A/N: I apologize for the long wait between chapters. To make it up to you, this one's a lot longer than normal.
Earlier that day...
Machien woke slowly. His whole body ached, but the pain had become second nature to him over the last two days. They were torturing him, sending so much pain his way that he felt he was close to death by the end of the day. They'd leave him over night, then the Healers would repair any physical damage in the morning and the process would start all over again. He was familiar with the technique – his father had practiced on him when Machien still lived in the Achnid Empire.
Being the good Bernien that he was, Machien tried to get as much intel as possible through observation. He was inside an Achnid complex - the distinct dark blue and pitch black stones in the walls and the iron bar door to his cell gave that away. The cell was reinforced with wards and the like, of this Machien was aware from his Achnid days.
There were no more than three or four guards around his cell at a time, and these were all lower-level Spellcasters. Never had he one of the Mages guarding his cell. He probably wasn't considered important enough.
Outside the cell, he wasn't really allowed to look around much. They often had a full body bind curse on him, so he was forced to stare at the ceiling whenever they brought him anywhere. Either that or they stunned him and then put a body bind curse on him. Regardless, it meant he couldn't search the halls for Cally, or for Darien the traitor for that matter.
Darien. The name that had once meant brotherhood to him was dead now. The Darien he had known died the night this new Darien was born – the Darien that betrayed his friends to the Achnid Empire in order to give himself a higher standing with their enemy. Darien was no longer Darien the Lorenian. He was Darien the Achnid. And Machien had no desire to count one of the Achnid Empire's Mages as his friend. Unless said Mage was working for Lorena, which in this case he was not.
Sitting up, Machien quieted his thoughts and began to meditate. Meditation, a tool he used frequently as a Legillimens and an Occlumens, helped him escape the cell and explore the halls of the ship. During meditation, Marcus found that his hearing was sharpened greatly if he could establish a link between his magic and his ears. He wasn't sure if that'd ever been done before, but it worked for him and he was bloody well going to use it. Wait… Machien's technique had led him to a conversation taking place just down the hall, outside the cell block he was residing in.
"The subjects refuse to cooperate, sir. Neither will give us any information on Lorena's defenses." The voice spoke in the Achnid tongue to a commander, probably one of the Mages.
"Then try harder, Serbenti, obviously your techniques are not working." Machien fought to control his rage. That voice he knew well. It was the voice of Darien the Achnid.
"That's the problem, Snake Mage; we can't put any more power into the techniques we're already using. If we do they'll die." The voice known as Serbenti said. So Darien could control snakes. That's what being a Snake Mage meant, after all. Every so often a person was born with a power over a breed of animals. Said person would become known as a Mage of whatever species they could control. Machien found it a further betrayal that Darien had never used these powers in front of their team.
"Then kill them, Serbenti." Darien said simply.
"Surely you aren't speaking of our new charges, Darien Serpentine." A new voice spoke clearly, as if she was in charge of Darien. It wasn't speaking in Achnid tongue, though, and its voice wasn't human. "With them dead, our Lorenian friends have no need to turn over their leaders." So Cally was still alive! This was good news.
"Forgive me, my queen." Queen? There was no Achnid Queen, only the Emperor Lucian Del Mourne, who was most decidedly male. Machien only knew of Wraith Queens. Was Darien serving a Wraith Queen? All evidence certainly seemed to point that way. He clued back into the conversation.
"We still need them, Darien. You will get your chance soon enough." She paused. "Perhaps a change in technique is necessary. Bring them to me instead. I will await them in the dining room."
"My queen, pardon my bluntness, but I thought you were keeping your presence secret?"
"Indeed, Darien Serpentine. I WAS keeping my presence secret. But as the sun will rise, so your Lorenian teammates will die. It is set in the stars, Snake Mage. I see no reason to hide my presence from them now."
