The Wizards of Central Park West_Ultimate Urban Fantasy

by Arjay Lewis

  Luis listened and asked appropriate questions.

  For Eddie, it felt good to have his partner to bounce ideas and review the strange happenings of the last few days.

  Soon, they arrived at a tenement two blocks from Magical Cherub. They climbed the stairs to a fifth floor walkup, and knocked on the door.

  “Who’s there?” came a voice to Eddie’s repeated rapping.

  “Open up, police,” Eddie ordered.

  A small glass eye opened on the door as a cover was moved, allowing the occupant to peer out.

  “Oh, it’s you,” the male voice snorted.

  Eddie glanced down the hall, made sure it was empty, then said, “That’s right. Now do you open the door, or do I pull out my staff and huff and puff?”

  The door made several clicks and rattles, and slowly opened to reveal Caleb. He was still dressed in black and Luis stared coldly at his piercings.

  “Who’s the muscle?” Caleb blocked the opening with his arm.

  “My apprentice and my partner,” Eddie stated.

  “We gonna stand here in the hall or what?” Luis demanded.

  Caleb took a look over his shoulder then stepped out of the way. “Come in.”

  Eddie and Luis entered the apartment. It looked as if it hadn’t been painted since 1950. The flat white paint on the ceiling was cracked and flaked. There was clutter and dirt everywhere.

  “I mean,” Caleb pointed out, “I couldn’t keep you out if I wanted to, could I?”

  “Kay?” a female voice came from the other room.

  Caleb walked to a door slightly ajar from clothes that hung on it. “Hey, babe. You gotta split.”

  He walked in, there were muffled protests, a quick exchange, then Caleb came out and pulled the door shut as far as the hanging clothes would allow.

  “Girlfriend?” Eddie asked.

  “Something like that,” Caleb had such a smug expression on his face, Eddie felt an overwhelming desire to slap it off.

  Easy, he thought, you didn’t become a detective without self-control. You’ve dealt with jerks like this before.

  The door was opened, and a woman about age thirty-five with fiery red hair came out, adjusting the blouse she’d hastily put on. She looked at both men.

  I know her, Eddie thought.

  She gave a quick peck on Caleb’s cheek, and said, “Next week?”

  Caleb stared impassively at Eddie. “Whatever.”

  Eddie stepped in the path of the door and put up an arm. The redheaded woman stopped and stared at Eddie. Fear flashed in her eyes.

  “I know you,” Eddie told her. “You were the woman who led the bonfire on May Day.”

  “You mean Beltane,” she glanced back at Caleb.

  “We’re with the police,” Eddie said.

  She flushed and looked down at the floor. “I’ve already spoken to the police about that poor young man. Imagine, throwing himself in the fire that way.”

  “Boy, you are way off,” Caleb was still focused on Eddie. “She has nothing to do with—”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Eddie turned to Luis. “Take her out into the hall, and get her name and vitals.”

  Luis nodded. “You be okay with the little shit?”

  “That’s no way to talk about Kay,” the woman looked back adoringly. “He’s truly magical.”

  “Yeah, I’m achievin’ higher consciousness just looking at him,” Luis mocked. “C’mon, miss.”

  “Actually, it’s missus,” she said as they exited the apartment. “Look, my husband doesn’t need to know about this, does he?”

  The door closed.

  Eddie looked at Caleb, who leaned against the wall in an offhanded manner. “They find me irresistible.”

  “Playing with married chicks is dumb and dangerous,” Eddie said.

  Caleb shrugged. “They’re a lot more generous than young girls.”

  “And easy to manipulate with a few of your toys.”

  Caleb gave another small shrug. “So what do you want, Newling?”

  In one swift movement, Eddie picked the young man up by his shirt and smashed him bodily against the wall.

  “Ow!” Caleb yelped.

  “That’s Lieutenant Berman, punk.”

  Caleb pulled something from his pocket. There was a gray flash of light, Eddie found his hand forced to release Caleb, and he was pushed back.

  Caleb landed on his feet and lifted the golden medallion by its chain over his head. He began to chant in that strange language the wizards used as the golden circle glowed brighter.

