by J. P. Rice
What the fuck was happening? “I don’t know if...”
“Fucking do it. Now,” Reg growled rabidly and tried to put the stake in my palm.
I backed away but he grabbed my shoulder with his other hand. His vise grip on my black hoodie pulled me closer and fire gleamed in his eyes. “Take this thing and fucking kill me.”
What the fuck was going on? This was insane. I struggled, not accepting the stake from my crazed friend. I turned away, not wanting to look at him. I screamed, “Stop it. What the fuck are you doing?”
He yelled back, “Are you my friend? Are you my fucking friend?”
“I am. You need to stop. You’re scaring the shit out of me.”
I finally wriggled free and the wooden stake fell harmlessly to the carpeted floor. Reg burst into tears and dropped to his knees. He leaned down face first, bawling, and snuggled up in the dark aisle. I sat down next to him and patted him on the shoulder.
“You’re going to get through this transition into a vampire, Reg. I promise. You just need to settle down and relax. I’m going to be there for you too. If you’re struggling, call me. I’m pretty much always around. You know that.”
Reg began to settle down with the help of a few deep breaths. He exhaled loudly through his nose, and said, “Thanks, young blood. This shit is just so rough sometimes. It just seems easier to...”
I didn’t wait for him to finish the sentiment. “No doubt. Now let’s get up off the floor.”
Reg worked his way up to his knees and grabbed onto the bookshelf to his right. His forearm muscle bulged and he rose to his feet. Using the back of his forearm, he wiped the tears from his cheeks and sniffled.
As he headed back toward the table, I grabbed the stake to keep it away from Reg. We talked for about another hour and his spirits started to rise. I asked, “Is Jonathan around? I wanted to ask him about that map too.”
“He’s sleeping right now. Probably best not to wake him.” Reg wiped away the few remaining tears on his freckled cheeks.
“I agree with that. I got to get going though. There’s no way I can ever repay you for the tapestry.” I stared at it again, entranced. “Bu—uuttt, if you ever think of something, I’m sporting a nice wallet these days. I’d be happy to share.”
He waved me off with his huge hand. “You keep your dough, young blood. These vampires got more money than they know what to do with. I just ask, and they give me however much I want. I try not to abuse it, though.”
I folded the maps back up and put them in the belly pocket of the hoodie, grabbed the tapestry, tucked it under my arm and shoved the stake into my back pocket. It wouldn’t be wise to leave it there. Reg came around the table and I hugged him with my free arm.
“Seriously man, hit me up when you need it. You’re never alone. I got your back no matter what. You know that shit, right?” I looked into his eyes.
Reg nodded. “I know it. That’s a two-way street, don’t forget. I know I’m a little crazy now, but I’ll always have your six, brother.”
The valet brought my car around front and I put the tapestry and the wooden stake in the backseat. I tipped the valet, jumped in the car and headed home. As I pulled out of the driveway, I had mixed feelings about Reg. Watching him walk was a moment I’d never forget, but him accosting me with the death request scared the Charles Dickens out of me. Seeing that side of Reg had forced me to accept that he could turn into an animal at any time, just like me.
Setting aside my concern for Reg, I couldn’t ignore my own issues anymore. It was time to come clean with the Gods and request some help. Sort of.
Alayna was at my apartment watching Dante. Perhaps I could convince her to relay the message to the Gods for me, since I was so busy.
Chapter 6
Alayna greeted me as I walked into my house, “Hey...oh, what happened to your face?”
“Don’t worry about that. Check this out,” I said, handing her the tapestry.
I kicked off my dirty shoes onto the mat near my door and tossed the comic book and maps onto the coffee table. My living room consisted of a couch and loveseat, a coffee table and a few bookshelves against the walls. And one of my prized possessions hung from the wall near my steps. Mother and Child by Pablo Picasso had been given to me by my vampire friend, Jonathan.
Alayna was mesmerized by the tapestry. She was rarely speechless, and words finally spilled from her lips, “It’s absolutely amazing. Reg has really outdone himself with this.” She set the tapestry on the love seat and pointed at my face.
