Night of the Unicorn (The Federal Witch Book 5)

by T S Paul

  "May I ask why? The FAA is going to freak and the some of that is in Canadian airspace. I will have to call them too." Ana was doing such a good job at this.

  "My Magick isn't strong enough to do enough damage. I need to counter his element. Water is too far away. If I toss him, I want to make sure he can't hurt anyone else."

  I looked over the hood of the car to see where he was and he spotted me. "There you are. Where did you put him? Give my father to me, and this will all end!"

  I muttered into the air hoping she heard me. "Ana just do it!"

  Casting a shield spell, I stuck my head up again. "James, we can't do that. I told you why. He's under arrest."

  He waved at me, and I felt a sudden wave of heat. Our sturdy SUV suddenly left the ground as it was tossed over my head. It came crashing down right beside me. My shield protected me from the initial impact but tossed me as the blast wave of the explosion hit.

  The impact of my barely shielded body hitting the side of the barn must have knocked me out because I suddenly came to with the sound of both Cat and Anastasia yelling at me over the link. "Ugh. What? What was that?"

  Everyone was talking at once. I was able to pick up. "..alright?" and "attacking now."

  Shaking my head, I blinked a few times. I heard the roar of a beast not seen on this planet in thousands of years and jerked upright! Cat! "Ana, what's going on?"

  "Agatha, thank the Gods! We feared the worse when you were hit by the car. Cat totally freaked out and charged the subject!"

  Crap! I must have been knocked out longer than I thought. Climbing to my feet, I took a step toward the house and instantly regretted it. "Ow!" Looking down I could see that my left foot was turned at an angle and my back made a funny popping noise. Pain shot up my back and leg every time I tried to move. Despite my Magick, I'm not a healer. The ladies back in Briarwood keep trying, but potions are all I can do. Melding flesh and healing hurts isn't in my wheelhouse. The basics taught at the Academy are all I really know. There were crashing sounds and roars coming from the other side of the wrecked vehicles that I couldn't see around. Cat was strong and agile, but even she couldn't stand up to someone with unlimited power.

  "Defender. Do you have enough power to encase my ankle and back in a cocoon of tightly bound Magick." I sent an image of what I needed into the shopping mall that was my brain right now.

  There was silence in my head for just a moment then. "Yes. Danger to you."

  "I'm aware of the issues. Work with Pathfinder if you have to, but I need to stop this man. He's going to seriously hurt or kill someone if I don't." Carefully I put weight on my left foot. There was still a sharp pain, but it felt as though someone used a brace on my leg.

  Walking carefully, I edged my way around the truck wreckage so I could see the battle. Cat was in full Sabertooth form. She would launch herself at James, and he would use direct power to push her back, peppering her shifted form with mini fireballs. His attack would burn and set her fur on fire each time. But still, she would renew the attack.

  What is she doing? He will kill her eventually! I'm not sure if I said it aloud or not but Pathfinder and Defender answered anyway. "She is fighting a delaying action. Watch her attacks. She isn't using claws."

  My eyes widened, and I could feel my jaw drop open. Together they sounded like a battle computer off that old science fiction show, Battle something. It had shiny silver robots in it. Looking closer I could see they were right about Cat's tactics.

  We need to finish this. I pulled all of my Magick in. Everything in my immediate vicinity that would lend its Magick did so. Reaching deep, I pulled immense power from Fergus. He was my emergency supply, and it was a screaming emergency. Limping into plain view, I yelled at the combatants. "Cat, back off and let me deal with him. James, this ends now! Come quietly, or I will put these on you myself." I held up a pair of handcuffs.

  Cat took one look at me and ran for it. James watched her leave and laughed. "I thought I killed you already. Didn't get enough last time?" He readied another fireball. This time a big one.

  Not this time. Closing my eyes, I called upon the only sky God I could think of, Thor, God of Thunder. Projecting every last erg of saved power, I directed it toward James and prayed.

  "What are you doing?" James screamed as his feet left the ground and my spell propelled him straight up into the sky. I had thirty-thousand feet in my head for some reason. It may have come from TV or something that someone once survived a fall from that high without a parachute. Not sure.

  "I'm sorry James, but this is for the greater good." I hit him with the strongest lightning strike I could Magick up, which wasn't very strong. You could get more of a shock by licking a battery. The shock stunned him momentarily. Just enough for him not to notice that he was no longer being propelled upwards.

  "Ana, are you still there?" She had been very quiet. I hoped the communication spell wasn't destroyed by my power draw.

  "I hear you, Agatha."

  "Tell everyone still here to get under some form of cover. They need to watch for falling Magicians." It came out way too lightly for what I just did. In my mind's eye, I could see the panic that James was now experiencing. He was injured as a child. His father, instead of giving him the aid of science and medicine chose to use Black Magick to hold him still until his own innate energy could revive him. Yes, the Fae can do it, but they draw much of their Magick from the ley lines of the planet. James wasn't given a choice. He lay strapped to a table, hooked to the Gods only know what for decades. His only learning and socialization had been the televisions his father left on for him. Nothing gentle or loving about any of that. Now he was falling to his death. Without formal training, he would have no idea how to harness the other elements to survive. You cannot draw upon the earth while completely encased in the air.

