Blood Moon, page 18
part #1 of The Wizard's Journal Series
Itzam-Yeh is the Mayan god whose name was written on the scrolls Manco and I found at the Gate of the gods. One of the creatures kneeling at his footstool was Ah Chuy Kak, and his being in the presence of Itzam-Yeh meant he was important in the Darkzon hierarchy. It also meant he was an overlord under Itzam-Yeh’s rule. Overlords did not rise to such a rank without reflecting the same dark characteristics of their superiors, so Ah Chuy Kak is as nasty as they come.
The picture of Ah Chuy Kak was a black and white representation of a stone drawing Manco discovered years ago in Central America. It showed Itzam-Yeh dressed in a large head mask with his hands pulled together inside the sleeves of a ceremonial robe. There was enough detail in the picture to see that Itzam-Yeh was adorned with precious stones and jewelry.
The three overlords at Itzam-Yeh’s feet each wore a single necklace and loin cloth. Two of them had their heads bowed, but Ah Chuy Kak appeared to be intentionally looking away from Itzam-Yeh, perhaps as a sign of having less reverence. Ah Chuy Kak was ugly if you go by the drawing in a literal way. His eyes were enlarged, mouth wide showing sharp teeth, long boney fingers and toes, and he was covered in splotchy matted fur.
I never placed much emphasis on taking ancient stone drawings too literally. For all I knew, the artist could have been an ancient Picasso putting together an abstract version of his nightmare after eating too many peyote plants. If Ah Chuy Kak was also a shapeshifter, I guess he could look like anything he wanted, including the ugly beast in the drawing.
There is no doubt in my mind that many lycanthropes continue roaming the Earth. Ah Chuy Kak probably had a wolf harem filled with hairy concubines on every continent adding to the ugly ranks of shapeshifters. The very thought of these things engaging in procreation sent shivers up and down my spine. Yuk … I think that’s enough research for one day.
I placed all the books onto a cart that had a sign written in bold letters: Place Books Here – Do Not Return to Shelves. I smiled, thanked the cart for being close by, and headed outside to catch a bus back to my apartment. Lucky for me, there weren’t too many people standing in line waiting for the bus.
My new wizardry senses encouraged me to sit at the back of the bus and keep my eyes open. If danger presented itself, I could jump out of the emergency exit, get hit by a cabby, or smash my head on the pavement, but at least I’d escape the jaws of a monster. My cleaver strategy seemed less sound when someone sat next to me. Once that happened, I began looking at everyone wondering if they were about to shapeshift. Thank goodness the ride home took only 20 minutes. Any longer, my eyes would have dried out from not blinking.
I unlocked my door, disarming my wards, and to no surprise saw Sally waiting with her leash in her mouth. She obviously didn’t want me to settle down before taking care of her needs first. Fair enough.
I smiled. “Okay, I get the message. At least you could learn to snap your own leash on for me,” I said.
Once outside, Sally made a predictable left turn heading for Magical Herbs. I kept looking up at the lamp poles along the way, but didn’t see any sign of the neighborhood hell pet, so I turned my attention back to walking Sally.
When we arrived at Magical Herbs, Melony was opening the shoppe door. She had her hair pulled back in a pony tail as usual, but was dressed in blue jeans and a light colored t-shirt with something printed on the front.
“Hello Melony,” I said, catching her off guard. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Oh, Daniel … hello, how are you? I haven’t seen you for days and wondered if you moved away without saying goodbye.”
I could now see the front of her t-shirt. It read: Herbs Are Better Than Sex. Not exactly what I expected to see, but it did fit Melony’s natural look and appeal. She stooped down and gave Sally a hug.
“Sally, has Daniel been treating you well?”
What I wouldn’t give to be Sally right now. Melony was beautiful when dressed in her Celtic shoppe outfit, but in those tight jeans and t-shirt, she was more than beautiful – she was incredible. A few moments later I pulled my jaw back up and closed my mouth.
