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DUEL THIRTY-SIX
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First Confrontation
Our Enemy Revealed
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As midnight approached, Tiberius, Lorelei, and Lareth were waiting for the Triad to contact them. Tiberius often thought that they kept him waiting just to annoy him, but he was smart enough not to say so out loud.
Finally, the viewing portal appeared.
"Everything is nearing completion," said the First. "Thanks to Mr. Hape's cards, we seem to be ahead of schedule. Our next step will be for you to awaken the Tabernacle's powers, Lareth…"
"It would be my pleasure…" replied Lareth.
"Unfortunately," added the Second, "a sacrifice is required to do so, and it won't be easy to get."
"Just tell us who you need," said Tiberius.
"Not a sacrifice of blood," replied the Third. "We need a sacrifice of power. Elemental energy from a source other than our god. A significant power of Earth, Fire, Wind, or Water."
"Hmm…" said Lareth.
"What hmmm?" asked Lorelei.
"My lords," said Lareth, "if this power were to come from a Duel Spirit, how powerful would it have to be?"
"Well, let me see…" said the first.
An odd device appeared in his hand. It looked like the device on the Fatal Abacus Trap Card.
Tiberius had seen him use this measuring device several times. A calculator was better in most cases, but this abacus could measure spiritual energy and soul energy, and convert it to more familiar systems (like, say, if you needed to know how much soul energy was needed to power a D-Wheel, this could convert its system to horsepower).
The First moved the beads on the abacus for a minute or two before nodding.
"At least Level 10, I'm afraid," he said.
"Then leave it to me," said Lareth.
The Triad looked at each other. Then they looked at Lareth hard, and then vanished.
"What are you going to do, Lareth?" asked Tiberius. "Level 10 Monsters don't exactly grow on trees. And most of them are Light or Dark."
"Besides," said Lorelei, "if you do something that the Shadowchasers end up investigating, they'll find out you're back in business. That could be bad."
Lareth opened the pouch on his belt that contained his side deck. He took out a card and looked at it.
"Then I'll just have to get what we need without breaking any laws," he said. "I'll need to find the target first, but it will be easy then…"
The other two Doomdreamers watched as he left the room.
"What do you think he's up to?" asked Lorelei.
"Dunno," said Tiberius. "The Shadowchasers impounded Uria after Iggwilv was defeated, right?"
"I believe so…" replied Lorelei.
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The night passed, and the sun rose over Chicago. Ben and the Shadowchasers sat at the breakfast table. Karl's wounds still stung a little, but they were healing.
"Bartholomew, we're going to get fat if you keep feeding us like this," said Dugan.
"With all the exercise you folks get?" replied the brownie, as he passed out the French toast at the breakfast table. "I don't think…"
"You've got mail!" said the computer.
Karl quickly got up, and looked at the computer. He clicked on the icon.
"Guys…" he said. "Seems Black Jack came through…"
Everyone got up, and hurried to huddle around the computer.
The message was in code, but Sal was quickly able to decode it.
"According to this…" said Karl, "Green Cheese is…"
He stopped short.
"Ulysses Maxwell Tiberius. Says here he's the regional manager of... The Chicago branch of Technology Research Unlimited Enterprises?"
"Whoa!" exclaimed Nichole. "TRUE is behind this whole deal? You were right about their wealth rivaling Jalal's… That place has more money than the US Mint!"
"Let's not jump to conclusions, folks," said Dugan. "It's possible that all of TRUE is involved and that Maximillion Galti is ultimately behind this... But it's far more likely that this is an isolated incident."
"Well, let's find out," said Karl, as he started to type. "Breaking into the Pentagon's files may be beyond my ability, but getting into TRUE's local headquarters' files is much easier.
"Still, getting caught is not an option, so I'm sidetracking through eight international networks before trying to do so."
A world map appeared, and it showed Karl's path, moving from Chicago to eight different cities on North America, Europe, and Asia, one by one, circling the world before coming back to Chicago.
"Here we go…"
He started moving through the system, which looked like a labyrinth on the screen.
