Wizard's Sword (The Battle Wizard Saga, No.2)

by C. M. Lance

  "Not martial arts or fencing guys?"

  "I understand some of them practice martial arts, but that′s just from overhearing talk. Maybe you can find out more." Rick said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Best two-out-of-three falls with them could be fun. Do you want to be on the bottom or the top?"

  Sig rolled his eyes and swatted Rick′s arm.

  "You like them, I can tell."

  Sig scoffed. "Yeah? How can you tell?"

  "You′re blushing and your heart rate has picked up."

  Sig′s eyes narrowed as he looked at Rick.

  "It′s hard to hide emotional swings from the senses of a Were."

  Sig shrugged and nodded toward the women, "They look like they have the full complement of breasts. Aren′t they supposed to cut one off for archery?"

  Rick smiled, shook his head, turned, and flicked his finger over his shoulder for Sig to follow him as he sauntered over to the table where the three women sat. The blond looked up and nodded to him with a smile. The other two glanced up expressionlessly.

  "I hear that y′all play around in martial arts. Can anyone get in on that?"

  The one who had smiled shook her head. "Sparring with an untrained fur ball who can lift the front end of a car isn′t my idea of a good time. Now if you want to compete with bow and arrows or spear; we might consider it."

  "Oh, I′m not asking for me. I′m asking for my friend here." He indicated Sig with a thumb over his shoulder.

  Three sets of eyes zeroed in on Sig. "Do you have any training?" The blond asked.

  Sig nodded. "Karate and Kendo."

  "Belts?"

  "Third black in Karate."

  Her eyebrows rose. "Kendo?"

  "They don′t have belts in Kendo. I just received my fourth Dan. I′m now qualified to teach."

  She gave him a quizzical look. "Only fourth?"

  Rick chimed in, "He won the State Fencing Championship too."

  "High school?"

  Sig nodded. "Yes, and open."

  She raised her eyebrows. "Open? For the state?"

  Sig smiled. "We have a small state."

  The brunette leaned forward with a feral smile. "I′d like to try out the pretty boy with a sword."

  The redhead, who′d been silent, said dryly, "I think she means fencing."

  "Of course, what else would I mean?" She said with an innocent look.

  The blonde, who′d done most of the talking, smiled, "If he can learn to ride, maybe we′ll adopt him."

  Rick nudged Sig, "Tell them."

  Sig frowned at him.

  "Tell us what?"

  "I think he means that I ride Intermediare level Dressage, two rungs below the top level. I won third in state in Eventing."

  "So you do Dressage, Hunter Jumper, and Cross-country."

  "Yes."

  "Of course. Have a seat. We just might have to adopt you."

  Rick laughed when Sig blushed again.

  "Why don′t you sit down too, fur ball. Maybe we can find a use for you. Maybe you could lead the hounds in a fox hunt."

  Rick glanced at Sig, "See, no respect; I get no respect."

  They chatted and Sig set times to spar; karate with Arianna, the blonde, and fencing with Bella, the brunette. They exchanged information about hometowns and Sig discovered that two of them came from Minnesota. Sig started to tell an 'Ole 'n Lena′ Norwegian joke when he received a rough push from behind. "Get up or move over." He turned to see the same massive denim jacket, from the cafeteria line.

  Rick stood and grabbed Sig′s arm. "We were just leaving."

  Sig looked at him with frustration.

  "Come on buddy. We need to get back to Professor Herman′s and finish getting you settled in."

  The hulk in denim turned and looked Sig over as if to record his face.

  Sig frowned, nodded, and let Rick lead him out of the Game Room.

  Outside, Sig grabbed Rick′s arm and pulled him back. "Why do you keep making me back down? Are you afraid of him?"

  Rick bared his teeth in a smile and shook his head. "I can take him. I′m afraid I might kill him. What she said about lifting the front end of a car; I can do that—but only a mid-size car. I don′t think he can. All he has on me is weight and length. I believe I′ve got him on speed and strength – and that′s in this body."