  Eddie held out his hand, and effortlessly his staff flew into it.

  Caleb chanted louder as electricity flashed and sparkled around his body.

  Eddie was pissed. “Oh shut up.”

  A blast of red light shot from the tip of his staff and Caleb was thrown across the room, through the door of the bedroom, to land on the bed, the gold charm knocked from his fingers.

  The hall door opened and Luis looked in. “You okay?”

  Eddie called out. “Our young friend just wanted to play.”

  The red-haired woman glanced in. “Is Kay all right?”

  “He’s fine, ma’am,” Luis smiled. “I got your information, you can go.”

  “A-all right,” she gave a faint smile. “And you won’t call my husband?”

  “Not unless it’s necessary,” Luis said, and the woman turned and quickly headed down the stairs.

  “Ooooh man,” Caleb moaned from the next room. “You didn’t have to hurt me.” He tried fitfully to sit up, then fell back on the bed.

  “Hey, I’m a Newling, remember? I don’t know what I’m doing,” Eddie leaned his staff on the crux of his arm to take out his notebook and pencil. “Now, I need to know where you were yesterday between the hours of ten PM and midnight.”

  Caleb finally sat up, and put his legs over the side of the bed. “I was around.”

  “He’s playin’ us,” Luis glanced at Eddie.

  “I’m sure he wants to be cooperative. Don’t you, Caleb?” Eddie coaxed.

  The young man stood up carefully. “I don’t have to tell you nothing. I got rights.”

  “Guess we should run away with our tails between our legs,” Luis took a menacing step forward.

  “Sergeant, we don’t have to waste a lot of energy on him,” Eddie said. He held up his staff and a red glow issued from it. It surrounded the young man and lifted him off the ground.

  “Hey, you can’t do that. I’ll report you!” Caleb’s eyes grew wide with fear.

  “Good idea, right, sergeant?” Eddie ignored Caleb’s protests. “Let the young man call City Hall and report that I used my magic against him.”

  “They take those complaints very seriously,” Luis agreed with a nod.

  Caleb began to spin vertically in midair, slowly at first, then with more speed. After about two dozen dizzying revolutions, he stopped with his head facing the floor.

  “Oh God,” Caleb moaned and put his hand to his mouth, “I’m gonna puke.”

  Eddie leaned close to the upside-down man. “Now, maybe you want to cooperate? If not, I can show you what I’ve learned. I should warn you, I make mistakes, especially with transformations—”

  “I’ll talk!” Caleb blurted, the fear on his face shifted to panic. Eddie surmised that being Drusilicus’ student, Caleb probably knew what unpleasant things were possible.

  Caleb spun again, this time arriving head up. Eddie waved his staff and the boy collapsed to the floor.

  “Were you in the park last night?”

  “Yeah,” Caleb said. “But I had nothing to do with what went down.”

  “What do you know about, ‘what went down?’”

  Caleb reddened at this. “It was all over the Internet. Some bigshot hood was killed.”

  “So where were you, punk?” Luis demanded.

  “I got friends, I hang out.” Caleb got up off the floor to sit on the bed with an unhappy glance at Eddie’s staff. “The park
is loaded with places of power. I like to go and feel the energy. It’s one of my exercises.”

  “You know I can compel you to tell the truth?” Eddie told him.

  “Yeah, I know,” Caleb put his hands up, as if surrendering, though a look of anger flashed in his eyes.

  “This look familiar to you?” Eddie withdrew the parchment with the red symbols on it.

  “I know what it is,” Caleb gave the paper a considered look. “It’s pretty good. But I do better work.”

  “I found it in the book you sold me at Magickal Cherub. You were copying something when I came in.”

  “I copy lots of things. But I don’t do parchment,” Caleb gave the design another look. “Whatever you use to make a talisman has a vibration. Parchment has a weak one. I prefer metals. I studied jewelry-making.”

  “It’s drawn in blood,” Eddie said.

  Caleb shrugged. “What else?”

  “I have to tell you, there are a lot of questions about you. First of all, we show up and we find you with the girl who released the demon that killed your buddy.”

  “He wasn’t my buddy.”

