Wanderers 3: Garden of The Gods (The Wanderers) Read online

  “But they had shields. Then they were magic users?”

  Rafe shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think someone generated the shields for them. Like my watch you’re wearing, the shield spell is etched into an object, and the user is taught how to trigger it. In this case, I don’t think they knew how to do anything more than turn the spell on and off. That’s why they starting failing after a few lightning strokes. Real magic users could have tried to strengthen their shields after each of my attacks, but these guys were nothing more than cannon fodder for someone.”

  “Can magic users afford a private army?”

  Rafe shrugged. “I have no idea. If a magic user wanted to build a fortune, then given enough time, I’m sure he could. But I’ve never had mundanes attack me in any kind of serious assault. These guys were heavily armed, and they must have thought they had a chance. That really pisses me off. Sending in cannon fodder while you make another attack is one thing, but to just throw this many lives away without a purpose…”

  He didn’t finish, but I thought I understood what he meant. To send a score of people to their deaths without any chance seemed, well, un-American.

  We were almost to the second line of bodies when I heard a groan. It was weak, but definitely coming from one of the people in the second group.

  Rafe glanced around and then pointed. “Over there, that person’s core temperature is staying constant. The rest are beginning to cool.”

  I followed his finger and then rushed over to the unmoving body that he’d indicated.

  Kneeling beside the figure, I could see that there were burns on her face and head beneath a Kevlar helmet. One sleeve had burned away to reveal more burned flesh. The rest of the woman’s body appeared intact, but her boots were smoldering. I was surprised to see that it was a woman. I’d never thought about mercenaries as being anything other than men. Unless they weren’t mercs. What if they were U.S. soldiers? I really didn’t like the idea of killing those I considered my comrades.

  I placed a couple of fingers against the woman’s throat and felt a pulse. It wasn’t strong, but it was regular. I looked up at Rafe. “She’ll probably make it. I don’t see any wounds other than the burns. What should we do with her?”

  “Usually I’d just finish her off, but we need information. We can’t let people attack us like this without a response. We can’t respond without knowing who sent them.”

  The woman moaned something and then her eyes opened. She saw Rafe and me bending over her and then she shut her eyes again.

  “What’s your name,” I asked.

  “What difference does it make? Just get it over with.”

  I glanced up, questioningly, and Rafe shrugged.

  “We’re not planning on killing you,” I said.

  “Right,” the woman moaned. Her voice was weak.

  Unzipping my jacket, I pulled Loki’s necklace from inside my blouse and slipped it off. I draped the leather cord over the woman’s head, eliciting another moan of pain when I touched her burns. I lifted her helmet from her head and shoulder length black hair spilled out. Speaking my healing spell, I placed my hands on the side of her head. Energy flowed from me into the woman. Amplified by Loki’s talisman, the spell began healing her burned flesh before my eyes.

  The woman gasped and spasmed. “My God, what are you doing to me?”

  “Relax, this will help you,” I said.

  She struggled and tried to pull my hands away from her head. Then her hands were pushed over her head and held tightly together. Rafe had cast some spell, but I hadn’t heard him speak so it had to be one of his tattoos.

  I held the spell for several minutes until Rafe bent down and rubbed his fingers against the woman’s burned arm. Dead and blackened skin sloughed away to reveal pink flesh beneath it.

  “I think that’s enough,” Rafe said. “Take your amulet back and let’s see if she wants to talk.”

  I released the woman’s head and lifted my necklace off her. She was staring at me when I did. She had wide brown eyes, and for the first time, I realized she had epicanthic folds.

  Standing, I took a step back to be out of her reach in case Rafe dropped the spell that held her arms.

  She twisted, trying to get her hands free, and her head jerked from Rafe to me and back. In a few seconds, she realized she wasn’t getting away and calmed down.

  “Ready to talk now?” Rafe asked.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  “Start with your name; I like to know who tries to kill me.”

  “Marcie Abrams.”

