The Chosen Spacemage

by Dan Oakley

  I laid down and turned on my side, trying to settle back down and get some sleep, when suddenly I realized Draylan wasn’t lying in the floor between our two cots.

  I rubbed my eyes and peered out again into the darkness. There was no sign of him. I pushed back the blanket and gently got up from the bed, so I didn’t wake Kira. Should I go and look for him?

  No, he’d probably just gone to use the restroom that was at the end of the hall. I sat back down on the edge of the bed and waited a good few minutes, but Draylan didn’t materialize.

  If this had been any other day, I would have suspected he was down in the kitchen, helping himself to another serving of ale, but after everything that had happened, I was worried.

  Some of the mages had stared with open dislike at Draylan this evening. I wouldn’t put it past one of them to harm him.

  Bayliss, Kira and Finn were still sleeping, so I decided to go and look for Draylan, hoping I was worrying about nothing.

  I tiptoed between bodies, making my way towards the door.

  I passed Jonno halfway across the room. I was glad to hear he was snoring heavily and appeared to be fast asleep.

  Outside in the corridor it was much cooler. Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my body as I shuffled forward, keeping my eyes and ears open.

  I heard voices near the admiral’s office and paused. It didn’t sound like Draylan, so I pushed on. I reached the restroom, only to find that it was open and empty.

  Where could Draylan be? I walked further along the corridor passing a couple of doors. I didn’t know where they led to and didn’t want to be caught snooping. It was unlikely Draylan would be there anyway.

  When I reached the end of the corridor I frowned and turned, about to walk back, but then I heard voices again, clearer this time. Looking up, I saw a grill near the ceiling and realized the voices were coming through the vent.

  I recognized the admiral’s husky voice immediately and shivered, remembering the snakes in her hair. It was only an illusion, I knew that. Some kind of enchantment, but it gave me the creeps.

  “What do we do about them?” a voice I didn’t recognize asked.

  “We don’t need to do anything yet,” the admiral said.

  “They’re trouble. We should get rid of them. Make a deal with the inquisitors. If he is wanted by the Kingdoms security forces, I say we hand him over in exchange for our prisoners.”

  A shiver ran down my spine. Were they talking about me? I held my breath as I waited to hear how the admiral would respond.

  “No, we don’t know enough about him yet. I’m not prepared to give him away in exchange for just a few officers in the resistance. He could be valuable.”

  “Valuable, maybe.” Toddo’s voice drifted from the vent. “Dangerous, definitely. You didn’t see Valletta’s quarters after he was finished with them.”

  “Valletta was a fool,” another voice said, one I didn’t recognize. “He provoked an extreme reaction and wasn’t prepared to handle the fallout.”

  “It was reckless, but Valletta is powerful and should have been able to reverse the enchantment easily, but instead, he said somehow his magic was blocked,” Toddo said.

  “He’s able to block magic?” The admiral’s voice seemed to carry a note of concern.

  “That’s what Valletta said,” Toddo replied.

  I heard a knocking sound and jumped. It sounded like it was right behind me, but of course, it was coming from the office, and the sound had traveled along the vent.

  “Enter,” the admiral said.

  There sounded like a scuffle, along with some cursing, and after a moment the admiral laughed.

  “Well, well, what have we here?”

  “You have no right to keep me here! I demand to be allowed to leave.”

  That was Draylan’s voice! What was going on?

  “I found him trying to escape, Admiral. He’d made his way up to the restaurant,” a female voice said.

  “Oh, what a silly man,” the admiral said. “Well done, Nita.”

  I heard the door shut again and imagined Nita had left.

  “So, Toddo, what do you think we should do with him? He’s caused quite a lot of trouble recently.”

  “You wouldn’t dare do anything to me,” Draylan said. “Tomas wouldn’t stand for it.”

  “This has got nothing to do with Tomas,” the admiral said coldly. “I’m in charge here. You seem to be quite out of your depth, Draylan.”

