Lone Survivor: The Sorcerers' Scourge Series: Book One Read online

  “Better,” she said. “Isn’t pain a wonderful motivator?”

  I stretched my arms out, trying to reach her with my staff, but she slipped away like a butterfly.

  “Hah, too slow.” She snickered. “And keep your feet moving.”

  She slammed her staff down on the tip of one of my cowboy boots. That stung.

  “You’re sadistic.”

  She merely laughed.

  I couldn’t remember everything I was supposed to be doing, so I focused my gaze like a laser on her hands. She stayed in constant motion and showed off her insanely fast reflexes.

  With another feint and a lunge, she punched my shoulder with her damned pole.

  For the next ten minutes, I tried everything I could think of to catch her off-guard, but it was no use. She was like a mountain lion playing with a rabbit before finishing him off.

  Tess seemed to know what I’d do before I did. Finally, I asked, “Are you reading my mind?”

  “Don’t have to. You telegraph every move by looking at your next target. Nasty habit, newbie.”

  All the while, she kept zooming around. Her seemingly random motions confused the hell out of me. I wanted one clear shot at her but never got it.

  “Okay,” I said. “I obviously have a lot to learn. This is much tougher than it looks.”

  “Exactly. That was the point of today’s lesson.” She stood erect and pulled her staff back until it pointed straight up. “You’re plenty strong, and your arms are long, but you need to work on speed and technique. Your dad should’ve been training you all your life.”

  I sighed. “He was never much of a fighter. He always managed to solve his problems peacefully—until two days ago. Now, I’ll do whatever it takes to get revenge.”

  Tess slapped me on the back. “Great attitude. I’ll put in a good word for you with our council. Let’s head back to the others.”

  When we reached the porch, Laura grinned at me. “Still alive, I see. How much damage did she do?”

  “Not too bad.” I shrugged. “I’ve been knocked around worse by cattle.”

  “Laura can fix you up,” Maggie said. “Take off your shirt.”

  I hesitated, but she motioned for me to get on with it. So, I unbuttoned my shirt and showed them a half-dozen new bruises.

  “Woot!” Tess said. “Six-pack abs. A face only a mother could love, but he’s ripped.”

  My face warmed, even though I knew she was joking about the ripped part. Women never seemed to get too excited about my looks.

  “Oh, yeah.” Laura took a photo with her phone. “Thank the gods, you’re a country boy. We shouldn’t have much trouble convincing the ladies back at the ranch that we need another defender.”

  She seemed to be teasing, but I figured that would happen a lot in this crazy new world. I was the dumb new guy.

  Laura was still grinning when she closed her eyes and touched the bruise in the center of my chest. Instantly, warmth flowed from her fingertips into me. She muttered something in Gaelic, and the bruise quickly faded. Even better, I started to glow with an inner peace I hadn’t felt for days. While she was soothing my physical injuries, she’d also somehow softened my heartache.

  I couldn’t help blurting out, “How did you do that? You’re amazing.”

  “That’s what all the guys say,” she replied. “Those silver-tongued devils. Now, hold still.”

  I needed to watch my words so I didn’t look like I was coming on to them.

  Laura’s magic hands roamed from bruise to bruise, and she even fixed a couple of old injuries that hadn’t fully healed.

  “It’s almost worth getting beat up,” I said, “to feel this good afterwards.”

  Tess punched my arm. “I’d be happy to wail on you again, Farm Boy.”

  My face warmed even more. It’d been over a year since any woman my age had paid attention to me.

  When Laura had finished patching me up, Maggie said, “When do you think you’ll be able to put in a good word for Ian?”

  “We’ll try today,” Tess said. “And Diana told me to tell you, you ought to be living at the ranch, too. We’re hearing rumors that one of the Boulder sorcerers, Josef Pestone, is getting much stronger.”

  Maggie shook her head. “I’m too independent. I can still take any asshole that shows up here. Too cantankerous to lose.”

