Good. The more she got rid of, the less people I would have to fight.
I had allies, but we were still outnumbered.
My hands moved at a fast speed, and I chanted one spell after another under my breath. One by one, my protective shields snapped and broke. Soon, I would have nothing and then I would die. But at least Bryan was safe from them. I’d planned it in such a way that he would be protected even if something happened to me.
Scott rose to his feet and joined the group of attackers. “Agh!” he screamed. “Die, woman, die.”
The sharp slices of magic that rained down on me bit and hit me. The pain was unimaginable. As I screamed with agony, he laughed. With an effort, I raised my hand and the pain reduced to a manageable level. It wasn’t killing me, but they pressed the magic down harder, assaulting me as one unified force. Their will joined with his and they became his puppets. His power was now unstoppable. It felt as if there was a huge saw that sliced down towards me. The closer it came, the more certain my death became. I heard Bryan scream as he tried even harder to break the shield and get to me. Someone yelled. It wasn’t me. I was too busy trying to keep his magic at bay. I would hold it off me for as long as I could. But when I failed, it would kill me.
It dropped on me like a mountain, its claws sharp and ready to slice me. I could feel the power of it as it hovered over and around me, pressing, waiting for the chance.
Sweat dribbled down my forehead. Despite my power, I could feel myself bending down as my body twisted and turned against the assault.
Memories of my life swam before me as I relived those precious moments which were dear to me; my normal life before my family died, the good times I had at the commune, the cases I solved, and of course, my short time with Bryan. He made me feel special. He was different, and perhaps if we were given a chance, something good could have come out of our strange relationship.
I didn’t want to die.
There was too much left undone; I had to find those who killed my family.
But the good thing was that Bryan would live to see the day. The protective magic I invoked was strong enough to protect him from all of them. He needed to escape now. The longer he stayed, the greater the chance that they would all gang on him and break the spell. I glanced his way, silently pleading him to walk away. But he kept beating on the shield.
Didn’t he realize that I created it to keep him safe?
Didn’t he understand it was important for me to keep him out of harm’s way?
There was so much I wanted to say, but words were stuck in my throat. My magic competed with Scott and his gang. The collective will of his people bore down on me. Oh no! It was too much. The magic bit into me, hard and fast. It was formidable, unbeatable. I couldn’t take the pain. Sweat pore out of all my pores as I exhausted my power.
There.
I was done.
Death was imminent.
My gaze met Bryan’s. I could see he understood my pain. He knew I was dying.
I was sorry I dragged him into it.
But it wouldn’t have been possible to do this without him. He supported me, encouraged me, and gave me the strength to follow my convictions. Now, I would die for them, and he would live to face more criminals. Maybe he would think about me at times. Perhaps he would even shed a few tears over me.
This couldn’t be happening.
And yet it was.
I was on the floor now. The mountain crushed me. With an iron effort of will, I kept it at bay with the last vestiges of my energy. It would crush me. I drew in a last breath as stars danced in front of my eyes. At least I would die fighting. Just as my eyes closed for the last time, there was the rapid sound of shots. People screamed. The magic lifted its weight off me just a tiny bit. I took in another breath. It seemed like a miracle. As I turned my head and used up the final shreds of my strength to fight, I saw people running around. The weight of the magic reduced even more. I was now fighting only Scott, and then suddenly his spell was gone. For a few seconds, I couldn’t believe it.
Was he planning another hit?
And then I looked around. The dark shoes that drew my gaze were the most welcome sight I ever saw. If I had the energy, I would have grabbed the owner of the pair closest to me and hugged him. Instead, I raised my gaze and grinned at the sweet sight; FBI agents wore them along with their predictable dark suits. It was a relief to be able to breathe again. Spreading my arms wide, I rested.
I was saved.
Jones came through just in time.
“Are you alright?” He bent to take a close look at me. “Or do you want me to call an ambulance?”
Never before did I ever have the urge to kiss the man, but right now, that was all I wanted to do. He wouldn’t take kindly to it. And it would probably be an embarrassing moment that we both wouldn’t forget. “I’m fine.”
He waved a hand at Agent Bryan who was still trying to free himself from the shield. “What about him? What have they done to him?”
“Nothing. He is ok.” I snapped my fingers, and the shield was gone. Bryan had been trying to push against it so hard that its absence took him by surprise. He fell down. If I wasn’t so relieved to be alive, I might have laughed. “We’re both fine. Thanks for coming.”
“When Special Agent Bryan sent me that damned picture, I knew that we made a mistake underestimating this man,” said Jones. “So we came as quick as we can.”
My gaze took in the three mages who stood with the agents. Good. He got some magical backup. They weren’t from the commune, but then we weren’t the only fish in the pond. Their bright magical ties held Scott, some of the men, and the women in a sharp grip. The ones who defended us and the ones who didn’t fight stood apart. A few people were seriously hurt and were being attended to.
“You came just in time. A few more minutes, and we wouldn’t have been having this conversation.”
The expression on his face told me that he was questioning his timing. “Glad to be of service. You did break a lot of rules, though.”
