Celtics Rising: Birth of an Oracle

by Leo Charles Taylor

James understood her dilemma.

  "Vera, this doesn’t bother me in the least. It’s your belief, and if you need it, then it's fine. I will respect that. And, should Rome come, then Rome will come. We'll just deal with that when it happens."

  Vera smiled.

  "Thank you," she said. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support."

  James smiled for her and began to place the necklace around her neck.

  "I was raised Catholic," she said dipping her head so he could put the chain around her, "and while I haven't been the best Christian, I maintained the faith."

  When the crucifix was in place, she played with it in her fingers and James pulled her to him, snuggling her in close. The couple continued to talk and discuss their situation, each asking questions and posing theories. It didn't take long before Vera drifted off into a contented sleep, but James was unable to rest. He carefully left his bed after ensuring that Vera was resting comfortably and made his way to the living room. He poured a glass of wine, sat in his chair, and looked out towards the city that stretched before him. The tall panoramic windows were filled with the odd shadows and lights of the surrounding buildings.

  His shadows soon joined him, moving to and fro as they continued their enjoyment of his company, or perhaps it was curiosity of him. James stretched out his mind and sent it into the shadows. He could begin to feel them slightly and sensed a force of will. It was non-descript and primal. It was neither good nor evil, more like a young child that could go either way depending on how its parents raised it.

  James left the shadows to their own devices and cast his mind out to the city. He felt one beast and then another. There were more than he expected, and he visited each in turn. Names and faces came to him, and every one of them had a story to tell; he didn't listen.

  Great people think of ideas, small people think of gossip.

  The sentence came to mind as he recalled a principle that he tried to adhere to. He hated gossip. He preferred his novels, and for some reason, peering into these beings' intimate lives reminded him of gossip. Besides, he really didn't want to get involved, but try as he might he found himself drawn to them, at least in part.

  He continued his search and located being after being. When he probed them, it wasn’t for their idiosyncrasies that he marveled, nor was it their memories, lovers, or victims. He marveled at their form, their biology, and the fact that they had stayed hidden for so long—they were a species lost to mankind via legend and indifference, like the giant squid of the ocean that until recently had only been mythological.

  James located his vampire comrades and watched them briefly. Drake was resplendent in a double breasted suit and was attending a fine dinner with a lovely lady. James knew that Drake would not feed on her—he didn't need to, as he was already sated from animal blood.

  Badir was located at a bar. He was tempting fate by infuriating patrons with insults and blatant egotism. It was an odd game that amused only himself. Badir was an ass, but he was a clever one, and James could see how well he manipulated the other people in the bar. He was very careful to prod his victims only so far, and the ones that he prodded further were ones that he knew he could handle quickly and discreetly.

  Alicia seemed very odd to James. She didn't fit the profile of the others of her kind. She was also more difficult to locate, but James did eventually find her. She was sitting atop the Fremont troll, a large concrete statue carved below a bridge. She was looking down the hill to the waterway and the cars that passed along the streets nearby. James was curious as he tried to ascertain why she was there. He didn't enter her mind too far, but he did get a sense of sadness. She was very old and very kind. That realization wasn’t something he expected; no vampire was ever kind, at least not if you believed the stories. He left her there, sitting atop the enormous statue, contemplating her existence.

  For an hour, he felt one form and then another, one beast and then another. He searched for Arinai and her friend Camulas. He could find neither. Standing, he made his way to his large TV and turned it on. He converted it to the computer inputs and began to research the god of war. While there was little or no information on Arinai, Camulas had several notations in legend. Still, much of the information was shrouded in mystery.

  Sleep eventually caught up with him, and before it took him completely, he made his way back to bed. He smiled at the woman that lay there and stroked her hair before joining her. She snuggled up as he returned to her, and he allowed it.

  The next morning, they awoke and enjoyed a fine breakfast. Vera was very animated, and James laughed as she burned his eggs. She had wanted to surprise him with breakfast but had instead surprised him with blaring smoke detectors. He calmed her fretting nerves, and then helped her clean the mess and start anew. She thanked him, and they both assisted with breakfast.

  As she ate and regaled him with stories of college classes that she had taken and jobs she had tried, he smiled and enjoyed her animation. It all seemed very simple to him, and served as a stark contrast to his own life. She was changing just as much as he was, but for some reason she remained emotionally unaffected. He couldn’t help but ponder the more serious aspects of his situation, and then envy Vera for the carefree attitude she displayed.

  It’s the folly of youth, came a thought into his head.

  James was startled. The thought didn't appear to be his, and yet it was. He tried to search out to its origins but was unsuccessful. Vera continued to chatter, and James nodded along, all the while wondering about his odd thought. The only approximation he could think of was schizophrenia. He had studied it a lot lately, and this was a classic sign: voices in the head.

  "How about dinner tonight?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject. He didn't care to distract her from her discussion; he cared to sway his mind from its current train of thought.

  "Dinner?" she asked curiously and with caution.

  "Yes, dinner. I can pick you up, or we can meet somewhere. How about the Copacabana at Post Alley? It's by the market."

  "Never heard of it."

