Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles 1: Wizard Defiant (24 page)

Richard glanced down the tunnel towards Shandria. The elf was about twenty meters away. She held her staff with both hands while pointing it at the demon. Like her foe, Shandria was not moving. There was a bright, orange ball of energy about ten meters to her front. Streaks of trailing energy gave the impression the energy was heading towards the demon, but the ball of energy was also frozen in mid-air.

We’re in a time-bubble, Rick
, said Nickelo.
It’s the only answer.

I know
, Richard said.
Shandria told us months ago.

Richard pointed his plasma rifle at the taller demon and fired off a burst of ten rounds. The red streaks of energy stopped in mid-air about two meters away. The plasma rounds just hung in mid-air. The little particles of energy trailing behind them were the only indication of movement.

I don’t understand
, Richard said.
Is everything frozen except for us?

Nothing’s frozen, Rick
, said Nickelo.
We’re in a small time-bubble. The demon-dog you were fighting must have been in the process of creating one when you latched onto it. You must have been drawn into the time-bubble with it.

Richard pressed his hand forward. It stopped as if he’d hit a wall. His hand tingled, but other than that he felt no ill-effects. He quickly pulled his hand back.

Why would it create a time-bubble?
Richard asked.
Seems to me we’re just stuck here unable to interact with anything in the real-time world. Heck, I can’t even shoot that blasted demon. The rounds just stop in mid-air.

I don’t think they’re stopped
, said Nickelo.
I think they are just moving so slowly we can’t discern any movement. I’m betting your plasma rounds will eventually hit the demon. That is, if it doesn’t get its defensive shield back up again before they make contact. In fact, I think the elf’s spell is going to make the demon wish you hadn’t distracted it with that demon-dog-in-the-face trick. Good one, by the way.

Well, that’s all well and good
, Richard said.
But I ask again. Why would the demon-dog waste the Power to create a time-bubble in the first place if it does no good?

I think it was creating a series of time-bubbles during your fight with it
, said Nickelo.
I calculate there is a sixty-eight percent chance it created a time-bubble each time you hurt it. Once in the time-bubble, it could use whatever healing powers it had to heal itself. Then when the time-bubble ended, it was able to reenter the fray as good as new.

Richard admitted his battle computer’s theory made sense. He’d injured the demon-dog twice, and both times it had come back at him completely healed. He’d just assumed it had innate healing abilities similar to a troll. But, the time-bubble method of healing was more insidious. Not only could it heal itself, but it could take time to plan its next move. Richard whispered one of his rare prayers to the Creator thanking him for the good luck to grab the demon before its time-bubble was fully formed.

Suddenly, Richard had a horrible thought.

Nick
, Richard said with alarm.
What if we’re trapped here for all eternity?

I don’t think we will be
, said Nickelo,
but how about doing an active scan on the boundary of the time-bubble just to be sure. Most of the helmet’s scanners were knocked out during your fight with the troll.

Richard set up an active scan and gave control to his battle computer. After a couple of minutes, Nickelo said,
The time-bubble has about a two-meter radius. I’ve done an initial analysis of the energy flow, and I calculate we have several hours before we’ll be thrust back into normal time.
Nickelo paused, then he said,
Or should I say back into the tunnel’s time. It’s a time-bubble itself after all. Hmmm. That’s an interesting concept. I wonder how many time-bubbles could exist within a series of time-bubbles.

Don’t get started
, Richard said. He had no desire to get in a theoretical discussion similar to a person with a mirror with a reflection of himself holding a mirror with a reflection of himself holding… It made his head hurt to think about such things. He decided to change the subject.

What should we do now?
Richard said.

I’d suggest you rearm your weapons. Then, you and I are going to spend some of the Power in your reserve doing active scans on this time-bubble. It’s very interesting. You never know. The knowledge we gain might come in useful someday.

Are you thinking I might be able to create a time-bubble?
Richard said with interest. He was starting to see a myriad of uses for it during combat.

