A Soul Divided (The Blood Fire Trilogy Book 1) (7 page)

“An Anti-Luck can’t use the power of the god’s.” Drake said. “You’re a creation of man. You wouldn’t be able to perform any of the taboos no matter how badly you’d like to.”

“I can if I use soul stone.” 169 said as he raised his right arm to reveal a mechanical device attached to it. “I plan to make use of the second taboo to remove the Humans that plague our existence. However, such a complicated process requires that I use the blood of the rightful heirs from two royal lines. There are only two royal lines still in existence. As you know, I already have the Princess of the Human Empire. Now I only require the blood of the rightful heir to the throne of the Mystics, which, if I’m not mistaken, is you.”

“Prince!?” Angela exclaimed, covering her mouth as she realized she had spoken out loud.

 Angela hadn’t understood much of their conversation. She had heard of the power of the Mystics being called Auctoritas before, but Vhy’ Rai, Hemoignisium, and taboos were all new to her. The one thing she understood is that Drake, the worthless pirate, was actually a prince. He most definitely did not act the way Angela imagined a prince should act.

“You don’t understand the cost that comes along with those taboos.” Drake replied, “In your quest to destroy the Humans, you’ll only destroy yourself. You should walk away from this while you still can.”

“You and I both know that walking away is not an option for either of us.” 169 said. “You and I are the same. Our lives were forever changed sixteen years ago by the genocide of our people. Their blood cries from the ground of your home-world begging us to take revenge against the Humans. The horror of that day haunts our every waking moment. It shapes who we are. You can no more walk away from that than I can.”

“I walked away from it a long time ago.” Drake said. “Dathan sits on the throne now. Why don’t you go steal his blood?”

“No matter what you may have done in the past that has kept you from taking your place on the throne,” 169 said, “Auctoritas does not recognize it. As far as the gods of the Mystics are concerned, you are the king. And as king, you have a duty to end this war for your people.”

“Knune may think that I’m king.” Drake said, “But the people don’t. They’ve hunted me and reviled me.  I don’t owe them anything.”

“Then don’t do it for the people.”169 said quickly. “The humans killed your father when you were just a child. Surely you desire revenge.”

“The humans didn’t kill my father.” Drake said, “Dathan killed my father. And since you’re asking, I guess I do want revenge for that. But since your goal is to kill the Humans, I’m assuming you’re working for Dathan. So helping you isn’t exactly going to get me any closer to that goal, is it?” Drake’s voice had elevated to the point where he was almost screaming.

“So you’re rejecting my offer?” 169 replied calmly.

“Asking for blood from a complete stranger in an alleyway is about the creepiest thing you could ever do.” Drake replied, “That alone would’ve been enough for me to turn you down. But then you pretended to care about my father when you’re working for the man who murdered him; and that’s enough to really piss me off.”

Drake wasn’t playful like he was when he fought the slavers to save Angela. He was really going to try to fight against 169. But could Drake actually win? 169 had been able to best the V.A.L.O.R. soldiers and take the princess. Drake seemed to be a good enough fighter, but there was no way he could be that good.

“Very well then,” 169 said as he drew out his sword. “I am more than ready to take your blood by force.”

169 swung his sword over his head with astounding speed, bringing it fast toward the top of Drake’s left shoulder. Drake was ready, bringing his sword up to block the sudden attack while simultaneously bringing up his foot into the surprised Anti-Luck’s chest. 169 stumbled backwards, trying to catch his breath.

“You should hide.” Drake said to Angela as he drew out his revolver and pointed it at the Anti-Luck who was still trying to recover from being kicked in the chest.

There was too much new information spinning through her head to even realize what Drake had just asked her to do. What had she gotten herself caught up in?

She looked over to see Drake pull the trigger on his revolver. To Angela’s surprise, the revolver didn’t fire a bullet as she had expected. Instead, a small glowing red ball flew out, growing larger and turning into a massive ball of fire as it flew through the air into the surprised Anti-Luck’s chest, knocking him onto the flat of his back.

