Star-Born Mage Read online

  At that very moment, Ava bounded down the stairs with Minnow thumping just behind her. Perched on his shoulders were a variety of strange-looking creatures, most of them amphibious in nature. He shrugged, and the expression was so normal Vee couldn’t help but smile.

  “It’s time to go,” she said. “Goodbye…sister.”

  She felt her heart break just a little more.

  ~~~

  “Took you long enough,” Miranda said when they reentered the hoverlimo. Soldiers were backing away from the house, their rifles on a swivel as if an attack was imminent, even in the quiet, wealthy neighborhood. What are they so worried about? Vee wondered.

  “Shall I go back in for a cup of tea?”

  “Funny. I never knew you to be a comedian back at the Academy.”

  Vee felt a flare of anger. How dare this woman speak of the Academy? Before she knew what she was doing, Vee made a throwing motion with her hand, tracing the glyph as her hand cut through the narrow space inside the vehicle.

  Sphere.

  A fireball shot from her fingertips and Vee immediately saw how it would end: with her in an Alliance prison, once more destroying the only chance she had at living the life she wanted.

  The Class 5 mage, however, seemed prepared for the attack, forming the counterspell in the air even as Vee was formulating her own glyph. The fireball stopped, the flames fanned by a wall of air that rose between them. With a roar, Miranda sent the fire back at Vee and she ducked, flames exploding all around her. If not for her natural immunity to fire, she would’ve likely been roasted alive. Thankfully, Minnow had not yet entered the vehicle and he fell back even as Miranda dove past him to safety.

  Vee, orange and red flames reflecting in her eyes as the fire surrounded her, hesitated, watching the limo burn. She hoped it wasn’t foreshadowing what would become of her life.

  Then she stepped out casually, striding away in the direction the others had retreated. A powerful force hit her from behind as the vehicle exploded, but she held it off with a quick spell—Shield—as metal shrapnel fell around her, glancing off the invisible, superheated force that surrounded her.

  From the doorway, she saw her father and daughter staring, openmouthed. She waved. Yes, I am a freak show. But at least I’m not Miranda.

  “I hope you were insured?” she said to Miranda, who was lying on the grass with her hand shielding her face.

  ~~~

  The new hoverlimo was much the same as the old, except now they had to share it with half a dozen soldiers who looked as green as the grass on her father’s lawn. Their luggage, which was minimal, was jam-packed in the trunk.

  Vee ignored Miranda’s scowl, inspecting her MAG/EXP counter. 100,003, it read. A trickle of points continued to flow into it. 100,008, 100,021, 100,054. It finally stopped at 100,103. She was a third of the way to the 300,000 points required to level up to Class 4, a feat that had, not so long ago, felt like a spacedream.

  “You managed to torch our ride, yet your crew still stands at two, including you,” Miranda said. “I should end this now and arrest you.”

  “Yet the situation remains unchanged,” Vee said, relishing this moment. “You need me.” She knew Miranda was only using her, but still…

  “Enough. You had your chance. The starship is waiting at the launch field. Two of my soldiers will fill out your team just fine.”

  Vee smiled, for she’d already noticed what no one else in the limo had. As usual, it was the slight ripple of air around the edges that gave him away. “Three, you mean. You said my crew stands at two, but we’re at three the last time I checked.”

  “If this is meant to be another one of your pathetic jokes…”

  “It’s not,” a voice said from above, on the limo’s ceiling.

  Half a dozen soldiers fumbled at half a dozen weapons, angling them toward where the sound had arisen. Miranda’s finger was in the air, prepared to form a spell.

  “Tsk tsk,” Terry said, appearing in his full chameleonesque glory, his suction-cup fingers and toes splayed against the limo’s velvet lining. “So quick to violence. And I thought I was an honored guest.”

  “What changed your mind?” Vee asked, curious.

  Terry smiled, showing his needle-like teeth. “That fireball of yours back at the house. Nothing tingles my spine more than a little random destruction.”

  “I think we’re going to get along just fine,” Minnow said, grinning.