You wish
, laughed Nickelo.
No. It would take a thousand times more Power than you have in your reserve to create a time-bubble. The demon-dog apparently has an innate ability to do so. You’d have to brute force it.

Fine
, Richard said disappointedly.
I’ll tell you what, Nick. I’ll setup an active scan for you, and you can scan away to your electronic heart’s content. I’m going to rearm and then get some sleep.

__________________________

Nickelo woke Richard up several hours later with the announcement that the time-bubble was failing. After a big stretch, Richard moved to a spot in the time-bubble as far from the demon as he could get. He didn’t want to get caught in any residual effects of the elf’s spell. He wasn’t even sure what kind of spell it was. A major fireball certainly wouldn’t do his already damaged suit any good.

Should I change out my battle suit?
Richard asked while hoping the answer would be no. He didn’t want to risk losing it. He had a feeling he was going to need every bit of armor he could get in the upcoming fight.

I’d recommend against it, Rick
, said Nickelo.
I’ll use the same argument I did when you asked about the battle helmet. What if you don’t get a new set of armor back? We know a hundred and ninety-nine more sets were made, but what if ‘
the One
’ denies you a replacement as part of his punishment for defying him. Your armor is still in good shape, although its seal is broke. You should be okay as long as we don’t get in poison gas or something.

Thanks for the comforting thought
, Richard said.

Richard thought about something he’d been meaning to ask Nickelo, and now seemed as good a time as any.

Nick
, Richard said,
I’ve been wondering. I was able to use the dimensional pack to rearm with no problem. How can that possibly work if we’re in a time-bubble? Nay, we’re in a time-bubble within a time-bubble.

I don’t know
, Nickelo said.

Richard waited a few more seconds, but Nickelo said nothing further.

That’s it?
Richard said.
That’s your answer? You don’t know?

That’s right
, said Nickelo.
Oh, by the way
,
I may have kept your active scan going longer than I should have. You’re down to sixty-four percent Power in your reserve. The good news is that I’ve got oodles of data in my memory banks on time-bubbles now. I’ll be happy to let you look at it when you get time.

I can hardly wait
, Richard said as he rolled his eyes.
And, what are oodles? I’ve never heard the word before.

It’s just an old, twentieth-century saying
, said Nickelo.
Didn’t you ever read old classics when you were a youth?

Sorry
, Richard said.
I was too busy trying to stay alive. Maybe next time.

Richard looked around him. The demon and Shandria seemed to be in the same positions, but the elf’s ball of energy was noticeably closer than it had been previously. Also, the plasma rounds were nearly upon the demon. At least a little time had elapsed since he had entered the demon-dog’s time-bubble. Richard noticed the elf’s energy ball had started changing into what appeared to be the beginnings of a lightning bolt.

Anytime now
, said Nickelo.
Prepare to roll out of the way.

Time started again before Richard could reply. The plasma rounds hit the demon in the chest at the same moment Shandria’s lightning bolt struck it in the face. Richard rolled quickly to the left, but he was not nearly fast enough. Arcs of electricity hit all around him. Thankfully, the battle suit’s insulation was able to protect him from the residual energy. All he felt was a little tingle in his legs.

The demon staggered backwards and fell to the ground. Richard stood up and fired all seven 20mm grenades into the demon’s charred head. He was too close for them to activate and explode, but the size and force of the 20mm rounds tore the head to shreds. By the time he finished, the demon had a body, but it didn’t have much of a head.

“I think the a-hole’s dead,” Richard said out loud. Since the battle suit’s seal was broken, he didn’t have the annoying tube in his mouth.

“Demons can’t die, Rick,” said Shandria who had just joined him. “You can destroy their bodies, but they’re just banished back to their realm. These same demons could be back in a thousand years or so. Of course, they’d probably be in a different form by then, but who really knows?”

“Reload, Rick,” interrupted Nickelo. “Don’t you remember? I advised you to rearm whenever you got a chance?”

“Sorry, Nick,” Richard said as he reached over his shoulder to open the flap of his pack. “I forgot.” Richard replaced the seven 20mm grenades in his launcher and made sure one was in the chamber ready to fire.

