The Chosen Spacemage

by Dan Oakley

  “I don’t know. Maybe she is part of the resistance.” I shrugged. “But right now, we don’t have any other options. We need their help.”

  We left Kira’s room, locked the door and headed downstairs.

  Kira whispered, “Draylan and Bayliss are meeting us there too. Finn thought we might need reinforcements.”

  I nodded, thinking Draylan and Bayliss’s presence wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

  I lifted my arm to check my wrist device before remembering the scumbags had taken my money and my comms unit.

  “We’ll have to rely on your wrist device,” I said to Kira. “Mine was taken by the bounty hunters.”

  We stepped into the main reception area downstairs and glanced at the room where Madame Loren was sitting. She was no longer watching the play. On the video screen above the artificial fire was a news bulletin.

  I stared at the screen. My face stared back. Along the bottom, text scrolled: Tomas Barrito is wanted for the attempted murder of two inquisitor agents. He is believed to be armed and dangerous. Members of the public should inform the authorities and not try to approach the wanted man themselves.

  My stomach twisted as Madame Loren shifted in her chair. She looked at me, and then Kira, in turn.

  Kira strode over to the screen and quickly turned it off. It was pointless, though. Madame Loren had seen my face, and nothing was going to change that.

  I stepped closer, trying to conjure up words to reassure her.

  The firelight flickered on the walls and shadows made the area look menacing.

  Madame Loren raised herself halfway from her chair.

  “Don’t hurt me!” Her lower lip quivered.

  This was the last thing I needed. I took another step forward, and she flinched, curling back into the chair.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, but I am going to have to restrain you.” I apologized as Kira darted into the kitchen, looking for something to use as rope.

  She returned with string. It wasn’t ideal, but it was all we had to work with. I quickly tied Madam Loren’s wrists behind her back, taking care not to tie the knots too tightly.

  She was so scared she was trembling, and that made me feel terrible.

  When I’d secured her wrists and tied an extra length of string to the chair, I put my hand on her shoulder.

  She let out a whimper.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” I repeated, taking a deep breath and looking into her eyes.

  I knelt beside her.

  You’re not scared of me, I thought. You know I’m not going to hurt you. You know you need to keep quiet until I escape and am safe. The news report is a lie and I am a good man. You know there is no need to be afraid.

  I thought the reassuring words on a repetitive loop, and slowly, she stopped shaking.

  Eventually, she slumped back into the chair. “I know you’re not going to hurt me. I will just sit here quietly.”

  Eventually, one of the other guests would discover her and cut her restraints. She wouldn’t be restrained for long. After one last apology, I got to my feet and looked around for Kira. She’d disappeared.

  I walked quickly back to the staircase and saw her coming downstairs, carrying two satchels.

  She handed me mine. “I’ve packed. I think I’ve got everything. I got the money at least, and there’s your rune book in there. And your change of clothes. I guess we won’t be coming back now, will we?”

  I shook my head. I didn’t see how I could possibly return to this place now that the owner of the boardinghouse knew I was a wanted man.

  Kira’s wrist device beeped. “That’s Finn. He is waiting outside.”

  We both ran out of the boardinghouse, jogged down the steps, and spotted Finn’s vehicle across the street. For the most part on the space station, people used public transport or walked. Private vehicles were a rarity, but I was glad we had one to use today. I could hide inside and not worry about someone else spotting me from the news report.

  Kira stared out the window as Finn accelerated away.

  “So the young girl was right,” Finn said, turning to look at me. “I thought she was winding me up at first. Did you make it to the Marrachi Pearl?”

  I shook my head and quickly filled Finn in, telling him about the bounty hunters.

  When I’d finished, Finn’s expression was grave. “You need to lie low. Everyone has seen your face. We need somewhere for you to hide.”

  “We need the resistance,” Kira said. “Let’s hope the child was right, and they are gathered at the Marrachi Pearl. Otherwise we’re back to square one.”

