by JM Bray
‘Me too,’ said Knife.
‘I’ll find a way to tell him.’ She paused. ‘Knife, you’re pre-med. Can you bring something in case he...’
Knife laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘We’ll keep him as safe as we can Julie. I have an emergency kit; I’ll bring it along.’
Flea grinned. ‘Tonight’s gonna be interesting, that’s for sure.’
‘Yep,’ Knife said. ‘One for the record books.’
Julie giggled and they looked at her. ‘Care to fill us in?’ Flea asked.
‘Our hero just rushed off to class — on Saturday.’
Chapter 24
Dinner
E.T., Mike and Emily ate with them that evening, so they kept the chatter light. Vinni only said a few words, to hide his new accent. Knife announced that the game sessions were on hiatus, due to unexpected changes in schedule and excessive homework. Vincent hoped the three wouldn’t notice how he and the others lingered over dinner; fortunately Emily checked the time.
‘I have to get to work,’ she said.
‘How’s that campus security thing going?’ Flea asked her.
Vincent bit back a smile. Emily guarding the school. Yeah, that made him feel safe.
‘It’s pretty boring, but at least I can study while I do it.’
‘We gotta head to the computer lab,’ E.T. said as he stood. ‘Let’s hit it, Mike.’
When they left, Vincent’s eyes unfocused as he envisioned one.
Yep. It’s not magic, but still pretty cool.
Flea tossed a napkin at him. ‘Yo. Vinni, you two gotta watch that gaze-off-into-nowhere thing. It makes you look nuts.’
Vinni looked around. ‘Sorry.’
‘He’s right, but don’t sweat it. I couldn’t handle this as well as you are,’ Knife said. ‘So, you said you need help earlier. What’s up?’
Vinni looked at Knife. ‘Does your nickname have anything to do with actual knives?’
‘I always carry one, and I know about them, but it’s mainly personality. At least that’s what I figured. Why?’
‘Well, hmm, do you know where I might get some longknives?’
‘Longknives?’ Knife asked.
‘Coleman uses two blades about the length of my forearm and hand. If we, and I mean all of us, are going to be prepared, it’s best I find some.’
Flea and Julie looked to Knife. ‘Do you want single or double-edged?’
‘Single.’
Knife nodded. ‘Then, what you really need is a pair of wakizashi, if you could find real ones. Light, strong, fast, really sharp, and great for cut and thrust.’
‘Where could we get some?’ Vinni asked.
‘I don’t know.’ Knife’s brow furrowed as he rubbed his chin.
‘Doesn’t Mr Brown have some blades in his shop?’ Flea asked.
Knife nodded. ‘Good thinking. They’re probably for looks, but he knows a lot of obscure facts. Maybe he can point us in the right direction.’
‘Sounds good,’ Vinni said. ‘Also, once it gets late, I need to try some things, physically. You guys up for it?’
‘We could head to the Game Shop then run some tests afterward,’ Flea said.
‘Oh, I finally get to meet Mr Brown.’ Julie clapped her hands.
They grinned at her excitement. ‘That you do, young lady,’ Flea said in a British accent.
‘Let’s get going; Coleman’s been bugging me all day to get in the car.’ Vincent laughed.
Mr Brown’s Shop
‘Thanks for driving slow, Knife.’ As they walked down the sidewalk, Vincent stared into the sky. ‘If I make it through this — ’
‘When,’ Julie said.
‘Pardon?’ he asked, still looking off.
She stopped and waited for him to notice. Several steps later, he turned. She pointed at his face, stepping close to him.
‘You listen here. When you make it through this, is when you’ll go back and when you’ll tell your stories. There are no ifs here. No if’ing allowed. You got it?’
He grinned crookedly, and she stomped her foot. ‘That won’t help. No ifs. Understand?’
He tried to stifle his grin. ‘I understand, Jewel.’
‘Good.’ She took his hand and towed him toward the shop, only going a few paces before turning to him again. ‘Wait...what did you call me?’
Vincent shrugged. ‘Jewel.’ He stepped closer to her. ‘Because you have so many different facets.’
‘Jewel...’ a smile played at her lips. ‘How about J-u-l-e? I like that even better.’
