by Drew Seren
“We have time.” Filzbalm yawned again, his words sounding like he was going to sleep. “You don’t have to have it all figured out today.”
“I know,” Skylar replied mentally, since he didn’t want to distract Phil or let Solaria in on his conversation with Filzbalm. “But I’d just like to figure out where I’m going.”
“Toward the green light. Isn’t that all that’s important right now?”
“But I want to be more than just in the now. Being in the now doesn’t get us very far.”
“But it gets us through the moment.” Filzbalm suddenly felt heavier where he curled across Skylar’s shoulders and neck. Skylar didn’t need to probe his mind to know he’d fallen asleep as the hover car floated along on the snow and ice.
Skylar decided it was time for him to start doing some research and find out what kinds of things he could use his psychic powers for that would give him the opportunity to be out in space. Even though it was taking him some adjusting to get used to life at the Academy, there was a subtle difference he could feel when he was there that he hadn’t felt in school on Hummassa. Del often told him he was crazy. Despite his friends’ insistence, Skylar knew there were differences and he could tell when he was on a space station, a ship, or a planet. He just felt more alive in space. He often dreamed of being in his own ship and flying out to discover new worlds and species. But he wasn’t sure what it would take for him to live that life. Phil’s work with Intergal Rescue was the closest thing he’d found to what he dreamed of, but he didn’t think that was exactly what he was supposed to be doing.
Phil brought the hover car to a stop in a cloud of snow. “Weather’s turning.” The words came out with a soft growl. “Not sure we can get anywhere.”
“Ah, come on, Uncle Phil,” Solaria said, sounding sleepy, because she never whined unless she was really tired. “We’ve got to be able to do something.”
“We’re an hour out from the settlement.” Phil scanned the horizon, then tried his com again. “We’re no closer to the source of the glow. It really is acting like an honest aurora borealis. Just some magnetic ionization in the atmosphere that is causing the lights, but the atmosphere here doesn’t have the right proportion of certain elements to react with charged solar particles to make this happen. There aren’t any settlements in this direction that would be causing this. I don’t get it.”
Skylar perked up, suddenly feeling useful. ““You know, if the planetary coms are down, I wonder if the interplanetary ones are down or not. I’ve got my interstellar communicator back at the house. If the interplanetary system is up, we should be able to get a call out.”
“Wait.” Solaria straightened in her seat. “You said the lights are caused by ions and magnetism. Could the lights be what took out the planetary system?”
“Maybe.” Phil leaned back in his seat. “But that doesn’t explain why the local coms work.”
“Because if the source of the attack was centered on the dig site, and is also causing the lights, the local coms should be down too,” Skylar added. It made him smile a little—he liked being helpful.
“Right.” Phil drummed on the steering wheel. “There’s got to be something we’re all missing.”
“Yeah, but does this mean we’re giving up?” Solaria yawned, then quickly covered her mouth.
Phil nodded and turned the hover car around. “I think we’re all dead on our feet, or in this case, in our seats. We need to head back, see what your folks have to say, see if Skylar’s communicator can get out to someone who might be able to lend a hand, and get some rest so we can think clearly.”
Skylar settled into his seat, not having realized he was all but leaning over the back of the front seat as he’d talked to Phil and Solaria. Normally Filzbalm would’ve complained about him doing that, but the Solar Drake was sound asleep. That didn’t help Skylar to stay awake as they headed back to the settlement, and he didn’t remember much after Phil turned around.
10
Grim News For Breakfast
THE TASTE of blood filled Skylar’s dreams, and he jerked awake. Staring at the darkness above him, he wiped his mouth, expecting it to come away with blood. There was nothing.
As he adjusted to the dark room, he remembered he was in Solaria’s home. He’d fallen asleep soon after getting back from chasing the lights they could never reach. They’d beaten Solaria’s folks home, and even though everyone had wanted to wait up and see what had been found when they went to the dig site, they’d all been too tired. Using their psi skills to try to locate people in the settlement, while trying to keep their shields at the ready in case of another attack, had worn them all out. Filzbalm had fallen asleep before making it home.