  We were all silent as Finn accelerated down a narrow lane, heading towards the docks. As we got closer to the more built-up areas, Finn had to slow, and I lowered my hood so pedestrians couldn’t peer into the vehicle and see my face. It seemed to take forever to get there, but eventually, Finn pulled the vehicle to a stop at the docks.

  He pointed through the window to a building on the other side of the road. It looked like an average bar and restaurant.

  “That’s the Marrachi Pearl,” Finn said, nodding at the building.

  I reached for the door handle. “Then let’s go.”

  Kira put a hand over mine. “Wait! We need Draylan and Bayliss. There’s strength in numbers.”

  “It looks like they’re already here,” Finn said, nodding a little further along the street.

  I was glad to see them. They were trying to blend in but weren’t doing a great job. I guessed it was hard to go unnoticed with Bayliss’s hulking frame. Draylan was fidgeting. Even from this distance, I could tell he was in a bad mood.

  They stood, in the doorway of a pipe shop. Around them, tables were filled with men and women smoking the long pipes stuffed with fruit-flavored conka leaves.

  I turned to Kira. “Ready?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Let’s do this before nerves get the better of me.”

  Chapter 9

  The area around The Marrachi Pearl surprised me. I’d expected it to be run down, a location frequented by shady characters. Instead, this region of the space station was brightly lit and clean.

  The Marrachi Pearl was a small squat building surrounded by a variety of other stores and bars. The most popular was the pipe shop, where Draylan and Bayliss had attempted to mingle in with the locals. Customers sat outside the shop, perched on molded white seats, smoking the fragrant leaves. The smell of fruit and smoke drifted on the air.

  Draylan spotted us and nudged Bayliss. They slowly made their way towards us. Draylan kept looking over his shoulder.

  Bayliss greeted us with a smile, but Draylan was tense and anxious.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said as soon as we were face to face.

  Kira shrugged. “We don’t have a choice. We can’t go back to the boardinghouse, and Tomas needs a place to hide. Not to mention the fact, we have no idea how to help Trella on our own. We need them.”

  Draylan looked like he might be about to argue, but got a stern stare from Bayliss. Finn locked his father’s vehicle, and then gave me a subtle nod to indicate we should move.

  Together, we headed to the front of the The Marrachi Pearl. Large windows lined the front of the restaurant and the bar area beside it. There were only one or two diners inside.

  It didn’t look like a hideout for the resistance. Although I supposed that meant it was the perfect cover.

  Stepping inside the restaurant, I could smell fried onions. The tables were all covered with bright white tablecloths.

  A man with a large, black, curly mustache approached us, clutching his hands together. His dark brown eyes flickered over our faces. “Ah, how nice to see you today? A table for five, is it?”

  He seemed nervous.

  Was that because he was hiding the resistance, or because, collectively, we were quite an intimidating presence?

  Finn wore his spacemage cloak—made of dark purple cloth, and embroidered with silver moons and stars—identifying
him as a mage straightaway.

  “I hoped we might be able to talk to the owner of this establishment in private,” I said.

  The man looked even more nervous, pulling at his collar. “That would be me. I hope there’s nothing wrong.”

  He shot a glance at the two occupied tables near the window, and then beckoned us to the back of the restaurant.

  All of us followed him into the kitchen, crowding around in the small space.

  Eyes wide, he looked up at me, cleared his throat and then said, “How can I help?”

  Finn touched my elbow gently to indicate he would handle this. It was probably for the best. The way he was dressed made it clear he was a mage. Hopefully that would persuade the restaurant owner to open up to him.

  “We’re here to meet with a member of the resistance,” Finn said confidently. “He goes by the name of Toddo.”

  The man paled dramatically, and he swallowed hard. “Well, I wish I could help…” He looked at the closed door behind him. “But, I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about the resistance.”

  I’d be the first to admit I hadn’t been great at reading people in the past, but even I knew he was lying.

