The Legend Keeper

“So what other cool powers to we have?” Radar asked as he sat across a table from Ava half an hour later. They were at a hole-in-the-wall diner just inside the city limits that only the locals knew about. Ava had already put away a cup of cream-of-crab soup, a side salad, a double cheeseburger and a large order of fries. She was currently working on a large slice of chocolate cake. He wondered how she didn’t weigh more if she ate like this all the time.
“Don’t judge,” she said. “Using our abilities is really draining on the body. Basically, if you’re active and you’ve used your powers to any extent, you spend most of your time eating or sleeping.”
“Then how do we even function?” he questioned.
“You don’t have to use your powers all the time,” she said, “it will be difficult to turn them off at first because you’re so fascinated with them, but eventually you learn to control them and when you use them.”
Radar’s eyes cut to the waitress who was standing not far from them, taking the orders of two men.
“Don’t worry, she’s not paying any attention to us,” Ava said between bites. “She’s too busy comparing one of those guys to her boyfriend. The poor boyfriend’s coming up a little short.”
“That has to get old after a while, hearing other people’s thoughts.”
“Not especially. I guess it was hard to adjust to, so many voices at once, at least until I learned to control it.”
“You never answered my first question. You have a way of deflecting questions.”
“I just feel that if it was a question you really wanted to know the answer to, it would pop up again.”
“So are you going to answer it?”
“Our main two powers are telekinesis and telepathy. And some of us can predict the future to some degree.”
“To some degree?”
“Future seeing comes with a lot of training. It depends on how much raw skill there is when the supernatural is dormant. Me for example, before I was active, people were in turn fascinated and terrified of me because I could look at them and see if something bad-or good-was about to happen to them.”
“So why can’t you just look and see what’s going to happen with this book incident?” He asked with a glance and the backpack she had next to her on the booth. She’d refused to let it leave her sight.
“Because no supernatural can see what is going to happen to another supernatural. And what happens with that book is all dependent on a lot of different supernaturals.”
“This is too confusing for me.”
“You’re telling me.”
“So why do you have the book?”
“Because I know a lot about it and I have connections that can keep it safe.”
“But who keeps it when you don’t have it?
It took Ava such a long time to respond that Radar didn’t think she was going to. “The Legend Keeper.”
“Who is…?”
“No one really knows. She’s kept the written history for as long as anyone can remember. She’s kind of like our queen. I don’t know much besides she’s very powerful.”
“So she can’t protect it?”
“She’s got a target on her back. If the government finds her, they find the book. She would rather be destroyed.”
“It’s that important?”
“Yes,” she said simply.
“So you’re just guarding it until the government forgets about it?”
“If only it were that easy. The government isn’t going to forget about this. It’s like them forgetting about 9-11.”
“So why don’t you just go to some other country? They can’t extricate you from certain ones in South America.”
“Because they would tell said South American government what I’m harboring and the government would either take the book from me or deport me or both.”
“You think our government would let something like that loose among other governments?”
“Not our government. Yours.”
“What government do you claim then?”
Ava paused for a drink and had to think a moment. “None of them really. I move around so much I don’t get too used to any one government.”
“Where have you lived?”
“Here, England, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico in the past hundred years. I guess if I had to claim any government it would be the Swiss. I like neutrality.”
“You don’t have an accent.”
“You have no idea how long it took me to get rid of it,” she said with a shake of her head.
He looked at her expectantly.
“God you Americans are nosy. I was born on an island in Spanish territory. Today it’s called Ibiza.”
“Do you ever go back and visit?”
“Not anymore. Too many tourists.”
“I’m assuming you’re not a people person.”
“When you spend half of your life persecuted, you tend to become a bit of a loner.”
“Persecuted?”
“It’s gotten better in the past hundred years or so. And I’ve kept a low profile.”
“I don’t believe I’m sitting her talking about a hundred years ago like it was yesterday,” Radar said with a shake of his head.
“When you get to be five hundred, it will seem like yesterday. And we’re not sitting her anymore,” she said, rising to her feet and throwing some money on the table. She grabbed the pack and motioned for Radar to stand up.
“Don’t worry about it, I got it,” Radar tried.
“Please. I got tired of old world courtesy a long time ago. Besides, I figure you’ll act a little nicer if I feed you.”
“I’ve been nothing but nice.”
“Out loud.”
“Still reading my mind?”
She looked at him and for a moment their eyes locked. Radar couldn’t tear his eyes away. Her eyes felt like gravity, holding him down to one spot.
“Everything okay?” the waitress asked, suddenly appearing at the table.
“Yep, keep the change,” Ava said, breaking Radar’s gaze and motioning him out of the restaurant.
Once outside, Ava motioned him away from his car, down the street. For a moment they walked in silence, side by side. Radar didn’t question her, he was already getting used to her quiet.
“You have a very loud mental voice,” she eventually said. “I try not to be listening all the time to give people some privacy but yours is very hard to ignore.” She didn’t say how that really made her feel. She wasn’t really sure herself yet.
“So everybody has a different mental volume?”
Ava didn’t answer for a moment. “Yes.”
They walked another block in silence.
“So where are we going?” Radar eventually asked.
Ava’s smiled broke the tension. “To a bar.”
Radar’s step faltered. “What?”
“I have a friend I want to see that I haven’t in years.”
“Years?”
“1940.”
“Damn.”
“You get used to it. You’re actually handling all of this really well.”
“I’m still not sure I’m awake.”
Ava smiled.
“So this guy is a supernatural?”
Ava’s smile got wider. “Yeah but not like us.”
Radar halted. Ava felt slightly disturbed when something seemed to pull tight when she took a step and he didn’t. It felt almost like she was on a leash and Radar was holding it. She turned around to look at him, hiding her concern with a questioning look.
“What do you mean not like us?” he asked cautiously.
“There are six races of supernaturals. He’s one of the other five.”
Radar didn’t speak for a moment.
“He’s harmless…well…mostly anyway.”
“How well do you know this guy?” Radar asked, looking around him as they started walking again and realizing that they were starting in to the sketchier part of the city.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Ava said. “We were imprisoned together.” This time she expected the halt and wasn’t jerked by the imaginary chain.
“What?” Radar exclaimed.
“Calm down Mr. Lawyer. It was a long time ago, I’m reformed now.”
“Of course it was a long time ago,” he mumbled.
“Come on,” she said, turning back around. She clenched her teeth once and took a forceful step forward. She felt rather than heard Radar take a tentative step. This stopped her again. This connection was getting more confusing by the second. She shouldn’t be able to move him if he wasn’t active…she shook it off as he fell into step beside her. The last thing she needed to be concerned about was the connection between her and Radar.

Two blocks later they stepped into a dimly lit bar. The outside had looked less than pristine, but Radar was satisfied to see that the inside was at least relatively clean. There were only a few patrons. The bar tender was cleaning a glass and looked generally bored. He looked up as they entered and seeing Ava, his face lit up.
“Well look what the cat dragged in!” he boomed, startling the man nursing a whiskey at the bar. He set the glass down and came around the bar, taking a few long strides and sweeping Ava up in a hug that looked like it could have crushed her.
Radar felt a twinge. It felt almost like protectiveness or jealousy. Whoa, back up pal, he thought to himself. He didn’t own Ava, hell he barely knew her.
“Aren’t looking too bad yourself Quinn,” Ava said with a smile as the short, stout man set her down. He wasn’t particularly thick, he just had a little extra bulk that looked out of place on his short body. He had brown hair and a carefully groomed beard and mustache. His eyebrows were thick over his nearly black eyes. His nose had a crook in the middle. His hair was thicker than Radar’s but styled the same.
Just then the bar tender’s eyes fell on Radar and he looked him up and down. Immediately, the man looked a little less friendly. Radar felt the tension in the air and stood up a little straighter.
“Who’s your friend?” the other man asked cautiously.
Ava didn’t speak, at least Radar didn’t hear her, but the man motioned them towards a door behind the bar.
“If any of my booze is gone when I get back I’ll kick all of your asses!” the bartender, Quinn, said as the three of them passed through the door. It opened to a short hallway. Ava opened the first door on the left that looked like it led to an apartment. She took a seat on the sofa, setting the pack down at her feet and motioning Radar to sit next to her.
Quinn appeared a moment later, shaking his head. “Can’t trust anybody now a days. One of those idiots tried to sneak out with a bottle of my best scotch can you believe that?”
“Did you eat him?” Ava asked.
“Oh so we’re speaking out loud now are we?” Quinn asked, going to a desk on the other side of the room and pulling out two bottles.
Ava motioned to Radar. “He doesn’t read minds yet.”
“Oh so he’s a trainee is he? What do you drink newbie?”
“Uh…whatever you’ve got.”
Quinn sent him an unamused look. “I’m a bar boyo, I’ve got everything.”
“Just coffee if that’s alright.”
“Barkeep offers you free booze and you go for the soft stuff,” Quinn said, shaking his head. He poured one glass of scotch then wandered over to another door. “I’ll have to put some coffee on, give me a second.”
Before Radar could turn to ask Ava a question, Quinn was back. Radar blinked. Had the man even gone in to the kitchen?
“Yeah he did,” Ava said out loud.
Radar turned to look at her.
“What you haven’t told him what I am yet?” Quinn asked, taking a seat in an armchair opposite the couch. “Well this visit is getting more and more interesting.”
“I figured I’d scare him away if I told him,” Ava said.
“And you don’t think showing him’s going to make him piss himself?”
Ava glanced over at Radar. “I’m having a difficult time convincing him this isn’t all a dream. I figured you could help.”
He sent her a bewildered look.
“No!” Ava exclaimed. “Christ what do you think I am?”
Quinn smiled. “Hey I can dream can’t I?”
“Does someone want to fill the human in?” Radar asked, disconcerted by the alarm in Ava’s voice.