  “I don’t want to be here. I was just trying to leave.”

  “You are not a naïve young boy, Draylan. I am the head of a resistance cell. You know where we are located. I would be ridiculously foolish if I let you go. Do you think I’m foolish?”

  “Not foolish, just a crazy snake-haired lady,” Draylan said.

  I winced at his words, imagining how angry they would make the admiral.

  She gave a low hiss, and I heard a scuffle break out again.

  I couldn’t just stand here while they hurt Draylan, but I wouldn’t have time to get back to the office in time from this side of the corridor. I tried desperately to project my thoughts on them.

  He is no threat. You should let him go. He can’t hurt you. He is harmless.

  “Very clumsy, Tomas,” the admiral’s voice boomed.

  I jerked in surprise, ducked my head and pressed my hands against my ears. The admiral’s voice had been right inside my head. I dropped my hands down to my sides, wondering if I’d imagined it.

  But then her voice came again, piercing and loud, almost as though she was shouting in my ear. “Come to my office immediately.”

  I ran along the corridor towards the office, hoping they hadn’t harmed Draylan in that time.

  I burst inside without knocking and saw the admiral sitting behind her desk. Toddo sat in a chair in front of the desk, along with two other men I recognized, but wasn’t sure of their names. Draylan was on his knees, his hands tied behind his back like a common criminal.

  My temper flared. “Why have you tied him up?” I demanded.

  The admiral’s eyes glittered as she glared at me. “Because he was trying to betray us, Tomas. What do you think I should do with the pair of you? You’re an eavesdropper, and he is a deserter.”

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her hair, expecting at any moment those tendrils to turn to snakes.

  I forced my gaze down, away from her hair, focusing on her skintight red uniform.

  “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. The sound travels through the vent.”

  “Do you think that makes it okay?” she asked in a soft voice.

  “Does it make it okay for you to tie him up?” I replied fiercely.

  She sighed. “I had high hopes for you, Tomas. But it appears we are at an impasse.”

  “He wouldn’t do anything to harm you or your mages. He just doesn’t want to be stuck here anymore.”

  Her expression softened a little, and I pushed on. “If you let us go, we could try the rescue mission ourselves. We wouldn’t need to involve you at all or risk the lives of any of your mages…”

  I trailed off when I saw the ferocious expression on her face.

  Her upper lip curled back over her sharp white teeth. “I am a leader of a resistance cell with over a decade’s experience of leading missions, and you are? What’s your experience, Tomas?”

  “You’re a power-hungry crazy person,” Draylan spat. “Anyone with half a brain would have moved the cell by now. You had a mole. Your location has been compromised!”

  I shot him a look. We were already in enough trouble. We didn’t need him making it worse.

  “I’ll tell you what you are, Tomas,” she said, standing and leaning forward on her desk. “You are nothing but a peasant from Terrano. We were told to expect great things. You’ve managed to fool them all, haven’t you, Tomas? You’re nothing but a silly young man who wants to rush in and create messes that other people have to clear up for you.”

  She turned to Toddo. “Take that ma
n”—she pointed to Draylan—“back to the meeting room and don’t let him out of your sight this time.”

  She waved her hand at the other two men sitting in front of the desk.

  She didn’t speak again until we were alone.

  She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You seem to bring out the worst in me,” she said. “I lost my temper. The very thing Valletta says is your problem. I apologize. Your upbringing on Terrano has no reflection on who you are now.”

  She was wrong. My upbringing influenced everything I did. I’d had a hard start in life, but I’d seen kindness, and despite everything, I’d found friendship.

  “I meant no disrespect,” I said. “Please try to see things from my point of view. It’s my fault my friends are here. I thought we would be able to rescue Trella, and we can’t. They just want to leave.”

  She nodded thoughtfully, then clasped her hands together. “I’m sorry, Tomas. You and your friends are no longer guests of the resistance. You are our prisoners.”

