But she couldn't stand looking at him, especially as he now smiled up at her.
“I'm disappointed, Dr. Gould.”
“I don't care.”
There was a sound like cracking earth, and the stone walls of the chamber started to tremble. Purdue recognized those tremors well enough. It was just like it had been standing outside of the temple in Honduras. The Mayan temple was preparing to teleport to a new location. Any second now, they could be anywhere on Earth. It could be hundreds of miles away or even thousands. It could be some place warmer or somewhere even colder. There was no way to tell, but Purdue knew it was coming at any moment.
“What's going on?” Nina asked, dropped the Spear of Destiny when the floor rattled beneath her. The holy lance slid across the floor. “What's happening?”
“The temple is moving again, right?” Sam asked beside Purdue, who just nodded back at him in response.
Julian started laughing in their grip, like he was about to witness the biggest firework show that was ever launched. He kept gazing around at each of the walls around them and then at the floor, hoping to see the first sign that they were being moved.
“This is interesting, isn't it? It's one thing to hear about the temple moving or to be just outside of it as it vanishes, right, Mr. Purdue? But to actually be inside...to move with it. To be in one place and then instantly in another...that's something special. My apologies, Dr. Gould. I would have hated if you killed me and I had to miss this spectacle. That would have been a terrible waste.”
Nina ignored his taunts as the chamber around them vibrated loudly. It was hard to stay on her feet with the floor constantly quaking beneath them. It was like they were standing on some invisible rocket that was about to launch and lift off.
There was an open hole in the wall nearby. Purdue kept his hands firmly placed on Julian to keep him at bay but all he could do was stare out that hole, out at the image of an icy, barren landscape. He was still surprised that he and Sam made across that horrible terrain. He had fully expected to be either shot by the Black Sun or would have just frozen before he ever reached the temple. Hypothermia would have been a terrible way to go.
The temple kept shaking but Purdue ignored how off-balance it should have been making him. He kept focusing only on that small hole in the wall and the image that it made. Every bone in his body was rattling from the temple but he wouldn't look away from that hole. He wanted to see it. He wanted to.
There was a loud bang, like a boulder dropping down onto the ground.
Purdue blinked and suddenly, the hole in the wall showed a very different portrait. The white canvas of ice and snow was nowhere to be found. It was lush and green, an enormous field of grass that stretched out to the horizon. A sprawling meadow that gave off a much brighter feeling than that numb indifference of the Arctic.
The tremors subsided and Purdue just kept staring at that hole in the wall.
“We moved...” Sam whispered beside him. He wasn't looking at the wall. He was just staring at the chamber floors. He could just tell based on how the temple was reacting. “We must have.”
“Aye,” Purdue said beside him, still admiring the greenery of the new place he could see. “We most definitely did.”
At least they had very obviously ended up in a much more comfortable climate than the Arctic had to offer. The challenge wasn't going to be the weather this time. It was going to be figuring out where the hell they ended up, and it was impossible to determine when they would move again. The temple had been planted firmly in isolation in the Arctic for quite some time, long enough to rob Lucius of his sanity. They might be trapped in the middle of nowhere for a long, long time. They were completely at the mercy of the Mayan temple and it's strange moving schedule.
“What a waste,” Julian muttered from beside them, still trapped in Purdue and Sam's holds. He was also looking at the hole, straight out to the foreign landscape outside. He didn't looked impressed or happy about the change in scenery. Instead, he looked irritated. “All of those helicopters that we brought...and no one left to fly them. I hope you all enjoy rolling green hills and empty fields. Or how about this...you let me get my wish and I'll wish for all of us to be back home, safe and sound.”
“Right,” Sam snickered. “Because you're entirely trustworthy.”
Julian was giggling to himself. “It is a wonder, though, isn't it? Why does this temple never like to stay in one place and how is it even moving so far, so quickly? Perhaps there are a thousand wheels tucked underneath it? Or it is sitting on top of a black hole. Questions to ponder...”
Nina couldn't listen to anymore of Julian's ramblings. Now that he was defeated, he seemed hell bent to just drive them all crazy with annoyance. Nina stormed out of the chamber but called back to her friends before she disappeared from sight. “I'm going to go help Elijah. Please let me know when we figure out what to do with him.”
“Go,” Purdue said to Sam. “I've got Julian right now.”
“Are you sure?” Sam asked with some surprise. “What if he breaks free?”
“He won't,” Purdue said with a wink. “But if he does, we won't let him get far. Go make sure all of the Black Sun operatives are out of this place. I'm sure it won't be sticking around the Arctic for very long.”
Sam very obviously didn't want to go but finally let go after making sure Purdue had a good hold of Julian. He got up and followed after Nina. Purdue knocked Julian onto his stomach, keeping his arms locked behind his back, making sure that he was pinned down well enough to not have a hope of getting away.
“Aw, so this is your plan...send your friends away so you can do the deed yourself. That's awfully selfish of you, Mr. Purdue.”
“Shut your mouth,” Purdue said. “I'm sick of hearing you talk. Especially when you have no idea what you're talking about. You had your chance and you didn't get what you wanted. After everything you've done, it's time to answer for it all.”
