Dire Symbols

by W A Rowland

  Liam bee-lined for the executive suites where the personal staff worked, not seeing Rich or Kat anywhere in the main area. He rounded the corner that led to his desk outside of Jacob’s office and spotted Jessica at the end of the hall. She was wearing a tight black dress, barely in line with office dress policy. Obviously distraught, she was talking to Mr. Cork, one of the senior partners in the firm.

  He was an older, distinguished gentleman in his late 60s that had achieved his success by being ruthless in the courtroom. It was widely known that Timothy Cork would go to almost any length to win a case, though nobody could ever prove it. He was what most lawyers aspired to be, what Liam thought he aspired to be, until he saw just how poorly Timothy Cork treated anyone he thought couldn’t give him a leg up on a case. Liam decided quickly that he’d rather be human over being a lawyer; he liked having a soul, and he was pretty sure that Timothy Cork didn’t.

  Liam got close enough to hear the very end of their conversation.

  “…There, there dear, everything will be alright, take the rest of the week off and when you come back, you’ll start on my personal staff,” Mr. Cork said, his usually stern features giving a comforting smile.

  “Th…thank you sir.” Jessica trailed off. “I… I can’t ever repay your kindness…” she said looking up at him doe-eyed.

  Liam felt like he would vomit. Her previous boss just died and she’s already starting in on someone new, a senior partner no less. Heck, he wouldn’t have put it past Jessica to have killed Jacob just to create an opportunity to hustle one of the others into a higher paying job, so low was his opinion of her. Granted, Liam couldn’t really say much. He wasn’t really sorry to hear that ole Jacob had passed on either, and would gladly take a move to someone else’s staff without a second thought for the dearly departed, though he definitely had drawn the line at contemplating murder. He wasn’t crazy or anything after all.

  He had begun to go through his list of potential new bosses and decided that he’d try for Mr. Wayne. He seemed ok, as far as M&C lawyers went, and Liam knew that he just had an assistant position open up a few days prior, and nobody had been placed yet to Liam’s knowledge. He cleared his throat as he approached, and both Jessica and Mr. Cork looked over at him.

  “Leon! I suppose you’ve heard the news,” Mr. Cork said suddenly, his arm returning from where he had it on Jessica’s shoulder.

  Liam blinked his eyes a little, not bothering to correct the man. “Yes, sir, Sharon told me on the way in. Does anyone know what happened?”

  “No,” Mr. Cork responded taking a step towards Liam. “Apparently, he was found dead in his apartment this morning. The police haven’t released any information as to what caused it though.”

  “I see,” Liam said quietly. “What about Jessica and I? Will we be moved to another staff?” Liam said, a little hopeful that he’d get to suggest the spot with Mr. Wayne, despite his lack of breasts.

  Mr. Cork sighed quietly. “No, I’m afraid that we only have one position open right now, so one of you will have to be let go. And since Jessica has seniority…” Mr. Cork trailed off with a faux apology, but the emotion didn’t quite, reaching his eyes.

  He was getting fired, Liam realized. These jerks were firing him the same day his boss died. He couldn’t believe it. Liam opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure how to respond.

  “You’ll, of course, get the standard severance package due to the circumstances,” Mr. Cork continued after a moment of Liam’s blank stare.

  Severance for three months on the job at M&C was about two weeks’ pay. Liam had two weeks to find another job… He opened his mouth again, but still couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “I really am sorry, Leeroy,” Mr. Cork said, getting his name wrong again.

  “It’s Liam…” Liam said, a bit of vitriol in his voice. “If you’re going to fire someone, at least get their name right,” Liam growled out, not caring anymore for the repercussions. “And especially so if you’re going to insult them by keeping the boobs on stilts around.” He spat, gesturing at Jessica, who had the wherewithal to look hurt at his comment, though he knew she really could care less what he thought.

  Mr. Cork’s features soured to their normal stern look. “Now look here, son, this firm has just suffered a terrible loss, so I’m going to overlook your rudeness. You will apologize to Ms. North, then clear out your desk. See the receptionist for your check. Good day.” Mr. Cork turned and walked away.