“Leave without saying goodbye. No, nothing of the sort. I was out of town on business.”
“I’m glad you’re still here. Come on in and I’ll make you a cup of my special tea. On Sundays the shoppe opens at noon, so customers won’t be showing up for a half hour or so. It will be nice spending some time with you and Sally, even if only for a few minutes.”
Sally and I sat at one of the tables while Melony went behind the counter and wrote special prices on the On Sale white board. She then smiled and headed to the back room.
“Give me a minute to change and I’ll make that tea.”
“We’ll be right here.”
Sally looked at me, then at Melony, and back at me again.
“What?”
Sally let out a barely audible woof and laid down next to my feet with drooping eyes.
“So now you think you’re a match-maker do you? Give me a break.”
Melony returned in her Celtic costume as beautiful as ever. Sally kept shifting her eyes back and forth at us.
“There, that didn’t take long,” she said. “I’ll make some tea now and you can fill me in on what you two have been up to all week. Have you checked out the city yet?”
I flashed back to when Alura and I destroyed Moon’s office basement and dusted Lupzarro. If only she knew.
“Um … no, not yet. I’ve been busy … you know, getting settled in.”
Melony smiled. “Poor thing, you should have asked for my help.”
“I should have … I mean, sure, help would have been nice. Maybe next time.”
What a stupid response. A beautiful girl shows a little interest in me, and what do I do? I get flustered like a school boy with a crush.
“There weren’t a lot of things to move and unpack,” I said. “I was mostly keeping busing at work.”
“What kind of work?”
“I’m a journalist and field reporter at ZWC here in the city.”
Melony raised her eyebrows. “ZWC … as in Zane Worldwide Communications? Are you related in some way to the Zane family?”
“Sure am. Well, I’m not the only one. There are a lot of us working there.”
Melony laughed and I began feeling nervous. Most of my life was wrapped up in books and research. Having conversations with a beautiful woman, especially small talk, was not something I handled well. Even so, Melony was easy enough to talk to until I looked into her emerald eyes and my knees started shaking.
Okay, here I go with all the covert identity crap.
“The company was named after my great grandfather. It started out as a small family newspaper and now is a publicly traded company. I’m new there and still learning the ropes, so to speak.”
“Wow, I’m impressed. I’m not a ZWC customer, but am impressed just the same.”
Melony sat down at the table and asked Sally if I was giving her a daily sprinkle of the herbs she gave us last week. Sally woofed and wagged her tail knowing the conversation was all about her.
“Sure am,” I said.
“Good. It will keep you both healthy and promote long life,” she said, then smiled and walked back to the counter.
“Hey, I have an idea,” she said and held up two tickets in her hand. “A customer gave me these the other day. It’s for the new Broadway show everyone’s talking about. I wasn’t planning on going because I hate seeing shows by myself, but thought it would be nice to have your company. Want to go and see the show with me on Saturday?”
“Me? Yea, sure would, I’d like that very much.”
Melony’s smile widened. “Alright then, it’s a date. Meet me here at the shoppe no later than 6:00 PM.”
Huh … only in the city for a few days and I’ve already met a nice girl. Manhattan is showing some promise.
The bell on the shop door rang and a woman straight out of the Victorian era walked in. She wore a dress covering everything from the tip of her shoe to the top of her neck. Her grey hair was wrapped up in a bun under a black hat. The fabric of her dress was dark grey and she carried a black purse. She was average height and weight, had pale white skin, and probably in her late 60s judging by the deep wrinkles on her face.
“Mrs. Greyson, how are you?” Melony asked. “I have your package wrapped and ready to go ma'am.”
Greyson gave me a disapproving glare, the kind an overbearing parent gives a boy on a first date with their daughter.
“Thank you dear. I was nearby and thought I would stop by.”
Melony went behind the counter for Greyson’s package while I tried my best not to notice the parental glare. I could only imagine what the Victorian gal was thinking and again nodded my chin in a greeting gesture. She made no response. I didn’t take it personal and chalked it up to a generation gap – more like a few generation gaps.
