Magic InkChapter 28
- 2 years ago
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We found Red Cloud, Jason, out by the bunk house giving instructions to a number of his ranch hands. A couple of them seemed greatly surprised to see me with Robert as we approached them. He waited until his Brother had finished before approaching him, but I could feel Robert's eagerness in my mind.
"Brother, it has occurred to me that the Council of Chiefs and Elders needs a reminder of just who they are dealing with and trying to take advantage of," Robert told him.
"And how would you remind them of this?" Jason asked with just a hint of a smile.
"A small demonstration of our Power would be just the thing to remind not only them, but those at the agency also of just who and what we are.," he finished with a large grin.
"Yes, they know that I am Wakinyan, but it is sometimes necessary to remind them. I will call the Spirit of the Thunder Bird to me and fly over the Reservation to remind them. Thank you, my Brother, for reminding me," Jason finished.
"I will meet you in the sky, Brother, and together WE will remind them of our Power," Robert told him.
"Meet me in the sky?" Jason asked a bit confused.
"Yes, in my Dragon-form. They may or may not know about Dragons, but all of them will know the legend of Unk Cekula and assume that I am that Spirit," Robert told him with a smile.
"I go to prepare now. I must perform the ceremony to call the Thunder Bird Spirit to me. When will you be ready, Brother?" Jason finished. All of the ranch hands had departed before this.
"I need only remove my clothes and cast the spell to transform. I will be above the Reservation when you are ready, Brother," Robert assured him before Jason headed over to one of the small buildings that sat away from all of the others. I had heard their plans and had a question for Robert.
"Should I follow you in case of trouble?" I asked.
"How would you do that? You've never been here before," he asked.
"Surely Janeen could drive one of these pickups to follow both of you to the Reservation," I told him.
"Yes, Janeen knows all of the road and trails in the surrounding area. The two of you will not be noticed in one of our old pickups," he agreed with a smile, and I noticed his joy increase knowing that the two of us would be there to see both of them in the sky.
"Let's go over behind the barn with the large field behind it, and I'll transform and take off from there. You should keep my clothes with you in case there is a need for me to land before returning here," he told me, as we set out for the indicated barn.
Once out of sight behind the barn, Robert removed his clothes and boots, handing them to me. He leaned in and gave me a long tongue filled kiss before turning and casting the transformation spell. In the bright sunlight of an April afternoon, the flash of light as he transformed was less visible than it had been in the basement of the east wing of Independence Hall. He again appeared as an eight foot tall Dragon.
"Until later," he hissed before taking a few steps, spreading his wings and beating his way into the sky. Again he appeared to remain the same size as he gained altitude, and he was very high above the Ranch before he appeared to diminish in size. Holding his rolled up clothes, I headed back to the ranch house to find Janeen and prepare to follow the two Brothers to the Reservation.
Mellette County covered an area of 1,311 square miles and Todd County, which comprises just part of the Rosebud Reservation covered an area of 1,391 square miles. Neither county is densely populated, and neither has many towns of considerable size even in the time of our story.
I found Janeen in the small office in the ranch house. She was staring at a computer screen and had a bunch of bills in one hand. It was obvious that she was the bookkeeper for their Clan. She looked up at my entrance.
"I'm a bit behind on these because of the cancer," she said, as she placed the paperwork back on the desk. "What's up?" she asked, as she turned to look at me.
"Your Brothers are going to the Reservation to give the Council of Chiefs a reminder of their Power," I told her to a sharp intake of breath from her.
"I fear they will only make things worse. The Council is rather set in their ways and not easily convinced to change," she told me with a sigh.
"Not even by the appearance of Wakinyan and Unk Cekula in the sky above them together?" I asked. She turned pale on hearing this.
"I know that Red Cloud has the Wakinyan Spirit, but who is Unk Cekula?" she asked in a puzzled voice. "Surely it isn't you!" she added following a short pause.
"No, I'm neither of them, my were-form is that of a Tiger, a Siberian Tiger. Your Brother Blue Earth is a Dragon – a Major Dragon, but the Lakota have the legend of Unk Cekula which is a close match to what he is," I told her, much to her surprise.