"We're on the right track, people," said Karl. "This security system was definitely designed by another Shadowjack.
"But I think I can avoid the traps he's placed…
"Almost there…"
Everyone watched nervously as they approached a door.
"Input Password," said a computerized voice.
"Here goes nothing," said Karl. "Cross your fingers…"
He typed in "Green Cheese".
The door swung open, and a blinding light flashed.
"Huh?" said Ben. "What happened?"
They hadn't accessed a file. It looked like they door had accessed a virtual dueling arena, with a duel in progress.
"It's a Duel Puzzle!" exclaimed Nichole.
"Tricky," said Dugan. "I think you're gonna have to solve it in order to access that file."
"Now I'm almost sure we're on the right track," said Karl. "Okay, let's see what we've got here…"
He looked over the field.
"Our opponent has two Monsters in Attack Mode, Different Dimension Dragon, and Jinzo. Its Spell Zone consists of Gravity Bind, Amplifier – Equipped to Jinzo, naturally – and a set card."
(Different Dimension Dragon: 1,200 ATK, Jinzo: 2,400 ATK)
"It also has a hand of one card."
"Maybe that facedown card is something that requires a discard," replied Nichole.
"Maybe," said Karl. "It has 2,000 Life Points remaining.
"Our field consists of Sonic Duck in Attack Mode, and two set cards, Rising Energy and Aegis of Gaia. We have a hand of six cards, Slate Warrior, Alector Sovereign of Birds, Confiscation, Premature Burial, and Scroll of Bewitchment."
(Sonic Duck: 1,700 ATK)
"We're allowed to use illegal cards?" asked Nichole.
"In these Duel Puzzles, any card in the I2 database is allowed," said Dugan. "I saw one once with five Blue-Eyes White Dragons."
"Right…" said Karl. "We have 1,200 Life Points remaining. That means we don't have enough Life Points to use both Confiscation and Premature Burial… Unless we first use that Aegis of Gaia, which is risky. However, Rising Energy definitely requires a discard. We have to win in one turn, and we're allowed three attempts. Failing three times will lock us out.
"And possibly alert the server.
"Well, I think I see the solution…"
He typed in a command, and an avatar of himself appeared in the arena, wearing a Duel Disk.
(Karl: 1,200) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 2,000)
"The only way to win this is to use our Trap Card, and the only way to do that is to make sure Jinzo can't keep us from using it," he said. "Therefore, I sacrifice Sonic Duck to summon Alector Sovereign of Birds."
Sonic Duck vanished, and a larger Winged Beast appeared, a humanoid rooster in plate armor with red, feathered wings on its back. (2,400 ATK)
"Now, I'll use Alector's effect to nullify Jinzo's effect.
"Then, by playing Premature Burial, I can pay 800 Life Points to bring Sonic Duck back to the field."
He played the card, and Sonic Duck appeared again. (1,700 ATK)
(Karl: 400) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 2,000)
"With Jinzo out of commission," he said, as his Trap Card lifted up, "I can discard Confiscation to activate Rising Energy."
He discarded the card, and Sonic Duck glowed with fiery energy. (3,200 ATK)
"Attack Different Dimension Dragon!" he ordered.
Sonic Duck dashed towards the strange Dragon…
"Discarding Honest from hand," said the computer, as the one card in its hand flipped around.
"HUH?" said Karl. "Honest?"
Then he shielded himself as the Dragon's Attack Score shot up to 4,400, and it blasted Sonic Duck with a bolt of energy.
(Karl: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 2,000)
"Access denied," said the computer.
"Crap!" said Karl, as his avatar vanished.
"Honest, huh?" said Dugan. "Like I said, in these Duel Puzzles, any card at all can be used."
"Well, at least one unknown variable is solved," said Ben. "But we've used one of our three attempts to discover it…"
"Hmm…" said Nichole. "Let me take a crack at it, Karl. I think I see another way… I don't think I can do worse than you did…"
"Be my guest…" said Karl.
