Blood in the Fire (Timelaws Trilogy) (15 page)

Ketya’s Bunker – Fall 2834

Elizabeth

Leaving my body did not end the spell. I was sinking from the deep, heavy darkness down into Ketya’s flesh. Her body had just endured the same ordeal as mine and I could feel the lingering pain and fatigue in her bones. Pins and needles consumed every inch of my skin. I couldn’t breathe although I knew the spell would exchange the excess carbon dioxide in her system for oxygen. Still, my lungs’ inability to find air forced me to try and inhale the nothingness. I was stuck in between, feeling her corporeal form as though it were my own, but unable to control it. It was like suffocating. All I could see was a deep blue void with millions of white sparkles that flickered in and out as quickly as the pins and needles that were eating my skin. I tried to remain calm and let it happen, but my lungs would not stop fighting me and it was hard to dismiss the fear that I might never breathe again. I wanted this to stop. I wanted it to stop so bad I would have cried if my eyes had let me. And still it continued. The whole thing didn’t last more than five or six minutes, but it felt like an hour.

When I emerged into the dim room, the first thing I did was gulp at the thin air. I pulled my legs to my chest and rested my forehead on my knees. Calm down. The pins and needles sensation was passing. Take slow, deep breaths. My head spun for a moment—probably from hyperventilating.

After a couple minutes in that position, I felt well enough to try and move. I was a little nauseous but I continued to push myself upright with shaky arms.
I am never volunteering for that spell again
.

Then, as though my hearing had been suddenly turned on, I noticed for the first time the voice of a crying baby girl. My feet were sharing the foot of the bed with a very noisy blanket. I scrambled to reach her and only paused for a moment when my vision blurred. Only the problem was not my vision. Ketya’s eyes interpreted color and depth differently. The world through her eyes looked more vibrant, more three-dimensional.

While still on the bed, I reached for the edge of the thick fabric and pulled it back. The blanket revealed a squinted up, almost yellow face with a very large mouth. Or perhaps it just looked that way because she had it wide open so as not to muffle one ounce of the sound her miniature lungs could produce. Unsure of how to manipulate the world with only three fingers, much less carry a baby, I took great care in lifting her up into my arms. Something in Ketya’s heart reacted as though she had just been filled with warmth. Naimi’s cry began to soften. Ketya’s instincts came over me and I reached with my palm to rub her belly. This seemed to sooth her. She gurgled and then rolled her head into my arm and slept.

At least I hoped she was sleeping. I couldn’t have killed her by rubbing her belly could I? I put my long fingers to her forehead and was relieved to feel warmth. Her skin was much hotter than a human baby’s would have been, but Ketya’s instincts spoke to me again, letting me know her daughter’s temperature was normal.

I wondered if I could access Ketya’s memories if I tried. I didn’t want to try. The thought scared me.
Focus Liz.
Anthe had said that the spell protecting this place would be deactivated the second we switched bodies. So how long would it take the wizards to find us? In my time, the best technology and most advanced magic would still need at least a couple days to search a whole planet, including the atmosphere and subsurface. However, this wasn’t my time. This was almost half a millennium past any decade I had ever experienced. I had no way of guessing at their capabilities except to conclude that they knew more about magic and had more advanced tools than I could dream of.

Without a doubt, my first priority was getting myself and Naimi off the planet. Even in my time, wizard planets could detect and stop unauthorized teleports onto and off the surface. Johnny and other defense experts could sometimes hack these systems and take them down, but I knew I wouldn’t have the skills to pull that off here. I needed something simple and, given my power reserves, efficient. But what?

Ketya might know something that could help me. I had to give it a shot even if the thought sickened me.

“I don’t…” my voice sounded strange. Softer. “I don’t really have much choice. Do I, Naimi?”

Naimi remained motionless in my arms. I closed my eyes to concentrate, but I didn’t need to. The second I tried to remember what I knew of this planet, the information presented itself to me. Memory after memory flowed to my mind. I remembered Centream, Brovkyl, the fire and Ketya’s trek through the Ori forest. Each memory was fresh, cutting open wounds. They made me dizzy and nauseous with her grief. But while it seemed like these recollections were less than a year old, I had to remember that this had all taken place millennia ago.

Get it together, Liz.
This body was shaking. Her last moments had been filled with terror. She had expected to feel me take over her flesh. She thought she would learn who I was. When her mind reached out and found no one there, hope was overwhelmed by panic. Her muscles had strained against the change, causing her even more pain that I had experienced leaving my own body. Sweat soaked through her thin blouse and long beige skirt. Exhausted as she was, the thought of Naimi left to starve in this room compelled her. She resisted the transfer with every ounce of her being. But it was too late. The spell had been cast.

I gulped at the air, my shoulders heaved with the effort. This body had a mind of its own. The memories continued to pour forth, making me more and more nauseous. Ketya’s vision darkened. I let Naimi slide from my arms to the bed and scrambled toward the waste purifier. I saw where there was a hole on top, just in time. Doubled over, I deposited Ketya’s last meal.

