Will Wilder #2

by Raymond Arroyo

  “What is it?” Will asked, slipping it on his finger.

  “It belonged to my father. That’s the blood of St. Januarius in there. The Italians call him San Gennaro. He was a fourth-century martyr. As you can see, the blood is dry, hard as a rock.” She pointed to the oval glass brooch on her lapel and whispered, “My brooch also contains Januarius’s blood. When either of us is in danger, the blood will liquefy in both the ring and the brooch. It’s a good way to keep tabs on each other. Keep that ring on your hand when you go to the Karnak Center.”

  Simon, overhearing the tail end of their conversation, announced to the room, “Well, it looks like another fun-filled field trip to the Karnak Center for us.”

  Andrew was preoccupied by what he saw out the window. “Uh, how are we going to get past these frogs?” he asked.

  “Miss Lucille, can we take your sarcophagus home?” Simon inquired.

  “It’s not public transportation, Simon.”

  “But you traveled here in it, right?”

  “What a clever boy you are. Such an imagination,” Aunt Lucille said, closing up the Book of Prophecy.

  Will had his eyes on the Veil of the Virgin, the silk relic under glass he had seen his aunt carry up from the vault. Staring at it on the side shelf, he had a thought: If this demon Amon feeds on anger, and this relic can dissolve anger…it might not be a bad idea to keep it close.

  “You all should spend the night here at Peniel,” Aunt Lucille said. “There are some guest rooms on the east side. We’ll let your parents know you’re here—and safe.”

  “Come on, guys, let’s go downstairs,” Will told his crew, zipping up his slightly heavier backpack and leading them to the door.

  By Tuesday morning, the frogs had mysteriously dispersed as quickly as they had arrived. There were still frogs on the lawns and grassy areas of Perilous Falls, but nothing like the tsunami of croakers that clogged the streets the previous afternoon and evening.

  News reports warned people to “avoid contact” with the remaining amphibians. On the morning shows, citizens complained about the painful bites the frogs had left on their legs and arms. Clusters of ugly red boils marked the site of the bite marks.

  The emergency room of Chorazin General Hospital was packed with people awaiting care. But no physician had ever seen boils quite like these, nor were the normal salves and medicines providing any relief.

  To avoid the emergency room lines, Deborah Wilder managed to secure the last early morning appointment with Dr. Bede, the family pediatrician. With only two empty seats in the waiting room, Leo and Marin shared a chair, which led to constant bickering over who was taking up more space.

  The night before, Leo, his mom, dad, and sister were camped out in Aunt Lucille’s living room. At three a.m., a crescendo of croaking outside the house awakened Leo. Worried that the frogs were getting closer, he ventured out onto Aunt Lucille’s porch. The frogs remained behind the salt perimeter his great-aunt had spread around the house that afternoon, but they now seemed angrier and certainly louder than before. Leo walked down the steps of the front porch right up to the salt line for a closer look.

  Just to see what they would do, he kicked at the frogs beyond the barrier. One hopped onto his pants leg. When he went to swat it off, the creature sunk its teeth into Leo’s forearm. Screaming in pain, he fell backward.

  In a panic, he yanked at the frog’s body, trying to loosen its grip. A stinging warmth spread through his forearm. Leo jiggled the arm back and forth, hoping the thing would release him, but its jaws held fast. Then just as he was about to scream again, his face burned with a white heat. The glow spread down his arms, ejecting the frog, which flew into the swarm beyond the salt line. Leo’s chest rose tremulously, sending a broad spray of light outward in all directions. Every frog touched by the light flipped backward, sailing over the grass all the way down to the river.

  His mother appeared on the porch, staring in disbelief. She helplessly watched Leo’s body convulsing with fear as a steady ripple of light illuminated the great sloping lawn. “LEO! LEO!” she cried, wrapping him in her arms. His shaking ceased and so did the intense light show.

  Deborah still embraced Leo in Dr. Bede’s waiting room. His right arm was splattered with blisters. “They itch, Mom. Can’t I scratch them?” he asked, puffing out his lower lip, making the question seem even more pitiful.

  “No, you can’t. Dr. Bede will know what to do.”

