Starlight (The Dark Elf War Book 1)

by William Stacey

  “That bother you?” Cassie stood and watched Paco’s face carefully, her hands on her hips.

  Paco shook his head. “Relax. You want to play with unknown and dangerous forces, you go right ahead.”

  “It’s not about what I want. If I had what I wanted, I’d have my sister back and none of this bullshit would have happened.”

  The smile disappeared from Paco’s face. “You’re the one from the hospital. I heard about you. I wasn’t making fun of your loss. Family is everything. I’m so sorry for you.”

  She looked away, and Clyde nuzzled his head against her leg. She scratched the top of his head. “Thank you,” she mumbled, not sure if she were talking to Paco or Clyde.

  Paco nodded, smoke drifting from his nostrils. “Still, you might be a good friend to have. You, me, and Clyde should become best buds. A little magic protection can be a good thing.”

  “Why would you need protection?”

  “Army’s hired me to hunt this dragon thing down for them.”

  “The basilisk?”

  Paco nodded, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

  “You’re a tracker?”

  “Yes, but mostly Clyde does all the work. I just back him up, keep him supplied with Slim Jims.”

  “The army doesn’t have its own trackers?”

  Paco snorted. “Not one that knows this area—not even close.”

  Cassie nodded. “That makes sense, actually.”

  Paco smiled widely. “I know, eh? What’s up with the government making sense?”

  “So when you goin’ after it?”

  “Don’t know, but it’s more than just the basilisk. They’re keeping it hush-hush, but there’s also a pack of wild dogs they need to find.”

  “I heard. Ones that breathe fire.”

  His eyes widened. “No shit?”

  “No shit.”

  Paco shook his head. “Wonder when they were gonna tell me that part.”

  At that moment, a large green aircraft suddenly flew over their heads, appearing from out of nowhere, its engines screaming. It must have been flying just above the forest and been hidden by the treetops. In moments, its propellers pivoted from pointing to the front of its two wings to pointing straight up, kicking up dust and dirt, transforming from a plane to a helicopter. Then it dropped out of sight behind a large hangar. Moments later, the roar of its engines died out.

  That was fast, Cassie thought.

  “Lot of weird things goin’ on around here,” Paco said softly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “That was an Osprey, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t normally that quiet. Canadian Army doesn’t have Ospreys and sure as shit doesn’t have stealth ones.”

  “American?”

  Paco nodded. “Special Forces.”

  “I heard. Alex told me.”

  “Alex?”

  “I think he’s a captain. Last name is Benoit.”

  “The Newfy guy?”

  “Yes. He said that this was a joint American-Canadian operation, hunting down the basilisk. Task Force Devil.”

  Paco shook his head.

  “What’s going on? Is something wrong?”

  “Joint operations are a big deal, not ad-hoc. This is sovereign Canadian territory.”

  “And?”

  “Countries take sovereignty very seriously. Pretty uptight about foreign soldiers carrying weapons on their turf.”

  “I’m sure Alex is Canadian. You can’t fake a Newfoundland accent.”

  “No. You can’t. And a few of the others are French-Canadian for sure, but the rest…” He shook his head. “You seen the big dude, Buck, the one that gives most of the orders?”

  Cassie shook her head.

  “Well, you will. And you’ll remember him when you do.”

  “What about him?”

  “I saw him in the gym yesterday working out. Dude had a Ranger tattoo on his shoulder. He’s American for sure.”

  “So?” she asked.

  “So Buck’s American, this Colonel McKnight is American. The two key positions are American. Why? This is still Canada, right?”

  “What are you saying? Canada and America have been allies forever.”

  He bit his lower lip and shook his head. “This isn’t some emergency mission to hunt down monsters. This op is too slick, and these guys are too well equipped… too settled in.”

  “Maybe they just want the basilisk bad.”

  “Maybe.”

  To Cassie’s ear, he didn’t sound certain at all.

  “When do you think we’ll do it—go after it, I mean?”

  Paco shook his head. “I don’t know. Soon, I’d guess. Question is, when will you guys be ready?”

