“Okay, so there is a chance that Morgana is here. How does that help us find the bad guys?” I asked.
“In studying the local magical history I came across an old Native American tale, Powhatan I believe, about several powerful medicine men banding together in order to imprison a deadly witch that arrived on their shores,” Kara said.
“And you think that it might be her?”
“Could be,” Kara responded.
“So we just need to find the spot of that original ritual,” Erika stated.
“Great, how do we do that?” I asked.
“By finding the Henge,” Kara replied.
“What?” I added.
“Summoning requires a circle. The story mentioned a circle of power. Now the most powerful circles are created from earthen materials such as large rocks. It will allow them to contain the energy of the ritual and protect themselves. Think Stonehenge,” Kara said.
“Okay, so where is Le Fay Henge?”
“I believe that I have the answer to that,” Freddy chimed in, “As we should have guessed the ritual will be taking place in Rock Creek Park. They have constructed a henge of large stones in the woods south of Wise road and west of Beach Drive. It is very close to the Maryland border and apparently well hidden,” he said.
I slammed on the gas and Vlad sped off towards our destination. It wasn’t far from the bad-guy base so we would be taking the same abundance of avenues once again. Traffic was light enough now that by swerving around other cars and breaking most of the local traffic laws we could get there pretty fast. I found myself wondering how Freddy suddenly knew so much about this henge.
“How do you know where the circle is Freddy?”
“From the transportation of large rocks mentioned in the interrogation report,” he stated.
“What?”
“After you managed to get the Troll talking, he gave a detailed accounting of his actions over the last few weeks. Most likely in an effort to garner good will towards his possible release. Once we learned that it was Le Fay being summoned and a henge was required, I remembered something that I read in that report. The troll mentioned that he assisted in constructing a stone circle,” Freddy said.
Now that he said that I had a vague memory of Benny talking about moving large rocks. Once we got him talking in the interrogation room he babbled on about all kinds of stuff. There might have been a mention of the boss using the trolls to move a bunch of large rocks into a circle weeks ago. At the time manual labor didn’t seem relevant so I didn’t give it much thought. But now I guess we really knew why Lady Servant wanted the trolls in his employ. Their strength would be the easiest way to secretly construct a large stone circle in the woods. It was a nice catch by Freddy.
“Well done everyone, now how do I stop the summoning when I get there?” I asked.
“Like all rituals, you just have to interrupt it,” Kara said.
“So we destroy the orbus?” I said.
“Or the Servant of the Lady,” Visine stated.
“That would do it. And Bruce, if I am remembering the story correctly, the ritual begins at sundown,” Kara replied.
“Okay then, times up. We got a job to do,” I said.
There was a chorus of good lucks before Freddy spoke up.
“Mr. Chang I just feel the need to stress that you cannot allow Morgana to be released. The Native Americans excelled at maintaining the magical balance of the land. Those same sources of power do not exist today. I do not believe anyone alive could stop her should she be freed. The world would be in grave danger,” Freddy said.
“In other words, my car was right,” I stated.
“Thanks Boss,” Vlad said out loud.
“Anytime pal,” I said patting his dash,
“That was not quite the message that I was trying to get across,” Freddy tried.
“Relax Freddy, I got it. Stop the ritual and save the world. In the meantime, keep an eye out the window.”
“What are we looking for?” Freddy asked.
“If you see the apocalypse, you know we failed,” I said and hung up.
I looked over at Visine and smiled.
“Okay, let’s save the world.”
Chapter 26
The sun dipped below the horizon leaving an orange glow in its wake to remind us of brighter times. Most people believe that evil can only flourish in the dark. In this case they might be right. I wasn’t sure how villainous sorcerers measured sunset, but my gut told me that the ritual would be starting any minute now. Here’s hoping for a long ritual.
We parked Vlad on Oregon Ave about a mile up from the barn. I pulled off on the side of the road right by one of the hiking trail entrances. There were no other vehicles about so I figured the bad guys must have used a different entrance. The delicate nature of the orbus probably lent itself better to a more open path. This one was narrow and a bit grown over. But our best guess at the rituals location meant that this was the closest place to park Vlad.
“Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” Visine replied.
We jumped out of the car and started making our way up the trail. After a very short time the path split to the north and south. Our destination was to the east so we had to play bushmaster and travel through the woods. I couldn’t stop wondering how all of this linked to Visine.
“So, how do you think you and Le Fay are connected?” I whispered.
“No idea,” he replied quietly.
“You could be over a thousand years old.”
“Fifteen hundred if the connection goes back to Arthur’s court,” Visine stated.
“You look pretty good for you age,” I joked.
Visine gave a light chuckle and didn’t say anything else. We were moving quickly through the brush when I felt Vlad reach for contact. A moment later I heard his voice inside of my head.
“Hey Boss, I think the ritual started. I can feel something ahead of you,” he said.
“Can you pinpoint it?” I asked.
“Just a general vibe. But I think it’s a hair south of your current line,” he said.
