Coach gave Farrah and Eli a ride home and on the way Eli's mind began to wander. He couldn't help but think that the car was a bad omen and he wanted to do whatever it took to help coach. Searching his mind he looked for answers. The only thing that came to mind was a memory of his mother meditating inside a circle of candles. He didn't have any better ideas so he decided it was his best bet.
They dropped off Farrah and as Coach Mateo pulled in front of Eli's apartment and Eli asked him, "what are you doing tomorrow?"
Coach took a moment before answering, "I'm gonna buy a case of beer and polish Trokita."
"I'll help you," Eli said, not taking no for an answer.
Coach raised his eyebrows at him, "you sure you wanna spend your day off with me son?"
Eli nodded at him. "Alright come around 10,"Coach tells him.
Eli hurried into his apartment and searched for any candles he could find. He was able to gather 5 candles of varying styles and arranged them in a circle on the floor. He recalled his mother burning herbs as she meditated but he didn't have any of that so he improvised. He grabbed his oil diffuser and rummaged for a sage oil he never used and plugged it in next to the circle. He also recalled his mom writing an intention on a paper and burning it with the herbs. He found a bowl that wouldn't catch fire and wrote on a paper 'answers' before sitting inside the circle. He felt he should say something before starting so he spoke out loud, "someone with good intentions please come speak with me, guide me down the right path," he then took a deep breath, lit the paper on fire and closed his eyes as it burned in the bowl.
As he sat there he could hear the crackling of the paper, and smell the sage vapor next to him. He could feel the floor beneath him and through his eyelids he could see the faint light of the burning candles around him. After several minutes he began to fade away, no longer sensing anything around him. He felt as if he were floating, enjoying the sensation until his eyes opened on their own.
Instead of his apartment Eli was now standing alone in a vast, black abyss. As far as his eyes could see there was absolutely nothing, then he heard a booming voice coming from all directions, "it's about time you summoned me!"
The sheer volume and intensity of the voice made his heart skip a beat. "I didn't know anyone was waiting for me," he responded, trying not to seem scared.
"I see you need answers, be a little more specific next time," the voice said.
"Can you tell me what you are first?" Eli asked him.
There was a moment of silence before the voice answered with great confusion, "How did you summon me if you didn't know who I was?"
Eli shrugged, "Just lucky I guess."
Although the owner of the voice could not be seen, it was easy to tell he was dumbfounded by Eli's statement. "Young Eli, I am your spirit guide. I watch over you and try to guide you in the right direction. I've seen the events of today and believe I can help you."
Eli was so excited to hear this he almost jumped with joy, "great! What do I need to do?"
"Next time you summon me, bring an offering for me, something that tastes good, hard to find good food in the spirit realm," he said.
Eli could feel himself getting irritated but stifled it down to not upset the voice, "sure thing, but what do I do about my friend?" he asked
"When you return, go for a walk and follow the hound until you see the red flowers, there you will meet the seer," he said.
The anger Eli felt could no longer be held in, "the hound? A seer? What the hell are you talking about? I didn't come here to be given a riddle!" as he spoke, thunder filled his ears. It was so loud he fell to his knees and covered his ears.
"Be grateful boy," his voice was even more overwhelming than before, "do not stand before me again until you have fixed yourself."
Eli's eyes opened and he was once again in his apartment. He wasn't sure if what happened was bullshit or not but he didn't want to take the chance. Looking at the clock it was 11:30 and despite him not wanting to leave so late, he took the guide's advice and left the house.
Eli walked the streets for half an hour looking for the 'hound' the guide was talking about and was about to give up hope when he saw a man dressed in a dog costume crossing the street. "There's absolutely no way that's what he meant," he thought to himself. Against his better judgment he decided to follow the furry, hoping he'll lead him to where he needs to be. Surprisingly enough after 10 minutes of walking behind him he saw rose bushes in front of a small building named "Madam Josie's Fortune Telling." He couldn't help but think he owed his guide a major apology.
