BOB's Bar (Tales From The Multiverse Book 2) Read online

  Pulling on those same threads of energy, she broadcast her thoughts to the others sitting at the table, speaking to them telepathically without moving her lips.

  ~Or I can use my powers of the mind to talk to you like this.~

  “Crazy,” Cain exclaimed.

  “Unbelievable,” Floribeth added.

  “Ooh, more food. Nice,” Artur replied, rubbing his stomach.

  Amanda shrugged with a smile. “So anyway, I’m dealing with a lot of politics and shite, but we all need to relax, so my friend Rane introduced me to Grav Bike racing, and I love it.”

  “That sounds a hell of a lot better than politics,” Rika said.

  “Oh, it’s amazing; a real rush. So, it’s basically racing hoverbikes through some of the craziest tracks you’ve ever seen. I’ve seen them race around the rings of gas giants with all kinds of obstacles and stuff. It’s amazing.”

  Ridge leaned forward, appearing more interested in the racing than he had in the space dragons. “If you can get up in the air with those bikes, you should visit Crazy Canyon on my world.”

  “Crazy Canyon? Sounds… crazy?” Amanda giggled. “But seriously, yeah, I’d love to. Who knows, maybe I’ll pop by your neck of the Multiverse sometime.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Floribeth said.

  “It is. It was Rane who got me into it. I’ve always loved riding motorbikes, so she figured I’d like this. We just go to some small races—just the indie stuff or the unlicensed tracks. We keep off the beaten track, and well away from the professional stuff. It’s just not worth getting too involved in it. I mean, both Rane and I are in the public eye, so probably best not to be too public about it.”

  “Those fucking responsibilities have a habit of getting in the way of what you want to do sometimes,” Bethany Anne commented.

  “They do,” Amanda agreed.

  “You could always create another persona…”

  “Oh?” Amanda asked, looking over at the raven-haired woman with her smoky eyes and blood-red lips.

  “Try it sometime, maybe?”

  “Maybe…” Amanda smiled. “So anyway, Rane and I are out beyond the rim of Foundation Space, in ‘international waters,’ so to speak, and we’re racing at one of these unlicensed tracks. It’s a really crazy one, too. Set amongst the remains of a partially destroyed planet. It’s like being in the middle of a densely packed asteroid field with the still glowing core of a broken planet casting an eerie orange glow over everything. All these huge, country-sized chunks of rock are held in place by a mix of Magic and grav fields to keep the rocks from floating away, and this insane track has been built in the middle of it all, twisting in every direction, going around and through the floating rocks. There’s no up or down; it’s just crazy. These indie racers still draw a crowd though, so there are countless starships and Aether ships floating around watching the proceedings. Rane got us into the race through her contacts, and we keep a low profile, wearing our armored biker leathers and helmets—not that I need one, being a Magus.”

  “This is in the void of deep space, right?” Floribeth asked.

  “Yeah, but you know, like I said, Magic,” Amanda explained, waving her hands around with a friendly smile.

  “Aaah,” Floribeth answered.

  “So, the race starts as normal. We bring the bikes out to the starting grid and wait for the pre-race pomp and ceremony to die down before we start our engines. Rane did better in the time trials then I did, so she’s farther up the grid than I am. The lights come on and I rev the bike, enjoying the feel of its power beneath me as I wait for the start.”

  “I bet yeh did, lassy,” Artur smirked.

  Amanda glanced at the tiny man and rolled her eyes before continuing. “The lights go out, and we’re off. Have any of you raced before?”

  “Not for entertainment,” Kelsey said. “Someone is usually shooting at me.”

  Rika nodded at the other woman and raised her growler. “Peas in a pod, you and I.”

  “I’ll jump in that pod,” Ridge said. “I’ve raced a bit in my flier and even done some barnstorming theatrics, but I’m mostly shooting airship pirates and avoiding being shot down by Cofah ironclads.”

  “Oh, I’ve been there too, ladies and gent, but honestly, it’s a rush, to say the least, and these grav bikes go so fast. It’s like riding a rocket. I guess some of you might not have anything like grav bikes, but you should really treat yourselves and get out on a track sometime and race in something similar in your universes. It’s just incredible. Anyway, I’m bringing up the rear of the pack, shooting around this track like my life depended on it, when I bank up and round a loop and I spot something. Some kind of movement out the corner of my eye.

