Crystal Cache (Crow Hill Book 2)

by Tom Larcombe

  He forced his hands down and stared at Miriam through the tears.

  “I didn't know! You've got to believe me.”

  She nodded.

  “I might not believe you, except what I remember now is so different than what I thought I remembered yesterday. They kept removing the memory of you from the entire town?”

  He nodded.

  “Except Dan,” he said. “Somehow Dan was immune, but now he's gone too.”

  “They made you start over repeatedly? So you had to reintroduce yourself over and over to people you'd known for years?” she asked.

  Walter was staring at the two of them, going back and forth as they spoke.

  “The Council did this?” he asked, breaking into their conversation.

  Michael nodded.

  “Well, they aren't done with you. Not by a long shot,” Walter said.

  “What do you mean? We've already beaten off two attacks from them recently.”

  “They're sending my old unit after you. They might even be on the way here already. That's why I deserted. I came to warn my mom and the sheriff, but apparently you're the one everyone thinks is in charge now,” he said.

  Michael heard the doubt in Walter's voice, the distrust.

  “So when I warned them they told me to let you know,” Walter finished.

  “No,” Michael said. “Why me? Why can't they just leave me alone?”

  “Well, I didn't remember the conversation until after I'd gone AWOL, but an old man told me that he owned this mine, but he was leasing it to some other people. He thought the other people were going to try to take the mine by force.”

  “You spoke to the owner?” Michael asked. “Who was it? I need to speak with him.”

  “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me,” Michael said. “with some of the things I've discovered in my life, a lot of them just recently, I'm ready to believe almost anything.”

  “Merlin,” Walter said.

  That sly old dog. No wonder he was happy that Rynn came here, Michael thought.

  “Damn it, I know he's busy right now.”

  “Wait, you're going to believe me? Just like that?”

  “Let me guess,” Michael said. “Your unit isn't exactly normal, is it? There are a lot of people with Talents, or magical abilities, in it? And Merlin's been keeping your unit bottled up where it is. Now I know why, because he knows that they want to attack here.”

  Walter just stared at him.

  “Is the Council involved with your unit?” Michael asked. “By the way, the Wizard Corps? Really? Who calls themselves something like that?”

  “How did you know that?” Walter asked. “Did you already know they were going to attack here?”

  “No, I didn't know that. But I do know that the Wizard Corps has been causing problems elsewhere. So now they're coming here?”

  Walter nodded.

  “Can you tell me their capabilities? Or anything about them at all?” Michael asked.

  Walter's obvious disdain towards Michael seemed to be fading. There was still a distance, but it was closing.

  “Yeah, yeah I can. What can we do about it though?”

  We, Michael thought. That's progress. At least it's a lot better than him staring daggers at me.

  “You might be surprised at what we can do. They've already sent two troubleshooters to try to take me out and get the mine back, but I'm still here.”

  “Yeah, but a full unit of military trained wizards? Do you know what kind of firepower, both physical and magical, that they can bring to bear?”

  “I can guess. But there's lots of help available here to defend the place, both magical and physical.”

  “Let me explain just what you'll be facing before you blithely say you'll stay and fight,” Walter said, “Start with a modern military spec-ops unit, and that's before you add in magic. Then add in...”

  The discussion went on for several hours and as they talked it seemed to Michael that Walter was losing the distrust he'd noticed earlier on. Miriam simply sat there, staring at one or the other of them and falling back into tears repeatedly. Finally Walter fell silent. He looked to his mother, then to Michael.

  “I'm going to go take a walk. I think the two of you probably need to do some talking without me here.”

  He strode off towards the open field to the east.

  “Perceptive kid you've got there,” Michael said.

  “I think he probably gets it from his father,” Miriam replied. “At least, he does if I'm remembering things correctly now.”

  “I'm so sorry Miriam, I felt so helpless, like there was nothing I could do. The Council had already threatened to kill me when I went against their rules after they let my mother die when I could've saved her. But they wouldn't let me use my magic to heal her, the hospital had already examined her and said there was no hope. The Council didn't want to have to work out a way to explain her in good health again, so they just let her die.”

  “You never told me that before,” she said.

  “I was forbidden to talk about it to anyone.”

  “The Council again?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “So when they said they'd punish you if I told you anything, I didn't have any idea what they were talking about, what degree they might go to if I challenged them again. So I caved in and gave them what they wanted.”

  “But if you'd known I was pregnant?”

  “Then I would've tried to help you remember me and we could've run.”

  “Run from these same people who can affect memories and do all those things you and Walter were talking about?”

  “It sounds crazy, but I would've found a way. I didn't know you were pregnant though, I never even put two and two together when I heard you were pregnant a few months later.”

  And I bet those assholes on the Council were responsible for my never coming to the proper conclusion also. I can think of lots of ways they could've done that, ones that take a lot less power than what they did to the town.

