by Dan Oakley
He smiled widely, displaying a missing incisor. “And that’s the problem. It’s the ones you trust the most who can really hurt you.”
Draylan stood up from the table with a snarl, drawing the attention of some of the other mages in the room.
“I’ll deal with this,” Finn said, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent Jonno staggering backwards.
It wasn’t a sharp blow, and Jonno remained on his feet, desperately trying to fight against Finn’s magic, but the man was no match for the young spacemage.
Jonno growled, “It is forbidden to use magic against one of your own within the resistance. The admiral will hear of this!”
“But you just used your magical abilities on us. You just said you were psychic. What’s that if it’s not a magical ability?” Kira demanded loudly so everyone in the room could hear.
Some of the other mages in the room called for Jonno to sit down and stop making trouble.
At that point, Toddo came back into the basement and immediately picked up on the tension.
“What did I miss?” he asked, placing a large jug of ale and a tray containing several glasses on the table in front of us.
“Jonno was just rolling out the welcome mat,” I said.
Toddo rolled his eyes. “His bark is worse than his bite. Now, I’m going to see if the admiral is free. I won’t be long.”
As Toddo left the room again, the tension seemed to go up a notch. Draylan sat beside me, snarling at everyone who looked our way. Bayliss seemed content and unruffled. It took a lot to get Bayliss angry.
“What did he mean by that?” Kira whispered. “You know I’d never betray you.”
“I know. He was talking nonsense,” I said.
“He’s nothing but a quack,” Draylan said with a dismissive snort. “It’s an old mind trick. Don’t forget, they don’t want us here, Kira. To them, we are outsiders. They want to divide and conquer. We’re strong together.”
Kira nodded slowly, and Bayliss put his arm around her shoulder to give her a reassuring squeeze. “He’s right, you know. Draylan is a pain in the rear end. He’s a drunkard, and a sarcastic mud sucker at times, but occasionally he does make a good point.”
Despite his bad mood and mistrust of our company, Bayliss’s gentle teasing brought a reluctant smile to Draylan’s face.
“Stop with your flattery, Bayliss.”
I reached for the jug of ale and poured us all a measure. Draylan eyed the glass suspiciously for a moment before deciding it was safe and taking several large gulps.
It was warm down in the basement, especially beside the synthetic fire. The noise around us built up as people decided we weren’t an immediate threat and went back to their conversations. The ale was refreshing and cool, and I drink it quickly, perhaps too quickly for something so strong.
By the time I’d finished only one glass, I felt the pleasant muzzy head sensation that came after partaking in strong alcohol.
Kira worried a spot on the table with her thumbnail. “Do you think they’re really going to help us find Trella? They don’t seem to be in a terrible hurry.”
I was worried about the same thing. When Toddo had turned up at the bar, wanting me to come with him immediately to help Trella, I’d assumed they were eager to make a start, but it seemed they were content for us to wait in the corner of a room until the admiral was free. I hadn’t even known they had admiral mages. I’d grown up with different stories of the Kingdoms but had never heard of an admiral mage.
“Why are they keeping us waiting so long?” Draylan grumbled, filling his glass with ale again. “I don’t like this, Tomas. I don’t trust them.”
Draylan had a point. I didn’t feel comfortable trusting them either, but other than walking out of here and losing a chance to help Trella, I didn’t see another way forward.
“Let’s give them a chance,” I said.
Draylan waved a hand and then wiped the beer foam from the top of his lip. “You’re too trusting.”
Bayliss topped up my glass again, but I drank slower this time, wanting to have my wits about me when we met the admiral.
Toddo seemed to take forever to get back; Kira kept checking her wrist device.
Perhaps I should have just sent Kira back with Finn. She’d probably be safer with his family than here with the resistance, but I knew Kira, and she wouldn’t want to leave; Trella was her friend too.
I’d almost finished my second glass of ale when the door creaked open and Toddo appeared.
His face was grim. “The admiral will see you now.”
Chapter 11
Toddo led us to a small office and then quickly retreated, closing the door behind him. It was a small room, with no windows or outside light. The only light came from a green lamp on the desk.
There was a heavy perfume in the room and I noticed a pile of wood smoking, which gave off a citrus smell.
Behind the desk, sat a woman I guessed to be Admiral Laine Cleaver. She wasn’t exactly what I’d been expecting. Her eyes were dark brown, and her dark blonde hair curled softly to her shoulders. She wore a red uniform I had never seen before. It was skintight, highlighting her extremely curvy figure. Despite his bad temper, Draylan was momentarily distracted. He didn’t appear able to tear his eyes from her.
She stood up with a slow smile and walked to the front of her desk. She moved slowly and deliberately, reminding me of a cat stalking its prey.
She stopped in front of the desk, looking at us all in turn, and finally, her gaze rested on me.
“You’re Tomas,” she said.
It was a statement, not a question, but even so, I nodded.
“I’m pleased to meet you,” I said. “Toddo tells me you are able to help Trella? Me and my friends would like to assist in any way we can.”
Her smile widened until she noticed Kira’s scowl. She tilted her head to one side as though that amused her.
