by R J Johnson
Scott nodded. He understood.
With Emily’s help, he freed Collier’s body from the debris, then heaved it up onto the horse’s back. As Alex trotted down the hallway, his friends followed.
Chapter Fifty
The tactical team had gone in once the technicians monitoring the nuclear plant identified the massive power buildup and projected an imminent meltdown. They were on high alert, about to breach, when the door to Unit 3 opened of its own accord.
The commander held up a hand as his team approached the reactor. No need to get them all killed, he reasoned. He had seen the video of what had happened to the last group who’d attacked this psycho, and he was not about to risk his men the same way.
He examined the empty hallway and called to his spotters. The forward observers and snipers who had their rifles trained on the entrance reported no sightings.
He decided to move his men forward. They were all using high-powered airsoft rounds in the hope that the Fireman, as they had come to call him, wouldn’t be able to stop them.
A beautiful Arabian horse suddenly charged out of the hallway, while three colorful birds of varying sizes and description soared out and into the great blue beyond. As they watched the horse trot by, every man on the team wondered if he was hallucinating.
The commander saw one of his men moved to intercept the horse, to see what it was carrying, but before he could reach it, things got really weird.
The horse shifted into a dragon the size of a house.
The commander nearly dropped his rifle in awe as he watched the mythical beast appear before him, roaring and blasting flames out toward his men.
“Fall back!” he shouted, standing and waving to his team. “Cover fire, go, go, go!”
The whole team began firing at the mythical beast, who snorted a blast of flame their way. He and his team all tripped over their feet as they ran as fast as they could for the nearest cover.
As it turned out, they didn’t need to worry about the dragon. As soon as his people retreated away from the massive beast, it turned around and beat its wings out toward the ocean.
“Did you see that?” he asked in awe wiping his eyes. “More importantly, did I see that?”
“I got it on video,” his XO said excitedly. “I’ll be goddamned!”
“You aren’t the only one,” he replied. He pulled his radio out and was about to make a report when Lieutenant Washington’s voice came over the comm.
“What in the actual fuck, commander? What the hell was that?”
“I think hell has more to do with it than anything else I can think of, Lieutenant,” the commander said honestly.
Washington threw down the radio in frustration. No one knew anything. He cursed and shouted out more orders, demanding more video footage of what had just happened.
The tall blonde man from the NRO walked into the command center and approached him. “Lieutenant Washington? I’m Colonel Ash from the National Recognizance Office, here as a special…”
“…special liaison, yes, Colonel,” Washington said, his tone more than a little annoyed. He didn’t need these asshole central bureaucrats re-introducing themselves every fifteen minutes.
Ash cocked his head, confused. “I’m sorry?”
“I understand you were offended by the private who didn’t believe your bona fides the first time around, but Jesus Christ man, I don’t need you name dropping just so you can feel like you’ve got a big dick and a story to tell back home once this is over.” Washington hated it when he needed to be an asshole, but during a crisis, it came in handy and was usually the only way to get things done.
“So with respect, Colonel, if you’re not here to help, then get the fuck outta my way.”
Ash caught the Lieutenant’s arm. “With respect, sir, what the hell are you talking about?”
“We met less than thirty minutes ago, Colonel. I know I look old, but my mind’s not gone yet.”
“Lieutenant,” Colonel Ash, said looking Washington square in the eye, “I don’t know who you met earlier, but that wasn’t me. I literally arrived two minutes ago.”
Washington realized the implications of this and cursed. “Get on the horn to the forward positions and get me a sitrep on our people!”
“Third post hasn’t reported in since the shooting started,” one of his people called out, holding a phone. “We sent a team over there five minutes ago and are waiting to hear back. Hard to tell what’s happened, since everything’s gone Charlie Foxtrot out there.”
Ash cursed under his breath and leaned forward, thinking it through. Another person with a stone? This one apparently allowed them to impersonate whomever they desired. He thought of the implications and frowned.
He turned on his heel and began to leave the tent when Washington’s voice barked.
“Stop that man!”
Ash turned back around, looking incredulous. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Lieutenant?”
“Covering my ass is what I’m doing,” he replied. He addressed the soldier next to Ash. “Put this man in the brig until we figure out what’s going on.”
The MPs stepped up next to Ash. The Colonel tensed, but decided against fighting. That would just cost him time.
He growled at the nearest private, “Either shoot me or let me go about working on the business of the United States Government.”
Washington was quick with the order. “Private, shoot that man if he leaves this tent.”
Ash turned red, but decided if he was shot, that would waste even more time he didn’t have.
He raised his hands in surrender, and the MPs pulled him out of the tent toward the brig.
“You’re making a mistake, Lieutenant,” Ash called back over his shoulder. “My friends aren’t going to like this very much.”
“Your friends can go fuck themselves,” Washington muttered. He turned back to the task at hand; he had a terrorist to catch.
