First Destroy All Giant Monsters (The World Wide Witches Research Association) (47 page)

“I’ll remember that in future.”

Karl kissed her again.

“I’ll make sure you do.”

Kokopelli sat cross legged beside them and pulled a small drum out of its carrying case. He started a slow, heavy beat. Sandy passed around the circle, touching several of the witches on the shoulder. They nodded and followed her out of the circle. The remaining witches started a soft chant, soothing as a lullaby.

“We just wait?”

“It’s not as if we can send a message to Gloria asking her to drop in a little earlier today.”

“Well, maybe not.” Karl tried to ignore the unnatural stiffness of Amber’s body. He brushed a strand of hair off her face. “So when she comes we go to the wolf dream and I kick their butts while you throw magic at them.”

“No.”

“What do you mean, ‘No’?”

Amber refused to meet his eyes. “The spell binding you to the dream is broken. I’ll be pulled into the dreamscape, not you.”

His hands tightened on her shoulders.

“The hell you say. I won’t have you fighting her without me. This is
my
fight. She did this to
me
.”

“Don’t be so selfish. It’s not your style. She did this to a lot of people. Possibly thousands.” Amber drew in a deep breath, “I’m sorry, Karl, but it has become my fight. She’s a witch and a witch has to face her. If it helps, I wish you could be with me.”

“That doesn’t help. I’m sick and tired of being useless. I’ve been nothing but a victim and I want my chance to get …”

“Revenge?” Amber interrupted. “No, and you weren’t useless when you kicked their butts.”

“It wasn’t enough.”

“You’ll know better next time. Kick harder when you have the chance.”

Karl grunted and pulled her closer, trying to warm her chilled body with his.

“Hey, you two, can we talk to you?”

Sandy and Thalia knelt beside them.

“What’s up?”

Sandy raised an eyebrow at Thalia who grimaced as she accepted her role as spokesperson.

“Sandy and I have been looking at Karl since the trance ended. Have you any idea what he looks like?”

Amber tilted her head and gazed up at Karl.

“I take it ‘cute’ isn’t the answer you’re looking for.”

Both ladies laughed.

“More than that,” said Sandy. “He’s pretty, but that’s not the point. If you don’t have any use for him we’d like to have him join our coven.”

Karl’s head snapped round.

“You what?”

Sandy put a soft hand on his sleeve.

“No threat, Karl. Only if you want to. But you’d be a real asset to our group. You’re a true focus. Our spells would work so much better if we could run them through you.”

“Through him?”

“Through me? Dammit. That was what Gloria called me,” said Karl. “She called me her true focus. I thought that meant she was focused on me. A girlfriend thing.”

Amber blinked rapidly.

“Dammit. I can’t see right now. The web’s stopping me.”

“What’s going on?” demanded Karl.

“Relax, Karl,” said Amber. “No one’s going to force you to do magic.”

“Of course,” said Thalia, “nothing is required of you; we just wanted to tell you that you have a rare talent. You can channel power. Most witches do, just for a little while. We do it every time we do a spell, but very few people can focus it tightly and make it stronger just by passing it through their minds. It’s like the difference between a flashlight and a laser beam. I can turn power onto a spell, get lots of people to do a working with me, but you, you’d be like putting the spell on top of a Saturn Five rocket and blasting it up.”

“You’re showing your age,” whispered Sandy and they both giggled.

“Amazing,” said Amber, trying to twist around and face Karl. “Gloria saw that in you. And when you wouldn’t cooperate she devised a way to kidnap your natural abilities. Every time she raised energy by taking life force from others
you
focused it, and you took the karmic and magical burden. If you hadn’t been so strong you never would have survived. Without knowing it you drew strength from the world and it sustained you. That’s why all the threads came together near you. Why you had to be in the dreamscape.”

“I’m magical?” Karl shook his head. “No. I’d have known.”

“How?” Her familiar grin passed slowly over her face. “There was no one in your family to tell you. Nothing in your education to warn you what to look for. Which classes in school lecture you on magic … sports, health? Now that I’d pay to see. The coach sitting the boys down and saying ‘in addition to using antiperspirant, condoms, and bathing daily, how many of you find that if you really, really want something, it happens?’ How would you know what was magic and what was a weird coincidence?”