“We are eager to get started as soon as possible,” I said when she didn’t respond.
“You do seem very eager,” she said in a husky voice. “I’m surprised you brought your friends with you.”
There was a hint of a reprimand in her voice, but I ignored it. “I trust that isn’t a problem.”
“We don’t have much room here, but as long as you don’t mind living in close proximity with others for a few days, we can accommodate you all. Please, take a seat.”
There were two chairs in front of the desk and more stacked against the wall. Kira and Draylan pulled their chairs a short distance away. They didn’t want to get too close to the admiral.
Once we were all sitting down, the admiral perched on the edge of her desk and turned her attention to Finn. “I’m very glad you managed to escape the pirates. It sounds like you had quite an adventure.”
Finn shifted uneasily. It seemed the admiral knew quite a lot about us, and we didn’t know much about her at all.
“Yes,” Finn replied. “I’m glad to be back with my family.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “But you want to stay here with your friends not return to your family now?”
Finn nodded. “My family can cope without me for a while. I want to help Trella.”
Her eyebrows lifted slightly, but she didn’t question his resolve. “I knew your uncle. He was a good man.”
Finn bowed his head, and then nodded.
The admiral had certainly done her homework. She knew more about Finn than I did.
“And why do you want to stay here?” she asked, looking directly at Kira.
“Trella is my friend, too. I want to help.”
“Even though you’re not a mage?”
“I don’t see why that should have anything to do with it,” Kira said. “Trella is my friend. She helped me. We’ve been through a lot together.”
The admiral looked at Draylan and smiled at him. “And why would a couple of the Kingdom’s finest want to come and stay in a basement with members of the mage resistance?”
When sh
e put it like that, it did sound suspicious. Did she suspect us of laying a trap, or working for the Kingdoms?
“The Kingdoms haven’t been loyal to me, so I see no reason why I should be loyal to them,” Draylan said, meeting her gaze directly and smirking.
“Interesting.”
She regarded Draylan through narrowed eyes and then turned to Bayliss.
Before she spoke, Bayliss blurted out, “I’ll be honest with you because it sounds like you already know about us, and all of our backgrounds; there’s no point trying to hide anything. I lost my job with the Kingdoms when I complained about my previous commander. The Kingdoms chewed me up and spat me out. We are fed a line about the terrible atrocities the rebellion is responsible for. It’s taken me a while, but now I realize we’ve been fed a pack of lies. I don’t want to join your cause though. I just want to help my friends.”
Admiral Laine Cleaver nodded and then walked around her desk. I expected her to sit in the large chair, but she remained standing.
“Very interesting,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, Tomas and I need to talk privately.”
Bayliss shot me a worried look, and Kira quickly shook her head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tomas,” Draylan said.
“I’m sure whatever you need to ask me you can do that in front of my friends,” I said. “I have nothing to hide.”
A flicker of irritation passed over her face, and in a sudden movement, she crooked a finger, sending a heavy leather-bound book from the corner of her desk into the air, spinning towards my head.
I only just had time to duck out of the way.
Draylan jumped up, and Bayliss heaved his frame from his chair with a growl.
She laughed. “Tell your pet bear to stand down, Tomas.”
But I wasn’t about to do any such thing. “Why did you do that?”
“It was a test. Unfortunately, you failed.”
As the seconds passed, we stood tensely, in some kind of stand-off. After a moment, I forced myself to relax and turned to the others. “It’s okay, you guys go back to the meeting room. I won’t be long.”
“No way,” Kira said. “The woman’s deranged.”
The admiral’s eyes widened slightly. Obviously she wasn’t used to being spoken about in that fashion, at least not within earshot.
I met Kira’s gaze and squeezed her hand. “Please, Kira. Trust me.”
Grumbling under their breath, the others left; Finn was last to leave the small office.
“Are you sure?” he whispered as he passed me.
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure at all. This woman was unusual, to say the least, and I was pretty sure I was out of my depth with her. But if she wanted us to talk alone, then that’s what we would do. I had a feeling she would be able to kill all of us within seconds if she really wanted to.
I shut the door after them and then sat down again.
“Alone at last,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
She leaned over the desk and licked her lips. I kept my eyes on her face. Whatever kind of game she was playing, I didn’t want any of it.
“So, Tomas, tell me where you were born?”
I was surprised by the question. “Why is that important?”
“I’d like to know a little more about you.”
That seemed reasonable enough. “I was born on Terrano, my parents abandoned me when I was born, and I was brought up by the baker and his wife until they turned me out of their house when I could no longer hide my magical abilities. I was taken in by an elderly woman who lived just outside our village and she took good care of me.”
“Ah, that would be Maureena.”
I nodded stiffly, feeling uncomfortable. How did she know so much about me?
“That’s right.”
“And Maureena is still on Terrano?”
Again, I nodded.
“It must have been hard to leave her behind. Have you kept in touch?”
“Briefly. I mean to go back there when I can to make sure she’s okay.”
The admiral nodded thoughtfully.
“We have a network in place throughout the Kingdoms. Although we operate underground, we have powerful allies. We’d be able to get some money to Maureena if you’d like.”
