M7 Mike Costa Lives: The Aumakua Necromancer (excerpt)...

The Aumakua Necromancer®

Genre: Fiction, Action, Horror (Supernatural).

ISBN: 9798263718596
Imprint: Independently published

Chapter 1:

Our Grandfather’s passing left a near-perfect void in the midst of our Living room. Though despite his absence, his generosity was abundantly clear. He wanted his heirs to live in comfort, forever…

We inherited this massive acreage in western Molokai, a ranch that was like one-third of the island. There were a few areas of development available, ranging from a few hotels, a film theater, a golf course, and the Shire or township. But most was barren Agricultural land with a few forests and pristine, Public-Access beaches (State Law required all beaches in the Islands to be Public).

Grandfather’s Last Will allowed 2 heirs to administer the property: my cousin Lucas would control one-half, and the rest goes to me. I am Reginald, the eldest grandson. Our Grandfather was Cornelius Sheppard, the Sugarcane Baron. He was very famous in the Islands. He owned this ranch and twelve others. When Sugarcane stopped being produced, he retired.

Lucas wanted to develop the ranch, make luxury homes to sell for profit. I am the Scientist in the family. I only wanted to retain the property so I could excavate it for Archaeology reasons. So we drew a line down the map. Lucas would govern the coastal regions and I would be left with inland acreage and some daunting waterfalls.

The coastal regions contained some hotels with golf courses, and some industrial factories that once produced Sugar. In my region, I had access to farms, the township, and a private cabin with defunct swimming pools. The pools were once drained after a small Drought hit the Islands a while back. The cabin has water from the adjacent rivers, and it is connected to a drainage system.

We both lived in the Mainland. My family home was in California, while Lucas dwelt in upstate New York. The Molokai Estate was a vacation site. Lucas just wanted to sell and be done with it so he could return to his lavish penthouse apartment. California had mixed weather, sometimes floods while others wildfires. The only tangible asset keeping me from just moving here was my attachment to Mainland Lifestyle. Molokai was some woodsy backwater in comparison. Lucas knew that.

The flight was five hours out of Oakland International Airport to Maui, followed by a boat ferry to Molokai. We arrived in separate planes but met at the ferry in time. Lucas was dressed in a cotton-and-polyester Aloha shirt with Khakis, with brand name sunglasses. I wore a light-weight jacket, pants, and prescription glasses that had the ability to darken with sunlight, called Transition lenses. The ferry was a bumpy ride to Molokai, due to the recent tides.

“So Reginald,” Lucas started. He was holding a classic Mai Tai glass filled with fruit juices and Rum. The plastic sword hit a piece of pineapple in the center of some crushed ice.

“Hey Lucas,” I replied. “Do you still play Rugby?”

“Nah, you know me, I quit that a long time ago… I was wondering. Do you want one of the hotels on the North end? I don’t need both.”

“Is that an offer?” I asked in interest. Lucas rarely gives up valuable assets, unless he’s drunk. He looked drunk, Hmm…

Lucas took a swig of his cocktail. Then he munched on some crushed ice. He smiled.

“Reggie, you should have it, seriously. What are you gonna do with that cabin? It is 3 levels with foundation. It’s not even a proper Mansion given, given what we inherited. Here, these are the keys to the hotel, take them. I don’t need everything. I especially don’t want the Assessor’s annual report on this. I want to build these four-star Estates to celebrities and Billionaires. Here is the write-up on that project, read pages 8 to 12. And, one more thing, Reggie – don’t tell me you don’t want it. It’s a gift. It’s a gift from Sheppard, too,” Lucas said.

I stored his proposal with the keys to the Northern Hotel in a jacket pocket. The ferry arrived to the destination four minutes later. We were met by Limousine at the Custom’s Center with our luggage. From there it took about 10 minutes to reach the Ranch.

Our car met the Security Check Point with the raised hazard bar and darkened glass office. The office was encased in razor-wire fences extending to the roadway. Our permit electronically signaled the office, and the bar lifted by itself; the office was operated by an automaton.

We arrived at the North Hotel 15 minutes on a private road after the checkpoint.

Lucas entered the Hotel first. The bellhop was a robot, as were the Cashier, the Maids and the Bank teller. Most of the employees were automatons. It saved costs.

Lucas secured access to a private Suite for me on a mid-level tower. I took the plastic keys, brochure, and Tablet computer. I had private access to the Garage with whatever was still in there. Afterwards Lucas left to his own Hotel a few miles up the road via the Limo.

The Hotel was not some antiquarian dilapidated hovel, but actually a crisp and technologically sound, palatial estate. It still retained the charm of a Hawaiian resort with carved wooden Tiki gods guarding the entrances, and Colonial Period architecture. A bronze Pineapple stood above an artesian well. The private cobblestone road led to a circle with buildings, notably a Bakery, Internet Café, banks with ATM machines, a film theater, merchant shops, and a fuel shop. Solar panels and palm-tree windmills were hidden by actual trees. The road leading to the hotel cut through a golf course.

