The magic he summoned would do what it was meant to.
It was time for me to do my part.
“No, Cleo,” Bryan yelled.
But I didn’t listen. I couldn’t. My mind was made up. I raised the gun. Bryan lunged towards me, but he was too late. My finger pressed the trigger. The noise of the shot was soft, low, and yet it seemed as if a bomb went off. For a moment, nothing happened. Did I miss the shot? Scott stood proud and still, intent on what he planned. The orb exploded. It shattered and shards of it flew in the air. They rained down on the assembly. People screamed and shouted as slivers of glass fell on them. Scott looked stunned, horrified. He stood as still as a rock as if he couldn’t understand, and then he raised his gaze and looked directly at us.
I could tell that he knew exactly where we were.
“It worked,” I said, stunned by the ease of it.
I wasn’t sure before I attempted it. I’d expected the orb to resist any such direct attack, but it was an ancient device, and those who built it didn’t have knowledge of guns. Hence, they didn’t provide it with shields to protect against such a blow. Magic might have slipped off it, but a gun did what a mage couldn’t have done.
Great.
“You’re a genius,” he hugged me.
“That was damned easy,” I said.
For a moment, we both looked into each other’s eyes. We managed to stop Scott and his coven despite all the odds against it. He bent his head and his lips caught mine in a kiss that was as soft as a whisper. His tongue touched mine. The emotions that careened through me were wild and chaotic; I wanted more and yet we didn’t have the time.
Damn it.
There was never a right time with this guy.
As I stepped away, it was with an effort that I looked away towards the temple. The sight horrified me. They were headed towards us. Shit. We were in for trouble now. We’d eliminated one threat, but it was only to walk into an even bigger one. Scott wouldn’t leave us alive after the blow we dealt him. Bryan and I were in serious danger. Scott had so many people at his beck and call, and as fine a mage as I was, he had the strength of numbers on his side.
We were in a serious mess, and unless I did something real quick, we would be dead soon.
Chapter Seventeen
What now?
Fight or flight?
My instincts took over. This wasn’t the time to be caught up in any ego issues. I needed to move fast. Grabbing Bryan’s hand, I tugged him. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“But we didn’t hurt anyone,” he said.
“I shot their bloody orb. They were going to use it to do what we didn’t want them to do, so now they are pissed. And there are many of them. They have serious magic at their disposal, and there is no way I can save you or myself if they caught us. Now get going.”
“But…”
“Move, Bryan.” I nearly pushed him down the slope. Leaving behind our stuff, we sprinted for the car. It was hidden well, and I didn’t think they would be able to find it so easily. Right now when they weren’t so organized, this was our chance to move out of this place. I didn’t even want to contemplate what might happen if they caught us. Scott wouldn’t let us leave this place alive. He would take his revenge. We broke that damned orb which was his ticket out of this universe. I didn’t know what he planned to do when he left this reality, but he certainly had big dreams. And we shattered them all.
He would likely string us over a slow fire and roast us alive. I was worried about Bryan; he got into this mess because of me. The fear gave me the impetus to move at a breakneck speed. I was a little ahead of Bryan as we reached the car. Rather than wait, I took the driving seat. He sat inside and we sped away. There, now. I breathed a little easy. A little bit more, and it would be alright. Once we were on the main highway, I didn’t think he would be able to chase us.
“Just a little more, just a little more,” I said as if it was a prayer that would get us through. “A little more.”
“He isn’t going to forgive us.”
“Yep, for sure.”
We did the right thing. Even if Scott escaped unscathed from the clutches of law, it would take him a long time to get another orb or similar device that would enable to fulfill his dreams, and hopefully before he could take over such a thing, we would be able to find proof that would put him behind bars.
“We’re nearly away,” I said.
The moment I said those words, my foot pushed hard on the brake. The car slid to a stop right next to the row of men and women who blocked the path. Shit. We were in a world of trouble now. I didn’t quite know what to do. Of course, I didn’t want to run over them and naturally they wouldn’t allow me to do that because they possessed enough magic to bloody lift this car and throw it down the cliff. Changing gears, I shifted back. We could try and find a path through the other end. Maybe it was a dead end, and maybe it wasn’t. We wouldn’t know unless we tried. But of course, there was another row of people blocking the path. I stopped the car.
There.
We were done.
It was over.
“I’m sorry, Bryan. I’ve got you into trouble.”
“I chose this as much as you did.”
The man made me proud. There wasn’t an ounce of fear or regret in his words, but then that was maybe because he didn’t anticipate the horrible pain Scott would inflict on us. The man was insane, and while he might be able to function as a normal human being, I sensed that deformation that allowed him to think that he was a world apart.
We did the worst thing anyone could do to him.
We bested him, and he wouldn’t ever forgive us.
“I could try to use some magic.”
“They will stop you,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll see this through.”
Yeah, right. I thought our chances of making it were less than nil, but I wasn’t done yet. If Scott was determined to make an example out of us, I still had some aces up my sleeve. Rather than fight the thirty or so mages who surrounded us, I chose to get out. “Hey, we don’t want a fight,” I said.
