Shadow Of The Ring: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 16)

by Michael Anderle

  James took a step forward. “Limit?” He flexed his clawed fingers. “I’m pissed now. There’s no limit.”

  “Go kill everyone downstairs,” Lyle commanded, his eyes wide. “Hop on one foot. Throw yourself out the window. Go get me some water. Hum the main theme song from Ancestor’s Quest.”

  James took another step forward, still growling.

  “Go to Disneyland. Jump in the ocean. Order a quad-quad at In-N-Out.” Lyle shook his head. “No way. This isn’t fair. I’m a god. This isn’t fair.”

  “Tell that to all the people you fucked over, you sonofabitch.” James raked down Lyle’s chest, ripping open his shirt and undershirt and leaving deep gouges. The bounty hunter’s attack tore the bone charm from the Lassom’s bloody chest.

  Lyle screamed and fell to his knees, and James kicked him into a nearby wall. The would-be mastermind fell to the ground, the side of his face bloody, but still breathing and alive.

  James growled as he looked down at the charm. He brought up his armored foot and stomped on it several times until it was nothing but a pile of jagged pieces.

  Some things just didn’t need to exist.

  James watched as they loaded Lyle into an ambulance. A single officer sat in the back of the vehicle with him. Without his charm, Lyle was nothing but a two-bit hustler, and the grave threat he had presented was gone. The destruction of the charm released the lingering magic and freed all the other victims. The police and bounty hunters could only wonder how many people in the city had been under the influence of Lyle Lassom.

  Shay patted James on the shoulder. “A few minor injuries here and there, but I’m pretty sure Lyle’s the only one seriously injured. Maybe you should have given him a healing potion. If he dies, you might not get the bounty. It looked like you tore half his chest off.”

  “I’ve got plenty of money.” James grunted. “If he dies, he dies. I’ll make sure everyone gets paid. I should have just wasted that fucker for what he did. I kind of regret not doing it.”

  “Think about it this way: now he gets to sit in prison and realize how far he’s fallen.”

  James chuckled. “I didn’t think of it that way.” He looked over as someone walked their way.

  May Wu made her way through the crowd toward Shay and James, a pensive look on her face. “I haven’t had a chance yet to thank you and apologize.”

  James shook his head. “It’s not your fault. And I was just doing my job.”

  “I thought because of my statue magic I could take him. I’m…still getting used to working alone, and I’ve made sloppy mistakes because of it.” The young woman’s face darkened. “But it’s really not Lassom I wanted to thank you for, Brownstone. It’s for taking out those Council bastards. I know my family will rest easier because of what you’ve done.”

  James nodded slowly. “They killed one of my guys, too.”

  May sighed and offered him a shallow nod.

  Shay watched the two, understanding on her face.

  “Why are you working alone?” James asked. “Don’t you have a younger sister?”

  May shook her head. “She’s given up on bounty hunting. She can’t get over what happened, but I don’t know what to do other than go after bad guys. Just have to get used to doing it by myself. I’m getting there.”

  “You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.” James gestured at the crowd of black-suited agents. “I could have come in here and killed hundreds of people, but I was able to save hundreds instead because of my team. We’re always looking for new people for that team, and we could use another witch, especially one who is willing to go somewhere besides Vegas.”

  “I don’t know.” May sighed and looked down at her hands. “I have to think about it, and after this, I might want to take some time off. Thanks, Brownstone. I’ll let you know.” She nodded and turned to leave.

  Shay smiled. “That was nice, James. I think she needed that.”

  “Like I said, we could use another witch, and someone who fought the Council will understand how dangerous shit can be.” James stared at the windows he’d shattered earlier. “And sometimes it’s not about how much force you use, but where you aim it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Yeah,” James rumbled into his phone. “I still kind of wish I had killed the fucker. I know he’s gonna rot in prison forever, but I’m still annoyed.”

  Shay looked over from her side of the bed. James had been talking to Lieutenant Weber for the last fifteen minutes, but she couldn’t follow the conversation because of her fiancé’s general laconic tendencies.

  “Thanks for letting me know, Weber.” James turned off his phone and tossed it onto his nightstand.

  “What did he say?” Shay asked.

