The Word Guardians: and the Twisting Tales

by Lawrence Yarham

  Yas stared at him.

  “No, I’ll be okay,” Eddie replied

  “The energy from the Commissioner seems to be affecting Eddie more than anyone else,” Yas explained.

  “Oh right,” Sam realised. “He’s like our canary?” he added insensitively, pointing at the the exhibit.

  Yas sighed. Sam was right but saying it out loud was a little insensitive.

  The Commissioner and his colleague moved around the back of another exhibit and into a mock street, lined with houses and shops. Yas, Sam and Eddie followed, to try to keep them in sight. There were few people back here, most having stayed in the main hall, so they could overhear what was being said between the two men.

  “I refuse to let this man influence the activities of the department,” said the Commissioner.

  “I agree,” replied his colleague. “Nevertheless, he requested a meeting.”

  “Now?” asked the Commissioner incredulously. “He can’t just demand I drop everything.”

  “He said it’s imperative that you speak to him now.”

  The Commissioner sighed. “Then let’s make this quick. Where does he want to meet?”

  “The old cinema,” replied the colleague, steering the Commissioner down a side street and to a room at the end that portrayed an old movie theater. A black and white screen was inside, playing silent movies, accompanied by music.

  The Commissioner’s colleague looked around to make sure they weren’t being followed. Yas, Sam and Eddie waited at the corner of the street, just out of sight and then headed quietly around the corner and into a mock-up of an old candy store. It was a few store fronts away from the cinema.

  “What now?” asked Eddie, as they looked around inside.

  “We watch,” suggested Sam, moving over to the front window of the shop. He slid some of the fake candy jars around to make a better viewing space. The three of them crouched together and looked across the street. There were two sets of doors for the cinema. Through the rear most, they could make out the two men standing, then through the front, they caught glimpses of seats and the black and white screen. The movie being played suddenly stopped, along with the music and a face appeared on the screen instead.

  “Orfeo!” said Sam surprised. “No way!”

  “Ssh,” shushed Yas, trying to hear what was being said. She moved to the doorway to be able to hear better.

  The general tone of the conversation was one of annoyance from the Commissioner, of being summoned.

  “You’re a consultant to my organisation, nothing more,” she overheard the Commissioner say.

  “What are they saying?” asked Sam, moving over to join her.

  “He’s saying something has changed,” replied Yas, trying to paraphrase the little she was able to pick up on. She held up her finger to ask for quiet. She put her head around the edge of the door and strained her ears to hear as much as she could.

  Orfeo was talking from a dark room. There was a dim source of light behind him. She tried to glean as much detail as she could.

  “Not good!” moaned Eddie, still standing by the window. He grabbed his head with his hands, rolling it from side to side. “Arrgghh!”

  Yas pulled her head back inside the shop and looked at Sam, worried.

  “Ssh,” shushed Sam, moving over to him. “What’s wrong with you now?”

  “Sam!” Yas said as loudly as she dared.

  “What?” asked Sam, defensively. “I think our canary’s breathed in gas!”

  “Seriously?” Yas said, exasperated with him. He was being annoyingly blunt this evening.

  The conversation in the theatre went quiet. Eddie was holding his head and it concerned Yas. She joined Sam and Eddie by the window, touching Eddie on his shoulder.

  “What’s happening, Eddie?” she said gently, staring defiantly at Sam.

  Eddie spoke to them.

  “It’s Orfeo,” he said, his voice and mannerisms changing back to that of Wesley, the person that had been under Orfeo and Penn’s control before. “Orfeo is warning the Commissioner that Penn will return and take back control of his media empire. There will be chaos. Orfeo is saying that he can no longer help the Commissioner.”

  “Help?” asked Sam. “Help with what?”

  “The protests,” replied Eddie. “He’s saying his army is needed elsewhere.”

  “What army?” asked Yas.

  “I don’t know,” replied Eddie. “But Orfeo wants to use them against Penn.”

