Hero's Curse (40 page)

I understood why Drew was so excited. Consistency is everything to a sniper. When a bullet passes through a barrel, there’s friction which creates heat. Heat causes metal to expand which in turn slightly warps the barrel and changes the point of impact. For most people, this wouldn’t mean a whole lot of difference, but at the distances Drew worked, it could mean the difference between a kill and a clean miss. With a few exceptions, snipers use bolt action rifles. Bolt action rifle technology is old; not much has changed since the German Government adopted the Mauser Gewehr in 1898. Every sniper in the world has access to the same basic tools. Aidan had given Drew a new and unique advantage he never imagined he’d have.

“Drew, why are you taking this so well? Growing up, you were the biggest atheist skeptic I knew. I thought you’d be freaking when you found out God and magic existed.”

He shrugged, “If this had happened to me when I was younger, I probably would be freaking. Back then, I got personally offended when life proved me wrong. I’m older now. I’ve been too wrong too often and I’m too tired to get that pissed. What can I say? I’m not stupid enough to ignore a fact if it’s staring me in the face. And magic is interesting. If it was just hocus pocus—wave your hands and all sorts of strange and wonderful things happen—it probably would offend me. Magic has consistent rules and obeys the laws of thermodynamics. Arthur C. Clarke was right. Magic is just technology you don’t understand. You know what really would have offended me?”

“What?”

“If I didn’t have enough angel genes to do magic.”

“Be careful. You do too much. You’re an automatic member of the Oath Brotherhood.”

He shook his head. “You really don’t get it do you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You have no idea how much it sucks to be old and injured.”

I thought about it. “No, I guess I don’t.”

“Well, it sucks.” His face was expressionless as he said, “My back really hurts and my knees are almost as bad. If it wasn’t for the wonders of modern pharmacology, I wouldn’t be the happy guy you see in front of you.”

“Does it affect your shooting?”

“That’s the problem. When I’m on the pain meds, the muscle relaxers, and the anti-depressants, I can’t hit an elephant in a fat suit. I haven’t been on a job since I hurt my back. I can go for a day, maybe two without the meds, but not long enough for most real jobs. I just took a handful of happy pills an hour ago after not taking any for a full day. I can feel the difference just one beer makes when I’ve got that shit in my system.”

“So, what have you been doing?”

When Drew said, “Not much” he told me everything I needed to know. I’ve known Drew since we were kids. We hadn’t spent that much time together these last few decades, but when we did, someone was always trying to kill us. Under that kind of stress, you get to know someone real well. His job was everything to him. Earlier today, he’d said ‘The day I can’t hit a head size target from under one thousand meters is the day I retire.’ If Drew had any kind of predisposition toward suicide, he’d be dead by now. When he got my message I needed help, he ignored the pain and showed up out of loyalty and friendship, but there also had to be a part of him that wanted to check out weapon in hand.

“You’re okay not spanking the monkey, or no sex outside of marriage?”

He gave a quick laugh, “I’m not giving up much. For the last few years, I haven’t had the energy to do much more than look.”

“How about not telling a lie and following orders?”

“I’ll have you know, I never lie and I’ve been in the military. I know how to follow orders in my own very special way.”

“You’d be under my command.”

“I’ve had bigger idiots than you give me orders.”

“Nice. Did anyone tell you how it works? How you become an Oath Brother?”

“Well, I could learn how to do magic—which I’m doing—and then wait a few years until the curse takes effect, or I can have a paladin or Oath Brother cast a spell of major healing on me which will have the effect of making me a new person, who just happens to be an Oath Brother.”

“So when is Aidan going to heal you?”

“That’s the thing. I like Aidan a lot and Tim…is Tim gay?”

“Why, you interested?” It was Drew’s turn to snort beer.

“He’s an Oath Brother. He can only have sex in marriage. I got a feeling that the Jehovah I know is not up for same sex marriage. Get over it. There’s no chance of wedded bliss for the two of you.”

Drew gave me the finger slowly, and with great emphasis. He held it up for a few seconds then got back on topic. “It’s complicated. It involves reading my DNA. But the main problem is that I can only be healed by someone I trust.”

