Wizard Scout (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 3)

by Rodney Hartman

  The stallion noticed Richard’s examination. It lifted its left-front leg and flexed its hoof. The hoof split into four separate digits tipped with wicked-looking claws. The stallion snickered as if enjoying Richard’s astonishment.

  Richard hated being pushed into something, but he hated being laughed at even worse.

  “Fine,” Richard said out loud to the stallion. “I’ll ride you. But if you try to eat me, I’ll defend myself. I’ll make you wish you’d kept your mouth shut.”

  Richard walked over to the stallion and jumped onto its back. The stallion didn’t move or flinch. Richard positioned his legs as well as he could without a saddle. When he stopped moving, several black tendrils separated themselves from the stallion’s back and sides. They wrapped around Richard’s legs and waist holding him snuggly in place.

  “Hey,” Richard said. “Wait one darn–”

  “Come,” barked Sheeta in a voice not to be denied.

  The dolgar leapt into the air and started running towards a ridgeline a kilometer or so in the distance. The stallion ran into the air as well and followed.

  Richard would have fallen off but for the black tendrils holding him securely in place. When he felt the stallion rising into the air, Richard grabbed desperately for a handful of the stallion’s mane. He held on tight. They were already a hundred meters above the ground and traveling fast. The altitude didn’t bother him as much as the feeling of strength and power flowing through the stallion. Richard could only guess at his mount’s abilities. He’d been prepared to travel between dimensions. Richard hadn’t expected to become airborne.

  Actually, Richard could tell they weren’t flying. He felt a strange sensation as if the stallion was shifting in and out of dozens if not hundreds of dimensions as it sought solid footing. But Richard wasn’t being shifted along with the stallion. He was still in the current dimension. In fact, it felt like the majority of the stallion was also remaining in the current dimension. He wasn’t sure how things were working, but he did know he could feel the pressure of the wind against his body, and that meant he was still materialized. It was as if the stallion was just shifting its hoofs into other dimensions in order to find solid footing. Richard assumed that was how the dolgars did it when they appeared to be running in the air.

  “Down,” barked Sheeta.

  Sheeta and the stallion made a steep dive towards the ground.

  “Wait a minute!” Richard shouted as the ground rose to meet him.

  Instead of the shock of impact, Richard felt himself shifting into the void. But he wasn’t the one doing the shifting. Richard sensed an aura of Power from the stallion surrounding him. The stallion ran straight into the ground in an attempt to catch the dolgar.

  “Are they playing a game?” Richard wondered.

  While Richard could not see visually underground, he sensed Sheeta’s exact location a few meters ahead. Richard threw out a quick active scan. They’d leveled off about two hundred meters underground.

  Sheeta sent an emotion Richard knew meant “follow.” Richard sensed a surge of Power from the dolgar. Then Sheeta disappeared from Richard’s senses.

  The stallion did something to the aura of Power surrounding Richard and him. Almost immediately, the stallion shifted out of the void. For a moment, Richard feared they’d be embedded in the solid rock in which they’d been traveling. Instead, he felt a strange sensation as if his cells were being torn apart and put back together. It was similar to when he was being teleported by ‘the One’. But at the same time, it was different.

  A bright sky burst into Richard’s view. Just a few meters below, Richard could see the tops of large trees as they swept past them. Richard felt the wind pressure against his body once more. Vibrations came up through the stallion’s back. His mount was once again shifting through multiple dimensions as it sought solid ground for its hoofs.

  Where are we? Richard wondered.

  While he didn’t know where they were, Richard was pretty sure they weren’t on Velos any longer. The trees below him were various shades of purple. Velos didn’t have forests of purple trees. Richard wasn’t sure whether they were still in the physical, magical, or spiritual dimension. For all he knew, they were in a dimension he’d never heard about.

