Gaia's Champion Ch. 23

Luke was driving through the city, headed towards the park that Xaera called home. According to Felicitae/Amy, there were certain components that she required to make a potion or something. Whatever it was, it would provide them with a level of protection from the Dark Magic that the corrupted Nymph wielded.

Luke was still coming to grips with everything he had learned in the past few days. He managed to get his head around the fact that there were items needed as spell components, which he thought was beyond cool! To him, it was almost like a real life game of D&D, where he was a player!

That he was now part of a gathering quest nearly gave him a nerdgasm! Luke was doing everything he could to stay on task, as they needed certain items to make this spell work. There were some items needed that grew in nature. Others were from a... less than savory source, which is where they ran into a bit of a problem.

"So, you're saying that we need all of that stuff in order to make this... spell work?" Luke questioned.

"Yes. I know that... acquiring a piece of my... body will be problematic," Felicitae/Amy admitted.

"Problematic? That's putting it mildly! Getting anywhere near you without turning into a rotted husk, or being thrown like Amy was, is going to be more than a little problematic!" Emalia huffed.

"So, we need a piece of you, in your dark form, in order to make this spell of yours work?" Luke reiterated.

"A piece of my body is the best option, but anything that is tainted with powerful Dark Magic will also do," Felicitae/Amy replied.

"Powerful Dark Magic? Like from any source?" Luke questioned.

"Yes. It must from something powerful though, in order for any level of protection from this spell, to be effective," Felicitae/Amy stated.

"Hmm. I have an idea," Luke said as he pulled over.

"Sweetie, what are you doing?" Emalia questioned.

"I need to make a call. I think I know where we could get such an item," Luke replied as he fished out his phone and made a call. The line rang, and Luke only hoped that Randy was amenable to doing business at this time of day.

******************************

Randy was busy finishing cleaning the table on which a corpse had rested. He sighed, as he knew that the work of morgue tech was never really done. There were always bodies that came in, which needed identifying, processing, and an entire array of tests to determine the cause of death. The man huffed as he surveyed his cleaning job, moderately satisfied with his work.

He placed the spray bottle loaded with cleaner on a nearby shelf and moved to wash his hands. Though he was sure that his hands were clean, you could never be too careful these days. He stood up and grabbed some paper towel to dry his hands when he was done and caught his own reflection in the mirror.

Randy was a moderately handsome man, standing at around five foot ten, with long brown hair and blue eyes. He had a slight, yet sturdy looking jaw, a beaky nose and a clean complexion. He was handsome enough, as he'd never had trouble attracting the fairer sex. The only problem he had was attracting the women he wanted, which proved troubling because of his beta personality and lanky form.

He often wished that he could find a way around that and was making some progress. Randy had been taking a few classes and courses and even attended a few seminars about how to be more assertive. He had no trouble remembering the theory of it, but putting it into practice... that was another matter entirely. Sighing, he went back to scrubbing tables when he felt a buzz in his back pocket.

He pulled out his phone and grumbled as he received the text from Luke, stating that he'd arrived. Randy headed to the sink to wash his hands, yet again, before heading to the back door as he dried them. He opened the door, hoping to see those hotties that Luke had in tow. He was happy to see one of them, but the other woman with him was unfamiliar to Randy.

"You've got maybe thirty minutes before my co-worker gets back from lunch. So, make this snappy, OK?" Randy warned.

"Got it, bud," Luke stated, as he handed Randy a crisp one-hundred dollar note. The tech took the money before letting the trio inside the building.

"So, do you have any fresh corpses that were wrung out? Like from before?" Emalia asked, getting straight to the point.

"As a matter of fact, we do. Picked up this guy out of a landfill, but because of the rate of decay and that his teeth were a right mess, we're having trouble identifying him," Randy told them.

"He get brutalized?" Luke wondered.

"More like his entire mouth rotted to where his teeth were nothing more than jagged bits of calcified shrapnel. Even the bones were quite brittle this time around," Randy stated as he walked over to the freezer where the corpse was stored. He opened the door and pulled out the slab, bringing the body out for everyone to see.

