by Logan Byrne
What if Kiren did get a hold of this talisman? How did I know his men weren’t out there grabbing it right now? If he got it, his power would amplify and the creatures and beings in the magical realm would fall under his absolute power and control. Not only that, but the mortals, even with their weapons and resources, wouldn’t stand a chance against him. He was dark, and his magic would make them fall to their knees. I didn’t know about anybody else, but I didn’t like the thought of living in a world, a universe, controlled by a madman dictator with a thirst for blood and revenge.
“What are you thinking about?” Blake asked, as we grabbed our trays and piled food on top.
“What do you think? This is serious, Blake,” I said.
“We can handle it, we always do,” he said, as we walked towards an empty table.
“But what if we run into his goons out there wherever it is we’re going? I don’t want to have to fight them, or worse, kill them,” I said, whispering the final bit of my sentence.
“I know it isn’t what you want to do, but the chancellor gave us permission. Not only that, but it sounds like she wants us to. If those people know our identities, and we go back to the precinct, we’re done for. Not only that, but our friends will be taken down as well. The entire resistance effort could crumble because one low-life knows who we are and whom we work for,” he said passionately.
“It’s just all a bit much, and so soon no less. This entire day has thrust itself at light-speed and I feel like we haven’t had much time to process it. I feel that way, anyhow,” I said.
“I’ll be out there with you, don’t forget. We’ll be fine, I promise,” he said, leaning over and kissing my forehead.
“This is your map of the area. It’s topographical, so you can see the elevations. We believe the talisman, from some good information, to be in this area laid out on the map. Where exactly it is, we don’t know, but we want to drop you off here,” our scout said, pointing to the center of the map.
“Because being in the middle is the best?” Blake asked.
“We’d like to think so. If it’s there, great, but if not, you have the most tactical advantage to finding it and spreading out in any direction without much resistance. There’s a small mountain here, but you may not even have to climb it. Anything else you need to know?” he asked, his finger pointed on the map.
“What do we do when, or if, we find the item?” I asked.
“This,” he said, handing me a small red ball. “This is a beacon, and when you squeeze it and throw it on the ground, it will alert us to your exact location for extraction.”
“And what if we’re being pursued when we do it?” I asked.
“Then you’ll have some backup to help out. Anything else?” he asked, as if he just wanted us to get going as soon as possible.
“I think we’ll be okay,” Blake said.
“Your bags have food, water, and blankets to keep you warm should you need them overnight. Keep your wits about you, and remember, Kiren’s agents will be nearby, so don’t draw too much attention to yourselves,” he said.
“They’re ready for transport,” a woman said, grabbing our shoulders.
“Already?” I asked.
“Three...two...one…go,” a man said.
We were sucked into a teleport that clenched my stomach and made my eyes feel like they were so pressurized they were going to pop out of their sockets. We were dropped in a pile of leaves in a woodland area. I rubbed my eyes, making sure they were still intact, before standing up and hearing the rustling and crunching of the dry leaves under me. “Fun, just like last time.”
“We’re on this mark here. Where do you think we should start? Do you feel anything? Maybe it’s here,” Blake asked.
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to feel, so I’m going to say no. I wish I would’ve gotten more of a crash course regarding my powers in correlation to this,” I said.
“Let’s walk north then. I’m feeling this bit over here,” he said, pointing to a green wooded area on the map.
I saw the mountain in the distance as we crossed a small hill and stood above our area. The mountain wasn’t huge, though it was menacing enough that I knew I would wheeze hard walking up it. I felt drawn to it, weirdly enough, and Blake had wanted to go that way, which I felt fine with.
It made sense that the ancients would hide something like this in a mountain, or somewhere near it. Mountains are tall, hulking signs of strength and the power of the Earth. What if there was a cave, a hidden entrance, where the talisman was sitting on some stone tablet like a scene in a movie? It seemed like a good cover, better than it sitting in a rotted log somewhere.
I tried to keep my steps short as we descended the hills and peaks we were trampling across. The leaves had mostly fallen, piling on some from last season it looked like, and their dry carcasses made a loud rustling sound with each step. We hadn’t seen any sign of Kiren’s men, even though the day was fleeting and light was becoming scarce. We made it to the bottom, into a thick layer of pine trees that sat like sentinels guarding the base of the mountain. I touched them as we walked by, thousands of them standing straight, like they were all at attention waiting to take orders.
“I think we should stop here,” Blake said, a bead of sweat running down his brow.
“Why now?” I asked.
“We can’t ascend that mountain during the night, it’s too dangerous, and I don’t feel comfortable. Besides, we’ve been hiking for miles since we got here, and we still have no sign of the talisman. I think it would be smart for us to eat and camp out here where there’s a lot of cover and safety from above,” he said.
“I think it’s at the mountain,” I said, setting down my backpack.
“The mark helping you out?” he asked.
“Either that, or intuition, but it seems right to me,” I replied.