“Thanks pal, let us know if you sense anything else.”
I gave Visine the course correction and let him know that the ritual had started. He grunted and continued on. He was in the lead since I knew from our previous dealings that his nanites gave him exceptional night vision. The full moon was low in the sky and the thick forest canopy blocked most of the helpful starlight. Although I couldn’t see nearly as well as Visine, I wasn’t blind.
A decade of running around in the dark let me know that my night vision was better than most. Whether because of special ninja training or just good genes, I can’t be sure. But whatever the reason my senses have always been pretty sharp. My feeling on the senses, especially the eyes, is that they are just another muscle in the body. If you train them, they will get stronger. Pushing my senses to their limits had saved my life more times than I could count. As we wandered through this dark forest I just hoped that they would once again serve me well.
After a few minutes Visine spotted something and stopped us. The distance was too far for me to make out anymore than a glow. But Visine cheated. His nanite-powered eyes not only gave him night vision they also allowed him to zoom in. Totally not fair. But since he had the super eyes it was his responsibility to tell me what he saw up ahead.
“I can see the circle,” he said.
“And what are we up against?”
“I only see the Servant and two ladies,” he said.
“The ones in the purple robes?”
“Can’t be sure, they’re currently naked,” he replied matter of factly.
“Dammit, do you know how distracting it is to fight naked women? Please tell me that they are ugly.”
Visine just gave a snort and starting walking towards the circle. The closer we got the more detail I could make out. The rocks themselves could have been called Stonehedge Jr. They were big light-gray slabs, about seven feet tall,
situated in a perfect circle. The interiors of the rocks were glowing with a white light and providing the illumination. Arching over the top, the light actually put a cap on the henge as if creating a translucent dome. The circle looked to be about fifty feet across which gave the girls plenty of room to dance about its interior.
Standing in the center was a frail looking man presumably known as The Servant of the Lady. He was middle aged with pale blotchy skin. Short brown hair circled his head just above his ears leaving the top completely bald. He wore thick, red, flowing robes that seemed to be blowing back as if he was standing in the wind. In front of him was a large metal frame, cube shaped, and as tall as he was. Dozens of metal struts made up the box like shape and held a bowling ball sized sphere suspended in the middle. The sphere pulsed with a red light, each of the connecting rods also glowing red in an alternating pattern with the sphere. This was obviously the orbus.
Dancing around the Servant and his box were the two naked priest ladies. They looked identical in every way. They stood just under six-feet tall with athletic frames and copper skin. Their heads and bodies were completely devoid of hair allowing the light to shimmer across their attractive forms. There was a writhing to their movements that was giving off a strong sexual vibe. From their firm nipples to their gyrating hips, I got the impression that they were enjoying the ritual just a bit too much. I didn’t appreciate the distraction of sexy dancing women right before our battle.
“Well that’s just not fair,” I sighed.
Visine again rewarded me with a comedic snort before continuing his path towards the circle. Unfortunately for our stealthy approach there was a wide clearing around the henge. We would have to cross at least fifty feet of open ground before we reached the rocks. Years of crazy ninja training meant that I could make it unnoticed, but it would take time. Even if Visine could follow my ninja lead, time was not something that we had. So unless we wanted to bet on the fact that they were so involved in their ritual that they wouldn’t notice us, we had to make a decision. Visine’s solution was to draw his pistol and take aim.
It was a good plan. Taking the Servant out now should halt the ritual and save the world. At least that was our hope. There was an eerie silence to the forest as the sound of their chanting was being contained within the light dome. I heard nothing else but the distant chirping of crickets as Visine pulled the hammer back on his gun. He took a deep breath and after he exhaled he fired.
Unfortunately we will never know if his aim was true. The bullet ricocheted off of the wall of light as if it was a force field. Kara had mentioned that a summoning circle would provide protection but I didn’t realize that this was quite what she meant. At this point our only option was to hope that the force field only worked against inanimate objects. If people couldn’t pass through then we were really screwed. But since the rules of magic as Kara had explained them did seem to differentiate between living and non-living, I figured we had a chance.
The bad guys didn’t even flinch as the shot rang out. The Servant continued his grand arm movements and chanting, his head constantly falling back as he appeared to yell at the sky. The ladies however now seemed very much aware of our presence. Their dance didn’t stop as much as it slowed to a crawl before they each turned our way. They glided up towards the rocks immediately facing us, their movements eerie and almost mechanical. Unblinking black eyes, and I mean completely black, watched us as they moved. Their heads tilted side to side like an insect, which made it just a bit easier to ignore the fact that they were naked.
They each grabbed hold of a different stone and started to squirm against them. Jokes flooded my thoughts and before I could decide which insinuation about rock hard men would be the funniest, the stones started to glow. It was a gray light, almost like a midnight reflection of the moon off of a lake. As it grew brighter it took on an even more pronounced silver quality. Visine gave his review of the light show by firing three more shots. Since stealth was no longer an option we had both started hurrying towards the circle.