An older woman in her 40s opened the door as he read the sign, "come in Eli," she said. Eli's instincts told him to trust her and he walked inside without hesitation.
Madam Josephine was a clairvoyant witch from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. She grew up with a strong connection to the spirit realm, often receiving messages from them. She believed that if a spirit told you to do something, you shouldn't question it so 6 years ago when a spirit told her to move to this city she did just that. The night before she received a message saying Eli would pay her a visit, so she kept the shop open waiting for his arrival.
Eli walked into the building and immediately noticed on the back wall, facing the door was a full-length mirror, its edges lined with silver and etched with odd symbols he's never seen before. In the center of the room there was a long black table, the edges of a pentagram peeked from under a table runner. There were shelves on the wall behind it, some held various kinds of plants, others held an assortment of crystals, and one had several styles of tarot cards.
They sat across from each other at the table, "tell me what's going on Cher," she said in a warm tone that made Eli feel very comfortable.
He explained to her in great detail the events of the day along with the new developments in his powers and his concern for the snake around Coach Mateo's heart. She nodded in understanding before holding his hand gently. Normally this would upset Eli but the warm energy radiating off her made him feel relaxed and safe. "Cher baby, it sounds like your friend's time is up. It's the natural order, there isn't anything you can do. But don't worry, death is kind, it's serene and peaceful," she explained.
Eli shook his head in denial, "no ma'am, it didn't feel peaceful it felt.. Angry."
Hearing this she looked puzzled, she started thinking about the events Eli told her about trying to find any anomalies. After all, the spirits wouldn't tell her to help him if there wasn't anything amiss. Eli could almost see the gears turning in her head when something finally clicked.
"You said he drove a car?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am, Black mustang," he answered.
She explained to him that death comes in many forms depending on the collective beliefs of a region or country. Most people around here think of death as a skeleton donning a black robe, wielding a large scythe which is what Eli should've seen. Confused by this, she decided to consult a higher power and grabbed a set of tarot cards from behind her. "Talk to me," she commanded as she shuffled the cards.
Eli began to see his own breath as the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. He looked around in confusion but it was then all the lights went out and the candles placed around the room lit on their own. He began shaking slightly both from fear and coldness.
Three cards flew out of the deck; The Magician reversed, Eight of swords, and Five of swords facing upwards. "Tsk tsk… someone is playing with forces they don't understand, binding something powerful to themselves and they are not happy, " she explained.
Eli had no idea how to read tarot cards but he did know when to shut up and listen, he watched carefully as she continued to shuffle. "Confirm who is bound."
The death card fell out of the deck, and not even Eli was dumb enough to need an explanation. He wanted to ask how it was even possible to bind death, if maybe she was playing some kind of sick joke, but he resisted and waited for more answers. "What about Eli's friend?" she asked.
The Five of cups fell out and based on the picture on it Eli could figure out what it meant. On it was a person standing on a field dressed in all black mourning over spilt cups. "I'm gonna lose him?" he asked sorrowfully. He sank in his chair and tears welled in his eyes.
The question lingers in the air for a moment before Madam Josie spreads the deck across the table face down, "ask them something."
His head was empty and he couldn't think of anything, he just wanted some direction, "What do I do now?" he asked before eyeing the deck left to right. He felt two separate energies on opposite sides of the deck and pulled them both to reveal Judgment and Justice. Immediately the candles blew out and the lights returned to normal. Having a hard time deciphering the cards he looked to Madam Josie.
"Mon Cheri, this is your last wake up call. The abilities you have was no random blessing, it's in your blood and engraved in your soul. You've spent your life running from it but that ends now. Although it will be difficult, you can walk the path of dedication and growth or you can continue running and slowly lose your abilities over time. Only one of those paths will lead to the justice you seek."
