Dire Symbols

by W A Rowland

  “Ok?” Liam said cowed taking a small step back from the intensity, not sure how to take the big man’s demand. He got to pick, right?

  Before he could finish his train of thought, the woman in the black dress spoke. Her voice low and velvety, like a lover whispering into his ear. “I am Desire. With me, we will turn your enemies into pawns. All will seek your approval. I will fill your bed with lovers and your coffers with gold.” She cooed.

  Definite possibility for a lawyer, Liam thought, but he wanted to be more human. Really, she reminded him of everything he hated about Mr. Cork and Jessica and he didn’t want to be like them.

  Then the jolly man spoke up then in a happy sing-song voice. “Hello! I am Joy! Who needs to dominate when you can just make people happy?! Celebrate life and bring joy to everyone around you! Oh! I made a pun! Ohhh hohohoho!” He laughed, his girth jiggling merrily.

  Hard pass on this one. Liam would be pulling his hair out within a day.

  Liam nodded and turned to the tall dark man, as he spoke in a refined, almost hungry tone.

  “No.”

  “No what?” Liam asked, confused.

  The man did not reply.

  “And thank you, Anarchy,” Joshua interrupted, annoyance in his voice.

  “He wouldn’t be happy with me, so why even try. He’s too clean cut for my taste,” Anarchy replied.

  “Oh,” Liam thought.

  That only left the small woman on the end. Liam looked at her and she looked down at her hands.

  “I’m Potential,” the woman said softly, looking at her shoes in an uncomfortable fashion. The other guides snickered and Joshua shushed them.

  The woman’s cheeks turned a deep crimson as she looked away from the others. “I can be whatever you make of me. I can help you find your true purpose and become great,” she finished quietly.

  Liam heard Desire scoff derisively. “As if that little thing could compare to me,” she said, giving Liam an almost predatory grin. “Come on, my little demigod. Choose me already so we can get started.”

  Liam gulped, drawn into her smile.

  “NO! YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ME! NONE OF THESE OTHER WHELPS COME CLOSE TO THE POWER I WILL GIVE YOU!” Domination screamed again, stamping a giant foot into the floor.

  Liam decided that Domination was definitely out. All of the screaming, all of the time would definitely get on his nerves.

  “Please, be quiet,” Liam said towards the loud mountain of muscle. Instantly, Domination’s voice could be heard no more, though his facial features showed he was definitely still screaming. Interesting, Liam thought as he noticed the sudden change and the angry look on the big man’s face all of a sudden.

  Liam looked towards the Santa figure.

  “Ohh ho! Come with me and we’ll bring joy to the world!” and then the happy little man actually started to sing Joy to the World.

  “Also no,” Liam said.

  The man looked at him and smiled. “Whatever makes you happy!” and continued to hum to himself contentedly as he went and sat on Joshua’s couch.

  Anarchy turned and faced Liam. “Please don’t pick me. It would be so dull having to follow you around. And, as I already said, we are not a good match.”

  Liam couldn’t help but agree. He nodded in ascent at the tall man who turned and sat down lazily in one of Joshua’s chairs, openly eyeing Desire hungrily.

  “Well, that leaves you all to me.” Desire cooed and started walking towards Liam. He looked at Desire, then looked at Potential. Of all of the guides, Desire was the most appealing, but meshed least with how he saw himself. As much as he’d like to have that kind of power as his guide, he knew that it wouldn’t end well.

  “No,” Liam said.

  “What!” Desire spat out. “Listen here, child! Nobody says no to me!” Desire grew in size till she filled the room from floor to ceiling. “Choose me! Choose me now!” she thundered, her presence pushing Liam back against the wall.

  Just then, a small figure imposed itself between Liam and Desire, putting up her hand.

  “Shoo!” Potential said, Desire retreating in front of her with a huff. The small woman flicked her hand in a be-gone motion and Desire and the rest faded from view.

  Liam looked around, and suddenly felt a presence beside him. Anarchy stood next to him. “Now, this is interesting… wanna reconsider?” he said to Liam.

