Wanderers 4: A Tough Act to Follow (The Wanderers)

by Richard Bamberg

  “No way!” Tess said. “He’s Darth Vader to our Skywalker? That’s just unbelievable.”

  “Darth Vader?” Verðandi asked.

  “It’s a human reference. You have no reason to understand it,” I said.

  Tess was animated and more excited than I’d seen her in weeks. Her hands started waving in the air. The little wyvern had its tail wrapped around her wrist as if he was afraid of being slung off.

  “This is too much. I mean, telling me that Rafe is a distant cousin. Okay, I can accept that, even if I don’t know if I can get over that ick factor–”

  “Ick factor?” I interrupted.

  Her arms stopped wind milling long enough for her to stare at me. “Hello, we’re cousins and we’re doing things cousins shouldn’t be doing together.”

  “Therese,” Verðandi said. “There’s nothing wrong with distant cousins–”

  “Wrong has nothing to do with it. It’s just icky. I mean, it’s too late now to worry about ick, but if I had known…”

  I chuckled; Tess could always phrase the most serious of circumstances into a triviality.

  Tess glared at me. “It’s not funny.”

  “It’s a little funny,” I said.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “All right, it’s a little funny, but just a little. A mote in God’s eye kind of little. I mean it’s weird enough that I’m shacked up with a man who is older than my mother, by a lot, but now Verðandi says that we’re also related. Sheesh! And to top it off, Rowle is like our great-great-grandpappy!”

  “You can see why I had trouble telling you,” Verðandi said.

  Tess slapped her forehead with her empty hand. “Oh, hell, that means Alex and I…”

  Tess dropped her head into her hands, forgetting about the wyvern and the little beast squealed. “Oh, sorry, Bruno.”

  I was amused by Tess’s reaction to Verðandi’s announcement, but my own reaction was just as strong. However, being distantly related to Tess was not troubling me. Being a direct descendant of the rogue Wanderer we had killed was troubling. Regardless of his attempting to start Ragnarök, he was still an ancestor. Someone that I owed my very existence to and we’d killed him. Damn.

  I realized I’d been quiet long enough for both women to eye me.

  “What’s troubling you, Raphael?” Verðandi asked.

  “I’m thinking that it would have been useful to have this information before Walt and I first encountered Rowle. Things might have played out differently.”

  Verðandi stared at me without any sign of emotion.

  “What do you mean, Rafe?” Tess asked.

  “I mean, if we’d talked it out with Rowle as kin, Walt might have survived, and none of this would have come about.”

  Verðandi shook her head. “Walt was not a descendant of Rowle. None of the other Wanderers he killed were his descendants. He must have felt some familial bond with you, but he displayed no reluctance to kill when he confronted the other Wanderers.”

  “Still, if I’d known–”

  “You think you could have stopped him from killing your mentor by beseeching his feelings for you? You give yourself and Rowle too much credit, Raphael. Walter had disrupted one of Rowle’s plans and thus he had to die.”

  I frowned, not wanting to believe her. “You can’t know that.”

  “Have you forgotten who you speak to? I am Fate. I know what events will unfold.”

  “But you aren’t infallible. You miss things. You missed telling me that Rowle was killing the other Wanderers when we could have stopped him if we’d combined our power. All the other Wanderers are dead because you failed to tell us that you saw their deaths.” My voice was scornful, but my throat was tighter than any time in recent memory. What had me so upset? Was it the other Wanderers’ deaths or was it just that it had all led up to my killing Laura?

  Verðandi moved her gaze from me to the fire. For long seconds, she didn’t speak and when she did, her voice was as tight as mine. “I can see the threads that make up the lives of man and gods, but I cannot change them without affecting many of the other threads. If I’d interfered to stop Rowle earlier, then Therese would not have become a Wanderer.”

