Sorcerer: Betrayal: Power of Air (Book 4) (10 page)

Saturday, June 11
^th
, 2016, 10:53 AM

They say plans fall apart once contact with the enemy is
made.  Apparently that was even true for enchanting jewelry.  We were just
wrapping up and leaving when I got a text from Caroline.

Need to see you, ASAP.  At your office.

So much for my day off, although I had a feeling this was
more about running Chicago than it would be a case.

“Change of plans, need to stop by my office quick.”

Carrie replied, “It will take time to prepare the jewelry
anyway, and the spells.  We won’t need you until we have to cast it.”

We split up at that point, everyone but Sierra and I went to
Tara’s store, while we started walking toward my office which wasn’t all that
far.  The streets were crowded so I didn’t even consider cheating and going the
quick way.  Especially the way the wolves fed me, I needed the exercise.

Sierra asked, “What do you suppose it is?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know, nothing out of control, just a
bit urgent.  I think you’ll like Caroline, she’s one of the good ones.”

Sierra snorted, “As long as she doesn’t try and seduce you,
I don’t care.”

I grinned, everyone had their priorities. 

“That won’t be a problem.”

She looked at me as if she wasn’t quite sure she believed
me.

I asked a little hurt, “You don’t trust me?”

She frowned, “Of course I trust you.  But your also an idiot
when it comes to how woman feel about you.  Or did you forget I waited for you
to figure things out for nine months.”

Oh, right.  I blushed.

“Umm, yeah,” I know, I was so damned smooth with the ladies,
and by that I mean I wasn’t, “It really isn’t a problem.  She’s still in love
with her human husband, but despite that she isn’t bitter, and is making the
best of it.”

She shook her head, “Are you sure?  I’m surprised she
wouldn’t go get him and make him a bloodsucker too.”

I nodded and ignored the name calling, “She might, in
fifteen years.  The vampire world is dangerous, and they have a very young
son.  She’ll stay away until he’s grown I think, to keep them safe.  I don’t
think they let baby vampires turn anyone either, so either way she has to wait.”

I felt a little guilty giving out personal details like
that, but I wouldn’t keep things from Sierra.

When we got up to my office, Caroline had a coffee ready for
me with an impish smile.

“Boss.”

I gratefully took the coffee, and asked, “What’s going on?”

Caroline rolled her eyes, “Ceara left last night, and two
dumb bastards decided to take advantage and play cat burglar.  They got caught,
and risked exposure, and ruined lives.  Anyway, since it’s the first time with
you in charge, I thought a swift response would set the tone for the rest of
us. 

“Stealing is against the coven laws, since we provide
everything needed and they can work for their own money on top of that.  There
is no such thing as a disabled vampire.

“The second thing was ruining lives, we’re supposed to be
subtle with compulsion and leave behind no indications of absence of evidence. 
That’s the second strike.”

I wasn’t quite sure what to say, “Ruined lives?”

Caroline nodded, “They figured they could just mesmerize
their way out of anything if they got caught.  The alarm went off, and the
security cameras caught some footage of their faces.  When the cops got there,
they ordered them to clean things up.  Of course, the security company as well
as the police department wanted to know why the first responders had deleted
evidence, so they’re suspended without pay and will probably lose their jobs,
if not do jail time for tampering with a crime scene.”

I sighed and reached out for the usual penalty of something
like this, of course any exposure or risk of exposure came back as death.  It
was that moment when I realized I was more than judge and jury, I was also
expected to be executioner.  It made me feel a little sick at the thought. 
These idiots needed to pay for what they did, but did they earn death?

Caroline added, breaking me out of my thoughts, “By the
way.  Last night some of the guys who run the club were passing around photos
of you two from their security cameras saying your banned and to keep an eye
out.  I fixed it, you’re no longer banned.”

She smiled a bit gleefully, “What took longer was to
convince them they didn’t have to run for it and leave the city, once I told
them who you were.  That won’t happen again, the whole coven knows you by sight
now.”