  Sig′s eyes widened. "Did you hold back when we sparred?"

  "A little, but that doesn′t mean you′re not good. You′re very fast, one of the quickest humans I′ve ever seen, but not as strong as I am. You′re not supernatural in human form. I am. I don′t think I′d like to take you on in our supernatural forms though. Not with that bloody big sword and all your martial arts training."

  "Why do you keep pulling me back? Are you afraid he′ll hurt me?"

  "Like I said, he might; but that′s not why. He′s stupid, or at least acts like it. That′s why I don′t think he knows what he is. Supernaturals shouldn′t fight around normals.

  "He′s a supernatural even if he doesn′t know it. We know we are. A fight between supernaturals could get very messy and potentially harm normals. We need to keep a low profile— always. Just because we′ve come out of the closet doesn′t mean everyone is happy with it."

  "What do you mean not happy with it?"

  "You know that Japan, Bolivia, and Denmark make all supernaturals register, like guns, or pedophiles. That idiot senator from South Carolina introduced a bill to do the same thing here. It didn′t get out of committee, but they′ll keep trying. All we need is an incident where a normal gets hurt or killed in a clash between supernaturals to get the fear started again. Fear drives politicians more than common sense."

  Sig nodded. "OK, I understand. I don′t like it, but I understand."

  "Talk to Professor Herman about it. He preaches against ostentation and can explain why better than I can. He′s very sensitive to and keeps abreast of the political climate as well."

  "Right, the ostentation lecture. I′ll put it on my to-do list. You said something earlier that I meant to ask you about."

  "What′s that?"

  "That there′s darn near every kind of monster on this campus."

  "Yup, I think it probably has something to do with Physics of Magic School as well as the convergence of Ley Lines at this end of the lake."

  "What kinds of monsters don′t you find here?"

  Rick pondered that for a minute. "To start with, no imaginary ones."

  That gave Sig pause. "Imaginary ones?"

  Rick laughed. "For sure, no vampires."

  "Why not?" Sig asked with frown of concentration.

  "There′s no such thing as a vampire, at least not like stories are written about."

  Sig′s eyes widened. "There aren′t?"

  Rick rolled his eyes. "There are monsters that will suck the life out of you, take your soul, eat your flesh, steal your thoughts and desires, but vampires, like people write about; no such thing."

  Rick held up his hand, index finger rigid. "Now listen. Do people write fiction about vampires?"

  "Sure, all the girls read them." Sig said.

  Rick held up the second finger. "Do they write stories about werewolves?"

  "Not anymore, but they used to."

  "They don′t write stories about Weres anymore because they know we′re around and would call bullshit on anything they make up about us. Think about it."

  Sig nodded. "So they don′t write about monsters that are real, just those that are mythical."

  "You are trainable. That′s correctamundo. If they wrote about Weres, for example, it wouldn′t be fiction. It would be a documentary. That′s the easiest way to figure out if a monster is real. If they still write fiction about it, the monster is mythical – like vampires. Think about it."

  Sig smiled. "Before I think anymore, let′s get some sleep. It′s been a long day."

  †††

  Sig awoke to pounding on his door in the morning. "Rise and shine. We have to meet Professor H
erman at the lab this morning," Rick said through the door.

  Sig hollered, "Come in. What are we meeting for?"

  "I have to work and he′ll be giving you your assignment. You didn′t think living here would be free did you? The Professor will get his pound of flesh."

  Sig groaned and rolled out of bed. Rick went downstairs to scrounge breakfast while Sig got ready.

  On the trip to the Physics department Rick told Sig, "The Professor is a genius, but sometimes he dithers. You may need to prompt him. Don′t hesitate. He sometimes needs a push."

  Sig looked at Rick′s profile and nodded. "Right… I think."

  Rick grinned. "You′re sharp. You′ll figure it out."

  †††

  Rick showed Sig the way to the physics lab, where they met Professor Herman. Both Sig and Rick addressed him as Professor rather than Arthur. He greeted Sig warmly while Rick left for his assignment.

