by T. J. Hunter
Chapter 15
Sarila told Alura she would get help right away and the phone transmission ended. At that moment, Alura’s eyes opened wide and she gasped. I looked at the monitor where Alura’s eyes were fixed and saw several wolves attacking people. They were not shapeshifters, but the four legged wolf soldiers like those we fought in Iraq.
People were screaming and running in a panic. A few managed to get up the stairs leading out of the terminal, but several poor souls were being mauled to death. A few moments later the victims stopped moving while the wolves continued dismembering their bodies. Alura hid her face in my chest, but I kept watching, feeling anger building up a swell of magical power in me. Alura must have sensed it because she stood back and stared at me.
“Azul, your eyes … they’re blue. They’re Zeshtune eyes.”
Images and memories surged in my mind like a hurricane. I was remembering things: Zeshtune, battles, Kyiel, Thyzil, and the Mayans. I could remember everything now, at least what I believe was everything.
Wind began to swirl around the room and tossed chairs into the air. Alura took shelter under the conference table. I pointed my staff toward the doors and shouted words not used for thousands of years: “Raza zitum.” Circular saws of blue-white light leapt out of my staff and spinned with razor sharp edges that hissed as they circled the room. I moved my staff forward and shouted, “Aktum,” and the saws exploded through the locked doors. The lycanthropes on the other side were shredded into pieces and turned into burning ash so quick, they barely had a chance to yelp. The saws buzzed around the hallway, and after not finding any more fur balls to chop up, they disappeared.
Alura came out from under the table, still stunned by what had happened. She gently placed her hand on my chest.
“Azul,” she said, her voice quivering.
I was still looking ahead, eyes bright blue and my amulets were glowing. I couldn’t hear Alura because my mind was overwhelmed with anger and powerful magic.
“Azul,” she said a little louder, and again I didn’t respond. “Brother, can you hear me?”
The wind began to quiet down as I turned to look at her. My eyes turned brown again and my amulets stopped glowing. I had released my anger without causing unnecessary destruction.
Alura smiled. “Azul, you did it. You’ve completed recognition.”
We embraced. “I know Alura, I know.”
“Can you remember? Do you remember Zeshtune?”
“Yes, I think I remember everything. Come Alura, we have work to do. First we kill the wolves, and then we kill Lupzarro and his attorneys.”
I placed the tip of my staff on the elevator door, which caused a bright flash and snapping sound. The door opened and we entered, then I looked at the ceiling and said, “Aktum.” My eyes turned blue again and my amulets glowed as the elevator moved upward.
It occurred to me that when the doors opened at the lobby, Alura and I might be facing a couple of human guards who probably were just doing a regular job. I reached into my wizard bag strapped under my coat and took out one of the white coins to cast an invisibility spell. I took hold of Alura’s hand and crushed the coin on the floor saying, “Relesa.” Alura and I watched ourselves fade and disappear in the metal reflection of the elevator door.
When the door opened, the guards were at their post and only glance at what appeared to be an empty elevator. Alura and I quietly walked pass the guards and out of the building unnoticed until the revolving door spun. The two guards close by looked at the spinning door and then at each other with blank expressions. They couldn’t see us.
Alura and I got into her Porsche and the invisibility spell began to wear off. I could see the outline of my hands and feet, but we were semi-transparent like a ghost. Alura raced her Porsche to the West Broad Street subway terminal faster than I have ever seen her drive, but this time I didn’t have any white knuckles. I was as anxious as she was to take out Lupzarro and his wolf pack.
“Lupzarro will be there watching somewhere in the dark,” Alura said. “He will join in on the hunt after his soldiers have their fill. Pack leaders are sadistic and find great pleasure watching their prey suffer before they themselves begin killing.”
“We’ll find Lupzarro Alura, I promise, and we’ll find his lap dog Moony too in due time. They will pay for what they have done, every last one of them.”
Alura screeched her car to a stop and double parked outside the subway terminal entrance. The police had already cordoned off the area and several police officers were managing onlookers who gathered to see what all the commotion was about. Another officer was interviewing a witness and more police cars pulled in behind us. We showed our press passes and were allowed to get as far as the officers guarding the stairs to the platform. There were two more officers at the corner of the first stair platform peeking around corners with their guns drawn.
“Can’t go down there, press or not,” one officer said.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Some kind of animal, or more likely a nutcase who thinks he’s an animal.”
“Really, how do you know that?”
