by J. J. Green
The mage family broke into a run. Carina could feel Parthenia’s resistance in her bicep. The muscle was cramping in Carina’s grip. She could also hear a low groaning or growling sound. Carina looked around, trying to see where the noise was coming from. Then she realized it originated in her sister. Parthenia was trying to speak.
Just another few minutes. Please.
Carina doubted any guards would have been posted at the vessel, but she guessed there might be personnel inside. The pilot would be there for sure, waiting to ferry the approaching detachment of troops to the battle.
Carina checked the speed of the soldiers who were running toward the shuttle. She estimated her little group would arrive first, but not by much. They would have to close the doors fast, but what to do with the pilot? They couldn’t take him or her along.
A sudden alteration in the running soldiers’ attitude caught Carina’s attention. They were staring directly at them! No. Not all of them. Only Ferne, who was in the front. He must have run too far ahead.
“Ferne, slow up,” Carina called.
Her brother eased his pace, but the damage had been done. “Hey! What the hell do you…? Huh? Where’d he go?” The troop leader turned to his subordinates as if to confirm he hadn’t been seeing things. The men and women looked just as confused as him.
The pause allowed Carina and her family to reach the shuttle first with time to spare. She ran up the ramp without braking, forcing Parthenia onward. Inside, two privates were lounging on the seats. They froze in surprise, mouths and eyes wide. Carina realized she must have run outside Darius’ cloak.
The other mages and Bryce burst into the cabin. Carina saw everyone except Darius. She would have to trust he remained Cloaked.
Thanking the stars they only had two Dirksen soldiers to fight, Carina went for one, leaving the other to Bryce. She grabbed the shocked woman’s weapon from her grasp, hauled her to her feet, and forced the muzzle into her back. Pushing the woman in front of her, Carina compelled her to leave the shuttle. Bryce’s target followed soon after. As soon as the two soldiers set foot off the ramp, Carina told them to run or feel the heat of the shuttle’s engines as she took off.
When Carina returned to the cabin, the pilot had conveniently appeared.
“Please do the honors,” Carina said to Bryce as she pushed past the pilot to reach the flight controls. “Darius, Cloak the ship, as soon as you can.”
Her gaze roved the displays and interfaces. Thankfully, the old-style, basic vessel had the equivalent old-style basic controls.
“Pilot’s gone,” Bryce yelled from behind her. Carina closed the doors. Now she only had to—
“Parthenia, no!” someone yelled. Carina recognized Ferne’s voice.
The sound of fighting was coming from behind her. Dammit. Parthenia was already shaking off the Enthrall Cast. Carina jumped up and ran into the cabin.
Bryce was trying to hold on to Parthenia but she was fighting like a wild thing trying to grab the manual override for the doors. Carina couldn’t risk her sister trying to escape while they were taking off. She ran up to Parthenia and punched her in the jaw. Her sister’s eyes rolled back and she fell limp in Bryce’s arms.
The dull sound of rounds being fired into the hull was coming from outside. Assuming Darius had Cloaked the shuttle, the soldiers were firing blind at the place they had last seen it.
If Carina had wanted to send an unmistakable message to Castiel about the location of his mage brothers and sisters she could not have done a better job.
She ran back to the pilot’s seat and started up the vessel’s engines. The only safe option left was to leave Ostillon. Carina flew the shuttle into the morning sky.
Chapter Ten
It had taken an escalating series of threats the following day, culminating in the ultimatum that Castiel would abandon the Dirksens entirely and set out on his own, before by late evening Langley finally agreed to forward his request for an audience with Sable Dirksen. Reyes’ bug-eyed mother had let down her facade and displayed real anger and rancor for the first time in Castiel’s experience. He guessed that she wasn’t as important in the clan as she liked to make out, and that she’d intended to use him to raise herself, claiming credit for all that he did.
The assent from the head of the Dirksens arrived. Confident that Sable Dirksen was clearly curious to meet him, Castiel was soon on his way to an unknown destination. Langley’s servants did not transport him. He had waited to be picked up, and when the hover car arrived, it was unmarked.
