[Greetings Urban Fantasy Fans! The long wait is over, and I
can now share the exciting 12th and 13th chapters of
Allen’s adventures with you all! Fecal matter hits the proverbial rotary
spinning blades in this ACTION PACKED section! For those of you who are new to
the ALLEN TOMBES universe and haven’t read the chapters before this section,
feel free to scroll down to the bottom of this page and I’ll post links to the
first eleven chapters! For those of you who have been waiting with baited
breath for the next part Allen’s story, feel free to proceed!!!! ---RFY]
ALLEN TOMBES – FIRE FROM WATER (Chapter 12)
Allen dialed the number on the back of the card. It rang and
rang---so many times that Allen almost hung up, but before he did the line
connected.
"Who is this?" Chaz said in a quick voice that
Allen found terrifying.
"It's me, Allen! Your note said to call A.S.A.P.!"
"Oh, Allen! Jeeze! I didn't recognize the number,"
Chaz said.
"This is my sister's phone," Allen said.
"Okay, okay. Right. So here goes, kid. We got bad
business ahead of us. Did you make it to the safe-house okay?"
"Yeah, I'm..." Allen started to say, but Chaz cut
him off.
"Don't say it! Jeeze, kid, who knows who could be
listening," Allen flushed, switched the phone to his other ear.
"Keeping you alive is going to be tougher than I
thought. Anyway..." Chaz is caught with a small coughing fit. "Sorry,
anyway, did you look through the bag yet? 'Course you did, that's how you got
this number. Sorry, man. I'm packing stuff while we chat. Kinda
scattered." Chaz shuffled the phone around.
"Where are you going?" Allen asked, not liking the
idea of Chaz being out of reach.
"Secrets kid, secrets. You gotta get better at keeping
them. Anyway, the goodies. You saw the flares?"
"Yeah," Allen said. He dug one out of the bag.
"Those are military grade, magnesium flares. They are
super bright, but they only burn for about a minute. Use those to scare off the
Shadows. It won't kill them, but the bright light hurts them pretty good and
blinds them. Might give you a chance to make a quick gettaway, if you need to.
Here, just a sec!"
Allen heard Chaz set the phone down. He waited. A few
seconds later, Chaz returned. "Sorry kid," Chaz said. "I'm
gettin' the Hell outta Dodge. Probably meet up with you in a few days,
though."
"Meet up where? Where are you going?" Allen's
asked.
"Never mind right now. You see the knife in the bag?
The one with the bone handle?"
"Yeah," Allen said.
"Be careful with that. The blade is laced with a
neuro-toxin. If you cut somebody with it, even just a scratch, it should
paralyze them for twenty, thirty minutes or so, depending on who, or what, you
cut. If you stick Haro with it, it's just gonna piss him off." Allen
didn't imagine that would be a pleasant sight. "But anything roughly human
sized," Chaz continued, "will be knocked out for a while."
Allen could hear Chaz breathing hard, like he was moving
fast or carrying something heavy.
"Next, the little red box. I'm proud of that one!"
Chaz laughed. Allen found the ornate box and lifted it up. Again, he felt
something moving inside and heard a scratching sound.
"There's a Lightning Bug inside, a sprite," Chaz
said. "It's name is Kitsle. When we get off the phone, set the box down
and tap on it a couple of times. Not too hard. When he gets out, be very
polite, and mention that you're a friend of mine. Sprites can be pretty shy at
first, and downright vicious if they don't like you, so be nice to it."
"How did he get through the shield spells? I thought
only humans could come into the house?" Allen said.
"The box. It's like a portable doorway linking our
world to Kitlse's. Very ancient magic," Chaz said.
"A doorway? You mean... Could other things come
through?" Allen asked. He was uncomfortable with the idea of having a
doorway between worlds in his bedroom.
"Not unless Kitsle wants them to. It's his space. I
wouldn't worry," Chaz said laughing. "Oh, and it might help to bribe
him every once in a while. He loves candy. Wouldn't hurt to toss him a
chocolate bar when you go knocking on his door.
Allen picked up the box, gingerly, and the "bug"
inside continued to tick and scratch. Allen carefully set the box back on his
bed.
