The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Twelve
12 "Chimeras?" "No." "Sea serpents?" "Not as far as we know." "Okay...er...give me a minute here." Will shook his head and took one hand from the reigns to wipe the sweat from his brow. It was only mid morning, yet the sun was beating down with an almost unbearable intensity. He lashed the reigns once to urge Vincent on, the horse begrudgingly pulling onward. Will looked to the back of the cart. David was sitting against one side and Jenna was curled up under Will's cloak to escape the heat. The former had spent the better part of the morning listing off every mythical and magical creature he could think of, apparently hoping that Will would tell him that at least one was real. "Er...I think I'm out of ideas actually. But I mean, you can't really expect me to believe that the only magic creatures in the world are vampires, werewolves and...er...what was the other one again?" "Succubae. And the legends aren't very reliable anyway, which I believe I already told you." David sighed. "Well that's disappointing. You sure there aren't any others?" "Relatively. I.O.M.E. is always looking into things like that, mostly to ensure the safety of the general population. Some mythical creatures could be very deadly if they existed. Luckily, we don't have any evidence to indicate there are even very many of the ones that do exist. Most of them seem not to exist at all. But, we still keep an eye out. Personally, I hope we never find out that there are more creatures out there. The few we have are dangerous enough." "Yeah...disappointing." Will chuckled. "Why do you want to know anyway?" David shrugged. "They way I see it, we won't be traveling together much longer one way or another. May as well learn a thing or two while I can. I imagine I couldn't just walk into an I.O.M.E. office and ask about this stuff." "You're right there. They would be required to laugh in your face and tell you there's no such thing. They actually encourage us to be derisive in those situations. Sells the deception I guess. But, for whatever reason, the higher ups don't want people to know about the things that go bump in the night." Only a few moments passed before David ventured another question, and another, then another as they traveled. Some Will had answers for, others he wouldn't--or couldn't--answer. As they meandered down the road time seemed to move at a similar pace, made all the more intolerable by the scorching heat. It felt like it took an eternity, but it was only midday when Cairo first appeared as a hazy line on the horizon. At first it seemed as just a mirage, until they drew closer and the outlines of individual buildings distinguished themselves. They entered the bustle and buzz of the city, David directing Will as he guided the cart through the densely packed streets. Though navigating the city was far from easy they managed to reach Tahrir Square--the location of the museum--in a little under an hour. As they pulled to a stop in front of the imposing, rust colored building, David vaulted over the side of the cart, landing heavily on his feet. "Alright, you two wait here. I'll go in and see if Max is even here. I'll be back quick as I can." He left before Will could reply, jogging up to the building and wading through groups of people, finally ducking inside. Jenna, hearing him leave, popped up from the back, Will's cloak covering her like a blanket. She was reluctant to leave the shelter of the cloak, as without it her fur coated body would certainly bake in the desert heat. Wild wolves, she thought, should consider themselves lucky that they get nice, cool weather most of the time. Though, I suppose below freezing isn't much better than boiling heat...but I suppose it's all based on...oh screw it! It's too damn hot out! She dropped back down, the cloak covering her completely, insulating her against the heat and shielding her from the sun. Will chuckled. "I can't say I'm too optimistic honestly, considering David was the one who led us here, but if this all works out you won't have to deal with all the fur anymore." She nodded in reply, the motion appearing to Will as little more than a moving bump under the cloak. He was quiet for a moment, then started laughing as a thought crossed his mind. After a solid minute he was clutching his stomach, gasping, with tears in his eyes. Jenna--daring to brave the heat--popped up again with a quizzical expression. Seeing her, Will had to fight the urge to start laughing again. "It's just...I just realized...we may want to look into getting some clothes for you. After all, when you change back, I doubt you'll want to travel the whole way home naked." Jenna's face flushed with heat beneath her fur. For a moment she looked a bit irritated with him, then shook her head and, in spite of herself, joined in with her own growling laugh. Much as she hated to admit it, she did find the idea amusing. Around other people she often acted