“Everything all right dear,” Greyson asked, stiffening her glare at me as if I was an intruder. Honestly, she was acting like a chaperone at a high school homecoming dance. Not now, but back a few centuries when kissing was punishable by being burned at the stake.
“Yes Mrs. Greyson, everything is fine,” Melony replied and then introduced me. “This is Daniel who lives in the neighborhood. He’s new to the city.”
Mrs. Greyson tilted her chin up arrogantly at me and said, “I see,” then walked to the counter without so much as a simple hello.
Sally looked at me and let out a whimper. I reached down and lightly scratched behind her ears, almost whimpering myself. The old nag was not only unfriendly, but also very strange, not to mention having no fashion sense whatsoever, and for a second I thought of Kyiel. The door bell rang again and other customers entered the shoppe, so Sally and I got up to leave.
“Thanks for the tea Melony,” I said and Sally woofed wagging her tail.
“Bye Daniel. Bye Sally. Don’t forget about Saturday.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world”, I said, then frowned when looking back at Greyson.
Grayson gave me one final ice cold stare that was more than disapproving, It was outright disdain. If it were not our first encounter, I would say her stare was pure hatred. It felt as if she punched me with her eyes.
Sally had her nose at the door and was anxious to leave. Once outside, I pat her again and said, “Don’t blame you old girl, not one bit.”
There was something very odd about Greyson. Whatever it was, it gave Sally and me the heebie-geebies and we were happy to be out of range from her piercing glare.
Chapter 17
On a positive note, there was still no watcher outside the shoppe – maybe the damn thing flew south. If nothing else, the hell pet had made me more alert and increased my natural state of paranoia. I’m okay with paranoia, especially when considering all the things going bumpity-bump in the night … and day.
“Okay, the coast is clear. Let’s go home.”
Sally stopped walking when the apartment was in sight and growled while looking down an ally across the street. At first I didn’t see anything, but a moment later someone wearing a hooded robe appeared. It looked like the same monk character standing outside the Sierra back in Las Vegas. Moments later a bus drove by and blocked my view. When it passed, the hooded person or thing was gone. Sally relaxed and started wagging her tail again, so I knew the danger she sensed had passed.
Was this the same character who messed up my hotel room in Vegas?
I was about to unlock my front door and noticed scratches in the paint. Four long lines ran down the door that looked like they were made with claws. My wards were still armed, so if someone or something tried to break in, they got the shock of their life.
“Looks like we had a visitor Sally.”
I looked around the street and didn’t see anything unusual, but that doesn’t mean nothing was there. Sally also surveyed the street and appeared unconcerned.
“Seems safe enough Sally, but let’s keep our eyes open just the same.”
I locked the door behind us and my wards rearmed causing the door and window frames to glow for a few seconds.
I smiled. “That light show just never gets old, does it Sally? Not to mention giving us peace of mind.”
Sally woofed and went to her favorite spot to sleep while I started up the fireplace. It was a long day and it didn’t take long before I fell into a deep and welcomed sleep.
My phone rang and woke me up. It was only 5:15 AM, which is still night time in my book. The caller ID showed it was Sarila calling, and when I answered her call, I naturally had a sleepy and sarcastic tone.
“Good morning Sarila. Do you know what time it is?”
“Don’t you have a watch wizard?”
“Yes, I … never mind. Who or what do I owe the pleasure for having a Keob wakeup call?”
Sarila made no response.
“Sorry Sarila, what’s up?”
“Hopefully nothing wizard, but I have been trying to reach Alura at her apartment without success. How about running over there to check things out?”
I had not yet been to Alura’s apartment and was curious what her place looked like. She could take care of herself, so I wasn’t worried that anything happen to her, but it was unusual for Sarila to call me directly.
“Sure, I’ll go there right now. Um … where exactly am I going?”
