by Vega Lizzie
Chapter 23
“Shan,” Terra whispered just as the morning light began to creep into the loft, “wake up. We have a quick meeting.”
Shannon groaned, “Love, you have no idea the dream you just interrupted…page 52, I think, maybe 53.” Sighing heavily, Shannon rolled over trying to go back to sleep.
“Was that the one with the ropes?” Terra snickered as she tugged on her lover’s arm, “Am I doing the tying or are you?”
Shannon opened one eye. Still utterly relaxed from the night before she was feeling playful, “Actually, we are both tied. Someone else is in charge.” She sat up as Terra’s sly smile arrived, “But, since you scheduled a meeting, it’ll have to wait. On the other hand, if this meeting is about more smelly demon parts, I will be a tad miffed.”
“Scold Eliza, then,” Terra offered as a defense, “She’s got something going on and can only meet early. Sweats and jeans, babe. It’s only for coffee…sort of.”
“Fine, I’m up. You gonna bring her book?” She looked up at Terra, all dressed in her hoodie and baseball cap. “No fair. I at least have time for a shower, right? I’m all…you know.”
“Yes, I do. Take your time. I’ll be downstairs trying to figure out who the third person in your dream is.”
Shannon’s brow scrunched up, “Huh? Oh yeah, right. Yeah, you work on that. I won’t be long.”
Shivering more from the thoughts of the night before, Shannon turned on the shower to let it steam up the bathroom while she chose her clothes for the morning. Stepping into the tub, she let the water pour over her head while she thought through the day ahead. After a quick lather and touch up with the razor, she stepped out of the shower.
The images on the mirror were faint, yet the same ones that Shannon had seen in her dreams after the grimoire enhancement. Even in the dripping condensation, the ankh symbol was obvious. A mask like face had also been drawn and now stared back at her. Standing there naked, Shannon felt a chill as she opened the bathroom door. With a quick swipe of the towel, she erased the mysterious markings. Though not afraid, she would wait to tell the family until she felt comfortable.
Something was beckoning from the horizon and she wasn’t ready. Not yet.
Terra and Shannon watched Eliza’s face as she pulled Terra’s gift from the shopping bag. Eliza’s slow gasp made them both giggle like children.
The historian looked the cover, then slowly turned it over to see the ornately embossed back. She immediately began to look around them in the coffee shop, “This is incredible,” she whispered, “how did you get ahold of this?”
Surprised by Eliza’s sudden expression of security, Terra leaned in. “Um, well Tatsumi found it. He thought you would like it. Cool isn’t it? Thought you could go international with your studies.”
“My God,” Eliza was still hesitant, “Does he have any idea…yes,” she blurted suddenly, “I will give him many children. Does he have any idea how much this is worth?”
Shannon snorted, “Was that…supposed to be a secret crush?”
Terra was just as shocked, “I totally see it, but you might have to arm wrestle Tess for him.” She turned to Shannon, “I would so watch that with you.” They both turned to see Eliza was carefully inspecting the binding along the edge of the book, “I’d be willing to share if it comes down to that,” she said absently then turning the book over and then back, “Are you sure he knows what this is? Look at this.”
Terra ran her fingers over the curling embossed figure on the cover, “Yep, red dragon,” she said, “He was specific about the cover and its contents. He called it by name.” Terra grinned and then her mind went blank, “Something-riu.”
“Kai, probably, but it’s way more than just that.” She opened the book to a random page, “watch this.” With another preemptive look around the coffee shop, she traced her finger over a curved seam at the left side of the front cover, then rotated the triangular piece to face the back of the book. “Unbelievable,” she said, then looked to Terra, “text him to make sure he knows what he gave me. I need to know right now.”
“Um, sure,” Terra reacted, picking up her phone, “So, it’s 7Am here...”
“9PM and still today,” Shannon said, then elbowed Terra playfully, “She went a whole day early the first time. She was so excited…” A wink was exchanged as Terra’s phone pinged back. She squinted at the words, “Honmono, tanoshi,” she read and looked up, “the real thing. Enjoy.”