  "I checked and your great-grandfather is stable. I also cleared it so you can visit at anytime. We can always hope that the fact you are his successor as a Battle Wizard may have beneficial effects." Professor Herman said.

  "Thank you. I want to visit him. I know Mom will want a regular status."

  "Since you won′t be in classes as we finish this semester, there are number of things I′d like you to do." He held up a spread hand and ticked off on his index finger. "First, I′d like to work with you for an hour a day on magic, in both forms. Until Thorval awakens from his coma, he can′t undertake your Wizard training. I will be undertaking it on his behalf. To begin, we need to get a baseline measurement on your magic as a starting point."

  The next finger straightened and he ticked off that one. "Second, we have several projects in process on which we could use support." He handed Sig a typewritten list. "Look these over, chat with the professors or graduate students in charge, and make a choice of where you′d like to work."

  "Are there any recommendations?"

  Professor Herman smiled. "I′d rather not bias you. Talk to the primes on the projects, obtain information through less formal avenues and let′s talk about your selection next week."

  "OK."

  "We pay students the same miserly scale, no matter which assignment is chosen. So, that won′t be a factor."

  "I get paid?"

  "I assure you, you′re not going to retire on it. I think the pittance we pay allows us to skirt child labor laws."

  Professor Herman raised and ticked off the next digit. "Third, while you are acclimating and getting to know people, I want you to keep your ears open. However, be careful. I believe minions of dark magicians have penetrated and occupy positions within our bastion of science."

  Sig cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "In normal English, you′re saying there might be spies among us and to keep an eye out?"

  The Professor colored slightly and said, "I believe you have absorbed the essence of it."

  "OK, I can do that. Interview the primes on this list, infiltrate the worker bees, and report back in a week when I make a selection."

  "And take care. Dark magic affiliates will not hesitate if they determine you have detected their machinations. Their response could be deadly. And never forget, there is already one Black Wizard who is after you."

  "Anything else?"

  "Enjoy yourself. The college experience, while demanding diligence, should engender pleasure in learning."

  "Right. I'll focus on that." Remembering Rick′s guidance, Sig asked, "Shall we schedule time to establish my magical baseline?"

  "Ah yes, meet me at 6:30 this afternoon in the calibration lab in the basement."

  "I′ll see you there."

  "Eccellente."

  "Spanish?"

  "No, Florentine Italian, my birth language."

  Sig filed that information away for further consideration.

  After interviewing the researcher in charge of the first assignment on his list, Sig had lunch with two of the project′s student assistants. Their project involved characterizing fairy dust, left behind when fairies work magic.

  "The dust has magical properties but dissipates milliseconds after its magic is expended. We′re trying to develop techniques to preserve it long enough to study it."

  Sig smiled. "I thought fairy dust could be used by humans. What about the story of Peter Pan and Tinker Bell?"

  Shaniqua and Tony laughed. "Disney can do anything they want." She said.

  Tony nodded. "We wish it was simple like that."

  The two demonstrated enthusiasm for the project and enjoyed the people they worked with. They chattered about their team and its study mission.

  "What drew you two to this field of study?"

  Shaniqua′s face turned serious. "My mother was a voodoo mambo, a priestess from Jamaica. She died shortly after she had me. I never knew her or learned anything from her. My aunt, who raised me in Florida, says I′m just like my mother. According to my aunt, that isn′t a good thing. She′s afraid I′ll get involved in the same feuds that killed my mother or that I′ll hurt myself because I don′t know how to handle my powers. I chose to attend Northwestern to get away from that and learn about magic."

  "Wow, I didn′t know that." Tony turned to Sig. "My Dad could always find things. If anyone lost something, my Dad would find it. He didn′t know how. It was just something he did. After the world changed, I started doing it too."

  "You′re a good guy to know. I′m always misplacing my car keys."

  "Yeah, but not everything should be found. The police chief of the town in New Jersey I came from asked Dad to help find some people who had disappeared. Three days after he found their corpses, he died, not of natural causes. I′m here to find out more about my talent and what I can do to protect myself in a similar situation."

