by Dan Oakley
Finn met my gaze and gave a slight nod.
Bayliss and Kira stood to one side, keeping out of the way. I smiled with relief when I saw them both.
Draylan was standing close by, with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Toddo. I guessed they had exchanged a few words on the way here.
I owed it to Draylan to tell him where we stood, at least for now.
“Everything all right?” I asked as I reached his side.
“As all right as it can be when we are prisoners, I suppose,” he said bitterly.
“Listen, I spoke to the admiral on the way here; she asked for a truce.”
Draylan tore his angry glare away from Toddo and focused on me. “Don’t tell me you agreed?”
“She said we’re going to mount the rescue mission now. We are going to intercept the prison transport ship.”
“Of course we are. She really knows what buttons to press with you, doesn’t she?”
“I think she was genuinely asking for help to keep everything on an even keel. I’m sure she plans to launch the rescue mission.”
Draylan rolled his eyes and turned away from me.
I hadn’t exactly expected him to take the news of a truce well, but I hoped at least he’d take a few days to see whether the admiral was true to her word before kicking up trouble.
Gaio, one of the mages, allocated us to our quarters. Room 17. Under normal circumstances it would be used by one crewman or woman, but all five of us would be sleeping in that room for the next few days. It would be a tight squeeze, but at least we were to have a room in the main part of the ship, rather than the cargo hold. In some smaller ships, like the Majestic Eagle, it was possible for the cargo area to be used as extra living space, but it wasn’t ideal.
Bayliss agreed to go down to the cargo bay and shift some of the larger boxes and crates to make room for the mages who would temporarily be making it their home. The admiral didn’t want to set off the detectors by using too much magical energy, so Bayliss’s natural strength was in demand.
Kira set off to find room 17, taking our cloaks and bags along with her.
I was about to follow her when Toddo called me over. “The admiral tells me you’re prepared to work with us.”
He looked at me skeptically.
I nodded. “We were never out to make trouble for anyone. We just want to get Trella out of the kingdom’s clutches. You promised your help.”
“Things are complicated. I want to get Trella out just as much as you do. But that doesn’t mean we can just run off without a proper plan in place.”
“Do you know Trella well?”
Toddo’s hard features softened a little, and he nodded. “I do. And I can’t stand the thought of her being stuck on a prison transport ship drugged up to the eyeballs on Bysandown. But I know I can’t help her without putting others at risk unless we do the job properly.”
I was about to reply when Toddo got called away to settle an argument between two mages who were trying to perform the same task.
I headed out from the midsection of the ship, looking for room 17. I’d only walked a short distance along the corridor when I saw four mages gathered around, laughing and jeering. My skin prickled. My senses told me they were up to no good. Why weren’t they working and helping to get the ship ready for departure? I walked forward quickly. They were all standing beside room 17.
I tried to push my way through the group of mages, who fell strangely silent when they saw me.
“I’ve seen you watching me,” a voice said. “I only want to get to know you a little better.”
“You’re delusional,” Kira snapped. “I’m not interested. Leave me alone.”
“You can’t turn me down. I’m a mage. You’re just some dumb human female, a mage groupie. If you’re impressed by Tomas and Finn, you should see what a real mage can do.”
The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. The mages beside the door tried to push me back. I wasn’t going to stand for that, not when someone was hassling Kira. I shoved back, hard.
My temper flared when I stood in the doorway. Jonno stood in the center of the room, facing away from me. Kira was backed up against the wall, holding up her hands defensively.
Jonno hadn’t noticed I was there.
He reached for her, and Kira recoiled, pushing herself back against the wall. “Get out!”
“You don’t get to say no to me. That’s not how this works. Although maybe I’ll quite enjoy bringing you to heel,” Jonno crowed, making a grab for Kira.
“Keep away from me, or you’ll regret it,” Kira snarled.
Jonno laughed, enjoying tormenting her.
“I’ll make sure you regret it,” I growled, storming toward Jonno.
Around me, the other mages shuffled away. A good job too. They sickened me. Why would they stand around and just watch as Jonno targeted Kira?
Jonno turned around with a sneer. “What’s it to do with you? The girl likes it.”
“You need to get out of here now.” I could feel the energy flowing through my veins. My fingertips crackled and sparked.
Jonno looked down nervously and shifted away. But while his eyes were on me, he hadn’t noticed what Kira was doing. She picked up her leather satchel and swung it at Jonno’s head.
He staggered, and then looked around incredulously as though he couldn’t believe Kira had dared to do such a thing.
He held up a finger, pointing at Kira, and said threateningly, “You’ll be sorry.”
I walked forward quickly, sending tiny miniature energy bolts from my fingers. In his hurry to get away, he tripped and fell on his backside, then scuttled backward. The small energy bolts left a smoking scorch mark in between his legs on the floor.
His eyes widened, and he scurried to his feet frantically before running out of the room.
“Dirt wipe,” Kira spat after him.
“Someone needs to do something about him,” I muttered. I turned to Kira. “Did he hurt you?”
