Chapter 20 – Tarrock
They’d made good time, Mateerans were fast runners, and they reached the closest town that they’d known about.
Tarrock had taken over a house as his command, and had been disappointed to find out it was deserted, and he wouldn’t be able to take out his frustrations on a human victim. What had happened to them out in the mountains was embarrassing, and had harmed moral, but he’d given orders, and he expected that to change once they were ready to return.
His science officer was right now scouring the town for the chemicals he would need to revenge his slain crewmembers. At first, Garrock had been dubious at the plan, but now a sense of excitement seemed to go through his second, as well as the crew about the plan. The only question was, if they would be able to locate the correct mix of chemicals and equipment. Electronics were a lost cause, but chemical processes although… skewed a bit, either slowed down or sped up affecting volatility, still worked. That left… possibilities.
He knew it would take time, hopefully his crew would find people in this town, he would need something to entertain him for a few days.
Chapter 21 – Katie
Katie held back the sigh she felt coming on as she stared at the walls of the tent. It’d only been a couple of hours since she’d talked with Kurien. No wonder Merlin failed if this is what he had to face all the time. How was she supposed to convince Captain Freemont to not only let her go, but to also lend her a couple of soldiers?
She couldn’t just say she needed them for a task, or bad things would happen. She didn’t even know why or what, so… why would they listen? She didn’t even have the instant credibility that Merlin would have back then, even showing a little magic hadn’t impressed the captain.
She’d tried to explain the aliens had been sighted up there, and she was on her way to help stop them. It’d seemed like a good idea at the time, but she’d just been laughed at. Explaining about elves, dragons, and other purely magical races like sprites and dryads hadn’t gotten her very far either. He’d questioned her for details, which of course she didn’t have.
Regardless, she was getting frustrated with it. She couldn’t even get him to agree to let them move on, much less hand over two soldiers to her care and authority. She hadn’t even brought up that part yet. Her staff was taken, John and Nim were being held somewhere else. She could actually feel both of them, and her staff, but she felt… naked without it in her hands.
She’d been doing a lot of speculating the last hour, as she’d been left alone in a tent with two guards outside. She’d been thinking about the idea of what would happen if she failed. If the aliens succeeded in whatever they were doing, she doubted it would destroy the world or anything like that, but it would affect the balance and push them that much closer to that destruction. And if they did it there, they might search out other magical settlements and repeat the process.
It wasn’t as if the one in Colorado was the only settlement after all, elven tribes were spread throughout the world.
Still, it would be the first step toward a fall, if they managed to destroy one settlement, and she couldn’t imagine the aliens were planning anything less, they may move on to others and do the same. It also occurred to her, whatever they did might destroy the inheritance Merlin had left behind for her. His spells, books, and notes, that Nim had told her about.
While she was, and could, experiment and learn on her own, the loss of all that knowledge and wisdom would be a crime, and she’d have to learn it all the hard way. While possible, it would be easier if she could learn from the ones that came before her.
The truth was, she started to feel a little overwhelmed by it all. She was a twenty-year-old woman, how the hell was she supposed to keep the world in balance? She’d made the decision to do it, but now… she couldn’t even convince an army captain to allow her to go off on her own. It was easier said than done, and she felt the weight of it on her shoulders.
She felt… like a little girl that had been sent to her room by the way the captain had been treating her.
It was frustrating to say the least. What gave him the right to decide what she did? He’d implied holding her was for her own good, her own safety, and what she wanted seemed to have no impact on his opinion. She really didn’t want to leave behind a military unit on bad terms, but it looked more and more like she would need to escape.
She also felt embarrassed at the way she’d had a meltdown earlier and whined at Kurien, and wondered what the elf must think of her now.
Worse, she was going to have to do some magic without the staff, which meant she probably shouldn’t use any more after that until they got where they were going.
Through the magic, she felt her horse start to move to the east, and a surge of anger filled her. She stood and marched around the table and opened the tent flap.
The two soldiers looked at her in an intimidating manner.
She growled, “What the hell are you doing with my horses.”
One of the soldiers lost his countenance, obviously surprised she knew any such thing.
“The captain has seized the horses and they are now property of the U.S. government, and we are using them to pass messages. There’s nothing you can do about it, we’re under martial law, and you’re being held for your own safety.”
She raised an eyebrow, he was so wrong about her not being able to do anything about it, and she channeled magic directly and intoned within her mind, “Sleep,” and a wave of magic emanated from her body. It was more magic than she’d ever channeled before, and she could sense it through the magic’s flow as all two hundred and sixty soldiers fell to the ground where they stood.
She grabbed the side of the tent as she swayed, she knew she’d overdone it by quite a bit, and she felt unsteady as she walked to the tent that had her staff, which still had some magic left in it. She entered the tent, and spared a glare for the captain as she grabbed her staff. He was collapsed on the ground, and she hoped he woke up with a headache.