  “We got Lassom at the right time,” James replied. “The fucker was bragging to those Kilomea mercs about a big plan he had to do some major hostage shit and hide through mind-controlled puppets, including a plan at a stadium. The little piece of shit understood he needed to keep people between himself and others, but he still thought he could get away with it.”

  Shay rolled onto her side to face James. “Subtlety’s a lost art. If I had a power like that, I’d be using it in ways people would never notice.”

  “Like blowing up a cartel?” James grinned.

  “I said a power like that. My ass-kicking ability isn’t subtle by its nature.” Shay furrowed her brow. “You called me away from the bridal show. I have to admit I’m still having trouble thinking up an epic fucking wedding.”

  “This shit is hard, isn’t it?” James chuckled.

  “Yeah. I’ve got all the bridesmaids figured out, at least.”

  “That reminds me, I’ve got another wedding request.”

  Shay laughed. “By the time this shit is done, you will have planned the whole wedding.”

  “I want Thomas to be the ring dog. I saw that shit on the internet.”

  Shay stared at him. “Um, that one I’m going to have to think about.” She leaned over to kiss him. “It might have been a few crazy weeks, but I feel like everything’s starting to finally calm down. No alien stalkers, no government conspiracies, just us doing what we do. I’ll be able to settle into the new semester without too much trouble now.”

  James grunted. “Yeah, just a nice and simple life—with a few three-headed dragons and mind-control bastards thrown in for spice.”

  Senator Johnston continued typing as someone stepped into his room and closed the door. “Since my assistant didn’t call ahead, you don’t have an appointment. I’m a very busy man. Go outside and make an appointment.”

  “You called me,” replied an amused voice.

  The senator looked up from his computer screen to find a Light Elf smiling at him. It was the Fixer, Correk.

  “I did at that,” Senator Johnston replied with a smile. “I apologize for my rudeness. I have a few things to discuss with you. I don’t know if you are aware of the current situation with the Nine Systems Alliance?”

  Correk folded his hands in front of him. “My understanding is that they now have another permanent representative on Earth. One pretending to be a human, but who at least your government and a few other key governments are aware of and dealing with.”

  “Exactly.” Senator Johnston frowned. “The reason I contacted you was that I wanted to discuss backup plans in regard to the Alliance. The President has given me his full confidence in this matter. Quite frankly, I’m simply providing plausible deniability, but we all have our roles.”

  Correk moved over to sit in the chair in front of the senator’s desk. “Backup plans?”

  “Yes. You’re the Fixer, and you’re supposed to help all magical beings on Earth.”

  “Why are you bringing it up now?” The elf frowned slightly.

  “Because you can’t help the magical beings of Earth if the Nine Systems Alliance turns them to dust by nuking our planet.” Senator Johnston gave him a tight-lipped smile. “And it just so happens that helpi
ng them also helps us non-magicals.”

  Correk scoffed. “Do you have evidence the Alliance intends to do that?”

  “They were prepared to fire a so-called antimatter torpedo at Earth when we met them.” The senator shrugged. “We got lucky that we were ready for them last time and the alien involved was reasonable. Next time, maybe they don’t care. They’re so damned afraid of Brownstone that they might do something stupid.”

  “And I’m not saying to do this, but you’ve never maintained even a brief flirtation with handing him over to the Alliance, right?” Correk raised an eyebrow in question.

  Senator Johnston shook his head. “To hell with that. He’s a loyal American, and on top of it, if they’re that afraid of him, it’s a good thing. We don’t know this Nine Systems Alliance from whatever random Martians might be out there. Even if we assume everything they say about the Vax is true, that doesn’t mean they’re good people.” He leaned back in his chair. “And so what if they get a little spooked about our magic? From what little they’ve admitted, they don’t have any magic on any of the planets in their Alliance. They associate portals with the Vax and consider them to be very dangerous. Maybe they will end up taking offense to something on Earth and come for us. Right now, the fact that we still have Brownstone gives us leverage to get them to back the fuck off.”

  Correk furrowed his brow. “You’re saying that you want to use Brownstone as a weapon against the Alliance? That’s a dangerous game you’re playing.”

  The senator scoffed. “I’m saying a man loyal to his country and planet will defend it. I won't mind pointing him at the Alliance if they get too frisky. That’s one of the reasons I’ve helped him.” He raised a hand. “Now, don’t get me wrong. I genuinely like the man, but liking someone and using them as a tool aren’t mutually exclusive. And now that we know about the Alliance and the Vax, let alone some of the other aliens out there, we have to keep asking ourselves what we’ll do if they don’t come in peace.

