Gun Mage: Surviving a Post Apocalyptic Magic Earth

by Logan Jacobs

  “How do I move?” I asked as I swallowed the sudden urge to vomit.

  “Close your eyes,” the blonde suggested. “Take my hand and let me lead you.”

  I obeyed and closed my eyes against the twisted world. It certainly helped, although it still felt like the ground was moving. I tried to step as I normally would, but it was hard to do when I was convinced the concrete was about to roll away from my feet.

  Sorcha gave my hand a reassuring squeeze as we picked our way slowly across the floor of the storage room.

  We were nearly to the tunnel when something heavy landed in front of us and growled. Sorcha let out a muffled cry, and I felt her step back. Then I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a monstrously huge wolf with a dark red coat, yellow eyes, and some very large teeth, all of which were bared at the two of us.

  This was the figure I’d seen sniffing around the edge of the shelves, and it stood between us and our only road out.

  The wolf took a moment to decide who to attack first, and that was all the time I needed. As the beast lunged toward Sorcha, clearly intent on locking its muzzle around her throat, I drove my knife deep into its chest. The wolf howled and struggled to pull itself off the blade. I tried to wrench the weapon free as well, but Sorcha grabbed my hand and started to pull me up the tunnel.

  “Leave it,” she instructed. “You still have the gun.”

  I watched the wolf as it struggled to resume its human shape before it collapsed to the ground panting. The ball of fire that had lit the scene suddenly exploded and sent out glowing embers that set everything else on fire. I couldn’t see any of the other mages who’d helped me, but I heard Bunda’s voice near the far end of the room.

  The man who had given the order to capture me whirled around as Sorcha and I started up the ramp, and for a moment, our gazes locked. He held a glowing sword in his hand, and he began to move toward us even as the shelves around him started to go up in flames.

  “Run!” I ordered as I bolted up the tunnel. Something about the way the man had looked at me made my skin crawl, and I had no doubt he planned on killing me as painfully as he could.

  Sorcha turned out to be a good sprinter, and she kept pace with me as we followed the winding path back toward the door. I only risked a glance over my shoulder once, and I saw the eerie mage walking steadily behind us.

  “They must have done something to the door,” I panted as we neared the top. “That mage doesn’t seem at all concerned we’ll make it outside and escape.”

  “Or they might have mages waiting outside to catch anyone who tries to break out,” Sorcha replied.

  “And you’re sure this is the only way out?” I asked as we came within sight of the door.

  Sorcha nodded and glanced over her shoulder. Then she frowned and started to look around.

  “There might be another way,” she said. “Arthur said there were old vents they used to keep the air fresh down below. There’s supposed to be a hatch or something they used to service the vents around here. One of the vents leads to the arena.”

  The space we were in wasn’t very large, and there weren’t a lot of options for hidden hatchways. We started to poke and pound on every surface until Sorcha finally found an old trapdoor. I managed to pull it up far enough for us to squeeze through, then let it fall back into place.

  We found ourselves in a junction of sorts, with several pipes that led off in various directions. One dropped off quickly, probably to the room we’d just left I guessed, based on how much smoke drifted through it. A second path was blocked by rubble, while a third snaked away into darkness. The last one had a rusting grille over it and was blocked by a large sign that warned about a “high voltage area.”

  “I guess we’re going this way,” I said as I squatted down and peered into the darkness of the third tunnel.

  “I wish I’d studied that light spell a little harder,” Sorcha commented, “but I’m afraid the best I can manage isn’t much better than a match.”

  “Well, most of us normals don’t really even understand how magic works,” I chuckled as my heart pounded in my chest. “How do you learn the different types? Is it all genetic or can you acquire the skills?”

  “That’s a long discussion,” Sorcha huffed. “I’ll explain more when we get out of the city.”

  “If we get out,” I muttered as I started to crawl through the pipe.

