Shadowman, page 19
part #1 of The Valiant Universe Series
Thoroughly intrigued, Jack took several glimpses of the immortal assembly. Despite the otherworldly power and spectacle contained within their natures, the discomfort they currently displayed was strikingly human.
“Look at them, Jack,” Bossu said. “Do you not find such timidity to be unbecoming of deities?”
Jack gave a slow nod as the leopard-headed Lwa broke the silence. “Be that as it may, Pierre,” he began, “what are we to do?”
One of the airborne entities groaned loudly before joining everyone else on the ballroom floor. Jack noticed the Lwa shoot him a knowing glance before turning to the assembly. His eyes seemed to house some form of unstable energy that crackled violently from his face.
“Is it not obvious?” he shouted. “We are left to suspect ourselves endlessly, doing nothing.”
Bossu suddenly unleashed a series of guffaws. While such behavior was generally out of character for the Lwa, Jack had seen him exhibit this level of amusement once before. He snickered in a reflexive response as the conversation continued.
“On the contrary, Brother Sogbo,” Samedi said, placing his ivory hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I will be leaning on the heir extensively. His introduction is the reason behind our impromptu reunion, after all.”
“Apologies, Jack,” Bossu began, having ceased from his hilarity. “Sogbo has always been able to make me laugh.”
Though Jack’s ensuing scoff was exceedingly soft, it remained audible against the strange quiet now filling the space. I don’t get it, he replied. After lecturing me about seriousness and stuff, you bust out laughing at something that wasn’t even that funny.
“He is my brother,” Bossu said. “As such, is it not understandable that I find his sense of humor particularly amusing? Regardless, this is no reason to hold him above suspicion.”
Though Jack was surprised by this revelation, his attention was hijacked by the tense atmosphere brought on by Samedi’s statement. “Huh?” he breathed aloud.
“What is it?” Bossu asked.
All of a sudden these guys don’t seem so composed.
“Oh?”
Jack began eyeing two Lwa who escaped his initial notice. Yeah, less composed, more . . . hostile.
Making their way to the front of the assembly, the pair’s appearance was so preposterous that Jack wondered how he had missed them. Despite the absurdity of their dress, there was no discernible correlation between the particular stereotypes they each portrayed.
What? he thought. Why are there deities that look like this?
The first caricature nailed the 1800s plantation owner look, a seemingly prehensile leather whip coiled diagonally across his chest, fastening itself to his formerly loose-fitting cotton shirt as he approached.
“We gods are mere stars in the sky,” Bossu explained. “Our outward mien being nothing more than the whim of He Who gave us form. They appear to be influenced by your human ancestors, but, in truth, it’s the other way around. Idolatry never changes.”
Jack was completely baffled as he took it all in, now glancing at the second Lwa who took the form of a young woman. This one is in cosplay too, he thought, covertly eyeing her up and down. But from an entirely different era. What the heck is this?
A silk kerchief was delicately wrapped around her neck, its color matching the long white gloves on her hands. These two fashionable accessories complemented her elaborate pink dress. She brought it all together with hair arranged in a style reminiscent of the 1950s. Nestled within the meticulous coiffure was her last accessory—a pair of dark sunglasses set above her blonde hairline.
Though Jack knew the dress was objectively beautiful, it was comically out of place. A smile spread across his face as he watched the drama unfold right beside him.
The woman outstretched an aggressive index finger as they confronted the awaiting skeleton. “For introduction?!” she screamed, her gloved hand trembling with rage an inch from his ivory forehead. “I have no need to meet the accursed one’s newest vessel!”
Samedi shrugged, unaffected by her histrionics. “That may be, Mademoiselle,” he replied, “but the introduction wasn’t for your sake.”
The anger immediately left the woman’s face but she retained her pose as if stunned. Her partner calmly took over. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.
The leopard-headed Lwa let out a deep growl before speaking. “Is it not obvious, Dinclinsin? Samedi intended for the heir to see our faces.”
