Interlude: Dissent in the Ranks

As far as assignments went, McGinnis had seen worse. Spending time in Harper Valley in a cozy little cottage on the outskirts of town would’ve been a great vacation, if it wasn’t so damned boring. After his time as a mage in the military, sleepy farm towns weren’t his shot of whiskey.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t stuck inside for most of it. McGinnis had been hired to provide security for the group, as well as be the one to lead the raids and sabotages. So far, there had been none of that, or anything resembling action. It was him, Gayle, and Mark waiting around for whatever scraps Thomas decided to send them. Was it any wonder they’d gotten bored enough to disobey orders?

“Stop it,” said Mark, not looking up from his book. “You’re going to wear a hole in the floor.” He sat at the kitchen table, a mostly finished cocktail in front of him. The cottage they rented was largely one big room, with three small bedrooms for some semblance of privacy. It still meant spending too much time together.

McGinnis paused, then grunted. “At least that’ll mean I’ve accomplished something on this assignment. Who wants to sit around, doing nothing?”

“Me,” said Mark. “I greatly enjoy receiving steady pay for catching up on my reading. Besides, it’s not like we’ve done nothing. Gayle and I have accomplished a lot. I suppose it’s different when you’re being paid to effectively be useless. My sympathies.”

The mage growled. He considered setting the enchanter’s book on fire. That might get him a good fight or problem to focus on for a while, but…the repercussions would be too much. “I haven’t been entirely useless. I’ve done my share of spying.”

“Oh yes.” Mark finally put his book facedown on the table. He finished his cocktail in one gulp before smirking at McGinnis. “Watching them work along with the rest of us and feeling out for whatever wards McKenzie has. You really want to tap the place and be more active, don’t you?”

“Gods, don’t you? Forget for a second that you’re getting paid to read old romance novels,” said McGinnis.

“Hard to forget when I’m this happy about it, but go on.”

“Don’t you feel like your talents and time are being wasted? Watching that dumb kid throw dirt around for a couple of weeks while you and Gayle try to replicate and keep pace is dull. That McKenzie kid is toothless. I’m not needed.”

“Then perhaps you should resign and let us work instead. I’ll happily split your pay with Gayle. Maybe a bit more zynce will remove the stick from her ass.” Mark always sounded cheerful, no matter who he insulted or pissed off.

McGinnis ground his teeth, but forced a smile. “All I’m saying is that we could be doing more, and my talents are being wasted. Why must we wait for them to make the discoveries first? All you’ve done is copy their work.”

That got through to the older wizard. Mark stood, and cleaned his monocle with a nearby cloth. He focused on that, chewing over his words before speaking. “What we’ve done so far is analyze what they’ve come up with so we can follow their process based on Elliot’s reports. There’s no point in coming up with our own ideas until they’ve given us something to use.

“Half the job requires patience, and discretion. Perhaps they should’ve left you behind after all. You seem like every other mage, ready to throw a spell first and think things through never.” Mark set his monocle back with a smirk.

McGinnis growled once more. “Oh yeah?” he challenged.

“Yeah,” said Mark. “Problem?”

“No, not really,” said McGinnis, sighing and taking the other seat at the table. He buried his hand into his cropped orange hair and massaged his scalp. “You’re not wrong. I hate waiting, and here I am waiting twice. Waiting for those dumb kids to give us something to work with, and waiting for Gayle to get here with our godsdamned food.”

The front door opened. Mark turned to McGinnis with glee on his face. “Complaining always works, it seems. It’s about time!”

It wasn’t just Gayle. Their direct superior came with her, pushing past her and going straight for McGinnis. “What in the hell were you thinking?” Thomas Elliot snapped at him. “I told you to not approach them.”

“Why are you singling me out?” McGinnis demanded. He looked to the other two wizards for help, but Gayle didn’t like him and Mark was always entertained by others’ pain. “We all got fed up and had a chat.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“He already chewed me out,” said Gayle, holding a big basket full of covered meals from the local pub. She pushed past Mark and set the food on the table. “I already regret following you into the diner and going along with it.”

That traitorous bitch. “We all went,” he barked.

“We followed you,” Mark said in a sing-song voice. “Had to make sure you weren’t going to do anything as stupid as pick a literal fight with them.”