  A bored Marin cartwheeled down the aisle, trying to occupy herself.

  “If I can’t scratch my bumps, can you at least get Marin to stop her flip-flopping?”

  Deborah told Marin to stop. The little girl sullenly walked in between the three rows of waiting patients, running her hand along the arms of the chairs as she passed. She hummed a little song to herself.

  “Can I at least pat my arm? It’s really itchy,” Leo complained. He leaned into his mother’s ear. “If I light up, I’d bet the itching would stop.”

  “Don’t you dare,” his mother warned. “If you do that, I’ll—” She meant to continue, but a woman leaping to her feet and shrieking near the check-in desk stopped her.

  The woman had short, spiky hair and rubbed the back of her hand as if trying to release a genie trapped inside. “It’s gone. Oh my—the bumps! They’re completely gone.” She got very quiet, pointing at Marin, who continued to make laps around the room, tapping the waiting patients as she passed. “That little girl touched me and I saw the bumps go away.”

  “Me too, honey,” an old woman with a face like melted rubber said, tears in her eyes. She stared at Marin. “Sweetie, what did you do to us?”

  Marin guiltily put her hands behind her back.

  People all over the room began to clap and hug the girl.

  “Look at my knees,” a man in shorts said a few seats down from Deborah and Leo. “Not only did she heal the sores, but they also bend so easily now. You’ve got a miracle worker there, lady.”

  Deborah froze, trying to think what to do.

  “I’m sorry, Mama,” Marin squeaked out, surrounded by the patients.

  “It’s okay,” Deborah said, not meaning it. “Let’s go, guys.” She took Leo and Marin by the hands and headed for the door.

  As they vacated the office, Leo could be heard down the hall saying, “Hello! My arm is still itchy. Can I at least hold MARIN’S hand? If I’ve got to be her brother, I may as well get something out of it.”

  The long truck marked CITY OF PERILOUS FALLS rumbled down Falls Road. It stopped at the first corner in front of a small wooden house with shingles like gingerbread and petunias blooming under all the front windows.

  Tobias Shen leapt from the truck wearing a gray city worker’s uniform. He pulled a short-brimmed cap over his head and approached the front door of the house. The owner spied him, suspiciously, through the locked screen door. She was a beefy woman in frayed slippers, holding a full cup of coffee in her hand.

  “What do you want?” she asked with all the warmth of a jackhammer.

  “Good morning, ma’am. We’re spraying the neighborhood for pests,” Shen said. “We wanted to inform you before we started. Have a very, very wonderful day.” He gave her a half bow and walked back to the truck, dodging the occasional frog plopping across the walkway.

  Behind the screen, the woman never moved. She just stared at Shen like a troubled bloodhound.

  Shen yanked a hose from the side of the truck and began spraying liquid all over the woman’s front lawn.

  “Hurry up and get the house too,” Bartimaeus yelled through the open window of the truck’s cab. “We got hundreds more to go.”

  The homeowner stuck her head through the parted screen door, her face pinched and stern. “Hey, you. Never mind doing that,” she hollered at Tobias. “I don’t need the treatment and I think it’s hurting the frogs. Whatever you’re spraying is making ’em shrivel up. Let ’em be. They’re kind of cute.”

  “Madam, they have teeth and a venomous bite.�
� Tobias continued spraying the lawn and sidewalk. “These frogs have attacked many, many people. I have a job to do.”

  The woman put her coffee cup down on the walkway and lumbered toward Shen. She picked up the hose and bent it, stopping the spray.

  “Ma’am, I insist that you let me continue. Your safety is at stake.”

  “From where I’m standing, your safety is at stake.” She tugged the hose hard.

  Bartimaeus stepped from the cab of the truck and got on his crutches. “Lady, what are you thinkin’? Put the hose down. That’s a city hose; it’s not your property. Unhand the hose.”

  But she wouldn’t. “I don’t want this man killing my frogs. They’re beautiful little creatures.”

  Shen held the nozzle tightly and tried to direct the trickling water toward the remaining frogs. But he was only partially successful.

  Bartimaeus stared up at the sky, apparently searching for patience. “Lady, I’m sorry to say this, but you don’t know what ya dealing with here. Do ya want one of these frogs to bite you? These are pests, ma’am—and they need to be eliminated.”

