Flight

by Jason Cheek

  “One of the most important things for any healer to have, is the peace of mind to focus their energy.” I gave her a wry smile. “Even a blind man could see you’re worked up about something. Whatever it is, it’s blocking you from healing tonight.”

  “I can’t talk about it.”

  I ignored the stench of her hormones as her stress levels suddenly shot through the roof. I can’t read minds, but I had a pretty decent idea when someone was lying. Whatever it was, she truly believed she couldn’t tell me.

  “Fine, we don’t need to talk about it, but you do need to set it aside if you want to learn what I’m teaching. Otherwise, you’re just wasting my time and your money.”

  “What do you care, you’re getting paid.” Seeing the earnest look in my eyes, she took a deep breath.

  “Fine, so how do you think you’re going to help me get over this hump?”

  “Listen, I know you are strong enough to sense when energy is being used around you. Now you just need to learn how to get that same energy to respond to your will.”

  Pulling out the small knife I used for the advanced students, I held it out for her to see. “I think your biggest problem is, you’re just unsure how to do it.”

  “So, you want to slice me up to help me learn? Are you out of your freaking mind?”

  A part of me noticed the smell of adrenaline didn’t change to fear when she started screaming at me, which I thought was intriguing. Her display of anger was actually an act to hide whatever was actually bothering her. Waiting for her to take a breath, I cut her off sharply.

  “No one is going to hurt you. I’m just going to show you what I mean.”

  Jumping to her feet, she blanched as I suddenly sliced open the back of my hand. The cut was deep enough that the skin was visibly gapping open as blood began welling up out of the wound.

  “Now, I want you to focus on the flow of energy…” I stopped as I smelled the acidic tang of true fear rolling off of her.

  Backing up towards the door, she began blasting me in truth. “Your freaking insane is what you are!”

  Quickly healing my hand, I wiped the blood away holding it up for her to see. The simple act stopped her in her tracks as she looked at the back of my hand in shock.

  “What the hell did you just do?”

  “You tell me.”

  Fear forgotten, her curiosity got the better of her as she came storming back into the room. Grabbing my hand, she turned it over, unceremoniously looking for the knife wound that had been there just a moment earlier. Even with her intense scrutiny, she couldn’t see any mark left on my skin.

  “I saw a golden flash of energy surround you for a second.” Dropping my hand, she looked at me, skeptical once more. “Is this some kind of sick street magician trick or something?”

  “Give me a chance to show you, and then you tell me.”

  Sitting in front of me once again, Angela gave me her full attention.

  “Fair enough, show me.”

  Holding my smile back, I laid my hand in her lap.

  “Okay, this time I want you to cradle my hand, and I will do this slowly while you watch.”

  This time, she didn’t even flinch when the blade sliced my skin open, nor did she say a word as she watched the skin slowly knit itself back together. Once the wound was fully healed, I wiped the blood off as she inspected my work, looking at me in awe.

  “I could see what you were doing!”

  Smiling gently, I laid my hand back into her lap.

  “Now, I want you to give it a try. If you’re willing?”

  Seeing her silent nod, I sliced the back of my hand open once again.

  This time, it was her energy that began slowly knitting the skin back together. Like an invisible needle and thread, I watched her concentrate on controlling the power as the wound slowly began to heal once more. By the time she finished, the sweat was literally pouring down her face as she panted from exertion.

  Releasing the energy, she looked at me half dazed.

  “God, this is some crazy shit!”

  Inspecting the roughly healed skin, she looked up at me embarrassed. “I think that’s going to leave a mark this time.”

  Smiling, I concentrated slightly as the scar suddenly disappeared in a golden flash of light, whole once more. “I told you, it’s not a problem.”

  Standing up, she took my proffered hand as I half-lifted her onto her unsteady feet. Giving her my shoulder to lean on, I wrapped an arm around her slim waist as I began helping her towards the stairs. “I think that’s enough work for tonight. Right now, you need to eat something before you pass out.”

  “God, I feel like I just ran a marathon.” I could feel her concentrating fully on placing one foot in front of the other.

  “Yea, healing is harder work than most people realize. It’s just like anything else, practice makes you better.”

  Stopping at the foot of the stairs, Angela turned to face me with an odd look on her face. I could tell whatever inner conflict that was bothering her earlier had come back in full force once again.

  “You know, when you first invited me to come to the advanced class, I didn’t know what to think.”

  I shrugged my shoulders smiling. “Nothing stranger than more of this, and sometimes pot luck.”

  Seeing her disbelieving look, I pointed to the handout taped on the wall.

  “I’m only teaching The Ukko Healing Method, nothing more, and nothing less.”

  Helping her up the stairs, I switched back into my teaching voice.

  “Most importantly after healing, it’s best to eat and drink something to help your body recover more quickly, which is why I always have food out for the advanced class.”

