Magic Gale - Part Thirteen

Michael had been impressed by Rysta’s ability to completely become her Purple Mage persona. Grinning broadly and doing some really flashy “magic” (that she admitted quietly to him did nothing but blow things around but made it look like she was clearing the air of any toxins) she captured the attention of the crowd outside the club. The people on the floor of the club helpfully but unintentionally played along by starting to try to get up after being hit by the brisk breeze. He suspected that a couple of the emergency workers had given her their number in passing, not that she would know what to do with that information, but it still bothered him for some reason.

However, once they were out of sight and headed for his car, she seemed to wilt in exhaustion, even going so far as to let him help her into the car. He was glad that someone had taught her what a seatbelt was, though the fact that she just slumped against the door as they drove back made him concerned. He knew that she had two reactions to using a lot of that power of hers; eating and sleeping. Guess this round was sleeping. He looked over at his passenger and was envious of her ability to drop off so quickly and soundly. He wondered idly if she could teach him that trick.

As he carried her, she somehow managed to get hold of his cape between the car and her room. Michael set her down on her bed and it took a little maneuvering to pry her surprisingly tight grip loose without disturbing her too much. He needed her to stay asleep, at least for as long as it took to find out what Melody wanted to tell him about the club incident. Rysta finally let go and made what sounded like an unhappy sigh as she settled onto the bed. He waited a moment for her to go still, then tucked her carefully in. Hopefully the wig wouldn’t bother her too much, he really didn’t want to try and get her out of her costume. At least that’s what he told himself, though he wasn’t being very convincing. Michael left quietly, closing the door behind him, and headed to the control room for the debriefing.

************

“It was all going fine. Purple Mage and I were helping get everyone out safely who wasn’t involved in the fight. Then, one of the guys pulls out a gun and shoots this woman he’d been yelling at; right in front of us.” Melody looked troubled as she continued her report, “Rysta just . . . froze. Then she started glowing. Her whole body was glowing this bright purple and   . . .,” The blonde hesitated, “She looked really angry, like she was going to murder someone violently. I was sure she was going to make the guy explode.”

“What stopped her?” Yule was listening carefully to every word.

“She looked over at me. She looked panicked, like she realized that she needed to stop what she was doing. That was when she waved both hands, the glow spread out around the club, and everyone fell to the ground. Then she ran.”

“Ran?” Michael looked shocked.

Melody nodded. “I went after her. I wasn’t sure what she was going to do but I thought it would be better to follow her. I found her up on the roof, just sitting there looking embarrassed. She kept apologizing for losing control, then you called to check on us.”

“No one at the club said anything about anyone glowing . . .” Michael frowned.

Yule sighed, “She probably did something to make them forget that particular part of the evening.” When everyone looked at him in surprise he added, “She told me she could do things like that.” He rubbed his forehead, then the bridge of his nose in obvious pain.

Michael saw his father’s reaction and decided to take over. “Okay, we’re done here. Good news is that she didn’t kill anyone but she obviously needs someone with her at all times to make sure she doesn’t.” Michael stood and made a motion like he was going to help Yule up, but the older man shook his head and got up under his own steam.

“She swore she wouldn’t, she won’t break that promise.” Yule shook his head, his eyes throbbing.

Sorry. You know, the headaches wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t fighting me.

“I’m going to bed.” Yule turned and headed to his room.

Michael stared after his father while Ravenswood stood up and commented, “That was abrupt.”

“I think he needs to take a break from being around Rysta. I’m worried she’s doing something to him.” Michael frowned then looked over at his teammates, “Ray, I need all that information about the ball lightning by tomorrow. We’ve got to get this sorted out and get her back home.” And out of Gale, was his unspoken thought.

Ravenswood nodded, “Agreed.”

************

“This needs to stop.” Yule glared at Tiernan through the strange yellow-green fog.

“I can’t. There’s nothing I can do to stop being in your head. We’re just going to have to work out something.” Tiernan still looked slightly apologetic but also annoyed at Yule’s stubbornness.

“Work out that giving me headaches is not acceptable and stop doing it!”

Tiernan frowned right back at Yule, his expression a near copy of the more muscular man’s, “Stop fighting me and you’ll stop getting them. I don’t like this any more than you do! Do you think I LIKE being trapped in someone else’s body and unable to help someone who is like family to me!?”

Yule stared at the man, a little surprised at his outburst. “I thought Aardrin was the only family you had here.”

“I’ve taken care of Rysta since she was eight and known her for even longer. She doesn’t deal well with innocent people being threatened with violence, that’s what caused her little outburst tonight.” Tiernan took a deep breath. “But she is also bound to the promises she has made to you and Team Torrent, so she will NEVER actually kill anyone in this world. Her magic binds her to her promises far stronger than any simple words.”

“That’s why she listens to me . . . that oath she made at the warehouse . . .”

“Exactly. You tell her to do or not to do something and she is bound to obey.” Tiernan nodded solemnly. “And you have told her specifically not to hurt or kill anyone. That’s why I can say with absolute certainty that she won’t, no matter how angry she gets.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to convince the others of that.” Yule frowned.

Tiernan shook his head, “Eventually things will get sorted. That Ravenswood fellow almost has it figured out, from what I can tell. But that is another worry for another day, Matthew Bruce Ulysses David. Now you should sleep and I will make sure you don’t wake up with a headache in the morning.” Tiernan reached up quickly and touched Yule’s forehead with one thin finger and the yellow-green fog was replaced with a peaceful and restful darkness.

***************

Michael groaned as his phone went off for the second time that morning. Well, morning in name anyway. He had ignored it the first time but whoever it was wasn’t giving up. He peered at his clock and frowned at the fact that it had only been four hours since he’d gone to bed. He grabbed the phone and glared at the name of the caller. Grumbling, he answered it, “Ray? What’s wrong?”

“I think I know what’s going on with Yule. You need to get to the control room, I’ve got to show you this before we talk to him.”

Michael felt his stomach lurch uncomfortably, “Okay. I’ll be right there.” He hung up and crawled unsteadily out of bed. Someday he was going to actually get sleep when he needed it.

******************

Yule sat at the table in the meeting room. His presence had been requested to discuss their otherworld visitors and possible ways of helping them get home. The older man glanced over at his son and the detective. They were both staring at him strangely. He sighed. At least his headache was gone and he was feeling remarkably rested; he felt capable of dealing with anything the two of them might throw at him.

Rysta was spending the day with Melody. Michael had been very clear that the sorceress needed to be elsewhere so Mel had decided to take her on a tour of the city with emphasis on how everything worked politically. Yule felt a bit sorry for the brunette, she was used to a much simpler system. He wondered if she’d be able to comprehend modern politics. Sara was off at the manor visiting Aardrin, so there were no worries about her getting mixed up in this.

Michael took a deep breath, like he was bracing himself, “Ray has been doing some research and has discovered that those weird lights from a couple of weeks ago were related to Rysta and Aardrin’s appearance.”

“Oh?” Yule raised an eyebrow.

Ravenswood glanced at Yule, refraining from saying that he’d told the man the same thing just yesterday, then added, “Yes. There were four lights that appeared. Two we’ve verified as relating to Rysta and Aardrin.”

Yule went immediately alert. “Wait . . . four? Are you sure?” That wasn’t right, at least something was telling him it wasn’t right. Why?

Ravenswood shuffled uncomfortably. “Yes. I’m sure.” Ravenswood pointed to the large monitor that he had hooked up to his computer so that the images could be made bigger. There were four images, each of a different colored light. He pointed to the reddish one, “This one landed somewhere in the business district across town, we’re still trying to pinpoint the exact location.”

Yule studied all the orbs on the screen, his mouth a thin line. “I assume the purple one is Rysta and the green one is Aardrin. What about the yellow one?”

Michael glanced over at Ravenswood and the detective nodded and continued his presentation after looking directly at Yule, “The fourth one ended up here.” Ray pressed a button and the monitor played various views of the roof of Crystal Towers from the day the lights appeared. In each view, Yule was standing alone looking out over the city. The montage of video and digital security cameras from various angles showed a bright light getting closer, Yule suddenly turning and heading quickly for the door, then the light engulfing everything. Several monitors showed static for a time, then the image of Yule lying face down on the roof appeared in all the cameras that could see the rooftop.

Ravenswood and Michael watched as the Yule at the conference table stared at the monitor in shock, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The Yule shown in the surveillance videos got to his feet slowly, rubbed his head and looked around in confusion, then went inside.

Ravenswood stopped the playback and looked at Yule, “You went inside; but every electronic or digital device that you passed on the way went static so we can’t see what you were doing. We can only tell where you were by what went blank. The static stops when you go into your room and doesn’t reoccur after that.”

Michael stood still, not sure what his father’s reaction was going to be. “Anything you want to add to all of this?”

Yule rubbed his forehead, “I don’t remember . . . I . . .” he suddenly looked up at the two younger men and grinned in a very uncharacteristic way, “Well, it’s about time.”

Michael stared at Yule, putting one hand just above the sedative he had stashed under the table, just in case something happened, “Who are you and what have you done to my father?”

The gentle but amused chuckle that escaped from Yule was so unlike him that it gave both the younger heroes chills. Michael was torn between needing more information and wanting to strangle the stranger wearing his father’s face.

Yule spoke, his gravelly voice taking the patient cadence of a schoolteacher instructing particularly dense pupils; but unlike Yule, there was a softness about it. It was the difference between a drill sergeant and a kindergarten teacher. “My name is Tiernan Crouthe, I am Rysta’s teacher and Aardrin’s grandfather, but I think you already know that bit. I haven’t done anything to your father, he’s still here. We’re just . . .” his face changed to Yule’s more familiar scowl. “. . . sharing.” Yule let out several military strength curses and held his head. “Stop that!” Yule paused as if listening to something; then grit his teeth and looked at his son and Ray, “Well, what are you going to do?”

Michael flinched, still staring in disbelief at his father. “I . . . I don’t . . .”

“We need more information, Yule. I am talking to Yule right now, right?” Ravenswood was adapting to the situation faster than his teammate.

