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

by Richard Bamberg

  Rowle set down his cup and frowned at me. “Booby-trap? I don’t know anything about any booby-trap and I definitely had nothing to do with Alex’s untimely demise. He’s my descendant and while I’m greatly appreciative that Verðandi chose to reap him, I would never take the chance of letting him die just to see if she would. As I said, her lack of reaping two of my grandchildren led to our breakup.”

  I set my own cup aside and stared at the older Wanderer. “You expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with either event? I was only in New Braunfels to see if Alex was there. You getting to him so soon after his reaping and my being surprised at his motel seems a trifle too much of a coincidence.”

  Rowle’s hands rose, palm up, and spread. “Raphael, I assure you I have never been to New Braunfels. Well, let me rephrase that, I haven’t been to New Braunfels in at least one hundred years. It was a sleepy cow town with a lot of German immigrants when one of my descendants moved there shortly after the Texas revolution. I stopped by to check on them and haven’t really been back since.”

  Could I believe him? I glanced at Cris to see she was studying Rowle’s features. Was she getting a reading on his soul? Could she tell if he was being honest?

  “Okay, if you haven’t been to New Braunfels, how do you explain being able to reach Alex? I can’t understand how you could have found him so quickly if you’d never met the boy.”

  “That’s easily explained. Many years ago, not long after Verðandi’s betrayal, I worked up a spell that would let me know if any of my descendants were reaped by a Valkyrie. When Alex’s death and resurrection triggered the spell I flew to him.”

  That was a surprise. That he could create such a spell was impressive. That he’d had it active for nearly two hundred years was astonishing.

  “If that’s so, why didn’t you find me when I was reaped?”

  Rowle gave me a sad smile. “I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t looking for an apprentice at that time. I had other matters on my mind and when I saw Walt had gathered you in, I was comfortable that he’d do a good job training you.”

  I frowned, finished the last of my coffee, and set the cup aside.

  “Rowle, if you were comfortable, why did you kill Walt? My training was far from complete.”

  “As I stated yesterday, Verðandi kept putting you Wanderers in my path. That none of them would leave me be without a fight was not my issue, it was hers. I would have happily let you continue your training with Walt. I’d hoped to get you to join me after your training was done, but seeing as I had ended your training early by killing Walt, I knew you would be reluctant to become my apprentice and let me finish what Walt had started.”

  I half rolled my eyes and shook my head. “You had that much right. Killing Walt will never be justified in my eyes.”

  He nodded and an air of remorse hung around him. “I know. Would it help to say that I regretted it? I did you know, not so much for taking his life, but for leaving you without a mentor. Tell me something, Raphael. Why didn’t Verðandi reassign you to another Wanderer to finish your training? There were several available and yet she let you continue on your own rather than helping you.”

  “I, I don’t know why she didn’t. I didn’t see her for years after Walt’s death and I’ve always assumed that we only get one mentor. Are you saying that is not usual?”

  “Not unheard of, but it is unusual. In my lifetime, I’ve seen three Wanderers killed before they were able to finish training their apprentices. In those cases, Verðandi sent them another Wanderer to finish what had begun. In all three cases, the apprentices were much further along in their training than you were.”

  “Then why didn’t she reassign me?”

  “Regrettably, I believe it was because you were my descendant. I think it was a punishment for me having the audacity to leave the ranks of the Wanderers.”

  “Why would she take it out on me? She’s the one who chose me to be a Wanderer.”

  Rowle shrugged. “Who knows the minds of the gods?”

  I stood and walked to the fire. While considering Rowle’s words, I added a couple of logs and then stirred the coals until the fire was roaring.

  “All right, Rowle, assuming I believe that you had nothing to do with Alex’s death or the trap I sprung in New Braunfels. Are you expecting me to believe you had nothing to do with the shades that possessed Alex and Laura?”

  “Raphael, I’m shocked that you think I would allow a shade to possess one of my descendants. I admit to doing a lot of things in my long life that could be construed as bad, some exceptionally bad, but I would never allow one of those creatures to inhabit my children.”

  I frowned and looked to Cris. This time she met my gaze.

  “Well?” I asked.

  “I think he’s being honest. I see no deceit in his eyes.”

  Rowle turned toward Cris. “In my eyes? You’re a soul-reader?”

  Cris gave an abbreviated nod of her head.

  “Fascinating, I’ve only met one other person with that talent.” He turned back toward me and said, “Well, Raphael, you have your Wiccan witch confirming that I speak the truth. What now?”

  “Tell me something else, Rowle. We’ve been attacked twice in the last few days. Did you have anything to do with that?”

  Rowle frowned and glanced toward the windows. “Raphael, if you’ve been attacked, it is not my doing. I have never come to you looking for a fight. Granted we’ve fought, but it was because you were trying to stop me from my course, not that I sought you out to harm you.”

  “I was also attacked just yesterday. Someone who was able to throw off one of my strongest spells and left the field without finishing the battle.”

  Well, that was a surprise. Who was powerful enough to attack Rowle and survive?

  “And you didn’t see who it was?” I asked.

  “No, they were glamoured quite well. If Grendel hadn’t warned me, I don’t know if I would have seen them before their attack.”

