With the few moments he had, Landry aimed for the one after Talia. And missed. Cursing, he fired another beam and nicked the soldier's shoulder. The man spun around with the impact and disappeared in the shadows. The other two guards took cover and fired in his direction.
Sparks and drops of melting metal fell around him, potentially more dangerous than the laser fire. He took quick aim and hit one square in the chest. The last guy charged, but Landry had always been a quick study when it came to weapons. The man fell before he reached him. He moved from the shadows to nudge each body with his boot. Two were dead. The tech lay badly burned, but still alive. Reaching under his arms, Landry dragged him away from the ship.
"Talia?" he called in a hushed tone. Her emotions slammed into him.
Fear, anxiety, the rush of adrenaline.
He ran toward her signature. Sounds of a scuffle were punctuated by the ring of metal on metal. He rounded a corner to be blinded by a flash of light. His hands automatically shielded his eyes. The light faded with the sound of a body hitting the ground.
"Talia!" Landry stretched his mind desperate to reach her while his eyes recovered from the blast. He sensed a weak flutter of revulsion and shame.
He blinked again and focused on his wife. She knelt by the guard.
"I didn't want to do it." She pointed to the blackened body at her feet. "But nothing else worked."
"The light?" The charred body testified of his wife's magical strength.
"He was too strong. I used magic." Her voice sounded flat.
"You had to. It's called defending yourself. Let's get to the ship before reinforcements arrive." He grabbed her by the arm.
Shouts and gunfire sounded all around. Landry scanned his retina and typed in the code. The door inched open.
"Don't leave me!" Cooley yelled as he came around the corner dressed in a uniform. He paused to shoot behind him.
Landry focused all his energy on Cooley's mind. He had to know.
"Talia get inside."
"What are you going to--" Talia braced herself.
Cooley ran a few feet then lurched forward, surprise in his eyes. His body collapsed at the bottom of the ramp.
"Get inside!" Landry fired a few shots, and ran to Cooley. "Don't let the door open all the way."
Talia hit abort and the door stopped two-thirds of the way up. Lasers hit the side of the ship.
"Close the doors!" Landry yelled as he dragged Cooley inside.
The door descended. A streak of yellow scorched one of the lockers. As soon as the door clicked shut, Landry started the sequence for the second set of airlocks.
"Come on, come on." He shifted Cooley's weight.
Talia shivered beside him. "Will he be okay?"
"I don't know. We've got to get out of here before we can help him." The inside door slid open and Landry dropped Cooley on the floor, yelling as he ran to the bridge. "Craig! Get her in the air!"
"Ready now." Craig flipped a switch and eased up on the throttle. "Where's Cooley?"
"Common room. We'll get to him when we're out of range of those guns." Landry pointed to an array of weapons lining the building. "They're really well armed, don't you think?"
"Diverting most of the shielding to the starboard bow." Craig's fingers flew over the controls. "Heading?"
"Anywhere out of here."
Talia shuddered. "What do you need me to do?"
"Get the cloaking system online." Landry powered up the weapons system.
"It's working." Craig spoke up as he plotted a course. "Fixed it while you were inside."
Men approached from all directions, pausing in the field to take aim. The hand lasers didn't cause much damage, but a beeping filled the cockpit as the small canons locked on to the Vis Vires.
"They're in position." Landry called and sent a wave of shots along the roofline. "The cloak would be a great idea right about now."
"Done!" Talia moved away from her console to observe the men's reaction.
Their confusion didn't last long. They continued to fire along the ship's last known trajectory, proving they were familiar with cloaking.
Craig punched it and they left the Bargoron's soldiers behind. He skirted the city and headed toward the wild lands. Once he returned the ship to autopilot, he gawked at Landry and Talia.
"Okay, you going to tell me what happened back there? After a few hours among the natives they pulled out all the stops. And what about Cooley?"
"Cooley!" Talia jumped up. "We've got to get him to the autodoc."
The men followed, but it was too late. Cooley lay where Landry had dropped him. There wasn't any blood, but he stared vacantly.
"What happened?" Craig knelt down and closed the man's eyes.
Landry sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair. "I'm still piecing it together."
"I should have healed him first thing." Talia sent her thoughts to Landry.
"We couldn't know how bad it was. You did the right thing helping us."
"Hey, talk out loud at least. I hate when you two do your thing and leave us, me, out of the conversation." Craig scowled at them
"Sorry. It looked like Cooley turned on us. I'm still not sure if he did or not. We'd better search him for tracking devices."
Craig searched Cooley's clothes and pockets. "Nothing."
"Good. We'll bury him first chance we get." Landry nodded toward Cooley's feet. "Lets move him to the autodoc for storage."
"Then you can tell me what you learned."
Craig helped Landry, but Talia sank into a chair at the table.
"We didn't learn much from their interrogation of us. They don't like people talking about magic or the time before the Dragumon. They have some high tech stuff, and yet things don't add up. Too many of those ships were rusted through. Why is it they have laser weaponry but we didn't see many flying transports? They were determined to convince us to stay here with them."
"I have an idea about the ships. They tried to get into the ship the entire time you were gone." Craig looked away. "I tried to leave but couldn't."
