by Martin, CJ
It took the last step and reached the platform before the altar. The High Lady’s hands rose, stopping his advancement. As she spoke, the Nephloc lowered its head.
“Perazim! Is this Nephloc before us worthy to join your ranks?” Her voice was somehow louder than all the Perazim together.
“Show him!” came the unanimous response.
It lowered its head further and began to shake slightly.
“Nephloc, stand and disrobe.”
It did as commanded. A bony hand reached across its shoulder and tore the robe from its naked body.
“Turn around.”
As it did, the Perazim could see that this Nephloc still had far more flesh on its bones than any of the previous candidates. No Perazim voiced his surprise but the thought was rampant. What was so special about this creature to merit the honor of the Ascension? It was obvious to the Perazim witnesses that this one would fail. All other initiates had had far more experience and time to rid themselves of corruptible flesh.
The creature itself did not know why it was chosen. Nor did it know what to expect or that if it would be able to overcome. But it had survived thus far; it would not fail; there was its abiding pride that kept it from giving up.
The High Lady began shouting something unintelligible. The Nephloc did not dare to look behind or to appear nearly as frightened as it really was in front of the mighty Perazim.
As she continued to speak, her voice did not grow louder, but it did become stronger. Each word pounded into its back like a mall hammer. Even with the words tearing into it, some unnatural force held its feet fastened to the cold stone below. All the while, its torso was buffeted about with increasing ferocity.
Then, the force that held its feet to the stone released him. The Nephloc felt her words slam into it like a mighty gust of wind. It struggled in vain to gain footing and braced itself for any potential impact. It relaxed itself when it realized its own movements were futile. The wind was directing it with purpose. The Nephloc was being lifted and then pulled backward toward her. It showed no outward sign of struggle even as its mind raced with the fear that it had been able to thus far keep away.
It closed its eyes and lost all sense of balance. Which way was up? Which way was down? It did not know. Nor did it particularly care. The creature was entirely at her mercy—there was nothing to do and therefore even thinking would be a waste of time.
The bones of its shoulder blades touched first, quickly followed by the heels. The touch was a cold sensation that shot directly from bone to its brain. Its hipbone was next, followed by the lower back spine and finally its legs and head.
Although it still had its eyes closed and had no sense of direction, it knew it was flat on the altar and awaiting the final woe.
The creature felt a touch to its cheek from behind. She was caressing its longest stretch of extant skin on its body. It was gray and translucent, but it was skin. Then, it felt its ear being tickled. The High Lady was softly blowing into it. The feeling was a strange mixture of ecstasy and revulsion. The blowing soon carried a whisper with it.
“Do you want it? Do you want me?”
Its mind calculated the risks for all potential answers.
“High Lady,” it said, answering. It feared to be more specific.
“Sit up.”
Before it could move itself to obey, it felt a force lifting its shoulders up until it found itself sitting up.
It could not see the High Lady behind, but the dark guards in front were beating their chests in a constant rhythm and had fallen to one knee. It could hear a chant rising from the audience. Kull! Kull! It was in whispers. In time, the whispers became voiced. The voices became shouts. It soon feared the chamber would collapse from the sound of their voices and the beating of their chests. But there was no fear in the eyes of the Perazim in front of it. Kull! Kull!
Then it looked down. It saw—but did not feel—her hand appearing through its chest. She was behind the Nephloc and yet her clinched fist was at least six inches through its body and in front of it.
It had known what was happening, but there was not any pain or really any other sensation. It had simply understood that there had been a movement of her hand, movement through its body.
Looking down, it watched the fist turn up. She was holding something large in her hand; the object was moving. It was curious to him how it could look at its own heart and not feel anything. No pain, no morbidity, or any other sensation; nothing other than curiosity and an acceptance of pure fact.
She withdrew her hand back the way it had come, through his body.
A balance scale appeared before the Nephloc’s eyes. The Perazim shouted one last Kull! and then at once fell quiet. The beating of their chests ceased. It could hear the High Lady casually walk around. It watched as she placed the still-beating heart on one of the weighing pans. On the other pan, she placed a feather.
He noticed that from the moment she presented the feather, all the Perazim began shielding their eyes and bowing their heads low.
In the next moment, the room was filled with light. Or perhaps the light was just around him, but he could see nothing but white light.
It was a curious thing also. Instead of the expected pain, there was nothing. Not even a slight sensation. With interest, it watched the skin of its arms burn, bubble, sizzle, and then melt away. Exposed and blackened bone became white is as if bleached. This was happening all over its body, it knew this was happening, even if it could not feel anything.
Then he began to laugh; he was no longer Nephloc. He was Perazim! New Morphic flesh crawled over the exposed bleached bone.
He watched the High Lady lift her arms. She spoke to the room while his laughter continued. “Perazim, welcome your brother—Scalias, the Avenger, his name will be!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Ian, I sense new arrivals.” Sam was speaking to Ian who was halfway across the globe in search of the Temporal Maro. Sam wasn’t sure what he was sensing, but it seemed like something he had experienced before. The signatures were not Nephloc, but they were related. It was familiar and reminiscent of Kaileen’s signature, but none of them were her.
