He could barely remember her words, his rage being so overpowering and complete as he stood shaking in her cottage the night before.
I’m sorry, Hank…truly sorry to break this to you this way…but you needed to know…you needed to feel the soul of your enemy in your heart…how little he will care if he destroys you…
He had screamed in rage.
Now you must learn to control the anger you feel, Dulci continued, for while you now know the nature of Pironin, killing him may not be the only option when the time comes. You must have the wisdom to act…not out of anger, but with the whole knowledge of his devastating abilities. You must be able to discern what is best for you…and for Faerie…
Even as she spoke these words, he still resisted them.
There could be no outcome for Pironin that could possibly make it all right except for death!
Luci took that moment to lay her head on Hank’s belly. Startled at the canine’s touch, he dropped his hand to her head, automatically scratching her behind her ears.
As much as he fought it, he could feel the anger suddenly start draining away at her touch.
“I’m sorry Luci.” He whispered as she whimpered in reply. “I didn’t pay much attention to you last night…I’m afraid I lost my head.”
Speaking the words out loud seemed to calm him further.
Pushing himself up to a sitting position, he leaned back against the wall. Luci moved with him, ending up with her head on his lap.
Hank knew Dulci was right…he would have to channel his anger into his preparations of the war ahead.
War!
The word sent a shiver down his spine…it was the first time he admitted to himself that this was where he was headed.
It gave him pause.
How was it that he was readying himself for a war, while two days before his biggest worry was a few piles of ash?
Shaking his head, Hank worried that he wasn’t up for the task. He was trained in martial arts of course, and he could handle a weapon as well as anyone. But up to this point in his life, his focus had been on protecting others.
To protect and serve!
War was a completely different thing! A veritable chess game full of tactics and diversions that always involved bloodshed…massive amounts of bloodshed…
Looking down, he smiled grimly at Luci as he started scratching her behind the ears again.
“Why am I considering this girl?” he asked the canine worriedly. “Simply because Dulci has told me it is my destiny? I’ll admit to wanting to destroy Pironin now for what he has done to my family, but why should I care about the rest of it? Faerie is a place of dreams and magic…something most people don’t even believe in anymore.”
Hank was silent for a long moment before he continued.
“Why should I care?” he whispered finally.
Closing his eyes with sudden fatigue, images started flashing through his mind.
There was Tamaki, handing the staff to Hank reverently. He’d been appreciative of course…but it was just a stick! Although outwardly given to aid in his recuperation, even at ten years old, he knew a crutch would have been a better choice.
He didn’t question his grandfather though. He respected Tamaki more than any other, so if he thought the old piece of wood was essential, Hank would make it work.
Then there was the incessant training. Tamaki had been a persistent taskmaster…pushing Hank for years on end until he mastered every nuance of the art.
Later on, Hank had given some thought to starting a Dojo and teaching others his skills, but Tamaki had adamantly refused to consider the notion.
“Some have strength of knowledge, some of courage…some will teach, others will act.”
Tamaki had then turned away from Hank before finishing with, “We will speak of this no more.”
And that had been the end of that, although Hank had never known the reason for Tamaki’s firm proclamation. He had however, taken it to heart, assuming that Tamaki had meant to find a useful outlet for his skills.
And he thought he had when he’d chosen law enforcement as a career.
Had Tamaki meant something else?
Had he been assuming that this would happen?
A different memory suddenly popped into Hank’s head, causing his spine to chill.
No way! He whispered with the memory, No frickin way!
Telling Luci to stand, he pushed himself off of the floor and reached for the discarded staff on the floor.
Studying it intently for a few seconds, he then positioned his feet. It had been a long time since he had done this and he took a few moments to remember the exact move.
Grasping the staff in both hands he then lifted it above his head while simultaneously spinning it a half turn. Bringing it down level with his shoulder in his right hand, he then smoothly thrust the rounded end out toward the sparring dummy with a lunge, a short kiai shout escaping his lips as he did so.
The end of the staff manifested itself once again into a snake!
Shocked at the outcome of his experiment, Hank nevertheless held the staff steady in his hand, watching the head of the snake as it sought out its prey.
After a few seconds of this, he reversed the move, thankful that the staff returned to wood in the process.
He grinned at Luci. “Did you see that?” he exclaimed excitedly.
Luci returned his look with an indifferent stare.
He’d remembered a very short Kata that Tamaki had taught him years before. It was called Habu, or The Snake. Such a short and seemingly ineffective move had confused Hank when Tamaki had taught it to him.
Asking his grandfather about it, Tamaki had merely smiled, explaining that in ancient times it was said that they could transform their staff into a snake with the move.
Hank smiled at the memory. “In the ancient times huh?” he whispered as he remembered something else that excited him.
It wasn’t the only short, unexplainable kata that Tamaki had taught him!
Taking a seat on the bench close to Luci, Hank was reflective.
Tamaki had taught him magic…Hank had just not known it…or been ready to act on it!
Looking at Luci again, he reached out and rubbed his hand in her fur.
