Canopus and Keel - The Hive.

by Stephen Jarrett

  “Very funny.”

  “He also installed it on your phone and I’ve seen you checking it too. I’m sure Beth would love to hear about that.”

  Canopus winked. “She does. We use it for a little role-play.”

  Keel groaned, collapsed her umbrella, shook it and they both got into the car. Silently she withdrew her brown notepad with a palm tree on top and started scribbling a detailed account of the events inside, deliberately dodging the same old dating conversation with Canopus.

  Canopus looked at her, shook his head and started up the car. He couldn’t help but smile when he heard the roar of the Pontiac’s engine. You still got some life in you, he thought as he slowly rubbed the steering wheel.

  “You two should get a room,” mumbled Keel.

  Canopus was about to retort but thought better of it, so instead he just watched the windscreen wipers battle against the rain. “You think you can make the Pied Piper show us where Lillian Fox is hiding?” he asked.

  “Don’t use his trophy name. His name is Ludvig. I think I can do it. But we have to move fast, before Ludvig and his shroud wake up. The sigils in the trunk should hold him but not for long.” She paused and then continued, “He knew her name. She still exists.”

  Canopus silently nodded.

  Distant thunder rumbled under dark rainclouds as the red Pontiac pulled away from Field’s coffee shop and towards the busy I-84.

  THREE.

  Vince stood in the rain and watched Keel order the big, old guy with the mean right hook, to put Ludvig into the trunk of the car.

  Vince shook his head, “What a shitty car.”

  The Red-girl was right, there was something not right about Ludvig and this Keel. Vince was good at telling if people were lying, maybe because Vince lied a lot himself. ‘Takes one to know one,’ his grandmother would say, though Vince liked to believe he just had a knack of feeling what other people were feeling, ‘empathy’ he read somewhere. Vince liked that he had ‘empathy’ it made him feel like he had a super-power.

  He narrowed his eyes as the old man pushed Ludvig further into the trunk of the old car and slammed it shut. Was this really FBI procedure? Knock a man unconscious and then ram him into the trunk of a car? And since when did FBI agents drive around in bright red Pontiacs? Weren’t all their cars black sedans?

  Vince pulled out his cell phone and took a pic of the Pontiac’s license plate. He looked at the photo and zoomed in, it was dark but he could make out the numbers and letters. He remembered what that oddball Keel was saying about a… what did she call it? A shroud attached to Ludvig? What was a shroud and how was it attached to him? Did Vince also have a shroud attached to him? Was the Red-girl a shroud? Could the Red-girl give him a shroud? And if a shroud was something special, why not? Why couldn’t Vince have a shroud too?

  He watched as the Pontiac pulled onto the I-84. “Follow them Vinnie,” whispered the voice in his mind. He ran across the street to where he parked his rental blue VW beetle and quickly got inside.

  FOUR.

  Keel, Canopus and an unconscious Ludvig were outside a fifth-floor apartment, the door was sealed shut with a large padlock. On the door was taped ‘Evidence. Do not handle.’

  “Did you bring the key?” grunted Canopus, his shoulder ached and carrying an 80lb kid around didn't help.

  Keel searched a few of her pockets and then pulled out a key chain, on one end was a large pink crystal, on the other were three keys. She held up the crystal to her eye and looked at Ludvig.

  “Is it still there?” asked Canopus.

  Keel twisted the crystal for a few seconds and then replied, “Yes.”

  “What’s it doing?” He had never seen a shroud, never had wanted too, but he didn't like the shock on Keel’s face whenever she caught a glimpse of one.

  Keel looked away, lowering the crystal and tried the different keys into the padlock, “It’s...moving,” she held up a hand quickly. “But not off him, just over him, holding him tight.”

  Canopus shifted Ludvig a little away from his shoulder, “Yeah off him wouldn’t be good.”

  Keel searched through her keys, “It’s bound to him while he is alive. Only a spell or death of the host will allow it to find a new host. Aha!”

  The padlock sprung open, Keel placed it in her jacket pocket and gave it a tap. Slowly she pushed open the door, a musty smell hit their faces and Ludvig started to stir.

  “Best get him in quick,” Keel said holding her nose, “you know what to do.”

