by LE Barbant
“Alright, wish me luck.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The robed speechwriter sauntered toward the compound. Even under the circumstances, Elijah couldn’t help but envy Rhett’s composure. After years in front of a blackboard, the professor still got nervous giving lectures rehearsed a thousand times. But Rhett could strut into a den of magical ideologues like he was walking to church.
Skylar’s analysis indicated that he should enter through a door opposite the barn. Maybe, if they were lucky, Rhett could find Tim and Willa and get out before whatever meeting was taking place ended.
Rhett’s voice crackled in his ear.
“I’m in. The lights are on, but it looks like no one’s home.”
It had taken some time, but the speechwriter had grown on Elijah. He still struggled to accept Rhett’s powers. They definitely toed, if not outright trampled on, the ethical lines that Elijah tried to live within. But since infiltration was their best bet for freeing Willa and Tim without bloodshed, Elijah was glad to have someone with Rhett’s gifts and lack of moral sensibilities on the team.
What confused Elijah was everyone’s eagerness to join him. Rhett wore his ambition on his sleeve, though Elijah failed to see his current angle. The man was calculating, which made him great at his political work. But the historian couldn’t help but wonder if there were ulterior motives drawing him to the mission. When Elijah first met Rita, caution seemed to dictate most of her actions. But lately, she was almost reckless in her willingness to help. Something didn’t feel right, but he tried to trust their membership in the misfit community.
An even bigger mystery was why Elijah was there. He had been through a lot with Willa and Tim, but this was dangerous on an entirely new level. And yet, he couldn’t just stand by as something bad happened to them.
He thought about his passenger. While the mysterious spirit had left him months before, he could still feel that burning: the hunger for justice that he felt while absorbed by its presence. Perhaps it was the remnants of the possession that led him to the farm that night. Thirst for justice a century old might just be the catalyst for his participation.
“Stand by. I’ve found someone.”
Elijah’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest. A bead of sweat ran into his eyes. He blinked it away and tried to focus. This was it. Their whole plan hinged on this moment. The strategy rushed through his mind. He thought of the conversations with Crane and the hours of planning. He wondered if he was crazy to think that their best-laid plans might actually work. There was a laundry list of things he was good at. Leading an assault on the compound of a century-old guild of wizards was not one of them.
An unfamiliar voice cut into his ear. “Who are you?”
“Oh, shit. I’m glad I ran into you. I’m new here, and I’m, um, lost.”
“You’re…new?”
Elijah heard Rhett’s contrived laughter on the other end.
“Yeah. And I’m supposed to be on duty. The old guy, you know, the one with the beard? He sent me.”
“You mean Grandmaster Harker?”
“I guess so. He told me to go check on the prisoners, but I have no idea where they are. Could you help me out?”
Elijah held his breath as he listened to the script their script. All of its flaws stuck out painfully in his mind. He waited, knowing the wizard would sniff out their ruse. Would one of the Guild, even a young newbie, really not know their Grandmaster?
Elijah cursed.
“Um…I don’t know. What’s your name?”
Elijah cursed again.
“Trust me. If the Grandmaster finds out I’m not at my post, he’s gonna lose it. You should help me.”
The words sounded natural, but Elijah knew there was nothing ordinary about them. There was a power engrained in them. The speechwriter wasn’t altogether different than the poet-magicians.
“Yeah, right. No problem. Turn left up ahead, then make your first right. It’s at the end of that long corridor.”
“Thanks, man, I really appreciate it. “
“No problem. Ad ordine libertas,” the wizard said.
“Ad ordine libertas.”
Rhett was good. Even though Elijah kept his guard up around the speechwriter, it was hard not to trust that voice. For a moment, he wondered if the rhetorician had ever used his gift on him.
“Ground control to Major Elijah. Did you catch that?”
“Nice work, Rhett. Be careful.”
“No problem. If Tim can walk, we’ll be out of here in no time.”
Elijah looked over at Skylar. She was having the time of her life. Rita sat on her heels just behind her. Her black eyes darted around the edge of the woods. Her presence brought him some semblance of comfort. The gifts she had, combined with her dedication to the girl, put her on high alert. She would die for her if she had to.
“Ok, I think I’ve found their door. Here goes noth—shit.”
A burst of static crackled in Elijah’s ear, then all went quiet.
“Rhett?”
Silence.
“Rhett? You there? Hello? Rhett?”
Silence.
He looked at Rita; she nodded.
“Time for plan B. We’re going in. Skylar, you stay here, got me?” Elijah tried to give her his sternest sounding voice. “If we lose radio contact, then get back to the truck as quickly as possible. OK? Do not follow us in.”
“OK, I got it. Geeze.”
Elijah reached up and grabbed the girl’s chin. Their eyes were locked. “I mean it.”
“Yeah,” she said, looking afraid for the first time.
His stomach sank. Skylar was there largely due to his advocacy. He thought of Sylvia and all she had been through. The girl was all she had in this world. Elijah had carried the weight of Sean’s death on his shoulders for the better part of a year. He worried that he made another mistake allowing Skylar to join the mission. Trying to push that concern from his mind, Elijah hurdled the log and ran down the hill towards the compound. Between heavy breaths, he tried to pick Rhett up on their radios.