  “Okay, Marcie. Now, why don’t you explain why you attacked two people minding their own business in the middle of nowhere,” Rafe said.

  “Yeah, right.” The scorn in Abrams’ voice was genuine and puzzling.

  “Yes, that is right,” Rafe said. “Now, you can tell us who sent you after us and why and we’ll let you walk away from here with no additional injuries.”

  “You don’t really expect me to believe that do you?” Abrams asked.

  Rafe cocked his head to one side. “I don’t see any reason you shouldn’t believe me. We didn’t have to heal your injuries. We could have just walked away and left you here to suffer.”

  “You only did that to get me to talk. I’m not falling for it.”

  “Rafe,” I suggested softly. “Why don’t you release her and let her stand?”

  Rafe glanced my way and shrugged.

  Whatever he was using to hold her arms over her head vanished, and as soon as she realized it, Abrams scrambled to her feet.

  “There, now can we talk?” Rafe asked.

  Abrams backed a few steps away and then hesitated. “I don’t guess you’re going to let me walk out of here.”

  “That’s right, not unless you prove useful.” Rafe stepped to one side and waved a hand across the field where he had killed her compatriots. “These people died because someone thought it was smart to attack a Wanderer. As you can see, that’s not such a good idea. Now, we’re asking you politely, to tell us who sent you and why.”

  Abrams glanced around at the bodies and the still burning remains of the helicopter. I heard the heavy tread of our familiars behind us.

  “Holy shit! What are those things?” Abrams looked like she’d just pissed her pants. Beast and Maia stopped to either side of Rafe and me, facing our captive.

  “That’s who we’ll feed you to if I decide you’ve lied to me,” Rafe said.

  I had a moment of doubt that he might actually carry out that threat, but when I placed a hand on his, I felt humor in his emotions.

  “Okay, okay,” Abrams stammered. “We were told that the gunships would take out your protection and that we had shields to protect us from your black magic. I guess someone was either optimistic or they lied.”

  Rafe gave her a half-shrug. “Yeah, could be either, but I want to know which.”

  “Robins, my team leader, said you were some kind of magic wielding terrorist. The mission was to take both of you down before you could launch your attack.”

  “Our attack? That sounds interesting. Did this Robins tell you what we were supposed to be attacking?” Rafe asked.

  “There’s some kind of religious gathering in Colorado in a few days. We were told that you were going to try and stop the gathering from succeeding.”

  “Succeeding at what?” I asked.

  Abrams shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. It’s just a meeting of religious leaders from the western hemisphere. They’re trying to come up with a response to all the Muslim craziness running around in the eastern hemisphere.”

  “Go on,” Rafe said without expression.

  “That’s about all I know. I work for Swamp Posse Security. We were contracted to provide the usual security needs of the meeting and then we were briefed on you two and sent down here to stop you before you could disrupt the meeting.”

  “Seriously? Why would anyone think we’d want to interfere with a bunch of holy men?” I ask
ed. Something didn’t seem right with her story. Rafe had been telling me that Wanderers never interfered with mundane humanity. Attacking a bunch of pious workers hardly seemed like part of our job description.

  “That’s what I was briefed. I don’t know anything else about it,” Abrams said. She sounded defensive, but I guess I would too if I thought that my lying would just get me killed and eaten.

  “Who runs this Swamp Posse?” Rafe asked.

  “The CEO is Jenifer Armstrong. I’ve never met her, but I’ve read the on-line reports on her. She’s ex-Army, made full bird before retiring and founding Swamp Posse,” Abrams added.

  “And where is this company located?” Rafe asked.

  “We’re headquartered in Vicksburg.”

  “Mississippi?” I asked.

  Abrams nodded.

  I still held Rafe’s hand in mine, and I could feel him reluctantly reaching a decision. Hell, he was going to kill her.

  “Rafe, can we talk?” I asked.

  He turned toward me, and I saw curiosity in his gaze. “Sure, we have time. Beast, would you watch this woman for me?”

  “Certainly,” Beast growled, and he moved closer to Abrams.