  Tess frowned, but Maggie merely grinned back at her. Like lots of older folks, she seemed set in her ways.

  “By the way,” she said, “Ian needs to awaken his powers.”

  I put my shirt back on. “What does that mean, ‘awaken’?”

  Maggie replied, “Because you haven’t consciously used magic, that part of your mind is asleep. You’ll need to wake it up before you can cast spells. The good news is, the head of the council, our high priestess, Diana Murray, is powerful enough to sense your latent ability.”

  Tess nodded. “Laura and I will try to catch her as soon as we get back, but she’s incredibly busy these days. One of us will call when we know the next step, if there is one.”

  So, that was the end of the interview. My new life depended on whether Tess and Laura could convince this Diana woman to take in a refugee.

  “Uh, I should probably mention that the cops in Oklahoma are after me. They’re blaming me for my family’s deaths, but I can prove they did it.”

  Laura held up her hand to stop me. “We know all about that. I’m so sorry for what happened to your clan.”

  I shook Laura’s hand with both of mine. Although it was small and felt fragile, it concealed tremendous power. “Thanks so much for helping me.”

  She beamed. “A pleasure.”

  Then I shook Tess’s hand. Hers was muscular and callused, but it felt just as comforting in a different way. She seemed determined to either turn me into a warrior or kill me in the process. Either way, she meant well. “I really appreciate your willingness to take the time to help me.”

  She laughed, and it was a carefree and melodic sound. “Laura was right. You are a silver-tongued devil. I’ll whip your ass anyway.”

  -o-o-o-

  FOR THE REST OF the morning, I tried to hang on to the peaceful feeling Laura had given me. Grandma had been a healer, but she’d never seemed as skillful as Laura, who carried her strength with such easy grace. Then again, I might’ve been bewitched.

  Before lunch, Tess called me. “Good news, Farm Boy. Diana is willing to meet with you. That’s further than most witches get. She has some time in a half-hour. Can you get over here? Unfortunately, if that doesn’t work, she’s heading into meetings for days.”

  Diana obviously knew who held all the high cards.

  “You bet,” I said. “On my way. How do I get there?”

  She gave me directions, and I drove the Eldo. After I survived the traffic circle in Nederland again, I drove north on the Peak to Peak Highway. A few miles farther on, I found the right road east. It wound through a series of hairpin turns in the forest until it leveled off on a grass-covered saddle between two deep green hills.

  Was it appropriate to call those massive hunks of rock hills if they were eight thousand feet tall? That was another question I’d have to ask when I got the chance.

  One thing was clear: the much higher mountains rose in the west. Those jagged peaks were partially covered with snow, and I hoped to visit them soon. But, first, I needed someone to train me and somewhere to call home.

  The meadow to the south of the road covered thousands of acres, and I wondered whether it was the result of some long-ago fire. It seemed odd that evergreens covered most of the other land nearby.

  A ten-foot-high wire mesh fence encircled the pastures. Every so often, signs on the posts said No Trespassing, Area Patrolled by Attack Dogs.

  Eventually, I came to a paved driveway marked Brigid’s Community Ranch. Below that, the sign said Entry by Invitation Only.

  The driveway was blocked by a heavy metal gate. A p
ost in the middle of the driveway held a prominent red button. Below it, a label said Press Once and Wait. Video in Use.

  I punched and waited.

  A moment later, a female voice asked, “Yes?”

  “Ian O’Rourke here for Laura Reynolds and Tess O’Dell.”

  “Greetings,” the woman said. “Drive to the building marked Commons. One of them will meet you there.”

  The gate opened, and I continued south on the road until it crested a ridge. From there, the meadow sloped gently toward the south. Thanks to the ridge, no one driving along the main road would be able to see most of the ranch.

  The road wound through several fenced pastures separated by open gates. I marveled at the panoramic views of both the forested mountains and the craggy peaks towering above the timberline to the west.

  The air blowing in through the Eldo’s windows was warm and inviting, but I had to wonder how much snow piled up here over the winter. With any luck, I’d get the chance to find out.

