A/C - It's snowing today so I thought this was the perfect time for an update! Cheers for all the fab reviews, you guys are the best!
Chapter 18 - Handle with Care
A few more days was all it took for some semblance of order to take place. It seemed like Naru and I had been living together for years the way we moved through the day with one another.
In the morning, I would make breakfast (coffee, eggs and toast for me, just eggs and tea for him). Naru would do the dishes while I got ready for work and Lin would pick us up at the apartment, then drive me to the Church before driving to the office with Naru. After work, they would pick me up, and once we got home I would make dinner for Naru and I.
We had some compromises such as I would only watch my drama's once a night, and for only two episodes while Naru worked. I had started wearing headphones and using my laptop most times now.
While I watched T.V. he would try to pick apart the show and I dutifully ignored him until I got tired and went to sleep.
On this night though, my dream started to take a different turn.
Someone was talking to me.
The voice was distant but I could hear the words faintly.
When I opened my eyes, I knew this was a dream unlike any other. I was sitting at a round table with six figures whom I had remembered from the fables of Japanese Spirit guides.
Hanataka-Tengu, the red-faced-warrior spirit, sat at the head of the table. To his left was Kappa, a green reptilian-looking humanoid with scales that glistened in the dream light. On Hanataka-Tengu's right was Kitzune, a fox spirit known for mischief and trickery. Kejoro was at the table too, she was a well-known spirit who had mangled hair whose image was the base for horror characters from movies like The Ring. She was a spirit guide that I was absolutely terrified of when I was younger. Even now to this day, as I sat in front of her, she still terrified me. The last two female spirits were the sisters Yuki and Ame Onna.
I looked around and I was all alone. When I opened my mouth to speak a familiar voice filled my mind.
'If you speak you will disrupt the memory and I can't show you again,' Gene warned. I looked at my hands and black-clad arm that I realized were Gene's hands and arms. I was Gene...or recalling his memory through Gene's eyes. I had only a couple of out of body experiences - and each time they ended terribly.
"This cannot continue," Hanataka-Tengu said to the group. "We do not know how this will affect the Dark Lands. It's unacceptable."
Kejoro disagreed. "It has happened. There's nothing to be done."
Hanataka-Tengu said, "We are Spirit Guides to the Dark Lands. We cannot simply let this curse ruin the fragile system of Death and Life. Nor can we sit back and let the realms become a living portal."
"Oh, give it a break, Hanataka. Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself worry?" Kitzune said, leaning his furry-elbow on the table and resting his head on it. I raked through Gene's mind and found that they had been here arguing for a while now.
The fox spirit continued. "This girl could be the start of something different."
"We don't need different," Hanataka-Tengu grumbled. "We need stability. Besides, it's not natural for the anchor to be bound to a soul."
"What do you suppose we do?" Kitzune pressed. "Kill the girl? And who, at this table, will allow their own spirit to perish if that were to happen? Certainly not I."
"You are the girls spirit guide, what do you make of this?," Kejoro looked directly at Gene - at me. I tried not to let that hair-covered face and those dark eyes scare me. Gene was alert but I could sense the signs of fatigue in him. How long he had been here? Is this why he hasn't contacted me yet?
Kejoro continued. "Is she aware exactly what she is?"
Gene, for the first time since I have been here, spoke. "No, I haven't seen her for days since she returned to Tokyo." There was an irritation in his voice and I could feel his frustration with the situation. He didn't want to be brought to council, all he wanted to do was rush back to Mai (me).
"Very well," Kejoro looked back at the counsel. "Kitzune is right, I'm certainly not going to offer my immortal soul for that of one girl. I doubt you will either Hanataka."
Everyone nodded an agreement to this, even, begrudgingly, Hanataka-Tengu.
Kejoro stood, "Then it is decided. The girl is to continue being the anchor until -"
The dream dissolved into something far worse. I was once again in that cabin.
In the dark, I saw a large figure in the corner.
A man.
"You're so far away," he purred. "Hello little anchor. I've been waiting for you."
He moved towards me, his footsteps were the only sound as he came closer and the light of moon lit up his scarred face. I felt my legs shake at the realization of who this man.
He was The Dark Man. The man who murdered Hana, Sara and their mother. The man who did those horrible things to them.
He smiled at me and I could make out his black eyes, plain face and dark clothes. I also noticed a strange amulet hanging loosely around his neck, it was hidden by shadows but I got a familiar, yet foreign, sensation looking at it.