“The reason we brought this up, in addition to the fact that you need to know so you can start training and get your own protections, is that we’d like to include you in the energy raising spell.”

Karl focused on Amber.

“That’s what you said you needed from the coven. Power.”

“Right.”

“Then I’m in. If this helps you beat Gloria into mulch then I’m in.”

“Sandy,” called Amber. “You have to teach Karl how to do it properly. He’s been hurt because he’s had no training at all.”

“Got it.”

The coveners standing outside the circle stirred, shouted a warning. Blankets were clutched around shoulders. A lone watcher sprinted across the field from the parking area.

“Car coming!”

A witch jumped forward with a blanket, and several people rushed to help her hold it up to shield the light of the fire from reaching the road.

They waited breathlessly as the distant car skidded to a stop and car doors opened and slammed shut. Several footsteps crunched on the gravel parking lot.

Sandy and Thalia walked into the darkness to greet the new arrivals. After a few minutes of whispered conversation they returned, smiling.

“Visitors for Amber,” Sandy announced.

Karl sat up, shielding Amber’s still body from view. The newcomer came to the edge of the circle and scowled at him.

“I let you take our Amber on a day trip and this is what you do to her?” cried Smoke. “Just wait until I get you alone, lad. I’ll rip your bloody knees out.”

“Good to see you, too, Smoke.” Karl shifted to one side so that Amber could see her cousin.

“Hey, Smoke, Lightning. Wow, Smoke, you got into a car with Lightning again? Do you want to live to see two hundred?”

“When we couldn’t get you to answer the phone or any emails we decided to drive down,” said Smoke. “I checked the website for possible contacts. Fortunately Sarah’s husband was home to give us directions.”

“We had a run-in with the police,” said Amber. “They took my phone, computer, everything.”

“And of course, there are no other phones in the United States that you can use,” Smoke sneered folding his arms across his chest.

“Oh, come on in,” Karl stood stiffly. “Amber can’t move for some reason. You can …”

“Nah, lad,” Smoke shook his head slowly. “I came down because I thought our Amber could use a little extra help.”

Smoke waved at one of the small figures standing behind him.

“Missy, my great uncle’s second daughter. She’s the one that cast the circle the night that Amber collapsed. She’s going to donate her magic to Amber.”

“No. I won’t accept it,” Amber turned her head, her teeth clenched against the pain of movement, “Missy can stand with the others in the circle to raise energy, but I won’t take her magic from her. I … I don’t think it’s right.”

“Amber, it’s our custom.”

“Right now, Smoke, I can’t see the difference between what Gloria was doing and what you’re suggesting,” Seeing his blank look Amber sighed. “Karl will explain. I have to concentrate. Rest. It will be time soon. I should sleep if I can. The dreamscape doesn’t come if you’re not asleep.”

Karl brushed his lips over her cold forehead and climbed slowly to his feet. Sandy and Thalia accompanied him to the edge of the circle and created a small opening for him to exit. Amber closed her eyes and let her mind drift. The witches and Smoke would take care of Karl. He was safe. Finally free. Despite all her worries the hook had come free of his spirit without a serious wound. Karl would heal. His strength, vitality would return in time. With luck, a little exercise, and good food, his life would be of normal length.

The air was cool, but Amber did not feel it. The web was wrapped round her like a cocoon. Personally Amber would rather be mobile, free, and cold than to have its protection. It was late. Amber did not want to remind anyone of the passing time. She was confident Sandy would restart the chants at the right moment. With a soft sigh she drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

The sky above her was a vivid burning orange. Amber shifted on the rocky ground trying to find a more comfortable position. There was one particularly sharp rock digging into her right hip. She rolled to her front and dragged her arms forward under her chest. Sweat ran across her forehead, drying rapidly as she pushed herself up to her knees. The center of the web still encased her hands, writhing and twisting within its sheath. The rest of the bonds seemed to have vanished. Amber cradled her hands to her naked chest and remained kneeling. Waiting.

The wolves appeared along the skyline, one by one. Amber kept her head bowed. There were more wolves tonight. More than she had thought possible. Twenty, thirty of them. They clustered around, moving uncertainly across the rocky ground. She was right. They had planned some sort of revenge against Karl tonight.