  “Me?” Tess said. “That’s what troubles you? Damn, I would rather not be a Wanderer than have so many deaths on my head. Laura, Joe, those gods who died on the battlefield while helping against Rowle’s horde. What is my fate compared to those lives?”

  “You are necessary for the future of the Wanderers. It’s not good for man to know of his fate.”

  “But–” Tess began.

  “That’s all I will say!” Verðandi snapped.

  She stood up quickly. With a wave of her hand, the fire and rocks disappeared back into wherever they’d come from.

  Tess and I dropped onto our butts in the snow that had suddenly returned.

  The wyvern squawked a complaint as Tess dropped her hands into the snow to catch herself.

  When I looked up, Verðandi was gone.

  “Damn it,” I snarled scrambling back to my feet and kicking the snow out from in front of me. I wanted to lash out, to strike something, to vent the frustration I felt dealing with the goddess. Why did the damn gods have to be so condescending, so inscrutable?

  Tess leapt up beside me and she swiveled as she looked for Verðandi. When it became obvious to her that Fate had departed, she turned to me and her eyes moistened. “I’m sorry, Raphael. I don’t understand, but I’m sorry. I would gladly trade my limbs if we could get Laura and Joe back.”

  I stepped to her and pulled her into my arms. Our cheeks touched and our emotions meshed.

  “It’s not something we can control, Tess. We can’t control Verðandi any more than we can control our own fates. Even if time were mutable, I wouldn’t trade you whole for everyone else. No matter what Verðandi says, your becoming a Wanderer did not mean that they had to die.”

  “But Verðandi said–”

  “I know what the old crone said. She enjoys being cryptic and mysterious. She’s a god and thinks that men can’t understand her motivations so she doesn’t attempt to explain them to us. Regardless of what she claims, she could have changed things so Laura and Joe would not have died. Their lives didn’t matter to her end game, so she let things proceed the way they did.”

  I turned and our lips met. Our kiss was warm and tender and would have been longer except I felt hot moist air blowing against my ear. A second later, the damn little beast actually growled at me. I broke off the kiss and turned to stare at Bruno. He was displaying a nice set of inch long teeth and a wisp of smoke drifted between them.

  Tess and I separated.

  “That little guy seems to have become attached to you,” I said.

  Tess stroked its head and its lips dropped back over its teeth. It leaned into her hand as if it didn’t want her to stop.

  “That thing is going to have to understand the proper pecking order if you’re going to keep him.”

  “You aren’t afraid of Bruno, are you?” Tess asked with a grin on her face.

  I grumbled something under my breath to try to sound angry, but she didn’t buy it. She chuckled.

  I cleared my throat. “Okay, I guess you’d better call Alex and find out where we can meet him.”

  “We’re not going to find him like you found me?” Tess asked as she dug in a jacket pocket.

  “What’s the point? We know his identity and even his phone number. We just have to find out where he’s going and meet him there.”

  “Okay then.” Tess raised the wyvern to her shoulder and the little creature climbed out of her hand and settled down. Its foot long tail looped part way around Tess’s neck. It leaned against the side of her head and settled itself as though it’d been riding on her shoulder all of its life.

  I rolled my eyes and then motioned for Beast and Maia to join us.

  A few seconds later, Tess stared at her phone.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “It went
straight to voice mail. Either his phone is off, which isn’t likely, or he’s out of range of a tower.”

  “Well, maybe we’ll have to do it the old fashion way after all,” I said. “Verðandi said he was in Cancun, that’s a couple of day’s ride south of New Braunfels. I wonder if he’ll go home or expect us to show up in Cancun.”

  “Since he knows us, I’d guess he’d just head back home and wait for us to arrive, if he’s able,” Tess said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, getting killed usually causes serious injuries. The Valkyries could make things easier on us if they stuck around long enough for a healing spell to fix all of our injuries rather than just repairing the mortal wounds.”

  “Makes them sound kinda wishy washy, doesn’t it?” Tess said.

