The Leira Chronicles- The Complete Austin Series

by Martha Carr

  “How can light magic and that kind of joy be called dangerous?” The weight of her cares felt even heavier after feeling the absence.

  “The one time I felt it before was on a battlefield hundreds of years ago. A sword passed through me, right about here.” Turner pointed to the right side of his belly. “Broad sword like that, didn’t take long for the blood to flow out of me. I lay back on the ground and let go. Every concern passed from me and a sense of peace took its place, filling every vacuum. Do you understand? You were tapping into death. I stopped you before you could go too far.” He held out his arms to the sides, as if he was explaining the obvious.

  “You thought I was about to die?”

  “I actually don’t know. That was the dilemma. You and I seem to end up in new territory far too often.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “You crossed over to Oriceran without a portal… or your body for that matter. You drained Rhazdon of her dark magic.”

  “I had a lot of help with that one.”

  “And you tapped into the stream of life. Exquisite.”

  “I thought you said it was death.”

  “Don’t be thick. They’re one and the same. That’s a human thing to think death is an ending, an absence of everything. It’s the holder of the life force. The other side of the world in between.”

  Leira looked up abruptly, tilting her head to one side. “You know more about the world in between, don’t you?”

  “I know a lot of things. I told you, I’m the Fixer. You don’t get that title with an empty head.” He shook his finger. “Or from blabbing everything you know, either. It’s a constant balancing act.” He put his hand out to Leira and waited patiently. She gave in and put her hand in his, feeling the connection of magic.

  “Still,” he said, “I’ve never seen anyone travel smack into the middle of that energy who wasn’t about to die.”

  “The feeling was so peaceful…I…I can’t even describe it.” Leira tapped the center of her chest. “The second I started to think about something…anything, the feeling went away.”

  “It’s supposed to work like that. It’s so you’ll go local. Stay put on this side of the mystic plane and get shit done!” Turner tapped his cane on the ground. “However, you have had the pleasure of feeling the other side, a brush up against death, without the usual trauma. You’ve also felt the worse that Dark Magic can slam at you, hopefully…”

  “Hopefully…fuck. Can you imagine worse?”

  “No, but haven’t you ever wondered why thousand-year-old Elves don’t look bored? I mean, come on that’s a lot of time to be kicking around. No? You really haven’t?”

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “Something new is always popping up that I never imagined. Lately, it’s you!” He squeezed Leira’s hand. “You have been encircled by the Darkness and ridden a wave of Light. The yin and yang. It’s not just theory for you and that is a very powerful tool, my friend. Most hesitate for fear the edge of the envelope is too far out there. You know that it’s further than that, and that’s okay. Now, come on. We’ve wasted enough time. Your lesson isn’t over and right now you’re failing at it.”

  Leira rolled her eyes.

  “Joy was not the assignment.” Turner poked his finger in the air. “Getting someone you don’t know to merge with you magically is the assignment. Come on, try again. I have places to be. A fetching Elven woman to wine and dine.”

  Leira let out a snort as she shut her eyes, inspiring Turner to tap her hard on the back of her legs with his cane. “Don’t sass your mentor, still a lot of magic left in this carcass, my dear. Now focus. Search for someone to merge with and learn to guide and be guided by their energy as well.”

  Leira shut her eyes and focused, pulling up energy through her feet, lighting up the symbols on her arms again as it spread up to her neck.

  “Not so fast.” Turner tapped her hard on the shoulder. “I can read the fucking signs, literally. No heading back toward the light or I shut this thing down and you can find a different mentor. We don’t play with Dark Magic here, or pure Light Magic. Have some respect for the elements. Look kid, I’m glad the great unknown had the good sense to balance things out for you, and let you know that the Light is actually stronger than the Dark Magic but that’s where we leave it.” Turner arched an eyebrow and looked at Leira.

  “How do I know the Light is stronger?”

  Turner gave her a look and shrugged his shoulders, scratching his chin. “All very interesting. Save exploring this mystery for another lesson. Now try again, and no funny business.”