Predictable.

Disappointing.

The change of prey obviously confused them. Her appearance before had not bothered them. Whatever explanation Gloria had given did not leave room for a repeat. In the mass of fur Amber could not see Gloria yet. Possibly Gloria was still unaware anything had happened to her spell. She was expecting to see Karl. To punish Karl.

“Confusion to my enemies, there’s an idea I can get behind.” Amber bared her teeth and climbed to her feet.

“Ready when you are,” she shouted.

The wolves yipped and milled about, shaking their heavy muzzles.

“Come on, guys. Let’s get this party started. Some of us have lives to get back to, you know.”

There was a deep throated bark from the back of the pack and as one they charged. Toes digging into the harsh surface, bounding weightlessly across rock and sand. Behind them Amber could see one wolf, standing stationary. Gloria!

Amber did not move; instead she shouted. “You’ve really been spreading it around, haven’t you, Gloria?”

The charge faltered. The lead wolf took a few hesitant steps forward growling low and deep.

Amber waved her encased fists to the distant bitch.

“Well, hi. Nice to see you again. Nah, actually, it’s not.”

The she-wolf’s lips drew back and she hunched her back, stalking forward.

“I don’t speak wolf. I think it would be easier to chat if you were a woman.”

Amber reached out and drew in energy from the dream world. It had become her world. Strength to make this nightmare had come from her and from Karl. The only way raw Elemental energy could join with this spell, with this dream was to have it passed through her. The bracelet on her wrist glowed and the drained energy remembered her. The dreamscape was part of her. Hers to command. Amber grinned as the she-wolf’s body shimmered, stretched, and unfolded until Gloria stood, nude and snarling before her. Bruises were clearly visible over her face and chest.

“How dare you do that?”

“Dare?” Amber laughed. “Shouldn’t the question be, how can I do that? The answer is simple. I have more power than you.”

“I don’t think so. You’re the one caught in the web.”

Amber shrugged. “A temporary inconvenience. It will be gone soon.”

“I don’t think so. If you could get rid of it you would have,” Gloria’s eyes glittered in the sickly light. “I have to thank you. I was looking for a replacement; Karl was on his last legs, and here you are. How very kind of you to volunteer. What the hell happened to Karl?”

“He’s fine,” said Amber pleasantly. “He sends his lack of regards and says he’s looking forward to dancing on your grave. Sometime soon in preference.”

“Who the hell are you?” Gloria paced carefully across the uneven ground. “You turned up, then disappeared. I’ve been wondering how that happened.”

“I’m not here to answer your questions.” Amber drew herself up, struggling to stay tall despite the dragging weight of the web. “I’m here to listen to the bad guy – that’s you, in case you need reminding – talk about your schemes and plans and then I’m going to bring them crashing down over your head. I’m the good guy. That’s what we do.”

Gloria gaped at her for a heartbeat then threw back her head and laughed. The shrill sound echoed across the hills, rebounding off the sky. The watching wolves raised their muzzles and howled. Amber watched calmly and waited until the noise faded away. When she was certain she had everyone’s attention again, she closed her eyes.

The ground near her feet trembled, loose pebbles dancing. Then the rock cracked and split, shattering into hundreds, thousands of pieces. The blue stone faded to dull brown as millions of green shoots broke through. The grass spread across the landscape. Trees burst through the ground, exploded to full height, flowering. The sky shimmered, vanished, and reformed as a brilliant night sky populated with thousands of stars and a warm welcoming moon.

“Much better,” said Amber, straightening her T-shirt and sitting back on a recliner, crossing her jean clad legs. She glanced to one side and a small table complete with a glass of lemonade appeared. “To continue. I intend to finish you, Gloria.”

The wolves sank to their bellies as the landscape changed, groaning and whimpering. Gloria kept her feet, barely. Her mouth open in shock.

“How the hell?”

“You stole this power from me,” said Amber, taking a sip of her imaginary drink. “Now I’m taking it back.”

“You can’t. It’s mine. It’s been used. I claimed it.”

“I think this demonstrates that I can.”