  I stopped as the smell of gun oil and sweating men suddenly floated to me on the night’s breeze. A second later, the warning alarms began going off in my head as the wards I’d setup earlier around the building were triggered all at once. Seeing the wary expression on my face, Angela stiffened in alarm as I stopped half way up the stairs, looking at the door.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Hearing the footfalls stop outside the front door, I knocked Angela onto the stairs as I recognized the strong acidic odor coming from the other side. Shielding her with my body, I triggered my Rök runes as her confused screams were cut off abruptly.

  KABOOM!!!

  The explosion shredded the wooden door to my building, blowing it to tiny bits as a cloud of dust and smoke billowed into the room. Standing up, I gave Angela a quick once over, before heading to the gaping hole where my door used to be. A second later, a group of black suited men carrying assault rifles, and wearing black body armor began running towards the smoke filled doorway. Through the deafening ringing in my ears, I made out the yells of “CTA” and “Freeze” as the men approached.

  Fighting my first instinct to tear apart the intruders trespassing into my territory, I forced the raging beast inside of me down as I blocked the doorway with my body, facing the CTA agents. The first two agents heading for the doorway suddenly stopped, seeing me standing in their way. Reversing their rifles, they slammed the butts of their weapon into my chest and face screaming in a shrill voice.

  “Freeze, get on your knees now!”

  Ignoring the blows, I stood unmoving in the doorway focused on the Mentem-loqui fight going on inside my head.

 

  The answering growl reverberating in my mind was response enough to my command as I felt his incredible rage surging through our link. For a second, I almost lost myself before I felt my iron Will slamming back into place. Focusing my thoughts, I brought my own instincts under control once again. It was never a smart idea to open up a conversation with my Grandsire by issuing a command, but if I hesitated for a second. He would slaughter the agents without a second thought.

 

  I almost could re
ad his mind, after living so many years together. Slowly, I could feel my words beginning to penetrate through the haze of his instinctual fury. The need to protect his Domain from intruders ran deep. I didn’t exactly need the telepathic link to figure that out, since I was fighting a similar battle inside my own head. Unlike Grandsire, I was required to adhere to a strict code of conduct as per my relationship with Ukko, which he well understood. Again, I broadcasted to him.

 

  There was a long pause before, I felt him calm down enough to reply back to me in Mentem-loqui.

 

 

  Focusing on the CTA agents standing in front of me once again, I realized that they must have struck me several more times during my argument. They probably thought I was hopped up on some kind of new street drug, since I wasn’t responding to the physical pain. Seeing their confused hesitation, I realized both agents had tasers pressed against my chest as I suddenly became aware of the electronic clicking noise coming from the little plastic devices held in their hands.

  Annoyed, I grabbed the two agents by the front of their jumpsuits, lifting them effortlessly into the air. Fearfully, they began repeatedly slamming their tasers into me as I began shaking them in my rage. I shook them until they dropped their weapons as their fellow agent froze unsure of what to do next.

  Looking at the team of agents surrounding me, I practically growled at the men.

  “Who are you and where is your search warrant to enter my property?”

  I watched as another agent ran up to me with a riot control gun. Leveling the weapon at my chest, from no less than ten feet away, he fired the gun center mast. Unfazed, I waited until the last rubber bullet bounced harmlessly to the ground as the smell of fear suddenly rose up from the agents surrounding me.

  Seeing the men nervously pointing their assault rifles at my chest, I felt my yellow eyes begin to glow as my temper began to rise.

  “I will ask one last time! Show me your warrant for entering my property and identify yourselves, or I will assume you are common criminals and respond accordingly!”

  I felt a gentle hand hesitantly touch my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Angela looking at me anxiously with the other women from the advanced class standing behind her.

  “They do not need a warrant to apprehend an illegal alien. Not since the Patriot Act was passed into law in two thousand and one.”

  Thoughtfully, I looked back at the agents surrounding me.

  “Gentlemen, I suggest you show me your identification.”

  The agent dangling in my right hand suddenly barked out an order to the rest of the men.

  “Do it!”

  Slowly, the agents began flipping out their badges. Taking my time to read each one, I nodded for the agents to put them away one at a time. Lastly, I looked at the badges of the agents I was holding before me in the air.

  Bringing the agent’s face in my right hand close to my own, I growled my next words.

  “Agent Thompson, I take it you are responsible for the actions of this assault group?”

  Straining to maintain his dignity, the agent tried to stop his voice from cracking.

  “Yes, I am the Officer in charge.”

  Turning around, I held Agent Thompson towards the unarmed ladies of my class.

  “Are anyone of these ladies holding a weapon, or threatening your people in any way?”

  “No Sir, they are not as far as I can tell.”

  Turning back around, I set both agents onto the ground in front of the rest of the assault team, looking Agent Thompson directly into his eyes.

  “Unprovoked, your men have attacked me multiple times without cause. If anything happens to these women, I will hold you and your team personally responsible. Have I made myself clear?”

