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Act V: The Magic Touch

Byron Lyman and I regrouped on the south side of the construction site. We compared notes and he grumbled when I showed him the tell-tale lion tracks. Byron said that I have a good eye for observing things. He actually smiled when he said that. Maybe Byron was starting to like me. But for now, Byron suggested that we pitch our tents on the south side of the construction site. Byron and I had dinner together, then turned in for the evening to our separate tents.

It was getting late into the evening. I had undressed to my mid length briefs and I could see the moonlight cascading across the top of my large tent. For some reason, I couldn't sleep or wasn't tired. Then, I heard the quiet but heavy breathing. It wasn't near, but was loud enough for me to hear it. Byron's tent was more toward the side of the trail, but I had pitched my tent directly on top of the lion tracks. I had mainly pitched my tent here so I could study the tracks in the safety of my own tent.

But the ragged heavy breathing was getting closer. Then, I heard the heavy padding on the ground itself, getting closer and closer. I was nervous to say the least. Then suddenly, the breathing and padding seemed to simply cease. That got my curiosity going. I grabbed my flashlight and a pouch of the catnip, then very cautiously stepped outside of my tent and walked towards the construction site. I shined my flashlight around the site for a few minutes, but nothing was out of place. Then, I turned back towards the tents and did an inspection around my tent. Directly at the back side of my tent, I found enormous lion paw prints.

I followed the tracks down the winding trail, and as I rounded the bend, what I saw almost made me lose control of my bodily functions, forcing me to came to a sudden stop. About 150 feet before me was the biggest male lion that I had ever seen in my life, and the lion saw me, as well. The lion growled something fierce at me, but I didn't speak lion. That's when I noticed the slight foaming around the lion's mouth and fangs. A mad lion. That wasn't what I wanted to see. The lion again growled something at me. It hadn't approached me yet, but it seemed to be trying to tell me something. Of course, I didn't get the message.

I accidentally shined the flashlight into the lion's eyes and his response was to start padding at me. I fumbled with my pouch and just as the lion was within seven feet of me, I bombed his nose with the entire contents of the catnip. But instead of the lion becoming complacent, he growled angrily at me. I threw my flashlight into his face and started running back up the trail. I must have hit him because I heard him growl once again, then I heard his heavy pounding paws on the ground coming after me.

I was screaming as I rounded the bend of the trail. Remember what I said about me becoming an Olympic athlete? Well, those thoughts were again on my mind as I tried to get Byron's attention while running. But the lion was much faster than I was! The lion tackled me faster than the football players had always done to Canon Stephens and myself back in college.

The damned lion raked my briefs off of my body, then clawed my legs and torso in his attempt to overpower me. He thumped my body into the dust on the ground beneath me and almost smothered my body in his hot and soaking wet chest and tummy fur. Then, he growled loudly as he took several deep bites into my shoulders and neck. I was bleeding and crying for help. Where was Byron? Surely he wasn't sleeping through all my screaming!

I was about gone, nearing unconsciousness... when I barely saw something appear. It wasn't Byron, but instead, it was a non anthropomorphic glowing white creature with antlers. The glowing creature charged my attacker and knocked the lion off of my body. I was still bleeding as I watched the glowing white creature fight the giant mad lion. Then, in a final antler charge into the lion's chest region, the lion dropped down dead on the spot and immediately changed back into his native African human form. The white creature then approached me slowly and seemed to glow brightly. The light seemed to do something to my wounds; I felt a tingling sensation all over my body. Then the glowing creature smiled and vanished right before my eyes.

Byron finally emerged from his tent in a rush and did his best to clean my wounds. When he saw the dead native, he knew that somehow, I had defeated the were lion. Byron picked me up and loaded me into the jeep. Then, he pulled down both tents as quickly as he could and packed them into the jeep. Afterward, Byron wasted no time in getting me back to the Chess bunker and aboard the private jet back to the base headquarters in Athens, Greece.

By the next morning, I awoke in total body bandages in Chess' private hospital. Danath Gaul and Luke Masaki were in the hallway listening to Byron's version of the story, which was very vague. Danath was sure I'd not make it through surgery. But when I pulled through, he was actually surprised. Any other agent with the wounds that I had received would have died.

