As we finished the last one, I turned around with fire dancing across my skin from the Source rolling through me. It felt awesome as it rolled around inside me, but I knew I had to release it before it hurt me. So I channeled a great gout of fire into the sky.
As my eyes settled back to the level of the crowd, I found myself looking at the largest man I have ever seen.
He stepped forward with astonishment rolling through his aura, and what an aura it was. He had a Soulguard knot that was enormous. His Soulstream was at least eight inches and it had the look of iron cable. This was the first time I had ever seen a Soulguard so old his hair was grey. How many friggin’ years would that actually take?
"Merlin?" he asked in astonishment.
"Merlin?" I asked in return.
He shook his head as he heard my voice, "Nope, not Merlin."
Then something seemed to run through him as he realized something important, sadness to begin with, then a burgeoning excitement.
His laughter rumbled across the clearing for a moment. Then his eyes crossed the crowd behind me and grew wide as he saw someone.
"Dad?" I heard from behind me. I could swear it had been Kharl's voice.
I saw the whole cycle of emotions flood the big man's aura. He strode past me as if I wasn't there, and I turned to see him meet Kharl with an embrace that would have broken anything less than steel.
"God, I thought you were dead, Boy."
"I thought you died a hundred and thirty years ago," I heard Kharl return.
Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I turned to see the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was a Nordic Goddess. She was six feet tall, and would reduce any man to a puddle of goo in seconds.
And she was furious.
"Father," she said, "Can you explain why this man just called you Dad, and I haven't a clue he even existed?"
Chapter 29
"I wondered from the moment I saw the news reports," Dietrich Jaegher said, "just what it would take to cause the Demons to come in such force."
I was being pointed at by thirteen of the fifteen people sitting around the table at yet another Hooters. This one in Wichita.
The rumble of Dietrich's laughter rolled through the room.
"I figured as much as soon as I saw the boy. You may not be Merlin but you're damn sure a direct descendent. No one looks that much like someone without genetics," he said and turned to look at Lyrica, "And you, young lady are the spittin’ image of Jillian Kent. What are the odds that both bloodlines would come into power again after the purge?"
"The purge?" Lyrica asked.
"Yes, after the death of Kent, The Demons went on a rampage. They hunted Kent's family down and destroyed them, or so they thought. And none of us even knew Merlin had any children. But I guess you can have many children in a nine hundred year lifetime. He never made it known that he had any children at all."
"I have to ask," I said, "The same Merlin that the legends are about? King Arthur and all?"
"That's him," Dietrich said. "He told us stories of his earlier attempts to fight the Demons only to fail. He was in China when the hordes came, and wiped out his 'Knights'. He came back to find everything lost. But if Merlin was anything, he was dedicated to fighting them. He later found Kent and showed him what he was. Kent began the Soulguard, and they fought the Demons for two hundred years."
I was stunned by the fact that there was an actual Merlin. But the fact that I was a descendent was amazing.
"What happened to them?"
His face went a bit somber and I saw the sadness in his aura.
"I was a new Guard at the time, and I was assigned to Merlin. We were in the south of France when the hordes came for Kent and the Soulguard. We felt the Pulls from hundreds of miles away and when we returned, we found everything destroyed. I've never seen any but one as powerful as Greyson Kent, but whatever they sent across destroyed everything that was there."
"And Merlin?" Lyrica asked.
"Something broke in him when yet another friend and ally died while he was away. He blamed himself for not being there when they came. About a year after that he told us he was going through the next portal that opened and take his vengeance. He charged the remaining Soulguards to continue Kent's mission and protect our world. Then he left us and never was seen again."
"The purges started soon after that, they killed whole villages where any of Kent's descendants lived. We thought that the Kent line was gone and I find, not only his, but the line of Merlin lives as well."
"And I have no doubt that you are the reason the whole world is about to see a war on a scale they have never dreamed of before. And since my daughter has decided to join this battle, I find that I have returned to the Soulguard, and I offer all the assistance I can."
"I had sworn to stay out of Soulguard business," he continued, "and then I heard of the death of Kelvin Rourke and the supposed death of my son. There was no reason to ever contact them again after that. Then there was an invasion, and all she could talk about was the duty of every human to take up arms and protect our world. Sounded like her mother, and I knew there wasn't any arguing about it so I came as well."
"Speaking of a certain angry woman," I said. "Are you still upset with him?"
"Of course," she answered, "Twenty years and he never even told me the Soulguard exists."
She had a thick Russian accent. I could guess where Dietrich had been for the last number of years.
"Women," Rictor said sadly, "they're grudge holders. I mean, you push a woman one time and ya hear about it for a month and a half."
"Out of a plane," Prada said with narrow eyes that would have sent chills down anyone with any sense's spine. But Rictor doesn't have any of that, so it didn't bother him too much.
"And it was a pretty hard shove, I'd say," Daphne added.
"Almost would be classed as throwin’ her out of a plane, wouldn't it?" Kharl asked innocently.