  “Thanks,” Vee said, surprised by the emotion in her own voice.

  “Don’t mention it. Now let’s find that jerk ex of yours and melt his brains or whatever you’re planning to do to him.”

  “We’re looking to capture him,” Miranda said. “No one will be melting brains.”

  “I guess she’s the buzzkill of the group,” Terry said, somersaulting into the only free seat, crammed between Miranda—who recoiled sharply—and Minnow—who grinned before vanishing, his body camouflaged as Terry touched him. “Sorry about that, big fella. I get carried away sometimes.”

  Minnow reappeared, still smiling. “Sorry about what?” he asked, none the wiser.

  Vee shook her head and smiled. Things were finally looking up. Her trip to the planet of misfits had been well worth it.

  Chapter 12

  Company

  Terry was enjoying his time in the hoverlimo, vanishing and reappearing next to random soldiers, scaring the living void out of them.

  Vee was enjoying watching.

  After perhaps his tenth such prank, Miranda finally snapped, “Enough!” and slammed her hand down onto one of the unused entertainment consols.

  “What’s got her unmentionables in a bunch?” Terry said, settling into his plush seat, instantly blending in with the dark leather.

  “She’s pissed you took so long to jump on board,” Vee said.

  “So long? It was, what, six hours?”

  “Seven but felt like more.”

  “Can’t a guy make an entrance anymore? Geez.”

  “This mission is doomed,” Miranda muttered. “I’ve hired a company of idiots and morons.”

  “Synonyms,” Minnow said.

  Miranda sniffed. “What?”

  “You called us both idiots and morons, which are essentially the same thing. That’s like me calling you a bitch and a snerfgobbler, which, in my language, have the same meaning.”

  Miranda only shook her head, placing it in her hands and massaging the space between her brows with her fingertips.

  Minnow grinned. Miranda was right. They were fools but damned talented ones. And Vee was glad to have them.

  “The security sensors have detected a vehicle that is ninety-nine percent likely to be in pursuit,” the limo’s onboard system droned.

  Miranda’s head snapped up from her palm, her eyes instantly clear and focused. “What sort of vehic—” she started to say, but her words were cut off as the limo’s warning lights began to flash. “Incoming! Evasive maneuvers required.”

  Vee was thrown from her seat when the limo banked sharply to the left. She ended up sprawled across Minnow’s lap, only to be thrust back the opposite way when the vehicle rolled back to the right. A sound roared past, one she’d heard only in simulations back at the Academy, and more recently, when Minnow had fired his shoulder rocket at the pageant.

  The limo leveled out just in time for the explosion, a percussive blast that left Vee’s ears ringing as the vehicle shuddered, flames passing around its tritonium-reinforced exterior. She fought to her feet, already summoning magic as she drew the mag-pistol Miranda had given her when she’d finally signed the contract.

  Miranda had already opened a hatch in the roof and was aiming a mag-rifle she’d scooped up from a rack on the wall. Just as Vee moved to follow her topside, she saw a glyph bloom on the weapon’s spellscreen. Gust. A simple, but effective Class 2 spell that wouldn’t drain too much of the air mage’s magical reserves.

  Vee popped her head through the hatch like a gopher just in time to see t
he pursuing vehicle, a hoverchaser typically used only by law enforcement, get blown off course by the blast of wind. In addition to its hovercraft capabilities, the chaser had a set of small wings, allowing it a greater level of agility while also being able to fly higher than other hover-vehicles. Not that it mattered now. The chaser careened into another vehicle, a hovercar speeding in the other direction, both spiraling to the ground in a shriek of metal, sparks flying.

  In the dead chaser’s wake, three more chasers appeared, each heavily armored and fitted with wing launchers bristling with rockets, several of which shot forth, flames propelling them forward.

  Miranda was working on her next spell when Vee finished her first. Ignite. A Class 1 spell Vee could’ve performed in her sleep, but she infused it with enough aura to fire off three shots, aiming just ahead of the path of the rockets. The first bullet sailed high, but caught one of the hoverchaser’s wings, which immediately caught on fire. The vehicle’s defenses kicked in, a spray of water spurting from a nozzle on the side, but the flames were unnatural, Vee’s signature purple flames eating their way through the metal. The chaser tilted awkwardly, nearly slamming into one of its companions before tumbling into a nosedive.