  “Damn. How about that mundane crew that attacked us in southern Colorado last year?”

  “Mundanes?” Rowle repeated with a sour expression. “Why would mundanes attack you? And I think I’m a little insulted that you would even think I’d use mundanes.”

  “Oh, hell,” I said, standing. “I’ve thought all of these attacks were sent by you. That throws a monkey wrench in everything I’ve been thinking. I’ve assumed that I only had you and your agents to worry about, but if there’s another player involved…” I trailed off. This was not good.

  “Tess,” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Get dressed, complete leathers.”

  “What are you planning?” Rowle asked.

  I turned to stare out the windows, triggering my senses tat as I did. I searched the outside for some sign of magic. “I’m thinking that if it hasn’t been you causing these attacks, then someone else is out there and coming after me. Two nights ago, a Titan, one of the Cyclopes, attacked us in Georgia. Since I was still handicapped by the results of that booby trap, we had to flee through a portal to escape. If they’re still tracking me, then we should be expecting company.”

  Rowle stood and joined me at the windows. I felt his own senses tat activate. At the same time, a leather duster floated to him from a coat rack near the front door. In my enhanced eyes, it glowed with magic.

  “A Titan, eh? I’ve heard of them, sure, but I’ve never heard of one of them coming to Earth. Who have you been upsetting, Raphael?” Rowle asked.

  “Beats me, I just thought I’d pissed you off.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” Cris asked.

  “Maybe, but probably not. Be ready to move, as soon as Tess is ready.”

  I heard the bang of a door being thrown open and Tess ran down the hall toward us. She was still pulling on her jacket, but her boots and pants were on.

  “What’s up, Rafe?” she asked entering the great room.

  Bruno flew down from the chandelier and lit on Tess’s shoulder. He
growled and puffed smoke from his mouth.

  That wasn’t good. “Tess, we’ve learned a lot in the last few minutes and it appears–”

  My words were cut short by a boom that shook the house on its foundation.

  Chapter 44

  Raphael

  We staggered as the floor bucked beneath our feet. I heard the sound of breaking glass in the kitchen and two of the lamps fell to the floor near us. I almost triggered my shield, but Rowle’s house had to have strong defenses.

  “We’re being attacked?” Tess asked as she came to stand beside me while sliding on her gloves.

  “Surprised?” I asked.

  “Well, yeah, I thought Rowle was the only one attacking us and we’re in his home.”

  Rowle chuckled. “It appears that we’ve all been blind to another threat.”

  Alex came pounding down the hallway, pulling a shirt on as he ran. “What the hell was that?”

  “We’re under attack,” Rowle said. “Come stand with me, if the house’s shields fail you’ll need to be close enough for me to cover with mine.”

  Still running, Alex glanced toward Tess and I saw her give a brief nod. He moved to stand a few feet behind Rowle.

  Cris moved to stand between Tess and me. I gave her a wry smile. “Don’t worry, this happens all the time.”

  The look on her face showed more confidence than I really felt. Who was strong enough to attack Rowle and me in his own home?

  “Speak for yourself, Raphael. No one has ever attacked me here.”

  I saw him staring out the window, a hard frown on his face. “Really? Never?”

  “The last people to attempt it were Lakota Sioux shortly after they’d finished with Custer. I convinced them that I was no threat to them as long as they didn’t piss me off.”

  Damn, I hadn’t thought this house could have been around that long. He must have done some serious remodeling over the years.

  “What about Beast and Maia?” Tess asked.

  “Your familiars should be safe in the barn. Its wards aren’t as strong as those on this structure, but I’ve never heard of anyone attacking familiars.”

  “First time for everything,” I said.

  “Yes, apparently. Perhaps–”

  There was another boom and the building shook more violently than before. A couple of stones fell from the chimney to crash against the hearth.

  When the floor stopped shaking, I looked to Rowle. “I’m not used to waiting inside a building. What say we go find out who’s doing this?”

  “An excellent suggestion,” Rowle said. “I was just about to suggest it myself.”

  Tess slipped her crossbow off her shoulder and loaded a bolt. I held out a hand and she took it. In seconds, we had meshed.

  “You know the drill. Keep Cris between us so I can take the brunt of whatever’s coming.”

  “You got it,” Tess said as Bruno curled around her neck. She stroked his head. “You stay still and don’t throw off my aim.”

  The little wyvern snorted and smoke puffed from his mouth.

  Cris took her wand from a pocket. It was a small thing, hardly larger than a pencil.

  “Well, Rowle, it’s your home. After you,” I said.

  He nodded and marched toward the front doors with Alex on his heels. The doors swung open as he approached and they stepped out onto the deck. They moved left and we followed, but moving right to give us a clear shot at whatever was out there.

  The sun had come out from behind the clouds and the snow was almost painfully bright. I continued moving right, heading for the edge of the deck so I could see the side of the house.

  A shadow blocked out the sun and I felt an exclamation of surprise through my link with Tess. Gazing upwards, I saw a boulder the size of a semi falling toward us.

  “Frak!” Tess said.

