“What were they expecting to find?” I asked.
Bobbit just shrugged.
After a few hundred yards, the dirt track ended, and Bobbit drove back onto tarmac. He directed the SUV toward an isolated building, stopping in front of a sleek white jet.
“Weirdest looking courthouse I’ve ever seen,” I said as we got out.
A woman stood at the top of the steps leading into the plane. “You’re late,” she said. She was a severe looking woman, around forty, with her hair tied up in a bun and the collar of her plain white blouse buttoned tight around her neck.
Bobbit looked at his watch. “I’m on time.”
“Just about. Be earlier in future,” she said. “Well, come on. Hurry up, don’t just stand there.”
She disappeared inside, and Bobbit and I hurried up the steps. “Is that Walker?” I asked. “I assumed he would be a man.”
“Walker’s most definitely a man,” Bobbit said. “That’s Elizabeth Lowndes. She’s second in command. Or at least I think so, they don’t use titles or have a strict hierarchy.”
Lowndes stood by the door, ushering us like an angry stewardess. She immediately shut the door behind us.
“What’s going on?” Bobbit asked. “Why the rush?”
“There is no rush,” Lowndes said. “There’s just efficiency and lack thereof.”
“When I rush something, it usually ends up taking me twice as long,” I said.
She looked past me at Bobbit. “This halfwit is the rogue?”
Bobbit nodded. “Where’s Walker?”
“Perhaps not surprising you couldn’t keep him under control, then.” She shook her head. “As for Walker, he doesn’t answer to you. Take your seat and buckle up.” She opened a door at the front and walked into the cockpit.
“Nice woman,” I said.
“Watch what you say and do,” Bobbit said. “The order will want to know that you are capable of controlling your magic.”
“Isn’t it more important to make sure they know I’m funny. Everyone likes a jokester.”
It was Bobbit’s turn to look at me like I was a halfwit. “You realize how serious this is, don’t you?”
I clapped Bobbit on the shoulder and gave him a wink. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
A man approached up the aisle, a wide grin on his face. “Dashel, you old dog. How are you?”
Bobbit stepped forward, matching the other man’s smile. “Holliday! No one’s killed you yet?” The two men embraced.
“I’m still kicking,” Holliday said. “I enjoy disappointing my enemies.”
“That’s a lot of people to disappoint,” Bobbit said.
Holliday grinned. “The list continues to grow.”
The plane jerked forward, and we all stumbled. “We better strap in,” Holliday said. He led the way back toward a group of four seats and sat down beside a young woman. When she looked up, I stumbled again and this time, it wasn’t due to the movement of the plane. With black hair and milk-white skin, she was absolutely stunning.
Act cool, I said to myself.
If you have to say that to yourself, you most definitely are not acting cool, Jerome thought. Snap your jaw shut and sit down.
I stepped in front of Bobbit, taking the inside seat opposite the young woman. I had just finished strapping in when the plane jerked forward, beginning to taxi toward the runway.
Elizabeth Lowndes moved swiftly down the aisle, and the young woman stood, putting out an arm to stop her progress. “What’s going on? I thought I was supposed to get out here.”
“The plane will be back,” Lowndes said. “You can help us deal with Dashel and his halfwit first.” She continued on, disappearing through a door at the back.
“What’s back there?” I asked.
“Executive lounge,” Holliday said. “There has to be a way to separate those traveling in exclusive class to those traveling in super-duper exclusive class. It’s a crucial part of private jet design.”
The plane started accelerating and I leaned back in the seat.
Holliday was watching me. “Nervous flier?” he asked.
“I’m not sure.” I had never been on a plane before. In all the excitement, I hadn’t had a chance to figure out if I was okay with being hurled into the sky in a thin metal shell, trusting in science to protect me.
Statistics are on your side, Jerome thought. You are one million times more likely to be killed by Walker than by a plane crash.
You’re super helpful as always, Jerome.
You won’t be much good as a guardian of the human race if you can’t sit on a plane seat without pissing yourself, he thought.
