The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2 novel Chapter 108

Part 17

“I tell you; I’d have done all I could to help with this plan, even without this offer. With it, you’ll have my devoted enthusiasm.”

“Excellent.” Six grinned. “All right, we’ll delay showing the trainees the Revealing until five hours after noon here, and we’ll try to hold the first of the nightly parties for everyone who joins right after that. That’ll give us time to make sure we have the spells all finalized.

“For now, Link with us and we’ll work on the logistics.”

Zwak looked down his nose at the boy. “Most Sylvan do not Link. Those of us who will, only do so with those we know and trust very well indeed.” he declared.

Six considered the elder Sylvan who towered over him, and his eyes darkened with tightly controlled anger. “You do now. I think I have the authority to crack your shields if I want to, and I can. Easily. You wouldn’t like that.”

“You think so, boy?” Zwak replied, his own anger rising in response. “As I understand things, you don’t have the authority to assault me psionicly or in any other way. But if you’re willing to get as good as you give, I’ll let you try it.”

“You’re challenging me to psionic combat? I’m understanding you correctly?” Six demanded as he quickly rose in the air up to Zwak’s eye level, then continued without waiting for an answer. “Because if you are, I’m accepting!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say combat.” Zwak told him with a nasty grin. “I wouldn’t want to earn your parents’ disapproval, after all. Shall we call it a friendly duel? We’ll agree to not kill one another or inflict anything permanent, or accept outside help.”

“Agreed.” Six said with a tight little nod. “Someone say go.”

“Go!” Fire said with a laugh.

In a blink, Six and his hundreds of automated psionic attack spells cracked Zwak’s psionic shields, shredded his defenses, took over his bodily functions, and stopped his heart.

Zwak screamed and flopped to the floor, clutching his chest and shoulder.

Six floated over him, his face aflame with anger, monitoring his thrashing opponent closely. He waited until only a fraction of a second remained before Zwak’s brain would begin to die, then he Healed the Sylvan’s body and mind, rebuilt the defenses and Shields he’d wrecked, firmly set his Link in place, and Read all there was to find there. There was enough that he chose to store it in a Memory spell. Then he suddenly cast Movement, raised the gasping Sylvan to his feet, and steadied him.

“You’re mine now if I want you, and you always will be.” Six quietly growled through clenched teeth. “I have what I want from you, and you have your orders. You are dismissed.”

With that, he Translocated Zwak back to his offices.

“Victory.” he quietly stated with a nasty grin.

A second later Alilia, Povon, Karz, Val, and Fire burst out laughing.

“Woooo hoo! That was something!” Fire whooped as she gave Six an affectionate slap on the back.

“Ha! You think the boy is the quiet diplomatic one, but not always!” Povon brayed.

“He is The Storm!” Val declared with a grin as she gave him a quick hug. “Those who’re lulled by the calm before the storm are always gonna get a big nasty surprise!”

“I do see the amusing aspects of the situation, but that was still a sudden and worrisome confrontation.” Kragorram declared with furrowed brows.

“I agree.” Mark nodded, and considered his son. “He was right, you know. You didn’t have the right to crack his shields, or even to order him to participate in a Link. Your relative positions in the hierarchy here hadn’t been officially established yet, so you didn’t even have the right to demand that he work with you, beyond the fact that Povon had already ordered him to do so.”

“I know.” Six grinned. “But I wasn’t over the line; you can check my wording. He’s a Sylvan, and he’d just seen how good our plan was. Suddenly he realized just how big of a threat to his Status we could be if we wanted to, so he confronted me to see how far he could push me. I recognized it and provoked him into issuing a challenge. I felt it was smarter to correct his attitude now, rather than let it fester any. The fact that the subject at hand was psionics, which is what I’m best at, offered an opportunity that I couldn’t resist.”

He shrugged and smiled; his anger dissipated. “That’s the way it is with Sylvan; if you don’t force their respect, you don’t get any.”

Talia could finally smile as her racing heart calmed. “I just about had a heart cramp there, you know. It was all I could do to not dishonor myself by striking at Zwak as Helemia said go. It’s not easy for a mother to stand by and watch while her son risks his mind.”

“I’m sorry Mother.” Six said with a smile as he came over and gave her a hug. “I didn’t mean to worry you, and I really wasn’t risking anything. I’d already stealthed past his Shields and Read him without him realizing it, right after he said that Sylvan don’t Link. I knew exactly what I was facing, and he never really had a chance. It was still fun though.”

Kragorram leaned in and down so he could inspect Six’s facial expression from close range, the tip of his snout only a meter from the boy. “You young warlocks are scary little beings sometimes. I don’t think you needed to be quite that nasty to adjust his attitude.”

“Thanks.” Six shrugged again, still smiling. “And maybe I didn’t, maybe I did.

“Besides, Karz is just as nasty as us, and he’s not a warlock. He just hasn’t had much opportunity to show it off.”

“He may not technically be a warlock, but he has your attitudes.” Povon laughed, giving her adopted son a nice scratch on the base of his neck.

“What can you expect?” Karz mused. “None of you adults were born to do anything. There was nothing that really demanded your dedication until the war with Zarkog came along, and none of you were children then.

“We were born and raised to wage war against the demons. We four may seem to have unique attitudes now, but that’s only because we’re the first children to grow up under the threat of the demons and reach any kind of maturity since that threat became known, thanks to the time-bubble and our accelerated development. But from now until the demons are gone, every child grows up knowing we’ll have to face them, and fight them. It makes a difference, in everything we think and do.”

“So it understandably makes you a bit nastier, and less likely to suffer fools.” Alilia laughed as she swept Fire up in a hug and spun her around, simply because she was closest. “And I’m so proud of the four of you I could just burst!”

“We’re all very proud of you kids.” Povon smiled. “But if you want to meet your objectives for today, we need to get working now.”

“Agreed.” Six nodded. “I think Karz and I should work on facilities and logistics, while Fire helps Val with the spells. If you adults want to help, you can join whatever team you think you’ll be best in.

Mark and Alilia chose to help with the spells, Kragorram and Talia helped with the organizing, and Povon split her attention between the projects about equally.

After an hour and a quarter, the two teams melded their efforts and their minds as they matched spell-sets to tasks, then modified one or the other or both in successive waves of innovation. Occasionally they called others into the Link for a few minutes, from races and places all over Kellaran; Master Healers; administrative specialists, magic users, Master Fishers, Farmers, and Ranchers. At one point, Mark even called in the commander and the senior instructor of the Finitran Rangers.

Finally they came to the last step; powering it all. They spent almost half an hour working on it before Val announced into the Link; “Hold on, I’m losing concentration from fatigue and complexity overdose. Let’s store all this in memory spells and take a break.”

“It’s all stored in my bracelet.” Povon announced as they withdrew from the Link.

“And in this powerstone.” Six added.

“Good.” Val said as she flopped back on the sofa she was sitting on and rubbed her temples.