The Forbidden Spacemage Read online

  The wind was knocked from my lungs. Cold, muddy water, the color of stewed tea, soaked through my white shirt and fur doublet as I tried to catch my breath. I felt a boot on my back and prepared to right myself when I caught sight of a pair of watchful eyes.

  I noticed them because they were the same shade of green as my own. The familiar green eyes belonged to a girl of nine or ten. She wore a smart, yellow gown and her thick, dark hair, so much like my own, fell around her pointed face. She stood out among the fair, blue-eyed villagers and intrigued me.

  The pressure on my back intensified and I turned my attention back to my predicament. Palms flat against the mud, I heaved myself up and twisted, grabbing the leg of the man pinning me to the ground. I didn’t know his name but recognized him as one of Nucandilli’s tribe. I yanked hard, putting pressure on the man’s knee until I heard a pop. He screeched in pain and crumpled to the floor.

  Satisfied my foe was incapacitated, I scanned the crowd for Nucandilli. The watchful young girl had disappeared. I caught sight of my enemy slipping away through the villagers who’d gathered to watch the fighting.

  “Coward!” I shouted after him.

  He turned to give me one last taunting smile, setting my blood on fire with frustration and anger.

  What happened next came as a surprise even to me. I raised my hand to shake my fist at him, knowing I wouldn’t reach him before he hid in the back streets of the village. There were too many people between us, and I’d lose him in the crowds.

  The heat of frustration raced through my arm. A flash of light lit up the sky, and a large boom rang in my ears. The people directly in front of me ducked, and others screamed and scattered in panic.

  I lowered my arm, staring in disbelief as the pot Nucandilli had dropped on the ground suddenly shot up and sailed through the air before colliding hard with the side of Nucandilli’s skull. He dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

  That caused the rest of the villagers to run for their lives, leaving me alone with the slumped body of Nucandilli. Holding my breath, I approached the motionless figure. Had I killed him?

  Desperately, I tried to think of a logical explanation as to how the pot had become airborne. Maybe the flash and the sound had been an approaching storm…But deep down, I knew there was only one answer. Magic. The dark arts. The villagers were right to be afraid of me. At the slightest provocation, it tumbled out of me, raw and dangerous.

  I checked Nucandilli for signs of life and let out a sigh of relief when I realized he was breathing. After pulling him from the mud to dry ground, I left him sprawled on his back and quickly packed up the cart.

  The memory made my cheeks burn. “Sorry. I should learn to control my temper.”

  Maureena smiled. “I have no doubt you were provoked, but I would feel so much better if you learned to use your magic safely. I’ve never known it to be so strong in someone untrained.”

  Stubbornly, I shook my head. I wanted nothing to do with the dark arts, as the villagers referred to the skills of a mage.

  After she left with the horse and cart, I got to work on watering our crops. We grew most of our own food, which saved us from having to deal with the villagers too often.

  It hadn’t rained for two days, and the soil was dry and crumbly. Our vegetable crops were wilting. The irrigation system I’d constructed from narrow, hollowed out bamboo was linked to large barrels I’d set up to collect rainwater.

  My method saved the backbreaking work of carrying individual buckets of water, but I still needed to keep a close eye on the system to make sure it distributed the water evenly.

  Herbivores from the woods often tried to venture into our vegetable garden for an easy meal. I’d built a solid fence to keep them out, but the deterrent didn’t always work. I cursed the nimble deer who jumped the boundary and trampled over my carefully laid trenches.

  Of course, the fence had no effect on the birds. Later in the year, I’d grow soft fruits and berries and those would need to be protected with netting.

  I noticed a defect in one of the bamboo pipes, which was leaking water and flooding the plants in the area. With a sigh, I headed over to fix it when I suddenly realized I was being watched.

  My senses on high alert, I turned and saw the young girl with the dark hair and green eyes who’d been at the market when I’d fought with Nucandilli.

