Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2)

by Michael Anderle

  When she was fully dressed and satisfied with her appearance, she cracked the door. Brenden, Frog, Lars, and Marcus stood in the hallway.

  “You’da thought the nurses would have been hotter this side of space,” Frog grumbled, and Marcus rolled his eyes.

  “And you’da thought we had more important things to do than ogle the staff.”

  “Maybe you should talk to Johnny, then,” Frog snarked smartly, and Brendan snickered.

  “Nope. You really shouldn’t. That man is prone to exaggeration.”

  “Pssst,” Stephanie hissed as the team leader sighed, and they all turned toward the door in surprise.

  With a grin, she moved to one side, pulled the door wider, and gestured for them to come in. Lars looked at her with concern. “Should you be out of bed? Are you feeling all right?”

  She smiled. “I actually feel great. And I’m ready to break out of this joint.”

  “Technically, you won’t be breaking out,” Frog pointed out cheerfully. “The docs said they’d discharge you today if you showed signs of improvement.” He gestured to where she stood. “That’s some impressive improvement, right there.”

  “Are you saying I can’t go yet?”

  “Nope,” Lars told her. “We’re saying you have to wait until the doctors show up on their rounds.”

  “Fine.” She pouted but quickly turned her attention to the main problem they faced. “No matter. Okay, talk to me about the reporters. You’ve probably already noticed them, right? Do they have us boxed in?”

  “Basically, yes,” Marcus replied. “And we don’t have a back way from here to Johnny, so we’ll have to run the gauntlet from the Meligorn side to the human side of the station. There are back halls we can take there but getting to them might be a problem.”

  Stephanie pursed her lips as she thought about it, and the guys were silent as they did the same. The mischievous grin that suddenly lit her face was almost as worrying as the reporters outside, but she was already speaking before they could protest. “All right, this is what we’ll do.”

  A short while later, a short, stout man with a flushed face raced down the corridor outside Stephanie’s room. His face was flushed, and he pushed a very pregnant woman in a wheelchair as fast as he could go.

  “Watch out!” he shouted, reached the press pack in the foyer, and made no effort to slow down. “Coming through! Pregnant woman here. Came to the wrong side. Watch out. Watch out!”

  The mob parted like magic. Several people looking horrified, and others moved quickly to avoid being run down. The woman in the chair huffed and puffed, held her belly, and groaned as she hunched over another contraction. They were accompanied by four older people—two women and two men, clearly the grandparents in this whole debacle.

  The women were dressed in floral dresses but wore running shoes, and the men sported brown pants, suspenders, and bow ties. All of them flapped at the press as they passed.

  “Watch out, now. She’s gonna blow,” earned one older gentleman a sharp slap from his partner. “What? Well, she is!”

  The group bounded through the hospital corridors and to the elevators and traveled up and across to the human side of the station. When they exited, they found more reporters.

  These seemed excited about something, but they stepped out of the way as smartly as their colleagues on the Meligorn side had. The wheelchair hurtled past them, the woman holding her belly, and the chair tipped on two wheels as the group took the corner and out of sight.

  The reporters were so focused on news of the witch’s pending release that they didn’t notice the lack of nurses in attendance. The witch’s guard was also being released, and there was sure to be a reunion.

  Well away from the foyer and its press pack, Johnny sat on the edge of his bed, dressed and ready to go. He rubbed his leg and wondered if he’d ever regain full use of it.

  The magic Crystal had used had been enough to keep him from bleeding out, but he’d still needed surgery when they’d brought him in and was on a program of rehab that was enough to make his teammates wince.

  Despite his worry, though, he was grateful the doctors were letting him go. He’d had enough drama and more than enough of hospitals.

  Suddenly, the door burst open and a short, fat guy wheeling a pregnant woman barreled in. Two old couples followed and shut the door behind them. They all lined up in front of the bed and stared at him as though he was in the wrong place.

  Johnny returned the stares, wide-eyed. After a moment, he cleared his throat, and said, “I think you may have the wrong room. She needs to be in maternity.”

  The woman stopped holding her huge belly and pushed herself awkwardly out of the chair. While he tried to decide if he could get out of the room without punching anyone, she waddled up to him, doubled over, and clutched her belly as she arrived.

  “Seriously,” she complained and glared at the fat, bald man when she straightened again. “You could have made it fake. I’m in real labor here.”

  The group laughed as the bald man waved his hand and their bodies morphed while Johnny gaped in growing consternation. The bald guy turned into Stephanie, and the four older people became Marcus, Lars, Brenden, and Avery.

  The pregnant woman in front of Johnny slowly transformed into Frog, and he wailed with laughter. “Did you see that one reporter’s face downstairs? He was terrified he was going to catch it or something.”

  “I was waiting for Frog’s water to break,” Marcus bellowed.

  Johnny sat there, stared at the team, and shook his head. “You guys need help. Seriously. Real help.”

  Stephanie pouted, hurried over, and hugged him tightly. “How do you feel? Are you ready to get the hell out of here?”

  “Uh yeah,” he said. “I sent you guys a message, like, twenty minutes ago.”

