Red Smoke Rising. Rick Psy.D. Anthony

just don’t see the point. Who cares if he’s in pain? I can’t hear him screamin’.”

      “You can’t hear him screaming because he’s not screaming. He’s unconscious; he might even be dead,” the first Myrmidon retorted.

      “My orders were to lock up the old man, the woman and the bloody one until questioning. Stern is already pissed over this, over Ipsamesh. A student got killed. These aren’t just commoners, and when someone comes to get them for interrogation I don’t want to have to explain why only two are left.”

      “Where are you getting all of this from? Why the sudden compassion for illegal augments?”

      “Bah!” the Myrmidon paused. “Jeanea has been blasting me about it since we brought them in. She’s gettin’ under my skin.”

      Lio recognized their voices—they were the Myrmidons who’d brought him in. The second Myrmidon sounded annoyed.

      “Do whatever you want, but stay out of the woman’s cell no matter what. I’m not wasting my time with this.”

      Then there was nothing. Once again Lio was left in total silence.

      The pain made him fuzzy. He wasn’t sure how much time elapsed between the Myrmidons’ conversation and the next noise.

      The professor teetered on the verge of consciousness, but snapped back to reality at the sound of something just outside his cell. He shook his head to clear the grogginess. He was immediately sorry—it jarred his shattered arm—but the pain allowed him to focus on the door as it swung open. Light from a torch in the hallway cast shadows all around him. It took his eyes a moment to adjust. When they did, he could make out three figures: two Myrmidons and a woman.

      The woman was a healer; the Empire insignia on her long, white robe caught the torchlight as she turned to him. One of the Myrmidons stood beside her while the other leaned against the wall, arms crossed with a scowl on his face.

      “Can you hear me?” the woman asked, bending down. “Are you all right?”

      Lio nodded. His eyes darted between the woman and the two Myrmidons.

      “Yes,” he muttered in a voice that shook from both pain and fear.

      The healer cracked a smile. “You certainly don’t look all right. You look pretty busted up.” The smile vanished. She shot an angry glare at the Myrmidon who stood at the door before concentrating on Lio once more.

      “Here,” she said kindly, removing a vial from her robe. “Drink this. It’s a mixture of herbs, a sage’s potion to numb the pain. This is going to hurt.”

      Lio knew what he was in for. The pain would only get worse and anything was worth a try. He accepted the vial and poured the foul-smelling contents of the tiny bottle down his throat until it was empty, wiping his lips with his sleeve when he was done.

      The healer readied a second, smaller vial. A drop of red liquid quivered on the end of the pipette in her hand. She dabbed it on the middle of her tongue. Her eyes closed as she replaced the vial in the folds of her robe.

      When she opened them again, they were wild. Even in the dim light of the cell, Lio could see the change. She stared right through him. He knew the look well.

      If she had smoked the raw form of the drug, the healer would have been able to see Lio’s aura, the brilliant swirling light that surrounded and represented him. By ingesting kuval, the refined version, in the manner she had, she would not only see the swirling light of his aura, but could touch and change it as well. The healing process would take anywhere from a few moments to a few hours, depending on her skill.

      The woman brought her eyes to his briefly before focusing on the splintered bone. She held out her hands over the break. Lio closed his eyes as the pain intensified. It felt like his arm was in a vice, forcing it back into position. Popping and a gut-wrenching grinding broke the silence. Lio moaned as tendons snapped around bone. The painkiller didn’t help at all. He yelped again and again as his arm twisted itself slowly back into shape.

      As the healing progressed, Lio’s aura changed from that of a man with a broken arm to that of the same man, but with a mended one instead, flickering from injury to mended wholeness. As the light patterns changed, Lio’s body changed too—healing to match his newly healed aura. That was the painful part.

      With a final loud pop, the bone protruding from his shirt slid back inside. Lio slid sideways, unconscious again.

      When he woke he was alone again, the pain in his arm was gone. Other than the damp blood that soaked through his shirt there was no trace it had ever been broken.

      Lio sighed. The situation was still dismal.

      What was that?

      A new conversation between the healer and the soldiers had erupted into shouts outside the cell

      “It’s not right!” the healer insisted loudly. “We are a civilized people in what is supposedly a civilized society. How do you justify this?”

      “Simple. She’s dangerous,” one of the Myrmidons snapped back. “I’m not bending on this one. She’s staying like that!”

      “Adan is right, Jeanea,” the other Myrmidon added. “From what I saw this is absolutely necessary.”

      “How can it be necessary to imprison anyone without clothing? It’s wrong and it’s sick,” Jeanea stated. “Why is it necessary? Why do you continually bring these people in beaten half to death?”

      Adan responded without hesitation, “Murder? Illegal augments? She killed two of my men! Whatever she pulled back there was some kind of trick I’ve never seen before. I don’t know how she did it; I’m not sure what she’s capable of. Until I find out what she is, I’m not bending on this and I’m not discussing it any further.”

      Adan’s voice ricocheted off the walls. “And don’t open her cell door! Since we took her clothes and belongings she hasn’t killed anyone. She’ll stay that way until somebody gives me answers or new orders. Return to your post.”

      Mia, Lio thought to himself. It’s all because of Mia.

      SOLITARY

      Mia shivered. She was cold and scared, huddled at the back of her cell, listening to the argument between Myrmidons. Their voices were familiar. One of them was the bastard who had locked her up, the one who had murdered Vi, the very same beast who humiliated her, forcing her to strip naked before the horse ride across the countryside to the prison.

      It hadn’t taken her long to undo the restraints on her hands and feet, but it took longer to gain the courage to stand and investigate her surroundings. She had been locked in for hours; it had been dark for some time. Her eyes fixed on the door, her ears strained to hear what the Myrmidons said.

      Mia’s long legs shook as she took a few tentative steps forward. The room was cold; she was terrified. Why hadn’t she left Ipsamesh sooner?

      She knew the danger from the beginning, but with the risks came rewards she couldn’t find elsewhere. Ipsamesh was one of only two Empire-run universities and in the short time she had attended, Mia had become one of the most adept Masters in the Empire. In those six years she had mastered more than most could in a lifetime, but she hid her achievements, even the very basis of her studies. At least she thought she had.

      So stupid to have stayed so long. Naïve to think I could get away with it… Her studies had been so successful she found herself reluctant to leave the wealth of information, the books and instructors the school offered. She hoped to have one final breakthrough before leaving, the breakthrough she worked toward from the very beginning. I should have left sooner. She certainly didn’t plan for her tenure to end the way that it did.

      Mia hid her pale face in her hands and paced back and forth across the cell. Tears streamed from her eyes. Vi. It’s my fault. If only…

      She