Download - Supernatural Story

8/6/2019 Supernatural Story

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SUPERNATURAL

The Role-Playing Game.

Set in New Orleans, the story depicts the drama of the spiritual underworld, invisible to the average

person, but not to the hunters that protect them. Our story follows the exploits of Bienville LaChampe and Akira Fukiyama as they seek out the demonic and the ghostly, the undead and the unsavory.

Bienville LaChampe is the curator of the New Orleans African Art Museum by day, a Voodoo Hougan

witch doctor at all other times. His lifelong exposure to the world of fixes and curses, hexes andcounter-curses, along with his need to right the wrongs of his misunderstood religion, has propelled himto be a Hunter. He is knowledgeable in the lore of the preternatural, savvy in the world of ethnic art,

capable of pulling off impressive stunts in his 64 Ford Mustang, and a bit over-doting with his 9MM.Oh, and he has an unusual ability to hear dead people.

Akira Fukiyama killed his girlfriend back home in Tokyo. She was possessed by a demon that was trying

very hard to kill him. He had no choice, but he has regretted it ever since. He fled to America, to hisfamily s disappointment, and has tried to rebuild his shattered life as an exchange student in theAnthropology department at Loyola University. This new life hasn t been any better. He hopes the

weird turn his life has taken can be righted by seeking answers to many questions. He has his academicwit, studious knowledge of anthropological lore, and a kickass ability to kickass to back him up. Ohyeah, he also has his father s blessed katana and a bit of ESP added to the mix.

Positive he is being stalked by his dead girlfriend, Akira recently met a new girl he liked. It took just a

week before he was certain that she, too, was showing signs of either an acute onset of mental illness oranother demonic possession. Taking her to a recent guest speaker at school, the very same Bienville

LaChampe, he sought the help of the voodoo hougan. LaChampe was glad to be of service. An ancientCatholic exorcism was conducted. The girl and Bienville almost died. It was one of those that nearlyended tragically and on the next day s evening news. Nonetheless, the demon was removed and the girlwas safe. They never banished the entity though. This would be bad.

In the weeks that followed, Bienville and Akira agreed to meet and follow up on any lingering

phenomena either thought relevant to the ritual. Apart from some very disturbing nightmares involvingimages of a red faced old man and the flooding of his museum during Katrina, Bienville was fine. Akirahad parted ways with the girl who appeared to have had enough of the entire horrifying ordeal.

They met one night outside the museum after closing hours and walked to the Quarter, taking a short

cut through Louis Armstrong Park. You know what they say about short cuts.

The night was humid and cool. A thin mist covered the park, sure to thicken as the evening wore on.The two walked through the grassy trail, approaching one of the many arcing bridges that spanned thesmall canals lacing the trees and public areas. A third of the way through the grounds is where they

encountered it.


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A t hing scurried from the dark recesses of the trees ahead. It was low to the ground and fast. Its shapewas hard to discern in the darkness. The two hurried to the top of the next bridge.

Entering the pools of light that spilled onto the walkway ahead, the creature could be seen at last in the

clarity of the illumination. It was no creature but the crawling, scampering form of a person. Blood was

evident all over his slovenly kept clothing, particularly near his throat. From him could be heard thewhimpering of a distraught, wounded man. It almost sounded like an animal. As he approached them

with uncanny speed, Bienville heard words mixed with the sounds of pain. And they were calling out hisname, Poppa Bienville. It seemed he knew him.

Bienville and Akira came down the steps of the small bridge to help the man. Bienville recognized thebloody mess it was Robert Grange, a homeless old black man he often helped on his walks through the

park to and from the museum. He was pleading for his help now; begging for it. He was also foaming atthe mouth.

After some troubled moments spent staunching the flow of blood from the wound located at his neck,Robert was stabilized and given a moment to speak. In a panic, with darting eyes, he told of being

attacked. Of a creature that bit him. Of large teeth and smelly hair. These were the same visions thatAkira could sense when he concentrated his extra sensory perception on the vagabond s mind. Bienvillegave him a draught of holy water the man nearly gagged on. There was clearly something very wrong

going on.

Robert led them to where he claimed it all happened, near the center of the park. On the other side of the open air amphitheater where public concerts entertained many, very near where, during theprevious century, slaves danced their voodoo rituals and killed their cursed offerings, there stood the

largest of the park s bridges. Robert led the two beneath it.

As they crept down the side of the embankment, Bienville muttered a prayer and fished into hismedicine bag for some sage to burn. They had come across the remains of a ritual and, from Bienville s

experience, it was one of the heavy ones.

Images drawn with black chalk on the wall beneath the bridge depicted an altar framed by two uprightcoffins. Symbols associated with resurrection magic were prevalent, but an unusual series of glyphssurrounded the drawing. They seemed Asian to Akira. Above all was an image of a long nosed visage

bracketed by wings. On the floor were the offerings Bienville was accustomed to seeing among thevestiges of rituals such as these: empty rum bottles, ashes of a burned offering, fruits arrayed before thealtar, and thirteen quarters surrounding the strange assortment. Strangely, though, there was one more

element: a chain on a post with a dog collar attached to its end. There was blood on the ground.

Suddenly, the old vagrant, Robert, came up from behind them. He had a desperate look and grabbed atBienville, pleading, begging, crying. Foam dribbled out of his mouth, falling to his chin. A horriblestench wafted from his mouth. He said his pain had returned, and as they watched, blood resumed

oozing out the wound at his neck.


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And then his eyes lost their humanity. And old Robert lunged at Bienville s throat with barred fangsdripping bloody foam.

Bienville was not caught off guard and, with an uttered prayer, lunged at the old man with his walking-

fighting stick. It was an heirloom that rarely left his side and had often been wielded in self defenseduring his dangerous endeavors. This time he shoved hard at Robert s belly, hoping to drive the windout of the wretch. With an animal grunt the old man grabbed its end and shoved the cane aside

reaching for Bienville s shoulders with what, at a glance, seemed like fingers with abnormally hardtalons.

Fiery pain seared into Bienville s shoulders as the two-handed, powerful grip punctured skin andsqueezed muscle to bone. It ended just as abruptly when Akira grabbed what was once Robert in astrong headlock, pinning his arms above his head.

Bienville pulled out his silver dagger and looked at the beastly thing a moment before striking it. RobertGrange slavered blood and foam from his slack-jawed mouth. Long teeth protruded from his sickly blackgums. His limbs seemed bent at wrong angles at the elbow and, as he struggled, his knees gave an

audible crack and bent in the opposite direction. His fingernails were talons.

He would end this sick transformation. He plunged the knife at the creature s throat. In the struggle, hewould drive the blade straight into its mouth, stabbing it at the base of its brain. It died instantly.

Panting hard and yanking the knife clear of the gory mess, Bienville could not help but bend down tostudy the limp body at his feet. Akira had dropped the creature when he felt it go limp. Both were

shaken at the sight, and, without answers, could only consider looking for more clues from the ritualparaphernalia strewn about them.