At the thought of Filzbalm, Skylar sat up. The Solar Drake wasn’t on his pillow the way he normally was. “Filzbalm!” he called through their mental link.
“I’m in the kitchen,” came a contented reply.
“How did you get in the kitchen?” Skylar swung his legs out from under the covers and instantly jerked them back underneath. It was a lot colder than he’d anticipated. His thermal suit was across the room. He wished he was a mover and could make the clothes float across the room so he didn’t have to get out from under the blankets to get dressed.
“I heard Solaria come out of her room and called to her to let me out so I could find some food. I was very hungry.” The taste of blood increased with his mental contact. “She’s been feeding me. I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten so much. But I was hungry.” Given how much of Filzbalm’s eating was bleeding through their connection, Skylar knew he was hungry, tired or both. Normally the Solar Drake filtered the baser feeling and sensations out of their communication.
“Oh,” Skylar replied as he forced himself out of the bed and toward his thermal suit, shedding his sleeping clothes. “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
“I’ll probably be done by then, but Felonia has made sure to set aside some food for you.”
“Okay.” Skylar put on his thermal suit as fast as he could. The change from the chilly air of his room was nearly instant as the suit adjusted itself to warm him. He’d known Filzbalm could speak to Solaria when he wanted to, but Skylar had never been left out of their connection before. For a moment, he worried about Filzbalm bonding to her and leaving him, but then he remembered the information he’d gotten from the researchers. A Solar Drake could only bond with one person, although the strong ones could mentally speak to other readers, if the reader was strong enough to hear them. He, Solaria, and Del debated why Filzbalm had bonded to him—and not Solaria—since they had all been there when he hatched. The only thing they’d been able to come up with was the amount of time Skylar had spent with him while he’d still been in his egg. Although Solaria had spent time with him every day as well, it had been too cold in her room for him, so he’d stayed with Skylar and Del.
By the time he left his room, he’d managed to push aside the fear of Filzbalm bonding to Solaria. He was still a little fuzzy-brained, but chalked that up to the long night they’d all had and how tired he’d been. He yawned as he started up the stairs, and had to admit that he was still more than a little bit tired, but wanted to know what was going on.
He reached the kitchen and found everyone except Phil and Aniu around the table. Filzbalm was curled up around a medium-sized earthen bowl that was empty except for a little bit of blood pooled in the bottom. His yellow-scaled stomach was slightly distended like it normally was after he’d eaten a large meal. And, as after most large meals, Filzbalm looked sleepy.
“I was beginning to worry you’d sleep all day,” Felonia said as Skylar walked up to the table.
“Sorry.” Skylar covered another yawn with his hand. “I guess last night took a lot out of me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Solaria said, pushing her plate toward the center of the table. “We’re just now getting going.”
“Not all of us,” her mother said. “Your father and uncle have been gone
for a couple of hours.” She pulled a plate from a warmer on the wall near the sink and carried it over to the table for Skylar. “Here you go. I knew if I didn’t set something aside, Solaria would eat it all.”
“And you’re always telling me to eat all I want.” Solaria pouted slightly. “What with me being a growing girl and everything.”
“Well, when’s there’s company we try to leave enough for them.”
“Thank you.” Skylar picked up his fork and started cutting the meat. It was cooked, so he doubted it would’ve been Solaria’s first choice, but he knew the amounts she could eat and was thankful for everything that could be rescued from her.
Solaria looked at her mother. “So, you haven’t explained why Dad and Uncle Phil are out and about so early. Does it have to do with last night?”
“Maybe,” Felonia said as she settled at the table next to Solaria. “We aren’t sure what’s going on. There was an emergency signal sent out from Glacier City right before dawn this morning. It was cut short. As the only Intergal Rescue agent currently in the area, Phil’s been asked to go and see if he can determine what’s going on.”
