Tales of the Dreamer Witch - 5 Fantasy Stories

TALES OF THE DREAMER WITCH

  5 FANTASY STORIES

  written by

  TANYA FERRIS

  Copyright © 2016, Tanya Ferris

  All rights reserved.

  This book may not be reproduced,

  in part or in full, digital or otherwise,

  without prior written permission from the author.

  Story 1: Theft of a Dream

  Maybe you have heard my name.

  It is Sandra Nox

  But I am mostly known as The Dreamer Witch.

  I once served prince Venor, first son and heir to the throne of the Palladian Empire that has its seat in the Constellation of Boötes.

  After their catastrophic clearance through the abutting galaxies, the Palladian Fleet attacked my home planet in the solar system of Aldebaran.

  I happened to be one of the few survivors taken prisoners of war and implanted to become perfect servants for the Empire.

  However, I managed to escape two Palladian years ago, having fully developed psychic powers till then unsuspected; moreover, I allied Arion of Tifereth, the Empire's worst enemy.

  Now I am wanted in 172 solar systems of the Palladian Dominion.

  . . . .

  I am flying high over endless green fields; I'm entering a narrow foggy path that gradually takes shape between two lines of leafy trees. I relish an exhilarating sense of freedom, but soon everything around me seems to be melting away. I'm trying to envisage it as clearly as I can, but the only thing I finally achieve, is form a colourless relief picture sculpted on the astral substance, the ethereal matter all universes are made of. A new path is now being formed before me, hardly discernible between the white tree trunks that spout up towards the alabaster sky. However, I cannot complete my creation: Everything remains motionless, translucent white, incomplete; suddenly, at the end of the path there is a sphere of sparkling light that grows brighter and brighter, obliterating the trees, the path, me, the world...

  Right at that moment I woke up from the nightmarish experience, which had just repeated itself for the third time since my arrival on planet Phaon. Apparently, the recurrent psychic experience was a message warning me about an imminent danger and this was understandable, since the planet is within the limits of the constellation of Boötes.

  I could have never imagined coming so close to the seat of the empire, I have always considered it suicidal. On the other hand, the Palladian royalty was unlikely to suspect I would ever dare attempt anything within their dominion. Besides, the information I had gathered was too important to ignore: Here, on Phaon, which orbits quasi-forgotten around the dwarf-star Sigma, in the fringes of the Palladian Empire, there was hidden a relic of an ancient civilization long ago lost and forgotten. To the moment I had only a vague idea about what it was exactly; I only knew I wanted it for myself and my interstellar travels.

  . . . .

  My inquiries had finally led me to the mountainous city of Darrak where, behind the whitewashed walls, the tiled roofs, the unpaved alleys and the surrounding barren hills, a dreadful curse lurked behind every corner. That was a widespread superstition on Phaon, ever since a mysterious disease first appeared on the planet six months ago. The most common symptoms were loss of weight, hemorrhage, madness, suicidal attempts -all resulting in an agonizing death.

  People attributed the disease to a so-called Archangel Assar, who always lied in wait for his victims in the dark. There were many sects that worshiped the Archangel, considering him a godsent entity who had come down on Phaon in order to give the iniquitous a deserved punishment. On the other side, very few know that Assar is the secret ancestral name of the Palladian royalty. In all probability, the “curse” was another biological weapon of the Assars, secretly being tested on the primitive population of Phaon.

  A couple of days had already passed in annoying tranquility. I wasn't particularly worried about contracting the disease, it was not contagious anyway; besides, Arion of Tifereth had reassured me that my Alvesten bracelets would protect me against it.

  I stared out of the half open window, into the moonlit cobbled street below. At this late hour of the night it was completely empty. I had perfect confidence in Arion, I knew that at the time being there was nothing I could do but lie low and wait for further instructions, but now all I wished was that this tantalizing wait was over.

  “Be careful what you wish, Sandra,” I heard a man's voice whisper near me.“What you wish might come true!”

  I gasped in astonishment and turned at once, simultaneously drawing my laser weapon, ready to defend myself.

  “Arion!” I exclaimed in surprise and relief. “How did you get in?”

  “Silly question,” he replied calm.

  He was wearing a tight blue uniform, his red hair shimmering in the moon light, his green eyes sparkling watchful. As he came closer, I noticed that he was holding something that looked like a bulky book, wrapped in a black cloth. He unwrapped it fast and threw it on my bed with a quick movement. I was taken aback as I read the shiny red letters inscribed on the black leather cover: The Word of Alagor. It is a rare book of ancient magic and forgotten sciences, destined to be in possession of enlightened mystics only.

  “Where did you get this, Arion?”

  “Don't ask! Just study it well, as fast as possible!”

  The biggest part of Phaon is covered by endless ochre deserts studded with petrified dunes, bleak villages and small primitive cities built in the sparse oases. Thousands of people are crowded there, living lives of misery and perpetual fear, their heads constantly bent before the powerful Palladian authority of alleged “divine” origin. Now, with the outbreak of the new disease, fear had turned to terror.

  The arenas are the most popular form of entertainment in the cities of Phaon, where the masses have the opportunity to exhaust their oppressed aggression by watching star gladiators fighting each other to death or being torn apart by gigantic alien beasts. It all happens for the amusement of the uproared crowd and, eventually, for the glory of the winner in a supposed sacred tournament.

  Three weeks after my arrival in the capital city of Thanda, I had already won a very good reputation as a gladiator. That new career of mine had already cost a dozen of slaughtered opponents, but it all served a good purpose... First, I had to disguise myself in a way that not even my own mother would ever recognize me; then, I introduced myself as an experienced gladiator coming from “beyond the deserts”. That explanation was not satisfactory enough for the Reverent Judges, who claimed there is nothing beyond the deserts. Yet, my identification papers looked perfectly genuine to them. Last but not least, gladiators are always welcome to the arenas of Phaon, especially once they have succeeded in a certain fight-test.

  . . . .

  So, there I was once again, wreathed in the dust of the arena, waiting for my rival to appear and the final duel to begin. I could hear the crowd buzz in excitement, countless inquisitive eyes fixed on me. I was wearing a violet tight-fitting uniform, embedded with variegated shining gems around the waist and my left hand was tightened to an invaluable Simisen sword. That time I had dyed my long hair lilac -which is considered the colour of wisdom in Phaon.

  I could hardly contain my impatience when my opponent finally entered the arena. The spectators burst into cheers of exhilaration for he, the renowned Zygor Amherst, was not any gladiator; he happened to be the champion of Phaon for five consecutive years. And he was their strongest hope to see an arrogant warrior woman -that is me- defeated and dying on the sand of the arena.

  Looking quite impressive and powerful in his close-fitting blue uniform made of some metalized material, Zygor appr
oached slowly, armed with a steel dagger and a round shield. He had a set face with an air of determination, curly brown hair and sparkling emerald eyes. It was mesmerizing to look straight into his eyes; so had I heard many times but found it hard to believe, until now that I was facing him in the arena of Thanda.

  A dagger can be a very dangerous weapon in skillful hands, and Zygor soon proved to be more than this: he was extremely agile and fought with a vehemence I could hardly repel. He was constantly on the attack, very confident of himself, forcing me to retreat most of the time. I could hear the crowd roar, impatiently awaiting my fall; especially the women were yelling continuously, in ecstatic mania. I knew I wouldn't be able to resist that kind of concentrated negativity much longer; for the time being, all I could do was recede all the way back, barely parrying a cascade of terrible blows, unable to fight back.

  Very soon I ended up in a corner breathless. Zygor Amherst riveted his flaming eyes on me and suddenly the sword was too heavy for me; after a swift blow of his, it was no longer in my hand. I could only stare at the enemy stunned, as he was raising his shiny dagger to deliver the ultimate blow. For a moment of despair, I thought of resorting to some psychic technique that would neutralize him; of course, something like that would probably betray my true identity. So, I span round into a high kick instead, which unexpectedly disarmed Zygor's hand and sent the dagger fly away through the dusty air. Next moment I was rolling down on the sand towards my fallen sword; I grabbed it fast and stood up to my feet in a split second. The enemy stared at me in utter surprise, still unarmed. His self-confidence had obviously waned, as he instantly glanced back in anguish -a fatal mistake for any gladiator- possibly looking for his dagger, which was nowhere to see.

  There was a stony silence among the spectators now, while the red sun was setting behind the ancient pyramids that rose up to the violet sky beyond the upper tiers of the arena. All at once, I was abashed at the tension on Zygor's face, as he stood there fully alert, determined to fight with bare hands. My personal principles urged me to lay my weapon down on the sand and continue with a fair fight. The crowd burst into wild excitement.

  Charging with a loud martial cry, Amherst rushed at me in a frantic attempt to knock me down with his powerful fists. I managed to deflect a terrible punch with a quick blocking movement and then sent him fall back with a sharp sidekick. In no time he was up on his feet again, launching another assault. I ducked immediately and rolled on the ground away from his outraged blows, amidst whirls of gray sand.

  All at once, a strong kick made my head spin and I collapsed; the crowd roared in wild excitement. I hadn't lost my senses yet, but I no longer knew where I was or what I was doing; I was only vaguely aware of imminent danger. Instinct alone saved my life, as right at the correct moment I came to myself and swept the opponent down with a low kick. He certainly hadn't expected that, for he finally lost balance and fell on the sand. Right after, I pounced on him with a loud martial cry and brought the fight to an end with a sharp blow between his eyes. Zygor Amherst sank to the ground unconscious.

  For a few moments I stayed there motionless, pondering on how lucky I was that time; not only had I survived a very dangerous opponent, but I had also avoided one more meaningless killing. The buzz of the displeased crowd irritated me, but I didn't really care. I considered this an ideal ending to my career as a gladiator, which also brought me one step closer to my original purpose.

  . . . .

  I could barely contain my suspense, as six silent acolytes were guiding me to the Great Hall of Honour. This is where the king of Phaon himself awards champion gladiators -a sanctum accessible only to those who deserve it. When we reached the black metal portal, here known as The Last Gate, I was astounded to see that the clerics knew how to type the secret digital code which allowed entrance to the vast room. When the portal was open at last, I saw the king sunk in his carved ebony throne, obscured in his dark-coloured royal garments. The grimness on his face showed he did not like at all the fact that he had to reward a female gladiator; yet, he couldn't otherwise now.

  As I stepped in, my heart leaped with wonder: The dark gray walls were hidden behind a complex of heterogeneous pieces of machinery; odd-shaped outgrowths; giant glassy spools matching each other in paradox manners; sharp-edged levers jutting out in hinted aggression; numerous hexagonal hivelike cavities beaming inside with a soft light; interspersed gemstones of various shapes and colours shed an uncanny soft light in the whole room; most of the pieces were covered with a protective network made of some membranous tissue. The ceiling consisted of big metal slabs, carved with relief representations of dreadful aliens. But what impressed me most, were the space navigation systems, the vast polyhedral screens, the odd-shaped furnishings, all symmetrically placed around the king's throne.

  It was all true then, what I had read in the Word of Alagor: The Great Hall of Honour, its origin unknown to its present residents, was in fact the legendary starship Zephyrus: a work of extraordinary science and incredibly old age, a myth for many civilizations, resting there, on that insignificant planet, for millennia. Certainly, the primitive people of Phaon could have never imagined what it really was; to them, it had always been a godsent temple of kings.

  . . . .

  It proved to be rather difficult for me to overcome a certain nervousness that night, until I finally managed to calm down and go to sleep for I had to dream. Before long I gained awareness of myself and the dream became lucid; I explored the astral fields for a few moments, then I forced myself to awake instantly, only to sink to the hypnagogic state again -this time envisaging the expressive face of the notorious outlaw Arion. The image of him grew clearer and clearer before me, his shiny red hair waved in the soft breeze, his slit green eyes sparkled in the light of dawn. The haze gradually melted away and I was elsewhere now, watching the infamous Lord Diodor, ruler of the Abyssal Realms, cautiously climbing on the purple cliffs that rise above the dark waters of the Nameless Lagoon. He looked impressive in his black uniform with the metal epaulets and the heavy firearm in his hands.

  “All right, Arion, give me back my Jade Sceptre and I shall spare your life! Maybe!” he bellowed harshly.

  “Why don't you come and get it?” echoed a daring voice behind a high rock.

  “You will regret this Arion!” cried the enemy full of wrath, as he climbed higher on the steep rocks, scanning the coast with his narrow, cunning eyes. All of a sudden, a scarlet laser beam hissed down the mossy crags and hit the stone just an inch away from the Lord's head, leaving him breathless for an instant. Right then, I heard Lord Diodor command his mercenaries with a rough voice: “Get him now, dead of alive! Move, you morons!”

  Hidden behind a shell-shaped rock, I watched Arion fighting six of them. I had no doubt he would prevail once again against the sluggish warriors of the Abyssal Realms, thanks to his determination and his excellent martial arts. I didn't have to wait long: Just a few seconds later, he had managed to kick them all off the crags. However, Lord Diodor -undoubtedly more efficient than his ruffians- kept on climbing up the cliffs, always full of anger, while Arion had taken cover behind a massive arched rock. Then I realized he was completely unarmed. He must have lost his laser weapon during the fight, I thought, feeling a clasp on my heart.

  As soon as the enemy came near enough, Arion pounced on him at once, defying the enemy's deadly firearm; he barely dodged a thick luminous beam that shattered the purple rock behind him into burning dust. Right after, a set of impressive kicks made Lord Diodor lose his balance, stumble back and fall off the cliffs. The heavy weapon slipped off his hands, and a terrible scream echoed all around. A soft thud was heard and Arion rushed down the precipice in search of the Lord's body; yet he found nothing. An ominous silence reigned all over the coast.

  All of a sudden, a dark shadow sprang out of an oblong gap among the rocks and assaulted Arion like a crazed beast. It was Lord Diodor attacking barehanded; he managed to take his rival by surprise, throw him down b
y the edge of a flat rock and grab him by the throat, in a furious attempt to straggle him. After a few agonizing moments, Arion finally got rid of the deadly grip and pushed the enemy off with his strong legs. The Lord cried of pain as he crashed upon jagged crags; yet, next moment he was back on his feet again, ready to continue the duel. I watched the rest of the fight in anguish, until Arion got impatient and sent the Lord meet his men into the cold waters of the Nameless Lagoon, with a set of impressive high kicks. I left my hiding place and ran to him for a long kiss of love.

  Time to return: I forced awakening at once, all my attention focused on Arion's enchanting face and the warmness of his hand in mine. Almost immediately, I woke up in my quarters in Phaon with a burning mind. The outlaw was with me now, his slender figure outlined in the moonlight that came through the latticed window.

  “Does Venor know anything about this?” he asked thoughtful.

  “Venor? Of course not, how did this occur to you?”

  “I don't know; but he's been after you for the last two years!”

  “He's been after you, too. It was you who helped me escape from the Palladian Fleet, remember?”

  “He had been after me long before that,” he corrected me.

  . . . .

  We wound our way through the endless dark corridors like flitting shadows, perceived by guards only when it was too late for them. We had just disposed of the last ones, when we finally stood in front of the Last Gate. My heart sank in uncertainty, as I typed the digital code memorized from the Word of Alagor, upon the odd flower-shaped keyboard embedded in the centre of the portal. When we entered the bridge of the legendary starship Zephyrus at last, for a few moments we stood still, hardly believing we had just achieved our purpose.

  “Do you really know how to navigate this? I'm not so sure if it still functions, anyway” said Arion then in a broken voice, actually spoiling the magic of the moment.

  “We shall see...” I replied, trying to sound as certain as possible.

  I had studied a lot about the Zephyrus in the Word of Alagor -though I often had the impression some parts were missing- so I thought I knew how to put an end to its agelong apparent death and pilot it back to the vast lacunae of outer space, where it once belonged.

  With hesitant steps, we walked to the navigation panel which was made of a light green iridescent material.

  “Arion, give me the Jade Sceptre,” I said softly.

  He took the stolen item out of its sheath and handed it to me; all I had to do now, was place it in the respective cavity and wait for a few agonizing seconds. To my great excitement, it gradually turned transparent and luminous, shedding a soft white light all around. I sighed in relief, for the first step had been successful: It is the Jade Sceptre that provides the Zephyrus with neutrino-naser energy. After that, I felt a lot more confident: I lowered the correct levers, pressed dozens of keys, gave mental and manual orders to the Artificial Intelligence Unit and finally stayed still, full of suspense. Innumerable lights flashed one after another, the weird-shaped screens lit up; a vibrating whirr filled the air as incredible quantities of energy were streaming into the powerful engines, bringing the ancient starship back to life. Like a giant night butterfly, with its sinister wings glittering in the starlit sky, breath-taking and dreadful, the Zephyrus took off at last, after eons of idleness. It slowly started to ascend into the night sky of Phaon, reducing to burning dust a large part of the miserable city below, while the red star Zenobe was pulsating outside our window.

  For an indefinable span of time, all sense of reality seemed lost for both of us and our everlasting passion, as we crossed vast intergalactic distances towards a final destination: a small, semi-material asteroid known as Tifereth, in the centre of the constellation of Argo -Arion's home and kingdom.

  . . . .

  What we should have foreseen but unconsciously chose not to: Someone had been after us during all that time, probably taking into account the information given to him on planet Phaon, as well as the data of another source I don't want to talk about; the fact is that during the last two years it has been impossible for me to hide from him for long. As soon as the enemy's spacecraft suddenly appeared in our radars, we both froze in astonishment.

  “I don't believe it! A Palladian spacecraft!” I cried perplexed.

  “Venor's spacecraft!” gasped Arion.

  At that moment, a terrible suspicion occurred to me.

  “Where did you find the Word of Alagor, Arion?” I asked him in feigned calmness.

  “I had to steal it from Venor; but I assure you, he doesn't know who took the book and I left no trace behind...”

  “Does this look like he doesn't know?” I snapped out, as the enemy's spacecraft appeared in our screens and seemed to be approaching steadily.

  “I had no choice; I almost bumped into him while he was taking it from the Ancestral Library of Phaon; unfortunately, he had been there before me, but I can assure you he got wind of the theft a long time after I was gone...”

  “You should have told me that from the start!” I interrupted stern.

  “Sandra! This is not the right tie to quarrel! We can talk about it later!” he retorted impertinently. I was mad at him but he had a point.

  “You are right; we can talk about it later. After the prince has taken an unforgettable lesson!”

  Confident of our military superiority, I set the Zephyrus on a war footing. However, the very next moment the enemy managed to anticipate my attack, but that was no reason to worry: just like I had expected, his reinforced lasers proved to be totally ineffective against the protective shield of the Zephyrus. Right after, I felt a strange vibration in the air and I quivered. “I don't like this,” I muttered and then I focused my attention on the main screen, where the most dangerous weapon in the known universe had just appeared, slowly unfolding itself to the form of a gigantic spectral cobweb: an abominable horror, a living organism known as the Lethe, practically indestructible and everlasting, feeding on all kinds of energy. Nothing less than a cosmic vampire, controllable only by its master, the prince Venor of the Palladian Empire.

  “What are you waiting for? Destroy him now that you still can!” cried Arion.

  “Too late, Arion!” I said breathless.

  Although I inwardly knew it would be pointless, I attacked repeatedly with reinforced lasers which Venor dodged easily; in the meantime, the Lethe was growing bigger and bigger, unfolding its countless horrible tentacles faster and faster, imposing its dominant presence in the starlit vacuum of space. I sought to launch neutrino-naser shells against it but there was not enough energy left to fire them; I fired nuclear bombs at it, then an antimatter shell, but they all proved to be like sugar cubes to the hovering monster, already reaching its full size -no smaller than a lesser planet.

  Very soon all gauges showed low levels, which meant that the cosmic vampire had already started to absorb energy from the Zephyrus. A few moments later the whole spaceship shook vehemently because of Venor's next attack. Arion hastened to fire the lasers again and again, before I could say or do anything. Such a swift reaction would have taken any warrior by surprise, but not an excellent fighter like Venor, who swerved just in time and escaped intact.

  “Arion, don't do anything like that again!” I shouted at him, while the gauges were now reaching the alarm zone. He muttered something between his teeth and threw his fist against a black piece of furniture of indefinable material and use.

  “We must get out of here!” I uttered thoughtful.

  “How shall we do this, you smart aleck?”

  “I opened my mouth to say “I don't know” but I passed it in silence instead.

  “I have an idea,” I said finally, in obvious uncertainty. “Let's just hope it will work.”

  I stood in front of the Artificial Intelligence Unit and gave an order for a cosmic confluence. My heart was pounding in my throat, hoping to have followed the correct programming procedure, hoping it wasn't too late for that.
/>
  To my great relief, the complicate order was eventually accepted, in spite of the enormous energy loss. Only one second of sheer agony elapsed; then I sank into a sweet vertigo, my conscience lost in a seething vortex deep inside, and the entire universe seemed to be melting in its awesome eye.

  . . . .

  I was flying high over endless white fields; I entered a narrow foggy path that gradually took shape between two lines of leafy trees. I relished an exhilarating sense of freedom, but soon everything around me melted into the astral substance, the ethereal matter all universes are made of. A new path was now being formed, barely discernible between the white tree trunks that spouted up towards the alabaster sky. For a split second everything remained motionless, translucent white, incomplete. Suddenly, at the far end of the path there was a sphere of sparkling light that grew brighter and brighter, until it obliterated the trees, the path, me, the world...

  The blinding light gradually started taking material forms again; I was rather scared at first, but I felt a lot better when I saw that we were still on the bridge of the Zephyrus and everything seemed to be in place. Yet, it was obvious we were no longer travelling; the starship seemed to be inert. I had an impatient look on the main screen and I was relieved to find out that dimensional transposition had been successfully completed: We had landed on a vast desert of bluish quartz, studded with turquoise glimmering rocks. A strong wind was blowing over the barren land, lifting clouds of azure sand into the air; a scarlet dawn crowned lilac mountains in the horizon, as a huge golden moon was rising in the crimson sky.

  No more than a few seconds had passed, when I noticed a little sparkling light trace a curved line on the sky, beyond the high mountain crest in the horizon. It looked like a distant shooting star, but I had no doubts about what it really was. Without explaining anything to Arion, I retired to my chamber with the excuse of feeling tired. I lay down and let my mind be still; my heartbeat gradually decelerated and became fainter and fainter, as I was gradually falling in a state of deep hypnosis. When the time was right, I prompted my astral body out.

  The astral projection verified my suspicions: the flying object was a spacecraft, no other than Venor's personal spacecraft. I watched the prince of the Palladian Empire walk out of the pilot's cockpit and call his men. All of a sudden he paused and looked around carefully. His set face with the clearcut features looked stern and his blue eyes narrower. Can he somehow sense my presence? I wondered.

  My return was abrupt and awkward, leaving me with a vague impression of an ethereal wave thrown back into my physical body and the bad temper that usually follows a violently interrupted astral projection. Anyway, I was back in my chamber again, my heart pounding in anguish. I sprang to my feet, dashed to the door and froze there, as I heard rushing steps and harsh soldiers' voices echoing right outside my room. For heaven's sake, did my trip take so long? I worried -for I had to try something even more difficult now...

  . . . .

  The squad of ten Palladian soldiers stood still as they suddenly saw someone blocking the octagonal corridor before them: it was the notorious Arion of Tifereth, challenging the intruders with a laser weapon in hand. There was a moment of mutual hesitation; then, one of the soldiers launched an attack and the battle burst out. Arion fought each one of them with undaunted courage, remaining surprisingly cool during the unequal fight. His laser beams flashed deadly in the ionized air, soon exterminating three of his opponents. He seemed to enjoy the tension of every single moment, as if the result didn't really matter to him, winning or losing, living or dying; he looked proud and fearless even when he was forced to retreat and captured in the end. His green eyes glowed with fury, although Venor's firearm was now pointed at his chest.

  Right at that moment, my astral experience was altered abruptly and I could no longer control it; this meant that something was going wrong, as I consciously recognized the revival of an old, painful memory, and at that time I could do nothing to escape from it.

  ... The door of the throne chamber was suddenly open wide, one of the guards got in and announced the arrest of an intruder. Both Palladian princes glared in surprise.

  “An intruder? Here? That's impossible!” exclaimed Venor in disbelief.

  Two more guards got in, holding a third one as a captive, his hands tied behind his back.

  “He certainly isn't a guard,” said Venor and hastened to unmask the intruder with his own hands. As soon as he removed the characteristic casque worn by Palladian warriors, the prince was taken aback, as he faced the most wanted outlaw in the Palladian dominion.

  “Arion of Tifereth!” he exclaimed. “It's you, once again!”

  Seeing Arion captured by his worst enemies, my heart leaped in my chest and my ethereal copy fluctuated in agony between the physical and the astral field -just like I had suffered then...

  “Kill him at once!” ordered Xavier with a sarcastic smile.

  “Not so fast, brother,” dissented Venor then. “If we kill him in cold blood, we'll only make his legend stronger. Better use him for our purposes first...”

  “What are you talking about, Venor? We'll never have another chance like this!”

  “Killing him would be too easy and magnanimous; besides it would make him a symbol of revolution all over the known universe.”

  Xavier sought to disagree again but Venor paid no heed and raised his voice: “I have special plans for you, Arion: You have no implants in your body, right? Well, pretty soon this will change and you will be my most loyal servant!”

  “You can't scare me, Venor. No matter what you do, I will find a way to escape. And it won't be the first time...” retorted Arion audaciously.

  “Don't be a fool, Venor! Kill him now!” cried Xavier full of impatience.

  “He certainly didn't manage to infiltrate in here all by himself,” went on Venor with an arrogant smile. “I'm sure there is a traitor in the base, a secret ally who provided Arion with all the information he needed. Let's give him an hour, while we'll be scanning his mind; if Arion manages to resist the scanning or if his ally doesn't make a move in the meanwhile, then the hero dies anyway!”

  At that moment, Venor turned to his right and stared at me, as though he could actually see me. Can he actually sense I'm here? I was worried for an instant; right after, everybody in the throne chamber was dumbfounded as they saw me entering through the door of the throne chamber...

  ... But enough retrospection; trying the same trick twice on the same enemy is not the best tactic, but I had no more time to think of a better alternative. As I got out of my room with slow, stealthy steps, Venor turned round fast; his long blond hair waved over his broad shoulders and he riveted his bright blue eyes on me.

  “How did you find me here, Venor?” I asked as calm as possible.

  “You know that my spacecraft can carry out space dilations; Besides, there is no way you can hide from me, you know that too, Sandra.”

  “So, what do you want this time?”

  “At first I doubted whether you would ever be able to locate the Zephyrus, let alone steal it; but now that you have finally managed to do so, I want it for myself. Am I clear enough?”

  “I think so...” I paused and looked at him straight into the eyes -which distracted him for a moment or two. But what if he suspects anything? I worried as my right hand slipped to the side of my belt, where a laser gun was fastened. Of course, such a move would have never taken by surprise experienced Palladian warriors, who fired immediately.

  When my astral body -this time thick enough to be visible- vanished into thin air before their eyes, they all gasped in amazement. Right at that moment, I opened the door of my chamber, rushed out in frenzy and fired twice. That unexpected attack caught the soldiers off guard and two of them collapsed on the floor lifeless. Arion grasped at the opportunity at once; with a sharp movement of this arms he managed to free himself from those who held him captive. I shot once again but missed, as the rest of the soldiers stepped aside ju
st in time and got ready to fight back. Yet Arion reacted instantly, sweeping them all down with a set of fast high kicks. Then we both fled at once, while Venor's raging voice was echoing behind us: “Get them! Now!”

  I ran frantically along the dark corridor, barely dodging the successive mortal beams that flashed around me; I went up and down spiral stairways, entered odd-shaped rooms I barely took a look at, the enemies' steps always a few paces behind. All of a sudden, I shivered; I had no idea where I was. My agony reached a peak as I realized that Arion was nowhere to see. Moreover, I was now standing in front of a black metal door at the edge of a narrow passageway, the soldiers' rushing steps echoing closer and closer behind me. I saw no other alternative but pass through; next instant, a shock: I was virtually trapped in a bizarre room with even more bizarre furnishings, whose utility I couldn't at all imagine; my pursuers were already by the door, and there was no other way out. I gasped for air, almost worn out.

  “Sandra Nox! Give up!” Venor's commanding voice reverberated into the dimly lit room.

  I stood motionless, pondering on the situation; it was no use trying to escape any more. I hid quickly behind a high translucent pillar filled with a yellow effervescent fluid inside. I waited there with all my senses on the alert; seconds later the Palladian soldiers trooped in, with their heavy firearms in hand. Once they had approached near enough, I extended my hand out of my hiding place and fired at once; one of them dropped dead on the black tiled floor. Right after, I moved fast and took cover behind a lofty metal construction on my left, barely dodging the concerted counterattack of the others.

  All of a sudden, I felt a violent grasp around my waist; strong, muscular arms seized and lifted me up, so tight that choked all the air out of my lungs. Defying the sharp pain in my ribs, I managed to throw a direct kick to another Palladian soldier who sought to pounce on me; then I twisted my body rapidly and my left elbow hit my captor hard on the chin. That made him loosen his grip a little, and I landed him one on the nose with the back of my fist; he let go, screaming in pain. My feet finally touched the ground, and I was free again. Next moment I felt a bad singe on my armed hand and I dropped the laser gun with a cry of pain. To my astonishment, I saw it was Venor who had fired. How could I ever forget about him, even for a split second? I wondered about myself. His firearm was now pointed at me and I was scared stiff. “It is all over, Sandra,” he announced firm.

