Avenger

by Su Halfwerk

  Luke opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again. He lost the battle and blanked out.

  Help me, Pru called to Celestine, or the woman, or anyone who could save him.

  The Spirit Within is healing him, however, it is a critical injury. Luke is weak and the wound is close to the heart, the female voice said.

  When Sully kicked Luke in the ribs laughing, Pru shoved him away. Eloise snickered, and Barney pulled the chain from Luke’s forearm and flung it across the yard. Thick fingers wrapped around Pru’s shoulders and pulled, she resisted and didn’t let go of her man.

  “Let her be,” Eloise said and turned to Pru. “This is a lesson for you. We can do to your family what we did to Luke until you give us what we want. Your total obedience.”

  Barney followed his mother’s orders and limped to the building with his family, leaving Pru and Luke behind.

  Then you do something, Pru said to the female spirit. Her eyes stung, she wasn’t going to cry, but her tears proved her wrong, for they had a mind of their own.

  I cannot manifest to influence objects or beings. It is forbidden.

  It was up to Pru to avenge her love and she was not going to disappoint him. Luke was going to wake up and he was going to be okay. Control the animals, they’d said. Well, she couldn’t do that, but she could ask for their help. With a flick of her hand, she wiped her tears and lifted her head. The chimpanzee who’d moved further away from the scuffle, was now watching her. She reached with one hand to it and spoke very softly, “Free your friends.”

  The chimpanzee tilted its head from one side to the other, and studied her. It then glanced at the cages and back at Pru. She smiled weakly and nodded. The chimpanzee dashed so swiftly, it was hard to keep track of its movement. It darted from one cage to the next, sliding the barrel bolt on each and leaving the doors open. In no time, animals were slithering, flying, running, jumping, and twisting out of their cages.

  At the sounds of the deadbolts, Eloise and her boys swung about. In his panic, Sully pulled out the gun and shot the first animal his gaze fell upon, a rabbit—the softest and smallest animal free. Barney pulled out a knife and crouched, a challenge glinting in his eyes. Eloise froze, her eyes shifting from one corner of the yard to the other, her mouth open.

  Something hard pushed against Pru’s hand, the one pressing against Luke’s chest wound. She removed her hand only to have the bullet rocket out of his body to the ground. She smiled, he was healing from the inside out. When he lifted his head as though to rise, she pushed him down.

  “I’m fine now. I promise.” He sounded breathless.

  Shaking her head, Pru gently lowered his head to the ground and rose to her feet. Ignoring her request, he stood up as well and looked around, frowning at the advancing animals. When a snake slithered close by, he drew Pru behind him. The sweetheart!

  “This is Luke!” Pru said loudly, pointing at him.

  Sully sniggered, blood sprayed from his busted nose. “We know.” He turned to Eloise. “Ma, I think she lost it.”

  Pru shook her head. “I wasn’t talking to you.” She then turned to the animals, dangerous and otherwise, and said, “Please help us, Luke and me.” An Ostrich halted in front her, head tilting in all direction.

  Pru added, “For me!”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  I’m in a circus, Luke thought. Animals, small and big, dangerous and fluffy, advanced on the trio amidst hisses, roars, and snarls.

  Sully tried to shoot but the gun clicked on an empty chamber. He cursed and reloaded it with shaky hands. More than once the bullets slipped to the ground instead. Eloise shivered, her lips trembling, and took a couple of steps backward until she hit the wall behind her. Barney squatted and held his place, waiting, his soulless eyes on animals closing in, like a hunter marking its prey.

  “You doing this?” Luke asked Pru.

  She nodded smiling.

  He smiled at her, proud. It became a grin when she blushed. His love for her increased ten folds, because, damn! She looked gorgeous blushing.

  He studied the animals. No wonder Sully was desperate to have her on his team. It didn’t explain why they wanted to kill her though.

  “I overheard that if they could not control her then no one else should,” Leema said.

  “For the record, I don’t like anyone reading my thoughts,” Luke said tersely.