Drake could use Auctoritas. Angela knew he was a pirate, but she hadn’t even realized he was a Mystic until 169 had said he should be their king. Just how much about Drake did she know nothing about?

Angela gasped as she looked over to 169 lying on the ground and her mind returned to the fight happening right in front of her eyes.

“Is he dead!?” She yelled out. To her surprise, 169 stood back up and threw off his black cloak that was now on fire. Without the long black sleeve of the cloak to cover his arm, Angela could see a machine that 169 wore on his arm. It had what appeared to be a gun barrel sticking out of the front of it, and some kind of large blade sticking out to its side.

“I had hoped to accomplish this without violence,” 169 said calmly. “But it’s been so very long since I’ve met somebody who could actually fight back against me, that I had forgotten how very much I enjoy a good fight.”

He leveled the barrel of his strange machine and pulled the trigger located near his fingers. Angela saw nothing come out except a slight distortion in the air as if the air was bending around some invisible force and moving straight toward Drake….who was standing right in front of Angela. Drake tackled Angela to the ground just before the disturbance in the air reached her.

As she caught her breath lying in her new place on the ground, she saw the wall of the building behind them explode as the vibrations in the air reached it.

“What was that!?” Angela yelled out in surprise as she watched the bricks that had once been a wall only moments ago flying through the air.

“He’s using Vhy’ Rai to make the atoms in the air molecules vibrate at the opposite frequency of the first solid that they touch.” Drake replied.

“What?” Angela said. “I have no idea what that means.”

“He’s using that machine to blow things up.” Drake said as he stood up and leveled his revolver in 169’s direction. “Don’t worry, Vhy’ Rai can’t kill anything. But it can screw you up for life if he hits you with it, so you really should hide now.”

Drake didn’t wait to see if Angela obeyed or not. He quickly shot another fireball at 169. This time the Anti-Luck was ready for the attack, he launched his same air vibration into Drake’s fireball sending it veering off and hitting a building far away from its intended target. But the Anti-Luck had been distracted enough with the fireball that he hadn’t noticed Drake pull a small knife from his boot and throw it skilfully in 169’s direction. The knife hit its intended target, digging deep into 169’s right thigh.

Angela watched as Drake stood and sprinted in 169’s direction. As he ran Angela realized that Drake had dropped his sword when he had tackled her to the ground, and he was now running toward 169 without one. Drake moved fast, punching 169 hard in the stomach while the anti-luck was still reacting to the knife in his leg. As 169 doubled over from the hit to his stomach Drake used his other hand to grab the back of 169’s head and bring it down to meet his knee. Angela heard a loud cracking sound as the two made contact.

The Anti-luck staggered backwards as Drake released his hold on his head. After a short moment, he composed himself, standing up straight again. Aside from the blood coming from his leg and out of his nose, he barely looked as if he’d been hit at all. But Angela could see it in his eyes. 169 was in pain. Drake might actually win this fight.

169 suddenly pointed the barrel of his machine at the ground and fired the same vibrating disturbance that he had before. This time as it hit the ground beneath him, it sent him flying through the air, performing a picturesque flip as he sailed over Drake’s head, and through the alleyway, landing directly behind Angela.

Angela tried to scream but her voice was muffled as the Anti-Luck’s cold hand covered her mouth and pulled her in tight against his body.

“I will admit that you’re skill in fighting is superior to what I had been led to believe.” 169 said coldly. “It would appear that I must use an alternate method of persuasion.”

With his free hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a hand-held Line Transceiver, throwing it on the ground in front of him.

“My number is programmed in.” He said, “Call it when you’re ready to trade your blood for her life.”

With a smirk on his pale face, he flicked a switch on his machine and pulled its trigger. A sudden burning pain ran through Angela’s body causing her to lose consciousness as her and 169 both vanished into the night.