  Instantly, Potential was there tugging on Liam’s arm. “Mine!” she said curtly, pulling him away from Anarchy. “Easy there, kid, just trying to shake things up a bit,” he said with a wink. “Be seeing you,” and then he too, faded away.

  Liam looked at Potential, still gripping his arm like a vice in case one of the others tried to steal him from her again. They were alone with Joshua now in the little cottage, the old man sitting and sipping what looked like tea from a small ceramic mug.

  “Well, best sit down you two. This is going to take a moment,” Joshua said, nodding towards the small couch across from him. Liam maneuvered over, sitting down onto the overstuffed couch, Potential sitting right up against him, practically pressing herself into his side.

  Ohh goodness, did I pick the one with crippling insecurity? Liam thought to himself as they settled.

  “Alrighty then,” Joshua started after draining his mug. “Now that you have a guide, I’m sure you have more questions.”

  Liam looked at the old man, then Potential, then Joshua again. “I don’t even know where to start. I mean, this is either a dream or you’ve just up-ended my whole life. Kinda a lot to take in…” Liam paused. “I guess first, how does having Potential as my guide help me?”

  Potential answered, “We develop a mental bond first, then I can help to adjust your connection to the astral plane to enhance your powers.”

  “That’s cool… I guess,” Liam said, not quite understanding.

  “You see, Crazy,” Joshua said, “your guide helps determine the path you go down. Had you chosen Domination or Desire, they would influence you and your powers accordingly. Sure, you’ll have the standard increase in strength, stamina, and brainpower, but beyond that, your connection to here can manipulate your world. Desire can make you appealing to those who would normally reject you. Domination can instill fear into others. Accordingly, your aura will feed off of the corresponding emotions.”

  “My what?” Liam asked.

  “Aura,” Potential replied. “It’s a metaphysical force that stems from your soul and allows you to impose your will on the world around you. Learning to control it will be your first, and probably hardest, step,” she said in an clinical, rehearsed tone.

  “Right,” Liam quipped, a little surprised at the explanation. “So I do things, my aura grows, and I can perform…what? Magic?”

  “If you want to put it that way, yes,” Joshua answered. “Though it’s a bit more complicated than simply ‘doing things.’” The old man said as he made air quotes with his fingers. “You need to grow in line with your guide. Feeding from others fear wouldn’t have nearly as much of an effect if Joy was your guide instead of Domination. You’ve got to find what feeds your aura the most and instill that emotion in others. Then you can feed off of their emotion to power your aura.”

  “So what does Potential need for me to grow?”

  “Umm…” Joshua, turend his gaze to the suddenly all interesting wall to his left, and looked slightly abashed, “Well… you see… umm, the thing is…” He finally stopped stumbling and let out a sigh. “You’re the first to choose little Potential here,” the old man said gesturing to the woman. Liam felt his stomach drop. “Most others tend to choose one of the more concrete guides, like Power, Encouragement, or Desire,” Joshua said. “We’ve never been able to see how Potential guides a soul yet. It’s actually kind of exciting!” he finished with an enthusiastic smile

  “What!?!” Liam bellowed, the woman at his side wincing a bit from the yell. “You’re telling me now? My whole future is at stake and nobody knows how she works?!” Liam stood
and started to pace. “This is a dream, it’s a terrible dream.” He looked back over to Potential. “I don’t suppose you can tell me how I’m supposed to do all this? I mean, you’re the guide after all.”

  The small figure looked about to cry and let her gaze fall down to her feet. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I… I didn’t…”

  She was cut off by Joshua standing and waving his cane at Liam in a grandfatherly scolding kind of way. “Now, listen here you whipper snapper! Your choices were given by the guardian himself based on what he sees in you. Since Potential was in that line, then she’s just as viable for you as any other guide. Now, stop acting like an ass and sit down!”

  The sternness in the old man’s voice caught Liam by surprise and he felt compelled to do as the man said. Maybe it was this place, but he felt as if he couldn’t not do what Joshua told him to do. So, he sat down… in the middle of the floor.

