033. Honor

Title: Angels’ Cloud (Part 4)
Type: Series
Genre: Steampunk
Characters: Zachary Harrison Decker, Damian Reyes Cortez, Angeline Summer Edwards, Pavia
Prompt: 033. Honor
Word Count: 900ish
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The group get off to a rocky start
Warnings: Language

The sun had already dipped past the horizon when the basket of the balloon touched down on a flat rock in the center most spot of Morrison Mountain. Zachary looked down as Pavia groaned. He was sure the poor guy was more than happy to finally have his four paws on terra firma.

“Thank the gods,” Damian said stretching being the first out of the basket so he could help Angeline hop out.

Zachary lifted Pavia and handed him to Damian who sat him on the ground. Pavia shook himself and trotted off to the nearest tree to take care of business.

Zachary turned toward the pilot, handing him the money he owned for the trip. “Thank you, it was a smooth flight and we’re here in plenty of time.”

“My pleasure as always, Mr. Zachary. Just let me know when you need to be picked up. It doesn’t have to be from the top of a mountain, you know. If you find yourself in the city, just let me know.”

“Will do, Jake, no problem.”

Zachary turned and hopped out to join the others.

“What's next?” Damian asked. Zachary was still trying to figure out why the man was on this trip. He never believed in any of what he called “hocus, pocus.” Which was exactly why Zachary couldn't understand why the hell the man had connected with Angeline in the first place.

“Next, we find the Path of Darkness.”

“With a full moon?”

“We won’t find it without the full moon.”

“Okay.”

“Damian, why the hell are you still with us? You hate getting your suits wrinkled, you hate doing without your expensive brandy, and most of all, you hate the unknown.”

He patted the case slung over his shoulder. “I have my favorite brandy; I have no intention of doing without.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“He’s my mother’s brother,” Angeline answered.

“You’re her uncle? Why did you make out like you barely knew each other when you came to me that first day?”

Damian snorted, it was not the usual gentlemanly sound Zachary expected to hear from him, “Would you have helped her if you thought she was my niece?”

“Why wouldn’t I? What, are you afraid I won’t keep my hands off of her, is that why you’re still tagging along?”

“Hardly, it’s just that I promised my sister I’d keep an eye on her.”

Zachary wasn't sure if he should be insulted since the man so obviously thought him anything but a threat to his niece's virtue. He decided to ignore the comment. “You must really love your sister to leave your club to follow us around.”

“My sister’s dead. I promised it on her deathbed. I trust you, but I couldn’t in good conscious let her go on her own. I want to know what happened to my brother-in-law as well.”

“That’s honorable. Aren’t you a little young to be related to this woman’s mother?”

“My mother, Angeline’s grandmother, was widowed when she married my father; Angeline’s mother was a teenager by then.”

“Ah great, now I have family complications to deal with. I really fucking don’t need this.”

“Don’t worry; I won’t get in the way.”

“Too late, your being here is in the way.”

“How is my uncle being in the way? He’s never stopped you from anything or done anything to make you think that.”

“I know your uncle. Just wait.”

“You’re really an ass, did you know that Mr. Decker?” she said as she walked up a slight incline.

“Actually, yes I do and you’re going in the wrong direction.”

She turned giving him a dirty look and he watched as she stalked past him and to the south.

“There are two other directions to go, you know, are you sure you’re going the right one?” He smiled, damn, she was easy to goad.

She stopped and stared at him. “Okay, you lead the way, that’s what I’m paying you for.”

What the hell had the man told her? Confused, he looked at Angeline. “You’re not paying me.”

“Yes I am."

“Oh, shit. All right I told her you had to be paid.”

“What, I never take money, except on very rare occasions when the person I’m leading is an ass.” Angeline was staring at him like he had two heads. “Although, perhaps in this case that might be the case.”

She turned to Damian. “What do you mean ‘you told me he had to be paid?’”

“I knew you had too much pride to just let him help you without paying. I also knew you wouldn’t allow me to pay for you, that’s why I told you to give me the money and I’d pay him.”

“I don’t want her damn money.”

