Magic Vs. Aliens: Hybrid Sorcerer: Book One - Return of Magic: Book Five

by D. R. Rosier

  Chapter Two

  The Colorado mountains by Katie’s sanctuary was even more beautiful than he remembered as they appeared outside the cave entrance. It looked rude and unremarkable, but he knew below the mountain and farther in it was a very well appointed and carved out like a rambling home filled with guest rooms, workout areas, labs, and a great library.

  He knew Katie called it Merlin’s sanctuary, but it was hers now whether she thought that way or not, at least in his mind. He decided to wait outside since he hadn’t been extended an invitation, it’d be as rude as someone entering another’s home after a four-year absence and cessation of training. It wasn’t long however before he felt both Katie’s and Bria’s life force head in their direction.

  His first glimpse of her sent his heart racing, she was more beautiful than he’d remembered. He’d thought his memory of her perfect, but it’d been flawed by time and distance. It wasn’t just her beauty, or sexy curves, it was her powerful presence that really hit him hard. She was wearing a pair of casual black jeans, boots, and lovely casual white blouse with red designs. Of course, under that she had her own skintight armor. But hers were actually made of silver dragon scales, a gift from Bria’s last molt, and far more effective than his leathers. Of course, his enchantments made up a lot of the difference, but her armor was naturally resistant to magic, and made her almost immune to normal weapons except for her uncovered head.

  Fortunately, despite the potent emotions he felt as seeing her once again, he was also a lot older. He was more used to the surges of strong desirous emotions in a grown man, and he gave her a small smile instead of standing there like a lightning struck dolt.

  “Katie, Bria, this is Sadie, my protector and best friend. We’re here to help,” he was more than a little proud of his confident relaxed tone, but Bria’s smirk in his direction told him at least one of them saw right through it. Of course, the dragon could hear his heart pounding and scent his emotions. Hopefully, the dragon didn’t give him away. He remembered her being somewhat of a tease, so it could go either way.

  Katie stared at him in shock for a moment, then shook her head, “Thanks for coming, we need to get going as soon as possible. I’m not even sure how many will survive the crashes. Last time there were almost two thousand dead still inside the ship when it was searched. Most likely the crash will kill them, so only those that abandon ship with parachutes will live.”

  He nodded, that shocked look must’ve meant Sadie was right, and Katie wasn’t over it or at least wanted an explanation before she could even consider getting to know him or being friends and allies. But now wasn’t the time.

  He muttered a few words, kind of a communication spell and illusion spell joined up as one. It took very little magic, because the communications were taking place over his life-link to his zombie bird. An illusion formed of the bird’s vision.

  “It looks like it’s going to come down right on the border. I haven’t seen anyone jump out, so maybe they already did? Given the flight path, they could be… no, never mind. You’re pulled to where they are right, not where the ship’s going to crash.”

  Katie grinned, “Yes. Exactly right, but it’s not quite that precise though. My guess could be off by fifty or a hundred miles either way at this distance. If it is, given the trajectory, they could be back in mid-Texas already after jumping ship. Very cool spell by the way, that one of your birds?”

  He nodded, “Yes, thanks. I have a few hundred of them scattered around the U.S. Beats walking there myself for the first time, though I’ve been riding the last year and not taking shortcuts.”

  He winced, as the ship slammed into the ground, threw up dust, bushes, and whole trees into the air, then exploded.

  Katie sighed, “That ship is… was huge. I still feel the pull, so you must’ve missed them jumping out. I can’t imagine anyone survived that. The pull I felt in the Pacific is getting weaker and weaker, I bet a bunch jumped and are slowly dying in the middle of the ocean.”

  He nodded, “We could go there, and then guess a distance, it can’t be all that far from there can it?”

  Katie bit her lip, “It could be, but they’d have been a hundred or more miles west from there at least, if they jumped out around thirty or forty thousand feet. I’ve been to McKinney, about seven years ago. North of Dallas.”

  He nodded, “Sounds good. You’d think they’d be able to tread water for a long time, four arms and all.”

  Katie giggled, “They have a very high bone and muscle density, about twice that of humans. They’ll sink like a stone in a very short time. It’d be like us treading water wearing a hundred-pound backpack. They’re also extremely strong and fast, don’t underestimate them.”

  He said, “That explains it. Horses, or are we bouncing around?”

  Katie nodded, “That first one. Let’s go.”

  He followed as she and Bria got their horses and started to saddle them.

  Sadie elbowed him the side rather pointedly.

  Oh hell. Pussy, he mentally goaded himself into action.

  “Katie? I just wanted to apologize for what happened back then? It was just an accident, of a slipped focus during a zombie summoning spell, and really bad timing. The rest of it was… the social ineptitude of a young boy who was shocked and rather stunned. I should’ve turned away, but I was frozen by a powerful surge of emotions I wasn’t quite prepared to deal with.”

  Katie tilted her head, “A zombie summoning spell?”

  He cleared his throat, “That’s what I call it, but what it actually does is summon a person or creature through my life force link, or as I found out that day on accident, the life force of anyone within my mile range even without a direct connection, if they accidentally become the focus of my spell.”