  Chapter 18

  I was escorted back to the meeting room where everyone was sleeping. I took one of the blankets from the cot and lay on the floor next to Draylan. “Are you all right?” I asked.

  I could see Draylan’s profile in the darkness. His eyes were open, but he didn’t turn to look at me.

  He was angry with me, and I couldn’t blame him. It was my fault we were in this mess. I was the one to persuade them the resistance could help us find and free Trella.

  We were all looking for something to believe in. I’d believed the resistance could be our saviors, but instead, I’d run from a fox, only to run straight into the jaws of a wolf.

  I linked my hands behind my head and lay on my back. Draylan would be in serious trouble by now. He hadn’t been reporting for duty at the KSS Morellic and would be charged with desertion. Maybe the Kingdoms had already put out a warrant for his arrest too.

  Draylan sighed heavily. “I’m so sick of these people.”

  “You’re right,” I whispered. “We need to get out of here.”

  If it isn’t already too late.

  Draylan turned. “Really?”

  “Yes, I’m only sorry I didn’t listen to you earlier.”

  Draylan grunted and mirrored my pose, putting his hands behind his head and laying on his back. “Well, at least you’re seeing sense now.”

  “We’ll make our escape tomorrow,” I said. “We’ll prepare the others during the day and then make a move in the evening.”

  “They’re going to be watching us carefully now,” Draylan said.

  “I know. I should be able to distract the other mages enough for you, Bayliss, Finn and Kira to make a run for it, but tomorrow we’ll need to keep to our routine. They are already going to be alert and on our backs all day, and we don’t want to raise their suspicions anymore.”

  Draylan nodded slowly. “I have a feeling they’re not going to make it easy for us.”

  “Quiet!” Toddo hissed. He was sitting on a stool beside the door, keeping watch.

  I tightened the blanket around my shoulders. “Tomorrow,” I whispered and closed my eyes.

  The following morning, I headed to Valletta’s quarters and left Draylan to explain to the others what had happened and what we were planning to do tonight.

  When I arrived, Valletta was very eager to get started.

  He seemed agitated, and I wondered if he’d heard what had happened last night, but he didn’t mention it.

  Of all of the mages I’d met here, I felt the most affinity with Valletta, which was odd because he was certainly an unusual character, unlike anyone I’d ever met before. He had strange ways of looking at things, but I thought he was a good man deep down.

  As we worked through the morning, I was tempted to confide in him, but at the last moment, decided to keep quiet. Even if I did manage to persuade him to help me, the admiral would be sure to punish my new mentor if she found out.

  I would have quite liked to bring Valletta with us. Though I grew impatient with his teaching techniques, I had to admit I was learning more about control over these past few days.

  This morning, he had me copying down a number of runes. I liked the way the old-fashioned quill pen he used, dipped in scarlet ink, flowed across the paper. It was strangely meditative. With every rune I drew, I wondered whether it could get me one step closer to breaking Trella out of her prison.

  “Something is troubling you,” Valletta said with a sigh and sat down opposite me.

  “I’m not happy here,” I said simply.

  Valletta shocked me by reaching out his hand and tapping mine. I looked down at his small hand covered with gold rings in surprise.

  “You’re heading the right way. All that matters is you travel in the right direction,” he said.

  What did that mean? The right direction with my studying, my magic? The old mage spoke in riddles sometimes.

  “I’m not sure what that means, Valletta.”

  “You have many ways back, Tomas, but only one way forward.”

  I stifled a sigh. Was that supposed to be helpful?

  “Why can’t you just say what you mean?” I asked, looking up from the copybook, where I’d been drawing a complicated rune.

  “I do say what I mean, Tomas. The trouble is, people don’t listen.”

  I put down the quill. “They’ve tricked me. I don’t need to learn control; I need to stop trusting people. I thought they were the good guys, and now my friends are trapped.”

