Ghoulies Abroad, Julie Steimle [libby ebook reader .TXT] 📗

though it sounds like hell.”

Chen nodded. “We have a lot of hells.”

Eddie chuckled nervously.

“There are two pairs we might or might not encounter,” Daniel explained. “The black and white guards of impermanence who escort souls to the Diyu, and the Ox-head and Horse-Face guardians who are like bailiffs inside the court of the Diyu. And then there are different gods. Celestial and terrestrial gods. Gods of different crafts and gods of different virtues. They’ve got gods of plants and vegetables.”

“Elves,” Eddie said, nodding again.

They all chuckled.

Chen frowned, eyeing Eddie sharply. “What exactly do you mean, elves? They could be gods.”

Sighing, Daniel put down his computer pad. “Technically, no. There is only one actual God. But there are elves that played god—”

Huffing tersely, Chen shook his head. “What makes you think your god is the real god? Or if there really is only one?”

Those of the Seven exchanged looks.

Then Andy said, “We work for Him.”

Chen paled, staring. His eyes whipped to all of those in the Seven. Then he looked to Rick who shrugged, folding his arms. Rick believed it, though he had no way of supporting the argument. But then Chen looked to Tom. “What do you say?”

Tom blinked, sitting up in his seat. “Huh? What?”

Daniel chuckled, smirking at him. “He is asking your opinion about God.”

Cringing, Tom rose with an indifferent shrug. “What do I care? My father is a little devil.”

Rick snickered.

Moaning, Chen shook his head. “None of you have proof.”

“We have experience,” Eddie replied, his voice taking on that near-elderly tone… the kind grandpas used when talking to ‘whipper-snappers’.

Chen peered at him. “So you talked to your God? Met him face-to-face?”

“No,” Eddie said, peeking to the others. “But we know elves.”

Chen moaned, rubbing his hand to his forehead. His face seemed to wrinkle up as if he were smelling something a degree moldy and he was trying to repress offending them.

“We met a guardian god of a world once though,” Semour interjected, watching Chen carefully.

Chen turned around in his seat and stared critically at him. “Really?”

Daniel shuddered, walking back toward his seat again. He looked done. Something in that conversation had wiped him out for some odd reason.

“Hey, what about the book?” Rick asked, watching him linger over a seat, yet not quite taking a spot.

Semour said to Chen, ignoring Daniel. “Yeah. It was in another world, and he took the form of a white dragon. But I don’t even think that he was the head god of that world.”

“He couldn’t have been,” James muttered, gesturing for Daniel to just sit. “No way would a real god be subdued by a witch.”

“Or a sorcerer,” Eddie cut in, leaning back in his chair.

James nodded. “No kidding. Besides, we know the elves of this world had gone rebellious and set themselves up as god-elves. That what Zeus was.”

“How do you know this?” So much distaste was on Chen’s face when he asked this, critical bite rising in his voice as his cheeks colored.

They all exchanged looks.

Andy replied, “Mr. Carlton Jones, a former member of the last Seven told us. He’s met some of them. And Peter has been researching it, as supposedly we have a patron elf who used to be a god-elf at one point but had repented. Peter supposedly is on track and has nearly found him.”

“Yeah…” Rick murmured. “That’s what Peter told me when I emailed him about this trip. He said he was really close to finding your patron elf. Do you think the elf is in Rome where Peter is?”

Shrugging, Andy then looked back over his seat to Daniel. “Weren’t we going to read that Chinese book, Journey to the West?”

Sighing, Daniel handed the book over the seat to Andy. “Here. You can read it. I’m really tired and I need some shut-eye. So I am going to take a nap.” He looked to Rick. “I think watching the movie—even though it is not the same as reading the book—is a good idea for us all. But I can sum up the story very simply. It is about an immortal, really naughty, monkey who ends up playing bodyguard for a man as he with two others travel to India. The monkey has super powers, and he fights off a lot of demons who want to eat the man he is guarding. The end.”

“That is not the end,” Chen muttered. “He goes to India to learn Buddhism and he becomes a Buddha.”

“A monkey becomes a Buddha?” Tom snickered, resting his arms on the chair back as if he were listening to a bedtime story.

Chen shot him a dirty look, though it seemed less bitter than the looks he had been giving the Seven. “The story is about transcendence.”

Rick plucked the book from Andy’s hands, opening it to look at the pages. “I don’t think that is what the monk who emailed me wants us to get out of the story.”

They all peered at him. Behind their intense and experienced eyes were so many questions. The first of which was how did he become the expert on this sort of thing? Rick was studying business in college—not mysticism or mythology. He only really knew wolves and werewolf lore, and maybe a bit about witches. He wasn’t even an expert on China, even though he was studying Mandarin for business reasons.

“Then what do you think he wants you to know?” Chen dryly asked.

Shrugging, Rick said, “I think he wants us to be familiar with the demons in the book.”

Chen instinctively cringed, leaning back in his seat. He clearly didn’t like that idea.

“He wants us to know those particular demons?” Andy asked, one eyebrow raising, or trying to singularly raise as Andy’s eyebrows generally stayed at the same level and he never could pull of the wry cynic look. He would forever have that sort of thick-headed jockishness about him—even though he really wasn’t a thick head.

Rick shrugged more, wishing they would stop staring at him like that. “That’s what it seems to me. We are heading into Jiangsu provenance, which, by the way, is the location for the origins of the Monkey King.”

