by Vega Lizzie
Chapter 41
After only a minute or two, it was clear that the young men of Darien’s loose organization had no stomach for fighting but one of them continued to desperately throw small arcs of electricity at both Shannon and Terra. With one eye on the storefront, she manifested her robe over the top of her head and launched two giant orbs at the men. Spreading her hands apart as the spheres reached their intended targets, she suddenly froze them in mid-air, then closed her fingers into fists and the deadly projectiles faded with a soft crackle.
“I can end this right now,” she said softly, “but I truly don’t want to hurt you. Can we please talk?” She turned to Terra, “If you would power down for a moment, we’ll let them choose what is right for them.” She said it loud enough for all of the fighters to hear it, then lowered her voice to Terra, “Keep an eye on the side of the building. Let’s see how accurate my intuition is.”
Whether scared or finally recognizing how out matched they were, the three remaining men slowly dropped their arms. The brief skirmish appeared to be over.
Shannon pointed to their fallen friend, “You can check on him if you want. She’ll do her best to get him fixed up.” The offer wasn’t lost on them as they guardedly made their way to where Robin was working on Miller. Liam had removed his camouflage headgear and was standing guard behind her. They approached cautiously still wondering if Liam’s leafy garment was real or a manifestation.
Terra took one of them aside as Shannon and Olivia approached the parts store.
She startled him by firmly grabbing his arm and put her nose to his shoulder to smell his clothing, “Where is she?” Terra said angrily before calming herself, “I’m sorry. Where is the girl that smells like cinnamon? Is she close?” Her temper boiled over again, and her grip tightened, “Tell me or I’ll drop you right here.”
As her plasma began to regenerate at her feet, he looked at her, clearly terrified. “I don’t, we don’t know anyone like that. N-nothing like that.” He tried to pull away and Terra unfurled her serpent.
“Terra, please, I know you’re angry,” Shannon said softly. She turned to the subdued attackers, “you really don’t want to make her mad.”
“We’re wasting time,” Terra said as she leaned into the man she was guarding, the snake nestling on his shoulder, “I want Chloe back and I want her back, right now. I’m tired of going at half speed.” She drew close to him, her lips only a few inches away from his, “So, cute boy, what’s his next move?”
“He said he’d…t-take her up to the trail shack,” the young man shuddered, his eyes watching Terra’s snake carefully, “a diversion maybe? Something b-big.”
Off to her right, Terra heard the sound of a truck being started just as Shannon bolted across the front of the store. A bright flash of light from the inside of the store lit up the entire structure and Shannon swung her arm to create a massive shield as the front of the store exploded into glittering shards of glass. In a split second, she had protected everyone from fusillade of glass bursting from the windows. Shannon ran to Terra, “He’s out the back door.”
“He says the trail shack, Shan.” Terra called back her snake and released her captive just as Shannon arrived. “In the foothills,” she asked, “which section, East or South?”
“South,” he answered instantly, “there’s an old cabin…we practice our magic up there. He’ll take her there for sure.”
Shannon looked at Terra and pointed to the main mall building as the truck sped away, “Get an angle on him and drive him to the right side of the lot. Get him to take the road we came in on.”
Terra frowned but began to run toward the open lot just as “What?” she hollered over her shoulder, “can’t I just…ahh fine. This is me listening.”
A jacked up 4x4 pickup rolled out from behind the building, it’s chrome exhaust stacks reflecting in the streetlights. As he hit the accelerator, the modified mufflers growled in a choppy burst of horsepower.
The young man looked at Shannon, then looked at Terra as she sprinted diagonally across the lot. The plasma coils around her legs ware flaring wildly. He quickly realized how badly the situation could have been. “Please don’t hurt us.”
“We won’t, I promise you that,” Shannon said as she watched Terra sprinting. Running at half speed, she launched a wall of plasma to the left of the truck deliberately missing but destroying a parking pylon. The pickup veered sharply to the right. Terra swung her arm up and released a silent blast of energy that shot into the air only to come crashing down in a blue bubble at the entrance to the mall. Darien’s truck screeched and jumped toward the far exit.
