Once Upon Another World, Page 4

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  There were times when she wished most desperately that she had been a little less hard-working, dedicated, or competent in all the years that had proceeded the current one. If she had been lacking even a small amount of any one those qualities she might have avoided a vital promotion, recommendation, or advancement that would have left her to linger as just another every day sort of field agent. Had this been the case, she might not have been so unlucky as to be one of those sent to Earth, she might not have been put in charge of that region, and therefore would not have to deal with the situation or the infuriating, idiotic, and abrasive morons who were ultimately supposed to have oversight into the Center's operations in that area. It was bad enough that Admiral Teg and his lap-dog 'Commander Crony', as he was known behind closed doors, were both vile and all but intolerable on a good day, but to be forced into dealing with them on a bad day was almost enough to make one hurt themselves in order to be sent home for treatment by someone who was not a total barbarian.

  LeShana tried not to let her exasperation and nearly overpowering distaste for the Admiral color her feelings for all the humans who inhabited the strange planet, but in truth, he and his lackey were slowly and surely destroying any credibility any 'Terran' might ever have with her. It was perhaps not even him so much as the fact that he was the mouthpiece for so many others, barking orders like they owned not only the city but in fact the whole planet around them. It was all of them; all the sleazy politicians, corrupt little lawyers, power hungry military officers, and nasty, mistrustful little parasites that were always hanging about in the shadows of such people. Of course she knew that all of the people on Earth were nowhere near as bad as their worst examples, but having spent far too long in close proximity of so many who were so vile, was slowly but surely making her lose any sense of objectivity. It wasn't the people's fault that their political and military leaders were so nasty and lacking in anything like moral fiber. It was most certainly not their fault that those who were supposed to protect them were betraying them each and every day as they aspired only to their own personal ambitions and gains. LeShana only wished that she could do something to change the way things were being done, wished that the Center, and through them herself and the agents in her command, could apply pressure to the Admiral and his morally corrupt means of 'recruitment'.

  But the fear was running hot and strong through the military and political leaders of Earth. With so much change just over the horizon, they were all scared of what the future could bring. They were involved in a new arms race, not one of weapons but one of people. They were snatching up their own people to try and gather as many talents as they could find, even those whose skill was so insignificant as to be nearly unusable. It was all due to the fear that they might be invaded or that the enemies they saw in every shadow of their own world would attack at the slightest hint of weakness. Their paranoia was driving them to commit terrible crimes under the heading of being 'for the greater good'. LeShana could not stand seeing another trusting soul being drugged and dragged away to be treated no better than a common criminal and being forcibly enlisted into the ranks of the future military. If she hadn't been so troubled by how strong a person from Earth would need to be to pull off the sheer unadulterated display of talent she had seen earlier that day, she would have been ecstatic to see one of his potential victims pull one over on the Admiral.

  "Nothing!?!" The Admiral demanded, his voice hovering at the edge of becoming a bellow, as it usually was. "How can there be nothing?!" He demanded angrily of his subordinate, his face red and his chest puffed out in nearly uncontrolled fury.

  "There were no fingerprints inside the room or on the documents that he signed. There are twenty-seven Dan Browns inside the greater New York metropolitan area, and none of them come even close to the description of.."

  "The Description!!!?" The Admiral did bellow this time.

  "All the cameras in the lobby, elevators, hallways and inside testing room were fully operational, sir. But they recorded little more than a fuzzy blur. And.. the audio recording equipment was functional but it was heavily distorted when the subject spoke. We tried to repair the files but there were no matching voice prints in any of our databases." The Lieutenant replied as calmly as could be expected considering the outraged superior officer. "There is nothing we can do, sir." The final comment brought out the ranting, raving, oversized brat that LeShana had been expecting all along, and the Admiral systematically went about destroying his own office. LeShana erected a mage-barrier around herself and let the thrown and scattered items simply bounce harmlessly off the invisible wall. The Lieutenant was not nearly so lucky and was struck across the face by some heavy piece of office equipment before he could flee outright from the room. The Admiral was wise enough not to do something similar with the Commander, after all, he wouldn't want his prized pet to bite the hand that fed it. After nearly an hour, the Admiral finally calmed enough to demand that she 'fix this' as if the 'escapee' was some broken toy and she could solve his problem with a few drops of glue.

