"About damn time!" The old woman scowled behind the counter at me as I walked into her shop. "I thought I had made these for no reason!"
She held up a simple, silver chained necklace and a brown bomber jacket that was lined with tan colored fleece. The collar folded outward to reveal the soft inner coat. She opened the coat to reveal six slots marked with a thin black line, indicating the holsters for my knives.
"Wow… you do good work!" I shouted happily as I took out the briefcase. "Definitely coming back here in the future!"
The old woman turned a slight red color at my genuine compliment. "Shut up, kid! I know my work is good! Take this shit, already!"
She threw the jacket at me grumpily after putting the necklace inside a pocket on the side. I caught it and threw it on quickly. It was very comfortable and slightly stretched as I moved. I opened the briefcase and took out twenty five stacks of bills and placed them on the counter.
"Twenty five, as promised!" I said as I reached into the side pocket. "And the other?"
"Ah! Yeah, let me grab that before you say some more shit." She grumbled. "Here. I don't know why you want that thing, anyway."
"The ring?" I asked her, confused as I took the ring from her outstretched hand.
"No, the necklace! Why do you need something to store magic when you can just make a mana heart?"
'Mana heart' was not a literal term. It usually referred to whatever practice you use, wether it be chi, ki, mana, etc. It was a way of describing the storage of such power. I couldn't make one due to my… 'unique' constitution. But I could use magic! All I needed was a source to pull from.
Ignoring her question, I asked. "How much mana does it store? How does it recharge?"
"It stores enough for around three master spells or a couple of thousand lesser spells. It'll recharge on its own if you never empty it completely. It should recharge fully within a day." She tilted her nose up and looked down it as she spoke.
That was impressive! A master spell was enough to destroy everything in a kilometer and I could use three of them a day! I was expecting it to have enough for MAYBE one! This spoke leagues for her skill.
"That's literally one of the coolest things I've ever heard in my life." I spoke with a bland but teasing tone. "I'll put it to good use… oh, I never got your name?"
She smiled gently at me. "People call me Mama Summer."
I laughed. "Well, then, I'll put it to good use, Mama Summer!"
"You do that. Now, either buy something else or get the hell out!" She said it angrily but I could see the grin threatening to break out.
I laughed as I walked out. "Sure, I won't embarrass you, anymore. Thanks, again!"
I shut the door and heard her yell something incoherent through the door. I laughed again as I made my way back into the street. As I walked I went over my next steps in my head.
*weapons, check. Gear, check. I don't have my car but I can fly back to cali and grab it.*
Cali, it is. I booked a flight and four hours later I was on the plane. It was damn expensive, I tell you! I relaxed on the flight and drifted to sleep.
**???**
"Is he sleeping?" An adolescent voice sounded.
"No." A gruff female voice responded.
"But his eyes are closed?"
"Yes."
"Then if he is not asleep, why are his eyes closed?"
"He is dead."
"What is 'dead?'"
"When one is no longer alive."
"…what is alive?"
"When one is not dead."
The young voice groaned lightly. "That is confusing…"
"Is it?"
"Am I alive? My eyes are open, so I'm alive?"
"People can die with their eyes open."
"Oh… so am I dead?"
"You… are neither."
**Birger's POV**
I woke up as the plane landed and yawned. The setting sun casted shadows across the airport as people stood up to grab their bags. I walked into the airport and saw a man holding up a sign that had my name on it with 'welcome back' written above it. My eyebrows rose as I walked over to him.
"Who are you?" I asked the man.
He was lanky like a twig and his shiny brown locks cast over his eyes made him look creepy. He wore a typical black suit and tie, clean without a speck of dust on it.
He spoke with a surprisingly deep, gravely voice. "Hello, Mr. Age. I've been sent to pick you up."
Uh… okay, that isn't creepy at all. Sure, where too? Would you like my liver or my kidney, first?
"By… who?"
"I was sent by my master."
Ah, yes. His master! That explained everything.
"Well… tell your 'master' that I'll be fine. Bye!" I started saunter to the baggage area.
He stepped in front of me. "I'm afraid I must insist."
I titled my head back in annoyance.
*He must be tired. Help him sleep!* A voice whispered in my ear. My head shot to my left but I didn't see anyone even close to me.
I spoke while still looking to my left. "Yeah… no. Tell your master that if he wants to see me, he can come to me."
He reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a phone before pressing the keys awkwardly, as if he had not used it before. The phone rang and he held it up to his head with his thumb and his forefinger. Yeah, definitely not creepy.
"You found him?" An oddly familiar voice asked through the phone.
"Yes, sir, he is not cooperating."
"Pass the phone over."
The twig held the phone out to me. I grabbed it hesitantly and put it up to my ear.
"Who's this?" I asked.
"Hello, again, Mr. Age. Apologies for my abrupt request, but I have a job for you." Now that I heard is voice clearly, he had a twinge of a native accent.
"Uh… I don't take jobs, anymore." I said in a confused voice.
He scoffed. "And what was that, a few hours ago?"
"Circumstance. No more, no less. Now I would appreciate it if you asked this…"
"Naagloshii. You know them as 'skinwalker.'"
Okay, that explained the oddities. These things were fucking scary. I'm sure you've heard of them before, the most famous one being called 'the rake.' That one wasn't quite… normal, however. It was albino and had no 'intelligent' thoughts, unlike the others.