Vincent nodded and ran his thumb over the back of her hand. ‘Me too...Jule it is then.’
They strolled toward the shop.
‘You’re kidding me, right?’ Flea asked.
Knife shook his head. ‘This guy is slick.’
Julie shrugged. ‘What can I say? I’m a sucker for a guy with a cute smile.’
They stepped into the shop. ‘I wonder if he ever sells anything; it looks the same,’ Vincent said.
Julie’s eyes widened. ‘Frustration! I loved that game.’ She darted to the box. ‘Barrel of Monkeys!’ She flitted down the aisle, naming games she loved.
‘And that’s how she became a gamer,’ Flea said.
Julie turned a corner, disappearing into the maze.
Mr Brown called from the back. ‘I’ll be right there.’
‘It’s us, Mr Brown,’ Knife said.
‘I hear a female. Flea, my how you’ve changed.’
They followed his voice, Julie joining them via another route from her game wanderings. ‘I’m coming, guys. I love this place.’
Mr Brown smiled as they arrived at his back counter. Julie came out of a side aisle a second later. ‘I could live here,’ she said.
Mr Brown said, ‘You’d be most welcome. It’s good to see you...all.’ He paled when he saw Vincent.
‘Um, everything okay?’ Flea asked.
Mr Brown retrieved his pipe from a breast pocket and tapped it against his chin as he looked at each of them. ‘My pardon, young lady, I do look forward to making your acquaintance, but that will have to wait until we sort something out.’ He leaned on the counter. ‘Come closer young man.’
Vinni stepped forward, nearly to the counter.
Mr Brown looked intently into Vinni’s eyes. ‘Flea is not the only one who’s changed since we last met is he...Vincent?’ Mr Brown raised an eyebrow. ‘Or do you have another name?’
Vinni grabbed the man by his shirt and yanked him over the wooden counter, knocking Flea into a stack of games. He pinned the shopkeeper to the floor.
Julie screamed and scrambled back into the aisle.
‘What the heck, Vincent?’ Flea yelled as he got up.
Knife grabbed his shoulders. ‘Vinni, let go!’
‘Step off, Knife. He knows us,’ Vinni said.
Knife backed away, putting himself between them and Julie.
‘Vinni, is it?’ Mr Brown asked, apparently unfazed by the violence. ‘You’ll find me distinctly difficult to kill, so belay your intentions for the moment, please.’
‘Hey, now...no one said anything about killing,’ Flea said.
Mr Brown spoke, never taking his eyes off Vinni’s. ‘Flea, it’s like the dice. Things are being said, but you’re not listening properly.’ He spoke formally, ‘Traveler and Companion, I am not your enemy, nor do I serve the one you seek.’
He knows us, Coleman. Like, really knows!
They uncoiled the tensioned spring of their attack and helped Mr Brown from the floor.
Knife asked, ‘You...know...what they are?’ He looked like he just found out his mother had been a CIA operative. ‘How — ?’
‘Knife, dear boy, when you’ve been around as long as I have, you learn unimaginable things.’ He shrugged.
‘But...Mr Brown you...’ Flea rubbed his fore
head.
‘As I told you before Flea, I can do things you’d never imagine. But, these are matters best discussed privately; please allow me to secure things.’ He walked toward the front of the shop, keys jingling as he pulled them from his pocket.
‘What do we do?’ Flea asked.
Vinni offered Julie his hand.
She remained near Knife and shook her head. ‘I’m...no…I can’t. Not now. I need a minute.’
Her words hit him like a hammer and he let his arm fall to his side. ‘We talk to him then decide, Flea.’
Julie stared at him. ‘You weren’t really going to, you know?’
‘I didn’t want to,’ Vinni said softly. ‘But if it meant protecting us...’
‘I’m sorry; I had no idea.’ Knife shook his head.
‘He may be exactly what we need.’ Vinni set his hand on Knife’s shoulder. ‘We’re all here for some reason. It’s no accident.’
Mr Brown returned. ‘The doors are locked, and the wards are placed. Let’s put that unpleasantness behind us and start again. I am E. Brown, owner and proprietor of this establishment.’ He bowed his head to Julie. His attitude lightened the mood. Jule even smiled.
The guys stood open-mouthed, so Vinni responded, ‘Mr Brown, may I introduce Julie.’
She glanced at Vinni, her smile tentative, but still there. ‘My friends call me Jule.’ She offered her hand formally with her wrist softly bent.
Mr Brown grasped it gently and gave one small shake. ‘Jule, that fits you well.’
‘Thank you. What does the E stand for?’
‘It is for Eleazar; my parents were old-fashioned. Most call me Mr Brown.’
To Vinni, it seemed that her almond eyes sparkled. ‘As I’ve noticed, Eleazar.’
He tilted his head. ‘Oh, I like this young lady.’ Turning to Vinni he asked, ‘And how may I assist you?’
He looked at his friends then cleared his throat. ‘The guys thought you might be able to help me locate a pair of longknives.’
‘Longknives. Single-edged?’
Vinni nodded.
‘Then it’s true.’ He pulled the pipe from his pocket, gripping it tightly. ‘There is a conflict coming. I’ve prepared many years for this moment. Then once I started having the dreams — ’
‘Prepared?’
‘How?’
‘Dreams?’ Knife, Flea and Vinni all asked.
‘One at a time gentlemen, please.’ He looked at Knife. ‘I am a bit of a collector and historian, with a special interest in weapons.’ He turned to Flea. ‘I come from an affluent family, and have done very well with my investments. Thus, I’ve been able to indulge in my collections.’ He waved at the shop. ‘Yes, Vinni, dreams. I’ve been having them for years.’
Vinni asked. ‘About me, I mean, us?’
Mr Brown walked behind the counter and leaned on it. ‘No, nothing so specific, more of a general foreboding or as if something important was coming.’ He waved the pipe. ‘End of the world, that sort of thing. I’ve studied prophecies of various sorts, as they seemed to agree with my dreams. Until now, I wasn’t certain they were true.’ He looked like a kid on Christmas morning. ‘As you may imagine, it’s quite exciting to find they are. So then, what size were your blades?’
Vinni held his hands apart. ‘About this long.’
Mr Brown came around the counter and sauntered down an aisle. ‘Please come with me. In light of the circumstances, I believe I can trust you with secrets.’ He paused at a corner to look at them. ‘Agreed?’
They nodded, though Knife and Flea did so woodenly, their eyes still wide.
‘Good. This way.’ He approached a door labeled, ‘Storage.’ When he opened it and turned on the light, Vinni saw a sink, a vacuum cleaner, dust rags, and a few bottles of bathroom cleaner. ‘Sorry for the mess.’ He reached under a shelf on the back wall and they heard a click. The wall swung outward, shelves and all, revealing a set of stairs.
‘Aren’t you afraid someone will find that?’ Jule asked.
He turned on a light and said, ‘No one ever has, but I have good insurance, just in case. Mind your step.’
Vinni descended with Jule, Knife, and Flea following. At the bottom was a plain metal door that Mr Brown unlocked with his ring of keys. He pushed it open and flipped another light switch, stepping into a long rectangular room with doors spaced along the sides.
‘Hey, Vinni,’ Flea said, ‘why don’t you just use a gun?’
Vinni glanced at each of them. ‘I...well...’
They looked at him with varying stages of disbelief. ‘You haven’t explained guns to him, Vincent?’ Flea asked.
Vincent raised his hands. ‘There hasn’t been time.’
‘Or perhaps it didn’t occur to you.’ Mr Brown said.
He nodded.
Sorry, I should have told you about them sooner.
Let me show you.
Vincent pictured a .45 pistol, a military rifle, and a snub-nosed revolver. He imagined loading the ammunition for the revolver and firing it at a target; then he played a scene from a movie where a shot to the head splattered someone’s brains on the wall.
‘...nni.’
‘Vin...?’
Voices echoed in the darkness.
His eyes fluttered open, and the roar of a waterfall filled his ears. He saw a wooden ceiling. A woman with yellow-green eyes floated into view. He smiled at her.
‘Cole...?’
Everything went dark.
‘Hey bu...’
‘...water...’
‘...e ok...?’
‘...smil...’
