by T. J. Hunter
Chapter 17
On a positive note, there was still no watcher outside the shoppe – maybe the damn thing flew south. If nothing else, the hell pet had made me more alert and increased my natural state of paranoia. I’m okay with paranoia, especially when considering all the things going bumpity-bump in the night … and day.
“Okay, the coast is clear. Let’s go home.”
Sally stopped walking when the apartment was in sight and growled while looking down an ally across the street. At first I didn’t see anything, but a moment later someone wearing a hooded robe appeared. It looked like the same monk character standing outside the Sierra back in Las Vegas. Moments later a bus drove by and blocked my view. When it passed, the hooded person or thing was gone. Sally relaxed and started wagging her tail again, so I knew the danger she sensed had passed.
Was this the same character who messed up my hotel room in Vegas?
I was about to unlock my front door and noticed scratches in the paint. Four long lines ran down the door that looked like they were made with claws. My wards were still armed, so if someone or something tried to break in, they got the shock of their life.
“Looks like we had a visitor Sally.”
I looked around the street and didn’t see anything unusual, but that doesn’t mean nothing was there. Sally also surveyed the street and appeared unconcerned.
“Seems safe enough Sally, but let’s keep our eyes open just the same.”
I locked the door behind us and my wards rearmed causing the door and window frames to glow for a few seconds.
I smiled. “That light show just never gets old, does it Sally? Not to mention giving us peace of mind.”
Sally woofed and went to her favorite spot to sleep while I started up the fireplace. It was a long day and it didn’t take long before I fell into a deep and welcomed sleep.
My phone rang and woke me up. It was only 5:15 AM, which is still night time in my book. The caller ID showed it was Sarila calling, and when I answered her call, I naturally had a sleepy and sarcastic tone.
“Good morning Sarila. Do you know what time it is?”
“Don’t you have a watch wizard?”
“Yes, I … never mind. Who or what do I owe the pleasure for having a Keob wakeup call?”
Sarila made no response.
“Sorry Sarila, what’s up?”
“Hopefully nothing wizard, but I have been trying to reach Alura at her apartment without success. How about running over there to check things out?”
I had not yet been to Alura’s apartment and was curious what her place looked like. She could take care of herself, so I wasn’t worried that anything happen to her, but it was unusual for Sarila to call me directly.
“Sure, I’ll go there right now. Um … where exactly am I going?”
“Select Alura on your phone contact list and the GPS will lead you to where she is. Her apartment is only a few blocks from you and it won’t take more than ten minutes to get their on foot.”
“Yea, it will certainly be by foot. Do you know why it will be by foot Sarila? Because everyone has a car in this city except for me.”
“And this is something that needs to be addressed now wizard?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll call you when I get to Alura’s apartment. Bye.”
Once outside, I selected Alura from my contact list and the screen showed a blue dot and a red dot on a satellite image of Manhattan. The blue dot showed where I was standing, so I figured the red dot was for Alura. All I had to do was follow the dotted line to the red dot. Easy enough, even for me.
Sarila was right. It took exactly 10 minutes to reach Alura’s apartment building. The front door to the building was locked, so I waited a couple of minutes until someone came out and then slipped in before the door closed. My phone now displayed the building layout. It also showed Alura’s apartment was on the top floor in a corner unit overlooking the street. Cool phone, but it does put into question the role of privacy. I suppose if I were cornered by a lycanthrope, I wouldn’t care much about maintaining privacy, so I filed the issue in my ‘who gives a darn’ mental file.
I took the elevator up to the tenth floor and approached Alura’s apartment door cautiously when I sensed her wards. I knocked several times in a respectful manner – no need to wake any neighbors or cause alarm.
“Who is it?”
“It’s your brother who you have never invited over,” I said, then paused for a response, but there was none. “Sarila sent me because she can’t reach you.”
Alura opened the door wearing a sheet wrapped around her and looked surprised to see me.
I smiled and raised my eyebrows. “Toga party?” I asked, and then a voice roared from inside the apartment.
“Wizard, is that you?”
“Thyzil?” I asked as a blushing Alura scowled at me. “Oh, I see.”
