Birthright-The Technomage Archive (18 page)

Ceril was speechless. “Does Saryn know?”

Roman and Nephil looked at each other. “No,” they said together. Then Nephil continued, “And no other students on board know, either. Like we said, we’ve done a good bit of filtering what information from Erlon makes it onboard these past few years.”

“
You mean censoring,” Ceril said. “She should know—Saryn. So should everyone else.”

“
And they will,” Roman said. “Eventually. Now is not the best time to drop this kind of bombshell on them.”

“
No, you’re right,” Ceril said. “The best time would have been two years ago when it happened.” He crossed his arms to indicate his part of that conversation was over.

“
You may be right,” Nephil said. “But that’s neither here nor there. The point in showing you this is to let you know how dire things have become on Erlon. Like I said, we thought that was the culmination of their return. They effectively took out a whole Academy, and we still haven’t been regain control. Now, the attacks are ramping up again, and they seem to be following the same pattern they did six years ago, only faster. If we’re right, then we’re due for another major attack within the next few months.”

“
Where?”

“
We have to assume it’s going to be Ferahgo Academy in Bester,” Roman said.

“
And not Ennd’s?” asked Ceril.

“
We like to think that Ennd’s is too fortified for them. It makes more tactical sense to wipe out Ferahgo first, so we’re working on reinforcing it.”

“
That doesn’t mean a lot, apparently.”

Roman glared at Ceril, who shrugged his shoulders and said, “What? If they’re able to take out Cernt so easily, then maybe they’re even worse than we thought.” He paused.

The professor smiled. “We haven’t been able to track them down on Erlon despite our best efforts, which makes us think there are storehouses, safe houses, something in Instances somewhere that will give us the information we need. Or at least, like we said, some connection to the Untouchable that we may be missing.”

“
And my thesis research,” Ceril said, and he clicked his tongue, “deals solely with making connections and piecing unrelated things together.”

“
Smart boy,” Nephil said. “If everything goes according to plan, you and your team will be able to not only stabilize the Instance network, but also locate the Untouchable and help stop his attacks.”

“
Do I have a choice?”

“
Not so much,” Nephil said.

“
If that’s the case,” said Ceril. “when do I start, and who's going with me?” The young man looked around the room expectantly.

“
None of us, actually, I'm afraid,” Bryt said. “We will be needed here, for crowd control and to work on new solutions in case this hypothesis proves to be a dead end.”

“
What kind of Instances exist out here, anyway? What am I getting myself into? I'm used to fairly cushy places. No one's ever
trusted
me enough to send me anywhere else.” There was malice in Ceril’s voice and every one of the professors felt it. They had treated him differently than other students since Ethan Triggs was murdered.

Roman, Nephil, and Bryt shared a look, but said nothing.

“
Or should I say, what kind of Instance are
you
getting me into?” Ceril asked.

Bryt sighed and said, “We're not quite certain yet. Preliminary surveys show that there is only a single Instance available for connection here, and we haven't been able to connect to check it out. We had hoped to connect after you were already safely back on Erlon, but you threw a wrench into that when you showed up late.”

Roman said, “The team you're taking is being assembled as we speak, Ceril. They're all your classmates, Rites candidates. Saryn Bloom, Easter Harlo, Swinton Marelotov, and Chuckie Tidwell. You know them all, right?”

“
Some better than others, but I’ve seen them all around.”

“
Good. You should also know that this will be the beginning of all your Rites.”

Ceril took a deep breath. He could do this. “Okay.”

“
You have permission to act in the capacity of fully Rited agents of the Charonic Archive, Ceril,” Roman said. “But you are going to be the one in charge. You're going to have a pretty solid group with you, but you're going to have to remember that you are more trained than they are. I’m not saying you’re better than any of them, but you’ve got a bit of an advantage. Make sure you use it.

