I bit back an oath. “Was that her term, ‘lowlife’?”
He snickered. “She’s too much of a lady to speak in the common parlance. Her term was ‘reprobate’. In any event, she knows if she wants in on our project, she has to help her hated rival’s young disciple.”
That did not seem to bode well, but Gill had warned me from the beginning that she’d be trouble. Hopefully, I could benefit from her help. If not, her involvement with Fred and the others wouldn’t last long.
-o-o-o-
Saturday, May 25th
ON THE DAY BEFORE the big fight, I continued my regular training regime in the morning, but I spent my afternoon meditating and praying. It no longer mattered to me whether I was praying to the Lord, the Mórrígan, or Wakonda. I had no way of knowing which God or gods watched over me, but someone obviously did. With Sequoia in mind, I did my best to connect with the Infinite. Then I spent the evening relaxing with Laura, Christina, Tess, and Katie.
-o-o-o-
Sunday, May26th
I WOKE UP EARLY that morning, and I realized with a start that I did not know where I was going to fight in a couple of hours. I’d asked Diana once, but her answer had been, “Let me worry about it. I know you want to battle somewhere quiet and scenic.”
As she’d asked, I’d left it in her hands. Still, I was curious, and I rolled over and whispered in Laura’s ear, “Do you know where we’re heading this morning?”
She yawned. “Red Rocks Park, west of Denver.”
“Never heard of it,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “Come on! Very pretty, and famous. The Beatles performed there in 1964, and U2 recorded Under a Blood Red Sky there, too.”
“Diana obviously didn’t understand. I don’t want to fight on a stage.”
“Relax,” Laura said. “It’s a scenic park with giant rock formations. Much prettier than the place you beat Oran.”
That settled me down, and I tried to get my mind back to the calm state it’d been the night before. I couldn’t make a connection with the gods that morning, but I had the night before. In peaceful moments, I often felt the low rumbling Sequoia called the Infinite. Today wasn’t going to be peaceful for long.
At breakfast, I couldn’t get any food down. I just sipped orange juice one of the chefs had squeezed fresh for me. Plenty of folks walked by my table to wish me luck. I accepted their kind words gratefully and asked them to pray for me.
-o-o-o-
DIANA HAD KEPT her distance more since we’d returned from our trip, but that morning, she insisted on driving me, Laura, and Tess to the park. A stream of well-wishers followed us, including all my mentors except Gill. My staff contained some of his power and personality, and I felt like he was with me in spirit.
The road we took headed south along the foothills. When we crossed under Interstate 70, I spotted a collection of red rock formations in a valley between a hogback and the foothills. It was a beautiful sight, lit up by the morning sun. And it looked quiet and peaceful, exactly as Laura had promised.
When we descended into the valley, I noticed that the red sandstone was heavily weathered. These ancient rocks seemed prehistoric, like dinosaurs might still live here. That set me to thinking about the Infinite without any connection.
Laura tried to explain the geology of the area, something about the Fountain formation, but my mind flew back instead to millions of years ago, when the gods had created this place. Diana had chosen well.
We entered the park, but I never saw the concert stage. We did pass several large parking lots that were now mostly empty. Diana drove further south, winding between the sandstone spires until we came to a small natural amphitheater near the road.
On three sides, large walls of red sandstone enclosed an open meadow. The only folks present were my friends and a second group of two dozen strangers.
After we exited the SUV, I held hands with Laura. Tess and Diana stood in front of us, and my other supporters quickly surrounded us. In addition, Lazarus flew overhead, and that gave me comfort. No snipers on any of the cliffs.
The meadow contained last year’s dried vegetation, but green shoots from wildflowers and grasses were several inches tall already. In addition, scattered across the meadow, were a dozen juniper bushes and pinyon pines. I noticed the auras of at least twenty birds and animals nearby, including a coyote hidden next to one of the pinyons. This place was full of life. I should’ve been able to sense the rumblings of the Infinite, but the connection wouldn’t come.
Although it was only nine in the morning, the bright sun warmed me. Robins chirped in the trees and on the rocks around us. I leaned over to Diana and whispered, “Inspiring location. Thanks.”
She smiled back. “All our prayers go with you.”
In other words, it was time for me to fight. I’d prepared myself as well as I could to succeed, and I focused on the job that needed doing. This should have been a straightforward process, but something weird seemed to happen during every fight. I offered a quick prayer to the Mórrígan for good luck.
“I’m ready,” I said to Diana.
“Relax for a moment,” she replied. “I want to make sure we get our slaves back first.”
She walked over to the sorcerers and spoke to Escobar. After a moment, he waved a group of people toward us. Diana counted them and led them to me.
“Are they all here?” I asked.
“Yes!” they shouted together, and they reached out their hands to thank me. I welcomed them with a group hug, and I motioned for my friends to surround us. These positive vibrations couldn’t hurt.
While I was standing in the center of all this love, I recited the twenty-third Psalm. I was surrounded by druid witches, but some of them knew the words and spoke them with me. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…”
My voice cracked when we got to the line: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” I held my staff high for all to see.
Chapter 16
WHEN WE FINISHED RECITING the psalm, I led our group to one side of the amphitheater. The few sorcerers present stood under a tall cliff opposite from us.
I walked into the center of the grassy area and yelled, “I stand ready to face Bruno Sitka and make him answer for his foul deeds.”
Then I calmed myself to try to fight cool, but something was wrong inside. I felt alone, despite all my friends being near.
Before I was truly ready, a tall, husky man stepped forward. He didn’t look like the bearded guy I’d seen in California or the man in Diana’s photograph from before California. Nevertheless, when he approached, I could sense the same evil that had chased Laura, Christina, and me with a black SUV outside of Karen’s house.
My anger threatened to erupt, but I kept it in one part of my mind and moved to the cool, rational side. Then I concentrated on the wall at Carter Pass to create my ward. Holarthon, elbo protège.
He yelled in an Eastern European accent, “I challenge you for magical power.”
As I heard the words, my ward formed around me. The buzzing in my head had begun.
Don had encouraged me to fight as mindfully as possible, pretending this was a tournament. And if Sequoia had joined us, he would’ve said the same.
I tried to win their way, avoiding the part of my mind where I’d stored my anger. Again, I tried to connect directly to the underlying harmony of the gods, but no link. My mind was too disturbed.
The man unfroze, and he immediately hit me with a lightning bolt. It crashed against my ward, jolting me backwards. A shower of sparks flew off my ward, but to my surprise, it held. I never could’ve survived that kind of blast before.
I had no chance to attack. If I didn’t get my ward strengthened again quickly, I wouldn’t survive a second bolt.
So, I ignored the sorcerer and stared at the rough rock wall behind him. It looked like it’d endured for millions of years, just like the r
ampart at Carter Pass.
Without looking at Sitka, I stood motionless, trying to settle my jangled nerves. “Holarthon, elbo protège.”
Sure enough, he hit me with another lightning bolt immediately. Again, my protection held, surprising me. Sequoia had strengthened me there.
But cracks began to form. My skin stung from the little bit of evil magic that came through. “Holarthon, elbo protège.”
The bastard must have used up most of his power. Nobody could hurl three spells in a row that strong. I hope.
My ward wavered but stood in his way. He couldn’t attack me physically.
As I stood, I thought of using all my power to hit back, but knew that once I lost my cool, I wouldn’t get it back. I stayed in the mindful side of my mind and focused on defense.
Sure enough, Sitka ran at me and smashed his heavy staff against my ward. The man didn’t have Zeus’s infinite power at his command.
He smiled at me as though he thought I was vulnerable. The man hadn’t said a word, and this was the first emotional reaction from him. The sorcerer was more like a machine than a person, a device built solely for slaughtering witches.
