Planet B

Ch.16

"His name was Barun," Sarah heard Earth say from behind her, "He was a teacher at the university. He was a good man. Misguided it seems, but good nonetheless. He will be missed." Sarah stood up from the remains of the man, little if anything to distinguish him as ever being human. If Earth had not seen him when they first attacked Sarah doubted the woman could have known. It definitely would have left Earth in a better mood if she hadn't seen. Like Air, Earth was one of her more trusted tutors. She wasn't as close as with Air, but felt comfortable enough around Earth to speak her mind.

Sarah surveyed the area around them. Nearly all of their army was destroyed, the spell Barun unleashed had disintegrated everything in a thousand-foot radius. Sarah and her companions would have been destroyed along with them if not for the protective field Sarah brought forth just before the fiery wave reached them. Her tutors congratulated her on her quick thinking and her masterful creation of the shield, apparently the man's spell was something of note, but Sarah's mind was on other things.

Her feelings were torn about the day's events. On one hand she'd lost a large number of soldiers, something that would not be well received by Draxta. She could make more, yes, but that would take time, time that was quickly running out. On the other hand she finally saw some of the rebel wizards Draxta and Air spoke so much about. Sarah'd always envisioned them darker than they were. Not their skin, though everyone's was quite a bit darker than Sarah's, but their expressions and attire and their general aura. To her, people bringing about the end of the world, or at least not willing to do what was necessary to save it, were evil. She knew there was more to it than black and white, good and evil, but she couldn't help the connections her mind invariably made. There was no reason for them to appear any different than anyone else, but that didn't keep her imagination from making it so.

She looked back up at Earth who was staring off into the distance.

"Who were the others?" she asked, "The man and the young woman."

Given the distance the two groups had been from one another it was hard to determine detailed features, but Sarah'd seen enough that she was sure she'd recognize them again if they had another confrontation. The man seemed normal enough, no peculiar physical attributes that stood out. He was very concerned with protecting the woman after she'd been injured, but that didn't necessarily mean he was good. There were smart tactics with protecting a strong ally. The girl was what interested Sarah.

"His name is Havlik. He's another instructor at the university, well respected by pretty much everyone there. That he was here says something about how desperate they're getting with their missing wizards."

There was a hint of regret in Earth's voice, but Sarah didn't think much of it. It must be hard seeing friends make poor choices in life.

"Well respected by our enemies just makes him a bigger enemy," Sarah said. "Or a more important one anyway. We'll have to send Greel after him. What about the girl? I can't decide if she was stupid or brave or both."

Earth shook her head, moving toward the spot the two had last been seen. "She looked familiar, but I'm not certain. With how young she seemed she probably only recently finished at university, maybe is still enrolled. What concerns me more is where they went and how they went there."

Sarah followed over to Earth to the place Havlik and the woman had been. Where they should have seen two piles of charred remains there was nothing. Their view had been obstructed by Barun's blast and when the fire disappeared so had their two enemies. For all they knew the two had fled back to Thespa and were rallying their forces to stop Draxta and Sarah and the good they were trying to do.

She realized suddenly that without Draxta and Air present, there was no real person in charge. Everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing, so it wasn't really necessary, unless of course some wizards came and blew up your army. But she was Draxta's daughter. She could handle this. She just needed to do as Draxta would.

"Do you think they went back to Thespa?" Sarah asked, standing taller and trying to look in charge.

Earth just shrugged.

"I don't know. I know all the magic they teach there, and they shouldn't have been able to escape, especially with how drained the both would have been. They should be dead here like Barun. If I knew how they left I could guess, but I'm truly at a loss."

Sarah thought about it for a moment. There was only one real solution.

"We have to go to Thespa. If they escaped that is where they'll eventually need to go. They can't portal, so we can beat them there. We lie in wait and then take them out when they arrive. We can't let the rest of them know the progress we've made, not when we're so close."

Sarah looked at Earth and saw she was troubled.

"I know," Sarah said, attempting to speak Earth's thoughts, "Mother will not approve. In this circumstance she would go herself. But she's not here and something needs to be done." Earth nodded absently, still staring at the spot the two had been. "I'll set up orders for everyone in our absence. It'll be just you and me, Earth. We can do this. We have to keep this from falling apart. The world depends on us."