Orion rushed at the earth elemental, and it swung a massive fist. The elf ducked underneath it, replying with a slash of his sword. The blade cut deep into the elemental's body of rock and soil, leaving a long, ragged gash across its torso. The spirit howled a low, hollow sound, and raised its other fist to try to smash the small, dancing figure that had hurt it.
Ahead of the cargo hauler, the security guards hunkered down behind the escort vehicle, where G-Dogg and the Street Deacon tried to keep them pinned with cover fire from the sides of the road. The guards returned ineffectual fire-but it wasn't the two street samurai who were in danger. Kellan was worried that the guards would figure out that Liada and Orion were vulnerable, easy targets.
Things are coming apart. If we don't get out of here soon, we're fragged. She knew Jackie Ozone was handling things in the Matrix, jamming communications and rerouting emergency messages, but even she wasn't going to be able to cover their activities forever. The longer it took for them to subdue the guards and take off with the truck, the more likely it was the Ares personnel would get reinforcements or Lone Star would be there to take action.
The one good thing about the massive melee was that it provided an excellent distraction for Kellan. She approached the back of the truck as quickly as possible, staying low to the ground. Flattened against the back corner of the truck, pistol in hand, she listened for some indication of what was going on inside, but there was too much noise around her to be certain.
Bracing one foot against the rear bumper, she grabbed a tie-down strap with her free hand and hauled herself up, then she swung into the back of the truck, landing in a crouch and immediately covering the interior with her gun.
A human guard wearing an Ares uniform spun in her direction, looking startled. He'd probably been watching Orion fight the earth elemental through the slats of the truck, looking for a good opportunity to get a shot at the elven warrior. Kellan had the drop on him. She fired one shot at close range and took him out, his weapon clattering to the floor.
The noise attracted the attention of a hulking figure in the shadows at the front of the truck. Kellan knew this must be the mage commanding the elementals outside. He turned toward the sound of the shot and the guard falling. He wore a long, heavy overcoat covered with mystic symbols. He raised one hand, the other holding an ornately carved and decorated staff. He stopped just as suddenly as Kellan when the flickering light from the fire elemental hovering overhead illuminated the truck's interior.
"Lothan?" Kellan said.
"Why, Kellan, my dear, fancy meeting you here," the troll mage replied.
18
Kellan hesitated for a moment, at the sight of her teacher standing in the back of the truck, but Lo-than didn't. Moving with surprising speed, the troll mage stepped forward and casually batted the gun out of Kellan's hand. It hit the side of one of the crates, clattering to the floor. Lothan seized Kellan by the neck, slamming her up against the side of a crate with enough force to knock the wind out of her. "Sorry, kid," he said, with a note of true regret in his voice, "but hesitation in the shadows can be fatal." He raised the Staff of Candor-Brie, the crystal on top of it shimmering with an azure glow. Kellan squeezed her eyes shut and pictured the glowing, egg-shaped aura of protection around her. She felt a crackle of magical power tingle across her skin and opened her eyes to a look of shock and surprise on Lothan's face, quickly turning to annoyance.
"That cursed amulet:." the troll muttered.
Then Kellan lashed out with her foot and kicked Lothan in the groin. Hard.
The troll mage gargled a noise a couple of octaves higher than Kellan would have thought possible and doubled over, loosening his grip on her neck. Kellan squirmed from Lothan's grasp and scrambled to scoop up her gun before turning back to where the troll lay gasping on the floor. She leveled the pistol at the back of Lothan's head and cocked it, confident he could hear it, before she spoke.
"If you even think of trying anything:" she began.
"I wouldn't: dream of it," Lothan gasped out, recovering his composure. The fact that he'd already tried something made it a dubious statement at best, but Kellan was more willing to trust Lothan with a gun trained on him than not.
"What the frag are you doing here?"
"Business, my dear," he replied, "just business."
"You knew," Kellan accused him. "You knew about this all along."
"Of course I knew! I'd arranged things well beforehand. I don't feel compelled to share every aspect of my business," the troll said condescendingly. "And neither, apparently, do you."
"Don't turn around," Kellan said, her voice cold, as Lothan began to do so. The troll froze. "I may not be a 'master of the arts arcane,' but I do know enough to keep out of your line of sight."
"Well, you have an excellent teacher," Lothan said wryly.
"The elementals," Kellan replied curtly. "Get rid of them."
"Or:?"
"Or I shoot you in the back of the fraggin' head! I'm not playing games here!"
Lothan paused for a moment and Kellan wondered if he was going to call her bluff. She wondered if she really was bluffing. If Lothan didn't do it, if he tried something, would she shoot him? The troll mage had certainly shown he couldn't be trusted. She knew he would take any opportunity and use it to his advantage. If Kellan wanted to survive, wanted to make it in the shadows, she was going to have to do the same. Her grip on the pistol tightened.
"No, I suppose you're not," Lothan said with a sigh. "Very well."
He slowly raised a hand, and Kellan kept a watchful eye on him the whole time, ready to react if he had some trick up his sleeve. Lothan called out words in a language Kellan didn't recognize, then turned his palm toward the ground and slowly lowered his hand, as if pressing something invisible toward the earth.
"They're gone," he said. "May I turn around now?"
Before Kellan could answer, Liada's voice sounded over the commlink.
"The spirits are gone!" she said. "We're clear to move in."
Kellan keyed her link. "Liada, can you use that stun spell to take out the rest of the guards?" she asked. "I'm sure we won't have any problems with it this time." She pitched her response so Lothan could hear it.
"Will do," the elf mage replied.
"Liada, eh?" Lothan said quietly. "I thought that spell seemed familiar. A pity she wasn't able to overcome my defenses." Kellan could hear the smug satisfaction in his voice.
"We've got to move things along, chummers," Silver Max said in Kellan's ear. "We're going to have company. The Ancients are on their way."
"Fraggit!" Kellan said. "How did they find us so fast?"
"They must have gotten tired of waiting for their pigeon to show up," the dwarf said, "and backtracked along the route to see what happened."
"How long?" Kellan asked.
"A few minutes."
"Sounds like you could use a little extra help,"
Lothan said, still facing away from Kellan. She ignored him for the moment.
"Okay, Max, take the wheel. G-Dogg, are we secure?"
"All clear," the ork said. "Liada's spell finished things off. The Ares guys are sleeping like babies."
"Get them to the side of the road and let's get the hell out of here," Kellan said.
"Roger that."
"Jackie?" she inquired.
"Things are under control on this end," the decker said. "If you get going now, there shouldn't be any trouble from Lone Star. I don't think Ares security or Knight Errant will be responding just yet, either, but it's possible that the Ancients may have alerted them when the truck didn't turn up as planned."