  “Sounds like they do their job and nothing more. Well, Alex could do that healing spell, if he hasn’t forgotten how. That puts him a leg up on either of us when we were reaped.”

  “Unless he was hurt badly enough to be hospitalized. What if he’s unconscious?”

  “Then we’ll have to find him and wake him up. He’ll survive a few days without us,” I said as I gripped Beast’s mane and swung onto his shoulders.

  “Rafe,” Tess said, her voice containing a hint of trepidation.

  “Yes?”

  “Why do you think Verðandi was so quick to tell us about Alex? You didn’t get to me for almost a week after my death and you told me that Walt took much longer to locate you.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, Walt was involved in something when I was reaped and it took him time to come looking for me. By then I was moving; I traveled thousands of miles before he finally caught up with me. Verðandi could have told me sooner about you, I don’t know why she waited so long.”

  “You don’t think there’s a reason she wants us after Alex immediately, do you?”

  “I’m sure she has her reasons. You’ve noticed she isn’t much for sharing,” I said.

  “Do you think there’s a threat to Alex and that’s why she came to us right away?”

  I frowned. “I wouldn’t have. Usually after someone dies and comes back, they don’t have anyone trying to put them back in the ground. But you’re right; Verðandi coming straight to us is suspicious. Maybe we should find Alex as soon as possible.”

  Chapter 11

  Alexander

  I immediately thought of calling Tess, but my phone had disappeared. I went back to the roof looking for it, but there was no sign of it. I remembered her number, maybe, so I just needed a phone. From our conversations, I knew she didn’t take calls from unknown numbers, but she would let it go to voice mail and once I told her what had happened, I was sure she’d call back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a replacement phone on my service while in Mexico. I’d have to wait until I got back to the States.

  I notified the front desk that I’d be checking out and asked if they’d get me a flight back to San Antonio. I could have driven down, but it was something like 2700 miles from San Antonio and the plane flight was only about five hours. It would have probably taken me three days just to drive here and I couldn’t spare the extra time away from the hotel.

  Hah, that was a laugh. There wasn’t much chance I’d be spending much time at the hotel anymore. I never really wanted to run the hotel and restaurant that my grandparents had transferred to Mom, but her sudden death hadn’t left me much of a choice. There were employees who needed their jobs and if I bailed, they’d be stuck. I had a manager running it now. Could I go on like that if I was going to be a Wanderer? Tess told me that Rafe was in his sixties and still hardly looked old enough to drink. What would I do with a motel if I were to become a roving troubleshooter for Fate? Maybe it’d be best to arrange for its sale. Oh, hell, what would my Grandparents say if I sold it?

  I took the elevator back to my floor and figured I’d better start packing.

  Opening the door to my room, I immediately noticed the curtains billowed inwards in a surprising breeze. The maid must have returned to clean up and opened the window to air out the room.

  Entering, I called, “Estella?”

  Rather than Estella, I spotted a slender man sitting in the easy chair beside the open window.

  I glanced quickly to either side to make sure there wasn’t anyone else. It looked like we were alone.

  “Excuse me, but you’re in my room,” I said cautiously without approaching the man.

  The man stared at me silently. His face was shadowed by a wide brimmed felt hat. He looked tall, but that wasn’t easy to judge while he was sitting. He had shoulder length, auburn hair, a square jaw, and a hawkish nose. He was dressed in black, from his Stetson to his fancy boots. He wore an honest to goodness leather duster, fastened by one button near the throat. It should have had him sweating in the Cancun heat, but there was no sign of perspiration on him.

  I gave him a moment to respond. When he didn’t, I backed toward the door. I’d had enough of ambushes on this vacation. If this guy was looking for a fight, he’d have to out run me.

  There was a loud bang behind me as the door to my room slammed shut. I jumped about a foot and whirled expecting to see the men from the roof. The short entryway was empty.

  The wind from the window must have blown the door shut.

