The Sac'a'rith (7 page)

“I will slow them down. Get those magi out of here,” ordered Narcion.

I holstered my weapon, scooped up the fallen magus, and pushed the others down the corridor which began to fill with a foul, thick, black smoke. Narcion came up beside me and picked up one of the other magi. I lift
ed the final one and tossed him over the opposite shoulder from his companion.

Narcion and I jogged away from the smoke for about an hour before we finally stopped and put the magi down. He convinced them to eat and then turned to say something, but at that moment six wraiths appeared, three on either side of us. He turned so that his back was against mine and said, “It’s about time.”

I drew my knives and attempted to calm my nerves as I faced them. For a moment we stood there, frozen, staring each other down. I struggled mightily not to look away as I had done the last time, but I did not have to struggle for long: with a soul-chilling scream they attacked.

I could not dive towards them, as that would expose Narcion’s back and the magi, so I stood my ground and waited for them to close in. As they did I swung my tail hard at the one on the left while making a wide, sweeping slice at the other two. It worked perfectly as my tail contacted its target solidly and sent it flying backwards. Meanwhile, the other two pulled up from their charge to avoid the knife swing, which gave me a moment to twist my body back towards them and lunge a second time with the knives, this time slicing through the chest of the middle wraith.

The wounded wraith retreated behind the other two as they regrouped for another attack. I could not risk looking back to see how Narcion was doing; I just had to trust he had my back. I crouched, ready for their next run, but as they started it a lightning bolt arced over my shoulder and hit the wounded wraith, destroying it in a brilliant flash of light that left me briefly blinded.

Instinct took over as I felt a coldness approach me, which I knew indicated a wraith was closing in. Although I could not yet see, I lunged forward blindly with both knives and had the satisfaction of feeling them penetrate deep into the body of the wraith.

My vision returned in time to see the third wraith swinging its claw towards me. I dropped my weight backwards, which pulled the wraith impaled on my knives over on top of me. Using the struggling wraith as a shield I planted both of my feet on its chest and pushed hard. The wounded wraith flew right into the path of the third wraith, effectively blocking its attack.

I sprang back to my feet, just in time to witness the remaining wraith cast away the body of the injured wraith who had now died. Free from that entanglement, it charged. I jumped forward directly into its path with my knives extended in front of me. As my knives made contact with its chest, I separated my hands quickly, ripping the wraith in half.

As soon as I had extricated myself from the body, I turned to see Narcion finish off the last wraith on his side. “Clear,” I called.

“Clear,” he responded as he turned to check on the magi.

Two of them were out cold but Felix was standing, using the wall to hold himself upright. He said, “You guys are incredible,” in a very weak voice.

“Yes, we are. Now we have to get you somewhere safe to rest. Know a good place?” he asked.

“We have a safe room. It’s shielded due to its proximity to a central power junction. Let me send you the directions telepathically. I don’t think I can make it to guide you,” said Felix.

Narcion nodded, and a moment later Felix collapsed.

“Let’s go. I got the directions,” he said, picking up Felix.

I did not begin to understand how he had got the directions, but I dutifully hoisted the other two and we set off to find Felix’s safe room.

Felix’s safe room was a small power closet far from Engineering. We laid the three magi down and took turns standing watch. Narcion explained that they would need rest before they could use their powers again, and we would need their support on account of the number of enemies we were encountering here.

Hours ticked by as we sat there. Eventually I could not take the silence any longer. “Are you sure we are safe here?”

“No,” said Narcion. “We definitely are not. The power conduits are packed with energy that will prevent the wraiths from finding us, and might even keep them out, but that will not stop the various other enemies we have come across so far.”

“What was that bug thing?” I asked.

“I am not sure; I have not seen its like before. Much easier to kill than the wraiths, though,” he said.

“What is going on here? We have already killed eight wraiths, and I feel that there are more around.”

“You’re right. I can feel them searching for us. They are getting worried. They know we are here to take them down and they are not used to that.”

“But why are there so many?” I asked.

“I suspect that something in that computer core is more important than our employer let on. The big question right now is: who controls the core?”

He seemed unusually talkative, so I decided to keep asking questions. “Are these knives special, or does it have something to do with who we are?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I were to lose this knife, would any random blade work? Or if any random person picked up this blade,
would it work for them?” I asked.

“Yes, any non-energy-based weapon that you use would work. They work because they pick up some of your essence, not because of anything special about them. The energy bolts from a blaster never come directly into contact with you, so cannot pick up anything from you.”

“But their magic works?” I asked.

“They are magi. They have their own tools to fight with, different from yours but still very effective. You see, they channel the energy for their spells through their bodies, and that has the same effect as you picking up a knife. They were born with a gift, just as you were.”

“Are there others like us?” I asked.

“You're the first I have found, but I hold out hope of rebuilding our noble order.”

Before I could continue the conversation I saw the magi beginning to stir.

“Help them up, and get them some water,” said Narcion.

As I helped Felix up, he said, “Thanks. There is some food under that conduit there.”

The room was crisscrossed with many random conduits, so it took me a few tries to find the one he meant. Under it I found a stash of food that they had obviously been stockpiling for some time. I started to feel bad about my initial reaction to them. They bore all the signs of people living on the run and they were trapped on the station with no real way to escape. That must wear down a person over time.

Once I had the magi all set up with food and water, I took some for myself. I had lost track of time, but I suspected it had been almost a full day since we arrived.

“I heard a little of your conversation. I don’t know who holds the core, but I can tell you the security on it is impressive. There are multiple energy screens, lines of sentries, and deployed cannons all around it. There is no approaching it from any direction. I doubt even the wraiths could get through,” said Felix.

