Sac'a'rith (34 page)

“What makes you say that?” asked Marcus. There was surprise in his voice, which stood out in stark contrast to the tonelessness of his speech during the battle.

“Since I woke, I’ve spent most of my time out here learning the state of the various powers that be, and those already active have enough strength to ensure that no one power can rule,” she said.

“Are there others coming?” I asked.

“We’re near the outer edge of the galaxy. All the magi who survived the Rending would have fled this far and then run out of options. Only the Weave knows how many yet lie sleeping and how many are already active,” she said. “There’s no way to guess the number of people who might be out here, or to what camps they might belong, but one thing is for sure: if they made it this far, they are among the most powerful.”

“What of the wizards? Surely they could hold this region,” said Ragnar.

“They?” asked Raquel with a smile. “Yes,
we
could. However, we have no plans to do that at this time. Our goal is to open trade out here and make friends.”

“Still, they … we could, right?” queried Marcus.

“Oh, definitely. There’s no one out here who would dare try to match us other than the Cyborgs and, as you saw, we don’t have much to fear from them. We could annex this region and have it as a second kingdom, but we’re not seeking to expand out here, just to build relationships for a change.” She went on to explain how the Wizard Kingdom’s borders were always under threat, and that jealously and envy among what used to be the Empire had fueled hatred of the Kingdom. “We hope things will be different out here.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the fleet jumping. Once we were clear, Raquel asked Shira and myself
to join her in the cargo bay for magic lessons.

Raquel stood before us and said, “Now, as Sac’a’rith your powers will always be stronger the more you are surrounded by natural things, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless on a space craft like this one. There are two spells which I think are the most useful for you to learn right now. The first is your bolt spell and the second is camouflage.”

“Camouflage?” I repeated.

“Bolt?” said Shira with some excitement.

“Yes. The camouflage spell is nowhere near as good as what can be done by those with the concealment line, but it’s good enough to fool most mundanes most of the time,” said Raquel.

That didn’t make sense. She had previously told us that it was her armor which allowed her to hide from sight. “Wait, I thought you said your armor … ”

“Yes, this armor can camouflage also, but it works much better when I enhance it with my own spell,” she said. “Speaking of which, change out of your armor for this. It will make it easier.”

“But we need to wear it when we fight out here. What if there’s a hull breach?” I wasn’t at all comfortable about entering into combat with a modern foe without protection. It had become habitual for us to suit up when we were jumping into unknown space. It had only taken one hull breach a while back to show us that we needed to be prepared. When idling at a station, or even coasting between jumps, most of us ditched the armor, but even that was a bit risky.

“Of course, which is why I don mine for combat in space, but it will make it more difficult to learn to cast, so for the moment switch into natural clothing such as we wore on our first trip home.”

What she said made sense based on the little experience I’d had of trying to use my magic while wearing the armor, so I reluctantly agreed and we went to our separate quarters to change. Shira and I arrived back in the cargo bay before Raquel did. “Shira, I assume you know this stuff already?”

“What stuff?”

“You know the spells. You’ve been at this magic business a lot longer than I have.”

Her face flushed and she turned her gaze to the floor. “No. I was only allowed to study traveler spells.”

Once again I wanted to kick myself. Of course her former master would have done all he could to keep her helpless. I was saved from further foolishness by Raquel’s return.

“I think we’ll start with a demonstration,” said Raquel. She was dressed in armor that appeared to be made from animal skins and leather. She had worn it the time when we’d taken her to the Sac’a’rith ruins, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it then. It covered her body as did modern armor, but seemed more flexible and much lighter. I was sure it was enchanted, but I didn’t recognize the pattern of power; I guessed it was probably magic to make it tougher and lighter. What else would someone like her need? I wondered how it would fare against a good blaster. Leather alone would be useless, but I was beginning to understand that in the world of spellcraft nothing was as it seemed.

“Wait,” I said. “You shouldn’t be casting! The battle was one thing, but there’s no need here.”

“There is great need here!” she snapped, and got right up in my snout. “Don’t you understand yet? I’m the last one alive who knows the old ways! If I don’t teach you, our ways die with me!”

There was intensity in her eyes and an edge to her voice that shook me to the core. I had never seen her angry like this before. There was something deep inside her, barely showing in her eyes, which brought a chill down my spine and seriously threatened my bladder control. Involuntarily I took a step back.

“Hey,” Shira said softly, “he’s just worried about you.”

Raquel turned on Shira, but caught herself up with a jerk. She walked a few paces away from us and breathed hard. Shira moved between Raquel and myself.

“Just go along with the training. It obviously means a great deal to her,”
sent Shira privately.

After a few minutes Raquel turned and said, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly. I had no desire to see again what I’d observed in her eyes. I had witnessed enough violence in my time to recognize it: for a brief moment, they’d been the eyes of a killer.

“Look, I need to demonstrate in order to teach. I will already need to make a stop at home to recharge before we face the sorcerers at our destination, so a few more spells won’t make much difference,” she said.

“Okay, but please use only the minimum effort necessary,” I said.

For the next several hours Raquel worked with me, trying to teach me the movements and command words for the spells. She could throw bolts of energy with such speed, precision and control that one might think her the equivalent of a cannon on a
battle cruiser.

I, on the other hand, could do nothing; nothing but wave my arms about like a drunken fool, chanting gibberish. Sometimes it felt as if there was power building around me, but there was
a barrier there; s
omething was blocking me from reaching it.

Shira didn’t try any of the spells. She just watched in silence, lost in thought most of the time.

Raquel was advising that we should take a break and try again later, then Shira said, “Let me watch.”

That was a baffling suggestion from someone who had watched us for the entire session. “But you have been watching!”

“No.” She stretched her tiny arm as long as it could go and pointed up at my head. “Let me watch from in there.”