I checked my baggage to the Bellhop who beeped in gratitude. I took a stroll on the grounds leading out.

The Garage was underground actually. How much TNT did the workers use to excavate it? Explosives were a former method in Hawaiian architecture. Nonetheless, this Garage wasn’t bleeding lava rock.

I counted four Ferraris and three Bentleys, a dozen Limousines, fourteen motorcycles (all with adjustable helmets), and ten other cars of unknown provenance that were covered in a gray tarp.

A private pathway led to one of the beaches. Scouring the sand dunes with a pair of binoculars I spotted a couple of tourists operating a Drone. Two tourists rode a Hydrofoil in the distance. Five College-age females played Volleyball a mile from the main road. Two lavatory buildings and an active Lifeguard rested on the crest leading to the path.

I returned to the Hotel.

The resort contained a restaurant and a shopping mall some distance from the main building. A small Monorail stopped at the Hotel every 15 to 20 minutes. I took the elevator to my Suite and unpacked.

Chapter 2:

The evening Sun poured into the window blinds at the Wiki Restaurant, a 2-Mile walk from the Main Tower. I took a Golf Cart there. The food was excellent, as expected. I ordered some POG (Passion-Orange-Guava Juice) and Chocolate-coated Macadamia Nuts for dessert. My main course was Ono Fish steaks garnished with rice, green salad, and a side order of Poi.

I read a digital newspaper from the table screen, to the left of my gilded Porcelain plate. The weather section mentioned that a tropical storm was to reach landfall in a couple of days. Outside the window I noticed some golfers putting, and a pair of horses in the distance. Sundown was in ten minutes.

I took out the hotel brochure and examined the contents for a minute. It included an imprecise map of the Ranch. I wanted to go searching for buried structures later in the week, so popular icons on the map are important. There was an old Sugarcane Mill in the hills, but it was abandoned in favor of the new one on the coast. Rumor has it that Native Hawaiians set up hunting camps along the route leading to the Mill in the 1860s.

I walked back to the Golf Cart and started up the engine. The bill from Wiki was automatically sent to the Molokai Estate Trust, meaning it was free. Everything here was paid for. The road was concrete and flat lava mostly. The Automaton driver dropped me off at the Garage and self-parked at a charging station for the night.

I was greeted by the Butler, also an Automaton, with a series of sounds and accompanying lights. An image simulation appeared on its screen, welcoming me back. It was programmed with every known language, including dead ones. This helped in case I discovered Ancient Civilizations. Petroglyphs were not well known in these parts.

The elevator led me back to my room, which lit up once I tapped the plastic Code card on the digital door handle. The card has a Microchip in it.

My bedroom was inviting with a luxurious Queen bed, plush wall-to-wall carpet, bathroom with whirlpool hot tub and private shower, marble sinks, and gilded toilet seat. A leather sofa hid behind a Cedar table with chairs, and a long table supporting a flat-screen television, Stereo radio, and WIFI Internet portal with cellular phones.

The Suite also contained a full Kitchen with walk-in pantry room, dining area, wine cooler, laundry room, office, and private entertainment room with computer, a bookshelf hosting several novels, autographed Egyptian Magic books by Horus Michael, and a row of computer games on DVD. A ceiling fan existed in every room, but the built-in AC was dominant.

I entered the bathroom, undressed, took a relaxing shower with the provided Body Wash and bars of Aloe Vera soap, dressed, and entered the bed, lights off. It took a while until I fell asleep. Then it happened.

I felt as if I was walking down this familiar path towards the Internet Café from the Hotel. It was dark outside. The ground was a mix of coarse sand, black and white lava rock, grass, and Native weeds. I was walking barefoot. I heard something breathing behind me so I kept the pace until I reached a clearing. Before me was a patch of Egyptian Papyrus plants growing in the wild like they do on Kauai. I placed my hand into the reeds. Then suddenly a clash of thunder was heard above me, and something pushed me into the Papyrus from behind. I slid ten yards into a patch of muck, wet sand and lime. I turned around and then I saw it. I screamed.

I got up to a standing position and ran away, slipping in the mud. No, it wasn’t an animal this time. It was something more Ancient, a visage, a distant memory awakened. It was dark, angry almost, its mouth open ajar with blood spurting from its missing teeth. Strips of blackened linen cloth dangled from the limbs, Amulets of bygone centuries fashioned of Gold and precious stones clung to the cloth like flies in a spider’s web. Its arms rose above in a threatening manner, hence why I screamed. The figure towered above me, some five or six feet tall. A mysterious bronze blade, curved like a sickle, was strapped to its belt. The creature approached me, hauntingly. I backed away slowly, reaching my right hand to my cellular phone and I pressed the button for its electric torch. Then I directed the phone at the creature with hesitation. A dark cloud enveloped the figure like fog.

I awoke in my bed, sweating. I glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was 4:00am. I was dreaming. My cell phone rested on the nightstand. A recent photograph registered from the camera. It was mostly blurred out, but… I saw what appeared to be an Egyptian Mummy, standing over me. I screamed again. Then I awoke at 4:34 am.

MC 2025.