  “Seems a little intrusive for you to be reading my arms.”

  “Does make it tricky to have any good secrets sometimes. Get used to it. At least your symbols move so fast that it’ll be hard for most to catch up to what you’ve got planned next. Start over, no more dawdling. Lenora awaits me. This time no Superman impressions. We weren’t meant to leap tall buildings in one bound, go faster than a train. What? Even Elves need super heroes to look up to. We can’t do everything. It’s not the way it’s meant to be. Leaves very little to look forward to.”

  “I’m a big Green Lantern fan. In brightest day, in darkest night…”

  “That’s a good one too. I liked how they would pass the torch. All of them knew a thing or two about doing the right thing but they didn’t get out much with the ladies. Now, I could write a super hero!” Turner shook his cane in the air, a twinkle in his eyes. “Alright young lady, on with it!”

  Leira smiled and shut her eyes, pulling in energy again and letting go of the feeling from the Light Magic.

  “Set an intention,” said Turner, “then let go.”

  Leira followed behind the magic as it set out in search of someone to merge with. “Not a relative,” she muttered.

  “Not even a friend,” said Turner.

  Leira felt the magic roll into a green valley and across a small town square, sliding into a coffee shop. A middle-aged Elf was sipping a warm cappuccino, reading the small-town paper, and momentarily looked up, startled by the intrusion. He gave a small chuckle and cleared his throat, letting himself relax. Leira felt his energy loosen up and leave spaces for her magic to thread in and out, merging the two into a gold and purple swirl of sparkling light.

  “Communicate with him, listen.” There was the echo of Turner’s voice, his energy guiding alongside the twirl of energy.

  A student? I can feel your guide’s energy there with you. My name is Joseph.

  Leira. I’m out for a magic run. Kind of a 5k. Any small feat we can do together?

  Joseph smiled and set a small intention. Leira let out a laugh as the foam grew inside of his cup, refilling it back to the brim.

  Perfect. He sat back and let go of the twining just as Leira let it slip away. The image faded from her mind and she slowly opened her eyes, orienting herself back to Turner’s estate in Austin, Texas.

  “Well done! You listened and didn’t insert your own will. You’re getting better at the finer points of magic.”

  “Done for the day?”

  “Done! I have places to be…”

  “And Lenora awaits. Boom chakalaka.”

  Turner Underwood let out a loud cackle. “Got to keep living, my dear. Get on home! I’ll see you again in a few days.”

  Leira turned and narrowed her eyes. “You know, I’ve noticed that you seem to be getting me ready for something. I just can’t figure out what, yet. You would tell me if there was something dark on the horizon.”

  “I’m the Fixer, young Elf. I only tell you what you need to know.” Turner Underwood headed up toward his house, waving at Leira without turning back. “You know the way out.” He went inside and watched her leave from the window. A scowl came across his face. “Going to have to tell her something, and soon,” he muttered. “Give her fair warning as soon as her skills controlling her magic are a little stronger.” He shook his head. “If we have that much time…”

  Chapter Six

  Louie wa
s on the trail of a rare artifact, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He loved the chase as much as he loved getting there ahead of everyone else. And he loved winning. Nothing sweeter.

  He let out a loud peal of laughter as he raced along the cramped trail carved out between the two cliffs of a mountain range near the Land of Terran. Louie was running at a fast clip, ducking sideways in the narrowest passages, small rocks raining down on his head. His favorite leather pouch was strapped across his shoulder, banging against his back as he moved.

  A large blue angel lizard ducked out of a crack in the wall, its jaws opening as Louie quickly pressed his hand against one side of the passage and his foot against the other, rising just high enough to miss the sharp snap of the razor-sharp teeth. The lizard’s tail swung high in the air and caught the edge of Louie’s pant leg, easily slicing it open. A momentary flash of concern came across his face as he grabbed onto a rocky handhold, swinging up higher. His leather pouch swung behind him, slapping his back as it swung down again.

