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Entry tags:
"Windcatcher"
"Windcatcher"
5/27/20012
I.
Seeing a gas station ahead, Bane pulled in and filled the tank, then took a minute to check his tires and get his bearings. Long Island was not his usual territory and he had been surprised to drive for an hour before reaching Glenville. It looked a little too perfect to suit him... the wide tree-lined streets, the rows of local banks and pizza parlors and antique stores, the Lutheran church with its spire on a hill overlooking the town. Somehow he felt uneasy, distrusting an area that seemed so perfect in its small town way. It was not just imagination. A lifetime in the Midnight War had sharpened his instincts. He would swear something very dangerous was close by.
Standing next to the gas pump as he screwed the cap back on his tank, Jeremy Bane seemed as out of place as he felt. In his mid-fifties at this point, with only a few grey strands in the thick black hair and some lines showing on the narrow feral face, he was still the Dire Wolf. Still dressed all in black, turtleneck and jacket and slacks, still glaring out through pale grey eyes as if looking for trouble, Bane was not someone who invited a feeling of warmth and trust. Now, he climbed behind the wheel and pulled out into the minimal traffic on Main Street, looking for the address he had been given.
It was a warm but breezy late June morning, and he had the windows down as he drove slowly. There! Partition Street. There was still time to hang a sharp left and head down that side street. The numbers of the houses were odd on the right, even on the left and he spotted 11 Partition Street as a two-story white frame house with an attached garage and a trampoline in the back yard. No one was in sight, but parked in front of the open garage door was a red Explorer. Bane pulled in behind it and got out, wondering why he felt more ill at ease here than he did in seedy waterfront bars or Times Square back alleys.
Then a young girl's voice sang out from the roof, "There he is now!" Startled and annoyed for not having spotted a watcher or possible sniper, Bane stepped hard to one side and his left hand snapped to the holster in the small of his back. Standing casually on the crest of the roof as if completely safe was a teenager. She was above average height, thin, with dark chestnut hair and bangs down over light green eyes. Her white long-sleeved pullover, snug dark blue shorts and white sneakers were not remarkable, but the full-length cloak of bright blue material was. It whipped around her as if tugged by a strong wind, even though the air was still.
As Bane stared, taken completely by surprise for one of the few times in a long career, the girl dove off the roof like a swimmer into a pool! He yelled and lunged forward, arms out in an attempt to catch her but she swerved in the air and glided around him in a wide graceful circle. The Dire Wolf watched the teen lower her legs and land lightly on the asphalt of the driveway as if she had stepped down off a curb.
"Hey there!" she said, raising a finger to one eyebrow in a mock salute. "Haley Lawson, the Windcatcher, Long Island's own super-hero. You must be the guy my mother mentioned, Wolf Man right?"
"Dire Wolf," said Bane. "Yes. Lisa Lawson left me a message to come out here. I knew she had two daughters but in my mind they were still toddlers."
The girl grinned, a slight overbite that made her pointed face appealing. Those lime green eyes jumped out beneath the dark bangs, and she knew they were a striking feature. "Yeah well, babies grow up. Come on in." She swung around, the cloak twirling around her and opened up the screen door to the house and screamed, "Mommmmm! Your friend is here!"
Completely as a loss, Bane followed her into a living room with wood-panelled walls and recliner chairs facing a huge TV. The couch had piles of clothes on it. Coming in from another room was a woman about forty, with the same auburn hair and green eyes as Haley, but thick around the middle and with faint lines at the corners of her eyes. She held out her hand and Bane shook it.
"Hello, Lisa, I drove out here as soon as I got your message."
She smiled warmly at him and then turned to her daughter. "Haley, this is Jeremy Bane. I know you're not impressed because you're too cool, but this man has fought more monsters and psychos than you could fit in our yard."
"Yeah, right, I bet you say that about all your friends," the girl answered as she shoved clothes around on the couch so she could plop down.
Lisa Lawson gave the girl a withering look that was ignored. "I wanted boys," she said as if to herself. "Here, Jeremy, have a seat. Thanks for coming. Do you want some coffee? Tea?"
"No thank you," Bane dropped into one of the recliners and smiled at Haley examining her fingernails as if life depended on it. "I haven't heard of the Heirs of Buliwyf in years. Last I knew, you were exploring some of the adjacent realms."
"Yes." She settled in the other chair and studied him. "We received those talismans by mere chance. You know, you were there. And we tried to use them well, but frankly none of us were meant to be adventurers. Charles was most suited for fighting of our family and he got tired of the stress and drama soon enough. So we mostly wandered the realms as a hobby. Once in a while, you or others called on us for help."
Bane said nothing, waiting. Lisa went on, "Honestly, none of us have even used the talismans for months or years. Sometimes it seems like it was a dream. But then this child got hold of the Air Cloak and claimed it."
"That's right," Haley said cheerfully. "You don't use it, you lose it."
Lisa Lawson sighed and went on, "Haley's father died before we were to be married.Pneumonia. It's been hard raising Haley and Lindsay by myself but I've done my best."
"Is Chuck still around? Cathy? I haven't heard anything about them in ages."
"They were both fine the last I knew. Jimmy, too. Just leading ordinary lives. Chuck manages a landscaping company and Jimmy is a trainer at a health club. He got his degree in PT. Cathy was working in an office but I don't remember what specifically she did. But they all ended up down in a ritzy area of Maryland, too far away to be handy."
