“Makes sense,” Balastar said, “since you’re the last one with the Cavacents who can use the distorters.”
Armond addressed them both, “You have your focal points?”
They answered in the affirmative.
“Thank you for this, Armond,” Balastar said. He desperately needed to get Kit back.
Armond gave him a quizzical look. “Why? I am simply following my orders.”
“See what I had to put up with for two days?” Marco said.
Armond activated the portal and Marco stepped through.
Balastar’s com buzzed a moment later with an all clear signal and he stepped into Torgid’s living room.
The room had been returned to its organized state. Torgid and Madge greeted him with affection.
“Your friend here gave us quite a start,” Madge said.
“Sorry, we needed to see if the distorter had been compromised.” He introduced Marco.
“I’m the test dummy,” Marco said, back to his usual happy state.
“How are you?” Balastar asked.
Torgid’s face clouded. “Better now.”
Madge took hold of Torgid’s hand. “I can’t believe they used that vile suppressant on us. Mother Goddess, but that was horrid.”
“And unnecessary,” Balastar said. “They must be desperate.”
“Sorry about your friends,” Torgid shook his head. “The guild tracked your cruiser here. They wanted you something bad.”
“We noticed,” Balastar said.
“We wondered how long it would take you to return,” Madge said.
“I had to get someone who could use the distorters. One of the Cavacent’s Earth Protectors is Vertan. Or at least part.”
Torgid nodded. “I’m glad you have him.”
“I’m curious,” Balastar said. “They must have known you had a distorter somewhere here. How is it they didn’t find it?”
“Oh, they tried.” Torgid got to his feet and walked over to the fireplace. “But we were one step ahead. I suppose you’ll be needing it back now?”
“Please.” Balastar was amused when Torgid appeared to reach into the stone mantel. His hand reappeared with the distorter and he gave it to Balastar.
“Thank you. We’re here to continue the search.”
“We assumed you would return so I doubled our efforts. I believe we may have found the hidden compound.” Torgid took his seat. He moved slowly like he was in pain. “It fits all the markers. We found it yesterday but there hasn’t been any activity in or out. They could be using portals.”
Torgid sent the coordinates to Balastar who sent them to Armond on the ship. Armond reported back almost instantly. He wasn’t finding any focal point signatures on Sandaria. Balastar ground his teeth. They could have found the devices and destroyed them. He didn’t want to think of the alternative.
“You should take a look,” Torgid said. “You can take my cruiser. The rental company came and took yours.”
It took nearly an hour and a half to get to the location Torgid’s people found. During the trip Balastar kept reaching out with his psi for Kit. He’d hoped to get some kind of sense of her, but he picked up nothing. It felt as empty as the void of space. He wanted to believe it was due to the psi-bands, but something told him that wasn’t the case. They set down next to an unmarked van. Standing outside the vehicle was a young couple. They wore standard hiking gear and came to greet them. “I’m Sara and this is Reno.” The woman had a firm grip. “We’ve mapped out the perimeter of the shield, although you may not need it.”
“Why’s that?” Balastar asked.
“The shield’s been fluctuating,” Reno said, looking at his com. “Looks like standard degradation pattern.” He raised his freckled face and met Balastar’s questioning look. “Someone’s unplugged it. I’d give it another twenty minutes tops.”
It was thirteen minutes. As the field failed, the image of forest and trees that had been projected rippled and distorted before finally dissolving entirely.
Balastar’s gut twisted as he and Marco approached. The entire space had been leveled and five or six buildings stood in one corner. Discarded bits of machinery and garbage littered the grounds. “It’s deserted.” He knew it was true before they entered the first building. “Where did they go?”
“And why?” Marco asked.
And then it hit him. Kit wasn’t even on the planet anymore. “Come on,” Balastar said, returning to the cruiser.
“Where we going?” Marco asked.
“Ardos. We’re going to pay the guild a visit.”
“Cool.”
Normally this would be a very bad idea, but with the focal points, they could port out instantly if needed. A little shy of two hours later they were back at the side gate of the Portal Master compound in Ardos. The same gate Balastar and the others had used when they’d searched for the Vertans. The code still worked and they entered the compound. There wasn’t a single person in sight and the guard shack was deserted. Balastar headed for the center of the guild. The door to the ancient building stood open. He reached out with his psi, looking for the alien energy and registered absolutely nothing.
“How is this possible?” Marco asked. “I thought Sandaria and the Portal Masters were…I don’t know…somehow joined.”
“I have no idea.” Balastar led the way inside. The overpowering pull that he and Kit had experienced when they stood outside was absent. Curiosity pushed him forward and they descended a flight of ancient stone steps. Gas lamps led the way to the bottom. The floors were worn from hundreds of years of portal masters. They came to the bottom and a hallway led to a chamber beyond. They both had their weapons out as they approached. Muffled noises and sounds of something shuffling echoed off the walls. They stepped into the room to find five bound and gagged Portal Masters. Whatever they’d used for their power wasn’t here any longer.
Balastar and Marco freed the men. “What happened?”
