Crystal Cache (Crow Hill Book 2)

by Tom Larcombe

  “Why, what's he got there? Rockets? Artillery maybe?”

  “No, he's a wizard. He's got better ways to get the explosives to their destination. You should understand that,” Rynn said.

  “Anyway, I think we need to get this stuff out of here. Let's bring it up to the mine office for now, then get Dan to take a look and let him requisition whatever he needs.”

  “All the cased goods maybe. The crystals and devices need to go back to the house. I don't think Dan would be interested in those anyhow.”

  Thinking back to his conversation with Father Anderson, Michael broke into a tight smile.

  “You might be surprised, but yes, we should bring those back to the house so we can go through them ourselves.”

  Michael started carrying the lighter crates out of the cache and into the cave that contained it. Some of them were heavy enough that he needed Rynn's help to move them. Invariably she'd shake her head, glare at him, then come over and carry her end. After, she'd go back to the devices on the shelves. It looked like she was sorting them in some fashion, but Michael wasn't sure and since she was so cranky when he interrupted her to help him move things, he didn't want to disturb her to ask.

  It took him an hour to get all the crates out of the cache and the piles spilled out of the cave with the pond and into the hall that led into it when he was done. Rynn had worked her way through all the devices and had them separated out into two piles, plus a third pile that was just charged crystals.

  “I don't suppose there were any empty crates?” Rynn asked.

  Michael shook his head.

  “No, why?”

  “I need some way to carry all these devices out of here. I don't want to do it just a couple at a time, that would take hours.”

  “There was a crate marked 'Packs, Field' somewhere in here. It should be in the section out in the hallway. I bet you could use one of those.”

  “Help me find it and we can start getting all this stuff out of here. I bet we can even get some help from Bobby and your dad if we ask,” Rynn said.

  * * *

  Half an hour later they were sitting at the table in the house, talking to Bobby and Andrew.

  “So Merlin stashed away an arsenal?” Bobby asked. “Now why doesn't that surprise me? What does puzzle me is why he did it here.”

  “I can answer that,” Michael said. “He did it here because the spell he used to preserve the cache needed a lot of power.”

  He gestured out the window, pointing into the back yard.

  “Right out there is a mine full of crystals, all of them filled with natural energy. Plus, the mine is situated over a confluence of ley lines. So there was plenty of power for him to tap to keep it going.”

  “Ley lines, really? I thought those were dangerous to work with,” Bobby said.

  “Maybe for you or me, but I think Merlin works on a different scale from the rest of us,” Michael said.

  “From what I've heard, Merlin grew up using raw power in place of finesse,” Rynn said. “So he's used to working with larger amounts of magic than those of us who grew up with less power available.”

  She's hiding the fact that she's Merlin's daughter, Michael thought. I suppose she has her reasons, but I think dad and Bobby would be safe for her to tell if anyone was.

  “Makes sense I guess,” Bobby said. “But how much stuff were you saying is down there.”

  “Enough for someone to start their own private army,” Michael replied. “There's even a couple of cases of hand grenades.”

  He shook his head.

  “In all honesty I don't know what to do with it. I figured I'd offer the guns and ammo to the sheriff and the food supplies to Father Anderson. Beyond that?”

  He shrugged.

  “I think we should still get all of it out. I'm sure there'll be a use for most of it,” Michael said.

  “So, how are we going to do this?” Andrew asked. “Can we use the trailer from your bike to move a bunch at a time?”

  “No, the trailer won't hold that kind of weight, but I've got a couple of heavy duty wheelbarrows in the shed. You know, the kind with four wheels? Those should take the weight of a few crates at a time.”

  “It's a start. Where are we going to put all of the stuff?”

  “I figure the weapons can get locked in the mine office. We can move the food onto the back porch here and try to find places for the things with less obvious purposes,” Michael said.

  “I was thinking we might be able to leave a few of those in the mine. It would be a good place to store them,” Andrew said.

  Michael shook his head.

  “No, it gets too damp in there. It would be a shame for the stuff to last more than seventy years in the cache and then rot out because we didn't take good care of it.”

  “I suppose there's a use for everything in there,” Andrew said. “I'm sure he wouldn't have gone through all that trouble for anything he considered useless.”

  “There probably is,” Michael replied. “But we may not know why Merlin stored some of those things. He might have a use for things that we don't or at least that we can't think of.”

  “There is that,” Andrew replied.

  “Okay, tomorrow we'll try to get everything out and find someplace at least partially protected to store it. After we have it out, I can go talk to Dan and Father Anderson. I'm sure the good Father will have a use for anything we can provide him. I don't know if Dan will want the weapons, but I at least want to make the offer and let him know they're here.”

  * * *

  * * *

  Chapter 7

  Rynn sat and stared at the table, wondering if she should follow through with what she was thinking about.

