Blood of Mystics: Saga of Mystics, #3

By Chris Walters

Acclaimed author Chris Walters delivers the final book in his best-selling trilogy, The Saga of Mystics, where foes become friends and friends become foes. Blood of Mystics picks up where Fear of Mystics left off. The council wrestles with governing decisions while a secret enemy plots revenge. A common cold brings a devastating effect, with ramifications that go far beyond anything they could have foreseen. And in the outer lands, tales are told of the dead walking once again. Kyle Ward, Leader of the Council, must deal with all of these problems and more as he manages personal loss and a growing family. When everything he loves is threatened, what will he do?

Blood of Mystics is the third and final installment of the Saga of Mystics, a ground-breaking and unique vision of a world without technology, where people are forced to rely on mystical powers for their very survival.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chris Walters
• Release date: Jul 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463352304

Chris Walters

Chris Walters writes for print, stage, TV, and film. He is a storyteller by trade and passion. He lives in New Haven, CT, with his wife and two grown children (an artist, a toymaker, and a filmmaker respectively). He hopes you don't mind him speaking about himself in the third person. For some reason he finds it more professional.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The smell of pine needles, especially fresh ones, always made her happy. There is no fresher smell than the new growth at the very top of the tree. Izzy waited in the dark, atop the tall pine, her wing feathers fluttering. She could see the group below her around the campfire, and hear their whispered conversation, as could her friends. She looked around to see the whole group listening just as intently as she was. They had been spying on groups at the south side of Black Forest for months, trying to get the information they needed. If what they had heard on the wind last winter was true, there would be hell to pay for someone.

She wore black leather, and that combined with her black wings, made it almost impossible to see her at night. It is why the group was always okay with her getting in much closer proximity than the rest. They all had white wings and stayed a little more distant to stay in shadow. It made her feel special.

She balanced on the smallest branch at the top of the pine, letting the air keep her aloft with small movements of her wings. In her former life, she never would have believed the branch would have supported her weight. In all reality, it did not. Izzy’s wings kept her perfectly balanced.

They always hoped for new information, but most of the time, it ended up like this. The conversation below was getting quite boring, so she looked up to the taller tree where Artie and Gwen sat, still as the night. She nodded, and he returned the nod, before making a hand gesture and all eight of them spread their wings, letting the wind itself bring them higher. They did not flap their wings. Whenever they did, it was actually quite loud and destroyed the whole illusion of stealth. So, as usual, they soared out of the area, before flapping to gain height.

She loved flying. In the three years since her wings had sprouted, she had learned to truly enjoy it. They were all good flyers, and regularly trained at formations and maneuvers. But, to Izzy, it was just an excuse to play. Flying is the embodiment of freedom mixed with joy. The only thing better than her normal flying, was flying with Tristan. They had been together since that fateful day on top of Pike’s Peak three years earlier. She wanted to marry him but didn’t know if people still got married at the end of the world.

As they had gained enough distance, Artie made the smallest motion, which they all recognized, and began flapping their wings to gain height. Artie led them a little north to avoid the large town of Council Bluffs and they entered the airspace of the old Air Force Academy. They flew to the stadium and perched on the old field lights, high above the stadium.

So, it’s true, Lance said, the anger in his voice clear.

Seems like it. That is the third time we have heard that tale, Tristan answered. Short of taking a hostage and questioning them, I think we know all we can know.

But we know nothing, Gwen cut in. Annie has been missing for over a year. All of her other creatures…

I don’t like that term, Artie said.

Hon, I don’t have another term for them…

Artie shook his head. We benefited from her amazing gift. Are we creatures?

Gwen looked down, uncertain how to continue.

No, Artie, Mara called out, We are bad ass angels!

The group all laughed.

Well, except for Izzy, Mara stated, looking over at Izzy.

Shut up, bitch. Izzy replied and the whole group chuckled, including Mara.

It had been a long time since the Event. Izzy and Mara had grown close, but her friend could never repay her for the way she had initially treated Izzy. At least not in her own mind. So, she would tease her by calling her a demon. Izzy didn’t mind. She had long ago forgiven Mara and grown to love her as a sister. This was the only family she had left.

