The New Magic - The Revelation of Jonah McAllister - Landon Wark (bill gates best books TXT) 📗

on they were on the other side of the street, looking back at the carriers from the opposite angle. There were more spaces between the buildings on this side and they could move easily from side street to side street from here. Several of them slipped past as Jonah wrestled with the idea that anyone would react this way to... to magic?

After slipping undetected through three or four of the alleys/side streets (he was too distracted to keep a precise count) they found a small grouping of the black-clad soldiers barring the way into a small cluster of tightly spaced buildings and what looked like an automotive garage.

"This was the meeting site," Aegera brushed a stray strand of her icy hair behind her ear and exhaled a cloud of mist into the cold air. "Looks like they took everyone out. Why are they still wait—Christ. They're waiting to see who else shows up. Assholes are setting a trap."

"Yeah."

"I—"

The medium-distance sound of blades thrumming through the air interrupted Aegera's voice with the announcement of the arrival of a helicopter to the cordoned off area where they stood.

"You gotta be kidding!" she hissed, her accented voice slipping through.

Although it was a large show of force, the air support was something that was easily dealt with. A curtain of glimmer went up over their heads. Much improved since the last time he had used it, the distortion now remained steadfast in place over their heads, a guarantee that anyone watching from overhead would not be able to pinpoint where they waited.

"Should work the same for infrared," Jonah said, more for his own benefit than Aegera's.

"Where the hell did they take them?" Aegera grumbled impatiently.

"Maybe we should ask them," Jonah whispered.

"Maybe..."

Before he could say anything, Aegera slipped from her place beside him and entered the street. In full sight of the soldiers who were loitering around the entrance to the garage.

The first one of them to lay eyes on her raised his weapon, followed by the others. When she didn't stop at their warnings one of the men yelled into his radio. Another two steps and they pulled on the triggers of their weapons which did little more than sputter a pop or two. A quick sequence of words and a spark leaped from Aegera's finger, arcing from the nearest soldier to the one next to him. Both folded to the ground in a heap while the other two frantically checked and banged on their weapons. One of the remaining soldiers lifted off his feet, crashing into the overhanging roof at speed before falling beside the others.

The wide, fearful eyes of the last one were visible even through the heavy goggles he wore over them. As Aegera approached at a walk he tried one last time to get his weapon to fire before heaving it at her and attempting to run. She sidestepped the clumsy toss and as Jonah watched, the man was bowled over by invisible force. He managed to roll over in time for Aegera to place her boot on his shoulder and push him into the concrete.

"Where are they?" Jonah heard her shout as he found enough fortitude to slip from where he stood, bringing the distortion field along with him.

"Shit," he whispered.

The man thrashed momentarily. His panicked hold on whatever English he might know obviously insufficient to allow him to understand what she was saying.

"You piece of shit!" Aegera's voice raised despite Jonah's pawing at her shoulder, trying to keep her quiet.

"They're going to be coming," he hissed. "We can't stay here."

"Where?" Aegrea pushed harder on the man's shoulder, simplifying her interrogation.

Babbling incoherently the soldier tried to scramble out from under Aegera's boot, no answer to the shouts of the woman standing over him, cutting a mixture of intimidation and buffoonery in her heavy down-stuffed coat.

"Shit!" Jonah swore at the sound of the approaching helicopter blades which undoubtedly foretold the coming of additional soldiers as well.

The white light of the translocation procedure enfolded around the three of them followed by the sudden serenity of an abandoned alley not far from where they had been a moment previously.

If Aegera noticed the change in scenery, she didn't let on, her focus squarely on getting any hint of where her pupils had gone. Likewise her target did not seem to notice.

"Tell me where they are or I'm gonna turn you into a greasy puddle on the sidewalk," she sneered.

A plume of yellowish, toxic smelling smoke curled up from the man's vest as a heat lance burned into it. His face contorted in agony as the burn ran clean through into the flesh underneath.

"Sandy," Jonah put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do this."

The soldier's hand waved towards a general direction and he prattled off something in the local dialect before screaming in English. "THERE! THERE!"

Whether he compensated for their change in location, whether he even noticed their change in location was unknown. But before he could say anything Aegera was off. Jonah managed one last look at the man lying on the concrete, desperately trying to peel the burning armour off of his chest as it seared into his skin.

What the hell is happening? he thought.

It seemed to take forever to reach the intersecting street where Jonah caught the last glimpse of a person being pulled away into the open. Aegera stutter-stepped and then rushed towards the corner of the building where they peered around the concrete edge.

A group of nine men clad in the black armor each pulled along a disoriented, straggling person with identical dark green bags draped over their low hung heads. Jonah clenched his fists and felt the tension in Aegera as the two of them watched the grim parade trudge toward where the carriers sat like lounging tyrant kings in the middle of