like she had what she called a 'more developed' sense of humor, but in reality she was susceptible to the same things as most people. Even so, Will was the only one who she ever let see that simple truth. "Oi, knock that off! It's not normal for you to be laughing, and I won't have it!" They both looked to see David approaching, accompanied by another man in a beige suit. He was older, with his hair and thick beard mostly whitish grey in color. Yet there was a youthfulness to the way he carried himself, as though only his visage was aging. Behind his ornate glasses he had an eager sort of look in his eyes that became only more prominent when he spotted Will and Jenna. The man rushed over, breezing past David. He first greeted Will with a rough handshake. When he spoke it was with a deep voice and an English accent. "Wonderful to meet you William! Maxwell Greyson, at your service. Please though, call me Max. David's just been telling me about you situation. This is the wolf yes? The one who used to be your wife?" Will and Jenna exchanged an awkward glance then Will said, "We aren't married...but yes." The awkwardness seemed to pass Greyson by entirely as he said, "Excellent! Well, not for you two naturally, but this is an unbelievable research opportunity. I've never actually seen someone who survived a transformation like this." He turned to Jenna, giddy as a child on Christmas. "So then, David said you still think like a human. Is that right miss uh...Janet, was it?" Jenna shook her head, and Will said, "Her name is Jenna." Again Greyson seemed not to notice the actual words said, wrapped up in his own delight. "Amazing. Truly astounding. You do appear to have an understanding as to what I'm saying, and you have the ability to reply, at least with body language. This is either an elaborate trick of training and conditioning, or your story has some actual credence to it!" David, having taken his time to walk up to them, leaned against the cart, an amused smile on his face. Will leaned over to him, somewhat concerned. "Is he always like this?" "Yeah, he is. Whenever he finds something new to study he goes a bit wonky for a bit. Can't calm him down or get him to talk about anything else. Always been that way he has." As Will and David watched, Max started gently prodding Jenna, as though trying to find some evidence of trickery. Jenna sat patiently at first, having expected this examination. However, as the minutes ticked by she felt growing irritation with having him constantly moving different parts of her body, sometimes contorting her at odd angles. She started growling, softly at first, then louder when he showed no signs of stopping. Finally, seeing that Jenna was on the verge of losing her temper, Will stepped in. "I would knock that off if I were you. The last guy who pissed her off...well he wound up hurt pretty badly. She bit him, and his arm kind of...exploded." That finally drew Max's attention away from Jenna--who hung her head in shame at the memory--but if anything he looked more intrigued. "Exploded? How so?" Will cleared his throat. "Well...exploded is the wrong word. But this energy came flowing out of her and...well yeah, sort of exploded. They man's arm was severely lacerated and burned." "Quite curious. It sounds like the energy that changed her--" "Is still inside her." Will finished for him. "We know that already." Greyson nodded. "Well you certainly seem to be ahead of me at least. Perhaps I would benefit from you telling me what you already know? But not here though. It's much too hot. Not exactly comfortable for a long conversation, eh? Come inside with me. We can speak in my office." It was a suggestion that they were all too wiling to take, all of them being sick of the sun. Max led them past the bundles of people around the entrance and up the steps to the museum. The inside of the building was just as impressive as the outside, with artifacts as far as they eye could see. As they made their way through the building Max spoke almost continuously. "The museum has two floors--both open to public viewing naturally. What's the point in collecting history if people can't enjoy it, eh? The building has one hundred and seven halls, making it the largest museum in Egypt, which of course allows it to hold countless artifacts, both large and small. Here on the ground floor we keep the majority of larger artifacts, such as statues, sarcophagi, etcetera. We also keep--" It didn't take long for any of them to tune out his longwinded explanations. Will and Jenna marveled at most everything they saw. Though both had had decent educations, neither had ever seen many of the things they were presented with now. The sheer magnitude of some of the relics they passed made it rather easy to ignore both Max, and the unending number of odd stares and hushed voices that followed them through the wings of the museum. David for his part was rather bored. His only interest in artifacts was which ones were most