Lone Survivor: The Sorcerers' Scourge Series: Book One

by Michael Arches

  “Maybe the problem is that I’ve never had a need to use magic before. I’m so big that bullies have always left me alone.”

  Tess held up her hand. “I can see from your scrunched-up face that you’re frustrated. No more negative thoughts this morning. Just stand and face me. I’ll show you a fighting spell we can cast while we’re pissed. Actually, for it to work right, you have to be ready to take someone’s head off.”

  My fury at the sorcerers still remained close to the surface, and Judge Eastwood was swimming around right below them. My anger had risen considerably over the last few days.

  “You look frustrated, so this incantation could work well. It’s a painful stunning spell. Focus your anger through your magical core—let rage build inside you until it reaches a peak. Then you point your finger at your attacker and think, ‘Make him pay, Holar, assomme.’ The more feeling you put into the effort, the better.”

  I stood a few feet away from her. After concentrating on my magical core for a moment and then remembering Eastwood’s sour face, I pointed at Tess. “Make him pay, Holar, assomme!”

  She jerked as if I’d actually hit her. “Damn! Great job! Your dragon just chomped on me hard.” She flailed her hands over her head and body as though she was brushing away bees. “Luckily,” she said with glee in her voice, “because we’re just practicing, the spell doesn’t work as well as it would if you were facing a real target. We won’t know how much damage you can do until you blast a sorcerer, but that was a damned fine first effort.”

  My whole body glowed. Finally, something was going right. Maybe I’d get some vengeance after all.

  “By the way, who are the sorcerers you’re most angry at?”

  I told her about Cantor and the tall, stout, middle-aged guy in the navy sport coat.

  She picked up her phone and flipped through her photos. “Is this him?”

  She showed me a distant photo of a man wearing a suit, like someone had taken the shot from the back of a large meeting.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Who’s he?”

  She sighed. “He’s the most powerful sorcerer in this area. His name is Raul Escobar. He’s the slayer in charge of the Rocky Mountain region, a terrible enemy.”

  I pondered her comment. He hadn’t known at the time he’d helped kill my family that I was watching. But he had to know who I was now, thanks to all the crazy publicity. He probably wanted me dead sooner rather than later. I sure as hell wanted him dead.

  “Is Holar the name of a magician, like Erbater and Vello?” I asked.

  “Exactly,” Tess replied. “Holar lived about eight thousand years ago and created the strongest fighting magic we use today. He’s as well-known in our world as Ulysses is to non-magical folks. Some witches claim you don’t need to say or think his name, but it seems to help my spells.”

  “Okay, Holar rules.”

  Tess began to pace again. “We want to practice that spell a lot more. If you’re attacked, you won’t have much time to react. You’ll have to react instinctively.”

  My second stunning spell seemed to work better, maybe because I knew I could do it this time, and I had plenty of frustration left over.

  Poor Tess. The second spell left her frozen for a few seconds, but she didn’t complain. In fact, she grinned. “Too bad. Your dragon is all worn out.”

  For a few more minutes, I stunned her, or, more specifically, the ward she’d erected. The second stunning spell remained the best, though. My anger was used up for the moment, even though she teased me about being a homeless Okie.

  When the timer on her desk rang, Tess smiled broadly. “Now, we’re finally making progress.”

  My heart was pounding. “Fighting is a lot harder for me than healing. I know I need to work on this, and I will.”

  She patted my back. “Some magic will come easier for you than others. The stun is working great for a beginner, and I’ll give more thought to the wall ward. You keep thinking about strong fortresses you’ve seen. Something from a movie might work.”

  My face warmed. “How can you be so upbeat? My protection spell is a fiasco.”

  She squeezed my shoulder. “It’ll get better, I’m sure.”

  There was that phrase again. Hope in the face of daunting odds.