The Dire wolf turned in his chair and looked Haley in the eye. "That's a powerful talisman you have appropriated. Did it bond to you?"
"Oh, sure, Mom hadn't put it on in centuries. The poor thing was ready for a friend." Haley was checking him out. "Do you have those silver daggers on you? Can I see 'em?"
"In a while. So, the Cloak can not be used by anyone else and will only answer to your will. And it's not really the cloak itself but the Melgar jewel in it that manifests gralic force. I imagine by now, you have experimented with it and found its uses?"
"Well, duh. Of course."
"Have you summoned arctic air?" Bane asked.
"Have I what?"
"The jewel in the cloak helps you fly by summoning tornado winds from somewhere in the world and placing them under you. It's a talisman that works by transporting. You can also call up air from Death Valley to hit something with a blast of 120 degree heat, or call air from the Antarctic to throw a wind at 40 below. You didn't know that?"
"No," she said in a small voice. "I use it to fly and to knock crooks down. Once I put out a brush fire by forcing all the air away from it."
Now Lisa smiled. "You see, Mr Bane here has something he can teach you. Are you ready to listen?"
Haley looked uncertain. "I guess."
"Wait," interrupted Bane. "What's this about knocking crooks down?"
She turned impatient eyes on him. "These guys held up a pharmacy in the South Wood Mall. I was there with my sister and saw them running to their car, so I hit them with a wind that threw them to the ground and pinned them up against a wall. I also broke up a fight, two guys were arguing in front of a bar on South Street and one of them had a knife, so I blew them across the parking lot before anyone could get hurt."
"Does anyone know it was you who did this?" Bane asked with anxiety in his voice.
"Absolutely. It's no secret. I call myself Windcatcher. I expect mostly to use the Cloak to do rescue work and help out in emergencies, but I'll fight crime when I get a chance."
"Stop. Hold it. Lisa, does she understand what she's saying? Does she realize the danger she is placing herself and you in?"
"Too late now," Haley interrupted. "I know what you're thinking, Mr Bane, but what kinda crooks do we have here? Shoplifters, a drunk driver on Saturday night? That robbery was the first one around here in my lifetime. I don't expect to be going up against terrorists with grenade launchers or anything."
"Nevertheless.." Bane broke off. What could he do about this? He had no authority over these two. He was not even a law officer. "I, uh... I don't think it's the best idea. Isn't that obvious?"
Haley got to her feet and stretched. "What's done is done. I am going to patrol the town and look for cats in trees that can't get down." She headed for the door, and her mother said, "Just a minute, do you have your phone?"
"Like I go anywhere without my Droid. I could use a few dollars for food."
Her mother dug in a pocket and pulled out a twenty and a five, "That's all I have on me. I know it doesn't do any good to tell you, but be careful."
"Love you. Bye, Mr Bane." Haley took a step out the door, tornado-speed winds roared around her and she hurtled up in the sky as Bane realized his mouth was open.
II.
Levelling off at a hundred feet or so, Haley straightened out her body, feet slightly apart, arms in front of her in a swimmer's pose. She found this worked best. This was exciting news that her mom's friend had brought. Arctic winds. Air from Death Valley. She saw a lot of possibilities. As she headed out to the edge of town, she saw a few people spot her and wave, and she waved back cheerfully. One guy fell off a bench as he saw her go overhead, which made her chuckle. Get used to the Windcatcher, she thought, I'm here to make headlines.
Haley did not know what to make of that Dire Wolf guy, he looked scary to be honest, with those silver eyes and serious face. But somehow, she also felt comfortable with him. Her Mom trusted him, and she didn't do that with too many people.
Windcatcher decided she needed to go back and talk to that Bane guy right now, maybe he had more tips on how to use the Cloak. But then, she saw something that caught her eye. The big Schoeber house by the quarry hole had been closed up for years. Old Man Schoeber went into a nursing home and his family had let the property go downhill. What were those two black cars with tinted windows doing there? Who were those men?
She made a tight U-turn by bending her body to the side, using herself as a rudder. Haley didn't feel any uneasiness or vertigo while flying, and she had not had any accidents so far. It seemed completely natural to her. She herself said this was because she had nerves of steel but her mother claimed she didn't have enough sense to be afraid. Windcatcher dropped down to treetop level and whipped over the property at gale force speed, fast as a car would have. One of the men caught sight of her and almost fell down. He tugged at another man's sleeve and soon all eight of them were staring up as she zipped past.
Oh man, she did not like the looks of those guys. They were all wearing black suits and dark glasses. Haley made it to a wooded area out of sight and lessened the wind carrying her, slowing herself down until she started to descend. She let her legs hang and dropped to the ground, stumbling just a bit. As soon as she touched down, she had her Droid out. "Mom? Haley! yeah I'm fine. Nothing. Lemme talk to your friend." She heard her mother say annoyedly to Bane it was for him.
"Hi? Listen. I am out by the Schoeber house, oh you don't know the area, it's about ten miles north of town by the lake. Two cars are out there and I swear they are full of gangsters. Black suits, dark shirts, black sunglasses. No, they are not tourists, are you kidding? I'm telling you no one has lived in that house for ten years."