  "There is something we can do, but.." LeShana replied softly and calmly. She had long ago called back to the Center to inform them of the situation, and having already consulted with her own superior officers she was only too well aware of how the two men were going to take the announcement of their decision.

  "But?" The Commander and the Admiral asked on the same breath.

  "We are going to take him to the Center for training." LeShana stated calmly as she turned away from the windows to look into the Admiral's eyes. His shoulders squared off, his spine went stiff, and his eyes narrowed into two dark little angry specks. For just a moment, LeShana was hopeful that he was going to throw another temper tantrum and try to attack her. She would only too readily welcome the chance to teach him a lesson he would not forget for quite some time, after he got out of the hospital anyway. If she had actually had to answer to him in the grand scheme of things, she might actually have felt a little bit worried.

  "And why is that?" The Admiral demanded through clenched teeth.

  "Someone who could pull off so accurate a test and demonstrated the ability to teleport could be very dangerous, both to his kidnappers and anyone who tried to train him. Even though the energy levels here on Earth are a hundredth of what they would normally be, he is far too powerful to be trained on this planet with its' limited resources." LeShana replied calmly.

  "He is the first real candidate we’ve had!" The Commander replied angrily, beating the Admiral to the objection.

  "Section 34: subsection 4 of the Center-Earth treaty." LeShana stated firmly, having already checked over that section. "Read it." Her message delivered, LeShana turned and walked out of the room, leaving the two angry men in her wake. The Admiral growled at her back and quickly pulled up the section of the treaty she had mentioned. LeShana simply smiled and walked down the hall towards the agent's lounge. She pushed open the doorway and stepped inside, causing the conversation to stop for several seconds until they saw who had entered, then the level of noise rose back to its' normal volume. She wandered across the room through the tangle of Center agents, cleared her throat to attract their collected attention, and waited for things to go quiet once again. "All right, let's quiet down for a second." The volume dropped immediately out of respect and all eyes turned to focus on her. "It looks like we finally have someone who matches the profile for our other mission here on Earth, but it’s clear that we are not going to get any useful information from our military friends."

  "When do we ever?" Someone asked from the back of the room and there was a ripple of resentful laughter through the room. LeShana wished she could have joined them, even in such a bitter mocking sound, but as their commanding officer she was supposed to show respect for their 'allies', no matter how little they actually acted as their title implied.

  "We need to do a location spell on him, so I am going
need three people to help." Several hands lifted into the air almost immediately. "Good, Destin, Solair, and.." LeShana spotted a graceful hand in the back of the room. "When did you get back Vosthan?" She asked in surprise of his sudden reappearance.

  "An hour ago." A silky musical voice replied.

  "Good, you're the fourth." LeShana told him, knowing he would be useful in the spell casting. "On another note, rotation is coming up, so those of you that are schedule to go back, get your stuff ready.. if you haven't already." There was another ripple of laughter. The three agents she had named gathered together near the door waiting for her, and when LeShana joined them, they slipped out into the silent nighttime hallways of the Weslyn building. They headed for one of the magical workrooms where the shields would make the spell easier to accomplish, cut off from the crush of unshielded minds outside.

  Unsurprisingly, the workrooms were empty since so few of them had any magical energy to spare most days. LeShana choose one at random before leading the others inside. Being the first to enter, she flicked on the lights as she slipped past the threshold, contemplating the plain surroundings and the flimsy furniture as she entered. It seemed odd to not be able to simply order the lights on, but Earth was still decades away from integrating that kind of technology. The four of them settled around the small circular table silently. The room was sparsely furnished, which was in case there was magical accident, where more often than not all the furniture in the room was the fatality. They settled themselves and used whatever meditation techniques worked best to calm their minds and prepare their magical energies for what would follow. LeShana was the first to finish and she waited for the others silently, watching her fellow agents since she had nothing else to do with herself. Of the four of them, she was the strongest magically, but she was only just slightly stronger than Vosthan.

