The Necronists

by J M Bannon

  At the main control panel, he nursed the dynamo to life and charged the reanimation capacitors. Here again, he needed to rely on his artistry and genius. He knew the numbers and timing for bringing a meat puppet to life using bovine life force, but this was more subtle and sophisticated. The human life in the ampule needed to reanimate and rejuvenate, he worried that it would not be enough. It hit him to use the animal spirit to augment the ichor. He went to the cabinet where the animus was stored and trickled this in then jolt the chamber with the human life while infusing the chambers. His tension raised as he thought what it would take to cut into piping and do the work to put a dual infusion chamber, "Cross connect the reanimation systems," he said out loud with the first tingle of something going his way.

  Here the lab had redundancies and multiple systems, so the Order could experiment. He could cross-link two chambers and the ichor volume would double. This would allow him to create a slower, low current introduction of the animal spirit then hit Lilith with a shock of the supercharged human life-force. He increased the capacitor charging and while that ramped up he opened valves to a second system to cross connect them. Hume then placed the ampule of animal spirit into the infusion chamber. He was scrambling from one task to the next; a normal reanimation had several acolytes assisting, he was only one man now trying to force two reanimation systems to operate together.

  He upped his ichor recipe to deal with the increased volume then threw the switch to induce the animus and act as a carrier for the human life. The Guild Master was an Adept, not a natural like Saint-Yves, but he grasped the savage magic they learned in the jungle those many years past and was at his best when controlling the flow of the eldritch energy, through his mechanized processes. The time was right, he could sense the convergence of science and magic under his control, and not operating as a weak father who just lost his daughter, but a Guild Master, the leader of the White Wyrding and the arbiter of life and death. With this he threw the switch driving all the capacitors through the cell, blasting the chamber with electrical current and the coalesced energy that was once a human life.

  The force was so powerful that through the glass window of the chamber he could see the energy eddy through the ichor. Lilith's body shuddered by the jolt of energy.

  The body convulsed, lurching in response to the energy coursing through the fluid. She spun in another fit thrusting against the glass, he saw her eyes open and in a natural reaction to being brought back to life, gasp for air but there was no air only the black conductive substance.

  22

  Friday the 29th of March

  8:32 p.m. The Necronist Laboratory under Monastère de la Prairie vallonnée

  She was drowning in blackness. Not the limbo she had been banished to, the senseless disconnection from all life, but thrashing in a thick black soup; she could see a faint light and tried to move towards it. At first gasp, her lungs were exposed to the thick fluid she was immersed in, it tasted awful and burned her lungs and eyes. Something was very different, she had a sensation, the feeling of moving a mortal form. A mortal form in danger of drowning. As she pressed toward the light, she broke the surface of a black ichor and gasped for air, coughing up the liquid. Her throat and lungs on fire.

  She felt her body and raised her hand to her face wiping the fluid, then noticed her white skin. A sense of panic set in as Angelica tried to piece together what had happened. She recollected the horrific pain inflicted upon her in the London townhouse as the Necronists attacked her, then nothing; a long sleepless nothing the closest a mortal could experience would be trapped in the twilight of wake and sleep at the edge of a night terror.

  The panic increased as she realized the situation. She was locked in some type of small tube or coffin filled with the black fluid that engulfed her.

  The top of the tube opened, and she was pulled out onto a cold grating that scratched her naked body. It had been so long since she had felt pain or any other physical sensation.

  "Lilith, you are alive, try to breathe," She recognized the voice but not the name.

  Looking at the man who was helping her out of the tube, it was Arno Hume, the Necronist who had visited with her with Gerrard Saint Yves in the Haitian jungle. "Arno? -Where am I?" her voice cracking.

  "You are in my Laboratory, below the Dairy, just relax you will be all right," Her eyes stung trying to see him he was wiping the black goo from her eyes and mouth.

  Arno Hume. He was much older now, it had been decades since she had seen him. He was weeping, overjoyed at his accomplishment, "What were you doing in Paris, Lilith? I told you that city was dangerous and you … you were …”

  "I wasn't in Paris, I was in London. You are being a fool, Hume; it is I, Angelica," said Lilith with her Haitian accent.

  The man fell back in shock letting go of her, causing Angelica to slip back into the black soup. As she sank, she could feel the remnants of her spirit and the other eldritch energies in the ichor. She drank it in through her skin and her energy points, in her minds' eye she could feel the power course she was hungry for more.

  Angelica grabbed the edge and pulled herself out of the rejuvenation tube. She swung her legs out to sit on the edge, looking down at her body and saw that her spirit was now connected to the form of a young white girl. Angelica centered her breathing, her internal body sensations returned, and the sensitivity of the deep bruises and broken bones with every breath.

  "You are Lilith Hume, my daughter. You were killed in an automotive accident in Paris, and I have just resurrected, you, my darling," said Arno, emphatically.

  My ribs hurt, she thought, then voiced, "Where am I? I think my ribs are broken."

  "I told you, my child. You are below the monastery in my laboratory, I will get you back to our home,” said Hume.

  "Arno, I do not know what you're talking about, what do you mean our home?" said Angelica.