She used a small trickle of magic from the staff to summon the horses, she hoped the riders hadn’t gotten hurt too badly when falling off, it wasn’t their fault after all the bastard had stolen her horse.
John and Nim came out of the tents they were in and she waved them over.
John asked, “What happened?”
She filled them in as their horses arrived at a trot.
“Bastard decided to steal our horses, and were going to hold us indefinitely. He forced my hand when I felt the horses leaving camp. I decided to put them all to sleep since they aren’t really our enemy. Do you think I went too far Nim? It took a lot of magic, and they should wake up in about four hours.”
Nim frowned and looked her over, “I don’t think so, but you shouldn’t do any more magic for a few days. Leave that to me, and the elves. Not even enough to activate the staff.”
She blew out a breath and nodded, she didn’t think of herself as a vain person, but she really didn’t want to age unnaturally fast.
“Just one more thing and we can go.”
She closed her eyes and used her sense of the balance to find the two soldiers that glowed for her earlier.
“Come on, we’re kidnapping a couple of them.”
John raised an eyebrow, “Is that a good idea?”
She grinned, feeling a bit more confident again in her abilities now that they were on the move again.
“Probably not, but we need them. If they’re entirely unreasonable, we can leave them behind and let them walk back. Either way, I want the opportunity to talk to them directly about it, and let them decide instead of their captain.”
He frowned, “We only have three horses.”
She shrugged, “I can share a horse with you, and we can put them on mine… unless you want me to share with Nim instead?” she asked archly.
John shook his head giving up on the argument, “Nope, I don’t mind.”
She grinned, she didn’t think he would. They found t
he soldiers, Hendricks and Davidson according to the patches on their uniform, and tied them to her horse’s saddle. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do. It also took them a little time to find the rest of their gear, the saddlebags had been filled with correspondence and rations for the riders. Once all that was sorted, she mounted up in front of John and he wrapped his arms around her, and she melted against his chest. Nope, she was sure he didn’t mind sharing a horse, she knew she didn’t…
It only took a few minutes once they arrived for Kurien and the others to roll up their camp, and they made good time with the remainder of the afternoon and evening until the sun started to get low in the sky. She’d noted the mile markers, and they’d gone a little over thirty miles. She wasn’t looking forward to the conversation, but Hendricks and Davidson came around shortly after being untied, sitting in front of their campfire.
The men looked a little wild eyed, as they woke up in a strange place, and they were very nervous when they noticed two elves, and a woman with silver hair and yellow eyes. She gave them a moment to settle, and was relieved when they didn’t jump up and run for it, or attack. She handed them some food.
“We need to talk, but enjoy the meal and get your bearings first, we don’t mean you any harm, but your captain left me very little choice.”
Davidson drawled, “Lady, you’re in deep shit. You kidnapped two soldiers of the United States…”
She laughed a little harshly interrupting him and her voice was icy, “This is a new world, billions are dead, nothing works the same, and your tinplated dictator stole the horses of a goddess, a sorceress, and the wielder of a magic sword. We are on our way to fight aliens to protect elves, dragons, and other magical races, lest the balance fail and our world be further threatened.
“Do you really think I give a shit about kidnapping two soldiers? Join us, and I’ll give you two boys a shot to get even with the aliens that fucked up our world. If not,” she pointed, “Thirty miles that way to get back to your unit, you’re free to leave anytime. So shut up, eat, and think about it. If you have questions fine, but don’t even think about threatening me again, I’ve had enough bullshit today and you have no power here at all.”
She knew the stress was getting to her, but she felt a bit better now, after getting all of that out.
Hendricks asked, “What did you do to our unit?”
She sighed and said in her normal voice, “Same thing I did to you, they just took an afternoon nap.”
Hendricks pointed, “And you two are elves, what are you?” he asked, pointing at Bria.
Bria smirked, “Might as well get past your disbelief, your captain thought Katie was a little girl with delusions, I’m telling you she is perhaps the most important being on our world, and you would do well to do as she asks. She doesn’t have an easy task. As for what I am, it’s easier to just show you, I need to hunt anyway, and now is a good as time as any.”
Hendricks looked confused as Bria got up and started to strip.
She watched too, fascinated, it would be the first time she’d ever seen a dragon as well. When Bria was down to nothing, she walked away from the fire, and then shimmered.
For Katie it was much more than just a visual shimmer that got larger, the moving magic that laid like a blanket over the world became a violent whirlpool of power, focused on Bria as magic was quickly absorbed and used by the dragoness to fuel her transformation.
A few moments later, less than fifteen feet away, was a large silver dragon as big as a house. The firelight reflected off of her scales, and glinted in the dragon’s eyes which swirled in a storm of golden light, she though Bria was beautiful, and said so.