Haley's voice broke off. Two of those men had crept up soundlessly behind her. Her heart felt cold. One of them had a gigantic automatic in one hand, not pointed at her but down at the ground. This close, she could see they were funny looking, with a bluish tinge to their clammy skin and hair much too coarse to look right. One of them held out his hand for her phone and she handed it over, then they marched her toward the house without a word.
In the few minutes it took to head over to the Schoeber house, Haley's mind worked more furiously than it ever had before. She knew she was in real danger but that didn't seem to bother her. That she might be raped or murdered did not feel like a real possibility to her, and she couldn't have said why. Five more men were still standing by the cars. Getting out of the second car was the one who did not look like the others, and she gave a snort of disbelief as she saw him.
This man was wearing a ground-length robe of white silk, embroidered on the cuffs and high collar with dark seal fur. He leaned on an ornate wooden staff that was topped with a green gem. And his unlovely face had many fishlike qualities. Bulging staring eyes, flat nose and wide lipless mouth, two long mustaches drooping down. As he saw her, he drew himself up.
"You have done well, my sons. Welcome, little Human. Let me introduce myself as is only proper. I am Thewu Pan! I am the highest ranked mystic in Ulgor. Not that you know what Ulgor is. It is your misfortune to have seen us, I am sorry that we cannot count on your silence."
Despite the fact she was surrounded by big unfriendly men, at least one of which held a gun on her, Haley still felt supreme confidence. Gazing at Thewu's grisly face, she said, "Fishing season already? My, my."
The warlock was staring at her cloak. "I believe I recognize your garment."
"What, this old outfit? I got it at Mandee's last year."
Thewu Pan raised his hand as if to backhand her across the face but restrained himself. "Hold your tongue, air-breather! Your life hangs by a thread as it is. I see now. The Heirs of Buliwyf. The Cloak of Air. That is a potent power you bear."
"Don't I know it," she smirked and let them have it. Hurricane winds exploded without warning, picking the Ulgorans up off the ground and sending them rolling across the gravel. In another second, she would have taken off herself and counted on rising straight up so fast they couldn't hit her but she did not have that second. Thewu Pan stepped forward and slapped her across the face with an open hand as stiff as a piece of wood. She had never been struck like that in her life and she fell onto her side. Her eyes ran with tears but now she was angry rather than afraid.
Two of the Ulgorans had scrambled to their feet and one now pointed the barrel of a revolver at her head from inches away. It took Haley a minute to get up. Being hit like that was something new in her experience. Finally, she got up, touching the side of her face tentatively and giving the warlock a seething glare.
Thewu Pan had another of his gunmen cover the Windcatcher. "Let us try that again. I would rather not get blood on the Cloak, but after all it is really the Melgar gem which has the power. Give me that garment, girl."
As slowly as she could, stalling for each second, Haley Lawson unfastened the collar that held the cape at her throat, the blue jewel attached in a silver setting. She folded it, still trying to gain time, and handed it over. Thewu Pan took it respectfully. "One of the major talimans, here, falling into my hands. This is unexpected good fortune." He snapped his head up to give Haley a sneer. "Without the gem, she has no power and is of no use to us. Kill her."
One of the Ulgorans said, "Wait, master, before she dies, may we not-"
"No. We have much to do. Your lust can wait for now. I want her carcass in that lake now."
Windcatcher turned so all the men were in front of her. She put her hand down from her sore face and said quietly, "Oh,I have got a surprise for you pigs." As she spoke, with a howl and a shriek, bitter cold air far below zero rushed over them. It was like being dropped into a storm at the South Pole. The Ulgorans fell over backwards or dropped to hands and knees, unable to catch a breath. Some had their eyelids frozen shut. One passsed out just from the shock. After a full minute, Haley let the arctic blast die down as some of it was getting on her. She giggled. That had been great. They were covered with a thick shell of frost.
Only Thewu Pan remained functional. He had been knocked down but quickly dragged himself back to his feet. It took a second for what had happened to sink in as he looked over at his dead or dazed servants. "What? This is base trickery."
Behind him, a dark green car sped up and came to a sudden stop. Bane plunged out and stopped short in his tracks as he took in the scene, then he walked up more slowly. "Well, Thewu Pan. You again! Every time you leave Ulgor, you make a mess of things."
The Ulgoran wizard breathed in through his mouth, looking more fishlike than before. "Come no further, Dire Wolf. I can slay this wench before you can stop me." He held up the cloak and stole a quick look at the blue jewel. "This is not--!" He swung back his staff behind his head like an executioner ready to bring down his axe and Haley saw it come at her face in horror. Before that staff could come down, something glittered in the sunlight and a dagger punched home in the sorcerer's chest. It was no half-hearted toss, either. Bane had hurled that knife with killing intent and the blade smacked into Thewu's body as hard as the kick of a horse. He was flung down, the staff clattering to the gravel.
Glancing over the frozen Ulgorans, Bane felt confident none of them were an immediate threat. "Haley, you all right?"
"You bet. That was so cool! I saw the knife hit him and I saw your arm come back up but I couldn't follow the throw itself. Damn, you are quick."
The Dire Wolf folded his arms and gazed at her suspiciously. "You know, I saw what happened as I drove up the road. He was holding the Cloak and the Melgar crystal. How did you manage to hit these guys with that air without the talisman?"