  In spite of himself, Richard found the sensation of being on the back of a horse galloping just above the tree tops to be exhilarating. Sheeta was a few meters ahead leading the way, and the dolgar was speeding up. However, the stallion was speeding up as well. The spirit-horse stayed right on the dolgar’s heels. Sheeta descended into the trees. The dolgar twisted and turned while trying to remain clear of the branches. The stallion matched every twist and turn.

  They’re playing a game, Richard thought with a laugh.

  Richard found himself getting into the game as well. He leaned forward and sent an emotion urging the stallion forward. His mount needed very little encouragement. The stallion sped up. Richard imagined passing Sheeta on the left side. When he did so, the stallion edged over slightly to the left and pulled up alongside Sheeta. Richard didn’t think the stallion so much obeyed his command as the stallion just agreed the left side was a good way to go.

  “You can take him,” Richard shouted. “Don’t let him beat you.”

  Sheeta glanced to his left and then lowered his head and picked up even more speed. The stallion increased speed as well. The stallion and the dolgar ran neck and neck for several kilometers. Neither was apparently willing to take second place to the other. Richard realized he didn’t want to take second place either.

  Richard sent an active scan ahead seeking anything that might give the stallion an advantage. Richard sensed a steep drop coming up fast. As far as he could tell, a wide canyon was looming ahead. Richard had a feeling once Sheeta reached the edge of the canyon, he was going to use his dimension-shifting ability to run down the steep walls. An idea formed in Richard’s mind.

  If I can get this stallion to take a shortcut through the ground, Richard thought, I can avoid the right angle dive and gain a little distance.

  Richard was unsure how to communicate with the stallion, so he leaned close to its neck. He pictured the canyon ahead with the shortcut through the ground.

  A hundred meters before they reached the lip of the canyon, Richard felt an aura of Power surround both him and the stallion. They shifted into the void and dove into the ground.

  Sheeta was momentarily caught by surprise, but he recovered quickly. The dolgar shifted into the void as well and followed the stallion. Richard couldn’t see in the darkness, but he sensed Sheeta running hard just a meter behind. The dolgar kept gaining, but he was not quite fast enough. Richard and the stallion burst out of the canyon wall an arm’s length ahead of Sheeta. Richard gave a shout of triumph as the stallion and Sheeta came to a stop on the canyon floor.

  “Outstanding,” Richard yelled as he raised his arms in victory and laughed. “You gave it a good try, Sheeta, but you’ve got to get up pretty early in the morning to beat us.”

  Sheeta sat on his haunches a meter above the ground. His face was expressionless, but Richard didn’t think the big dolgar was overly happy with the turn of events.

  I don’t think he likes to lose, Richard thought. Well, neither do I, Sheeta, neither do I.

  Chapter 8 – A Decision

  _____________________________________

  Returning to his tent was easier than Richard expected. The stallion traveled underground until he was just a few meters below the tent. Once in position, Richard wrapped himself with Power and did a dimension shift into the void. He sent the stallion an image of him getting off.

  The tendrils holding Richard to the stallion’s back withdrew. The stallion’s aura of Power surrounding Richard disappeared as well.

  Using telekinesis, Richard moved upward towards the floor of his tent. Although he couldn’t see, Richard sensed the correct direction by using his passive scan. He levitated himself up until he emerged through the tent floor. Once his feet
cleared the ground, Richard shifted back into the physical dimension and cut his line of Power. He dropped the few centimeters to the ground.

  “Cool,” Richard said.

  The tent was dark. But Richard knew a portable light hung from a rope tied to the tent’s support beam. He fumbled overhead until he found the switch and turned it on. The inside of the tent lit up with the light’s soft glow. Everything was as he’d left it.

  Nickelo? Richard said.

  No reply followed. The non-response was not unexpected. Richard assumed his battle computer was locked up inside the armory at the airfield’s headquarters. However, he had high hopes his battle computer would discover a way to circumvent security. Even for a battle computer, Nickelo was more advanced than anything Richard had ever encountered.

  A quick pass with his passive scan confirmed the tent compound was nearly vacant of any large lifeforms. He did spot two guards at the gate and two other roaming guards.