  “Sorry.” Avery chuckled. “Frog was struggling to stand up straight. That belly really did him in.”

  Frog plopped down in the chair. “Mad respect for the ladies, bro. Mad respect.”

  Together, the team followed the back corridors out of the hospital. Using Frog’s hacked schematics, they ducked into side doors and scuttled down staff-only passages until they reached the station’s civilian accommodations.

  While Steph and Johnny had been in hospital, the team had snagged a private suite in one of the mid-range hotels for when she was released.

  It was nothing special, merely four rooms off a small common area consisting of a lounge and kitchenette. The bedrooms were functional with two beds apiece, drab-colored linens, and a phone. She was the only one who didn’t have to share.

  She sat on her bed and sighed. “Ahhh, quiet. At least for a day or so.”

  No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the phone rang in the common room. She gasped, rushed to the door, and reached it as Lars picked it up. “This is Lars… Yes, ma’am, she has been… Yes, he has too.”

  Stephanie raised her eyebrow and wondered who could have worked out where they were so soon. He nodded and cracked a smile. “Perfect. We’ll be down at the bay in five minutes.”

  He hung up and looked at Stephanie. “Are you ready to take a royal shuttle down and get your feet on Meligorn?”

  Her eyes lit up and she jumped up and down before she rushed over to hug him tightly. “I’ve been ready for that since I was a little girl.”

  She took two steps toward the door before he shouted to the team. “Grab your gear, guys. We’re transferring planetside for a few days.”

  “Really?” she squeaked and ran to her room to pack.

  As soon as the team had their bags, they headed down to the shuttle bay. It was a relief to find the hotel had remained true to its word and kept their location a secret. Lars told them to keep the booking as it was and paid them extra for their discretion.

  The manager grinned. “I never did like the press. Anything to get one over on them,” he said but was glad to accept the extra payment too.

  The team took a circuitous route t
o the shuttle bays and entered the VIP passenger lounge shortly afterward. They were quickly surrounded by a team of waiting Meligornians, all dressed in robes of teal and gold.

  They loaded the team’s luggage into one of the waiting shuttles, showed them to their seats in its plush interior, and made sure they had snacks and drinks for the short ride down to the surface.

  She was far too excited to care about any of that, however. Instead, she sat at the window as the shuttle lifted and navigated clear of the station and watched in wonder as they descended to Meligorn’s surface.

  When they landed, Stephanie stared longingly at the purple fields beyond the tarmac. She sighed when the shuttle taxied into a large hangar and blocked the fields from view. A young Meligornian woman wearing the same teal and gold of those who had greeted them on the station waited for them.

  “Hello, my name is Ilbis and I will escort you to your quarters. If there is anything you need, feel free to ask me.”

  “I’m only glad there are no media,” Frog muttered.

  “Oh no,” Ilbis replied. “Not here. These are the royal hangars. The media isn’t allowed anywhere near them. Now, if you would follow me.”

  She turned and the team followed her through the doors at the back of the hangar. They entered the hallways beyond into a world of opulence and wealth.

  The ceilings seemed to reach to the sky and color swirled wildly through them until it was like staring at a storm-rent sky. The décor reeked of age and history, and Stephanie was sure she caught the gleam of magic sliding across its surface.

  The people in the pictures appeared to greet her as she walked past, and the statues moved. Some even danced in place. The Meligornians they passed all wore the teal and gold of the royal household and all smiled a welcome for the visitors.

  They went from one hallway to another until they reached a large wooden door. Here, Ilbis stopped and turned to them. “These are your quarters. Inside, your rooms each open onto a large common area. We thought you would all want to be close.”

  “Thank you,” Lars replied.

  She opened the doors and led them in. The guys all oohed and aahed at the grandeur of the place. Stephanie, though, stayed silent. She walked through, her hand tucked against her chest, completely taken aback.

  It was absolutely beautiful. To her right was a room with her name etched into the door. She walked into it and raised one hand to her cheek.

  It was like the illusion of the castle bedroom the ambassador had created for her so long ago. Every detail was perfect—a huge four poster bed, lavish linens, hand-carved furniture, and large windows that gave her a clear view of Meligorn itself.

  “Let us know if you need anything,” Ilbis told them. “I won’t be far.”

  After she had left, Lars hurried over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. He put his finger to his lips and mouthed the word “security.” She rolled her eyes but nodded. With a sigh, she worked her magic and dispatched several globes of energy to search the rooms for any listening devices or hidden cameras. Together, the team watched as they ranged throughout the suite and moved from floor to ceiling as they went.

  They gathered around her and listened closely until they heard a succession of popping noises. Stephanie jumped, then narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “I can’t go anywhere.”

  “Now you can.” Lars chuckled as all but Marcus dispersed to see what had made the sound. “You blew those things up.”

  She closed her eyes and began to pull energy in without ceasing, merely absorbing wave after wave of MU into her chest. “The energy is so free here. I could spend the entire trip punch drunk on MU. Then, I could easily ignore the haters.”

  Marcus stood in the doorway of her bedroom and watched her draw the magic into herself. “You know, drunk people don’t usually have a high kill rate...unless they have an accident. Usually, they simply end up heading home in a cab and sleeping it off. But, if you get drunk, it’ll be worse than any drunk behind the wheel because you might actually blow up an entire city.”