“Do we have a map of this station?” asked Narcion.

“Yes, here,” said Felix.

“Show me everything you can remember about the defenses,” said Narcion.

Felix and Narcion pored over the map for a while. Narcion drilled him until Felix threw up his hands and said, “Really, that’s all I know!”

“Okay. Then let’s make for here,” he said and pointed to a room on the map.

“The mess hall?” asked Felix.

“Yes. It is above the computer core, and if nothing has changed since you were last there it is undefended.”

“If you are thinking of boring through the floor, we do not have the tools to do that,” said Felix.

“I do. How soon can your men be ready to move out and fight, if need be?” he asked.

“Maybe another hour,” said Felix.

“Zah’rak, scout around this area, and be careful. Make sure no one has moved in while we were sleeping,” said Narcion.

I knew it would be dangerous to split up, but we could not leave the magi until they were able to defend themselves, so one of us would have to stay back while the other scouted. This was the first time he had sent me off alone, and I was not sure if that was a good or a bad sign. I hoped it meant he had greater trust in my abilities.

As I left the room, echoes of our
conversation bounced around in my head. What did he mean by “noble order?” And if we’re rebuilding it, what happened to it the first time? Still
, it was good to learn I had more weapon options than just a pair of knives.

I swept the area, following the search pattern that Narcion had drilled into me. I knew that the safe passage of our enlarged group would depend on Narcion and I avoiding traps. The magi were powerful in their own way, but they did not seem to have had any stealth or close combat training. I suspected that if we were surprised by an attacker they would not fare well.

As I approached an intersection something felt odd. It was as if the air was tainted, but there was nothing wrong with it. I froze in place and listened, but could not hear anything. Still, the feeling would not go away; there was something wrong ahead, I was sure of it. I checked my weapons to make sure everything was ready and I slowly eased up to the intersection, keeping my profile as small as I could manage. Just before I reached it, I caught a shadow moving.
Ambush!
I thought to myself.

There was no additional movement, but it was too late for concealment; I had already marked its location. I tossed a stun grenade around the corner and, as soon as it detonated, spun after it. I saw half-a-dozen humans in a well-fortified position. “Narcion, trouble
,
” I sent over our personal communication channel as I moved quickly to take their weapons. I had only seconds to act before they would recover.

As they started to get up, I knocked them back down in an effort to group them together so I could train my weapons on all of them at once. There was a brief scuffle as two of them tried to jump me from behind. They were a bit sluggish as the effects of the stun grenade wore off, making it easy for me to bat them aside with my tail.

There were just too many of them for me to subdue gently, and I was about to start getting more aggressive with my attacks when Narcion and the magi came around the corner. Narcion yelled, “Yield!”

One of them pulled out a gun he had concealed on his person, but before he could aim, I shot my hand out to grab his wrist and flung him hard into the wall. There was a satisfying crunch as his body hit the surface. He slid down the wall and did not move again.

“Who’s next?” I asked with an intentional growl in my voice.

The remaining five looked at their fallen partner and took off at a run. I started to give chase, but Narcion said, “Let them go.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because they are not our target, and at the moment we have no way of knowing if they are good guys or bad guys,” he said.

“How are we defining ‘good guys?’” asked Felix.

“Good question,” answered Narcion. “Now, let’s get back to our plan. I will take the lead. Zah’rak, you take the rear. We don’t stop till we get closer to our destination. Got it?”

I would have liked an answer to that question, but I knew our current position was exposed, and the five who had run off would probably come back with more weapons. We needed to move out.

The magi stayed between us and we had to slow our normal pace for them. As we moved through the corridors, I noticed that we did not seem to be heading to the mess hall as we had planned. In fact, we seemed to be moving away from it. I wanted to catch up with Narcion and ask him what was up, but I dared not leave my post at the rear of the line. Eventually Narcion halted the line and beckoned us all to group together again.

“We’re getting close to our target. Be extra careful; if we are going to hit trouble, it will be now,” said Narcion.

“Narcion, I must be lost, then. I do not think we are anywhere near the mess hall,” I said.

“No, you are correct. We are just outside Central Command,” he said. “While you were gone, Felix suggested that we might be able to communicate with the computer core from there and avoid having to breach their defenses.”

“That makes sense, but I thought all communication was compromised,” I commented.

“Yes; so this may end up being a waste of time, but it’s worth trying,” said Narcion. “Felix, are you sure your command codes will be enough to get us past the defenses?”

“Unless they have changed them, they should work,” said Felix.

“Then go. We will cover you from here,” he said.

As Felix turned the corner I heard a computerized voice warn him to stay back. For a few tense moments he negotiated with the computer, and then I heard: “Access granted.”

“Move!” called out Narcion and we all charged around the corner into Central Command. “Quickly, re-establish the defenses and then give me command access.”

“Shields reinstated! We are safe,” said Felix.

“No, we are not,” I said. I could feel a chill in the room but could see no enemy. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the feeling. Soon I could see the room around me and the people in it, even though my eyes were still closed. The room looked distinctly different. The magi and Narcion were defined sharply in bright colors, but the instruments and equipment were as bland as could be.

I did not have time to contemplate what that could mean, as I saw a wraith sweeping down from above towards the back of one of the magi. I leapt from my position, batted the magus aside, and planted my shoulder into the chest of the wraith. It screamed with pain as I pinned it to the wall. Remembering the danger their claws presented, I quickly leapt off and drew my knives. It was recovering when a bolt of lightning arced through the air and killed it.

Looking around the room with my eyes closed I could not see any more of them, and the coldness had left the room. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the magus I had batted aside struggling to get back up. “Sorry, I had no time to warn you.”