“Maybe I am supposed to be here Luci. Maybe it is my destiny to go to war in the land of Faerie…”
Picking up his phone, he noticed the time.
“Crap! We’re going to be late for work!”
Pushing to his feet, he turned toward the shower. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to go,” he called back over his shoulder.
Luci sat where she was, panting while watching him until he left the room.
Orbs suddenly appeared to her right as Dulci appeared with a worried look.
“Is Hank better today?” she asked quietly while holding Luci’s gaze.
Luci stood and made her way before Dulci.
“Yes, he does seem better now. He had some memories of the past I think…and made his stick turn into a snake.”
Luci shivered before she spoke again. “I hate snakes.”
Chapter 27
Although Hank had left his apartment in a good mood, the day quickly turned against him with the discoveries of two more piles of ash. Eating away most of his day, he worked at investigating the piles and helping to collect evidence.
He had also spent the whole day conflicted. He now knew what was going on…and why, but he couldn’t tell anyone!
“They wouldn’t believe me if I told them anyway,” he mumbled to himself for the fourth time that day.
But he had to do something! He couldn’t just ignore the rampant taking of life on his streets!
Sighing heavily, he watched Luci chase after a squirrel as they made their way back to the precinct from lunch. Taking a seat on a park bench while he awaited her return, Hank realized that wasn’t the only thing troubling him.
He would be starting his training today!
Or was it tom
orrow…or tonight…
He shook his head at the conundrum, doubting seriously he would ever understand the manipulation of time.
Thinking about the training again, he found that he was looking forward to it in a way.
After all…who wouldn’t want to learn magic?
But he wasn’t sure how the doubling up of days was going to affect him. He was only human after all…would he be up for the stress and strain of experiencing the same day twice in a row? More to the point…could he work through the same day twice and not go crazy?
Sighing again, Hank lifted his eyes to look for Luci, amazed that the park was fairly deserted except for one man walking his way. Following the man’s progress as he approached, Hank suddenly felt himself tense up.
There was something not exactly kosher about the fellow, not the least of which was that he seemed to be staring at Hank!
The tall man’s long coat trailed behind him as he continued briskly forward, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses that rode a long, pointed nose.
Hank glanced around quickly, looking for Luci. She would be able to sense if the man held any danger, something that he’d long counted on.
Unable to find her, he turned back toward the man…just as he pulled a sword out of his coat!
Hank jumped to his feet nervously. Feeling the comforting touch of his staff in hand, he braced to defend himself as the sunlight glinted off of something on the man’s chest.
A Kolograt Medallion!
The man came to an abrupt stop ten feet from Hank, a menacing grin on his face. His features morphed from human to darkness in a millisecond as a glimmer wove through his body. The man tossed his sunglasses and stared at him with deep, yellow eyes. Full of fury and hatred, Hank had never seen anything like it aimed towards him.
“You seem much too puny to be a threat to us, wizard. Destroying you will hardly use enough exertion to work up a good appetite for the feast I have planned to celebrate.” Raising his sword above his head, he stopped as the grin returned to his face.
“Who are you?” Hank took a slight step back, gripping his staff as though his hand could crush through its stem.
“Pironin sends his greetings.”
The blood coursing through Hank turned cold at the words. Changing his stance in reaction to the course of the man’s attack, he suddenly felt a new confidence well within him. He sensed an amazing strength there like he never experienced before, a feeling of unfathomable power.
The man’s sword sliced through the air toward Hank’s head, the speed of the attack unsettling as Hank deftly parried the blow with his staff. Noticing the man’s uncontrolled forward momentum, Hank crouched low and swept his left foot out, tripping the giant as he went by.
Not waiting for the man to fall, Hank quickly stood and brought his staff to bear on the man’s head, catching him on the right ear.
The large man bellowed in pain but quickly regained his feet. Turning around again, he then swung the sword horizontally at Hank, narrowly missing his stomach as he quickly jumped back out of the way. A whoosh of air hissed past his head, sending his dark hair flying.
Landing in a crouch, Hank swept his right leg across to hook the giant’s ankle, once again sending the man to the ground. The ground shook with a thunderous shake as the weight of the Unseelie slammed down, sending up debris in its wake.
Rising again, Hank thrust the end of the staff at the man’s face, a satisfying crunch telling Hank that he’d broken the man’s nose. A rush of dark, black oozing blood poured out of his face, drenching his clothes in seconds.
Seeming to ignore his injury, the assassin popped back up in seconds, again raising his sword above his head for a strike. Inexplicably, Hank raised his staff in the air vertically with both hands before bringing it straight down with staggering force. Energy tingled down his arms as the staff reached the ground, a large sonic boom accompanying the strike.
The earth moved around the staff, raising up in a circle and spreading out from the impact like a violent wave. Deftly riding through the shaking himself, Hank watched in awe as the accelerating force toppled the giant to the ground with an earth shaking “ooof.”
