The Rise

by Nathan Parks

  Mantus became enraged. He wanted nothing more than to return to the cell that was holding Hecate and personally tear her from limb to limb. He had never understood why he had been taken from that area, but now it made sense.

  Michael could tell that Mantus was buying into his lie. The Archangel hoped that the general didn’t remember that he, also, had been worshipped in that region.

  “She didn’t find it, though, did she? If she had, everything would not be what it is today,” Mantus answered himself.

  “No, from what we can gather, Watchers discovered that she was onto the artifact and had it passed through back channels to a knight who was tasked in delivering it to a different sect of the Brotherhood for safekeeping.”

  “Where?”

  “Not sure where it was supposed to go. We believe,” Michael shrugged, “that the knight never finished his journey. He was killed in a storm; and we had operators in place to try to find the vial, but we never did. There have been many rumors of its popping up here and there, but all have turned out to be false . . . mostly pompous, religious sects who wanted to drive their followers into giving up money for blessings and the chance to see the sacred relic—all fake.”

  “So, where is the big conspiracy?” Mantus asked.

  “While searching for the vial, Hecate began to twist the minds of the Brotherhood of the Watchers. She was able to get several to come over to her Clan and work in the shadows . . . double agents of sorts.”

  “You would be familiar with how all that works,” Mantus scoffed.

  “True,” the Archangel smirked. “Continuing, though, Hecate began taking on the Nephelium . . . more specifically, the Jerusalem Breed. There are hidden messages within the sacred text of the Bible that, when run through a numerical code, one discovers a hidden message about a mother and her two children emerging from a desert oasis to destroy the Clans.”

  He paused and looked over to Legion.

  “More specifically, the prophecy states that her children would not only bring down the Clans, but destroy the queen and her child. Your mother believed that meant her and you, Legion.”

  “Well, she is gone, yet here I am; and I haven’t seen any wench or her children come my way!”

  “That is why I am here. I think I am starting to see some pieces move into place so that if we can attack now, we may be able to keep things in our favor.”

  “How so?” Mantus asked.

  “We have a new face to the Clans. This is clear, and we must accept it to stay relevant. Legion, you are part of that; and I am sure that the ‘old guard’ can come along side of you. Denora is also one of those we must accept now as a Clan leader. There is no getting around it if we wish to survive, Mantus.

  “With that knowledge, Denora and I have secured the delta that Hecate was in possession of. I have a strong belief that my brother found the other one years ago and has been hiding it. What I propose will not just be a chance to retrieve the other delta, but a full reconciliation of all we have lost and the access to all we have wanted. If we play this right and are able to work together, we could not only have the power over mortal man but also control of Scintillantes!”

  The general’s eyes went wide.

  “You are bolder than I even expected. If it can be done, how do we do this?”

  “We release Legion with Dumah’s former hit unit. Let him do whatever he is going to do. This should draw enough chaos his way that we would be able to fly under the radar. We launch an attack on Eden and Scintillantes at the same time. I believe the Council is aware of my true loyalty, but no one has blocked my access to get back home.

  “Eden is where my brother is, and I believe that is where the second delta is. If we are able to have control over those, it is my belief that we would still be able to harness a power from them of which many are not aware they hold.”

  “What power is that?” Legion asked as he tied his long, dark hair back.

  “The power to create life. Others believed that the vial was necessary to activate the deltas. That is not the case. Yes, combined with the vial of blood the deltas are more powerful than anyone could imagine. They can create and destroy life. They can build up and tear down, but just the deltas joined will allow us to create a legion of forces.” He looked at the newly-restored Demon, “No pun intended.”

  Legion rolled his eyes, “So, let’s do this.”

  Mantus was not as quick to the punch. His military mindset was analyzing the different options laid out in front of him, weighing the pros and cons.

  “I hear you, Azrael. My thought is that we do it. You are right: we have to come together; and this sounds like an overreach but maybe bold enough to actually work.”

  “I will contact Denora and let her know we have a green light to move forward. My suggestion would be that we do not tell anyone else. Right now, the smallest force we can use but be effective . . . I think that will be the best.”

  “Agreed,” Mantus stated flatly. “Let’s do this.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  The walls to the Command Center were plastered with notes and pictures. The team had been working hard to start piecing things together. Megan sat in the corner with the twins, both sound asleep with their heads resting on her lap.

  “We know that Michael is after the delta that Zarius is in possession of. We know that there has also been a hunt for the fabled vial of blood. We know that Alfonso sent Isaiah to St. Vincent to become the Guardian of the vial, but there’s still no proof it ever existed or still does exist. We have traced what we believe would be the history of it through to early Austria, but we’re not sure where it went from there.”

  Serenity pointed to each piece of evidence they had as she talked. Chad quickly took notes, trying to put a consistent timeline down on paper.

  “We believe that Hecate and the Clans are hoping to use the blood to release Legion—or what is left of him—but that looks like a moot point at this time.”