  Bria snickered.

  Katie whapped her friend with the reigns, before bridling the horse.

  “Thank you for telling me. I was over it of course, it was four years ago, and you were just a mid-teen, but it’s good to know what was really going through your mind and it wasn’t…”

  Bria said, “Creepy, the word your looking for is creepy.”

  Katie glared, and he laughed, “That’s what I was afraid you might believe, which is why I had to explain, besides needing to apologize since I was too mortified to back then. You’re a family friend, Katie, and we do have history together. I hope we can move forward more easily as allies, and maybe friends?”

  Bria grinned at him evilly, “So, tell us more about this surge of emotions you were ill-equipped to deal with.”

  Katie blushed, “She gets like this when she hasn’t eaten in a week. I’m sorry to admit that I had wondered if you’d done it on purpose. I’m glad that’s not the case. We can drop it now,” she said firmly to Bria, then turned back to him, “I’d like that, the friend part, it’s good to see you again. You too Sadie.”

  Sadie smiled and nodded.

  It was a little awkward after the apology, bringing up the past and all that, but he figured that would pass quickly enough and they could get to know each other. Though, between Bria and Sadie both being teases, it might be more complicated than he’d hoped. At the very least, he felt the relief at the air being cleared between them.

  Still, his impression of her was already changed to a certain extent. She looked scared for one thing, and he felt that fear too. He wasn’t there lightly, and he knew the stakes was the balance itself and their very lives. She also didn’t seem as commanding, but then he was no longer a boy apprentice, which was the whole point.

  They’d figure it out, and he’d be happy when they were friends, and that stupid boyhood crush was gone. He still felt it, she was absolutely mesmerizing, but he wasn’t going to let on he felt that way, and he was in control of himself.

  The two of them led their horses over, and Katie went through the teleport spell. It was mid-June, so already really hot down in Texas when they appeared.

  He said another quick spell himself, not focusing on his r
andom birds so he’d have one in each state, but his hunting birds. It was also a little more advanced, since he pulled on four life links at once. Four undead great hawks appeared in the air over their heads, and they flew off in the four cardinal directions in rising circles. It cost more magic too, but he still had plenty left in the two bracers, and he hadn’t filled them even once today yet. He was still working on yesterday’s magic allotment. Meaning he could still fill them twice today when it did run out.

  He suspected it just might be needed, since they were hunting down who knew how many four-armed homicidal aliens.

  Katie smiled at him, “Zombie summoning. Nice. So, they’re on the lookout?”

  He nodded, “Their intelligence is limited, but good enough to understand four-armed man. They’ll get my attention if they see anything.”

  McKinney itself was named for being near the much bigger version. It looked to be a farming community of about two to three thousand at a guess. Most of the communities and village centers were pretty similar, most humans thought the same when it came to that kind of thing. There was a government building, several stores, wagons, stables, general store, blacksmith, tanner, hunting supplies, clothing, and many more. Including a whorehouse. All those different types of stores seemed to be a pretty steady thing from town to town, including the latter.

  Even in the old-world men had usually had the most dangerous jobs, and they were more likely to die from accidents. This new world they’d been living in for a generation was even more skewed that way. There were a lot more adult women than adult males, even if the birth rate split hadn’t really changed. Of course, it was quite a bit better than that first generation in the new world, but given the current state of the world a lot of those unattached women had turned to the oldest profession to not only survive, but prosper in this new harsh world.

  Katie said, “I don’t feel any in range, but my sense is telling me they’re close, no more than ten or fifteen miles to the east.”

  He snorted. How did he forget about that? He should’ve waited. He’d have only had to summon one of the large hunting birds as a scout. He only had four of them, the rest of his birds were small, like sparrows, and his ground animals were usually squirrels or mice.

  “I’ll send all four that way in a semi-circle pattern.

  Katie nodded, “They’re not moving yet, so they must be taking stock, or their commander is. Let’s start that way, and you’ll be able to give us the numbers we’re facing before we’re halfway there.”

  He said, “Sounds like a plan.”

  He used a small bit of magic to power up his armored enchantments as they mounted. They’d last about two days after being powered, unless of course they were hit by something. He tended to just activate them when battle was close. The four of them headed east, it was off road, but it was pretty flat land so the horses should be fine.

  Bria said, “I’ll stick to the ground for now, don’t want them to scatter on us.”

  He grinned. He could believe that. Bria was as terrifying as she was beautiful in her dragon form with bright shiny silver scales and the size of a small house not counting the tail, sinewy neck, and head. She was also rather fetching in human form as well. Her hair looked like a waterfall made of silver, and her eyes were an ochre yellow, but otherwise her face and curvaceous body could easily pass for human. She had an angelic face, pure ethereal beauty with soft cheekbones, and at five foot four her bountiful D cups, tiny waist, and lovely flared hips made her look more waspishly sexy than hourglass.

  She was actually more than a little tempting that way, but he’d never had a crush on her. She was both too available and too unavailable at the same time. She was in her wild dragon youth and not looking for anything more than sex, and her future mate was already spoken for. In short, she’d hop in his bed in a second, but he’d never be able to keep her there.