They stared more.

“I Googled it,” Rick said, cheeks coloring defensively.

“Oh…”

They silently thought over that for a bit.

Then Chen suggested, “Maybe he wants you to know more about Jiangsu provenance.”

Rick sighed, wishing this trip wasn’t going to drag out. “I know a bit already. We have a couple business connections there.”

Wry looks, among suspicious ones, examined him.

Feeling uncomfortable, Rick got up, holding the book.  “We can read the book together or watch the movie. Which do you want to do first?”

“Movie.” James raised his hand with Daniel.

Eddie nodded and so did Semour. “Same. It will give us a visual context.”

Rick looked to Andy. “What about you?”

Andy reached out. “Give me the book.”

Chen smiled.

Handing it over, Rick then gestured to the stewardesses for their attention. “Good choice. I’ll get dinner going, and the film started for everyone else.”

The stewardesses approached him, their faces masking their concern as he whispered instructions for to make the cabin dark for the film and have dinner brought out. Not quite in that order.

“Will they be drinking?” one of them asked Rick.

He stared at her. “Not at all. They need to be sober.”

She shrugged, heading into the storage compartment for the meals.

“I hope your flight doesn’t do those gross prepackaged things,” Tom called up. Then he hopped out of his seat, following Rick to the stewardess kitchen area. “I don’t know how many times I have flown commercial and they still give us those stale potatoes and cardboard chicken…” His voice slipped off as he stared at the lemon chicken dishes in their prep, their tender aromas lifting to his nose. He gazed at Rick. “You really love chicken.”

“Nobody destroys chicken on my watch,” Rick seriously replied, nodding.

The stewardesses chuckled, assembling the rest of the dinner together. And placing each meal on the carts.

“Hey,” Tom whispered, peeking back to the others. “I… might have some trouble with China’s uh… customs area when we arrive.”

Rick side-glanced him, getting out the digital copy of the film and hooking it to the projection system for the movie. “Why?”

Rolling his eyes, Tom said, “Think about who I work for. I don’t think the Chinese government would actually allow me into the country.”

“They gave you a visa,” Rick said, staring at him.

Tom nodded. “Yeah… well, let’s just say they didn’t actually. I… kinda sorta finagled it.”

His eyes widening, Rick stared. “Explain.”

Peeking to the others again, Tom said, “I broke in and stamped the thing myself. Which is what I going to have to do at customs. Steal a stamp and stamp my own passport. I hope you don’t mind. It’s just that they’ll have eyes out for me.”

“And why?” Rick knew something bad was coming.

Shrugging again, Tom said, “I… kinda sorta did a job where I raided a Chinese base somewhere and stole something. It was totally under orders, of course. But on this trip, there might be moment where I will have to disappear so-to-speak.”

“You mean go invisible,” Rick said, deadpan.

Sighing, Tom nodded. “Yeah.” Though, Rick had the feeling Tom did not mean just go invisible. He might have to sneak off on occasion.

“I see…” Rick stared at him, thinking about it. That would make Tom a bit of a liability with the local government. However, Rick also had known it was a possibility when inviting Tom along for the trip. And yet, he really needed Tom. As much as he loved his other friends, Tom knew the deepest darkest parts of his psyche. And Tom knew Rick also would have to break a few rules. No one was better to have around in such a situation.

Tom grinned, patting Rick on the shoulder. “Great.”

 

Dinner was served warm and promptly. As they ate, the cabin lights dimmed and the film came on.

As they watched, everyone had something to say about the movie.

“How many times do celestial beings interfere in him destroying their ‘steeds’,” Eddie muttered. “And why are they always riding lions? What’s wrong with ordinary horses?”

“Half these demons are just loose celestial animals.”

“Can’t those elves keep hold of their pets?”

“The Monkey King seems like a jerk.”

Chen groaned. He dug through his seat pocket to see if there were any earplugs.

“That Monkey King killed a lot of elves….” Eddie murmured.

“Demons,” Semour replied matter-of-factly.

“Elves turned demons,” James interjected.

“He also killed innocents,” Eddie muttered. “What about those tree guys? What did they ever do to him?”

“He seems impulsive,” James said.

“I once heard the story of the Monkey King can be explained as id, ego, and superego,” Daniel whispered. “I think the Monkey King was id.”

They all stared at him.

“What?” Daniel looked back.

“Thank you Carl Jung,” James said, snorting.

During the entire film, Andy read from the book. He had his earplugs in the entire time, or at least it looked at that way. Rick had the feeling that he was listening to the conversation, but really just wanted to be left alone. Rick let him. Andy would come around eventually. He was one of those guys who were a little thick when it came to seeing his own mistakes, but once he did, he felt intense shame and tried hard to make up for it. Rick had the feeling Andy was in the shame phase and he wasn’t yet ready to face those involved.

The two-hour film ended, leaving at least four of the Seven talking.

“There’s a sequel,” Rick said. “If you want it.”

The guys shared looks. Eddie piped up, “Pop it in.”

Daniel lifted a hand, then stood. “I think we ought to ask ourselves, how much of this story is fiction, and how much can actually be real. For example, which of these so-called demons are still alive and might be running around?”

“That’s a good point,” Semour said. “Do you want me to take a tally of who the Monkey King kills and who is taken away by those celestial guys back to that Vulture Mountain place?”

“Or their ‘heaven’.” Daniel nodded at him. “We don’t know if that is their