Anthology Two Presents

Talisman
"Seeing Things"
By Matthew Cavazos

 -- more citizens have come forward claiming to have witnessed the unexpected and rather violent apprehension of a little known Pacific City vigilante, known as Bush... uhh... Bush41, by what eyewitnesses have described as an extremely tall armored individual who has yet to be identified. Many believe this to be either the work of an all new super powered villain or the LanTech created Siege Engine which was brought to light last month during a special episode of 'The Rock Report'.

Neither the Mayor's office nor Commissioner Jordan had any official comment on the tragic occurrence that left two dead during the rain-soaked showdown. Sources from inside City Hall have mentioned that this apparent crackdown on Pac City's varied collection of sidewalk vigilantes and Science Heroes should be resolved before the beginning of the new year.

More about this story and other local and national news at eleven, now for the Six o' Clock News Weather from chief meteorologist Bill "Heatwave" Castonzo, right Bill?

That's right, Chris.

Clear skies are 'raining' supreme - ha ha - at the moment,  but more on the rest of this week's forecast after this brief commercial break.

     The noise from the television and the stream of senseless anecdotes from her Mother's one sided phone conversation filtered up through the stairway and into a small, darkened room across from the top of the stairs. But little could drown out the cacophony of heartbeats and shallow rapid breaths that echoed in Sheila's chest. The slightly euphoric feelings caused by the adrenaline pumping through her adolescent body along with the rush of oxygen to her brain allowed her mind to fly from thought to thought in a chaotic sequence timed by the throbbing within her ears.

    Sheila Torrance was exhausted and the only thought that seemed to surface from the tapestry of random mental suggestions and brief flashes of memory was that of her cousin, Michael, and the box within his possession. After a few more minutes of sitting curled up in the darkest, most obscure corner of her bedroom did a single, solitary question form in her pubescent consciousness...

    "Where the HECK... uhn... is that sonnuva... uhh... lil' bastard run off ta?" Tex moaned while the leather clad behemoth helped the smaller man to his feet.

    "It appears we've been had by two small children, Mr. Arkana. Your employer will not be especially pleased by this news. Due to this new change in circumstance I will ask for further instructions on how they would want us to deal with this matter", Bryce offered as a cellphone was produced from out of one of the various zippers that crisscrossed his jet black exterior.

    "Christmas."

    His phone, instantly recognizing the word, began dialing the associated preprogrammed numbers in rapid succession.

   Shifting in the dark, softness of the enclosure Emerald rolled herself onto her belly which let her short arms to push her semi-upright giving the rest of her body purchase enough to wiggle her scaly form onto it's haunches. This sudden exertion, after her long slumber, caused bleariness to wash over her sight, forcing her eyes to readjust to the near absence of light within the confined she shared with Golem.

    Slowly she stretched out her wings, testing the boundaries around her. They stopped a mere fraction of an inch from billowing out to their maximum span, which was just enough for her room to waddle over to the crumpled form of her partner. Emerald half-waddled, half-crept to his side and gently nudged him with the side of her snout but to no avail. Golem still suffered from their last encounter with Halcyon, the final opponent they had to face before Master Sorens would allow his apprentice Richmond to go further within her studies. But they had failed her and were overcome by a single opponent.

    A defiant snort issued from the palm sized dragon's tiny nostrils at the mere thought of the golden insect and it's abuse of it's powers. Yet before any truly malicious thoughts crossed Emerald's mind intense, white light flooded her vision forcing her irises to constrict to paper thin slits. The little dragon reacted the only way she was trained: green flame streamed from out her gaping maw.

    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

    The six year old bellowed as his green and red mini camping lantern was reduced to little more than a green and red mound of metal slag and smoky plastic fumes. Little Michael Spenser did exactly what the instinct of all small children compel them to do in a situation such as this: he bolted out from inside his 'fort', little more than 3 warped sheets of particle board and a refrigerator box cobbled together with duct tape and wads of gum, and sped off as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.

    Emerald peered out of the confines box, making sure any and all immediate threats were gone, and sniffed the air only for her to catch a whiff of the noxious plastic fumes. Other than the smoking corpse of her newest 'conquest' the surrounding area was alien to her but thoughts of Golem's present condition called for the six-inch dragon to take wing and find a suitable place to hide her fallen partner 'til she thought of better plan of action.