“The demon Efrestra is located about two hundred paces ahead,” said Shandria. “I can feel him, but I doubt he is alone.”

“Rick?” said Nickelo. “My scanners are all out of action.”

Richard sent a quick active-scan ahead. He felt Nickelo following along and making subtle changes to the scan. Normally, Richard would have been hesitant of such a blatant use of an active scan since it had a higher risk of detection than his passive scan. In this case, however, it wasn’t as if the enemy didn’t know where they were.

After a few moments, the results of the scan began to display on the heads-up display. He gave Shandria the bad news.

“It looks like there is one big Power source, four medium-sized ones and a couple of hundred undead of various types. Can you confirm that, Nick?”

“I concur, Rick,” said Nickelo. “I calculate your assessment has a seventy-four percent chance of being correct. You’re getting better. Maybe you won’t need me hanging around if you get much better at scanning. Heck, maybe I’ll have to start calling you greatest of wizard scouts for real,” he smirked.

“I doubt the day will ever come when I won’t need you, Nick,” Richard said honestly. He turned towards Shandria and said, “How do you want to handle this? Should we start heading that way now before they come to us?”

“I seriously doubt any of the ones with Efrestra will come to us. His dragon form is too large to fit in this tunnel, and he’s got his forces massed at the only exit. He knows we have to go to him. We have no choice. Also, our enemies behind us will even now be digging their way through your makeshift roadblocks. Efrestra undoubtedly knows they will soon be pushing us towards him.”

“I’ve got six blocks of J22 plastic explosive left,” said Richard. “I could blow the tunnel behind us. That would buy us a little more time. Once I do that, I guess I’ll be as ready as I’ll ever be to face what’s ahead.”

“Not quite, Rick,” said Shandria. “We need to talk about this last battle.”

Richard expected some praise. He thought he’d done quite well so far.

“You didn’t think, Rick,” said Shandria in a voice that let him know she was not pleased. “Did you not remember any of your training from these last four months? Do you think I did all that talking and work for the fun of it?”

Richard was taken aback. He said nothing. His mind was racing trying to figure out where he had fallen short.

“Did you think to scan the demon-dog’s link?” said Shandria.  When Richard stayed silent, she said, “I thought not. Well, I did, and it had an unprotected spot. You could have disabled it easily and destroyed the demon’s body in short order. And before you ask, I didn’t do it myself because I was preoccupied with the other demon. It was a tough opponent. I could have used a little more help.”

“See, Rick,” said Nickelo with a snicker. “It’s like I always say, you keep running to a fight before you take the time to think.”

“And, Master Nick,” said Shandria in a tone Richard was glad she hadn’t used on him. “Why did you not think to tell Rick to check the demon’s link? Aren’t you his advisor? Aren’t you this great computer, whatever that is, while Rick is just a cadet in training?”

“Ah…,” said Nickelo as if he were searching for the right words.

Richard thought his battle computer’s predicament was funny. Nickelo could think at nanosecond speed, but this elf had him struggling to find an appropriate response.

“I do not mean to belittle you, Rick,” said Shandria in a tone less harsh. “Throwing that hound at the other demon to distract it was ingenious. It caused them both to drop their defensive shields. But, you could have taken out the hound a lot earlier. Your lapse of judgment could have cost us our lives. If we are to have any chance in the upcoming fight, none of us can afford to make those kinds of mistakes.”

“Fine,” Richard said. “I’ll try to think before I act.” He wanted to say more, but the fact the elf could kick his butt helped keep him civil.

Richard carried his six blocks of J22 plastic explosive and set them up in two spots in the tunnel near the intersection. He could hear pounding when he got near the cave-in. As Shandria had predicted, their trapped enemies were attempting to dig their way out.

Once the explosives were set, Richard high-tailed it back to Shandria. A few seconds later there was a loud boom. A gush of air passed by them headed towards the cavern.

“That should buy us a few minutes,” Richard said.

