35

Disorder in the Food Court

From inside the House of the Dead arcade game console, it was hard enough to hear Beilla and his companion, let alone understand their Lebreiman. Deilune hadn’t lived in his homeland for almost twenty years. He'd sometimes conversed with his parents in Lebreiman, but Beilla’s accent was tricky. Gradually, he tuned into what was going on.

Deilune determined that the man with Beilla was named Abzeig. From the edge in his voice, it sounded as if Abzeig was growing agitated with Beilla.

"You are so sure of all of this, and yet look what has happened," Abzeig said, his eyes fierce. He was squat and powerfully built, especially his brutish hands. He was clearly angry. "We do not have it, and now they have somehow unlocked its power. You said Deilune was an unworthy fool who didn't know what he possessed. So, we destroyed him along with his wife. But you saw what happened last night. We did not dream it. What can we do now?"

"Abzeig, friend, calm yourself,” Beilla responded, unruffled, his tone attempting to soothe his comrade’s savage impatience. “I, too, am shocked. Never would I have believed what we witnessed last night. Yet, I am the one who convinced you that the Kareima's powers were beyond imagining. Only thinking of the gem’s political potency back home. That Lebreimans would back whomever possessed both the Kareima and Fareima. It seems, I have not taken the ancient stories seriously enough. The Kareima is far more than our ticket to power in Lebreima. It may give us the world."

"The world? What madness is that, Beilla? You promised me money. Lots of money."

"Not madness. History. The Pleishdeilet, the Missing Piece. It is the long lost piece of the Breima legend. Even I did not understand its full importance until last night. It is the key to the ancient stories of the Tireima. The Lifestones. The Kareima, Fareima and Astreima each possess their own unique power. Combined, they would be invincible. We must bring the three stones together."

"How? You saw. Deilune...he's...he's..."

"Yes, it is difficult to explain. He has come back. I do not know how to deal with him, and I do not know how he will try to deal with us. So, we must return to Lebreima and redouble our efforts to find the Astreima. We should have an easier time of that when I stake my claim as the Breima. It is not likely Deilune, in his present condition, will show up to challenge me."

From his vantage inside the game console, Deilune had heard enough, and decided to sneak back out to the parking lot where he hoped Linda and the children would be waiting.

But, as he started to leave, his chest heaved with sudden violence. Brilliant blue light flashed from under his shirt, suffusing the video game console. The out-of-order House of the Dead game inexplicably burst to life with a rowdy army of groaning zombies flashing on the screen in front of him.

In panic, Deilune’s eyes darted to Beilla's table sure they’d heard the digital ruckus. Yet, neither of the men was looking his way. Abzeig’s attention was fixed on Beilla's chest, which was flashing a fiery red. Deilune was curious about that development, but his instinct told him to make a dash for the exit. And that's when he heard Lottica's trilling laughter echoing from the far end of the cavernous Food Court.

He shot a look towards the laughter and spotted Lottica's bobbing head. He knew he had to get to her quickly, so he heaved himself out of the video game enclosure as its speaker warned "Watch out! The undead are everywhere!"

His chest juddered again, and quite unexpectedly, he felt like the undead. His vision blurred, and his entire left side went slack, leaving his foot dragging across the Food Court floor. Puzzled and more than a little scared at what was happening to him, he pulled himself with great effort behind a column and glanced back at Beilla's table.

Abzeig was standing over Beilla who clutched the glowing pendant on his chest. Deilune grabbed at his own chest, trying desperately to cover the blue light pulsing from beneath his jacket. It was as if the two gemstones, the Kareima and Fareima, were exchanging information, as if they’d become aware of the other’s presence. And were fighting.

Pulling his jacket tighter across his chest, Deilune ambled around the perimeter of the Food Court. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar figure on the opposite side of the hall. Linda. She was lurching towards the children, as if she was having difficulty too.

A crippling wave of fatigue swept over Deilune. Energy sapped from his limbs. He struggled to focus on his goal: the children. Just a few feet ahead, Nick rose from his seat and started toward a small condiment bar near his table. Deilune hunched forward and continued to take reluctant steps. He leaned against a column about to call out to Nick when a billowing blackness swept into his peripheral vision.

Capes flapping like a murder of crows, Beilla and Abzeig were striding directly for Nick and Lottica's table. The Fareima hanging around Beilla’s neck glowed diabolically. He certainly didn't seem to be experiencing the energy drag Deilune felt in his poor regenerated limbs.

He had to reach his children before Beilla did. He pushed off from the column and lurched towards Lottica. He arrived just as Linda stumbled to the table as well. Her eyes were anime wide, and she gasped for breath.

Lottica sat, looking quite amused at the table awash with spilled condiments. Oblivious to the situation, she said lightly, "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Take a load off. You two look beat."

"There's no time, Lottica!" Deilune said firmly with what energy he still possessed. "We have to go! NOW!"

Even as he said this, Linda went rigid. Deilune turned to see Beilla and Abzeig a few steps away.

He moved to protect Linda. As soon as he touched her, a shudder went through his entire body. A warm invigorating lightness spread from his toes to his earlobes. He held Linda, and she smiled. An electric thrill tingled their senses, lifting their weariness and calming their nerves. It was as if they were perched atop their own wedding cake in a world that had stopped to admire them. It was both strange and perfect.

"Better?" Deilune whispered to Linda.

"Never better," she whispered back.

"Dad! Mom! Watch the public display of affection!" Lottica mocked, still unaware of Beilla and his henchman who’d stopped dead in their tracks at the sudden appearance of her parents.

It was Nick who clued her in on Beilla’s presence. Rushing back from the condiment kiosk with Lottica’s burger, now overloaded with onions, pickles and relish, Nick faced the two caped men. His grip tightened and his eyes narrowed. Without a word to either Lottica or his parents, he ran straight at Beilla and Abzeig, planted his forward foot and launched the overflowing burger at them. It smacked Beilla’s chest dead center—right on the Fareima. Beilla staggered backwards and tripped on a chair. He wheeled and clutched at Abzeig’s cloak and together they hit the floor like a dirty load of laundry.

Nick back-pedaled to his family. For a moment, they stared at him, wide-eyed, before rushing out the exit to their car. Nick brought up the rear, checking to see if anyone was following: men in capes, mall security, curious bystanders. But no one came out the exit after them.

Once in their car and on the road, Nick felt a strange mix of trepidation and bravado after his burger-bashing of Beilla. And though it was probably way too soon, he couldn’t help but ask, "Could we stop and get a bite? I promise I won't make a mess this time."