“Perfect,” Shannon grinned as Terra raised her hand and stepped into the void only to reappear a split second later in front of her car. She jumped in and began speeding toward the parts store.
“Who are you people?” the young man as he watched Terra screech to a halt in front of them, “She’s amazing.”
“Yeah, she’s taken, my friend. Stay here with your crew and Robin and Olivia will give you some instructions. If, after you’ve heard what they have to say and you’re interested in participating, tell them. She will give you an assignment. Has Darien said what he wants with Chloe?”
“He freaked when you came into town. He wants to make an example of her, some crazy talk about Denver and a tower. We didn’t really believe him until that club weapon of his showed up one night. We used to do this for fun. I…I’ um, don’t understand any of this,” he replied, “but thank you for helping Miller. Darien can be a real asshole some…all the time.”
Terra honked the horn as Olivia began to move toward the car, “Mom, you gotta go.”
“He and I go back a few years,” Shannon half smiled, “Love to stay and chat, but we’re going to go now. Remember Robin will instruct you. She can be…assertive, so watch your manners. Warn the rest of them.”
“I will,” he answered then faltered, hesitating, “are you gonna be around here from now on? You’re different. You helped us when you could have…my God, and, she’s your daughter? I think we were lucky.”
Shannon smiled as she watched Olivia wish Terra good luck, “She doesn’t like to be teased but that’s not what our magic is about, er what’s your name?”
“Shannon?” Terra was getting testy, “C’mon.”
“I’m Cody.”
“Well, Cody, you likely won’t remember much of this evening, but I may reach out to you in the near future. Would that be okay with you?”
“Mother, get going. He’s getting away.” Shannon nodded to the car then returned to her brief questions, “Where’s the shack?”
“Up County 20, two miles then left on the only dirt road to the right. It overlooks the city.”
“Thanks.” Shannon looked over his shoulder and he shrieked as Antonia put her hand on his shoulder, “Come with me, vaqueiro. Let’s go check on your little friend.” She grinned at Shannon, “Shoo…now go and get your friend. I’ll tell Robin not to wipe this one. We will wait for your signal.”
Running to the car, Shannon was quick with instructions but, as they passed each other, Olivia took her mother’s arm, “Mom, when you can, get your phone out. Marcus is freaking out. He’s sent you a dozen texts. I just got three.”
“I’ve got five and two voicemails,” Terra added as she rolled up in her SUV, “From what I gather, we have already pissed someone off, but I could give a shit. Which way do we go?”
Shannon gave Olivia a quick hug and as Terra slid to the passenger seat, jumped in to drive. “We’ll go to the right,” she pointed, “grab the thoroughfare, we can save about five minutes and we can go eighty-plus.”
“Nice,” Olivia chirped from the window. Shannon looked at Terra and turned to her daughter, ready to tone her down.
Olivia understood. “I know, Mom.” she said, “It’s not over until Chloe is safe. Shoot for ninety. We’ll get to our positions after that.”
Chapter 42
Racing across the highway
interchange, Shannon was able to keep Darien’s truck in view until they hit the foothills. Almost two miles out of town, Darien turned off his lights as he rounded a deeply cut wedge in the highway. “Shit, I’m gonna lose him. We’re going almost a hundred miles an hour.”
“Just keep going,” Terra pleaded, her voice beginning to rise to hysteria, “We gotta stop him.” Shannon rounded the bend and they saw nothing ahead of them. He was gone.
“Did I miss it?” Shannon questioned, hesitant to take her eyes off the road to glance at the odometer, “It’s been one point eight miles…one point nine. Oh God, we’re gonna lose her.”
“Shannon,” Terra shouted, pointing off to the left, “Look. Is that normal up here?” A glowing green stack of rocks set at the top of a small rise and Shannon stood on the brakes. With dust still drifting in the still evening air, Shannon turned the wheel and as they began to drive up the hill, the cairn of rocks lost its glow, only to materialize farther up the road.
