‘Scatter!’ Bast suggested, breaking left as Sparrowhawk and Gazelle went right. Fallon, in the middle, was not fast enough off the mark — the entity reached out and grabbed hold of her around the waist.
‘No!’ She pulled against the force drawing her into itself, when someone gripped her from behind.
‘Vanish, or face the consequences,’ a familiar voice boomed, and the elemental withdrew immediately.
Fallon’s heart leapt into her throat as she turned to view her love. ‘Avery?’ she queried, stunned that he was sporting Viper’s wings.
‘Viper?’ Gazelle crept closer, wondering what had become of her brother if Fallon was right.
‘Night Hunter,’ Noah bowed his head in greeting. ‘Congratulations on your appointment.’
‘What?’ Fallon gasped, her welling joy spurring her to the brink of tears.
Avery kissed his lady’s forehead and smiled at all his kin. ‘Later.’ He headed for the open doorway to the room of summons, but stopped to reassure Gazelle on the way. ‘Fear not, your brother is alive and well,’ and served her a cheeky wink.
‘Rhun?’ Fallon looked at him for some clue as to what was going on.
‘He did good,’ he admitted, as he fell in behind Zabeel and Avery, motioning the others to follow them inside.
Gazelle and Fallon stared at each other, not knowing what to think.
‘You heard the Pan man. Forget it for now,’ Bast strongly suggested. ‘Let’s get with the program … girls.’ She urged them hither as Bast followed the dragon boys into Yahweh’s lair.
In the centre of the room of summons, a beam of dark red celestial light ran between the ceiling and the circular screen on the floor. This screen currently displayed a very intricate seal design, which everyone assumed was the secret symbol that would summon the leader of the Fallen Ones.
As Avery entered the chamber the density shield vanished completely and the Dark Lord found himself exposed to the intruders. Still, he had cast a circle around the tool of summons and himself and felt safe and superior therein. ‘You’re too late, Beelzebub is here to wreak havoc upon you all!’
There was an explosion of light within the illuminated tube of deep red, which turned orange then yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet and, at the last, shimmered silver — this presence was spectacular but not harmful to the eyes of the Chosen Ones.
Yahweh Aris, however, shielded himself from the lustre, cowering behind the silver ring on his finger. ‘Impostor!’ he cried out. ‘Where is the Prince of Darkness?’
A devanic being took form within the shimmering silver beam of light, and burst into rainbow flame as the features of its body became defined.
‘Father?’ all the dragon boys uttered at once, amazed and confused by his presence.
‘Indeed.’ Noah confirmed their doubts and explained another little mystery. ‘The mutual friend who put me in touch with my dark self.’
‘Ah …’ Bast, Fallon, Sparrowhawk and Gazelle raised their eyebrows, enlightened.
‘Prometheus,’ Aris uttered in a malign voice. ‘What trickery is this?’
No trickery, Yahweh … the Prince of Darkness no longer exists in the lower realms of Gaia’s evolutionary scheme, and never really did in the form you were expecting. The segregation of dark and light on Gaia is dissipating. Her consciousness has learned all that utter darkness and density can teach and must now start upon the long road back to the clear light of the Cosmic Logos.
‘Light cannot exist without darkness,’ Yahweh insisted.
Darkness isn’t going anywhere. It will just start integrating itself with light, rather than segregating itself from it. Take the Night Hunter. The celestial being motioned to Avery, who was the only one of his party game enough to approach the conversation and enter the circle Yahweh had cast. He is now the perfect balance of light and darkness. He understands both and judges neither.
‘Only darkness in its purest form will cease to exist on Gaia, just as it no longer exists on any of the allied planets under Lahmu’s rule.’ Avery gave the telepathic command to open the shield windows, which granted a breathtaking view of Gaia beyond.
‘Oh my Goddess!’ En Noah mumbled, reflecting the awe of all around him, who gasped as they saw how the entire planet now glowed just like the Chosen did when they were spiritually awakened.
‘The breach between Gaia’s physical and emotional bodies has been healed, Yahweh.’ Avery turned to confront the sorcerer of old. ‘Your etheric dam has been destroyed and Gaia is once again contributing to the great universal scheme. Your service to the plan is thus at an end here, my beloved.’
