The Magic Wakes (21 page)

“Keep moving, don’t stop!” Landry called back.

She heard the sound of running feet. They were coming for her. Anger sparked the fire within and she ran. There would be time to heal the burns and scrapes later. If she lived.

Landry led her into the next street and cut back up toward the center of the city. He pulled her into a building just as the Dragumon shot out of the alley.

“Up the stairs. We’ve got to cross the street; we’ll use the connector bridge.” Landry ran up the stairs off the entryway with Talia close behind.

When they reached the top, they ducked behind a pillar to catch their breath. The bridge was a glass-enclosed hallway over the street, connecting the building to the one across from it. They would be easy targets.

The doors opened and the Dragumon entered the lobby below.

“Little mage, you can’t run forever.” The same eerie voice from her dreams called out. “We’ll make it quick.”

The deep tones sounded rich and earthy; it sent a zing of electricity through Talia’s veins. Landry held her close and they tried to breathe as quietly as possible.

Landry spoke to her mind,
We’re going to use the shield again to get across the street.

Okay.
Talia climbed onto his back and he activated the shield.

They left the safety of the pillar and walked into the bridge hallway. The Dragumon argued their way up the stairs.

“Where did they go? We’ve lost the signal,” one of them said.

“They’re still here. They must be using a cloak. Open fire that way.” The leader pointed down the hallway.

Talia squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the pain. They were only halfway across. Landry stepped to the edge of the walkway, right up against the glass and picked up the pace.

The Dragumon aimed down the middle and fired. The heat blasted by. Talia bit her lip to keep from crying out.

Landry thought,
Just a few more feet.

“Keep firing, widen your range,” the leader growled. Another volley of plasma beams heated the air once more. The heat left ripples in the air around the shield. “There, left side.”

Landry lunged right, but the proximity of the plasma stung Talia’s shoulder, barely missing a direct hit. She cried out in pain and slid from Landry’s back. Barely standing, she clung to Landry. He dragged her out of the connector and into a side hall out of sight of the Dragumon.

You have to run.
Landry’s shield sputtered off. He barely glanced at Talia’s blackened shirt and arm, before pulling her into a run again.

Two doors down, he opened the door to the stairwell. After closing it behind him, he smashed the electric control box. “Maybe that will give us some time. Down, fast.”

They ran and stumbled down one flight and entered the lobby of the history museum. The lights were out, but Landry pulled her along with confidence. A loud crash let them know the Dragumon were not giving up.

“We need the elevator back of the solar system room. This way,” Landry said.

Three rooms later, they saw the red emergency light by the elevators. The doors opened immediately, and they both sagged against the back wall. Talia got a good look at her shoulder in the shiny metal walls. There was a hole in the shirt and she could see the bright red skin blistering. At least she was familiar with this pain.

Landry glanced at it. “Does it hurt?”

“I’ve had this same burn after the dreams. If we live, I can heal it.” Talia nodded to the numbers counting down the floors. “How far down does this building go?”

Landry grinned. “Six floors if you know the secret.”

The doors opened three levels down, but Landry didn’t move to leave. “Wait.”

He pushed the top and bottom buttons at the same time. The elevator screeched as metal ground against metal and moved sideways several feet before continuing down.

“Guess no one’s used it in a while,” he said.

The doors opened onto a dark hall. The light from the elevator revealed stark white walls filled with pipes and conduits. No doors, at least not close to the elevator. And no emergency lights.

“There’s a false wall further down the hallway. Behind that wall is a corridor leading into the tunnels. From there we can walk right out of the city.”

A loud explosion from above shook the building, followed by another that sounded closer. “Here they come,” Talia said. “Sounds like they aren’t bothering with the elevator.”

“Come on.” Landry grabbed her hand and pulled her into the darkness.

When the doors closed, all light vanished. The world ceased to exist, the darkness was so complete. Talia automatically slowed and reached out to keep from bumping into anything, but Landry pulled her back into motion. The only sounds were their labored breathing and heels on the floor. The only hint she wasn’t alone was the hand in hers. She gripped it tighter until they stopped. A click and a hiss and stale air blew past her.

Jaron worked his way through the maze of underground tunnels heading toward the forest edge. As he entered a dark hallway, he sensed the presence of magic. He stopped and expanded his mind in search of the source—recognizing the woman and the soldier from the tram. Somehow, they had survived.

“It’s destiny. She will become my true ally on this planet.”

What about me
? the demon hissed through Jaron’s mind.

“You’re not much of an ally. Don’t worry, you know as well as I do I can’t last much longer. Be patient.” Jaron continued through another door, sensing the tremors in the building above. Someone headed in his direction, but the woman moved away from him.

Patience is not in my nature
.

“Quiet.” Jaron exerted his mind and locked the demon away. He redirected his thoughts farther down the hallway. It was now occupied by something not human, and yet it was. It had to be the Dragumon.

Jaron pulled out his pouch and set up a powerful expulsion barrier. He chanted and dipped his fingers into his pouch. Reaching out he touched one wall as far up as he could reach, and then he touched the opposite wall. He did this several more times, moving down the wall to the floor in order to seal the spell in place. When it was finished, Jaron ran toward the woman, guided by the essence of her magic. He hoped to reach her before the Dragumon hit the barrier.

It would be faster to jump through a portal,
the demon suggested.