I knew a trap when I saw one. She wasn’t offering to help from the goodness of her heart.
“I don’t want to take money I haven’t earned,” I said. “But thank you for the offer.”
She leaned back and laughed. My eyes traveled downwards, taking in her smooth creamy neck and the hollow at the base of her throat. I forced my gaze back up to her face.
She looked at me knowingly. “Trust me, Tomas, you’ll earn the money.”
“How?”
“We don’t have time to go into details right now, I’d love to talk to you for longer, but I have a lot on today. We’ll chat again soon.” She smiled and reached for some papers on her desk.
Was that it? Was she dismissing me?
“Wait, how do we get Trella back?”
The admiral put down the paperwork and smiled. “We need to bide our time. Thanks to the incident with the inquisitors, we know Toddo was being followed. So now is not the appropriate moment to strike.”
“We can’t wait. We don’t know how they’re treating her. She might—”
The admiral held up a finger. “Now, Tomas, you’re being hotheaded. You’ll need to learn to control your impulses.”
“But when? How long do we have to wait?”
“Hopefully not long. I’ll make sure you’re kept informed. In the meantime, I have someone who can help you. Your skills are unrefined.”
She got up from the desk, walking smoothly towards me, and I started to wish she wore looser clothes. She was very distracting, but then again, maybe that was the idea.
“Any mage worth his weight in precious stones would have used magic to deflect an object flying towards their head. You ducked. Why was that, Tomas?”
“Instinct. I’m not used to relying on my magic. Where I grew up, it was forbidden.”
She sighed. “This is going to be harder than I expected. We have a lot of work to do. Find Toddo and tell him you need to meet with Valletta. He’ll know what to do.”
She smiled again and then turned back to walk to her desk. I tore my eyes away from her retreating figure and headed out of the office.
Just how long did she expect us to wait? And who was Valletta?
Chapter 12
I left the admiral’s office and made my way down the dark corridor to the staircase. I felt unsettled by our meeting. But I guessed that was the idea. I still didn’t know what they wanted from me, but I strongly suspected it was me they were interested in, not Trella. I didn’t care. As long as they helped me get Trella out of the clutches of the Kingdoms, I would be happy.
At the top of the stairs, I opened the door and stepped back out into the large meeting room. I saw the others gathered at the same table as before and walked over to them.
“How did it go?” Bayliss asked as I approached.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure. The admiral is hard to read.”
Kira snorted and didn’t look impressed. “She’s a bit over the top if you ask me. Her uniform is…not very practical. Surely she could have found one in her size. It’s a least three sizes too small.”
“I thought sycrilline was meant to adjust to the wearer,” I said.
Kira scowled. “It is. But for some reason, she’s decided not to wear sycrilline. That’s some kind of old-fashioned material. I’ve never seen it before.”
“It’s certainly a stretchy material,” Draylan commented with a smirk.
I sat down with a sigh. “She said we need to bide our time. She’s worried that the inquisitors were following Toddo and doesn’t think we should rescue Trella straightaway.”
“It’s always going to be a risk,” Kira said. “We just need to get on with it.”
I nodded. “I agre
e. Unfortunately, I couldn’t persuade the admiral.”
Draylan chuckled and winked. “You’re not much of a ladies’ man, Tomas. I’d have been very persuasive if I’d have been alone with her.”
Kira rolled her eyes, and I tried not to laugh.
“You’re welcome to try to persuade her, Draylan, but I don’t like your chances. The admiral did say she’s happy for us to stay here until we mount the rescue operation. Hopefully, it won’t be long. In the meantime, I need to meet someone called Valletta, who is going to help me with my training.”
“Valletta? Is he one of the mages here?” Finn asked, looking around the meeting room.
I shook my head. “I have no idea.”
Toddo walked back into the room and made his way over to us. “Did the meeting go well?” he asked, addressing us all.
“It was a delight,” Draylan said with a leer. “Your illustrious leader is certainly eye-catching.”
Toddo tensed.
Sensing he was getting a reaction, Draylan continued. “An absolute vision of—”
“Enough. You’ll show her some respect while you’re sheltering under her roof,” Toddo said gruffly. He turned his back on Draylan and looked at me. “Maybe I’ll get more sense out of you. Is she happy for your friends to remain here?”
I nodded.
Toddo turned back and glared at Draylan. “What a pity.”
Draylan tensed and made to move out of his seat, but Bayliss put a big hand on his shoulder, pushing him back down. “Leave it,” the big man said.
“I’m supposed to meet a mage called Valletta for training,” I said, trying to distract Toddo’s attention away from Draylan.
“Valletta?” Toddo frowned. “That’s an odd choice,” he muttered.
“I hope you’re not questioning your fair leader?” Draylan taunted.
“That’s enough,” I snapped. “Stop stirring up trouble.”
Draylan held up his hands in an attempt to look innocent but couldn’t help grinning.
I turned back to Toddo. “Do you know where I can find Valletta?”
He nodded. “Yes, he’s not the most sociable mage and tends to keep to himself. We only really see him at mealtimes.”
