Spirit of the Sea

by Keith Walter

  With each limo loaded, Leslie jumped into the driver’s seat and grabbed the wheel. She immediately felt runes activate. Scanning the dash, she found directions to the high school scribbled on a piece of paper. She allowed herself to imagine one of the men from earlier hastily scratching it down. The realization that they were on their own sunk in. Even though she didn’t like the idea, she hoped that she could protect her crew as well as Barclay did his. Curiously, she found a second note stuck to one of the air vents in a different handwriting. In case of emergency press the hazards. Best of luck—Chuck A crackling noise echoed from the seat next to her. She found a small device with a red button on the side.

  “Everyone aboard?” Serin asked seriously from across the walkie-talkie.

  “All settled in and ready to go,” Leslie replied, holding down the red button on her device.

  “Well, then, let’s get this show on the road,” Serin added.

  Leslie watched Serin pull ahead, taking the lead as she always did. The sound of Serin’s voice echoed in Leslie’s ears, and it buoyed her strength. She turned on her own vehicle and rolled out of the lot, the sun just beginning to drop behind the taller buildings around. The slight blue shimmer on the vehicle windows went unnoticed by the humans that they passed.

  Leslie was thankful for the GPS in the limo and for one of the converts who was able to punch in the address. The emotionless computer voice was strangely reassuring as it led her from street to street. It also had a quaint feature where they could avoid highways, an idea Serin agreed was a good one. Of course, driving through side streets right before the start of a sports game meant traffic was heavier than normal. Serin, it seemed, was a bit more adept with her vehicle, and Leslie could no longer see her ahead. Still, she sighed in relief as she saw signs claiming they were leaving the city. As if reading her thoughts, the walkie-talkie crackled in her lap.

  “We have a slight problem,” Serin’s voice announced through the device. “It looks like the humans have some sort of checkpoint up ahead. They’re stopping everyone and checking their vehicles.” Her voice came in and out over the radio. There must have been some sort of interference as Leslie could barely make out what Serin was saying. One final crackle and it went dead.

  “Serin? Serin, are you still there?” Leslie called back, hoping it was just a momentary thing.

  All the worst situations she could imagine raced through her head. The red glow of brake lights brought her attention to the road as she eased on the brakes. Serin couldn’t have been far ahead, but there was no telling where exactly in all this traffic. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she could see the converts talking quietly amongst themselves, seemingly in awe of the fancy party limo. Casually, she raised the divider between them and frantically called into the walkie-talkie.

  Ten minutes passed without any response from Serin. A slow and steady line of brake lights illuminated the windshield with red. Five more minutes and she could see the checkpoint ahead. It looked like just human police, but she had no doubt that the Union was just a moment away if anything was to happen. Thinking back to her experiences earlier that day, she tried to formulate a plan.

  Scanning the interior of the car, the chauffeur hat was her only option for a disguise. That wouldn’t last too long, she guessed, since the police would no doubt be looking at a picture of her and all the others in the back. There was no room to pull out of the line and turn around, not to mention just trying would most likely bring the police right to them. There was just one car in front of her now and the pressure was overwhelming. She wished she had picked up more from Charles; he would have had a backup plan to the backup plan. It didn’t hit her until she was pulling up to the officer that he might have helped her one last time.

  Leslie’s finger pushed the hazards button on the dash, and immediately she felt double the amount of magic being drained from her. Rolling down the window the officer scanned the interior with his flashlight. Seconds passed as she waited for him to say something, but he never did. It wasn’t until she looked him in the eyes and saw the purplish hue that glazed them that she realized there must have been an illusionary rune somewhere on the limo. The rune would make the officer see whatever she told him to see and that is why he hadn’t spoken.

  “Just heading to the local youth training school for the annual dancing,” Leslie stumbled out. The police officer cocked his head to the side as if trying to decide something. Quickly, she followed up with, “Everything checks out here.”

