Chapter 11 #3
“I am tracking two older model all-electric vehicles on Route 26,” Omega said, his avatar appearing next to Alex. “One is registered to a Cort Rogers, who appears related to one of the kitchen staff, Margaret Rogers.”
Holly arrived. “What?” she asked.
“Possible vandals or hate crime activists incoming in two vehicles,” Alex said.
“One point eight-five miles away and closing at forty miles an hour,” Omega said.
“You can reach out two miles?” Holly asked me.
“I guess. If the emotion is strong enough and directed my way, maybe. Shit, I don’t know,” I admitted.
“He’s only been on Earth for three and a half months,” Vesta said. “He’s still getting used to this much magic.”
Holly turned and headed for the main table where Vesta’s parents were staring our way with raised brows.
“Where are they headed, Craig?” Alex asked.
“This way. Like, headed right out front,” I said, hopping up from the table to look out the window. A large spruce tree dominated the center green in the circular driveway.
“What’s he talking about?” Maya asked Vesta behind me. I didn’t hear the response because Alex leaned in close.
“What’s the goal, Craig?” he asked.
“That tree, Alex,” I said. “They want to destroy that tree.”
“Declan and Stacia planted that when the school was remade,” he said, moving off to rejoin his team. Vesta slipped up next to me.
“Don’t,” she said to me.
I scoffed.
“I know you… you’ll head right out there,” she said.
“Wrong. That has nothing to do with me,” I said, waving a hand at the flurry of activity that my alert had created. By now, the wolf pack was outside with Declan, Stacia, and the headmistress. I noticed Maya was still hanging near us though.
Outside, two sets of headlights approached up the long drive that curved back and forth several times.
An old model electric pickup truck preceded an equally old electric SUV.
Most people drove vehicles powered by quantum generators, one of the benefits of the Vorsook war.
These were decades old, beat-up and rusted, and their drivers were radiating anger.
“You sensed a threat from two miles away?” Maya asked.
The young witches around us were all quiet, listening as they too watched out the windows.
Their mothers and home circles no doubt taught them to pay close attention to any and all magic, particularly something new or unusual. What I could do was apparently both.
“I sense intent and particularly anger or threat. Useful on Greenacres, but it seems much more sensitive here.”
“We’ve had some trouble with the locals,” Maya said. “They resent the school.”
“The school?” I asked. “I would think rescuing a good employer for the area would be admirable.”
“Yes, we employ about sixty-five people, which makes us the largest employer in town,” Maya said.
“But witches are valuable these days,” Keri added. “Our families and circles make good money… really good money.”
“Jealousy? Envy?” I asked.
“Sure, I guess,” Maya said.
Outside, the vehicles had stopped in front of the big spruce and four men with axes and at least one electric chainsaw were arguing with Headmistress Blake, who had a number of staff witches and workers backing her up. One woman in white cook’s clothes was arguing with one of the men.
I felt something else. Something across the valley.
“Shield everyone,” I said to Vesta, then turned to the nearest hovering drone.
A flick of my right fingers and the drone was gone. Across the valley, there was a flash of actinic light, a stabbing beam of power that flashed down into the snow.
“Most excellent application, Craig,” Omega said from my nano. Outside, Declan raised his own nano-covered wrist and listened to something before waving his hand.
A man appeared on the ground in front of Declan and Stacia. Wearing white camouflage, he was holding his right arm with his left. A scoped rifle lay at his feet. It looked blackened and melted.
“Boris Clements,” Maya hissed. “With a fucking sniper rifle!”
“Who?” Vesta asked.
“Local agitator,” Maya said. “Hates the headmistress. I bet he was going to shoot her when his minions distracted her.”
“Why?” Vesta asked. “What would that do for his cause?”
“Likely hoping for an overresponse by Omega, witches in general, or your father in particular,” Maya said. “Anything to stir the flames.”
“It would appear that Mr. Clements has ties to anti-supernatural movements around the world,” Omega opined from my nano bracelet.
“Yeah,” Maya said, eyes still focused on the intense conversation outside.
Flashing red and blue lights on two vehicles indicated that local police were approaching up the road and Vesta’s parents appeared to be waiting for them, as the pack was standing guard over the miscreants and the sniper.
“He never fired, though,” Miss Marsh noted. She was staring at Clements. “He is only guilty of sitting on a distant hillside with a sniper rifle.”
“Not correct,” Omega said. “I have excellent recordings of him squeezing the trigger, but my drone destroyed the rifle’s mechanism as he did so.”
“Is the Solstice dinner always this exciting?” I asked Vesta.
“Not until you got here,” Keri said.