Hearing this Eli didn't see it as a decision that needed much thought. He sat up straight in his chair, "alright, so how do I do this?" he asked
Madam Josie let out a light laugh before standing up and gesturing to him to follow her to a back room. The moment he stepped foot into the room he was overwhelmed. The wall to the left had several shelves filled with various jars of dried herbs, bones of different animals, and odd liquids. The wall to the right held a variety of weapons and talismans and the entire back wall was filled corner to corner with books. She pulled a book off the shelf and flipped to a page towards the center labeled: 'The Dullahan'
"The Dullahan is a harbinger of death stemming from Celtic mythology. A headless knight that rides a black horse carrying a sword in one hand and his own head in the other. It is believed that whoever sees him knows their death is imminent." She quickly skims the rest of the page, "can be warded off by gold."
With that she grabs a box from a shelf and pulls from it a gold chain with a pentagram within a circle hanging from it. She gives it to Eli, "I normally don't meddle in death's business but in this case It's the right thing to do. Get your friend to wear that and hopefully it'll buy him some time while we figure this out."
After being given the amulet Eli was filled with optimism, 'maybe I can save him?' He thought to himself.
Madam Josie spent the next several hours explaining to him the basics of his abilities. The spinning color wheels he saw on Asher earlier in the day were chakra wheels and the blue veins was his energy flow, these directly affected the aura that surrounds a person. In order from top of the head to base of the spine was; the crown, the third eye, the throat, heart, chest, solar plexus, sacral, and finally the root. Since he was able to see these he could see any blockages or spiritual injuries a person might have. This ability can come in handy not only when someone is cursed or hexed but also to gauge a person's intention. In addition to this she also explained the significance of each color he saw and its relation to the chakra wheels. Excited to have a protege, she spoke with him until the sun came up.
It was a lot of information for Eli to take in all at once, but he sat and listened as she spoke, trying his best not to doze off. Once the morning sun peeked through the curtains he knew he needed to make his way to Coach Mateo's house. It was an hour ride by bus and he wanted to get there before anything happened to him. He thanked Madam Josie for the amulet and the very long, informative chat and headed to the nearest bus station. It was only 7AM but he knew the old man would be awake, so he sent him a message letting him know he was on the way. As he waited for the bus he carefully examined the amulet. It looked like an ordinary chain but when he flipped over the pendant he saw some kind of inscription on it. He didn't have the slightest idea of what the language was so he used his phone to translate it. 'No search results found' he found that quite odd.
The bus was almost empty this morning and even though Eli hadn't slept, he was wide awake, full of anticipation. He had never been in this situation before and didn't know what to expect. His leg was bouncing from anxiety and he felt a pit in his stomach making him nauseous. These feelings seemed to vanish when he saw Coach Mateo calling him, "how far are ya son?"
He was approaching the bus stop at the end of his street but before he could answer he heard Coach shouting at someone, "Get away from me!" followed by sounds of a struggle and the phone dropping to the ground. Seconds felt like hours as he waited for the bus doors to open. The moment they did, he flew out sprinting towards Coach's house. His head was empty of all thoughts except, "save him." The closer he got to the house the more he could feel the dark energy from before. He hopped the fence and followed it to the backyard, where he saw Coach Mateo on his knees gasping for breath as Dullahan stood in front of him, sword in hand. Eli was ready to do whatever it took to stop him, but as he pulled the amulet from his pocket he was stopped by immense pressure.
A loud, piercing scream filled Eli's ears and he fell to his knees, instinctively covering his ears. The scream was so intense it made his head feel as if it were going to explode, and almost immediately blood began dripping from his ears. He watched as the Dullahan pointed his sword at Coach's heart but no matter how hard he tried, an invisible force was holding him to the spot where he knelt. Unable to move or speak, he did the only thing that came to mind and summoned all his energy to throw the amulet at the Dullahan, hoping to ward him off. He watched as it flew through the air, but before it could make contact, the Dullahan shoved his blade into Coach Mateo's heart. As soon as he did, both the Dullahan and the scream disappeared before the amulet even touched the ground.
Eli fell forward, the scream left him in a weakened state but even so he began to crawl towards Coach Mateo, whose body was still in a kneeling position. As he crawled he realized he couldn't hear a thing as he called out to Coach Mateo.
