The Serpent and the Light

by Bo Luellen

  The self-proclaimed Druid protector of these woods stood still as a white light surrounded his body. A moment later, a duplicate of himself walked out of his body with only a silver cord tethering the two together. The doppelganger of the grimy trespasser was glowing and was no longer shirtless. The ethereal version of Booth was dressed in a deer fur cloak and had a leather tunic. His hair was braided and adorned with branches and flowers. On the lower half of his face was a boar mask that had two massive tusks curving out, making it seem that the massive teeth were growing naturally from his jaws. The rest of his head was painted a blood-red, and his eyes glowed a soft emerald green. The staff he carried was carved to look like a giant diamondback snake, with the triangle head positioned at the top and looking forward. As the Druid locked eyes with Samuel, the giant rattler on the bottom of the staff vibrated a warning.

  The golden image of Booth took his staff and slammed it against the neighboring tree three times. The entire forest gave off a green glow, and dozens of fairy creatures shot out of their hiding places and scurried about. Richard lifted his foot as a Fey wearing a brown coat and acorns as shoes rode a fast-moving hare right at his leg. As the Brownie passed by, he heard the tiny creature spurring the rabbit onwards and shouting a challenge towards him.

  Samuel’s eyes glowed with blue fire as he bellowed at Richard, “Don’t just stand there! Take her! I will deal with this novice!”

  The woman was on him once again and aimed her club for his head. This time Richard blocked her with his forearms and felt the intense pain of solid wood as it pinged off his arm. A well of anger sprang up from his gut, and he reached down to find his own stick, only to get a handful of dirt. He pitched the soil in her eyes, and she yelled in pain and frustration. She let the club drop and rubbed her eyes in anguish. Bruised and bloodied, Richard sadistically smiled as he picked up her discarded weapon. The woman turned around blindly, and Richard jammed the point of her club into her gut. She let out a scream of pain and tumbled into a ball on the ground. He walked next to her and let himself enjoy his handiwork.

  He looked over to Samuel, who was flying twenty feet off the ground and reciting another incantation. Likewise, the astral form of Booth was using his staff to draw glowing sigils in the air. Richard guessed the two were involved in some kind of arcane duel, but the spells were beyond his understanding.

  Samuel waved the palms of his hands downwards and made small circles. From the forest floor, Richard saw something move. A set of white sticks started to shift in the dirt. Dozens of similar bleached branches revealed themselves to be a set of human bones. The skeleton of one of the Brotherhood’s many homeless victims quickly reassembled and stood up. The corpse became surrounded in a black mist that seemed to weave through the husk that was once alive. The skeleton’s teeth chattered, and the eyeless undead looked up towards Samuel.

  His old mentor pointed to the Druid and cast a spell into the walking corpse, “Occidere In Druidae!”

  The mouth of the skull opened and a deep hissing sound erupted from a non-existent throat. The ghost of Samuel Howard danced his fingers in the air as if he was playing with a puppet. It dawned on him that Samuel had caused the skeleton to rise from the dead and was now controlling it. He logged this in his brain as yet another little trick he would demand to be taught.

  The walking corpse reached down into the dead leaves and pulled out a handful of rusted syringes. It turned them around and held them above its head, ready to stab into the unmoving body of Booth. It shuffled towards the helpless Druid, as Booth’s astral form continued writing in the air and watched the undead’s advance.

  Samuel’s opponent finished his spell work and then tapped on a tree three more times. The maple beside him creaked and cracked as its roots snaked out of the ground. From between the folds of its bark, a long slender hand came out of the old timber. A slim nude woman stepped out of the narrow slits and had skin that was covered in bark. She had black orbs for eyes with small leaves and branches growing from her torso, legs, and arms. Even as alien as she looked, Richard found her seductive and alluring. The vision of the Fey cursed him with knowledge of a magical beauty that would haunt his fantasies for the rest of his days.

