Celtics Rising: Birth of an Oracle

by Leo Charles Taylor

  Across the street, Arinai could feel the smile and smiled herself. She had no idea what he was thinking; she was just pleased that she had been of some help to elevate his mood. She sensed that her music continued to move him, driving him onward, and she persisted with it, guiding his mental state to a better place. She couldn’t force him to do anything, but a willing participant to her methods could often benefit from them. Over the centuries, she had led armies to battle on her drum beats and moved men to tears with her flutes. Now, as she worried for the future, she nudged her oracle to become the man she needed him to be.

  Chapter 22

  "This is insane," Camulas responded as he listened to the idiotic plan.

  "My life is insane. What's your point?"

  Arinai shook her head, and then rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. She wasn’t sure of the wisdom of this idea. Her oracle was indeed in better spirits, and she was grateful for that fact, but this was something for which she had serious doubts.

  She shook her head again as she tried to make sense of what she was hearing.

  "A permanent truce is what you want?"

  "Yes."

  "And you want to gather these beasts in one area to approach them and outline this truce?"

  "They're already in one area, immediately outside of my apartment building. I just want to get them out of here and get them to leave me alone."

  "Okay, and you think they'll adhere to this?" Arinai asked.

  "I think they will."

  Arinai and Camulas looked at their new friend carefully. He was cocky—perhaps a little too cocky—and they suspected he was up to something, but they didn't know what. Arinai asked for clarification, and James answered cryptically. There was an awkward silence as the three occupants stared at each other. James chuckled and gave in, slightly.

  "Are you familiar with Delphi?" he asked.

  They both nodded their heads.

  "I even visited Delphi, it was one of the last vestiges of the Roman Empire to fall," Arinai told him.

  "Well, apparently it was well respected and in high demand," he told them. "The priestesses that were allowed to interpret the wisdom of the Oracle passed their information on to the priests, who acted as intermediaries. It was rare to get a direct audience with a priestess, and even then it was only been allowed one day a month. The rest of the time wisdom was passed using guile, showmanship, and hallucinogenic gases. Now, I may not be the Oracle," James held up his hand to quell any disagreements by his companions and then moved on, "but I can act the part. If these demons believe it, then I can command them to leave me alone and work with intermediaries."

  "Who?"

  "Smurfs, for all I care." James responded flippantly. "Look, I can find someone or something to perform that duty. At least for the moment, I can set the rules of interactions with me. They will abide by this truce or lose access. Any attempt to harm me or interfere with my life will be seen as an attack, and I will grant favors to others in order to safeguard and defend myself. I imagine the thought of losing access, as well as being attacked by another demon, will dissuade most of them."

  "Perhaps, but maybe not all," Arinai said. "What of the raven?"

  James paused for a moment.

  "I have a plan to deal with her as well, but I don't relish implementing it. If that witch wants to be raped, I might need to oblige her from time to time. And if she doesn't behave then I'll withhold my violations of her mind."

  James laughed at the sheer perverted lunacy of that plan, and once again, Arinai wondered about the man's sanity.

  "I may not be able to protect you should anything go awry," Camulas said.

  "What's the worst that could happen?"

  "They could realize that you have no real power and kill you," Arinai replied.

  James sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Then I suppose all my problems will be solved."

  Was he serious? Arinai thought.

  Arinai wasn’t certain, but she believed he may be. She looked to Camulas, who was also attempting to determine the veracity of the statement. He couldn’t decide as to the truth and conveyed his confusion to Arinai with a slight head shake. They could only agree that James might actually wish to commit suicide, or if not suicide, then his death was something that he was prepared to accept.

  They attempted to dissuade him, but James was unusually determined, and Arinai had to shake her head. If she had known that her musical ministrations would lead to this, she would have left him to his hangover. Camulas eventually gave up, resigned to the plan, and left. Arinai remained behind and tried again.

  "You’re still learning about these demons," she said. "Once confronted with them in a personal setting, you may wish you hadn’t revealed yourself so openly. A banshee yell could cripple everyone there. The raven could darken the sun, or the moon, and blood would flow as she chose her victims at random. The succubus will enrapture your mind, and the selkie, even in man form, will seduce you and lead you to a watery grave. There are many things that could go wrong with this plan."

  "Arinai, there is a solution here," he pleaded.

  "Maybe," she said quickly, "but what you’re asking has never been done. Our kind does not play well together. Sure, there are peaceful beings among us, but what you see around your building represents the more aggressive types. You may see a water nymph or an air wisp at this gathering, but it’s the others that worry me."

  "I have faith."

  Arinai snorted.

  "From an atheist?"

  James went to the window and watched as the rain began to calm.

