Putting some distance between himself and the truck in order to take care of his morning business, James began wondering how Jiron had fared. Was he still in the motel room?
Needing to know, James gathered the magic to him then sent it back to Vegas where it would search for Jiron’s whereabouts. It was tough to keep focused on the spell. Even though he was growing used to working with Earth’s magic, there were still moments where control was shaky. Thank goodness those times were growing less frequent.
Closing his eyes to better focus his concentration, he firmly fixed Jiron’s image in his mind. At first, he concentrated the search at the motel and was distressed to find the room empty. James widened the search. Minutes passed until he sensed his friend’s presence.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Jiron chained to a chair in an interrogation room. He didn’t look mistreated and there were no bandages to suggest he had been shot. Much relived that Jiron was alive and well, he let go of the magic.
A creak from the truck’s suspension drew his attention back to the cab. He saw Jira staring at him through the window. Walking over to her, he smiled and said, “Good morning.”
“Good morning, Uncle. Are we going to get father now?”
“Not quite yet. First, let’s get something to eat,” he replied.
As he climbed into the cab, her lips turned into a pout.
James tousled her hair. “Don’t worry. He’s fine.” Directing her gaze to the rearview mirror, he used magic to quickly form the image of Jiron chained to the chair in the interrogation room. “See?”
“They chained him like a dog!”
“Do you think they would be so stupid as to allow your father to run around loose?” Putting the truck into gear, he headed back for Las Vegas. “I wouldn’t.”
Over breakfast of biscuits and gravy with bacon and eggs, James explained that they would need their energy once things got rolling. “You can’t expect them to simply allow me to walk in, collect your father, then walk out do you? Also, once I rescue him, everyone is going to be after us. They’ll throw their full weight in trying to catch us. We won’t have time to idle away in a restaurant. I know your father would want me to ensure you are taken care of before coming to get him.”
She wished her father to be free right away, but could understand what her uncle was saying.
“Also, we should try to collect as many of the crystals as possible beforehand too. We don’t have the map anymore so we’ll have to do our best to remember where we placed them.”
“But that could take hours.”
“Maybe. I’ve been thinking that it might be best to break him out once night comes.”
Her face fell. “That long?”
James nodded. “It would increase our chance of giving the police the slip. Plus, I’ve got a few ideas on how to make things difficult for them.”
“How?”
As James explained, she started to giggle. Her father would love it. “We’ll check back on him throughout the day. If his situation gets worse, we won’t wait until dark. Okay?”
“Okay.”
After breakfast, she asked to again see her father and once they had returned to the truck, James willingly obliged. Magic was coming easier for him. Those spells he was most familiar with, such as farseeing and his orb, were now taking much less effort to get right. It could be the fact that he had grown used to the magic of his home world.
She was glad to find her father no longer chained to a chair, but was instead within some kind of small room with a narrow cot, sink, and toilet. James explained that he was being kept in a cell. “I would think their biggest problem with your father is not being able to talk to him. Seeing him chained in the chair within the interrogation room brought to mind the fact he doesn’t speak English, or any of the other languages of my world for that matter.”
“What will they do to him?”
“Nothing. They won’t do anything other than lock him away until they are able to find a method of communication.” Starting the truck, he said, “And I doubt if they will be able to do that before tonight.” He couldn’t help but grin at the thought of the powers that be trying to talk to Jiron. Backing out of the parking spot, they headed into town.
The university professor who was touted as being one of the leading minds when it came to languages and dialects, both of today’s and yesterday’s, was at a loss. He had listened to the tapes made of the few words spoken by the prisoner during his interrogation, and though he heard pieces of half a dozen languages, as a whole, the prisoner’s speech was nonsense.
“I think he is playing you all for fools,” the professor stated. “Most of what he says is nonsensical gibberish with no basis in any language of the past two thousand years.”
“Are you sure?” asked Mr. Barnes.
“Absolutely. Most languages have roots in older ones, which in turn have roots in older ones, etc. There are a few unique languages like Navajo, but what he is speaking isn’t one of them.”
Agent Randle glanced to the professor. “Could it be one you aren’t familiar with?”
Turning his gaze on the agent, the professor shook his head. “There aren’t any languages that I am not at least in some small way familiar. Trust me gentlemen, this guy is having fun with you.”
Mr. Barnes considered the professor’s statement then nodded his head. “Thank you, professor. If we need any further assistance, we will contact you.” He then waved for one of the agents to escort the man from the building. Once the professor had left the room, Mr. Barnes turned to Agent Randle.
“Do you believe this guy is playing us for fools?”
“I’m not sure. Normally there is some spark of recognition during interrogation that gives away the fact that the one being interrogated understands what is being said. But with our terrorist, I don’t get that he does.”
“Would a lie detector test tell us anything?”