  “Can’t say as I’ll ever be ready, but I need to get that thing.”

  “Train hard,” Paco said. “These kind of people, Special Forces types, they don’t like putting things off.”

  * * *

  Maelhrandia slipped through the foliage surrounding the encampment the manling mage had fled to. As usual, she had cast Shadow-Soul around her. If there had been anyone watching, the most they might have seen of her would have been a slight blur in the air, a momentary discoloring as she swept through the trees.

  Far back in the woods, she could sense Gazekiller through the mind-tether, waiting for her. There was just no way an animal that large could be as stealthy as she needed to be. This was a military camp, and she needed to be careful when spying upon it. Arrogance could get her killed. A metal fence surrounded the camp, extending all the way to the river’s edge. A single road ran through the fence, with a guard detachment controlling access. One of their massive armored war chariots was always nearby. Hidden, she had observed the guards for some minutes. They were well armed and alert and had an animal with them, like a gwyllgi only much smaller. Had she wanted to, she could have killed all of them in a moment, but doing so would have alerted the camp to her presence, and she wasn’t ready for that yet.

  It hadn’t been easy tracking the golden-haired mage. In fact, it had taken her some days of meditation to rediscover the magic-use, but now she was certain she had found her again. In addition, she believed there were other manling mages within the camp. If this place had multiple mages, it must be important to the manlings. Perhaps one of their warlords was here, as well.

  Without warning, she heard a horrific screech as something flew toward her. Certain they had discovered her, she filled herself with magical power. She’d die fighting!

  One of their wondrous flying machines appeared above the treetops and flew over the camp. Within moments, it disappeared from sight. Then it was silent again.

  Such amazing machines they built. Even dwarves couldn’t match their skill. It was almost a pity what her mother had planned for them.

  * * *

  The colored balls Cassie had been levitating dropped to the floor, bouncing away in different directions. She turned and stared, wide-eyed, at Elizabeth and Duncan. Duncan seemed oblivious to the forces she had just felt, but Elizabeth met her gaze.

  “What?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Was that you?” Cassie asked. “It sure as hell wasn’t me.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes registered her confusion. “Was what me?”

  Duncan glanced over in their direction. “What’s going on?”

  “It wasn’t either of you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elizabeth answered. “What wasn’t us?”

  “Someone was channeling mana,” said Cassie. “A lot of mana.”

  Duncan said, “No, couldn’t be.”

  “Another mag-sens?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Maybe,” Cassie answered. “It was only for a moment, and now it’s gone.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “I didn’t sense anything, and I would have. It’s probably just your imagination.”

  Cassie frowned at her then looked away. “Whatever.”

  Chapter 23

  Cassie, Elizabeth, and Duncan were s
itting in the lab, chatting, when Alex came in. Cassie had barely seen him since the day he had shown her around the base, a week earlier. He looked apprehensive.

  “Guys, I’m going to need you to return to your rooms, throw a change of clothes and some socks into an overnight bag, and meet back at the parking lot in front of the cafeteria in about fifteen minutes. We have an op, and Colonel McKnight wants you on it. Welcome to Task Force Devil.”

  The three mag-sens glanced quickly at one another. Duncan opened his mouth and then closed it again. Elizabeth flicked a strand of dark hair away from her eyes and inclined her head, but Cassie noticed that her lower lip trembled slightly.

  “Is it the… the basilisk?” Cassie asked.

  “No,” said Alex. “No one’s seen that thing since the attack on the hospital. But there’s been a hellhound attack—a pack of feral dogs. Something we should be able to deal with easily.”

  “Dogs?” Duncan’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you need us for wild dogs?”

  “These ones breathe fire,” Cassie said.

  “Jesus,” whispered Duncan so quietly Cassie almost didn’t hear him.

  Alex turned to leave then paused at the doorway. “Fifteen minutes,” he repeated. “Just use the small pack we gave you, the one that looks like a little backpack. Toothbrush, change of underwear, more socks. You can never have enough socks. And a hat, the bush cap… it’ll be hot out there, and we’ll probably be out for a few days.”