He saw florescent lights on the cement ceiling then Knife and Jule’s face. Coolness draped across his forehead, and he tried to sit up, but Knife held him down. ‘Not so fast there, Slick.’
‘Shhhh, lay still, Vinni,’ Jule said softly.
‘What happened?’
Knife was taking his pulse, so Flea answered. ‘Well, you were standing there, glassy-eyed, like you do when you talk to Coleman. Then, you just collapsed, out like a light.’
Mr Brown’s head came into view upside down. ‘I take it Coleman is the Traveler?’
Vinni nodded.
‘Do you know what occurred?’
‘I showed him some guns. I guess it was information overload.’
‘Or he’s squeamish,’ Flea said.
< Vincent,> Coleman asked.
I don’t know. I’ve never been up against one. Coleman’s fear and frustration compounded Vincent’s.
And plan well.
‘Let’s sit him up,’ Knife said. As they did, Jule went back to the sink, returning with a glass of water, which he took with a sigh.
He smiled and handed the glass back. ‘Thanks, Jule. I...I...’
‘Are you okay?’ Jule asked.
‘I saw Jolie!’ he said, wide-eyed.
‘You remembered her?’ Knife asked.
‘No, it wasn’t a memory; for a few seconds we were in Coleman’s body, across the Shroud.’
‘But how?’ Flea asked.
‘I have no idea.’
Mr Brown clamped his pipe between his teeth, and after a long moment said, ‘I can’t recall any mention of this, but I’ll research it. Perhaps the...’ Mr Brown waved his hand.
‘Joining,’ Vinni provided.
‘Yes. Perhaps it moves both ways?’ Mr Brown shook his head. ‘There are more possibilities than we can account for, I’m sure. By the way, may I keep a journal of this, so this will be preserved for future generations?’
Vinni shrugged. ‘Sure, it’s a good idea.’
‘Thank you, Vinni.’
‘Do you want to try standing?’ Jule asked
‘Yeah, I feel fine. A little stupid, but other than that, I’m okay.’ He stood and glanced at their concerned faces. ‘Really. I’m good to go. But, so you guys know — I’ve never even he
ld a gun and obviously Coleman doesn’t use them, so we better stick to blades.’
‘Then let’s proceed,’ Mr Brown said. ‘This one, I believe,’ he walked to a set of double doors on the far left side. The keys rattled again and when he opened them, even Coleman was impressed. A wide array of short swords hung on the doors and sat on shelves inside the compartment, each labeled and gleaming. The collection of Roman gladius, Greek hoplite and kopis, Indian charas, medieval baselards, katzbalgers, degen and wakizashi would have been the envy of any museum.
‘You may choose as you wish, but I believe these will be suitable.’ He lifted a pair of wakizashi from a stand near the center. They had worn black and gold handles, and the enameled scabbards were flat black. ‘These are a matched set, made by Kunisuke-san for a short-blade practitioner in the Edo period, the early 17th century. They were his masterpiece.’
Vinni looked at the offered weapons. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Then his recent words came to mind: ‘We’re all here for some reason.’ He shook his head and grinned.
What do you think?
‘Just one for now please,’ Vinni said. ‘The grip is rough.’
‘It’s shark’s skin.’
‘Clever.’ Vinni nodded.
‘That’s the right-side blade; it requires a quarter turn to the right to unsheathe.’
Vinni pulled the wakizashi from the scabbard. The blade arced gently and looked strong. The back was thick, meant to stop even the hardest blow. A gently undulating pattern along the blade’s surface formed the hamon, and glittering metal granules floated in its cloud-like mist. The tip was large and came to a stout point. Holding it, Vinni could sense the intent of the smith and the spirits of those who wielded it through the ages. The magnificent weapon felt solid, yet perfectly balanced and light.
‘This is simply amazing.’ Vinni looked at them.
Mr Brown smiled. ‘Then you will be doubly amazed by this.’ He held the other blade toward Vinni, grip first. ‘The left blade requires a left turn.’
He nodded. The second weapon was the precisely matched twin of the first. Vinni closed his eyes, settling them into his palms. There was no discernible difference. He held the blade up and saw what distinguished it from its sibling. The hamon of this one resembled silver flames, with the glittering metal flecks refracting in them, making them appear alive.
