Shaman, Healer, Heretic (12 page)

The plaza was still far away, but Livvy felt the hand of the kachina tugging on her arm as its long strides outdistanced her. Then, the giant footsteps stopped. The kachina was slowing down. Finally they stopped and turned to look behind them. At the end of the street, not far from where they had just been, they saw the creature.

It had stopped at the intersection and was apparently trying to decide which direction to take. Slowly, it swung its heavy head away from them, the head of a bird of prey. Its lengthy and sinuous neck was feathered down to its chest, where the feathers gradually morphed into a glossy golden fur. The muscles there rippled, the light reflecting off them at different angles. As the front legs extended down from the chest, they turned back into eagle legs, with great gleaming talons that pierced the asphalt of the road as though it were wet clay.

Livvy sucked in a breath but dared not move now, her eyes wide. The kachina had also frozen. What in the Multiverse was this creature? Where had it come from? Oh gods, why had she agreed to this? Perhaps it would cross the street, she thought, and they could make a dash for the fountain.

As it turned its head to look forward, a profile emerged. It had the beak of a vulture, long and downturned, red at the tip. Its feathers made a brushing noise in the silence of the deserted street, echoing from the walls and what remained of the windows. Although she quaked with fear, Livvy and the kachina remained where they were. Perhaps it wouldn’t see them if they didn’t move.

From a broken window to their left, a great condor swooped down to land on the ground only a few feet in front of them. The enormous monster at the end of the street swung its head around with a speed that created a gust of wind.

“Oh no,” whispered Livvy.

The condor swiveled its head to look at her. She looked down at it, anger building on top of her terror.

“Way to go,” she muttered.

An ear-piercing screech shattered the air and forced Livvy to her knees as she covered her ears. Every window in the vicinity turned to dust, drifting down like snow. The black, pointed tongue of the creature seemed to dance in its gaping maw, its jaw nearly unhinged in its deafening cry.

Like a train coming around a bend, it began walking again, pulling the rest of its body around the corner. The sinewy torso of a lion curved around into the street as the thudding of the front talons made the buildings jump. Great wings lay folded along its sides and powerful, clawed back limbs finally came into view, the pointed tail dancing high above. Although it seemed impossible for so immense a being, it started to move faster, directly at them.

“That’s it,” screamed Livvy, getting to her feet.

Without waiting to see what the kachina or the condor would do, she took off at a run in the opposite direction. There was no way to outrun the creature but if it became distracted by something slower than her, she might have a chance. Unfortunately, Livvy was the slowest of the three.

The condor soared past her at eye level and to the right, flapping its outstretched wings at a furious pace. The kachina, taking long loping steps on the other side, left her half a step behind with every stride. The ground bucked beneath her feet, making her stumble. She only managed to remain upright with a huge effort, lunging forward but still behind the kachina and the condor.

Finally, Livvy could see the fountain. As she glanced back, though, her heart sank. The creature was gaining. Another deafening shriek filled the sky and, to her surprise, the condor froze in mid-flap and crashed into the ground. It tumbled among the debris in the street.

Livvy looked at the poor creature as it struggled to right itself. Fear had driven it from its hiding place. It hadn’t intended for the monster to see them. Without thinking, she leaned down as she ran toward it and reached out a hand, but, without warning, she was jerked upright and forward, vaulting over the bird. The kachina had caught her arm and was pulling her forward, leaving the condor behind.

“We’ve got to help it,” she yelled, but the kachina wasn’t stopping.

Between the kachina’s strange lope and the rumpling of the ground in small waves, Livvy tripped more than she ran, but she couldn’t help but look back at the condor. Its raised head looked up after them, and one wing flapped lamely, but it hadn’t gotten up.

The great bird-lion monster paused its pursuit as it approached the condor. It cocked its head and swiveled a gleaming eye down at its prey, where a bright light seemed to appear. Suddenly, the condor erupted into flames and–although Livvy couldn’t be sure–the bird-lion seemed to inhale the smoke from the carcass. Livvy wanted to scream but instead found new energy to run.

The fountain seemed like it might be within reach. There was a screech behind them again, and the ground began to shudder. As though enraged by the paltry smoke it had received, or excited to be hunting more, the creature moved faster. Rubble was raining down, and they kept to the middle of the street. Livvy held a forearm over her head as she ran and managed to fend off most of the large chunks.

Her mind blazed with a single thought–don’t fall.
If you fall, it’s over.

They were almost at the plaza and clear of the rubble, but there was a warm and rank odor coming from behind them. The creature was close. The kachina managed a burst of speed, pulling her along, apparently having caught the stale stench as well.

She could see the fountain just yards away. Another screech vibrated the air, rattled her vision, and Livvy tripped. Her arm ripped out of the kachina’s grip, and she went down in a tumbling heap, finally rolling like a log until her momentum was gone. Her view back along the road, from the low angle, made the creature appear even taller than it was. It cocked a blazing yellow eye at her as its pace slowed. As she struggled to get up, she felt a sudden warmth in her chest and fell back.

There, in the center of her t-shirt, was a white circle, growing brighter. An image from the video of the burning shaman flashed through her mind. She clutched at the heat in her chest, trying to turn away from the creature as she fought to stand but fell backward, landing hard. The pain was searing, as though it were consuming her from the inside out. Pinned by the spotlight as the agony overwhelmed her, Livvy did the only thing she could–she screamed.

Suddenly, the kachina stood in front of her and blocked the burning light. He bent down and scooped her up with a power she had never suspected and then tossed her the few remaining yards to the fountain. The crystal blue water that waited there rippled under the creature’s shriek of fury as Livvy sailed toward it. At last, she submerged in the fountain and came up in the black lake as the water around her boiled and steam started to rise.
 

