Space Pirate Charlie: The Dragon Mage Book 2 Read online

  “None taken.”

  “And your spell casting was inspired, and very clever in the use of feints and misdirection. In that you are far better than most will ever hope to be. But what really grabbed my attention was your perseverance.”

  “Not the dragon thing?”

  “The what?”

  “Sorry. The Zomoki.”

  “Oh, I just chalked that up to blind luck in the heat of battle,” Maktan said. “Though I’d love to know how you managed it. But that wasn’t it, Charlie. What really stood out to me was your drive. The willingness to think outside the box and turn a terrible situation into an advantage. It’s a rare quality, you possess.”

  “I still fail to see how I can be of use to you, though.”

  “As do I at this precise moment. But I have been around long enough to know that the day inevitably arises when quick thinking and indomitable will may prove handy. When that time comes, I think I’d like to have you around and on my side.”

  “I’d be happy to help however I can.”

  “I know you would. But that will come later. For the time being, get familiar with the grounds, meet the other staff, and get yourself comfortable and situated. I must head off-world for a short while, but we can discuss your utility further when I have returned.”

  “I’ll look forward to it,” Charlie said, pausing at a lush shrubbery with bright red berries.

  “Ah, that’s just a decorative one, I’m afraid,” Maktan informed him. “The berries are perfectly safe to eat, but they have a large stone and a rather mediocre flavor.”

  Charlie, however, thought the plant looked like a distant cousin of one from Earth.

  I wonder––

  A tone emitted from the device at the visla’s hip. A very ornate skree, Charlie realized.

  “Yes? What is it, Dinuk?”

  “Pardon the interruption, Visla,” the head of security’s voice rang out. “We’ve received a skree message from our man in the Indara system. A group of rebels have attempted to free the Ootaki slaves from Mester Norkal’s estate. A full-fledged uprising appears to be underway.”

  A cloud flashed across the visla’s otherwise cheerful demeanor.

  “None of the Council are near?”

  “No, Visla. You are the closest. My apologies.”

  “Very well, there’s nothing to be done for it. Prepare my ship. We’ll be departing immediately.”

  He slid the skree back to its home on his hip.

  “I’m sorry to have to cut our walk short, Charlie. I was rather enjoying the conversation. But duty calls, I’m afraid.” He paused a moment in thought. “You know, you might find this interesting. Come, you will accompany me on this trip.”

  “Trip?”

  “Yes. It appears I have to handle some rabble-rousers in a nearby system. Fools must have believed I was still at the Council retreat and not close to their system. I can’t imagine they’d be so bold otherwise. In any case, my presence is requested, and as the ranking member of the Council of Twenty in the area, I must respond. Now come, we must hurry. It’s but a short jump away.”

  The visla spun on his heel and headed for the far end of the compound at speed, Charlie following him closely. For all his genteel appearances, the man could move quite quickly when he wanted to.

  Already off on another adventure. So much for a quiet life.

  Chapter Five

  It was a parking lot of sorts, only, rather than cars, a rich man’s assortment of various craft, both space and terrestrial, sat on the closely trimmed grass, hovering silently as they awaited a passenger. The smaller vessels were standing by but ignored. All of the activity was focused at the second-largest of the craft.

  It was a gleaming testament to the visla’s wealth, its multi-level hull smooth and bright. Charlie had never seen anything like it, even during his brief stint as a space pirate. Now this was a prize worth taking.

  But he was a pirate no more, and despite the briefest flash of instinct from those days, he had no illusions of taking it for his own. He would be a passenger, it seemed, and one traveling in luxury with the craft’s owner. Things had improved for him far more than he’d ever anticipated. One day he was fighting for his life in the muck of the arena, the next, he found himself aboard the ship of one of the wealthiest men in the galaxy.

  “I see you admiring my collection,” Visla Maktan noted. “I’m quite fond of these, I must admit, though I do have others in storage. But what’s the point of having a craft of such elegant design if not to use it, yes?”