“And you're going to make me do that? Without the spear?”
“Aye.”
Julian tried to writhe away from him, probably hoping that it would be easier now that it was only one man pinning him to the floor but Purdue had a strong hold of him that wasn't going to break very easily.
Purdue glanced to the left and saw Galen creeping up into the chamber. He didn't know where he'd been or how much of this struggle he had seen but Galen appeared with just as little gravitas as Purdue expected. Galen was a rat, and only waited until quiet moments to make any real moves. So there he stood, standing over the Spear of Destiny on the floor. The two of them locked eyes but Galen didn't stop his approach. Julian had apparently noticed Galen too, and immediately started barking orders.
“Get him!” He shouted from where he lay. “Kill him now! Now!”
Galen's gaze drifted to his boss but only for a couple of seconds before returning to Purdue. Without averting his eyes, he leaned down and picked up the spear, flashing that obnoxiously cheeky smile.
“I'll just be taking this,” Galen said with an awkward laugh. He looked back to where Julian was pinned on the floor. “No hard feelings, eh? The spear should have been mine from the start, remember? And, if we're all being truthful sods here, I have always thought that you were shit.”
Julian snarled at him venomously but couldn't do anything with Purdue on top of him. Galen looked over at Purdue and the smile on his face stretched out even further.
“See you around, Davy.”
Galen turned and started making for the doorway. He hurried as quickly as he could with his crippled leg.
“You're just going to let that Irishman leave!?” Julian hissed.
“If it means keeping you here, aye. Absolutely.” Purdue watched Galen disappear into the dark corridor outside, using the Spear of Destiny in conjunction with his cane to hasten his escape. “He can run pretty fast for a man with a bad leg. Still, it must be hard for you to see that no one is actually loyal to you at all.”
Julian sneered. �
��They're nothing but sycophants anyway. Bootlickers and asskickers who aren't even fit to be part of the Order of the Black Sun. I should have purged the whole order when I took charge!”
“Aye, hindsight can be a real bastard. Like how I should have never let you come anywhere near the things that I care about.”
“It doesn't matter,” Julian said grinding his teeth like they were fangs. “You can win as many of these little fights as you want, Mr. Purdue. It does not make any difference in the end. I can't be stopped.”
“I don't know about that,” Purdue said. “You seem pretty stopped to me.”
“I can't be killed!” Julian spat. “Especially now that you let someone run off with the one weapon that could actually harm me!”
“Perhaps not...but I didn't want to kill you anyway. Death isn't the only option.”
Julian writhed and swiped at him like a wounded animal. He was a far cry from the calm and collected terror that Purdue had met in that castle on the island of Rhodes. There was always the beast underneath his fine clothing but he so rarely let it slip out. Now, he might as well have been naked and seen for what he really was, a feral, murderous, monster that wasn't nearly as all-powerful as he pretended to be.
Julian's gray eyes were bloodshot with fury but Purdue was sick of looking at them.
He threw a hard punch down at his foe and knocked Julian Corvus out cold, closing those shards of ice in eye sockets and stopping his futile attempts to break free. For the first time since knowing Julian, the leader of the Black Sun was completely at Purdue's mercy now—and Purdue was long past the point of ever being merciful toward him. He knew exactly what he was going to do with the immortal demon that had been plaguing his life.
Sometimes, demons had to be locked away in boxes.
16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN – IN AN UNKNOWN LAND
Purdue, Nina, Elijah, Jean, and Sam stood outside of the Moving Temple of Ah Puch. They were surrounded by much nicer weather than they had up north. They tried to enjoy it, but it was hard to appreciate the weather when Charles' body was laying nearby. They weren't going to leave it in that temple, to be carted all over the world every so often until he was nothing but bones. As great of a housekeeper as he was, Purdue didn't want Charles' spirit to be stuck in that wretched place. That wouldn't have been fair.
“Where the hell are we?” Purdue asked, looking around. “Not that I'm complaining but...would we be able to hitch a ride home or what?”
Elijah pulled out his phone. A large crack ran along the center of it and Elijah swore under his breath. “That's perfect.”
“You need to take better care of it,” Nina said with a weak smile. “You have been getting into too many fist fights. Probably busted it during all of your scuffles.”
Elijah shook his head and tested it out with a swipe of his index finger. At least it still worked, and at least it was his phone rather than his glasses. He punched in a few directions into his GPS and then smirked.
“You won't believe it.”
“We're in America aren't we?” Purdue groaned and crouched down with his face in his hands. “Goddamn that's some shit. The States don't deserve some place this nice.”
“What's wrong with America?” Jean said with some offense.
“What's not wrong with America?” Purdue countered. “Well go on, where the hell are we?”
“The highlands.”
Purdue shot to his feet. “What!? Like the highlands of Scotland? My highlands?”
Nina couldn't stop smiling. Sure enough, the more she looked at the green hills all around them, the more clear it became that she was looking at a Scottish glen. They were in the very middle of a valley tucked between the hills of the highlands.
Purdue turned around to face the temple and shouted at it. “Are you still granting wishes!? You sly bastard!”
