Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 19:18:09 EST Subject: Fluff: The Joshua Chronicles, part 5 Friends: I do so hope that you are still enjoying the story of my hunt for haunted antiques! and that no-one minds that this isn't _really_ a vampire story... Joshua _____________ After speaking to his friend Alexandria Hart (his _other_ friend Alex, he thought with a chuckle) in Minneapolis, Joshua decided he might as well try David again. Alex wasn't expecting him for another day, so he had time to stop in Los Angeles if the Lieutenant wanted to see him. This time, he received not only an answer, but an invitation to the Lieutenant's address. _______ "Welcome and enter of your own free will." the Lieutenant deadpanned, his hand on the inside doorknob. As he stood aside and beckoned Joshua into the apartment, Joshua quickly noticed an expansive white carpet, undecorated white walls and an oversized white leather couch. "Should I remove my shoes?" he asked with a smile, conscious of the startling cleanness. "That won't be necessary," the Lieutenant cracking a smile in response, "we're not picky." Firmly closing the door behind him, the Lieutenant continued, "Have you had the somewhat dubious privilege of meeting Nightsky?" Tentatively shaking his head negatively, Joshua flashed a quick smile at the slender man draped in the end chair, one leg hanging over the armrest. Nightsky in return quickly combed back his shank of jet black hair with a toss of the head, grinned broadly and raised his mug in salute. The cup was filled with a black thick, steaming liquid, not red as Joshua was relieved to notice. "Hello Mr. Trevallion," beamed Nightsky, "Would you like a cup of coffee?" "Joshua, please," he answered, shaking off the offer. At the Lieutenant's suggestion, he planted himself in the matching white sofa. A brief introduction revealed the jeans and black-silk-shirt clad lounger to be a local spellcrafter of some small renown, not unlike Corvus, Mage of the Western Lands. Privately Joshua was not sure if Nightsky was really wearing a shirt as the garment seemed to shimmer, stretch and constrict every time he stopped looking directly at it, but he kept the thought to himself. In return, Nightsky nodded solemnly when briefed of Joshua's ties to the Brotherhood. "So, what may we do for you?" asked the Lieutenant who had tucked himself into the corner by the large windows framing the north side of the apartment. Collecting his thoughts, Joshua took advantage of the opportunity to look around the apartment in more detail. Opposing the window was a large saltwater aquarium, a good fifteen feet long and filled with lazily swimming Hawaiian fish. An opening in the wall lead into what he took to be the rest of the apartment. Save for the front door and the furniture, two chairs and a sofa, he thought the apartment was plain, severe, quiet and very sterile. Despite the Lieutenant's attempt to be casual in a pair of jeans and white T-shirt, his glowing green eyes distinctly made Joshua feel as if Joshua was on the set of a horror film directed by David Lynch. Chuckling at the illusion, he was in Hollywood, California after all, even the sign was barely visible from here, "Nice apartment. Yours?" "It belonged to Gregory Stevens." stated the Lieutenant quietly, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Four months ago, Mr. Stevens journeyed to Vegas, Nevada, where he kidnapped two prostitutes. Bringing them here, he proceeded to disembowel and dismember them in the bathtub. I borrowed the keys from the Federal Marshals." Joshua shivered, whether at the story or the Lieutenant's calm, detached rendition of it, he could not tell. "It's so hard to find a place with an aura of death these days," Nightsky quipped humorlessly, "David agreed to let me siphon off the negative energy for my magicks." Suddenly reminded of the reasons for his visit, Joshua hurriedly changed the subject and briefly explained Mrs. Sims-Jones' desire for haunted furniture. "Is Mrs. Sims-Jones a magician?" Nightsky wanted to know. For the umpteenth time, Joshua briefly wondered about her interest in such decoration, and trusting his impressions, admitted that such a thing was unlikely. "There's always the basics," the Lieutenant got straight down to the business at hand, "silver, brass and iron fixtures." At Joshua's bewildered look, Nightsky clarified, "brass is supposed to be lucky, the undead and werewolves can't stand to be near silver, and witches find iron abhorrent." "Find doorknobs, window fasteners, mementos, even furniture with as much as possible of one of those elements and you should reduce the risk of Mrs. Sims-Jones accidently summoning something." stated the Lieutenant. "In fact, if you bury an iron knife under the threshold of the apartment, no witch should be able to enter." "How about mirrors?" Nightsky quickly volunteered. "They reveal things as they are as well as act as a defense against certain creatures." "Try to avoid mirrors that act as portals," the Lieutenant warned, "just hang mirror sheets or framed mirrors from the local hardware or glass store." Nightsky snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Sigils!" Smiling at Joshua, he explained that many druids could place discs of shiny silver, brass and gold upon their altars and meditate to find that spirits have inscribed protective and beneficial sigils upon them, which then could be hung or scattered around the apartment. Thinking of Michael, Pandora, Nicholas, and