  Charlie couldn’t help but agree.

  They crossed the field to where Dinuk was standing by with a small force of armed men. Given his experience as a pirate, he was a bit surprised they weren’t traveling with more.

  “The men are loading the last of the supplies, Visla.”

  “And the Drooks?”

  “A full contingent, as well as backup, are aboard.”

  “Well-rested and ready for a jump, I assume?”

  “Yes, Visla. Only the freshest and most powerful were selected for this voyage,” Dinuk confirmed.

  “Excellent. As soon as your men have finished, we disembark. I’m sure Mester Norkal would appreciate a hasty arrival.”

  Visla Maktan strode up the short ramp into the beckoning ship, Charlie close behind. What he saw upon entering the craft made even the opulent exterior pale by comparison. Artwork adorned the walls, which were seemingly seamless sheets of flowing stone and metal, melding together with a warm, internally produced illumination.

  Charlie couldn’t help but gawk at the sight. It was like stepping inside a magical cave filled with riches. Given whose ship this was, he supposed that wasn’t all that far from the truth.

  “Come, Charlie. Let us have refreshment before we jump. I always find my stomach feels better upon arrival if there’s a little something in it, don’t you?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” the human replied.

  “Oh, I just assumed you had traveled in this manner before,” Maktan said.

  “Never so luxuriously, Visla. I’ve always traveled in rather sparse accommodations.”

  “Well then, this will be a treat,” he said, opening a compartment hidden in the seemingly solid wall. “You really must try these. Banchani fruit. Very tasty, and good for settling the digestive tract.”

  Charlie accepted the fruit. It was yellow and orange in color, and was roughly apple-sized. Oddly, it also possessed what seemed to be petals on the outside.

  A flower, perhaps? he wondered.

  Unsure, Charlie watched the visla before attempting to eat the unusual treat. One by one, Maktan peeled off the petals, the bases of which were much thicker than the tips, almost like an artichoke, but with the entirety of the petal edible and sweet. Following his lead, Charlie slowly ate his way around the fruit until the soft flesh of the central nodules was all that was left.

  “You’ll want to watch out for the seeds, Charlie. I wouldn’t want you accidentally swallowing one or breaking a tooth.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” he said, taking a cautious bite.

  If the petals had been refreshing and light, the dense fruit in the middle was a flavor explosion in his mouth. Sensations ranging from hot to sweet, from sour to an almost minty coolness flooded his taste buds.

  “That’s incredible!” Charlie said, licking the last drops of juice from his fingers.

  Maktan observed with a curious smile. “Yes, I find them to be most delightful as well. But not all species experience them the same way. In fact, the fruit is quite toxic to a few of them.”

  A look of concern flashed across Charlie’s face.

  “Don’t worry, Charlie, you would have reacted to the first taste. Long before reaching the dangerous part in the center.”

  Charlie’s shoulders relaxed. “If I can ask, you mentioned we were going to ‘jump.’”

  “Oh, my. You really haven’t experienced much, have you? I keep forgetting you are supposedly
from a distant system.”

  “Galaxy, actually.”

  “Really?” he replied, the wizard’s interest clearly piqued. “No one mentioned that to me when you were acquired. Merely that you had come to our realms some years prior and were taken by a band of Tslavars. I had assumed you were simply from an uncharted system.”

  “Nope. Different galaxy entirely. We were stranded here by a freak accident. Only my friend Rika and I survived. The Tslavars killed the others. Apparently, the injured just weren’t of any value to them,” Charlie said, a low anger building in his gut.

  Maktan looked at him sympathetically.

  “I’m so sorry, Charlie. That must have been difficult. However, as distasteful as the practice may be for one not of this realm, I do understand the need to conserve resources aboard a vessel of that nature. But you say there was another survivor from your crew?”

  “Yeah, but they did something to her. Fried her brain. I saw it. There were burns on her head, here and here,” he said, gesturing to his temples.