Bienville had enemies. He knew there were hoodoo doctors that were practitioners of the more vile,

nefarious sects of Vodun. He countered their efforts time and again. This seemed like their work, butthere were elements in the ritual, the strange glyphs, the image of a face framed by wings, that did notmake sense. Then Akira added yet another anomalous detail among the offerings circled by coins, he

picked up a small folded bit of paper. It was red and in the shape of a man s face with a long nose. Anorigami in a resurrection ritual Bienville was stumped. Finally, amid the burned ashes, they found twoslivered pieces of red painted wood, sculpted to curve vaguely like two crescents. They were the

charred remains of a larger object that had been burned as part of the rite. None of it was typical of the

voodoo practice.

Akira fished in his backpack and pulled out his laptop, fired it up, and took some webcam still images of the entire scene. He hoped to cross reference the images later using some software that could help

identify the glyphs. Bienville picked up some loose hair near the dog collar.

They were set to get going when they heard a low growl behind them.


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Looking back, they noticed a drainage pipe emerging from the wall further ahead. It was about four feetwide and looked to be the way water was fed into the canal when it drained from the park grounds

above. The growl came from within, behind the fenced gate at the opening.

Without flashlights, Bienville and Akira resorted to cell phone lights to peer into the tunnel. They crept

toward a better vantage. Bienville heard the growl become a low chuckle. He looked to Akira, but hisfriend had not seemed to hear the subtle shift in the sound. Just as they angled to look into the mouth

of the pipe, the clouds above flashed in a long, silent, lightning fork high above. Somehow, the whitelight afforded them a view they d have preferred to have avoided: the best that it could be describedwas living road-kill. It was an animal of some sort lying at the end of the tunnel. There was a brief

glimpse of teeth, fur, bone, and blood. The lightning stopped and a pair of malevolent eyes reflectedtheir cell phone lights back at them.

Akira heard the growl again. But for Bienville, the laughter was now clear. It was taunting him.

He moved the grated gate aside, crouched with his open cell phone, and went in.

In the tight confines of the pipe, Bienville smelled the reek of the foul creature. He had lost it in thedarkness as he struggled to aim the glimmer of the flip phone at the thing. When he searched the

gloom ahead, he saw rapid movement. Aiming the light as he fumbled forward, he saw nothing beforehim as the pipe seemed to turn left and out of sight just ahead.

A piercing whine began to penetrate his consciousness. As he crept forward in the sludgy grime of thewet metal, the noise invaded him like a parasite burrowing deep in his ear canal. He could barely crawl

forward. He forced his will and discipline into rounding the bend ahead and peering down the left turnof the pipe. A steel grating blocked further passage. There was no sign of the creature.

As suddenly as it began, the invasive whine subsided. It was replaced with a malevolent and deep

laughter that could emanate from no human throat. Being able to discern the sounds of thesupernatural was rarely a good thing. He could hear water pouring from somewhere in the distanceahead, beyond where his feeble light could reach.

Behind him, Akira had followed within the narrow passage and quickly assessed the sound of water

coming from around the corner. He backed off and warned Bienville who began scrambling back andrecovering his senses after the invasive, subconscious attack. He would not be fast enough.

A rush of water roared out of the bend. It filled the pipe s circumference completely. Akira justmanaged to get out before the chain linked fence slammed shut, trapping Bienville inside the wild

torrent. It was such a volume of water and mud that Bienville was slammed against the grating andbarely managed to catch a short breath as he struggled for the uppermost reach of the closed fence fora breath of air. The water completely filled the area of the tunnel. Bienville could not get high enough

within the pipe for more air. He was trapped, under slimy, muddy water, with nowhere to go andquickly losing his breath.


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Splashing over the oncoming water, Akira pulled out his knife and began working the rusted bolt thatkept the gate in place. Some unnatural force had slammed the gate shut, and there was no doubt in his

mind he wouldn t be able to open it by any conventional means. The putrid water bursting from thepipe soaked him as he worked frantically. The volume of water was tremendous; he could see Bienvillebeyond the grating, fingers frantically struggling to grip the bars and rise to the surface.

His friend was not doing well. Bienville had not gotten enough air and was beginning to see spots

before his vision. He gave up struggling for a breath and began looking for purchase to help slam thegate open with his legs. He couldn t tell what Akira was doing outside but prayed his friend would thinkof something fast.

Akira popped off the bolt and struggled to open the gate, only to find that there was a second fastener

on the other side. There would not be enough time to pry off this other one. He knew instinctively hewasn t going to be able to help his friend in time. He worked fast but struggled just to get across therush of water to the other side without fumbling his knife.

He worked at the bolt despite his concern but there was no way Bienville could hold his breath for

much longer. Then he felt the gate shudder. It was being pounded by the other side. He realizedBienville was slamming the gate with his legs. The gate moved visibly. The bolt jumped further out of place. He yanked and pried with his knife under the space created, willing the fastener to come away

from the wall.

The bolt flew off. The gate came down. Bienville followed, gasping for air as the water rushed him outto the canal.

The water s flow diminished almost immediately. Akira knelt on the ground panting. Bienville lay in the

shallow water watching the excess surge into the pond beyond the bridge. The body of old man Roberthad been washed away. Police sirens could be heard nearby.

Regaining his wit, Akira suggested they leave the scene. Bienville could not agree more.

Wounded and winded as he was, Bienville led Akira back to his museum by a circuitous route to avoidthe police who had indeed been summoned to investigate the park grounds. They arrived and applied

some simple medical aid to Bienville s wounded shoulders. He added some special ingredients from hismedicine bag to the poultice applied over the cuts. Akira wrapped both shoulders in gauze and

bandages.

Soon after, they were in front of Akira s laptop, trying to cross reference the symbols he d photographed

with some software he d acquired from a computer geek friend. In the meantime, Bienville triedphoning a very dangerous, yet knowledgeable contact: a certain Jon LaCroix. LaCroix was a v ery, v ery distant relative. He was his great, great grandfather s uncle. Of course , this was only possible because

he was also a vampire.


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In the end, the time at the museum was well spent. Between the two of them, they discovered thesymbols were Asian summoning glyphs though their exact meaning remained unclear. The use of dogs

in such rituals might have had something to do with an old European myth that required dogs be killedat the opening of a new graveyard, so that their spirits could guard the cemetery. Akira also recalled areference to black dogs being sacrificed in Japan to bring on rain for crops.

The origami in the form of a long nosed, red faced old man was most helpful. When the photograph

taken was studied with a bit more scrutiny, Akira discovered that the image above the altar showed along nosed face as well. Bienville surmised that the material found in the collection of ash may havebeen a red painted mask. They had resembled masks he had seen at other museums. They were kubuki

masks often depicting demons. The features, the colors, and the use of Asian glyphs were all cluespointing in the same direction: to an entity called a Tengu. Things began to fall into place.

The Tengu demon was said to lure holy men by possessing women. While some legends said its trueform was a bird faced man, other stories said it took the appearance of a dog faced, long nosed

monster. Akira recalled his problems with women. Bienville remembered his recent nightmares.

The symbols were the key to discovering precisely who had performed this ritual and, just asimportantly, why. Now that the glyph s origins had been identified, Bienville recalled the only time hehad ever heard of Asian symbols being used in a voodoo-like ritual. It had come to light a few years

back, just before Katrina, when news agencies reported multiple discoveries of an unusual nature.Voodoo paraphernalia was never strange in New Orleans, but police were concerned at the time thatcertain symbols depicted throughout various ritual sites may be associated with new gang related

activities. An expert symbologist had been called in to review the findings. He had said they wereancient Japanese imagery. The story and its sensationalism died down very soon after when reporters

began covering a certain oncoming hurricane.

