I reached for the missing information, and learned that his buddies Carl, Mark, and Larry would have quite an adventure too. They got lost trying to get back to the encampment, and weren’t found for three days, and by then they’d had no idea how to get back to where James was.
It was too late to stop James’ fall, that had already happened over a half an hour ago.
I pulled out my phone and called Mike.
Mike answered, “Hello, detective Mike Taylor here.”
“Mike, it’s Ben. I have a strange question for you. Do you or Aiya know any park rangers?”
Mike blew out a breath, “I don’t, putting you on speaker, we’re mostly private.”
Aiya replied after I recapped the question, “No, I don’t. I’m sure we can chase something down though.”
I thought for a minute. If I tried to deal with the park rangers, there would probably be more pushback, they’d assume it was a prank call. Still, it wasn’t their job to do this, I didn’t want to get them in trouble for working for me, and it was way out of their jurisdiction. No doubt it would get back to Captain Martinez and she’d go on the warpath.
“I’ll call, and if I can’t get them to listen, I’ll go myself.”
I frowned, it wasn’t the best time for this. On the other hand, I wasn’t letting an eleven-year-old boy starve to death because I was too busy protecting myself. Based on the looks Katie and Selene gave me from across the room, I wouldn’t be going alone either. I couldn’t exactly just swoop in and save the day with magic, too many questions would result which would lead to fiddling with memories.
I pulled some information. Carmine Bruzzese was one of the park rangers out there today. I dialed his number and it started to ring.
“Carmine,” he answered in a crisp voice.
“Carmine, my name is Ben Edwards. Listen, there is a group of kids in trouble out there. If I give you the GPS coordinates, will you go take a look?”
He sounded annoyed, “Who is this, how did you get my number? You know I have your number, if this is some kind of hoax I’ll see you in jail.”
“As I already said, this is Ben Edwards. Perhaps you’ve seen news reports on me?”
He grunted, “Yes, you’re that crackpot who thinks he’s psychic. Stop wasting my time, if you bother me again at this number I’ll report you to the police,” and the phone call died.
I was afraid he’d react like that. I smiled at the irony, I guess that makes me psychic.
“Anyone want to go on a hike?” I asked the house at large.
Chapter 10
Thursday, July 7th, 2016, 1:15 PM
I looked around me as we set off into the woods. Note to self, when asking a pack of werewolves if they want in on a hike in the woods, they’ll all say yes.
Only Gerald had stayed behind to keep an eye on my aunt and Amy.
Which meant it was me, Katie, Carrie, Suzy, and Selene. Which also meant I was way outnumbered by females. They all felt like family to me, and I suppose in a werewolf kind of way they were all my sister’s in law.
The rest of the pack of course, were still at work, which did keep the number down at least. Regardless, it had taken some time to dig out the backpacks so we looked the part, and a first aid kit. Then we jumped into the SUV, it wasn’t a far drive to the campground.
I was definitely rethinking the plan of just using magic to travel there, but then what? I couldn’t zip him to a hospital. I supposed I could heal him and bamboozle him and his three buddies, but sometimes it was the right thing to do just doing things the normal way. It would suck for the kid, an eleven-year-old stuck in a cast for the rest of summer would be bored out of his mind, but better that than dead from exposure.
Katie led us through the trails with a GPS app on her cell phone, while I kept an eye out, and my senses peeled, for the enemy. Who still wasn’t coming for me, not yet anyway. It was so… inconsiderate to keep me worrying like this. What the hell were they doing anyway? Oh, right, driving me nuts.
I shook it off as best I could. It actually was a bit hot out, but otherwise it was a nice day, and perfect for a hike. Honestly I was never big on hikes, but I couldn’t deny it was beautiful, and I was certainly used to doing a lot of walking in the city, so that wasn’t an issue.
Selene slowed a bit and walked next to me.
“Is this what it’s always like?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Selene shrugged, “It feels good to be doing this, I can see why you constantly work to save children from themselves and others.”
I nodded slowly, “It does. Sometimes it feels like I’m trying to hold back the tide with a single sandbag. I can only do so much. But on a case by case basis, it really does feel good knowing I make a difference.”
Selene asked, “Is that why you do it?”
I frowned, “Honestly I’m not sure. I think that’s just one part of it. I’m not usually big on self-reflection, but I think a part of me does it because of what happened to me when I was a kid.”
She touched my arm and then entwined her hand around it, and said, “I think I get it. Try to relax, and feel the nature around you. I can tell you’re pretty tense about what’s going on. We’ll find a way through it.”
Touching like that would be flirting for any normal human woman, but for a werewolf, tactile contact between pack members had none of those connotations. Just comfort, trust, and the bond between family. They knew I wasn’t a werewolf, and touched me less often than others because of it, but couldn’t quite not do it at all. If that made any sense. It was simply intrinsic to their natures.
I smiled, “I can try, but the earth isn’t my thing. The sky is kind of nice though.”
Nature was beautiful of course, and nice enough to look at. But I could never approach the connection the pack seemed to have with nature and all that grew from the earth.
She made a teasing face, “No one’s perfect.”