“How come you called Robert Bobbit Dashel?” I asked Holliday. He wasn’t a big man, but he had the square chest and big biceps of someone who pumped iron. He had small eyes, a high forehead and sparse pale hair, but his most noticeable feature was his friendly smile.
Holliday looked across at Bobbit. “How do you like your new name, old friend? Bob Bobbit has a good ring to it, doesn’t it?”
“Holliday, you bastard. You are responsible for that.” Bobbit shook his head. “I might have known.”
Holliday turned to me. “I’ve known Dashel a long time. How long did we fight together in the jungles of Peru? Over a year, at least, wasn’t it?”
Bobbit nodded. “Closer to two.”
“When he retired from active service, he needed a new name,” Holliday said. “I made sure it was something he’d hate. A subtle nudge to bring him back.”
“Retirement was forced upon me,” Bobbit objected. Then he grinned. “You clearly know me too well. I despise that name.”
“What’s with the one word names,” I asked. “Holliday. Walker. Is Cher and Madonna around here somewhere?”
“My full name is Gary Holliday. Gary was the dweeb who got beaten up in gym class. Holliday is the feared sentinel. I believe in redefining ourselves when we get older.”
“Speaking of names.” I stretched my hand out toward the young woman. “We haven’t been introduced. My name is Rune.”
“This lovely young woman is Sash Huff,” Holliday supplied.
Sash shot Holliday a glare, then turned her attention back to me. “Rune the rogue,” she said.
“If I’m a rogue, I didn’t mean to be one,” I told Sash. “Actually, I’d like to retire from being a sentinel.” The less involved I was in the magical world, the better it would be for me and everyone who knew me. I didn’t like the idea of being controlled by this shadowy order.
“Are you going to retire as a supreme court judge as well?” Sash asked.
“Huh?”
“You aren’t a sentinel yet. So you can’t retire from being one.”
“Pretty sure I am.” I put my left hand in front of me, and curled my fingers around an imaginary hilt and summoned my firesword. Or, at least, I tried to. Nothing happened.
Idiot, Jerome said. Are you seriously trying to summon fire on a plane? You could do with more fear.
Bobbit slapped my hand down, clearly thinking the same as Jerome.
“You aren’t a sentinel yet, you are a rogue,” Sash said. “Sometimes rogues are capable of joining the order. More often, they are unable to control themselves. Especially those with fire powers.”
“What happens to those who can’t control themselves?” Trying to summon my firesword had been a bad idea.
“They go to a happy place where you eat muffins all day and play on rainbow slides,” Sash said.
“I consider sarcasm to be the lowest form of humor.”
“I’m delighted you shared your opinion with me on that.”
More sarcasm. Perhaps she wasn’t as attractive as I had first thought. “Surely being a sentinel is about having the powers of one. And joining this order should be voluntary.”
“Sentinels are dangerous,” Bobbit said. “I explained this to you.”
When sentinels used their magic, they caused a rift to form into Brimstone, allowing eleme
ntals to cross into our world. This had only recently become a problem, and it had something to do with a powerful elemental called Uro. Luckily, sentinels could still summon a unique weapon, a multani, without invoking our magic. “Just because a sentinel isn’t part of the order doesn’t mean he has to be dangerous.”
Holliday shook his head. “It’s too risky to be allowed.”
Arguing further wasn’t going to do my cause any good. I had to convince them that I was a pliable young sentinel who had just made a few mistakes out of ignorance, not someone who opposed their idea of order. “How come I can’t form my multani in this plane?” At a glare from Bobbit, I continued, “Not that I tried.”
“The plane is made from titanium,” Holliday said. “The metal forms a shield to Brimstone.”
“Titanium, that’s it? You don’t need four inches of lead or anything?”
You are thinking of radiation, Jerome informed me.
Sash suddenly nodded to my necklace. “What’s with your pet smoke elemental?”
I twisted the barbed wire necklace around my throat. “How do you know?”
