Blue Light by Night

by Gerald Lopez

  Monique walked up to me with two muscle-bound thugs by her side and a large bump on her forehead.

  “That wasn’t very gallant of you to head butt me, Layton.”

  “I am sorry about that, but it should heal nicely,” I said.

  “Didn’t I tell you that he’d need personal attention,” she said to the thugs. “Move him to the back room.”

  The men each took one of my arms, lifted me, and carried me into a shadowy back room where they sat me on a plush bench facing a small stage. There was a door to the right of the stage, which appeared to be my best hope for escape.

  “Warm him up for a while,” Monique said. “I’ll be back in a few. I need to pump more scent onto the dance floor.”

  The thugs exited and music started playing. Clearly, she must not have been speaking to them, but who then? Yoga guy showed up on stage and removed the black robe he was wearing. Now he had on only a small, sheer, black thong and he began dancing in a very sensuous way. Looking left toward the door I had just been carried through, I saw a blue glow from underneath it. Yoga guy stepped off the stage and began giving me a lap dance, rubbing his body against mine. I was responding automatically and I began to see a blue light coming off my body. That’s also when I saw the back door opening a crack. There was a small chance it could be someone coming to help me, so it was time for me to distract my lap dancer. I kissed yoga guy’s tight abs and when he lowered his face I kissed his lips. That distracted him long enough for one of my rescuers to come up from behind and hit him on the head with a billy club.

  “Nice seeing you two again,” I said.

  “Friends of Lucy here to the rescue,” Hans said, untying my hands and feet as Jerhome dragged yoga guy into a corner, where he tied him up with the ropes that had been used on me, then gagged him.

  “Monique will be back any minute,” I said, getting up and opening the entry door a crack.

  It had become an orgy out in the main room. People in various stages of undress were all over one another moaning loudly. Blue light filled the room like a fog. I reached into my pocket. They hadn’t taken my cell phone so I called up Noelle’s number.

  “It’s Noelle.”

  “Noelle, it’s Layton… the calvary arrived. This place is filled with blue light energy. What’s going on with the bones?”

  “They’re glowing brighter than ever, Layton.”

  I dropped the phone when a ray of blue light hit it. A woman had entered from the back door and was facing Jerhome, Hans, and me. Her glowing blue hands were pointed our way.

  “Did you two really think you could sneak in here so easily?” she said. “I let you both in, so you could be drained of your energy along with your friend.”

  Monique entered and shut the door behind her. “Hans and Jerhome. You two are a surprise. I hadn’t realized that you’d infiltrated our group to help Layton—we’ll have to put up more safeguards. Let’s see now, where should I begin?”

  She pointed her glowing blue hand toward me and I felt a pain like something pulling the insides out of me. I fell to my knees on the floor by my cell phone. From the corner of my eye I saw that Hans and Jerhome had suffered the same fate at the hands of the mystery woman. The pain was getting worse and I pulled my knees up to my chest.

  “The bones, Noelle,” I said, yelling toward the cell phone, hoping she could hear me.

  “So, she’s on your team too,” Monique said. “Interesting… but don’t count on her help. There’s always a guard nearby when we’re gathering the blue light for summoning. Noelle won’t be able to help you. Your energy is weak, Layton. Did I tell you that priestesses can harness energy and redirect it?”

  I heard the sound of Noelle screaming, then a gun shot.

  “And how do the bones fit in,” I said, trying to relax my body and not struggle so much.

  “The bones of our ancestors amplify the energy many times over, making the light energy into a weapon. That’s more like it—the energy in this room is increasing. Your friends think like you do, Layton. Learning secrets excites them.”

  Monique and her friend began gathering blue light from not just me, but Hans and Jerhome too. It was as if they were pulling a blue yarn from our bodies and gathering it into spheres, which they held in their palms. Then they raised their hands as if to fire.

  “Noelle! If you’re alive—scatter the bones!” I said.

