Instead of charging, like Vahn had expected the brute to do, the Faelus picked up a chair with one of his massive arms and hurled it at Vahn. Vahn ducked and watched the chair whizz over his head, shattering as it hit against a table about ten feet behind him.

  With his free hand, Vahn reached down and grabbed the sword from the dead Mystic’s hand. With a sword in each hand, Vahn charged toward the Faelus, raising the sword in his right hand above his head and bringing it down toward the Faelus’s head. The Faelus raised it’s hard, sharp claws and caught the sword between them. With the sword in his other hand, Vahn slashed toward the Faelus’s stomach. The Faelus roared in pain and leapt backward as Vahn’s sword made contact.

  Vahn stood back up straight, holding his swords out offensively toward the Faelus. Something caught Vahn’s eye behind where the Faelus was standing. There was a large mirror on the wall, and in the reflection Vahn could see another one of the Faelus’s former table mates. This one looked something like a large, ugly frog that could stand on its back feet.

  The ugly frog goon picked up Vahn’s assault rifle from the floor and pointed it at Vahn’s back.

  Vahn dropped to the floor as the frog opened fire.

  The bullets sailed over Vahn’s head and straight into the unsuspecting Faelus’s chest. The frog stopped firing as it realized what it had done. Vahn took advantage of the frog’s confusion, throwing his extra sword at the amphibian's head.

  The frog had the sense to duck the oncoming sword, but was too distracted to see Vahn charging at him.

  Vahn’s sword ran through the frog’s skull like a knife through butter. He was dead before he could even make a sound.

  Vahn picked up his rifle from the hands of the frog’s carcass and opened fire on the Mystic soldiers still entering the bar. He killed ten of them before his magazine ran out of bullets and his rifle became useless. He threw it to the side as he walked toward the remaining soldiers with his sword drawn.

  In the distance a loud horn blew. He’d heard it before as a soldier on the front lines. It was the Mystic’s signal to retreat.

  Vahn looked around the bar, hoping to find Titus, but the Draco was nowhere to be found.

  Vahn looked over at the Faelus’s dead body that was now surrounded by his remaining friends. They were in shock right now, but they’d be out for revenge soon.

  Vahn sheathed his sword and walked out of the bar. He stopped in the road as he felt a vibration in his pocket.

  He pulled the Line Transceiver from his pocket and saw the words unknown caller displayed on the screen.

  “Captain Ashbell speaking.” He said as he pushed the accept call button.

  “That’s a fun title, Vahn.” The voice on the other end of the line said, “Don’t let it go to your head though. You’ll always still be a sissy in my book no matter how many people call you captain.”

  “Drake?” Vahn said. “I can’t believe that you’re still alive!”

  “You doubted me?” Drake said, “That hurts Vahn, you should have more faith in me.”

  “Did you kill 169?” Vahn asked, not responding to Drake’s sarcasm. “Is the princess alright? Where are you?”

  “One question at a time Vahn.” Drake answered. “It bothers me that none of those questions were to see if I was ok, or if I needed help. You’re a sucky brother.”

  “I’m sorry Drake.” Vahn said irritatedly, “Are you ok?”

  “I’m fine.” Drake replied, “Thanks for asking, you know it really means the world to me to know that you care.”

  “Are you going to answer my questions Drake?” Vahn asked, his irritation growing even worse.

  “Fine.” Drake replied. “169 isn’t exactly what you would call dead. But I locked him in a closet and sent him jumping around the galaxy. That’s a good accomplishment right?”

  “It’s not what we hired you to do Drake.” Vahn replied, almost ready to end the transmission.

  “You’re right,” Drake answered, “You hired me to save the princess, and I did.”

  “I want to talk to her.” Vahn said.

  “She’s asleep, so you get to talk with me.” Drake said. “Anyway, the reason I called is that I need you to come pick us up.”

  “Where are you?” Vahn asked.