There was only the two of us in the cabin. He pressed himself closer to me and all I could do was stand there shaking, with my head pounding and screaming at me to run.
Yet, I couldn't will my legs to move.
He leaned down and I could feel his breath on my skin as if this were really happening. As if he was right in front of me. It sent goosebumps throughout my body.
"Where is my new, pretty little anchor hiding?" He whispered into my ear and my entire body started to shake. His fingertips grazed the tips of my hair, then my collarbone and I was frozen to that spot. If I could speak, I would beg him to stop and to leave me alone. I would thrash and fight him off.
But I could not speak. I could not move.
This is a dream. It's not real, I coached myself. Not real.
Then, I felt his hands grab my arms roughly. They were so warm I could almost feel the realness of it. His frustration rolled off him in waves as he yelled, "WHERE ARE YOU HIDING YOU LITTLE BITCH!"
He yelled in my face and it broke through to some intrinsic part of me.
I was able to move and tried to jerk backwards and away from those hands that gripped me roughly.
"NO!" I screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Mai," A deep voice said.
It brought me back and my limbs flailed as I shot upright in bed, yanking against invisible hands that held my wrists.
I would have lurched for the bathroom if my legs and arms were not shaking so badly, had I been able to breath.
I scanned the bedroom, shuddering.
Real - this was real. Not those horrors, those were nightmares. I was out, I was alive, I was safe. I repeated this in my head when a familiar face filled my sight.
"Are you alright?" Naru asked, leaning over my bed.
"I-" I didn't know how to answer him. Should I tell him about those dreams that haunted me? "It was just a nightmare."
'Just a nightmare' played it off as if it weren't the most terrifying thing I had seen. I could still feel that man's breath on my skin...those hands on my flesh...
"I heard you screaming," Naru said.
"Sometimes I can't...tell what's real and what's not real."
Naru didn't say anything as he straightened. "You seem better now. I'll give you some space."
He made his way to the door however I wasn't ready for him to leave yet.
Quietly, I said. "I liked the pills because they stopped the dreams - they stopped the nightmares. I guess I liked that I couldn't feel anything when I was on them."
I didn't expect Naru to reply, but he did. His voice was seldom. "I have nightmares too."
He didn't have to say about what, or who. I just knew.
Naru said, "goodnight Mai." and reached over for the light switch.
"Leave the light on, please." I blurted and watched as he pulled back his hand. He turned and closed the bedroom door.
Anchor.
The spirits had said that word, and so did that man. What did it mean?
I recalled what the anchor of the curse was. Hana and Sara had been anchors for the curse. But..the curse was broken, or it should have been. How could there still be an anchor?
Sleep eluded me. When my alarm went off, I threw my pink robe over my night clothes and went to the kitchen to begin making breakfast for Naru and I.
It was an unexpected surprise to see that breakfast was already made and on the table. Naru had brewed tea (green for me, black for him) and it was still hot from the steam escaping the cups.
Naru was sitting at the table, already dressed in a pair of black slacks and a button up black shirt.
"This is different," I took a seat across from him.
Naru looked up from his book he had been reading. "I thought I would change things up a bit."
What he didn't say was that he thought this would make me feel better - in his own Naru way. I smiled at that as I went to put jelly on my toast. I couldn't even imagine Naru standing at the skillet, making me fried eggs. The thought was too much.
"I found something regarding the mark." He said as I tried to imagine Naru cooking and failed horribly.
"Really?" My head snapped up to him.
Naru nodded, putting down his book to also begin eating his eggs. "My research suggests that the scripture on your arm is written in a language called the Holy Tongue."
"What is this 'Holy Tongue'?"
"It's an ancient kind of Hebrew. Some say that it was the original language of the Holy Tongue."
"That means John should be able to read it," I bit into my toast. "I mean, he's a Priest and all. Isn't that what they practice?"
"It doesn't work like that," Naru reached for his tea. "The language is extinct and has gone through so many evolutions that it is hardly distinguishable anymore."
I felt like I was going to get a lecture by asking this, but I did anyway. "Language can evolve?"
"Yes," Naru eyed my tattoo as I continued to eat. "They can go through phases. Think of it as fashion: fashion evolves over the years and so can words. Some words and phrases, or even letters, don't exist anymore because they have changed. That is what happened with the Holy Tongue."
I checked the clock hanging on the wall: 7:45 A.M. This early and Naru was already giving me a lecture, and a headache, about something. I realized I might need something a little stronger than tea.
"If we can't read it, what's the point of knowing the language it's written in?" That part didn't make sense to me.
He was still for a moment before lifting the cup to his mouth and took a sip. "That is what I'm troubled by. In learning what the mark means, it could lead us having to trust an..unreliable source."
"What kind of source?"
"Witches," Naru said. "White Witches to be exact. It's been documented that they still use the Holy Tongue for many of their rituals. My research suggests that they might be able to translate it."
I took a sip of my tea. Yep, it was way too early to be having this kind of conversation. It was even more of a surprise that Naru was in fact, truly, troubled by this.
"We'll do whatever we need to," I reassured him. "Even if it means going to see, said, Witch."
Naru looked at me, completely serious. "I already have a flight booked for us."
^.^
And, that was how we ended up on a plane nearly twenty-hours away from Tokyo, at a little town in Israel called Trubah. I had called Father Toujo and said it was an emergency, to which the Priest was happy to excuse me from work. God bless the kind Father.
Naturally, Lin accompanied us.
We were to meet with this White Witch and then learn what the mark meant, and maybe they could tell us how to get rid of it.
I also didn't bother to tell Naru about my dream because I wasn't sure of it yet. I knew I would have to eventually, but I wanted to hear what the White Witch said first.
Naru brought along an Arabic translation dictionary and was able to speak broken Arabic in order to find out where this Witch lived and to get us transportation there. She had a well-known residence in the far eastern part of town that a driver was willing to take us to for an unfair amount of money.
The three of us stood in front of the small shack, Naru told the driver we would only be half an hour at the most.
"Witches have been known to lie," Naru had told me on the flight here. "Do not answer any of her questions with the truth."
For some reason that made it seem like we were the liars, but I didn't question him.
Lin was in front and he strode to the door, knocking on it firmly.
An elderly lady with long white hair answered. "You must be the eager young scientist who called me."
She said this in, almost perfect, Japanese. From the shocked look on my face, she clarified. "My former husband used to be Japanese. I took it upon myself to learn the language, though not well."
She did have a slight accent of someone who did not grow up with the language did. Sometimes, dare I say it, I even caught that accent in Naru's Japanese.
Naru stepped to the side of Lin's towering figure. "Thank you for agreeing to see us on such short notice." There was tension in his voice and I wondered if Naru had ever seen himself seeking the help of a Witch before.
The woman scowled at Naru. "Your type don't usually call the likes of me."
"This is an emergency."
She snorted. "Well, come in."
Inside, this small house was a single floor. Cluttered bookshelves lined the walls, along with nick-nacks and sculptures. I wondered if she had read all of those books on her shelves. As we moved through the small room, I was pleased that my overactive imagination was not met to expectations. I guess, since this was the home of a witch, I was expecting a cauldron sitting somewhere, with strange ingredients lined up in a row of jars. We didn't see any of this.
The Witch pointed us into a tight room that had a small table in the center of it. Various throws and pillows were arranged around the table and the Witch beckoned for us to sit.
"My name is Adina." She reached for a stack of tarot cards, shuffling them. "I don't get many folk around here now a days."
"We have a problem," Naru said carefully. "And we think you can help us."
Adina waited and Naru nodded at me. Slowly, I lifted my sleeve and revealed the tattoo. I placed my arm on the table.
"We need to find out what this means." I said and Adina lowered the cards, leaning towards my outstretched arm.
"This is fascinating," she murmured, looking up at me for only a moment. "May I?" She meant can she touch it and I nodded.
Her fingers were cold on my skin and I flinched. Naru reacted to that, moving slightly and then settled again.
Adina moved her fingers across the makeshift board with the strange text on it. "You've found quite the trouble, haven't you?"
I suppressed my shiver as I ignored the confused looks of Lin and Naru. The dream clattered through my mind, the counsel of Spirit Guardians and how they were discussing what to do with me.
I remembered what Naru had told me and instead of answering, I asked. "Can you read it?"
"Very plainly," she answered. Then, she picked up her tarot cards again, shuffling them once and handed them to me. "Cut please."
Nervously, I did. She shuffled a second round before placing three cards on the table.
"Are you a real witch?"
She made a face, "You can call me that."
I watched as she flipped the cards over as I tried to read her essence. Indeed, I sensed something strong within her. I pulled back on my powers when her blue eyes flickered back up to me. I leaned over the table, glancing at the three cards that were face up. I had never seen tarot cards before, not sure if I believed in the practice but I was still eager to see.
One of the cards was ten swords stabbed into the back of a man, lying in a pool of his own blood. Adina pointed to that one first, "The Ten of Swords suggests that you have failed plans. You are working towards something and you're holding onto disappointment from a past life. This card is a sign that you are the one who needs to let go."
"We're not here to read some cards -"
"Sh," I shushed Naru, briefly lifting my eyes to his then back down to the cards. Naru, dutifully, took hint and shut up.
Adnia continued, pointing to a card with a woman clad in black climbing a set of stone stairs. Behind her were eight stacked cups. "The Eight of Cups gives you permission to walk away from the challenges you have found in your life." Lastly, she lifted the last card - which was the most sinister looking of them all.
The Ace of Swords was face down.
"You will destroy the undead and find yourself free." Adina said simply, then pulled the cards together.
"Shouldn't that be right-side up?"
"No, you have come here to seek the answers for that mark and the cards have given them to you."
Naru huffed out a breath. "As much as we would enjoy another tarot reading, we do have some formal questions about the mark."
"I was indeed surprised when my cards told me a highly talented mind like yours couldn't figure it out, Oliver Davis."
The room shifted. I was acutely aware of Naru's surprise before he clamped down on it with cool control. He didn't answer her, instead he asked, "What does the mark mean?"
Adina clicked her tongue at him. "You haven't listened to the cards"
"Just read the tattoo."
They stared at each other, one pair of unlikeable blue eyes gazing into another. It was like watching a conversation between stones.
"I haven't seen words like this for a long time," Adina finally withdrew her gaze, beckoning for my arm which I placed across the table. She passed her fingers over the first line of letters. "This line roughly translates to 'this vessel'." Adina passed her fingers along the last two lines of text. "'Here belongs this vessel', that is what the text translates to, very roughly."
Here belongs this vessel.
There was no way that was what it translated to because it didn't make any sense. I worked the phrase around in my head until a more sinister one took its place.
'This vessel belongs here.'
And 'here' was that cabin back in Biei. I thought of that man's possessive grip on me...as if he owned me.
My breathing stopped. I looked at Naru to see if he had put it together as I had. His face, those dark eyes, expressed nothing.
"Here belongs this vessel," Lin repeated. "You're positive that is what the text says?"
"There is no doubt," Adina said but her blue eyes were on me. "You feel it too, don't you girl? I would advise you be very careful with whom you deal with with such a troublesome mark."
Whom you deal with.
There was a hidden message behind those words too - something only I understood because she didn't mean the people I talked to, but the spirits I communicated with. For the second time I was reminded of the Spirit Guardians from my dream.
Could going to the Spirit Lands cause trouble? I hadn't tried to contact Gene since I oversaw his memories. And he hadn't contacted me for days. Perhaps there was more to that as well.
"We'll be cautious," Naru said. "We must get going, we are on a very tight schedule. I have one last question before we leave: is there any way of removing the mark?"
"Of course," said Adina. "The mark is a formal contract between soul and magic." Her eyes turned dark as she gazed at me. "If you want to get rid of the mark, she must give up her soul."
I tried to keep my breathing normal. She must have just said that to scare me...right? Something about those dark eyes told me that she was not making that part up.
"That's not an option," Naru interjected. "We'll find another way."
"Your type always do, Oliver." She leaned back, grinning a toothy grin and taking her eyes off me. I finally let let out a breath as she regarded Naru. "You probably don't believe a word I'm saying to begin with."
"Your kind," Naru was as polite as possible. "Are known to be an unreliable sort."
"And your kind aren't?"
"We should leave now if we want to catch our flight," Lin said in the midst of the tension.
I realized something fundamental at that moment as Adina and Naru, once again, began staring at one another. Naru had used his real name in order to meet with her. He did not hide behind that fake mask as he always did.
Deeper than that, Adina somehow knew Oliver's real identity. She knew and I wasn't entirely sure if Naru had withheld that information or not. Maybe she was some kind of clairvoyant.
Adina watched as Lin and I stood first. Naru was the last to rise.
Adina said, "You know the way out. It's hard for an old woman to get back up once she has sat down. You'll understand when you're older."
"I understand," Naru said. He faced the woman, now towering over her with his height (not that her standing would have made much of a difference) and bowed at the waist.
Adina nodded her head at the gesture. Then her eyes settled on me again. There was a sad, frosty look in them as her gaze was drawn, instinctively, down to the mark. The swirls of dark ink covering my hand felt stark in this lightning.
"Is there nothing else you can tell us?" I asked quietly as Lin bowed and began to move to the door. I lowered my voice, "Anything you can tell me?"
"I fear I do not know exactly what this means," she said but I couldn't help to think Adina was keeping something from me. "I would advise you to listen to the cards."
I felt reluctant to leave, and maybe Naru and Lin had too, because she might be the only person who could have helped us. The only person and yet she wasn't going to. It wasn't like she had any need to help, but I thought she would have at least put an effort.
I kept my frustrations off my face. "Thank you," I bowed. "It was a pleasure meeting you."
Adina stared at me quietly as I straightened, then turned my back to leave.
From behind me I heard her small voice. I wasn't sure if I had imagined it, or if it had really been said out loud.
"We'll see one another again."
^.^
Isreal was beautiful.
I had never left Tokyo, had never enough money to leave, and this was my first trip out of the country.
Trubah was a small desert town that was ticked away to the east. It was hot and dry, but the surroundings were so beautiful. I had never seen temples beyond those of a Buddhist temple. To see the beautiful golden-globe temples that dominated most of the country were breathtaking.
"I want to come back here," I said out loud as I watched the beautiful scenery below us as we took of. We took an Economy flight back and Naru sat in the middle, Lin sat in the aisle seat. "I've never traveled before. I think, if I ever get enough money, I would love to visit Israel again. Or Europe and the United Kingdom."
"You'd have to learn English," Naru said from behind a book he was reading. "Most countries accept English as a universal language. It's also easier to translate."
"Not everyone can learn two languages as efficiently as you," I glared at him.
"Five." Naru corrected, "I speak fluent English, Japanese, French, Spanish and Mandarin."
"Show off," I mumbled but deep down I was incredibly impressed. Learning one language was hard enough. Naru knew five. Then again, Naru was some kind of genius.
I turned back to the window, which was covered with grey clouds now as we reached the peak height of our journey. The three of us settled in for our grueling flight.
"The SPR must be extremely curious about this mark if they paid for us to go all the way to Israel," I mused at one point.
Naru said, very precisely. "The SPR in London does not fund individual research projects."
It took a few seconds longer than it should have to completely absorb that. "Wait, who paid for this trip then?"
"Lin paid for his own ticket. I paid for yours and mine -"
"What!" I felt the entire cabin quiet down as I shouted. I twisted in my seat and unbuckled my seat belt. My gaze was fully on Naru who was giving me a displeased look.
"YOU PAID FOR MY TRIP TO ISRAEL?!"
He sighed, "It's fine Mai. You're causing a scene"
"I-I'll pay you back, I swear."
"I don't want your money," Naru said. "Now, will you sit back down and be quiet?"
In my outburst I did, indeed, stand up. Blushing, I quickly sat back down and buckled up my seat belt again.
In a hushed voice I hissed, "When were you going to tell me that this isn't being funded by the SPR?"
"It doesn't concern you."
"Yes," I tried to keep my voice down. "It does. You can't just keep something like that a secret from me. Naru, we're talking about, possibly, thousands of dollars!"
I did the mental math in my head, estimating the price of a single ticket to be anywhere between two thousand to three thousand dollars. I thought I was going to pass out and the plane started to become very small. Everything started to get dizzy.
"I'll pay you back -" I tried again and couldn't hide the tremble in my voice. I felt like I was such a nuisance and I hated feeling like a burden. Hated feeling like I couldn't do anything for myself because I was poor.
"Listen to me, Mai." Naru had twisted in his seat to face me. He didn't dare try to touch me but the tone in his voice was soothing. "I didn't tell you because I knew you did not have the money for this. I have enough funds to cover the cost and I don't need, or want, you to pay me back."
His voice was the same wondrous lowness that I could listen to over and over again. Like a deep melody that was calming and soothing.
I blushed again, it took on a different feel than it had before. This feeling of shame for being broke felt embarrassing.
Turning away, I was breathing deeply trying to calm myself down.
Naru said, "I never traveled either, other than to Japan. I had never found it interesting and didn't think I would enjoy it."
I listened, half aware that Naru was...talking. He was trying to make me feel better.
Just like he had after that nightmare.
"Travelling was more Gene's thing. He was the one who enjoyed it."
Hearing him say his late brother's name pulled at something deep within me and I looked back at the indigo-eyed brother. He was staring at me.
More than words passed between us as Naru settled back into his chair. I stared out the window again, trying not to think of the devastatingly handsome man in black who sat beside me.
The man who had, suddenly, felt even closer to me now than he had ever before.
I was, once again, reminded that having feelings for Naru had left me knee-deep in trouble.
^.^