Shifting Problems

by Jason Paul Rice

  Mabon had a thorough and advanced knowledge of shifting. He could easily do it without a full moon. I started to get a rotten twisting pain in my belly telling me that this was a powerful demon or rogue god, or a rogue god turned devil. Even worse.

  “I got the rest of the stuff you asked for to complete the potion for invisibility,” I hinted.

  “You want to make the magic mist today?”

  “We don’t have to, but it might take your mind off the other problems right now.”

  “I suppose it shall, but I can’t guarantee any success from the state I am in right now. If you want to heat up the cauldron, I need to grab a few things from the kitchen and I’ll meet you up there.”

  I went upstairs, which consisted of two bedrooms and a small bathroom. I closed the door to my bedroom so Alayna wouldn’t make fun of me for the mess and went into the other room. I used this one for experiments and had blankets covering all the windows.

  I lit the portable burner underneath the cauldron that hung from a tripod with a triskele amulet attached at the apex. The black cast iron cooking device could hold about a gallon, but most of my tests involved much less volume than that. Alayna entered the room with an armful of supplies that she dumped on middle of the table, next to the cauldron.

  She dimmed the lights until they were almost out and laid out the ingredients for the magic mist. She handed me a mortar and pestle with acorns in it from the Tree of Life. I mashed the acorns around with the stone pestle as Alayna took the caps off the liquids.

  She started with the vodka, which sizzled as it hit the red-hot cauldron and released a caramelized alcohol aroma. She added still water and tonic water next. Twenty seconds passed and she threw in some plastic wrap and broken glass. I picked up the wooden spoon and gently stirred the mixture as Alayna tossed in some Granny Smith apple slices, the crushed acorns from the mortar and pestle, and some freshwater salmon oil.

  The pleasing scent instantly took a fishy turn as I continued to stir the cauldron. Alayna reached inside her bra and pulled out the secret ingredient. She placed three pieces of mistletoe from the Tree of Life that had been cut away with the silver serrated knife on the seventh day of the new moon next to the cauldron.

  I adjusted my necklace made from hemp from the Sacred Pages that always reminded me of my oath. I grabbed the silver triskele charm that the druidic craftsmen had helped me make and pulled it out of my hoodie. I thumbed the mother of pearl set in the center of the triskele and prepared to make the mist.

  I picked up the piece of coarse rope on the table and tied a loose knot in it. We each grabbed one end of the rope and Alayna positioned her free hand near the mistletoe. She tossed in the mistletoe as we chanted in unison,

  “Once, twice, and thrice is always nice,

  See me now, then see me not,

  In the cold or in the hot,

  A sleight of shape to disappear,

  And make my tint so crystal clear,

  Respect I keep for the Sacred Pages,

  Along with witches, wizards, and mages.”

  We repeated the words six more times while pulling the knot tighter as we went along. We finished and I turned off the blue flames to let the mixture sit for seven minutes.

  After the short resting period, I stirred the liquid around and used a punchbowl spoon to scoop it into a strainer over a mason jar.

  The potion was still hot, but I was very impatient as I carefully poured it into the tiny spray bottle. I screwed the sprayer on tight and made the lights brighter.

  I smiled at Alayna, and focused on her folded hands and FAB FOUR tattoos. Seven of her eight fingers had a letter in between the second and third knuckles spelling out the nickname of her favorite band. “Ready?”

  She tried to match my enthusiasm with a smile and nod, but her reddened eyes indicated she was still perturbed about Mabon’s disappearance. I seriously doubted this magic mist would work because of her mental state.

  I sprayed some on my left forearm and immediately pulled it back from the hot splash. I stared at my arms and waited for the mist to take effect. After about thirty seconds, I could still see myself.

  “I guess it was worth a try,” I mentioned to Alayna.

  “It’s working. I can’t see you.”

  I looked down at my arms and the rest of my body. “I can still see myself.”

  “That is good. You can control your body much better when you can see it and others can’t.”

