The Highway West Andrew 95
Chapter Three: The Last Command
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
-Japanese Proverb
Teachers search their entire lives for the single student who will enthusiastically embrace their field and force them to view the world in a different light. For Sensei Tagami Yomoto that student was Elijah Kincaid.
"Ohayo Gozaimasu, Tagami Sensei," Elijah greeted Tagami, not glancing away from the giant thirty inch television screen.
"In English, you still have to master your own language, Elijah."
Elijah half turned, still sitting in the lotus position. "Good morning, Tagami Sensei, forgive me I have not practiced as much as I should have," he said with a slight bow.
"Good Morning, Elijah. Do not apologize, it is difficult to learn another language. Continue with your studies," Tagami Sensei ordered.
Elijah bowed, resumed facing the television screen, and changed the channel. Images flickered across the screen. There were so many names that it took hours for Elijah to learn them all and even longer to be able to tell the difference between them. Some were barely dressed women, of all races, strutting around on stage. Others were long haired, white, tattooed men screaming at a sea of people. Others were black men driving around in Mercedes crooning about their sexual prowess. This was nothing like Bach, but Elijah sensed an energy about the music that seemed to break all of the walls. For that, if nothing else, Elijah could respect it. Tagami watched Elijah watch the television.
Upon casual observation, Elijah might have been mistaken for a young Japanese man. Every gesture, mannerism, and nod mirrored the ancient customs as Tagami had tutored him. However his parents were Scottish and their lost son's body reflected it. His long reddish blond hair was tied behind his head into a ponytail, in the style of Japanese monks. His gray blue eyes carefully watched each image flicker. His nose was definitely Scottish with a broad base. His clean shaven face appeared raptured with horror and delight. Constant exercise, prescribed by Tagami, sculpted his body to an excellent fighting form.
"Sensei, may I ask a question?"
"You may always ask, Elijah."
"I do not understand this MTV. Could you please explain?"
"What do you not understand?"
"Last week, Full Metal Condom was rated as the number one singing group with a video."
"Please continue."
"This week Full Metal Condom is not even rated and a singing group known as Fear of Dolls is number one. I do not understand."
"This country was founded on the idea of change and adaptation. Status is gained by adapting quickly or discovering a new path."
"But the change seems too quick."
"You intuitively understand one of the greatest problems of the modern world, Elijah."
"I do not understand."
"The question people ask each other now is what is new? What they should be asking is who are you? what is best? What is quality?"
"Yes! Yes! I know who I am, but what is best? What is quality?"
"Are you certain that you know who you are?"
"I am Chiyanbara. There is no other answer."
"Elijah, there may come another day when you will find that many of us cling to the various roles thrust upon us by destiny or choice. Those roles have to have a strong foundation or they shall falter."
"But what is best?"
"I do not know."
Elijah sighed. "If you do not know, then how am I to know what is best? How can I be Chiyanbara if I do not know the good?" he asked, upset.
Tagami smiled. "The good is in our hearts, we only have to listen."
"I have read many of the books that are supposed to know goodness. I have read the Talmud, the Kama-Suta, the Book of Mormon, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Necromonicon, the Koran, and the Tao. All of them claim to know goodness and the truth, but parts of them seem wrong, Sensei."
"Please explain, Elijah"
"For example, one of the passages in the Old Testament has been bothering me, Sensei."
"Which one?"
"Lot is described as a virtuous man by Saint Peter in the New Testament, but the only statement I can find about his virtue is Genesis nineteen, verse eight. Lot has invited two strangers into his home, who he knows to be angels. When his neighbors wish to see the strangers they begin to beat down his door. To protect his guests, Lot offers his two virgin daughters to the crowd to do with as they please if they will leave Lot's guests alone. It seems to me that not only Lot was a coward, but that the only reasons he fed the strangers were because he knew they were angels! This man is virtuous? Tell me Sensei, what do you believe?"
"I believe in. . .you."
"Sensei, that is not a fair answer," Elijah protested.
Tagami laughed. "I suppose it is not. Please point to the quickest route around the universe."
"How can I? For all that I know the universe is infinite."
"Then how am I supposed to teach you these things?"
"I thought you knew. Forgive me," said the student.
"There is nothing to forgive. It is good for you to see my limits every once in a while," said the teacher.
"Sensei, when can I see more of the city?"
"The time is close, but you are not yet ready."
"Please, Sensei, tell me about my parents?" the student asked.
"Your parents are. . . ."
"'Your parents.' I know that. Every time I ask you, you always tell me the same thing!" Elijah interrupted him.
"To protect you from those that hunt you, I have kept you hidden from the world and in doing so I have kept you from experiencing the world. In this, I have been wrong. However, before we leave the sanctuary, you must be ready. You must know the culture if you are to become Chiyanbara."
"How am I to know the culture if I do not visit the city? All my life I have lived in the wilderness. Three weeks I have been in this city and I have seen none of it. I must know more, I have been away too long."
Dreadful silence. Tagami Sensei twisted his eyebrows in concern. "You might be correct. Those that hunt for you are strong, but by now I am almost certain they do not look for you. If we are careful, you should not be in danger. But you must study. If you master this culture, then perhaps we will go tonight."
"Please, Sensei, can you at least tell me of the danger we are in?"
"When the time is right, I will tell you everything."
"You say that every time."