An avatar of Nichole appeared to face the computer, holding a Duel Disk.
(Nichole: 1,200) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 2,000)
"Karl had the right idea," she said, "so I'll start the way he did."
Again, Nichole sacrificed Sonic Duck to summon Alector (2,400 ATK), used Alector's effect on Jinzo, and then Premature Burial to bring back Sonic Duck. (1,700 ATK)
"Next, I'll pad my Points by activating Aegis of Gaia," she said, as the set card lifted up.
"And now that I have enough Life Points, I can use Confiscation to send Honest to the Graveyard."
She played the card, and the card in the opponent's hand vanished.
(Nichole: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 2,000)
Then Nichole activated Rising Energy, discarding Slate Warrior to do so. (3,200 ATK)
"Attack!" she shouted.
Sonic Duck dashed towards Different Dimension Dragon like before…
"Activating Malevolent Catastrophe," said the computer, as its facedown card lifted up.
"Malevolent Catastrophe?" gasped Nichole. "That destroys all Spell and Trap Cards on the field!"
First, every Spell and Trap on the field shattered into pieces. Then Jinzo and Sonic Duck were blown into shards as well, as a result of the Equip Spells linked to them being destroyed. But Aegis of Gaia being destroyed was what mattered… It caused Nichole to lose the 3,000 Life Points she had gained.
(Nichole: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 2,000)
"Access denied," said the computer, as Nichole's avatar vanished.
"I was wrong…" she said. "I did do worse than you…"
"The good news is, we've uncovered both unknown variables," said Dugan. "The bad news is… We only have one attempt left…"
"Wait, I got it!" said Ben.
"You do?" asked Karl.
"Yeah…" said Ben. "Let me try… I think I see what the problem is…"
Ben's avatar appeared on the dueling arena, again holding a Duel Disk.
(Ben: 1,200) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 2,000)
"The problem is, you two were fooled by red herrings," he said. "A lot of the cards here are unnecessary, and just led you into traps.
"First off, I'm going to use Scroll of Bewitchment and Equip it to Different Dimension Dragon, changing its Attribute to Dark."
He played the card.
"Of course!" said Nichole. "Now the Honest in its hand is useless."
"Wrong…" said Ben. "It wants us to think that… Honest will still be a threat if it triggers that Malevolent Catastrophe in response to an attack.
"Thus, I'm still going to disarm him of it by playing Confiscation."
He played the card, and the card in the opponent's hand vanished.
"But now you can't play Premature Burial…" said Karl.
"I don't have to," said Ben, "I don't have to Tribute Summon Alector at all. Because there are now two Monsters of the same Attribute on my opponent's side of the field, I can Special Summon Alector using its effect."
"Oh yeah!" said Karl. "I forgot you could do that with Alector."
Alector appeared on the field. (2,400 ATK)
"Now, I'm going to use Alector's effect… But not on Jinzo. I'm using it on Gravity Bind."
"Next, I Normal Summon Slate Warrior."
(1,900 ATK)
"So now, who cares if it uses that Trap Card?
"Time to battle! Sonic Duck, attack Different Dimension Dragon!"
Sonic Duck charged at the strange Dragon, and jammed its beak into its hide.
"Of course!" exclaimed Dugan. "Different Dimension Dragon can't be destroyed by Monsters that have 1,900 Attack Points or less, but your opponent still takes damage."
"And now Slate Warrior attacks!" said Ben.
Slate Warrior aimed its staff, and fired a bolt of green energy at the Dragon.
(Ben: 200) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 800)
"And finally… Alector!"
The Sovereign of Birds called lightning to his hands, and hurled it at Different Dimension Dragon. The Dragon finally shattered.
(Ben: 1,200) - - - - - - - - - - (Computer: 0)
"Access approved," said the computer.
"Great job, Ben," said Karl, as a new screen came up. "Now, let's see what's so important in this file…"
The file was labeled "The Great Sigil". It appeared to be a map of the North American continent, with many locations pinpointed.
Karl highlighted many of the locations. When he did so, either the words "Completed" or "Under Construction" appeared.