  Stephanie opened her eyes, sighed, and swayed slightly as purple mist wisped in through her nose. “Okay, that stopped being funny. Whoa.”

  He walked forward and grabbed her under the arm to stabilize her. “Will you explode with this much energy?”

  She shook the dizziness out of her head. “No. I have it on good authority that Meligorn energy is only a subset of another type. It’s not that strong. I simply have to learn a way to put it in my larger storage tank…wherever that is.”

  The Meligornian pirate sprang to mind and she frowned. “I don’t want a repeat of what happened on the ship where someone pulls my energy and leaves me short. I want to leave enough MU in my system for it to seem like a large amount…for a human.”

  They were interrupted by a knock on the doorframe and turned to find Avery peeking around the corner. “Oh, that explains it.”

  He retreated and she began to pull energy again, this time a little slower. She was interrupted by another knock and Avery once again darted his head around the corner. “You might want to stop the purple light show. The ambassador is on his way with what looks like a couple of annoyed people in robes.”

  Stephanie lowered her arms and released a disgruntled groan as she followed the guys out to the common area.

  “Troublemaker,” Lars whispered and smirked at her discomfort as he led her over to sit in the lounge. Avery, Johnny, and Frog brought a pack of cards and sat down with them.

  Before she could reply, there was a knock at the two main doors, and Ilbis stepped inside. “I’m sorry to bother you, but Meligorn’s ambassador to Earth and the Lords Ashti and Crimpor would like to see you.”

  She didn’t wait for their agreement but opened the doors wider and stepped aside to let the visitors through. Lars rose from his seat and Stephanie stood as well as Ambassador V’ritan sauntered in the room. He glanced at them and gestured for them to sit.

  “Don’t trouble yourselves,” he told them as the two nobles followed him in and immediately broke away, clearly searching the room. He turned to her, smirked, and added, “Where did it happen?”

  She raised an eyebrow as she sat and picked up the hand of cards someone had dealt her. “Where did what happen?”

  The two nobles looked at her. “The magical explosion. Where did it happen?”

  Startled, she allowed a small frown to crease her forehead. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  The Meligornians glared at her and returned to their search.

  From their seats, the team watched the lords move around the room, not surprised in the least when they stopped momentarily where each of the small explosions had occurred.

  They didn’t linger, though, but continued to work their way through every room as if the source of a magical explosion was easy to hide. Finally, looking more disgruntled than ever, the robed Meligorns headed out and Iblis closed the doors behind them.

  As soon as they were gone, V’ritan narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak. He remained silent when she held her hand up.

  Frog and Marcus left the table silently and followed the path the nobles had taken through the rooms. It wasn’t long before they hurried up with several slightly singed items in their hands and several more identical, untarnished items. These, they passed to their visitor.

  The ambassador shook his head and looked slightly amused as the items disappeared into glittering light. “Amateurs. You probably blew someone’s ears out when you exploded the first lot.” He sighed. “I wondered what they were bitching about. I thought something else had happened security-wise and was ready to throw magic and save you for once.”

  Stephanie smiled. “Hopefully, you never have to do that. It wouldn’t be fun for anyone. But thank you, nonetheless.” She scowled. “I didn’t know they could have listening devices in here.”

  He chuckled and looked around the room. “They can if you don’t get rid of them. Those two, though, are part of the group resp
onsible for keeping the building safe. They can be trusted not to share anything embarrassing but they do get most annoyed when their devices are destroyed.”

  “They get annoyed?” Stephanie snorted. “How about the person who is desperately trying to have a little privacy? Those pops almost gave me a damn heart attack. Will I have to keep doing that? Checking every five seconds for new ones?”

  V’ritan shook his head. “No. They can’t put them here without physically doing it themselves, so they used me to get in.” He gave Lars a stern look. “Don’t let them come back.”

  “Not a hope in all the universe,” Lars told him solemnly.

  She giggled and shuffled over as V’ritan sat on the couch beside her. “So, how are you doing? I haven’t been able to ask.”

  He chuckled. “I’m doing well. Better now that you are here under the king’s and my protection.”

  “And your wife?” Stephanie asked. “Whom I have not gotten to meet yet.”

  The ambassador laughed. “Elza? She is doing wonderfully, and she is very much looking forward to meeting you. She has talked about it non-stop for the last few days, asking me when you will be released and when you will be here. The king is the king, of course, but the queen and my wife talk about little else. It’s entertaining to watch.”

  She shook her head. It felt strange that so many important people wanted to meet her. “Has everyone been busy with the assassin? Has he given you any new information?”

  V’ritan puffed his cheeks out. “He gave us some, and the king and queen are busy flushing out the traitors inside the government and palace. It doesn’t matter how much they claim to act for the good of Meligorn and the universe, the royals won’t have it. They will find and remove them, one at a time.”

  Her face fell and she tapped her hands against her knees. “I’m sorry.”

  His face scrunched and he squeezed her hand gently. “What for?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I feel really bad for causing so much trouble. Had I not been here—”