The Lady and the Hound- Divination

by A M Nixon

  The presence in the woods gave her the same feeling she had when she first heard Flea’s painful cries. To add more foreboding to her woodland stroll, she heard a growl, like what a dog does before he lets out a bark. Mary picked up the pace and heard a grunt this time, longer and louder than before. The grunt matched what she watched Gorillas do on a nature special. It was possible one had escaped a zoo during the event, but then it let out a guttural chant, “leave.” It sounded as if an animal were trying to speak, not having the proper tongue placement or lips to enunciate properly. Mary quickened her pace. She used telepathy to call Syx. “If you can hear me, help me please.” As soon as Mary was in sight of the door to Zropu, the rustling began. It became louder and faster. Something massive, breaking branches as it ran towards her at an alarming pace. Fear fully intact, guardian angel or not, she ran for the door and it swung open. Mary pushed past Syx, and slammed the door, putting all her weight against it.

  “Did something chase you here?” Syx concerned for her charge, moved Mary to the side and stepped onto the porch. Syx raised her hand but the being had vanished.

  “It can’t see Zropu. Remember Mary, only you, the angels and immortals can see it.”

  Mary put her hands on her knee’s trying to catch her breath. “I don’t find that comforting, when that thing, being, whatever it was might have killed me and you weren’t there.”

  “I am always connected to you, but I didn’t sense any danger. I knew you would be fine. Whatever it is will take more time for me to center in on. It must have a cloaking device. That tells me it is a being from another star. We angels can’t read their thoughts like we can with humans. Our abilities are limited in that way. I sensed your fear when you shouted for me.” Syx said.

  Mary wasn’t comfortable with the fact there is an entity out there that her guardian angel might be vulnerable to. “Exactly how does this work? Before I knew about you, you were always with me, every minute. But, now that I’ve met you and I’ve learned about my past and Isadore, you live here, and I’ve got to send you a message?” Mary asked.

  Syx started to laugh. “I am always with you. I can be multiple places at the same time. Do I continuously have a listening device hooked up to your thoughts? No. But I always know when you need me and are speaking to me. It’s built in to my being from when I was assigned to your soul. Sometimes, especially in your party days, I would visit Oapuzi or another star, but I remained connected to you. I know most of your future so it’s easy.”

  Syx’s smile left her angelic face. “I can sense your concerns for the being in the woods, but we have more important matters for now. Whatever chased you can wait. For the future, you will need to overcome your fears. It will be your biggest obstacle. I can’t tell you anymore without effecting your fate and free will, but I will say that once you eliminate fear, you will accomplish your goals for this life and persevere in every endeavor you undertake. I’ve already told you more than I should.”

  Mary made herself comfortable on the couch. When she became a spirit, she had no fear because with Isadore, she could turn into any creature she wanted to be. Now that she was back to mere mortal status, her fear attached itself like a dark shadow, forever in her wake. “What can I do about it? It’s always with me.”

  Syx sat next to Mary. “It’s as simple as facing it. Look fear in its numinous eye’s and stare it down. Bring that invincible feeling you had as a spirit into your world. You have more power than you know, and you don’t have to be immortal or an angel to acquire it. It’s within all humans. It’s the divine spark. It’s given by the Divine One’s to every soul.” Syx said.

  Syx called Mary to Zropu for a reason and it wasn’t to lecture her about fear. “You’re right it wasn’t. I promise we will deal with the entity in the woods, but something far worse has come up. When the Dark Spirit left through the portal, he didn’t seal it in the Otherworld. We know at least one entity has escaped. We don’t know what else has come through the portal and is lying in wait for an opportunity.” Syx said. Mary thought about the flier Hank gave her and Margie’s death around the same time.

  “Is it related to the animal parts that have been found?” Mary said.

  Syx turned to Mary, “It’s the only explanation. We have to be careful how we trap the entity. If it leaves through another portal, of which there are many on this planet, the crystal boulder being one of them, we will never be able to find him. He will be lost in the cosmos.” Mary didn’t want to talk about Margie but sensed her death and the animal parts are related. “My lawyer and friend, Margie Petty; she committed suicide, and with all that’s happened with the Dark Spirit, I’m sure he had something to do with it. She was one of the strongest self-made women I knew.”

