Defender of the Empire: Cadet #1 (15 page)

I digested
what he said then asked
do you know what the weapon is called?
I wondered if I could find references to it using the hyper net link that was a new feature M. Kit had.

He was slow to respond.
I DON’T KNOW... IT IS DANGEROUS. OUR FRIEN… the rest of what the mouse said was lost in a storm of strange sensations that attacked me from nowhere. The first was a wicked cocktail of fear, revulsion, shock, and panic with a pinch of relief. All of which hit me so hard I felt lost. None of these feelings were mine. Yes, I was anxious about being so close to the admiral, but I wasn’t so fearful as to be sick. The other sensation quickly erased all worry about the first. For the second time in my life pain flooded my veins. I could hear M Kit nattering vaguely about something, but I couldn’t hear her. Which is sad since she was in my head. The mouse was also trying to say something to me, but I could only hear the incessant ringing that grew louder and louder.

The lecture hall faded
away. Even Admiral Knight became insignificant in comparison to the pain. There were screams. I knew there were screams. I could hear them over the ringing. There had to be hundreds of tortured souls reaching out to me. Their haunting cries slashed through my brain in a panicked frenzy. I tried to block them out, but those screams knew how to attack. In the midst of the punishing pain was a single voice that begged forgiveness for something. But I was past the point of caring. All I cared about was the pain stopping.

Overloaded, my body agreed
with me on that and everything went black.

Someone was singing. Some wordless nursery rhyme, I think. It was both soothing and haunting. It seemed to echo around wherever I was. It offered an apology and comfort. Friendship too, if I could just find it which was easier thought than done since I couldn’t see anything. The soul deep ache was fading slowly as I listened. I still couldn’t see anything. Nor could I feel anything with my sense of touch. But I could hear and make out emotions. There was a faint echo of fear in the strange place I was in. But there was also a fragile flutter of hope that dulled the edges of the wounds the fear had left behind.

Wh
ere was I and who was singing that wordless rhyme?

             
YOU ARE IN YOUR OWN MIND, RYLYNN said a female spectral voice. I noticed the singing stopped.

             
You were the one singing.
I thought because I couldn’t speak.

             
YES.

             
Why?  And who are you? You are a Spectral, aren’t you?
I guessed.

             
I AM A SPECTRAL, LITTLE PUP. Her voice seemed to wrap around me like a warm fuzzy blanket. MY NAME IS LUNA. And with the pronouncement of her name I saw for the first time since I became aware. A wolf made of glowing dust and auroras was curled about me. I was sitting against her side. Her silver irises were outlined in gold that made me think of sunlight coming around an object. That eye blinked as the wolf bowed her head I AM SORRY, LITTLE PUP.

             
For what?
I asked in confusion.

             
FOR CAUSING YOU SO MUCH PAIN AND DISTRESS. KYLESST FREED ME FROM THE CURSED WEAPON JUST BEFORE THAT MONSTER CAME TO FEED FROM HIM. UNTHINKING OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN, I HAD DONE WHAT KYLESST HAD ASKED OF ME AND STRENGTHENED YOUR CONNECTION WITH HIM… AND YOU SUFFERED FOR IT. She murmured before licking my cheek in apology.

             
I went still for a moment. First of all, because a Spectral licked me. The second because what she had said. Luna had been trapped in a weapon, just like my cryptic friend. A cryptic friend I had a connection with. I smiled. One mystery answered about Cryptic-No-Tell. I now knew his name.
Could you tell me what kind of Spectral Kylesst is?”
I asked my new friend.

             
The wolf Spectral made to open her mouth when a smaller, darker gray lighted mouse Spectral pounced on her nose. DO NOT! The mouse squeaked to her.

             
Luna’s eyes went wide in surprise. ”WHY NOT, SCRAE?” She asked the mouse.

             
HE HAS ASKED THAT SHE DOES NOT KNOW TILL HE IS FREE. HE SAID THAT TO ME AS HE SHIFTED ME TO HER A FEW DAYS BACK. SURELY HE TOLD YOU SOMETHING SIMILAR? The mouse, whose name was apparently Scrae, replied.

             
I frowned.
Why should it matter if I know or not?

             
Luna sighed. IT IS KYLESST’S RIGHT TO TELL YOU HIMSELF. SOMETHING HE CANNOT YET DO.

             
I know what you two are.
I pointed out.

             
AYE, Scrae the mouse nodded his head, BUT WE ARE NOT PERMANENTLY BONDED TO YOU.

             
HE IS WORKING TO FREE HIMSELF EVEN AS WE SPEAK. Luna added. YOU GAVE HIM HOPE, ALONG WITH THE REST OF US WHO WERE TRAPPED WITH HIM.

             
So, why exactly are you here?
I asked.

             
WE WERE ONCE BONDED. She said with such pain in her voice that I could feel it.

             
TORN BEFORE THE PROPER TIME WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTANGLED IN OURSELVES. Scrae continued for her when she could not. WE HAVE TO BOND TO SOMETHING OR WE WILL DIE. BEFORE YOU CAME, THAT SOMETHING WAS THE WEAPON THAT KILLED OUR SHADES.

             
IT IS A FOUL THING. Luna spat in disgust. IT KILLS THE SHADE AND TRAPS THE SPECTRAL IN ITS GRASP WHERE WE CANNOT HEAL OR WARN OTHERS. AND WORSE, IT TRAPS THE SOUL OF THE SHADE IN THEIR OWN BODY. THAT, BY FAR, IS THE WORSE CRIME FOR IT GOES AGAINST THE DIVINE.

