Her sword made a two-inch hole a foot off the ground. She lay down and pressed her ear to it.
“Who cares if the crystal can stop magic!” someone shouted. “The range is so short we couldn’t prevent the portal from opening. The target never even showed up.”
“Calm down, Sergeant,” a cool voice said. “We knew the capture of Conryu Koda wasn’t going to be a simple task. The failure of our first effort, while disappointing, is not unexpected. Plan B is already in the works. If he won’t come to us, we’ll go to him.”
Kai shifted so she could look through the opening. Three muscular men in dark uniforms faced a fourth, older man in green. He wore dozens of medals on his chest. Kai knew little about the military’s ranking system, but anyone with that many ribbons on their chest had to be in charge.
The man in green held up a gray crystal suspended from a silver chain. “This is the equalizer, gentlemen. Once our R&D people figure out how to mass-produce these, we’ll never have to fear a wizard again.”
“If they figure it out,” one of the soldiers said. “Rumor is the eggheads haven’t even created one crystal of their own.”
“It’s been less than a year since we found the originals. Given enough time they will succeed.”
Kai sensed someone approaching.
She scrambled to her feet, but too slow.
A pair of patrolling soldiers rounded the building and spotted her.
“Hands up!” Both men raised their rifles.
Kai lunged at them, slicing through the barrels of their weapons and leaving them so much junk.
At full speed she ran toward the fence, stealth forgotten.
A bullet pinged off the pavement six inches from her left foot.
She spotted the shooter in one of the lookout towers.
Without a ranged weapon her only option was to run a random path and hope for the best. Behind her voices were raised and another bullet whizzed past her head.
The fence was in sight now.
She put on a final burst of speed and slashed it apart.
A sharp pain stabbed her side before Hell’s welcoming darkness swallowed her up.
Merik and the fanatics worked their way through the trees surrounding Stonehenge. The moon was bright overhead, providing just enough light to see. At least, Merik could see with his enhanced senses. The priests were using night-vision goggles. Each man, including the bishop, carried an automatic rifle, grenades, knives, and enough ammo to invade London, again.
Crossing the Channel had proven remarkably simple. Considering all the trouble the Kingdom of the Isles had had over the past year, you’d think they’d have taken extra precautions to avoid anyone sneaking in. Maybe with the reconstruction they hadn’t had time to raise the wards. Merik neither knew nor cared. Their carelessness made a difficult job at least a little easier.
They’d beached their boat on a narrow patch of sand that, from the looks of it, no one had visited in ages and set out at a quick march inland. No one spoke as they slipped through the forest. That combined with the way they handled their weapons led Merik to suspect they were priests in name only. Divine mercenaries was more like it. Not that it mattered. As long as they got past the assassin, they could call themselves anything they wanted.
A tingle ran through him as they got closer to the Lemurian wards that prevented him from approaching the standing stones. When that happened he’d have to stop and put his trust in his allies. It had taken all his will to place the crystal in the bishop’s hands. If they lost it to the assassin, he didn’t know what he’d do.
Merik repressed a shudder at the thought that these fanatics were his best hope of completing his mission. Clearly, he had gone wrong somewhere.
The priest would tell you to have faith.
Merik smiled to himself. The voice that spoke through his crystal had contacted him less often as he settled into his new life. Sometimes he found he missed the constant presence and encouragement. Other times he was happy to have his mind to himself. Tonight was a night for encouragement. Maybe he would finally meet her. It would be interesting to see if the owner of the voice looked anything like he imagined.
A jagged shard of pain stabbed him deep in his soul and brought an end to his musing. He had reached the border of the ward. “I can go no further.”
The bishop nodded. “We know what to do. Dealing with wizards is our specialty.”
He’d have a good deal more trouble dealing with this one than those girls who couldn’t even use their magic. Merik contented himself with saying, “Good luck.”
They vanished into the night, leaving Merik alone to await the outcome.
Chapter 9
Sienna floated, still and silent, at the edge of the realm of wind. There was nothing to see here, though she felt the spirits brushing up against her constantly. After her mother died and passed her duties as guardian on to Sienna, they had been her only steady companions.
She sighed. Someday, likely after the current crisis was dealt with, she would need to find a suitable mate. Serving as guardian wasn’t something she could do forever and raising a replacement was part of her duty. She pushed the unpleasant thought out of her mind and focused.
After leaving the ridiculous professor behind, she had returned to her post watching over Stonehenge. She could feel the wards she set around the stones. It was only a matter of time before the Atlantean sent more agents to try and access the key to Atlantis. She would not let that happen. Even if it cost her life, she would find a way to prevent Atlantis returning. It was her duty as one of the few remaining direct decedents of Lemuria.
Though if she died, there would be no one to take her place. Should that happen, the world would be exposed to a threat they didn’t even know existed.
The activation of one of her wards snapped Sienna out of her mood. She waved a hand and murmured a spell to open a viewing window. A small force of heavily armed men was advancing toward the circle of stones. The Atlantean wasn’t with them, but she could sense the key crystal. If she could only seize it and take the cursed thing somewhere secure, hunting down her target would be much easier.