His arrogance pissed me off. I dropped my protection and rushed toward him with my staff over my shoulder like a bat ready to swing. Instead of getting mad, though, I concentrated on my form, throwing all my strength into the swing. My staff rang against his, like two swords meeting.
I used the staff fighting techniques Don had taught me and rained blows down on him.
He blocked most of them, but once, I caught him on the left side of his head below the ear. A second later, he vanished.
That was a small victory. His magic was terrifying, but physically, I could match him.
A few seconds later, his protective barrier reformed, and he became visible again. I hit his ward with my staff but couldn’t break through.
I still hadn’t cast any attack spells, but I didn’t need to until he overwhelmed my defenses. To keep him off-balance, I dashed behind a large juniper bush. He chased me, but I kept the bush between us.
He sent a stunning spell through the branches and needles, but little of it got through. I tried to cast my mind back to the wall at Carter Pass that had originally inspired my wards, and my barrier reformed once again. Gill wasn’t likely to be impressed, but I was wearing the bastard down. I had enough endurance to run for hours.
I could see flashes of Sitka’s body through the juniper’s needles and branches, and that allowed me to anticipate which way he tried to reach me. I kept out of his way—until I stepped on a slab of loose rock. It slid away, and my foot twisted to the side. The pain in my ankle was sharp and stabbing. I couldn’t put any weight on that leg again. Stuck!
Sitka cackled and dashed around the bush to where he could get a clear shot at me and laughed as I tried to hobble out of his way.
Using the course and guttural language of sorcery, he cursed me. His stunning spell hit me square in the chest. He had obliterated my ward.
I stayed frozen in place while excruciating pain tore through me. I couldn’t will away that much agony. For a few seconds, the pain blinded me.
Time to fight back.
I remembered how he’d burned Karen’s and Ellen’s house to the ground, and that got me raging. And I recalled how he’d wanted to enslave my wife. That sent my anger soaring beyond my power to control it.
Now or never—I entered that emotional part of my mind, and I pointed my staff at him. “HOLARTHON, ELBO ASSOMME!”
A blinding white light burst in my head, sending a searing jolt of energy through me…ending in darkness.
-o-o-o-
WHEN I WOKE UP, I was lying sprawled over the ground. I tried to stand but couldn’t because of the stabbing pain in my right ankle. Next to me, I found my staff and used it to slowly stand. Something had happened to it. The top few inches were gone, including the gold ring I’d received from Gill’s weapon. No matter.
I leant on my weapon as a crutch. Stabbing pain filled my head. Where’s Sitka? Did I lose from passing out?
The buzzing in my head had ended, which was a terrible sign. I couldn’t see the sorcerer anywhere. Black cinders and ash covered my hands and clothes. My head ached even more as I tried to turn it to find the bastard.
I had no clue how I’d gotten here or how I’d hurt myself.
When I surveyed my surroundings, I realized the sorcerers on the sidelines were running toward their cars. From the opposite side of the meadow, my followers flowed toward me, smiling and clapping. Where’s the enemy?
Ignoring the pain, I walked in a circle trying to find him, and I spotted his body on the far side of a juniper bush, about thirty feet away. He was motionless. I must’ve won the fight. I let out a huge sigh of relief. That had been too damned close.
Laura ran ahead of the group, and her long, sandy-brown hair flew backwards. Her smile was as sweet as an angel’s. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me.
I tried to kiss her back, but each time I moved my head, the pain was excruciating.
After a few seconds, she let go of me and cupped my face in her hands. “Are you okay, Ian? No, you’re not!”
She placed her hands on the side of my head and whispered something in Gaelic to herself. My headache vanished, and a sense of wellbeing flooded through me. She was quite the healer.
“Thanks. Did I pass out?”
That’s when I noticed her face was pale. One hand flew to her mouth. “Something went wrong with your spell. Sitka dropped like a stone. I think he’s dead. The top of your staff exploded, and some of your stunning spell didn’t make it out. You suffered some brain damage, but I think I fixed it.”
