Blood in the Fire (Timelaws Trilogy) Read online

  After two long minutes of spell chanting, Rothin raised his yellow eyes to meet hers. “It’s a girl,” he said. She studied his face and waited for a reaction. His expression remained stoic, but the sad undertone of his voice told her what she wanted to know: he was sorry for her.

  However, Rothin's pity didn’t stop him from announcing the rest of his discovery to everyone present at market that morning. “Ketya’s pregnant,” he yelled, turning away from her. Ketya took a step backwards to distance herself from him. “Ketya’s pregnant and her daughter will be powerless.”

  Horror gripped every bone in Ketya’s body. Suddenly, she felt brittle, like she might shatter at any moment. Instead, she turned on her heel and began to walk away. If she ran, they might chase her. Given their powers, she wouldn’t be able to outrun them. So she walked and hoped they would take their time deciding what to do with her. They had the ability to do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. There was no reason for them to interrupt their busy day with the meager decision regarding her fate. That could wait until the drearier hours of late afternoon. When they’d exhausted all other options for self-entertainment, they would gather in the courthouse and make a theatrical production of the danger she posed for the town in her current state.

  Ten years ago, her child would have been legal. Eight years ago, the civil war between wizards was decided and so was enacted the law that all powerless, female children would be executed at birth.

  “I wish it were a boy,” Ketya whispered. An invisible fist squeezed her chest as the reality began to sink in. Every night and waking moment of the past weeks had been filled with fear-fueled prayers. She had convinced herself that if she prayed hard enough, the mere power of her will would force the child to be a boy. That hope was demolished.

  Ketya’s legs felt weak under the weight of this new reality. Her knees wobbled and threatened to give way as she walked, but still she marched on. Brovkyl would know what to do. She held on to faith he could save their child.

  Ketya stepped off the path and onto the field that separated her small home from the road. She ran across and bounded up the steps to her front porch. The stone door felt heavier than usual. She strained her arm to pull it open. When the gap was large enough for her small frame, she ducked inside and heaved the door shut behind her.

  Brovkyl heard the noise and turned from the book he’d been reading to see Ketya panting in the entryway. Her heart sank at the sight of the torn expression on his face. In an instant, he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in his arms. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. Unlike most slim wizards, Brovkyl was forced to do his field labor manually, and he had a wide frame to show for it. Ketya remained still as he embraced her.

  Naimi, Brovkyl’s pet, came to great Ketya at the door, but Ketya ignored the dragon-shaped creature. “How did you know what happened?” she asked.

  “You had your basket when you left for market this morning,” he replied gently, still holding onto her. “Where’s the basket? And what happened to the heat potions you were going to buy?” Ketya pulled away and looked down at her empty hands. She could not remember where she had left the basket.

  “Rothin probed me with a spell,” Ketya told him. Brovkyl took her trembling hands in his large ones and held them steady. He had already guessed what she was about to tell him, but Ketya continued. “It’s a girl,” she said. “You’re going to be a father.” A warm smile formed on Ketya’s lips as she pictured Brovkyl reading their future daughter a bedtime story. But the smile was edged with tears as she realized that could never happen. “What are we going to do?” she asked.

  Brovkyl was silent. She looked at him, her eyes pleading. Deep down, she knew that there was nothing he could do, but still she hoped. His silence shattered her heart once more and this time it was too much for her legs to bear. She dropped to the ground as a fit of sobs wracked her body.

  Brovkyl came to his knees by her side and lifted her into his arms. She looked up and saw his brown eyes glistening with moisture. Neither one of them would ever meet their daughter.

  “I’m so sorry, Ketya,” he said. “I’m so very sorry.” His speech was hoarse with pain. He lifted her face and studied her eyes as if hesitant to finish his thought. But after a moment, his anguished voice prevailed. “They can use their magic to kill her in your womb. They might not wait for her to be born…”

  Ketya lifted her arm and slammed her fist into his chest. Why was he telling her that? The people in that town were her friends. She bought goods from them and shared laughs with them at market. Some of them had attended school with her. Could they really hurt her so deeply? But another part of her knew they wouldn’t hesitate. If they didn’t act swiftly against her child, the army would attack the town. Even Rothin had chosen Centream’s welfare over hers. A new wave of sobs gripped her body as she remembered his betrayal.