  I heard the sound of falling bones from the cell phone and saw the streams of blue light energy already gathered and about to be fired by Monique and the other woman flicker. Hans and I jumped up and tackled Monique, while making sure to hold her hands away from us. Jerhome tackled the other woman in the same way. In seconds we had them tied up with cords we’d pulled from speakers on either side of the small stage. We gagged the women, I picked up my cell phone and then peeked out the door into the main club area. The skin on the patrons bodies looked like it was starting to flake off. In the corner a man’s arm was turning to dust. Hans grabbed my arm and the three of us headed out the back door and ran through the muddy uneven ground behind the trees. I thanked both men for the rescue as we ran alongside the road toward where they’d parked their car. Looking back at the club, I saw that the blue glow still hung over it. Had the bones been put back in order? If so, I prayed that Noelle was safe.

  Suddenly, bright headlights shone on us and we saw a large truck with huge tires, which put it high off the ground. The truck did a quick turn, so that its back was to the club. The passenger door opened and we saw a woman lifting her long skirt to get out, using an attached metal bar as a step. Her sequined shoes sparkled by the light coming from the headlights.

  “Are, you all, okay!” She said.

  “Miss Lucy! What are you doing here?” I said, following her as she walked to the open bed of the truck where two men were standing. “The people in the club are burning up, they’re dead or pretty close to it and the bad guys will be able to harness their power.”

  “Not on my watch!” Miss Lucy said. “Git your white asses outta my way, bitches. I’ll handle this. It’s a great time to try out my birthday gift the boys just brought me. Give me a hand up, boys,” she said to the men in the truck bed, who helped her up. They removed a blue plastic cover revealing an RPG launcher. Hoisting it onto her shoulder, she got into position and aimed it straight toward the club.

  “Cover your ears, boys!”

  She fired and soon there was nothing left of the club but gray smoke.

  “I’m sad for those people but I’m glad we were in the area to help. That was fun!” Miss Lucy said. “Load her up for a second shot! The baddies won’t be getting much out of here tonight.”

  The men loaded another rocket and Miss Lucy fired again. The ground shook and I began feeling weak and shaky on my legs.

  “Someone grab Layton before he falls over,” Miss Lucy said.

  For the second time that evening a man flung me over his shoulder. But this time it was a friend: Jerhome.

  * * * *

  When I woke, my shirt was open and I was lying on a bed in a bright green room. There were some sort of large leaves on my chest, as well as a sticky substance. I went to touch it, but was rebuffed.

  “Leave it alone, detective. The plants and gel are drawing out the toxins in your body,” Mother Watkins said. “Girl, go get Grandma a wet cloth for his head.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Esther said.

  “How ya doin’, lil queen,” I said, trying to sit up.

  “Better than you, Mr. Layton. But don’t worry, Grandma’ll get ya healed up good.”

  “Enough ‘chit-chattin’. Go get me that wet cloth, girl.”

  Esther left, shuffling her feet, and Mother Watkins helped me sit up.

  “Noelle!” I said, suddenly remembering things. “There was a gunshot. I heard a gunshot over the phone when I was talking to her. What about Hans and Jerhome?”

  “Calm yourself, boy,” Mother Watkins said while checking my temperature. “Noelle’s fine. Hans and
Jerhome weren’t exposed to as much of the scent as you were, so they went home with some of the medicine I gave them.”

  “I guess I’m at your house, Mother Watkins.”

  “Yup. You’re in my guest room, which I sometimes refer to as my clinic.”

  “Are you an agent too?” I said, taking a sip from the glass of water on the bedside table.

  “No, Sir, I’m not. But my cousin did recruit me to help out here and there. I figure that must’ve been the reason the good Lord had me here working for the Kennedy family. The best agents are the ones that don’t even know they’re agents. And that cousin of mine knows how to make loyal friends fast. She recruited Hans and Jerhome to help too whenever she or someone like Noelle calls.”

  “Are you a medical or biology expert? Am I gonna be okay?”