  Joshua muttered to himself, “Gotta remember to be more specific…”

  Potential looked back up from her feet and spoke. “It’s ok; if he wants to try to go back and pick one of the others, he can,” she said sullenly.

  “Now, you know it doesn’t work like that, Potential,” Joshua replied. “The bond has already started to take, and it can’t be undone without irreparably damaging his soul.”

  “Let’s not do that!” Liam called from where he sat cross-legged on the floor, a worried look in his eye.

  Joshua nodded. “You’re just going to have to figure each other out. It’s that simple. And I’d recommend starting with learning some manners!” the old man said with a tone of finality, glaring at Liam. “Now, get out of my house before I lose my cheerful demeanor. We’ll talk again later,” Joshua said with a wave of his staff.

  Liam felt his whole body surge as the room was ripped away. His vision flooded with colors and then he found himself back in Jacob’s office, still lying next to the desk.

  Woah. What a trip. Ok Jacob, whatever you were smoking was some crazy shit, Liam thought as he slowly picked himself up. He glanced at the clock. It showed the same time as when he’d entered the office. That was weird, his crazy dream had to have taken at least an hour. Guess anything can happen when you’re tripping. It was at this moment that Liam looked down and saw the small bluish-green infinity tattoo on his hand fading away, leaving only a small figure-eight shaped scar. Reality once again took hold, and he broke out in a cold sweat. “It wasn’t a dream,” Liam muttered to himself. He ran his fingers over the scar and suddenly a voice filled his head.

  “Hello! Crazy? Can you hear me?”

  It was Potential.

  Liam let out an inadvertent shriek as the voice spoke.

  “Hey! Quit that! You want people to think you’re actually crazy?”

  Liam leaned back against the wall and breathed deeply. “Okay, so you’re in my head? Great, can you read my thoughts or something?” Liam asked.

  “Thoughts, yes; memories, no. I only process what’s actively going through your brain. Your amygdala and hippocampus most specifically. Short-term memory and emotional control. Hey, who’s Jessica?” the small voice asked.

  “How do you know that name? I thought you said you couldn’t read memories?!”

  “Long-term memories, dummy. Short-term, I can see easily. Apparently right before you dove into the astral plane, you were thinking about her naked? Is she your girlfriend?”

  “What?! NO! I wasn—”

  Potential cut him off, “Ohh, no, I see it now. She was sleeping with your boss and you thought there might be pictures in the locked drawer. Is that the only reason you broke into it?” she asked with a judgmental tone.

  “No, it was not, I mean, it wasn’t a reason—” Liam devolved into a pained groan, his head in his hands.

  “Don’t be mad. From the picture in your head, she’s a real looker. You’re lucky Desire isn’t here, she’d be having a field day right now.”

  “Why me?” Liam groaned into his hands.

  “Is that rhetorical or do you actually want an answer?” she asked.

  Liam was thinking about his reply when he heard the door to the office open suddenly.

  GETTING TO KNOW YOURSELF

  “Who’s in here?” Liam heard a gruff voice say. He jolted upright to see Mr. Cork standing in the doorway, a security guard behind him in the hall.

  “Leeroy! I thought I told you to get out!” the old man yelled.

  Liam bristled at the incorrect name again. “I am,” he said as calmly as he could, “just getting my phone charger that Mr. Nelson borrowed.” Liam reached down and unplugged his charger, then closed the drawer and stood up.

  Mr. Cork didn’t look convinced. “Well, now that you have your things, Charles here will escort you out of the office. Wouldn’t want you to accidentally end up where you’re not welcome.” The venom in the man’s voice was barely masked.

  It was at this moment that Liam noticed that a neon green fog was rolling off of Mr. Cork’s skin. Barely noticeable, but growing steadily more substantial.