  Hundreds of cattle, mostly Scottish Highland, but some Charolais and Piedmontese, were grazing on each side of the road. Farther east, border collies were herding goats. One field contained alfalfa almost tall enough to mow.

  After driving for a few minutes, I approached a closed gate in a whitewashed wooden fence that surrounded an area containing a dozen buildings. The largest structure was a barn made of darkly stained logs. The steep pitched roof was made of green metal. The rest of the structures looked similar, but were much smaller in size.

  The gate opened automatically, and I proceeded through. This part of the ranch reminded me of a horse camp west of Colorado Springs that I’d attended the summer after my freshman year of high school. That had been an amazing trip.

  Three of the buildings were long and narrow two-story structures. Each was surrounded by an individual patio with outdoor furniture and toys, so they had to be apartments.

  Laura waved at me from outside a large, square, two-story building marked Commons. When I got out, she strode forward. “Welcome to our little refuge from the outside world. We’re protected by powerful wards here, so you’re completely safe inside our perimeter fence.”

  “This is wonderful,” I replied. “Thank you so much for giving me a chance to qualify.”

  She nodded. “I’ve got my fingers crossed, but be aware—most witches get turned down. Tess told Diana she needs a helper who’s a glutton for punishment and is willing to do her shit work.”

  Laura laughed like it was a joke, but that sounded pretty close to the truth. “Hey, I’m your man.”

  Given how fancy this place was, I felt more nervous than ever about my chances. Plenty of witches must want to live in this real-life Shangri-La.

  Laura led me through stained glass double doors that were decorated with dragonflies floating over a pond with cattails. We walked past several offices and a conference room. Then Laura pointed at an open door. “We’ll meet in there soon.”

  It reminded me of a courtroom, with its raised bench, but three high chairs rested behind it instead of one. Two tables with chairs were positioned in front of the bench, probably for poor schmucks like me who came to beg for an indulgence. The rest of the room was filled with a gallery containing long rows of bench seats. A handful of people already were sitting there chatting. They looked like ordinary folks.

  “Is this meeting going to be a public spectacle?” I asked.

  Laura shrugged. “Not like a trial, but most decisions related to our community are made out in the open. You should expect that some members of our clan will ask you questions to help them decide whether you’ll fit in or not. Try not to take offense.”

  The enormity of the challenge hit me hard. I was a farmer, not a magical hippy used to living on a commune. My stomach churned. Cantor and the stranger had stolen my family, and now I had to beg for a safe place to live.

  The bastards need to get their just reward someday.

  Next, Laura showed me a large dining room filled with people, including plenty of kids. It looked like one of the cafeterias at Oklahoma State, except these tables were covered with white plastic sheets, and a basket containing toys sat on each of them. Children ran to and fro, as though they’d been left to their own amusement.

  A marble fountain in the center of the room grabbed my attention. It was a good twenty-feet wide and contained a dozen life-size statues of kids carved out of pink crystal. The statues held silly poses, and streams of water shot into the air from their mouths. At the top of the fountain, a light-blue fairy was reaching out with her wand toward the children below as though she was about to put a spell on them.

  Two naked kids were frolicking in the pool, and a middle-aged woman with flowers in her hair was sitting on the rim of the pool with her blouse open, a baby suckling at her breast.

  This was going to be a culture shock of biblical proportions.

  I was way too uptight and traditional for this crowd, and I couldn’t suppress a nervous laugh. “This is—I’m used to conservative farm folks. I’m actually a registered Republican.”

  Laura smiled at me. “We’re very New Age, and we dote on our children. I hope that doesn’t upset you.”

  “It’s not the kids I’m worried about. I come from a straight-laced community.”

  “Ah. You won’t find any grown-ups cavorting naked in the pool. Understand one thing, though. There are more women here than men, so a new man like you is sure to be the center of attention. If they attempt to corrupt your morals, I’m sure you can fend them off.”