A search in the right database however was able to bring it back to light if only on the screen of Akira scomputer. The symbologist turned out to be a now retired professor of art history. His name wasMaster Hamilton Dow. Akira managed to get his present address in New Orleans. They both looked atthe time it wasn t too late to pay Master Dow a visit.

The 64 Mustang sped off to the Garden District.

The two-story house was 19 th century Victorian on the corner lot. It had a wraparound porch typical of

the homes in the neighborhood. The grass was tall and the shrubs overgrown. The walls needed a freshcoat of paint. The front gate kept banging open and shut in the stiff breeze. It was just after 10PM,

there were no lights on. They approached with caution.

As they entered the walkway to the porch steps, Akira got the distinct impression they were beingwatched. Bienville s impression was far more clear: he heard a piano melody from within the house. Heturned to comment to Akira and saw how his friend had not seemed to have heard anything.


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Instinctively, he knew only he was able to hear this ethereal music. Spirit sounds were never pleasant.The haunting notes grew louder the closer he got. He almost urged Akira to hold off, but the younger

man took the steps up to the front door.

With just a tiny moment s hesitation, Akira knocked at the door and it opened with a creak into a dark

and seemingly empty house.

The flashlight lit the darkness within revealing a staircase just beyond the small foyer, winding up to thesecond level of the house. To the right was a living room, on the left, a small study. Ahead, the hall

continued towards other rooms. It looked lived in, but empty.

As Akira scanned the living room to the right, Bienville followed inside, all the while listening as thespiritual piano music only he could hear gradually transformed into a familiar but all too eerie lullaby. Inhis mind, he could hear a little girl s voice. It sang the words to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star ,

accompanying the music and a whirring, faint static Bienville often interpreted as the spiritual energy inthe area. It was getting louder.

Akira, deaf to the auditory phenomena Bienville perceived, could only sense a bitter disappointmentwithin the home. Things were not right. The temperature was chilled. He glanced at the pictures in the

living room, noting some old photographs standing on frames or hung on the walls. The street lightoutside spilled its yellow illumination in a jagged stripe across empty chairs.

The music in Bienville s mind rose in volume as he entered the room alongside Akira. The latent staticunder the haunting child s song was blurring into the melody, at times replacing it altogether. The entity

that was communicating with him was as close as he d ever felt a ghost. Their breaths were clearlyvisible in the scant light.

The little girl stopped the music and spoke inside Bienville s consciousness. She asked why he had taken

away her brother. Why he had not returned. She blamed him for her loss. The phone rang loudly, justonce. Lights flickered on, then off. Doors slammed and opened upstairs. The ghost of the little girl wasangry.

Bienville did his best to placate her. As a gifted medium, he could be heard by most spirits. He

discovered her name was Nora and that she was the sister of Master Dow, the symbologist for whomthey were searching. The man who, she said, had left the house because of them. They saw old

pictures of a Chinese family; they found Nora among the yellowed people in the portrait a little girl of no more than 5 or 6 years. She said she wanted to play with the girl who looked like her, only older;the spirit of a woman who was attached to Akira. In his confusion, Bienville immediately thought of theunfortunate subject of his last exorcism. Akira had to be told there was an entity clinging to him

perhaps he knew already.


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At the moment, Nora was pleading with him to come upstairs so she could play. Bienville, fully bracinghimself for what he would find lit his sage bundle, donned his white prayer cap, and headed up the

stairs.

Akira chose to investigate the back of the house. He went passed the stairs and around the bend in the

hall to emerge in the spacious and dark kitchen. He immediately heard a scratching sound at the backporch door. Creeping silently, he approached, drawing his father s katana in one hand and holding the

flashlight in the other. There was a small screened window with a lacey curtain at its center.

As he crept upstairs, Bienville felt the air grow even colder. Stepping onto the landing, he saw bedroomdoors to the left and right simultaneously close shut. Directly ahead, the door at the end of the narrowhall swung silently open. There was a dim light within; from the layout, it seemed to be a spare room,

perhaps an attic. Nora s voice beckoned him, and Bienville sensed the girl was just inside the portal. Hetook a breath and moved toward the open door.

Downstairs, Akira silently gripped the knob ready to open the door and catch whoever was outsideunawares. He strove to be as quiet as he could only to jump suddenly when the loud and abrupt barks

of what could only be a large dog erupted from just outside. Through the screen, his flashlight caughtsight of gleaming teeth and dark fur. And then there was silence.

He creaked open the door, blade ready to strike, peered at the porch and beyond into the large yard.On the grass, in the dim illumination of his flashlight and the ambient light of a neighbor s house, six

large black dogs sat on the grass in a straight line, calmly observing him.

Then, he heard Bienville yelling for him in a fearful panic. He turned to look inside toward the shouts.Loud footsteps stomped down the stairs and, in moments, Bienville dashed into the kitchen. Akira

looked back out to the yard and found no sign of the dogs.

Finding Akira at the back door, and panting in a cold sweat, Bienville stated in no uncertain terms that itwas time to go. Near the toaster, kitchen knives slid out of their block and flew toward them.

His shirt ripped and soaked with blood from a long wound courtesy of a butcher knife hurled by a veryangry poltergeist, Bienville leaned on his Mustang explaining to Akira how his encounter with the ghost

had gone. It appeared the spirit child was not remotely interested in playing at all. She had tried to getBienville to tell her why he had made Hammie Dow, her brother, leave the house. After he dexplained he d had nothing to do with it, Nora became increasingly upset. Though he was barely able to

get much more information out of her, he did learn that they had not been the only strangers in thehome. She mentioned four black men who wore white caps like Bienville. He also learned her brothermay have gone to some other house, maybe for good. That s when things got bad.


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It seemed the little girl was strongly attached to her brother a man who had aged over the years: thephotographs in the house depicted him as an elderly Chinese man with a graying beard and unusually

clear blue eyes. Just when Nora began yelling so loudly it hurt his cranium and when the rocking horsein the little girl s attic room began shaking, Bienville had had enough he broke and ran. There was noguarantee she would not manifest more dangerous means of getting the answers she wanted. A

paranormal tantrum was not something to trifle with.

Outside, on the curb, Akira asked if he d gotten the address of the second house. Bienville had not. The job was unfinished. They both looked back towards the front porch, regretfully realizing they d have toreturn to the thoroughly haunted house.

With a resigned sigh, they trooped it up the steps and went inside.

Before they reached it, the door swung open on its own accord. Akira looked to Bienville with anunspoken question; the hougan shook his head there was no voice or music this time. As theyentered, the glass door of the library eased open as well. Nora seemed to be telling them to explore thestudy. Akira entered. Noting the more calm feelings within the house, Bienville cautiously marched up

the stairs to search the other rooms.

Thorough searches revealed some useful clues. From numerous old pictures in the study, HammieDow appears to have once been a sport hunter who frequented the Louisiana bayou. The books in theroom proved to be a bit more than academic. Titles included, Ma st erson s Guide t o Encryp t ion , The

Dev il s Circle, and The Key of Solomon t hroughou t Hist ory . The old man knew his lore.

