by D L Greeley
“You’re the only father figure he’s ever had.”
“I know Mai.”
“Casey?”
“What?”
I impatiently gestured toward Azrael sweeping my hand forward, palm up. “Time to go, train’s pulling out of the station.” Casey stood firm. “Not interested, Mack.” Turning his attention to Azrael, “Was there anything else you needed, sir? We know you’re a busy harbinger of death and destruction.” Azrael chuckled again. “You still don’t understand. I suppose you’re still not ready. Thank you for trying to encourage him Mr. MacFade.”
“Encourage him? Open the bleeding gates and I’ll toss his ass through! Case it’s time to go, now move!” Casey jumped a bit, looking hurt at my perceived rejection. “This is for your own good, mate!” I started to fling a cable of Spirit Stone around Casey, the material in this world which can actually physically effect a ghost, when Azrael appeared beside me and caught my wrist. Power drained from the gauntlet immediately, causing it to revert back to its natural state. I’d have to remember that in the future. “No, Mr. MacFade. That’s not the way it works. I appreciate your enthusiasm but it must be his choice. Look after him a little while longer, please. I know you’re fond of him.” I looked at Casey severely. “We ARE going to discuss this later.”
“I don’t care,” Casey mumbled.
“Tell me something, Mr. MacFade?” Death’s smooth, almost soothing voice was a little disturbing. “What is your plan for fulfilling Arianna’s last wish?”
“I haven’t the foggiest, any suggestions?”
“You don’t need my advice Mr. MacFade, the answer is quite clear. This is a beautiful blade by the way.”
“HE HAS MY SWORD! How in the bloody Hell…not cool, you DO NOT touch another man’s sword.”
“I must take my leave of you now. Good luck, I do not envy you the tasks you have ahead.” He tossed me the sword as he disappeared. It was warm to the touch, an idea struck me. No… “He’s right, Alex. It’s the only way.”
I sat back down on the stairs and reached into my pocket, pulling out a short squat cylinder and emptied some of the contents into my mouth, chewing slowly. I used to think I was hypoglycemic, but it turns out, all this energy has to come from somewhere. Sleep does the most to replenish me, but a handful of glucose tablets can get me moving again. I sat for a few minutes letting them take hold.
Casey drifted in mid-air, looking reticent. I could Sense he was wondering about the conversation with Death and what the solution was. I looked up at him. “Casey, go ahead and get out of here. You don’t want to see this. Let me know if there is anyone watching out there or if the cops approach.”
“Mack…”
“Casey! This isn’t a request. Out now!” I pointed a stern figure at the door. He gave me a solemn nod and I nodded toward the exit. “Go on. Don’t drag your feet this time.” Casey turned and left. “Mai, let me know when he’s out of the building.” I stared down at the little battered and broken frame, involuntarily identifying the source and instrument used for each injury. If I didn’t do this quickly, I wouldn’t be able to follow through.
Mai pushed to the front of my consciousness, breaking my train of thought. “Are you sure you want to do this?” What a question! “There hasn’t been a time I ever WANTED to do something like this. It seems to be what I HAVE to do, besides…I gave her my word. I won’t break it for my own comfort.” I could feel a soft wave of sympathy wash over me from Mai.
“Sorry Alex, wrong choice of words.”
I knelt down and extended my right arm. A thin tendril snaked out from the gauntlet and slid between the body and the ropes. I was thinking of it as “the body” at the moment, to make it easier for myself. I reckon it was a little cowardly, but if I thought of the little lump of ruined flesh as Arianna, I wouldn’t be able to continue. Sliding through the other side of the ropes, the tendril reconnected with the gauntlet. A quick yank and it sliced through them with minimal effort; the ropes falling to the floor in a pile.
I picked up the body and walked over to the circle of power, cradling the small child in one arm. I extended my hand as the gauntlet encased my fingers. “Seishin no kaze” A strong jet of air blew out from my palm, eradicating Bastet’s ashes. Feeling light headed, I slumped to my knees. “Alex, don’t try anything like that again until you recover. You need food and sleep. Glucose tablets are not enough and I can’t even begin healing your injuries, until you rest.”
I lay Arianna in the middle of the circle. “I’ll be OK. I just need to get through this.” Popping the last handful of GTs into my mouth, I chewed loudly, grateful for a break in the macabre silence. “I’ve got the reserve power amulet on the bike.”
“Those amulets are only to be used for emergencies. They pack a real wallop. Using one for a recharge could be extremely dangerous.” Couldn’t be worse than the beating I had already received. “I can handle it.”
“Yes, if it doesn’t fry your brain first. Casey’s outside now, by the way.”
“Thanks Mai. Let’s be done with this so we can go home and forget this dreadful night.” I lay the sword across the chest of the young girl and whispered, “Seishin Kasai.” An undulating blue-green flame slowly grew to cover the body. I stepped out of the circle and touched the tip of the sword to the edge of the diagram, tapping into its already established formula.
Willing the flames higher, they form a dome. I found Arianna’s blood soaked clothing nearby. I neatly folded them and placed them next to the circle, leaving a note on top, weighted down with Previtt’s knife. It read: Here are the ashes of Arianna LeBlanc. One level down is the piece of shit you people didn’t think existed. Justice has been served, for Arianna. She died bravely and I would have been proud to call her my own daughter. I wasn’t able to save her because of the delays you, the SLPD caused. Her blood is on your hands.
Chapter 3
I dragged myself out of the building feeling like the mouse the cat had toyed with. I know, ironic as Hell, Hell being the operative word there. I checked Previtt as I left, he was alive but his neck was broken. His predator days were over. I rolled him onto his side so he wouldn’t drown in his own vomit. It would’ve been too easy of an end, for such a monster. Casey was waiting for me near the Kawasaki, looking anxious and miserable. I can’t say I blamed him. He started fidgeting as I approached. “What did you do?”
“I’m not going to talk about it, Case. It suffices to say I have honored Arianna’s request and there’s enough evidence to convict the rat bastard.” I rasped in an exhausted voice, making me sound detached. Casey didn’t understand, “What, do they try murder’s even after they’re dead?” I shook my head. “No Case, Previtt’s still alive, but his neck’s broken so he’s of no use to Bastet anymore.” Casey sailed forward, getting right into my face, pointing over my left shoulder. “Fuck that, Mack! Go back in there and finish the job!”
I looked over my shoulder and slowly back to him, one eyebrow arched in irritation, and barely contained rage. “You couldn’t possibly be talking to me, kid.” He stood his ground…impressive. “I said go in there and kill the son of a bitch! He deserves to die!” My brow furrowed as I considered his words. “That’s what I thought you said and I agree, he does deserve to die.” My voice grew very cold as I stared hard at him, my fury making my eyes glow.
“Stay calm, Alex, don’t say anything you’ll regret later. Remember he’s just a boy. Vengeance is only a few hundred yards away. It would be difficult for anyone to walk away from that, including you.” She had a bleeding point, damn her. “Crikey, Mai! Do you always have to let the pressure out just as I build up a head of steam?”
“When you’re dealing with friends, yes, I won’t ever be silent in situations like this. So, get over yourself and handle this like an adult.”
I didn’t care at all for her tone. I returned my attention to Casey. “You see, Casey, I was under the impression that we are the GOOD guys. We don’t kill defenseless people and we don�
��t go back in to ‘finish the job’ when it isn’t necessary. Tell me something…at what point have I done or said anything that makes you think I am capable of such a thing? Because if I have, please let me know what it was, otherwise IF YOU EVER imply that I would soil myself with such an act again, you’ll no longer be welcome in my presence. Do I make myself clear?” Casey looked ashamed. “I just thought—”
“What? You thought what?”
