Wizard Dawning (The Battle Wizard Saga, No. 1) (14 page)

Meredith let Grampa Thor sleep for three hours as he requested. While he recovered, she researched the intersection revealed in the viewing pan. After printing Google maps she had found, and making a list of items to bring, she went to wake Grampa at four p.m.

He rested more easily. The half-full Stoli glass clasped in one hand, balanced on his stomach, rose and fell in time to his light snores. A half-eaten brownie lay on the carpet below where his other hand dangled.

He woke up with a start when she picked up the Stoli glass from his stomach. With wide eyes, he asked, "Is it time?"

"It's four o'clock. We have a little over three hours of daylight left. It's going to take us about an hour to get to the intersection you revealed in the scrying pan. I've made a list of things to take with us, including flashlights, rope, bolt cutters, blankets, water, and food."

Thor scrubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and threw off the blankets. "Got blankets here." He levered himself out of the chair, under his own power. It was a good sign that the rest had helped.

Meredith handed the list and a pencil to him. "See what we need to add."

He checked off several items and added a few to the bottom. "Here y'go. That looks pretty complete. I have to get a few things from my room. Get your things and meet me at my truck."

Grampa came out carrying a gym bag and helped Meredith load their paraphernalia into the back seat of the dually pickup. He held the passenger door open for her, and said, "You're the navigator."

She handed the maps to him and held out her hand for the keys. "I've ridden with you. We're in a hurry. You navigate and I'll drive."

He shrugged and climbed into the passenger seat. It wasn't the first time he'd heard complaints about his driving.

After starting the pickup, Meredith leaned over and pointed at the maps. "They're in order and I highlighted the routes to take."

"Let's go."

They arrived at the intersection seen in the pan of water in just under an hour. Meredith knew her driving made Grampa nervous, but he managed to keep his grunts and gasps to a minimum as she exceeded all posted speed limits.

Now the truck rolled along, well under the speed limit as she watched for the gate and narrow track leading away from the dirt road. Gravel growled and splattered when she hit the brakes and swung toward the gate when she spotted it.

Grampa followed her when she jumped out with the bolt cutters. "Here let me do that dear."

"Grampa, you need to save your strength. I can get this."

He stepped back as she set the cutters onto a link in the rusted chain. Pressing one handle against her thigh for leverage, she used both hands on the other handle and pulled. Veins bulged on her forehead before the chain sheared with a pop.

As she swung the gate open, she hollered, "OK, you drive now. I'll keep watch." His familiarity with the truck in rough terrain outweighed his driving idiosyncrasies, with speed no longer of the essence.

Where the dirt track ended, they both jumped out and looked up at the towering cliff of rock and boulders. Meredith wended her way along what looked like a footpath containing what looked like fresh sneaker imprints in the dust. It dead-ended at an enormous boulder with many smaller rocks piled behind it and the cliff.

"What now?" She said, turning back toward Grampa.

He stood with his eyes squinted, his hands thrust forward, nose wrinkling as he sniffed the air. "There's been a demon here. Can you smell the sulfur?"

After a couple of sniffs, she shook her head.

Looking over the pile of rocks, he shook his head. "These have been freshly moved. See the discoloration there and there?" He pointed. "Look at the fresh dirt on these boulders. It matches the exposed dirt up there." Pointing again.

He dropped to his knees and began smoothing the dirt. "Will you please bring me my bag, the pan, and the water jugs?" Without waiting for her response, he began drawing in the dirt with the tip of his pocketknife. He finished and took the pan and poured water out of one of the jugs into it. Fishing in his bag he brought out an artifact that looked like a finger bone with feathers tied to it.

Holding it up, he said, "An American Indian seeking charm." He placed it on the water gently so that it floated. Raising his hands above the water, he began chanting. The artifact began moving around the pan, gently spinning back and forth and then moving hesitantly as if seeking something. The swings slowed and it stopped.

Grampa's head fell to his chest. "Damn." He looked up to Meredith with despairing eyes. "He's either under or behind that pile of rocks."

Her legs turned to rubber and she collapsed next to Grampa. "How can we get him out?"

Grampa Thor stared at the rock pile, despair etched across his face. "I don't think my magic is strong enough anymore to move all of that." Nevertheless, he pushed up against the nearest rock and rose to his feet.

He stood, swaying, while he examined the wall of boulders, looking for weaknesses he could take advantage of.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Grampa, you don't have to do it by yourself. It's the twenty-first century. Let's take advantage of technology."

He turned fully to look at Meredith. "What do you mean?"

"We have the tractor with a backhoe, chains to pull the rocks, your dually pickup truck, and Sig's truck. Let's use what we have and save your magic for when we need it."

"But it's almost dark. It will take hours to drive the tractor here."