  I know dad was working on this headset to extend the range wizards could communicate with one another. What I don't know is if he ever got it working correctly, she thought. At least everyone else is in bed so I don't have to answer any questions about it. Bobby and Andrew would wonder how I knew what it was and Michael would worry if I told him I didn't know if it was working right. He'd probably even volunteer to try it himself.

  She idly traced her fingers over the silver wires that made up the netting that covered the head of the user. The large glowing crystal that hung down in contact with the users' forehead was heavy and appeared far too bulky to be a part of the rest of the delicate mechanism.

  She slid the silver mesh onto her head, keeping the crystal separate for the time being. The small setting of silver wires waiting to receive the crystal brushed lightly against the skin of her forehead.

  What's the worse that could happen? she asked herself.

  She knew the answer. Splitting headaches and a period of several days where the user's magic was unable to be accessed had been the result of her father trying to use it before it was perfected. She didn't need to risk it right now, but there were several devices that she didn't have the instructions for, that she didn't even recognize. They looked complete, they had crystals aligned next to them for power, but she wasn't about to try them without asking him what they did first.

  It had the paperwork with it and it didn't mention any of those side effects. Just the note that said to keep the time used short in any one session. He would have written down any problems it still had, wouldn't he?

  Decisively, she slid the crystal into the small silver mesh designed to hold it. She projected her consciousness into the crystal itself as the instructions had stated. She wasn't sure what to expect, but the sudden darkness that surrounded her was slightly frightening.

  There were sparks of light in the darkness. Several of them were close and she willed her consciousness out to check the brightest one that was nearby. As she approached, something tugged her towards it. A moment later she found herself back in a familiar building. Things looked different though and it took her a moment to realize that it was the school, not as it had looked when she was teaching there, but the way it had been decades earlier when she was a student there.
/>
  Michael came walking into the classroom she stood in. He was staring back out into the hallway, and a moment later she saw a younger version of herself walk into the room.

  Michael glanced furtively around before closing the door, then he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her younger self. He leaned towards her and she eagerly leaned forward so that their lips met all the sooner.

  Rynn blinked.

  I don't remember it happening quite like that, she thought.

  Young Michael and young Rynn's outlines grew fuzzy for a moment, then the scene changed. Now, they were in the basement of the old school and Rynn was crying out in fear and shame. She turned from Michael and fled up the stairs. He stood there staring at her, confusion on his face.

  Crap, that one I remember, Rynn thought. I must be in his dreams. I need to get out of here. I guess the spots of light are the minds of people with some sort of magic.

  The thought alone did the trick and she found herself back in the darkness.

  How do I orient myself? she thought. I know dad is south of here in Texas, so how do I get there?

  Once again her thought seemed to dictate her movement. Heedless of the walls and terrain she knew were there, somewhere, she was racing in a direction.

  Hopefully south. If it's the thought that does it, then I need to find my dad, Merlin.

  Her direction changed slightly and her perceived speed increased. Small, dim lights flashed by here and there as she moved. A massive pool of light appeared in the distance and she was dismayed to realize that she was headed straight for it.

  She raced towards the pool of light, trying to decide if she should try to change her destination. As she grew closer she realized that she wasn't heading directly towards it, but slightly to the east of it.

  Good, I guess that means dad is close to whatever that pool is. Probably those are the wizards he's been trying to keep contained. It seems like there's an awful lot of power there, if that's what the light is supposed to represent.

  Her speed slowed more and now she could tell that she was headed for a smaller cluster of lights. There were three close together, one far brighter than the other two. She ended up stopped immediately in front of that bright light.

  Dad? she projected her thought towards it.

  She noted a sense of startlement from whatever the light was.

  Gudrun?

  Dad! she sent.

  Sorry. Rynn, is that you? Did you have to change again already? I thought you just did a week or two ago.

  No dad, I'm not in my other form. We opened your cache and I'm using the communication enhancer you made.

  Oh, that thing. Don't wear it for too long or you'll get the granddaddy of all headaches and have a few other problems also.

  How long is too long dad? You didn't say in the instructions.

  Fifteen minutes or so? I was never willing to track the exact time down. Didn't want another headache like that if I could avoid it.

  Rynn paused for a moment, trying to decide how long it had been since she'd started using the enhancer. She realized that she didn't have a very good sense of time while under its effect and started to fret.

  Dad, I may not have much time to talk then. I'm trying to figure out what some of the other devices you had in the cache do. There are several that appear completed but don't have any instructions with them.

  Oh, those, he sent.

  Despite it being only a mental communication Rynn got the sense of Merlin waving his hand dismissively.

  Those are mostly just things that duplicate the effect of some weapons. The weapons themselves are easier to make and use so I never bothered pursuing those any further.

  What types of weapons dad? And which devices are which weapons?

  I don't know off-hand, it's been sixty years or more since I saw them last.

  One of the other two lights in the area started vibrating, as though it were impatient. It brightened until it was nearly as intense as Merlin's.