  “Where is Orfeo, anyway?” asked Sam, looking at Yas. “We need to know where to look.”

  “All I know is he’s watching,” warned Eddie. His eyes began to roll upwards. Yas grew more concerned.

  “A hall of mirrors,” Eddie said, deliriously. “The Commissioner owes Orfeo for his help.”

  Eddie suddenly collapsed into Yas’s arms.

  “Eddie!” Yas reacted, lowering him to the floor gently.

  “What the hell’s wrong with him now?” asked Sam, irritated.

  Yas glared at him. Then they both heard footsteps, coming towards them. She looked at Sam in alarm.

  “Get down!” Sam whispered.

  They both ducked down out of sight.

  “I refuse to have a war in my city,” they overheard the Commissioner say as the footsteps moved closer. “This man promised to keep it at bay.”

  “Yes,” agreed the Commissioner’s colleague, as they passed by the entrance of the candy shop.

  “I want you to find Orfeo,” the Commissioner ordered. “And these ‘Guardian’ vigilantes. I want to know who they are, so we can keep an eye on them.”

  Yas and Sam exchanged worried glances.

  The two men stopped a little way away.

  “Do you understand me?” added the Commissioner. “I want them watched! Arrested if need be!”

  “Yes Commissioner,” replied his colleague, nervously.

  The two men continued back into the main hall.

  Yas and Sam stared at each other wide-eyed.

  Chapter 4

  A meeting of opposites

  The wind whistled past Wheeler. He was on the train roof again, having been returned to the station by Raelinn. He had managed to gain her agreement again and was now moving forwards to unhitch the carriage.

  He was tired with the never-ending replays, yet felt he was becoming more skilled at spotting the storylines trying to grab their attention. He could notice more each time and had more ability to keep Raelinn focussed. She seemed to be the liability here. Somehow, the nighttime setting brought out an animalistic anger in her. Once triggered she was pulled back into one of the storylines. If anything, he needed a minder, someone else to keep Raelinn focussed while he could figure out what it was that was constantly trying to distract them from. It was there. Just behind the storylines that appeared and swirled, but he could never get enough of a fix in his mind. It was like a coiled serpent, sparking a new story into life and then disappearing again. As soon as his mind registered that he had seen it, it was gone.

  “Stay with me,” he shouted over his shoulder. “You usually tell me I’m crazy about now!”

  “You are crazy!” she shouted from behind him, then she stopped and looked confused. She remembered something.

  “I know,” he replied, sagely, seeing her expression. “Remember this conversation? We’ve done this before.”

  She looked back at him, her spikiness returning. “So, if we’ve ‘done this before’” she mocked, quoting the words with her fingers, “what’s your grand plan?”

  “Help me stop the carriage,” replied Wheeler. “One step at a time, okay? Let’s just focus on unhitching it.”

  She nodded reluctantly but wanted to see what he was up to. Then her eyes widened as she saw something he hadn’t.

  A tree branch whipped at his side and he lost his balance. He cursed at himself. He should have remembered that coming. He fell onto his front and slid down the roof looking for a handhold. Raelinn grabbed his hand, stopping
his fall. With her help, he clambered back up to his feet.

  “Come on!” he urged.

  “You brought me here!” she continued. “You tricked me!”

  He turned. She was right there in his face, fangs bared, ready to attack him. He took a risk. He leaned forwards, put his hand around the back of her head and kissed her.

  “Get off!” she shouted, partly muffled. She pushed him away violently, then wiped her mouth disapprovingly. He slid along the carriage roof to the front, flailing for a grip and finding the ladder rail.

  “I’m sorry!” he shouted back, wary of the consequences of his actions. “I needed to distract you! The storyline had you!”

  She stopped for a moment, not understanding.

  “What?” she asked angrily. “You think I should thank you for that?”

  “I had to get you back to here and now, somehow,” he replied matter-of-factly. “You’re welcome!” he added sarcastically.

