She swallowed the pill and closed her eyes. Lexi fell asleep to the feeling of Ryan’s hands gently stroking her hair.
The second day of the trip brought smooth blue seas, without the swells that had taken Lexi down the night before. Ryan stopped the boat and he joined Abraham on the back deck. “Hey Abraham, I think we ought to pull in right after sunset, so we need to kill a little bit of time out here or it will be too early.”
He pulled one of the rugged looking equipment boxes out and opened it up. “I want to check out a couple of the weapons.” Lexi walked out from the interior and joined them. “Hey Lexi. You look like you are feeling better. Did you finally get your sea legs?”
“I’m feeling much better. Sorry about that, and thanks for taking care of me. Oh and by the way, I’m a sympathy puker. So don’t expect me to hold anyone’s hair out of the way for them if they are going to be throwing up.”
Lexi nodded to Ryan’s weapons. “It looks like you’re going to be doing some shooting. Where’s the target?”
“I was wondering that myself. Anyone have any ideas for targets?”
“Ryan, why don’t you look around out here while Lexi and I take a peek inside?” Abraham and Lexi started snooping around the rows of cabinets and storage areas, until Abraham pulled a box out of the closet. “Now, that’s something you don’t find every day.”
“What did you find, Abraham?”
“Well, it appears that Ryan’s friends were prepared for one hell of a party. This is an entire case of condoms.”
“I guess they were feeling pretty ambitious!”
“Yes, of course.” Abraham laughed, “You want to know something, Lexi? Ryan really cares for you. I can see that very easily. Whenever you are together you two just radiate a sense of bliss that isn’t often seen. I saw that same magic with your parents and I really hope things work out for the two of you.”
“I do too Abraham, but am I enough? Will I be enough to keep him from being the lone wolf who is always roaming the world looking for danger and excitement? It could go either way with him, I’m afraid.”
“Yes. A man like Ryan is an adventurer, but all of life is an adventure. It doesn’t always have to be jumping out of an airplane and into a firefight to feel a passion for living.”
Abraham looked at the box and then tossed it aside as he thought about what Lexi had said. “You know something? You are an adventurous spirit yourself, Lexi. Maybe you both need that in your lives. Maybe you can find it together.”
Just as Abraham finished his sentence, Ryan walked through the door wearing a holster that carried a pistol. He noticed the box that Abraham had tossed aside. “Hey Abraham, what’s this?”
“A lifetime supply of condoms.”
“Perfect. I could really use these right about now.”
Lexi’s mouth hung open in dismay as she watched Ryan pull a condom pack out of the carton and rip the foil wrapper open with his teeth. Only one syllable droned from her throat. “Uh.”
Abraham interjected. “Now that’s what I like to see. A man with confidence and determination.”
Ryan walked outside to where he had his weapons laid out. Abraham and Lexi followed behind him like a pair of curious puppies. He lifted up a semi-auto pistol and unrolled the condom over the pistol’s slide and barrel.
“There! Now that pistol has some protection.”
Abraham and Lexi doubled over in laughter at the very sight. “What’s so funny? It keeps the saltwater, sand, and any dirt from getting into the barrel and slide. When I shoot it the bullet will bust right through it, no problems.”
“Nothing ruins the mood like a busted condom when you’re unloading.” Abraham joked and then Lexi joined him in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
“Alright, alright, I get it. Well we could also blow up some of them like balloons and have targets.”
“Or, we could use some of these inflatable beach balls and other things I’ve found.” Lexi held up new beach balls, still in the clear plastic packaging. Everyone readily agreed, and soon they had brightly colored targets floating in the water behind the yacht. “So what is with the weapons, Ryan? Level with us here. You are expecting some trouble. It’s pretty obvious.” Lexi walked up to the display of weapons and picked up one of the pistols.
“Alright. Right before we left Haifa, Ben gave me some news from what his contact had observed. Kate has been busy crossing the Syrian border back and forth. She was seen traveling with a group of heavily armed thugs. I just don’t know who. I’m pretty sure she isn’t on a tour with a church group. I think it would be best if you and Abraham stay on the boat once we dock, and let me go and pull her out of there by myself. I can bury the amulet also. I won’t be able to do any of that if I am too busy protecting you two.”