“Well, good thing we’re searching it tomorrow. We might not be able to do the entire thing, but good enough,” he said, before kneeling and searching through his bag.
“Should we make a fire?” I asked, pulling out my wand.
“I don’t think we can. The smoke would give us away, and that flame would be visible for miles in the dark. If those men see a campfire, even if they’re three miles away, they’ll make sure to come down here and check it out. They have to know that the resistance is interested in this talisman just as much as they are,” he said.
“So what do you think the resistance, or Pote, are going to do with the talisman if they get it?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Keep it safe, I’m guessing. They’re only after it because Kiren is, and I feel like if they wanted it themselves they would’ve gotten it already because they’ve obviously known about it for quite some time,” he said, pulling out a bagged meal.
“I wonder if it could help us at all, you know, to get the power to overthrow Kiren,” I said.
“A coup of that style probably isn’t what they want, though. The citizens of our realm would just see it as a senseless overthrow of their president. Remember, they don’t know what we do. They don’t know what Kiren is or what he has planned, and overthrowing or killing him without exposing him first would only lead to the new administration coming under fire,” he said.
“You seem to know a lot about this stuff,” I said.
“I think about it a lot. Besides, I was already in the camp for a little while before you came along. You hear stuff, being around and listening in on conversations,” he said, chowing into his pre-made meat stew.
“Do you ever miss it? The camp, that is,” I asked.
“I do, more so the simplicity of it all. Going to class and learning the ropes was kind of easy in comparison to working for M.A.G.I.C. It’s always work, work, work, and Britta works me hard. I think she’s trying to keep up with you,” he said.
“What?” I asked, laughing. “Britta is so much smarter than me. She’s so much more of a capable witch than I’ll ever be.”
“She knows
her spells and wand movements, sure, even more than you, but you have power. You don’t know how lucky you are to have that mark, Lexa. The raw power you can command, or will command when you train it more once Kiren is gone, will open up worlds that a witch like Britta will never be able to command or control,” he said.
“Yeah, but I wish I never even had it, to be honest,” I said, pushing my rice around with my fork.
“You aren’t proud to have it?” he asked, confused.
“I am, I think, I don’t know! I didn’t choose this, and it’s not like I asked to have it done to me. Besides, Kiren wants me, even if he doesn’t know it yet, and the thought of my own body and powers being used to enslave entire hordes of people isn’t the most peaceful feeling to have when I’m falling asleep at night,” I said.
“He won’t get you, so don’t even worry about it. Besides, at least you don’t have to worry about somebody else being taken,” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, with you, you have control over it and you can control your destiny in regards to the power and not being captured. With another witch or wizard, you might worry something like what if they got caught and were poked and prodded? You’d have to rest your entire life and existence in their hands, and that’s scary. I’m not worried with you, though. I know you’re capable. I’m dating you, aren’t I?” he asked, smiling.
“I guess so, and I guess you’re right. Better me than somebody else,” I said, taking a bite.
The night wore on, and Blake and I cuddled up together against a tree since we couldn’t afford to start a fire and potentially alert Kiren’s forces to our location. It was hard, the bitter howl of the wind punishing my nose and cheeks as they started to go slightly numb. I drifted in and out, jolting myself awake every now and then, looking around in the dark to see whatever wasn’t actually there, before falling back asleep all while feeling the soft heat emanating from Blake.
“Lexa,” Blake said quietly, sometime in the night.
“Hm, what?” I replied softly, being pulled out of a dream.
“I think somebody is coming,” he whispered.
“What?” I asked, my eyes shooting open as I looked frantically around us. I could hear it, a rustling not too far away. I grabbed my wand from my boot, pulling in our supplies, before incanting a spell I’d learned from the book Britta gave me. “Obscurio,” I said, as I, Blake, and our things on top of us disappeared from view.
“I don’t know why we even have to do these patrols. It’s not like there’s anything to find,” a man said to another guy as they walked towards our camp.
“The boss wants to be sure that the resistance isn’t out here trying to find the talisman as well,” the other guard said. Both of them were dressed in black. They stood feet from us. I tried to control my breathing and not make too much noise even though my heart was racing. It was always the hardest to breathe silently when I was panicked.
“I think we’d know if anybody was around here. What is this talisman all about, anyway?” the first man asked.
“I don’t know, something about some magic or something, but I agree, I don’t think there’s anybody else out here. Let’s just get back to camp and tell them we searched the woods entirely,” the second man said.
“Good thinking,” the first one said.
Both men walked away talking. Their voices became faint in the distance until they finally dissipated and we were once again left alone. “Disperio,” I said, the shroud over us being swept quickly away like smoke in the wind. “That was close.”
“Imagine if I hadn’t woken up to that. Sometimes I’m really glad to have the senses that being a werewolf gives me,” he said, standing up.
“They’re a lot closer than I originally expected. They have to know we’re out here as well,” I said.
“No, they don’t think that, remember? He said they hadn’t found any traces of the resistance, and you and I are the only ones out here from the resistance searching for the talisman. I think we’re in the clear. I hope so, anyway. I’m a little nervous to go back to sleep now,” he said.