    Willa unburied the soft features of her face from between her sister-in-law's pale, supple thighs and stood up, reluctantly. She lifted herself from her kneeling position at the foot of the bed, meticulously picking her way across the room, careful not to disturb the exquisite wedding dress that lay on the plush carpeting as she crossed the master bedroom to answer the phone.

    "Who... isssssssss... it?", Mary half whispered, half hissed while still in the throws of an interrupted climax.

    "Bryce", she replied quietly, while she shifted the weight of her nude body from foot to foot impatiently.

    "L...let Gregor handle thisssssssss and c-come f-finish me", the platinum blonde shuddered as she spoke while her legs hung off the bed.

    Willa sighed, hit the button transferring the call to her husband's study, and then hurried back to minister to her brother's waiting bride.

    The Christmas Family study was a magnificent piece of Victorian architecture, the massive ceiling high shelving held hundreds of ancient tomes that made it one of the most world renown collection of books of magick and the occult, on the North American continent. The man who owned this impressive collection sat behind a faux Queen Anne desk. His deep blue eyes scanned the half dozen statuettes that sat mere inches from his silk robed form. Each was unique in shape and craftsmanship, each reflected a different style that came from a different period of time in the history of the Earth.

    Suddenly his hand reached for the phone a split second before it's ring permeated the thick, musty air of the study.

    [Mr. Christmas?]

    "This is he."

    [Sir, I have a bit of news to report concerning the location of the two statuettes.]

    "What was so urgent that you had to use my private line and interrupt my wife and sister's activities?"

    [Sir, Me and Mr. Arkana have found the box and it's contents.]

    "Good, good. Mother will be very pleased."

    [But therein lies the problem, sir. The box was absconded by -- outside forces during the retrieval.]

    "..."

    [Sir?]

    "WHAT!?!", Gregor gripped the handle hard enough to whiten his knuckles to near transparency.

    [I'm sorry, sir, I thought it would be best to ask for further instructions before proceeding.]

    "INSTRUCTIONS?"

    [Yes, on how to proceed, sir.]

    "GI--", Gregor paused, letting the anger pass, "give the phone to Arkana."

    Bryce stole a glance at the walking cliché that leaned against the side of a building. Tex, oblivious to the request made by his hostile employer, was protectively cupping his hands to his tender crotch  while blinking away tears of 'manly' pain.

    [He's... unavailable at this moment.]

    "Fine then, like I said before I don't care who you have to kill, maim, rape, or break as long as you get THE DAMN BOX!"

    [Yes, sir. Right away, sir.]

    Gregor slammed his phone back into it's cradle and leaned back in his chair. Cunning, intelligence, powerful global connections, and a vast fortune at his disposal, Gregor Christmas had all these traits and more. But he lacked the patience and wisdom attributed to his mother.

    At that exact moment a pair of delicate hands began massaging the back of his neck. His head lolled from side to side, bright golden locks of unruly hair swayed to the rhythm of movement. It was sheer bliss, the tension from Bryce's news gave way under the gentle kneading of his neck and back muscles.

    "Son", the voice was light and monotone, a whisper of reserved femininity.

    "Mother, I-I.."

    "Shhhhhhh", she bade him quiet as any mother would treat a fussy infant.

    "I know all about the situation at hand. The leather-skinned serpent and the medicine man will ultimately fail at their task. The talisman pair will  find a new apprentice, once again. But let the two fools give chase the medicine man is pivotal to revealing the existence of the other pairs scattered across Gaia", an air of melancholy was betrayed in her voice.

    "How do you always know these things?", he felt the urge to turn to face his beloved mother but her hands kept him from fulfilling this need.

    "A mother knows -- best, Gregor. Now go off and play with the girls. I believe they're both ready for you."

    "Screw you, Paul, and you wanna know what else I think about your damn sensitivity? Sometimes I think you love her more than you love me", each of Sylvia's words were venom laced spears of hate aimed directly at her on and off 'boyfriend'.

    Since she became unemployed this was almost a daily ritual, once the soap operas, talkshows, infomercials, Home Shopping Network specials, and KGPC Evening News ended Sylvia Torrance loved to knock back a few then rip Paul a new one before he began making dinner. But tonight Sylvia seemed to be in a darker mood, and that always meant the claws were coming out.

    "What is it about her Paul? You like 'em young, now dontcha?", she said before polishing off her fourth beer.

    "You probably picture her when we're fucking? Yeah, I just know it and ya know what else? You're one sick bastard, that's what you are."

    She liked to break him down every once in awhile, really make him suffer, as a proxy for every bastard that dicked her over and her best tactic to draw silent tears from Paul has been the Sheila card. Paul loves Sheila a great deal. In fact one of the few reasons he's stayed with Sylvia, other than his inability to stand up for himself, has been to spare Sheila any abuse either from her mother or her myriad of boyfriends.

    Another aluminum cap twirled absently in the air as it descend to the floor and skipped across it's linoleum surface. Sylvia left the small dining room and disappeared into the den, fifth bottle in hand. Paul stood in the kitchen, weeping, while grasping a black ring box that remained nestled in his front trouser pocket.

    Nighttime in Pacific City meant that primetime television's downward spiral of entertainment kept most indoors, yet those with nocturnal engagements involving 'going out' and any variations of this theme such as: going out on a date, going out to get plastered, going out to get laid, going out to the movies, or a number of combinations of these activities made themselves subject to having their plans suddenly changed by a small, but potentially lethal minority of the city's populace.

    The local harbors kept the humidity relatively high, thus a temperature of a 31 degrees Celsius (roughly 88 degrees Fahrenheit) was not the most forgiving of conditions for a 6' 7" muscle bound guy sporting a skintight leather gimp suit. On the other hand his much shorter companion, who wore a simple tan vest with matching cowboy hat and boots, seemed too absorbed in his divinations to notice the heat or even break a sweat. With eyes clamped shut, a crystal in each balled up fist, and mountains of concentration, Tex Arkana was a sight to see.

    Dwarfed by Bryce at a height of 5' 2", Tex was about as imposing as an encounter with the Easter Bunny in a dark alleyway. Albeit the Easter Bunny 'bunny' rather than the shotgun toting ex-marine in a pastel colored bunny costume that hopped down the streets of Detroit in the early 80's. The strange duo had little in common other than the fact Tex was hired by the Christmas Family to locate and retrieve the Emerald Dragon and Stone Golem statuettes, whereas Bryce was hired by Tex to be his local muscle.

    They marched through downtown Pac City with Bryce shoving aside pedestrians and gawkers from Tex's blind path. Block after block fewer and fewer people got in their way, even the various local beat cops avoided them as Tex traveled the cracked and littered sidewalks. When out of nowhere Tex stopped dead in his tracks.

    "I know jus' where they are!", Tex said as his eyes opened, his fists glowed brightly as light escaped from between the folds and creases of his hands.

    "Well then let's go get them, quickly" Bryce added, slightly annoyed.

    "I can bet a couple o' mules you're proly tuckered out from all the walking. Why don't we mosey over via the winds?", he spoke while purple hues bathed his stocky body.

    His odd phrasing of 'via the winds' piqued Bryce's interest.

    "I'm all ears, as you might say, Mr. Arkana."

    A curious smile crept across the old shaman's face.

    For the past hour her son had been begging for her to come outside and kill a lizard or something, she wasn't really paying him any attention.

    "I said NOT WHILE I'M WATCHING my programs, Mikey! God sometimes you remind me of your father, always complaining about something or another."

    Nicki Spenser shoved her animated six year old out from in front of her view of their television set, a rerun of 'Not Tonight, Darling' that she had missed was on and any minute Sylvia would be calling to bitch about Paul or Sheila or the damn neighbor stealing her TV Schedule again.

    Realizing that his tantrum had proved useless, Mikey chose to sit behind the glass sliding door in the dining room area of their small townhouse and keep an eye on his 'fort'.

