Anchor Knight

by Nathan Thompson

  "Okay," I said as we landed inside the room. "I can walk the rest of the way, Nova. You can put me do—"

  My friend answered me by leaping again, over the cubicle-like barricade covering the emergency drive terminal and landing on the complete opposite side of the room.

  "Nova," I panted as I tried to adjust my position in her arms, and stop myself from just violently tearing my way out of her grip. "Is this some kind of revenge? For carrying Vessa around?"

  "Sort of," she said absently, correcting herself a moment later. "I mean, what? No, of course not, we like it when you—I mean yes," she finally said. "Yes it is. Sorry. Good guess. Keep suffering."

  To my horror, she began leaping faster, making even more jarring landings. As if she was doing it on purpose, to punish me for whatever I did wrong in our last conversation.

  Somehow, we made it through the twisting hallway leading back to Vessa's sanctuary without colliding head-first with any of the walls.

  "See?" my angelic lunatic of a friend asked me, as I opened my mouth to finally lose my temper and yell at her over the awkward and frightening experience. "Record time."

  Nestor squeaked in agreement, apparently unbothered by the entire experience, and nuzzled her neck.

  She was right. Her haphazard vaulting had carried us through the entire gauntlet of rooms and hallways in less than two minutes. The swallow I took to close my mouth and digest that very fact was one of the most painful experiences of my life.

  I still turned away from her and made a leap of my own, activating an air qi technique to increase my speed and balance. Unlike Nova's Soulscape, it cost me Source energy, but at least I was the one in control of my landings.

  The sanctuary was a large chamber, so we reached Vessa's capsule in a handful of high-powered leaps. Still, the realization that we could move so quickly now if we were willing to burn Source energy worried me. If a powerful enough attacker somehow got in here, they could potentially reach Vessa in a handful of seconds, take us all by surprise, and kill her. One more reason to get stronger, I told myself, as I landed next to the ship-woman's capsule.

  Getting up and moving about had exhausted her, so we had returned the beautiful gray woman back to her tube before we left. She was sitting up in it as she waited for us, frowning glumly, as if she had quietly resigned herself to the fact that we would have to carry her down the long corridors.

  "You're back already," she noted as she looked up at us. "Everything go okay?"

  "Flawlessly," Nova replied briskly. "Hurry up and pick her up, Jasper."

  "Why can't you just carry me?" Vessa said as she deepened her frown. "I weigh practically nothing, and you can fly."

  "Won't work," Nova said immediately. "You'd hate the complete loss of control more than anyone in this room. Besides, I can't go very fast when I'm carrying someone," she lied.

  "But—" Vessa protested, cheeks coloring slightly, before Nova cut her off again.

  "No time," her Beacon argued. "You should go ahead and pick her up, Jas. The longer we wait, the more danger we're in. Remember those noises we heard?"

  I did, and Nova was technically right.

  "I'll just kneel down, and you can tell me how you want to be carried this time, Vessa," I said as delicately as I could, crouching down next to her capsule.

  "Fine," the dark-haired woman said, looking away for a moment. "Princess carry works best. And hurry," she added, as if she had decided to take charge. "Nova's right about the urgency of this."

  I lifted her carefully up, having plenty of practice by now. But when I turned to go, I found that Nova and Nestor had already left and were ahead of us, judging by the glowing wings flashing down the hallway.

  I began making leaps of my own, casting a kinesiology spell that augmented my speed and stamina. It had almost as much explosive power as my speed charm, and lasted far longer. Best of all, it was the easiest to control, so I probably wouldn't manage to plant myself and Vessa face-first into the first hallway corner we encountered.

  Vessa took my dangerous leaps without complaint, to my surprise. She just nestled against my chest again and closed her eyes, as if she wasn't worried about me making a simple mistake and knocking her head against something heavy and unforgiving.

  The power in my legs impressed me. I had been too busy during the battle to pay attention to all the changes my body had undergone, but now that I had the time to use a mana spell without someone trying to kill me, I realized that my speed actually wasn't that far behind Nova's with her Soulscape. I still couldn't catch up with her, but I could at least keep her in view as I chased after her.

  We made it to the security chamber in three minutes. Vessa started when she opened her eyes and saw the dead bodies of the sott-jotun.

  "Are you alright?" I asked, turning her so that she wouldn't have to see the corpses.

  "Just realizing," Vessa said as she pushed against my turn, as if to protest my act. "I've lost much of my memory from all the damage, but I thought I could still remember the faces of my crew, or at least most of them… but I didn't even remember that there were giants in my own crew until I saw these," she said with a shudder. "Some of them were even bigger than the largest one here, but none of them looked like this. They were strong, and kind, and always gave me the biggest and best smiles… and if I hadn't walked into this room, I would never have even remembered them…"

  She turned her face toward my chest and began to quiver in my arms. I struggled helplessly to think of something to tell her that could make her feel better, but I came up with nothing. So I held her tighter, and tried to be as strong and stable for her as I could.

  Grandson, I heard Mara say softly in my soul. Much later, when she is ready to speak, will you help me tell her that I weep with her?

  Dimali and Topa looked up from their games and began mewing at her, as if they were trying to help and did not know what to do.

