by Tom Larcombe
He placed the crystal on the porch, near the fragments they'd been working with to create the nightlights, then returned to his own preparations. He still needed to set up a potential rock slide on the cliff, in case they tried to come in right along the base of it, along with a few other surprises for the raiders.
Twenty minutes later he was done.
I wonder if the men brought food for themselves. I'll go check with Bill.
Michael waited patiently while Bill discussed something with another of the defenders, then he cleared his throat to catch the older veteran's attention.
“Bill, did these guys bring food with them? I can supply them with some fresh vegetables out of the garden for lunch if you like.”
Bill smiled.
“Yeah, some of them brought food, but I bet they'd all be glad if you offered some to them.”
“Let me borrow one or two of them and we can get enough for all the defenders to have some pretty quickly.”
“I've got a couple assigned as messengers. I'll have them help you out.”
Bill whistled, a piercing noise that caught everyone's attention. Two of the men trotted over at the whistle.”
“Barnaby, Joe,” Bill said, “go with Michael here. You're all going to get some fresh food for us and bring it over here.”
“You got it Bill,” one of them answered and the two turned to follow Michael.
“You know anything about harvesting vegetables?” Michael asked.
The two nodded, one of them spoke up also.
“Had to learn, my wife would've had my head if I ruined any more of her plants trying to help her.”
“Barney, your wife wouldn't have said a word,” Joe answered.
“Not out loud, but the couch gets pretty cold at night,” Barney answered.
Joe laughed in response and Michael found himself relaxing a bit from their banter.
I think those two are both veterans. They know what's up. If they can be relaxed right now, so can I, Michael thought.
They set to picking some of the produce that could eaten right off the plants, piling it up in a basket Michael retrieved from the shed. Michael ate as he harvested and found that part of his tension had simply been hunger. As the other two continued to banter, he relaxed even more.
They took the basket back to the trenches and, when Michael was handing some tomatoes to Bill, Bill stopped him for a moment.
“You know, the men kind of look to you as the leader here, almost like an officer. Things were pretty good when you were walking around. It looked like you were scouting the terrain and making plans. But it looks like you're getting edgy and they'll notice that. Maybe you could just go sit on the porch and look confident or something? The food's going to help, anyone who noticed you getting nervous before will think you were just hungry, but it's more than that, isn't it?”
Michael nodded.
“Yeah, we have two kids missing. They took off last night, wanted to help defend the town and we told them no. So we're pretty sure they're planning on helping on their own. Rynn and my dad are off to look for them and not back here yet. So, yes I'm a bit nervous.”
“I understand, but you can't let yourself look that way to the men here or they'll pick up on it and get nervous themselves. So, if you've got more preparation, do that, you look confident doing that. Otherwise, just go sit on the porch or something. Go somewhere you can relax, or at least look relaxed, but where the men can see you, okay?”
“I can do that. How about I go scout where the raiders are now and let you know. I'll look relaxed while I do that, my body will be anyhow.”
“Do I even want to know?” Bill asked.
“It's just like the trenches. I'll use my knack on the ground and it will let me know. It's a slow process that way though, earth being what it is.”
“That sounds perfect then. You can reassure the men and get us some extra information at the same time.”
“Alright then. If they show up anytime really soon, just holler and I'll respond. Otherwise I'll let you know how far out they are.”
Michael turned and walked back to the porch. He settled into his favorite chair and let his awareness slip out of his body and into the earth beneath him.
* * *
When Michael's awareness returned to his body, he was conscious of someone sitting beside him. He looked up and Rynn was there, worry written across her face.
“Did you find them?” she asked.
“The raiders? Yeah, they're about an hour away, but they aren't moving right now.”
She shook her head.
“No, the kids.”
“Sorry Rynn, I wasn't looking for them. I'm worried for them, but I'm more worried about the raiders.”
She sighed heavily.
“You're probably right, but I feel responsible for Eugene and Andi. If they get themselves hurt...”
Her words trailed off.
“You told them we wanted them safe, that we didn't want them to help, and they did this anyway. It's not on you if they get hurt Rynn, although I understand why you might think that way.”
“I couldn't find any trace of them.”
“None at all?” Michael asked, surprised.
She shook her head.
“Then they'll probably be safe, at least until the fighting starts. I'd tell you to look for them then, but I'm afraid all our attention will be on their leader. You still aren't sure what kind of wizard he is?”
“With those webs, I'm sure he's not Fire. I'd guess not Water either, but that still leaves Earth and Air. Spirit Magic might do that also, but not the bridge I saw that he'd made.”
“Earth would be problematic,” Michael said. “He'd be able to do undo a lot of the things I could do to him. So I'm hoping for Air. But, I need to tell Bill that they're still an hour away and not moving.”
Michael got up and walked out to the trenches. When he told Bill what he'd found out, the older man cursed.