  “Well, we’re on Rabbit’s Foot,” Drake said, “In the royal library, we can only stay here till morning. Please tell me you’ve got a ship with a Tachyon drive to come here and get us.”

  “Drake,” Vahn replied, “Even if I had a ship fast enough, Rabbit’s Foot is quarantined, and it had a sky killer bomb detonated on it. The atmosphere would burn out the engine of any ship you tried to use to leave. Getting you off of that world is going to be complicated.”

  “Fine,” Drake said. “Then I need you to come get us on Rhysin.”

  “Where?” Vahn asked. “I’ve never even heard of Rhysin, and if you can get there by yourself then why do you need my help?”

  “Don’t question my methods, Vahn.” Drake said, “They’re working a lot better than yours are. Like the mustache for instance, you thought it was lame, but 169 didn’t even recognize me. It was pure genius, and you mocked it.”

  “It didn’t matter if he recognized you or not, you still got in a fight with him.”

  “Well that element of surprise helped me win that fight.”

  “Are you sure? Because it kind of looked like you were losing when the two of you disappeared, and you weren’t able to kill him.”

  “Are you going to meet us on Rhysin or not?”

  “I don’t know where that is Drake. How can I pick you up there if I don’t know where it is?”

  “I’m not sure if I remember the Human name for it.” Drake said, “I think it’s Mora.”

  “Mora?” Vahn said. “That’s on the opposite side of the galaxy from Rabbit’s Foot. How could you possibly get there?”

  “The same way I got off of Rabbit’s Foot the last time I was here.” Drake said. “Just be there in twelve hours. I’ll be there with your princess.” There was a clicking sound as the transmission dropped.

  Vahn put the Line Transceiver back into his pocket and headed back to his ship. Titus would have to wait; he needed to chart a course to Mora.

  Chapter 16: Angela

  “I won’t deny he’s heroic.” Olivia said. “But don’t you find it even a little scary that he doesn’t seem to have any kind of plan at all? He’s going wherever the wind blows him, and he’s dragging us along with him.”

  “I understand what you’re saying.” Angela said, “But he’s been able to save us from everything we’ve come across so far. Do you know of anybody else capable the besting 169?”

  “No,” Olivia said, “But he didn’t beat 169. He’s still alive somewhere and I’m sure he’s searching for us. Plus, where we are now is probably the only place worse than being held captive. Drake can’t kill the monsters outside. How can he save us from those?”

  “Well they can’t get us in here.” Angela said.

  Olivia didn’t seem satisfied with that answer. Angela wasn’t even sure if she believed what she was saying. Drake had proven he was better than Angela had first thought, but anything was better than what she had first thought of Drake.

  “I still wish I knew for sure, that he had a plan to get us out of here.” Olivia said.

  “Why don’t you stay here and try to sleep.” Angela said, “I’ll go up and ask him to explain his plan.”

  “You’re going to leave me alone?” Olivia asked.

  “You’ll be fine.” Angela said, “These walls are thick. I bet even the Nightmares can’t get through these.”

  “They’d better not!” Olivia said.

  “They won’t.” Angela said, trying to make her tone sound confident and reassuring. “I’m going up now. I’ll be back.”

  “Drake!” Angela yelled as she made it to the top of the ladder. There was no answer.

  Where is he? She thought as she climbed out of the hatch and glanced around the library.

  It was such a sad place. There was a thick blanket of dust covering everything. Most of the chairs and tables lay broken and the majority of the carpet had been torn out revealing the cold stone floor beneath it.

  She walked around the room looking for any sign of Drake, but found nothing.

  In the corner of the room she saw a small spiraling staircase leading up to the next floor.

  In the dim light she could just barely make out footprints in the dust covered steps.

  “Drake!” She yelled up the stairs.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” She heard Drake’s voice echoing faintly down from above.

  “I’m coming up!” She yelled as she ascended the long flight of steps.

  “You should be sleeping.” Drake said as Angela stepped in to the small room at the top of the staircase, “It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow.”

