Sac'a'rith Read Online Free PDF Page B

noticed she was gone. “Shira, where did you go?”
    “I’m in hydroponics,” she sent.
    “Seems that Shira went ahead,” I commented.
    “Yes, she transported herself away as I approached,” said Raquel. “Shall we head to the Night Wisp, then?”
    “Are you sure about this, Ragnar?” I sent.
    “Yes! We have many questions which only she can answer. We need to take advantage of this opportunity,” he sent.
    I had to admit he was right; she had inside information we were lacking. I stood to my full height, head and shoulders taller than Raquel, but I knew better than to think that would intimidate her. “Sure, let me take care of the bill and we can be off.”
    As we left, I noticed that she was wearing an armored backpack. “Travelling light?”
    “Always,” she said. “Why is Shira afraid of me?”
    “Among other reasons, she did try to kill your husband several times,” I said.
    “I see. She thinks I’ll seek vengeance, then,” she said.
    “Yes,” I said. It was a reasonable conclusion, and having seen Raquel in battle I wasn’t confident that even our entire team could stop her. Over the months since that fight, Ragnar had insisted several times that Raquel was not hostile to Shira, but Shira either wouldn’t or couldn’t believe him. So far Ragnar had never been wrong in his predictions, and my instincts told me he was right this time too.
    “Neither I nor Narcion ever saw her as an enemy. She was merely a pawn forced to play a role until you freed her. She has nothing to fear from me,” she said.
    Her answer was logical and reasonable, but logic and reason failed in the face of deep-seated emotional wounds such as those Shira bore.
    We walked the rest of the way to the docking port in silence, and out of habit I headed towards the security bypass line which my status as a special agent allowed me to use. “Oh, sorry; I guess I need to take you through the public access.”
    “No, this will be fine,” said Raquel.
    As I approached the security checkpoint one of the guards said, “Hey, Zah’rak. Where’s Shira?”
    “She found her own way back,” I said.
    As usual, they let me pass without even checking my ID, which was foolish on their part but convenient for me so I never reported them. I was about to mention Raquel when I noticed she was gone. “Raquel?” I sent.
    “I’ll meet you at the Night Wisp’s airlock,” she sent back.
    When I reached the ship she was there, waiting for me.
    “I prefer not to deal with security gates,” she said.
    I didn’t blame her. If you didn’t have special access like I did, they were a royal pain and would be worse for her because I was sure she was armed. “They don’t bother me much anymore.”
    I led her onto the Night Wisp and asked everyone to meet us in the common room. Shira didn’t want to come, claiming she was busy. Instead of arguing with her, I turned on the comm. system so that she could listen in. When everyone had settled in, I said, “Raquel, the last time we saw you, you said you had to turn yourself in.”
    “Yes, and I did so; but that’s not why I’m here,” she replied.
    “I think we need some answers first,” interjected Felix. “For a while, you were trying to break up this team and turn us against Narcion. You warned us of great doom if we stayed on course, but then helped us complete his task. Now you’re back, after supposedly turning yourself in to the authorities?”
    She sighed. “Yes, all of that is true. It’s complicated. Narcion and I are from a different era, one that has been long forgotten.”
    “I think you’d better start at the beginning,” said Felix.
    “Very well,” she said. “When the wizards of old were conspiring to tear the weave and put an end to the current great war of magic, Narcion designed the tables as an escape plan.”
    “That table we destroyed was Narcion’s?” I exclaimed.
    “Yes,” she confirmed.
    “But that would make him a sorcerer!” said