“It's not...” Nina said, running her hands through her hair uncomfortably. “And it won't be ever again.”
“And why's that?” Elijah asked.
“I broke the alta,” Nina said, looking uncertain. “I wanted to make sure that no one tried to use it again. Or killed themselves and did use it. I just didn't...I just didn't want anything like this to happen again.”
They all stood in silence as a breeze rolled past. No one really knew what to say and some were even feeling some mixed emotions about the whole thing. That kind of power was a hard thing to pass up, but they knew she was right. If that temple could make someone a god...it was too much. They'd seen firsthand that its power had unlimited reach. It conjured a novel and a drink for its sacrifice with ease. It could change the universe if used in the wrong hands—and it almost had been.
“I'm sorry,” Nina said after a long moment. “I had to.”
Purdue wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into a hug. Sam joined in and the three of them stood embracing for a long time. Elijah and Jean stood awkwardly a few feet away, neither a real part of that group but neither looked too upset by that. Neither of them were the kinds of people that enjoyed hugging it out for minutes at a time.
“I'm so glad you're alive,” Purdue said. “There's so much I need to tell you.”
“Same,” Nina said with tears in her eyes. “It's been a hard few months.”
“The hardest,” Purdue agreed. “The very worst, aye.”
“What do we do with him?” Jean interrupted, pointing at Julian who was still unconscious and tied up in the grass. “We could just leave him here.”
“And let some tour group find him and set him free?” Purdue balked. “I don't think so. No I have my own plans for him. Once we get a car...and then a plane...do you mind showing me where the Order of the Black Sun call home?”
Nina and Elijah looked at one another, both stunned by the question. Neither must have been expecting to go back there anytime soon yet here they were, being asked to go straight back to the place that had functioned as their prison for so long.
“Why?”
“Like I said,” Purdue said with a smirk. “I have plans.”
They all started their walk across the highlands with the late great butler, Charles, being carried between Purdue and Sam while the captive former leader of the Black Sun was being dragged behind Elijah and Jean. Once they were at the top of the hill and ready to go down, they all looked back at the Moving Temple of Ah Puch. It was one of the strangest places they had ever been. There were times—like being dropped off in an almost perfect place—that it felt like there was some sort of life in that structure. Like all of the sacrifices that had been killed inside, all of the blood that had seeped into those cracks in the rocks, had given the temple its own blood and its own life. It almost felt alive—as alive as a temple could at least.
They all got one last look at it, knowing that it wouldn't be sitting there for very long. Maybe someday they would see that temple again, somewhere, on the far side of the world.
Galen Fitzgerald's time with the Order of the Black Sun had started off with so much promise. Right off the bat, he'd participated in the defeat of Purdue and from there, he went on so many successful assignments. He may not have been very popular with others within the secret society but he didn't care about that. He knew that if he slowly worked his way up, wormed his way into the right people's good graces, that someday they would have no choice but to give him their respect and admiration. Now that day would never come.
He knew a sinking ship when he saw one, and the Order of the Black Sun as moments away from being completely submerged. Their not-so-secret society was finished. Despite how it had looked at the start, Galen had chosen the losing team.
They were no longer in the frozen wasteland that they had entered the temple through. All of the helicopters that the order had brought were gone. Now they were surrounded by an enormous series of meadows, a lush green sea with rolling emerald hills. It made things more difficult than Galen had planned on. It would have been easy to just hop into a chopper and fly the hell out. Now they had to
walk until they found new civilization—but at least they weren't going to be freezing.
Soon enough, that temple would hop somewhere else.
“Well...this all turned into a nice big storm of shit, eh?” Galen said, turning to Oniel beside him. The mute nodded, still glaring back at the temple. He obviously still wanted his vengeance. Galen couldn't fault him for that; he was craving the same thing but today was very clearly not the right day to make that happen.
Galen held his cane in one hand and the Spear of Destiny in the other. His fingers squeezed them both tightly in his grasp.
“Davy has to ruin everything...that bastard.”
At least they had gotten away before being dragged down with the rest of the Black Sun. This was really all Julian Corvus's fault. That loon wouldn't listen to him and had failed to kill Purdue, despite all of his wasted efforts. That was with the Black Sun's arsenal of ancient artifacts and superior numbers, as well as Julian's apparent immortality. He'd still lost. He deserved to go down for all of his failures as their leader—but Galen refused to be dragged down with that psychopath.
Galen always prided himself on being a survivor, and he had gotten away from all of his progress collapsing around him. Getting the hell out was the only option. They could deal with Davy another day. This was just another thing to add to the long list of grievances Galen had with David Purdue.
He examined the Spear of Destiny—the artifact that had reunited him with David Purdue in the first place. The search for that spear is what had brought him into contact with the Order of the Black Sun to begin with. So much had happened since then. Part of him wished he had never called Purdue to ask for help finding the spear. Things could have—and would have—gone so differently.
At least he ended up with the spear. It was a small victory but he would gladly take what he could get at this point. Even a small victory was far better than the defeat that the rest of the Black Sun was suffering. Purdue might have beaten all of them, but Galen hadn't let Davy beat him too.
Order of the Black Sun Box Set 10 Page 50