Bria’s voice was smooth, but rather loud as she extended her neck toward them, with a head as big as a small car, and said, “This is the truth of our world. Katie has told you the truth of elves and dragons, the proof is before you, maybe you should consider the rest of what she said. She seems to think you can be of some use, I wouldn’t dismiss it lightly.”
Bria turned and walked off far more gracefully than she’d have expected. She was at least fifty feet away before she spread her wings and jumping into the sky. The wind generated by Bria’s wings was forceful, and she squinted her eyes as the fire sputtered and jumped.
Davidson said in shock, “Holy shit, that didn’t just happen.”
Hendricks snorted, “This isn’t a dream Davidson. She was kind of smoking though wasn’t she, I mean before the change, the naked part, do dragons and humans…” he trailed off.
Davidson shook his head, “Are you serious? She turns into something that could eat you in one gulp.”
Hendricks shrugged, “So? That’s not any scarier than my bitch ex-wife, and the dragon is much hotter.”
Katie laughed and shook her head with disbelief. Men!
“So… what do you guys say, want to harass civilians and wait for raiders to show up, or do you want to come with us and fight the murderous aliens. I’m not sure what skills you have that are needed, but my magic tells me you are needed for the fight ahead. So think about it, you don’t have to decide until morning.”
Davidson asked, “Where did the dragons and elves come from?”
Kurien answered that one, so she just tried to relax, and ate her meal, while he explained where they had been, and why they had been brought back.
There were more questions after that as well, but she was content to let the others field the questions, and after things wound down, she turned in and fell asleep in John’s arms.
She woke up with the dawn, and went outside. Hendricks was already awake and at the fire, she looked around but didn’t see Davidson anywhere.
Hendricks nodded to her, “He’s gone, took off about an hour ago on foot. He tried to steal one of the horses, but I stopped him.”
She nodded slowly, “But you’ve decided to stay?”
He smiled, “Yes ma’am, what you’ve said is absolutely nuts, but then so is two elves and a dragon. I figure maybe I can make a real difference if I stick around. Hopefully one of us is enough, you think?”
She shrugged, “I really don’t know, maybe. I hope so,” she added softly. “How did you convince him not to take a horse.”
He laughed, “I told him he couldn’t outrace a dragon on a horse, and the color drained from his face. You had to be there, it was pretty hilarious.”
Kurien came out of his tent, “It’s just as well, the horses wouldn’t have listened to him anyway, I told them not to last night as a precaution.”
Hendricks raised an eyebrow, “I see. We should probably get going soon, the captain probably sent out a squad or two after us.”
She agreed, and they packed up. They let Hendricks ride Bria’s horse for now, until she got back from her hunting trip. Then she could just double up with John again…
They rode the horses hard for most of the day, she felt like the schedule was getting a little tight, there was more urgency for her to get where they were going. It was too hard to judge exactly, maybe with more experience she will in the future, but for now it was mostly guess work.
It was early afternoon when they ran into a large group of people coming the other way. She could tell right away they weren’t raiders, they were families, men, women, and children. The… refugees stopped when they saw them coming down the road, and got out of the way. They looked terrified, and she wondered what happened, to her surprise, Kurien rode towards them.
Kurien said, “Hello again folks, how come you abandoned your town?”
Arielle said softly at her look of confusion, “Their town was being raided when we went by, we helped, killed some of the raiders and ran the rest of them off.”
One of the men said, “The raiders came back, with more than last time. We’d set up a couple of lookouts after you left us, and were able to leave before they got there.”
Kurien nodded, “There’s a farm community you can join near here, old man owns the place and he’ll need help with things and getting in th
e crops. I don’t know how you feel about farming, but at least you’ll have food.”
The man grunted and discussed it with the others there for a while, finally the man asked for directions. Kurien told them how to get there, and they moved on.
They were just a few more miles down the road, when they ran into another group, this one had to be the raiders. At a quick glancing count, there were close to twenty-five of them. She felt suddenly naked not being able to do magic. John pulled his sword, and she gripped her staff tighter. Hendricks, Arielle, and Kurien drew their swords as well.
Although outnumbered, the men they were facing were hardly true warriors. And although her own instruction hadn’t been going on very long, even she was more capable with weapons than the raiders, who did nothing more than swing the bats like… they were swinging a bat for a home run. There was no subtlety to their attacks and they telegraphed their actions as they charged with twisted grins.
They might have been able to avoid them, and outrun them on the horses, but none of them even suggested such a course. Men like these needed to be stopped, else that farm community Kurien had sent them too would be put in danger. Kurien, Arielle, and Nim took point and moved like the wind, and cut them down left and right.
She braced herself though, as by benefit of sheer numbers a few of them got through and charged her, John, and Hendricks. She resisted the urge to do magic as she parried the first blow, and then stabbed out with the end of her staff, slamming the guy in the chest and then the head. John and Hendricks seemed to be holding their own as well as they cut into the enemy’s flesh.
Emergence: Return of Magic book 1 Page 14