“We are gathered here as is our tradition to give two quads of our fellow Crosioians the honor of descending into the Hole all the way to the rift.” The supreme leader’s ears swiveled to scan the cavern. “As I am sure each of you knows, we are at an important point in the history of our tribes. Even now a half a million of our best warships are gathered against the Empire.”
Hissing and the sound of flapping wings filled the cavern once again. Dust devils kicked up grains of sand on the arena floor as the breeze from the flapping wings increased in intensity. The supreme leader held out her paws. Slowly the hissing and flapping subsided.
“Yes, we are on the verge of wiping out our human foes once and for all. But…I have begun to wonder if we do not face an even greater enemy.”
Richard noticed several of the bats around the supreme leader swivel their ears at each other. Some leaned over and whispered to their neighbors. Although he was not an empath, he sensed strong emotions in the thousands of bats around him.
The supreme leader walked to the edge of her balcony and pointed down at Richard. “This wizard scout—”
The hissing and flapping of wings started anew.
Richard noticed several of the imperial guards point their rifles at him.
A blast of low-yield Power from the supreme leader reached out to every corner of the cavern. “Enough! This wizard scout will undoubtedly die today. Our fleets in the Criterion system will wipe out the Empire once and for all, but I have begun to think that will still not mean we are safe. This wizard scout has told me of a danger far greater than the Empire or a mere political coup. This wizard scout’s name is Richard Shepard. I do not think it an accident that his translated name means tribal brother in our language. Yes, he will surely die today, but that does not mean the Creator has not given him a message to deliver to us. He claims there is an army of demons so vast that it will destroy every living thing in three galaxies. Wizard Scout Richard Shepard has told me the demon army is prepared to descend on us at this very moment. He further claims that our only hope is to join forces with the Empire and others in the magic dimension to defeat this common demon enemy.”
Loud hissing came from the spectators.
Richard didn’t need a translator to know the bats weren’t exactly enthused with the idea of working with the Empire.
The supreme leader raised her wings high.
The crowd grew silent.
“As you know, we used demons during the first battle for Estos. It was a disaster, and in the past weeks, I worked to destroy them all and send them back whence they came. Unbeknownst to me, others in our tribes were somehow bringing demons in by the thousands. Many of those demons are now with our fleets, hiding our ships in the void with their spells. If what the wizard scout says is true, the help of the demons will come at a great cost. According to the wizard scout, the demons wait only to turn on us and bring their army to our dimension. We must know the truth.”
Lowering her wings, the supreme leader waved a paw at the scouts on the arena floor. “The hundred and fifteen of you are our only hope. We must know the truth. Eight of you must enter the Hole and go through the rift to whatever is beyond. We must know if what this wizard scout says is true. We must know if a demon army waits on the other side.”
Raising her wings once more, the supreme leader shouted, “Let the tournament begin!”
The cavern filled with hissing, loud and shrill.
Richard sensed more than heard the charge of the hundred and thirteen scouts to his rear.
Red Wing turned and raised her wing-blade, hissing a war cry of her own.
Richard sensed an emotion of fear and concern through his bond link. He wished he’d had time to discuss his plan with his bondmate, but all he could do was the best he could and hope it worked out. Turning to face the charging scouts, Richard drew Power from his reserve. He found the link he’d connected to Red Wing during their battle on the troopship. Pulling part of the link into himself, he formed a Circle. It was easy since the link he’d connected to Red Wing was a miniature Circle in the first place. Using Red Wing’s connection to her fellow scouts, he expanded the Circle until it touched every scout on the arena floor. Once the connections were complete, he wrapped the Power of the Circle around the links each of the scouts had to their Power reserves. As he’d expected, every one of the scouts with the exception of Red Wing had a reserve that was unprotected. Avoiding the six bats selected by Red Wing for their team, Richard twisted the links of a hundred and seven bats back on themselves to block Power from reaching them. At the same time, he moved Power from the Circle into the base of each of the hundred and seven bats’ spines and twisted. All hundred and seven bats fell to the arena floor. Plumes of dust filled the air as the limp bodies of the scouts made contact with the ground.