“Tell him I will treasure it,” she said blushing deeply, “but I have an idea on how to share this.” She handed the book to Shannon, “Rotate the corner over, like I did, then open it.” She clapped her hands excitedly, “oh to share this with you two…best day ever.”
“What’ll happen, “Shannon asked warily as she stared down at the book, “what’s it do?”
“It shifts to the reader,” Eliza began, “It will take shape in whatever themes the reader uses. My peek just now was Old English. I would assume that Terra’s is as well. Give it a shot.” As Shannon took the right-hand corner, Eliza stopped her. “Open it first so you can both see the contents to start with.”
With Terra looking on, Shannon opened the cover to reveal richly illustrated pages with vertical lines of Japanese kanji script. “It’s beautiful.” she said, “How does it know?”
“It’s like a thermos bottle,” Terra said with a grin, “Keeps hot things hot when it’s cold, Cold things, cold when it hot. How does it know?”
Shannon just shook her head and rotated the corner of the old book. She opened the cover and gasping, looked up at Eliza, “not what I was thinking,” she said.
“I wondered,” Eliza said as she starred at the pages. “with all the references to the British Isles, rivers and lakes and such, I wondered if the Egyptian influence would begin replace all of that. In some form or another, it’s how you started.”
The page was covered in faint hieroglyphs, with text, some English and some Sanskrit in separate sections on the page. As both Terra leaned Eliza leaned in to look closer, Shannon backed away, her face had gone white, “What do these mean?” she asked, pointing to a series of lines that streamed down the paper, “water maybe? And this figure?” She’d pointed to a lion headed figure, “It doesn’t look familiar at all.” The tone of her voice gave Terra pause as if Shannon was suddenly denying something they had once talked about. Seeing how uncomfortable she had become, Terra volunteered, “Can I do it?”
“Of course.” Shannon quickly handed the book to Terra but not before looking at the next page and closing the cover with a resounding snap, “Your turn. I don’t want to hog the present.”
Eliza exchanged an understanding glance to Terra, “Never a problem, Shannon. I consider my now expanding library to be at your disposal whenever you need it. Any day, any time.”
As Terra turned the corner of the book and opened the cover, Eliza added, “this no doubt has an Eastern flavor to it. Given its origin. There might be more references to Travelers in there.” She shrugged with a diffusing grin, “maybe worth some study.”
Later that afternoon, Terra set a cup of tea in front of Shannon, “You’re a little on the quiet side. You okay?”
“Mmm, it’s perfect,” Shannon responded, taking a sip, “I was just thinking about what Eliza mentioned, the international feel of the magic we have. I think that’s going to prove valuable.”
“I’ll bet,” Terra grinned with a kiss to Shannon’s shoulder. Turning to the stove to refill her cup, she was well aware that it had been her comment and Shannon was definitely not herself.
“Let’s do a movie night,” Shannon suggested, her voice more animated, “See what Ollie wants to watch and I’ll make some real popcorn on the stove.”
Terra relaxed instantly, “Butter,” she said, “a little anyways? It’s Paleo.”
“That’s Latin,” Shannon snickered, “means arteries of stone. So, just a little.”
Chapter 24
Shannon woke in the middle of
the night. At first, she laid there, tossing and turning, then just stopped to stare at the ceiling. It was the fourth night in a row that the images had appeared. So realistic, that at first, Shannon thought she was seeing things. When Terra sighed comfortably as she rolled over next to her, Shannon looked up to see a blank ceiling. Something was calling to her and she sat straight up.
The movement jostled Terra and she struggled to prop herself up on and elbow, eyes still closed with a still asleep smile on her face. Shannon was quick to gently get her back on her pillow and kiss her on the forehead
“Back to sleep, Love. Lots of nighttime left,” she whispered but then looked at the clock. It was only 3 AM. After another hour of staring, she eased herself up and Terra stirred again. With a worried frown, Shannon brushed the hair back from Terra’s face and traced a small sigil on her temple, “Golden dreams, sweetheart. I won’t be long.”
