Light in the Barren Lands: Travail of The Dark Mage Book One (26 page)

“For a while I thought I was never going to get the hang of it,” explained James, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of money. “Then I did.” Tossing the bills upon the table, he added, “There’s almost twelve hundred dollars there.”

“Is that a lot?” Taking a seat, Jiron picked up the roll of money and skimmed through it.

“For
us
it is. I plan to go back tomorrow and do it all over again.”

“Is that wise?”

James shrugged. “Whether it is or not, we need to get a few things before we head back.”

Jiron was interested in this concept of paper money. Other than letters of account between money lenders, he had never seen anything like it before. Coins crafted with precious metals made more sense to him. Laying the money back on the table, he returned his attention to James. “Like what?”

“For one thing, more crystals. A lot more. I don’t know how much power it’s going to take to bridge the distance from my world to yours. Better to have too many than find ourselves in need at an inopportune time.”

The inside-out fish James that had shown him back on the island came to mind. A shiver ran through him when he thought of meeting such a fate. “I don’t want to arrive back home with my skin on the inside.”

“Neither do I. And I’m still not completely sure the modifications to my teleporter spells that I put into place just before your arrival on the island even work. Although, the fact that we
were
teleported here would seem to indicate they are correct. I’ll just need to adapt them to Earth magic.”

Frowning, Jiron said, “Isn’t that much more complicated than your orb?” At the mention of the orb, both turned to look at the charred section of the carpet that his previous attempt in calling forth the orb had caused.

“I will admit, there is an element of risk involved. That is why I propose we do the following. First, tomorrow we’ll return to Harry’s and buy more crystals. Second, we’ll place the crystals around town so they can begin to draw power. It will take at least a week before they reach peak capacity.”

“During that week, we’ll go out into the desert where I’ll ensure the spells will work and that I can control them. Once I have adapted the spells to Earth magic, we’ll return, gather the power-filled crystals, and head to Disneyland. I can’t get the memory of Igor saying that Disneyland was a focal point out of my head. Perhaps its being a focal point will aid us in what we plan to do.”

“Certainly couldn’t hurt,” commented Jiron.

James shook his head. “No, it sure could not. Plus, there may be some sort of magical focal point there as well. And if I’m right, and there
is
, we’ll have more power at our disposal.”

“Sounds like you have it all worked out.”

“Everything except how to keep the authorities off our backs long enough for us to pull this off.” A sudden yawn stretched his jaw to the limit.

“You should get some sleep,” Jiron suggested.

“I think that might not be a bad idea,” he replied as yet another yawn escaped. Undressing, he slipped into bed. Jiron remained at the table, examining the various denominations of American currency while James drifted off to sleep.

Next day, Jiron and Jira accompanied him on his jaunt to skim the casinos of more money. They hit two casinos, winning a sum total of three hundred, fifty-three dollars at Wheel of Fortune games, before James thought about Roulette.

Basically, it was the same thing but with a horizontal turntable rather than an upright wheel. The only added component was the small marble which he felt confident could be manipulated with little difficulty.

Roulette had another thing in its favor as well; players often spent long periods of time playing it. Whereas on the Wheel of Fortune, James had felt uncomfortable if he remained longer than ten spins.

Selecting a Roulette table currently having three other players, James took his seat and handed the man two hundred dollars who in turn slid three stacks of chips of varying denominations across to him; the greatest quantity being worth a dollar.

He slid a dollar chip onto Black, one of the three color designations in the game of Roulette. The Roulette Wheel bore numbers ranging from one to thirty six, each number being either red or black. By betting Black, he would be paid if the ball settled upon a number in a black slot. If he won, it was a one for one payout. The other color was green. Only the numbers “0” and “00” were designated green.

The dealer made sure all bets were made, then spun the wheel and sent the ball on its way. After the ball made two revolutions around the outer track of the wheel, the man announced, “No more bets.”