I shook my head, “I’m sorry I missed their faces.”

I reached for and found out everything I needed to know
about the two idiots.  Mark and Tim.  When I discovered it was just a
thoughtless prank, and that they hadn’t meant to get anyone in trouble, and
things had just gone wrong I wasn’t sure what to do.  Sure, thieving wasn’t a
prank exactly, and they needed to understand that, but it also hardly deserved
the death penalty.

Both of them were only about fifteen years old as vampires. 
I also realized this kind of stupidity was why not very many vampires lived to
a century, and even less beyond that.  Stupid vampires didn’t last very long. 
Still, I didn’t think I could kill them, but I worried at the problems that
would cause if people thought I was soft.  The beginning of an idea started to
occur to me.

“So they’re being held at the coven house?”

Caroline nodded, and I wrapped the three of us in air to
take us there.  I hadn’t been there, but it was easy enough to pull the
location from her mind.

To call it a house of course, was an understatement.  They
lived in a very large mansion on the northern edge Chicago, just out of the
city proper.  It was three stories with two wings and also had additions
running out the back.  My power told me there was more than a hundred fifty
rooms, though it wasn’t full, there were just under fifty vampires in the city.

Luckily, at least for me, they didn’t use the basement to
lock people away, they had a fortified room with no windows, and bars, to hold
vampires when necessary.

Sierra held onto my arm as we followed Caroline in and
toward the back of the house.  It was almost amusing when the vampires looked
at us, they always decided they had somewhere else to be and left in a hurry. 
I wasn’t expecting any issues really, but I had both Sierra and I shielded just
in case.

The house itself was modern looking, as if just normal rich
humans lived there.  Nothing screamed vampire, and I suppose it was silly of me
to think that there would be.

When we entered the room that was guarded by two vampires,
Mark and Tim looked almost resigned to death.  They didn’t even try a desperate
escape attempt, or to attack.  I actually felt a little disappointment, if
they’d attacked me I could’ve justified killing them in my own mind.

“So, are you both too stupid to learn?” I asked as
offensively as possible.

Mark froze and his fangs dropped, “What the hell?”

I shrugged carelessly, mostly because I knew there was a camera
watching this, and about fifteen vampires wedged into the security room down
the hall.

“You are both dead men from risking exposure.  Even if I was
to grant you clemency, you would owe your lives to Ceara for breaking other
coven rules.  So, before I even bother trying, would you like to live, or are
you too stupid and arrogant to learn?”

Mark and Tim exchanged shocked looks, “We can learn, what
would we have to do?” Tim asked.

I smiled without humor, Caroline looked a little worried,
but Sierra just looked amused.  She wasn’t surprised at all I hadn’t just
killed them.  Of course, to make this work I’d have to make the punishment make
death seem like an almost pleasant alternative.

“You are both dead men.  You have no rights, no need for
things, nothing that Caroline or I don’t approve.  Your lives are no longer
yours.  You will get jobs, and actually work, because dead men aren’t allowed
to mesmerize others.  The only exception to that is when you feed.  When you
get your grubby dead hands on a paycheck, you will donate half to a police
charity, and the other half to the families you destroyed when the cops were
arrested for your mistake.

“When you’re not working, you will be here, in this house. 
You won’t leave it, at all.  You also have no need of personal time, so if
Caroline, myself, or any of your coven brothers or sisters need help, you just
volunteered.”

I leaned toward them and my voice dropped to a menacing
whisper, “Let me be clear.  If you run, you die.  If you screw up, you die.  If
you break the rules, you die.  Make no mistake, I
will
know.  This is
your life now, for a very long time to come.”

Caroline had moved from worry to shock, Sierra was trying
not to laugh at me being so hard on them.  I actually didn’t think it was that
bad, it was the vampire version of house arrest, or at least my interpretation.

Mark and Tim looked shocked.  Mark asked, “How long?”

“Let’s start with twenty years, I can review then, see if
you’ve learned your lesson,” I said nonchalantly in a soft, and even friendly
voice.