“The perpetrator keeps howling up and down the tunnels. It’s some kind of freaky crazed killer loose down there. Witnesses say wolves attacked them. You know what I think? It’s some kind of hypnotist freak playing with peoples minds. One thing for sure, there is at least one victim below. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Thanks officer. We’ll get out of your way,” I said.
Alura and I headed back to her car which was now blocked in by a number of police cars. We sat inside to discuss what our next step would be realizing time was not on our side.
“Alura, do you know another way to the platform?”
“No. Police will have cordoned off all the entrances up and down from this one by now. We need to find a way in from here.”
“Okay then. We’ll get inside to the platform just like we got outside of Moon’s office building.”
“Hold on,” Alura said, then turned and kneeled on the drivers seat. She pulled the rear back seat section off revealing an arsenal of weapons in a storage compartment and began grabbing the usual items: swords, pistols, grenades, and more. “These weapons must be on me when you cast the invisibility spell so they will be hidden.”
It was interesting seeing just how flexible my little sister was as she maneuvered around inside a small car. She quickly strapped the Desert Eagles to her legs, the grenade belt across her chest, and packed her pockets with .44 magnum clips. Then something interesting happened. Alura’s choice of weapons is her double edged 36” long silver swords. There was not 36” of room in the entire Porsche, and to my surprise, she twisted and turned in all kinds of ways that I thought humanly impossible.
Alura let out an exhausted breath and said, “I have to open my window to put the swords on my back.”
The car windows were tinted dark to prevent outsiders from seeing inside. If the window was opened, we’d risked being discovered carrying a whole lot of weapons not covered by any weapon permit. I mean, how many New Yorkers carry grenades strapped across their chest? On second thought, don’t ask – don’t tell.
Alura reached inside the Magical Herbs gift box and took out some wolfsbane.
“Here, put this in your coat pocket,” she said.
I decided to put wolfsbane in both pockets, to be double safe. Wolfsbane had the unique ability to throw off a lycanthrope’s sense of smell. We used it when fighting against Lupzarro in Iraq and it drove his wolf soldiers crazy. They kept pointing their snouts in the air, unable to figure out what they smelled. For a natural herb free of magic, wolfsbane is a must have for anyone hunting werewolves.
“Wait until I tell you the coast is clear,” I said and Alura nodded as I watched several police officers walk by the car. “Now Alura,” I said and she lowered the window a few inches, then moved the swords out and back inside to the straps on her back, and did this within a couple of seconds.
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br /> She didn’t even look, and no cuts. Very impressive.
We both looked around to see if anyone noticed – no one did – so I reached into my wizard bag and took out a white magic coin. I placed Alura’s hand into mine and broke the coin in my free hand, then said, “Relesa.” The inside of the Porsche lit up with bright blue-white light as Alura and I became semi-transparent and then invisible.
“Think anyone saw that?” I asked.
“Hope not, but if they did, all they’ll find is an empty car should they check it out.”
We had to exit my door keeping our hands held together for the spell to remain intact. I got out first, then Alura slid over and out from the passenger door. We looked around again to make sure no one had noticed anything unusual. Two officers were about 20 feet in front of us, but they were facing toward the subway entrance and unaware of our presence. Satisfied that no one noticed the crazy lights emitting through the windshield, I gently closed the car door and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let’s turn the hunt on the hunters,” I said as quietly as possible, and although I couldn’t see Alura, I knew she was smiling with delight at the thought.
As was the case when at Moon’s office, no one noticed as we walked past the police and down the subway stairs. It wasn’t long before I smelt wet dog, leaving no doubt what was ahead. We turned a corner passing the two officers who had their guns drawn and quietly walked down the last stairs leading to the final platform.
The wolf smell intensified, but there was also something else in the air – it was blood. I read somewhere when enough blood is gathered in a small area that it took on an unmistakable order. Blood was a smell you never forgot and I immediately made the connection with the blood spilled at the Iraq desert fight.
The smell was making me nauseous, but that was nothing compared to how I felt when we turned the last corner. There were pieces of human bodies and pools of blood all over the platform. I heard a dripping sound and saw splats of blood hitting the floor in front of us. When I looked up, I stepped back pulling Alura with me and almost unclasped our hands. Above was a human leg in blood soaked jeans and a sneaker dangling from electrical conduits. Our mouths dropped open and we grimaced.
