Rise of Shadows (3 page)

Wow. That sounded awesome. Finally free from the books and stupid tests! Surely, there must be some catch. “Master, that sounds too good to be true,” I said.

“I can see why you would think that, but you are overlooking a key part of this. Here in the school, you are safe. If you come with us, you might well be captured, killed, or worse on any given day. It is the most risky plan we wizards have taken on since the Great War. This risk will force you to grow faster, but may kill you. Your death is not our goal, of course, but you will be on the front lines of the battle with the sorcerers, and out there nothing is guaranteed,” he said.

Now that was a catch if I ever heard of one. “Master, how long would we be out there?” I asked.

“No way to tell. It could be years. If the program is successful it could be a permanent assignment for you,” he said.

That would mean no more stupid tests, ever. This sounded wonderful, but I should be careful. Anything carrying the risk of death probably should be considered carefully. “Master, I am not sure. It sounds wonderful, but I need time to think about it.”

“Of course, take some time to think about it. This upcoming week is your vacation. In previous years you refused to take it, but this time take it so that you can think on this,” he said.

After that, we headed back to the school, and I went back to my room to sleep on what he had said. This time I was not spotted and made it to my bed in peace.

Master Shadow wants me to take a vacation to think about his offer, but that would be such a waste of the week. This was the best week of the year. Almost all the students and professors were gone. This made the school so much quieter, and I could get in a lot more time with my spellbooks and even have a good excuse to ignore my textbooks. What better vacation could there be than that?

Still, Master Shadow’s offer floated like a dark cloud over my head. I could not stop thinking about it. Freedom from this school, freedom from all this chaos, and freedom from teachers’ disappointed looks every time I turn in an assignment.

I picked up the advanced spellbooks that I had been working through of late and stuck them in my pack. I decided that maybe some fresh air would help, so I headed to the spaceport. I was not sure where to head, but I figured they would have information there on the nearby planets. When I walked into the spaceport the noise and the crowds overwhelmed me. I knew it would be busy since it was the first morning of vacation, but nothing could have prepared me for just how busy it was. I decided that the air on this world would be good enough and turned to leave when Phoenix walked in and saw me.

“Hey, Dusty!” he called out.

“Hi, Phoenix,” I said.

“I never would have expected to see you here. Where are you heading?” he asked.

“Back out to the hiking trails,” I said and started to walk away knowing what was coming next.

“Nonsense, you should come with me. I am heading to Okeanos,” he said.

Okeanos was a major vacation hotspot. When the Empire had first found the planet, it was completely devoid of life and covered completely with water. Some enterprising people decided to create artificial islands and build themed resorts on each of the islands. The result was a very expensive, but highly sought after vacation paradise. I was grateful this was his choice of destination because it would be easy to back out of.

“Sorry, Phoenix, but I could barely afford the transport fare to go that far, never mind the astronomical cost of Okeanos,” I said.

“What kind of friend do you take me for? You really think I would suggest a place like Okeanos if I was not gonna pay your way? Come on, it will be great! Besides, aren’t you part lizard, and need some sun?” he asked.

I shook my head at that remark. He knew that being Parrinian did not make me part lizard. Sure, I slept under a sun lamp to compensate for the lack of sun on this planet, but that was more of a comfort thing than a health requirement. It would have been a waste of time to try to correct him again on that, so instead I said, “That is very generous of you…”

“Great! Then it’s settled!” he interrupted as he grabbed my bag and headed to the ticket counter.

That bag had my spellbooks in it; otherwise, I would have abandoned it to make good my escape. Instead, I found myself being dragged around the spaceport and eventually onto the shuttle. Once on the shuttle and strapped in, Phoenix started telling me about all the fun we would have when we got to Okeanos, which of course involved lots of food.

