She closed the distance between them in a few strides. “What are you doing?”
Twi jumped, quickly recovering enough to take flight. “Working. Like you should be doing.”
“We’re wrapping up for the day.” Reaghan flopped beside her and wiped her brow. “Someone got their claws stuck in a tree.”
“Stuck in tree?” Twi stiffened. “And you still think this is a skill that you need to learn?”
Reaghan shrugged. “Need to? Probably not. Want to? You’re damn right.”
“How did today go for you?”
“Same as usual. I get to a certain point and then just loose it. I don’t know if it’s a good thing that they’re impressed I’ve managed as much as I have or not.”
“You need to relax.”
“You’re a fine one to talk. If I was to place a bet, I’d say I just interrupted you searching for how Miraz was following us, which you and your little helpers have been over the Aeon from top to bottom in search of and found nothing.”
“It doesn’t sit right with me that they were able to stalk us like that.”
Reaghan stood. “Come on, let’s walk back to the ship. We need to start plotting our next move, regardless of them.”
“What about the beasts and your training?”
“We can’t wait forever, and we might be able to find the source if we leave. Training is practice, and any mishaps are pretty easily managed if you know how.”
“What about that poor soul who got stuck?”
“I think the masters were using it as a lesson. They could’ve blasted apart the trunk if they wanted to free him in a hurry.” Her tone hinted that she’d do the same if something happened.
They wandered up the slightly worn path toward the Aeon. The forest was blanketed in a peaceful fog that obscured everything just enough to give an air of mystery.
“It is peaceful here,” Reaghan noted quietly.
“I suppose it is under normal circumstances. Now I expect an attack around every corner.”
“I wish I had answers for everyone. I know they don’t trust me as it is. It’s like they know we didn’t tell them everything.”
“We only omitted where we first saw them. To be honest, I doubt we’ll be able to convince them the Void is a real thing unless we have proof.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Eldar Tria spoke up. The pair whirled around. “I apologize, but I wanted to catch you before you went back to your ship in order to invite you to a little festival we’re having to celebrate the end of the terraforming project.”
“Isn’t that premature?” Twi asked, her embarrassment over being overheard clear as day. “The ship might not come if the beasts are here.”
“That’s true, but we should celebrate even if they do leave.” She motioned for them to continue walking toward their ship. “Now, the Void. I’ve heard a lot of stories over the years.”
“What stories?” Twi asked, and Reaghan hoped she was ready to commit anything the Eldar told them to her log.
“That it is the birthplace of Eiha. A region where the laws of using it are in a state of flux. But I’m getting ahead of myself. You see, as the druids spread out across the stars with the rest of humanity, we embraced the nature that was around us.”
“Void,” Reaghan murmured.
The Eldar nodded. “I can see why you didn’t mention it. Most consider it a fairy tale, though we’ve had a few who’ve become obsessed with finding the Void. It overwhelms everything, even the most rational thought.”
“You’ve lost a few to this obsession,” Twi noted.
Tria nodded, her shoulders slumped. “Bright, young minds too.”
“You mentioned that the laws of Eiha are in a state of flux,” Reaghan prompted.
“Yes. Because the Eiha is so raw and exists outside what’s considered normal space-time, the laws are more adaptable to the user. It’s true Primal Eiha. As such, many strange, and potentially wonderful, things can be found there,” She leaned forward. “You think this is where these machine-beasts come from?”
“That’s where we’ve first encountered them,” Twi said, “though we’re not sure if that’s the origin.”
“And like we said, they’ve shown up since we returned,” Reaghan pointed out. “There’s a lot we don’t know.”
Eldar Tria nodded sagely, “When the time comes, I believe that’s what we’ll need you for. To find, and perhaps even eliminate, these beasts. They’re far too great of a threat to be left unchecked.”
Reaghan found herself agreeing, despite the alarms that were going off in the back of her mind. There might have been a lull, but it was only a matter of time before they struck in full force.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Tria assured her. “For now, continue your training until it’s time for you to leave.”
“All right. Speaking of that, anything from your ship?”
“We’ve been in contact and we’ve told them what to expect. Figured it’s better to get it over with now instead of later.”
“What was their response?” Twi asked, her nerves coming across despite herself.
“They’re deciding what to do.”
Reaghan exchanged a look with Twi. The Eldar’s worry was as clear as day. “We’ll be at the festival,” Reaghan said. “It’s good to celebrate a job well done.”
“Wait,” It was Jirao. He wore clothes that were torn and stained.
“Jirao,” Eldar Tria’s voice was low. “Don’t.”
“I’m sorry, Mother, but these people haven’t told us the truth. I’ve a duty to everyone in the village.”
“I understand,” Reaghan replied. And she did. She’d have done the same thing in his place. “What we didn’t say, we did because it was hard to believe that anyone would believe us. Still, what can I do to prove that I meant no harm?”
“Only time will tell that, but for slighting us… a duel. Let’s see how you handle yourself and if you fight with honor.”
