Paraworld Zero (14 page)

    “The electro-magical waves were very thin above the planet, yet he was able
to call upon them as if he were sitting inside an E.M. reactor… and on top of that, he cast the
Valamure curse.”

    “He did?” cried Lord Vaylen in shock, upsetting the image of his normally
strong composure. “Are you sure it was the Valamure curse and not just an illusion?”

    “I saw the wraith with my own eyes. I barely made it out of there
alive!”

    “What did this ultramage look like?” asked Lady Cassandra.

    “Well, I really didn’t get to see his face because he hid under a cloak, not
unlike yours, Lord Vaylen,” Tabatha said, a hint of suspicion in her voice. She continued, “He
was very fast and powerful, but the strangest thing of all was that he used a wand to cast his
spells—two wands, in fact.”

    “
Ahhh,
” Lord Vaylen scoffed. “He’s just an apprentice who probably got lost from his
master—nothing more.”

    “No!” Tabatha fought back. “I tell you. He was an ultramage.”

    “Ms. Burke,” Lord Vaylen said in a patronizing tone, “it is common knowledge
that an ultramage does
not
require the aid of inanimate objects to cast spells. If your wizard friend truly was
an ultramage, he would not have to depend on a little stick to channel his powers.”

    “Theobolt,” Councilor Bromwell intervened on the woman’s behalf, “may I
remind you that not all ultramages are pigheaded enough to rely wholly on their own strengths. I,
for one, have been known to use
sticks
to aid me from time to time.” At that, he knocked on the hard floor two times with
his wooden cane. A plume of pink butterflies rose from the ground like smoke and formed into a
pretty flower that gently rested itself in Tabatha’s white hair.

    Disturbed by this, Lord Vaylen took off his black hood and revealed a deep
scar that ran down the length of his face until it disappeared into his thick goatee. The man’s
sallow skin looked ready to fall off the bone, and his deep gray eyes recoiled as if they had
never seen the light before. Rumor had it that Lord Vaylen had become terribly disfigured while
defending the king’s life in the Civil War against the Raiders over a decade ago. It was at that
time that the Raiders split off from the kingdom and formed the Scientific Society, also known as
the S.S.

    Vaylen spoke with stern conviction. “All of the ultramages in the known
paraverse have been accounted for. Ezra, are you telling me that you believe this feline? Do you
honestly believe that a wizard could possibly become an ultramage without us knowing about it
first? Why else have we created these so-called schools of magical learning, if not to discover
this very thing?”

    “Yes,” Councilor Bromwell answered, “to all your questions.”

    Intercepting her brother’s bubbling hostility, Lady Cassandra stepped in.
“Tabatha, what evidence do you have to support these accusations?”

    “None but my word.”

    Cassandra furrowed her brow. “I believe that you
think
you saw the Valamure curse. Many E.M. Enforcers even greater than you have been
tricked by illusions of this sort before—”

    “But it wasn’t—”

    “
And
General Mayham has proven in the past to be somewhat passionate with his views… but to
destroy a whole race of magicians?”

    “I’d say you were on that ship eight months too long,” added Lord
Vaylen.

    “
However,
” Lady Cassandra continued, “these are strange times we live in. Since the
disappearance of the king and queen, nothing has been the same. Tabatha, you’ve never given us
reason to doubt you before. Is there anything more you can say that will help us decide on what
course of action we should take?”

    “I wish I would’ve discovered more information, but I left the carrier
somewhat in a hurry—if you know what I mean. We were about to join up with another spaceship. I
heard General Mayham say that the meeting would be an essential key to their success. I don’t
know who was in charge of the other ship, but I do know it was orbiting one of the moons of the
Centarious paraworld.”

    “Drackus!” Councilor Bromwell blurted in disgust. He turned to the chief
Guardian of the Crown and said, “Lady Cassandra, I fear that Griffen’s position may be
compromised. If only we could send word to him.”

    “Griffen Lasher?” Tabatha’s pointy ears perked up.