  With a grunt Canopus dragged Ludvig into the apartment.

  Keel stepped in after them and closed the door. She flicked the light switch but the electricity was still off. The smell of death once more hit her nostrils and she closed her eyes, remembering the four dead girls that had been found in the apartment, one in every room. The police had believed it was a necrophilia sexual crime but Ludvig’s shroud had been feeding off the women whenever it needed more nourishment that Ludvig’s body couldn’t provide. Feeding off others was a way for the shroud to allow its host to live longer. Keel opened her eyes, and held up the crystal as she followed Canopus. The shroud was getting excited, moving even quicker around Ludvig’s back. The smell of death was exciting it.

  “It stinks in here,” muttered Canopus.

  Keel continued to examine the shroud through the facets of the crystal. It was impossible to tell the age, race or sex of the human that it once was. Its hairless skin glistened and wiggled like a worm you would find on a pavement after rain. It clung tight onto Ludvig, long bony fingers digging into his shoulders, while its puffy thighs pressed against the sides of his back. Its cone-shaped head was laying against Ludvig’s neck, white rubber lips sucking against the skin. There were no eyes anymore, just slits that were crusted shut. What was once a person, that loved and dreamed, that cursed and lied, was now a parasite that fed off the life force of humans, a trapped soul that could now never pass.

  Canopus placed Ludvig on a chair and pulled it into the middle of the kitchen. The rain, pushed by the heavy wind, lashed against the small kitchen windows. Canopus walked over and yanked up the windows blinds. Lights from the nearby buildings cast a dull light into the kitchen, illuminating Ludvig.

  Keel pointed to the wall, “That’s new.”

  Written on the kitchen wall in grease was the word ‘SKYCLADE.”

  “What’s a ‘skyclade’?”

  Keel thought for a moment, running the name through her mind, “No idea.” She reached into her satchel and pulled out a carton of iodized salt. She shook the carton, estimating how much was left and then poured it onto the floor, creating a ring around Ludvig and the chair he was sitting on.

  “This gonna work? The last one didn’t,” asked Canopus. He withdrew his handgun, cocked it and placed in on the kitchen work surface.

  Using the salt, Keel continued to add intricate lines and shapes that intersected the circle. Canopus was right, the last time they tried to remove a shroud was last year and it didn't end well. In fact, it ended very messily. Like Ludvig, Adelene Weres was biting bodies to feed her parasite. Transferring energy from blood to saliva. The only difference was that Adelene was a woman of the oldest profession and her clients paid for her to visit them and bite them. She was advertising her services under the name of the Weres-wolf , which Keel thought was actually pretty clever. It was only when one of her clientele, which was of interest to the FBI, turned up, sucked dry to the bone, did Canopus and Keel get the call. Tracking down the Weres-wolf was easy, and even though Canopus nearly lost his arm undercover, they managed to capture Adelene and almost evicted the shroud.

  Almost.

  Keel shook her head and hoped that Ludvig didn't explode like Adelene. They never got a chance to ask Adelene’s shroud were Lillian Fox was, but that is exactly what this shroud was going to tell them. Somehow.

  Keel nibbled her lip and watched Canopus as he rubbed his arm. “Don’t worry, this time it will work. The coven has updated its practices.
” She smiled. “85% sure!”

  Canopus grunted. He wasn't a big fan of witches at the best of times, let alone Keel’s coven giving them advice. “Your Father never needed witches y’know and when they find out you are an FBI agent, that shits going to go down on both of us.”

  Keel looked into Canopus’s eyes, “Very probable.” She looked down at the pattern of salt on the floor and checked for any breaks. Satisfied, she placed the carton back into her satchel and withdrew her grimoire, checking that the symbols on the floor matched precisely with the ones sketched in the book. “Perfect. OK, wake him up.”

  Canopus walked over to the unconscious Ludvig, carefully stepping over the salt lines so not to break them while Keel pulled up a chair and sat opposite them. She crossed her legs, pulled out her notepad and held the crystal in her palm, feeling its weight.

  Canopus slapped Ludvig once around the cheek. Ludvig stirred and mumbled but was still unconscious, so Canopus reached out and held Ludvig’s nose tight. Ludvig groaned, his body shook and then with a cough and a gasping of air, he opened his eyes.