  A puff of blue and green gas floated up from the lizard as Louie held his breath, pressing his arm against his face to avoid the momentary paralysis from breathing in the fumes.

  “Damn flesh eaters!”

  He landed further down the passage and his scowl was quickly replaced by his usual grin as the lizard ran back inside the bowels of the rocky carving. “Still here.” His hand pressed against the thin metal box nestled inside of his shirt and he felt the startling hum shoot through his hand again. Pure source.

  The box was part of an estate sale from an old Wood Elf who lived on the edge of the Dark Forest close to the ocean. Louie bargained them down on a tray of old crystals that he instantly recognized as rare. They would have been worth all the haggling by themselves. Louie knew some of them dated back to a time when there were other Elves who roamed across Oriceran and Atlanteans were everywhere. A time before the last gates were even open.

  Primeval, he had thought and made himself breath evenly as he fingered them. He felt lightheaded and woozy all at once and gently put the stone back down. Fucking A. That is a rush. It had been a long time since a relic gave off that much energy.

  It was a gift of his that he could absorb energy from artifacts so easily and not get burned.

  But these stones were different. They weren’t burning anyone else who picked them up. They weren’t doing anything. At the sale he had watched from across the room as an Elf picked up a stone and turned it over in her hand, dropping it back onto the tray, uninterested. Bored even. Louie’s mouth dropped open and he looked at the Elf more closely and back at the tray. Is that man that powerful?

  A young Gnome stopped in front of the tray and let out an interested grunt. Louie sidled closer, ready to snatch it out of his hands if necessary. He waited, anxious to see what happened next. The Gnome picked up a different crystal and held it up to the light, even licking the stone.

  Louie made a face, scowling as he watched the Gnome inspect the stones. Finally, the Gnome shrugged and dropped the crystal casually back onto the tray. “Junk,” he muttered, moving on to another room.

  Louie went back to the tray and picked up the same stone, holding it by the edges. It was still wet. He grimaced as he dropped it into the palm of his other hand and shut his fingers tight. It felt like the top of his head was going to float off and the room started to spin but he held on, waiting to see what would happen next. That was Louie. He wanted the whole ride.

  There was a loud pop in his ears and he felt the surge of magic in his belly, rushing like warm liquid up through his chest and out his arm, stopping at his closed fist. He grit his teeth and forced himself to look around to see if anyone else had come into the small alcove where the box was sitting but he was alone. Fuck it! I’m hanging on!

  It started as a low-level mixture of voices in the background. He had whipped his head to the left and then the right, trying to catch the sounds of the voices, just missing a phrase. His hand began to vibrate violently, shaking his arm. He looked down, watching the symbols race across his skin, trying to read them as the voices grew, blending together until they became a unified voice. His jaw was clenched tighter, trying to contain the energy, feeling like it could explode out of his skin as he realized what he was hearing.

  “Holy fuck…” he had whispered. The symbols were speaking to him, out loud.

  They were guiding him, and telling him what was to come. A thousand voices covering a thousand possibilities until they blended into one voice, pointing out the best option. A hard shudder passed through his body, startling him and his hand opened, dropping the stone. The pulse of energy instantly faded, seeping back down into the ground. Every muscle in his body ached and he still heard a ringing in his ears. “What the hell was that?”

  His heart was beating hard as he had dug through the tray, feeling the energy pulse through him momentarily, every time he brushed up against one of the crystals.

  Buried at the bottom was the box.

  He kept going, traveling further into the mountain, keeping an eye out as best he could for anything else that crept or crawled. There were others on his trail, trying to get to the rumored prize ahead of him. Or at least track him long enough to let him take all the risk and steal it from him later.

  The deeper parts of the mountain were left untouched by anyone with any common sense. Too many poisonous snakes, and giant spiders that spun their prey into sticky webs, or lizards that could crunch bones with their teeth lived in all the cracks and crevices.