Reaghan sized him up. A mage’s duel, or druid’s duel, in this case, was no joke. You didn’t challenge people unless you were sure you could carry yourself to victory. She’d only seen Jirao fight when the beast came; otherwise he was too busy carrying out his duties to join the training exercises.
“Let’s get this over with,” she said and shooed Twi off her shoulder.
Jirao was in decent shape, and she knew from her training with the others that each druid on the planet kept in fighting form, whether there was an active threat or not. This also meant that Jirao, as leader of their police force, was likely to be well prepared for this challenge. He moved across from her and stretched. Since she was still limber from training, Reaghan didn’t bother and waited until he was done. She just hoped he wouldn’t take her inaction for arrogance.
“A clean fight,” he called to her.
She nodded.
Fire roared around them, becoming stronger as an enchanted wind blew past. Reaghan dug in deep, tempted to use her vines as a tether to stay in place. Instead, she held back, waiting for him to make the first move. Jirao waited, seemingly having the same thought. Sweat blossomed on her brow, though the flames were some distance away still.
Quick and clean, she thought. That’s how we’re going to get out of this mess we’ve found ourselves in.
She had no desire to hurt him. Even though he was accusing her of betraying everyone on this planet, she couldn’t find a real fault. Reaghan tested the waters with a couple well-aimed blasts of air. Jirao rolled out of the way just in time. He lashed out with vines of his own, physical, unlike her energy-based ones. They wrapped around her ankles, securing her in place. Earth began to rise in a solid wall.
Oh no you don’t, she thought. The earthen wall crumbled and she bent low, using her apparent capture to her advantage. The area around Jirao became
super saturated with a thought. His legs sank deeper and deeper into the muck. He tried to scramble out only to fall back into the mud. Jirao retaliated, though Reaghan’s own shields protected her from being bogged down by his spell. She formed a fresh vine, gripping it tight in her right hand, and hauled herself to solid ground.
“Call it a draw?” she suggested, knowing that if she went any further, he’d end up hurt.
He looked from her to Tria. His mother was silently mouthing “Stop” over and over. Reaghan felt for her. In their brief interaction, she wondered just how much the Eldar knew or had guessed about her strength.
Jirao bowed his head. “I concede. You’ll find no further fight from me.”
Reaghan lifted him up on a summoned wind, gently placing him back on the ground. She made sure the area around them was restored to as pristine conditions as possible. With Eldar Tria witnessing Jirao’s surrender, she knew the man wouldn’t go back on his word, if only because she was his mother. Jirao glanced down at the mud-caked clothing he wore.
“We should get cleaned up,” he suggested, though Reaghan was spotless.
“Take care of what you need to,” Tria said. Once he was far enough away, she turned to Reaghan. “I’m sorry. You might’ve not told us about the Void, but you’ve been as honest as you can be.”
“He’s worried about his people. I can’t blame him for that.”
“I taught him better than to challenge everyone to duels,” Tria said darkly.
“Well, how else could he know?” Reaghan asked. “Anyone who meant you harm would easily be found out in a duel because they would be ruthless. Anyone else would tear him and anyone around the duel apart.”
Her silence was enough of an answer about how true the statement was.
Twi was already on the bridge when Reaghan joined her the next morning. A glance on the front screens told her the AI was yet again searching for Miraz. She settled herself on the floor, the plate of food in front of her. Digging her fork into the eggs, she gave them an experimental sniff before putting them in her mouth. There was a bit too much salt, but they were at least edible.
“Enjoying the fresh food?” Twi asked.
“Yeah.” She popped a bright green berry in her mouth. It reminded her of strawberries, though it had no resemblance to the fruit. “I hope it’s not going to be too much of a shock when we go back to rations.”
“Maybe I should have the automatons put in refrigeration and a galley, but you never were interested in cooking before.”
“As nice of a treat as it is, it’d be a waste.” She made a face at the overly chewy bit of egg she just took a bite of. Swallowing hard, she gulped down a bit of coffee to make sure it wasn’t stuck, “Especially since I can’t do it to save my life.”
“Practice would likely fix that.”
“Not when I somehow made it taste too salty and burnt at the same time.” She managed to swallow the last bite.
“That bad, eh? Makes me glad I don’t rely on organic sources of food.” Twi went quiet, no doubt communicating with some process on the ship. Then her gaze refocused on Reaghan. “So, what’s on the agenda today?”
“Not sure. I suppose I could practice a bit more. There’s no organized training since it’s all hands on deck to get ready for this festival.” She ate the remainder of her fruit and sat the empty plate aside. “What did you find out about Miraz?”
“There’s actually word about him and his crew escaping. No sign yet, but the bulletin went out across three systems.”
“Did Yetmani get it?”
“Not yet.”
“Damn. If they can stay ahead of the notice for long enough then they’ll be home free.”
“Well, sooner or later they’ll run out of places to hide. Speaking of hiding, I think we should head back to get those books on this ship soon.
“How soon are you thinking?” Reaghan asked.
“After the festival,” Twi suggested.
“I’d actually suggest we go once we have an idea what the ship is doing.”