“
Saryn’s head is in her research; you know that as well as I do. She’s as capable as they come and should be able to handle herself, but don’t expect her to get a lot more detailed about battle tactics than knowing what part of a sword cuts or which end of a gun shoots.”

Ceril laughed. “That sounds about right.”

“
Now, Chuckie and Swinton are soldiers. Honestly, they’re probably trained better than you are since they haven’t had the second discipline to distract them like you have. Don’t worry, though; they’ll watch your back and take your orders. That's their job. I don’t know if you remember, but Swinton was like you. He started as a scholar when you all first came on board, but he swapped over because he got the damn fool idea that he will eventually find a Flameblade. I wonder who gave him
that
idea?”

“
I wouldn’t know.”

Roman chuckled. “Right, right. I’m sure you don’t. It worked out, though. He’s good at his job. Not quite the best, but he’s got an eye for detail that I don’t see very often outside of researchers. Chuckie, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite of Swinton. He started out as a soldier, and has been at the top of his class ever since. I don’t speak in clichés very often, Ceril, but I’m pretty sure he was born with a gun in his hand. He…also has a slight problem with authority. He wants to be in charge, but don’t let him just take over. If you have to, pull rank. I can tell you from experience that it works.”

“
Gotcha. I doubt it’ll come to that.”

“
We’ll see. And there’s your medic, Easter Harlo. God knows I don't want you to need a medic, but I couldn't live with myself if we didn’t send one through with you just in case. She's a damn fine doctor, so if something goes wrong, she’ll know how to fix it,” Roman said. “She’s the best medic we’ve trained in quite some time. If you get hurt and she can’t patch you up, you’re a bit of a lost cause, if you ask me.”

“
You’re making me more confident by the second, Roman.”

“
Your mission,” Nephil said, “is simple, but we don’t expect it to be easy. We're not even sure if it's possible. If you deal with whatever inhabitants you run across equitably, you should be fine. We will not be able to keep the portal open for you, though.”

Ceril opened his mouth to speak, but Bryt rose and said, “Right now, we're in dead space. No planets, no stars, no nothing. We are running on what energy reserves we had before the connection ended. We have minor generators on board, but our main source of operational power came from Ennd's. With that gone, there is no way to determine how long we can maintain a portal to this new Instance. Especially if the portal opens in hostile territory.”

“
You’ll reopen it eventually?”

“
Of course, but I hope we don’t have to. If you and your team succeed, you’ll come knocking on
our
door.”

“
How will I stay in contact with you?” Ceril asked. “How will you know that we are on the right track?”

Roman shook his head and said, “You will be on your own. Since this mission is functioning as your team’s Rites, you have to do it on your own.”

Ceril didn't like the sound of that. There was something about the way that Roman and Nephil were talking that made him uneasy. They were hiding something from him, but he had no idea what it was or how to find out. Maybe it was just something to do with the Rites. They were the final test of becoming a full Charon, so maybe it was just something to do with that.

“
That should about cover it,” Roman said. “If you find hot spots like we talked about existing on Erlon, your first priority is to collect information and make an informed decision about which one would be closest to Erlon. You’ve done enough of that kind of work already to be comfortable with it. Anything you find that can lead back to the Untouchable is going to help, Ceril, even if it’s a few hops, skips, or jumps away. This far out, who knows if you’ll be able to find anything. But if you do, make note of it, okay? Contact your grandfather as soon as you get back to Erlon. He probably won’t want to help; I don’t expect him to, at least. Please convince him, and then get to Ennd's to see if you can reconnect to us. Do you have any questions?”

“
No, I don’t think so,” Ceril said.

“
Then let’s get you on your way.”

Chapter Twelve

He’s lying
, Saryn thought as she walked out of the chamber. Something about Professor Nephil’s address didn’t sit well with her, but she didn’t know exactly what. He just seemed so…smarmy when he was talking to them. It didn’t matter, though. There wasn’t anything she could do except wait, so she decided that she would take the time to work on her thesis and maybe that would help her figure out what bothered her about the professor.