I hurled a blade to confirm that it wasn’t a bullet only force field. Visine emptied his pistol and reloaded to fire again. His bullets continued to rebound off of the shield, as did my blade. It was pretty clear that our only hope was that living beings could pass through the barrier. We quickened our pace and I hurled one more knife just to be sure. This one however didn’t just glance off of the shell but rather altered its flight path and stuck to one of the silver glowing rocks. The blade was on its side and attached to the rock as if it was magnetic. The silver glow started to intensify in step with the girls squirming and the tug on my weapons confirmed it.
“Ah crap, magnetic rocks,” I grumbled.
It was a small pull at first but I could feel it intensifying. Every metal object that I was carrying was being drawn towards the rocks. We were about a dozen feet from the stones when Visine released the grip on his gun. The pistol flew through the air and stuck to the side of the rock just as my blade had. If we didn’t act fast our own weapons were going to pin us to those rocks. So we stopped and started a rapid disarm.
I pulled blades out as fast as my hands could move, the magnetic force claiming them as soon as I released them. As the rocks collected more and more of our weapons it started to look like an interesting piece of modern art. Before I was able to remove my last two blades, the pull of the magnetic force tore the sheath right off of my arm. Visine had just managed to remove all of his guns from their holsters and his belt before the metal buckle on his sling was torn off. As the fabric ripped free and his injured arm flopped down to his side he let out a shallow grunt of pain.
The gazes of the black-eyed women were locked onto us as they wiggled their bodies against the rocks. Then, once they stopped their stone-love, the glow of the rocks diminished slightly. It didn’t vanish completely and it was clear from our weapons still sticking there that the magnetic effect remained in place. But apparently it no longer required their immediate attention to maintain. At that point they each stepped around their respective stone and exited the circle. There was a small shimmering halo effect that surrounded them as they broke the field.
I considered this a very good sign. By leaving the protection of the circle they were basically confirming that we were a threat. Whether because we could actually walk through the barrier or because we could somehow disrupt the ritual from out here, I couldn’t be sure. But one way or the other, we mattered. I let a thin smile cross my face as the girls stalked forward.
They moved in perfect harmony and the creepy inhuman nature of their gait was enhanced by their coordination. In a pose worthy of Wolverine they flung their hands out to their sides and six-inch claws sprang forth from the tips of their fingers. Their jaws opened farther than should be possible and revealed shark like rows of sharp pointy teeth. Their copper skin split right down the center of their bodies before being ripped off as if being pulled from behind. The discarded skin flopped to the ground with a sound like a wet towel.
In the world of small favors two shapely naked women no longer distracted me. Instead we now faced very dangerous looking alien bug ladies. Their bodies were covered in shimmering green scales that reminded me of the skin of a snake. Solid black eyes were now twice as big and curved up into the fold of their triangular foreheads. Jaws wide enough to swallow a football hung open to reveal rows and rows of sharp pointy teeth. It was like looking into the mouth of a great white shark. They had no ears and their noses had been replaced by gill like slits. Their body proportions were also off. Although they still stood about the same height, their arms and legs were now longer and thinner.
Continuing their stalk forward, still in unison, they glided across the ground towards us. With each step their movements became more and more alien. I didn’t know what they were, but one thing was for sure, I had never seen a human move like that. Our bones would never allow it. They stepped with a fluidity that made me question whether they even had a skeleton under all that lean muscl
e. Since Visine had been around much longer than me I wondered if he had encountered this creature before.
“Any idea what those are?” I asked.
“Yeah. Obstacles,” he replied sharply.
That got me to laugh. We had both started slowly stepping offline in order to create more space between us. While I don’t mind fighting in close proximity to an ally, the ladies were displaying enough synchronicity to make us want to keep them apart. I’d fought assassin teams in the past that worked in unison. Years of practice let their moves flow around each other in perfect harmony. It was a scary thing to witness and a pain to fight. And if the linked movements of the ladies were any indication this could be much worse. So we tried to remove any advantage that we could, especially since Visine’s arm was badly injured and I hurt all over.
My bug-lady glided to my left and then charged right at me. Her dark lidless eyes were almost more disturbing than her gaping mouth. Spinning like a demonic ballerina she swung her clawed hands at me. Her speed was such that I couldn’t even consider striking her back each time that it was presented to me. All I could do was continue to shift backwards and kept just out of range. I avoided dozens of attacks before I noticed a pattern that I thought might be helpful. She was varying the angles of her attacks and when she brought an uppercut of claws at my chin I moved. A backhand spring is probably far down on the list of things that a person should do in a fight, but here it was anyway.
My flip had created enough separation that she had to charge again. In an effort to be unpredictable I burst forward to meet her. She was fast, but so was I. Stepping my leg forward I just managed to drive the ball of my foot into her chest. The force of my kick drove her back far enough that her claws only caught my forearms. I cursed and continued forward, hoping to seize the tiny advantage that I had created.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams: Book 1 - Magic Page 24