by Scott Baron
Henni, for her part, was likewise enjoying their endeavor, and as her senses grew stronger and her connection to her power more defined, she actually began believing him when he told her just how much she could do, if only she had control.
They had made a pact a few days prior. Jinnik would pretend to be even more drained than he was, hoping Niallik would allow him an even longer recovery period. And that she did. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to allow him to begin to gain in strength.
“I can feel your power,” Henni said, sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed.
“Good. And your own power, let it reach out and mingle with my own,” he replied.
He shuddered slightly when her magic touched his. It was just the faintest of sensations, but the impossible girl was actually doing it. He had suspected that her abilities as a reader might indicate an ability beyond what she normally used them for. But until this moment it had all been conjecture.
“Now, can you sense the control collar around my neck?” he asked.
“Yes. I feel it resisting us.”
“It is designed to restrain me. To keep me from casting with any real power.”
“Why don’t I feel that from here? Is it the force spell between our cells?”
“No, Henni. This is as I had hoped. A flaw in our captor’s methods. You see, because of our levels of power, these collars were specially cast to bind each of us. Normal people all get a standard one, but these were fine-tuned to keep us in check.”
She began to see where he was going with this. “So my magic can totally cross over into your collar without triggering it?”
“Precisely. And if we combine our efforts, it is possible that, together, we just might be able to break free.”
Henni felt her pulse speed up at the thought. Her grasp on her magic faltered.
“Concentrate, Henni. You can control your power even while your body reacts to other things. In time, you will learn this skill. But for now, breathe slowly and focus.”
She did as he asked, concentrating on the forces churning within her. They’d been there her whole life, but she had never truly felt them for more than a fleeting instant, and even then, it was entirely out of her control, usually in a highly traumatic moment.
But now, with the sensation under her own direction, she was beginning to feel something new. She was starting to feel an actual grasp on a degree of power she had until recently not even known she possessed.
Jinnik felt her reconnect with his power, and far stronger than before.
“Good. Now, let’s try a little experiment. Focus your attention on the feel of the magic in my collar. Have you got it?”
“I can sense it.”
“Excellent. You’re doing very well, Henni. Can you sense how it binds together, keeping the collar intact? It will feel like a tugging together. That is the magic forming a secure loop.”
She strained her senses, slight creases forming on her brow as she reached out to the unfamiliar sensations. Then, suddenly, she felt it. Something that was like what he had described. A small smile spread across her lips.
“I feel it,” she declared.
“Wonderful. Now, this is the difficult part, so I want you to take your time. Recite the spell I taught you. The one to break magical bonds. It is not specifically meant for control collars, but with your power it should at least begin to work. And if you can weaken the bond enough, I might be able to force it the rest of the way.”
“Won’t that be incredibly painful for you?”
“Oh, there is no doubt about that,” he replied. “Now, are you ready to try?”
Henni very much did not want to hurt her new friend and mentor, but she realized that he was right. This could be their one chance at escape.
“I’m ready.”
“Good. Do not worry about success at this point. This is more to get you accustomed to the spell and how it should work. When we’ve had a few more rest cycles, I should have enough power to truly assist you.”
“I understand.”
“Then, let us begin.”
Henni began to cast, quietly speaking the words of the spell he had taught her. The power inside her snaked out through their invisible connection, wrapping itself around Jinnik’s collar. Henni pushed on, not even realizing she had stopped uttering the words and was now casting entirely silently.
Jinnik watched her with awe. The sheer potential this petite young woman possessed was awe-inspiring. In fact, much to his surprise, he felt the bond of his powerful collar begin to weaken under her assault. It seemed that he had been correct about the spells binding him. While the collar resisted as one would expect, it did not flare out in the manner it would if he were casting.
“I am going to try something,” he said. “Do not be alarmed. Just keep casting.”
Jinnik drew upon his reserves of power and carefully probed the weakest part of the collar, where Henni’s magic had pulled it thin.
It just might work, he realized. Without a second thought, he cast as forcefully as he could, driving his magic into that weak spot, forcing his collar to begin to separate.
The shocking pain that flooded his body was intense, nearly driving him to the floor, but he continued to cast. The collar was so close to succumbing, he could feel it within his grasp. But he was just too weak. Too drained.
He abruptly released his spell and flopped back onto his cot. Henni stopped casting at once, a deeply concerned look in her eye.
“Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
Breathing hard, Jinnik let out a little chuckle. “No, my little friend, you did not. You were magnificent.”
Henni felt the breath she didn’t know she had been holding release from her lungs.
“It would seem I am not quite ready for that,” Jinnik said with a pained chuckle, gathering himself and sitting upright. “But you, your control of your power is at its strongest yet. Well done, Henni. Extremely well done.”
Henni beamed at the praise. Sure, she was good at stuff, but this was something not just anyone could do. This made her special.