But that was a big if. Sienna’s magic wasn’t especially powerful. Her gifts focused on movement and speed, not attack strength, which was why she carried the sword. Dealing with six armed men would be pushing it for her.
Win or lose, her duty was clear. She drew her sword, cast every enhancement spell she knew, and opened a portal.
The weight of the mortal realm grabbed her feet and dragged her to earth. The instant her feet touched she pushed off and rushed the nearest soldier.
To his credit, he snapped off three shots before her blade opened his throat.
The dead man’s companions opened up on full auto.
Bullets whizzed past her head as Sienna sprinted across the clearing. Her speed was screwing up their aim, for the moment at least.
The man she sensed carrying the crystal was moving steadily toward the stones. She had to get to him.
One of the soldiers paused to reload.
The instant he did, Sienna sprinted at him.
His eyes went wide an instant before his head flew away.
She raced through the gap. The crystal bearer was only five paces away from the circle.
A bullet nicked her arm. Sienna forced the pain away and closed on her target.
“Watch out, Bishop!” one of the soldiers called.
The crystal bearer, Bishop she assumed, turned and fired his weapon.
She barely spun aside to avoid a chest full of lead.
His barrel followed her, forcing her further from the circle of stones.
Sienna shifted into the realm of wind and emerged an instant later directly in Bishop’s path. He turned to face her in seeming slow motion.
The barrel of his rifle turned her sword aside, averting a killing blow.
She stepped closer, put her hand on his chest, and said, “Gust!”
The winds answered her spe
ll’s call. Bishop flew twenty feet, landed on his back, and skidded another ten feet before coming to a stop.
Before she could follow up a grenade arced in at her. She twirled her finger, sending the explosive flying aside. It exploded, nearly deafening her.
A fresh volley of bullets screamed all around her. Only the wind barrier she conjured earlier kept her skin intact. These soldiers knew their business. As they fired, the three men gathered around Bishop, helping him to his feet. Sienna ran behind one of the standing stones to give her shield a rest. The constant clatter of bullets made it hard to think.
“Surrender, wizard, and we’ll let you live,” one of the soldiers said.
Sienna didn’t bother to reply. She would stop them or she would die trying. Her duty required nothing less.
“Be reasonable,” he said. “I know you’re wounded. Dying here won’t do you any good.”
Blood dripped down Sienna’s left arm, but it was a minor wound, nothing that would lessen her combat effectiveness. These people weren’t fools. They had to know she wouldn’t just give up. Why were they even trying?
She instantly shifted her awareness outward.
Too slow.
One of the soldiers stepped out from behind a stone and opened fire.
Sienna leapt aside, wind magic pushing further than her tired muscles could and cushioning her landing.
She barely had time to recover before a second grenade came soaring in. A gesture sent it flying back the way it had come.
Halfway between her and her enemies it exploded. A piece of shrapnel sent a wave of pain up her left leg. Across from her, one of the soldiers had jumped on top of Bishop, shielding him with his body. Now the leader of the group shoved his dead comrade aside and hurried toward the stones.
The surviving soldiers fired at Sienna, trying to pin her in place.
Blood loss made the world spin. She had maybe power enough for two more spells, before backlash set in. Once that happened, she would be helpless.
Bishop was only three paces from the circle. No time to worry about the consequences.
With the last of her magic, she cast a flying spell. She shot straight up then dove at Bishop.
Another bullet struck her good leg.
Her sword pierced the man through the back, knocking him through one of the arches and flat on his face.
Sienna ripped the blade free, spun, and opened the throat of a soldier rushing toward her. The last survivor raced toward Bishop.
She couldn’t let him get the crystal.
Summoning her strength, a screaming headache already forming, she hurled her blade through the soldier’s chest.
Sienna collapsed and curled into a ball of pain. She’d done it.
“You lose, wizard.”
She rolled over in time to see a bloody Bishop drag himself into the center of the stones.
Sienna crawled toward him, but too slowly. A red crystal pillar appeared. Bishop reached up and placed the key stone into the empty divot just as she reached him.
A tremor ran through the earth and air then the pillar vanished. She reached out and touched the side of Bishop’s neck.
No pulse.
She had defeated her foes but failed her mission.
Atlantis was returning.
Conryu paced through the sand as he waited for Kai. She was already an hour late and he was getting worried. They’d agreed to meet on a little island off the east coast that was outside the Alliance’s magical detection zone after he let Jonny off. It wasn’t much more than a ten-acre patch of stone and sand in the middle of the ocean.
He’d only stumbled across it by accident one day when the floating island drifted over it as he looked off one of the cliffs. They’d used it a couple times while running errands and it had seemed safe enough. Just like her mission. All he’d asked her to do was keep watch and see if Jonny really had set him up. Of course, his friend – strange that he still thought of Jonny as a friend – had admitted that was exactly what he’d done which made Kai’s mission irrelevant.
“You fret too much, Master,” Prime said. “This female is the most accomplished of your collection.”
Conryu winced at Prime’s description of his friends, but by now he was used to the scholomantic’s lack of tact. “You’re probably right, but I can’t help worrying.”