“I know that. I was going to put it back in her account just as soon as we found her father and returned home.”

“You have access to her account?”

“I’m her legal guardian should something happen to her father.”

“Would you two please stop talking about me as though I’m not here?” She looked at Zachary. “If you don’t take the money, I’m not going any farther.”

“Well, that’s fucking fine with me, but we’ll have to wait for morning for Jake to be able to come back.”

Angels' Cloud Part 3
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042. Deception

Title: Payback (1920’s)
Type: Stand Alone
Genre: Paranormal
Characters: Marcus Barnett, Cori Larkin, Ethan Boutin
Prompt: 042. Deception
Word Count: 1,134ish
Rating: PG
Summary: It took centuries, but with patience comes payback
Warnings: mild language

Marcus Barnett stopped to look at the stone relief. Gerald had some of the most exclusive and well-preserved pieces in the world in his New Orleans antique shop.

“Ah, mon ami, do you see anything you’d like to take home with you today?”

Marcus smiled; the man asked him that same question every time he walked through the door. “Not today, Gerald, although, as always your pieces are very fine.” Just nothing Marcus considered unique. He had homes throughout the world and different names to go with them. A large number of the pieces in Gerald’s collection had come from him, anonymously, of course.

“Nothing in furniture, then how about a beautiful piece of jewelry for your lovely lady?”

“I have no lovely lady, Ger…”

He looked at the piece Gerald was showing him. A ruby and diamond necklace, so unique in its design it could only have belonged to one woman. Involuntarily, his hand went to his chest. He swore he still felt the bullet as it entered his heart.

Damn the woman, she owed him for his waistcoat even more than his exile from Paris for nearly seventy years. The last time he saw that necklace must have been fifty years ago. Corinne had kept it for more than a hundred years, what had caused it to end up in Gerald’s antique shop in the heart of New Orleans?

Whatever the reason, providence had put it here for him to find, and as luck would have it, he knew she was here. It would be Mardi Gras soon, and she could never pass up the opportunity to rub shoulders with the rich and bejeweled. Especially their jewels, which she’d liberate from them without so much as blinking an eye.

Yes, he’d waited centuries to pay her back for that stunt, and with Ethan’s help, who was also in New Orleans at the moment, he had an idea that would surely piss her off, if things worked the way he planned.

He looked at Gerald and smiled, “I believe I do have a lady-love who’d be very interested in the ruby necklace. Put it on my bill.”

“Would you like it wrapped?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

***

Sébastien opened the door smiling. “Thank you for coming quickly, Ethan.”

“Okay, Sébastien, what’s so damn important you had to pull me from a poker game?”

“Were you winning?”

“Ah, no, not at the moment.”

“Had you ever been winning?” Sébastien led the way into his sitting room.

“Damnit, no, and you know that. I’m the worst poker player; I don’t know why I keep trying. Every time I sit down to a game, I wind up having to sell another piece from my attic.”

“You know, Ethan, you’ll live a happier life if you don’t spend all of your money. You have a long way to go, you know.”

“Yeah, but antiques will always bring in some money.”

“What’d you have to sell this time?” Sébastien waved his hand indicating Ethan should sit. He walked to the sidebar and poured wine for them both.

“My watch,” Ethan answered taking his drink with a grateful smile.

“Ethan, you must take more care.”

“It’s not your problem, I didn’t ask for this curse, so what did you want to see me for?”

“Do you remember Catherine Labrun?”

“The Egyptian princess? Yeah, I saw her at one of your gatherings somewhere around 1870, shortly after I met you.”

“Yes, as I told you then, her name is Corinne Laroche, although truthfully, I have no idea what her real name is because she was born at the time of Ramesses II. In fact I was told she was one of his children, which since he had more than forty daughters; I believe that to be quite possible.

“She’s the daughter of a Pharaoh?”

“Ramesses II, the most prolific pharaoh in history. I’ve even heard she was Nefertari’s daughter Baketmut.”

“So? She was way out of my league, that’s what I remember about her.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“No, you refused to introduce us, and like I said, she was out of my league. Why did you bring me here? Certainly not to talk about a woman I’ve never met.”