  I turned back around and found the stranger was now standing. He was tall, over six feet, but his boots might have thrown off my guess. He was older than I’d first guessed. I had pegged him as being in his thirties, but now he looked more like mid-forties. Crow’s feet radiated out from the corner of his eyes and wrinkles around his mouth made me think of a habitual smoker. He also had a few pockmarks that I couldn’t identify on his face. They didn’t look like acne scars.

  “Calm down, Alexander. You’re in no danger.”

  Shit! He knew my name. Was he someone from the hotel staff checking on yesterday’s distress call? If he was, he was too damn late.

  “Okay, you know my name. What’s yours?”

  “My name is Rowland and I’ve come a long way to find you.”

  “Rowland? Just Rowland?” I asked. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d heard it.

  The man hesitated and then he grinned. “My family name was Lange. I haven’t mentioned that name to anyone in a very long time.”

  “And what do you want with me, Rowland Lange?” I asked.

  “Alexander, I am to be your mentor and you will be my apprentice. Welcome to the ranks of the Wanderers. We will be great friends over the decades, as such, you can call me Rowle.”

  Chapter 12

  Raphael

  We left for New Braunfels immediately. Flying was considerably faster than traveling by road so our familiars maintained their natural forms and we flew south through a dark sky. Even at their magically enhanced speeds, it would be well after midnight when we reached the south Texas town where we last saw Alex.

  It was only a few hours short of dawn, when we landed a few miles up the road from Alex’s motel. The landing woke up the wyvern and it growled plaintively.

  As Beast shifted forms beneath me, I watched Tess stroking the little beastie’s head.

  “He seems upset,” Tess said.

  “Maybe he doesn’t like flying,” I commented.

  She honored me with a frown.

  I tried not to laugh. “He’s probably hungry. Small creatures usually have to eat more often than larger ones.”

  “Good idea,” Tess said. While Maia shifted into Harley form, Tess dug around in her saddlebags and came up with another protein bar.

  She was about to tear open the wrapper when the wyvern snatched the treat out of her hand and took about a third of it in one bite.

  “Hey, don’t eat the wrapper,” Tess scolded.

  She tried to take the bar back, but the wyvern let go of her shoulder and flew up until it was just out of her reach.

  “You little stinker. Get back down here and let me have that wrapper,” Tess ordered.

  The wyvern swallowed
and took another third of the bar, wrapper and all.

  I covered my mouth with a hand to hide the grin I couldn’t help.

  “We’re going to have to settle who’s the boss,” Tess said.

  Tess activated her shield tat and set it above the wyvern in a large semi-circle. Before the little beastie could fly away, she pulled the shield down to her, forcing the wyvern to drop within her reach. Grabbing it by the tail, Tess tried to get a hand on the protein bar, but the wyvern shoved the remainder into its mouth and began to chew.

  “You stinker. I told you not to eat the wrapper.”

  “Stop playing with your pet and let’s go,” I said.

  Tess frowned at me again, but set the wyvern back on her shoulder as Maia’s motor roared to life.

  In a few minutes, we were at Alex’s home. The house sat between the Guadalupe River and River Road and was dark. I activated my enhanced senses tat and listened. There were no sounds coming from the house, unless you counted the field mice that had made a home in the attic.

  “Do you think anyone is home?” Tess asked.

  “Don’t you have your sense tat active?” I asked in return.

  She frowned, but then I felt the snap of energy as she activated it. Tess listened for a few moments and shook her head. “No, Alex isn’t here. Maybe he’s back at the motel.”

  “Could be, but if Verðandi was right about when he was reaped, he may still be in Mexico.”

  “Then you think he’s injured badly enough that he can’t travel?”

  I shrugged. “There’s no telling. You and I both were and that’s about all the experience I have on the matter. Wanderers have never been a loquacious group of people. The few times I got together with others, it was to do a mission and then we separated again. Looking back, maybe we should have been a bit more social; it might have kept Rowle from becoming the problem he was.”