Starbreak (Rise to Omniscience Book 2)

by Aaron Oster

  Katherine was both intrigued and disgusted.

  Just who would go through all this trouble? Blocking out some memories was one thing, but modifying his mind was truly something else.

  “What kinds of changes are we talking about?”

  “Well, for one, the complete lack of a desire for any activity of an intimate nature and even the ability to comprehend it as well.”

  “Is that even possible?” Katherine exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “And what about his ability to have children. Was it taken away as well?”

  Vivian shook her head, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.

  “No, I double checked to make sure. Everything will function as it should.”

  Katherine’s brows furrowed at that.

  Just who would take the time to suppress desire towards the opposite sex, and even the ability to comprehend what sex was; but leave his ability to have children untouched? More importantly, who had that kind of power, and how was it even possible?

  “You still haven’t explained how it’s possible to erase the ability to comprehend what sex is,” Katherine said.

  “The same way that some people cannot comprehend mathematics or why killing an innocent is wrong. In theory, it’s possible, though I never thought I’d see a case like this.” Vivian shook her head in disgust.

  “What else did this person change?”

  “They permanently altered his levels of serotonin, the chemical that controls moods such as happiness, or anger. It’s being kept at an extremely neutral level, meaning that unless his mind is placed under an immense amount of stress, he’ll never fly into a rage or panic. He’ll never be overly expressive in anything he does, either. Any normal person would probably turn into a psychopath if subjected to the constant numb feeling, but they compensated by making the release of adrenaline from a fight give him the same feeling as joy or happiness. They also made food be a source of pleasure, and he’ll feel a rush of endorphins whenever he eats something especially good.”

  “Did they change anything else?” Katherine asked, mind whirling as she pieced together a theory from everything she’d heard so far.

  “Yes. His fear response has been tempered, his ability to feel pain dulled, and his capacity to ignore it heightened to the point of insanity.”

  Vivian went quiet here, as Katherine slowly pieced all this together until an answer presented itself to her.

  “From everything you’ve just told me, I can only draw one conclusion. Someone who knew what Morgan would become decided to try and turn him into the perfect killing machine, then erased his memories of the incident. They left his ability to have children untouched - so he could reproduce, and potentially have supermage children - but blocked him from feeling desire, to remove a potential weakness.”

  Katherine’s face grew paler and paler the longer she spoke.

  “The real question is, when will they be back to collect their prize, and will we be able to stop them when they do?”

  She looked up to Vivian, who had the same look of horror she imagined she did.

  “Can you fix him?”

  Vivian bit her lip for a moment, before finally shaking her head.

  “Tampering with someone’s brain is a very dangerous thing,” she answered in a quiet voice. “I don’t want to take that risk.”

  Katherine let out a long sigh but accepted her answer all the same.

  Vivian was her most trusted aide and she valued her advice over any other.

  Katherine gave her a smile then and dismissed her. She waited for the door to close behind the woman, then slumped back in her chair, a feeling of dread overtaking her.

  It looked like she had some competition where Morgan was involved. Her answer as to why he didn’t seem attracted to her was answered, but now that she had it, she almost wished she hadn’t asked. There had to be a way to fix him. No one should be subjected to the kind of experimentation that had been done on him. The question was whether she should tell him or not.

  She slowly massaged her temples as she felt a headache coming on.

  For now, she had a new threat to worry about. One that was potentially even more powerful than her. Perhaps even another supermage.

  12

  Morgan stumbled as he stepped through the portal and into a small forest clearing. He felt confused and disoriented for a few moments, then the vertigo from the portal travel wore off and his mind began racing.

  Katherine’s kiss had left him feeling strange. There was no better word for it. There was only one other time he could recall feeling the same way, and that was when Sarah had done the same thing. He still distinctly remembered the feeling of her soft lips on his cheek.

  The feeling faded and Morgan began to assess their new surroundings, putting the strange feeling to the back of his mind. Trees surrounded him on all sides, climbing high into the night sky. He could feel slight dampness in the air and the ground underfoot was much softer than he was used to.

  Sarah walked over to him a slight frown creasing her brow.

  “Do you know where we are?” she asked.

  “Somewhere in the East Kingdom, I’d assume,” Morgan said with a shrug.

  “Would you mind flying us up so we can get a better vantage point?”

  That was actually a good idea and Morgan inwardly berated himself for not thinking of it first.

  “Yeah. Hop on,” he said, turning his back to her.

  He felt her clamber on and he got a good grip under her thighs before using his enhanced flight. They rose quickly; the damp night air clinging to them as it blew past.

  “We can’t trust her, you know,” Sarah said as they rose.

  “Why not?” Morgan asked as they neared the tops of the trees.

  He already knew that he couldn’t entirely trust the Princess, but he wanted to hear Sarah’s thoughts.