James was already at work, using magic to practice tweaking the wheel and ball with even smaller micro-bursts than used on the Wheel of Fortune game. As the Roulette Wheel slowed, he tightened his efforts. Then with a final nudge as the ball came to rest, he made it land into a black slot.

“Twenty-eight, Black.”

First, the dealer removed all losing wagers, then paid off the winners; James had another dollar chip added atop the one that he’d bet on Black. He let his money ride.

Once more he won on Black, then reduced his bet back to a dollar and transferred it to Red. Also, so as not to appear out of place by winning all his bets, he also placed two other dollar chips on the table. One was on number twenty-eight, the other, “00.” These he planned to lose.

This time when the Roulette Wheel spun, he didn’t try to make the ball land on just any Red number, but instead tried to make the ball fall into a specific Red slot: Number Fourteen. This was much more complicated.

It took him three tries with a loss of another six dollars before he managed to hit Number Fourteen. Confident in his growing ability, he divided thirty dollars between three numbers: five, sixteen, and twenty-four. Since the other players consistently made multiple bets, so did he. What did it matter if he lost two of his three bets, when winning but one yielded a thirty-five to one payout?

With the spin of the wheel and the loosing of the ball, he began. A nudge here, a slowing of the wheel there, and when the ball finally came to rest, the dealer said, “Five, Red.” Taking his two losing bets totaling twenty dollars, the dealer then placed three hundred and fifty next to his lone winning one.

It felt great to pull that much money back and he could feel the envious stares of his fellow players. But he couldn’t allow his excitement to cause him to win too much. The last thing he desired was to attract the attention of the eye-in-the-sky. Unobtrusively glancing up toward one of the many black half-spheres attached to the ceiling from where hidden cameras watched, he knew that if he won too much and too often, someone up there would notice.

So, planning on losing the next couple of rounds, he once again placed his trio of ten dollar bets on various numbers and allowed the wheel to go about its business without interference. Another half-hour with one or two more big scores, and he would move on to another casino. He had their number now.

The wheel spun, the ball rolled, and James couldn’t help but smile.

Lunchtime found them at another buffet, this time one of the better ones. High end menu items such as crab, lobster, and made to order steaks were but some of the delicacies laid out for their pleasure.

James worked on some crab legs while Jiron waited on a sirloin. Jira was quite content to have a variety of other items such as fried chicken since the “fishy stuff” didn’t appeal to her all that much. She would rather see it cavorting in the ocean than lying cooked on her plate.

“We’re up eight thousand and some change,” James informed them. “More than enough for our needs. When we finish with lunch, we’ll return to Harry’s.”

“How many crystals do you figure you’ll need?”

“Dozens. It’s not so much those that I plan on leaving behind to gather magic, but rather those that will be expended while I try to fine tune the teleportation process.” Dipping a succulent piece of crabmeat into a small dish of melted butter, he quickly took a bite before the butter could drip away. “My spells may have worked to get us here, though how exactly they managed
that
feat is still unclear. But having to use them in conjunction with the magic here on Earth, well, you get the idea.”

Jiron nodded.

“After we return from Harry’s, we’ll take a stroll around town and place a crystal every block or so. I had six crystals powering the teleporter back on the island. I’ll use sixty here.”

“Sixty?”

“If I can. Too many is preferable than being caught one short at a crucial juncture.”

“You’re the mage,” shrugged Jiron.

After lunch they caught a taxi over to Harry’s where James negotiated for ten dozen of his crystals. Both surprised and pleased to have someone buy in such quantity, Harry gave them a good price and even offered to help in the selection process. Two bulging sacks later, they returned to the taxi and headed back to Vegas.

That afternoon, and throughout most of the evening, James, Jiron, and Jira walked throughout the Strip area and around the casinos placing crystals. James would find a likely spot in close proximity to a well traveled area, place a crystal at shoulder level against the wall and magically adhere it to the surface. Then after a brief spell to render it all but invisible, and another to activate the embedded gathering spells within the crystal, they moved on to the next location.