He gazed out the window of the vehicle, trying to track where he was going. The driver had lifted the vehicle a couple hundred meters above ground level, and they were traveling fast. Castiel lost all sense of where he was. The driver hadn’t spoken a word to him yet, and Castiel doubted very much that she would tell him where they were going.
The long journey should have been tiring, especially considering he hadn’t slept since defeating the Nightfall, but Castiel found he was alert with anticipation. He congratulated himself on making exactly the correct move. Who did Langley Dirksen think she was, denying him his right to shine? Who was she to make herself his ‘manager’?
Castiel looked down at his clothes. Though Langley had supplied him with new suits, he worried that his appearance wasn’t fine enough for the company he expected to meet soon. Father had—quite rightly—always been particular about such things. The problem couldn’t be remedied. His clothes would have to do. He planned on impressing the leading Dirksens in other ways.
A mountain range in the distance was looming closer and seemed to be the place the driver was heading toward. Castiel peered ahead at the white peaks reflecting the moonlight. Sable Dirksen certainly seemed to prefer living in remote places. It was no surprise that the Sherrerrs hadn’t discovered her base and destroyed it.
A realization hit, and Castiel’s stomach muscles tightened. The privilege of access to the head of the clan carried a heavy price. As soon as he knew her secret location, his life would be forever under threat. If Castiel did not live up to whatever expectation Sable Dirksen had of him, she might decide his existence was a risk she wasn’t prepared to take.
Castiel recalled that the Dirksens had cut Darius’ tracer out of him when they held him captive. The clan could be brutal in their methods. Castiel felt for his elixir bottle and took a little comfort in its heavy, reassurance on the seat next to him. It was true the Dirksens could be vicious, but then so could he.
The speeding hover vessel approached the mountains at an incredible pace. Soon they were swooping through a narrow pass. A face of a slope was rapidly approaching, dead ahead, but the driver wasn’t turning the vehicle. Was she having some kind of seizure?
“Hey!” Castiel shouted. But it was too late. He threw up his arms. They were going to fly right into solid rock and be smashed to pieces on the mountainside.
But instead of hitting the slope, the vehicle passed through it and they emerged inside a brightly lit natural cavern. Disbelieving what had happened, Castiel looked over his shoulder and saw a rock wall. The slope must have been some kind of hologram. The pilot braked heavily, throwing Castiel forward. Then they were rapidly lowering to the cave floor.
The driver still did not speak a single word. The soft hum of the engine ceased and the door next to Castiel opened. As he stepped out he saw three similar hover vehicles and a fast-looking, immaculate shuttle also docked in the cavern. Ahead of him, two doors pulled apart. The message was clear.
Castiel set off toward the open doorway, his finger hooked through a circle in the elixir canister, trepidation creeping up on him. But he had made his bid and he had won. Now he had to see it through to its conclusion.
“Please come this way,” said a man.
From his clothes, Castiel judged the man to be a servant. Castiel didn’t deign to speak to him but followed the man through rough-hewn passageways. The floor was worn smooth and though the walls were rough, in some places they were shiny, as if
people had rubbed against them for centuries. Along the corners of the passage long, carved decorations ran where the walls met the ceiling. Most of the carvings were of animals Castiel did not recognize.
He had the impression that the place had been inhabited for hundreds or thousands of years, but he didn’t think it was Dirksens who had lived there. According to what Langley had told him, the clan had only inhabited the planet in substantial numbers for a few years.
They arrived at a set of doors that stood twice as high as Castiel. The servant said something into a panel, and the doors split apart.
This was it. He was about to meet the person who wielded the ultimate power in the Dirksen clan. Castiel breathed in deeply and stepped through the opening. A stone chair stood alone directly ahead of him on the far side of the large chamber. But the chair was empty. Puzzled, Castiel looked around the hall.
“I’m over here,” said a voice.
