Freedom (The Sorcerers' Scourge Book 4)

by Michael Arches

  When I calmed down, I said, “Ready to go, Captain,”

  I settled back in my seat, and the front of the boat slipped back into the water. We paddled backwards until Ian could point us toward shore.

  “I hope you enjoyed the circumnavigation of the islands,” Ian said.

  “It was fantastic!” Christina said. “I’m going to have lots of stories to tell. All the kids are going to be so jealous.”

  My diving overboard was no doubt going to be a popular story soon. It was going to be a long time before I lived this experience down, if I ever did. Mother Nature definitely had it in for me.

  For the moment, though, I pushed that out of my mind. I needed to pay attention to Ian’s instructions.

  We paddled smoothly toward shore, another ho-hum day out on the water, and the exercise warmed me even more. Right before we got to the area where the waves began to break, Ian said, “It’s much easier to catch a wave and ride it in instead of resisting.”

  And that’s exactly what we did. Ian waited for a minute to find the right wave. Then he said to us, “Paddle like mad. We need to be going almost as fast as the wave when it catches us.”

  Just as the foam began to bubble around both kayaks, he said, “That’s good. Hold on tight.”

  It was just like one of those old beach movies, except we rode very strange-looking surfboards. The same wave carried both kayaks all the way to the sandy shore.

  Standing on dry land seemed special. I could finally relax again.

  -o-o-o-

  ON THE WAY back to the vineyard, Laura and Tess talked the most, maybe because they’d be parting ways on Friday morning. I didn’t realize until the ride back they were such close friends. Far be it from me to suck up some of the precious time they had together. Plus, my mind wouldn’t settle on anything to say except, how could I have been so stupid?

  When they’d seemed to talk themselves out for the moment, I asked a related question, “What will it cost to get a promise from each of you that you won’t talk about my little mess up?”

  Christina giggled but said nothing.

  Ian snickered. “A lot more money than you’ve got.”

  “Hush,” Laura said. “If you want us to keep that little foible to ourselves, of course we will. We all have weaknesses, and I could tell you some stories about Ian that would shock and appall you.”

  “It doesn’t matter what we promise,” Ian said. “The next time you run into Gill, he’ll see it all in your head. He’ll burst out laughing, and nothing on this earth will keep him from telling the world. Deal with it.”

  “Ian’s right,” Tess said. “Sorry.”

  The SUV stayed quiet, and I began to ponder how the clan would react to the news. Relationships had never been my strong suit. One of the few unsung advantages of being a slave was that I didn’t have many relationships to worry about. Now, particularly back in Monterey, everybody would have an opinion about the new fighter Ian had hired to save their asses from the sharks that swim on the land.

  “How about we do this?” I asked. “What if Ian, Laura, and Christina laughed at me all they want while were in Napa, but they get it out of their system before we get to Monterey? Do any of the witches down there know how to read minds like Gill?”

  Laura smiled. “He’s one-of-a-kind. Ian is getting pretty good at reading thoughts, too, but he’ll promise to keep his mouth shut, won’t you darling?”

  He didn’t answer for a moment. “Okay, fine. It’s not like I gossip about you to the folks back home anyway.”

  “Mom!” Christina said. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Yes, dear, and I’m sure your very good friend Moira will deeply appreciate your sacrifice.”

  Christina grumbled to herself and frowned but didn’t openly challenge her mother. That was the difference between an eight-year-old and a fifteen-year-old.

  The conversation changed to other things, and when we got back to the vineyard, Christina seemed to be back to her happy young self.

  We were met at the front entrance to the main building by Katie and Travis who both seemed to be recovering nicely. Christina jumped out of the SUV, ran up to Katie, and said, “You won’t believe what Moira did on the kayak. Smacked a shark and fell into the ocean.”

  Katie looked at me, her eyes open wide. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  I shrugged. It Christina hadn’t played up so much, I probably would’ve gone along with the joke, but just to spite her, I said “Only a little minnow. No big deal.”