Chapter 9: Vahn

Vahn took a deep breath as he stepped off of the Salus and out onto the landing platform of the palace. When it had picked them up, Vahn had thought the Salus was the most beautiful ship he had ever seen; but now it looked like a rusting pile of scrap metal sitting here docked next to the Basilius, the flagship of the Human Empire. Still, Vahn appreciated the rescue efforts of the little ship. How could he not? It had taken them away from the field of rotting corpses Drake had stranded them in.

His stomach still churned at the memory of the gruesome sight. None of the battlefields he’d fought on prepared him for that kind of carnage. How could Drake have done such a thing? How could he have even been capable of it? When the Anti-Luck had attacked the only people who died were the ones who got in his way. And he had killed them with one quick stab to a vital organ. They were clean, respectable kills. The men Drake claimed to have killed had been massacred. If Drake was responsible for what happened in that prison, then he was more dangerous than the enemy they were trying to hire him to fight.

“How’d the mission go?” A familiar voice snapped Vahn back to reality. Brooks stood there in his usual palace guard plate armor.  

“Not well at all.” Vahn said. “It couldn’t have gone worse actually.”

“Try giving it a more positive spin when you report to the king.” Brooks said. “He wants to see you right now.”

“Right now?” Vahn said, surprised. He had expected to go through a post mission medical examination and all the other standard procedures before reporting to the king. Even then he had only expected to submit a written report.

“Yeah.” Brooks said, “But hey, at least if you get demoted because of this, I’ll be your superior officer and all will be right with the world again.”

“That’s not comforting, Brooks.” Vahn said, trying to sound irritated but failing. Brooks always had a way of getting Vahn’s spirits back up.

“You still have to call me Captain Fisher.” Brooks replied. “We’re still equal rank, and we’re in public.”

“My apologies Captain Fisher.” Vahn replied.

“It’s all good Vahn, now hurry and get demoted already.” Brooks said with a smirk on his face. “I’m sure the king has lots of other worthless failures to punish today, you shouldn’t keep him waiting.” With that Brooks turned and left.

*****************

Vahn entered the palace, and all but ran toward the king’s office, hardly even noticing the ornate decorations hung on the walls as he passed.

The waiting room outside the office was packed with people as usual. There was never a shortage of people wanting to meet with the king. Maybe Vahn would have a little time to think about what to say in his report after all.

“Captain Ashbell here to see the king.” He said to the secretary, a middle aged man who was sitting behind a desk.

“He’ll see you now, Captain.” The secretary responded before Vahn had a chance to sit down in one of the few empty chairs of the waiting room.

“Now?” Vahn asked. The king must be anxious to help his daughter. Vahn couldn’t blame him. He had lost his family when he was young, so he knew what the king must feel at the prospect of losing his only child. Too bad Vahn’s news wouldn’t help bring her back.

“Yes,” He responded, “Please go in now. He has a very busy schedule today.”

“Of Course.” Vahn replied as he walked through the door, and into the king’s office.

“Captain Ashbell.” The king said. “Just the man I wanted to see. Why don’t you tell me all about your little expedition to Hades Prison?”

“Well Sir.” Vahn began. “We made contact with Drake, and...”

“He killed everybody inside the prison and made fools of an entire troop of V.A.L.O.R. soldiers?” Ryker cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

“Yes sir.” Vahn replied. “That was a superb summation of events.”

“A man that can do that is exactly who we need if we’re going to win against the Anti-Luck.” The king said. “Do whatever you feel is necessary to persuade him to join our side.”

“To be honest...” Vahn began, but he stopped as the secretary’s voice blared through the room.

“There’s a call being transferred from Captain Ashbell’s office.” He said. “They say they have new crucial information that Captain Ashbell needs to know before giving his report.”

“Patch them through on the speaker.” The king ordered.

“Right away sir.” The secretary said.

“Hello, Captain Ashbell?” Erica’s voice came in over the speaker.

“Yes, I’m here.” Vahn replied.