"It's getting more powerful," Emalia breathed, looking over the withered corpse. It lay there, looking like it had been dead for more than several months, rather than just a few days. The fact that the thing was in pieces made fairy's stomach turn.

"What was that?" Randy questioned.

"Nothing. Just... my mind running off on a tangent," Emalia supplied.

"Any luck on where he was dumped?" Luke wondered, steering the topic to something else related.

"The CSI's are working on that right now. If they find out anything, we'll know about it," Randy told them. Both women stared at the corpse, sensing the dark energies that emanated from it. It made them sick just to be in proximity to the dead body, but they knew it would eventually fade.

"I can... sense the... evil... that was done to this guy," Felicitae/Amy stated.

"You going to be OK?" Luke asked, turning to the woman.

"I'll be all right, thank you. What we do need is the neck or the right forearm. That's where the Darkness is strongest," Felicitae/Amy responded.

"Wait, you told me you needed to look over the body! That you might find a clue or two about it that the boys and girls in blue missed! Not take a piece of it!" Randy groused.

"Sorry bud, but I knew you wouldn't deal if I told you that," Luke fessed up.

"I can't let you have it. I could seriously lose my job over that shit if I were to let you take body parts, man! And what the fuck do you need them for, anyway?" Randy questioned as he shuffled closer to the intercom.

"That's something that's none of your business," Emalia told him.

"I say that it very much is my business! Why the fuck do you need the desiccated arm of a human corpse?" Randy demanded.

"We don't have time for this!" Luke growled, looking like he was about to tackle the man before he reached the intercom. Felicitae/Amy sighed in disgust before she let the Nymph take control. Her eyes glowed a bright green and her voice changed, taking on an ethereal quality.

"What we are chasing down is beyond the scope of the police to apprehend. If any of them even found the creature that is killing these people, they would soon join them in death," Felicitae/Amy told the morgue tech.

Randy yelped and slipped, falling to his ass in disbelief. Seeing her friend reveal what she truly was, Emalia figured there was nothing for it and uncased her wings. His eyes bugging out of his head, Randy sat there gaping like a fish. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing, but he knew he wasn't dreaming.

"What the... who the... how..." Randy blubbered, trying to find the words but failing.

"Dude, just breathe. You look like you're about to pass out," Luke told him. Randy did as Luke suggested and breathed deeply. After several deep breaths, he finally was able to calm down, even though what he was staring at should have been little more than myth and legend.

"What are you?" Randy finally asked as he got to his feet.

"Sorry, bro, but I don't have time to explain. Let's just say that there's a malevolent entity out there that gets stronger with each victim it kills. With the amount of people it has already killed, broad daylight attacks aren't far behind. We need this to not only deal with it but also something else that's far worse," Luke explained.

"What could be worse than whatever that... thing is doing to people right now?" Randy wondered, his voice quavering.

"Imagine what it does to people, translating to the very land and environment we live in," Luke stated, keeping the idea simple.

"What the fuck did I step into?" Randy breathed, shivering at the thought.

"Not all is lost, Randall. There are those of us who can fight such entities, provided we have the tools to fight them. This is why we need your help," Felicitae/Amy stated, walking up to the man.

"How... how can I help?" Randy asked, a little color returning to his face.

"By letting us take that arm. We need it, if we are going to create ways to defeat and protect us from this entity," Felicitae/Amy replied. Gulping fearfully, but nodding at this little ray of hope, Randy turned to the corpse of the man and picked up the right forearm. He then walked over to where a bunch of spare bags were kept and grabbed one before he stuffed it in.

"I sure as hell hope that you'll tell me the complete story later!" Randy groused.

"Bud, you can count on that! Pay my place a visit after we're done, and I'll tell you everything!" Luke promised.

"You had better! This is both scary and... super cool!" Randy gushed as he started putting things together in his mind. "I know you lot are in a rush, but... I need to know something."

"What did you wish to know?" Emalia questioned.

"How long have you... your kind, been here? On Earth, I mean?" the morgue tech queried.

"We've always been here. Humans just need to listen with their hearts and open up their eyes. Then and only then will you see everything that lies hidden around you," Emalia answered with a smile. Randy stood there, looking confused as he processed this answer.

