Redemption (The Alliance Series Book 1) (15 page)

              They are surrounded in fire, that in and of itself is bad enough. To add insult to injury they have a body made from the stone of which they were born. Just for shits and giggles, they also have the ability to move extremely fast. Yay.

              I assessed all this in a second and realized all I could do was try to keep the thing occupied so that at least Nathan could get out.

              I didn't think it was right to die on your first mission.

              That is just rude.

              I looked over at Nathan, who had taken cover behind the same couch I had, when I heard a word emitted from the Jinn. I couldn't understand the language the word was spoken in, but a feeling of what the word meant came into my mind as if it was inserted there, allowing me to understand the Jinn’s meaning. 

              The Jinn apparently thought we were "meddlers".

              I guess he wouldn't be wrong. I looked up at Nathan and motioned for him to exit. Without looking to see if he did, I rose up from behind the couch and let the Jinn have a bolt of amber lightning to the chest.

              The lightning seemed to hit the covering of fire and just aimlessly surround the Jinn until it dissipated. I could hear a low rumbling that I assumed was laughter.

              The damn Jinn was laughing at me!

              The Jinn opened up its mouth and spit, yes spit, a big ole flaming lugy at me.

              I noticed out of the corner of my eye that not only had Nathan not run, he was apparently making funny hand gestures at the Jinn! I had a second to think he had lost his mind when the ball of fire-spit hit the shield that Nathan had established.

              I should have known! He wasn't just any engineer! He was my backup. I wished they'd tell me about this stuff.

              It seemed as though my superiors thought I might have needed some help. I hate it when they are right. I dropped back down and tried to ignore the fact that most of the house around us was now on fire. I smiled fiercely at Nathan. He calmly smiled back.

              "Engineer, huh? You think you can get rid of his flames so I can get a shot at him?" I asked.

              I had to get through the flames. They were his defense so to speak. They protected his body from harm. I know it's not fair. Why would a creature made from stone need a magical flame to keep him protected from harm? I don't understand it either.

              Nathan looked at me and nodded. Concentrating, Nathan made another series of quick hand motions. I lifted my head up and saw the Jinn hadn't moved. I guess he thought the last blast had disintegrated me.

              There was a small surge of energy as Nathan released his spell. I noticed two things. One, smoke from the burning house started gathering in an arc shape around the Jinn as if there was a glass ball around him and two, the Jinn’s flames started to go out.

              Fire, even magical fire, needs oxygen. Summoning energy and shaping it into a form used by wizards to do all kinds of things takes magical talent. Once the energy is used for its purpose, it comes under the laws of physics. The Jinn was using magic to keep a fire around his body, but it still needed what all fire needs, namely oxygen.

              It took about five seconds for the flames to be snuffed out. I hoped Nathan had the same timing I did.

              I rose up from behind the couch again and this time I put as much energy as I could gather into the palm of my right hand.

              The instant before I released the bolt I saw the smoke rise back up as if someone had popped a smoke filled balloon.

              The amber lightning hit the Jinn full on. This time there was a much more satisfying reaction.

              The Jinn flew out of the hole it had created in the back of the house. It landed about ten feet outside in the street, slid across the dirt road and crashed into the front of the house behind the one we were in.

              Nathan reached down and took a hand grenade he had on his belt, pulled the pin, released the handle and tossed it right between the legs of the Jinn.

              We both dropped behind the couch and felt as much as heard the grenade detonate.

              We got up and walked out the hole in the back wall. Keeping our eyes on the destroyed section of house the Jinn had been resting on.

              The rubble started moving and a flame covered stone hand reached out of the mess and pushed the Jinn up to a standing position. I would have sworn the Jinn looked pissed.

              I have a way with people.

              He leaned his head down in an aggressive manner and in a blur covered the distance between us.

              It was too fast for me to react but thankfully, it wasn't for Nathan.

              He had somehow managed to get a makeshift shield between us and the incoming ton of stone and flames. The shield was a flat plane that was similar to having a slab of granite between us.