  I could smell the mixture of fear and adrenaline from the man as he met my gaze unflinchingly.

  “Yes Sir.”

  Releasing them both, I stepped away from the doorway nodding to Agent Thompson.

  “You may proceed. I will not resist.”

  The agents surrounded me before cuffing my hands behind my back. In my mind's eye, I could see Grandsire escaping through the hidden bolt hole in the bedroom. There was a crawl space between the ceiling and roof that we had built for just such an occasion.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I remembered back to the first time this happened.

  First off you need to understand that Werewolves are insanely protective of their Dens. I had just turned twelve years old and for about a month we had been living in the Qinghai Province, of China, after fleeing Irlendria, when we attracted the attention of the local government. They sent troops to pick us up for questioning, but the soldiers were brutal in their treatment of foreigners. When they began beating us with their weapon, Grandsire went berserk changing into his Werewolf form. By the time his rage had subsided, he had ripped the entire force apart, literally limb by bloody limb.

  The horror of the crime scene had driven the country’s military and police forces into a crazed frenzy. They tore the country up in their efforts to hunt us down, but they never found us.

  Eventually, we made it out of the country by traveling over the mountains into India, in the middle of winter, but it was a changing point in my relationship with my Grandsire. The problem was not because of the bloodshed. Ukko was not a turn the other cheek kind of god. The problem was the innocent Wutu families that had offered to help us. They had all been brutally slaughtered by their own government.

  I vowed on that day, I would do my best never to allow that to happen again!

  It was in India where I came up with the concept of The Ukko Healing Method and The Ukko System of Self Defense, and started giving lessons in every town we passed through. Grandsire accepted the new direction in our lives, understanding that I had to weigh my actions with the Will of my God.

  Grandsire taught the self defense courses, while I worked on my healing classes. We taught wherever we traveled, until I was old enough to be teaching both on my own. We were especially careful not to put the lives of our students in danger, whether it was from the local crime lords or governments.

  Normally, crime lords that crossed us disappeared overnight, which scared the corrupt government officials enough to leave us alone. We made enough money to live, and Grandsire was satisfied as long as I kept advancing my skills in martial arts and kenjutsu, the way of the sword.

  My thoughts were suddenly slammed to the present as I forcibly was shoved into the back of an armored black van at gun point. I was able to see the rest of my students from the advanced class being hustled into a similar van nearby, before the doors were slammed shut. Thankfully, except for being stunned, no one seemed to be hurt.

  The faces of the agents that piled into the van with me were less than friendly. Looking at their grim faces, I gave them a cheery smile.

  “So, can any one of you fine gentlemen let me know why I’m being arrested?”

  The moment stretched out without any reply forthcoming. I was just about to repeat the question, when the closest agent answered sullenly.

  “You are not being arrested, but detained.”

  Again the silence stretched out as I waited for clarification. Receiving no further explanation, I cleared my throat addressing the same agent.

  “Could you let me know why I am being detained?”

  This time the agent sneered as if he’d been waiting for the obvious question.

  “You are being detained for suspicion of domestic violence to the United States of America, under the Patriot Act.”

  We rode in silence except for the sounds of the engine as I considered the charges being leveled against me. I had known that these agents were from the newly organized Counter Terrorist Agency, but I only had a basic understanding of the laws of the United States.

  I did understand one thing.

 
Ever since the inception of the Patriot Act, it made many of the laws that protected citizen rights null and void in the United States and the CTA was the enforcement arm of Homeland Security. Under the Patriot Act, I could be held without charges for an indefinite amount of time, and there was nothing I could do legally to fight it. That made the decision of what to do easy enough. I just had to do my best to clear my students before I left.

  Sitting back, I closed my eyes reaching out with my mind once more to Grandsire.

 

 

 

  It didn’t take long to reach the new facility from my business. Already, I could feel the van heading down into an underground garage as Grandsire broadcasted one last time.

 

  Chapter 8

  Location Earth / Florida present day / Shadowfang:

  Still in Werewolf form, Shadowfang sniffed the air cautiously, before dropping through the bolt hole back into the bedroom as the CTA personnel went about the task of confiscating all of their gear from the building.

  Moving silently to the doorway, he quickly grabbed two soldiers as they walked by the bedroom door. Before they could shout out a warning, Shadowfang slammed their heads together with a solid thunk, before dropping them to the floor unconscious. Ears alert for any sounds of alarm, he crept out of the bedroom looking for more intruders.

  Hearing a group of four men climbing the stairs, he flattened himself behind the door to the second story. Waiting silently, Shadowfang quietly closed the door behind the last soldier entering the living room, without alerting them to his presence.

  Lunging forward, he attacked in a blur of speed before they knew what was happening. Swinging his massive arms, he smashed the men to the floor knocking them unconscious in a matter of seconds.

  Silently, he carried the men to the far wall, before binding them with duck tape. Returning to the bedroom, he quickly taped up the two men laying on the floor in the same way.