valuable, and he--unfortunately he thought--was too loyal to and respectful of Max to steal anything from the museum, even if some of the trinkets looked quite tempting. After a while they made the ascent to the first floor, leaving behind the larger treasures in favor of what were largely smaller ones, though they still passed a fair few of notable size. It only took a few minutes for Will to notice that security seemed a bit more present on the first floor than it had been on the ground floor. When they passed what must have been the fifth security guard Will decided to voice that observation. Greyson nodded, his unofficial tour guiding apparently forgotten. "Yes, well we keep many valuable things on this floor. Not that all of our artifacts here aren't valuable, but some of the more precious ones here. Rare pieces from the Valley of Kings, for example. I've even been involved in the excavation of a few of them." Will canted his head. "I would think more than a few. Don't you normally work at dig sites?" Greyson smiled a nostalgic, almost rueful smile. "Indeed I do, but I'm not a digger. At least not anymore. When I was younger I often took a shovel in my hands. Now though I just break the curses on the old tombs. Which is not to say I have an easy job. If I should muck something up then people can--and very likely will--die. As we've gone deeper into the tombs, we've found that many of the ancients had powers like what we have today. Many people make the mistake of thinking of 'magic' as something new. But they forget that many of the old stories and superstitions spoke of suck abilities, and its no coincidence either. They don't realize that--" "Magic has been around for far longer than they know." Will said, again finishing his thought. "You don't have to tell me. I work for I.O.M.E. I'm well aware of the history of magic. It's one of the things they make you learn as an officer." "Ah yes, David did mention that. Well, were you aware that we have an entire section of this floor devoted to the supposedly magical artifacts we've found in the various ruins?" Will shook his head. "No, though I did wonder where such artifacts wind up, seeing as how they can be dangerous. I can't count the number of times I've seen modern objects confiscated because someone though it would be a good idea to make their belongings 'theft proof', or to give something an extra function. People don't understand how quickly that can backfire." Max nodded. "I wholeheartedly agree. It's the other reason security is so tight on this floor. We don't want people mucking about with things they don't comprehend." "And yet you still have them on display." "Well...truth be told, we claim they're dangerous because it brings people in to see the artifacts. But in actuality, most of them are inert, or have so little energy that they couldn't do anything. And some were never dangerous to begin with. For example there's a few we have that were meant to heal originally. Now they couldn't heal a paper cut, but then these things do lose potency with time." Will quirked a brow. "So is there anything that actually is dangerous?" Max hesitated then nodded. "A few mildly dangerous things here and there. Honestly I think there's only one object I would have any real concerns about." "Oh?" "Yes. It's well...it's something we unearthed about a year ago. We've never seen anything else like it. Unlike most things we find, it still holds a significant amount of power. And--ah, there it is. You can see it for yourself." Max pointed ahead of them to an alcove built into one wall that was covered by a thick sheet of glass. Museum Security guards stood on either side of the spot, stone faced as they watched over the sight seers. The back wall of the small display was covered by a red satin curtain, and in the center of the alcove, on a pedestal that matched the curtain, was a gold amulet. As they approached they could see the amulet was disk shaped, and had hieroglyphs around the outer edge. The center was dominated by an image of a jackal. Will got as close as he could, examining the artifact. "So what is this exactly?" "It...well it's supposedly a vessel for something called 'The Shadow of Anubis', a powerful force that feeds on the souls of men. I haven't tried to remove the energy from it because supposedly, exposing the relic to any energy would awaken that force. It's something I would rather not risk, as the ancients didn't often leave such warnings without cause." Will shook his head with a sigh. "Of course not. Because it makes more sense to put it on display than to destroy it outright." Max drew in a sharp breath. "Destroy it? I couldn't possibly! Why even suggest it? To destroy such a unique piece of history...why I would rather die!" Behind him David snickered. "You'll have to forgive him. He takes his three-thousand year old jewelry very seriously." Will ignored David, speaking to Max instead. "I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but