Mana in the Modern World non illustrated version

R.
McCullough

Copyright 2014 by
Robert McCullough

Smashwords
Edition

What if :: Magic; once referred to as Mana;
were real?

Well this novel is my What If to that
question.

Some will rejoice, some decry it, others take
advantage of those that cannot.

Then some zealots will want death for those
that do magic.

And then there are those truly eeevil that
just take and take n take - like now!

This story is what could happen should Magic
return.

Enjoy:

Copyright © 2014

By R. McCullough

License Statement

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Thank you for respecting the hard work of
this author.

Jackson Albright, a medically retired NSA
analyst and agent, has literally fallen into a situation that grows
more complex day by day. Then finds that magic was once not only
very real and is now returning to the world!

An ancient and powerful artifact, wielded by
a somewhat deranged wizard, has come to America. The artifact gives
the proper type wielder the ability to draw life energy and health
from a victim, transferring it to the wielder. This enables the
wielder a vastly longer life while curing his or her ills. The
victim however, has about a minute of intense agony, unable to
move, screaming insanely as the life energy is drawn and
transferred. The corpse, arched back, facial features frozen, mouth
open, eyes bulging, clearly shows the last horrific moments of
life. The process leaves the victim looking like someone that
starved to death, skin now drawn tight against the bones tho
retaining the skin’s coloration. Looking like a dried up rice or
corn husk, sucked dry of moisture and life.

***

***

A group of wizards have come together to
find, and hopefully correct, whatever is causing the slow decrease
of Mana. Only the most powerful mages have detected this decrease.
So far, it only seems to affect the stronger spells, reducing them
by a sixth. Working for some years to date the group’s research has
been unable to find a reason. They have began attempting to
construct an eight sided stone like artifact that will slowly draw
the weak Mana, store and then allow transference of more Mana for
use. So far the effect, when working, is somewhat erratic but at
least now there is renewed hope.

Word has just reached the group that a
powerful Warlock, Juneau from the adjoining province of Manji, has
been hired to assassinate the Khan before he can attack Manji. The
Khan’s death would bring total chaos and, in all probability,
disrupt all attempts to find and stop the energy loss. Aiguo, at 44
the youngest Wizard, volunteered to go keep the Khan safe.

The last tour group of the day is a small one
of only 11 people. All are gathered around the center stone
listening to the travel guide explain what little is known about
the site’s altar stone. One of the younger women, June, raises her
hand with a question. “Yes, umm June, isn’t it? You have a
question?”

“What causes the sound?” “What sound June?”
“I hear a very faint sound, like that of a slow heartbeat. Like
thump, dlump, like that. It seems to be coming from the altar
stone.” “Yes, I have been hearing it too,” says a young man with a
strong Irish accent. “Good Lord! It’s starting to glow!” he says
excitedly. “Everybody back!” shouts the guide. As everyone backs
away the faint reddish glow subsides. “Well that is a great ending
for today’s tour. Hope someone managed to get pictures and video of
that. OK folks, time to head back to the bus,” says the obviously
shaken guide.

Tourism to Stonehenge increased rapidly once
word, pictures and especially the video hit the internet. However,
it has now been some weeks since the excitement and no further glow
has been seen by the disappointed tour groups. Several Tabloids
were claiming the glow was staged to increase tourism tho none
could produce proof. One of their science ‘experts’ was claiming
Saint Elmo’s fire as the reason for the glow.

The last tour group of the day of 16 people
are approaching the altar stone when a faint reddish glow begins to
form around the altar and an area on the tallest outer stone.
“Whoa! Should we call the cops?” says one young and punk looking
American. “Constabulary, the word is Constabulary mate,” states an
Australian accent. Steve McDuff, the 22 year old punk looking young
man, rolls his eyes in an exaggerated manner and spits to the
side.

The guide says she will call the office for
instructions and meanwhile everyone should stay back. Ignoring the
guide’s words, and also now hearing a faint thumping from the
Altar, McDuff quickly steps to the stone and starts to place his
hand on top. A red spark jumps just as his hand is in the process
of touching the altar; he starts screaming, hand now stuck, his
back arching in agony. As two men rush over to knock his hand from
the altar he starts shouting something in a foreign language. Help
arrives and successfully knock him away.

His rescuers quickly drag McDuff’s unmoving
body to a, hopefully safe, distance away. As they dragged him away
what looked like another red spark jumped from McDuff back to the
altar. Meanwhile the guide has called the rescue station. McDuff
does not appear to be breathing. A doctor and his nurse wife, here
on their honeymoon; quickly begin CPR. Ten minutes later the rescue
people arrive with an ambulance, oxygen and more medical help.
After another 10 minutes they declare McDuff dead and load him onto
a gurney for transport.

As they are lifting the gurney into the
ambulance one of the lifters stumbles and falls, spilling McDuff to
the ground onto his back with a loud thump. Suddenly McDuff sets up
screaming, “Help! A demon is trying to take my soul! Someone help
me!” He falls back clearly unconscious and now shivering as if
freezing. The paramedics quickly place an oxygen mask on him,
carefully load him into the ambulance and head off to the
hospital.