Jiron carried a backpack bought for just this occasion that was loaded with crystals. Jira’s job was to mark on one of those Vegas tourist maps the location of where James placed each crystal. It wouldn’t do them much good if they couldn’t find the crystals when the time came. By the time the last of the sixty crystals to be placed were in position, James was footsore and Jira rode atop her father’s shoulders after having complained once too often of being tired; which in the grand scheme of things had been her plan from the beginning.

It was a weary trio that walked in through the motel room door. Jira was asleep in Jiron’s arms. He laid her gently upon the bed then joined James at the table. Sitting down, he tossed Jira’s map with crystal locations across to James.

Sixty dots speckled the map, along with Jira’s doodlings she had scribbled during the more boring moments while waiting for her uncle to complete placing crystals. James felt confident that in a week’s time, the crystals will have gathered sufficient power to more than satisfy his needs to get them home.

“Better put that in your duffle so we won’t lose it,” said James wearily.

Jiron nodded and slipped it into his duffle bag lying not far away.

“Tomorrow we head out to the desert after buying a tent and supplies to last for several days,” began James. “Once I have the spells down, we’ll return and collect the crystals. A day later we could very well be back on the island.”

“Are you certain you can do this?” Glancing at his daughter, Jiron continued having some concern about James’ ability to do this safely. The memory of the inside-out fish continued to haunt him.

“To be honest, the only answer I can give is maybe. I won’t know until after I’ve had time to try out the spells.” He paused a moment before adding, “You know, there is the very real possibility that I will never be able to answer with anything more encouraging than a maybe.”

His friend remained silent for a while as he glanced again toward where his daughter lay in blissful repose. “I love Jira more than I ever thought I could care for anyone in my life.” Then he shifted his gaze to James. “Perhaps even more than her mother.”

“And the thought of her becoming as that fish…” Pausing, he shuddered, then sighed. “But the thought of she and I being forevermore separated from Aleya is worse. If the best you can ever give is maybe, then maybe it will be. Just don’t let it
be
…a maybe.”

“I promise you that we will not attempt the crossing until I am certain of success.”

“Good.”

The following morning, James went to the motel office and paid for another week. “If it’s all the same,” he told the manager, “we would rather not have the cleaning crew entering in our absence. My friend is somewhat protective of his things.”

With the money for a whole week sitting before him, the manager gave James a quizzical look. “There isn’t a dead body rotting away in your room is there?”

“What?” Taken aback by the question, James grew alarmed until he saw the manager grin. “No.”

“Well, then. Your room shall be left alone until your return.” As he took the money, he added, “Or until the week is up.”

“Thank you.”

The car they’d stolen from the drunk in Reno sat in the back of the lot next to the dumpster. Thus far no one had paid it any attention. James considered buying a used one with the money won at the casinos, but knew that he would have to show ID, and that was something he did not have. He would have to drive most safely and give the police no reason to give him a second look.

From the motel James headed east. Driving through town, he found one of the mega retailers and there they bought a three compartment tent, three sleeping bags, and a plethora of other paraphernalia needed for outdoor camping.

Jiron marveled at the various items available. Even the tent raised an appreciative reaction, since the tents from his world were the most basic; made of thick cloth or canvas, and extremely heavy. He couldn’t believe that a tent in which ten people could sleep without lying atop one another could be easily carried under one arm. It weighed less than Jira!

Before they left, Jiron caught sight of the knife display. These were not kitchen knives, but rather the heavy duty utility knives for outdoor use. “Want one?” James asked him but he declined. “I’ll stick with the ones I have,” he replied.

The store also sold food and so they stocked up on easily prepared items and other necessities. As they were waiting in line at the cashier, James couldn’t help but peruse the magazines in the rack strategically displayed so as to prompt impulse buying. One was a woman’s type magazine and had the banner headline,
“100 Best Recipes to Satisfy Your Chocolate Craving
”. Then below the banner was a smaller blurb
“Own your own cocoa plant.”