“Actually, in a roundabout way, that’s exactly why I asked you here.”

***

Okay, Ethan had no idea what the hell he was supposed to say to the woman if she answered her door. Oh, sure Sébastien had told him what to say, but then he wasn’t Sébastien and never would be, even if he lived as many centuries as the man had.

“Yes?”

Damn, she was beautiful. Somehow looking at her across a room had not made that evident. “Are you Corinne Laroche?” Sébastien had told him using the name she’d gone by in the seventeen hundreds would get her attention.

“That depends. And you are?”

“Ethan Boutin. I was born in 1792.”

“And you’re telling me, why?”

“Because I know of a necklace you may have lost recently.”

“A necklace, just what kind of a necklace?”

“Rubies with diamonds, all uniquely cut.”

“Yes, I may know of that. A little thief of a maid took it from me. She has now paid for that necklace.”

Ethan did not want to know how. “I know who owns it.”

“How do you know it’s mine?”

“I saw it on you 50 years ago in London at the Queen’s ball.”

“Yes, I was wearing it then. Please, come in, would you like something to drink?”

***

Sébastien watched as Corinne entered the room no more than a shadow. The woman had millennia to perfect her stealth, and she’d done exactly that.

Slowly, quietly she walked to the wall safe; he’d changed the combination recently, made it easy, but not too easy. He wanted her to take the necklace, not leave it because she couldn’t get into the safe.

A smile crossed his face as she efficiently and quickly found the right combination and opened the door, pulling out the necklace, which was in reality, the only thing in the safe. She carried it to the window where the moonlight was shinning in clear as daylight. Clear enough he saw the seductive smile as she gently caressed the rubies. He’d learned early on that of all her possessions, the necklace was the most important, which was why he hadn’t understood how he came to buy it, until Ethan had told him. One thing he was sure of, the young woman who took it would never be found.

As she turned to leave the room, Sébastien turned on the light next to him, and quickly crossed the room, taking the necklace out of her hands.

“What the hell, Sébastien?”

“Mine, Cori, I’ve paid for it twice now.”

“Why the ruse?”

“Because I wanted you to think for just one moment it was yours, and now you must live with the knowledge it will never be yours again. Too many people have died for this necklace, it ends here.”

Previous

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028. Garden

Title: Lunch in the Garden of Montgomery Manor
Type: Series - The Patient (Part 6)
Genre: Paranormal
Characters: Alexander Justice, Melissa Lane
Prompt: 028. Garden
Word Count: 970
Rating: G
Summary: Alexander’s Fate is Determined
Warnings: None

(I want to thank S.B. for the beautiful garden. A perfect setting for what, at the moment, is the final chapter in this tale.)

Alexander was standing near the entrance to the Garden restaurant at the Montgomery Manor waiting for Melissa. He’d been seeing her for a month now, meeting every morning at Kate’s Coffee Shoppe, but that wasn’t going to complete his assignment, he couldn’t bring music back into her life sitting and drinking coffee.

He asked her to lunch, but she wouldn’t let him pick her up. Which he was sure was a good idea as he really couldn’t drive. Guardians didn’t need to know how to drive, they just needed to know how to prevent a vehicle from getting into an accident. Not the same thing at all.

He had no idea exactly what time it was, but he had a feeling Melissa was late. Would she come? This was a long way from her normal route. She’d either have to take a cab to get here or her friend would have to bring her. Had the thought of venturing so far caused her to back out?

He blinked, surprised at the direction of his thoughts, and even more surprised at the direction of his feelings. He was really concerned that she wouldn’t show up. Actually, he was becoming scared that she hadn’t shown up. Amazing. Ever since he’d become corporeal, he’d been experiencing things he’d never seen or felt before.

Because he now had to stay on earth, Gabriel’s staff had set him up in an apartment near this place. It was interesting having to actually eat and sleep; and he wasn’t even really human, his body just seemed to have needs now. Fortunately, instincts had taken over and he knew what he had to do and how to do it, even if he’d never done it before. But he was still connected to the celestial world. It was a very strange place he was in at the moment, linked to both the human world and the celestial one, not quite fitting into either of them.