"I never realized that he had a powerful Spirit like that. Why hasn't he told us before this?" she demanded.
"Because he didn't want to interfere with Red Cloud and the Thunder Bird Spirit," I told her.
"Yes, it is very like him to be considerate of others," she replied.
"Do you have any idea of where on the Reservation they will go for this demonstration?" I asked.
"Both Mellette and Todd Counties covered a considerable area, but the Council of Chiefs meets in Rosebud, and that's where they would go," she assured me.
"We need to go there in case of trouble," I told her.
"Yes, let's leave. It will require time to reach there, as it's about forty-five miles," she told me. Outside there was an old pickup that was apparently hers, as she headed directly for it and had the keys in her pocket. We took a partly paved dirt and gravel road off of the Ranch and turned onto the somewhat better paved U.S. Highway 83, or that was what the rusty signs along the highway indicated.
We eventually came to a dead end intersection with another highway, and Janeen turned right onto it for a short distance before making a left at a small settlement onto what she informed me was state road 63, but it wasn't all that well paved either. After more than an hour of traveling, we arrived just outside of Rosebud and stopped just off the paving. I searched the sky for several minutes before spotting something high above us that lazily floated on the air. It had a distinctly blue color.
It was perhaps fifteen to twenty minutes later that another figure appeared in the sky. It had the appearance of an eagle or other large bird of prey with a short curved beak for tearing, and long clawed feet for gripping its prey. It appeared to be mostly brown in color except for the feathers on the underside of its wings which were in shades of blue, red, yellow, and green. It began to circle the small town, but it was difficult to judge its size while in the air.
"That's Red Cloud at his largest," Janeen told me after a minute or so. "He told me that at this size his wing span was thirty feet," she continued. At the same time, I noticed that the blue speck high above us had ceased to glide on the thermals and had started to descend to an altitude that would match that of the Thunder Bird.
Several minutes later three drones appeared out of the lowering sun to the west. As they swiftly approached, the Thunder Bird raised his wings to the vertical in a breaking fashion. His clawed feet came forward, as thunder came from his open beak and lightning flashed from his eyes to take out the lead drone which trailed smoke, as it plummeted to the ground.
The other two drones flanking it from behind began to open fire with their weapons on the Thunder Bird, but Crendenor came in from the east slightly above him also using his huge wings to break his speed while giving a loud Dragon scream before spitting Magic Fire to knock out the other two drones, which crashed in flaming ruin not far from the first.
Beside me, Janeen was frozen in shock and terror, as she realized just how much larger Crendenor was than the Thunder Bird. His one-hundred-and-twenty foot wing span dwarfed his Brother's thirty foot span. Both screeched out their cries alternately as they circled high above Rosebud and the smoking wreckage of the three drones before swooping down to glide low over the town before rising again to a considerable height and flying off to the west in the sunset. Janeen and I just sat there in stunned amazement.
"We need to get back to the Ranch," Janeen told me, as we came out of our stupor. "Red Cloud is always starved when he returns from summoning the Thunder Bird," she finished as she started the truck.
"I know, I once asked Robert what a Dragon ate, and he remarked 'anything that it wants' before going on to wonder about roasting and eating an entire cow. I wonder if he would consider a buffalo to be too large?" I asked her to a look of shock from her.
"We really need to get back in a hurry then. This will be a very bumpy ride I'm afraid," she told me on recovering.
"Nonsense! Pull over on the next deserted stretch of road," I told her which brought a quizzical expression to her face, but she pulled over shortly.
"What's wrong, we need to get back?' she asked.
"That's what I'm going to do," I told her, as I gathered Magic before casting the transfer spell to send the truck and us back to the Ranch where it had been parked previously. Janeen was in total shock when we reappeared in the yard at the Ranch.
"How did you to do that?" she finally managed to ask on recovering.
"It really isn't that hard if you know the spell and have a sufficiently strong Talent, but you need to have been where you are going before also. Some of my ancestors moved twenty ton blocks of stone a lot further than we came," I told her as we exited the truck.
It was some time later when Crendenor came gliding into the field behind the barn from the east in his eight foot tall size. I was waiting for him with his clothes. Janeen had gone to the small building to see how Red Cloud was.
