by Dean Floyd
Then another thought hit me. Where is it taking all these people?
I opened up another tab to Google Maps and began noting where people were last seen. I took a screenshot of Vallejo for starters and opened it up in the layman’s Photoshop: Microsoft Paint. I started dropping red dots on the map where people were last seen. Some of the information just wouldn’t be helpful. There was a chance that some of these people skipped town or were legitimately abducted by good ole’ natural means. But as I applied dots on the map I began to see a pattern. Most people were last seen heading to or on the West side of Vallejo near the waterfront. I didn’t have time to cross check every other city or town on my list. But this was a good start.
It made me wonder how much of the stuff had been going on before I got my powers, before I gained the ability to sense these things, before my sister died. How much of this crap had I been spoon fed and bought it face value? Obviously Rob and other Fae had been around for thousands of years and despite their Glamour, evidence of them must be everywhere if I actually looked for it. I would not be surprised if some organization was suppressing the knowledge, the truth, for whatever reason. I'd probably never know.
But that didn't matter really. What did matter was that innocent people were being caught in the clutches of this crazy bird monster and I needed to prepare myself. With my Keening curse mark I was a walking target for this thing.
I switched over to Wikipedia (the most honest place on the web) to learn what I could about the Sluagh, but then I got a text.
Mom: This is just a reminder sweetie that I need you to babysit Tain.
Me: Okay. I'll be over soon.
It was late afternoon now. If I could get to my mom's in a half hour I’d have time to grab the dog, head back to my apartment, pick up Rob, and then get ready to confront the Sluagh. No big deal Sean. Take a deep breath. You'll figure all this out.
While I'm at mom's house might as well grab dad’s shotgun, I thought. And the katana. I had a better chance blowing the Sluagh's head off then using my katana to swipe at it, but better to have both. It was either that or die.
Chapter 6
Old Oak Tree
As I pulled up to my mom's house, I couldn't help but get the chills.
I guess I would never look at this house the same again after the Banshee attacked. Looking at the roof, I could envision myself fighting that crazy she-demon. The roof drainage pipe was still damaged where I'd hit it as I tumbled off the roof onto the grass. Man, I thought, the fall wasn’t that far, but it actually kinda was when you're landing on your rib cage. As I got out of the car my mom and kid brother Aiden were exiting the house and Tain ran out to meet me.
I hadn’t been at the house all week since the incident. And my mom and brother hadn't either. Nehemiah had fixed their minds, removing the memories of the Banshee from it. My mother and brother both had a fixed memory that I no longer shared.
I had talked to Aiden a few days afterwards. "Are you okay bud?"
"Yeah I guess so," he said.
"Are you okay after what happened?" I asked him.
He looked like he didn't really want to talk about it. "It's all kinda hazy, like I was there but wasn't there."
I nodded. "That happens sometimes when people are in crazy situations. Once your adrenaline kicks in your memory kind of lapses." I said, reassuring him even though I knew exactly what had happened.
I just needed to make sure. He knew deep down inside that something wasn't right with his memory, that something weird happened that night but his brain filled in the gaps. He just had to shrug and chalk it up to adrenaline and the woman being a druggie. When I talked to my mom it was much of the same thing. Neither of them remembered that she was a Banshee or that anything supernatural had gone down. My mom remembered quote, “The nice black man helping us get home." But she didn't remember the fact that he had a staff or that he could do magic or the fact that I did magic. So I had literally no one to talk to about this stuff except for a crazy non-leprechaun and a mysterious black wizard named Nehemiah who didn't even exist on the Interwebs.
"Thanks for taking Tain," said my mom. She helped Aiden load his stuff into the car. "We just came back to get some more clean clothes and then we’re heading back over to Nancy's house."
Nancy was my mom's best friend. She had been there a lot for my mom once my dad had gone. She’d also been there when my sister died. "She tried to accommodate for Tain, but she's just so allergic to dogs," My mom explained for the second time.
"It's totally cool mom. I'm just glad that Nancy is being understanding."
My mom nodded smiling weakly.
I pointed to the gutter, "I’ll try to get that fixed mom as soon as possible."
"Don't be silly Sean. I'll have a professional do it.”
"Ouch," I said.
"Oh don't act offended. You don’t have time to do it anyway."
I nodded. She was right. I had way too much going on. She didn't even know the half of it.
"So if you could just watch Tain for a couple of days. His dog food is just inside the house along with his bowl. Make sure that he gets walked for at least thirty minutes to an hour every day. Maybe you could even work it into one of your dates," she said winking.
I rolled my eyes but grinned. "Okay, get out of here Mom."
I waved to her and my brother as they drove away. Tain barked affectionately wagging his tail. I turned to him and scratched behind the ears. “Alrighty boy. Time to get my huntin’ gear.”
THE SWORD WAS SHEATHED and mounted on my brother’s bedroom wall.
I took it down and inspected it. The grip of the katana was a little worn from years of use, years that my parents had put me through Kendo class and training. They had spent a lot of money to let me enjoy that extracurricular activity. I thought about the Banshee on the roof of this very house last week. All that training paid off. I grinned. I had a feeling it was going to payoff again tonight.