  “Wakey wakey son!” said Canopus and he retreated back from the chair, once more stepping carefully over the salted glyphs on the floor.

  Ludvig wiped his eyes with the palms of his hands and looked around the kitchen.

  “Look at me,” asked Keel holding up the crystal.

  Ludvig yawned, “Why did you bring me back here? I don't want to be here.”

  “Look at me.”

  “I am looking at you!”

  Keel sighed, “I’m not talking to you, Ludvig. Aha. There we are!” Through the crystal Keel saw the shroud’s head slowly turn to face Keel. Its lips let go of Ludvig’s neck, revealing a large black hollow slit, where its mouth should be.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Ludvig, “What are you looking at? What are these markings on the floor? Who are you? You’re not cops!”

  “If you don't stop talking I’m going to ask my partner here to knock you out again, understand?”

  Canopus smiled, rubbing his knuckles.

  Ludvig opened his mouth to reply but instead just yawned.

  The shroud’s crusty eyelids slowly split open, revealing large black almond shaped eyes. They stared at Keel.

  Keel twisted the crystal in front of her left eye.

  “Yes, I can see you.”

  The shroud’s head tilted down towards the salt on the floor. Its skin twisted and shook, then it looked back up at Keel, it’s rubber, swollen mouth opened wide, the edges touching the creature’s eyes.

  “I’m 80% sure that you are thinking of killing little Ludvig here.”

  Ludvig looked up, “What? Who? What?” He tried to stand up out of the chair but couldn’t. It was if an invisible force was holding his legs in place.

  Keel ignored Ludvig and continued. “The glyphs are made with salt. If you kill him, you will be trapped in the circle until you waste away. Do you understand what I am saying?”

  The shroud slowly nodded its head and hung its thin arms over Ludvig’s shoulders. It’s smooth naked legs wrapped tighter around his chest

  Keel looked up at Canopus, “It understands.”

  Canopus rubbed the short grey whiskers on his chin and walked next to Keel, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ask it where she is.’

  “I’m going to ask you a question. Do you understand?”

  The shroud nodded again as it moved slowly against Ludvig’s body, feeling his energy.

  Ludvig eyes were wide open, “You can see it? I’ve seen it once, in the mirror. It was like a worm, a giant worm!”

  Keel held up her hand and muttered a word of power. Instantly, Ludvig eyes became heavy.

  “Do you know the name Lillian Fox?”

  The shroud stopped moving.

  “Ask it again,” said Canopus.

  “Do you know the name Lillian Fox?” Keel repeated.

  It nodded.

  “Is Lillian Fox…still existing?”

  The shroud nodded again.

  Keel turned to Canopus and frowned, “She still exists.”

  Canopus shook his head, “Goddammit, you were right Keel. Now ask, this shroud creature where her damn hive is.”

  “Lillian Fox,” muttered Ludvig, he was feeling drowsy as if he was in a dream.

  Ignoring Ludvig, Keel thought about how to pose her next question to the shroud as it squirmed around its host.

  “Do you belong to a hive?”

  The shroud nodded once more.

  “Is it close by?”

  The shroud squirmed.

  “Is it far away?”

  The shroud started to slowly twitch.

  “What’s happening?” asked Canopus growing impatient and gripping his handgun tighter.

  Keel looked at Canopus, furrowed her brow and then looked quickly back at the shroud.

  “Is it far away?”

  The shroud vibrated quickly and with a silent scream, pressed its large rubber lips against Ludvig’s neck and started to suck. Ludvig’s body started to spasm.

  Keel flicked her eyes to Canopus, “I’m losing it.”

  “Kill it. Quick!”

  The shroud’s eyes opened wide and stared straight into Keel’s. An image of a smiling golden skinned woman with long gray hair flashed into her mind. Keel leapt from the chair, shaking.

  Keel opened her grimoire and flicked to a page covered in hieroglyphics. She held up her hand,

  “Mysidim der strats ed lenium.”