Four of them looked to the oldest for guidance.
Balastar helped him to his feet. He felt frail and looked like he was in shock. “It’s gone.”
“What’s gone?” Balastar asked even though he knew.
“They moved it,” the man said.
“What did they move?” Marco asked.
“The monolith.” The man’s voice was flat and his eyes empty. “The source of the guild’s power.”
“Where did they go?” Balastar was losing patience.
The man looked at him, with blank eyes. “It’s gone.”
Balastar addressed the other men, his panic rising. “Do any of you know where they went.”
“No,” the shortest one answered. “What are we going to do now?”
The absurdity of the situation wasn’t lost on Balastar. Since the fall of the empire, the only thing Sandaria had going for it was the guild, and now that was gone.
“I suggest you find another occupation. Come on Marco.” They took the cruiser back to Torgid’s and said their farewells before porting back to his ship.
Armond sat at the dining table, manipulating a holo.
“Did you find anything?” Balastar asked.
“Nothing. Wherever they are, they’re out of range.”
Balastar looked out the view screen into the void of space. “How are we going to find them now?” He thought back. It had been almost three days since he left Kit. “The spaceport.”
“What’s that?” Marco asked.
“We need to get access to the spaceport records. They left Sandaria sometime in the past three days and they must have taken a massive amount of equipment with them. That’s how we’re going to find them.”
“That’s a lot of ships to follow,” Marco said.
“Not these days it isn’t.”
“We can’t expect them to simply hand over the records.”
“True and worse, the PMs would have likely gone to great lengths to keep from being followed. We need a hacker.”
“Um, I might be
able to help with that,” Marco said.
“How so?”
“You remember that bounty hunter on Florin 5?”
“The one who was after Mordo?”
“Yeah. When I went back to console her for her loss, I asked her how she found him. I assumed it was just dumb luck. She said there was no such thing. Said she’s got monitoring software on planets across the galaxy. Those buggers monitor secure channels and listen for names and anything she tells it to. That’s got to take some sophisticated programming.”
“She told you all that at your first meeting?”
“Let’s just say I had her purring like a kitten.” Marco’s eyes sparkled.
“Can we trust her?”
“She’s a bounty hunter. If we can pay her, we can trust her.”
“Find her, let’s see if we can get her onboard.”
***
Kit lost track of time on the ship. She spent hours walking the small confines and doing what exercises she could. The crazy energy she’d felt at the guild was near. She knew it. There was something odd about the energy. She was increasingly convinced it was aware of her presence.
Their captors delivered two meals a day, which was her only means of tracking time and the only people she saw. She missed Balastar with a physical intensity that bordered on pain. They shouldn’t be apart now. In moments of weakness, she would lie on the hard cot and play back every moment with him. It was misery. Finally, on what she thought was the sixth day, they came and led her out to join the others. She found her parents and enjoyed a long hug.
Dani and her folks joined them.
“Everyone okay?” Kit asked.
“We’re fine. How about you? Were you with someone?”
“No, they put me in a room alone.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie.” Her mother squeezed her arm.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Dani gave her such a look of sympathy it brought her close to tears. She didn’t have to explain to them what being without a psi-mate was like, and she didn’t want to tell them what the foreign energy was doing to her. She couldn’t hold still. Even standing, she had to bounce her knee or tap a foot. They were loaded onto a shuttle and headed down to the surface of a planet she didn’t recognize. They broke through a dense cloud layer to emerge over a snow-covered continent. The spaceport was small but nicely appointed. It was odd. Because of furniture and pictures on the walls, it felt almost homey. Next, they were loaded onto a bus which took them to another type of aircraft. From the looks of it, this one would never leave the atmosphere. The craft took them on a three hour flight that ended high in the snow-capped mountains. Finally it set down outside a beautiful structure that looked like a hotel. The windows and roofline were decorated with ornate carvings. Flowers and winged creatures were dispersed among different symbols. Kit had no idea what they meant, but the effect was lovely. It made her sad somehow. Maybe because Balastar would have appreciated the beauty. She forced herself to pay attention. No telling what may eventually help them escape.
They waited in the lobby until everyone had arrived. Finally the guards called for silence, and a dark haired man wearing robes decorated with jewels and fine stitching stood on the third step of an ornate staircase next to the Portal Master Tern.
“For those of you who do not know me, I am Loc Zorton, leader of the guild of Portal Masters.”
It was a surreal moment. Her whole life had been spent hating the Portal Masters, and here was the leader himself. “Nice to know the face of our enemy,” Kit whispered to Dani.
Burns threw her a menacing look, which she returned in kind. She would never forget what he’d done to Torgid and Madge.
Loc continued. “By now, I’m sure it’s clear we have moved the guild. Until the ground thaws and we can begin construction of our new compound, this is our home. Nothing has changed except our location. As before, you will be assigned rooms, and you will be expected to work in shifts. This resort has been vacant for a number of months, and it will take time for us to bring it up to working order. You will need to aid in this endeavor and will be assigned tasks as needed. For now, you will be taken to the East wing where your rooms are located.” Loc spoke with Tern, then descended the steps and left them in the hands of the PMs and guards.