  Their greed could’ve killed Pru. He glanced at her again, proudly. She looked hesitant, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

  “The rabbit.” She was chewing her lip again.

  Luke followed the direction of her gaze to the rabbit shot by Sully. “I’m sorry, darling.” To change the topic he asked, “Did you know you can do this?”

  She shook her head. “This goes beyond my expectations. I guess it’s a matter of trust that I shouldn’t abuse.”

  Abuse was the keyword. The menacing way in which the animals approached Sully and his family seemed more personal. Luke had considered lending a hand but had a feeling that anything in those animals’ path would be trampled upon, maybe even killed.

  Eloise had her sons on either side, the wall behind her, and a pissed-off massive Doberman in front of her. She gulped and looked either side for help. Unfortunately for her, her sons were dealing with their own problems. To the right a tiger singled out Sully, it stalked toward him with determination and precession. On the other side, a flock of ostriches advanced on Barney.

  The tiger circled the trio, moving from one side to the other. Just when it launched itself at Sully, the Doberman went for Eloise’s legs. Eloise jumped over the dog and ran forward to escape it. At that same moment, Sully shot the airborne tiger and missed it, hitting his mother in the neck instead. Eloise cried in pain and fell to the ground. A bewildered expression transformed her face comically.

  “Sully?” She croaked. Her frantic gaze froze and her eyes glazed over.

  Sully slumped to his knees by his dead mother’s side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” He shook her motionless body. “Ma! Answer me.”

  The ostriches remained a safe distance away from Barney after he stabbed the one that had attacked. Still, he got a couple of cuts from its peak in the face and hand. Now he hobbled to Eloise and shook her silently. She was gone.

  Sully’s guilt-filled wail was interrupted by growls from behind him. He swiveled and made to rise to his feet, but both Doberman and tiger jumped at him. As Barney snarled and reached over his mother’s body to help his brother, he lost his balance. An emotion flickered across his expressionless face. Fear. He looked around frantically. A great python had twisted loosely around his lower body and had chosen the moment he moved to tighten its hold.

  Pru gasped and buried her face in Luke’s shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. The tiger and Doberman shredded Sully’s back then turned him over and worked on his front. He was slashed and bitten by both, but the tiger took great joy in dragging him by the foot all over the yard. Barney turned blue then purple, his eyes bulged as his bones were crushed. He’d went the way he made many go, slowly and painfully without a chance for release.

  Sully’s cries quieted down promptly but the python was in no hurry to end Barney’s suffering. The sound of bones crunching went on for a long time.

  “So much death,” Pru said and sniffled. She tried to turn back but Luke stopped her, saying, “It’s better if you don’t see.” He rubbed her back to ease her sadness. “Celestine? You there?”

  “He is not available,” Leema said.

  “When will he be back?”

  There was a long pause and then, “What do you need of him?”

  “What happens now to Mack and Sully?”

  “Since they have bonded, they have travelled together to the Laymour, the spirit of Mack anchoring and leading Sully’s. No extraction is needed since they are both dead.”

  There was a feeling of discomfort toward the methodical way Leema answered him. Okay, so fine, she was a bit similar to Celestine
, but the guy had some tenderness in his own way. Leema seemed stilted, unfeeling.

  “I can hear your thoughts,” Leema said factually.

  “Then you know what I’m going to ask next. Is it possible for Celestine to be my spirit within?”

  “He can never be a spirit within because he has not ascended. Instead, he has transgressed our laws and sinned.”

  Epilogue

  They were peaceful, pure, and beautiful.

  The reticent Domines surrounded Luke, erect and regal in their pale appearances. They’d introduced themselves, but only few names stuck in his head. Naiten stood out of course since Celestine had referred to him as the Pit Keeper, the big wig of the day. The Dome, the silvery blue surroundings, and the importance of the beings around Luke intimidated him, yet, he refused to show fear. Respect, yes, but definitely not fear.

  “This is a peculiar situation,” Sola said. He reminded Luke of romance novels’ heroes, it was in the way he carried himself. His voice had a strong undertone and he seemed to luxuriate in the way one of the female Domines stood too close to him. “We have never had a living person in the Laymour before.”

