Orders of Magnitude (The Genie and the Engineer Series Book 2)

by Glenn Michaels

  In the castle’s single tower, of course, in the southeast corner. Probably in the top most room too! Dah!

  This would make a terrible movie.

  The tower was topped with an even steeper pitched roof. Paul continued onward until he made it to the east end of the building. To reach the tower, he would have to go part way down the south wing roof and then lean over to reach the tower roof. Simple. As long as he didn’t slip and fall off the roof entirely and into the moat. Gee, what fun.

  He sat and shimmied his way down the slick slope of tile on his fanny. His pants were taking a beating but he could always replace them later. Reaching the valley between the two roofs, Paul leaned over against the tower. With a spell to encapsulate himself, he poked his head through for a peek.

  The space was circular and unfurnished, the floor seven feet below him. Four small shuttered windows could be seen. To his right, a wooden staircase spiraled downward to the next floor. Through that staircase came the little light that was in the room. There was no one in sight and no evidence that this room had recently been used.

  So okay, she wasn’t here in the top tower room after all. That theory was busted. But he sensed the plutonium 190 on the floor below him.

  Pulling the rest of his body through the roof, Paul dropped soundlessly to the floor, careful to keep the wooded floor boards from creaking beneath him. He moved toward the center of the room, feeling his way to stand directly in the center, and then used his infrared vision to look down.

  Yes, indeed, there were several people in the room directly beneath his feet. Scratch that. Two people and a few Oni, judging from their brighter heat signatures.

  His breath caught in his throat. One of the humans was female! And she was laid out horizontally. Moreover, her heat signature was decidedly odd, dimmer and fuzzier, the difference obvious but not the reasons why.

  Capie was in trouble and that was indisputable. Paul took two small steps to line up over her position. Taking a couple of deep breaths, he enclosed himself in a space-time bubble spell and dropped vertically through the floor to the room below.

  With his arms spread wide, Paul intended to grab Capie as he fell, but an invisible barrier knocked him aside, shoving him backward to crash awkwardly to the floor. Stunned, Paul cast a spell to get back up—

  —and had both of his arms seized by steel grips, his talisman yanked off of his arm and away from him by an irresistible force. He fought back, but he might as well have tried struggling with two gorillas.

  “Ah, there you are, Sayyid Armstead!” said an accented Arabic voice behind him. “At last you have arrived and in such a dramatic way! I’m most impressed. The madam did tell me you would try to rescue her and, Sayyid, the lady was indeed right. Sayyid Armstead, allow me to welcome you to Mount Izvorul Câlimanului in the Kelemen Alps, to the headquarters of the Errabêlu organization itself! Welcome, Sayyid, we have much to discuss! And, of course, you will want to visit with your wife.”

  Paul knew without looking that the two gorillas locked onto his arms were Oni. The pungent smell of their breath was a dead give-away. However, the Arabic voice was one Paul had never heard before.

  Directly in front of him lay Capie, on a raised platform, her body lying inside a rectangular, silver-tinted, transparent cover of some type (glass? diamond? transparent aluminum?) that glowed a pale yellow light. Paul saw no movement at all from Capie; she didn’t even appear to be breathing.

  “Oh do relax, Sayyid Armstead,” the voice urged him. “Your woman is perfectly sound inside that stasis spell. So do not fret. Oh, Ailig, Eòin, turn him around. I want to see his face.”

  Roughly, the Oni thrust Paul around, away from Capie. Now he could see the other half of the room.

  There were six Oni in all, counting the two holding him and the grinning Oni standing a few feet away with Paul’s talisman in hand. The other three stood behind a twenty-something looking young man, thin of build, with black hair, hawkish eyes and a beak for a nose. Dressed in a smoking jacket, white shirt and khaki pants, he was sitting in a provincial French chair, his legs crossed, his elbows on the chair arms, and his hands folded across his chest. McDougall’s talisman was in his lap.

  The room was sparsely furnished with only one other chair and two end tables with lamps. A small unlit fireplace was in the far wall, and there was a large gold-framed mirror hanging on a section of stone wall behind the French chair.