Then he remembered.
He was with Agent Cobbs and Suteko at McGregor’s apartment. They had been investigating the murderer’s past and Sam saw, through the echoes, that two Nephloc had interacted with McGregor in his apartment. But they weren’t Nephloc—at least one of them wasn’t. Something stronger and able to move—with protection—in the daytime.
“What kind of new arrivals?” Ian had rested a few hours before making contact with Sam again. Recovering from a jump was similar to recovering from the flu. His energy was depleted. It was all he could do to keep breathing. But being a Temporal, this state did not last long. He still had not regained all of his strength, but he could walk and talk.
“I’ve seen this before. There are four signatures that are similar to Nephloc.” Sam closed his eyes to try to gain new information. “Ian, I can’t be sure, but I believe they are stronger than Nephloc and not as sensitive to light. Could these be the Perazim Hikari mentioned?”
“What, boy?” Marcus and Suteko had walked in upon hearing Sam speaking to Ian. Sam quickly put the call on speakerphone.
“I’m not sure what it is, but they aren’t Nephloc.”
“Stronger and able to withstand natural light?”
“Yes. What is it Marcus?” Sam asked hoping the horrified look on Marcus’ face was somehow not indicative of these creatures’ strength. Then, as if to confirm Sam’s fears, Marcus began trembling.
“Impossible.”
Sam did not know and Suteko only had partial knowledge through legends and old stories. But Marcus knew that the reestablishment of the order of the Perazim meant danger not only to the Temporal, but for all of humanity.
“Marcus, level with us. What’s going on?”
Marcus’ left hand fumbled backward until it landed on a chair behind him. Sitting down, he lo
oked up at Sam and Suteko’s confused faces. Many miles away, Ian listened silently in the background.
“My dear children. We destroyed the Fire of Ascension over a thousand years ago. This cannot be. The Perazim cannot be recreated.” Marcus paused as if needing to catch his breath. “And yet, I know your gift speaks the truth. They are strong and unaffected by light?”
“Perazim?” asked Sam with thoughts of the men at McGregor’s apartment. “I’ve sensed a set of beings like this—somehow similar to Nephloc, but these are not Nephloc.”
“Then it is confirmed. And yet, this is not the work of Kaileen. Powerful, she is, yes, but to reignite and wield the Fire of the Ascension...No, there is someone else. It would need be one of the three. But Khan, I trust with my life, and the third, Arthimas, is no more...”
“What are these Perazim?”
Marcus’ frantic eyes snapped like a whip to face Sam. “Born from the damned. They are no longer human in any respect. The dead reanimated. They are an unnatural creation, a violation of the unchanging natural law. Cause and effect—there will be a price to pay for this.”
“You said, ‘We destroyed the Fire of Ascension.’ What is that?”
“I am one of three. The original three.” Marcus stood, turned around, and continued. “Two of us corrected the violation. The third was destroyed as a result of his betrayal. We, Temporal, were granted our gifts as well as this burden. Evil was granted theirs as a result of free will. And yet they went too far. Breeding angelic beings with humans, changing animals into sentient beings, the unnatural acts that caused the balance to require a correction…”
“Like Yin and Yang?” asked Sam.
“No. Evil is not necessary, only permitted. Humans are not automatons and therefore the choice—and the potential of evil—is ever present.” Marcus paused, lost in thought of an age and brotherhood long lost to time.
“There were three of us. But in time, it became clear only two of us were worthy of the sacred duty. We were charged with correcting that balance. The scale was uneven and laden with false weights by Arthimas. Khan and I found and extinguished the Fire of Ascension—the power that enabled the dark ones to pervert the natural laws. That done, we spent a millennia hunting down the last Perazim. Legends of the undead and shape-shifters no doubt originate from these remnants of these damned.”
Marcus bowed his head and closed his eyes.
“We completed our task and were rewarded for our service and faithfulness. But the cost was high. My brothers—all but one, dead.”
Suteko moved to place her hand on Marcus’ shoulder.
“I will say no more of the past. If the fire is truly burning once again, our singular purpose is to find it and extinguish it before more Perazim can be formed. Let us pray that not many have been created. Perazim are not Nephloc. They are not weak.”
Sam remembered Marcus’ wide eyes filled with anticipation when waiting for the Nephloc to attack Suteko. Marcus had known the attackers were no match for the Temporal and had enjoyed the uneven challenge. But that excitement was gone. His eyes were now sullen, almost defeated.
“I am truly an old man. The task before us may be beyond my strength.”
“No.” Sam’s voice was resolute. “We were given this information and we ought to do this. Therefore we will prevail. You, Marcus, taught me that ultimately, the good will triumph over evil. Do you still believe that?”
“Yes, my son, you are correct. But it may not be me completing the task. I fear that burden may fall on you to carry. There are prophetic voices that speak to my heart. The more I look at you, Sam, the more of the light from my visions do I see within you.”
Sam wondered what the old man meant. But before he could ask, Ian’s voice broke through the speaker phone.
“What are their weaknesses? How can I defeat them?”