Montreal and the lizard man village were included. Those two were labeled "Unstaffed".
Chicago was on the map, and was labeled "Hub".
"These must be minor temples of some sort…" said Dugan.
"I don't get it…" said Nichole. "These locations don't seem to have much strategic value. With the exception of Chicago and Montreal, all of them are either small towns or not in towns at all. This place over here is in the middle of the Yukon Territory."
"Karl," said Dugan. "See if the Shadowchaser database mentions 'Great Sigil'."
"Well, let's see…" said Karl.
He punched in some numbers.
"I found one mention of it…" he said. "Comes from a journal entry in a log taken from a general of the House of the Surging Flame, dated fifty years ago…
"Listen to this…
"The negotiations are difficult at best. Today a samebito sat in a tengu's chair and refused to move until a fight broke out. Two of my foot soldiers were injured trying to restore order. What's more, the cooked chicken I brought for lunch was stolen. I have no proof, but I suspect that gluttonous oni general. All he ever does is eat!
"Still, I remain optimistic. We all will see eye to eye. Sooner or later, our Clans will unite in a way that we have not done since we brought down the Great Sigil twelve-hundred years ago."
Karl scrolled down.
"No mention of what that was, I'm afraid," he said.
"So… Fifty years ago, the Four Yokai Clans tried to form an alliance?" asked Nichole. "They obviously didn't succeed…"
"Yes, but apparently they did succeed at one point in their history," said Dugan. "Long ago, before the Shadowchasers were founded…"
"So what do we do?" asked Karl. "The Four Clans don't use computers. I can't hack into them…"
Everyone paused for a minute.
"Taka!" they all said at once.
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A phone call and two hours later, Dugan was at Taka's penthouse.
He sat on the floor in front of a Japanese table as a woman dressed like a geisha poured tea for him and his host. She smiled sweetly, and left the room.
"Good thing you came when you did, Dugan," said Taka, who was clearly not in a good mood. "I've been thinking of retiring, leaving this city permanently…
"Going to a place where there are far less Shadow-related problems… Maybe Seattle."
He sipped his tea.
"I don't blame you Taka," replied Dugan. "But I just need one more piece of information that I likely could only get from a Yokai…
"Do you know about something called the Great Sigil?"
Taka looked at him.
"I'm curious as to how you found out about that name," asked Taka. "No Yokai ever told any humans about it."
"I assure you, I didn't kill anyone you know to find out about it," said Dugan. "I think that it was some name used by some enemy that was powerful enough to unite all Four Yokai Clans twelve-hundred years ago."
Taka sighed.
"The reason no Yokai today ever speaks of this," he says, "is because we think we sound insane when we speak of it. But I have a feeling that you'll believe me…
"Twelve-hundred years ago, a cult of the Great Destroyer, the god whom you call Tharizdun, I believe, created a base in Asia.
"And they started to build.
"They built temples, all over the Asian continent. Their dark magic spread like a cancer. The thing was, most of the temples had very little strategic value. Many were located in isolated spots, very far from any civilized towns.
"Trouble was, many of them intruded on Yokai lands. So my people took action. After numerous skirmishes, several cultists were captured. We used interrogation techniques to find out what they were up to.
"They were building these temples to form the Great Sigil. Each of the temples would form an anchor point of a monstrous summoning symbol, hundreds of miles in diameter."
"Like a pentagram drawn on the very map of the Earth?" exclaimed Dugan.
"Sort of," replied Taka, "but not a pentagram. This was the reason for the odd placement of many of the temples. The shape of the Sigil had to be perfect, even if it meant building a temple in the middle of nowhere.
"If this gigantic symbol was finished, all they'd have to do, in theory, was wait for the right aligning of the stars, and a spell of incredible power fueled by the very core of the Earth would be cast through it. They believed that this mighty incantation would be sufficient to free Tharizdun from his prison."
"Hold on…" said Dugan. "If it was fueled by the core of the Earth, wouldn't that mean…"
"Yes…" said Taka. "Whatever Tharizdun decided to do next would be a moot point, as far as this world was concerned.
