Sloan gave Aareth a look that said she would murder him on the spot and dance on his grave.
“Sorry.” Aareth put up both hands in a sign of surrender. “But seriously, Charlotte is a good name and anyone who has been named captain of the Queen’s personal guard doesn’t have any more to prove in my book.”
“Well,” Sloan’s demeanor lightened as she changed the subject, “I’m glad my name has your approval, Inspector Aareth Emerson—or should I call you The Ghost?”
“Ah, so you know.”
“Of course I know. I didn’t get to where I am just because I have a pretty first name.”
“I didn’t say it was pretty.”
“You said you liked it.”
“I do.” Aareth shrugged. “But I didn’t use the word ‘pretty’; that was all you.”
“Whatever. So are you a part of this mission because you’re done with your life as an assassin or are you working some other angle?”
“What do you think, Charlotte?”
“First, don’t call me that. Second, I see you as a man capable of a lot of good and a lot of bad. You served as one of the best inspectors for three years, and after your wife died, you did a lot of killing for three years. So which version are you today?”
Aareth was stunned by her bluntness. He gathered himself as he was reminded of who he was talking to. “You want the truth?”
“Of course.”
“I am trying very hard to be the version of myself I was before. I just don’t know if that man exists anymore.”
Although Aareth expected Sloan to be hesitant or continue to question his intentions after such a grey response, she didn’t. It seemed like what Aareth said about trying to be the better version of himself resonated with the captain on a much deeper level.
Instead of continuing the conversation, Sloan peeked a head out from behind the boulder. “Storm’s calming down already.”
“Crazy how they can come and go so quickly, right?”
Sloan nodded.
“So what’s first? Go and dig up our steam machine or find Jack and Marcus? They were riding right next to us when the storm hit. They can’t be far.”
“We find the sorcerers first.” Sloan stood from her spot. “Without them, this mission can’t succeed.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jack
Jack felt like he was going to throw up. His head was swimming and he had no idea where he was. He struggled to stand, but his head was hammering like a blacksmith was using his skull as an anvil. Jack reached a shaky hand to the right side of his head and it came back bloody.
As he was wondering how badly he was hurt, the events of the past few hours came back to him at once; the locomotive attack, the sandstorm, he and his father being thrown from the steam bicycle. His father!
Jack turned in every direction, searching the forest floor for his dad. His eyes found a slumped body under a mass of broken branches. Jack ran to his father’s side and gently rolled him over. His father’s chest was still moving up and down. Jack gently shook him. The bandage around Marcus’ head was still intact and no sign of blood soaked through the dressing.
He’s okay. He’s breathing. He didn’t land on his head, Jack reassured himself.
“Dad, Dad, can you hear me?”
“Okay, next time, I’m operating the machine.” Marcus’ eyes fluttered open.
Jack let out a huge sigh and slowly helped his father to his feet.
“Are you okay? Anything broken?”
“No, no, I think the old man is going to make it this time around.” Marcus looked down at himself as he dusted off the layers of sand. “You? You’re bleeding.”
“I know, it’s nothing. We have to find Sloan and Aareth and make sure our transportation is still working.”
Before Marcus could protest, there was rustling in the dark forest to their left. Jack drew his wand in one smooth motion. Marcus lifted the two parts of his staff from his back. He snapped them together in the space of a breath.
“Wow, take it easy, killers.” Aareth walked into the clearing with arms raised. “It’s just Sloan and me.”
“Glad to see you two made it.” Jack gave Aareth a sly grin. “I thought Sloan might use the sandstorm for cover, you know, finally take you out of the picture for good.”
“It was tempting.” The corner of Sloan’s mouth twitched in an awkward attempt at a smile.
“So what’s our next move, Captain?” Jack asked.
“Well, you need to stop spraying blood everywhere. Then we find the machines, make sure they’re still working, and make camp for the night. It’s too dark to travel now. Tomorrow we’ll find the road, and if I’m anywhere near right, we should be in Burrow Den in time for dinner.”
Jack’s wound was nothing more than a shallow two-inch laceration across his scalp. His father had him patched up in no time as Sloan and Aareth wheeled in both of the mage-powered machines.
The one Jack and Marcus had ridden was dented in a few spots and the front headlight was cracked, but still in running condition. Sloan and Aareth’s was in better shape; still, sand leaked from the machine out of every nook and cranny.
Camp was made in the same small clearing Jack found his father lying in and dinner was a simple meal of cheese, dried meat, and biscuits. Jack ate like a starving man. To him, the meal was just as satisfying as the feast he was treated to in the Queen’s palace.
It was as the four unlikely members of the Queen’s emissary were preparing for sleep that Jack voiced the question that was on all their minds. “So what are we expecting tomorrow when we reach Burrow Den? Do they know we’re coming?”
“The Queen sent a messenger to tell them help was on the way.” Sloan stared into the fire, voicing the words with no real weight behind them.
“Can we be sure the messenger made it all the way to Burrow Den after our little encounter on the locomotive?” Aareth sat beside the captain, toying with his gauntlets. “Could Burrow Den be an ambush?”
