The Wounded World
A Story of Mantra
By Aladdin
Originally written 2006
Posted 11-21-21
Revised 11-22-21
Revised 11-28-21
Revised 12-08-21

Edited by Christopher Leeson
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Chapter 17

THE HOUSE OF THE COVEN

Why art thou Terrible
And yet I love thee in thy Terror
Till I am almost Extinct

William Blake
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I couldn’t rest for a moment. Heather Parks and her friends would very soon have a terrible encounter with the supernatural, but rescuing Evie had to be my top priority. Unfortunately, I needed major help to stand up to Gus. Even Lauren’s success had depended on her starting a fight between Gus and Coven to bring about their downfall.

But I would rather bring in some of the battle-tested ultras I knew. I had met many, but had established close relationships only a few. There was Pinnacle, but on this day of the month she would still be a helpless emotional wreck. To make matters worse, she was also over five-hundred miles away.

So, who was closer in? Warstrike – or, rather, Strike, as the locals knew him? He was cunning, fearless and had high tech-savvy. On top of that, Strike was psychic, possessing an ability that forewarned him of danger.

But I’d need more than just Strike to go up against a powerhouse like Gus.

I would have liked to call in the original Wrath, a.k.a. Thomas Hunter.He was a specialist in combating and defeating ultras, having been well trained by Aladdin. But he’d vanished into private life after a row with the Aladdin command and his present whereabouts were unknown even to them.

I could usually make mental contact with two types of people. First, there were those persons with natural psychic talent, and that included Pinnacle, Lauren, and Strike. Secondly, I could mind-link with people with whom I have previously exchanged bio-energy, such as Prime, Evie, and, again, Strike.Wrath fitted into neither category and so I had no means to reach him telepathically.

But just then all my attention was fixed on getting into contact with Evie. The tyke wouldn’t know where I had disappeared to and had become now Gus's prisoner – a terrifying situation. I banked in flight and rode the wind back toward the Blake house, touching down a few blocks away on the roof of the Canoga Park Elementary School. Ensconced there, I began to tune into my daughter’s bio-electrical aura. A moment later, I felt her mind touch mine:

"Mommy? Where are you?"

"Evie, darling, I'm -- I'm near your school. Are you all right?"

"How can you be talking inside my head?"

"It's on of my secret ultra powers, Button. But shhh! We don’t want Gus to hear. Does it look like he knows what we’re doing?"

"I don't think so. He's been yelling about how he wants to smash everybody. He's even mad at you, Daddy, and Mantra --"

"Hush, Evie, don't think about Mantra, not until we're sure that Gus isn't listening."

"Mommy, I'm afraid that Gus might wanna smash me, too, if he remembers all the jokes I played on him and gets mad."

“You have to be very brave, Pumpkin. Some bad magic zapped Gus and it’s making him wild. He’s even stronger than I am, so I have to call in some ultra friends to help me calm him down. Maybe we can get him to surrender without starting a fight."

"What should I do?”

"Try to smile and talk friendly to your brother. He's not thinking clearly and if he gets excited he might hurt you before he knows what he's doing."

"Mommy, when are you coming?"

"I’ll be there as soon as my help makes it in from out of town."

"Mommy! Don't talk!"

And then our mind-link broke off.

#

What had happened? Had Gus tuned into our conversation? If so, what would he retaliate against Evie? I needed help and I needed it quickly. Touching my gloved fingers to my brow, I concentrated.

"Brandon, this is Mantra. Can you hear me?"

I repeated this call several times.

"What? Mantra?" A familiar voice was being picked up by my ethereal walkie-talkie.

"Brandon? That's you, isn't it?"

"Sure it is, Eden. Sorry. You woke me. Jet lag.

“Something important has come up!"

"Something always does. Well, lay it on me, beautiful. What sort of sexy stuff have you gotten mixed up in this time?"

"A total disaster! I need your help."

“How bad is it?”

"It’s a megaton of trouble, Tark. Both my kids are in danger. Listen! Do you have tech good enough to cage a magician who's at least twice as powerful as I am, and do it without causing him any real injury?"