"I'm famished!" Robert told me, as I handed him his clothes and boots. "Still, gliding through the air and picking up thermals was absolutely fantastic," he assured me with a large grin, and I could feel his joy and the excitement from his excursion in my mind.
Red Cloud and Janeen soon joined us. He looked as exhausted as Robert did, and Janeen and I helped both of them to the kitchen and got them seated before bringing out the large buffalo steaks that we had prepared while waiting for them to return. There were also some vegetables and several bottles of beer. We all sat down and enjoyed the large meal.
Eventually Red Cloud turned to his Brother.
"You're huge!" he said in amazement.
"Yes, he was several times large than you were, Brother," Janeen told him.
"That was my largest size, but I can appear in several smaller versions as well," Robert admitted.
"At his smallest, the tiny Dragon can walk around on your palm," I told the others.
"Do we have any idea where those drones came from?" Robert asked in a more serious and business like voice.
"It's hard to tell. The Lincoln area is a No Fly Zone because its the Capital, but I have no idea just how far out they keep track of things in the air. There is also a flight control center west of here in the mountains plus there are the various satellites that track flights crossing the entire area," Red Cloud told us.
"Also, we can expect visitors tonight and possibly again tomorrow as well," Janeen warned us.
"Visitors?" I asked.
"The Council of Chiefs or some of its members are sure to send some warriors out here to check on what's going on. They know that Red Cloud has the Thunder Bird Spirit, and they will probably be snooping around as soon as it gets dark enough," she told us.
"We'll need to be out there watching for them to make sure they don't cause any damage," Red Cloud told us.
"Leave them to me," I told him, as I could tell that both he and Robert needed to get some rest.
"You? You're no warrior, just a civilized city-raised woman. How can you hope to detect and deal with warriors raised to hunt and conduct raids?" he demanded. Robert was smiling at his Brother's words, as he had obviously forgotten that I am Tiger.
"I have some talents that you aren't aware of," I told him, also with a smile.
"Like what?"
"Like this," I answered as I cast the transformation spell and turned into Macha before their eyes. I then sat on my rump and wrapped my tail around my paws to stare at him after seizing the two remaining buffalo steaks from the platter on the table and nearly swallowing them whole. Red Cloud and Janeen just sat there and stared at me, not knowing what to do or say. The two cats had vanished from under the chairs at the first scent of me.
After a minute or so of silence, I used the sound that transformed me to the Warrior state, and all of those there were even more shocked to see me as Macha K.
"I think that I have a few natural advantages over the rest of you," I told them when no one had said anything for a time again. "I've spent a lot of time over the years learning how to track and hunt in my were-form. The two of you get some sleep, and I'll deal with those who show up tonight. It will be sunset shortly, and I'll move out when it's dark. The moon-rise won't be until after midnight anyway. You may be rested by then and able to join me for a time," I told the others. They still looked somewhat doubtful, but I transformed back to my human-form, and urged them again to get some rest. They soon agreed, and I gave Robert a kiss before sending him on his way. Janeen stopped to talk to me before going off to rest also.
"Will you need to eat when you return?" she asked.
"Yes, but I still have plenty of meat at my house in Tennessee, and will call some of it here before I go on watch. It will have warmed up by the time that I return," I assured her.
"There's no need for that, we have plenty of meat here," she assured me.
"I'll be calling fifty pounds or so of raw beef to me, since Tigers have large appetites," I told her to another surprised look on her face.
"You can eat that much?"
"As Macha, I can easily consume that much, especially after spending a considerable time in my Tiger-form," I assured her.
There wasn't much to do after that until it grew dark, which it did in an hour or so. I dozed until it was quite dark out since there was no moon up yet.
By 8:00 PM, it was very dark out, and I slipped out of the house and hung the large chunk of beef that I had called to me from the pole supporting the laundry lines in the yard before transforming into Macha and setting out to check the area around the house and the other buildings. My scent got the expected results when the horses in one of the barns caught it and panicked. A number of ranch hands emerged from the bunk house upon hearing their cries of fear, but I had already moved on, and they found nothing in the dark and did eventually calm down the horses.
