The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga)

  I smoothed down my hair, applied the dark red lipstick and took out the remaining items on my list. I folded the jacket over my arm and hooked the umbrella under it, so it swung down thanks to the hooked handle. I checked myself one last time and with a deep breath, walked to the right door.

  It was a small access door to one of the warehouses nestled further back in between two larger buildings. Nicely tucked away for hiding what lay behind those doors, I thought as I reached up to the metal door. I knocked and when I heard nothing I knocked again, only this time with a little more force.

  “Piss off!” Ah, that was more like it I thought, remembering the same welcoming reception from last time.

  “Open up please.” I said using my sternest tone, even though I had added the please.

  “You got the wrong door little girl, nothing but big bad wolves behind this one, now piss off…please.” He added the ‘please’ as a sarcastic after thought and I banged the door harder.

  “The password is Treat…. Now open the bloody door!” I shouted hoping to at least shock him into opening the door or to at least take me more serious, which thankfully worked.

  “You got some balls, I will give ya that!” He shouted through the door and I heard the heavy locks slide back before the door swung open to reveal a four hundred pound Samoan. He filled the entire door space and that was without his head! He wasn’t short off seven feet and it actually hurt my neck to look up at him. From the looks of his gut alone, it looked like it could play house to someone my size with ease. I think if he hadn’t been so damn intimidating then the massive gulp I did would have been a comedy moment.

  “It’s you!” He said with the clear look of being stunned, changing his honey coloured eyes to a glowing amber. He looked pretty much the same as last time, long shorts resting under his impressive sized gut, a massive black vest I didn’t think they made in his size and Jesus sandals.

  “Umm… yeah.” Wasn’t the smartest thing to say, but I was lost for words and even more so when I saw him lower to his knees in front of me. I stepped back, giving him more space and looked around in case someone important had just entered.

  “Electus Unus.” He murmured as his knees cracked when putting all that weight on them.

  “What are you…?”

  “My name is Ira and I serve the balance, my Heaven’s Light.” ‘Ooookay’ was my only thought.

  “But you told me to piss off?” I don’t know why this was the first thing I asked, let alone said it at all.

  “And my most sincere apologises, Light Bringer.” He said still looking at my feet, making me more uncomfortable by the second.

  “Umm, please…you don’t have to kneel or anything…but can I ask, what do you mean by Light Bringer?” I asked as he heaved himself off the ground with one beefy hand.

  “You are the 7th light, the Chosen One by the Gods.” He said this as if I should have known this already. I felt like telling him that I must have skipped that class!

  “I don’t really know what you’re on about with the whole ‘light bringer’ bit, but I do know that I must get into this club, so can I pass?” I said shifting round to get closer to the door. As soon as he frowned I knew I had pushed my luck and was waiting for the big ‘Hell no’ and given his size, I didn’t think there was anyone better at delivering it.

  “You wish to pass?” He asked wide eyed and suddenly shifting his large bare feet. I mean what did he think…that I had popped in for a visit to introduce myself? The sound of his sandals on the hardwood floor was the only noise as he studied me.

  “If you mean if I want to go in there again, then the answer is yes,” I said firmly. His big hand smoothed back his plaited Mohawk and I could have sworn I saw the tattoos on his face move round like the cogs in his mind.

  “If you would take the advice of a mere servant I would suggest before you do, you cover yourself. Here, give me your umbrella and I will give it back to you for when you leave.” He held out his hand and I did as I was told because I hadn’t had any other instructions to do otherwise. So, doing as he suggested, I put my jacket on and when he nodded to the hood, I covered my face. I just hoped what I was doing was right because there was no going back now.

  “Come, I will walk you in, I gather you are here to see Leivic.” He said motioning the way with his big outstretched arm. The loose skin I would have called a bingo wing looked more like the wing on a small aircraft! It swayed as he moved like a waving flag of skin and I gave him a crooked smile as I passed.

  The club was a lot different than when I had last been here and it wasn’t only due to the serious lack of people. For one, I could now see more than just my feet, even if my hood was covering a lot of my face. I easily followed my new big Samoan friend, Ira by his shuffling alone. The place reminded me of somewhere someone would pound metal for a living. It was a steel worker’s wet dream. The place had open iron girders covering the ceilings and the walls were metal plates riveted to concrete pillars to create different spaces. Glass bricks were also used as room separators and the same theme made up the bar area in one corner.

  As I followed on, I soon realised that the hard core clubbers didn’t require a more comfortable space, as that had been saved for the VIP section we were now headed to. A crimson wall of material was the barrier between the two vast differences in interior decorating. It shimmered with its own magic and the grittier other side could be seen, as though looking through rippling water.

  Now this I remembered, as it was like stepping into a portal to a different land. The walls were covered in booths of rich, deep reds, pinks, sunset oranges and yellows. But, unlike before, this time there was only one booth not empty.

  Leivic was sat in the middle of the centre booth, on a raised platform covered in large flat pillows with smaller ones scattered between the other female bodies that accompanied him. He was smoking a large pipe the length of his arm. As soon as he saw us coming he sat up and the lounging half-naked beauties startled. It looked like chicks digged scars on big handsome warriors, I thought with a hidden smile. His silver blue eyes grew wide with both shock…and was that… fear?

