The fight had been rather quiet thus far, with only the whoosh of the fireballs for sound effects. Shawna’s pistol firing twice ensured the whole neighborhood took notice.
“Maybe someone will call the cops,” she calmly said in the aftermath of the noise echoing off the buildings around us.
“You are the cops,” I said as I stuck my sword in front of a bolt of lightning to deflect it.
“That’s true,” Shawna said, “but I get lonely. I want my brother and sister officers to come join in the fun. Can’t you cut off a head or two to even the odds?”
I used ley energy to push another fireball away from us. “Your boss gets so upset when I do that. Besides, they have swords, too.”
My opponents finally got their act together and coordinated a volley of fire, lightning, and wind, which pounded me and caused me to pull all the power I could from the ley line to strengthen my shield. Unfortunately, I couldn’t extend the shield to Shawna.
“Get the hell out of here,” I said to her. “Straight up would probably be best.” Without waiting for a reply, I dove forward and rolled. When my shield contacted the shield of the man in front of me, I pulled the ley magic he held into my shield even as I swung my sword.
His scream told me I had hit, but I didn’t spare him a glance, continuing to roll. A sword bounced off my shield as I came to my feet. One man to my left, two to my right. I whirled in a circle holding my sword with both hands. The man to my right front was slow, and I sliced him in half. The next man parried my blade, and I felt another sword glance off my shield.
One of the advantages I had with larger men was that it was more difficult for them to strike down at a far shorter opponent. I dropped into a squat, swinging at the legs of the man before me. He leaped backward, and I leaped to the side, watching a blade swing through the space I had just vacated. That man, the one who had been behind me, leaned a little off-balance, and I took advantage of him. My sword didn’t penetrate his shield, but I poured additional power into my hands and knocked him down.
My back was no longer to the wall, and I had switched positions with my attackers. Two of them were down. Shawna was nowhere in sight, and I allowed myself a short sigh of relief. Before the four men who were left could gather themselves to mount a new assault, I took off running.
I had seen Kung-Fu movies where a single fighter takes on thirty opponents and wins. Not very realistic when your opponents are mages who can shield themselves.
After covering about twenty-five yards, I allowed myself a quick glance over my shoulder. It didn’t appear that I was being followed. Then I heard sirens growing louder. Not trusting that the Knights would do the smart thing, I kept running until I reached the nightclub where my car was. There, I ducked down between parked cars, pulled a cloth out of my bag, and wiped the blood off my blade before sheathing it.
No sooner had I sheathed my sword than Shawna walked up.
“Thanks. I owe you one,” she said, handing me my dagger.
“Are you the one who called the cops?”
“Of course.”
“Then we’re even. Did they catch them?”
“One of them, plus the two you wounded.”
We walked back toward the scene. In addition to police cars, two ambulances contributed to the flashing colored lights. Two EMTs were in the process of loading one gurney into an ambulance. Other EMTs worked on another man, and Dan Bailey stood over a Knight sitting on the ground with hands bound behind his back and a black bag over his head.
Cindy Mackle met us, giving me an unhappy look, but then turning on Shawna.
“I thought I told you to go home.”
“And do what? Stare at the walls? Erin and I were on our way to her place to have a nice, quiet glass of wine,” Shawna responded.
“We were being good,” I said, “but they seemed to take issue with my choice of friends. Called me a demon lover.”
“I assume you were the one who cut off that guy’s leg,” she said. “I don’t think he’s going to make it. The guy with a big hole in his side probably will, though.”
I held out my empty hands, knowing she couldn’t see my sword. “That was my famous buzz saw spell.”
“Right. Get out of here. Both of you.”
Shawna got her car and followed me to my place, where we stood out on my balcony, watched the stars, and had that glass of wine. Vampires didn’t feel the cold, and I drew on the ley line to warm myself.
“Does this town ever settle down?” I asked. “Most exciting place I’ve ever been.”
“It was rather quiet here,” Shawna said, “until you showed up. What kind of karma do you have?”
I didn’t tell her.
“Who were those guys?” she asked. “Do you know?”
“Members of the Order of Knights Magica,” I said, and explained who they were. “Be glad they only wanted to behead you. They could have been armed with holy water.”
Shawna took a swallow of her wine. “Yeah, that would have been bad. This blouse is silk—dry clean only.”