  The woman shuddered and took a step back.

  “No, stay just where you are,” Rafe said. “You can sit down if your legs won’t support you, but if you start moving Beast here may recall how long it’s been since he last ate.”

  Abrams froze and then slowly lowered herself to a sitting position.

  Rafe and I walked back toward the center of the clearing and stopped when I thought we were out of earshot.

  “What did you want?” Rafe asked.

  “Are you seriously thinking of killing her?” I whispered.

  He shrugged. “I’m considering it. It’s probably the most efficient way of dealing with her.”

  “That’s not right, Raphael,” I hissed. “You told her she could go free if she told you what you needed to know.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll tell people what they want to hear if I think it will get me what I need.”

  “I don’t like it. She’s not really much of a threat. Why don’t we let her go? You let the Amazon go.”

  “The Amazon surrendered and explained that they’d been duped by Rowle. Besides, the Amazons respect a good fighter. Beating them and then showing mercy toward the survivor gives us a lot of respect with them. That may come in handy in the future.”

  “And can’t we gain some respect from these people if they see that we’re not the evil bastards they think we are?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I’m not used to mundanes attacking me. Night magic users, sure, even some witches who are just misguided, but for the most part no one messes with Wanderers, and we make a point of encouraging that behavior by not letting anyone survive an attack on us.”

  I grabbed his hands and squeezed them in mine. “Rafe, I don’t want to kill her. If I hadn’t become your apprentice, I might have ended up working for someone like this Swamp Posse group. I’d hate to think you’d kill me just because someone duped me into attacking you.”

  I could feel his emotions swirl and I wished we were meshed. I thought that if he felt what I felt, he wouldn’t be able to kill Abrams in cold blood.

  For a minute, Rafe didn’t say anything, and then he pulled away. “All right, then. If it means that much to you, we’ll let her go. But if we encounter her again, I’m not going to be merciful.”

  “I understand and I agree,” I said, trying not to let the relief I felt appear in my voice.

  Rafe walked back toward our familiars and Abrams. After a moment, I followed.

  “Okay, Abrams, on your feet. It’s time to go,” Rafe said as he reached Beast.

  The woman gave him a look of concern, but then she seemed resigned and stood up.

  “I’m ready,” she said.

  “Good,” Rafe said. “Now let’s get one thing straight. If you ever point a weapon at either of us again, I’ll make an example of you. If properly motivated I can remove all of your bones without killing you. I suggest you find another line of work or at least make sure no one sends you after a Wanderer again.”

  “You…you’re letting me go?” Abrams stammered.

  “Yep, start walking,” Rafe pointed toward the road. “Raton is about twelve miles that way. Walking, you should make it by dawn.”

  Abrams glanced toward the direction Rafe pointed. She nodded at him and then at me. “Thank you. I…I appreciate you not killing me.”

  “Just remember my warning. I don’t give a second chance to everyone and a third chance to no one.”

  Abrams nodded once more. “I understand. I won’t forget.”

  She starting walking toward the distant glow of Raton. She had gotten about three steps when she collapsed to the ground.

  I stared at her, unbelieving my own eyes, and then I turned on Rafe and punched him in the shoulder. “What did you do?”

  “Watch it, Apprentice. I just put her to sleep,” Rafe said as he knelt beside her.

  “But you said we’re letting her go.”

  He gripped a small portion of her hair, maybe a dozen individual strands, and yanked them out.

  “What’d you do that for?” I asked.

  Rafe stood, tied the hair in a knot, and tucked the lock into a pocket. “In case we want to find her later. She’s our only lead to these people, and when I get the chance, I’m going to have a talk with her bosses.”

  “Oh,” I said, catching up. “You need something of hers for a locator spell. But she said she wouldn’t be with them anymore.”

  “No, what she said was that she wouldn’t come after us again. That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t still work for them. This way, when I want to get more information from her, I can find her.”