  “I don’t know why I looked, but I did, and I see this dragon creeping over a rock in the asteroid field. Now, to be clear, this is not a common sight. Most dragons in my universe are not on our side. They were created by the forces of darkness, namely the Crux, and while some have defected, the majority of them are not friendly. So, seeing one out here while this race was going on made me sit up and take notice. This could be very dangerous.

  “So, coming down off the loop, I slow down and pull to the side, letting the other racers pass me. I mean, racing’s fun and all, but if this dragon attacks, then we have a problem, and myself and Rane are two of probably no more than ten Magi at the race, and most of those wouldn’t dare stand and fight a dragon.

  “So, I stop, wanting to check this out and hopefully make sure the beast isn’t a threat. Looking over the side of the track, I see the dragon down there, and it’s looking right at me. Staring at me, clearly seeing me looking at it.

  “As I glance behind me, the last of the riders zooms past, leaving me alone, when I get a telepathic message from Rane.”

  ~Amanda, what’s going on? What are you doing?~

  “She can probably see from the info in her HUD that I’ve stopped, but as she spoke to me, the dragon slunk out of sight.

  “‘Damn’ I said to myself before replying to Rane. ~I’m fine,~ I say. ~Don’t worry about me, you keep going and win the race,~ I urged as I concentrated and used my Magic to Port down to the massive rock where the dragon had been only moments before.

  “Appearing on the rock, I spot the dragon and it suddenly jumps, apparently sensing my Magic and that fact that I’m much closer to it now. Its huge head whips around and looks at me. Now, that’s a pants-wettingly scary moment. Dragons are fecking powerful things, and even with my Magic, I’m not sure I could stand up to one alone. I’ve only ever defeated one with help before, so I stand there, ready to Port out should it turn nasty. The thing looks tense. On edge. I raise my hands in an attempt to show I’m not a threat and, since I’m in the void of space, send out a few words on an open Link. ~It’s okay, I don’t want to hurt you; I just want to make sure you’re… you know… not a threat to the people,~ I say, pointing toward the race track above.

  “The dragon looks up and then back at me, and it seems to relax a bit when it replies to my Link message. ~I have no desire to hurt them,~ it says, its voice deep and resonant in my head.

  “~Good. Is everything okay?~ I ask. ~What are you doing here?~ I started to walk forward, closing the gap between us. I was getting the feeling that this dragon was not dangerous to me or the other racers.

  “The dragon looked around, scanning its surroundings, and I got the feeling that it was scared, or wary at the very least. It looks back at me eventually and just stares at me for nearly a minute before it finally speaks again. ~You need to be careful, it’s not safe here,~ it says.

  “~How come?~ I ask.

  “~I’m being hunted.~

  “~Hunted?~ I reply with a growing feeling that this was going to take a turn for the worse at any moment. So, I take an intuitive leap and ask a fairly obvious question. ~By the Crux?~ I ask, meaning the creatures of darkness who created the Void Dragons.

  “~They’ve been hunting me, chasing me for light years through Dynasty spa
ce. They’re here, I’m sure of it. You need to get out of here, leave me alone, or they’ll be after you too,~ the dragon explains. But I’m not one to run and hide.

  “~No, I’m not leaving. What’s your name?~ I ask it.

  “~Vexaura,~ it answers.

  “~Well, Vex, I’m guessing you don’t want to hide in this ruin of a planet forever?~

  “~No,~ it says.

  “~Then I think we need to get you out of here,~ I suggest.

  “~Easier said than done,~ Vex says and backs off from me slightly, as I notice that it’s not looking at me anymore. It’s looking over my shoulder, and I get a prickly feeling on the back of my neck as I sense a concentration of Essentia closing in behind me. Turning, I see a much bigger dragon swoop down, its huge black wings beating in the void, using the mist of Essentia that’s everywhere in space like a bird uses air to fly. The monster lands nimbly on the rock, its vast bulk blocking out the light of the nearby star. Needless to say, I was a little concerned. I took a few steps back as a squad of armored soldiers, maybe ten or twelve of them, boosts off the side of this new dragon with their jetpacks, coming in to land around the dragon and its rider, who I could see sitting atop it, leering at me. He was a Magus as well.”