  Ian apparently felt the same way I did because he said, “Just a little fishy. Nothing to write home about. Christina knows that if you can’t say something nice, you don’t say anything at all.”

  “Excellent words to live by,” Katie said. “Come on inside everyone. Dinner will be served soon.”

  Laura led Christina into the old mansion, but I didn’t think for a moment that the story would die there.

  It didn’t. All through dinner, which Christina missed for some reason, everybody took turns teasing me about what a great fisherman I was. I kept telling myself that if that was the worst thing they managed to pin on me, it would be a miracle.

  When everyone used up all their ammo against me, I smiled and thanked our host for a lovely dinner. Then I went back to my room and read. Instead of leprechaun porn, which would’ve been a lot more fun, I studied Holar’s fighting fables.

  The stories reminded me of Aesop’s fables. I’d been homeschooled by my mother, and she dosed us girls hard with ancient moral teachings. Aesop’s stories had been much easier to swallow than most. It didn’t hurt that he’d also been a slave.

  It turned out, that each Holar fable showed a situation where a witch was in trouble, usually being attacked, and the witch would overcome his opponent by using a particular spell. The stories provided detailed steps for conjuring each spell.

  -o-o-o-

  Thursday, January 21st

  BEFORE BREAKFAST, I knocked on Ian and Laura’s room to run with them. He came out into the hallway. “Laura’s nursing the baby, so it’ll be a few minutes.”

  This was his perfect opportunity to tell me he was no longer interested in me as a disciple, and who could blame him after yesterday’s disasters, but he didn’t pull me aside for a conversation about what a fuckup I was.

  Instead, we all went out for a run, and I managed to keep up a little better. Even if this guy couldn’t teach me much magic, he was going to get me into better shape. That couldn’t hurt in the battles to come.

  After breakfast, everyone gathered in a temple within the main building. Brigitte gave me a simple white robe to wear. Gill and Ian appeared in much fancier monks’ habits, also white.

  As the time for me to pledge myself to Ian approach, my nervousness grew. The basic fact was that I was giving up my freedom, but if it would help me to get Dana, Cara, and Mom back, it was well worth the sacrifice.

  Gill conducted the ceremony in Gaelic, so I didn’t understand much. He stood at an elaborate altar, and he lit a large white candle at eye level to his right. When he motioned for me to come forward, I knelt in front of him on my knees. He asked me, “Do you, of your own free will, agree to serve as the loyal apprentice of Rí benn Ian O’Rourke, to honor him as your master, to keep his secrets safe, and to obey him as your lord?”

  It took more effort to speak than I’d expected, but I said, “I do.”

  Gill recited a lot more lyrical and unknown words. Then we got to real deal. He parted my hair in the back at the neckline and used a ceremonial Celtic dagger, an athamé, to draw blood from the back of my neck. The blade must’ve been razor-sharp because I barely felt the cut.

  He spoke more mumbo-jumbo as he inserted the tip of the athamé into the candle’s flame. My blood burned and turned into tendrils of smoke. At the same instant, I felt some pressure on my heart, but it was nothing like the weight of slavery. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as I�
�d feared. He was a man, and they were invariably trouble, but he couldn’t be any worse than Tanner.

  In the end, everyone clapped and congratulated me. They obviously thought I was getting a much better deal than I deserved.

  Hopefully, they were right. Ian could tell me to do anything he wanted, and I wouldn’t have a choice, except to give him one week’s notice if I wanted to end our deal. So that was a lot better than slavery.

  -o-o-o-

  OUR HOSTS SERVED champagne and pastries. Christina had apparently forgotten my screw-ups the day before, because she was the first to give me a hug.

  “You’re going to be so great,” she said.

  One by one, the others came up to me and instead spoke some variation of, “He’s going to be so great for you.”

  I was more aware than anyone of my limitations, and I agreed with all of them.

  For the rest of the day, I tried to spend as much time as possible with Gill, Katie, Travis, and Tess. There was no telling when I’d see them again.

