The Shadow's Touch

by Scott VanKirk

  Il Saia showed me how to complete the package, then created a power conduit from the caduceus, through myself and to the cage. This would maintain it without my constant conscious supervision.

  It turns out that the name we had given my stick was appropriate in more ways than one. Apparently, the power from the caduceus cannot be harnessed directly, it has to be transformed by a soul first. Even the small amount of Gregg’s spirit remaining could create a constant usable flow of power. The caduceus truly was a staff of life and would keep Gregg bundled and safe.

  The wonder of it all made me want to dance and shout. How could a little stick make something like this possible?

  Finn, what you carry is not just a stick, it is a piece of the Earth’s tree of life. Long before humans awoke , unimaginable powers wielded in a war waged on an inconceivable scale shattered the Tree. That war laid vast empires to waste, and nothing remains of the combatants.

  Il Saia pondered the blackened wood for a moment. The shard you carry is exceptionally large and powerful. I’ve never seen its equal. I suppose seven billion people leave no patch of earth, no nook, cranny, or secret place undiscovered and unplundered.

  Before I could ponder that, Il Saia showed me how to move Gregg deep within me, where he would be safe.

  What will happen to him?

  If there is enough of Gregg left, he will feed off of your essence and heal. He may even regain consciousness. Much of who he was will be diminished, but his essence will be preserved.

  And, if he never regains consciousness?

  Then he will slumber until you die and you will both make the final journey together .

  That was a hard thought to take, but for the chance given to Gregg, I said sincerely, Thank you.

  Il Saia pulled away from me and left me alone with my thoughts. I regarded what we had created with both awe and sadness. No matter what happened, the Gregg that I knew and loved was gone. I said a prayer and said goodbye, but the impact of his loss didn’t fully hit me yet.

  I pulled my awareness back to the drenched and cold world around me. Il Saia was thoughtfully regarding Detective Hunter, who was standing there immobile. Victoria’s eyes were wide and followed Jen around as Jen examined her like an interesting bug.

  “What happened to her?” I asked.

  “You bound her,” said Jen. “Crude, but effective.”

  That surprised me. I hadn’t actually expected a response. “You can speak English now?”

  “Yes, many of my host, Jen’s, memories are accessible to me now. The imprinting was incomplete.”

  That statement would bear further thought, but now, I had an immobile detective to deal with. I thought back through the ages to when I had snapped at Detective Hunter. I said, “Uh, I didn’t tell her that she couldn’t move. I just said to shut up and let me work.”

  The priestess said, “It is not just the words, but also her interpretation. When you bound her with your will, it was clear to her that you wanted her to remain still, so now she cannot move.

  “You are unusual, Finn Morgenstern. I have never seen someone with such a natural, innate talent for manipulating and tapping into the Source.”

  That sounded promising, but I had nowhere to put it, so I just asked, “So how do I let her go?”

  “That’s easier than binding her.” She ran her hand lightly over the detective’s forehead. Suddenly Detective Hunter slumped under Jen’s hands, but managed to catch herself before she fell. She stood up shakily and pointed the gun at my head.

  “Finn, don’t make me shoot you! Get down!”

  I didn’t see any point in provoking her any more. She had just gone through a lot. I got down on my knees and put my hands behind my head. That’s what they always seem to do on the cop shows. Hunter pointed her gun at Jen and said, “You, too!”

  Jen looked at me with an unsaid question. I nodded, and she copied me.

  “How about me? Can I get up? It’s pretty damn cold sitting naked in this wet grass.” I found Dave sitting up in the wet underbrush. He looked as tired as I felt.

  Before Hunter could answer, several calls came from the field at the edge of the forest. She responded and called them over.

  Dave took this as permission to get up. With his fair complexion, he was as white as a ghost in the gloom. He practically glowed from head to foot. It didn’t seem to bother him that he was dangling in the breeze. I wondered enviously how he did that. As the detective’s backup came up the path, he called out again, “Hurry up, will you? She took my clothes and now won’t let me get dressed!”

