The Damascus Chronicles (33 page)

Danny shook his head in agreement. “You guys, he’s right, I’m no good to you like this, that damn bullet went threw my shooting arm. I’ll stay with Rocko, the rest of you go to Japan.”

“Your call then; hold the fort until we get back,” agreed Marianna, as did the others.

Back at the Tengu Pagoda Casino police barricades had secured the perimeter while detectives swept the area searching for clues on the shoot-out. Commissioner Hamilton shook her head in frustration as she saw the homicide body count rising yet again. “What do we have this time boys?”

“Six suspects broke into the upstairs penthouse of the Tengu Pagoda casino, owned by Mohachi Yung. We have the theft of a rare jade statue, fires burning upstairs in the building that we just had put out with water helicopters. There are 20 dead bodyguards, with casings left over from automatic machine guns, shot gun shells, and a casino filled of frightened guests,” listed an officer on the scene.

“Any witnesses?” asked Commissioner Hamilton sternly.

“Yeah, we got 70 different ones, all who said they saw the attackers dressed in light blue janitorial uniforms come running out of the main hall, chased by the swat team. They appeared to be professional thieves, as they handled the swat team well; they were very dangerous and deadly,” said the other officer. “And you guys couldn’t catch these creeps,” said Commissioner Hamilton. “We were in pursuit and it was if they just vanished into thin air,” said the first officer.

“People just don’t disappear into thin air officer. Find them or find new jobs, now!” barked Commissioner Hamilton.

She had a hunch about the identities of the criminals and muttered “Damascus, clever,” under her breath.

Grabbing a private jetliner from Zoratus Enterprises, the vampire allies took off in the black sky; they were worried as they traveled through the night about the duel of darkness they faced in Japan.

Seventeen hours later the jetliner landed at Tokyo’s main international airport in the early evening just as the sun was setting in the west. Waiting on the airstrip was a Japanese gentleman dressed in a black traditional Japanese suit, his hair slicked back and a half-smile on his face. “Suki, welcome home.”

“Shang,” said Suki as she ran to hug her cousin.

“And these are your friends I have heard so much about,” said Shang.

“Hello,” the others returned the greeting. After getting in the limo Shang had waiting, they sped off into the city. The conversation switched to a serious tone. “Shang what can you tell me about what happened to my brother? How he was killed?” asked Suki.

“Our spies have also been looking for the Yomi Tengu Shira, just as your enemies have been. We needed to find Ken because he had in his possession a pendant that when worn translates the book’s secrets. It was our best hope to find a way to destroy the book somehow. That was until your brother was kidnapped from his home and the pendant taken,” said Shang sadly.

“Listen, do you know anyone we could find who can tell us the last known whereabouts of the Dark Agents in the area?” asked Marianna.

“Marianna, is it? Yes, we have a contact. He is a Shaolin monk at an old temple in the hills,” said Shang while driving.

“Who is he?” asked Suki.

“An old acquaintance of yours, Yoshiro,” said Shang.

“You have got to be kidding me,” said Darius.

“No, it’s him,” said Shang.

“A monk is going to help us? What does he get out of it?” said Serena.

“Fulfilling a promise he made to Suki’s father years ago, which was to help her in time of need,” replied Shang.

“Well, at least we’ve got somebody to help us. It could be worse,” said Michael as the car sped through the busy bright lights and streets of Tokyo.

“This city is fascinating.” Serena took in the gigantic cityscape scaling high into nighttime clouds; it seemed like a lit stairway to the heavens.

“Tokyo is a city of wonders and many dreams,” agreed Shang.

Two hours later the car arrived in front of an old temple in the hills, just west of outskirts of Tokyo. The temple was covered by an array of trees below the brightly shining stars and the symphonic sounds of the night. Birds, insects and fireflies fluttered around the temple.

There were large wooden doors in the middle of the temple and the columns had marble statues of samurai and shogun warriors that were partially covered by shrubbery. A large gong bell with a hammer stood by the side of the entrance. Michael and the others walked up the old limestone steps of the shrine, looking up at the massive structure, as pairs of glowing bird eyes could be seen in the trees. “You have arrived. Good luck. You will need it,” said Shang as he bowed and then disappeared into a purple mist.

“Maybe we should knock?” said Marianna.

“How about this instead,” said Darius, picking up the hammer and hitting the gong. The sound echoed through the temple. Two guards dressed in orange Buddhist monk robes opened the doors . “This way,” said the guards as they led the group through the grand hallway where statues of emperors stood as a testament of Japan. Gold dragons and beasts were portrayed on wall scrolls by the hundreds and torches burned, emitting the smell of incense. In the center of the hallway the guards opened a set of doors to reveal a young-looking Buddhist monk in the midst of training other Shaolin warriors. Each one of them were different creatures; werewolves, angelic humanoids, kappa, gargoyles, feline cat beasts with the wings of giant birds, a bull man, banshee women, human monks, Slavic monsters, male and female Chinese sages, wraiths and strange creatures resembling ethereal monsters. Each one had a more hideous or majestic face than the other, gracefully moving in an elite poetry of skill and discipline to accomplish their individual destinies. The temple seemed so lively with such a force that it was a world of its own. The warriors clashed with weapons of every description, dodging arrows and gunfire with strange shields of energy, using charms, and different mystical weapons. “Whoa,” said the vampires as they watched this secret training compound.

“What is this place?” breathed Serena.

“Welcome to the Temple of the Seven Dragons,” said the young monk, who flipped to land in front of Michael and the others.

“Yoshiro, right,” said Darius.

“Lao sent you,” said Yoshiro.

“Yes, he did,” said Marianna.

“You’re looking for the pendant, right?” asked Yoshiro.

“We need it to open a portal to locate the book,” said Suki.

“I never thought I would see you again,” replied Yoshiro.

“It’s nice to see you, Yoshiro.”

“Who are these entities with you?” asked Marianna.

“The Council of Eternal Light,” answered Yoshiro. “Our allies have come from all over the world to fight the Dark Society.”

“How many are there?” asked Michael.

“Here or all?”

“All,” said Darius.

“Sixty thousand,” said Yoshiro.

“Not enough,” Michael shook his head.

“We don’t know how many shadow agents we’re up against,” explained Suki.

“We can still even the odds if we get that pendant back. Then we can control the powers that our enemies wish to use against us to destroy them,” said Yoshiro.

“Does anyone else know of this place?” asked Serena.

“No, just us and now you and your companions. Come, we have to get that pendant back,” said Yoshiro.

“Do you know where my father is?” asked Suki. “Right here,” said Lao as he removed his cloak coming out of the shadows.

“Father, but I thought you were,” stumbled Suki.

“Dead. I’m not, but we will be if we do not stop our enemy.”

“Where do we go now?” asked Michael.

“I can finish training the warriors, but you must find the pendant before the translation of the gate opening spell can be completed. Once performed it can’t be stopped,” said Lao.

“Tokyo is a vast city; where do we begin to look?” asked Michael.

“That won’t be a problem. We will let them find us,” said Yoshiro.

“The one who we are looking for is a ninja named Jubel, he’s extremely dangerous,” said Darius.

“Jubel!” Startled, Yoshiro dropped his practice sword, looking terrified.

“What’s wrong? Do you know him?” asked Marianna.

“He’s my brother,” said Yoshiro.

“What!” they all said in shock.

“It’s true. We were both the martial arts students of Lao at one time.

The only difference is that we separated after an argument. Jubel wanted to train and fight all over the world, to be the world’s strongest fighter. I chose to find the meaning of life. That is why I became a monk: to follow the teachings of the Buddha and continue to train in the Shaolin arts of combat. I worked mostly as a historian for the university in Tokyo. Then, after Lao told me about the current situation, I came here to continue to train, to aid my master and help you.” Yoshiro bowed in respect.