The hissing and flapping of wings from the thousands of bats in the crowded cavern ceased.
The six scouts still on their feet stopped their charge and twitched their ears at their fallen comrades, then faced each other and raised their wing blades high before renewing their charge at Richard.
A blast of low-yield Power came from behind Richard and spread across the arena floor. He recognized the frequency of the supreme leader.
“Enough!” shouted the supreme leader. “The tournament has ended. We have our eight scouts. Go. Gather your equipment. It is time for you to enter the Hole.”
Chapter 44 – The Hole
____________________
The Hole wasn’t what Richard had expected. He stood on a raised platform built in the middle of the ocean. Crashing waves of ice cold water were twenty meters below. The ocean stretched out in all directions as far as the eye could see with only an occasional iceberg to break the monotony. Dark clouds swirled overhead as hurricane force winds whipped up the waves. Splashes of icy spray splattered onto the fifty-meters of dull-gray metal that made up the platform.
Standing around a ten-meter-diameter circular hole cut into the center of the platform were the two quads of the recon team along with Richard and Jeena. The eight Crosioian scouts were evenly spaced around the hole. Jeena stood next to the circular cutout to Richard’s left with Red Wing on the far side of her.
An old bat to Richard’s right gestured at the ocean below. “The actual passage to the Hole is five hundred meters below the surface, in the side of an underwater cliff. I remember the day I last entered the Hole and saw the rift. I remember the terrible feeling of evil from the place.” The old bat’s fur stood on end. “I am not ashamed to admit that I do not look forward to entering the Hole again.”
Red Wing leaned forward and swiveled her ears at the old bat. “You do not need to go with us, Grandmother. I can lead the recon. I will not dishonor the Long Wing tribe.”
Richard had been introduced to the old bat by the supreme leader immediately after the short-lived battle in the arena. He’d been shocked to find out the bat was Red Wing’s grandmother. He’d been even more shocked when he’d realized she was the mother of the first scout he’d killed back on Veturna when he was still a cadet. Considering he’d killed her daughter, the old bat appeared to hold no grudge. After the supreme leader gathered the eight tournament winners, she had announced that the old bat, Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds, would be leading the recon. When Red Wing protested they already had two full quads, the supreme leader announced that no Crosioian recon team had ever included a human. The supreme leader had told all of them that based upon Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds’s experience, she would lead the two quads. The supreme leader had quickly made it known that Richard and Jeena would be accompanying the recon team in an advisory status only. That had been six hours and a long trip on a fast naval vessel ago. With Red Wing’s help, Richard had used the time during the trip to the platform to set traps on the links to the other scout’s Power reserves.
“That was a wise decision,” said Nickelo in their shared space. “A lot of demons can attack links. It won’t do our mission any good if
everyone on the team besides Red Wing, Jeehana, and you are taken out of action in the first seconds of battle with any demons we might meet.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Richard agreed.
Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds snorted as she leaned forward to look at her granddaughter. “I may be old, but I am still a scout, so do not forget it. I do not doubt your abilities, but I have been to the rift before. Plus the supreme leader trusts me. If I tell her I have seen this demon army of the wizard scout’s, she will believe me. My word will be proof enough.”
Richard turned to face the old bat. “I’ve never been where we’re going. I have no idea what we’ll find or how long we’ll be gone. Isn’t there any way you can convince your supreme leader to hold off on the battle around Estos until we return? The battle may be over by the time we get back. It’s just wasting lives and ships that we’ll need later to use against the demons.”
