Magic Gale - Part Five

“RYSTA! By all the GODS!” Aardrin’s voice boomed through the warehouse causing everyone to freeze in surprise, even Torrent who was about ready to launch himself at the armed woman. “STOP!” The healer grabbed Rysta off the table and set her on the floor, staring down at her, hands on her shoulders and giving her a firm shake. “You will NOT threaten these people! We need their help!”

Rysta looked up and gave Aardrin a petulant scowl, “Sounding like Tiernan isn’t going to change my mind… that’s just low.” She muttered at him and gave Torrent another suspicious look, “I don’t trust people who wear masks. They’re hiding something.”

Aardrin groaned in frustration. “If all of you would excuse us.” He pulled her off into a corner and started what looked like quite the lecture. Rysta’s arms were crossed as she frowned at the ground or looked at the heroes out of the corner of her eye as the taller man made wide motions with his arms, obviously not pleased with her behavior.

Torrent was glaring at the petite woman. “She’s dangerous. We can’t let her just roam around.”

Ravenswood frowned, “What do you suggest? This warehouse would be damned easy to escape from if that’s a sample of what she can do. And keeping tabs on her electronically is going to be impossible if she still has that scrambler.”

“I don’t think she has a device.” Sara had been thinking about it for a while, “My communicator went on the fritz when Aardrin changed into a human and remember the horrible screech we all heard when he started doing his healing? Maybe it’s a side effect of the magic that they do.”

Ravenswood tapped his chin, “Well, that’s easy enough to verify.” He looked over at Yule. “I’ll check out the security cameras to see if there were disturbances related to the magic.”

Yule nodded distractedly then pointed off to a far corner of the warehouse, his eyes still on the two arguing, “The security office is over there.” He then murmured, almost to himself, “Maybe keeping them at the penthouse would be more secure.”

Michael stared at his father in surprise, “Bring them to where we live? How would that be safer?”

Yule turned toward his son, “Easier to have someone there at all times and not all of the security is electronic. More control over their comings and goings and it won’t be a complete prison.”

Michael made a non-committal grunt, obviously not liking the idea but also not sure how to argue against it.

As Ravenswood jogged toward the section of the warehouse Yule had indicated, Sara watched Aardrin and Rysta. The woman’s behavior really struck her as familiar. She’d seen children who came to the home act very similarly. They would fall back on aggression in order to protect themselves and hide their fear. Aardrin was treating the woman much in the way she and her staff treated such children, he was trying to calm and reassure her. She pursed her lips in thought. She had an idea to make the situation less tense, but she was pretty sure Michael and Yule would disagree. Well, she’d give it a shot anyway.

“Torrent? Perhaps if we took off our masks she’d be more at ease?”

“What?!” Michael gave her a look of absolute incredulity, “We can’t let them know who we are!”

“They’re not from around here and we’re going to be their ‘keepers’ by the sound of it. Wouldn’t it be easier just to let them know who we are instead of trying to hide it the whole time while we have them under watch?”

Yule looked like he was pondering the idea while Michael still gave her a look that said, Have you lost your mind?

Melody piped in, “I agree with Flame. Seems reasonable to me, the friendlier we are the easier it’s going to be to keep her calm. If we treat her like a criminal, she may just try to escape. Do we really want someone with that kind of power roaming around Gale if she’s angry and scared?”

Michael gave Melody the same look he’d given Sara, “You’re both crazy.”

Ravenswood came back. “I reviewed the security footage and erased it because I don’t want anyone getting hold of it. Every time Aardrin started glowing the camera went static then came back on when he wasn’t doing anything. It went out again when the girl shot out the light, so Dark Flame was right about it being their magic. I’ll turn the system back on when we leave.”

“We’ll have to get that weapon away from her.” Michael growled and looked at Yule, “What do you think? Do we let these people know who we are?”

Yule was still watching the two people in the corner closely, his eyes narrowed in what looked like concentration. “Actually, I think it might be a good idea. He’s showing us a lot of trust by coming to us and asking for help, pretty much turning himself in. I think it would make things a lot easier. Especially if we’re going to disarm her and effectively keep her in custody until we can sort out how to get them back where they belong.”

Sara nodded, “They’ve been here for two weeks and still know very little about this world. They need education as well as someplace safe to stay.” She smiled. “I’ll go first.” She walked toward Aardrin and Rysta. Michael tried to grab her to stop her but she dodged and continued to walk resolutely toward the pair. The rest of the team following carefully behind her; Michael being pushed gently, but persistently, on the shoulders by his father.

Aardrin looked over as they approached, “We’re almost done here, is there something that you need?”

Sara smiled, then took off her mask and wig, “I think it might help if you knew who we really are.”

Aardrin smiled back, surprising her, “Oh, I’ve known who you were since you showed up in the park tonight, Ms. Wolff. Disguises can’t hide certain things, especially when someone has the senses of a horse.” He winked and tapped his nose, glad to be proven that he remembered her hair color correctly. It was dark red, not orangey like the wig she’d just removed. “That’s why I decided to trust you in the first place. Was Elizabeth’s broken heart healed?”

Rysta looked over at Aardrin, eyes narrowed with suspicion, “Aardrin, what have you been doing while I was unconscious?”

