by S. H. Marpel
THE EMPRESS SAW OUR frowning faces. She rose, her own face stern, and opened her mouth to speak.
But then the eight yellow banners in that room began to wave as if pushed by a wind. Yet the door was shut and there were no windows.
“Immortals, stay!”
The banners waved even more wildly.
“One last warning – stay your movement or face my wrath!”
This had no effect on those trapped inside the banners. Their movements didn’t slow, but became even wilder. How they remained hung from those walls was anyone’s guess – other than the spell keeping them inside.
The Empress raised her hands to the ceilings overhead. A dark cloudy mass appeared and started circling there. At this, the Emperor rose as well.
Knowing what was about to happen, the retainers crouched and made their way to the back of the hall. On cue, the wide door opened and the visibly scared retainers crowded to make their exit.
Sal put a shield around us four, while Lu Shi came forward to pluck at my elbow, “John, we should leave.”
As one, we backed out of the throne room under Sal’s protective shield as lightning started to spark among those clouds.
We’d just gotten through the doorway as those sparks coalesced into lightning bolts which struck each of the banners. Smoke started to rise off those cloths.
There was now a wind in the chamber itself, rotating in the same direction as the clouds. The door soon slammed shut, blocking our view. But not before I seemed to hear yells and screams – and not from the two humans standing by their thrones.
XI
NONE OF US RESTED VERY well that night. We weren’t hungry and didn’t want to talk.
Daylight found us bleary-eyed and exhausted from the nightmares that showed up any moment sleep did arrive. Until we woke again from those visions.
Sal spelled up some coffee for us. I could hardly taste my own as I sipped it, thinking about how they had poisoned all those people to achieve what they wanted.
But I mused as I finished off a small helping. Not my usual mug-full.
That ring. I’d written about it before.
The Ouroboros. Had to be it. Simply disappeared the last time. Must have found her and “inspired” her to commit their atrocities.
The trick was getting it off her finger. And dealing with it somehow. Only Gaia had the power to secure or destroy it. Somehow. At least I hoped. And hoped there was an action that would somehow reverse the virus’ effects – if it was an old demon spell that created all this.
A big If.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door and Lu Shi slipped in as it silently opened enough to permit her.
“Ah, you are all up and dressed. This is good.”
I didn’t say anything, just looked at her.
“The Emperor requests you attend as his audience. The first Immortal will be released, under your care.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why my care?”
“Because the Emperor knows you will get the truth from him. None of these Immortals respect the Emperor as their ruler. And you have a way to talk to people. Maybe they will tell you their story.”
“Is that what he said?”
“Yes.”
“Should I care?”
Lu Shi kneeled on one of many cushions in the room. “Yes, John, you should care. Because you brought something that was very important to me yesterday.”
“And what was that?”
“Hope. Priceless hope. Something I hadn’t experienced in all the long eons I’ve served in this castle.”
“That raises a question, Lu Shi. How is it that you’ve lived eons here, yet this desert-castle has only existed for decades in my time?”
She frowned. “The way it was explained to me is that time is still here. Always unmoving. I was a servant in the early Forbidden City thousands of years ago. This plague the Emperor talked about yesterday – it seems to exist regardless of time itself. Through all worlds, all times. So once the virus was released, this location became a nexus for everything and everyone who ever existed.”
I sighed and turned away. This was worse than I thought. Much worse. That explained why Gaia was so irritated, and why she said it would take a vast amount of time to “re-balance” this and other parallel universes. And all life-entities in most of them would exist only as ghosts until those worlds were able to support life again.
I looked back to her. “Perhaps the Emperor could wait another day or so. My friends and I have some thinking to do.”
Lu Shi frowned again. “This is not possible. The Emperor commands it.”
I shrugged. “Like that matters to me anymore.”
Lu Shi raised her hand and put it on mine where it rested on the arm of my bentwood chair. “John, it will help you to talk to this Immortal. He is like you, very much. Please John. You have enabled me to trust again. Please trust me. Besides – how will I ever move onto wherever it is I’m supposed to go if you are just moping around here?”
A familiar voice chimed in. “Yes, dear John, how are you ever going to get anything done if you just mope around your little apartment all day and night long?”
I looked up to see Sal. She was now dressed in her gold-pinstriped tan suit, her blond hair woven into a tight bun on the back of her head, with two ivory hair pins through them. I smiled at the sight.
“Enough of this, John. Stand up. Now.”
I did as requested, but just.
“Straighten your shoulders. Look at me. Now, you have a lot of calves coming along, and their mothers expect you to greet them into this world, and to train them to live balanced lives. They all are expecting you to come and scratch their backs and noses when you return.”
I had to smile at the idea of that.
“John, that’s much better. We’ll get through this like we always do. Let me help you get into the mood of things.”
A flicker of her fingers had me dressed back in my red t-shirt, dungarees, brown boots, with a ball-cap on the back of my head. A pair of pliers was in a leather waist holster held up by a sturdy black leather belt. I could feel a pair of heavy leather gloves were in one back pocket and a bandanna was in the other. A smartphone was in my t-shirt pocket to record any ideas I’d get out in the pastures.
