by Scott Baron
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, concerned. He was the Geist. Assassin. Man of action. And he simply did not cry.
“I’m fine,” he said, wiping his eyes. “I am simply pleased to see you.”
“Cal called while you were away,” she said, eyeing the thick braid of her magical hair he had been wearing, pulling its power in hopes of saving her, as well as the rest of the planet. “He told me what happened.”
“It’s over now,” he said, the pained look in his eye speaking more clearly than his words.
“I’m okay, Bawb. We’re okay,” she said, pulling him close once more.
And with the tiniest of sighs, he felt the last bits of stress flee his body and knew she was right.
Chapter Sixty-Two
“It is bound to happen at some point, and we must be prepared for it,” Cal said.
“And we will be. But for now, I think we can all just take a little breather and enjoy the moment. We won, Cal. We deserve a break.”
“Obviously, Charlie. But once you return from your respite, we really must discuss this new situation.”
“We will,” Leila interjected. “But he’s right. For now, we need some quiet time, if you don’t mind. It’s been an exhausting ordeal.”
“Of course. I was simply thinking of the inevitable. It is no longer a question of if, but rather, when. A portal has been opened between our galaxies, and we will have to plan for the eventual contact.”
Charlie leaned back in his seat in the makeshift outdoor command area Cal had set up. This was one thing he was actually not stressing about.
“The thing is, on their end, anyone who’s foolish enough to try to pass through the portal is going to have a very hot, and very short, trip. And no one will be going through from our end until we’re damn well ready.”
“About that. How does this spell you mentioned function, exactly?”
“Shall I?” Ara asked.
“All you.”
“Very well, then,” she said. “When we cast our spells pushing the Asbrú into the sun, we left a magical tether spell linked to the Ootaki hair actively charging within the craft itself. By tapping into it, the spell will remain in power in perpetuity. But as it is our spell, the invaders have no means to utilize it for their purposes.”
Rika leaned in, grabbing an electrolyte pouch from the low table before her. “And that means we can pull the ship back out of the sun from a safe distance when we finally are ready to make contact. On our terms, that is.”
“Exactly,” Charlie said. “But for now, we’ll just leave it parked where it is. Smack dab in the middle of the sun. You guys can still study the phenomenon, though, right, Cal?”
“Yes. The sun should not interfere with our scans. The forces it produces, while apparently quite potent to magic users, are nevertheless a different type of energy signature.”
“Fantastic,” Charlie said, rising to his feet. “And on that note, I propose we table any further discussion for the time being. I could really use a hot shower and a cold drink right about now. You guys good with that?”
“Yes, please. Take a shower––you stink!” Rika said with a grin.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get him cleaned up,” Leila said with a chuckle. “All right, Charlie. Let’s go home.”
They separated, Rika opting to first take her new ship for a little spin around the planet. She’d only just gotten it, after all, and it needed a proper breaking in. Something besides a near-suicide mission to the sun, that is.
She took to the skies, the familiar feel of a ship’s controls lulling her into a state of aerial contentment. With a quick loop over her friends and a wag of her wings, she was gone, off to enjoy the skies of her home.
Ripley had also made a quick run for it, Cal having cut her free before the debriefing. Eddie took the teen straight home, and despite her professing the contrary on any other day, she really had missed her parents, and immediately ran into their arms as soon as she’d stepped in her front door.
And her parents, having just learned their daughter had played a role in saving the world, decided they’d overlook her exuberant canine friend’s muddy paws when Baloo came padding into their home for a visit shortly thereafter.
“Baloo!” she squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around the massive animal’s neck, burying her face in the fluffy warmth. “Come on! Let’s go for a ride!”
She jumped atop his back, the huge beast easily able to carry her weight. He turned to her, licking her face clean of those tasty, salty tears, then trotted off into the hills with his friend.
Not far from there, Charlie and Leila rinsed clean of the day’s exertion, then grabbed a blanket and walked out to the bluffs overlooking the ocean. Curled up together, taking in the glorious sunset over the glistening water, they realized that despite being on the wrong world for one of them, and in the wrong time for them both, they were home.
They’d fought for it. Bled for it. Sweated for it. This was their Earth now, and they’d be damned if they’d let anything happen to it.
They sat like that until the sun finally sank below the distant horizon on the exceptionally clear eve. And when it did finally pass from sight, the curvature of the earth refracted the light, just right, making it flash green for an instant.
“Did you see it?” Leila asked.
“Yeah, babe. I did,” Charlie replied. “Magic.”
Epilogue
Millions of light years away, an angry visla watched from the command center of their ship as their advancing fleet burned up in the span of mere moments. The portal spell they had been waiting for weeks to activate finally did just that, but in a manner they had in no way anticipated. Had the visla’s ship not been positioned toward the rear of the attack force, it too would almost certainly have succumbed to the sun’s heat, just as the other ships had, despite the spell-casters aboard.
As it was, they had still only barely managed to avoid the same fate as the rest of the fleet.
There had been a delay. Maybe something in the spell wasn’t quite perfect, despite the time and effort spent casting it. But when the portal finally did open––a good week behind schedule––there was but a moment of clear space showing through the opening.
The lead pair of experimental shimmer ships––the most advanced ever made––sped through the glowing ring immediately, entering the magical portal just before a blast of burning plasma from the core of a yellow star spewed out and engulfed the remainder of the fleet.
But those two had entered the ring before the fire tore through the ships. It was a long-shot, given the destruction wrought by the flames, but if they had somehow survived the journey, then someday, somehow, their crews would find a way back. A way to re-open the portal. A means to connect the two galaxies as the visla intended.
For now, however, it was a defeat, and one of extraordinary scale.
The visla fumed with rage, a cold iciness crackling in the air in the command center of the ship as raw emotion melded with powerful magic.
“It is confirmed, Visla,” the captain reported, fighting to keep his voice from wavering. “Over ninety-percent of the fleet has been reduced to ash.”
The mighty power user nodded once, fighting to keep the churning fury within them in check before finally speaking.
“This has cost me dearly. But it is of no matter. Not in the grander scheme of things. War will come regardless. All we need is time.”
But wait, there’s more!
Follow Charlie on his continuing adventures in the fifth book of the Dragon Mage series:
Star Fighter Charlie
Also by Scott Baron
Standalone Novels
Living the Good Death
The Clockwork Chimera Series
Daisy’s Run
Pushing Daisy
Daisy’s Gambit
Chasing Daisy
Daisy’s War
The Dragon Mage Series
Bad Luck Charlie
Space Pira
te Charlie
Dragon King Charlie
Magic Man Charlie
Star Fighter Charlie
Odd and Unusual Short Stories:
The Best Laid Plans of Mice: An Anthology
Snow White’s Walk of Shame
The Tin Foil Hat Club
Lawyers vs. Demons
The Queen of the Nutters
Lost & Found
About the Author
A native Californian, Scott Baron was born in Hollywood, which he claims may be the reason for his rather off-kilter sense of humor.
Before taking up residence in Venice Beach, Scott first spent a few years abroad in Florence, Italy before returning home to Los Angeles and settling into the film and television industry, where he has worked as an on-set medic for many years.
Aside from mending boo-boos and owies, and penning books and screenplays, Scott is also involved in indie film and theater scene both in the U.S. and abroad.