“Sash is one of those rare sentinels who is also a sensitive. She can detect elementals and shades,” Holliday said. “Are you sure though? I’ve never heard of a physical object that can hold an elemental.”
Sash leaned forward and touched the necklace. I held my breath. She smelled really nice. Perhaps I could forgive her the sarcasm. “I didn’t know it was possible either,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Well, if you could take it off my hands, I’d be happy to let you,” I said. “The elemental inside it tried to possess me.”
“Why do you keep it?” Sash asked.
“The necklace was magically locked in place,” I said. “A poisoned gift.”
“We might be able to do something about it.” Sash turned to Holliday. “What do you think?”
He shrugged. “Possibly. How badly do you want rid of it?”
I hesitated. “What would happen to the elemental?”
“If we prepared everything correctly, we’ll be able to destroy it as we removed the necklace,” Sash said. “Make sure it doesn’t get the chance to cause any more damage.”
You’ve gone quiet, Jerome, I thought No wise cracks?
He didn’t respond.
“I guess we can’t do anything while inside the titanium shielding of the plane,” I said. “Maybe later.” With a beep, the seat-belt sign went off. I unbuckled my belt and looked out the window. The plane was above a carpet of thick white clouds. As it turned out, I wasn’t afraid of flying, which was good to know.
When I got tired of looking out the window and turned my attention back to my fellow passengers, Bobbit and Holliday were talking to each other and Sash was reading on a tablet, studiously not looking at me.
I leaned back in my seat, allowing my thoughts to drift. Although I had plenty of upcoming problems, it wasn’t worry about myself that was on the forefront of my mind, it was worry about Alex and Jo. Were they still in Gorlam’s? What had Bobbit meant when he’d said possessions had taken place in the orphanage?
Chapter 4
Sunday, 17:35
From the landscape below, with turquoise lagoons and lush forest pressed close to the ocean, I guessed we were landing in Florida. After a sharp descent, the wheels touched down on the runway smoothly.
Holliday unbuckled his seat-belt and stretched out his arms. Elizabeth Lowndes emerged from the executive lounge and hurried up the aisle, knocking on the door to the cockpit. The door opened, and she disappeared inside. A short time later the plane came to a stop.
“Where next?” I thought about what I knew about Florida. “The everglades to meet some alligators.”
Holliday chuckled. “Are you ready to fight alligators?”
“I think he’s ready,” Sash said. “He’ll make stupid jokes until they beg for mercy.”
“How do you know me so well when we’ve only just met?” She shook her head, stood up and moved to the front of the plane. “How does she know me so well?” I asked Bobbit.
“Remember what I told you,” Bobbit said. “Prove you can be trusted with your power.”
“Give me a hand here,” Lowndes said to Sash, and they twisted the handle on the door and pulled it open. I looked out the window and saw that steps had already been put in place under the door.
I followed Holliday and Bobbit as we all exited the plane. Just as I stepped on the tarmac, a black stretch limo pulled up. Lowndes looked at her watch and nodded in satisfaction.
The black door opened and a tall, wide shouldered man stepped out. The aura of power he projected instantly told me he was Walker. He wore a black suit with an electric blue tie. He was handsome and well groomed with blonde wavy hair.
He stretched out his hand toward Bobbit. “Dashel, good to see you again.”
Bobbit shook his hand. “And you, sir.”
“Walker. Is that a first name or second name?” I asked. “Or a nickname. Aragorn was also called Strider.” I knew I was expected to keep quiet and deferential until the great Walker decided to notice me, but I just didn’t have it in me. If I was going to go down, it would be as myself.
“What’s he talking about?” Walker asked.
“He likes to talk nonsense,” Holliday said.
“I thought you liked my nonsense,” I complained.
Walker looked at Bobbit. “You told me he had potential.”
“He is powerful,” Bobbit said. “Don’t let his playground humor fool you.”
