A Very Good Lawyer

Droplets of water fell on Jake's face. He frowned and opened his eyes, to be surprised by seeing two other eyes bulging at him. The eyes were covered with rimless round oversized glasses, as they were small, like the nose under them

The woman shot some gibberish like a sub machine gun. Not understanding a bit, Jake managed to say, "Um…I don't know…Japanese!"

The voice waited for a second, seeming to process what he was saying, then she started in English, "Me…not good…English."

Jake let go a sigh of relief. At least he won't have to listen to this junk radio the whole time while keeping shut, "Oh, so it's YOU who received the call?"

"Hans…what happened," she had a serious look on her face, "Very bad."

"Oh," Jake remembered what happened, "I'm SO sorry, how long did you know him?"

"We students together," she spoke, "At St. Meinrad archabbey."

"You knew him THAT long ago?" Jake exclaimed, "Wow! That's awesome! What was he like?"

For a second, her expression softened and she smiled, but then she immediately toughened her look and said, "Enough! He gave you…things?"

"Things?" Jake tried to understand what she was talking about, then he figured it out, "Oh, I get it. The amulets?"

"Yes! Where they?"

"Oh, " Jake searched his belt, sadly, they were gone along with the rest of his regular clothes. He fingered cluelessly and said, "Sadly, the police has confiscated it."

"Police?" her expression softened, "Oh, not worry. I…care of them," she cracked her knuckles.

Jake had no trouble guessing that she'd be really good at her job as she stood up and left the room. On the door, he heard her laughing, so did the guard outside. After a few seconds, he heard her heels rattling away from his one man only cell. Then the path where the food is given, opened and the guard looked at him, "Your charming lawyer has gone. Too bad for you, she thinks she can't a job for a nut-case like you. Ha! Ha!" he closed the path.

"Lawyer, huh?" Jake thought, "Clever old bird! Now to see what she's up to."

He lied down on his bunk and tried to get some sleep. But as soon as he fell asleep, terrible things started to float before his eyes. Mostly they included Hams' last moments. His body started to wriggle in his sleep, as he was seeing blood on his hand.

"You could have saved me…" Hans said.

"Hams, I'm sorry!" he cried.

"You could've saved me," Hams spoke again, "As you could have…your MOTHER!"

"No, Hans, please!" he started to wriggle again as Hams coughed blood on him which started to burn him down like acid. He continued to scream but no sound came out of his vocal cords.

A rough and loud voice woke him from the Day-mare, "Hey, Hans-lover! Eat this shit! Your lawyer seemed to take a pity on you and brought you the lunch herself."

Jake sat up on his bunk, sweating, shocked by what he just saw. The lunch packet fell before him through the shutter, and the guard closed it. He rubbed off the sweat from his face and took up the lunch packet. It seemed pretty heavy than what it should be.

He tore it open and another packet wrapped with clothe fell on the floor. It jingled as it fell on the floor. His hairs started dancing on his head, as he got lower and touched it. Energy flowed through his body. He quickly opened it and the sack of amulets hell on his palm. Yes! That's it! His ticket oit of this place.

"Bill! Hey Bill!" he remembered his friend after a long while, "Which one should I use?" there were a total of six amulets.

He was surprised that Bill wasn't answering his call at all. This wasn't normal. Usually, Bill would always creep around him and lecture him on how to do evil things and stay out of troubles both at once.

"Bill!" he called again.

"Hey kid!" Bill's voice boomed behind him.

"Whoa!" he jumped up, frightened, "Man, you gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," Bill said, "Your…Asian friend seemed to wear some perfume, which seemed to…give me headaches."

Jake noticed that Bill's voice was weaker than normal, like…her mere presence had drained him of his powers. So, he didn't ask him anything else about it.

"Hey, Bill! You gotta tell me which amulet to chose."

"What?" Bill seemed to notice them for the first time, "How did you get ahold them?"

"Well, that lady sent a token of gratitude," Jake noticed a piece of paper among the amulets, "E 10th street, New York, IT'S an address!"

Bill didn't seem to notice it at all, he looked at the amulets and spoke, "Nurn, Jehyell, Bardohl, Sery, Ketesh and Karut! All of them are here! Man, that Hans guy was really something!"

"Did you hear anything I said?" Jake asked, "I said…which one of your buddies should I use?"

"I think you should use Ketesh. He used to melt into air. Bardohl was the water demon. Nurn was soil, Jehyell was snow, Sery was metals and I am the demon of fire."

"Uh, I think you missed one," Jake reminded him, "Karut, was it?"

"He's a mindless beast," Bill showed an amulet marked with Bull-head, "You don't talk about him, don't even think about using him."

"Alright, will keep that in mind, but more importantly, HOW should I use Ketesh?"

"Just as you used Sery," Bill said, "Hold that in your cross marked hand and think…A piece of advice though. When you melt into air…"

"Oh, whoa!" before Bill could finish, Jake morphed his body into air, "I'm flying!"

Then a gush of wind took him flying outside the window, "Damn! I can't control it!"

"Concentrate! Concentrate! Feel like you're the WIND!"

"I can't! It's like seeing through my eyes, my hands and my FREAKING BUTT all at once!" Jake screamed.

