Dawn of the Mages (The Magic Wakes Book 2)

by Charity Bradford

  Although large, the main common room appeared dark with the combination of black and silver paint, low ceilings and no windows. She knew the rooms and flight deck were decorated the same. I should ask them to paint before we fly to Orek.

  The thought of brighter colors made her feel better as she climbed down the ladder to the cargo hold. She crossed to the one room in the bowels of the ship, her personal bodyguards close behind. The larger storage area pressed close. Anticipating the smaller space full of scientists and Royalist soldiers ahead sucked the breath out of her.

  She stopped in front of the engine room door, hands on hips. "There are plenty of people around here. Nothing's going to happen to me. Why don't you take a break?"

  "The Colonel would have our heads," one of the men answered.

  "At least wait up in the common room. There's not enough space for you guys and the techs in there."

  They both looked around and nodded. "We'll wait on the main floor."

  "Thank you."

  "Mrs. Sutton." One of the techs waved her into the engine room. "We finished the diagnostics."

  "What did you learn about the power source?"

  "As far as we can tell, it's self-charging. We don't know how it actually works though."

  Talia nodded as she stepped into the engine room. A large dark blue plexiglass square filled most of the compartment. It reached from floor to ceiling, and the silhouettes of the long thin plates could be seen through the radiation shielding. The computer console filled most of two walls, curving around the corner. Lights and screens alive with activity made her feel right at home.

  Two techs studied their equipment while the third led her to the control panel.

  "Looks like Jaron updated all the systems to Dovan. You won't have trouble reading the diagnostics from his screens."

  She didn't need letters when numbers made more sense to her in the first place. How could she explain maneuvering her way through the electrical impulses?

  Now that she understood how her magical powers correlated with electrical currents, she'd practiced visualizing the fluctuation of positive and negative particles. When she combined her magic with what she'd learned over the years, she could easily manipulate them with her will.

  The tech continued to stare as if waiting for her to acknowledge him.

  She nodded. "Show me the warp plates."

  The tech tapped at the keyboard and the plexiglass wall slid upward. Air hissed as it rushed into the opening.

  "It's a vacuum inside?" she asked.

  "Yes." The tech handed her a datapad. "Here's what we know so far."

  She skimmed the preliminary report before walking around the eight silver-titanium plates. Standing taller than her six feet, they surrounded a solid black cube. She needed to discover how they functioned to open a warp field before they could project the time dilation. Knowing how much time would pass on Sendek while they traveled to Orek and back would determine if it was worth the journey.

  "Let's get to work." She pushed the scariest unknown from her mind and worked on what she could measure.

  Landry paced the front room well past midnight. Talia hadn't returned from work. He wanted to call and check on her, but he needed to show he trusted her too.

  Calm down. Landry sank into the couch and rested his head in his hands. If anything had happened they would have contacted him. Unless the security gate had been taken out of commission in an attack. He shook his head. No one would attack a Royalist operation. Not this close to the capital.

  Still, his anxiety festered, triggering another one of Jaron's memories. The room around him faded away.

  Surrounded by darkness, Landry's chest ached and he struggled to breathe. Chills raised goosebumps as the vision came into focus. He expelled the little breath left in a rush. The same sky, same mountain, but the cottage had been reduced to charred rubble.

  He stumbled forward, gasping for air, body trembling. Bits of broken furniture formed lines in the ashes. There were shards of glass, but no flesh or bone. The momentary relief quickly turned to panic.

  "Betyia?" Landry heard Jaron's voice in his head.

  A glimmer drew his attention farther in. A vid recorder had been shoved into the wall.

  Snap out of it! Landry strained to separate his thoughts and emotions from the dead wizard's. This is not my life.

  He concentrated on memories from his own world. His father teaching him to shoot a mini-blaster. Stefan pushing him into the river on a camping excursion. Talia standing on the cliff edge, arms raised to drink the power of the suns. Slowly the hallucination faded. Landry stood in his own room. Breathing hard he looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes had passed.

  The memories were getting stronger.

  Jaron's emotions lingered. That feeling of complete loss overwhelmed Landry. I can't let anything happen to Talia.

  He grabbed the datapad and accessed the North Field's security feed. He'd check on her and she'd never know. The fence came into view. Well lit, with Royalist soldiers clearly visible. The scene cycled to the next camera. The entry gate, still manned. Jaron's ship. No one walked around, but the door stood open, ramp on the ground. Talia's guards sat at the table in the common room in the next view.

  Landry relaxed. The men looked tired, but not worried. How long had they been on duty? The next camera angles came up. Bridge, autodoc, Jaron's room. All empty. No one else appeared on the main level of the ship.

  The cargo bay materialized in the next image--the closed engine room door visible in the shot. The next picture should have been the engine room. The screen showed only black.

  Landry opened his COM while running to his scytheglider. "Terrell, who has the security detail for Talia right now?"

  He had set coordinates for the site by the time his COM chimed.

  "Terrell?"

  "Sorry, Sir. It took a bit to access the data. Mo'lar and Bynts were assigned this morning. Neither has reported in for a couple of hours. Is there a problem?" Major Terrell sounded a little sleepy.