  “I like ’em and I’ve never seen a species like this,” the woman said. “They could be endangered.”

  “We’re endangered, lady. These frogs dine on people. They eat flesh—that’s you and me. Now I suggest ya get inside your house before one of these little suckers starts treating your leg like a Happy Meal.”

  “I’m a grown woman. I don’t need a city worker telling me to go in my own home,” the woman raged. “Do you see that name on the mailbox? Says ‘Bruckburger.’ I’m Alveda Bruckburger and I’ll go where I want on my property.”

  “Ms. Bruckburger, if you won’t go inside and let us finish this treatment”—Shen got very quiet—“there may be no house to go into.”

  She released the hose, panic on her face. “Are you threatening me? What are you two going to do to my house?”

  Bartimaeus rolled his eyes. “Lady, we’re not doing nothin’ to your house. We’re trying to help.”

  She jogged to the front door faster than expected. “I’m calling the police. I don’t want another drop of your pest control on my lawn or on my home. Do you understand me? Do you understand ME?”

  Tobias and Bartimaeus looked at one another. “You win, ma’am,” Bartimaeus said, turning off the pump at the truck. “If ya don’t want the treatment, have it your way. We’ll come and check on ya in a few days in case you reconsider.”

  Shen shook his head disappointedly. “You may regret not having this protection, madam.”

  “Just get your hose and your poison off my property.” She slammed the screen and then bolted her door.

  “So that went well,” Bart said, adjusting his cap.

  “No more asking permission. At the next place, we’ll spread the holy water over the grass, spray the house, and talk to no one,” Shen whispered, rolling up the canvas hose.

  “Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s drive a few blocks out and work our way back here, in case the cops come,” Bartimaeus said. He stowed his crutches and lifted himself into the cab of the truck. “No telling when the next plague’ll strike—and this whole town better be wet and ready when it does.”

  Shen stashed the hose and joined Bartimaeus in the truck. In moments they peeled out and were spinning around the corner.

  Most of Perilous Falls and even people from surrounding towns had jammed into Dura Street that morning to hear Pothinus Sab. For more than an hour, they had stood in alleys, climbed nearby trees, and even sat atop cars to hear Sab officially open the Karnak Center. But most of the crowd had come for one reason: the “protection” Sab had promised to all those who attended the event.

  Will and his friends approached as mobs of people pressed toward the Karnak Center’s entryway. Far in the distance, they could see Sab standing on the top step of the sandstone building.

  “Yes, yes—press in, my children. This is the reward I have been speaking of—your protection. On this monumental day, I will give each of you an amulet—at least one per household,” Sab said, dangling a gold necklace with the Ammit figure over their heads. “But like all good things in life, they are limited, so you will have to compete with your neighbors to get them. The strong will make it to the front. The others, well…we will help you all in time. Keep pressing forward. That’s it. Our inner greatness is often discovered through a challenge. Isn’t that true?” He laughed, depositing the necklaces into straining hands.

  “Something is wrong with this guy,” Simon said to Will, the crowd around them turning rowdy. There was shouting and yelps near the Karnak Center. People began to throw aside those blocking their path to Sab.

  “Your enthusiasm is wonderful. Are we ready to get rid of all the things holding you down? This is the first step. An ancient symbol of rebirth and regeneration,” Sab barked into a handheld microphone. “Come, take your protection. Claim it! True regeneration requires struggle.”

  Shoving and arguments overtook the crowd. Will’s attention was riveted to the Karnak grounds.

  “Guys, do you notice anything about this place?” Will asked Simon and Andrew.

  The boys looked around. “Ticked-off people standing in the sun?” Andrew said, shrugging.

  “You don’t see a dark shadow over the building and everybody here?”

  “Should we be seeing a shadow?” asked Andrew.

  Will puckered his lips, sliding them to the side. “Let’s go find Cami and her family.” He pulled both his friends with him. They ran along the edge of the crowd as fights broke out everywhere.

  “How dark is the shadow, Will? What does it mean?” Simon asked, suspiciously checking the people around him. “Is it the ‘shadow of Egypt’?”