  I didn't want to know, but I had too. Triggering my mage sight, I directed it upwards. The sky looked almost vermilion to my Magickal gaze. A glowing blue and green spot was quickly falling. The thing was flapping and waving like a spider descending from the ceiling. Faster and faster and faster it fell until... I looked away and turned off the sight. Looking at my watch, I called Ana back. "Place time of death at three forty-five, please. You can send in the ambulance and recovery teams. His body will need to be checked but not by me."

  Feeling the weight of the day and my wounds I staggered over to what was once the first flight of stairs. The worn steps were ripped and smashed but the second row was mostly undamaged. Carefully, I sat down and rubbed my leg. Sharp pains suddenly ran up and down my entire body, and the tight patches Defender had laid upon me cut loose. Ow!

  "Agatha, are you OK?" Cat at least survived to be yelling at me now.

  "No. Not really. I've got a broken ankle, I think. Is the tibia the small one or the big one? Whichever it is it hurts like a bitch!" All I could pretty much do now was groan. My back was killing me. It felt bruised and very sore.

  "Emergency services will be there in less than ten minutes, Agatha."

  "Thanks, Ana. I think I'll just sit here and wait for them." I closed my eyes. This investigation had too messy and end to it. I opened my eyes suddenly. We still needed to catch Running Eagle in the act to prosecute him!

  "Ana, are Bill and Chuck busy?" I had closed my eyes again and didn't feel Cat until she plopped down next to me.

  "They are sitting on the rest of the staff and the movers. Why?"

  "We forgot about the Running Eagles. Sort of a moot point now but he's still our chief suspect in the deaths of the Unicorns. Can you send them after him? We can hold him for questioning for a while." In the grand scheme of things he was small potatoes but he was a Skinwalker, and those are illegal.

  "They are on their way just as soon as the Fort Benton Agents take control of the scene. They are asking about Robert Magnus. What should I tell them?"

  "Give him to them. We wanted to find the reason the land was dying. That was James. Robert was just a man trying to do the right thi
ng the completely wrong way. The Witches Council is coming here soon. Let the regular FBI deal with them, too." I looked to my right and smiled at Cat.

  "So the ankle.Where else, tough girl?" Cat started looking me over.

  "Hey! Cool it. I'm fine. Just a little banged up. Remember when you said I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn? Proved you wrong there." I started to laugh and gripped my left side which made me groan more.

  "You OK?" Cat made motions to touch my ribs. I held up my right arm.

  "Please don't. I may have a couple of cracked ribs too."

  "You're stupid too! Why did you attack him like that? He might have killed you!" He was a fire element with just a touch of earth thrown in. The power cocktail that his Fae genes left him allowed him to tap into the earth at will. Who needs Blood Magick when you can drain the earth for the power you need. Water or air was what was needed to stop him. The river is too far from here. Air was the only way. Neither you or Chuck could have gotten him that high up."

  "I'm fine. Now if we can just bring in Running Eagle all will be right with the world." I craned my head back and looked at the house. It was only smoldering but a complete loss. "I think most of the Unicorn horns were destroyed in the fight."

  "What a shame. Do you think the Witches Council will blame us for it?" Cat smiled at me.

  "I'm sure of it. I think we're OK. The regular FBI can clean this up. It is their job too, after all."

  Cat looked at me and laughed. "Is Fergus OK? You landed pretty hard against that wall."

  I pulled my pocket open and checked the little terrorist. He was breathing, so that in itself was good. When I drew out most of his power, he must have gone to sleep. I wasn't worried about specific injuries for him. Back home, Grandmother's cat Zeus uses him as a play toy. Fergus is indestructible.

  "Almost nothing can kill him, remember? He looks fine. I'm in too much pain to think completely clearly right now but can you make sure someone checks up on the Unicorn herd?"

  Cat looked over at me. "Doesn't Fergus want to talk to them?"

  "He said no, earlier. Just talking to those females earlier at the Warren place freaked him out. He told me everyone who knew him is gone except the leader. Sacrifices don't come back. I don't think I really want the Witches Council getting their hands on him anyway. You didn't hear it, but the Magnus has said that the Unicorn Elders could speak and understand English. Just as we thought. They should have white manes with red eyes." I grimaced. Without the shields over my back and ankle, the pain was starting to build. The shock to my body was over and now came the pain. "Ana? Do we have an ETA on that ambulance?"

  "It's passing through the gate right now."

  "Thank you. Cat, if you get a chance toss as many of the horns into the fire." I pointed at the house which was fully engulfed. "The Witches Council would love to get their hands on free Magickal artifacts."

  "Do you want me to pick some of it up for us?" Cat turned to follow my finger.