"Welllll, I suppose I can tell you. Being as how you're my mom's hero and so forth." SHe went and tugged the cloak loose from where it was partly under the warlock's lifeless arm. "I figured crooks might get the cape off me and then think I'm helpless. So I bought a stone that looks as much like it as I could find. This is tourmaline." She jabbed a thumb between her collarbones. "I'm wearing the real gem under my shirt."
III.
Bane gave a faint ghost of a smile, the corners of his mouth barely turning up. "Very good. You're sharp, Haley." He went to retreve his dagger, tugging up out from between Thewu's ribs and cleaning it on the corpse's own robe before sliding it back into its sheath. "You don't seem too upset about seeing a corpse."
"Feh. He had just told these guys to kill me and throw my body into that lake! And they wanted to have some fun with me first. Hell, no, I'm not sorry. I just wish I had frozen them all solid with that air."
The Dire wolf studied her face. "Haley, I'll tell you the truth. I have killed a lot of people in my time. Hundreds, to be honest. It doesn't bother me because they were almost always about to kill me or someone I was protecting. But I don't treat it like a joke. It's not something I ever enjoyed."
"I get enough sermons in church, thank you," she said blithely. "So. Mr Dire Wolf, my mom told me a few things about you and your KDF and the knights of Tel Shai. What are you going to do with these bastards? Leave them for the sheriff?"
Two of the men were stirring, coughing and wheezing and trying to get up. Bane went over and starting confiscating their weapons. Each had a handgun, and one carried a vicious stiletto. In the lead car was a shotgun. Carefully, the Dire Wolf ruined each weapon with a small pair of pliers from his car. He repeated the search and found a tiny .22 pistol he had missed the first time and wrecked that one as well. By this time, the Ulgorans had managed to get to sitting positions.
"Listen closely!" Bane said in a loud clear voice. He barked out a speech in a strange language that sounded a little like Italian. The men listened in surprise, still dazed by the freezing blast. They had begun to realize their leader was dead and they were in trouble. One of the Ulgorans got to his feet and helped another one rise. They wrapped the cadaver in its own robe and slowly placed it in the trunk of one car. As Bane and Haley watched, the strange men helped each get into the cars. Two of them were still unconscious and one looked as if he was not going to make it. Without looking at Bane or Haley, eyes down and shamed in defeat, the men started up the cars and drove slowly away.
Watching them, Haley put a hand on Bane's arm. She was acting as if she had known him for years. "Okay, now you can tell me. Who were they? Why did that guy look like a fish? What were they up to? You know, maybe I'm a little bit curious!"
"Fair enough. They came from... I guess you might call it a pocket dimension. An adjacent realm, we call them in the Midnight War. They are from Ulgor, a city under an ocean, populated by water-breathing creatures like them. They can live in the air for a few days before they start to get sick. The one I killed was their leader, Thewu Pan. He was a sorcerer. Why he was here in the first place, I don't know. He has been in our world before, causing trouble, stealing magic artifacts and having to get smacked down and sent home again. Are you following this?"
"Oh sure." Haley Lawson looked up at Bane. This close, he saw she had a snub upturned nose and a soft chin to go with the bright green eyes. She was cute but not gorgeous. "I've read a lot of science fiction. I'm a gameplayer online. What happens to them now?"
Bane was watching the cars head out on the main road. "I think they will return to Ulgor. They have a way home hidden somewhere. Thewu would be the only one with any magic powers and he was their leader. I don't think they have any reason to stay here without him."
"Good! They better stay home if they know what's good for them." She smiled at the Wolf. "You saw that blast of freezing air, right? I just concentrated on the South Pole and brought it here. Pretty amazing."
"You could bring hot desert air. The Melgar crystal has a lot of possibilities. Your mother used to walk around underwater inside a bubble of fresh air."
"It's hard to imagine her having any excitement," Haley said. She seemed to be studying the Dire Wolf. "So. Let me ask you. What do you think I should do as Windcatcher?"
They had been standing right where they were when the fighting ended and now Bane motioned for her to follow him over to a bench that sat in front of the Schoeber house. They both sat down, Haley letting the cloak fall loose behind her rather than sit on it. "Let me think. You're out of school for the summer? You go to high school?"
"I'm a junior. I'm going into my senior year in September."
"I do have an idea. Let's go back and discuss it with your mother. You're a minor, she would have to sign some release papers. But there is a KDF team working in Manhattan now. They're fairly young, mostly in their twenties. I think they would love to have you as a guest. Show you how to use your powers. Teach you some survival skills. Are you interested?"
"Am I ever! I've heard a little about your team. Unicorn. Sable and Argent. The Blind Archer. My mom gets a lot of gossip about the Midnight War the media never hears. What about pay?"
Bane raised an eyebrow. "There's a weekly stipend for living expenses, but room and board would be free in any case. This isn't a job like working at a supermarket, it's a crusade."
"Right, right,"she said, leaping to her feet again. "I like it. I'm excited. Let's go force my mom to let me go!"
Now Bane really did smile despite his natural reserve. Had he ever been so enthusiastic? It seemed like he had always been grim and serious even as a street kid. "Sounds good. Let's get in my car and we can call her so she's not worried."
"Oh, my GOD! The last she heard, I was being kidnapped and you were hurrying to the rescue. I'll go tell her I'm safe. I'll meet you back at my house!" With a rush of air being displaced, a swirling gale that made leaves spin wildly, Windcatcher shot upward and swung around to fly back toward town. Bane watched her go. Well, he thought, she does travel faster than I could drive without getting a ticket.
