Blood Moon, page 20
part #1 of The Wizard's Journal Series
“Smells like trees,” I said.
“Don’t worry Daniel,” Melony said. “The herb I gave to you and Sally was just Anise. No love herbs were included.”
“Brother, I like this girl,” Alura said, then butted her fists with Melony.
Great, now I have two wise gals in my life, three if counting Sally. Things appear to have gotten more complicated.
It was 6:00 PM and Melony prepared to close the shop. Alura looked at me with a coy expression so I knew she was up to something. At first I thought she was just teasing me, but then she spoke.
“Hey Melony, would you like to have dinner with us?” Alura asked.
“Why yes, dinner sounds wonderful. Give me a moment to lock up.”
Alura moved her head side to side while pretending to bite the tip of her tongue. I expected her to stick her tongue out at me in retaliation for finding her and Thyzil wrapped in sheets, but she continued smiling like a cat holding a mouse by its tail. Sally then led Alura and me outside where we waited for Melony.
“Well, are you going to thank me Azul, I mean Daniel?” Alura asked, still smiling like a cat.
“Ha ha ha, thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome,” Alura said, happy that she had the chance to play matchmaker.
“Why is Melony under Zeshtune protection? Is that like some sort of new identity program?”
“You have been watching too much television brother, but we do keep a close eye on her. She needs our protection because many dark creatures would cause her harm if they knew what she was.”
“How does someone become a witch?”
“All witches are born human and most are black witches that practice dark magic. Every now and then a white witch is born, but they are very rare. White witches are pure in heart and commune with the Earth. They exist in harmony with nature and many of them learn to use magic for healing and protecting living things.”
“How many white witches are there?”
“Melony is actually the first of her kind that we know of for many years, and when discovered, she was put under Zeshtunian protection. She lives in an apartment above the shoppe making it easy to guard her using magical wards.”
“That’s good. I’m happy that she’s under our protection.”
“Azul, Melony is a precious treasure and dear to all natural living things that are good. You especially must watch over and protect her. Otherwise, I’ll have to kick your butt back to Las Vegas where I found you. Got it mister?”
“Yea, I think so.”
I started to frown a little and the amazing mind reading Alura chuckled while pushing into my side.
“You can still date her silly. She won’t break or turn you into a toad.”
“A Toad? Can she turn someone into a toad?’
Alura let out an exhausted breath and shook her head.
“Really Azul, for being such a great wizard who has survived for eons, you know nothing about women. It’s like you’ve been living under a rock.”
“More like inside a rock, my amulet to be precise,” I said.
It’s true that I knew very little about women. I knew even less about witches, which I decided to remedy the next chance I get when visiting the library on Keob. Until then, I was going to enjoy a nice dinner with my sister and the good witch Melony.
Melony locked the shoppe’s door. I could tell she was excited and nervous at the same time because she fumbled with her keys. A moment later, the three of us with Sally began walking to my apartment while engaging in conversation, mostly about how Melony’s day went. I kept a eye open for anything unusual, such as watchers or Hunter Demons, and was thankful these pests seemed to be taking a break.
Alura was grinning at me. I narrowed my eyes, not knowing what she was thinking, and her grin widened into a smile – then the hammer dropped.
“Oh my goodness, I just remembered I have a business appointment,” Alura said. “Sorry guys, you’ll have to have dinner without me tonight.”
Right … a business appointment. I should have seen this one coming. I smirked at Alura and she pretended not to see, but I knew she did.
“Oh no, that’s too bad,” Melony said. “Don’t worry Alura. We’ll make sure to save you some dinner and you can join us later.”
Alura continued smiling and was on the verge of laughing. She was quite pleased with herself at the moment.
“Sure, that sounds great. I’ll see you two later. Have fun.”
“Bye now, see you soon,” I said with some anxiety in my voice.
Normally I’m not the shy type, but there is something about Melony that makes me nervous. I don’t know why I get flustered and wobbly at my knees, but I do. Having Alura dine with us would have been a comforting first date security blanket. It’s easier to hold a conversation with three people, but now, I was on my own. In addition, I had to cook something tasty and not poison Melony with my unhealthy diet. If all this wasn’t enough, my knees began shaking as I pondered all the ways the night might turn into a disaster.
“Well Daniel, I guess we are on our own.”
“Looks that way,” I said, my voice crackling a little.
A few minutes later we were in my apartment and I started up the fireplace. Melony sat on the couch and Sally situated herself next to the fire. I was shuffling around in the kitchen trying to quiet my nerves and acted like I actually knew what I was doing.
“I’m sorry Melony, but I only can offer you water or beer for a beverage.”
“A beer would be great. No glass.”
My kind of girl: beautiful, charming, and she likes beer – without a glass. What more could a man want?
Melony politely watched me fumble around trying to be a good host. It was painfully obvious that I never really cooked a real meal before. After dropping a pan, some utensils, and spilling vegetable oil all over the kitchen counter, Melony came to the rescue.
“Daniel, let me help you cook dinner.”
“Only if you insist,” I said, realizing that I was saved in the nick of time.
