Out of the Blue

Chapter 9

When Iahn looked out the window again he saw a rich landscape, dominated by a large city. Soaring cathedrals and a castle lined the sunbaked streets. He had never been to Spain, and had only passed by the 15th century, but he knew some stuff about the time period. They were arriving at the city of Castile, which was the capital of the Spanish Empire, which was already expanding to the New World. The Beagle landed in an alley, between two stone buildings.

The hanger doors opened, and Iahn walked outside, at once the sun was in his eyes but it wasn't as bad as walking through Egypt. Once his team got outside, the Beagle vanished into its concealed mode, knowing Teo he'd have to remember where they parked it. Iahn walked out of the alley, and into a busy market street. He realized that he'd be hopeless in the city because he didn't know Spanish or Latin. He didn't want to risk putting up a translation matrix either. The last thing he wanted to do was risk his team to the watchful eye of the Spanish Inquisition.

He was sore from the battle, though thank god he hadn't been seriously injured. He had to keep turning his head just so he could hear the intelligible language around him. It was starting to get frustrating, and part of him wanted to go back and skewer that pirate more than anything. But he couldn't he had a mission to complete, and Tessa to find. How was he even going to explain the last few days to her, his ear least of all his problems.

"Any idea where Lucien would be?" Kaneo asked.

"I'd say check the nearest library we can find" Eyota answered.

"His records show he hasn't made a report in a few days, so something must be wrong" Iahn said.

Part of him worried. He needed Lucien on his side; he was his friend and was smarter than half the Academy. The last thing he wanted was to find him dead in a ditch. Just the thought made nauseous rise and churn through him, but he tried his best to hide it from the rest of his team. He brushed the thought from his mind, and trekked through the busy streets, from there he walked into an open square. There a crowd gathered and part of Iahn panicked because he wasn't sure what was going on. He pushed his way through the crowd, and saw three people tied to a stake. He didn't recognize them which made him sigh in annoyance as he feared he would never find his friend.

Clergymen were the ones that tossed the fire that condemned the three of them. As he turned away, he heard their dying cries. He wondered if some of the religious leaders had already captured him, or worse sentenced him to a fate like this. He walked back to where his team remained. He could see that Kaneo and Nasira looked, fearful and there was apprehension on Eyota's face.

"He's not here" Iahn said, and he saw relief on their faces. "Kaneo I want you to escort Nasira back to the Beagle. The last thing I want is to have any of us captured by these fanatics" He ordered.

"Alright Boss," Kaneo said.

Iahn pressed forward as Kaneo and Nasira turned around. Part of him felt a bit relieved that he wouldn't have the younger novices on his back. He was happy that he was getting his old team together, though he knew it would never be the same without Elser. He wasn't sure how Lucien would react to him appearing in his life again. He had told himself after Russia he never thought any of his friends would be able to look him in the eye. He wouldn't have blamed them but it made him happy that things had turned out for the better. He needed his friends more than he would care to admit.

He scanned around the city in front of him, past all the people and everything. He still tasted ash in the back of his mouth, but he needed to find his friend. He wasn't sure where in god's name he was going to find him. It wasn't like there was a giant billboard that said jail here or anything. So he kept walking, deeper and deeper into the city. As he walked he realized something.