  Chapter 12

  Pierre’s Big and Tall Clothing, Boulder, Colorado

  TESS CLAIMED SHE DIDN’T like shopping, and neither did I, so we didn’t browse much. Diana had authorized her to spend seven hundred bucks on me, which seemed extremely generous until I found out that things cost twice as much in Boulder compared to Oklahoma.

  I asked why we couldn’t shop at Walmart, but the only response I got was a snort. She probably didn’t eat hot dogs and beans, either. I was definitely a stranger in a strange land.

  In less than an hour, I managed to buy three complete changes of clothes and one pair of hiking boots. We’d caught their end-of-summer sale.

  She held the door as we left the store because I was carrying a bag in each hand. When she got to the parking lot, she froze.

  “Trouble,” she whispered.

  In the midst of the parked cars, a stocky, thirty-something man was talking on a cellphone. He was facing us, but he didn’t appear to notice us. A staff was leaning against a car door a couple of feet away from him.

  “Think he’s trying to lure us closer?” I asked quietly.

  “You bet.”

  We’d left our staffs in the ranch’s car because this store had one of those warning signs about magic and weapons.

  “What if we wait for him to freeze, and then I rush up and beat the shit out of him before he can react?”

  “That’s not going to work again. The bald guy was drunk, or he would’ve created a ward while he was frozen. I’ll take care of this.”

  “No way.” I wasn’t letting her take any risks for me. “I’ll stun him and then beat the shit out of him.”

  She strode straight toward the asshole. “I’m the senior witch here, so I decide who fights. I choose me.”

  “I’m bigger than you,” I argued. “And enough of a male chauvinist pig to grab you and pull you back.”

  I had to walk fast to catch her, but I did, and I wrapped my arm around her waist to stop her. A barrier formed around both of us. She’d thought the spell instead of speaking it. I thought my ward spell, too, but I couldn’t tell if it helped or not.

  To keep her safe, I pulled her back.

  The guy grabbed his staff, hopped into his car, and drove off.

  Too bad. I’d worked up my anger and had gotten a good rage going.

  “Why did he leave?” I asked.

  She didn’t respond for a moment. “I don’t know, but I do know that if you manhandle me again, I’ll smack my staff down on your head as hard as I can.”

  Note to self—don’t grab Tess again.

  -o-o-o-

  SILENCE REIGNED AS TESS drove me back to the ranch. When we got close, I asked again, “Why didn’t he attack us?”

  She frowned. “My best guess is, he didn’t expect me to be there. Someone seems to be monitoring your travel, I assume for Sid Hudson. Whoever is following you didn’t mention that I was with you.”

  “Sid who?” I’d never heard the name before.

  “Hudson. He’s the guy who controls the sorcerers in Boulder. I don’t know much about him, but Diana does. I’ve visited Boulder hundreds of times without attracting their attention. You had to be his target.”

  “Then I’m glad I get to pick up my new, custom-made staff later on.”

  -o-o-o-

  AFTER WE GOT BACK to the ranch, Laura was kind enough to come with me to the woodshop. There, Lucinda showed me the finished product. The staff was dark brown, except where she had carved her amazing designs. Those were inlaid with gold.

  The wood vibrated in my hand when I first touched it.

  “It’s fantastic!” I said. “How can I ever thank you?”
/>   “Use it to smite our enemies,” she replied. “My spell will protect it from being damaged as long as you remain alive and free.”

  Laura gave Lucinda a hug. “Incredible craftsmanship, as always.”

  I couldn’t agree more. “I hope to become worthy of it someday.”

  At lunch, everyone crowded around our table to see my new weapon, and I praised Lucinda to anyone who’d listen.

  Tess stayed cheerful while we talked about my staff, and then she told Laura how I’d tried to protect her.

  Our healer rolled her eyes. “That’s like Robin protecting Batman.”

  Tess snickered.

  After we finished eating, Laura told me Christina was sleeping over with a friend after dinner and the sandy-haired beauty asked me if I’d like to watch a movie with her in her apartment.

  “I would.”