(3/19/2013)
5/27/20012
I.
Seeing a gas station ahead, Bane pulled in and filled the tank, then took a minute to check his tires and get his bearings. Long Island was not his usual territory and he had been surprised to drive for an hour before reaching Glenville. It looked a little too perfect to suit him... the wide tree-lined streets, the rows of local banks and pizza parlors and antique stores, the Lutheran church with its spire on a hill overlooking the town. Somehow he felt uneasy, distrusting an area that seemed so perfect in its small town way. It was not just imagination. A lifetime in the Midnight War had sharpened his instincts. He would swear something very dangerous was close by.
Standing next to the gas pump as he screwed the cap back on his tank, Jeremy Bane seemed as out of place as he felt. In his mid-fifties at this point, with only a few grey strands in the thick black hair and some lines showing on the narrow feral face, he was still the Dire Wolf. Still dressed all in black, turtleneck and jacket and slacks, still glaring out through pale grey eyes as if looking for trouble, Bane was not someone who invited a feeling of warmth and trust. Now, he climbed behind the wheel and pulled out into the minimal traffic on Main Street, looking for the address he had been given.
It was a warm but breezy late June morning, and he had the windows down as he drove slowly. There! Partition Street. There was still time to hang a sharp left and head down that side street. The numbers of the houses were odd on the right, even on the left and he spotted 11 Partition Street as a two-story white frame house with an attached garage and a trampoline in the back yard. No one was in sight, but parked in front of the open garage door was a red Explorer. Bane pulled in behind it and got out, wondering why he felt more ill at ease here than he did in seedy waterfront bars or Times Square back alleys.
Then a young girl's voice sang out from the roof, "There he is now!" Startled and annoyed for not having spotted a watcher or possible sniper, Bane stepped hard to one side and his left hand snapped to the holster in the small of his back. Standing casually on the crest of the roof as if completely safe was a teenager. She was above average height, thin, with dark chestnut hair and bangs down over light green eyes. Her white long-sleeved pullover, snug dark blue shorts and white sneakers were not remarkable, but the full-length cloak of bright blue material was. It whipped around her as if tugged by a strong wind, even though the air was still.
As Bane stared, taken completely by surprise for one of the few times in a long career, the girl dove off the roof like a swimmer into a pool! He yelled and lunged forward, arms out in an attempt to catch her but she swerved in the air and glided around him in a wide graceful circle. The Dire Wolf watched the teen lower her legs and land lightly on the asphalt of the driveway as if she had stepped down off a curb.
"Hey there!" she said, raising a finger to one eyebrow in a mock salute. "Haley Lawson, the Windcatcher, Long Island's own super-hero. You must be the guy my mother mentioned, Wolf Man right?"
"Dire Wolf," said Bane. "Yes. Lisa Lawson left me a message to come out here. I knew she had two daughters but in my mind they were still toddlers."
The girl grinned, a slight overbite that made her pointed face appealing. Those lime green eyes jumped out beneath the dark bangs, and she knew they were a striking feature. "Yeah well, babies grow up. Come on in." She swung around, the cloak twirling around her and opened up the screen door to the house and screamed, "Mommmmm! Your friend is here!"
Completely as a loss, Bane followed her into a living room with wood-panelled walls and recliner chairs facing a huge TV. The couch had piles of clothes on it. Coming in from another room was a woman about forty, with the same auburn hair and green eyes as Haley, but thick around the middle and with faint lines at the corners of her eyes. She held out her hand and Bane shook it.
"Hello, Lisa, I drove out here as soon as I got your message."
She smiled warmly at him and then turned to her daughter. "Haley, this is Jeremy Bane. I know you're not impressed because you're too cool, but this man has fought more monsters and psychos than you could fit in our yard."
"Yeah, right, I bet you say that about all your friends," the girl answered as she shoved clothes around on the couch so she could plop down.
Lisa Lawson gave the girl a withering look that was ignored. "I wanted boys," she said as if to herself. "Here, Jeremy, have a seat. Thanks for coming. Do you want some coffee? Tea?"
"No thank you," Bane dropped into one of the recliners and smiled at Haley examining her fingernails as if life depended on it. "I haven't heard of the Heirs of Buliwyf in years. Last I knew, you were exploring some of the adjacent realms."
"Yes." She settled in the other chair and studied him. "We received those talismans by mere chance. You know, you were there. And we tried to use them well, but frankly none of us were meant to be adventurers. Charles was most suited for fighting of our family and he got tired of the stress and drama soon enough. So we mostly wandered the realms as a hobby. Once in a while, you or others called on us for help."
Bane said nothing, waiting. Lisa went on, "Honestly, none of us have even used the talismans for months or years. Sometimes it seems like it was a dream. But then this child got hold of the Air Cloak and claimed it."
"That's right," Haley said cheerfully. "You don't use it, you lose it."
Lisa Lawson sighed and went on, "Haley's father died before we were to be married.Pneumonia. It's been hard raising Haley and Lindsay by myself but I've done my best."
"Is Chuck still around? Cathy? I haven't heard anything about them in ages."
"They were both fine the last I knew. Jimmy, too. Just leading ordinary lives. Chuck manages a landscaping company and Jimmy is a trainer at a health club. He got his degree in PT. Cathy was working in an office but I don't remember what specifically she did. But they all ended up down in a ritzy area of Maryland, too far away to be handy."