  “She clearly has an ulterior motive for wanting to marry you,” Sarah said, “Trust me, the best thing to do is to get as far away from her as we can and hope she never finds us.”

  Morgan wasn’t sure if he entirely agreed with her.

  It was clear to him that Katherine did have an ulterior motive for wanting his help. She wanted the throne and she was going to use him to achieve her goal, but the marriage part seemed - to him at least - entirely genuine. That was not to say that he was interested though, which was why he’d turned down her proposal.

  “If you say so,” he said, feeling her relax a bit in his arms.

  Apparently, he’d said the right thing for once. Maybe he was finally getting the hang of this social thing.

  They cleared the tops of the trees and Sarah let out a light gasp, which Morgan wholeheartedly agreed with.

  The bright moonlight revealed a dense forest, bordered on one side by a massive river and on the other by a large open plain; filled with tall swaying grass. As they rose higher, Morgan could just make out the outline of the border wall to the west, meaning they were well inside the East Kingdom.

  He finally stopped when he reached the maximum height his skill would allow and just hovered up there. The wind blew gently around him, bringing with it the smell of salt and damp. The full moon cast a pale blue light over everything, giving it an otherworldly appearance; and the damp breeze carried with it the sound of breaking waves.

  “It’s beautiful up here,” Sarah said, leaning in closer to him, but Morgan wasn’t really listening.

  “I’ve spotted a settlement further east. I think that will be our best chance to find this Duchy that Gold mentioned.”

  Sarah let out a long sigh, then turned her attention in the direction Morgan mentioned. She could indeed see a large settlement some way off, though it would take them a good few days to reach it.

  They stayed up in the air for another minute, then Morgan dropped back down to the ground. Sarah hopped off his back and stretched mightily, covering a yawn with the back of her hand.

  “It’s probably well past midnight by now,” he said, ru
bbing at his eyes. “Best to get some sleep and head out in the morning.”

  As Sarah watched him settle down with his back to a tree, she had the sudden urge to go and cuddle up next to him. Giving herself a shake, she dismissed the idea and walked to a spot a few feet away.

  Katherine had gotten into her head and she wasn’t thinking clearly right now. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. At least Morgan had agreed with her about avoiding the Princess. Soon enough, things would go back to the way they were; just the two of them against the world.

  With that thought in mind, she curled up on the ground, a small smile on her lips as she drifted off.

  ***

  Despite the late hour, Lord Simon was still very much awake. It had been nearly a week since he’d hired the Assassins Guild but had yet to hear any news from them, good or otherwise. There had been some good news that week, though. Edmund’s forces were slowly but surely pushing Herald’s back. They were gaining more ground by the day and would soon push him out of the capital altogether.

  A knock at the door snapped him from his wandering thoughts.

  He wasn’t expecting anyone this late at night. This could only mean one thing.

  “Enter,” he said, interlacing his fingers on his desk and composing his face into a neutral expression.

  The door opened, revealing a man dressed in the uniform of the Assassins Guild. The man swept in without so much as a sound and closed the door behind him.

  “Well?” Simon asked as soon as the door was closed.

  “We encountered the targets and our men engaged. They were all killed and the targets escaped.”

  Simon was a little surprised to hear a woman’s voice from under the black mask but didn’t show it.

  Damn uniforms made them all look the same.

  “So you failed, then,” he said flatly.

  “Not at all. The standard procedure for any job is to send the newest recruits out first. This is both to test our newest members, as well as gauge the threat level of our target.”

  Simon frowned at that.

  That seemed a bit careless for a guild of professional killers. Wouldn’t the targets be more alert if they tried and failed on the first attempt?

  “I can guess at what you’re thinking and I can assure you that we will succeed. We have gauged their power and have sent the appropriate teams after them. We lost track of them for a few hours after the initial attack, but have since located them inside the East Kingdom.”

  “How long will it take? My patience is already wearing quite thin,” Simon said.

  “We should have them in our custody within the next forty-eight hours, and have them back here in no more than two after that.”

  “And Arnold?”

  “As good as dead.”

  Simon folded his arms and stared into the slits where the assassin’s eyes would be.

  “I expect you won’t fail this time,” He said, allowing a scornful tone to enter his voice.

  “You can be rest assured that the mission will be carried out,” the woman said, then turned on her heel and walked out of the office.

  Simon waited until the assassin was gone before allowing the roiling anger he’d been suppressing, rise to the surface.

  He slammed a fist down, splitting his desk in two and sending bits of wood flying in all directions.

  How hard could it be to capture two damn teenagers?!

  ***

  Arnold stepped out of the portal right near the border wall and was forced to make an undignified dash to the tree line to avoid being seen.

  Damn that woman and her twisted sense of humor!

  Thankfully, the guards seemed intent on watching the other side of the wall and he made it to the cover of the trees without incident.

  Once there, he pulled the coin pouch Katherine had given him and after a moment of fishing around, came out with a small circular device that looked like a compass. The only difference was that there were no reference points marked on it and when he held the object flat on his palm, the needle pointed in one direction without wavering.

