First Destroy All Giant Monsters (The World Wide Witches Research Association) (32 page)

“So what is he going to do? Does he remember anything about the magical push?”

“Just that he was told to ‘go,’ but he doesn’t remember
where.
I didn’t want to give him your cell number until I checked in with you, little girl. Just in case you had a reason not to give it to him.”

“Call him back, Smoke. Give him the number. I’m staying at the Buffalo Hilton and I’ll phone down to the main desk to let them know he can have a room key.”

“I’ll tell him. But he has one real worry. He’s not sure if he will get back to you in time for the morning energy drain.”

Amber covered the phone with her hand while she explored the outer edges of her profane vocabulary. When she returned the phone to her ear she could hear Smoke’s choked laughter.

“You don’t tell anyone about my language,” warned Amber, “and I won’t tell anyone about the mead you’re brewing in the barn.”

“Deal,” said her cousin briskly. “What do we do about Karl?”

“Dammit, Smoke. I’m not sure what to do.” Amber rubbed her face wearily. “It won’t help for me to try to get a car and meet up with him. For all I know we’d just keep missing each other, driving back and forth all night. It would be easier to just ask Karl to drive back to Buffalo. If it gets too close to five and he isn’t here, get him to pull off the road. Go to some safe place and phone you to let you know where. As soon as I can rent a car in the morning, I’ll drive up and meet him. Give him a recharge. Okay?”

“You got it.”

Amber dropped the phone on the table and crawled onto the nearest bed. Arms limp, fingers curled she let out a slow breath and willed her body to relax. She glanced at the time and calculated the hours remaining before the next energy drain. Spending her time worrying about Karl wouldn’t help either of them. Smoke would man the phones tonight, generating maps and guiding Karl back. In the morning it would be her turn to act. But this was a lesson for her. She wouldn’t let Karl out of her sight or reach until this whole problem was resolved.

One side of her mouth curled. It would be great to have his hands working on the knots in her shoulders. She closed her eyes for a moment recalling Karl’s features. Tired, narrow, but if he got back the flesh that years of drains had taken from him, he’d be … well, she wouldn’t kick him out of bed. Unless he chewed crackers after lights out and hogged the remote. His face carried the residual marks of the handsome youth he’d been. Laugh lines bracketed his mouth and despite his years of worry there were only light frown lines.

After a few moments she rolled over and picked up the hotel phone. It was past time to refuel. She ignored the menu. If she was going to get her strength pulled from her against her will, she was going to stock up her body with some good quality calories beforehand.

Grinning, she ordered one of every dessert, with ice cream and whipped cream on the side.

After a few minutes Amber opened her eyes again and starting pulling the printed sheets out of her computer bag. She’d only skimmed the articles Gloria had written about magic, but now she knew she had to study them. Maybe Gloria put some hint, some clue about the Ethereal Planes web in her writings.

* * * * *

Karl pulled into the same coffee shop parking lot he and Amber had visited the previous day and glanced at his watch. Five fourteen and a few seconds. He reached for his cell phone to call Smoke and give his location as they’d arranged earlier. With a shrug Karl dropped the phone back on the passenger seat. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t survived the drain for years before this witch and her family had wandered into his life. He wasn’t helpless and he had no intention of becoming dependent upon Amber’s help. It was bad enough he’d needed Smoke to find his location and give him directions. Getting back to Buffalo had taken all night. Karl felt like he’d broken land speed records for most of the trip. He rubbed his tired eyes, pressing the heels of his hands against his forehead. He’d test whether he had to be asleep for the drain to happen then he’d buy some coffee and head for the Hilton where Amber was probably sleeping peacefully, curled up, warm and soft under the blankets. He relaxed in the familiar support of the leather seat.

* * * * *

The sky above him was a vivid burning orange, the rocky ground a dirty blue. Karl lifted his head and scanned the horizon for the wolves. A brief moment of panic was followed by the memory of safely parking the car. He must have fallen asleep in the car.

Damn it. Damn it.

He’d fallen asleep. He knew he shouldn’t and he’d just passed out cold as soon as he’d stopped concentrating on driving.