  He was nineteen, and wasn’t really looking for anything too serious, but he did want the possibility of love there if he got involved. A relationship with potential, even if it was never met, seemed like the point to him. Given the household he was raised in with the example of his parents that was no surprise.

  Bria was also a powerhouse of magic and life as a dragon that made him and Katie look like candle flames next to a bonfire.

  Katie frowned over at him, “Any advancements on fighting since I was monitoring your progress? What are your usual tactics?”

  He said, “Good question. I continued my sword work, trained by Lin, Kim, and Sadie. Sadie’s been working me out that way the last year, so I haven’t lost my edge, but I’ve never actually needed to use those skills in a real battle. I’m not sure my usual tactics would be the best in this fight. My goals the last year have been to take out the trash I find, and stockpile life force in my scattered zombie animals. So I’ve just been paralyzing and holding with magic or life force and letting Sadie finish it.

  “As far as my magic, I’ve mostly been working on control and non-violent spells of aid or convenience. Between you and mom, my combat magic had been pretty well developed four years ago.”

  Katie nodded, “The aliens have some magic resistance, and are very strong willed. It’ll take a lot more magic to hold them than a normal human. I’m also not sure if their lifeforce will be compatible, since they don’t belong here and are outside Gaia’s mantle. There also very strong, and may crush right through your guard, so lean on dodging more than blocking if it comes to melee.

  “I think the best thing would be to have Sadie and Bria, who are a match for them in strength and speed, guard us from any that get too close, while we take them down with magic. We’ll also try to find somewhere within range we can use as a funnel, to prevent them from easily surrounding us. They can do it faster than you can imagine if we’re stuck with open land like this.

  “Lastly, I have an emergency teleport enchantment. It’s locked on my home but it’s a lot faster to activate than to cast a teleport spell. There’s no need for a last stand if we’re getting overwhelmed, we’ll retreat, reassess, adapt, and come for them again.”

  He nodded, “If their life is incompatible, that leaves out some spell possibilities. I have a teleport enchantment as well just in case. I’ll follow your lead on the tactics.”

  Katie smiled, “Use lightning, or fire. Normally I wouldn’t suggest anything that showy or wasteful magic wise, but in this case, it will actually be cheaper magic wise than trying to use magic directly on their bodies.”

  He nodded, that made sense. With human enemies, showy magic intimidates, but it cost a whole lot less magic to freeze their brains, or simply stop a heart with a spell, than it would take to launch lightning or fire. But if they were magically resistant using magic on them directly like that would consume more instead of less. A bolt of lightning or a fireball on the other hand, is indirect magic. It’s the lightning or fire that would kill them, not the magic itself.

  It was a little ironic, because he’d been taught never to use those types of spells. Only idiotic or sadistic sorcerers would waste the power to look showy and cause fear. Magically resistant aliens changed the rules apparently.

  His hawks reached the enemy, and it was quite an intimidating sight.

  “Katie, there’s close to six thousand of them,” he said calmly, as if it was no big deal. He was a little proud of that, because he was intimidated by that number.

  She pursed her lips, “I suspect there was more than ten times that on the ship. It was big enough that I think they would’ve started colonies with them. We were all supposed to be dead by now.”

  He nodded, “There’s some low hills in the area, some woods, but no buildings or a place we can funnel them for a bottleneck. It’s just wilderness. They’re wearing some kind of armored suit, but I’m not seeing any weapons.”

  She replied, “The suits aren’t powered for obvious reasons, but they’re meant to be. On their own they’re about as strong as Kevlar. Aim your spells at their heads.”

 
Bria said, “You two will run out of magic long before you can kill six thousand.”

  That was pretty obvious to him as well. Area of effect spells might be more efficient to use in that case, but those cost a whole lot more magic too, so it evens out unless they’re really packed in tight.

  “I think I’ve identified the leader.”

  Katie looked at him and then Bria, “Take the leader out first. What are you suggesting, Bria?”

  Bria snorted, “That fifteen hundred to one odds is insane. We might do a little better with me in the air since they have no distance weapons, I could take them out by the scores. But then I can’t protect you, and if you’re forced to teleport out then you’ll leave me behind.”

  Katie asked him, “Any suggestions?”

  He said, “I think we can get within a mile without being detected. It’d be good to know if my life magic will work on them at all. I’m also worried they might run, being without weapons, would our horses even keep up with them?”

  Bria giggled, “Ahh, the exuberant inexperience of youth. He’s actually worried they might retreat.”

  Sadie shrugged, “No one will want to run into a thresher of magic, especially unarmed. It’s not an unreasonable thought.”

  Katie shook her head, and said, “Bria could’ve been more tactful, but she isn’t wrong, a human might run away but that does seem unlikely based on what we know about them. They’re very accomplished at hand to hand. They’ll use weapons if they find them, but they’re incredibly aggressive to any perceived threats. We need to take out as many as we can and then retreat when we’re out of magic. Is there anything we can use to prevent them from surrounding us?”

  He shook his head, “We could make something, a crude fortification around us, but they might just climb over a stone wall, or jump it if they’re that strong and fast.”

  Katie sighed, “That’s better than nothing.”