  I've got to go Rynn, your brother John is stirring. Lately he's decided that he can take on the entire Wizard Corps all by himself with his new form. I've got to go sit on him again to keep him from trying. He's shifting forms in his sleep right now.

  She sensed a vibration from Merlin before the light that represented him increased in brightness dramatically. It moved slightly and encompassed the light that had started vibrating first.

  At least I don't have his problems, Rynn thought. If I had to keep John from acting rash while trying to keep a corps of wizards pinned down, I think I might be a little overwhelmed. Dad just sounded irritated.

  She thought about returning home and, as she sped through the blackness, realized that she was thinking of Michael's house as home already, despite the short amount of time she'd spent there.

  She arrived back at the house. There was a slight hint of a silver line that led back to where her physical body sat. Rynn followed it into her body and settled her consciousness back in.

  Her hands went to her head and removed the silver mesh. She took a deep breath and set it on the table before her hands went rushing back to her head in response to the searing pain that raced through it.

  She blinked several times to keep the tears at bay. After a few moments the pain eased, but didn't go away completely.

  I must have been close to the time limit on it, she thought. At least this headache isn't as incapacitating as the ones he described to me before.

  She lifted her hand, palm up, and allowed the magic within her body to flow out through her hand. A flame leapt up from the center of her palm. The pain of the headache surged in sync with the flame.

  So, no, I didn't go over the time limit. I must have been close though since he never said anything about getting a headache otherwise.

  She tucked the silver mesh away in the bag with the other devices, then rummaged through it. She pulled out the completed devices that had no documentation to accompany them and laid them on the table.

  Rynn examined the devices visually first, trying to determine anything about them. Two seemed to fire a projectile of some sort since they had an attached hollow tube that protruded from something resembling the breech of a gun. On each of those there was an opening on the back, leading into a hollow area that was obviously designed to contain something. One of the areas was laced with openings, making that device much lighter than the other. The other was solid.

  Maybe even watertight, she thought. But what kind of ammunition would need a watertight magazine? Maybe I'm wrong about these, but I think they're some sort of gun, fueled by magic instead of gunpowder. It does mean you could use almost anything for ammunition, but I'm sure he designed it to use something in particular.

  She set those two aside and examined the other five. She came to no conclusions on what type of weapons those were supposed to be.

  But dad had a lot more experience with weapons than I ever did, that's for sure.

  Her headache was gone so she, tentatively, detached a small portion of her consciousness. When there were no twinges of pain, she sent it into the device on the table in front of her. The center of the device was a cylinder made of a lightweight metal. The core of the cylinder was some other material, something very volatile from what she could tell.

  She was about to try to determine what that center core was when a noise in the otherwise silent house distracted her. The fragment of her consciousness that she'd separated returned to the rest of her immediately.

  Rynn cocked her head and listened.

  I thought I heard footsteps, but where were they coming from?

  She stayed still, listening. This time she heard a small, wet noise.

  It's coming from downstairs. Damn it! Is there someone or something after the kids?

  She burst through the door leading down into the basement, her hand aflame with a ball of fire ready to be hurled at any intruder. Two faces snapped up to look at her from where they were sitting in the common room, side by side, h
olding hands.

  Eugene blushed as he stared at Rynn, but Andi's face held a grin like that of a cat caught in the cream.

  Rynn extinguished the flame and turned on the light switch.

  “You two should be in bed,” she said. “I almost incinerated you.”

  “What were you thinking Rynn?” Eugene asked. “You knew there was only us down here.”

  “I also knew that you were all in bed,” Rynn answered. “Like you're about to be.”

  Andi glared and stuck her tongue out at Rynn.

  That girl, Rynn thought. I've got to figure out something to do with her, get her a bit more focused on the fact that things are okay for now, but may not stay that way.

  Despite her thoughts Rynn had to suppress a chuckle.

  “And when you are in bed,” Rynn continued. “You will each be in your own bed, alone. Get my drift?”

  Eugene's blush had faded. Now his gaze dropped to the floor.

  “Yes Rynn. I'm sorry. I didn't think we'd bother anyone.”

  Andi slapped his shoulder and hissed something in his ear.

  “No,” Eugene said. “I'm not going to argue with her Andi. She's right. If we hadn't disturbed anyone it would've been fine, but Rynn was obviously keeping watch. Remember back at the school? The guys who tried to break in? I guess Rynn doesn't think we're actually safe here either.”

  “Not really Eugene,” Rynn replied. “We're as safe as we can be, but that doesn't mean a lot now. I wasn't actually keeping watch though. You know I don't sleep much so I kind of keep an ear on things and heard something down here. I'm sorry to have startled you, but not sorry that I interrupted you. Now both of you go back to bed.”

  Eugene stood. Andi grabbed his arm and sniffed before standing. They headed down the short hallway towards the bedroom doors.

  “Remember, different beds! Each in your own.” Rynn said.

  Andi spun around and stuck her tongue out at Rynn again, but she didn't argue or talk back.