"The Four Yokai Clans knew that they had to take action. The Four Lords met in a council, and agreed that if they didn't put aside their differences and call a truce, there'd no longer be anything left to fight over. Tharizdun's vile machinations were well known, even among the Yokai, and they knew the results of his possible release.
"So, for the first and thus far only time, the Four Yokai Clans worked as a united force. We scored a few victories early on, defeating a few of the lesser temples, but it seemed pointless. No sooner had we taken a temple than a horde of demons would attack to retake it, and then rebuild it.
"After the casualties began to become staggering, the Lords made a plan… To end this threat, they would have to destroy the one temple that was irreplaceable… The Hub."
"The Hub?" asked Dugan.
"Their central base, one that would be located in the exact center of the Great Sigil," replied Taka. "It was where the actual ritual would be cast, and was a linchpin for all the other temples.
"So the biggest Yokai army in history marched against the dark tower. The Lords themselves led the assault, as only they were capable of leading such a large and diverse army. The battle lasted days, and was brutal and bloody. They faced legions of demons, undead, and even a red dragon. One of the casualties was the Lord of the Howling Gale.
"But the Yokai were victorious in the end… In one final strike, they caused the tower to collapse, sending many of the Doomdreamers screaming to their deaths. Those that remained were captured and burned at the stake, the usual punishment for crimes against nature."
Taka sighed. He sipped his tea again.
"Some optimistic Yokai believed that their cooperation would lead to peace, but it would not be so. The death of the Lord of the Howling Gale was the biggest reason…"
"How come?" asked Dugan.
"Well, you see," replied Taka, "when a Lord dies, after the period of mourning, his heir, usually his eldest son, becomes the new Lord. If the heir has a wife or a betrothed, she becomes the new Bride. If he doesn't, finding one becomes the first priority.
"If he's simply too young, then the old Bride retains her title, and the general with the most seniority performs the Lord's duties until actual Lord comes of age.
"Anyway, the new Lord of the Howling Gale did indeed have a wife, so the leadership of his clan changed completely. The Lord of the Raging Mountain, Shogun Mayato, saw this as an opportunity. His clan had always been the biggest rival of the Howling Gale, and he thought the change in leadership would cause unrest, and vulnerability. He started an offensive against them, saying that the alliance was over.
"It was a big mistake. The new Lord of the Howling Gale was more charismatic than the old oni had assumed, and a conflict started that was worse than the last time the two clans had battled.
"With those two clans occupied, the Surging Flame thought it was a good opportunity to renew their offensive against the Shrieking Tempest… The fighting had started again just as quickly as it had stopped.
"And since that time, every time any leader in any of the Four Clans proposes peace, someone brings up Mayato, a name that has become synonymous for 'fool' in the mind of any Yokai who grows tired of the fighting. Even members of the Raging Mountain."
He sighed again.
"So, did I answer your question?"
"Yes…" said Dugan. "Yes you have…"
And it's obvious what the Doomdreamers' plan is now… he thought. They're planning to create the Great Sigil again… Only this time in North America…
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That evening, in the lounge at the penthouse, Jalal was listening in holographic form as Dugan explained everything. A worried look was on the face of the Shadowchasers' founder.
"This doesn't make sense," said Nichole. "This plan already failed once… Why would they try it again?"
"Maybe because they figure no-one would remember it," replied Dugan. "They didn't count on any Shadowchasers making deals with Yokai."
"I don't see what the big problem is," said Karl. "Scath and Nasquet are in jail… A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Without those two anchor points, the Great Sigil can't work."
"It's not that simple, Karl," said Jalal. "Tharizdun's cult no longer has any authority that lizard man village, but Tharizdun himself does. The temple is dedicated to him. And purging a deity's influence from a place can take a long time. It took Scath three years to purge Semuanya's influence from that temple… Tharizdun is stronger than Semuanya, so Sslinth has an even harder job.
