Augur of Shadows Page 18

  “What?” she yelled as she saw the creature that resembled the creature that devoured her abuelita. She tried to grab it telekinetically, wishing that Siméon had something up his sleeve to kill it. The beast was much faster than the other one, though, and it easily evaded her attack. She panicked at the thought of losing the portal and Henri.

  “Ancestors, I call upon thee! Hear me! We need your help!” Siméon called to every spiritual connection that he possessed. He sensed every connection that was formed with a spirit in the other realms. Siméon was confident that he’d be successful with their assistance.

  Suddenly, voices popped into his head, giving him confirmation.

  “My child, we all are with you. How may we be of assistance?”

  “Ancestors, I know that you cannot interfere directly, but we need your help. Henri entered the portal to India, and Etlina is trying to maintain the portal, but she is trying to prevent the creature from following him. I need your help. Please lend me your strength,” Siméon pleaded to the Ancestors as fear and panic seized him. The Ancestors conversed for a moment, and they quickly arrived at a verdict.

  “You know that we are not allowed to intervene. However, we have decided to assist you, Siméon. Call upon your higher self—your guardian angel. When your higher self answers your call, allow them to provide the assistance you need.”

  “Thank you, Ancestors!” Siméon gathered the strength needed to call upon his higher self. He had heard stories of people becoming one with their guardian angels, but he had never seen it firsthand.

  A moment had passed when Siméon noticed a burning sensation at his fingertips and forehead. The sensation ran up his arms and spread all throughout his body. Siméon’s thoughts whickered with passion like a flame, which made his ability to focus difficult.

  A warrior apparition materialized above Siméon’s body. Energy crackled. Temperature increased in the room. His body grew in size, almost unrecognizable. His hair wafted like orange and red, smoldering flames. He became one with his guardian angel.

  Piscien froze in place. Gripped his weapon. “Your new trick isn’t going to stop me, boy.” Siméon taunted Piscien, egging on his advance.

  Etlina looked at Siméon and noticed the fiery energy that now radiated and crackled around him. She couldn’t see through the blazing red energy around him.

  “Siméon. What is happening?”

  “Young one, do not fret.” Siméon sounded as though someone was speaking with him. Etlina was shocked to hear his new voice.

  “Siméon, what is going on?” Etlina was worried that something had taken a hold of him.

  “We aren’t Siméon. We are Ogou.” Etlina was scared stiff. She couldn’t decide whether she was more afraid of the Piscien or Siméon. Ogou’s presence was divine, and it shone brighter than a star. He proceeded towards the creature, intent on eradicating its existence.

  “Siméon, no! It’ll kill you!” She tried to stop him from walking towards the creature, but she was now far too weak to stop him.

  He marched toward the barrier effortlessly, unafraid at the loss of protection. He phased through the barrier without harm, and he made his way to the creature.

  “Siméon... you must hurry. I can’t hold this portal forever.”

  “Ogou will be fine, child. Maintain the opening. Do not lose focus.” Etlina’s whole body vibrated with his words. Etlina speculated that Ogou was a divine spirit, and he had Siméon in his grasp.

  The beast snarled at Ogou with what appeared to be a comical sneer. Ogou banged his hands, creating a sharp, loud clap of thunder. The shockwave spread all throughout the apartment, destroying every window in the residence. He withdrew his hands, forging twin obsidian blades from the ashes. Ogou released the cry of a true, steadfast warrior.

  The malicious creature retracted its talons, preparing its next move. Ogou clunked his blades together in a single motion, making his twin blades ignite into flames as the creature used the resistance of the wooden floor to propel itself at him. The malevolent being discharged hundreds of tentacles at Ogou.

  Ogou swiftly lunged at the creature while simultaneously throwing one of his blazing blades as a flaming boomerang. His blade sliced effortlessly through the demon’s tentacles. The remaining few whimpering tentacles that remained smacked into the barrier that Etlina had created to protect the portal.