“I do have a life you know,” she said. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a break from all those dark battles.”
I tried to not laugh. “No, not at all,” I said while clearing my throat. “Nope, there is nothing wrong with taking a break … not at all.”
The door opened wider and Thyzil stood there also wrapped in a sheet. He began laughing loudly again – and to think I was worried my knock on the door might wake neighbors.
“Wizard, it is you,” he said and embraced me.
Not cool. I looked down the hallway to see if anyone had noticed a naked giant wrapped in a sheet hugging a visitor.
Alura stepped to Thyzil’s side, arched her eyebrow, and shook her head at me. She was embarrassed and now so was I.
“Come in my friend,” Thyzil said.
Not like I had a choice. Thyzil was a foot taller than me and a whole lot stronger. He actually lifted me off my feet pulling me inside.
There I was with my sister and Thyzil who were dressed in sheets. Alura frowned and looked like she got caught with her hand in a cookie jar. She also looked like a child standing next to a giant, and on top of that, she looked at me as if this was my last day being alive. The tension didn’t go unnoticed by Thyzil as he looked back and forth at Alura and me.
“What is this?” Thyzil asked. “I have been engaged to your sister for millions of years. Do not act surprised,” he said and kept laughing while wrapping his gigantic arms around Alura
“Come my princess, let us get dressed before our wizard faints.”
Alura whacked Thyzil in the arm and gave him a shut-up look. Thyzil just roared again laughing.
“See wizard. Look what trouble you make,” he said.
Alura pushed Thyzil into what I assumed is her bedroom. There was only one door inside the large studio apartment, so unless it was another Batcave, it had to be a bedroom. In the center of the room was a pentagram showing standard wizard design, except it had different symbols drawn at the pointed tips. There was no furniture, no kitchen, nothing but the pentagram. Efficient living in an efficiency apartment makes sense I guess, but I would suggest at least a painting or picture be hung on a wall to liven up the place.
A few minutes later Alura and Thyzil came out of the bedroom fully dressed. Thyzil, still smiling, announced he needed to return to Keob to meet with Sarila. He stepped into the pentagram and crushed a blue magic coin between his thumb and index finger causing the powder to sparkle.
“Princess, want to blow out light and make wish?”
Thyzil spoke in a colloquial manner that would drive any English teacher crazy. English was his second language, and besides, the way he spoke actually increased his charisma and overwhelming charm.
Alura rolled her eyes and shook her head at Thyzil’s offer, but she was holding back from laughing and he knew it.
“Very well princess,” he said, then turned his hand letting the sparkling powder fall to the floor. “Wizard, you take care of my princess, yes.”
“Sure will,” I replied.
Alura smiled and said, “Transmati Thyzil Keob,” causing her apartment
to fill with light and transport her warrior back to Sarila’s lab.
So this pentagram was made for Alura, and like mine, only works for the one who designed it. That’s why it has different symbols.
I now realized why Alura hadn’t invited me to her apartment. Thyzil was not visiting – he was sharing the apartment with Alura. Okay, I may be slow to catching on to the obvious, but I’m on board now. Alura didn’t intend for me to see her smile, and when she looked at me, I scratched my head acting like nothing happened. She punched my arm, hard.
“Don’t give me any sly looks buster,” she said with her eyes narrowed. “Come on you, let’s go outside and get some fresh air.”
I barely could hold myself from laughing. “Sly look? What sly look?”
Alura smirked and locked her apartment door behind us rearming her wards. She had her phone in her hand and called Sarila who was less than happy about Alura not having her phone ready to answer calls. Albeit Togas don’t have pockets, Sarila expects everyone to be on call 24/7. I could not hear the conversation except when Alura got in the last few words.
“Sorry Sarila, you’re right. It won’t happen again,” she said, then looked at me as if I did something wrong and placed the phone inside her pocket.
I raised my hands in the air and shrugged, trying to look as impartial as possible, which I actually was. Alura wasn’t going to see it that way no matter what I told her.
“Let’s go,” she said in a scolding tone. “Sarila wants us to check out something along the waterfront at Sunset Park in Brooklyn.”