She thought back to those first days when they came down from the mountain and found out about the Event. She remembered how each of their family members had been afraid or repulsed by the fact that these teens all had wings. The families had rejected them all. They weren’t teens any more. They were each either twenty or twenty-one and they had become angels of war.

At numerous times in the last three years, they had been forced into fighting. The result was that they were quite good at it. Most people didn’t really know how to deal with an opponent who could fly. But, like everyone else, they all had powers too. Their wings had been an element of Annie Grace’s powers, even though she did not know she was using them when she made this group into angels. Izzy and her friends were Annie Grace’s first changelings.

Changelings, Izzy offered the word to Gwen to get her out of the bind.

I like that, Perk said with a smile.

Gwen smiled gratefully at Izzy. All of her other changelings are no longer in the woods. I swear I saw some near Council Bluffs. Maybe we should…

No, Gavin shook his head, We saw the power of those people. If they didn’t accept us, we might end up having to fight hundreds of powerful foes. And, before you say it, the same is true for Manitou Springs.

Lance nodded. The old man is the only one who has been nice to us. But, his town has grown. Who knows if he would still be nice.

The silence of their lonely reminiscence was broken by a barking dog. In the last year, the old Academy had been overrun with dogs. The number was easily into the hundreds and they spread out across the entirety of the Academy. Izzy very much doubted anyone other than she and her friends could get on the old base. As it was, the dogs couldn’t fly, so they were really no threat.

So, she is dead? Izzy asked.

I guess so, sweetie, Tristan answered her.

A small tear was all Izzy could muster. It had been months they had heard the rumors about Annie’s demise. She had been burned by something. Some said it was a powerful Pyrokinetic, others that it was a dragon. The dragon was a pretty far-fetched idea. They all assumed it was a pyrokinetic, but it could just as easily have been an accident. Rumors have a way of not being true.

I wish we could have been there, Lance added, We could have whisked her away to the nest and kept her safe.

Artie nodded silently.

What do we do now, Art? Tristan queried.

We get vengeance, Artie replied quietly.

This small statement was enough to stun Izzy. It seemed everyone else was stunned too. This was not like Artie, but it accurately expressed what they all were feeling. Someone needed to pay for taking this beautiful woman from the world.

How we gonna do that? Mara asked.

Artie looked up and spread his wings. We make ourselves known. We will fly toward those eastern farms and get answers. When we do, we will end whoever has taken our friend. Eagles are loyal.

That they are, my friend, Perk responded, That they are.

As the others took to flight, movement from the corner of her vision caught Izzy’s eye and she swooped to look at where a number of dogs were circling and whimpering. She couldn’t really make it out, but somewhere in the dark hallway before which they were circling was a girl. It wasn’t that Izzy saw her. It was that Izzy heard her. Because out of that darkness a voice sprung.

I see them, she said, They are not a threat.

While trying to figure out what that might mean, the dogs stopped their circling and whimpering and ran off into the woods. No girl came out of the dark hallway, and no sight or sound followed. Izzy stayed for a moment. Realizing nothing was happening, and seeing her friends circling above waiting for her, she took to flight and rose into the cool night air. She made a mental note to herself to swing back by in the daylight and see if she could find the girl.

CHAPTER TWO

It was getting colder. Jenny’s solo mission to find Cliff had been going for months. After many near misses, she had discovered that he had taken up residence in the old NORAD station up on Cheyenne Mountain. It had taken some effort to believe that her much loved friend was now the giant flying serpent who terrified the masses of survivors’ camps on the west and south sides of the old city.

Survivors’ camps wasn’t really the term for it any longer. In the last year, mostly through the Council’s efforts, survivors had formed together into smaller communities spread throughout some of the old housing tracts. The Council had sent Terras to build walls for the communities and to build or support structures to house people. Commerce had begun. Just before she left on her journey, Jenny had attended the opening of the first pub at one of the towns. The towns had similarity in their build. They all had a town center and an administration building, a barracks for the warrior guard which the Council supplied, housing, a chapel in honor of Rich Carson, and a meditation garden. They all had manned gates and both light stones and shielding stones. Kyle had decided that the Council needed to create value for people to move into the towns and begin society once again. The experiment seemed to be working. There were much fewer solo camps out in the lands overseen by the Council.

