Read Online The Last American Wizard by Edward Irving - Free Book Online
Authors: Edward Irving
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Master Chief?”
“Nope, not on the device or with the Standard Issue Mark One eyeball. I seem to have utterly lost what little juice I ever had.”
Steve said. “I just know that I’m going to hate myself for asking, but what is this purple stuff?”
Barnaby’s voice sounded surprised. “You just got shot with a blue lightning bolt and you haven’t figured that out yet? It’s Magic.”
“Bull.”
“You’ve fallen to your death and didn’t die, a rather large creature smashed through your metal apartment door, and now you’ve raised a shield to protect yourself from a blast of blue destruction, and you’re still not convinced that there is something strange going on?”
“Well...”
“It’s magic and, just as Madge says in the old dishwashing commercial, you’re soaking in it.”
Steve thought about jumping up on the closest table, but they were all filled with scientific equipment and he was probably about as soaked in purple goo as he could get. He pointed towards Ace. “Why isn’t any sticking to Ace here?”
“When the Change occurred, we believe that those few people who could perceive and control magic in the pre-Change world immediately lost all their power and, possibly, are immune or resistant to its effects.”
“Immune?” A smile came over Steve’s face. “Can I test that on the Master Chief with one of those blue lightning bolts?”
Ace’s face immediately froze into a scowl.
Barnaby said hastily. “No, I don’t think that’s necessary and it certainly wouldn’t be safe.”
“What if I only shoot to wound?” Steve attempted to sound innocent and failed miserably.
“I meant that you would be in tremendous danger if you tried to shoot the Master Chief whether there was magic involved or not, so it wouldn’t prove anything.” Barnaby was firm and Ace relaxed slightly. Steve snapped his fingers in regret.
Barnaby continued. “OK, we’ve established the known knowns and the known unknowns, and it’s time to move on to the unknown unknowns.”
“Don Rumsfeld lost a war we didn’t need to fight and did a pretty good job of wrecking the US military with that sort of reasoning,” Steve said. “Why don’t you shut off whichever memory bank that holds that sad remnant and let’s move on?”
“OK,” Barnaby said, and Steve could hear a few mechanical clicks and a muffled scream in the background. “We need to look ahead. Since this was clearly a planned event, we should assume a post-action plan.”
Ace broke in. “Wait a minute. The Incident wasn’t natural? It was caused by someone–”
“Three someones.” Steve interrupted.
She looked up from the phone to stare at him. “How do you know...?”
“I could not-hear them on the plane that wasn’t there and didn’t crash,” Steve explained.
“How long is this sort of conversation going to continue? I may have to put in for hazard pay.” Ace shook her head as if to clear it. “OK, if the crash and the Change were a caused event and not an accident, shouldn’t it be considered an attack on the United States?”
“Yes, we’re fairly sure that that’s exactly what it is,” Barnaby said. “And while natural talents such as yourself have lost their powers, we believe that the planners have worked out a way to maintain their ability to control OTN events and, in fact, can control magical powers at a higher level than before. First, as a hypothesis, it makes sense, and second, we are receiving reports of increased and more clearly defined magical activity.”
“Great,” Steve said. “So, we’re being attacked by wizards. How many wizards do we have on our side?”
“I believe the Master Chief already told you that.” Barnaby paused. “We have...you.”
Steve could feel anger welling up inside. “Well, that’s ridiculous. You guys over in that black glass building have been reading everyone’s mail, tapping phones, and fingering through the Internet for decades. Now that you have a clear
“Nope, not on the device or with the Standard Issue Mark One eyeball. I seem to have utterly lost what little juice I ever had.”
Steve said. “I just know that I’m going to hate myself for asking, but what is this purple stuff?”
Barnaby’s voice sounded surprised. “You just got shot with a blue lightning bolt and you haven’t figured that out yet? It’s Magic.”
“Bull.”
“You’ve fallen to your death and didn’t die, a rather large creature smashed through your metal apartment door, and now you’ve raised a shield to protect yourself from a blast of blue destruction, and you’re still not convinced that there is something strange going on?”
“Well...”
“It’s magic and, just as Madge says in the old dishwashing commercial, you’re soaking in it.”
Steve thought about jumping up on the closest table, but they were all filled with scientific equipment and he was probably about as soaked in purple goo as he could get. He pointed towards Ace. “Why isn’t any sticking to Ace here?”
“When the Change occurred, we believe that those few people who could perceive and control magic in the pre-Change world immediately lost all their power and, possibly, are immune or resistant to its effects.”
“Immune?” A smile came over Steve’s face. “Can I test that on the Master Chief with one of those blue lightning bolts?”
Ace’s face immediately froze into a scowl.
Barnaby said hastily. “No, I don’t think that’s necessary and it certainly wouldn’t be safe.”
“What if I only shoot to wound?” Steve attempted to sound innocent and failed miserably.
“I meant that you would be in tremendous danger if you tried to shoot the Master Chief whether there was magic involved or not, so it wouldn’t prove anything.” Barnaby was firm and Ace relaxed slightly. Steve snapped his fingers in regret.
Barnaby continued. “OK, we’ve established the known knowns and the known unknowns, and it’s time to move on to the unknown unknowns.”
“Don Rumsfeld lost a war we didn’t need to fight and did a pretty good job of wrecking the US military with that sort of reasoning,” Steve said. “Why don’t you shut off whichever memory bank that holds that sad remnant and let’s move on?”
“OK,” Barnaby said, and Steve could hear a few mechanical clicks and a muffled scream in the background. “We need to look ahead. Since this was clearly a planned event, we should assume a post-action plan.”
Ace broke in. “Wait a minute. The Incident wasn’t natural? It was caused by someone–”
“Three someones.” Steve interrupted.
She looked up from the phone to stare at him. “How do you know...?”
“I could not-hear them on the plane that wasn’t there and didn’t crash,” Steve explained.
“How long is this sort of conversation going to continue? I may have to put in for hazard pay.” Ace shook her head as if to clear it. “OK, if the crash and the Change were a caused event and not an accident, shouldn’t it be considered an attack on the United States?”
“Yes, we’re fairly sure that that’s exactly what it is,” Barnaby said. “And while natural talents such as yourself have lost their powers, we believe that the planners have worked out a way to maintain their ability to control OTN events and, in fact, can control magical powers at a higher level than before. First, as a hypothesis, it makes sense, and second, we are receiving reports of increased and more clearly defined magical activity.”
“Great,” Steve said. “So, we’re being attacked by wizards. How many wizards do we have on our side?”
“I believe the Master Chief already told you that.” Barnaby paused. “We have...you.”
Steve could feel anger welling up inside. “Well, that’s ridiculous. You guys over in that black glass building have been reading everyone’s mail, tapping phones, and fingering through the Internet for decades. Now that you have a clear
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