  A moment later, the officer pulled back from the window and waved her forward. “Everything checks out. Go ahead.”

  Her heart was still racing two minutes later as she sped down the freeway. Gathering herself, she remembered to turn off the hazards to conserve her magic. She heard the walkie-talkie crackle and snatched it off the seat. She pressed the red button and yelled, “Serin, is that you? Are you okay?”

  “Wow, you don’t have to yell,” her partner’s voice replied. “That glamor was a nice trick.” Serin’s voice was cut with frustration. “Does it look like they’re following us?”

  “I can’t tell. The wards are making it difficult to sense anything that isn’t already close,” Leslie replied.

  “Maybe that means we lost—” The walkie talkie cut out again and terror rose inside Leslie.

  ◆◆◆

  Charles had just sat down in his seat at the baseball game. He’d gone ahead and purchased a new hat and hoodie from the apparel shop just after he picked up his ticket. Surrounded by this many humans, Charles had the flexibility of lowering a few of his defenses and really focusing on feeling what was going on around him. His plan was to wait until the game was over and then sneak aboard one of the charter buses carrying the many out-of-town fans. At worst, he’d hook up with one of the taxis that would surely be waiting outside. By now, having a plan B was second nature.

  Scanning the crowd, he had expected to see more human police officers. Whenever a terrorist threat reared its head, humans tended to overreact. Confused, he went up to a food stand and ordered a hotdog and something to drink. “Hey, did you hear about the bombing today?” Charles commented to the vendor after he’d ordered something to eat. “Damn shame what this country is coming to.” It was his best attempt at small talk.

  “It’s a crazy world we live in, buddy. I didn’t think we’d have to worry about that kind of thing around here, but damn if there wasn’t some big police shakedown on the road over here,” the vendor replied sadly.

  That made sense. Charles figured if they thought he and Leslie came from the west, they would be searching for any stragglers. He paid the man and replied, “Well, I’ll just have to bear the traffic when I head back west.”

  The vendor seemed to do a double take. “Nah, the west is pretty clear. I came up from the southeast. They were still putting up the roadblocks, both side of the highway.”

  Charles nodded. “Thanks, man, maybe I’ll have an easy drive then.” He turned around as casually as possible. Trying not to run, he moved to the nearest exit and made a beeline back to the parking lot. Serin and Leslie should have been long gone by now. But if there was even a slight chance he could catch them, he had to try. Rounding the corner to the little park, his chest deflated. He saw the two empty spots where the limos had been. Plan after plan ran through his head and each time he shot them down. Spinning around in the parking lot, his gaze stopped on the last remaining limo. Seconds later, tires squealed and sparks flew as Charles hopped the curb onto the nearest street.

  ◆◆◆

  A few miles away, Serin had been so relieved to hear Leslie’s voice, she’d stopped scanning her mirrors for anything unusual. If she hadn’t, she might have noticed an odd shape closing in on them from above. The first lightning bolt would have fried the whole car had it not been passing by a streetlight at just the right time. The electricity jumped to the pole as a shower of sparks rained down. Serin dropped the walkie-talkie and could vaguely hear Leslie’s voice over the pounding
of her heart.

  Panicking, she thought to stomp on the brake and get out the car to face her attacker, but that would leave her precious cargo unguarded. Swerving to the left, she dodged another electric attack. She scanned behind to see if she could tell where it was coming from. Two black SUV’s came up on each side, boxing the limo in.

  “Well, let’s see what other tricks you have,” she muttered as she hit the hazard button once more. The magic draw increased as a third SUV angled to get in front, cutting off all avenues of escape. What sounded like heavy rain erupted from both sides. Looking again, she could see the muzzle blasts from the weapons in each SUV. Miraculously, the blue shimmer from before seemed to meet each bullet before it got to the glass.