"As for Nasquet, the house is still his. And I mean his. He doesn't pay a mortgage on it, it's completely paid for. I can't make a request to a judge to order it torn down… Even with evidence that it housed a shrine to an evil god, doing so would violate several tenants of the Treaty."
"Lovely…" said Dugan. "And the other temples know we're on to them. They likely concealed any evidence by now…
"The best way to solve this problem may be to do what the Yokai clans did… strike at the Hub… The main temple."
"Which is likely in the TRUE Building here in Chicago…" added Nichole.
"People, this is heavy," said Jalal. "Maximillion Galti has so much influence that even the King of England has to make an appointment to see him. Getting a warrant to search that building is not going to be easy."
"So what do we do?" asked Dugan.
"Well," said Jalal, with a sigh. "You could go to the building's lobby and check for magical auras. If you find anything suspicious, we might be able to get a warrant easier.
"But please, don't accuse anyone of anything before we have concrete proof!
"By the way, we thought we should warn you… Jeremy Skull has escaped from jail."
"How?" gasped Dugan. "Wasn't he in a warded circle of some sort?"
"Yes," replied Jalal, "but we had to transport him for a court appearance, and as you know, the transport is the weakest part of a correction system. One of the bones in his ribcage was actually a magical item called a Skelton Key, something made from bone that can undo locks. He used it to slip free from his manacles and escape.
"I'm going to have a long discussion with the guy in charge of security in the prison complex soon… All the tightwad ever does these days is propose ways to trim the budget, when these things are happening.
"Until then…
"Be on your guard…"
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The next morning, Dugan, Karl, Nichole, and Ben walked into the front lobby of the TRUE Building.
They looked around. Nothing seemed amiss at first… There was a receptionist desk, with a metal detector manned by a security guard leading to the elevators (standard equipment for most big office buildings).
"I really feel out of place," said Ben, nervously.
"Just act casual…" said Karl.
They noticed someone in the corner, glaring daggers at them. It was Graves, although they had never met him.
Eventually, he walked up to them.
"Exactly what do you folks think you're doing?" he asked.
"Uh, well…" said Dugan.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," said Graves. "Now."
Before Dugan could respond, another voice butted in.
"Graves, Graves!" said the much more pleasant voice. "Must we be so rude?"
Tiberius walked into the lobby. He was smiling as he approached the Shadowchasers.
"You have to excuse Graves, folks," he said, "he has a condition. You three are Shadowchasers, right?"
"Mr. Tiberius, I assume?" asked Dugan.
"You're an Aware?" asked Nichole.
"Yes, Miss Belvins, but I was a late bloomer," replied Tiberius. "And you are Major Dugan… This is an honor… I was an old military man myself once… Now, what can I do for you folks?"
"Well, uh…" said Dugan.
"Say no more," said Tiberius. "There have been reports of suspicious activity concerning this place, I assume? Well, feel free to search my premises all you like."
"You're giving us permission?" asked Nichole.
"That's right," replied Tiberius.
"Take note of that, Karl…" said Dugan. "He gave us permission."
Tiberius handed Dugan a business card.
"If there's anything at all I can help you with, just call this number," he said. "It's my pager. Feel free to stay for lunch too… The commissary is serving beef stroganoff today."
Dugan turned to Ben.
"You wait in the lobby," he said.
"You got it," said Ben.
He turned to Nichole and Karl.
"We'll split up," he said. "Keep your cell phones on…"
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Two hours later, Dugan had been through fifteen floors, and hadn't found anything out of the ordinary. He picked up his phone.
"Anything, Karl?" he asked.
"The most suspicious thing I've found so far is an employee smoking in the men's room," said Karl. "Nothing on my equipment either."
"How about you, Nichole?" asked Dugan.
"He was telling the truth about the commissary serving beef stroganoff today," replied Nichole, "but there's nothing else cooking here…"
Weird… said Dugan. That file exists… But it seems that this place is perfectly legit…
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Meanwhile, Graves was watching Ben closely, who was watching him back.
Finally, the old manservant sighed. He shook his head.
