The Leira Chronicles- The Complete Austin Series

by Martha Carr

  “You’ve still got it.”

  “Old human beings can still pull off a few things.” He grimaced and stood up straight, stretching his back.

  “Watch the stairs for me.” Leira pulled up energy from the wet ground, through her body as the fiery symbols appeared on her arms and her eyes glowed. She watched the movement of the energy left behind, snaking back and forth and felt the thin thread of darkness woven through the stream. She shut her eyes and sent her energy out ahead of her, letting it follow the trail, feeling it in the center of her being as the two streams traveled across town to an old church that was turned into a restaurant. More streams appeared. “This dead guy definitely isn’t from Austin.”

  “What restaurant? They haven’t officially identified him yet.”

  “He’s not. This was done as a ritual. Humans trying to play at being magical. That made up symbol is a sign of their cult. They think they’re creating zombies.”

  “That’s not really possible, is it?”

  “I doubt it’s possible for ordinary humans but these days I don’t rule out things quite so fast. There’s no magical trail so they didn’t have an artifact. I’m going to go with no and conclude they’re homicidal idiots. I think I have their meeting place. It’ll be the best chance to catch most of them.”

  “Most… Let that sink in. What is wrong with people? How do we break it to the Captain up there?” He shook his head.

  “I’m thinking we don’t. We tell the general and let him pass along the news however he sees fit. There’s not enough in this basement to give anyone anything substantial but I recognize the restaurant.”

  “You sure you don’t want to try and talk to any dead bodies?” Hagan waggled his fingers. “Try and raise the spirits?”

  “I’m not even sure how I did that the first time but I’m guessing it’s not a good idea to try and do on the fly. We have enough information. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Make your call.”

  “You would have figured all of this out on your own.”

  “No shit. But you got the address a lot faster and maybe with a few less bodies. Don’t you worry, Berens. There’ll come a time when ol’ Hagan will be the deciding factor. I’m in this for a reason. I can feel it in my gut. Make your call. The Captain will be back down here at some point and then you’ll have to wait. We need someone on that building pronto.”

  Chapter Four

  Leira called the general and told him everything she knew. A special ops team surrounded the restaurant in under an hour and took five people into custody with enough evidence on their laptops to charge them with several counts of murder.

  Leira drove Hagan home and stopped in front of his house, the motor idling.

  “You know I’m still figuring out how to handle all of this.” Leira draped an arm over her steering wheel. “I was kind of an ass back there.”

  “Only a small one and I know it’s a lot. You get a pass once in a while. It happens. We’ll get our rhythm back in no time. Until then, I’ll remind you not to hog the playing field. I guess I take the rest of the day to do what I want until they call again, huh. You’ll take care of the paperwork?” He waved his hands in the air.

  “Don’t keep doing the magic hands. You’ve never seen me do that even once.”

  “It’s our shorthand. It works. You have to admit you know just what I mean.”

  “Till the next case. Yes, I’ll do the paperwork. Good news is, I don’t have to hide how we’re doing it.”

  “We should stop by the warehouse some time, check in.” He opened the car door and grunted as he stood up, hitching his pants back into the right spot.

  “Furniture won’t be there till next week. Not much point just yet unless you like sitting at a card table and staring at me.”

  “Point taken.” He leaned down so he could still see Leira. “Good start to this whole thing. Makes up for the magical brawl earlier. Lost one, won one.”

  “I prefer to think of that first one as a draw.”

  “Fair enough. Call me when we’re up again.”

  “Keep your phone with you. I have a feeling it won’t be long.”

  “Roger that,” said Hagan, as he shut the door, giving a short wave and turning to the stairs.

  Leira watched him go inside before she pulled away from the curb. That damn necklace will turn up again. When it does, I want to be there.

  Charlie Monaghan finally calmed down enough to look like his old self. Every hair in place, a smile at the ready and his hand out to shake. He waited patiently in a back room of the Capital Grille at 42nd and Third in New York City. It was the perfect place for the select chief executive officers of the most influential conglomerates in the Western part of the world to meet. It was centrally located near several foreign consulates, making it easier for the gentlemen to make their way to the restaurant.

  The spot was already a favorite among the different embassies and no one would have wondered at seeing so many gather there on a frosty winter morning.

  The black Lincoln Continentals, the upscale taxis of New York, glided to a stop in a neat line in front of the dark brown building with a flat facade and darkened windows that gave it an unassuming air.

  The street out front was regularly swept on the hour and the windows washed daily to maintain a certain sense of order the rich and powerful expected.

  Charlie pulled the meeting together in record time in just a matter of days. He made the phone calls himself, using every favor and leveraging every bit of inside knowledge he had of the different companies to get the hand-picked group assembled.

  Langston Rogers was already settled in a chair near the top of the table, waiting patiently, just as Charlie instructed him.

  Charlie rehearsed Langston’s part with him, locked in the library with all of Langston’s findings, going over everything. Langston showed him, every artifact and relic he had in his possession, along with the video he took when traveling through Peru.

