The Wizards of Central Park West_Ultimate Urban Fantasy

by Arjay Lewis

“Here’s the plan,” Eddie announced. “We make sure everyone is all right, call an ambulance if anyone is hurt. Then we go after my son.”

  “Eddie,” Luis observed, “you don’ got your staff.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” Eddie set his jaw. “I needed it to save the world. Well, now all I care about is saving my son.”

  “They will not hurt him,” Marlowe confided. “Well, not yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “They need a sacrifice.”

  “That’s right,” Eddie acknowledged. “The fifth talisman.”

  Marlowe nodded. “Once they have the talisman, they need to offer a child under the age of thirteen on an ancient altar.”

  “Why under thirteen?” Eddie asked.

  “Why else?” Luis grunted. “Because if he were a teenager, it wouldn’t be a sacrifice.”

  Marlowe gave Luis a dirty look. “In many cultures, a boy becomes a man at thirteen.”

  “What’s all this about?” Luis asked.

  Eddie rubbed his eyes, and fought back fatigue. “An evil god that expected the sacrifice of children, and will bring the end of the world.”

  “Oh, glad you cleared that up,” Luis said.

  “Help the others.” Marlowe left the room.

  Eddie turned to his partner. “I need you to take Maria and go home.”

  “No way.”

  “I can’t do this if I’m worried about you. I might get killed, but I would never forgive myself if I took you with me.”

  “Man, look at you! You’re too wasted to go another round with Big Red.

  “I’ll have Marlowe with me,” Eddie said.

  “He ain’t in great shape, either.”

  “Right now, we need to help the guests.”

  “Protect and serve,” Luis sighed.

  They walked into the dining room, and as if a switch was thrown, people began to stir. They were all caught by surprise, looking up from their various positions on the floor, unsure how they got there.

  Eddie and Luis walked through the rooms, helped people to their feet, and asked if they were injured. Most of the guests were merely embarrassed that they fell asleep at Eddie’s party. If one considered the speed they all fell into unconsciousness, the only injuries were a bruise or two.

  A neighbor who fell into the plate of food needed to be cleaned, but the only damage was to his pride. Everyone felt lightheaded, and Eddie helped Cerise into the kitchen and suggested they serve coffee.

  Marlowe looked for Eddie’s mother. Eleanor was not downstairs, so Marlowe made his way to the second floor. There, he found her, fully dressed on top of her immaculately made bed.

  “Eleanor,” Marlowe said, as he touched her hand.

  She did not wake with a start, but merely opened her eyes and looked at him.

  “Why, Mr. Marlowe,” she said, a sparkle in her eyes behind her thick frames. “Visiting me in my room? People will talk.”

  “Let them, madam.” Marlowe was relieved that she wasn’t hurt. “What are you doing up here?”

  She sighed. “I felt tired and decided to take a little lie down. What happened to your eye?”

  “It’s nothing.” Marlowe was grateful she saved herself a nasty fall. “Are you feeling rested?”

  “’Bout as well as I expect to,” she said. “Dyin’ is no fun.”

  “I understand you have cancer.”

  “That’s what they tell me,” she replied. “I guess it’s my time.”

  “How do you feel about that?” Marlowe asked.

  She shrugged. “No one wants to die.”

  Marlowe nodded, but knew it wasn’t true. He himself often felt it was time to move on. He’d left too many behind, and his memories were an ache that seldom grew lighter.

  “I just think now is a bad time,” Eleanor went on. “I mean, Eddie and Cerise, they don’t need another burden right now. When they first asked me to live here, I was able to help. Even so, Eddie still hasn’t been able to take Cerise on a real honeymoon.”

  “Eddie told me,” Marlowe smiled.

  “Didn’t have time, him a cop and her a nurse. I understand that. Me and Eddie's father didn’t have a honeymoon. I jus’ wanted it to be different for my boy. Now, with me dying, they won’t be able to get away until the boys are grown and out of the house.”

  “So, it’s not dying you fear,” Marlowe questioned, “you just wish it were a different time.”

  “Yes,” her eyes grew wistful. “After all, everybody’s got to die, don’t they? I just wanted to see my grandbabies all grown up.”

