by Zack Finley
Argon raised her hand and hit me with a blast of air, lifting me into the air and slamming me into a tree, nearly knocking me out. A blast of water followed, pinning me to the tree and nearly drowning me and I dropped to the forest floor. I was surprised by the sudden assault and lay on the turf.
Argon reached down to help me up, and I pulled her off balance, intending to capture her.
Slam. Back on the floor of the chamber. At least this time I wasn't naked. My directional sense confirmed my return to the original location.
Argon materialized beside me. "Your mind is open to anyone with the smallest amount of mind magic to read. If you want to leave, just tell Shala or wait until sunset. Attack me once more, and I'll leave you on this floor," she said, transporting us back into the forest.
This time I got to taste the dirt on the path before she freed me from the paralysis.
"How are you doing this?" I asked, climbing to my feet.
"While my skills are strong, goddess Shala's are stronger. She told me your warrior nature would require you to attempt escape, even though you aren't a prisoner. The spell is designed to protect us both from harm." Argon turned to lead further into the forest, assuming, correctly, I would follow.
"If you are not convinced this is real by sunset, you will automatically return to your world, and we will be short one champion," she promised.
I hadn’t forgotten her air and water magics. “How did you use your magic to attack me," I said, rubbing my sore shoulder.
"You can imagine how effective a fire or rock ball would be. Or a ball of lava."
"Can you show me?" I asked.
Argon grimaced. "I have no affinity for either fire or earth. Perhaps Shala can show you."
Argon stood silently for a moment, apparently consulting with Shala. I could tell she was not satisfied with the outcome.
"Shala insists you are not just the nasty barbarian I first thought," gritted Argon. "She believes we could even be kindred spirits. While she believes we could be compatible, I will settle for being able to fight together."
"How can I access my magic if you won’t show me how?" I asked.
"I will show you how I access my magics," she said moving next to me. Argon made it clear she was uncomfortable with the upcoming process.
"We will need to touch to begin this," taking my hand in hers.
My mind burned. I dropped her hand promptly and the burn faded. "Was that supposed to happen?"
"What did you feel?" Argon asked.
"Like my mind was on fire."
"Okay, I think I know what went wrong," Argon said, reaching for my hand again.
I was tempted to withdraw, but there is no such thing as a timid SEAL. This time I grasped her hand firmly in mine.
The searing burn rippled through my mind but was swiftly dialed down to a soothing warmth. I felt the soft glow of Argon's mind feather into my brain. As time went on, I began to relax; even to embrace her presence.
"I need you to follow back into my mind," she sent mind-to-mind, coaxing me to go where she led.
The more we shared, the easier it got as our minds opened before the gentle guidance.
I now understood Argon’s earlier hesitancy. She didn’t think Shala should have expended so much power just to bring in one mage, no matter how talented. Argon also knew the bulk of my training would be her responsibility. She vastly preferred to be on the front lines of the battle instead of babysitting a new mage. Her lifetime experience with other mages, especially male ones had been mostly unpleasant. Apparently, gender bias was something Jaloans shared with Earth.
I could read her hesitancy at odds with her growing interest. My sense of loyalty and compassion surprised her.
Together we shared a warrior spirit and a joy of battle.
Through the new link, I sensed her growing physical interest, and I soon discovered my Jaloan body was definitely not asexual, as Happy and the Boys emerged to push against my armor.
Argon abruptly broke the contact, and I felt abandoned. Shoved out into the cold after being promised paradise.
"That was unexpected," Argon said. "I think we should concentrate on accessing your magic. Clearly, we are more compatible than I originally thought."
This time when Argon clasped my hand, there was a subtle barrier channeling our mental energies. I could still sense her presence, but the intimacy had dimmed. Happy and the Boys settled down.
While our mental link was no longer taking my breath away, it was solid, and I followed her lead. Argon conjured a ball of air and urged me to do the same.
Nothing. I felt a click inside my head, but nothing happened, somewhat like the click of a firing pin on an empty cylinder. She switched to a ball of water.
There was an indefinable similarity between the two actions. I tried to mimic the action but only got another click. When Argon switched to a ball of force, I followed the same steps and this time I felt a powerful response.
I slammed into the floor; pinned with the now familiar paralysis. My head was still woozy from whatever happened, but I knew I was back in the original chamber.
Argon arrived immediately and helped me to my feet.
"You have plenty of force magic," she said. "The ball of force hit both of us, and Shala's protection spell put you down. How are you?"
"Like something kicked me in the head," I said, still moving my neck to get the kinks out of it. "What was that?"
"Your first offensive magic," she replied. "You have no air and water magic, but you have a large pool of force magic available. I think we need to get out of this enclosed area to give you a chance to use it."
Argon grasped my arm, and we teleported to the edge of a small village. My direction sense reeled again until it settled on a location a substantial distance south and west of the chamber.
"Banders have infested one of the village fields," she said. “I need to get directions to it. It will probably be better if you let me do the talking.”