  We didn’t get visitors up here unless they needed Maureena’s help, so I was probably unnecessarily gruff with the youngster. “What do you want?”

  She flinched and took a step back, making me feel bad. I didn’t mean to scare her.

  I tried again, keeping the growl from my voice. “Sorry, we don’t get villagers up here much.”

  She shot a glance over her shoulder then turned back to me. “I came to warn you.”

  “Warn me?” My first thought was Nucandilli had sent her with a threatening message. A smile tugged at my lips. Sending a little girl to do his dirty work… what level would he stoop to next?

  “It’s Maureena…” she bit her lip.

  My stomach tightened, and I crossed the vegetable garden in a few quick strides. I gripped the arm of her gown, not wanting her to run off before I understood her warning.

  “What about her?”

  “They’re holding her.”

  “Who?”

  “Inquisitors. They heard about the magic,” she said in a whisper, her green eyes opening wide.

  My pulse spiked. The word inquisitors filled me with panic. I’d never seen them in the flesh, but I’d heard the stories…

  Raking a hand through my hair, I tried to order my thoughts. My first urge was to find a weapon and race to the village, but first I needed information.

  I kneeled before the child. “Do you know where they have taken her?”

  The girl nodded. “She is still in the square. They have her tied up. Her trial will be held today.”

  “By the gods!” I ran to the cabin, pulling on my sword belt and sheathing the weapon. It was heavy and not ideal for close combat, but it would have to do.

  When I ran out of the cabin, heading to the stable, I was surprised to see the girl still standing by the fence, watching me.

  I threw the saddle over the back of our five-year-old dapple-grey mare, Bess, and said, “You should go now. It’s not safe for you here.” I wondered again at her coloring and familiar features. “Do I know you?”

  “No, but I want to help.” She spoke earnestly and wrung her hands together.

  “Thank you but that’s not a good idea. You should go home and stay inside until the inquisitors are gone.”

  “What will you do?”

  Good question. I wasn’t sure.

  I mounted the horse and turned her to the path that led to the village. “I will help Maureena,” I said simply and urged Bess to a gallop.

  I had no idea if I could help Maureena. How could I when I didn’t know what I was up against? But I knew one thing for sure. I had to try.

  Chapter 3

  As soon as I entered the village, I sensed something was very different. A huge crowd had gathered in the marketplace, but there was none of the normal hustle and bustle. No one spoke and the crowd barely moved. It was as though they were all holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

  Though tempted to urge faithful Bess onwards into the crowds, holding my sword aloft, I changed my mind at the last moment. That would be reckless and foolish. I was hopelessly outnumbered, and the only way I could help Maureena now was by using my head.

  Instead of entering the village via the main road, I took a wide loop, circling the outer properties. I dismounted Bess in a small copse near the perimeter. Securing the mare to an oak tree, I muttered some reassuring words and promised I would be back soon.

  I really hoped I would be.

  It took me less than a minute to sprint to the village from the copse. On my way, I tugged a long, brown cloak from a washing line and felt a pang of guilt, but I needed to h
ide my identity so I could scope out what was happening and not immediately get set upon by angry villagers.

  With the cloak tugged low to obscure my face, I pushed forward into the crowd, winding my way past expensively-dressed merchants and the raggedly-dressed peasants. I was halfway through the crowd before I saw what had happened to Maureena.

  The little girl had been telling the truth.

  Maureena was tied up. The cowardly scoundrels had set her on a raised platform and tied her to a wooden post. How could they do that to an elderly woman? Her legs were bent beneath her, the rough rope encircled her torso, and she was flopped forward, her grey hair falling over her face.

  Anger curled up inside me and threatened to break loose. But now more than ever, I needed to control my temper and keep my wits about me. She hadn’t seen me, and I stumbled forward, barely noticing the people I collided with or the feet I trod on to get closer. It was unwise to draw such attention to myself, and already people surrounding me began to whisper.