“No. I don’t think so, but who knows,” Marcus chimed in as he threw another log on the fire and settled into a seated sleeping position. “There’s no point speculating on what could be or may happen. We just need to be prepared for anything.”
There was a mutter of agreement as Sloan and Aareth took solace in the sorcerer’s words and settled in for the night.
Jack turned onto his back; however, sleep was anywhere but close that night. The forest was dark and shadows twisted and morphed into sinister beings against the forest background.
Jack would have been scared if he hadn’t grown up as a tracking sorcerer his entire life. He heard noises deep inside the forest’s interior, but each noise he could place; birds’ wings rustling, owls hooting, rabbits galloping down paths. He couldn’t be sure when he drifted to sleep, but it wasn’t long before he was awakened by an unfamiliar sound, a noise that didn’t belong to the forest.
He was lying on his side facing the fire that was now reduced to a pile of smoking embers and ash. Morning wasn’t far off. For now, the moon remained fixed in the sky and a cool dew touched the soft grass. As Jack was waking from his sleep, wondering what the noise had been, he heard it again.
There was something large moving in the forest. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact area, but he knew it was big and it was trying to move quietly. Jack’s eyes were wide open as he slowly reached down to his side and gripped the cold steel wand. Sloan and Aareth were both motionless, eyes closed, oblivious to the danger around them. His father’s eyes were as wide as his own.
Jack saw his father looking at him, and without moving his head, motioned with his eyes from Jack to a section of the forest where a large bush swayed. Normally, a bush swaying could easily be written off as the wind, except tonight, there was no wind.
Jack looked back to his father and tilted his head half an inch. Marcus’ hand was on his own staff, tensed and ready. Everything was still except for Jack’s heart. He could feel it racing faster than eith
er the locomotive or the mage-powered bicycles. He forced himself to take slow breaths and slowed his heart rate as his eyes remained glued on the bush that rustled and swayed.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jack
There was nothing that triggered the moment when the creature charged, nothing that set off the beast. Jack jumped to his feet, his right hand brandishing the wand. A moment later, he called forth the magic inside, harnessing it with his will and bending the energy to do his bidding. His wand danced with green magical energy. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his father stand with his staff ablaze in green fire.
Sloan and Aareth began to wake, but all of Jack’s attention was on the mutant animal charging at them with a blood-curdling screech that befit a bird of prey more than a land mammal. Aareth was in a position with his back turned toward the beast, Jack was standing below him and Marcus across.
Jack let a fiery ball of magic fly. He knew it struck the animal, but the beast wasn’t slowing down. It was yards away from Aareth and closing fast. Two more cracks shattered the early morning silence as Marcus fired at the beast.
The animal stumbled but still moved forward. The brute was now only a few feet from a drowsy Aareth, who turned to face the animal. Jack knew he was Aareth’s last hope before the beast crashed into him with bone-crunching jaws and dagger-like claws.
The animal was dark in color with strange shaggy hair and a rounded head. Jack took a deep breath and released another bolt from the end of his wand. The magical beam sailed within inches of Aareth’s black hair. It landed dead center into the animal’s throat.
The beast crashed to the forest floor, skidding the last few feet to rest at Aareth’s worn boots.
Everyone took a few deep breaths before Aareth turned and looked at a shocked Jack. “Thanks, I owe you one.”
“Is it dead?” Sloan was wide awake now. She held her steam sword in hand. Her weapon was already turning a dull red as the blade heated.
Marcus stepped forward to stand next to Aareth. Jack and Sloan followed to get a better look at their would-be killer. The animal was no doubt a unicorn, but a unicorn the likes of which Jack had never seen. The animal was larger than the forest’s typical white unicorn. The dagger-like teeth and sharp claws instead of hooves were all wrong as well.
Native unicorns to this forest would be smaller, with flat teeth made for chewing grass and sturdy hooves to run. Not only did the physical features of the unicorn cause Jack to wonder at its origin, but the screech it made as it attacked was also disconcerting.
The animal was down, there was no doubt about that, but its giant chest still heaved in and out. A dark primal eye full of pain and anger followed them as they moved closer.
“I’m sorry, friend.” Marcus raised his staff and aimed it at the animal’s head.
The beam entered the creature’s skull and penetrated brain matter, allowing the beast to finally find rest. Its chest quivered, then ultimately ceased to move. Jack looked at his father, who he knew hated to kill such an amazing animal.
“Do you think this is the creature that has been attacking Burrow Den?” Aareth wondered out loud. “I mean, we’re only a day or two journey from the city now.”
“The descriptions we read of the animal responsible for the killings in Burrow Den and the paw prints that were recorded weren’t from a mutated unicorn,” Jack took a long look at the unicorn’s paws comparing them to the sketch he remembered seeing at the palace.
“Jack, take a look at this.” Marcus crouched, examining the unicorn further.
Jack maneuvered around a still shocked Aareth and knelt by his father, who was examining the unicorn’s paws. Each paw had six toes, and even more disconcerting was the long white hair covering the animal. As Jack got closer, he saw the unicorn’s coat very closely resembled feathers.