"I can't believe any of this," Allen said, shaking
his head.
"You mean you don't want to. Well believe it, kid. Last
thing---the sword. It was made for a special class of samurai who fought
demons. The sword was designed to help demon hunters focus their mental energy,
tap into sources of power that most people can't access. Keep that sword
safe---it's going to be your lifeline!" Allen heard Chaz grunt like he was
lifting something heavy, and then what sounded like a car door slam.
"Okay, kid. That's the short course. Stay put until
Chris comes for you. Don't try to call me again unless you absolutely have to!
It's too dangerous. I'll see you pretty soon!"
Allen said goodbye and push the "end call" button
on the phone.
ALLEN TOMBES – FIRE FROM WATER (Chapter 13)
Allen looked at the little, ornate red box again. He swallowed
and tapped gingerly on the top with his finger. The box jumped and something
fluttered inside. Allen took a step back, and for a few seconds nothing else
happened. Then Allen heard a soft click and one of the side panels swung open
like a door, and a thin insect, about as long as Allen's finger, peered around
the edge of the box. It was silver, and reflected the room like a mirror, but
with a bluish tint. The bug twitched and cocked its head looking at Allen, then
it spread a pair of wings that had been folded on its back and fluttered them,
sending sparks in all directions. The wings began to glow with a yellow-green
light. The bug stretched all its limbs wide, like a sleeper just getting out of
bed, then folded the wings against its back again, and the glow faded.
"Um, hello," Allen said, awkwardly. He bowed just
a bit, uncertain of how formal he had to be. The bug clicked and ticked a few
times. Allen wondered if it was laughing. Then the bug did a little curtsey.
Allen laughed, but nervously.
"My friend, Chaz, said your name is Kitsle?" It
was a statement, but it sounded like a question. The bug nodded. "He also
said I should introduce myself. My name is Allen. Allen Tombes. The bug
curtsied again, clicked and ticked. It tilted its head, moving its nose in the
air. It walked a few paces on Allen's bed then its wings flashed out again and,
glowing brightly, it sizzled into the air. It looked a bit heavy in the air,
bobbing and weaving like a thick bumblebee, its body swaying under the bright
wings. Allen moved back a few steps, trying to get out of Kitsle's way, and the
bug flitted over to Allen's desk. It landing near his schoolwork and a small
paper bag. Kitsle reached up toward the edge of the bag, leaped into the air,
and pulled the bag over with a thin, delicate claw. The bug stepped inside the
bag then backed out dragging a chocolate bar.
"Oh! You're hungry!" Allen said. Kitsle looked at
Allen then tapped the candy bar.
"Of course! Help yourself," Allen said and
laughed.
Suddenly, Kitsle's head turned toward the window. In a cloud
of sparks, the bug launched off the desk and landed on the windowsill. It paced
back and forth a few times, then tapped the glass.
"What is it?" Allen asked.
Kitsle put a claw up to the glass and began writing on the
window in thin, spidery letters made of pure, silver light. Kitsle spelled out:
"Someone coming---Magic" The letters hovered for a second, then
faded.
Allen reached for his gargoyle charm and found it. It wasn't
warm.
"Is it the Simmerons? We have friends outside guarding
the house."
Kitsle wrote: "No"
Allen shivered. He didn't know what to do. He heard the door
open and close downstairs.
Kitsle flew back to the desk and scooped up the candy bar in
a pair of claws, then fluttered back to Allen's bed. Kitsle held the candy bar
up to his box, but it was clearly too large to fit inside. With one claw, the
bug slashed at the candy, slicing it cleanly in half. It tossed half into the
box, snatched the other half under a thin, silvery arm, then gave Allen a
little wave and dove into the box. The side panel closed with a click, and
although the box seemed to be made of nothing but thin wood, Allen had no doubt
in his mind that nobody he knew would be able to open that box if Kitsle didn't
want them to.
Allen heard voices outside his door in the hallway, and his
doorknob began to twist. Rose walked into the room followed by two girls her
age, both dressed in standard goth attire: black pants, black shirts with
fishnet mesh on the arms and necklines, and black leather boots with little
skull buckles. One girl had dark purple hair, and the other had loose curls of
deep, emerald green. Following Rose and her two friends was a tall woman,
perhaps in her late twenties, maybe older, wearing a simple but elegant black
dress, not too low cut at the top. Her hair was black, very straight, and fell
to her shoulders. Unlike Rose and her friends, the woman wore very little
makeup.