For a human that was impossibly long, for a vampire that
learned to survive in this world, it was a drop in the bucket.

Tim nodded right away, like I was doing him a huge favor. 
Mark reluctantly nodded, and that was it.  We left the room and walked out
front.

Caroline still looked nervous, “Are you sure about this?”

I nodded thoughtfully.

“One of them will probably run, thinking they can get away
from me, when they realize I made them bond servants for twenty years.  Most
likely while they’re out looking for a job.  At that point, I’ll drag them
back, call the coven, and execute him rather painfully while everyone watches. 
After that, no one will doubt me.  I don’t give third chances, and I only give
second chances to those that deserve it.  Those boys are stupid, not evil, they
just let their power go to their heads.  If they can’t learn self-control now,
I’ll have to kill them anyway.”

Caroline cleared her throat, but she was looking a bit more
accepting.  Hopefully Ceara wouldn’t have an issue with my verdict either, I’m
sure someone would send her the video.

Caroline whispered, “You know, they’re listening to us right
now right?”

I smiled, “Counting on it Caroline, I’m counting on it.”

I was a little conflicted about what I’d decided, and said,
but I also knew it was the least I could get away with.  Risking exposure was
not a minor thing.  If it came down to it, I would kill them.  I’d put myself
out there in an attempt to save their lives, if they threw it back in my face
they deserved death.

It was time to go though, we had to get to Tara’s, get those
enchantments done, and get the jewelry back to my friends and family as soon as
possible…

Saturday, June 11
^th
, 2016, 12:11 PM

“It’s about time,” Katie teased when we walked into the back
of the store.

Tara smirked, “We just got done preparing actually, good
timing.”

Katie glared at Tara for ruining her fun.

Selene just sighed and shook her head, “Children, behave.”

Carrie grinned at her mentor, “What fun would that be?”

Aiya was having trouble keeping a straight face.

Gerald and I exchanged looks, clearly we were outnumbered by
the estrogen, so neither of us commented.  They were obviously having fun
though, which was nice to see.

“What do I need to do?”

Tara pointed at the floor.  There were two circles, between
them were arcane designs I recognized from the spell book I made Tara from the
warding section.

“Sit there,” she handed me a pair of diamond earrings, “and
hold those.  We’ll have to do the spell six times.  Actually five times, before
we do Caroline’s we’ll have to make some changes to the circle as well as the
words.”

That made sense, since Caroline’s would work more like the
one Tara already made for herself, it wouldn’t automatically call me, it would
require Caroline initiating the contact.  I stepped over the lines of the
circle carefully so I didn’t break any lines, or smudge one of the symbols. 
Tara moved to the north part of the diagram, Carrie the east, and Selene the
west.  I was surprised when Katie moved to the south.

Tara shrugged, “She can’t contribute magic, but symmetry is
important for this spell and being a magical being means she can participate
for that purpose alone.”

Aiya was staring at us all with interest, the one human in
the room.  I hoped she wasn’t too disappointed, wards were not flashy magic,
only those that could wield magic would be able to even see what was happening.

First, Tara sealed the circle with a short chant.  Aitheria
was over on the other side of the room and didn’t look happy, she hated to be
cut off from me.  Yet, she trusted Tara as I did, and knew that if she was in
the circle it would affect the spell.  The binding of the circle was for
exactly that after all, for keeping elementals and other non-corporeal entities
out, as well as other magic.

Which is why I also dropped my shields once it was up.

They all started chanting in Latin, but I paid little
attention to the words, focusing instead on the magic.  I watched as water,
fire, and air swirled in a pattern and came together in perfect harmony.  It
was rather beautiful, even though there were gaps in it.  I knew those gaps
were caused by the earth magic which I couldn’t see.  It started to shrink,
binding together tightly in a spell of warding.  Then it sunk into the ring,
and I could feel it make a connection to me, the magic would reach out if the
ward was violated.

