Council of Peacocks

by M Joseph Murphy

  ***

  “You look tired.”

  “I don’t get tired, Andromeda.” Wisdom glanced over at her as the caravan neared the edge of the village. Propates was several feet ahead lost in his own thoughts as usual. “It’s one of the benefits of being me. You must be happy to be away from the Parthians. I think that cook was getting dangerously close to asking for your hand in marriage.”

  “I believe that’s called changing the subject.” She frowned and touched his chin. “Whether you get tired or not, you certainly look that way. Maybe it’s time for a vacation.”

  “Vacations are for peasants,” Wisdom sighed. “I’m far too important to sit around and do nothing.”

  She slapped him playfully across his cheek. “Welcome back to reality. All you do is kill people and feel sorry for yourself. Hardly that important in the grand scheme of things.”

  Wisdom smiled and said nothing else as they approached the village. Perhaps she was right. Maybe it was time to take a little break from the quest.

  The tribe was called the Uzuu. They were one of the many losers in the game of history. Very little was known about them in the modern era yet, over time, they grew to be a highly civilized culture. Their shaman was descended from a long line of demon fighters and claimed to know how to break the bonds of Calling Stones. Wisdom held very little hope, having heard the same promise from dozens of others.

  As they entered the village they were met by five bare-chested men wielding short javelins as weapons. Draining them of their resistance and fear was an easy task for Wisdom. Before his horse came to a stop, the five men had lowered their weapons. Every one of them smiled up at him like he was an old friend. The man behind the warriors was a different matter. His skin was as dark as the other Uzuu’s but his hair was long and gray. He wore a necklace constructed of human teeth and crystals.

  Wisdom dismounted and bowed to the old man as a sign of reverence.

  “You worked magic against my men,” the shaman said. “Do not enter my home as a serpent or I will crush you underfoot. Are we agreed?’

  Wisdom smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Agreed. I’ve lifted the spells. You saw the magic, didn’t you? I could see it in your eyes. You followed the waves as I warped reality. Perhaps you will be the one to end the curse.”

  The shaman took a step closer as if to whisper in his ear. “I can break the link between the stones but the real curse is your father. I have no control over that.”

  Wisdom looked away in a failed attempt to hide his shock. “I told you nothing of my father when we spoke in the Dreaming. How do you know about him?”

  “I am Mundugu. I know.” Mundugu reached over and grabbed Wisdom’s hand – a gesture of such bare sincerity that he did not flinch. “Many years I’ve walked between the worlds. You are not the only creature I have talked to. There are many in the world that can see like I do. We meet in the Dreaming from time to time. Your story is known to us. I know you’ve tried for many years to break the bond your father has on you. When we spoke in the Dreaming so many moons ago, I already knew you would come to me in time. I am just surprised it took this long.”

  Still holding his hand, Mundugu led him away from the caravan toward a mud and straw hut. Wisdom glanced behind him and signaled Andromeda to get things settled for the night.

  Inside the hut, he was overcome with the sense of serenity. He shivered, the first time he felt a chill since his childhood in Atlantis. “Why is it so cold in here?”

  Mundugu let go of his hand. “It is not cold. Not to humans. I do magic in this place. That means I need to put up barriers. Protection. What you feel is a shield to keep out evil things. You are an evil thing, aren’t you, Wisdom?”

  Wisdom did not answer. Instead he sat cross-legged on the floor just as Mundugu directed him. In the center of a hut was a black bowl filled with water. At the bottom of the bowl was a human tooth. Sun-bleached bones formed a protective circle around the bowl, pointing outwards like the rays of the sun. Mundugu sat opposite Wisdom and closed his eyes. Wisdom followed the cue and allowed himself time to center. When he opened his eyes, Mundugu was starting at him.

  “Place the Calling Stone in the water.”

  Wisdom reached into the folds of his beige robes and pulled out the princess’ brooch. Despite its age, it sill gleamed as if newly crafted. He dropped it in the water and waited.

  Nothing happened.

