Relentless

by Michael Arches

  He stood upright and yelled, “You nasty bitch!”

  Once again, he aimed his staff at me. Pulsed lightning this time.

  Red sparks smashed against my protection with the first impact and scattered into the pouring rain. But lightning kept coming. I stood up to the first three pulses, but the fourth broke through, searing my left arm. I screamed, unable to hold it in. My arm muscles burned, but there was no fire.

  How could anyone be strong enough to keep blasting? The pain tore through me and hung on. He bent over again, gasping for breath. Using all that magic had tapped him out, at least temporarily.

  Need to recover! I ran around the Jackson statue to get a second’s peace. Hurting too much to fight anyway. He didn’t follow.

  Despite the pain, I focused inward—reached the second jhana. Not enough—it left my body exposed. Mind wouldn’t settle. Go deeper.

  But any second now, he’d run around the statue to find me.

  Then I remembered Mom’s stupid nursery rhyme. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you—

  Didn’t make it any further before my mind fogged and I slipped into the third jhana. I could become anything, go anywhere.

  Hoping it wasn’t too late, I wished to be a pigeon. Then I imagined flying to the head of Jackson’s rearing horse. And I felt myself rising but couldn’t see.

  It worked! I sensed a furious sentient being running in a circle below me. So, I slipped out of the third jhana into the second, so I could see what was happening. I was a bird standing on top of the horse. From my perch above, I could also feel several other small sentient beings, probably pigeons, hiding from the rain under the horse on the pedestal. Chen was a genius.

  Breaux was circling the statue on the cement path and the surrounding lawn near where my staff was lying on the pavement. He swung his weapon back and forth trying to smack what he thought was an invisible me. He was breathing hard, swearing, and stumbling. In this state, I could easily sense his frustration at losing me.

  This fight was far from over, but I didn’t see the point to re-engaging just yet. So, I chanced a glance over to where Ian had been fighting. Someone lay crumpled on the ground. It was a black man. Ian was running toward me, glancing everywhere, except where I was. Too far away for me to recognize his feelings, but it didn’t matter. Relief flooded through me. At least he’d won.

  The handful of sorcerers followed Breaux around, spread their arms out, as though searching for me, too. Their champion kept swinging his staff wildly and running back and forth.

  Then he picked up my staff. “I think she’s run off. I win.”

  But that was stupid. The buzzing still sounded in my head, and it had to be in his, too.

  When he seemed to be as tired and confused as he was going to get, I flew down to an empty spot on the lawn about ten feet behind him. After I formed another ward, I opened my mental vault where I’d stored all my anger. Time to see if I can take him, now that he’s weakened.

  I shifted into my fighting form, pointed my right hand at him, and said, “Holarthon, elbo choque.”

  I deliberately kept my voice even to avoid using too much power at once, but I’d stored up so much anger that the white bolt of lightning knocked me back onto my ass.

  He’d let his guard down and was still facing away from me. The bolt crashed into his back, right between his shoulder blades. His body arched, then froze for a moment as he toppled over. When he could move again, he thrashed on the concrete path, contorting into a series of bizarre shapes.

  I ran toward him and grabbed my staff, which he’d dropped. I wanted to hit him again, but my magical core was still ringing from the amount of power I’d pumped through it.

  Before I could kick him, he threw up a ward. Then a black mist sprayed out of the bottom of his staff and coated me. My eyes burned. I couldn’t see anything but vague shadows.

  Instinctively, I responded with a reflection spell. “Holarthon, réfléchit.”

  That turned the spray back on him, but the damage had already been done. Not having a choice, I ran away until I stumbled over the low hedge surrounding the statue. Fear coursed through my veins, making my whole body shiver. How was I going to fight blind?

  I turned my face to the heavens as though I could find an answer from the gods. The Mórrígan didn’t respond, at least not directly. The rain continued to pour over us, and it washed the poison from my eyes. Within a few seconds, I could see much better.

  When I turned to run back to Breaux, I found him right behind me. He punched me in the nose, and it crunched. A stinging pain spread across my face, but that’d happened to me too many times to count.

  I punched back, dropping my staff and pummeling him with both fists. It was past time to end this. Without a pause, I opened my mental vault again. Anger poured out. “HOLARTHON, ELBO FRAPPE!”

  Pulses of balled white lightning erupted from my outstretched right hand, each about a second apart.

  The first several hit a ward. I kept them coming, pushing magic through my core as fast as I could without melting down.

  Finally, the seventh pulse broke through, hitting him in the chest. No mercy. End this now!

  He twisted like a demented ballet dancer moving in slow motion until he toppled onto the hedge I’d hit earlier.

  I stepped closer until I was standing over him. “Give up now, or the next pulse goes straight into your head.”

  He stopped thrashing but refused to think or utter the words 'I surrender.'

  The buzzing continued in my ears, so I spoke the spell again. Another pulse of electricity.

  His body went rigid again, his eyes practically popping out. I was about to give him another shot when he gasped. “Okay! I give up.”

  Finally! I let out the breath I’d been holding. But because I could be attacked again in an instant, I immediately said, “I claim the spoils of victory!”

  Breaux’s power flowed into me, making me woozy. His power astonished me. He was the strongest fighter I’d beaten so far, and I had to lean on my staff to keep from toppling over.

  Chapter 24

  WHEN I COULD speak again, I glanced around. Only a handful of sorcerers remained with Thao and Ian, even though the rain had finally started to lessen.

  I said in a loud voice to be sure they all heard. “Get lost, assholes. You’ve got ten seconds. Ian and I would be happy to take on whoever hangs around.”

  While I stared at them to determine whether any planned to attack, most took off. Only three hung back.

  Ian wore a shit-eating grin on his face. “Damn, you make me look good, Moira!”