They're shape shifters. And evil. They get stronger the more you fear them. They couldn't shift into a perfect copy, which explains his lanky appearance. The fact that I was looking at a Naagloshii told me who I was talking to.
"Coyote?" I asked in a surprised tone.
I heard his smile through his voice. "How you been, Birg?"
"Uh… I'm alive, so…" I trailed off. "What's the job?"
"Right down to business, eh? Just like the white man. Me and my people have been having troubles with a few beings who come at night and attack. There have been three deaths already. The Naagloshii are restless. They want blood."
I paused for a moment before speaking. "Was it a family? Husband, wife, and a new born child?"
"Yes… how do you know this?" He asked.
The Naagloshii across from me tensed but I waved my hand at it.
I sighed. "There have been a lot of sups all around America killing families who have new born children. I'm already working on this, so don't worry."
"…Birger. I know you. My people call you friend. I can tell when you are upset. There is more to this story, is there not?"
"Yeah." I said simply. "You want me to head over? I'm sure your people wouldn't want others treading their land."
"I would be happy if you would." He said in an exited voice. "I will let my people know."
"Alright. I'll be over there in a few hours."
I handed the phone back to the skin walker and headed to the baggage area. I looked over my shoulder when I heard steps behind me and saw that it was following me. I ignored it and grabbed my bag. We stepped out of the airport while I called another taxi and told him to head to Mac's bar.
After an hour long drive we got out and I walked to the side street where my car was left.
"So?" I asked the skin walker.
It tilted it's head at me.
"I don't mine you following me, but I'm not gonna call you 'Naagloshii' or 'skin walker.'" I said to it. "You got a name?"
It tilted its head even further until I heard a crunch. "No."
I sighed. "Alright… I'll call you… Svangr. Svan, for short."
"Svangr…" It spoke like it was testing it's voice. "My name is Svangr?"
"If you want. It means 'skinny' in old Norse."
"Hmm… I am Svangr." It looked up at me through its hair. "Thank you for the name."
"No problem, Svan."
We approached my car and I let out a little screech as I saw it's state. The wheels were gone and the car was set on top of cinder blocks, while the windows were smashed in. It had a few dents on the hood and sides as well. I crouched down and put my arms on my legs while my head hung down.
"God dammit…" I stood and opened the hood. "The engine, too? Fuck my life…"
I walked down the street until a familiar building with 'Lux' written on it appeared. As I arrived at the front of the building the two bouncers tensed. I did feel bad about what I did before. They didn't deserve that kind of treatment if they were just doing their job but I was angry and stressed. I stopped in front of them and smiled awkwardly.
"Hey, uh… sorry about before." I scratched the back of my head as I spoke. "I was kinda pissed off and pressed for time."
They both looked at each other before turning back to me and nodding. I took it as forgiveness and gave them another smile before walking inside and heading straight to the elevator.
"What is this place? It smells." Svan asked me as he trailed behind.
"It's called Lux. Some kind of nightclub that Lucifer set up."
"Lucifer… who is this person?" He asked as we stepped into the elevator. "It smells of evil here…"
"You know the Christian Bible?" He nodded. "Lucifer is Satan."
His eyes pulsated like a ripple within water for a moment before regaining their dull yellow color. "Satan? He is the god of hell."
"He was the 'ruler' of hell." I corrected. "He left someone else in charge."
"You… creatures are odd."
"What do you mean?" I asked in a curious voice.
"You human things are fixated on power, are you not?"
"Hmm. Most are, I suppose. Lucifer isn't though. I think, now, he just wants to live a quiet life." I looked at him as we stepped into the elevator. "What do you mean 'human things?'"
"Humans are creatures with free-will. They are born for no purpose and instead seek one out. They are very… odd. We Naagloshii have purpose from out birth, to our death."
I pressed the button on the elevator before responding. "But you have free-will as well, no?"
"I do not believe being forced to eat human's power after inciting fear within them is free-will. And yet I am forced to do so in order to survive." It spoke in a tight voice.
"So? You get hungry, you eat. Call it selfish, but even humans eat other animals." I spoke as the elevator door opened, revealing the penthouse.
"It 'is' selfish. It is a disgusting existence!"
"Humans are selfish. Humans can be disgusting existences as well. Don't you see? The fact that you don't like it is proof of your free-will." It's eyes widened and it finally looked between its shaggy hair. "Be selfish. Be disgusting. It's just another kind of human."
"…hmm…" it hummed.
We stepped out of the elevator and I walked in. I looked around for Lucifer for a moment before realizing he wasn't here. I sighed as I moved to the bar and pulled out some whisky from the top shelf. Untwisting the cap, I poured myself a drink. I shot a glance at Svan and poured another drink.
"Come on. Let's drink a bit!" I grinned. "This is the good shit, too!"
It frowned at me in silence before speaking. "We do not get drunk. There is no point."
So it said, but it still sat next to me.
"Lesson two on human nature." It turned to me as I slid the glass over to him. "Just because it's useless, doesn't mean it doesn't help."
It grabbed the glass silently and frowned. "Meaning…?"
"When a friend asks for some company, you provide it. It's not about what the alcohol does, but the company it provides. There is a saying: meals taste better with company." I raised the glass to his before taking a sip.
It frowned again before muttering. "Friend…" it raised the glass to its lips and drank.