Samedi nodded approvingly, nudging the dumbstruck woman’s finger several times before she withdrew it. “Thank you, Charlotte.”
Ignoring her scowl, the baron redirected his words to the assembly. “Indeed, seeing it was inevitable that Freda’s disappearance was enacted by conspirators within, I thought it good to ensure my agent gets a good look at every one of you and the auras you emanate.”
For what? Jack said silently. He’s treating this like a supernatural whodunit or something.
“How conniving,” Ogun said.
Samedi shrugged again. “Scant as it may be, it’s my ass on the line. The sky father made sure I understood as much.”
The lightbulb Lwa joined the conversation at last. Landing like an angel, he breathed a sigh of gentle disappointment. “There are better, less insulting ways to do this, Samedi.”
“Unfortunately, I have time for none of them, Obatala,” the baron replied. “Besides, that wasn’t the only reason I requested y’all’s presence.”
“Out with it!” the bird woman commanded.
“As you know, seeing as Freda is missing, I am thrust into obligations I hadn’t anticipated.”
Another entity, even smaller than the preteen, hopped out from behind those keeping him from view. Jack looked at the approaching Lwa’s face and was immediately reminded of the dwarven race from popular folklore.
Fairytale creatures, he began silently, they’re real?
“Yes, Jack,” Bossu replied. “Ti Jean is indeed a dwarf.”
Jack noticed the dwarf had only one leg, but despite this handicap, his movements were unnaturally swift.
The dwarf, Ti Jean, stopped his succession of rapid hops upon reaching them. “Out with it!” he said, repeating the bird woman’s command.
Samedi held a defiant pause before ultimately obliging. “This was also confirmed by the sky father himself, and I quote, for they have assuredly anticipated the rescinding of your oath of inactivity, seeing as her absence effectively releases you from it.”
Jack flinched as the angelic Obatala shed his placid demeanor, seemingly disturbed by this information. “No!” he shouted.
“Yes.”
“But you can’t!” Obatala continued, frustrated by the cavalier response. “What of the children?”
“What of them?”
Obatala gasped in shock before his face slowly shifted into a glare.
Jack, who had been turning his head between the two, began staring at the floor as his mind processed what was said. This is what you were talking about, he said silently. The peacetime is ending.
“Correct,” Bossu replied.
“That is quite the look you’re sending my way!” Samedi began. “The Liveside has been free from the Deadside’s influence for a long time now.”
“Yes!” the bird woman said excitedly.
“Marinette approves!”
Jack silently watched Obatala’s expression grow increasingly more hostile. The lightbulb god has a personality disorder or what?
“Perhaps,” Bossu replied.
Despite knowing of him for only a few minutes, Jack found the shift in Obatala’s countenance unsettling. “Meaningless rot!” the Lwa said, now snarling at the Ghede lord. “She is made merry by the prospect of letting her hounds loose to feast.”
“Approval just the same,” Samedi replied. “And besides,” Jack suddenly felt a bony hand clasp his shoulder. “This one will see to it that the mortals’ numbers aren’t dwindled to nothing. Isn’t that right?”
Jack turned to see Samedi already leaning forward and quickly turned the rest of his body so that the bowing Lwa was now directly in front of him. The skeleton’s spectral green eyes twinkled as Jack gave his reply. “It is.”
A momentary hush had fallen within the space as they stood face-to-face, only to be ended by someone’s giddy laughter.
“How fascinating!” La Sirene said excitedly.
“Not now,” Obatala muttered.
The goddess giggled as she finished her statement. “But the mortal was correct after all!”
Jack’s eyes stopped on the bird woman, Marinette, looking at him as if pleased. Somehow, he thought this smile to be even more disconcerting than her sneer.
“His reason for being,” she stated knowingly. “Destined to protect humanity from the forces of darkness.” She paused, grinning wildly now. “Or something?”
Samedi let out a dry chuckle as he stood upright. “I stand corrected.”
