The Vaticinator

by Namita Singh

towards the man with the sword through his shoulder. He is slumped in one corner of Mikhail’s room, the nearest room from the commotion that just took place. Sweat beads mark his forehead and his breath is coming out in short gasps of pain. Terry uncle is still towering over him, his hands loosely grasping the handle of the sword that is piercing the man’s skin. Father is standing next to Terry uncle, stoically eyeing the man on the ground. The man, however, has his eyes fixed on my grandfather. Mikhail is thankfully now wearing trousers. He is dabbing what I am guessing to be alcohol on a lone scratch on his upper bicep.

  “No.” Mikhail answers. “The Occultist’s presence simply opens a portal for him to visit this place. But he cannot know who desires the Occultists’ presence.”

  “Alright.” Anastasia says, funnily eyeing my grandfather as if she is not pleased that he is aware of something that she is not. But Mikhail is quite old and hence, ought to be more knowledgeable. Therefore, my ratiocination indicates that she is probably upset that Mikhail doesn’t have them informed of this particular fellow and his alleged presence whenever they require their Occultist.

  “The Occultist is not there.” One of the council members, whose name I do not remember, says. He is shutting off the cell phone he had been engaged in. “Julian says the field has no sign of the Occultist.” He continues hesitatingly, putting his cell phone back in his pocket.

  Anastasia frowns, “But this man is still here.” She says, eyeing the man on the floor in the corner.

  “The scimitar makes him human.” Mikhail simply says as if that makes sense.

  It apparently does because Anastasia nods, “So the man shall compulsively disappear when the scimitar is withdrawn?”

  “He shall. But I cannot say how long it takes for the compulsion to overpower. So I am not certain of his actions upon removal of the scimitar.”

  “So, the man-”

  “I have a name, youngling.” The man snaps at Anastasia. Terry uncle responds by putting pressure on the sword, making the man lean over and grunt in pain.

  “We should not hurt him.” Anastasia says, making my family look at her as if she’s insane.

  Pleve is quick in standing by Anastasia, “Ana is right. The man belongs to our Occultist. We shouldn’t hurt him. In fact, we should let him go.”

  “If I pull this out of him.” Terry uncle says, twisting the sword’s blade for emphasis, “He will not take a second in snapping our necks.”

  “Your necks.” Pleve corrects, glaring at Terry uncle.

  “No.” the man on the ground speaks, “Only the necks of these two fellows.” He says, even in pain managing to sneer at my father and I. “I will harm no one else if you let go of me.” he continues, gazing at Anastasia.

  Pleve actually seems to be considering the proposal.

  “We respect you as our Occultist’s servant.” Anastasia responds, unwavering, “But we cannot allow you to harm anybody belonging to this Realm. Not unless they commit treachery and the Occultist declares them unfit for the living of others. So, I decline your proposal. However, I will make sure that you’re free of the scimitar,” she eyes the sword, “If you leave the Realm without harming anyone.”

  “Is that a threat?” the man boringly replies.

  “An accord.” Anastasia corrects, “We do not threaten the belonging of the one who protects us.”

  His gaze darting between my father and I makes me be on edge instantly. I wish for Neal to be around. With so many people, he’ll speak less, which will be a bonus. And I’ll get to bask in his aura and calm myself a little. It’s bizarre to notice how accustomed I have become to his presence. Without his aura, even this tiny bit of tension seems to be weighing me down.

  “Who is he?” I mutter. Considering I am standing nearest to Mikhail, I expect him to answer. But since everyone in the room is a therian, everyone hears me and turn to look at me.

  “Jermaine.” Mikhail answers monotonously. “He is our occultist’s sycophant.”

  “And so we should set him free.” Pleve interrupts.

  Anastasia looks at Jermaine, “Do I have your word?”

  Jermaine, though smug, is looking very much in pain. He briefly nods, glaring at my grandfather. Anastasia looks at Mikhail for confirmation. Mikhail responds by a similar brief nod. Terry uncle sighs, looking the most upset by the turn of events.

  “You make a wrong move and next time this will go through your heart.” Terry uncle grunts, muttering in the man’s ear and putting emphasis on the sword.

  Jermaine simply smirks, “Younglings like you…always the impetuous ones. You cannot kill a witch’s sycophant.”

  “I’d like to see you try me.” Is Terry uncle’s dry reply.