“That’s exactly what you did,” said Thomas. For being a lanky, overdressed man in a stupid bowtie, he managed intimidating passingly well. McGinnis didn’t fear him, but he respected the steel in his voice. “Worse, you picked a fight with me. Did you consider that you could’ve blown my cover? They got suspicious immediately.”

“I wanted to get a feel for them,” said McGinnis. His head heated up, and the weight of everyone’s eyes on him pushed him into a corner. “You hired me for security, and there’s nothing to be afraid of. The rumors are true, aren’t they? McKenzie is weak.”

Thomas took a deep breath. He smiled. “You’re an idiot. Do you have any idea what he is capable of?”

“You mean that crap about him washing out of being a mage?” McGinnis scoffed. “I believe the washing out part, at least. No way he would’ve handled being a mage.”

Mark snickered, earning the ire of both men. He held up his hands and stepped back. “We’ve watched him play with several acres of land like it was molding clay. For weeks now, he’s been throwing around magic like it was nothing.”

“That was through the leyline!” McGinnis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Any of us could do that if we were permanently latched onto one.”

This time Gayle shook her head. The quiet, sullen earth wizard was the person he got along with least, but she at least kept it professional. “Have you ever tapped into one? It’s more draining than you think, and after a while it feels like it’s burning you inside out.”

“Funny how you all seemed fine with it at the time. Guess I get to be everyone’s scapegoat, don’t I?” McGinnis crossed his arms over his chest. If he was fired, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. “You’re all just as bored as I am.”

“Make no mistake,” Thomas said, whirling around. He leveled an eye of contempt to each of them in turn. “I am not happy with any of you. I’m this close to ending this entire ridiculous mission right here.”

“But Ferrovani,” McGinnis started.

“Isn’t here, and isn’t my boss anymore,” Thomas snapped. “You are here because he and I both agreed that this discovery is too important to leave to one lucky amateur. The truth is, I could just as easily take it from here and do just fine. I’m tempted to do just that.”

“Then, if I can be so bold to ask,” said Mark, “what’s stopping you? Keeping in mind that I would prefer to have continued employment and the same stake in the project as before.”

Thomas shook his head but raised a thick folder. “Ferrovani has decided he wants a piece of this. If I refuse him, he could make things difficult for me. So I am obligated to keep you fools around. But you’re right. Things have been boring. Now they aren’t. We’ve succeeded, and the notes are here.”

“Really?” Mark perked up. “We can do our jobs now?”

“What was the big revelation regarding the leyline?” Gayle asked. “I’m assuming that’s the nature of this breakthrough.”

“You assume correctly.” Thomas said. Then he hesitated.

McGinnis knew what that look meant, and he changed his previous appraisal. If McKenzie was weak, so was the stuck up Master Elliot. The bastard was having second thoughts about it.

“Well?” he asked. “What’s the news then?”

With a sigh, Thomas slapped the folder down on the table. “It’s simple, but not easy. You have to shape the leyline into a rune, and it channels power through a link to the land. As the power flows through the shape, it constantly pushes that command out into the world. It’s a call, waiting for a response, and we’ve developed a way to answer. We developed the answer first, and then found the call.”

“This is fantastic,” said Mark. “Assuming Gayle can accomplish what McKenzie has, I can begin working at once!”

“What about me?” McGinnis asked.

“Depending on whether or not you can behave,” said Thomas, “they’ll need your expertise to design and implement security measures based on this emerging understanding of magic.”

“You want me to make weapons,” said McGinnis. That changed things. Weeks of waiting around, reading and rereading the notes that bastard Elliot sent every week were over. No more staying a few weeks behind the local yokels.

“And defensive measures,” Thomas said. “In fact, I’d prefer you to focus on defensive measures rather than offensive. Consider it a way of laying low and not drawing unnecessary attention to yourself until we’re ready to move. I do not want Wil or his friends to have any reason to remember or recognize you.”

“That can’t last forever,” said Gayle. “They’ll know when we start carving up the land like they did. It’s going to take me time to get used to doing it. Which I assume I am now allowed to do.”

“Yes. It’s time to move forward. The race begins. You will have your own work and my notes of theirs to work with. Make it count, and do not, do not give me reason to end this.”

Thomas looked around once more, disgust plain in his eyes. McGinnis knew it was only halfway directed at him. Poor little rich kid, having second thoughts. Whatever. He’d been around long enough to know how to play nice for a while. He gave a nod and kept his mouth shut. For now.