by T. J. Hunter
Chapter 28
I already knew Ah Chuy Kak was responsible for the bodies at the Mayan temple and almost certain he was responsible for those at Sunset Park. What was new is who the bodies were. So far, there was nothing written in the Wolfpedia book about soul sucking lycanthropes attacking hybrids. None or my visions even hinted of the existence of hybrids.
“We can help you too Mr. Zane. My brothers and sisters have many of the same powers of pure lycanthropes: smell, hearing, speed, and strength. We can be your eyes and ears and help you rid our world of this evil.”
Tommy and his friends must be on the up and up because I didn’t sense any danger, and having allies with such heightened senses could be useful in tracking Ah Chuy Kak. What the heck, I can use all the help I can get.
“Okay Tommy, we can work together, but it has to be on my terms. You and your pack will have to follow my orders without question. Can you do this?”
Tommy looked at each hybrid who nodded in acceptance.
“Yes Mr. Zane, we all agree to follow your orders.”
“Great, and call me Daniel.”
All the hybrids smiled and began singing an old Beatles song: “You say you want a revolution, well, you know, we’re all doing what we can …”
Now there’s a song I recognized and one I bet they don’t sing on stage.
“I would like to introduce you to my sister,” I said. “May I ask her to join us?”
“Of course Daniel, and please help yourself to another beer,” Tommy replied and then asked Robin to find Alura.
I closed my eyes and called out to Alura in my mind. .
A few minutes later Robin brought Alura in to meet everyone. One of the hybrids looked Alura up and down and his jaw nearly hit the floor.
“Hey, she’s my sister buddy. Back off.”
The hybrid closed his mouth and starting playing his guitar again.
Alura smiled. “Always the big brother, aren’t you?”
“It’s better he hears it from me than Thyzil, who surely would make the poor guy wet his pants,” I muttered.
Alura laughed, then she introduced herself to the pack. We then we sat at a table with Tommy to share what we knew about Ah Chuy Kak. Surprisingly, the hybrids had collected a wealth of intelligence, including the names and locations of business and political leaders who were either pure lycanthropes or in league with them.
We only had about 20 minutes to talk before a man opened the door telling Tommy he was due on stage. The pack picked up their instruments and headed up some stairs toward the stage area.
“Daniel, there is rumor of a meeting among the lycanthrope pack leaders to determine who will be the new alpha in this city,” Tommy said. “After you destroyed Moon, they have been at each other’s throats. My pack and other friends are keeping a close watch on things. I will contact you as soon as I learn more details.”
“Okay Tommy, keep in touch.”
We shook hands and Tommy went up the stairs to the stage. A minute later, loud music poured through the basement and I covered my ears while Alura shook her head and laughed.
“What? I asked. “You’re not going to tell me this noise is music, are you?”
Alura stood still for a moment with a serious face and then broke into a fit of immaturity saying, “Old man,” while pretending to dance to what only she could believe was a music beat.
“You can be really annoying when you want to be,” I said.
Alura kept dancing around me in circles and chanting, “I know you are, but what am I?”
It is near impossible to be truly annoyed by Alura. She had that special something about her that people liked, so I responded in the best way I knew how. I stuck my tongue out and gave her the raspberry, which did absolutely nothing to stop her from chanting, “I know you are, but what am I?” Give me a break.
Alura dropped me off at my apartment. She wanted to get up early the next morning to meet Thyzil, so I once again had some time alone. Fine with me, because I was looking forward to making breakfast without having to worry about her snatching toast from my plate. Sally was bad enough, but not nearly as sneaky as Alura and hardly ever stole my toast.
Morning arrived and before I broke my first egg, Sarila texted me saying she was tired of dog sitting. Apparently Sally howled and barked all last night from having severe cabin fever, or cave fever in this case. On the other hand, a dog can only stay so long on a distant planet before missing my special sausage link breakfast.
Sally was good to go between Earth and Keob now that she had an amulet clamped onto her collar. I texted Sarila back and asked her to have Sally stand inside the Batcave pentagram to be transported back to Manhattan. Breakfast will have to wait a few more minutes.
I went to my bedroom, snapped a blue magic coin in half, turning it to powder, then blew it into the pentagram saying, “Transmati Sally.” Almost as fast as the blue-white lights shot up from the pentagram, Sally leapt through it and knocked me down on the floor to slobber on every inch of my face.
