Dark Muse by David Simms

time ago and stopped caring way
before that.”
    The stare continued for a tense moment, then
Silver Eye cracked a smile. Guttural laughter ensued, which soon
shook the bluesman’s entire body. “You guys are a little young to
be such fatalists, don’t you think? Personally, I think that if you
saw what’s really in charge over there, you’d pee on
yourselves in a heartbeat and pray to whoever makes your world go
round.”
    Corey stepped up, acting as the bodyguard
again, but maybe this old man wasn’t what he seemed. “You don’t
scare me. So, I’ll ask you only once, please show us a
little respect. We don’t see much of it, but after last night, I
think we deserve it.”
    “Last night?” Silver Eye asked, face
cracking, obviously holding back. “Are you kidding me? If you went
there alone, you’d be in pieces right now.”
    “We kicked those things’ butts!” Otis
chirped. “Even you saw that.”
    “Such an ignorant fool, little drummer boy.
Did you think you’d be alive right now if I hadn’t shown you what
to do?” His dark, wizened hand held up the mug. “Do you think you’d
figure out how to whip those chest beaters without my help?”
    “Okay, Obi-Wan.” Otis backed away, though he
kept eye contact. “You made your point, but make sure you know
we’re not a bunch of wusses here.”
    “If you want respect, if you want me to take
you seriously, finish your training here. Your brother, if he’s
still alive, will still be kicking for another couple of days. You
wouldn’t go into Iraq without knowing how to drive a tank, shoot a
machine gun, know who the enemy was, or even venture into the
country’s boundaries without a map, would you?”
    “This isn’t Iraq,” Poe said. She had lost a
cousin there, the only relative she’d truly gotten along with.
“This is a forest with some goons stumbling around. Big
difference.”
    “Girl,” he said, leaning back in his
recliner, face softening, though his gaze never wavered. “Whatever
you know about the crossroads, it’s nothing like the Middle
East. It’s nothing like anything on any map. What you
experienced last night was just a tease of the real thing.”
    “I thought we were here to be trained like
little Jedis, not listening to some mumbo-jumbo about your
adventures.”
    Silver Eye just hung back, taking it all in,
biding his time. “You kiddies done now? There’s so much wine, but
where’s the cheese?”
    If anyone else got the joke, they didn’t show
it. “My mom used to use that line on me. Took me a few years to get
it.” Muddy’s face almost allowed a grin.
    “Used to?” Silver Eye asked. “You finally
stopped annoying her?”
    “No, she died this past year.” His heart
hitched in his chest. Even joking didn’t cut the pain. “Unless my
prayers get a great long distance plan, I don’t think I’m bugging
her anymore.”
    “Son, moms always hear. Don’t matter
where they are. I’m sure mine has wanted to use those angel wings
to fly on down here and give me a whuppin’ for so many of the
things I’ve done in my life.”
    Muddy wondered, if only she knew what we
were getting ourselves into…
    “Muddy,” Otis said. “Your mom would kick
yours if she found out about last night.”
    “Keep it up, Q-tip,” Muddy replied, “and I’ll
let big Maggie in on what you do.”
    Otis’ mom was a nice woman, but not easily
fooled. Cross her once and you might only have endure the “tongue
of hellfire.” Cross her twice and you’d likely end up with mental
scars that would leave you drooling, trembling and scared of your
shadow for life.
    “Anyway,” Silver Eye continued, “getting back
to un-reality here, you need to know a little story about the
crossroads before we go any farther. If there’s to be a journey, a
funky trek deep into that other world where most humans have never
returned to talk about, then you need to sit your tails down and
listen to my little yarn from when I was younger.”
    “And had