A few moments later, growls sounded out from the dark tunnel and we saw six yellow dots moving closer to our position. Three lycanthropes came into view with their snouts curled up, showing long sharp teeth, and began scanning the area. They stopped about thirty feet ahead of us and began sniffing in the air, indicating our Wolfsbane was doing its job. The fur balls knew something was near, but were confused and unaware that we were only feet away.
Alura squeezed my hand to get my attention and whispered, “Get ready.”
The lycanthropes began moving forward again as we readied ourselves to let go of each others hand. Alura grabbed the handle of one sword with her free hand and I reached in my pocket and held my staff coin in my hand. With one hard squeeze of our hands telling each other it was time to fight, we let go and the lycanthropes saw us. Before any of the fur balls got a chance to react, Alura had already pounced on one, and with a furious swoop of her sword, she severed its body in half.
A second lycanthrope ran toward Alura while a third started toward me. I took the coin out of my pocket and said, “Unclass staff,” changing it into its full length staff. The lycanthrope targeting me leaped into the air growling with teeth as big as they come. Just before it got close enough to chew my face off, I clubbed it with my staff which sent it smashing into a concrete wall. The lycanthrope yelped and fell to the ground.
Alura was swinging her sword and dodging the other wolf attacks while the one I clobbered got up and started back toward me. I pointed my staff at it and shouted, “Aknor firster,” producing a thick stream of wizard fire that consumed the beast into flames. I looked back at Alura who kicked the burning head of a wolf like a football and grinned.
“Hey there blue eyes,” she said and started walking toward me, not noticing a very large lycanthrope was about to pounce on her.
“Alura, watch out,” I shouted, but it was too late.
The 300 plus pound seven-foot tall lycanthrope had caught Alura by surprise and knocked her into a concrete pillar. She hit the pillar hard, cracking several tiles before falling limp to the ground.
“Alura,” I shouted again, but she didn’t move or respond.
The shapeshifter stood there staring at me. I think it was grinning – as much as an ugly werewolf face could – and it began walking slowly toward me on its hind legs. It was Lupzarro in his natural smelly wolf skin. He spoke to me a coarse almost intelligible voice.
“Time to die wizard,” he said, then pointed his head at me with both arms extended outward ready to strike, and I pointed my staff at him.
“Aknor firster,” I said, sending forth another stream of wizard fire.
Lupzarro managed to jump out of the way and the fire burst into a wall scattering blue-white light in all directions. I only saw a blur of movement and he was gone. Destroying Lupzarro was not going to be easy. He was fast for targeting with my magic, at least with any degree of accuracy.
A few seconds later, I was on the ground with Lupzarro on top of me trashing away with his claws. My eyes widened in surprise, not because he wanted to slice me apart with his six inch claws, but because he was not really on top of me. He was a couple of inches away on top of a transparent green shield that protected my body. Sparks shot out from the shield each time Lupzarro’s claws struck. The shield was my defense magic kicking in, automatically, and it was keeping me alive.
Both my ring and necklace amulets were glowing and heating up rapidly. My strength was draining, so I reached for a green magic coin, but my wizard bag was no longer strapped to my belt. Along with my staff, my wizard bag was on the subway floor out of reach. The strap must have broken when Lupzarro hit me from behind.
I thought for a moment to use my amulet ring to cast a spell, but remembered that wasn’t an option. Magic could not be used while my shield was active. I’d have to drop it, and even then using magic might only squish me like a bug at such a close range. Not that it mattered much either way because my shield was beginning to close in on me with each strike Lupzarro made. He kept trashing his claws wildly while staring into my eyes with a very hungry look.
Lupzarro’s might actually win the fight. I looked helplessly over to Alura who was still motionless. Is she still alive? I never told her how much she meant to me, and now may never get the chance.
Bang, bang, bang. I heard gunfire and saw muzzle flashes coming from the dark tunnel. Lupzarro jumped up facing the gun fire and stretched his head in the air howling. This time his howl sounded like he was in pain as bullets exited his back and struck a nearby wall. Streaks of liquid silver dripped out of the bullet holes is his chest surrounded by trails of smoke. Lupzarro gave me another look with pure hatred eyes in his eyes, and then disappeared down the tunnel to escape more gunfire.
Five armed men wearing special force type military outfits with AK-47s ran past me to chase Lupzarro. Their helmets had white letters painted across the brim: KEOB. They were our guys sent by Sarila. A little late, but late is always better than never. I managed to stand up as my defense shield flickered and died out.