But I had lived.

Surprisingly, Danath did not visit me to ask what had happened. What was worse was my three week hospital stay. Talk about boring. An idle Tanner is a dangerous Tanner. I was already plotting my escape. But what bothered me the most was my night-time flashback dreams of the mad lion and the white creature. Then, there was the doctors total lack of being able to explain why my wounds were not healing quickly. It was the longest and most boring three weeks of my life.

Finally, I was released from the private hospital and allowed to return to Chess headquarters. I had to report to Danath Gaul first. He was very curious to find out how I had defeated the were lion and how I prevented the were lion from infecting me. I recounted the evening in the most detail that I could, including how the were lion seemed to try to warn me about something before losing his mind and attacking me. I also explained the mysterious white creature that fought the were lion and killed it, before bounding away into the night.

I then noticed that Byron was standing in a dark corner of the office. His eyes seemed to suggest that he believed me. There was no other explanation that could explain how I survived the encounter. The only thing I could not explain was how I prevented infection. So, I suggested that perhaps Byron had cleaned my wounds in time, preventing any infection from occurring. I knew that wasn't the case and I could tell Byron didn't believe it either but Danath bought it. And that's all Byron and I needed. Danath offered Byron a promotion for his fast action, but Byron surprisingly turned it down offering me his promotion instead. Byron turned to me and winked, mouthing the words, "take it, Jansen." I silently gulped and accepted the promotion. I was now a White Rook. I still had no idea why Byron did what he did but evidently, I had earned his trust on this mission. Danath proceeded toward processing my newest promotion. Byron and I headed out of the office, and down to the recreation chambers.

"Why did you pass up the promotion, Byron?"

Byron turned to me and grinned.

"Jansen, after what you've gone through, you deserved the promotion more than I did. You spoke some nice words to Danath, but you know as well as I that I didn't save your life. That white creature saved you. As for the were lion, there is no way you could pull through what he did to you without infection. No amount of cleaning on my part would have purged the infection from your body. The only explanation I can give is that you experienced a miracle."

I blinked my eyes at that.

"Do you really think so?"

Byron smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Yes, I actually think so. And that lion tried to warn you about something. Several times. I may be wrong, but there may be something special in you that animals and other creatures recognize. And when they encounter you, they try to help you. I think the were lion tried to warn you about something and you didn't get the message, so he advanced on you. There are too many what if's in this line of work. Sometimes you'll know the answers; other times you'll need prodding."

I ran my hands over the all too familiar reminders that the were lion had given me.

"Well, the giant lion certainly gave me a good prodding, but evidently, I still didn't get the message. That sort of upsets me that he tried to warn me and I didn't get it. Too late now, I suppose. But at least I learned one thing..."

Byron grinned.

"And what is that?"

I smiled.

"...that I've earned your trust, maybe?"

Byron nodded his head and proceeded to play some billiards. I left him to his game and returned to my room to fully check out my scars. Battle scars might be a good term to call them. However, once I had undressed and looked in the full-sized mirror, I was shocked to see that my scars were almost entirely healed over. Only minor marks remained where I had been raked, clawed, and bitten. I hummed, then went to bed. While sleeping, I could have sworn that I could still smell the were lion, as strong as ever. That sort of bothered me, but the scent didn't prevent sleep.

When I awoke, I showered, got dressed and set out to work on my favorite schooner. Three days later, Danath Gaul came down to the marina to find me. He smiled when he realized where I had to be. He stepped up on to the schooner and located me below deck, where I was working on the schooner's emergency engine. I glanced up at Danath and merely grinned as I shook my head.

"What mission do you have for me this time, Danath?"

Danath blinked his eyes.

"What makes you think I have a mission for you?"

I again grinned.

"Because you're the boss and you never come down here to this boat unless you're specifically looking for me."

Danath chuckled a little.

"I really -must- change my tactics. Actually, I was wondering what you thought about attending a bull fight in Spain?"

I blinked my eyes. This was certainly different.

"What is the danger factor?"

Danath released a breath of air.