“We have someone claiming to be Drake Ashbell on the line.” She said. “He says he wants to speak with you.”

“Patch him through!” Vahn exclaimed; the surprise in his voice was obvious despite his attempt to remain calm in front of the king. If Drake was calling then he had changed his mind about taking the job. What other reason could it be?

“Yo Vahn!” Drake’s voice chimed through the speakers. It was really him.

“Hello Drake.” Vahn replied, unsure of how to respond to Drake’s informality.

“You sound nervous Vahn. I guess the secretary wasn’t kidding when she said the king would be listening to this. She’s got a pretty voice; I hope you’re having her put in extra hours for you if you know what I mean.” Drake said.

“That would be...” Vahn began.

“I don’t care if you’re sleeping with her or not, Vahn.” Drake interrupted, “I just wanted to embarrass you in front of your king.”  Vahn’s cheeks flushed red, but he said nothing.

“Anyway,” Drake continued, “I had a fun little run in with your Anti-Luck friend.”

“What?” Vahn asked. That wasn’t what he had expected. How had Drake found the Anti-Luck?

“Don’t act so surprised, Vahn,” Drake said. “I’ve always been better than you at finding what I want.”

“Where did you find the Anti-Luck?” Vahn asked, ignoring Drake’s quip. “Did you speak with him?”

“I ran into him on Sher Ghiy.” Drake replied. “He’s not there anymore, but we had an interesting conversation; I figured I might get some money out of sharing what he had to say.”

“You might be right,” Ryker interjected. “Tell us all about it and we’ll pay you what the information is worth.”

“Alright,” Drake replied. “But this is how it’s going to work. I’m helping you out, but I don’t need you. So I want to be treated with some respect as long as I’m here.”

“Respect and disrespect both need to be earned. I’ll treat you the way I feel you deserve.” Ryker said. “So may we proceed?”

“Good answer Your Highness.” Drake said. “I’m orbiting New Earth right now. If you tell these space traffic control people to lay off me a little I’ll land at the palace and tell you in person.”

“I’ll order them to stop immediately.” Ryker said. “Vahn, meet him at the palace landing hanger.”

“Right away you’re Majesty!” Vahn said, saluting rigidly before running out the door toward the landing hangar.

******************************

“Hey there Vahn.” Drake said as he stepped out of the stolen ship, now docked in the palace hangar. “This is a nice place,” he continued as he looked around at the lavish decorations draped down the walls. “It’s no wonder you betrayed me to live here.”

“I didn’t betray you.” Vahn said.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Drake replied. “Anyway, take me to the king and get out of my face. I don’t really care to do business with traitors.”

“This way.” Vahn said, pointing toward the entrance to the main palace. “But you’ll have to leave your gun and your sword with those soldiers.”

“Woah,” Drake said. “We’ve got a problem there. If you think I’ll walk into a palace full of armed soldiers with nothing but my bare hands, then you’re dead wrong.”

“I suppose we could arrest you instead.” Vahn retorted.

“Well I suppose I could do the same thing here that I did in Hades Prison.” Drake said.

“How did you do that, Drake?” Vahn replied in a serious tone. “There’s no way one man could’ve massacred a group of soldiers like that.”

“Didn’t the Anti-Luck kill a few hundred elite soldiers by himself?” Drake said. “Try to take away my weapons and I’ll prove to you I’m capable of the same thing.”

“You’re not going in front of the king with weapons on you, Drake.” Vahn said.

“Trust me,” Drake said staring into Vahn’s eyes. “I’m really much more dangerous without them. Set me up a video chat, I don’t care how you do it, but I’m talking to the king, and I’m not handing over my weapons.”

“Set him up a room with a camera and a screen.” Vahn said. “And keep armed guards outside the door.”

“Yes sir!” The guards at the entrance replied in unison.

It took almost no time at all for the guards to set up a room for Drake to speak with the king.

