Day Twenty-Four - The Dark Mark

SpaceWizards
(Another SpaceWizards Action/Adventure Mystery)

What is The Dark Mark that all the SpaceWizards have suddenly gotten on the sides of their foreheads? And how did they get them? They are sure that Horrald is responsible for them. But why has he given them the dark marks? And why are they so painful too. Is Horrald trying to kill them with these dark marks? The Dark Mark is a perfectly round black circle with a little bit of red in the center of it, making them look like an eyeball. What is really going on here? That’s what all The SpaceWizards want to know. They are sure it’s one of Horrald’s spells. But which one? And why do they all have one? That’s what this story is all about.

“The Dark Mark”

A Short Story

Remembered By

All

     The red ‘Horrald is nearby’ alarm started flashing all over the spaceship. So, did the loud sound effects too. Everyone saw and heard it. They were in various parts of the spaceship. But they all saw and heard it. And they all had a different reaction to it too.

     Jacci was in the corridors when it began. She stopped and started looking around her very slowly. Suddenly, her head snapped back. What was that? Why did that happen.

     Pacill sat up in his Sleeper in his Sleeping Chamber. He banged his head against the back of his Sleeper. What a wonderful time for another attack. I just got to sleep a few minutes ago.

     Angoria was in the Practice Chamber when it started. She had just mumbled something and had thrown a Fire Ball at one of the dead. It got bigger after it left her palm. But instead of killing the dead it bounced off it and hit her in the head, forcing her head back when it exploded. Thanks a lot Horrald. You distracted my spell.

     Stavon was in the Control Chamber when it all started. He was tapping his controls and constantly looking up at the viewscreen or the Data Monitor. I don’t know where Horrald is. He’s not on the ship or in Space near us. And there are no planets near us either.

     Yena just left the Secret Chamber when she suddenly stopped because of what just started. A few seconds later she was pushed back against the entrance to the Secret Chamber. Ouch, that hurt. And I’m not talking about the entrance.

     Mairon was also in the corridors when it all began. His head suddenly snapped back. He put his hand up to his forehead where a dark mark now appeared. What’s going on? Are we about to be attacked again by Horrald? What just happened to my forehead?

     Borrele was in her Sleeping Chamber too. And she was just coming out of her Personal Care Center when it began. She got pushed back into her Personal Care Center. As she turned toward the Image Reflector in there, she saw a dark mark on her forehead. Where did that come from? When did I get that?

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     Jacci touched her forehead where a slightly protruding something started pulsating. She circled around the edge of that perfect circle. “What’s going on. I never felt something like that on my forehead before.” Jacci mumbled something. A few seconds later an Image Reflector appeared on the wall next to her.

     Stepping up to the Image Reflector Jacci’s jaw dropped in shock. Jacci saw herself, and she had a dark blue circle with a little bit of red in its center. “Where did I get that?”

     A few seconds later she answered her own question. “Horrald, of course. That’s why the ‘Horrald is near’ alarm went off.”

     Everyone, check your forehead. I think you will find something that wasn’t there a few minutes ago.

     Within a minute each one responded with the same answer, yes. They all thought it differently. But the ending was the same. I’m on my way to the Information Chamber to find out what Horrald has given us. I don’t think that he’s done something like this in the past. At least I don’t remember him doing it. But I need to start somewhere. And that’s as good of a place to start as any.

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     Pacill stood in front of his Image Reflector in his Personal Care Center. He just stared at his dark mark that was now pulsating too. “How did Horrald do it?”

     A few seconds later Pacill answered his own question. “It must be a spell of some kind. But what kind is it? What is Horrald trying to do now?”

     “I have never seen a dark mark like this one.” Pacill continued talking to himself a few seconds later.

     Pacill reached up to touch it. Then quickly pulled his finger away from it when it pulsated out toward it. I don’t like this being on my forehead. And I want it off my head as soon as possible.

