The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

  Sebastian's weapon shook free of his fingers with the jarring impact. "Shield!," he cried out frantically. A shield shimmered around his left arm. The blue glimmer cast a chill towards the wizard who lashed out once again with his flaming sword. Only a few impacts and the shield began to tear even as Sebastian was rocked back again and again.

  Suddenly a blast of wind caught the grey forcefully across the chest. The wizard, he noted now, had started chanting and used the sword with only one hand as the second now pointed to where his chest had just been.

  Sneering down at the fallen student, Magnus frowned and shook his head, "Like I said, I can't figure it out. You may have something on regular soldiers, but it hardly seems worth the effort."

  "Novitiate Magnus, desist!," a voice called from behind the assembled battle mages. "Anyone can win when he attacks an opponent by surprise. Such behavior is intolerable, however, and cowardly. I will have your teacher notified of your actions here today."

  A strong looking man dressed from head to toe in black stepped forward and faced the young mage. There was a coldness in his eyes that could chill most men to their souls. Even an arrogant man like Magnus was forced to swallow a moment to regain his composure, but regain it he did and the attitude that flowed from it. "Falconi Garrett, how nice to see you too. Have I done something to warrant your attention this morning?"

  "I would say so, boy," the demeaning name caused the wizard to flush even more red beneath the sunburn and freckles. "When you attack anyone in White Hall, whether wizard, mage or man, you become my problem or another's. This time it was my privilege. Now apologize and show you have at least a little honor, novitiate."

  The wizard stood still a moment before looking down and saying, "I'm sorry that I beat you around and I'm also sorry that you aren't good enough to do anything about it, Sebastian."

  "Magnus!," the falconi growled.

  "I accept," the grey replied abruptly cutting off his elder. "Next time I won't let you get away with it either, Magnus."

  A bit of surprise stole into the mage's eyes. A moment later, he answered, "We'll see." The wizard turned away followed by his followers who all shared much the same expression. The door closed and Sebastian busied himself with retrieving his sword and cleaning it before replacing it in its sheath.

  The students and their teachers moved back to their areas and began again. A new trio stepped into the courtyard with raised eyebrows at the unusual activity of the courtyard. Eyes also strayed to the Falconi standing over the young battle mage.

  "Why?"

  Sebastian stood up again and asked, "Why what, sir?"

  "I told him to apologize and he insulted you. You, however, accepted the insult when I would have demanded more from that arrogant little pup."

  Shrugging indifference, the younger man replied, "He said nothing inaccurate. I should have been better ready for him. We all know what his kind can do. I didn't fight well. He won. I'll remember for next time though."

  The older man chuckled though the sound didn't seem like amusement. The laughter never touched his eyes at least, "I suppose you will at that. Let me ask you something though. What will you do to win next time?"

  The younger man shrugged. "I'll be ready for those tricks at least and expect that he'll try more."

  The falconi nodded. The young man had a quiet intensity that he had seen only rarely in his years of fighting. He knew from experience that those tended to be some of the best. "I expect that he will. You're Sebastian, correct?"

  The younger man nodded.

  "I hope to see you in falcon brown one of these days, lad. Maybe then you can prove that hothead wrong about us."

  Voran the Night Guardian

  Chapter 2-Dream Girl

  The dream came, so vivid that perhaps it should be called a vision, though Nick had never thought of himself as some sort of prophet. First, he saw the wolf pack running wild. Trees and brush were around as they moved as one. A deer sprang away in surprise, but it was ignored.

  Then he spied a dark haired girl. Big eyes of dark brown peered at him beneath wavy, dark brown hair. High cheeks bones and perky nose were all lightly bronzed and still the dark eyes remained riveting. Her body was long and lithe and obscured as if by smoke. Whether she was clothed or simply clothed in smoke, he could not tell and he knew that it didn’t matter.

