“There they are”, Tiger called out while standing on the back of his giant eagle. “Watch out for that cyclone. See if some of you can make a safe landing and surround the bar.” Clair and Archie kept battling it out, the two of them were now having a complete werewolf fight on top of the roof of the bar. At the same time, Mike and Tyrell’s duel continued. Tyrell was proving to be relentless. He nearly forced Mike back into the cyclone, but Mike was able to hold his own. Ben may have been a sly fox, but Mike was definitely the tougher of the two brothers. He managed to reengage Tyrell fiercely. Before Tyrell was about to use one of his most powerful curses Mike had a defense spell ready.
“I have you now...Argh!” Tyrell was still alive, but he was now blind as a bat. He tried to feel around for his staffs and he nearly found one of them, but Mike stomped on his hand. “Curse you for this”, Tyrell hissed.
“Don’t take it so hard”, Mike said. “Just think of it as an eye for an eye.”
“Mike, were going to need a containment up here.”
“Don’t tell me you guys are battling a genie.”
“That’s exactly what we’re doing.”
“Be right up little brother, hold on.”
“Hurry, Jim and I are doing our best to keep him busy.” As soon as Tiger flew in, Mike escorted a blind Tyrell to him.
“Take one of his staffs, that’s as good a containment as any”, Tiger told Mike. Mike nodded and with his left wand hand he levitated the one chaos scepter up, whistled for Talon.
“I almost hate to ask this, but can you take me in to that cyclone”, he asked the griffin.
“We’ll have to go in through the top that would be the only safe way after that we’ll have to deal with what’s inside.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that. We better hurry if we’re going to save Ben and Jim.”
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I had recognized him as General Sven Dyson. Once on the right side in the war, but he later became one of Crisis’s rogues, and on the USA Wiz most wanted list. It had been rumored that he died, but seems that was just a cover to throw the magician Marshalls off his trail. Somehow he managed to become a genie in the scheme of things.
“Seems like you got a lot more to answer for then just theft and black mail”, Ben told him.
“You do realize that even if Ben and I wind up horribly mangled out of this, you won’t be able to kill us”, I said “Genie rules if I remember correctly.”
“That rule is about to have two exceptions”, Dyson said. “You should’ve let me go when you had the chance. Then again, obeying certain commands was beneath you in the war, wasn’t it Captain.” He raised his staff again, but Ben managed to counter with a spell from his own that busted Dyson’s in half.
“That won’t stop me, I don’t need a staff or wand to deal with the likes of you two.” Ben and I were forced on the defensive. Using shield spells to avoid getting pounded down. I don’t know he did it, but Dyson managed to inject a swarm of bees in my mouth. I tried to keep my jaws closed, but the flutter was enough to make me spit them out. Ben and I were repeatedly getting stung by them.
“Get behind me, and see if you can find a spot to strike. I’ll hold him off”, Ben said as he touched my neck. He muttered some kind of incantation that made any bees that were left in my throat disappear. He and I then used fire to destroy the rest before we got stung to death any further. Mike and Talon were starting to make their way towards us. Ben took a shot from Dyson in his ankle. Despite it being twisted to the point where he dropped to one knee he was still able to counter most of his spells in order to hold our defense.
“Very well, I’ll destroy the platform and the two of you will fall to your death.” Dyson rose up a little higher and took aim. Just then Bistro flew in and managed to protect us from the blast with his fire breathe. While Dyson’s attention was on him, Mike had Talon swoop down towards the flying piece of land. As soon as he was close enough, Mike had tossed me his staff while he went to work with the chaos scepter against Dyson.
“Absolute powers contain. Cease and restrain. Bound to this staff you shall be. For every master you’re liable to have, you’ll grant wishes minimum of three.” Two gold cuffs appeared out of the air and snapped themselves around tight on Dyson’s wrists.
“What is this”, he protested, but then he looked down at the twister that used to be his legs. It was now caught in the jewel of the chaos scepter. “No”, he screamed. “No!” The staff sucked him in like a vacuum. Once he disappeared inside, the battle inside the cyclone was over. Right on queue, Bistro and Talon flew to our rescue. As soon as we were on their backs Mike and Ben busted the piece of land that was taken up in the air. Cleo helped by turning the falling rock and pebbles into bubbles just as the last of the other side’s team decided it was time to surrender. The only one who seemed to have made his escape without being seen was Archie. Clair seemed to have won her fight with the leader of the Werewolf bike gang.
Chapter XII:
Shearfire Was Here:
As soon as Dyson was inside the staff, the battle was over. Tiger and his Marshalls started rounding up who was left standing who fought with Tyrell. Ben and I were set up at the hospital stations. Crystal made sure she applied the potion cures she was taught how to use very carefully. She treated our bee stings pretty well. The solution she applied made it look like they never even happened, although I still had to drink a few more vials of the anti-sting potion she made since they were in my mouth. Apparently Dyson made sure that a few of them would sting me inside the throat before I let the whole swarm out. I could sense a little mutual attraction between her and Ben as she applied some substance to his twisted ankle.