Finding no sign or scent of anything unusual around the main area, I headed out toward the highway believing that anyone sent to check on things here would arrive there before starting to investigate the Ranch itself. There was little traffic on the highway at this time of night, and I moved back away from it to a concealed spot among some small trees on a low hill. I could scent the breeze from there as it shifted unsteadily in the dark. On settling into the vegetation there among the trees, I took a catnap, waking every so often to check the breeze for scents.
It was 2:00 AM and the moon had already risen when I picked up the scents of five men moving toward the ranch house and the other buildings, and I set out to track them. As I watched them from the cover of some bushes the increasing moonlight revealed they were fairly young men of around twenty-five to thirty years of age. They moved very quietly and avoided contact with most of the vegetation, but were easy for me to track by their scents.
As they approached the area of the buildings, but were still some distance away, they stopped to go over individual assignments. This was what I had waited for, as they were all gathered together in a small group, and I launched my attack with a roar as I leapt among them. Since I weighed nearly twice what any of them did, I bowled them over, roaring again as I used my claws to mark all of them that I could reach before jumping up and disappearing into the surrounding vegetation again.
Behind me I could smell their blood, and hear their moans and whispered questions as they rose from the ground to look around for what had attacked them. I could also smell their panic and fear on the breeze. Apparently my attack was sufficient to discourage them, as they soon reversed course and headed back toward the highway, but at a much slower and more careful pace than they had used on their approach.
On returning to my previous position, it was an hour or so later when I detected the approach of two more men on the breeze. Not only did I detect them, but also the flammable liquid that they carried. Here was a much more dangerous threat, and I rose to track them as Macha, but would decide what actions were required on observing what they were doing.
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The sun was well up when I awoke the next morning. I was indeed loved. Gretchen was still in my arms, and Clare and Shannon had moved up against me. Clare was pressed against my back, and Shannon was pressed up against her little blond friend. I lay there for a time thinking about what had happened last night. It had indeed been an exceptional night, but I was worried. I had three women in love with me. Somewhere along the line, I had already decided to marry two of them. This, of course,...
Kell and his twins arrived an hour, or so after we had gotten back. He knocked on our door when they got upstairs. They looked tired. "Anything?" I asked, after they were seated on the bed. "A morning's ride, some nice scenery, and time spent at two ancient sites, but no trace of recent Magic use at either of them," he told me. "There were still some traces of ancient Magic at the well. Kell told me that the goddess Airmid was one of the ones that created the healing well, and that...
"Oh Dear!" the Smith groaned in distress at the table. "What is it, my Sweet?" he asked, as he quickly rose to see what was the matter. He never did make it to the bedroom, as his wife led a small boy and girl out into the main room. She was followed by a girl a few years older than the pair of youngsters, and Clare and Cathleen. "Look at them, Henry!" the wife demanded, excitedly. "This morning, they could hardly hold their heads up, and now they are as well as you, or I. How could...
The following new characters make an appearance: Mary Margaret O’Connell (Margie) Katie’s twin Sister, Margie and Robert’s Daughter, Born on the 18 of September 1907, 7 pounds, green eyes, flaming red hair, Siberian Tiger cub Mary Kathleen O’Connell (Katie) Margie’s twin Sister, Margie and Robert’s Daughter, Born on the 18 of September 1907, 7 pounds, green eyes, flaming red hair, baby Dragon Patrick Owen O’Malley O’Connell Grace and Owen’s Son, Born on the 15 of October 1907, 7pounds 8...
Characters returning from Grace and Owen: Grace O’Malley, Heroine, former prostitute, 5’-2’’ tall, 110 pounds, 34D-22-34, 21 years old, alabaster skin, long flaming red hair, bright green eyes, some freckles, very cute, has a large but untrained Talent and little knowledge of Magic Owen O’Connell, Blacksmith, Grace’s lover and soon-to-be Husband, 5’-9’’ tall, 150 pounds, 25 years old, light auburn hair, gray eyes, quite handsome, has a large but untrained Talent and little knowledge of...