  “I don't think it would've mattered Michael. I think that if we'd run, we'd have been caught and in an even worse situation. This way at least Walter got to grow up with a normal childhood. Well, minus the memory thing.”

  “I can't believe you aren't furious over that,” he said. “I am and as far as I know, my memories weren't tampered with.”

  “Oh, I'm angry. But I can't think of anything I can do about it at this point. And Walter was right, a lot of people in this town look up to you now. I know, and so do they, just how much food you've been giving Father Anderson. We all know why we're doing better than any of the other places we've heard from and you're a large part of that. The only reason you were still here when everything fell apart is the Council. So, there's one good thing to attribute to them, even if it was unintentional.”

  “No, if they'd known, they would've moved me. I'm sure. I think they're allergic to the idea of a good action that doesn't benefit them somehow,” he muttered.

  Michael knew he was stewing in his own anger and he didn't like it. But he couldn't think of any way to pull himself out of the emotional quagmire he was currently being dragged down into. Miriam must've read it on his face since she pulled an abrupt topic change.

  “What was wrong with Rynn? She went storming out of here and slammed the door behind her.”

  Oh shit! Rynn! Was she really as angry as she appeared? And why was she angry?

  With everything else going on, he'd forgotten Rynn's chilly tone and abrupt exit. Once again Miriam was paying close attention to his face.

  “Oh, it's that way, is it? Probably better for both of us this way though. I'm far too old to take up with a young man like you again. I'd swear you only look a year or two older than I remember from almost thirty years ago.”

  His eyes snapped to her face and he found that she was staring at him gently.

  “Go find her, Michael. Find her and try to make things right. Just remember that
it was probably as much of a shock to her as it was to you.”

  * * *

  When he found Rynn, she was in the basement with her arms wrapped around Anguis. As Michael walked down the stairs Anguis turned to face him and let out a long hiss.

  The dragon's voice echoed in Michael's mind.

  She doesn't want to see you right now.

  I've got to talk to her, I need to explain. I didn't know I had a child, I just found out when Rynn did, Michael thought back at Anguis.

  “No Anguis, let him talk,” Rynn said, apparently aware of the mental exchange that had been occurring.

  “I'm sorry Rynn,” Michael said. “I didn't know until today, the same time that you found out.”

  “I think I understand that Michael, and Anguis is telling me that you're being truthful. At least, I understand intellectually, but my heart is screaming that you betrayed me.”

  Well, I guess that answers my question as to if she felt the same way that I do, he thought.

  “I don't know what to tell you. I'd have said something if I'd known, but with the Council messing up everyone's memories around here, no-one ever even commented on the resemblance. I don't think I've seen Walter since he was Jeff's age, at least not until today, and...”

  He trailed off, at a loss for words.

  “I understand,” Rynn said “I really do. But it still hurts and there are still things I can't tell you and it all just makes me so confused. As if things weren't bad enough already.”

  “Speaking of bad things, the reason Walter came up here? You remember you mentioned your dad saying something about the Wizard Corps?”

  Rynn nodded.

  “Evidently the mine is their next target. He also told me that your dad owns this mine and he's just been leasing it to the Council's people.”

  “What?”

  “Merlin is the owner of this mine,” Michael said.

  “Not that, the other part.”

  “Oh, Walter said he overheard a conversation among the ranking officers and some others that were probably Council representatives. They were discussing taking over the mine and the city. From what he said, they were referring to most of the people in town as either a potential work force or collateral damage.”

  “That's what they're planning? No wonder dad's been harassing them down there. He's trying to keep me safe again.”

  Rynn growled.

  “He's always doing that, just because... Never mind, I'm not going to get into that right now. But now I understand a lot better what he's up to. Does Walter know when they're going to attack?”

  “No, he said that they hadn't set a departure date when he left a few days back. I was hoping you might be able to ask your dad to let us know when they leave. Then we'll know when to expect them. I was also hoping you might have some ideas about defending the area, because they're a lot better equipped than the raiders were, better trained also.”

  Rynn closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “I'm sorry Michael, I can't really concentrate on this right now. I need some time. I'll talk to my dad tonight and ask him to let us know when they leave their base, but give me some time please. I'm upset, and a little angry, and sometimes when I can't control my emotions bad things happen around me.”

  She opened her eyes and caught his gaze.

  “Just give me some time to settle down, okay? Then we can talk about all this, and us, and whatever you like. But for now I need time. Alright?”

  Bad things happen when she can't control her emotions? I thought they taught us how to deal with that back in school. But, still, she's not reacting as badly as I'd feared she might. I'll try to give her time, see what happens.

  “Okay, I can do that. But remember to contact your dad tonight please, that's important and time sensitive also.”

  “I will. Now go, please?”

  He turned and walked back up the stairs.

  * * *

  Michael spent most of the rest of the day working with Eugene in the workshop. He had an alarm spell that he was trying to adapt to the same range the ward spell that had kept him in place had. By the time it was dark, he'd still not finished it although he was getting close.