I rubbed the wounded areas. “Got into a little scrap earlier outside the comic book store. I need to talk to you about that for a few minutes, but where’s Dante?”
“Upstairs reading a book,” she said casually, still intently inspecting my face.
I’d misheard her. “What? Reading a book? Not playing video games on the laptop?”
“I was surprised too. But he seems to be a fan of The Hobbit.” Alayna stopped looking at me with motherly concern and went and sat down.
“Awesome. I’m just shocked you aren’t telling him stories about your favorite wizard from the Midwest.” I slid my socks across the hardwood and joined her on my brown couch, adjusting the pillows behind me for maximum comfort.
“Maybe in a few years, I’ll treat him to those delights,” she commented as she peered through the cracked blinds. “For now, I’m just happy he set down that electronic.”
“Me too.” I shifted around so that I could face Alayna. “So I need to talk to you about something.”
Alayna was part nixie, part pixie, but somehow her body grew to be six-feet tall. She was the Queen of Sleepy Willow until her husband tried to kill her five-hundred years ago. The king’s enforcer had clipped her wings and she’d shrunk to about three and a half feet, which was her current height. She had short, dyed red hair, icy blue eyes like Dante and wore her signature purple dress over her ivory skin.
Alayna asked, “What do you need?”
“I told you about the implant and not to tell the Gods about it. You didn’t tell them, right?”
“No.” She thought for a moment. “They may have asked Artoise for a progress report on you. Unlikely, but there is a chance.”
“Hmmm. Between unlikely and the strong likelihood that Artoise was passed out drunk, I’ll take my chances.” Artoise was my guardian angel. He basically watched my life in real time and jumped in to save me when I got in trouble. Although extremely unreliable due to his excessive drinking, he had helped me out of a pinch in a few circumstances.
“I was wondering, you know, if you could maybe mention a little something to the Gods about it.” I lowered my head and avoided eye contact. “I’m kind of embarrassed.”
Alayna reached out and lifted my chin until our eyes met. “Don’t be embarrassed. I could probably help you out on this. I still owe you for our last adventure.”
“Speaking of which, have you heard any news about Burn?” There had been conflicting reports coming in about her. I didn’t know whom to believe.
She shook her head, tightlipped. “I have not. Sorry.”
“Well, what do you really think?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” she said slowly and carefully as she twisted her short hair with her pinky finger.
I spoke firmly, “Come on. Seriously. Just be straight with me.”
Alayna stopped toying with her locks and looked me in the eyes. She set her palm on my knee and said, “I think you may need to prepare for the worst.” She continued in a hopeful tone, “On the other hand, you are doing a wonderful job with Dante. I wasn’t sure if you had it in you when we first met, but over these past few years, you’ve grown up so much.”
Although she’d basically said that Burn was dead, I felt a warm glow steal over my cheeks from the compliment. It meant a lot because I was worried I would turn into a deadbeat dad, like my father. “You gonna pinch my cheeks and tell me how proud you are of me?”
I tried to lighten
the tense mood, but it was tough to forget about someone I cared about greatly.
Alayna smiled, showing off her perfect ivory teeth. “No. No cheek pinching for you. What’s that you brought in with you?” she asked pointing at the map on the coffee table.
“A map of a mountain. Some guy tried to fight me for it outside the comic book store.”
“What? Why?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. Fire and fury danced around her eyes and a rosy glow washed down from her forehead to her chin. She didn’t like when people messed with me.
“Let me back this story up. So I told you about Cyclone Woman earlier today. The clue left in her cave was written in Japanese. The same writing that appears to be on these maps. And the guy looked Japanese too. Felix knows a wizard who can translate it but he won’t be available for a few days. You can’t read Japanese, can you?” I threw the comic book on the love seat.
Alayna laid out the two maps, covering the entire coffee table. She stared for almost a minute as she tapped her chin in thought, and then said, “Sorry. I know a few languages, but that isn’t one of them. What is the golden X marking?”