It sounded more exciting than spending the night checking houses in the local settlement. “How far is Glacier City?” Skylar asked as he finished chewing the bite of meat.
“It’s the closest large city,” Solaria said. “What, four to five hours by hover car?”
Her mother nodded. “Yes, but Phil was able to request a gyrojumper from the spaceport. They should’ve already reached Glacier City.” She glanced at the large clock hanging over her kitchen sink. “I keep thinking we’ll hear something at any time.”
“I’m sure they’ll call when they find out something,” Solaria said as she stood and carried her plate to the sink. “So, what did you guys find at the dig site last night?”
Felonia frowned. “We’re not sure. I need to go over there as soon as you three are ready. I just didn’t want to leave you alone here. Some of the things I want to check on in the daylight and see if they make more sense.”
“Are we sure the psychic attack came from there?” Skylar asked as he took a fork full of what looked like eggs. At least they had the right consistency for them, even if they were blue and not yellow.
“We think so.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked tired. “We’re still not sure what caused it. But most of the dig staff still there were knocked out by the attack. It was strong enough to take out non-psychics as well as psychics. The only person who was still awake was Romalda—she’s got the strongest shields of anyone I’ve ever met, and even she said it felt like she’d been hit in the head by an ice ox.”
“Ice oxen are going to be the least of our problems.” Aunt Blizza spoke up for the first time that morning. She looked and sounded a lot better than she had the night before. “Changes are blowing on the wind. There are bad things…powerful things going on.” She held up her arm that still had the bracelet on. “When we have to blind ourselves to survive.”
“Blizza, don’t scare the kids.” Felonia stood and collected the old woman’s plate. “Sure, something happened last night—we just don’t know what it is yet. We’ll get it figured out, and everyone will be fine.”
Her com beeped and she tapped it, almost dropping the plate and spilling some of the blood that had been on it. “Aniu, do you know what the problem is yet?” She frowned and pointed from Solaria to the spill. “Are you sure? What could’ve caused that? …Of course. We were about to head to the dig site—do you think it’s safe? Oh, good point. I’ll let you know if we find anything…Okay. Keep in touch. If we can do anything from here, let us know.” As she tapped off the com, she put the plate in the sink.
“So, what’s up?” Solaria asked as she finished wiping the blood up. “Sounds grim.”
“Glacier City is in ruins.” Her mother leaned against the counter. “The search for survivors has already started. Phil has put in a call for Intergal Rescue to get ships here to help find the injured. Also, something is making the coms spotty. He said we might have to reroute things.”
Solaria dropped to the floor, looking scared. “What do you mean, in ruins?”
Her mother spread her hands questioningly. “I don’t know for sure. I doubt it’s like an archeology ruin—it’s probably more like a war zone. But either way, we’re going to stay here and see what we can find from last night that might be helpful.”
“Does Aniu think the two things are tied together?” Skylar asked, suddenly not sure if he could finish his breakfast. If Glacier City had been left in ruins, that sounded a lot like what had happened on Hummassa. But there they’d known what had caused the destruction. It had been Boarisk raiders. They’d come as slavers to get as many of the survivors as they could.
But Boarisks weren’t psychic. They were one of the few species in the universe that didn’t possess any mental powers. They couldn’t use a psychic attack on a planet.
“He doesn’t know yet.” Felonia knelt next to Solaria and gave her a big hug. “We’re all going to do what we can to find out what did both things and make sure they don’t happen again.”
Solaria nodded into her mother’s shoulder.
Seeing Solaria need comforting from her mother sent a shiver of fear through Skylar. He wasn’t used to Solaria being scared of anything. She was always going on about being the strong, powerful predator. She was the strongest of his friends. If she was scared, there was something for him to be afraid of.
Aunt Blizza laughed. “Boy, there is always something to be afraid of. Only the stupid aren’t afraid of things. Solaria isn’t stupid, and I don’t think you are either.”