Lexi looked over the pistol and walked toward the edge of the boat. “You mind if I give it a try, Ryan?”
“Ah, sure. But let me show-” He spoke, just as Lexi instantly assumed a perfect close-quarters combat stance. Her feet were positioned apart from each other and her knees were slightly bent. She appeared to be in a partial crouch. Both of her arms were out in front of her, and her elbows were bent. Her hands firmly gripped the pistol, which she had pointed out toward the sea. Two loud gunshots punctuated Ryan’s sentence. Out in the water, the farthest two beach balls laid helplessly deflated from Lexi’s expert assault. Ryan looked at Abraham and then back to Lexi. “Wow! Good shooting, Lex.”
Lexi turned to Ryan. “I’m going with you, Ryan...and I’ll be carrying this. If you guys would like a Judo demonstration, we can do that also. Back home in Montana, my skills are legendary.” She spun around, and with four more shots, she deflated four more of the targets that had drifted sixty yards away. Abraham was awestruck and only mumbled. “Holy Cats.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jakub awoke to the sound of a loud knocking at his door. Somewhere among the distant backstreets a dog sounded an alarmed bark. He reached over to his bedside table and pulled the small digital clock a few inches closer. The blurred red numbers became clearer to him as the rapping noise repeated.
Who could this be at midnight? “Hold on!” He shouted in Hebrew to the unknown visitor. Jakub sat up on the bed and shuffled his feet to find his slippers in the dark room. He slowly walked to the doorway of the front room and turned on the switch by the wall. Jakub growled when he realized the door had not been locked after his visitors had left. A voice from behind the door called back. “Doctor Meier? Hello?” It was a female voice. The accent was American. “Oh, please come in.” Just as he finished his words he remembered that Lexi had a British accent, not the American one that he heard from the voice. The door opened and a young woman about the same age as Lexi entered, quickly pushing the door closed behind her. Jakub didn’t recognize the smiling girl with loose red curls. Her red dress had a very revealing low cut.
Her tone was mockingly pleasant as if she were talking to a small child. “Hello Jakub. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
“Who are you? I don’t know you.”
“Maybe JAKUB wouldn’t remember me. No. You’ve been a very bad boy, Jakub. Giving away my amulet like it was nothing, tsk tsk. Did Shandor try to stop you?”
“Shandor? Shandor is dead. I saw his body. In Warsaw. I-”
The woman put her hand out and uttered a forceful command. “Shandor! Come forth. Shandor!” Jakub’s face went blank and his features drooped. Within a minute he was revived. “Shandor. You don’t recognize this body, but I assure you it is I.”
“Marcella!” The voice of Shandor spoke from Jakub’s body. “Marcella, I am sorry. When you put me in the body of the boy Jakub, I couldn’t stop his spirit. He is very strong. I—I tried. He finally locked me away when he gave away the amulet.”
“You are such a fool Shandor, and you will be a bigger fool if you try to deceive me. You had one job Shandor. One job. When you found the amulet in the desert so long ago I told you to guard the amulet and to b
e prepared to bring it when you were told. You abused it. You used magic that you didn’t understand and you let Jakub throw it away. Listen to me now the time is coming, soon. Finally it will be time for the alignment of the star of Inana and the stars of The Seven.”
“Yes. I know. A woman named–”
“Silence Shandor. I know about the woman named Lexi. I know that she has brought the amulet here.” Marcella sat down and spoke quietly. “I’ve been watching the girl Lexi. I’ve been with her in this body, and she knows me as Marcie. I took this body to get close to her because as the cycle of the stars took their first steps to the alignment, I was drawn to her. I felt her connection to the amulet. Now I can understand why I let her live. Is she with her protector still? The man named Ryan Kidd?”
“Yes, he is taking her and they also have an old Rabbi who knows about many ancient things.”
