Blood in the Fire (Timelaws Trilogy) Page 14

  I gulped at the air, my shoulders heaved with the effort. This body had a mind of its own. The memories continued to pour forth, making me more and more nauseous. Ketya’s vision darkened. I let Naimi slide from my arms to the bed and scrambled toward the waste purifier. I saw where there was a hole on top, just in time. Doubled over, I deposited Ketya’s last meal.

  When it was over, my muscles relaxed. The room became frigid against my sweat-drenched skin, but I could breathe again. Slowly, my vision returned to normal and I lifted myself from my hunched position over the desk. This foreign body was still unsteady, but the trembling subsided. Naimi had woken up and turned toward me with unfocused eyes. However she didn’t cry again. In a few minutes, she would fall back to sleep.

  “Okay, so what have I learned?” I whispered to myself. I looked to the desk and picked up the piece of paper with Anthe’s letter. Ketya had memorized the spell well enough that, with my understanding of how it worked, I could modify it to get back to my body when the time was right. My eyes tracked Anthe’s writing. It was different. I remembered that her hand was different: having three fingers instead of five would change the way one holds a pen. Then I placed the worn pages between my longest and shortest finger on each hand and tore the letter in half. Doing so made Ketya’s stomach clench, but still I tore it again and again until the paper was beyond reconstruction. My hands gathered the fragments one by one and placed each in the waste purifier. The machine churned and Anthe’s letter disappeared.

  “I’m sorry, Naimi. I couldn’t let that spell end up in wizard hands…” I paused. “No offense to present company, of course.” Naimi gurgled some more, but she seemed content to rest.

  “So, how long do you think I have?” I asked the baby. Suddenly, the air in the bunker made a loud whoosh and my question answered itself. On the other side of the bed, stood a tall, musky wizard.

  I lunged for Naimi and began reciting an attack spell. Two syllables in, the words caught in my throat. Grasped by surprise, I fell awkwardly onto the bed, twisted so that I wouldn’t crush Naimi as I landed. As instantly as my spell had begun to form, it dissolved. Was that possible? They could stop spells before they even formed?

  I stared up at the wizard who towered above me. Without the ability to complete a spell, I couldn’t make a shield. I couldn’t teleport. He looked down at me, and a slow evil grin bloomed on his pale, pointy face. Naimi and I were trapped.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Luke’s Techno-Magic Headache

  HMSS Ingeniur – November 2184

  Luke

  I pressed my palms to my ears as hard as I could. The intense sound pierced my flesh and bone. My eardrums felt like they would explode. Then, as quickly as it had all begun, the sound vanished. Had I turned deaf? I opened my eyes, expecting to see my shattered kitchen. Instead, I found myself in a large oval room. My stare landed on Mark, kneeled on the floor and crouched over in pain.

  I darted to his side as he straightened up and removed trembling hands from his ears. He brought his palms around and stared at them. “I expected to see blood,” he said with a shaky voice. Standing behind him, I grabbed his arm and helped hoist him to his feet. “It’s good to know I can still hear,” he said as his eyes turned to me and offered a weak smile.

  “Yeah, buddy, I know what you mean,” I replied, squeezing his shoulders. I scanned the well-lit area and spotted Liz and Anton on the other side. Liz was pale as a sheet, but looked alright. She was studying her hands. I moved away from Mark and started toward her.

  “Liz?” Anton asked.

  “Anthe,” she replied. The name stopped me in my tracks. She lifted her head and took a couple steps as she surveyed her surroundings. I followed her gaze.

  Three wide rows of slanted black tables filled the length of the room. Cushiony swivel chairs were bolted to these tables by way of a pivot arm. The floor was angled like you would expect in a movie theater and at the back towered a large gray chair with wide armrests. The room was well lit, though I couldn’t see any lamps or ceiling lights. Then I realized that the curved wall around the room emitted a soft yellow glow. It was like a cross between a futuristic classroom and a way fancy dine-in movie theater. All that was missing was the screen.

