Crystal Cache (Crow Hill Book 2)

by Tom Larcombe

  Michael was taken aback.

  Dad hasn't scolded me like this in years, he's treating me like I'm a little kid again. But...

  He began to feel ashamed of himself and let his head droop.

  Maybe I haven't been acting like an adult, maybe he's just treating me the way I'm acting. I started thinking the world revolved around me again, just because a bunch of people started treating me like I was important. Even if I am that doesn't mean I should act the way I was acting. I really wish I'd been able to have normal interactions with people these last few decades, maybe I'd be able to figure this stuff out better if I had.

  “Sorry dad,” he mumbled, then straightened his head up and looked his father in the eyes.

  “Sorry dad,” he said again, this time clearly. “I... may be lacking some social skills, or at least they're really rusty. I'll try to fix that.”

  His dad broke into a small smile, then he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Michael.

  “Come here son, I didn't mean to snap at you like that, but you know anything regarding the Council tends to set me off.”

  Michael relaxed into the hug, returning it.

  * * *

  * * *

  Chapter 18

  Rynn watched as Michael headed for an area where he could scramble down a steep slope instead of climb down the cliff. When he disappeared over the edge, she turned back to Andi and Eugene.

  If it was just one of them, I'd carry them back to the house, but not both. At least not with the terrain we have to cross.

  She wandered over to the edge of the cliff and winced at the view. Dead raiders lay scattered on the field and there were several, very still, bodies lying on the ground just behind the trenches.

  As if what's already happened hasn't killed enough people, we have to continue it. But what choice do we have? It's not like the raiders wouldn't have killed everyone in town, eventually at least. What came before the killing might have been worse for some of us too.

  She shook her head and turned back to her charges. Eugene had moved a touch, into what looked like a more comfortable position.

  Good, maybe he'll wake up soon and we can get out of here.

  She settled to the ground between the two unconscious teens and waited.

  Rynn guessed it was fifteen to twenty minutes before Eugene moved again. This time he tried to sit up and groaned loudly. She saw him wince at the noise his own groan made, then tense up.

  “I must be alive,” he muttered, softly, “I'm sure being dead wouldn't hurt this much.”

  “You are, and you're lucky to be alive. What you did was foolish.”

  He tried to smile, but from the look on his face even that hurt.

  “But you two were arguing, not doing anything.”

  “Michael would've gotten to her a few seconds after you did, then you wouldn't feel the way you do now. He was just worried about whether or not I could handle the process.”

  “Well, I knew I could,” he said. “I just didn't realize it would hurt so much.”

  He glanced at Andi, lying on the ground, then looked back to Rynn.

  “But I would've done it anyhow, even if I had known how much it would hurt.”

  Rynn hid her smile, not wanting to encourage him.

  “Well, it's done. Michael got called away, so as soon as you're able to walk, we'll head back to the house. I'll carry Andi.”

  He looked slightly affronted by that.

  “I can walk,” he said.

  Eugene stood, for a moment or two, before Rynn had to catch him when he started to crumble again.

  “Like I said, as soon as you can walk. Just rest for a few minutes. Power overloads do funny things to the nervous system. You remember what happened to Michael before, right?”

  “Yeah, that's how I knew what do with Andi, but this is different.”

  “How?”

  “That was leftover magical energy from the lightning bolt, this was...”

  He trailed off.

  “Yes, this was leftover magical energy from the electricity I used to get her heart going again. Very similar.”

  He glanced up at her and the look on his face told her that he wasn't going to argue.

  “Okay, you're right. Maybe I'll just sit here for a few minutes,” Eugene said.

  He actually laid back down on the ground instead of sitting, but his regular breathing told Rynn that he'd fallen asleep. She sighed.

  I'll give him a half hour nap, then we need to get back to the house.

  Rynn settled into a sitting position again.

  I'll just go scout and make sure those raiders that fled didn't stop somewhere nearby.

  She detached a portion of her consciousness and sent it up into the sky.

  * * *

  When she returned to her body, she stretched, then woke Eugene.

  “Come on Eugene, we need to get back to the house.”

  He groaned and stood. This time he managed to stay on his feet, so Rynn turned and gently lifted Andi.

  “I probably shouldn't be carrying her, but if there were a potential problem I'm sure Michael would've mentioned it.”

  She turned and followed the path Michael had used. She didn't feel up to creating stairs out of air again, plus she wasn't sure that Eugene wouldn't stumble and fall somewhere on the way back. His steps were unsure and he was very pale.

  He'll have to deal with it. I'm not going to drop Andi to try to catch him if he stumbles. Although it's both of their faults that they're the way they are right now, I'm blaming him more than her. That might change after she's awake though, when I find out just what happened.

  As they walked back past the area with the trenches, several of the defenders were simply sitting, staring off into the distance. A few others glanced over at them with concern when they saw that Rynn was carrying on of the kids, but only Bill came over.

  “She alright?” Bill asked, laconic as always.

