Back on the Ischyros, Aria leaned on Gavain’s arm. “The man was downright hostile.”
“He sounds a bit nosy, but I don’t know if I’d call him hostile.” Gavain steered them towards the gathering room, where Gladiolus and Genista already waited.
“You didn’t see his colors. He was blood red.”
“I can’t see his colors. That’s kind of the point of you being arcane and me not.” Gavain stopped and took a deep breath. “We turn this corner, and there’s no going back. Are you ready?”
Aria watched Gavain’s yellow and purple seep across the space between them. His colors took over her aura, or at least, covered her blue from view. He was confident yet nervous, and he needed her to be with him. He asked her to be with him and not back on Scaldigir, worried about Pan.
“I know the plan,” she answered.
“Alright. Let’s go.” Gavain took her arm and led her around the corner.
Alban came into sight, puffing in blue and red. Aria was surprised to see him back so soon. She felt her eyebrows rise. Alban put a finger to his lips. Aria wondered if he already had the mages.
“Our guests await you, plus two new ones.” Alban backed against the doorframe and gestured for Gavain and Aria to pass. “I believe you know Ranunculus.” Alban nodded to the tall Volanter man.
Aria knew him. He used to lead the Bacchan. Now, he was leader of nothing. He had a single ship full of his people, as small as the smallest Volanter clan. The Bacchan lost their place among the mid-tier Volanter, especially since they lost Carex – their research advisor.
Ranunculus’ aura kept to itself, a big change from when she’d first met him.
Alban’s eyes flicked in the direction of an aged Volanter woman. “The second new guest is Silene. She’s of both the Rhizo and…the Anther.”
Aria felt her eyes widen in mild surprise.
Silene had an aura of white, and through the thin cloud-like colors, Aria saw Silene’s pale grey base. She possessed thin stripes of black, swirling in uneven patterns over her tentacles.
“The Anther? I thought they were all gone,” Aria said.
Gavain stiffened. His aura waved in front of her face, like a big yellow hand, as if it could rescue her from drawing all eyes to her person.
The aged woman tried to rise, but Ranunculus put a hand on her shoulder and eased her back down.
Silene studied them. “Sometimes, a clan leaves a few members behind. My goals aligned more with the Rhizo, so I stayed while they went. I’m a bit disappointed in myself because I can see I missed an adventure.” Her aura remained in grey-white, giving Aria nothing.
Gavain gestured to the table. “Shall we? We don’t want to keep you waiting anymore.”
The gathering moved to their seats. Aria got placed on the end, next to Gavain, where she could see all four Volanter auras. Genista’s pale green glowed steady. Gladiolus’ colors glowed in blue and green; Silene remained mostly white and grey, and Ranunculus showed colors of red and orange, not the best shades.
“What will it be?” Gladiolus asked. “Did your government come to a decision?” His aura touched Gavain’s.
Gavain’s receded. “Yes and no. We have a rather divided set of viewpoints on the matter. Some of us want to side with Iruedim. Some of us want to side with the Volanter. And, the rest of us are somewhere in the middle – undecided or refusing to decide.”
Ranunculus sat stiff and straight. In his seat, he towered over Gavain and even outstripped Gladiolus. Ranunculus’ tone was sharp. “We don’t want any more dealings with those ungrateful Iruedians, not that you’re much better. I was there, and I recognize this one. What about her friend? Still well, I’m guessing?”
Gladiolus drew his hand across his neck, in a sharp cut. “We’re leaving misunderstandings aside. Quiet about that.”
Aria watched anger and a touch of pink ruffle Gladiolus’ aura. He had a thing for Pan, which Aria thought might be useful in their upcoming news. More useful, if Pan didn’t seem to have a thing for Gladiolus, though it paled in comparison to Pan’s thing for Sotir.
“You should have seen how ruthless they were.” Ranunculus leaned towards Gladiolus, bending over Genista to do so.
She recoiled, as did her aura.
“Enough.” Gladiolus didn’t even look Ranunculus’ way. “You’re here to offer advice. That’s it.”