  “And what have you come up with?”

  “I think having strategic-level magical solutions ready would be helpful,” Senator Johnston replied.

  Correk frowned. “King Oriceran isn’t going to support anything that’s a violation of the Great Treaty, or, I should point out, violations of agreements between Earth countries and the Oricerans about the same issues. You’re worried about the Alliance, but I don’t think you realize that if there was another Great War like on Oriceran, it’d be more terrible than you could imagine.”

  Senator Johnston pointed to a framed “Blue Marble” Earth photo on his wall. “If Earth goes down, all magical beings on Earth go down with it, even if the Oricerans can protect themselves. There are billions of lives on the line.”

  “You’re misunderstanding.” Correk waved a hand. “There are political considerations for both planets, so we should focus on solutions that don’t violate our political constraints but are still useful as backups to Brownstone.”

  Senator Johnston nodded. “Now we’re getting somewhere. What did you have in mind?”

  “The beginnings of a plan. There are just a few items that need to be recovered for it. Ms. Carson has already gotten us some, so maybe she and Brownstone can help with the others.” Correk cleared his throat. “Along with a few people affiliated with your CIA.”

  Senator Johnston folded his hands in front of him. “Tell me more.”

  Brownstone on Audio

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  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  February 6, 2019

  THANK YOU for not only reading this story but these Author Notes as well.

  (I think I’ve been good with always opening with “thank you.” If not, I need to edit the other Author Notes!)

  RANDOM (sometimes) THOUGHTS?

  So, my Oriceran Partner in Crime (OPC) Martha Carr has been nudging (read, harassing) me about doing a set of stories AFTER Brownstone 18 comes to an end that I’m just not feeling. Once I started the comment above, I realized WAIT A TIC - I CAN’T REVEAL THAT YET!

  DAMN!

  Ok, two more books and then all will be revealed that (I think) we need to reveal about this side of the Brownstone Family.

  If you haven’t picked up Alison’s tales, you might want to do that. She is NOT (and yet is) a chip off the old blocks of her adopted parents.

  Alison has more patience and provides a few more opportunities for people than James would. However, there is a limit to Alison’s patience.

  It’s a family trait.

  AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

  One of the interesting (at least to me) aspects of my life is the ability to work from anywhere and at any time. In the future, I hope to re-read my own Author Notes and remember my life as a diary entry.

  The Antlers Hotel, Colorado Springs USA - Superstars Writing Conference (Kevin J. Anderson)

  I’m in my hotel room, working at the table in the “living” room of the two room suite. My wife and I pretty much need this type of separation for multiple reasons that I won’t get in to.

  However, it helps keep our marriage happy. I’m a morning person, she is not.

  Enough said.

  The view out our window is magnificent. Mountains all around and it snowed on our way across a street to get to a restaurant. The swirling snow as it danced down the street in snake-like coils was very interesting. The wind-chill factor cold of about five degrees was NOT an acceptable return on investment.

  OK, I will admit it - I am a real wuss when it gets cold. I find it fascinating and delightful—and I find the cold that comes with it a show-stopper at times. I apparently want the beauty without the pain that goes with it. Perhaps I want the cabin-in-the-woods experience without the shivering and the shakes.

  Is that too much to ask?

  (Personal note: The Antlers Hotel has AMAZING heaters. While the decor is decidedly 1980s rustic and I have NO idea how the heating works, I can tell you that I feel very comfortable admitting their heater can make it like the Sahara in my room.

  In the middle of a snowstorm.

  And I was raised in Houston, Tx.)

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  Michael Anderle

  Other series in the Oriceran Universe:

  Other series in the Oriceran Universe:

  THE DANIEL CODEX SERIES

  I FEAR NO EVIL

  THE UNBELIEVABLE MR. BROWNSTONE

  SCHOOL OF NECESSARY MAGIC

  THE LEIRA CHRONICLES

  REWRITING JUSTICE

  THE KACY CHRONICLES

  MIDWEST MAGIC CHRONICLES

  SOUL STONE MAGE

  THE FAIRHAVEN CHRONICLES

  OTHER BOOKS BY JUDITH BERENS

  Books by Michael Anderle

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