"Yes I do. Now Study!"
Tagami Sensei rarely raised his voice and the few times that he did cut off any arguments from Elijah. Although Tagami was short and skinny and old, but also a Chiyanbara Master and not to be offended lightly. Every time Elijah thought he could defeat Tagami, a new maneuver would quickly deflate his ego and send him back to the Dojo for hours of practice. Tagami wore his graying black hair long and braided. His brown eyes were surrounded by deep wrinkles. He, like Elijah, wore simple black robes and sandals.
Tagami bowed and then left the room. Wistfully, Elijah looked around the study. For years he had dreamed of such a library where he could read wonderful poetry from Samuel Coleridge, plays from Shakespeare, and the works of Lao Tzu. Someone, Elijah forgot who, once wrote that iron bars do not a prison make. Elijah knew prison and it was not iron bars. It was boredom. Literature could sustain him, but he needed to experience the world and this city. It was a little more than three weeks ago that Tagami Sensei decided it was time for Elijah to learn about modern culture and enter civilization. It seemed like a lifetime. He longed for the familiar scent of the wild, but pacified himself watching television.
The first time Elijah saw images move across the screen, he nearly fainted. Although he had heard of such devices, it seemed magical to him. He was even more shocked when he realized that Tagami Sensei expected him to learn all that he could from the television.
Television fascinated him. The experience was passive and left nothing to the imagination. It was nothing like reading a Shakespeare play. Yet, it opened a whole new world to him. He could see Australia one second and New York another. During the day, he would watch women switch mates more often than underclothes.
The single profound moment came from a science fiction movie. Although it was a sequel to a movie he had yet to see, The Empire Strikes Back mirrored classic epics and myths that were ancient when humanity was young. Like Hamlet, the hero Luke, had to avenge his father, who was betrayed by a friend, Darth Vader. As the movie progressed, Luke learned more about his powers and his father. When Darth Vader faced Luke, he had to face reality; Darth Vader was his father. His teacher had lied. Faced with the choice of following in his father's evil footsteps or choosing to jump into the technical abyss; Luke jumped into the abyss. Elijah cheered. Both Hamlet and Luke had to decide to be or not to be.
Elijah wondered when he would have to make his choice and if he would make the right one. While imagining himself as a hero, a passing thought echoed in the back of his mind. What if Tagami was not telling the truth? To quote Dickens, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Haunting melodies combined with strange clicks and whirls assailed his ears. Unlike Bach whose music could be measured with mathematical precision, this music was chaotic, harsh, and hellish. Images of factories and wastelands spilled onto the screen. It reminded Elijah of Paradise Lost.
Click.
"You do not understand the power of the dark side of the force!"
Click.
"Bow down before the one you serve. You're going to get what you deserve."
Click.
"O' brave new world," Elijah muttered as the screen went dark.
Watching television for three hours caused Elijah's body to ache so he decided to exercise in the Dojo. It took an hour of hard practice before he began to tire and break a sweat. Working with the practice dummy, Elijah swung his broadsword in defensive arcs and casually slapped it.
Elijah focused his will upon his body and its actions to the exclusion of everything else. Like a dancer, every muscle instantly obeyed his command. His movements were balanced and graceful. Every aspect of his mind concentrated on his movement. As a result, his senses didn't register Tagami until Elijah felt a hand under his throat pulling him backwards. Deftly, he jumped with the roll, flipped over, and landed on his feet holding his broadsword in a defensive arc. "Weak! Weak! Have you not heard what I have told you?!" asked the teacher.
"I have Sensei."
"Then you have not been listening! How did I sneak behind you?"
"I do not know."
"The Chiyanbara training is meant to be a tool. Do not let it become a cage.""I do not understand."
"The mental exercises I taught you strengthen your will and concentration. If used improperly you will not only master your mind, but lose the most important gift that humanity possesses."
"What is that?"
"You will lose your imagination, the ability to dream, Elijah."
"If I must surrender a few pleasures to become Chiyanbara, then I am willing to make the sacrifice, Sensei."
Tagami smiled sadly. "You still do not understand the nature of who we are. We are Chiyanbara. We are more than mere vampire hunters. We are the representation of humanity in the Ascension War. We must be more than mere warriors, we must be teachers, poets, the pioneers of the new humanity."
"I am not ready for that," Elijah admitted.
"You will be."
"Sensei, may we visit the city?"
"If you can defeat me. . .we will go," Tagami stated.
"Defeat you? You are the master. I am the student," Elijah sad.
"And you must be a master before you journey to this city," Tagami told his student.
Silently, Tagami plucked a katana from the weapons rack. For the first time the student and the teacher bowed to each other as equals. The duel was an eloquent ballet of skill. Tagami and Elijah swung their blades in an exotic variety of offensive and defensive arcs. "You are quite good, Elijah."
"Thank you, you have worked hard to make it so, Sensei."
In the end, it was not skill but stamina that determined the outcome of the match. Tired, Tagami could no longer hold against Elijah's attacks. Like a snake, Elijah attacked disarming Tagami. Surprised, the Elijah bowed to the man who had been his teacher.
Tagami smiled with pride. "It is time that you visited the city."