Upstairs, Bienville discovered a room full of other, more esoteric paraphernalia. There were rock saltrounds, silver blades, rune medallions, rosemary beads, bibles, vials of holy water and even a pair of

stakes lying beside an old mallet. Some items appeared to have been removed. Drawers appeared half full. A suitcase set appeared to be missing one piece.

After a while of investigating quietly, Bienville noticed he no longer felt the presence of Nora. Theenergy within the house was no longer felt even by the preternaturally perceptive Akira. With the late

hour, a sudden exhaustion, and the continued bleeding along Bienville s side, he and Akira agreed it wastime to go and mull over the information they had acquired.

The dark blue Mustang sped off towards the Quarter.

After some more bandages were applied to the wounds along Bienville s side, the late hours were spentrecuperating and attempting to contact Jon LaCroix for any knowledge he may have of the old Hunter

Hammie Dow. Perhaps being as old as he was, the Vampire might know of Dow and where he hadgone. The exasperated LaCroix was of no help his orgy was still in full swing, and he truly did not want


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to discuss old men at the moment. After Akira came up empty in an online search of alternateaddresses for Dow, they decided to view their mystery with fresher eyes the following morning.

Akira had crashed on an office sofa with the laptop in hand. He awoke to the sounds of keys rattling

around the small lobby of the museum. Opening his eyes he saw beautiful, young black woman,professionally dressed in a smart jacket and slacks walk right into the office where he d spent the night.Already at his desk, Bienville stood and greeted his assistant Francoise Bontemp. Akira quickly flattened

his hair and checked his breath.

After asking her to make an emergency clinic appointment for his accidental cuts, Bienville questionedFrancoise about any Hoodoo priests that may have been involved in any recent nefarious activities.Francoise had many contacts among the more unsavory half of the Voodoo religion. Bienville kept tabson these more questionable practices through Francoise. He believed he could trust her.

Although she did not have any relevant information at the moment, she did agree to check out hersources for anything out of the ordinary.

A break came when Akira was telephoned by a Professor McCormack, his department committee chair.Akira needed to come in for his advisory meeting that morning. Akira and Bienville agreed to take care

of their respective appointments Akira at the University, Bienville at the clinic. They would meet in theafternoon.

During his meeting with Professor McCormack, Akira slid in an innocuous question about an old ArtHistory professor, Master Dow. He learned that the professor had known Dow when he was part of the

faculty at the university. He informed him that the strange old man had a place he preferred far morethan his house in the Garden District a hunting lodge he kept deep in the bayou. Though he did not

know where it was, he did recall a roadhouse bar the old guy would frequent with his hunting buddiesback in the day.

Later that afternoon, eager to learn more about the strange Tengu-summoning symbols of the previousnight s ritual, Akira and Bienville headed outside of town to the illustrious dining establishment known

locally as the Bayou BBQ.

The place was precisely what they thought it would be like. A row of motorcycles lined up outside atrailer turned diner with a sign boasting bike night on Saturday. Bienville asked Akira to stay outside.Even the normally assertive Japanese exchange student couldn t disagree.

The inside didn t disappoint either, thought Bienville. He approached the narrow bar passed the long

aluminum tables filled with some of the reddest necks he d ever seen. The barkeep sported a long


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bushy graying beard that lay over a fat belly under a stained t-shirt. He ordered a beer and asked hisquestions.

Outside, Akira was minding his own business when some younger bikers approached the 64 Mustang.

Impressed with the classic muscle car s impeccable maintenance, they were surprised to see the

Japanese student minding the vehicle. A confrontation was set to begin.

Meanwhile, the barkeep was surprisingly forthcoming with helpful answers. Bienville, ever smooth withsocial situations, however foreign his audience, came across his usual persuasive self even if it was

feigning an interest in hunting and other backwoods pastimes. The bartender revealed he knew theold Chinaman Dow . More than that, he even directed Bienville to the old hunting lodge deeper in the

bayou behind the main road. Just then, the sounds of a fight roused everyone s attention to what was

going on outside.

The door opened to a couple of ruffians nursing some cuts and bruises one, a bloody chin, the other ablackening eye. Akira fixed his collar, reset his spiky hair, and kicked a broken bottle a fair distance fromthe bruised bikers. When the patrons noticed the fight was over as soon as it had started, things

returned to normal. The bearded bartender was only happy they were finally learning to hold theirfights outside his establishment.

Bienville came out to check on his car. As he looked her over, Akira was approached a second timethis time by individuals he appeared to know. Bienville, wondering who his friend could possibly know

at the Bayou BBQ, turned his attention to two young men. Turned out they were fellow universitystudents, football players with whom Akira was acquainted. From the sounds of it, they were notexactly friends; they exhibited the juvenile mind of the prototype jock that was only too happy to fit his

own stereotype. It was clear though, they knew enough to avoid provoking Akira. The Asian smiled

when his smart ass challenge drove the nervous, bigger men back inside the bar.

With the hours of the evening fast approaching, Bienville and Akira got in the car and drove up the dirt

road behind the Bayou BBQ towards the lengthening shadows of the tall trees lining the edge of thedark swamp. In the distance, they could see where the wider trail gave way to a narrow track confinedby thick brush and dripping moss. Beyond that, they would have to walk.

The shadows darkened. The green that permeated the seemingly primeval forest grew a deeper shade.

The bugs and crickets created a large, permanent noise that came from everywhere at once. Akira and

Bienville were swallowed by the bayou.

They walked for some time, winding through the narrow dirt trail. The sun was gone by that point,leaving them to find their way with their flashlights. The trees crowded them just beyond the light s

glow.


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Then, the unusual noises began. They sounded like bird calls, or perhaps a child s faint wail. It wassporadic, but no matter how far they walked on, it was always nearby. Neither of them had ever heard

such a sound. It was unnerving.

They directed their lights at the forest surrounding them, but could see nothing beyond the dark, thick

boughs and trunks of the rough trees. Presently, they heard a long cry, much closer to the trail. Akiramotioned for Bienville to remain stationary while he crept ahead along the track. At his signal, Akira

pointed the flashlight towards the direction of the sounds. They heard a sudden giggle and caught aglimpse of two men hiding amongst the trees. It was the two college football players. Realization of theprank hit Akira immediately. Knowing their game was up, the two students broke from their cover and

fled deeper into the woods, laughing as they ran.

Bienville caught up with Akira who was looking into the bayou, shaking his head at the idiocy of hisacquaintances. Abruptly, the laughter turned into a violent scream from the direction in which they drun off. Violent growls accompanied by vicious sounding barks came from the darkness beyond their

flashlights. Akira and Bienville leapt into action, diving into the woods towards the violent sounds.

They reached a clearing and witnessed as horrible a sight as either had ever seen.

An enormous snarling black dog stood above the prone and bloodied mess of one of the young men.Slavering, gore-dripping fangs, entirely too long for any normal dog, pulled out chunks from the deadman s throat. The creature looked up at them, dull red eyes glinting in the pale light. At the edge of

their beam, Akira sighted movement. He redirected the flashlight and saw two more of the largemuscular predators. With fang filled maws snarling, they leapt, long claws eager for their flesh.