“Blizza!” Felonia snapped. “You know it’s not polite to read other people without their permission.”
Skylar stared at the older Pantherian. He hadn’t sensed her reading his mind. In all his training sessions with Professor Aduncus, he’d always felt when the professor read him. There was a slight push to it, and once he’d figured out what it felt like, it was easy for him to spot. He didn’t doubt that Aunt Blizza had just read his mind, but he was amazed he hadn’t felt anything from her doing it.
Aunt Blizza looked from Felonia to Skylar. “I am sorry, young human.” She touched her chest and Skylar noticed the dampening bracelet still on her delicate forearm. “Sometimes I don’t seem to have much control of my mind, or my mouth for that matter.” The words sounded a little different from some of the things she’d said previously—they were more coherent.
Skylar nodded to her. “No problem, ma’am.” His mind reeled at the idea she could still pick up his thoughts even with a dampener on. The obvious answer was the bracelet was defective in some way, because if it wasn’t, then she was scary powerful—stronger than even Professor Aduncus.
She flashed him a smile that said she knew what he was thinking, and she was scary powerful. “I think I’ll go lie down. Is it okay that I stay here while you all go to the dig site? I’ll be fine by myself.”
Felonia frowned, then sighed. “I guess we don’t really have much of a choice. With Aniu trying to figure out what happened in Glacier City, if I don’t leave you here by yourself, I have to take you with me, or leave the kids with you.”
“What about that alarm you and Dad got for her a few months ago?” Solaria asked and she and her mother stood. “You haven’t mentioned it in a while.”
Her mother kissed her forehead. “That’s a very good idea. Blizza, when we leave, I’m going to set the alarm. If you need us, use it. Will that be okay?”
“Of course.” Blizza stood. “With any luck, I won’t even know you’re gone.” Without another word, she hobbled out of the kitchen and into the living room.
Skylar let out a long breath. Less than a year earlier, meeting a psychic as powerful and uncontrolled as Blizza would’ve sent him running for the hills. He was still worried about being around her, but she wasn’t completely terrifying. He’d learned a lot about psychics and himself, although he was consta
ntly being reminded of how much he still had to learn.
“Okay. If we’re all done with breakfast, let’s get to the dig site before we lose too much daylight.” Felonia took Filzbalm’s bowl and put it in the sink with the other dishes.
Filzbalm had been curled up around the base of the bowl. He unwound and stretched. “I’m still sleepy.” He looked up at Skylar, then launched himself up to his shoulder. His little leather wings blew a bit of Skylar’s hair up as he landed. “I can sleep here until I’m needed.”
“That’s fine.” Skylar welcomed the added warmth on his neck as Filzbalm curled up. “You might have to move a bit when I put on my coat.”
Filzbalm yawned. “I can do that.”
“Let me go get my coat and boots and I’ll be ready.” Skylar stood from the table and headed down the hall to his room. He promised himself that he was going to start putting on his heavier clothes even if he was just around the house, since it seemed they were going to be running in and out, doing things with little preparation.
On the first landing, Blizza leaned against her door.
Skylar stopped, although he really wanted to stay as far away from the old woman as he could. “Do you need a hand?”
She turned and her eyes were unfocused. “Be careful, young Skylar. There are many dangerous things in the darkness. But you could be the Light.” She reached toward his face and it was all he could do to not jerk backwards as her cold fingers brushed his check. “Yes, you could be the Light.”
“Skylar, hurry up!” Solaria called from above. “We need to get moving.”
He stepped away from Blizza. “I need to get my stuff.”
She nodded, and turned into her room.
“She’s a little creepy,” Filzbalm muttered from Skylar’s shoulder.
“More than a little,” Skylar agreed, then dashed down the stairs to get his stuff. He had no idea what Blizza was going on about. He wasn’t the Light. He wasn’t anything more than simple Skylar Mars, student at Stars’ End Academy. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted to be when he graduated, except he wanted to be out in space exploring. How was he supposed to do that if he was someone’s light?