Elijah showered, dressed, and was waiting for Tagami ten minutes later. He waited impatiently twenty-five more minutes before Tagami appeared. Both of them were dressed in styles that Elijah recognized from television. Elijah wore a pair of jeans with a white t-shirt and black boots. Tagami Sensei wore charcoal gray slacks and a white dress shirt with a tie. "Why are we not dressed the same?" Elijah asked.
"This is how people your age are to dress, Elijah. I am attired in the manner of an elder."
Tagami Sensei slipped his identification card into the security slot and the elevator door opened. "Sensei, you have been more than a father to me for as long as I can remember. You taught me the ways of the wild, how to fight, and how to think. Am I not ready to be Chiyanbara? Should you not share the burden that faces us?"
"When we return you will know everything that you desire, for now learn," the Chiyanbara Master answered
"Welcome to Tagami Towers, one of the largest buildings in the greater Los Angeles area. Within the Tagami Towers are office spaces, spacious living quarters, and several businesses. At Tagami Towers, we believe in effective space management. . ." a female voice said.
Surprised, Elijah moved to a defensive position. Although he did not see anyone, he stood ready to defend Tagami.
Tagami smiled and almost laughed. "Elijah, have you forgotten about the computer system? Listen and you will learn about your new home," he instructed his student.
Elijah's face turned crimson with embarrassment. "Forgive me, Sensei," he said shamefully.
"Do not look down. . .I have not taught you the ways of this world. In many ways you are like a baby being born. Everything will be new to you. Enjoy this day," he told Elijah.
Once the elevator reached the first floor, Tagami Sensei walked into the lobby leading Elijah by his arm. Tagami almost felt embarrassed by Elijah's dropped jaw. A hundred or more people were scattered through out the lobby going about their business. The noise of the crowd buzzed inside Elijah's ears. Everyone seemed to stare. They were all watching him. Elijah wiped the sweat from his brow. Upon seeing Tagami and Elijah cross the lobby, the doorman waved a greeting.
"Good Afternoon, Mr. Tagami." the doorman said.
"Good morning, Jim. This is my son, Elijah." Tagami informed him.
"Nice to meet you," the doorman replied, extending his hand.
Elijah ignored the hand. "Nice to meet you," Elijah said with a bow.
"Call me if you need anything, Mr. Tagami."
"Of course, Jerry."
As the doorman opened the door for another resident of Tagami Towers, Elijah pulled his sensei to the corner of the room. "There are too many people," Elijah complained.
"Actually, this is a slow day. There are usually twice as many."
"There were not as many people here when we arrived."
Tagami Sensei laughed. "No, but then we arrived in the middle of the night."
"How am I to know them?"
"You are not supposed to know them."
"I am to simply walk by?"
"Yes. Of course you are to be polite, but you do not have to know everyone," Tagami informed his student.
"Who am I to know?"
"Are you asking who you are to make friends with?"
"Yes, Sensei."
"That, I can not answer. You will know. Sometimes you will dream of them, or you will meet someone that is so much different that you want them as part of you. Or it could be your twin. When a friend appears you will know it."
"Sensei, you know I do not dream."
"You do not choose to dream."
"I have tried to dream."
"You can not try to dream, but you can prevent it."
"I have concentrated on discipline, as you have instructed me," Elijah reminded his teacher.
"Without dreams you can not be whole. What does it matter to have control over yourself if you can never dream? Come, you have waited twenty years, let us not wait another second."
The instant Elijah and Tagami Sensei walked through the tinted glass doors of their building, Elijah knew his location. "I have seen this place many times on television!"
"Where are we?" Tagami Sensei asked.
"Sunset Strip only it looks different with the. . . . "
"Smog."
"Yes, yes. Smog. I have never seen a day so foul and fair."
The cracked sidewalk intensified the scorching rays from the sun. Elijah quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead. There was too much to see. A bald, tattooed woman wearing black leather strutted past Elijah carrying a white rat. Elijah stared as she smiled showing off her earrings: two in her ears, one in her nose, and one on her tongue. As he was about to ask Tagami a question, a tall statuesque blonde woman skated past him wearing an extremely revealing bikini that covered the bare essentials and little else. She turned and smiled, skating backwards. Elijah dropped his jaw and pointed vaguely in her direction as she passed, too stunned to comment.
"It is impolite to stare, Elijah."
"Forgive me, Sensei, but I have not seen a woman up close before."
"For that I am truly sorry."
Two well groomed men, each in an expensive Armani business suit, strolled past Elijah. In the corner of his eye, Elijah could see them holding hands. Elijah opened his mouth to ask a question, but then decided against it. He wished he could ask questions to Tagami Sensei, but there were too many people swarming around him. His heartbeat began to race. Perfume, cologne, and a thousand other scents assailed him from all directions.
Not watching where he was going, Elijah bumped into what he thought was a wall. After rubbing his face, he looked forward to see the largest man he had ever seen in his life.
"Excuse me," Elijah said, awed.
"No. Excuse me," the large man said.
Something about his deep rich voice chilled him. Elijah glanced up and down the length of this man's body. He reminded Elijah of one of the wrestlers had he had seen on television, except that this man looked bigger. His entire body bulged with muscles. Elijah almost attacked him in fear until he saw the large man's smile, complete with a gap in the middle of his teeth. The large man's broad nose defined his face as though it were a vast untamed mountain. His black hair was cut short in a crew cut fashion. His dark ebony skin shined in the glistening sun light. Quickly, Elijah hopped off of the large man's black combat boot.