  “How could you tell?” Cain asked.

  “Because of my Aetheric Sight. I can see Magic and much more when I choose. The rider of this dragon was glowing with Essentia,” Amanda answered him with a smile.

  “I looked up at the rider, who addressed us through an open Link. ~Vexaura. Found a friend, have you?~ he asked.

  “~Your feud is with me,~ Vex told him.

  “He replied quickly. ~I’ll decide who my fight is with,~ the Rider answered her, and all hell broke loose. At a silent signal, the troops that had fanned out around the Crux Void Dragon opened fire while the dragon itself roared and flame flew from its mouth. I already had my Magical protections in place for the race, but I’d rechecked them when I’d spotted Vex for the first time and once more when the Crux dragon landed, so I knew I was protected by my Aegis as the attack began. The electron lasers lanced into my defenses but were deflected away, only for Vex to rush forward and place itself between me and the attacks as it breathed fire of its own at the attackers.

  “I remember being surprised that Vex had moved to defend me, and my estimation of this lost dragon improved. If it were willing to put itself in harm's way to protect me, then I needed to do something to help it. The next few seconds were utter chaos as I gathered my Magic to me and started to attack these dark Magi, or Nomads, as we call them. I remember throwing several bolts of lightning and blasts of Magical energy at our attackers. The troops were only human. These Riven, as we call them, had no magical powers of their own, but they were carrying enchanted weapons and wearing Magical armor. This gave them a bit more protection from my attacks, but they still went down after being hit by a few million volts of electricity in the form of a lightning bolt that happened to be hotter than the surface of the sun.

  “The dark Magus rider and the dragon itself were a different case entirely. The Magus would have pushed me just on his own, but with the dragon helping him, they were soon beating us back.

  “That was when I heard Vex in my head again. It yelled, ~Get on.~ I remember looking at Vex, almost doing a double take, thinking, is it serious? When Vex shouted at me again, I didn’t wait to be told a third time, and jumped onto the dragon’s back at the base of its neck, throwing another Magical attack at the Nomad.

  “The dragon beat its wings once, and we were off, shooting up off the rock and out into space. The speed of the thing was incredible, and I could feel the way the Essentia in the void all around us was interacting with the beast. The Crux dragon screeched through an open Link, and as I looked back, I saw it lift off and give chase.

  “Suddenly, I heard Rane in my head, talking to me through our private Link, asking why I was off the track and what was going on? I wasn’t in a position to hold much of a conversation, so I think I was a little terse with her. I said, ~Something came up. I’ve had a bit of dragon trouble.~

  “~Dragons?~ she asked, sounding more than a little surprised.

  “~Yeah, just the one, though,~ I said. ~I’m heading back to Sol, I think. Gonna try to lose it and the Nomad it’s carrying,~ I said.

  “~A Nomad as well?~ she yelped back at me as I heard Vex in my head again. It asked me where it should go, so, I told it to head to Sol. One of the impressive things about Void Dragons is that they can also create Wyrm Holes, or Gates, and jump vast distances between star systems very quickly.

  “I told Rane I had to go just as Vex used its Magic to summon a Wyrm Hole and dove into it.

  “Traversing a Wyrm Hole is like shooting through a very long, dark tunnel veiled in glowing mist and flashing with strange energy. Traveling this way gets you there fast, but it’s still hours and hours just sitting on a flying dragon who’s concentrating on getting through the tunnel safely, so Vex wasn’t terribly talkative. We did converse a little bit, though. Vex, it turned out, was young and had grown up on the edges of Crux space, away from their corrupting influence, so, when they came to find her—as it turned out, she was female—she refused to join them and ran from the recruiting team.

  “Many uncomfortable hours later, the dragon’s energy flared once more, and we burst out of the Wyrm Hole into real space. My Magical senses knew right away where we were, and sure enough, as I looked around, the giant planet Jupiter with its orange and tan clouds swirling in never-ending storms loomed large to my left.

