Redemption (The Alliance Series Book 1) (25 page)

              It got to be about the size of a beach ball when it hollowed out like a donut, showing a blue light in a circle that was still growing. The center was clear. You could see through it in fact. The second I saw who was on the other side, I began to gather energy. I still wore my bandolier. I rarely took it off.

              The centaur was standing in the hole of blue light. He appeared to be holding his sword in front of him pushing the tip into a barrier of some sort.

              That must have been Peotr’s protective wards. How he found me I didn't know, right now I really didn’t care.

              He was forcing his way in, but it took a lot of concentration. I didn't wait to see what was going to happen next. I unleashed with the blast I had prepared, sending an amber bolt of lightning right at Slinky’s face.

              It never got there. Another sword, similar in style to Stinky’s, appeared in front of him as if someone standing next to Stinky had maneuvered his blade to protect him from my blast.

              The lightning shot off into the sky, disappearing.

              It was then that, one by one, the maniacal band of elves jumped through the hole, which was ever widening, and started racing for me with their curvy blades and wickedly toothed mouths.

              I wasn't sure if my magic would be counteracted again so I didn't take any chances.

              I pulled out the .44 I had strapped on my hip and calmly began putting slugs in the elves foreheads. I figured that outta slow em down.

I was right.

              Within the span of a few seconds, the flow of elves had stopped as the ground was littered with eight slowly fading corpses of three feet tall killer elves.

              I quickly began to reload when I heard the roar of two, count them two, big angry, sword wielding centaurs.

              I chanced a look up and saw that the hole had widened enough to allow Stinky and his brother Ugly to gain access to Peotr’s property.

              They wasted no time. I barely got the magazine slapped into the gun when Stinky brought his sword to bear. As the sword started coming at me I wondered if I should try to call a timeout and see if I could get a do over. I had no time to do anything, except bring my left arm up in a defensive posture. There was a loud echoing bong sound and I realized I was alive. I was in the air falling backwards, but I was alive.

              I tried to land gracefully. I managed to keep myself from being killed. Upon impact, I was able to land and roll on my back and come to my feet. If I had planned it, it would have been cool.

              As I stood there looking at the two centaurs I could see the shield that had manifested from the bracelet that Nathan had given me. It was round, translucent, but visible. It was about three feet in diameter and had three smaller rings. It looked familiar.

              I shook my head and threw a bolt of lightning at Ugly. I figured Stinky would have protection so I went for Ugly hoping he had come unprepared.

              I was completely astonished when the bolt found purchase and drove Ugly to his knees.

              Stinky let out another bellow and came charging again. This time I didn't bring up a ramp or a hurdle. I reached into the bandolier and used its energy to raise the earth in a five-foot tall curving wall. Like the type you see during a race, where the cars slam into but keep following along the curve because of their centrifugal force.

              I was able to veer Stinky off to my right, gaining a small amount of time. I noticed that the rest of the elves had managed to finally get through the opening.

              This time they planned on keeping their distance as the seven remaining elves raised their nasty bows and fired at me from no more than forty feet away.

              If they had been human I might have been okay. Elves are not human. They have extreme accuracy, and at forty feet they were deadly.

              I would have been skewered with seven poisonous arrows if they weren't all blown off their paths by a small, but effective, burst of wind I had summoned.

              I didn't want to risk starting a fire, now that I knew so many people lived here.

              I noticed in the corner of my eye that Stinky and Ugly would soon be barreling down on me again, so I took the few seconds I had to unleash a bolt at the elves.

              Thank God they were standing close to each other. As my bolt hit the first elf, it quickly jumped to the one standing next to him on either side.

              Concentrating electricity into a small area makes it very powerful. Take static electricity. When spread out over your whole body it's not even noticeable, except for a few hairs standing on end. When you reach over and touch someone who has a different charge than you, you can really zap them.

              My bolt was most effective on the first elf. As it went along towards the others, it lost some of its juice. By the time it reached the last few elves it only knocked them down.

              I could live with that.

              I turned to see what the centaurs were doing only to find them already charging me from slightly different angles, leaving me no real room to run. I began drawing energy from my bandolier. I raised my right hand at Ugly and my left, holding my gun, at Stinky. I let loose with a blast of lightning and fired my .44 at the same time. I was impressed with the results.

              Once again, Ugly took the most damage. He had started bringing up his sword in an attempt to block my blast and as Stinky had before, he mostly succeeded. It's a good thing I turbo boosted my lightning with energy from my bandolier. I don't think Ugly was expecting me to hit him so hard. He took the powerful blast and his body convulsed in mid gallop. His back arched and he veered off to his right.

              Stinky took the round from the .44 in the chest and managed to keep his heading true. He would have stabbed me with his huge sword were it not for his brother ramming him in a convoluted spasmic impact.

              The elves had begun stirring so I took two steps toward them and quickly put a bullet in each of them. They started to dissolve back into the earth when Stinky rose up after detangling himself from his brother. Ugly was beginning to stir also.

              I leveled a blast at him but he was ready. He off-handedly swiped my bolt away with his enchanted sword.

              Shit.

              I was out of ammo. I used my last rounds on the elves.

              The centaur stood there looking at me. Hatred and malice shone on his face.

              As his brother started to stand up, I threw a bolt at him hoping to get one of them. Stinky protected him until he got settled and brought his sword up to protect himself.

              "Now, you have nowhere to go. No more tricks. Twice I have come for you, hairless ape, and twice you have cheated me." Stinky rumbled.

              "Third times the charm." I said, winking.

              "Such insolence for one of such small consequence. I don't know why my master is so worried. You will die. My master will be pleased." Stinky finished.

              The centaurs started to slowly close the distance between us.

              I was out of ammo; my rifle might as well have been a mile away. I had put it with the rest of my handgun rounds, including one clip of Arthur rounds, in a pile near where I had started digging this afternoon, seeing as how we had left that area soon after beginning, it was far out of reach.

              I was running out of options when I heard a crash. There was a noise from behind me. I didn't want to look away from the centaurs, fearing a trick. I needn't have bothered.

              Two black marble bears came sprinting through the Compound. They ran deftly through the opening in the fence and slammed into the centaurs.

              That took the centaurs completely by surprise.

              What ensued was a unique display of power and speed.

              Ugly was already weakened by my attacks and when the bear hit him he never put up much of a fight. The marble bear quickly closed her stone teeth over the centaurs’ throat and decisively ended any argument.

              Stinky fared slightly better. The charm he was wearing helped ward off the initial attack. The centaur managed to keep his feet and even bring his sword to bear. The black marble sentinel that slammed him recognized the threat of the sword and showed it respect. She never allowed Stinky to get close enough, but also never allowed him to run away. Every time he would begin to turn, she would be there. Soon her sister joined in the attack. Stinky managed to swipe at one of the bears when she lunged in. The centaur had to over extend and landed a blow on the bears shoulder, dislodging a small chunk of marble.

              That maneuver sealed his fate. When the centaur lunged, the second bear came in fast and low, taking the centaur in the hind legs, not allowing him the use of his kick. After that, it was over rather quickly.

              I don't care how strong you are or how big your sword is, when a three-ton marble bear tackles you, you go down.

              Both bears quickly ended the centaurs’ struggles.

              They stood on all fours and watched as both centaurs dissolved into the earth.

              They kept standing there like, well, statues.

              It seemed as though the forced entry of the centaurs activated them and they came to repel the threat.

              I walked over to my shirt and put it on. I took a big swig from my canteen. Thinking about what Stinky said. Master?

              Who was his master and why was he worried about little ole me?

              Just as I was getting my breath back (you try throwing around the elements and see if you aren’t winded), there was a loud wailing. The sounds of a siren, like the ones you hear on those old commercials for missile drills during the cold war, pierced the air.

              The bears immediately stood up on their hind legs and angled toward the cabin, they then took off on all fours like two black shadows of raging death, going to meet the real threat that apparently had decided to show up a day early.

              I just hoped that Nathan and the others had not been taken by complete surprise and were ready for them. If not it was going to be a short battle.

Chapter 23

I ran, worrying that I was too late. I sprinted towards the center of the Compound. As I ran past the spot where I had started working this morning I grabbed my rifle and picked up the rest of my ammo.

              Soon, I had strapped everything on. I had my bandolier over my shirt. I was wearing my .44 in a holster on my hip. The bracelet Nathan had given me was still on my wrist. My knife was tucked away in my boot and my rifle was slung over my back allowing me use of both hands. That gave me the option of using magic until I needed to use more conventional firepower.

              I needed to see what was happening in order to assess where I was needed most. I figured I could get to the top of the tall building in the Compound and hopefully get an idea from there.

              I made my way through the neighborhood and towards the cafeteria. There were some men gathering rifles and heading off in a group towards the cabin.

              "What's the situation?" I asked as I approached.

              Master Sgt. Roberts was among the men. He was handing out rifles, clearly in charge.

              "A large enemy force has approached the main entrance. As you know, we had been concentrating most of our dirt work and defenses towards our flanks and rear expecting a side approach. It seems as though you were correct. They are here a day early. This is completely unexpected. I am taking a squad of men to get into position; we are going to get to our posts and try to take out any incoming." He said quickly and calmly.

              Good, Roberts seemed to be in control of himself and it rubbed off on his men. A twitchy leader can instill the same in his men. That could be dangerous. Good leaders knew how to exude calm even if they didn't feel it. It helped the psychological morale of his troops. Either Roberts had nerves of steel or he was a good actor. Either way, it didn't matter.

              "Okay, I’m going to get an aerial view. See what’s going on. Hopefully, I can get to where I'm needed in case we need to shore up any weak spots. If you see Peotr or Nathan let them know. See if we can establish comms." I told Roberts.

              He nodded once then began to move off. I could hear what sounded like a zoo gone mad. Squeals and barks from a wide variety of animals confirmed the activation of Peotr’s carvings.