“You don’t want to leave them defenseless.”
“You have to admit that it’s odd. Why go after a planet that’s still being terraformed? There’s a lot more worthy targets out there than this.”
“Maybe they want to slow up the process for some reason,” Twi argued.
“I guess.” She stood and stretched. “None of it makes any sense if you look at it closely. There’s no pattern. Nothing to gain. It’s just random attacks.”
“The soldier in you is frustrated as hell, isn’t it?”
“You have no idea.”
“Let’s go to the outpost then. We might as well see if we can’t be useful while we drive ourselves crazy with worry.”
The heat of the day was strong as they entered the outpost. Summer bugs sang in the forest around them as everyone settled in for their afternoon tasks. Long tables had already begun to fill the worn streets, while a massive bonfire took shape in the center of the main square. Strings of lights promised a festive air, while the smell of food cooking wafted past. Reaghan watched as yet another adult chased after the rather bored-looking children, quickly herding them back to the others before returning to their task.
“That’ll never work,” Reaghan muttered.
“What?” Twi stirred from her slumber.
She glanced around for anything that could be used to entertain them. Since everything had been tidied up for the party, it seemed like her search was going to be fruitless, then she saw it. A ball that had seen better days lie next to a house. She picked it up, twisting it around as she examined it. There was just enough air inside for it to maintain some sense of solidity, then her finger found the tiny hole in the side. Heating the rubber of the ball just enough, she melded it together until it looked like new.
“Come on over here, kids,” she called.
They ran over, crowding close around her. “Yes?” the oldest girl asked.
“How familiar are you all with Essaheli?” Reaghan asked.
“What’s that?” a boy, no older than five, wondered.
“I’ve heard of it, but only saw a couple boys kick a ball back and forth while using their Eiha,” another boy answered. “They looked cool.”
“I used to play before I moved here,” another girl responded.
“Great, you can help me teach everyone else.”
“We only have one ball though,” she pointed out. “We need three,” she explained to her friends, sounding rather pleased that she had an official assignment.
“You’re right,” Reaghan gave her a grim look, then gave the group a wide smile. “Anyone have a few spare balls?”
“We do,” two girls called out, then ran off before she could say anything else.
“Okay, stretch out while we wait for them to get back. Then we’ll see who’s going to play on what team.” She led them some distance away from where the adults were working. A couple caught her eye, looks of deep appreciation on their faces.
Reaghan sized up the potential teams. All the children were fairly close in age so that wouldn’t be an issue, and there was a healthy mix of boys and girls. Regardless, she quickly saw that one team would constantly be a player short. Essaheli didn’t like for teams to be unbalanced. Everyone might be on the level of beginners, but even beginners could pack a punch once they knew the ropes.
“Do it,” Twi said.
“What?”
“I know as well as you do that you’re going to join their game. You can’t help yourself.”
“Should I though? I’m a fully trained adult and they’re still learning.”
“You’ll adjust, you always do. Remember Thexis I? I can’t tell you how much your antics improved their morale.”
“I just saw sad kids. I had to help somehow.”
“And now you see kids
that are bored out of their minds. They’ve no interest in any of this stuff. At least, not until the party actually happens.”
“Okay!” she called out to the kids once she saw the two girls come back. They tossed the balls to her, which she easily caught. “Line up, and once I give you a number we’ll break into our groups. One, two, one, two, one, two, one, two…” and on it went until she reached the end.
Without prompting, the children broke into their groups, though she could quickly see trouble brewing. The oldest ones did head count after head count, making sure their number couldn’t be wrong before they said anything.
“Miss?” her helper asked.
“Yeah?”
“We’re one short on the other team,” she said.
“That’s okay, I’ll be filling in.”
Her team looked rather pleased at the result while the others looked worried. She didn’t want to tell them she’d be adjusting her skills in order to give them a fair chance. That would only serve to discourage both sides.
“I think you all can handle it,” she said with a wink.
They swallowed hard, then nodded. Each team set about stretching and giving each other a final pep talk. Her helper gave both teams a rundown of how things like scoring worked.
“Basically, the stars are the limit in what you can do to trip up the other team, just don’t really hurt anyone. The point is to score as many goals as possible. Got it?”
“Make sure you shield!” Twi added. “Stupid accidents happen to those who think they can get away with not shielding.”
The kids nodded and took their places. Twi landed on Eldar Tria’s shoulder, who had been recruited by the children to kick off their game. Three played defense while one person from each team was the keeper. The rest played offense. Once the game started, the offenses swapped sides. Reaghan stretched, hoping she wouldn’t have to do much this game. At first, it looked like her wish was granted. The children concentrated their efforts, using mud, water, and earth to block each other’s attempts to move the ball much beyond the central line. Their clothing quickly became covered in grime, but no one cared. Their control was excellent; nothing beyond the target area was affected. No one got hurt by a spell gone wrong. Reaghan gulped as the ball came toward her, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. Her defenders were eager to prove themselves, wrapping the ball in fire to deter the opposite side from kicking it around too much before they tried to shoot it.
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