you really shouldn't have such a sensitive artifact out in the open." Max rolled his eyes. "It's behind an inch of glass and is under constant guard, even at night. It couldn't be safer." "I...alright. Fine. Honestly, I don't care. I came here to see if you could do anything for Jenna, so just let's just deal with that." Max seemed inclined to argue for a brief moment, but the nodded in agreement. "Alright then." The rest of the walk through the museum went by in silence, Max leading they way until they reached a door that read 'Maxwell Greyson PhD.' Max opened the door and gestured for them to enter, following them in and closing the door behind them. He took a seat behind the large oak desk that dominated the center of the room and said, "Please, take a seat." Will did as directed, dropping into one of the two chairs in front of the desk. David though started toward the door. "Well then I've fulfilled my obligations I think. Will, Jenna, best of luck. I'll be seeing you M--" David stopped, words dying in his throat when he saw Max's expression, a cold eyed, authoritative stare. "Sit down David." "But--" Will and Jenna both watched with ever so mild amusement, watching as David withered under the archaeologist's gaze. A moment or two passed then David acquiesced, taking the other chair. Jenna settled in between the two chairs, lying down with her head on her paws. All of them as comfortable as they could be Will began to tell of all that had happened to Jenna, starting with finding her ill in the bookstore. Painful though it was for both of them, he described her transformation in as much detail as he could remember. Then he told of their visit to Anita, and with it the first time that the energy had surged out of Jenna. He finished by going into greater detail about the encounter with the French highwaymen. Max didn't respond at first, seemingly lost in thought. Finally he let out a long sigh. "Well first I should tell you that going to an alchemist was pointless. She never would have been able to help you. But you already know that. You also know that the magic that changed Jenna still resides within her. Based on what you've told me, the energy reacts when exposed to outside energies, and will also respond to emotion. These conditions make it rather...difficult to deal with helping her." Jenna made an aggravated noise, voicing a sentiment that Will shared. "We already knew or guessed all of that." "I'm quite sure you had. I'm simply making certain we're all on the same page. Now, much like that amulet I showed you, removing the energy from her would be dangerous, both to us and to her. But, given enough time and research, I think I could find a way to fix her." It took several seconds for that to sink in, and even when it did, Will and Jenna's reactions were slow. Jenna hauled herself into a sitting position, staring at Max as though she didn't quite believe him, and a weak, tentative smile was forming on Will's lips. "Do you...really think you can change her back?" "I think I could, with enough information." Max turned his chair and pointed to one wall, dominated by a set of shelves. Most of the space was taken up by various small relics, but two of the shelves were stacked with books. "What you see there is but a modest sampling of my collection. In my home I have works on various fields. Archaeology may be my favorite subject, but I've read of a great many things in my lifetime. I'm sure I have something, somewhere, that could give us some clue as to how to return her to her true form." Will nodded slowly. "That's great but...when you say 'in your home'...do you mean the one in Arles?" Max smirked, seeing Will's concern. "Normally, yes, in Arles. But, when I'm going to be away from home for extended periods, I bring my library with me. Over three hundred books, all waiting for when I have need of them." Will shook his head in disbelief. "Three hundred? Because it only makes sense to travel with that many." "Perhaps not to you, but I'm what some would call...eccentric." David scoffed. "That's a nice way to put it. Why the hell am I still here?" Max gave him a hard look. "Because you have an obligation to these two, and you're going to see it through." "But I've finished with then already! I promised to get them to you, and here they are. I'm bloody well done!" "Not by my count you aren't. Besides, I haven't seen you in ages. Least you could is stay and visit with an old friend for a few days, aye?" "Fine," David grumbled, "But don't expect me to be cheerful about it." Max stood and clapped his hands together, grinning. "Excellent. Well, we can't get much more accomplished here. Shall we?" Not stopping to see if they followed he walked out of the office with a burst of his earlier effervescence. Will and Jenna exchanged a glance before getting up and following after him. David sat alone for a few moments, before finally standing and going the way of the others, all the while wishing he could bring himself