  “Leave us!” He snapped making me jump and after a few pouts, five females left quietly. I found my eyes following them, everyone strutting their beauty like peacocks being dismissed unhappily. He placed his pipe down on a small table and stood up to greet me, but his smile didn’t meet his eyes. This instantly made me wary.

  “Keira, what an unexpected but lovely surprise!” He said in that easy going manner I now knew was being put on for my sake. I folded my hood back and smoothed my loose hair back from my face.

  “Well, that isn’t completely true now is it?” I said deciding to put a stop to the bullshit before it clouded my reasons for being here. For only a moment he looked taken back but with a quick flick of his wrist, he dismissed Ira and held out his hand for me.

  “Keira, please join me.” I took his large hand and let him lead me to the same booth. I had to walk up a few steps to get there and once in the only thing I could do with my legs was to sit as if I was about to start meditating. When I saw him sit the same way I did a mental shoulder shrug and waited for him to say the first thing. After all, I didn’t really have a plan here and was just going with the rocky flow.

  Leivic picked back up his pipe and from here I could see the tiny and intercut carvings along the thin, twig like pipe that got thicker towards the end. A little copper cup sat at the end and I gathered this was where the tobacco was put for smoking. He puffed on the flattened end and he gave me a sideways glance as if still trying to comprehend that I was actually here and more importantly, how he was going to deal with that very fact. He then sucked in a lung full and like before, he let out a smoking Dragon he knew I liked watching from last time. For a second he seemed pleased with my wide eyed reaction. Then his voice cut through the smoky creature and with its end came the end of the silence as well.

  “Why are you here, Keira?” His voice brought me ba
ck to that very day when I learnt words could nearly kill you. “Draven is dead!” Those words would not only haunt me to the end of time here, but in the next life as well. I closed my eyes momentarily as I tried to breathe through the pain. For a few seconds the memory hit me so hard I had to fight the run reflex my brain was screaming at me. It just wanted me to get as far away from that voice as I could, just to spare me the agony demons that would come collecting soon after.

  But I stayed.

  “What happened to him, Leivic?” I asked the one question I had been regretting not asking him that day. It was the same question that had troubled my every thought and the amount of times was long ago lost in the masses. I heard his reaction through the pipe he was sucking and I knew my question was like a sucker punch to the gut.

  “Keira…I…can’t.” He said with trouble and that was when I finally looked at him. His usually pale scar was now an angry red through his flustered skin and at that moment, I couldn’t help what happened next. I reached out to him and placed my hand on his scarred face. He flinched but didn’t move away.

  The feeling I got was an overwhelming comfort. My hand grew warm and my body tingled. It was as though my cells were crying out for the supernatural side that I had been denied and now they finally had contact, it was like they were singing.

  “Please, my friend.” I said and he closed his eyes. I thought I had lost my only chance and was about to move my hand away, when his covered mine and held it to his cheek.

  “It’s been a long time since I felt a touch like this.” He whispered as if to himself and me hearing him was like an afterthought. I smoothed my thumb along the part of his scar that cut across his nose and I heard a rumble as if his inner bear was enjoying being petted.

  “You are such a good, clean soul, Keira and do not deserve the pain my friend inflicted on you.” He turned his face to fit more firmly in my palm that neither he, nor I wanted to move at that point.

  “Then help me understand, Leivic. Help me heal. I need to know what happened to him or I will never move on.” I said knowing this wasn’t entirely true. See, something in him told me not to disclose the real reason I was here, as soon as I saw Leivic’s reactions to me. He obviously had no clue and if he didn’t, then that was because the Oracle didn’t want him to. And at this point, I was terrified of anything that could jeopardise my plans.

  “I am so sorry Keira, I wish I could…I really do, but it is utterly forbidden. I should not be talking to you as it is, but to explain details to you would surely get me a one way ticket to a place I vowed never to visit again.” He said shaking his head free of the memory.

  “What! But why? Surely it is not as severe as that, is it?” I asked in utter disbelief.

  “What, you doubt a King’s order to be heard and to be obeyed? I can most certainly say it is as severe as that! Anyone who breaks his orders is only going to end up in one place Keira, his words and his rules.” He said in all seriousness.

  “But how...? He’s… he’s dead Leivic, how can he rule still?” At this his head hung down and he shook it in a quiet little motion that looked so sad.

  “Please Keira, I will beg of you if that is what you require, but please…don’t put me in this situation. That day my vow was paid, don’t make it in vain.” I felt a single tear of frustration fall before I nodded.

  “Alright, I will give up on knowing…for now. But trust me in this Leivic, I will one day know what happened and make no mistake when I say I will never stop trying, that is the truth! NEVER!” I got up at that, scooting to the edge as I knew there was nothing more I would get from this single minded meeting. He’d had his orders and I had my own quest to follow.

  I was just leaving when I thought of one last thing, one I will always regret asking.