“Yes, Ray, I’m Yule.” The seated man grumbled, “Though I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t take my word for it.” The elder Bruce looked off to his right like someone had suddenly spoken in his ear, then snarled out, “No, they shouldn’t trust me or you! You are an unknown threat and that makes me compromised!”

Michael’s eyes were wide with shock, reaching for the syringe when Ravenswood stopped him, “Wait. Let me see if I can get Tiernan again.”

“Are you crazy? He’s right, this situation is too risky!” Michael hissed at his friend.

Yule’s face suddenly relaxed and looked remarkably composed and calm, a slight smile on his face. “I am hardly a threat. I swear that I will do nothing to harm any of you. Why should I? You’ve managed to keep my grandson safe from harm and Rissy in line very nicely.” Tiernan gave his non-Yule like chuckle. “I’d rather help, it’s more my nature.”

Ravenswood listened carefully to what was being said, even though the smile and chuckle were making him cringe with its unfamiliarity. “Why should we trust you? You’ve been causing problems for Yule all this time.”

Tiernan sighed, “Yes, and that is unfortunate, but I have been trying not to.” He looked up again, his expression apologetic. “But I have done nothing to harm Team Torrent or this world, surely you agree to that?”

Michael stared at his father, trying to stay calm. “You say you’re Tiernan, but both Rysta and Aardrin are pretty sure you’re dead. How are we supposed to believe what you say?”

“That is an excellent question, boy. Not one I have a good answer for.” There was a pause then a groan from Yule. “That’s enough chattering from you, let me do the talking or my head is going to be hurting too much to continue.” The older man peered up at his son, then dug into his own pockets and slid his wallet, keys, phone, and all other security identification across the table to Michael. “Take it all. If you don’t trust me I’m not going to protest, I’m having a hard time trusting myself at the moment.” He left his hands on the table, making sure that both Ray and Michael knew he was unarmed. His eyes shifted as he stared at nothing then looked up again and spoke to Michael. “Okay, here’s the thing. Four lights . . . three are Rysta, Aardrin, and Tiernan. Tiernan is telling me that he thinks the fourth one, the reddish one, is the fellow Rysta and Aardrin mentioned. Shok’Artel.”

Michael glanced at the items on the table but didn’t pick them up as he continued to talk to Yule. “The one who supposedly killed Tiernan and cursed Aardrin?”

Yule nodded then blinked in surprise as his phone rang. It was Sara’s ringtone. He looked up at Michael who quickly snatched it off the table and answered it.

“Sara? No, this is Michael. He’s . . . busy at the moment. What’s going on?” There was a long pause and Michael’s eyes widened. “WHAT?! Where’s George? What about the security?” Another pause, even Ravenswood could tell that Sara sounded upset from the little he could hear. “No . . . no . . . don’t move! I’ll find you with the tracer! Just stay where you are, I’ll be right there. I’ll call the police too. Yes. Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be fine, he’s a healer, right? Just leave your phone on and stay quiet. We’re coming. Yes. Yes, I’ll make sure to tell her.”

Yule had gained his feet just as Michael disconnected the call, “What’s going on? Is Sara all right?”

“I think so. Someone tried to steal Aardrin directly out of our stables and he was shot while trying to escape. She got him out but she’s saying he’s really hurt.”

There was a worried rumble from Yule, “Is he horse or human right now?”

“I think she said he’s human at the moment, and unconscious.” Michael started gathering things. “Ray and I are going to go get her and Aardrin, you stay here.”

“No.”

“What?” Michael stopped and looked as his father.

“I am not staying here. I’m coming with you to help.” The voice wasn’t quite the icy tone that Yule would have used, but it was still formidable.

“Absolutely not! You are staying here until we can sort out this whole situation. You are not mentally stable!” Michael finally grabbed the syringe and lunged at Yule. At least he tried, he found himself motionless before he was able to get close.

Ravenswood had moved to flank the man and found himself frozen in place as well. “Let us go! I thought you claimed to want to help!”

“I do. Surely both of you can agree that I have a right to help my grandson.” Yule suddenly went still, eyes strangely glassy for a moment, then. “Wrong way to go about this, Wizard. Let them go. Now.” There was another pause, “Michael, he’s going to release you and Ray, just let me come with you. He promises to behave.” Yule rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Even though it’s tempting to let you use that syringe on me . . .” Yule pulled it gently out of Michael’s still hand, taking it back into the infirmary where it came from. He then returned and stood just out of reach of the two younger men.

Michael found himself able to move again, then fell due to his being in motion before he was immobilized. He looked up at Yule, aware that he didn’t have any way of subduing the man at the moment and frowned. “You’re not convincing me that you’re harmless.”

“He never said he was harmless, he just said he didn’t want to cause any harm.” Yule murmured as rubbed his temples. “But we don’t have time to be arguing semantics, you promised Sara you’d be there quickly. Besides, do you really want me here by myself?” Yule gave his son a scolding look, arms crossed. “Especially if I’m not to be trusted?”

Michael got up. “Fine. You come with us.” He pointed angrily up at his father, “But if try anything, I’ll deal with you myself.”

“Agreed.” Yule grabbed the emergency kit. “Let’s go.”