A taxi pulled up and the heart he could now feel seemed to skip a beat. Funny he’d heard that expression used by humans and thought they were just saying something strange as it didn’t seem possible, until now, until he felt it himself. Yes, very interesting. Was he falling in love? Another concept he’d never fully understood until now.

Melissa stepped out of the cab and handed a paper to the driver, he wrote on it and handed it back. She smiled reached in her pocket and handed him money, “Thank you,” he heard her say as she stepped back from the door and came around behind the taxi. He walked forward and her face lit up.

“Hi,” she said, not bothering to sign anymore because he’d told her he’d only learned ASL because of someone he knew; he could hear.

He answered, signing. “Are you hungry, or do you want to walk around a bit?”

She looked around, “Walk around I think, it’s really beautiful here.”

He led the way and they walked companionably through the garden. They reached a pond and she stopped. “This is beautiful, thank you. I’ve been so lost in my own darkness, I’d forgotten such beauty still existed.”

He smiled and pointed to the bench nearby. “Would you like to sit?”

“Yes, thank you.”

For the first time, he noticed she didn’t have her cane. After they sat, he asked her about it.

“My leg wasn’t hurting, so I thought it would be easier if I left it home. Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting to walk this much.”

They sat for a moment, Alexander enjoying her profile as she looked around, smiling.

“Describe the sounds here, please,” she said, the request taking him by surprise.

“Okay, the fountain sounds like the rhythm of a flute and the birds are singing in harmony.”

She looked surprised at first, and then laughed. “I can image that, thank you.”

Another sound caught his attention and he pointed to the squirrel near a bush, “And he’s the voice of disharmony. Apparently, something has made him very unhappy.”

Alexander stood, giving into the most irresistible urge. He held his hand to her. She didn't know what he intended, but to his relief, she took it and rose. He smiled realizing she trusted him.

Without giving her warning, he started dancing. At first her feet faltered, and she refused to move, giving him a hard look, but he persisted. She could read lips somewhat, better than she gave herself credit for, and he began singing the song he’d heard that day in Gabriel’s office.

Finally, she caught on and started moving with him, knowing the song, hearing it in her head because her steps were sure and her rhythm intact. Then to his amazement, she began to sing.

Startled, he stopped, almost causing her to trip. She looked self-conscious, “Am I that off-key?”

“No, I’ve heard your recordings, but I had no idea your voice is so beautiful. Recording it does not do it justice.”

She smiled, “Do you want me to continue, then?”

“Very much so.”

Suddenly, Gabriel appeared. “Very well done, Alexander. Enjoy your life.” He waved his hand, and disappeared as suddenly as he came.

In that moment, Alexander lost all connection with everything celestial. He was now firmly based in the human world, and he knew he was human.

For just a second, he thought he saw a smiling woman in sapphire blue before she too disappeared.

Suddenly, a little voice inside his head whispered, “Tell her the truth, she needs to know why this has happened to her.”

He looked around, but saw no one. He knew someone from the department had planted that thought in his head, but who? People he could trust or his enemy. Now that he was no longer connected, he had no idea. Damn.

The Patient Part 5
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032. Sunset

Title: Dying Sucks
Type: Stand Alone
Genre: Drama
Characters: Jacob
Prompt: 032. Sunset
Word Count: 946
Rating: T
Summary: How did I spend my life to end up like this?
Warnings: Crude language, simulated blood (This makes up for all those updates without swearing ;))

I seriously fucked up this time. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong fucking time.

Chasing that asshole in here was like running down a blind alley. I knew the timing was wrong.

I’ve been chasing him so damn long. Months have turned into years; the reason for the hunt blurring as the days flow along in an endless stream of searching, finding and then losing. Originally my intentions could have been considered noble, but I’m afraid time and desperation have destroyed any nobility in me.

Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t spent all my life chasing him. I’ve lived my life as well. A good life for the most part, although now that I’m actually facing the possibility I may end it here in this dismal piece-of-shit warehouse in the section of town affectionately known as hell’s fire, I’m beginning to wonder if I couldn’t have done some things different. Loved the one woman who ever meant anything to me better.