“That doesn't tell me much. They've got a couple of hours until they'd have to start moving if they want to attack us before the sun would be in their eyes. But he might also be planning on camping there and coming in at first light when the sun would be in our eyes. You don't happen to know if their leader is experienced at all, do you?”
Michael shook his head.
“Sorry, I don't know.”
“Well, if you can check on them every now and again, that would be good. Let me know if they're moving towards us.”
“I can do that Bill. Rynn or I will check every half hour, that should give you at least a half hour's warning if they move on us.”
“Thanks,” Bill said, then moved off down the trenches, pausing to speak to each of the men waiting there.
Michael went back to Rynn.
“We're on overwatch,” he said. “Bill wants us to check every half hour or so and see if the raiders are moving yet.”
She sighed again.
“Okay, I'll have to worry about the kids later. I can't think of anything else I could do to find them right now anyway. I'd swear one of them is using some form of concealment I've never heard of. I should've been able to find them easily.”
“I know they're still kids, but if you can remember back that far, you'll remember that they don't think so. I'm sure they constructed some silly reason in their minds for why we don't want them to fight and they want to prove themselves to us. At least I think that's how I would have been at their age.”
Rynn shook her head.
“Don't even go there,” she said. “I don't even like to think about how I acted at their age. Now you've got me even more worried about what they're planning.”
“There's nothing we can do about it right now, so let's concentrate on what we need to do. Can you think of anything else to give us an edge once the fighting starts?”
“If things go sour I've got a trick or two up my sleeve, but if you're talking about before we start fighting, no I can't think of anything else right now. Fire and
Air aren't exactly the best Magics for setting things like that up in advance, they're more spontaneous, spur of the moment types of things.”
Only if that's how you consider them, Michael thought. But I'm not going to start that argument with her again. We never finished it years ago since her temper matches her Magics, flaming hot, but then it's just as likely for her anger to blow away on a random breeze. Better to let her concentrate on how she uses it then try to get her to think of new ways to do so right now.
“I know you've said that before, but I just wanted to check and see,” he said aloud.
They sat together quietly, Rynn's hand snaking its way over to grasp Michael's. He was startled when she made contact, but quickly wrapped his fingers around her own. Before long it was time to check on the raiders again.
“Do you want to check on the raiders this time?” he asked. “You might take the opportunity to do another quick scan for the kids also.”
Rynn nodded and closed her eyes. Michael noticed that she left her hand in his and couldn't help letting his hopes rise a bit.
She's a lot more comfortable with touching me than she used to be. I would've thought that it would be enough to break her concentration when she tried to do magic, at least it used to be. I don't want to think about what that might mean though, not right now. Maybe later when I have the leisure to think about it properly.
Several minutes later, Rynn's eyes snapped open.
“They're moving this way, probably about forty-five or fifty minutes out. Plus, there's something up on the cliff that I don't recognize. I noticed that when I was looking for the kids.”
Michael held up his index finger as he stood.
“One minute,” he said and trotted over to Bill.
“They're coming Bill, forty-five minutes, give or take a little.”
“Good, I hate waiting. I'll spread the word. Are you ready?”
“As ready as I'll ever be,” Michael answered.
Bill smiled wryly in agreement and nodded before moving off to the trenches again. Michael returned to Rynn.
“Did whatever you felt feel hostile?” he asked.
“Yes and no. I felt hostility there, but it didn't seem to be directed at me.”
“There's something strange in the mine also, maybe they're related. Did it feel anything like this?”
He picked up the large crystal from where he'd covered it earlier and handed it to Rynn. Her eyes flew open.
“This thing's massive, where did it come from?”
“It was in the mouth of the mine, Calvin let me know. Did what you noticed feel anything like that?” he asked, nodding at the crystal.
Rynn closed her eyes for a moment, then nodded.
“There are definite similarities. It isn't exactly like this, but it is close.”
“Then maybe we'll be getting some help from the Fae in this fight. They're the only source for this crystal that I can think of.”
“That's a mixed blessing,” Rynn said. “How will the defenders out there react to something like that?”
“They're used to magic around here, they just call it knacks, so I suppose it depends on what happens. As long as it isn't too outrageous, they'll probably just brush it off.”
“Good, I'd hate for them to be distracted by anything the Fae did. That would be too much like taking friendly fire.”
Michael nodded.
“Agreed,” he said.
Now how do I broach the subject of where she should be in the battle?
“Umm, we didn't discuss this, but I'd like you as sniper again during the fight. Especially with that tunnel trick, if you get a shot at the opposing Wizard, we might be able to finish this quickly and easily.”
Rynn scowled at him.
“How'd I know you were going to say that? But I thought about it myself also and that's probably the best spot for me. But the window I used last time won't do, I need to be higher to see where this fight's going to take place.”
“The roof?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I checked already. I have line of sight from up there and it should still be in my accurate range.”
“Good, let's get the ladder then so you can get up there.”