  Swerving left and right, the armored limo smashed the SUVs. Stomping the accelerator, she was able to escape the trap. All three vehicles accelerated and the SUV began inching in front of her. When the SUV tried to pull in front, she quickly swerved, clipping its back wheels. All Serin could do was hold on to the wheel and hope, as the crash sent her limo and the SUV into a spin. Luck was still on her side, it seemed, as her own wheels came to a stop pointed in the right direction. A glance to her left let her know one of the pursuing vehicles had crashed. Not taking any chances, she turned the wheel and smashed the gas pedal.

  Serin still had one more vehicle on her tail, and it was moving around the debris quickly. It only took a few seconds for the last SUV to catch up. She heard the gunfire, and the reassuring thuds made her believe that whatever shield rune she had activated was still holding up. The guns stopped and for a moment the SUV backed off as if assessing the situation.

  It wasn’t until she saw a person poke their head out of the sunroof and drag a large staff to their shoulder that she realized things were about to get much worse. She had no time to dodge, but tried turning anyway. The magical blast glanced the rear, hitting just under the back axle. Chunks of road erupted into the air as the rear of the limo lurched into the air. Time stood still when the entire vehicle went vertical. Forward momentum was the only thing that kept it from flipping over, but the awkward balance couldn’t last. With a crash, the limo fell on its side, sliding and sparking across the road.

  The limo skidded to rest when the roof impacted a concrete divider. Serin could see the red hue fade from what was left of the hood and knew that trick had run its course. “Is everyone all right?” she yelled into the back. There was some moaning, but everyone seemed to be in one piece for the moment. “Kick out the back window and wait for me to make an opening. First chance you get, hop the divider and run across to the woods. Don’t stick around and don’t get caught,” she said through clenched teeth.

  With the wards down, she could clearly sense the Union troops approaching from behind. The fact that they used guns and magical weapons meant that they were most likely low-level soldiers, too weak to be throwing around spells before their quarry was caught. She could feel a familiar rage burn in the pit of her stomach and her body temperature rose. The first time they were captured, she chose not to fight out of fear that it might make things worse. Now she knew that things would only get worse if she did not.

  The Union troops converged on the crumpled limo, guns drawn. The sound of the back window breaking drew their attention until the driver’s door launched into the air followed by a billow of flames.

  Serin was done with running, hiding, and cowering. She was ready to let loose and make a big enough scene that the rest of her family could get away. The group of soldiers raised their weapons at the woman twenty yards away. “On the ground!” one yelled out with authority. “Give yourself up and we won’t have to hurt you.”

  “Yeah, about that,” she replied, irritated. Grabbing the bottom of her dress, she tore it just above the knees and kicked off the heels she had been wearing. The shawl wafted off her shoulders as she stretched her arms above her head. Magic surged through her legs as she rocketed forward, trails of flames burning in her wake. The guns barked, but the heat surrounding her vaporized each bullet before it hit the mark.

  A flurry of kicks and punches rained down on the soldiers as Serin’s body remembered the training from her youth. A powerful palm launched one soldier back like a cannonball into the SUV. Another was swept up in a roundhouse to the chest. Serin felt the crunch of bones under her fists. She grabbed the last solider by their vest and threw them through the SUV’s windshield.

  Screeching tires grabbed her attention as another SUV rolled into the fray. It stopped between her and the limo. Four more soldiers piled out, but it was already too late. Serin’s family had escaped into the woods. A tinge of relief swept over her as she realized all she had to do was hold out as long as she could. The relief was short lived as one of the new team threw a grenade in her direction. She jumped back, and it exploded a few feet away from one of the unconscious soldiers.

  Serin was horrified; how could they be sacrificing their own people to get to her? It wasn’t until the haze settled in around her that she realized they’d thrown a gas grenade. She could see the red coloring similar to what she’d experienced on the docks last night, and realized they were trying to stifle her magic. The Union had come prepared. Serin pulled at the magic inside her and a little more flowed. Faint red lines began tracing their way across her exposed skin. Pushing down on the pavement, she heard the slight cracking just as she leapt up and over the haze in front of her.