They say when you’re about to die you reflect on your life, the good as well as the bad. Good, hum, that could be difficult.

I watch as the sunlight from the nearby window passes near my feet, the dust motes dancing in the drafty old building and smile.

Dancing. That was a good moment; the moment when I met my love. Not much good had been going on during that time of my life until I walked through the door and looked to the left. The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen was standing at the edge of the dance floor apparently watching someone in particular. I hoped it wasn’t one of the men as I moved toward her, drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

Damn that’s a fucking old cliché. But in all fairness, I’m sure it came to me because I’m burning up. I feel like I’m on fire and the blood from my injury just keeps flowing. I had hoped if I just found a dark corner and crawled into it the blood would eventually clot and the bleeding would stop. But no such luck. I’ve never been in a situation like this before, I don’t know what to expect. Seriously, I’ve never been stabbed, how can I know how long it takes for stab wounds to stop bleeding? I press my rolled up coat closer to my side, beginning to feel the stickiness as it reaches my fingertips.

The smell of my own blood is nauseating; or maybe it isn’t the blood so much as the weakness. The same weakness that forced me to hide in this corner.

Or perhaps it’s feeling like any minute I’m going to burst into flames and turn in to a pile of dust like the one I can see across the room. I watch as the square of sun on the floor slowly works its way on past and once again feel a slight cooling as the room grows darker.

Do I hear someone outside the building? That doesn’t make sense; no one ever comes down to this end of town. The buildings are falling down, half of them condemned. Nothing lives here but the rats, and even they know enough to stay hidden during the stifling heat of the day. Damn, I hope no one is here. Anyone coming to this trash heap can’t be good.

I pull myself further into the corner, hoping I blend in as a kid, can’t be more than fifteen, comes into the room. I can’t imagine what he can be looking for as he looks around, but then I understand clearly when he pulls out a gun and a wad of money. He counts it and carefully folds it.

Standing he puts the money and the gun back in his pocket and walks back into the shadows kicking the pile of dust. I know he's left when I hear the door slam shut.

As the dust settles back to the floor, scattering in the now fading sunlight, I realize my life does have one fuckin’ bright spot finally. I’ll never have to chase the bastard again. Of course, something good finally happens when I’m just about to die.

The room is beginning to turn dark as the sun sets, and I look toward the window. Finally, night is arriving. The heat of the day will pass. As the window grows darker, the heat and pain beating through me subside.

I begin to feel cool, the bleeding stops.

I slowly push to my feet. I made it, the healing will now start, and I’ll live for centuries.

I kick and spread what’s left of the dust pile, which in reality, is the fucker who stabbed me. I doubt he thought I’d pull the knife out and stab him in the heart with its wooden handle. A vampire’s weapon, immobilize with the silver blade, then with vampire speed finish off with the wooden stake. Unfortunately for him, I hit him in the throat, then quickly removed the knife that had only slashed through flesh and muscle, no organs and plunged the wood into his heart as he gasped for breath. His last breath as it turned out. But the affects of the silver left me too weak to find my way home before dawn.

In the end, however, I won. The bastard that turned me into a creature of the night then killed my only love is dead. Now maybe I can finally live, but first, I need to find where the rats are hiding. Feeding on rats disgusts me, but it’s better than dying. I know that now. Dying sucks.

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018. Colorless

Title: For the Children
Type: Stand Alone
Genre: Fantasy
Characters: Soleil & Terre
Prompt: 018. Colorless
Word Count: 575
Rating: G
Summary: All must be corrected.
Warnings: None

The land was awash with hues of gray, black and white. It was the middle of the day, but the earth was dying. If this were allowed to continue, scarce generations of children would continue without the sun; they would soon die.

A gray ash fell over everything, blotting out the rich colors of the world.

She could fix it; her ancestors had always been the chosen. The council had come to her, begged her to use the sphere. She could put color back into the world, but she couldn’t do it alone.

She’d traveled through the night to reach this place before the sun would once again set. She knocked, asking the rulers of the sky that he be home.