  “Siméon, if my focus is shifted then I will lose the portal and even Henri.” Etlina tried to get through to Ogou, but the fiery creation didn’t respond to her words.

  The malevolent death-spawn methodically pursued Ogou, but being a divine warrior, Ogou possessed a superb instinct which helped him predict the creature’s moves long before they occured.

  He dodged its next attack, and he leaped above the beast, thrusting his fiery blades down into the head of the creature. The creature screeched out in pain, and it fell to the floor. Catching on fire, it screeched in agony as it expired. Its body became a pile of cosmic ash.

  “Get in here, Siméon! Now!” Etlina demanded as she was about to lose her grip on the portal. “Do you realize how much energy it takes to maintain an opening this size?”

  Ogou paced towards Etlina, dematerializing his stained, sharp blades back into thin flakes of ash.

  “We are ready, young one.”

  “We?” Etlina asked with a look of confusion.

  “We are Ogou. One day you will understand. We must make our way to the required destination.” The divine aspect of Ogou freed his hold on Siméon, releasing him from his trance.

  “Siméon?” She waved her free hand in his face, making sure it was him.

  “Wi. I am fine, Etlina. Let’s go before another creature shows up.” He approached the threshold of the portal. Glancing back at Etlina, he saw something that intrigued him.

  While Etlina’s eyes were still black, her hair had gained streaks of white throughout, and he wondered the toll that the magic had already taken on her body. Siméon stepped through the portal, disappearing through the void of realms.

  Etlina felt a sense of relief when Siméon walked through the portal, and a sense of accomplishment for taking out a few of those creatures. She jumped through the portal, and she arrived in India, immediately seeing Henri and Siméon.

  “You made it!” Henri rushed over to her, and he hugged her tightly.

  “I am so happy to see you guys. What took so long?” Henri asked, looking back and forth at Etlina and Siméon.

  “Shall you tell him?” Etlina asked.

  “Tell me what?” Henri patiently waited for one of them to tell him what had happened in Siméon’s house.

  CHAPTER 28

  Henri was lost in thought at the events that unraveled in the house after Siméon had pushed him through the portal. He absentmindedly paced along the edge of a nearby lake. He couldn’t stop replaying the possible outcomes, and how upset he was with Siméon. Siméon slowly approached him to calm him down, but Henri refused.

  “We need to go.” Henri walked off, heading north of the lake. Siméon and Etlina desperately wanted to discuss with Henri the reasoning for their actions.

  “We are fine, Henri. We handled the situation. You are too valuable, Henri. Plus, what’s more interesting is what happened to Siméon.” She locked eyes with him, waiting for him to chime in the conversation.

  “What happened to you?”

  “I asked the Ancestors for help, and they answered me.” He glared at Etlina to shut her up. He wasn’t ready to fully disclose what had happened to him yet.

  “Something with your guardian angel, right?” Etlina was urging him to speak with Henri, but Siméon wasn’t responsive on the topic.

  “Etlina… stop!” Siméon lashed out at her, hating that she didn’t take his feelings into consideration. His cheeks blushed a mild cherry tone.

  “So, your guardian spirit is who again?” Henri was intrigued by the idea of a guardian angel. He wondered if Metatron was his heavenly guardian. He hoped not – he already felt guilty
for getting the angel killed.

  “In Haitian Vodou, we don’t reveal who our guardian spirit is. However, our circumstances are quite different than most others. So, yes, my guardian spirit is Ogou. He is a fierce warrior.” Siméon further explained his culture to Henri and Etlina as they made their way through the Indian lands.

  “Okay, we can discuss this more later, guys. We have to get moving. If the creatures sensed me opening the portal before, I am positive that they can sense us here.”

  As they continued along the road, they noticed a sign written in English --Rabindra Sarovar Lake. After Henri, Etlina and Siméon passed numerous people, Henri came up with the idea that they needed to somehow disguise themselves.

  “Hey, guys, maybe we should find some clothes so we can blend in with the locals?” Henri looked around for a clothesline of some description near one of the surrounding houses.

  “Why do we have to hide? If a creature shows up, they will find us anyway.” Siméon had no desire to wear someone else’s clothes.

  “No. We should find clothes so people don’t recognize us. Etlina was on the news, and I am sure that her story is all over the Internet. If anyone recognizes us, then we are screwed.”

  “Wait here.” Henri found some clothes hanging outside a nearby multi-storied tenement, and he snuck through the yard. He quickly scanned the area, and he snatched the clothes off the line. He grabbed enough for the three of them, and they all darted off, so they wouldn’t get caught. After running for a few minutes, Henri found a place for them to change.

  “There.” Henri pointed out an abandoned building to the others. He led Siméon and Etlina to what appeared to be a side door. Etlina investigated the neighborhood; she didn’t see anyone. She positioned her hand as if she was turning a doorknob, and she twisted it, unlocking the door.

  “Awesome,” Henri commented as they all slyly entered the building.

  They each took a garment and rapidly changed into their new clothes. Henri’s heartbeat was still racing with adrenaline. He felt like his favorite spy from the movies –James Bond.

  Henri gathered his old clothes and placed them in a corner of the room, and while the other two finished changing their clothes, Henri inspected the area in order to assess their surroundings.

  As he was checking the room, Henri heard a familiar voice appear in his mind.

  “Henri, how are you?”

  “Who is this?” He was getting tired of the whole telepathic phone call from the other side thing. They didn’t seem to care that he gained a crushing headache after each time because of the higher vibration from the spirit realms.

  “It is Adhira.”

  “Hey, Adhira.”

  “We see that the three of you have found the location of Kali’s sacred token.”

  “We believe so. We are on our way to find the Temple of Kali. Have all of you seen what has happened recently?”

  “Yes. We are always watching the Destined. It is extremely important that your tasks are completed.” She lectured Henri, but he stopped her in her tracks. He reiterated to her that he was well aware of his duties, and he didn’t need constant reassurance of what those duties were.

  “You will contact us when you have found her token?”

  “Sure.” He hated that they were constantly being watched. He loved movies, but he had no desire to be in one.

  Henri couldn’t fight the pull of looking out into the streets, wishing that he could experience a normal life in India. The building they were in had blocked his view before, but looking out of the side window now was the most spectacular sight –the Temple. The sight of the ancient ceremonial ground immediately caught Henri’s attention. The scent of burning candles and the sight of hundreds of people praying told Henri that they had reached their destination.

  Henri went back to the others and described his conversation with Adhira.

  “I think that they are making sure we are doing what we said we would do. You would think something as big as the end of the world would involve and situation,” Etlina replied.

  “Well, it is our destiny. We had the opportunity to walk away, but we chose to walk our path,” Siméon added, maintaining the team’s mindset.

  “Yes, Siméon. I know.” Henri rolled his eyes at the lecture that Siméon gave him.

  Leading them outside and around the side of the building, Henri held his hands out and showed them the temple that lay before them. He now realized that they were standing in front of the temple that he had seen in his vision. The vision didn’t do the temple justice. The exterior gates seemed far too simple. The architecture was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The outside was painted a faded brick color with brown trim, and there were tiny archways protruding from the outer roof.

  There was a beautiful centered conical dome that protruded from the center of the roof. The dome had a green title covering most of its surface with purple, gold and green lines under the whitened tip of the dome. The entire roof resembled an Indian-styled castle with beautiful flags flowing from the very top. An image Henri had only ever seen in vision form before.

  “This is the temple. This is the temple that I saw in my vision!” Henri enthusiastically stated, jumping up and down like a tourist in a foreign land. The sight of Henri acting like a child for a moment instead of someone who was Destined pleased Siméon.

  “Henri, don’t look like a tourist,” Etlina calmed him down.

