by R H Frye
John smiled in relief and said, “Why don’t we talk on the road? We need to do something now to keep this guy from killing us a little at a time. And I think I’ve seen all the innocent people hurt that I can stand.” As the three united friends stood up John asked, “So who’s driving?”
Carol paced restlessly around the kitchen. Maraydel looked up from the eggs and bacon that he was eating long enough to ask, “Why don’t you sit down? You’re annoying me.” Without bothering to be sure the young woman would comply, the wizard returned his attention to the breakfast that Carol had prepared for him.
Carol glared at the magician for a moment, but quickly sat down at the kitchen table when he seemed about to grow angry. She knew that she was far from ready to cross the magician, so she swallowed her irritation and asked, “How can you be so calm? You know they’re out there and you know sooner or later they’re going to come after us.” Her irritation once more slipped out of control and she slapped her hand hard against the kitchen table. “You either need to be teaching me or we need to be going to look for them. Which is it going to be?”
Maraydel sighed and finished chewing the last bite of his breakfast before he answered. “You should concentrate on practicing what I’ve taught you until you have everything mastered. I’ve seen you throw lightning from your hands, and I’ve seen you gain mastery over the mind of someone that loved you. Have you ever tried to master the mind of someone that you didn’t know? And have you practiced throwing fire and ice? You already know the words to do so, but you’ve never done it. Why don’t you quit sitting there complaining and go practice?”
Carol snorted indignantly. “And just what are you going to be doing while I’m busting my ass practicing? Are you just going to sit around here and get fat?”
Maraydel had finally been pushed too far. He snatched the plate from the table and hurled it against the wall where it smashed to pieces. The hand that was holding the fork stabbed towards the table where Carol was resting her hands, and his apprentice barely managed to move her hands before the fork stabbed into the wooden tabletop. The wizard left the fork quivering upright in the tabletop and lunged towards Carol. The table slipped to the side as Maraydel’s hip shoved it out of the way, and the wizard’s hand closed around Carol’s neck too quickly for her to react.
Carol tried to gasp in surprise as her chair toppled over, but the ancient man’s strong hand stopped the air from entering her throat even as it kept her from falling to the floor. Carol reached suddenly panicky hands to the hand at her throat, but the wizard’s grip was like iron, and the young woman felt herself driven backwards for a brief instant before the small of her back struck the kitchen counter.
Maraydel did not stop pushing or choking the girl until she was bent painfully backwards over the counter and her head had slammed against the cabinets containing her mother’s dishes. He held her there for a long moment as her face turned red and she clawed at his arm. The angry wizard ignored the pain of her scratches and the blood that dripped slowly from his arm onto the struggling girl’s shirt.
Carol found her fear beginning to turn to terror. She could not breathe, and bright spots were beginning to burst in her vision when suddenly the pressure was gone from her throat as the wizard released her. Carol slithered gracelessly from her arched position against the counter to crumble painfully to the floor, but she did not care. She could breathe. That was all that mattered. She felt tears of relief threatening to spill from her eyes, but she grimly fought to keep them from falling. She had sworn that she would no longer be weak, and tears were a sign of weakness. Instead of crying, she concentrated on breathing in large, sweet breaths of fresh air. After several minutes she was finally able to pull herself to a kneeling position and open her eyes.
Maraydel was propped on the kitchen table looking at Carol dispassionately. Before the young woman could try to speak, the magus spoke to her in a voice that was filled with a deadly calm. “There is only so much of your insolence that I will put up with. I let you get away with some because I like your spirit, but don’t push me too far. If this happens again, I may not stop.” Without waiting for a reply, the magus turned and left the kitchen.
Angry words flew to her lips, but Carol bit them back and stared wordlessly after the wizard. The time was not right, and she still had too much to learn, but she vowed that one day there would be a reckoning.
The ringing of John’s cell phone startled Sarah’s overtaxed nerves, and she swerved slightly in her lane. John gave Sarah a questioning look as he reached for the phone that was clipped to his belt. Sarah answered the unasked question in John’s eyes with, “I’m fine.”
John nodded and flipped his phone open. “Hello?”
“Hello, John. I thought you were going to call me back.” Matt’s voice was teasing and caring at the same time, and John was grateful to have Matt as a friend.
“I’m sorry. A few things came up and I just forgot.”
“Yeah, I heard there was some trouble out at our resident psychic’s house, and lo and behold your name came up. If you don’t mind my saying so, you seem to be a magnet for trouble my friend.”
“Don’t I know it? I promise this isn’t the way my life usually goes. The worst I have to deal with most days is a ticked off home builder.” John winced slightly as he realized he had not checked in with his business in several days. “That reminds me. I probably need to call and let my work crews know that I’m still alive. I haven’t talked to those guys in days. Anyway, what can I do for you?”
“Not much really. I just called to make sure you were alright, and maybe see if you could tell me just what the hell is going on around here lately. And don’t tell me ‘Nothing.’ I know better.”
John sighed quietly as he tried to decide how best to answer Matt’s inquiry. Finally, he said, “Look, I can’t tell you much right now. I promise you I’ll tell you everything later, when I have time. Frankly, I don’t think you’d believe most of what I told you right now without some proof.”