  He feared the pack would attack the girl, but they didn’t and she actually seemed to join them for their run. She turned back to look at him as if inviting him to run with her. Her hand waved and it was then he noticed that they trailed silver. A voran? He vaguely wondered even as the dream tossed him away leaving him longing to try and return to learn more, but it was over.

  Standing alone in his apartment, the man stood contemplating his phone. Through the window, he could see the sun was well up in the morning sky. Sleeping was rare enough for the voran, dreams such as the one the night before were even more rare. Again he considered the phone and the call Nick felt he must make.

  “Vivian?” Nick spoke into his cell phone. He had not used this number in years despite programming it into three phones before and never had the man become desperate enough to use it.

  The phone was quiet a moment before a woman’s voice answered. “Nicholas? It’s been... a long time.”

  Never one to waste time, Nick moved straight to the point. “I think I’ve had a vision. There may be a new voran nearby.”

  “Just business then? I was sort of hoping you called me because you missed me, Nicholas. Let me guess. You decided to call me to see how I had found you all that time ago.

  “I don’t know if I want you finding some new friend. I hate competition and I hear from you so rarely already, Nicholas.”

  Rolling his eyes, Nick chose his words carefully and knew they would still not be what Vivian wanted to hear. “You know I have responsibilities here.”

  “How hard was it to call me on that phone?” she asked cutting him off, but the woman didn’t sound angry, just a bit sad.

  “Harder than you might think,” he admitted.

  “At least you cared enough to keep the number, dear Nicholas. I guess that is something.”

  “Did you get a vision of me before you found me, Vivian?” he asked cutting through her typical emotional guilt chat. The woman had been using that tactic for more than a hundred years. She was good at it, but he was used to it despite the time away from Vivian.

  “Yes, that’s usually how we find one another. Mates especially need a way of finding one another in this big world filled with humans. We voran are too rare to leave it to chance I guess.

  “Too bad you weren’t my destined mate, Nicholas,” she added wistfully. “Perhaps this new voran will love you back.”

  “Don’t be that way, Vivian,” Nick replied suppressing the need to sigh. His former mentor was all too skilled at guilt trips. It had been why he had stayed with her as many years as he had. That and she was beautiful and charming. She was also a bit of a recluse and Nick had needed to get back into the world when he had left her. “You know I will always love you. It just wasn’t our time and I was needed in the world.”

  “The world? My aren’t you the important man. So much time for the world and none for your old friend, Vivian?”

  Refusing to step deeper into the sticky morass, Nick stopped engaging in her intended delay tactics and got back to topic. “I saw a wolf pack in a forest that came across her. The girl seemed unafraid and joined them for a run. What do you make of that?”

  A sigh.

  “Well, you hang out with Marek and his clan, perhaps this girl runs with wolves? I am no dream analyst, but that would be my thoughts.”

  “What did you see when you came for me?”

  “Came for you? I simply met you when fate brought us together,” she started trying to sound innocent. After a pause while he waited, Vivian added, “I saw you, and then I saw the boat you and that vampire came over on with its name across the prow.

  “Like I s
aid, you came to me.”

  “Thanks, Vivian.”

  “Perhaps you can come and have dinner with me to show your appreciation, Nicholas,” the woman’s voice offered wistfully. “It really has been too long, even for creatures like us.”

  “Soon, Vivian. You now have this number on your caller ID. It’s ok to use it, if there’s an emergency.”

  “What if I find myself especially lonely for my old friend?”

  “Some might consider that an emergency,” he smiled though she could not see it. “Talk to you soon, Vivian.”

  The sound of the news broadcasting from the television, while Nick searched through the refrigerator for a midday meal, tried to alleviate the silence that otherwise beset the apartment. He listened for word of the woman’s attack or potentially similar assaults that he didn’t know about. The problem with one stray vampire was that they could so quickly multiply. Without proper mentoring, the young vampires could quickly get out of control. They were careless and would leave victims near death and infected with the virus, which would in turn create more of their kind unless treated with voran blood.