  Brovkyl grabbed her hand and held her fist firmly in his. “I’m telling you this because we’ve both been trying to avoid the reality. And if we’re going to beat them, we can’t lie to ourselves any longer,” he said.

  As instantly as they had started, Ketya’s tears subdued. “Beat them how?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Brovkyl admitted. “Do you know anyone in the town who would be willing to help us? Anyone who might use their powers to cover our tracks if we run away?”

  Ketya remained frozen. Run away. Where? The town of Centream was more tolerant than most; they allowed her to live as normal a life as possible without powers. But, even here, they would execute her child, so where else was there to go? Sensing the tension, Naimi stroked Ketya’s skirt with her wing. It was an attempt to reassure her, but Ketya gave the two-footed pet no heed.

  “No, I don’t think anyone will help us,” Ketya said. Her voice was weak with fear.

  “Then what if I stay behind?” Brovkyl suggested. “Maybe I can buy you some time. You can hide in the forest or try to find a cave to live in.”

  Ketya shook her head. “It won’t work,” she said. “I want you with me. I don’t want our daughter to grow up without a father.”

  Brovkyl’s eyes swelled under the weight of her words. He turned his gaze towards the ceiling as he fought for control.

  What do I know about living in the forest? she thought. I’d bleed out from splinter wounds trying to make an arrow. Hunting and gathering had not been a way of life for wizards for at least a hundred years. Her grandmother had shared stories about the times when wizards lived in caves, but, thanks to the Ori, they had progressed beyond that now. With progress, the old knowledge was forgotten.

  “I have to convince them you are still here,” he replied. “You are the most resourceful person I know. You will learn to live as our ancestors did.” His words were calm and steady, but she could hear the pain in his throat. He squeezed her close, then leaned back and lifted her chin to meet his eyes. “I love you,” he said. “And I love our daughter. Please tell her when she’s older. Please don’t let her think I abandoned her.”

  “Of course not,” Ketya said. “Because you’re coming with us. We’ll find another way.” She tried to force a reassuring smile.

  Brovkyl shook his head. “You have to tell our daughter that I’m sorry,” he said. “My mother left me and my father to go fight in the war. I always resented her for it and I promised that I would never abandon my child. Ketya, you have to know that I want more than anything to be with you, but it’s the only way.” He squeezed her fist tighter. “Please forgive me.”

  “Brovkyl, you can’t,” Ketya protested. “They will never believe you and even if they do, you’ll be…” Ketya’s voice broke as the horrid image of Brovkyl’s fate flooded her mind. The town’s jury would convict him of helping a Forsaken escape execution. The minimum sentence was to be stripped of powers, of which Brovkyl had none, and forced into a life of slavery in the head wizard’s fields. The maximum sentence was death. “Please come with us,” she begged.

  Brovkyl was s
ilent for a moment. She could see the struggle taking place behind his frown and how much he wanted to give in. “Stay tonight,” he said. “I doubt it will be more than a few more hours before the town comes knocking at our door. We’ll present you to them and ask for time. They will think that if you were going to run away, you would have done so already. Perhaps that will be enough to buy us a few days mercy.”

  “Then what?” Ketya asked.

  “I have to stay behind. If they don’t see me working our fields tomorrow, they’ll know something’s wrong. But you can leave early in the morning before they wake and maybe you’ll reach the caves by nightfall tomorrow.”

  Brovkyl’s keen eyes studied her. His expression was full of love for her. “Please,” he said. “Do it for our daughter.” Ketya didn’t trust herself to speak. She nodded instead.