  As the skeleton moved in on Booth’s human body, the four-foot dryad leaned down and whispered something to the tree’s roots. The maple responded by stretching out and tangling into the white bone of the animated corpse. The skeleton's movement slowed, and it strained against the entanglement. Richard could see the frustration in Samuel, and the ghost elongated his hand movements in an attempt to add more power to the skeleton’s stride.

  With a hiss from the undead mouth of the corpse, the tree stopped it within a few feet of the vulnerable body of Booth. It reached out and tried to claw at the Druid’s face, but was just out of reach. The chewed up animated bones fell over, with its fingers inches from the feet of Thomas. The dryad giggled, as moss and fungus sprouted from the cracks in the bones and completely hid the undead within seconds. Engulfed by a hundred pounds of plant and fungal life, the black mist launched out of the skeleton and leaped into the air. A handful of sprites zoomed-in from overhead and captured the necromantic energy inside a ball of light. With a sudden pop, the Fey banished the dark spell from whence it came.

  Samuel snarled in anger and flew a long arc around the astral body of Booth. He phased into the maple tree home of the fey creature, as she let out a scream in terror that sounded like the whine of a coyote. The woman of bark and grace ran to her tree home to find it was closed off to her. The dryad pounded her fist on the maple and wept streams of white sap from her eyes in despair.

  The astral image of Booth yelled at the tree, “Damn you!”

  A black spot formed in the center of the dryad’s home and a rotted black circle no bigger than a baseball manifested on the stomach of the beautiful Fey. Her sobs turned to silence as the loveliness of the creature decayed, and her fingers withered away. Pieces of her peeled off, and she screamed while her body dissolved into a pile of rotted wood.

  Richard and Samuel shared a triumphant smile as the ghost sprang out from the rotting tree. Richard’s natural vision had returned, and he looked over towards the woman lying in pain on the ground. He reached down and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her up. She screamed in protest, and he noticed the smudge on her forehead was, in fact, a design of some kind. It looked as if she had a man with deer antlers drawn on her brow.

  Samuel saw it in Richard's mind and called out, "Remove that! Wipe it off her forehead! It’s the charm that is blocking me!"

  Enfield put his hand on the woman's forehead and roughly scrubbed. He didn't see the rock the woman had picked up until it was rammed into his temple. A high pitched whining sound filled his head, and his legs went limp as he slammed into unconsciousness.

  Tahlequah, OK - Thursday, October 18th, 2018 – 7:49 p.m. CST

  Richard Enfield woke up in the back seat of a police cruiser, and his head was pounding from the impact of the rock. He leaned forward and cradled the swollen knot on his temple and discovered he was handcuffed. His heart skipped a beat as Richard instantly grabbed for the Athame dagger, only to find it missing. He cursed to himself, as the police car hit some bumps, causing his head to pound. He looked over and saw Daniel sitting next to him, also in handcuffs and gazing out the window into the night sky. The ex-con had his arm in a homemade sling and was sporting several bruises on his face. Richard noticed that they were still in the woods and moving down some old dirt road.

  Driving the vehicle was an older cop with a fat belly and a thick mustache. Richard had never seen him before, and that meant he wasn't on the Brotherhood's payroll. One car length ahead of him was a white pickup truck with a green decal that went across its midway point that read, "Oklahoma Park Ranger."

  This made his headache worse, I can’t believe this is how it’s all going to end. After all the years of work, the sacrifices and the obstacles I’ve overcome. To have this be my fate is unfair. He sat q
uietly and reasoned, Think Richard! Be your own lawyer. How can you explain your presence in the woods? If they connected me to the Brotherhood, my life will be over. All because of that woman!

  Up ahead, he saw a single squad car that was being used as a roadblock. It was manned by a lone deputy carrying a pump-action shotgun. The park ranger’s vehicle stopped first, with the cruiser halting next, and the deputy spoke to the ranger for a long moment. Richard thought about escape and nudged Daniel. The thief looked over briefly and went back to listlessly peering out the window.

  He thought, Damn it! Daniel should be able to get us out of these cuffs and find a way to escape! Worthless!