  “So you are Paul Armstead, in the flesh,” the man said, smiling. “You don’t look like your pictures at all. Much younger, taller, better built and distinctly better looking. Definite improvements, all. Much like your woman has done to herself.” As the man glanced at the grinning Oni, Paul’s talisman floated through the air and into his waiting hands. “So there were two of you. A surprise that! It explains so much, of course.” He shook his head in amazement.

  “By the by, my name is Akbar Hamadi, and I am the Errabêlu leader in the area that is now called Syria.” He snorted. “But my land has been called many other names in the past.” He waved an indifferent hand. “But you care for none of that. Let’s talk of you. You’ve been quite a problem, the two of you.” And then he smiled. “And now you’re in my hands! It’s simply wonderful. And I have the privilege of being your captor!”

  Sick at the pit of his stomach, Paul kept his mouth shut. Obviously, this wizard of Errabêlu had been waiting for him. But how he known that Paul was coming? This Hamadi guy implied Capie had told him. But she was under a—stasis spell? Paul was familiar with the concept, used in several science fiction movies and books, particularly by the noted author Larry Niven. Inside the field, time was suspended. Was that really possible? Paul hadn’t tried to do anything like that himself.

  How was he going to get out of this situation? Should he use his deuterium fusion spell? No, that didn’t seem advisable, at least not yet. The room was too small, the bad guys all too close to him and to Capie. There was too great a chance at killing everyone in the room, including his wife.

  At the moment, it seemed their fate might be left in Daneel’s hands, so to speak. Assuming the Scottie was able to hold himself together. Yeah, right. That suddenly seemed less likely than before. How had Han Solo put it in The Empire Strikes Back? ‘Never tell me the odds.’

  Hamadi stood up, leaving Paul’s and McDougall’s talismans on the seat of the chair and coming closer to Paul. “Capturing your woman was quite the battle, it was. She’s quite the fighter. You’d be proud of her, the way she fought back. But, in the end, she is ours, as you see. And she’s been quite helpful, under the influence of our little Truth Mirror.” The wizard held out a hand and a small portal appeared, through which a small object floated into the room.

  Paul took a moment to study the item as it drifted into the hand of the other wizard. It was black and round, perhaps six inches in diameter, with a handle attached. The oval portion held an ordinary looking mirror. The handle was an inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick, marked with a series of lines and scrolls in a repeating pattern. At the top of the mirror, Paul could see a tiny golden emblem of a medieval shield with crossed swords.

  Hamadi frowned. “But she wasn’t able to tell us all of your secrets, even under the spell of the mirror. Apparently, she knew not all of your magic! But she did know you would come to rescue her. With a little urging on our part, she told us how to send a cry of help to you. And here you are!”

  So the panicked message Paul had gotten in Haifa had not been Capie screaming for help. That part was a fake. However, it didn’t matter how the message arrived, Capie was certainly in danger. And now Paul was as well.

  “Oh, just to let you know, the missus told us that you put a wizard and a few Oni down on Flint Island in the Pacific Ocean. I will arrange to have them picked up. A smart idea, to hide them but not kill them.”

  The other wizard leaned forward, gently holding out the mirror, positioning it to one side of Paul’s head. The mirror misted over for a few moments and then an im
age of Paul appeared therein. Except that it wasn’t a true reflection but instead was an image of Paul as he had looked in California. Older, balder, and heavier.

  He tried to fight back but one of the Oni grabbed his hair to force him to be still.

  “Not to worry, Sayyid,” Hamadi assured him. “It’s painless. You will now answer my questions, truthfully and fully. For instance, have you given magical powers to any other Normies?”

  A numbing sensation settled on Paul, spreading downward from his head until it filled his entire body. All independent thought ceased and only the echo of the other’s voice rang in Paul’s mind.

  “No,” Paul heard and saw his older image in the mirror say, “No. No other Normals.”

  “But you know how to do so?” Hamadi inquired.

  “Yes, many others,” the likeness abstractedly answered.