  At last, Anthe’s gaze fell on a spot between the aisles. “You can dispose of that in whatever way is most convenient,” she said, waving her hand toward something on the floor. Her voice was Liz’s voice, but with a dismissive edge. It didn’t sound like my sister.

  I moved so I could see. Lying prone on the thick, baby-blue carpet was Anthe’s corpse. It made my skin crawl. “My body was already buried a long time ago,” she explained. “This one won’t matter much to anyone after I’m gone.”

  I didn’t like this. Liz, Anton and Anthe were calling the shots while Mark and I got dragged along. My sister was gone. Guilt ate at my chest for letting it happen.

  Tamer rested a hand on Liz… Anthe’s shoulder. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but it sounded rhythmic. He was casting a spell. Anthe watched until the body began to shimmer and then disappeared.

  “I put your body in the med bay for now,” Tamer said gently.

  Anton moved to a table on the bottom row. At the touch of his fingers, the surface came to life. As Anton’s hands glided over the screen, the bright images transformed as though they were reacting to his actions. After only a few taps and slides, a pop reverberated around the room. My eyes opened wide. I’d found the big screen I was looking for. It was the whole dang wall surrounding us and the dome-shaped ceiling above.

  “No vessels, satellites, space stations or other detectable technology within a quarter light-year,” Anton said. He scrutinized the display of space all around, as if he needed visual confirmation.

  “Spaceship?” Anthe asked as she surveyed the stars above. Then she nodded. “It’s a good choice. Gives us the ability to hide or run.”

  “Yeah, she’s top of the line,” Tamer confirmed. He sounded proud. The ease with which he was handling all this made me wonder what else he had been through. Getting blasted out of our living room is not supposed to feel normal. I was scared for him, but kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t the time for the concerned older cousin routine. Later, when this was all over, maybe I could take him aside. “But we’re a little short on crew,” he continued. “Do you know how to fly one of these?”

  “I didn’t before, but it seems Liz possesses the required skills,” Anthe replied, seating herself at one of the consoles and activating the screen.

  “Wouldn’t you prefer the captain’s chair?” Anton asked.

  “No dear. I haven’t been out in the field in a long time,” she replied. “You’ll have to run her.”

  Anton nodded. “Okay, Tamer, can you contact mission central and see if they can spare any help. Try Francis too.”

  “Francis doesn’t have access to this time period,” Anthe said, while still drumming bright spots on her screen. A whirring sound grew around us and the floor began to vibrate. “Did you have anywhere you wanted to take her?”

  “Yeah,” Anton said. “We’re in a pretty remote part of space already, but we’ll blend in better with some asteroid debris located here.” He worked the screen near him as he spoke.

  “Got it,” Anthe replied. “On our way.” The hum grew louder and my body grew lighter, almost as if my feet were about to be lifted off the ground. The view of stars all around began to move backwards as though the ship were positioning for a nose dive. Then the floor jerked and the stars began to fly. As quickly as it had begun, the whirring quieted and the vibration disappeared. Weight returned to normal. My stomach was grateful.

  “This is so bad!” Mark exclaimed. He meant good.

  “ETA is about one hour,” Anthe said.

  “They said they’re spread pretty thin. We’re on our own,” Tamer replied. He found a seat directly behind Anthe and plopped himself down. I expected him to start working at the controls like Anthe and Anton had done, but inst
ead he leaned back and watched the view above. This was the first time I’d seen the kid slouch all day.

  “Thought you said you didn’t know how to fly this thing?” Mark asked Anthe casually. I wondered if this stranger in Liz’s body was as revolting to him as she was to me. He walked over to the nearest console and touched his forefinger to the screen. It lit up and displayed various symbols.

  “I didn’t,” Anthe explained. “But now I know everything your sister knew.” I grabbed Mark’s wrist before he could push any more buttons. We did not need Mark at the helm, or worse, at tactical.

  “And Liz…?” I asked, then broke off. My voice was gruffer than I’d intended.

  Anthe laughed. “Child, do you realize how much you scare your sister when you use that tone?” she asked. “Her heart almost leaped through the roof of her head.” My sister? The one who broke into alien enemy prisons and jumped off cliffs and nearly got her head blown off by fireballs. That sister quaked at the sound of my voice? Sure didn’t show it.