"But Certus will surely mount a rescue for them! He 'never leaves a man behind' and I mean never. One time we-"
"I have neither the time in the day nor the desire in my heart to hear your tales, Spy. Your job is done, and soon you will be of no use to us, too. I would tread carefully if I were you." The voice was clearly one of warning. Machien smiled inwardly at the thought of Darien's mollified expression he knew the Snake Mage was wearing.
"Yes, my queen. I apologize for my presumptions."
"Bring them to me, as I have asked, and you will see how forgiving the Wraith can be, Darien." And Machien heard her footsteps clopping away from the hallway. He grimaced, breaking off the connection. Well, at least he knew what was coming next. May Merlin bring you here soon, Certus, and may Merlin protect you, Cally.
Cally's body was completely stiff. She could barely move at all. It wasn't because she was petrified – it was that she was wrapped in a wraith cocoon. She struggled against her binds, but to no avail. "Damn it," she cursed.
Last she remembered, she was being carted away from her cell in the Achnid fortress. They must've decided to feed her to the Wraith after all.
Cally thought. Was there anything she could do without a wand or weapon to get out of the blasted cocoon she was trapped in? She recalled a lecture Maggie Ventrius had given not too long before the betrayal…
"A new project has borne some fruit. It is known to the Research Teams as Project Channeller . The theory states that since all witches and wizards have a magical core, that core should be able to channel the magic through a witch or wizard's body. That's how accidental magic occurs.
"Project Channeler began in an attempt to break down the walls that block our magic from the rest of our bodies." She held up a finger and said "Lumos." The tip of her finger lit up like a wand would have in response to the spell. There was an intake of breath from the audience.
Cally didn't remember how Maggie had said to do this, but she gathered that the theory of it was very similar to Animagi magic. To get into her wolf form, Cally had to be in tune with her core in a way that most witches and wizards never were. She had to lower the shields around it so her magic could envelop her and change her form. That was the theory, anyways. In practice it was a lot harder, since one didn't want to lower the shields so much that one lost control of one's magic.
Cally suspected that, just like in Animagi transformations, lowering the shields entirely was a bad idea in this case, too. Cally wouldn't want her entire body to turn into a lightbulb, nor did she really want to lose control of her magic. While Cally wouldn't mind doing serious damage to the stupid hive ship she was in, she wanted to be intact after doing said damage.
So instead, Cally decided that it was probably necessary to focus the magical energy to one part of her body. That way, Cally could keep control of her core while still lowering the shields enough to perform the wandless magic she needed to do.
Struggling until she could point her index finger out towards the hallway, Cally sent her mind into her body, towards the center of her chest. There she focused on the white ball of light and magic that was her core. Around the core she could feel the magical shields that held it together. She focused further, and she felt them drop slowly. She imagined herself taking her other hand and guiding the magic within her core to her index finger, and in her mind's eye she saw it floating down her arm as if a coursing vein. Focusing on the Cutting curse, she charged her arm until she felt it was full enough with magic and said, "Sectumsempra." She guided the vicious charm through her finger and sliced a hole in the cocoon.
Anticipating a taxing rebound from the successful spell, Cally forced her walls back up as soon as the curse had done its work. Breathing hard, she used her free hand to tear the hole into something she could escape out of. A few minutes later, Cally broke through the cocoon and fell onto the hard floor of the hive ship with a thud. She looked around as she pulled herself off the floor and ran out of the hall.
Not long after Machien had shut off his super-hearing, as he liked to call it, Darien strode into the hallway. Machien heard him talking to the guards.
"Open the cell, Simple One." Darien said, his voice just barely carrying through the cell's wards. Simple One was the term the higher-ups in the Achnid Army used towards those of lower status than them. The Simple One said something that Machien couldn't hear. "Do you want to explain to the Queen why she can't interrogate the prisoner?" Another mumbled response from the Simple One, a quick "Then open the door" from Darien, and the wards and bars around Machien's cell disappeared.