"Speaking of hidden things... there is something that I sense... which dominates your thoughts," Felicitae/Amy stated, peering at the man curiously.

"Um... I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?" Randy asked nervously.

"No... not something... someone," Felicitae/Amy replied with a devilish smirk. A small mote of green magical energy appeared, hovering over her hand. Randy stared at it apprehensively before she bopped him on the head with it, pressing the energy into his head.

"Wha... what... did you do?" Randy asked worriedly, as he felt a bit woozy.

"Just gave you a little gift. Be sure that you put it to use now. Especially later today," Felicitae/Amy replied with a knowing smile. The trio then left the morgue, leaving behind a very confused and bewildered man, who shook his head, almost like he expected something to fall out.

"What did you do to the man?" Luke questioned as they walked out of the secondary exit.

"She instilled a little confidence into him. It's clear that he's been wanting something... someone for quite some time. Felicitae... Amy, gave him what he needs to finally take that which he wants," Emalia stated matter-of-factly.

"Which is what?" Luke queried.

"That is something that is known only to him."

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Randy stood there, like a lump on a log, still trying to wrap his head around everything he saw. He saw... he didn't know what he saw, but it definitely wasn't human! They were humanoid, a very appealing kind of humanoid, as Emalia's curves popped into his mind. Whatever Amy was... was she possessed by a spirit? That couldn't have been right, because science proved that spirits aren't real.

Though, in light of everything he had witnessed not even ten minutes ago, he was forced to reconsider everything he knew. That was a lot to reconsider, as he was still trying to rationalize everything in his mind. It took some doing, but he finally managed to calm down enough to where he could finally think straight. Just as he reached this point, he heard the clip clopping of booted feet, telling him that his co-worker had returned from lunch.

Damini Bhatt had always caught the man's eye, as she was a beautiful woman. He always had a thing for exotic women, but Damini, she was on a whole other level. As it was with most women of East Indian descent, Damini had the dusky complexion, brown eyes, and black hair that her race was known for. She was short, at least to him, standing all of maybe five foot two, but that just added to her allure.

She was a trim woman, relentless in keeping herself in shape, as she was usually at the gym, hitting the weights. Damini wasn't muscled by any means, but that didn't mean she was weak either. Though with her shorter frame, assumptions were often made, but they were dead wrong. More than once, Randy had heard of this little fireplug of a woman flattening some dude who thought himself more than she could handle.

It was always a laugh to hear of how Damini flattened one guy or another, making them beg forgiveness before she let them up. Though, with the way her body was shaped, he couldn't blame the asshats for trying. Her ass was the kind of perky that made you want to either slap it or bite it, and her tits weren't anything to sneeze at either. A little more than a handful, but not massive like some women, Damini was the epitome of a curvy woman.

"Rough lunch?" Randy questioned, seeing the stormcloud of emotions on her face.

"Not now, Randy!" she snapped, giving him a sideways glare.

Damini had always been an enigma to him, as most East Indian girls tended to be the prim and proper types. Not Damini, though. She went her own direction on things, and if you had a problem with it, you could promptly see yourself out of her life. She was a rocker girl and a total metalhead, as evidenced by the way she dressed.

Black made up most of the colors of her wardrobe, and she was often sporting black lipstick and black fingernails. She was somewhere between tomboy and girlie girl, a rare mix that Randy found oddly enticing. She also had the firebrand attitude that went with it and wouldn't take no shit from no one, not even family. Randy knew that Damini had gone to see her strict and conservative parents and was curious about how it went.

"It was that bad, was it?" Randy remarked as he watched her silently fume.

"Randy! Don't be such a nosy shit!" she yelled, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Look, I'm just concerned for my co-worker, who's clearly having a lousy ass day and just want to be sure that she's doing OK! All right?" Randy shot back as he turned back to go over inventory.

Damini's eyes widened upon hearing this, surprised that he'd take that tone with her! Randy had always been the genuine sort of guy, but was a little too complacent and subservient. He usually backed down when fights or conflict started, as he always kept his nose and hands out of things. That sort of attitude was not what Damini was looking for in a guy.