  “Don’t do it again,” she said flatly.

  “I won’t,” he agreed, “but it worked though, didn’t it?”

  She nodded reluctantly, wiping her mouth again.

  Wheeler watched her. Clearly, she found him or his actions distasteful. He wasn’t sure which.

  She moved to where he was by the ladder. “You wanted to uncouple the train?”

  “Yes,” he said, twisting himself around and climbing down the ladder. “Give me a hand, will you? I think it’s best if we keep an eye on each other.”

  “You mean you keep an eye on me?” Raelinn asked.

  “I was being nice,” Wheeler nodded, as he stepped down onto the coupling between the carriages.

  “Well don’t!” Raelinn replied. “You’re better at spotting the storylines than me.”

  Wheeler held onto the ladder with one hand, while reaching down to the coupling pin with the other. He pulled at the large O-ring on top of it. It was heavy and with the carriages lurching around on the track, it felt jammed fast at times.

  “Help me pull!” he said.

  She reached down, putting her hand over his and she pulled. He felt the strength in her. She had the strength of a world class bodybuilder, yet none of the muscle mass that he would have expected.

  The pin moved upwards.

  “Keep going,” Wheeler encouraged.

  They pulled together more. The carriage in front lurched again and the pin moved to a forty-five-degree angle, as it came free from the bottom of the coupling. The sudden change yanked them forwards. Raelinn seemed less prepared for that than he was, falling forwards onto him. Fortunately, he had a good handhold on the ladder, so he was able to be her support for a moment.

  “Thanks,” she said back to him, grabbing the ladder rail again. “I’m not going to kiss you though!”

  “Probably for the best,” agreed Wheeler. “Keep pulling!” he instructed.

  They yanked the pin out of the housing.

  Immediately, the gap between the carriages widened and the train continued onwards. The wind started to whip at them more as train moved ahead, taking with it the protection from the elements. It was cold, and Wheeler’s hands started to have difficulty holding onto the ladder. They felt very exposed.

  “What do we do now?” asked Raelinn.

  “Wait until the carriage stops,” he replied. “I have a feeling that was the easy part.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The storylines you mentioned. They are trying to distract us from something. I don’t know what, but I think it’s something out here in the countryside. That’s why the loop takes us back to the station. I think the closer we get to whatever it is, the harder it will be to stay focussed.”

  Raelinn looked a little concerned. Wheeler didn’t really know her that well, but it occurred to him that it was the first time she had displayed any vulnerability. It was a side of her he hadn’t previously seen.

  “Tell me,” he asked. “How did you get involved with Orfeo?”

  “I am indebted to him,” she said quietly.

  “For what?”

  “He saved my life,” she said, tersely. Clearly this was something she didn’t like to talk about.

  “How?” pressed Wheeler. The carriage was slowing much more now.

  “The Spanish flu,” she replied.

  “Wait, wasn’t that like a hundred years ago, or more?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “So, you’re that old?”

  “Yes,” she replied sternly. Her cold edge had returned. “Did your mother never teach you manners?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s rude to ask a lady her age.”

  “Yeah, asking difficult questions kind of comes with the turf.”

  “Of being a police detective?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well maybe you should re-think how you approach life. It might help with your marriage.”

  The carriage had slowed to a walking pace.

  “Come on,” Wheeler suggested. “I think we’re good to jump down now.”

  Wheeler jumped down sideways onto the mountain side of the track. Raelinn jumped down also. They stepped away from the tracks and he started making his way back the way they had come.

  “Where are we going?” shouted Raelinn, catching up to him.

  “There’s something up there,” he said, pointing up the cliff face. “I noticed lights as we approached the mountain. I’m hoping there’s a path here somewhere.”

  “It’s a long way up,” said Raelinn. “I could fly us there.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  “Why?” asked Raelinn, clearly taken aback.