In my mom’s walk in closet on a shelf was my dad’s old Mossberg. This time I made sure to grab my dad’s old shoulder holster and the lanyard so that I could properly carry the gun and ammo at the same time along with the sword. ‘Murica.
I gathered Tain’s things and loaded them into my trunk along with the katana, and the shotgun bag.
AS I WAS LEAVING, A raven in the Ole’ Oak tree caught my eye out my peripheral. It squawked at me, bobbing its head, then flew away to perch on my roof. But my eyes lingered on the Oak.
It was really a magnificent tree. It’s massive branches reaching out every which direction. The leaves were in full bloom now. It seemed like the Oak tree was calling to me. I can’t say I heard a voice, but I felt compelled to climb it.
A dark oval patch of bark near the base of the trunk caught my attention . I don’t remember this. The bark seemed dead, but only within the oval patch. This is about where my back hit the tree when the Banshee kicked me across the yard, I thought. I guess I never noticed it before.
I ran my fingers over the bark, turning my attention to a familiar knot. Instantly I was brought back to my childhood. When I was much shorter the knot served as a handhold to begin climbing the tree. I remember Anna, Gavin, and I would race to climb the tree. Before Aiden was born it was just the three of us. That sense of deja vu hit me as I climbed the tree for the millionth time. A specific memory rushed back to my mind’s eye, playing out before me.
I had done something bad, I don’t remember what. But I remember I was scared that my dad was going to give it to me so I retreated to my hiding spot, my safe haven, my Oak tree. In hindsight I wasn’t well hidden at all, the tree being in the front yard and all, completely in view of the living room window, but as a youngster this was the place I knew was safe. I climbed as high as I dared to go, then I pushed myself and climbed higher.
I needed to climb higher than my dad was willing to climb. And that meant scooting out onto a skinny branch as far out as possible. Soon my dad found me. I recall him staring up at me
.
“Whatcha doing up so high kido?” he asked.
“I’m hiding.”
“From who?”
“You,” said little me.
“Why don’t you come down now.”
“No. You’ll punish me.”
“Are you sorry for what you did?”
Little me nodded.
“Okay. I accept that as an apology. Now come down before you get hurt and fall out of the tree.”
I shook my head.
“Are you stuck?”
I looked down and felt slightly dizzy. My fear of my father had given me courage to climb this high but now that he and I were on good terms my fear of falling reclaimed me.
“I’m stuck,” I acknowledged.
“Okay,” he said, and didn’t even skip a beat as he began climbing the tree.
“No,” I had screamed. “You’re too big. You’ll break the branches.”
My dad laughed. “For this old Oak? I’m not too big. These branches are strong.” Soon my dad was on a branch just beneath me. Still I wouldn’t relinquish my hold on the tree. I had it in a death grip now. I didn’t trust that he could catch me if I fell, and that fear conquered all rational thinking.
“Come on, let go Sean,” said my dad. But I wouldn’t budge.
The whole family came out to watch the spectacle.
“Sean’s stuck in the tree,” dad announced.
“How are we going to get him down?” asked little Anna.
Dad shook his head. “We can’t. We’ll all just have to live up here now.”
Gavin and Anna began giggling at the idea and climbed into the tree to join in the fun.
Soon everyone but mom was in the tree laughing and I forgot about my fear as we yelled and giggled and moved about the tree.
Eventually mom had to break up the fun when she wouldn’t join us. “The table is all set for dinner. Come on down, all of you.”
I sat back in the tree in the same spot where I had been stuck smiling and taking in the scent of the old tree.
Remembering felt good. Nostalgia is powerful. And painful sometimes. It could never be like that again. I was a grown man now. Young, but grown. And dad and Anna were gone.
No matter what I wanted, I’d never be a kid again. I’d never have my dad or sister back. And time wasn’t going to pause either. It was going to keep moving on, with or without me. Looking ahead, the future was uncertain and likely dangerous until I figured out how to lift this Keening, this curse.
“Hey,” I said out loud to myself. “The mark doesn’t hurt.” I rubbed it just to be sure and the soreness was gone. I looked in my shirt and it was still there. “Weird.” This was the first time in a week that the irritation had subsided even a little.
Tain had his front paws up against the garage door of the house, barking away at the raven which croaked right back at him. They reminding me that I needed to get going. “Okay boy.” I patted the tree. Despite the way things had turned out, I still had my memories and the Oak tree had helped me recall them. Plucking a large leaf from the tree I tucked it into my jeans as a keepsake. Things had been good. And even though I had lost family members the future wasn’t all bad. There was still a possibility with Charice. My heart skipped a few beats at the thought of her. And even if she wasn’t THE ONE, I could still have a good time being friends with her. “Thanks old Oak,” I said. I felt rejuvenated.
THE SKY WAS AN ARRAY of colors as the sun set, from a vibrant dark orange all the way back to a deep purple. I sped up the Mustang and the engine roared.
Tain sat up front with me in the passenger seat. His tongue was out and he was panting with that dog grin. I rolled down the window so that he could feel the cool air flow over his face and ears. It whipped his fur around, which was pretty long now. "We'll have to get you a haircut soon eh boy?"