There, right in front of his cell, stood Darien Doren, in all his Achnid glory. He had on a deep green robe that trailed behind him as he walked, signifying his rank as a Snake Mage within the Achnid Army. To further the image, a badge with a cobra was pinned to his chest. Darien's face was colder than Machien had ever seen it, wearing an expression of pure hatred he'd only seen directed to Lorenian enemies before now. "And so the traitor shows his true colors." Machien said dryly. "Come to lay a hex or two of your own, or are you letting your cronies do your dirty work for you, Spy?"
Darien's expression remained the same. "I'd watch my tone if I were you, Lorenian. Most prisoners don't even last this long."
"What makes me so special, then?" Machien retorted. "Are you having second thoughts? If so, I doubt Certus would ever take you back after this."
Darien snorted. "Certus Calhoun. There's a failed leader if I ever met one. With my powers, I should be leading the Bernien forces." He smirked. "My pets could beat Certus in a battle any day." As if to prove his point, Darien hissed and a king cobra slithered out of his robe. "Belle truly lives to her name, doesn't she, Lorenian?" He stroked the snake lovingly. "One drop of her poison would kill anyone instantly."
"Do you honestly think Certus would find Belle intimidating, Spy?" Marcus refused to use Darien's name, just as Darien refused to use Machien's name. Neither liked the other, and both felt the other had betrayed his own kind. "Whatever you're here for, please just get it over with and leave me alone. I've nothing to say to you."
"Watch your tongue, Traitor." Darien spat. "It could easily find a place under my foot."
"Better to kiss up to you with, Snake Mage." Machien said sarcastically, smirking at Darien's shocked expression. "You forget, Mighty One, that I lived on the Achnid homeworld for nearly twenty years before I escaped the Empire. In that time, I learned what different colored robes and badges meant. Your green robe classifies you as an Animal Mage, your badge as a Snake Mage. I didn't make Certus' second in command for nothing, Spy."
Darien seemed like he was about ready to burst. His face had turned as red as a tomato all the way up to his brown bangs. Darien's green eyes were narrowed to silts and his mouth was as small as a pinprick. "Take him to the Queen, Simple One." He ordered in the Achnid tongue. "Let her deal with him."
The thug that'd been guarding the door pulled Machien forcefully to his feet and led him out of the hallway.
Cally dashed behind a big pillar just as two Wraith soldiers came through the hallway. They were headed towards the direction of the cocoon she'd just escaped from not too long ago. Soon they would find out that she had escaped, and her time to find a way off of the ship would be cut in half. Peachy.
It was absolutely brilliant timing, too. Cally was lost – it was always Darien who mapped out the ship and told them where to go. Darien. The name was practically dead to her now. She no longer thought of the wizard as a friend, but as a traitor. He was the enemy now.
Speak of the devil, Cally thought to herself. Darien was striding down the hallway, his face stonier than she'd ever seen it. He was trailing behind the Wraith, but he was headed towards her old cocoon. He didn't look happy.
Making a split-second decision, Cally stealthily followed him down the hall. She figured that if she followed Darien around long enough, she'd at the very least figure out where the ship was. That was another problem she had – if they were in space, she couldn't easily get off the ship. It'd take a lot more than simply opening an airlock. Hiding herself in the shadows, she dodged her captors until they reached her cocoon.
Darien was not pleased when he saw the empty cocoon. "How-" He turned to the Wraith, his wrath easily visible on his features. "Find her, unless you want to be the one to face the Queen. She's expecting our guest for dinner." The Wraith split up, their metal boots clinking away down the hall. "You won't hide from me for long, Lorenian." He said to the cocoon before he, too, strode away towards the direction the Wraith had gone.
I can hide a lot better than you think, Darien. Cally thought to herself with a smile. She was right beside them, and they didn't know it. Squashing her pride in her skills before it got the better of her, Cally trailed behind Darien, thinking about what she'd just heard.