  “We’re not here to do you any harm,” Kira said. “A friend of ours is in trouble, and we need the help of the resistance. We were told we could find them here.”

  For the first time, a flash of a different emotion passed over the man’s face. This time, instead of fear, it was a momentary flash of anger. He was clearly furious at who’d betrayed him, but I wasn’t about to mention the young girl, Eileen. I could only hope she heeded my warning and didn’t tell anyone else. I’d heard stories of the resistance treating betrayal savagely, and I didn’t want to put the young girl in any danger.

  He shook his head and tried again to deny all knowledge of the resistance.

  We were wasting time.

  I put a hand on the man’s shoulder in a friendly fashion, intending to try to gain his confidence, but instead, something unexpected happened.

  I felt his muscles tighten beneath my hand, and he looked at me in horror, staring into my eyes. He shook his head slowly. “It’s not possible. You’re…”

  Before he finished his sentence, Finn reached out, pulling my hand away and breaking contact.

  “He’s reading you, Tomas,” Finn murmured.

  I’d never get used to that. It wasn’t a talent I’d developed. Perhaps I never would, but I really didn’t like the way people looked at me after they’d detected something in my magical energy. It made them look so scared.

  The man regained his wits and finally managed to stammer, “Please, wait here. I’ll be back in just a moment.”

  He took the door behind him rather than going back into the restaurant and I got a glimpse of a staircase leading down into the darkness before he closed the door behind him.

  We weren’t alone in the kitchen. Two young men were busy chopping vegetables, and trying to pretend they weren’t listening in.

  Silence hung heavily between us as we stood around, waiting for the restaurant owner to return.

  When he did, he wasn’t alone. Behind him was Toddo. I was relieved to see he was unhurt after our adventures with the inquisitors.

  His gaze landed on me and he smirked. “You found us. I’m impressed.”

  He gave me a grudging nod, and then seemed to notice my friends. “I’m sorry. But this is an area for mages only. Come on, Tomas.”

  He turned, walking back towards the door.

  “Wait a minute. Finn, here, is a mage,” I pointed at Finn, and then gestured to the rest of my friends. “The rest of them aren’t mages, but they’re still concerned about Trella and want to help.”

  Toddo faced me with a heavy sigh. “I’m sure they want to help, but they won’t be able to. We don’t need people like them.”

  “People like them?” I repeated.

  Beside me, Kira was practically trembling with rage. Bayliss gave a grunt of displeasure, and most dangerous of all, Draylan stayed silent.

  Toddo shrugged. “I don’t mean any disrespect. But the resistance is made of mages. I can’t just introduce a collection of non-magical entities into a resistance cell. Surely you can understand that, Tomas?” He glanced at Finn. “Your mage friend can come. It’s a compromise, okay?”

  I shook my head. As much as I wanted to help Trella, I wasn’t going to turn my back on my friends. Kira had been associated with me, and it was my fault she was now in danger. I wasn’t about to abandon her to the security forces. Bayliss and Draylan had both been known to associate with me, so for all I knew, they could be in danger as well. I could save Trella, but if that meant endangering the rest of my friends, then that wasn’t much of a choice.

  “We’re good people,” Kira said. “We want to help. We don’t think the way mages are treated is fair. We believe they should have free choice.”

  Toddo gave a tight smile. “Very admirable. I’m grateful for your support, but it’s a rule we have here. No non-magical entities. I’m sorry.”

  “Then we wasted our time,” I said. “You can’t help us. We’ll have to find some other way to help Trella.”

  Toddo gave me an incredulous look. “You won’t be able to do anything alone.”

  “Maybe. But we’ll keep trying.”

  Toddo seemed eager to get my help to rescue Trella. I hadn’t yet worked out why. Did he think I was more powerful than I really was? If he had a whole resistance cell at his disposal, why couldn’t they rescue Trella alone? Perhaps there was more to it than Trella’s rescue. Maybe Trella wasn’t the one they were really interested in.