  “Why? No one is around, Etlina,” Henri rebutted defensively. “Like I said… in my vision, I knew that there was an illusion that would prevent regular people from seeing where the items are,” Henri furthered explained his vision.

  They continued on their way to the entrance of the temple, and Siméon grabbed three candles from a tiny market outside the temple.

  “We will need these to look less suspicious to anyone. We are here to pray to Kali,” Siméon whispered as they approached the threshold of the inner sanctum.

  “Good idea, Siméon,” Etlina replied as they entered the area designated for tourists who wished to pray to Kali.

  “The people of India really love their gods and goddesses.” Henri spotted matches near the altar, and he lit several candles in remembrance of Tim Stevenson, Metatron and the family that the creature had devoured in his projection.

  “Namaste,” a polite child greeted the three. He bowed his tiny body to give the gesture along with the salutation.

  “Why, hello. What’s your name?” Etlina smiled at the cute little boy, greeting her. The clothes that he wore intrigued her. She assumed that they were traditional temple garments. He seemed to wear khaki pants with beaten-up sandals. His shirt had beautiful rhythmic patterns and sequins. His golden head covering was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen.

  “My name is Arnav. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He gave Etlina and the others a giant smile. Then grabbing Etlina’s hand, he escorted her to the inner sanctum. Besides Etlina, Henri had a very strong, familiar feeling with the child.

  “Allow me to show you something that is very cool, Ms. Etlina.”

  “How did you know my name?”

  “Arnav knows many things.”

  Etlina was immediately on high alert with their mysterious, new tour guide.

  “Okay, Arnav, what is it?” She went along with the charade. He led them past the candle altars of Kali into an unknown area.

  “Arnav, what is this?” Etlina was tired of all the walking. Arnav didn’t know she had recently ripped a giant hole in reality just to get them to the Temple.

  “I am showing you a secret place. A gabhagriha. It is where the true believers go.” He pulled her arm much like an overly excited child would do to their parent in a candy store.

  “Arnav, we are coming, sweetie.”

  They traveled down many hallways, up and down more than one flight of stairs, and they finally arrived at the location Arnav was seeking.

  “We are here, guys. This is it. This is the secret place.” He stared
at the three newcomers, and he was pleased by their expressions.

  “Not everyone gets to see this place. Trust me, you will love the inside. I know the Mother would approve.”

  “The mother?”

  Arnav shushed her, and he showed them the way inside. He knocked on the bottom left corner of the wall, then the bottom right corner, and then he drew a circle in the center of the wall, before kissing the circle. The wall cracked, shook and rattled. What was believed to be a wall, opened as though it was the door to an elevator.

  They walked into a pitch-dark room, resembling a black hole in deepest space.

  “Follow me, Etlina. I will protect you.” Arnav guided her by hand. Henri did not have a great feeling about the kid, yet he had no other choice. He had his friends with him, and he knew that if anything happened that they would have each other’s backs.

  They walked hand in hand through the darkened veil to hit another wall.

  “What the?” Henri had never been a fan of dark spaces - he had a flash of his dad coming into his room to tuck him into bed. He knew that he didn’t like the dark, so he would always leave the hallway light on for him.

  “I can help with this,” Etlina said, noticing Henri’s discomfort. She waved her free hand into the air, and beautiful white and gold flames ignited in her palms. The flames grew with more intensity to the point where she lit up the entire room. Arnav was amused by the fire show that Etlina had performed.

  “Wow. Ms. Etlina, that was so awesome.” Arnav couldn’t help himself from staring at the flames in her hands.

  “Thanks, Etlina!” Henri cried with a sigh of relief. He looked around to see if anyone else was staring at him. Arnav prodded Etlina towards a wall covered in carvings.

  “This picture is of the Mother. This is the battle she fought so many years ago. She, too, was a strong warrior.” He described her as though he came from her. His words were emotional and poetic.

  “Arnav, why did you bring us here?” Etlina inquired.