I cleaned up the mess I made while Melony went into action demonstrating her experience in culinary art. She could easily become a chef if the witch thing doesn’t work out. In what seemed like no time at all, Melony had prepared a nice salad and veggie burgers.
Veggie burgers? Hmm … I suppose that goes with the territory of being a white witch and herb guru.
I didn’t mind healthy food for a change and it actually tasted good. The two of us enjoyed our dinner and shared stories about living in Manhattan. My stories were of course censored quite a bit because fighting werewolves wasn’t a great first date conversation, or on any date for that matter. No need to scare her away. Besides, having a conversation with Melony was easy because she had an energetic personality that was contagious. Even Sally was interested and wagged her tail when one of us looked at her or laughed.
Time passed by quickly, and before we knew, it was nearly midnight. Melony had to open the store early in the morning, so I walked her back to the Magical Herbs Shoppe. Her apartment has a rear entrance, but she told me it was scary at night and she’d prefer using the stairs inside the shoppe. We then stood in the shoppe doorway smiling without saying anything for what seemed like an eternity – those awkward moments of first dates.
Should I kiss her, should I shake her hand, should I run home and take a cold shower?
“I had a wonderful night Daniel. Don’t forget about the Broadway show tomorrow.”
“I had a great time too Melony. Goodnight, see you tomorrow.”
Melony knew I was nervous and she smiled while kissing me on my cheek. She then unlocked the shoppe door and went inside while blowing another kiss from her hand to me.
Wow, what a great date. I was smiling all the way back to my apartment until I saw something standing in the shadows across the street. I narrowed my eyes to focus and saw a Hunter Demon. It was standing there watching me. No problem. Alura said these demons were harmless unless in a group.
“You’re still a creepy date buster,” I muttered.
I continued walking to my apartment and watched the demon keep his gaze on me. I couldn’t see its eyes, only the dark space under a garment hood. As I got further down the street, the demon stepped out of the shadow and my neck hairs stood up. I put my hand into my pocket cuffing the staff coin in my hand. When I looked again, the demon was gone and my neck hairs relaxed. I checked behind me several times to be sure nothing was following, and nothing was.
Okay then, back to thinking about my great date with Melony.
Good things never last for long, not even recaps of great dates. As my apartment came into sight, I saw the demon standing a few feet in front of my door and it was making a hissing sound. I then heard more hissing sounds and saw two more Hunter Demons, which officially constitutes a group, and now potentially dangerous.
“Look guys, I don’t want any trouble. Why don’t you three mosey on back into your shadow world like good demons, okay?”
The demons hissed louder. I took my staff coin out of my pocket and said, “Unclass staff,” causing it to change instantly with blue-white lights swirling in and out of its amulet. The demons seemed to be unconcerned and even attracted to the light. Each demon lifted their hooded head higher and pointed their boney fingers forward as they moved slowly toward me, hissing louder with each step.
“You know, I had a really great night up to now. How about we do a rain check and sort out our differences at another time?”
There was no response, unless you consider louder hissing a response. I thought maybe they can’t hear or don’t understand. Who cares, they’re still coming.
“Really, you’re going to make me do this tonight?”
I focused on my magic and said, “Aknor firster,” which ignited my staff amulet with a large fire torch. I waved the staff side to side warning the demons not to advance, but they kept coming. I increased my concentration and made the blue-white fire roar out ten feet like a blow torch, and then something unexpected happened. The demons pointed their hands at each other and became angrier, no longer interested in me.
One demon lunged forward attacking the other while the third stood still hissing. The two demons tore each other apart with their long razor sharp fingers. Their hoods fell back and I saw deformed faces as though burned by fire or acid. After clawing each other and ripping large pieces of their bodies apart, one demon fell to street and stopped moving.
The third demon that was watching the other two rip each other apart lunged forward, and in a single swing of its long fingers, cut the other demon’s head off sending it tumbling across the street. A few moments later the dead demons melted from their inside out into a deep purple goo color, then disappeared as vapor into the night air.
Only one left now … much better odds.
“Hey, why don’t we just call it a day and move on?”
The demon turned toward me and placed its hands together under his garment sleeves, then lowered his head. It stopped moving and didn’t appear to be a threat, but I kept my staff pointed at it just in case. The demon turned slowly to keep its gaze on me as I unlocked my apartment door. The creepy thing was only 20 feet away and my heebie-geebies meter was all the way into the red.
“How about finding a new neighborhood far away from here to hang out?”
The Demon Hunter made no responses to anything I said and only stared at me.
“The farther the better you creep,” I muttered.
I extinguished the fire on my staff and locked the door behind me arming my wards. When I looked out from my window, the demon had disappeared.
There was a time when I didn’t think anything was more annoying than mosquitoes, but then lycanthropes came along, and now Hunter Demons are stalking me. Seems to me that since magic is in my life, I should be able to use a demon repellent spell to get rid of these things, or at a minimum, hide the field of magic emitting from my apartment. I summoned Kyiel to learn if he had a solution.
“Good evening Azul.”
“Glad to see you buddy. What can you tell me about watchers and Hunter Demons, and more importantly, how to get rid off them?”