Elijah bowed. "Nice day to have a walk, sir," he said.
"Ha! Yes sir, it is. A mighty fine day to be sure. Is this your first visit to the city?" the huge black man asked.
Elijah looked over his shoulder for Tagami Sensei, but lost him in the crowd. "I have been here three weeks, but this is the first time I have seen the city," he admitted.
"Ha! I know how you feel. Living in this city is like riding a rampant bull. Just don't let it grind you down," he advised him.
"Grind me down? I do not understand."
"The machine! Do you know the story of Iron John?"
"I am afraid that I do not. What book is it in?"
"It's not in a book, sir! It's a story! No one has told you stories?"
"No, sir. I have spent my time reading."
"Come, sit with me. I'll tell it to you."
Although Elijah did want to hear the story, he worried about Tagami. Glancing around him, Elijah still could not find him. "Who are you look for looking for?" the black man asked.
It was not like Tagami to leave without telling him. "My teacher," Elijah answered.
"There is a bench by the bus stop. We'll sit there until he comes back."
"Thank you for you time, but I can not inconvenience you, sir."
"Lord knows my feet could use a rest anyway. Please sit with me."
"I would be honored, sir. I dislike being rude, but I am afraid I must ask a question. Who are you?"
"That is a powerful question."
"My teacher has taught me that it is the most powerful question one can ask," Elijah replied earnestly.
Elijah and the black man sat on the bench. As people crowded past, Elijah continued to look for Tagami Sensei, but failed to see him. "People around here call me Iron John. Who are you?" the black man asked.
"Elijah Kincaid."
"Mighty fine name. The good Lord knows there's power in names. I get my name from my stories. Reading is fine, Lord knows a day doesn't go by when I don't read the good book. Stories are meant to be more. It used to be that people gathered around for fun and listened to each other. Today, they hole up in their glass houses. Sorry. . . .Mamma Jenkins always told me I should have been a preacher, but I loved to walk too much."
"Here I promised you a story and I'm flapping my gums about telling you one. It all started about a hundred years ago with the railroad. People wanted to get from New York to California without any of the hardship. Wanted to just go along for the ride. Problem was there was no tracks that went all the way. So they decided to build the great railroad. People from all over the world worked on it. People from China to former slaves from Africa worked day and night to bridge the continent. That was when people worked with machines, not the other way around. You see people understood the value of your question. Who am I?"
"Back then, working the railroad was hard work. They didn't have the fancy machines we do now. The most a man had was his hammer or his shovel. The soil we tilled back then had to be moved by hand. I'm not saying their way was better, just harder. That was when we used machines. Now I'm not so sure. I don't fret about using modern tools. Lord knows I've pushed a jackhammer around the bend. It's when the tools work us, like television. Oh, I watch a little. A week don't go by when I watch my favorite show. People now are different. We fought a war to end slavery, only to be bound again, only this time television, computers, and such are cracking the whip."
"There was one man who used the machine, didn't let it grind him down. His name was Iron John. People say he used to be a huge man, a lot like myself. He was born a slave, but died a free man. He pounded stakes into the rails to keep them from moving off course."
"That was when the machine showed up. The owners wanted to get rid of stake drivers all together. They said it was cheaper and faster. They lost track of the main question and replaced it with another. They asked themselves, what do you want? They answered, money."
"So they build a huge machine that did the job. Iron John laughed. He knew no machine could ever replace him. So, he made a bet with the owners. If he could beat the machine in a contest, the owners would have to keep everyone on. If he lost, the owners could keep his wages. Iron John hit them where they were weak; their greed. The machine was cheaper, that's all they cared about. The corporations moved people all around the world, then junked them like they were trash. It's not the machines that are evil, its the way people used them."
"Yesterday, I talked to a friend all the way across the world in France. I just typed a few keys on a friends computer and got a response. Nothing wrong with that. It's when people make society a machine. All we become are cogs in a machine. It wasn't machines, meaning technology, Iron John fought against. He wanted to keep his manhood. Didn't want to be a cog in the machine."
"When they began the contest, the machine pounded away. Iron John followed the best he could. Reaching deep inside, he forced his body to pound stakes faster and faster. You see, his heart and will was stronger than the machine. He beat the machine. He knew who he was. But in doing so, he worked himself to death. Gave his life, so that the others could live like men and women. Iron John beat the machine, and so can you."
Elijah stared into Iron John's eyes. "Do I know you?" he asked.
"That's something you'll have to decide."
While Elijah pondered the black man's challenge, Iron John stood and held out his hand. Elijah took it and felt his iron grip. "I'm afraid I have many miles to go, if you know what I mean," the large man said.
"Thank you for the story, sir."
"No, thank you. You have a grand destiny before you. Unlike any other. Remember that your teacher ain't gonna be around forever. Pay attention to him now. Now, don't fret. You'll find friends. Allies in arms, so to speak. A new family. A new beginning," Iron John said as he began walk down the street.
Watching Iron John walk down the street, Elijah failed to notice Tagami sneaking next to him and sitting down.
"Did you enjoy your new friend?" he asked.
Elijah jumped up and nearly attacked him. "Sensei! Where were you?" he asked.
"Over there. By the water fountain. I wanted to give you a chance to meet a friend."
"For that, I thank you."