“Playground humor? Et tu, Bobbit.” Walker's arrival signaled the end of all joking, it seemed. “I’m willing to accept pity laughs,” I offered.
Maybe you could ask it as a last request, Jerome suggested. A steak dinner, a pity laugh, a quick end, and an alligator funeral.
Walker surveyed the airport, raising his hand to shade his eyes as he scanned toward the sinking sun. The area we were in was deserted. “Let us begin.” Walker stepped toward me, raising his right hand in front of him. A large silver shield formed in his hand. “You are called here before the order to answer charges of endangering the human race by of negligently using magic.”
I stepped back from Walker’s shield, but I couldn’t go far. Elizabeth Lowndes took up station behind me, and Holliday and Sash stood to either side of me, weapons appearing in their hands. Sash held a double bladed staff and Holliday a giant warhammer.
I raised my hands, ready to summon my firesword, but Bobbit slapped them down.
Behind me, a black disk spun at the end of a chain in Elizabeth Lowndes’s right hand. I had known each sentinel had a signature multani, but I still hadn’t expected such a diverse range of weapons.
“I’d like to know about the appeal process,” I said. “I intend to bring up that my defender is dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and is really bad at golf.”
“Enough with the jokes.” Walker’s voice was like the crack of thunder. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
His shield reflected light from the sun, suddenly dazzling. I took a half step further back, though that only made me aware of how close Lowndes was behind me with that spinning black disk. I swallowed, suddenly with nothing to say.
“He didn’t know what he was doing,” Bobbit said.
“I’ve read his file,” Walker said. “He first used his magic a year ago, causing a fire that killed two people.”
“He has used his magic rarely since, but he never understood the true consequences of his actions. He didn’t know about the order. Only after his fight with the shade Yarley did he learn that using his magic allowed elementals to cross from Brimstone.”
That wasn’t true. Bobbit had warned me I couldn’t use my magic without risking serious consequences. “I had no choice,” I said. “Yarley set the building on fire. It was the only way to save... an innocent.”
Walker ignored me. “Dashel, you were ordered several times to get the rogue under control before tha
t happened.”
“You retired me,” Bobbit said. “I haven’t been much on taking orders since then.”
“So you just allowed this happen.” Walker turned toward Sash. “I understand you sensed the rift this rogue created.”
“The fire elemental that passed through was gigantic. The boy definitely has power. Perhaps too much.”
“I can control it,” I said.
“Will he be useful to you in Lusteer?” Walker asked Sash.
She made a face. “Somewhat, I guess. He attended Gorlam’s, which is where this other rogue is operating from. He may know the local shades.”
“What do you think?” Walker looked over my shoulder at Elizabeth Lowndes.
“We’ve had a lot of trouble from fire sentinels, and he’s already proved he can’t be trusted by what he did,” Lowndes said. “What we’ve seen from him today has only added to that impression.
Walker looked across at Holliday.
“Having a bit of personality is a good thing in my mind,” Holliday said. “Now that he knows the consequences, he deserves a chance to prove himself. A war is coming, and we’ll need warriors.”
“Soldiers, not warriors,” Lowndes said.
Walker nodded in agreement. “He must prove that he can control himself.” He turned his full attention on me. “Are you understanding us?” His eyes were sky blue and startlingly bright.
I felt myself wilting under Walker’s stare—it compelled obedience—but my rebellious instinct won out, and my reply was less than deferential. “I get it. Spouting off with magic brings the big bad elementals. I won’t do it anymore.”
Walker grunted. “It’s against my better instincts, but I’m prepared to go easy on you. Are you prepared to receive sentencing?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“I sentence you to summary execution,” Walker said.
I waited for him to chuckle. “Wait, how is that—” I looked at the others, seeking the punchline.
“Let me finish.” Walker cut me off. “You talk too much. Execution is delayed for a probationary period. During that time, any use of your magic—multani excepted—and probation is rescinded, and a sentinel will be tasked with your execution.
Fire Summoning (The Sentinels Book 2) Page 2