Light in the Barren Lands: Travail of The Dark Mage Book One

by Pratt, Brian S.

  To Robert, Franklin said, “Check with techs at the other casinos. See if there have been other odd happenings with either their slots or their Wheels.” Then to Doug, “Get a picture of him and circulate it. See if anyone knows who he is.”

  Doug nodded. “Yes sir.”

  Kneeling under a warm, noon sun, James had five crystals at hand to supply power for his next experiment. It was the day after arriving at the ravine near the foot of Mount Charleston and James was preparing to test the final spells that he’d crafted back on the island, the ones embedded in the crystals of the teleportation platform the day they came to Earth.

  The five crystals were spaced evenly around a dinner roll resting upon a paper plate, both being part of the supplies acquired the day before. Two hundred feet away, was a circle James had drawn in the dirt that that was to be the target area. He didn’t have any crystals at the target area to aid in the transfer, the five crystals before him were to do the job themselves.

  His reasoning was that it was likely there would be no powered crystals at the other end when they tried to return home. The way the mage had attacked the island’s grid during the attack had taken out most, if not all, of the crystals supplying power to his island. So whatever he did here, would have to be powered from here, and thus his experiment reflected that.

  “This is just a test run,” he explained to Jiron once more. “This is merely to determine the viability of my spells using Earth’s magic.”

  Jiron nodded, understanding that was his cue to remove himself and his daughter to a safer location some fifty feet away.

  Once his friend had backed off, James sent his senses into the five crystals encircling the dinner roll. His focus was all encompassing as he worked to meld the magic of the five crystals together into a single unit. It was a battle as the difference in Earth’s magic fluctuated in variance to what he attempted.

  Finally, he had the five crystals harmoniously joined; could feel the magic of the five as a whole. In his mind’s eye, he visualized the circle of the target area. Then he visualized the roll vanishing from where it now sat and materializing within the circle some two hundred feet away.

  James could feel the magic bending to his will. Though fervent concentration had to be maintained in order for the spells to function properly, the magic gradually fell into place. When all was in readiness, he took a calming breath, then activated the first spell.

  Five crystals flared as their magic was drawn upon. Merging within the center of the dinner roll, the magic infused every molecule until the roll was saturated with magic. Confident that all was going to plan, James activated the second spell.

  A slight fluctuation in the magic’s field brought his concentration back to full. In his excitement he had allowed it to lapse. Postponing the self condemnation for almost ruining his experiment until later, he pushed his excitement to the back of his mind.

  Activating the second spell, James watched as the roll was first encompassed in a sparkling field reminiscent of the Enterprise’s transporter before fading from sight.

  But then, a red spherical object entered the fringe of his vision, diverting a small portion of his attention away during the most critical part of the spell. Moving along the ground as it did at a quick pace, James’ eyes flicked toward the object before he could stop himself. And in that moment of distraction, he lost control.

  Crack!

  Five crystals simultaneously shattered as their magic was instantly drained.

  Crumph!

  An explosion ripped through the target area sending rock and dirt flying. James hit the ground as a wave of fast moving stones shot his way. Fortunately, his slug belt still contained the crystal he had brought with him from the island and it threw up a shield in time to deflect the incoming projectiles. When the dust settled and his shield had vanished, James climbed to his feet.

  Jiron and Jira were unhurt, though he could see Jiron’s anger threatening to be unleashed. “Sorry about that…,” began James as he moved to join them.

  Jiron held up his hand, in it was gripped Kenny’s wand. “Jira decided to play kick the ball while we watched.” He glared down at his daughter who withered under the fierceness of his gaze.

  So that was what it had been. The red object had been the magical construct of Kenny’s wand. James was a bit miffed himself at her lack of judgment. Turning his own glare upon her, he said, “You could have killed me.”

  Tears sprung into her eyes. “I’m sorry!” she wailed.

  “Not to worry,” her father said as he slipped the wand into his shirt. “It will not happen again.”

  As Jira ran sobbing to the tent, James motioned for Jiron to join him in inspecting the blast area.

  “It was working,” he said. Anger over the ruined experiment gradually gave way to the fact that it had been working. “It would have been nice to see it through completely, but I think we’ll be able to make this work.”

  A hole six feet deep and ten wide was all that remained of the target area. Mounds of debris were scattered over quite a distance. “See if there is any trace of the dinner roll or the paper plate.”

  Jiron glanced around and shook his head. “There’s not much left of anything.”

  “Still, I would like to find any trace of it if we could. Doing so would mean it had actually been teleported.”

  The next hour was spent sifting through dirt. Jira eventually emerged from the tent and lent her aid as well. Despite their best efforts, no sign of either plate or dinner roll was discovered. Disappointed, James collected another five crystals and began anew.

  Alex looked up from another slot machine that hadn’t been working quite right. Since finding the one with destroyed circuit boards, they had meticulously been going through each machine to ensure that they were functioning the way they were supposed to. The one before him had a slight stutter in the display, which was nothing too out of the ordinary though it happened rarely. His boss, Robert, had just entered the workroom and was heading his way.

