by Jamie Davis
“Who are you?” Kane sounded small next to the presence in his mind.
“I am known by many names. Most among men have simply called me the Fell because they lack the capacity for more.”
“I’ve heard something of the Fell … ”
“You were told about me by your mother when you were very young. Your family and mine have long been linked, Nilrem. Long ago it was I who showed Merlin’s son, Fenris, how he could hold onto the magic and never have to give it back. It has been quite a while since one of your line has contacted me. I was beginning to believe you’re family had forgotten about my presence and the vow Fenris made in exchange for the gift of knowledge I gave him.”
“I know nothing of any vow. I remember now my mother telling me of a family legend. She said, ‘the Fell gave us power over all men, and the power to grant the Fell its boon in return.’ I never knew what it meant.”
The vicious chuckle inside his mind might have destroyed a lesser man.
“Nilrem, you are the conduit through which I will finally return to the world that is rightfully mine. I have been waiting a long, long time for this and I will not be denied. You have done well so far in your quest for power, but there is more power awaiting you when you are ready.”
“Nothing comes for free,” Nils told the Fell through the globe. “What would you have me do in return for such power?”
“Complete obedience.” The voice rumbled: “I seek revenge on the brethren who cast me out long ago. In exchange for your help in seeking that revenge, I’ll give you power you never imagined possible.”
Kane thought. This creature in the glass was limited somehow. He was able to communicate with it, on whatever plane it used to exist, but it wasn’t able to fully manifest here.
That meant that Kane could exploit it.
“Complete obedience is not something I’m prepared to offer,” Kane said. “Perhaps if you gave me a taste of this power you mentioned, I might be able to understand what I’m trading my allegiance for.”
The Fell scowled. Then it nodded and showed him all of its teeth.
“Very well, Nilrem.”
A surge of black energy coursed out of the floating ball of darkness like an onyx lightning bolt. It struck Kane in the chest and flowed through every fiber of his being.
Death would have been better.
Until that pain puddled into unimaginable pleasure.
Pure delight. A billion bolts of wonder at once.
The two sensations, pleasure and pain, dancing as one.
Every muscle tensed.
His every fiber was fully alive.
The energy stopped flowing.
Kane collapsed to the floor.
The black sphere began to dissipate.
Before it winked out, the Fell’s voice sounded one final time.
“You know where to find me when you are ready for more. I will be waiting.”
Kane lay on the floor forever, feeling the cold concrete against his face.
He was drained, but power grew inside him.
Whatever the Fell had done to him, it would take time to develop.
Nils wanted to explore the limits of his power but was unable to lift a finger. He fell asleep on the floor, imagining himself on the stone throne, holding the sword of his birthright.
He woke in the same position, the hard concrete punishing his body. Someone was stroking his hair. He rolled over and looked up into the eyes of Jane Margolis.
Her vacant loving gaze reflected his control. He’d commanded her to love him. She gave him a vapid smile and he grunted in disgust.
Sitting up, Kane looked around the room trying to make sense of whether he’d dreamed the events of the previous night with the Fell. Nothing looked different. His eyes fell on the clock and he cursed under his breath.
General Couch was due for his daily briefing in fifteen minutes.
Kane padded across the floor to the bathroom. After taking a quick shower and donning a fresh uniform, he felt much more like himself. Enough to smile when Jane brought his coffee.
“Get dressed, Jane. Wear your red cocktail dress. I want to show you off.”
She nodded and went to the closet.
Watching her, Kane wondered if he should try out some of his new powers, see if they really existed. He reached out with his mind, sending a hard slap across the retreating woman’s naked ass.
A red welt bloomed as Jane yelped, jumping up and scampering faster towards the closet.
A bolt of pleasure crackled through his brain.
And for the thinnest sliver of a second, part of him wanted to die.
It hadn’t been a dream.
A few minutes later, Kane was entering the bunker’s command center, his concubine three steps behind him in her short red dress.
General Couch stood as he entered the room, raising a questioning eyebrow at Jane.
“Do you think it’s wise to include someone else in this briefing?”
“You must recognize her, General. Look closely.”
The General scrutinized his companion. Kane smiled when recognition dawned in his eyes.
“That’s Director Margolis,” Couch said. “There’s a missing persons report out for her. She disappeared days ago. You’ve had her here all this time?”
“Yes. It became necessary to make certain, uh, alterations to her so she wouldn’t betray our plans to the Assembly before they were put in place. She’s harmless now.”
General Couch examined the woman, surely noticing her vacant stare and matching smile. “I was unaware that you possessed this type of power. It’s always been my understanding that directly using magic on a person has debilitating effects on the user.”
“You needn’t worry about me, General. I’m quite well. Feeling better than I have in years. There are powers I’m only now realizing I have. Keep that in mind, in case you ever have reservations or thoughts about betraying me.”