  Gene interrupted her, “We can’t assume that. We must assume that our enemy has the upper hand, and how do we combat that?”

  “Fair enough,” Serenity stated. “Let’s assume the vial survived the trip to Austria. Where would it have gone? Where would the Watchers have taken it to hide? Alfonso must have believed it to be still there.”

  Isaiah cut in, “We saw no evidence of that, though.”

  Tanisha was going through a stack of notes she had taken over the last few days. She nodded in agreement with Isaiah as he spoke. She quickly flipped through a few other notes and then looked up.

  “So, let me ask those who have been around a lot longer than the Mortals in the room. Does the name ‘Gobert Thibault’ mean anything to anyone?”

  Leah’s head jerked at the mention of the name. She looked over at Tanisha with a wide-eyed expression on her face.

  “Who?”

  “Gobert Thibault,” Tanisha stated as she pulled out a journal and flipped through it. “There seem to be several entries about him . . . then nothing. Most of what we have seen has been consistent, but he is not. He appears in the journals suddenly and without much explanation and then vanishes in the same manner.”

  Gabriel looked intrigued.

  Up to this moment the two Council members had not said much, but now Gabriel spoke, “What does it say about him?”

  “I take it by your question that this name is not random?”

  “Tanisha, what does it say about him?”

  The archeologist began to read out loud, “Today we were visited by the young Gobert Thibault. He is a warrior priest that the world will soon forget, but history will protect.”

  Leah’s expression did not change. She sat with a stunned expression and just stared straight ahead. The entry was so true: he had been a warrior and history may have forgotten him, but she never had.

  “Is that all there is?” Gabriel prodded with another question.

  “Yes, but the interesting part is where it is mentioned. This specific journal has n
umerous accounts of the Watchers attempting to hide a precious artifact. The artifact itself was never named, but I can surmise that it very well could be the vial of blood.”

  Gabriel looked over to see if Leah was going to speak. She was not surprised to see the Vapor sitting shocked and silent.

  “So?” Tanisha questioned.

  Every eye was on Gabriel.

  “Yes, that name is known to some of us within the room, but . . .”

  Before she could finish, there was a knock on the door. Gene acknowledged it, and the door was opened by one of the very few workers at Eden. He was carrying a medium-sized box.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but this was just delivered; and I was told that it needed to be delivered directly to you, Sir.”

  Gene waved the man in and thanked him as he set the box down and quickly left. The older man looked the box over carefully.

  “No return address.”

  “I have seen movies about things like this,” Chad laughed. “Never a good thing.”

  Gene quietly took out a pocket knife and cut the tape that sealed the box. He carefully opened it. The caretaker stood there, looking at the contents of the box in front of him. His face was expressionless, and his mouth uttered no words.

  “Everything okay?” Zarius asked as he stood up and walked over to the elderly man.

  When he got close enough, he looked inside himself. Nothing prepared him for what he saw. This warrior of warriors felt his knees go weak, but he was able to mask any other signs of emotion. He quickly closed the box up.

  “I guess we have received our answer from Mantus.”

  Nemamiah could feel immense sorrow and shock vibrating off the two men.

  “Metatron?”

  Gene nodded, “I will not open this box again; but, everyone, the box contains the head of Enoch.”

  There were gasps all around the table, and Gabriel began to cry. No words could capture the emotion that swept through the room. If there was ever a blow that could defeat their team before the fight ever got started, it had been dealt.

  “Isaiah, please, if you could remove this from the room before the children wake up, I would appreciate it.”

  Eve stood up and walked over to the box, “I got it.”

  She picked it up and started to walk to the door. She turned around with power written on her face.

  “This is not the time for us to break or cry. There will be a time for that. This here,” she lifted the box, “is our battle flag. This is our cause. You all may not agree with how I have walked the path of the Nephelium; but I can tell you that the moment I watched Denora kill Alfonso, I had my cause. I would hunt down every predator I could and make them pay for the price of innocence that they stole.

  “If you deflate now, Enoch dies in vain. He died because he stood up against the predators. He was murdered and butchered because he believed that, no matter the cost, the right thing to do is to stand for those unjustly treated!

  “Leah, I believe, based upon what I have heard, he stood up for you and defended you at a great cost.”

  Leah was holding back tears. She could feel the anger boiling, and she embraced it. In a flash she began to regret the condescending attitude that she had held toward Eve all these years. Enoch had been her Alfonso, and now she was starting to see why Eve had allowed the anger and bitterness to take root. It was the propellant she needed to become the hunter.

  “Yes, he did.”

  “Then we fight. We fight for Enoch. We fight for all of those who have no idea the battle that rages behind the curtains of mortality. I never knew. I was a sheep that aimlessly moved throughout my life until that moment where I found a reason . . . a reason to become the sheepdog.

  “I personally don’t care for any of you, but I will have no respect for any of you if you allow this murder and butchery to go unanswered. I made the right decision years ago to walk away from your way of doing things, but now it is time for you to embrace my way of doing things.