Managing to make it to Mateo's body, he began shaking him, the scene is reminiscent of a child trying to wake their sleeping parent. When Eli accepted he would get no response he hugged Mateo's body, crying and apologizing profusely until slowly his hearing came back to him.
As he cried, he heard the sound of the front gate open. He laid Mateo down, wiped his cheeks and went to investigate.
Eagerly knocking on the front door was Coach Mateo's daughter that had come to visit. Eli knew her well and she was always happy to see him, but when she saw the way he turned the corner she knew something was wrong. The thought of what he had to do next weighed heavy on his heart.
He guided her to the backyard and explained that he found Coach Mateo like this just before she got there. For a moment she stood over his body, processing what she was seeing, then she dropped to her knees and began to wail. She cradled her fathers head and sobbed into his chest wishing that it wasn't true, wishing it was just a nightmare she could wake up from. Eli watched this full of anger.
He cursed himself for not getting there sooner, he cursed the Dullahan for taking him, and he cursed god for allowing this to happen.
The funeral was held a week later, everyone from the gym and so many more were in attendance. Eli lingered towards the back of the room, avoiding eye contact with everyone. This wasn't because he was a socially awkward mess, but rather he was riddled with guilt. He couldn't help but blame himself for Coach's death. After a beautifully delivered eulogy from Coach's daughter, everyone lined up to pay their respects one final time.
After everyone was finished, Eli slowly approached the casket. Looking at Coach Mateo he didn't look real, almost like someone put a life size doll in the casket and tried to play it off as him. He motioned a cross and did a silent prayer "I'm still pissed at you, but the least you can do is make sure he's in a better place," he then pulled out a pack of Marlboro red shorts and a lighter from his pocket and slipped it into Coach's jacket pocket before going to give condolences to his daughter.
She hugged him, "dad talked about you all the time," she whispered. After she pulled away she grabbed a small box from the chair behind her, "there was a note inside his house, he wanted you to have it," she said before walking away in tears. Inside the box laid a set of truck keys and a folded note;
'Eli, I knew my time was up here so I'm leaving mi trokita with the only person I know that'll treat her the way she deserves. Consider this a thank you for always helping this cranky old man without expecting anything in return. You're a good kid, it's been a pleasure knowing you son. Don't forget, if you take care of her she'll take care of you. Live well, -Coach Mateo.'
Tears fell on the note before Eli quickly put it away and walked to the parking lot. There he saw trokita, the setting sun glistening off her shiny paint. He stood there staring at her in awe, before once again feeling guilt. As he admired her, he didn't notice Farrah and Asher walk up behind him. "You okay?" one of them asked.
He couldn't bring himself to speak, he just pulled the keys from the box to show them. "Makes sense he'd leave it to you," Asher said.
Farrah rubbed Eli's back, "everyone is meeting at the bar, why don't you drive us?"
He nodded and they all piled into trokita. They watched as he turned on the engine, "how does it feel?" they asked.
"Wrong," is all he was able to say.
At the bar Raul waved the three over and bought them each a beer before standing and giving a heartfelt speech. "We're here to celebrate the life of Coach Mateo. As you all know he was a mean ol fart, but as you also know he was always there to give words of wisdom. I knew him well and I know that he wouldn't want us to be sad about his death, he would want us to celebrate the life he had. So let's do right by him and have some fun tonight!"
Typically at the bar Farrah and Asher would go and socialize while Eli stayed to himself at the bar, but tonight they were both worried about him and refused to leave his side. They talked to each other while Eli drank in silence, that is until something caught his attention. "Why is he here?" Farrah asked, in a nasty tone. Asher's rival Dylan Baker walked into the bar. "Ya know I heard after he beat you he went out of the country on vacation to celebrate, what a jackass," she told Asher.
"Good for him, I just hope he's ready for this year's match," Asher said. He had never been the type to care about the extracurriculars of his opponent, he just liked a good match.