  Meanwhile, one of Vee’s other magic-infused bullets had missed wildly, while the third’s aim had been true, its flames bursting around the edges of the center rocket, which exploded when the purple fire reached its core.

  The force of the explosion was like a massive invisible hand shoving them forward, and Vee almost lost her balance, steadying herself with a hand on the edge of the limo’s roof. Miranda was less quick, too busy adding the finishing touches on an intricate Class 5 spell known as tornado, which would’ve likely drained all that was left of her aura and also ended the battle.

  Instead, the warrior mage fell back, her finger accidentally squeezing her mag-rifle’s trigger. Bang! The weapon’s report was loud, confined to the limo’s interior, the bullet ratcheting off the ceiling an arm’s length away from where Vee was perched.

  Shit.

  Beneath Vee, she saw bodies being thrown about, picked up like feathers by the powerful spell as it swirled about. The service bot was ripped from its track, clattering off Terry even as it asked the Chameleot whether he would like to enjoy an ice-cold beverage. Soldiers were tossed about like ragdolls, smashing into each other. Leather seats were ripped from their fittings, providing a small measure of protection to those who managed to grab one as they spiraled past. Even Minnow’s weight was no match for the spell, and Vee looked on as his body collided with Terry, then Miranda, then one of the male soldiers, whose eyes bulged like he’d been punched in the man-pillows.

  Vee felt her own body being sucked into the vortex, but she managed to pull her legs above the melee, clinging to a fin on the hoverlimo’s sleek roof as the wind pummeled her. Thankfully, the other two rockets had been blown from the sky when her ignite spell had exploded the one in the center. Unfortunately, her attack hadn’t damaged the other two chasers in pursuit, each cutting sharply to the side to skirt the edges of the explosion.

  Two more rockets roared from their moorings. Vee still had plenty of aura left in her reserves due to the healthy dose she’d received earlier, and she rapidly traced two defensive spells on her pistol’s spellscreen, connecting them with a magical bridge she’d learned in her third year at the Academy, just before she’d been kicked out. Combined, it was a solid Class 3 spell for Flame Shield, and as she squeezed the trigger the bullet shattered almost immediately, creating a circle of flames that loosely resembled the type of shield that might be used in hand-to-hand combat by battling space knights.

  The dual rockets passed through the shield, but they were not unscathed, blowing up a moment later before they could reach the limo. Once again, however, the hoverchasers dodged the obstacle deftly, their pilots more than up to the challenge. Another rocket shot forth in a blaze of smoke and flames.

  Vee prepared to cast another spell but lost her balance when the hoverlimo hit turbulence. She managed to catch herself but when she looked back at the rocket it had cut the distance in half and was now too close for comfort. Even a cheap, half-ass spell likely wouldn’t stop it in time. She braced herself, hoping it would miss but knowing it would not.

  The hoverlimo started to turn, its warning sirens blaring louder than ever as it sensed the imminent blow it was about to take. Vee gritted her teeth and held on just as the rocket—

  The hoverlimo dove suddenly and the rocket whooshed past, the heat from its tail flames washing across Vee’s skin as her stomach dropped. The mag-pistol slipped from her fingers as she scrabbled to cling to the limo’s frame.

  The limo nearly hit one of the palm trees lining the road but swerved around it at the last possible second before rising back into its lane. A new warning droned from the speakers: You have violated three hovertraffic sky rules. Your fine is sixteen thousand Vectors. Please transmit the full amount within six business days to avoid penalty and potential loss of license to ride.

  Vee glanced down intothe limo, trying to figure out what had happened. Most hovervehicles were programmed to follow the sky rules, so how had they managed such a maneuver?