"There is no fooling you a bit, is there? Well, there is a reason for Chess to be there. A local matador in Muniesa, Aragon, Spain, reported a ghost to us. You'll catch a flight to Zaragoza, report to the bunker there, get a Chess jeep, then drive southeast to Azaila, then west to Belchite, and finally south to Muniesa. Once there, you're to meet with a young matador named Tino Hernandez. He will fill you in on the ghost. If you can lay the ghost to rest, you'll succeed in your mission. And this time, take in the sights while you're there. Tino has offered to show you a good time. Good luck, Jansen."

Danath departed the schooner and I exhaled a breath of air. So this time I was being sent to Spain to tackle a ghost, yet at the same time, enjoy myself. I got the feeling that Danath wanted me to take it easy. But taking it easy was not something that a Tanner was ever at ease doing. I finished up the repairs on the emergency engine, then headed back to my room to bathe and get packed for the trip to Spain.

I checked around for Luke before I headed out, but he was off on a mission of his own. I prayed that he would return safely. I was beginning to get attached to Luke. Then, I packed my gear, and headed over to the airport, and caught a private jet en route to Spain.

After making the now all too familiar stops, I drove my jeep along the route that was provided to me. The area had a lot of cattle and bulls all along the roads. That wasn't so unusual, I surmised. This was a bull fighting nation. Finally, I arrived in Muniesa and was met by Tino Hernandez. Tino was a young male standing five foot ten inches tall, weighing 165 pounds. He had short black hair and brown eyes. His skin was light brown, and he dressed in local, yet comfortable, clothing. He wore boots appropriate for working on a farm.

Tino greeted me with a smile and escorted me to his farm located just outside of Muniesa. Once we were there, he showed me the bulls that he raised on his farm. A bull farm. That was appropriate, I suppose. It was still early, so I offered to help Tino around his farm to pass the time until the sun would set and he would fill me in on the ghost report. It was hard work, but the bulls were friendly enough. Some were too friendly, leaning and nuzzling on my legs. Tino just laughed when he saw how they were acting.

That night, Tino and I bathed, then sat down for dinner. Then, we retired to his bedroom where we sat down and Tino began his tale about the ghost bull. Tino told me that he was asked to clean up a local arena for a grand opening bull fight. He worked all of the first day and partly into the night. Then, he had seen the ghost bull. It was guarding a particular chute and holding pen. Tino got so scared that he began to feel sick and weak. Fortunately, Tino was able to pull himself away from the ghost bull and escaped the arena to report the incident.

I listened to Tino's story entirely, then I patted Tino's shoulder. I told him that I would handle it. Tino looked grateful. I headed out that night toward the arena. I entered the spooky old complex and searched around the place from top to bottom. As I was walking down an inner corridor, I heard a lonely mooing noise. It sounded like it was inside the building, so I began following the sound. I ended up in a chute leading deeper into the complex and emerged within an enclosed semi sealed holding pen. And standing before me was the ghost bull. He was glowing with an eerie light. I began feeling as if my life was being siphoned out of my body. Then, he turned his gaze on me and mooed out a very lonely sound. His spirit image appeared to be shackled in heavy chains that were connected to the far wall. The ghost bull mooed again and I felt another wave of weakness wash over me, almost forcing me to my knees.

Suddenly, the ghost bull's eerie light dimmed and pulsed. Then, I was gaining my energy back. I looked to the ghost bull and asked if he wanted me to free him. He nodded his ghostly muzzle. I proceeded over to the wall where the apparent chains were and noticed that the bones of a bull were chained tightly to one wall. It looked like the bull had been secured here, then forgotten. That sort of pissed me off. I spent the next few hours breaking the chains and metal collar from the skeletal remains, then I carefully loaded the ghost bull's remains on to a tarp, and carefully pulled the bones out of the arena complex, with the ghost bull following me.

Once we were outside under the moonlight, a gave the bones a proper burial and recited an old American Indian prayer over the grave granting the spirit safe passage into the spirit realm. The ghost bull approached me and mentally thanked me, nuzzling his muzzle against my body, leaning into my body in an affectionate manner. I stayed with him until sunrise, then he seemed to smile as the sun rose. Finally, he mooed happily as he gradually faded away. I knew that I had brought peace to his lonely spirit. But what made the ghost bull suddenly decide that I was there to aid him?