             
I stared speechless at the two Spectrals. God had created everything. Every race in the Empire had known of His presence before the Empire even formed. Every soul was his masterpiece. And the soul could make its own choice to have a relationship with Him or not. Nothing should be able to keep the soul from going to where it had chosen to go.

On a more personal note,
I had always thought that the soul was untouchable. It would go where it would after the shell fell away. Enemies could do what they wanted with your body, but your soul was safe from their hands.

             
Apparently there was a weapon out there that warped that reality.

             
Who could make something like that?
I asked them dumbfounded. My thoughts skipped back to one of the things Luna had first told me, that she had been freed to me just as a monster came to feed off of Kylesst. Was that the thing that could make such a weapon?

             
Scrae, having apparently heard my thoughts, nodded. WE BELIEVE SO. ONLY ONE OF THEM COULD THINK OF SUCH AN IDEA. THEY HAVE NO REGARD FOR THE DESIGN OF THE DIVINE. ONLY THEY WOULD THINK TO TWIST IT.

             
What are they?
I asked feeling chills in my soul.
Never mind, I am sure I will find out soon enough.
And the sad part was, I was certain that I would. 
Did I feel Kylesst’s pain before this conversation?

             
THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN YOU, SO YES. YOU FELT A SHADOW OF HIS PAIN. Luna told me gently. I paled at the thought that that mind burning pain had been nothing but a taste of what Kylesst had felt.

             
YOUR FRIENDS ARE CALLING FOR YOU TO WAKE. Scrae informed me.

             
Wake up?
I asked. As soon as the words formed the empty world vanished along with the two shining Spectrals. WE ARE WITH YOU. Luna’s voice echoed as my perception went up into nothing.

              “Come on, Rylynn, wake up. Nurse Meghan says you should be able to come around now.” Jason was telling me.

             
My brow furrowed and I opened my eyes. I was on a hospital bed in what I can only assume was the medical building on campus. Jason and Nurse Meghan were standing on either side of the bed. Jason willing me to wake up and Meghan checking some fancy computers. Westley was also there, leaning his tall frame against the far wall. All three smiled when they noticed my opened eyes.

             
“Finally!” Jason said.

             
“Do you feel any pain?” Meghan asked me as she turned away from the machines.

             
I shook my head. And I wasn’t lying either. I felt pretty good, especially compared to the pain I had been in before everything went black. What I did notice was my mouth was kind of dry. “Water?” I asked. My gravelly voice attested for my need of liquid. Meghan poured me a glass and I sat up to accept it. I waved away the helpful hands that came my way. I didn’t need them.  “What happened? I asked in a stronger voice.

             
Jason blinked at me. “You collapsed in your chair and started shaking so hard you fell to the floor. And if that wasn’t bad enough you started screaming.”

             
My face flushed. “I had a screaming fit in the lecture hall?”

             
“You had a
seizure
in the lecture hall.” Meghan corrected. “A bad one. We couldn’t get it to stop.”

             
It’s like the first one…
I thought.

             
“First one?” Jason asked me in shock. I guess my thought had been aloud.

             
I nodded. “This isn’t the first seizure I’ve had recently. Though it is the second.”

             
“Was the first as bad?” Meghan asked.

             
I shrugged. “They couldn’t get it to stop on the
Hail Mary
. The pain struck just before they transported me onboard. The next thing I knew I had woken up twenty four hours later…” My eyes went wide. “How long have I been out?”

             
“Not that long.” Meghan smiled reassuringly at me. “It has been just over an hour since they rushed you in here.”

             
I sighed in relief.

             
“So if it hadn’t been for the transporter you would have been at the Telmick’s mercy.” Westley murmured from his place at the wall.

             
Jason and Meghan frowned. I met Westley’s gaze and said simply. “They don’t have mercy. The seizure may have been the one thing that decided for them whether to torture me or just kill me. Killing me quickly is about as merciful as they get.”

             
“What?!” Jason stared at me and I could tell that my calm was disturbing him. Meghan too. They could look at me like that if they wanted I saw no need to explain to them what had
not
happened.

Since I was still wearing my uniform I threw the cover
s off and sat on the edge of the bed. I was fine, I didn’t need to take up room. “I am better now, thanks.” I told Meghan. Turning to the guys I asked “Did the speech happen after I was rushed out or did they cancel it?” I was kind of hoping for either one.

             
“They continued with it after you were taken out.” Westley said.

             
I couldn’t keep my relieved smile hidden.  I hid the true reason for it by asking a really important question. “I didn’t miss dinner, did I?”

             
“You didn’t.” Westley smiled slightly at me. Jason was glaring at me for some reason. I figured he really wanted to know why I had been so calm about what would have happened to me if the
Hail Mary
hadn’t picked me up. Unfortunately for him I wasn’t going to get into it. It was in the past and done.  I thanked Meghan for taking care of me. She invited me to visit her whenever I wanted but would I please refrain from needing emergency medical help to do so? I had promised that I would try.

             
“Now, where do you think you are going?” A stern woman’s voice said from the doorway. I looked over to see a dark skinned human doctor. The nametag on her left breast pronounced her Dr. Clayton.

             
“Dinner?” I said hopefully.

             
Dr. Clayton shook her head. “I think not. You have just suffered a severe seizure and we don’t know what caused it. And until we know why, you may not be able to continue as a recruit.”

             
I stared at her with stricken eyes. I have been here only two days and I was threatened by seizures that had only started within the last several weeks…
how could I explain to the doctor that the source of the seizures was an imprisoned, tortured spectral that I had somehow connected to without sounding crazy?
I wondered helplessly.

             
“What can we do, doctor?” I asked her. Westley and Jason shared my worried glance.

             
The woman sighed. “I need to run some tests.”