by Jeff Hale
“And there’s how many sorcerers in a Circle?” She was drumming her fingers on the wheel.
“Only four. One for each element, all the same strength. Anyway, this Circle was a step below the Council in power. There were even less of them left when he was done. It says that their DNA was used to identify them.” I looked more closely at the report. “Says they had to use sponges to soak up the blood from the leftover puddles and… you know, this is not filling me with a lot of confidence,” I said, closing the file. I clicked open the last file. It was a list of names. A long list.
“I guess tracking him by name is out of the question. This guy has five hundred and twenty-seven aliases. The only thing that is really known is that he is an air sorcerer of unparalleled power and that he is the only recorded sorcerer outside of a Magic Control Agency that has displayed teleportation capability. You know, after reading this stuff, I’m starting to think that he isn’t a sorcerer at all. Maybe he’s fae?” I shot her a questioning glance.
“Maybe. But why masquerade as a sorcerer?” Raven pondered.
“Don’t know,” I replied. I shut the laptop and stowed it on the backseat again.
Raven flipped the stereo on, and I heard the CD player click over to a new disc. Ironically enough, Metallica’s Ride the Lightning started playing. I smiled and shook my head, wondering to myself if fate was trying to tell me something. Raven began keeping time with the beat on the steering wheel, so while we were waiting I figured I’d try some idle conversation.
“What happened to you in the fae courts that got you exiled? And none of that ‘it’s complicated’ bullshit,” I asked.
“Well…. I tried to kill the queen of the Court of the Mirrored Soul.” She didn’t look at me as she said it, her fingers tapping away faster now.
“Wait. What? Don’t you usually get executed for doing things like that?” I wasn’t quite sure how fae politics worked, but treason usually wasn’t looked upon kindly.
She shrugged lightly. “Yeah, well. I don’t know why my step-mother spared my life, but she did.”
“Your stepmother? Your stepmother is the queen? And you tried to kill her? Why? Wait. Doesn’t that make you…?” I blinked at her, trying to comprehend.
“Princess. Yes. And I tried to kill her because she is marshaling forces against the sorcerer agencies and she stole my kingdom. You know the Barrier is failing. She wants to take advantage of the confusion, the chaos, especially if it does fall, to lead a worldwide revolt against your kind. She doesn’t believe the sorcerers have done a very good job in protecting this realm. You know the brooch the lich had and the tattoo the shifter had? Both of those were the symbol of my step-mother’s ally on this side.”
“She can’t have that many troops. Can she?” A fae invasion would be a bad thing, a very bad thing. It was also unheard of to my knowledge. The fae were usually pretty good about just letting the rest of the world do its own thing.
“She doesn’t, but she is one of the more powerful fae queens, so she has sway with the others. A few of the other courts are of the same line of thinking as my step-mother.”
“Have they tried talking with the sorcerers? Any sort of diplomacy at all?”
“No. They know they are more powerful, and with the Barrier weakening, they definitively have the advantage. And before you ask, I didn’t tell you because the fae courts that believe the sorcerer agencies are doing a good job are rebelling against the other courts. We are almost in open civil war over this.” Raven didn’t look the least bit happy about it.
“And you side with those that believe we are doing a good job?” I sure as hell hoped she did or our partnership was going to go right out the window.
“Yes. And more so, I believe that everyone has a place in this world. Those courts that are against you believe that only the fae should rule. We should tear down the Barrier that you humans have constructed and rule over this world like we once did thousands of years ago. Ruling humans through terror. I much prefer things the way they are.” Raven gave me a trembling smile.
“So how does Lucien fit into all this? You insinuated that he owed you.”
“He was a prisoner of my stepmother’s. I released him when I left.”
“So, why do you have such a soft spot for my kind? I thought all fae hated us?”