“Sally, you’re suffocating me you old goofball. Come on, let’s make some of your favorite sausages and then go for a walk.”
Sally woofed and followed me to the kitchen. Just as I cracked an egg into the frying pan, my phone buzzed indicating I had another text message. It read: Package ready for pickup – Magical Herbs. I hadn’t thought about the shoppe since taking Melony to Keob and wondered who was running it now.
Sally looked at me in a way that suggested I keep making breakfast, or else. Food first, walk second, and then we visit the Magical Herbs Shoppe – a daily routine that’s easy to follow. When breakfast was finally ready, we ate until our bellies were full, then I put the plates into the sink to soak in water. Sally sat by the kitchen table hoping a treat might be given to her, so I guess her belly never gets full.
“Okay Sally, let’s go see who the new manager is at Magical Herbs.”
Sally jumped up and ran to the front door pulling her leash off the coat rack. After stepping outside, we looked around to see if any watchers were hanging around. Now that Lupzarro and Moon were out of the picture, I was hoping the nasty hell pet is now unemployed.
Nothing but sunshine and everyday people – fantastic.
“Looks good Sally. No freaky bird to worry about.”
There were a number of people browsing inside Magical Herbs when we arrived. Sally showed interest in what the patrons were doing and almost knocked over some jars with her wagging tail. I looked over to the counter and was surprised to see Balya, Keob’s in-house doctor smiling at me.
“Balya, you’re the new shoppe manager?”
“Good day Daniel, and yes, shoppe manager is my new side job. Sarila thought you might need me nearby in case of an emergency,” she said, then frowned. “I am afraid Dr. Herick passed away in his sleep the same night he last visited your apartment. Natural causes, nothing unusual.”
“I’m sorry he’s gone. Dr. Herick was a good man,” I said, then Balya pulled a package out from under the counter.
“Alura ordered this earlier. She wanted to be sure you had fresh supplies for your work, field trips, and general good health.”
Balya looked down at Sally and asked her if she was checking out the old neighborhood. Sally woofed twice and Balya laughed.
“It’s good to know you’ll be close by Balya. I’ll see you again soon.”
“Bye Daniel. Bye Sally.”
As I turned to exit the shoppe, I felt Sally’s leash tighten and she made a deep growl. I looked up to where she was growling and saw a lady outside the shoppe slowly walking by while giving me a chilling stare. It was that women who Melony introduced me to. What was her name … Swanson, Mrs. Swanson. Sally’s growl got louder and I saw a dark grey aura swirl in and out of Swanson’s body – she was a black witch. Not a big surprise and it sure explained her attitude.
When Sally and I stepped outside of the shoppe, Swanson was no where in sight. Sally looked up and down the street making a wo
of each time her head turned. Swanson had simply disappeared.
A gust of wind rushed down the street and I barely heard a women’s voice whisper, “You got away last time wizard. Next time you will not be so lucky.”
Last time? As in last time when a green mist tried to eat Melony and me?
Great, now I have a crazy mist conjuring black witch to place on my Who Wants to Kill the Wizard enemy list.
Swanson, if that was even her real name, may have sent the mist demon after Melony and me, but it was likely she was taking orders from Moon or Ah Chuy Kak, or both.
Employing a witch to cast spells actually make sense because lycanthropes don’t possess magic. If Lupzarro or Moon did hire Swanson, I wonder what she got in return for her services. Anyone who could conjure up what chased Melony and me nearly to our deaths was not someone to take lightly, nor would their talent come cheap.
Werewolves, demons, spooky green mist, and now black witches. Granted, I am becoming a stronger wizard who doesn’t scare as easily as a few weeks ago. Even so, I can’t help feeling as if my neighborhood has become an eerie version of the Bronx Zoo in a Twilight Zone episode.
Sally and I returned to our apartment where Alura and Thyzil were waiting. It should always be expected that when these two are unsupervised, pizza crust and empty beer cans will be littered around the room. This time was no different, except some pizza was still in the box and a few cold beers were waiting for me.
“Hi kiddies,” I said.
“Wizard, do you see unopened beers?” Thyzil asked, pointing to a six pack. “True warriors resist temptation, yes?” he asked, then proceeded to make a long and loud burp.