  Then after a moment, she rose to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Our daughter will never resent you,” she promised. “I’ll tell her everyday all the stories about the love you’ve shown me. She’ll hear about the flowers you left on my window sill when we first met. How you came to my house late at night when everyone was asleep just so we could sit on the roof and talk. I’ll tell her how so full of love you are and she will know that you love her too.”

  Brovkyl stroked Ketya’s hair and then pulled away to kiss her forehead. His strength reminded her of why she loved him. Magicless himself, he was in a unique position to understand the trials she faced. However, beyond his ability to understand, was his power to make her shed the bitterness she'd held onto. His robust smile had carried her past all thoughts of vengeance, and their modest home was always full of warmth and banter.

  His thick hand reached for her stomach. Gently he placed his palm over their future child. Ketya stepped away from Brovkyl and went to fetch some water for dinner. The thought of losing him was too much to face.

  Chapter Six

  Brothers in Space

  Earth – June 1981

  Elizabeth

  After lunch the next day, Mark and Luke met me in our overgrown backyard. I shivered with anxious anticipation as I watched Luke make his way out the creaky porch door and down the wooden steps. God, you move slow! Mark must have been thinking the same thing because he started bouncing and punching my shoulder.

  “I can’t believe I get to come with you on a mission,” Mark exclaimed. “Is this gonna be like a James Bond film with explosions and code names? Will I get to wear a wrist watch and use it to relay secrets?” Imagine Tigger gone gangsta. That’s what my brother looked like right now.

  “No one’s stopping you from talking to a wrist watch,” I replied as I waved away the cloud of mosquitos around my head. “But a James Bond film? No, unless I missed the one where Bond recited magic spells.”

  “Well, where too?” Luke asked as he fished the car keys out of his pocket. It was a hot afternoon, despite the cloud cover. Luke’s lethargic motions betrayed an impatience to get on with whatever we were doing and return to air-conditioning.

  I shook my head no. “You won’t need those. We’re teleporting.”

  Mark’s eyes grew wide. He came around to stand an inch away from my nose. “Teleport?” he whispered. “You mean one minute here, the next somewhere else?” I nodded. “Get out of here!” he yelled and punched my shoulder.

  I stumbled back a step under the force of his overenthusiastic blow. “You’re welcome,” I replied as I rubbed my sore arm. My voice was sarcastic, but a suppressed laugh lurked beneath. It was great to see Mark excited.

  Luke, on the other hand, turned a little pale when I mentioned teleporting. This is gonna be one hell of a day for you, Brother.

  “Ready?” I asked. Giddy as a child, Mark nodded and resumed bouncing.

  Luke let out a slow sigh and scrutinized me.

  “As I’ll ever be,” he said.

  First, I released the spell I’d prepared that would translate everything Mark and Luke heard to English. I also had the teleportation spell most of the way complete. I inputted the final parameters that accounted for our present time and location, took a deep breath and met Mark’s eyes. He stopped bouncing and looked back expectantly. I said the final word of the spell.

  The sight of our backyard faded from view. For a split moment, I was blind and numb and then my stomach took a small, familiar dive as my body realized that the gravitational pull had suddenly decreased. The cool, dry air met my skin to let me know we had arrived. We were standing right in front of a window on Enlightenment Station.

  Mark and Luke stood motionless. I watched their eyes bug out as they realized we’d left our backyard for outer space. Stretched out before them was a vast expanse of blackness dotted by thousands of distant, bright stars. The layer of dust, clouds and atmosphere that normally veiled our view of the night sky was stripped away, leaving before us the crisp, unfiltered majesty of space.

  By comparison, the station itself felt small. We were standing in a curved, gray hallway with soft pinkish lights and maroon carpet. Floor to ceiling windows composed the outer wall. The inner wall was smooth and metallic. Automatic doors spaced evenly apart were the only interruptions on the otherwise flawless surface.

  Mark leapt into the air, hit the wall and yelled, “I’m in space, baby!” No one can say I didn’t know my brother. Thank goodness, we had the hallway to ourselves. Then he turned to me with gratitude edging his smile. “God, this is awesome!”