I smiled, “Okay that makes sense. So, what’d I have to do?”

“Aidan said he’ll talk you through the spell tomorrow.”

I drank down the rest of my beer and poured myself another. “What kind of magic are you doing?”

“Magic is like anything else. You don’t get something for nothing. Everything needs to be paid for. If Aidan had made my magic suppressor and barrel cooling system self powered, it would have taken weeks. He cast a quick and dirty spell that needs to be powered by the rifle’s user. He’s done all the hard work. I just need to be the spell’s battery.”

“Didn’t you say you were making magic bullets?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s that work?”

“It’s similar to how a magic flaming arrow works. A regular non-magical flaming arrow has a piece of rag or absorbent material fastened just behind the head. Soak the rag in oil or pitch, light it, and you got arrow flambe. Cast a flaming arrow spell on that regular arrow and it will light up on demand. The flames won’t burn with any heat or use up the oil or pitch until it strikes the target, and then all of the fuel is consumed at once and burns at a much higher temperature than at the ordinary, non-magical arrow. It takes a lot of soul energy to make a magical igniter and to make the flame run hotter. It takes a couple hours to make each arrow and a guy like me can, at most, safely make one or two arrows a day. Tim can make about five. We’re basically doing the same thing for the bullet except we’re using magic just as an igniter. The fuel burns hot enough on its own.”

What Drew was saying wasn’t consistent with my own experience. I thought up a spell that would make a magic flaming arrow. According to my spell bar, it would take about one percent of my soul to cast it. Tim and Aidan said I was unusually powerful. I was starting to get a sense of what that meant.

“So what’s the fuel—magnesium, white phosphorous?”

“We’re using lead oxide mixed with aluminum power in a brass shell.”

“So you are making a thermite bullet. When were you going to tell me?”

“You wanted to use aluminum and ferric oxide inside a hollow point with metallic sodium as an igniter. We’re using aluminum and lead oxide in a brass shell with a magic igniter; no hollow point required. This isn’t your idea at all.”

“BULLSHIT!”

Drew grinned, “Well, maybe just a little.”

The conversation deteriorated from there. It had been a long time since I’d just sat around shooting the shit. We weren’t dumb enough to stay out past dark or get drunk enough for it to be too dangerous. It helped that the sun didn’t set until 9 PM. Mina was still in her room when we got back. I considered knocking on her door but decided it best to let her calm down on her own. I went up to my room, finished off my journal entry for the day, and went to sleep.

Chapter 28: Oathbreaker

I woke up with to the smell of Mina’s herbal shampoo. My face was buried in her hair. During the night she’d come to bed and I hadn’t noticed. I had mixed feelings about her being able to come into my room and into my bed without me knowing, but I was grateful that she had.

Mina woke up and turned to face me, smiling sleepily. “I’m still mad at you.”

“Good morning. I fucked up.”

“You really believe that?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay then, just don’t do it again. Please.”

I kissed her and then pulled back. “I’ve never been in a relationship before. I’m a total noob. I promise you, I’m going to try my best not to screw up in the future—but like all beginners, I’ll probably make idiot mistakes. I swear they won’t be intentional.”

She quietly responded, “I know what you mean. I’ve been in relationships before, but never in one I thought would be forever. You should have told me about the house as soon as you found out, but I shouldn't have kicked you out when you were just trying to tell me the facts. I was thinking about it last night. We’re a team—we won’t keep secrets from each other and we make decisions together. Any mistakes after that,” Mina shrugged, “we just deal.”

“I like that.” I hugged her tight. A thought occurred to me. “How do you feel about the three of you becoming Oath Brothers?”

“Why are you asking?”

“If you become Oath Brothers, Jehovah will force you to follow a bunch of commands you may not like. Also, I’ll become your liege—this means, if I give you a command, you’ll have to obey. I’m worried that might not be good for our relationship.”