  “You’ll be fine, detective. Lucy was able to get a sample of the scent out of Monique’s car, and I don’t need a medical degree to recognize a lot of the organic elements that were used to make it. Most natural healers are familiar with the herbs and plants the cult used. I’ve sent a list of the ingredients to the proper people to investigate further.”

  “Why or how does it have such a strong effect on people.”

  “It’s in the way the ingredients are mixed and in what quantity. The cult uses very high and very compressed quantities of ingredients known for being aphrodisiacs as well as hallucinogens.”

  “To get the sex drive up and be able to gather more energy from a person’s body… makes sense,” I said.

  “How did it feel when they gathered your energy, Layton?”

  “Like someone was sucking the life out of my body.”

  “Your life, but not your soul. It’s interesting that you phrase it that way.”

  “I gave my soul to God long ago, Mother Watkins. It’s no longer mine to give freely or otherwise.”

  “Good answer. You remember that, detective.”

  “Always, Ma’am. Do I have the doctor’s approval to stand up?”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “May I borrow your car? I’ll get it back to you as soon as I can.”

  “You may; and take your time. Wash up, relax, try to take it easy for a while. My keys are on the hook by the front door.”

  Esther shyly walked in and handed me a slightly cool washcloth.

  “Where have you been, girl?” Mother Watkins said.

  “I heard adults speaking and I didn’t want to get in the way.”

  I had finished wiping my face and was now using the washcloth on my chest. “Oh, c’mon, Mother Watkins, you know she’s a good girl.”

  “That’s true. Can I fix you something to eat, detective?”

  “No thanks.”

  It took me a minute to get steady on my feet once I was up, but I managed to thank Mother Watkins and walk into the living room. Esther had run ahead and was waiting at the door, car keys in hand. The curtains were drawn and the whole house was dark… it must still be night. I took the keys from Esther, thanked her, and reached for the door knob.

  “Cover your eyes, detective, you slept all night,” Mother Watkins said.

  The bright sunlight hit me hard when I opened the door and I had to block it with my hands as I walked to the car. As I got in the car, I waved good-bye to Esther, who was waving at me from the porch. The car clock said it was nine in the morning. My stomach started grumbling and I realized I was hungry after all. It wasn’t too far from Hans’s and Jerhome’s bakery, so I decided to stop by and say hello. Neither Hans nor Jerhome were at work today, but their employee informed me that both men were fine—they’d just taken the day off to rest. I grabbed a few cinnamon rolls on the odd chance I’d run into Noelle or Alex. The cinnamon roll I held in my hand was eaten even before I got to the car.

  Lowering the car window, I took a deep breath of fresh, clean, slightly swampy air as I neared the old Kennedy estate. I enjoyed it since I didn’t know when or how soon I’d have to hold my breath again. The Jaguar was still parked where I’d left it; the only other car was Noelle’s.

  Walking inside I found Noelle sitting in a chair in the entry hall. She was dressed in a blue tank top and long skirt and looked perfect which was a relief.

  “Do I see breakfast in your hands?” She said.

  “Yes you do, Noelle… and I didn’t forget you.” I opened the white bakery box so she could reach in and take a cinnamon roll.

  She took a bite and smiled before licking her lips. “Delish. That really hits the spot, thank you. You seem to have survived yet another ordeal well, Layton.”

  “Are we alone in the mansion?”

  “It’s only us and Alex, who’s downstairs in his room. The sisters are out for the day.”

  “I was worried about you,” I said, giving Noelle a hug.

  “The woman who snuck up on me last night at the mausoleum was the one who should’ve been worried, Layton. I don’t use a gun often, but I do carry one when I need to and I’m a perfect shot. If I’d left her alive she would’ve compromised all of us. Besides, I had no intention of giving her the chance to shoot me or use her glowing blue hands on me.”

  We walked down the hallway and I looked up into the eyes of Jamison’s portrait. “I’m not sure you should stay here, Noelle. Time to move somewhere else.” We both headed up the stairs.