  At that, the visla showed a flash of anger. “Idiots. Those damned Tslavars and their primitive techniques. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve irreparably harmed an otherwise valuable asset.”

  “She was my friend.”

  “Yes, of course. My apologies. I meant to say person. Force of habit, you know.”

  “Of course,” Charlie replied, still not thrilled with his friend being called an asset. “Anyway, that’s ancient history. I don’t even know if she’s still alive,” he said. “But back to this jump thing.”

  “Ah, yes. Normally we take a few days to travel to and from our destinations, but for the truly far ones––or those in dire need of immediate assistance, as is the case today––we utilize a jump. It’s a difficult spell, and most Drooks are not adept at its subtleties. Many often deposit their ships in the wrong system while learning the finer points, you see. But once mastered, a jump spell will take us instantly to any system we have an established link with.”

  Holy shit. These guys have a magical Einstein-Rosen bridge, Charlie realized. They can do with a spell what we were trying to accomplish with our reactors and drive systems. And theirs works!

  The implications were staggering. The seemingly backward society had nevertheless succeeded in a feat of space travel that humanity had still been unable to achieve. And they’d done it not with engineering and science, but magic, of all things.

  “We’re almost ready, Visla. Just a few minutes and the Drooks will be in place,” Dinuk said as a line of the odd power-generating men and women filed down the far corridor.

  These were different than the ones Charlie had encountered in the past. Cleaner, for a start, but there was something else. A feeling of power almost rippled from their bodies as they walked the ship, preparing the spells as they went to their stations. The visla’s crew were the cream of the crop.

  “Okay, Charlie, since this is your first jump, you really should have a seat. You’ll find it far more pleasant than days in transit, but the first one can be a bit, unsettling, to some.”

  Charlie had learned by now to heed the advice of those familiar with the unusual effects of magic. One too many trips to the ground as his world spun from an ill-advised sense of machismo had quickly freed him of that foolish impulse. Instead, he sat and settled in, as directed.

  “Indara system, Dinuk. Mester Norkal’s estate,” Visla Maktan directed.

  “As you wish, Visla.”

  Dinuk left the two men and headed for the command center of the ship. A minute later there was a shift of light outside the windows as they took off for space, but otherwise the ship showed no signs of movement. No shift in gravity, no pulling g-forces, no rumbling hull. It just lifted off, smooth as can be.

  “Here it comes,” Visla Maktan said with a little grin. “Just try to relax.”

  Relax, he says. Last time I was anywhere near a warp, my ship was thrown through a wormhole. And he says relax.

  Despite his internal doubts, Charlie maintained a calm outward appearance to the best of his ability.

  Moments later something odd began to happen in the ship. A light sparkle covered all the surfaces, making the light form tiny halos on reflective areas. Then it all went black for a split second before snapping back to sharp focus.

  “Okay, we’re here,” Maktan said.

  Charlie rose from his seat and moved to the nearest window. A lone, red sun greeted them with its fiery glow.

  It really worked.

  There they were, above an entirely different planet, and it had only taken them an instant. With that kind of power at his disposal, Charlie could only wonder how the visla might handle the uprising on the planet below.

  Chapter Six

  The Indara system seemed like pretty much every other system Charlie had visited in his several-year stint in the strange galaxy. Sure, this one’s sun was a red dwarf rather than yellow or blue, and it had over a dozen planets, not counting hundreds of moons. But aside from that, the system was the same.

  People lived on the planet––sometimes planets, plural––in the ‘Goldilocks Zone,’ just the right distance from the sun to support life without either turning it to charcoal or freezing it to death. And on those habitable worlds, a society had grown.

  Now, some societies were more advanced than others, as would be expected of totally disparate solar systems, but once the Council of Twenty had made their presence known and staked their claim to the system, all soon fell in line with their galactic standards. Those who didn’t faced the consequences.

  The consequences being death until compliance was achieved.