“You’ve to come with us,” said a sour-faced man. “Now.”
“Why don’t you let us pass and we won’t press charges?” I said. “This man here is FBI’s Special Agent Bryan, and I am a consultant with them. Rest assured, they are not going to take it lightly if you force us to go against our will.”
A few men and women hesitated. They certainly didn’t expect this, but before I could win them over, the same man strode forward. “You come with us now.”
I looked from face to face. They were a determined lot. “You know what he was up to?”
“Stop talking and come with us.” The man’s fingers twitched. Magic hovered around him, wild and stormy. “Now.”
A fight now would end badly for us. I didn’t have the strength to spar with all of them. “Fine, fine. Let’s go. We can talk it out.”
I didn’t think Scott would listen to anything we had to say, but I needed at least a few of them on our side. Would they all be willing to pick a fight with us knowing that we were with the FBI? I didn’t think so, or perhaps I was seriously underestimating Scott’s influence on them.
Would they kill us to make him happy?
Would they torture us?
I wasn’t at all sure, but right now we didn’t have the choice to do anything else.
We strode with the people back to the temple. Scott wasn’t standing outside. The dark shards of glass that littered the courtyard brought a smile to my face. At least, we didn’t falter in the task that was most important. He didn’t have the black orb anymore. Would he be able to procure a replacement? I wasn’t sure. But at least, for now, we averted the danger. As we walked in, he was pacing the floor of the dome-shaped hall. Seeing us, he halted. His people surrounded us while he stared at us.
I was more than a little scared. The madness that gleamed in his eyes was all too visible. “You destroyed that which was most precious to m
e.”
“What were you trying to do?” I didn’t admit to guilt right away. After all, he couldn’t prove that we were the ones who broke that orb. “This wasn’t some common exercise meant to cleanse the mind or whatever other crap you have been teaching these people.”
“Shut up. You’ve no right to talk about my life’s work.”
I sneered. False bravado was my best defense at the moment. Inside, I was quacking. There was zilch chance I would escape alive, but at least, I wanted it to be a spectacular THE END. “Your life’s work has been to mentor thieves and allow them to take the risks while you hide inside this so-called temple. Your life’s work has been to mislead and lie to these people so that when the time comes, you can use their energy to do something which is forbidden.”
“Shut up.”
“I don’t think I will.” Rather than display any sign of fear, I swaggered forward and jabbed a finger at him. “Did you tell these people that you wanted to use them for a ritual that would open the portal to another universe?” Someone gasped. Good. Maybe I was getting through to some of these mindless zombies who followed him without question. “Did you get their consent before participating in the said ritual? Did you inform them that you might actually end up destroying the world if your ritual succeeded?”
“I wasn’t doing anything of the sort.”
“Oh, please.” I snorted. “That orb was meant to suck in all the open energy that these people freely offered, and you would have directed it to open the portal that would have taken you into an alternate universe. I’ve read the books. The spell you so painstakingly collected pointed out that possibility, and it’s the only one you were focused upon.”
“You have no way of proving that I was doing that.”
“I don’t need proof. This isn’t a legal trial. There is no jury or judge except for these people whom you drew into your ambitions.”
His eyes narrowed, and he pursed his lips. “That orb was priceless. I found it after years of search in the Amazon Jungles, hidden in an ancient ruin, protected by no less than seventy two spells.”
“And why was it so well hidden? It was dangerous.”
He waved a hand. “You of all people should know that no object is dangerous on its own.”
“But this one could be used for bad things, and that’s what you intended. Tell me, what did you hope to find in the other universe? A better world? A place where you could ascend a golden throne and become king?” I laughed. “Idiots like you have tried to do this before, and they all failed.”
His eyes narrowed. A nerve twitched on his forehead. “This was my father’s work. He told me that there was a better place out there, and I was going to reach it tonight. It was my night, and you ruined it.” My sneering tone finally cracked him. Good. I wanted his followers to see what he was really capable of. “This was going to be the culmination of my years of hard work. Do you know how long it took to verify the spell? We had to steal so much, risk so much. We’d to perfect the level of energy…”
“Wow! Great.” I laughed. It wasn’t that difficult to wind him up. Of course, I didn’t know what the consequences of that action would be. He might kill me quicker, but at least all these people would know what he was really up to. “And you so nearly achieved it. But too bad I had to stop it, because well…during these years of preparation and hard work, you forgot the impact such a portal would have on the world you leave behind.”
“It’s all a theory, and there is no reason for it to be true.” He dismissed my concerns with a sneer. “The portal would close once the connection with energy broke off.”
“Really?” I widened her eyes. “And you have any proof of that? Or were you just going to leave all those poor people behind who would still be connected to the portal when it disappeared. What if they couldn’t break the connection and the portal sucked all their energy? It would then need more, and it would take it from anything that crossed its path. The portal would move and swing like a mighty tornado through the continent, perhaps the world, and destroy more than half of it before it finally ran out of fuel, if it ever did. There are some mages, more qualified than you, who have predicted that such a portal might actually eat this planet and not even burp.”
