Warlock of Omaha

Warlock of Omaha By HemaccabeChapter 16 You Can...ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Warlock of Omaha

By Hemaccabe

Chapter 16 You Can Go Your Own Way

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A few days later, the axe was done. I'd been working on it harder since the incident with Dark Glass. It was a substantial upgrade. I walked over to my on-site range. I set up a cinder block a hundred yards down range. Then I turned and focused my will through the hatchet. A bolt of air shot down range and cracked the block. I'd come some way.

That morning, when I went down to the infirmary's basement with my new nick nack, Cassie woke up. I had just relieved Jake, who had headed out to pursue his activities for the day. The basement still had my cell and the dentist's chair. However, you can't keep someone on their back in a dentist's chair for weeks on end. Luckily the medical profession has a lot of experience dealing with crazy people that needed to be held down. We had wedged in a reinforced hospital bed. It was more comfortable, but strong enough to hold Jake. We had given Cassie a full bath and she was in a hospital gown. Her fingerprints and DNA didn't register on any database.

I was typing on my notebook when I became aware her eyes were open. I put away the notebook and looked at her.

"Welcome back." I said.

"Where am I?" She asked. Her voice creaky.

"You're a guest in my home." I answered.

"Are you another minion of Shin Midori Ha?" She asked.

"Is that you're former employer's name?" I asked.

"You are the one he is trying to collect." She said looking at me with a dawning recognition in her eyes. "I didn't recognize you without the hat."

"So, this 'Shin Midori Ha,' is the name of the one hunting me?" I asked.

"Yes." She answered.

"So nice to have a name." I said.

"I'm sure it's not his true name. But it's what he's called." She said.

"So, do you wish to go back and serve him further?" I asked. I wasn't sure what she wanted. Maybe she was a slave against her will, maybe a loyal agent.

The look on her face twisted. The she started screaming and crying incoherently for a few seconds and then passed out.

That went well.

I hadn't looked her over with my sight yet, so I did. It was a surprise. Every kind of magical critter I had run into has their own energy pattern. Mostly humans have a look like wizards with a central basin of power. The more natural talent, the bigger the basin. Some look different. Travis has these weird coronas around his head among other things. Jake had no center, but a network running through his body. It's hard to look at one's self, but I would say I had a network similar to Jake, but still with a wizard's gut. Cassie looked more like me. I also noticed how her network was different than Jake's, but more similar to mine.

I didn't think she would wake again that day. I was right.

Her response was pretty weird, but I'd had plenty of time to read up on people who had been through traumatic experiences and head injuries. In that context, her behavior was actually quite normal.

The next morning, I had a thermos of broth ready. She awoke again.

I didn't say anything, I just put the broth in a bowl and fed her. When she was done, she fell asleep again.

We did broth for a few days.

Then on the sixth day she asked, "Where am I?"

"You're a guest in my home." I answered.