“Oh well, there goes our nice stroll on a sunny day,” I said, which Alura completely ignored, obviously still miffed that I arrived unannounced at her apartment.
Sunset Park is located in Brooklyn on the western waterfront shore. Now abandoned for decades and in complete disrepair, it was once a booming business centerpiece of Manhattan. The Dutch first developed the park back in the 1600s, but it didn’t take off until the early 19th century when Scandinavian and Irish immigrants arrived. Once the Bush Terminal was built – no relation to the former president, or more importantly, our domestic beer – manufacturing and warehousing took advantage of nearby railways and water transportation, making it a significant business hub in the city.
While driving to Sunset Park, I told Alura about my hooded monk friend standing in the ally across from my apartment. I also told her that I saw the same character outside my Vegas hotel when she picked me up in her cab.
“They’re Hunter Demons who are drawn to magic like a moth to flames,” Alura said. “They are not particularly harmful unless someone gets in their way or too close, which is why they have survived so long. We never paid much attention to them because they lurk quietly in the shadows.”
“Are they like Kyiel? I mean no real physical form?”
“No, they are solid and use clamor to hide themselves. Wizards can see them easily because their clamor is a very low level magic, like a chameleon that camouflages itself in its natural environment.”
“Damn creepy buggers. Is that all I should know?”
“There is one more thing to consider. If you see a group of them, watch out. This is when a competition chromosome kicks in and they become like sharks on a feeding frenzy. If this happens, they will attack everything in their path, including their own kind.”
“Let’s see. There are watcher birds stalking me, lycanthropes trying to kill me, an ancient race of beings called the Darkzon racing to Earth to enslave all mankind, and now Hunter Demons that dress like monks who want to steal my magic. Does that sound about right?”
Alura laughed. “Heck no, not even close. Did you forget what I told you before? How do humans put it … it’s the tip of the iceberg. Soon enough, as the Darkzon get closer to Earth, we’ll be fighting vampires, ghouls, zombies, witches, and all sorts of dark demons trying to mark out their territory. The party has yet to begin dear brother.”
“Some party,” I said. “Sounds like every nightmare possible.”
Alura grinned. “Yup, and it’s a party where our kind are always the guest of honor, in a horrific blood thirsty sort of way.”
I looked out the car window and remained quiet for the rest of the drive. The thought of being a main course at a banquet for dark creatures was unsettling and would take some time to digest – no pun intended.
We arrived at Sunset Park about a half hour later. I have ridden by the park on a train many times, but never saw it up close. There are a couple dozen abandoned warehouses overgrown with bushes and weeds, giving the park an eerie ghost town look. Alura stop her car near the end of the park outside an old building and checked her GPS.
“This is the place,” she said. “Let’s go check out what the big fuss is all about.”
A rusty steel door at the front was the only entrance into a turn of the century brick structure. What were once windows are now bricked over and covered with dead vines giving it that special monster like appeal. As we approached the door, the hairs on my neck stood up telling me something was wrong. Alura felt the danger too, but kept her sense of humor.
“Well brother, are you going to be a gentleman and open that door for a lady?”
I took my staff coin out of my pocket and raised it toward the door, then said, “Unclass staff,” turning the coin into my staff. The amulet stone on top glowed blue-white, and with one gentle tap on the rusty chained lock, it turned white hot and dripped molten steel onto the ground. I slid the door open and graciously gestured for Alura to enter.
“Beauty before age,” I said, bowing my head in a chivalrous manner.
“You got it backwards old man. It’s age before beauty.”
I thought about it for a second. Yup, she’s right, but I wasn’t about to admit it.
“Well then, I guess your going in first makes sense then,” I said while grinning. “I mean, you’ve been on Earth 100 years longer than me sister, so …”
“You wish,” she said, smirking and shaking her head. “You were on Zeshtune long before I was born.”
The inside of the building had boxes and broken furniture piled up next to old machinery covered with cobwebs and dust. It was dark and difficult to see coming out of the sunlight, so I focused on my staff and said, “Aknor firster,” creating a bright blue-white flame from my staff amulet to illuminate the inside.