Once Eli realized nothing interesting was going on, he watched the news as usual. "The reports of minor tremors in southeast Texas are beginning to cause panic in the communities, again experts would like to remind everyone to remain calm…" he hadn't felt a single tremor in his area and refused to believe this was something that was happening.
"What did you say?" Farrah said loudly.
"Just some trash talk sweetie," Dylan said to Farrah as she shoved his shoulder hard.
"Repeat yourself!" she said.
"I was just telling Ash here that it's good your Coach didn't have to watch him lose miserably again this year. He said confidently.
"Youre either brave or stupid talking like that in here," she said.
Before anything else was said Eli had already lost his cool and pinned Dylan to the floor, punching him repeatedly, Dylan's blood covering his fist. It was a moment before Asher and Raul picked him up and held him as Dylan's friends dragged him out the bar.
Raul and Asher tried talking to him but Eli couldn't hear a word they said. Instead he walked out of the bar and lit a Marlboro red short.
Towards the end of Eli's cigarette Raul came out and said, "coach kept a first aid kit in his glove box, let me stitch you up," pointing towards Eli's split knuckles.
They walked towards trokita and as they opened the glove box a polaroid fell to the ground, it was Eli, Coach and Raul on their first fishing trip. Eli's first catch was a baby wide mouth bass the size of his palm. The old man wanted a picture to remember the moment. Raul picked up the picture smiling, and gave it to Eli. He stared at it before reaching over and sticking it in the driver's seat. Raul began cleaning up his hand, pouring alcohol on the wound.
This last week Eli had felt numbness to everything. Every miserable encounter he had with a customer, every time he was hurting while he trained at the gym he felt nothing. It wasn't until he felt the intense burning of the alcohol that he felt truly alive. It was silence while Raul cleaned his wound, it wasn't till he started to wrap Eli's hand that he spoke," out of everyone I didn't expect you to be the one to get into a fight," Raul said.
"I know you and I were closer to the old man than most and know I don't have to tell you he would want us to live well," he said
He was right, Coach Mateo would always tell them that life was a bitch that would do whatever she could to beat a man down. He said it was our job to not give her what she wanted and live well despite her constant beatings. It was one of the lessons that stuck in Eli's head.
"If I was there sooner, maybe he'd still be alive," Eli mumbled under his breath.
Raul stopped briefly before he continued, "Maybe that's true," he said.
Eli looked at him confused before he continued, "Or maybe he would've died anyway. There's no way of knowing, the fact is he had already lived a good, long life and his time was up. We can sit here and play what if all night but it won't change anything. What we should do is honor him by living the way he would've wanted, by kicking ass and taking names," he said as he finished with Eli's hand.
"Besides kid, I'm pretty sure he was ready to see his wife again."
"Ill give you a few minutes to get yourself together then I expect to see you inside with the rest of us," Raul said as he made his way back inside.
Eli lit another cigarette to clear his head and after a moment looked up to the heavens, "coach if you can hear me I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you, but I promise I'll work my ass off to keep anyone else from being taken too early. I swear I'll get stronger and be someone you can be proud of." It was the last thing he said before rejoining the others.
A few weeks passed and Eli spent every morning with Madam Josie working on his energy control. In a short time he's quickly learned how to harness his body's energy as a shield against dark, harmful spiritual pressure. In an attempt to catch the Dullahan Madam gave Eli a pocket-sized black box with gold plates surrounding it along with an incantation he's supposed to read, should he come across it again.
In the evenings after work Eli went to the gym as normal. Raul took over as head coach and out of concern focused most of his time training Eli. Although Eli would usually work out on his own, he didn't mind the structured training. Part of his spiritual training involved having a strong body as well as a strong mind.
Raul was holding mitts for Eli when a voice yelled out, "looking good pookie!"
Eli took the chance to take a water break and made his way to Asher. "Did you sign up?" he asked excitedly, catching his breath. Today was the day to sign up for state finals.