  The rhythm of the guns barely registered as she pushed flames out of her hands and sailed through the air. Hitting the ground just behind her attackers, she stayed low and reached for the first one, pulling his legs out from under him. Keeping hold, she swung the helpless soldier twice before launching him at an unfortunate cluster of two others. Her aim was true, and the trio tumbled into the side of their SUV.

  The remaining soldier dropped pretenses, throwing his gun to the ground and pulling an extendable metal staff from his back. This one must be the leader, Serin thought to herself. No doubt these troops would have been led by a higher-level fey. Her opponent pulled a black helmet and mask off, dropping them to the ground. The soldier’s face was hard, filled with contempt. The man stared at her through catlike pupils, and magic pulsed through his body.

  Involuntarily, Serin introduced herself. “My name is Serin Adelaide Fortier.” She didn’t understand why she had said that, too much time around the old captain most likely. To save some face, she added dangerously, “And you’ve just pissed me off.”

  The man replied in a steely tone. “You are the target. Your name doesn’t matter.”

  Serin didn’t have much time to dwell on the remark, although she definitely felt how irritating it must have been when nobody had the good manners to introduce themselves to Barclay. The man rushed in, sending a volley of jabs and swings of the staff that Serin dodged easily. Her opponent was fast and strong, but it was easy to manipulate him with magic. There was no infusion in her opponent’s weapon, and the attacks weren’t followed by anything more clever.

  Parrying back with a few punches and kicks, Serin learned enough about the lanky attacker to deduce that he was only a bit more powerful than the rest of these troops. In pure physical strength, this man might be an equal, but he had none of her magical reserves. In a fight amongst fey, physical strength wasn’t what you wanted. Dodging a jab, Serin grabbed the end of the metal staff. In an instant, it began to glow a dull red. The man screamed and dropped it. Serin still held a hand on it as the metal wavered and fell away into a pile of goo.

  The man jumped back and pulled another telescoping baton from his waist. Serin already knew how this was going to end, and no doubt her opponent did, as well. The two edged closer together, and when the baton came, Serin didn’t bother avoiding it. She pushed her heat shield out at full blast and drove her fist into the man’s chest. The baton melted in midair, and the tactical vest tore as the shockwaves of Serin’s magic rippled through the man.

  The leader slumped over, breathing but unconscious. The easy
part of the battle was over, but she could feel the real danger approaching. Barclay had called the fey on the docks majors. She didn’t know much about military ranks, but it didn’t seem unreasonable to think a captain and a major weren’t far apart. During her imprisonment, she hadn’t been able to get a good judge of their strength, but she had felt the latent strength in Barclay. She hoped the fey approaching wasn’t on that level.

  In the momentary peace before her enemy arrived, her conversation with Barclay sprung to mind. You take the pain onto yourself so that nobody else has to feel it. You do it so the people relying on you know you can be relied on, so that when things go wrong they never lose hope that you’ll get them out. Every fiber in her being resounded with the same goal: she had to get them out. The only thread of hope she could grab on to was that perhaps Leslie hadn’t been spotted in all this mess.

  Her muscles tensed as a car came into sight. As the vehicle approached, Serin realized for the first time that there were no other cars on the road. She sniffed the air and caught the unmistakable scent of a sleep spell. It was weak, nothing to a fey or even a convert, but more than enough for every human in a mile radius. She grinned. Leslie would smell it and know where to avoid. She could go all out, then, without fear of her bond being caught.

  The high-end sports car stopped a hundred feet in front of her and a lone figure stepped out. His coat was black as the night and flowed behind him like a royal cap. Underneath, she could see a finely tailored suit, with shimmering lines. Briefly, she wondered if he had gotten dressed up just to come find her. He smiled, sliding the coat from his shoulders and placing it back in the car gently. He patted the car like a pet before striding toward her.