“First off her name is Maricel.”
“When your mother died, she told me to promise her that if you ever came home that you would stay and marry Cicely and have a normal family in Flo.”
Leo didn’t answer his father. He walked out of the kitchen glaring.
“Leo, are you okay?” Cicely said, unable to contain her joy after overhearing his father. Leo didn’t answer, she gripped his arm, and he shoved her hand away. He passed me looking, still didn’t smile.
“If we’re going through with this then when is this all going to happen?” I said to Leo. He sighed.
“In about a week on Christmas. We have a submarine that has been constructed by Rain, Crystal and I.”
“When we reach the shore, they’re going to check us.”
“They’ll be busy with their annual mass ceremonies but this time to Lovell. We’ll figure it out when we get there,” he said, walking away.
“He’s lost his mind,” Cicely said, leaving.
“Who’s in?” I said.
“Leslie and I as always,” Erich said.
“I guess that means my wife and I as well,” Kevin said on their behalf.
“Count me in.” Warren laughed.
“I have to keep an eye on you,” Zev said.
“Crystal and I have no problem,” Rain said.
“I don’t want you guys screwing it up for Leo, so Cicely and I are coming along,” Baran said. I smiled for a second, although deep down, I felt torn knowing that it would be impossible for Leo and I to be together. His father was against it and always dreamed his son would marry Cicely yet, I had his heart, yet that wasn’t enough. In his eyes, I would never be good enough for his son.
“You love him,” a voice said from behind as everyone had left the room. I turned around to see Leslie.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“You’re afraid.”
“Afraid?”
“Afraid of the circumstances,” she said. I didn’t answer her. “Leonardo has to make up his mind. Until then, all you can do is wait. How do you think Erich and I made it without the approval of his mother?”
I laughed thinking about what she had said, remembering the thanksgiving fiasco over three years ago. She left the room. Although Leo was on this mission, I doubted he was really hearing from God. It seemed impulsive on his part, or worse, he had ulterior motives.
CHAPTER 8
SANCTUARY
Sometimes when the world crumbles around you, you chose not to notice. Sometimes you do, but you’re in a state of denial or simply decided not to care. Either way, it always comes back to bite you. After all of the hardships, I’d like to think I learned my lesson that somehow things would work out differently. That the end result would be better. Each trial, I overcame a new one with a far more complex issue would present itself—that was the misery of it all.
* * *
Turning over the seal of Solomon with the chain coiled in the palm of my hand, I drew a deep breath and hooked it around my neck. I turned it, so the ring on the chain touched my bare chest. When it made contact with my skin, a warm heat much like Azazel’s touch emanated from it, and I tucked the ring on the end of the chain under my shirt and covered the remainder of it with my hair hoping no one would notice. I remembered Belail’s advice thinking back to how I was almost killed, although I didn’t agree with sorcery, I figured that it could be of some use. Although I would do everything in my power, to prevent myself from using it.
As I turned to leave a hand grabbed my shoulder. My gaze lifted to behold Belial.
“What are you doing here?” I said, startled by his arrival.
“Don’t go; it’s a trap.”
“How so?”
“You are wanted by the Lemurian Order. By going to the Vatican you’re walking right into a trap.”
“Those books hold the knowledge we need.”
“You’re sure God really told you to do this?”
“No, but I trust Leo’s judgment.”
“If you insist on having those books, come with me and I can retrieve them for you without everyone risking their lives.”
“Thanks but no thanks.”
“Maricel, have you considered Leo is still working for Naamah, which means he’s setting you and everyone else up.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“I won’t stop you. Be careful and if your life is in danger, use the seal,” he said. His finger brushed the chain, pricking my skin.
“Just because I’m wearing it doesn’t mean, I’m going to use it.”
“You’re walking a fine line,” he said, fading away. The door opened. Leslie came in, she wore a brown shawl matching her hair. Her hair was up in a messy bun, I could tell she hardly got any rest the night before. She stood there trying her best to muster a smile, although it was evident she was terrified.
“Are you ready?” she said.
“As ready as I’m going to get” I walked out with her to the living room, where the others were gathered. My mother was speaking to Zev when I entered, they stopped and stared at me without smiling.
“Is everyone ready to leave?” Crystal said. I could tell Caroline finished praying recently and had produced tears from it, as she shook her head. Her eyes were still watery. No one objected. I embraced my mother, her eyes were filled with tears as well.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She held me close and nodded and withdrew a bottle of the anointing oil and prayed over me in Hebrew. I closed my eyes taking it in. Nausea overcame me.
* * *
Voices pulsed through my mind suggesting graphic solutions. I did my best to maintain balance as they irately cursed at me as I summoned their power. Everyone stood at a distance from the army of demons surrounding me hissing and baring their claws and fangs.
All fear left me, at the realization I was their new leader. They were my legions. I turned back to Leo, who scowled at my betrayal. He sprinted forward, but I motioned with my hand for a demon to hinder him and Asmodeus caught him by the neck. He threw him aside. He slid across the floor. writhing. I laughed, enjoying every essence of my newfound demonic power as my surroundings circulated like a whirlwind.