              The Jinn hit it at an angle, like Nathan had intended. He knew he couldn't stop it, but hoped he could redirect it. He did.

              The Jinn flew off at an angle and once again slammed into the wall of someone's house.

              Nathan and I were also thrown for a loop and landed in a heap in the middle of the street.

              I got up quickly, helping Nathan to his feet. I looked at him and said. "You think you can douse his flames again?"

              "I already tried that and your blast only made him mad, do you have something else in mind?" He asked.

              "I'm gonna blow his goddamn head off, see if that works." I answered.

              It's usually a fatal blow to anyone. Even immortal elemental spirits have to have a head, there is just something about needing a head that makes removing one usually lethal.

              Nathan nodded and this time we were ready.

              When the Jinn had removed himself from the broken wall, we didn't wait for him to make a move.

              Nathan sat down and began a series of hand gestures that ended with his hand in a closed fist, raised and pointed at the Jinn. The effect was the same as before.

              The flames went out and the Jinn began to advance on us. Nathan’s containment field was smaller this time; he didn't want him to be able to make another rush so he had made this one almost the same shape as the Jinn’s body.              

It created an effective barrier and kept the Jinn from using his speed.              

Again, I gathered energy, only this time I concentrated harder, I pulled in more energy than I ever have before.

              I wanted to make sure this worked.

              My head was pounding from the increase in pressure the magic I had gathered created. I raised my hand and there was a small ball of electricity surrounding it. Again, without having to make any signal, Nathan’s timing was perfectly in tune with mine. The second before I released my blast, Nathan released his containment field.

              The flames started from the Jinn’s feet and made it all the way to his waist when my blast hit him.

              I watched as the Jinn’s head was reduced to dust and pebbles. The flames went out and the Jinn fell to his knees.

              Succumbing to exhaustion, I did the same thing. The Jinn slowly fell over on his side. I noticed that I had mimicked him as I lay on the ground; darkness slowly took me as I realized I might have pushed myself too hard.

              I woke a short time later when Nathan had dumped a bucket of well water on my face. I sputtered and coughed for a second, realizing I wasn't dead.

              I don’t think dead people sputter.

              I noticed Nathan had taken us to the outskirts of town and had thrown a smoke grenade, indicating a location for extraction.

              "I guess it worked." I said.

              "Yup." Nathan said. A man of few words. I could respect that.

              I looked sideways at Nathan and asked. "Why'd you stay?"

He looked at me and asked back, "Why'd you?"

              "I guess I could have bailed, especially after all my team was taken out, but I didn't like the idea of some nasty terrorizing and destroying the lives of the people that lived here. The police can catch the thieves and the F.B.I. can catch the kidnappers. Who’s going to get the flaming stone guys?" I asked.

              Nathan looked at me for a minute with a sense of comradery flowing between us.

"Yup." he said nodding. I was beginning to like this guy.

Chapter 14

I got up the next morning, took a shower and shaved. It was relaxing. There is nothing like a hot shower in the morning to help wake up. I stayed in the scalding water longer than I probably should have, letting it wash away my doubts from the previous day. My muscles were still sore where the elves had attempted to make me a noonday meal. Even with Miss Jones' healing, there was still some discomfort. I got out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist and noticed a message had been taped to my door telling me where I was supposed to meet Nathan and Peotr and to bring our gear. The note was hand written in precise flowing letters in the exact shaping I would imagine Miss Jones accented English would take if translated into written words. I packed up our things and made my way through the cabin and back out towards the same exit we took to go to the archery range.

              Instead of going left towards the tree line, I went straight back, through the garden and the fragrant flowers. Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds all battled for supremacy among the pollen-laden blossoms. I reached the end of the garden and walked along a well-groomed gravel path. It took me to a large log cabin style garage with four large bays.

              The one on the far right had a large roll up door that could admit a motor home or a tank. The other three were slightly larger than your normal two car garage door, about seven feet tall. I got closer to the garage and could hear voices coming from inside.