  Syx closed her eyes for a moment. “All I can tell you is she did commit suicide. But she was under the influence and it left her vulnerable to outside forces. That’s all I get for now. I’m sorry for your friend, but we have to find the entity. It’s the answer to your questions I’m sure.”

  “First, we need to contact Isadore in the Otherworld. We will ask her to close the portal there. If I use the crystal, I can send her a message through it. I’m not able to send my thoughts through the barrier of the Otherworld. Once she has sealed the portal, she can join us, and we will find a way to trap the entity.” Syx said. She held the pendulum, and it swung clockwise. As the circle became as large as it could, a clear sphere formed with in it, and the Otherworld appeared. Syx called for Isadore and explained what she needed to do. “I will close the portal immediately and will be there once I have finished.” Isadore said.

  Mary, happy that Isadore would be arriving soon, and knew she would find out what attacked Flea. Since Isadore was immortal, she wasn’t bound to the same limitations as Syx. She would be able to read the beings mind.

  Within a few seconds, Isadore appeared before them. “The portal is sealed; nothing can get in or out of it. I will need more time to find out what entity left our world for this one,”

  Syx handed Isadore the crystal pendulum. “We have another issue to resolve that only you can help with. I can’t seem to focus on the being that tried to attack Mary and may have attacked her dog Flea. Can you help?” Isadore held the pendulum by its chain, and it spun clockwise. The clear sphere appeared as before within the rotations of the pendulum. A creature resembling a Bigfoot appeared in the sphere, then the whirlpool Famous drank from and after, a galaxy with a bright star highlighted among the others.

  “Do you know what star that is Syx? It’s in the Aries system, it’s Sheratan. We have a treaty with them. Their inhabitants are only allowed to travel between the spring and summer equinox. We must go to the whirlpool and locate the entity there.” Isadore said.

  Mary didn’t want to be out all night. Her babies were waiting and all alone. “I can locate him quickly with the crystal pendulum, using it as a divining rod. It will benefit you to know what his intentions are for you and for your pets.” Isadore said.

  As all three women walked towards the whirlpool. Isadore held the pendulum. Mary knew it would swing in a wide clockwise circle when it found the entity. When the pendulum did its dance, a figure peeked out from behind a large oak tree. A huge fully upright figure, seven foot tall, covered in matted dark fur.

  Syx clapped her hands and light shown around the forest in every direction. The beast, startled, ducked behind a larger tree. “Come out where we can see you.” Syx sounded commanding, not like her at all. The beast, or Bigfoot as he is known stepped in front of Syx. His features exact to the one’s depicted on drawings and video footage. His face a combination of Gorilla and early man. Isadore walked over to the creature and without reservations, placed her hand on his head. Light emanated from her hand to the creature. Mary noticed an object he was holding that resembled a bone with two protrusions, an inch or so apart. She knew it was the object that wounded Flea.

  “Isadore, he was the one who injured Flea and I want him to answer for that.” Mary sai
d.

  Isadore using her light to speak with the creature, “He tells me he was frightened of Flea, that’s why he struck her.”

  “He shouldn’t have been at the cottage in the first place. My dogs were in the right and if he can’t understand, he needs to leave immediately.”

  Isadore relayed Mary’s message. “It’s true he is a visitor here, but when they transport to earth, they can’t pinpoint their precise landing area to the foot. His arrival was unfortunately at the precise time your dogs were playing. They can’t come here on a whim. The stars, planets and the moon must be in alignment during the new moon in Aries, for passage to occur.”

  “Since the Divine One’s have a covenant with his home star. They can’t be harmed as long as they do not harm the living here.” Isadore said.

  Mary’s frustration mounted. “But he did harm the living, he harmed Flea. He broke the treaty first.” Isadore stepped away from the Bigfoot and reached for Mary.

  “I’m sorry but animals are not part of the treaty. Their souls don’t have any purpose other than loving companions to humans.” Isadore said.