"Ben, right?" he asked. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You can ask…" said Ben.
"Why do you hang out with them?" asked Graves.
"Where else would I go?" replied Ben.
"A valid reason, I suppose…" said Graves, with another sigh. "Another question… Do you trust them?"
"Well… yeah…" said Ben.
"And do they trust you?" asked Graves.
Ben hesitated.
"I believe so…" he replied.
"Then do a man a favor and give them a message," said Graves.
He looked at Ben hard.
"I know that their intent is to prevent people from getting hurt, which is a commendable goal.
"People are going to get hurt no matter what they do… The most they can do is not escalate it by interfering.
"The most they can do is simply stay away."
He turned around, and walked towards the metal detector.
"Wait!" said Ben.
Graves didn't wait. He passed though the checkpoint and out of Ben's sight.
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After another hour, Tiberius watched as they left.
"Take care now," he said.
Once they were gone, Lorelei and Lareth walked into the lobby. It was hard to tell where they had come from.
"That was too close," said Lareth. "And they're getting closer. What were you thinking being so nice? Did you actually think you would throw them off our trail?"
"Not really, no," replied Tiberius, with a nervous expression.
"What are we going to do?" said Lorelei. "The Ritual of Displacement is next week. If they find the true base…"
"We're going to have to work harder…" said Lareth. "We'll have to become twice as smart as before…"
"Oh sure, Lareth, that would be perfect…" said Tiberius, with a hint of sarcasm. "Once I achieve an IQ of 300, I'll be smart enough to build a satellite armed with an antimatter disintegrator cannon that we can use to blow Shadowchaser Headquarters off the map."
Lareth growled. His pep talks always worked better when he made them to rank-and-file cultists…
"Hmm…" said Tiberius. "I think we'll simply invite them to the true base…"
Meanwhile, the Shadowchasers were talking outside.
"I even checked out the gargoyles on the roof," said Nichole. "They may be ugly, but they're no more magical than the ones on Notre Dame Cathedral. And as we all know, that's a church."
"Well, I did find one little thing…" said Karl.
"We're all ears, Karl," said Dugan.
"It seems that this building is a 'hot spot' for teleportation magic," said Karl.
"A 'hot spot'?" asked Ben.
"Yeah," said Ben. "See, when you use a magical spell to teleport somewhere unfamiliar, there's a chance of a mishap, of arriving in the wrong place. There's even a chance of arriving higher than your destination, in which case you'd fall, or lower… in which case you'd probably be killed. For this reason, most wizards only teleport to places that they're familiar with.
"But in a hot spot, the chance of error is greatly decreased.
"And people… A teleportation hot spot is usually created when teleport magic is done often in that spot.
"Of course, these hot spots aren't exactly hard to find. Chicago had ten known ones at last count. Shadowchaser Headquarters has been a hot spot for centuries."
"There's more people…" said Ben. "That Graves person… He kinda told me to warn you guys to stay away."
"Really?" said Dugan. "He threatened you?"
"Well, no…" said Ben. "It was kind of a vague warning… But the message was pretty clear. I'm starting to think that when he so rudely told us to leave when we first came in…
"Well… Maybe he thought it was for our benefit…"
Dugan rubbed his chin.
"Maybe we searched the wrong place…" he said. "Maybe there's some secret base in Chicago that Tiberius teleports to from the TRUE Building…
"The problem now is finding it."
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Tiberius walked into Xane's cluttered workshop.
"Xane!" he said.
"Yes?" replied Xane, from behind him, causing him to jump.
"Don't do that!" shouted Tiberius. "Look, I need three dark homunculi, and I need them by tomorrow at noon."
"I can do that…" replied Xane. "But it would be a rush job, and I cannot guarantee that they will be my best work."
"Do the best you can," ordered Tiberius. "The donations for their spark will come from me, Lorelei, and Lareth."
"As you wish…" said Xane.
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As noon approached, Drago Uccisore was sitting at a table outside a coffee shop in the Loop.