  “I have her memories too,” Anthe continued. A smirk was still present on her face. Had to resist the urge to tell her to wipe it away.

  “Makes sense,” Tamer said. “Neurons and synapses in her brain would store her memories, but the soul takes an imprint.”

  “An imprint?” Mark asked. He tried to pull his fist away, but I held on. He could get his hand back when he promised not to touch anything.

  “Kind of like storing a back-up on an external drive,” Tamer tried to explain.

  “Huh?” Mark asked, as he continued to struggle.

  Anton shook his head at Tamer. “It’s like a photocopy guys. The original document stays the same and the photocopy mimics it.”

  “Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Mark concluded, finally breaking free. I was glad something around here made sense to someone. I looked up at the stars flying overhead. My stomach gurgled. Do they have barf bags on this thing?

  Ketya’s Bunker - Fall 2834

  Elizabeth

  Knowing he was in control, the wizard extended his long arms toward Naimi. Still grinning, he wrapped his fingers around her tiny torso and prepared to lift her up. That was my chance. I twisted my stomach and brought my knee up, slam, right into his nose. He fell back and crashed into the wall behind him. Before he could figure out what happened, I leapt off the bed and tackled him. We landed in an awkward heap on the cold stone floor. I lifted my fist and with all the speed I could muster, propelled it full force into the wizards left cheekbone. His head rebounded off my knuckles, bounced on the floor, and as quickly as this ordeal had begun, it ended.

  Breathing heavily, I reached for his thin neck to see if he still had a pulse. He did. There was no point in killing him, surely he had a team waiting on the surface. Only one wizard had come into the bunker because of the limited space, but it wouldn’t be long before they got worried and sent more. I scooped Naimi up and began a teleportation spell. The orbital defenses wouldn’t let me leave the planet; the wizards could trace Ketya’s DNA and, even if I could prevent that, they would be able to follow my teleport. There was an entire planet of advanced wizards hot on my tail. I needed to buy some time to think because what few ideas I had now would not get me and Naimi out of this alive.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Foreign Land

  The Ori Forest – Fall 2834

  Elizabeth

  I materialized in the middle of a sludgy forest. Instead of trees, the wilderness was dense with tall gooey structures. Ori, Ketya’s mind reminded me. However, Ketya’s memory could not explain the shimmering, transparent surface that seemed to cover the entire sky. The wizards had built a force-field around their planet. Hanging low, behind the shell, were two small suns. The smaller of the two provided the planet with most of its warmth. Meanwhile, the larger one didn’t provide much more than a gentle glow.

  My eyes caught the reflection of the orange sky on my hands. It was comforting to gaze on my own skin again; even if my tan had vanished. If the wizards programmed their sensors to search for Ketya’s DNA, it seemed best not to have that DNA anymore. So instead, I used the genetic material I knew best: my own. I cast a spell to shape shift into my human body. I didn’t want to waste power, so I’d kept Ketya’s uncomfortable clothing and just made sure to purify it. All particulate matter that could be traced back to her had been removed. However, as practical as my decision was, I wasn’t going win any fashion shows in this outfit. She was taller than me and her skirt dragged on the ground when I stood up. Her shoes felt loose on my feet and her shirt hung off me awkwardly.

  They were likely probing for Naimi's DNA as well so I had to shape shift her into something more manageable than a baby: a turtle. Babies were heavy and squishy. A turtle was more portable, and moreover, it had the protection of a hard shell. I would apologize to her when she was older.

  After checking her over to make sure she was okay, I put Naimi in my pocket and pulled my arms up around myself for warmth. My eyes scanned the area in search of shelter. The teleport and the shape shifting had used up most of the power I had left. I needed to hide, preferably somewhere warm. Ketya’s thick hide was accustomed to this planet’s cold temperatures, but I was back in human skin now. The biting wind cut through me and iced my very core. Winter would be here soon.