Mina laughed out loud. She’d been running her fingers through my hair, lightly massaging my scalp as we talked. Now she tugged gently. “See, you may not be a complete idiot after all.” then her eyes grew cold. “The Jotunn who killed my parents need to be exterminated. If that means I become an Oath Brother, that’s what it means.”

“Can you talk to Aidan about what it means to be an Oath Brother? I don’t know enough to give you good advice.”

“Believe me, I am making a list of all the things I want to talk to Aidan about.”

“Hey, I’ve never had anyone massage my head like this before. It feels good. Can you rub the back of my neck next?”

She elbowed me away with a grin. “Oh my Liege, YOU are good. Ask me again sometime when you deserve it.”

After a little while, Mina went back to her room to get ready for the day. I spent a few minutes in the bathroom. It didn’t take long to get dressed. Mina and I had slept in for once. I could hear everyone else up and moving in the house. Ben and Andi were in their rooms. Aidan was in the basement. Tim and Drew were eating cereal when I walked in the kitchen.

“Hey Drew, I forgot to ask yesterday. Were you able to find the airsoft guns I wanted?”

“Yeah. They’re on a shelf in the new shed.”

“Good.”

I was heating a couple bags of oatmeal at the stove when Ben, Andi, and Mina came in. Tim scarfed his food down and stood up to make room. Drew kept on eating.

I called out to Ben, “Don’t eat too big of a breakfast. After we eat, we’re going to test our bet. You’re going to take on your sisters, handgun versus shotguns.”

He gave his sisters a superior look, “When I beat you guys down and you start crying, remember you asked for it.”

Mina came up to me, and gave me a quick peck on my cheek, and then retorted to Ben. “Ha, big little Bro! We’ll see who ends up crying.” She peered around me into the pan to see what I was cooking. “So Vic, are we going to the outdoor range for the shoot out?”

Tim spoke up, “Vic had us buy toy shotguns and handguns yesterday.”

I put an arm around her waist and explained. “We’ve got airsoft guns. The shotguns are spring powered. You cock them like a real pump shotgun. They shoot blue plastic BBs with every trigger pull. If you get hit by one they feel like wasp stings and they’ll leave a red mark. If you get hit through clothes it shouldn’t be too bad. If you get hit in the face it’ll hurt. I’m going to have you guys duke it out with these guns.”

None of the Swensons looked worried. Ben said, “That’s what I’m talking about!” as he high-fived Andi who looked just as excited as he did.

I turned to Drew. “The handguns you bought, they’re CO2 powered and have slides that move, right?”

Drew had never been much of a morning person; he grunted back at me between bites. “We have three hand guns that look like 1911s and one that looks like a Glock 17. All four have the blow back feature powered by a twelve gram CO2 cartridge that’s good for sixty shots. The shotguns have adjustable stocks, are spring powered, and shoot three pellets at a time. Some of the shotguns come with telescopic sights; we got the ones that didn’t. Oh yeah, the extra bag of pellets we bought aren’t blue; they’re gray.”

Mina’s eyes were glazing over as she tried to make sense of Drew’s response to my simple yes or no question. I smiled as I continued with my explanation. “The pistols are powered by small CO2 cylinders and shoot out one BB at a time. The slides actually move back and forth, so it mimics the recoil of a real pistol.”

Andi pushed her brother on the shoulder, “Get ready to be spanked, punk.”

Ben pushed back. The kitchen became filled with a flurry of young arms and cursing and shrieks of pain and laughter as the two got into a slap fight. Tim ducked in a corner and laughed as he watched. Drew methodically kept on eating.

Mina belted out, “House rules, brats! No fighting in the kitchen.” When they turned to her she grinned, “Save it for the gun fight.”

Ben and Andi spent at least five minutes arguing which was better, Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon or Frosted Strawberry and then ate a Pop Tart each while insulting each other. Mina took the last banana on the counter top, peeled and sliced it. She generously threw the slices into my oatmeal so it’d taste better. She then proceeded to steal bites out of my oatmeal, taking almost all of the banana slices while telling me that the banana was kind of old and she wanted to make sure it hadn’t gone bad. I looked at Drew. He looked at me. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing, ‘What the hell were we doing here?’