Every Lorenian knew perfectly well that the Achnids followed a male emperor. Lucian Del Mourne was the most malicious leader one could imagine, from the stories she'd heard Machien tell. He killed with no reason, he treated his underlings' property as his own, and he took any woman he wanted – there was no arguing with him, no denying his advances. So for Darien to warn of a queen would mean that he was following someone else; either on his own, or on his Emperor's orders. And the only race that the Achnids would feel the need to partner with that had monarchs was the Wraith.
The thought of someone she once counted as a friend serving a Wraith made Cally want to puke.
"Mage Doren," a voice called from behind them. A woman stood down the hall. "I was hoping I'd run into you." She came forward and placed her hands on Darien's chest. The woman was beautiful, Cally had to admit. She had long, wavy brown hair that draped around her shoulders and long eyelashes above her eyes. She wore a blue robe that clung to her figure suggestively. The woman stood almost as tall as Darien, and she carried a staff with a sapphire fixed to the top. Cally recognized the staff as that of a water mage – one exactly like the staff the mage who attacked Marcus's home carried so many years ago. She'd seen the Pensive memory of the event.
"Sari," Darien said fondly, his angry features melting into compassion and – love? "We cannot be seen together here, Sari." He gripped her hand and made to move it away from his chest.
Sari pouted. "What do the Wraith know of human behavior? They may see, but they won't understand."
"There are other eyes and ears aboard this ship, Sari." Darien said, as one would say to a child.
"Don't you talk to me that way, Darien Doren." Sari scolded. "I am no Lorenian child for you to coddle." She was angry now.
"Oh, Sari." Darien chuckled. "You are far too beautiful a woman to be mistaken as a child. Especially a Lorenian child." Cally fought back a growl. He was insulting his own people, his homeworld, as he'd insulted the Achnid Empire not long before the betrayal.
"I'd keep that in mind if I were you." Sari told him. "I am not one to cross."
"Most certainly, that is so." Darien agreed, chuckling again. "But neither is the Emperor. He has already forbidden our love."
"The Emperor can-" Darien covered her mouth with his hand.
"Shh, Sari, the walls have ears." Darien said, soothing his lover. He stroked her hair affectionately. "And eyes." He dropped his hands with a sigh.
"Perhaps…" Sari started, hesitating. "Perhaps Lorena wouldn't be so bad, if we could be together."
Darien hissed. "You are suggesting treachery? The woman who has the ear of the Emperor?" Darien sounded shocked.
"It would give them a reason to keep us around, Darien." Sari pointed out. Cally thought that even if Marcus and Certus decided to let Darien live, they'd keep the two of them as spies, as double agents. Sari placed her hands on his chest again. "You would consider it if you really loved me."
Darien shot her a hurt glance before saying, "Expecto Patronum". Instead of the snake she knew as his Patronus form, Cally saw it take the form of an alley cat instead. Judging the shocked and pleased look on Sari's face, she knew that the alley cat was Sari's Patronus form. "I love you, Sari, more than anything in the galaxy. You know that."
"I do, Darien, I do." Sari conceded. "Please, think about what I said."
Darien nodded. "I will, though I doubt they'd accept me if we did go to Lorena." Oh, I can think of a couple of ways, Cally said. First, he could show Certus and Marcus the changed Patronus form to validate his story. Then he could free her and Machien and take them back to Lorena. Or he could at least give Marcus and Certus information that would help them mount a rescue mission. If Darien wished to be useful, he'd realize that he had to keep the trust of the Achnids so he could play a double agent. It wouldn't be easy in any sense of the word, but it'd give Cally's superiors a reason to trust him.
Cally debated showing herself right then and there, offering her advice in exchange for her freedom. It would be reasonable – she had already escaped, so it wouldn't look like he'd set her free. But she didn't trust Darien as far as she could throw him. She was therefore hesitant to present herself to him when he could just as easily throw her back in the cocoon. But if he really wanted a way to get in with the Lorenians again, this would be a good way to do it. She watched Darien interact more with Sari, noticing the obvious affection and worry he held for the female mage. They were a good match, Cally had to admit. Sari seemed to tame Darien in a way that Cally had never thought possible.