The sound of screeching tires cut through the roar of the crowd. Elijah turned to see a black Mercedes. The tinted black windows quickly rolled down and a hooded teenager leveled a shotgun towards the crowd. Before Elijah could process the information, the teenager fired into the crowd.
As the Mercedes began to accelerate, Elijah darted towards it. He jumped onto a parked car and dove for the Mercedes just missing it. Painfully, his body slammed against the dirty black hard asphalt.
He forced himself to look up in time to see the Mercedes turn the corner. Slowly he pushed himself off the street, rolled to his feet, and stood. He looked towards the crowd, searching for Tagami. People were crowded in a thick circle and he could not see Tagami Sensei. Quickly, he pushed his way through the crowd to see Tagami Sensei kneeling. Blood stained his new white dress shirt. Elijah thought that his teacher had been shot until he saw the child.
She looked about seven or eight, but Elijah had never been around children so it was hard to tell. She wore a pink Sailor dress. Her eyes were closed but the gaping wound in her stomach was not. Her skin was a soft ebony color that was slowly turning gray. The crowd around them stared, not disgusted but curious. Her head looked too large for her body. It was almost as though she were a giant doll. Amidst the stench of trash, pollution, and sweat, Elijah could smell decay and death.
"Sensei?"
"She is dead."
"Now is the winter of our discontent. I now understand why Shakespeare wrote that," Elijah muttered.
After a thousand questions by the police and pictures from the press, Elijah and Tagami returned home. "I do not like the world outside, Sensei. It is too evil," Elijah complained.
"Partly, yes," Tagami agreed.
"It's so ugly," Elijah said, disgusted.
"What is a bad man but. . . ."
"A good man's challenge. The Way of Life by Lao Tzu. There are a lot of bad men," Elijah pointed out.
"A greater challenge."
"We are but two men."
"Yes, but we are Chiyanbara. We should be more than mere men. We are symbols."
"It is hopeless, Sensei."
"It is better to have sunshine in the heart than thunder in the mouth," Tagami told his student.
"Why do you never give me a straight answer?"
"Different circumstances demand different answers. We are not a single person, but many people within one. When we enter a different room, we become different people. You have not learned this, because you have only been in one room," Tagami told him.
"Why was the girl shot?" the student asked.
"I do not know."
"What?" Elijah cried.
"I do not know."
"I thought you knew everything."
"Then you have thought wrong. I may be Chiyanbara but I am but a man. What a piece of work is man? How noble in reason? How infinite in faculties? In form and moving how express and admirable? In action how like an angel? In apprehension how like a god! Yet, a man is mortal, and fallible."
"But. . ."
"There is no but. We will discuss this later. For now meditate."
Elijah tried to meditate on the mat in the Dojo, but could not. Anger blocked his thoughts. He tried to gain that peace that Tagami often described. He sensed the peace in the distance of his mind, but an inner voice called him away from the calm in the storm. That voice begged and pleaded and demanded Elijah to run to the storm and claim it as his own. If he was going to be Chiyanbara, he would have to know the world.
Click.
". . .anniversary of the Charles Manson killings."
Click.
"Good, bad. . .I got the gun!"
Click.
"Police today caught a man from Fresno with a 41-year history of sex crimes against children working in a preschool."
Click.
"Satan is alive and well today, only God can defeat him. I have been given the power to defeat the devil, but I need funds for my ministry."
Click.
"An I.R.A bombing in Northern Ireland killed ten people."
Click.
"Scholars report that David Koresh did indeed translate the first Seal of Revelation, indicating that five. . . ."
Click.
"Father Juan Gonzales, a Catholic priest, at Saint Thomas cathedral has organized a program that will help get kids out of gangs and into the schools."
Click.
"All we are saying is give peace a chance. All we are saying is give peace a chance."
Click.
"I know it's tough out there. I'm a member of the why bother generation myself. But, you're not alone."
Click.
"To be or not to be: that is the question."
Click.
"There is no fate except that which we make."
Click.
"You can touch someone's life forever. Call Big Brothers..."
Click.
"Change! Now it's time for change. Nothing stays the same. Now it's time for change."
Click.
"Just do it!"
Click.
Clipping a branch from the bonsai tree, Tagami knew he was not alone. "You should have stayed hidden old man," the voice growled.
Tagami flinched. He gently set down his bonsai tree and turned around. The voice was deep, evil, and inhuman.
"You can't see me, but I can see you."
Tagami, with his eyes closed, reached for the light switch under his workbench. Flood lights emitted powerful beams of light into the garden leaving everything visible. Once his eyes adjusted, Tagami spotted the intruder, who was still blinded.
The intruder's skin was extremely pale. His long blond hair looked as though it had not been washed for a week. His eyes were a glowing red. Monstrous fangs gleamed in the floodlights. His clothing was leather, black, and gothic.
"I brought a message from MacDuff," he growled.
"What is it, Lucian?"
"You were stupid to let them take your picture, old man."
"It was an accident."
"You were told to never show your face in this town again."
Tagami stepped away from the table holding a wooden stake he had been using to mold the growth of the bonsai tree. "And what is to be done?" he asked.
"You were the greatest vampire hunter in history, but now you're an old man. You have been given to me to play with."
"Come then, dog! I'll not lie like a lamb, but fight like a tiger."