  His people were still the stuff of legend on Earth, a half forgotten memory of times long ago still stored in the racial memories of the descendants of that world. He was perfectly beautiful with a senseless grace that was enough to make some weep. His people were called Elves by Earth legends and the rumors of their beauty were nothing compared to the truth of reality. His hair was a fall of pure silver, his ears swept back to sharp points, with a slim supple body that seemed almost to harken back to the statues of angels she had seen at a nearby temple. At all times he was calm and composed, never letting so much as a hint of emotion through his cool exterior. He wore the typical clothing for a Center agent on Earth, but there was an ethereal quality about him that could never truly be hidden by the disguising spells he was forced to use when he went out onto the streets.

  Solair was another non-human in the agent contingent, though her race looked far more like humans than the elves. She was a Segor, a race whose telepathic gifts were unmatched by any other race, and to her, reading thoughts was as simple as breathing. Outwardly, she was plain looking, with blond-brown hair, and green eyes, but like all agents, she was fit, trim, and a well trained warrior. Beneath her plain exterior, however, she had the most beautiful spirit that LeShana had ever encountered. Destin was one of the few full humans, a rarity among their number, since most of their contingent could claim at least some small blood relation to one of the other races. He was not particularly handsome, at least not in LeShana's eyes; short for a human, he had a very boxy appearance, with a square face and muscular build. His hair was mouse brown, but his eyes were a very intense blue that seemed to stare right through a person when he choose to focus on them. His magic was the weakest of their number, but his incomprehensibly deep connection with Solair made up for such a shortcoming. Destin was life-bonded to Solair, the most profound and rewarding of relationships known in the Halls. It formed between linked souls as a perfect match, a connection that transcended all others, so that even in death the two of the would be bound together. The death of one would quickly lead to the death of the other, but while it was a potent downside, there were advantages and benefits of such a bonding that went far beyond the bad. There were time when it was sickening to be around the two of them, they were so deeply in love with each other, and LeShana had jokingly worried about getting cavities from spending too much time in their presence. Such a reminder forced LeShana to hide a twinge of jealousy, since all her life she had dreamed of sharing the same sort of relationship with someone she loved.

  One by one, the other agents finally opened their eyes and nodded that they were ready. LeShana reached out to join hands with her friends; physical contact was not necessary, but it helped when dealing with the difficulties of using magic on Earth. As one they allowed their gathered energy to flow out and join together, allowing their power to mingle and become stronger through that connection. The magical energy that they gathered together formed a swirling, glowing cloud that shifted and danced like a fog to her mage-senses. The varied colors of their energy blended together in a rainbow hued dance of light as the various tendrils began to form and meld slowly to become a pure white cloud of energy. Once the circle was complete and their energy fully merged together, LeShana let each of them 'taste' Raven's aura. Even though the contact with him had been brief, it had been enough for her to feel its' colors and textures. It was a very distinctive aura, especially for a native of Earth; smooth gold with rough purple intermixed over top of a sheen of black that seemed to glow from within. Each of the agents silently acknowledged their readiness through the link shared between them.

  Without any true need for words, either verbal or telepathic, it was agreed upon silently that LeShana would take the lead, Solair and Destin would back her up, and Vosthan would anchor all of them as the progression of the casting moved along. Diving deep down into the earth beneath their feet, LeShana and Solair extended their influence into those places where magical energy existed and called the energy upward. With an agonizing slowness, the magical energy gurgled up in answer to their summons. Earth's magic was still weak and hard to find, which made even the most minor of spells far more troublesome than they should be. When the power arrived, they gathered it up, purified it, and made it their own before storing it away while they waited for more to come, trying to gather enough for their purposes. After what felt like hours of impatient waiting, they at long last had enough energy for the spell, and LeShana and Destin wove the energy into a great net; their ethereal hands molding it to their wills. As the net began to form, Vosthan and Solair began to test the net for strength, insuring that there were no holes or weak spots. Raven was strong and if he knew more than he should, he might be able to slip through any such flaw. When at long last the net was completed, they called for yet more power, summoning the strength necessary for the next stage of the casting, and further increasing LeShana's impatient frustration.