Talia's head snapped around. "You tried to leave us?"
Craig met her gaze, his eyes pleading a bit. "I wanted to get the ship away from them. I wouldn't have gone far."
Her hands shook. "I had to kill someone, Craig. Landry promised I'd never have to do that again, but--"
Landry hugged her. "I'm sorry, I never should have made a promise like that. Cooley should have been the one to help me. Not you."
"Cooley might have turned on us, and Craig tried to fly away. We can't trust anyone." She pulled away and drifted toward the hatch to the lower deck. "Not even ourselves."
"Talia?" He reached for her, but she waved him away.
"I wasn't trying to leave you," Craig explained to Landry.
"I know. She's upset and needs somewhere to focus her anger. Talia's always been a pacifist." Landry headed back to the cockpit.
"A pacifist? She wiped out an entire species."
"She didn't have a choice. You should have seen her afterward." The image of Talia lying lifeless in his arms jumped to his mind. Her spirit had hidden deep inside, taking the form of a scared child. Landry shook the memory away. "She had a hard time forgiving herself for that. I think she understands killing is necessary sometimes, but that doesn't mean she has to like it."
Craig nodded. "That's probably a good thing."
"Yeah. How far to the mountain?"
"We can be there by morning."
"Let's not go straight there. And we should find a new approach."
They sat in silence while studying maps of the area. Landry wanted to get as close to the mountain as possible, but he needed a method he hadn't discussed with Cooley.
"Let's come in from the south instead of the east. We can land here and walk in on foot. It'll be safer than landing in the valley."
"Sounds good." Craig programmed the new coordinates.
"So she wouldn't take off for you?" Landry monitored Craig'
emotions closely.
"Nope." He didn't feel surprised or angry.
"Do you know why?"
"I have my guesses. Why don't you tell me?"
"Pre-Dragumon Orek functioned under a combined science and magic system. They depended on each other, and Talia believes they cheated."
"Huh?"
"From what we've seen here they weren't all that advanced scientifically. They used magic to augment the areas they hadn't worked out technically yet. Why do you think the Royalists let us take the Vis Vires on this voyage instead of gutting her to replicate the FTL drive?"
"Because only a mage could fly it." Craig shook his head.
"Yeah, but it's more than that. It wouldn't fly with just me on board either."
"That's interesting, but what about while we were in the bubble? You both lost your powers. Why didn't the ship stop working?"
"Talia's got a theory for that too. The power source. She thinks it used our magic to keep the bubble intact. More like a collection and storage machine than an actual power source. When the bubble dissipated the magic is released back to us."
"Magic doesn't make sense. Technology that uses it is worse." Craig nodded in the general direction of Talia. "Will she be okay?"
"Eventually. Oh, I've got something for you." Landry retrieved the piece of shriveling skin from his pocket. He placed it in a specimen bag and dropped it in a drawer. "For cellular analysis later."
"Do I want to know?"
"Probably not. Keep us cloaked and let me know when we land. I'm going to check on her."
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Landry entered the engine room. Talia polished the plexiglass. Her emotions swirled around the room. Sadness, fear, guilt.
"Talia?"
"Why does it always come to this?" Her voice sounded strong in his mind even though he wasn't touching her. She tossed the cloth at the console and sank into a chair.
"To what?" He gently moved a strand of hair from her forehead.
"Me, out of control." She pushed his hand away. "I'm no better than the Dragumon. Killing just to kill."
"You're nothing like them. Look at me." He waited until she made eye contact. "We've talked about this before. Sometimes you have to take a life in order to save another. Including your own."
"I could have found another way."
"Oh?"
"I let my fear take over. He was stronger than me. I didn't know what to do, and my instincts took over."
"Survival instincts are good." He held her close. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess."
"It's not your fault. I insisted we come." Her anger flared again. "This was supposed to be an easy trip."
He didn't know what to say to that. It should have been easy, but life rarely turned out that way. As far as he was concerned, luck had been on their side. They escaped from the soldiers, and even though they lost Cooley, Talia remained safe.
That's all that mattered.
"Come on. Let's get some rest. Craig will put us down two or three days journey from the mountain. That should help us avoid the Bargoron's men in case Cooley told them anything."
"I can't feel the trees." Talia stared through the cockpit viewport.
Leaves swayed in the wind, and Landry knew she could see the fresh mound of dirt marking Cooley's grave.
"Maybe they don't talk here like on Sendek." Landry tried to comfort her.
Craig shook his head and checked the scanners one more time. "I think we should get moving."
"Agreed. Everything ready, Talia?"
"Yes." She passed out packs with food and other survival gear. "Don't lose them or you'll be hungry. I'm not sharing. "
A light drizzle fell all morning. The water soaked through their layers. They slipped through the mud.
"My toes are freezing." Talia shivered.
Landry pulled out a datapad and checked the map. "We should reach what looks to be a road in another two miles."
Craig walked in silence, but Talia's eyes darted around the forest as they traveled north. Several times she stopped to place her palm on the trunk of a tree, or wiggle her fingers through the brush. Each time her eyes unfocused and she looked sadder.
Landry reached out with his mind. "Any thoughts?"
"No. I can feel the hum of life. It's really deep though. It's like they've retreated so far within themselves they've lost sentience. What would make them do that?"
"I don't know. Do you think watching the Dragumon destroy their world would be enough?" He wondered.
"Maybe. I don't think they'd care so much about the humans. Well, maybe they would since wizards lived here. I don't know. There doesn't seem to be much wildlife around either. That would affect them."
Craig held a dripping branch out of her way as she passed by. "You guys talking without me again?"
"Sorry Craig, habit." Talia smiled at him.
"Well, what are you discussing now?"
"More tree stuff. I know it bothers you so we took it inside." She tapped her forehead.
"I'm starting to think it's worse knowing you're talking and I can't hear it. Feel free to talk out loud from now on." He kicked a stone. It made a dull swishing sound through the soggy leaves. "The woods appear thinner up ahead."
The first sun had set, the slightly odd blue-grey clouds darkened to indigo. The rain turned colder. Landry led them closer to the road when the light faded to avoid the roots that reached to trip them. Two figures appeared at the top of a hill, blurry in the weak lighting.
"Let's wait until they pass," Landry whispered.
"Why?" Craig asked.
"I'm not ready to find out how friendly these country natives are yet." He took Talia by the arm and led her to a small rock cropping covered in low-lying brush.
A man in his mid-thirties to forties walked down the path, pulling a box on wheels. Literally, a box balanced on a stick connected to two wheels. It looked like the ancient carts out of the history vids the kids watched on Sendek. The second person was smaller. A child, flicking a stick back and forth. Both wore non-descript brown clothing that had been patched many times. Neither wore shoes.
"Da, will I get to come home?" A high-pitched voice, not clearly male or female.
"I don't know pet. You'll be better'n your ma and me. They probably won't want ya associatin' with us anymore." He talked slowly, carefully.
"How will I be better?"
"You're chosen. They'll educate ya, and give ya nice clothes to wear. And, you'll have all the food ya could want. No more going to bed hungry."
"Will it hurt?"
"Not if ya do what you're told." His voice cracked and they walked out of earshot.
Landry wanted to follow, to understand the bitterness and shame surrounding the man. His words were meant to comfort the child, but they didn't comfort the father.
Talia reached out and touched his arm. He wondered if she understood the darkness circling the stranger's mood. She'd never seen the harsh things that transpired outside of Algodova, away from the reach of the Royalists. Some would argue a monarchy wasn't freedom, but the Sandovol family had been good leaders. Kind ones that cared for their subjects. This Bargoron didn't appear as concerned about those under his control.
He brushed the thoughts away and led them north again. An hour later the last sun set. The stars shone dimly, but neither of Orek's two moons had risen yet. Landry sensed Talia's weariness. It surprised him that she hadn't absorbed any energy to strengthen herself. The suns passed through clouds all day, giving little warmth. Perhaps she couldn't collect on a day like this?
"Craig, you see any houses?" He needed to find a place for Talia to warm up and rest.
"A few, but not in the last twenty minutes." Craig browsed his datapad. "I scanned the area before we left the ship. There should be a house about half a mile that way."
"Good. Let's go in carefully."
"Maybe we can trade some of our food bars for a bed." Talia perked up a little. "It'd be worth it to get out of this rain.
"
Ten minutes later they moved toward lights set back from the road. They left the hard packed ground and crossed a wide field, coming up on the building from the side. Landry stopped them by a gnarled tree to survey the place. It barely stood, run down and in need of a lot of work. Weak light seeped from the boarded up windows and weeds grew around the foundation. A worn dirt path led from the door to a well with a water pump.
"Maybe you should wait here while I knock," Landry whispered.
Someone coughed behind them. Turning slowly they came face to face with a dirty man, perhaps in his twenties or thirties. An unkempt beard covered the lower half of his face, and thick brown hair hung across his forehead. Two dark eyes glittered between the masses of hair. He pointed a rusty gun at them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Landry mentally cursed himself. He hadn't picked up on the man until he stood beside them in the dark. Now the emotions came on strong. Suspicion, anger, and lust.
Landry and Craig both moved between the stranger and Talia.
"Is this your place? We're looking for work in exchange for a place to sleep." Craig smiled and held out his hand.
The man grunted and pointed toward the house. "Get going then. When Shamaf gets back he can decide."
Landry's mind raced. Did he take the guy out now or take the chance that this Shamaf would be more accommodating?
"Malik! Where are you?" A deep voice boomed into the night.
A second man stood in the light of the open door.
"Over here, I'm bringing company," Malik called, then waved the gun. "Go on now."
Landry took Talia's hand.
The man at the door stepped aside so the three could enter the house. Low watt bulbs lit the interior with a yellow light, leaving shadows in the corners. A table with four chairs filled the room and a low counter cluttered with bowls, cups, a pile of books, some animal skins, and ammunition occupied the wall opposite the fireplace. More skins covered every inch of the walls, keeping the wind and rain out and the heat in. That warmth wrapped around the travelers and steam rose from their soaked clothes.
Dawn of the Mages (The Magic Wakes Book 2) Page 14