  At dinner, she and I shared chicken parmesan, and then we headed to her place. It was clean except for the toys scattered all over. We sat on Laura’s sofa, and she poured us each a glass of burgundy.

  Laura popped a sexy rom-com into her DVD player, but before the first scene ended, we’d lost interest in the movie.

  -o-o-o-

  Tuesday, September 10th

  LAURA’S FIRST WORDS TO me in her bed the next morning were, “I’m still not sure about you, but we’re off to a good start.”

  She’d have to try a lot harder than that to piss me off this fine morning.

  “Okay. I’m on probation here, too.”

  We ate breakfast in the dining room with Christina, who was full of news about her sleepover. Laura and I kept ours to ourselves.

  Diana strode up and tossed the morning paper onto the table. “I suppose you’ll expect us to build you some kind of shrine?”

  My own face stared back at me from the paper. Someone had photographed me while I was on the witness stand. Instead of appearing frightened or angry, though, I looked determined.

  “I’m sure they could’ve found a worse picture than that. I expected to see my mugshots.”

  Diana snarled. “On page two. The pictures are not the problem. You needed to stand up to Eastwood, but read the damned article.”

  The headline, in large, bold type, said: Witch Wanted in OK Runs to Boulder. And the subtitle said: Plans to Hide in Plain Sight in Mountain Coven.

  The reporter, Cindy Paxil, had used my hiding at the ranch as an excuse to write paragraph after paragraph about Diana and the Irish clan here.

  “Outrageous.” I threw down the paper. “She’s got an ax to grind.”

  Diana shook her head. “It’s a longstanding feud between her and me—at our expense. She reprinted a handful of bizarre old rumors. She knows how to sensationalize a story to sell papers. There are a lot of religious wackos around here. You’re going to draw them like flies. I checked online, and the story there already has a hundred comments. Half of them want you to make them rich.”

  All of my happiness suddenly evaporated.

  Laura sat closer to me but looked at Diana. “What does this mean for us?”

  “We have to be ready for anything,” the Grand Poohbah said. “Given how much public reaction she’s receiving, I expect her to write a lot more stories.” She shifted her gaze to me. “Don’t talk to anybody outside the ranch about this, O’Rourke. Keep your head down and train hard. And figure out how to create a damned ward, or you’re no use to any of us.”

  That sounded like excellent, if rudely delivered, advice, so I nodded.

  She turned away, and I’d thought I’d escaped the worst of her wrath, but then she turned back and glared at me again. “Oh, and, by the way, when were you going to tell me about your healing powers? I have a right to hear firsthand about anything important that happens in my community, don’t I?”

  Laura looked off into the distance. I was on my own this time.

  “I don’t know what it means, and I didn’t want you to think I was trying to hog the limelight. I know my main job is to fight sorcerers, and the more of them I can beat, the better. That remains my priority.”

  Diana scowled. “I’d better not hear any more news about you secondhand.” With that, she strode away.

  Laura scowled. “She’s right about the ward spell, but it’ll come, I’m sure.”

  Diana had disappeared by the time Tess approached. “I saw that ass kicking. Would you like a little good news for a change?”

  “I’d love some,” I replied.

  “Before you manage to piss her off again, I’ve finagled a trip—I mean a training session in the high mountains for later this morning.”

  “That’s fantastic,” I said.

  Laura grinned.

  Tess nodded. “We’ll have to work hard while we’re up there.”

  That was fine. The mountains inspired me. “Where are we going?”

  “Carter Pass.”

  “What’s there?” I asked.

  Laura said, “It’ll work better if you’re surprised. I wish I could come, but I’m scheduled to teach the kids history later this morning.”

  -o-o-o-

  TESS DROVE A PICKUP with a trailer for Hercules and a large Morgan-Clydesdale cross to a trailhead leading into the Indian Peaks Wilderness. After we’d saddled up and strapped down our staffs, we rode for several miles until the trail kicked up. Then we walked and led our horses behind us.