“You have all gone mad,” Obatala said. “You truly believe him capable of that so early?”
“Not sure if I believe it,” Samedi replied, “but I’m confident he will put on a damn good show regardless.”
Obatala groaned through his teeth before speaking. “All this while somehow discovering Freda’s whereabouts?” The agitated Lwa pointed at Jack. “Him?!”
Pursing his lips together, the young host tried to portray an exaggerated look of melancholy despite the mask before averting his gaze to the floor. No need to be mean.
Bossu hummed a chuckle. “It would be wise to take note of this one.”
Duh.
Samedi clasped his hands against the back of his skull, his elbows flexed outward as he arched his back to stretch as Obatala continued. “How much time has passed since his introduction to our world? Has it not been but a day?”
“Not even,” Samedi replied with a light grunt. He returned to a normal posture and motioned toward Jack. “But he seems to think he can.” The Ghede lord suddenly began marching in place. “He thinks he can, he thinks he can, he thinks he can.” Ending the spectacle, the animated skeleton gazed down at the mortal by his side. “Don’t you?”
Jack remained silent, responding with a slow yet confident nod.
Obatala sucked his teeth before swatting the air with a dismissive backhand. “That is merely a result of the accursed one’s influence,” he explained. “Unbeknownst to him, it is this wild disregard for consequences that has sent countless of his progenitors to the grave.”
The dwarven Ti Jean entered the conversation. “And Bossu to the void, if I’m not mistaken.”
Jack almost cringed at the explosive sound created by Obatala, striking his hands in agreement.
“Precisely!” he said.
Wild disregard, huh? Jack asked.
Bossu grumbled his reply. “So they say.”
Once more, Samedi responded with a shrug. “While it is true that Koblamin’s fearlessness is certainly at work, this heir is different. If only you saw him earlier. Provoked a horde and took ’em on all by himself he did.”
Obatala watched helplessly as the leopard Lwa approached them, his interest in the conversation apparently restored. “Truly?”
“C’mon Agassu,” the skeleton replied, swiftly pointing at various spots on Jack’s body. “You see all the entrails and goo, dontcha? Where do you think it came from?”
The beastly entity gave Jack a once-over before turning to Samedi. “And only a day old?”
“How long until you renege on your promise?” Obatala spat.
The Lwa assembly collectively turned to Jack as he spoke. “The monsters have already begun crossing over,” he stated. “I could smell their stench earlier today.” Preparing to make his exit, he gave a nod to the noticeably less angelic Lwa. “Just tell me how you want me to go about it, and I’ll get started. Like I said, I’m ready.”
Just as he was about to pull himself into the void, he was stopped by Bossu. “Stop!” he commanded. “Do not do that in their presence.”
“Why?” he asked, withdrawing his appendage. “I’m sure the giantess already told—”
“Just do as I say.”
While some of the Lwa began vanishing, Samedi kept his eyes on him in careful observation. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
As the skeleton turned around, Jack briefly lost his cool, expecting an inconvenient entry to his previous location in the same realm. “Oh! But t-to the Liveside though.”
“I see ya,” Samedi replied.
He motioned his hands through the air to summon the portal before continuing, his voice now lowered beneath the various sounds created by his fellows. “Tell Bossu I said howdy.” Jack pursed his lips together, saying nothing as he approached the newly formed gateway. “Think yourself slick, eh? Good for you, junior, good for you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Anyway, since I doubt you even know where to begin, the best place to start would be your helpers, seeing as they have something that belongs to you.” His eyes flashed bright for a moment. “And as luck would have it, now would be a perfect opportunity for you to drop in. Consider this a little meet n’ greet arranged by Fate. Meet me at my mansion when you’re finished.”
CHAPTER 13
Jack found himself standing at the front of a street he did not recognize.
Behind him was a railroad. The crossing sign was in relatively good condition, suggesting the tracks were active. The street that stretched before him had what looked to be warehouses on one side and residential buildings on the other.
