The Power of Ten, Book Five: Versatile Wizardry

“God and his Mother!” the Mick swore, as we tore across the scrub once again. This time everyone was on Disks, and now four Wind-users were powering us at speed, raising a magical racket and dust-cloud, but nobody cared. Had to make it look good for the press, so no sudden Teleporting. It meant what was supposed to have been a quiet insertion, in and out, was now out the window, but nobody else realized I could do that, and I preferred to keep it that way.

The pulse of King Ruler-class power behind us had assured us that something was very, very pissed behind us, and the light of explosions and eruptions and swirl of magic being used was almost palpable.

“What did you do?” the Mick half-laughed, my Aura of Valor dealing with most of the bone-liquifying fear that came with that energy for everyone.

“I dialed my hotel, attached an Audible Glamer to the phone which repeated ‘six’ every thirty seconds, which is the option for ‘please repeat these options’. Then I inserted it into the pack of one of the men on the ground while turning the speaker off,” I informed him. Who said Sleight of Hand Ranks weren’t worth anything?

Low chuckles broke out from everyone behind us.

“Glenn, compile those pics and send them to General Rodriguez’ office.”

“That’ll attract monster attention, Mick,” Glenn asked for confirmation.

“They are already running this way, and another Swarm is probably coming,” the Mick said fatalistically. “Maybe with the King at its head this time. I think in a battle between the Ruler’s Presence and our phones, it wins out, right?”

“Everything ahead of us is emptying out like magic right now, just like the previous Swarm,” Red said for everyone. “We may piss them off, but the Ruler is terrifying the shit out of them.”

“I’d pop some red, but I’ve the feeling that our Winged friend back there would see and investigate, if he makes it out of there.” Heads turned back to where Fire was falling down from the sky, then back up into the sky, and Webs of force were flashing in the sun.

“His team is so dead,” Driver Sam said with great satisfaction. The most expensive gear from the truck had all gone missing when we’d gone down there to retrieve it, which had really pissed him off.

“Fuck them,” Lieutenant Jefferson spat for his whole squad. “They murdered half my team and however many died at the Fort. They deserve it!”

There was a chorus of agreements all around, mutters about the bastards not being too Handy when the Havoc was directed at them, and I didn’t refute the words. The Auras of that whole Hunter team had been Brown to Purple, not giving a shit about the results of whatever they did as long as they collected their paychecks.

The Mick brought up his phone, and made the call to the General’s office personally. He was on patient hold for a minute or two, glanced away, and lifted an eyebrow. “Hey, look, it’s that young Lightning Runner.”

The Bird was coming in parallel to us, but didn’t have the demeanor of before. I swung out one of the stacked extra Disks to the side of us as my Whiskers glowed up. “Hop aboard. Don’t mind the phones, I know they are irritating, but they’ll be done in a second.”

Golden eyes regarded me for a moment, the floating silvery Disk not ten feet away from us, and then it zipped over and hopped aboard it with darting speed and grace, perching on it without difficulty. Everyone watched it standing there above us for a minute, stubby wings out making sure it was balanced, and then slowly it crouched and settled down onto the Disk, sparking only a little bit as it faced into the wind.

“The King is coming?” I asked the big Bird, who visibly shivered and chirped once in reply. “That’s a confirmation, Mick.”

“General Rodriguez!” the Mick said loudly, keeping away the wind with a touch of willpower. “This is Captain Mick of KIA. I’m calling to spoil your day, sir!” He listened to the loud reply on the other end, nodding. “I’m currently out near where we lost our ride yesterday, sir, heading south at all speed! Oh, no sir, I hadn’t heard about the travel ban, my apologies, and I imagine the other team you sent out wasn’t too mindful, either.” He paused to listen. “Well, sir, they were in fatigues and gear, although we didn’t get too awful close. Although,” he added brightly, “we did send some close-up shots of them to your email if you want to take a look at them, just in case!

“While you’re doing that, I regret to inform you that they got up to something really stupid, and we just felt a King-Class Aura sweep over us. No, I’ve felt one before, there is absolutely no mistaking that for what it is. You can’t see it, but there was some nasty magic going on behind us...

“Oh, right. I’d also like to report that we finished our original mission! That mission? It was the Search and Recovery for the scouting team sent out from Fort Montgomery. We have six survivors with us, including Lieutenant Jefferson. He has an interesting report you might want to listen to, sir!”

The Mick was grinning as he handed his phone back to the dark-skinned officer, who took it with hard eyes. “This is Lieutenant Jefferson of the Sixth Battalion, sir, ID number...” he rattled off his name, rank, identity, and history. We all listened as he made his report, ending with the fact the Ruler was definitely riled up and coming this time, and it was going to be bad.

We could all feel the mounting pressure behind us as he finally hung up and turned off the phone before handing it back. The Mick pointedly turned it off completely like everyone else, and the Lightning Runner there visibly stopped sparking.

“They are going to be pulling in troops from across half of Texas to deal with this now,” the lieutenant told us grimly. “They’ll find out who paid the Havocmaster and string him up, but there’s no stopping what’s coming.”

“The other Rulers will be pushing once the whole Swarm is committed, too,” Red added grimly. “The whole north of the Texas territory is going to be wild for years as they work out new boundaries.”