  Sig shook his head and felt the surprise sting of tears in his eyes. "My dad died too. I don′t think he had any powers, but some in my family did. I need to learn more about it. While you′ve been studying, have you found any signs of fairy black magic?"

  The two looked about furtively and then at each other. They avoided looking at Sig.

  "Did I ask a bad thing?"

  Shaniqua frowned and finally looked at him. "There are stories about dark fairy magic, but…"

  "But, we haven′t seen any evidence," Tony said. "A fellow researcher said she was on the track of black fairy magic last semester."

  "But no one has seen her for four months." Shaniqua said. "I wonder if we′ll ever see her again." She and Tony looked at each other and shook their heads.

  "Was she reported missing?"

  Shaniqua nodded. "Yes, by her parents, the Martins. They live in Wyoming. When they couldn′t get in touch with Holly, they came here. She was the first in her family to attend college; they were so proud. Now we haven′t heard from them either for more than a month. I don′t know if they went back or…"

  Sig leaned back in his chair, "Wow."

  Tony grimaced and nodded. Sig looked back and forth between them. Shaniqua looked forlorn. "They were so nice."

  †††

  Next, Sig sought the prime on a project to map North American Ley lines. The prime wasn′t available, and his number one assistant, Dmitri Nastase, had left to attend football practice. Sig recognized the name. It belonged to the giant All America football player with whom Sig already had two unpleasant encounters.

  He looked forward to meeting him again when Rick wasn′t around to pull on his leash. He could claim not receiving the ostentation lecture as an excuse—if he survived the encounter.

  It was just as well that he′d run out of people to discuss assignments. He had fifteen minutes before his appointment to meet the blond Amazon, Arianna, for a Karate match.

  The address she gave turned out to be a small warehouse a few miles from campus. After parking, he grabbed his gear and went to the side door. Two women carrying gym bags climbed the short flight of stairs and entered ahead of him.

  Inside, he looked around.
The familiar sounds and smells of workouts filled the space. Metallic clanks and grunts sounded from the weight lifting area. Wooden swords and staffs clacked as some sparred. Stamping, scraping, and slapping sounded from a group engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

  However, the familiarity stopped there. In small-town Minnesota, the gym would be filled with guys. Here, there weren′t any other males in a gym filled with over a dozen Amazons. It even smelled a lot better than his memory of the high school gym.

  Women stopped to look at him. Sig felt like a spotlight illuminated him. He wanted to run. Instead, he looked around for a familiar face.

  Arianna sauntered up wearing karate gi; a black belt wrapped around her waist. "You made it, good. We′re next on the mats in about five minutes."

  Sig hefted his bag. "Where can I change?"

  Arianna′s eyebrows rose. "Change? We usually come dressed or…" She gestured over to where the two women who preceded him had stripped down to their underwear and now donned workout clothes.

  Sig wrenched his eyes away, trying not to stare. Tall, muscular, and shapely, they were staring material.

  "We use the facilities at the gas station down the block if you have to go potty. We keep the women′s side clean. I don′t know what the men′s side is like. Or, you can change by that bench over there." Arianna looked at him with a challenge in her eyes then smiled, "Do you go commando?"

  Sig blushed. "No, the bench will be fine."

  Not wanting to seem prudish, he sat down, untied and pulled off his boots, then stood and dropped his pants. It seemed like the spotlight intensified. He quickly pulled off his shirt and donned his gi. He wanted to cover up the flush that suffused his body.

  He turned toward the sound of quiet clapping. Giselle, the redhead they met last night said, "Nice, I like the jock strap and cup. I bet Arianna didn′t mention the storeroom where men change."

  Sig′s head swiveled to look at Arianna. She smiled. "Storeroom? I guess I forgot about it. Well, no one got injured during the process."

  Giselle shook her head, still smiling broadly. "Don′t let her get into your head. She′ll go for every advantage she can, not that she needs it."