Asher nodded his head enthusiastically, "I saw Dylan there and boy let me tell you he was NOT happy to see me."
"That's cause he knows you're gonna kick his ass," Eli said playfully punching Ash in the shoulder.
Ash laughed and made his way towards the door, "yeah, yeah, I'm going for a few laps." Before his training sessions Ash always ran laps around the neighborhood, as Eli watched him take off down the street, he saw Farrah walking in. She looked exhausted and irritated.
"Bad day?" he asked her.
"Don't even get me started! Michelle called in again so I had to do double the work and then…" as she spoke Eli couldn't help but notice a loud revving outside. His heart stopped as he spotted a familiar black mustang barreling down the street. The only thing he could think about was Ash and as soon as he saw the car turn the corner of Ash's route he ran after it.
As he ran he couldn't help thinking about how he was too late to save Coach Mateo, how he didn't want to lose Ash in the same way. He moved faster than he ever had before, following the dark energy to an alleyway a few blocks from the gym.
The alleyway was long and dark but even so he could see Ash being cornered by the Dullahan. The look of horror and fear of Ash's face lit a flame in Eli's heart. He called out, "Dullahan!"
The Dullahan was quite expressive despite not having a head, turning in Eli's direction.
"We have some unfinished business."
As if Eli wasn't even there, Dullahan turned to face Asher again, pulling a long black sword from the top of his neck, a sight that disturbed both Eli and Ash. He raised his arm back, preparing to swing downward. Eli panicked, ran behind the Dullahan and tackled him to the ground. His mind went wild, he wasn't even sure if he was able to physically touch him, but he was glad it worked.
By the time Eli scrambled to his feet the Dullahan had already been standing behind him, shaking with anger. Eli tried running but before he got too far the Dullahan grabbed him by the shirt collar and threw him hard into the wall. Before he was able to do anything else, the ground beneath them shook, causing the Dullahan to stumble backwards.
A blinding blue light lit the alleyway and began approaching the three, slowly dimming as it got close. The origin of the light was a tall pale man with long black hair that reached his waist. He donned a white button down, black sweater vest and black trench coat. The three were too stunned to speak or move. Without saying a word, the man calmly walked to Asher, touched his forehead with two fingers and put him to sleep, laying him on the ground gently.
The man turned to the Dullahan, causing him to shake slightly. Despite its fear, he raised his sword and began swinging at him violently. The man began dodging him, but never once attacked in return. Instead, he analyzed the Dullahan's moves carefully, studying everything about him.
Eli on the other hand took this as his opportunity and pulled the black and gold box out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. He began reading the incantation and as he did the box opened on its own, erecting a small glass tube that filled with not only the dullahan's energy but also the mystery man. Eli couldn't help but find the mixture of black and pale blue beautiful to look at. After the tube filled, it retracted back into the box and sealed itself. What was once a black and gold box now looked like a gold brick, he picked it up and shoved it in his pocket.
Madam Josie had told him the purpose of the box, but what she failed to mention was how pissed off the Dullahan would be after his energy was extracted. His focus shifted from the mystery man to Eli and he charged at him ready to strike.
Before he could, the bright light from earlier shone and the man was now floating several feet off the ground. His eyes, which were brown initially, now emitted a blue light from his pupils. He had fiery wings that spanned the width of the alleyway, and his spiritual pressure made it difficult to breathe.
"That's enough, Go!" he commanded, as he flapped his wings. With that the Dullahan disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The air surrounding the man's wings was so powerful it sent Eli flying towards the back wall, causing him to slam into the edge of a dumpster.
There was a loud crack before Eli slumped to his side unable to move. There was a sharp pain beginning at the center of his back and extended through his body. He tried to muster any strength he had to move his legs but to no avail, he had no feeling in his lower body. The pain was debilitating, causing him to have tunnel vision. Through blurred vision he saw the silhouette of the man approach and kneel in front of him. As he fought unconsciousness he felt the man pat his head, "rest well," was the last thing he heard before drifting to sleep.