“Alura,” I shouted and ran to her, kneeling at her side and putting her head on my lap. “Alura … Alura,” I said with tears in my eyes, as her eyes slowly opened and a small smile formed.
“Hey there blue eyes,” she said.
I smiled and brushed my hand across her check. Alura’s eyes then widened in fear as another growl came from behind me – it was Lupzarro – he doubled back. His growl startled me and I fell next to Alura. Unfortunately, I did not think to get my staff and wizard bag before rushing to Alura, so magic was not an option and Lupzarro knew it. He raised one arm up slowly to let us know we were about to become his dinner. Just as his arm got above his head ready to strike, a blue-white light stuck out from Lupzarro’s chest. Lupzarro ho
wled in horrible agony, dropped his arm to his side, and looked at the light coming out of his chest. He then looked once more at me, but this time he was dying and the bright yellow eyes dimmed into a dull dark grey as life left his body.
Lupzarro was dead, but he didn’t fall to the ground. He went limp and just hung in the air until being tossed onto the middle of the subway tracks and engulfed into flames. Alura and I looked up and saw a tall muscular built man wearing a metal breastplate. His was holding a large claymore sword that glowed with blue-white light and dripped with blood. It was Thyzil, as he looked during the great battle on Zeshtune, but much younger. The skinny worn out man Alura and I found in the river at OZ was no more and now stood seven-feet tall with broad shoulders and arms that could crush a Volkswagen. His long black hair was pulled back with a leather headband and he had a friendly smile.
“Wizard, good thing for you I was nearby again, yes?”
I grabbed Thyzil’s arm and he pulled me to my feet.
“Now, where have I heard that before?” I asked. “Yes dear friend, I am very glad you were nearby.”
Thyzil roared in laughter while bending down on his knee next to Alura.
“Thyzil,” Alura said in a soft breath and smiled. “It’s you. You completed recognition.”
“Yes my princess, and I once again saved the day.”
The three of us began to laugh as Thyzil helped Alura to her feet. Her legs gave out and she almost fell, but Thyzil picked her up like a baby into his arms.
“Not this times my princess, not this time. I will never let you go,” Thyzil said and he gently kissed her cheek.
Alura smiled as she wrapped her arms tightly around Thyzil’s neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Don’t worry wizard. My princess will be fine. I have seen many battles and know when someone is badly hurt. She has healing magic in her. Soon, she we be healed and killing more big doggies.”
The five military men that chased Lupzarro down the tunnel returned and looked over at the pile of smoldering ashes on the tracks. One of the soldiers then looked at Thyzil and made a slight grin.
“Sir, all quarters have been secured. No enemy present,” the soldier said.
“A good battle and good exercise, yes?” Thyzil asked, and the soldier smiled, then ordered his men to return to base.
Thyzil walked over to my staff and wizard bag and tossed both to me using the toe of his boot.
“See wizard … no hands.”
“Showoff,” I said and Thyzil let out another boisterous laugh while Alura squeezed him tighter.
I took out the chalk from my wizard bag and drew a pentagram big enough for all three of us to stand inside on the platform floor. I dropped a blue coin on the floor and crushed it, then placed my hand on Thyzil’s shoulder and said, “Transmati Keob.” The pentagram lit up with a wall of blue-white light rising to and pouring across the ceiling above. Seconds later we were back at Keob facing a smiling Sarila.
“Well done wizard,” Sarila said. “I see by your blue eyes that recognition is complete for you as well.”
“Yes wizard, you are officially Zeshtunian,” Thyzil said, then slapped me on my back, nearly knocking me to the ground. “Come my friend, first beer is on me. Of course, it is your beer, so maybe on you, yes?”
It’s good to be back on Keob. It’s better yet to have a sister and old friend with me, who by the way are the best wolf butt kickers ever.
This night was for celebration. Even Sarila and her lab assistants joined in as we ate pizzas and opened a keg of beer. We even summoned Kyiel to join us, even though he just stood there watching us like a party pooper.
“To the victor go the spoils,” Thyzil said and raised his mug of beer.
“Here, here,” Alura replied, still very much banged up, but healing nicely.
It was the best night of my entire life. I felt love, friendship, and a real sense of belonging to something bigger than myself. We were all safe now and Lupzarro was dead. While many more bad guys were out there waiting for us to stomp them, tonight was for us.
It’s amazing that Alura and Thyzil’s love stayed alive after all these millenniums. If that by itself was not enough, I gained a family, which until now was not complete. Life is good.
