Bab 28: Chapter 28: Of Unknown Origin

Deeper in, the Quiet Ship's interior didn't get any more comforting.

Benja found the ceilings uncomfortably low, crowding his head. There was no illumination. No light switches. The air felt too warm; every breath tasted stale like a tomb.

"Let's brighten things up a little, shall we?" Flicking his fingers, Benja conjured a white-hot orb and sent it forward ahead of them.

Set at the temperature of Pake's sun, the little floating orb flooded the corridor with warm brilliance. Shadows retreated. The interior's biomechanical details came into sharp focus: the walls swelled rhythmically like they were breathing.

Malcolm's wildies and Ledoyen's soldiers all had to squint in the sudden brightness.

"Whoa!" said Malcolm. "How the hell did you do that?"

Benja shrugged. "Just a simple mage-light spell."

"You can do magic? Bro, what number am I thinking right now?"

"It doesn't really work like that."

"Oh."