The Dire wolf turned in his chair and looked Haley in the eye. "That's a powerful talisman you have appropriated. Did it bond to you?"
"Oh, sure, Mom hadn't put it on in centuries. The poor thing was ready for a friend." Haley was checking him out. "Do you have those silver daggers on you? Can I see 'em?"
"In a while. So, the Cloak can not be used by anyone else and will only answer to your will. And it's not really the cloak itself but the Melgar jewel in it that manifests gralic force. I imagine by now, you have experimented with it and found its uses?"
"Well, duh. Of course."
"Have you summoned arctic air?" Bane asked.
"Have I what?"
"The jewel in the cloak helps you fly by summoning tornado winds from somewhere in the world and placing them under you. It's a talisman that works by transporting. You can also call up air from Death Valley to hit something with a blast of 120 degree heat, or call air from the Antarctic to throw a wind at 40 below. You didn't know that?"
"No," she said in a small voice. "I use it to fly and to knock crooks down. Once I put out a brush fire by forcing all the air away from it."
Now Lisa smiled. "You see, Mr Bane here has something he can teach you. Are you ready to listen?"
Haley looked uncertain. "I guess."
"Wait," interrupted Bane. "What's this about knocking crooks down?"
She turned impatient eyes on him. "These guys held up a pharmacy in the South Wood Mall. I was there with my sister and saw them running to their car, so I hit them with a wind that threw them to the ground and pinned them up against a wall. I also broke up a fight, two guys were arguing in front of a bar on South Street and one of them had a knife, so I blew them across the parking lot before anyone could get hurt."
"Does anyone know it was you who did this?" Bane asked with anxiety in his voice.
"Absolutely. It's no secret. I call myself Windcatcher. I expect mostly to use the Cloak to do rescue work and help out in emergencies, but I'll fight crime when I get a chance."
"Stop. Hold it. Lisa, does she understand what she's saying? Does she realize the danger she is placing herself and you in?"
"Too late now," Haley interrupted. "I know what you're thinking, Mr Bane, but what kinda crooks do we have here? Shoplifters, a drunk driver on Saturday night? That robbery was the first one around here in my lifetime. I don't expect to be going up against terrorists with grenade launchers or anything."
"Nevertheless.." Bane broke off. What could he do about this? He had no authority over these two. He was not even a law officer. "I, uh... I don't think it's the best idea. Isn't that obvious?"
Haley got to her feet and stretched. "What's done is done. I am going to patrol the town and look for cats in trees that can't get down." She headed for the door, and her mother said, "Just a minute, do you have your phone?"
"Like I go anywhere without my Droid. I could use a few dollars for food."
Her mother dug in a pocket and pulled out a twenty and a five, "That's all I have on me. I know it doesn't do any good to tell you, but be careful."
"Love you. Bye, Mr Bane." Haley took a step out the door, tornado-speed winds roared around her and she hurtled up in the sky as Bane realized his mouth was open.
II.
Levelling off at a hundred feet or so, Haley straightened out her body, feet slightly apart, arms in front of her in a swimmer's pose. She found this worked best. This was exciting news that her mom's friend had brought. Arctic winds. Air from Death Valley. She saw a lot of possibilities. As she headed out to the edge of town, she saw a few people spot her and wave, and she waved back cheerfully. One guy fell off a bench as he saw her go overhead, which made her chuckle. Get used to the Windcatcher, she thought, I'm here to make headlines.
Haley did not know what to make of that Dire Wolf guy, he looked scary to be honest, with those silver eyes and serious face. But somehow, she also felt comfortable with him. Her Mom trusted him, and she didn't do that with too many people.
Windcatcher decided she needed to go back and talk to that Bane guy right now, maybe he had more tips on how to use the Cloak. But then, she saw something that caught her eye. The big Schoeber house by the quarry hole had been closed up for years. Old Man Schoeber went into a nursing home and his family had let the property go downhill. What were those two black cars with tinted windows doing there? Who were those men?
She made a tight U-turn by bending her body to the side, using herself as a rudder. Haley didn't feel any uneasiness or vertigo while flying, and she had not had any accidents so far. It seemed completely natural to her. She herself said this was because she had nerves of steel but her mother claimed she didn't have enough sense to be afraid. Windcatcher dropped down to treetop level and whipped over the property at gale force speed, fast as a car would have. One of the men caught sight of her and almost fell down. He tugged at another man's sleeve and soon all eight of them were staring up as she zipped past.
Oh man, she did not like the looks of those guys. They were all wearing black suits and dark glasses. Haley made it to a wooded area out of sight and lessened the wind carrying her, slowing herself down until she started to descend. She let her legs hang and dropped to the ground, stumbling just a bit. As soon as she touched down, she had her Droid out. "Mom? Haley! yeah I'm fine. Nothing. Lemme talk to your friend." She heard her mother say annoyedly to Bane it was for him.
"Hi? Listen. I am out by the Schoeber house, oh you don't know the area, it's about ten miles north of town by the lake. Two cars are out there and I swear they are full of gangsters. Black suits, dark shirts, black sunglasses. No, they are not tourists, are you kidding? I'm telling you no one has lived in that house for ten years."
Haley's voice broke off. Two of those men had crept up soundlessly behind her. Her heart felt cold. One of them had a gigantic automatic in one hand, not pointed at her but down at the ground. This close, she could see they were funny looking, with a bluish tinge to their clammy skin and hair much too coarse to look right. One of them held out his hand for her phone and she handed it over, then they marched her toward the house without a word.