  Angela glanced around the room. It must have originally been made for warfare. Armor and swords hung on every wall and there was a gigantic mounted crossbow pointing an arrow out the window. But it seemed to have most recently been put to use as a rudimentary classroom.

  Books, written in a language Angela didn't recognize, were piled up all over the floor and a large chalkboard where Drake had been scribbling math equations was set up on top of a table.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” Angela replied. “Olivia and I are nervous about what will happen next.”

  “Yeah,” Drake replied, “I'm not the best at explaining myself.”

  “Want to try?” Angela asked.

  “Alright.” Drake replied. “You remember that blood circle downstairs?”

  “Yeah,” Angela replied, “Is it going to get us out of here?”

  “You remember what it does?” Drake asked.

  “It keeps the Nightmares out. right?”

  “Yeah, it does. But it’s only good for about sixteen years. Want to guess how long that one has been there?”

  “Please don’t say sixteen years.”

  “It hasn’t quite been sixteen years. It’s about ten hours short of that.”

  “Ten hours!?” Angela said. “They’ll kill us when they come in.”

  “Calm down.” Drake said. “In ten hours we won’t be here. We’re not even going to be on this planet. If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be on Mora catching a ride to New Earth.”

  “Mora?” Angela asked. “Who will we get to another planet in ten hours? Is there a ship parked here that you’re not telling me about?”

  “We’re not going there with a ship.” Drake said. We’re going to use that.” He pointed out the window toward a mostly intact, stone tower on the horizon.

  “Before the Mystics got spaceships from the humans, they still traveled between worlds via teleportation.”

  "Did they do it the same way 169 brought us back to his ship?”

  “It’s pretty similar.” Drake said, “169 has a beacon he always returns to. We don’t have a beacon to go to, so we have to do things the old fashioned way. For the ancient Mystics this was the only way to travel between planets, but if you miscalculate the exact location of where you want to go then you’ll end up in the wrong place. That could just mean you’ll end up a few miles away, or it could mean you end up teleporting yourself into space and dying.”

  “That does sound problematic.” Angela said.

  “It was.” Drake said. “So they built up towers as reference points to make the math easier. As long as you know what day it is, and the reference numbers for another tower, you can calculate where it is, and use Vhy' rai to transport you there. Most of the towers are gone now, but I have a book here with their reference points. I just need to calculate it out and write it onto a bullet for my gun.”

  “I was going to ask about that too.” Angela said. “If you’re a Mystic, why do you need a gun to use the Mystic’s power?”

  “You're pretty observant, Angela.” Drake said. “Vhy' rai has rules, and I broke them. So I can’t use it anymore without this gun. If you stick around with me after this is all over I might tell you more about it.”

  “Are you asking me to stay with you?” Angela said.

  “Well, do you have any other plans after this?” Drake asked, “I’d like to think that spending time with me would be a better alternative to going back to slavery.”

  “Well,” Angela said. “I don’t know exactly how I’ll do it, but after this I’m going to find my family again. My sister is with the other girls you saved, but my parents are still in slavery. I miss them.”

  “Well there’s an easy solution.” Drake said. “I’ll help you find your family.”

  “You would do that?” Angela asked.

  “Of course I would.” Drake said, “After this is over I’m not really going to have anything to do anyway, so I might as well help you out. Plus, I’m really starting to like you.”

  “You’re so bluntly honest.” Angela said, “I’m never sure how to respond to it.”

  “How about with blunt honesty?” Drake said.

  “Ok,” Angela said. “I would be grateful if you would help me find my family.”

  “And...” Drake said.

  “And I guess I don't hate you as much as I thought I did.”

  “That was the part where you were supposed to confess that you’re madly in love with me.” Drake said with a grin.

  “Oh, was it?” Angela said. “When you said to be bluntly honest I totally missed the part where I was supposed to lie just to boost your ego.”

  “Well you should’ve paid more attention then.” Drake said. “That could’ve been a big romantic moment for us and you blew it. You’re the reason this relationship is failing.”