  About two minutes went by and Alayna said, “I’m starting to see bits and pieces of you again. It’s rather freaky actually.”

  I was stunned that the magic mist had worked. My downtrodden mother figure decided to go back to the Deep Burrow, leaving me to clean up the mess. I strained and bottled up the magic mist with a giant smile on my face. Mabon’s news saddened me, but this had been the most successful experiment I’d ever pulled off.

  I didn’t know when or where I would need this, but the ability to become invisible seemed like a great advantage to have in a fight.

  4

  Later that evening, I sat in the Cancer Support group, but my mind could only focus on one matter. Finding that box behind Ruth Westerhouse’s dwelling. There were two meetings every day from seven till nine o’clock. I tried to attend as many as I could, but wizards keep a pretty crazy schedule. Actually, we just lose track of time due to deep thought.

  When I get wrapped up in a book, forget about it. And sometimes potions and elixirs can take longer than expected. You can’t rush magic, at least, you can’t rush learning it. It’s a long and arduous race and I had just taken my first few steps on the track.

  The meeting ended and an Uber driver picked me up. I hopped in the Ford Focus with a dented passenger door with slight apprehension. I gave him the address from the backseat and he nodded for an excruciating amount of time before simply saying, “Okay.”

  I realized he had been punching the address into his GPS and felt kind of stupid for judging him. He waited for the directions to pop-up on the dashboard screen and shifted the car into drive. He zipped through the streets with reckless abandon, making me more nervous as I remembered the banged-up door.

  I wore my seatbelt, and if I hadn’t, I would have been sliding from side to side in the bench-style backseat. I hadn’t even known Ford Focuses could go that fast as he barreled onto the on ramp for Route 28. The tires squealed from taking the bend too fast.

  The maniac didn’t drive much slower through suburban areas. He craned his neck to check out an attractive jogger and almost ran into the guardrail protecting Squaw Valley Park. I had always wondered why a guardrail was needed in a twenty-five-mile-an-hour speed zone. Perverts, should have guessed as much.

  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my fair share of checking out the fairer sex, but not in the sleazy manner that this guy was using. He slowed down alongside her to make it ultra-creepy and I half-expected him to honk the horn and throw a piece of paper with his phone number at the girl.

  I covered my face in the backseat and didn’t remove my hand until the car came to a sudden halt. I had him park down the street from Ruth Westerhouse. A few lights in the house were on, but not enough to scare me away. The driver turned around and handed me the Tab Pad. $31.11. And Alayna wondered why I hadn’t been able to pay the rent.

  The driver peeled out, making me realize the decision to have him park down the street was a wise one. I looked at the house again. The same lights were still on. Good sign. Most neighbors had their garbage out on the curb. My phone beeped in my pocket indicating that it was about to run out of power.

  Ruth Westerhouse did not take the garbage out. I needed to talk to her and find out everything she knew. She knew something, but I wasn’t sure I could trust her answers. I couldn’t worry about that right now though. I had to focus on the box out back of her house. I walked up and down the street a few times trying to remain nonchalant. It was dark out and I didn’t see anyone.

  I crept up the side of the drivewa
y, channeling my inner ninja so I could move in silence. I made it into her well-kept backyard and peered around for the box. Nothing. Her back yard was fenced off with woods behind it and I noticed a blue glow in the distance.

  I climbed over the fence. I didn’t want to risk a creaky gate opening. However, I proceeded to land on a fallen branch, creating a harsh breaking sound.

  Smooth.

  My eyes darted back at the house, hoping nobody was home or they hadn’t heard the snapping crunch.

  The lights remained the same so I turned and headed down the narrow dirt path into the woods. It didn’t take me long to get to the smoldering fire. How hadn’t I smelled or felt the energy from a fire? Impossible.