"Please, Darien," Sari was pleading with him. "I don't want to 'have the Emperor's ear', as you put it. There're more things that come with the job than meets the eye." She grew quiet at the last comment, apparently guessing how Darien would react.
Darien glowered. "What has he done?" He asked slowly, patience wearing thin.
"Nothing to me, but it is only a matter of time." Sari said reassuringly. "I have heard stories." She looked down. "Versil didn't die of sickness."
"Alright, Sari." Darien said after a long silence, his head hung low. "I'll do it, if only to get you away from him." He spoke the word with much more venom than Cally would have expected, fermenting the idea in her mind that he'd do anything to protect Sari, including setting herself and Machien free.
Taking a deep breath, her heart pounding madly, Cally stepped out of the shadows. "Darien." She said, and the couple turned in a flash. "Darien, if you want to be accepted among the Lorenians, you need me free."
"Who is this, Darien?" Sari asked. "What has she heard?"
"This, Sari, is Cally, one of our Lorenian guests." He spat the word 'Lorenian'. "She's a member of Certus Calhoun's Bernien team. As to what she's heard, I'd like the answer to that myself." He glared at Cally.
"I heard everything, Darien." Cally said. "And saw everything. You love her, more than you hate Lorena. You want to protect her. I can help." Cally waited, face neutral.
"And what reason would you have to help us?" Sari asked suspiciously. It was obvious she didn't trust Cally at all. The woman was leaning on her staff, her right hand twitching dangerously. Cally knew she was ready to fire a spell at her if she made a wrong move.
"My freedom, for one, and an aid for my people." Cally answered smoothly.
"Explain." Darien ordered.
"You need Marcus and Certus to trust you. Presenting me, free, would go a long ways towards that goal." Cally said. "But you also need to give them a reason to help you. It would be a great asset to us if we had a double agent working in the Achnid Army, especially one as close to the Emperor as you obviously are."
Darien considered her words. Cally was right – there was no way he'd be trusted on Lorena right now. He wouldn't be surprised if they cursed him on sight. But if he were to let Cally go, he'd face judgment and broken trust on the Achnid side of things. "What do you suggest I do to keep my superiors' trust if I let you go?"
"Don't let me go willingly." Cally said. "I'll put on a show by overpowering Sari and taking her hostage. One of my demands will be to show me to the Stargate and let me go back to Lorena. If your Emperor and your Queen ask why you let me go, tell them that I would have killed Sari had you not. If what Sari said is true, the Emperor wouldn't want her dead."
Darien looked at Sari. His lover seemed to be impressed with the plan Cally suggested. Granted, Darien would still be punished, but it would be reasonable to let a prisoner go in exchange for a mage's life, especially a mage as powerful and respected as Sari. "What do you think, love?"
Sari was silent. "Just one more question, Lorenian. Why do you ask for your freedom and not that of your comrade's?"
Cally nodded once. She had wondered when they'd ask that. "Machien is still in your custody. It'd be harder to pretend he just 'got away', and your trust with the Achnids would be tested more if both of us got away."
Sari slowly looked at Darien. "I did not know your people were capable of such forethought."
"Only those of us from Sorcien House like Cally and me." Darien said in response with a smile towards Cally. She pursed her lips, but didn't say anything, waiting for him to decide what the couple would do.
Down the hall, she could hear the clinking of metal boots stepping on metal floors. Sari heard it too, and handed Cally her staff. "Let's get this over with," she said, making the decision for Darien. Cally grabbed the staff in one hand and Sari in the other, and then turned herself and her 'hostage' towards Darien just as the Wraith and Achnid soldiers entered the hallway.