  No one said anything.

  “Don’t be late.” Alex slipped out the door.

  * * *

  It took Cassie longer than fifteen minutes to get to the parking lot with her overnight bag, and by the time she arrived, there was already a large group of soldiers scurrying about next to a pair of the ugly armored vehicles she had originally mistaken for tanks. She had expected someone to be angry with her for being late, but no one seemed to notice—or care.

  Each truck was big and high with a boat-shaped hull atop four oversized tires, the tops of which reached her waist when she stood beside them. The windows were tinted dark green and had what looked like a gun port smack-dab in the center. That, she thought, must be bulletproof glass. At the top of each vehicle was an automated turret to which was mounted a large machine gun. She stood in place, her small pack in her hand, staring at the huge, dangerous-looking barrel on the weapon. If someone had had a weapon like that when the basilisk had attacked the hospital, they would have killed the damned thing on the spot. Her confidence began to grow.

  One of the soldiers, the powerfully built redhead who had accompanied McKnight and Alex to the hospital that first time, jostled her then quickly muttered apologies before darting past to toss supplies into one of the open cargo hatches on the outside of the vehicle. Clara, she remembered. Sergeant Clara something or other. Unlike Cassie, Clara clearly belonged there despite being one of the few women amongst a pack of alpha males.

  Just then, a dog barked, and Cassie saw Paco and Clyde standing near the front bumper of the first vehicle. Clyde stood beside his master, his gaze directed toward Cassie, his tongue hanging out. Despite her nerves, Cassie smiled and joined them. Paco, a huge grin on his face, gripped her shoulder and squeezed it. “Hey, little sister, you ready for this?”

  Cassie watched the soldiers prepare the vehicles. “Not even a little bit.”

  “It’ll be all right… probably. These guys aren’t messing around. This is some pretty serious shit they’re going out the gate with. Should be more than enough for a pack of wild dogs.”

  Cassie snorted. “Not so sure about that.”

  Paco pulled a cigarette out of his packet and lit it. The smell of smoke mingled with exhaust from the running vehicles. “These are MRAPs—pretty tough; definitely fireproof.”

  “M-whats?”

  “Mine Resistant Ambush Protected. MRAP. South African. We bought ’em for Afghanistan. Designed to survive a mine blast.” He exhaled smoke and raised a single eyebrow. “Should be able to deal with a little bit of fire breathing, don’t you think? And those are 7.62 millimeter machine guns on the automated turrets. A single round from those bad boys will shred any animal it hits. I’d say you’re pretty safe inside the vehicles, which is where you and the other two shamans need to stay.”

  “But not you.” Cassie put her hand on his forearm and watched his face. “You and Clyde will be outside tracking them, won’t you?”

  Paco scratched his goatee and nodded. “That’s the job, at least until we run them down. But don’t worry. Once we get close enough to put eyes on these doggies, Clyde and me’ll jump in there with you guys, so save some room for us.”

  Cassie frowned then dropped down on one knee beside Clyde and wrapped her arms around the shepherd’s head. “Make sure that you do.”

  One of the soldiers took Cassie’s day pack from her and stowed it in the second MRAP. “You’re in here,” the young man said, and Cassie nodded.

  Duncan’s head popped out from the open back hatch of the MRAP. “Looks like we’re traveling together.” He swung his legs out the back of the vehicle and jumped down on the ground.

  Like Cassie, Duncan was dressed in army pants, boots, a dark-green T-shirt, and a floppy bush hat. Cassie had hung her bush hat off a strap on the back of her neck. She was pretty sure she looked out of place in army clothes, but she couldn’t possibly be as ridiculous in them as Duncan, who looked like a kid wearing adult clothes. Paco, on the other hand, in worn blue jeans and a dark hoodie, appeared perfectly at ease.

  “You two know each other?” she asked, looking from Duncan to Paco.

  Duncan shook his head and held out his hand. “Duncan Hocking.”

  Paco shook his hand. “Yancy Nelson, but my buds call me Paco. This is Clyde.”