Rictor was looking from one to the other with a completely hurt expression. His gaze finally turned toward me and he pointed straight at me.
"It was his fault," he said. "He said not to follow him, and I had to have someone to follow."
He pointed at Kharl and Daphne, "Both of them are too strong for me to throw out of the plane so that left Prada or a pilot."
"Told you he threw me out of the plane," Prada jumped on Rictor's choice of words.
Dietrich's laughter rumbled as he had turned to each one as they spoke, "One hundred and thirty years and still no one has taught a Mage any common sense. They were all crazy before and they haven't changed."
Kyra laughed, "Every one of them used to be such good, solid, average everyday Soulguards until he got ahold of them."
Once again the finger was pointed at me.
"You, too?" I whined, "Everybody wants to blame the Soullord."
I turned back to Dietrich, "Don't let em fool you, every one of them was nuts before I showed up. If I hadn't come along and displayed such a grand amount of skill with calm, calculated planning, it's hard to even think where they would be."
Musical laughter exploded from Lyrica, "Planning? Really?"
The laughter kept coming from all around the table.
"Humph," I said with a sad expression and reached down to my plate for another wing.
"Can anyone tell me," Irenia Nevara Jaegher interrupted, looking straight at Andrea Prada, "why you were thrown from an airplane? Parachuting isn't all that bad. I've jumped a couple of times."
"Honey," Prada said, "No one said anything about parachutes."
***
"Oddly enough," Jim Duke said, "We managed to stop three more attacks but there was one we weren't in time for I’m afraid. The odd part is that someone else stopped it. We found nine bodies at what we suspect would have been an attack in Scotland."
"Nine?" I asked, "I was thinking they used ten man squads."
"Maybe we've killed enough of the bastards to make them short-handed. I don't know
what to think about it yet. All of them were killed at close range with blades. Everything points to two attackers with knives took out all nine in a very short time."
I suspected who had been behind the deaths. I figured it was probably my mystery visitor from last month. He had seemed like a pretty capable sort. I really wished he'd show back up. I really wanted the whereabouts of a certain headquarters housing a bunch of telepathic assassins.
"I really needed to talk to you about something that happened a month or so ago, anyway, Jim," I said, "It started when I found this guy in the back seat of the car I signed out."
Chapter 30
Over the next week, my Mage squad began to show up. Lennox had found eight of them from various parts of the world to volunteer for this. I hoped I could get along with them all. Mages are harder to deal with than Guards. They are used to being in command, and most of the Mages I have met seem to feel a bit well...entitled.
The first three were waiting outside of the barracks for me. I walked out to find two men and a woman standing patiently outside.
"Colin," Lennox Flynn said, "this is Galen Stone, Reyna Sereno, and I believe you've already met Len Yueh."
I reached out and clasped Yueh's hand, "It's good to see you again."
I hadn't seen him since the funeral rites after First Kansas.
I moved to my right to find myself facing a solid woman of about five and a half feet. She looked like a body builder.
"Good to meet you Miss Sereno," I said.
"Reyna, please," she said with a husky voice, "Is that Rictor Hughes back there?"
"Yes," I said, "He's my second in command. I take it you know him?"
"He was a lowly Marine when I met him outside Laos," she said with a smile, "Maybe you should ask him about his last mission as a Marine."
"I'll do that," I said. My curiosity was definitely peaked.
I continued to my right and shook Galen's hand, "Nice to meet you Mr. Stone."
"We've heard a great deal about you sir," his British accent was unmistakable, "I'm looking forward to learning if any of it was true."
"Probably not," I said. "Things tend to get blown out of proportions along the rumor trail."
"Don’t let ‘im fool ye," Flynn interjected, "The odds are ‘e did more than ‘e's bein’ credited with."
"I may have done some of it," I admitted.
The three of them smiled and Flynn laughed, "Each Mage has brought ten Guards as their squad. We can introduce them as soon as they get settled."
"That's fine," I said, "As I said, Rictor Hughes will be my second in command, and each Mage will report directly to him. I have one other Mage from here who will have a squad as well. Andrea Prada will join us later today. She's training with Gregor at the moment."
"Isn't Hughes a relatively new Mage?" asked Stone. I could see the uncertainty in his aura, "We were told not to expect too much in the way of traditionalism, but I have to ask."
"Yes he is," I said, "but more importantly, he's been my second for the last twelve years, and he knows how I think and what I'll want when I order something you may consider ludicrous."
"I see."
"He is also one of the most capable people I've ever had the pleasure of serving with in the Guard. As most of you were warned, the new Guard is not as traditional as the former. We have four Soulguards on the Archmage's Council, if that tells you anything at all."
"Don't take it wrong, Sir," he said. "I'm not casting aspersions toward Mister Hughes. I was just looking for a bit of clarity on the subject."
"Not a problem," I said. "If any of you have any questions, feel free to ask me at any time. If you want to know why I'm asking you to do something in training, ask. But when we are on mission I want no hesitation. I'll be asking for things you don't normally do, and I won't be able to wait until I've explained everything to do it."