She stepped away form the door and looked toward where the sun would set in a few hours. This must be done before another night passed. Otherwise it would be too late and the colors would fade forever.

“Yes?”

She turned toward him, noticing he’d shut the door behind him. Whoever had come to visit, he would not let in his home. The years had been kind to him, but time had not lessened his anger with her. She had treated him poorly and unfairly and now she needed him.

With a trembling hand she pushed back her hood.

“I can’t say I’m surprised to find you at my door, but I’m going to guess it’s not your idea.”

She smiled; at least she wasn’t going to have to beg. Or she hoped she wasn’t. “No, my being here is not my choice.”

“You’ve come for it, haven’t you?”

“Yes, the time has come.”

“I won’t give it to you.”

“You must or the world will die.”

“Then let it die. They deserve it; they’ve brought this on themselves.”

“But the children haven’t. I must do it for the children. Please.”

“The sacrifice is too great, and even if you do succeed, they will only repeat it, they always do.”

“Then my daughter’s daughter will have to make the choice.”

“Our daughter’s daughter.”

“I’m sorry, my love, I must. I can't let the children die, I don't care about the powers, just the children.”

His star-filled eyes clouded with pain. “I’ve always known this day would come, ever since you left it with me. Come in.”

“No, I’ll wait here.”

He returned with a black, lifeless ball in his hands, silently beseeching her not to touch it, but she had to.

She took the crayotic sphere in her hands and as it began to glow, the color faded from her hair, her very being.

Slowly the sun filled the now brilliant blue sky, the gray ash burned away in its warmth.

The world once more became awash in vibrant, almost over bright color as the woman faded finally disappearing into the shadows of the trees.

Slowly, the man sank to the ground staring at the ball that had fallen when she was no longer of enough substance to hold it. It had long stopped glowing. Would he be able to give it to his granddaughter when the ones in power once again polluted the world to destruction, or would he finally end the cycle? Only the rulers of the sky knew what he would do, for he did not.

He turned to the newly formed shadows of gray and black that held Soleil, his only love, in its grasp for eternity.

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001. Beginnings

Title: Angels’ Cloud (Part 3)
Type: Series
Genre: Steampunk
Characters: Zachary Harrison Decker, Angeline Summer Edwards, Pavia
Prompt: 001. Beginnings
Word Count: 1,000ish
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After weeks, Zachary finally locates the proper direction.
Warnings: Language

(The book Zachary looks at and which appears on Angeline's coffee table are from "Stock from =yana-stock" simply because I couldn't find what I wanted in cc. I'm sure it's out there, but this worked great and looks great.)

Pulling down the heavy tome, Zachary moved to the only free spot he could find to place it. The library was the largest room in the house, and the fullest. Generations of Deckers had searched the globe for objects that weren’t supposed to exist.

For more than a century they had collected books, manuscripts, grimoires and parchments from all over the world. He had the most extensive library available, and yet, he’d spent nearly a week searching for some conclusive clue as to where the Vortex of Insanity was. He even had Miss Edwards searching her father’s things; talking to people he knew.

The man had gone somewhere, and if it was to the Vortex, then he had to have had some idea of its location before taking off.

Mary entered with a tray and sat it on the only clean surface in the room. “Your coffee, Mr. Zachary.

“Thank you,” he answered momentarily glancing up before returning to his reading.

Closing the book, finding nothing useful, he decided he needed that coffee. Crossing the room, he realized Mary had turned up the lanterns.

He took a sip and pulled back looking down at the cup. Cold, why would Mary bring cold coffee? The clock struck seven, and he looked around blinking, suddenly realizing the coffee hadn’t been cold when Mary brought it.

Damn, he’d lost track of time again, and he was starving. Setting next to the coffee was a sandwich wrapped to keep it fresh; when the hell had she brought that? Six o’clock, that’s when she always brought the food. He unwrapped it and ate as he walked over to another bookshelf and examined the volumes crammed onto its shelves.

A book caught his eye; one book in the sea of books seemed to stand out. He trusted his instincts, he always did; precognition had taught him to do so. He stuffed the last of the sandwich in his mouth and carried the volume back to his desk. Pushing aside a pile of books, he placed the book in the bare spot and sat.