“Ancient things? Ha! How can he know what happened so long ago. Even I cannot. You call me Marcella, but that is the name of the woman I took when my spirit finally found a place to rest after drifting on the wind for so long going from body to body. So many years that I don’t even remember the name I was given when I first walked this earth. I only know that I’m in the service of my master. I serve her dark needs until the alignment when we will destroy her enemy The Seven, and the Seven Witches of The Seven.”
“Tell me, who is your master?”
“My master is Lilitu.”
Shandor feigned ignorance. He did not want to alert Marcella to the truth of the matter. “Lilitu?” Shandor was in a precarious situation. He continued to withhold information from Marcella. He wished that he could have succeeded when he almost trapped the demon on the Polish border so many years ago.
“Yes, you probably know her by the name of Lilith. The demoness of the darkness. The demoness who screeches in the night and feeds her hatred with the bitterness of man. I am her servant, powerless against her will and you Shandor, are my servant. We must get the amulet. You will need a new body for our journey. Wait here until I return.”
Marcella slipped away through the door and as soon as Shandor was sure that she had left, he sat down on the bed. Jakub? Jakub? I know that you are in here with me. When the monster returns I will be leaving you. If you wish to save your soul, you must do something. You must stay quiet and let your body lie still. Do not resist anything. I will implore her to leave this place with me. Remember what I once said, that sometimes you have to play dumb? Dumb like a fox. That has helped me many times.
Marcella walked down the street and looked at the few people still out at the late hour. Hmm what should I find for Shandor? If I have to travel with the old fool, I might as well get him into something nice. A little exotic perhaps? I ought to put him in the body of a woman to punish him for being so incompetent. No, I think I would rather have a nice hunk of man to play with if I feel like. I have this nice young body for now. I might as well have some fun.
A young man caught her eye. He was walking up the sidewalk from the port.
There. That one. I think he would be perfect. Marcella strategically sat down on a bench and waited for the man to walk by.
Ben had just left the port area and was making his way up to the hilltop nightlife district. A girl like Ryan had found, that’s what Ben wanted. Someone real. Someone who wasn’t afraid to just be herself. There on a bench just a few yards in front of him, he saw a beautiful young woman in red. Her copper curls rolled down on her bare shoulders and he couldn’t resist stopping to say hello. “Hey there. You aren’t from around here, are you?”
The girl looked up at first and smiled when she saw the owl perched on the nearby lamp post. She looked at Ben. “No, actually I’m a little lost, and I think I may have sprained my ankle. Would you mind helping me up the hill?”
“An American! Wow! Sure, it would be my pleasure.” Ben leaned down and extended his arm for her to grab onto. Marcella took his arm and he gently pulled her up. The instant that she touched him, she began whispering a spell and in moments Ben was completely under her control. They walked up the hill together and into Jakub’s house.
Marcella opened the kitchen window and looked around the house, quickly finding exactly what she needed. “Shandor! Come here.” She tilted Ben’s head to the side, exposing the large artery on his neck. Ben was powerless, not a single muscle in his body could heed his silent pleas. He helplessly watched in horror as he saw her lift the blade over his neck and uttered a short chant in a strange language.
With a lightning quick jab, she punctured his artery. A crimson stream shot out like a macabre fountain that sprayed Ben’s blood through the kitchen. Marcella placed her open mouth over the wound to let the warm liquid fill her. She stopped the spurting rupture with her finger. Her human body gained nothing from this form of food, but Marcella was after something much more nourishing to her master. Mankind had an infinite supply of hate, fear, envy, and cruelty. Some humans had less, some had more, but each one held the precious poison deep in their soul. Each human that walked the earth had the ability to provide Lilitu with dark energy that she so desperately craved.
The owl had followed them to the house and flew in through the window that Marcella had opened for it. It transformed into the creature that Shandor had seen many years before. Its wings spread to an enormous size and shimmered as if they were covered in tiny diamonds. “Come master. I offer you this blood.”