  I triggered my shield tat, judged the arc of the falling stone, and activated my levitation tat. I focused on the three of us and poured power into the tat. We rose, accelerating smoothly as I tried to get us out of the target area.

  “Heads up,” I shouted in case Rowle and Alex hadn’t seen the approaching boulder.

  The descending rock reached us while we were just twenty feet up. It struck a glancing blow against my shield and sent us rocketing away from the house at high speed before it struck the shield Rowle had on his home. The shield boomed, but this time it failed. The boulder tore through the deck and the front wall of the house, carving a hole large enough to park a jumbo jet in.

  If we’d been under it, I’m not sure my shield would have held.

  I saw Rowle and Alex floating across the snow-covered yard without leaving a track. Rowle had apparently had the same thought I had. If something that size is coming down, you don’t want to be between it and a solid surface. As long as we were airborne, a thrown boulder could always be mitigated.

  “Did either of you see where that thing came from?” I asked.

  “From somewhere in those trees to the south, if the arc was any indication,” Cris said. “But I didn’t see it until after it had already started down.”

  “Okay, we’ll move that way and see if we can find out who’s after us.”

  “What about Rowle and Alex?” Tess asked.

  I called the wind and started us toward the south. Glancing back over my shoulder, I saw Rowle and Alex climbing onto the lowered neck of a fucking red dragon. How in hell did that man keep summoning dragons for familiars?

  “It looks like that out of my hands right now,” I said.

  Tess followed my gaze and she swore under her breath. “How much do you want to bet that it’s the same dragon that escaped last November?”

  “No takers here,” I said. Then I spotted our familiars rising from behind the house. “Beast and Maia are coming. I’ll modify the shield to let them get us. You’ll have to generate your own when we get too far apart.”

  “No problem, I’m ready,” Tess responded.

  “Look there,” Cris said, pointing toward the trees we were approaching. Another damn boulder was rising from the trees. “How can anyone be strong enough to toss one of those this far?”

  I thought of the Cyclopes and shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it’s not some human magic user. Other than that, I couldn’t guess.” Well, actually, I was guessing another Titan, but I thought I’d save that for when I actually knew. Guessing and being wrong wouldn’t help my image.

  Beast reached me and I changed my shield into a dome over Cris and me as he maneuvered beneath us. I took Cris hand and pulled her down behind me as I canceled my levitation tat. I placed a tap on the ley line and topped off my energy as I watched the boulder approach.

  “You might want to stay out from under that thing,” I said to Beast.

  “No problem,” he growled.

  With a flap of his wings, we changed direction and moved out of the missile’s path. I looked for Tess and found her and Maia a few dozen yards off to our right.

  I looked back toward the house, expecting to see Rowle and Alex coming toward us. Instead, they were flying west. A portal opened in front of them and they disappeared through it.

  “Son of a bitch,” I said. “I never would have thought Rowle would run from a fight.”

  “Maybe he’s just trying to get Alex somewhere safe before fighting,” Cris said.

  “You think so?” I wondered.

  “I wouldn’t want any apprentice of mine coming up against whatever is tossing those boulders.”

  I glanced toward Tess, but she hadn’t heard Cris’s comment.

  “You may be right,” I said. “Alex hasn’t had a chance to learn anything useful and would just be a distraction.”

  “I wasn’t talking about you and Cris. I definitely didn’t mean that Tess shouldn’t help you,” Cris said.

  The latest boulder missed us by at least a hundred feet and impacted in Rowle’s yard with a boom. It did appear that it would have landed close to us if we hadn’t changed direction.

 
“I guess we know who is being attacked,” I said loud enough for Tess to hear. “They’ve stopped attacking the house and are coming after us.”

  “Isn’t that dandy,” Tess said.

  “Let’s get some more altitude, Beast. I want to see them before we’re too close.”

  He growled an acknowledgement and began to pump his wings harder. We climbed toward a few high clouds that moved toward the east as though they were in a hurry to catch up with the storm that had passed.

  In a minute, we were above a thousand feet and staring down at a troubling scene. It was two of the Cyclopes again.

  “Damn it, what are Titans doing on Earth and what’s their damn grievance with me.”

  It was a rhetorical question and I really didn’t expect either of the ladies to comment, but Tess spoke up, “Maybe it’s your winning personality, Boss.”

  I frowned at her and sent her an image of her bent over my knee through our meshing.

  She laughed out loud.

  “What’s she laughing about?” Cris asked.

  “Inside joke,” I said. “I’ll tell you later.”

  “Well, what can we do about Titans?” Tess asked.

  “I’m thinking,” I responded.

  “Well, think faster. It looks like they’re getting set to throw something else.”

  She was right. They must have decided they couldn’t reach us with those relatively slow moving boulders and were picking up smaller rocks. Ones no bigger than a car.

  “Beast, take us higher. Give me a little time to think while you’re avoiding their missiles.”

  Beast grunted an acknowledgement and we rose higher.

  A few seconds later, the first of the smaller missiles rose past us, moving much faster than we were rising, but Beast still had plenty of time to get out of its way. A glow emanated from the boulder. A glow of magic. They were getting more serious in their assault.

  “If they decide they can’t hurt us, do you think they’ll leave?” Cris asked.