“Not that we could tell,” replied James. “He said you might have crystals available for purchase.”
“He did, did he?” Coming to a stop in front of James, he held out his hand for James to shake. “Well, he was right. Though they aren’t anything fancy, just plain crystals fresh from the ground.”
“That’s what we are looking for.” Giving Jiron a sidelong glance, James nodded that they were in business.
Gesturing to the door through which he had just come, Harry said, “Got em out back.” He motioned for James to follow and then led the way to the back door. “How many do you want?”
“How many do you have?”
“Quite a few,” he replied.
Following Harry through the door, James was startled by a brilliant dazzle as sunlight coming through cracks in the roof was refracted by hundreds of crystals. “Wow.”
Harry nodded appreciatively. “That’s why I never have fixed the roof. I like the effect when the sun hits them just right.”
“I don’t blame you,” agreed James.
Gesturing to the crystals piled higgledy-piggledy across half a dozen tables, Harry said, “Now, these are only ordinary quartz crystals. I do have others which people seem to prefer.”
James gazed across the piles of crystals. “How much would a hundred dollars buy?”
Looking surprised, Harry asked, “Of these?”
“Yes, and the largest ones you have.”
“Two dozen if you keep the size around three inches or less,” he replied. “And you can have your pick.”
“That’s all?” queried James.
The man nodded. “Polished and looking good, I can get up to twenty dollars for a three inch specimen. Larger ones get expensive, fast.”
James pulled out his two remaining hundred dollar bills. Earlier he had broken the other two into smaller denominations. “How about five dozen for this?”
The man gave his offer some thought then nodded. “Sure, why not?” He took the proffered bills. “They’d only lie around here gathering dust anyway.”
Seeing a pile of old gunnysacks lying against one wall, James asked, “Can we use one of those?”
Nodding, the man went over and grabbed one that had once held rice. “Here, take this one.”
“Thanks.”
Taking the offered sack, James said “We get sixty crystals,” to Jiron.
“Will that be enough?” questioned Jiron.
Shrugging, James replied, “I hope so.” Then for the next half hour, he meticulously worked his way through each pile, selecting only those crystals he felt would work. Most measured between two and three inches in length. When his sack was full and the count verified by Harry, they returned to the waiting taxi and headed back to Vegas.
Chapter Fourteen
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Crack!
Another crystal shattered.
Now back in their motel room, James was trying to infuse the crystals with the magic gathering spells that he had used for over five years. A pile of quartz shards was beginning to develop on the floor before him.
The first crystal he worked on after returning from Harry’s had shattered in his now bandaged hand. Aside from the one that injured him, six others lay in ruination upon the carpet.
“It’s the magic here,” he announced. “It doesn’t seem to work the same.”
“Magic is magic isn’t it?” queried Jiron.
James glanced toward his longtime friend. “You would think so, but no.” It was the same difference he had encountered during his earlier creation of the orb that was making the crystals shatter. The spells were time-tested, had been used hundreds if not thousands of times. Yet here on Earth, they failed. Why? James hadn’t a clue.
“Okay then, you’ll have to come at it from a different angle,” Jiron suggested. “Start from scratch. Redo the spells all over again.” When it seemed that James was going to balk at the idea, Jiron added, “When fighting in the Pits, if your favorite tricks don’t work against a given opponent, you adapt them for the new situation. You will simply have to adapt your spells for this new magic.”
Chuckling without humor, James replied, “Easier said than done.”
Gesturing to the pile of shards, Jiron said, “Do you have a choice?”
James sighed in resignation. “I guess not. It took me a month before I got it just right the last time.”
Jiron shrugged. “If that’s what it takes, then that’s what it takes. But you are much more experienced now, it shouldn’t take as long.”
“We’ll see.”
Taking another crystal from out of the gunnysack, James set it on the floor near the shards of its predecessors. He thought about what he wanted to accomplish. In his mind he visualized the magic in the world surrounding the crystal. He pictured the crystal drawing the magic into itself. Limits were also set so that the crystal would not draw too much too fast and shatter.
The spell felt different this time and he went with it. No longer did he attempt to force it to what he knew. Instead, he let it decide where it would go, all the while overseeing its course.
An hour passed before he thought that he may have it. So, setting the newly formed, still inactive spell within the crystal, James held it in place as he bound it to the crystal’s very fabric. Once he had it bound to his satisfaction, he withdrew and waited. In prior experiments, this had been the point at which the crystal had shattered. When after a moment the crystal remained intact, he relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.
“So far, so good,” he said to his two onlookers.
Jiron nodded from where he and Jira sat quietly side by side on the bed watching his endeavors.
Returning his attention back to the crystal, James calmed his excitement with a couple deep breaths, then said, “Here we go.” Reaching out with magic to the crystal, he hesitated only a moment before activating the recently embedded spells.
Visually, the crystal remained inert. It gave no outward indication that anything had changed. But James could sense the spells beginning to work, magic being drawn from the world around the crystal and storing it inside.