It was Matt’s turn to pause for a moment before answering, “Well, I guess that’s going to have to be good enough for now. At least tell me if there’s something I can do to help. I have this sneaking suspicion that there’s bad stuff happening to good people, and I’ll help if you’ll let me.”
“Well…” John thought for a moment. “Actually, there is something you can do, if you can do it without asking too many questions.”
Matt sighed. “Okay, hit me with it. But the explanation when it comes had better be good.”
“It will be. Now here’s what I need you to do. I want you to go to the hospital and sit in with the guy that was involved in the shooting at the psychic’s house. His name is Daniel Greene, but he goes by Danny. I don’t care what you have to say or do, but you sit with him and if he wakes up and acts the least bit strange, you have him restrained. Do not, under any circumstances, let him get out of bed.”
Matt hesitated briefly before replying. “Well, I can do that I guess, but I really wish you’d tell me what’s going on. I mean, why do I need to watch this guy anyway?”
“All I can say is there’s a chance that he may not exactly be himself when he wakes up. I can’t say why right now, but trust me on this. Just watch him and if anything seems even slightly off about him, you have him restrained.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. You’re just lucky I have a couple of doctor friends at the hospital. Otherwise, I don’t know how on earth I’d manage this. And don’t forget, you owe me one hell of an explanation.”
John smiled ruefully. “I just hope you’ll believe it when you get it. I’ll talk to you soon.” John flipped the phone closed and clipped it back to his belt.
Sarah had apparently been waiting for the opportunity to speak, because she started talking as soon as John’s phone was closed. “You don’t really think Danny’s a danger to anyone in his condition, do you?”
“Honey, I just don’t know. And at this point I’m tired of seeing
people get hurt. Besides, this will give Matt something useful to do until I get a chance to let him in on everything that’s been happening.”
Mike spoke up from the back seat of his car. The trio of friends had decided to take Mike’s car for the sake of space, but Mike had been reluctant to drive with his wounded arm. “Are you really going to tell him everything?”
“Yes,” John said firmly. “It’s his town and he deserves to know what’s been happening there. He’s done nothing but help me ever since the first time I spoke to him on the phone, and he’s helping us again now, so the least I can do is tell him the truth. Whether he believes it or not is a different story.”
“That’s fair enough,” Mike answered. “I just wondered what your thoughts were on the subject.” He leaned forward to look at a road sign they were passing. “You’re going to want to take the next exit to get to my house.”
Sarah nodded and flipped on her turn signal before sliding smoothly onto the exit ramp that Mike had indicated. John placed a reassuring hand on Sarah’s leg and leaned his head against the headrest. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to doze. He figured he would need all the rest he could get much sooner than he would like.
Maraydel sat with his legs crossed in the floor of the living room. His eyes were closed, and he could dimly hear the sound of Carol tossing energy across the backyard. He allowed the sounds to bleed slowly from his awareness and sent his mind searching once more for the shaman.
His mind’s eye searched far and wide for any hint of the shaman’s mind, but again and again his searching yielded no results. He was about to give up in disgust, when a faint whisper of energy brushed against his mind. Maraydel recognized the energy and responded instantly by attempting to attach his mind to it, but the effort was like trying to catch the ocean in his hands. The whisper of energy slipped through the grasp of his mind and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
John felt the medallion that Adam had given him become icy cold against his chest. His eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly for a moment. “Shit!”
Sarah and Mike both looked at John with worry on their faces. “What is it?” Sarah asked.
John took a deep shuddering breath, and Sarah was relieved to see color flooding back into his face as he answered. “It’s him, of course. The bastard is trying to find me with his mind. I can’t even take a nap now.”
Mike spoke quietly to Sarah. “It’s the third driveway on your right.”
Sarah nodded and pulled the car into the indicated driveway. She parked the car in front of a modest brick house that she assumed must belong to Mike before turning her attention back to John. “Are you alright?”
John sighed. “Yeah, I’m alright. I’m going to be very glad to be rid of that guy, though.” He leaned over and gave Sarah a quick kiss on the cheek before opening his door and exiting the car. John and Sarah met each other in front of the car and followed Mike up the steps to his front porch.
“Can I have my keys, please?” Mike asked. Sarah gave Mike a sheepish grin as she fished around in her pocketbook for a moment before coming up with the keys. “Thanks,” Mike said as he turned to the door and unlocked it. With the door unsecured, he pushed it open and stepped back to usher Sarah and John inside.
Sarah and John stood blinking just inside the doorway for a moment while their eyes adjusted from the bright summer day outside to the unlit interior of Mike’s house. The owner of the house leaned in the open doorway and snapped on the light to his living room before their eyes could adjust completely, so it took a moment before the clutter of the man’s house could register in their confused eyes. The house was not really dirty, just cluttered. Papers and magazines were tossed haphazardly on the coffee table. There appeared to be two piles of mail, one opened and the other unopened. A couple of shoes were sitting in an untidy pile by the end of the sofa, and an empty cup was sitting on the end table by a battered lamp. The furniture looked solid and dependable without being attractive. Peering into the kitchen through the open doorway, Sarah could see a few ditches sitting beside the kitchen sink. All in all, the house gave her the impression of inattention instead of slovenliness.
