Peotr looked satisfied and felt the first relief he had experienced for what seemed like a long time. Thinking to himself, Perhaps we can make a rapid stop in and out of town, and be gone before the Blood Mages know we have even been there. I do not want to lose anybody else, especially to the vile perversion that the Russian Blood Mages have become.

  Chapter 6 – Testing the Water

  Brasilov City Border, Earth

  Peotr’s command had stopped a comfortable short distance outside of town. It positioned his forces so that two of their cars were just off the road that they would use to drive away from Brasilov while the other two were on the west side of the city. Vitaly and Nestor, the two scouts, had taken off quickly, smoothly blending into the landscape and hopefully escaping notice.

  After a wait of close to a half-hour, the mercenary Commander was getting a little concerned. There had been no signs of a battle occurring in the town, but he knew how stealthy the Blood Mages could be, and he was anxious about his men. At this point, he was tensely pacing from one side of the clearing to the other, mentally chewing over his strategies one by one while fending off fear with rational thought.

  Suddenly, Yaakov, Vitaly’s partner, called out, “I just heard from them! They say that the entire town looks almost deserted with very few people moving through the streets. Nestor insists that there is some sort of bad smell, but Vitaly cannot seem to pick it up. They both are spooked and very nervous.”

  Peotr asked in a relieved tone, “Where are they now?”

  “They have stopped a little ways from the Trobich shop. Something is making their senses uneasy, and they decided to observe for a while, rather than rushing in.”

  Reassured and once more acting in his typical calm manner, Peotr waited until Yaakov once again called out. “It appears it is a good thing that our scouts did stop because they just saw someone else try to walk into the pawnshop, and a concealed Blood Mage intercepted him.

  “After a bullying interview, the Blood Mage allowed the man to enter the shop, viciously telling him that he had better really be pawning something. The man was so frightened that he looked like he was going to pass out. The unfortunate person was only in the shop for a few minutes before he hurried out, rushing past the area where the Blood Mage had hidden as if the Devil himself was in pursuit.”

  “What are our scouts planning? Or do they not have a plan?” asked Peotr.

  Yaakov responded quickly, “Our guys are trying to figure out how to get into the shop, but do not have a solution yet.”

  The mercenary Commander mused, “They need to have a distraction, something that will pull the Blood Mages from the area and allow at least one of them to get into the store quickly and stay out of view. It should be Vitaly since he can talk to you from inside the store.”

  Yaakov agreed, saying, “Nestor just mentioned that they passed a large and abandoned building complex on the way in. He suggested setting it on fire would be an excellent diversion since it appears that the original facility involved storage tanks. He thinks perhaps the containers would still have something in them that was flammable.”

  Peotr smiled in pleasure, saying, “That sounds like a good idea,” before turning to the rest of the mercenaries and barking out orders.

  In just a few minutes, the entire attack was planned out and communicated to all of the mercenaries. One of the cars would head off for the building complex. As soon as the fire was started, they would drive North out of town and circle around to the East side to allow them to come charging in as a relief force if necessary.

  Peotr was going to cautiously approach the shop from a different vector. Hopefully, he would not be meeting any of the Blood Mages during his journey. The mercenary Commander was hoping that the Blood Mages had gotten so complacent about their control of the city that they would not expect any form of assault.

  With Boris commanding the arson group, while Peotr led the forces heading for town, the Commander knew that they had to work in tandem. This is made more difficult by the distance, although he was confident that he and Boris could handle it. The two men had a quiet conversation before they split up to make sure they were of one mind about the approach. Boris asked nervously in a low voice, “You do not want us to actually engage the Blood Mages, do you?”

  Sighing deeply, Peotr responded, “As much as I would love to take revenge for all of our people, we are not a strong enough force to overcome them. The most we can do is cause them a little discomfort, probably at the expense of painful suffering and possible death.”

  “I understand. I just hope we can hurt the dark-hearted Blood Mages even half as badly as they have hurt us at some point.”

  Clasping forearms in fond farewell, the two friends said goodbye and good luck with their eyes before abruptly turning away from each other and going about their own tasks.

  Five minutes later, both vehicles were on the road driving in opposite directions.

  Pausing briefly on the outside of town, Peotr was standing outside of the vehicle when he heard a ground-shaking explosion. Looking in the direction that Boris had taken his team, the mercenary Commander was astonished to see a thick column of smoke hundreds of yards across with flames reaching for the heavens.

  The tremors rippling through the ground told Peotr that the explosion must have been more massive than anyone expected. Saying a small prayer silently for his friend and his men, the mercenary Commander quickly slipped back into the vehicle and sped off for the center of Brasilov.

  Yaakov called out from the front passenger seat, “It looks like all of the Blood Mages were pulled off watch at Trobich’s store. Vitaly is going to head into the store while Nestor takes a sentry position.”

  A few moments later, Yaakov reported, “Vitaly is inside. There was no attempt to interfere with his access, and Nestor has indicated to him that the coast is clear. He will stay in position as an observer to give a warning if anything or anyone strange shows up.”