  "Nice place," he said, "and we can sit out on the deck. The weather should be decent, and we can enjoy the night. They serve Bolivian food, if that’s all right?"

  Vera had never eaten Bolivian food and admitted as much, but she accepted the invitation readily. They agreed to meet later in the evening due to James' work, and the matter was settled. Vera insisted she could make it on her own and James, while wanting to be the gentleman by seeing to her safety, agreed to allow her to meet him at the restaurant. They then set about eating breakfast and then two lovers left the apartment, both with anticipation for the coming evening.

  Chapter 12

  The sun was bright and the weather warm as Arinai walked the waterfront. She had a smile on her face and nodded a polite hello to the people that passed her by. Finally making her way to the wooden rail, she set herself alongside several others that were watching the seals at play. They were energetic today, and Arinai could see why.

  A selkie was in their midst, and it encouraged its look-a-like cousins to frolic. Arinai easily distinguished the selkie and smiled as it moved through the water. Her companions on the pier couldn’t distinguish between the two species, but they didn't need to. They only needed to see seals jumping and splashing.

  A flutter of motion on the waves caught her attention, and Arinai smiled widely as she realized what it was. She almost caught her breath in wonderment and had to stifle a joyous cry. While she remained constrained, her amusement was expressed in the profound exclamation the child nearest her.

  "Mommy! Mommy!" the little girl cried. "Did you see the little girl on the waves? She was dancing on the bubbly white stuff."

  "No, dear. I didn't see it."

  "Oh look, there she is again."

  The girl pointed at the water nymph, who had made another appearance for the seals. The child's mother hadn’t seen it, nor had anyone else, but the little girl insisted it was there. Arinai smiled
and kept her gaze on the water. Like the little girl, she wanted to see the nymph one more time.

  The selkie stopped its playfulness and parked itself directly in front of Arinai's position. It bobbed up and down in the water, as seals tend to do. It watched the woman before it and attempted to come to terms with what it was seeing. It didn't take long for Arinai to witness a wisp of water near the selkie as the water nymph joined its playmate in mutual contemplation of the lady on the pier.

  "Isn't it pretty?"

  Arinai looked to her left and at the little girl that had joined her. She had left her mother in order to get a better glimpse of the wonderful event. Arinai smiled broadly and nodded to the girl who had taken her eyes off the water just long enough to receive acknowledgement from her new pier mate.

  Crouching to child height, and returning her gaze to the water, Arinai spoke quietly.

  "Would you like to see them dance?" she asked, barely containing her smile.

  "Oh, yes! That would be sooo cool."

  Arinai stood and stretched her mind. She found what she was looking for just a few yards away. He was a flutist, playing for the people on the sidewalk as they passed. As Arinai felt for him, his instrument paused mid-tune and changed in tempo and volume.

  Leaving his position, his case, and all of his tips unattended, he began to walk, moving closer to the water. He didn't know why, but then again he didn't know the tune that he was now playing; Arinai did, however. It was a Celtic flute solo, very lively as it rose in tempo, and very difficult to perform. Not many flutists could play it at speed or hit the tonal heights the piece required. But that didn't matter as Arinai gave him the abilities he required. She was pleased that he was already skilled, and her gentle push served only to accentuate his raw talent.

  The selkie listened as the notes wafted across the waves. It didn't take long before it was joined by its playmates. Soon, several seals bobbed their heads as they listened, and the scene appeared magical. Humans watched seals, and seals watched humans. For a moment in time, no one moved.

  "Go play," Arinai whispered.

  The only ones to hear her were the child at her side and her fellow spirits in the water. As she pushed the tune further, permeating the depths of the water, the selkie could feel it and the nymph smiled.

  In unison, the seals took off. They made speed out towards the middle of the Sound, jumping about each other with amazing skill and accuracy before turning back towards the pier. Two of them broke the surface and jumped one way while two more jumped the other. Back and forth they went, first moving away from the pier, next moving back, and with each splash of the wave and creation of froth, the nymph danced. It was a dance of vigor and grace, only to be seen by the innocence of children and Arinai.

  The selkie dove deep to the sea floor and listened as the music saturated the ocean depths—an underwater gift from the goddess on the pier. He swung around and headed to the surface, breaking free and turning gracefully about before returning to the water.

  For several minutes, the humans and seals performed for each other—the former in sheer amazement as they captured the moment with cameras and wild exclamations. The flutist's piece came to a thrilling end, and the dancing seals began to slow and then rest from their mild exertion. Soon, several animals could be seen bobbing about again, and others could be seen heading out into the Sound, jumping and splashing as they did so.

  Arinai left her friends of the water and the child who now stood in amazement, vigorously trying to tell her mother about the little girl that danced on the waves.

  Smiling grandly, Arinai made her way down the pier and eventually came to the stodgy and stoic man she was looking for.

  "You always seem so serious," she said.

  Camulas only raised an eyebrow in response. He looked down at the notes in his hand and then up to the rising hill before him. It rose very steeply. Outside of the roads were two staircases cut into the hill, and at their top was Pike Place Market—a brief respite in the climb before the hill continued farther eastward into Seattle.

  "Is all of this necessary?" she asked.

  "Yes," he replied curtly.

  Arinai would not be demoralized. She had just witnessed something that she hadn’t seen in centuries, and she found that she hoped this sort of scene was the beginning of many more to come.

  "All right," Arinai said as she followed Camulas on his walk along the pier. "Why don't you tell me what you see?"

  Camulas looked skeptically at the woman at his side but eventually shrugged his shoulders and complied.

  "The waterfront is not a good defensive position," he said. "But I see some promise to the hill. There is also the Alaskan Way Viaduct above us. That has some defensible positions."

  Camulas pointed to the raised freeway before them. It was concrete and built in three raised sections: the waterfront level, and two more stacked on top of each other like pancakes.

  "How is that useful?" Arinai asked.

  "At the top levels you have the Battery Street Tunnel. It would work as a choke point for troops and may make a decent position to defend or lead an enemy into a trap."

  "Do you really think Rome will send troops?" Arinai asked doubtfully.

  "I don't know what they will send," he answered, "but I will be prepared. Before they get here I will walk this city and plan my battlegrounds. If I must defend myself, then I will find the most defensible positions. If I must attack, then I will search for height. I must also plan for single attacks, ambushes, varying numbers of soldiers, open attacks, and much more. Either way, I will learn this city and prepare for war, no matter what form that war will take."

  Arinai was still happy from her playful events of just moments before, so her companion's serious attitude didn't affect her greatly. She smiled and nodded her head in understanding of the situation. Camulas was Camulas. He was a creature of battle and conflict. To him, this exercise was something he did and enjoyed, and she couldn’t and wouldn't interfere with it.

  Chapter 13

  "James, over here!"

  James turned his head at the sound and spied Vera near the entrance to Post Alley. He immediately swore to himself when he saw that she wasn’t alone; her family was with her.

  They approached each other, and James saw that Mr. and Mrs. Monroe were just as surprised to see him. An odd exchange of introductions was made in which the Monroe's judged the man and the situation. To all of the adults, which excluded Anna, the relationship between James and Vera was obvious.

  "I bet you don't remember me?"

  James looked down. "Of course I do, Anna, and you’re just as pretty as the first time I saw you."

  Anna smiled at the compliment, and Vera appreciated the kindness to her sister, expressing the sentiment with warm eyes.

  "Mr. Connor, may I speak with you a moment?"

  James looked to Mr. Monroe and nodded slightly as he stepped farther down the alley. Vera saw the stern look on her father's face as he passed her, and understanding dawned.

  "Daddy, don't" she begged him. She had attempted to be quiet, but James heard her anyway. It didn't matter, both men continued their walk unhindered.

  "What is it that you’re doing with my daughter?" asked an angry Mr. Monroe when they were out of earshot.

  "I planned on taking her to dinner."

  "I'm not amused, Mr. Connor," was the response. "You know exactly what I mean. You’re too old for her, and I don’t approve of this sneaking around to hide your relationship."

  James was momentarily stunned. He had dealt with upset fathers before—it was a rite of passage that bordered on the cliché. However, this particular assault was unexpected and unwarranted.

  "Too old?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm only ten years older than she is, and I resent the accusation that we’ve been sneaking around. Your daughter is an adult, and if she didn't tell you about us then that was her decision. Besides, I would think that her arriving here tonight with you in tow would prove that she's not hiding an
ything. Quite the opposite, actually." James paused for a moment in mock confusion. "Why are you here, anyway?" he asked, putting the man on the defensive.

  Vera was correct about one thing: this man could get easily angered when the topic of his daughter came up. While James believed the man may be a great attorney, his family was a weak spot for him. Before the man could answer, his wife was at his side. She begged James for a minute of her husband's time. The angry Mr. Monroe didn't want to move, but an insistent wife is a powerful entity that can’t be easily ignored. The Monroes soon headed down the alley, deep in conversation.

  Vera and Anna were soon at James' side.

  "I'm so sorry," Vera said in embarrassment. "I didn't know that this would happen. They're only here because I told them I was going to Belltown, and they decided to give me a ride. They're not joining us for dinner."

  James watched the Monroes as they argued and barely registered what Vera had said. His shadows seemed to be very interested in the couple, especially with the man that had assaulted him; they danced around him like angry bees. James couldn’t determine what the shadows wanted, but he sent out a calming thought, attempting to mollify them.

  The shadows seemed to sense his interest in them, and James began to feel them in a way that hadn’t manifested before. He tilted his head one way and then the other and concentrated on the shadows as the shadows concentrated on the couple. Sounds began to come to his ears, and James heard several muffled words before he realized that he was listening to the Monroes' conversation. It was quiet and odd, like listening to an argument through a wall. It took him a moment to realize that the shadows were acting as a listening device, and that if he concentrated, he could make out the conversation.

  "I don't care, Thomas. Now, you listen to me. You have been too strict on her these last few years, hoping that she'd grow up. In that time she has left college, dated losers, and tried drugs, and I'm tired of it. Do you remember what she did the last time you scared off a boyfriend? She went out and found a worse one. Now, this man may be older, but he is a professional with a good job, and from what I hear he is well off. So you choose. This man or some loser she'll find on the street."