Blue Words - Part I Read online

soon replaced by dry, sparse grassland, scattered with grazing cattle. As they grew closer and closer to their destination even the grass vanished, with the exception of the odd, spiky tuft which popped out of the dirt. The earth also changed, it took on a rich, red ochre, hinting that they were reaching the hot, bloody heart of the great, southern land.

  The sun shone high in the sky as they reached their meeting point. The air was so hot and dry that it choked and suffocated Gudrik’s lungs with every breath. Their destination turned out to be a lookout on one of the rare hill tops which thrust out of the flat, barren country. From this viewpoint Gudrik was able to see out in every direction. The vastness of the boundless red plains amazed even him. It was in stark contrast to the white land of his youth. To the north of their position sat the Raven’s Skull Creek facility. Despite its name, there was no creek to be seen. The mine was an expansive, heavily fenced section of land, criss-crossed with dirt roads and scattered with pits so large that should they fill with water they would appear as enormous lakes. Imprisoned within the pits were gargantuan, mechanical creatures which gnashed and chewed at the earth, enlarging their subterranean cages. Some kilometres to the east was a city of transportable accommodation and a large airstrip, the camp which housed the mining personnel.

  Far off on the western outskirts of the property was a large industrial shed. It was separately fenced and segregated from the rest of the facility. Unlike most of the mining lease, it was not a hive of activity. In fact, it was quite the opposite; there was almost no movement at all. “That’s where I believe our target lies,” said Kahn, noticing Gudrik’s interest in the shed.

  The four men waited until the scheduled meeting time, then far beyond it. By three hours past deadline everyone was getting anxious. Kahn and Dorian worried Ami’s true loyalties had been uncovered. Malaki was constantly reminding everyone that he never trusted her anyway and Gudrik was trying to decide which team he was willing to join.

  Just as they were ready to give up, Dorian pointed out a dust trail heading towards their location. A tense few minutes passed as they waited to see who it was headed their way. Eventually a large black motorcycle pulled up, its vivid chrome accents shining brightly in the sun, in bold defiance of their red dust coating. The female rider wore a high-viz work shirt, embroidered with the Drake Mineral Resources logo, a pair of cotton drill jeans and heavy, steel capped work boots. She climbed off the bike and removed her helmet. Long golden hair tumbled down over her shoulders. Ami had a sweet and dainty face and her thin neck sported a tattoo of a blue talon on its left side. Dorian’s face lit with excitement and moved forward to embrace her. Kahn suddenly had to fetch something from the car.

  “Hi Kahn,” she said, pulling her lips from Dorian’s. “Go fuck yourself Malaki,” she continued, preempting exactly what he was thinking. Malaki simply flipped her the bird and slouched on the car bonnet, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

  “Gudrik, this is Ami,” Dorian said, proudly introducing the object of his poorly contained infatuation. Gudrik nodded a welcome to her as he inquisitively circled the motorcycle.

  “So have you figured out the target yet?” Ami asked.

  “Aye, the segregated section with no sign of life,” replied Gudrik.

  “That’s it. Supposedly it’s a sampling and testing facility. I have worked here four years now, and not a single gram of coal has been through it. We truck everything north to one of his other facilities.”

  “Really makes you wonder why it’s sitting there deserted,” Dorian butted in.

  “Don’t let appearances fool you. I have been on night shift all week, and there have been trucks rolling through under the cover of dark like it was a highway truck stop,” Ami continued.

  “The blood?” Kahn inquired.

  “No - looked more like troops.”

  “The greys from the South African operations?” asked Dorian.

  “Most likely. Probably the paladins too.”

  “It’s almost as if though they know we are planning to escalate our campaign or something Ami,” spat Malaki accusingly.

  “Enough Malaki!” ordered Kahn. He grumbled and grunted, but in the end obeyed.

  “Getting in will not be easy, security is tight. Most of his workers fly directly onto site from his plants in Africa and the Philippines. He negotiated special dispensation from the government. His lease basically operates like a huge international airport that has a mine within its limits. The workers fly in, work and fly home without ever leaving the mine. No passing through immigration or even legally setting foot on Australian soil. The only workers paid under Australian law are the ones like me who pass from facility to facility driving trucks. Because of the dispensation he is also permitted to have armed private security contractors, obviously his greys, patrolling the borders ensuring they are not breached.”