He could feel the spell drawing minute quantities from himself, Jiron, and Jira. But such minor drawings could not be felt by the average, non-mage person, which was the whole idea. By drawing only the barest amount, the crystal would not adversely affect any living beings which may come in close proximity, nor alert anyone as to what he was doing. This did have the downside of taking many days for the crystal to reach full capacity, a downside James was willing to live with.
“Is it working?” asked Jira.
Her uncle nodded. “Yes it is. It will take several hours before it reaches a point where the magic within will make the crystal glow. Sitting back, he glanced to her and said, “I think I did it.”
“That was fast,” commented Jiron.
James agreed. “Faster than I thought.” About to say more, a flash of light drew his attention back to the crystal. Deep within the crystal’s center was a purplish glow. A second later, the glow flashed a second time. Only this time with greater brilliance.
“The difference in magic?” questioned Jiron. He had seen James’ crystals many times before, and never had any reacted in such a manner.
“Must be.” Reaching out with his senses, James started to perform an examination of the embedded spells when a sudden spike in the crystal’s magical absorption startled him. It was no minor spike either. A quick glance to Jiron revealed that he had felt it too. Seconds later, the crystal flashed yet again.
The purplish glow was now shot through with ribbons of amber, the color James normally associated with powered crystals. “I’m shutting it down,” he told the others. Casting his senses toward the crystal, he sought the magical spells. When located, he found them altered, changed beyond recognition. “Something strange…”
Another spike and a large amount of magic was sucked from him. Jira crumpled back onto the bed and Jiron cam
e to his feet. Sweat coated his brow and his hands visibly shook. “Shut it down!”
“I’m trying!” he shot back. No longer working delicately, he slammed into the crystal with the full force of his magic attempting to vivisect the spell and kill it. The force of his attack knocked the crystal from its position on the floor and sent it careening across the room where it slammed against the wall.
Now a deep purple with thick bands of amber, the crystal fairly crackled with contained power.
The spells were altered too much. He couldn’t figure out how to undo them. Seconds were all that were left before it sucked magic from them again. This time, it might not be only Jira who would be rendered unconscious.
Attacking the crystal now instead of the spells, James sent forward a focused wave of magic to strike the heart of the crystal. Magic surged from him, far more than he’d planned. A spear of pure white light shot across the room and struck the crystal dead center.
Wham!
The power within the crystal reacted adversely to its untimely release and exploded. Paint and plaster from the wall went flying, Jiron was knocked off his feet while James threw up his arms to protect his face. Pinpricks of pain assailed him as debris from the explosion struck his arm.
When the smoke cleared, the crystal lay shattered against what remained of the wall. It was beyond belief how the explosion hadn’t blown a hole in the wall. The drywall was gone and much of the insulation was scattered about the room. Fortunately, the outer section of wall remained intact.
With crisis averted, Jiron crouched next to his daughter, fearing she may be dead. But when he saw her chest rise and fall, knew her to only be unconscious. He turned angry eyes upon his friend. “Be more careful next time! You almost killed her.”
Guilt ridden as he was over the accident, all James could say was, “I’m sorry.” He knew Jiron would get over it, that his words were more of a release of the fear he had felt over the possibility of losing his daughter.
James got up from the bed and crossed to the window, worried that the noise may have drawn the attention of the manager or another guest. But fate must assuredly have been with them, for there was no sign of anyone approaching. He kept watch for several minutes until he was certain that his little accident had gone unnoticed.
They didn’t really relax until Jira started coming around, the resiliency of youth working to restore her quickly. “How do you feel?” Jiron asked when her eyes turned toward him.
“Tired, father. Very sleepy.”
“Then go to sleep while your uncle and I have a little talk.”
“Okay,” she replied, then worked her way up the bed and snuggled onto one of the pillows.
Once his daughter was taken care of, he turned his attention back to James. “What do you think you’re doing?”
James stood there with another crystal in hand. “Working on getting us home.”
“But the last one almost killed us.”
“True. However, if you have a better way for us to return home, I’m all ears.”
Jiron knew the truth to James’ words, despite the fact of the inherent danger posed to him and his daughter. Not for the first time he came to understand why his friend’s workshop had been located so far from the manor. Experimenting with magic was dangerous. “You just better take more care this time.”
James nodded and gave him a half-grin. “That’s the plan.” Sitting back on the edge of the bed, he placed the crystal upon the damaged area of the rug and began again.
It took him the better part of a week and the loss of thirty crystals before he made it work. Then another two days to work out the other spells he would need in order to place and keep the crystals hidden while they charged. Now he was ready to begin the charging process in earnest; the only problem was that only thirty-six crystals remained. James figured on needing at least a hundred, more would be better as he wasn’t entirely sure how much magic it would take. But at least one hurdle had been surmounted.
“How are we to pay for more crystals?” Jiron asked after James announced the need for more.