"We have a trailer to haul it on. We don't have to drive it. The tractor has lights that will allow us to work even if it's dark. We've operated it in the dark several times. There's a portable generator and work lights, too."

He felt the crushing despair lift from his shoulders. He reached out and pulled her into a crushing hug. "I'm so glad I have you. No wonder Sig is such a wonderful man."

He released her and stepped back. He felt tears welling and brushed his fist at his eye. "What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" A chortle burst out. "I even want you to drive."

†††

They arrived back at the rock wall well after dark. Meredith lead the way in Sig's four wheel drive pickup, followed by Grampa Thor pulling a trailer laden with the tractor, backhoe combination and the portable generator behind his pickup.

Meredith unloaded and set up work lights on stands around the perimeter and dragged heavy duty chains up close to the stack of boulders while Grampa unstrapped the tractor and dropped the trailer ramp in preparation for unloading.

More familiar with the tractor's operation, from having seen it in use around the farm, Meredith backed it down and around to the rock pile. She climbed down to confer with Thor on the best approach.

"The good news is, I don't think he's underneath or right behind the pile," Grampa said. "I had to move the viewing point a long distance before we saw daylight. That's the bad news, he's deep inside that hill somewhere. "

"We need to pull those two huge boulders on the top of the pile to the side, so I can get the tractor in close to dig out the smaller rocks below them. Let's use your pickup and the chain to pull them down." She grabbed the chain and climbed the pile to wrap it around a chunk of roughly egg-shaped rock about half the size of a smart car.

After fastening the end of the chain to Grampa's trailer hitch, he applied power in low gear and straightened the chain taut. Continuing to apply pressure, nothing happened, until he jammed the gas pedal down and spun all four wheels. The top of the boulder began to tilt away from the cliff.

It picked up speed and rolled forward, directly toward the truck. Meredith pounded on the side of the truck bed and shouted, "Go, Go, Go."

The chain cradle she had draped over the top of the rock pulled free as it turned over and Grampa accelerated down the dirt track, chain dragging, and boulder bounding down the pile in pursuit.

The huge rock hit the flat area, bounded in the air, wobbled to the side when it landed, and came to rest. Meredith sprinted to the side to avoid being crushed.

They followed the same process three more times, to remove large hunks of rock from the top of the pile.

Meredith backed the tractor close, stopped, and said, "I'm not very good with this thing. Please stay out of the way. I don't want to knock any rocks onto you."

At that warning, he gingerly hobbled to the side. When he was clear, she scraped and lifted chunks with the backhoe.

After fifteen minutes of watching, and occasionally dodging rolling rocks, he came forward waving his hands. "Let me go up and look. I think I saw an opening." He scrambled up the rock slide to the top and turned to thrust his fist in the air. "We have an opening!"

He bent, grabbed rocks, and threw them to the side.

By the time she joined him, his efforts expanded the opening to three feet wide and almost as tall. They continued to throw rocks to the side and push them into the hole.

Grampa stood and pressed a hand to the small of his back with a groan. "Let's get a flashlight and see what's down there." Meredith started to climb down and he said, "Please bring my gym bag when you come."

Meredith dropped the bag next to where he leaned into the hole they had excavated, handed him a high power flashlight, and knelt next to him with her own.

He flicked his on and began methodically shining it across the floor beyond. The light illuminated a blue line trailing across the floor. The beam swung back and he followed the line for a way.

Meredith grabbed his arm. "That looks like Sig's climbing rope!"

"That's better than a breadcrumbs trail," Grampa chuckled.

Meredith squirmed to climb feet first down the inside of the rock pile. Thor followed with his gym bag.

Inside, he surveyed the area with his flashlight. "Plenty of headroom. It looks natural, not an excavated cave." He pointed down. "Let's follow the little blue line."

Playing her light along the blue climbing rope on the floor, Meredith led the way. Starting quickly in her impatience, she stopped and slowed to match Grampa's pace, helping him over and around rocks.

The rope line changed from blue to purple where two ropes joined together. Further into the cave it changed to yellow.

Plonk

"Grampa did you hear that? What was it?"

"Sounds like there's water somewhere."

She sighed and continued leading the way.

A little further, Meredith swung her legs over a large rock and slid off with a splash. "I think I found it." She shone the flashlight down. "It's just a big puddle. If we're careful, you can get around it." Already weak, they didn't need pneumonia to add to his problems.

Continuing forward, she wondering how much further. The floor seemed to slope downward slightly. Suddenly stopping, she gasped. "How beautiful."

Looking back, she called to Grampa. "There's a large pond or lake here with a lot of those stalach-things. The colors are astounding."

As he limped up, she shone the light around the expansive cave, following the edge of the lake. The light glided along the shoreline and walls and then snapped back.