“He didn’t get the chance. I can’t say I feel completely comfortable here though.”
I couldn’t blame her.
A voice came over the intercom system, one I didn’t recognize, but it called me to the bridge.
“I’ll send Draylan or Bayliss back here,” I said.
Kira dug around in her satchel and held up a metal baton. “I can handle myself.”
“I saw that. Still, I’d feel better if Bayliss or Draylan came back here. I wouldn’t want us to get in trouble for doing away with one of the resistance.”
Kira grinned.
I walked quickly back to the midsection of the ship. I didn’t want to leave Kira alone for any longer than I had to. Jonno was a creep, but what worried me more was the way the rest of the mages just stood around doing nothing, almost egging him on.
When I got closer to the midsection, I heard voices. One of them was Jonno’s. He was boasting, telling whoever was with him how he’d just taught me a lesson.
I rounded the corner, and when the two other mages saw me, they quickly walked away. Apparently, my reputation with Valletta had proceeded me.
“What were you saying, Jonno?” I asked coldly.
We were near the section where we’d entered the ship with the double airlock leading back to the loading bay.
“I’m not scared of you,” he said. “I don’t believe your half as powerful as they say you are. Otherwise, why would you let yourself be bossed around by the admiral?”
I punched the button on the wall to get the airlock to open, grabbed Jonno by the collar, and pulled him into the airlock with me, closing the door behind us.
“What are you doing? If the admiral finds out, she’ll set her snakes on you.”
I flinched at the idea, and Jonno laughed.
“You’re just a coward, aren’t you? You don’t have the nerve to do anything to me. You can’t protect that girl forever. One day you’ll turn your back, and I’ll have your precious Kira as a playthin
g, and you won’t be able to do anything about it—”
I didn’t use magic this time. Instead, I clenched my fist and used all my body weight behind the punch that caught Jonno square on the jaw. He fell over like a sack of potatoes. His arms and legs flopped at his sides.
I guessed he wasn’t so psychic after all. He hadn’t seen that coming.
Chapter 21
I stared down at Jonno’s motionless body. They were readying the ship for departure, so I didn’t have long. I leaned down, grabbed the skinny man, and hauled him over my shoulder before initiating the second airlock so I could get back to the loading bay.
As soon as the door opened, I carried him down the walkway and back onto the space station. I looked around quickly to see if I was being watched. There were probably security cameras around, and I’d forgotten to put my cloak back on. I kept my head down as I walked swiftly with Jonno, then dumped him beside an empty freight container.
I took one last look at his sticklike figure as he groaned, letting me know he was still alive. More’s the pity.
Breathlessly, I made it back to the ship through the airlock, and then headed towards the bridge, hoping I hadn’t been missed.
On the way, I spotted Bayliss. I pulled him to one side.
“Can you go and make sure Kira is okay?” I asked.
The big man frowned. “Why? What’s happened?”
“It was Jonno. He seems to have set his sights on her.”
Bayliss narrowed his eyes and set his jaw. “I’ll sort him out.”
“Hopefully there’ll be no need for that now,” I said.
I quickly filled him in on what I’d done.
As I spoke, Bayliss’s smile widened. “Good for you. I’ve wanted to do that since the day we met him.”
After leaving Bayliss, I headed to the bridge. I figured it would be quite close to the center of the ship and asked for directions from the next mage I passed.
When I arrived, I pressed the “door open” button, and after a brief pause, the door slid open.
As I stepped into the circular room, everyone turned my way. The admiral was standing in the center, beside a large bank of view screens and flashing lights.
Finn sat at a console, but he’d turned away from it and was looking at me. Concern was written all over his face, but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him alone. Sitting beside Finn was Valletta. Everyone else wore serious expressions, but Valletta was grinning.
The admiral approached me with a stony expression. “I thought you might like to know, Tomas, that there are security cameras all over the ship, including in the airlocks.”
“Oh.” I grimaced.
They must have seen it all. I cleared my throat. There was no point denying it.
“So I guess you saw me taking Jonno off the ship.”
Her face was unreadable. “Yes, we did. I do believe it was less than an hour ago that I asked you if we could all work together, and you agreed.”
“Don’t give him such a hard time,” Valletta said with a chuckle. “Jonno was a horrid man, and he gave mages a bad name.”
The admiral turned sharply, and I thought she was about to reprimand Valletta, but instead, she sighed. “Let’s get out of here before Jonno’s caught.”
“Weasels like him are rarely caught, unfortunately,” Valletta said.
The admiral shook her head and stepped down from the bridge to walk closer to Finn.
“How long until we can leave?”
“We’re nearly there. We have clearance to depart. Traffic control has our manifest and flight plan. All that remains are the last-minute checks. We need to check the landing area is clear, and a jump is approved.”
The admiral nodded. “So we can leave in five minutes?”
Finn nodded. “Yes, as soon as we get the checks approved.”
The console beside Finn lit up green, and several carved runes glowed a faint purple.
“We’re good to go,” Finn said. “I’ll sound the countdown.”