Lucian leapt at Tagami, who used the force of his leap to direct him into a shelf of pottery. Several pots fell and shattered on the floor. Lucian screamed in response. It was a primal scream, devoid of intellect. Holding the wooden stake in a striking position, Tagami waited for Lucian's next attack.
Although Lucian outmatched him in strength and speed and endurance, Tagami knew the ways of the Chiyanbara. In his prime, Tagami might have defeated ten vampires of Lucian's power. Old and tired and weak, Tagami relied solely on his mind and courage.
Slowly, he maneuvered Lucian towards the corner. Chuckling as Tagami within his strike range, Lucian failed to see the trap. A quick kick, by Tagami, at the knee knocked Lucian to the floor. Holding the stake above his head, Tagami Yomoto prepared to stab Lucian. Angrily, Lucian hissed.
The wood shifted in his hand. It felt like his hand had been dipped in a pool of slime as the wooden stake transformed into a limp rubber chicken.
A shrill voice echoed around them. Both Tagami and Lucian felt a twinge of horror. "Twenty pieces of chicken! Twenty pieces of chicken!"
Distracted, Tagami allowed the vampire's superhuman speed to deliver him from the trap. Maneuvering the table between himself and the vampire, the Chiyanbara Master quickly scanned the gardens. He knew of only one creature who had mastery of illusions and a twisted chicken fixation and the thought of his presence chilled him to the bone.
Click. Elijah muted the television for a split second. He thought he had heard a scream upstairs. He waited for a few second until the clash of battle excited his ears. Frantic, Elijah burst into the Dojo for his broadsword and then darted up the stairs.
Lucian spun towards Tagami and shattered the table with his fist. "I'm going to chew on your intestines old man."
There was another presence in the garden, Tagami sensed him and he knew it had to be the Dreaded One. Concentrating on the rubber chicken, Tagami dispelled the illusion. The Dreaded One knew how to twist minds but once Elijah arrived, the odds would be even.
"Then do it," Tagami barked.
Enraged, Lucian clawed the Chiyanbara Master, who ducked under the blow and stabbed with the stake. Piercing the vampire's skin, the wooden stake fractured and splintered into several pieces. Surprised, Tagami failed to dodge from Lucian's next assault. Inhuman steel fingers enclosed around the old man's neck, lifting him into the air. Desperate, Tagami attempted to twist out of the vampire's grip, but his strength failed him.
As Elijah reached the top of the stairs, blood squirted from his master's neck. "No!" Elijah screamed.
Lucian looked at Elijah with disdain and smiled. "Wait, boy. Your turn is next,"
Tagami's face turned turquoise and his eyes bulged like a dead fish. Furious, Elijah swung his broadsword in an offensive arc and charged the vampire. Lucian snickered and snapped the Chiyanbara Master's neck like a pencil. Dropping the dead Tagami, Lucian bared his fangs. "You mess with things you don't understand, boy."
"Who are you?"
Casually, Lucian plucked the remains of Tagami's stake from his side. "I'm a demon from hell!"
Elijah felt the supernatural essence of the vampire beat down upon his will. His instincts and blood and his soul desired to surrender to Lucian. Focusing, Elijah ran his mind through the Chiyanbara mind excerises. "Then from the heart of Hell, I will stab at thee!"
"You are brave, pup! Maybe I'll kill you quick. You interrupted my dinner, now you get to be the dessert."
Elijah swung his broadsword into a slicing arc, prepared to parry as needed. Tagami had attempted to stake this vampire, but lacked the muscle to pierce the supernatural flesh. Ignoring the vampire's taunts, Elijah prepared for his assault.
"Take your best shot."
Spinning the broadsword in his left hand, Elijah distracted the vampire as he snatched another stake from the floor. Quicker than a rattlesnake, Elijah thrust the wooden stake into Lucian's heart. Startled, Lucian laughed. The mocking cackle died on his lips. He fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Pausing, Elijah waited for movement, but Lucian was a shattered motionless rock.
Dropping his broadsword next to Lucian, Elijah ran to Tagami. His eyes were open, but dying. Seeing Elijah, Tagami smiled and coughed blood.
"No!" Elijah cried.
"I have something to tell you," Tagami whispered.
"Yes, Sensei."
"Twenty pieces of chicken!"
Elijah gently set Tagami Sensei's hand on the floor. He felt Tagami's arm and could not find a pulse.
"Twenty pieces of chicken!"
Angry, Elijah looked around the garden. "Show yourself!"
"Puer natus est nobis et filus est nobis; cujus imperium super humerum ejus; et vocabitur nomen ejus, consilii Angelus. Only because you asked so nicely."
Smiling like a cat sent through the cleaners, the imp slowly faded into view. Standing nearly seven feet tall, the creature hunched his back slightly. Nearly bald, the remaining strands of light brown hair danced wildly like a mad scientist. His jade green eyes were bulging like a creature from the bottom of the ocean. His insane uneven smile begged Elijah to join him. Wearing a fuschia and mustard plaid blazer with bright green knickers that were three sizes too large, the imp strained Elijah's eyes. His large, black combat boots appeared to be two sizes too large. Under the blazer, he wore a white t-shirt that read KFC, We do chicken right!
"Who are you?"
"I have been called by many names, some of them we would not be allow to say on network television, but you may call me Bucky."
"Why have you attacked us?"
"I didn't attack you, I did watch and it was most enjoyable."
"Who is this?"