  A few moments later, Yaakov added, “Trobich has been hurt badly. They have been under siege in the store, and he has hidden his family there. Some of his bodyguards are still there, also. Vitaly says that the old man is refusing to leave, but his sons and daughters are working on him.”

  Peotr smiled, the grim expression conveying his understanding rather than any mirth. The experienced Commander knew that trying to argue with somebody through a telepathic relay was not effective. He could wait the two or three minutes until he was at the shop to add his voice to the matter.

  It was not longer than the two or three minutes that Peotr had estimated before they were at the side door to the shop. Quickly, Peotr exited the vehicle and trotted toward the door. Behind him, he could hear the footsteps that told him that Yaakov accompanied him.

  Just as he approached the door, it was pushed open far enough for the two men to slip through. As soon as they were clear, the massive metal door clicked shut with a sharp spiteful tone.

  Immediately, Peotr could hear the sounds of a heated and angry argument. Without any directions at all, he simply followed the noise and soon was in the main chamber of the store.

  There were two men and two women arguing hotly with a somewhat frail-looking older man lying on a cot with one of his arms and one of his legs wrapped in bandages. Two uniformed bodyguards were in the room, one standing defensively at the head of the old man’s cot while another one had taken a position about fifteen feet away from its foot. Both men showed the alertness of excellent guardians, immediately checking out Peotr and Yaakov before turning their focused attention back to continual surveillance of the surroundings.

  “… Tell me that I have to do anything! I am the father of this family, and you do not get to tell me what to do!” shouted the old man in a fury.

  Seeing motion from the corner of his eye, the man who could only be Maxim Trobich, turned his furious gaze onto Peotr, almost thundering in echoes of rage, “You, the one that comes from the same village as Zhanna did, why are you here?”

  “I am here to find out what you know about Bolormaa’s and Zhanna’s destination. Also, anything else you can provide that will help us locate and join them would be appreciated. I need to safely extract eight children and my men from a world that has gone insane, and I fear without your help, all my hope will be lost.”

  Looking particularly satisfied, the old shopkeeper instantly shifted to a calm voice, saying, “I will help, but only if you take my people, including my children and grandchildren with you.”

  “Poppa, you have to come with us too!”

  “Marina, I am injured, and I will just slow everyone down. I am old and not very useful. Take your children and allow these people to help you. Let me have the satisfaction of knowing that my loved ones at least have a chance of being safe!”

  Another voice inserted itself. Coming from the older looking of the two sons, it sounded just as adamant as the one coming from Maxim Trobich. “You tell us that we are not allowed to tell you what you must do because you are an adult and free to act on your own conscience. Well, that works both ways. If you do not go, then I will not go.”

  Quickly the other children chimed in, “Nor I!” “I will not leave either!” “If you do not leave, none of us will go!”

  Catching a hurtful breath in anguish, the old shopkeeper stubbornly protested, “You have to leave. Anyone who is going to stay here has a good chance of being tortured and sacrificed. You cannot condemn yourselves or your children to that! What would your mother think?”

  In a suddenly gentle voice, the younger of the two women answered assertively, “She would expect us to stick together as a loving family. She would also have dragged your sorry ass out of that cot and thrown you into the first available vehicle to get you out of town.”

  Abruptly breaking into harsh laughter, the old man sheepishly admitted, “That she would have! And I loved her for it!”

  The older son laid a silent hand of comfort on his father’s shoulder before turning his attention to Peotr. “Do you have more than just the three of you? What sort of forces do you have?”

  Peotr said, “We have four vehicles and a total of twenty-one mercenaries, including me. We also have some other dependents that we are bringing with us. I do not know how we are going to cram all of you people into the vehicles we have, however.”

  Kolya, the older son, gave a great shout of laughter before explaining cheerfully, “We have plenty of vehicles. Most of them are heavily armored and have more than enough room to carry the people here.”

  Suddenly smiling in relief, the mercenary Commander exclaimed happily, “That will work! Now how fast can you get them packed?”

  Chapter 7 – Unexpected Passengers

  Brasilov, Earth

  Before he could get his answer, a shrill whistle from outside penetrated the store, ratcheting up the tension of everyone there. Immediately, Yaakov smoothly took a position where he could cover both the door they had entered through and the front entryway while keeping the bodyguards and his Commander out of his line of fire.

  The larger of the two bodyguards looked at Peotr questioningly. Answering quickly as he maneuvered to establish his own clear line of fire, the Mercenary Witch said confidently, “We left an observer on the outside. That is the signal for incoming. It did not sound as if it was an enemy attack. Instead, it is just that someone is about to burst through the door.”

  Peotr pulled a wand from his belt and held it ready. The women and the bodyguards carried the old man and his cot out of the room while Kolya pulled a peculiar-looking weapon out from underneath the counter and crouched behind cover.

  With a crashing sound, the front door to the store was shoved open, and a man came charging into the shop, holding two children. Another man followed closely behind him, holding a drawn weapon in one hand and dragging an obviously pregnant woman with the other.

  Neither of the two men paid any attention to the armed people in the store. Instead, they released the children and woman, working together to close the door quickly, tension visible in every movement.