Quinn caught his gaze and they locked eyes. The man’s pupils dilated until his eyes were completely black. He smiled-just slightly-and Radar saw a peek of teeth descending from his lips-fangs? Then Quinn smiled fully and Radar’s suspicions were confirmed. Not huge gaping fangs like you saw in the horror movies, just slightly larger canines that overlapped his last incisor and canine on both sides. If Radar hadn’t been looking for something different and Quinn hadn’t smiled, he would have never noticed a change. He swallowed hard. He told his body to shoot to his feet, but nothing happened. He felt an overwhelming sense of calm come over him.
“Oh that’s no fun Ava,” Quinn said. He broke eye contact with Radar and his eyes slowly returned to normal and his fangs disappeared.
“I don’t need him too scared,” Ava said and Radar realized that the calming vibes had been coming from her.
“What the hell did you just do?” he demanded. It was becoming too real. That sensation was real, he had felt it. He had just seen a man turn into a monster and he wasn’t running, he wasn’t calling the police, he couldn’t. He tried to shake off the overwhelming calm, but again nothing happened. His body wasn’t his anymore.
“Radar calm down,” Ava said.
“Should be real easy for you to make me shouldn’t it?” he demanded.
“You’re bound to have a coronary if you don’t stop working yourself up,” she reprimanded. “It’s a lot to take in at once I know. I tried to warn you, and you didn’t believe me-”
“Well I damn well believe you now!”
He felt another wave of calm but he shook it off.
“Stop fighting me Radar,” Ava said quietly. She locked her eyes with his. “Stop.”
That one word turned him to jello and with a startling realization, he knew where he’d seen those eyes before. His dream the night before. The liquid brown depths that sparked when the light caught them… Even without Ava’s calming, he would have gone completely numb.
“A dream? Looks like you’ll have prediction after all.”
“What?”
“Future telling. Just out of curiosity, what else was in the dream?”
Radar pictured it, figuring there was no use in describing it out loud, but the details were sketchy as he didn’t remember most of it.
“I take it this is not a purely social visit?” Quinn asked.
Ava released Radar from her gaze, but he still felt the calm.
“Afraid not,” she said, taking the book out of the bag and setting it on the coffee table between them.
Quinn’s eyes widened. “Are you insane?! What the hell are you doing bringing that in here?! Put it away!”
Ava put it calmly back in the bag. “The book’s in danger.”
“You’re telling me! Bringing it to DC are you insane?!”
“I needed your help. I need to get it to the next Counsel meeting.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re one of the very few people I trust.”
Quinn pondered that. “Good to know. So why are you bringing him into this?” he said, motioning to Radar.
“I’ve got my reasons.”
“Well that’s ominous.” He thought for a moment. “When is the next Counsel meeting?”
“Next month.”
“That doesn’t give us much time. Especially not if you want to train this one.”
“We can’t take a plane, they might be looking for the book. We’ll have to go by bus and train and eventually, on foot.”
Quinn ran a hand over his face. “Damn it Ava how do you get yourself into these things?”
Ava shrugged. “Talent.”
“The last time I went on an adventure with you I got deported.”
Ava’s face broke in to a full out smile. “Hey it was your fault. And you had fun.”
“The hell I did. Working the land all day and night. Wasn’t fun.”
“It was only two years.”
“Only!” he looked at Radar. “Only! And what did she spend it doing? Writing! Writing letters for the captain. He took a real liking to her, he did.”
“I’m lost again,” Radar said.
“In the early 1800s,” Ava began, “we were accused of killing a man in Ireland and they were going to behead us, but the captain that was taking a ship of prisoners to Australia convinced the courts to let me go there instead of killing me and I said I’d only go if we could take poor Quinn too.”
“You should have left me! Unless they cut my head off with a wooden sword, I would have been just fine. You were getting even with me for bringing you in to it.”
“Damn right. You did kill that man, you just dragged me down with you because you had everyone convinced we were lovers and I was an accomplice. You spent two years in the field, you know what I was doing? Dodging the captain’s passes is what!”
“I’m losing my mind,” Radar said, putting his head in his hands.
A moment later Quinn appeared in front of him with a mug of coffee.
“So who else is going on this little expedition?” he asked, sipping from his glass.
“Hopefully you two, Kate, and Rick.”
“Ugh, Kate? You’re really going to subject me to that?”
“You live in the same town, you’ve got to run in to each other every now and then.”
“Not when I can help it. The only time I’ve seen her is when she’s charging me with something. Only time I’ve ever been convicted of anything is when I’m up against her.”
“Wait, there’s another lawyer involved?” Radar asked.
“Another? You’re a lawyer?” Quinn looked to Ava. They didn’t say anything but after a moment, Ava shrugged.
“Kate Queenston, assistant district attorney,” Ava confirmed.
Radar snorted. “You’re probably better off not asking for her help, she hates me.”
“I like him,” Quinn said.
“We’re going to need all the help we can get,” Ava said.
“Wait,” Radar said, brain kicking in. “Kate Queenston is a supernatural?”
“Yes, but not like us,” Ava said slowly.
Radar groaned and put his mug down on the coffee table, wishing it was something stronger.
“Don’t worry boyo, in fifty years you’ll be almost used to it,” Quinn said.