  Agonizingly slow, Terry uncle removes the sword, which is being called the scimitar by everyone. Upon its removal, Jermaine gives one glance in Mikhail’s direction and vanishes into thin air. Everybody is on edge for several moments, expecting the man to reform anywhere. But he doesn’t reappear, indicating good riddance. The sword, which is actually a scimitar sword now that I see, is drenched with blood in Terry uncle’s hand. Else, I do not see anything special about it. It’s just a plain sword.

  “We will investigate into who summoned the Occultist, Mr. Lichinsky.” Anastasia says to Mikhail.

  “And ensure she is not summoned in the imminent future.” Mikhail grunts and starts walking towards his closet, beside the bed. “I need to talk to my family.” He declares loudly to everyone else present in the room.

  “Of course.” Anastasia says but then hesitates, “Mr. Lichinsky, do you demand a stoppage on the sycophant’s-”

  “I demand nothing.” Mikhail interrupts, his tone and stance calm. He turns and nods once at Anastasia.

  Anastasia sighs and nods in return, “Then the council will look into who summoned the Occultist. I propose a meeting in half hour in the grand room.”

  “Actually,” the council member who had been on phone regarding the Occultists’ presence spoke, “We have a suspect.”

  Everybody in the room looks at him like he has two heads.

  The man doesn’t waver and continues to speak, “Julian said that the field has no sign of the Occultist, but he did catch sight of a therian out there. He said he is bringing her here.”

  “Did he give a name?” Anastasia asks.

  The man looks at Mikhail and then at my father, “She is not a member of this realm, if that is any hint.” He says in a bitter tone.

  “Jennifer?” father asks in a monotone.

  “That bitch.” Terry uncle curses.

  “Wait, what?” I speak up, somehow the flow of things being too fast for me.

  “She doesn’t even have any right to summon our Occultist.” A council member, suspiciously sounding like Ser Daeve, speaks up.

  “Julian is getting her here?” Anastasia asks the man sternly.

  “Yes.” He acquiesces. “We shall gather in the grand room. And,” he turns at Mikhail, “you may want to postpone your family meeting.”

  “Alright-” Anastasia speaks up again.

  “No, wait.” I say loudly, making everyone look at me. “Julian is only getting Jennifer back?”

  “She is the one who summoned the Occultist. She was the only one out there.” The man replies.

  “No.” I say, “No,” I repeat quietly, “Neal…Neal, he went with her.” I say absent mindedly, while I fumble with my pocket to take out my cell phone.

  “Went with her?” father demands.

  “Yes. I saw him leaving with her last.” I again reply in a daze as I start dialing Neal’s number.

  “We should gather in the grand room.” Anastasia says, “I am sure Neal is fine.”

  But I have already tuned her out. I put the phone to my ear, waiting for Neal’s ringtone to go off on the other end. But I am only greeted by a monotonous lady’s voice informing me that the cellphone I am trying to reach cannot be connected at the moment. That is never a good sign. I curse and dial his number again. I he
ar shuffling behind me, but I do not take account of what is being talked about. I only notice when one by one the therian auras start moving out of Mikhail’s room. In the end only my father’s, Terry uncle’s and Mikhail’s aura remain behind as I continue to dial Neal’s phone number.

  “I’ll go and check on him.” I announce when the call fails to connect.

  “Why not we check on Jennifer first?” father says.

  “I don’t care about Jennifer.” I say in a duh tone.

  “Forget about everything.” Mikhail says in an affirmative tone, making both father and I turn and look at him. Mikhail has managed to wear a shirt now as well. “I want the three of you to go and collect the whole family. Get your things packed and take no more than an hour.”

  I frown at him, “Packed for what?” I ask, “I need to find Neal first-”

  “Did I not just say to collect the whole family?” Mikhail snaps. “To get Neal, you’ll have to find him. Go and do that. And get the rest too.”

  “Are we leaving?” I ask, momentarily faltering in my steps.

  “Yes.”

  “I knew from the start it was bad idea coming here.” Terry uncle mutters.

  “Do not fret over spilled milk. Now get lost. I’ll go and check on the meeting.” Mikhail says.

  “I think I should accompany you.” Father says to Mikhail, “Jennifer is our guest. I think I should be there.”

  “No.”

  “Father-”

  “I said, No, Nikolai.” Mikhail repeats with no room for discussion. I never thought I’ll ever see my father turning mute in front of anyone. “Get your family together. You need to