Alura threw an empty can at Thyzil, calling him gross and disgusting. Thyzil shrugged and let out another even more offensive burp.
“What princess, would you rather my eyes pop out?” he asked, then opened his eyes wide to exaggerate the point. “”Bubbles must go somewhere,”.
Sally wasted no time in begging Alura for some pizza while I had myself a cold brew.
“Did you guys know Balya is the new manager at Magical Herbs?” I asked.
“Yup, she transported to my apartment with Thyzil early this morning,” Alura said.
I suspected as much. Alura was always a step ahead of me on current Zeshtune events.
“I bet you don’t know a certain Magical Herbs customer, one who goes by the name of Mrs. Swanson, is a black witch.”
“Azul, half of the Magical Herbs customers are witches, or related in some way to the occult,” Alura said.
“Well, this particular black witch may be the one who sent the mist demon after Melony and me. She was probably hired by Moon to snuff us out on behalf of Ah Chuy Kak.”
Alura frowned. “There are several black witch covens in the city. All of them practice dark magic and offer their services to a special clientele, mostly business men and politicians. They have no loyalty to anyone outside their covens, and once they are contracted for services, nothing short of their deaths will stop them from completing it. Was this Swanson inside the shoppe?”
“No, she walked by on the outside giving me a witchy look. A dark grey aura was easily seen weaving in and out of her body, and her eyes were black as coal. She warned me that the next time I would not be so lucky.”
“A black witch becomes fully consumed by evil once they either take a human life or summon a demon to take a life,” Alura said. “If she summoned the mist demon to kill you, she has become fully corrupted by dark power and the shoppe wards will prevent her from entering. Don’t worry brother. If she was hired by the now deceased Moon, her contract is null and void, unless she was compensated or promised something in advance, which would make things a bit more complicated. Kyiel can show you how to whip up some charms to increase your protection against black witchcraft.”
Alura moved the pizza boxes onto the floor and opened the package that I picked up from Magical Herbs. She removed the contents and placed each item on the coffee table according to either size or shape. Several small tubes, the size of lipsticks, were placed together along bags of herbs and what looked like bars of soap. Her arrangement reminded me of an Avon or Mary Kay home party. I have never been to such a home party, wouldn’t want to, but I’ve seen pictures. Cosmetics and giggling women plastering their faces with petroleum byproducts is simply not my thing.
I picked up one of the soap look-a-likes and smelled it, expecting a rose or lavender aroma, but there was no scent, not even a soapy smell.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Bees wax,” Alura replied. “You’ll find it handy for making pentagrams in damp places where chalk won’t work well.”
Alura held up an aerosol can. “And this dear brother is liquid bees wax for getting to those hard to reach places, such as a high wall or ceiling. Both the bars and aerosol have magical properties to magnify a wizard’s spell.”
We needed to have a pentagram above and around Ah Chuy Kak to trap the fur ball before he changed into a bird and flew away. The trap had to be perfect. Even the smallest opening, such as an air duct or electrical socket, would be enough for him to escape. Whatever the case may be, Ah Chuy Kak would have to be caught in the right place and at the right time. If he had to be lured, well … I guess I was going to be the bait. Lucky me.
My older self, Yochi, told back me on Keob that I didn’t have to seek out Ah Chuy Kak because he would find me. I didn’t fancy an encounter while at the market shopping for groceries – too many innocent people. The trick will be to set a trap for Ah Chuy Kak’s on own territory where he’d feel safe. So far, all the top dogs in the lycanthrope packs I’ve met were egotistical and over confident, which makes them prone to mistakes. I had no reason to believe Ah Chuy Kak was any different and assumed he survived mostly by keeping himself well hidden, not by being smart. Well, hiding and being surrounded by hundreds of flesh eating shapeshifter offspring is sort of smart, but also cowardly.
My phone rang. “Daniel, this is Tommy. I have some news.”
Alura and I were with Tommy just yesterday and I had not expected him to contact me so soon. Whenever someone says they have news, in a dreary tone like Tommy used, it was almost certain the news was bad.
“Hey Tommy, what’s up?”
“I heard from another pack upstate at Howe Caverns. They found more bodies, like those at Sunset Park. I’m sending you some pictures now.”