Sal looked me over one more time and nodded. “There. How’s that feel?”
I stretched and felt my pockets. Then pulled out the bandanna, spun it a few times into a narrow cord, then tied it around my neck.
“OK Sal, now we’re ready to go to work.”
Then I smiled. And reached over to give her a bear hug, despite her pristine outfit. And gave her a long smooch while I was at it.
“Well, I’d ask if you two needed a room, but you are already in your own apartment.”
“Hi-ya Gaia – good morning to you, too.”
She was all smiles and came in for a hug. She’d chosen to get into a pair of tight stovepipe black jeans and turquoise cowboy boots with silver tips. She wore a long-cuffed turquoise cowboy shirt, pearl snap buttons, tailored to be form fitting, and only snapped up enough to be somewhat modest. Her black hair was thick and wavy down her back and parted to the side.
“Quite a sight for sore eyes, Gaia. Like the old days.”
She punched my arm. “Who you calling ‘old’, bud? Next thing you know is that you’re going to ask me for my real age. ‘Old’ is like you told me – just another excuse to quit living a little bit more.”
“Yes, Gaia, you’re right. My apologies.”
Her eyes were twinkling. She just won another round.
Lu Shi was grinning herself, and standing now, happy that we were all happy. “So, then, we’re ready to see the Emperor?”
“Sure Lu Shi, lets see what the old wind-bag has for us today. Bring on the Immortal!”
While she flinched at the “wind bag” description, she returned my grin when she figured out I was teasing her. (Well, mostly.)
Lu Shi led us out of the apartment, and
I was again in good spirits – who wouldn’t be with a drop-dead gorgeous woman on each arm...
XII
OF COURSE, OUR APPEARANCE shocked the Emperor and made the Empress frown.
“What kind of costumes are you wearing there, John?”
“Your Majesty, these are what I work best in. Raising cattle or writing, it doesn’t matter. Your desert needs different outfits, but that’s because of the heat. You both dress yourself like you’ve got to because you’re the boss around here.”
That set them both back against their thrones. The Emperor was shocked, the Empress was stern.
Sal had a fireball out. Gaia was ready to stomp the whole castle down – her fists were white.
They were a great set of beautiful bookends to this writer and cattle farmer. Helluva sight compared to those two royals and all their retainers in this Chinese throne room.
“And these gals dress any way they want. They look fine to me. Mighty fine.”
The Emperor started chuckling and then laughed out loud.
I looked over to see the Empress still scowling, but not saying anything.
She was the key to this whole thing. Her consort wasn’t a bad fellow as far as world-dominating sociopaths go. At least he had a sense of humor.
The only way we were going to get to that ring off her finger and disarmed was by staying on that Emperor’s good side. Solve his mystery first, and then see where we sat with her after that.
“You are a funny one, John. All the scribes I’ve every dealt with were meek mouses. Pasty white and nervous. You have the tan and face lines like someone who lived out in the world. I imagine you raise those ‘Texas Longhorns’ on your cattle ranch.”
“Well, you don’t know much about me or my farm. And what I’m here for is to find out about your story. So we’ll leave it at that.”
“Very well, John. Are you ready to meet an Immortal?”
“Why not? Maybe he’ll be a bit different from the ones I’ve already met and lived with.”
The Emperor’s mouth fell open at that.
“Oh, I suppose I just let another cat out of the bag. Both of these ladies saw hundreds of years go by before you were ever a twinkle in your father’s eye. But that’s my big mouth getting in the way again.”
I did notice the Empress ease up a bit on her scowl. Impressed might be another word. Like she might learn something if she got one of these two gals alone – or she was trying to figure out how they’d each look in their own banner on one of her walls.
I tilted my ball cap back. “So, Emperor, who’s this first Immortal of yours I’m going to meet?”
The Emperor looked over to the Empress and nodded.
She turned her dark ring around on her finger and mouthed some words I couldn’t make out.
The end banner started rippling with dead calm air in the throne room.
A puff of dark smoke appeared in front of that yellow banner.
As it cleared, a broad-shouldered Chinese man stood there, his face wizened from age and scarred by battles. His robe was opened to the waist and a large belly extended over his waist sash. In one hand, he held a fan. His eyes glared at the Empress, while the rest of him stood stock-still – as a statue.
The Empress cleared her throat. “Scribe, this is Chung-li Ch’uan. He is chief of the Immortals and a defeated general. But we are not interested in his own story. You are not here to write his story. He will select one of our retainers who has a story about the Emperor. And then he will return to his banner for our decoration.”
I nodded in assent to her. “And when may we talk with him?”
“Return to your apartment. He will meet you there.”
The Emperor nodded and said nothing in returned. He only looked at us.
That was our cue. This audience was over.
XIII
IN THE HALL OUTSIDE the throne room, Gaia whispered something to Sal and then gave me a peck on my cheek before she sank into the floor of the castle, no doubt to go get something.