“We both know that there’s no going back. I was merely expressing concern about experimenting with more of this type of magic when we’re in need of your complete faculties.”
“This isn’t dabbling in simple Sable magic, Couch. I’m not turning into some junkie. What I’ve discovered is far more powerful. Something that may well turn the tide in our favor forever.”
“In that case, advise me of the capabilities of this new magic so I might fully prepare and plan for our operations.”
“In due time, General. For now, just know that I’m growing more powerful by the day. Now, give me the update you came here for. In a few days or maybe a week, I’ll show you exactly what I can do.”
Couch couldn’t know that he was still figuring it out. Such an admission was a sign of weakness in the eyes of a man like the General.
The General opened his briefing folder without breaking eye contact.
“We control roughly half the nation’s cities outright. Among the others, we’ve identified sympathizers willing to cooperate in one way or another. Things have settled down with no sign of organized resistance. Yet. I emphasize that last point. In time, our opponents will attempt to wrest control back from us. I have units in each city creating a fortified defensive perimeter around their positions. They should be able to withstand even magical assaults from outside. Troops have settled into their garrison barracks in each city.”
“Is there a reason you’re not initiating offensive operations against Durham and her followers?”
“We had to consolidate our positions first. There has been resistance from the middling authorities in each of the occupied cities. We’ve had to make examples of a few mayors or city council members in each city to establish authority. Things have settled down now that a few days have passed. People don’t like change. Give them the chance to get back to their daily routine and most of the sheeple will take it.
“Very well, General. Carry on. And start drawing up plans for offensive operations against any resistance we might encounter, especially directed at f
inding Durham and her crew. They must be operating somewhere close to Baltimore. Find her.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll make it my primary intelligence task.”
The men stood. With a brief salute, the General turned and strode from the control center. Kane watched him go, then motioned to Jane.
It was time to see what else his new powers could do.
Perhaps he could have a few prisoners brought in from the federal prison here in the capital. Yes, he thought with a smile, that would do nicely.
Kane pulled out his phone and tapped a text to his aide upstairs.
She would select a few prospects from the prison population and have them brought to the bunker later that day.
It was time to see just what the Fell had given him.
CHAPTER 12
Private Jerry Lennox had the night shift guard duty at the checkpoint marking the edge of the militarized zone in Baltimore. Only people with special passes could cross through the gate in the barrier that now surrounded the city’s timidly beating heart.
During the day, the checkpoint was busy, with workers from downtown businesses deemed essential to city operations passed through on their way to and from work. But after the eight o’clock curfew, no one was to pass. Anyone with special permission to be out after curfew had to go to the main gate on Charles Street to access the city’s central district.
That was one reason this particular checkpoint had only one guard at night. No one should be out and if trouble should arise, the rest of the guard’s squad was sleeping in the house trailer erected on the nearby sidewalk.
Private Lennox was glad there was no one else on duty with him, even though he groused about it as much as the others. Nobody liked being up all night, but for Jerry Lennox, it allowed him to engage in his secondary occupation within the army. He had become the best scrounger in the regiment, developing the ability to get just about anything for anyone who wanted it and was willing to pay or swap for the desired item.
Being a scrounger often required one to be creative with their acquisition of fresh inventory. Since their regiment’s deployment to the center of Baltimore last week, the normal channels for life’s little luxuries had been disrupted.
Everyone was clamoring for this or that and turning to Jerry when normal requisition procedures didn’t work. This whole deployment had happened so fast, no one had the time to arrange the usual supply lines.
It was a pain for most people. For Jerry it was an unexpected windfall.
Tonight’s shift on guard duty at this particular gate was the culmination of two days’ hard work. While he fulfilled all his other duties, Jerry also managed to contact the local black market and nab everything from booze to magically charmed objects useful to the everyday soldier on deployment.
Yesterday, his contact had met him for a small drop of gear that included a never-ending bottle of hot sauce to spice up MREs and even a pair of graphic novels that allowed the reader to virtually dream themselves into the stories if they started reading right before falling asleep. They had been well received by his enlisted customer base.
But tonight it was a much bigger drop of charmed items, enough for his whole company’s needs if he played it right.
Jerry checked his watch for the time then patted the bulging wad of bills in his tunic pocket to make sure he still had the money he needed to purchase his gear.
His contact, a hulking man named Garraldi, was supposed to bring a small van load of charmed items, perfect for the everyday soldier on deployment.
Jerry wasn’t sure where this guy had come from. He thought that all of the chanters were locked up in camps. Still, the lady at the coffee shop vouched for him when she put him in touch with Jerry. She said he was a local runner who could hook a guy up. If he delivered as promised, Jerry would be set for the month.
An engine rumbled and Jerry stood at attention. Headlights lit a vehicle’s approach. The turned off then on again twice while the van idled a block away.
Jerry pulled his flashlight from his belt and sent an identical signal back, on-off, on-off. The white panel van pulled forward, stopping on the curb next to the checkpoint.