A moment of silence fell over the group. The auras flickered like candles, and awkward colors offended Aria’s eyes.
She cleared her throat and leaned toward Gladiolus. “I remembered you to my friend.”
Gavain’s aura whipped in shades of panicked yellow.
Gladiolus’ aura slithered over the table and touched Aria’s blue. “You did?”
Aria smiled and nodded. “She was curious to hear you’re an ambassador. She seems to think of you as a warrior instead.”
Gladiolus laughed.
Gavain’s aura started to settle.
“We don’t really define roles that strictly. And, I’m good in a fight, but I’m more defender than offender. Like I said – I’m a hunter.” Gladiolus’ aura glowed, and more of that pink shone.
Aria watched some pink enter Genista’s aura and Silene’s too. It was not the pink of attraction that Gladiolus showed, but the pink of goodwill.
“I hate to destroy the mood,” Gavain began. “But, I have to inform you that our government is needs more time to reach a decision. We voted on a trial period of eight months, and during that time, I’m afraid we don’t want to cut our ties to Iruedim just yet.” Gavain held up a hand. “Now, let me explain.”
The Volanter settled in their seats, though Genista had a look of heartbreak in both her aura and on her face.
“We see in the Iruedians some very advanced magical craft that we could make use of right away. They can make items in ways that neither of our groups can, and their mathematical approach to magic certainly has some strong versatility. It can make it seem like one mage is in several places at once. The more risk seeking among us see these traits as too good to just let go.” Gavain folded his hands. “These people are the smallest voice in our decision, but they do have a point. How can we just let the Iruedians walk off without learning all that we can from them?”
“The Blath were so brilliant,” Silene agreed. “It’s a fair point. One I will, at least, consider. Go on.”
Gavain’s aura pumped purple. “The strongest voice among us is the one that doesn’t see why a choice has to be made.”
“We won’t deal with the Iruedians,” Gladiolus insisted. “We’d rather not have their shoots touch ours if we can help it.” His aura showed some of that blood red that Aria had seen a lot of lately.
Ranunculus showed the same, and Aria could tell some of that red was reserved for her people. Ranunculus sent out shoots of red to every Scaldin in the room. His aura ran in jagged lines and threatened to touch everyone. So much for keeping to himself.
Genista just showed a new green, a sickened one. She looked for unity and could not find it.
Silene remained white and silent. Aria frowned. White, the color of non-sentience and magic use, shouldn’t dominate Silene so completely. Aria felt her brow knit. She met Silene’s eyes and realized that Silene must be bound. In fact, there was no reason why they couldn’t both be reading auras.
Silene smiled, just a little.
Aria was glad she kept her hands in her lap. She touched Gavain’s leg.
He didn’t flinch. Instead, he continued, “The second strongest voice among us is the one that says we should side with the Volanter for security. Honestly, we can’t say that we’ve come to a consensus. I’m here to ask how much time and how much leeway you would be willing to grant while we reach a decision.”
“None,” Ranunculus growled.
Gladiolus reached over Genista and grabbed Ranunculus’ arm. “Quiet. No decisions out of you.” He withdrew his hand and faced Gavain. “I’m empowered to give you three weeks. That’s it. After that, we want you to cut ties with Iruedim. If you don’t, then we’ll be forced to show the population that siding with the Volanter is better.”
“With all due respect,” Aria said. “A war against you will not make our population more amenable to a relationship with you.”
Genista’s quiet voice broke in. “It worked for the Illud.”
Gavain’s aura phased into a green disgust, and Aria tapped his leg again. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn’t know what he just showed Silene.
Silene is an aura reader! It was too complicated to convey with a touch.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Silene’s keen eyes watched Gavain, with every fiber of attention left in her old body. For all Aria knew, Silene might have a tentacle under the table tapping Gladiolus for every suspicious color she saw.
That would be a lot. The room filled with anger and disgust from every Scaldin body, except Aria’s own. Her aura still refused to move much of the time. It remained in blue – a particularly disappointed blue.
“Let’s adjourn for a while. How about a week?” Gladiolus rose from the table. Suspicion hung in his aura.
He offered a hand to Silene, and she took it. Gladiolus lifted Silene, but he left Genista to fend for herself. She stared at the floor and struggled to stand. Aria bet that tentacles littered Genista’s floor space. Ranunculus pushed his chair back. It made a harsh squeak, and the chair and the space around it remained stained in red. Genista almost tripped as Ranunculus added his tentacles to the floor.
The Volanter slithered for the door.
Gavain hurried to his feet. “I would like to say that violence does not endear anyone to the Scaldin.”
Gladiolus stopped. Silene turned. Her aura still showed white, but it reached for Gavain. Slowly, Gladiolus turned as well.
Gavain took a deep breath. “You may not realize this, but Pan and people like her are not the most welcome on Scaldigir. Reapers – that’s what we call them. People who take circles from others. Violence seemed to be a part of them, and they’ve never fared well on our home world. I caution you against doing anything that would jeopardize our negotiations.” Gavain’s aura remained steady, with just his friendly yellow and purple confidence. He also possessed threads of gold.
Aria felt proud to see the control. She thought gold must mean something to Silene.
Gladiolus clasped his hands behind his back. “Pan’s not welcome on Scaldigir? All the more reason for your people to join the Volanter then.” Gladiolus turned and headed for the door. He slithered with speed.
Ranunculus followed, and Silene just kept pace. Genista had to run-walk to keep up.
Aria thought the fast-moving tentacles gave an impression of angry, dissatisfied snakes.
Alban waited by the door. He leaned out and watched them go.
“I think they’ll attack us,” Aria said quietly.
“Yes, but we have a bit of time.” Gavain offered her a hand up.
Aria took it. She struggled to a standing position and felt a wave of lightness in her head. It clouded her vision but only the vision that didn’t see auras. A moment of standing brought her original vision back. “You don’t understand. I think they’ll attack us now. Silene is probably an aura reader. She showed white the entire time, which means magic use.”
Gavain’s head whipped between Aria and Alban.
“If they start something, I’m ready.” Alban pulled a com from his belt and held it up to his mouth. “Get some Iruedian mages on their tails and alert the other ships and mages to the Volanter’s potentially hostile intentions.”
“Acknowledged.”
Irini wasn’t going to miss this. She’d choked on the exciting job that Sotir threw at her feet. She couldn’t convince Eva to come, and she couldn’t find a Scaldin engineer willing to take Eva’s place.
Irini avoided Sotir. For the moment, she failed, but she wouldn’t give up. Scaldigir had thousands of engineers. She just needed one. If she had to, she’d enlist a Liti engineer.
Or, maybe, she wouldn’t. Irini had run away and not just because she couldn’t find an engineer. She was too scared to stay among the Iruedians a failure and with none of her own kind. How could she justify her right to be unbound and to do more useful things if she couldn’t handle Sotir’s job?
Irini found three Iruedian mages: a Tagtrumian woman, a Groazan man, and a man from Ponk. She knew them by their clothes. The Groazan wore a tailored suit of ornate, dark patterns. The Tagtrumian wore a loose shirt and pants, both belted at the waist. The man from Ponk whipped off his intricate robe and exposed his bare, muscular torso. That wasn’t the reason she followed them though.
She wanted to see some magic – real, unbound magic.
At her side, she carried a little weapon that she’d snatched from an open locker, just in case. A gun of suppressant. She wasn’t supposed to have it, but for the courtesy of closing the cabinet, she thought she should get to carry some self-defense, maybe be useful for a change.
The trio of Iruedian mages strode the halls. Irini ran a short distance behind. An officer’s voice came over a com, tucked in the Groazan’s jacket. The officer reported the location of the Volanter.
The Ischyros rocked gently in space. The officer’s voice, over the com, rose in both volume and urgency.
Irini knew the Ischyros had been hit, with the Volanter representatives still aboard apparently.
The trio of Iruedians broke into a run.
Irini started her run a little late, but she kept them in sight. She followed from a greater distance, probably better for her safety. Should she lose them, she could always ask the thread.
The Iruedians rounded a corner, but they weren’t lost, just out of sight. Irini knew they had nowhere to turn. They had just reached the shuttle bay.
Irini rounded the corner and immediately ducked back behind it.
A membrane stretched over the open shuttle bay, looking like plastic wrap. Four Volanter glared at the blockage.
Slowly, Irini peeked around the corner again.
Genista – the reddish girl, with legs – cowered against the doorframe. She started a circle of two rings.
Silene – the old Volanter – slithered close to Genista. She hid behind Gladiolus but cast nothing.
Speaking of Gladiolus – Pan’s chief opponent – he conjured a rotating ring.
The first spell called his familiar, with a single ring of runes and a puff of white smoke. The animal brayed and offered its back to Silene. The second spell glowed in two rings of purple. It set off and touched all the Volanter. It wrapped each one in a cocoon of shimmery violet. The third spell, also of two rings, shot out bouncing fireballs. The balls left burn marks and trails of soot.
The Groazan mage cast a quick two-ringed spell, crisscrossed by a star. The spell runes and lines disappeared. In their place, a disc of water waited. The balls bounced against the watery shield, sending ripples to its edges. The water blinked out of existence; then returned. Then, it blinked again and stayed gone. Some balls bounced through, sizzling with less strength.
The Tagtrumian cast a simple dual-ringed spell – a bubble shield. The balls bounced against the shield, pressed deep into its surface, and sprang back.
Gladiolus’ eyes widened, but he cast a simple one-ringed circle, a shield. The fireballs shattered on its surface.
Genista shrieked but finished her cast. A bird familiar stood beside her. Genista hopped on its back and lay flat.
With Silene safe on the back of Gladiolus’ familiar and Genista ready to go, both familiars pulled up their scaley shields.
In the light of the Ischyros, Irini could see that those scale covers each had unique patterns. The bird’s seemed shot through with feather lines, and the Eidos’ showed curling fur.
Gladiolus conjured a quick, single-ringed portal.
Both familiars shot through and escaped.
Irini held her breath. With the civilians out of the way, the magic was bound to get spectacular.
Gladiolus held the portal open. “Get on your familiar!” He shouted to Ranunculus.
On Irini’s side of the battle, the mage from Ponk weaved a triple ringed spell. It sang and almost blocked out the voices of the Volanter.
Ranunculus shouted, “No! I’m staying! Someone who takes their threat seriously has to be here.” Ranunculus cast a spell of two rings. It sang too, but not as fast as the Iruedian creation.
The Ponk mage’s spell burst. A flaming ball shot from its center and aimed for the portal. It popped through before Gladiolus could close his spell.
Gladiolus’ lips moved. Irini didn’t hear, but she thought he swore. She guessed the ball of fire would hone in on the Volanter who fled. Otherwise, why send it?
Ranunculus’ spell finished. It sent flames up the walls.
Irini jumped. She felt the heat, and she tucked herself further around the corner. She kept just one eye on the battle.
The Ponk, Groazan, and Tagtrumian performed spells of white and blue and set them against the walls. The spells flashed. Steam, wind, and water trickled over the fire. The trails of flames became trails of smoke, pluming from the floor to the ceiling.
“I said to call it in after we got off the ship.” Gladiolus’ circle finished. It popped a bubble around his person, and then, he fell through his own portal.
“He left,” Irini gasped.
He was now outside the ship and from there, he could do anything – if Pan’s habits were to be taken as a predictor for Volanter’s. He could find a new way in and wreak havoc, though all the windows remained painted in black.
“Volanter outside the ship,” the Groazan mage called into his com.
A voice responded. “We’ve got him. He didn’t attempt anything. He fled.”
The mage from Ponk summoned a monster – a bird of fire. Gears and cogs churned on its belly and back. Its wings hissed steam. The Tagtrumian summon looked canine, with leathery skin and spines down its back.
Ranunculus did not flee. He faced off against the monsters.
Irini slipped behind the corner and covered her eyes. Burns stained the walls and floor of the Ischyros’ hall. She thought blood might follow.
The Ischyros shook with a greater hit from space, but Irini didn’t think it could do much. It was a single Volanter ship against a single Scaldin ship, and Alban had dozens of secret Irueidan mages aboard.
The sound of magic came from the hall. Irini took her hands from her eyes and scooted to the edge. She peeked around the corner.
Ranunculus finally summoned his familiar. He needed the help. His familiar showed up fast, and Irini could describe it as nothing other than a bouquet of flowers. Flowers with fangs that all shared a central stalk, but they were still flowers. One bud hissed. Another nipped the birds’ wing, and the last bud caught the spikey canine in its petaled jaws. The spikes went right through the petals, but the flower held tight, shaking from the pain.
The Iruedians began another series of casts, but so did Ranunculus. He mustered a rotating ring. It moved slow and hiccupped to a standstill a couple of times, but he got it going.
Irini clutched the corner of the wall. She watched as Ranunculus’ spell spit out a shield. The shield caught Iruedian projectiles and held them fast. The second circle of Ranunculus’ rotating ring sent his shield into a spin. The projectiles shot back at the Iruedians.
Irini ducked around the corner and stayed there. Projectiles skidded by. A flaming ball bounced on the deck, creating little burns as it went. Irini clapped both hands to her cheeks. Ranunculus learned some new spell work. He’d had five months and no time bubble to hide in. Even Ranunculus tried something different. Why couldn’t Irini?
Her chest heaved. The sound of magic still flowed from the hall. Irini chanced a look around the corner. She found the Tagtrumian mage entangled in Ranunculus’ tentacles, hanging by her neck. The Groazan man tried to free her, while the Ponk man tried to free himself from the bouquet. The bird lay dead, as did the spiked canine.
Irini’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t believe it. The Iruedians were going to lose to Ranunculus? They were supposed to be the best mages that their three species had to offer.
The Groazan drew a knife from his sleeve and sliced across Ranunculus’ abs.
Ranunculus bent in pain, but he didn’t drop the Tagtrumian. The Groazan began to chop her free, but it was one thing to cut through a man’s skin and another to cut through a muscular limb.Irini felt the gun in her pocket. She slipped it free. It was the size of a tiny squirt gun, and if it had been see-through, Irini would have sworn it was a toy that she used to own.
The Tagtrumian mage fell free. The Ponk mage beheaded one of the flowers with a magical sword. The Groazan and Ranunculus exchanged some close-up spells, resulting in a flash of light and some minor burns. Both men covered their eyes. The Tagtrumian woman clutched her throat, with her eyes also tightly closed. Only the Ponk mage continued to fight. He held the flowers off him and his companions, beheading another.
Irini raised the gun. She held it in two hands, aimed for Ranunculus, and pulled the trigger. She missed. Irini tried again.
The Tagtrumian clutched her arm and fainted.
Irini immediately lowered the gun.
Ranunculus, distracted from his spell, looked down at the hit woman, with a question in his eyes. His spell died, untended.
The Groazan’s spell hit, and Ranunculus fell forward, toppling over all the mages, except the man from Ponk. He lay under the bouquet familiar, which began to grey and flake. It cracked like a statue and then puffed to dust.
Irini clutched the gun. It was all she could see. She had failed with it too. She probably needed combat training.
“Hey! Kid. What did you do to her?” The Groazan man called.
Slowly, Irini looked up. She felt tears in her eyes, and both conscious mages stopped to stare. “I was trying to help. I suppressed her.”
The Groazan’s brow knit.
The Ponk mage explained, “That wears off. She was probably aiming for this guy and missed.”
Irini tucked the gun away. Her lip quivered. She wished she’d never taken it from the cabinet. She should have closed that cabinet and walked away. Now, she would have to explain what she’d done to Alban. He’d pass that on to Sotir and Pan, Aria and Gavain, Kat and Chara. They could all be disappointed in her.