by T. J. Hunter
Chapter 24
I reached for my com-link to contact Alura and Lieutenant Mack, but it was gone. Must have fallen off during the fight. No time to waste looking for it.
If Moon and his other partner attack together, I may not be able to beat them with magic alone. It could be lights out for good if I’m caught off guard. I began to think that leaving Alura behind was may have been a bad idea.
I continued tracking Moon’s blood trail and it led me to a large door with a bronze plate mounted on it that spelled out ‘Robert Moon, Attorney at Law’. The blood drops stopped at the door, so I was fairly certain he was in his office. I pointed my staff forward and slowly opened the door and there he was, in human form sitting at his desk. His head was drooping and his right side, still missing an arm, was drenched in blood. He hadn’t enough time to regenerate from such a wound, which meant he wasn’t at full strength, and in turn gave me the advantage.
I grinned. “Hey Moony, not feeling so well?”
Moon lifted his head and looked at me. He didn’t have his usual cocky grin telling the world how superior he was. Instead, he looked drawn out, weak, and pale as a ghost.
“Mr. Zane, I must compliment you on your fighting and survival skills. I was told of this, but one has to experience such things personally. Wouldn’t you agree?” he asked, taking slow measured breaths.
“I guess so. Did your pal Ah Chuy Kak tell you this?”
“Yes, he and others have said as much. Mr. Zane, you and I are merely pawns in a game that is far beyond our control. We are nothing more than puppets that do what our masters wish. This is how things have always been.”
“Looks to me like Ah Chuy Kak has cut your strings Moony.”
“It would appear so, but not unexpectedly Mr. Zane. Ah Chuy Kak does not respect any form of weakness, and as you can readily see, my strength is leaving me. This brings me to the one proposal you might find acceptable Mr. Zane. If I were permitted to leave this building without further harm, I would help you find Ah Chuy Kak. Finding him should be more of interest to you and the Zeshtunians than destroying me.”
“Oh really … why is that?”
“You see Mr. Zane, Ah Chuy Kak is the the first lycanthrope. My kind were originally bred to protect Ah Chuy Kak and his regions of power, which since the last Great War has been confined to this world. So long as we serve him, he allowed us to pursue a small portion of wealth and power, such as this law firm. Ah Chuy Kak’s reach is deep and far Mr. Zane. He owns the very thoughts of your most powerful politicians, businessmen, and secret organizations.”
“And I’m suppose to believe that a lap dog like you is going to help me destroy his master?’
“I want to live Mr. Zane. The help I am offering you is far more valuable than my death.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I mean, I’ve been looking forward to dusting you for so long, days I think,” I said sarcastically. “Besides, I’ll eventually find your fur ball master without your help, so you can understand my reluctance in making a deal.”
“Perhaps you will find him Mr. Zane, however, there are more powerful masters coming soon who may destroy Ah Chuy Kak. Before this happens, Ah Chuy Kak will call upon his legions to do terrible things in an attempt to gain pleasure with those who would seek his destruction. Many humans will die in the wake of his quest to build an army to fight on his behalf.”
“You’re talking about the Darkzon.”
“Yes Mr. Zane. Only I can help you find Ah Chuy Kak before it is too late.”
“Tisk tisk, naughty wolf,” I said, wagging my finger side to side like a scolding parent. “Making deals with fur balls doesn’t seem to be a good idea to me. What deal did you make with the little girl in your arena or those Zeshtune warriors before removing their heads? I think I’m going to decline your less than generous offer Moony. No offense … well yea, there is some offense intended. Actually, there is a lot of offense intended.”
Moon took a deep breath of air and stiffened his body.
“Very well Mr. Zane, very well.”
In an instant Moon transformed and smashed through his desk. He was fast, too fast for me to react as he grabbed my throat and tossed me through the wall to the next office. My defense magic kicked in keeping me in one piece and I was able to get up and ran down the corridor. Moon was not far behind running on all fours – well, less one arm of course, so all threes – and considerably faster then I was using my two legs.
I knew out running Moon was not going to happen and that he was too close for me to turn and blast him with my staff. I felt my defense shield strengthen as Moon yanked me up off my feet and tossed me again into a nearby office, this time right through a solid two inch thick mahogany door. When I stopped bouncing on the floor, I found myself up against a large glass window. I also saw that my staff was now behind Moon who stood 10 feet in front of me and looked extremely ticked off.