The pictures Tommy sent me showed piles of shriveled up bodies stacked against a natural stone wall. All the bodies had horrific expressions with their eyes and mouths wide open. Some had no clothes, which was also the case at Sunset Park.
“Tommy, do you know why some of these bodies are naked?”
There was a long pause.
“Uh … yea, I do. Their hybrids,” he said. “Daniel, I knew them. They were family. Some are as old as me.”
“Sorry Tommy, but why are they naked?”
“Unlike purebred lycanthropes who can change shape into many things, hybrids can only change into wolfs, you know, the four legged kind. When we hunt, we take our clothes off before turning to avoid ripping everything apart. You can imagine how difficult it would be explaining to law officials why a group of kids are naked, or wearing shredded clothes, when returning to town.”
“Yea, explaining nakedness would be difficult,” I said. “What exactly do hybrids hunt?”
“Not humans, if that’s what you’re thinking. We go out every so often to hunt deer and other wildlife. We’re human Daniel, but still have our primal desire to hunt, not unlike many humans up this way with rifles.”
“Tell me more about where the bodies were found.”
Tommy told me that bodies were in a hidden cave near Howe Caverns located in Howe, New York. Howe Caverns are New York’s largest tourist attraction, second only to Niagara Falls, and is touted as a family adventure park. Located 160 miles from Manhattan and northwest of Albany, Howe has about 1,200 people living on less than 14,000 square miles of
land. It’s a small town tucked away in a corner of New England and is sustained mostly by tourist dollars
“There’s more,” Tommy said. “Purebreds from the city have been gathering nearby, mostly in Schenectady. They are VIPs, wealthy business professionals, and state politicians. Senator Kendrisol is hosting an economic summit at the Howe Pike Hill Inn, but it’s a ruse to gather purebreds without raising suspicions.”
Senator Kendrisol is a slippery politician who is always being investigated for ethic violations. Most recently he has been accused of being mixed up with the New York mob and disappearance of a young intern.
“Kendrisol is a lycanthrope?” I asked.
“He has been around almost a long as me Daniel. I first knew of him back in the American Revolution when he was a British General. Since then he has changed identities and professions many times. Kendrisol may appear polished and upright with his expensive uptown lifestyle and Wall Street friends, but he is one of the most vicious of all lycanthropes in New York.”
Silly me, I thought Lupzarro and Moon were the worst.
“Do you want to drive up to Howe with me in the morning and check things out?” I asked.
“I should stay here,” Tommy replied. “No offense, but being seen with a wizard might jeopardize the safety of my own pack.”
Tommy felt that since Twyer’s pack was already under attack, a prolonged meeting with a wizard might not matter much, but his own pack was unknown and he wanted to keep it that way. Fair enough.
“You need to meet a man named Henry Twyer who owns and operates the town general store. Henry is the pack leader of the northwest New York hybrids and will fill you in once you arrive.”
“Okay then, I’ll let you know how it goes once I meet up with Henry. Thanks for calling Tommy.”
“Sure Daniel. Take care of yourself.”
Alura wished me luck and headed out to do some errands and meet up with Thyzil. Meanwhile, I hung around the apartment for the day, had some more pizza, a couple beers, and read some magazines. As relaxing as my day was, I reminded myself that I was getting closer to finding Ah Chuy Kak, the final loose thread.
The next morning a rental car was waiting for me outside my apartment, care of Sarila. Nothing special, a later model compact car, but it had ice cold air conditioning. Since it was mid July with temperatures expected to hit 95 degrees in the shade, air conditioning was second only to having an engine that works.
It take about three hours to reach Howe once getting out of Manhattan’s carmageddon gridlock. Once out of the gridlock, the more scenic and enjoyable the drive became. After one long stretch of road where no living thing was seen, I followed a sign to Howe that pointed left onto a dirt road filled with potholes. The small compact car managed to hold up well, except for a few water filled potholes nearly breaking the rear axle and pushing my head into the roof.
A large sign posted next to a smaller Welcome to Howe sign notified tourist that the caverns were closed due to a West Nile virus outbreak. Nothing like a viral infection scare to keep away picture takers and rock collectors. As I passed the signs, a police car pulled onto the road behind me with its lights flashing.
“Nice welcome,” I muttered and pulled over waiting for the officer to approach.