  Anger, a voice whispered in his head. Liam walked forward cautiously, staying as far from Mr. Cork as possible so as to not come into contact with the roiling green cloud. Mr. Cork closed the door behind him, giving him a sideways glance and he heard the bolt lock. Liam grabbed his box from his now empty desk, adding the phone charger to his few possessions. The big security guard, Charles, held a hand out, indicating that Liam should go first. He slowly walked back towards the office entrance. All over the room, he saw a deep, dark blue cloud hovering over the desks. The colors in it swirled through an array as he watched.

  Sorrow, fear, shame, desperation, Potential identified the colors in a clinical tone.

  “What am I seeing?” Liam said under his breath, trying to speak so that the guard wouldn’t hear him.

  “Emotional energy. Powerful emotions and attitudes create an aura around the person feeling them. Being near emotions is what gives us energy in a way. Once we figure out what our power set is, we’ll have a better idea of what reactions fuel us best.”

  Hearing the woman use the plural possessive pronouns caught Liam a bit off guard.

  Definitely going to have to get used to that, he thought.

  “Get used to what?” she asked.

  Ohh, right, you can read my thoughts. It’s going to take a bit to get used to having another person in my head, Liam thought at her.

  By this point, Liam had reached the receptionist’s desk and noticed that Charles the guard was no longer following him. He heard a click as the door to the office locked shut behind him. He walked over to Sharon, who was still on the verge of tears. “Hey Sharon, there should be an envelope for me?” he said as he approached with his box.

  Seeing the office items, she stood and came over to hug him. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. Getting fired the same day your boss dies. Have they no heart!” she huffed out.

  Liam snorted. “Yeah, well. Lawyers, ya know,” he said with a sardonic smile.

  “Well, at least you kept your sense of humor.” She smiled at him and started to look through her outgoing box until she found a sealed envelope with his name on it. She handed it over to Liam and he tucked it into his box with the rest of his things.

  “Well, thanks, Sharon. Off to bigger and better things for me I guess,” he said, suddenly feeling a bit lighter.

  Sharon started to let off a soft silver glow. Liam watched, and as the older woman gave him a parting hug and he felt small pinpricks along his skin where the silver particles connected with him.

  “Best of luck to you, Liam,” she said with a small smile and then went back to her desk.

  Liam walked outside before he started talking to Potential again.

  “Hey, what was that?”

  “I’m not sure. But it felt good,” she said with an airy excited tone. “Whatever you said to her released some kind of emotion. But I’ve never heard of a silver aura before,” she said.

  “We’ll need to keep an eye
out for it. Even that little bit gave me a lot more energy than the ones inside. I feel I like could go for a run right now. I hate running.” Liam emphasized the last bit. “Is this what absorbing an aura feels like?”

  “Well, how should I know? It’s not like I’ve ever done this before either,” she said dramatically.

  “Ok, well, what now? Go home and figure out the next step?” he suggested.

  “You lead and I’ll… well, I can’t really follow, since I’m kinda riding you like you’re an emotional horse at this point… a moody, jerkish, emotional horse,” she said, then got suddenly happy. “Giddy up, horsey!”

  Liam felt a prickle behind his eye for a second and scowled. “What was that?!” he said a little panicked.

  “I may have accidentally burst a blood vessel or two. Nothing major.”

  “Cut it out!” Liam said sharply, suddenly feeling very tired again. The euphoria of contacting Susan’s aura had worn off quickly and he was once again just Liam. Only now he had a cosmic goofball in his head.

  “Sorry,” came the soft reply. “Just got a little excited is all. I’ve never had a host before. It’s kind of exciting for me.”

  “That’s all fine and good, but please try to not cause me to have a stroke while you’re up there, okay? I rather like being alive, despite how much fate seems to hate me.”

  “Fate hates you? How’d you get on his bad side?! I thought that guy loved everyone!”

  “You’re joking, Right?”

  “No. He’s a friend of mine. Sometimes we play chess together! He always beats me though.” She grumped.

  Liam shook his head and laughed. “I must be insane. I have a cosmic, disembodied entity in my head who plays chess with Fate and thinks I’m a horse for her to ride around on!”

  “You’re not insane. You’re crazy! Remember!” she said with a giggle.