Final characters introduced in the story: Wolfgang Patrick O'Connell Mike and Gretchen's son, born 7 November 2053, auburn hair, green eyes Carl Michael O'Connell Pat and Petra's son, born 7 November 2053, reddish blond hair, blue eyes While Pat and I had been busy with our Wives and Sons, a bit of a brouhaha had developed at the University. It seems that some of the other Faculty members were jealous of our Parents and Aunts, and their position in what had become one of the...
We had just finished taking our seats and Lady Caoilinn had signaled for the first dish to be served when everything was interrupted by a long, loud, high pitched, agonizing scream that was suddenly cut off. I immediately sent out my Magical senses to determine what had happened. I didn't like what I found. "What on Earth was that?" Lady Caoilinn demanded in the sudden silence that followed the scream being cut off. Captain Sean Og was already on his feet and calling for the guardsmen,...
Seamus continues his Narrative: The following new characters appear in this chapter: Sarah MacKenna, Chandra Duncan's Sister, Seamus's Wife, 5'-2" tall, 100 pounds plus, 34C-20-30, 18 years old, long lustrous black hair, brown eyes, beautiful Duncan MacKenna, Oconostota Chandra's Brother, A & A's Husband, 5'-10" tall, 145 pounds, 16 years old, dark auburn hair, gray eyes, a very handsome young man I transferred Black Bear, the Ranger Lieutenant, and myself back to the...
The following new characters are introduced in the next two chapters: Savannah Collins Shannon's twin, James's Wife, 5'-2" tall, 105 pounds, 34C-22-34, 17 years old, blond hair, gray eyes, very cute Shannon Collins Savannah's twin, James's Wife, 5'-2" tall, 105 pounds, 34C-22-34, 17 years old, blond hair, gray eyes, very cute James's Narrative of his trip to Boston: I went north with Gwyn, Glanda, and their soon-to-be lawyer Husband plus a number of other Representatives to...
Grace takes over the narrative: Margaret O’Connell and her Husband returned that evening after supper. As promised, she brought the wedding dress and a box of books, but she also brought two lamps with her. “These are Magic Powered lamps, which don’t require fuel or electricity to work. All that you need to do is activate the spell in them with your Talent, and then you can adjust the intensity of the lamp to the level that you require,” she told Owen and me, before demonstrating how to do...
It was just after 4:00 that afternoon when the radio broke the silence. "Attention all O'Connell teams! We have just received word from the Intelligence Corp that the Persians have landed a short distance down river from Frankfurt. Keep a sharp lookout for their arrival. That's all for now," Grandfather Mark finished. Pat and I used the small pair of binoculars that we had been issued to search the area west of the city, but could only make out the top masts of several ships down the...
On arriving at the Hall for the evening meal, we were surprised to see a larger table set up and that several other guests were already there for the meal. The current conversations all stopped when we entered the Hall. "These are my house guests," Lady Feidhelm told the others. "The young man is Master Kellen O'Connell and the young ladies are the Mac Sweeney Sisters, Airmid and Almha, his Apprentices," she finished. "Kellen, these are my guests for the evening meal: Master Murchadh...
We materialized in the Duke's apartment on the second floor of the Manor house. The lamps there ran on Magic and they were lit. There was a fire in the large fireplace, making it much cheerier than the cell that we had just left. Of course the four girls couldn't see any of this, but they could feel the increased warmth. A large sumptuous dinner had been set out on the large table in the dining area here. It appeared that the Duke and Duchess had been interrupted as they prepared to have...
Mark's Narrative Continues: We didn't see Seamus or most of his people for ten days following dinner that night. Meagan and Maureen did appear for dinner a couple of times during that period, and they borrowed Dymphna for a time as Seamus and Carl had taken Dealla and Cessair with them. Having three Mages in the Ohio country put a strain on our one remaining Mage, Coleen, who was rather busy with two locations to take care of. Things on this side of the Ohio River had not slowed down or...
June slipped into July, and we still hadn't found time to return to the Other Reality to visit the girls still there, and to see how they and the Daughters they were carrying were doing. We had planned on returning several times, but every time that we had, something had come up to prevent us from leaving. Aside from the normal work in the fields on the growing crops, and our work in the printing plant, several emergencies had developed to prevent us from leaving. The first was one...