Castiel’s eyes widened when he saw the voice’s owner. A young woman who looked not much older than himself sat in a luxuriously padded armchair at the far end of the room. Her hair was short and dark, and she was wearing expensive pajamas under a robe. The chair faced a fire of burning logs, at which the young woman was toasting her bare feet.
“It’s warmer here,” she said. “This place is so fucking cold.”
When Castiel hesitated, Sable Dirksen went on. “Well, are you going to speak to me or not? Or did I get up out of my warm, comfortable bed in the middle of the night for nothing?”
Castiel jerked into action, closed his gaping mouth, and walked with what he hoped was a confident swagger to stand in front of the clan leader. Should he bow? Kneel? He hadn’t thought this part through.
“My name’s Castiel,” he said.
“Castiel Sherrerr. I know. Langley told me about you. So the old spider has finally given up her prize. You are a prize, right?”
Despite her young years, Sable Dirksen’s stare was disarming Castiel.
“I can do things that others can’t,” he said. Noting Sable’s condescending smirk, he added, more strongly, “I am a mage. I helped to defeat the Nightfall. I broke its weapons so that it could be boarded.” Castiel paused. He was uncomfortably aware that he was falling over himself trying to convince her of his worth. Things weren’t going how he’d imagined. He’d imagined performing an impressive feat that would amaze Sable Dirksen, not trying to explain himself like a naughty schoolboy.
“Would you like me to demonstrate?” Castiel asked. Then his nervousness subsided sufficiently for him to remember his original purpose. “I heard some prisoners were taken from the Nightfall before it self-destructed. I could interrogate them. Persuade them to tell you everything they know.”
Sable’s smirk turned into a smile. “You like that kind of thing, do you? I have to admit, when I saw you for the first time just now, I was disappointed. After talking you down for so long to suit her own ends, Langley went to the opposite extreme and talked you up. I guess she wanted me to remember this big favor she was doing me. Yet you don’t look like much.”
Bitch. How dare she? Castiel fought to keep his expression under control. However, if Sable cared what he thought of her words, she didn’t show it.
“But maybe there’s more to you than meets the eye,” she continued. She raised the back of her hand to her mouth and yawned. “Okay, let’s see what you can do.” Sliding her bare feet into slippers, she rose from the armchair and walked across the chamber toward an open door in the corner.
Feeling like a lap dog, Castiel followed her. When he had taken over the Dirksen clan, Sable would pay for her words. Walking behind her, he became aware of the movement of her buttocks underneath the rich silken material of her robe. He recalled his father’s domination of his mother. Yes, he would pay Sable Dirksen back, in many ways.
***
Sable led Castiel down a set of stairs. The surface of the walls was smooth, as if cut by machine. He guessed this part of the mountain castle was a Dirksen add-on. They came to a sealed, steel door that slid open as Sable arrived at it. If there was a security mechanism Castiel could not see it. He guessed the door somehow recognized authorized persons.
They stepped into the narrow corridor beyond, where the chill of the cold stone that Sable had mentioned became even more noticeable. More steel doors were set at regular intervals along the passageway. No guards were in place. He scanned the ceiling. All he could discern that was out of the ordinary was a row of black dots. Perhaps they were cameras, or weapons.
“Here we are,” Sable announced. Once more, the door opened as she drew near to it. Behind the door stood a transparent wall, and in the cell beyond a woman lay curled on the bare, stone floor. She was nearly naked, and what rags remained on her were blood-stained. Her flesh bore the marks of torture. She was shaking with cold and when she saw them looking in, she shrank into the cell corner. She appeared to sob, though no sound came through the transparent wall.
Despite her state, the woman looked familiar to Castiel. He couldn’t remember where he’d seen her on the Nightfall. Had she been one of the troops, perhaps? Or was she higher ranking than that? Father hadn’t allowed him to walk around the ship very much. Castiel tried to place the woman in his memory.
“Whoops,” Sable said. “Wrong one.” She backed out of the doorway and gestured for Castiel to leave too, but he had finally recognized the woman’s terrified face.