    Lady Cassandra said, “We sent Griffen to Centarious as a mediator, so he
could cool things down between the Centarians and the Scientific Society. Captain Drackus is
determined to conduct weapons experiments on the third moon of Centarious. Mining operations have
ceased because the workers are too afraid that the Raiders will attack them while they’re in the
caves.”

    “We need to stop Griffen,” Tabatha said frantically. “When General Mayham
tells Captain Drackus that I stole the datachip, the S.S. will be furious with the royal family,
and Griffen will be caught up in the middle!”

    “It’s too late,” Lord Vaylen said. “He left hours ago. There’s nothing really
we can do now.”

    “Griffen Lasher is not expendable!” Tabatha said. “He’s one of the greatest
E.M. Enforcers we have. He’s noble and brave and—”

    Lord Vaylen interrupted, “Tabatha, my dear, if I didn’t know better, I’d say
you had feelings for this man.”

    Tabatha gasped, and her cheeks reddened. She closed her eyes and then opened
them.

    “Griffen is a great asset to the Crown,” she said. “Besides, I wouldn’t want
him to die because of something I did. Let me warn him—please?”

    Swayed by Tabatha’s emotion, Lady Cassandra instructed, “You may take a small
craft,
but
, know this: If what you said today is true, General Mayham will want revenge. Travel
with speed, but if you find that you are too late, under no circumstances are you to pursue the
Raiders…” Tabatha beamed with gratitude. “I don’t want to lose a perfectly good spacecraft,”
Cassandra concluded with a smile.

    “Thank you, my lady.”

    “Councilor Bromwell, will you escort Ms. Burke to the docking bay?”

    “Of course I will,” the old man said, putting his arm out for Tabatha to
hold. They headed towards the exit, but before they reached the door, it swung open, and in
rushed a bald man with a look of anger in his eyes. Lord Vaylen recognized Tonya’s father at
once.

    “Sorry, my lady,” came the distressed voice of the same guard as before, “but
this man—”

    “Mr. Doyle, how may we help you?” Lord Vaylen said.

    “Lady Cassandra, Guardians of the Crown, how many months have gone by since
my daughter was separated from that madman you call a teacher? I’m starting to lose track!”

    “Excuse me,” Councilor Bromwell said as he tried to get past the tall man,
“but we have urgent business to attend to.”

    “That’s all right,” Mr. Doyle shouted. “I’m sure there’s many more important
things than the welfare of my daughter. Go ahead! See to your precious business.”

    “Thank you,” Tabatha said, pushing Councilor Bromwell out the door.

    Distraught, Mr. Doyle paced the room. The thin man wore an expensive business
suit with a white, pinstriped shirt and black shoes to match. He didn’t bother to put his leather
briefcase down—an indication that he was on his way to some critical engagement. Large beads of
sweat ran down his face. Although his head had been shaved, tiny stubs of vibrant red hair poked
out of his scalp. It was an embarrassment for a shrewd businessman, such as himself, to allow
anyone to see what he felt.

    “With all the money I’ve thrown at this institution, you’d think people would
be dying to help me find my daughter. But, alas,
NO
—All I get is excuses!” The man moved about the room furiously. “I get no respect, I get
little help, and I get no results!”

    “Mr. Doyle,” Lord Vaylen said, trying to calm the man. “Let’s take a walk in
the garden. It’s much cooler outside than in here.”

    The three adults strolled into the spacious courtyard and found themselves
surrounded by lush vegetation and beautiful flowers. A small brooklet of clear water ran lazily
around the perimeter, and multicolored birds sang in the distance. The school for the magically
gifted could be seen over the tall trees, adjoining the huge castle. After a few moments in the
tranquil environment, the little stubs of hair on Mr. Doyle’s head faded into a subdued bluish
hue.

    “Mr. Doyle,” Lord Vaylen said delicately, “we are very grateful for your
generous contributions to the school and to the government. If your daughter is alive, I promise
I’ll personally see to it that she is brought back to the school safe and sound.”

    “How safe can she be with Leander Payne running the school?” The man’s hair
started to change colors again. “I demand that you replace that incompetent fool
immediately!”

    Lady Cassandra spoke up. “Mr. Doyle, we have no intention of releasing
Principal Payne. He is a very competent supermage. In fact, it was he who discovered the pathway
Tonya took when she split off from the class.”