  A tall man dressed in scarlet cloak stomped his way onto the raised platform. Was this an inquisitor? He was clean-shaven and had a long diagonal scar on his left cheek. His face was thin and pointed, and his dark eyes scanned the crowds in front of him. He carried a long staff and slammed it against the platform three times.

  Silence fell over the crowd as they waited.

  “Magic has been forbidden for the past two score years. Such dark arts lead people astray and put good, law-abiding folk at risk. This is why all incidents of magic must be reported to the inquisitors.” His voice was reedy and tremulous. But the crowd was enraptured.

  Who had reported the magic? Was this my fault for hurling the pot at Nucandilli?

  “This mage…” He turned and gestured to the slumped figure of Maureena. “Shall be taken to Mersea. So you good, loyal villagers have nothing more to fear from her. All that remains is the prize-giving ceremony for the informant.”

  He clapped and most of the villagers joined in, though their applause was muted. I guessed, like me, none of the villagers had seen the inquisitors before and were wary. We had all heard of Mersea before though. It was the most notorious prison in the Seven Kingdoms.

  There was a slight scuffle by the side of the platform and two large, bulky men stomped onto the stage. They carried a much smaller woman between them.

  Lucillia!

  What a treacherous…. Was she the informant? After everything Maureena had done? After all we’d risked to save her baby in the early hours of the morning, she had turned on us.

  I’d known to keep my guard up and not to trust Lucillia. She’d been cruel and unkind in the past, but I’d never expected this…

  One of the large guards pushed her forwards, and she faced the crowd with a tentative smile. Before she could speak, the air seemed to vibrate in around us and a low hum filled my ears. A mile to the West a flat, disc-like transport starship, lowered and hovered high above the rolling hills. I joined the other spectators gawping at the ship.

  Here in Terrano, we were cut off from the main ship routes and trading stations. Only a couple of times in my life had I seen a ship and never from this distance. It seemed to glow. Even in my agitation even in such a distressing situation, I could still recognize the beauty of such a ship. When I’d been a boy, I dreamed of escaping Terrano on a starship and going to one of the trading stations where I could start afresh and no one would know who I was.

  The chances of a young man from Terrano ending up on the starship were less than small. I didn’t have a hope in hell, so slowly over the years my daydreams had faded and forced me to be content with my life on the hill, tending to the crops and animals on the smallholding. But my dreams hadn’t stopped. Almost every night, I would retreat into the dream world where I was a soldier aboard a powerful starship.

  After the one hundred year war, the Seven Kingdoms had signed a treaty and formed the most powerful alliance the galaxy had ever seen. The Seven Kingdoms were formed from the planets Marrachi, Vesurria, Kavius, Balango, Dulutu, Netal, Arakat. They were rich and powerful, and smaller, poorer planets like Terrano were exploited for their natural resources and ruled with an iron fist.

  I tore my eyes away from the ship and looked at Maureena. She was staring and winced as she pulled against the ropes in obvious discomfort.

  The man wearing a scarlet cloak bumped his staff against the platform again, trying to draw the crowd’s attention.

  “Lucillia Graemme will be rewarded with ten thousand roubits for her service to the inquisitors. The noblewoman will now share her story. Heed its warning!”

  Lucillia began to address the crowd, her voice was higher pitched and didn’t carry as well as the inquisitors so it made it harder to hear. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t care what this awful woman had to say, but since she was about to stab Maureena in the back I strained to hear every word.

  “This mage used magic to save my son. But now I wonder if he will be tainted by the dark arts. I want to advise anyone to stay away from such magic.”

  “What did she do?” One of the old crones from the front of the crowd screeched out.

  “She used magic to get rid of the infection with the help of her accomplice, Tomas.”

  The inquisitor stepped forward. “The accomplice is just as dangerous, and a reward of ten thousand roubits will be offered to anyone providing information of his whereabouts.”