Rynn chuckled, her merriment sounding odd compared to the tenor of their recent conversation.
“Did you forget?” she asked, pointing to herself. “Me, the Air Mage escape artist?”
Michael's thoughts flew back to years earlier when he and Rynn had escaped the school from time to time. Since Rynn's room had been on the third floor, she'd worked out how to build a staircase out of the air itself, one that would support her weight and allowed her easy access in and out of the school through the window of her room.
“Yeah, actually I had forgotten. You still use that one?”
She smiled.
“You'd be amazed at how handy it is to make your entrance on an upper floor when you aren't expected.”
Rynn slung her rifle over her shoulder and grabbed a bag containing more ammunition. She took several steps out into the yard, turned, muttered something under her breath, and began to climb into the air. Michael retrieved the large crystal, walked out into the yard, and watched as Rynn ascended the staircase she'd made from the air. To all appearances she was simply climbing into the empty sky, although he knew he'd be able to feel the steps if he put his hand on them, he'd tried the first time she showed him.
When Rynn reached the roof she climbed to the peak and over the top, then laid down. Michael walked out to the trenches and saw that Rynn was barely visible from there, especially if no-one was paying attention to the house. Once she started firing, she might get more attention focused in her general area, but the first few shots should be a total surprise.
He waited nervously for the raiders to arrive. The men in the trenches had taken positions, several of them using binoculars to scan the area they expected the raiders to arrive from. Michael didn't have an assigned position in the trenches, he and Bill had decided that it was better if Michael was free to move around and respond as needed.
He slid into the back of one of the trenches anyway, not wanting to be visible long before everyone else was. He buried the crystal under the dirt at the base of the trench since it was too large to easily carry, then he waited.
* * *
The half hour that followed seemed like an eternity before one of the men with binoculars called out.
“I see a couple of trucks and a bunch of men on foot headed this way.”
Michael peered out of the trench. He couldn't make out the details at this distance, but the moving blur was hugging the base of the steep hill that rose until it formed the cliff that the mine was dug into. The hill where he saw the blur was already steep enough that he was sure they wouldn't be going up it.
Sure enough the raiders moved along the base of the hill, and then the cliff. By this point Michael could make out some of the details. They were armed with what looked like a motley assortment of weapons, but the older of the two trucks, one that looked like it was from the sixties or seventies, had been rigged out almost like a battering ram or armored vehicle, the front of it covered in sheet metal and rebar.
I bet that's why they stopped, to put the armor on. They probably didn't want to drive any farther than they had to with all that junk on the front of the truck.
Michael concentrated and brought up his Sight, trying to see the Wizard that led the raiders. At first he didn't see him, but then he noticed the flickering of magic behind the eye slits of the truck with the armor on it.
It figures that he wouldn't be on foot. Easier for him to work magic from in there also, especially since it's an older model that will keep running if he does.
Some of the raiders gesticulated wildly towards the trenches, evidently they'd noticed them finally. The two trucks swung out from alongside the cliff, pointed towards the trenches. Michael grinned evilly when he noticed that the one with the Wizard in it was the one farther away fr
om the cliff and closer to the area he'd prepared earlier on.
The raiders stopped momentarily and Michael heard one of them calling out what sounded liked orders, although he couldn't make out the actual words. When they started advancing again, the trucks were side by side and the men on foot were behind them.
As the crawled forward, Bill watched intently. He knew what range his men would do their best shooting at and was waiting for it. Michael waited also, not wanting to ruin Bill's efforts, but he did send a fragment of his awareness to the water under the field near the armored truck, ready to work with it as soon as the defenders opened fire.
A piercing whistle rang out in the trenches and the defenders went up on their knees, aimed, and fired. There weren't many raiders visible to fire at since they were using the trucks for cover, but the windshield of the non-armored truck starred with a series of circular crack patterns centered around the holes left by the heavy bullets of the Garands.
At the same time Michael willed the water to move upwards and mix with the soil above it. In seconds the heavy armored truck went nose down into the loosening soil. As more water mixed in, the back began to sink as well.
The front of the armored truck was already nearly hood deep in the muck by the time the passengers reacted. With the front sinking quickly, and the back sinking more slowly, the bed of the truck was exposed to the trenches, along with the raiders who had been riding in there.
Several of those raiders had the presence of mind to fire their rifles before trying to scramble out of the sinking truck and Michael heard at least one grunt of pain from somewhere in the trenches. The return fire of the defenders left two of those raiders sprawled, loose-limbed, in the bed of the truck as it sank.
The doors of the truck were already partially covered by the muck and the driver and passenger climbed through the windows. The passenger was particularly hard to see, almost as though he were fading in and out, and Michael was now sure he'd spotted the wizard.
Apparently the defenders were having problems seeing him as well. The driver fell into the slop that the ground beneath the truck had turned into after he was struck by several bullets, but Michael didn't see any shots strike near the wizard.