Well, he’d been awake for a whole twenty-four hours. Exhausted.

The familiar howl of the hunters rang over the dreamscape and Karl shifted uncomfortably to face the approaching wolves. He knew, now, that these were not real wolves. Nor was this a simple dream. It was an attack. An act of violence, an invasion, a crime, pure and simple.

The pain teeth and claws inflicted was real, but running from them served no purpose. Karl remained on the ground watching the wolves approach wondering idly which one was Albert. There were some small differences in pelts that he hadn’t noticed before in his wild panic. One or two were pale grey and brown. There seemed to be as many females as males.

“Hello, bitch,” he said to the queen as the wolves came closer and began pacing around him.

The bright yellow eyes of the wolf locked onto his and she stepped delicately toward him. Karl dodged as she tried to lick his face. Only the tip of her tongue brushed against his hair and she snapped her jaws at him, as if in complaint.

Karl grinned up at her. “I’m going to get you, bitch. You’re going to regret everything you did to me.”

The queen wolf shook her head at him, her tongue hanging in a doggie laugh then raised her muzzle and howled. Her pack joined her in song. Karl’s muscles cramped and tightened. His body shuddered and he collapsed onto the rocky ground. He could feel the tug of the threads thrust through his body. Power pounded into him. Pressure built behind his eyes. Heat burned through his nerves and muscles. His back arched as pain built, overwhelming his mind, his strength. Spasm after spasm passed through his body as power crashed into and through him. The rushing river overwhelmed his body and mind. When he thought his body could contain the flood no longer, it fled from him. The wolves cried out as the power leapt from Karl and dived into them.

Karl’s breath dragged raw and burning down his throat. The muscles that had been rigid only seconds ago now felt as if they were dissolving, melting into the stone. He lay helpless and empty on the rock and still the drain continued.

* * * * *

Gloria spread her fingers, thrusting her arms into the air. The power flooded through her, pure and glowing. The words of the spells tumbled from her lips, long learned, requiring no thought. The power rushed to their intended homes, flowing into the tokens representing her various endeavors. A little extra for donations. A little push to increase her candidate’s attractiveness to news reporters. One or two little dribbles for the man himself, but not too much. The stuttering and verbal gaffs tended to be worse when he was over energized. So many projects, so little magic.

But this morning much more than before.

The taste, the feel of the power had improved the last few days. Maybe there was a little edge to the power when the donor was taken closer to the edge of life. She would have to be careful. Not do it too often. But it was good. It was all good.

Individual pamphlets fluttered as she poured strength into their contagion spells. Now each and every one of that print run would be irresistible to whoever was unlucky enough to read it.

Gloria rode the power, drowning in it, bathing in it until it started to diminish, fade.

“Oh, blast,” she rolled across her bed and reached for the glass of wine she’d poured before the harvest had begun. She punched her pillows into a comfortable position and lay back to contemplate her work.

Another perfect morning. Yes, the energy was a little sharper today. Lots of things had changed in the last couple of days. She twisted the wine stem back and forth in her fingers.

Mike was dead. Karl was moving around when he’d been nice and quiet for so long. Could be grieving. Maybe that was why he wasn’t filtering the energy as well as usual. Maybe he was tired. He’d looked pretty washed out at the funeral.

She pushed the books scattered across her pillows onto the floor and sprawled more comfortably across the bed. Years of study, research, practice, and hard work and she still couldn’t hold the power in her spells for more than a day.

It was frustrating, having to wake up every morning to guide the energy. There had to be a way to keep the power she harvested. And to add to her problems she needed to move finding a replacement for Karl to the top of her list. He wasn’t working as well as before and he was causing trouble. She needed to find someone amenable, obedient, and a solid magical focus.

Damn but they were rare. She’d known from the beginning that they were, but she’d hoped to find another before Karl was useless.

Gloria considered getting up and fetching a cigarette, but sipped the wine instead. Twenty-three days and counting since her last smoke. She was going to stay with it this time. She was a young woman and wanted to stay healthy.

