by Siegel, Alex
She turned. "Ma'am?"
"Did you know most of the legionnaires will die?" Marina said.
"Yes, ma'am." The translucent black orbs in Bethany's eye sockets stared without blinking. "I've known for three months."
"Did 'fate' tell you?"
"No. When we solved the equations, it was part of the solution."
Marina shook her head in disbelief. "It was all in the numbers?"
"A clean state transition is required. The remnants of the old schema must be expunged to achieve proper symmetry. It's quite obvious once you understand the math. I will be happy to explain our methodology to you at a more convenient time, but at the moment, I'm busy."
Marina stalked off. She decided she was done refereeing the tournament and wanted to participate instead. She was in a mood to fight somebody.
* * *
Iris was sitting in her black McLaren and watching Laurence talk to the men. Sunglasses and a big, floppy hat concealed her identity. The soldiers were probably wondering about the strange woman in the very expensive car, but she had needed to observe the proceedings with her own eyes. She couldn't afford any more delays or missteps.
About fifty men remained in fighting condition. Twenty were the Warriors of Dagda, and they were wearing distinctive brown hunting garb. The camouflage would work nicely in the forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains. They were highly experienced woodsmen and hunters.
Walfred, the leader of the Warriors, was among the survivors. His long brown hair and bushy beard always struck Iris as excessively hirsute. The man had a remarkable ability to avoid danger while at the same time not appearing to be a coward. He led from the safety of the middle. She admired his survival skills and didn't think of him as a lesser man because of them.
The rest were the Circassian Democratic Front, and they wore the green camouflage of ordinary soldiers. After the mess in Pacifica the other night, the Circassians had threatened to go home. Iris had doubled their paychecks to keep them here. Iris would gladly double the offer again if that's what it took to kill Olivia. This mission was taking far too long. Every extra minute added to the risk that the Gray Spear Society would catch up to her.
She watched Laurence work. He was handing out maps showing the exact location of the witches' huts. Finding the huts on satellite photos had turned out to be easy for Iris who had known exactly what to look for. A little investigation had revealed that the head witch was named Rachiel. She was a local legend, and her involvement was a very unexpected and unwelcome twist.
Walfred looked over at Iris with open curiosity. He would never recognize her, but just to be safe, she slumped down in her seat until nothing but her hat was visible. If he found out the "Goddess" was a mortal woman, he might quit or even try to kill her for tricking him. She peeked at him, and after a minute, he finally turned away.
Eventually, Laurence finished giving out instructions. The men marched into the forest down the same trail the Society had used. They were armed to the teeth and under orders to kill everybody they met. Laurence watched until they were gone.
He hurried back to the car and sat in the driver's seat.
"Are we all set?" Iris said.
Laurence nodded. "I believe so, ma'am."
She settled back and closed her eyes. She had locks on Walfred and a couple of the Circassians. She would watch her victory through their eyes.
* * *
Jia wasn't quite sure what she was eating. Her wooden bowl held a stew which seemed made from boiled leaves, roots, and bark. Just looking at it, one wouldn't think it was edible, but it actually tasted delicious. Subtle spices and a hint of citrus were delightful. She was hungry enough to eat a leather shoe though, and perhaps starvation was influencing her taste buds.
Jia was sitting around the fire with Min Ho, Corrie, Imelda, and Olivia. The witches were treating their guests like family. Jia was glad Olivia had insisted on coming here even if the accommodations were primitive. The sound of a gentle breeze blowing through the leaves was very relaxing. Jia could almost forget they were still in great danger.
She leaned over and whispered to Min Ho, "Do you think I'll get in trouble if I call Yang?"
He shrugged. "He could be in the middle of a fight."
Jia frowned. Assistants weren't supposed to call legionnaires without a very good reason, particularly during a mission. Pointless chit-chat could wait until everybody was safely in headquarters. Except in this case, headquarters was a smoking crater, and Jia was sick with worry. A conversation with the man she loved could hardly be considered pointless.
She quickly finished her stew. When her bowl was empty, she took out her phone and walked into the woods. She was confident she would get a signal even in the middle of the mountains. Society phones used exotic radio technology so members would never be out of contact. The most recent technical innovations had come from the twins in Chicago who apparently had an extraordinary understanding of physics.
Jia dialed Yang.
He answered immediately, "Jia! I'm so glad you called."
"Is this a bad time?" she said nervously.
"Not at all. I'm pretty bored actually. We're just standing around."
She exhaled with relief. "What's going on there? I haven't heard anything."
He hesitated. "I'm not supposed to talk about it. It's a giant secret. That's why I haven't called."
"Oh. Is it bad?"
"No, but it will change things between us. We'll talk about it when I get back to San Francisco."
"I don't like the sound of that," she said.
"I still love you, and I always will. That will never change. But when I come home, I'll be... different."
He wasn't easing her anxiety.
"How is Olivia holding up?" Yang added.
"Good," Jia said. "That little girl is tough. We're hiding out with Rachiel."