  “What now?” Wisdom looked up from the brooch and his eyes fell on Mundugu. The transformation in the man was disturbing and rapid. The instant the broach hit the water, the shaman started to change. The grey left his hair, replaced by luminous blond streaks that glowed in the dim light of the hut. His eyes were open in an unbroken stare and his lips mouthed silent words. Magic flowed in swirls of bright color streaming from each chakra of Mundugu’s body to fill the air. Translucent serpents circled the outer perimeter of the hut at ever-increasing speeds. Then, in a blur of movement, they shot directly at the Calling Stone. The brooch cracked, snapping in two.

  All light around him disappeared, replaced by a sudden darkness. Slowly, the veil of shadows dissipated like fog under the steadily-rising sun. When he could see again, Wisdom realized he was no longer in the hut. He was no longer on Earth. He was somewhere in-between. And he was not alone.

  Standing before him was the Djinn. His father was dressed in blue and green armor encrusted with gems. His skin was sand-colored with a strong red tinge. Long black hair was drawn back in a ponytail and his eyes burned and flickered with flame. In one hand he held a massive six-foot-long molten sword. In the other he held Mundugu by the neck.

  “This is becoming tiresome,” his father said. He squeezed the hand holding Mundugu, snapping Mundugu’s neck. “I have abided your ridiculous attempt to blend in with humanity for long enough. You are coming home with me. Now.”

  Wisdom swallowed. Hard. “This is my home. You always told me I would never be a true Djinn. I belong here with my people. I am not going back with you.”

  The Djinn tossed Mundugu’s body away and put both hands on the sword. “I wasn’t asking you, slave. I was telling you. Despite your birth, you are of the Djinn now. There is no place for you on this planet.”

  Wisdom clenched his fists. “I’m not your slave anymore.”

  The words were barely out of his lips before the sword was swinging. Wisdom spun away from the attack. He called up a teleportation disk. It was a common form of transportation in the Kaz. He jumped through the disk and appeared behind his father. He reached out for the elements and found an abundance of earth. He reached into the ground and giant spikes of metal shot up from the earth under his father’s feet.

  The Djinn was too fast for it. He sidestepped the attack and swung the sword at him again. Wisdom transmuted his body to sentient gas and seeped through the soil, diving through earth like it was water. He came up on the other side of his father and opened a portal. The other side of this portal was the vacuum of space above the planet Earth, causing an implosion in the area. The Djinn was sucked through the portal, but, before he was through, he grabbed Wisdom by the ankle.

  They both emerged above the earth and started to fall. As they fell, the Djinn swung his sword and shot bolts of blue flame from his eyes. Wisdom managed to dodge each attack. He was so focused on his father that he didn’t see how close the ground was. He smacked into the dirt, creating a sizable crater.

  For a moment his father was eclipsed by a mass of noise and earth. Pain shot through his body as mangled bones tried to re-knit and flesh struggled to keep his innards where they belonged. Before he could recuperate, his father grabbed him by one leg and slammed him against a tree. Then against a boulder. Then, to finish it, he stabbed the six-foot sword through his chest.

  “No one runs from me,” his father said.

  Wisdom coughed up blood, amazed that he wasn’t dead. He tried to focus past the pain but it encompassed his entire world. Acting on instinct he transmuted to gaseous form again and sa
nk into the earth. Only this time instead of returning to the surface for attack, he resurfaced miles away under cover of trees. Despite his tactic, his father was there waiting for him. Wisdom barely dodged the swing of the sword before he could open a portal. He teleported back to the Uzuu tribe.

  The village was quiet. Too quiet. He looked around and saw everyone was gone. Maybe his father had stolen them away just as he had Mundugu. He tried to speak but found his throat uncooperative. Instead he reached out with his mind and looked for Andromeda.

  Nothing.

  He also noticed the brooch was gone. For the first time in hundreds of years, it had not followed him. He was free.

  He stood on unsteady legs and began to walk for the jungle. The bond between him and his father was broken now. The Djinn would never again be able to use the emerald scarab to track Wisdom down. If he could find a place to hide, maybe he had a chance.

  Above him, the clouds swirled purple and black. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

  “I guess running is out of the question. I think I’m too predictable.” His father must have guessed Wisdom would run to the only friends he had. Lightning flashed inches in front of him; the concussive backlash threw him back several feet. By the time he was on his feet, his father was standing before him.