This wasn’t the time to be arrogant. He saved my ass, and it wouldn’t hurt to let him know that. “You’re right, sir.”
Grabbing my hand, he helped me stand. I was dizzy, but hell if I was going to get some more help. “Augusta isn’t happy with you.”
Of course, she wasn’t.
Would she forgive me?
I wasn’t sure. She’d rules, and she didn’t like to break them for anymore. “I know, sir. I owe you both an apology. But I felt very strongly that Scott Fallon was up to no good, and if we didn’t reach in time and destroy that object, he might have succeeded in his plans.”
“Sir, she is right. He was about to do what Cleo predicted all along,” said Bryan.
“Just having the orb doesn’t prove that they…”
“Sir,” another agent interrupted us. “We’ve found the missing artifacts.”
Jones pivoted quickly. The expression on his face was priceless. “What?”
The FBI agent looked very pleased with their find. My heart leapt in my chest. Perhaps this was the break we really needed. “They are all there, in a secret storage room. It was hidden well, but it didn’t take us that long to find it. These people think we haven’t seen such things before. Anyway, all the missing artifacts are there, and there also appears to be a spell written on a white board, with…some kind of explanation.”
I knew exactly what was it was. “Was there some mention of ripping the fabric of reality?”
“Yep, mentioned some portal into another universe. Didn’t really understand it. The mages have gone to check it out.”
“Agh!” Jones ran a hand through his hair. It was his turn to swallow his ego. “Guess you were right all along, Cleo.”
It was hard for him to admit it. I could see the pain in his eyes as he turned to see me, but this wasn’t the time to gloat. “Let the mages verify it on their own, but I am telling you that if that spell had taken root and if he opened the portal…it would
have wrecked destruction on a horrific magnitude.”
“You saved the day.” Jones winced. It was easy enough to see that it pained him to say it. “Well, I guess…I’m glad you didn’t listen to us. I would have to update Augusta on this…job well done, Cleo.”
“I couldn’t have done it without Special Agent Bryan. If he didn’t support me, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Jones put a hand on Bryan’s shoulder. “Ordinarily, I don’t like it when rules are broken. If you disobey the chain of command, it can lead to anarchy…”
“Yes, sir, but…”
Jones tapped him on the shoulder. “Let me finish. In this case, however, I am willing to make an exception. It would have been hard for me to explain to my higher ups as to why we missed such big clues and allowed Scott to get away with it…that is, provided, we all survived the apocalypse he presumably planned.”
The mages would take their time to study the spell, but I was pretty sure that their finding would be consistent with what I knew. We saved the world. Yippee! Even though I was excited, there was also elements of fear in my heart. Augusta wasn’t a predictable sort of person. I’d no idea how she would react. She’d told me to never return.
Was the gate of the commune forever closed to me?
Would I ever be able to go home?
I didn’t know – and as long as that uncertainty remained, there was no way I could celebrate anything.
Chapter Eighteen
It was a day for swallowing my ego. Life was never a bed of roses, and I learnt long ago to take the good along with the bad. Folding my arms respectfully, I simply listened to the lecture. Frankly, it wasn’t much of a punishment given the crime. Augusta was in full swing. I hung my head as I nodded along whenever it felt appropriate.
She raised her hand and pointed a finger at me. “You acted without sufficient evidence or knowledge. It was all about you and your instincts, but each case is different and it’s not possible for you to be right all the time.”
“Yes,” I murmured.
“Just because you were lucky this time doesn’t mean that you’re going to get wonderful results with such tactics all the time. Not only did you defy the rules of our commune but also you blatantly ignored the direct order of your FBI boss.” Augusta slapped a hand on the counter. I sensed an audience gather behind him. Naturally, they wouldn’t let go of this opportunity to witness my humiliation, but this wasn’t the time to shoo them away. “Now that…Jones has kindly decided to overlook your….errant behavior, I am forced to reconsider my position.”
Great!
I didn’t show any movement or excitement. She wasn’t done as yet. “Thank you,” I said merely.
“Don’t think that you have gotten away with it,” she said. “It’s only because…well, you did bloody save the world so I have decided to not kick you out.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
If I looked up, I might laugh and I simply didn’t want to give her the opportunity to lengthen her lecture. “You also ignored something which was vitally important to us, to this commune, to our people. If you had paid attention, we would have been able to find that file much sooner.”
By the time I returned to apologize to Augusta, Jasper had transformed into Colonel Sanders, and luckily he remembered exactly where the file was. If I had run that spell I planned, I might have been able to find his hidden location. He’d opened a pocket of air and put it inside for safety. Finding such a thing was complicated and it often revealed more than planned. Everyone in the house had something they hid for safety, or for privacy, and I might have stumbled on to something I didn’t really want to find. Good that I didn’t have to run that spell.
But of course, Augusta didn’t want to hear that right now.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
I could see her trying to read too much into my words. She wanted me to say the wrong thing so that she could expound upon my various faults for a long, long time – and since that was the opposite of what I wanted, I chose to be a woman of few words right now. It seemed to have the right effect; she took deep breaths.