  "But you recognize me, you call me by my name. You know I am your father,"

  Angelica centered herself to stop the swirling of emotion and information from overcoming her. She was the Hougan, the Voodoo Queen and needed to tap back into her power by centering on her physical form.

  Angelica placed her hand in the black fluid and drew out the residual life-force. Closing her eyes, she uttered her voodoo incantations pulling the life from the fluid into her. Under her command, the last traces of life-force moved out of the fluid and into this new body. She imagined it going to each and every cell and healing the wounds of the body she now possessed.

  "My God, Lilith you, you are healing," praised Hume.

  Angelica looked at her side and watched the gash close up. She just stared at her pale, white skin. "Arno, I do not know what you have done to me. "

  "Lilith, I have brought you back from the dead. You stupid girl, I told you to stay here on the farm, but you defied me and went to Paris against my wishes. I forgive you, of course, I know you are in shock and don't remember but you were run over by a truck in the streets of Paris."

  Angelica was furious with him and the rage had no limit, it flooded over her. "No, Hume you are the idiot. Your compatriots murdered me in London and you have brought me back from beyond."

  Angelica stood up in her new body, it was making sense now, this was not the body she was born into. She was born into servitude, her mother a house slave and concubine to her father, a wealthy Portuguese slaver and plantation owner in Haiti. Hume's Necronists had interceded her plans for revenge against her brothers and then, nothing. Just the cold blackness.

  Her flashback was interrupted by a coughing fit, the black ichor in her lungs needed to come out. It turned to retching as the fluid choked her. Angelica resisted the vomiting and relaxed opening her throat, then willed the fluid out. The putrid black ooze followed her command and flowed out; a sheen of fluid covered her body, coalescing in a pool on the floor.

  "What have I done?" asked Hume. Angelica saw his confusion turning to terror. Crouching down she took his face in her hand to loo
k him in the eye. "Arno, you should be proud you have achieved the goal of your Brotherhood and raised the dead. You have resurrected me, this body, the body of the daughter you found so precious is now the vessel of Mamma Moya, Queen Angelica the successor of all Voodoo Hougans," as Angelica spoke she became louder, her tone maniacal, "Oh Arno, If you only knew the liberation, how this ordeal has given me clarity, power, certainty, and now back here to finish what I had started." All the time she spoke the black fluid flowed and pulsed, resonating with her words.

  "But, my Lilith, how can this be?" sobbed the Guild Master.

  Hume and Angelica were polarizing. The woman becoming more powerful, clear-headed and confident while the man who resurrected her was crumbling into a feeble, mumbling mess.

  Angelica looked beyond, beyond Hume, the room, this world. Her vision pierced the veil of the material world and penetrated beyond into the aether, whilst watching Lilith's life- force receding further and further from the mortal realm. Lilith's spirit form flitted away but first looked back meeting Angelica's eyes. The Voodoo Queen understood, "Worry not, your daughter now travels as she always wished. Your attempts to tie her to this plane and keep her cloistered in the countryside did not protect her. Today is a day to be celebrated Father, because while you lost one daughter you have brought another into this world," As Angelica spoke she willed the ichor to her. The fluid oozed to her command and drew up around her body, more of the Eldritch soup flowed out of the resurrection chamber to her feet and flowed up around her taking the shape of a fitted gown. It changed from black to the most brilliant white, finally taking on exquisite detail in the fabric, silk with intricate embroidered skirt panels and layered lace on the bodice. "Thank you, Arno. I know the pain you feel, I am a parent too, and I must also go to the aid of my child,"

  The body of Lilith Hume, possessed by the Voodoo Queen Angelica calmly walked away and out of the laboratory. As she left, she gave the room a parting glance and saw Hume crumpled on the floor with a bewildered look. She said nothing, just walking off into the cavern.

  23

  Friday the 29th of March

  8:40 p.m. The Ready Room of the Peregrine

  Just off of the bridge, was the Captain's ready room where Captain Falk would meet with her crew to gather the daily reports. Inside it looked like a company boardroom in the City of London. Rose stood as did the Guild Master. Dolly sat beside her in and front of him lay the Henry rifle Dolly bought at Prichard’s She was sifting through the articles she usually brought when investigating to be fully prepared for the outcome. Attached to the belt was the Rod of Raziel, her tool wrap, tincture box, and other gadgets to assist with her paranormal investigation. Around her neck she wore a lace choker with an amulet to protect against mind control, her scrying goggles sat atop her head and her crimson warding jacket was slung over the chair next to Dolly. While stylish and modern, its true purpose was not protection from the elements of weather, rather its lining was sewn from the threads and pieces of the shrouds of Saints to keep away the chill of evil. She glanced down at Dolly who held up the apotropaic amulet he had on his watch fob.

  "You worried about becoming a mind slave?" asked Gerrard Saint Yves, pointing at Dolly's amulet.

  "I know your lot is capable of it and you've tried it on me before so why not be prepared," replied the Detective.

