by C. M. Lance
Sig prepared to hack at Andras’ head, but heard a roar from above. He raised his sword just in time to block a lightning bolt aimed at him from the shadows of the roof. The bolt, deflected into the parking lot away from the crowd, slammed into a car, igniting it. The gas tank exploded, showering the parking lot with flaming debris. The combined smell of burning gasoline and hellfire made Sig gag.
Andras and the wolf spun toward a group that included the water witches. The Professor stepped forward and threw up another energy shield. The wolf crashed into it. Andras slashed at the Professor. His sword penetrated, but the shield stopped his hand. The tip missed the Professor by inches.
Andras drew the sword back and, with the other hand, cast a fireball that splattered against the shield, showering stragglers in the escaping crowd with molten fire. He threw his sword at the Professor. Sig managed to deflect it before it plunged through the energy shield. Instead of penetrating the Professor’s chest, it sliced his arm. The Professor fell to the ground. The shield faded.
Andras gestured with his fingers and the sword leapt into the air and flew towards him. Sig lunged and grabbed it out of the air. Andras squealed.
Sig advanced with both swords, but his hand began to sizzle. He almost dropped Andras’ sword. He grimaced as he raised the burning sword high and then jammed it into the pavement up to the hilt. He released it and shook his smoking hand. The pain was intense. He looked at his blistered and peeling palm and saw an imprint of the sword hilt.
He turned back as Andras gestured for the sword to fly to him. The hilt trembled, emitted a twang like a colossal guitar string, but remained jammed into the parking lot.
Sig ran toward Andras, but the wolf spun and bounded, carrying him away. Rick followed, tearing at the wolf’s legs, until Andras cast a fireball at him. He dodged, but the fireball set the fur on one side aflame. Rick rolled, extinguishing the flames, and rose to his feet in human form.
Sig ran back to the three bodies lying by the club. Two Amazons were dead. One of the witches was using her jacket to staunch the bleeding from the Professor’s arm.
Arianna knelt and looped her belt around his arm above the wound, pulling it tight to stop the bleeding.
Sid knelt, lifted the Professor, and turned toward his Jeep, “Crap.” It was burning. He remembered the lightning bolt he slapped away from the crowd. “Can someone drive the Professor to the hospital?”
One of the witches said, “I’ll call 911.”
Rick now clothed again said, “Don’t do that, he needs to go to the university hospital.”
Arianna said, “We don’t want to have to explain this to the police. They’ll never believe it. I was here and I don’t believe it.”
The witch shut her phone. “But there are two people dead.”
Arianna said, “We’ll take care of them, they’re Amazons.”
Another Amazon raced up in a pickup. Arianna looked at Sig. “Will you help?”
He nodded and picked up the dead Amazons and placed them gently in the back of the pickup. It pulled away.
The other witch pulled up in a convertible. “Put the Professor in. I’ll take him to the hospital.”
Sig lifted the Professor into the back and Rick jumped into the passenger seat. They sped off.
The other witch turned a stream of water from the fire hydrant onto the blood in the parking lot, washing it toward a sewer grate.
When he heard sirens approaching, Sig changed back to normal.
There was a rumble of thunder. Sig cringed. The patter of rain followed the thunder and Sig relaxed.
Sirens wound down as a fire truck pulled up next to the still gushing fire hydrant. Firefighters spilled out and unwound their hoses. They had to shut the hydrant off before attaching them.
A police vehicle pulled up. The police officer got out and walked over to Sig. “What happened here?”
Holding an umbrella, Arianna strolled up to Sig. “It’s too bad about your car, but you’re lucky you weren’t in it when the lightning struck.” They huddled under her umbrella.
The police officer looked back and forth between them. “Lightning struck the vehicle? It’s your vehicle?” He pointed his pen at Sig.
Sig nodded.
“May I see your license and registration?” Water dripped off the brim of his hat as he held his hand out.