By the time Sal and I entered the apartment, we found Gaia was already there with our first Immortal, laughing at his stories as he was filling himself on Hami’s famous toll-house cookies and iced tea.
And a large platter from Hami’s is always welcome.
Sal and I found our own chairs and started filling our own breakfast-less stomachs as we listened in.
Soon Chung-li’s stories had us all laughing.
As the laughs and chuckles from his last one quieted, I had to get down to business.
“Thank you for all the great stories, Chung-li. And I have so many questions, I don’t know where to start. But we are here to solve the mystery of this Emperor and Empress. And their rules are what we need to follow.”
Chung-li’s face went dark. “Yes, I understand. But know this – we have been waiting for you. And once you have freed us all, then the darkness of the Empress will be removed, even if we have to wage war across these lands.”
I nodded, and smiled. “I think we can do this simpler than that. But back to the point you were making – that we are going to somehow free you?”
Chung-li’s face lit up again. “Yes, you already have.”
“How is that?”
“Oh, John. It’s a secret you don’t hide very well. Now, as you said earlier, the walls have ears. (Being in a banner myself, I was able to hear you outside the throne room.) And I’ll tell you the secret you already know soon enough.”
He stood at that and straightened his robe – which wasn’t able to quite cover his round belly.
“I am off to select a retainer, but first...” He bent over to take Gaia’s hand up to touch his lips and kissed it tenderly. Then winked at her – and vanished.
Gaia turned a bit pink at that.
Their shared history would no doubt make a good story. If I could get her to disclose the mystery behind that romantic gesture.
But it would be after he returns with a retainer. And after this is all over.
I turned to look out the window and saw the endless desert outside.
He couldn’t return soon enough for me.
Book Universes Notes
All long series of books become complicated. The universes of these stories can mix and merge. There are short and long series, as well as crossovers. So we’ve begun the process of adding Book Universes Notes to each of them. This allows you to get links to the earlier materials that explain the character backgrounds and abilities, story arcs, and even easter eggs.
Please enjoy.
SAL AND JOHN WERE FIRST introduced in Ghost Hunters.
Gaia was first introduced in the book of that name.
The Saga of Erotika Jones 02
BY J. R. KRUZE, S. H. Marpel
“Effectiveness is the measure of truth.” - Ancient Hawaiian saying
NOT YOUR NORMAL WINTER flu. This one killed.
Several students in training at at the Naval Training Center had come down with it.
Young, virile, peak of health. But two had died already, several more were in critical condition in isolation.
Their common background was the steam power-plant training building.
Some accident started it off. A massive leak of steam had escaped when a control valve failed. No one was hurt at the time.
But their fevers started only a few days later.
Since it was mid-winter, no one suspected that a deadly virus had somehow been released.
Now I was sent to find out the secret behind a deadly steam-powered flu.
All in 24 hours, while the evidence and bodies disappeared.
I
GREAT LAKES, ILLINOIS. U. S. Naval Training Center
Those boys in the morgue didn’t die of simple flu, even though the base Medical Examiner said they did. He had the samples out for tests, but I knew their bodies and the evidence would all disappear within 24 hours.
Because I wouldn’t be here unless that was the case.
“Here” this
time was the cold, blustery winter of Great Lakes, Illinois. North of Chicago. And if you wanted to visit the shore, you could see how fierce winter could become over there. Lakeside in winter meant bluffs of ice grown on the edge from fresh water blown up in sprayed layers by waves and wind. Much like a leaky freezer compartment. And you soon learned why it was called the “Windy City”. And why naval winter pea-coats had tall collars.
This time, my name was Della. A civilian secretary for an Admiral who was off visiting somewhere much warmer. Somewhere I wasn’t needed. So I had the ID and authority to get almost anywhere I wanted. The rest was up to me.
The case assigned me was this flu. A minor epidemic. But not that they knew it yet. My job was to get it resolved before the other dozen cases that were isolated in the base hospital turned south and drowned in their own fluids. Some sort of viral pneumonia.
It had to be stopped fast. Those two that died may have been the patient zero’s. And now there was a ward of them.
AS NEAR AS I COULD tell, it had to do with the steam-plant training area. That’s where I was headed now. My sturdy low heels giving me a bit less purchase on the icy/snowy sidewalks than I wanted. Gloved hands deep in my pea-coat pockets. Wearing slacks instead of skirts with “long-handled” underwear below those. All that meant that I was taking tiny steps to get from here to there, since all the extra layers only added more padding to my falls, rather than helping me prevent those falls.
Soon I felt a arm take mine. Looking up into the stocking-cap-covered and high-collar-protected face saw my partner Finn in there.
“Thought you could use some help getting to the steam plant building.”
“Thanks, Finn. Wish you’d been here when I started out. Would have saved me some bruises.”
“I’ll work on that next time. But you know that if anyone but you is seen coming out of the Admiral’s office, it would raise questions you don’t need.”
“Well, a gal can wish, can’t she?”
