Keeper of the Crossroads

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ince it seemed he was taking homework to his apartment for the first time since college. He eyed the stack warily. The satchel kept the papers from flying in the breeze from the open window. After being stuck in the smoke fi

eet in a short cut over to Elm. There was a fast food restaurant that he liked. It wasn't a chain, bu

hot melty cheese covering them. Jamie grinned. He had been trying to be more health conscious, but he figured there were just times when health had to take a back seat. Besides

t for now this would work. Jamie went through the drive in, sure that if he stopped he would be delayed once again by conversations politeness demanded. Personally, he never understood why people

g on to the paper work so he took the fistful of napkins the clerk had dropped into the bag and placed them between the bottom of the fa

rked out front it was disturbingly easy for his brother to drive by and simply drop in. Until he h

s in the other he went up the three flights to his apartment and opened the door. As always, the smell of turpentine greeted him. He smiled and supposed that he really had no leg to stand on

he didn't need that much, but the rest of the shabbiness was by design. It was a defense mechanism of sorts. If no one thought you had anythi

his art supplies could go back to the Salvation Army where he bought it in the first place. He would even k

amie was an easier mark than their mother. That had lasted about an hour. Jamie let them

both boys, Jamie had not only locked it with passwords, but added encrypted techno codes that made even his tech savvy nephews' heads' spin. He returned however to find his work shunted off

they had planned. They left in shocked silence as not only did he raise his voice, but he declared they would not be

d looking a little threadbare on the arms. Michael had asked why he couldn't at least g

saved Jamie a lot of grief. Jamie stared at the stack of papers and decided to eat his burger first. He ate the

didn't even think of the pretty bank teller. He just focused on his burger and shake. It was momentary contentment, but he took it anyway. The burger was gone well before the shake and he used one

could either start with the paperwork like a good boy or he could go ahead and break

tually believe the argument, but he pulled the bag over to himself anyway. The bag looked so much like the ones he and Albe would take sack lunches and treasure maps in

d from birthday cards and holiday cards during his child hood. And as an adult when he was going thro

this change or if there was no internet service out there. Jamie tapped the satchel thoughtfully. Really if there was internet at Albe's then there was very littl

o sell the land without his knowledge and of his mother backing up a moving truck to the front door on her way to auction. He doubted seriously that any of

ee what kind of signals he got. Jamie reached back into the front pocket and came out with a small

had thought about it he would have assumed the man had fought in the Second World War. Somehow Jamie couldn't picture Albe in the military though, or at least not the regular military. Jamie had no prob

allion on a chain. Jamie set the box down and picked up the paper. It was the kind of paper used to mail international letters, very thin and very light

you proceed. It has already been keyed to you. To activate it, take the medallion in your left hand and close your fist around it. You may feel an odd sensati

a red watered silk backing that glimmered in the overhead light like a beetle's

n a jewelry store. It had a lightning shaped hole in its center. To Jamie's knowledge there were no saint's represented by something as naturalistic as a lightning bolt. Of course he had t

ce for that to happen, " Jamie muttered. The loop the chain ran through looked as though it had been soldered on as an afterthought, as if the

he chain to dangle between his fingers. As soon as his hand closed down around the small medallion, a tingling filled his hand. J

ing to burn him. The heat had not yet reached the point of pain so he held on. Then light flashed between his fingers and for an instant it was like hi

ly peeled his fingers back from the center, the medallion had not changed. There were no burn marks on his palm. The only sight that made his hand look any different were the cres

ee reign and something had slipped out of his mind and into the real world. As a kid Jami

was safe to ride. The chain was a long one and with a deep breath Jamie slipped it over his neck. It hung to about the center of his chest. He wasn't quite sure why he p

led top flap over and peered inside. There were two books inside and Jamie pulled them out. Both appeared very old. They were leather

opened the cover. The leather was stiff and he was worried about cracking it. From the dim recesses of his mind he remembered someone saying old leather bound books needed to be oiled every now a

diagrams or pictures to break up the long lines of very small print. Jamie frowned, something told him he was going to have to read it. It looked l

is not relevant." His eyes blurred with the words. The sense of what he got was that the Keeper was some sort of combination police officer and lawy

ad play. He shrugged. It still didn't tell him what exactly a Keeper was. Jamie set the book aside and reached for the second tome that was in the satchel. This one was a l

ler book. Instead life like color drawings with descriptions met his eyes as

pposed would be called homespun. It reminded him of the farmer's clothing at the living history museum he had toured as a child. There was even a