Sig pulled out his wallet. “Here’s my license. I’m sure the registration is crisped by now.” He nodded towards the Jeep as the firefighters sprayed it.
The officer nodded and copied information from Sig’s license. He looked at Arianna. “And you are?”
“Arianna duMayne, I’m a student at Northwestern and a friend.”
“How do you spell that?”
Arianna handed him her license. He copied her info and handed it back. “You saw the lightning strike the vehicle?”
“There was a tremendous flash. When I looked Sig’s Jeep was on fire, then it exploded.”
The officer took notes. They watched the firefighters spray water until the Jeep stopped burning. The asphalt around the Jeep had charred and blistered.
The police officer handed back their licenses. “Sorry about your vehicle, Sir. Act-of-nature. Can’t do much about it. Here’s my card, you can call for the incident report tomorrow after noon. You’ll need it for the insurance company.”
Sig took the proffered card and nodded. “Thank you officer.”
“Do you need a ride anywhere?”
Arianna said, “No, I can drop him off.”
Sig responded with a wan smile. “Thanks.”
She returned his smile warmly. “It’s the least I can do.”
After Sig got into Arianna’s car, he called Rick and found that the Professor was going to be OK. The University hospital ER physician finished stitching up the wound in his shoulder. Rick would bring him home along with the pain medication the physician supplied.
Arianna dropped Sig at home. By the time Rick arrived with the Professor, Sig was sound asleep on the couch in the parlor.
Chapter 43
A door slammed. The house trembled. The Black Wizard shuddered inside his glowing circle when a scream echoed.
Feet thundered down the stairs. The door to the basement blasted off its hinges and shot into the room, blazing. Smoke curled from the door jam. Andras stalked up to the summoning circle and threw himself against it. The circle bulged inward. He drew back and hurled himself again. It bulged further. He shrilled, “I will eat your heart”.
The wolf paced around the circle, stopping to sniff, and then moving on.
Silent, the wizard’s head swiveled, trying to keep an eye on both apparitions of Andras. Sweat trickled down his face. He gasped through parted lips.
Andras placed hands against the invisible wall surrounding the circle. He leaned forward, staring with unblinking owls eyes and growled, “He had friends to protect him. He took my sword.” He pulled his hands away and hissed, as if the wall were hot.
The wizard’s eyes widened. “How… How could he steal your sword?”
“It is stuck in the earth. It won’t come to me. Now you will die.” He hammered on the circle again. It bulged.
The wizard sobbed. “You must go back. Leave now and the sword will go with you. Stay and someone with power may claim it and it will be lost to you.”
Andras purred, “What a wonderful idea. For that, all of this is yours.” He waved his arm, casks appeared with jewels and gold coins spilling out on the basement floor. “Come out and celebrate with me. Claim your prize.”
The wizard stared longingly at the riches but shook his head. His voice quavered as he said, “You must return by my command or the sword won’t go with you. If you kill me first, it will stay in this world after you return.”
Andras screeched like a hunting owl, waved his arm, and the casks, gold, and jewels disappeared in a puff of smoke. “If you summon me again, you will die.” He vanished through a portal that appeared in mid-air. The wolf leapt thro
ugh after him.
The portal winked out and the wizard collapsed to the floor whimpering.
Chapter 44
The insurance agent sounded incredulous the next morning when Sig reported that lightning had totaled his vehicle - again. “I’ll drop the police report by your office in the next few days.”
“Please do. I’m sure the home office will want to see it. I’m guessing that two lightning incidents in less than one month must be some kind of record.”
“It’s not a record I’m very happy with.” Sig disconnected and pitched his phone back on the bed, before he flopped down next to it. He massaged his temples. He felt terrible. It wasn’t the Jeep. He could get a new one. Two women died because of him. Two of the Amazons he worked out with almost daily. He considered them friends, no matter what the Commander said.