  A woman nearby snickered, but I ignored her.

  Instead of talking, I wandered around the fountain. On the far side, I found a lounge area with plush sofas and chairs. A large flat-screen TV had been mounted on the far wall, and it was playing the old Disney movie, Aladdin, with the sound turned low. Several kids were sitting in a circle on a soft rug, watching the movie. I found a large recliner not far away and settled in for a moment to process everything I’d seen here already. This was an outpost of California in the middle of the Rockies.

  Laura sat on a dark brown sofa next to me and let me ponder my predicament.

  Finally, I whispered to her, “The thing is, Laura, I don’t want to be a part of one of those crazy reality shows filled with intrigues. I’m just a quiet, hard-working, mind-my-own-business kind of guy.”

  “Fair enough.” Her voice hardened. “You should know, though, that nobody here is going to change to suit you. This ranch is a haven for persecuted witches. If you want to take advantage of that, you need to get along with people here. In other words, stop acting like you’re morally superior.”

  I knew that I needed them a lot more than they needed me. “Got it. I’m sure everything will work out fine.”

  She checked her watch. “Good. We’d better get back to the council room.”

  I followed her. As we walked, she said, “You’ll meet the high priestess who leads our community, Diana. She’s our most powerful witch. To be honest, she can be abrasive, so it’s best to be polite and tell her the unvarnished truth. She has an important political job with the city, so we also count on her to protect us from the kind of trouble that happened to you.”

  I nodded. “Wonderful.”

  “In addition,” Laura continued, “you’ll meet our two other councilwomen. First is Katie O’Dell, Tess’s mom. She has the same flaming red hair. She’s likely to be on your side because Tess has already talked to her. The third woman is Crystal Ryder. She has black hair, and her powers include glamor and relationships. To get on her good side, you’ll want to emphasize that you’re willing to fight to the death for us. In fact, that’s probably the best tack to take with everybody.”

  In other words, I was cannon fodder. “Mine is not to reason why. Mine is but to do and die.”

  She snickered but didn’t disagree.

  Outside the council room, we ran into Tess. She whispered to Laura, “Did you tell him to push the figh
ting angle hard?”

  Laura nodded.

  “Then, we’re good to go,” Tess said. After a moment, she added, “Don’t let Diana piss you off. She’s only interested in what’s good for our community, but she can be imperial.”

  This seemed like about the tenth time someone had warned me about her. It wasn’t a good omen.

  Chapter 5

  THE THREE MEMBERS OF THE council took their seats at exactly noon. The clan’s high priestess Diana Murray sat in the center seat. She was tall and powerfully built, probably in her early fifties, with brunette, shoulder-length hair. Her face reminded me a tiny bit of a frog’s.

  Katie was much slimmer than Diana and was wearing a loose-fitting white peasant dress. She was about the same age as their Fearless Leader. Her red hair was braided into a ponytail that extended below her shoulder blades. She smiled and waved at Laura and Tess.

  Crystal was much younger, in her early twenties, I guessed. A knockout. She was wearing an elegant white dress with a plunging neckline outlined with sequins. Very impressive figure. She sat stiff and aloof, like a movie star forced to mingle with the common folk.

  Diana rapped a gavel. “Council will come to order. First item—a request by Ian O’Rourke to join our community.” Her eyes bored in on mine. “I presume you are the aforementioned individual?”

  I stood from my seat in the gallery. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Our main criterion for accepting anyone,” Diana went on, “is that the person proves themselves useful to our community. In that respect, we are completely self-interested. So, what are you offering us?”

  I hadn’t expected her to put it to me so bluntly. Even so, I should’ve had something ready to say. Instead, I winged it. “You have a wonderful ranch, and I’m very experienced with handling all types of farm animals. In addition, I understand that you might appreciate someone who is willing to fight sorcerers on your behalf. The more of them I can crush, the better. While I’m not trained in battle yet, Tess O’Dell has agreed to teach me what I need to know.”