“He’s humble isn’t he?” said Serena impressed. “He may be humble, but can he fight,” said Michael.

“Don’t worry about me, I can take down a Shadow Agent anytime, I have had enough practice,” said Yoshiro, relaxed as he grabbed a surprised Michael and flipped him over his back to the ground.

“Okay, you made your point,” said Michael standing and dusting the dirt off his jacket.

“Let’s go,” said Darius.

“What about Shang?” Serena asked.

A man emerged from the room’s shadows. “Sorry, I’m just the messenger, but I’ve got you a lead. Look for a vampire Yakusa gang member named Kengi Chang in the downtown district of Tokyo at Yamoto’s Bar. He can help you,” said Shang. He bowed and disappeared back into the shadows.

The group raced through the city in Shang’s car to meet the Yakusa contact. Entering the bar, they saw a short Japanese vampire, his head shaven with a short goatee and black eyes. He was a young punk, about 25 in appearance, dressed in a bluish black blazer and black glasses, standing idle and smoking a cigarette.

“You Kengi?” asked Michael.

“Yeah, something is going down tonight. Mohachi Yung’s thugs are meeting with someone important to exchange a precious stone of some kind.” Kengi kept his guard up.

“Where can we find them?” asked Darius.

“The Midnight Haven Club. Take this card and they will know who sent you,” said Kengi.

“Thanks,” said Michael.

“No problem,” said Kengi as he nodded and walked off.

Pulling the clutch back in the car, they sped off like pure heat burning nitro. The crew arrived at the club uptown; it was located off of a secluded alleyway and shrouded in darkness, though the moon shone above. Walking into the club was rough, as the place was not friendly to locals, much less outsiders.

“What’s this joint about? It’s so secretive,” wondered Michael.

“It’s not called a haven for nothing,” said Suki.

As they approached the door two large bouncers were standing guard. Suki showed them the card, which was actually a magical charm. The guard’s eyes glowed and their faces changed to look like boars. The bouncer on the left turned to the other and nodded; a snort as steam came out of his snout, and they were let in.

“Did you see that!” exclaimed Serena.

“This place is a haven for all of our kind. Humans can’t see our true appearance,” said Suki. “You been here before?” asked Darius.

“Both of us have, in the past,” said Yoshiro as his visage changed to the face of a handsome Oni demon. He had a light red muscular body, a small crown of black horns on his head, and was ready to attract breeding females all around.

“Oh, there’s something I forgot to mention. I am an Oni demon too, half, at least,” explained Yoshiro.

“What the fuck?” Michael asked.

“We used to be married; our union brought the transformation to him,” said Suki, smiling a little.

The group entered the mammoth building to find a spectacle like no other in the world. Light devices lit the room, making it look like the set of a classic horror movie; fog machines blew eerie wisps across the multicolored nightclub floor and pulsing laser lights flashed over the supernatural party scene. Two spider-like humanoid DJs spun multiple turntables on both sides of the club, while a brutal sadistic horde of monster musicians rocked out on the main stage surrounded by ghoulish women dancers. There was a short goblin drummer, a she-alien bassist, a snake woman playing keyboard, and a werewolf dressed in black leather biker pants, metallic gauntlets with metal shoulder guards and leather straps as belts, playing a heavy metal guitar, singing wickedly cool lyrics about wild thrills. Harpie babes and goddess muses with beautiful humanoid bird faces and hot scantily clad bodies danced exposed their exotic breasts, feathered backs and lovely legs in colors of blue, red, green, and turquoise. One of them passed Michael, seductively smiling at him to get a drink. Serena nudged him in ribs for staring, while rocker and punker demons, along with a multitude of bizarre and deranged creatures, drank and ate merrily to the tunes. Frog- and centipede-like creatures with human faces sat at lounge tables smoking hookahs. Beautiful mermaids and sirens swam in colorful glass oval water tanks in colors of aquamarine, blue and jade. Some of them were talking to some of the males.