“After much tragedy, we discovered three ways to destroy a Perazim. One, separate the brain from the area that once housed its heart. Two, pierce the brain, the only organic organ that remains. And three, fill the hole where their heart once was.”
“The hole where their heart once was?”
“Yes, Perazim are spiritually bound to the physical world. Their hearts have been removed and in its place a vacuum void of goodness. Fill that void and the supernatural evil that animates them can no longer function.”
“With what?”
“Ian, I’m afraid you are not equipped to defeat even one. Unless you have some extraordinarily sharp object that can pierce armor and then insert some substance to fill the space, get in there, save Maro, and get out. Light may startle them moments after rising from the ground, but they are not harmed by natural light. I’m afraid, brute force may be the best option. They are exceedingly strong. Do not let them get a grip on you. Perazim tend to be slow above ground as if gravity has a greater hold on them. Once they enter the earth, however, they can move and reappear swiftly.”
“Understood. Sam, where are these Perazim and where is Maro?”
“Maro is directly north of you, maybe two miles. The Perazim may be only a few minutes away from Maro. Two are east of him and two more are to the west. They are in motion, undoubtedly about to attack.”
Ian kept the line active as he broke into a fast run. He had never been able to slow time like most other Temporal and his jumping ability was not accurate in short distances—he couldn’t risk it. Besides, he had still not fully recovered from the last jump.
He felt sweat cling to his cheeks each time he pressed the clunky phone to his ear. Every few minutes, he checked in with Sam and corrected his direction.
“You are almost there—probably a couple of hundred feet,” Sam said through the tinny satellite phone speaker.
“How close are the Perazim?”
“Closer. But they haven’t attacked yet. You are right on course. There should be a clearing ahead followed by a thin row of trees. Maro should just be beyond that.”
“Understood—I’m closing the connection.” Ian was out of breath and had the information he needed. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and pull out the Beretta. He took a step and began preparing himself for the coming battle.
The Nephloc Ian had encountered in the States had been his first experience with the dark creatures. He had let his mind become clouded by a desire to protect and gain Suteko. Marcus had been right; he had acted rashly. But being in Suteko’s presence distorted his sense of duty and ability. The Nephloc had been weak and easily frightened. By Marcus’ words, these Perazim would not.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Walking non-stop for nearly twenty-four hours further weakened Maro’s injured body. He was tired—more so than he had been for a long, long time—and making poor time. At this pace, the safe house was still several days away, but that realization did nothing to change his mind. There, he would have access to a secure line. There, he would be able to contact Amato and Marcus without fear of being traced.
His clothes tattered, his body marred and stained by blood—there was little sense of searching for public transportation or even a chance to hitchhike. No one would pick him up in his current condition. He stayed clear of populated areas when possible. Some helpful citizen might report an injured, half-dazed loon in need of medical or professional help. Even a remote chance of interference was to be avoided.
A bank of pine trees separated him from a hill. He wasn’t looking forward to the climb, but it was away from the populated area of a nearby village and it was in the general direction that he needed to go. He would need to conquer that hill to get to the next road.
But his body ached.
The Temporal, Maro, stopped to rest. The thin woods had yielded a number of edible plants and mushrooms. Although his Temporal body could withstand much, the precious calories from these natural foods were few and quickly consumed by his hungry muscles. The safe house was well stocked with MREs and canned food. While not gourmet, it sounded good to a man who had been feasting solely on what n
ature provided.
The gentle incline at the base of the hill provided a natural recliner for Maro to rest. He closed his eyes and allowed the gentle breeze to kiss life into his skin.
Then he heard a noise.
It came from his left. His eyes shot open. He saw a small grouping of trees. He pretended like he hadn’t heard it, but he knew what it was. Kaileen’s spies had found him. He had been so careful and yet he knew she probably had thousands of spies looking for him and it would only be a matter of time. He had slipped from her own hands. This was personal. As a matter of pride, Maro knew that she would be most insistent on finding him.
But it was daytime. He relaxed slightly. Even if Marcus was right and the enemy had suddenly grown bold, the Nephloc couldn’t survive direct natural light. He was safest exactly where he was. The open space and current angle of the sun meant he was receiving the full brunt of light. Even the shadow of trees wouldn’t be enough to protect a Nephloc from the light. He would rest, press on, and be at the safe house soon enough.
He relaxed more, allowing his overdriven muscles a chance to rest. It had probably only been an animal. But then he heard a different sound from the opposite direction. As if in conversation, a soft bellowing hum responded from the left again. That, in turn, was answered by a similar sound from the right. Whatever it was, it appeared to be intelligent and nearby.
In an instant, Maro was on his feet and taking to the top of the hill. If he was under attack, he was intent on gaining the elevation advantage first. There were fewer trees up there, allowing more sun and less shade.
His mind raced. What other creature could be under Kaileen’s control? Could some new Nephloc be shielded against natural light? Or perhaps these were wild beasts under her spell. Whatever it was, Maro was not keen on allowing it to attack him unprepared.
“Come out and show yourselves!” Maro’s voice was loud and authoritative. He had climbed a sufficient altitude to assure he would at least have some form of advantage.
