Bishop & Rook, page 6
“Orb?” Bishop questioned under his breath. “An Avatar?”
“A what?” Rook asked.
Bishop didn’t respond, instead he focused on the two at the end of the hall. The old woman shot the man a look of anger and fury. He put his free hand up and took a step back. “Hey, don’t kill the messenger. You can play with him later, but for now, you must return.”
“Damn him!” she hissed. “You, boy! You won’t get away with this… I’ll be seeing you very soon.”
The old woman turned to the man, walked passed him and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway. He turned to them and chuckled before he joined the woman and disappeared in the hallway. Bishop and Rook lowered their conduits, both losing their auras.
“You think they’re gone?” Rook asked.
“For now.”
“What were they, Bishop? I’ve never seen anything like them before.”
“I don’t want to stick around to find out.”
They turned and walked over toward Detective Moss and Willard, being sure to step around Ian’s remains. The two men were alive, but barely. The attack did severe damage and left burn marks on their bodies.
Bishop sighed as he and Rook kneeled down to help the two men. “It’s been a crazy twenty-four hours, Rook.”
“Yea, you can say that again.”
Chapter 9
Farewell
Flashing red and blue lights radiated from tops of police vehicles brought the shipyard from the darkness that shrouded it. Officers swept the area looking for signs of any remaining guards while paramedics and investigators analyzed the various crime scenes. Police tape surrounded the shipyard as a keeping news trucks and the growing press pool at bay white they wrapped up their investigation.
Bishop and Rook observed as the now conscious, Detective Moss and Willard received the medical attention they desperately needed. Rook witnessed firsthand the full power of Ian’s pendant when the old woman attacked Ian with it. Suffering a fraction of that power was to leave them both worse for wear, but they’d live.
“What a night!” said Bishop, stretching his arms. “
“We almost died on three different occasions because of a Game Boy Classic.”
“Not this again!”
“I’m just stating facts, Bishop.”
Bishop and Rook sat on wooden crates while staying hidden behind the office Ian used, tending to their own wounds when they spotted Detective Moss, on his own strength limping toward them. They rose to greet him.
“You’re a tough SOB, Detective,” said Bishop shaking his head.
“I’ve felt better, I can assure you,” he replied. “How are you two holding up?”
“We’re good. The thief—I mean Willard, is he going to make it?” Bishop asked.
Detective Moss winced and turned his head to see Willard being wheeled into an ambulance. “He’s alive and his family is safe at the station. I’m sure once he sees them he’ll be fine.”
“Great!” said Bishop, clapping once. “If that’s it then, I think we’ll be on our way!”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Detective Moss asked. “You’re not getting off that easy.”
“Whatever could you mean, Detective Moss?” Bishop asked.
“For starters, you kidnapped a key witness right from under my nose. Then led us on a manhunt that cost the department a lot of resources and the man we came to capture ended up as a pile of soup! You did all of that in less than twelve hours,” Detective Moss explained, keeping track with his fingers. “I should have you arrested, for the kidnapping alone—I don’t even want to know how Ian ended up in that state.”
“We only borrowed him for a moment—”
“Sorry, Detective Moss,” Rook interrupted. He realized if he allowed Bishop to continue, they’d be in even more hot water than they already were and that Detective Moss would arrest them from his annoyance with Bishop alone. “It’s as I explained to you earlier, we weren’t given a choice, and he threatened to kill us.”
“That doesn’t excuse you for what you did, Rook,” said Detective Moss. “You should have informed the authorities to begin with. You two are not cops and it’s not your responsibility. It’s our job and our job.”
“Not for nothing, Detective Moss, but if it hadn’t been for us, you’d be werewolf food,” said Bishop.
Detective Moss shot him a glare.
“I meant no disrespect, but if it hadn’t been for me and Rook, things wouldn’t have ended well for you and your men,” Bishop explained.