  The questions continued, covering topics from the genie to Paul’s dealings with Celeste and Ruggiero. Hamadi asked how Paul had given Capie magical powers. Many of the questions centered on the mental barrier involved in the Normal-wizard conversion process, a procedure that seemed to fascinate Hamadi. He also seemed interested in the construction of the super-talismans that Paul intended to fabricate but dropped that line of questioning rather quickly when it became obvious that he didn’t understand Paul’s answers. He did not ask any details on how to create a fusion spell or how to make his atoms pass through solid objects or any other scientifically advanced spells.

  • • • •

  “Olly olly oxen free, POPS!!”

  Daneel emerged from a stupor with a start, completely disoriented, as he levitated into the air and stared around him. The last thing that he clearly remembered, Dad had been speaking to him, asking him to do something in, ah, two hours. What had he asked Daneel to do?”

  “Magic powers are AWESOME!” he exclaimed. “So fab-flipping-tastic! Hey, Pops?! Where are you, Pops?”

  Daneel fuzzily remembered the conversation with his father. Oh, right, Dad was going to rescue Mom! She was in trouble. And he was supposed to wait two hours and then, ah, do something.

  But what? Had it been two hours yet? He couldn’t remember when Dad had left. He wasn’t even sure what time it was now.

  So, what was he supposed to do? And when?

  • • • •

  The questions went on for quite a while. Paul’s body was drenched in a sweat as a result of the ordeal.

  Finally, the Errabêlu wizard seemed satisfied and withdrew the Truth Mirror.

  “That’s enough for now,” Hamadi said, with a smile as the numbness in Paul’s body started to slowly fade. “The Truth Mirror is not painful, no, but there is a certain draining effect.” He grinned at Paul as he placed the mirror on the arm of his chair, picking up McDougall’s talisman in the process. “We’ll talk more about your secrets later. I’m sure we will get into the nitty-gritty, as you Americans say.”

  He studied Paul nonchalantly. “Such innovation, your magic! My compliments to you both! Seems a real shame to liquidate such talent as yours. Too bad. But there seems little choice though. Indeed, none at all. It is a shame.”

  He waved at one of the Oni. “Put him to sleep and guard him well. We will continue the questions tomorrow.”

  The two Oni hefted Paul up enough that his feet left the floor. They were just starting to move toward the doorway when a loud boom resounded through the room.

  Startled, Hamadi glanced around. “Seriousness?! What was that?” he demanded to know.

  But another even louder boom was his only answer.

  Paul shook his head in surprise. Daneel. It had to be Daneel and his distraction! Had it been two hours? Paul’s head was still fuzzy from the influence of the Truth Mirror. Struggling to think clearly, he tried to come up with some way to take advantage of the situation, to use Daneel’s distraction to good effect.

  A third louder boom resounded in the room. Paul looked up sharply to his left. From the sound, Daneel was apparently knocking down walls, working his way through the castle’s interior towards them!

  The west wall suddenly disintegrated, the blast hurling rock and brick in all directions. All of the room’s occupants, including the Oni, were thrown violently to the floor, smoke instantly filling the chamber. One piece of block struck Hamadi in the head and he fell to the floor, his hands gripping his injured head, moaning.

  Freed at last from the Oni grasp, Paul crawled swiftly for Capie. “Daneel!” he screamed above all of the racket. “Seven bad guys! Take ‘em out!”

  Paul reached Capie’s stasis field and looked back toward the wall. Through the smoke, sailing majestically through the hole in the wall was Daneel, the quantum computer and monitor, draped with Oni talismans secured with gray duct tape, six feet in the air.

  A figure dressed in shinobi shozoko (loose black clothing) suddenly materialized in the dead center of the room and despite himself, Paul nearly choked in laughter.

  The ninja-rabbit, one of Daneel’s favorite video game characters, stood in a semi-crouched position, his blue eyes visible through the holes in his mask as he scanned the room. One long ear pointed straight up while the other bent in the middle at ninety degrees, the tip pointed off to one side. The ninja-rabbit’s nose wrinkled as it sniffed the air.

  As far as Paul was concerned, this was proof positive that Daneel had spent too much time playing this particular video game. Small wonder that he had called up this image now to deal battle with the Oni.