  The salt on the floor vibrated and burst into blue flame, the smoke collected and slowly moved towards Ludvig entering his nostrils, eyes and ears. Ludvig’s eyes opened wide and he tried to scream, but his throat was filled with smoke. His lungs burned and his brain felt like it was pressing against his skull. He could feel his skull moving under the skin. The shroud started to shake and its white rubbery skin cracked and blistered. Smoke ran from the skin of Ludvig and into the cracks of the shroud’s skin. The shroud held out its arms and a great gush of air rushed past Canopus and Keel, knocking Keel to her knees and Canopus against the wall. Ludvigs’ chair spun and fell over, leaving the shroud floating in the air, disconnected from its host.

  Keel lifted up her head from the dirty tiled floor and spoke one word, “Enokla.”

  The shroud’s wriggling and twisting body turned towards Keel, hands grabbing towards Ludvig’s twitching body on the floor.

  “Bye,” whispered Keel, struggling against a pain that vibrated in her head.

  The image of the golden woman once more flashed behind her eyes.

  The shrouds head twisted towards Keel and then it slowly faded away.

  “Now that’s what I call a show!” remarked Vince, standing under the word ‘skyclade’. “But tell me. Who is Lillian Fox and what does she want from you?”

  FIVE.

  “Get on your knees, hands where I can see them,” shouted Canopus.

  Vince dropped to the floor and held his hands out wide. “Whoa big guy. You got nothing to worry about. That’s some weird shit right there. But I’m cool. See?”

  Keel rubbed her temples; she could still see the image of the golden woman, burning behind her eyes. “She’s…She’s in my head. Canopus!”

  Canopus holstered his gun and pointed at Vince. “Don’t move,” he growled.

  “Not moving,” said Vince. He nodded his head towards Ludvig twitching on the floor, “He going to be all right?”

  Ignoring Vince, Canopus rushed over to Keel who was banging her palms against her head. “Get her out!”

  “Keel, what do you want me to do?”

  “Anything…just get her out.”

  Canopus reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver zippo lighter.

  “I don’t think this is the time to smoke buddy, but if you have one spare, I’ll take one,” commented Vince.

  Canopus flicked the lighter into life, grabbed Keel’s palm and placed the lighter underneath it.

  “No wait,” said Ke
el through gritted teeth, “I might be able to track her. Maybe. She’s so strong.”

  Keel concentrated on the image of the golden woman, the image flashed with every beat of Keel’s heart, increasing in speed. Keel tried to concentrate on what she could see in the image.

  “A room, it's dark, candles, earth, a train.” Keel screamed as she squeezed Canopus’ wrist. He winced as her nails sank into flesh. “underground, yes, underground, and close I can feel it. Wait, another room, it’s white, clinical, lots of lights, lots of doors, people everywhere. Blazing eyes of purple filled Keel’s vision and her head started to vibrate violently. Keel started to choke and fell to the ground.

  Intense heat broke the spell and she screamed.

  As the flame continued to lick her palm, Canopus counted, “One, two, three, four -”

  Gasping for air and breathing heavily, Keel opened her eyes and pulled her hand away from the Zippo’s flame. “Enough, she’s gone. She’s close that’s all I know. I’m sorry.”

  Canopus took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. “Jeezus Keel, you scared me there.” He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed tight. “We’ll get her. Looks like you were right though, she’s alive and still controlling the shrouds.”

  Keel rubber her palm, a red welt was starting to form. She looked at Canopus’s bloody wrist, “Sorry.”

  “You can’t hurt me girl but we’ll find her. Let’s talk more about this later.” He nodded towards the man on his knees with his hands in the air.

  “Hello Vince, nice of you to stop by,” Keel said.

  “You know this clown?” grunted Canopus.

  Keel got to her feet, she felt shaky and leaned on her partner. “Yes. He was in the coffee shop, a friend of Ludvig.”

  “Whoa, Whoa! He’s no friend of mine. I just followed you two here.”

  “So why did you follow us, eh?” asked Canopus rubbing his knuckles.

  Vince held his hands higher, “Saw you throw Ludvig into the back of your car, a nice Pontiac I might add,” he smiled and then thought better of it. “Listen it looked weird and then I saw all of this and WHAM, it was weird. What are you two? What is this? And… what’s happening to him?” Vince pointed to Ludvig lying on the ground, his body was starting to swell, first in the hands, then the arms and then his chest puffed out.