  “He lives up on the hill. I’ll take you there.” I didn’t recognize the man who spoke but other voices joined in agreeing to help. So much for villager solidarity. I’d always known I didn’t fit in, but I didn’t think they’d sell me out for ten thousand roubits. They hadn’t even taken a moment to consider the consequences. What a bunch of scumbags.

  The crowd cheered as I tried to plan my next move. I attempted to calculate the odds of getting out of this alive, but as they were pretty minuscule, I soon put odds out of my mind.

  The inquisitor was on the platform, but other than the two goons who brought Lucillia onto the stage, I saw no other security close by. At the back of the crowd a group of men, dressed in smart outfits, chatted and joked. They were definitely from out of town and probably here with the inquisitors, but if I was quick, I could untie the ropes before they got to me.

  I could free Maureena… What then? She wouldn’t be able to run, and there’s no chance I’d be able to get her to Bess before we were captured. And even if we did escape, where would we go? The villagers knew where we lived and would soon lead the inquisitors there.

  I didn’t see a way I could win, but the alternative was to do nothing and that wasn’t an option.

  If I was killed, at least I would die defending someone who loved me and had always shown me kindness.

  I made a run for it. Keeping my hands on the sword tucked beneath the cloak, I pushed my way to the front of the crowd. Planting a hand on the platform, I jumped and landed on the wooden surface. It wasn’t until I was across the platform and nearly at Maureena’s side that the inquisitor noticed me.

  “What are you doing? Get down from there!”

  His eyes widened as I unsheathed the sword. The sword was heavy and unwieldy, but I kept the blade razor sharp.

  He raised his staff as though that would offer protection against my weapon. The staff had an intricate design, which I hadn’t noticed when standing in the crowd. But still, it was made of wood and would offer a pitiful defense if I attacked.

  The futility of fighting me seemed to dawn on the man in the red cloak, and instead, he gestured for the two goons beside the stage, who had brought Lucillia on to talk to the crowds.

  I didn’t have long before they reached me. In one swift movement, I sliced through the ropes and grabbed Maureena’s arm before she toppled forward.

  Her face creased in alarm when she looked up at me. “No, Tomas. You must leave. You can’t let them take you.”

  “Can you walk?” I asked, ignoring her requests to leave her to her fate.

 
“Not well and not quickly.” She pushed her grey hair out of her eyes. “We cannot go home.”

  I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her back, away from the inquisitor thugs who were advancing on us. “Any thoughts on where we should go? I’m open to suggestions,” I quipped, trying to make her smile.

  It worked, though it made her sigh, too. “There is the mage council. They could help us.”

  “Where are they because we could really use some of that help right about now?” I helped Maureena down from the platform just before the largest of the thugs made a lunge toward us.

  “They are in Momoan.”

  “Never heard of it. Is it far?” I raised my sword and swung it to make the two goons shift away.

  “It is another planet, Tomas.”

  “Another planet? I was hoping for somewhere a little closer. Maybe somewhere we can ride to. I brought Bess with me. She is waiting for us in the copse, east of the village.”

  Maureena took a shaking breath, narrowing her eyes at the disc-like starship on the horizon. “I think escape is futile.”

  “Don’t say that.” My words were sharper than I’d intended. I didn’t want to die and I didn’t want to lose the only person in the world who understood me.

  “You’re determined to try to escape?”

  I nodded but kept my eyes fixed on the two men approaching us with cocky grins. They were looking forward to an unfair fight. The sickos.

  “Then brace yourself.”

  Brace myself? I frowned in confusion, but before I could ask what she intended to do, there was a blinding flash of light. Then I felt a tug on my arm.

  A sinking feeling invaded my stomach. I didn’t need to ask what was happening. This was magic. The dark arts. The forbidden.

  We’d been in trouble before, but that was nothing compared to the trouble we’d be in if they got their hands on us after this.

  Chapter 4

  I felt like I’d had too many jugs of beer. My limbs felt heavy, and my head was spinning.