  “She will be, she tried to take on someone stronger than her and nearly paid the price. She'll be sore for a while, but ought to be fine in a few days.

  “Good,” Bill said. “I hate to see kids come to grief, saw that too much back in my time in the Army. Get assigned to the unit one day, be dead a week or two later. Don't need to see any more of that. There's enough death already from this dust-up.”

  He nodded his head towards the trenches.

  “Lost four, could've been a lot worse though. Don't know about you folks with the really strong knacks, but if the enemy is going to have them also, I'm glad you and Michael are on our side.”

  Rynn smiled at Bill.

  “We're glad you're on our side too Bill, but I have to go get Andi into a bed.”

  Bill flushed.

  “Sorry, go on. I lose track of things like niceties when I have to fight. Been years since it happened, so I forgot.”

  He turned and headed back to the trenches, letting Rynn continue on towards the house.

  Once she was back there, she tucked Andi into her bed, put a full water bottle beside her, then went into the living room and curled into a ball on the couch. Eugene had headed for his own bed and the rest of the kids weren't in the house so she let herself deal with the emotions she'd suppressed during the battle.

  Tears rolled down her face when she allowed herself to think of how close she came to losing Eugene and Andi. They multiplied when she thought of the men killed in the trenches.

  I didn't even ask their names. They might be people I knew.

  She continued letting her emotions flow, exhausting each of them before pulling out the next. When she got to the last one, her fears for Michael when he was in battle, and how she really felt about him, she was overwhelmed and couldn't handle dealing with it.

  She drifted off to sleep while still trying to grapple with that last set of emotions.

  * * *

  Rynn woke when Michael came into the house. She sat up quickly when she saw the look on his face.

  “Michael,
are you alright?”

  He shook his head.

  “Dan...”

  A deep breath helped him steady himself.

  “Dan was killed at the north road defense point. He charged an armored truck like the one we saw so he could throw a grenade into it.”

  She put an arm around him.

  “I'm so sorry Michael, Dan was a good man.”

  “Then I had to go tell his wife, his widow now I suppose, what had happened. She was utterly devastated.”

  He broke free of her arm and sank into a chair.

  “What's the point of all this? My dad pointed out that it's still the Council and that it was all their fault. But it's the mine they're after. What if I'd just given it to them, just left and let them have it. None of this would've happened.”

  “Your dad's right. Just what do you think those raiders would've done to the town if we hadn't stopped them?”

  “My dad said that too, but if I just left they wouldn't have had to send the raiders, now would they?”

  Rynn sat back, thoughts flashing for a moment.

  I don't think he really believes that, I'm pretty sure he thinks there's a solution where people wouldn't have died. Maybe he isn't as hard as I thought, maybe it's just a facade.

  “Michael?”

  “What,” he said, anguish infusing the word.

  “How many men does it take to operate the mine?”

  “What's that got to with anything?”

  “Just answer me.”

  “Twenty-five or so,” he said.

  “That's trained miners, right?”

  He nodded.

  “How many untrained people would it take.”

  “It wouldn't work well, they'd destroy as many crystals as they mined intact.”

  “So, where do you think the Council would've gotten miners if you'd given them the mine.”

  “What?”

  “Do you think that, just maybe, they'd have kidnapped the people in town to work it? Then when they started destroying crystals, what do you think would happen? Have you heard of some of the places where they force people to work in mines? It's called slavery, and it's got a really high turnover rate, and those who leave are dead, not retired.”

  Michael's face held a look of shock. But she saw that he was thinking now, she could see it in his eyes. It took him a few minutes, but he finally followed all the way through her chain of logic.

  “And when the townspeople said no and fought back, they'd have brought the raiders in anyhow, wouldn't they?” he said.

  “Or used magic to force obedience wholesale. There'd be lots more dead, and I don't even want to think about what would've happened to the women in the town.”

  A determined look settled in on Michael's face, replacing the lost look it had held when he entered the house.

  “So, I didn't lie to Dan's widow at all when I told her that he died saving the town.”

  “No, maybe you exaggerated a bit, but it certainly wasn't a lie,” Rynn replied.

  Good, Rynn thought. I've got him thinking again. It's nice to see that he's still sensitive, but he gets bogged down in it pretty easily. I don't know how to help him get past that. He needs to talk to dad some more, dad would teach him how to be more pragmatic.

  Michael's expression had finally settled. It still held some sadness in it, but at the same time she saw the determination that had marked it for the past few days.

  “Now what do we do?” he asked. “You know the Council never gives up, they're going to try again. We need to figure out just what they're going to try next time and start preparing as soon as we can. The more we can prepare, the fewer people will die. I'd much rather not have any of the non-wizards involved if we can avoid it also.”

  “I don't know if that will be possible Michael. If the Council sends non-wizards, or too many wizards, we're going to need the help. You know that.”

  He nodded.

  “Yes, but that doesn't change how I feel about it.”

  “So long as you know that it might be necessary. I know it's a sensitive subject, but who's taking over Dan's position?”

