The Arena

Just then the door bell rang. "That should be our food we can eat while we make up a shopping list."

What shopping list?" she asked but he had left for to get their food.

They began eating what she considered some extremely spicy Vietnamese food. Carl explained to her the real Vietnamese food was spicy. They made a shopping list. Carl considered her clothing completely inadequate plus she had no firearms.

"Why do I need a gun when I have magic?"

"How fast can you cast spells? How many opponents can you deal with at one time? How many bullets can your charms stop? What about werewolves, your magic will protect you but how would you kill one? With that silver dagger of yours? Do want to have to get that close?" His questions were asked calmly and without condescension. They were intended to make her think not to insult.

He continued. "Look there is probably no finer instructor in the use of witchcraft than Miranda, but all her instruction is classroom based. Yes, she passes on her field experience but that is different from practical application. I am guessing on your missions with Father Marcus you have not found yourself greatly outnumbered and or facing a bunch of gunmen. In Haiti we could find ourselves facing a couple of dozen hoodlums shooting at us, a pack of werewolves or a Prince of Satan. I almost always find myself outnumbered. Don't reject technology to even the odds."

She thought about what he said all the time watching his face. His expression was neutral but his eyes came alive when he spoke of what was obviously a subject near and dear to his heart, combat. She wondered if he had any similar feelings toward people.

Their list completed and the kitchens cleaned up from their meal Carl lead her into the den. Like the rest of the house it was relatively Spartan. On the walls were maps of the world 1845 and earlier along with one painting of some medieval battle titled Hastings and handed her a book. "Study this; you need to learn all you can about Voodoo. Also use the internet." He said pointing at his computer. When you are thoroughly confused let me know maybe I can answer your questions or we can find somebody who can. Here is the password to log on to the computer use your own to get into our server database." He scribbled the password on to a post it for her. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen and don't to forget to be ready at 5 tomorrow morning. Not up at 5 am but ready to go then."

He then retired to the living room with a beer and to read a book. He turned on the TV to supply some background noise. Right now he was reading on 1491 by Mann. After about two hours Aradia joined him the living room taking a seat on the couch across from him. She had pulled her hair back in a pony tail. She had removed her contacts and was wearing her reading glasses. Her green eyes were almost glazed over and with a very confused looked she simply asked "What the hell?"

Carl simply laughed and said "Yes, I know. I don't think any two people can really come up with the same explanation. It was of the reasons I hate going there." He placed his book on the coffee table and shifted the recliner he was sitting in into the upright position.

"Let me give you my take on it. Haitian Voodoo is probably confusing even to its practitioners. Things are not necessarily good and evil as much as they are cool and hot. According to their beliefs there is one supreme god who cannot bothered to deal with humans and their problems and also a bunch of lesser gods who can be used for both good or evil depending on your point of view at the time. Some are friendly to serpents and even werewolves. A lot of it deals with these lesser gods possessing humans. Despite your confusion do not sell it short. I have seen powers that revival our so called conventional beliefs."

"So how do you tell the good from the evil?" she asked

"Unfortunately my best measure for determining who is on which side is their reaction to me. Paladin's tended to bring out the worse in evil while "good" could have a positive or neutral reaction. In short if they attacked me they are bad. I know that does not help you much but I have even gone to Miranda to see if there is a some type of charm or amulet that might help at identifying the good and bad before the bad went for my throat. She said that the practice is such a mixed combination of beliefs that it was impossible, at least for her, to create one that was reliable. You just keep plugging away at that book as if you are going with me because any information you gain might prove useful. In fact take that view with all information you acquire. It might not prove useful to you but it might be to somebody you can pass it onto."

Looking at his watch. "It is getting late so I am going to hit the sack, remember 5 am." He got up patted her on the head and went to his room.

She sat back and wondered "What have I got myself into." Then she to retired to her bedroom.

Five am came early as it always does when she joined him the kitchen. "Good your punctual, always a good characteristic." He greeted her. "Here take this and he handed her a camelback, you are going to need it."