Sig had knocked gently on Professor Herman’s door a half hour earlier. There was no response, which was a good sign. He slept, recovering from his injury.
Sig prepared breakfast, hoping the Professor would feel like eating. Rick ambled in through the back door, poured a glass of OJ, and sat at the kitchen table. “Wow, that was some powerful shit last night.”
Sig glanced at him with a weak smile, “Yeah.” He turned back to the stove and pushed around the eggs he was scrambling.
When Sig remained quiet, Rick asked, “Is the Professor awake yet?”
Sig shook his head and continued pushing eggs around the pan. “Not when I checked.”
Rick got up and started out of the kitchen, and then stopped. “The Professor says that Andras has gone back.”
Sig turned to him, holding up the spatula. “How does he know?”
“He saw you jam the sword into the concrete. He made me go back and keep an eye on it. About two o’clock this morning, it disappeared. One minute it was there, and then it was gone. An empty, blade-shaped hole was all that remained. I came back here and told the Professor. He said it meant that Andras had gone back.”
“How did he know that?”
“The blade is part of Andras. No one took it. One minute it was there and then it was gone, which means it left this world when he did. The black sorcerer could leave the summoning circle, if Andras left him alive.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“We could only be so lucky. After I reported on the sword, the Professor finally took his pain medicine.”
“I’m sorry I got him hurt.”
Rick shook his head. “He says you saved his life. He said what you did saved a lot of peoples' lives last night.”
“Nobody would have been in danger if it weren’t for me.” He turned back to the stove.
Rick looked at his back for a moment and then said, “I’ll check on the Professor.”
Rick returned in a few minutes. “He’s awake and hungry. Did you put cheese in the eggs?”
Sig shook his head. Rick grated some cheese and handed it to Sig with a smile. “Melt this over the top. I’ll make some toast. He likes cheesy scramble.”
Sig dished up the eggs, Rick put buttered toast on the plate, poured coffee, and handed the tray to Sig. “He asked to see you. Why don’t you take this to him? I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
The Professor was sitting up in bed when Sig walked in. “Ah, there’s the hero of the day.”
Sig forced a weak smile as he handed him the tray. “I’m pleased you weren’t injured any worse.”
“More was made of my injury than it deserved. I’ll be out of bed in no time. If it hadn’t been for you, I’m sure I wouldn’t be lying here recovering.”
“If it weren’t for me, you’d be up and about now. Andras was after me. People got injured and killed because they were near me when he attacked.”
“Dear boy, the war between Dark and White magic has raged for ages, perhaps before mankind walked on this earth. If you are to take your great-grandfather’s place, Dark forces will assail you, as I they have assaulted me. Your role must be to maximize damage to Dark practitioners while minimizing harm from them to all others.”
“But two of my friends were killed.’
“You remained alert for Andras after he retreated. Without that, it would have been much worse. The deaths occurred in the first moments of Andras’ attack from an unexpected direction.”
Not convinced, Sig nodded politely. He’d have to think about the Professor’s arguments.
The front doorbell rang. Sig asked, “Are you expecting anyone?”
“No. Maybe Rick ordered pizza. I may not have enough meat in the refrigerator for him.”
Sig chuckled.
Professor Herman responded to a knock on his bedroom door. “Come in.”
The door opened and Giselle poked her head in. “Are you decent?”
“Come in, come in my dear. Suddenly, I feel better already. Thank you for stopping in.”
“I heard about your injuries.” She helped up a small ribbon wrapped box. “Medicinal chocolates for you.”
He chortled and held out his hands. “Dear, dear Giselle. You should be a physician. You have a firm grasp of the healing arts.”
“Where are you hurt?”
“Just a scratch on my arm.” He started to raise his right arm and winced.
Over her shoulder, Rick said drily, “Twenty three stitches and orders not to use it for two days. Not to raise it like that.”
The professor sent him a grimace and turned a smile to Giselle. “I’ll be back at work in no time at all.”