  “I’ll take credit for that.” Angela said with a smile.

  Angela turned toward the table looking for a chair to sit in when something on the floor caught her eye.

  There were two circles filled with intricate patterns, drawn in blood near the base of the table.

  "The one downstairs keeps the Nightmares out, but what are those circles for?" Angela asked.

  Drake’s light-hearted demeanor vanished as he looked down at the drawings on the floor.

  “It’ll take me a while to finish making this bullet,” He said. “So I need to start working. The seal breaks in ten hours; it’ll be best if you spend most of them asleep.”

  “Oh,” Angela said “Ok, good idea.” It was the first time Drake had dodged answering one of her questions. She wanted to know why, but now wasn’t the time to push for an answer.

  “Good night Angela.” Drake said to her.

  “Good night Drake.” She said as she walked down the spiral staircase back to the safe room to sleep for the night.

  “Oh, Angela.” Drake called after her. Angela turned around. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe. And I’ll make sure you see your family again. That’s a promise.”

  The smile didn’t leave Angela’s face until long after she had fallen asleep.

  Chapter 17: Olivia

  Olivia awoke after a restless night full of dreams about being ripped to shreds by the Nightmares running in the streets in this terrible place.

  She was safe from her kidnapper, but she almost wished she was still with him. Being locked in a room and occasionally having her blood drawn was definitely preferable to this. She turned to see Angela sleeping peacefully in the bed on the other side of the tiny room.

  “Angela, wake up.” She whispered as she shook the sleeping girl. Angela stirred under her thin blanket and slowly opened her eyes. After a moment of groaning, she sat up in the bed and turned to face Olivia.

  “What is it?” She asked.

  “Did you talk to Drake?” Olivia asked. “How are we getting out of here?”

  “Oh,” Angela said. “He explained it, but it had a lot to do with the Mystic’s power, and I’m not sure I followed all of it. But we’re going to some kind of...magical teleportation tower, and then Drake will shoot it with a special bullet and it’ll take us to another planet.”

  That was not the answer Olivia had wanted to hear. Had Angela actually described it as a “Magical teleportation tower?” It sounded like a fairy tale; and a fairy tale would not save them.

  “I’ll talk to him myself.” She said as she walked out of the metal doorway of the panic room, and over to the ladder leading up to the main library.

  Olivia looked around the library as she climbed out of the little hatch in the floor, looking for any sign of Drake.

  “He’s probably upstairs.” Angela said as she followed Olivia out of the hatch. “That’s where I found him last night.”

  Olivia walked across the spacious library floor toward the small spiral staircase in the corner of the building, but stopped before she arrived. Drake was already coming down the stairs toward them.

  “Good morning!” He said cheerfully as he walked toward them. “You two are up a little earlier than I expected. Were the beds that uncomfortable?”

  “I want to know what the plan is.” Olivia said.

  “Well,” Drake said. “There isn’t really time to explain it to you, so ask Angela I told her everything last night. I have to go do something right now.”

  “No!” Olivia growled. “I won’t accept that. I want an explanation now!”

  She was royalty. Born to lead, not to follow blindly. If there was a plan, then she needed to know what it was.

  “Um...No.” Drake said. “Hold these please.”

  Drake pulled off his shirt and shoes setting them in Olivia’s hands along with a sword.

  Olivia just stared at him for a moment. With his shirt off she could see his muscles were well defined, and he didn’t have even an ounce of fat on his body. His physique was better than Olivia had expected, but from his right shoulder down to his waistline was an intricate tattoo that looked like something written in the same language as most of the books in this library; and Olivia found tattoos to be rather repulsive.

  “Hold on to those till I get back.” Drake said as he headed toward the entrance they had come through the previous day.

  “Drake! Wait!” Angela called out as she ran over to him. “You’re going out unarmed and without a shirt or shoes? Where’s your pistol? How will you fight the Nightmares?”