  “Because every time you fly, we end up falling back onto the train platform.”

  Raelinn was quiet. She wasn’t sure how to reply. They walked along in silence for some time.

  “Ahh,” Wheeler said finally, suddenly veering off into the trees. Raelinn followed. There were gaps here that they could make their way through, but to Raelinn, there was no indication of a path. She was starting to get irritated with Wheeler.

  “What are we doing?”

  “So, what did Orfeo do, then?” asked Wheeler, deliberately ignoring her and changing the subject “…to save your life. Did he give you the bite of death or something?”

  “There you go again,” she said wryly. “Asking inappropriate questions.”

  “Sorry,” he said. “I guess it’s who I am.”

  “It’s who you’ve been.”

  “What?” Wheeler retorted. “Life lessons now? From a blood-sucking vampire?” He didn’t like them. Untrustworthy. That’s what he had learned from dealing with Orfeo and he wasn’t sure how loyal Raelinn was to that devious man.

  “Having his protection has helped me hide, come to terms with living a longer life. It has its benefits, but for the most part, it’s a curse.”

  “How’s the diet of blood, blood and more blood working out?”

  “Are you deliberately trying to rile me, Detective?” she shot back.

  “No,” replied Wheeler. “I’m trying to keep the storylines at bay. They are all around us here. We have to be close to something.”

  “Close to what?”

  “I’m not sure. Just trust me,” he said. “We’re better off here, in tree cover. If you look through the canopy, there’s stories swirling all the way up. Do you see them?”

  “No!” she replied. “Only you can see them.”

  Wheeler stopped for a moment, remembering something.

  “Earlier, on the train carriage, you said the same. What did you mean?”

  Raelinn sighed.

  “It’s part of your abilities, Detective,” she said. “You’re able to see the story lines. It’s why Orfeo wants you alive.”

  Wheeler stopped and turned.

  “Why do I get the feeling you didn’t want to tell me that?”

  “Because while you didn’t know, Orfeo was better able to use you.” She stopped, watching for wh
at he would do next.

  “Yet, you did tell me?”

  “You’re our best chance of getting out of here, Detective,” she said.

  “James,” Wheeler said simply, holding out his hand in welcome. “Call me James.”

  “What?” Raelinn asked.

  “I’m not a detective here, and I may not have a job… or a wife… to go back to. I’m just James.”

  “Very well… James,” Raelinn nodded, shaking his hand. “You’re doing a good job of keeping me focussed. I have the sense that despite your flaws, your wife has chosen well.”

  “I’m sorry?” replied Wheeler. “Maybe that kiss affected you more than I thought?”

  “No,” replied Raelinn. “I believe you are an honourable man.”

  James was stunned for a moment. “You’re complimenting me now?”

  “You may not believe me,” Raelinn continued. “But I once tried to act according to values of integrity and honour also. My history with Orfeo… well… let’s just say that my loyalty to him has stained me in this war in ways I do not like.”

  “Loyalties are always difficult,” he agreed. “How you come into them generally defines how they play out.” He sighed. “I’m not innocent either. I had poor judgement when I agreed to work with Orfeo. It was for my own gain.”

  James turned and headed up an incline. He could see more stories swirling, getting closer and closer. He could sense that these were more emotionally charged too. They were spiky, sticky and ready to add their weight to an argument or fight. He looked behind them. The ones that had been there had discharged a little. If he could keep their conversation positive, respectful, then perhaps there was a way to get closer to whatever was at the centre of this void.

  “You must not be so hard on yourself, detect…” Raelinn replied, then paused, “…James,” she corrected herself. “Orfeo is a cunning master. You were drawn in for a purpose. If it had not been to pay off your gambling debts, it would have been for something else.”

  “You’re saying that he would have found a way, anyway?” James replied, turning back on himself to zigzag up the mountain side. It was difficult terrain. There was no path, only the trees and their roots giving them the semblance of a trail to follow.