“Nonsense.”
“Right, nonsense. Or perhaps the truth you don’t want to see.” I stepped back a little as I addressed the crowd. Some people appeared shocked, and now was the time to hit the hammer on their head. “You’ve heard your mighty leader and his plans. Did you all know this? Were you all a part of this monstrous scheme? Did you think about the people you would have left behind to face the end of the world? Or did you not care at all about the devastation this spell would have wrought?”
Some people looked at each other. It appeared as if they didn’t have any answers. Good. Let them think about the trouble they nearly helped Scott create. “We didn’t know,” said a woman.
“We had no idea.”
“I’ve children in the city,” said a man.
“So do I,” said a woman.
“Shut up,” said Scott. “It was nothing. It was just meant to be an experiment.”
“Wow! How the mighty have fallen. Aren’t you supposed to help these people learn peace and serenity? I don’t think you’re helping them all that much by screaming at them.”
“You…” He strode forward and pointed a finger at me. “I’m done with you. But before I teach you a lesson, let me give you a demonstration of my power.”
The bright light that shot out of his finger hit Bryan. It spread and covered him. He glowed. A scream escaped my lips. The fire that exploded around him would have burned him alive. It should have consumed him and left behind a hulk of ashes, but as Bryan tried to stagger back as if he could escape it, the fire simply frizzled and disappeared.
“Hmm. Not your best work,” I said when my breath was back. “Did you really think I would bring him here unprotected?”
“You…you’ll die.”
Right. Well, that was true enough. I’d used up most of my energy for Bryan’s protective spells. If he hit me, I didn’t have anything left to save myself, but at least I knew that Bryan would survive. He was fortified with all I got and the energy that protected him came from a source that wasn’t here. So they wouldn’t be able to touch him.
“Come on. Bring it on.” I wasn’t going to go without a fight. “What are you going to throw at me?”
His eyes narrowed, and his lips peeled back to reveal white, gleaming teeth. It wasn’t just madness that glowed in his eyes, but also hatred for me. I spoilt his plans. I ruined his life’s ambitions. He would kill me. Bryan was safe, at least for now. But I was fair game. I braced myself for the impact. Till my last breath, I would fight.
Giving up wasn’t much of an option.
It never was.
The bright flames of fire than flew towards me were shiny and hot. I sensed their heat even before they engulfed me. My magic destroyed them before they could do some real damage, but I felt the burn on my skin. It didn’t last long, but it still managed to turn some of my hair into crisp cinders. While I wasn’t a vain person, my hair was a source of joy and pride. Dark and silky, it curled past my shoulders, but now I could feel it wilt. The anger that bubbled inside me gave me the impetus to attack. My blade thin and sharp ropes of air crackled around him. They entwined him in a firm grip, but he burst free of their embrace even before I could take a deep breath of satisfaction.
The fight was fierce.
If his other mages joined him, it would have spelt my end, but perhaps some of them were too shocked by what he attempted to do. Or perhaps they sensed his need to finish me on his own. Or maybe they knew that there was no way I could escape their clutches. The moment I even as much as harmed his finger, they would attack and kill me. But before they did so, I wanted to get in a good blow at this odious man.
My whirlwind hit him on the chest and he stumbled back. “You jerk.”
“You bitch,” he countered.
The fire burned bright around me, encasing me in a fiery temple. Oh! How I hated that he was a good mage. On another day, if he were another man, I would have paused to admire this great piece of magic. Not everyone could do it. We could use the elements but his command over them was absolute. I was however too busy trying to keep myself alive. Next to me, I saw Bryan struggle as he tried to get free from the shelf of my protective magic, but I had planned well. The moment Scott’s spell hit him, my protective shield came alive. It encased him in a flexible, bright shell from which he couldn’t escape. As long as he remained inside, he was safe. His eyes bugged as he saw me struggle. He hit the shield with his bare hands but it refused to free him. The fire around me was hot. I could feel the burns on my fingers as I chanted fiercely to keep it at bay. My efforts gave me some space to breathe and to plan my next move.
Strong as he was, I was more than a match for him.
I raised my hands and the fire died. The wind whipped past me and slammed into Scott. He fell on the ground. Immediately the sour-faced man who brought us here moved. His spell would have hit me, but I jumped out of the path. The air around the place where I stood became as thick as ice. Had I been there, I would have been encased in it. My next spell burst on them; invisible ropes of air lifted both the men off their feet and threw them against the wall. Their screams echoed in the dome.
The fight engulfed everyone.
There was utter chaos.
I fielded off a dozen different spells. The rained down on me; metal, air, fire, and water. His mages left no stone unturned to kill me. Not all of them joined, of course. Most were too horrified by the truth to take part in this war, but those who were loyal to him wanted me dead. My luck held as some favored me. Perhaps their sanity returned after all they heard because they joined hands with me to fight evil.
I saw a woman hit a man who was about to attack me. She buried him half way into the floor and then buried another.
00 Mayan Thief (The FBI Paranormal Casefiles) Page 17