Well, if I can’t destroy him, at least I can tick him off some more before he takes me out.
I stood up and brushed pieces of glass off and then proceeded to laugh.
“Was it something I said Moony?”
Moon snarled and slowly approached me when an idea popped into my head. I took a grey coin that freezes time from my wizard bag and cuffed it inside my palm. Maybe I can turn this situation to my advantage after all.
I tried not to show any fear, which is hard to do when thinking my heart might be ripped out of my chest any second. Moon sensed my fear and narrowed his eyes as drool dripped from his teeth to the floor. He raised his one arm forward making a loud steady growl, ready to strike, and I dropped the grey coin on the floor. At the moment Moon leapt into the air toward me, I crushed the coin under my foot and shouted, “Relesa.”
I had closed my eyes when casting the spell, because if it failed, I didn’t want to see what came next. A few seconds later I was still alive with my back against the window. I slowly opened one eye and then the other. The spell worked. Moon was frozen still about three inches from my face with his mouth wide open. Strange, but the first thing that came to my mind was that Moon looked like he had a bad hair day with a taxidermist. I guess this was simply a reaction to realizing I wasn’t dead.
I slid along the window away from Moon’s hungry mouth and darted behind him to pick up my staff. I couldn’t move my staff because it was frozen on the floor like everything else nearby. I kept my hands on it though, ready to lift it when the time spell wore off.
In a flash, normal time restored and Moon went crashing through the office window. I lifted my staff up and said, “Aknor stellara,” sending a series of lightening bolts straight into the fur ball while he was in mid-air. Moon bust into flames and howled in agony as he began his decent. When I looked out from the smashed window, I saw Moon turn into a cloud of ash as he hit the parking lot.
I couldn’t have asked for a more fitting end. That leaves one more fur ball – Moon’s second partner.
If the partner was here, I would probably have been attacked before reaching Moon, so chances are he’s hiding on a another floor. If not, he could be anywhere in the city.
I was banged up with an assortment of bruises, scrapes, and aching joints. Not too bad though considering I had two overweight fur balls smacking me around like a piñata. I could only hope that Moon’s last partner would not be as difficult to take down.
I started down the corridor to the stairway and heard someone or something running up the stairs. I stopped and pointed my staff toward the door.
“Here we go again,” I muttered, and then the door slammed opened.
It was Alura and Thyzil with their swords held up ready to slice more lycanthropes. I lowered my staff and noticed their swords were dripping with blood.
“Huh, have a visitor come your way?” I asked.
“One of those big doggy lawyers tried to leave without saying goodbye,” Thyzil said. “This is rude, yes? We taught doggy manners. Maybe, we taught it too well,” he said while holding up his
bloodied claymore and laughing.”
Alura and Thyzil placed their arms under mine to help me down the stairs back to the 10th floor. Each step I took hurt a little bit more and I groaned from the pain.
“Wizard, maybe we train together soon, yes?” Thyzil asked. “Make you strong like me.”
Alura smiled and I agreed. It was good to be finally done with Moon and his furry pals, but the fight wasn’t yet over. Even so, we could take a breather and bask in the light of victory, at least for a while.
Once we made it to the 10th floor, Alura and Thyzil helped me over to a couch where I stretched out and closed my eyes.
“That’s it … we did it,” I said. “What I need now is a vacation. Someplace with warm beaches and no animals, especially no dogs, or anything that has fur.”
Alura and Thyzil laughed. “Yea, good luck with that dear brother. Sarila has already called us back to Keob for a briefing.”
“Not all bad wizard. You will see Melony,” Thyzil said.
I opened my eyes and smiled showing obvious satisfaction. Melony ... now she was something to look forward to and much better than any beach.
The three of us relaxed while Lieutenant Mack and his men finished packing up and left the building.
“Thyzil, did you take the Zeshtune warriors back to Keob,” I asked.
“Yes, far away from this dark place,” he said, his voice somber and drawn out.
“And the arena … is it gone?”
Thyzil made a circle with his hands and said, “Boom.”
The elevator leading down to the arena was filled in with rock, but the building was still here, and so were we.
“What about the building?” I asked.
“Lieutenant Mack’s team is placing C-4 charges around the building and will set them off as soon as we leave,” Alura said.