  “You’re talking about the resistance,” Valletta said. “It’s a valuable lesson. No one is all good, just like no one is all evil.”

  “They seem pretty evil to me right now.”

  “Then you are not looking at things properly. Look at things from another angle.”

  I frowned. I didn’t want to see things from their point of view. I just wanted to get out of here and get back to our original plan of helping Trella.

  “There are people here who believe in their cause absolutely,” Valletta said, his hazel eyes watching me intently.

  “Do you? Do you believe in the resistance absolutely?”

  “I believe in the freedom to choose,” Valletta said, “and you need to make your own decision.”

  “How can I? I’m a prisoner here.”

  Valletta chuckled. “You are the most powerful mage in this building, perhaps the most powerful on Marrachi. If you really set your mind to it, no one could contain you.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. I’d seen Admiral Laine Cleaver kill a man by turning her hair into snakes. As if I could possibly stand a chance against her.

  “You can laugh if you want, Tomas, but I know the truth.”

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the bench. “Then why don’t you tell me the truth?”

  “Because I don’t think you’re ready to hear it yet.”

  Again with the games. “Just tell me straight what you mean. Is it to do with this chosen mage thing you mentioned? Do you really believe in the Queen Mage?”

  “Do you?”

  Great. Just great. Now he was answering my questions with another question. I would never get any answers from Valletta.

  “From what I’ve heard, it’s all just fairy stories.”

  Valletta nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, but like most stories, it originates from a fact. All stories have truth at their hearts.”

  I stifled a sigh and picked up my quill to resume copying the runes. Valletta was never going to tell me anything useful.

  Valletta chuckled. “I suppose it’s about time I taught you something you’d enjoy.”

  I looked up quickly. “Really? The shield?”

  Valletta grinned at my enthusiasm. “Yes, although technically it’s known as a protective aura.”

  I put down the quill, dripping ink on the bench in my hurry to stand up.

  “Great.”

  Valletta’s smile faded. “In truth, I think you might need this technique sooner
than I would like. No one here confides in me, but I hear murmurs of discontent. Some of the mages here, do not accept change easily.”

  That sounded like a warning, but I was already on my guard. I’d have to have been an idiot not to sense the hostility towards me and my friends from the mages.

  Valletta led me to the other side of his quarters, beside the copper cage. He knelt next to a writing desk and pulled out the bottom drawer. Inside, was a bone-handled knife. The blade was short and stubby but looked sharp.

  “What do we need that for?” I asked, looking nervously at the glinting steel.

  Valletta turned, holding up the knife. “We are going to do this the old-fashioned way. I know some prefer to use laser knives these days, because the laser cauterizes the wound quickly. But I believe blood is an essential part of the process.”

  Blood? I wasn’t feeling quite so eager now.

  “What exactly are you going to do with that knife?”

  “I’m going to carve the rune into the palm of your hand,” Valletta said as though that was the most natural thing in the world to do.

  “On my hand?”

  He nodded. “It’s the easiest way.”

  I couldn’t back out now. The aura would come in very useful in the future. I held out my hand and turned it over, palm side up.

  But Valletta didn’t get straight to work. Instead, he held the blade over the flickering flame from a burner on his work bench. It seemed like real fire, but I couldn’t be sure.

  Once the blade was hot, he turned back to me and grabbed my hand tightly. He worked quickly, but I was surprised at how uncomfortable it was. When the first pinpricks of blood appeared, my stomach rolled.

  How could he work with blood obscuring the rune? There was nothing I could do but trust him.

  “What rune are you drawing?” I said, looking the other way, trying to distract myself from the crimson blood.

  “It’s a protection rune. Four interlinked circles with an arrow crossing their centers.”

  “And once this heals, I’ll be able to generate a protective aura?” I asked hopefully.

  Valletta shook his head. “There’s a little more to it than that. But I’ll show you. You won’t have to wait until it heals.”