"Marina told us. I'm sorry, but I need to hang up. We're supposed to keep outside contact to a minimum. You can tell the other assistants we're fine. All your legionnaires will come home tonight."
She smiled. "Great. I love you."
"I love you, too. Bye." He ended the call.
Jia felt much better as she returned to the campfire. Hearing Yang's voice had been exactly what she had needed.
"The team is fine," she told her friends. "They'll be home tonight."
The others nodded and smiled.
Rachiel came out of her hut, yawning. She had been asleep since she had cast her exorcism spell. Her wrinkled face was tanned and leathery from living outdoors.
She leaned over an iron pot full of stew. "That smells great."
A member of her coven immediately filled a bowl for Rachiel. She took a copper spoon from her pocket and began to eat by the fire.
"You never told me what that spell was about," Jia said. "What was inside me?"
Rachiel shrugged. "I don't know, but it was nasty. A spiritual infection I've never seen before. But don't worry. It's gone now. Who is trying to hurt Olivia?"
"We're not sure, but it's probably the same people who made the fake angels."
"Fake angels?"
"You didn't hear?" Jia said. "It was world-wide news."
Rachiel glanced at the trees. "We don't get a lot of news up here."
"Somebody was creating fake angels using laser technology, and a lot of people were fooled. They believed it enough to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge."
"How many?"
"Hundreds," Jia said.
Rachiel frowned. "I've been feeling severe disturbances today. Maybe that's the reason."
"No. This happened yesterday."
Rachiel gave Jia a funny look. "Really?"
"We have friends who will protect us, but they're flying in tonight. We just have to hide here until then."
"That's not a problem." Rachiel turned to her coven. "Ladies, please stand guard in the woods. Make sure nobody sneaks up on us."
"Yes, priestess," the five women responded.
They spr
ead out in different directions and vanished into the forest.
"Will they be OK out there?" Imelda said. "Heavily armed soldiers attacked us, and your witches don't even have guns. We brought weapons if you want to use them." She pointed at the bags the team had taken from headquarters.
Rachiel appeared disgusted. "Crude iron instruments of death. No, thank you. My coven knows spells of concealment and evasion. They won't get caught."
Jia frowned. The witches clearly had some kind of power, but she doubted it extended to invisibility. The only invisible man she knew was Charles, the former legate of North America. Rachiel wasn't in the same class.
"If you say so," Imelda said. Her face also showed doubt.
* * *
Marina grimaced and turned away slightly. She almost couldn't watch.
The twins were about to energize the aperture. They had already failed twice, and both times, they had come close to annihilating the Earth. The twins' superfast brains had shut down the machine just milliseconds before detonation.
Everybody else was standing well back in a big circle. Nobody was allowed to get close to the twins and possibly distract them at a critical moment.
Marina desperately hoped they succeeded this time. She was growing very weary of standing around uselessly while Aaron fought a desperate war to defend the hotel. The situation in San Francisco also weighed heavily on her mind. Marina couldn't do much about either problem until after she went through the aperture.
Bethany pressed a green button. The entire crowd stumbled forward a step as the gravity in the room shifted. A subsonic hum made Marina's guts jiggle. A thing that looked like a jar full of jewels began to glow in all the colors of the rainbow. A dot of red light appeared in the center of the aperture.
The whole system abruptly shut down.
"What happened?" Marina yelled.
Bethany turned to her. "The secondary reflex coil is 0.3 percent misaligned. It must be repaired."
"How long will that take?"
"Approximately two hours."
"And then it will work?" Marina said eagerly.
"And then we'll try again."
Marina lowered her head in disappointment.
Her phone rang, and she saw it was Aaron. She quickly put the phone to her ear. "Yes, dear?"
"What's your situation?" He sounded depressed.
"The twins are having technical problems with the aperture. They keep fixing stuff. It could be several more hours before they get the damn thing working."
"That's a long time. The Army is already at the front door. We pushed them back, but it's a temporary withdrawal."
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do," Marina said sincerely. "Nobody wants this to end more than me. There is a mess in San Francisco that really needs my attention. I have to get back there ASAP."
Aaron sighed into the phone. "Just try to encourage the twins, please."
"I'll do my best. You sound sad."
"The death toll is getting steep. It's hard to watch so many innocent people die."
"I wish I could give you a hug and a kiss. I love you." She squeezed the phone in frustration.
"I love you, too." The call ended.
Marina walked over to the aperture. Leanna had her robotic head deep inside a device that looked like a washing machine made of rose quartz. Bethany was handing her tools.
"I know you're working very hard," Marina said, "but if you could find a way to work even harder..."
Bethany turned to her. "If we rush, we will risk making a mistake. That would be catastrophic."
Marina sagged. She didn't doubt the twins were working at their optimal pace.
She walked off feeling anxious.
Wesley came up to her. "We're all worried."
"Even you?" She raised her eyebrows. "But you know the future."
"I know what should be, not what will be. That's a big difference. The twins are cutting it very close."
"Olivia is still in danger?"
He nodded. "Very much."
Marina clenched her fists in frustration. She had never felt so useless.