Chapter Fifty-One
The four of them flew together for the journey back to the Hypertruck. Alex did what he could to keep Collier’s body safely on his back for the journey. He didn’t know what Emily had in mind, but maybe she was right. No matter the man’s crimes, he didn’t deserve to be cut up, ripped apart and experimented on.
Besides, he was willing to cut her a little slack.
Alex landed as gracefully as possible and shifted back into his normal body. He looked at Collier’s body and wiped away some of the dried blood off the man’s face, reminding himself that this was the man who had once made his Emily happy.
He remembered how insistent Scott and Emily had been about Collier’s normal behavior before his trip to Peru, prior to him finding the stone.
Alex withdrew the stone he had taken from Collier and stared at it, wondering if the same madness that took Collier away from Emily might do the same to him.
Emily’s Phoenix landed next to him along with Christina’s Hawk and Scott’s Macaw. Alex shifted them back to their human bodies with a stray thought, and they reappeared, quietly gathering their clothing from Alex’s bag.
“What do we do with him?” Scott asked Alex as he pulled his socks and shoes back on.
“I’d suggest cremation by dragon fire if that didn’t sound so ironically insensitive,” Alex said, still looking at Collier and fingering his stone.
“No,” Emily said, her voice carrying over to Alex. “I think it’s perfectly appropriate.”
Alex looked at her in surprise, but nodded and took out the shape shifting stone. Scott’s eyes darted to it and stepped forward.
“Actually,” Scott said hesitantly, “would you mind if I tried?”
Alex glanced at him and thought about it. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. We don’t know how you’d react to the stone.”
“I’ll be fine,” Scott insisted. “Besides, if I cause any trouble you can just scorch me up with that other one.”
Alex looked at the shapeshifting stone and figured if he couldn’t trust his best frie
nd, then he was already beginning to act like Collier.
Besides, Scott was right; why should he get to have all the fun?
He handed the shapeshifting stone to his best friend, who took it gently in his hands. He looked down at it, then glanced back up at Alex.
Alex smiled as he watched his friend play with the energy he felt emanating from the stone.
“Feels cool, huh?”
Scott nodded, still lost in the stone.
“Scott,” Alex said gently, “I hate to rush you, but…”
Scott nodded and looked sympathetically at Emily. She glanced up at Scott, resolutely looked him in the eye and nodded her consent.
Scott stepped back and looked at Alex. “All I have to do…?”
“…is imagine yourself as the biggest, most badass dragon you can think of,” Alex prompted.
Scott nodded, took a deep breath and transformed.
Instead of the red and green dragon that Alex favored, Scott’s scales were green and pitch black, covering an enormous reptilian body that nearly filled the sky. Alex grinned as he watched his friend take advantage of the stone’s power, creating one of the most fearsome dragons he had ever seen.
Scott always had been a bit of a show-off.
Slowly stretching out his long, massive neck, Scott the dragon looked around at his new body, testing out every joint and muscle. He looked down at Emily and Christina, his soulful eyes the only indication he was still Scott behind them.
He gently lowered his jaw onto the ground, picking up Collier’s body between its massive teeth. Beating his wings against the sky, he took off and sailed around the beach, taking Collier’s body out over the sea.
High in the clouds, Scott released Collier’s body into the open air. He watched it fall for a few moments before blowing a huge plume of intense flame and vaporizing the body instantly.
Collier’s ashes floated down from the clouds and spread themselves all over the Pacific Ocean.
Emily openly wept as she watched Scott dispose of her former fiancé’s remains. Christina and Alex held her on either side. Together, they watched the sun set across the ocean as Scott flew through the evening clouds.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Kline reappeared in his Manhattan penthouse apartment. Still struggling with the burns on his face and arms, he cried out in pain again. He had held onto Alex’s stone long enough to partially heal, but it hadn’t been enough.
He looked at his scorched image in the mirror, screamed in frustration, knocked the mirror off the wall and watched it crash to the floor. He felt the power of his new stones well up within him and looked around his apartment for other things to destroy.
Then, a moment later, he was calm again. With a deep breath, he moved to the bathroom, taking a first aid kit from under the sink. He had failed once again in taking on Alex McCray; it was unheard of for him to look so foolish. He brought the first aid kit out into his expansive living room and placed it on the wet bar.
He prepared himself a scotch, choosing one of the best blends he had available. Then again, he thought, he did have a new stone to use, and it allowed him to teleport wherever he wished with a mere thought. The potential applications for a power like that were unlimited.
He drank the scotch, feeling the slow burn of the fine whiskey move down his throat. He sighed and opened the first aid kit, then began wrapping up his injuries. He ignored the pain as he cut the cloth from his blistering skin. His stone of strength had always made him inhumanly tough, but the flames from that stone had cut through whatever protection his stone normally provided him.