              "That's one pretty mule." I heard Nathan say.

              "I went through a lot of them until I found her." Peotr said back, his Russian accent very distinct.

              I started wondering again how we were going to get across half of America on a mule when I rounded the corner and saw what they were discussing.

              She
was
one pretty mule.

              Peotr and Nathan were standing in front of a truck with the hood up admiring the engine. It was awesome.

              She had a deep blue paint job; light glimmered off highlights from small specs of glitter that were mixed with the paint. She had deep black rims with tires that were oversized for off-road and she had a black headache rack with four of those real big K.C. lights on it. The brush guard consisted of welded tubing that wrapped around the front end. The winch on the front looked like it could pull a whale. You could tell that the mule had independent suspension and the searchlights on both the driver’s side and passenger’s side were also painted black.

              I almost started drooling.

              On the side of the driver’s door in small swirling letters was the word “Mule” in black. You would miss it if you weren't looking for it.

              "I should have known better." I said. "So this is the mule we'll be taking?" I asked smiling at Peotr and Nathan.

              They both turned around from examining the engine and Peotr grinned from ear to ear. "I had you going didn't I?" He asked laughing. Nathan smiled.

              "Did you know about this?" I asked Nathan.

              "He told me last night after you went to bed." Nathan said.

              I laughed and said. "It sure beats sitting on the back of some smelly animal the whole way."

              I went over and Peotr showed me all the features that the Mule had, along with all the ones I already noticed at first glance. Gear was loaded up in the back, stuff for roughing it outdoors and some food and ammo. There was also a state of the art G.P.S. system and a red button on the console that had no label.

              "What’s this do?" I asked reaching out for it.

              Peotr grabbed my arm and smiled saying. "That is the nitrous oxide boosters. If you have to really get somewhere in a hurry, push that. Make sure you are strapped in though." Peotr started grinning even bigger than usual and said in a conspiratorial whisper that both Nathan and I had to lean closer to hear.              

"There is one other thing. This Mule has the prototype of my own invention. The foam seatbelt I call it."

              I looked at Nathan raising my eyebrows. He shrugged back. Peotr said, "If you get in a wreck, and I mean a big one, not a little fender bender, there is a foam system that will fill up the cab in a fraction of a second. The foam will harden and can theoretically protect you from serious damage."

              "Theoretically?" I asked. "Let's hope we can avoid being test subjects." I added.

              Peotr slapped me on the back and said, "Let us hope so!"

              "Now, gentlemen, I have taken the liberty to program the roads and trails that you will need to take in order to get past any search perimeter. I have spent long months in bear form scouting out the woods and finding trails and paths that only the mule can traverse. The path is not all easy flat roads, there are some sections that will require you to use the four-wheel drive, but I am sure capable men such as yourselves will have no trouble at all. Once you are outside my property, you will slowly become visible to any tracking methods they may use. Be it magical or technological." He said as he slowly walked around the mule running a hand on her in admiration.

              "My boundaries are vast, but your path will soon take you outside of them rather quickly. The path I have given you will help you keep out of their watch until you can get past their scrutiny. I wish I could go with you, but my duties lie here." Peotr finished.

              He went over to Nathan and gave him a big hug, then came over to me and did the same.

              "Thank you Peotr, I'll make this up to you someday." I said. 

              "As will I." Nathan said.

              "Just don't be strangers; it was too long since your last visit. Get this over with quickly and come see me again." Peotr said.

              "Will do." I said.

              Nathan and I loaded up. Nathan drove us out of the garage and I noticed the G.P.S. was already on and pointing in the direction we needed to go. Nathan followed the road that led to the back of Peotr’s property.

              We were quickly swallowed by dense forest and soon made our way to the back gate.

              This one was not near as impressive as the entrance.

              It too was large, but it didn't have the dramatic decorations of the one in front. It opened the same way, splitting in the middle and swinging toward us.