“I know her,” he blurted. The prisoner had not been on the Nightfall at all, hence his confusion. “She was at one of Langley’s parties.” Castiel recalled that the woman’s hair had been styled into a spiral above her head. That, and the fact that she’d been beautifully dressed the previous time Castiel had encountered her, had added to his confusion.
“Hmm, well spotted,” said Sable, adding, “She’s a nasty little spy. Langley’s spy, as you noticed. It’ll be a long time before she’ll live down her association with the person who revealed our presence on Ostillon to the Sherrerrs.”
The cell door closed.
“I’m sure that one has more to tell us,” said Sable, “but then I’ll take great pleasure in dispatching her. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s disloyalty.” She paused and glanced at Castiel before moving to the neighboring door. As it opened, Sable’s gaze fell upon him again. Once more, those hard, dark eyes pierced him.
Castiel wondered, if she hated traitors so much, what did she think of him? He was a Sherrerr, yet here he was on the Dirksens’ side, offering to help them. Would she ever grow to trust him? But then, he didn’t want her trust. He wanted her power.
Castiel looked through the transparent wall of the second cell. This time he immediately recognized the prisoner. Tremoille. The Dirksens had gotten themselves a Sherrerr admiral.
Though she was as bloody as the former captive, Tremoille didn’t display anywhere near the same terror or submission. Recognition dawned in her eyes as she saw Castiel, but otherwise her features betrayed no emotion.
“You know who you have here, right?” Castiel asked Sable.
“We don’t know her name, only her position. Unless she stole someone else’s uniform. I’m certain an admiral has a lot to tell us, otherwise I would have had her executed by now. But she’s a tough old witch and hasn’t revealed a thing.”
“She’s called Tremoille.”
“Thanks. That may be useful to know. Is that all you can do, though? I’d heard you’ve had some success with affecting spacecraft. I was expecting something more impressive.”
Castiel snorted dismissively. “I spent some time aboard the Nightfall and I recognize her, that’s all.” His gaze roved Tremoille’s body. The woman had withstood significant abuse. Though he wasn’t familiar with the Sherrerrs’ military arm, he guessed she had probably been well-trained to withstand interrogation. Employing the regular methods for extracting sensitive information would not produce results. It was the perfect opportunity to demonstrate what he could do as a mage.
&nbs
p; Castiel stared into Tremoille’s eyes as he considered what to do. What might his father have done in similar circumstances? The answer came, but his method required more than one captive.
“I heard that you had captured a few prisoners from the Nightfall,” he said.
“We have three,” Sable replied. “But this one will do for your demonstration.”
“I need two, together.”
Sable frowned. “In the same cell?”
“No. One of them has to be able to see her.”
“Ah, I think I understand your intention. As it happens, this prisoner has a neighbor.” Sable went to the door of the next cell and did something at a panel. Tremoille’s cell wall became transparent, revealing a second prisoner from the Nightfall. Castiel was interested to see the Dirksens had also captured Calvaley, another high-ranking Sherrerr officer. Calvaley registered his recognition of Castiel with the lifting of his upper lip in disgust.
“Good,” said Castiel. “He’ll do nicely. He must be able to hear as well as see what’s going on.”
“Done,” said Sable, still at the panel. “And they can both hear us now too.”
“Right.” Castiel’s moment had arrived. He was about to Cast, but then he realized he’d been concentrating on the persuasion part of the interrogation, not on what information Sable wanted him to extract. “What is it that you want to know?” he asked as Sable rejoined him.
“Well, since your family has so kindly destroyed one of our main shipyards, it would be nice if we could return the favor.”
Sherrerr shipyard locations would definitely be something that Tremoille and Calvaley would know. “Did you hear that?” Castiel asked Tremoille and Calvaley. “You know what I and my siblings can do. Tell us the shipyard locations, or you’ll regret it.”
Tremoille spat blood and said, “Fuck off you little c—”
“Shame your sister didn’t do the same to you as she did to your father,” said Calvaley. “He got what he deserved in the end.”