  “Alex!” Robert exclaimed excitedly. “You’ll never guess who that guy was that wrecked our machine.”

  “Who?”

  “The terrorist who fire-bombed that doctor’s office over in California.”

  “A terrorist? Here?”

  Robert nodded. “Doug from security just told me.”

  Alex laid his diagnostic tool down and gave Robert his full attention.

  “It seems that he wasn’t up to mischief only in our casino, but others as well. He’s on video at a dozen other casinos. In one the guy spent over an hour at a Roulette table and won nearly five thousand dollars.”

  Alex didn’t like the sound of this. A terrorist is Las Vegas? “Has he been located?”

  “Not yet. The Homeland Security Task Force in charge of apprehending him will arrive in town later today. I’ve been informed they’ll want to talk to you and inspect the slot machine. So make sure you’re available.”

  “I’m not off until six anyway,” Alex shrugged.

  “Don’t tell anyone about any of this,” warned Robert.

  “I won’t.” Alex was worried about a known terrorist in town. “Do they know why he’s in town?”

  “Not that I’ve heard. Doug speculated that since Vegas had many visitors from all over the world, he might be here to blow up a casino. It would definitely get everyone’s attention.”

  “Man I hope not.”

  “Me too,” agreed Robert.

  Jiron watched as this time James placed an apple within the formation of crystals. He held onto Jira tightly, having vowed terrible and swift retribution should she again do anything to disrupt her uncle’s concentration. Together, father and daughter watched the crystals flare, then turned their attention to the new target area, some fifty feet from the site of the hole where the previous one had been.

  Seconds passed. A form appeared within the circle drawn in the dirt. Jira made to go see, but her father held her fast and didn’t let go until James had
come to his feet and indicated for them to join him.

  Jiron still curbed his daughter’s exuberance and prevented her from rushing forward. ”It worked,” he commented as he came abreast of James.

  Nodding as he crossed the last remaining distance, James could see the once red apple was no longer the color it had been. It wasn’t completely inside out as was the fish Jiron had seen. Rather, the apple looked like someone had smashed it to a pulp then reformed it into the shape of an apple.

  “I’ve been able to move objects from one point to another for months,” he explained. Picking up the apple, he wasn’t surprised when it fell apart in a wet, sticky goo. “The problem has been to have it arrive just as it left.”

  “That’s nasty,” exclaimed Jira, nose wrinkling.

  “Yeah, that’s another thing. Half the time, what I teleport emits an odd odor after arriving.”

  “Why?” asked Jira.

  Her uncle turned toward her. “If I knew that, Jira, it wouldn’t be happening.” To Jiron he said, “The good thing is that it worked so the spells I devised are viable here. I simply need to tweak them a little to get them working properly.”

  A glance to the sun showed several hours of light left; enough time for a couple more tries before it grew too dark to see. Returning back to his “launch” area, he discovered the crystals were only partially drained of magic. The teleportation process had drained perhaps a total of two crystal’s worth of magic from the five, leaving enough for another try.

  Jira appeared at his side with a second apple and he had her place it within the ring of crystals. “Thanks.” Then while she returned to her father, James readied himself for another try.

  Many miles north of where James worked to perfect the teleportation process, a truck raced down a highway. A handgun rested on the seat, and a rifle rested upon a rack at the back of the cab. The driver pushed the truck to its limit as he raced south.

  Not long ago, his phone had buzzed and two words appeared on the display. It was a destination, a place where he could find the one he sought. Swerving around cars and breaking the speed limit with abandon, he made all speed for Las Vegas.

  Chapter Seventeen

  ________________________

  On the third day of experiments, Jiron and Jira were near the tent going through exercises and drills. Not having anything else to do that wouldn’t run the risk of distracting James, they had occupied their time with knife practice.

  The first day of experiments had been exciting as they watched apples disappear from one place only to reappear at another in slightly altered form. The second day had grown less so, and now that the third was almost over and it looked as if James wasn’t getting any better, they had entirely lost interest.

  “Yes!”

  Jiron took a step back to put some distance between his daughter and himself as he glanced over to where James jumped up and down excitedly.

  “I did it!”

  Jiron and Jira both sheathed their knives and raced over to him.

  James stood at the target area holding up a perfectly formed apple as he smiled most satisfactorily. “It worked.”

  “Can you send us home now?” blurted Jira.

  “Not yet. I’ll need to do this a couple more times to make sure the spells will work consistently. After that, we’ll need to try it with something living.” He glanced to Jiron.

  “You are not going to test it out on me,” Jiron stated adamantly.

  James shook his head. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to ask you that. But maybe you could catch something around here that we could use?”

  “Like what?”

  Jira reached into her pocket and pulled out a lizard. “Would he work, Uncle James?”

  Her father gazed at her surprised. “Where did you get that?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged. Reaching into her other pocket, she pulled out another. “Same place I got his brother, I think.”

  “They would work,” agreed James. “Don’t lose them.”

  “I won’t.”

  To Jiron he said, “Give me an hour, and if the next couple of test runs work, we’ll try the lizard.”

  Jiron nodded. Then as he and Jira returned to the tent area, James heard him ask her, “Just how many lizards do you have?” Grinning, James returned to the launch area and readied another apple.

  Twice more apples made the journey, and with each succeeding time, the process grew easier. Then it was time for Jira’s lizard.

  “You promise you won’t hurt it?” she asked before relinquishing her pet.

  James nodded and held out his hand. Unsure if volunteering her lizard had been a good idea, she hesitated until her father nudged her in the shoulder.

  “Here, Uncle James,” she said, and handed it over.

  “Thank you, Jira.” Taking the lizard, he then nodded for Jiron to remove himself and his daughter back to the safe area.

  The lizard was squirming in his hand in an attempt to break free. James set the lizard in the launch area only to have it scamper to get away. Catching it before it could escape, he realized he was going to have to time this just right.

  He held the lizard two inches above the ground while he readied the spells. Then once he was ready, he let go of the lizard, snatched his hand back, and immediately activated the spells. Caught in mid leap for freedom, the lizard froze as the spell took affect.

  Jira watched as the lizard disappeared from the launch area, then turned her gaze toward the target area, hoping her lizard would arrive safely. Seconds ticked by, then there was movement.

  “There he goes!” she squealed when the lizard fled the circle of the target area and raced with all speed out into the desert.

  “It worked perfectly!” exclaimed James as he ran forward. He would have liked to have caught the lizard again to make sure it was fine, but by the way it raced across the desert, it looked as if it had survived the process.

  “Now you can get us home,” concluded Jiron, coming to join his friend. Jira raced into the desert trying to recapture her lizard.

  “Not quite. But we’re closer.” Then to Jira he shouted, “If you get it, let me take a look at it, okay?” She waved her hand in acknowledgement.

  “What do you have yet to do?”

  James considered his reply for a moment then glanced up to the blue sky overhead. “Jiron, where’s your planet?”

  “What?”

  “Your world, where is it?”

  “I’m not sure I understand.”

  James pointed first to the launch area then to the target area. “Think of one being Earth, and the other your world. We have to move from one, to the other.”

  “Right. I understand that.”

  “Okay then,” continued James. “I was able to send the lizard from one to the other because I knew where to send it.” He paused a moment to see if Jiron was following, and he was. “I know where Earth is, but the location of your world is unknown.”

  Understanding dawned. “How are you going to find it?”

  “Good question. I’ve been so busy worrying about Earth’s magic and whether or not I can even get my spells to work, that I have spent little time considering that aspect of the problem.”

  “Can you find it?”

  James was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know. Have you any idea how vast the universe is? Of course, there’s always the possibility that your world is in some kind of universe, parallel to this one.” Jiron grew confused again. James shook his head. “Never mind. This universe is vast enough without worrying about parallel ones.”

  “If you say so,” replied Jiron in confusion. James understood, and that was enough for him.

  With his spells now feasible, James turned his attention to the problem of locating Jiron’s world. By nightfall he was no closer to a viable solution. If he should try to have his magic locate the world, the search would expand to mammoth proportions before it even left Earth’s atmosphere. To search beyond the moon’s orbit would take
more magic than James could access. Unless of course he stripped magic from every living being on this world, in effect destroying all life which was something he could never do.

  Igor could help, but would he? Though if he found Igor, and the being was amenable, Igor could just as handily transport them himself. He was certain there were other beings that could be of use, but how was he to find them? Hours passed as he mulled over the various options available. He finally came up with an idea that might work though it was a long shot in the extreme.

  The night was dark, the only light was that coming from their campfire and the stars above. The moon hadn’t even risen. Jiron and Jira were sitting by the fire sharing memories of home, small bobbing lights of ever changing color danced as she flicked Kenny’s wand. Now that her uncle no longer experimented, she was free to play with it.

  Jiron noticed his friend over at the car filling a grocery bag with apples and other foodstuff. Getting to his feet, he left his daughter to play with Kenny’s wand as he went to see what James was doing.

  “Going somewhere?”

  James looked over his shoulder to his friend and nodded. “Into the desert. I’ll be there for a while.”

  “Our company growing tiring?” Jiron grinned.

  “No. I think I may have thought of a way to find your world.”

  “How?”

  “I’m going to make a Vyrilyzk.”

  Jiron knew what he meant by a Vyrilyzk. A Vyrilyzk was an offering farmers often left for the earth spirits back on Jiron’s home world. Comprised of a ring of leaves and a portion of the harvest’s first yield, its use was purported to bring a good, or even better, harvest the following year.

  “Do you think they will help?”

  James shrugged. “Can’t hurt to try. They are after all earth spirits. Brother Willim claimed they were everywhere. I’m hoping he wasn’t just referring to your world.”

  Jiron looked skeptical. “I believe he also said that they were shy and timid, and not likely to come when called.”