I was curious how someone could destroy an entire building without getting permission and permits from local authorities, but remembered how resourceful Sarila is for getting things done. For all I know, the mayor and building inspector might be Zeshtunians. So long as this place crumbles to the ground, after we leave of course, I’ll be a happy wizard.
Lieutenant Mack’s radioed to Alura’s com-link that his them had exited the building and the C-4 would detonate in 10 minutes. Oh boy, another 10-minute death window.
Thyzil cleared a small area away of furniture so I could draw a pentagram. When I was finished, we stepped into the center of it and I crushed a blue magic coin under my foot. We nodded to each other and I said, “Transmati Keob.”
The Batcave team was smiling and bowed their heads as a sign of respect when we appeared in front of them.
“Well done Zeshtunians,” Sarila said.
I looked around for Melony, but she wasn’t there. Sarila picked up on this, of course, and her smile widened.
“Wizard, the white witch is safe and you will see her soon,” she said while inspecting my injuries, and then introduced me to an assistant. “This is Balya, one of our top medical residents who will see to your injuries.”
It was for the best that Melony wasn’t here to greet me given my the way I looked. I’d rather wash up first, get a few minutes rest, and change my battle worn wolf stink clothes to look presentable.
I smiled. “Okay Balya, perhaps a Band-Aid or two, but no needles.”
Balya bowed her head slightly and motioned with her hand to walk into the medical room. Alura made an exaggerated smile while blowing a kiss and wiggling her fingers goodbye thinking, but not saying, ha ha ha. Thyzil was also smiling and pretended to inject needles in his arm as he followed Alura to my apartment.
“Hey you two, better not drink all my beer. I keep an accurate inventory.”
“Don’t worry wizard,” Balya said. “We have plenty of your favorite beer in storage.”
“You do? Good to know,” I said. “Balya, why does everyone except Alura always call me wizard instead of Azul?”
“It is what you are. Wizard is a title of high respect and honor. Your sister, immediate family, and the Zeshtune Elders are permitted to address you informally by your birth name.”
Makes sense, I guess.
After having a closer look at my injuries, Balya had me stand with a towel around my waste in what looked like a round shower tube. I expected water to come raining down on me, but instead, the tube flooded with white light and rushing air. As first it was uncomfortable, but after a couple of minutes, it felt refreshing as if I was actually taking a hot shower. All too soon the high-tech experience ended and Balya checked me over with a handheld scanner.
“You are healed wizard,” she said.
I checked my face in a mirror and was surprised to not see any bruises or cuts. Even the cuts on my hands and arms were gone, and best of all, I didn’t feel any aches or pain.
“Not bad. I have to get me one of these healing showers installed back in my Manhattan apartment. Thanks for putting me back together Balya.”
“You are very welcome wizard.”
I headed to my apartment expecting to see Alura and Thyzil eating pizza and drinking my beer. To my surprise, Sally was the only one there to greet me.
“Hey Sally, what have you been up to old girl?” I asked and hugged her, trying to dodge her slobbering kisses.
I guessed where Alura and Thyzil were when I looked over to Alura’s closed bedroom door. A couple of empty beer cans were on the coffee table. Another can was crushed and placed in the middle of my favorite chair.
What a show off. Thyzil was challenging me again to another stupid can smashing macho game. Really? Give me a break.
I grabbed a cold beer out of the refrigerator and relaxed in my chair to clear my mind. I closed my eyes and smiled. It’s great to be back on Keob where there are monsters trying to eat me. I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes, my beer was unopened and had become warm.
Holy cow … it was 10 AM. I slept for five hours, which was a three day record.
I suppose I needed the rest after what I’ve been through, but that was a real knockout sleep. After grabbing a fresh cold beer from the fridge, Sally and I shared eating and a bag of chips.
“Nothing like cold beer and junk food to wash away sleep depravation,” I said and scratched Sally behind her ears.
Seconds later someone knocked on the door leading to the Batcave. Odd, I thought since everyone usually walks in uninvited. Sally jumped up and went to the door wagging her tail, which is always a good sign. I opened the door and someone dressed in a full white hooded robe covering their face stood motionless.
“Hello, what can I do for you on this fine day?” I asked.
The hooded figure lifted its head up and pulled the hood back – it was Melony. My mouth dropped in surprise.
“Melony,” I said excitedly.
