by Bonnie Lamer
I can hear the fear in his words. Not for the universe, but for me, his daughter, and for Kallen. Hugging him back, I say softly, “It’s going to be okay. We’ve got this.” I instill more confidence in my words than I actually feel. I don’t like what he said about the Phoenix being untrustworthy. Like this wasn’t going to be hard enough.
Stepping back and masking his fear again, Dagda raises a brow and teases, “Perhaps you should work on your grammar while you are gone.”
I roll my eyes and step through the passageway. “Always the grammar police.” I close the passageway on his chuckling.
Turning to the small crowd in the living room, I tell them, “Again, I’d love to give you a tour, but that will have to wait until next time.”
“Understood,” Eliana nods. “How many of us can you teleport at once?”
“I could probably do everyone, but let’s do two trips just to be safe. You, Kallen and I will go first. Once we determine the coast is clear, I’ll come back for the others.” I can tell Josh isn’t thrilled with the plan, but he reluctantly nods.
“How long will it take?” Jenna asks.
“If there is no one around, I’ll be back in a few seconds,” I tell her. I hold my hands out to Kallen and Eliana. “You guys make yourselves comfortable,” I say to Josh, Jenna and Sam. “I’ll be right back.” I teleport the rest of us away.
It only takes a second to figure out we are in the right place. Ugh. I forgot how hot it is in the desert. Immediately, the desire to peel off my jeans and sweater hits me when we appear in the sand miles outside of Cairo. That would probably seem inappropriate to the others, so I refrain. It’s a good thing I remembered my deodorant, though. “Wow, you lived here for a year?” I complain, looking around for danger as I speak and seeing nothing but sand and harsh sunlight.
“You get used to it,” Eliana assures me. Gazing over the sand as well, Eliana scowls. “There’s someone coming. You should hurry and get the others before they arrive.”
I don’t like the worry lines forming around her eyes, but she’s right. I need to get the others before we’re observed. “I’ll be right back.” With a last look around, I teleport away. But in the split second before I leave, too late to stop what I am doing, I am convinced I hear the sound of engines and then gun shots. I really hope it was my imagination playing tricks on me. Though, desert mirages tend to involve water, not bullets.
8 Chapter
Back in Colorado, I am faced with a dilemma. I know Josh well enough to know that he would kill me if Eliana was in danger and I didn’t bring him to her. He also has training from the government, and I didn’t miss the fact that he decided to arm himself before leaving this realm earlier. On the other hand, Jenna and Sam could be major liabilities if there is danger when we return. Ultimately, I decide to leave the decision to Josh. He knows his friends better than I do.
Finding the three I left behind a moment ago standing exactly where I left them, I blurt out, “I think when I left Kallen and Eliana were under attack.”
Instantly in warrior mode, Josh asks, “By who?”
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. “But, I’m pretty sure I heard gun shots right when I teleported away. I couldn’t reverse the process,” I add, not wanting them to think I ran away from the danger. I put a hand up to stop a barrage of questions from the three of them. “First, Kallen would have put up a wall of magic as soon as he heard the weapon discharge. It would have been instinctual. And we all know Eliana would do the same in her way. I’m sure they’re fine. My concern,” I glance at Jenna and Sam before returning my gaze to Josh, “is how to proceed.”
“Can you shield us?” Josh asks. He knows the answer to that, so I am assuming he is asking for Sam and Jenna’s sakes.
“Yes.”
“Then bring us all back. I don’t like the idea of leaving them here.”
“Um, neither do we,” Sam concurs. Concern is etched on Jenna’s face, but she nods, as well.
I want to argue, because bringing non-magical people into danger goes against my instincts. But, I also want to get back. I know Kallen and Eliana can take care of themselves, but that doesn’t make it any easier not being there with them. Ultimately, I decide to abide by Josh’s decision so I can get back there myself. “Okay, let’s go.”
As I prepare to teleport again, I create a wall of magic around the three of us. I have never tried to teleport a wall of magic with me before. We’ll see how this works out.
