by Pam Uphoff
Ebsa recognized Director Ajki stepping up and waving the man down. "Relax. You're home. And detained for questioning about your illegal cross-dimensional raid. Now shut up and sit down there." He pointed, and the man slunk off.
The witch stepped up to Ape, and paused. "Would anyone like to stand right in front of the punch?"
The two nearest flunkies shifted away. The witch gave two quick scratches to Ape's shoulder and turned away.
Ape's swipe pulled him off balance and he staggered off his teetering chunk of concrete, ready to find something else to attack . . . froze as the crowd watching him registered.
Ajki pointed. "Sit. Say nothing."
The witch stooped to scratch at City. He continued to lie limp. The medical team moved in.
Blob was next, and promptly barfed, holding his stomach and staggering. Wedge flinched back, and thumped down on his rear, mouth rounding out in horror as he took in his watchers.
The witch scratched the shin grabber, and while he screamed, the last two. Blood flowed from a deep cut on one's arm, and nearly as much from the other's badly broken nose. The witch left them rolling on the ground, screaming in pain, and walked away as the medics rushed in.
Ebsa studied the witch. Beautiful, a pale blonde, but her expression was cold and disdainful. Rather like the worst of the Princesses. Guards in Directorate's brown dress uniforms trailed her.
He watched the newsies home in on the Teamers. The former statues in the park. Wedge, City, Ape, and Blob from school. Wedge and City had been expelled before their very unwise raid. But not Ape and Blob. Would they show back up? Or would their allegedly unapproved raid get them kicked out as well?
The other four were older. Tough, experienced men. I wonder how many Fallen it took to beat a compass of eight?
The witch walked over to the Director. The mikes didn't pick up what she was saying, but Ajki snapped some orders and the witch was escorted out by a man and woman in business attire.
Ebsa squinted. Was that . . . ?
"Ah, there's Ajha and the Fiend. The Director's making sure nothing happens to the witch." Paer grinned suddenly. "Ajha looks startled, I wonder what she just said?"
Ebsa eyed the vid. "Something the Fiend found amusing. And I'll bet they won't tell us, either. Probably classify everything she said."
Paer scowled at the screen. "She was pretty cold and superior."
Ra'd snorted. "And ready to fight these violent high tech brutes."
That got a lot of people turning around indignantly to glare at him.
Ra'd gave them a narrow show of teeth. "The Ash Witch community has a serious grudge against the people who invaded them. We killed three witches that day. That Witch was probably sent into enemy territory because she has very strong shields. Keep in mind that this is less than a year after the attempted judicial murder of Nighthawk, and eight or nine months following her kidnapping. They consider themselves on the brink of a war."
A girl two rows down hunched a shoulder. "She's just a Native. They'll get what they deserve. Soon."
Paer bristled. "You should worry more about what they'll do to us, if we attack again."
Ra'd snorted. "Personally? I'm more worried about the possibility they'll send Ape and Blob back here. Surely they'll be expelled after this?"
They fell quiet, contemplating that.
They watched the medics cart four men off on gurneys and the other four escorted after them, before the screen switched back to the live lecturers.
Professor Ivy was shaking his head. "And things like this remind me that however much the Fallen are like us genetically, their magic has taken a very different path. Just their ability to manipulate dimensional phenomena has made their magic usage very alien to ours."
The chancellor stepped up beside him. "So . . . they handled this illegal incursion in a very interesting manner. We have disavowed knowledge of the raider's plans and we'll be looking at what to charge them with."
Ikku joined them. "But they committed very few crimes in our jurisdiction. Unauthorized use of gates . . . I'm not sure we have any laws that address this, as the permanent gates are so new. It's not as if they forged gate orders for a powered gate and cost the Directorate millions. They apparently just walked through the gate to Embassy with an unnoticeable spell. No doubt a pack of lawyers is looking over the wording of the laws, now."
Ebsa suppressed a groan. They will be coming back. And they missed half the spring semester . . . maybe they can jump in now, finish their last classes and graduate in three months or so. I can deal with them for three months. Unless they're in some of my classes. Ugh. And Wedge and City ought to still be expelled and under arrest . . . for crimes committed here in New York. I really hope they don't get out on bail until the trial . . .
"One bloody hell. We're going to have to watch our backs."
Ra'd shot him a glance, and nodded toward the others. "And theirs."
Paer rolled her eyes. "This is our senior year. All we have to do it not get into confrontations with those idiots, and we can leave this all behind. Get to work."
Heak snickered. "Actually you three just have to survive beating each other up tomorrow."
Chapter Three
Thursday 1 Qadah 1403
The senior ranking match. They'd do this again before their last semester. And at graduation.
They lined up according to how the instructors ranked them at the end of their junior year. Roughly a hundred students. Sensei Ikku had a list in hand and reordered them. He placed Ra'd at the top. Then the seven Action Trainees, including the three women. Then Ebsa, Paer, some men he'd never met . . .
Ebsa snickered when he was sent to the seventh mat.
I dare say Ikku would like to forget I exist. Not enough aggression for his precious Action Teams. Or maybe it's the clostuone label that he won't accept as better than his neartuone and withione brutes. I think the poor man is going to have a very bad year.
The old Sensei had been replaced at the end of the last Spring semester. Poor Arvi! Blamed for the actions of his stupid students. I think I'm about to really miss him.
In theory each mat ought to have had twelve or thirteen candidates. Ebsa's had twenty.
He ignored the whispers from the stands of observers. A few familiar faces—Azko and Heak, of course. And . . . was that the former governor of New York?
Not going to be cheering for me, for sure not Ra'd.
Heh. Impeached by the Regional Council and removed from office. But he probably thinks it's our fault not his. Attempted judicial murder. Sabotage of communications equipment. Illegal restraint of communications.
I'd feel a lot better about him being here if he weren't sitting next to a subdirector from External Relations. Iffi, provisionally appointed Director, then demoted back to a colony subdirector.
He's not a friend either. Yikes. We really screwed up our careers last year. Doing the right thing, but that's not going to stop reprisals. The future is going to . . . be interesting.
He was called out for the first match, and centered himself. Reached for the Speed and ducked and blocked an impressive and fast whirlwind . . . got in two blows. Two more. A leg sweep to dump the man. The whistle blew. He bowed, and was sent back into the waiting group. Paer handled a big slow man easily. Then Ebsa face another man. A long series of blocked blows, then he sped further and hit the man at will. The whistle blew. Back to the group, to watch two well matched men duke it out for the full three minutes. Then Ebsa was called out again to face a third man . . .
So, that's the game, eh? Wear me out then turn me over to the Action Trainees. He slid up three tiers of Speed and danced around the man, poking him. Whistle. He fought six more men, then they called Paer out.
Oh. Crap.
Paer eyed him, eyes crinkling.
She knows I don't want to hurt her, don't want to even hit her.
Professional. I am going to be professional. I will beat her, and then I will beat three other women, then four men.
And then face Ra'd.
I'm toast.
What I'm Reading
The Chaplain's War by Brad Torgesen. Nasty Aliens and a young man who somehow manages to broker a fragile peace . . . I'm halfway through and it's getting deeper and twistier.
And I've just started the Wearing the Cape series by Marion G. Harmon. I can tell that this is a mistake. I'm going to be spending too much a lot of time reading these.
Changling's Island I love everything Dave Freer's ever written, so I don't know why it took me so long to get to this one. It's tough being a teenage boy. Especially when something is always happening around him. It wasn't his fault the store burned down . . .
Penric's Mission Just in case you missed a new story from Lois McMaster Bujold. If you have somehow never read anything of hers, I recommend starting here The Warrior's Apprentice.
The God's Defense by Amie Gibson. Who'd have thought a god would need a lawyer?
About the Author
I was born and raised in California, and have lived more than half my life, now, in Texas.
Wonderful place. I caught almost the first bachelor I met here, and we’re coming up on our thirty-seventh anniversary.
My degree's in Geology. After working for an oil company for almost ten years as a geophysicist, I “retired” to raise children. As they grew, I added oil painting, sculpting and throwing clay, breeding horses, volunteering in libraries and for the Boy Scouts, and treasurer for a friend’s political campaign. Sometime in those busy years, I turned a love of science fiction into a part time job reading slush (Mom? Someone is paying you to read??!!)
I've always written, published a few short stories. But now that the kids have flown the nest, I'm calling writing a full time job.
Directorate School was my seventeenth novel, and first in a spin-off series. I've also issued four collections of novellas and short stories, and published other short stories separately.
I've got two new books in the Wine of the Gods Universe under way, and another novella in The Directorate series. And then a third "Zoey Ivers" book in the Doors series. So I may manage to squeeze in a few more titles before the end of the year.
I need to find the time to get more books out in print, out to Kobo, Sony, B&N . . . I need to find the time to invent a time machine . . .
Email [email protected] to join the mailing list for notifications of new releases
Other Books by Pam Uphoff
Wine of the Gods Series:
Outcasts and Gods
Exiles and Gods (Three Novellas)
The Black Goats
Explorers
Spy Wars
One Alone
Comet Fall
A Taste of Wine (Seven Tales)
Dark Lady
Growing Up Magic (Four Novellas)
Young Warriors
God of Assassins
Heirs of Crown and Spear
The Fiend
Empire of the One
Warriors of the One
Dancer
Earth gate
Mages at Large
Art Theft
Triplets
Sea Wolves
Bad Karma
Dark Side of the Moon
Cascades
Olympian
Embassy
Rael
On the Run
God of the Sun
The Directorate Series
Directorate School
A Tale of Three Interns
The Lawyers of Mars
Fancy Free
Writing as Zoey Ivers
YA Cyberpunk Adventures:
The Barton Street Gym
Chicago
Fantasy:
Demi God