"Well." Aerin thought for a moment. "More eager to go find us someplace a bit more private." She gave a sly smile.
“That so?” John crossed his arms as he tried to figure out what she was playing at. “What for?”
"So you can practice your magic!" Aerin answered with a big grin.
"You catch on quick, don't you?" John smiled to her as he pulled himself off of the hood. He hadn’t told her yet about his new powers, so he was surprised at her statement.
"I've known Meredith for a long time, John. She wouldn't let you leave if she hadn't fixed you." She smiled and rushed back inside.
Shortly thereafter, Aerin returned with her orange hoodie tied around her waist. John closed up the motel room and sorted things out with the owner before leaving; and in only a few minutes, they were off. The Charger raced down the small two lane highway at incredible speed. Civilization had long since faded into the rear view mirror behind them, and the landscape around them had gradually shifted into the sandy deserts of Utah. Large mountains and mesas rose high into the sky in the distance, dominating the surroundings in a dusty, majestic sort of way.
It wasn’t long before Aerin’s excitement got the better of her. She directed John down the first dirt road away from the highway that she saw. John pulled off, driving the Charger down the dusty road, a cloud of dirt trailing behind them for as far as he could see. He followed the road for a while until it ended at the base of a massive butte. The highway was miles behind them, not a single soul was around. John stopped the car and stepped out, but Aerin was already a hundred feet away.
“Follow me!”
She sprinted toward the rock wall with a skip in her step and a smile on her face. John slammed the door and ran towards her, trying his best to catch up. Despite her size, Aerin was fast. At first, it looked like she had challenged him to a race, but as she unfurled her beautiful white wings and soared into the air John knew that wasn’t the case. Aerin flew up high above, circling around overhead before finally landing atop the gigantic rock. She leaned over the edge and waved down to John, and even from where he was standing he could see the smile on her face.
John stopped and stared up at the rock, looking for a way up. From where he stood, he couldn’t see anyway to climb. The surfaces were mostly flat, and the bits that did stick out were few and far between. There were some signs here and there that climbers had at one point scaled the side, but John didn’t have any kind of gear like that. He crossed his arms and thought for a moment. He wasn’t able to fly like Aerin, he didn’t have any special abilities like that. Suddenly he stopped as a smile crept up on his face. He did have something. John snapped his fingers and suddenly felt himself moving faster than any human should be capable of. In an instant he stood atop the butte, looking down at the Charger far below.
"Looks like you still know how to use your powers!" Aerin almost taunted.
“That’s right.” John fired back with a smirk. “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to make me rusty.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Aerin kicked a rock in front of her. “Let’s get to work then.” Her playful demeanor faded into something a little more serious. “How much do you understand about magic?”
"Well." John closed his eyes and ran through his mind. "From what I saw in your memories, I pretty much know the basics. Cyphers, Arcane Circuits, stuff like that."
“That’s good.” Aerin nodded in approval. “That means I won’t have to spend a lot of time teaching you.” She stated before asking. “Okay then, so how do you make an Arcane Circuit?”
“Clapping your hands together or making a circle, right?” John answered.
"That’s right.” Aerin nodded again. “Why do we need a Circuit?”
“To channel… energy?” John answered, slightly unsure. He had encountered so much jargon inside of Aerin’s memories that he hadn’t quite managed to sift through it all.
“Yes.” Aerin affirmed, much to John’s surprise. “An Arcane Circuit channels the magic around us. Clapping your hands completes the circuit, and using a circle works the same.” She explained. “We need a Circuit to perform more powerful spells.”
“So like, your explosions?” John chimed in, finding something relatable to cling to.
“Exactly. You don’t always need a Circuit to cast a spell though. Low level spells can run off of the Circuits that are already inside of your body.” She stated. “But doing that more than once at a time isn’t a good idea. It drains your energy and stamina and doing it too much might even kill you.”
“Yeah, I already experienced that first hand.” John added. “When I first woke up, Meredith shot at me to make sure I could actually use magic.” He said with a laugh.
"Wait, she shot you?!" Aerin almost shouted in disbelief.
"Shot at, not shot!" John clarified quickly to calm her down. "I blocked it!"
“Good grief…” Aerin shook her head as she tried to regain her focus. “Anyway, let’s see you make a Circuit.”
John nodded and brought his hands up to look them over before he took a deep breath. He slammed them together with a loud clap and felt a sudden sensation he wasn’t familiar with. Just by connecting his hands together, he could feel energies around him previously unknown. While it was different, it felt oddly familiar. He could feel the energies swirling around him, strangely similar to how Heaven’s Fury felt as it charged.
“Good!” Aerin praised. She watched John, studying him as he focused on the energy around him, knowing exactly what he was feeling. “Now let’s turn that into a shield!”
John stared towards his hands. He envisioned the Circuit, a completed circle using his body as a conduit. He saw the energy flowing about him and he began to channel it into something. Magic was anything you made it out to be, the power of the mind, the same way a Soul Spell was created. He remembered this and concentrated hard on the vision of a shield in his mind. He thought of a wall, something strong that could withstand anything. When he finally had his ideal vision, he pulled his hands apart quickly. A large Cypher spun around just in front of him. It stretched out, linking between his two hands, forming a wall in front of him.
