Vengeance (The Sorcerers' Scourge Series Book 3)

by Michael Arches

  Christina thankfully slept through it all.

  -o-o-o-

  THE MOTEL MANAGER WAS nice enough to order us pizza for dinner, and his wife brought us a bottle of red wine to go with it. We sat, ate, and played Scrabble for lack of anything better to do.

  When Diana called back, Laura turned the TV on for her daughter.

  Laura and I stepped onto the back deck, which overlooked the Eel River, and I put the burn phone on speaker to allow Laura to hear everything. No one else was out on their decks, and the rushing water drowned out a lot of background noise, so we had some privacy.

  “It appears we’re fine for now,” I said.

  “I’ve advised the council and our wise elders concerning your situation,” Diana said. “Gill, Katie, Tess, and Crystal are here on the speakerphone with me. We need to get you out of Eureka as fast as possible.”

  “I agree,” Gill said, “but it may comfort you to know that assassins usually strike like lightning and then take off, whether they’ve been successful or not. If needed, they make their second attack considerably later. Surprise is everything in their business.”

  I marveled at how he talked about our afternoon so clinically and unemotionally. Then I remembered—he’d lived through far worse, on an epic scale. I needed to appreciate his steady nerves.

  Laura said, “Makes sense, but we have to assume he’s still close by. Does anyone know somebody near Eureka who we might be able to convince to drop everything and pick up Ian, Christina, and me?”

  “You definitely need a fighter,” Katie said, “and I nominate our great Holar master. All he’s doing here is annoying the women, particularly the young ones.”

  He cackled in background.

  Diana said, “I agree. I know someone who works for the city of Oakland, but he’s no stronger than Ian. Gill and Katie are your best bet.”

  The old man said, “Look, I have no interest in driving across the country and coming right back. If I come to pick you up, we’re taking the scenic route home. As long as we don’t use our own credit cards or phones, we’re safe on the road.”

  I was sure he was right. “How long do you expect to take getting home?”

  “At least two weeks,” he fired back quickly, as though that was non-negotiable. “I haven’t seen the Grand Canyon in thirty-five years, and I hear it’s gotten a lot deeper. This is my last, best chance to see the West.”

  I didn’t mind taking our time, particularly when we’d have someone as powerful as him along to protect us and to help me train. When I looked at Laura for her reaction, she nodded.

  “We’re good with that.”

  Crystal asked, “Why not just use fake IDs to fly back?”

  “After nine-eleven,” Diana said, “it’s really hard to fool airport security. And if Ian and Laura get caught, it’ll be national news—extremely embarrassing for our mayor and me.”

  “I agree,” Katie said. “Somebody has to get you using an SUV or van. I’m willing to ride with the old lecher, if I get to bring mace.”

  Gill snickered. “Before we get there, I’ll be using it to protect myself against you.”

  “Send those two,” I said. “We’ll be ready to leave when you arrive. Thanks for everybody’s help.”

  After I hung up, I began to strategize about how I was going to eventually beat Sitka. He was sure to make another attempt—or a dozen—until I figured out how to take him down. And there were two more assholes to worry about, namely the guy who paid to blow me up and Escobar. Both were on the loose, still. Damn, I’m getting tired of constantly being on the run.

  -o-o-o-

  Wednesday, April 24th

  WE SLEPT LATE, AND although the motel was relatively secluded, we stayed indoors all day. I hoped to hear from Sequoia, if for no other reason than because he sounded like an accomplished tribal magician. He could beat the best Holar fighters, which meant he had amazing powers. But my phone stayed silent.

  That gave me plenty of time for exercise. That I could do on my own, but I looked forward to having Gill around to fight with soon.

  -o-o-o-

  Thursday, April 25th

  BY DINNERTIME, I WAS beginning to wonder what’d happened to Katie and Gill. Their last call had come from Reno hours ago. To distract myself from that worry, I asked Laura, “What kind of car can you rent to carry five people across the country in comfort for a month?”

  “Hell if I know,” Laura said. “Maybe a honking big SUV or a minivan.”