The great wings wrapped around Ben and Marcella. The hideous creature opened its gaping jaws and gnashed dozens of razor sharp teeth in anticipation of a fresh meal. Marcella removed her finger from Ben’s neck, letting the blood gush into the mouth of the monster. The creature quickly drank its fill before shifting back into the owl, and making a speedy departure. The stream of blood clotted into a gooey mass on Ben’s neck. Marcella put her hand on the body of Jakub. She chanted a spell and the spirit of Shandor passed quietly to the body of Ben.
Jakub stumbled back into his room and collapsed on the bed motionless, just as Shandor had advised. Marcella wiped the blood from her face and looked at his new strong and healthy body. “Much better, Shandor. The time is close and we have no time to waste. We need to be on our way to the ancient place tonight.”
“How will we make it before the others?”
“You forget that I still know much of the old magic. We have time for one more thing.”
She forcefully pushed the body of Ben to the ground. Lilitu had received her nourishment and now it was Marcella’s turn to get what she needed.
Marcella tugged and pulled at the tight pants that covered what she wanted, what she desired. It had been far too long since she let her need, her power, take over. What better way to sate herself than with a young, virile male.
It had been many decades since Shandor felt the pleasures of a woman, but truth be told he had no desire to bed Marcella. However, this body had cravings of its own and quickly responded to her need.
Shandor looked back into the bedroom and saw Jakub laying there, shaking from everything he had just witnessed. Rest now my old friend. Your nightmare is over and mine is just getting warmed up.
He probed the memories of the body he now occupied and realized who Ben was and his relationship with Ryan and the others. Shandor had to figure out a way to use this to his advantage.
Chapter Fifteen
It was late afternoon and the sun was now behind them as the yacht cruised through the calm waters toward the Turkish coast. Ryan sat back in the comfortable chair at the controls of the yacht and silently calculated the time left before they would arrive at the port. Abraham was in the other seat, engrossed in a book. “Well Abraham, five hours and we’ll be tied up in port.”
“Excellent!” Abraham looked at Ryan and noticed how he seemed to be thinking about something more than controlling the boat. “I wouldn’t worry too much, Ryan. I seriously doubt there will be any problems with Kate. When I met her she seemed very level headed and dedicated to her work. She would be the las
t person to get mixed up with criminals.”
“Oh, I wasn’t thinking about Kate. Not at all.”
“Then of course, you are thinking about Lexi. Talk to me boy, I’m a good listener.”
“I am thinking about her. I guess I’m just sorting out some things in my head. You know, for the longest time I’ve been chasing after what lies beyond the horizon. For the last year or so I’ve been kind of re-evaluating where that has taken me.”
“Ah, yes. You are wondering if maybe it’s time to settle down. You may feel that way now, but you have to ask yourself a question. Can you do it without longing for the adventurous life you’ve led before?”
“Well, I know for certain that it’s time for a change. I’m excited now about a new kind of adventure. It’s no secret to you, I suppose. I’m really thinking about how I would like to just drop everything and ask Lexi if she would want to be with me. To live our lives together. The thing is, I’ve never been very good at any sort of commitment in a relationship, until I met her. This is the only part of me that lacks confidence and experience. With Lexi, everything is completely new. I’m like an open book. I have no qualms about letting her in. Will that change? Will I start to clam up and push her away like I’ve done with everyone else?”
“Ryan, what you don’t realize is that you have already changed by letting Lexi into your heart. It may be unchartered waters for you, but you’re not in this alone. She feels the same way about you. What’s the slogan? Just do it. She is waiting for you to ask.”
“I think so too, Abraham. The thing that is stopping me is that I have to consider the fact that I don’t know if she has reached the point where I am at. I know she might feel that way right now, but look at how things are going in her life. She just moved out to her own house. She has her own business, and she needs to experience life on her own terms. I feel like I would alter all of that for her somehow. After all, I was kind of a wild card that she was dealt. If somehow her own dreams faded away—well that would break my heart. I think she would always resent it and quite possibly me. Don’t you think so? I’m thinking it would be better if we just try to keep enough distance between us so she can keep on with her dreams.”
Conjuring Darkness Page 18