  “How long can I take cover here?” I whispered. My best hope for shelter was to reach the distant mountains whose peaks peered over the ori. Ketya’s memory suggested that the rocks’ angular shape and charcoal color might mean there were caves within. It was a long shot. They were far away. I could walk through the night, but the wizards would catch up with me before I made it out of the forest.

  The wind picked up further. I crouched down and tried to make myself a smaller target against its frigid attack. The suns would be setting in an hour. They will find me faster if I stay. With considerable mental effort, I rose and began to propel myself against the head-on gale. The only blessing was that the wind gusted away my footprints in the gray dirt almost as quickly as they formed.

  HMSS Ingeniur – November 2184

  Luke

  Wasn’t really sure what to expect when I learned that we’d have to endure the rest of our day on a spaceship. However, one possibility that didn’t cross my mind was that I’d be bored. Shortly after we reached the asteroid field, Mark and I were overcome by restlessness. We’d decided to go explore the remaining decks. Given the impressiveness of the bridge, I would have thought she was much larger. What we found instead was a series of six small, but efficient, levels connected by an elevator in the very middle. Anton told us to stay off the first two decks. Said those were reserved for equipment, cargo, and water systems. Mark was disappointed because the engine and weapons systems were also located in the off limits area.

  Decks three and four were long corridors with passenger cabins on both sides. We checked out three of the twelve rooms and determined that they were all identical: a bed, a bathroom, a couch, a table, and two chairs, all surrounded by the same glowing walls we’d seen on the bridge. Would make a pretty cool TV screen if these walls worked the same.

  At the end of the hall on deck four, was a small medical area with two triple bunk beds on each side. “How do you think the doc reaches the patients on top?” Mark wondered. Unable to contain his curiosity, he pulled down on the metal frame and watched the beds rotate against the wall like a Ferris wheel. The highest bed was now on the bottom. Unfortunately, it was also the bed with Anthe’s body. We both hustled out of there pretty quick.

  The bridge was on deck five forward. Behind it was a kitchen connected to a lavish dining room. Mark conducted a very thorough investigation of the kitchen and produced some sad looking apples and dry cereal.

  “Hungry?” he asked through a mouthful of apple. I wrinkled my nose and shook my head no.

  “That apple doesn’t exactly look fresh, dude. Maybe you should wait until we get home for food,” I suggested. Mark looked at me with wide, sad eyes. He th
en proceeded to shove half the apple in his mouth.

  I sighed. “Okay, okay. Eat the apples. Just don’t choke on ‘em,” I surrendered. Food poisoning was the least of my concerns right now. And, I had to admit, it had been a while since lunch. Mark took his spoils with him as we headed up to deck six. Smallest of the decks, it had only two rooms. Aft was a large area whose purpose I couldn’t guess. In one corner was a small indoor pool, but the rest of the vast space was totally empty.

  “Perhaps an exercise area or a sports room?” Mark suggested with a shrug. It was a rather brainy deduction for someone who needed tutoring to pass logic 101. But that’s Mark: he’s got street smarts, not book smarts.

  Forward room looked a lot like an observation deck. There were coffee tables and loungers, all bolted to the floor like the rest of the furniture onboard. The curved ceiling was transparent and offered a clear view of space. We both stared up at the asteroids and stars for a couple of minutes, but it made my stomach swim again. I was glad I’d refused Mark’s apples.

  “Man, how can you just stare up at it like that? Doesn’t it make you sick?” I asked.

  “Nope,” Mark said. He plopped his behind down in one of the loungers and kept his eyes fixed on the view above. “I could probably stare up there forever.”

  “Hey listen,” I said. “I know we have to see this mission thing through right now. But when Liz gets back. You know, the real her. Do you think you can maybe talk to her? Convince her to lay off this stuff?” I tried not to sound like I was pleading, but Mark heard it.

  He rolled his eyes and settled his gaze on me. “Dude, let it go already. This is what she does. I’ve watched her disappear and get banged up and dive into God knows what situations since she was thirteen. And she started even before that. Always comes out on top. She’s not gonna quit now.”