I returned to Tino's farm, exhausted and tired. I undressed and hit the bed, falling asleep instantly. Tino was polite enough to let me sleep. It wasn't until the following morning that I awoke to the were lion's scent again. That was really starting to bother me. I quickly dismissed it from my mind and took a nice shower. Then, I got dressed and had breakfast with Tino. He was very pleased when I told him that the ghost bull had been taken care of. Afterward, Tino worked on cleaning the arena, while I worked with the bulls on the farm. This continued for a week. That weekend, Tino entertained me to several events. We watched a bull fight, then had a Spanish meal, and finally, saw several sights around the area.

Soon, Monday morning had arrived and I bid Tino farewell. I drove back to the bunker in Zaragoza. When I arrived there, a White Bishop named Mark "the wonderland rabbit" Jolson was waiting for me. He asked me to file my report and wire it back to headquarters. I did so, then Mark explained that he was passing through the area on his way to a current mission in Saulieu, Bourgogne, France, and heard that another agent was in the area. So he had decided to wait around to see who arrived. I then asked what his mission was about. Mark told me that it involved a gargoyle sighting. I arched an eye at that. A real gargoyle. I smiled and agreed to accompany Mark on his mission. We caught a train in Zaragoza and rode by rail to Dijon. Then, we acquired a Chess jeep and drove out to Saulieu to search for the gargoyle.

The two of us climbed up to a vine covered cavern entrance and entered the cavern. Mark and I explored for about four hours, before we suddenly became face to muzzle with the large gargoyle. The gargoyle had apparently just woke up and to his surprise, finding humans in his lair startled him. He roared at the two of us. Mark started to pull his gun but I stopped him quickly. Then, I held my ground in front of the gargoyle. He started to roar again, then quickly stopped, his complexion turning pale for a moment, then he settled down and spoke to us.

"I apologize for roaring. It isn't often I get people in my lair."

That surprised Mark quite a bit. The gargoyle was speaking civilly, with a french accent, but in a language that we could understand. Mark gulped as he tried to respond.

"Are you... the... only gargoyle... in these caverns?"

The gargoyle nodded his head.

"I would say that I am. Here. Let me light my lanterns."

The gargoyle reached over to three locations and ignited the lanterns on the three main cavern walls. Once there was light filling the chamber, we got our first clear view of the gargoyle. He was elderly, but appeared to be both dragon like and skunk like. He was totally coated in fine black scales, with a pair of stripes extending down the scales of his back, from the top of his head, down his back, and down the full length of his tail. He stood about eleven feet tall, and I estimated his weight to be about 1300 pounds. He had violet eyes surrounded by dark pools of black tar. His whole body seemed to exude a sticky black substance that also smelled like both tar and skunk, but discerning either was extremely hard to tell. He had kangaroo like footpads that ended in sharp grasping claws, while his clawed hands were more dexterous. From his back sprouted an extremely large pair of leathery black scaly wings.

Mark and I admired the gargoyle. I then commented on the gargoyle's handsomeness.

"You are perhaps the most handsome gargoyle that we've ever encountered."

The gargoyle seemed to blush, as a slight reddening appeared briefly in both cheeks.

"You are both too kind. My name is Saul du Morvan."

Mark and I introduced ourselves by name in return. Now that the ice had been broken, the three of us spoke for several hours on who he was, how long he had lived here and why he had been seen lately. What we found out was that gargoyles, once hatched from their eggs, have the potential to live for literally thousands of years. Saul also explained that gargoyles tend to hibernate for years at a time and he recently awoke feeling the need to seek a mate. But to his dismay, there were no other local gargoyles within range for him to mate with. So, Saul's current outings had been to locate food to placate his mating urge. The rest of his time was spent in a semi sleep like state, though easily awakened if approached. Saul explained that a gargoyle's nasal organs were far more capable than a blood hound's nose. A gargoyle was not likely to ever forget a scent. Once scented, you were not likely ever forgotten.

