Red Skies

by Jan Stryvant

  "So what time are we due in Winnipeg?" Sean asked.

  "Six. We run by Sapientia, get some updated intelligence, pick up some magic users for the silence, and then hit the local Vestis a few hours after that. Probably, say, midnight."

  Sean nodded. "Well, I'm gonna work on my research, so unless anything important comes up, don't bother me."

  "You got it," Chad said.

  "I'll keep an eye on things," Roxy said with a smile.

  Once in his 'virtual' classroom, Sean pulled out the tarball he'd made of his faerie sword. He still couldn't understand why it had been so hard. He'd had to modify his program quite a bit for it to work, so the tarball was huge by comparison to all the others he'd done previously. He could only guess that, because it was a different kind of magic than what he was used to, his program didn't know how to deal with it. So he'd had to modify it to make it work.

  Loading it up into his emulator, he started trying to make heads or tails out of what he was looking at. The structure of the magic was unlike anything he'd seen so far, but considering just how inexperienced he really was, Sean didn't think it was that big a surprise. If nothing else, it might make the flight a little less boring as he tinkered with all the different programs and tried to figure out where his tarball program had messed up.

  Pulling apart one of the spells at random, he tried to figure out what it was meant to do. There were some strange blank spots in the spell, almost like white space padding in a regular program. But of course that sort of thing normally wouldn't show up when you compiled a program and ran it. But...but most of the spells he'd been dealing with were more like a runtime interpreted program, which made those easier to pull apart. So either his tarball program had hit a snag when trying to convert these parts for some reason, and just stuck in a blank space, or the blank space was actually a part of the 'program', or spell rather, which served some purpose he didn't understand.

  But how the hell did you put blank space into a spell?

  Shaking his head, Sean decided to ignore it for now and see if he could figure out exactly what it was the spell actually did.

  Several hours later, he thought he understood what the spell did, but not at all how. The purpose of the spell was to balance the energy in the sword. How it did it, or even why it did it, Sean didn't have a clue. But at least he understood what it did. Or thought he did, anyway. He'd have to ask Maitland when he saw him next. Downloading another spell from the tarball into his emulator, Sean was just starting to puzzle that one out when he suddenly realized he was being shaken. Saving everything in place, he quickly shut down his classroom and opened his eyes.

  "We're landing. Time to wake up," Peg told him.

  "Where's Roxy?" Sean asked, looking around.

  "Umm, she went to the bathroom, she'll be back in a minute."

  Sean noticed Peg looked a little embarrassed, but sure enough, a minute later Roxy came out of the bathroom and quickly came back to join him and Peg in the seat.

  "You feeling alright?" Sean asked her.

  "Oh, I'm feeling fine," Roxy said and grinned.

  Just then Sean noticed Sheila also coming out of the bathroom, looking a little disheveled.

  Sean turned back to Roxy, who smiled and blushed brightly.

  "Really?" he said, looking at her.

  "Hey, you were out of it, and well, why not? What yours is mine, too, you know!" Roxy said with a giggle.

  Sean just shook his head and sighed. "I'll make sure to 'stay awake' on the next leg of the trip." Sheila came by a little shakily and dropped down into the seat on the other side of the aisle.

  "What did you do to the poor girl?" Sean teased.

  "Everything Jo's taught me." Roxy snickered.

  Rolling his eyes, Sean decided he really didn't want to know any more than that.

  Landing was pretty much the same this time as last time, only the airport was larger and fancier, and they weren't allowed to be met on the tarmac by any vans. Instead, they had to walk over to a small terminal building specifically there for chartered flights, through that, and out to the curb, where there were several large vans and a truck. After piling into the vehicles, it was only a twenty-minute drive to the Sapientia compound.

  Once there, Sean was introduced to the head of the local Sapientia council, Ron Williams. Ron then introduced them to the other council members and several of the key lycans on their staff. Sean didn't bother memorizing any of the names; with any luck they'd be leaving tomorrow and go on to Toronto. That was the big nut to crack, being the largest Vestibulum council in Canada, mainly because it was where they smuggled any contraband that couldn't be hidden by magic into the United States.