“So you say,” said Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds. “To be honest, I do not believe you, nor do any others on the supreme leader’s staff. Your Empire ships would remove the prisoners off Estos if we delayed our attack. We have one shot for our victory over the humans, and it is now. If you want to stop the battle, then you had best hope we find this demon army of yours quickly and return in time. That is my final say on the subject. We will speak of it no more.”
Richard recognized a losing battle when he heard one. He turned his attention to other matters. He looked at his bondmate who was wearing a tight-fitting black utility suit with a Deloris phase pistol and a wicked-looking dagger strapped to her waist. The ends of two wands stuck out from the left side of her belt, sandwiched between two anti-personnel grenades Richard had given her. She held the Staff of the Lady of the Tree in her left hand. The stiff ocean breeze whipped her long silver hair across her face momentarily concealing her eyes. Pulling her hair behind her head with her right hand, she tucked it under the headset Richard had given her so she could communicate underwater. Once she had her hair under control, Jeena returned Richard’s stare. Her molten-silver eyes churned furiously.
She looks excited, Richard thought.
Jeena flashed Richard a smile. “Any time you are ready, bondmate.”
Returning her smile, Richard said, “Are you sure you don’t want me to summon a diving suit for you? Five hundred meters is a long ways down. The supreme leader gave me back my gear, so I’m good to go. My battle suit can withstand the pressure with no problem. Red Wing told me the scouts fighting-suits can do the same. I’m concerned about you though.”
Jeena gave a very unladylike snort. “In case you haven’t noticed, Rick, I can take care of myself. I am the high priestess of the Lady of the Tree. A simple breath spell will serve me underwater. As for the pressure, my defensive shield will protect me.” She tugged at the black material on her chest. “This utility suit will serve me well. If we get in a fight, which knowing you we will, I want to be able to move quickly. Besides, according to Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds, we will only be in the water for a short time. The Hole itself has an atmosphere. She tells me it is breathable air on this side of the rift. I will not need a pressure suit.”
“I would say that is another losing battle,” commented Nickelo in their shared space. “My recommendation is that you worry more about yourself than your elf. I calculate she is quite capable of taking care of herself.”
“Whatever,” Richard said as he tightened the strap on his M63 lightweight assault rifle.
“Are you sure you don’t want an M12 instead of that M63? The heavier rounds might come in handy.”
Richard shook his head. “Negative on the M12, Nick. I don’t feel like running out of ammo today.”
“Have it your way. You’re the wizard scout. I am just the subservient battle computer.”
Richard smiled. It was nice having his battle computer back, wisecracks and all.
“It is time,” said Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds. She waved a paw in Richard and Jeena’s direction. “We will meet you at the Hole. Get there as fast as you can. We will not wait long.”
With that, the old bat stepped off the edge of the cutout in the platform and disappeared below the waves. Red Wing and the other six scouts followed the old bat’s lead. Jeena was only a second behind. Richard was the last to leave the platform. Stepping to the edge of the circular cutout, he took a bunny hop over the side and fell the twenty meters to the water. He fell fast due to the weight of his battle suit. Activated as it was, he weighed over 250 kilograms.
As soon as his head went under water, visibility lessened considerably. He caught a brief glimpse of Jeena surrounded by a clear bubble of air and sensed magic from her levitation spell as she forced the bubble downward. Below her were two bats in fighting-suits with their heads down. Their wings swished through the water, propelling them downward at an impressive rate of speed.
“Recommend you use telekinesis to increase your rate of descent,” said Nickelo. “Even your elf is going faster than you.”
“Roger that.”
Wrapping himself with Power, Richard used telekinesis to force his battle suit downward until he was keeping pace with his bondmate while remaining five meters above her head. Visibility continued to decrease as the water turned ever darker.
“Switch to thermals,” Richard ordered using command voice.
The filter of his battle helmet immediately lost its red tint as everything changed to shades of black and white. Dim glows two hundred meters below marked the locations of the eight scouts.