The flashlight spun through the air as Bienville was tackled by the snarling animal. Weak light twirled

around the rocky clearing as snapping jaws tried to tear at flesh. Akira was able to nimbly sidestep theoncoming beast, slashing with his blade expertly at the creature as it flew passed. Bienville wasstruggling with the monstrosity on his chest. The one that had been chewing on the throat of the

college student looked up eagerly for someone else to take down. There were more howls in the neardistance.

In moments, Bienville kicked off his assailant, clumsily aiming his 9mm pistol in the near darkness. He

fired and heard a yelp.

Akira, lunged and stabbed at his creature just as the third one launched at his back. With speed that

confirmed his superior training, he crouched down and watched in the dimness as the large body jumped over and passed him. Realizing his original attacker was only wounded and turning on him yetagain, he drove his katana forward in an overhand stabbing lunge the blade drove deep into the dog s

chest, near the throat.


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The third creature set for his second spring at Akira, seemingly determined with a baleful stare and alow growl. Bienville saw it just at the last moment and fired at the beast only to miss as the creature

caught Akira in a vicious bite on the flesh of his thigh. Fiery pain shot up Akira s leg as the dog closed itstoothy maw in a viselike grip. Blood immediately rolled down his leg. It took Akira s full discipline toraise his sword and drive it powerfully between the shoulder blades of the beast below him.

And then there appeared many more dim red eyes around the clearing.

Picking up his flashlight, Bienville ran for the trail. Reluctantly, Akira followed. The two ran into the

track and tried heading back in the direction of the Mustang but the dog-beasts were blocking thatpath. They had no choice but to turn and press on in the direction of the lodge they d been looking for.

With the creatures fast on their heels, they ran through the darkness of the Louisiana bayou. Akira,trailing somewhat as he bled and guarded Bienville s back, was the last of the two to stumble upon asmall clearing with a strange tower-like edifice settled upon the marshy grass. A light came from a firstlevel window. It flickered as if from a television set. Akira heard more than saw the dogs scramble to astop just outside the clearing. In the near complete darkness outside the circle of light from the tower,

they seemed to scatter, finding shrubs in which to stay out of sight.

Akira, bleeding and frustrated at having to run, yelled out taunts at the creatures once he realized theywould not come closer. Bienville shook his head, vexed at his wounded friend. Trusting Akira to watchhis back, he turned his attention to the front of the building. The door itself was opened, though a

screened entry was closed to keep the bugs out. He approached and heard a television inside. Pausingonly to catch his breath, Bienville grabbed and turned the aluminum handle and, calling out for MasterDow, went in.

The place smelled of incense and coffee. The TV flickered to show a room furnished with old 70 s stylecouches and furniture. A spiral staircase rose to another level near the corner. A rocking chair, angledaway from the door, toward the TV, had smoke rising lazily above it. Bienville called out again for

Master Dow. The chair swiveled and the profile of an elderly, graying old man smoking a thick cigar wasrevealed.

Though Master Hammie Dow was clearly of Chinese ancestry, his accent was faint, having lived in NewOrleans and its environs for most of his life. After Akira had come in, he questioned his unexpected

guests extensively for much of the night. They told him of the ritual at Louis Armstrong Park, of the

beast that had attacked the homeless man and had hidden in the pipe. They showed him the webcampictures of the ritual and its mysterious symbols. Explaining how they knew of his involvement in a

similar ritual many years before, they told how they tried to find him at his house in the Garden Districtonly to have discovered the very angry spirit of his long deceased sister. In the end, they asked for hishelp.


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In the midst of their discussions, a television news bulletin reported a story that immediately drew theirattention. Unusual rabid dog attacks were breaking out throughout the city. Already in one evening

three attacks had been called in. Investigations unanimously sited large black dogs as the assailants. ACatholic priest, a Hassidic rabbi and his daughter had been mauled and brutally injured. They werebeing treated for rabies at local hospitals.

As the night wore on, Dow grew increasingly concerned. Bienville and Akira had confirmed his fear: he

agreed with the Hunters belief that the summoning of an Asian demon, a Tengu, had been attempted.Whoever had performed the ritual had emulated most of the procedure nearly perfectly. There hadbeen one symbol that had been missing this was no doubt the reason why the beast summoned was

not the full embodiment of the demon in its true form. It was also the reason why they were searchingfor him. Dow explained how he had fled his home in the city when he discovered he was beingfollowed. He had come to the bayou where he knew he would be safe.

Dow led Bienville and Akira throughout the levels of the tower, explaining along the way how the old

university astronomical observatory, now abandoned and forgotten, had been built on sacred groundnear Bayou St. John. He had made it his sanctuary. No corporal body intending harm could crossthrough its threshold. Moreover, his location could not be discerned so long as he remained within.

The hench-dogs, as he called them, had no doubt been following as they d unwittingly led them to hislocation. Nonetheless, he insisted, inside the structure, he was safe.

Throughout the tower, Master Dow s Hunter paraphernalia was evident old guns and their specialammunition stored on shelves in the second level, mystically inscribed incense burners, unusual

powders, Buddhist and Hindu altars surrounded by lit candles of many colors, and books of arcane loremade it clear he was some sort of Chinese mystic or magician. On the third and highest floor, the stairs

led to an ornately painted room shades of red and ochre, vermilion and lavender illustrating curlingwhirls, flowering shapes and densely designed pictographs that covered every square inch of the highbeams and the vaulted ceiling above. An old telescope was perched on an elevated loft, a window

beside it allowing the night breeze to waft in.

Master Dow warned that there would be another effort to summon the demon and that with or withoutthe use of his knowledge, the person responsible could easily discern the singular mistake. A secondattempt could easily bring forth the true form of the Tengu. He procured a book and pointed to an

image within as a representation of what Japanese and Chinese mythology recounted. It was aviscerally frightening painting of a bird faced humanoid, dark skinned with raptor s claws for legs and along ,wickedly sharp beak. Another image depicted a dog-headed man with snarling fangs and a

murderous stare. Neither were very comforting.

The Tengu was said to revel in the hunt for holy men, luring them with the forms of women. It was saidto be so persuasive that the victim was often not even aware of when they were committing thedemon s desires.

Master Dow ended the night by imploring that Bienville and Akira find the culprits of the diabolicalsummoning before they could perform the ceremony correctly and bring forth the abomination. The


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location would likely be the very same park as it was a holy ground invested for the use of such work.Since the early days of voodoo in New Orleans, when it was called Congo Square, the area was known

for the many rituals performed for both good and ill intent. He explained to them that the loredescribed the most opportune time for such ceremonies as Gregorian dates pertaining to primenumbers. The day before had been the 11 th . The following night was the 13 th .

After some rest, and a dressing of some bleeding wounds, they resolved to head back into the city the

following morning, likely when the hench-dogs were no longer around. Likely.

The following morning, Bienville and Akira found their way through the trail back to the car. Theyencountered no more dogs, but were spooked by the fact that they found no bodies at the clearingwhere the attacks had occurred just hours before.

They felt better driving back to the city. With the swamp behind them and a mission at hand, they were

eager for a resolution to the matter. Akira felt much lighter and in a far better mood despite the itchthat was developing in his thigh.