"Lucian. A droll man with the intelligence of a cockroach and as loyal too."
"What is going on?"
"Twenty pieces of chicken!"
"What?!"
"Twenty pieces of chicken!"
Elijah held his broadsword in a defensive arc. "Either speak, or you will join Lucian!" Elijah threatened.
"Really? Speak! Speak! That's all everyone says to me these days! Next you will be offering me your mother, trying to sell me the most boring sexual favors!"
Screaming, Elijah sliced the imp. The blade passed through Bucky as though he was a ghost. "Surely, you didn't expect me to let you hit me?"
Elijah set his broadsword in a high arc, waiting for an attack. He felt a slight touch from behind and attacked. He sliced through the air. Contorted giggling echoed. Darkness enveloped. "I'm over here!" Bucky taunted.
A row of Buckys linked arms and danced the can-can. A race of children were bound with mind forged manacles. The Lord of Shadows kept them blind to the light, distracted from the coming war.
"The Colonel wants you to join him."
"The Colonel?"
"The big bossman! He knows the secret!!!!"
"What secret?"
"Twenty pieces of chicken! The secret recipe! The secret to everything!"
"What recipe?"
"Oh, you know. You're not like everyone else. The world is like a herd of cattle running along with a few dogs yapping at them. We don't have to be the cattle or the dogs. Even the Colonel is really one of them. You and I can be something totally different."
"What can we be?"
"Anything we want! Don't you see? We can change things! I've spent five hundred years as Diogynes with his lamp, searching for the one man willing to die in the right place for all the wrong reasons. Twenty pieces of chicken!"
"You helped kill Tagami didn't you?"
"Of course I did, he could have been a hero, like us. He could have changed things, but he didn't. I tried to convince him for forty years to change, but he never did. In the end, he wasn't much better poor Lucian over there. Alas, poor Lucian, you have killed him well. By the way, I love your Shakespeare quotes. Do you have to practice them before hand?"
Elijah closed his eyes and swirled his broadsword around him. He danced around the room, waiting for Bucky to strike.
"I could make you join me, but then you would be a cow. Is that what you want?"
"I want Tagami back!"
"Well like Mick Jagger says, 'you can't always get what you want!'"
"Who is the Colonel?"
"MacDuff, the big bossman! Right now he's on top, likes the view I think, but things are changing. More than both you or he knows."
"Thank you. Now you will die!"
Elijah swung his broadsword behind him striking Bucky on the chest forcing him to become visible. "The game is over. Stop!" Bucky commanded.
In a brief moment the Apollonian and the Dionysian met and became one. The Apollonian froze Bucky, digging deep into his soul. The Dionysian cut Elijah loosen, setting him adrift. Neither could overcome the other; both had found their polar opposite.
"You have such will, together we can change the world!"
"What do you want?"
"You're starting to get the picture now or at least both of the questions."
Elijah charged, startling Bucky. All of the illusions shattered, leaving Bucky and Elijah alone. Performing an impromptu tap dance, Bucky laughed. "You have to free your mind for the manacles. It all depends on you. You're the nexus. When men like you turn, the universe tends to follow you."
"Then the universe can follow me as I strangle you!"
With a look of sincere irony and madness, Bucky saluted Elijah. As the Chiyanbara dove for the imp, gravity dissipated. Like an insane angel, Bucky flew to the skylight while Elijah slammed into the wall scraping his hand across the bottom of Bucky's boots. "Not bad for a white boy! It's gotta be the shoes!"
Thrusting his fist into the air, Elijah cursed the imp with feelings that extend beyond words!
"We will meet again. After all the game has only just begun! There are more things on heaven and earth, Horatio, you'll see."
"The only thing you shall win is Lucian's fate!"
"Yes, but only on my terms!"
Violently, Elijah threw his broadsword at Bucky, who easily dodged it. "Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch the Buckmeister man! Ha!"
Clearing the skylight, Bucky blew the frustrated Elijah a kiss. "See you tomorrow, hero."
Breathing deeply, Elijah forced the grief and anger out his mind through a Chiyanbara meditation technique. Building a weak dam of will, the emotions would swell hidden allowing him to continue his work. Knelling before his fallen master, Elijah kissed his cheek lightly.
It was time for the last command. Hidden in a panel under his mattress was an ancient chest. It was the only item Tagami kept from their exile in the wilderness. Elijah had carried that chest over thirty miles through rough terrain on their trek to civilization. Tagami had ordered Elijah to never open the chest until the day of his death. Cradling Tagami in his arms, Elijah carried him to his bedroom and gently set him on his mattress.
Awed, Elijah glanced around the room. Tagami never allowed Elijah to enter his private room. It was his sole source of solitude during their stay in Tagami Towers. Several framed pictures decorated the walls.
A young, vital Tagami, barely twenty, wore an American pilot's uniform. Cuddling with a dark, beautiful woman, Tagami proudly displayed his metal of valor and a newspaper from September 11, 1916.
An older Tagami, perhaps thirty, stood with a black woman with long braided hair. It was the same women from the other picture, only unlike Tagami she did not age a single year. The great Pyramid of Cheops dominated the background. Scrawled in paint was August 11, 1902.
The spartan room chilled Elijah. Respectfully, he dragged the mattress, and Tagami, to the side and opened the panel, which propelled the jeweled chest to surface. Holding his breath, Elijah opened the chest.