  “It’s really dark, almost black. It’s everywhere.” Catching sight of Cami and her family in the alley next to the Karnak Center, Will motioned to the boys to keep up with him. Unlike the front lawn, only a few people were in the alley, including the Meriwethers, who were decked out in their Sunday best. Mr. Meriwether and Max wore ties and jackets; Cami and Mrs. Meriwether were in flowered dresses.

  “Don’t even ask,” Cami said apologetically, running a hand over the loud floral pattern she wore. “This is my mother’s idea.”

  “You look nice,” Will said, bobbing his head. He continued nodding, unsure of what to say next.

  “Thanks,” she said, pushing her hair behind her ears and breaking eye contact. Both she and Will blushed a little.

  Out front, over the screaming throng, they could hear Pothinus Sab wrapping up the opening ceremony.

  “My dear children, there are no more amulets today. Can you believe more than three thousand have been given away? Three thousand!” There was applause between the shouts and shrieks. “More will be made in the days to come, and when you return to Karnak for one of our regeneration and creativity sessions, we will gift you with your own amulet at that time. OOOH! Look what I have found in my pocket. Twenty amulets I had completely forgotten about. These are the last of the lot. Here.”

  Sab gleefully laughed, tossing ten amulets into the crowd on the left, then ten more to the jostling mob on the right.

  “Get all your hostility out. Get all your anger out. This is how we pave the path to peace. Don’t let someone else take your protection. It’s yours. Fight for it!” Sab said indignantly. “I only ask one thing: that you all return to Karnak. Will you do that? Will you do that for me?” He smiled, extending his arms wide in a selfless gesture while the sounds of punches and applause filled the street.

  “Cami, come over here and stand by us,” Mrs. Meriwether insisted, fluffing her hair in the alley. “The woman who called me said we had an appointment with Poth—Mr. Sab—right after the ceremony. And it sounds like it’s over.”

  Cami did as she was told. Will, Andrew, and Simon stood behind the Meriwethers outside the battered side door.

  “They’re not coming in with us, are they, Cami?” Mrs. Meriwether asked, looking at the boys.
<
br />   “I think they’d like to meet him. Big fans,” Cami whispered to her mother.

  The metal door jerked open before they could continue. Sarsour, wrinkled and red-faced, eyed each of them from inside the doorway. When he saw Cami, he grunted, frowning at the girl.

  “We have an appointment with Mr. Sab,” Evelyn Meriwether said.

  “You were in basement,” Sarsour belched, pointing at Cami accusingly. “You. You too.” He pointed at Simon and Andrew.

  “Where are your manners, Sarsour?” A voice like sandpaper scraping a smooth surface sounded in the darkness. Sab lowered Sarsour’s stubby pointing finger and pushed him back inside. “Come in, my friends. You must be Eeeevelyn.” He took Mrs. Meriwether’s plump hand and kissed it, his wide black eyes never leaving her face.

  “Oh, Mr. Sab. I am so excited. I could just burst.”

  “No need for that, Eeeevelyn. Just imagine the mess.” With a flourish of his gold and black silken robe, he extended an arm toward the hall behind him. “Come. Where the mother goes, the family must follow, yes? Isn’t that true?” Sab flashed a fake smile accompanied by a half bow as each of the Meriwethers passed. He regarded the boys with the same benevolence, until he caught sight of Will. Sab suddenly lost his false expression, his eyes narrowing in concern.

  “You are not a member of this family. Are you?” Sab asked with a trace of worry.

  “No, I’m a friend. I’m Will.”

  “Will…Wilder?” Sab uttered in a low tone, closing the door. Will nodded. Sab reassumed his smile and like a great cat slipped down the hall. He headed off after the Meriwethers. “Step into my consulting parlor—it’s just here.”

  Sab threw open a door, revealing a square room with a gold painted wooden chair, like a throne, at the center. A group of low backless stools completed the circle of chairs. The sandstone walls held framed papyrus prints of Egyptian gods with enlarged heads. The largest print hung behind the gold chair. It looked exactly like the image on the bronze door in the main hall of Karnak: a kingly figure wearing a double plumed crown sitting impassively on a throne.