“That’s not true at all! Most of us are actually intrigued with your kind. Your short, frenzied, impassioned lives have us interested in what your people will accomplish in such a short time.” She leaned back in her seat, sticking her chest out even further. “I know it’s rumored that us fae feel emotions more intensely than you humans, but in my experience that just isn’t true. I also know that we’re viewed as fickle. That’s because we think in the long term, or try to. Sometimes we fail, our emotions getting the better of us, much like they do for you, then we have to rethink things once we realize what long term effects our actions have had. So, anyway what’s the attack plan?” Raven asked, changing the subject so fast it nearly gave me whiplash.
“I’m not sure yet. I usually don’t go in with a plan. I improvise too much during a fight to make it worthwhile.” Plans had a bad way of going to shit in the middle of a fight.
“Are you sure you want to fight this guy? If he’s as strong as Bianca has made him out to be, we might not make it out of this alive. Maybe you could just make a few passes to gauge his strength, and then we could leave.” She sounded slightly hopeful.
“No. He goes down tonight, or I do. I don’t give a damn. He killed Serena.” Too long. I had been waiting far too long for this. No way in hell was I backing out now.
“Yeah, and you’re willing to die for a mortal that is already dead. I do not understand this.”
“You’ve never lost anyone, have you?” I asked quietly. “I mean, lost someone who you were so in love with it hurt when you looked at them. So in love that they were your whole world and you could never imagine your life without them. Even after they’re gone you still can’t imagine living without them. Serena was that to me and more. I never told her, and I should have, but I never did, because I was so scared of how intensely I felt for her. When she was taken from me, there was this gaping hole in my life, in me that has never, and probably will never, go away.
“I know that killing the fucking slime that killed her won’t bring her back, and I know it won’t close the hole, but it will feel damned good, at least for a second. I don’t give a damn if it’s in battle or if what I’m going to do would be considered murder. I just don’t care anymore. Without her…. I have no idea why I’m telling you all of this, I’ve never even told any of this to any of my friends.”
“It’s just my charming personality. Anyway, did you ever think of what your Serena would think of you acting like this? Did you ever think of what she would think of you if you became a murderer? If she were still here, would she be okay with you having a death wish, or becoming a killer?” She was staring at me candidly now.
“Doesn’t matter, she isn’t here, and for better or worse, that has shaped my life and me into what I am now.”
“So it’s her fault that you’re a sociopath now?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You might as well have.”
“That’s not how I meant it. The asshole who killed Serena caused it, if anyone besides me did,” I protested, not liking the line of questioning.
“Still, what would she think? Just humor me.”
“No, she wouldn’t be okay with it.” I rubbed at my forehead with my fingers, letting out a deep breath. “She might understand, but she wouldn’t be okay with it.”
“And you’re counting on that understanding when you meet her in whatever afterlife, right?”
“I guess. I hadn’t thought of it.”
“As long as you know where you stand on all this. Just don’t expect me to stand by and watch him kill you if you go down. I will get us out of here if that happens,” she promised somberly.
“Fine. Wh
atever.”
We sat in tense, awkward, silence for a good two hours, just listening to the music. Then I caught movement near the bathrooms at the park. The bathrooms of Angel Park were actually dug into the side of a large hill that dominated the front part of the park. Whoever it was had come out of the bathrooms and around the hill on the south side, so I couldn’t see them anymore. Then a figure emerged on top of the hill, and I saw a shimmer of light flicker around him. It was past eight o’clock and in the winter that meant it was already dark, so the light was very noticeable. If it was him, he was early.
I got out of the car, and started towards the light, Raven following close behind me, energy rolling off her palpably. When I turned and looked at her, her eyes were glowing a dark purple, a slight breeze was blowing around her, and her aura was fully visible; a brilliant violet flecked with silver.
I drew my daggers and ignited them. Even at the foot of the hill, I could feel the power that came from this guy. Bianca was right; Amar Nathan had nothing on this man. As we crested the hill I saw the individual in question, his back to us. His hair was long and silver, and he was slender, almost reminding me of Lucien. But unlike Lucien, this guy had muscle showing under his black tank top, even if the baggy black jeans hid the rest. I probably topped him by a couple inches but I doubted that would make a difference. Energy was just flooding through this guy, much like a fae.
“He’s not one of yours, is he?” I asked, just in case. You get to a certain power level and it starts to become difficult to tell what you are just from a sensory point of view.
“Nope. Definitely something… else. The signatures are pretty distinctive. I know you can’t tell, but there is a difference. You’ll learn once you become more attuned. He had to have done something special to show up on MAGE’s radar as a sorcerer.”
He turned to look at us as we whispered between us, and smiled, his eyes glowing a cobalt blue. “Ah, Aerick. I’ve been waiting for you. My m—” he paused a moment, thinking, “mentor said you be here tonight. I decided to alter my schedule to accommodate you.”
“How nice. I might actually be able to get a movie in once I splatter your brains all over this park,” I said sarcastically. I called my shield and pulled as much Aether as I could into my body. I didn’t care that the energy, if not released, might kill me. I wanted it there, in me, ready to go, ready to kill. I felt the power flow through my body and coil itself along my nerves and my muscles. All of a sudden I had a realization, but had no time to expound upon it; this was how I had channeled the Aether to make myself stronger when I destroyed the boulder that Ms. Dietrich had thrown my way.
“You talk big. My… mentor said you’d do that. But I can tell that you are nothing. Why it is afraid of you, I don’t know. But for whatever reason, it wants you dead, and I always try and give it what it wants,” he said, his voice crackling like electricity.
“Whatever, you’re still just standing there. I want you to know why you’re dying today,” I said in a low voice.
“Oh… it wouldn’t have to do with that sweet little girl I killed about three years ago would it? Oh, I remember that one. Her death was particularly satisfying. Her name was Serena, wasn’t it? Yes, Serena. She screamed. A lot. I believe she even screamed your name a few times. Yes, I believe she did.” He was grinning malevolently.
I didn’t need to hear more. My vision went red. He had given me everything I needed at that moment to match his level of energy and more. I vaguely heard Raven gasp behind me as I screamed something inarticulate and charged at him. As I moved, I brought my right dagger out in front of me, hoping to stab him in the throat. It was straight-forward, and probably wouldn’t connect, but that wasn’t my overall goal. Reversing the grip on the left one, I kept it held against my forearm, ready for an eviscerating swipe, regardless of whether or not my first strike hit or missed.
He side stepped to my left and the right dagger missed the mark, which I had anticipated. I spun to my right, bringing my left arm up to abdomen level, the edge of the left blade swiping out as I did so. That one connected, and I heard him grunt as I felt a wash of warm liquid over my arm. As I completed my spin I felt his hand on the back of my neck. When he touched me my whole body twitched as he sent somewhere close to fifty thousand volts through me. The shock sent me backwards through the air about fifty feet. I landed hard, but instinct, adrenaline and the Aether, had me springing to my feet as a bolt of lightning scorched the earth where I had just been.
Normally, I should be feeling strung out and tired by now, especially after the shock. I knew I was badly hurt, and I had no doubt I would feel this in the morning, if I made it that far. The only thing that kept me going was the insane amounts of Aetheric energy I had flowing through me, and the pure rage I felt towards the person I was fighting.
Here he was, the thing that took Serena away from me. I felt righteous in fighting him, and that feeling would only intensify once I obliterated him. As I rushed back towards him, a withering hail of purple shards flew from Raven’s outstretched hand. His shielding took most of it, but several of them still got through, scorching and disintegrating his flesh where they hit.
As I got closer, I jumped towards him. Using my augmented strength and speed, I started a flip over his head, and as I got to the apex, I willed a sheet of flame from an outstretched dagger, mimicking Raven’s attack from above him. It did about as much damage as hers had, but it startled him. When I landed I swiped both daggers at his back, connecting both times. I channeled more energy into the daggers, causing them to become miniature flamethrowers, funneling pure Aetheric fire into the wounds. He fell forward with a roar and I stood back for a second, admiring our handy work.