“How is that happening,” Terra questioned, “better yet, who’s is doing that?” She looked at Shannon as a third pile of stones began to glow as the road forked to the right.
“I’m just guessing,” Shannon said as she accelerated to the next glowing signal flared in front of them, “but you might not want to know.”
“Oh God, you’re kidding me. Jesus, Shannon, this is her turf. She better not try anything.” Terra turned to Shannon and watched her calmly negotiating the tight turns of the rutted dirt road, “She told me she would assist in a small way,” Shannon said, just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the engine, “It’s a little bit of a thank you.”
Another beacon of rocks glimmered brightly in the distance. At first obscured by a thick cloud of dust from Darien’s pickup. The soft beacon flared as a second and a third marker burst into view. They were getting close. Terra’s phone rang to announce that Liam and Robin weren’t far behind. In tears, she leaned out the window, “Thank you,” she shouted tearfully only to have Shannon grab her arm and haul her back inside as a single sodium light appeared in the distance, “We made it. That’s gotta be the shack. Hold on tight.”
“Huh?” Terra said only to be jerked sideways as Shannon accelerated then spun the steering wheel bringing the car to a halt in a cloud of dust, “Go into the void and flank him,” she said as the dirt rolled across the hood of the car, “Wait for an opening and grab Chloe. I’ll deal with Darien.”
“From here?” Terra questioned and put her hand up toward the windshield, “I’ve never…um, okay, here goes. Be careful, Love.”
“If I look like I’m losing,” Shannon said suddenly, “I’m just doing a little fishing. Got it?”
Terra looked at Shannon and saw her jaw clenched and she was watching the yard from under her brow, “Let’s see how Darien likes being restrained from doing his magic.”
“Oh God, yeah, I’ve got it. Liam and Robin should be here in a minute. I love you.” Terra put her hand up to the windshield and vanished. Shannon climbed out of the driver’s side of the car and walked through the cloud of dust. From the open doorway of the hunting shack, a burst of static energy surged out of the shadows headed straight for her. Waiting until the last moment, Shannon deflected the burst with her energy shielding, her feet sliding back in the dust against the force. “Bring her out Darien. You won’t get away with this. This ends. Right now.” She could see him in the doorway, struggling to keep Chloe upright.
“Let her go Darien. Before you do something stupid that I can’t fix.”
To her stunned surprise, Darien’s eyes flared angrily as he stepped awkwardly from the front porch to the old cabin, dragging Chloe with him. That he wanted her close unnerved Shannon further, but she quickly stepped forward to egg him closer. Chloe stumbled on the step and shrieked in pain, unable to put weight on her left foot.
“Fix?” he screamed, “You can’t fix this, you stupid bitch,” he called out, “there’s nothing to negotiate. I have to do this. You’ve ruined everything.”
With a surge of energy, Shannon fired three energy panels to the left and right sides of the cabin. With a broad sweep of her arm, the third panel fell behind the tiny shack creating a triangular protection shield.
Darien responded by dropping Chloe in the dirt. Stepping behind her, Darien moved his arms in a circle then produced a long stick from his backpack. The moment it began to glow, Shannon glanced quickly to her right, watching for any movement in the air next to Darien. She’d instantly recognized the crook-shaped head of the wand in his hand. Bristling with electricity, he waved it menacingly over Chloe’s head.
In the second she looked away, he hurled another set of black orbs at her. First one set, then a second. One set flew directly at her while the second swung away and began to curve back towards her.
Raising her hands quickly, two sets of flickering protection panels spiraled from her fingertips to set up a perimeter in front of her. As the first orbs met the protection panel they flared in a bright ball of static, but the panels held the attacking spheres in place. With a loud crackle of static, both spheres fell to the ground, sputtering as the steel rods emerged from their casing and shriveled harmlessly.