  "She didn't come home. When I accessed the security feed there was an anomaly."

  "On my way."

  "Meet you there. ETA ten minutes."

  CHAPTER SIX

  The lights flared.

  "Talia?" Landry shook her shoulder.

  "What?" Uh-oh. She noticed Landry, her two guards and five other Royalists standing in the room. "What's going on?"

  "That's what I want to know. It's after one, what happened?" Landry's brow creased, and he kept physical contact with her.

  "I fell asleep." She looked from her husband to the other men. This is not good.

  "You fell asleep? Did you think about the men waiting for you upstairs? They have families too." Landry helped her to her feet. "We couldn't access the cameras or get through to Mo'lar and Bynts."

  Talia felt his hand trembling on her arm. She looked into his face. His walls were secure, but the tightness around his eyes and lips showed concern. Why was he so afraid?

  "I didn't mean to worry you."

  His eyes narrowed. So much for calming him.

  She pointed to her guards. "They could have left any time. I told you I don't need anyone to keep an eye on me."

  "Someone has to because you won't take care of yourself." He led her past the men who studied the floor, the walls, anything but the couple stomping across the room.

  "Let go." She tugged her hand free. "Grow up."

  "Talia, you have to remember who you are now. Pay attention to the chatter on the nets about you and the mages. Not everyone wants to find you for your autograph. There are people out there who would hurt you if they could."

  "You don't know that." She turned to Mo'lar, determined to ignore Landry's irrational anger. "I'm sorry you had to stay here all night. I really am." She nodded at Bynts. "All of you should go home."

  The men looked to Landry. "Yes, go home. Thank you for your quick response."

  Everyone but Terrell climbed the ladder. "Sir, are yo
u sure you don't need me?"

  "Yes, thank you." Landry waved him away.

  Terrell leaned closer and whispered to her husband. "Go easy on her, Sir. It was a mistake, that's all."

  Landry stared at the floor. "Somehow you've got him wrapped around your finger."

  "I didn't mean to stay so long. Or scare you." She smoothed the lines on his forehead with her fingers, hoping his anger would disappear with them.

  "Now I look like an idiot to my men." He ground his teeth.

  "Well, that's your fault. Why didn't you come check on me yourself?"

  "Because I can't think straight where you're concerned. I saw the blank feed for the engine room and panicked." Landry sagged against the wall.

  He wouldn't meet her gaze and she had the impression he wasn't telling her the entire truth. She reached for his hands. "You've got to get over this. Trust me to take care of myself. I'm capable of calling you if I need to."

  "Maybe you can stay at the palace--work remotely until we get the Mage Council figured out?"

  "What?"

  "You'd be safe there. I wouldn't be worried, you could still work and once tensions calm down you'd be free to travel again."

  "Nothing happened. I'm safe, no one is trying to get me." She put her hands on her hips. It was becoming a familiar stance.

  "Talia, think about it. Just for a week or two."

  "Unbelievable." She climbed the ladder.

  Landry followed. They flew home in silence. She didn't know what he worried about, but Talia knew they both needed a moment to calm down. What was the big deal? She fell asleep at work. It wasn't the first time.

  But it was the first time since I married Landry.

  She glanced at him. His jaw had relaxed a little. So he overreacted? Perhaps she had too? She needed to get used to someone worrying about her. When they reached their suite, Talia waited by the double doors leading to the patio.

  "What really happened tonight?" She beckoned him closer.

  He ran his fingers through his hair. "I was worried, that's all. You don't understand how quickly things can get out of control."

  "Then talk to me. Help me understand. We had one night where people demanded answers. Don't they deserve some? They wouldn't have hurt me."

  "You don't know that. I've seen what happens when a crowd of highly emotional people are pushed over the edge." Landry stepped closer and touched her cheek. "I can't let anything happen to you. Please, let me keep you safe."

  All her anger melted. He hadn't meant to embarrass her at the ship. He had been worried, that's all. She sighed and leaned into him. The sound of his heart beating erased the rest of her anger.

  "I'll do it, but being cooped up will drive me crazy."

  "It won't be for long, maybe until the memorial."

  "That's a month away." Talia stepped away. "What am I going to do for all that time?"

  "You can still work with the SEF, get the Mage Council ready to go. We can present that to Stefan as soon as you're ready." He followed her across the room.

  "I can't promise I'll stay here for a month. Not if you can't give me a good reason."

  "But you'll stay for few days at least?"

  She sighed. "I said I would."

  Talia paced the small balcony of their suite. She'd tried to understand Landry's fear, but she couldn't think of a good reason she should be confined to the palace grounds. Her team had worked without her for the last week. They conferenced her in, but it wasn't the same. She needed to feel the energy flowing through the ship to fully understand how it worked.

  Talia took a deep breath and stepped inside, gathering her notes and datapad.

  "Now, where's his extra utility belt?" She searched through drawers and closets until she found it.

  The belt consisted of an inch wide black material with no markings on the outside, and three bumps on the inside. Two were on the right of the silver clasp and one on the left. She knew two were different levels of cloaking technology and the other a COM. Talia wrapped the belt around her waist and stood in front of the mirror.