  She spotted Terry, who was clinging to one of the sides, his fingers playing with a microboard, the cover of which he’d torn open. Clever Chameleot, Vee thought. He’d hotwired the limo and appeared to be fully in control of it now, twisting and turning manual control levers as he stared out the window and tried to avoid crashing while the tornado caused by Miranda continued to swirl around him.

  When Vee looked up again, she found the two hoverchasers behind them, having dropped out of traffic into the no-fly zone. Their pilots must’ve also overridden their vehicles’ safety protocols.

  For the first time since the chase began, Vee felt her reserves of aura begin to dwindle. She could continue playing defense, using relatively weak spells to block her enemies’ rockets, or she could go on the offensive with a more powerful spell slightly above her level of training, but which she’d practiced in her spare time.

  She would need something more powerful than a spell-pistol to process the tumultuous river of aura it would require. She shouted into the limo, “I need a mag-rifle!”

  Miranda sailed past, but her eyes were closed. Unconscious, either from a blow she’d taken while being spun about by her own tornado, or because of how quickly she’d spent her aura. The reason didn’t matter—she was less than useless now.

  “Minnow!” Vee shouted as her friend’s enormous frame flew by, glancing off one of the sides. The big fellow had managed to procure two of the leather seats and was holding them tight against his chest to protect himself from others—or perhaps, knowing his character, others from him.

  “Kinda busy!” he shouted back, vanishing as he swept past.

  Vee glanced back at the chasers, which were once more gaining on the limo, using their superior speed to close the gap. They’re going to give me less time to react when they fire their next volley, Vee thought.

  Peering back inside the limo, she spotted Minnow once more as he tumbled past. He’d relinquished one of his leather cushions, somehow managing to replace it with a mag-rifle, which he thrust in her direction.

  Vee missed it, her knuckles glancing clumsily off the stock.

  Dammit!

  The hoverchasers were a stone’s throw away now and closing fast. When they fired their rockets…

  She was out of time, so she did something crazy, clamping her feet around the limo’s fin and dropping back inside, immediately buffeted by the tornadic winds that were only just beginning to slow, their energy spent. Her leg muscles strained, her feet’s hold on the fin slipping away.

  And then Minnow was there, almost colliding with her but just missing, tossing the mag-rifle in her direction. She caught it with one hand, almost dropped it, but found purchase on the beveled barrel. With what physical strength she had left, she swung herself up and out of the limo, gasping with relief.
r />   She could see the hoverchasers’ pilots through the domed glass of their cockpits. They wore intense expressions and she could sense their fingers on the launch buttons.

  Screw that.

  Vee scrawled a sloppy glyph on the mag-rifle’s spellscreen, something that would’ve earned her low marks back at the Academy, not to mention the demerits for performing a spell above her Class.

  Superheat. It was a Class 4 spell she’d learned from a black-market book that had been snuck around from mage to mage in the Academy. Technically by using the spell she would be breaking the law, but she was out of options. It would have to be enough.

  She pulled and held the trigger, the spell glowing brightly before vanishing to the ratatatat of bullets spraying from the barrel.

  Verity almost collapsed from exhaustion but managed to clamp both hands on the fin and watch as multiple purple spots appeared on the metal frames of the pursuing chasers. The purple spots grew like a plague, covering the whole of the vehicles’ bodies, wings, and noses.

  They began to fall apart piece by piece, the startled pilots not even having time to utter a scream as their bodies were consumed by the heat.

  The last of Vee’s energy flagged, her fingers opening as she tried to angle her body in such a way that she would slump into the limo rather than tumbling to her death. I’m going to miss, she thought, surprised by the fact that she wasn’t scared, only resigned to her fate.

  Powerful arms shot from the limo’s hatch, strong hands gripping her ankles. Just before she was dragged inside, she saw the flare of a final rocket as it shot from one of the crumbling chaser’s wings, which tilted at an odd angle, finally giving her a view of the symbol etched on its surface:

  An “A” on the backdrop of a starship, rifles crossed in front.

  The Alliance symbol.

  What the void? Vee thought.

  Chapter 13

  One final crew member. You’re joking, right? Not so much.