  Richard felt a pang of loneliness. Adrenaline from his ride with Sheeta and the stallion was still pumping through his system. He wished Jerad was here so he could talk to him about the race. Having a dimensional-shifting spirit-horse at his disposal might useful. Richard was sure Jerad could come up with some ideas.

  “Don’t get too far ahead,” Richard said out loud just to break the silence. “You can’t summon the dolgars. I seriously doubt you can summon that horse-from-hell, or whatever he is, either.”

  Richard considered his relationship with the dolgars. They’d accompanied him on three of his last four missions for ‘the One’. During two of the missions, both Sheeta and Sheba had been with him. During another, Tika had followed him around most of the time. Richard hadn’t summoned them. The dolgars just came whenever they wanted, wherever they wanted, and left whenever they wanted. Still, they were useful allies when they were around. Sheeta and Sheba were both fierce fighters. Their twelve adolescent pups were vicious fighters physically, but they were unable to suck life force from their adversaries as efficiently as their parents.

  Richard was bored. His growling stomach reminded him he’d missed out on supper again. Richard bent down and lifted a loose board underneath his cot. He pulled out a small bag from his ‘secret’ compartment. He emptied its contents onto his cot. Several packages of crackers along with two packets of cocoa spilled onto his blanket.

  Not much of a supper, Richard thought as he looked at his stash.

  His stomach growled again. Richard put half of the items back in his bag and put it back in his hiding place. He carefully placed the loose board back in position. Most cadets tried to keep a small cache of items they filched from the mess hall. He wasn’t the only cadet whose extra duty made him miss a meal.

  After opening a pack of cocoa, Richard sprinkled it on a cracker. He washed his sparse supper down with a small bottle of juice. Once his supper was over, Richard grabbed his toilet articles and walked the short distance to the communal washroom located at the end of his tent row. It was growing dark, but the dirt road between the rows of tents was partially illuminated by security lights along the perimeter fence.

  After a hot shower, Richard retired to his tent. With nothing else to do, he lay down and forced himself to try and get some sleep. While Sergeant Ron was a likeable guy, the maintenance chief was a stickler for timeliness. Richard had been told to be at hangar 1 at first light. That meant he needed to show up fifteen minutes early. Arriving fifteen minutes early was just the military way.

  Well, old boy, Richard thought as he patted his stomach, it looks like crackers and cocoa for breakfast.

  * * *

  Something tingled in Richard’s mind. He woke out of his light slumber instantly alert. Something in the world was not as it should be. Something had changed.

  Richard lay on his cot as he reached out with his mind. His passive scan returned nothing of interest. He sensed the two roaming guards as well as the other two guards at the perimeter gate. Other than that, the compound was devoid of lifeforms larger than insects and rats.

  What woke me? Richard wondered.

  Taking no chances, Richard activated his best stealth shield. He’d been in too many life and death situations during the last few years to ignore any possible danger.

  Richard checked his Power reserve. It was still down from his earlier dimensional shift. His normal recharge rate was about one percent every fifteen minutes. That meant he could fully recharge in a twenty-four hour period. If he could keep from using his Power, his reserve would be back at full in a few hours. Richard resisted the urge to send active scans in all directions. They were too Power hungry to use without a specific destination in mind.

  He sat on the edge of his cot. The wooden planks of the tent floor were cool on his bare feet, but he ignored the feeling. He concentrated instead on his senses. He heard and smelled nothing suspicious. Richard checked his passive scan again. Nothing drew his attention. While he couldn’t sense anything specific, Richard was troubled by something in the direction of the airfield. He wasn’t sure why. Forming an active scan, Richard cautiously sent Power in that direction. He probed along the area that troubled him. He sensed nothing.

  Richard did sense several lifeforms between him and the airfield proper, but they were making no attempt to hide. He figured they had to be guards; refuel personnel; and mechanics performing their nightly duties.