  I hovered over it, feeling the heat, but still no smell whatsoever. Whoever had started his fire was well steeped in magic and it sent a chill down my spine. I kicked the partially burnt box off the embers and used some dirt to put it out. I assessed the damage and saw that the experienced firestarter had done a sloppy job with the box. The dark magic case had only been set on the edge of the small fire. My phone beeped again, scaring me.

  I hoped I could salvage the contents although I didn’t even want to touch it. The Dank Artistry emblem had gone from black to bright red. A strange emission of immense power was seeping through the duct-taped cracks.

  I heard the crunch of some brush under a boot, or a hoof. Impossible. Nobody could sneak up on me. Could they?

  I caught a dull streak out of my right peripheral as a long, leathery tail wrapped around my head, blinding me. It kept winding around, building the pressure on my skull. Just before my orbital bones shattered, the tail uncoiled, spinning me around like a top in the process. I could breathe again, but my momentum lofted me into the trunk of a pine tree shoulder first.

  It knocked the wind out of me and I gasped to suck in some sweet oxygen. “Gaahhh.” Despite the dizziness and disorientation, I grabbed a tree branch and pulled myself back to my feet. I whirled around just as the tail snapped at me like a whip. I ducked, barely missing a three-pronged tip that dug into the bark of the trunk and ripped off a huge patch.

  The strange creature jumped back and forth, blending in with the background like a chameleon. I waited for it to make the next move and noticed a reflective flash coming from the eyes of the beast.

  Great, my first big fight in the city and I’m up against the fucking Predator. Did I mention I swear when I’m angry or scared? It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out which scenario I found myself in at the present time. I tried to search the depths of my mind just to figure out what this thing was.

  It wouldn’t make sense to call on a spell or conjuration if I didn’t identify the dark creature. The dim firelight and nearly full moon worked in tandem to illuminate the figure briefly. I circled around, trying to reposition our standoff to get a better look. The beast took another step to the left and a shaft of moonlight broke through the tree cover. I was horrified when I saw the mane.

  I backed up, realizing it was a Manticore. I only caught a glimpse of his back lion legs crouched, claws in the dirt, ready to pounce. I was still dizzied and almost fell over as I kept backing up. A dense cloud floated in front of the moon and the Manticore blended back into the surroundings. I’d learned about Manticores, but not one that could act like a chameleon.

  I was sure the massive animal would spring forward and devour me, but it didn’t. I froze. I knew I had to act quickly, but nothing came to my panicked mind. I wished I had brought the magic mist with me to even the odds.

  Then came the crack of a whip and I felt a pinch on my chest. Something grabbed hold of my hoodie and dragged me forward until the cotton mercifully ripped and I fell face first next to the odorless fire.

  I jumped up and spit the dirt and leaves out of my mouth. The Manticore had ripped off the part with Merlino Detective Company written on it. “If you wanted a business card, you should have just asked.”

  I reached inside my shirt and checked for my necklace and blood. I felt instant relief because I was safe on both accounts until I remembered who was still looming.

  I lost him in the darkness again. And no, I’m not sexist, I had caught a peek at his anatomy when the moonlight had been strong. The Manticore had the body of a lion, the face of an old man, and a venomous reptilian tail that I had already had the pleasure of being introduced to. I wished I could get a better view of him. I had never heard of this chameleon-style Manticore before.

  I’d read that if you shine a light into their eyes, they will return to their world, but it had to be a bright light. I didn’t have a mirror and even if I had, the moonlight wasn’t strong enough to send this demon away.

  I heard a roar, and a wave of warm, stinking breath hit my face causing me to instinctually back away. Three sharp claws flashed in the emerging moonlight, and traced across my cheek, leaving a wake of gashes in their path. The blood just sat there on the surface of the cuts for a few moments. Then, they started to gush deep red blood. It dripped down onto the belly pocket of my hoodie.

  The next swipe came from the other side which I detected at the last second and flung my midsection backward to avoid contact. Another paw came screaming across my stomach, ripping the bottom half of my hoodie and T-shirt to shreds. A searing pain followed and I swiped my hand over my exposed belly. More blood, although I was lucky this had only scraped the surface.