Still no answer.
He rolled up his sleeves in preparation for the worst.
Rita caught up with him easily. They stood shoulder to shoulder at the doorstep.
She put her hand on the handle. “Me first. Try and move quietly.”
Elijah nodded.
They opened the door and slipped into the compound.
****
The hallway extended deep into the building; fluorescent bulbs hummed overhead. The space was still under construction. Bare walls and exposed wiring decorated the open rooms on either side of them like some hipster bar.
Rita ran ahead, checking every open door before they ran past. Years of staying in the shadows had prepared her well for the break-in. Elijah hoped that they would serve them as well during the break-out. The compound was a labyrinth, making it nearly impossible to trace Rhett’s route. The speechwriter remained silent on the other end of their earpieces. Elijah imagined the worst. What if they had come with the hope of freeing two and left another behind instead?
They came to another corridor which crossed their own. Rita sniffed the dead air like a bloodhound. She motioned toward the right.
Twenty feet down the passageway, a voice stopped Elijah short. A light flickered on in a room ahead on the left, casting a column of light into the hall. A single voice inside, young and male, drifted through the corridor. Elijah couldn’t make out the words.
Rita, back flat against the wall, crept towards the door. She peered around the corner then immediately turned and clutched Elijah by the sweater. She pulled him back in the direction they came.
The light clicked off.
Elijah and Rita were about to have company.
They sprinted around the corner. Elijah, distracted by the threat looming behind him, was unaware of the robed figure in front of him. The impact knocked the wind out of Elijah’s lungs.
Before either man had a chanc
e to react, Rita was on top of the robed figure, clawed hands at his throat.
Wild eyes stared up at her.
“Rita, stop. It’s Rhett.” Elijah whispered.
Rita released her grip, and color returned to the speechwriter’s face.
“Holy shit, you’re terrifying. Be careful with the goods, honey. I make my living with this thing,” he said, rubbing his reddened throat.
Rita smelled the air again. “We have to move. Now.”
Elijah couldn’t smell anything, but he trusted her sense all the same.
“In here.” Rhett pulled them into a dark room. Crouching inside, no one breathed. Elijah’s heart thumped erratically as a small robed figure walked past.
Keep going. Keep going, he thought.
The sound of footsteps faded down the hall.
“What happened to you?” Elijah asked, convinced the coast was clear.
“I found one of the rooms where they were keeping them. When I tried to open the door it felt like I grabbed an exposed wire. It knocked me on my ass and must have fried my headset. I started making my way back to the entrance when I ran into you.” Rhett looked down at his hand, made a fist, and then released it. “It must have been some sort of security system.”
“Magic,” Rita gurgled.
“Yeah, probably,” Elijah said. “Can you take us back there, Rhett?”
Three minutes and two close calls later, they stood outside of the room.
Rhett glared at the door. “I can sweet talk almost anybody, but it doesn’t really work on inanimate objects.”
Elijah pushed up his sleeves as far as he could above his elbow. “Let me try.”
He closed his eyes, balled his fists, and focused on the heat deep within him. He pictured Willa chained to a wall. He pictured Tim bleeding out on the floor. He pictured an army of evil wizards descending upon the city. Emotion sparked his transformation, and he had spent months learning to channel it.
The smell of burning flesh filled the hallway.
His stomach turned.
Fire spread throughout Elijah’s body, starting with his chest and working its way up into his arms. He bit his lip, trying to fight back a scream as molten metal oozed slowly out of his skin. The viscous substance flowed down his arm covering him in a sheet of liquid steel. The metal cooled slightly, hardening around his arms. Pain turned to power. Smoke and crimson light escaped through the few cracks that burst in his metal skin.
The strange symbol on his chest burned, and he feared his shirt might burst into flames.
Ever since the passenger left him, this partial transformation was all he could achieve on his own. The metal skin easily increased his strength five-fold, but it was only a fraction of what he could do in his full form. For that, he needed Willa’s help. A few words from her and the fire inside of him took over. With the aid of her spellcraft, the molten metal giant took ever. With the way things were going, he couldn’t help but think he might need the monster before the night was through
He looked at his new, massive fists, then at Rhett and Rita. They had both seen his transformation before, but awe still covered their faces.
“Let’s give these a try,” he said, raising his hands in front of him.
Elijah reached forward. A crack of lightening jumped out from the door and struck his palm. Pain coursed through his forearms, but he stayed standing, his enhanced body absorbing most of the power. The electricity intensified as he grabbed onto the handle. Elijah grunted and clenched his teeth. With a twist of his hand, he shattered the lock and pushed the door open.
The room was empty save for a small wooden cot.
“Dammit.” He turned back toward the others. “Any ideas.”
“Crane said that the Guild was here to prosecute Tim and Willa, right? I don’t know what that means, but I imagine it happens with them all together.” Rhett rubbed his hands together. “I bet we’ll find them exactly where we’ve been avoiding.”
Elijah looked at Rita. She remained expressionless.
“Hey Skylar, are you still there,” Elijah said, hoping his earpiece still worked.
“I’m here. You guys ok?”
“We’re fine. Found Rhett but still no sign of Willa and Tim. Can you scan the barn again?”
“Sure, just a sec.”
The three stood for an eternity in silence.
“It’s still the same as before. Lots of light on my infrared. There’s probably a lot of them in there.”
“OK, Skylar thanks. We’re gonna check it out. If you don’t hear from me in ten minutes, I want you to head back to the truck.”
“Roger that.”
“Alright. Let’s go.”
****
The barn had been shaped into a meeting room. Its footprint was enormous. At one time it was meant to accommodate livestock and farm equipment, soon it would be a meeting place for youth groups and church gatherings. But in the interim, it was used for nefarious ends. A dozen robed figures sat in a wide semicircle. Elijah, Rhett, and Rita crept across a hay loft twenty feet above the small crowd.
From their vantage point, Elijah could see the proceedings. A man sat in a wooden chair facing the circle of wizards. It took Elijah a second look before he recognized the mercenary. Tim was a shadow of what he once was. The perfect physical specimen had been replaced by an old man on death’s doorstep. His hair had thinned and turned silver. The familiar red flannel hung loosely on his fragile frame. He hunched over, a man defeated.
Chem’s serum might beat them to the punch.
Willa stood in the middle of the room dressed in a robe like the others. She addressed the group, hands waving frantically as she spoke.
“You want to destroy a soul? Well, here it is.” She pounded her chest and yelled, “Come and get it.”
Murmuring filled the room. An older wizard, overweight and with a long beard stood up. “That’s enough Willa. Sit down. I—”
But he never finished his sentence. A large door pushed open from the outside, letting cool air fill the room. The young redhead from the brewery ran in toward the center of the chamber. He whispered into the ear of the white-bearded man sitting at the head of the council.
The old man raised his hands and bellowed with authority. “Intruders. One of the guards was found half-dead.” He turned to a group off to the side of the platform. “Take the prisoners back to their chambers. The rest of you, follow me.”
Chaos quickly ensued.
Elijah also recognized the blond giant from their previous engagement. The man pulled Tim’s fragile body from the chair and ushered him out of the barn. Two others escorted Willa in the opposite direction.
Elijah crawled back from the edge.
“It’s now or never. You two head after Tim. He’s going to die if we don’t get him to Chem soon. Do whatever it takes.”
Rhett nodded in agreement. “What are you gonna do?”
“I’m going to get Willa. I have to try. Skylar, are you listening? Shit’s hitting the fan. I want you to run back to the truck and wait for us.”
His earpiece was dead silent.
“Skylar? Dammit.” He looked back at Rita. “We have to hurry. Grab Tim, then get Skylar out of here. With any luck, she’s already back at the truck. Let’s go.”
The barn cleared quickly as the wizards mobilized. Once the room was empty, he scrambled to the floor and followed the path of Willa and her captors. Pain gripped him as his arms turned back to their molten state.
Elijah came to a T in the passageway, the path to the right dark. He opted for the light and turned left. Making haste, he got within sight of three robed figures. The wizards accompanying Willa were young and big. There was no way he could take them both. Surprise was the only advantage he had and he decided to make the most of it.
He sprinted toward the guards and lowered his shoulder.
With a yell, he raised his forearm and rammed the larger of the two wizards in the back and sent him flying. Elijah jumped on top of him. Grab
bing the robe in one hand, he threw a wild haymaker with the other. The man’s head snapped back.
Elijah lowered the unconscious wizard to the floor.
He spun, expecting an attack from the other guard, but Willa had wasted no time.
Elijah watches as she landed a knee in the man’s stomach.
As he doubled over she followed through with an elbow to his head, and he crumpled at her feet.
“Damn. Nice moves.”
Willa’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’m busting you out. Let’s go.”
They sprinted toward the barn. His only hope was to get outside. There, if necessary, Willa could use her spell to unleash his full power. It was too risky in the narrow hallways of the compound. He was just as likely to bring the ceiling down on both of them.
The barn was empty. Elijah ran for the exit.
It opened as he reached for the latch. A wizard girl stared at him wide-eyed.
She looked far too young to be caught up in the battle. Her features were soft, her blue eyes filled with fear. Elijah looked at Willa, whose face twisted with anxiety.
“Stop. Just let us past,” Willa said. “Don’t—”
But the young girl closed her eyes and started chanting.
Elijah raised his arms high in front of him in hopes that the unholy steel might ward off whatever attack the young wizard was conjuring.
“O Duty! if that name thou love,
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring and rep—”
Her words were interrupted as a metal arm crashed into her head.
Willa screamed.
The young girl collapsed, a paper doll crushed by a trash compactor.
Elijah watched a river of red flow out from under the girl’s hood.
A look of horror spread across Skylar’s face as she stood over the lifeless body of the young magician.
PART THREE