It turns out that it works just fine. Good thing because bullets are flying. To our left, right where I left them, Eliana and Kallen are fending off an attack of a very human nature. Two trucks filled with armed men are shooting at them, and now at Jenna, Josh, Sam and me. The shock of us suddenly appearing doesn’t slow down the attack in the slightest.
“What’s going on?” I shout to Kallen.
“They arrived just as you left. They began their attack as soon as they noticed us,” my husband shouts back. That was rather unfriendly of them. The bullets are ricocheting off Kallen’s magic just like they are mine. He is so easily reflecting them that Eliana hasn’t even bothered to use her power yet.
“I believe it was some sort of weapons deal!” Eliana calls back.
“Great,” I mutter under my breath. “Seems like they work!” I return. Though, the buyer may now have less ammunition to purchase.
Eliana turns to Kallen and says something to him that those of us in my magical dome can’t hear. Whatever it is, he doesn’t like it. He shakes his head, but Eliana continues to speak. Eventually, Kallen nods. I am about to ask what is going on when I see for myself. Kallen lets his magic around Eliana go. Then, as if she has the ability to teleport, she is gone. Except, she’s not really gone. She is just moving too fast for our eyes to track her.
In front of us, the guys in the truck begin disappearing. It takes a moment for those left to notice and start freaking out. About a hundred yards in the distance, they begin to pile up. Unarmed and unconscious. Eliana is taking them out one at a time. The freaked out guys with the guns try to find her, firing their weapons in all directions now, and doing more harm to each other than us. If it wasn’t for the fact that these guys are trying to kill us, it would be rather fascinating watching their idiocy. This is like watching the bad guys in a live action, superhero comic book.
It only takes a couple of minutes for Eliana to finish up. When she has the last of them on her unconscious bad guy pile, she finally slows her pace. It still amazes me she can move that fast. I can’t even keep up with Kallen on his morning jog on the beach. I really should exercise more. Not that it would ever make me as fast as Eliana, though.
After a quick scouting run around the area, Eliana finally comes back to us. She hasn’t even broken a sweat. Impressive since it’s at least two hundred degrees out here. Being unaccustomed to the heat may be causing me to exaggerate slightly.
With a grateful smile, Eliana says, “Thanks for keeping these guys safe while I did that.”
I shrug. “What are friends for?” My eyes narrowing, I accuse, “You knew danger was coming before I left.”
With a guilty shrug, Eliana says, “I had an idea.”
This time it is Josh narrowing his eyes at her. “An idea?”
“Fine, I sensed they were a threat,” Eliana admits. “But, we couldn’t just let them get away with whatever they were doing.”
With a resigned shake of his head, Josh kisses her cheek. “That’s just one of the reasons I love you. You always do the right thing.”
“Next time, a little heads up would be nice,” I complain.
With a sheepish smile, Eliana says, “If I had told you, you would have stayed instead of going back for the others. I figured Kallen and I could handle these guys.”
“Are they gun runners?” Sam asks, moving toward the trucks to investigate.
“Looks like it,” Josh replies with a grimace.
Nonplussed, Kallen asks, “What is a gun runner?” How stran
ge for him to be on the other side of the knowledge spectrum. Secretly, I kind of like it.
Josh is the one to answer him. “People who illegally sell weapons. I think we interrupted a deal.”
Shielding her eyes and glancing from the sun to the bad guy pile, Jenna asks, “What do we do with them? We can’t just leave them out here unconscious. They will die.”
“Which could save a lot of lives,” Sam mutters which earns him a glare from his more compassionate girlfriend.
Josh shakes his head. “Others would just take their place.”
Eliana is pulling out her cell phone. “I’ll call Agent Amman.” She moves a few feet away and makes the call to the Egyptian government agent she has worked with in the past. The one whose family we helped save the last time Kallen and I were in Egypt. After an animated conversation that we can’t hear, Eliana comes back to us. “I think I just made his month,” she says with a smile.
“How long until he gets here?” Josh asks.
“He’s getting in his car now and was calling for back up as soon as we hung up,” Eliana tells him. “Maybe half an hour.”
