Light in the Barren Lands: Travail of The Dark Mage Book One (38 page)

“Looks interesting,” observed Jiron.

Jira didn’t seem too impressed either, which wasn’t surprising given that she had never heard of it before.

“Tomorrow, we’ll have a look around inside the park,” James explained. “See if there is actually a nexus of magic within or not.”

“If there isn’t?” asked Jiron.

“Well, let’s just hope that there is.”

James did his best to keep his attention fixed on the road. But it was hard. All he wanted to do was to gaze over at the place where he had spent so many wonderful times with his family. First, with his parents when he was younger, then the two times his grandparents had taken him during the years after his parent’s death.

Motels began to appear in greater quantity and he sought one with a Vacancy sign. Finding one that looked better than most, he pulled into the parking lot and went in to see about getting a room.

As it turned out, now that he was able to use his pre-paid credit cards, acquiring a room was much easier. In fact, when he found out the lone suite the motel boasted was available, he took it. What did he care if it was $435 a night? In a day or two, the money he had left would be little better than a curiosity, a souvenir of their time on his home world.

Jiron was much impressed too. Such a room back home would have been the province of visiting nobles, not three commoners such as they. “Is this a bath?” asked Jiron.

Glancing over to where Jiron stood next to the hot tub, James shook his head. “Not exactly.” Pointing to the switch on the wall, he said, “Turn that and see what happens.”

Curious, Jiron turned the switch and was slightly alarmed when jets of water began shooting from the sides and bubbles began to surface.

Chuckling, James explained about hot tubs and that they were designed for relaxation.

“Uncle James!” shouted Jira from the balcony.

“Yes, Jira?”

“You can see all of Disneyland from here.”

With Jiron accompanying him, James joined her out on the balcony. The view was quite impressive. Being on the second floor, they had a fairly decent view of the park’s layout, at least the larger attractions such as Space Mountain and the Matterhorn.

“Does your queen live at the castle?” questioned Jiron.

“No, that’s not a real castle at all, just a mock-up. It’s called Cinderella’s Castle after a movie the one who built the park created.” Gazing out over the park, he felt the longing to go over there right now
.
How well did he remember
when he was younger, the fuss he made after being told he would have to wait until the following morning before they entered the park. Oh sure, his father had pulled into the motel after sundown and was tired from the long drive, but James hadn’t cared. All he knew was that fun was awaitin’.

“We will have a good view of the fireworks. Every night they put on an incredible pyrotechnic display, unless the L.A. smog has grown too bad since I left and they were forced to cancel it for health reasons. Be a shame.”

With night still several hours away, James wanted to see if he couldn’t locate another crystal dealer. Though being in the heart of L.A. as they were, he would be surprised to find a shop like Harry’s.

He called down to the front desk and asked if there were any gem merchants nearby that specialized in raw, uncut stones. The man said he didn’t know but would find out for him. James thanked him and said he’d give him a twenty if he could supply an address in the next hour. The man said he’d do the best he could and hung up.

In the meantime, James stripped down to shorts and slid into the hot tub with an audible sigh of contentment. “You guys should really try this.”

Jiron was leery of the idea, though Jira shucked off her clothes readily enough and jumped in wearing nothing but her undergarments. “Oooooh,” she said after her uncle suggested positioning herself in front of one of the jets. “You would like this, father.”

“No, thank you. I’m just fine.”

James chuckled. Jiron had never been one to enjoy immersing himself in water any more than absolutely necessary. For the next half hour, he allowed the jets to work their magic.

He had just gotten out of the hot tub and toweled off when the phone rang. It was the front desk. They had an address. “About an hour away,” the concierge explained.

“Great. Can you call a taxi?”

“Right away?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Not at all. I’ll let you know when it’s here.”

“Thank you.”

They didn’t have long to wait before the front desk called and they hustled down to the waiting taxi. The concierge had already given the driver the address, although he also supplied a second card bearing the address of the gem shop to James. James slipped him the promised twenty for expediting everything.

It was more like an hour and a half in rush hour traffic before the cabbie pulled into the shop’s parking lot and stopped. “Wait here,” James instructed the cabbie who replied with a shrug. He didn’t mind if the meter kept running.

“We’ll wait too,” said Jiron.

“Okay, I’ll be back shortly.”

The shop was a regular shop as one would find anywhere. Display cases, glass counters with select gems were arrayed in neat rows beneath. James definitely liked Harry’s shop better as it had more of the rustic atmosphere.

Off to the side, in a less fancy display case were three buckets of raw, uncut crystals. The sign said forty dollars each. Again, James wished he was back at Harry’s. This place was
expensive
.

“Can I help you?” a young woman in a dark blue dress suit asked as she emerged from the back.

James nodded and pointed to the crystals. “I’ll take four dozen of these?”

Her eyes widened. “Four dozen?”

“Yep.” Producing his credit card, he handed it over to her.

“As you wish.”

Returning to the cab with a heavily weighed down, double lined plastic bag, James gave the two waiting for him a grin. “Got them.”

They had the cabbie drop them off at a restaurant near their motel. Afterward they walked back. The sun was at the horizon by the time they reached their motel. James wasn’t sure when the fireworks show would start, but he wanted to be back in plenty of time.

Slipping the cardkey into the door’s lock, James opened the door. He took but a single step into the room before sensing something odd enough to give him pause. "Someone's been in here." While
nothing
screamed the room had been violated, he just knew that it had. Little things like a light being on that he was certain had been off when they left. Sending out his senses, he searched the suite and found it empty. “Whoever was here is gone now.”

Next to him, Jiron entered the room with knife drawn. James hadn't even known that he'd taken it out of the duffle bag. “Jira, stay with your uncle.” Despite James’ assurance that the intruder had departed, Jiron swept each of the rooms before he would allow his daughter to enter.

