Chapter 21

With Soren in attendance, Jack was forced to move the meeting to the garden. The humans in the group were uncomfortable, but everyone else including Jack enjoyed the nature surrounding them. The Do’s had rolled several logs and set them in a square around a firepit, making Jack momentarily nostalgic for his childhood, at least until he saw that every person was holding a magic stave or walking stick.

“Jack, you need to upgrade your stick to a shaman’s staff,” Soren said. “You look kind of silly walking around with a wee little stick, like a young boy playing with his willy.”

“Thank you for that image,” Jack said, rubbing his eyes. “Events being what they are, acquiring a shaman’s staff is a bit lower on the priority list today, unless you are going to pull one out of your ass.”

The magic folk sniggered. The humans looked horrified while Jack looked annoyed. “First item on the agenda, what do we have in inventory for securing the property?”

“We lost half the unicorns yesterday,” Soren said with disgust. “We have a dozen left.”

“One weapon took out a dozen unicorns?” Jack asked incredulity. “My previous briefing left out that significant detail.”

“They’re good at dodging magic,” Avi Cena said. “Bullets are a foreign concept to them though. They attacked like they’re trained, but their advantage is mitigated by their ignorance of human weapons. They were firing automatic rifles at a fast clip.”

Jack was going to ask about previously unmentioned training of the nasty buggers, but he decided the agenda took precedence. As far as he knew, the unicorns always charged their targets and attempted to skewer their genitals. Had Soren been pulling his leg and as the gullible human, he had swallowed the explanation without a dash of skepticism. “Kishi?”

“They like the flesh of humans a bit too much,” Avi said. “They enjoy the flesh and bones of their meals as fresh as possible too. Humans are their new favorite treat as of yesterday, and they don’t care which humans they gnaw on first.”

“Ew,” Danica said with a shudder. She was sitting gingerly on the log, with her hands under her butt acting as a cushion.

Jack rolled his stick between his palms. “With half the unicorns gone, which the U.N. are leery and no kishi, how are we securing our perimeter?”

“I’ve got two platoons of wood elves and a two gangs of mountain orc patrolling the property in different orbits at all times. The intruders will not be able to observe and time their attempts to penetrate. We’ve also got a murder of rocs sweeping the area with two handlers on the roof as well.”

“We need to post ogres at all the entrances,” Jack said. “I believe they can withstand bullets considering they are more solid material than squishy tissue like the rest of us. They don’t move fast and are slow to react, but these men won’t get through them. Give the ogres T-shirts to wear that read ‘Event Staff’ on the back and the Grateful Dead logo on the front. They will love it.”

“There goes the food budget,” someone huffed.

“Other than stocking the larders, we have worse budget issues to consider,” Jack said. “First, we need a finalized plan to evacuate our guests to the border, which should be completed later today as events develop. Each department head will also be responsible for evacuating their departments to the safety of the west. We are blocked from moving guests today only because Avi Cena cannot guarantee we can get a carriage safely from the front door to the crossing. By tomorrow, we should be able to move them. All bookings are cancelled.

“Next point: do not give credence to orders or directives from the U.N. soldiers. They have zero experience nor operational knowledge of the Twilight Lands. Questions go to Avi Cena or to me. Tomorrow, may the shaman be correct, Mr. Assyrtiko will be available by evening.

“If you have not done so, you need to go back to the Procedure Manuals and reread the sections ‘In Case of War or Terrorist Events’ and ‘Evacuation Policy and Procedures.’ I know we are cynical about corporate allergies to liability, but we are also targets. Experienced experts weighed in on the recommendations. Having reminded you of what you need to know from corporate, please make sure your death and disability policies are up-to-date and the beneficiary sections are current. No new policies will be entertained at this time.

“As far as billing, everything still gets charged to guest accounts including expedited service,” Jack said. “Never misspend a disaster; it is always an opportunity. Questions?”

“Do we get to send out Intern first to test the return trip?”

“The question is unnecessarily cruel,” Jack said, shaking his head. “For the record, interns are not to be treated as canaries in the coalmine. Accidents may occur between interns and magic folk, and there are protocols in place for such events. Stop snickering, Scoobee. We are facing a human upon human crisis today and interns are protected as all employees are protected. However, if he volunteers ... no, we are not the military and we do not take volunteers.”

“Can we send out the hobbits first?”

“No comment.”

“Is the dragon going to help us?”

“She is helping to the best of her abilities,” Jack said. “However, she is limited in what she can do because she is magic folk. The danger is humans and their weapons. Two points to remember: she presents a larger target and there is no magical healing from bullet wounds.”

“Are they not targeting the human guests and you human staff?”

Jack let a rueful chuckle slip out. “This is not about you or me, I’m afraid. This border crossing trespass is about them. They call themselves ‘true believers’ but most human fervent believers do not seek violence, only the pursuit of their religious ideals. Some of these strong believers retreat from the world, and others dedicate themselves to relieving suffering of others. Then we have this group. These terrorists declare they are worshipping God, but their life-destroying actions declare they elevate themselves to the role of God, choosing who will live and who will die. Instead of glorifying God, they glorify violent death and absolute control over others. They target everything that lives, even if it means consuming themselves, which is why they are dangerous. They are the human definition of evil.”

“Maybe we should let the Compact dissolve,” someone muttered a bit too loud.

“My final words,” Jack said, trying to ignore the comment. “No one leaves the facility unarmed. No one is allowed on the grounds by themselves, and no one is allowed outside the front of the building. There is violence and evil out there that rejects the warp and the weave of this amazing land. Stay alert and keep an eye out for each other. The weave will prevail.”