  "So, any word on what's going on with the Vestis?" Chad asked Ron after the introductions had been done.

  "Actually, yes. There's been something odd going on over there for the last ten days or so. It started when a truck and several vans full of what looked like soldiers pulled up and went inside. We were worried at first that maybe they were planning an assault, so I asked Claude there," Ron motioned to the lycan who was now in charge of their security, "to beef our security up. But so far, nothing."

  Chad looked at Sean and grimaced, then turned to Claude. "We saw something like this back in Vancouver. They murdered nearly all their male lycans, and only let the maids and the sex slaves live. How many lycans do they have here?"

  "Thirty-seven, and twenty of those were their security forces. The rest were all domestics, or umm, there for sex. As councils go, I think they've got maybe seventy magic users there, and that's counting the men and women. But some of those people are pretty important. The Winnipeg house engages in a lot of magical research for the Vestibulum, and several of the male mages are fairly powerful, though they're starting to get a bit old these days."

  Ron Williams picked back up then. "Frank Watkins, their council leader, is starting to get up there in age, having just turned sixty-five. But he's still rumored to be fairly powerful. He definitely commands a lot of respect in the Vestibulum and is considered to be the leader of the Canadian councils. In fact, with Adams now gone, there's been a push for him to go to Boston and take over there as the North American head."

  Sean looked at Chad, who was looking back at him.

  "I think we're going full assault tonight," Sean growled. "I'll be going with you. If what happened in Vancouver happens here, I don't think there's going to be very much left of the Winnipeg council come dawn."

  "Do you think that's wise, Sean?" Ron asked, looking a little worried.

  "If they're going to ignore the message we sent when we wiped out the Gradatim, we're going to keep sending that message until they either start paying attention, or they're all dead. If you're going to play stupid games, you can't complain when you win stupid prizes."

  Chad asked about supplies then; he was concerned about ammunition, they hadn't been able to pick up as much as they wanted to back in Calgary. Canada wasn't swimming in bullets like the U.S. was, but Sapientia did have enough here to meet Chad's needs.

  Sean then went with him as they went over the plan for tonight's assault with the troops. Claude had maps that had been updated this morning with his people's most recent observations.

  "Honestly," Claude said when they were away from the council members, "if you need any more manpower, just let me know. There's been something going on there for the last few months that's really started to worry me."

  "Oh? What?" Sean asked.

  "Several of their younger members disappeared. Their parents were so desperate they actually came here to find out if it was our doing. They even went to the police and filed missing person's reports. It's part of why I've got that place under such heavy surveillance. The last thing I wanted was for us to be accused of offing their kids.

  "And then there's the smell."

  "The smell?" Chad asked.

  "Yeah, none of the magic users or mundanes seem to be able to pick it up, but you'll notice there isn't an animal
anywhere downwind of the place. It's faint, but it's just wrong. I saw the reports on what Gradatim was doing at that place you hit in Oregon. I'm worried the Vestis are doing the same thing here."

  "Damn, I should have brought one of the swords," Sean grumbled. "You got any crowbars or tire irons? Old ones made from iron?"

  "I can get a few, why?"

  "'Cause modern weapons won't hurt a demon, but cold iron will, and those should have a lot of iron in them if they're old enough."

  Claude nodded. "I'll have as many as I can get my hands on here within the hour."

  "Have you shared your fears with the council?" Chad asked.

  "Yeah, that's why they let me hire some more of our old staff back and beef up the security. But they don't think there's anything really bad going on there. Ron and Frank know each other fairly well. There aren't really a lot of magic users here, so back before the fighting started, we were all a lot friendlier. Frank's got that 'kind old grandfather' thing going on, and he used to be exactly that. But with what's going on over there now?" Claude shook his head. "I'm worried."

  "Thanks for the head's up," Chad said.