  "I don't expect there to be trouble, Ms. Caldwell, so I am unsure why you're bringing all that… stuff,"

  "Guild Master, we are going in as investigators of criminal activity, as the lead Metaphysicist, I will observe the scene and collect evidence. There seems to be some need of yours that we should trust you. Trust has nothing to do with our determination of who is using this device to kill and eliminate the threat to the public now and for future occurrences. If you can help us to that end, excellent. That will be weighed against your past behavior which includes trying to subdue Detective Williamson and Burton while investigating a crime scene," Rose said with a stern demeanor but then a smile came to her face. "So, tell us why we are going to the French countryside?"

  "The Monastère de la Prairie Vallonnée is a cloistered property where every Necronist begins his training."

  "Death Cult University," chimed Dolly. Rose looked over to see him filling his pipe.

  "This is where all Initiates are educated and tested for tracks within the Order. The site also serves two other purposes. It is a working dairy farm and a research facility. Guild Master Hume lives there; he operates the creamery and leads the research team."

  "I ask that you observe and let me pursue this matter with Arno. If he is behind the use of the soul siphon to collect lives, then I will allow you to handle the matter as you see fit. Let me caution you that if he is, then my Order will look to impart our own justice." Saint Yves pronounced.

  "Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do with that comment? That's why I don't trust you, not because you're some tight-lipped, black-shrouded Necronist, Christ I hang out with her; it's because you talk out of both sides of your mouth and I understand that regardless of the side it's usually shit you're talking," Dolly spouted.

  Gerrard took a step back, "to clarify if he is the culprit do what you must for justice but if the Order judges him in violation of the covenant they will not permit his soul to pass beyond as his punishment. While the Crown and the Emperor may decide that his time on earth has ended if the Order judges him guilty we will do everything in our power to assure that if there is a noose around his neck in England or the guillotine above it in France that his soul will be obliterated."

  "What is it with you people, that you would exact such a harsh punishment?" asked Rose. She couldn't fathom why there was no forgiveness or second chance in the hereafter.

  "When the Order first began its work around the science of life and death, we thought it would be welcomed with open arms. We would provide people with the truth and illuminate what was on the other side. What we didn't understand was that our work challenged current conventions of religion and others in power; the backlash almost wiped out the Order. Many of us were hunted as heretics, like other scientists who challenged conventions we thought truth and reason would rule the day, but it was not the case. In those early days before Napoleon came to power, our teaching was seen in direct conflict and we saw more incidents of our members being persecuted. I know as one who led missions to spread our teaching I had my share of ridicule and attacks.

  When we discovered how to collect and manipulate the spirit energy, we knew this would be too shocking and challenging to existing convention. So, we denied the rumors to keep our secrets safe, but with this power, the power of life and death we needed to set up a system to safeguard rogue members from destroying what the Order become. Therefore, our most sacred tenant is the division of power over the collection storage and application of the life force. Since this is the ultimate power over mortality we need to have a decisive penalty for failure in responsibilities when wielding that power.

  "It also kept you in the inner circle from killing each other. No honor among thieves so you set up a system to have each others backs or face the wrath of the group,” said Dolly

  "You make us sound like a criminal gang," replied Gerrard.

  "Well mate, you might not want to say it outright, that your lot has found the fountain of youth, but don't forget I saw what the Haitian did to you in London. You left that townhouse looking forty years older and yet here you are, all spry again; I would argue looking even younger than you did the first time we met," observed the Detective. "You don't have to be a Mechanist savant to figure out you're safe under the wing of a ninety-year-old Monarch who looks to be in his sixties," added Rose. She waited for a response from the Guild Master, who gave none.

  "Rose, he all but just said he won't confirm or deny. Anyway, I hear what you're saying, you'll let us arrest Hume and put him on trial. If he is found guilty of the crime, you will let the Crown exact justice, but if your clan decides he has broken your rules, you will carr
y out your own due process." Confirmed Dolly.

  "I know you find it hard to accept but we believe in the rule of law and order," Saint Yves paused in thought. "Let's talk about that night in the Townhouse. You two are certain I went there to kill Angelica, but that is not the case. I wanted to stop her from her rampant killing spree, but my true desire was to ask her to join me back in France. This was personally motivated, yes, she could teach the Order, but I wanted her back in my life. Arno and I first met her in Haiti when we trained with her, and I became her lover. When you shot Seer Thomas back in London, I could not have been more pleased.

  Regarding justice in the Order of the Necronist Guild, Seer Thomas disobeyed me and as he died of his wound from your shot, I took everything he could ever be for all eternity, just as he plunged the dagger into her. I waited at his bedside and at the moment of his passing I did the same to him and collected his soul and gave it to the Wyrding of the Collected," Gerrard looked to Rose, then Dolly after his admission.

  "Well, mate tell us what we are getting into, so you nor I end up shooting or stabbing any more of your fold," said Dolly.

  “When we get there, we will go below ground to a natural cave system, where we built a research facility within. To prepare you for what you will see and avoid questions or bickering with my Brotherhood nearby, you will need to understand what is going on there. The work being done is purely research; they draw life energy from livestock, we call it Animus. We then test to see if we can reanimate and sustain life with that energy. We are looking for a way to sustain human life from this energy,"