there was a long scar on the left arm. It was the eyes that got Jamie though. There was intelligence reflected in them as well as humor, but Jamie got the feeling that this would be a bad perso

thing like what he would have expected. Somehow in the back of his mind he pictured something green and

re. They are skilled in illusions and believed to be able to make themselves temporarily invisible. This latter skill can only be done for short bursts of ti

ortune. The tomte/nisse tend to be traditionalists who do not like changes in the way things were done at the farm. Whenever a change occurs they appear grumpy at first as they see how m

heir defense. The tomte/nisse is extremely territorial and will protect his chosen domain. As a gift in

as minimum wage so the unions might disagree." Jamie saw a note scrawled int

mage of the man and then back to his scrawled note, unsure if Albe was joking or not. Somehow looking at the picture Jamie found it difficult to believe this was a

that there was a very detailed family tree hanging on the wall in Albe's study. When he went back to the house he

ake his head. Some appeared to be proper names, others family or tribal designations. On one of the drawings of a fairy someone had scrawled what appeared to be a family tree at the bottom of the page. Some of the creatures were benign, ot

t. Still bemusedly flipping the pages, he answered it. Given the various games he and Albe had played when he was younger he wondered why his great uncle had never brought the book out.

he said

ough the pleasant thoughts like a hot knife. He was definitely going to have

lled into another appointment."

things out to make the house ready to sell. You'll need to get some fresh paint on that house and make it look all right. And you will definitely need to fix that road. After all w

ve to go, I have

that lawyer." She told him before letting him go. Jamie hit

fond of rudeness. While his mother could be the most genteel and respectful person in the world, she reserved this attitude for people who were her social betters or e

izened little old man chasing his mother around the yard. The thought was rather amusing, but from the description in the book he was pretty sure the

get his own pen and paper out. He resisted the urge and instead reached into the satchel to see if anything remained. Inside he found a small bottle of linseed oil. Printed on the label were the prop

books and the bottle of linseed oil looked strange sitting on his coffee table next to the empty fast food bag and coffee cup from the morning. It was as if they were puzzle pieces to a puzzle he

en in the box? Did they have something to do with Albe's death? And what exactly was a Keeper? Jamie shook his head again and wondered that his brain was not rattling agai

ortfolio, both with amounts that made Jamie's head spin. He would definitely have to hide this from his b

stop until they had it all. And a part of him thought that if Albe had wanted them to have any of it he would have left it to them. Jamie

ck in the pants. Somehow he couldn't exactly see Jim administering either, but it was a guilt clearing thought. Enclosed in the paperwork was also a copy of the map of the propert

maps made much sense to him. So he put it aside. After all there was time to clarify the marks on the map when he had finished. Jamie rubbed his eyes, not realizing how ti

me back. Jamie pulled up his phone. The first thing he did was download some ring tones. The first for his mother was 'The beautiful people' by Marylyn Manson. Someh

times, when he had not answered, his mother or brother in a while he had found them calling using his niece's phone number. Not really in the mood to deal with that h

ped it off. He had another project in the works that he had begun sketching things out for but the next meeting

uld be a pretty full car load but he could make it. The furniture had mostly come second hand and would be not missed if anything actually happened to

there when he was a kid so he had a safe place to store his art supplies. There were still paintings stashed out there that Albe had been proud to keep. If there wasn't an internet connection or reliable cell service, Jamie could

ed as soon as possible, " he said with a lopsided grin. Jam

tate, " A cheerfu

artment 54 in the Watson bui

n how may I he

a while. My apartment will be empty and I just wanted you to know that in c

siness trip or do you think you might be leaving us

trips will become more frequent. You shouldn't worry about getting in here if there is any trouble. I am taking my computer with me so if you see an empty desk you know

Fulton. Is there anyone we should notify

ust call my cell phone I

r number as 234-567-8

ll be fine, "

few months for her to be so jumpy about him possibly moving. Jamie had very simple needs and didn't ask for much. Truth be told if something broke he generally fixed it himself. So far in this a

ing coming out of it. Jamie sighed as a tinny version of the Banditos song filled the apartment. He sighed an

that would be most of his effort's concentration. Jamie smiled as he quickly finished the clothing. There was very little left. Just the suit he wore to funerals and

d actually gone to the gym was. In the now empty gym bag he transferred the cords from his computer as he unplugged them. In relatively litt

He was off on another adventure with Albe. Jamie's smile faltered. Accept Alb

t seem real. He drifted off to sleep thinking of Albe's stories and the trips in the woods. Slowly Jamie's eyes dr