Chapter 4

Adrian monitored the slaughter below without actively paying attention to it. They were efficient and hit each of the cubs like you would crush a detestable enemy. The two kids had obviously lost family to these monsters, and they paid those losses back in spades. There had been almost a hundred cubs down there and five minutes later they were finished, and then set about processing the adult bodies.

“Just the cores,” he said quietly, with his sound magic funnelling his voice down to where they worked below so that he did not have to shout. They had stripped some armour, but that could be done later.

When they came back, they offered him all the stones. “I’ll take half.” They handed thirteen over, having rounded upwards and given him the extra. His fire and ice blades had destroyed some cores while he had been killing their owners. Arguably, he should have taken the time to be more precise, but it was too late now. He dropped them into his bag figuring he would keep them for Emily or the kids. They could be used to kick-start their defensive abilities. Adrian was under no illusions. The world would not be getting safer and he’d need to train them to be strong.

Two weeks!

He only had to wait a couple of weeks and he would see them again. That would pass in a blink of an eye so if he could gather things to help, then he would.

With Buster and Chase shuffling along behind him, he completed his circuit of the log houses. There was nothing new or surprising, and he finally returned to the main group. They were all smiling happily, especially once news of the slaughter contained in the underground caves started being circulated. They should be happy. The large group had come together to destroy the threat, and they had been successful with no one dying. If that didn’t deserve celebration Adrian did not know what did.

But losing Jaracol drained him.

The interface made his choice and Adrian would honour that, and not mourn it. Sure, he had lost a nice warm safety blanket, but versus everything else that had happened, it wasn’t much at all.

There was no point staying where they were so, directed by locals, they trekked two miles to a small farmstead to camp. Three months ago, it would have been someone’s pride and joy. Now it felt like it had been abandoned for decades. Despite that, there were no suspicious stains, no signs of desperate battles. The owners must not have been around when the event occurred.

“This place is nice,” he said to the earth mage. The older man just grunted. “You are not much of a conversationalist, are you?”

“I’m working.” A two metres high rock wall exploded out of the ground.

“But why? I mean the house is enormous.”

The man shrugged. “Orders.”

“Whose?”

Another shrug. “Omala.” With his Magic Focus, he could see power gathering and recognised that an extra section of the earthworks was about to go up.

Adrian looked around at what the rest of the group was doing. There was a pig-like creature on a spit crackling away nearby, and a hive of activity in the kitchen where males and females were putting together salads. He had seen Charlotte, Mike and Jules all pitching in. Their two rangers were out hunting any shintopurs with the locals providing sentries on duties. Everyone was busy.

Adrian wondered what to do. Socialise? Read a book? Or watch the sunset?

With a shrug, he went into the house and up to the second-story porch off the master bedroom. The outside chairs were broken, but he could grab a wooden chest from the bedroom and carry it out. The porch groaned slightly but not in an ‘I am about to collapse’ manner. The sun was going down. His hand dipped into his bag of holding and he pulled out a beer. Pre-chilled. Just like pulling it out of an ice-filled esky.

With the sun dropping toward the horizon, he sat there and watched the changing colours, drinking in contentment.

A young man entered the master behind him, one of the random Barnawartha bashers they had brought along to give closure.

He strode into the room confidently. Threw a pack on the bed to claim it and then turned towards the balcony door.

There was an audible gasp, like a man who had forgotten he had left the stove on and the vegies were about to burn. He snatched his pack up and rushed down the stairs.

Adrian smiled to himself. Of course, no one would try to take a room he had claimed, but now that someone knew where he was his peace was gone.

“One, two or five minutes.” Another sip of his drink. Someone would be up to cheer him up. Deliberately, he sucked in his scouting senses. He wanted to be alone and with so many people around, if he let it loose he would feel every movement they made. He finished the beer and grabbed a second. Then looked at the label. Fat Yak. Old world and yum.

Despite restricting his domain, he still felt it when Mike came up the stairs.

“Adrian?”

“Yeah.”

Only two minutes.

He sighed internally in disappointment.

“What are you doing?”

“Watching the sunset.”

“Dinner is served.”

“Yeah.” He waved his hand reengaging his senses, now from outside, he could hear the noise of the talking and the clinking of forks on plates.

“May I?”

Adrian reached into his bag and handed a bottle to him, and then grabbed a third for himself. Drinking this fast once would have been a harbinger of problems. Now it was just beers. He could literally drink them like water and barely get a buzz.

Mike accepted the offering and sat down next to him.

The sun was gone, all that was left was the bright colours reflecting off the bottom of the clouds. It was beautiful, but there wasn’t much longer to go. Even though the world was well lit now, that would disappear quickly as the sun set quickly at this time of year.

Mike let him sit in silence.

“So, you are normal now?”

Adrian waved that comment away. “I am more worried about the interface than about me.”

Silence.

They drank.

“I was a prisoner a week ago. I had no hopes and no prospects.”

Adrian smiled at that.

“And now you are strong, powerful and have a girlfriend.”

“Charlotte? We will see about that.”

“Really?”

“No, not like that,” Mike said hurriedly. “She is great, but it has been a week. I am not a ‘she is the love of my life after making eye contact across the room’ sort of guy.”

“Sometimes it works,” Adrian told him quietly, thinking of Emily.

“And maybe we have serendipity, but I’m not sending out wedding invites after a week or a month.”

“So. I’ll expect an invitation in what six weeks?” Mike burst out laughing at that.

“Maybe. But what I was saying is that I had no hope and now I do.”

“Hope springs eternal.”

“Something like that. But not if you’re dead.”

“Mike, I’m okay. It’s done. All I can do is live my life.” Adrian nodded towards the now almost dark horizon. Then his beer.

“I can respect that.” They clashed the rims of the bottles together. “But you really need to get some pig before it all goes. Absolutely amazing.”

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