  “I don't know. I didn't think to ask, but we can probably find out by going down to the sheriff's office. Dan used to spend his days there so I'm guessing the new sheriff will also.”

  “Well, either whoever that is or Bill ought to keep tabs on people willing to fight to defend the town. He should have some means of communicating with them also.”

  Michael's face lost focus for a moment. Rynn recognized the look, he was having an idea and exploring it fully before sharing it. She waited several minutes.

  Good, she thought, he's engrossed in something. It's like an avoidance mechanism for him. If he doesn't want to deal with something, he lets himself get completely engrossed in something else. By the time he finishes the new project, he's normally able to handle whatever was bothering him.

  “You know,” he said finally, “I bet we could set up some of the nightlight crystals so that they'd light up in a really bright, obnoxious color on a signal sent out from a single, master crystal. Set it up so the master crystal has ties to all the smaller ones like that, make sure it's a color that we didn't use in any of the nightlights, and they can use that as a signaling system. Maybe even give it a few different colors for different signals.”

  “That sounds like a good plan. We'll still have to talk to whoever is sheriff now to see if it's something they'd want to use first though.”

  Michael winced slightly.

  “You're right. Should we go down there right now and check?”

  “No, wait for tomorrow. Everything is still unsettled by the attack, there may not even be anyone there now. By the way, I checked on the surviving raiders. They regrouped, but kept heading east at top speed.”

  “Thank you. I hadn't even thought of that. I'm glad that you did.”

  “I've got your back Michael. No thanks needed.”

  “Well, you have my thanks anyway. Now, I think I need to sleep. I'm exhausted in so many different ways.”

  “Eat something first, even just a little snack. You used enough power today that your body needs the fuel.”

  He sighed, then followed her to the kitchen. Rynn made them both a light meal which they ate quickly. Michael immediately excused himself and headed for his bedroom when he was done. She stayed at the table for a bit.

  I think the reason you don't want to deal with sorting out how you feel about him is because you don't want to admit how you really feel about him. Showing up here after decades, I expected things to be rougher between us, but we settled back in with one another almost immediately. It's just so hard though. If I can't tell him the whole truth, how can he trust me? And if he can't trust me, how can I trust him? I've got to ask mom and dad about it. I don't think they'd mind if I told him, but that's not a gamble I'm willing to take. Besides all that, I'm sure he's going to run screaming when he finds out what I really am. I can't tell him how I feel before he learns that, no matter what.

  She got up from the table and peaked in at Andi. The younger wizard was still out cold, sleeping soundly. A quick check showed that she seemed healthy, her breathing was okay as was her pulse, so Rynn went to glance in at Eugene.

  Eugene was tossing and turning, but still asleep, so she closed the door and went back to the living room.

  So how will we know what the Council intends next? Rynn wondered. We've already been relying on divination far too much for my comfort, but that seems to be the best way to find out. Not tonight though, I used almost as much power as Michael did so I'm going to actually need a full night's sleep tonight too.

  Rynn made her way to her bedroom and crawled into bed. She wasn't too worried about waking up. Anne would be bringing the rest of the students back the next morning and that was sure to wake her if she was still asleep by then.

  * * *

  Rynn's sleep was haunted by dreams, and more than dreams. The first nightmares were of the battle she'd just been in.
She relived the battle again, but this time Michael was shot down despite his shields, the bullets somehow penetrating his magic. If that weren't bad enough her dreams morphed into something even worse. In the new battle, she saw missiles flying at people, exploding with massive blasts when they reached their targets. The missiles simply removed large chunks of the ground wherever they hit, obliterating the individual people they were aimed at.

  It took several repetitions of the sequence before she recognized their targets. When she finally realized that the targets were her father, mother, and brother the dream progressed into something even more.

  Gudrun? a voice spoke in her mind.

  Dad? she replied.

  Now I know that those dreams you were having were hellish. You haven't responded to that name in decades.

  You're alright? In my dreams you were destroyed over and over.

  I'm sorry, I had to do that to get you out of the other nightmare you were having. There's a grain of truth to the visions I sent though. The Wizard Corps is breaking up into smaller units, and each of them has some sort of portable missile launcher. I was almost struck by one yesterday and the explosion was much as you saw in your dream. Only a quick shift out of my dragon form kept me alive.

  What?

  I wanted to warn you. I know that you dislike your own dragon form, but that you will use it when necessary. Beware if you feel the need to do so any time soon.

  Dad, thank you for telling me. I was thinking of contacting you also. I want... Rynn paused to gather her mental courage. I want to tell Michael the truth, but it isn't only my secret to tell. I wanted to get yours and mom's permission before I did so.

  Oh my, that you'd ask when I'm warning you about a life threatening problem tells me all I need to know about that. You have my permission, but I'll have to ask your mother. I think that she'll allow that as well. I'll tell you the next time we speak. Might I make a suggestion?

  Of course.

  Call your friend to you. Anguis would be glad for the change. I'm sure he's bored simply watching the house, and you can tell much about how your Michael will take your news by how he reacts to Anguis.