As the rumble of the strike died off, it was replaced with a snarling growl before Luci leaped on the fallen man, teeth bared and going for his throat. She snapped her jaws at the thing, not reaching far enough to do any damage before the faery swiped her away in a disgusted jerk. Luci jumped back from being thrown, barking louder than ever.
“Luci!” Hank yelled, worried about her sudden involvement in the melee. He’d never forgive himself if she was hurt. Rushing toward the dog, he quickly pulled at her collar when a ring of fire suddenly formed around the Unseelie man.
Luci immediately took note of the fire and bounded clear of it, joining Hank to watch as the snarling giant returned to his feet, spitting obscenities in a foreign language as he glared at them. Raising his sword above his head, it was clear that the man was going to brave the fire to get at Hank again. He pointed a fleshy finger towards them, snarling a curse in his booming voice before suddenly crumbling in a howl of pain. As Hank and Luci watched, the assassin burst into flames as an ignited sword pieced through his chest from behind, causing him to disintegrate into ash in mere seconds.
As the man disappeared from sight, the flames inexplicably died down, revealing another person in a hoodie…holding his ever present flaming sword. Extinguishing the fire, Benton sheaved the sword behind his back and planted his hands on his hips, shaking his head pitifully at Hank. He still wore the same mocking smirk and those blasted sunglasses covering his ever judging eyes.
“Just how fucking long were you going to wait before you killed that asshole?”
Chapter 28
Benton stared down Hank menacingly, his hands filled with balls of flame. He smacked his gum, making sure to blow intermittent bubbles with it to snap in the most annoying manner. He threw Hank a mischievous smirk as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Dulci asked for the fourth time. “It’s not imperative that you test yourself on your first day.”
He glanced at the beautiful woman, but turned away quickly, worried about her beauty distracting him from the looming attack.
Hank, Dulci and Benton were standing in a small meadow close to Dulci’s cottage. It was Hank’s second Monday, and they had started with defensive maneuvers.
After watching Hank defend himself against the Kolograt assassin, Benton had insisted on it.
Hank hadn’t been too keen on Benton being a part of his training, but Dulci had soon swayed him. As a human/fire elemental, Benton was the obvious choice, she argued. He lived and fought on both sides of the barrier wards, and as such, knew a lot that Hank would need to know about both worlds.
If only the kid wasn’t so damn obnoxious.
“I’m ready,” Hank replied as he nodded toward Benton, eyeing him intently.
Dulci moved back a few steps and stood next to Luci, wearing a look of worry.
Benton grinned as he bounced one of the balls of fire up and down in his hand. “You’re sure there, Buckwheat?” Benton smirked, lifting an eyebrow. “These may sting a little bit if you miss.”
“I’m honored you care,” Hank replied sarcastically. “We could do with a little less talking and a lot more lobbing.”
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Benton leaned back and tossed a ball of flame at Hank who nimbly parried it away.
He grinned, pleased with his newest magical skill.
Dulci had earlier taught him a spell that cast an aura over the staff…much like a force field. By activating the aura, Hank was able to easily extend the reach and power of the staff.
Benton continued tossing balls of fire at an increasing rate toward Hank, who deftly knocked them away one after the other.
A sneer returned to Benton’s lips as he started spicing things up, increasing both the force of his throws as well as the number thrown at once. H
e was having a grand old time.
Hank worked at deflecting the rapidly approaching orbs, sweat breaking out on his face at the effort.
Suddenly, one got by him, singeing his arm as it passed.
Yelping at the sudden pain, he then watched as Benton threw himself on the ground with laughter, pleased with himself for having nicked Hank with the flame.
“Good thing I was only putting out about half power dude, or you’d-a-been toast!”
Anger quickly welled up in Hank, the pain and embarrassment overcoming his rational side as he gripped the staff tightly. The kid was going to get it one day.
“Hank?” a melodious voice filled his head.
Glancing left, he saw that Dulci was smiling at him.
“Injury and pain will seldom be avoided on the field of battle,” Hank heard in his head, “You must use the pain to focus your powers…you can not take it personally.”
He nodded his head at Dulci in understanding before turning once again toward Benton.
“Good shot, Benton,” he called out with a rigid smile to the elemental still rolling on the ground.
Without warning Hank leaped into the air, spinning around completely before landing on one knee. Simultaneously he brought the staff gripped in his right hand down hard in front of him, the rounded end striking the ground with a boom!
A one-foot wide sheet of ice made its way quickly across the ground, cracking its way toward Benton. Hearing the approaching noise, Benton tried to leap clear of it before the coldness caught up to him, freezing him to the ground where he sat.
Anger shown in his eyes as he tried to ignite his one free hand, finally yelling out in frustration when the fire kept fizzling out.
“Good thing I was only using half power, dude,” Hank called to him, “Or you’d be a Popsicle!”
The meadow was silent as Benton stared daggers at Hank. Before long however, Benton’s face softened, the start of a begrudging smile forming on his lips.
“Touché my untrained wizard, now how about getting me out of this ice trap of yours?”