The smile on Darien’s face was brief as he realized that Shannon hadn’t even looked at them and the second pair of restraints collided with a smaller set of panels. They splashed into the liquid-looking panels and shorted out falling harmlessly into the dirt.
“You don’t think I figured this out,” Shannon shouted, clearly angry and holding a swirling ball of energy on her hand. She hurled it at the far post holding the corner of the roof and it splintered, causing the old shingled overhang to lean toward the porch floor, “I’ll take this fucking shack down around you if you don’t let her go.” Another sphere flew from her wrist and took down the chimney on the side of the building.
He listened to her threats and grinned, underscoring that now she could do nothing that didn’t immediately put Chloe directly in the line of fire. Suddenly a roaring wall of static came at her. Shannon pushed back with a protection shield of her own. For a moment, her shielding held, then tore through the glittering panels causing Shannon to dodge and go sprawling to her left. Darien shifted behind Chloe to face her, “I can go all night, Shan. Bring it,” he taunted her.
“Sounds like more of personal problem,” she smiled then gritted her teeth to take out the second post holding up the rest of the porch roof. As it collapsed to the front step, it also blocked the doorway and Darien quickly realized his escape plan had a wrinkle. He waved the Egyptian staff wildly over his head, throwing another wall of static at Shannon.
Another wall of white and black swirling static lunged out of the shadows and Shannon leaned into it stopping it just a few feet from her. For a moment it surged and came closer until she pushed back to disperse its power. Her shoulders sagged momentarily, and the intensity of her shielding faltered briefly before it regained its brightness, lighting up the entire yard.
He’d noticed the fluctuation but didn’t realize that Shannon was slowly turning him away from the front of the old house. Soon she would strike and rescue their friend. Darien began to shake his head, “Don’t think I haven’t figured out what you’re trying to do. You never gave me credit for anything when we were younger. It was always about you. Tonight, I set the ledger straight.”
She saw the orb coming. It flared in a blizzard of black and white scribbling lines. As she looked, one of the panels of her screens winked out and the orb broke through the weakly flickering wall. It appeared Shannon would take one for the team and the glowing sphere crashed into her spinning her into the dirt.
Again, she’d shifted to the left, but her shields were failing. She began to gasp for air, her shoulders quaking. She could hear another car coming up the road behind them. It was time for reinforcements.
Chapter 43
“This has to stop, Darien,” Shannon shouted over the constant buzz of the protective panels, “there’s just…no po
int to…” She saw a tiny warble of the air next to her to signal Terra’s presence along the tree-line, “there’s no reason for anyone to get hurt. Let her go.” The wavering of the air moved away from Shannon. She knew that Terra would try to get directly behind Darien and Chloe. Her own power apparently depleted, there would be no way for her to go on the offensive.
“Be still, Chloe,” she called out, still breathing rapidly from the energy she spent to keep the protection panels up, “I’ll…get you out of this.”
Darien quickly leaned down grabbing Chloe’s hair. He tightened his grip, pulling Chloe’s hair back sharply to expose her neck.
“Darien…please don’t. Killing her won’t change anything.”
“You don’t know me,” he shouted, “you don’t know anything. We are ruled in absolutes. Anything less is taken as weakness. I have to make up for the mistakes…or I won’t rise up.”
He swung his glowing club to his left, pointing to where Terra was hovering, “Bring her out. I know she’s there. Have her step out slow. The others too, I’m not stupid.”
To Shannon’s surprise, Terra slowly emerged from her dark portal. Off to Shannon’s right, she put her hands out slowly and took a step back, “I’m right here,” she said quietly, “I won’t provoke you.” Terra saw the tears in Chloe’s eyes and her bravado vanished. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I made a mistake and…please Darien, don’t hurt her anymore.”
He wasn’t listening. “Back off,” he shouted at Terra, “How ignorant are you? Didn’t you think this would attract attention from both sides? There’s no way to undo the damage you’ve done.” The crook shaped club in his hand drew back, “I have worked my whole life to position my family to take over this region and you’ve erased it in a single night.”