We worked our way around piles of junk to a stairway leading the basement. Thick air with the smell of death caused me to gag and cover my nose. Alura stopped and pulled out a magical coin of her own and said, “Unclass blade,” turning it into a double edge razor shape weapon with a handle to wrap your hand around.
“Huh, pretty fancy for someone that doesn’t possess much magic.”
Alura smiled. “Don’t worry brother, you still have a monopoly on all the good magic. Unlike your staff, this spell only works once per coin and is considered low level magic.”
“Well, if you want my opinion, that weapon is certainly easier to conceal than two swords strapped on your back.”
“Perhaps, but I like my swords,” she said and began leading the way down the stairs. “Keep your staff close so I can see where we are going. I don’t want to bump into anything, dead or alive.”
I followed Alura down the stairs hoping we wouldn’t encounter more lycanthropes. Instead, we saw something much worse.
“What the heck?” I said, looking at dozens of human bodies piled up along the walls.
Alura grimaced. “Lycanthropes didn’t kill these people. If they had, these bodies would be torn apart with blood everywhere,” she said, then narrowed her eyes. “Look how thin they are Azul.”
I took a closer look and saw they weren’t thin at all. Their bodies were dried out like prunes with only a thin layer of skin covering their bones. Ribs were poking out of the bodies and some fingers were nothing but bones.
I moved my staff higher to light up the room better and saw a man staked to a wall. He was several feet off the ground with stakes through
his hands and feet stretched out as though almost pulled apart. His clothes were drenched in blood and shredded as if claws ran up and down his body.
I grimaced. “There’s a lot of blood here. Do you think lycanthropes kill this man?”
“Not likely. It’s not their style,” Alura replied, then looked at something written in blood on the wall. “What does that mean?”
“It’s Mayan and translates to ‘we come soon’.”
“We come soon … who’s we and when is soon?” she asked.
“I don’t know, and I’m not sure I want to.”
There were also symbols written in Egyptian and various other languages.
“This man died a horrible death,” I said and raised my staff closer for a better view. “Why was this guy killed differently than the others?”
“It’s a feeding ground.”
“Feeding ground … for what?”
“That man is a territorial mark. Whatever did this wants anyone who sees this to know they’re trespassing.”
Alura was right. This poor guy looked as though he had recently died. He wasn’t turned into a shriveled prune like the other bodies and his blood was still wet. This man was tortured beyond what most people could even imagine. Alura took pictures of what we found using her phone and sent them to Sarila.
“A feeding ground … and we’re standing right in the middle of it … trespassing,” I said. “Whoever or whatever did this got in here without using the front door, which means there must be another way in and out, which means we could become trapped likes rats down here.”
Realizing the potential danger, Alura began scanning the room with her blade raised to strike.
“Over there,” she said, pointing to the stairs.
There was a large hole in the wall behind the stairs, about four feet wide and tall. I stuck the top of my staff inside and saw an old drainage pipe a few feet inside the opening. A rusted steel grate had been torn off the wall and was half buried in broken pieces of mortar. The drainage pipe was three feet in diameter and probably led out into the river.
“Let’s get the heck out of here,” I said. “If something comes from upstairs and this drain pipe at the same time, we’re screwed.”
“Yea, let’s go,” Alura said. “I have surveillance equipment in my car. We can place a miniature infrared camera inside to keep an eye on this place. If anything with a body temperature comes down here, it will trigger a video stream to Sarila.”
I frowned. “Putting a camera inside here means we have to come back into this death trap. What part of getting the heck out of here don’t you understand?”
“It will only take a couple of minutes. I can place a camera on the side of the top step. We don’t have to come back down into the basement.”
It took a lot less time exiting the building than it took getting to the basement – big surprise. Adrenalin and fear, mostly fear, is a good friend in scary places.
I stood by the steel door while Alura went to her car to get the infrared camera. She came back with two cameras and tossed the first one straight up over my head, sticking it to the outside roof overhang. Alura then stuck the second camera on the first step of the basement stairs.
“What if the thing that did this has no body temperature?” I asked.
“No problem. We will still hear it moving,” she said, then linked her phone into Sarila’s satellite feed.
