Chapter 4

The next day, an hour before his shift began, Orin decided to try to find this place Jacob had hinted at. He found the anchor easily but couldn't find a second one. Or a third. Wait…

Jacob had said to go toward the concealed hallway, so that was where he headed. He tried to look purposeful and harmless at 0500. Who'd be up at this early hour?

The hallways were completely deserted, except for the guards posted along the secret hallway. That might be a problem.

But he could do some magic.

He took a deep breath and fixed the thought in his mind that he didn't want to be seen by the guards. And exhaled.

Looking down at his hands, he saw that he was invisible.

But even though he was invisible, his body remained solid. So anyone could, in theory, bump into him and realize that he was there.

Barely daring to breathe, he continued down the hallway, taking note of the placement of the guards and their emotional states. One was extremely bored; the other was jittery from a strange drink he'd consumed just before his shift that someone had said would make him more energetic. Well, it had certainly done the trick.

The third and fourth, a bit farther down, were…in love? And were happy to be on shift together? All right. He was done with that.

The last two looked bored, and that was enough for Orin.

He headed toward an alcove. A security camera was just above him. Was there a door somewhere?

He felt around the smooth metal surface, trying to find any hidden crevices or buttons. Nothing revealed itself, and he sighed, thinking that might be the end.

But he was never one to give up, so he carefully made his way to the other side of the alcove. Felt the surface, and…there was a depression right where a doorknob would be.

He felt along it and found a button.

He knew that if he pressed the button, an alarm would sound, and that would be it. But if he could short-circuit the system…like, say, with a blast of electrical energy…he could maybe get in undetected. The guards would be focused on the short and not notice his passage.

Calming himself, he closed his eyes and sent magical energy along his finger, to his fingertip, and to the button. Then into the internal wiring of the button, where he sent a blast.

Sparks flew. The shockwave slammed him into the ground, and pain flared in his hip and shoulders. He watched as the wall slid to one side, revealing an antechamber.

He hoped no one had heard his quiet intake of air.

Several guards came over to investigate, and he moved far enough away that no one would discover him.

Now to slip inside while the guards were looking at the open doorway and arguing about what might have happened.

He waited patiently for the guards to disperse. One left, presumably to get help from Engineering. How ironic. He went to the door and turned the doorknob. It was locked. He sent a tendril of magic into it, and a soft click told him that the door was now unlocked.

He opened the door, stepped inside, then closed the door behind him. After dropping his invisibility, he found himself inside another room. This one held a large prison cell. And his second anchor.

Pain. Humiliation. Loneliness. Fear. Anguish.

Two women sat on a long bench inside the cell, bent over swaths of fabric.

One had brown hair and the other?—

Her hair was as bright and as golden as the sun on Larin.

She looked up at his approach, her light blue eyes widening. His heart sank at the sight of her swollen face and bruises.

It was her—the one who'd screamed.

He felt her fear, and a tinge of hope.

"Hello?" he said softly. "I've come here to help."

The woman with the golden hair stood. "You're the one who heard my call!" Her facial markings—elegant brown swirls starting at her temples and extending down her cheeks—were almost invisible underneath her bruises. They told him she was Aridian. Could she be the missing princess?

"That was me," Orin said. He held out his hand. "Pleased to meet you both."

The brown-haired woman shook his hand. "I'm Falda, and this is Tasa, Princess of Aridia."

His heart lurched. This was the princess he'd been looking for, but she didn't seem very friendly—or happy to see him here. "Tasa," he said. He expected her to shake his hand, but she did not. She just stood there. "A pleasure."

"Do you possess magic, Orin?" Tasa asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Magic is wrong," Tasa said. "I cannot be near you."

Orin remembered something he'd heard about Aridians and their fear of magic. He stepped backward, putting his hands up, palms forward. "I do not wish to harm you. Only help."

"What brings you here?" Falda asked. "I've been a slave here for many years, but Tasa's only been here a month."

"We have been forced to do the mending," Tasa said.

Orin felt pity for them. They did not deserve to be treated that way. They should have been with their own people, on their home planets, not cooped up in a forgotten corner of a spaceship in a prison cell. "I am here to help you escape. If you want me to."

"Falda and I were discussing this very situation," Tasa said, not looking him in the eye. Her eyes were wild with panic he could feel in his own chest. "We—we decided that we would accept your help. But that is all."

"I may need to be near you at some point. Is that going to be all right, if it can't be helped?" He hoped she'd be agreeable to that; otherwise, helping her would be nearly impossible.

Tasa took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "As long as there is no unnecessary contact, I think I will be all right with it."

Orin smiled weakly. "This is a bit awkward, but you are aware of how Larinu and Aridians feel about each other, I presume?" he asked. They were enemies and had been for years. Despite that, he'd made the decision to help. He wasn't delusional enough to think they'd actually appreciate it. And this whole thing could end up being a disaster, he realized.

"Of course, but I shall also set that aside," Tasa said. "Do you know why I was captured? I heard that the commander is Fillini. What would he want from me? And Falda?"

"That's a good question," Orin said.

"So how will you save us?" Falda asked.

Orin thought about it, and he had an idea of how it could be done. Maybe.

"We will sneak out of here and then seize control of the ship," he said. "Once that is done, it's simply a matter of flying you home."

"How will you keep us from getting caught?" She was staring at him, her lips parted in wonder. She was beautiful, he realized. When she looked at him like that, it was as if Larin's sun was shining upon him.

"I have my ways," Orin said. Pushing those thoughts away, he said, "It's very simple. We'll do some good old-fashioned psi warfare. And you will help me."