  Marlowe patted her hand gently. “You are a dear, sweet, lady.”

  “An’ you are a silver-tongued devil,” she added with a girlish giggle. “We’d better get back to the party.”

  “Rest for a moment,” Marlowe suggested. “May I use your bathroom?”

  “Sure, right over there.”

  Marlowe rose and entered the bathroom, which was a little more than a water closet, but there was a rail around the toilet and sink, which made it wheelchair accessible. The Bermans had planned ahead.

  Marlowe turned on the water and checked that he’d closed the door. He stared into the mirror and hissed, “Drusilicus! Drusilicus Greywacke!”

  Marlowe called aloud for a good minute, when the silver surface shimmered and Drusilicus stood groggily on the other side.

  “Marlowe! It’s the middle of the night—”

  “Hush! I am at Eddie’s house. We have been attacked.”

  Drusilicus’ mouth fell open, and he peered at the bruise around Marlowe’s eye. “Who would dare—”

  “Never mind that!” Marlowe demanded. “I have a mission for you.”

  “I am not in the habit of taking orders—”

  “Hush, Drusilicus. I need you to teleport to where I am.”

  “Teleport?” Drusilicus blanched. “That’s dangerous, especially if Frisha is right and the future is not stable—”

  “Trust me, after all, I am trusting you.” Marlowe spoke his plan carefully and slowly as Drusilicus listened, an unusual occupation for him.

  A few minutes later, Marlowe came out of the bathroom.

  “Who were you speaking to?” Eleanor asked and sat up in the bed.

  “Myself, dear lady,” Marlowe quipped. “But please, lie down.”

  Marlowe gently took her shoulder, and at the same time waved his cane. Eleanor fell gently asleep and didn’t see the flash of ivory light from the open door to the bathroom.

  Forty-Six

  Within an hour, Eddie had successfully convinced all of the guests to go home. Now, Maria and Luis stood at the door.

  “I don’ like leavin’ like this,” Luis said to Eddie.

  “It’ll be all right, trust me. I’ll call you as soon as I have news.”

  “Okay,” Luis glanced to his wife. “We’ll talk…”

  “Yeah.”

  There was so much more Eddie wanted to say. Luis once took a bullet, but tonight he had charged an eleven-foot-tall demon to save Eddie’s son. His partner was the bravest man he’d ever known.

  Luis gave him a bear hug, then escorted his wife to the car.

  Cerise sat on the living room sofa sipping coffee, as she watched the Vasquezes’ departure. She was beginning to feel like herself again, but the evening’s events puzzled her.

  “Eddie,” Cerise said. “I went up to check on the boys. I couldn’t find Douglas.”

  “I know.” Eddie was grateful to see Marlowe walk down the steps. “We need to talk.”

  “I don’t need to talk, I need to know where my baby is,” Cerise grew serious. “Strange things are going on here Eddie, and I have a feeling that you know what it is about.”

  Eddie bit his lip. “You’re right, but it’s a long story.”

  “Is my baby in danger?” Cerise felt her face grow hot.

  Eddie glanced at Marlowe. “I have to tell her.”

  “I thought you would,” Marlowe nodded. “And since you gave up your staff, you ar
e no longer obligated to maintain the vows of secrecy.”

  “I’m not?”

  “Technically, no. And, considering the circumstances—”

  “What are you two talking about?” Cerise stood, her dark eyes flashing. “I want to know what happened to my guests, my party, and my baby.”

  “Sit down, Cerise,” Eddie said.

  “I don’t need to sit down!”

  “Please,” he asked as gently as he could.

  Cerise returned to the sofa.

  Eddie stood opposite her and put his hand to his head, and tried to think how he could summarize the last week of his life in a way that would be coherent, or for that matter believable. Luis was easy to convince, because Eddie possessed the staff and its power. Now, he needed to tell her without evidence.

  “Madame, Eddie has been summoned,” Marlowe began, while Eddie struggled to know what to say.

  “What?” Cerise wondered.

  “You see, baby,” Eddie went on, “I was given a…great gift.”

  “Let me make this easy, Eddie,” Marlowe gestured with his walking stick and a mist appeared on the floor of the living room.

  “What on earth—” Cerise’s eyes became wide.

  The fog began to form into shapes, acting out scenes as Marlowe spoke. “Since the dawn of time, there have been those who walk a spiritual path. They have been called many names, but you would know them as wizards.”

  “How are you doing this?” Cerise reached out to a ghostly figure in robes that dissipated at her touch.

  “Cerise, I joined a group of people who are trying to do good things,” Eddie explained, as the fog behind him formed into an image of himself in his robes and carrying his staff.

  “Your husband agreed to learn of our ways,” Marlowe continued, “in order to fight the Great Evil.”

  The mist rose up and slid into the shape of the demon Eddie fought a few short hours earlier.

  Cerise cowered on the sofa.

  “But, you see,” Eddie offered, “this Great Evil attacked our home tonight.”

  “I think I would have noticed him, Eddie,” Cerise gestured at the phantom version of the monster in her living room.

  “I’m afraid not, dear lady,” Marlowe pointed out, “because this demon is working in league with a warlock.” The demon’s shape faded and a figure appeared, cloaked and hooded, with a staff like Eddie’s.

  For a moment, Eddie was surprised, because the figure in the mist was exactly the same as the warlock he and Luis had faced. If Marlowe was unconscious, how did he know how the mysterious attacker looked?

  “This warlock put everyone to sleep except Marlowe, Luis, and me,” Eddie told her.

  “So we all fell asleep,” Cerise frowned, “because of what—a spell?”

  Marlowe and Eddie nodded, their eyes fixed on Cerise.

  “This is the biggest load of bull I have ever heard,” Cerise stormed. “Mr. Marlowe, I cannot believe that you would be a part of such a thing.”

  Marlowe shrugged, and with a tap of his cane on the ground, it grew into his staff, and his clothes shifted into robes.

  Cerise’s mouth fell open, and she stared into her coffee cup. “What did you put in the coffee? I’m on LSD, right?”

  “No baby, it’s real,” Eddie took her arms and pulled her into a standing position. “And these bad guys, they took Douglas.”

  “They took my baby?”

  “There was a battle, and your brave friend Sergeant Vasquez tackled the demon,” Marlowe testified. “But in the end, they defeated us and kidnapped your son.”

  Cerise grabbed her husband. “You have to get our boy, Eddie.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  “He is in no danger,” Marlowe surmised. “They will not hurt him until the day of the solstice.”

  “I don’t give a damn. Eddie, you got to get him back. Right now, tonight.”

  “Dear lady,” Marlowe soothed, “Eddie, as well as I, must rest.”

  “I don’t need to,” Eddie vowed. “This is my son we’re talking about.”

  “Eddie,” Marlowe stated calmly, “it would be foolish to try to fight the Great Evil when we are weak. It is night, his power is strong. I would advise we search tomorrow, and track the Great Evil to his lair.”

  “How do you suggest we do that? So far you and the others have had no luck tracking him down.”

  Marlowe nodded. “I assure you we will find your son.”

  “How?”

  “Because I gave both your sons a potion while you were outside looking for the Hand of Glory. I can now trace Douglas to any time, space, or dimension in all of existence.”

  Eddie stood stock-still for a moment.

  “Really?” Eddie considered this, a tentative smile on his lips.

  “Really.”

  “You are one hell of an old sneak,” Eddie said with admiration.

  “As I told you, I have begun to, as you suggested, think outside the box,” Marlowe responded. “But, a wizard has betrayed us, we know not whom. So, no one must know that we can find him.”

  “You told me,” Cerise pointed out.

  “You needed to know, to be assured we can indeed find him. However, if Eddie and I went out tonight with our energies drained, it would not bode well.”

  Eddie and Cerise looked at each other, the tension between them palatable. Eddie thought of his early days as a beat cop, when people from the neighborhood would report a missing child, how awkward and helpless he and the parents felt. It was because there was little they could do but wait.

  Cerise’s face was drawn as she made a decision. “You have to rest, Eddie.”

  “But Douglas!” Eddie turned to his mentor. “Marlowe, do you honestly believe we can save my son?”

  “Yes, Eddie.” Marlowe placed his hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “And maybe even the world.”

  “What is he talking about, Eddie?”

  “This demon, the Great Evil,” Eddie explained, “if he has his way, he will bring down the apocalypse.”

  Marlowe continued. “If we do not defeat him, then the whole world will fall to him and his traitorous companion.”

  Cerise stepped free from Eddie and went to Marlowe. “I am not going to pretend I understand any of this, but I will trust you, Marlowe. I believe you to be a good man.”

  Marlowe smiled, and gave a small bow. His clothes shifted back into a suit, as his staff returned to a walking stick. “Thank you, dear lady.”

  “Well, you are going to have to put me up,” a voice said at the top of the stairs. “Because I have not the ability to go home tonight.”

  At the top of the stairs stood Drusilicus. He wore a fashionable suit, but no tie, just an open collar. He was a bit paler than usual, and looked haggard with bags under his eyes.

  Next to him was Eddie’s mother.

  She looked ten years younger, and didn’t wear her glasses. She easily walked down the stairs, not with the gait of a sick woman, but with the confidence of good health.

  “Momma?” Eddie murmured as she descended.

  “What happened?” Cerise wondered, as the three of them huddled together for a hug.

  “That man up there,” Eleanor said and gestured at Drusilicus. “He came to my room and, well I’m not sure what he did, but I know that I am cured.”

  Cerise held Eleanor at arm’s length and stared at her. “How is it possible?”

  “Eddie faces the most dangerous challenge of his life,” Marlowe beamed. “And I thought your family could use one less crisis. It was the least we could do.”

  Drusilicus chimed in, “Let’s not forget who actually did it, shall we? Now where do I sleep?”

  Eddie felt his eyes well up as he gave his mother another hug. “Seeing you like this—”

  “I still need a good night’s sleep, son,” Eleanor said. “And so do you.”

  Marlowe piped up, “I shall sleep down here. Drusilicus, you may have the sofa. Tomorrow will come too quickly and it shall be a full
day, indeed.”

  Forty-Seven

  Eddie was sure that sleep would not come, but his body was wiser and he easily slipped into a dreamless slumber until nine the next morning.

  Cerise, as well, slept late and they both woke to the smell of breakfast. They came down expecting Marlowe to be at the stove, only to find Eleanor as she cooked enough to feed an army.

  “Lots of leftovers spoiled,” Eleanor pointed out. “No one cleaned up last night.”

  Eddie nodded, and wandered out to the living room. There, Drusilicus lay on the sofa and Marlowe in the recliner.

  He went to shake Marlowe, but saw the old man frowned and struggled in his sleep. His lips moved, and he began to thrash his head side to side.

  Eddie leaned closer.

  “No, you must not kill him,” Marlowe murmured. “All that has been built—it must stand or all is for naught—”

  Marlowe’s eyes popped open and he raised his hands as if to defend himself.

  “You okay, Marlowe?” Eddie said.

  Marlowe leaned up from the chair and glanced about the room, as if not sure where he was. “Eddie?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.”

  Marlowe exhaled heavily and slowly sat up. It seemed to take a great effort.

  “What were you dreaming about,” Eddie said. “Last night?”

  “No, a battle that happened long ago,” Marlowe said. “I failed to save someone. I canst believe I still have that nightmare even after a millennium.”

  “A millennium?” Eddie said. “Just how old are you?”

  “We are both older this morning,” Drusilicus grimaced, as he rose from the sofa and adjusted his shoulders. “I should have conjured a proper bed.”

  “We can’t do anything that can’t be explained,” Eddie said.

  “Isn’t it too late for that?” Drusilicus uttered in a nasty tone. “Between telling your partner, your wife, and healing your mother, I thought everyone you know was aware. Perhaps we should go door to door and tell the neighbors?”

  “I don’t want William to—”

  “You called me, Dad?” William said from the top of the stairs. He was dressed, and looked ready to go somewhere.

  “Ah no, William, I was just wondering when you were getting up. We have guests.”

  “Oh,” said the older boy as he walked down the stairs and looked at Drusilicus and Marlowe.