     A short time ago, the palm-sized dragon had found a long abandoned bird's nest just suitable to support and conceal Golem, but she lacked the strength to even drag his mass, let alone carry him AND the box five meters up to the branch that suspended high above the ground. Thus she required a large quantity of food to fuel a partial transformation. Luckily, after a thorough search of the surrounding area, Emerald came across a metal dish filled with meat and gravy in a nearby courtyard. It was guarded by a hairy beast thrice her size, and with a quick 'yip' it was easily scared off by a short burst of flame.

    The meat was little better than rodent entrails but she found herself more than willing to devour every morsel, her hunger had gone long unnoticed throughout her search for her companion's hiding place. Yet, as her winged form digested the food, her body underwent a metamorphosis from a six inch whelp to the much recognized creature of myth that stood over three meters in height. This was a form that was more than suitable for her task.

    With her partner hidden from any immediate danger, it was time for her to explore this unfamiliar land, and what better place to do it than in a forest. But never had she laid her eyes on such a peculiar forest. It was filled with towers of smooth transparent glass and bland gray stone reached high into the night skies. It simply amazed her how inside some of these towers, creatures much resembling the likes of Master Sorens and Richmond, went about their lives without fear while on the ground below, shiny metal creatures moaned and roared as they traveled up and down the black, stone hard rivers.

    As the night winds directed her further into the land and past the neutral stone towers, she resisted and out she went to fly over the warm waters. They beckoned her to drink from them, to part them with her bright green form, but they were not her waters. As were the stars, their positions were all wrong to her ancient eyes. The brightness of the heavens had faded. Everything was so different, so alien to her senses.

    Yes, the world had indeed changed much during her long slumber.

    Nicki never noticed the sudden breeze that blew through her den, nor did she remember that her windows and doors were shut. But what she did notice was a guy in a cowboy hat and another wearing a leather suit who had Michael slung over his shoulder blocking her view of the TV.

      "-- FOR YOU!"

    Her mother's voice echoed up from bottom of the stairway and through her open bedroom door.

    "PHONE CALL!"

    Again the voice rose up and pierced the heavy silence of her room, the shock from today's run in with the strange men had left Sheila in a fragile state of mind.

    "DAMMIT SHEILA, GET THE GODDAMN PHONE!"

    She could tell Sylvia had been drinking more than usual tonight, this was probably due to another failed job interview. Ever since Burke Fashions filed for bankruptcy office workers, like Sylvia's 'executive assistant' position, were cut. Sheila uncurled from her fetal position on her bed and shakily got to her feet.

    The aromas of pot roast and garlic had inundated themselves throughout the house. Sheila mentally noted the fact Paul was cooking and making a heavy beef meal, with Paul being an on and off vegetarian, this meant he had some BIG news stuffing her mom was probably the best way to shut her up if even for a short while. This was maybe not the best time to rat out Mikey or reveal the events of her trip downtown.

    Sheila made her way downstairs and circumvented a confrontation with Sylvia by taking the handset from cordless phone at the foot of the stairs rather than the one in den.

    "GOT IT, MOM!"

    "FINALLY!", Sylvia shouted above the sound of the 'Not Tonight, Darling' rerun.

    The twelve year old fixed one of the straps on her spaghetti tank top that had fallen down her shoulder and answered the phone.

    "Hello?"

    [Well hel-loooooooooooo ta you too, darlin'!]

     The color washed from her face.

    [Thought ya might wanna know yur lil' cousin here said you'd might be at yore homestead there and now that we know you're in, bring us them there statues. We wants 'em, we knows you got 'em, and we want 'em NOW!]

    From one extreme to another, Sheila's face flushed red as nauseous urges began to make themselves apparent.

    "Wh-what're you going to do if I d-d-don't have them?", she stuttered.

    A brief chuckle came over the ear piece, this was not a good sign.

    [You better darlin' or my associate is gonna make some of yur extended relations regulars on the wheel-chair ramp... fer starters. I'm willin' ta forgive and forget our little tiff we had down near Foster's shop, so I suggest if ya want ta make use of my charitable nature, is for you ta mosey over to that there empty lot behind yur cousin's place in 15 minutes... or else.]

    She looked up at the digital clock that sat next to the phone. The red LED readout blinked 9:22 PM.