Yes, finally this was it, the answer. Closing the book and reaching for his bag, he rose calling for Pavia.

As he reached the front door, the dog appeared.

“Come, boy we’re off to the lion’s den. I have the answer.”

The street lanterns barely penetrated the darkness. The first quarter moon was just beginning to make its way across the skies as he pulled up in front of the ramshackle house. Getting out he looked at the weeds overtaking what few flowers were left in the flowerbeds. The only growing thing that seemed prosperous was the greenhouse where the vegetables were a luscious green.

He and Pavia approached the house, Pavia regarding him. Was the dog expecting him to tell him there was danger afoot, or was he just picking up on Zachary’s unease. He shifted the book bag he was carrying over his shoulder.

He reached for the knocker giving it a resounding knock, and turned away looking up and down the street. The house and grounds were neglected, but the neighborhood was comfortable middle class. A little old, a little tired, unlike his own in the better part of town.

“Yes?”

He swung around, realizing he should have been paying more attention to the door and less to his surroundings.

“Miss Edwards,” he said giving a slight bow. The look on her face making him very uncomfortable. Had he come at an inopportune time, was she with someone, Damian perhaps? Suddenly uncomfortable, he said, “I should have called.”

“No, it's perfectly fine that you just showed up.” She stepped back, giving Pavia a pat on the head. “I can only assume you’ve found something.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because, Mr. Decker, I’m sure there's no other reason you would have come to my home. Certainly you didn’t come just to visit, you’re not the type.”

He stopped as she took the lead, moving forward to the parlor. “What type am I?” For some reason, he was genuinely confused as to what type she thought he was, and that bothered him.

“You're the type to not get involved socially with anyone who doesn’t share your passion for finding lost treasures, or your passion for books.” She motioned for him to sit. He reached in the bag and set the book on the table in front of them.

Sitting, she continued, “You’re the type to lose yourself in research to the exclusion of everything else and then rush to someone to share that find without thinking about time or convenience.”

“I’m sorry, Miss Decker, have I inconvenienced you? We can leave and come back tomorrow, or you can visit us at your pleasure; but since this involves your project, I don’t think that would be in your best interest as time is of the essence. We have one week to reach our destination. We must be on Morrison Mountain prior to the 9th as that is the night of a full moon.”

“Morrison Mountain, but it will take us longer than a week to be there even if we leave right this minute.”

“Yes, but if we don’t make this full moon, we’ll have to wait one more month. We can do that, I can do more research, but I believe I know where we’re going.”

“Oh, I don’t want to wait another month, but how can we get there?”

“We can fly, of course.”

“Fly, but no plane can land on Morrison Mountain.”

“No, but a balloon can get us there.”

“Oh, yes, and we’d still have time to prepare.”

She looked down at the book he’d placed on the table. “What have you brought, Mr. Decker?”

He looked at her and for some reason he couldn’t begin to understand, he smiled at her at said, “Zachary.”

She smiled back as she rose and sat next to him, her expression making his palms sweaty.

“Angeline, then.” The scent of roses engulfed him.

Angels' Cloud Part 2

Angels' Cloud Part 4

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031. Sunrise

Title: Sunrise (Angels’ Cloud Part 2)
Type: Series
Genre: Steampunk
Characters: Zachary Harrison Decker, Damian Reyes Cortez, Angeline Summer Edwards, Paiva
Prompt: 031. Sunrise
Word Count: 952
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sunrise brings the answer to the first question
Warnings: Language

Zachary stared at the blank page trying to examine it, wondering just what the hell he was doing out here, in a “mystical” part of the damn woods hours before he would normally be awake.

The woman had gone beyond reason insisting that he couldn’t subject the grimoire to his normal experiments to gauge the authenticity of it. Hell, she wouldn’t even let him see it before she placed it on the pedestal in the middle of friggin nowhere. That made him suspect. The book could be removed from the spot, but the pedestal was unmovable. How this entire area had survived for millennia unharmed was an even bigger mystery than the location of Angels’ Cloud.