“You may need to stay off your feet for a while, and that will be a little sore for a couple of days, but you should be alright after a week.”
“I appreciate it, thank you”, Ben said to her. “You’d make your teacher very proud.” She smiled a bit at him as she applied a little more of the substance.
“In all my years as a potion’s master I never seen something like this”, I said.
“It’s a solution of honey and holly leaves, berries included. If brewed properly they make a nice soothing oil that is perfect for twisted ankles.”
“How you doing little brother”, Mike said, his arm around his wife who just put her pistol back in her holster. She was glad the battle was over just in the nick of time. She was running out of silver bullets that she was using against Archie’s werewolves. Travis and Clair were in the tent next to ours. A mutual proposal was being shared between them. We couldn’t help but look.
“Did you get our friend to talk”, Ben asked. “Without wishing for anything of course. The only way to deal with genies is to out smart them sometimes threaten them.”
“I left him in Tiger’s hands, needless to say, Maximillian showed up and interjected so we can’t interrogate him until he gets his enormous nose out of our business.”
“Speaking of which, I better have a talk with my old friend”, I said. “Ben, I’ll see you later.”
“I’m going with you, yow!” Ben sat right back down. Failing to stand after a little pinch in his ankle.
“Doesn’t look like you’re going anywhere yet”, Mike said.
“Especially since I’m not finished yet”, Crystal laughed. “You really aren’t the most cooperative patient are you?”
“Depends on the circumstance”, Ben said with a smile. “I want to question him.”
“Let me handle this partner; besides, it was I who got conked by Archie’s shotgun.”
“Speaking of which”, Mike said. “Travis found it after the battle.”
“I busted it open”, Travis said. “And guess what we found, the deeds that the Warlock, or I should say Dyson stole from everyone here, along with a pair of dueling wands that were inside the double barrels.”
>
“That’s not even half of it”, Kate interjected. “You flip each deed over, there is a design.” The deeds were laid out and Ben began to examine each one carefully.
“You know what this is? I’ll bet if you put all the pieces together including the deed to Crow’s Nest, you might find that this forms a treasure map, and not just a map, the reveal of the exact location, plus a set of passage ways for a bonus. Unless if I missed my guess, it is directly under El Draco, the Mansion, and Crow’s Nest. The entire Shi Bang.” I have never heard Ben say that before, but then again it was just one of those phrases that just generically came in moments like this. Not like his other phrases that no one outside of his place has ever heard of. While Ben was carted off with the others I went over to speak with Maximillian who was just speaking to Tiger about how to properly deal with Dyson.
“He was a wizard before he was a genie, I think you can back off on this one”, Tiger growled.
“I feel a lot better if you placed him in my custody. You may find that my justice system is much more efficient.”
“And let me guess how that works”, I said as I showed up behind him.
“Jim, thank goodness you’re alright.”
“No thanks to you”, I said.
“Now Jimmy”, he pleaded. “I told you I was after him to.”
“That remains to be seen”, I said. “The people in this town that he’s hurt need justice for what he’s done.”
“They’ll get it I promise you, but my way.”
“I don’t think we should trust your way”, I said. “Tiger, do what you must, but don’t let Maximillian influence you in anyway, shape, or form.”
“Jim, consider what you’re saying.”
“That’s another thing”, I told him. “You threaten me, or Ben I will expose you for the fraud that you really are.”
“Jim, I understand that you’re upset. I’ll chalk it up to your time in captivity or getting beamed in the head, but you must understand that I need to take a special interest in this case.”
“You can take my word for it, he’s as guilty as the devil himself”, I growled. “You weren’t the one fighting him inside a giant twister that would’ve wiped out everything in its path had Ben’s brother Mike not enacted some quick thinking and told everyone to use a blue firewall they would’ve lost everything. I’ll even testify to that in court if I have to.” I pointed my finger at him as if to make sure I got the final word; all I could get out was, “Old friend, don’t you ever test me like that again.”
A few days went by. We had split the finding of the location of the treasure into teams. Mike took a team to look around at the mansion, Ben was leading the search at El Draco, and of course Crow taking care of things for us at his ranch. According to the map created by all the deeds joined together, each position had a secret door that lead straight into a cavern section that contained part of the treasure.
“Over here Master Alatar”, Travis called. “You never would know that we had this right behind the jail house.”
“No wonder Draco and Tyrell saw fit to establish themselves as the law out here, the rest kind just fell into place up.” Ben came to the already opened area. It reminded me of an ancient mummy’s tomb. Ben was concerned that there were claw marks around the area. “Bistro, you better lead us in. I might need your help judging dragon claws and flame.”