  "You're welcome. Now let me go round up those things for you."

  Sean watched as Claude left and then leaned over to whisper to Chad, "I think we should hit at nine."

  "Worried Ron might tip Frank off?"

  "Not intentionally, but I don't feel like taking any chances. Do you?"

  "Hell, no. Besides, you're the boss. I'll tell everyone to be ready early, but we'll keep saying midnight right up until we attack."

  "Good."

  Sean then went and found Roxy, who was talking with some of the others who worked for Claude.

  "I heard what you said inside," she told him. "I think you're right to be worried. The folks who work here haven't seen a single one of the Vestibulum's lycans in almost a week now. Used to be they'd run into each other in town while shopping and doing chores."

  Sean sighed and shook his head. "Where are the terror twins?"

  "Peg and Sheila?"

  Sean nodded.

  "I let them go into town to scope out the locals. They're going to see if they can't pick up anything from the local merchants about what's been going on over at the Vestibulum's compound."

  "You think that's wise?"

  "Peg's pretty accomplished as a magic user, and I think she's got about a dozen wands on her. Sheila's innately cautious; she knows how to keep a low profile. I told them to be back by eight."

  #

  "So what is it we're looking for this time?" Sheila asked Peg as they drove through the streets of Winnipeg.

  "A bar."

  "What?"

  "Sheila, after the last few days of murder, mayhem, and walking my ass off, I don't know about you, but I need a drink."

  "Well, what about that place?" Sheila said and pointed to what looked like an Irish pub.

  Peg turned, pulled into a spot immediately, and parked.

  "Well, that was easy!" Sheila chuckled.

  "As long as they got beer, wine, or liquor, I'm happy."

  "What'll we tell Roxy when we get back?"

  Peg smiled. "That's the beauty of my plan. Rather than go around looking for people to talk to, we sit here, have a few drinks, and let 'em talk to us."

  "You mean let them hit on us, don't you?" Sheila said.

  "Sheila! Really! I'm pregnant with a husband! I'd never flirt with some strange single man!"

  Sheila sighed and shook her head. "Sean would only be cross with you; with me however, I'm worried about much more dire punishments."

  Peg laughed as they went inside and headed straight for the bar.

  "The problem with you, Sheila, is that you keep thinking of Sean as a lion."

  "Well, he is!"

  "No, he's just a young man who's becoming a lion. Oh, I'm sure he'll be everything you love and fear, eventually. But right now he's still just a young man who, six months ago, didn't have a single clue.

  "Besides, and be honest now, would you ever cheat on him? Even if you knew you could get away with it?"

  Sheila sat down and had to think about that a minute.

  "Drinks, ladies?"

  "A pint of Red," Sheila said without thinking about it, while Peg ordered some IPA abomination.

  "You know," Sheila said slowly, "I've never had the choice before. Never, not once."

  Peg laughed. "You still don't. He's a sweet boy with a nice body, a loving disposition, a scary temper that he's completely incapable of turning on us, and a very well endowed...bank account!"

  Sheila sniggered at that and took her beer, picking it up and draining almost half of it. One thing Peg was right about, they both really could stand a drink.

  "He's definitely a better deal than one such as me has any right to expect," Sheila said with a sigh.

  "Oh, push off!" Peg said with a smile. "You deserve the best, that's why you got me!"

  "Oh, is that how it is?"

  "Of course! And that I've decided to share him with you just shows how much I love you!"

  "Well, that beer went straight to your head," Sheila said with a snicker and took another drink of hers.

  "Eh, I started when I was sixteen; even without your little gift, I could hold my own."

  "Well, don't look now, but here come the locals." Sheila sighed.

  "Oh! Free drinks!"

  "Peg, you're rich, what do you care about free drinks?"

  "I swear, that school took all the fun out of your life, girl. You need to learn how to relax and let go a little bit. You've hit the big time, live a little!"

  "Well, hello, ladies!"