Sara chuckled as she explained, “He was distracting the children as a horse earlier this afternoon.” She looked up at Aardrin. “I’m Sara Wolff; you can call me Sara.” She nodded to both them. “Welcome to Gale City.”

Aardrin grinned back at the red head, liking this woman more and more. “Nice to meet you. Also nice to know that I’m not going to have to call you Ms. Flame and try and keep a straight face.” He nudged Rysta, “Your manners, Ris.”

Rysta sighed and then bowed slightly, “I’m Sorceress Rysta Eachen and . . . I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused and will do anything I can to make it right.” Though her words seemed genuine, she looked like a child reluctantly giving a forced apology.

Torrent snorted but said nothing; obviously unconvinced.

Overcast and Zephyra went next, unmasking and introducing themselves in turn, receiving a more heart-felt apology from Rysta for knocking them out. Rysta had giggled at Ravenswood’s name, relaxing enough to reveal that there was a town from their world called Ravenwood.

Yule seemed perplexed by the wide-eyed look that both Aardrin and Rysta gave him after he took off his mask and knit hat. Rysta bit her lip as Yule introduced himself and she gave him a strange curtsy after which Aardrin put his arm around her shoulders as if he were comforting her for some reason.

Finally, and as reluctantly as Rysta apologized for the “trouble”, Black Torrent took off his cowl. “I’m Michael Bruce.”

The blank stares he received from the two strangers were a bit of a shock to him. He was used to being recognized immediately. He found himself even more annoyed that they didn’t know who he was.

Aardrin smiled, then bowed his head politely, “Nice to meet you. Michael Bruce is a much more reasonable name than Black Torrent.”

Rysta was eyeing the blonde man closely, as if she found him far more interesting without the Black Torrent disguise.

Michael returned her look with a firm glare, “But before we take you someplace more secure than this, I need you to hand over the knife.”

Rysta looked confused, “Knife?” Then understanding dawned, “You want my wand.” She frowned stubbornly. “I’d rather not.”

“Rysta, just give it to them. They’ve given up their secret identities to us, just give them the wand, for now.” Aardrin rolled his eyes as if he couldn’t believe she was still being so stubborn.

Her eyes narrowed at Michael, “All right. For now. But I’ll need it back eventually if I’m going to cast the spell to get home.” She took off the belt that held the sheathed metal wand. She did not hand it to Michael, however, but to Yule with a respectful nod. “Please be careful with it, sir.”

Yule nodded, “I will.” He unsheathed it and looked at it carefully. It was wickedly sharp and made out of a shiny silver metal. The large stone on it was the biggest sapphire he’d ever seen in his life. It couldn’t possibly be real, but it certainly seemed like it was. “If you had this why did you need the other gems and gold?”

Rysta sighed, “I wish I could have used it, but it’s dedicated to the wand. Once you use a gem for a magic item it can’t be reused for something else.” She shook her head, “Certainly would have made things a lot easier to have something that large and perfect.”

Yule looked at it closer, “It’s not cut, just incredibly polished. Is that why you took only uncut gems?”

She nodded again, “The facets make the magic go all sorts of directions. Uncut gems are easier to use when you want the magic properly aimed.” She looked up at Yule, “You’re not going to make me return them, are you? It took a lot of effort to purify that gold and dedicate those gems. I can try to do other things to make up the thievery.” There was a pleading look in her eyes.

Yule looked stern, “We’ll see.” He studied the wand again, touching the point delicately and pulling his finger back when he discovered it was just as sharp as it looked. “It’s not going to go off if I handle it wrong, is it?”

“No sir. Only I can use it.”

Yule relaxed and sheathed the dangerous looking item, “Okay, let’s get you back to the tower. We’ll figure out the details over dinner.”

“Dinner?” Her eyes lit up, “Dear Gods, it’s been so long since I’ve heard the word dinner and it meant an actual meal.” She smiled then nodded. “All right, I’ll accept those terms.” She deliberately ignored Michael’s frown of annoyance and held out her hand for Yule to shake.

The older man’s mouth twitched in what might have been amusement, “All right, Sorceress Rysta Eachen.” He took her hand and shook it. “I expect you to behave properly and no more thievery.”

“I swear I will steal nothing else in this world.” She nodded solemnly, still holding his hand and pronouncing the statement as if she were making an oath in court. “I will submit to your guidance and custody.” Her hand squeezed his tightly, “You have my word as a Sorceress on that, Ulysses David.” She bowed slightly.

“Yule.” The older man looked down at the short brunette with a bewildered look. “Shall we go to the tower then?” He released her hand and motioned her toward the door.

Ravenswood murmured to Melody as they followed the Bruce men and the small sorceress, “Is it just me or did that sound like some sort of weird fealty oath?”

Melody whispered back, “It did. But I think that’s a good thing, right? She’ll at least listen to Yule.”

Aardrin followed the group walking close to Sara, his voice holding a hint of worry, “Tower? How high is this tower?”

Sara glanced at him as she put her disguise back on before leaving, “It’s one of the city’s taller buildings.”

Aardrin did not look happy about this bit of information, “Great.” He gave a resigned sigh. “All right, let’s go and get this over with.”