  The five foot tall rabbit deftly performed the Añjali Mudrā, placing its paws together, its claws pointing up, as he bowed. Then, as the Oni overcame their surprise and charged forward, the ninja-rabbit rendered a screaming “Eeee-yah!” kiai. He leapt up into the air, thrust kicking the nearest Oni squarely in the face so hard that the monster was hammered backwards against a rock wall, cracking the mortar joints, with dislodged dust swirling fitfully through the air. The Oni then collapsed in a heap to the floor, out of the battle.

  With screaming war cries, the remaining Oni lunged toward the ninja-rabbit. However, the ninja-rabbit was incredibly fast, landing blows and kicks on all five Oni while dodging all of their return wild swings.

  Paul glanced over at Hamadi. The other wizard was very slowly getting to his feet, still holding one hand to his injured head. Paul edged forward, carefully skirting the battle and around toward the other wizard, approaching him from behind.

  One of the Oni leveled a plasma blast at the rabbit but the energy passed through the video character without effect, blowing a large hole in the outside wall of the castle.

  Paul was suddenly grateful that he had connected seven Oni talismans to Daneel. Combined, they gave Daneel enough power to withstand the blasts even from the other Oni. The one thing Paul was concerned about was Hamadi. The other wizard’s talisman was easily the equal of everything Daneel was carrying.

  “Eeee-yah!” shouted the ninja-rabbit again, and an Oni shot through the air, upside-down and backwards past Daneel and through the still smoking hole in the wall.

  Not fooled by the ninja-rabbit, Hamadi blinked, his gaze concentrated on Daneel. Gripping his talisman in his left hand, Hamadi raised it and shot forth a blistering bolt of plasma.

  Which reflected off a shield around Daneel. The deflected energy vaporized a hole in the room’s stone wall as well as part of an overhead beam.

  As Hamadi prepared to fire another and probably more powerful blast, Paul brought down a fireplace poker on the back of the man’s head. Hamadi folded up, collapsing to the floor, no longer moving.

  “Eeee-yah!” yelled the ninja-rabbit a third time, skillfully executing a reverse jump kick and launching an Oni straight up and out the gaping opening in the west wall, the hole that Daneel had used to enter the room.

  The three remaining Oni glanced nervously at each other while the ninja-rabbit crouched in the middle of the room, eyeing them warily. The Oni spread out, coordinating their attacks to come at the black clothed figure from three separ
ate directions.

  On a signal from one of them, they attacked.

  “Eeee-yah!” screamed the ninja-rabbit, catapulting himself in a backwards summersault over the head of one of the Oni, feet connecting with an intact section of castle wall and kicking again. The ninja-rabbit-missile, arms stretched wide, took all three Oni out in midflight, smashing them against the floor. The resulting loud crack made Paul wince. The ninja-rabbit drop-rolled to the floor near Paul.

  Stunned, all three Oni lay weakly moaning. The ninja-rabbit rose silently to its feet, again performing the Añjali Mudrā before fading silently away.

  Paul stumbled forward, rushing over to Hamadi and reaching down to snap up McDougall’s and the other wizard’s talismans. Then he lurched over to Hamadi’s chair, snatching the Oni talisman from the brown seat cushion. All the talismans of the other Oni lazily detached themselves from their owners and floated casually through the air over to Daneel.

  The Truth Mirror on the arm of the chair caught Paul’s eye. He snagged it as well, stuffing it into a pants pocket, where it was a snug fit.

  “Gee, Pops, no more Oni? Shucks and dog-gone it!” laughed Daneel crazily. “Big blast! I’m ready for the next level now! Bring it on!”

  Paul jerked his head over to the stasis field. “We’ll battle more of them later. Let’s get Mom out of the stasis field first.” And he stepped towards Capie, his right arm raised high.

  “In the name of—” he began.

  “STOP!” snapped a stern feminine voice.

  In surprise and bewilderment, Paul turned, looking for the source of that command.

  And his eyes boggled when he saw the woman in the mirror.

  She was a dark-haired beauty, long flowing black hair that swirled around her neck and shoulders, her green eyes flashing fire from an angular face that sported high cheekbones and a set of fine eyebrows as dark as night. She wore a long flowing black evening dress that accentuated a youthful even provocative feminine figure. Her ruby red lips were set in a stern glower, her hands on her hips, as she scowled at Paul, her face etched in granite.