  “Hate me all you want. This is for your own good. Come away now before my limited patience is exhausted.”

  “I would rather die than go back to the Kaz with you.”

  The Djinn hung his head. “As you wish.” He pointed the fiery sword at Wisdom, using the blade as a focal point for his magic. Though the sun was still in the sky, the sword seemed to steal all the light out of the air, turning the jungle into a twilight place. He shot a bolt of white light, brighter than anything a mortal eye could see. Wisdom didn’t run, did not turn aside. Instead, he opened a portal directly in front of him. The fire sped through the portal like a spear and appeared on the other end of the spatial distortion – directly behind the Djinn’s head. The magical attack staggered the Djinn, knocking him to his knees.

  Wisdom saw his opportunity. He ran.

  Bloodied and wounded, he stumbled back to the village, vaguely aware he wasn’t alone. Propates was there.

  “Run,” he advised Propates. Then he was gone.

  ***

  On occasion, Wisdom was very lucky. Africa was one of those times. Echo – or Andromeda, as she called herself then – was not a fighter by nature. She sensed the Djinn’s presence just before he sucked Wisdom away. She hid in a nearby stream, waiting until she felt Wisdom’s return. Then she opened a portal and transported them to the home of a druidess in England. It took nearly two months for Wisdom to recover from the battle, two months of being unable to hide his weakness and need. Echo saw his weakness and she did not laugh. She did not take advantage of him. She helped him heal.

  He had never felt more ashamed in his life.

  ***

  Wisdom recuperated in a shallow cave near a small waterfall. It was summertime in England and the shadows were pleasantly cool. The druidess was off performing a hand-fasting ceremony in a nearby oak grove. Andromeda wiped the perspiration from Wisdom’s fevered brow and lifted the bowl of hot liquid to his mouth. He drank the medicinal broth, unable to tear his eyes away from her.

  “Why do you stay?”

  She smiled and put the bowl down. “Where would I go?”

  “I’m serious.” He reached out and touched her forearm. “The things I’ve done to you…to your family…to everyone. If you left me now I could not stop you. So why do you stay?”

  She turned away and started to rise. Then she stopped and looked at the ground. “Like I said, where would I go? Everyone I loved is dead. All my family, my whole village – dead. Even Propates is gone now. This is the only life I know. You are the only life I know. So I stay.”

  “Do you forgive me?”

  Andromeda turned to face him so quickly that for a moment Wisdom thought she was going to strike him. “Apparently your fever has made you delirious. I don’t forgive you. I do not love you. And I never will. Never.”

  ***

  Wisdom opened his eyes. Instinctively he tried to sit up, but pain paralyzed him. A quick look at his surroundings confirmed he was at Echo’s island home. He felt the fear filter out of him. Once again he had run from a fight with his father and Echo had saved him. No matter what words she used, her actions were transparent. She did love him, nearly as much as he loved her. It made everything else worthwhile.

  A thought solidified in his mind and he caught his breath.

  “Why couldn’t I kill him?” He whispered the words. He needed to say them aloud, to give solidity to the fear and doubt now churning inside him. Experience told him he had the power and wiles to defeat his father. Somehow the old Djinn had defeated him. He needed to understand how that was possible. He replayed the battle in his head, going over every minute detail. Then it hit him.

  His father had help.

  ***

  Several days ago, he confronted his father in a forest clearing. The Djinn took a step forward, the heat of his body pushing Wisdom back.

  “Something is coming, son. Something beyond anything you can handle. I’m here to take you back where you belong before the end-game starts. For once, live up to the name you’ve chosen and come with me.”

  “We’ve had this conversation before. You’re not my father. You stole me. I still remember what you did to my mother. You raped her.”

  The Djinn sighed. “I apologized for that. What more can I say?”

  “What more can you…? It’s not something you can apologize for! It pretty much puts you in the bad guy column for all time.”

  The Djinn shook his head and sighed again. “Fine. Have it your way. I’ve tried, but you’re still a disappointment. Weak and short-sighted. A complete waste of life. If you won’t come home willingly, I will beat you into submission.”