* * *
My eyes opened as she finished praying astonished by what I had just foreseen. Was this a vision? Perhaps, a warning from God, or was it another temptation from Satan?
I glanced at everyone else. In their midst, I felt naked like Adam and Eve had when they ate from the tree aware of their sin and desperate to hide from the eyes of God. Although God hadn’t addressed them. They rushed to make clothes of figs. Right now, I needed my own cover feeling exposed.
“Be careful,” my mother said. Her words and solemn expression added to my angst. Was she shown the same thing?
“I will,” I said to her turning to leave with everyone. I stepped outside to see a row of cars on the side of the street. Caroline, Kevin, Warren, Erich, and Leslie got into the Audi s4. Baran, Cicely, Rain, and Crystal climbed into a Toyota Rav4 with Zev. Leo smiled at me, opening the door of his red 1950 Porsche 911 for me.
“It’s nearly a five-hour drive, don’t fall asleep on me because I barely slept last night,” he said as he drove.
“Nightmares again?”
“It was a mixture of both nerves thinking about this trip and well, yes nightmares.”
“What did you dream this time?”
“I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Was I in it?”
He glanced at me from behind his sunglasses, making it difficult to read him.
“It was another one of those freaky ones except this time you were evil.”
“Evil?” I laughed. The set of his jaw remained stiff.
“You replaced Tess.”
“In what way?”
“You joined Azazel after killing her for good. Around your neck was this strange necklace with an emblem or sigil. Maybe a
pentagram...I don’t remember.” His description matched the seal. It wasn’t helping the unease building within me. “You touched it, and demons crept toward us. I tried to stop you, but you ordered for me along with the rest of the group to be executed by the devils. They devoured every inch of our flesh. The pain was indescribable. I woke up breathing heavy feeling as if chunks of my body were missing.”
I gulped hoping he hadn’t seen the seal of Solomon and put my hand down on my lap, twiddling my thumbs. Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“You have nothing to worry about, I’m on your team.”
He didn’t answer as he drank from his water bottle.
Promise me, if you find another relic you won’t keep it and fall prey to using it like you did with the crystal skull in Mu?” he asked. There was no way I could promise such a thing while I wore the seal of Solomon. After all, he warned that one of us needed to live, and they were murdering prophets in the streets.
“I promise I won’t be corrupted.”
* * *
Four hours later, we came to Jekyll Island. It was filled with people playing and laying out in the sun. A man awaited the entrance checking for those who had the mark. Our car was the first to go. He stared at us, his pupils were narrow slits.
“You don’t appear to have the right currency, you can sign up for it, over there,” he said.
“We’re not signing up for the mark of the beast,” Leo said. The man aimed a pistol at us.
“Get out of your car, and put your hands where you can see them! You’re in violation of the law! Some of his spit landed on my face. I wiped it away.
“Some rules are meant to be broken,” Leo said, getting out of the car. He reached out and twisted the man’s wrist, knocking his gun to the floor and he grabbed it. More security ran out. We both got back inside as they surged toward us.
“Drive!” he said. I slid over into the driver’s seat and took control of the steering wheel. Leo jumped on the back of the car, dodging their bullets while they shot at him. He hung with one hand, firing back. I sped along with the other vehicles, charging through the gates, bursting on the shore. People ran, screaming as our cars rolled on the sand.
A nuclear ballistic missile submarine awaited us. From a distance, Leo’s father was present with a group of unrecognizable men guarding it. How had he managed to get it here despite the high level of security? The submarine was far lengthier than I envisioned. Its metallic girth seemed to stretch hundreds of meters across the ocean.
We boarded it, Leo’s father parted ways, ducking for safety. Leo was last, helping everyone else in. The submarine descended underwater.
“You guys built this,” I said in awe.
“Yes it took many years, it’s not something that you build overnight.
“You should’ve been an engineer,” I said.
“School was never a place for me.”
“Reminds me of old times,” Kevin said. Warren grinned.
“I thought I’d never board another submarine. Here we are again,” Kevin said.
“We’ve been detected!” Crystal said. The drone fired several rounds. The submarine rocked. Rain who sat beside Crystal controlling the missiles shot one back at them, blowing up their drone.
“I should’ve never went on this trip. You guys are crazy! There is a reason I retired after service. Just what we needed another strike against the “government”! Warren said.
“It’s not like we aren’t already at risk,” I said.
“You and Leo are bonafide terrorists. The rest of us have managed to stay off the radar. You do know that most drones can see into any house or vehicle. I bet it took pictures of us.”
“We’ll have to keep our guard up,” Leo said.
“The Lemurian Order will run our mugs through facial recognition.”
“He has a point,” I said.
“Thank you,” Warren said, taking a sip of water.
“How long will this thing last under water?” I said.
“We have plenty of food and supplies and we should only be down here for a week,” Crystal said
“I hope we don’t get seasick.” I walked over by my brother, who was standing alone.
