Read Online A Call to Arms by Robert Sheckley - Free Book Online Page B

techno-mages. It was said that they knew the fourteen words that would make someone fall in love with you, and the seven words to painlessly say good-bye to a dying friend. And that they knew how to rediscover dreams when the world had taken them away.
    Galen rose and pushed back his hood so that Sheridan could see him clearly.
    He said, “We came to this place during the Shadow War, to prevent our secrets from falling into the wrong hands. Though the war is over, our leaders are in no hurry to return. We will continue hiding for a bit longer: twenty, thirty more years, just to be safe. They like being safe.”
    “And where are we now?” Sheridan asked.
    Another flash of lightning.
    “Wrong question,” Galen said.
    “I’m hip.”
    “Listen to me carefully, Sheridan. We don’t have much time. The connection between us is a delicate one.”
    Squatting, Galen drew a circle in the dirt. He gestured, and the circle filled with the image of a dark world torn by fire.
    “Do you recognize this place?”
    Sheridan looked at it, and a bitter memory arose within him. This was where his wife Anna had died. At the hands of creatures whose nightmarish nature still made his blood run cold “Yes. Z’ha’dum. Homeworld of the Shadows before they left for the rim.” And the place where he had died.
    “An ancient race, dedicated to chaos and destruction. They left, but their allies remained. Some of them you know as the Drakh. “
    The image in the circle changed to a Drakh face-hideously lined and wrinkled, lips turned down, eyes betraying a bottomless malignancy. It glared out at Sheridan, then, after a moment, disappeared.
    Galen said, “We have been watching the Drakh for some time, afraid that sooner or later those who once served other masters would choose to become masters themselves, and continue the work the Shadows began. Lately, we’ve heard rumors, stories from other races who have encountered the Drakh. We believe they are preparing to move, testing their resources, weapons, and capabilities.”
    “But with the Shadows gone, their world destroyed... how much power can they have?”
    “That’s what you have to find out.”
    “Why me?”
    “Because I believe they are going to start their war by attacking Earth. Remember, it was Humans who organized the other worlds into opposing their masters during the Shadow War. Such things are not quickly forgotten.”
    “You said resources,” Sheridan said. “How much do they---“
    “I’ve told you all I can,” Galen said. “And some of what I suspect. That is all I’m allowed to tell you. The rest you and your companions must learn on your own. But do not tell anyone what you are doing, or why; the Drakh have spies everywhere. If they know we are watching, they will move before we can prepare.”
    “I don’t think anybody’d believe me anyway. The dreams... all this... they’d think I was crazy. How do I know if any of this is true?”
    “You don’t,” Galen said. “But you’re curious enough to want to find out, which is why I chose you. Your spirit is such that you will go, even if it means going alone.” That surprised Sheridan for a moment, made him pause. He knew Galen was right he would see this through. Did that make him a hero, or did it mean he actually was crazy? It didn’t matter, really. There was a job to be done.
    Galen stared into the fire for a long moment, then said, “I wish I were going with you. I wish I could help...because if what I believe is true, unless you act, Earth will suffer the fate of Daltron 7.”
    The wind came up again, sudden and lashing, filled with dust and debris. Sheridan thought he saw something in the sky: a familiar object. Then a double-forked flash of lightning split the sky. Sheridan was momentarily blinded. When he could focus again, Galen was gone.
    But now there were four circles in the dirt. There was a face in each of them.
    One of them was his own. The others were unfamiliar: a savage-looking woman