“That’s a good idea, Shira. Zah’rak, will you let her?” asked Raquel.

I was inclined to refuse, but Shira had a pleading look on her face; I just couldn’t say no to her. “I suppose so.”

“Okay, go ahead and cast,”
sent Shira.

I could feel a deeper connection with her than usual. I didn’t understand the sensation and did my best to ignore it. Crivreen had taught me how to force someone out of my head, so I knew I could break the connection if need be. Besides, I had to admit it was oddly comforting.

I set aside these thoughts and focused on casting, determined that this time I would get it. I focused everything I had on the spell. My heart was racing as it tried to send extra blood to my brain to compensate for the stress I was putting on my system. Energy built up around me and I could almost feel it on my scales, but as before something was blocking my access to that energy and the spell failed.

Cursing, I turned and slammed my fist into a nearby storage container, which sent it flying across the room, spilling its contents as it went. Pain arced up my arm and brought forth more curses.

Shira and Raquel backed away. Shira said, “It’s all right. I think I can help you.”

“How?” I asked.

She turned to Raquel. “Let’s move this lesson to hydroponics.”

Raquel’s face lit up. “Of course!”

I nursed my throbbing hand as we made our way to hydroponics. I could hear them talking but my frustration had darkened my mood too much to care what they were saying. The Night Wisp was a fairly small craft and we soon reached our destination.

I hadn’t been in there since our last trip through the gate, so I was unprepared for the transformation that Shira had wrought. Instead of sterile tanks of green goo, harsh lighting and rows of computer banks there were trees, bushes and plants. The lighting was different; less harsh and bluer than it had been before. The air was more humid and the temperature warmer than the rest of the ship.

The tanks were still there, but all around them and in between were the samples we had transplanted from the forest. The pots were connected to the water and fertilizer system, and the lighting had been rearranged to bathe them in its glow. She had even made paths through the plants so that you could visit each one should you so choose.

I could feel the life in there reaching out to me. Instinctively I reached out and used the power to heal my bruised hand. My heart rate slowed, and the pounding in my head receded. A calmness came over me.

“Shira, it’s … it’s beautiful!” I said.

She came up beside me and placed her hand on mine. “You really think so? I had so little to work with.”

“Well, you worked a miracle in here,” I said.

“It’s impressive. Now I see what you had in mind for the plants you collected.” Raquel walked around the room and touched a few plants. “We should try to bring more back each trip.”

Shira was beaming with pride, and nothing could have made my heart happier.

“Okay, Zah’rak,” said Raquel. “Try the bolt again, but be sure to aim it at me instead of one of the plants.”

“At you?” I gasped.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine, and we don’t want to undo all Shira’s good work,” she said.

I remembered watching Crivreen and Purwryn practice by casting spells at each other. If those two buffoons could do it safely, then surely Raquel could also.

I went through the movements again and said the command words, but something was different this time. My movements were smoother, my pronunciation was less forced, and I could feel my hands moving in and through some kind of energy field. The sensation helped me to focus and direct my movements more precisely than before. It reminded me of making the enchanted armor; if I just let myself flow with it, the power itself would guide me.

As I finished the spell I saw a green patch of something like plasma forming around my hands, and with my last movement it turned into a ball that flew across the room and slammed into Raquel’s armor. There was a flash of green light and then everything returned to normal. Raquel was smiling, apparently unhurt, and Shira ran over and hugged my waist.

“You did it!” she said.

“But how? That was almost easy!” I spluttered.

Raquel walked over to me. “All magi, no matter what kind, draw their strength from what we have taken to calling the life force. Most magi tap the weave, which is the source of all life and all power. When you enchant your armor, you’re pulling energy from the weave and intertwining it with the materials. When Crivreen tosses a lightning bolt, he’s pulling power from the weave and converting it to electricity. Does that make sense to you?”

“Yes, but how does it answer my question?” I asked.

“The Sac’a’rith are magi, but we can do something no other magus can do: we tap the life force of nature around us. The weave is what gave life to the plants and to us; just as you can tap the weave, you can tap these plants. Think of them like batteries. The bolt you cast came because you instinctively conducted the power of life into your spell, the life surrounding you here.”

“Then when I’m not around life, I can’t cast?” I asked.

“No, you can cast even in the cargo bay. You can tap the weave directly like all other magi, but you’re much stronger and everything is much easier when you’re surrounded by life.”

Raquel wanted me to stay in hydroponics until casting both spells became as easy as breathing. She said that once I could cast as well as she did, I’d be ready to try it in the cargo bay. It was much easier to cast in hydroponics, and after a week of practice I could at least cast both spells from memory without help, but Raquel’s speed and smoothness was beyond imitation. In spite of my protests, she insisted that one day I’d have that too.

I doubted it would ever happen.

“Zah’rak, we are about a day from our last jump. This would be the best time to use the gate,” commented Raquel.

“What time is it there?” I asked.

“Nearly nightfall. If we hurry, we should be able to get clear of the first gate and gate to the fortress before darkness.”

I contacted Shira on the comm. and told her to change into her wilderness gear and meet us at the gate. Quickly, I suited up. We met in the room, Raquel opened the gate and we rushed through.

It felt good to be outdoors again. The trees, birds and other life around me were invigorating. I was disappointed that we would be gating directly to the fortress instead of walking this time. “Raquel, that first night we came, why didn’t we simply gate to the fortress?”

“I was too weak, and Shira couldn’t do it yet,” she said aloud, but privately she sent,
“Shira needed that time in natural surroundings to begin to heal. When we get more time, we must spend more training sessions here so she can unlock her true potential.”

“Ah,” I said. “That makes sense.”

I wondered why the gate wasn’t inside the fortress. Raquel said, “Looks like twilight is almost upon us. We’d better not delay.”