Frowning, Kallen asks, “How will he know where to go? We are in the middle of nowhere.”
“He pinged my cell phone for a GPS location,” Eliana explains. When she realizes he has no clue what that means, she adds, “My phone is emitting a signal, and he can use satellites to find it. That will give him the coordinates he needs to find this exact location.”
Kallen nods in understanding. “Handy,” he says. He is often amazed at how Cowans compensate for not having magic.
“Except for the fact that anyone, from any government, can do that with anyone’s cell phone,” Sam points out wryly.
Josh chuckles. “I doubt anyone is currently pinging your cell phone.”
“No, but they could,” Sam grumbles.
Jenna leans around Sam and explains, “He’s a conspiracy theorist.”
“Ah, got it,” I reply with a grin. Though, what he is saying is true. I remember that from growing up in this realm. Privacy and cell phones do not necessarily go hand in hand.
Looking around nervously, Jenna asks us, “Can you sense anyone else?”
I look to Eliana. “You are the one who can sense non-magical beings, not us.”
“Really?” Jenna asks in surprise.
“It is another being’s magic we sense, not their person,” Kallen explains.
“Score one for Eliana,” Sam says with a prideful smile in his friend’s direction.
Eliana scowls. “It’s not a competition.”
“But, it is still impressive,” I assure her. “Trust me, there are a lot of people back home who would be jealous.” One of the few things that make Cowans a threat to supernatural beings is their ability to sneak up on us.
Not wanting any more flattery sent her way, Eliana takes a moment to scan the area with her senses. Finally, she shakes her head. “No one else.”
“That doesn’t mean others are not on their way,” Josh says. “They may have called for backup when you guys showed up.”
“Good point,” Eliana says with a nod. “We should probably move closer to the trucks so we’re not out in the open.”
“You mean so we’re not out in the open,” Sam says with a sigh as he points to himself and Jenna. “Sucks being magicless and vulnerable.”
Jenna laughs. “You poor baby.” She grabs his hand and pulls him toward one of the trucks.
Kallen is already there looking over the weapons the men were planning to sell. Josh joins him and begins explaining what each thing is. I find it mildly interesting, but I’ve seen enough movies not to be that impressed. I’m just glad these particular weapons will not make it to their intended destination. How odd that we landed in the desert right where an arms deal was supposed to go down. The odds of that must be astronomical.
Twenty minutes later, Agent Amman’s SUV is coming toward us and kicking up a huge sand cloud in its wake. He parks a few yards away and jumps out of the car. A wide grin covers his face as he pulls Eliana into a hug. “I did not know if I would ever see you again since you started working for your government.”
Eliana returns his grin, but says, “I’m not a prisoner, you know.” Sam snorts behind her, but she ignores him.
After greeting the rest of us, Agent Amman turns his attention to the pile of unconscious bad guys. “Very tidy of you,” he comments, meaning it as a compliment. Looking at his watch, he continues, “In about three minutes, there is going to be a swarm of agents here.” He looks up at us. “I suggest you get going.”
Josh cocks a brow. “Going with the anonymous tip lie?”
“Some of the best information comes in anonymously,” Agent Amman says in confirmation.
Kallen gestures toward the pile of bad guys. “What about when they begin talking about magic?” he asks out of curiosity.
Agent Amman grins. “Do you really think these men will be taken seriously? That is, if they even decide to admit that they were bested by several young, unarmed people?”
“Not likely,” Josh says. “Their street cred would be shot.”
“True,” Sam concurs.
“Thank you,” Eliana says with a grateful smile to Agent Amman.
He shakes his head. “No need for thanks. Explaining your presence would be a political nightmare for all of us.”
Grimacing, Josh agrees. “Without a doubt.”
The agent doesn’t need to tell us twice. We are more than ready to get out of here. After a quick round of good byes, everyone gathers around me. When they are touching me, I teleport us away. I am not planning to go far, just a couple of miles from this area so as not to be discovered by the swarm of agents coming.