I agreed, even as I looked around with interest. Our arrival hadn’t alarmed or even concerned anyone. Our presence hadn’t gone unnoticed, either. I spotted children and even a few adults checking us out from several cabin doorways.
A Jaloan male was sharpening an ax using a foot-powered grinding wheel in front of a nearby home. His pullover shirt was bright green, and his pants were a well-worn leather. No shoes.
“I’ll ask him for directions,” Argon said, indicating I should stay where I was before she strode to meet him.
I was too occupied taking in details of the village to move. The houses were a mix of rough stone and wood. The stonework on the houses looked poured in place. Normally stone houses were made of stacked blocks of quarried stone, but I spotted no visible joints, even at the corners. The roofs were wooden with layers of giant leaves instead of shingles. Every house had a chimney, but only a few emitted a light smoke drifting lazily on the breeze.
The windows were single pane with exterior shutters. The doors were wooden and brightly colored, ranging from a bright blue to crimson. Most doorways were open with villagers watching us from nearly every house. It was odd seeing the abundance of twins. I was struck again by the variety of hair and skin colors.
About half the homes were made of stone with the remainder being rough clapboard. The wooden houses were larger and I suspected they were newer.
While the doors and window shutters were brightly colored the rest of the construction was left in natural tones. Most houses had tidy vegetable gardens rather than lawns or flowers.
The road through town was comprised of wiry grasses between two parallel tracks of stone pavers. I suspected the pavers were to support wheeled carts.
Argon’s conversation didn’t take long. She nodded with a slight bow to the worker and waved me over. The man returned to sharpening his ax.
“Jalus says the bander-infested field is only a short walk from the village. This way,” said Argon as she led the way.
As we left the village, I looked back. A host
of Jaloans was clustered around the man she spoke with.
“I take it they don’t get many visitors,” I commented.
“They don’t get many mage visitors at least,” Argon replied. “I got the village teleport location from Shala, she heard a nest of banders took over one of their fields. Since several villagers were killed trying to remove them, she hoped I could help the village. Banders are opportunistic and continue expanding their range until they are stopped. This colony is quite young. They have the potential to take over many fields. If the banders are unchecked, the village might not be able to harvest sufficient food to feed themselves.”
Argon turned to me when we had passed the last building. “I think you need to practice a bit before we take on the banders.” She pointed at a large rock on the edge of the path. “Hit that with one of your force blasts.”
I reformed the force ball and tossed it at the rock. While the rock seemed undamaged, a gout of dirt and gravel exploded into the air.
“That was good, cut down the size of your force ball to avoid wasting magic.”
I formed a smaller ball and threw it with some zing. It hit where I aimed. The surface of the rock disintegrated, leaving a noticeable shallow crater with a puff of sand marking the location.
“You don’t have to use the momentum of your arm to send it at the speed you desire. But, the faster you send it, the more magic you use,” Argon said. “That was a good size for the projectile. Leave it that large until you get more practice. Picking the optimal balance of size and speed takes practice.”
I rested the force ball on my hand and directed it at the rock. It only went a few feet and bounced along the ground. I tried again with similar results.
“Let me show you,” Argon put her hand on my shoulder. Our mental link clicked into place.
I followed along as Argon created a force ball and then shoved it toward the target with her mind.
While still linked, I formed a ball and gave it a mental shove. The force ball went further than during my first attempt but fell short.
“Try again, this time relax and feel your magic,” Argon sent through our mental connection. “Imagine throwing it using only your will.”
Relaxing with Argon as my copilot was easy. My next attempt hit the target and my second attempt cracked the rock.
“Excellent, I think you are ready for the banders,” said Argon dropping our connection and leading the way along the forest path. “It’s a 15-minute walk this way.”
I stopped to look over the target rock and was impressed at the large crack my last shot had caused.
I scurried to catch up with her.
“How are we talking?” I asked.
Argon stopped and stared at me. Her puzzled look told me she had no idea where I was going with this.
“No, not physically. I understand you, and you understand me. But I don’t speak Jaloan, and I’m sure you and Jalus don’t speak English.”
“Shala used a magical translation program on you when you were unconscious after the transfer. Its magic is much more complicated than anything I’ve seen before. She seemed very pleased with how well it was working. I got the impression you aren’t the first person from your world she has used it on,” Argon said. “As best I can determine you are speaking and thinking in Jaloan.”
I guessed it wasn’t too farfetched to imagine something which could arrange the body swap could also provide a virtual translation program.
“There is the field,” Argon pointed at field of tall plants. It didn’t have the lush foliage of the adjacent fields. “Banders can be fierce but are unlikely to kill us unless we let them gang up on us. Stay near me so I can teleport us to safety if the banders become too strong."
We faced the field, and at first, I saw nothing moving. Then, Argon launched a ball of air at a clump of vegetation. A vicious looking critter blasted out of the clump in a burst of dirt and leaves. It tumbled to the ground and came to rest, unmoving.
It had a wiry red fur, an insect-like head, and eight legs tipped by vicious claws. Argon said it could burrow rapidly through the soil and flank us if we weren't watching.