  A moment later, a small flickering glow followed after me. There was just enough light to help me avoid any serious injuries, though I figured my palms and knees would be covered with scratches by the time we reached the end. We also startled more than a few rats as we made our way through the metal tube, a fact which Sorcha greeted with a few muffled curse words and a drawn out moan.

  The pipe we were in ran straight for a while, then curved around toward the right. We traveled upwards for nearly twenty feet, which turned out to be a hard climb since there wasn’t much in the way of handholds. Our escape tube finally came to an abrupt end at a large grate. The cover wasn’t in nearly as bad a shape as the “high voltage” one, and I finally had to flatten my shoulders against it and push with all my might before it finally gave way.

  The sound of screeching metal announced our arrival as I rolled out of the pipe and plunked onto the ground. I blinked several times to recover from the bright light that suddenly filled my vision, and I looked up into the face of a startled woman in a chef’s hat.

  “What … ” the woman began to ask as I stood up, and Sorcha crawled out behind me.

  “Inspection,” I said quickly as I looked around the space. We were in a kitchen, near a stack of ovens. The woman we’d startled had just pulled several loaves of hot bread from one of the ovens, and I could see others ready to go in.

  “All clean,” Sorcha declared as she stood up and dusted off her pants.

  “What … ?” the woman began again.

  “Everything’s fine,” Sorcha stated in a deeper and very soothing voice. Her green eyes locked onto the cook’s puzzled stare, and the two stayed that way for several heartbeats.

  “Right,” the cook murmured as she shook her head, and then turned her gaze back toward the bread. “I told you there was nothing wrong with our kitchen. We run a clean operation here.”

  “You certainly do,” Sorcha agreed as she started to pull me away, “and we’ll be happy to report that.”

  We worked our way toward the nearest exit, where runners waited to take the food to those who were wealthy enough to afford box seats. We earned a few angry glares from the staff and a few of the cooks started to ask why we were there, but we dodged past them and through the swinging doors before anyone had a chance to really react.

  The hallway we were in was gray and utilitarian, but I spotted the door to the street, helpfully marked with a sign that said “Exit” in giant red letters. We sprinted to the door, then stopped long enough to cautiously stick our heads out for a quick look. We were still on the backside of the arena but further down the block. Red robed mages hovered nearby, and I could see they studied everyone who walked by.

  “Damn,” I hissed as I closed the door.

  Sorcha started to tug on my sleeve again as she led me further along the hallway. We passed a few more food runners and even a pair of performers, but no one stopped us to ask why we were there. We stopped at a second pair of swinging doors, and Sorcha peeked around the edge.

  “There’s a portal mage near the main door,” she said quietly. “He’s only powerful enough to send people to nearby spots, but the wealthy like to use his services so they don’t have to mingle with the masses once the show is over.”

  “I have some money,” I offered.

  “I can take care of that,” she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “We just need to decide where we’re going.”

  “I don’t really know the city,” I said with a shrug, “but probably somewhere I haven’t been before, if you’re right and the mages have been following me. So, not the museum,
or near the Red Stallion. Or the corrals. Um, or the tea room.”

  “I don’t need your entire itinerary,” Sorcha huffed.

  The mage then took a deep breath, as if she were about to walk onto a stage, and slipped through the swinging doors. I followed after her as she made her way across the enormous lobby. Banners for the latest show hung from the ceiling, and tiny lights twinkled above. The cold concrete floor in the hall had been replaced with a dark blue carpet, and wood paneling covered most of the walls. The crowd laughed loud enough that we could hear them even though the doors to the theater were closed. If I hadn’t just escaped from a mage attack, I would have found the whole thing to be quite inviting.

  Sorcha sidled toward an obese looking person who was sprawled on a sofa near the main doors. At first glance, I thought she was a woman, even though Sorcha said the portal mage was a man. She held a book up to her face, though I saw her eyes glance our way as we neared her spot. There wasn’t an ounce of spare space on her throne, and I could have sworn I heard it groan under her weight.