He’d give Kai ten more minutes before he went looking. She’d be annoyed if everything was okay, but he could live with that. If she was hurt and he did nothing… That, he couldn’t live with.
After what felt like some of the longest minutes of his life, Conryu threw up his hands and opened a Hell portal. Cerberus was waiting as always on the other side. The demon dog whimpered. He probably sensed Conryu’s anxiety.
“I need to find Kai,” Conryu said. “Can you do that?”
Cerberus put his three heads into the air and sniffed. If Kai was anywhere in Hell, Cerberus would find her. At last the demon dog barked.
“Good boy.” He leapt onto the beast’s massive back. “Let’s hunt!”
Cerberus took off like a shot. The feeling of rapid movement was all in Conryu’s imagination since there were no landmarks to provide perspective in the endless darkness. Ahead of them, rapidly approaching, was a glowing speck surrounded by a trio of smaller specks.
The larger object quickly resolved into Kai’s still body. The smaller trio were bat-winged imps flying around her, probably trying to work up nerve enough to get closer. Even from a distance Conryu could sense Kai’s life force. It was weak, but there. Someone had hurt her, badly.
When he found out who, they’d wish they’d never been born.
A single bark from Cerberus sent the imps scattering. Conryu gestured and Kai floated up beside him. She’d been shot in the side; her black uniform was soaked with blood.
“Take us somewhere safe, quickly.”
Cerberus bolted again. Conryu couldn’t use light magic to heal her in Hell. So much dark energy would render the spell useless. He didn’t want to step out into the real world where he found her in case whoever shot her was waiting to finish the job.
He pressed hard against the wound. “Hang on, Kai.”
A few seconds later Cerberus stopped and barked. Conryu didn’t even bother with a viewing window, he just opened a portal and flew through it with Kai. They were in a field in the middle of nowhere. He laid her in the grass and sent healing energy through her body. The bullet popped out of her side as the wound healed. Soon enough Kai groaned and opened her eyes.
“Chosen?”
“Yeah.” The injury finished healing and he stopped the flow of light magic. “You okay?”
She sat up slowly. “I am now, thank you.”
“What happened?”
“Three soldiers were waiting in ambush, just as you feared. I followed them back to their base.”
“Wait, they only sent three guys, no wizards or anything?” Conryu couldn’t imagine that they thought three ordinary soldiers would be enough to capture or kill him.
“That’s right, but these men had gray crystals that protected them from magic. I couldn’t sense them even from a few feet away. It was like they didn’t exist to my magical senses. I’ve never encountered anything like it. Anyway, I followed them to the military base but there was a barrier preventing me from entering through the borderland. I felt learning more about the crystal and the soldiers’ mission worth the risk, so I snuck inside. Before I was spotted, I discovered that they plan to come after you again. Unfortunately, they didn’t say where.”
Conryu frowned and helped Kai to her feet. There was no way they could lure him into another trap, not with Jonny anyway. He paced through the knee-high grass as he considered the possibilities. No one would be stupid enough to go after his mother. If anyone laid a hand on her, he’d feed the entire government to Cerberus feet first, starting with the president.
Maria seemed like an unlikely target as well seeing as how she was at the Academy surrounded by wizards. He sho
ok his head. He didn’t have enough information to make a solid guess. Maybe Dean Blane and Maria had learned something about the crystal. He’d stop by the Academy and see. It would also be a good excuse to check on the security Kanna put in place.
Chapter 10
Merik paced in the dark listening to the distant sounds of battle. He hated not knowing what was going on, but by the time he reached a place where he could see the clearing, the battle would be over. A deep breath steadied his nerves. Merik had waited over a year to see Atlantis returned, he could wait a few more minutes.
Eventually, the explosions and gunfire stopped and a moment after that, the pressure in Merik’s chest vanished. The ward was down; his pawns had succeeded.
We are coming. Well done, Merik.
When the voice confirmed his thoughts, Merik’s heart soared. He’d done it. Soon he would get to meet the woman behind the voice. She had to be beautiful.
Forcing his way through the branches, Merik made his way toward the circle of stones. He had barely stepped into the clearing when he nearly tripped over a headless body. There were others, mostly intact, lying here and there. He ignored them and went straight for the stones.
Right in the center lay the bishop’s body, his hand extended toward where Merik assumed the pillar would have appeared. The assassin’s sword was jutting from the back of a nearby soldier. She’d certainly made a mess of his allies.
Activating the pillar must have been the bishop’s final act before succumbing to his wounds. He had to give the man credit for determination if not brains.
A groan from behind him caused Merik to spin around. The assassin lay in a bloody heap on the dirt. She’d been shot more than once. Judging from the blood it was a miracle she was still alive. He walked over and retrieved her sword. It would be a fine thing to finish her off with her own weapon.
Merik kicked her over on her back, drawing another pained groan. She stared up at him as he placed her sword under her chin. He’d never killed anyone. He’d never even killed an animal, not with his own two hands. Running over a squirrel hardly counted. He found the idea of driving the blade home distasteful. She had already failed and her wounds would probably kill her in a few minutes anyway.
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