     I’m on my way to the Information Chamber too. While Jacci looks through her diary, I can start looking for it everywhere else.

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     Angoria mumbled something. A few seconds later a small fist hit her in the forehead where the pulsating dark mark was. The fist did push it into her forehead. But when it pulled back the dark mark protruded out again. “That didn’t work either.”

     “All it did was give me a pain in the head.” Angoria didn’t say anything for several minutes. Then she mumbled something. Another fist appeared. But that was at the side of her head where the dark mark was. It punched the dark mark at an angle barely missing the forehead but not the dark mark. The fist just bounced off that dark mark.

     “I have tried spells, Fire Balls, and electrical strings to get rid of this thing. But nothing has gotten rid of it. The spells I can understand. I’m not very good with spells. But the Fire Balls and electrical strings should have.”

     Angoria mumbled something. A few seconds later a Fire Ball jetted out of her palm. But only a few feet in front of her before it suddenly stopped. It hovered at head level. Angoria walked right into that ball. The Fire Ball exploded when the mark hit it. But nothing happened. That mark was still there.

     A few seconds later Angoria pointed two fingers on both sides of that mark and fired four electrical strings at it. Both strings disappeared into it. The pulsating got a little bit stronger. But that only lasted about a minute. Then it went back to pulsating normally again.

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     Pacill walked down a corridor very quickly. He was almost running. Suddenly he stopped. and grabbed his stomach and double over. A few seconds later he was on the floor in a curled-up position on his side. “The pain. Why am I having pain in my stomach when it’s my head that’s hurting?”

     Jacci sat in front of a Data Monitor in the Communications Chamber aka the Information Chamber. She was mumbling as she stared at that monitor. Suddenly her head started shaking violently in all directions. It turned completely around in one direction, then the other. Jacci put two hands on either side of it to stop it from spinning. “I thought the pain with my mark was bad. But this is ten times worse.”

     Mairon staggers into his Sleeping Chamber. He barely got in there before the entrance slid close behind. Looking toward his Personal Care Center, Mairon slowly headed for it. Mairon clumsily stumbled headed for his Personal Care Center. The pain was noticeable on his face as he entered it. He touched the Image Reflection, and it disappeared to reveal a bunch of small stone sized things. They even looked like stones. “I don’t think there’s a Pain Killer in existence that can stop this pain.”

     Yena kept mumbling something repeatedly with her eyes closed as she slowly walked down a corridor. Each step she took was about half, if that, their normal steps. Her face showed her in constant pain as she crept along that corridor. Yena looked up and saw the entrance to the Secret Chamber at the end of that corridor. “I don’t think I’m going to make it there in time. The pain I’m having is just too strong.”

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     Stavon was still in the Control Chamber. And he was still tapping away at the controls in front of him. Every so often he would glance up at the viewscreen or over at the Data Monitor. But most of the time he was looking at the Information Monitor next to him. I still haven’t found Horrald yet. If he’s out there he must be using an Invisibility spell to hide.

     I will keep trying to find him. But I don’t think he’s here anymore. In fact, I don’t think he ever was here.

     If he was here, he’s not here anymore. The alarms stopped right after we discovered our gifts that he gave us. That means he’s no longer here.

     Stavon continued his ranking and raving a few seconds later. I have scanned for a million miles in all directions. And he’s not anywhere near us.

     Now I’m going to do an internal scan of our spaceship. I don’t think that he’s here. But we need to check everywhere.

     We still don’t know what he’s up to this time. And finding out what these marks are and why he gave them to us might be the only way to get rid of them. If we can get rid of them.

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     Yena suddenly stopped. She was right in front of the Secret Chamber. But she just stood there staring at it. After a few minutes, she straightened herself up. Yena mumbled something. A few seconds later the Secret Chamber door slid open. She barely stumbled in before it slid close again. I know how we can find Horrald. And the sooner we do, the sooner we will know what’s going on with these marks he gave us.