  When we stopped just a few inches from the mage, I thought Sorcha had been right, and it was a man. He, or she, I still wasn’t sure, looked up from the book and looked us over. Our layers of dust and dirt earned us a look of disdain, and the portal mage went back to the book.

  “We’d like to use a portal, please,” Sorcha said quietly.

  The mage sniffed and looked at us again over the top of the book.

  “I’m sure you would,” the mage sneered, “and I’m also sure you can’t afford my services.”

  “Of course we can,” Sorcha insisted as she took my hand. “We saved up a lot of money for this trip. We can afford whatever you charge.”

  I started to protest, but Sorcha gave me a beautiful smile and tugged me closer. So, I shrugged as we both looked at the portal mage again.

  “And where is it you want to go?” the portal mage asked as she set the book aside. “I don’t do hotel rooms. Too much risk that you’ll have me transport you to someone else’s room so you can rob them.”

  Sorcha looked shocked at the suggestion, and she leaned back into me like she might faint.

  “Oh, no, we’d never do that,” my partner insisted.

  “We just want some alone time,” I declared. “Away from prying eyes.”

  The portal mage considered for a moment, then pointed toward a small end table. A purple bowl sat atop the table, and a small lizard of some kind was wrapped around the lip of the bowl. It looked at us when the portal mage pointed toward the bowl, then stuck its tongue out for a moment.

  “Thirty silvers to transport both of you to Grand Central,” the portal mage announced.

  I nearly walked away when I heard the price, but Sorcha had a firm grasp on my hand, and she pulled me back. Then she frowned at the mage and shook her head.

  “That’s near our hotel,” she sighed. “Isn’t there someplace else? Maybe someplace a little… dangerous?”

  The portal mage cocked her head to one side and considered.

  “Wellll,” the mage drawled, “I could send you to the Green. It’s a fun little neighborhood near the tip of the island. You’ll certainly find some adventures there, and a cheap room where you two can take care of business.”

  I started to protest again, but Sorcha nudged me in the ribs.

  “That would be fine,” she agreed. “Why don’t you go ahead and open that portal for us?”

  “Payment first,” the portal mage replied with a wave toward the bowl.

  “But we already paid you,” Sorcha replied in the same strangely soothing voice she’d used on the cook.

  The portal mage frowned and stared at the bowl. The lizard flicked its tongue again and then tilted its head to look inside the bowl.

  “See?” Sorcha suggested in the soothing voice. “Your money is there.”

  “So it is,” the portal mage agreed with a nod. It was definitely a man’s voice now, and I wondered how Sorcha had been so sure.

  “Now, some of our friends might come looking for us,” Sorcha added. “They’ll ask you where you sent us. You’ll tell them you sent us to Grand Central.”

  “Oh, certainly,” the portal mage agreed. “I’ll just say you wanted to see Grand Central, and maybe take a ride on one of the old locomotives.”

  “Perfect,” Sorcha said in an approving voice.

  The portal mage closed his eyes and murmured something, then formed a circle with his arms. After several seconds, a glowing ring like the one Garth had created appeared, and images flicked by too fast to be seen. The portal mage furrowed his brow, and the images began to slow until they finally settled on a view of a busy street in the city, though it looked like one of the rough and tumble cow towns we visited on the trail. The buildings were made of wood rather than brick, and scantily clad women draped themselves around the posts near the doors. Signs lit with gas and mage lights advertised a variety of alcoholic beverages, and I could just make out a poker table through one of the windows.

  Sorcha nodded then grabbed my hand and stepped forward.

  “Won’t they still be able to track us?” I asked as I hesitated near the edge of the portal.

  “Yes, but this will buy us some time to figure out our next steps,” Sorcha replied.

  I glanced over at the portal mage and wondered how much of this was really something I’d decided on my own. I’d just seen Sorcha use some sort of magic to convince two people to do something, and I tried to recall if she’d used that voice on me. Would I even know it if she had?