“Look!” He shouted. “I did it!”
Just as he spoke, he felt his feet slide back on the dusty surface of the stone tower. A thin plume of smoke rose off the center of the shield, the remnants of an explosive spell. Aerin had just shot him in the same manner that Meredith had done the day before. There was a smile on her face and her right hand was still pointed in John’s direction.
“Let’s see how good it is.”
She clapped her hands together and charged a large volley of bolts that slammed headlong into John’s magical shield. Each blast pushed John back a little further and he did his best to dig his feet into the ground to keep him from moving any further; but with each subsequent hit, he could feel the shield growing weaker. Another bolt struck the shield, causing a small crack to form along the middle. That was bad, and what made it worse was that Aerin had noticed it too. With a laugh that implied she was having far too much fun, she increased her attacks and focused on the newfound weak point.
“Hey! Hold up!” John shouted over the sound of explosions.
“No way!” She yelled back.
The crack grew larger and John could feel the shield was about to break. There was no time to form a new one, he only had one option. John grit his teeth and funneled some of his own energy into the wall using his own internal circuits. He could feel the power drain from him, but what left him feeling empty made the shield grow stronger. The small cracks healed themselves and the shield grew in size as new Cyphers appeared all around it. Aerin's smile grew wider, as if John had issued her a challenge she had been hoping to receive.
She let up for a moment before she jumped into the air and unfurled her wings once more. She flew up and around John, continuously firing down at him. He was forced to turn and track her movements as she flew, absorbing each blast with the shield. Her attacks had becom
e fiercer, and in no time the shield was showing signs of wear again. In response, John funneled a little more energy to keep the shield alive, but he could feel his body growing weak.
"Come on!" He shouted as best he could. "Give it a rest!" He staggered backwards, falling down onto one knee to catch himself. His breathing had become heavy and ragged as he forced his body to remain vigilant against the Angel's attacks.
“Is this all you’ve got!” Aerin shouted and continued her onslaught. “Didn’t you kill Richard? Aren’t you the one that took down a rabid Hellhound?” She questioned. “You went up against a Succubus and lived! You risked everything to save me! Show me what you’ve got, John! Show me your power!”
Something about her words stirred something inside of John. He felt his Circuits begin to overload with energy that previously wasn’t there as a fire licked up around his feet. Slowly he forced himself to stand.
“You want power?!” He shouted back up at her.
Flames burned up around John as he let his powers run wild. His body changed, his muscles growing tighter and his hair standing on end as the flames wrapped around him. They faded, revealing his armor and his sword on his back held within its burning sheath. The flames blazed around him, shining a bright blue as he dug his feet into the dirt. It was time to end this. He funneled as much energy into the shield as he could manage without passing out. It grew stronger, much stronger than it had been before. Dozens of Cyphers opened up all around the shield, bolstering its size. John continued to track Aerin’s movements as he watched her through the center of the shield. He waited for a good shot, and once Aerin was inside of his makeshift crosshair, he forced his body to cooperate.
“How’s this for power?!”
He shouted and thrust his arms forward. His body cried out in pain as the energy was sucked from every cell inside of him. The shield collapsed in on itself and became an unstable weapon that fired up towards Aerin. She barely moved out of the way in time just as the bright beam of energy fired past her, nearly catching her off guard. She turned and watched the shield fly high into the sky before it exploded into a brilliant flash of blue. Down on the butte, John collapsed and barely caught himself with his hands, taking everything he had left to keep his face from hitting the dirt. He breathed heavily, the flames wrapping around him again, but this time his body changed back to his normal human state. He tried his best to energize himself, but everything inside him felt empty. Aerin touched down just ahead of him and he glanced up at her.
“You work well under pressure.” She said with a soft smile as she carefully helped him to his feet.
“You’re… You’re terrible. You know that?” John voiced his opinion, which garnered a well-deserved laugh from Aerin.
“I’m sorry.” She suddenly pulled John into a tight hug. The action had taken John by surprise, but he was in no position to complain. “I pushed you too far.”
“No, don’t… don’t worry about it.” John assured her. Suddenly his body felt reinvigorated. His muscles regained their strength as newfound energy coursed through them. His aches and pains faded away and he felt as if nothing had happened. “What did you just do?”
“I didn’t think you’d use so… much.” Aerin suddenly collapsed against John.
“Aerin? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” He questioned as he helped to stabilize her.
“I shared my energy with you…” She explained as she brought her hand to her head. “I didn’t expect you to use so much though…”
John sighed in relief as he helped her stand. With a snap of his fingers they were back next to the car. He slowly helped her into her seat and closed her door. John took one last look up at the sandy butte behind him. He smiled and shook his head before climbing into the car. With a tall dust cloud behind them, they were on their way.
Chapter Twenty Five
The drive was taking far longer than John had expected. He’d never been out this far on the road and were it not for Meredith’s GPS he wouldn’t know which way was which. The sandy red deserts of Utah had long since faded into the craggy rocks and green trees of the Colorado Rockies. John watched the trees fly by as they raced down the highway. It’d been the same view for the last few hours now.