Chapter 5
The man in a black suit who came through the pub’s door was a very strong mage. He took off his fedora and revealed iron-gray hair to match his neatly trimmed beard and gray eyes. Looking around the room, he finally rested his eyes on me and strode toward where I stood behind the bar.
“Slivovitz,” he said as he sat on a bar stool. His presence was almost overpowering. His eyes drilled into mine like a bird of prey’s, his long, hooked nose enforcing the allusion. A silver cross hung from a chain around his neck and lay on top of his blood-red tie.
I poured him a shot and set it down in front of him. “Five dollars.”
He tossed it off and pushed the glass toward me. Pulling a ten out of his pocket, he said, “Another.”
I took the money and poured him another shot.
“It is a dangerous world when you’re alone,” he said in Swiss German as he picked up his glass.
His words chilled me, and I wasn’t even tempted to give him a flippant answer. I had met many very dangerous men in my life, and I had no doubt he was as dangerous as they came. That he chose that language to deliver his warning showed that he believed I was a member of the Illuminati, whose language—Middle High German—was close to Swiss German.
My mouth was so dry that I had difficulty answering him, but I managed to say in English, “I am not alone.”
A brief smile touched his eyes as I essentially admitted that I understood what he said. Sometimes I think I’m smart, and other times I prove I’m not. He leaned back in his chair and turned to survey the room, then swung back and fixed me with his cold eyes.
“Far more alone than you once were,” he said, still speaking Swiss German. “The world has changed, but more changes are coming. Be very careful about the path you choose.”
Jenny called to me from the end of the bar nearest the kitchen, and I went over to get her drink order. As I was pulling the beers for her, the mage finished his drink, put on his hat, and made his way toward the door. Before pushing through to the outside, he turned and looked me over once more.
“Who was that?” Jenny asked.
“I don’t know. Someone dangerous,” I answered. I tried to maintain outward calm, but the mage left me shaken. He wasn’t a Hunter, but I wasn’t sure exactly what he was. After the incident with the Knights, he left me very unsettled.
It was a night for unusual customers. The next one came through the door about an hour later. I noticed him because his magic signature when he passed through the ward was similar to that of Lizzy’s.
He was of medium height with white, silver, and ice-blue hair spilling down around his shoulders. He didn’t so much walk as glide toward me, his amber eyes fixed on my face. Although I had never seen him in that form before, there was no doubt I was looking at Oriel in his human form.
Taking the seat right in front of me, he said, “How’s the car running?”
I felt my lips form into a smile. “Runs great. Got it registered and insured. The sword is wonderful, too. It’s good to see you.”
“I’m glad. Do you have aquavit?”
“Yes.” I stood there, drinking him in. His face had an unearthly beauty, similar to Lizzy’s, but stronger and more masculine.
“May I have a glass? And a Murphy’s.”
“Oh. Yeah. Of course.” I shook myself out of whatever trance I had fallen into and searched out the bottle. I found it in the cooler where we kept white wine. Checking the notes Sam had for unusual spirits, I poured a shot in a tulip glass, then drew his beer.
“That will be twelve dollars,” I said.
He pushed a twenty across the bar. “May I see a menu?”
We weren’t very busy, so after I put in his order for an appetizer, I went back to talk to him.
“Feel like slumming?” I asked. “I haven’t seen you in here before.”
“I used to come here occasionally. I heard Sam hired a new bartender.” He winked at me. Then his expression grew serious. “How are you feeling?”
That surprised me. “Fine. Why do you ask?”
“I would think that the disturbance in the ley lines would affect you more than most mages.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know that I was affected more than anyone else. Sick as a dog and pretty shook up, but no lasting effects. At least, I don’t think so. It hit Lizzy hard. Any idea what caused it? I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“Shall we say that I’m glad I wasn’t bending over a hot forge when it hit. The magic carried by the ley lines is the lifeblood of the Fae. Lizzy and I weren’t affected as much as full-blood Fae.”
He took a deep breath, then a sip of his beer and a sip of aquavit. “How much do you know of arcane legend?”
“Some. Probably more than most people, but I’m not a scholar.”
“You’re familiar with the legends of the Fae, the Sidhe? The goddess Danu is the mother goddess, the keeper of the world.”