    Climbing higher and higher into the growing fields of twilight, the temperature grew colder and colder as frost began forming on the tips of her wings as her ascent brought her farther away from the warmth of the Earth's surface.

    "Now there ya go, Bryce. Girly girl's comin' wit da goods."

    Tex replaced the large hat back onto his head as he handed his partner back his cellphone.

    "Excellent. Christmas will be very pleased once the talismans are in our possession."

    "Speakin' of possessing stuff. Gregor gave me a little bit of insurance 'case anyone who knew what to do with 'em decided to turn 'em loose", he said seconds before a small red engraved statuette appeared in his open palm.

    "Which does that represent?"

    "Fenrir."

    "Fen... rir?"

    "The Fenris-Wolf, it's a big wolf associated wit Ragnarok."

    "A... wolf?"

    "Jesus H. on a cracker! This whole time I thought you were 'n educated sonnuvabitch, crack open a damn myth book once in a blue moon, man" Tex looked him up and down, "It'll do wonders fer yur perspective on life."

    "I'm sure", Bryce said dryly before casually walking over to their two hostages that sat blind folded and gagged on the dirt floor of the empty lot. While securing the belts and nylon cords that bound Nicki and Michael's wrists and ankles a thought occurred to him, "By the way, Mr. Arkana, do you know the incantation to summon -- wolf's spirit?"

    Tex just stood there staring at the back of Bryce's shiny leather raiment, for a moment, before he began rummaging through his medicine bag like a man possessed.

    Sheila rushed out the front door, with a wooden box under her arm, and carelessly mumbled as many excuses as she could think of as Paul tried to tell her dinner was almost done.

    Tex tapped his foot impatiently and picked up a handful of dirt and gravel from the ground. Methodically rubbing it between his fingers as it slipped out from his calloused hand.

    "Girly's got about three minutes 'til 9:37."

    "You can tell that from messing with some dirt?", Bryce asked quizzically.

    "No, no, no. My watch 'ere got the lil' hand past the nine and the big ol' hand 'tween the six and seven."

    "Touché."

    Breathlessly she dashed straight for Aunt Nicki's house. She didn't know exactly how far the two creepy men would go but her plan had to work, if even to buy her a few more precious seconds to come up with a better one. Sheila pumped her legs as hard and fast as she could, she was so close her first instinct was to go faster so she leaned into her run while going across the makeshift gravel driveway of the empty lot.

    Big mistake. This caused her trip and fall face down into the hard jagged pieces of rock, while the box went flying from her hands and landed next to the cowhide boots of one Tex Arkana.

    "What's this?" he said while picking up a box that was obviously not the original from their earlier meeting, "Are you kidding me? This ain't the box"

    Tex ripped the lid off the faux-box and pulled out a small brown rock and a duck covered in wet, green paint, "And these sure as hell ain't th-the TALISMANS!"

    While Tex bellowed in anger out stepped one of the most frightening sights Sheila had ever seen. her bottom lip began to tremble as the monstrous form of Fenrir revealed itself, it's eyes ablaze with a wicked and terrible energy. Malice oozed from his every pore as he approached the bound and gagged bodies of Sheila's aunt and cousin.

    An ancient sound reverberated through the warm night air -- the blood curdling battle cry of a dragon.

    Rend.

    Slash.

    Shred.

    Gnash.

    These were it's commands, these were it's thoughts, and as simple as they seemed they would prove to be all the instructions the four meter tall killing machine would need. The Fenris's damp brown fur and shock of red mane atop it's elongated head gave it a most daemonic stature as it stood on all fours pacing and watching it's enemy. The feral glint that flickered behind the demon beast's eyes unsettled his jade skinned opponent. Gregor chose this creature, and in doing so he chose well, the sheer strength and ferocity of the Fenris Wolf would be hard to match in any form of fair combat.

    The piercing shriek had frozen the beast in his tracks.

    A magical trigger hidden within Emerald's mind alerted her to the awakening of another talisman and thus she now knew this was the time for battle but her drive to fight wavered. Without a master she had no direction, no true plan of attack other than the desire to defend herself. A thousand years of dormancy would be yet another hurdle to overcome if she was to prove her mettle. She needed Golem, if not to fight by her side, then just his moral support alone.