  “That's it for today Eugene, go see if you can grab some dinner.”

  “Okay. Are we going to finish that up tomorrow?” Eugene asked eagerly.

  “Hopefully, we'll see.”

  I'd go with him but I'm not hungry in the least. The pit of my stomach has been roiling since I talked to Rynn.

  A noise out in the back yard caught his attention. He went to the window and glanced out. Rynn and Anguis were in the yard and he guessed they were talking mind to mind. Rynn nudged the dragon and his back expanded. A moment later she slung a leg over and pulled herself astride him. The dragon ran a few steps then spread his wings and took to the skies, with Rynn riding his back.

  Oh crap, I hope she isn't leaving. I couldn't handle that on top of everything else. You'd think that when society fell apart my biggest worry would be keeping myself and those I cared for fed and safe. Not having to worry about a magical military I never knew about attacking, or people trying to assassinate me, or an entire town deciding that I'm the answer to their problems.

  He wearily shook his head, then cleaned up the workshop. After returning to his own room, he crawled into bed and decided that, even if he didn't need it, he was going to sleep the entire night, or maybe more.

  When he woke in the morning, it was to Rynn's voice somewhere in the house.

  Well at least she didn't just leave, he thought.

  He went down and got some oatmeal for breakfast, before deciding that Calvin needed a reward for both learning to communicate and showing him where the ward crystal was. He dug out a small bag of Cheetos and went outside.

  “Calvin,” he called.

  The crow was in the air in a moment, then into a power dive when he saw the orange bag. He landed, heavily, on Michael's outstretched arm, then tore into the handful of snacks Michael held out to him.

  “Don't be a pig Calvin,” Michael admonished. “I'm giving you the whole bag, so you can take your time.”

  A sense of satisfaction intruded on Michael's mind as the crow continued to gobble down the Cheetos. He didn't slow in the least from Michael's words, but he did flash a picture to Michael. A Cheetos bag, sitting empty on the ground.

  Michael couldn't help it. He laughed. After the past few days he needed it and as he laughed, Calvin turned towards him with a quizzical look which only made Michael laugh harder.

  He leaned his head back and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, and for the first time in days felt almost himself again.

  “Michael!” came a call from out beyond the garden.

  He looked around and saw Eugene walked towards him, coming from the area near the shooting range.

  “Eugene,” he called back. “What do you need?”

  Eugene held something in his hands and as he came close, he brandished it at Michael.

  “What is this? I saw something shiny out near the shooting range and thought we'd missed some brass, but it was this instead.”

  He held the object for Michael to examine since Calvin was still eating.

  “I don't know, it looks like a scale or something. But it's almost as large as your palm. I'll take a closer look later on, after my buddy here is done with his snack.”

  “You don't know what it is either? Can I go show Rynn?”

  “Sure, I'll meet you inside in a little bit and we can look at it closer, then go finish working on the alarm.”

  “Sounds great,” Eugene said.

  He trotted into the house with the energy of youth, while Michael just looked around at the area, wondering why it was so important to the Council.

  I mean yeah, there's the mine and the ley lines, but I'm sure this isn't the only spot with those in the country.

  He shrugged mentally and stroked Calvin's feathers as the bird continued snacking.

  * * *r />
  * * *

  Chapter 23

  Merlin circled the base, his awareness separated from his body and doing the reconnaissance. When he saw multiple small units leaving, each by a different exit, he returned to his body.

  “Nimue, John, they're on the move and they're doing it intelligently. We've got seven units leaving the base, each by a different route.”

  “How do you want to split them up?” Nimue asked.

  John just growled, an excited look in his eyes.

  “I'll take the three that are heading roughly north. Nimue, you take the one headed south and the one headed east. John, you've got the two headed west. I want to give them an hour or so to get far enough away from the base that they won't have an easy time getting reinforcements, then we'll hit them.”

  She nodded.

  “Why wait?” John asked. “If we go after them now then we can wipe even more of them out when the reinforcements arrive.”

  “Because John, there are weapons that can hurt us even in dragon form. There are spells that can hurt us. They could even, conceivably, kill us. If we take them piecemeal, that's a lot less likely to happen.”

  John growled but settled down.

  It was an uncomfortable wait. Merlin and Nimue were fine, but every five minutes John would ask if it was time yet. Finally, Merlin told his son to send out his awareness and scout out his targets. To find out everything about them that he could.

  “I forget that he's so young,” Merlin said. “If he were just a wizard he'd have fully matured by now, but the dragon's blood in him seems to be holding him back.”

  “Rynn was never like that, I wouldn't blame dragon's blood for this.”

  “Well, women always mature faster than men. I wonder if that's the problem here? If so, maybe it's only another decade or so of holding him on a tight rein,” he said.

  “And you wanted more children...” Nimue replied, letting the silence draw out.

  Merlin smiled at her.

  “I still do, just... Maybe not until we let John go off on his own.”

  Nimue snickered for a moment before speaking again.