When it was over, my muscles relaxed. The room became frigid against my sweat-drenched skin, but I could breathe again. Slowly, my vision returned to normal and I lifted myself from my hunched position over the desk. This foreign body was still unsteady, but the trembling subsided. Naimi had woken up and turned toward me with unfocused eyes. However she didn’t cry again. In a few minutes, she would fall back to sleep.

“Okay, so what have I learned?” I whispered to myself. I looked to the desk and picked up the piece of paper with Anthe’s letter. Ketya had memorized the spell well enough that, with my understanding of how it worked, I could modify it to get back to my body when the time was right. My eyes tracked Anthe’s writing. It was different. I remembered that her hand was different: having three fingers instead of five would change the way one holds a pen. Then I placed the worn pages between my longest and shortest finger on each hand and tore the letter in half. Doing so made Ketya’s stomach clench, but still I tore it again and again until the paper was beyond reconstruction. My hands gathered the fragments one by one and placed each in the waste purifier. The machine churned and Anthe’s letter disappeared.

“I’m sorry, Naimi. I couldn’t let that spell end up in wizard hands…” I paused. “No offense to present company, of course.” Naimi gurgled some more, but she seemed content to rest.

“So, how long do you think I have?” I asked the baby. Suddenly, the air in the bunker made a loud whoosh and my question answered itself. On the other side of the bed, stood a tall, musky wizard.

I lunged for Naimi and began reciting an attack spell. Two syllables in, the words caught in my throat. Grasped by surprise, I fell awkwardly onto the bed, twisted so that I wouldn’t crush Naimi as I landed. As instantly as my spell had begun to form, it dissolved.
Was that possible?
They could stop spells before they even formed?

I stared up at the wizard who towered above me. Without the ability to complete a spell, I couldn’t make a shield. I couldn’t teleport. He looked down at me, and a slow evil grin bloomed on his pale, pointy face. Naimi and I were trapped.

HMSS Ingeniur – November 2184

Luke

I pressed my palms to my ears as hard as I could. The intense sound pierced my flesh and bone. My eardrums felt like they would explode. Then, as quickly as it had all begun, the sound vanished.
Had I turned deaf?
I opened my eyes, expecting to see my shattered kitchen. Instead, I found myself in a large oval room. My stare landed on Mark, kneeled on the floor and crouched over in pain.

I darted to his side as he straightened up and removed trembling hands from his ears. He brought his palms around and stared at them. “I expected to see blood,” he said with a shaky voice. Standing behind him, I grabbed his arm and helped hoist him to his feet. “It’s good to know I can still hear,” he said as his eyes turned to me and offered a weak smile.

“Yeah, buddy, I know what you mean,” I replied, squeezing his shoulders. I scanned the well-lit area and spotted Liz and Anton on the other side. Liz was pale as a sheet, but looked alright. She was studying her hands. I moved away from Mark and started toward her.

“Liz?” Anton asked.

“Anthe,” she replied. The name stopped me in my tracks. She lifted her head and took a couple steps as she surveyed her surroundings. I followed her gaze.

Three wide rows of slanted black tables filled the length of the room. Cushiony swivel chairs were bolted to these tables by way of a pivot arm. The floor was angled like you would expect in a movie theater and at the back towered a large gray chair with wide armrests. The room was well lit, though I couldn’t see any lamps or ceiling lights. Then I realized that the curved wall around the room emitted a soft yellow glow. It was like a cross between a futuristic classroom and a way fancy dine-in movie theater. All that was missing was the screen.

At last, Anthe’s gaze fell on a spot between the aisles. “You can dispose of that in whatever way is most convenient,” she said, waving her hand toward something on the floor. Her voice was Liz’s voice, but with a dismissive edge. It didn’t sound like my sister.

I moved so I could see. Lying prone on the thick, baby-blue carpet was Anthe’s corpse. It made my skin crawl. “My body was already buried a long time ago,” she explained. “This one won’t matter much to anyone after I’m gone.”

I didn’t like this. Liz, Anton and Anthe were calling the shots while Mark and I got dragged along. My sister was gone. Guilt ate at my chest for letting it happen.

Tamer rested a hand on Liz… Anthe’s shoulder. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it sounded rhythmic. He was casting a spell. Anthe watched until the body began to shimmer and then disappeared.

“I put your body in the med bay for now,” Tamer said gently.

Anton moved to a table on the bottom row. At the touch of his fingers, the surface came to life. As Anton’s hands glided over the screen, the bright images transformed as though they were reacting to his actions. After only a few taps and slides, a pop reverberated around the room. My eyes opened wide. I’d found the big screen I was looking for. It was the whole dang wall surrounding us and the dome-shaped ceiling above.

“No vessels, satellites, space stations or other detectable technology within a quarter light-year,” Anton said. He scrutinized the display of space all around, as if he needed visual confirmation.