“North Rampart Street,” he said, glimpsing at the distant street sign. “Why did—”
His ears suddenly picked up the noise of suppressed gunfire emanating from the house right in front of him. He checked both sides of the darkened street before sprinting toward the sound. “Super hearing wasn’t on my list of powers, was it?”
“No, it was not,” Bossu replied. “And while it is not enhanced to any supernatural degree, it is not incorrect to claim it as apex-human. If you are curious as to why the gunfight has gone unnoticed, it being the dead of night may be your answer.”
Jack barely felt anything upon crashing inside, his charge making short work of both door and frame. Resisting the temptation to celebrate, he dutifully scanned the vicinity and quickly experienced an array of emotions after stumbling through.
Not yet having turned around, three police officers stood a few feet from the newly wrecked entrance. Assuming they were hopelessly engaged with a supernatural threat, Jack was pleasantly surprised by the concern Samedi displayed by sending him to aid these everyday mortals. Setting his sights over their shoulders with the intent to quickly dispatch their foes, his resolve was extinguished upon locking eyes with one of them.
Time seemed to stand still as he found himself sharing a wide-eyed expression of disbelief with none other than Alyssa.
Uncertain of what to make of the situation, Jack promptly returned his sights to the cops, who turned around within the second that transpired. He sensed something amiss in their manner. It seemed too choreographed, resembling the rehearsed movements of backup dancers.
Beholding their faces at last, Jack’s confusion was immediately replaced by hateful anger. Their mouths took up most of their faces, and the corners of their heads were misshaped to account for the inhuman spread.
“There you are!” they said in unison. Their demonic visages did little to hide the genuine surprise in their voices.
Jack flashed an inappropriate smile as he watched them speak. Their teeth were similar to some of the monsters he had fought not too long ago, but their placement was so thoughtless, almost silly.
Their demonic brow lines, set in a thick arch above their yellow eyes, lessened a bit due to a subtle shift in expression.
Jack glanced at Alyssa and saw her watching him from behind a large, overturned couch. He avoided locking eyes with her and noticed a silver-haired man peek out from the makeshift cover before quickly moving to another position. Although his body was obscured, he was too nimble to be crawling. Before considering any possible explanation, the inhuman police officers began speaking, having reverted to their aggressive demeanors.
“Something funny, boy?” they asked.
Jack shook his head, still smiling. “You wouldn’t be amused,” he replied, pointing above his head. His gaze remained fixed on the officers as he addressed Alyssa. “Alyssa, shut off that light.”
She remained unresponsive, staring at him as if daydreaming.
Tickled by her state of silence, the demons in uniform erupted into laughter, each individual guffaw and cackle in perfect synchrony, creating a sound quite unsettling.
“Now!”
Alyssa casually raised her firearm above her head. Her robotic reaction had apparently caught the demons off guard as they promptly stopped laughing. They silently watched as she shot out the ceiling light.
Far from sending them into pitch-black shadow, Alyssa’s destruction of this one light resulted in merely partial darkness due to the illumination emanating from the rest of the house. Though their space was dimmed significantly, the lights of the surrounding rooms provided more than enough visibility. Upon witnessing the presumably lackluster result, the officers immediately resumed their laughter.
Jack ignored the demonic cacophony as he weaved the imperceptible appendage through the room. Is this dark enough for you? he thought, silently addressing his appendage.
A grin formed at the commissure of his bone-like mask as the feedback from his sixth sense confirmed the shallow darkness suitable for what was about to go down. Nice!
Although the cops had a clear view of Jack’s visage, his mischievous look was insufficient to deter them from their incessant mocking. “HA-HA, you think a moderately darkened room gives you the advantage?”
Apparently skeptical of Jack’s confidence as well, Alyssa suddenly fired into an adjacent room, attempting to shoot out the only other fixture visible from her position. While her shot was impressive, the light was not completely destroyed.
