Wolfe Bite Chapter 8
By Captain Gaul
“And the last thing he said in connection with the case was ‘where else indeed’ after Taban made a comment about the thing not being from this world.”
“ ‘Where else indeed’…oh, hell. Is it that again?”
“Beg your pardon?”
“Back when he first signed on with us, he had a problem with that…” Magus made a wave of his hand—“…world-jumping thing. You know when we found him out in that field? The strange story he had? That whole bit.”
“And…?”
“And he…probably thinks that the gun came from another world…which would make sense. And he probably was on the right track, as someone sure wanted to keep him quiet.”
“And when I went to him, he wouldn’t respond or anything. I was guessing coma, but—”
“Coma? Yes, probably in some form or another. Probably some magic in it, to keep him from waking up.”
“Magic?…oh dear.”
“Yeah, ‘oh dear’ about sums it up. I could try and break the magic, of course, but that’s risky. Safest way is to bring the people who cast it to justice. That dispels the magic as if it weren’t ever there.”
“So it’s a quest, then…” Chi murmured.
Magus saw the frown on her face and laughed. “Come now, Chi, quests aren’t all bad. Good will come of this, after all.”
“Will it? Will it? My father died on a quest, Magus—my grandparents, all four of them, were slaughtered by a Guardian knight on a quest, who made an excuse that they were ‘demons in disguise’. My mother, Magus, was beaten, violated, and humiliated by men on a quest. Up and down my family tree, those damned ‘quests’ have caused nothing pain, hardship, and bloodshed! And now you’re asking me—“
Chi’s tirade had carried some of its anger to Magus; it was visible in his eyes. “I didn’t ask you to do anything, Chi. I’m not forcing you to do anything. I’m not even telling you to do anything. You simply assumed it was necessary. And, in fact, it is. Because, if you don’t do this, and Gaul never wakes up—you’ll simply never forgive yourself.”
Chi stood silent.
“Listen, I’m trying to help you—I didn’t tell you this so you could get mad. Now, if you want to track those jackasses down, I suggest you talk to Lucca, because the Epoch is…was…much closer to getting you to the next world than any spell in my repertoire.” And, with his hand on her shoulder, he guided her out the door.
.
“Different world, huh? I gotta tell you, Chi, that different times are almost second nature by now, but different worlds…that I haven’t tried.”
“Then you can’t do it?”
Lucca made a rude noise. “Sorry. But, for a scientist, engineer, and inventor—such as me—‘haven’t tried’ and ‘can’t do’ are mutually exclusive—you’d never say latter if the former were true. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. I’ve already got an idea. But, in the meantime—” Lucca glanced at her watch as if the invention’s completion was coming in hours, not days or weeks. “—go ahead home, retrieve what you can, see if you can get that mechanic guy to come along or whoever, and we’ll get you ready to go.”
“Do you know when—”
Lucca waved the question aside. “Sooner if I get to work, later if we stay yakkin’ about it. Go on, get home.”
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