  Just then, the vehicle moved again, as the deputy waved them on. After they passed the roadblock, the park ranger’s truck led them out onto the main road. They were putting some considerable distance between them and the Preserve. As they traveled, they passed by emergency vehicles, police, and TV news vans. His heart sank at the thought of losing his two sons to his wretched wife and how that smarmy intern, Tom Chapman, would gain promotion because of his absence.

  The officer in the driver’s seat of the cruiser held up the Athame Dagger for Richard to see. The handle still had a faint blue glow coming from the symbolic lines. That meant Miniel was still held within, and it made his failure seem even more tragic. Now his future was in the hands of some sweaty cop and the opinion of a jury.

  The cop leaned back and offered, “I believe this is yours?”

  Refusing to speak was one thing, but he would be damned if he would be submissive. He met the police officer’s eyes in the rearview mirror to show the cop he wasn’t afraid. Richard looked at the reflection of the officer in the mirror’s surface and saw Samuel’s looking back. He heard the sound of metal falling to the floorboard and turned to see Daniel rubbing his bare wrists. The wiry man painfully adjusted himself to face Richard and then used a small key to unlock his Mentor’s restraints.

  Richard felt a well of hope rush into his chest as he demanded, “What about Amy and the Pearce Brothers?”

  Samuel spoke through the perspiring cop, “They are with the Park Ranger up ahead. The Ranger has a taste for necrophilia, so I allowed him to come to play with the dead homeless on the odd occasion. In return, he happily repays that debt. A lovely return on an investment, don’t you think?”

  Richard shook loose the unlatched cuffs and ordered, “Where are we headed?”

  Putting the dagger down, Samuel offered, “We are on our way to my, or rather, your estate. When you let that woman knock you silly, I possessed you and got you to safety.”

  Daniel’s voice cracked a little as he groaned, “That doesn’t mean we’re safe. There will be a massive investigation! We left our car back there, that will lead them back to Richard.”

  Samuel glared back at the thief and corrected, “Richard Enfield is now the Master, and you will refer to him by his proper title!”

  He threw up his hands and apologized, “Please, forgive me, Master. My point is, with that many eyes, they are bound to find something.”

  The Master leaned back in his seat, looked up at the night sky, and assured, “You’ve got nothing to worry about. Amy is an ME with the Tulsa Police. She will cover up anything she finds from the bodies that could lead them to us. The Pearce Brothers operated cleanly. Daniel is already dead in the eyes of the law. As for the car I left behind, we don’t need to worry about that. It was a rental car that I purchased using forged documents in the name of my co-worker. Daniel, did I ever tell you about an intern at my work named Tom?”

  Chapter 20: Amanda V

  Tahlequah, OK - Thursday, October 18th, 2018 – 7:30 p.m. CST

  Amanda Lanyon could taste blood in her mouth from where she bit her tongue. The rock she used on the cultist was still in her shaky hand and her shoulders felt like someone had wrenched her back. The ground she was laying on was so cold that her toes went numb.

  She saw a pair of dirty bare feet step up next to her and Booth slid a hand under her arm. The Druid tried to help her up off her knees, but Amanda’s body wasn’t interested in moving. Her stomach muscles were in good shape and absorbed most of the kick from Mr. Purple. Her frustration over losing the cultist was only matched by her physical pain.

  She yanked back her arm and yelled, “What in the hell were you doing? You just stood there! I could have been killed! What is wrong with you? One second you are standing up to a mob of murderers, and the next, you are frozen with fear! We had him!”

  The shirtless man was sweating as if he had just run a race, which made his odor all the more overwhelming. She noticed that Booth was leaning hard on his staff and seemed utterly drained. His body was shaking from either the cold, fear or shock, she couldn’t tell.

  Booth responded through labored breathing, “Oh man, you are so right, as far as you could see, I was absolutely useless. I should kill myself now out of guilt.”

  Amanda yanked back her arm and spat, I was an idiot for having trusted you. I should have left you in the woods where I found you.” She wiped off the remnants of the smudge he had put on her forehead and bellowed, “I can’t believe I let you put this pagan shit on my face!”