  It didn’t seem possible, but his saucer-sized eyes grew even wider as something from his peripheral vision caught his attention. A spaceship was coming in for a landing. He turned to stare.

  Luke, on the other hand, had yet to move a muscle. He looked out into the blackness. I searched his eyes for that sparkle. There was none.

  Finally, after several long moments filled only by the AC’s steady hum, Luke spoke. “This station belongs to your society of magic folk?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I acknowledged, feeling proud. Any minute now, he would start glowing.

  “Do you guys build these stations and ships yourself?” Luke asked.

  You have got to be kidding me.

  “Our engineers design the stations and some of our ships. We outsource most of the construction though,” I replied.

  “Why? Can’t you just say a spell or something?” Mark asked, without turning away from the window.

  I laughed. “Conservation of mass and energy still applies. For a big, complex structure like this, we’d need to find an energy source to fuel the spell. When you add in the time involved and the intricacy of the spell, it just turns out to be much more efficient doing it with lathes and nail guns. Some magic goes into it of course, especially when it comes to defense systems, but most of it is built by just ordinary alien workers.”

  Mark peeled his eyes away from the window to give me a sideways look with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess for you, some creature with feelers, five arms and six eyes would be ordinary,” he said.

  “Runs in the family,” I countered.

  Luke ignored our banter and continued his line of questioning. “How do you pay for it?” he asked. “Not just the station, but the food, the ships… is there a governing body that regulates space equipment and gives out permits? Is there a tax system?”

  Seriously? That’s what you want to know right now?

  Just then, Anton appeared behind us. Hearing the familiar whoosh of air that accompanied a teleport, I turned to face him, but Mark and Luke continued to look out into space.

  “Same as anyone else,” Anton chimed in. “We offer goods and labor in exchange for money.” Mark and Luke nearly jumped out of their skins. Both spun around to face him as he continued to explain. “We just have to do it without revealing the magic.”

  Mark patted Anton on the shoulder to acknowledge him.

  “How is the exchange rate between alien currencies determined?” Luke asked.

  How the hell should I know? Do you realize where you are? It was pointless. If I made
him levitate, he’d ask how I calculated the right amount of lift. If I showed Luke a dragon, he’d ask about its dietary needs. Hell, I could probably conjure up a sensual mermaid with eyes only for him, and he would want to know what kind of educational opportunities she had available underwater.

  Anton gave me a sympathetic look. Take it easy, he consoled telepathically. Trust Luke to absorb all of this in his own way.

  “The same way it works on Earth,” I replied.

  Anton smiled, amused.

  Luke looked poised to ask a follow up. Fortunately, Tamer came into view and headed down the hall toward us. Suddenly, my oldest brother forgot all his dumb questions, and instead, seemed transfixed by my cousin’s appearance. I grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him. At my touch, he snapped out of it. Well, sort of. “All you kids have nothing better to do?” he muttered under his breath.

  Mark was almost as surprised as Luke. “Dude, I can’t believe you’re in on this too,” he exclaimed as he gave Tamer a hard pat on the back. My cousin grinned.

  “Yeah, well someone’s gotta save the world while these two are busy making googly eyes at each other,” he replied, pointing to me and Anton with his chin.

  Googly eyes?

  “I can’t believe I lived to see the day you’re wearing something other than a dirty t-shirt and torn jeans,” Luke said, sounding more relaxed. An easy smile finally graced his face. “I almost didn’t recognize you,” he marveled. It was true. With his dark skin, prominent forehead scar, and thin frame, Tamer usually looked more like a street-rat than an elite operative in a trim uniform. That was not the case now.

  Tamer and Anton were dressed in similar uniforms, but in different colors to indicate their relative positions. In order of increasing rank, Tamer’s uniform was green, Anton’s was blue and my uniform, if I’d been wearing it, would have been burgundy red. Their jackets were plain, well fitted, with high collars that wrapped around their necks. Each uniform had a thin black stripe down the left side, and next to the stripe was a vertical row of decorated silver buttons.