I shrugged and looked up from the maps. “I have no idea. Sure looks like the prize, whatever it is. I just don’t know where it is.” I laughed. “So it looks like I don’t know anything. I thought about using Google to translate, but I don’t even understand Japanese letters.”
A wry smile came over Alayna’s face and she leaned back on the couch. “The beginning of a supernatural case. Always more questions than answers. You know how this goes. Two things. Use a trusted translator. I’m still not sure about trusting Felix. And don’t forget you have Blodeuwedd at your disposal.”
Blodeuwedd was a Celtic Goddess. She often shifted into the form of an owl. The shifter had been organizing and communicating with the birds in and around Pittsburgh to provide information for me. Pretty sweet perk.
I swelled with pride. A poor kid from West Virginia now had the assistance of the Celtic Gods. It did feel pretty good. “You make me sound like so much of a bad ass. Having a God at my disposal.”
“Well you do. I know you are still frustrated about not being related to Merlin, but I don’t recall him ever having the services of a God at his beck and call,” she added with a wink.
Alayna was right about the beginnings of a new case presenting many questions. Finding the maps inside the comic book hadn’t answered anything yet. I knew that Cyclone Woman was missing, probably kidnapped by the person I’d fought outside the comic book store.
I didn’t know who the man was or why he’d wanted the maps so badly. I didn’t know why he’d kidnapped Cyclone Woman. I didn’t know how to read the writing on the maps.
Fukutama was the one man who could shed some light on the subject. I couldn’t wait to see him to get this case progressing faster. Patience was not one of my better virtues.
Chapter 7
I made Felix go into the tree house first this time to avoid another surprise attack. Fukutama, smiling and nodding, welcomed us in. Felix and I bowed lower than the elderly man to show our respect.
As Felix rose up from the bow, he said, “He’s probably going to be explaining a lot about this map. So I won’t say, he says, or anything like that. Or at least I’ll try not to. I’ll just repeat his words verbatim. You can interrupt me with questions, if you need to.”
“Sounds good. Can’t wait.” I handed the maps to Fukutama.
Felix and Fukutama sat on the ground facing each other. Both men rested their upturned palms on their knees and took a few deep breaths. It appeared they were going to forgo the smoking session.
Felix’s head started to twitch as he stared at Fukutama. The young mage’s eyes rolled back in his head, he stopped the twitching and appeared ready to start the conversation. He said, “I’m asking him about the maps and the writing.”
Fukutama laid out the maps on the floor in front of him and his eyes widened with excitement. He pointed at the map and Felix spoke for him, “This is the symbol for the Seven Sorcerers. I knew they were lurking in the area. I could feel their dark power.”
“Who are the Seven Sorcerers?” I asked as I sat down and leaned back against the wall.
Felix translated, “He says he’ll get to that soon. The map is of a mountain called Cheat Mountain. The other map is marked Thorny Flat.” Felix had already forgotten about his promise to just speak for Fukutama.
I’d heard those names somewhere before. “That sounds familiar. Does he know where this place is?” It felt weird talking about the man like he wasn’t in the room. I wondered if I should just ask him directly. I still didn’t know exactly how this procedure worked.
Felix said, “No. He’s not sure. It appears that there is something buried in this spot marked with a golden X. Most of the other writing is directions detailing how to get to the marked spot. You need to go up Cheat Mountain to a peak named Thorny Flat. From there, the directions on this map will guide you to the treasure.”
That word intrigued me. “What treasure?”
“He doesn’t know. It doesn’t say.” Felix paused as Fukutama ran his hand over the map and leaned down for a closer look. “Aha. Wait. There it is. It can’t be. No, yes, somehow it is the Blood Goblet.”
“Okay, what is the Blood Goblet?” I had to know.
“He says, get ready for a story.” I tried to kick back and relax as Felix continued, “It was once a possession of Shuten dōji, the demon whom the Seven worship. He was an orphan sent to the local monastery. Due to his drinking and rowdiness, the life of a monk didn’t seem to fit him. The name Shuten dōji actually means little drunkard.”