In this case, if the wearer were threatened with harm by a
supernatural being.  It didn’t take very long at all actually, just a couple of
minutes.  It actually took longer for Tara to take down the circle barrier,
exchange jewelry, and raise the circle once again for the spell.  We did it
five times, and then I walked to the side while Carrie, Tara, and Selene
started to make changes in the circle.

I asked Aiya, “Bored?”

She grinned sheepishly, “I’d expected more bang.”

I nodded, “You can’t see magic, only the results.  Except,
on a ward the results are invisible.”

She said a little sarcastically, “Figured that out.”

I supposed I deserved that, might as well have told her the
sky was blue.

I concentrated and tried to build an illusion.  It was much
simpler than the candle flame I’d tried and failed at, just single points of
light of three different colors.  Green for water, blue for air, and red for
fire.  The elemental magic weren’t exactly those colors, but they were
reminiscent of those colors.  Then I swirled it in front of us, making it weave
together and build just like the spell did.

“This is what I saw, mostly.”

Aiya looked a little awed, so did everyone else actually. 
It was then that it occurred to me that witches couldn’t really see the magic
either.  They could feel it as they cast their spell, through the spell, but not
see it, or connect to it directly.

She said softly, a little breathless, “I forgive you for
stating the obvious.  How are you doing that.”

“Fire sorcerer, it’s just light.”

I let it drop, sometimes I forgot with my friends that I
wasn’t supposed to be advertising my powers or how they worked.  Sorcerers were
closed mouthed for the most part.  But then, most of them didn’t have close
friends, allies, and family.  I wasn’t exactly a typical sorcerer anyway, so
why bother trying to be like them in that way?

It was about that time when hell broke loose and time seemed
to slow at the same time, and I sighted another elemental besides Aitheria for
the first time in my life...

It hadn’t made an effort to look human in any way, just an
amorphous blob of air that was there and not there at the same time.  I could
tell it was a he, and I knew for certain, though I couldn’t say how, that it
wasn’t the elemental I’d spied in my vision a couple of days ago.  It was
regarding me intently but seemed unsure.  No doubt it was looking for my
elemental core to verify I was the enemy they searched for, but I had my
shields up as was my habit.

Then the air stirred violently around Aitheria and exploded
outward in a shield so complex I could barely make out that complexity, much
less understand what it was designed to do, and that was just in our dimension,
I had the feeling it was present in more than one.  I felt it expand in my two-hundred-foot
radius, and then it just kept going.  I’d always known Aitheria was stronger
than I was, and very powerful, but until now I’d really had no idea.

The other elemental reached for access to air in his radius,
and managed to wrest some control from me.

“
Be right back, if I fight here I’d destroy Tara’s store.
”

And then Aitheria, the other elemental, and at least ten
others that I’d been unaware of until that second were shifted into another
dimension by Aitheria’s complex shield.  I couldn’t even think of a time when
Aitheria was not next to me, and she was gone.  It was very frustrating, I’d no
way of helping that I knew of, I didn’t even understand other dimensions in any
meaningful way, I was just aware of their existence.

I took a deep breath, trying to control my racing heart,
when I realized I might not be able to see Aitheria, but I still felt her
presence.   Somehow, we were still connected.  I wrapped myself in fire and
air, turned myself invisible, and had the power take me up two hundred feet,
and hold me there.  At that height I was as powerful as I could possibly be,
and I drew elemental power from a full sphere with a radius of a two hundred
feet.

There was no way I could go where Aitheria went and help her
fight, I was mortal, I couldn’t leave this plane, at least, not with my body. 
But I felt that tenuous connection between us, and I tried to feed all that
power that I was pulling to her through that connection.

I succeeded.

It rushed from me in a great torrent and I could feel her
swell, like a sponge soaking water.  I knew she’d told me she wouldn’t have a
problem, but I was still worried about eleven on one odds.  If this was the
only way I could help, I’d do it.

I could feel the connection between us, no longer tenuous,
but a strong rope glowing with power.  Connecting her to me, and me to her.  It
was then that I finally understood something, a simple truth.  It wasn’t our
bodies or physical minds that were connected, she didn’t even have one, it was
our souls.  Understanding rushed into me, and I felt like a fool.