Besides, smoking was not politically correct and she had an image to project.

* * * * *

Amber woke, her body crushed by the unbearable weight of stiff cotton sheets and a thin blanket. Her blood roared in her ears, almost drowning the sound of her rasping breath. Her body trembled uncontrollably, teeth chattering until she feared they would splinter. She lay panting for several minutes before blackness descended.

Her next thought was that she wished the phone would stop ringing. Unable to lift her head she tried to focus on … anything. Her head throbbed and her eyes felt as if they’d been scooped out with a spoon and rolled in sand. She tried to lift her hand but found her muscles refused to respond. The ringing of the phone continued, barely penetrating the layers of fog that covered her mind. She drifted into unconsciousness.

Some unknown time later she opened her eyes again. Thinking was possible, if only barely. She reached out into Air and called for help. The energy moved sluggishly, but the flow began, seeping into her abused body and spirit. It seemed to take hours before she had the strength to throw off the bedding and stagger to the bathroom. Not bothering to turn on the light she filled the sink with cold water and splashed it onto her fevered face. She leaned her forehead against the cool glass as water dripped from her skin.

She reached out tentatively and drew in energy along pathways that screamed in pain. Each and every muscle and nerve of her body quivered as strength seeped in from the Air around her.

It hurt. It hurt.

She couldn’t keep doing this. Having the power torn out was damaging her in ways she might never heal from. Damn it.

Seconds dragged past. Long before she was restored to her usual self, Amber cut off the connection to Air element. The phone started ringing again in the other room and she pushed away from the mirror with a groan. If she was feeling this horrible this morning, Karl must be so much worse. She stumbled from the bathroom and snatched up the phone.

“Where are you?” she croaked, scaring herself with the hoarse sound.

“I’m at home,” replied Smoke. “Where have you been? Karl didn’t call me. He was supposed to call just after five and let me know where he was.”

“Dammit,” said Amber, dropping onto the bed. “Where was he the last time you heard from him?”

“On the road to Buffalo. We had some fun finding where he was and getting him turned around. But he didn’t call at five and I can’t get him to answer his phone now. What is wrong with you today, anyway? I have been trying to get hold of you for two hours.”

She could hear the panic in his voice. Like as not one or another of the cousins was heading up the road from Laurenville to Buffalo. Amber closed her eyes. Not only was Karl alone and far from her, he was lost again.

“This morning’s energy drain was worse than any of the others, Smoke. Worse than the one that gave Karl the heart attack. I couldn’t think, could barely breathe. It’s taken me this long to recover enough to recharge myself.” Ashamed of the tremor in her voice she pressed her hand against her abdomen and breathed deep. She glanced over at the wreckage of last night’s dessert feast and swallowed against the sudden rising nausea. After a moment she continued. “Every time I woke up, I kept passing out again. Smoke, I’m really scared.”

Smoke didn’t respond immediately. His voice was cracking when he replied.

“Little girl, it’s going to be okay. Stay where you are for now. We’ll bring you home.”

With her hand pressed against her churning stomach there was nothing Amber wanted more than to do as Smoke said. Let someone else be the grown up. Being the child again with nothing more than shadows in the closet to fear was so tempting when the boogie man was real.

Especially when the boogie was coming back again to get her. Every morning until she died. Amber raised her eyes and turned to face her reflection. In the half light of the hotel room at first she wasn’t certain what she was seeing. She gasped and raised her free hand to her hair, tunneling her fingers into the tangled mass. Yesterday – the day before yesterday – her hair had been a uniform dark brown. Now most of the roots were silver. She turned her head from side to side. Behind her ears there were streaks of silver reaching almost from root to tip. She closed her eyes and took another steadying breath. Instead of reaching for the room lights she concentrated on her own spirit, trying to summon anger at those responsible for her current pain. Her personal power barely stirred in response. Opening her eyes she examined her hand. All her life whenever she experienced a strong emotion her body would glow. She took that illumination for granted, was embarrassed by it in the presence of a few school age crushes, but now … nothing. Not even a weak glimmer. She closed her hand to a fist.