  Fingering the thin strip of malium, Talia considered her husband. He loved her, which made him overprotective. If she executed certain safety measures, he'd understand why she had broken her promise. Maybe.

  "Please don't be the COM." She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed a button.

  Nothing happened.

  At least it didn't feel like anything changed. She opened her eyes and gasped. The mirror showed an empty room. Relief flooded through her. Now she could get back to work and Landry would know she could protect herself.

  Talia walked several blocks before de-cloaking in an alley. The suns light filtered through the movement in the skylanes--warm, but without comfort. The buildings made it hard to pull the suns' energy to her, but she'd learned to glean bits throughout the day. It was barely enough. She'd have to plan a trip out to the mountains soon for a full drinking of the suns.

  The zipway traffic thinned as most people headed to work inside the buildings. A few shoppers moved in and out of the stores with brightly colored bags. They clutched them tight to protect them from the occasional gusts of wind. The skylanes held a consistent flow of transports and personal aeroflyers. The sound of them droned on and on. Even if there had been birds in the city, she would not have heard them.

  Talia walked to the nearest call station to wait for a transport. A handful of men and women already waited. It made her wish the palace wasn't so far from the North field. The zipway would have been a more comfortable trip for her than the crowded transports that left her queasy.

  "Anyone heading north?" she asked. Most people liked to share the cost of a transport if they could. Plus it saved time waiting for another one to show up.

  "We're going north." Two women moved closer with their bags.

  "There's some great sales today." The second lady wore a bright yellow dress.

  I haven't bought anything new in a while. "What's been the best deal so far?"

  "Well." The woman in yellow paused. Her pleasant face transformed into a scowl. "Aren't you one of those magic people?"

  More people joined the queue and every head turned to glare at her. The air hung thick with the question. Even the air traffic seemed to fall silent.

  "No. Why do you think that?" Talia forced her voice out in a normal tone.

  "She's lying. Look at her eyes." A man pointed. "She's not only one of them, she's their leader."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Landry knew Talia had taken the belt the moment she activated it. A blip appeared on his computer screen showing the location and status. He let her go, surprised she'd lasted a week before giving in to the temptation. At least she would be safe. He'd track her until she reached the field.

  "She's stayed in one place a long time," he muttered.

  Terrell watched the monitor too. "There's a call station there. She's probably waiting for a transport."

  "Do you think she stayed cloaked?" A chill raised the hair on the back of his neck.

  "I'm sure she's fine. You don't want to overreact like last time." Terrell rested his hand on Landry's shoulder. "It's fine."

  The location signal on the belt blinked off.

  "That's not fine. Pull up satellite images." The screen flickered and then zoomed in to the belt's last coordinates. A crowd surrounded a call station. Landry hit his COM. "I need a team to meet me at the front entrance immediately. Also send a transport to the following location. Make sure they have CC2s."

  Landry sent the coordinates and jogged to the palace entrance.

  "I'm coming too, Sir." Terrell followed him outside.

  They hit the zipway running with ten men in tow. Pedestrians scattered, clearing a path for them. It wouldn't take long to cover the few blocks to Talia's last known signal. A second team would come in the quadcarrier, but Landry couldn't wait. His stomach churned. Why couldn't Talia listen?

  The site of the mob knocked the breath out of him. It was small, but gro
wing. The fifty or so people moved and swayed. Five feet one way, ten the other. The mass of bodies coiled and twitched like a hurt animal. He couldn't see Talia. As he ran closer, he heard them.

  "No magic! Down with the mages!" Half the crowd chanted.

  A few strong voices managed to push through the majority. "Set her free!" and "Give her to us."

  Landry moved in with his team, his mind open, searching for Talia. Emotions filled the area, making it hard to find her signature without touch. He didn't sense her, but magic filled the air. Magic laced with anger. It wrapped around the crowd, pushing them forward.

  He pressed the COM in his ear. "We have magic and non-magic people. No visual on Talia. Go in carefully, but let's break this up quickly."

  He heard the chorus of "yes, Sir" and breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could depend on his men to follow orders. They had almost surrounded the mass of people before they were noticed.

  Everything changed so quickly. There had been a few people standing at the station when she approached. Talia watched the change in their posture, the hardness of their eyes.

  One moment they had been calm, friendly even. Then their hands fisted. Eyes glared. Voices grew harsh.

  "What should we do with her?" One of the men grabbed her arm knocking her bag to the ground. Papers spilled out, and she heard a crunch when someone stepped on her datapad.

  "Let me go. I haven't done anything." Talia tried to pull free, her heart racing. "I don't know you."

  "Cover her eyes. She might bewitch us." The woman in yellow set down her bags and rummaged through them. "I should have something..."

  "Please." Talia's arm hurt from the fingers digging into it.

  "Don't let her go!" Another man grabbed her. "We can get information about the mages."

  Talia breathed faster, struggled harder. "Let me go!"

  Other's noticed the scuffle. The crowd doubled. No one smiled.

  "What's going on?" A tall man with green eyes asked. He caught Talia's gaze. "Talia Zaryn?"