  It did come, however, and a little bit later they were ready. LeShana lifted out of her body and floated up above the city. Solair and Destin were right behind her while Vosthan remained in his body to guide them back should they get lost. The city glowed through their mage-sight, its' beauty surpassing even the sky-line set against the falling sun. LeShana paused for a few long seconds, just watching the play of magical lights that no physical eye could ever see, until Destin woke her from her thoughts with a gentle reminder that they had a task to be completed. Together, they gathered the net close, drawing it in and watching as the glowing cords of energy shifted and bunched in their ghost like hands. LeShana then gathered her power, focusing it around them before sending it surging outward to cast the net skyward. It moved up and spread outward like a second sky before slowly drifting down across the vast, urban landscape all around them. It then settled across the darkened city like a glowing spider's web shifting across the two landscapes. As the net came to rest, the colors of the threads shifted subtly as they sought out the energies of the aura Raven had exuded, searching for him silently across the planes of ever present magic, weak though they might be. After what seemed like an eternity the colo
rs changed from a subtle gold to a dazzling white. LeShana gathered herself and surged downwards towards the net, and as her fingers touched it she was pulled into the network of energy and was swiftly dragged towards the location of the one they were seeking. Solair and Destin were only a heartbeat behind her while Vosthan lingered, ever present, in the backs of their minds. The swift ride came to a sudden halt followed by a flash of light, and when their vision cleared they were staring down at Raven's sleeping form.

  He was sprawled across a couch, the TV glowing soundlessly in one corner, and all around them there was nothing but silence. LeShana moved closer until she was standing disembodied over the sleeping figure. Reaching cautiously outward, she touched his head and slid easily past his mental shields. His barriers were so littered with holes and weak points that she thought it was a minor miracle that the mental noise he must live with in the overcrowded city did not drive him to madness. Even through the heaviest shields, people with telepathic gifts were forced to endure the mental noise generated by so many people living so closely together, and the city had a great many people and a great deal of noise. LeShana quickly worked a simple spell, tagging him with a tiny beacon of energy that would allow them to track him with magic. She made sure the mental tag was firmly in place while Destin and Solair investigated the rooms around them, trying to obtain an address or some sense of where he was in the vastness of the tangled metropolis. Perhaps disturbed by her presence in his mind, Raven stirred and LeShana quickly pulled away before he woke. Destin and Solair followed LeShana's orders and dove away, following the tendril of energy created by Vosthan that would lead them back to the Weslyn building, however, for a reason she could not entirely explain, LeShana lingered in that far away place.

  "Sione?" Raven called sleepily, his voice barely intelligible past the slurring of the letters. LeShana jerked back with a sudden fear, moving quickly away from the strange man as his mind stirred further towards waking. Just before she too escaped, she took one last look at him, then fled towards her body. She managed to return to her physical body and force open her tired eyes before Solair and Destin could think anything might be amiss. They released their conjoined hands slowly, as each of them had to fight the sudden fatigue that descended over their senses which was the price of the night's work. After a time, they were able recover enough of their physical strength to leave the room without help of the others. LeShana watched silently as Solair and Destin said their good nights and slipped away towards their bed and the promise of some well deserved sleep. Vosthan rose from his seat and started to leave, but LeShana lingered, her mind spiraling in confused tangles. Before he could disappear, some unknown force stopped him and he turned back towards her looking puzzled.

  "Why the look?" LeShana asked, trying very hard to hide her thoughts from his piercing gaze.

  "Something happened back there, when you did not return immediately with the others, I waited and sensed your surprise." Vosthan replied calmly, causing LeShana to inwardly curse his uncanny senses. "What was it?"

  "Nothing." LeShana replied quickly, knowing that it would do little good.

  "Come now, I know you better than that." Vosthan murmured as he walked around the table to massage LeShana's shoulders. With hands that worked like they had a magic all their own, knots seemed to dissolve under his touch, and as if to spite her, her body started to relax. He was one of the few people that LeShana had ever truly felt comfortable with, and perhaps that was why he had been one of the people selected to teach her magic. But it went deeper than that, they had been lovers once long ago and in many ways it felt like another lifetime, but then there were times that made it feel far too close for her own comfort. "What is it." Vosthan prompted, not about to let the matter fade now that he knew he had her cornered.