“Watchers are harmless and come and go as the spell caster pleases. You also can cast spells to create your own watchers. Hunter Demons, on the other hand, are the result of Darkzon gene manipulations. Basically, they are discarded laboratory mistakes. They barely are aware of their existence and operate instinctively like a honey bee constantly seeking nourishment from flowers. The magic in your amulets and apartment wards are nourishment for these demons, and they will constantly seek it out.”
“Okay, so how do I get rid of them?”
“You can not be rid of Hunter Demons or watchers unless you abandon all magic. If one is destroyed, another will take its place.”
They’re like cockroaches. “Well, I don’t plan of squashing one every time they cross my path, so what other options do I have?”
“You can also accept a Hunter Demon and use them to your advantage.”
I arched my eyebrow. “Oh … do tell Kyiel.”
“If you make a light crystal having the same magical signature as your amulets and offer it to a Hunter Demon, and if it accepts your gift, the demon will be binded to you. The crystal has no power and only produces a harmless light that satisfies the demons hunger for magic.”
I frowned. “Binding doesn’t sound like a good option.”
“It can be Azul. While the Hunter Demon is bound to you, it will guard the area where the crystal was given to him. If it senses any danger may fall upon you, the demon will fight to its death to protect you.”
“How long does this binding last?”
“Bindings will end given any of three conditions: the crystal no longer emits a magical signature; the demon returns a similar gift of equal or greater value; or the demon is dismissed by the spell caster.”
I smiled. “My own demon pit bull could come in handy guarding the back alley, provided it doesn’t bring along any buddies. What about watchers? Can I shield the magic emitting from my apartment so neither watchers or Hunter Demons show up in the first place?”
“Yes, a shield will work. However, they will not prevent them from following you home, and unlike inanimate objects, such spells placed on yourself will last only for a few minutes. Even a shield placed on your wards is temporary and requires maintenance every few months.”
“I should have asked you about this earlier Kyiel. Better late than never, right?”
“It would appear so great wizard.”
“Why Kyiel, I do believe you’re developing a sense humor. Saying good evening and making a sarcastic response is, how should I put it … almost human.”
“Perhaps you are correct Azul.”
Hmm … Kyiel is continuing to learn.
Chapter 19
Okay Kyiel, let’s do this. I took one the white crystals from my lab and invoked an incantation according to his instructions. The crystal glowed like my amulets, minus the magic of course. I hung the crystal on the outside door knob of the ally door and hoped it would work.
“That takes care of that,” I said and dismissed Kyiel.
A few minutes later I started thinking about the vanity plate I mailed to Moon. Surely my message that he was next to get dusted irked him, at least a little, especially since of Lupzarro was taken out. Maybe not … Moon is probably the new alpha now, unless some other uppity fur ball hasn’t yet introduced itself to me. My curiosity got the better of me and I had to call his office.
“Moon, Stillman, and Kragen. How may I direct your call?”
“This is Daniel Zane. Is your boss in?”
“Please hold sir. I will see if Mr. Moon is available to take your call.”
A few moments later Moon picked up his phone.
“Good afternoon Mr. Zane. I was just thinking about you.”
“Hey Moony-boy, did you like my present?”
“Yes Mr. Zane. I found your gift to be helpful for sharpening my teeth. Unfortunately, the materials used in the manufacturing process must have been below standards because it tore up rather easily and I swallowed it.”
“Oh yea, well I hope you choked on it fur ball.”
“I’m sure you do Mr. Zane, but there is more urgent business for us to discuss at the moment. Apparently you have engaged in trespassing and breaking and entering at one of my client’s properties near the waterfront. I don’t need to tell you such actions are illegal.”
I instantly felt anger rush inside me and had to focus on not letting it get out of control. Alura told me that wizards need to be careful about mixing anger with their magic because the wrong mix could level a building. Since Sally and I live here, I didn’t want to find out is she was right, so I gritted my teeth and tried to relax.
“I should have known you had something to do with those bodies at Sunset Park. I wouldn’t be surprised if you orchestrated the whole thing yourself.”
“Mr. Zane, I assure you that I’m a businessman and very successful lawyer in this city. To step outside the boundaries of law is not something you will find me doing.”
“What you really mean is that you believe I won’t catch you in the act of doing something outside the law. Unfortunately for you, I operate on a different set of laws that don’t work in your favor. You see, I don’t need to catch you doing anything to dust you. You’re one of the bad guys, and that’s all it takes.”
I never liked attorneys and thought of a line in Shakespeare's King Henry VI: ‘the first thing we must do is kill all the lawyers’. Sure, there are some lawyers who are probably decent human beings and we all know stereotyping in not a good thing to do. In my own defense, no pun intended, I simply have never met a decent attorney. In fact, Moon was the only attorney I have had the misfortune of dealing with, so it’s not surprising I developed some bias towards lawyers.
“Hey Moony, have you ever read any Shakespeare?”
“I hardly see what a dead writer has to do with our business Mr. Zane. But if you must know, I found my conversations with him somewhat boring.”