  “Several tense seconds passed as we scanned the area, wondering if the Nomad was going to appear, and for a moment we thought we’d lost them, only for a burst of Essentia to flare behind us as the bigger Crux dragon dropped out of its own Wyrm Hole with a telepathic roar that cut through my mind.

  “~Shite,~ I cursed, and asked Vex if she could make another Wyrm Hole.

  “~Not right now, that last one took a lot out of me,~ she answered, which led me to look around us, wondering what we could do. I’m a powerful Magus by most measures, meaning I could Port myself and the Dragon without too much issue, and quite a distance at that. But Sol Prime—the space station that sits at the edge of the solar system—was too far even for me, and that was the only place I felt happy to lead another Crux dragon within Sol. Dragons had caused enough havoc here recently, so I wasn’t keen to create more problems.

  “Vex asked if I could do anything, but there wasn’t much I felt I could do that wasn’t just extending the chase in the hope of losing them. Also, I wasn’t a fan of the idea of just running from them. However, our opponent was bigger and stronger, so we needed an edge.

  “~We need to fight, but not here,~ I told Vex, and urged her to dive into the clouds of Jupiter. We were smaller and more maneuverable, so maybe we could use them to our advantage, and possibly lose our pursuers. Meanwhile, I tried to reach out and contact Sol Prime through my Link, but it was just too far away. Saturn and the Magi stronghold there, Ultima Thule, was not, however, so I managed to contact one of the Councilors there and asked them to reach out to Sol Prime, requesting help.

  “I had no idea if they’d reach us in time, or at all, really, and was steeling myself for a fight.

  “Vex was fast, though, and dove toward the planet. Those clouds rose up quickly, starting as a haze at the limits of Jupiter’s atmosphere before we plunged into them proper, our Magical shields keeping the toxic atmosphere and radiation at bay.

  “As my steed swooped between, and plunging through clouds of ammonia crystals, ammonium hydrosulfide, and water vapor, I looked back and did what I could to attack our pursuers. I know, right, impressed with my sciencing skills?”

  “I was until you said ‘sciencing skills,” Floribeth answered.

  Amanda laughed. “To be sure. Okay, let’s focus on the Magic, then.” She smiled and shrugged. “So, anyway, we dodged our way through the clouds, banking this way and diving that while I threw a few bolts of lightnin
g back at the Nomad and dragon. He defended himself against them, his Aegis coming through the attacks with little damage, only for the bigger Crux dragon to gain on us and unleash a withering gout of fire-breath filled with scorching plasma. Vex flinched and lost some speed, allowing the Crux dragon to catch us and shoot past, raking his claws down Vex’s side and spilling her blood.

  “Vex shrieked with pain as the Crux dragon, now in front of us, made to turn and come back for a second pass, only for a black blur bigger than the Crux dragon to drop from the void of space above and slam into it. Another dark shape turned in and hit the Crux dragon as well, sending it spinning in an uncontrolled fall. Great wings unfurled from the two dark forms, slowing them down and bringing them back up to us while allowing me a clearer look at who had just saved us. It was Grokar and Ventori, the two dragons based at Sol Prime who are on our side, and I could see Rane riding on the back of one of them.

  “I couldn’t help the stupid grin that spread over my face on seeing them. Vex was nervous of course, but I reassured her that these people were on our side. Looking down, the Crux dragon had recovered from its fall and was making its way back up, but also turning away from us. Facing three dragons and two skilled Magi must have caused the Nomad to have second thoughts about the prospect of winning.

  “I reached out to Rane through our Link and thanked for her the intervention before asking her what she wanted to do about the Nomad and his dragon. It was clearly trying to reach space and Gate out, and they would succeed if we left them to it. But I wasn’t keen on letting him go, partly because he could be going anywhere from here, including to one of the other planets in Sol to cause havoc, but also because he had information about Vex, Sol and its defenses. Rane also said she wasn’t happy about letting him go, so the choice was made and we went on the offensive.

  “I can only guess what went through that rider’s mind as he saw three colossal dragons bearing down on him. But I do know that he tried to Port himself out of there, only for Rane and I to counter his attempts and keep him where he was. The attack on the Crux dragon was quick, and with three against one, it was over very quickly in a flurry of ripping claws and furious Magical assaults of lightning and energy in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter.