel.
That didn’t seem like a great advantage since most of the fighting was indoors, but I let the point stand uncontested. I was low man on the totem pole here and many of these magi knew me, which meant I had most likely filed several complaints about everyone here.
“Sparky, you stick with Lyshell and act as his telepathic relay,” she continued.
“Thank you, ma’am, but I move fast and was designed to work alone,” I said.
She looked back at me. “Not anymore. Let me give you your first lesson as a battle wizard: wizards never fight alone. Got it?”
I nodded. The meaning in her tone was clear. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. You and Sparky, head for the roof. When we hit the ground floor, the sorcerers inside will fall back quickly. Your job will be to make it look as if we have another large force up there and drive them back towards us. There will be too many for you to take so, if they see through your ruse, pull out and rejoin the main force.”
I looked over at Sparky. He was young but had several scars on his face. It looked like his hair had been burned off recently in several places, and one eye didn’t seem to work right. Great; he probably had a limp too.
I nodded. I didn’t like the plan; it meant I would not be able to use my heavy counter-assault rifle. The HCAR fired thirteen-millimeter slugs filled with explosive powder at hypersonic velocity. It was intended to be used from a stationary position to repel an advancing armored division. The HCAR was very effective against hard targets, such as a shielded mage, but coming up behind the enemy meant that my projectiles would be flying towards friendly troops. Even with my accuracy, that would lead to an unacceptable level of risk for friendly casualties.
No, I would be stuck with my service blasters: small, highly accurate, quiet and worked well in close quarters. They were energy-based weapons, unlike my HCAR, which made them far less effective against the energy-based shielding that magi employed. I would bring the HCAR just in case, but doubted it would see a single shot fired.
“Ma’am, with your leave, I’d like to get into position,” I said.
“Go,” she replied and turned to give more orders.
Engage combat level one.
The building was too tall for me to simply jump up onto the roof from the ground. Sparky could, no doubt, teleport up, but I had not yet learned that skill.
“Let’s try that place over there,” I said, gesturing to an abandoned building. Now that my datanet connection had been restored, I was able to download the map of the building and the location of the roof access.
The building was not as abandoned as it looked from the outside. Several groups of people huddled in dark corners, hoping we wouldn’t see them. Homeless squatters, I assumed, and paid them no mind as I moved up to the top floor.
Sparky was silent as we moved through the building. I wasn’t used to working with a partner and didn’t know the protocol. Should I be making small talk? Which of us was in charge? What was he capable of? Did he have experience? He looked like he had seen some action, at least.
We reached the roof a little before the planned assault. The building I had ch
osen was a little taller than our target and about ten meters away; an easy jump for me. I crouched down and looked over at the other building. There was a single sentry standing half-asleep by the door into the building.
Sparky crouched near me and said, “One guard, and he looks fairly useless.”
“We’ll wait here. When the attack begins, I’ll take him out and jump across. Cover my jump over and once I’m secure, teleport over and we’ll move on the door. Okay?” I said.
He eyed the distance between the two buildings for a moment. “Ten meters, I’d guess. Sure you can make that?”
“Pretty sure,” I said.
He looked back at me and I winked.
“If you miss, try not to hit any friendlies as you fall,” he replied.
When the time came, I unslung my HCAR and quietly chambered a round. It seemed I would get to fire a shot after all. Dawn was just arriving, and I could see the wizards below forming up for the attack.
“You’ll want your helmet on for this,” I said as I locked on my helmet.
He glanced at the gun and clicked down his visor. We both wore standard-issue Imperial light combat armor. It wouldn’t do much good against concentrated fire, but would save our eardrums when I pulled the trigger on the HCAR.
The wizards below us stepped out of the shadows in a long line. That didn’t seem the wisest of tactics, as they would have no cover when they made their approach on the narrow doorway. I was expecting the sorcerers to open fire on the exposed line, but for a moment nothing happened.
Then there was a loud crack and a large cloud of dust and debris covered the scene for a moment; when it cleared, the entire front wall of the building had disappeared from the first story. The wizards charged as one through the newly-created hole.
“I guess that’s our cue,” I said.
Engage combat level two.
I took aim with the HCAR and fired a single shot. Even through the sound-suppressing helmets the sound was deafening, but the magus in my sights was dead long before the soundwave reached him. The hypersonic projectile powered through him and into the door behind him before the explosive power ignited and ripped the door and magus to shreds.
Mage Hunter (Lost Tales of Power Book 8) Page 14