A very old Asian woman speaks up, “Did anyone
besides myself understand what he was shouting while in contact
with the altar?” A girl of about seventeen and slight Asian look
spoke up. “I have been taking Chinese lessons at school and my
Gram’s has been helping me at home. But I only recognized that it
was something like a Chinese dialect.” “Yes, you are correct my
child; it was a Chinese dialect but one I have not heard in at
least 90 years! It is an obscure dialect from very ancient times.
He was shouting; Alive, Alive, I am alive again!” A cold chill
sends a shiver down everyone’s spine as silence descends over the
group.

London doctors examining McDuff could find
nothing physically wrong with him. Mentally was a different matter
as he now could speak fluent Chinese but in a very old, almost
extinct, dialect. He dimly remembers being imprisoned within a very
dangerous place with great dangerous beasts and fighting with
strange looking people. He also remembers a furiously maddened
demon trying to take over his mind and body. He fought to remain
himself and suddenly he was on the ground freezing and with
everyone staring at him.

Two days later at the hospital two suits,
very professional looking men, came to interview him at the
hospital. After hearing McDuff’s story first hand they want him to
accompany them and to meet with several more fellow researchers and
scientists to see if they can recreate the incident. McDuff tells
them no in no uncertain words and that he has no interest in
recreating anything and demands that they leave. One of the men
then grabs McDuff by the arm and attempts to drag him from the
room. McDuff twists the man’s arm and a loud crack shows the arm
breaking. The man screams; orderlies and nurses quickly arrive to
see what is going on.

“Call the cops! These guys are trying to
kidnap me!” shouts McDuff. Several male and female nurses prevent
the two men from leaving. Once the police arrive and do some
checking it is found the two men are from a small religious cult
advocating the ‘rescue’ of the creature trapped within Stonehenge.
They are quickly arrested for attempted kidnapping and taken to
jail. Reports are duly made and forwarded to all other enforcement
agencies. Now McDuff is really concerned as he not only previously
did he not know a foreign language; let along Chinese and now,
…..martial arts? He is definitely ready to head back to Tennessee
and his internet business.

Once back home in Tennessee at his software
company McDuff is visited by an old Asian man who; speaking in the
old dialect; asks what he remembers of his fight with the being
that attempted to take him over. The most he now remembers is a
tiny winged woman and a truly intense hatred and anger, especially
that someone was chasing him. Thankfully the memories and
nightmares of huge creatures are fading. Although he does tell the
old man that he looks vaguely familiar, somewhat like the owner of
a local Tai restaurant.

After the McDuff ‘incident’ the British
government had the army station guards to prevent anyone from
touching the altar stone. Several cults had formed in the UK and
Europe and most seemed intent on freeing whatever was reputed to be
imprisoned within the altar. Two of the UK cults had been coming
once a week to pray at the ‘Demon’ altar. Each time one or the
cults was there the altar developed a very faint red glow. The glow
was photographed numerous times and several of the pictures
appeared in Tabloids around the world.

There are also several Christian and Islamic
groups pushing for the destruction of the heretic site, claiming it
to be the work of the Devil. Druid organizations also want the site
preserved and that they be allowed to perform Druidic religious
rites on a monthly basis. There were often too many people for the
guards to control so, to insure the safety of the site and people
visiting, the army erected a twenty foot steel cage around and over
the altar. This was large enough to prevent even the longest armed
people from reaching thru to touch the altar, as many idiots had
often attempted.

So far two planned attempts to destroy the
site had been foiled. One had a small truck loaded with explosives
and a suicide driver for the attempt. However that attempt was
prevented by the driver’s sister informing the authorities. The
other attempt was planned by a group that evidently had zero
experience handling explosives.

Lately things have quieted considerably so
the guards had been reduced to ten, plus a senior sergeant to
oversee the detail. Several tents had been erected and three
portable latrines placed about a hundred or so feet from the site.
The patrolling guards walk a two man four hour shift around the
outer stones. The entire guard detail is rotated every five days.
They are currently are on their last day of a very boring duty and
all are looking forward to being relieved at noon the next day.

About 2am two shadowy figures converge on the
patrolling guards, very faint pops are heard and the two guards
stagger, then collapse to the ground. Seven other figures approach
the two large and one smaller tent. Even fainter pops are heard
from two of the tents but the sound of a short scuffle then comes
from the small tent. Hooded figures exit the two large tents
dragging the soldiers out and begin taping them up securely. A
moaning figure staggers from the small tent, a knife protruding
from his side. As others go to their wounded associate’s aid the
larger figure takes out a flashlight and waves the beam toward the
road. Moments later a well muffled truck is heard approaching.

The truck has a small crane and welding
equipment mounted on the back. It quickly backed up to about 5 feet
from the cage and a tall woman, dressed in Priestly robes, steps
from the truck. She says, “Bob get these people moving, we have no
idea how often the guards check-in. What happened to him?” pointing
at the figure on the ground.