Shrugging, Agent Randle replied, “Maybe. Lie detectors are only useful in determining the validity of a given statement. Since we don’t know what he is saying, I can’t see how it would make much of a difference.”
Mulling over the agent’s words, Mr. Barnes finally came to a conclusion. “We can’t just sit and do nothing. His partner could at this moment be ready to detonate a nuclear device.” Glancing to the agent he added, “Take it to the next level.”
“Yes, sir.”
A stop at a 99 Cent store supplied James a mirror to keep an eye on Jiron. It was easier for him to do the far seeing thing if he used one. Doing it without one took a much greater expenditure of concentration and magic.
After finding Jira’s father still in the holding cell, they began to collect the crystals left to gather power over the last week. It was actually easier than anticipated as they did have a good notion where they had been placed. So once in the general area, James used magic to seek them out.
It was after they collected the fifth glowing crystal, that James began to realize they were under surveillance. Nothing blatant, but there were two men who seemed to always be the same distance away, and whom he caught casting glances toward him and Jira.
A surreptitious survey of the immediate area revealed the two men may be all that were present at this time. But if they were undercover agents, that would change. But how had they found him? It took only a moment for him to figure that one out. The map! The map upon which he had Jira mark the locations of the crystals. Of course those who held Jiron captive would have taken their belongings. And what would they have done after discovering a map with areas marked on it? Staked out those areas! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
He didn’t apprise Jira of the situation. Instead, he started walking calmly and nonchalantly along the sidewalk as he sent magic out to discover how many others were out there. Aside from the two he had already uncovered, he found four others. Hidden in their jackets were guns and radios. They were in communication with someone, that much he could figure out.
The threat of gunpl
ay prompted him to take one of his recently collected crystals and begin imbuing it with protective spells similar to the one that has been with him since the island. Once it was completed, he handed it to Jira.
“Here,” he said. “You hang onto this one for me, okay?”
Taking the gem, Jira replied, “Yes, Uncle.”
“It will protect you should things get crazy.” She looked at the crystal then up to her uncle. “If you are ever in trouble, say ‘Activate’, and one of my protective shields will surround you and protect you.” Seeing that she was about to say the word to create the protective shield, he stopped her. “Not yet. Only do it when you must.”
“When will that be?”
“You’ll know.”
“Yes, Uncle.” Putting the crystal in her pocket, she couldn’t help but keep her hand inside with it, cupping it and rubbing its hard surface with her thumb.
Being tailed pretty much forestalled any idea of gathering more crystals. He had to lose them (and quickly) before reinforcements arrived and, as he said to Jira, things got crazy. The five retrieved crystals would have to do for now.
Continuing forward, James began to formulate a plan. Passing by a store selling T-shirts and other novelties visitors often wasted their money on when vacationing, he led Jira within. As soon as they passed through the front door, he hurried Jira between the displays to the back.
“What are we…?”
“Not now,” he said. “We have some bad men after us.”
“The ones that have father?”
“Most likely.”
Hand in hand, uncle and niece picked up their pace as they darted into a hallway bearing a sign, Employees Only! From the front came the noise of their pursuers rushing inside. James risked a glance backward and unintentionally made eye contact with one of them. Immediately, the man hollered and the chase was on.
“Run, Jira!”
Bolting for the back door at the end of the hallway, James held tightly onto Jira’s hand. He hit the bar on the door with his hip, slamming the door open. Then darting to the right, he brought Jira to an abrupt halt. Putting their backs against the wall, he let the magic flow as he whispered, “Stay still and don’t say a word.”
Beside him, Jira nodded.
A shield enveloped them, one similar to that which he used to conceal the crystals set about town to gather magic. He was sweating bullets when the undercover men burst through the door. Jira’s hand tightened in his as the gaze of one man seemed to look right at them before moving on to search elsewhere.
“Where’d they go?” asked one man.
The other man glanced both ways before darting down to the left while the first raced to the right. The one heading right began radioing others that James had given them the slip. James sighed with relief when the two men disappeared out of sight.
Jira hugged him tightly, her small body trembling with nervousness and no small amount of fear. He laid his hand upon her shoulder to reassure her. “We are hidden from unfriendly eyes, Jira. My magic shields us.”
“I want father,” she whimpered. As brave as she was, a girl sometimes needed her father.
“We’ll get him,” he replied. “Don’t worry, we’ll get him.” Now that they knew he was back, and visiting the locations located on the map, they’ll have each one doubly watched from this point on.
Five crystals! That was all he had been able to recover. Would five be enough? He doubted it but didn’t dare risk further complications by attempting to get the rest. True, he could continue in his shell of invisibility and recover the crystals, but the draw of magic required to maintain it was not something he could keep up for an extended length of time, not even with crystals. For it made no sense to drain the crystals he had in order to obtain the others. No, he would have to make due with those already collected.
