THE DRUID STONE

The two unshaven Iraqis were sitting in their car watching Kane as he hailed the taxi. The driver twitched in his seat.

“Who is the woman? Kane was to be alone.” The driver leaned over the steering wheel to get a better look.

“I do not know. I was told he traveled by himself.” The passenger wore a hooded green sweatshirt and activated his cell phone. He spoke Iraqi for a few seconds and closed the phone.

“Paja, you are to follow the girl. I have given the license plate for tracing. I must get out and follow Kane in a taxi. We know where he lives and another car will await me there.”

“Dowan, be careful. You are over your visa’s time.”

Dowan rode in the taxi behind Kane’s cab. The Iraqi gave Kane’s address to his driver and sat back.

Halfway to his New York apartment Kane felt the pulsating warmth of the stone again. He reached into his pocket and retrieved it. The stone was blinking two shades of green. Kane looked at the credentials of his driver. The card posted for passengers to read denoted a man named John O’Hare with a picture of the young red-haired driver. The stone should have activated earlier in the drive than this.

Kane looked around the slow moving city traffic. No one was looking at him, either from the crowded sidewalks or cars on either side. He turned around and looked through the back window. There were three taxis, a bus and other grid-locked cars. Green? Another color. He quickly noted the situation and color change. He didn’t have a body to go with the color green but he felt the hairs on his neck tingle. Assign green to be vigilant.

Kane reviewed the colors he had so far. Blue was his color, whatever he represented. Amber was Martha Sorel and now green had appeared but without a visible person or situation he could relate to. He put the stone back in his pocket and sat back closing his eyes as the taxi moved slowly in the stop-and-go traffic. A vision of Holthar in his black and purple robe immediately flashed before him. He opened his eyes and sat up. The image was gone.