“I’m so glad to hear it. I heard you went to the hospital.”
She smiled at Sig. “I’m glad you’re OK too.”
“I’m so sorry about what happened to your sisters.”
“Arianna said there was nothing anyone could have done. They were celebrating that the demon ran. They should have been watching for an attack instead.”
Sig looked at the Professor who smiled at him and nodded.
“Our Training Master agreed. She also said she’d like to talk with you.”
Sig frowned. “Oh?”
“The progress the girls have made in martial arts and fencing impressed her. They gave you credit. She thinks that perhaps the Commander was hasty. You may be able to work out something with her,” She said with a warm smile.
Rick interrupted, “Why don’t we let the Professor eat his breakfast?” He held up a pill, which he placed on the breakfast tray. “And take this. You need your rest.”
In the hallway, Rick asked Giselle to stay for a cup of coffee. Sig said, “I forgot to ask the Professor something. You two go ahead. I’ll be right there. Please pour me a cup of black coffee, thanks.”
The Professor looked up with a smile when Sig opened the door. “Professor Herman, Rick said something that made me think.”
“Excellent, thinking is a good thing.”
Sig smiled, and then turned serious. “Rick said that the Black Sorcerer was trapped in the summoning ring while Andras was here.”
“That’s true, if he valued his life.”
“That eliminates Dean Heathcoat as a Dark Mage suspect. He was in the Game Room when Andras attacked.”
“An admirable deductive reasoning process.”
“If the Dark Mage was in the summoning circle, then who threw the lightning bolt that I blocked?”
The Professor frowned, pursed his lips, and rubbed his goatee with his fingertips. His black eyes fixed on Sig as he said, “That is an excellent question. You have been thinking.”
The Professor mused. “Dark wizards operate alone. They surround themselves with minions, and lesser powers, but they don’t share with equals. There’s a ‘Trust’ issue amongst Dark practitioners.”
“That’s not a surprise.”
“So, who did throw lightning that night? That may be a key question that needs to be answered.”
Chapter 45
In the kitchen, Rick poured coffee for Giselle and Sig, and refilled his glass of orange juice.
Sig walked in and looked at Rick’
s glass. “Carnivores drink fruit juice?”
He looked meaningfully at Sig and said, “I’ve been told by some in this kitchen that I’m too hyper. If you think that’s bad, you don’t want to see me under the influence of caffeine. I used to drink it, but stopped when Starbucks wanted to make me their official mascot.”
Sig raised his cup. “That’s nothing; the dishes in my house are all coffee cups.”
Rick smirked. “The only vegetable I eat is the coffee bean.”
Giselle’s head bowed over her coffee and her lips moved silently.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were saying your prayers.”
She looked up. “I’m praying that the crappy jokes stop.”
Sig rolled his eyes and looked at Rick who shrugged and said, “Obviously Amazon humor is on a different plane.”
“I think I missed that plane. I’ll take the next train.”
“Bodda-bing.” Rick drummed on the table and tapped his glass.
“You two will never be a comedy team.”
Rick smiled sheepishly. “I don’t think the jokes are funny either but I’m wound as tight as a spring. I haven’t hunted in three months and after last night; I’m ready to climb the walls.”
Sig asked, “Dare I ask what you hunt? Four legged or two legged?”
“Usually deer.” He licked his lips. “There’s something about warm, bloody deer meat…”
“I like deer meat, but usually in a stew or a charbroiled steak. I haven’t hunted in over two years.”
Giselle said, “I like deer chili, with pinto beans, not kidney beans. There’s something special about chili from a deer that you bring down yourself. It’s been six months for me.”
Rick looked between the two of them. “What do you hunt with?”
“I’m an Amazon. I use a bow.”
Sig nodded. “For deer, I prefer a bow, but sometimes I use a rifle.”
“I hunt in wolf shape. Why don’t we three go hunting?”