“There was that ghoul last year. You cut the legs out from under him and then took his head. It’s kind of a double standard, Mack.” Crikey! Is that what he was thinking? I sighed in exasperation, summoning what little patience I had left. Believe me, it wasn’t much. “No Case, it isn’t. Ghouls regenerate and that one had just fed. He would have been back on his feet (literally) in a few days and then a lethal threat to anyone he came across. I had to put him down to protect innocent lives. Previtt’s not a threat anymore. Besides, think of it this way. Which is a more fitting punishment? A quick death or having to live out the rest of his days in prison with what the inmates will do to him?” He was calming down but still weary. “I understand Mack, still—”
“Still it would have been good to see him die in the same agony he visited upon all of his victims? No Case, it wouldn’t. You may never understand this until it happens to you but revenge eats you up. It consumes you while you’re seeking it and leaves you empty once you’ve achieved it. I’m done talking about this. Come on, let’s get out of here. I can hear the coppers on their way.” Not a bad response time only 20 minutes to collar a pedophilic serial killer. Ain’t law enforcement grand?
I got on the Kawasaki and started down the drive to the frontage road. I could Sense Casey had something on his mind. I gave him a sidelong glance. “Spit it out Case, I can’t leave the silencer on all the way back home.” He looked at me intently, searching my eyes. “He’s totally paralyzed?”
“Yup.”
“Are you sure?”
“Do I strike you as the type of person to mistake such a thing?” The police sailed past us not even taking notice of me, my doing of course. “I guess I can live with that.”
“Humph! At this point Casey, I wasn’t aware you could LIVE with anything.” I grinned broadly very pleased with myself. Casey gave me a dirty look as he clamped one hand to the shoulder of my jacket. “You’re a real asshole when you’re in pain, Mack.” Yes, yes I am, a real shame it’s most of the time.
Chapter 4
When I left Japan for Detroit, Oroku presented me with my inheritance, a long rectangular box my mother wished me to have when I was old enough, to accept responsibility, for the contents within. Mai was part of the contents. As I was unpacking one of my trunks, I exposed a corner of the box. Picking it up, I was going to put it on the floor of my closet when I experienced a sudden pang of homesickness. I slid the box open and placed the bottom half on my tiny kitchen table, picking up the ring. “Bloody Hell, this thing is ugly, looks like a hollowed out gorilla knuckle.” As I spoke, the tip of my left index finger caught on some sort of burr in the material, pricking me. Later I would discover this to be no accident. I felt something leave my body.
I picked up a dish towel and started to clean the ring when the top of it came off in my hand. Underneath was a highly polished circular surface with some kind of symbol on it. I put the broken piece down on the table and it quickly shot through the air. My reflexes are pretty fast so I caught it. There was a significant pull towards the box, almost like it was magnetized. I held on to it, and followed the pull along the length of the table, into the box, alright.
Startled, I let go of the knuckle and it flew a club of some dark material. As it hit, it melted into the cylinder and disappeared. As I watched, glyphs and sigils (magical symbols) appeared on the surface of the rod, flashing once, in a gentle orange glow. “OK, that was different.” I commented to no one in particular as I picked up the rod. It felt like finished wood but it had no grain and was warm to the touch now. Then there was the gauntlet; just a conical cylinder, nothing special and way too small for my hands. As a six foot six man/cat I have hands and feet the size of dinner plates. Yes, big hands…big feet…it’s all true…no need to get into it.
I examined the ring more carefully, the writing, not a language I could read. Getting out the magnifying glass I kept in a desk drawer, I examined the surface of the ring. An upright heptagram with numerous symbols inside each of the triangles, making up the seven points of the star, but center was completely empty. It was incredible, as I looked at it more closely, I realized that each line of the diagram was made up entirely of other symbols.
“Bloody Hell! Somebody put a lot of work into this.” Holding it up, it caught the light with a peculiar blue/silver shine. “Not bad…a little gothic but I think I can pull it off.” I slipped it on my right hand and that’s when things went pear shaped.
“IT’S ABOUT TIME!” someone bellowed at me. Jumping, I fell backward over a chair; two throwing knives appearing in my hands, drawn from sheaths strapped to the insides of my forearms. I whirled on the source of the voice, poised to strike, but I was restrained by a strong mental presence. In front of me was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, tall and slender with an athlete’s build. In addition, she was wearing a blinding white toga with a circlet of gold in her hair. And oh what hair, platinum blonde which flashed with silver highlights as she moved. If you had to imagine Helen of Troy, this would be her. The problem was, she was glaring at me…through the greenest eyes I have ever beheld, emerald, with flecks of gold. I stood there stunned for a second. “Close your mouth you look ridiculous.”