“Good question as we have gone through all but our last twenty dollars.”
“We could sell the rest of my gems,” suggested Jiron.
James nodded. “True, but I’d like to save those for an emergency.” Giving Jiron a knowing look, he added, “No, I have another idea. We are after all in Las Vegas.”
During the last few days when he was bringing the gathering spells for the crystals closer to completion, he had toyed with the idea of using magic to adjust the odds in his favor at games of chance. It did bother him that what he proposed could be considered cheating, though he felt little qualm about trying to raise some capital at the expense of the casinos. After all, using magic was a natural ability of his. It wasn’t like he was using shaved dice or a computer to fix the odds.
There were many games in which magic could play a part. The one he felt was best suited for what he planned would be the slot machines. He didn’t want to win very big at any one time since the casinos would require identification for large jackpots. Maybe only win up to five hundred at a casino before moving on to the next.
Slot machines were perfect, as long as he didn’t align the Triple BAR’s. Maybe a few cherries here and there and a BAR-BAR-BAR once in a while before cashing out and moving on. Such was his plan when they left the motel.
On the door handle to their room they made sure the Do Not Disturb sign was firmly in place. No telling what would happen should the cleaning lady come in and discover the damage wrought within. Thus far, they had managed to keep everyone out, even going so far as to request fresh linen and towels at the front desk. When asked why they hadn’t had the cleaning lady in, James explained that they liked their privacy. Perhaps not the best of excuses, it did achieve the goal of allaying the manager’s suspicion; at least for the time being.
Taking a stroll down the sidewalk, they returned to the eatery they dined in upon first arriving in Vegas. Now having exhausted all the choices within walking distance of the motel during the week of crystal/spell experimentation, they were forced to start again at the beginning. They didn’t want to spend too much time at any one place. The last thing they wished was to be known by the staff and in turn, recognized as the fugitives sought by the authorities.
During the days James worked on the crystals, he had kept up on the search for them. Tuning into the various news channels for any new information, he wasn’t surprised when several days ago the reporters stated that an anonymous tip had drawn the search to Reno. James had a pretty good idea who supplied the tip. He still felt bad about what he had put that poor girl through, hijacking her and her car the way they did; though he didn’t know what else he could have done under the circumstances.
No mention had yet been made of Las Vegas in connection with their whereabouts which made James happy. If they could avoid blowing their cover until the crystals were ready and they were on their way to Disneyland, they would be home free. But for now, there were things that needed doing; one of them was figuring a way to force slot payouts.
Once at the buffet, James had them sit at a booth along the outer edge where there was just a short wall and they could look out over the casino while they ate. From there, he had a clear view of a row of quarter slot machines that would suit his needs nicely. So after filling a plate with food and sitting down, he selected one currently being played by a man in his early forties.
It was a simple enough matter to send his senses out toward, and into, the machine. James was surprised at the lack of wheels. It was just a computerized image projected on a screen; far too complicated for someone who didn’t know anything about such things to mess around with. Not able to manipulate such a mire of electronics, he scanned the neighboring machines for any which might fit the bill. Unfortunately, the only ones in view from his vantage in the buffet area were the same, or worse.
He communicated his dilemma to Jiron. So after finishing his mea
l, he had Jiron and Jira remain at the buffet since Jira wasn’t allowed in the gaming area due to her age. She was quite satisfied to remain and indulge in an eating binge of ice cream and other delectables while they waited.
The aisles of gambling devices offered little in the way of the older types of mechanical machines that he felt could be better manipulated. He even inquired of one of the roaming cocktail waitresses if the casino had any such devices who informed him that she didn’t think so.
“I believe they were all phased out years ago,” she explained. “You might be lucky to find some in the older casinos like the Horseshoe, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
James gave her a dollar for her help. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Would you care for a drink?’
Shaking his head no, James turned and started to head back to rejoin Jiron and Jira at the buffet when he saw another of the machines similar to the one he had scanned while eating. It was a three wheel, or a rather pseudo-wheel, machine that took quarters. He had a couple in his pocket and wondered if he could make it work despite the computerized mechanism.
He sat on the stool before it and dropped a coin in the hopper. Before pulling the handle, he sent his senses into the machine. Imagining three cherries lining up, he let loose the magic and pulled.
Instantly there was a sharp crack deep within the machine followed by a sizzle. A small plume of smoke rose from the back. James quickly looked to the left and right, didn’t see anyone gazing his way, then left the scene in the most expeditious way possible. Slot machines were not the answer.
Once the fried machine was two aisles of slots and a row of Blackjack tables behind him, he brought his speed back down from a quick walk to a leisurely stroll. A few nondescript glances over his shoulder revealed the area surrounding the machine remained calm. It didn’t look as if anyone was the wiser. And if fate would care to be an ally a little longer, what happened to the slot machine would remain undiscovered for awhile.
Light in the Barren Lands: Travail of The Dark Mage Book One Page 19