As soon as we are caught in my magic, though, I feel a sharp tug. Like the magnetic pull of a compass showing me the way. Feeling no malice behind it, I do not hesitate to follow. Especially when I realize I felt a smaller one the first time I teleported. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence after all that we ended up at that particular spot in the desert right as an arms deal was going on.
9 Chapter
Our reappearance is a little bumpy since I am not used to teleporting so many people at once, and they are not used to being teleported. Jenna stumbles and causes Sam to fall on his butt in the hot sand. Josh holds a hand out to him and helps him up.
“Well, that was fun,” Sam grumbles, brushing the burning sand from his hands and pants.
Kallen isn’t paying attention to them. His eyes are focused on me. “What was that?” he asks.
So, he felt the pull, too. “I suspect Eliana has a better answer than I do,” I tell him honestly.
Sure enough, Eliana’s eyes are already searching for something. “Ra showed her the way,” she says simply, her eyes still scanning the horizon.
“What?” Josh asks in surprise.
“Ra’s magic touched Xandra’s, showing her which direction to go,” Eliana explains over her shoulder.
“Why didn’t he do that the first time?” Sam asks reasonably.
With a shrug, Eliana says, “He did. I guess he wanted us to take care of that mess back there.” Which is why Eliana was much less surprised than the rest of us that danger was afoot. With a fond smile, she says, “He does have a special place in his heart for Egypt, after all. He hates the violence and crime that plagues it.” Turning her attention back to the task at hand, she says, “It’s around here somewhere. The temple Ra built for the Phoenix.” So, it is a temple. Good to know. Eliana begins to walk forward, but the rest of us hang back giving her space to walk freely.
Shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun on the sand, Jenna calls to her friend, “Is it buried under the sand? Because I don’t see a thing.”
“After thousands of years, it must be,” Sam says.
“Do you sense anything?” I ask Kallen. I can’t feel any magic in the area, but he is more in tune with his senses in that regard than I am.
He shakes his head.
“I suspect the wards in place prevent magical detection.”
“Hopefully Ra remembers exactly where it is, then,” I say out of the corner of my mouth.
“Here!” Eliana calls from twenty yards away. “It’s here!” I guess he remembers.
“I hope she means it is buried in the sand. Otherwise, the heat is making her hallucinate,” Sam mutters to Jenna. His snark is rewarded with an elbow to the ribs, but I can’t help a smile. Honestly, I was thinking the same thing.
Joining Eliana, I ask, “How do we get to it?”
“We dig,” Eliana replies wryly.
“No one mentioned there would be hard physical labor,” Sam grumbles.
“I suspect she means with magic,” Josh points out. “We should probably stand back.”
“Do you need help?” I ask Eliana.
She shakes her head. “Not for this part.”
“Okay, we’ll be over there, then,” I tell her, taking Kallen’s hand and doing as Josh suggested. He, Jenna and Sam join Kallen and me about thirty yards away.
When we are a safe distance from her, Eliana calls on her power. The air around her begins to shimmer, and the sand around her feet begins to dance. The tiny grains lift from their resting places and become a wall of sand. From where we are standing, it soon looks like a massive sandstorm about to bury us all and leave us for dead. But, I know from experience that Eliana’s power will not bring harm to those she cares about. We are safe from the effects. The sand moves harmlessly to the side instead of heading toward us and returns silently to the earth a few hundred feet away in a huge pile.
Around her, giant dunes of sand continue to form as Eliana focuses on the one spot she wants to clear. With her power to move the earth, and her power over the wind, she is digging a hole of massive proportions. This is not a quick process. It takes time to dig so deeply through the sand and safely displace it. She is making sure we don’t find ourselves the victims of a sand avalanche when we near whatever it is she is clearing. Which I appreciate. I would assume that being buried alive in hot sand would totally suck. At least Kallen and I could magic our way out. If Jenna or Sam got caught up in an avalanche of sand, they would suffocate if we couldn’t get to them in time. Or be crushed. That much sand would have some serious weight associate with it, wouldn’t it?