Mike stepped by Sarah and John where they stood in the doorway. “Don’t mind the mess. I don’t.” Mike stepped into the kitchen and turned into an unseen doorway. His voice floated calmly over his shoulder. “Grab a seat if you’d like. I’ll only be a minute.”
John and Sarah exchanged an amused glance before taking a seat on the couch. True to his word, Mike joined them barely a minute later. In his hands he held a weapon that looked familiar to both John and Sarah, since they had seen its likeness in many movies. “This is the Colt AR-15. Basically, it’s the civilian version of what the U.S. Army uses. This part isn’t standard issue though.” He tapped a scope that was mounted on the rail on top of the rifle.
“Are you any good with that thing?” John asked.
“Well, the military says the maximum effective range of the M-16 is 300 meters, but I can hit the target at 500 meters at least 85 percent of the time. Is that good enough for you?”
John smiled. “Yeah, that’ll do. I think that’ll do just fine.”
Mike returned the smile. “Well, unless you two have something else you want to discuss, let’s get out of here.”
John started to stand up, but Sarah’s hand on his arm stopped him. “John, just how much trouble are you having with him? Are we in danger?”
“That’s a good question,” Mike said before sliding to a seat in a chair across from the couple. The rifle was resting barrel down on the floor between his knees.
“I don’t think you’re in any danger.” John struggled quietly to find the words to describe his feelings. Sarah and Mike waited quietly and let him think it out. Finally, John said, “I’m certain he could never control me. I don’t think he’s even wormed his way into my head far enough to know much about either of you.” John looked at Sarah. “When his shadow showed up here, I’m fairly sure it was destroyed so quickly that he never even got a good look at you.” The shaman then turned his gaze to Mike. “As for you, I’m sure he remembers you, but he has no way of knowing that you’re still involved in all of this.”
“Well that’s good for us then, right?” Mike seemed more curious than scared, and this impression was reinforced by his next words. “I mean, can’t we use that? You know, the element of surprise and all?”
John sat up straighter as an idea blossomed in his mind. “You know what? I think maybe we can. Sarah, do you think you can show me on a map how to find the house where you saw those two?” Sarah nodded, and John jumped to his feet. “Good. You’ve got a map in your car, right?” John asked Mike.
Mike nodded. “It’s in the glove box,” Mike called as John hurried out the front door.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” John hurried down the steps and grabbed the map from Mike’s car.
Maraydel stalked through the house and angrily threw open the screen door to the back yard. Such was the mage’s anger that the door squealed in protest as the hydraulic arm that was designed to slow its closing was yanked loose form the door. The door smacked into the outside wall of the house and rebounded towards the irate mage, but he brushed it easily aside as he continued his angry stalk into the backyard.
Carol heard the commotion and whirled to face Maraydel. The unspent energies of the spell she had been preparing to cast dripped into the grass around her feet, and the grass died wherever the dark, fiery energies landed. Reacting to the wizard’s apparent rage and spurred on by the altercation that had taken place between them earlier, Carol focused her will and spat the strange word for shield in that other language which she had been rapidly learning. Immediately the air shimmered all around her, and Maraydel’s angry progress was stopped several feet short of Carol as he walked quickly into a wall of rock-hard air. He stopped so suddenly that he rebounded from Carol’s shield and ended up sitting in the grass, looking up at the young woman in stunned
surprise where she stood safe inside her shield.
The mage’s astonishment was genuine. He would never have guessed that the girl would be capable of figuring out how to erect such a shield in so little time. His surprise at her latest achievement quickly washed away the anger he was feeling about losing the connection with the shaman, and he smiled at Carol in genuine pleasure as he said, “My congratulations young one. Your progress is…startling to say the least. But I assure you that I meant you no harm. I merely meant to vent my frustrations, not lash out at you.”
Carol studied the mage’s face and brushed his mind lightly with hers before she was satisfied that he was telling the truth. Maraydel’s face flinched slightly in annoyance as he felt the intrusion of the young woman’s mind, but he pushed his irritation aside as he was grudgingly forced to admit to himself that Carol was a pupil like none he had ever seen. Carol felt the mage’s dawning admiration and judged that it was now safe to drop her shield. She released the energy that she had held in place with her will and felt it drain back into the air around her as her hastily erected shield disappeared. “So, do you want to tell me what you’re so pissed about?” Carol asked.
Chapter 27
Matt glanced up from the paper he was reading. Something had captured his attention, but Danny was not moving, and his eyes were still closed.
Matt had been waiting in Danny’s room in the Intensive Care Unit for over an hour. It had taken some fast talking, some bullying, and the calling in of a few favors before the councilman had managed to talk his way into the injured young man’s room, and the nurses were still giving him dirty looks whenever they passed the open door.
After studying Danny’s face for long moments, Matt was finally satisfied that the young man was still unconscious. He dismissed whatever had gotten his attention as imagination, shook his head, and went back to scanning the newspaper.