Katie said loud enough to get all our attention, “We’re close, spread out and we’ll…”
She cut off as she saw me pointing, and pouted at me before turning in that direction.
What? Air sorcerer, I knew exactly where the kid was, GPS or not. I didn’t smile though, as it was she’d probably get me back for it later. Exactly like a sister would. Suzy, who was the gentlest of the group, gasped as we caught our first sight of him. His face was twisted in pain, but he looked stubbornly brave and wasn’t crying out.
“Why don’t we split up, the kid’s buddies are about a quarter of a mile east from here, you probably all have their scents by now right?”
Katie shook her head, “No. We can grab them on the way back to the campgrounds.”
I nodded, she was the only enforcer here, and she couldn’t be in two places at once. There was no point in arguing, Katie was too protective of everyone here to listen, and she was probably right anyway. No splitting up.
We moved off the side of the trail, and James’ eyes widened for a moment when he saw us.
“Hey, I’m ben. The ladies and I are here to help get you back to the campground.”
Suzy pulled off her backpack, and took out the first aid kit and something to use for a splint. Katie did the same, but she pulled out a collapsible stretcher. I did wind up cheating a little and putting him to sleep while we got him situated on the stretcher and his leg secured. He was in a lot of pain.
Katie said, “Suzy, Carrie, carry the stretcher, Ben, you can lead us to the kids. They aren’t that far out of the way are they?”
I shook my head, “It’s not a straight line, but it will only add a quarter mile to the walk.”
The kids would get lost otherwise, but they still came rather close to the campsite before wandering off in the wrong direction. We moved at a pretty good clip, it wasn’t all that hard to catch up to the eleven year olds. Once we got back to the campsite, we didn’t even have to answer awkward questions. They broke down the camp and loaded up in the car to head to the hospital.
Still no enemy. I was thankful, but rather confused. It would’ve been a perfect time to attack. Even with Aitheria here guarding us from Anise reading our location, there were all those elementals of air spying on me. Surely she knew exactly where I was at all times.
Maybe she had a soft spot for kids too?
“Ready to get out of here?” I asked. There wouldn’t be a problem using magic to get us back faster.
Selene replied, “Nope, let’s hike back to where the truck is. It’s a gorgeous day.”
I sighed quietly, I should have seen that coming…
Chapter 11
Thursday, July 7th, 2016, 5:35 PM
Mike muttered, “I miss the good old days.”
We were outside in the backyard, the grill was fired up and dinner was almost done. It was Mike, Derik, Clint, and I sitting around the table. The women were all gathered across the yard talking, gushing really, mostly about the fact Selene, Jenna, and Sierra were all pregnant, and Selene was trying to give out advice between the giggling and joking since it wasn’t her first.
I wasn’t sure where Gerald, Carrie, Todd, or Aiya was, and didn’t reach for the information, mostly because I did have a small idea, and I didn’t necessarily want the details of what the couples were up to at the moment.
I turned to Mike, “Good old days? You mean when you thought I was just a psychic, and there was no such thing as magic?”
Mike snorted and took a sip of his beer, “No. Back when I thought you were either a crackpot, or a con artist running a scam.”
I laughed, along with Derik and Clint, “I see. So back when everything made sense then?”
Mike nodded and raised his beer, “You got it,” and took another long sip.
“And your arrest record wasn’t nearly as good?”
Mike glared, or at least, he tried to and failed as his lips twitched, “Watch that smart mouth of yours.”
I shrugged, “I could see why you’d want that though, at least back then you had all your hair.”
Derik and Clint started howling with laughter.
Mike shook his head and took a long sip, “Fine, point for you.”
Derik asked, “Is it really that bad?”
Mike cleared his throat, “Honestly, no. I’d rather know the truth. It was just… simpler. You know, ignorance is bliss and all that. Jenna loves it, seeing the world through new eyes. Which of course, is good for me too.”
Clint looked over at Katie and agreed, “It does make life easier to keep them happy.”
I shrugged, “There’re other advantages to being in the know, you don’t need to keep that bald spot you know.”
Mike looked intrigued but uncomfortable by the suggestion. I could see that, being comfortable with finding out about magic, and letting magic be used on him, was two entirely different things.
Derik grunted and stood, “Steaks are done,” and walked over to the grill.
It was still amazing to me that they could know that on scent alone.
The ladies ambled over, and the two couples came outside, and we dug in.
Generally, there wasn’t much talk during meals as werewolves ate with a single minded focus. Mike and Jenna along with my Aunt, uncle, and cousin looked a little uncomfortable. Aiya and I were used to it by now.
It was a bit later on when everyone started to slow down, that Aiya broke the silence.
“So any news? Did anything happen today?”
I told them the Caroline and air sorcerer story, which was new for most of them, and that we were just in a kind of limbo until they attacked us. Which could happen at any time really. And kept not… happening. It was stressful.
I spent some time practicing with air and fire, if I could grow in power it would help, but I doubted it would happen again for a while, I had to catch up my experience to my knowledge. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try and get better at controlling things either, even if only what I had currently.