Garraldi got out of the driver’s seat. A thin figure in a ski mask got out of the passenger side.
“Hey, Garraldi, I thought you were coming alone,” Jerry said. “Who’s this?”
“It’s my associate, Vinnie. This is a lot of gear to haul on my own. Don’t worry, he’s kosher.”
“If you say so,” Jerry said, eyeing the other person nervously. “I don’t like surprises, you know?”
“Don’t worry, Jerry, neither does Vinnie. That’s why he wears the mask.”
Jerry shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s see what you brought. Did you get everything I asked for?”
“It was a challenge, but I managed,” Garraldi said. “There are a few extras, free since you placed such a large order. Hopefully you can place another one soon.”
“If all of this works out the way like I think it will, that won’t be a problem.”
Garraldi opened the rear doors and Jerry shined his light inside.
There were about twenty medium-sized cardboard boxes stacked in the back. They all had numbers on the side.
“Here,” Garraldi said. “It’s the manifest list for each box. This way you can keep everything out of sight while you dispose of the gear. I’ll leave the van for you to park somewhere safe inside the militarized zone. Just park it back here outside the zone when you’re finished and put the keys under the seat. We’ll come pick it up.”
“That works.” Jerry took the manifest and flipped through a few pages to select a random box. “Let’s check number twelve. If that checks out, I’ll assume everything else is in order.”
Vinnie climbed into the van and pulled number twelve from the stack.
He pulled a box cutter from nowhere and slit the tape holding the lid closed.
Vinnie opened the box, tilting it so Jerry could shine his flashlight inside it.
The box was full of shoe shine brushes and polish. He checked the manifest and saw that the count looked right.
“Do these things even work?” Jerry asked.
“Like a charm, no pun intended. Put a little of the special polish on the boots, brush three times across the surface in each direction until you’ve covered the boot one time, and BAM! You’ve got a perfectly polished boot every time. And guaranteed to last a week.”
“No kidding?”
“No kidding.” Garraldi assured him. “You can use the same brush on brass with the metal polish in box number eleven. You’ve never seen such a shine.”
“This is gonna make me the most famous scrounger in the army,” Jerry said, mentally counting all of his sure-to-come money.
“Just as long as you keep your fame to yourself. Me and Vinnie don’t wanna be known for nothing.”
Jerry fished in his pocket and pulled out the wad of hundred dollar bills.
He handed the money to Garraldi.
The big guy fanned through the bills but didn’t count them. Then he shoved the money in his pocket.
“Aren’t you going to count it?” Jerry asked.
“You didn’t stiff me, did you?” Garraldi said, his eyes narrowing.
“No, no, not at all. I’m not used to someone having that kind of trust in me, that’s all.”
“I figure we’ve got a long future ahead of us, Jerry. No sense starting if off not trusting each other. Vinnie here will count it when we get back to our place. If it’s not all there, well, we know where you live.”
“Fair enough,” Jerry said.
“Here are the keys. Remember when you’ve moved all the gear and want more, park the van out here with the keys under the front seat. We’ll pick it up and refill it with whatever you need.”
“Sounds good,” Jerry replied with a smile. “Hey, how are you two getting home?”
Garraldi pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and flashed it down the street. A suddenly visib
le car turned on its lights and drove up the block.
A brown-haired kid about twenty years old was driving the sedan. Garraldi opened the back door and Vinnie got in the front.
“We’ll see you as soon as you need more, Jerry.”
Garraldi got in the car and it sped away.
Jerry watched the car leave and then returned to his post, looking around to make sure that he was still alone.
He reached over and pressed the button to raise the gate across the road, then got in the van and drove through it while imagining the prices he could charge for the things he’d seen on the manifest.
This was going to be a banner month.
———
Winnie pulled off the ski mask and shook out her long brown hair.
“Well that was fun,” she said.
“You didn’t have to come, boss,” Garraldi said. “I still think it was an unnecessary risk.”
Winnie laughed. “I used to do this on my own all the time. Besides, you weren’t going to let anything happen to me.”
“Are you sure the charms are all going to work like you planned?” Danny asked.
“Sure,” Winnie said. “The magic was all easy. Most of the items are innocuous and will work exactly as the manifest claims. That’s the beauty of this plan. They’ll have no way of knowing what’s safe to use and what isn’t. Plus there are a few items in the batch that will dispel enchantments on any special weapons or surveillance equipment. It’s going to set them back a big step when it comes to keeping us out. We can start hitting them where it counts. Disrupting their operations.”
“I wish I could be watching when the shit hits the fan,” Garraldi said. “There are going to be a lot of unhappy soldiers.”
“Yep,” Winnie said. “I can’t wait to get back to the Pike and check in with the other cities. See how their deliveries went. Within a few days, we’ll have seriously hampered the Army’s ability. Then we’ll see what Kane does next.”