  “I know,” Eddie replied. “He was your competition to get a staff.”

  “Quite a coincidence that now you’re dating her,” Luis suggested.

  “I’m not dating her, she comes over for a little recreation,” Caleb smirked. “Besides I met her the day Alex died. Nothing wrong with that.”

  “So he has motive,” Luis said to Eddie.

  “And opportunity. He could teach the young lady a few spells,” Eddie turned to Luis. “Did she look hypnotized to you, sergeant?”

  “Could’ve been,” Luis confirmed.

  “Now, the other murders involved talismans,” Eddie returned his focus to Caleb.

  Luis also glared at Caleb. “The lieutenant tells me that’s your area of expertise, right dude?”

  Caleb looked as if he’d eaten something distasteful.

  “Look, I didn’t do it. Alex was always bragging. Said a crazy old wizard told him about the Amulet of Abracadabra.”

  “Which crazy old wizard?” Eddie insisted.

  “He wouldn’t say,” Caleb protested. “He claimed he was going to find it. He just wanted me to locate the release spell.”

  “Where have you been since I last saw you?”

  “Visiting my mother in New Jersey, okay? I got back in the city last night, called my master, and went to the park. He said it would be good for me to build my energy.”

  “Wait a minute,” Eddie held up his hand. “Drusilicus told you to go to the park?”

  “He doesn’t tell me what to do. He teaches me. You guys don’t understand at all. He’s my master. I mean, I would die for him.”

  Luis and Eddie exchanged glances. Drusilicus used Caleb as an alibi and now Caleb was using Drusilicus.

  “You know anything else you want to share?”

  “Heard a demon made a fool out of you,” Caleb snickered.

  “Now how would you hear about that on the Internet?” Luis asked, giving Eddie a sidelong look.

  Caleb flushed red again.

  “You ever get to use a staff?”

  Caleb faced Eddie with a serious look. “Now and then my master gives me a taste.”

  “You ever use his staff without permission?” Eddie said.

  “No, he passes the staff to me, and I get some time before it goes back to him.”

  “How does he do that?”

  Caleb shrugged. “He just closes his eyes and concentrates. Then, I feel all this power flow into me. Man, it’s like being God.”

  “Don’t let it go to your head, kid,” Luis grumbled.

  “You don’t know what it’s like until you take it in your hand.”

  “How does it return to him?”

  “After about five minutes, the energy just flows out of me, and it’s done. It’s all standard practice, right?”

  “Don’t leave town,” Eddie pointed at the young man. “I will want to talk to you again. You hide on me, I’ll hunt you down.”

  Caleb’s mouth grew hard. “I bet you will.”

  “We’ll let ourselves out.” Luis moved to the door.

  They went back into the hall and walked down the stairs, as Eddie returned his staff to his wallet.

  “That thing makes interrogation a lot easier,” Luis marveled.

  “That was odd about the staff going to him. Marlowe never mentioned training techniques that allow the apprentice to use a staff. He said it was all theoretical.”

  “Maybe Drew-silly-cuss has his own style,” Luis shrugged.

  “It could explain why Caleb’s charms work so well. What’s to stop him from putting some of the staff’s energy into them?”

  “Can he do that?”

  “Marlowe said talismans are like a battery that stores power. We need to talk to Drusilicus.”

  “Hey, I don’t have to start calling you ‘master’ or anything, do I?”

  “I dunno,” Eddie considered it. “I might like it.”

  “Man,” Luis shook his head, “that is so ‘I Dream of Jeannie.’”

  Forty-Two

  They made their way up to Fifth Avenue and found Number 20, just north of Washington Square in Greenwich Village.

  They stood out front of the huge structure, an elaborate throwback to another era. It was several stories high and painted white, with large marble columns out front, magnificent balconies, and intricate architectural touches.

  “Not bad digs,” Luis exclaimed. “Wasn’t this built for the Vanderbilts?”

  “It is pretty fancy.” Eddie eyed the building. “Marlowe’s house is only ornate on the inside.”

  “I think this Drusilicus guy needs more attention. He’s got this Caleb kid worshipping him.”

