by Gene Curtis
She nodded as she took a bite.
He continued, saying to the waiter, “What she’s having.”
“Make that two,” said Mr. Young, “except make mine a cherry hot chocolate.”
Mr. Diefenderfer said, “We have vowed... to drink hot chocolate... every morning, in order... to remind us how... important you are to... the fight against Benrah.”
Mr. Young added, “It also reminds us how helpless we were and how we counted on you to rescue us.”
Mrs. Shadowitz lifted her cup and said, “Coconut flavored, it was without a doubt a very humbling experience.”
Mark shook his head.
Nick’s voice came through his communicator ring, “Mark.”
He held the ring up and said, “In the Oasis, we’re having breakfast with Mrs. Shadowitz.”
“Glad you’re back. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be right here.” He looked at the others and said, “Nick is on his way.”
Mrs. Shadowitz said, “He has been working hard to recover what he could from the servers.”
Richard Hall entered The Oasis and walked up to the stage. He addressed Mark, grinning ear-to-ear, “I was hoping you’d be here. We have made a very interesting find.”
Mark motioned him up on stage.
When he sat, he handed Mark a folder. “The ifrit has proven very useful. So far, we’ve penetrated a few thousand bubbles, but that’s not the half of it. We’ve entered an area that looks like it was previously occupied.”
“Dinosaurs?”
“Pueblo or Hopi. I’ve brought in an archeological team to study it.”
A waiter came to the base of the stage and asked Mr. Hall, “Can I get you some breakfast?”
“No thanks, I’ve already had breakfast.”
Mark asked, “How big are we talking?”
“An entire village at least, maybe as big as a small town. And here’s the kicker, they are all lighted with glowing stones, hundreds of rooms, maybe a thousand, maybe even more than that. And the entire area seems to be ventilated, but we haven’t figured out where or how yet.”
“It does sound exciting. I’ll check it out later today.”
Mr. Hall stood just as Nick, Chenoa, Ricky and Tony entered. “Great, I’ll see you there.”
Nick led the group on stage.
Mark asked, “How much were you able to recover?”
“Some, but the pressure wave from the blast warped most of the disks. The data on the servers was totally destroyed. Fortunately, I created backup files a month ago. We still have everything that’s really important.”
He had no doubt in Nick’s abilities and foresight; he almost took it for granted. It was at this moment that he realized that. “Nick, it would be easy for me to just say, great work, but that wouldn’t express how valuable you are to this team. If I ever seem to take you and your abilities for granted, please slap me upside the head. Having said that: you did great, as always.” He looked at the others, “That goes for all of you.”
Everyone chuckled.
Chenoa asked, “Are we going to retaliate?”
“No. We’re going to strengthen our defenses and wait for God to show us what’s next. I know our headquarters were just annihilated and that was devastating to all of us, however, I can, on occasion, take a hint. That wasn’t where our headquarters was supposed to be. I’m going out this afternoon to look at the new site. I’d like my captains to come with me.”
Ricky said, “I’ll notify everyone. Salina is in LA working with Sharon on the movie. Do you want her to come?”
“Any of my support staff that wants to come is welcome to.” He turned his gaze, “That includes you, Tony.”
“Thanks, I’d love to.”
“Wear comfortable shoes, Mr. Hall says they’ve opened a few thousand bubbles, and Chenoa, I think you’ll be interested in the most recent discovery they’ve made. It’s an ancient underground village, probably Hopi or Pueblo.”
She smiled, “May I bring my father? He knows most of the old verbal history.”
“Sure, I think he’ll be an asset.”
Ricky asked, “Do you have any idea where we should hold the graduation ceremony?”
“Let’s set it up on the ruins of the citadel. We’ll do the pass in review first; then I’ll inspect them. I’ll need to see the eyes of every one of them. Then we’ll have the presentation of awards followed by dinner. Set up a stage to elevate all the award recipients above the crowd. Set a table in the middle so my captains and I can eat with them.”
Chenoa said, “We should do a flyover at some point.”
Nick said, “There should be fireworks.”
Mrs. Shadowitz said, “I think we can do that and we can supply the tables, wait staff and such.”
Tony asked, “Should there be a dance or something afterward?”
Mark said, “A formal graduation ball, good idea. I think it should be the evening before. See if Utman’s Chocolate can supply enough for a hundred thousand people.”