In the few minutes it took to head over to the Schoeber house, Haley's mind worked more furiously than it ever had before. She knew she was in real danger but that didn't seem to bother her. That she might be raped or murdered did not feel like a real possibility to her, and she couldn't have said why. Five more men were still standing by the cars. Getting out of the second car was the one who did not look like the others, and she gave a snort of disbelief as she saw him.
This man was wearing a ground-length robe of white silk, embroidered on the cuffs and high collar with dark seal fur. He leaned on an ornate wooden staff that was topped with a green gem. And his unlovely face had many fishlike qualities. Bulging staring eyes, flat nose and wide lipless mouth, two long mustaches drooping down. As he saw her, he drew himself up.
"You have done well, my sons. Welcome, little Human. Let me introduce myself as is only proper. I am Thewu Pan! I am the highest ranked mystic in Ulgor. Not that you know what Ulgor is. It is your misfortune to have seen us, I am sorry that we cannot count on your silence."
Despite the fact she was surrounded by big unfriendly men, at least one of which held a gun on her, Haley still felt supreme confidence. Gazing at Thewu's grisly face, she said, "Fishing season already? My, my."
The warlock was staring at her cloak. "I believe I recognize your garment."
"What, this old outfit? I got it at Mandee's last year."
Thewu Pan raised his hand as if to backhand her across the face but restrained himself. "Hold your tongue, air-breather! Your life hangs by a thread as it is. I see now. The Heirs of Buliwyf. The Cloak of Air. That is a potent power you bear."
"Don't I know it," she smirked and let them have it. Hurricane winds exploded without warning, picking the Ulgorans up off the ground and sending them rolling across the gravel. In another second, she would have taken off herself and counted on rising straight up so fast they couldn't hit her but she did not have that second. Thewu Pan stepped forward and slapped her across the face with an open hand as stiff as a piece of wood. She had never been struck like that in her life and she fell onto her side. Her eyes ran with tears but now she was angry rather than afraid.
Two of the Ulgorans had scrambled to their feet and one now pointed the barrel of a revolver at her head from inches away. It took Haley a minute to get up. Being hit like that was something new in her experience. Finally, she got up, touching the side of her face tentatively and giving the warlock a seething glare.
Thewu Pan had another of his gunmen cover the Windcatcher. "Let us try that again. I would rather not get blood on the Cloak, but after all it is really the Melgar gem which has the power. Give me that garment, girl."
As slowly as she could, stalling for each second, Haley Lawson unfastened the collar that held the cape at her throat, the blue jewel attached in a silver setting. She folded it, still trying to gain time, and handed it over. Thewu Pan took it respectfully. "One of the major talimans, here, falling into my hands. This is unexpected good fortune." He snapped his head up to give Haley a sneer. "Without the gem, she has no power and is of no use to us. Kill her."
One of the Ulgorans said, "Wait, master, before she dies, may we not-"
"No. We have much to do. Your lust can wait for now. I want her carcass in that lake now."
Windcatcher turned so all the men were in front of her. She put her hand down from her sore face and said quietly, "Oh,I have got a surprise for you pigs." As she spoke, with a howl and a shriek, bitter cold air far below zero rushed over them. It was like being dropped into a storm at the South Pole. The Ulgorans fell over backwards or dropped to hands and knees, unable to catch a breath. Some had their eyelids frozen shut. One passsed out just from the shock. After a full minute, Haley let the arctic blast die down as some of it was getting on her. She giggled. That had been great. They were covered with a thick shell of frost.
Only Thewu Pan remained functional. He had been knocked down but quickly dragged himself back to his feet. It took a second for what had happened to sink in as he looked over at his dead or dazed servants. "What? This is base trickery."
Behind him, a dark green car sped up and came to a sudden stop. Bane plunged out and stopped short in his tracks as he took in the scene, then he walked up more slowly. "Well, Thewu Pan. You again! Every time you leave Ulgor, you make a mess of things."
The Ulgoran wizard breathed in through his mouth, looking more fishlike than before. "Come no further, Dire Wolf. I can slay this wench before you can stop me." He held up the cloak and stole a quick look at the blue jewel. "This is not--!" He swung back his staff behind his head like an executioner ready to bring down his axe and Haley saw it come at her face in horror. Before that staff could come down, something glittered in the sunlight and a dagger punched home in the sorcerer's chest. It was no half-hearted toss, either. Bane had hurled that knife with killing intent and the blade smacked into Thewu's body as hard as the kick of a horse. He was flung down, the staff clattering to the gravel.
Glancing over the frozen Ulgorans, Bane felt confident none of them were an immediate threat. "Haley, you all right?"
"You bet. That was so cool! I saw the knife hit him and I saw your arm come back up but I couldn't follow the throw itself. Damn, you are quick."
The Dire Wolf folded his arms and gazed at her suspiciously. "You know, I saw what happened as I drove up the road. He was holding the Cloak and the Melgar crystal. How did you manage to hit these guys with that air without the talisman?"
"Welllll, I suppose I can tell you. Being as how you're my mom's hero and so forth." SHe went and tugged the cloak loose from where it was partly under the warlock's lifeless arm. "I figured crooks might get the cape off me and then think I'm helpless. So I bought a stone that looks as much like it as I could find. This is tourmaline." She jabbed a thumb between her collarbones. "I'm wearing the real gem under my shirt."