Tain ducked his head back in and looked at me. At times it felt as if Tain actually understood what I said. "Nobody knows what happened last week boy, nobody but you and me, and that wizard guy."
Tain just kept grinning and panting.
"You stood by my side the whole time buddy. I wish there was some way I could thank you. Maybe I'll get you some dog treats or let you eat some of my bacon." I sighed and realized my hands were tense on the steering wheel.
"I spoke too soon. Itches again," I said, scratching my Keening. "I don't know how to get rid of this thing. And what's more it's attracted another monster to me. A giant crazy bird thing. If you saw it you'd flip out and go crazy and foam at the mouth. That's why I grabbed the shotgun, and Mom can never know. Because her and Aiden don't know anything now. They forgot what they saw, but you and I haven't. We're the only ones."
I looked over at Tain and he looked straight at the road as if he was listening intently. "So the next time this thing attacks me I'll be ready because I've got the shotgun, the sword, and now you."
Tain looked at me and cocked his head as if asking a question.
"And I have magic. Sometimes. I can't figure out how to consistently use it though."
Why not? He seemed to ask.
"Nehemiah said that my power awakened when I touched his staff last time. Maybe I need to recharge from him or something. And he hasn't been around for me to do that. And nothing's really happened since last week. Well nothing until last night.” I even had time to catch up on my community college homework. “It's actually been kinda nice. Things have almost been... normal."
I came to a stop light and Tain shifted on the seat and stuck his head out the window again looking at the view. The light turned green and I sped off down the highway towards my apartment. The sun was almost completely gone now and a few stars were breaking through the night sky. My thoughts turned to the Sluagh. It’s almost time.
The moon was already out and there were very few clouds in sight. It was going to be a beautiful night. Charice, I thought. Tonight could have been awesome. But if I went on a date with her I’d be looking over my shoulder at every little thing. “I’d be putting her in danger,” I said, as if Tain needed an explanation.
As we picked up speed the wind blew his tongue to the back of his face and it was flapping in the air. It made me chuckle and smile. "What I need to do," I said, "is go back to where this started, back at the chiropractor’s office and make myself available for that thing to attack. You can try to kill me Sluagh but like Home Alone, I’ll be ready. Except I won’t use toys and cans of paint. I’ll have my katana, my shotgun, and my dog this time."
I nodded my head in agreement with myself. I reached over and flipped on my CD player which had Hatebreed in it. I flicked it to the Threshold song. When the song came to the right part I screamed alongside Jamey Jasta "to the threshold!"
I swear that while the heavy riffs were playing Tain was bobbing his head with me.
Chapter 7
End the Sluagh
Tain and I walked through the front door of the apartment. "Rob we're home!"
I barely got it out of my mouth when a bucket of water fell on my head.
"Ah hahahahaha," laughed Rob.
Tain started barking furiously and tried to attack the little Hobgoblin.
"What the heck dude?"
"Just a prank Sean," said Rob, hovering in the air and taunting Tain. "Don't be such a wet blanket." Then he laughed some more.
I wiped the water from my face and couldn't help but smile a little bit. It had been a while since I had gotten mischievous myself. "Very funny. Rob, this is my dog Tain. Sit boy!"
Tain obeyed immediately, as did Rob who sat down in the air.
"Not you," I said to the Hob. "Wipe this mess up."
Rob saluted me. "Right away sir." He whisked over to the paper towel dispenser and began cleaning up the floor.
I went to the bathroom to dry off and reapply a new bandage on my shoulder. While I was doing that Rob hovered into the room followed by Tain who kept growling at him.
"What next boss?" Said Rob.
"Were going duck hunting
," I said.
"Yah! Nintendo!" said Rob.
"No. Bigger bird."
"We're going to watch Sesame Street?"
I shook my head. "Let's get in the car and I'll tell you."
IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG for my senses and my Keening to start burning once we were on the west side of Vallejo. I felt the same sensation I felt the night before at the chiropractor's office. But I had to make abrupt turns at every few blocks as the monster is sensed was on the move.
The wind blew through my open windows. I turned down street after street, until finally I felt like we were right under it. Tain began growling and I knew I was right. We pulled into a long alley that snaked behind some small time businesses downtown across several blocks. Grime and dirt stained the stone walls and whatever windows were visible on the back of the buildings were barred. Graffiti filled in the empty spaces between the grime of the walls so that nothing was left clean.
I slowed the car down long enough to hear someone screaming over the ‘Stang engine. I floored it, barreling down the alley, only slowing down for the cross streets so I didn’t plow into someone.
By the time we got there the screaming had stopped. We got out of the car stepping over trash that littered every inch and cranny. A large puddle dripped down a drain through a broken grate. But the blood was most striking. There was a splatter on one of the walls next to a garbage bin that ran down the wall, dripping onto the asphalt. I bent down to get a closer look and Tain was already sniffing around it. It was thick enough that I could see my own reflection in it. I felt the warmth drain from my face and my lips quivered a little bit.
“Yuck,” I said.
“I don’t know,” said Rob, “I like my alleys nice and bloody.”