Chapter 2

Why knowing about magic thrilled Dusty and James, it was because they had come into possession of such items.

Dusty had acquired her magical medallion from a man who was trying to use the magic for evil. The item had left him when Dusty had killed him before he could kill her. Its entity had come to her, believing that she would use it for good.

James had acquired his medallion from a woman called Lora, who wore a magical ring. She had told them that the ring she owned was not as powerful as their medallions. She had thought the medallion would go to her next husband, but once she met James, she knew it wanted to go to him.

Having these abilities was one of the reasons Dusty felt so strongly about the next mission.

When the scientific mission came back from Utopia, Dusty and James had learnt more about the medallions they wore.

They were delighted when they read from a website that the wizards had set up, that the medallions they owned were commonly worn by people the Utopian’s called Shields. Since they were both former Queensland Police Offices and now Military Police for UNSEC, this made perfectly good sense to them.

One thing they had not done was blithely tell the world that some people on Earth already owned magical items like themselves. Even with the excitement of the rest of Earth learning about magic, many magical families on Earth decided that while things were volatile, they would continue to keep a low-key and not reveal their secrets.

The other mages and wizards were safe on Utopia and Harmony, and the zealots and religious fanatics were on Earth with them. Some of the fanatics were howling for blood, and the mages didn’t want it to be theirs. Quite a few magical people had already moved to the outer colonies in the Sol System.

They had found that in the smaller colonies, using their magic to keep the other people with them safe, while known by a few, was not spoken about outside of the colony. Quite a few people knew they owed their lives to these people.

The fact that most mages didn’t wish to hold official positions and just helped who they could, was reassuring to the colonists. It also kept tongues from wagging, and the people protected their mages if they knew of them. It didn’t stop the mage from gaining wealth; they just didn’t flaunt it.

These communities knew having the mages was a good thing and planned to keep things that way. It was dangerous enough just living in domes, on planets or asteroids with no atmospheres. The inhabitants considered getting all the help they could get was smart.

In many ways, this was why Dusty and James had been happy enough to stay on Luna for their original two-year assignment. They then renewed it. They could find plenty of places to practice their new craft, and they found plenty of opportunities to use it in ways to assist them in catching criminals without drawing too much attention to themselves.

The day Dusty had bumped into Ambassador Watson back in April of 2095, had changed things for them. They had both known as soon as they touched that the other wore magical items.

Robert had been on Luna’s Armstrong Space Station overseeing the loading of people and goods onto the starship Fortune. At the time, it was his responsibility.

Dusty and James, with their best friends Bindy and Aaron Andrews, had been sent to inspect a ship that was reported to have banned items on it. They had been asked to report their findings to the Ambassador since he was on the station and his corporation now owned it.

When the Ambassador handed her the Mads after she gave him their report, he told her to use them carefully. He gave her the log-in code to a database that had been added to the Mads just for them. He also mentioned that his daughter-in-law, Lee, would be keeping an eye on them.

Dusty wasn’t sure how Lee planned to do this, but then she knew enough about magic to not put it past Queen Wizard Lee to do as she said. A lot of people believed Lee had spies on Earth, as she seemed to know a lot more of what was going on than the Ambassadors were meant to tell the wizards of Utopia.

One of the things that upset the politicians of Earth was how Lee had divvied up the second planet the crew of the Fortune had found in the Delta Pavonis System. It was a sister planet to Utopia and rotated at one hundred and eighty degrees from Utopia in the same orbit.

Harmony’s gravity was a little lighter than Earth’s. It had a breathable atmosphere, seven continents, oceans and fresh water. Except for the small continent that belonged to the dragons, it was uninhabited.

In December of 2094, Lee issued her Charter. She had split the four northern continents up and allocated them to different groups of Nations. Since the other half of the planet belonged theoretically to the Gold Wizard, Kyle Vella. The wizards kept it for their own plans.

Many nations were not happy to share with several others, but Lee had told them to take it or leave it. She had given them one year to make up their minds. They also had to comply with the Charter she had devised or not bother coming. She didn’t want the planet wrecked like Earth.