  Luke glanced around. “Is that true? Then I take it you don’t frequently turn on one of your own.”

  The woman standing by Sola’s side stepped forward, a frown marring her beautiful serene face. When she gestured at her associates, her thick braid slid on her back. “We are under no obligation to grant you your wish. The fact that we allowed you to present your case does not mean we are weak. If you wish to speak, do so with respect.”

  Bullshit, Luke thought and then stilled. He’d forgotten their ability to read his mind. The fact of the matter was, they were obligated to answer his request. He had been on strike, refusing to hunt until they spoke to him. “I meant no disrespect. I’m merely worried about Celestine.”

  Naiten climbed down the long steps until he reached the other Domines. No one spoke until he stopped before Luke. “You are a loyal man, however, you need not worry about Celestine, for even though he has sinned, we are fair.”

  Luke gazed up at him. “How can you call what he did for me a sin? He saved my life. “

  A short and boyish looking female Domine—Marteenk?—said, “Balance is built on people doing their undertaking and managing their responsibilities. Intentional deviation from destiny risks world’s synergy.”

  They didn’t flinch under his probing glare. “You believe you are justified, so fine, let’s talk synergy. If I was killed in that animal shelter you would’ve had no one to carry the task, the next daft person scheduled to become your hunter isn’t ready yet for recruitment. Celestine balanced all that by intervening and saving me.”

  Naiten massaged his beard. “One can argue that Lidwien might have made it in time and saved you. We will never know because Celestine stepped his boundaries under the influence of an emotional decision.”

  This wasn’t going anywhere. “I would truly appreciate it if you can return him as my Spirit Guide. Leema is a great gal and all but Celestine knows me better.”

  Remei, another female Domine who had been watching silently, said, “No.” Before opening her mouth, she looked the most forgiving, almost grandmotherly. “We will review Celestine’s lapse of judgment and a decision will be made. A decision that is not influenced by any threats. We have honored our end of this deal and we expect you to honor yours. Celestine has mentioned that you are a man of your word, be it good or bad. You stick by the promises you make.”

  Luke was a man of his word, but he was also a hot-tempered one. Was it too much to ask for leniency with Celestine after centuries of serving them?

  “Since you are here, I would like you to clarify matters that were left pending,” Naiten said.

  “Ask away.”

  “Have you figured out the meaning of the orange aura?”

  “Pru has a theory. Since red indicates a healthy aura and yellow an infected one, she reasoned that orange is the combination of the two. And since we have come across infected infants, it isn’t farfetched to assume the possession can start in the womb. That woman might’ve been in early pregnancy.”

  Naiten considered that for a moment and then nodded. “It is possible. I am impressed with your Destined One’s power of deduction. What about the unexplained possessions?”

  “Why target children and inmates on death row? I have no idea, but it feels like it’s part of a bigger plan, which I hope has failed since Sully is no more. I detest exorcising children.”

  Sola asked, “The fact remains, however, when that woman gives birth, the child will be born bonded to the spirit possessing him.”

  Luke closed his eyes and winced. He didn’t want to think about that, even though the notion had crossed his mind.

  While studying Luke’s reaction, Naiten said to Sola, “We will wait and see when that takes place.”

  “My turn to ask,” Luke said. In unison, the Domines frowned, Marteenk matched them and added a raised eyebrow. Luke added, “If you don’t mind.”

  Naiten nodded.

  “Is Pru’s power over animals supernatural?”

  Sola glanced at his colleagues. “Animals are sensitive to humans. Every now and then, there comes a person who is sensitive to them in return. We believe what links Pru to the animals is empathy. They sense her emotions, read her body language, and respond accordingly. Even when your Destined One was in her spirit form, animals sensed her.”

  Naiten added, “Which means, if she had ordered them to swallow those drugs, in other words, asking them to harm themselves, they would have ignored her.”

  That made sense and eased Luke’s mind. He’d feared others might try to use her to their advantage, now he knew it was not supernatural but natural to the core.