This fire though, she had no idea where it had come from and wondered how it could have come out. She did smile slightly on hearing that he was concerned about her welfare. It was sweet to know that someone she knew of in the life she had chosen cared. Her anger dissipating somewhat, she stood up and headed out to where Randy was busy.

"Hey," she called out.

"Hmm?" he replied.

"I'm sorry that I snapped at you like that. You're not the one I'm mad at. It was a bitch move on my part," Damini apologized.

"Yes, it was. Apology accepted, by the way. I don't mean to be nosy about your affairs, but it just seems that today has been rougher on you than most," Randy observed.

The man couldn't believe the words that were tumbling out of his mouth! Most of the time, he was always one to stay on the sidelines, staying out of people's way. He also didn't have the audacity to call people out, like he had called Damini out! He always listened to them, obeying his brain's flight mode over its fight mode. Now, it was like the flight mode had relinquished its dominance and had given full control to the other side!

"Ugh! You have no idea what kind of day it has turned into!" Damini groused as she rubbed her temples.

"Well then? Spill!"

"It's my parents and their constant judgmental bullshit that just grates on my nerves! It's almost like they think this is still the nineteen fifties and that I'm just supposed to do what they say!" she stated.

"How so? I'm familiar with East Indian culture to an extent, but please break a few things down for me?" Randy asked as he listened attentively.

Damini smiled and humored the man, knowing that he was as whitebread as men like him came. She listed off all the things that Indian girls were supposed to be; obedient, dutiful, strict and, above all, submissive. Randy's face was one of total disgust, as he couldn't believe that there were still people out there who enforced such values on others. He shook his head in disbelief when Damini told him of what her parents had essentially demanded of her.

"So, let me see if I got this straight. Your parents want you to give up everything that you're doing, in order to enter into some arranged life for you? That they even went so far as to arrange for a man to come and marry you? Someone that they picked??" Randy asked, disgusted by the notion.

"Yeah, basically. I told them in no uncertain terms that they could stuff their little idea of what I'm supposed to be up their asses! I'm not like my big sisters and I'll never be! Period!!" Damini grumbled.

"Wait, you have sisters?" Randy questioned.

"Yeah, three of them. All older, all married, all of them doing exactly what my mother and father told them to do. It's like they expect me to obey, just like they did, without question! They don't take into consideration the things I like to do, that I want to do and how I have every intention of living my life my way!" Damini roared.

"As it should be with anyone, no matter where you're from!" Randy agreed.

"They and my sisters expect me to be this 'good, respectful girl,'" she replied with a scoff. "What they don't understand is how my life should be my own to determine! I mean, by Shiva, it's my life that I'm living, not theirs!"

"I get that one hundred percent!" Randy said to her, giving her a meaningful look.

"How?"

"I was raised in a hardcore, European Catholic family. Trust me when I say I know exactly what you're talking about," Randy told her.

Before Damini could ask about it, Randy tugged at the sleeve of his right arm, pulling it back. On the man's forearm was a crisscross latticework of scars. She looked at the man's arm, aghast at the level of markings that were on it! There were so many that she couldn't count them all, as one often blended in with another.

"What happened?" she wondered, curious about the man.

"My father... if you could call him that... was very strict in my upbringing. I had to be the best in everything I did. Second place was never tolerated, much less agreed upon. I did well in school and whatever things I decided to pursue. Only problem was, I was never allowed to select my own pursuits. They were selected for me," Randy said as he pulled his sleeve back down.

Damini winced, as she had heard various tales about such people and how they were just as bad as her own were. Often pushing their children to reach such heights that many deemed unattainable for that age. Also, with the level of expectation placed upon them, it was a wonder that many of them didn't crack under the pressure. She never figured Randy for one of those types, but she obviously misjudged him.

"Ai!" Damini replied, thinking about how rough that must have been.

"When I got to the point where I wanted to start thinking for myself... I was... discouraged from doing so. Such discouragement, along with whenever I endured... re-education about being the best... it nearly broke me," Randy replied, holding his forearm.