  Jessica sidled over once Mr. Cork was gone, her tears suddenly dried up and a smug grin appeared on her face. “Well, you handled that well,” she mocked. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?” she asked, batting her lashes at Liam.

  “Fuck you, Jessica,” Liam growled, looking her in the eyes, seeing her enjoyment.

  “Hmm, you wish,” she said, a smile sliding across her features. “Now, don’t you have a desk to clean out? I’d hate to have to get sweet old Mr. Cork to have security drag you out.” She cooed, and then walked away, her face regaining its impression of the distraught assistant as she headed for the door to enjoy her free week of paid time off.

  A STRANGE MEETING

  Liam sat at his desk, fuming. The universe must hate him. He grabbed his desk drawer roughly and yanked it open, pulling out his few meager possessions and shoving them into his already overstuffed backpack. He packed like this for several minutes and then took a mental inventory. Engraved letter opener from his mother. Check. Framed pre-law degree. Check. Half empty bottle of Advil. Check. Phone Charger… Liam looked through another drawer and couldn’t find the black USB cord and wall adapter. It was his only one and he definitely didn’t have the spare cash to spend on a replacement now.

  He looked around his desk again and then decided to check Jacob’s office. He was always “borrowing” things from Liam’s desk. Liam pulled out his key and opened up the room behind his desk. Large panoramic windows gave an impressive view of the city skyline. An oak desk set off in one corner had a plate that read Jacob Nelson, Esq. Across from the desk in the other corner of the room was a brown leather couch. Various artwork and awards decorated the walls, and papers lay neatly arranged on the desk next to Jacob’s computer. Liam walked around the desk and spied his phone cord sticking out from under it. He got down and started to trace the cord back towards where it was plugged in. He hit a roadblock when he found that it was running through a hole into one of the locked drawers inlaid into the side of the desk. Liam pulled out his key ring and searched for the key that matched the lock number. KG-2. Liam was a little surprised when he didn’t have it.

  Supposedly, assistants were issued copies of all keys for their bosses’ rooms in the event they had to retrieve something for a deposition quickly. “What could Jacob have been storing in there? Probably a bunch of naked pictures of Jessica or his baseball card collection, for all I know,” Liam muttered to himself and fiddled with the drawer. Liam scowled and then smiled a little. He knew how to get past these drawers. In his college days, he had broken into similar desks more than once to help out friends who had locked themselves out of their study nooks and lost the key. The locks were simple and a couple pieces of thin metal, like a paper clip, made easy picks.

  Soon, Jacob’s drawer was sliding open. Inside, Liam found a power strip, into which his phone cord was plugged and a small black box. He started to reach for the plug, but stopped as his curiosity got away from him. What would Jacob be hiding in here? Liam reached and opened the small box. Inside was a gem. Liam didn’t know his stones, but it was large, about the size of a clementine, greenish-blue and reflected the light in such a way that it looked to be glowing ever so softly. Liam suddenly heard a whisper, seemingly from the other side of the desk. He bolted upright and… nothing. Nobody was there. He looked back down and looked at the stone again. Something that size would be worth a lot of money, wouldn’t it? The thought flitted through his head before he even really registered it.

  Normally, Liam would have nev
er considered stealing anything. He was an honest man. Not always a good man, but he tried to not be a jerk. Then again, Jacob was dead, had no relatives, and his possessions would most likely be claimed by the state or the firm. The firm who had just fired him and kept Jessica because a partner wanted to get into her pants. He didn’t feel bad about taking anything from them. They probably didn’t have an inventory yet of Jacob’s possessions, so it may not be missed. It didn’t look like a precious stone, just a curiosity.

  Slowly, Liam reached down and picked up the gem. It was round and comfortable in his hand. It felt slightly warm as he rolled it over his palm and fingers. The light mesmerized him and then seemed to get brighter as the gem got hotter. His hand started to burn under the heat and his eyes were blinded by the incredible light suddenly emanating from it. He tried to shield himself and drop the gem, but it had burned into his hand and he let out a gagging cough, in too much pain to scream. He felt as if he was about to pass out from shock, falling to the floor and rolling, rubbing his burning hand against the carpet. The burning moved up his arm and into his chest, quickly spreading to the rest of his body, setting him on fire. He was going to die, he knew it, it was some kind of cursed stone or bio-weapon and he’d just gone and grabbed it like an idiot.