  “Hex,” she said quietly, “I know you’re doubting me right now, after what you’ve seen me do, but I swear, I didn’t make you come with me against your will, and I don’t have any nefarious purpose. I just want to help you reach a safe place where the Magesterium can’t find you.”

  I peered into those green eyes and saw the truth in her words. So, I nodded, and she grasped my hand a little tighter. We stepped through the ring together and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of the image, though with all the sights and smells included as well. I stumbled as I hit dirt instead of carpet, then glanced over my shoulder as the ring began to shrink. I could see the portal mage for a moment, and then, just before the ring collapsed, the tell-tale red robe of a mage stepped into view as he entered one of the doors to the arena.

  Then the ring closed, and Sorcha led me along a street in the Green.

  Chapter 5

  “We need to get out of the crowds,” I said as we started to walk along the street. “We need somewhere we can talk.”

  “I’m trying to remember where the closest bolt hole is,” Sorcha muttered as we stepped around a man passed out on the sidewalk.

  The Green was busy tonight, filled with plenty of visitors to the city who wanted a cheap bit of fun and more well-dressed locals hoping to find a bit of adventure. On its surface, it might have seemed like a rough and tumble part of the city, but I doubted the local sheriff would ever let things get truly out of hand. I’d already spotted two deputies who kept a close watch on the crowd, and I’d seen a third deputy lead a pair of well soused visitors toward a coffee house. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn the man we stepped around was an actor hired to be part of the scenery, too.

  Which could be a problem for someone trying to remain anonymous.

  I spied another deputy outside a noisy club, and he watched the people on the sidewalk closely, but most of the pedestrians had no idea they were under scrutiny. I wasn’t sure if it was part of the usual routine in the Green, or if the deputy hoped to find a specific person. I tried to appear casual, but my heart rate had picked up again.

  “Maybe we should try a quieter street,” I suggested as we stopped to let a pack of young men pass by. “One with less deputies.”

  “There are some less busy streets near the edge of the Green,” Sorcha whispered.

  “Let’s try there,” I suggested as we started to move again.

  We only made it a few more blocks when ou
r attempt to remain unnoticed came to an end. A pair of men, both in their thirties and both drenched in the odors of rum and tobacco, stepped in front of us and leered at Sorcha.

  “You’re pretty,” one of the men declared. He was my height and had a long, horsey face, and when he smiled at Sorcha, he revealed a set of yellow teeth that matched the color of the hair peeking out from beneath his soft hat.

  “Come spend some time with us,” his companion suggested in a slurred voice. “We have lots of money to spend on someone as good looking as you.”

  “No, thank you,” Sorcha scoffed as she wrinkled her nose at the two men.

  “Aw, c’mon,” the second man urged. He was a hair taller than his friend, with frizzy brown hair topped with a strange, flat cap, and a pair of brown eyes that seemed to roll around in their sockets without any input from his brain on where he wanted to look.

  “Why do you want to stay with this guy?” the horsey man demanded and glared at me. “He’s just some bumpkin in from the countryside to watch the big show. He ain’t got nothing we don’t.”

  “The lady said no,” I insisted as I placed myself between Sorcha and the two men.

  “We’ll pay you double whatever he is,” the man with the flat cap offered. “Bet he can’t meet that price.”

  Sorcha looked stunned at the suggestion, and I gritted my teeth. There was nothing in either the elegant young woman’s appearance or behavior that would suggest she was a call girl, but these two idiots didn’t care. They’d spotted a pretty woman in the Green and just assumed she could be bought for the right price. I might be a country bumpkin in their book, but even I could tell Sorcha wasn’t here to ply a trade. I growled at the two men, but they refused to move out of our way.

  “Hex,” Sorcha whispered as she glanced behind us.

  The deputy was interested in our little group now, and he watched the unfolding drama with interest. Anywhere else, I would have simply knocked the two fools to the ground and kept walking.

  But I still had a gun in my pocket and an army of mages looking for me, so I took a deep breath and tried to settle my racing heart.