  Duncan eyed the dog nervously. Clyde ignored him and nuzzled his nose against Cassie’s hand, wanting more attention. At that moment, two soldiers swept past them, struggling with large metal boxes filled with linked belts of ammunition. Cassie, Paco, Duncan, and Clyde darted out of the way. Were they really going to need that much ammunition?

  “Where’s Elizabeth?” Cassie asked.

  Duncan indicated the lead MRAP with his head. “They’ve got her in there with the big tall dude in charge.”

  “Buck?” Cassie asked.

  “Yeah, that’s his name,” Duncan replied, looking down at his feet.

  His real name, Cassie knew, was Buchanan. She had overheard one of the soldiers calling him Major Buchanan. She had no idea what a major was, but in the past few days, it had become clear that the tall, muscular soldier was in charge around the base or, at the very least, was just behind Colonel McKnight in authority. It was also clear that he didn’t care much for the presence of Cassie, Elizabeth, and Duncan. Obviously, he didn’t expect much from the mag-sens. She could tell Duncan was afraid of him, and it wasn’t hard to see why. She had seen his kind before all too often: the type-A—for asshole—personality, overly impressed with himself and his ability to push others around.

  “So,” said Paco, “what exactly is it they expect you guys to do out there?”

  Cassie bit her lower lip then shook her head. “I’m not sure what we can do. We can… move small objects, start small fires, but that’s about it.”

  “You can burn stuff?”

  “Little things, like pieces of paper,” Duncan replied.

  “We can also sense when we’re channeling mana,” Cassie replied.

  “Mana?” Paco asked.

  “That’s what we’re calling the magic,” Cassie said.

  Paco nodded thoughtfully. “It’s as good a name as any other, I guess. So… you think maybe that’s what these animals are doing when they breathe fire—channeling mana?”

  Cassie shrugged, and Duncan stared at his feet.

  “There’s just so much we don’t know or understand,” Cassie said. “McKnight promised the government would help us better understand what was happening, but so far, nobody seems to have a clue. The help we’re ge
tting here is just some lab technicians watching us practice while they take notes.”

  Paco snorted. “Don’t take it personally. I don’t think anyone anywhere knows what’s going on with you guys. At least they’re trying to—”

  “Something’s happening,” Cassie said.

  Near the front of the first MRAP, Alex stood up in the driver’s door, looking over the soldiers who were working around the vehicles. Buck stood just beside him, waiting. A uniformed RCMP officer stood beside Buck. Cassie had never seen him before and had no idea the police were working with the army. “Listen up,” Alex yelled out in a commanding voice. All talk and activity ceased as everyone turned to watch the young man. “Gather around for a packet briefing. We’re rolling in five.”

  Everyone drew in closer to Alex and Buck, jostling for a place to stand. Elizabeth climbed out the back of the lead MRAP and moved to stand beside Alex, which Cassie found mildly annoying for some reason.

  Once everyone was gathered around, Alex nodded at Buck. Buck’s gaze swept across the assembled troops. “All right; let’s get this going.”

  Alex unrolled a paper map the size of a bulletin board and used gun tape to hold it in place against the side of the MRAP where everyone could see it. Cassie recognized the Peace River Valley.

  She looked around the assembled group, quickly counting. Including Buck and Alex, there were twelve soldiers present, all of them men except for two young women—Clara and one Cassie didn’t know. They looked confident and capable, and Cassie was pretty sure all of them were with Special Forces. She drew some comfort from their presence, but her nerves were still on edge, and she felt queasy as though she was going to throw up.

  “The situation, ladies and gentlemen,” Buck said, “is that earlier this morning, around oh-four-hundred, the local police received reports of an animal attack on a farmhouse.” Buck turned around and used his pen to point to a spot on the map. He then turned back and nodded at the RCMP officer standing nearby. “Special Constable Fitzroy, here, will act as liaison with the local constabulary, letting them know we have jurisdiction on this matter.”

  Paco placed his mouth near her ear. “I know that farm. The Coogans. Good folk.”