  "Arinai, have you ever just felt that something was right?" he asked her without turning around. "That a solution was perfect, or that things would just work out?" He turned to her, but she didn't respond. "I feel that certainty with this meeting. It's as if I look out into the world and see strings. If I pull this string, then I get a particular response, and if I pull another, then I will get yet another response. I have thought about how to handle these beasts, and this one idea comes to mind with blaring force. I can imagine the meeting. It will be at the parking garage below Steinbrueck Park. There will be many beasts in attendance, and the solution will be there. I just feel it."

  "They will abide by your wishes?" Arinai asked, becoming curious by his description and his prediction. It was an odd prediction, but a prediction nonetheless.

  "I don't know," he admitted. "I can’t see the actual events. It’s not like watching a movie. I just get a feeling that this is what needs to be done. My mind has asked for a solution, this idea came to me, and it feels right. As I think about other solutions they feel wrong, stupid, or ineffective. Something about this is different."

  "Hmm," Arinai responded as she pondered the situation. "And will the raven be there?"

  James nodded. "As will Badir, I can sense that. And I can feel that he is more dangerous than she is. At least for the moment. However, something must be done."

  "Why?" she asked. "Why must something be done?"

  James turned from her again and went to his window. The rain streaked the pane and her eyes were drawn to his reflection in the glass. It was the reflection of a man covered by shimmering lights and the tears of the gods.

  That's how I first saw you, Oracle, she thought as she recalled the memory from her youth. That's how you appeared when you first came to my mind.

  "I know about your protection," he said simply. "I began to feel it a few days ago and understood it only more recently. You and Camulas have been protecting me, shielding me from danger. You've been using your music to keep the demons calm, and Camulas has been murdering the ones that pose a larger threat.

  "Camulas would never…" she began to claim loudly, but James turned to her suddenly and she could see it in his eyes.

  Her hand went to her mouth as she realized the truth of his statement. As if to provide proof, the image of a slain lycan popped into her head, bloody and caught mid-change—somewhere between a man and a wolf. It took h
er a moment to process the truth and when she had, she nodded her head, resigning herself to his judgment. Camulas had murdered their own kind and hid the horror from her because he knew she would not approve.

  "All right, I'll trust your decision. But I still don’t like it."

  She watched him as he turned back to the city. In the reflection, he smiled and nodded his head. He had wanted her approval, and she only now realized that fact. Putting on a weak smile, she went to him. She turned to face him, put her hand on his chest, and gave him a friendly nod of approval. James quickly wrapped his arms around her and they hugged. When she felt him sigh, it bothered her; it was not a sigh of contentment. She pulled away and caught his saddened face before he was able to affix a false smile.

  "Vera?" she asked quietly.

  He nodded his head. She didn't need to say anything else, nor did he. They both understood his feelings and regrets for the current situation of the young woman. As empathy passed over her, Arinai led him to the couch, and took the time to listen to her oracle as he told her about his lover. He was still worried, and as he spoke, Arinai had to smile. She had waited a long time for this moment—the moment she would meet the man who had made her—but in all that time, she had never expected to like him so much.

  Arinai eventually took her leave, and James gladly allowed it; he needed his privacy. When she was gone, he pondered the situation again and concentrated on the question he was asking himself. It was confusing, and he had a difficult time defining it. This meeting was right, he could feel that. What he couldn’t feel was why it was right. Of course, that answer all depended on what problem he was trying to solve and what the final solution might be.

  He hadn’t lied to his friends: he didn't know what the outcome would be. He just knew that this was a solution. Some force of nature was answering his call—his wish to know an answer. Perhaps it was his shadows, which even now began to enter the room after vacating in lieu of Camulas and Arinai. Now, his shadows were the only company he didn't demand should leave.

  James continued to consider his questions and his solutions, trying to determine exactly what to expect from this meeting. Whatever force was answering his call—whatever was offering this answer—he knew it was apathetic to his life. He had asked it for a solution and it had given him one. He had immediately known, and now more fully realized, that the solution might be his death. If that happened, whatever force that had answered his call would consider its job done as requested.

  Chapter 23

  Vera sensed something was wrong. She could smell it, and her nose deformed slightly in order to enhance the scent. She knew that odor and anger flashed in her mind as she tried to place it. The house was dark, and she moved lithely through it to the downstairs living room. Once there, she found what she expected, sitting on the couch and waiting for her arrival. Vera had been quiet. No sound had been made as she move, and she was now bathed in her shadows; her shadows that were betraying James by following her. However, the lack of sound from Vera didn't deter her guest.

  "James is about to do something very foolish," Arinai said, "and I fear that he will need your help."

  Vera didn't respond to the statement.

  "Help may be the wrong word," Arinai corrected herself. "I think he will need something much more than that. He'll need your forgiveness."

  Still, Vera didn't respond.

  "When you saw us the other night, we were comforting each other," Arinai explained. "It was a friendly hug, not a hug of lovers. You should know that he cares very much for you."