“I’ve been thinking,” said Shandria. “The only choice I think we have is for me to tackle Efrestra while you take out the lesser demons and the undead. Do you think you can do it, Rick?”

Richard heard doubt in her voice. He didn’t blame her. He also had doubts about his ability to tackle multiple demons on his own.

“The only chance, huh?” Richard said casually. “I’m curious, Nick. What percentage chance of success do you calculate for this endeavor?”

Nickelo hesitated before answering. “Well, it’s above zero, but it’s not much above. Based upon logical attack scenarios and probable enemy responses, I calculate we have about eight percent chance of success.”

“That much, huh?” Richard said. He was surprised. He’d actually thought it would be closer to zero.

“No,” said Nickelo. “I rounded up. It’s really only seven point six percent chance.”

Richard looked at Shandria. “To answer your question, Shandria, no, I don’t think I can do it. I was barely able to handle the one demon-dog. I doubt I could have beaten the taller demon on my own.” Before Shandria could say anything, he added, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think you can handle Efrestra by yourself either. It looked like it was all you could do during the last battle to keep a defensive shield up. You weren’t able to get a single attack off.”

Shandria did not argue with Richard’s observations.

Encouraged, Richard said, “I got a good sense of that demon’s Power source during that first engagement. It should have been able to overwhelm you easily. Why do you think it didn’t?”

“I imagine it was holding back for fear of damaging the spheres,” said Shandria. “I was holding two of the seed spheres. If it damaged any of them, the other parts of the seed would be worthless.”

“That’s what I thought,” Richard said. “Apparently, those spheres provide us a little indirect protection. I’ll probably need one of them when we make our attack.”

Shandria raised her eyebrows.

“I’m not going to keep it,” Richard said. “Heck, we’re both probably going to be dead in a few minutes. What good will any of the spheres do either of us then?”

“Sorry,” said Shandria. “I’m just protective because the wellbeing of my race depends on them. But, of course, you will need one, and you shall have one.”

“How did you keep the spheres from mesmerizing you when you got them?” Richard asked a little curious. “The filter on my visor protected me.”

“I have a spell which will protect me for a few minutes,” said Shandria. “But it’s a little complicated. I have to prepare it ahead of time.”

“Do you think an undead or a demon would be affected?” Richard asked hopefully.

“No, Rick,” said Shandria. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think it works that way. I wondered where you were headed.”

“Shouldn’t we be starting?” said Nickelo. “I ran every logical scenario I could come up with. I can’t think of any better plan. However, the longer we wait, the greater the chance those demons and undead trapped in the tunnels behind us will breakout and join the fight.”

“Hold on, Nick,” Richard said. “You’re always the one telling me to think things through before I enter a fight. If eight percent is the best chance we have logically, then I’d say we’d better come up with an illogical way to better the odds.”

“I only deal with logic, Rick,” said Nickelo. “The illogical is your department.”

“Shandria,” Richard said. “You’ve been at the exit before. Is it an opening to the outside? My active scan made it look like Efrestra and his buddies are located in a cavern about three hundred meters by three hundred meters and ten meters high. Does that sound right?”

“You said a meter is about the distance of a pace?” said Shandria.

Richard nodded his head affirmatively.

“That sounds accurate. The center of the cavern is higher than the sides,” said Shandria. “Other than that, your description sounds about right. As to the exit, it is not an opening to the outside. It’s just a section of the time-bubble’s boundary where we can use a spell to exit back to my time.”

“Why are you interested in the size of the cavern, Rick?” Nickelo asked curiously. “Are you trying to figure out if you have maneuver room?”

Richard said nothing for a moment. He didn’t have an idea as much as he had a feeling. “I’m not exactly sure what I’m thinking, Nick. But, I do know we have to narrow the odds. When my unit was fighting bugs in the Denobar system, we used fuel-air explosives, or FAEs, in the tunnels. Those thermobaric warheads were devastating in confined areas underground. I was wondering if we might be able to create some type of fuel-air explosive to clear the cavern. I’ll admit, I’m concerned if the explosion is too powerful, we might damage the time-bubble.”