It was on the bridge across Lake Ponchartrain where Bienville realized they were being followed. A blacksedan had been trailing them for quite a while it seemed. Bienville decided to test his theory. In an

effort to get the car to pass them, he swerved the Mustang onto the slower lane and lowered his speedconsiderably. The car mimicked his move and remained two vehicles behind.

Bienville hit the gas and looked to his rear view the black car sprung away from the slow lane to catch

up. Just as he was nearing and they were coming to the far side of the bridge, Bienville spotted the firstexit from the highway. He bolted for it at the last minute. With a lightning spin of the wheel, he turnedthe Mustang only to have to slam on the brakes as a slower car got in his way. The sedan was easily

able to follow, and both cars came off the bridge on the curving ramp down.

Taking the turn, Bienville spied the driver of the pursuing car he was a black man with a white skullcap.He floored the pedal and maneuvered into a nearby parking lot slowing his car to a stop. Akira got outof the vehicle, and they quickly set up a trap for their tail. The black sedan drove by, slowed near the

entrance of the lot, but continued by.

Bienville gave chase in the Mustang. Akira took off running toward a nearby intersection on the farcorner of the parking lot. He hoped Bienville could lead the car to what he had in store.

Only the sedan turned in the opposite direction that Akira had headed off to. Bienville had no choicebut to follow their pursuer without Akira. He turned the corner and spotted the sedan just ahead. The

car was now trying to get away. They were in the thick of the city, and Bienville liked his odds. He wasan expert driver, and his Mustang was like a trademark item if ever he had one. After the black carmade a sharp right that he had no trouble tracking, Bienville smiled cockily. This was a cakewalk.


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And then the sedan swerved expertly into a narrow alley off the main road on the right. At the speed inwhich it was going, the blue Mustang drove right passed it. Bienville slammed on the brakes and backed

up, cursing his confidence. He eased into the alley and spotted the black car at its end. He gunned itdown the length of the confined side street, green trash bins on either side forcing him to swerve leftand right.

Then, further ahead, the black car s brake lights came on. It curved to the right as if to park. Another

car came into view from the left at the end of the alley, between them blocking the exit. Looking backthrough his rearview with building anxiety, Bienville saw a large white van stopping sidelong, cutting off the entrance to the alleyway. He slammed on his brakes, the Mustang s wheels shrieking to a halt.

Drivers from the stopped cars came out. More men emerged from doors along the buildings flanking hiscar. They had guns.

They were telling him to get out of the car.

Rene Lecoutier hated Bienville LaChampe. The tall lean black man knew the feeling was mutual. At themoment, he had Bienville where he d always wanted at gun point and surrounded by his lackeys. The

drug-dealing hoodooist smiled as he taunted his nemesis, who was, just then emerging from hisMustang.

Bienville had suspected Lecoutier was behind much of the evil-doings. The man was bare of conscience.

The vile drug dealer would forever incur his anger, having been responsible for the defilement of an oldrelationship, and more than that the very corruption of his fiance. He climbed out of his car, defiantand quickly losing his composure. He was surrounded and alone, but he didn t care.

It surprised him, though, when Lecoutier s first words accused him of helping to perform the ritual at

Louis Armstrong Park. When Bienville denied the accusations and began to draw his gun, Lecoutiersignaled his men. They brought out a bound and held woman. It was Francoise Bontemp, his assistantwho he d sent to get information on the very same hoodooists. Bienville restrained his aggression.

Lecoutier had the girl produce a cell phone that was tossed at Bienville. It was set to show a video

recorded by its camera. The view shocked Bienville. As Lecouteir narrated, he saw the image beforehim: it showed the park from the night before. From a vantage on the opposite side of the bridge wherethe summoning had taken place, an old man came into view. There was no doubt, even from the

distance, that it was Master Dow. As he climbed up the trail, he seemed confused, perhaps lost. Helooked around, apparently uncertain of where he was, and left the park in a hurry. The video ended.

Bienville closed the phone, stunned.


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Lecoutier questioned Bienville, asking why he was in league with the old man. He had been followedfrom the bayou where it was obvious he had met with Dow. It was clear he had recently befriended an

Asian student no doubt assisting him in the lore of the ritual. Lecoutier wanted to know why the greatand holy Pappa Bienville was summoning an ancient Japanese demon.

It took a complete shift in Bienville s mindset to fathom the new development. He persuaded Lecoutierhe had no idea that Master Dow was responsible. Just then his own phone rang. It was Dow. They had

exchanged numbers at the Tower, and now the old man was calling him.

The conversation was alarming. Dow had been curious since they had left that morning about onething: how had they understood his sister s ghost. Bienville had explained how he heard spirits andreminded the old man. Dow impatiently said he recalled that, but that what he wondered was how he

understood the girl. Bienville was at a loss. Dow cryptically explained his sister spoke only Chinese;she had never learned to speak English. When Bienville verified that neither he nor Akira spoke Chinese,Dow became nervous. His voice became agitated, and he came to a disturbing conclusion: perhaps the

demon could inhabit or control spirits as well. Abruptly and just after Dow expressed his concern, thephone went dead.

Things slid into place in Bienville s mind. He knew Dow was in danger. He could not determine whathad happened the previous evening, but it was clear that the ritual would occur tonight. It had to take

place on holy ground and the tower as well as the park was just such a place. He made his choice. Heknew he had to go back to the bayou. He stressed to Lecoutier that Dow was in danger and that theritual would be performed that night at the Tower.

Just then, Akira appeared at the far end of the alley. Lecoutier motioned his men to let the student

through.

As Akira limped into view, his leg bleeding from his run across the blocks, Lecoutier stared at himcuriously. The black leader of the Hoodooist gang turned to the young Japanese man and unexpectedly

asked where his spirit girl had gone to. He explained that he had a special gift too. Lecoutier could seethe dead surrounding the world of the living, invisible to most, but not to him. He had seen Akirabefore, and had seen his spirit mate always loyally at his side. Only now, she was not present.

Akira, leg wound burning terribly after his run, realized he had not felt the presence of his beloved for

some time. He had felt lighter since then. Since they had left the Tower.

Together, they had come to several conclusions, and they hoped they were more or less correct.Bienville believed the child ghost encountered at the Garden District home must not have been Dow ssister. The fact that Akira s spirit mate was no longer at his side must have a connection. Perhaps the

demon could control or impersonate spiritual entities as well. In either case, Dow was in danger forthough he had said no corporal threats could enter his tower, he said nothing of incorporeal ones. If the


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Tengu was now attached to incorporeal beings, the tower s sanctity was vulnerable. His confusion inthe cell phone video and the abrupt end to that morning s call made evident the old Hunter was being

manipulated and in trouble. More than this, the observation tower in the swamps had been built onsacred grounds according to Dow a necessary element in the summoning ritual. It became alarminglyclear where they would have to go to stop the imminent ceremony back to where they had just left:

Master Dow s Tower.