  “We have answered your questions, it is time to rejoin your body, Luke” Marteenk said.

  “What’s going to happen to Celestine?”

  “His destiny,” Naiten said and placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder.

  Luke opened his mouth to protest, to argue his point, instead he yawned and found himself in his bed. Maxine was sitting by his feet, staring at him with those light brown eyes of hers. “Good morning, Maxine.”

  The chimpanzee bared her teeth at him and scampered to the kitchen. They had discovered that the chimpanzee was a female and she took a liking to Luke. In the face of Pru’s cute insistence, he kept Maxine, except the chimpanzee seemed more in love with the alcohol in his loft than with him. Whenever left alone, Maxine would get drunk until he removed all alcohol from the house. She liked him less now.

  A drunkard monkey. Go figure, Luke thought.

  The apartment smelled to pancakes, eggs, and coffee. Pru was home. She had taken it upon herself to feed him a healthy and balanced diet. Part of her plan involved a hearty breakfast.

  Luke kicked the covers and tiptoed to the kitchen. Pru was a drool-inducing vision in an apron standing by the sink. He stalked to her, motioning Maxine to remain silent. Maxine’s gaze was trained on him, her head tilted to one side. Upon reaching Pru, Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. Maxine jumped up and down, screaming at him. Pru laughed and tossed her hair back, engulfing him in a fruity scent. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. “When did you arrive for your cooking duties, sunshine?”

  “You’ve earned the right to call me that now. I arrived twenty minutes ago, but I can’t stay long, I have to attend a meeting at the shelter.”

  Luke watched her move around the kitchen, visions of living together under one roof drew a smile out of him. He crossed his arms and leaned on the counter. “Speaking of the shelter, any news about Jason the Bastard?”

  She sighed, frowning. “No. There isn’t a trace of him.” She chewed on her lip. “Do you think Sully killed him?”

  “I don’t think so. They wouldn’t have had the time to get rid of the body. Besides, from your description, I think he has a friend-in-him.”

  “Then where is he? There’s no on
e at his apartment, his neighbors haven’t seen him for days, and there are no next of kin details at the shelter.”

  “Even Dr. Higgins, who has been helping Sully, knows nothing about Jason.”

  There was no need to remind her that the Jason she had befriended may have already been possessed. For Luke, her friend would always remain Jason the Bastard. That nickname would fit Dr. Higgins as well. The vet was the one who steered Sully Pru’s way, Carmen merely confirmed her ability. The vet operated on animals and faked their travel details while keeping a blind eye on their deteriorating states. He did most of his dirty work at night, when the shelter was deserted. Money transfers to his bank account confirmed his involvement in Sully’s drug trafficking scheme. That had broken him down and he’d confessed.

  “You worry too much. Jason the Bastard might’ve gotten scared and scrammed,” Luke said though he doubted it.

  “Maybe. There has to be an explanation just like with Celestine’s disappearance.” Drying her hands on a towel, Pru added in a subdued voice, “Did you speak to them?”

  Team-Laymour. “I did. It’s a no-go.”

  She cursed and Luke grinned. The spirited and resilient part of her childhood personality was still present. He had a partner in her, one who empathized with his priorities and stood by his side to reach them. Luke opened his arms and she rushed to him, burying her face in his shoulder, sighing.

  Maxine gibbered at the same instant Leema said, “This is highly risky. You might be tempted to lose your purity.”

  “Not with you around,” Luke gritted as Pru stepped away. “I really really miss Celestine right now.”

  Leema took the general form of a cloud. “I am certain he would not have approved of the manner in which you tempt yourself.”

  Luke huffed.

  “I wish I had known him better,” Pru said. “I think he was the closest thing you had to a father. I wonder if he approved of me.”

  Ignoring Leema, Luke embraced and kissed Pru on the forehead. “He did, even hinted while you were in a coma that you might be my Destined One. Besides, he was with Andrew when he met your aunt, so technically Celestine did know you.” He glanced in the general direction of Leema. “I always thought Celestine was stuffy and unemotional. Now I know he was really broad-minded compared to others.”