  Mary stepped away from Isadore and walked up to the beast. Searching his eye’s for anger or fear; the only thing she found were the timid eye’s she’d seen on her babies from time to time. “Well, I’m going to hold my sympathies for now.” Mary said as she walked to be at Syx’s side. Isadore sat on a nearby rock and explained. “Whenever there are sightings of the Bigfoot, as humans call him, it’s usually in remote locations where they can come and harvest pine bark. They only take from the dead and fallen trees. It is something they use for healing on their planet. They throw rocks and sticks to chase humans away so they can finish and go home before they bring more humans to hunt them. Dog’s don’t like their kind. It’s prehistoric DNA combined with residual memory of battles fought on their planet, long ago.”

  “It doesn’t explain why he chased me to the door of Zropu.” Mary said.

  Isadore used her magic to ask him why he chased Mary, “He told me he picked up the scent of K-9 blood. He thought you were a werewolf or hybrid dog he’d never seen before.” Flea’s blood stained Mary’s shirt and pants. She was in such a hurry to get to Zropu she forgot to change. Syx put her arms around Mary,

  “I knew he wouldn’t hurt you; I would have foreseen it. I worry that I can’t pick up on him though, his cloaking device must be very powerful.” Syx said.

  Mary looked up at Syx, who was at least as tall as the Bigfoot, “I’m not sure if I like that.” Mary said.

  Syx reassured her, “You have more to do here and nothing will get in the way of that, my charge. Beings from other planets can create a block. It takes a little longer to detect them.” Mary realized what Syx meant; she was safe because there was more for her to do in this life. That will help take the fear out of any future encounters. “Ok, I’ll take that explanation, it makes sense, I guess. Still, that was cutting it close. So, do I have to worry about this guy any longer?” Mary pointed to the Bigfoot.

  Isadore sent him a message, asking if Mary and her pets were safe. The creature let out a guttural,” No.” Isadore asked him why, “he told me there is something else in these woods, killing animals. He has no idea what it is.”

  “It must be the one who escaped from the Otherworld.” Syx said and Isadore agreed.

  “The Bigfoot has offered to protect you and your pets at the cottage for as long as he is here. He will stay out of sight of the dogs in the future.” Isadore said.

  Mary wanted to know his name; she didn’t want to keep calling him the Bigfoot. “Can you ask him what his name is?”

  Isadore asked him. “He said they don’t have names on his star. They have sounds for names. He asked that you give him a name.” Roger was the first name that came to Mary’s mind. “Is Roger okay?”

  “He said that would be fine, and to call his name when you are ready to leave, and he will walk with you back to the cottage.” Isadore said.

  Leaving Roger outside, Mary went back to Zropu to talk to her friend. As she walked up the metal staircase of the library, Hope was sitting in a lounge chair reading.

  “Hello, as you can see I made it back in one piece. I can only stay a minute. Can I see you tomorrow?” Mary said.

  Hope got up and met Mary at the staircase. “It’s good to see you. I have no plans, except maybe transport over to Mexico to the Mayan ruins. I can’t wait to talk to the spirits of our ancestors.” Hope’s voice took on a somber tone, “I know what happened to Flea, but she’ll be fine; besides you have the pendulum of all pendulum’s. You can do a healing on her.”

  “Great idea, I didn’t think of that. There are a lot of things I can use it for.” Mary held the crystal pendulum in her hands as if it radiated magic. “Drop by anytime at the cottage, I’d love for you to meet the infamous babies I talked to you about nonstop at the camp.” Mary said. Hope told her she would meet her at the cottage in the morning. Mary didn’t see Juan. “Where is Juan, or Famous, I haven’t seen him since we parted at the crystal boulder.” Mary said.

  Hope told her he was in Oapuzi. “He was summoned there to assist Joseph with a mission, I think. He is to return tomorrow.”

  Mary walked back through the woods with the very creature she ran from not an hour earlier. She liked the name Roger and having him as their protector allowed her to relax a bit. He was an intimidating creature and should easily scare the entity away, at least she hoped he would. Ever since she came to the cottage, her world morphed into something surreal. Thankful for Syx, Hope and Isadore in her life and now this Bigfoot, who apparently came from a planet full of his kind. When they got to the edge of the woods, she heard Chance and Flea barking. She nodded to her new friend and thanked him for his protection, hoping he understood her. She walked into the cottage and went to Flea, who was standing at the doorway of the library, waving her tail. Mary loved it when Syx was right. Hopefully, Roger will keep the other creature away long enough for her to figure out how to catch it. On this night, she would use the pendulum over Flea for a healing and load her babies on the big couch in the library and be thankful for her life.