  A few hours later, we found out. Gill knocked on our door with a huge grin. Behind him, a recreational vehicle the size of a city bus practically filled the motel’s parking lot.

  I hugged him tightly. “The marines have landed. You are most welcome.”

  He grinned, and Katie beamed behind him. I hugged her, too.

  We all got reacquainted for a few minutes, and then I asked, “I thought you’d bring something inconspicuous. We are supposed to be hiding out.”

  He laughed. “This is inconspicuous where we’re going, kiddo. All the parks and tourist traps are filled with motorhomes. This one sleeps eight. I’m seeing America in style. Hope you’re ready to go. Plus, we brought a surprise.”

  I walked toward the fancy RV and noticed that it towed a SUV as a dinghy. Talk about gas guzzling, but Gill was from Texas.

  When I entered the RV, my golden eagle, Lazarus, screeched. He sat in a cage near the back.

  I couldn’t keep from grinning. I let him out of the cage, and he rested on my arm. We said a hello for a few minutes, and I stroked his feathers. Then I released him outside. He soared into the sky on his broad, dark brown wings.

  Within ten minutes, we’d paid our bill and thanked the motel manager for all his help. Katie drove north on U.S. 101 toward the town of Orick.

  I asked Gill why when Sequoia obviously wasn’t around.

  “I want to run this fella down if we can. He’s crazy, but there’s something about his Indian magic that blows everybody away. Your Osage powers are similar enough to where he might be able to help you. And, hell, we’re practically in his neighborhood. Why not give it a shot?”

  I was very curious about the guy, too. “Sure, makes sense.”

  After we hit Eureka, Katie made a right turn onto an obscure street to see if anyone had followed us. No one did, but after she got back on the highway north, she kept looking in her rear-view mirrors.

  Finally, she said, “I think we’re clear. Plus, Lazarus would warn you if we picked up a tail, wouldn’t he?”

  “Absolutely, I replied, “and I see his aerial view whenever he gets close. We’re fine for now.”

  “Then its smooth sailing,” Gill said.

  I got comfortable on a sofa bigger than ours back at Brigid’s ranch. Gill seemed younger than when I’d met him in Brittany, and he was one of the most powerful witches on Earth. Sitka should be a manageable threat while Gill was close.

  I poured myself a glass of white wine from a bottle in the refrigerator, and I got Laura a glass of sparkling water. She couldn’t drink with the baby growing inside. Gill cracked open a Lone Star beer and told us wild stories about his and Katie’s battles with state troopers on the way here.

  -o-o-o-

  KATIE FOUND THE ORICK Campground easily. We needed a place to stay for the night, and Gill took care of that with a stout old Yurok Indian who was the host.

  When he finished, I asked about Sequoia.

  “You the Ian who called?”

  I nodded.

  “Still no sign of him. I’m telling you, he could be gone for months.”

  “Which beach does he like? We’ll look for him there.”

  The host shook his head. “You’re not following. He’s my nephew. I give him a tent pad to live on, and he’s thrilled to have it between trips. But he’s been known to walk the coast south to the Golden Gate Bridge and north to Olympic National Park in Washington. He could be anywhere between those two points now. He also loves the Trinity Alps, which are near he
re, but it’s pretty snowy up there now.”

  I asked, “He could be anywhere within a few hundred miles?”

  The Yurok man nodded. “But probably somewhere along the coast.”

  I could see how Sequoia might walk the beaches. Up to the high-tide mark, the land was public property, but there were plenty of stretches along the shoreline that were privately owned headlands. “Does he trespass on private property?”

  The old man stiffened. “This was once all tribal land before it was stolen from us. He causes no harm.”

  I put up my hands, palms forward. “I’m half Osage. I get it. Bad choice of words.”

  The host nodded and relaxed.

  “We’ll give him a few days,” Gill said.

  Then I got an idea. I asked the host, “Do you have a picture of Sequoia? Gill’s met him, but I haven’t.”