“Excuse me?” I realized my mouth was hanging open. “I said close your mouth. You look like a dead fish.” The mental restraint gradually eased off. She smiled coyly at me, pleased with the effect her beauty and mental powers were having. I reined in my outrage long enough to speak. “I beg your pardon ma’am, but who the bloody Hell are you and how did you get in here?”
“How I got here is not important, who I am, is.”
“Alright Luv…let’s start with that.”
“I am a gift, given to you by the one who loves you most.” I sighed inwardly. Aces, a prostitute… one of my more unsavory mates had commented a couple weeks ago about my not having a woman. So he got me a high class call girl and an expensive one at that. Not my style, a bloke that looks like me NEVER needs to pay for it.
I put the knives away and cleared my throat. “Excuse me ma’am but I think you have the wrong apartment. It’s not that you aren’t desirable, because believe me, you are, it’s that I just moved here and I don’t know anyone. So if someone sent you here it was most likely for the former occupant. I’ll get you his new address.”
“I wasn’t SENT here Alexander MacFade Yoshida. I was GIVEN to you.” She looked to the side avoiding my eyes. Jesus bloody Christ! She knew my real name! I closed the distance between us in a few long strides, laying a knife to her throat. “Who are you? Who GAVE you to me?” I needed to know if my identity had been compromised. It was then, she did something that upset me even more. She walked right THROUGH me.
“OK…” I struggled to maintain my composure. “That was just a little disconcerting.” I Sensed, a very powerful mind again. “You might as well put the knives away Alexander. You’ll not need them with me. I am the Spirit of The Ring. I am appearing to you directly in your mind.” I considered what she said for a few moments. It wasn’t my first rodeo when it came to the paranormal. “Let me get this straight. You aren’t really here.” I pointed with all four fingers in a sweeping gesture to include the whole room. “You’re here.” I pointed to my head. “No, more like I am there.” She pointed to the ring. “I am simply using the unused portion of your brain to communicate with you, there is plenty available.”
Using my mind? Crikey! This Sheila a demon? Hold on a tic—did she just insult me? I shook my head to clear it, first things first! She just told me she was using my mind. Ripping off the ring with a g
loved hand, she promptly disappeared with a “That’s not going to—” Wrapping it in a dish towel, I tossed the ring onto the table. The towel started rattling and jumped from time to time. This was way too far out of my wheelhouse at the time. “Oh what, not so high and mighty now, are you girlie?” The activity increased to a frenetic level. I stuffed the towel into my back pocket and started looking for my keys. “Fine, you’re going in the lake!” That’s when the pain started, a gradual heat in my right buttock that quickly turned into a searing inferno. My pocket was on fire! As I reached back to remove the towel, the ring dropped to the floor, red hot and getting hotter every second. This lady meant business!
I got a pair of stainless steel tongs from the kitchen and reached down to pick up the ring, it went right through them like a rock through wet paper. “Oh, you want to play rough do ya?” I grabbed a fire extinguisher and pointed it at her. The ring was now branding a circle into the wood floor. There went my damage deposit.
“Leave off, or I’m gonna hose you down and flush you down the lou!” The ring jumped, a second later another jump and then another. Was it trying to communicate? “You want to talk?” The ring jumped once. “Are you going to try to possess me?” The ring jumped twice. Ah, the old one for ‘yes’ two for ‘no’ routine. I could work with that. “If I put you back on are you going to be a good girl?” The ring started jumping violently. Hmmm… I was thinking that meant anger, possibly profanity.
“Fine! Cool off and we can talk.” As I watched, the ring stopped jumping and the glow faded. “Finally!” I blustered with a little disgust in my voice. Reaching down to pick it up, I found the ring cold, so cold it actually stuck to my fingers. I ripped my hand away and noticed that there was now a layer of frost forming. “Oh very mature! Suit ya-self, you can just sit there!” And sit there she did—for three days. Oh, sure, she jumped around continuously, trying to keep me up at night. On the second day she really started to get on my nerves. For a short time, I used her to prop up a short leg on the kitchen table. That was very entertaining, until she knocked the table over.