Red Smoke Rising. Rick Psy.D. Anthony

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СКАЧАТЬ house as everyone seated themselves. Mia noticed how nervous Lio looked. His eyes fluttered back and forth between Grere and the woman.

      Grere turned to Mia. “I had someone retrieve your clothing and wristband from the university. They’re in the back room. You should go get them.”

      Mia’s eyes lit up with the news. Without a word she stood from the table and walked into the back room.

      After a few minutes she returned to the table dressed in more fitting attire than the oversized coat she arrived in. It was the same outfit she had worn before the ordeal started. She draped her black traveling cloak over her shoulders reseated herself and adjusted her fur armband.

      “Introductions, I suppose, are in order,” Grere said when she was finished.

      “My name is Grere. This is Shari. We work for the Underground. We helped plan your escape.”

      Lio’s eyes widened as the situation became clear to him. He stared intently at the small man in the full length leather coat. As Grere gestured to the woman beside him, the robe he wore gaped to reveal a glint of steel from a knife strapped across his chest. He shifted in his chair, closing his robe to better hide what it concealed. As he did, he inadvertently tugged it down, revealing his badly scarred neck. Lio’s eyes widened still further.

      “As you may or may not already know, your healer and savior here is Jeanea. She was the only agent able to get close enough to see you in the cells. We are very fortunate.”

      Jeanea looked almost embarrassed, blushing under Grere’s praise.

      Grere nodded at Lio. “How much does he know?” he asked, glancing back to Mia.

      “Not much.” Mia’s was quiet. She stroked her armband as she spoke. “He knows of my abilities, but he doesn’t know I’m Muorikin.” She lifted her eyes from the table to meet Lio’s as she uttered the words. She wanted to see the reaction her words might evoke.

      Lio sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. Somehow, he had become the odd man out of the conversation. Mia and Grere spoke as if they knew each other. He wondered again what he had gotten himself into.

      Lio knew that Mia was full of secrets. He knew she was capable of powerful techniques and he also knew for some time that her aura was tainted. He assumed it was because she had augmented herself into a shifter, not because she was hiding her lineage. The look on his face showed that the thought had never occurred to him.

      Mia watched as the realization sank in. Lio’s eyes shifted away uncomfortably as he came to realize the gravity of his situation.

      Grere spoke again. “All of this must be very hard to take in, so I’ll fill in some of the blanks. We don’t have enough time for me to explain everything. You now know that Mia is of Muorikin descent.”

      “I got that,” Lio responded, shaking his head at the thought.

      Grere wasn’t done. “For more than a hundred years, our people have been the slaves of the occupying Nor army. Now, we have found a way to defeat them by using the very drug that they invaded our lands to steal. Mia is pivotal to our cause.

      “Mia’s knowledge, the teachings she and others received while at the school are very valuable things. Things we need to share with others who are devoted to our cause.” A smirk crossed Grere’s face and a tingle ran down Lio’s spine.

      “Why are you telling me this?” Lio twitched.

      “Teaching Mia’s discovery to others has been slow.” Grere’s eyes were fixed on Lio. “You are a teacher. From what I am told you are good at it. You have worked with Mia and are familiar with her techniques. We need your services. I understand you came into all this unwillingly, but your fate is not in your hands any longer. The Empire will kill you if they find you and we will only harbour you if you choose to help us.”

      All eyes were on Lio. He looked nervously around the table.

      “Okay,” he muttered.

      “Supplies...there are weapons in the closet,” Grere motioned to the kitchen. “There are some swords, a few shields and crossbows. Look in the chest over there if you need a fix. There should be enough for everyone. You might as well prepare as we go over this.”

      “I’m sorry,” Mia said to Lio in a quiet voice as she rose from the table to inspect the goods. Lio didn’t respond.

      After a minute, the reluctant professor rose and joined the others, helping himself to a liberal share of the drugs in the chest as he passed.

      Grere stuck his head out the door and let out a long, low whistle. After a moment there were two short barks.

      Lio looked intrigued. “They understand you very well. You’re an excellent trainer.”

      “No,” Grere shook his head as he shut the door. The corner of his mouth curled into a smirk as he spoke. “Dusk and Dawn are very intelligent hounds. Loyal as well. Loyalty is their nature, but intelligence is their augmentation.”

      Lio had never heard of such a thing. He took a minute to digest the information. The Muorikins had managed to set up a makeshift school that not only illegally taught other Muorikins Master skills, but they’d actually invented manipulations the Empire universities hadn’t even discovered. He would have been impressed if he didn’t feel so sick.

      “Where are you going?” Lio asked.

      “I need to accompany Mia and Shari elsewhere. Mia’s training is still unfinished.”

      “What do you mean, unfinished?”

      Before Grere could answer, a sound came from outside. Faintly at first, then louder, a shrill note rose in pitch over the early morning air. It was joined by a second, off-key note as the dogs howled their warning.

      THE EMPIRE

      Adan repositioned himself on the tiny bunk and threw the pillow to the floor in a final, exasperated effort to get comfortable. He couldn’t sleep in the stupid bed. He hated spending nights at the prison.

      The remaining three cots in the room were empty. It was silent and completely dark, but he still couldn’t sleep. Every time he opened his eyes he saw the flash of the auras around him. He could clearly see the walls, the other bunks—even the ceiling. Every tangible thing around him threw its own distinct aura. It allowed him to clearly make out every detail of his compressed surroundings. It meant he was still entranced. The ku wouldn’t wear off for another hour or two.

      Smoking copious amounts of the drug to invoke his augmentation was all part of the job. Having the drug in his system was essential to maintaining his size. Such was the case for all impermanent augments.

      He hadn’t realized the effects were still present when he had gone to bed, though. He spent so much time entranced it was hard to tell if he was sober or not. The lifestyle was devastating for some, but for men like Adan, the prestige and power that came with Myrmidon service was more than enough to compensate for such annoyances as lack of sleep.

      He rolled over once in the stiff bunk once more. The bed creaked in protest. The beds weren’t adequate for a man of his size and they definitely weren’t made to fit augments. He closed his eyes and concentrated in СКАЧАТЬ