Once he was satisfied that the intruder had indeed departed, he signaled for James and Jira to enter. “Could it have been the cops?”

James shook his head. “I don’t think so. If it had been, we never would have been allowed to reach the room. Besides, I’m pretty sure they still believe us dead. I doubt if they could have figured out the deception so quickly.”

“So, a thief then?”

“That would be my guess. Check our stuff. See if anything is missing.”

A quick search revealed none of their possessions had been stolen. “Odd.”

Jiron nodded. “You can say that again. Are you certain that someone has been in here?”

James looked around the living room of the suite and nodded. “Yes, and I think I know who it was.”

“Who?”

“Agent Randle or his brother, the one that took me from the motel. It has to be them. A thief would have stolen our belongings and the police would have made the attempt to arrest us when we returned.”

“You didn’t kill him, did you?”

James shook his head and sighed. “Is that the only way to keep people off my back? Kill anyone who so much as looks at me cross-eyed?”

“He did much more than look. The man was going to
kill
you!”

“I know. If it had been anyone but Seth’s father, I would have. But you have no idea how much guilt I’ve felt since that day when I discovered Seth’s remains after cowering in the tree when he needed my help. I did nothing! And he died. I…I couldn’t end the life of his father. I owed him that.”

“You’ve told me that tale many times before, my friend.” Laying a hand upon his shoulder, he said, “Don’t let the demons of the past stay your hand, not when your life is on the line.”

James nodded. “Trust me. If I ever see either of them again, I won’t. That debt is paid.”

Jiron met his gaze for a moment then nodded in return. “Good.” Moving to the other room, he pulled a mattress off one of the beds and hauled it in front of the door leading to the hallway. When James looked questioningly at him, he said, “I’ll sleep here tonight.”

“I’ll go one better.” And for the next hour, James worked to set magic wards in place that would alert them should anyone pass through the door. Then he worked on the windows, leaving the balcony door for until after the fireworks show.

Once the wards were in place, the show had yet to start, so he set a couple other traps that he could activate the following morning to secure their rooms while they were at the park. He had just finished when the first starburst exploded above Disneyland.

The show was great, but his enjoyment was tarnished by the knowledge they were not out of the woods yet. If he was right, and it were Agent Randle and his brother, then things could get interesting real soon.

Chapter Twenty-Three

________________________

No unexpected callers disturbed their slumber and they awoke fresh and ready for the day. Jira was highly charged this morning since she knew they were close to going home. Jiron too was looking forward to his reunion with Aleya. Even James felt upbeat despite the previous
night’s discovery of trouble lurking on the horizon. Of course, his positive air was as much due to their destination today, as it was the possibility of returning to his wife and child.

Before leaving, he ensured that the wards were still in place and that the DO NOT DISTURB sign was posted. The last thing he wanted was for the cleaning staff to come in and trip the newly emplaced defenses.

They took advantage of the continental breakfast the motel provided, then boarded the shuttle to the park. James was almost as excited as the two kids of the family that shared the ride from the motel. Jiron looked askance at the smile that wouldn’t leave his face. All he could do was shrug and grin all the wider.

James had convinced Jiron to leave his knives behind. He didn’t know what sort of metal detection the park may have had in place, and he certainly didn’t want to have to explain the presence of the Renlon knives. He did however insist that each carry a crystal imbued with defensive spells, in the event that someone took a potshot at them. The rest of their belongings James put in a pile in an out of the way corner against the wall. Then he used one of the few remaining crystals from their time at the ravine to create an illusionary shield to make them disappear.

Within his backpack rested two dozen crystals nestled in a towel at the bottom. He planned to set them to gather magic while at the park. The rest of the four dozen procured yesterday would be placed later, if needed. He couldn’t shake the thought that there may be a wellspring of magic within Disneyland. Aside from the fact that those of Earth called it The Magic Kingdom, there was also the comment Igor had made about it being a “
beacon in the night
.”

The shuttle approached the main entrance and James sent out his senses in an attempt to detect whether or not magic was presence. He wasn’t disappointed. “I can feel the magic of this place,” he said in a quiet aside to Jiron.

“Yes?”

James nodded. “It’s strong.”

“Then, this is a focal point for magic on your world?”

“So it would seem.” He dared not get his hopes up. It was strong, yes. But was it strong enough? That remained to be seen.

Coming to a stop, the driver opened the door and the family was the first to exit. James followed with Jiron and Jira bringing up the rear. Already the crowd waiting for the park to open was beginning to form. Many excited and expectant children of all ages were anxious for the gates to open. Once past the kiosks where they purchased their tickets, the three of them found a spot in line and waited.

James did not spend his time idly. His senses rode a thread of magic into the park and began poking around. Not for people did he search, but for magic, and more importantly, where the magic was most concentrated. It was no surprise when he discovered that spot to be Cinderella’s Castle.

The icon of the Disney industry, Cinderella’s Castle was perhaps the single most well known building on the planet. When someone thought of Disneyland, the familiar turreted silhouette came to mind.

Lines of power converged on the edifice. James tried to determine from where they were coming, but about that time the gates opened and he could no longer maintain adequate concentration as they were moved along with the crowd entering the park.

The sights, the sounds, were all as he remembered. Kids flew by as they raced to be the first in line for their favorite rides. James remembered very well how he too had hurried in just such a way when he was younger. He had to admit, there was a bit of that still in him. But such longings could no longer be allowed to have their way. They were here for a reason, and that reason wasn’t to have a good time.

“Get a crystal for me will you, Jira?” Bending low so she could reach, he had her remove several of them from his pack.

The first he placed upon the building not far from the entrance where you could see a movie depicting the first fifty years of Disney. From there, they headed straight down Main Street USA where he placed two more, one on either side.