“Right Boss”, Bistro said as Ben lit the top of his staff. I did the same with Ben’s wand. I knew I was going to have to get a new one of my own after being captured by Archie and his Werewolves, but I figured Ben’s would do for now. We followed Bistro in after he lit a few torches with his fire breath.
“A dragon was definitely here”, Bistro said as he examined the marks in the caverns. “These markings are still fresh, but there as old as only a couple of days, I’d say during the night of the show down.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that”, I said. I could tell Ben was starting to feel a little chill himself.
“Mike how you guys coming”, Ben asked in his usual telepathic fashion.
“We found two areas, Tiger is leading one party now beneath the fountain. I’m leading mine through the area underneath the porch, and jackpot, wait till you see all the gold and gems. It’s like an entire treasure city.”
“That’s putting it mildly”, Crow said. “This is a treasure emporium. All of this stuff is worth a trillion or more.”
“Nobody touch anything though, until we’ve made sure none of it is cursed”, Tiger growled. “Normally I would share in the spoils, but past experience tells me we must take every precaution necessary before any of this is distributed or returned to the rightful owners.” I just couldn’t believe it as we entered. Crisis really had made sure she was rolling in wealth before the end of the war. I could only imagine what she’d do to Drexel Draco, and General Dyson stealing the treasure. Unless if they were on the same side all along. Hard to say at the moment.
“Interesting”, I said. “And it’s been down here beneath everything all this time. I guess it’s true what they say about things turning up right under your nose.”
“Under an entire city’s feet would be more like it”, Travis said. “Had Dyson got Uncle Telly’s deed, he would’ve rode that tornado destroying everything in order to pry out the entire load. No doubt only his mansion would be spared.” All of a sudden two of Tiger’s deputies ran in. They both looked like they’ve seen a ghost.
“I thought I told you two to take that scepter to Alamode straight away”, Tiger told them.
“We did boss, but our eagle got attacked. We braced ourselves as we fell from the sky. It looked like she had been burned.”
“Yea, and then we saw”, the other replied taking his time with what he was going to say next. “Seven heads, seven horns one for each head. Claws as sharp as daggers, razor sharp teeth, wings and a tail. Spikes on the tip of the tail. We got ready to fight him, but with one powerful beat, of the wings he knocked us unconscious. When we came two, we found our eagle eaten as if she was a chicken dinner, and the scepter containing Dyson destroyed.”
“Was there anything left behind aside from the destroyed scepter and the remains of the giant eagle”, we heard Ben ask. Cleo, Mike, and I slowly began to realize that he was nowhere near the rest of us, but in another cavern where there were more parts of the treasure to recover. He was standing in the center of it looking at some kind of pedestal that looked like it had contained some kind of diamond. He was looking from that to some writing etched into the cavern. Before any of us could say anything, we knew exactly what he meant. The formations in the burnt out rocks spelled out: Shearfire Was Here. There was no question in my mind after seeing this as to who destroyed Dyson, and knocked out those two officials in the process.
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“You just had to kill him”, Maximillian said as he sat down at his desk. He was drinking a glass of wine, and sitting right behind him cloaked by the shadows of his penthouse was Shearfire. His glowing red eyes piercing the dark corner he was coiled up in, but his presence to Maximillian was as clear as the stars and the moon.
“Dyson would’ve talked in order to save his own skin, and there was no way they were going to let you have custody of the staff they put him in. Even I could have told you that my friend.”
“I suppose you want me to blame Ben and Jim, maybe put a price on their heads.”
“Never stopped you before”, Shearfire told him. “Besides, you never did get Joseph Alatar’s staff. Ben’s might look nice in your museum.”
“You forget, Jim is still a friend of mine.”
“Not anymore, he practically betrayed you when he joined forces with Ben two years ago. I’ve already sent Professor Salazar down to New Orleans to see if Medusa is on board with our plans for my latest scheme. In the meantime I want you to keep this diamond safe for me. I will e
xplain its usage in the near future.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t allow the rest of us to take a share of the treasure while they were fighting Dyson.”
“Why settle for an old witch’s treasure, when we can have the kingdoms of the world in our claws.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
“Kind of odd that he didn’t take all of the treasure with him”, I said to Ben. He was still starring at the letters etched in the formations of the rock.
“I would imagine there was a specific piece he was after. For what purpose is beyond me. I just know it is not for anything good. Mike is going to make sure he and Kate stay safe right where they are, but he wants to be updated as to when we meet Shearfire and bring him to justice.”
“Where do we start”, I asked. He looked around and then I saw him start to take samples of the embers from the rock that the letters were formed in.
“Right here”, he answered.
The End?
Wrath of the Iron Warlock Page 10