Keeping the shield in place, James had Jira remain close as they began moving off down the alley behind the novelty store. They hadn’t even reached the end before cop cars began arriving.
Men and dogs scoured the area. Several times, James and Jira were forced to press themselves against the wall in order not to be run into by the searchers. One dog that came close started barking in their direction, but its handler, who thought the dog was barking at nothing more than a brick wall, told it to be quiet and dragged it away.
Once they made it out to the street, they were able to scoot away until clear of the searchers. At that point, James canceled the invisibility shield and they joined the throng walking along the sidewalk. For a block or more, he kept constant vigil by sight and magic for anyone taking an interest in them only to find there weren’t any interested parties.
“I think we lost them,” he announced.
Jira was silent for a moment. “I want to go home,” she said despondently.
He pulled her aside and looked into tear filled eyes. “So do I, Jira.” Giving her a hug and patting her on the back, he said again, “So do I. Want some ice cream?”
She shook her head. Not even that could dispel the unhappiness she felt. She wanted her father. She wanted her mother. And she wanted to go home!
Chapter Twenty-One
________________________
Night had fallen an hour ago and the lights of Las Vegas had come to life. At any other time, perhaps such a spectacle may have held interest for James, but at the moment, his thoughts were elsewhere.
He and Jira sat upon a bench at a bus stop across and a little ways down the street from where her father was being held. Throughout the afternoon, James had checked on Jiron via the mirror purchased earlier only to find him undergoing heavy interrogation. Had they brought out the pincers or other such torture devices that James had been exposed to on Jiron’s world, he would have gone in long ago. But the worst Jiron suffered was deprivation of food and water, and some well placed blows. He knew that Jiron had endured much worse and would take these in stride.
James had grown to dislike the agent in charge of the interrogation for the way his friend was being mistreated. Perhaps the agent might be around when he went in to collect his friend?
“Is it time, Uncle?”
“Almost, Jira,” he assured her.
From a sack sitting between them came the smell of fried chicken, jojos, and biscuits they’d bought at a local KFC for Jiron when they busted him out, for James knew he was going to be hungry.
While they sat upon the bench, the bus pulled up before them. The door opened and the driver looked at James questioningly. James shook his head. Shrugging, the driver closed the door and the bus continued on its way.
Earlier that afternoon, James had come to this area and directed two magical “seeds” toward the walls on the north and south side of the building to which they attached themselves. Then for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, they gathered power until now they were practically humming with stored magical energy.
James wasn’t sure if both would be needed. He had a general idea of what he planned to do. When first formulating the plan, he toyed with the idea of showing up earlier and telling them in his best Schwarzenegger impersonation, “I’ll be back,” but quickly discarded the idea despite the thrill it would have given him.
“Are you ready?” he asked. Upon her nodding affirmatively, James got up from the bench. “Activate your crystal and don’t dispel it until I return.”
As the protective shield sprang into place, she replied, “Yes, Uncle.”
“This shouldn’t take very long.” And with that, he left the bus stop.
“Hey, Randle!”
Glancing to the agent at the doorway to the interrogation room, Agent Randle asked, “What is it?” Before him, the terrorist sat strapped to the chair, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and yet the man had the audacity to grin.
“Got another ‘terrorist’ on the phone claiming to be this guy’s partner.”
“So? We’ve been getting those all morning long after this guy’s arrest was broadcast on the ne
ws.” Thank goodness the reporters believed the terrorist was being held in the city lockup or they’d be inundated with reporters and onlookers.
“I know, but this guy seems more lucid than the others. He also asked if we had found a way to communicate with our friend here yet. Sort of thought it was a joke or something.”
“Running a trace on the call?”
“Of course. Should have it any moment.”
Randle sighed. “Very well. I’m not getting anywhere with him.” Stepping from the room, he shut the door behind him. The agent held a cell phone forward and he took it. “Yes? Agent Randle speaking.”
“Randle?” The voice on the other end seemed rather surprised.
“That’s what I said. So, you’re the terrorist, huh?”
“My friend and I are not terrorists, though I am the one you are currently looking for.”
“Uh-huh. Not terrorists you say? Seems to me you spread a lot of terror at Haveston.”
“That was…unexpected, and we are rather sorry about that.”
“Are you calling to give a list of your demands?”
“No, just to let you know I’m coming to collect my friend and that it might be wise to get everyone out of the building. I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“You think you can simply walk into the Las Vegas jail and take your friend?”
There was a pause. “If my friend were at the jail, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
That got Agent Randle’s complete attention. Every other terrorist wannabe had believed the man they were holding was at the jail, just like it was being reported on the news. Moving his hand to cover the phone, he whispered urgently to the agent standing next to him. “It is the terrorist. See if the trace is completed.” The other agent raced off down the hallway.
Light in the Barren Lands: Travail of The Dark Mage Book One Page 27