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His story was sad, and it made me more determined to help him. So I slapped at mosquitoes as we left Harbor Drive and slid into the unauthorized personnel area of the canal. “Following the canal will take us farther and farther into swamp land. If we go far enough, we’ll hit a lake, but damn,” I slapped another bug, this time around my neck, “I don’t want to go that far.”
“Me either.”
The only light was coming off of Luc, but at least I had that to see by. I didn’t know what we would find as I sloshed through the marsh, or even what we were looking for…until we found it. Or him.
The first indication was a laugh that came from the trees around us, but it wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t evil, but not benign either. Luc turned this way and that. “I think this is it.”
“What’s it?” I asked.
But another voice answered, it matched the laughter I’d heard. “Looking for me, boys?”
Before I had a chance to say no, Luc answered, “Yes. Can you help me?”
The figure didn’t so much as step out of the woods as simply appear there, becoming more solid by measures with each step toward us. “Maybe I can help. Maybe I cannot. Depends on what the needing is.”
He wore a jester cap and his face was painted white with red circled cheeks and black lips. His eyes sparkled like black diamonds. For a jolly figure, he was fucking scary. “Who are you?” I asked, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
“Oh, I go by lots of names or none at all.” The laughter swam around us, but he hadn’t opened his mouth, merely cocked his head to the side.
It was Luc who answered. “He’s the Wildman. The jester. The spirit of New Orleans, of Mardi Gras, and of the night. He’s the joker from the tarot deck.”
“This can’t be good.”
“Huh. You.” The joker man pointed at me. “Someone is after you. The big baddy, bad daddy.”
“Who—?”
“Carlos Marcello. Wants your life.” The joker danced around, stood on one hand, then leaned against a tree and pulled out a cigarette. He had a shot glass in the other hand. “Too much merriment. Too many demands. I can’t help your spirit, friend, but I can help you. Beware Carlos Marcello.”
Then he was gone.
“That was useless.” I shook my head and turned back. I needed to get the fuck out of this swamp land.
“Not really. He told us who was after you. Now we can plan.”
“Luc. Carlos Marcello is dead. He’s been dead for years. I doubt I believe anything that joker dude said.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Austin, I’m dead. But I’m here.”
“Okay, you have a point, but I don’t know what to do with that.”
The joker appeared in front of us out of nowhere. “One more thing, boys. To find what you need, you need to focus on the needs of others. A need is a need, and everything depends on the needing.”
Then he was gone again as quickly as he’d come.
“Cryptic much?” I stomped too hard on the ground, splashing water around my feet. I was pissed because he’d scared me with that bullshit.
The sun started peeking over the horizon, casting a soft pink hue over the city, but it was hardly enough to light the way. I still had Luc, though he grew quiet, and I didn’t want to make things worse for him. We were both a little disappointed—well, at least I was. And maybe a little too tired as well because I wasn’t paying too much attention to our surroundings other than being back on the dirt road leading out of the swamp area.
“Austin. Austin, stop.”
“What?” I stopped and looked over at Luc. He pointed ahead and to the side at a break in the trees. Something was there. It growled. It was as big as a man, maybe taller than me, but that’s where the similarities ended. Beady eyes peered out from a goat's head, but this goat had sharp teeth that snarled with saliva drooling from blood-red gums. “We are truly fucked.”
“Should you run?” he asked me, but I certainly didn’t know the answer. Sometimes, that made things worse. Predators could be triggered by running, movement, but if you stayed still, they might walk away. This thing was not walking away. In fact, it took a step closer and lowered its head.
A second growl from behind caught my attention, but I was afraid to take my eyes off the beast. “Luc, what was that?”
“A…A…I don’t know.”