A snapping twig startled her, and Jenny turned. She was not a warrior, and used most of her abilities to avoid people, and thereby avoid conflict. This had been her way since the Event, and it served her well. Reaching out with her mind to discover any person who might be following her, or sneaking up on her, she saw nothing but normal animal movements in the area. It must have been one of those. She turned back and slowly made her way up to the giant doors that had once claimed to be able to take a direct hit from a nuclear missile. To her surprise and disappointment, they were closed tight, and there was no sign of Cliff.

If he wasn’t here, where the hell was he? She needed to find him, but had promised Kyle she would be back to the Bluffs by Thanksgiving. If her calculations were correct, she had about a week to get back. The last year had shown that Kyle was much stricter than Ted had been as leader, but it was all for a purpose. He had shown himself to be an excellent leader, who was always thinking of the safety and development of those under his charge. Unlike Ted, Kyle felt that rules were the structure through which society operated. As such, he had moved the Council to make rules for the area under their authority.

The strong, sweet smell of death creeped into her senses. It was an unmistakable scent, and one which was all too common since the Event.

Jenny turned and looked around, eventually finding the culprit. She had somehow missed it when she had passed, but against a nearby fence laid a human corpse, partially decayed. From the looks of the woman’s body, she had been dead for maybe a week or so. Jenny never liked seeing a deceased person unattended. It seemed somehow disrespectful. She was about to look to the burial of the woman, when a real threat appeared. Out of the bushes trotted a small group of feral dogs. They growled and bared their teeth at her.

Jenny thought the smell of decaying flesh had probably brought them, but there was another possibility.

Max? She asked softly. From the salivating, and the angry barking that the dogs began, she could tell they weren’t part of Max’s pack. Jenny looked around for something with which to protect herself. This was not going to end well. Jenny was no fighter.

The dogs began to circle her, snapping their jaws and showing their teeth. Her adrenaline kicking into overdrive, Jenny frantically searched her immediate area for any protection. The closest dog lunged at her, its maw gaping open to bare the fangs to rend her flesh. She closed her eyes tight for a bite that never came. A huge gush of wind blew against her, as the dog yelped and disappeared. Opening her eyes, she saw the other dogs turn to snapping at the air as a giant, green figure dropped in and snapped one of the dogs up into its huge mouth.

Her friend Cliff had come to the rescue. Cliff made quick work of the dogs. They really didn’t stand a chance against a dragon. But, then she watched him eat them. It was a little disgusting, but also fascinating, as Jenny had never seen a dragon eat before. It reminded her of a cat toying with a mouse. One of the dogs got away, but Cliff ate the other three and licked his mouth clean. He snapped in the air toward her in a frightening manner, but she remembered that Jordan had told her how scary it was when Cliff tried to communicate.

He stopped his gnashing, and sort of waddled toward her. As he came close, he lowered his head and put out one leg. He was clearly suggesting she climb on to his back. With all that had just happened, Jenny was thrilled to get a lift and she hopped right to it, climbing into a comfortable place which she assumed is where Ted and Britt had sat on their ride back to the Bluffs after the battle with the Faith.

When she was securely in place, Cliff leapt into the sky, spreading his massive wings behind him and flapping his way higher up until they landed on an outcropping of rock with some kind of destroyed cement building atop it. By the claw marks both on this building and further in, she could tell that Cliff had torn this apart to prepare himself a lair. It was littered with small items.

Jenny looked into those great serpentine eyes. Cliff, you are still researching?

The dragon nodded at her and bared his teeth in what Jenny could only assume was supposed to be a smile but was instead one of the most frightening things she had ever seen. He snorted, and very warm air washed over her.

Oh, buddy. I miss you. I wish we could talk, she offered and patted his head, inadvertently slipping into petting the large beast.

Cliff’s mouth moved as he gnashed at the air, snorting and hissing as he did. Clearly frustrated at not being able to communicate with her, he set to stomping around the small area until something caught his eye. Using his large maw, he nudged a small statue across the landing at her. Jenny picked it up, and Cliff stared at it, then at her. Then once again, he did the same motion. The third time he did it, he snorted, giving her the distinct feeling he was calling her obtuse.