  Mary woke to Flea, Chance and Kit in bed with her. She missed that so much. She stayed for as long as she could, savoring every minute, listening to the pants and purrs. She was going to spout her, “Life is great,” chant then realized there was a creature out there, besides Roger, who needed to be found. When she got to the kitchen, Hope was sitting at the bar.

  “I’m heading out but wanted to stop by and see the babies.” Hope said. The dogs started to bark, neither Mary nor Hope realized they might view Hope as a threat, being one of the undead. She tried to materialize to a clearer human form, one’s the dogs might see as less threatening. Flea and Chance stopped barking and went over to their food bowls. “I’m still getting used to the whole spirit thing.” Hope said.

  Mary sat at the bar next to Hope. “I’m still getting used to seeing spirits period. All my life I wanted to see them, and now that I can, it’s going to take some getting used to. I have to admit; I like it a lot.” Mary smiled at Hope, and raised her hands to surrender, “I get home and find out there is something ripping limbs off poor defenseless animals, and that my lawyer committed suicide. I meet a Bigfoot who turns out to be our protector. I just wanted to relax for a minute.” Mary said.

  Hope smiled as she cuddled with Kit, who didn’t seem to mind getting some love from a spirit. “I’ll do what I can, but I don’t have any special powers. I can go to places you can’t though. When I leave here, I’ll search the woods. If I find anything, I’ll let you know immediately.”

  Mary was thankful Hope continued to be in her life, spirit or not. “We can do this, I know it. I’m not going to let this creature get in the way of our happiness. We’ve all been through enough.”

  It was late afternoon as Mary chopped firewood, having found an ax in the shed. She didn’t want to drive into town every other day. The weather was cooperative, and they onl
y needed heat at night. As she split her last chunk of wood, Roger was standing at the edge of the woods, hiding so the dogs wouldn’t notice him. Flea and Chance were looking out the bay window making intimidating low growls. She placed them in one of the back bedrooms that didn’t face the front of the woods. She walked over to Roger and he held out a large horn that looked like it came from the head of a goat. When she held it in her hands, her psychic abilities kicked in and she could see a creature, he looked like something out of a creepy dark fairytale. She needed to research exactly what it was. She could see Roger fighting with it and during the fight, Roger pulled the horn off as the creature made its escape. “Thank you for protecting us.” Mary reached out and touched Roger’s arm. His expression seemed to be one of acceptance of her gratitude. He turned and walked back into the woods.

  Mary needed to bring the horn to Syx and Isadore as soon as possible. Not wanting to leave her babies again, she opted for the shortcut through the cavern, this way she wouldn’t be gone as long. Mary didn’t mind the cavern during the day. The opening at the side of the mountain brought enough light to make it less intimidating. When she climbed the stairs to Zropu, Syx was there holding a book. They walked together to the library. Syx held the horn in her hand, waiting for a vision or message.

  “I can only sense he is from the Otherworld, but nothing more. Until Isadore returns with more information, we must wait.” Syx said. She opened the book of legends, it contained hand drawings of all the creatures from different planets and different era’s. Mary wanted to get back to the cottage, she was curious what Syx might find, but wanted to be with her babies and get something to eat. She left the horn with Syx and went back to the cottage through the cavern.

  Mary paced the kitchen floor; the waiting was beginning to take its toll. Flea was healing fast but was still guarding her side, flinching whenever Kit rubbed up against her for some love. She gave everybody treats and took a blanket to the couch to catch a nap before the action started. Her intuition telling her she wouldn’t have long to wait. As Mary slept a vision of Margie appeared. Her mouth was moving, but Mary couldn’t hear her. Then the entity appeared. A creature with horns on his head less one where a blackened hole remained, and a face that resembled a gargoyle from medieval times. No taller than a large dog and covered in a brown slimy substance. His arms were long and skinny as were his hands and fingernails. He had an impish quality. His face held a grin which morphed into an evil smile bearing pointed teeth. As if the creature materialized in front of her on the couch, he said, “I shall never leave until my masters will is satisfied.” Mary woke immediately and although the sun was setting, she ran through the cavern, back to Zropu.