  "It’s just that this Raven seems so familiar." LeShana began haltingly, entirely too uncomfortable to tell him any of it, much less the truth that felt so oddly personal to her right then. She most certainly had never wanted anyone to suspect that something had happened in the office hallway when he had arrived, nor the effect that his touch had on her in that briefest moment of contact. Above all else, she never ever wanted to admit that her mind had struggled not to think about him for the remainder of the day. But not simply because of the troubling truths he represented or the fact that he was an important complication into the business of the day, the reasons were something she did not even want to admit to herself. Even still, she should have known better than to hope she might be able to fool Vosthan, and could only wish that whatever words followed would remain between the two of them. "And today during the interview he spoke in Dego. It was a little muddled but it was still better than most people manage in our world, much less from an uninitiated world like this one."

  "What did he say?" Vosthan asked softly, keeping his voice light and his tone one of soothing calm.

  "Beware Greeks bearing gifts." LeShana muttered with a frustrated sigh.

  "Appropriate." Vosthan commented, letting a touch of amusement seep into his tone. "Let me guess, the coffee was drugged?"

  "Yes." LeShana agreed closing her eyes against the nearly irrational surge of anger and frustration she felt at that. As tired as she was, if she allowed herself to lapse into yet another mental rant she'd not get to sleep for hours. "These Earthers are under the impression that it is best to drug their candidates to make sure that they will not talk to others. Their paranoia is.. infuriating.."

  "After so many centuries of war, these people have begun to see enemies in every shadow." Vosthan commented to her, allowing a rare sound of frustration to follow his words into the still silent air, and only too easily recalling her own mental comments to that effect, drawing her closer to that state of outraged anger. "However, we can not force them to believe as we do, we can only try to show them that there are brighter paths to follow and wait for them to see the light. Eventually the restoration of Earth's magic will have reached the point when the truth can no longer be denied and they will have no choice, but until then we can only hope we will not need to use more forceful means of getting them to rethink their ways."

  "I suppose." LeShana added, sighing once more.

  "There's more isn't there." Vosthan prompted, able to read her better than any other person could. If he hadn't or did not mean quite so much to her, she would have only found intense levels of frustration and anger at his easy insight into her inner workings.

  "You know me too well." LeShana growled, wishing just this once that he would let the matter fade away.

  "Possibly." Vosthan returned with a chuckle. "Tell me."

  "I should have learned long ago that I can’t hide anything from you." LeShana whined, starting to feel as if she had been wrung out with the wash and then left in a soggy heap somewhere. "All right, just before I left, Raven woke up, and he spoke a name that was surprising to hear.."

  "Sione." Vosthan whispered when her own voice faltered.

  "You knew?" LeShana asked incredulously, snapping her head around to look up into his sharp eyes.

  "Yes." Vosthan replied with a calmness that was more than a little frustrating to her at that time. "But I wanted you to say it. Anyway, perhaps you simply misheard, he was half asleep, after all, and you are only partially alive after having been trapped on this world for so long. Soon enough we will have our chance to obtain answers." She could neither deny his logic nor summon up even the faintest wish to argue with him, yet his words did not ease the troubled nature of her thoughts. "When are you due to go back for leave?"

  "You're changing the subject." She growled back at him.

  "That I am." Vosthan agreed calmly.

  "I was due to go back this rotation, but Vorda went and got hurt." She begrudgingly told him, knowing she had no chance of diverting him from the subject. "They are supposed to be training someone to replace me, but that could be weeks. I am already overdue for a trip back."


  "How did he get hurt?" Vosthan questioned.

  "One of those damn fool treasure hunts of his, he got mauled by a Sada on Triplyn." She told him.

  "Bad?" Vosthan asked.

  "Real bad. He would have been dead if he hadn't been carrying a tracer. Lost a leg and an arm, he'll probably get a desk job unless the Center opts for cybernetic replacements."

  "We should wait for a few days before we go after this Raven. If nothing happens for a while he might let his guard down." Vosthan suggested softly.

  "Two days at least. I do want to get to him before the military decides to put it's foot in it." LeShana agreed, though reluctant to defer to his clearer judgment. "If they get him and try and to train him, he is more likely to blow up half the installation."

  "Fools and idiots all of them." Vosthan agreed with a malicious little chuckle.

  "I should get to bed." LeShana stated, sliding up from her seat. He nodded and followed her from the room.