“
Saryn? Saryn Bloom?” said a voice behind her. She stopped and saw a middle-aged woman jogging toward her.

“
Yes? What can I do for you, Professor Harger?” Saryn had taken a few classes with Professor Harger over the years. She taught the theoretical sciences on board the
Sigil
, and Saryn’s line of research required more than a few of those.

The red-haired woman stopped beside Saryn and said, “I need to talk with you, Saryn. Do you mind if we talk somewhere a little more private?”

“
No…No, of course not. What’s going on, professor?”

“
In a moment.” Harger led Saryn down the corridor and into a small observation room. It was dark since there was no hyperspace blur shining through the wide viewport. Professor Harger motioned for Saryn to sit in one of the chairs, while she herself walked to the nearest wall and placed her palm flat against it. “I just don’t like the dark,” she said. “One second.” Light began to grow from her hand, a faint green-blue, and crawled in seemingly random tendrils of luminescence across the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room. In under a minute, the whole room was illuminated.

“
Not quite as comfortable as the blur,” Harger said, “but it will have to do.”

“
That was astonishing, ma’am,” Saryn said.

The professor smiled. “Thank you, Saryn. From you, that means a lot.”

Saryn blushed and changed the subject. She said, “What can I do for you, professor?”

“
I’m not going to keep anything from you, Saryn, or make it out that this isn’t a big deal. It is.”

“
Okay.”

“
Your Rites begin today.”

“
Today?”

“
Within an hour, actually.”

“
I don’t think I’m ready,” Saryn said.

“
No one ever thinks they’re ready,” the professor replied.

“
No, I mean, my thesis isn’t finished. I still have to revise the last few chapters, and some of my experiments haven’t been completed. I don’t have enough data to compile. I can’t have my Rites yet.”

“
You’ll finish the thesis, Saryn. In most cases, it’s a formality anyway. In yours, especially. You’ve done good work from what I’ve read, and I can honestly say that another month of research and number crunching won’t help you at all with your Rites.”

“
Oh,” Saryn said. She put so much of herself into that thesis, so many long hours, and for Professor Harger to qualify the compliment by saying that her work was merely a formality—rather than the useful research Saryn had believed it to be—hurt her.

Harger apparently noticed. “I don’t mean it’s not important, Saryn. Not at all. But your Rites fall into very unique circumstances, and you already have the theoretical experience that will help you.”

Saryn wanted to believe her, but it sounded like a crock, just like the professors’ explanation of why they dropped out of hyperspace. She said, “What do I have to do?”

Harger leaned back in the chair and stared out the window. “You know, the lack of stars when you look out the window is disconcerting.”

“
I hadn’t really thought about it.” But she had. Saryn had noted that morning that they had to be in dead space because, without the hyperspace envelope around the ship, there was nothing but blackness. The only place she knew of that could be this empty was the space between galaxies. Dead space.

“
You’re lucky. It gives me an awful feeling to look out the window and not see
anything
.” The red-haired woman sat silent for a moment as she stared out the window. “Anyway,” she said as she shook herself from her reverie, “your Rites will consist of a mission into a local Instance—”

“
I thought we were disconnected,” Saryn interjected.

“
We are disconnected. From Erlon,” Harger said. “We have found the ability to connect to a couple of Instances near our current location.”

“
Unmapped?”

Harger nodded. “Yes. We have reason to believe that these Instances may provide a starting point for solving two current issues, the first being that it may be possible to chain your way from this Instance all the way back to Erlon.”

“
But not go directly,” Saryn said. It wasn’t a question. “How far out are we?”

“
Farther than we like, my dear. Far enough that Erlon is not easily accessible—may not be accessible to us at all. We just don’t know. We think it is possible to go from one Instance to another, provided that your team is able to determine the correct locations of portals and other Instances.”