“I wouldn’t consider the state of things right now as ending well, but I hate to admit, if it weren’t for you warlocks, things would have ended worse, and for that I thank you,” Detective Moss explained. “My encounters with warlocks and witches before you have been few and far between, but they were pleasant. Not as crazy as you too, but pleasant nonetheless. Just please, for the love of everything holy, leave the detective work to us next time?”
“Sure thing,” said Rook before giving him a thumbs up.
“What are you guys going to do about the Devin and Barry? You’re not just going to leave them in the container are you?”
“I don’t know, Bishop. It’s out of our jurisdiction,” Detective Moss explained.
“What do you mean?” Rook questioned. “Your men haven’t taken them out yet? It’s been over an hour.”
“That was my reaction when I found out,” said Detective Moss. “When my men arrived to remove the lock from the trailer, government agents arrived and stopped them from proceeding. From what I understand, the government blocked all access inside and around the tanker and they’ll be transported within the hour. Given the state of the things, I’m not surprised.”
“That doesn’t sound too good,” Rook commented.
“No… it doesn’t,” said Detective Moss. He turned away from them and limped away. “And just so you know, two of Ian’s men, Mitch and Ronnie corroborate your story. They were eager to give Ian up when they found out he was dead. You’re free to go.”
A look of relief spread across Bishops face. “Thank you, Detective and we will be sure not to get involved with anything like this anymore! I promise you.”
Detective Moss shook his head and sighed. “Why don’t I believe you? Get out of here and keep an eye on him Rook.”
Rook nodded as Detective Moss powered through his pain and walked toward the waiting ambulance as two officers came to assist him. Rook leaned against the building, relieved that they could return home. It was the longest twenty-four hours he had ever endured, and it was something he wouldn’t forget. His relief was an afterthought when he noticed Bishop staring at the top of the tanker as if he was looking through it.
“What is it, Bishop?”
Bishop didn’t respond. With gaze locked on the tanker, he exhaled and then sighed. “It’s nothing,” he said, his tone was low and foreboding.
“You sure?”
“Yea… let’s get out of here,” Bishop responded.
Bishop turned to Rook and smiled. But Rook knew he was forcing it, wanting him to not worry about what he was thinking about, but Rook knew him well. Something worried Bishop, so much so that his hands were shaking and he was sweating. It was fear, and it washed over him like a wave. Bishop wouldn’t admit to it, so there was no reason to press the issue any further, even though he wanted to.
Rook’s focus was somewhere else also, he was just better at hiding it than Bishop. What Ian told him in the tanker plagued his thoughts. Someone was watching him; whoever they were, knew about things that only those closest to him would know and he wanted to find out how. But it would have to wait. He only wanted one thing in that moment, sleep.
Bishop removed the shroudnet from his packet and in one motion, covered them both, making them invisible.
“Hey, Rook—I got a great video to show you.”
“I hope it’s not like the last video you showed me, I don’t get why that was entertaining!”
“You are probably the only person in the world to not like the Filipino prisoners performing Thriller. But no, I recorded Devin and Barry’s werewolf transformations!”
“And you had the time to record that?”
“Would you have believed me otherwise?”
“Ah, fair enough.”
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Author Note
Thank you for taking the time to read, Bishop & Rook, the second prequel book in the Magik: The Avatar Wars saga. I thank you for taking the time to read it.
Magik: The Avatar Wars will be an 8 book saga and is a personal project for me. It’s an experiment to see if my craft and my story-telling skills improve by the saga’s end by tedious trial and error. Some things will work, some things won’t.
If you would like to follow my journey, as I write the books and see the steps I’m taking to improve with each book, please, feel free to follow my personal blog at: www.ahauthorship.com, there you can stay updated with my process with a daily blog, and a weekly blog.
If you like the world of Magik: The Avatar Wars please visit: www.MagikSaga.com, there you can read in-depth character profiles, organization, and learn about the latest news about the books.
Links
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Antoine Henderson, Bishop & Rook