‘We’ll see about that.’ The Orion raised his arms to vanish and was enraged to find he was refused passage.
‘My elementals will no longer support you,’ Avery advised, as the deva took on its feminine persona.
Everyone present saw Tory Alexander, except Yahweh Aris, who recognised Electra. Gaia’s elementals are being attracted in droves to the Four-fold Chapter, which perfected its art under my guidance at Delphi and then moved into underground societies the world over, from that time to this.
‘No …’ Aris pleaded, angered that he’d never gotten wind of this hidden enemy.
Humanity has waited a long time for this day, Aris. Your people will also prosper, for Orion knowledge will be invaluable when used to further the cause of light, the Deva lovingly conveyed.
‘I don’t want to prosper,’ Yahweh spat out in disgust, ‘or serve the cause of light!’
‘There’s only one thing for him.’ Avery looked to the fiery being resembling his mother, who nodded agreement.
‘You can’t harm me.’ Yahweh held the ring out towards the fiery being to use as a shield.
‘And where is the ring that protects you from me?’ Avery questioned, feeling the Viper side of his character coming out. He silently prayed he could control him. Still, he felt more empowered, confident and in control than he ever had before.
Yahweh moved backwards to collide with Avery’s brothers, who had him surrounded.
‘It really has been a long time between Devachanic rest periods for you, hasn’t it, Aris?’ Avery neared and the Orion cowered.
‘NO!’ he cried in horror, shrinking to the floor, hoping to escape the Night Hunter’s reach. ‘Not my memory … it’s taken eons to gather the knowledge my soul-mind contains.’
‘Now there’s nothing to worry about.’ Avery tried not to tease him, but couldn’t help himself. ‘You’ll get to keep all the good parts.’
‘There’ll be nothing left!’ Aris cried in horror as the dragon brothers hoisted him up to face Avery.
‘Do hold still.’ Avery placed a hand over Yahweh’s third eye area. ‘This won’t hurt a bit.’
Yahweh struggled only a moment before his physical form disintegrated into one small ball of light, which floated in the palm of Avery’s hand.
‘Peace be with you, brother,’ Avery said, cupping his hands together. When the Night Hunter opened his hands once more the being was gone and a cheer sounded out from his kindred.
Avery’s first thought was to address and thank the Deva for its aid, but the entity had vanished during the commotion.
Rhun glanced from Avery to the glowing planet, then to the seal on the floor and back to En Noah. ‘Could you please explain to me what on earth is going on?’
Noah smiled to encourage Rhun’s frown to leave. ‘It’s all good,’ he told him surely. ‘The mission is all but over.’
‘All but what?’ Rhun queried and Bast gasped as she recalled the oversight.
‘Rainer Ingram.’
Rainer was discovered in the adjoining room, just as Horace had suggested, and although the young man was clearly not well, he’d live, and he was very glad to have been found.
Doc had taken Luther and Morgan back to Lynn Cerrig Bach to recover from being shot with negative ectoplasmic charge, which had rendered them unconscious. They would awake before long and after an up-chuck of black s
lime, would feel as right as rain.
Avery had one hell of a time trying to explain to Fallon and Gazelle what had happened to him. Thankfully, his brothers helped with the tale, and filled in most of Avery’s blank spots. Lirathea expanded on the spiritual reasons for what had happened to Avery and Viper.
‘This soul-mind’s feat was unprecedented,’ the oracle advised everyone, very proud of her twin. ‘It literally split itself into three soul-minds: two of opposing polarities — both male, and one neutral incarnation — a female.
Fallon gasped as she learned where she figured in the equation. ‘That’s why my destiny has remained veiled … in order that all three of us could be tested.’ She took hold of Avery’s arm and twisted her hand down to take hold of his.
‘It was the fastest way to gather the experience you require to assume the guardianship of the Otherworld.’ Lirathea rarely became emotional, but she felt the tears welling with her next sentence. ‘You two were always meant to be together.’
‘Aw,’ sighed everyone, repressing tears as Avery kissed his bride-to-be.