The shuttle trip to the trade hub was uneventful. Once we arrived at the trade hub, I reclaimed my bag and followed Phoenix, who I assumed was heading to a passenger transport which would take us to a trade hub near Okeanos. I could have snuck away at this point, but he had already paid my way and would lose a lot of money if I did. This trip would likely cost him more money than I had ever had. There was no way I could back out now and cost him all that. We did not end up heading right to the transport; instead, he first took me to a store to get some clothes for the trip.

“It is better if you stow that robe until our return trip. It will just draw attention to you,” he said.

“Well, I don’t want that, but I just hate to waste your money. I have plenty of clothes back at the school. I will just go back for them…” I started.

“Nonsense! Clothes are cheap here. We will just get you a few outfits,” he said.

There was no arguing with him on this trip. He seemed determined that I would have a good time at any expense. Once that was settled we took the transport to our next stop, and then the shuttle to Okeanos’ primary spaceport.

“Ok, Dusty, this is where we need to pick an island to spend the week. Each has a different theme, and I usually go to Gama because it has a great waterpark and awesome barbeque,” he said.

“Waterpark? Really?” It occurred to me then that I had not seen water in almost two decades.

“Oh, yeah! It’s massive too!” he said.

“That sounds good, let’s go there!” I said. Against my will, I was starting to get a little excited about this trip. My homeworld was an ocean planet like this one, and I had forgotten how much I missed it.

“That’s the spirit!” he said and walked over to the terminal to arrange our passage to Gama.

While he did that, I walked over to the window and looked out over the ocean. The waves smashed against a rocky beach far below my vantage point, and while I could not really hear it, I could remember the sound, and it was soothing.

Soon we were on our way to Gama, and Phoenix arranged for an open-air boat to take us. I stood in the front of the boat and relished the sun, wind, and saltwater spray. My mood was lifted higher than it had been in years.

That week was the best I had had in a long time. Phoenix spared no expense on our vacation package, and we were treated like kings the entire time. It was such a major change from the disappointment my presence in the classroom seemed to cause the professors.

The waterpark was great, but my favorite attraction was the beach. I must have spent half the week there underwater exploring the caves and coral reefs that had been imported centuries ago. There was a vast marine ecology there, which was made up of imported aquatic creatures that were in danger of extinction on their homeworlds and were brought here to be saved. I did not see much of Phoenix during the week, as he could not breathe underwater like Parrinians could. Instead, he stuck mainly to the vast array of slides and restaurants.

Gama was apparently a hotspot for Parrinians, as everywhere I looked I saw them. Because of this influx of Parrinians, Okeanos had apparently configured Gama to match the conditions of our homeworld. Humidity was kept at a steady pleasant ninety-nine percent, and the indoor attractions had an artificial sun that never set, just like home.

When the week finally did end, I met Phoenix at the spaceport and said, “Thanks, Phoenix. There is no way I could ever repay you for this.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It did you good, and that’s enough payment for me,” he said.

Once we were strapped into our transport back to Alpha Academy’s trade hub I said, “I almost don’t want to go back, Phoenix.”

“Yeah, I know. It has been rough for you there, but you have come so far. It would be a shame to give up now,” he said.

“Oh, I know,” I said. My mind for the first time this week returned to Master Shadow’s offer. I was contemplating that as we entered jump space. When we came out I said, “How about you? Are you looking forward to another year of classes?”

He smiled widely and said, “Nope, I will be on a different track this semester.” I wondered what he meant, but we needed to get our bags and transfer to the shuttle that would take us on our final leg home. Once we were settled into the shuttle for the trip home, he sent to me, “
Shadow made me the same offer as he did to you, and I plan to take it.
”

“
Who else did he offer it to?”
I asked.

“
So far he has picked you, me, and Flame,”
he sent.

Flame was an obvious choice. She would never let him get away with not bringing her, that is for sure. If Phoenix joined them, that meant I would be left without any help in my classes, and without Master Shadow to defend me I worried about my chances at passing the upcoming semester.

“How many wizards is he going to invite?”
I asked.

“
I do not know, but there are seats for four crew and one captain on the bridge of the Dust Dragon,”
he sent.

“
So that whole ‘risk of death’ thing does not worry you?”
I asked.

“
When have you known me to worry?”
he sent. “
Which brings up the question, did you tell Shadow ‘no’?
”

“No, I told him I wanted time to think about it,”
I sent.

“
Well, then, what is stopping you from accepting?
” he asked.

“
That whole ‘risk of death, capture, or worse’ thing that he mentioned,”
I sent.
That and the fear that I was not really ready, and I would fail them
, I thought to myself.

“
That comes with being a wizard,”
he sent. “
I want you to join us. The four of us are a team, and I’d hate to see it broken up.”

I did not have a chance to respond to that, as we entered jump space as soon as he finished that thought, leaving me with a mixed pile of emotions. On the one hand, I wanted to jump at this opportunity, but on the other hand, as depressing as my time in the Academy was, it was my home for the last two decades. It was not all bad either; there were many good times along the way. If I could just get my mind around the academic side, it would be fine. That would be much harder with my three tutors leaving the school, but I was sure the school could find me new help; after all, it is not as if I was the only student that was struggling.

Soon we were in Alpha Academy’s spaceport and had to work our way through the crowds to get our bags and be readmitted into the school. Phoenix noticed that it was about breakfast time when we landed, so he dragged me over to the mess hall.

When we arrived, Flame and Master Shadow were there, eating and laughing about something. They stood to greet us as we approached the table, and soon we were all eating and chatting about our breaks. Flame and Master Shadow were still not permitted to leave the planet but apparently found some caves and got lost in them. So lost in fact that Shadow was forced to travel through jump space to get them safely home. Those caves sure sounded interesting though. I put them in the back of my mind to check out sometime.

Phoenix started to tell them about our trip when Flame cut him off and said, “Wait, hold on! Dusty, you took a vacation to Okeanos?”

“Aw, come on,” I said. “Don’t sound so shocked, it’s not like I never go anywhere!”

“Actually, Dusty, it is exactly like that,” laughed Master Shadow.

“Well, that explains the beautiful blue-green tan you have!” said Flame.

I was a little embarrassed by that remark and really did not know how to react. Thankfully, Phoenix stepped in to rescue me and told the tale of our vacation. It was one of the best meals I had ever eaten at the school. For once, I was taking part in the conversation as one of them, and not as their student. It was then that I realized I had no choice; I would join them on this crazy quest.

“
Master, I would love to join your crew if you still want me,
” I sent to Master Shadow.

“Of course, Dusty!” he said aloud. “Meet us tomorrow for breakfast, and we will start your training.” This seemed to truly please all of them. They really did want me on their crew.

Shortly after that, I headed up to my room for a brief nap to sleep off some of the travel weariness and then headed outside to practice my spells some more.

The following day I met up with Master Shadow, Phoenix, and Flame as planned. We had a big breakfast and conversation was light. Eventually breakfast time was over, and we headed back down that corridor to the locked and guarded door.

“During training we will be spending a lot of time down here, and I will not be able to run out constantly and get you. So now that you are members of my crew, this door will open for each of you,” said Master Shadow.

We walked in relative silence until we reached the Dust Dragon. After telling us that the Dust Dragon would respond to our commands as well as his, he opened the door and we boarded via the same staircase that I had used previously.

Once we were all on board Master Shadow said, “Now, these robes are the official uniform of the school, but they are insufficient for our new role. I have specially crafted armor that each of us can wear under our robes. This armor will serve several functions. It is an environmental suit that will protect us in the event of a hull breach and allow us to operate outside of the Dust Dragon should we need to. Second, the armor is very effective at stopping energy-based and magical attacks.”

After saying that he pulled out three red suits of armor for us. They were made of some heavy cloth that had a metallic feel to it, but were soft and pliable. They were completely bare of any marking, which gave them an almost sinister look. We each went to separate rooms to put them on and, just as our robes did, they adjusted themselves to the perfect size for each of us. The armor was extremely comfortable to wear despite being form-fitting.