  “I’ll pack and go stay with Mother Watkins,” she said. “Before I go I’ll have one of the estate workers follow me so they can take back her car. Yes, Mother Watkins called me right after you left her home, so don’t you worry about the car. You may want to say hello to Alex, he was asking about you.”

  “Okay. After that I’ll pack my stuff and head out to the local library and do some research.”

  “You’d also better change clothes,” Noelle said, trying to straighten up my open shirt and jacket. “Thanks again for breakfast.”

  I went to my room and looked in the mirror. My tuxedo was dirty and my shirt was torn down the front. Screw this, Alex won’t care how I look, I thought. Then I had a better thought. My body felt sticky and dirty so I took a quick shower making sure to get everything nice and clean. When I was finished I wrapped a towel around my waist and went into my bedroom and to the brick wall. After I found the secret brick, I went down the secret passageway. Slowly, I opened the door into his room. I looked inside and once again found myself holding my breath.

  Chapter 25

  Captured

  Alex was holding a large black and white framed photo of me sleeping on my side nude. My face looked so peaceful and at rest. I gave him an all encompassing hug.

  “You’ve captured me, babe.”

  “I’ve been looking for you to give you this photo, Layton, I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Mind what?” I said, admiring the photo.

  “That I sneaked a picture of you when you were sleeping nude on top of the covers. You looked so peaceful I just couldn’t resist. In any case, the photo’s yours.”

  He turned to me and handed me the work of art, which I admired.

  “I’ll treasure if for the rest of my life, Alex. Thank you.” I then leaned it up against the wall.

  “You look like hell, what happened to you, Layton?”

  I pulled him to me and kissed him hard on the lips.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I know I look and still smell bad, but I love you Alex, and I want you right here, right now.”

  He looked lost for a moment, then he kissed me back before taking my hand and leading me to his bed. We were both overcome with passion and I pulled his T-shirt off over his head. My hands explored his warm, smooth body as my mouth sucked on his neck. The two of us were naked and rolling around in his bed almost immediately. We kissed some more… as usual our lips couldn’t stand to be parted for long. Then I lay flat on my back and looked at him.

  “I want you inside me now, Alex. Make me yours completely, clear my mind of everything but you and us, just for a moment. I’m tired and I need you. Is that okay?”

  �
��More than,” Alex said.

  He kissed me hard then put my legs over his shoulders and began to enter me. It really had been a while and I groaned when he entered me. His face looked concerned so he stopped right inside of me then began to kiss my foot and suck hard on my toes. I decided not to hold back and groaned again but in pleasure. Without stopping what he was doing, Alex entered me fully and began pumping into me. It felt so good my body was melting, all resistance gone.

  “Harder,” I said. “Harder, baby.”

  He picked up pace and his hands found my nipples and squeezed them.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said yanking on my cock in unison with his thrusts.

  Everything was perfect, and all too soon our bodies began to tremble and we both groaned.

  “Don’t pull out, Alex, I want it. All of it.”

  It was all over to quickly, but I felt like a wall I’d had up for too long had just come down.

  * * * *

  We lay in each other’s arms and enjoyed just holding one another. I never wanted to let him go once we got together.

  “What exactly happened, Layton? And why do you smell a little like eucalyptus leaves and Vicks VapoRub? Have you been to Mother Watkins’ house? That’s what she used on us when we were sick as kids.

  “So, that’s why I recognized the smell. It was Vicks. Get comfortable, Alex, ‘cause I have a long tale to tell you.” I then proceeded to tell him everything that had occurred.

  He sat up in bed when I’d finished my tale.

  “Layton, do you think my sisters are priestesses?”

  “Either priestesses or leaders of some sort… maybe princesses—who knows?”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what, Alex?”

  “For trusting me when I’m not even sure I trust myself anymore.”

  I clasped his hand in mine and pulled him down on top of me. “I know you’re good, Alex, I can see it in your eyes. Sort of the same way I could see that old man Kennedy was good by his eyes. The eyes truly are the windows to a person’s soul.”