Because of our late start, there was no way that we could make the fifty kilometers to Gray before dark. We passed through the hamlet of Belleauve that afternoon, and had neared Mirebeau-sur-Beze before deciding to stop for the night. We looked for, and found, a wooded area with a pond nearby, at the edge of an open field. Pat and I had unsaddled our riding horses, unhitched the cart team, and removed their harnesses before we took them out to the pond for a drink. The women were preparing...
Monday started a week of discoveries and amazement for our future wives. While Pat and I hit the books, as the old saying goes, on Monday morning, our Sisters and female Cousins took our girlfriends shopping in Statesboro. They went on the small bus that makes regular trips to town several times a day so that our people can shop or run other errands. The first shock was the bus itself. It's one of the small types of buses that can carry 25 or so passengers, like those used by many churches...
Characters introduced in this chapter: Shannon O'Connell (Shan) Sheena's twin, one of Mike's future wives, 5'-4" tall, 104 pounds, 34C-21-30, 15 years old, long flaming red hair, deep green eyes, some freckles, and terribly cute Sheena O'Connell (She) Shannon's twin, one of Pat's future wives, 5'-4" tall, 104 pounds, 34C-21-30, 15 years old, long flaming red hair, deep green eyes, some freckles, and terribly cute Clare O'Toole Cathleen's twin, one of Mike's future wives,...
At home on Monday we all relaxed for a while except for the need to weed the fields and some maintenance on the new Tractor. Sean and I took Annie and Sara out to show them how to weed with Magic. They were surprised that they knew the spell, and at how easy it was to weed the large fields with Magic. Later our Moms took them out and introduced them to the herbal garden and weeding by hand because many of the herbs and other things growing there would be considered weeds by the Magic spell,...
"Shannon, what are you doing?" Savannah demanded, standing in the hall behind us. Shannon's head came up off my chest, and she turned toward her Sister in a more determined way than I had seen before. "It's all right, Savannah. He will take us with him and will marry both of us," she told her Sister. Savannah gasped in surprise. "Really? Both of us? Are you sure?" she asked in a doubtful voice. "I told Shannon that I would marry both of you. I will be glad to have both of you as...
Annie and I spent a troubled night with thoughts of Weres waking us from time to time, as I was sure others in our family did. We had all heard tales about them, but had always assumed that they were just that - tales, and not anything real. We were about to discover if they were real or not. Annie and I were up early for breakfast and were joined by Sean and Sara, who were up equally early. After breakfast there wasn’t anything to do at our houses, so we went over to our parents’ house to...
Mark resumes the Narrative: I didn't have a chance to return to the barracks room until sometime later. I had checked with all of the Platoon Leaders and the remaining leaders of Olive Hill. I had also created the permanent Portal to Hickory Hill to get supplies in here. Wolf came over to me as I entered the room. He had very hesitantly left the girl that he had rescued, who was asleep on one of the bunks. "I'm sorry that I let you down, Mark, but I ... I just couldn't leave Saoirse....
The sun was already up when we rose the next morning. It was dry and fairly warm in our defensive shell, and the fire that the Eternal Flame had left was still burning. While the women started on breakfast, Pat and I fed the horses. "We are going to take the horses for a drink," I told the women, as we prepared to move the horses through the defensive shell and our wards. They didn't like this, and were always skittish when we did it. "Breakfast will be ready in a bit," Shannon called...
The following Monday, the 4th of September, was Labor Day, and on Tuesday, the 5th, we all started back with our home-school studies. Pat and I were now Seniors in high school. Thanks to the work done by the 'Book of Dreams', Shannon and Sheena were now in their Junior year of high school, while Clare and Cathleen had started their Sophomore year. Gretchen and Petra, because of their late start with the 'Book of Dreams' were only on eighth grade work at present, but were advancing rapidly...
It was July before more checks showed up. It was Wednesday, the 13th, to be exact. On Thursday, the 14th, we returned to Nassau to deposit the latest checks and some excess funds from our parents' regular bank account in Georgia. Our parents were maintaining a large reserve of cash on hand in their house now. They had built it up over the last eleven months. This deposit brought them to over 225 million dollars in the two Nassau banks. It would appear that we weren't the only ones moving...