  Wisdom called forth the fire inside. “Old man, that’s not going to work anymore.”

  And the battle began.

  This time, Wisdom struck first. Over the centuries he’d refined his control over the five elements. This time, when he reached out for elemental earth, it was not with clumsy hands – it was with the refined touch of an artist. Instead of stone spikes, he bent the forces of magnetism and gravity to his will. Lightning sparked through the air around his hands as he negated all inertia around his father. Humans seldom think about how quickly the Earth moves through space as it circles the sun. A native of the Kaz, a dimension without stars, the Djinn knew little about the higher astrophysics. The move caught his father unprepared. Freed from the protection of the planet, he stayed in place as the planet sped by him at over 67,000 mph. Within a heartbeat, he was thousands of miles away from the planet in the vacuum of space. An instant later, Wisdom was there.

  The sudden change in location disoriented the Djinn. Wisdom took the opportunity to alter the inertia field once again, reversing the velocity so that the Djinn slammed into the nearest planet. His father smashed into the molten surface of Venus. The impact threw up lava and stone, polluting the atmosphere in a mushroom cloud. Wisdom waited and smiled.

  His father flew up from Venus, quickly recovering from the initial shock. He had a sword in his hands now, the same sword he had once used to impale Wisdom. This time there was a difference. This time there was fear in the old Djinn’s eyes.

  “Didn’t see that coming, did you?” Wisdom opened a portal behind him and stepped out of space. His father, caught in his rage, rushed through the portal after him and found himself on an elemental plane of water. Cool liquid crushed down on the Djinn, cooling the superheated gaseous form until it appeared nearly human. Born on Earth, Wisdom was not affected the same way. Humans, after all, are nearly 83% water. As his father struggled to rebuild his power, Wisdom opened another portal – this one directly behind the Djinn. Using elemental spirit, Akasha, Wisdom pushed his father out of the elemental plane high above the Gob
i desert back on Earth. The Djinn fell quickly, his wet body pounding into the cold sand of the Chinese desert. Wisdom flew through the portal. Hovering in the air, he brought down bolt after bolt of lightning upon the Djinn.

  In the distance, a portion of sand gleamed gold under the light of the lightning.

  “I am not the weakling you believe me to be, Father.” Wisdom touched down on the sand, reached down into the pits of the planet and called forth a pillar of crystal. Clear quartz shot up through the sand and impaled the Djinn. “Unlike you, I’ve grown over the years. I’ve learned. This is what you can accomplish by doing instead of just thinking.”

  The Djinn’s body flickered, disappeared and reconstituted several feet away from the spear of quartz. “Tricks. You offer me tricks. You cannot possibly hope…”

  “You’re right. I don’t hope. I know. I’ve already done this, remember? I’m going to kill you, kill you with my little ‘tricks’.” He reopened the portal to the plane of water, a rush of cool liquid spilling out over the desert. The carefully-constructed tsunami slammed against his father with a roar of sound. Pain contorting his face, the Djinn struggled to stay upright. Inch by inch, his body of solidified fire gave way to the deluge, steaming under the flow of water. Wisdom knew he had won.

  Then something changed.

  Pain evaporated, leaving an expression of rage and concentration. The Djinn pushed back against the tide, and the elemental water stuttered like the image from a faulty projector. The water’s momentum slowed and then reversed. Wisdom’s eyes went wide as his weapon was snatched from his grasp and tossed aside. In an instant, the surge of water bled back into the portal and returned to the elemental plane.

  “Didn’t see that coming, did you?” His father smiled now, an expression of intense violence. “Where is your confidence now, boy?” The Djinn swung his fist, hurling a stream of superheated gases like plasma from the surface of the sun. Wisdom stumbled away from the attack. The move threw him off balance and he fell on his back. “Where is your bravado now? Maybe you thought this was going to be a fair fight. Well, you’re right. It’s not fair. I outclass you. Did you really expect to dispatch me like this? By the Heavens, I’m a Djinn. I’m older than this planet. And you? You are nothing but an aberration, a diversion, a toy of mine that has forgotten his place. Give up now. This is not a fight you can win.”