  After a couple of hours of steady effort above the tree line, we approached the Continental Divide. I walked around a bend in the trail and glanced to the south. With a jolt, I spotted a massive wall. Actually, it was an unusual rock formation. The ridgeline wasn’t jagged in this spot, unlike almost everywhere else along the divide. Here, it looked like someone had built a massive stone rampart fifty feet high and a hundred yards long.

  I pointed it out to Tess.

  “Oh,” she replied. “Isn’t that interesting?” Her tone of voice told me that it was exactly why we’d come this way.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “A natural limestone outcropping, but it looks like a castle wall, doesn’t it? I thought it might inspire you.”

  I took several photos from the side. From this perspective, it reminded me of the Great Wall of China. I was barely able to hold the camera steady. “Amazing!” I said.

  She laughed. “Your reaction is even better than I expected.”

  We led our horses onto the flat top and tethered them to a boulder so they wouldn’t accidentally wander too close to the sheer edge. Then I ran back and forth along the flat section. Until I studied it up close, I had a hard time believing it hadn’t been built by men.

  Standing next to Tess, I spun around in my best imitation of Julie Andrews and yelled, “YEAH!”

  Then I took in the panoramic view of the surrounding peaks. If this wasn’t enough inspiration for me to create a strong ward, nothing would help. I wished Laura could’ve been with me, too.

  I stood still, my heart pounding and my staff outstretched, until I caught my breath. Then I bent over and stroked the tundra plants growing in cracks in the limestone. I was tempted to break off part of one plant as a keepsake, but that seemed sacrilegious. So I looked for a chunk of limestone instead and found a twenty-pound piece I put it into one of Hercules’s saddlebags.

  “This wall must’ve been here for millions of years,” I said.

  I had no idea whether that was true, but it had to have been here far longer than any castle or fortress built by human hands. The real question was, would it be enough?

  Only one way to find out. I used the relaxation techniques Tess had taught me to settle my mind. Then I gazed up at the heavens. Without specifying any particular god, I said, “Please create a ward I can use in battle to fight our enemies.”

  Almost instantly, I felt my ward forming. Once it had seemed to steady, I whispered, “Master, test my protection.”

  She nodded. I planted my feet wide on the solid rock surface, hopefully ready fo
r the attack she’d come up with.

  Without saying anything, she pointed her weapon me. A flash of light burst forth, and something banged against my shield. It vibrated a bit but stayed strong.

  Tess grinned. “Not bad. Let me try for real this time.”

  Her second blow hit with a much louder crash. It sounded like the truck that’d slammed into the Eldo. My wall shuddered for an instant, but it held.

  “YEESSSS!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

  “Much, much improved,” she said. “I can’t wait to tell Diana about this. My mom says our Fearless Leader keeps whining about all the trouble you’re causing.”

  I let my shield dissolve and meditated, trying to let this experience soak deep into me. It was a perfect moment, and they were damned rare these days.

  On our way back down the mountain, I hardly noticed where I was going. Soon, we could ride again, and Hercules simply followed Tess’s horse. Over and over, I remembered the chunk of limestone resting in the saddlebag. I praised Hercules and kept patting his neck.

  “By the way,” Tess said, “did anyone tell about you about how winning fights changes your eyes?”

  “They seem to have forgotten that little tidbit. Will I slowly go blind?”

  “Nothing like that. When we get back, look at your right eye in the mirror. There are two tiny slivers in your iris that are a different color. That one sorcerer must have green eyes, and the other’s eyes must be blue. It’s almost impossible to see them, unless you know what to look for.”

  “Can I hide it?” I asked.

  “Maybe with colored contacts, but why? Sorcerers brag about how many slivers they have. It’s like a gang tattoo. A badge of honor.”

  When the trail widened, Tess slowed so I could ride beside her.

  “There’s good news in that weirdness,” she said. “Along with the extra magical power you’ve earned, you’ll also benefit from greater insight. I think that’s what the change in your eye signifies. You’ll be able to read other people’s intentions more easily. We call it the Warrior’s Sight.”