  "Liar," was the soft reply.

  Arinai couldn’t see Vera, but the sound of a voice allowed her to address the correct part of the room, and Vera watched as the woman cast about in the darkness for her.

  "It’s not a lie, and you would do well to believe it. You should at least take the time to talk to him and make a more rational assessment of the facts."

  "You think I'm being stupid?"

  "I think you’re being emotional, and you would not be the first woman to lose someone over a mistake in perception." Arinai said as she searched for her conversationalist. "Where are you?"

  "Here," was the reply, and Vera let her shadowy form appear for Arinai. It wasn't enough for great detail, but it was enough to reveal exactly where she was in the room.

  "How did you get into my house?" Vera asked.

  "Efficiently," Arinai replied.

  "And what did you do to me the other night? That noise was painful."

  "So I have heard," Arinai replied, chuckling as she did. "However, if you wish to discuss talents, I would ask that you reveal yourself. I should like to see what you have become."

  Vera laughed. "I'm sure you would."

  The shadow figure didn't move, nor did it change in appearance. Arinai waited a moment, but when Vera didn't reveal any more of herself, she continued her talk.

  "He plans a meeting with everyone," Arinai said. "All the demons that can attend. He wants to propose a truce. I personally feel this is being done out of ignorance—he doesn’t understand what he's doing. I have tried to convince him of the folly of this plan, but I have failed. You may have better luck."

  "Why should I get involved? He may be right. Besides, I don't care."

  "Now who is lying?" Arinai asked, skeptical of Vera's utterance. "I think you do care. You’re angry, that’s certain. But if James should fall, then you’ll have another grave to stand over. You may want to consider that possibility. As for his being right, you have firsthand experience of what could happen with only three of our kind in close proximity. Now, try to imagine twenty, or thirty, or more."

  "Will Badir be there?" Vera asked weakly, she could still feel the vampire in her mind from time to time, but the connection was not weakening. Or perhaps she was strengthening and blocking him out.

  "Most likely," Arinai replied, "but you don’t need to be there. I only ask that you meet with James. Please, try to get him to move from his apartment, or get him to wait and see what else develops—anything but this."

  They sat in silence for a moment before Vera moved away, heading for the stairs. She was full of mixed emotions as she walked—fear of the present and fear of the future, as well as anger and remorse. An odd sense of peace suddenly came to her as she decided to do nothing for the moment. That peace was slowly overridden by a sly determination of what she would do in the days to come. She paused at the bottom of the stairs and addressed her uninvited guest.

  "Get out of my house," she said as she mounted the steps and headed to her sister's room.

  Chapter 24

  "Nervous?" Arinai asked.

  "Not at all. Besides, I'm the Oracle."

  James was teasing her, and she could only smile and shake her head. Camulas wasn’t amused at all. He looked sideways at the couple and rolled his eyes, sighing audibly.

  "Camulas, I know you’re upset, but let's just get his over with," Arinai said.

  "This is very unwise," he responded, being kind in his wording as he glared through the darkness to the parking garage across the way. The street they were on represented the highest level. From here, they would have to descend into the structure.

  "I thought you said you liked this location? You said it would make a good defensive location."

  "If I were holding it with my own troops, of course it would!" he exclaimed. "But you don't invite the enemy into the stronghold and then try to fight, and just look around you. There are few exits, and while the open air feel of the parking garage is nice for overlooking the waterfront, it's strategically weakened by the chain link fencing on each level. That fencing is great at keeping vandals and animal life out of the structure, but inside, with enemy combatants, it will only serve to restrict movement. This is a very poor location, Oracle. Unless you plan to slaughter everyone, you would be better served by having this gathering on the top of the structure."

  James looked across the way and examined the area that Camulas was nodding to. The sun had set lo
ng ago, but the night lights offered enough illumination to make out details. The garage itself was built into the hillside of the waterfront so that the top level was actually at the ground level near First Avenue. A public park had been built on the top floor of the garage, giving pedestrians a pleasant place to eat, walk, or just enjoy the view of the Olympic Mountains across the Sound. Green grass and small pathways led to and fro, while a singular and very old tree broke the open terrain.

  "No," James said quietly as he turned his gaze to the darkened entrance of the garage. "This is what I need."

  He could feel his shadows approaching and watched as they danced around the tree and surrounding shrubbery. He wasn’t sure what they were doing, but they seemed to enjoy the life forms that were oddly clinging to the concrete structure just a few feet below. James could even get a feel for the tree's root system as the shadows explored the life system of the old timber.

  Reaching out with his mind, he felt for Arinai's music and added his own thoughts to it. They were calling to their brethren, and many were answering the summons. Even now, the parking structure was filling; to Camulas' chagrin, it was being done so in a peaceful manner. It was curiosity that brought them, and a hope that their questions would be answered.