Melony’s eyes sparkled and she wrapped her arms around me.
“Daniel, I missed you so badly.”
“Me too. I mean I missed you.”
“Really? Did you really miss me?” she asked, smiling and hugging me tighter.
I tried to answer her, but it was as if no air was inside me to make a sound. Her eyes were so beautiful I became unable to speak and all I could do was kiss her for what was the longest kiss I had ever experienced. When it was over, she opened her eyes and placed her head on my chest with her arms still tightly wrapped around my neck.
“I have so much to tell you Daniel.”
I bet. It’s not everyday a dark mist tries to kill you, not to mention going to hidden planet and finding out that you’re a witch.
I took Melony’s hand and we went the couch to sit and talk. I had things to tell her too, but after that kiss, half of those things had already been communicated. Melony was simply more beautiful than I remembered. There was something different though and she had a brighter glow about her. I narrowed my eyes and saw a healthy and much larger than usual aura around her that produced streams of white light.
“Daniel, I’m a wit
ch. Not a bad one, a good one.”
“I know Melony. How do you feel about being a white witch?”
She made a huge smile. “Wonderful. I feel simply wonderful Daniel. I always felt different in some way, as though I didn’t belong in a world of automobiles, technology, and skyscrapers. I suppose that’s why I liked working at Magical Herbs so much and being surrounding by herbs and books.”
Melony arched her eyebrow and said, “And you’re a wizard, aren’t you Daniel?”
“Yea, about that …”
Melony grabbed my hand pulling me up from the couch before I could finish the sentence.
“Latter Daniel, you can tell me all about being a wizard later. I have something special planned.”
Alura and Thyzil conveniently walked out of Alura’s bedroom smiling.
“Melony, I’m so happy to see you,” Alura said as Melony rushed over to hug her and Thyzil.
“I’m so happy to see you both too.”
“Little butterfly, you hug like Zeshtune warrior. How you get so strong?” Thyzil asked.
“Never as strong as you Thyzil. That will never happen,” Melony said.
“Perhaps not little butterfly, but who knows. Maybe Zeshtune children will sing songs about you too someday.”
“Unlikely,” Melony said laughing.
Alura gave me her coy look. “Well, I’m sure you too have a lot of catching up to do, so don’t let us stop you.”
Melony took my hand and pulled me toward the Batcave.
“Yes, I have a wonderful surprise for Daniel.”
Alura wiggled her fingers up and down and said, “Bye now. You two have fun.”
Melony led me to the Batcave pentagram where there was a picnic basket, blanket, two glasses, and a bottle of wine. She began swinging our hands gently back and forth smiling while waiting for my reaction.
“Are we going somewhere?” I asked.
Melony laughed and pulled me into the pentagram as Sarila approached.
“Good day wizard. I trust you have rested well.”
“Well enough I suppose.”
Sarila lifted her hand and blew a powdery substance at us and said, “Transmati Galbria,” causing blue-white light to rush from the pentagram to the Batcave ceiling. In a blink of an eye, Melony and I were someplace else very different from Keob or Earth.
I could not believe what I was seeing. The sky was yellow, orange, red, and crimson along the horizon with deep cobalt blue high above. There were mountains and valleys with meadows, flowers, and fruit tress everywhere I could see. A gentle breeze carried the sweet fragrance of lavender while beautiful birds of all colors sang in the tress and flew above us. Deer, goats, bears and other animals walked around barely noticing us as the warm sun shimmered on a lake below and a nearby stream.
“What is this place?” I asked, mesmerized as I gazed into the sky.
“It’s Galbria, my home,” Melony said.
“Your home?”
“Well, it’s my new home. Like your home on Keob.”
“Is this place on Keob?”
“No Daniel, it is not on Keob,” she said, pointing her finger at a large disk in the sky. “That’s Keob.”
I looked to where Melony was pointing and saw a cream colored circle half set along the western horizon.
“Why does Keob look so big?”
Melony explained that Galbria is the smaller of two moons orbiting Keob. She told me her kind made all the nature here from what was once a lifeless rock. The Sisters of Galbria, as she calls her kind, has maintained this moon for thousands of years and live here in peace with nature.
The entire population of Melony’s coven totaled only 76 white witches, including her. Most have mates, who are lifelong companions, but only the coven could live on Galbria permanently. Melony also told me that companions can visit as often as they liked.