He was bleeding profusely from his stomach wound. He’d die from that alone if it didn’t get medical attention. The wounds on his back were the exact same wounds I had given to Hector Spence all those weeks ago. Raven’s shards had managed to burn several sections of his skin away, leaving muscle exposed. He was breathing heavy, and he started to get to his hands and knees. I bounced back into a fighting stance, ready for anything he threw at me. Or so I thought.
“Enough! You die now!” he screamed, standing faster than I could register and spinning towards me. Both hands held to his sides, palms towards me, he unleashed brilliant red lightning bolts in my direction. Both hit me square in the chest at close range. My shield only held for the briefest of seconds before the pure fury of the bolts shredded it like it paper.
The unadulterated power of the lightning blasts lifted me vertically off the ground, coursing through me, devouring and feeding upon the Aetheric energy that I had stored within. After a few infinitely long seconds of agony so intense I couldn’t even find the voice to scream, he motioned sideways with his hand and sent me flying. I vaguely remembered landing on the hood of Raven’s car, nearly a hundred yards away. The impact crumpled the metal and I slid to the ground.
I had a hazy memory of seeing an explosion of purple energy from the hill, then seeing what appeared to be an angel wearing Raven’s clothes and boots landing next to me. Her wings were the deepest black, and as I looked up at her face, my heart broke at the beauty I beheld. It was Raven, but she was different, more real.
“Don’t worry, love. I have you now. You’re safe. Just stay with me,” I heard her say as I passed out.
SIXTEEN
I was dead. I had to be. Nothing in the real world could be as tranquil and beautiful as where I found myself. The sky was the purest blue, like that of a blue topaz, but spread across the roof of the world. The grass and trees around me were likewise of the clearest green, like emeralds shimmering in the untainted yellow sunlight. I could smell the scents of spring all around me. Grass, freshly cut and watered, the perfume of freshly bloomed flowers, and the sharp scent of a colder time and place springing from the breeze. I heard birds singing, insects chirping, and small animals frolicking.
Taking in my surroundings slowly, I found that I was in a small clearing
in a forest. It seemed somehow familiar. Nearby, I could hear a creek burbling merrily along, unconcerned with anything other than its course through time. Several rocky outcroppings sported moss and I spied a lizard scurrying across the surface of one.
“Ya don’t remember, do ya?” a clear, familiar female voice said from behind me. “That’s too bad. I always liked this place. We were always happiest here. We could just be ourselves. Ya know?” The voice was light in pitch, and carried a slight southern accent with it.
I couldn’t seem to speak all of a sudden. I knew I was dead now, there was no question about it. That voice could no longer be heard on my world. It had been stripped from my world, taken away by the very person who had killed me. It belonged to Serena. Then she laughed. I turned and looked over my shoulder.
It was her, all right. Exactly as I remembered her from the last time I saw her. That last time before she died. I shook my head in disbelief. I didn’t like to think about those last days, they weren’t my happiest, that was for damn sure.
She had come to visit me in Vegas, driven out herself since she had just gotten her driver’s license. We had spent Christmas vacation together and had a great time. That hadn’t been the problem. The problem had been the argument we’d had before she left, right before the New Year.
We had had a wonderful day on the town, but after we’d gotten back to the Hawthornes’, Serena had packed her things up and checked into a hotel room at the Excalibur. I’d gone over to the hotel to ask her why she had left and she had told me there was just too much tension between us. When I asked what she meant, she had told me she loved me. I hadn’t responded. She’d pressed for a similar confession from me, asking me why I couldn’t say it when it was obvious how I felt. I had told her that I just couldn’t think of her in that way.
She’d called me a liar, and then had asked how I did feel about her if I didn’t love her. I’d told her that I did love her, but not like that, that it was more of a really good friend or sibling love. She had then asked how I could make love to her. I’d had no answer. She’d screamed for me to leave her alone, so I had left. Next I had heard, she was already dead.
