The Twelve Stones (54 page)

He
turned and threw the boulder like he would a shot put, heaving it towards the menacing dragon at an incredible speed. It flew through the air and exploded violently at the base of the
great beast’s skull
. Screeching in protest, Siobhan began to lose the shape of her dragon body, returning to normal as she fell to the ground.

As she landed
only a few feet away from him, Kline approached the fallen Siobhan with contempt.

“You were never good enough for this stone
,
anyway.” Kline sneered, reaching down for the small purple stone located in the blonde woman’s ear.

A shot sounded, and Kline was knocked to the ground. Disoriented, he looked for the annoyance. Christina stood proudly, holding her loaded assault rifle, aiming it fiercely at the prostrate billionaire.

Smiling, she pulled the trigger again, each
shot
feeling like a prizefighter landing punch after punch to his battered body.

The bullets themselves were useless against him
;
over the years, the stone had knit his skin and muscle into something strong
er
than body armor. While the rounds were unable to pierce his skin
,
the kinetic energy of the lead moving at supersonic speed into his body
still
hurt. Kline shut his eyes, taking the beating the best he could in a fetal position.

Unfortunately for Christina, the AK-47
wa
s
a powerful weapon, one that
tend
ed
to jerk upwards when
fired
, even in the hands of seasoned professionals. Her arms, getting tired
as
they were, couldn’t control the gun for long
.
T
he
barrel finally jerked up to the sky, a clicking sound on the action announcing that she was out of ammunition.

“You little…” Kline said, gasping through his teeth. He raised himself up slowly, intent on ripping the small Asian woman in half. He didn’t get more than one step when he felt himself thrown up against the wall. He slumped to the ground, knocked unconscious.

Scott lowered his MISAMP and blew an imaginary puff of smoke off the end of the barrel. “It’s Miller Time
,
baby.”

Christina turned to Scott, “Oh
,
wow
,
that was pretty good. All badass movie style dialogue action!”

“I know
,
right?” Scott said
,
smiling broadly. His face fell when he looked at the mine entrance. “Alex!”

Twisting the dial on the MISAMP, he ran over to where the entrance had been and began to cut open a hole. Emily and Christina began helping by removing the excess rock that Scott peeled away carefully, mindful of any further landslides.

A hole opened from within the cavern
.
A
hand popped out. It was Alex.

“Mind getting me out of here?” Alex dryly asked, “I hate these cramped spaces. I’ve had more room in coach.”

Scott and Emily laughed in relief
;
Alex was OK. They cut the rock and managed to get Alex out. Pulling himself out of the caved
-
in mine, he dusted himself off.

“Where’s Kline?” Alex asked, his voice all business.

Scott pointed. “Over there.”

Alex walked over to the unconscious man
.
F
or
the first time since
Kline
had shot his father, Alex took a good look at him. The man who held so much power in this world was crumpled
at his feet.

“What are you gonna do
,
Alex?” Scott asked softly beside him.

Alex didn’t respond at first. The question was so simple. The answer wasn’t.

He could turn Kline into the authorities, tell them his story and see how quickly they were all committed or whisked off to some government facility. Maybe he should just end it, here and now. Siobhan had told him that his stone gave him the ability to control life. He had already raised people from the dead more than once; it was more than possible he could send them to the afterlife with no more than a gesture.

Alex swallowed. He wasn’t sure he wanted that kind of power. To help people live, yes, that was a noble and just pursuit, but to kill without consequence? That was something else. Somehow, Alex thought, that misses the point of this whole thing.

“We leave him. With four stones on our side, I’ll bet we can more than hold our own against him.” Alex said, deciding quickly. “Christina, reach into his pocket, look for the stone he got from here.”

Christina approached Kline
,
but Emily stopped her and shook her head. “I don’t know what’ll happen if she touches it. Kline was pretty specific that I was the only one who was worthy.”

“Em?” Alex asked, surprised.

“Yeah, turns out, I have a destiny. Or at least that's what he was saying.” She swallowed and walked over to Kline. Reaching into his pocket, she removed the stone. It vibrated in her hands; the feeling was pleasant, as a warm calming buzz surrounded her body. She felt as she had in the lighted cavern,
a sense of
complete peace.

“Feels cool
,
huh?” Alex asked, watching Emily’s reaction as she picked up the stone.

“It tingles
,
” Emily replied, staring into the green abyss. “I don’t even know what it does.”

“I have an idea, but we’ll cross that bridge later.” Alex replied, finding it hard not to smile at his former lover. It was really good to see her again.

“Alex!” Scott called over frantically, “Siobhan’s hurt real bad.”

Alex rushed over to Siobhan’s still body. She wasn’t moving. The
thrown
boulder had done
terrible damage
. Alex reached down and held Siobhan’s cold hand. The familiar blue light was nowhere to be seen.

“She’s gone
,
Alex.” Scott whispered. “She was here for so long, and then suddenly, now, she’s gone.”

Alex picked up the dull purple stone that had hung from the beautiful girl’s ear
for all those centuries
.