“Spaceship?” Anthe asked as she surveyed the stars above. Then she nodded. “It’s a good choice. Gives us the ability to hide or run.”

“Yeah, she’s top of the line,” Tamer confirmed. He sounded proud. The ease with which he was handling all this made me wonder what else he had been through.
Getting blasted out of our living room is not supposed to feel normal.
I was scared for him, but kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t the time for the concerned older cousin routine. Later, when this was all over, maybe I could take him aside.
“But we’re a little short on crew,” he continued. “Do you know how to fly one of these?”

“I didn’t before, but it seems Liz possesses the required skills,” Anthe replied, seating herself at one of the consoles and activating the screen.

“Wouldn’t you prefer the captain’s chair?” Anton asked.

“No dear. I haven’t been out in the field in a long time,” she replied. “You’ll have to run her.”

Anton nodded. “Okay, Tamer, can you contact mission central and see if they can spare any help. Try Francis too.”

“Francis doesn’t have access to this time period,” Anthe said, while still drumming bright spots on her screen. A whirring sound grew around us and the floor began to vibrate. “Did you have anywhere you wanted to take her?”

“Yeah,” Anton said. “We’re in a pretty remote part of space already, but we’ll blend in better with some asteroid debris located here.” He worked the screen near him as he spoke.

“Got it,” Anthe replied. “On our way.” The hum grew louder and my body grew lighter, almost as if my feet were about to be lifted off the ground. The view of stars all around began to move backwards as though the ship were positioning for a nose dive. Then the floor jerked and the stars began to fly. As quickly as it had begun, the whirring quieted and the vibration disappeared. Weight returned to normal. My stomach was grateful.

“This is so bad!” Mark exclaimed. He meant good.

“ETA is about one hour,” Anthe said.

“They said they’re spread pretty thin. We’re on our own,” Tamer replied. He found a seat directly behind Anthe and plopped himself down. I expected him to start working at the controls like Anthe and Anton had done, but instead he leaned back and watched the view above. This was the first time I’d seen the kid slouch all day.

“Thought you said you didn’t know how to fly this thing?” Mark asked Anthe casually. I wondered if this stranger in Liz’s body was as revolting to him as she was to me. He walked over to the nearest console and touched his forefinger to the screen. It lit up and displayed various symbols.

“I didn’t,” Anthe explained. “But now I know everything your sister knew.” I grabbed Mark’s wrist before he could push any more buttons. We did not need Mark at the helm, or worse, at tactical.

“And Liz…?” I asked, then broke off. My voice was gruffer than I’d intended.

Anthe laughed. “Child, do you realize how much you scare your sister when you use that tone?” she asked. “Her heart almost leaped through the roof of her head.”
My sister? The one who broke into alien enemy prisons and jumped off cliffs and nearly got her head blown off by fireballs. That sister quaked at the sound of my voice? Sure didn’t show it.

“I have her memories too,” Anthe continued. A smirk was still present on her face. Had to resist the urge to tell her to wipe it away.

“Makes sense,” Tamer said. “Neurons and synapses in her brain would store her memories, but the soul takes an imprint.”

“An imprint?” Mark asked. He tried to pull his fist away, but I held on. He could get his hand back when he promised not to touch anything.

“Kind of like storing a back-up on an external drive,” Tamer tried to explain.

“Huh?” Mark asked, as he continued to struggle.

Anton shook his head at Tamer. “It’s like a photocopy guys. The original document stays the same and the photocopy mimics it.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Mark concluded, finally breaking free. I was glad something around here made sense to someone. I looked up at the stars flying overhead. My stomach gurgled. Do they have barf bags on this thing?

Ketya’s Bunker - Fall 2834

Elizabeth

Knowing he was in control, the wizard extended his long arms toward Naimi. Still grinning, he wrapped his fingers around her tiny torso and prepared to lift her up. That was my chance. I twisted my stomach and brought my knee up, slam, right into his nose. He fell back and crashed into the wall behind him. Before he could figure out what happened, I leapt off the bed and tackled him. We landed in an awkward heap on the cold stone floor. I lifted my fist and with all the speed I could muster, propelled it full force into the wizards left cheekbone. His head rebounded off my knuckles, bounced on the floor, and as quickly as this ordeal had begun, it ended.

Breathing heavily, I reached for his thin neck to see if he still had a pulse. He did. There was no point in killing him, surely he had a team waiting on the surface. Only one wizard had come into the bunker because of the limited space, but it wouldn’t be long before they got worried and sent more. I scooped Naimi up and began a teleportation spell. The orbital defenses wouldn’t let me leave the planet; the wizards could trace Ketya’s DNA and, even if I could prevent that, they would be able to follow my teleport. There was an entire planet of advanced wizards hot on my tail. I needed to buy some time to think because what few ideas I had now would not get me and Naimi out of this alive.