Sitting back in my chair, I said, “That’s not right. But I don’t think there’s much I can do about it. But…I wish I could have time to read through your grimoire.”
So Beltan had plagiarized his entire book and done a bad job of it at that. The thought made me simmer. I valued having the resource at hand, but he could have at least thanked Dek in the acknowledgments.
“Here, is this your creature?” Dek turned the book around and pushed it over to me. The language was one I didn’t understand, but the shape of the creature matched what Raj had described to a T, and my inner alarm began to ring.
“Yes, that’s it. I’m certain. My instinct is shouting that’s what tried to kill me.”
Dek ripped out a piece of paper from the notebook and handed it to me. “Since I doubt you can read my scribbles, let me dictate to you what you need to know.”
I took the pen and paper and waited. “All right.”
“This creature is known as an aztrophyllia. It lives in the astral plane most of the time, but it can emerge into the physical realm if it finds a host. Usually the host will be weakened through grief or illness, to where it doesn’t have the will to fight off the aztrophyllia. The creature feeds on life force, and will drain the host dry over a number of months—it’s a slow feeder. Then, once the host dies, it will either return to the astral plane or it will look for yet another host.”
I jerked my head up. “Lenny.” I turned to Kipa. “I’ll bet this is the thing that attacked Lenny.” Looking back at Dek, I asked, “So, can it dislodge from the host and then return to it?”
He nodded. “They’re actually great tactical creatures. Yes, it can do that, and it can also remain invisible when it enters the physical plane. But when it attaches to the host, it does so from the astral. Aztrophyllias are common in the astral plane—think of them as psychic leeches. But it can attack on the physical level as well, and the attack you described is its primary mode. You’re lucky, though.”
“Why?” I had a feeling there was more coming than I wanted to know.
“The point on that tail? When it’s in the astral plane, that’s how it attaches to the host, by inserting the tail into the back side of the heart chakra. However, when it materializes on the physical plane, not only can it become invisible, but the tail contains a venomous stinger. I’m surprised it didn’t sting you, which would have allowed the creature to drain your magic and life force. For some reason, it saw you as a threat that it needed to dispose of quickly.”
“It knew that I was onto the fact that it was attached to Lenny,” I said. “So did Raj kill it?”
“No, I doubt very much that he managed to kill it. It’s like the cockroach of the astral plane. Not much can eliminate it. You can wound it with a silver weapon, however. That requires stabbing it with either a silver weapon when it’s in physical form, draping the host in silver—which will dislodge it astrally. Another physical attack is to immerse it in a saltwater bath or a pile of salt like a slug.” Dek leaned back. “So, you say this thing has a friend in its power?”
“Yeah. I thought it was a Walk-In at first.”
“The aztrophyllia can control its host, but that’s not its main focus. The creature’s primary goal is to thoroughly drain every ounce of energy out of the host. It’s a predator, and a parasite. And they’re clever.”
“Then it definitely could have sensed that I knew something was wrong with Lenny and come after me to protect itself and its food source?” The thought of an astral leech that was also intelligent and that could recognize a threat was daunting.
“Yes, I believe that it could.”
I glanced at Kipa. “Well, at least we know what we’re dealing with. How do I go about detaching it from Lenny, though? And how do we keep it from reattaching itself to him again?”
Dek frowned. “That’s a tough call. You’ll have to go out on the astral to do that. Once you’re out there, you’ll have to wound it enough to keep it away while you fix a seal of protection on your friend. That’s your best bet. If you try to destroy the creature, I’m thinking you’ll end up in a fight you may have trouble winning.”
“What about me? I’m a god. I should be able to stop it.” Kipa leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.
Dek laughed. “Oh, my brother, you know too well that the gods can’t solve all problems. You would do well to help your lady, though. I think you should go out to the astral to fight it and keep it occupied while she casts the seal of protection on her friend.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I’m not familiar with seals of protection, but I’ll do some research to find out how to cast them. Llew might know, or he’ll know someone who can teach me.”
Kipa shook his head. “No, Llew won’t. This is a powerful spell and very few of the magic-born know how to wield it. But I do know someone who can teach you,” Kipa said. “He belongs to the Force Majeure.”
I took a deep breath. The Force Majeure was a group of master sorcerers and magicians. There were twenty-one of them at any given time, and all of them were thousands of years old. They ranged from Taliesin to Rasputin to the Merlin and more. In fact, the Merlin was Herne’s grandfather. The chance to meet one of them was both tempting and terrifying. They were the rock stars of the magical world.
“Who?” I asked.
“Väinämöinen, the first bard,” Kipa said. “He’s the oldest hero in all of Kalevala. And he’s a master sorcerer.”
The thought of just being able to say hello to such a powerful magician was exciting, but to actually learn from him? That was a carrot I couldn’t refuse.
“How do we get in contact with him?” I asked.
“I’ll take you to him. We’ll have to journey to the realm of Kalevala. That’s where Väinämöinen lives. It will be a cold trip, though, far colder than this one.” He flashed me a smile. “I’ll get to show you my home sooner than I thought.”
I had been looking forward to seeing the miles of forests and the thousands of lakes he had told me about. While the thought of going in there to face one of the oldest members of the Force Majeure was as daunting as it was exciting, I wasn’t going to let fear sway me.
“All right. When can we go?”
“Tomorrow.” Kipa winked at me. “You’ll love it, and the first bard won’t turn you into a toad. I promise.”
“Well then, it sounds like you have a plan to take care of the problem.” Dek pushed the book aside and stretched. He was truly a burly man and I could easily see the aura of the bear around him. “Are you hungry? I have bread and the sweetest, creamiest cheese you’ve ever tasted. I also have a pot of soup on the stove that’s been simmering since morning.”
I realized that my stomach was rumbling and now that he mentioned it, I could smell the soup. I had thought the cottage smelled good, but now I knew that it was the smell of rich broth and beef and tomato.
“I’d like that,” I said, before Kipa could answer.
“Then lunch it is,” Dek said, crossing over to the stove.
“Do you need some help?” I asked.