The OP Lich is a Returnee, Chapter 155

Chapter 155 – Calling Ahead

First Lieutenant Leo Hughes was not having a great day. Being in the National Guard meant that he usually only had his ‘one weekend a month, two weeks a year’ to put on the uniform. Sometimes he’d get called up during wildfire season, but one good thing about magic was that putting out wildfires was a helluvalot easier than it used to be. At the very least, snuffing fires or diverting them so that they didn’t threaten homes was no longer nearly as backbreaking or dangerous. Thaumaturgy definitely changed the game.

Of course, fire-fighting wasn’t his mission, this time around. No, he had been activated and deployed to Mt. Shasta for almost two months, now, because out of about twenty thousand troops in the California Army National Guard, he was one of only two hundred commissioned officers that was a licensed thaumaturge. Of those two hundred, he was one of twenty-five who did not hold public office. And out of those twenty-five, he was the only one who had not had any ethics or harassment complaints over the years.

That meant, for his sins, or lack thereof, he had been picked to lead the platoon of soldiers who had been activated and sent to Mt. Shasta after the Lich Queen revealed that there were magic seals all over the world, and if something wasn’t done about them, then things were looking like a magical ice age. And since the ‘guardian’ of that seal down in the Australian Outback went and sent out what looked like plant-based zombies to help defend itself, the Governor wanted the seal found, and he wanted normal people kept way the hell away from it. That order only became stricter when the Azores basically ceased to be.

Usually, being activated for so long would have caused the men to be more than a bit pissy, especially since Mt. Shasta wasn’t exactly one of the more exciting parts of California. Thankfully, Sergeant First Class Ella Scott, his platoon sergeant, was a geologist when she wasn’t activated. Her predictions of what would happen if a blast like the Azores had seen went off at Mt. Shasta had quelled any nasty rumbling from the unit. That didn’t mean they were happy, by any stretch of the imagination, and they still bitched and moaned about how they had places they’d rather be, but there was a difference between bellyaching and actual dissent. No one wanted to help set off the ‘Big One’, like scientists had been predicting for so long.

So, the unit had basically split into sections, with some of the group going out into the woods to look for signs of the seal, and the rest making sure no one from town went out there. Fortunately, while the people in town were individualists who didn’t like taking orders from ‘the guv’mint’, they weren’t idiots. There was some pushback when they first came out here, yeah, but as more came out about what happened in Australia, that calmed down a bit. When the Azores happened, it stopped altogether, and the locals actually started helping keep other locals and tourists in line.

That change was also why he didn’t have to worry about the two idiot spies that had tried to waltz in and claim ‘national security’ without any orders. He had gone into town with one of the corporals in the unit, and had a none too subtle conversation about the two in the local watering hole over dinner. Naturally, it would be against regulations to get the locals to keep watch on the spies, but if some civilians happened to be eavesdropping on him saying something that wasn’t classified out in public and made their own choices, then he couldn’t do anything about that, now could he? The fact that the agents now constantly had eyes on them, meaning that they couldn’t do anything too stupid without someone giving them an argument against it at muzzle velocity was just bonus points.

He didn’t like playing games like that, as a rule. Laws and regulations were there for a reason. Sometimes those reasons were stupid, and sometimes they were written in blood. Either way, flaunting rules just because they were inconvenient was offensive to his sensibilities. But sometimes a rule needed to be bent, slightly, to ensure that tragedies didn’t happen. Looking at the Azores convinced him that this was one of those times.

So, it wasn’t the dumbasses from whatever agency that was making his day bad. No, his bad day came from the fact that, shortly after breakfast, he’d gotten a call from the General’s office, letting him know that the Lich Queen was riding across the fucking sky like some kind of harbinger of the Apocalypse, with a full company of cavalry riding escort. Oh, and she had not one, but TWO fucking DRAGONS flying with her!

That ‘spectacular’ news was followed by a second phone call, from Pastor Bill Collins, the leader of the local Baptist church. The two agents were dead. How, no one knew. They’d been eating lunch at the diner, and gone back to their government car, presumably to head back to their room at the motel. Thing is, the car never moved. One of the people keeping watch on them went to check after about ten minutes, and he found they were both dead.

Hughes was not a gambling man, as a rule. Sure, now and then he would buy a lottery ticket when the jackpots were particularly high. A couple days of the fantasy of what he’d do with all those millions was worth a couple bucks, now and then. But anything more than that? Not for him. That said, he wasn’t an idiot, and he could put two and two together just like anyone. It was fucking obvious that the Lich Queen decided that those agents weren’t going to get the chance to get in her way, and silenced them.

That brought up some other uncomfortable questions. First, and foremost, it meant that the locals weren’t the only ones keeping watch on the agents. And since no one noticed how the men were killed, he had to believe there’d been some kind of undead special forces shit going on. More importantly, it meant that he and his platoon were likely under observation, as well. That they weren’t dead yet was hopeful, but it still made him glad there was no history of heart disease in his family, because he'd probably have had a heart attack by now, otherwise.