As Terra drifted back into an assisted sleep Shannon rose and got dressed. Walking quietly down the staircase, she paused at her daughter’s bedroom door, then opened it. Out of habit, she hesitated only to realize that the once ever-present Ziggy was no longer a constant resident.
As she sat on the side of Olivia’s bed, the young girl stirred. Like Terra, she sat up groggily only to directed back to a deep and dream filled sleep by her mother’s loving touch. Again, as she had with Terra, a sleep sigil was traced along her daughter’s temple. “I won’t be long,” Shannon half smiled, “There is a little mystery to be solved. Please be patient with me.”
Tucking a stray length of hair behind Olivia’s ear, she kissed her on the cheek, “I love you.”
Walking into the kitchen, she looked back into the living room and the studio. So much had happened there with hopefully more to come. With a quick review of her grimoire, she stopped as she walked up to the carved posts on either side of the entry door. “Now?” she asked into the darkness, “Are you going to tell me now?”
Walking to the end of the alley, she looked back. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone, made two calls and then turned it off. “I will keep you all safe.”
Pulling up her collar against the cool pre-dawn breeze, she started to walk down the vacant street.
That morning, Terra was in the kitchen when Olivia came out of her room. With a long yawn, she reached into the refrigerator for a glass of orange juice, yawning as she set it down on the counter. Terra was surprised to see her up so early on a weekend, “Early for you. You okay?”
“Weird night,” she said quietly, already aware of Terra’s furrowed brow, “weird dreams. Mom still sleeping?”
“Gone when I woke up,” Terra answered. From her tone, Olivia knew Terra was concerned.
“That never happens,” she said, then began to turn on the bar stool, “I’ll give her a call.”
“Voicemail,” Terra said in a dejected voice, “I’ve already tried a few times.”
“A few,” Olivia asked still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, “how long have you been up? I had this weird dream that she came into my room and sat on my bed.” She reached up and tucked a length hair behind her ear, looking up just as Terra did the same. They stared at each other for a moment until Olivia put her finger on her temple.
Terra’s eye flared, “You too? I had the same feeling.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Olivia got off her bar stool and went to the front door. Opening it, she looked back to Terra, “Her car is still here.”
“Shit,” Terra exclaimed, “I didn’t even think to look.” She picked up her phone and hurriedly punched in a number. “Hey, lil bro,” she said then took and other deep breath, “Find Shannon.”
She waited a few moments as Marcus worked on his end. “I’ve left a half dozen voicemails…she’ll be mad for me being a pest.” Terra stopped talking and looked at Olivia, “Her phone is off. It’s not pinging back to him.” She listened to him for a moment, “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Thanks,” she said, “see you in a few minutes.”
Terra set the phone down on the counter as Olivia came to stand beside her. “She’s been weird since Montana.” Terra looked up to nod when they were both startled by a strong knock on the door. Olivia smiled to Terra, “That’ll be Robbie. I’m sure Marcus hit the panic button.”
Terra’s phone pinged and they both scrambled to answer it. Eliza was first, followed in quick succession by Issac, Liam and then Tess. As Robbie settled at the kitchen island, he was quick to gauge their moods, “She’ll be fine. It’s just a glitch or something.”
“She turned her phone off,” Olivia countered, “that’s one of our first rules. Full battery and check in.”
Within twenty minutes, they were all gathered at the island. Terra was hesitant but began the meeting, “What do we know?”
“Her phone was shut off about three blocks from here. That’s where the last signal generated from.” Marcus was fiddling with his phone, “It’s an empty parking lot. I drove by it on the way here.”
Eliza seemed nervous, “She’s been…” she touched her forehead, “Deep, lately. Like way in her head about something.”
“Right?” Terra agreed with Olivia nodding. “She was odd last night before bed. The night before too. She came out of the shower and was really quiet.” Terra shrugged, “I figured it was better to let her talk if she wanted to but…”
“What’s weird about a shower?” Robbie asked oddly.
“Three in one day?” Terra responded, “and yes, the new water heater is amazing.”