To say it was boring would be an understatement. At least John had the roads to keep him occupied; Aerin on the other hand was a different case. She was an Angel, capable of flying anywhere she desired, but John was not. She was confined to this car, moving 75 miles an hour down an old highway that wound up the backside of the mountain. John thought it must be tough for her, but she didn’t seem to mind all too much. Her window was down and so was her long blonde hair. It danced round wildly from the wind that whipped into the car. She smiled, watching the world rush by beside her as she leaned against the door.
Things were going alright. John was in the car that he loved, beside him was the one girl he wanted to be beside the most, and ahead lay his home, of which a visit was now long overdue. The engine droned on, letting out a beautiful purr despite the hits it had taken. She still drove like a dream, a little beat up, but still a dream nonetheless.
“The death toll in Los Angeles continues to rise following the seven unexplained explosions yesterday.”
John had been listening to the broadcasts for some time now. He’d scrawled through every channel on the radio, searching for some kind of news. Even if he couldn’t be there, he wanted to know how things were going, if Meredith and Samuel were going to be alright. He knew they could handle themselves, but he still wanted more, and this was all he could do.
“The seven ground zero blast sites have been cordoned off as a joint task force of local law enforcement and Army Corps of Engineers search for the cause.“
John gripped the wooden steering wheel tightly. He knew what the cause was. He knew everything; he’d seen it all with his own eyes. These people, would they ever know? Could they ever know? What was stopping it from happening somewhere else? Irileth was still out there.
“We shouldn’t have left.” John thought aloud. Aerin had been watching him for a while now, noticing how tense he had gotten while listening to the broadcast. She reached over and touched his arm.
“Meredith wouldn’t let you leave if she needed you, John.” She smiled a little. “LA is her city; she wants to take care of this herself. It’s time we go back to ours.”
John nodded in agreement. He knew she was right, Meredith had said as much herself. That didn’t mean he had to like it though. There was so much work to be done in Los Angeles, and here he was, turning tail and running back home. As much as he wanted to see Station again on the other side of this mountain, he felt he was making a mistake.
“The National Guard has been deployed to the city as well as a stringent of humanitarian-“
The radio suddenly fell silent. John waited a moment to see if the station would resume, but it never did. He reached over and changed to another channel, nothing but static. He sighed and hit scan, letting the radio run through every channel it could detect. The frequencies on the display flashed quickly as it ran through the entire spectrum, never once stopping on another channel. With another heavy sigh, John leaned back into his seat.
“Great, now the radio’s busted.” Shifting around in his chair, he rested his arm on the window. “Add that to the list…”
The drive continued on for a while with only the sound of the wind to fill the car. The road stretched far into the distance, disappearing somewhere in the mountains that dominated the horizon. John’s gaze had been shifting for a while. He glanced away from the road toward his rear view mirror, then back to the road again. A little while would pass and he would do it once more. He was looking for something that he couldn’t seem to find. After a while, Aerin picked up on it and she watched him curiously.
“What’s up?” She asked.
“It’s probably nothing.” John tried to shake it off. He returned his focus back toward the road, but couldn’t avoid the nagging at the back of h
is head. “It’s just… I can’t remember the last time we passed another car.”
“Well it’s a long road.” Aerin observed as she turned around in her chair and gazed into the distance behind them.
“Yeah, it’s just…” John couldn’t shake the feeling in his gut. He wasn’t quite sure what to call it. Worry? Unease? The last time he had felt something similar he’d called it Slayer’s Intuition. “Something just doesn’t feel-“
“Hey look at this.” Aerin said, interrupting him. “I think this is broken now too…”
She pointed toward the GPS Meredith had installed into the console. The top half of the screen was white as the road they were on disappeared slowly off the screen. The blue triangle that represented the car continued on as the roads and markers vanished, having not loaded in yet. In the top right hand corner of the screen a small wheel spun round and round, showing that the device was attempting to connect to the satellites far overhead. The speakers in the car suddenly let out a sharp beep, one that sounded familiar, before going silent. The little wheel in the top corner ceased its spin and was replaced with a circle with a slash through it. All signals had been lost.
“What the hell?” John reached over and tapped on the screen. “It was working just fine a minute ago…”
“My phone’s dead too.” Aerin stated.
She leaned over and held her phone out to John. The little bars in the top corner had crossed out as well. Seeing this didn’t help alleviate the feeling in John’s gut, in fact it only made it worse. He tapped his fingernails against the wooden steering wheel slowly in thought as he continued on down the road.
“I’ve got a really bad feeling.” He said. “First the radio, then the GPS, and now your phone?” He circled his thumb across the top of the wheel over and over as worry began to set in. “Something’s wrong.”
“Maybe there’s something wrong with the towers?” Aerin said with a shrug.
“Maybe…” John glanced back down toward the console. “But the towers don’t control the GPS, satellites do.” Aerin didn’t have a response; instead she only stared forward as she thought. “We’ll pass through Shadowcrest first; maybe we could stop and see the Monks.”
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 46