“How big is this going to be?” Glenn asked softly, one of the four riding backwards and watching behind us. “Guys... it looks like all the hills are moving?”

“If the King is in charge, it’ll be almost emptying its area and driving everything else ahead of it against us,” Red said grimly. “Lots of precedent for that.”

“It’s a King in power, definitely not one of the Emperors, but it’s going to force every other species there out of its path, or ahead of it.” I pointed around us. “Look. You can see other Lightning Runners fleeing already. They aren’t moving west, either.” I’d learned the Ruler of the Birds had its territory that way, but they probably couldn’t make it there in time.

“That other Swarm was just a little thing compared to what’s coming, and I’m sure General Rodriguez realizes it. Do you think Venkman does?” the Mick asked aloud.

“If he doesn’t shit his pants and try to run, he’s a fucking idiot,” Bjorn growled.

“If he’s the one responsible for all this, we can’t let him get away. It’s too easy for a competent mage to get lost in the world!” Lieutenant Jefferson blurted out angrily.

“You reported him, so I’m sure the General has issued a warrant for him,” the Mick said coldly. “Although if he’s a proper snake, he’s got his own way out of here, probably a private bush-hopper plane if he’s a rancher.”

Likely more economical than the Magic Wings that Archmage had been using, I judged, although I hadn’t actually seen any planes for this world yet. If they had car engines, even if they ran on Fire-enriched petroleum, they could certainly have planes!

The Mick leaned over to me. “That... Divination Element,” he subvocalized, knowing I could hear it. “How good are you at tracking?”

I smiled slightly. “It works best if I’ve met the person being tracked, but as long as I have any personal possessions with their Aura lingering on it, that can be worked around,” I replied without moving my lips.

He straightened, a clever, grim smile playing about his lips. “You know that kind of witchcraft can be parlayed into a LOT of very profitable work, right?”

“My focus has been more on undead-hunting than man or monster-hunting, so I will bow to your superior experience.” I looked up thoughtfully. “Although swinging by his destroyed farm might be a wise idea...”

“Huh!” He considered that, his dark eyes thoughtful. “Been meaning to ask... you mentioned you could help us break through to Mage without much trouble. How are you at unlocking an Element of choice?”

“I can do an in-depth Attunement Assay of you, and find out which you are most naturally Attuned to. There are methods to greatly increase the chances of the Element you want, but you need exposure to the one you’re attempting to gain during the process.” I flicked up a Soul Crystal where he could see it, then stashed it away again. “Fill them with the Element, then draw on them for the breakthrough.”

He put on an oddly reluctant expression. “I admit I always liked the thought of the Undead Element,” he admitted, and yeah, my expression got a little frosty. “Seeing your Void Element at work, I think that would be a better choice for me and the boys, right?” he added hastily.

“Almost certainly. It is far more versatile than Summoning up an Undead slave so desperate to get out of the Netherworld and bring back a fat soul for its masters when you die that it actually agrees to be your servant for a time. Of course, when you finally kick the bucket, you’re going Down, and you’re going to find that relationship completely reversed...”

He pursed his lips at the thought. “They don’t really mention that part of the bargain,” he said under his breath.

“Why would they?”

“Huh.” He shook his head slowly. “What about the Summoning Element? An army on command seems pretty nice...”

“There is a lot of time and work involved in the relationship. The real power comes with the Contracts you make, not bringing in unfortunate Beasts from the Beast Realm to slave for you.” His lips twitched again. “Then again, every Element is a Summoning Element of a sort, too.” My Whiskers flowed white into being on my cheeks and nose again. “For instance, you, as a Lightning wielder, could certainly Contract with this Lightning Runner next to us, and it would be highly beneficial for both of you.”

Everyone’s eyes turned on the over-sized and charged-up Roadrunner, who turned his head slightly to look at the Mick in surprise.

“Are you serious?” the Mick asked, staring at me.

“Any mage is capable of offering and signing a Contract to a creature of their own Element. The normal issue is one of communication and compatibility, not magic.” I fluttered silvery streams about my fingers. “I can’t Contract with this fellow, for instance.” I paused for a moment. “Are you both interested?” I asked them.

The Mick thought it over, everyone watching in great interest. “Well, sure!” he admitted, as the Lightning Runner tilted his head and chirped something.

“He’d like to see your Lightning. Make sure you show him yours,” I told the Bird, who promptly lit up with sizzling arcs of purple-blue voltage that streamed behind him in the wind.

The Mick brought up his swirling balls of purple-violet lightning, thick and wild as it danced about him, ready to jig and dart away. The Lightning Runner watched them in fascination, and ruffled his feathers.

“He’s willing to consider it. Touch souls and see if you are compatible.”

The Mick blinked, but slowly stretched out his hand as the Disk of the Runner drifted in closer. The big bird’s sparking nail of a beak delicately stretched out and touched his finger.

Voltage sparked and clashed, streaming flow against wild dance, but neither harmed the other, just testing and prodding, communicating on another level.

“Whoa,” the Mick said, his dark eyes wide. Little streams of electricity began to extend down his finger, while tiny spheres gathered and began to circle around the rigid beak.

The Lightning Runner warbled, and a pale light, very faint sparks inside it, emerged from the Bird’s forehead, drifting out in acceptance. The Mick just stared at it for a moment in disbelief, then shook his head and beckoned it in.