  “Rubs me the wrong way,” Eddie grumbled. “I’d like to know if Caleb has a rap sheet. Trouble is we don’t have a last name.”

  “It’s Heinz, like the Ketchup,” Luis said.

  Eddie stopped. “How did you—”

  “The old-fashioned way. I looked at his mail box on the way out.”

  Eddie threw his head back and laughed.

  “What? That was easy, Cop 101,” Luis was surprised by his partner’s reaction.

  “I know, that’s why I’m laughing. I’ve been so busy with this wizard stuff, I’ve forgotten basic detective skills.”

  “I thought it’s what we do.”

  “I’d better bear that in mind,” Eddie noted as they ascended the stairs. “Police skills are my only advantage over the Great Whatchamacallit.”

  Eddie rang the bell, and a tall man opened the door. He was dressed immaculately in a morning suit, gray cutaway coat, black and gray striped pants, and a silver satin cravat with a matching vest. His gray hair was thinning, and he wore a look of disdain.

  “May I help you?” he spoke with a very proper British accent.

  “Edward Berman and Luis Vasquez to see Drusilicus Greywacke,” Eddie said.

  “The master is with guests.”

  “Look, here Jeeves—” Luis began.

  “Actually, it’s Howell, sir,” the butler looked down his nose at Luis, a difficult process because the immense detective was taller and wider than he.

  “Whatever,” Luis objected. “I personally don’t care if ‘the master’ is with the Pope. We’re NYPD.”

  Howell was nonplussed, “I shall inform him, sir. Please wait here.”

  He turned curtly and sauntered out of the room.

  “Man, he looks down on you even with his back,” Luis said as the butler exited.

  “Why was I not surprised ol’ Dru would have a butler?” Eddie snorted.

  “This whole place is like a stage set. Big house, butler at the door. Like it’s all part of the presentation. Why’s he trying so hard?”

  “I’d like to find out.”

  The butler returned to the door and held it open. “Mr. Greywacke will see Mr. Berman.”

  Luis and Eddie steppe
d forward.

  Howell moved to block the door with his body. “Mr. Vasquez has been asked to wait out here,” he insisted, and after a short hesitation added, “please.”

  “Look, you stuffed shirt—”

  “Luis,” Eddie urged, “it’s okay. I’ll go in alone.”

  “He can’t do that. We are investigating a murder—”

  “Unofficially,” Eddie pointed out.

  Luis deflated a bit, “Yeah, right.”

  “Where do I go?” Eddie looked to the butler.

  “Follow me, sir,” Howell led him through the door.

  Eddie entered an elaborate hallway, with moulding on the walls and a picture railing that was trimmed with gold leaf. The room looked freshly painted and the walls were the most amazing shade of blue.

  Even so, it was much more reasonable in appearance than Marlowe’s townhouse. The ceiling was high, but at least it logically fit inside the building.

  The butler led him down the long hall and passed several shut doors, all with baroque trims, detailed colors, and intricate woodwork. At the end of the hall was a pair of double doors, festooned with more gold trim than all the previous.

  “If I may be so bold,” Howell wondered. “I understand you are a wizard, sir?”

  “Yeah, you too?”

  The butler raised an eyebrow, then moved close as if to impart a great secret. “Actually, sir, I’m a werewolf.”

  “And your name is ‘Howl’?”

  “H-O-W-E-L-L, sir. Something of a family joke I suspect.”

  “So, I’ve heard some supernatural folks are all for the human world being destroyed. Which side are you on?”

  “Werewolves in general don’t get involved, sir. We only wish to roam free.”

  “Your job a problem during the full moon?” Eddie asked.

  “We manage, sir,” the butler opened the door.

  Eddie walked into a massive sitting room. There were chaise lounges, sofas with carved wooden legs, and overstuffed chairs, all giving the appearance of restored antiques.

  As he entered, Drusilicus stood and turned toward him. As did Eugenia, Ahbay, and Trefoil.

  Eddie stopped in his tracks, and pondered the situation for a moment. “I guess I missed the memo about the meeting.”

  “Lieutenant.” Drusilicus became the charming host. “I’m glad you’re here. Do join us.”