"What magician? Is Boneyard back?"

“Boneyard is dead!” I said, wondering whether this version of Brandon Tark was unaware that Boneyard had died in the Godwheel solar system.

“I realize that, but lately death has been losing a lot of its sting.”

Well, I had to give Strike that one. He was one of the few people who knew that I'd died hundreds of times myself. He’d even be aware that Eden Blake had once made a return trip from the Great Beyond herself.

"No, I'm up against someone much, much stronger than old Tall-Gray-And-Ugly."

"Who, and where exactly are you?"

"Canoga Park, a couple blocks from my house. I’m up against something that's even more powerful than I am."

"Has some enemy come after you in your own home?

“In a way, yes. I'll explain everything if we can get together!”

“And you say the kids are in danger?”

“Definitely!” I said.

“I’ll be there at hyper speed. What kind of weapons do we need to tackle this emergency?"

"Bring something powerful but non-lethal. I’d like to suppress the enemy without harming him. When we click off, I'll be contacting the Strangers, too. Do you know of any magicians who'd be available at short notice?"

"Unfortunately, I don’t have any sorcerer friends other than you. But Hardcase made contact last week. Since quitting the UltraForce, he’s been busy forming up a new super team, one that won’t let Aladdin pull the wool over their eyes -- like they managed to do with UltraForce.”

"Great! Hardcase is one of the best.”

"Your enemy has to be a bag of crap if he's threatening kids. Why do you want to be non-lethal with him?"

"It's a convoluted affair, Brandon. The bad guy is Gus."

"Gus?"

"Dark magic has a hold on him. His sorcery can do almost anything and he can't control himself."

"You're up against your own ex-husband – Eden's ex-husband – for the third time?"

"No. It's worse than that. I'm up against.. my own son."

#

After Strike signed off, I hurriedly sent out to one of the magic-users I knew, Shadowmage. I assumed she had psychic powers and I tried to attune to them, but I could get back no response at all. That could mean she was no longer on Earth, or some other matter that interfered, such as the fact that we belonged to two very different species.

So,I next tried to contact a different witch, one who was part of the Strangers team, an ultra group that I had worked with very well the year before.

"Yrial! This is Mantra. Are you reading me?"

After about thirty seconds of continuous appeals, I heard back,"Mantra? Is it you? I didn't know you could soul-speak!"

"I only got the knack of it lately," I explained hastily. "It’s really bad here in Canoga Park. Can you rally the rest of the Strangers and give me some backup? There's a possessed boy using powerful magic and holding his little sister hostage. Their mother seems to be -- missing," I added belatedly.

"A child? Can one so young be any match for you, Mantra?"

"He’s more than a match for me. I found that out the hard way.”

“Our team is already deployed for a different emergency. There is a mortuary in Oakland where the dead are rising and assailing all they encounter."

“That’s terrible,” I said, not mentioning that happened to know about the zombie peril. “But I'm desperate to put together a battle-hardened ultra squad that can overwhelm the boy quickly without really hurting him."

"Mantra, there are strange reports coming in from all over the world. Do you have any idea what is happening? None of us understand it.”

"I don't either, but it’s really bad where I am. Can't you split off and come down here solo? I'll owe you big time."

After a brief pause, the shamaness replied, “No.” Before my heart had time to sink, she added: “If children are in danger, you will owe me nothing. Canoga Park is near Los Angeles, isn't it?"

"It's a suburb on the north side of L.A,” I told her. “Send me a thought message when you get close and I'll be able to guide you in."

"I shall travel with all haste."

"Just one more thing, Yrial. Have you heard whether or not Shadowmage is still on Earth? I’d like to reach her, too."

"I haven’t, but I shall do all that I can to contact our sister, even while I am hastening to your aid."

"Fantastic. Strike's agreed to come in, too. He thinks he can bring along Hardcase. See you soon."

After Yrial broke off, I tried to summon Prime, the only member of the UltraForce with whom I had a close connection. But for some reason I couldn’t make contact with him. It was a crazy night.