to simply leave. He quickly caught up with them, all four together tracing a path through the museum back to the courtyard where they retrieved Vincent and the cart and--with Max's instruction--made their way to the archaeologist's house in a district called Garden City, a short trip from south from the museum. It wasn't long before they entered into a quiet, upscale neighborhood, with more greenery than one would normally expect to see in a desert country. With the bustle of the rest of the city made the tranquility a welcome reprieve, a thought that Will voiced, prompting Max to simply reply with, "That's why I live here when in the city." As they pulled up to Max's house beside the bank of the Nile, Will and Jenna couldn't help but marvel at its appearance. They weren't exactly impoverished, but it was clear that Max had access to wealth greater than they could or would ever hope to have. They left the cart behind on a small plot right beside the house then made their way up the path to the front door. As they walked Will couldn't help but ask, "How can an archaeologist afford all this? Plus another house in France. Unless you rent it. Do you?" Jenna nodded. She had been wondering the same. As far as she knew, archaeology wasn't a terribly profitable profession. Max chuckled as he unlocked the front door an ushered them into the spacious interior. "No, I don't rent either. You see, while most archaeologists make at least enough to live comfortably, someone of my ability is...in high demand." He closed the door once they were all inside, then gestured fro them to follow him. "As I said before, most ancient 'curses' are so low on energy by now that they couldn't harm anyone. But there are exceptions. I personally have disarmed a number of potentially deadly ancient energy traps. Most people aren't willing to take those risks, either to disarm them or to be around when they go off if they aren't properly dealt with. So, I'm paid quite well to do what I do." "What exactly do you do? It can't be as simple as snapping your fingers." "Quite right. I won't bore you with the explicit details, but I essentially have to first feel out the...hmm, now what would you call it? The pulse--yes, that's it, the pulse--of those energies. Then I have to be able to determine their intent. Were they put as a malicious trap? Or were they just there to provide light in the darkness? Then, once I know what I'm dealing with, I go about the delicate process of removing the energy." Looking back and down at Jenna he added, "That's actually more or less what I'm going to try to do for her." Will nodded. "So why can't you just...do it? Why do you need to do any kind of research?" "Because I've not dealt with anything like this before now. To start, the energy in her is new, which means it is still rather strong. There's also the issue of her energy reacting when it's interacted with. Most ancient energies were meant to be removed or nullified, so that people who were approved to be there could tend to the tombs. This isn't the case with Jenna. Who ever did this to her wants her to remain this way. Thus, I'll need to see if I can find any information that will help me approach her problem...more safely, for us and for her. Speaking of, here's my library." They had come to a plain wooden door with a simple brass nob, which Max grasped and turned, admitting them into the room. They were immediately hit by the musty, dusty smell of old books. Jenna took in a deep breath. In all the time she had been away from her store, she had forgotten just what books smelled like. Now she could smell them all the better with her canine sense. It really is one of my favorite things in the world, she thought as her tail wagged in delight. Will was experiencing a different emotion as he looked around the room. There were at least a dozen bookcases, and every spare inch of space was taken up by literature of every kind. He let out a defeated sigh. "This is gonna be a long day." Max clapped him on the back. "Aye, but not as long as you think. We don't have to read through them all. Only three of these shelves involve magical topics. And with you, me and David going through it all, we should make a fine time of things." Behind them David rolled his eyes, but kept his silence, thinking, Lovely. A day of sitting around staring at pages. I'm positively giddy with anticipation.