Felix stopped for a second and scratched his ear. “He enjoyed playing pranks too and during one festival, he put on an oni mask so he could scare everyone else. The mask somehow fused to his face and he couldn’t remove it. After facing ridicule from his fellow monks and the abbot, Shuten dōji went to the mountains and lived a life of solitude. He studied black magic and grew to hate the world. He became a violent cannibal and his legend began to grow.”
Felix paused again, as if he was waiting for Fukutama. After a few more moments of silence, Felix went on, “Evil people rushed to his cause, giving Shuten dōji a small army of underlings. They built a castle on Mount Oe. It’s called the vanishing castle because only a certain number of people can find it. Eventually the Emperor grew tired of Shuten dōji’s nonsense and sent his greatest warriors to eliminate the problem. They poisoned the sake to take care of Shuten dōji’s minions and rushed the castle. They beheaded Shuten dōji and buried his head outside city limits. Nobody knows for certain whether the head went to the body or the reverse. But the head and body reconnected and he went back to the vanishing castle on the vanishing slope where he lives by himself to this day.”
My back started to tighten up and I shifted around to alleviate the pain. I listened as Felix finished the story.
“Only one person was permitted to enter the castle and learn from Shuten dōji. His name was Kobayashi, the leader of the Seven. He imparted this knowledge to the other six sorcerers, and together, they became unstoppable. Shuten dōji became increasingly paranoid that Kobayashi was going to turn on him and banished him from the castle. However, Kobayashi had already picked up all the skills he needed. The Blood Goblet belonged to Shuten dōji, but Kobayashi took it with him. They used the ceremonial cup to drink the blood of their enemies. Thousands and thousands of enemies. Where did you get this map?”
I looked at Fukutama and answered, “It was in that comic book written on that scrap of paper. And someone with three eyes attacked me for the comic book.”
Felix scratched his cheek and said, “Hmmm. Kobayashi wants his Blood Goblet back. But why bury it on this mountain? That doesn’t make sense. Why would they leave the instructions out in public like that? Seems sloppy for Kobayashi.”
“I said the same thing. Maybe they aren’t familiar with how things work in Pittsburgh. The only other thing I c
ould think of was that these guys were still up in Tionesta performing the kidnapping of Cyclone Woman and their friend called with the map. It doesn’t make sense to me, but maybe their friend stashed the map inside the comic book because they couldn’t get back to the city for a proper exchange. Still sounds crazy.” My back was still locking up so I stood up again.
Felix rolled his neck around as he spoke, “I agree that it doesn’t make sense to do that, but your theory may be close to being correct. You two must track down the Blood Goblet before they get a second map and find it first. It might be the only chance to counteract their black magic spells and curses.”
I wondered if we really needed the Blood Goblet, and said, “I don’t know if we need to defeat them, more than we need to rescue Cyclone Woman.”
Felix turned toward me and looked up with his freaky, all-white eyes. “If they cast a spell on Cyclone Woman, you will need the Goblet to reverse the curse. Unless you can get one of the sorcerers to call it off.”
I rubbed the scruffy hair on my chin. “That doesn’t seem likely at all. And defeating seven powerful sorcerers doesn’t sound very easy.”
Felix immediately said, “It isn’t seven anymore. At least three have died over the years. As far as I know, there are only four remaining. Kobayashi, Tamamo no Mae, Yabe and Sakai. It must be a big plan if they are all in Pittsburgh. I will explain the sorcerers in more detail if you two can find the Goblet. Otherwise it will just be wasted details. Find the Goblet and return for more instructions.”
“Fair enough,” I said as Fukutama motioned with his right hand for me to come closer to the maps. I sat down next to the wise wizard. Through Felix, he explained the directions to us, pointing out all the details as he went. Fukutama provided me with a pencil and paper so that I could write the directions in English.
We both thanked Fukutama, bowed graciously and climbed down the ladder inside the tree trunk.
As Felix and I walked through the woods to get back to my car, I pulled out my phone and hoped for Wi-Fi service. Miraculously, in the middle of the woods, I had a signal. I fired up the internet and searched for Cheat Mountain.