“At least, we’re out of the legal mess for now. The papers were delivered on time, and the court dismissed the case. I don’t know what we would have done if we lost this commune.”
I didn’t know either. “Yes, Augusta.”
“I know what you’re doing.” She waved a finger at me once more. “Don’t think you’ve fooled me with your I-am-so-contrite attitude. But rest assured, if you pull such a stunt again, I’ll not let the matter go so quickly.” Don’t say anything. Don’t say anything. I chanted in my head. She snorted as if she could read my thoughts. “Go now. I believe Maya wants you to help with the weeding.”
Dear Lord!
That sucked.
Knowing her she must have put Maya up to it. I would probably be stuck with weed duty until the end of time. Since she was glaring at me, ready to tear my arguments into tiny shreds, I swallowed and nodded. “Ok.”
As I turned, my eyes brightened to see Bryan. He must have come in while Augusta was in the middle of her tirade. His presence energized me; he was too cute. Now that we weren’t on the case anymore, I’d more time to appreciate his broad shoulders and that soft, compassionate look in his eyes. This was a man I could be with, at least, well…for a while. While I didn’t have any idea as to what the future might hold for us, I was optimistic. He was the first man who actually made me think that maybe I wasn’t meant to be alone forever and forever.
Perhaps we could be good together.
“How are you? I hope you weren’t also put on weeding duty?” I asked.
Augusta snorted but didn’t say anything.
“No, Jones has reassigned me to another case. After all, I am a hero. We did manage to avert a catastrophe,” he said.
His smile was a tad too weak. Immediately, I felt something in my heart. Oh oh! There was definitely trouble in paradise. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him since yesterday because well…there was a lot of paperwork and reports and debriefing. I had kind of hoped that we would get a chance to go out on a date, but now I got a bad feeling in my stomach.
Walking over to Augusta, he handed her a file. “Jones said that you needed to sign this and send it back.”
“Sure.” She signed it. Augusta looked at him, and then at me. I could sense the little wheels in her mind work at top speed. “I’m glad that nothing happened to you.”
“Yeah, well.” He shrugged. “Cleo made sure that I wasn’t in any real danger.”
Oh no!
Surely, he wasn’t upset about it. I mean, that wasn’t really fair. “Bryan, I…we need to talk.”
“Sure. See you, Augusta.” Picking up the file, he waved at her, and then walked out with me. “I see that she didn’t really kick you out.”
“Only because I was right, and Jones admitted that without our quick actions, Scott might have ended the world or something quite similar. She couldn’t throw out someone who saved human lives.” I turned and faced him. There was a time when I looked at him and actually felt his…well, interest in me. But right now, it wasn’t there. Bright rays of sun carved his face into a statue. “Bryan, I…I can’t believe you are upset with me simply because I didn’t want to put you in danger. You didn’t really expect me to just let you walk there without any protection.”
Did I hurt his ego with that protective shield?
Surely he understood my decision to have it on him.
He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You should have shown the same faith that I had in you. Didn’t I let you walk into that nest of trouble, knowing full well that either one of us could die?”
Man! Didn’t he realize how different it was?
“But you’re not a mage. You don’t know magic. It was my duty to protect you.”
“So you should have given me a charm, a bracelet. Hell, if you’d given me a crown for protection, I would have worn it. But you didn’t trust me.
You didn’t think I could hold my own with all those people.”
“A charm wouldn’t have worked that effectively. This was special.” I walked closer and put my hands on his chest. It was hard to believe we were fighting over the fact that I was concerned enough to protect him. “I’ve got this…crystal in which I store my energy from time to time, and in time of need I can use it for a special protective spell. It’s like a shield, and it can be used even if it is not physically present.”
“A shield that basically forced me to remain inside a cocoon. I couldn’t even fight with you. Hell, maybe I would have died, but it would have been for a good cause. I would have died knowing that I did something important.”
“So basically you had a death wish, and I stopped you from achieving it.” I grinned. Raising on my tiptoes, I bent to touch my lips on his. “Come on. Don’t be mad.”
Putting his hands on my shoulders, he firmly but gently pushed me away. “You don’t understand. You’re not even trying to understand. There is some heat between us…”
“Yeah, exactly, and now that we don’t have a case, we can figure out exactly how hot it is.” I grinned. “We would be good together.”
“I don’t think so. If there is no trust, if there is no equality in a relationship, then there is no hope for us. You have to have faith in me, as much as I have in you. If you think that I am not good enough to stand with you in a battle then how can I be good enough to share the other things in your life?”
Shaking my head, I took a step back. He was serious, damn serious. Why did I have to fall for a guy who was this damned straight? Shit. “I wanted to protect you. How is that a bad thing? And of course, I know that you’re capable. It’s just that…in that particular circumstance, you would have died if I didn’t do anything drastic.”
“You nearly died. If Jones was five minutes late, he would have found your corpse. And I watched that…man suck the life out of you.” He took a deep breath and stepped away. The pain in his eyes spoke volumes. “I couldn’t even do anything to help you. I don’t think you understand how this makes me feel.”
00 Mayan Thief (The FBI Paranormal Casefiles) Page 18