“What does it mean?” Jack asked as his mind struggled to find an answer to the unnatural riddle in front of him.
“I don’t know,” Marcus clenched his jaw, “but this is not what nature intended.”
“What are you saying?” Sloan was examining the unicorn’s body over Jack’s shoulder.
“I’m saying,” Marcus stood up with a look in his eyes that Jack had never seen before, “that we need to get to Burrow Den now and stop whatever is happening there.”
Chapter Thirty
Jack
Like most meals, breakfast was rushed. The mage-powered machines were topped off with fuel and the four travelers were on the move again. It was slow going at first. Jack took the lead and maneuvered through the thick forest at a careful speed. The machine hummed underneath him at a much different rate than he used while traversing the desert floor.
Marcus rode behind him, his posture straight and rigid, searching their new terrain. Soon they found the main road that would lead them to Burrow Den, and both Jack and Sloan pressed down hard on the pedals, urging the machines forward.
Whenever they passed travelers, either walking or on horseback, the looks they received were the same. First the response was fear and wonder, then distrust and anger. Jack could only guess what they looked like to the passersby.
Magic-fueled machines moving forward under their own power with steam rising in the air behind them wasn’t something that was seen every day, let alone in these parts of the Outland.
Burrow Den was one of the most remote cities in the Outland. This wasn’t only because it was further away from New Hope than most cities, but also due to the land that had to be traversed to arrive at the town.
Even after passing through the desert, the city was another two to three days’ journey by horse through the forests and the rolling mountains. It was only due to the steam bicycles and Jack and his father’s extensive knowledge of the territory that they made such great time.
A midday meal was eaten while traveling. Jack was able to show off how much he already learned about steering the machine as he rested one hand on the handlebars and casually supported a sandwich in his free hand.
“If your mother could see you now, she’d be so proud, Jack.”
“Thanks, Dad. Sure you don’t want to give it a try?” Jack turned his head slightly and smiled through a mouthful of meat and bread.
“No, I think I’m just fine here.” Marcus looked down on the bumpy dirt lane that led to Burrow Den and the forest and mountains on either side that greeted him if he fell off the path.
“Did you hear that unicorn when it attacked? It didn’t neigh, it shrieked—like a bird, and the hair it was more like—like—”
“It looked more like feathers than hair, and the hooves…” Marcus took a long pause and Jack imagined what his face looked like. His brow would be furrowed, lips pursed to the side of his mouth, a look Jack had grown accustomed to when he misbehaved as a child.
“Jack, it’s important that when we do reach the town, we’re prepared. Remember, our instincts and intuition are the best tools we have. Mage-powered machines and weapons can only do so much. We have to stay on point.”
Jack nodded as he gulped another bite. The going was made easy by the machines, and just as the sun flirted with the tops of the mountains on its descent, the road sloped up and opened into Burrow Den’s main road.
Burrow Den was a city of only a few hundred inhabitants. Most people there were friendly when Jack and his father passed through before. The main source of work was farming and livestock.
The city couldn’t have been more different than New Hope. Instead of steel structures and iron towers climbing to the heavens, simple one-story houses and buildings made of wood were scattered throughout the city.
Where New Hope was bustling with activity and noises rang out in every corner, Burrow Den was quiet and still.
“Let’s park these machines just outside town, Jack,” his father advised. “There’s no need bringing more attention to us and what we’re doing than we have to. At least until we introduce ourselves.”
Jack knew exactly what his father meant. Th
ey had no idea what they were in for. The last thing they needed was to be looked at with fear and wonder like they had been earlier that day.
Jack parked the machine just outside the city in a grove of tall, bright green trees. Sloan pulled up next to him. Aareth jumped off the bike and grimaced as he stretched. “Boy, you’d think after riding a horse for so many years, I’d be used to it, but my butt is as numb as—”
“Good idea parking the machines outside the city,” Sloan interrupted, giving Aareth an amused roll of her eyes. “We need to gain the town’s trust, not scare them off with inventions they don’t understand. When we get into the city, let me do the talking.”
The three men followed Sloan as she walked out of the grove of trees into the city. Not much had changed since Jack had last seen Burrow Den. The houses still looked the same. The one wide road that led to the heart of the small city was still intact and well kept. The only thing Jack noticed that was different was the lack of people.
Jack’s father caught on to the subtle clue as well. His staff was already in his hand. No magic coursing over the wood just yet. To everyone else, it would look like Marcus was just an older man using a staff to assist his stride, but Jack knew better. He could tell when his father’s hand was a quick second away from drawing magic.
“Well, I guess that answers our question about whether the messenger the Queen sent made it here or not. Not a very warm welcome for people who are sent by the Crown to help,” Aareth mused out loud.
It was eerily quiet as Jack and his three companions made their way through the city.
“If I remember right, the town hall, church, and police station are all down the next block,” Jack instructed the group. “Maybe we’ll find someone there.”
Empty porches were passed, and boarded up houses with locked doors and barred windows seemed to come every few feet.
The Complete Vampire Project Series: (Books 1 - 5) Page 11
