Read Online Look Behind You (The Order of the Silver Star) by Elisabeth Wolfe - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Elisabeth Wolfe
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entire coastline. Nobody knows what good that’ll do, but there’s a chance things could get bad for the French. Might not be too good for the Brits, either. So….” Hamer rubbed at where his fairy stone probably hung. “Well, the Fair Folk pulled some strings, and King George wants us to go pull down the wall. And we ain’t stoppin’ there. If we can move fast enough, we can go clear to Berlin and put a stop to all this once and for all.”
The room was silent for a long moment after that pronouncement. Matt wasn’t sure whether to whoop or to pray, and he suspected the other men felt the same way.
Finally, one of the older men from East Texas snorted. “Is that what this thing’s for?” he asked, holding up his pendant. “I told that damn fairy—”
The pendant leapt out of his hand and dashed itself against the floor, shattering with a resounding crash. Its former owner had the grace to look embarrassed.
“This is no laughin’ matter, Halberson,” Hamer said sternly. “Even Schneider’s brother knows it’s serious, and he’s not one to believe in magic, is he, Schneider?”
Matt shook his head. “No. He believes in God, but he’s skeptical about everything else.”
“Well, he was until he had to stop the SS from droppin’ a curse on London that would probably rival an atomic bomb.”
Matt paled and thanked God silently for keeping Chris safe.
Halberson wouldn’t be put off, though. “But we ain’t never needed fairy magic before! Like Bill McDonald always used to say, no man in the wrong—”
“Halberson,” Wright interrupted with a growl.
“You have a point,” Gonzaullas conceded. “But such protection can only help, especially since you won’t be going up against mere men. And it’s not as if the Rangers have never received protective relics before.”
“Like what?” Halberson challenged.
“Let’s just say that if Hitler tries to use the spear his men took from Vienna in the way legend claims one should use the Spear of Longinus, he will be sadly disappointed.”
Matt’s jaw dropped. He’d had no idea the Holy Lance had been hiding in Austin all this time.
“Think we oughta take that with us?” Hamer asked.
Gonzaullas shook his head. “No, it’s not to leave the state. Neither are any of the rare books—the journals, especially, and the Comanche texts. I think the thing to do is to study them here, maybe consult with Modesto Castro to see what the Lipan can tell you, and then arm yourselves with prayer and vayan con Dios .” 12
“What happened to us not usin’ magic?” Hickman groused.
“You won’t be. The information in those texts is purely defensive. The mission is to break enchantments, not to cast them. And it will likely take a fair amount of our usual investigative skill to know which counter-spell to use in any given situation.”
“Not like we won’t be facing humans at all, either,” Wright noted. “Even if all the combat troops are out of the way, it stands to reason the Krauts won’t pull all the occupation forces out.”
Hamer nodded. “That’s what British Intelligence thinks. There’ll still be Luftwaffe troops there, plus the SS. And we’re only the first wave. The Brits plan to send in regular troops behind us, in the hope that we’ll get folks stirred up enough to work with the Allies, not against ’em.”
“Wait,” said Martinez, one of Matt’s former colleagues from Marfa. “How the hell are we supposed to keep the Germans from finding out what we’re up to? I mean, we’ve got some pretty famous names in this room. If we all turn up in England….”
“Well, to be honest, they think we’re already there. But the Army’s got a diversion cooking—George Patton’s idea, actually, although I think the Lady of the Lake might have been in on it, too.”
“What kind of diversion?”
Hamer laughed. “Y’all ain’t gonna believe this one….”
#####
12 Go with God.
#####
~~~~~
Chapter
The room was silent for a long moment after that pronouncement. Matt wasn’t sure whether to whoop or to pray, and he suspected the other men felt the same way.
Finally, one of the older men from East Texas snorted. “Is that what this thing’s for?” he asked, holding up his pendant. “I told that damn fairy—”
The pendant leapt out of his hand and dashed itself against the floor, shattering with a resounding crash. Its former owner had the grace to look embarrassed.
“This is no laughin’ matter, Halberson,” Hamer said sternly. “Even Schneider’s brother knows it’s serious, and he’s not one to believe in magic, is he, Schneider?”
Matt shook his head. “No. He believes in God, but he’s skeptical about everything else.”
“Well, he was until he had to stop the SS from droppin’ a curse on London that would probably rival an atomic bomb.”
Matt paled and thanked God silently for keeping Chris safe.
Halberson wouldn’t be put off, though. “But we ain’t never needed fairy magic before! Like Bill McDonald always used to say, no man in the wrong—”
“Halberson,” Wright interrupted with a growl.
“You have a point,” Gonzaullas conceded. “But such protection can only help, especially since you won’t be going up against mere men. And it’s not as if the Rangers have never received protective relics before.”
“Like what?” Halberson challenged.
“Let’s just say that if Hitler tries to use the spear his men took from Vienna in the way legend claims one should use the Spear of Longinus, he will be sadly disappointed.”
Matt’s jaw dropped. He’d had no idea the Holy Lance had been hiding in Austin all this time.
“Think we oughta take that with us?” Hamer asked.
Gonzaullas shook his head. “No, it’s not to leave the state. Neither are any of the rare books—the journals, especially, and the Comanche texts. I think the thing to do is to study them here, maybe consult with Modesto Castro to see what the Lipan can tell you, and then arm yourselves with prayer and vayan con Dios .” 12
“What happened to us not usin’ magic?” Hickman groused.
“You won’t be. The information in those texts is purely defensive. The mission is to break enchantments, not to cast them. And it will likely take a fair amount of our usual investigative skill to know which counter-spell to use in any given situation.”
“Not like we won’t be facing humans at all, either,” Wright noted. “Even if all the combat troops are out of the way, it stands to reason the Krauts won’t pull all the occupation forces out.”
Hamer nodded. “That’s what British Intelligence thinks. There’ll still be Luftwaffe troops there, plus the SS. And we’re only the first wave. The Brits plan to send in regular troops behind us, in the hope that we’ll get folks stirred up enough to work with the Allies, not against ’em.”
“Wait,” said Martinez, one of Matt’s former colleagues from Marfa. “How the hell are we supposed to keep the Germans from finding out what we’re up to? I mean, we’ve got some pretty famous names in this room. If we all turn up in England….”
“Well, to be honest, they think we’re already there. But the Army’s got a diversion cooking—George Patton’s idea, actually, although I think the Lady of the Lake might have been in on it, too.”
“What kind of diversion?”
Hamer laughed. “Y’all ain’t gonna believe this one….”
#####
12 Go with God.
#####
~~~~~
Chapter
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