“How was the ride with him?” Zev said, taking a seat.
“It was okay, except he dreamt about me last night.” Zev shook his head, smiling.
“What about this time?” He smirked.
“That I became evil.”
“You had me worried thinking he dreamt something else…” His expression gave away what he was thinking. I shoved him.
“No…”
“Ma told me to look out for you.”
“I figured.”
“Don’t act so indifferent, I would’ve done so regardless.”
“Whatever.” He shook his head.
“That part of you hasn’t changed.”
“How was your ride with Leo’s kin?”
“Too damn long.”
“Was it that bad?”
“Crystal and Rain are pretty chill, but his family and ex are lunatics.” We both broke out into laughter.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to trade places”
“It’s strange to think we’ve descended hundreds of feet underwater already!” Caroline said as she walked over.
“Right, maybe we’ll see an octopus or squid or something.”
“I’ve heard horror stories of them attacking submarines,” she said.
“The odds of that happening are slim.”
“You never know, girl, the odds of zombies, aliens, mutants, and androids were slim too.”
“Very true,” I said, splitting my attention as I overheard Cicely talking to Leo across from us.
“Leonardo!”
“Will you calm down?”
“I should calm down? You’re the one who’s lost it, believing this girl is a saint. She murdered my sister!”
The submarine fell silent with her words.
“Maricel, is that true?” Caroline said.
“Yes, it was an accident.”
“She’s lying I saw the body, it was clearly premeditated!” Cicely shouted.
“Azazel gave me a crystal skull. It can take possession of you if you look into its eyes. When Tess killed one of my friends, in a fit of rage, I tried to fight her. My own strength wasn’t strong enough.” I gasped as I recalled the moment. “I was trapped and scared, so I confided in the skull and let it take over. All of my thoughts were wicked, and my heart hardened to stone. I killed every last one of her henchmen before getting to her and chopping off her head, or so I thought. I don’t know how she’s alive still.”
“Oh my…!” Leslie’s voice trailed.
“I didn’t stop there though…. I’ll admit without it, I wouldn’t have made it out of Mu,” I said, brushing a tear from my eye. Zev shook his head.
“It’s hard to believe, you seem so innocent like such a nice girl…” Caroline said, staring at me with her mouth wide open.
“It’s partially why my eyesight has never been the same. Like I told Cicely earlier I’m sorry.”
“You will never be forgiven, I can’t wait until you burn in hell!” she said.
“Cicely, you weren’t religious nine years ago, nothing more than a doomsday prepper. You said it yourself that you weren’t a fan of religion and thought Deacon was crazy,” Leo said.
“People change, you should know since you were absent so long.”
“I was gone for a long time. Not much has changed with you. Before I left, you begged me to leave Flo with you and forget God,” he said. Her face grew ruddy with anger as he admitted to leaving her behind without a care in the world. “You only adopted these religious beliefs to condemn her!”
“An augur even confirmed what Deacon said about Maricel.”
“You relied on a fortune teller rather than the voice of God.”
“There was a prophecy that foretold of a wicked woman
born near the fall equinox,” she said, shaking her head. “She’s of Nimrod’s progeny.”
“There was a prophecy out there, but what these so-called legends forgot to mention is she has free will. Her half-sister Tess took her place.”
“That’s what she wants you to think. She’s nothing but a whore.”
“You don’t have much room to talk. You slept with my brother when we were engaged.”
She blushed. Baran turned around scowling.
“You know Baran, and I are sorry and that I’ve loved you since we were children. You drove me to it because you weren’t emotionally available.”
“Cicely, you weren’t easy to open up to.”
“Don’t let her make you forget the way we use to talk for hours. You told me once that I was the only woman you loved and ever would. Did you lie to me?”
I looked away hearing the words she had spoken. Was Leo bluffing when he had professed his love for me?
“When I said I loved you, I meant as a friend or sister!”
“You’re a liar! If it were only platonic, why would you propose to me? We were supposed to get married 9 years ago!”
“My parents forced me to! Why do you think we rarely kissed and I hesitated to hold your hand in the five years we were together?”
“You left like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs after I slept with your brother because you were jealous and hurt! You loved me, and you don’t want to admit it in front of your trophy girlfriend.”
“I don’t love you the way you want me to. You’re right, I was hurt. I was betrayed by you and my brother. The things I overheard you telling Baran about me that you wished you were engaged to him instead, and he was so much better. You expect me to forget that?”
“I was upset, and Baran was there for me.”
“Despite what you did, I still care for you as a friend. My feelings don’t go beyond that.” He stood.
She pulled him back down and climbed on his lap, wrapping her legs around him. He motioned to remove her as she leaned in to kiss him. Leo turned his head away while she found his lips. Their mouths merged, sharing a kiss.
“Did they just really?” Leslie said, covering her mouth. When they finished, he stood up. She reached for him, but he pushed her away, walking off. Cicely looked back at me, this time with a smile in her light eyes.
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