  The news played on and the woman’s attack never came to light. Marek and his crew must have managed to keep the woman’s plight down played enough to avoid being news worthy. No word of the woman or her attacker was made mention.

  No word of a girl running with wolves either, he thought off handedly.

  That was another matter of thought, however. How would he figure out how to find her? Nick determined that such a strong vision must require some sort of investigation. The questions left from such a dream left him wondering how he could possibly find her.

  There were woods and wolves. How to narrow down a search like that? There were dozens of forest preserve areas nearby and beyond the city and suburbs there would be more. How close would they be to the city? Lastly, did he have to go to her or was she coming to him like Vivian said of their meeting?

  Nick was inclined to believe that it was he who would have to go to the girl. The city was an unlikely place to find a pack of wolves, at least without them becoming quite obvious to authorities and that would make the news. Of that, Nick could be sure.

  The sound of a key fumbling in the lock brought the man’s eyes to the door. Opening with a slight creak, the door soon revealed a young woman. Her eyes noticed him watching her entry with a start that quickly turned into a smile. “Hi, Nicky!” the girl greeted happily.

  “Good morning, Geni. I see you’re in a good mood,” Nick greeted his maid. Geni, short for Genevieve Spencer, a college girl from a family that had money enough to send her to a top school, but didn’t want to spoil her with a large monthly allowance. She had responded to his ad in the fall and quickly the girl had gotten more familiar with his name. No longer Mr. Steel or Nick, he had somehow become ‘Nicky’.

  “Of course, why not, right? It’s a sunny winter day in Chicago. My boss is cool. My job is good. What’s not to like?”

  Nick chuckled. “Is this your way of buttering me up for a raise?”

  The girl’s step halted and she feigned hurt. “Why, Mr. Steel, I would never do such a thing!” Her eyes turned mischievous as she added, “Though if it is working and you’d like to give me a raise, I wouldn’t want to stop you.”

  Releasing a brief laugh, the man replied, “We’ll see how well it’s working after you’ve cleaned the place again.”

  Geni let out a fake groan even as she couldn’t stop a smile from taking her lips. The girl grabbed her cleaning supplies from the closet where they were kept. She noted the dishes and pans from his latest attempt at breakfast. Clothes strewn on the floor and couch after his night out added to a new sigh that was real. “Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about job security with you around. Have a nice night out, Nick?”

  He grunted non-commitally. “It was eventful.”

  Nodding, she replied, “Ah. So are we looking for you to show up on the news then?” The girl laughed, even as Nick glanced to her in surprise. “Just kidding. I doubt a guy like you would ever make it on the news.”

  “A guy like me?”

  “Yeah, you’re always watching the news. Guys that watch the news this much don’t usually do interesting things to make the news. I mean, you’re a semi-retired stock trader. That’s pretty boring to me. No offense.”

  Nick chuckled. “None taken. I suppose on paper I do sound rather dull.”

  “Yeah, and I haven’t noticed you bringing any ladies to your apartment, since I’ve been working for you. That’s pretty surprising, since you’re a pretty good looking guy with money and all,” she suddenly looked up at him with a blush. “Oh, I’m sorry, sir.”

  Patting the air, the man soothed her with, “You can just call me, Nick. Noting a dry spell, doesn’t make me a ‘sir’, Geni. And yes, I get it. I seem boring to a young, college girl.”

  “Oh, I don’t think your that boring, Nicky,” the girl’s smile came out like the sun again. “You probably go out and do all kinds of things, though I am still a bit surprised that you hired a housekeeper. I would think you’d have enough time to clean, if you wanted.”

  Again he laughed, as he sat opening his laptop taking a seat on the couch. “If I wanted. I don’t. I hate cleaning, that’s why I hired you.”

  “Ah, well that would do it. I’m not much for cleaning my dorm room either. Maybe that’s because I get tired of cleaning after finishing here though?” She noted his interest in his laptop screen as she cleaned the kitchen counters. “Checking stocks?”

  The man shook his head. “I was actually trying to do a little research.”

  “On what?”

  “I had heard rumors that there might be some wolf packs in one of the woods nearby. The balance of deer and wolves sometimes needs a helping hand, so I was curious if there were reports on that.”

  The girl put down her towel and came to lean over the back of the couch. Blond hair in a ponytail swung past his ear as her green eyes locked onto the screen. Nick glanced up at the pretty, young woman leaning over him and wondered at the girl over a century younger than him.

  “What have you tried in the search?”

  He simply pointed at the screen. Wolves, forests near Chicago, the searches were too vague it seemed.

  The girl stepped over the back of the couch like she lived there and sat cross legged next to Nick. Her bare feet tucked under her put the right foot against his leg. It was icy.

  “Can I try?” she asked pointing at the laptop.

  Nick handed it over to the girl easily. He looked like a man in his late twenties at the oldest, but he was of a generation well before the onset of all the electronics that flooded society now. The man had witnessed all the new things and tried to evolve with them, but he was still much like a man out of time.

  The girl, born into the computer age, was like a fish in water with a laptop in her hands. Or maybe he was like the first fish learning to walk on land according to evolutionary terms? However the view, Nick found himself looking over the girl’s search as she played through various ideas.

  “Any of this look like what you’re thinking?” Geni asked at length.

  “I think these will keep me busy for a little bit. Thanks.” He took the laptop back from the girl as she went back to work. Nick noted the girl’s exit to the kitchen in admiration. She was pretty and bright. He knew that she was on scholarship despite her parents. Independent as well, the man decided. If he were a hundred years younger, he thought.

  There were mainly entries related to coyotes, but Geni had worked her magic and managed to cut her way through the internet red tape. There they were. Stories of recent reports from the forest rangers of wolf or coyote activity. The mix of surprise that leaked between the lines helped Nick to believe these could be the forests. If not, it was certainly worth a look.

  Chapter 3- The Lair

  The building looked like a regular warehouse. Gray stone walls, a flat roof tarred black, large truck doors in back and
both a front and side door, the latter made of steel, all made it look like nothing more. The line of people at the side door and bouncers at the top of the four step stairway barring the door with a bannered sign above it revealed that it was no ordinary warehouse.

  The Lair, the banner declared in red lettering on a black background. Music leaked through the door. Thumping beats drove their way into the night letting the line of waiting people, all dressed to dance and impress, know that there was something more to want inside.

  “Come on, big guy,” a tall, lanky man with dark hair said begging of the bouncer with a clipboard in hand, “this place is huge. How can there be a line to get inside for a place like this?”

  “City codes,” the large man stated matter of factly. A black jacket still seemed to reveal large muscles beneath the padding. A shaved, bald head with brown skin was covered with a black hat to match his jacket and gloves. It was winter still and some of the party goers looked cold as they waited.

  The silver, Mercedes, sport car pulled up to the valets in front of the building. Nick exited and threw his keys to the nearest valet, who was actually a female, one of two, and greeted her, “Evening, Tara. Put it in the usual spot. Please.”

  The girl smiled as she caught the keys out of the air. She took his tip as they passed each other, “Yes, sir, Mister Steel. I’ll good care of it for you.”

  The other three valets all looked on enviously. Nick was known as a good tipper.

  Nick began walking past the line waiting to enter. Looks of surprise and annoyance followed as he passed the group. A few called out their ‘hey’ of disapproval, but Nick ignored them. He knew the owners after all and never had to wait at the door.

  Two women stood together. A pretty blond and even prettier brunette stood in their short leather jackets. Black nylons under short skirts leading to their high heels were not the best idea for a wait in winter. The girls noticed his glance and smiled at him. Taking pity on them and deciding that he would like some company tonight, Nick gestured for the two to follow.

  At the stairway, Nick held up his hand to the girls and kept moving until he leaped up using the top of the rail to finish propelling him up and over onto the concrete landing. The bouncers merely raised their eyebrows at his audacity. “Do me a favor and let my friends down there in for me, Brian.”