Oh, geez, she exclaimed, You want me to read it?

The look he gave her was so Cliff, she could almost hear him saying, Duh!

Smiling, she closed her eyes and looked at the statue’s past. Homing in on anything recent, she saw Cliff pick it up from a house at the old resort, as she also saw him picking and clawing open a safe. She kept her view on it, as he had apparently kept it with him on a larger trip. She unfortunately had to witness Cliff destroying and devouring a small herd of elk. But, she also saw that he was searching for something in his trips. Not just food, Cliff was looking for items.

Maybe she really was obtuse, because it took her a minute to get what he was doing. He was looking for gems. He had torn into mansion safes, stores, and empty homes.

Can you still prepare gems? She asked.

Cliff nodded and did that menacing smile thing again.

I have an idea! Jenny exclaimed. Can you take me back to the Bluffs?

He shook his head no and began gnashing about angrily. She didn’t know what he was saying, but he was clearly mad about something, and it was probably what kept him away.

She thought for a moment. Okay, Cliff, okay, she patted his head again and he just snorted. Can you get me off the mountain? I will come back; I know just who to get to help me talk to you.

He stared at her for a long moment, then nodded and lowered his head and leg so she could climb up his back. Climbing into the air, Jenny felt the cold air pick up on her face. She had warm clothes, but this was kind of cold. She leaned in and hugged her young friend, both for warmth and to comfort him.

It is so good to see you again, buddy.

Cliff responded with a screech into the afternoon sky that would have terrified her if she was on the ground below. But, she knew what he was saying. Cliff Ko was glad to see her too.

CHAPTER THREE

The day would only get colder. In the nearly three and a half years since the Event, the people of Council Bluffs had never wanted for appropriate clothing. But, as the supply of previously manufactured items grew thinner and thinner, the toll showed on every garment. Kyle pushed some stuffing back into a tear in the side of his down jacket. As Britt walked in, he looked up.

When I get back, could you drop this by my grandmother’s place and see if she can mend it? Kyle asked.

Yep, Britt answered shortly, as he packed a few items Kyle had forgotten into the backpack he would wear for his trip.

Kyle walked over to his boyfriend. He gave Britt a hug but received a half-hearted response.

What is it, babe? Kyle queried cautiously.

I don’t want you to go, Britt answered softly.

Kyle lifted Britt’s face, so they look into each other’s eyes. Kissing Britt lightly, he offered, It is important.

Britt stepped away from him. Don’t patronize me, Kyle. You think I don’t know that this is important. I know you will be safe. I know that the work you do is good.

Then what is it?

Britt held his gaze, then melted into a sheepish smile, I will miss you.

Kyle smiled back, I will be back before you know it.

I know, Britt said, Could you tell me the route again?

Of course, Kyle responded. I will go into our town at the base of the Bluffs Road, then to Mountain Shadows, Carson, Downtown, Soaring Eagles, Sand Creek, Northwoods, Pine Creek, Briargate, Rockrimmon, and finish at Hillside.

I have to ask the questions… Britt followed.

Of course, Kyle conceded.

Why not bring a squad with you?

Kyle smiled, My powers will only keep me out of sight. Someone who was trying to attack me could find me by tracking my escort. I am safer this way.

Britt nodded, Why visit all of the communities? Why not just the schools?

Well, I will start with visiting my sister at the Warrior school at Mountain Shadows. Then, I will finish with a visit to Adam and Erica. But, I will have to assign the authority of each community to a particular council member.

Britt nodded once more and looked down.

Kyle embraced him again, You will look in on my grandmother and Cooper?

A change in subject was the best way to break Britt’s maudlin mood. As though they had been talking of nothing else, Britt bounced right into talking about this, Of course. You know we should talk about how hard it is on Beth to raise that toddler. She isn’t young and …

You think we should place him with someone else? Kyle asked, securing his backpack.

Britt nodded, I do. I think we should place him with two parents who are prepared to handle a rambunctious kid.

Kyle thought about it for a moment. It was a good idea, but