  Liam thought he saw his life begin to flash in front of his eyes, and then it stopped. Suddenly, he found himself standing alone, in the same office, but there was a bright light outside the window and the door to the office wasn’t there anymore. Just white outside the windows and black towards the inside of the building.

  Liam spun, looking for somewhere to run, to hide. He glanced down and saw a bluish-green infinity symbol tattooed on the back of his hand. He touched the mark and shuddered as his whole body suddenly jolted.

  “YOU ARE ACCEPTED!” a deep voice bellowed, shaking the room with the force of it.

  Liam let out a shriek and sank back against the wall. “Whaaaat the fuuuuu….” He rattled off as the reverberation of the voice finally settled down.

  “Hello?” Liam said tentatively, finally regaining his voice.

  “HELLO!” came back the chipper voice of an old man, very different from the rumbling voice of a few moments before. “It’s about time that someone picked up that stupid rock!”

  Liam jumped at the suddenness of the voice and looked around but didn’t see anyone. “Who’s there?! I’m kinda freaking out a bit here, so can you please stop?!” Liam begged.

  “Oh, Right sorry about that. How about…” the room suddenly shifted to what appeared to be a small cottage, “this,” the voice finished, now much closer.

  Liam screamed and jerked, as the wall he was up against suddenly turned into smooth stone.

  “Ah, I forget what it’s like during the first dive,” the voice said.

  Liam looked around again and saw that the voice was attached to an old man. The man stood around 5’3”, had a long grey beard that came about half way down to his waist and pretty much looked like the epidemy of a medieval wizard from fantasy movies, right down to the pointy hat and big walking staff.

  “Dive? What?” Liam blurted in quick succession, his mind grasping desperately for something familiar. “What is going on? Where’s the office? What happened to me? What was that big voice? Am I dead?”

  The old man studied Liam for a moment before answering calmly. “In the order you asked… You picked up a Core stone; it’s still where you left it; see the first answer; that was the guardian; no.”

  Liam blinked at the old man for a moment processing the answers and trying to connect them to the proper questions he’d just registered as having asked.

  “Okay, and you are?” Liam asked.

  “Oh! How thoughtless of me, just excited to have some company finally! Yes, my name is… Umm… it’s… dagnabit…. Sorry, it’s been so long that I apparently forgot my own name.” The old man gave a consternated grimace and looked down at his feet for a moment. “JOSHUA! Yes! My name is Joshua! Or was it James? Well something with a J. We’ll go with Joshua for now. And you are…?”

  “I must be crazy,” Liam replied without thinking.

  “Well, that’s an odd name, but I guess it’s whatever the kids like these days.” Joshua chuckled and smiled at Liam.

  Liam stared at the old man, trying to get his thoughts straight, his head still spinning. Joshua just kept on smiling back at him in that odd way little old men have, as if he knew something that Liam didn’t, or in this case, a lot of things that he didn’t. The staring continued for a minute or two before Joshua finally spoke up. “Look, kid, I know I’m a handsome specimen of masculinity, but if you just sit there and stare, we’re not gonna get anything done.”

  This broke Liam out of his thoughts enough for him to finally make a simple statement.

  “My name is Liam,” he said.

  “But I thought you were Crazy?” Joshua replied.

  “I must be.” Liam groaned.

  “Crazy?” Joshua said.

  “Yes,” Liam answered.

  “But you just said your name was Liam?” Joshua asked, confused.

  “It is,” Liam replied.

  “So what is it? Liam or Crazy?” Joshua asked.

  “I’m not even sure anymore,” Liam replied resignedly.

  “Right, so Crazy, how about you get up off my floor and we can get you started on your way to ultimate cosmic power!” The last bit was said in a low baritone voice with a flourish of Joshua’s walking stick. It reminded Liam of some old movie he’d seen as a kid, but in his current state the title didn’t come to mind.