No, I still had no idea what the significance of Aitheria
letting me gaze upon her soul was.

But one of the underlying truths that I’ve believed the last
ten months, was completely and totally wrong.  It wasn’t my mind that connected
to my power, that reached out and invited it to connect to me, it was my soul. 
A sorcerer wasn’t just a being with a few different DNA markers, it was also my
soul that made me what I was.

Sure, it started with the mind and my will, but it was that
which directed my soul, there had been a missing step in my understanding on
how it all worked.  If that wasn’t enough, that wasn’t all that I hadn’t understood.

Even more, I’d always thought the power of air, the
elemental power, was in the air all around me.  It wasn’t, and I blushed at the
very idea I’d believed what was so obviously false.  I had assumed it from the
first time I was able to consciously connect to air, and then never questioned
that initial childlike understanding again.

The truth was, the air around me was merely the gateway
through which my soul reached the elemental plane of air and pulled from
there.  The same for fire, I reached through heat sources, a gateway, or door,
that my soul could reach through to pull power from the elemental plane of
fire.

It was so blindingly obvious, now that I could feel
Aitheria’s and my connection, and the power pulsing between the two of us across
several dimensions.  A feeling that shouldn’t be familiar, but was intimately
familiar, it was the same way I felt when I drew my power.  I truly still
didn’t understand dimensions and all the interactions, but I was finally clear
on where I got my power from, and it was my soul that had the ability to shape
it.

This new insight might have only been general knowledge that
related to all four spheres of elemental magic, but with that understanding the
reach of my power expanded explosively in both fire and air.  I gasped at the
increase in power as they both grew out another fifty feet.  Two hundred fifty for
air, and one hundred for fire.

Because of the math involved with the volume of a sphere,
going from two hundred to two fifty more than doubled the power I had
available, and save the power to keep me aloft which was negligible, I fed it
all to Aitheria.  As for fire, although much less powerful than my air, the
fire jump in power was over eight times stronger.  I knew I’d have to keep
practicing to grow more, but apparently knowledge and
true
understanding
could still make much more of a difference than I’d thought.

Aitheria popped out in front of me, and I just knew the
fight was over so I backed off on sending her power.

“
I didn’t need the help, but I thank you anyway.
”

I smiled, “How did it go.”

She looked frustrated, “
I got all eleven of them that
were close.  But I’m afraid it won’t matter.  I sensed two leave from several
miles away.  I believe they were observing the battle, and our connection.
”

I digested that for a moment.

“What should we expect?”

She sighed, “
I can’t answer that.  But it isn’t hard to
figure out.
”

“War,” I said softly. 

They would be coming for me.  I didn’t think the elementals
could attack me directly, but I wasn’t really sure.  They weren’t supposed to
interfere with mortals, but then I had an elemental soul in the center of my
body.  Regardless, I was sure mortal agents would be sent now as well, since
they had our location.

She smiled grimly, “
We could leave, hide until your power
grows stronger.  Though you’re definitely growing up.”

I shook my head, “Too many here know me, are connected to
me.  They would trace me easily if they have the resources I believe they do. 
Even shielded a fire sorcerer could easily track me, and I’m not even sure what
a water or earth sorcerer is capable of outside of the obvious.”

She nodded, a conflicted look on her face, “
You’re still
young, powerful, but not even close to what you’ll be in fifty years
.”

I translated that to my chances being slim in fifty years,
and a total pipe dream right now.

I shrugged, “You’ll help with the elementals,” I looked down
at the store, “My allies will help with the mortals.”

If it wasn’t enough, well, I’d die I supposed.  At least
Mark and Tim would be happy, assuming they could escape the coven.

I used my power to reach out for the usual blocked
information.  Aitheria, elemental courts, my enemies, new knowledge of how to
apply my element.  To my genuine shock, only the latter two were blocked from
me.  Knowledge flooded my mind…