“Sir!” His head turned to see Staff Sergeant Abby Willis, head of one of his rifle squads, holding the handset for the depot phone. She looked uneasy, and her voice was uncertain. From a woman who was either bright and perky or all business, that was a red flag. “Phone call for you. Some woman. Asked for you by name.”

“What else, Willis? You wouldn’t get like this if it was just someone asking for me.”

“That’s the thing, sir. She didn’t just ask for you by name. She greeted me, before I could speak. With my name.”

Hughes took a breath, and said, “All right.” He took the phone from her, and said, “Stick around for this. I expect I’ll have orders for the unit, afterwards.” She nodded, and he brought the phone to his ear.

“This is Lieutenant Leo Hughes. Is this the Lich Queen herself, or a subordinate?”

Willis’s eyes went wide, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. A laugh came over the line. “Oh, very good, Lieutenant. Yes, I am the Lich Queen Akagawa Kaori. I’m assuming you’ve heard that I am on my way to the mountain by now?”

“Yes, your Majesty. Your method of travel was… extremely noticeable. Command was quick to let me know when you started riding across the sky with a full company of cavalry and two dragons. That tends to draw attention.”

“That attention also helps keep unfortunate misunderstandings to a minimum. Especially since there are still agencies that are trying to play games with me.”

“Like the two agents that were killed this morning?”

“Oh, you’ve been keeping an eye on them, too?”

“Not personally. After the Azores, the locals have helped in ensuring no one goes poking around on the mountain, and some of them took it upon themselves to keep watch on the agents. Funny thing, though, they got in their car after breakfast at the local diner, and died before they could fasten their seat belts. No sign of a struggle or anything.”

“Oh, my. Well, the world is probably better off without people who can’t see beyond blind nationalism and go around causing trouble for others. At any rate, I decided to call ahead, since we’ve stopped near Eugene so the mortals in my train can have lunch. We should be there in about three hours.”

“I see. Thank you for your consideration. Just so you know, the Governor has ordered my unit to assist how we can. Even before you appeared on the Harris show, geologists were making predictions about what would happen if Mt. Shasta blew like the Azores. The Governor would rather not have his entire state fall into the Pacific, for obvious reasons.”

“Yes, I can imagine that would be problematic for him. I am glad to see that at least some of the leaders in your country are capable of making intelligent decisions.”

Hughes cleared his throat. “That as it may be, we haven’t had any luck finding the seal, just yet. I only have a platoon here, after all, and there’s a lot of mountain to cover.”

“Oh, you need not worry about that. I’ve had my people searching the mountainside since I found out the location of the seals. Don’t worry about the fact you haven’t spotted them. Most of them don’t even have corporeal forms.”

“I guess that is how you knew who was picking up the phone, before they even got to introduce themselves?”

“Yes, if I focus, I can communicate with any undead that I created. Granted, the distance is limited, only about a thousand kilometers.”

“Only?”

“In the other world, there were tales of necromancers of eld who could take personal control of their armies, anywhere in the world, speaking through them as though each zombie, skeleton, or ghoul were their own body. Some of those necromancers eventually reached too far, and were destroyed, but at least one managed to transcend the physical world, and obtain godhood. He was later killed by Murena as he sought to usurp her domain of Death. So, compared to beings such as that, I still have a long way to go.”

“I don’t know if that is heartening or frightening. Or both.”

The Lich Queen laughed. “You aren’t the first one to have such thoughts when confronted with the true scope of powers in the world. But the reason I called was not just to ensure no one under your command got foolish ideas, but to invite your headquarters section to observe as I undo the final seal.”

Hughes’s eyes widened at that. As a thaumaturgist, getting to view the Lich Queen’s ritual magic at work was a huge boon. Only a few handfuls of people had been given an opportunity like that, after all.

“Of course, your Majesty. I’d be happy to observe.”

“Excellent. If you could post the rest of your people between the town and the mountain, and speak with the locals before I get there, so that no one else tries to sneak in, that would be great. I’ll have some of my own people guarding the area, as well, but I think it would be best for everyone if they had a very boring time of it, no?”

“I understand. If you will excuse me, I need to make a couple calls.”

“Of course, Lieutenant. Until later.”

When the Lich Queen hung up, he looked over to Willis. “Staff Sergeant, call in the platoon. We’ll be deploying between the town and the mountain, to act like MPs and ensure no one gets too close. Headquarters section has been invited to witness the Lich Queen dealing with the final seal.”

“Understood, sir,” she nodded, before grabbing her radio and starting to call the other squad leaders.

Hughes just took a breath, and then dialed the number for Command. He needed to report this, after all. And then, he’d need to call the Pastor, and get the locals on side. Didn’t sound like much, but he had a feeling that three hours was going to fly by far quicker than he’d like.