    Tex backhanded Sheila, knocking the twelve year old off her feet and onto her butt. Blood trailed from the corner of her mouth, where her teeth bit into the inside of her cheek. She didn't cry or scream, which infuriated the short man even further.

    "Git up ya little bitch, I'm not done with you yet."

    He brought his hand back to strike the girl again but Bryce's leather grip staid his hand.

    "Do not strike the child" the larger man coldly stated.

    "What for, she tried ta trick -- US!"

    "Still, beating her half to death solves nothing."

    "Dat's why was going to beat her TO death."

    Bryce twisted Tex's wrist sharply, and extracted a yelp of pain from the medicine man.

    "Let the creatures decide their fate. If the wolf comes back with the dragon talisman then they all suffer."

    "I can live wit..."

    "BUT if the dragon wins, they go free and you return to The Christmas's empty handed."

    "I-I, I'll do it. Now leggo, yur killin' me!"

    "Done", he said with a smile hidden by his zipper covered, ebony face mask.

    Green flames lit up the night skies of Pacific City as the majestic form of Emerald's body soared through the air in massive circles. The jade colored fire flushed the Fenris out into the open, she watched as it leapt several meters into the air only to come up pitifully short as its maw snapped at thin air. She reveled in the advantage she held over her foe as Emerald quickly absorbed her aerial view of the miles of battleground from over fifty meters up.

    Although quite swift she lost the beast in less than a dozen mighty strokes of her scaled wings. She left the sprawling suburban area that the Dusty Meadows and other such middle class communities existed and sped into the heart of the city. Emerald dipped into the forest of glass and concrete monoliths. Ages had passed since the last time she felt the winds rush past her body.

    For a moment she gazed down at the ground and marveled at the sight of the shiny metal creatures during what appeared to be a feeding. The tiny forms of people milled about almost as if they wanted to be swallowed by the purring creatures and then just as eager to be spit back up. It boggled the mind of the 10 foot dragon as she glided over a large glowing rock formation that bore the inscription, 'Hillcrest Shopping Center', in a language she did not yet understand.

    That's when she felt sharp claws dig into the back of her scaly hide. Somehow the Fenris Wolf had reached her and now it's sheer weight was dragging her down on top of several sleeping metal creatures. Like a scene straight out of a Harry Hausen film, people panicked and fled as the two monsters engaged in savage combat. Fenrir snapped at her long exposed neck, which prompted Emerald to slash the Fenris's snout with her short clawed forelimbs. The monstrous wolf collapsed to it's belly as it recoiled in pain, leaving itself wide open for attack as it covered it's wounded face with it's front paws.

    She took this moment to pick herself up and prepare a counterattack, and with a single downward stroke of her powerful wings Emerald's massive body lifted itself several meters off the ground. She followed it up almost immediately when she brought her full weight to bare down onto the back of the Fenris Wolf with a sickening...

    *CRACK*

    The sound was all she needed to hear as her massive jaws began sawing into the damp flesh of the Fenris's neck. Howls of pain filled the air, but before long they turned to whining whimpers of defeat, then to silence.

    Dawn crept through the slats of the window blinds inside the master bedroom and managed to slowly line up with Paul's unshielded eyelids successfully waking him up for the day. Paul disentangled his legs from Sylvia's and got up out of bed to shower. He dressed and then made his way downstairs to begin making breakfast before he dropped Sheila off at school, even though it made him well over an hour early to work.

    But this morning was different, when he entered her room to wake her up for school he found Sheila fully dressed, sitting on her bed, and quietly talking out loud.

    "So whatcha up to kiddo?"

    She looked up and smiled cradling a small box in her lap, "Nothing much, just talking to myself."

    He tried to hide his frown when he noticed she was wearing some make up on her cheek. Probably Sylvia's doing when she got back late last night. Paul planned to talk to Sheila about it after school but right now was 'their' time, and why waste it dwelling on their problems?

   "What's in the box?"

    "A dragon.", she answered cheerfully.

    A smile curled up at the side of his face.

    "I always thought girls didn't like lizards?"