,"Don't get carried away by…"

"I AM literally being carried away!"

"Take deep breathes!"

"How can I breathe air, when I am AIR myself?"

"Okay, just SHUT UP! And listen to me for ONE…SECOND!"

"Alright! Take the flow!"

"Peaceful thoughts, think peaceful thoughts!"

"Peaceful? Got any?" Jake asked, "Hey, who won the Baseball this season?"

"I don't see baseball. I only see woman wrestling!"

Jake tried to concentrate on his feelings, but only…he didn't HAVE much peaceful thoughts, Peace…Peace…

He could feel his hands again, then his legs, "Hey, I'm getting gold of my limbs again!"

"Jake, what're you doing?"

"What?" He opened his eyes and saw that his hands were back. He started to scream as his whole body was coming back and that he was free falling downwards. BAM! A crash and everything got black.

***

"Ah,!" Jake raised up slowly, moaning and made eye contact with the Japanese lady who was sitting right next to him.

"Why you hurt your face much?" she asked angrily, "And me who wake you?"

"I don't know, actually," Jake chuckled, "Seems it's fated."

"You couldn't find better?" she seemed disappointed, "Turn you into air? That's…what you call it?"

"Uh…ridiculous?"

"YES! RIDICULOUS!" she caught the word, then sighed, "Anyway, you good? In one piece?"

"Yep, pretty much," Jake touched his limbs, happy to see all his bones okay. Then something hit him, "Wait! Hans didn't know that these amulets could give me powers. Then how did you..."

"I'm basically lawyer," she answered confidently, "But I believe, Hans said amulets I deal in…"

"Yeah, that much he said…" Jake understood, "Wait, so you're telling me that controlling amulets are not THAT rare?"

"These happened ago thousand years, " she answered, "Now not much…I read them books. But how you use them?"

"Well," Jake shrugged, "Basically Bill tells me which one to use, then I just expose them to…"

"Bill? Bill who?" she figured.

"Uh…" Jake figured out that he's messed up.

"Please, bro! Don't give me up!" Bill begged, "Anyone but that witch!"

"He's…a friend?" Jake bluffed nervously.

"Your friend call you every time you use THESE?" the lady suddenly moved and caught his hand in a very tight position, using some Kung Fu stuff, "Tell me!"

"Sorry, he's my demon!" Jake screamed.

"Demon?" she took out something by her right hand so fast that he couldn't even see it. She threw it at him and it coiled around him. Steams started coming out of him and he started screaming. But she didn't pay any heed to him and started pulling the string. With one last grunt, she pulled it off like a playing top. He rolled over and fell down freed. So did Bill, tied in that string and fallen over the floor.

"Why not tell you possessed?" she spread her fingers and the strings coiled around Bill more tightly.

"I'm apparently not possessed," Jake protested, "I mean, he SURE is a bad company, but I can at least talk him out of things," the string marks were marked red across his arms and vapors were still coming out.

"There's no trust a demon," she shouted, "And I think I know this one…"

"You know me?" Bill let go a painful grunt.

"Yes, you Beelzebab!" she pointed at him, "One of the vilest creatures hell. You dare say your name Bill?"

"What?" Jake asked, "How do you know him?"

"Paradise Lost," she answered.

"I don't wanna know what that is," Jake replied, "Anyway, I can vouch for him. He won't do anything wrong."

"If we gonna find why Hans killed, we stay these demons outta way," she said with pressure.

"Okay, just…don't hurt him."

"Why? Why you love him so much?" she crooked her face, "How you met him?"

"Well, Hans exorcised him at our home into this amulet," Jake showed the amulet of Bill, "But a part of him latched onto me."

"Hmm…" she looked at it for a second, then snatched it away and hit it on Bill's face, "Then it okay if the rest him goes in too!"

Bill let go a muffled wail, then got sucked into the amulet.

Jake suddenly felt his head was clearing up, suddenly it was like a layer of block had been raised from his head and he was seeing the world in a new filter.

"My head, it feels so," he fingered through his hairs, "It feels so…quiet."

"That be normal thing once demon possession removed," she smiled, "Ying Toiyoshi," she stretched her right hand, "You welcome."

"Oh, thank you," he shook her hand, "Well then, what we do next?"

"Tell your story," she demanded, "NOW!" she sat on a couch.

"Uh, the short version or the long version?"

She stared at him with a still glare.

"Oh, okay…so the long version it is," he chuckled nervously and sat on a chair.

It took him some time to explain everything to her. But after he did, her expression totally changed. He never saw a gloomy face before.

"So, what do you think?" Jake asked her.

"Mephistopheles is liar. A great deceiver. He must've told her how to do all these. Then he scared of her power. So, he ask you to get rid of her. Right?"

"Exactly my thinking!"

"Legend tells Mephistopheles make deal with someone, he traded Book of Bysterion. That person again gave it to another," she said, "Fortunately, I know this ANOTHER. If it true, I call him meet us."

"If what is true?"

"Ada is actually demon."

"She IS…" Jake insisted, "I saw it with my own eyes. SHE killed Hans!"

"Then I think…as without demon, you need train first," she replied, "Before, what was easy, now be hard for you. Much HARD."

"Uh, great…but what am I training for?"

"To learn to control the amulets."