              We left Peotr’s and began the long trek to the highway. The G.P.S. took us on flat gravel roads at first. We soon found ourselves slowed to a crawl, as we had to make our way through dried streambeds or trails that turned into a four-wheel enthusiast’s wet dream.

              It was slow going. We switched driving about mid-day.

              We stopped rarely, the surrounding forest as thick and green as ever. We were deep in the woods; the scenery would have been great if we didn’t have to go slow and careful due to the rough terrain. As the night began to get thicker and the going more hazardous due to lack of light, Nathan laughed.

              "What is it?" I asked.

              "That willy old bear, I can't believe he knew we'd get here at this time." Nathan said.

              "What are you talking about?" I asked.

              "Look." Nathan said pointing to the side of a rock wall that was hard to see through all the trees.

              "I still don't know what you're talking about." I said.

              "This is a good place to stop for the night." Nathan said.

              I stopped and he got out, making his way over to the wall. I got out and followed him.

              He went up to it, pushed aside some bushes, and disappeared. I followed him through the same bushes and found myself in the opening of a rather spacious cave.

              The space opened up rather nicely after getting past the entrance. The rock floor angled up slightly and then dropped down again about ten feet from the opening.

              The ceiling followed the same angle, keeping about eight feet of clearance the whole way. Nathan had already gone further in.

              I called some energy to a ring I wore on my right index finger. It was made of copper and was a great conductor. The inscriptions allowed it to act as a filament on a light bulb would without burning my finger or hand.

              It didn't last indefinitely and had to be infused with energy after the protections were depleted. It started emitting the same color as a 60-watt incandescent light bulb, quickly filling the cave with light.

              I went over the rise and saw the floor slope down about twenty feet to a flat spot. There was a rock circle with firewood stacked in it. All it needed was a match.

              I walked up to Nathan who had stopped and was looking up. I followed his gaze, allowing the ring to go out, and saw a faint glow.

              "Is it a breathing hole?" I asked.

              "Yup." said Nathan.

              A breathing hole allowed a place for the smoke to go when a fire was lit. The air would come in from the opening and out through the hole, just like a chimney in a house. As long as the wood wasn't too wet and depending on the flow of air, we could have a fire with no worry about smoke inhalation. Add the way the cave sloped up then down, hiding any light from the flames from a casual observer. Coupled with the bushes hiding the front and we had ourselves about as secure as a campsite we could ask for. 

              "How the hell did you know this was here?" I asked.

              Nathan looked at me and tapped his nose a few times. "My people are trained in how to smell caves." He said seriously.

              I looked at him for a second. "Bullshit." I said, smiling.

              "Peotr programmed it in the G.P.S." Nathan said laughing to himself.

              We quickly set up camp. Nathan and I used some camouflage netting Peotr had loaded in the back to hide the Mule. We then got the fire going and ate a dinner of leftover elk burgers. After dinner, we sat watching the fire. Nathan left for a few hours, placing some defensive measures around us before we went to sleep.

              The flames moved over the wood slowly turning it into embers. I sat in silence watching the wood burning, thinking back to my first mission.

Chapter 15

I could clearly see the dancing flames as they rose from the empty drum. A group of five men were standing around the fire trying to get warm before they resumed their posts. The men were part of a security detail that was protecting the man I was supposed to kill.

              Calling him a man is a bit of a stretch. My target was really a giant posing as a man. Depending on which culture you listen to, giants can be described as lumbering oafs using their superior size to endanger men. Other cultures view giants as having great strength and intelligence.

              It was just my luck that in this case the latter was more apt. My target wasn’t any old giant. He was a frost giant. Norse mythology describes them as coming from a realm called Jötunheimr. A realm of ice and frost, perpetually covered in deepest winter, frost giants are most comfortable in the coldest of earth’s climates. The early Vikings were actually pretty accurate in their stories about frost giants. They did live in a land where the sun is never able to melt the unending winter. Frost giants were a clever race, using their quick minds as weapons as lethal as their great strength. They were one of the few Otherworld inhabitants that had the ability to willingly cross over into our world. As if we didn’t have enough trouble without them around.