  “At least answer me this, for I think it is owed to me.” I turned to find him slumped over, resting his face on his open palms, his knees holding his elbows. He looked so young and lost. I almost gave him a break and left… Almost.

  He lifted hurt eyes to mine and just nodded.

  “Is Draven in Hell?” I waited and when I saw his head lower and his eyes slam shut, I didn’t really need to hear his answer but I got it anyway,

  “I have no doubt…that yes…

  “He is living in Hell, Keira.”

  Chapter 8

  Ring ‘a’ Round the Warehouses

  I walked away from Leivic feeling as if the walls of my world had been torn down. I now knew without the shadow of a doubt that Draven now lived out his time, not watching me from above like he suggested, but from down below. The thought nearly brought me to my knees. I hiccupped a cry back and hurried out of the club, just so that I could breathe. It was as if the whole room was clouded in a dark looming presence that was making my skin itch. By the time I made it back to Ira, my scars were burning and I was nearly desperate to rip off my gloves.

  Ira didn’t look surprised to see me and when I saw him put a finger to his temple and say,

  “She is here.” I knew he was communicating with Leivic. I think he must have been making sure I was leaving, as it seemed to me that he couldn’t see the back of me quick enough. In my mind I wanted to say something like, ‘don’t worry tough guy, I am leaving’ but in the end, the sight of the giant of a man kneeling once again stopped me. Being rude wasn’t going to get me anywhere and if anything, it would have just made me feel even shitter all the way home.

  “Electus,” he said in respect, lowering his head.

  “By the way, it’s Keira…just Keira.” I whispered the last part after I took my umbrella from him and walked through the door. Once it slammed shut behind me I didn’t even flinch, I just felt numb. It was only when I felt little rivulets of rain running down my forehead that I released I was just frozen in the pouring rain. At this point I lost it completely and burst out into a humourless laugh that didn’t sound as if it belonged to me.

  “An umbrella for the rain, great…just great!” I shouted lifting it up.

  “Like I give a shit if I get wet at a time like this! Good one on predicting the weather!” I shouted looking up as if the Oracle could hear me, from where I didn’t know. I bitterly pressed the bottom releasing the black material in a whoosh. I lifted it over my head in one motion and just saw a sheet of paper fluttering down. I caught it just in time before the puddles ruined it for me.

  I ran for my truck to get out of the rain and once inside I opened the letter with shaky hands. Little droplets ran down from my wet hair and dropped on to the paper making some of the ink run. I read it quickly and tried to make sense of it.

  Dear Tricks,

  I know if you are reading this right now, then no doubt your mind is a whirlwind of questions, it is always the way of you Chosen Ones but the key is trust and with this next clue, you will need it. For it is time to introduce Little Red to Big Ugly.

  On the back of this note I have included some rather useful information for you about Big Ugly which you WILL NEED TO READ. After all, my game can’t work if there are no pieces left on the board to play with…if you catch my drift. And with the King gone there is now only the Queen, so take the hint and don’t get eaten! Try really hard about that last part as even the fates can’t prevent stupidity.

  Given that, you should be fine if you follow my instructions.

  Number 1: Place – There is a warehouse three buildings down from the one you are sat opposite right now. Go there, for my next clue waits for you inside. Beware, he takes being grouchy to a whole new level!

  Number 2: Tools: Your umbrella is not just for keeping you dry. It is a shield and a hook…use them both.

  Number 3: Entrance: The ladder is your friend. It is good for escaping when escaping isn’t needed and for breaking and entering when breaking isn’t needed.

  Number 4: Red is the colour blood, blood comes from flesh, flesh in a pound becomes a payment…NEVER pay Tricks.

  One last thing

  Remember, the shadows may be where people li
e, but a liar is easily hidden in the shadows.

  P.t.o

  I turned over the page and read the last short paragraph,

  ‘Pishachas Demons enjoy the feast of flesh and prefer the solitude of dark places, only coming out to feed. Their eye sight is near blind with the exception to red, this being blood, the colour to feed on, it is what gives them strength to see when needed.

  They are known to possess human beings and alter their thoughts, before sucking the madness they inflict dry and taking with them what is left of your conscious soul. Pay this demon with your flesh and they will leave the fruits of your mind intact’

  So shields up my dear and trust in your ability as I do.

  The King needs you!

  P :o)

  Reading this made me nearly throw the damn letter from the window and hightail it out of there but like a magic word, the Oracle’s last sentence had me hook line and sinker. I knew this wasn’t ever going to be as easy as just walking up to Leivic, getting some answers, along with a happy note and some plane tickets to where I would find the Oracle. Nope, not me!

  The letter was a mind twister if ever there was one and left me with more questions than answers. I wasn’t certain that by the end of this little ‘game’ of hers that when finally meeting her, I wouldn’t be tempted to shake her by the neck instead of the hand!

  I drove closer to the warehouse she’d written about, just in case I needed a quick getaway. Christ, I was starting to feel like Jackie Brown being dragged into all this. What was next…a gun for my birthday? Well, after reading that description it was looking like a better idea by the minute!