“They’re fast,” Richard said more to keep the eerie feeling of being in near absolute darkness at bay than anything else. Even though he’d been in the vacuum of outer space, on planets with poisonous gas for air, and in the void between dimensions, the idea of tons of pressure from the ocean water pressing in from every side was daunting.
“Your heart rate is up twenty percent,” said Nickelo. “Relax. Your battle suit is designed to withstand pressures well past five hundred meters. I calculate you will be fine. There is nothing to worry about, buddy.”
“Yeah, easy for you to say,” Richard snapped, not at all in the mood to have his concerns trivialized. “You’re tucked safely away in a hardened brerellium steel chip. I’m the one who’ll be crushed if something goes wrong.”
“Nothing will go wrong. You have a hundred and fifty meters to go. This battle suit can take it. Trust me. I guarantee it.”
“And what if it doesn’t?” Richard asked, getting more nervous the deeper he went. Truth be told, he’d always been a little claustrophobic. It had taken him a long time to get comfortable with being confined inside his battle suit. This was the first time he’d ever been so far underwater, and the feeling wasn’t pleasant.
“What happens if your suit fails, you mean?” laughed Nickelo. “That’s easy. If your suit fails and you are crushed by the water pressure and die a horrible death, I calculate you can just bring the suit back for a new one at no extra cost.”
“Very funny. I’ll be dead. Even my self-heal can’t keep up with the continuous damage at these depths. My Power reserve would run out long before I could swim to the surface.”
“That is debatable,” replied Nickelo, “but at this point in time, it doesn’t matter. We’re at the entrance. See? You were worried about nothing.”
Sure enough, Richard sensed the eight scouts gathered around a house-sized opening in the cliff face of an underwater mountain fifty meters below his current location. Jeena seemed to speed up her levitation, outpacing him to reach the scouts. She was soon floating next to Red Wing. Richard joined them a few seconds later.
Looking down, Richard saw only blackness past his bondmate and the scouts. “How much farther does that go?” Richard asked in his shared space.
“The ocean?” replied Nickelo. “Not that it matters, but this underwater mountain is twice the height of Mount Everest back on your home world of Earth. Let’s just say it is a long way down and leave it at that.”
&nbs
p; Just as Nickelo’s thought finished, a life force began registering on Richard’s passive scan. It was huge and coming up fast. Richard reached for his phase rod, but something grabbed his arm. It was Red Wing’s gloved paw.
“No danger, Wizard Scout,” said Red Wing over her fighting-helmet’s external speakers. “Wait and see.”
As the approaching life force drew closer, Richard saw a dim glow with his helmet’s thermals. The glow grew steadily larger until he could make out the form of a fish-like creature the size of a sperm whale back on Earth. A third of the way back from the tip of the creature’s snout grew six twenty-meter long tentacles the thickness of a man’s arm. At the end of each tentacle was a head-size globe that gave off a dim glow. Compared to the bulky body of the ocean giant, the tentacles were almost hair like. When the monster fish stopped ten meters from their group, one of the thin tentacles reached out. The bulbous globe of light at the end of the tentacle grew brighter before dimming. The change in brightness began alternating at a fast rate with varying time intervals of duration. Richard doubted the time intervals were random.
“I calculate you are right,” said Nickelo. “If I had to hazard a guess, which you know I do poorly, I would say the creature is attempting to communicate with us.”
Red Wing’s grandmother, Charge-In-The-Face-Of-Great-Odds, flapped her wings once and propelled herself forward until she was only an arms-length from the globe of light. A small light appeared on the helmet of the bat’s fighting-suit and began blinking on and off at varying intervals and intensities of brightness. The whale-like creature’s tentacle moved forward and passed in front of each of the other scouts, dimming and brightening its light as it went.
After greeting each of the scouts, if that’s what it was doing, the tentacle took up a position in front of Jeena. Richard started to reach for his phase rod, but the left arm of his battle suit was frozen in place.
Wizard Defender (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 8) Page 37