They drove out to a remote undeveloped area arriving just as the sun just breaking over the horizon. They got out of his truck and he handed her a GPS unit. "You may need this, if we get separated and you get lost just hit the go to function for home and it follow the directions it back here. Worse comes to worse call me on your cell phone." Aradia took the GPS unit and stuck in a pocket on her camel back with her cell phone.

At first she did not think she would have much trouble with Carl's physical fitness test after all she had run track and played volleyball in high school but this was not shaping up well.

"I don't know what experience you have with trail running but it is harder than running on a track or paved road. It is difficult to establish a steady pace because of rocks, stumps and other obstacles on the path along with greater variations in terrain. You have to figure on adding about 10% to your regular run time, at a minimum. You can try to stay up with me or if you think I am too slow you can pass me. There are two forks in the trail. Keep taking the left one. When you get to a wooden wall with a rope you can stop there and wait for my old slow ass." He grinned. He added "One more thing, you will probably fall at least once. Do not worry about it, even experienced trail runners bite it now and then." They then took off down a trail.

Aradia was no fool she did not try to pass him even though his pace was a little slow for her at the start. For five miles the run took them across two streams and up and down three very steep hills and as Carl predicted she had fallen. Once she fell slipping on the smooth rocks of one stream crossing and one other time tripping on a rock on the trail. At the end of the run they arrived at the wall. It was the starts of his makeshift obstacle course. For another mile they climbed up ropes and over walls, scampering up and down rocks till they came to a stop by a stock pond.

Aradia was soaked with sweat, bloodied, scratched, scraped and exhausted. From what started out at what she considered a too slow pace soon turned into an almost too fast pace. She was surprised at the difference running on a trail made. But still she kept up.

Carl did not push her on like a Marine Drill Instructor but offered quite, patient encouragement. His one bit of slip into military mode was what seemed to be a favorite saying "Pain his only weakness leaving the body." She kept going motivated not only to prove herself to him but herself.

While she got her breath he started talking. "I e-mailed Miranda and she told me your strong points were spells involving water and air. Would you please give me a demonstration of your ability? We are pretty isolated so nobody can see us."

"Now? I am pretty worn out so you won't see my best effort."

"Our enemies are not going to allow you rest up, I need to see what you can do when pushed and near your limits."

She nodded her head and turned toward the stock pond extending her hands and chanted something in Latin. Within seconds the pond was frozen over in an ice sheet half an inch thick. Taking a deep breath she chanted again and the pond returned to normal. She paused for a moment then extending her hands over her head, a column of water rose from the pond dispersed into a cloud form and then fell like rain back down into it. Breathing heavily she turned back to Carl.

"Very impressive kid, what else do you have."

Chaffing a bit at being called kid she started gesturing and chanting in language he did not recognize. Soon a small whirlwind appeared growing larger and larger. She controlled its direction moving it over to some trees; the miniature tornado started tearing limb from a twenty foot oak before she suddenly dispersed it.

Exhausted by the effort she turned to him breathing heavily hoping he would not ask for more.

"You are very skilled, any limitation I should know of?"

Catching her breath " Well, I cannot control the water in a person's body or the air in their lungs and as you have seen I have not yet reached the point where I can cast spells without gestures."

As a general rule of thumb the more skilled a witch or wizard the less they had to move their arms and hand around being able to cast their magic by word and thought, although some spells always required gestures and or a wand or staff.

"I am sure that will come in time. Now in fairness I will give you an idea of my limited abilities" He stared at her for a moment the she heard the zipper on her camelback opening followed by the GPS and her cell phone floating out over her head and in front of her. Carl then moved them back into the camel back and zipped it up.

"I can move some things around and if it is a lock that I have studied the internal mechanisms of I can unlock it even some electronic ones and handcuffs as long as I can get a mental picture of what I am moving. The weight I can move depends on how far you want them moved but I cannot lift more than my own body weight. Can you create fire he asked?" She nodded and kicked some sticks and twigs together into a pile. She waved her hand over the pile and it burst into flames.