‘And where’s that sister of mine?’ Avery questioned, letting go of Fallon to put his arm around Gazelle’s shoulders.
Sparrowhawk was a little jealous of Avery’s sudden excuse to get close to Gazelle and she was obviously still uneasy about her brother’s supposed transformation.
Avery led Gazelle aside to speak in private. ‘I’m sorry for …’ he leaned close to whisper in Gazelle’s ear. As he spoke quietly to her, Gazelle began to choke on her tears, hugging Avery close to accept his apology.
Sparrowhawk had seen Gazelle cry but never like this, nor had she ever let him get so close to her. She and Avery had sunk to the floor, and she was uttering her grievances back into his ear. Her emotion turned hostile suddenly and she hit Avery a few times, before abruptly hugging him tight once more to cry away her grief and happiness on his shoulder.
Lirathea was quietly clearing the room, to give their brother and sister some space, but Fallon seemed to be as wary about leaving Avery with Gazelle as Sparrowhawk was.
‘They have things to sort through,’ Lirathea advised Sparrowhawk and served him a large smile as she diverted his attention to herself. ‘You’ll have your chance to make her feel part of the family soon enough.’
Sparrowhawk would normally have been embarrassed by the comment, but he was worried about other things. ‘You and Gazelle aren’t going to suddenly become one, are you?’ He allowed Lirathea to lead him from the room.
‘In some distant plane of awareness,’ she supposed. ‘But until then, we have very different lives to lead.’
‘That’s good.’ Sparrowhawk couldn’t cope with having Gazelle and Lirathea in the same room, let alone the same body!
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Fallon grinned as she considered that she was kind of pleased by the ‘two for the price of one’ deal she’d been dealt. ‘Now I get the things I like about both the men in my life, all rolled into one husband. Perfect!’
The door to the room of summons closed behind them and Sparrowhawk was shaking his head — he admired Fallon’s sense of adventure. ‘I’d be happy with just the one.’ He glanced back at the closed door, trying not to sound put out.
Lirathea chuckled at his jealousy and placed a hand upon his cheek in comfort. ‘You really have no idea, do you?’ She kissed his other cheek and left him open mouthed.
Sparrowhawk found himself alone in the corridor, his emotions surging in all directions, fuelled by the adrenaline from the mission that was still coursing through his veins. He was so jealous … jealous of Avery, and angry … angry that Avery was always coming between himself and those he held most dear. He was tired … tired of competing with the Lord of the Otherworld for attention.
The door to the room of summons opened and Avery emerged alone. He smiled when he spotted Sparrowhawk waiting outside.
It struck Sparrowhawk as odd that Avery’s smile was warm and sincere, and not smug and forced, as per usual.
‘Gazelle wants to speak with you.’ He motioned back to the room where she awaited. ‘I’m going to the Star Chamber to summon Eli back to take us home.’ A cheeky grin crossed the Night Hunter’s face as he backed down the corridor. ‘We have a few other problems to sort out with the Orion’s —’
‘Can I assist in some way?’ Sparrowhawk was concerned.
‘No, no, we can handle it,’ Avery assured. ‘It will probably take an hour or so to organise ourselves for departure …’ He tried to say this without too much innuendo, and then vanished.
Sparrowhawk was stunned. ‘Was that Avery being nice to me?’ It was too much for the system to handle. ‘Maybe Viper actually did him some good?’ He wandered into the Star Chamber to find Gazelle gazing out through the huge window at the beautiful glowing planet below.
She turned and smiled as she heard him enter. ‘Is the universe not an amazing place?’ The question was more of a statement. ‘My people are free, my brother is sane and in love, what’s more! And I am one of the Chosen.’ Sparrowhawk stopped a little way away from her, and did not seem to know how to react. After that little scene with the Night Hunter she wasn’t surprised. ‘So what happens now?’ Gazelle asked, to encourage him to speak.
‘There seems to have been a break in the action,’ he advised, watching intently as Gazelle closed the distance between them.
‘So we are at leisure?’ She came to a stop rather closer to Sparrowhawk than she was usually comfortable with and gazed up at him to await comment.