"Krystal, this is my brother, Allen, and that's the
charm I told you about. There's something really odd about it," Rose said.
Allen's hand involuntarily reached up and grasped his necklace.
"Hello, Allen," the woman said, smiling brightly.
"It's good to finally meet you. Your sister is a good friend of mine.
She's told me all about you and your family." Her voice was soft and
comforting, but it made Allen feel very nervous. The charm in his fingers began
to feel very warm.
"Rose tells me you've found an interesting necklace.
May I see it?" she asked.
"It's a protection charm," Allen said. "I'm
not supposed to take it off."
"It's okay, Allen. I'm not going to take it from you. I
just want to look at it. Who told you it was a protection charm? They're very
rare."
Allen felt himself moving toward the woman, his legs
dragging him forward against his will. The charm began to burn against his
fingers and he stopped. The woman reached toward the charm and Allen took a
step backward away from her.
"You moved away?" Krystal said, looking confused.
"How very curious."
"I can't let you have the necklace," Allen said.
"I'm impressed. I've never met anyone who could resist
my spell," Krystal said, smiling brightly at Allen. "The charm must
be very powerful," her grin grew very wide and sinister.
"How did you get past the protective barrier
outside?" Allen asked, his voice shaking. "It's supposed to keep
anything that isn't human away." The woman laughed. Allen backed further
away from her. She was now between him and the bed where his bag and all his
weapons lay.
"Silly little boy, do I look like some kind of monster
to you?" She laughed again. "Witches are human, too, you know. I'm
just a sweet lady who's been promised god-like power if I kill a certain
family. Can you guess which one?" Krystal's evil grin returned as she
reached into the sleeve of her dress and pulled out a large black blade, with a
curved, jagged, edge.
"Wha---what's going on," Rose said sleepily,
snapping out of Krystal's spell.
"Run, Rose! She's here to kill us!" Allen yelled.
"What are you talking about," Rose said. She
glanced at Allen, then at Krystal---and spotted the black blade in Krystal’s
hand. Krystal raised the knife and dashed at Allen. Rose screamed.
And then the room exploded in light and sparks. Rose
continued to scream, and Krystal stopped, her smile melting as Kitsle buzzed
over to her and landed on her shoulder. Krystal twisted, trying to brush the
bug off, but Kitsle held on, then fluttered his wings, wildly, sending showers
of sparks into the air. Krystal staggered and dropped her knife. The bug, wings
glowing brightly, stabbed a needle-like claw into Krystal's neck and shot
lightning into her body, which jerked violently, then went rigid. Her eyes
rolled backward and her mouth opened as if she were about to scream, then she
fell to the floor and lay still.
Kitsle fluttered over to Allen and pointed at the sword on
his bed then toward the door, then the bug flashed back to his box and the
panel clicked shut.
"Oh my God! Is she dead? What was that thing!?"
Rose said, waving her hands frantically.
Allen leaned over the body on the floor. The eyes were still
open, and swiveled to look at him.
"She's not dead, just paralyzed," Allen said.
"We have to go."
"Go?" Rose said. "Go where?"
Allen looked at the girls standing by Rose, then back at the
witch on the floor. "I don't know," he said. "For right now, we
need to get away from her!"
[SEE! Didn’t I tell you!? Weird alien bugs and creepy
witches and assassination plots… I hope you don’t start biting your nails!
Anyway, to help support the author (that’s me, Richard F. Yates) and the
society of weirdos who make great stuff like ALLEN TOMBES, head on over to our
Patreon page and kick us a couple of bucks! We’ll be grateful, and you’ll feel
like you’re doing something worthwhile with your dough! I promised a list of
links to the earlier chapters in the story, and you’ll find those below the
signature! That’s for stopping by!!!]
---Richard F. Yates
(Commander in Cheap of The Primitive Entertainment Workshop)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapters 3-4
Chapters 5-7
Chapters 8-11
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