He’d inspected the area as well as he could, also in the damn pitch dark of a new moon, and everything looked authentic as far as he could tell.

It’d been one month since the lovely Miss Edwards and Damian had invaded his home. He wasn’t sure what part pissed him off more, that they had invaded his home, or that he’d bought into it enough to start researching the myth, only to find that perhaps it wasn’t so much of a myth after all.

Paiva came back from wherever he’d trotted off to and sat at his feet yawning wide. “You and me both, buddy.”

“Talking to your smarter half again, Zachary?” Damian asked as he and Angeline returned from placing mirrors so that they faced the western most mirror.

Legend had it that when the sun rose just above the horizon, it would strike the mirrors, creating lightning, which would then bring forth the location of the Angels’ Cloud onto the blank page before him. Ah, UV sensitive ink, how terribly clever.

“Well, at least he’s smarter than you are at any rate. Miss Edwards, were you here the morning your father supposedly found the right location?”

“No, but when he came home he was more excited than I’d ever seen him. He said he’d found it, and took off a month later without telling me where he was going.”

“Why wouldn’t he tell you? You’re his daughter.”

“Because I, too, am a scientist, and he was afraid I’d follow. I came to you because he didn’t tell me the ritual needed to complete the circle of lightning.”

He’d been trying hard to push aside his dislike of the woman and her kind, but he wasn’t succeeding. “I’ve done research on you and your father. Seriously, I’m only doing this to prevent you both from your usual high-handed ways. You care nothing for the artifacts you find, you only care for the end result. I’d call you both tomb raiders rather than scientists.”

“That’s not fair. We only look for items of great scientific value. If uncovering the science behind the artifact destroys it, that’s not our fault.”

“Once again, I will not have Angels’ Cloud or this grimoire destroyed just to satisfy your damn science. That’s why I’m here, and let me make this perfectly clear, it’s the only reason I’m here. I want to see these items get the respect time and lore dictate they should.”

How the hell he was going to keep all these wonderful artifacts safe from the destruction of science? As far as he could tell, the only way to do that was to continue on the path he’d started and arguing with the woman would not keep the items safe.

He took a deep breath, shoving his dislike of her kind into the dark corners of his mind before he continued, “As far as I can tell there is no ritual, per se, just the proper placement of the mirrors in relation to the columns that have remained in this spot as mysteriously as the pedestal. There was nothing else available, and once again, this was only reported as being part of the myth in an old, unsubstantiated book I just happen to have lying around.”

“They remain because they cannot be seen without the book in hand.”

“Well, that’s certainly interesting, invisible ink and invisible objects. This is just getting better and better.”

“Are you always this cynical, Mr. Decker?”

“No, actually, he’s usually much worse. Which tells me that he thinks this might just work.”

“If I didn’t think there was a possibility, no matter how remote, I wouldn’t be here, and I certainly wouldn’t have subjected Pavia to this trip into the woods.”

“The sun is breaking the horizon,” Miss Edwards said, pulling down her goggles.

Reluctantly, Zachary followed suit. If nothing else, he was going to need them when the sun struck all the damn mirrors at once, they’d be blinded. If anything mystical happened, they’d never know.

He squatted next to Pavia, “Go into the woods, boy, if you stay here, it’s just going to hurt your eyes.”

Pavia licked his hand before trotting back into the woods.

“Does he always obey like that?” Angeline asked.

“Yes, we’ve been traveling together for the past five years, I found him as a puppy when I was digging for the Ancient Orb. Ever since then, we’ve been inseparable and he always listens when I tell him it’s dangerous.”

“Smart dog.”

“The best.”

“Did you find the Ancient Orb? I’ve heard tales about it; I’d love to see it.”

“No.”

The sun reached the horizon. A beam of white light connected the three mirrors and streaked from the westward mirror striking the book. The trio slowly approached the glowing book.

Printed on the page that only moments before was blank was: The Vortex of Insanity.

“Oh, shit,” all three said together as the book stopped glowing and the woods once again became normal and the page blank.

Angels' Cloud Part 1

Angels' Cloud Part 3

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