‘It would seem so,’ he replied, then became a little awkward as he attempted to say more. ‘Gazelle, there’s something I’ve been wanting —’
Gazelle placed her hands either side of his face. ‘Sorry to interrupt, but do you think you could kiss me first and talk later?’ she demanded, and her impatience, so akin to his own feelings, prompted Sparrowhawk to oblige her immediately.
‘Praise the universe,’ Gazelle mumbled with relief, going back for seconds and thirds. In the midst of her delirium, Gazelle took hold of both Sparrowhawk’s hands and, placing them on her body, she encouraged them to explore.
‘There is no rush, if you are not ready.’ Sparrowhawk was amazed he could say this about something he wanted so badly. Gazelle’s demeanour suddenly saddened and he felt her fear of rejection. ‘I have waited so long for you to come into my life,’ he thought to explain, ‘that I would wait forever for your favours. It is only your company I need to sustain me.’
It was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to her and Gazelle nearly choked on the sudden emotion of love in her chest. Love that was empowering and not a weakness; love that inflamed her being, instead of leaving it cold. ‘Well,’ she swallowed back her tears, feeling there was no need to weep any longer, ‘that’s where you and I differ, my friend. For I have been dreaming of this moment too long. It’s simply screaming to become a reality, I’m afraid.’
Her smile was like a revelation to him, pure joy. ‘I am in complete sympathy, believe me.’ Sparrowhawk drew her closer, daring to be a bit more liberal with his hands. ‘But surely this place is not the location you had in mind?’
Gazelle shrugged, indifferent. ‘Might clear some of the bad energy in here?’ she suggested, moving in for another kiss. ‘And who needs a grand bedchamber when you have wings?’
Oh please, master, don’t make me get back in there, Eli the elestial pleaded from the rim of the pit that once housed and connected him to the Aten’s time teleportation function.
‘Don’t be silly, Eli.’ Avery motioned him to the pit.
Noah and Rhun had returned Rainer to his father, and his rightful place in history, and as all team members were now on the Aten, they were eager to get moving.
‘I have every intention of sending you back to your family as soon as we get this space station back to its rightful place in time.’ Avery didn’t want to force the crystal elemental into doing it.
But how do I know you’re not just saying
that? The crystal was not convinced.
‘Eli, it’s me, Avery! I am the one who freed you in the first place. Remember?’
But Viper is in there with you, and he was the one who trapped me.
‘Eli.’ Fallon came forward to calm the big rock, which was easily five times her height. ‘You trust me, don’t you? I’ve never lied to you or done you harm, have I?’
True, he granted.
‘I promise you that the Night Hunter will keep his word.’ She placed a hand on the big guy. ‘So why don’t we get this little chore over with and then we can all go home.’
All right … I’ll trust you, Eli stated for the record, and then jumped into the pit, his landing sending shock waves through the Star Chamber.
Avery gave the mental command to the Star Chamber to engage the crystal, and Eli was heard to gasp on contact.
‘It’s all right,’ Fallon told him, softly, ‘it will all be over soon.’
Avery floated up to a seat on the throne-like formation atop Eli’s head. ‘You know the drill, Eli … take us home.’
As you say, Sire.
‘Was that what I think it was?’ Gazelle panted in the wake of her outpouring of emotion and energy, clinging tightly to her lover as they fluttered back to earth.
‘That was sex,’ Sparrowhawk stated frankly, knowing that wasn’t what she meant.
‘No!’ Gazelle swiped his chest with the back of her hand, ‘I was referring to the great flash of blue-white light just now, and that great swooshing sensation.’
‘Don’t you get that every time you make love?’ he teased.
‘No, never,’ she stated in all seriousness. ‘It must just be you.’
‘Me … and the Aten time drive teleporting us forth twenty years,’ he admitted, amused by Gazelle’s escalating delight.
‘Whoo-hoo!’ She cheered their achievement. ‘I bet nobody else can say they’ve made love for two decades!’
Sparrowhawk’s silly smirk was starting to make his face ache.
‘Maybe it’s karma,’ Gazelle posed, ‘to make up for the rest of my miserable life.’
The Cosmic Logos Page 47