“Touching
,
Mr. McCray.” Kline sneered as he got back up. This group packed a punch
;
he’d give them that much.

“Scott
,
” Alex said firmly, and Scott nodded flicking a switch on his MISAMP. The magnets inside began a high
-
pitch
ed
whine as they spun within the chamber. “You’ve got two seconds to remove that stone of yours and give it to me.”

Kline smirked back at him and reached into his pocket for the second stone.

“Looking for this?” Alex asked. Emily raised her hand, holding the green stone in the palm of her hand. “You’re up against three stones to one. Wanna try it still?”

Kline’s smile dropped from his face. He nodded to himself.

“All right
,
”
Kline replied softly. “What are your terms?”

“Relinquish your stone and you can continue being Mr. Playboy Billionaire.” Alex said quietly. “You never come after me, my friends
,
or any other stones again
.
A
re we clear?”

Kline nodded thoughtfully.

“I have a counter offer.” Kline said
.
Reaching out from behind his back, he grabbed his
PDA and touched a button on it.

A blinding flash of light was all Alex saw for a moment. The cavern exploded violently once again, chucking rubble, rock and fire
.
Alex stepped in front of
the blast
, grabbing Emily to protect her.

Emily screamed as she dropped the precious stone in her hand, the world appearing to fly apart around her for the second time that evening.

Kline moved quicker than most humans had a right to, using his second explosion of the night as the distraction he needed to grab the green stone as it fell in midair. Snatching it, he raced up and over the top of the lip of the mine and ran towards his helicopter, the only remaining means of escape.

Alex and Emily got up, shaken by the explosion, fire and debris strewn around them, with a loud ringing in all their ears. Alex turned and looked
to see
Scott and Christina
exit
ing
from behind a large boulder
,
which
had protected them from the blast.

“
You guys OK?” Alex shouted over the ringing in his ears. Scott and Christina nodded. Alex waved to Scott. “Scott, come with me.”

The two jogged towards the top of Mesa in hot pursuit of the billionaire Kline. There, the black corporate helicopter that had brought Kline into Alex’s life was spinning up, the blades thundering in the quiet desert night. A figure in the distance was running towards a trailer hooked up to an eighteen wheeler.

Kline dashed into his trailer, frantically pushing buttons on his PDA as he ran inside.

Outside, explosive bolts blew the connection between the trailer and the semi-truck trailer. Kline looked up and
saw
his
c
ompany’s helicopter hovering overhead as ordered.

“Just in time
,
” Kline muttered happily.

A cable descended from the hovering craft,
dangling
towards the trailer below.

A few hundred feet away, Scott tapped Alex on the shoulder
,
pointing into the night sky. “Look!”

Alex glanced up; the helicopter was attaching a cable to the top of Kline’s trailer. Alex tossed Scott the MP4 and yelled.

“I’ll be back
.
D
o
what you can to
get
Emily and Christina out of here!”

Alex put on an extra burst of speed
.
S
uddenly
,
he found himself running faster than he’d ever imagined. Without
his
realizing it, the purple stone he had taken from Siobhan began to glow, and suddenly in a flash of purple light, his jeans, jacket and shirt hung loosely from his frame. He sped through the brush, as he now realized he had four paws and incredibly powerful haunches. He had shapeshifted into the world’s fastest land animal with hardly a thought. The joy spread through his chest as he raced after Kline, certain he would deliver justice.

The helicopter whined as the cable attached to the trailer and began to
lift
it off its foundation. Kline smiled broadly. He would get away.

Alex leaped through the glass of his office, shifting back into his human form when he landed. He turned
and
crouched into position
,
ready to take Kline on.

Kline didn’t blink. He raised a pistol off his desk and shot Alex, hitting him several times in the face and chest. The stone, glowing as it did, repaired his injuries quickly. Alex just grinned at Kline. It was time for his reckoning.

“Whatcha gonna do
,
Kline?” Alex sneered. “I’ve got no way to be hurt
.
Y
our
strength isn’t gonna do you a lot of good against me in such close quarters.”

Kline nodded, “You know, you’re right. We should open things up in here
,
shouldn’t we?”

With that, Kline punched a hole through the trailer wall and used his incredible strength to rip the walls apart. The metal screeched in protest
,
and the cable that Alex’s side was supporting snapped. The bottom of the trailer fell out from under him
.
Alex lost his footing. The side of the trailer hit the semi truck it had been attached to
,
and the remaining chunk of Kline’s exquisitely appointed office began to spin violently on the remaining cable connected to the helicopter.

The helicopter’s engine whined furiously as it struggled to find enough power to regain control. Like a pregnant hippo dancing in the sky, the trailer was making it difficult to maneuver while it was spun in midair.

The pilot cursed and thought about cutting the cables and dumping the trailer. But Kline was still on it
,
and that wasn’t an option. He pushed the throttle as hard as it would go and pitched the nose of the helicopter forward. The
t
railer below swung on a pendulum, and the bottom half, torn by Kline
,
was beginning to fall away.