 |
| Symbol of the Office of Unidentified Phenomena |
The Medusa Ritual
A Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigation
by
CW Hawes
Strange black clouds. A black limo. A forced ride in said limo. And a man dressed in ancient Chinese robes, wearing a Chinese theater mask. Can things get any more strange for Mostyn and Kemper?
Read on for more adventure!
7
Mostyn jumped out of the car and looked up and down the street. People were beginning to gather and a few were pointing at the car that had a javelin sticking out of its windshield. Mostyn called out to them.
“Anyone see which way the person who did this went?”
The onlookers didn’t reply and started moving away, leaving Mostyn muttering about “goddamn worthless people not wanting to help” an obvious victim.
He asked Dotty to hand him some gloves from the glove box. She opened the compartment and handed him a pair. He put them on and yanked the javelin out of the center console. He opened the back door and tossed the thing in onto the rear seat. He closed the door, got back into the car, and looked at Dotty.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay. I don’t think we’re dealing with accidents here.”
“That’s what it’s looking like.” He took out his phone and made a call. When finished he returned the phone to his pocket.
“We’re to sit tight while they send a new car and a tow for this one,” Dotty said, anticipating Mostyn’s comment.
“On the money,” he replied.
“So who’s found out what?”
“Good question, Dot. Offhand, I’d have to say Cortado or Salzman. Perhaps both. As for what they’ve discovered, I have no clue.”
“It’s looking like Cortado was basically a nothing until Salzman showed up and took an interest.”
“That’s what it’s looking like. Which begs the question, is Salzman connected to someone?”
Dotty nodded. “That, or maybe Salzman has the book.”
“Maybe he does at that. Those sculptures give a whole new meaning to ‘life-like’.”
“They do at that. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I thought you weren’t into art.”
Dotty’s voice took on an edge. “I’m not. Doesn’t mean I’m an ignoramus.”
“Didn’t say you were.”
“It was implied.”
Mostyn held his hands up. “I wasn’t implying anything. Geez, Kemper, lighten up. I’m on your side.”
“Sorry.” She looked out the window. “Say, I thought it was sunny all the time in LA.”
“It does rain here.”
“Okay, but the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Now it’s completely overcast. Where did the clouds come from?”
“Don’t know. It does seem odd.”
“And it’s getting darker.”
Mostyn stepped out of the car and looked up at the sky. The clouds were not only getting darker, they also appeared to be churning as though some unseen giant was whipping them up with a hand mixer.
Kemper joined him. “Something’s not quite right, is it?”
“You can say that again.”
A black limo pulled up, the doors opened, and four men jumped out. Mostyn reached for his gun and stopped when he saw the machine pistol pointed at him.
The few people that were on the street quickly vanished.
One of the men tried to grab Kemper. Her right fist shot out and connected with his lower jaw. He staggered, and fell. Another man grabbed her hair and shoved the muzzle of his pistol against her neck. Dotty stopped fighting.
The man with the machine pistol, indicated with his hand that Mostyn was to get in the car. Mostyn looked at the mirrored sunglasses on the man, and then got in. Kemper was shoved in after him, and the door was closed.
Kemper tried the handle, but the door was locked. The car began moving in the midday traffic.
Across from Mostyn and Kemper was a man wearing a Chinese mask and a heavily embroidered gold robe. The mask was red and decorated with black, indicating a highly stylized beard and eyebrows. On either side of the masked man, was a young man in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie. The suits were well-tailored and there was no bulge indicating a shoulder holster.
They probably have something other than firearms up their sleeves, Mostyn thought.
He looked at the man with the mask and watched the eyes behind the openings shift to Kemper and then return to him.
“What do you want?” Mostyn asked.
After a moment, the mask spoke. The voice sounded ancient, almost ethereal. “I find it interesting you address what, rather than who first.”
The English bore a British accent. Hong Kong? Mostyn thought. He shrugged. “It’s obvious you want something, given the theatrics you went through to get us here. So at this point what is more important than who.”
“Very logical, Mr Mostyn. What I want is for you to leave Los Angeles. You have your art. Now go. And do not return.”
“The last time I checked, this was a free country. I can go where I want, when I want, and leave when I’m ready.”
“No, Mr Mostyn, the illustration is incorrect. You are in a casino and the house suspects you of cheating. You are asked to leave. In reality, you are being thrown out.”
“I see. And if I don’t want to go?”
“Then, as the enforcers in the casino, I will be forced to either add an incentive or use force.”
Mostyn looked at Dotty. She looked back and said, “I guess we’re staying.”
“I’m sorry to hear you say that.”
The man reached into his sleeve and withdrew a vial. He unscrewed the top and poured a powder into the palm of his hand.
Pistols appeared in the hands of the young men.
Must’ve been on the car seat next to them, Mostyn thought.
“Now I must use incentive and force,” the masked man said. “Goodbye, Mr Mostyn. May we never meet again.” Holding his hand flat, the masked man blew the powder towards Mostyn and Kemper.
Mostyn tried waving it away and that’s the last thing he remembered.
To Be Continued!
While waiting for the next installment, the entire Pierce Mostyn Paranormal series is available for your reading pleasure.
Do you hate cliffhangers? There’s none in this series. Each book stands by itself.
Do you think books are magic? That for just a little while you can be anywhere, doing anything? Then join Pierce Mostyn and experience some magic!
What people are saying about the Pierce Mostyn series:
“…a fast-paced story with lots of action, yet does not neglect the characters.”
“Hawes has a great time with this series and does a good job (too good) of leaving us wanting more.”
“This series is fun…”
“…a weird tale of adventure, humor, and horror.”
Are engaging characters your thing? Join my VIP Readers and you’ll get the Pierce Mostyn short story, “The Feeder” — available only to my VIP Readers! And you’ll be the first to know when the revised book version of The Medusa Ritual comes out!
The Medusa Ritual is copyright © 2019 by CW Hawes. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment