The Magic Wakes (12 page)

Walking through a crowded commercial district, Landry mentally reached outward to the emotions around him. As he scanned the street, he sensed something odd. Something dark and oppressive on the edges of his mind.

Someone carried deep regret as well as a sadistic hopefulness while riding a wave of self-loathing, like two personalities warring in one mind. Curious, he veered toward the direction of the emotions, hoping to find the owner.

The day had finally arrived. After performing this task for the Signum, Jaron would be within reach of his goal. The Dragumon were coming and Werner had the information needed to destroy them.

Jaron would claim his reward for centuries of searching and waiting—he would avenge Dailya’s death.

He sensed someone following him. Jaron stretched out with his thoughts and touched on a well-ordered mind—military. A soldier—but something else, too. An untapped power lay hidden deep within the stranger.

As Jaron pondered the possibilities, the demon roared to life and pushed away all thoughts that did not apply to the current mission.

Talia barely made it to the tram station on time. The streets were crowded and she had to wade through a sea of people to get through the station. She could scarcely wait to get away from the commotion.

For the last week, she had worked on finalizing the little details of the moon colonization. The bright spot had been the successful launch of her satellite.

It reached Daedalus and moved into its planned orbit without any complications. Now it gathered solar energy in preparation to start work. The first week would be spent scanning Sendek and her moons so the SEF could compare data and fix any glitches in the sensory equipment. Then Talia could look outward.

The thought of the peace and serenity waiting in the mountains made her sigh with contentment. She got in the queue for the Acaran Express—last in line.

“Miss, I’m afraid the coach class cars are full. You can wait until tomorrow’s tram,” A rumpled porter informed her when she stepped to the door.

“What about that one?” Talia pointed to the last car which was clearly empty.

“That’s the military car. I’d wait if I were you. It isn’t very comfortable.”

Talia considered her options. Could she stand to wait another day to leave the city? She had never felt so tired in her life. The dreams kept her awake nightly since her move. She needed to get away.

Without the daily dose of sunsrise to heal her, the dreams left their mark on her body. Keeta’s care helped with the pain, but her skin was splotchy from burns and cuts. Her face pale with ugly bruising under the eyes, and she had lost weight.

“I’ll take my chances with the military car.”

The porter scanned her ticket and led Talia to the last car on the tram. She sat down and opened the flap on Keeta’s carrier to let him get some air. He lay curled with his tail wrapped around his body. It would be wonderful to see him leaping from limb to limb again. The poor treeb had been stuck indoors far too long. He was getting fat. Talia reached in, and he flipped onto his back.

“Okay, I’ll rub your tummy. Then you have to go to sleep.”

She scratched the cream-colored fur on his belly before sliding the carrier into the space above the seats. Talia leaned back and took in the surroundings.

This tram was sparsely furnished with gray metal walls, simple recessed lighting, and seats lined against the sidewalls, leaving the center open. The seats were padded with thin black cushions.

Five minutes before the tram was scheduled to depart, the porter returned with a tattooed, shabby-looking man with unruly hair. He had a large, pale pink scar in the shape of a dragon on one arm.

The porter glanced at Talia as if to say, I told you so, and left.

The man took a seat at the far side of the tram and never glanced in her direction.

The info screen on the front bulkhead flashed the all go sign, but the door opened once again and Major Sutton stepped inside. Ignoring Talia, he honed in on the man at the back of the tram.

Talia’s heart raced at the sight of him. He must have heard the pounding because he turned to study her.

“What are you doing here?” Sutton managed to sound concerned and suspicious at the same time.

He ran a hand through his hair, glanced once more at the man, and sat down beside Talia.

A now familiar warmth and tension welled up inside her as he sat close. She hated the effect he had on her, and yet enjoyed it, too.

“Cahal ordered a vacation. What are you doing here?”

I guess we’re going to play the ‘nothing at all happened the last time I saw you’ game
.

“Business.”

He glanced down the car before leaning close and whispering, “It’s not safe, not today. Maybe you should take another tram?”

Talia stopped breathing when his face came close. With the warmth of his breath by her ear, she couldn’t concentrate on his words. They finally sunk in along with his repeated glances at the other man in the car.

“I . . . I guess I could wait until tomorrow.” The doors clicked as they locked and the tram lurched forward. “Or not. I’m sorry, what do you want me to do?”

In one instant, Talia went from anxious about the Major to wanting to cling to him for protection. Her earlier apprehension returned, stronger than before.

“Nothing. Just stay calm and act normally. I’m not sure what’s going on. It’s just a hunch I’m following.” He moved back into his own space and resumed a normal conversational tone. “Are you feeling all right?”

Trying not to groan at the question, Talia wondered how bad she looked to other people.

“No, I’ve been working too hard for too long. Probably why Cahal forced me to go on this excursion. I just need some time to relax and rest.” Well, it was a half-truth anyway.

They didn’t talk as the tram left the crowded city. What could they talk about?
Have you read anyone’s mind lately? No, me either.

The conversation in Talia’s head sounded so absurd she almost laughed aloud, but a low thrumming grew deep in her belly and spread through her body. The one thing she had missed the most during her two week stay in Joharadin seeped into her soul. Its pulse was erratic at first until it matched itself to the rhythm of her heart.

Trees!

She could feel them reaching out to her, wrapping their energy around her. Homesickness overwhelmed her as she turned to gaze out the window.

Unconsciously, her soul cried out to them for help, and like always, they reached back. The trees’ strength slipped into Talia more slowly than if she had been standing among them, but it healed her as she sped past.

After one more renewing breath, she turned to see both men staring at her.

What have I done
?

For years, she had been careful, protecting her secret closely, never letting anyone get a glimpse of what was possible for her. Now, with a Royalist officer sitting beside her, she had let down her guard the first moment she was among trees.

Talia tensed and looked from one man to the other. Her mind raced for something to diffuse her blunder. Major Sutton might not be a problem; after all, he hadn’t turned her over to a medical team yet.

But what of the other? This stranger looked at her peculiarly, as if he knew more about her than she knew herself.

Talia glanced at her reflection in the window across the tram. The transformation was complete. The cuts, bruises, and bags under the eyes were gone. There was nothing to say, no way to hide this, but she had to try.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?” Talia turned to Sutton and pleaded with her eyes for help.

Sutton leaned his knee into Talia’s. The electricity flowed and she heard his voice clearly in her head. It came immediately this time without the jumbled chaos of the whispers.
That was careless. He thinks you can help him now
.

Help him with what?

I don’t know, but don’t acknowledge anything.
The Major moved his knee away.

Sutton had controlled the exchange much easier than a week ago. For a moment, Talia questioned if he could read her mind without her knowing it.

“No. Don’t worry about it.” He sounded so calm that Talia envied him. She wondered if he could see the panic in her eyes.

The tattooed man stood and walked past them to the door that connected the tramcar to the one in front of it. He paused for a moment and looked back at Talia before walking out.

She relaxed her shoulders until she realized that now the Major was free to interrogate her for the rest of the trip. His piercing eyes watched, waited.

“I don’t know what, I can’t . . .” She stumbled over the thoughts running through her mind and finally settled on the truth. “I’ve never slipped up like that before.”

Talia looked away and rubbed the necklace between her fingers.

Jaron sensed the magic in the air and immediately found the source, watching as the woman transformed in front of him. He knew she had mage blood, and it was possible the man did as well. Werner really was a fool if he believed the mages had completely died out.

Too bad I can’t save either of them, but there must be others.

Moving quickly through the cars he found the one he needed. The tram designers had not thought out the security measure for tramlines well enough. Each automated tram placed the command car in a different location—this was the only security measure.

Once Jaron found that car, it was a simple matter to break the lock and enter. He increased tram speed and disconnected the power to the brake lines and doors.

He regretted the deaths he was about to cause, but for the most part the demon had numbed him to guilt. Jaron’s whole planet had died at the hands of the Dragumon, and now he’d get his revenge. What were a few more lives on the only path that would bring him peace?

He quickly set up the jammer Werner had given him. It would prevent the controllers from accessing the computer remotely and making repairs. Once it was on, Jaron took a deep calming breath and focused his energy on opening a portal.