“We need to find out what planet we’re on,” Kit said.
“Keep your ears and eyes open,” Ian said. “Someone is bound to slip up. In the meantime, try not to antagonize the guards.” He shot Kit a look. “They could end up being our allies.”
Kit doubted it, but she wasn’t going to argue the point. Any chance, no matter how slim, was worth holding on to.
The next week was spent getting the resort livable. Remarkably new, it was largely empty and not everything worked. Toilets clogged, and heaters failed. The planet was obviously lagging in its technology. Kit was assigned a suite situated between her parents and Dani and Ian.
It was the second day when she felt the familiar buzz of the Portal Masters’ power. She rushed down the hall and looked out over the balcony. Below, the guards and PMs were bringing in what looked like a large stone pillar of some kind on an antigrav pad. Tall and thin, it emitted a faint blue glow from the core. Kit leaned farther over the banister. The monolith pulsed, and her body and psi resonated with the energy. Somehow that thing was the source of her anxiety. It buzzed inside of her. In an odd way, it took some of the edge off missing Balastar, but in its place was energy. Too much energy, it was almost as if it was trying to force itself inside her.
Loc followed behind the procession at a fair distance. He looked angry. As they passed through the lobby, he glanced up at her. Yeah, he was pissed off all right.
As soon as the PMs passed from sight below, she tapped her foot and pushed away from the rail to go find the others.
Her parents were holed up in their room as her mother was suffering from one of her migraines.
She knocked on Dani and Ian’s door and waited for a response. She entered when Dani called out.
They shared a one bedroom suite and were sitting at a table with Dani’s parents.
“Hey guys. Guess what I just saw?”
“What?” Dani asked.
“The PM’s secret power source. It’s a large monolith-shaped rock.”
“Seriously?” Dani said.
“How can you be sure?” Thomas asked.
“I can’t, but I’d be willing to bet on it. They took it through the reception area just now. It looks like a glowing pillar, at least six feet high. Loc was following behind the procession. He didn’t look happy.”
“Good,” Brie said. “Glad to hear it.”
Thomas reached behind and rubbed her neck muscles a moment. “How are we going to get out of this mess?”
“It’s going to come down to the GTO,” Kit said. “We can’t do anything until Vertan is no longer in danger.”
“And we have no way of knowing when that might be,” Ian said.
“Not likely anytime soon,” Dani said, not meeting Kit’s eyes.
Kit hated the fact she was probably right. If only she could find a way to get a hold of Balastar. She’d tried the focal point repeatedly. They all had met with no luck. They assumed that meant Armond was out of range. And if he was out of range, they were lost.
She couldn’t just stand here. She needed to move. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” She left and headed for the staircase. The guards were stationed at all the exits and the main stairs.
One of the goons stopped her before she reached the steps. “Where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?”
Remembering Ian’s words, she bit back a smartass retort. “Look, a lot of us are getting kind of restless here. The PMs said we’d have everything we needed. We need a gym. You know, a way to blow off some steam.”
“I can help you blow off some steam.” He looked her up and down.
“In your dreams. How about that gym?”
“We’ll see what the PMs have to say. No
w get back to your room.”
She’d like to punch the man but settled for a curt nod. She returned to her room with the strange energy buzzing her insides.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It took Marco longer to locate his bounty hunter than Balastar would have liked, but he did find her the next day. They gathered around a holo vid screen to discuss the details.
Marco made the introductions. As usual, Armond nodded a greeting and remained silent.
Her name was Jules Black, and Balastar could see why Marco was attracted to her. Deep brown hair matched her eyes and, judging by her top half, she was curvy yet fit.
“Marco said you may be willing to help us out.”
“For the right price. My current target has disappeared courtesy of Delcon’s fine government.”
Delcon was known across the galaxy for being a playground for the rich and infamous. Laws were flexible and sins covered if you had the money.
“I’m sure we can come to terms if you can find what we’re looking for,” Balastar said.
Jules smiled back at them from the holo. “I always find what I’m looking for eventually. Marco said this was a rush job.”
“That’s correct.” Balastar used his com to split the holo screen and project the Sandarian star system. “Some friends have been forcibly removed from the vicinity. They would have departed Sandaria on transport ships in the last three days. Those responsible wouldn’t want to be found. Marco spoke highly of your tracking skills.”
The sound of a keyboard accompanied Jules voice. “Sandaria, huh? That’s a three day trip in person, but I can code a spider and route it via the PortalNet. That critter can make it to the planet’s web somewhere within six to eight hours. From there I can get access to the spaceport’s databases, but it will be slow. Where are you guys now?”
Balastar gave Marco a nod, and the EP sent their interstellar coordinates.
Her eyes scanned her com before her fingers took off on her keyboard again. “Nice place to hang out undisturbed. All right, I can be there in about ten hours. Assuming the two interstellar portal jump-points work.” She mumbled a few things they couldn’t make out. “Fifteen thousand credits to start. If it goes long, it will cost more. Is that acceptable?”
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