     I’m in the Secret Chamber right now. And I am headed for my Personal Secret Chamber. Not only do I need it to get my strength back, but it will help us to find Horrald. It has helped us before. And it can do it now.

     We need to find out what these marks are and how to get rid of them. My friend can help us do that.

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     Mairon started running down the corridors. Yena, stop. Leave the Secret Chamber before it’s too late.

     We will find another way to find Horrald, find out what’s he’s up to, and how to get rid of these dark marks. What you are doing is too dangerous.

     I don’t think that you should be in there, Yena. In fact, that might be what Horrald wants you to do. Remember what happened in the cavern with the spaceGem. And don’t forget what happened with the giant eye we brought on board.

     Mairon had taken a deep breath before he continued. This could be what Horrald want he wants us to do. He might want us to reveal that you have a large SpaceGem too.

     Suddenly, Mairon stopped. “Oh, no. I shouldn’t have thought that. He could be listening to our thoughts right now.” A few seconds later he added, “Oh, no. He could me listening to us talk too.”

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     Borrele walked out of her Personal Care Center touching her dark mark. At least she tried to do it. But every time she did it would push her off it. Borrele slowly started to scan her Sleeping Chamber. “I don’t know what to do.”

     “Should I remain here or go help the others find out what’s going on. Okay, I admit I’m a little scared. One part of me wants to help. But another part wants to stay here where it is safe.”

     “If anywhere is safe. Since we don’t know what’s going on with these marks nowhere may be safe anymore.” Borrele stopped her scanning when she reached the entrance into her Sleeping Chambers.

     For several minutes Borrele just stood there staring at her Sleeping Chamber’s entrance. “I’m still scared. But I have to help them if I can.”

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     All seven of the SpaceWizards were now in the Communications Chamber. Each one of them sat behind a different Data Monitor. some of them were tapping away at the controls in front of them. And the others were mumbling to themselves as they stared at the monitors in front of them.

     “Did anyone else experience Death Pain a little bit ago?” Mairon asked.

     The other six SpaceWizards all answered ‘yes’ in one way or another. “That’s what I thought. I have been thinking about this ever since we got these dark marks. And I think I know what Horrald is trying to do.”

     No one said anything for several minutes. They either stared at Mairon or went back to what they were doing before he asked his question about pain. It was Angoria who broke the silence. “So, what do you think Horrald is trying to do?”

     “It’s me, isn’t it?” Yena asked. “Horrald is looking for my SpaceGem, isn’t he?”

     All the SpaceWizards looked at Yena in shock, except for Mairon. “Relax everyone. At first, I thought that these marks were eyes too, especially with the red in the center that kept getting bigger and smaller every few seconds. But I don’t think that’s what these marks are.”

     A few seconds later Mairon continued. “I also do think Horrald is listening to us externally or internally. True, I thought that at first too. But the more I thought about it I realized he wasn’t. If that’s what he wanted he would have shown his presents a long time ago.”

     “I think that these marks are an internal scanner. They are scanning our bodies from within. That’s why we experienced the pain earlier. These marks were seeing how much pain we could handle.”

     “Why would Horrald do that?” Pacill asked.

     “It’s me, isn’t it?” Yena asked.

     Mairon didn’t say anything for about a minute. “Yes, it’s about you Yena. And no, it’s not about you too. What I mean is yes, it’s about you. But not because of what you think that he is. I don’t know if he knows about your SpaceGem or not. But he probably does. That’s not what he’s after right now. What these marks are scanning for are Natural Born Wizards.”

     No one said anything for several minutes. The other SpaceWizards just stared at Mairon. Finally, Jacci broke the silence. “Why would Horrald want to know that.”

     “That’s an easy question to answer,” said Angoria. “It’s because he’s a Natural Born Wizards. And like a lot of wizards he thinks that only Natural Born Wizards should be wizards, especially SpaceWizards.”

Word Count = 2,336