“Are you ready to begin?” The king said as his face appeared on Drake’s screen. Drake looked up to see fourteen other faces on his screen. Most of them were old men, except for Vahn. Drake was irritated that Vahn was even there, but he would only have to deal with Vahn’s presence until he finished using the Humans to rescue Angela.

“Yeah, let’s start this thing up.” Drake replied.

“Very well,” the king replied. “Why don’t you start by telling us about the encounter you said you had with the Anti-Luck?”

“Sure,” Drake replied, “But first, let’s talk about my terms. I want full disclosure to any and all information you have regarding the Anti-Lucks and the battle of Rabbit’s Foot.”

“Done.” The king replied without hesitation. “But only if you can actually get the princess back and neutralize the threat that the Anti-Luck poses to the Human Empire.”

“Deal.” Drake said. “Ok, so let me see if I understand the situation here. 169 showed up, you guys have no idea how he survived Rabbit’s Foot, and without even trying, he killed all of your best elite soldiers and took your princess. Now you’re hiring me to get her back and take this guy out because you’re desperate. Did I miss anything?”

The men on Drake’s screen sat in silence.

“Do you even know why he took her?” Drake said.

“We have some theories,” Vahn replied, “but none of them have been confirmed.”

“Well if all you’ve got is theories your intelligence network sucks worse than I thought it did.” Drake said. “I already know why he took your princess.”

Drake paused for a moment.

“Are you going to tell us?” Ryker said.

“I’m just trying to think of the best way to explain it.” Drake said. “Tell me Ryker, I can call you Ryker right? Or do you prefer pet names, like maybe Rykey?”

Ryker glared at the screen threateningly.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Drake said. “So tell me what you know about Vhy’ Rai.”

“It’s the power the Mystics hold.” The king replied. “Human’s can’t use it. We’ve never been able to find a scientific reason why it works.”

“That’s because there isn’t a scientific explanation for it;” Drake replied, “At least not one you would believe. The Mystics have an old legend. A long time ago, and evil monster made of fire came down to enslave all life. Knune, an all-powerful being, gave the Mystics Vhy’ Rai to help them defeat the monster.  Knune gained his power by being infinitely respected by all forms of life, and even by inanimate objects, so to use his power the Mystics have to be respected too. They have to live by a certain code of conduct, but if they stay worthy they can command matter to do things, and it’ll listen.”

“Not to be rude,” the king said, “but I’m not seeing your point.”

“That’s because I haven’t made it yet.” Drake said.

“Then make it.” Ryker said.

“Answer me a question.” Drake said, “Can an Anti-Luck use Vhy’ Rai?”

“The one that attacked us could certainly use it, or at least something similar.” Ryker said.

“Close,” Drake said. “Did you notice the machine attached to his arm? That’s the only way he can access Vhy’ Rai.”

“You’re sure of that?” Ryker said.

“That’s the only way he could do it when I fought him yesterday.” Drake said. “His machine is made of Soul Stone. I think you Humans call it hemoignisium. It’s not an easy material to find. You can only get it on one planet. When you melt it down, and mix it with your own blood, it becomes responsive to you, and only you. Instead of the matter obeying your orders, it obeys the orders of the hemoignisium, and the hemoignisium obeys your orders.”

Drake lifted his revolver and showed it to the camera.

“This is made from hemoignisium.” Drake said. He opened the chamber and removed a bullet. It was red, made of the same material as the revolver itself, with letters of the Mystic alphabet etched into its side.

“This is how I give it directions.” Drake said, pointing to the writing on the bullet. “It’s written in the language of the Khryary. They’re the servants of Knune who gave the Vhy’ Rai to the Mystics. It tells the hemoignisium what to tell the matter to do. Of course, the bullet also needs to be mixed with your blood.”

“Depending on what you want the matter to do, you may need more than just your own blood. You need blood with more authority. Royal blood. Not just your daughter’s though, although that is what he took her for. Whatever it is he’s planning to do requires blood from two different royal lines.”