  Each new bit of information about Oriceran left Charlie more energized. He was determined to gather a team together from around the world. No one can win this race ahead of us. If there’s one thing I’ve learned. The meek never inherit much of anything.

  A doorman was there at the ready at the entrance to the Grille, opening car doors and quickly ushering each carload of a CEO, his chief financial officer, several assistants and at least one beefy bodyguard into the Grille.

  They were escorted down the slim hallway that ran the length of the restaurant back to the meeting room already set up with coffee and breakfast. An open bar was at the ready for later when the negotiations might become more difficult.

  Charlie took on his usual role, clearly in charge of the day’s events. He stood near the coffee, smiling graciously and shaking hands, his diamond cufflinks twinkling. He was wearing a bespoke dark blue suit that fit his frame neatly without looking tight across the shoulders as he talked with his hands. A new black and gold silk tie with his school crest was neatly tucked into his jacket. “John, good to see you! How’s your wife, Alice? Get yourself some coffee.”

  An interpreter stood by his side, waiting patiently as he greeted the handful of CEO’s from foreign countries. But Charlie was fluent in several languages and rarely needed help. He always liked to be prepared, just in case. No opportunities left on the table. That’s what the entire meeting was about today.

  A revolution to change our way of life for the better. A new source of energy that’s already in a race with others. We will liberate as many artifacts as possible, as quickly as possible into our possession and figure out a plan of action as we go forward. It was his opener to grab their attention.

  A new challenge was presenting itself and Charlie was going to make sure they were all prepared to take advantage of it. It was his goal in life and had served him well. The power of magic on Earth is real and is only going to grow stronger.

  The first report about artifacts came across his desk at the beginning of th
e year but Charlie wrote it off as a hoax or a scheme to get rich people to part with their money.

  Then Langston Rogers emailed him. Still, he balked. What sane man believes in magic?

  The explosion of ideas rolling around in his head was keeping him up at night, gleeful at the opportunities.

  But he would need a way to harness it all. That would take contracted cooperation from others, especially if he was going to convince magical beings to help change the world and build up the economy, all at the same time.

  Humans, on the other hand are easier to get on board. Give them a middle-class life, get their loyalty in return forever.

  It was only recently with all the layoffs that there were a few sour articles in the press and comments in social media. Charlie smiled harder, determined not to think about it. Magic. There’s fucking magic in the world.

  “Phillip, glad you could make it. Sorry you had to miss your son’s soccer game. This is important. I’m sure we all see that.”

  Priorities. He smiled, all his even, white teeth showing and creases forming around his eyes. Everyone made a point to go up and say hello, making polite conversation for a moment before moving on to a safer part of the room. Everyone understood a basic business rule. Get in Charlie Monaghan’s way and pay the price.

  He was already leading the most influential and lucrative conglomerate in the world under the name Axiom.

  Under his reign, Axiom was run as lean and efficiently as possible, investing everything in research and development, and replacing as much human power with robotics wherever it was feasible.

  His favorite saying was that everything that came out of the ground was eventually modified by Axiom, helping people on their path to a better life. Service and compensation. No reason I can’t do both.

  The companies across the Axiom enterprise controlled sixty percent of the crop production in the world for both people and livestock.

  Other companies that had to rely on his genetically modified soy beans, corn or wheat took the deal they could get with Charlie and went home. Nobody liked to negotiate with Charlie longer than absolutely necessary. Every minute longer was usually at the expense of something from their side of the table.

  Charlie nodded to his private secretary who announced in his booming voice, “Gentlemen, if we can get started. Take your seats.” The chatter in the room eased as everyone quietly took their seats. Only the most confident took seats closest to Charlie and Langston. Charlie remained standing and waited a beat, clasping his hands in front of his chest, looking slowly around the room for dramatic effect.

  He launched into his opening lines, watching the reactions as he spoke. Good. Shock and awe.

  “Before we get into the weeds with the details, a short demonstration.” He could feel his heart beating faster again. Excitement was overtaking him. He nodded to Langston who slowly rose and carefully removed the metal circle from its engraved box. This time he placed the ring on a table set up two feet from the top of the large oval table, away from the others.

  “Okay, first…” Langston looked up nervously at Charlie who shook his head. Not what we practiced, right…no talking. Just do it. Langston took in a deep breath and wiped his hands on his pants.

  He took out the brass pipe and struck the ring in the exact pattern and stood back as it spun fast enough to create the portal. Gasps were heard in the room.

  “Is that a virtual screen?”

  “Did you create an internet with just that metal thing?”

  “Wait, is that a window?”

  “Mother of…”

  Langston confidently put his hand through the portal, moving a nearby frond. His hand shook slightly as he listened for any sounds of the Gardener. One of these days my luck is going to run dry.

  A loud rustle startled Langston and he quickly withdrew his arm, his eyes growing wider, making many in the room lean back into their chairs.

  A large bird with iridescent blue and white feathers dove through the portal, spreading its wings in the boardroom, flapping in the air over the heads of the CEOs and letting out a large squawk before gliding easily back through the portal.