Carl concentrated on the fire, a ball of flames rose from it circled around them and then dropped back into the fire. "I can control fire but I cannot summon it, between your ability to create it and my ability to control it could come in handy."

"I cannot create a large amount of fire" she replied. She waved her hand over the fire and it went out.

"Every little bit helps. There is a shortcut to the truck if we head this way."

Aradia started to follow him then stopped as sudden realization hit her. "Does this mean I am going?"

Without stopping or looking at her. "Yes, if you don't screw up between now and Friday."

She smiled, did a fist pump and resumed following him.

They returned to the house cleaned up had a quick breakfast then went shopping. First stop was an athletic apparel store. "The problem with your clothing, particularly your undergarments is that they are mostly cotton. Think about what you wore for track. We want more In that direction. Since we are going Haiti you want heat gear something that will wick away the moisture from your body and keep you cool. He directed her toward the women's athletic apparel. I think you have an idea of what to buy and I am uncomfortable in this department so I will head over toward men's. Let me see what you have picked out before you buy it.

Once she had all her purchases made to include a pair of hiking boots they headed over to the industrial area of town and pulled up to a nondescript warehouse. Before they got out of his truck he turned to her.

"Do you know about Stephen Montgomery?"

"I have heard the name but that is about it."

"He is a supplier of the more conventional items we may need. He used to be a hunter like Marcus till a knee injury took him out of action. He now runs the family business which is supplying hardware to those of us fighting for good. I have done business with his parents before him and trust them as much as I trust anybody. Listen to whatever advice he gives you." Carl then added with a smile "he is almost as smart as me."

As they go out of his truck the door to the warehouse flew open and a young lady rushed out to hug Carl

"Uncle Carl, where have you been?"

Carl returned the girl's hug but it was obvious he was uncomfortable with such a public display of affection.

As he disengaged himself from the girl he replied "You know me busy slaying dragons and saving damsels in distress"

Carl turned to Aradia. "Aradia let me introduce you to Carla Montgomery, Stephen's daughter."

"..and his God daughter" cut in Carla as she extended her hand to Aradia."

Carla was about 5' 4" dressed in jeans, sandals and a t-shirt. Her hiar was jet black, straight and cut short just below her ears. Her eyes were dark brown and her facial features Asian while her skin was a carmel color. This was a reflection of her mixed race parentage. Aradia guessed her age at 16 or maybe 17.

"So is your father in?"

"Yes, he has me cleaning some of the merchandise, by the way you are staying for lunch. He saw you pull up on the CCTV and called mom. She will be bringing it over in about an hour." Her expression turned a little more serious "Uncle Carla, I need your help with dad. He keeps insisting that I finish high school before I go into an apprenticeship and I don't want to waste anymore time. You know mom, she backs him on stuff like this. It is only one year of high school so what is the big deal?"

"Oh great" thought Carl, "a family dispute." "I am with your Dad and Mom on this. Besides to use your own words what is one more year of high school? Look, most of your good mentors will want you to complete high school anyway, besides I thought your mom was training you."

"She is but most of it is healing spells and potions."

"...and you want to go out a battle demons. We are not exactly short of witches but ones as skilled in the healing arts as your mother are always in short supply."

"My sister is going to follow her footsteps but it is not what I want to do."

"What about your brother?"

"He wants to go to college, study engineering I think."

"Well he is the smart one. You are still to young too know what you want, but I will make a deal with you. You stop giving your parents grief about high school and after you graduate I will use what influence I have with them and Miranda to try and get you apprenticeship with her; if your parents approve."

This brought about a squeal of delight and another hug "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I just know they will listen to you."

Carl disengaged himself once again from his God daughter. "Before you start thanking me you should learn more about what you are asking for." Indicating Aradia "She is a student of Miranda's maybe you should let her tell you what all is involved. You may not be thanking me."