“Select Alura on your phone contact list and the GPS will lead you to where she is. Her apartment is only a few blocks from you and it won’t take more than ten minutes to get their on foot.”
“Yea, it will certainly be by foot. Do you know why it will be by foot Sarila? Because everyone has a car in this city except for me.”
“And this is something that needs to be addressed now wizard?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll call you when I get to Alura’s apartment. Bye.”
Once outside, I selected Alura from my contact list and the screen showed a blue dot and a red dot on a satellite image of Manhattan. The blue dot showed where I was standing, so I figured the red dot was for Alura. All I had to do was follow the dotted line to the red dot. Easy enough, even for me.
Sarila was right. It took exactly 10 minutes to reach Alura’s apartment building. The front door to the building was locked, so I waited a couple of minutes until someone came out and then slipped in before the door closed. My phone now displayed the building layout. It also showed Alura’s apartment was on the top floor in a corner unit overlooking the street. Cool phone, but it does put into question the role of privacy. I suppose if I were cornered by a lycanthrope, I wouldn’t care much about maintaining privacy, so I filed the issue in my ‘who gives a darn’ mental file.
I took the elevator up to the tenth floor and approached Alura’s apartment door cautiously when I sensed her wards. I knocked several times in a respectful manner – no need to wake any neighbors or cause alarm.
“Who is it?”
“It’s your brother who you have never invited over,” I said, then paused for a response, but there was none. “Sarila sent me because she can’t reach you.”
Alura opened the door wearing a sheet wrapped around her and looked surprised to see me.
I smiled and raised my eyebrows. “Toga party?” I asked, and then a voice roared from inside the apartment.
“Wizard, is that you?”
“Thyzil?” I asked as a blushing Alura scowled at me. “Oh, I see.”
“I do have a life you know,” she said. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a break from all those dark battles.”
I tried to not laugh. “No, not at all,” I said while clearing my throat. “Nope, there is nothing wrong with taking a break … not at all.”
The door opened wider and Thyzil stood there also wrapped in a sheet. He began laughing loudly again – and to think I was worried my knock on the door might wake neighbors.
“Wizard, it is you,” he said and embraced me.
Not cool. I looked down the hallway to see if anyone had noticed a naked giant wrapped in a sheet hugging a visitor.
Alura stepped to Thyzil’s side, arched her eyebrow, and shook her head at me. She was embarrassed and now so was I.
“Come in my friend,” Thyzil said.
Not like I had a choice. Thyzil was a foot taller than me and a whole lot stronger. He actually lifted me off my feet pulling me inside.
There I was with my sister and Thyzil who were dressed in sheets. Alura frowned and looked like she got caught with her hand in a cookie jar. She also looked like a child standing next to a giant, and on top of that, she looked at me as if this was my last day being alive. The tension didn’t go unnoticed by Thyzil as he looked back and forth at Alura and me.
“What is this?” Thyzil asked. “I have been engaged to your sister for millions of years. Do not act surprised,” he said and kept laughing while wrapping his gigantic arms around Alura
“Come my princess, let us get dressed before our wizard faints.”
Alura whacked Thyzil in the arm and gave him a shut-up look. Thyzil just roared again laughing.
“See wizard. Look what trouble you make,” he said.
Alura pushed Thyzil into what I assumed is her bedroom. There was only one door inside the large studio apartment, so unless it was another Batcave, it had to be a bedroom. In the center of the room was a pentagram showing standard wizard design, except it had different symbols drawn at the pointed tips. There was no furniture, no kitchen, nothing but the pentagram. Efficient living in an efficiency apartment makes sense I guess, but I would suggest at least a painting or picture be hung on a wall to liven up the place.
A few minutes later Alura and Thyzil came out of the bedroom fully dressed. Thyzil, still smiling, announced he needed to return to Keob to meet with Sarila. He stepped into the pentagram and crushed a blue magic coin between his thumb and index finger causing the powder to sparkle.