  “What?” Liam blurted out. “What on earth is actually going on?!” He was still panicking.

  Joshua sighed. “Ok, looks like we need to break this down for the slow of mind. 1: you picked up a cool looking rock. 2: Said rock caused you immense pain and melted into some part of your body leaving a mark. 3: Your soul jumped to the astral plane through your connection to the stone. 4: You’re sitting in my living room asking stupid questions. There, summed up. Now, can we please move on?” the little man practically begged.

  Liam glanced back down at his right hand and the infinity mark that still burned slightly. “So this stone is inside me now. And I’m on the spirit plane—”

  “Astral plane,” Joshua interrupted.

  “Right, astral plane,” Liam corrected. “So this makes me…what?”

  “Greek mythology would call it a demigod,” Joshua said, “though to be more accurate, you’re a human whose soul has gained a direct connection to the astral plane and is able to draw power into your Core giving you certain metaphysical powers.”

  “Powers? Like what?” Liam asked, his interest piqued.

  “Well, first, you’re now effectively immortal because time doesn’t exist in the astral plane and your soul basically lives here now instead of in your body. So, yay! Just be careful that you don’t lose your core or your body won’t have a soul to control it, and that’s bad. Next, you can learn to channel energy through your link and use it to affect the reality of the world around you, but only so much is possible. Flying? Sure. Creating a black hole in the center of the planet? Maybe. Get your girlfriend back? Probably not.”

  Liam was taken aback. “Wait, what about Anna?”

  “Some things just can’t be done, dude. Seriously though, that girl’s a hoe, you can do better.” Joshua smiled, rolling his hand in a lazy “keep moving” motion.

  Liam just let his mouth hang open a little. Had the little cosmic wizard just made a bad joke?

  “So, moving on,” Joshua said, “you’re here so I can assign you a guide to help you figure out what you can and can’t do. They’ll also affect what powers you get, so choose one that you think fits your personality. It’ll make the transition easier. Some people have better control than others, and some can manipulate more energy at a time. It really depends on you though, so let’s see.”

  Joshua snapped his fingers and a group of people appeared in a line, startling Liam an
d causing him to jump back against the wall and hit his head. Five in all, the first on the left was a large man with huge muscles and a barrel chest. He wore a loin cloth and a bandoleer. Liam’s impression was that he was some kind of warrior from ancient history. Next to the warrior was a black-haired woman in what appeared to be a sleek evening dress that hugged her curves so tightly that it looked like it was painted onto her. Her body was that of a mature woman, and was perfectly proportioned. Liam may have drooled a little as he looked her over. She gave him a sultry smile and an air kiss as he finally pulled his eyes to the next person in line. This one was a short, squat man with a round belly and a jolly smile on his face. He had a white beard and, for all intents and purposes, looked like a recreation of Santa Clause. He laughed and waved at Liam, as he looked towards the next person. This one was a tall slender man in a black, pinstripe suit who looked to be in his mid-20s. He was pale with cutting features: a sharp jawline and piercing eyes. He ignored Liam though and looked towards the woman in the black dress and licked his lips a little. This creeped Liam out and he quickly moved to the next person in line. At the end, was a small woman, only around 5’0”, with dark brown hair and a slight frame. She wore what appeared to be denim jeans and a comfy T-shirt and looked ambiguous enough to be anywhere between 12 and 19 years old by human standards. Unlike the rest of the guides, who all looked either confident or apathetic, she looked a little scared and out of place. Liam felt a some pity for her in his gut. Why was she here?

  Joshua spoke up. “Alright, everyone, you’re here to see which of you will be Crazy’s guide on his path to godhood, now introduce yourselves.”

  The huge barbarian spoke up so loudly it startled Liam. “I AM DOMINATION. YOU WILL CHOOSE ME NOW AND WE SHALL CRUSH YOUR FOES AND SATISFY YOUR CONQUESTS! I AM THE ONLY OPTION!” The huge man practically screamed taking a step towards Liam and slamming a large meaty fist into his palm to emphasize his point.