  This must be the object that would help him track Morgan. He only wished it would tell him how close he was, as he didn’t want to accidentally bump into him.

  Arnold snorted to himself, then began walking in the indicated direction.

  This would not be an easy job. Those damned assassins weren’t done with them yet, and it would be difficult to protect Sarah and Morgan without being seen. He had no doubt that they would also be sending people with the power to put him down, so he would need to be alert at all times.

  Arnold’s foot sank into the ground before him and he let out a loud curse as he was suddenly up to his waist in mud.

  He hated the East Kingdom. Damn bogs and marshes everywhere.

  It took him a good few minutes to work himself free and once he finally did, he was covered in stinking mud. Arnold let out a long sigh as he tried to wipe off the worst of the gunk.

  He could already tell that this mission was going to suck.

  ***

  Six years ago…

  Sarah was almost inconsolable for the next few minutes and Hint desperately searched for something to take her mind off the strange boy. He bent down next to her and wiped her eyes gently.

  “Forget about that boy, Sarah. He’s only a street urchin. Don’t forget who you are. You are the Lady of City Four and, one day, you may even rule here.”

  Sarah sniffed a few times, her bottom lip still quivering slightly.

  “Besides,” Hint continued, finally remembering something. “That puppet show is supposed to be starting about now.”

  Sarah’s sadness lasted all of two seconds after that. Once Hint mentioned the puppet show, she perked right up again and became her usual, happy self. They headed down the main street and took a few turns until the street opened up into a small courtyard. Wooden benches lined the area and a small stage stood against one wall. There were already several children seated before the stage and Sarah eagerly went to join them.

  As soon as she sat down, though, the other children stood up and moved to sit somewhere else.

  Hint watched from his position at the back of the square, letting out a long sigh as a hurt expression crossed Sarah’s face. He imagined that she wouldn’t be making many trips to the city in the future. He only wished she could make just one friend her age, but her stature and her father’s overbearing manor would make that almost impossible.

  He was about to walk over to sit down next to her, when he caught a flash of movement off to his right. Turning his head, he was surprised to see the dirty orphan from before weaving his way through the crowd.

  What could he be doing here, he wondered.

  The boy stopped in the middle of the quickly filling square and looked around for a moment, then headed directly for Sarah.

  Hint’s first instinct was to rush in and stop the boy before he reached her. After all, it was his job to protect Sarah, but after a moment, he forced himself to stay where he was. Sarah wouldn’t be a child forever and he wouldn’t be around for too much longer. If there was any chance she could make a friend, even this unknown street urchin, then maybe she would be alright.

  Hint subtly readjusted the small crossbow with a poison-tipped bolt that he had hidden up his sleeve. Just because he was willing to give the boy a chance, didn’t mean he would risk Sarah’s life. He would keep a close eye on them, and at the first sign that she was in any trouble, he would act.

  Sarah felt a pang of sadness as all the other children stood and left. She felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes again, and tried to hold them back.

  This was the worst birthday of her life. She would never come back to this horrible place after today.

  If she wasn’t so curious about the puppet show, she may already have stood and asked Hint to leave. She had actually begun to consider it when someone sat down on the bench next to her.

  She turned, expecting to see Hint, b
ut was surprised to see the same silver-eyed boy from before. She felt her tears vanish instantly, and her heart fluttered in her chest for a moment.

  Why had he decided to come back?

  “What did you do to me?” the boy asked in a flat tone.

  Sarah stared at him for a few seconds, then her face began to go red in anger.

  She had saved his life, then he’d ignored her. Now he showed up out of the blue and demanded to know what she’d done to him?! What did that even mean?

  Sarah turned her nose up at him and let out a huff.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you have a lot of nerve just sitting down next to me and making demands!”

  The boy shrugged.

  “Okay.” Then he stood and went to walk away.

  Sarah stared after him in shock.

  What was wrong with him?!

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she called out after him.

  This time, the boy actually turned back instead of ignoring her.

  “You couldn’t help me and the baker normally throws her old bread out now. If I’m fast enough, I might actually get some bread without any mold on it.”

  Sarah blinked, then a sly grin spread across her face as an idea took shape in her mind.

  “Would you stay if I gave you food? Fresh food, bought only an hour ago,” she clarified.

  The boy nodded, then walked back to sit down next to her.

  Sarah turned in her seat and motioned Hint to her side.

  “Is something the matter?” he asked, eyes boring into the boy.

  “No, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted some of the food we bought earlier,” she said with a grin.

  Hint looked between her happy face and the boy’s expressionless one and nodded. He removed a loaf of bread, an apple, and a small square of cheese from the small sack he’d been forced to purchase. The boy reached for it, but Sarah held out her hand to stop him. The boy gave her a confused look, but her grin only grew wider.