Despite my repeated and often attempts, I still couldn’t create the illusion of a candle flame that looked real. I came a little closer now, it didn’t look like a picture, or a painting of a flame anymore, but it still didn’t look exactly right either. I eventually called it a night, when Sierra came and dragged me to bed.
She’d always been affectionate, but it seemed magnified now with the pregnancy, and I was more than happy to follow her up to our room and allow her to seduce me.
Allow?
Who was I kidding anyway? She didn’t have to do much more than breath to seduce me, I was quite obviously hers, and happy to be so. When she pulled out the stops, I didn’t have a chance or even a desire to resist.
I woke to a scream, and had no idea what time it was. By the time I was up and pulling on clothes, Sierra was already dressed and moving out into the hallway.
I heard Selene yell, “The wards!”
I couldn’t feel anyone within two hundred fifty feet of me, which meant they were further out, and much more powerful than I was. It also meant they were destroying the wards before moving for the house. I slipped my shoes on and ran for the stairs. Selene and Carrie were in their sleepwear, and they looked very uncomfortable.
“You two alright?”
Selene looked a little flushed and said, “We’re fine, but someone is destroying the wards from the outside.”
I cursed. We were so screwed. Without the wards I wouldn’t have a good chance against them at all, not one of them, much less three.
No… not we, I was screwed.
I looked at Sierra, she was beautiful and precious to me, and she returned my look with horror as she realized what I was going to do. There was no point in putting them in danger.
I wrapped air around me, and before Sierra, or anyone else could object, I ordered it to take me outside and up, and then followed the magic that attacked the wards. I swallowed as my throat closed up, the magic was coming from almost a thousand feet away.
Following the calculations of spherical volume, that made her about sixty-five times more powerful than I was. When it came to power we weren’t even on the same world, much less in the same playground.
I stopped in front of three people. The two men wore cloaks, and I couldn’t really make out their faces in the shadows, but they were both around five foot ten, and wiry looking.
The woman that stood between them, had a stony emotionless face, and felt cold. She reminded me of Charis, although she was a full grown woman and appeared in her early twenties. She was no doubt beautiful, but her demeanor and visage killed any attraction. She had long light blonde curly hair, and blue eyes. She was wearing a dress that looked about forty years out of date.
“Anise?” I asked boldly, “What do you want of me?”
She smiled, but there was no warmth or happiness in it, “What makes you think I want anything from you?” she asked slyly.
I was focused and ready to run, to dodge her first attack, maybe if I lead her to Tara’s shop? Without finding a way to cut off her power, I was just screwed. I wasn’t sure exactly what she’d meant by her comment, although a fair guess would be it was the elemental soul in the core of my body that she wanted. Wasn’t that a part of me too though?
She attacked, and there was no dodging it at all. It came from every direction at once and pierced through my shields like they weren’t there. I screamed in pain as my mind was twisted. I accepted the inevitable, and hoped my mate and unborn daughter, as well as everyone else, would be safe. I couldn’t even try to escape, all I could do was scream, I couldn’t focus my thoughts enough to do anything with magic.
Then darkness rolled over my vision, and I knew no more.
Chapter 12
Friday, July 8th, 2016, 10:32 AM
The voices were faint, and I was surprised I was alive. I was also shielded so I couldn’t move, or reach out to my elements. My head was still spinning and I tried to focus on the voices.
A choral voice but not Aitheria’s said, “You will be released after this
service, you have my word.”
Anise said coldly, “I want to hear it from him, with whom I have the pact, your word means nothing.”
The other voice replied, “You would dare to demand my lord’s presence here?”
Anise said mockingly, “Yes, and tell your lord he has one day, or I’ll kill the boy up here.”
“That… would be insane. You’d be signing your own death warrant.”
Anise said uncaringly, “So? Better death than this unceasing servitude… he’s awake. Go now, and tell your lord my terms. Either this task is worthy of my freedom, or he will lose what he wants and we will both die. I no longer care which.”
What the hell was going on? I opened my eyes and immediately closed them at the stabbing pain from the bright light. My head pounded and I felt like I’d been hit with a truck, and then ran over. I couldn’t even find out what was wrong, much less fix it, without access to any power.
Anise’s heels made a sharp sound as she walked across the stone. I squinted my eyes to see, and was shocked to find I was inside a cave of some kind, there was bright light at the opening, which was maybe a hundred feet away. The tunnel was rough, but it was also too straight to be natural, and I noticed a few braces. Maybe I was in an old mine?
“Ben, so glad you could join us. I admit, I was a little annoyed at you for eluding my people and making me come after you myself. I may have been a little rough with you.”
I coughed and cleared my throat, “Sorry to be such an inconvenience,” I said dryly, “What is this about exactly? I’d really like to know before I die.”
She laughed, “Aitheria hasn’t told you a thing has she? Interesting. So you haven’t made a pact for knowledge? I’ll admit, I’m rather impressed you’ve managed to get this powerful so quickly.”
I shook my head, and immediately regretted it as the room started to spin. I suspected she’d given me a concussion, or damaged my brain somehow.
Sorcerer: Elemental: Power of Air (Book 5) Page 6