  Unexpected laughter exploded out of me. Dave pulled something out of his teeth. He looked at it with disgust and said, “Great. Now I’m going to have snake breath.” He spat on the ground several times.

  I laughed even harder. After all the shit that had been flying and the grief that had been kicking my ass, I couldn’t stop till Dave asked, “Where’s Gregg? Did you leave him in the woods?

  My laughter choked in my throat and turned into sobs and gasps for air. Reality crashed down through my chest and the world wept cold tears with me.

  Dave, glowing white even in the rain, came over and put a hand on me.

  I don’t remember telling Dave, but he knew, he knew Gregg was dead.

  I folded over and struggled to breathe through my sobs. I vaguely heard him cry out. “God damn that fucking piece of shit!”

  ***

  My time sitting in that damp, cold wood is kind of a blur. I was in shock and not functioning particularly well. Spring remained utterly quiet within me.

  Eventually, the cops split us all up and took us to our respective destinations. They carted Jen back to Shady Oaks and Gregg’s body, encased in a black bag, to the morgue. A couple of the police officers I wasn’t familiar with hauled Dave and myself to the jail. Being on the scene of a double homicide, with no reasonable explanation of what had happened, was apparently cause enough for an arrest.

  I was sitting next to Dave, stewing in my grief and loss, when Dave leaned over to me and whispered, “Can you imagine what Detective Hottie wrote in her report? I bet she’s never seen a penis that large!”

  I guess my brain’s centers for laughter and despair huddle closely together because the thought brought a bark of laughter that soon turned into a fit of giggles. Dave, sitting beside me, looked smug at his mastery of humor. I’m sure I wasn’t helping my case with the police much, but just imagining Hunter’s report made me laugh harder.

  After a particularly hard bout of laughter, I checked on the cocoon that contained Gregg’s remaining soul. Silence greeted me there. My laughter schizophrenically turned to tears again. This was twice that I had failed Gregg. First at the battle for the oak, and this time, he had paid for it with his life.

  Jailhouse Blues

  My first visitor surprised me. I figured it would be my parents. Instead, it was the beautiful Detective Hunter who first came to my cell to brighten my durance vile. My mind was turned inwards, contemplating the cocoon that held Gregg. I was Listening intently for any sign of life, but the only thing I heard were the memories of life. Spring gave me a mental nudge, I came out of it and saw the detective standing on the other side of the bars watching me with fierce intensity. We were alone in the cell block. I returned her gaze. If she was attempting to subdue me with her hard stare, it was a wasted effort. As I’d told the snake, I’d been stared at by pros. Besides, she was much too pretty to make looking at her anything but pleasant—until Spring chimed in.

  Finn, I still like this one. She is strong and a good breeder. See her wide hips and excellent breasts. We should make babies with her. She is not currently fertile, but you’d only have to wait a few weeks.

  I flared red and looked at my hands where they sat in my lap. I kept them clasped over my penis in defiance even though she hadn’t said a thing, was not a faceless interrogator, and this was not an episode of The Prisoner.

  “Finn, can you possibly tell me what happened tonight?”r />
  I guess if I had been thinking, this visit wasn’t the surprise I had first thought.

  “… In a way that won’t end up with me tossed off the force or placed into therapy?”

  I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Detective, I can’t do that and still tell you the truth.”

  “Well, let’s start with the truth and go from there.”

  “Okay…” I straightened up. “Just remember, you asked for it. This is the short version.

  “Remember the story Jen and Gregg told you about the incident behind my house? It was true. I was lying before. They came over and chopped down my tree to kill my dryad, Spring. Jen has been taken over by the mind of a warrior priestess who may or may not have lived thousands of years ago, if she’s not just an advertisement from the future. She stole my magic stick and ran from the facility. I have no idea why.

