I hit them with my armored body and they went flying back into the wall. I quickly stood, spun, and slashed through the closest one with my sword. The other tried to retreat, but I managed to swing my tail around and slam the wraith into the wall. This time it fell to the floor and faded away, dead.
I turned to see Byron sheathing his sword. “You know, these swords would be easier to handle if they were strapped to our belts instead of our backs.”
“True, but where would you strap your blasters then? We need them far more than the swords,” I said.
“I will have to think about that one. One of the wraiths got away; it just flew through the wall as if the wall was not there,” he said.
“Odd,” I said.
“Odd?” he asked
“Yeah. I slam them into walls all the time, but I am realizing now that they can fly through walls at will. That doesn’t seem to make any sense,” I said.
“I’ve wondered about that for some time now, as you can clearly see it happening in the videos of your fights. Any idea why?” he asked.
“It must the same phenomenon that makes normal materials effective against them when they are in my hands,” I said.
“Hmm, maybe. So one got away. Is that the last one?” he asked.
“I think so, but we won’t see it again for a while now. It will run and hide until its hunger drives it back out to hunt,” I said.
“You were not kidding about their fear attack. Even with all my training and experience, I found myself wanting to freeze in fear,” he said.
“I know what you mean. The first time I went up against them I felt the same way. Narcion seems immune to it, but I am certainly not,” I said. “We should catch up with Ragnar and Crivreen and see how they are doing.”
Once we found Ragnar and Crivreen I asked, “Did you find anything?”
“Yes. She is definitely gone, but it was the same magus here. She did not cast and move around as much as before, probably because you were not here, actively fighting. I am quite sure she is a human, and from this area,” said Ragnar.
“How big a region do you mean by ‘this area’?” asked Agent Byron.
“I am not sure, but roughly the same region that most of the residents of the last stop were from. Zah’rak and Crivreen are not from this area, nor are you. Does that help?” asked Ragnar.
“Yes, it does. Did you find out anything else?” asked Agent Byron.
“Hey, I’ve just thought of something,” said Crivreen. “While were we walking around, you said we were following in her path, right?”
“Yes, more or less,” said Ragnar.
“Agent Byron, if Ragnar indicated a place where this magus stopped and cast a spell, can we search the station’s video logs and see her doing it?” asked Crivreen.
“But why wouldn’t she hide from the cameras, like you taught me?” I asked.
“Because a magus can’t hide while casting,” said Crivreen.
“Excellent idea, Crivreen. I am sure we can, even if we have to sit and watch a couple of days’ worth of footage. Then we can get a positive ID on this gal and intercept her before she launches her next attack,” said Agent Byron.
“Are we still sure she is working alone?” I asked.
“I am not as sure as I was,” said Ragnar. “She has access to a seemingly unlimited supply of creatures that she cannot conjure up on her own. There must be a necromancer involved somehow, but I see no trace of anyone besides the one magus.”
“So the necromancer stays behind the lines and sends this magus in to do his dirty work,” said Agent Byron. “That means capturing the magus might not yield much. It might be better just to follow her for a while and wait for her to contact the necromancer.”
“It’s worth a shot, at least,” said Crivreen.
“Okay, Ragnar; show us a place where she cast a spell,” I said.
We followed him through the station and into a discreet, back room. He stopped there and drew on the floor. After a few moments he said, “The magus came in that door over there and walked to this spot. Here she cast at least a couple of spells, and then she left by that other door.”
“That is more than enough information. We should be able to find her in the videos. Then we will have to decide what to do with the information once we have it,” said Agent Byron.
“Well, we need to … ” began Crivreen.
“Down!” yelled Ragnar.
As Crivreen dropped, Ragnar drew and threw a dagger, which hit the wraith sneaking up behind Crivreen and killed it.
“Nice throw,” said Agent Byron.
“Thanks,” said Ragnar as he pulled the knife free from where it had buried itself in the metal floor.
“That was the last of them. Let’s get back to the ship,” I said. I wondered about that dagger. It killed the wraith and cut into the heavy, metal floor like it was paper, so it also must have been enchanted. I decided I really must learn how to enchant weapons.
“You mean the Night Wisp,” said Crivreen.
“Yes, our ship,” I said, shaking my head. I guess ‘Night Wisp’ is going to stick whether I like it or not, I thought to myself. It was a pretty silly name, but at least it seemed to make Crivreen happy.
Chapter Thirty-Five
As we boarded the Night Wisp, Agent Byron reported in and told the station guards that the wraiths had been eliminated. This brought a round of cheering from the inhabitants. I knew that the celebration would be dampened once they realized the number of corpses they would have to deal with throughout the station. At least now the bodies would not get back up and attack.
“Crivreen, take us out to a parking orbit until we figure out where we are going next,” I said.
“Sure thing!” he said and hurried off.
“What is our next move?” I asked.
“Can you show me this video you spoke of, that shows the magus?” asked Ragnar.