  All worlds under Council control soon fell within parameters. The magic of those worlds was a thing to connect with the other systems. To harvest, in a way. It took time, but every new system would subtly alter the flows of power between them. Bringing a new one into the fold was tricky business that required a great deal of effort on the part of the vislas and emmiks controlling the Council of Twenty.

  There were technically far more than twenty systems and their representative power-wielders in the Council, but only the twenty possessing the greatest magic of the five-hundred plus incorporated systems made decisions for them all.

  Visla Yoral Maktan was one such man, and given his strengths, he was among the handful leading their already elite group.

  The world they had arrived at had no such man in power. Rather, it was a woman of average magical abilities, but with particularly attuned socio-political ones. Mester Norkal had kept her world in order not with an iron fist as so many others did, but by careful manipulation of the strings of power among the various sects in her system.

  Until, it seemed, something went horribly wrong.

  “You see that, Charlie?” Visla Maktan asked as his ship smoothly slid into the atmosphere without so much as a bump as it descended toward a high-walled castle-like estate. “That’s Mester Norkal’s principal residence.”

  “Mester Norkal. So he is a lower-tier magic user,” Charlie noted.

  “She is, yes, but don’t let that sway your opinion. Her skills reach far beyond mere magical ones. If not, she’d never have held this system together as long as she has. Even so, she does possess a sizable contingent of troops, and her magic is still quite formidable for most.”

  As the ship swooped lower, Charlie could see a fierce magical battle underway. Spells were flying, and hasty defenses were being thrown up, sometimes managing to deflect magic attacks, but succumbing to their forces nearly as often.

  “Magnifados,” Visla Maktan said, and the windows zoomed in their field of view.

  That’s a new one. ‘Magnifados.’ I’ve never seen anyone use that before, Charlie thought as he marveled at the details of the battle, now far clearer through the enhanced window.

  The battlements seemed to possess higher-power weapons than the men on the ground, who were fighting valiantly, but were nevertheless overrun at several points. All were using slaaps with
great efficiency, though they were not as proficient in close-quarter combat, where magic was not an option, as Charlie knew many who relied on their magical weapons often were.

  It was that gap in skill that had allowed him to become one of the most successful gladiators during his short stint in the arenas. Charlie had grown up without magic, so fighting without it seemed only natural. For his opponents, however, it was like removing one of their senses. Charlie took advantage of that, and regularly.

  The sheer expanse of the battle was unlike any he had ever seen as a pirate, though that life was short-lived before he was captured and sold back into slavery once more. He watched the men with a trained eye, noting formations and tactics, shaking his head at some of the more foolish defenses arranged.

  “You don’t approve?” Maktan asked, noting his disapproving look.

  “Some of them are positioned poorly. I mean, those on the ground can’t know, but whoever is directing them from above should see what we do. I can’t help but notice that they’re reacting to the immediate attacks but are oblivious to the ones being staged.”

  Maktan smiled. “Good eye, Charlie. You are correct. Several of these are feints, designed to draw out Mester Norkal’s men to open their flank to attack. But I am surprised she has been unable to handle this. Nothing I’ve seen thus far is beyond her––”

  A series of massive magic blasts pummeled the far end of the battlefield as a swarming group of men overran the mester’s stunned defenses.

  “Ah, now I see the problem. The locals seem to have some hired help. Do you see them, Charlie? Mercenaries. And they have some interesting weaponry, indeed. Mester Norkal was right in summoning me to her aid,” Visla Maktan said, his casual demeanor having taken on a decidedly more serious tone.

  He walked to a smooth, red wall and placed his hand against it, muttering the faintest of spells, so quietly Charlie could not make out even a single word. The wall flashed with light, and when it dimmed, a complex puzzle of thousands of small pieces of identical red tiles now presented themselves. Maktan wasted no time, pressing over a dozen of them in quick succession. Even if he had gone slowly and Charlie had been taking notes, he doubted he could have correctly identified even a quarter of them.