    “Yes, but it was also
he
who was in charge of ensuring that the equipment was in good working order in the first
place. My daughter is the most gifted student in her class, and I’ve surmised that the only
plausible cause for her disappearance is that her paratransmitter must have been defective—well,
I suppose it also could have been tampered with; I’m sure Tonya made a lot of students jealous.”
Mr. Doyle began pacing again. “Professor Gwyn is also to blame. That coward of a teacher should
have gone after her. The only reason I haven’t killed him myself is because of the simple fact
that Tonya’s still alive.”

    Lady Cassandra responded hesitantly, “Not to be insensitive, but how exactly
do you know she’s still alive?”

    The man pointed to the silver band around his finger. “Life-ring,” he stated.
“I gave one to Tonya for her birthday. This light on the ring indicates her life force. She has
an identical ring that shows her my life force.”

    “Amazing,” Cassandra said. “I’ve never seen anything that traverses parallel
worlds like this. I imagine it took an impressive amount of skill and magic to create these
rings.”

    “Well, I paid an impressive amount of money for them. They’re one of a kind,”
he boasted. “But anyway, that’s beside the point. Lord Vaylen, you said that if Tonya was still
alive, you’d bring her back to the school safely. Now you know she’s alive, so I’m going to hold
you to your promise.”

    “Of course, Mr. Doyle,” the cloaked man said politely. “The pathway your
daughter took led to an uncharted region of the parastream. If you will excuse me, I’ll prepare
another search party immediately.”

    “You’re a good man, Theobolt,” Mr. Doyle said. “It’s a pity you’re not the
king.”

    “The Power of the Ancients has passed over me,” Lord Vaylen explained, seeing
the disturbed expression on his sister’s face. “The magical force will bestow itself only on the
rightful heir of the throne. I was late in the race—albeit by mere seconds, a minute perhaps—and
the honor was given to my good brother instead.”

    “But you are next in line to be king.”

    “True,” Lord Vaylen said. Cassandra became more agitated. “However, as your
life-ring reassures you that your daughter is alive, my lack of receiving the Power of the
Ancients reassures me that my brother and his wife are still alive. And if all goes well, I will
never have the burden of carrying the Crown.”

    “Curse the rebellion!” Mr. Doyle spat. “Whatever happened in the Civil War to
cause the king and queen to go into hiding is simply deplorable. How many more years must we wait
before their return?”

    “Who knows? Only time will tell,” Lord Vaylen responded. “Only time will
tell.” The cloaked man limped to the edge of the courtyard. “Until we meet again.” He disappeared
down one of the garden walkways.

    Mr. Doyle raised his briefcase. “Well, thank you for your time, my lady, but
I really must go now.” He started to leave.

    “If there’s anything more we can do for you—”

    “No, thank you. You’ve been more than helpful already.” Without waiting for a
response from Lady Cassandra, he rushed down one of the secluded pathways.

    A few moments later, he heard the voice of Lord Vaylen talking to someone in
the shadows. Mr. Doyle hid behind a tall partition of shrubbery. He put his ear to the wall of
foliage and listened in on their private conversation.

    “We can’t just let them blow up everything they fancy,” the stranger
whispered.

    “Yes, I know that, but I now have some leverage that will keep them in
check,” Lord Vaylen hissed under his black hood.

    “What possible leverage could you have with the Raiders?” the man asked
incredulously.

    “All in good time, my friend. All in good time. I will be delayed for a short
while. I promised an important benefactor I’d find his daughter, and I am a man of my
word.”

    “Yes, of course, Lord Vaylen, but until your return, how shall we deal with
the Raiders?”

    “Let them be.”

    “Begging your pardon, my lord, but is that a wise decision?”

    “I have my reasons. The council will just have to be patient.”

    “Lord Vaylen, there are some in the Senate who believe that the Guardians of
the Crown can no longer bring order to the paraverse. Many grow tired of waiting for your
brother’s return. Others disbelieve that the Power of the Ancients even exists. They feel it is
just a story perpetuated by the Guardians for the purpose of bringing compliance to your
laws.”