“Well, we have to find her in the footage first,” started Agent Byron. “Tell me, do you know what a video is?”
“You were honest about your race, so I guess it is our turn. Ragnar is from a very primitive area, and had never seen any technology before I brought him here,” I said.
“I see. Where is this area?” asked Agent Byron.
“Let me explain, if I can,” said Ragnar. He then went through the entire multi-realm thing again, which I still found hard to follow, but it seemed to set Agent Byron at ease.
“That clears up a lot of things. Thank you. Here, let me show you how this works,” said Agent Byron. He brought up the video on the screen and showed footage of us walking through the station.
“Is this how you watched us on the other station?” asked Ragnar.
“What do you … ? Oh, you mean when you were in the room where Narcion was taken. Yes, you can watch things as they happen, too, the same way,” said Agent Byron.
“I see. So, can you show me what this magus looks like?” he asked.
“Well, here is the room where you said she was. All we need to do now to find her is to watch this room until she appears. We can speed up the replay a bit to make it easier,” said Agent Byron.
They watched the recording for a bit, and Ragnar continued to ask questions about it. Agent Byron patiently explained and asked questions in his turn about where Ragnar was from. I was not able to follow their conversation and was about to leave when Ragnar shouted, “There!”
Agent Byron froze the screen and said, “Yep, that must be her.” He allowed the video to play for a little longer and we watched her cast a few spells, then vanish. She appeared to be a young human woman, but I was never good at telling the ages of other races. She was dressed in normal traveling clothes and would not stick out at all in a crowd. Her entire appearance was quite normal. I do not know what I was expecting, but she definitely was not it.
“Now we know what she looks like, we should be able to find her,” said Agent Byron.
&
nbsp; “A slave,” I said quietly.
“What?” asked Agent Byron.
“She is a slave. She does not want to be part of this and is in considerable pain,” I said.
“How can you tell that?” asked Ragnar.
“I was a slave all my life until Narcion freed me. I can see it in her eyes,” I said.
Agent Byron backed up the video and zoomed in on her eyes. Tears were streaming down her face as she cast. She looked incredibly sad.
“Zah’rak, you think she is being forced to do this?” asked Ragnar.
“Yes, she is,” I said. “We must help her.”
Agent Byron started to say something, then stopped himself. He looked again at the woman on the screen, just staring for a long time. “Let’s run her image through the computer and see who she is,” he said.
Moments later many more images of her appeared on the screen as the computer pulled every image of her out of the footage. Agent Byron watched carefully as each image appeared and went away. Ragnar pulled out his writing implements and was drawing on the floor. I just sat there and waited. I couldn’t get her image out of my head.
“It seems she uses her ability to teleport to avoid using an ID,” said Agent Byron.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“She bypasses checkpoints, airlocks, and patrols so that she never has to show an ID,” he said.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means I have not been able to find out who she is,” he said.
“Teleportation is short distance, line-of-sight only. If you check all the docking arms, we should be able to figure out which ship she got onto,” said Crivreen, who had rejoined us.
“Good thinking,” said Agent Byron.
“She is not far. She may even be in this parking orbit with us,” said Ragnar.
“What!” I exclaimed.
“Wait, she is gone now. She was here, but has suddenly left the range of my visibility,” he said.
“You mean, she’s entered jump space?” asked Crivreen.
“Yes, that would do it,” said Ragnar.
“Byron, can you get the destinations of any ships that just left?” asked Crivreen.
“Yes, just a moment,” he said.
There was a flurry of activity among the three of them, and then they had some star charts on the screen and were debating routes. I knew they had it under control and I needed to clear my head, so I wandered off and into Narcion’s room. I sat on his bed and just looked at the curtain he had hung up. It spoke of a more peaceful place, filled with living, natural things. I wondered where it was, and if I would ever get to go there. It was a different forest from the place where I had found his home, but beyond that I had no idea where it was.
In front of me was the chest we had brought back from his home in the forest. I presumed that that place had now been destroyed, and it was likely that this was all that remained of his previous life. I wondered what it would be like to move there and be away from all of this, to run among the trees and be free, with the rich air flowing through my lungs and the sounds of the forest filling my ears. Oh, to be there, to call that home sounded good right then.
“Zah’rak,” said Ragnar gently. He must have slipped in while I was lost in thought.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Crivreen says he knows where the female magus is going next. They want to follow and try to catch her before she starts casting,” he said. “Look, I know losing Narcion has been very hard on you, but I wanted to tell you that you’re doing a great job leading this team. I am proud to be a member of it.”
“Thanks,” I said as I stood and headed back to the ship’s mess hall where everyone had been making plans. “Have we worked out yet why someone is making her do this?”
“No, it will be a while before we have a breakthrough there; it might not matter, though, if we can reach her,” said Agent Byron.
“What are you planning?” I asked.
“If we are successful in freeing her, she may turn on her former master and help us. In that case, she can take us to wherever Narcion is,” said Crivreen.
“But to do that, we need to leave now,” said Agent Byron.
“Crivreen, fly after her then, and I will catch up after we are underway,” I said.
“Will do!” he said and hurried off.
“Just bear in mind that we must try to help her. She is not the enemy,” I said forcefully.
“We will,” said Ragnar. “The problem will be finding out what her master is using to control her. If it is something we can’t counter … ”
“Then we keep her locked up or something until we can kill her master,” I said. I could not stand to see the pain in her eyes. It brought back too many memories.
Ragnar smiled and said, “We will do everything we can.”
“I have looked through the images and I am of the opinion that she has an implant behind her left ear that functions like a standard slave collar,” said Agent Byron.
“I have heard of such a device. It can exert a much greater range of punishment and control over its victim, and it is extremely expensive. Only the richest of masters obtain them for their slaves. It’s also much more permanent than a collar,” I said.
“Maybe not,” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“If it is a legal implant, then I should have access to the override codes,” he said. “If it is not, then we can take her to the hospital station and see what they can do for her. That is about the only place I can think of that might be willing to help her.”
We spent the next week chasing her down. She could not have known we were tailing her, but she had a head start and was going somewhere in a hurry. Crivreen was sure it was a secret military base that he had been told contained experimental weapons and was not marked on any chart.
While we traveled, I attempted to learn how to enchant weapons. First, I tried making a leather cover for a knife as I had done for the armor, but that had no effect. It did, however, serve to enchant the sheath for the blade, though I was not sure what good that would do; at least the knife would always fit snugly now.
While I worked on that, Ragnar taught Crivreen how to make wands out of the sticks he had bought. Ragnar explained that any magus would be able to use the wands Crivreen made to cast lightning bolts. I could not wait to try one, but before I had the chance we caught up with our prey.
“There, that hauler is the one she was on,” said Crivreen.
The hauler was adrift in space without even running lights on. It was floating near a starbase whose configuration I did not recognize. “Looks dead,” I said. “Is she still on it?”
“No,” said Ragnar. “I believe she is on that station.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“That is MA-15, a top-secret, maximum-security military outpost,” said Agent Byron. “I alerted them that she was coming. There is no way she could have gained access to it.”
“Yet she is on it,” said Ragnar.
“Can we contact the station?” I asked.
Agent Byron tried to open a channel to them, using his encryption codes. “They are not responding, and I suspect they never will.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“That hauler is floating too close to the station. If the station was operating normally, the hauler would have been destroyed for violating secure space,” he said.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Darkness. Everywhere was darkness. It was so dark I could not even tell if my eyes were open or closed. I could not hear anything, smell anything, or sense anything at all. Just darkness. I struggled to remember who I was, and how I had got there, but all I could remember was a skeletal hand wrapping around my face and pulling me back. That hand had sent ice through my veins and paralyzed me.
I tried to form thoughts, but they were slow in coming. Eventually I started to have a vague awarenes
s that I had a body. I slowly moved my arm up to my head, but something was around my head; something hard. Armor: I was wearing armor. Memories slowly started flowing back. I was on a station behind Narcion, using my blasters to shoot skeleton attackers. Felix, my name is Felix! I thought to myself. My mind felt as if it was slowly and painfully rebooting.
I activated the controls on my armor and the internal display came on. It took me a while to remember how to read the displays, but once I did I was able to determine that my armor was in good condition, and my own vital statistics were slowly returning to normal.
Ten days! Almost two weeks since I was last conscious, I thought to myself after reading the displays. Then the hunger pains hit me. The armor could keep me hydrated, but there had only been a couple of days’ worth of nutrients for the armor to have intravenously given me while I was out cold.
First, figure out if you’re alone, then find food and water, I thought to myself. I turned on the armor’s communication systems and swept through all the frequencies, but found nothing.
Okay, now visual, I told myself and activated night vision on my visor, which used an infrared light to illuminate the area. I left it on its lowest setting in order to reduce the chance of someone seeing it. It revealed very little.
When I attempted to sit up, I felt the ground move under me. It was soft and slippery. Much against my will, I looked down and found myself on top of a pile of bodies. Fortunately, my stomach was completely empty; otherwise I might have lost its contents. Hold it together, Felix, I chided myself. I was eternally grateful then for the filters on my suit preventing me from smelling the pile of decaying bodies around me.
Looking around the area, I determined that I was in a large pit partly filled with bodies in various states of decay. Wonderful, a mass grave.
I could not get my footing in order to stand, but I did have a clear line of sight to what looked like a ramp going up one wall, so I teleported to it. Once there, I needed the wall for support. I was weak from lack of food and from lying around for so long. I risked turning up the power on my IR lamp. That allowed me to see more of where I was, and I spotted some rats running around. My blasters were gone, but I could still manage to cast. A few mage bolts later and I had supper.
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