Katie walked over. The legionnaire was still wearing the black and gray body armor she had donned last night for the flight from the hotel. During all the excitement, most people had not thought to bring a change of clothes.
Katie nodded politely to Marina. "Ma'am." Katie turned to Wesley. "Are you sure I'm supposed to be here?"
"What do you mean?" the boy said.
"I've been talking to the others, and most of them are veterans with amazing gifts. There are four legates. The most elite fighters in the world are here. I've barely completed my training as a legionnaire, and I have no gift at all. I keep thinking I was picked because I was already on Marina's team. You were just being nice."
He smiled. "I think you're confusing cause and effect. You worked for Marina because you were destined to be here."
"That doesn't make sense." Katie gave him a funny look.
"And don't worry about not having a gift now. The aperture will magnify your talents enormously. What are you best at?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure."
Wesley looked at Marina. "What do you think?"
"She's a great detective," Marina said. "She notices details and makes connections other people miss."
"Wonderful." He nodded. "In that case, the aperture will make her a supernaturally gifted detective. She might even have psychic powers."
Katie smiled. "Cool!"
"What about me?" Marina said.
"Your fingernails will shoot explosive missiles instead of little squirts of venom."
Marina looked down at her sharp black fingernails. "Now that's cool."
* * *
One of the witches ran out of the woods. "Priestess! Priestess!" she yelled. "Men are coming!"
Rachiel stood up. "How many?"
"Dozens with guns and grenades."
Rachiel widened her eyes.
"How the hell do they keep finding us?" Corrie said in a tone of panic. "Do we have to fly to the moon to escape these assholes?"
Jia looked towards the pile of luggage. The team had brought some weapons and knew how to use them. Marina had demanded everybody have a daily training session in the gun range including assistants and even Olivia. Jia hated guns, but she could "hit the broad side of a barn" if she had to.
Even so, engaging the enemy in a gun battle seemed like a very stupid idea. They were better equipped, much more numerous, and probably better fighters in general. Jia had never missed Marina and her legionnaires more than now. They would've had no problem wiping out ordinary soldiers. Marina would've made sure they suffered before they died.
"Where can we hide?" Imelda said. "We can't stay here."
Rachiel grimaced. "There is a secret cave. Mother Earth will protect us."
"Let's go!"
Rachiel put two fingers in her mouth and produced an impressively loud whistle. A moment later, the other four witches came out of the woods.
"Quickly," Rachiel said, "a trap spell to cover our escape."
The coven began to chant at a hurried pace. Meanwhile, Rachiel retrieved a jar of pink sand from her hut, and she scattered the sand around the fire.
"Trap of sand, trap the ill," she murmured. "Trap the bane and evil will."
She repeated the spell three times. She seemed satisfied with the result and went back into her hut. She came out with a bag made of braided vines slung over her shoulder. It contained supplies for more magic.
"Now we can go," Rachiel said.
The Spears grabbed their luggage and followed the witches into the forest.
* * *
Walfred looked down a hill at a collection of primitive huts. He grudgingly admired the craftsmanship evident in their construction. He had spent many days and nights in the wilderness, and he knew how difficult it was to make a comfortable home out of natural materials. These witches were experts.
A large campfire was burning in the c
enter of the village, but he didn't see any people. All was quiet. It was possible the targets were hiding in the huts.
Walfred looked back at the Warriors of Dagda who were following close behind him. His once mighty clan had been reduced to twenty, but they still obeyed the Goddess. When the mission was over, her gratitude would bring boundless physical and spiritual rewards, and the fallen heroes would be blessed for all eternity.
The Circassian Democratic Front was further back in the woods. Walfred didn't like the Russians. They had come to California to earn some quick cash to support a rebellion back home, but ultimately, their motives were selfish. It was all about political power instead of spiritual faith. They wanted more and would kill anybody to get it.
By mutual consent, the Warriors had taken the lead for this operation. They were the expert woodsmen. The cowardly Circassians were happy to collect paychecks while others risked their necks.
Walfred crept down the hill, staying in the shadows as much as possible. He still didn't see or hear any movement. He waited behind a bush while the Warriors gathered near him.
When they were ready, he made a hand signal, and everybody rushed forward at once. Walfred stayed comfortably in the middle of the pack. He was ready to fight, but he would give the honor of the opening shots to his men.
They swept through the village in seconds, but no shots were fired. The Warriors reported that the huts were empty. They checked again and looked for hidden trap doors but found nothing.
A wave of dizziness suddenly struck Walfred. He staggered around, and the bewildered looks on the faces around him indicated his men had the same problem. Gas? Walfred thought. He wanted to sit down, but there were no chairs, so he landed heavily on the dirt. He wasn't nauseous, but he didn't feel well.
The Circassians were coming down the hill. They were dressed in the standard green camouflage of soldiers, and the color scheme didn't quite work. More emphasis on browns and yellows would've made them blend in better. It took a moment for Walfred to remember why they were here. He was having a hard time focusing. The mission target was a girl with one white eye and one black eye. He was supposed to kill her for some strange reason.