  He sat down on the cold earth and remarked, “Well, I did insist and be glad. If I hadn’t, we’d both be dead.”

  She rolled to her side and gave an aggravated, “What does that even mean? I’m the only reason we’re not dead.”

  Booth leaned back and gave an exhausted, “I’ve never done that before. Touched the ethereal plane, that is. Cernunnos is a mysterious fellow and chose this time to give life to my spells. Professor Lanyon, you were blessed by the Green Man tonight.”

  She shook her head and gave a dismissive, “Whatever! Lunatic!”

  Lanyon stood up and for the first time, felt the full impact of the damage from Mr. Purple. His assault had nearly broken some ribs and made it difficult to stand up straight. She took a deep breath and checked her range of motion. It wasn’t looking good, and she looked like a hunchback.

  She made a sweeping motion with her hand back towards the cultist compound and invited, “After you!”

  As they slowly trekked through the moonlit woods, she asked spitefully, “While you were standing there watching that bastard kick me, you didn’t happen to see the other person he was talking too?”

  The Druid gave a flat, “Yes.”

  She looked over her shoulder at the man and prodded, “Wait, what? You saw the other guy? Was he wearing a mask, too?”

  Thomas hopped over a rock on the trail and revealed, “Nope.”

  She felt her anger rising again as she dug deeper, “Well? What did he look like?”

  Booth kept pace and reported, “He was an older man in a suit. He had grey hair, he was a white guy, and he comes from money. He had some talent.”

  She grabbed a branch for support as they passed a tree and celebrated, “Okay, well, that is something at least. When we get back, tell the police what you saw. It might give them something to work off of.”

  The Druid replied dryly, “No.”

  Amanda whirled around and shot back, “What did you say? No? Why?”

  Booth stopped, leaned on his staff, and explained, “Because he was a ghost, and cops can’t track a ghost. Well, I don’t think they can. Let’s just say, most cops can’t. Besides, if I told them that, they would think I’m crazy.”

  She snapped at him, “I think you’re crazy. A ghost, like Casper or Patrick Swayze?”

  The Druid took a tone she had not heard him use before, “There is a world beyond what you know. We, druids, call it, the Otherworldly. In it, resides fantastic creatures of magic that can spend eternity traveling the cosmos or spend their entire existence in a single tree. Mr. Purple had a malevolent spirit attached to him, which was attempting to possess you.” She started to protest the monologue when he continued, “This was no ordinary ghost, this apparition was well prepared for his journey to the afterlife. The old man was able to cast spells, aff
ect the dead, and interact with our Mr. Purple.”

  Amanda threw up her hands in disbelief and reminded him, “You know you sound crazy, right?”

  The Druid pointed at her head and expounded, “That sigil on your head was what stopped the specter. However, he seems well versed in real magic, especially compared to Mr. Purple. I doubt that the trick will work a second time. If I meet that apparition again, I must be more prepared. I’m fairly certain he will be.”

  She wanted to hit him, I would have been better off trying to sneak up on Mr. Purple alone, instead of relying on Booth to help!

  Angry, she turned and kept walking as The Druid inquired, "So let me ask you this, when the cops question you about how you came by the license plate number you sent to Utterson, what are you going to say? Are you going to tell them the truth? That you had a DMT trip that put you in touch with a forest god named Cernunnos? Or will you lie?”

  She stutter-stepped for a moment and thought, How am I going to explain that little tidbit to the FBI or to Detective Utterson?

  Thomas brushed away some low hanging branches and railed, “Because if that is your plan, I’m sure they will totally use that as evidence. I mean, they absolutely wouldn’t think you were some lunatic or even defunct member of the Crimson Brotherhood who gave up a fellow member’s license plate in retaliation. They wouldn’t take into consideration you’re the Tulsa Police’s handpicked specialist on the task force, who just happened to have the recognized leader of the Crimson Brotherhood in Tulsa, Henry Jekyll, in her class. The worst idea would be to make up some lie to cover your ass, allow you to get real evidence linking to Mr. Purple and to avoid being burned at the stake when the witch hunt starts for hidden cult members.”