  The man pointed at a photo on the wall of a smiling man about my age standing next to a teepee. That seemed odd. Only Plains Indians used them, but it was a form of tent. Why shouldn’t he live in one?

  I mentally contacted Lazarus and shared Sequoia’s image with him. Then I asked him to search the coast for the man in the picture. Seconds later, the eagle moved too far away for me to share thoughts anymore.

  Gill and I walked back to the RV. He asked, “Did you send your bird after the kid?”

  “Sure.”

  “That actually works?”

  I shrugged. “We’ll see. He can cover a hundred miles in a few hours. If that doesn’t work, I can join with him and fly tomorrow.”

  The eagle didn’t return before dark. He must’ve roosted somewhere for the night.

  -o-o-o-

  Friday, April 26th

  I COOKED BREAKFAST FOR everyone, and then I trained with Gill in a quiet corner of the campground and ran along the trail that led deep into the redwoods for several miles and back.

  When I returned, I played Hearts with Katie, Laura, and Christina. I was going for broke, trying to collect all the spades, when Lazarus popped into my mind. “He’s back.”

  “Our eagle?” Christina asked.

  I nodded and took another handful of cards. “He found Sequoia.”

  I led with the queen of spades.

  Gill was forced to throw a lower spade. “Where’s the Indian?”

  I shrugged. “The bird’s not good with place names. He’s flown north for an hour along the coast since finding Sequoia. The guy’s sitting on a remote cliff watching waves crash against a black wall of rock.”

  I led with the ten of spades and cleaned up. Game over. For once, I’d beaten Christina at a card game. I raised my hands in the air in triumph.

  “I want a rematch,” she said with a frown.

  “Fine, but now it’s time to go find the greatest magical fighter Gill has ever known.”

  When I opened the tailgate on our SUV, Lazarus flew into the back. The rest of us took seats, and Laura drove us south for a half-hour on the highway. When I judged from the terrain that we had to be close to our target, I let the eagle out to pinpoint Sequoia’s location.

  He had no trouble finding the guy again, and we drove close to the spot on a quiet back road that approached the ocean. Gill spotted our target first, sitting on the edge of an empty pasture. He seemed to be dangling his legs over a cliff. A stiff westerly wind was kicking up whitecaps far out to sea.

  I cringed as I realized how precarious his spot was. A strong gust of wind from the east, or a small land tremor, might knock him off his perch.

  A large backpack sat next to him. Otherwise, he was completely alone.

  Between us, an old barbed wire fence hung on broken posts leaning toward us. Gill scampered over it with no trouble. He’d reasonably nominated himself to go meet the Yurok man because Gill was the only one of us who knew him.

  My fighting mentor approached Sequoia, and the guy slowly turned and waved. Gill sat next to him, but thankfully not as close to the edge. They spoke for a few minutes, with both seeming to be utterly relaxed and comfortable.

  I was disappointed when Gill came back alone.

  After he sat back in the SUV, I asked, “What happened?”

  “I told you he’s loony. He says he’s ‘storing the ocean’s energy,’ whatever the hell that means. But good news—he says he’s almost done.”

  Then Gill sighed. “The bad news is, he has zero sense of time. We could be waiting for hours.”

  “Why don’t we give him one hour?” Katie asked. “If he hasn’t come by then, I’ll try to talk the nut job off the edge.”

  It was a good plan, and while we were waiting, we chatted about places Gill wanted to see before he met his Maker. The Grand Canyon topped his list.

  Sequoia sat motionless for most of the next hour. I was beginning to think Katie would have to coax him in. Lucky for us, few people seemed immune to her charm.

  That turned out not to be necessary. Finally, Sequoia stood, hoisted his pack, and headed toward us.

  The man didn’t look anything like the imposing warrior I’d expected. His height was average, and he was lean. He’d cut his black hair very short, and he had a scraggly beard. The only thing distinctive about him was his smile. That was radiant, and when he got closer, I noticed that his brown eyes sparkled.

  We all got out of the SUV to greet him. Sequoia said hello to each of us with a deep, quiet voice.