He pressed a button on the console, and the lights on the ceiling of the bridge began to flash.
A humanoid voice came over the ship-wide intercom system. “Prepare to jump. Please take up positions in time for the jump. Five minutes and counting.”
“Take a seat and buckle up,” the admiral said, pointing to one of the pulldown seats near the central console.
I did as I was told.
The intercom announced we had four minutes remaining until jump.
“I decided to call you to the bridge to discuss the rescue plans,” the admiral said coldly. “I thought it was only fair to involve you. I’m regretting that decision now.”
I slid the final buckle into place with a click.
“It wasn’t planned,” I said.
“And that’s the problem,” the admiral said, exasperated. “You can’t just do things like that on a whim. Not when we are in danger of being caught by the inquisitors at any moment.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have done it.”
She shook her head, and then took the seat beside me, buckling up. “How can I trust you when you’re so hotheaded?”
The countdown announced three minutes remaining until jump.
We sat there as she glowered at me, and I watched Finn trace the outlines of the runes on the jump drive. Rune magic fascinated me. Within the next few minutes, we would be a vast distance away from Marrachi.
The humanoid voice announced there was only one minute remaining until the jump.
“Would it help if I told you Jonno had it coming?”
The admiral gave me a sharp look.
“I guess not.”
“We’ll talk about this after the jump.”
The ship gave a faint judder as Finn launched us through space.
As soon as the intercom announced that it was safe, the admiral unbuckled and walked to Finn’s side. She studied the console and then nodded.
“We are only one jump away from the prison transporter now. Well done.”
Finn nodded stiffly, accepting her praise.
When everything was running smoothly, the admiral announced, “You can all leave for a break. I’m going to stay here and look over the details. But you need to get some rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
As we all prepared to leave, I glanced back and saw the admiral stretching, as though to ease a pain in her neck. She didn’t often show weakness, but she looked tired. Like the strain was getting to her.
I briefly considered asking if there was anything I could do to help, and then decided against it. She probably needed some time to cool down before she would forgive me for what I’d done to Jonno.
It wasn’t that she approved of Jonno’s behavior. Under different circumstances, she probably would have done the same thing. But she had a point. My timing was off. I’d taken a big risk. And I’d exposed everyone to the possibility we could have been caught by the inquisitors just because I’d lost my temper with Jonno. He had deserved to be punched, but that didn’t make what I’d done right.
I should have done it earlier.
Chapter 22
After leaving the bridge with Finn, we went straight back to room 17. Kira and Bayliss were already curled up on the floor, covered in their cloaks.
I wasn’t expecting a good night’s sleep. There wasn’t enough bedding to go around so we would have to make do with our cloaks. It wasn’t cold, but I was used to the weight of a blanket around me when I slept. I even longed for the goose feather mattress I’d had back on Terrano. It wasn’t very thick, but it beat sleeping on a hard floor.
Draylan was awake, sitting cross-legged and leaning against the wall. “Welcome to luxury,” he said sarcastically when Finn and I entered.
“It should only be like this for a few days,” I said. “Once we find Trella and mount the rescue mission, we can get out of here. Make a new start.”
Draylan gave me a disparaging look.
There was a rap on the door, and
Finn pressed the keypad.
The door slid open. Toddo stood in the doorway.
He looked around the small space. “Some of the men have gathered to unwind in the mess room. I wondered if you wanted to join us?”
I was surprised at Toddo’s show of hospitality. I thought under other circumstances I might get on quite well with Toddo, but things hadn’t been easy between us. We were on separate sides.
I thought I might end up on the side of the resistance, but now, I felt aimless. I was against the Kingdoms, but the resistance hadn’t been the savior I’d been looking for either.
“No, thanks,” Draylan muttered.
Kira mumbled something and turned over, and Bayliss let out a snore. It seemed they were quite happy where they were.
“I’ll come,” I said.
“Me too,” Finn agreed, smothering a yawn.
Draylan kept staring at the floor.
“I have it on good authority there’s a crate of Kavius wine in the mess room,” Toddo said. “It was left aboard during the last mission.”
Draylan’s ears seemed to prick up at the mention of alcohol.
He looked conflicted.
“It’s good stuff,” Toddo said. “Pretty strong though.”
With a huff, Draylan pushed himself to his feet. “Lead the way,” he said.
There were ten or so mages in the mess hall, two women who had changed into long, purple, flowing dresses marked with silver runes. I recognized Gaio and Hillyard when they looked up sharply as we entered.
Toddo picked up a carafe of wine and poured us all a glass.
“Here’s to putting the past behind us,” he said, raising his glass.
After a moment’s hesitation, we all raised our glasses before taking a long drink. The purple wine stung the back of my throat. I only managed a single gulp before spluttering.
“That is eye-wateringly strong,” Finn said, pulling a face.
Draylan didn’t hesitate. He downed the glass in one go.
Toddo smiled and shook his head as he topped up Draylan’s glass again. “Fancy a game of cards?”