Lecountier, still dubious of the pair s innocence, asked how they planned to stop the ritual from takingplace, and what they would do should they arrive too late. Bienville grudgingly admitted he had noanswers. Lecountier, evidently wishing to prevent the summoning as much as Bienville, insisted on

providing him with some. Bringing them into a warehouse office in the building beside the alley, hebrought forth an old manuscript, ancient and disheveled. He explained he had located and recoveredDow s copy of a centuries-old text written by a Japanese seer named Xian Li. It was scribed with old

kanji and hiragana characters he could not comprehend. Akira immediately set to deciphering the oldscript.

The Japanese exchange student was evidently suffering from his wound. However silently he bore hispain and growing discomfort, it did not go unnoticed by Bienville or Lecountier. The hoodooist

expressed a dire prognosis. All victims of the hench-dogs bites would succumb to disorientation andmental instability before lapsing into a catatonic condition from which death was the only release. In acold sweat, Akira realized he was running out of time.

He quickly scanned the book looking for any method of delaying or curing his condition. After flipping

through the old pages while using his academic training, he was able to find precisely what he sought. Itwas a simple, but drawn out esoteric tea ceremony. It required some key ingredients however, among

them the hair of the dog that bit him! Fortunately, the text also revealed that the hair of the originaldog used in the initial Tengu summoning that had started it all would also suffice. Bienville recalledhaving taken a bit of loose strands from under the bridge in the park. He rushed off to retrieve it at his

office, as Akira continued studying the description of the ceremony his ability to focus diminishingrapidly. Lecountier and his men, guns ready, eyed him cautiously.

Akira learned much while he studied the book. He was grateful for his academic mind as he discovereda section describing the incantation needed to banish a summoned Tengu. It was an exorcism to be

read in Japanese. He was the only one who could read and properly pronounce the words. He wasgrowing fevered and delirious.

Once Bienville had returned with the hair and the other ingredients, some of which included sea salt andchicken entrails, the tea was brewed and the disgusting additives mixed in. The ceremony involved

freezing and thawing the potion throughout the afternoon in a process that would ensure the mysticalmalady would melt from the victim s veins. In time, Akira, now frothing at the mouth and shakinguncontrollably, was held down by Bienville and Lecountier. As they watched, Bontemp poured the tea

down his gasping throat.

Akira fell into a deep sleep.


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Bienville and Lecountier impatiently waited for his recovery. Akira, the only one capable of exorcisingthe demon, needed to come with them in the event they arrived too late to stop the summoning. As

the hours of the afternoon passed, and the evening of the 13 th approached, that seemed more and morelikely.

By the time they reached the bayou trailhead, it was beyond twilight. Knowing the dangers ahead,Bienville and Lecountier agreed to have Bontemp remain in the van they had arrived in. They had been

forced to come alongside the hoodooist despite Bienville s vile opinion of the man. For his part,Lecountier wanted to see the job done. He insisted on keeping one of his men with Bontemp as anassurance Bienville was just as committed.

Twelve men prepared their weapons and fanned out into the swamp, flashlights lighting their way

within the dense foliage. Bienville, Lecountier and the recovered Akira centered on the trail, movingdirectly and quickly toward the tower at its end.

Within moments, the dogs came at them.

First, they heard the distinctly feminine scream of Bontemp behind them where they d left the vehicle.After a brief debate, Akira agreed to run back the short distance to see what had happened. Bienville

and the others moved forward, keenly aware they were now being stalked in all directions around them.Bienville was glad he had brought his night vision goggles. He rarely used them, and recalling their lastvisit to the bayou, he thought they would serve him well. He almost wished he d left them behind

with them, he saw the outlines of a half dozen four-legged beasts prowling at the edge of the men slights. Almost as one, they charged through the brush, picking off Lecountier s guards on the perimeter

as they loped toward the trail.

Panic burst from the hoodooists. They fired their guns. Few found their marks. Most were mauled andbrought down by the hench-dogs. Behind him, Bienville heard a growl and dodged aside just as one of the larger beasts lunged at his back. He leveled his 9MM and fired, missing cleanly. The dog thing, with

its mange infected skin seemingly barnacle-encrusted in ugly patches, turned and charged at him again.He was in a fight for his life. The creature leapt at him, and for the second time in as many nights, hewas pinned beneath the weight of a rabid, demon-touched hench-dog. This one was going for his

throat.

Outside the path, Akira found the man guarding Bontemp dead, his throat torn out, near the front of thevan. He rushed to the rear, pulling the door open, to find the vehicle empty, Bienville s assistantnowhere to be seen. He heard gunshots from the direction of the trail and broke into a run, drawing his

katana, sprinting back to Bienville and the others.

He rushed to the melee and firefight, stumbling into Bienville who had just kicked and flipped hisattacker so viciously, he now straddled the struggling dog. Bringing his pistol just underneath the


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animal s chin, Bienville fired at point blank range. Akira saw the muzzle flash and heard the sharp reportas blood splattered, and the dog s head was nearly shredded at the neck. Akira stabbed at the carcass

for good measure.

In a moment of respite, time seemed to slow as they caught their breath. Surveying the scene around

them, their brief optimism was utterly snuffed out and killed. The men were being savagely attacked.They were yelling and screaming, voices thick with fear and agony. Few gunshots were heard anymore

as many lay dying. There was no sign of Lecountier. More dogs appeared beyond the trail. Akiragripped his sword and Bienville his gun. Grimly, they moved forward, fully aware there was no way theycould defeat the dozen creatures closing in on them.

And finally, the moment arrived. Seven dogs came at them at once.

At the very same instant, a dark shadow swooped down from above. From the darkness behind a copse

of trees, emerged a tall, lean man. Bienville saw him immediately and offered a silent prayer, thankingwhatever gods were listening. After all his calls during the last two days, and the curt dismissals, theVampire Jon LaCroix finally answered as only he could. With a diabolical smile, he sauntered to their

rescue, urging them to finish the job at the tower. How he knew of their mission or their whereabouts,Bienville could only guess. It didn t matter. He and an impressed Akira ran off as LaCroix fell upon thehapless hench-dogs with a gleeful abandon.

The old observation tower was crowned by a roiling mass of dark clouds that blotted out the starry sky.The roving whirl of lightning-flashed billows encircled the rooftop. Its highest floor windows emitted aflickering light.

Akira called out a challenge to the demon that went unanswered. They heard a cry for help from

above it was Bontemp. Bienville charged inside, racing up the spiral staircase, Akira a moment behind.

As they emerged onto the third floor, a chaotic scene unfolded before them. The once icon-adornedwalls and ceilings of the observatory were painted over in a glossy black coat. Evil and indecipherablecharacters crawled on their surfaces, filling the room with an oppressive, palpable weight. Littering thewooden floor, arcane symbols etched strange shapes and contours. A Voudun drum and vials of darkred liquid surrounded all in a vague circle. A fire blazed in a brazier lighting the occupants in a lewdsheen of red and yellow. Master Dow was just getting up from a prone, kneeling position, seemingly

warding off a wild-eyed, hysterical Bontemp.


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With barely a glance toward the men, the old Hunter informed them the demon had taken possession of the girl. She was hyperventilating and in a panic.

Then Bienville saw her eyes go black. Like countless occasions in his time as a Hunter, he knew she was

possessed.

Though he did not see this, Akira acted in a fraction of a moment. In a step, he was upon her, and hestruck Bontemp with his clenched fist. The blow was delivered on her solar plexus, knocking the windfrom her. Akira turned and glanced toward Dow only to see the unexpected.