Jaron summoned a portal and stepped through it. As he materialized, the ground trembled beneath his feet. The aftershock of his barrier. The Dragumon had been closer than he thought.

The air in the new corridor was warmer than the museum hallway. Landry tugged on Talia’s hand to get her moving again.

She let him pull her along. “How can you see?”

“Night vision lenses. Standard military issue. They automatically activate in decreased light levels.”

“Remind me to get some of those. I can’t see anything.” She put her trust in him as he led her through the darkness.

The Dragumon continued to blast through the levels above. The sound of the explosions grew distant, and Talia thought they might be safe.

A flash of light pierced the darkness followed by a blast of energy that knocked her to the ground. Talia’s ears rang, the dark shimmered with fireworks. She rubbed her eyes and tried to refocus them.

She sat up and whispered, “Landry?”

He didn’t answer. She listened for his breathing, but the ringing in her ears was too loud. With arms outstretched, she crawled around brushing the ground until she bumped into him. He lay so still, she thought he might be unconscious, but the mental connection was instantaneous.

Landry, what happened?
She clung to him. The ringing faded, and she concentrated on his breathing. Landry would save her. He would take her hand and lead her out of the darkness any moment.

I don’t know, but the light . . . I can’t see.
Landry held on to Talia and they stood as one, leaning against the wall for support.
The flash of light happened too fast for the contacts to adjust. I’m temporarily blinded. At least I hope it’s temporary.

Maybe the lenses just shorted out
? Talia didn’t want to think about what it would mean to be trapped underground with no light.

“If we’re lucky.”

“We’re sitting ducks. What are we going to—” Talia stopped speaking as a torch flared up.

A tall, blond man stood before them. “The Dragumon walked into my barrier.”

Landry reached out with his gift at the sound of another voice, and with their connection in place, Talia also experienced the emotions rolling off the stranger. They were mixed hope, despair, guilt, and something else. Something dark and brooding. Two sets of conflicting emotions from one being.

The man held out a hand toward Talia. “Now, if you will come with me, we have a lot to talk about.”

Careful Talia, something is familiar about this man, but I don’t recognize him.
Exhaustion set in, but Talia couldn’t forget the Dragumon. She didn’t know what the barrier was, but she knew the Dragumon wouldn’t stop until they found her.

“Who are you, and what kind of barrier?” Talia drew comfort from the fact she had never dreamed this scenario. Strength from Landry also calmed her nerves.

“My name is Jaron. There’s no time to explain. The Dragumon will wake shortly, so I suggest you come with me.”

Landry moved between the stranger and Talia, carefully keeping the contact in place. They could feel his impatience. He wanted something from Talia, but there was no way of knowing what.

“The Dragumon? How do you know what they’re called?” Landry’s natural suspicions kicked in.

They sensed Jaron’s annoyance. He wanted to ignore Landry.

“Once again, there is no time for this. Come with me and I’ll answer all your questions in time.”

“Fine.” Landry waved his hand in front of him. “Let’s go.”

“Just the woman. You’ll slow us down, but I can protect her, teach her how to use her gift for magic and then, together we will destroy the Dragumon.”

Talia tightened her hold on Landry’s arm as a chill ran through her.
Don’t let him take me.

“Magic? What are you talking about?” Landry bluffed. To Talia he said,
How does he know?

“I know she has the aptitude, for now that is all I will say.” Jaron looked past Landry at Talia. “I can teach you what you need to know, how to use it.”

“Who are you?”

“You’re wasting time. I’ll open a portal and you will be safe, but you must let him go. I can’t transport both of you.” Agitation sounded in his voice.

“I don’t go without Landry.” Talia had Landry in a death grip with her good arm.

“My only purpose is the destruction of the Dragumon. I cannot afford to drag along someone of no use to me. You have to look at the bigger picture.” Jaron reached for Talia, but Landry side-stepped his approach.

“Once again, I don’t leave without Landry.”

Landry, what do we do?

“Sometimes you do things you don’t want in order to reach your goals. You must come with me! You have the gift!” Jaron spoke harshly and the tunnel filled with a tense energy. “Think of your planet.”

Landry spoke to Talia’s mind
. Convince him I have the same gifts. When my sight comes back we work out a new plan.

That’s easy. You do have similar talents.
To Jaron, she said, “In that case it would be worth your while to take Landry, too. He has the gift.”

Jaron arched his brow but reached out and placed the palm of his hand on Landry’s forehead. Landry pulled back a little but stopped as a surge of power flowed into him from Jaron.

Talia looked inward and found a cloudy room where she could see Landry’s inner person. Jaron now stood there palm to forehead just like in the flesh. A blue aura surrounded them, pulsing in a circuitous path between the two men.

Landry absorbed the energy and healed his eyes. He was trying to reach into Jaron’s mind to gather information, but Jaron blocked him completely.

Jaron looked at Talia’s spirit self and then disappeared.

Landry blinked and focused on the face in front of him. He focused on Jaron’s eyes. They were his most striking feature, seemingly bottomless depths of pale blue. However, a black cloud swam below the surface.

“You have the gift of transference . . . that increases our chance of success.” Jaron abruptly turned and walked a few paces down the hall. “Enough. They are waking. I cannot teleport more than one other person on my own, but I think he may be able to make up the difference.”