  "No, way! Most of them are haunted by dead Unicorns. No need to bring bad luck like that home. In fact, if the Council finds them, more the better. They could use a little bad luck laced with scary ghosts."

  <<<>>>

  On the other side of the ranch the Fort Benton FBI Agents were bored out of their minds just sitting on top of the rear exit.

  "Why are we out here again?"

  Agent Zusteller groaned and looked at Agent Tabellarius. "We need to make sure any of the bad guys in there don't get away, and any new civilians get in. How long have you been an FBI Agent again?"

  "Fourteen years, as you well know! You're the one that hired me." Tabellarius frowned at his boss. "What I meant to say is why aren't we helping arrest the Magnus family?"

  "Do you know Magick or how to stop a falling truck from killing you?"

  Tabellarius considered the question. "Well, no."

  "That's why. Maybe we should requisition a Were or two for up here. This might be the start of a trend." Zusteller nodded to his partner.

  "Hmnt. Like they would give us one of those guys." The Agent turned his head toward the road to town. "Car. We have company."

  Both Agents pushed off from the cars there were leaning against and drew their sidearms. Agent Zusteller kept his sidearm at his side but raised his left hand to get the car to stop. "This road is closed. You need to move on."

  A dark red extremely dusty sedan stopped in front of the Agents. Zusteller stepped over the the side with his gun pointed toward the driver. Tabellarius took the other side. "There was a sign back there that said this road was closed! Why didn't you pay attention to it? Step out of the car with you hands in the air."

  Zusteller repeated his partner's orders. "Hands! Let me see your hands!" He motioned with his gun.

  Both the driver and the passenger stuck their hands out the window. "We're with law enforcement! Don't shoot!" The driver had a badge in his hand.

  "Drop it and step out of the car. Do it now!"

  Tabellarius kept the passenger covered while the driver stepped out. The man was tall, thin, and wearing a suit similar to that of the FBI. "If you would just look at my badge all will be explained."

  "Up against the car and turn around." Zusteller motioned to the driver who complied. Reaching down he picked up the badge and glanced at it.

  "WCE? What the hell kind of badge is this?"

  The driver smiled so only Tabellarius could see. "The kind you only hear of in stories, Agent." He waved his hand, and everything slowed to a halt. Even the birds froze.

  "Took you long enough! You couldn't just do that when they first pulled us over?" The passenger opened the door and climbed out.

  "I've told you before. It's too risky. There might be a sensitive who is immune. It's happened to us before." The driver of the car took his badge back from Zusteller and smiled.

  "It happened once. You just love playing with the mundies, don't you. No taking all their clothes this time. We really do have work to do. Let's get this over with and get to the ranch before the FBI screws up the scene anymore." The passenger glared at the driver.

  "You are really ruining my fun, you know." The driver of the car dragged Agent Zusteller back to one of the cars. While his partner took care of the other Agent, he flattened all four tires of both cars.

  The other man just shook his head. "Why do they keep sticking you with me?"

  "You love it. Don't even pretend. Let's go." Both men climbed back into the car and quickly drove around the road block and out of sight.

  "What were we talking about?" Zusteller looked at his partner.

  "I don't remember. Did you know your tire is flat?" He pointed to the car.

  "So is yours?" Zusteller pointed back.

  "How in the hell did that happen? Can I call it in?"

  Zusteller checked his watch. The explosions stopped a long time ago, and the fire looked like it was only smoldering now based on the smoke. "Sure. Tell them to send a couple of spare tires and a pizza. I'm getting hungry."

  Tabellarius pulled out his radio. "You're always hungry."

  "Am not."

  "Are too."

  The two men argued for a couple of minutes, forgetting about the tires.

  <<<>>>

  "Well, this sucks." Chuck looked at the wide open door and the now empty garage.

  Bill drew his sidearm and entered the house. The once immaculately kept house was in shambles with broken dishes and clothing scattered about. Almost every drawer in the house was open. Only the kitchen was clean of debris. Someone must have tipped off the Running Eagles because they were gone.

  "There goes our perfect record." Bill looked up at the sky. "Do you want to tell Agatha or do I?"

  "You tell her. Who tipped them off we were coming? Do you think it was those other Indians?"

  Bill looked at Chuck. "No idea. That first councilor we talked too didn't like us at all. He got real excited too when Agatha mentioned Skinwalkers. He left the meeting in a real hurry."

>   "Don't forget to mention that in our report. I don't want the blame for this on us. Do you want me to double check all the barns and things? They could be hiding in them somewhere."

  "Sure." Bill scratched his chin. "There are a couple of really big barns over there. Remind me to call county animal services. Those horses and cows will need food and water."

  <<<>>>

  Darkness was falling on the Magnus Ranch when the small red car pulled up to what used to be the main house. Smoldering ashes and burnt out vehicles cast a red glow on everything. Local volunteer firemen were pulling hoses off the big yellow fire engine. Two men with FBI printed across their backs were yelling at what looked like the fire chief.