A single beautifully crafted katana lay on top of black silk cloth. On the golden hilt, Tagami's family crest was beautifully painted in silver. Reverently, he reached for the katana of his fallen master. To his surprise, the katana tingled with energy. Elijah sensed it reach deep inside his mind. Afraid, Elijah fought the mental onslaught until images of Tagami drenched his mind. This sword had been carried by the Chiyanbara since the death of the first Chiyanbara Master. It was the Ascalon.
Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, Ascalon began to change. It extracted the desired form from within Elijah's soul. The legends were true. Siegfried called Ascalon by the name of Balmug. King Arthur used Ascalon, by the name Excalbur, to form the Chiyanbara fellowship known as the Round Table. Ramayana wandered India calling Ascalon by the name Jatakas. Gilgamesh slew many monsters with his beloved Adapa. And now, Ascalon belonged to him.
Once the Ascalon's metamorphous was completed, Elijah examined it. Ascalon morphed into the shape of a powerful broadsword. Respectfully, he held the Ascalon under his arm and unfolded the cloth and lifted it into the air. It was Tagami's Chiyanbara uniform.
Gently, Elijah set aside the outfit. Several scrolls were bound together with a silk tie. He untied the scrolls and looked at his legacy. Although most of the scrolls were filled with strange characters that Elijah had never seen, the last entry was a single poem in English.
There is a flower growing in the wall.
A wall built from masons of hate.
Yet the flower was created with love.
Love that gives the flower strength.
Strength to break even the mightiest of walls.
"I understand, father," Elijah whispered.
Elijah gathered his fallen teacher's body and returned to the gardens. When Tagami had designed the gardens, he knew that plants needed to be compatible to grow next to each other. Wanting a variety of plants, Tagami decided to build several dirt hills and mounds to separate the roots. As a result, a bonsai tree and a rose bush could thrive next to each other. Elijah knew that Tagami must have worked for years to cultivate the exact match of flowers, plants, and trees to create a masterpiece.
Carefully weighing his choices, Elijah chose the hill with the bonsai trees. First, he removed the bonsai trees and set them in water. Their roots were strong. He knew they would survive. He then dug into the mound creating a large hole. As he moved each shovel full of dirt, Elijah cried. When the hole was deep enough, Elijah gently lowered Tagami into it. Looking away from Tagami's face, he began to refill the hole. Afterwards, he replanted the bonsai trees. Like Elijah, they would grow strong from Tagami's blood.
Although he wanted to mourn, Elijah knew he had other matters to attend to. He walked over to Lucian and dragged him towards the table. As he passed the fallen vampire, the Ascalon began to vibrate. Looking into Lucian's eyes, he thought that he had seen them blink. "Did I see your eyes blink?" he asked.
No answer.
Elijah twisted the stake slightly and Lucian blinked. "Can you hear me?"
Blink.
"Blink twice if you understand me."
Blink. Blink.
"I am going to ask you questions and you are going to blink once for yes and twice for no."
Blink.
"Are you a Vampire?"
Blink.
"Are you working alone?"
Blink. Blink.
"Did someone send you?"
Blink.
"Did you want Tagami dead?"
Blink. Blink.
"I don't believe you."
Blink. Blink.
Elijah searched Lucian's pockets. He found a wallet, a book of matches, and an envelope. In the wallet was an driver's license belonging to Thomas Worthington. The matches were from a nightclub called the Viper Room. Inside the envelope was an invitation to a Masquerade Ball at the Viper Room to be held by a MacDuff. "Are you Thomas?" he asked.
Blink.
"Are you afraid of sunlight?"
Blink.
"I thought so. Would you like a chance to work on your tan?"
Blink. Blink.
"Did MacDuff send you?"
Blink.
"Is he going to be at this party?"
Blink.
"I am only going to ask this once. Will you tell me why MacDuff sent you if I move this stake?"
Blink.
Elijah carefully pulled the stake part way out of the vampire's body. Instantly, Lucian attempted to squirm away, but Elijah staked him again.
"I warned you."
He pulled Lucian to the center of the room where the sun would strike through the skylight and returned to sit next to the bonsai trees. As the hours passed slowly, Lucian could feel the morning begin as he had so many times before. Elijah, in the lotus position, watched as the first rays of sunlight sparkled across the room. Lucian's eyes widened as he saw the sunlight brighten the morning sky. Once the bright rays engulfed him, his skin turned slightly red. Elijah heard a sizzling sound similar to cooking bacon. Smoke rose from Lucian's boiled flesh. Waves of pain wiggled the body. With the stake paralyzing his heart, Lucian could not cry out. Silently and motionless Lucian burned, exploding like a log on a fire burning too hot.
It felt good to watch Lucian burn. Tagami had been his father, mother, teacher, and best friend. Elijah tried to picture a world without Tagami, and found himself remembering the past. The more Lucian burned, the more Elijah cried and the better he felt. His stomach felt empty. He thought he would vomit, but after a few dry heaves Elijah convinced himself that he would live.
He tried to find that peace that Tagami described, but only felt anger and hatred. In a dark corner of his mind, Elijah screamed for revenge. The rest of his mind concentrated on the matchbook that he turned in his hand. Although he wanted to translate the scrolls, he would go to the Viper Room first. "Hold your head well, MacDuff, I intend to have it before long."