The Black Madonna (The Mystique Trilogy)

by Traci Harding

  ‘We were worried,’ Castor explained, but Talori appeared more interested in the idle control deck.

  ‘What does all this stuff do?’ she asked. She didn’t dare touch anything, but she had a good close look and a sniff as well. ‘Blue Flame energy,’ she concluded after a whiff of the funnel.

  ‘Should you two be in here?’ I asked.

  ‘The captain said it was okay to keep an eye on you,’ Castor assured me, as I found my composure and sat upright.

  ‘Oh my goddess.’ I felt the old familiar sensation of a trinket hanging about my neck, and I reached inside my shirt to discover my ringstone had returned to my possession. ‘Praise the heavens!’ I gripped it tightly, resolute that it would never leave my sight again. ‘If this has returned to my possession, then the past has been altered somehow, so that I never misplaced it.’

  ‘Curious,’ frowned Castor.

  ‘Where are Polaris and Levi?’ I wondered out loud.

  ‘They’ve gone with the others to assist Arcturus in opening his Signet station. They should be back any time now. They’ve already been gone longer than expected.’

  Talori looked over. ‘The captain did mention before he left that he expected a minor delay.’

  ‘Why?’ I wondered. ‘Because Shasta is Arcturus’s station?’

  ‘I really couldn’t say,’ Talori commented diplomatically, not willing to buy into the long-standing tension between the two men.

  ‘Ouch!’ I searched through my pockets to find whatever it was that had been sticking into me as I slept. ‘Gotcha.’ I held the offending item up to examine it, and Castor recognised the little module.

  ‘Is that—’

  ‘—one of the Nefilim’s new auric simulators? It certainly is. I meant to give it to Levi to pull apart.’

  ‘Ooooh, interesting.’ Talori came to take a closer look. ‘Is it still operational?’

  I hadn’t thought to check. ‘Let’s find out.’ I clipped the module onto the back of my trousers. ‘It has to have a telepathic command sensor as it’s too darn small to be operated any other way. Okay…’ I stood up to focus better.

  ‘The amazing Meridan will now transform into…’ Talori announced with gusto, taking a seat beside Castor to watch the show.

  I looked at Castor, and before I’d even finished sizing him up Talori was applauding. I gazed down at myself, amazed to view Castor’s form.

  ‘Two of you!’ Talori hugged Castor and nuzzled her forehead against his cheek. ‘What a delicious idea.’

  A great crack sounded and a sphere of light erupted in the middle of the room and steadily grew larger.

  Remembering what Tamar had forewarned about Castor being hunted down, Talori immediately suggested he use his shamanistic powers to disappear.

  ‘Flea,’ Castor said without a second’s hesitation, transforming and hopping into Talori’s pocket.

  I heard Talori call out to me, but my attention was on the sphere of light, which had now widened into a tunnel. At the far end was Killian Labontè, appearing rather the worse for wear.

  ‘Tamar is in trouble…you have to help us. Come!’ He beckoned me urgently. ‘Please! I know you don’t know me, but if you’re one of the Amenti staff, you have to help!’

  I was confused by his words until I realised I was still in Castor’s form.

  ‘No, don’t!’ a man shouted from behind, and I turned to see Levi enter the control deck. The fear on his face plunged a dagger of warning into my soul.

  I attempted to pull back, but the tunnel was shortening rapidly, dragging me towards Killian. Something grabbed at the back of my trousers…one of my teammates attempting to pull me back…but they lost their grip and I was torn away. I recalled Tamar’s warning: It is Castor they seek, but it did nothing to reassure me. I knew there was only one place on Earth at this time in history that could have produced a porthole like the one now drawing me in. I was about to get an inside look at the secret operations that went on deep underground at Montauk.

  ASHLEE GRANVILLE-DEVERE—SOLARIAN

  The sad news of Meridan’s abduction via a transient porthole was compounded by the fact that Levi had pursued her. There was nothing Castor or Talori could have done to prevent the incident, even if it hadn’t been over before they’d even realised what was happening.

  ‘We have enough stored Blue Flame energy in the backup generators to keep the Klieo cloaked for a few hours,’ Polaris warned. ‘But without Meridan, we have no fuel to move her.’

  ‘Without Meridan, the staff of Amenti are fucked. Period!’ Arcturus was about to lose his mind. ‘She is the Black Madonna; without her the Ring and Rod are useless! Could that be why they took her?’

  ‘They thought they were taking Castor,’ Talori pointed out.

  ‘We can only hope the Montauk Boys don’t figure out who she really is,’ Polaris added.

  ‘Is hope the best we can do?’ Arcturus barked.

  Thana placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. ‘Levi is the greatest authority we have on the operations at Montauk, and he won’t allow any harm to befall your wife,’ she assured him.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Arcturus calmed down as he realised that Thana shared his sad predicament, and he embraced her. ‘We’ll get them back,’ he vowed, and looked to Polaris, hoping that, as usual, he had a plan.

  The frown upon Polaris’s face was not reassuring, however.

  CHAPTER 19

  IRKALLA

  TAMAR DEVERE—KALI

  The gatekeeper of the fourth level of Irkalla, Unfinished Business, was getting a little tired of having to deal with me through Emmett, so he swept him away from in front of me and then leered down at me.

  This is not my archenemy, I told myself, searching for the courage to stand tall before him. He’s just another demon from my past trying to prevent my soul mission.

  ‘State your toll or move aside,’ I demanded, hoping to call his bluff so that he stopped the dramatics. In a past life I had been raped by this creature, after which I’d killed myself out of shame. I was not ashamed now, however; nor did I fear anything that tried to stop me achieving my final goal. Still, I hoped the creature did not intend to rob me of my virtue.

  The demon grinned, exposing his razor-sharp teeth, and his breath wafted over me—the smell of a thousand rotting corpses. I wanted to gag, but refrained.

  I want the ring your mother gave you, the one the time lord used to track you to me, Pintar said.

  I was taken aback, having forgotten all about the invisible ring on my finger. ‘Why do you want it?’ I asked. It was a novelty, yes, but it had no great value or function that I was aware of. It was true that it had enabled Polaris to track me, and maybe that was why the Underworld wanted to take it from me, to prevent me being tracked. That didn’t worry me; I could take care of myself.

  I could name another toll…one more intimately taxing, the creature threatened, beckoning me with its long claw-like fingers to hand the item over.

  I needed no further prompting; I’d do whatever it took to get out of this chamber intact. I gripped the ring and twisted it from my finger.

  ‘Hold on,’ Emmett said. ‘If you actually have an invisible ring, surely that’s more valuable than the treasure I carry?’

  ‘What treasure could you have, mortal?’ Pintar swung around to Emmett.

  ‘Don’t answer that!’ I ordered. The thought of handing over what was possibly my prince’s soul essence to this creature and its Underworld masters was too distressing even to consider. I thrust myself between the demon and Emmett. ‘Here’s your toll,’ I said and tossed him his prize, then gripped Emmett by the shirt and hauled him towards the huge bronze doors.

  ‘Mention your treasure once more on this journey and I’ll personally punch your lights out,’ I hissed.

  ‘I was just trying—’

  ‘To save me, I know,’ I finished for him. ‘But every time my prince tries to save me, he ends up dead, damned or lost! So just take a break! I’ll handle this
challenge on my own, if it’s all the same to you.’

  ‘If that’s your wish, I’ll stay out of your negotiations,’ he said haughtily.

  ‘Thanks. I’d greatly appreciate it.’

  The bronze doors closed behind us and plunged us into darkness again.

  We were propelled into the next chamber, where the silver walls and doors were tarnished and lustreless. The skeletal remains here were few, but their final resting poses were tortured.

  ‘I’ll just be over here then,’ Emmett said, and to make completely clear his disengagement from the situation, he pulled his portable games unit from his pocket and began playing.

  I felt this was a rather childish reaction to my request, but if it kept him out of my business, it worked for me. I approached the silver gates, waiting for the guardian to show himself.

  What do you want? moaned a voice imbued with misery.

  ‘I wish passage to Irkalla,’ I replied, trying to sound upbeat and not discouraged by the gatekeeper’s tone.

  The spirit howled, too caught up in his woes to consider mine. Go away!

  ‘Go where?’ I appealed.

  I don’t care!

  ‘Look,’ I said, ‘I can tell you’re depressed—’

  Depressed! the voice wailed. I AM depression! I have no hope, no interest, no aspirations or desires, NOTHING. I’m stuck here for all eternity, and if you can’t change my fate, why should I care if YOU rot here too? At least you’ll see some end to the monotony, and watching you decay will give me something to do.

  Listening to the gatekeeper started to make me feel depressed too. I was thinking that I should have saved my happy gun for this gate, when I heard Emmett chuckle behind me.

  ‘Yes!’ He gave a victory cry, then looked up to explain his outburst. ‘I finally cracked that level. So sorry, I’ll be quiet now.’ He returned his attention to the game but was unable to wipe the grin from his face.

  What’s that he’s doing?

  A tiny hunched-over man appeared next to Emmett. He was huddled beneath a dark hooded cloak, the putrid sleeves of which he used as a tissue.

  As I watched Emmett selling the demon on all the functions of the game machine, I had to adore him for defying my wishes and helping me out of a stalemate with this guardian. We couldn’t make the demon truly happy, but some amusement wasn’t a bad substitute.

  ‘That’s the way,’ Emmett encouraged as the gatekeeper took the game and began to play.

  Once the demon got a feel for it, Emmett slapped his shoulder. ‘Now, how about those gates?’

  You can’t leave! the demon protested, eyes glued to the screen of his new toy. How will I know what to do next?

  ‘Well, that’s the beauty of these games,’ Emmett explained. ‘What happens next is always a surprise.’

  Really? Depression sounded delighted to learn this. He was now eager for us to leave him be, and turned away from us so as not to be disturbed further. Then by all means, go! he said, and actually chuckled as the silver gates began to part.

  ‘Thank you, Emmett,’ I said as we stepped through the gateway of Depression.

  ‘Two gates to go,’ Emmett said simply. Nevertheless, I could tell he was pleased to have been of assistance.

  In a chamber of gold stood a demon in the fairly handsome personification of a man, adorned in fine robes and calm in his demeanour.

  ‘Who might this be?’ Emmett asked, curious about the nonthreatening appearance of this gatekeeper.

  ‘He is Acceptance,’ I said.

  ‘Well, that doesn’t sound too bad.’

  ‘That depends on what you’re being asked to accept,’ I replied.

  Welcome O Queen of Queens to my chamber of surrender, the gatekeeper said with a smile of greeting, or perhaps it was a challenge.

  ‘And what does Acceptance require me to surrender this day as toll to pass through the golden gates?’ I asked, getting straight to the point. I was so close to my destination I could almost smell victory. Once I got to Ill, the rest of the Nefilim would drop like flies.

  My toll is a kiss, he advised winningly.

  ‘Just a kiss?’ The request seemed too simple.

  A kiss that he must watch, he motioned to Emmett. So that he might see you for the femme fatale you are, willing to stop at nothing to achieve your goal.

  ‘This is supposed to be my toll,’ I objected.

  Your little friend chose to be involved, the guardian pointed out. So I’m involving him. The demon took the form of Killian Labontè. Do you accept my terms?

  This toll would have psychological ramifications but I felt I was prepared for them. My worry was how Emmett would see my acceptance. Ill wished to destroy Emmett’s high opinion of me, and who better to do that than the person Emmett despised most, Killian Labontè. And if I was wrong about Emmett, and Killian proved to be the soul I was looking for, a bad experience here could damage my image of him too. Ill was covering all his bases.

  Emmett spoke up to quell my fears. ‘With every humiliation you make her endure my admiration for her will only grow stronger.’

  I’m sure you’d like to think so, Acceptance quipped, and looked to me for my decision.

  I nodded silently and the demon beckoned me to approach.

  The gatekeeper may have looked like Killian, but he still smelled like a demon from the sixth plane of hell. My plan was to close my eyes and mind until it was over, but Acceptance had other ideas.

  The demon turned me about to face Emmett then pulled me back close to him. My limbs felt sedated. Even when the demon cupped his hands over my breasts, I couldn’t find the will to retaliate.

  See? the demon taunted Emmett. She likes it.

  I wanted to deny the fact, but when I tried to speak only moans of pleasure came from my mouth. The demon slid a hand between my legs and I felt so humiliated that I wanted to throw up, but I lacked the will even to do that.

  ‘You said a kiss only.’ Emmett made a move to retrieve me from the demon’s clutches.

  Accept she is a whore or you’ll never get out of here, the demon demanded, holding Emmett at bay with his power and rubbing between my legs more frantically. I groaned again, ashamed and yet exhilarated at once. I tried to focus on not being aroused by the probing of the demon’s nimble fingers, but was unable to resist, my physical pleasure aiding him in his cause to humiliate me.

  ‘Stop it!’ Emmett demanded, confused by my lack of protest.

  She doesn’t want me to stop it, do you, darling? the demon leered over my shoulder.

  ‘All right!’ Emmett said. ‘I believe you. Now let her go!’

  And leave her, a goddess, wanting? the demon taunted. That just wouldn’t be right. He licked my cheek and my stomach turned, repulsed.

  I did not want my first sexual experience to be at the hands of a demon. Summoning all my will, I turned my head and kissed the creature’s cheek, breaking his spell over me. I cast him off.

  ‘You have taken enough for a thousand tolls,’ I hissed, ready to rip him from limb to limb with my bare hands. ‘Open the damn doors!’

  Yes, surrender to your killer nature, princess, the demon advised with a grin. It will serve you well in Irkalla.

  I hated that the negative energies of this descent were getting to me, and feared what I might be provoked into doing by the time I reached Ill. If I was still entertaining these negative emotions when I confronted the Nefilim leader, love could not prevail.

  I stormed through the huge golden gates ahead of Emmett, too rattled to look him in the eye.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said as he came after me. ‘I didn’t realise you were restrained. I—’

  ‘I really should thank you for accepting the Underworld’s portrayal of me as a whore,’ I returned, ‘or I might never have broken loose.’

  I kept moving, deeply upset that he could accept such a lie about me.

  ‘But I don’t know you!’ he appealed in his own defence. ‘Not really.’

  My emotions were all o
ver the place and if I didn’t pull them into line and regain my equilibrium, all would be lost. ‘I know you don’t,’ I conceded.

  But if he really was my prince, my true love, surely he would not doubt me? The further I progressed towards Irkalla, the more I doubted that Mathu lay dormant in this boy. This was why Ill had invited me to take this journey: to test my faith in my own instincts. Whether Emmett was my prince or not, Mathu was out there somewhere, and with this knowledge I regained my inner strength.

  ‘I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goal,’ I said, confirming that much of the gatekeeper’s claim as truth.

  ‘And what is your cause, Kali?’ Emmett was curious. ‘Surely you haven’t endured all this just to save Killian Labontè?’

  The notion coaxed a laugh out of me. ‘I hardly think so.’

  ‘Then what?’

  ‘I am the Destructor of the great unreality,’ I announced loudly, so that Death might heed my approach. ‘I am Time and none can escape my all-consuming march. I am Quietus to the ignorant who fear for their lives; the ego recoils in my presence, seeing in me its own demise.’ I strode on, more confident, as the golden doors closed behind us and the passage fell into darkness. ‘I am the Blackness that awaits the deceivers of cosmic law. Demons, your liberation is nigh, for I AM.’

  Death’s chamber was constructed of the most resilient and prized metal on Earth, Orme-reinforced gold, and the walls and doors gave off their own bright illumination. There were no remains in this chamber—Death would take anyone, and as for a final toll, if nothing else one still had a soul to exchange. This made the choice of material for this chamber ironic, for an Orme addiction would also cost your eternal well-being.

  ‘So this is Death’s door,’ Emmett joked, trying to lighten the moment. ‘In one way this is an adventure beyond imagining; on the other hand I’ve never been so—’

  I clasped a hand over his mouth. ‘Never fear Death,’ I advised sternly. ‘Lest you invite his wrath upon you.’

  Emmett nodded silently, and I let him go and approached the massive Orme doors that stood between me and the courtroom of Erragal and Ereshkigal.