  Confirming my suspicions, Toddo didn’t simply laugh and walk away. He hesitated, gritting his teeth. He really didn’t want me to leave.

  I turned and thanked the restaurant owner for his help and then made to leave the kitchen.

  Toddo called out. “Wait! Don’t go. I’ll see if we can sort something out. Your friends can come downstairs, but the admiral is not going to like it.”

  “Who’s the admiral?” Kira asked.

  Toddo opened the door and beckoned for her to make her way down the staircase. “Admiral Mage Laine Cleaver is the leader of our cell. She’ll be the one to determine whether we can permit your friends to stay.”

  We walked down the dark staircase, my eyes straining in the dim light. Before we reached the bottom of the steps, I could hear voices, all seeming to be talking at once. Toddo led us down a narrow corridor and then opened a door into a large basement room.

  Inside were at least twenty men and women. None of them wore typical spacemage attire like Finn. They were all dressed like Marrachi traders or small-time merchants. Despite that, I believed it was easy to tell they were mages. The energy in the room was thick and buzzing.

  Toddo clapped his hands together for silence so he could speak, but he didn’t need to. As soon as we’d entered the room, they had all fallen silent, watching us with open suspicion.

  “This is Trella’s friend, Tomas of Terrano. He’s brought his colleagues with him.” Toddo spoke with a grimace, no doubt expecting the onslaught of comments.

  “They are not mages,” a stout man called from the back of the room.

  “Why did you bring them down here?” a red-haired woman asked in a shrill voice.

  Toddo waved away the questions. “It’s down to the admiral to deal with it. Carry on talking amongst yourselves.”

  He turned back to me. “Don’t take it personally. Come, take a seat.” He led us to the corner of the room to a spot near an artificial fire. There was a table with hard wooden benches lining the wall, and we managed to cram ourselves into the seats. It wasn’t easy to ignore the speculative glances and open hostility.

  “Can I get you something to drink?” Toddo asked. “I’m afraid you could be in for a bit of a wait before the admiral has time to speak to you. Still, you’ll be safe here, away from the Kingdoms’ security forces.”

  “I wouldn’t say no to a jug of
ale,” Bayliss said.

  The rest of us nodded and muttered our agreement. Toddo gave a short bow and left us.

  It wasn’t long before one of the mages came up to us. He was a sticklike man, with jutting out cheekbones, a beak-like nose, and long stringy hair tied back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He looked at us all with contempt. But I didn’t like the way he moved closer to Kira, his eyes fixed on her.

  I knew even before he spoke that he would be trouble.

  Chapter 10

  Kira shifted nervously under the mage’s staring eyes. He moved with exaggerated slowness, tilting his head to one side. He didn’t blink.

  He scratched the side of his nose with a long thin finger and smiled nastily.

  “We don’t want any trouble,” I said, keeping my voice low and calm.

  “Then you shouldn’t have come here,” he said in a raspy voice.

  “Get out of here,” Draylan said. “We don’t have the time or the patience to deal with your sort today.”

  Kira turned in her seat to glare defiantly back at the mage.

  “I’m Jonno,” he said. “I am well-known around here for my psychic abilities.”

  “Of course you are,” Draylan said with a heavy sigh. “Could you be any more predictable?”

  Jonno flinched and sent Draylan a look of pure hatred. To look at him, most people would think Draylan would be able to annihilate the other man in a fight. Draylan was fit and strong. His muscular frame, intimidating. In contrast, Jonno looked like a strong gust of wind would blow him away.

  Jonno tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear, turning his attention back to Kira. “There’s a darkness in you,” he said gruffly, and turned to me. “I can’t tell you when it will happen, but she’ll turn against you.”

  Kira’s jaw dropped open. “I would never turn against Tomas. You know nothing. You’re just a vindictive little man.”

  “I think you might need to brush up on your psychic spells, Jonno,” I said coldly. “Kira is one of the people I trust most in this world.”