It was Dow s eyes they were black as night. To Akira, it was the old man the demon was riding.

Akira pulled out his blade. It glowed a dull red. Perhaps it was the firelight. Bienville looked on,

confused.

Dow s eyes flashed toward the katana. In a voice that was not the old man s, the Tengu spoke. Itbelittled Akira s ability to not fall prey to his efforts, here or in Japan where he had first encountered hisold girlfriend. All along, it said, it had always been his sword that allowed him to see through the

demon s deceptions.

Akira challenged the Tengu.

The beast in the form of Dow accepted. It flashed a pair of elaborately decorated Chinese fans fromsomewhere within Dow s clothing, whipping them open with a dramatic flair. With one stroke, it fannedone of them in the direction of Bienville. The hougan flew back, slamming into the wall, unable to move

as his legs dangled beneath him. The Tengu flashed his second fan in the direction of Akira. The youngman braced himself for the telekinetic attack only to find he was not its target. The book with the

exorcism incantation flew out of his backpack across the room. The demon was taking no chances.

Akira gripped his father s sword in both hands. He set his posture for the duel. The Tengu flashed his

fans shut. They immediately formed two long daggers, pointing menacingly, one low, the other high.The combat began.

Blades blurred. Steel rang upon impact. Thrust was met with parry, lunges with sidesteps. The Tengu

inhabiting Master Dow s old body expertly maneuvered his vessel to counter the quickness of theyounger Akira. Cuts opened. Sliced skin bled freely.

As the duel raged, Bienville struggled against the telekinetic might of the Tengu. Sweat beaded for hiseffort. Despite its fight with Akira, the demon easily managed to maintain a hold on the hougan.

Akira moved fast, but not fast enough. In one flash, the Tengu swept one dagger in a low feint, catching

him off his guard. The second long knife swept into the opening and slashed Akira s forearm drawing a


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flow of blood onto his wrist and hand. Some of it contacted the katana. Immediately, it grew warm inhis grip. Feeling as if it had come to a life of its own, it gave Akira a surge of energy. He renewed his

offensive attacks, and they fell harder and faster than before. Parrying, the Tengu eyed the glowingblade warily.

Bienville, still hanging against the wall, suddenly felt a voice in his head. It was a woman s spirit he hadnot heard before. She told him she was Miki Sakamura, the ghost of Akira s fianc whom he d been

forced to kill in Tokyo. In Japanese-accented English, she explained he must recite exactly the words shewould say to him. He glanced toward the old book with the incantation lying on the other side of theroom. Its pages suddenly fluttered open and words began to fill his mind in Japanese. In a nervous

whisper, he repeated each one trying to mimic the accent with careful precision. If he got it just right,he would be able to banish the entity with the help of Akira s spirit mate.

Somehow, the Tengu discovered the ploy. It was not pleased.

Able to see beyond the veil of death, the Tengu realized what the ghost of Miki was doing. It began anexorcism of its own. With words Dow himself had used countless times, the demon began yelling an

incantation that would banish Akira s spirit companion for good.

Bienville recognized the words. He hurried his mimicking of the spell as Miki recited it in his head, butthe spirit was losing power. Her words were faltering. He knew she would be banished before shecould finish reading the invocation to exorcise the demon!

Just then, a drumming began. From across the room, a Yoruba chant accompanied rhythmic beating. It

rose to a hypnotic melody that hung in the air as the thrumming of the wooden gourd reverberatedacross the floor. Bontemp had regained consciousness and was calling on the spirit of Miki to mount her

in a Voodoo trance.

Distracted as it was, the Tengu could not keep up with Akira. Fighting to maintain his hold on Bienville,chanting the words to exorcise the Japanese spirit, and dueling with the young warrior was strainingeven its advanced abilities. Akira saw an opening and lunged forward, his blade driving in a direct

thrust. It cut deeply at the side of the old man s body. The Tengu slashed the hated katana aside andcountered with an immediate attack of his own. Akira was caught off balance.

In that moment, the hold on Bienville faltered. Seeing Akira in trouble, he moved quickly.

Bontemp hit her last beat on the drum. Her voice dwindled to silence.

The demon hesitated before striking Akira. With its short blade hovering near the young man s throat, itspoke. It acknowledged the prowess of the warrior. Cryptically, it wondered if, after all of the centuries,

the time had come to train a new, worthy pupil. Knowing it was near defeat, it promised they wouldmeet again.

At that moment, two things happened simultaneously. The possessed Bontemp, in the voice and spiritof Miki Sakamura, finished the exorcism. Just as she did, Bienville shot Master Dow.


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The old man dropped to his knees, blood blossoming across his chest, his head snapping back and up.Thick black demon vapors emptied and poured from Dow s mouth as the Tengu hissed out of existence.

Circling upward and beyond the opening of the ceiling, it joined a rush of arcane wind that raced withsuch might, it felt as if the storm outside was confined within the small room, straining to escape, doingso in a thunderous roar.

Abruptly, there was a deafening silence and stillness.

Master Dow collapsed. Bienville and Akira rushed to his side. Wounded by sword and by gun, they both

knew there was little time before the inevitable.

It would be difficult to accept for Bienville that he d been forced to kill the one person who might haveserved as his mentor in his struggles against the supernatural. The old Hunter spoke one last time,parting words that would put the hougan at ease and stay with Bienville for the rest of his career.

Akira felt a tap at his shoulder. It was Bontemp; only, at that moment, it truly wasn t. Akira knew he

was looking at his once-betrothed Miki. A rush of emotion filled his heart. He was short of breath, andnot from the duel. She had been his terrible secret, the woman he d been forced to kill in Tokyo toprotect his own life from the Tengu that was manipulating her. He had loved Miki. In shame and

disgust, he d fled because of his dishonorable actions. Only she had followed him all the way. For atime, he believed it was only her memory he carried along with him. He had tried to suppress them, tohide his failure from himself. Over the months that followed, he knew what had come with him was

more than memories. And now she was here, in as real a form as he could ever touch and feel.

She kissed him. In a teary-eyed rush, she told how she had followed him out of a need for vengeanceagainst the entity that had caused their tragic misfortune; how she had felt the Tengu pursue her just as

she had attached herself to Akira. It was all over now, though. She was done, and so she would leave.Akira kissed Miki one final time. He felt her spirit depart and squeezed shut the tears in his eyes.

Akira and Bontemp found themselves in an embrace that lingered for just a moment longer than it hadto. They broke off awkwardly, Akira apologizing for punching her, Bontemp touching her lips,

thoroughly confused at how she ended up kissing the man that had just knocked the wind out of her.

Bienville stood and turned toward the young Hunters, putting an arm around each one. It was all overfor the moment, but he knew better than most that moments seldom last. For now, it was time to seewhat the old Master had left behind within this Hunter s Haven. He could definitely make use of a place

like this.

In the distance, the mists of the bayou were turning a dull red as dawn drew near. Somewhere, in a veryrich truck with some seriously tinted windows, the Vampire LaCroix turned the ignition, cranked up theAnimal s tune, House of t he Rising Sun , and, licking his fangs clean, sped off.

There is a house in New Orle a ns t hey c a ll t he Rising Sun