The sound of heavy boots rang out in the corridor outside their cell block. Henni and Jinnik both arranged themselves as if nothing was going on at all. The guards didn’t seem to care and walked straight to Jinnik’s cell.
“Come on,” the larger of the two said, dragging him out of his cell.
“Wait, you’re not taking me too?” Henni asked, surprised.
The guard flashed a nasty little grin. “Your time will come soon enough,” he said, then pushed the exhausted visla out into the corridor.
Henni waited hours for her friend’s return, anxious to hear what new misery Niallik had in store for him this time, and likely for her as well when she was finished with him.
But Visla Jinnik never returned.
Chapter Forty-Eight
It was ballsy. Surprising. Arrogant.
That Visla Maktan had chosen the lifeless planet of Actaris of all places to take their friend and set up a new weapons smelting operation was an act of utter hubris. He had outmaneuvered them once again, his cautious and unassuming persona leading the Ghalian to never even consider he would have reoccupied the fallen facility.
They had killed his lower-ranking Council underlings there, after all. Visla Torund had fallen that day, and Visla Ravik had been forced to flee. The men had been an important part of Maktan’s work, and the Ghalian had struck the first of several blows to his plans.
Adding to the brazenness of Maktan’s move was that Actaris was surprisingly close to Corann’s home on Inskip. In just a few jumps they would be there. But Lalaynia’s massive pirate craft needed a short moment to collect the men she had sent to the surface to resupply and take a bit of shore leave before they set off for battle.
It had appeared they would have some time waiting for the Ghalian spy network to infiltrate the dozen worlds in question and determine which one was holding Henni. It was only natural, and wise on her part, that
her crew should be released to refresh themselves beforehand. Hozark’s revelation, however, had just abruptly put an end to that.
“Found her already? That’s great news. We’ll be right behind you,” she said as her men fanned out to recall the rest of the crew. “Give me an hour and we’ll be on our way. Half an hour if I can round them up faster.”
“I shall assist you,” Corann said. “Go on, Hozark. Happizano shall be safe here with me. You need to hurry and take a position above Actaris and make sure no one leaves. Your support forces will join you shortly.”
Hozark did not hesitate, rushing to Bud’s waiting mothership and sealing the hatch behind him.
“We leave at once,” he said, sliding into his seat in command.
“But what about the others?” Laskar asked. “Lalaynia is on the ground, and so are a bunch of her––”
“Corann is assisting her. There is no time to waste. We launch now.”
“Okay. But maybe I should skree over to her ship and––”
“You heard the man,” Bud said as the ship shot upward. “Hang on to your bootstraps. We’re gonna fly!”
Normally, Bud would have launched at a slower pace. His rapid departure would likely draw a bit of attention, and he would have to apologize to Corann for that later. But they had Henni’s location, and he was damned if they would move her before they got there. It had already happened once with Jinnik, and it was sure as hell not happening again.
As soon as they cleared the atmosphere he punched it, pushing their coordinates farther than the optimal distance as they jumped to the first of their jump targets. Bud had already pulled a spare Drookonus from his hidden cache and had it ready. If he had to burn this one out he would. Time was of the essence.
The jumps were few enough that the device managed to survive the trip without catastrophic failure; though, given the strain he’d subjected it to, he would have to spend a fair bit of coin repairing and recharging it. But he didn’t care. What mattered was they reached Actaris in record time.
“Why don’t we use the Quommus?” Laskar asked as they exited their second jump, immediately prepping for the next one. “You’ve got it with you, right?”
“Because we do not fully understand it yet,” Demelza replied. “It is far too risky to utilize new and unfamiliar devices when rushing into battle.”
“But it can keep them from detecting––”
“Demelza is right,” Hozark interrupted. “Now is not the time to experiment with an arcane device such as the Quommus, much as it could be to our advantage.”
Demelza nodded her agreement. “And besides, Corann has already sent it to our finest scholars for study. If any can unravel its mysteries, they can. For now, we shall leave it at that.”
Bud licked his finger and touched the Drookonus in its cradle. His finger didn’t make that worrisome sizzling sound, which was a good sign.
“We’re ready to go,” he said, preparing to jump. He turned to his copilot. “Don’t worry, we’ve done this sort of thing plenty of times. If we create the right diversion, we won’t even need the Quommus. And it’s not like we’ve ever had anything like that at our disposal in the past.”
“Bud is correct,” Hozark said. “Visla Maktan is not at this location, only his underlings. Perhaps we may encounter an emmik, but the likelihood of any more powerful than that being present is slim. They have already fought on Actaris, and as they believe they are undiscovered, they are likely to be overconfident in their security preparations.”
Much as he wanted to see the Quommus in action, Laskar had to admit they made good points. “Okay, then. So, what’s the plan?”
“We get there as fast as we can,” Bud replied. “And we get Henni back.”
“That’s the plan?” Laskar asked incredulously.
“That’s the plan. Hang on, we’re jumping.”
With that, he engaged the spell once again, sending them hurtling closer to their destination.