  The rest of my time, I studied Holar’s book. It taught witches how to conjure nineteen different spells, mostly attacks. That seemed like more than enough, and the real question would be whether I could manage to perform any of them.

  I wasn’t even sure that I’d need to. I’d never fought a witch before, so I’d never seen Holar magic in action. The gossip in sorcerer circles had been that Dunarsh magic was more powerful.

  I’d soon get the chance to put that claim to the test. If it was true, I keep using dark magic to fight. The only downside was that witches would continue to shun me. I didn’t know most of them anyway, so it was a small price to pay for winning. The only real question was what kind of magic would work best against Dana’s new owner, Don Eichmann.

  After lunch, I pulled Ian aside.

  I didn’t have the right to ask whatever came into my head anymore, but the worst he could do would be to ignore my question. “Excuse me, your highness, sir, but I was wondering what you know about Eichmann.”

  “You really do have a snotty side, don’t you?”

  “Not at all. I’m the puniest of beings, a flea in comparison to your princely eminence. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder about him.”

  In hindsight, I probably should’ve held off on the snark until after he’d answered my question, but it was too late to backtrack. And he needed to know I wasn’t an ass-kisser.

  Any of my former owners, would’ve smacked me senseless, but Ian merely blew out a breath. “As I mentioned before, we work with a private detective agency that’s great at finding sorcerers. They’ve given me a three-page dossier on Eichmann, and Gracie will pass it to you when we get to Monterey. Keep it safe, at all costs. We really don’t want the opposition to learn how far we’ve infiltrated into their secret world.”

  I saluted. “I’ll guard it with my life, and that’s not snark.”

  Ian nodded. “Basically, he’s going to be quite a challenge for you. He lives way outside of my region, so I can’t go after him. When the time comes that you do, you’ll have to take personal time. More importantly, he’s quite the fighter. The prick’s almost as big as me, and he’s been kicking asses for a lot longer. Because he’s much stronger than you, you’re going to have to rely on magic to beat him. We’ll get started on your training on Saturday.”

  “The training can’t come fast enough, and I thank you for your help. Otherwise, what are your standing orders, sir?”

  His eyes narrowed. I could tell he didn’t like the formality, which was even more reason to keep it up going. Nobody could criticize me for being too deferential, and it was a slight reminder that he’d grabbed most of the power in our relationship.

  “In general,” he said, “always be honest and forthcoming with me, Laura, Gracie, Gill, and the Seabreeze Council. Obey them as you would me. Other directives to follow.”

  Chapter 16

  Friday, January 22nd

  IAN, CHRISTINA, LAURA, Rascal, and I left the vineyard right after breakfast. The hardest part was saying goodbye to Katie. That hurt, a lot. She’d almost become family in the short time I’d known her.

  Laura drove us back in the SUV, towing the kayaks. Lazarus flew overhead. She wisely avoided San Francisco, but the traffic through Berkeley, Oakland, and San Jose was horrendous. Not that it seemed to bother her. The woman was unflappable, despite the car being full of restless lunatics.

  We made it to the Seabreeze Inn by lunchtime. When we parked, Ian said, “Moira, go see Gracie first. She’ll assign you your new quarters and go over some basic information about your incarceration—I mean service. Then join us in the dining room for lunch.”

  I saluted.

  The corners of his mouth turned up. “Keep it up. I’m beginning to like being treated like my word is holy writ.”

  I carried my luggage to Gracie’s office and walked up to her secretary. “Does Gracie have time for me?”

  The woman frowned at me and looked away. “She’s expecting you. Go on in, ma’am.”

  That was one of the few times I could recall anyone fearing me. Or maybe it was revulsion, who knew? In the past, strangers had always been superior to me.

  When I stuck my head in Gracie’s door, she grinned and waved me in. “So happy you’re back. I really think this is the best situation for you, and I’m glad you’ve agreed.”