  Sheila looked over their new company, four rather handsome lads, each easily over fourteen stone.

  "You boys forces or something?" Sheila asked.

  "Oh no, we're in Uni. We play on the school hockey team. Is that a West Country accent I detect?"

  Sheila blushed a little, it'd been a while since she'd met anyone who knew the difference. "A bit, but I've been living in the U.S. for a while now with my friend here."

  "Ah, I'm Brian, welcome to Winnipeg. Can I buy you a beer...?"

  "Sheila."

  "Can I buy you a beer, Sheila?"

  "Of course you can!" Peg butted in from where she was talking with the other three. "And while you're doing that, how about telling us all about the city?"

  Over the course of the next hour, Sheila and Peg consumed a fair amount of beer, all at the expense of the four young men. Sheila did use her skills as a spy to steer the conversation in the direction she wanted. The young men told them about the strange rumors and tales about the hills to the northeastern side of town, and the more recent ones of guys dressed up almost like soldiers coming into town the last week.

  Peg was of course flirting and being her usual provocative self, and Sheila had to admit, Peg really did know how to have fun, and being out here with her, after everything they'd seen and done in the last few months, it all didn't seem so bad. How that girl could let go of what her own father had done to her Sheila didn't know, though she suspected it had something to do with Sean and the others.

  "I think my friends are trying to get your girlfriend drunk." Brian sighed and started to get up.

  Sheila put her hand on his arm and stopped him. "Then they're about to learn a very hard lesson. Peg doesn't get drunk."

  "What? A little girl like that? Why, they each have at least a hundred pounds on her!"

  Sheila smiled sweetly. "You're a nice guy, Brian, but I could drink you under the table."

  Brain snorted. "Hardly!"

  Feeling a little wicked for a change, Sheila rapped her knuckles on the bar. "Barkeep! Line up ten shots for each of us! Give us your best Irish whiskey!"

  'Wait! What are you doing?" Brian said.

  "Having a little fun," Sheila said with a grin.

  "You show ’em, Sheila!" Peg said, laughing.

  Sheila pulled out a bunch of twenties and put four of them on the b
ar as the bartender lined up twenty shot glasses and started to fill them.

  Sheila picked up the first one. "Cheers!" she said and dashed it off, then the second, the third, and the fourth. She was on the sixth one when she heard a man yell, "Brian! What in the hell do ya' think you're doin? Put that glass down!"

  Sighing, Sheila noticed that Brian had only made it to four, and didn't pick up the fifth one.

  "And the rest of you louts! What do you think you're up to? You got practice in an hour, and you're down here tossin' 'em back with the locals and chasing skirts?"

  All four of the young men's faces fell.

  "Sorry, Coach."

  "Off with ye! Get back to your rooms and make sure you're ready for drills in an hour!"

  Sheila set down glass number six and turned around to look at their coach. What she saw was a big, heavyset man with a bit of a hard look about him.

  "And just what do you two women think you're doing to my boys?" he asked, giving the bartender a glance that sent him suddenly looking for something else to be doing.

  "Just having a little harmless fun," Sheila said with a shrug.

  "Ten of those shots could do a world of hurt to a young boy like that!"

  "Oh? How about a grown man, then?" Sheila said and batted her eyelids at him.

  "Ha! You think to take me on? Harry! Line 'em up! I'll show this little lass just who she shouldn't be messing with!"

  Sheila turned and looked at Peg, who mouthed 'Do it' to her.

  "How about we start with twenty for you, and fourteen for me, seeing as I've already got a six shot head start on you?"

  "You're on!"

  Peg stood up then and waved her arms to the patrons who were now watching in interest.

  "Place your bets! I'm giving five to one that my friend here can drink this old man into the ground!"

  "Five to one?" one of the patrons said. "Let's see your money! I'd love a piece of that!"

  "How much did we make?" Sheila asked, giggling as they walked back out to the car a half an hour later. The 'coach' was passed out on the floor of the bar and would definitely be regretting his boasts come the morning.