I shook my head, trying to clear it. No pain anymore but I felt weak. And I remembered Laura and I combining the power in Gill’s staff with mine. “If anybody asks about my supercharged staff, you don’t know anything about it.”
She cried but nodded her head.
When I tried to turn in a circle to take in my surroundings, my ankle started throbbing again. “When I fell, I twisted my ankle.”
Feeling a bit dizzy and unsteady, I sat on the uneven ground.
Laura sat beside me and reached out with one of her dainty hands to take mine. “You’re going to be okay. You’ve been under too much stress lately. Way more than you deserve.”
I blew out a deep breath. “I just need a little rest, and I’ll be fine. So much for that talk about me being the Chosen One.”
She knelt by my injured foot and put her hands around my ankle. Within seconds, she’d healed it.
“Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome. Now let’s get you home.”
She took my hand, and we walked toward my supporters. The smiles and laughter were gone.
Diana said something to the group that I didn’t hear, but Don and Tess ran to Sitka and carried him between them to one of the SUVs. Most of my other supporters waved at me and left.
Diana approached me alone. “I didn’t want folks crowding you. You need time to heal from your injuries. At least you won the battle. Congratulations.”
Rubbing my forehead didn’t help to settle my addled mind. “I’m not sure what happened, but I’m okay.”
When I started to walk toward the road, Laura kept close, holding my hand the whole way back to Diana’s SUV. Nobody spoke, and that was just as well. I couldn’t figure out what’d gone wrong, I was too confused, but at least I’d won the fight.
Diana took my staff and placed it in the back of the SUV. Then she drove us back to the ranch. Although lots of questions came to mind, I didn’t ask any. I just needed to rest. Laura led me to the lounge near the fabulous fountain, and we sat in comfortable chairs.
“Would you like a beer or something to eat?”
She came back in a few minutes with a pale IPA, a small bottle of Perrier, and a bowl of salted popcorn. She set the drinks down on a table in front of me and sat in a soft chair across from me.
“Is
there anything I can do for you?” she asked.
“You’ve already healed my mind, right?”
“Sure, but you’ve lost a lot of power. Your magical core was badly damaged. Now you’re physically okay, but you’ll have to start over on earning magic. The good news is that I think the healing side of you remained intact. That’s always been more important to you, hasn’t it?”
She was trying to look at the bright side, but she also happened to be right. “Absolutely. Healing is my true calling. The fighting mainly mattered to protect everybody, and they’re safe in the sanctuary.”
Then I remembered what Escobar had done to my family. “After I’ve taken care of Escobar, I could see myself giving up the attack magic.”
She sighed. “Ian, you’ve survived an ugly day. I don’t want to talk about it much now, but you’re lucky to be alive. Basically, I think your fighting days are over. Let’s just enjoy the time we have together now and forget the future for a while.”
“The baby’s okay, right?”
Her smile was radiant. She patted her tummy. “Just fine. We’re all doing great.”
After a few minutes of silence, she said, “Listen, Christina is going to be coming back from her class soon for lunch. She knows you went to fight this morning, and she’s not going to understand that something’s wrong.”
“Sure. Lots of people are probably wondering about me. We can tell them all that I’m fine.”
Cute little Christina ran up to me. She wore her mother’s smile, and she carried Rascal with her.
“You won!” She jumped in my arms.
I hugged her back, and laughed. “I did.”
Christina sat on my knee, and I kept an arm around her to keep her from falling over. She asked, “Did you get hurt? One of the teachers said you might be hurt.”
“He was,” Laura said. “but I’ve made him better. He’s as good as new.”
Christina kissed me on the cheek. That caused a lump in my throat. A loving family surrounded me at least, and that was a huge plus.
Vengeance (The Sorcerers' Scourge Series Book 3) Page 15