When Uzabud’s mothership appeared in low orbit above Actaris a short while later, Hozark and Demelza launched their shimmer ships immediately, engaging their camouflage before they even disconnected.
Bud, despite his desire to be first on the ground with them, hung back for the moment, watching from above to make sure no craft departed from their target location. As soon as Lalaynia jumped in, he would take his own away craft and head down as fast as he could, leaving Laskar on his own to work with the pirates and guard from above while blocking any attempts to flee.
The Ghalians’ entry into the atmosphere was slow by necessity––a pair of orange-hot streaks in the sky would alert their enemy of their arrival despite the ships themselves being invisible. But once they were through the entry phase, they barreled toward the surface as fast as they could.
It hadn’t been the plan initially. They were going to sit in orbit until Lalaynia arrived. But the Ghalian had an additional advantage on their side. They had shimmer ships, and that meant they could begin their infiltration before the reinforcements arrived.
The terrain was as rocky and barren as the last time they’d been there, and the stronghold stood just as they remembered it. Multiple internal courtyards sat empty, the facility itself seeming barely occupied. But they knew better. A few larger craft rested in the landing field beside the structure, and despite the lack of markings, they knew whose forces they belonged to.
Across the landscape, bleached bones still jutted out of the surrounding soil, shining white in the hot sunlight. An ever-present reminder of what Visla Trixzal had done there. Of the thousands he had slaughtered under pretext of Council business.
But today was different. It would be Council forces whose blood would spill and whose bones would be added to that macabre collection.
The two assassins touched down just outside the stronghold, not risking landing within the courtyards despite their emptiness. They would make their way inside under cover of shimmer cloak.
By the time Bud and the others made their attack, dropping into those courtyards, they would already be inside the facility. And if all went according to plan, Maktan’s people would not know what hit them.
Chapter Forty-Nine
“Bud, follow us in,” Lalaynia skreed to her friend from her small attack ship. There were eight of them, hers being the foremost. “Geist drop-in maneuver. You remember that one?”
“Shadow behind and hit the deck when you peel off. How could I forget it?”
“It’s been a while. You might have let that cushy smuggling life get to you.”
“Your confidence is overwhelming, Laynia. Just get me close enough to land, and I’ll do the rest.”
“You’ve got it. We’ll be right behind you once my people establish an air perimeter and engage them from above. Can’t have anyone slipping in.”
“Or out,” Bud added.
“You’ll get her back,” Lalaynia said. “Trust me, we’ve got this.”
Her massive pirate ship was lurking above in low orbit, ready to fight either incoming or outgoing Council ships. A very respectable contingent of pirates were ready to launch their smaller fighters stored in the craft’s hangars as well.
The captain, however, had departed to lead the charge to the surface. It was one of the reasons her crew were so fiercely loyal. Captain Lalaynia never asked them to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. She led in the most literal way possible with just two words: “Follow me.”
She had arrived far ahead of schedule, much to Bud’s pleasant surprise. Waiting while Hozark and Demelza infiltrated the facility was making him climb the walls with impatience. But apparently Corann called upon the neighborhood children who adored her so much to go and run and see if they might find the gregarious men and women on shore leave for her friend.
For anyone else it might have raised a few eyebrows, but Corann had such goodwill among the locals and had helped all of them on one occasion or another that for her to help a stranger, even one as imposing as the tall pirate w
oman, was right in character.
Bud had launched as soon as Lalaynia’s ship jumped into orbit, leaving Laskar to follow him into the atmosphere and provide a mid-range support while the pirates were engaging above and below.
Lalaynia dove right for the stronghold, leading her ships straight toward the facility. It seemed quiet enough. Almost deserted, even. But when she got within spell range, a sudden barrage of defensive chaff was hurled her way.
“Evasives,” she called out as she dodged the magical bombardment.
In the rear, Bud was focused on his goal. The small courtyard just uphill of the semi-destroyed area of the structures. It would take a fair bit of piloting to avoid the stone spires of Actaris’s landscape, but if anyone could do it, he could.
“In five,” Lalaynia called out, prepping for a quick dogfight before leaving the sparse aerial defenses that had launched to her men while she and the small crew aboard her ship landed to storm the gates. “Three. Two. One.”
She pulled up hard, banking sharply while deploying a fairly impressive magical assault on the area the defenses were coming from. They were flashy and bright, but were also more for show than anything else. All she had to do was distract them from the lone ship that had not followed the others as they peeled off.
Bud spun hard and dove straight down. It would be one hell of a hard landing––if he survived it, that is. But if he did, the rapid drop would almost certainly keep him from being spotted.
“Come on. Come on!” he growled at the ship as he cast a series of buffering spells to cushion his impact as best he could.
The ship shuddered as the magic did its best to keep it from smashing into the ground, grabbing it firmly and dispersing the force of impact as best it could. It was still a hard hit, though, and there would definitely need to be some repairs made when this was all through.