  Two or three seconds of deathly silence had elapsed, when a dreadful crash echoed all around and the translucent pillar was split apart by a luminous laser beam. We all covered our faces instinctively, as innumerable jagged bits of the glassy material, together with thick drops of the yellow fluid, were shot around in a moment of incredible tension. Once the air had cleared out a little, I tried to peer through the green fumes emanating from the liquid substance which was now spilled all over the place. To my surprise, I discerned the slender figure of Arion emerging from the haze; he had appeared out of nowhere, just at the correct moment, and was watching the slightest motion in the room with rapt attention. In a split second, he sprang and rolled in the air with an unbelievable somersault; before anyone could react, he managed to seize the prince from behind and press the barrel of his weapon against the enemy's throat. Venor gasped in consternation and let his firearm fall down.

  “One wrong movement and the prince dies!” cried Arion.

  The remaining three Palladian soldiers were disarmed and forced to get out of the Zephyrus. The prince thought he would go last; but, as he was about to step out, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the antechamber, just a second before the main portal was shut.

  As soon as Venor realized what had just happened to him, he immediately burst into wrathful frustration and sought to attack Arion, entirely ignoring our weapons being pointed at him. I had to stick the barrel of my laser gun on his right temple, in order to make him freeze; he gave up and leaned his back on the gray wall, breathless.

  “First of all: how did you manage to break into the Zephyrus?” I asked to know, although I could see he had no intention of speaking at all.

  “He brought the Lethe here; I had to shut all power off, or there would be no energy left,” explained Arion hastily.

  “Why, Venor? The greatest battleships in the known universe are under your command. What more did you expect to find in the Zephyrus?”

  The prince stayed silent. I didn't expect him to answer, anyway.

  “I can't understand why you are keeping him here, Sandra”, Arion broke in. “We should have blown all Palladian brains out, instead!”

  “I don't agree, Arion! On the contrary, I believe that the prince will prove to be of great help if is stays here with us for a while” I said mordantly. “Firstly, he will secure a safe departure for us; and I suspect he knows secrets about the Zephyrus that we cannot even imagine! Am I correct, Venor?”

  The prince stood still, always silent, his cold eyes fixed on me. My unexpected decision to keep him prisoner had surely bewildered him, just like it had bewildered Arion; but I had to be near Venor that night, if I wanted to get from him all the information I needed.

  . . . .

  That night was a night of victory for the prince of the Palladian Empire. Having finally disposed of his worst enemies, he stood triumphant at the bridge of the legendary Zephyrus, heading for new worlds to conquer. All he had to do now was utter the correct vocal orders, in an old-forgotten language once used only in rituals of ancient magic, and the Artificial Intelligence Unit would allow him unprecedented cosmic experiences like time travel, entrance to the multiverse, multiple existence in parallel dimensions. There was nobody there to hear the forbidden words, nobody but his wise and trustworthy droid counselors, who all looked exactly the same in their titanium panoply with the opaque glassy casque. Venor could not at all suspect that one of them was me.

  A few minutes later he woke up, as the effect of the soporific gas was over; the prince sighed in disappointment when he realized that his great victory was only a dream. Then, he turned his head to the left and saw me smiling to him through the window pane of his cell. His face turned pale and frowned in dismay, when my lips formed clearly one of the invocations he had used in his dream.

  “What are you going to do with me?” he asked later, after we had almost reached a certain destination.

  “We? Nothing!”, I chuckled. “We 're just going to leave you on a nice planet with beautiful nature and very friendly residents!”

  “The people of Gonast have been my friends for ages. As long as you are with them, we shall be sure that the Fleet will keep away from the Zephyrus”, explained Arion.

  “No need to worry! They aren't going to keep you there for ever!”, I said sarcastically.

  “Gonast? But it is inhabited by women only! Descendants of Amazons!” exclaimed Venor.

  “Masters of superior sciences and magic!”, added Arion.

  “The Palladian Fleet has never been there”, I reminded Venor. “I wonder why...”