  “That’s enough, Langston. Close it up. I think we’ve made our point.” Charlie sounded giddy. It couldn’t have gone better. “That is what some are referring to as magic. Bending the laws of physics to alter the environment. We used it to give a glimpse into another planet. A world called Oriceran where this so-called magic is in the air. It’s commonplace. But it gets better…”

  Langston smiled at his side. Charlie was using parts of his scattered speech, tailoring it to fit the room. I was right to trust him.

  “There are those among us here on this planet, on Earth who can do this because of their DNA. The energy flows through them and out into the environment, harnessing a kind of power.”

  “Magic.” Langston opened his hands, smiling.

  Charlie drew his smile tighter. “Even better, these creatures who look like us…” He patted his chest, letting the idea sink in for everyone else. “They stored a lot of their power in different inanimate objects creating relics and artifacts that act as conductors or batteries. There are thousands of them scattered throughout the world. This wheel is one example.”

  “Wow.” A silver-haired man gasped as he touched the wheel sending a jolt through his body. He sat back in his chair, his eyes wide.

  “But there’s a catch. We’re not the only ones who know about the existence of this stored magic. The race is already on, gentlemen. We need to not only catch up but run right past them. It’s in everyone’s best interests if we control the story rather than let someone else write it. To do that we will need to hire the best history professors and archaeologists out there and go on the biggest scavenger hunt seen in modern times.”

  “With very real consequences.” A rotund middle-aged man spoke in a clipped British accent. “I’m going to assume you’re already contracting with your top choices.”

  “Yes, Pearson. The first teams are already out in the field.”

  “We’re here to finance this venture.” Pearson pursed his lips, leveling his gaze at Charlie.

  “Co-finance and mutually reap the rewards.” Charlie nodded at his private secretary. A thumb drive with their individual name on it was placed in front of each CEO. “Legal papers to look over and sign, as well as much more extensive background on Oriceran and the artifacts. You’ll find it’s to your benefit to be on the inside of this venture. This is going to change everything we know about our lives but unlike past inventions or discoveries, at a much faster pace.”

  “I’m in, of course.” Pearson raised his large hand, waving away the questions of others sitting next to him. “Don’t be foolish. Charlie Monaghan wouldn’t bring a half-baked idea to the table. The details will be worked out. I appreciate the opportunity.” He scooped up the thumb drive and rose to leave. “I’ll be in touch as soon as possible.”

  Pearson hurried out, his entourage in tow and found his way as quickly as possible to his car and driver. He waited until he was securely settled in the backseat before he called Lacey Trader, the head of the Silver Griffins.

  “You were right. The race is on. Protect the vault by any means necessary and do what you suggested all along. I was wrong. Send out the Silver Griffins worldwide to find whatever artifacts they can and bring them back. I’ll finance whatever you need.” He hung up and sat back, taking in a deep breath.

  He reached into the side pocket of the door and pulled out the long, elegant wooden case, opening it up and pulling out the rosewood wand. He touched the tip to the thumb drive extracting the information and tapped the closed laptop in front of him. “Send it to Lacey.” He touched the wand to the thumb drive again, turning it to dust.

  Thirty years of being undercover as a Wizard among the more influential humans was paying off.

  “Everything alright, Boss?” The young Wizard looked in the rearview mirror at Pearson.

  “Yes, Manfreid, it’s un
fortunately going just as we predicted.” And we’ll do our best to control this crash as much as we can.

  Chapter Five

  The other prophets were already in the hidden meeting room at the far end of the post office, one exact mile from where all the mailboxes lined the walls.

  The Kilomea prophet chose to walk from the entrance. The rail cars were too small for his size and he never liked the circuitous route the metal car took to avoid the gargoyles flying overhead putting the mail in their proper slots.

  A gargoyle swooped low enough over his tall head to rustle the fur on the back of his neck. He grunted and looked up, scowling but the gargoyle ignored him and flew higher, the leather satchel flapping against its gold scales.

  A family of Light Elves moved out of his way, the mother putting her arms in front of her children as if she was shielding them.

  “Really? You act like you’ve never seen a Kilomea before. Boo!” He raised his arms and bugged out his eyes. The mother shuddered but the little female Elf in front of her giggled. The Kilomea smiled at her. “You get it. Good for you.” He gave a tsk at the mother and lumbered on his way, making good time across the long lobby.

  At the entrance to the room he stopped and pulled out his folded robe from inside his vest, shaking it out and draping it across his shoulders. He was too far away from anyone else to be noticed at that point. He opened the sliding entrance and went in, the stars appearing across his robe, lining up with the virtual display on the ceiling.

  The other prophets were already there, gathered in a circle around the Book of Prophesies sitting in its glass case in the well of the room. He pushed his way into the circle between the Crystal prophet and the Light Elf, grunting a brief hello. The Light Elf looked up at him, a strain on his face.

  “You already started the meeting.”

  “We haven’t officially started. Only the arguing started early.” The Light Elf scowled looking over at the Crystal prophet.