#

While waiting for my comrades to arrive, I turned my attention to the rescue of Heather Parks and her fan club. If I didn't act swiftly, the monster Coven would appear at her home and add to the night’s chaos. I now made haste to the address, fearing that I might already be too late.

The Parks' two-story clapboard house seemed quiet when it came into view. Ether I had arrived earlier than Coven could, or else I was in a slightly different parallel world. I hoped that the latter was not the case. There was only so much confusion I could stand.

Sighting Heather's lighted window, I flew close enough to peer inside. Through the diaphanous curtains, I saw all four of the Mantra fans gathered, each wearing their cosplay gear – mock-up pieces of my action costume. The teens looked at ease and totally normal. I had to act fast if I was to keep them that way.

The girls squealed when I came ghosting in through the closed window, but the instant they recognized me their yelling transmogrified to ahh's and gasps.

"Mantra!" exclaimed Heather, "You scared us."

"Sorry, but we don't have a second to waste. I'm -- I'm here to rescue you."

"Heather!" a man called from downstairs. "What's all that screaming about?"

"Nothing, Dad," Heather yelled back. "W-We're just watching a spooky video on TV!"

I shook my head. Teens were always quick with plausible excuses. Sometimes – as now – that could be a good thing.

The girls, though excited by my arrival, were quietly waiting for me to explain my visit. I glanced at the clock. Not much time had passed since I'd fled from my own home, though it already felt like at least an hour. Apparently, the green bolt spoken of by Lauren hadn't struck the Parks’ home so far. But it’s impact was imminent and I didn't want the girls to be cursed by it.

Only then did I notice something on Heather's small table, half-covered by a magazine that lying open to a Mantra-themed article.

"Have you girls been playing with a Ouija board?" I asked sternly.

"We were just about to," Miss Parks replied with a wince. She was probably remembering my past admonitions against kids getting involved with mysticism. "It's only a game," the tenth grader protested weakly.

"No, it's not!” I told her. “Ouija boards are tools for necromancy. And necromancy is something that only bad wizards want to have anything to do with.”

"But we've read the instruction sheet," the girl protested. "Anyway, they sell them in all the hobby stores. I got mine at Mrs. Fisher's magic shop."

I shook my head. "I like Mrs. Fisher, but she doesn’t realize how risky this New Age stuff really is. She once gave a magical charm to a little girl who made a foolish wish with it. The wish started some nasty trouble that almost killed her mother.

“Worst of all, some kind of wild magic is loose tonight. This room might draw it in like a magnet because you girls once summoned a demon here. Traces of black magic can hang around for a very long time! I want all of you to get out of this house and stay away for the rest of the night. It'ld be best to separate, too; people who use dark sorcery can attract evil magic if they stay grouped together. Do any of you need help getting home? Who lives the farthest away?"

"Me!" said Trisha. She recited the address.

It was east of Canoga Park, in Winnetka. "How do you usually get home?" I asked.

"My parents'll pick me up at nine."

I shook my head. “That’s not soon enough.”

"They can al come to my place. It's a short trip," put in Jessica.

“Good. Samantha, Trish -- when you get there, you should call for rides home right away. But, Heather, it won't be safe for you to come back to this house until morning. The danger should be over by then. Uh, Jessica – you youngsters haven't been casting spells at your home, have you?

The schoolgirl threw up her hands. “Are you kidding? My folks won't even let me bring The Lord of the Rings into our house. I had to argue and pout for weeks before they'd even let me join your fan club."

I nodded, satisfied. “Heather, do you suppose that Jessica's folks would let you overnight with her?”

“I think so; they've let me stay before. But we'll need a good excuse as to why I should want to on such short notice.”

“Well...think hard,” I said.

"But will my folks be all right staying here?"

According to what Lauren had said, Heather's parents had suffered no effects from the magic bolt. "I'm sure they will be," I said. "So far only persons strongly touched by magic have been affected."

I sure hoped that I was right on that score.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 18