He needed Mr. McCray’s stone if he was to complete his plans of taking over the world. He thought of Tate and considered fetching him from the flight, which was probably still somewhere over Africa at the moment. Then he realized it would be impossible for him to teleport there without knowing the plane’s exact location. He didn’t like the idea of appearing randomly at 40,000 feet, hoping to land in his company’s jet.
Besides, it would only take the man eighteen hours to get back to JFK, and in that time, Kline could review his materials and plan his next move. This way, if Mr. Tate’s plan to kill Mr. McCray failed, he would be ready to move on to the next step.
He may have suffered another major defeat at the hands of Alex McCray, but he had a new stone to show for it.
Kline decided that was a win in his book.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Lwansa Ododa had waited at the park bench for her husband to return for a week now. Every morning she had set up shop with a book and a thermos of coffee. Sometimes she would bring along croissants from the local bakery.
She waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Every day it was the same. She was there before dawn and stayed long after the sun set. Most of the tourists ignored her, and the locals who drew pictures or sold things to the tourists learned that she was not there for any other reason than to wait for a husband who never appeared.
She saw the pity in their eyes. To them, she supposed, she was just a lonely old woman with fantasies of romance, but she ignored them, knowing that her husband would return to her as promised.
After one particularly long day, Lwansa finally allowed herself to think the worst.
She bowed her head and began to pray for her husband’s soul. Whatever had happened, whatever he had found, that cursed stone had likely been the death of him.
However, if she knew Ododa like she did, the only reason he wasn’t coming back was because he had died doing something right.
The sun had set over an hour ago, and Lwansa watched with increasing sadness as all the couples came to the City of Lights for romance. Her thoughts turned once again to her husband, who had died for her and a simple photograph.
She began to weep, which drew the attention of a local artist. He moved over to her and frowned for a moment. He looked at her again, and she finally looked back. Waving his arms excitedly, he spoke to her in French.
“Please…I don’t… I don’t understand,” Lwansa protested.
“Photo!” he said with a smile through his broken English. He took a small photograph out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Is you, yes?”
Lwansa’s eyes went wide as she screamed in joy. It was the photo of her parents and family all together. The very photo she had sent Ododa to retrieve.
“You found it!” she cried out happily. “Where? Where did you find this photo?”
He pointed toward the corner of the Eiffel tower. Forgetting her book, she followed his finger and ran, hoping to see the love of her life standing there.
Then, directly underneath the world’s most famous structure, she was alone once again.
That was when she turned the photograph over and saw the message.
My love,
When the time comes for you, it’s only then you realize that you never have enough time in the first place. No matter how you fill it, it all seems like far too little...
I’m about to walk into something I may not walk away from. I hope I will survive, but if I don’t, well, I think you’ll understand once you learn what happened.
More than anything in the world right now, I wish I could hear your voice. I wish I could hear you tell me you love me one more time. That you are proud of me. That I am a good man and have always done the right thing. That I was a good father to our children.
I wish I could hear that now.
I wish you could hear me tell you that I love you. That your love is a shining beacon that lights my way through a dark world. That your love is what makes my heart smile.
Your love turned my life into something so beautiful that every morning when I wake, I have to make sure I’m still alive and not in Heaven.
Without you, there would be no me.
But I can’t hear that now. I can’t tell you that in person. I have to settle for this short note. I wanted more than anything to come back. I promise you, whatever happens tonight,
I tried coming back. I swear I did.
If I understand the stone in the way I think I do, then I know this will find its way back to you, no matter what happens to me.
And that is enough.
Here, now, and forever yours,
Otienu
He was not alive; otherwise he would have returned the photo in person. But he was right. The stone had brought the photo to her. She knew that the love he held for her burned brightly right up until the moment he died.
It was enough.
Chapter Fifty-Four
The Old Man watched Lwansa hug the photo and spin around underneath the Eiffel tower, dancing as she would have with Ododa. He swallowed hard, allowing a tear to fall down his cheek.
It was the least he could do. The man had faced Kline without a second thought for his own safety.
Pulling out an ancient-looking timepiece, the Old Man sighed. So fast…why must it all happen at once?
He disappeared into the ether, heading for the next adventure knowing full well that things were only going to get harder from here.
Thank you
Hi, and thanks for making it through my fourth eBook! I hope the adventures I come up with are as entertaining for you to read as they are for me to write.
I first began writing The Twelve Stones as a series of screenplays back in 2004. Ten years later, I never imagined that anyone would want to read the first one, let alone the sequels.
There are still plenty of adventures in store for Alex, Emily, Scott and Christina, so if you’ve enjoyed the ride so far, why not check out the third book in the series: The Twelve Stones: Petrichor. I promise it’s worth the money!
Please check out my Author Page on Amazon.com and subscribe to my updates. You can also check me out on twitter @rickerkioz and “like” my page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TheTwelveStones) for all the details on when the sequels will be released!
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