III.
Bane gave a faint ghost of a smile, the corners of his mouth barely turning up. "Very good. You're sharp, Haley." He went to retreve his dagger, tugging up out from between Thewu's ribs and cleaning it on the corpse's own robe before sliding it back into its sheath. "You don't seem too upset about seeing a corpse."
"Feh. He had just told these guys to kill me and throw my body into that lake! And they wanted to have some fun with me first. Hell, no, I'm not sorry. I just wish I had frozen them all solid with that air."
The Dire wolf studied her face. "Haley, I'll tell you the truth. I have killed a lot of people in my time. Hundreds, to be honest. It doesn't bother me because they were almost always about to kill me or someone I was protecting. But I don't treat it like a joke. It's not something I ever enjoyed."
"I get enough sermons in church, thank you," she said blithely. "So. Mr Dire Wolf, my mom told me a few things about you and your KDF and the knights of Tel Shai. What are you going to do with these bastards? Leave them for the sheriff?"
Two of the men were stirring, coughing and wheezing and trying to get up. Bane went over and starting confiscating their weapons. Each had a handgun, and one carried a vicious stiletto. In the lead car was a shotgun. Carefully, the Dire Wolf ruined each weapon with a small pair of pliers from his car. He repeated the search and found a tiny .22 pistol he had missed the first time and wrecked that one as well. By this time, the Ulgorans had managed to get to sitting positions.
"Listen closely!" Bane said in a loud clear voice. He barked out a speech in a strange language that sounded a little like Italian. The men listened in surprise, still dazed by the freezing blast. They had begun to realize their leader was dead and they were in trouble. One of the Ulgorans got to his feet and helped another one rise. They wrapped the cadaver in its own robe and slowly placed it in the trunk of one car. As Bane and Haley watched, the strange men helped each get into the cars. Two of them were still unconscious and one looked as if he was not going to make it. Without looking at Bane or Haley, eyes down and shamed in defeat, the men started up the cars and drove slowly away.
Watching them, Haley put a hand on Bane's arm. She was acting as if she had known him for years. "Okay, now you can tell me. Who were they? Why did that guy look like a fish? What were they up to? You know, maybe I'm a little bit curious!"
"Fair enough. They came from... I guess you might call it a pocket dimension. An adjacent realm, we call them in the Midnight War. They are from Ulgor, a city under an ocean, populated by water-breathing creatures like them. They can live in the air for a few days before they start to get sick. The one I killed was their leader, Thewu Pan. He was a sorcerer. Why he was here in the first place, I don't know. He has been in our world before, causing trouble, stealing magic artifacts and having to get smacked down and sent home again. Are you following this?"
"Oh sure." Haley Lawson looked up at Bane. This close, he saw she had a snub upturned nose and a soft chin to go with the bright green eyes. She was cute but not gorgeous. "I've read a lot of science fiction. I'm a gameplayer online. What happens to them now?"
Bane was watching the cars head out on the main road. "I think they will return to Ulgor. They have a way home hidden somewhere. Thewu would be the only one with any magic powers and he was their leader. I don't think they have any reason to stay here without him."
"Good! They better stay home if they know what's good for them." She smiled at the Wolf. "You saw that blast of freezing air, right? I just concentrated on the South Pole and brought it here. Pretty amazing."
"You could bring hot desert air. The Melgar crystal has a lot of possibilities. Your mother used to walk around underwater inside a bubble of fresh air."
"It's hard to imagine her having any excitement," Haley said. She seemed to be studying the Dire Wolf. "So. Let me ask you. What do you think I should do as Windcatcher?"
They had been standing right where they were when the fighting ended and now Bane motioned for her to follow him over to a bench that sat in front of the Schoeber house. They both sat down, Haley letting the cloak fall loose behind her rather than sit on it. "Let me think. You're out of school for the summer? You go to high school?"
"I'm a junior. I'm going into my senior year in September."
"I do have an idea. Let's go back and discuss it with your mother. You're a minor, she would have to sign some release papers. But there is a KDF team working in Manhattan now. They're fairly young, mostly in their twenties. I think they would love to have you as a guest. Show you how to use your powers. Teach you some survival skills. Are you interested?"
"Am I ever! I've heard a little about your team. Unicorn. Sable and Argent. The Blind Archer. My mom gets a lot of gossip about the Midnight War the media never hears. What about pay?"
Bane raised an eyebrow. "There's a weekly stipend for living expenses, but room and board would be free in any case. This isn't a job like working at a supermarket, it's a crusade."
"Right, right,"she said, leaping to her feet again. "I like it. I'm excited. Let's go force my mom to let me go!"
Now Bane really did smile despite his natural reserve. Had he ever been so enthusiastic? It seemed like he had always been grim and serious even as a street kid. "Sounds good. Let's get in my car and we can call her so she's not worried."
"Oh, my GOD! The last she heard, I was being kidnapped and you were hurrying to the rescue. I'll go tell her I'm safe. I'll meet you back at my house!" With a rush of air being displaced, a swirling gale that made leaves spin wildly, Windcatcher shot upward and swung around to fly back toward town. Bane watched her go. Well, he thought, she does travel faster than I could drive without getting a ticket.
(3/19/2013)