“Has she been drawing?” Eliza asked suddenly, “like anything out of the blue?” She looked to Olivia, “Have you drawn anything? Any visions?”
Olivia shook her head, “That’s the weird thing. I haven’t had much of anything since Annie left. To be honest, I’m okay with that.”
Robbie was scratching his chin, “In the morning?” he asked Terra. She reared back, “What?”
“She took a shower, what time of day?”
“Morning and…kinda early before bed actually. It was short.” Terra turned to Olivia, “And last night, her hair wasn’t wet.” Thinking it over a little more, “No wet towels either.”
“So just stand in the bathroom and let the water run?”
A minute later, they were crammed into the upstairs bathroom as Terra turned on the shower. It didn’t take long.
“What is that?” Robbie asked as the steam filled the room. Across the mirror, a faint diagram appeared along with a handprint. Terra held her hand up to it, “it’s about Shannon’s size but she hasn’t said a word about any of this.”
“It’s like the inside of a pyramid,” Eliza whispered as the steam revealed a series of symbols that looked as if they were drawn by a fingertip, “so, Shannon knows her hieroglyphics now.” She reached out to touch the mirror, but her finger left a far more obvious streak.
“It’s just left over from before,” Tess offered then also reached out to touch the mirror. She jerked her arm back, “Did you see that? It just changed.”
Over the new mist that had formed on the mirror, an unseen artist retraced one of the symbols. Olivia recognized the design before it was finished, “It’s maybe the three peaks in Montana.” She followed the moving line with her finger, “that’s the convergence of the light. That’s the bone circle.”
Robbie pointed to a series of lines that ran form the top of the mirror only to fade away as the steam began to recede from the mirror’s surface, “What’s are these?”
“Looks like a bunch of diamonds.” Liam offered, as he thought about the curving shapes, “but it also looks like something I’ve seen in Central America.” He looked Eliza, “in a Mayan temple.”
Eliza looked at Terra, “She didn’t want us to see in her version of the book. I was right, it’s all coming together. We’ve got to find her.”
Chapter 25
Shannon had made her way down the street and hailed the scheduled Uber ride as he approached. She had the last known location of the grimoire marker and was
silently cursing herself for her cleverness, I had to be sneaky, I couldn’t just leave this alone or let them help me, Nope, not me. The internal monologue continued for several blocks until the she had the driver pull over two blocks ahead of her intended destination, “This’ll be good,” she grinned, handing him a healthy cash tip over the front seat, “I wanna make sure I’m a surprise.”
Walking into the marble and stainless steel trimmed hotel lobby, alone and early in the morning seemed enough to cause some minor distraction for the desk manager and he immediately offered his help, “Got your room key?” he asked blandly as not to sound accusatory.
“I do, thanks,” she said with a calm smile and flashing him the striped back of the cardkey she used for the loft, “Checkout’s 11, right?”
“Sharp,” he grinned back to her and she took it as a compliment, “Thanks. Great pillows, by the way. G’nite.”
Her first swipe at the elevator was off target and she grinned back toward the desk when the doors didn’t open. Leaning to turn her back to the desk, she launched a small pulse of energy at the lock mechanism and the elevator doors rolled open in front of her. Quickly entering the car, she hoped the small crackle of sparks from the lock wasn’t enough to attract any extra attention from the front desk. Pushing the button for one floor below the target room, she leaned back against the cool steel wall of the elevator and the mental conversation began in earnest.
I’ll just tell him to back off. To take their business elsewhere. Don’t threaten, don’t lose my temper. In and out and done. So deep in thought, the loud tone of the floor indicator startled her. Or I go all out, right away. Scare the crap out of him and warn him off…yeah, that might be better. He probably only respects a show of strength…yeah, that’ll work. What was it that Colin said? Think like your enemy. Right?
Stopping one floor below and taking the stairwell, Shannon opened the door to the floor where the last ping of the digital grimoire marker had been returned. It was no surprise when it corresponded to the surprise visitor they had encountered at the mall food court. Armed with more than a bit of financial information on the room occupant, she rapped on his door, hoping the reason for her visit could be quickly and quietly resolved.