  I nodded. Rafe had been doing this most of his life and knew what he needed. I was just trying to understand so that I wouldn’t always be ignorant about everything. Being an Apprentice Wanderer is like being a little kid. Everything is new and exciting, but you have to ask a lot of questions. The more questions you ask, the faster you learn.

  Rafe knelt beside Abrams again and shook her awake.

  “What? What happened?” Abrams asked, groggily.

  “Looks like you passed out. You might have a concussion. You should probably try to stay awake until you get medical assistance,” Rafe said.

  He helped her to her feet.

  “Yes, thank you,” Abrams said. She oriented herself and then started walking toward the road, a little faster than last time.

  I watched her until she reached the edge of the clearing and hit the road.

  “Well, this has certainly been an interesting day,” I said.

  Rafe laughed. “Interesting times we live in. Sounds like the old Chinese curse.”

  A familiar voice spoke behind us. “You actually let her live. You continue to surprise me, Wanderer.”

  Rafe and I snapped around to see Loki standing ten feet away. The Norse god was clad in ornate, shiny leather armor from his boots to his throat. A golden helmet sat upon his head, and a pair of long curving horns protruded from the front of it. He had an enormous sword in a scabbard hanging from the left side of his belt.

  “Loki! You bastard!” Rafe snarled. He raised his hand and a bolt of energy struck Loki in the center of his chest.

  Chapter 12

  Therese

  Holy shit! I had a chance to think before self-preservation kicked in. I triggered my shield tat and backed away from the two men. Well, one man and one god. Sheesh! What was Rafe thinking to attack a god?

  The energy blast pushed Loki back a half dozen feet, but other than that, there was no sign he’d even been hit.

  Rafe raised his left hand. His lightning tat began to glow.

  Loki raised both his hands. “Peace, Wanderer, I didn’t come here to fight you.”

  Lightning flashed down from the dark sky to illuminate Loki’s body in incandescence. Rafe held the tat aglow for
a dozen or more seconds before the local charge petered out. He bent and took his knife from his boot. As he drew it, the silvery metal lengthened and widened into a katana.

  As Rafe stepped forward, raising the sword over his head, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could see Loki was still standing there, unharmed.

  Loki made a show of brushing his hands against his sleeves as if brushing off dust. “Really, Wanderer? Lightning? You understand that my brother is the god of thunder, right? I learned how to handle his power millennia ago.”

  Rafe closed the distance and swung his sword down in an arc that should have split Loki from neck to crotch. The blade hit the god’s armor and stopped as if it had struck an Abrams battle tank.

  “Enough of this, Raphael,” Loki said. He caught Rafe’s wrists in his hands and held my mentor still. “You don’t have the power to hurt me. I don’t understand this hostility. You were pleasant enough the last time we met.”

  I felt like I should be helping Rafe, but sheesh; it was Loki. The god had given me the amulet that had sped my healing. Why was Rafe so upset with him? Then I understood.

  Rafe snarled. “If it hadn’t been for you I might have been able to prevent the shade from taking Laura.”

  Rafe’s face was less than a foot from Loki’s. His face was reddening as he strained against the god’s power.

  “Who? Oh, yes, the woman who bore your son. Well, you’re the one who killed her Wanderer. Why are you upset with me?”

  “You delayed me you bastard. It took me hours to get back from where you transported me. If I’d been there, the shade would never have taken her. She’s dead because of you.”

  Rafe pulled back out of Loki’s grasp, and his sword began to glow, black.

  Oh, shit!

  Loki’s expression changed to one of concern for the first time. He took a step back, drew his own sword, and prepared himself. “Think about what you’re doing, Wanderer. Do you seriously mean to attack me with night magic? You are supposed to be one of the good guys.”

  “Rafe, are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked.

  Rafe ignored my question just as he had ignored Loki’s.

  A writhing black mass stretched out from Rafe’s blade. It was the spell I’d seen him use on some of our most recent attackers, but this time, it surged and throbbed as though the spell were alive. It reached out from his blade, groping toward Loki, and I saw Loki’s face pale. The god lowered his sword and in an instant, vanished.