That resulted in a barrage of questions from Carla aimed at Aradia as the three of them approached the warehouse entrance. She stopped her questions to utter an incantation which seem to be a mix of both French and Vietnamese. The door swung open and they enter a small room facing the doors to a freight elevator. Carla punched a code in while continuing to ask question of Aradia.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. The doors closed automatically and it was a short ride to the second floor where a set of doors on the other side of the elevator opened. The three of them stepped out into a large room with painted over windows covered with steel grating ran along the walls that made up the buildings long axis. Overhead there were fixtures for fluorescent lighting and a sprinkler system. There were racks and shelves filled with various armaments from medium machine guns to tasers and knives. Other shelves held boxes of ammunition of various calibers. The building had that distinct aroma Carl loved. The smell of metal and oil that was common to arms room and gun stores throughout the world.

Aradia saw a man rapidly approaching them despite an obvious limp.

"Carl you old son-of-a --bitch where have you been keeping yourself?" The man roared as he engulfed Carl in a hug and lifted him from the ground. He was around 6 foot tall and maybe 170 pounds. His dark smooth skin marked him as the source of Carla's black heritage.. He had closely cropped hair. He was wearing dark blue coveralls and steel toed boots.

"Working for living, you ought to try it for a change. Now put me down before I take out your good knee".

The man put Carl down and they turned as Carl made the introduction "Stephen this Aradia Wilson. She, unwisely has decided to join me on a mission and we need some additional firepower."

Stephen grasped Aradia hand lightly in his hand. "Nice to meet you Aradia, I assume you are a witch or sorceress? "

"Same here Stephen and yes, I am. I have been studying under Miranda,"

"Good for you, don't let this lug , discourage you" He pointed at Carl. "The fact that he is taking you with him says a lot in your favor. Now come over here I have some firearms that have proved to be favorites among many witches and wizards."

Turning to his daughter "Go clear of the table in the office so we have a place to sit and eat when your mom gets here with lunch"

He lead them to a display case in which were several small revolvers and semi-automatic pistols.

Carl made a noise like he was clearing his throat to which Stephen responded. "Now let the lady at least be able to consider all that is available. I know you don't like anything but that relic you carry around but many witches and wizards find these .380s adequate for their needs and they are easy to conceal."

Carl just stood there and said "Steve, we are going to Haiti."

Stephen was quite for a moment "Of course you're right, follow me." He led them over to another counter.

"Wait a minute" interrupted Aradia, "what was wrong those guns and what is this relic that Carl carries, a flintlock?"

Stephen responded "Those smaller guns are good self defense and concealed carry weapons but not really good as a primary weapon and certainly inadequate for what you may be facing in a place like Haiti. As to your friend he is a bit of a dinosaur, as befits his age. He is unwilling to embrace any other caliber than .45 ACP and he carries a gun designed about 100 years ago."

"Don't let him fill your head full of B.S." Carl reached around and drew out the variant of the Colt 1991 he had in the small of his back. Its two concessions to modern times were the grips and high vis sights. "this is not the only firearm I have it is just the main one. As far as it being an old design, it is still the best providing you have the training to handle it. As we only have a few days this is not the gun for you. I think she would be better off with an XD or Sig."

After much arguing back and forth and taking Aradia to the indoor shooting range downstairs a .40 caliber Springfield XD was chosen. Much to Carl's relief as he was not a fan of the 9mm. He did try out a gun in the SIG .357 and considered one for future purchase.

Carl and Stephen also discussed the increasing difficulty in bringing down werewolves as it was now taking multiple shots to kill them regardless of shot placement. It was almost as if they were developing a resistance. Also they were tending to run in packs more. Stephen was developing rounds for S&W .500 and Desert Eagle .50 cal that he wanted Carl to try out when he was finished with them.

They had finished purchasing Aradia firearm and they both got some extra ammunition to include werewolf loads and a concealed carry permit for Aradia.