  I wondered why the creature hadn’t thrown the death blow yet, but I also didn’t know if he was winding up to inflict maximum damage. I realized I had been outclassed in this battle as a bass-filled purr shifted into a roar. A firm shoulder smacked me in the chest and knocked be back several yards.

  I gasped for air and reached into my pocket. I hadn’t heard the warning beep again and worried that my phone was dead. It seemed like my last chance. I pulled it out and fumbled it to the ground. I reached out. Snatched it up. There was still a thin sliver of power and I started swiping through my apps. Where was it? Where was it?

  The grumble started to build again and I swiped up to turn on the flashlight. A streak of light hit the shiny eyes of the predator, finally exposing the true creature.

  He hissed, and threw up his right paw, covering his eyes. It sounded like a vicious snake fight as he slowly backed away, wrinkled face cringing in disbelief. I kept the stream of light on the beast as two tiny wings sprouted from his sides. The Manticore turned around and jogged toward the house. I kept following with my trusty phone that could die at any second and get me killed me in the process.

  The Manticore already hit sprinting speed as it reached the fence to Ruth Westerhouse’s. I thought he was going to bust right through the fence, but his back legs lowered and he leaped into the open air.

  Rising quickly, the Manticore narrowly avoided crashing into Ruth’s roof. The tiny wings beat for all they were worth and didn’t seem built to carry all that weight, but I watched the image streak across the moon and wondered if anyone else had seen it. It didn’t exactly look like Santa Claus on his sleigh with the reindeer.

  I smiled, content with myself. Sure, I hadn’t killed the powerful demon, but I had chased him away. If I hadn’t remembered that the Manticore hated bright lights, he might have killed me. It hadn’t looked impressive, but some knowledge was as strong as magic.

  I inspected the damage to my clothing and it hit me like a stake in the heart. That’s why he hadn’t followed up immediately with another strike after that first swipe.

  He was gathering up the material from my clothes. I didn’t want to believe it. I frantically searched the area, but couldn’t find even a scrap. However, I did find a bunch of overlapping circles with rune symbols from the Red Cavern that the Manticore must’ve been using to hide himself. Sneaky son of a gun.

  Then the battery died on my phone, making finding anything impossible. How was I going to explain to Alayna that I had let a demon get some of her body fluid, along with that of two other innocent women? Actually, I’m not so sure Ruth Westerhouse was
innocent.

  At least I had the case and the contents seemed to be intact. I needed to get out of there in case our noisy encounter had woken the neighbors.

  The box had lost its heat but it had substantial weight to it. Now I knew why Ruth had struggled with it. Perhaps the contents of the case could counterbalance a demon having body fluid. I would gladly exchange it to keep Alayna safe. I hoped so, not only for her sake but also for my own. The Manticore had my blood. He could do a lot more with that than he could with some dried tears.

  I bent down with my legs and hovered over the box. I took a deep breath and prepared to lift the case.

  “The fuck you are. Put that down this instance.”

  I looked straight ahead at the barrel of what appeared to be a Smith and Wesson M and P Bodyguard 380.

  Did I mention I didn’t trust Ruth Westerhouse?

  5

  “Why don’t you put the gun down and we can talk,” my voice squeaked, as I raised two open palms.

  Her hands trembled, both holding the pistol, two index fingers over the trigger, and I prayed to my God friends that she had left the safety on. It was a .38, not a .45 caliber weapon, but it had plenty of stopping power from close range to end my life quickly with just a twitch of her finger. It was a lightweight gun, but she was holding it like it was heavy, scaring me.

  The moon had come back out to play and I took one step forward, assessing her reaction.

  “Take one more step and I’ll blow your fucking head off.” She wasn’t going to do it. First of all, she had it aimed at my chest. However, due to this particular situation, I was willing to indulge her.

  I stood still and she crept forward, her pink slippers sliding along the dirt path. I asked calmly, “What’s in the box?”