  “Dave and Erik Parmely both have artifacts that let them change shape. Dave turns into a bear, and Erik turns into a snake. The priestess, who was somehow stored in an amethyst before I transferred her mind to Jen, was fighting a war against shadow creatures who act like leeches and drive people insane.

  “Erik was taken over by the granddaddy of all these shadows and is trying to kill me, Jen and…” I choked up.

  After a few seconds, I continued, “He killed Gregg. I was able to help heal Jen and Dave, after you shot him, but I was too late for Gregg. In case you’ve forgotten, you put four bullets into Dave. The artifact and I healed the wounds, but three of the bullets are still in there.”

  Bitterly, I added, “If you hadn’t done that, Gregg might still be alive. Oh, and I locked you into place with my mind so I could work on Dave in peace…”

  She just stood there staring blankly at me through the bars. She finally said, “And, Dr. Anderson? How does he fit into this? Do you know what happened to him?

  I said in a small voice, “Uh, he wanted me to try and help his patients being ridden by a shadow. I transferred a nasty one from one of his patients—whom it was killing—and, at his insistence, placed it on the Doc.”

  The blank expression stayed firmly put, but I could tell it was only from extreme self control.

  I hunched my shoulders and lifted my hands apologetically. “Sorry, but you did ask. Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up.”

  “Let me tell you what happened, Mr. Morgenstern,” she said, her voice hard. “This is what’s going into the report, so listen carefully.” She ticked off her fingers:

  “One: Jennifer ran away. Only she knows why.

  “Two: You followed after her, trying to get her to stay at the clinic.

  “Three: You, Dave, and Gregg have been searching for her all day, trying to get her back.

  “Four: You all heard Jennifer scream when the snake attacked her and ran to help her. You and Dave helped Jennifer while Gregg bravely fought off the snake and then died of his wounds.

  “Five: I showed up, saw the snake, fired several shots at it, maybe hitting it, and scared it away.”

  She finished ticking off on her fingers and said, “That’s what happened. Right?”

  I nodded.

  Repeat it back to me.”

  I did. When I finished, I asked, “Uh, then why was Dave running around naked in the woods?”

  She rubbed her hand tiredly across her eyes and muttered, “Why was Dave running around naked in the woods?”

  “How about we ask Dave?” I said helpfully.

  “Right, I’ll ask Dave.” Her eyes glinted dangerously at me. “Do we understand each other?”

  I nodded. “Uh, there is one other thing.”

  She looked guardedly at me and silently dared me to make her life worse.

  “We, uh, found a body at a farm house close to where we found Jen. We think Erik the Snake killed him a while back.”

  Shesighedtiredly and said, “Anything else I should know?”

  “Well,” I said. “That story about a giant snake is pretty farfetched. What are your superiors going to think about that?”

  “I don’t give a white man’s promise about the snake. If we have a mutant killer snake on the loose, it doesn’t threaten my career in any way. But know this, you and your magic buddies are going to help me hunt down and kill that snake. Understand me?”

  I nodded and said sincerely, “That will be a real pleasure.” Another question popped up in my tired mind. I asked it before she could leave. “Detective, how was it that you showed up just as everything was going down? How did you find us?”

  “I tracked your phone.”

  I laughed mirthlessly at the irony. She didn’t even seem curious about what was so funny. She just left. After she departed, I mulled over what she had said earlier: “I don’t give a white man’s promise.” Perhaps Gregg had been more on target than I’d believed in that rain-drenched field. As for her story, I had been planning just to go with the truth, consequences be damned, but her story would undoubtedly make things easier on all of us. I finally gave in to my fatigue, lay down on the creaking, lumpy cot and fell asleep.