Maggie, Joshua nodded and made a mental note. Surely one of his friends could ask their goddesses for a sigil. "The same principles could be applied towards wreaths, flower arrangements, in fact I recommend lots of fresh plants like ferns." tossed in the Lieutenant. "Then there's the cliche, the pentagram painted upon the floor or on a rug." grinned Nightsky. "Wait!" Joshua interjected, "What about furniture, such as armchairs, loveseats, bureaus and dressers? Real haunted items?" Nightsky and the Lieutenant looked uncomfortably at each other. After an awkward pause in which Joshua could have quoted the Maine Rules and Regulations as they applied to Aquistitions Agents, Nightsky broke the silence. "Want the bathtub?" he quipped. Joshua simply gave him a wan smile. "We didn't want to tell you about specific pieces of haunted furniture." the Lieutenant apologized. "After all, you don't know precisely what Mrs. Sims-Jones intends to do with them, beyond displaying them." Waving away Joshua's protests, he continued, "I heard your heart falter when you told Nightsky that she was not a sorceress. It's the same principle that lie detector tests work upon." "Your aura flickered, and that's just as reliable." Nightsky added. "You may think all she wants to do is display haunted items, even your psychic abilities may say that is the case, but do you really believe that's all she wants?" asked the Lieutenant, frowning at Joshua. At Joshua's slow shake, he continued "Assuming all she intends is to display them, what guarantee do we have that some real sorcerer will not enter the apartment and attempt to manipulate them?" "That's why we've been telling you ways to protect yourself and Mrs. Sims-Jones." Nightsky concluded. Leaning forward, Nightsky advised "Even releasing a minor kitchen spirit can have serious consequences. Can you imagine what will happen if one of the murdered souls of the Salem Witchcraft Trials were to get free?" he asked, dipping his fingers in imitation of quotation marks. For the second time that evening, Joshua blanched as he thought of the mysterious stranger setting free the witches and ghosts of the items he found. Realizing he had yet to do so, he quickly brought the others up to date on his run in with the bearded man, equally eager to acquire haunted furniture. "He sounds familiar." Nightsky frowned, his eyebrows uncharacteristicly meeting in the middle. "Excuse me one minute." Quickly striding across the room, the Lieutenant retrieved a slim cellular telephone from the arm of the sofa punched in a number with the ease of habit. After a brief conversation in which he repeated Joshua's description, he listened, his face running the gauntlet from relief to worry. Seeing him snap the receiver shut, Joshua ventured the question, "Who is he?" "We do not know." brooded the Lieutenant. "You don't know him?" Nightsky expressed in exaggerated shock. "We don't know his name," the Lieutenant snapped back. "We know of him, we also know that his true name has never been spoken before." Joshua's eyes widened. From past conversations with Michael, he knew that Druids believed a person's true name contained enormous power, simply knowing another's name allowed one to act for, or worse, against that person. Which explained Maggie's skill at steering the conversation away from her name. Someone who's true name had never been spoken in the world was nearly immune to personal magic. "What do you know about him?" Nightsky interrupted. "In 1940, in the Gilbert Islands, South Pacific, on the isle of Tagia to be precise, he attempted to perform a resurrection." Nightsky chuckled. "If he made that mistake, we have nothing to fear." Aside to Joshua, he explained, "Resurrection magic requires massive amounts of sea water, both for it's property of life and it's ability to absorb magical energy. To cast it successfully, you need to cast it at sea, preferably on a ship." "It's also why some vampyres have problems crossing it." he whispered sotto voice while beaming at the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant humored Nightsky with a weak smile, and he continued, "You are right, he made a mistake and failed the spell. However, he released so much energy that he sank the island." As Nightsky sat in stunned silence, the Lieutenant fixated his attention on Joshua. "Have you seen this gentlemen since the ah, incident at Christie's?" "No I haven't." Joshua smiled, relaxing into the deep folds of the sofa. "Maybe Evighet and Steph scared him off or it was just purely coincidence?" "I hope you're right." the Lieutenant affirmed. "And just in case, perhaps you should conduct the rest of your search with someone who can help you." "Is that an invitation?" Joshua cocked an eye at the Lieutenant. "Alas, to my regret, no." David smiled back warmly. "Let's just say I'm under orders." "Nightsky?" "I don't think you want me to come along," he apologized. Crossing his arms and frowning directly at Joshua, Nightsky stated, "I still think that recovering items for Mrs. Sims-Jones is not a wise idea. And if this guy also wants them that badly, there's no telling what he might do to get them. However, since David doesn't seem to be trying to stop you, I won't stand in your way either." "There is," David smoothly followed up with a knowing smile, "someone who may be willing to help you." ________ This was mostly written by David Hodnett, with just a tiny soupcon of assistance from: The Fluffmaster fraser@vax.library.utoronto.ca