• • • • •

In the real world, she rolled off the couch onto the floor with a thud and ripped off her goggles. Breathing hard, she sat up but doubled over from the residual pain in her chest as a groan escaped her. The smoldering pain slowly subsided and she looked down at her chest to find a light brown scorch mark on the front of her t-shirt. The skin underneath was a bright red, as though it had been sunburned. Suddenly, she remembered the kachina and glanced around the room, but there was no sign of it. True to his word he had saved her, but at what cost?

“IT’S TIAMAT,” SAID SK. He turned the book around on the table so that Livvy and Min could see it. “One of the most ancient gods of Sumeria.”

Their heads nearly touching, they bent over the large book. SK had known what Livvy described almost immediately. As she looked at the image, she knew that he was right.

“This is what you saw?” asked Min, awe in her voice.

“The engraving hardly does it justice,” said Livvy. “And the fact that it was ten stories tall.”

Livvy had called Min and SK as soon as she’d had the strength to get up and find the phone. Both of them had come right over. More worried about her well being than the fact that she was friends with another shaman, SK hadn’t said anything about Min.

He got up from his chair at the table and went over to the refrigerator. Livvy heard him harrumph with disgust, although he’d taken something out. As she stared at the image, Min read the caption.

“Tiamat, Sumerian god of chaos and creation, primordial lord of the ocean, and sworn enemy of the storm god, Marduk.”

SK wandered into the living room with an open jar of olives, trying to fish one out with his short fingers.

“So, what is Tiamat doing rampaging through the Underworld, and what does it have to do with shamans getting killed?” Min asked him.

Livvy shuddered and drew her jacket up around her neck. It was another hot and smoggy day in L.A., but she’d had chills ever since coming back from the Multiverse. She wrapped her fingers around the warm cup of tea that Min had made.

“Tiamat,” said SK, as he chased an olive, “will take any opportunity to kill people. That’s just who she is.” He kept poking around in the jar. “The more important question is how she got loose.”

“And what does the kachina have to do with it? I mean, how does it manifest itself in the real world?” asked Livvy.

Min nodded.

“Yes, I got your picture,” said SK, glancing at the two of them. “It’s not the only one I’ve gotten.”

Livvy set her tea down.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

SK turned his attention back to the olive jar.

“That’s not how it works,” he said. His eyes glanced up at her from under his eyebrows. “No sharing information, not when it comes to shamans, especially from me. I’m the only one who knows you all.” He exhaled. “Why don’t you ever have any decent food in this place?” he said, giving up on the olive jar.

Min brought the package of cookies from the counter to the table, and SK came over and took a seat. She scooted the syrup closer to him.

“So, other spirits have appeared?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said, taking a cookie as he pushed the syrup back to her. “I’m pretty sure somebody’s been opening gates.”

“Opening gates to the Multiverse? But how would anybody even do that?” asked Min, moving the syrup over to Livvy.

“You do it all the time,” said SK. “Just in the opposite direction.”

They were all silent for a while as Livvy examined the drawing.

“That must have been a big ass gate to keep Tiamat pent up,” she observed.

“Very big,” said SK. “The oldest gates are the largest. I think of it as the Jurassic era of the Underworld. The spirits, the gates, and even the shamans were bigger and more dangerous.”

“Wow,” said Min. “I can’t imagine.”

“I can,” said Livvy, absently rubbing her chest.

She stopped when she realized they were watching her.

“What do you know about the shaman who was burned to death?” Livvy asked.

By now, even the conventional news media was reporting the spontaneous combustion of the shaman in Eagle Rock.

“It’s true,” he said. “I wasn’t there, but I went as soon as I heard. By the time I got there the body was gone, but the stench…” He made a face. “If you’ve never smelled a burning body, I hope you never do. The floor will have to be ripped out, and if it was me, I’d discard everything in that room.”

“You think it was spontaneous combustion?” asked Min.

“Well, I was a doubter,” said SK, looking at Livvy. “Turns out I was right. Spontaneous had nothing to do with it. I suspect she ran up against Tiamat and didn’t have a kachina to help her.”

“What other spirits have you heard of?” asked Livvy.

SK was silent for several seconds, trying to decide how much information to reveal.

“You know what,” said Livvy. “I think I almost died today, and I’ve told you everything I know. Don’t you think a little information should be forthcoming?”

He finished eating the current cookie.

“Several kinds of spirits,” he said finally. “Some you’d expect to see here, some you wouldn’t.”

“A lot?” asked Min, glancing around the room.

“Enough,” he said.

They were all silent again.

“What are we gonna do?” whispered Min.

“The gates have to be closed,” said Livvy, although she knew the real question was how they were going to do it. There were no giant shamans anymore, no god slayers, no one who could even stand in the presence of something like what she had seen earlier.

SK checked his phone as he ate the last cookie.

“Amazing,” he said, looking at all the text messages and emails. “It’s insane out there.”

Min looked sideways at his phone, fascinated. He was usually strict about keeping all of the clients and shamans separate but these were strange times.

He looked up at Livvy.

“I’d say you’re out of commission for today,” he said, typing something on the keypad.

“You want some work?” he asked Min.

She nearly yelled, “You bet!” and then a look of hesitation came over her face as she gazed down at the book with the picture of Tiamat.

She opened her mouth to answer but a loud thumping came from the front door.
 

LIVVY WENT TO the peephole. Although he was looking down, she could see it was Jack. What was he doing here? Had he had a change of heart? She undid the locks and opened the door but before she could get it all the way open, he shoved it hard. The sudden force sent her flying backward until she landed with a grunt in the middle of the floor.