The Sac'a'rith by Vincent Trigili

more than that,” said the magus.
    “I think you and I both know you are not going to get much more. Let me fill you in on our adventures here so far.”
    While Narcion related our experiences, one of them turned to look at me. I turned and met his gaze and felt him boring into me. I could feel him digging, somehow working his way into my head, and all I could think of was the slave collar I had once worn. Never again would I allow anyone to take control of me. A fierce anger rose up in me. I stood to my full height, easily dwarfing the magus, and took him by the throat. I lifted him into the air with one hand while squeezing down on his windpipe. “Get out of my head!” I growled.
    He started to shake violently in my grasp and I felt him retreat from my mind. I dropped him and said, “If you ever try something like that again I will rip your head from your shoulders. Do I make myself clear?”
    “Yes, sir,” he said, coughing, trying to get his breath back.
    “Probing a Zalionian? You could have picked a less violent way to commit suicide,” said Narcion.
    “Let’s go, Narcion. Leave them to the wraiths,” I said.
    “Easy, Zah’rak. They have been running for their lives around this station for a while. I think you can understand that they might be a little suspicious,” said Narcion.
    “What now?” I asked, keeping my eye on them. I was not ready to trust them and would be more than willing to toss them to the wraiths.
    “That is up to them,” he said, then turned to the three magi. “You are free to strike out on your own again, or you can join us as we hunt the wraiths. There are too many unknowns here, and g uides would be welcome at this stage.”
    They looked at each other and were silent again for a while. I was sure they were communicating in some manner, but I could not hear anything, nor did their lips move at all. Eventually the first magus said, “My name is Felix and we would be happy to join you.” Felix was obviously the leader of their little group, but he had a shifty look to him. He was shorter than Narcion, but fairly average for a human in height and build.
    “Good. Then tell us who we should try to save, and who are the attackers?” asked Narcion.
    “We were wondering the same thing. You two are the first friendly faces we have seen in weeks. The two men you helped us overcome are new also, as far as we can tell.”
    “What happened with them?” I asked.
    “I’m not sure. We came around the corner and they yelled and started shooting; we fired back. That was only moments before you arrived. We were planning a retreat, but you cut that off before we had a chance,” said Felix.
    “We have spoken to three other groups of people since coming to the station, and all of them claimed that Central Computing was where everyone was holing up,” said Narcion.
    “Central Computing is on lockdown. We can’t get in. I think that whoever was here before us locked it securely so that it did not fall into enemy hands.”
    “Then whoever invaded this station is trying to get us to open it for them?” I asked.
    “Possibly. That would explain why we keep getting pushed in that direction,” said Narcion. “Let’s head back to Engineering and see what we can figure out from there.”
    “But the hangar was empty. How did you get here?” I asked.
    “Sir, we probably arrived the same way you did. We flew in, but shortly after we arrived we came under heavy fire and tried to return to our ship, only to find it had been stolen,” said Felix.
    I looked to Narcion in concern, and he said, “Relax, that ship won’t move without me knowing it. Let’s get a move on before someone else comes along.”
    As we approached Engineering, Narcion said quietly, “Careful. They are likely to have returned in our absence. Zah’rak and I will take the lead. You three follow five seconds behind and be ready. Remember, your guns are useless against the wraiths. If you have mage bolts, use