  That, of course, made them just like me in this moment.

  Nestor, I suddenly thought, remembering all of the times he had gone to Vessa on my behalf, go.

  The little lifemouse complied immediately, racing off Nova's shoulder and darting up my leg. He scrunched his face in concentration, and his fur began rippling through a variety of iridescent colors as he crawled across my arm to perch next to Vessa's head, wiggling his whiskers and squeaking sympathetically at her. I heard her inhale deeply, and pull one of her hands out to pet Nestor's fluffy head.

  "Thank you," the woman I was trying not to grieve openly for said as she pulled her face out of my chest. "Thank you both… but we need to stop wasting time on me. My capsule for this room is actually set in one of the walls."

  She pointed at a section of the walls near the door to her giant crew quarters. Her gray eyes glowed for a second, and then a wall-mounted version of the tube emerged from behind an opening panel. It had all of the usual trappings of her earlier beds, but I noticed that it was twice as big.

  "I forgot that, too," she said, biting her lip. "They made this one bigger, when I was little. The jotun heard that I kept getting scared when I had to be sealed in one, so they made a version big enough for one of them to keep me company inside… and they all helped install it into the wall by their door, just so I would know the rest of them were there… you…" She swallowed suddenly. "You didn't find any of their bodies, did you?"

  "No," I shook my head, not mentioning the lingering emotions I had felt in that room.

  "G-good," she stammered, but then she shook her head. "No, that's not good. That just means they were dragged off and e-eaten." She let a strangled cry out, and began beating my chest.

  "K-keep walking," she sobbed. "We don't have time for me to do this right now. Just keep walking."

  I obeyed her, and tilted my head so that my own tears would not fall on her.

  I thought I heard more echoes somewhere far beyond the door. That probably shouldn't have been possible, but it reminded me that danger could very well be lurking a few meager yards
away. Vessa must have known that too, judging by the determined light in her now-leaking eyes.

  The capsule opened as I reached it. It was slightly elevated at the bottom, which helped me lower her into it. Just as she said, there was another bed next to her, one big enough to hold a man or woman twice my own size. She didn't say anything as I put her inside. She just closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally. Nestor squeaked in concern, and I heard Nova's footsteps land just behind me.

  "Jasper," my blonde friend said softly, her light-blue eyes shining in the dim room. "She shouldn't be alone right now. One of us should be in there with her… and probably Nestor, as well."

  "It can't be me, Nova," I said to her, hating that she was right, and hating that I was, as well. "They'll come for her again, and I need to be able to hide her."

  Another sound echoed from somewhere beyond the massive door. Nova winced.

  "That," she said with a grimace. "I don't want you to get hurt again. Is there anything we can do about that."

  Yes, Grandmother Mara said from my mind. I understand what they did. Tell her I will protect you better this time. I know how to do so.

  "Grandmother has come up with a way to protect me," I answered her, trying to feel confident. "She's already begun teaching me methods that will protect me from them."

  "Are you sure?" Vessa spoke up from her tube, and Nestor let out a concerned squeak.

  I decided to open up my Soulscape, and the dragon-woman's voice washed out.

  "I swear by my Source and my Strength that I have a method to protect the young man housing my spirit and my other grandchildren, and that he will not be harmed again by the twisted reprobates haunting the farthest depths of your ship-body today. This time, he will not need to suffer harm when he drives them off."

  A faint shudder swept through the room, and even the echoes in the distance paused for a moment.

  "I'll take that," Vessa said, eyes wide. I realized that she had shifted from grieving over the death of her childhood protectors to dreading what would happen to me as I tried to protect her now, all while knowing that if she did not risk me for this current task, she would fail in her mission, and lose me anyway.

  Along with everything else under the night sky.

  Nova crawled into the capsule next to her, and Nestor did too, at my urging. There was nothing they could do help me hide Vessa, and in fact their being visible might actually increase the risk.

  Vessa reached over to hold Nova's hand, and cupped Nestor to her chest with her other palm. She didn't say anything, but her gray eyes locked onto mine until the opaque capsule glass covered her completely.

  I stepped back from the capsule, slowly re-summoned my new spear, and re-opened my Soulscape so that my spiritual planet could vent atmosphere over Vessa and Nova's container, noticing that I could now allow it to leak out from multiple points on my body in case I turned around or needed the use of both hands.

  Then I turned around and waited for the monsters to come.

  Like this, little ones, I heard Mara say to Dimali and Topa. As our home spins, take a deep breath, and then exhale.

  I briefly turned my attention to my inner world as the large sapphire dragon and black-and-white dragon hatchlings breathed out a mist similar to the atmosphere I was currently venting over Vessa's capsule. It mixed with my planet's air, but stubbornly refused to drift high enough to be pulled out of my body and cover Vessa and Nova.

  Instead, it filtered directly into my Source energy, sinking into my essence, floating along with my mana, and swimming within my qi.

  This should be enough, grandson, the elder dragon said confidently. They will not be able to reach you this time. Not in the fashion they did before.

  Honored grandmother, I began respectfully, eyes roaming around all the shadows of the room. I believe you said that it was impossible for them to reach me the last time.

  I did not wish to worry Nova and Vessa because there was nothing they could do, and worry would only make their job more difficult. But I was neither strong enough, nor foolish enough, to pretend I felt brave right now, in the privacy of my own thoughts.

  I know, grandson, the dragon-woman sighed. That was my mistake. I acknowledge it, and do not blame you for your fear. But I recognized the art that they used, and know how to counter it. It is an art so rare that my own teachers never did more than theorize about its existence. But the limitations of its power have become clear.

  Truly? I asked, starting to relax ever so slightly. There was a pause in whatever distant banging or shouting was going on deep within the ship, and the new silence was somehow both peaceful and ominous.

  Yes, dear one, my new family member insisted, it must be severely limited. Else a young man not even in the second stage of any Source would not have been able to repel it twice. Even if that man is as brave and special as you, the kind wyrm added warmly.

  It surprised me how much her praise affected me. My shoulders relaxed completely, and I even stopped watching a handful out of the hundreds of shadows in this place. It was as if both of my parents had suddenly floated out of their graves and both commended me at the same time.

  Yes, brave, dear one, she continued, after she and the hatchlings exhaled another protective breath. You are safe.

  My inner peace immediately vanished, and I tensed up three times as much as I just was earlier.

  There is no such thing as safe, I told her, as I scrambled for food in the messy alley, hoping I would find it in time to hide it. But no, that wasn't right. I was someplace else. There is no such thing as safe, I said again as large, angry men surrounded me, to declare that they would be watching me from now on, for any sign of unrighteous behavior, any sign that I would disrespect the sacred dignity of the Glorious State. But that wasn't right either. There is no such thing as safe, I tried saying for the last time, as men with badges and guns marched my parents out of my home, beating them when they both shouted for me to forget about them, to not resist later when I finally learned of their inevitable fate.

  But my brand-new brother and sister just mewed at me in confusion, and I realized that I currently had no idea where I was. I was supposedly aboard some giant metal cage floating through the darkness between stars, standing in front of a glass tube holding my childhood friend, her primary body, and a fluffy mouse, while things in the invisible distance banged, roared, and went silent in intervals.

  And it was supposedly safe. So I could not be truly here.

  My grandmother was quiet for a moment. Then she answered me.

  I am sorry, young rider, she said at last. Her head moved, and she seemed to glance out of the Soulscape directly at my face, then at Vessa's capsule, and then at my face again. I underestimated how much the young of this age had suffered. I will not try to convince you that I know exactly how you feel, and that the feeling will one day pass, because I would not have believed it either, when I was in your place. Instead, I will stand with you, as you learn to let go of all the lies currently screaming that they are the only truths, and awful ones at that. If that day comes tomorrow, or after the next age when you are some thousand years old, I will still be with you.

  I was too shaken to have the presence of mind to thank her, or even respond to her words. For all I knew it looked as if I had brushed off her statement with utter contempt, and I had no idea how to correct that impression.

  But the truth was that I appreciated all of her words deeply, even the ones I didn't believe. I couldn't believe that she would stick around for as long as I needed, not when frightening monsters hunted those near me in my present, and frightened kings had taken those near me in the past.

  But something about her promise made me feel unashamed for wanting to believe her, and that changed something inside of me. I finally made my head nod stiffly, and focused on guarding Vessa's tube.

  The room began to hum faintly. Some of the dim floor lights flickered, but failed to turn on.

  Grandmother, will I be able to speak with y
ou when they come again? I asked, recalling how she had suddenly gone silent in my last encounter with the maddened trio.

  I do not know, grandson, she answered sadly. But if you cannot hear me, know I will still be nearby.

  Very well, I said as I continued to brace myself for chittering, gibbering shadows that demanded I hand over Vessa.

  A few moments passed, and then my grandmother suddenly spoke up.

  Say something within five seconds, if you can still hear me, grandson, she said calmly. I could feel her eyes watch my soul and surroundings intently.

  I can hear you, I said quickly.

  Five full seconds passed, and she looked disappointed.

  Nothing at all. They are coming, then, she announced with a sigh. Dimali and Topa mewed and breathed again, sending more protective mist into me. I will say what I have tried to tell you before, in case you can still hear me. There can be such a thing as being near something that causes harm, even great harm, and yet be in a position where it cannot touch you. That is a far, far better definition of safety than what I suspect you were led to believe. I—

  Her voice cut off suddenly. I inhaled, and prepared myself.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  For a frustrating moment, absolutely nothing happened.

  My knuckles whitened as I gripped my spear—uselessly, I realized, because I was unlikely to harm the voices with it for a number of reasons. And there were over a hundred shadows being cast in this massive room, so I had no reason to believe I would spot them before they came uncomfortably close. And even if I did notice them from a hundred feet away, I had no reason to believe I could do anything to harm them. Then I remembered that they had left the first time because they couldn't find Vessa, and the second time because I had threatened to blow myself up with Source energy. That last one was not a threat that could work more than once.

  The insanity of it all got to me, and I just shook my head and sat down, spear in my lap. If they came there was nothing I could do but keep venting atmosphere so that Vessa and Nova remained hidden.