  “Well how did you get out then?” snapped Malaki from the car bonnet.

  “Have you seen how nice my tits are?” she snapped back opening the top buttons of her shirt and exposing the cleavage of a very ample bosom. “Not sure your hairy man nipples will convince any of the guys to let you in though.” Malaki sneered and looked away.

  The group stood around bickering about tactics in seemingly endless circles. Gudrik had understood little of Ami’s information, and was now remembering why he had always fought on his own. He left the huddle, looking down, as if carefully examining the earth around the area. He settled on a patch of exposed stone rather than dirt and bent down, removing Scurt’s wand from his wrist. He ran the blade the length of his palm and painted a collection of blue runes in a wheel shape on the stone.

  Gudrik’d had enough. In the afternoon sun and glare, not to mention the dry heat, his mind wandered from task, distracted by thoughts of getting back to George and Tabitha. “Enough,” the Warlock said as he stood up straight. “I have seen all I need to. We can still make it home by sunset.” The others reluctantly agreed.

  “Yeah I had better go get some sleep, I am on shift tonight,” said Ami, walking back over to her bike. Dorian followed and they shared a quiet conversation, before exchanging kisses. Kahn was once again busy and quickly climbed into the car.

  “Kahn seems uneasy,” Gudrik whispered leaning over to Malaki.

  “She is his ex,” he replied. Gudrik looked at him, eyebrow cocked. “His ex lover,” Malaki clarified.

  “Ami?” croaked the Warlock.

  “Pretty fucked up hey blueberry?” He lit the last of his cigarettes. “Though in Dorian’s defence, her relationship with Kahn was over before he was born. Still weirds Kahn out, but he never says shit about it.”

  “The joys of immortality,” grunted Gudrik.

  Ami mounted her iron beast and coaxed it to life, letting loose a deep, gurgling roar. Off she went, flanked by a shadowing dust cloud along the red dirt road toward the worker’s camp.

  The drive home was quieter than the trip there. Gudrik could see the concern in Kahn’s face, but it was not Gudrik’s place to counsel him…..he felt Kahn was a much wiser soul than he. Malaki and Dorian sat in the back together, sharing the odd joke and discussion like the close friends they were, all the while dancing delicately around the topic of Ami, upon which they were eternally divided. As the car rolled into the driveway of the shack Gudrik found himself relieved. He had only ever known one place as a home before. Prior to Elya he had always lived a nomadic existence in both his mortal and immortal lives. He was excited to get home, excited to see his family again. This had been the longest he had been separated from them since the day which they met months ago.

  The four men climbed out of the car, Gudrik headed straight for the door while the others went to the shed. It was black, pitch black. They had only just missed sunset. Tabitha should still be awake. “The beach.” He walked through the shack to the verandah; timber boards creaked and groaned in the black as he moved. The moon outside was bright, the wind was gentle, the waves danced and the ocean twinkled like the stars
above, but there was no sign of any fire. If they were on the beach this time of night it would certainly have been for a fire. “Maybe they left?” The thought shook him. It would make sense; things were changing, becoming more violent, more dangerous. George had to do what was best for the child.

  He turned around and began walking back through the main room of the beach house. Gudrik didn’t concern himself with lighting the gas lamps or candles, he had spent so much time there that he knew the layout by heart. But as he reached the midpoint of the room his foot brushed against something which he hadn’t expected. It was something which wasn’t supposed to be there.

  He paused and slid his foot around, exploring a little further. Curiosity got the better of him. Gudrik drew his wand and shed a few small droplets of blood from his hand. “Livitus.” His hand ignited in burning pain as it lit up like a fluorescent bulb, casting warm, white rays across the room and illuminating all the secrets which the black had concealed.

  His heart leapt into his throat in reaction to the scene which lay before him and the burn was all but forgotten. The out of place object which had sparked his curiosity was actually the lifeless body of a grey. Alongside it, limbs flung askew, were two more. Lying in close vicinity, propped up against the wall was George. Gudrik ran