  “Now—this moment right here—is when we come together . . . Eternals and Mortals, and we cut the head off the snake!”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Choosing to work together did not mean that trust of each other came naturally. This could not be clearer than at the moment when Mantus, Legion, Denora, and Azrael found themselves sitting together in Hecate’s old estate.

  Denora had coldly welcomed the other two in when Azrael returned. She had not wanted to go along with his recommendation that they all join together to take on all fronts of the battle they were about to instigate, but she could see some common sense in it.

  “Congratulations on your quick promotion, Denora,” Mantus quipped as they all sat down. “I cannot promise that after all we are going to look to accomplish that there will not be Clan fallout over your murdering a Clan leader but for now, congratulations.”

  “I hear that murder seems to be the action being taken liberally these days,” she scoffed, “or is your brother currently attending to affairs elsewhere? I would think one of your top confidants and military-minded leaders would be here for this occasion, yet here I see one whom no one believed would ever be freed . . . but no brother.”

  “Touché,” the general retorted flatly.

  “Legion, I’m not sure how your design works. Does the part know the whole, or is the part divided in understanding and knowledge until joined again?”

  “I am not sure I understand what you are getting at,” the Demon responded.

  “Recently I was visited by a being that claimed to be you or at least part of you. So, I guess I am asking, ‘did you know that?’”

  “No, I cannot know what the other part of me knows unless I have been reconnected to myself. Since it has been longer than anyone can measure since that has happened, no, I am not aware of any meeting between you and myself.”

  She laughed, “Now, that is interesting and confusing all at once! Well, I can say the other version or portion of you is more attractive . . . too young for me but attractive, nonetheless.”

  “Well, I technically am older than you, I believe.”

  “True, but it comes down to whom you embody; and right now, the young teen girl is not my thing.”

  “Let’s get past the niceties of this conversation and get to the meat, please,” Azrael spoke up. “We have some heavy-duty planning to do.”

  “So, both Eden and Scintillantes . . .” Denora questioned, “who hits what?”

  “Well, I personally am going to be with the group that goes after Eden. I have a personal vendetta that needs to be taken care of,” Azrael stated. “I think taking Legion with me would be the best move; but of course, I am open to suggestions.”

  Mantus sat in deep thought. He still felt deep inside of him that this was too lofty of a mission to take on, but he had learned a long time ago that you can always scrub a mission at the last minute if the cons outweigh the pros.

  “I don’t know. I have no problem being a part of the onslaught of Scintillantes, but with what Clan? Denora, is your Clan even aware that they no longer serve under Hecate?”

  “The word is spreading. I have been told that there are pockets here and there who have chosen to leave my Clan; but overall, the change at the top has been welcomed.”

  “Pockets? With whom have they aligned?”

  “No one. Hard to do that when one no longer exists.”

  “Good god! Are you saying that . . .”

  “Yes, Mantus, they have been exterminated; and we are better for it. Loyalty is never overrated, don’t you think?”

  He nodded.

  Azrael continued, “Legion has a well-trained group of warriors from the Abyss who have chosen to align themselves with him. Mantus has given his blessing on the change of houses.”

  “What about the other parts of Legion?” Denora asked. “I have recently seen the manifestation of the other segments of him; and if he could become complete, there would be no stopping us.”

  “Good point,” Azrael a
greed. “Thoughts on that, Legion?”

  “I am still weak. I am not even sure that I am able to rejoin the collective of who I am. There is a chance that if I did, the knowledge of everything that my collective has learned could make me mad and insane. My thought is that we maintain the course we are on; and if it so happens that I come face to face with myself, we face it then.”

  “Fair enough. Denora, do you and Mantus agree?”

  They both acknowledged that they did.

  “In the context of trust and open communication among all of us,” Mantus spoke up, “I am concerned about your going to Eden with Legion. You already are in possession of one delta, correct?”

  “We are,” Azrael stated, indicating that he and Denora had it.

  “What assurance can you give me that you will not take possession of the last one, causing us to have to contend with you?”

  “That is why one of us will go with one of you. Mantus, we don’t trust each other—that is a given—but we have to get past this. There has to be at least some respect for the end goal, that goal being the return of our kind to the top of the ‘food chain.’”

  For some time, the four continued discussing their plans for the attack. As they did, they were never aware of the figure that had hidden himself in the shadows.

  “They will never learn. As wise as they become and as much knowledge and history that is between the four, they still brush us off as if we do not exist,” Kadar shook his head. “I’m done. The time has come to make a hard turn, and they will never see it.”

  The assassin slipped further into the shadows and made his way off the estate. He had a meeting, one for which he could not begin to imagine how it may turn out.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “Ok, so we all have had a chance to catch our breath and refocus,” Gene remarked to the team surrounding him at the table. “We will have a chance to mourn later; but Eve was right: at this point we need to use everything we can to drive us forward.”

  Leah leaned forward and fidgeted with a pen that was on the table in front of her.