  Glancing at the clock on his desk, Richard noted the time. It was a little past three in the morning.

  “There’s nothing out there, Rick, old boy,” Richard said out loud in an attempt to calm his nerves.

  With two hours remaining until he had to get up, Richard desperately wanted to go back to sleep. It was going to be a long day, and he knew he’d need his rest. Logic told him all was well. Unfortunately, his intuition told him otherwise.

  Sighing, Richard grabbed his jumpsuit and got dressed. He pulled on his boots without bothering with socks. After retrieving his hat, Richard walked out into the night.

  It was chilly. The airfield’s desert environment got very hot during the day, but it often got cold at night. Tonight was one of those nights. As Richard walked towards the perimeter gate, he began to regret he hadn’t grabbed his jacket and gloves as well.

  Richard walked out the compound’s gate. His feeling of uneasiness seemed stronger towards his right front, so he headed in that direction. As Richard walked, he concentrated on his passive scan trying to pick up any hint of an abnormality. Before long, Richard found himself near the fence surrounding one of the airfield’s three power plants.

  A large sign with red letters on the fence had the words ‘Restricted Area. Violators Will Be Prosecuted.’

  Richard remained about ten meters from the fence. The power plant would be guarded. Since he didn’t want to spend the rest of the night at the military police headquarters, Richard kept his distance.

  Letting his mind wander, Richard imagined what he’d do if he’d been assigned a mission to scout the airfield. The first priority would be the airfield’s power plants. They controlled the defensive shields protecting the airfield. If the power plants were destroyed, forces could land in mass to overrun the airfield. Other targets would be the main troop barracks, the hangars with their armored vehicles, armories, and of course the backup teleport building. If both the teleporter at the main Academy area and the backup teleporter at the airfield were taken out, wizard scouts would be forced to take starships to their scouting locations. That would cause major problems for the Empire.

  Richard thought about the problem for a few seconds. It was still dark, so he reached out with his passive scan. He combined the results of his scan with his memory of the nearby landscape. All things considered, Richard felt the route he’d taken with Tika earlier in the day was probably the best way into the airfield. The ravine was large enough to conceal a large force while providing an easy route to the airfield.

  A warm breeze ruffled Richard’s hair reminding him the night was almost over. He was we
ll aware he needed to be at hangar 1 in a couple of hours. But Richard was in a quandary. The feeling that something wasn’t right ate at him like an itch that wouldn’t go away.

  He stared at a spot on the other side of the protective fence that seemed… well, he didn’t know what it seemed. Richard saw nothing obviously different. He sensed nothing odd from his passive scan. Richard toyed with the idea of conducting an active scan on the other side of the fence. He checked his Power reserve. Without his battle helmet, he couldn’t get an accurate reading. But he could tell it was still low. He’d used a lot of Power doing dimensional shifts, and his earlier active scans had used Power as well.

  My Power reserve is less than three quarters, Richard thought. The question is do I want to use some for an active scan? Or do I want to hold onto it and build it back to full?

  “Well,” Richard said out loud. “What’re you going to do, Rick?”

  Chapter 9 – Lord Crendemor

  _____________________________________

  Lord Crendemor kept his hand on the Crosioian scout’s shoulder. He felt the tenseness of the bat creature’s muscles under his palm. Lord Crendemor followed the barrel of the weapon the scout held in her hands. The path led straight to the human on the other side of the fence.

  The fool wants to fire, Lord Crendemor thought. She’s going to get us all killed.

  Taking a small amount of Power from his reserve, Crendemor mouthed a nearly silent spell with his lips and transformed the Power into magic. Ever so carefully in order not to alert the human on the other side of the fence, Lord Crendemor pushed the ball of magic into the Crosioian scout’s chest and wrapped it around her heart.

  The scout twitched slightly, but she did not fire her weapon. Lord Crendemor sensed a wave of anger sweep out from the scout. She knew what he’d done, and she knew what it meant. ‘If you fire, I’ll kill you.’