Mark and I spent a few days with Saul, helping him get food at times and at one point, I gave Saul a nice body rub. He really enjoyed that. By the time Mark and I left, we understood gargoyles a lot more than we had before going in. Mark and I headed back to Dijon, where we caught a private jet to Athens, once again. When we arrived, we reported to Danath and filed our report on Saul. Danath just grinned and rolled his eyes a little.

"You got lucky, I think. The last gargoyle Chess encountered killed three of our agents. How you got this one to cooperate and freely give you information on his species is beyond me. And concerning the ghost bull... you wrote that he was about to drain you of your life-energy, then he suddenly restored you and allowed you to help aid him in his freedom. As strange as this may sound, you seem to have the magic touch when dealing with these supernatural creatures."

I growled at that reference. It sounded lame. Not exciting, like Mark's nickname, or Byron's nickname.

"With all due respect, Danath, I honestly don't know why these creatures become peaceful and complacent around me. But as long as it keeps me alive, why should we question the results?"

Mark then spoke up.

"Danath... With your permission, I would like to become Jansen's full time partner and help groom him towards the higher goals of the organization."

Danath hummed.

"Very well. You can be Jansen's full time partner, but only if Jansen allows it. He seems to work well with partners or without partners. Keep in mind, Mark... You are a near top rank agent. That means you get assigned to missions that are considered to be extremely dangerous. If I had known that you intended to convince Jansen to accompany you on this last one, I would've stopped you. That is why I said you got lucky. Gargoyles seem to dislike intrusion. Except for Saul, who revealed a lot of information that we were previously unaware of. Therefore, what I am going to suggest is that Jansen alternate missions. After a dangerous mission with you, he will receive a moderate mission that either he himself can handle, or with a partner other than you."

Mark humphed, but reluctantly agreed. But I could tell that Mark really liked working with me. And I sort of enjoyed working with him. Of course, Mark wasn't the one who body massaged the gargoyle; I was. So, I knew more about Saul than I revealed in our report. Even gargoyles deserve some secrets of their own.

Danath dismissed Mark, then turned to me and grinned.

"Are you ready for another mission?"

I grinned back and nodded my head.

"Of course. Where are you sending me this time?"

Danath pulled out a telegram and opened it. Then, he gazed at me and explained.

"This time, you are being sent to Alta, Norway. From there, you'll head south to Masi on the Altaelva river. From there, you'll head east into the wilds of the Finnmarks-vidda. About two to three days hike, you'll come across some ruins that was reported to us. All you have to do is check out the ruins and make a report on all you find out about the location. We don't expect anything dangerous, but you should pack accordingly, just in case. And dress warmly. You'll actually be north of the Arctic Circle. Good luck, Jansen."

I grinned and headed out of Danath's office. So this time I was heading far to the north. I knew it would be colder than a witch's tit, but at the same time, he had said that danger was not expected, but I should pack accordingly. What was I to be encountering? Snow men with machetes?

I headed back to my room and took another shower. Then, I got dressed in fresh clothing, and packed my gear once again. I was beginning to get the feeling that the higher in rank you became, the less time around headquarter you were allowed to spend lounging. If this was true, it seemed to prove why a lot of the higher ranked agents stayed away from headquarters as much as they could. In my case, I just liked watching Danath's facial expressions every time I returned from a mission. I chuckled, then took a long nap in my bed. I slept all night.

The next morning came with that all too familiar scent. I sighed when I thought about the were lion that had tried to tell me something. That encounter kept nagging me. I knew that someday soon, I would have to return there to find out what was up. I got up and lugged my gear off to the airport where my lengthy flight to Norway would begin. I settled back into my seat aboard the private jet, and prepared for the fifteen hour flight.

---

She pondered for a moment about Jansen's missions to this point.

"Jansen got mauled by a were lion, but did not become one. Then later, he calms and frees a ghost bull in Spain, then befriends an elderly, yet dashing, gargoyle in France. Leia would be jealous for not being able to go to all these business locations throughout Europe. Now Jansen is being sent to Norway for reasons unknown. Ruins? Give me a break. I am sure that even Jansen knows better than that."

She grinned as she resumed reading Jansen's agent history.

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