  But Louie wasn’t known for his common sense as much as he was for his cunning. The moment he held the box he knew something was up. It radiated energy and was a powerful battery, a relic. He barely contained his excitement as he paid for the crystals, sliding the tray of crystals back down to the bottom of the box.

  He got to a fork in the passage where both directions led deeper into the mountain. One passage going north toward the ocean and the other headed west. He quickly pulled out the box and flipped it over in his hands, a jolt of magic coursing through his veins. The symbols lit up along his arms and his eyes glowed as he spun the box in the palm of his hand. Faster and faster it twirled, becoming a blur, until it let out a high-pitched whine and symbols emerged through the copper-colored metal.

  Louie knew what it was at once the first time the box started spinning.

  A map. A fabled fucking map. It still took his breath away. His eyes bugged out when he saw where it led, straight into the mountains through the most dangerous and uncharted stretch of rock.

  No one went there, even the Gnomes who lived in surrounding caves and everyone knew there wasn’t much they shied away from. But the narrow passageway they had nicknamed Dead Man’s Crawl was one of the few exceptions. Occasionally a harpy could be seen soaring over the deep fissures in the rock, eyeing a decaying carcass. The harpy swooped in, disappearing from view, letting out a strangled cry until the sky went quiet again. The Dark Forest was friendlier territory than the twenty mile stretch of the Dead Man’s Crawl.

  Louie waited till the map appeared. It only took a few seconds, which was longer than he really had if he wanted to keep moving and avoid death or at least mutilation from something with claws or fangs that was probably already watching him, sizing him up. “North!”

  He moved straight ahead, rapidly jumping from rock to rock as the ground grew damp and sandy. He jumped onto a smooth, round rock and felt his foot sink lower, into the sand, almost throwing him off balance. He teetered, jumping quickly to the next stone as the smooth rock behind him stood up and a snapping turtle’s head appeared and let out a growl. “Even the turtles have attitude.”

  All of it was worth the price of admission. Louie had been around scavengers and thieves all his life and had heard tales from when he was little about the cache of artifacts and relics that were imbued with a lost tribe of Elves who had disappeared off the planet. The legend was that the artifacts possessed the power to open a gate early and hold it open. Some said th
e relics could even open a gate to the world in between or give the possessor the ability to conquer any army. There was even a rumor with legs that talked about living forever. No one knew for sure and most thought of it all as myth because no amount of magic ever helped turn up a single clue. The only part of the story that seemed to be the same no matter who was telling it was that the treasure lay somewhere inside Dead Man’s Crawl. The rest was thought to be imaginative rumor or an outright lie.

  Not Louie. Stranger things have turned out to be real…

  He leaped over the next string of rocks, barely clearing them, and landed two-footed on the other side. The wet sand and mud swirled under his boots, quickly giving way as the ground gave away in a rush, sucking him into the whorl with a loud slurping sound.

  “Nyaaaaaaah!” He let out a gurgled yell, cut off as he snapped his mouth shut and disappeared into the ground, the mud swallowing him up.

  He fell ten feet in the darkness, landing on hard rock, rolling across the ground. “Oof.”

  He rubbed his side, checking his ribs and got to his feet as quickly as he could. It didn’t pay to take too long to gather his wits or even act like he might be wounded. Bad enough he could taste blood on his tongue. He stood up, quickly checking that the box was still intact, and spread his feet, pulling in magic to light the complete darkness. “Experius!” His voice echoed off the walls as he waved his wand. He sent out beams of light in every direction that refracted off the walls in different colors and came bouncing back toward him, sparkling against the rock.

  “What?”

  He turned in a circle in the twelve-foot square chamber, dazzled by the light show. “The magic can’t penetrate the rock…” Louie stepped closer and touched the walls, smelling the familiar odor of ozone mixed with something unfamiliar. “What is that?” He looked up and saw that the ground above was quickly reshaping itself, blocking out the sky. “That could possibly be bad…”