He had not given up his goal of finding a way to challenge Jalal, and had stayed in the city, hoping to find a way to confront either Dugan or Nichole. However, he had not yet found a bargaining chip to do so with. He might have considered using one of the Shadowchasers as a hostage to force Jalal to accept the wager if not for the fact that his boss would skin him if he tried.
Still, he had been intrigued by this invitation… Even though he expected nothing more than a big laugh from it.
He looked at Lorelei suspiciously as she sat down at the table.
"I gotta admit, I am suspicious…" said the khimera. "Beautiful women don't usually speak to me unless I pay them first."
"Well, I have a little offer for you…" said Lorelei. "I heard you want to live forever."
"And I'm supposed to believe you can make that happen?" asked Drago.
"Hear me out…" said Lorelei. "Do you know how the gods stay immortal?"
Drago looked at her funny.
"I assume because they're… gods?" he asked.
"Well, let me explain it…" said Lorelei. "The Greek gods are immortal because they eat special food called ambrosia, and drink something called nectar. The Norse gods stay eternally young because they bite into apples cultivated by Iðunn, the goddess of fertility and youth. Chinese legend spoke of the peaches of immortality, grown by an ancient goddess named Xi Wangmu, the Queen Mother of the West."
"Hold on! Hold on!" interrupted Drago. "Are you saying that gods are immortal because of their diet?"
"More or less," said Lorelei. "But they guard this food jealously, as there isn't enough to share with mortals... Most of the time."
"Most of the time?" said Drago.
Lorelei lifted a plate of black peaches onto the table.
"These are Abyssal fruits," she said. "They're how my god stays immortal. He doesn't associate with other gods, so he has more than he himself can use. He's quite willing to share…
"Go on… Try one."
Drago laughed.
"Yeah… right!" he said. "I know how this works! I work in organized crime, remember? Those things are likely addictive, and you're giving me a free sample just to get me hooked. It's the oldest routine in the book."
"Addictive?" said Lorelei, lifting an eyebrow. "Please… I'll tell you right away, these do not taste very good. "
She took one and bit into it. She frowned
"Rather foul, actually, but sometimes you have to take bitter medicine."
Drago hesitated. He took one of the fruits and looked at it.
Finally, he ventured to taste it. He made a face.
"Man, you're right…" he said. "Reminds me of the time my uncle tried to make spaghetti sauce, and confused the abbreviations for teaspoon and tablespoon.
"Hey… Wait a minute…"
He put his hand over his chest.
"I… I can breathe easier…"
"That's because all the tar and carcinogens that have accumulated in your lungs from smoking all your life have been eradicated," said Lorelei, with a smile. "When you next go to the doctor, you'll find your blood pressure and cholesterol level drastically improved.
"See? Only one bite, and already you're on your way to eternal life!"
"What do I have to do?" exclaimed Dragon, standing up. "How can I get more of these? If I have to change religions, I'll convert!"
"Duel for me… A muscular elf with green skin will be at Buckingham Fountain in an hour. Go and duel him.
"But not with your deck. Take this one. It's a powerful deck with incredibly rare cards."
She handed him a deck. He took it, and looked through the cards.
"Oh, and if you have to… persuade him, I'll make sure the police stay away."
"I won't fail…" he said.
Lorelei grinned evilly as he ran off.
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Meanwhile, Ben was only five blocks away, having ordered a hamburger and fries at a local diner. Dugan had been nice enough to give him some cash to get lunch.
As the waiter set the plate down in front of him, he noticed a small note on the plate.
He looked at it.
It said:
I know who you are. Do you?
Come to Buckingham Fountain at one o'clock.
Ben looked at the simple note for a long time…
Then he looked at the clock…
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Next:
Ben: It seems I've been had. I came here expecting to find answers, and all I've found is Draco Uccisore, who also seems to have been had.
I don't want to duel him… I just want to walk away… The only problem is, Draco is a mobster, he has a gun, and he's not afraid to use it if I refuse. Seems I have no choice…
Besides, I think this has a deeper meaning…
"The Beacon; A Dark Alarm" is coming soon.