  I couldn’t help from laughing, but I had to make sure we were safe. So, I approached the three apparent sorcerers who’d stayed behind, hoping they were disguised versions of Frank, Ginger, and Cara.

  “Moira!” one of the women yelled. She was short with a round face, and she ran toward me, opened her arms, and plowed into me so powerfully that she practically knocked us both over.

  He voice was unmistakable. “Cara! By the gods, I’m thrilled to see you!”

  We hugged and kissed each other’s faces. I savored the feeling of holding her for the first time in six years. “Oh, I’m so happy!”

  For a few minutes, we just hugged and cried. My joy kept growing, and a large lump formed in my throat. All of my worry, all of my fears, they were replaced with a wild mixture of lovely feelings. Too much happiness at once. It staggered me to the point where my baby sister had to hold me with an arm around my waist.

  When I could speak again, I kept one arm around her and introduced her to Ian. He beamed as he shook her hand.

  “It’s a great pleasure to meet you,” he said. “You’ve no idea how long and hard Moira and Dana have worked to find you and Nora. I’m in awe of all she’s accomplished.”

  She beamed. “I can’t wait to hear everything!”

  I also introduced her to Thao, Frank, and Ginger, and I released
the three apparent sorcerers as my slaves.

  Then Ian said, “We’d probably better get the hell out of here. The most powerful national sorcerers aren’t far, and a few of them are too tough for any of us.”

  Ian motioned for the sorcerer he’d beaten, who turned out to be the top warlock in Houston, to follow us as we dashed to the edge of the square and flagged down three cabs. We headed to our hotel to grab our luggage.

  That didn’t take long, and on the way to the airport, Ian called Gracie. She arranged for us all to fly back to California.

  This version of Cara didn’t look anything like my sister, but her voice was the same as I remembered, and her personality hadn’t changed, except for a thick veneer of sadness.

  I offered up a silent prayer for Brigid to heal my baby sister in the days ahead. With time and freedom, I hoped she’d overcome the horrors her father had put her through.

  Then I pushed those bitter thoughts aside and reveled in what Dana and I’d done. We were all free. Even more joy welled up inside me and made me giddy, like I was a little girl again. The giggles started, and Cara joined in. We laughed at nothing in particular but couldn’t seem to stop for long.

  When we reached the airport, Cara and I called Mom and Dana to pass on the fantastic news. Then the four of us talked nonstop until Cara and I had to board the plane for home.

  -o-o-o-

  BY THE TIME our connection landed in Monterey, I was drained. I’d been fighting for them since January eleventh, my Freedom Day. For two and a half months, I’d worked my ass off, with hardly any time off, and I was spent.

  Ian had to help me off the plane. My legs wobbled as I walked past the security area, and I stood while Mom and Dana screamed with joy and hugged Cara. I joined in until the lights went out.

  When my head cleared, Philippe and Ian were carrying me between them to a van parked outside. I held it together, more or less, because I didn’t want to ruin Cara’s homecoming to the inn. Then, once the welcoming crowd thinned out, my sisters and Mom helped me to our suite where I collapsed on my bed.

  -o-o-o-

  Saturday, March 27th

  THE NEXT MORNING, I woke up next to the most wonderful man in the world. We hadn’t had a chance the night before to say hello again properly, so we did that. What a great way to start the day.

  Then I checked the clock. It was 8:24 a.m. We’d missed the morning run and practically breakfast, too. Oh, well.

  The long sleep had done me an immense amount of good. And Philippe had taken care of the rest. “I’ve never felt better in my life.”

  “That’s great to hear,” he said. “I was shocked to see how weak you were. You’ve driven yourself past the maximum. It has to stop.”

  He was right on both counts. “Sure, and I can relax now. I’ve done what I needed to do. Now is the time to rest.”

  -o-o-o-

  WE DIDN’T MAKE it to the dining room before the kitchen closed, but I figured a few bagels might be left over, and they always kept yogurt in the fridge. We wouldn’t starve.

  To my surprise, everybody had stayed there, including Mom and my sisters. The cooks had hung around, too, listening to Cara’s stories. One of the cooks prepared me an omelet and a rasher of bacon. Philippe got his regular brioche with butter and jam.

  We sat at Ian’s table, where my family already had gathered. Everyone else had pulled chairs over to hear about Cara’s time as a slave. Ian had also filled them in on our action-packed trip to the Big Easy. A blessing because I could mostly listen to everyone else while I sat next to my baby sister. She’d saved me a seat between her and Mom.

  From time to time, folks asked me questions, like how I was feeling, but Cara was properly the center of attention.

  A good night’s sleep seemed to have done wonders for her, too, and Maureen had turned her back to her normal appearance. Every few minutes, I touched her just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

  Her wide, cover girl smile flashed over and over, making me weepy with joy. By the gods, she was a beauty. I had no idea why that mattered, but it did. She’d always been the most fragile of us, the one I’d always worried about most, but also the one I cared for the most. My baby.

  The clan didn’t usually serve alcohol at breakfast, but it was Saturday. The cooks poured mimosas for the adults and sparkling apple juice for the kids.

  We carried on for hours, all our schedules forgotten. I thought back to the day when Ian had burst into my room at Max Tanner’s mansion in Salinas. In a lot of ways, I was reborn that day. My Prince Charming had turned my life around, gave me a new one. And by saving me, he’d saved us all.

  Eventually, everyone wandered off, leaving me alone with my family. Ian, Laura, and Christina were the last to go, and I gave their little girl a hug of thanks for her emotional support.

  My family sat together for the first time since my eighteenth birthday. Although I didn’t speak much, they made up for me. It’d been such a struggle to bring us together. And worth every hardship along the way. I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than us sitting in a circle together, celebrating being a family again.

  ~Finis~

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