  That was the long and the short of it. I had, or I wouldn’t be there. “Ian already has me under his thumb, but he hasn’t pressed down nearly as hard as my old masters.”

  “And he won’t,” she said. “He’s a wonderful man and should be a terrific mentor.”

  They treated him like a god, and the power was sure to go to his head eventually. I kept my suspicions to myself, though.

  Gracie continued on in her own pleasant way. “I need to get you situated. When we finish here, I’ll take you to the two open suites we have available so you can pick.”

  “Whichever one is easiest for you will be fine,” I said.

  “It’s all the same to me,” she said. “We’ll check them out in a few minutes. First, however, we need to cover some basic issues. Like a car, you’ll need wheels to get around. Our Garda members get to choose from a selection of popular European driving machines. At the moment, you have a choice of a new BMW sedan or SUV, a Porsche coupe or SUV, and a couple of Jaguar models. If none of those strike your fancy, I’ll arrange for something that will.”

  “To be honest, I’m not used to nice things. I wouldn’t know how to choose between any of those cars.”

  Gracie cocked her head sideways and looked me up and down. “I’d say you’re a Porsche girl, and this is California, so you need a convertible. Try the Cabriolet.” She handed me a key. “By the way, you’ll need more driving lessons so you don’t crack up our very expensive car. Philippe will be available late this afternoon.”

  That perked my ears up. “Terrific, but how does this clan earn so much money?”

  She leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on her desk. “Officially, we sell a wide variety of organically produced beauty items and nutritional supplements. Most of the people here work at our farm about ten miles east of us. Unofficially, we’ve found that fighting sorcerers can be extremely lucrative, particularly now Ian is wiping them out, one by one. The man truly is a wonder.”

  Their generosity also told me that what I would do for them was incredibly dangerous. At least I had years of training to help keep me safe. “Good enough. What other fabulous prizes do you offer?”

  She leaned forward and handed me two credit cards. “The silver one is for clan business only. Use it to pay for your expenses when chasing bad guys. Keep a receipt for every item over thirty-five dollars. The gold card is for your personal pleasure. You will be responsible for paying the bill each month, but we’ve used our relationship with a local bank to get you the card so you can develop your own credit history.”

  “That’s very sweet of you
,” I said. “I did have a tough time finding a motel in Sacramento without a credit card.”

  She reached into her drawer and took out a cell phone. “This is the phone that Ian and our clan’s employees use. You are welcome to use it for personal business. It has a tremendous number of features, and if you have questions, Lee, Ian’s assistant will be happy to help you.”

  With the same matter-of-fact approach, Gracie marched me through tax forms, life insurance, and the basic schedule of meetings and training sessions all disciples were expected to attend.

  Finally, she said, “That’s it for now. Let’s go pick you a suite, then head for lunch.”

  The first room I saw was luxurious and sat on the garden level. I like being able to walk out into the flowers right outside my door, so I took that suite without even looking at the other one.

  We headed to lunch, and after we loaded our trays, Gracie dropped me off at a large table that contained the O’Rourkes, Frank, Lee, and two other disciples, Jin and Tito. The cat roamed from person to person mooching food openly.

  I sat next to Christina and listened in on the conversations swirling around me. To my surprise, everybody, including the disciples, teased Ian and disagreed with him freely. Nobody showed any particular deference toward him or bothered to flatter him. It wasn’t like any group of magicians I’d seen.

  While I ate my chicken Parmesan, I fiddled with my new smart phone. It was another Android, like my crappy, no-frills phone, so I wasn’t completely lost. Still, it kept doing unexpected things.

  Frank smirked at me from across the table, but his neighbor, Lee smiled.

  “Anything I can help you with?” he asked.

  “I can’t get the Gmail to work,” I said.

  He motioned for me to sit in an empty chair next to him, and I moved beside him.

  “First, we have to give it your Google account info,” he said.

  “I don’t have any.”

  Frank snorted.

  What an asshole.

  “No problem,” Lee said with a smile. “Let’s set one up.”