  Once the door was shut, both men slumped to the floor, desperately gasping for breath. The only sound in the room was their heavy breathing, and the fearful sobs of the woman.

  Peotr looked over and saw that the two children, one that looked little older than Gleb and one much younger, were huddled together in the middle of the floor with terrified tears silently running down their faces. Before he or anyone else could go to the children, Dasule was suddenly there. Extending both hands out, the Domovoi gathered in the two children and sat down on the floor, holding them against his chest comfortingly.

  Almost immediately, the two little ones looked calmer, clutching the Domovoi’s garments and pulling their bodies close to the Old One’s warmth in wordless, unthinking need. A comforting croon resonated in the room as Dasule sang them a soft song of welcome and protection.

  “What in the bloody hell is that?!” almost shouted Kolya in fear. Peotr looked over and saw that the big man was white as a sheet and staring at the Domovoi as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

  At the sound of the loud voice, Dasule looked up, and the people in the room saw the flames in his eyes as the Domovoi said in a hard and angry voice, “No swearing! These little ones have been traumatized enough! I will not allow you to upset or frighten them anymore!”

  Everyone else in the room turned and stared at Peotr in bemusement. Their identical looks of astonishment left him fighting an urge to laugh that was totally inappropriate. Instead, the mercenary Commander said in a voice that was only slightly shaking with laughter, “Domovoi do not like swearing around them. He is one of the people that we are taking with us. I am sure Bolormaa and Zhanna miss him.”

  When no one said anything, Peotr turned his attention to the two men and asked curiously, “You are wearing uniforms that tell me that you were part of Dov’s mercenary unit. Is that why you are here?”

  Straightening up quickly, the man with the pregnant woman answered, “Yes, sir. When Dov took off with Bolormaa, he gave us the option to go with them, but our obligations here made us decide to stay.”

  The other man interjected, “That situation has changed. We both have lost our parents, and yesterday the accursed Blood Mages took my wife. There is nothing for us here now, and I need to get my children to safety.”

  The young woman had painfully made her way over to her husband and picked up his hand before looking at Peotr and pleading, “Please take us with you.”

  Feeling the weight of someone’s gaze on him, Peotr turned toward the Domovoi and saw that Dasule was staring at him intently. With a crooked smile, the mercenary Commander turned back to Kolya and asked, “I assume that the vehicles have plenty of room for a few more, do not they?” When the big man nodded, Peotr said, “Then we had better get packed quickly and get out of here.”

  It turned out that the sons and daughters of Maxim Trobich had been packing things up for the last several weeks. With everyone’s hand put to the task, the remainder of the shop was quickly added to the stowage. There were plenty of things that were not chosen, mostly bulky and unremarkable. However, the unique, valuable, or sentimental items were all quickly swept out of the store and into the fleet of vehicles that had been concealed in an adjoining building.

  Dasule had taken a position over by the side of the room and was caring for the two traumatized children. Both of them had fallen asleep in his arms and showed no signs of waking for a while. Carried into the room by one of his bodyguards, the old shopkeeper took a chair next to the Domovoi and looked at him curiously.

  The fiery-eyed old Hidden Folk glanced over at the old man and asked, “You are the one that the young Witch dealt with when she came to sell some items, correct?”

  Peotr had been walking by when he overheard the Domovoi’s question and paused to hear the answer.

  Maxim answered, “Yes, I am. She is a fine young woman, and I am pleased that I am allowed to call her friend.”

  There was another quiet time before Dasule asked, “When she was here, there was a young police officer that made her a gift. Do you know anything about him?”

  Peotr heard the old shopkeeper draw a sharp breath before he answered, “Igor Kirov was a fine young man who took his job seriously. He was one of the first killed by the Blood Mages. Rather than stand aside like most of the other men in the city, he tried to protect some of the people that were going to be sacrificed. To his credit, he took four of the Mages with him, but those of us that knew him still grieve for the loss of such an honorable man.”

  Dasule made a sound of regret, saying, “I had hoped to bring him with us. He understood Witches and made a thoughtful and loving gift to the young Witch. Both her grandmother and I had hopes that he might be someone who would cherish her.”

  The hardened Commander of mercenaries was taken totally by surprise at the wave of jealousy that swamped him. What the hell is wrong with me, Peotr thought to himself, I should be happy for her that she had somebody that appreciated her. Pushing himself to go back to finishing the loading, the man could not understand why he felt so unhappy.

  Finally, everything that was going to be taken was in the vehicles, and all of the passengers were loaded. With the purr of well-tuned and powerful engines, the cavalcade headed out of town. Out of the window of his vehicle, Peotr still saw the flames shooting high above the northern side of the city. Smiling in slight satisfaction, the mercenary Commander leaned back against his seat.

  Across from him sat Kolya and Maxim Trobich. They had decided to travel with the Commander so that they could carry on strategic talks while their convoy was in motion. Even though they had been warned about the youngsters that were in Peotr’s vehicle, the reality of their appearance was startling for both men.

  Unsure and suspicious, the two men watched the little Hidden Folk as they swarmed over the Domovoi and Peotr in a happy flood of greeting. Seeing that nothing terrible had happened, the two men relaxed but stayed silent.