  He’d aged about ten years since the photograph I’d seen yesterday. I pegged him as being in his mid-forties.

  “As I was telling you earlier,” Gill said to Sequoia, “Ian here is a bright star in our firmament. His real strength is soothing and healing. We think it’s Indian magic, and none of us fighters really understand that.”

  Sequoia’s face remained blank. “Yes, I feel his powers. He will make a wonderful medicine man one day. But I don’t know healing magic.”

  Gill shook his head. “We’ve got that covered. He gets great help from his grandpa in Oklahoma, a powerful medicine man. We were hoping, though, that you could show him the Indian Jiu Jitsu stuff you used during the last Holar guild meeting to wipe us all out.”

  “Oh,” Sequoia’s mouth turned up at the edges, probably embarrassed at the racist undertone to my mentor’s question.

  “That wasn’t me,” the Yurok brave said. “The Great Spirit protected me.”

  Gill shrugged. “However it works, can you teach the boy to do what you did? You could literally save his life. The damned sorcerers won’t leave him be.”

  Sequoia rubbed his chin for a moment. “It’s not so much a matter of teaching as connecting.”

  “Okay.” Gill shifted from foot to foot, and his brow furrowed.

  Sequoia beamed at us. “Anyone can do this, but the practice is arduous. After years of careful focus and training, your mind will blend with everything around you.”

  “He ain’t gonna last years if we don’t get him some protection now,” Gill said.

  “I’d appreciate whatever time you can spare for me,” I said. “How do we start?”

  “By remembering to forget. Empty your thoughts and experience life.” Sequoia dropped his pack and motioned for us to follow. Everyone except Gill climbed over the fence and walked toward the cliff.

  I began to have a sinking sensation in my gut. This could be like staring at candles or counting breaths. Clearing my mind had always been the most difficult part of magic.

  Chapter 8

  WHEN WE REACHED THE cliff, Sequoia sat on the edge, his legs dangling over once more. I imagined the rock face plunging straight down for over a hundred feet to where it met huge waves crashing below. I normally didn’t suffer from vertigo, but the buffeting westerly wind helped make me uneasy. It didn’t make it any easier that seabirds swept past us regularly, screeching at us and one another.

  “You don’t have to sit this close,” Sequoia said in a loud voice to carry over the roar below. “It simply heightens the experience. Clear your mind and let the mist of life energy from the churning waves wash ov
er you.”

  I sat as near to the edge as I could tolerate, a few feet back from the void. The edge was rocky here and appeared solid, but who knew when this chunk of land would sheer off and drop into the sea?

  Christina sat on one side of me, and I kept a firm grip on her hand. Laura sat on my other side, and Katie sat between her and Sequoia.

  Massive waves kept rolling in, and when they hit the cliffs, they shattered into countless droplets of water. The stiff wind blew the clouds of mist over us.

  These waves could’ve started in Japan or China, a third of the way around the world, and along the way, they’d obviously picked up an enormous amount of energy. The biggest rollers made the ground shudder when they hit the cliff.

  It was a fascinating experience, but too much was going on for me to meditate. I tried not to fidget, but one part of me itched after another. Half the time, my mind was distracted by sensations or my stepdaughter. Eventually, Laura and Katie led her away, and they strolled around the pasture.

  Sequoia, on the other hand, remained perfectly still. If that’s what it took to become a great warrior, I was in big trouble.

  On the plus side, the sun was warm, and the view was fantastic. Instead of communing with the gods, I lost track of time as I enjoyed the ever-changing view.

  Finally, Sequoia stood. “I have probably taken advantage of Gill’s patience for too long.”

  As he and I walked back to the others, I asked, “How do you stop the distractions? My mind never slows down. It’s a constant struggle for me to focus on anything for long.”

  “Of course. As I said, it takes years to train your mind. If it helps you any, I can tell you that your thoughts are more focused now than mine were when I began this journey decades ago.”

  Although kindly meant, his comment wasn’t much help. “I just have to tough it out?”

  He grinned. “I know of no shortcut, but it would help considerably to simplify your life.”