It was well after sundown when the four of them finally took a break from pouring over Max's extensive collection and sat around his dining room table, eating in silence brought on by mental exhaustion. They had made greater progress than expected after Will had convinced Max to let Jenna go through the books as well. He had been less than pleased with the idea of her paws and nose being used to turn the pages, but he had set aside some of the newer, sturdier books for her, and she had been able to contribute to their combined efforts. Even so though, it felt like they had barely put a dent in the vast amount of knowledge, and they had yet to find anything of help among the texts. Will and Jenna both were feeling more than bit discouraged, and David was fed up with what he felt was a waste of his time. Of them, only Max still seemed to be in any kind of good spirit. It was Max in fact who spoke first when their meal was finished. "Well, not the most productive day I suppose. But we've only just begun after all! Who knows what tomorrow will bring. We'll have far more time to devote to the search for one thing. Well...you three will I should say." Will looked over to Max and quirked a brow, giving him an odd expression, part tired and part inquisitive. "What about you?" Max smiled. "Well William, I may be helping you, but I still have my own job, and I can't neglect it just to assist you." Will smiled apologetically. "Of course. I've actually forgotten about my own work with all that's happened. Hard to worry about something so mundane. I suppose it's made me oblivious to the mundane lives of others as well." "Quite alright. But perhaps you and Jenna should get some sleep, aye? You both look like you're ready to pass out here, and I dare say the table wouldn't be a very comfortable place to sleep. If you go up stairs the third door on the right is my guest room. You two can have it for as long as you're here." Will nodded, then stood. "I appreciate it, as well as everything else you've done so far." Jenna bobbed her head in agreement then yawned widely, exposing rows of gleaming white teeth. Max chuckled. "Think nothing of it. Now off you pop. You'll need the rest." Neither of them argued, walking out and leaving David and Max alone. David stood with a yawn of his own and asked, "And where will I be sleeping then?" "Now don't be so quick to run out. We haven't seen each other in years. Why don't you sit and we can talk for a while?" David sighed and dropped back into his chair. "Fine then. What do you want to talk about?" "Well, I suppose the first thing that comes to mind is that you neglected to tell me how you actually met those two." David rolled his eyes. "We met in London. He tried to arrest me. We struck a deal. I brought him to you to solve Jenna's problem so that I could go free." Max shook his head. He had a disappointed look in his eyes. "Still leading a life of crime then? Honestly, when are you going to grow up?" David scoffed. "Where's the fun in that? I'm not like you Max. I can't stay still." "Tell me David...what do you suppose mum and dad would think if they knew what you were doing with your life?" "How the bloody hell am I supposed to know? I was just five when they died. Or have you forgotten?" Max sighed. "No, I haven't forgotten. I also haven't forgotten trying to raise you in their absence. Not exactly easy when the only relative you have is the brother you're trying to take care of." "Yeah, well you certainly came out alright, didn't you? With your fancy houses and your comfortable job." Max shook his head. "Do you think to really matters to me? I did everything I could to become successful so I could take care of you. But you preferred the streets. You could have been so much more you know." "Sorry Max, but not all of us are clever enough to get into a university. Not all of us are content with sitting behind a desk or rooting around in the dirt. Some of us just work better on the streets." Max closed his eyes with a soft sigh and brought his hands up under his chin, resting his head on them. When he opened his eyes they were filled with sorrow. "David...not a day goes by that I haven't worried about you. I would hate to someday learn that through your own foolishness, I lost the last family I have in this world. Family that doesn't even want other people knowing I'm his family." David looked away, feeling a bit guilty but trying not to show it. "Yeah...well, you know me. I don't much care for being connected to other people. Just weighs me down." "Then why help William and Jenna?" David sighed. "I told you already. It's just so I don't get thrown in jail. And if you would let me, I woulda left already." Max set his hands dropped his hands to the table and pushed himself up out of his chair, shaking his head. "I know you're better than that. I wish you would realize it." He pointed through one of the doorways leading out of the dining room. "I've got a sofa in there you can sleep on. It's all I've got for you since they're in the guest room. Goodnight David." He walked out without his usual pep, truly showing his age for the first time all day. David waited in his chair, arms crossed across his chest until he was sure Max was gone. Then he stood and turned out the lights then walking into the adjoining room, nearly tripping in the darkness before settling onto the sofa that was to be his bed for the night. Silence fell across the whole house as its occupants let sleep take them one by one, all of them hoping the next day would be better than the one they were leaving behind.