  Life Goes On—For Some

  Being home was a jarring change from the last day. I was still vibrating from the aftershocks pulsing through my brain. I lay back in my room, relaxing on my bed, just breathing. The worst thing about jail had been being alone with my grief over Gregg. The short visit allowed my parents had just been long enough to assure them that I was okay, and not much more. Spring had been there for me and provided a lot of comfort, but I really wanted someone to hold. Someone to hold me.

  Paradoxically, after spending the night wishing for my parents or my friends, now all I wanted was to be alone in my room. Go figure. Of course, the phone rang five minutes after I lay down. It was Dave.

  “Hey, Dave.”

  “Mighty, how you doing?”

  “Better now that I’m home. You?”

  “I’m kind of screwed up about the whole thing. On the one hand, if I had arrived earlier, Gregg might still be alive. On the other hand, I was a fricking bear, Finn! It was mind blowing! I felt so alive, so powerful! It was a complete rush… I just wish it hadn’t been at Gregg’s expense.”

  I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I didn’t.

  “You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?

  I got angry, “Of course, I am, Dave! It was my fracking fault! This whole thing, everyone who died, everyone who got hurt. It’s my fault!”

  “Shit, Finn. I knew it. You’re such a Catholic. You can’t do this to yourself. I don’t know anyone who voted you in as God. Remember, if you ain’t got the pay, you ain’t got the name, then you surely ain’t got the blame.”

  “I don’t see anyone else whose decisions brought all this crap down on our heads, Dave, so keep it to yourself. If I want to have my head examined, I can get Anderson to bore through my brain again with his laser beam stare.”

  Dave chuckled and said, “Okay, no more pep talk. I was talking with Jeff and Alan to see if they wanted to get together later, maybe have a wake or something. Maybe induce Gregg’s characters into godhood or something.”

  “Not yet, Dave, I can’t even think about it. I just need some time alone.”

  “Okay, I figured as much. You always retreat to your cave when you’re injured. I’ll get out of your hair. Don’t do anything stupid. Okay?”

  “What, you think I’m going to eat myself to death or something?”

  “No, Finn. Now that you’re a certified superhero, I think you’ve decided to go all Rambo on Erik’s ass all by yourself.

  I guess he knew me pretty well: I had been planning exactly that. I couldn’t admit it to him.

  “I mean it, Finn. I know you. If you go off on your own and don’t bring me along, I’ll kill you after Erik does. Gregg was my friend, too, and if you take away my chance to get my piece of Erik, I’ll never forgive you. You don’t go without your big bad Davy-bear.”

  For the first time, I thought about what had happened from Dave’s point of view. “Okay, Dave. I
won’t go without you.”

  “Damn straight, honky.”

  “And, if you start talking in Ebonics, I’m going to kick your ass so hard you’ll be walking on your hands.”

  Dave laughed. “You have no more idea of what you just said than I do. Listen, go back to your dark brooding, and call me when you’re ready to talk vengeance. Oh, by the way, Detective Hottie wants us to call her, too.”

  “She said the same thing to me. I don’t get it. I can’t imagine a cop wanting to take a bunch of teenagers out hunting a serial killing snake-boy. It’s not like we’ve got a crystal ball or anything.”

  “Finn, we’re not just pimply-faced boys anymore. We’re pimply-faced superheroes. She needs us on her team, and she can see that. She’s not blind. Besides, when I pointed out that I’d have killed that SOB if she hadn’t come along and plugged me full of holes, she broke down weeping and tearing at her hair, and asked if I could ever forgive her.”

  Dave could get me to laugh, even when I didn’t want to. I tried to hate him while I laughed, “Yeah, right.”

  “No, Finn, it was awesome! I consoled her, and she fell right into my arms and said she had always wanted a strong man to take care of her. She’d been thinking about me ever since she saw my penis.”

  I laughed harder.

  “I asked her out right then and there, but she had some concerns because I was so young. You know, ‘What would my parents think?’ And all that. But, after I told her ‘Once you’ve done it with a bear, baby, you never go back,’ she was mine. We did it right there in the cell.”