I watched in horror as tendrils of vines wrapped around the bander carcass and began pulling it underground.
“What is that vine thing?” I asked.
Argon’s eyes never left the field as she replied, “Those are the plants growing in this field. The bander’s body will nourish the next crop.”
She told me to monitor her as she switched to force magic and then try it on my own. We reformed our link this time without the need to touch. Argon showed me how she swapped magics, even as her attention remained focused on the field.
The instant she spotted a bander, she launched the ball of force.
The force missile drove the bander into the earth in a shower of dirt and vegetation.
"I'm going to switch to water," Argon said. "I need to conserve my force magic."
I could now see how to switch magics, even if I couldn't sense anything but force and mind magics inside me.
Argon urged me to use force magic to target a bander. "These are just the guards," she said, "they will begin arriving in larger groups before long. You need to get comfortable locating and killing them quickly."
I formed a ball of force in my hand and searched the field. I sensed an area of wrongness an instant before the bander poked out its head. I slammed my force ball into it. I was starting to get the hang of launching the ball with some velocity. A gout of dirt and debris erupted from the target area, and I turned to search for the next target.
"Cut back on the size," Argon advised, slamming two banders in quick succession. "That was effective but wasteful. Much of magical training focuses on reducing the amount of magic needed to do any job. You could regret squandering magic later."
I looked at the area where I blasted the bander and had to agree. There was a 3-foot diameter crater.
It took me a moment to adjust my force missile down to a ping-pong ball size. While I was fiddling with it, Argon dispatched at least five banders.
I needed to step up my game, searching the field for a new target. The next bander popped up and died quickly. There was still a crater, but it was only a foot or so deep. I cut the size a bit more.
The banders were arriving more rapidly now, and by the 10th one, my force ball was the size of a small marble.
"I don't know how many banders are in the nest," Argon said, "but I expect they will empty it to drive us off, so brace yourself. If we join our minds at a high level, we can coordinate our attack and defense more effectively."
I felt Argon respectfully nudge through our mind link. I knew she would back off if I was uncomfortable, but it felt so right. We slid together like a hand in a glove.
We synched up just in time for the banders' frontal assault. One second no banders were in sight and the next there was a swarm.
Argon was excited but calm and professional, forming balls in both hands and sending a nearly steady volley of air and water missiles at individual banders. I wasn't as quick, but my force blasts were just as deadly. I sensed a pattern in her acquisition of targets and subsequent blasts and slipped seamlessly into her dance. She was directing her shots and mine effortlessly. I was satisfied with just being another weapon in her arsenal.
I remained vigilant and spotted a bunch of banders trying to sneak up on us from behind; we creamed them.
I was feeling cocky when the field erupted in tangos.
Argon increased the size of her water spheres, targeting groups of banders. I assumed responsibility for our close-in protection, freeing Argon to combat masses of banders at a greater distance. Even though her water spheres didn't slay all they touched, banders not killed immediately were either stunned or knocked down, buying time to follow up with killing strikes.
When I got into trouble, she shifted to help me as we coordinated seamlessly. At one point, banders pressed us so closely one sank its teeth into my leg. I kicked it away wi
thout missing a shot.
“We do have claws on our feet,” Argon sent.
“Not something I’m used to, if another one bites me I’ll disembowel it.”
Despite the heavy opposition, there was no fear in Argon's mind, just the singing joy of a well-fought battle.
"I think this will be the final surge," she sent directly to my mind.
During the battle, I became aware of a different type of magic within me. My ability to build and control balls of force was evolving, gaining speed and accuracy. I was frustrated to contribute only one shot for every two launched by Argon.
This spurred me to access this new magic with my other hand. At first, it sputtered, and then a ball of earth magic settled in place.
With two weapons, I made short work of the nearby banders. The ball of earth energy weighed nothing in my hand, but its impact was awesome. I fine-tuned the size of the rock blast to avoid creating more large craters.
Argon switched back to individual targets, and we methodically dispatched the remaining banders from the battlefield.
I looked around at the devastation in front of us. There were few signs of what had once been a cultivated field of crops. What we hadn't blasted to smithereens, the banders had trashed with their excavations.
"Will the banders be back?" I asked.
"This was a substantial infestation," Argon said, as she gently disengaged from my mind. "Most likely, the queen sent all of her workers and soldiers to the surface at the end to cover her escape."
Argon stood silently for several minutes, allowing me time to check out the bite wound on my leg.
Jaloans definitely bleed.
Argon pulled a first aid kit from the pouch on her hip and knelt beside me to tend the wound. The poultice stung but stuck to the bite.
"The bander queen has escaped as expected," Argon said as she put the kit back into her pouch. "Banders have a mildly poisonous bite, so leave the poultice in place until it falls off."
I looked around the field, there were few signs of plant movement. "Will the plants recover?" I asked.
"Sure," Argon said. "It will take a few weeks, but the bander corpses will provide a lot of nutrients and give the crop a good boost. I suspect a forester or farmer will be by in a few days to track down the bander queen. Hopefully, the locals will kill her before she can build up that many soldiers again."
