Sinclair the Wizard

As the group approaches the cave, McLeod pulls out his gun and Sinclair hands his blue gemmed ring (which apparently has protective magic [well that sounds clunky]) to Peregrine; Sinclair has his own protection.

They see a group of four robed and cowled men walking out of the cave; two men carrying a large chest, one man holding aloft the case holding the MacLeod Fairy Flag, which has a trail of wisps streaming off of it to the Hepburn sword, which is held up by the leader, who brings up the rear, with one hand on the hilt, one near the tip of the blade. Around them swarm fey green points of light; the faerie guardians of Scot's treasure. On the shore of Loch Ness sits a boat, with another man, this one holding a machine gun.

Sinclair confronts the group, stating that it is not to late for them to stop their actions and be subject to only mundane law; not to the laws of the Higher Planes.

Of course, they do not submit. The man in the boat begins firing on Sinclair, but he drops down, out of sight of the gunman. McLeod, with his pistol, engages in a firefight, which ends with the inspector being caught in a rockslide and knocked out. This same rockslide causes the man holding the flag to drop it, shattering the case. With the magic link between sword and flag gone, the faeries swarm. They tear and bite at the men, covering them with bloody gashes. As the man goes to pick up the flag, a puff of smoke goes up; the legend was true, only a MacLeod could touch the flag.

During this time, the leader of the group slashes at Sinclair with the Hepburn sword, and Sinclair pulls out his defense, a small dagger which he holds by the blade. Both weapons glowing with power, the sword is blocked by the hilt of the dagger. However, the cultist does not pull away, instead, he continues pushing, forcing Sinclair to one knee. Realizing that Sinclair is in danger, Peregrine runs into the fray, one hand grabbing the man's arm, the other, the blade of the sword (brilliant, that). He falls away, his hand badly slashed. The cultist moves to kill Peregrine, but Sinclair makes his move.

Using the dagger to draw out a sigil in the air, he draws wrenches the blade away from him, destroying the barrier that protected him from the faeries. Having been waiting for such an occassion, they quickly kill him.

Now turning on Sinclair and Lovat, the faeries again swarm. McLeod awakes to see his friends surrouded by them, and quickly finds the Fairy Flag. Picking it up (unharmed; he is a MacLeod), he drapes it over his shoulders and commands the faeries to stop; these two men are under the protection of the faerie-favored MacLeods.

The other two men quickly get on the boat with their chest. Unable to follow, the faeries and our characters can only watch. The faeries, however, seem quite happy.

Suddenly, the boat's power cuts out. Lightning strikes the water, and it boils. A triangular head on a long, snakelike body rises up. As the men frantically attempt to restart the boat, the monster of Loch Ness rises up and smashes it. One is killed instantly, and the other eaten before the head sinks back down.

The official police report is along the lines that the boat hit a log and sank, and that the rest could be put down to terrorist activities.

With the flag and sword returned to their rightful places, Sinclair takes a look at Peregrine's hand. The ring has a large gash in it; if it had not been there, two of the fingers would be gone. As it is, it's a bad cut that will take time to heal, but nothing too serious (police report was that he cut it on the glass of the Fairy Flag's case).

As everyone begins to leave, Inspector McLeod shows Sinclair a piece of evidence that he might be interested in. It was the leader's finger, on it, a red signet ring. Engraved on the ring is the image of a big cat with tufted ears; the symbol of the Lodge of the Lynx.

The next book in The Adept series is The Adept: Book Two: The Lodge of the Lynx.

What I know of the Lodge of the Lynx so far is that, as Sinclair and McLeod are members of an organization that uses the magic of the Light, so the Lodge uses dark magic. I'm really not entirely sure whether the Light qualifies as a deity, so I couldn't venture to guess if the Lodge has a similar patron.

It was interesting to me how much this book drew on existing traditions. At least some of the locations are real (likely all) and the MacLeod Fairy Flag does exist. The Hepburn sword I can't really speak for, but there have been several Hepburns who were the Earl of Bothwell. This certainly isn't something I'm used to; generally, I read books that are set in their own universe. This one, although it's set a bit into the past by now, presents it as if this sort of thing were really going on around us. That's not to say that that makes it in any way worse; it was a good book.

I do think that I prefer the more standard fantasy (sci-fi is just fantasy with bolts on, after all) stories, though. I can't really say why; they just strike me as more interesting. Then again, it could just be because I have read a whole lot more of those stories, and have been able to pick out favorites.

I would have liked to get more explanation of the magic that is used in the book. I know that this is the first book, but nothing was really explained. You were just expected to take it as it comes.