All three nodded, as well as Flynn.
"Feel free to get settled in," I said, "or you can come see the new facility receive its shield."
"How many Mages will you be using for this shield?" Reyna asked, "I've only seen one shield tied to the Source before. There were twenty Mages working in unison to do that one."
"’E does these shields by isself," Flynn said with a knowing smile.
"This I absolutely have to see," Stone said.
"As will I," Said Len Yueh.
"I will also come see this," Reyna said.
"Alright, then," I said, "let's head out to the Gate and set this one up. I hope they got the ventilation shafts deep enough this time."
"Tis a fact, that," Flynn said.
It wasn't long before we all stood next to the newest facility the government had installed to house another rapid response team. Our RRT's had grown a bit but they remained the same. They were ready at a moment's notice to hit anything that came out of the Gate.
"How do you raise a shield without the help of the other Mages?" asked Reyna, "I know the mechanics and it's hard to believe you can channel the power it takes to hold the Source back as you do the final stages."
"It's not really a matter of power so much as a matter of timing for me," I said. "Since I can see the power flows, I just need to disconnect at the right time."
As I was talking I was crafting the shield around the facility. When it was finished, it was a dome that was fed by two twelve inch streams. The two streams were hovering above the ground ready to be sent into the Source when I was ready. I concentrated and lit the whole construct up. Power flowed up my stream as I did so. It takes a little power to light things up for others.
"Bloody Hell," muttered Stone.
"Now I will push the other side down and just before the power hits me, I'll do the other and disconnect from the construct."
"That just seems incredibly dangerous," Reyna said.
"It's not so bad after I did it a couple of times," I said.
I pushed the far side down into the Source, and the power of a twelve inch stream surged through the shield. Just before it reached my end, I slammed the other end down. About a second later, I cut my tie to the shield as the power joined and the shield blazed to life.
"Bloody Hell," muttered Stone.
"Ye said that, already," Flynn said with a smile.
"I really meant it," Stone answered.
An engineer approached with a frown on his face, "Sir, I hate to say it but we got one of the shafts a little high."
"Damn," I muttered, "time to be a groundhog."
"A groundhog?" Yueh asked.
"Yeah," I said, "now I get to crawl down an airshaft to open a hole in the shield."
"How do you open a hole in the shield when it is already tied to the Source?" Yueh asked.
"Something I discovered fairly recently is that I can manipulate flows of power all around me. Lyrica can do the same. She actually ripped the life out of a five hundred foot circle in Montana because she can affect power flows the same way."
"You talk of amazing things," Reyna said, "as if they are an everyday occurrence. I think our new job is going to be quite exciting."
"It's part of the whole Soullord thing, it seems," I said. "We both discover things all the time. Sometimes I don't seem to be discovering things fast enough. I find out things as much in the thick of battle as not. That's part of the importance of this unit. I need everyone thinking about new things we may accomplish together. I've got a pretty good imagination, but I think it'll help immensely to have other viewpoints working toward a common goal."
"We know next to nothing about what you can do, Sir," said Stone.
"I intend on spending the next week with you guys, after the others show up, to show you what we've discovered so far. Then I hope to get some new ideas and we can try some of what Prada calls 'crazy shit'."
"Tis actually an apt name for the things I've already seen," Flynn said.
As we had been talking, we had followed the engineer down to an access hatch to the ventilation system.
"Anyone wanna
come crawl through the vents with me?"
For some reason there was a great deal of looking around at the inside of the room.
Reyna Sereno yawned with a good deal of exaggeration, "I think we all need to get settled in with our forces."
"Right, I think I told my Guard Captain I would meet him at," he paused and glanced at his watch, "three thirty-five."
"I see how it's gonna be," I muttered as I crawled into the vent. There were a few chuckles behind me.
Chapter 31
"Let's dance," Lyrica said and grabbed my hand to pull me to my feet.
"I can't dance," I said. I heard a snort behind us where Trent and Mattie both sat. Prada actually laughed aloud and I heard Ric choke on something.
I turned back to them, "What? I never danced with anyone before."
"What do ya call that thing where you run around the battlefield with a pair of swords? Seems like it was called something with blades," Prada said, "Oh yeah, the Dance of Blades. If that's not dancing I don't know what is."
"Yeah but I don't want to kill anyone," I started.
"Silly man," Lyrica said, "just go with the flow. You just dance like you want to be close to someone instead of try to kill them."
I followed her toward the dance floor where there were crowds of people dancing to a tune I'd never heard of.
She started to move with the music, and was into my arms in a flash. I began to mirror her moves, and it was a lot like the Dance, except there was no rage. Soon, people were pulling away from us as we began to move together. I could see her Soul blazing, and I could actually feel what she was about to do. So I was always there when she changed.
We flowed across the floor like we did while dancing the blades, and we never even noticed when the song changed. We just flowed into it like we had been dancing together for years.
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