“What if we go up there?” I asked, pointing up the tree.
“It’s not going to be comfortable,” he said.
“The dirt ground under us isn’t very comfortable, either. At least up there we’re out of sight,” I said, shrugging, before grabbing my backpack and climbing the pine tree.
The tree was bushy, bits of sap sticking to my jacket. I settled on a set of branches that I felt could hold my weight. I sat on them, bouncing a little, the wood feeling stable enough, before I hung my bag from another branch and pushed my back up against the base of the tree. Fieldwork wasn’t always fun, that was for certain.
9
Blake and I stood at the base of the mountain the next morning just as the sun came over the horizon in the east. I yawned, stretching, the frigid air making my breath visible as I rubbed my hands together and tried to keep them toasty. “This isn’t going to be fun,” I mumbled.
There was a naturally cut trail in the mountain, though it was far from a straight shot. It ebbed and flowed, with curves, ascents, and descents, not providing a clear path to the top. I wasn’t even sure that the talisman was at the top; it could be at the base on the other side, but I knew it was here. I could feel it. Blake asked me last night how I knew, but it was hard to explain. You know when you can feel somebody looking at you? It was like that, but at the same time it wasn’t like that at all. All I knew for certain was that it was somewhere around here.
My calves began to burn around midday as we got about a third of the way up the mountain. “We should take a break. I need to eat, and it wouldn’t kill us to rest,” I said.
“Really? I’m doing okay, but we can stop,” Blake replied.
“Yeah, well, you’re a werewolf, and I think your stamina and fitness are just a little higher than mine,” I said, smiling. “Besides, we need to come up with a better plan than just walking up the side of this thing and hoping we find a clue.”
“Did you have anything in mind?” Blake asked, opening his bag and pulling out another bagged meal the camp had packed for us.
“I think I need to connect with the mountain, and with my powers, if that makes sense. Maybe meditation?” I asked.
“I think that would be great, actually. Maybe if you focus on it, like radar or something, it will present itself to you. That’s great thinking,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“I’m sorry you have to see me like this, with disheveled hair and morning breath,” I said, before cracking open my bagged meal.
“I think you look stunning, my love,” he said dramatically.
“It’s too bad we don’t have more opportunities to work together. Don’t get me wrong, Charlie is an amazing partner and I’m lucky to have him, but working with you would be great, too.”
“I think Mirian worried we would get too close and wouldn’t get any work done,” Blake replied, grinning.
“Oh, control yourself. I’m a professional woman and I know how to conduct myself as such,” I said, holding my head high.
“Is that why you kiss me in the precinct every chance you get?” he asked, obviously teasing me.
“Quiet, you, or you won’t get any more of them,” I said, smiling.
As we sat there eating, Blake’s eyes turned red while he looked out over the hills below. “What’s the matter?” I asked, fearful they were on to us.
“Oh, sorry, nothing, I just wanted to scout the area better and see if they were down there. Can’t be too careful on a mission like this,” he said.
“What’s it like? The whole eyes thing,” I asked.
“It’s like using a magnifying glass, though with much better control. I can see heat, too, like infrared or whatever it’s called. It’s a nice ability, just too bad about the other part of it,” he said.
“You don’t like being a werewolf?” I asked.
“I don’t dislike it, but it
has its drawbacks. I mean, I have to worry about fleas,” he said, laughing.
“I like that you’re one. I feel safe around you. Not that I can’t fight for myself, don’t get it twisted, but still, it’s nice,” I said.
“I know what you mean,” he said, leaning in and kissing my forehead. “I think most people would be more scared of you anyway.”
After thirty minutes of rest, and our daylight starting to escape us as the clock spun, we decided that packing up and moving on was the best option.
“You need to meditate first, though, remember? How about I leave you, go scout around a little, and come back in a few minutes?” Blake asked.
“That works well,” I said, before scooting over towards a small boulder that sat on the side of the mountain. I pushed my back up against it and crossed my legs before placing my hands in my lap and taking a deep breath.
I wasn’t sure what I was meditating for. Usually I did it just to clear my mind, but I needed to do the opposite this time and actually fill it up with thoughts of a talisman I’d never seen. Was it large, small, or somewhere in between? Instead I tried to tie ropes to the sensation I’d felt since we arrived. I tried to narrow in on the nudge it had been giving me, connecting the feeling between my powers and it.
It started to talk to me, almost. It was like it was alive, providing a beacon to its location. I could feel it, almost as if it had emotions and thoughts, and it knew there was another group looking for it. It didn’t want them to find it; it wanted to be left alone for eternity, but it also knew that I wasn’t hunting it for malicious reasons. That tipped the scales, and it was leading me towards it.
My eyes shot open. I stood up as Blake was coming back up and looking a bit nervous. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think I know where it is. It’s not too far away, but we need to hurry. I think Kiren’s men are closing in on it. It senses they’re near,” I said.