Mrs. Shadowitz said, “The culinary arts department can provide the hors d'oeuvres.”
Mark said, “It sounds like a plan. Ricky, you’ll coordinate in Salina’s absence.”
“My pleasure.”
* * *
After breakfast, everyone went their separate ways. Mark went to his room, cleaned up, changed clothes and remanifested to the stables. His guards with their own mounts and The General were waiting for him in front of the Emerald Tribe stables.
He held up a pear, his horse’s favorite fruit and the animal gobbled it down. “Hi big guy, where would you like to ride today?”
An image of two large rodents playing together formed in his mind.
“Are those LeOmi’s conies?”
The horse nodded and whinnied.
“Why on Earth do you want to go see them?”
An image of Mark handing the critters to LeOmi formed in his mind.
“This is important, isn’t it?”
The horse nodded and stamped its hoof.
“Okay, let’s go.”
He hopped onto The General’s back. They rode out of the stables area and over to the game preserve section. A short time after entering, three lionesses bounded up behind them. The General turned and reared, as did the guard’s horses.
Mark said, “It okay, they are friends,” as he formed the image of himself rubbing the oldest one behind the ears so the horses would understand.
The horses immediately calmed and turned back to their path. The big cats flanked them on either side as they traveled.
They came to a wooded section and entered along a well-trodden path. About fifty yards in, two conies leapt from a low tree branch onto Mark’s shoulders. An image of a younger LeOmi, with spiked hair, formed in his mind.
He brought to his mind an image of LeOmi as she appeared now.
The critters chattered back and forth, but the image from them of a younger LeOmi persisted.
“Oh, come on guys, you know I’m LeOmi’s friend. What is this all about?”
The image did not change.
Mark said, “Okay, I’ll take you to see her.”
* * *
LeOmi was just coming down from Ms. Vanmie’s classroom when Mark arrived with the conies still on his shoulders. As soon as they saw her, they scrambled down, scurried over and waited; almost impatiently, it seemed, for her to reach the bottom. The sounds of wood clacking against wood came from above as her students continued to practice.
“Your friends here are anxious to see you.”
She bent down and they jumped into her arms, climbed to her shoulders and started nuzzling her neck.
A wave of joy swept over him, as she had obviously not guarded her emotional radiation. She probably wanted the creatures to know how glad she was to see them again.
She asked, “Do you have any idea why they wanted to see me?”
“Not a clue, they either refused to show me or didn’t know I was
asking them.”
Mark suddenly felt very curious about why the conies were there. He knew he was experiencing the question she was asking the animals. Immediately, he perceived an image of LeOmi holding the dagger that she had used to kill her mother’s murderer. Ruby stole that dagger from the museum. It was the same dagger he had exchanged a replica for in Ruby’s office.
“They see you holding the dagger Ruby stole.”
“We have no idea where it is. Is that our next quest?”
“Actually, I have it. I stole it back from Ruby’s office. It’s in my room. I’ll go get it and meet you where?”
“Under the olive tree by the front entrance.”
“I’ll see you there in a couple of minutes.”
* * *
Mark entered his dorm room and stood there for a moment, taking it all in, especially the smells. He knew he wouldn’t be using it much longer and he wanted to remember. All of his deep memories were associated with smells. The first smell he remembered was that of his mother. That smell meant comfort and another being that cared about him. It was also the smell of belonging. The smell of this room was also the smell of belonging, a different kind, but nonetheless, belonging. He knew he was going to miss it.
The bottom desk drawer held two knives: the one he’d gotten back from Ruby and the one he’d been presented with before entering the cave of fear. He considered leaving that one behind; it was just a keepsake. Or was it? It had been passed down from generation to generation, in the hope that one day he’d possess it. Was it really just an ancient expression of thanks, or did it have another purpose? He decided to take it.
* * *
At the olive tree, LeOmi and his guards were waiting while the conies played in the branches overhead. As soon as he handed the knife to her, they scurried down the trunk and started heading back to their home. He formed the image in his mind of him taking them back, but they didn’t stop.
Ray chuckled while watching the critters scamper away, “Guess they were on a mission from God. Mission accomplished, it’s time to get back to the game.”
Nick, Chenoa with her dad, James and Cap’n Ben walked out the front entrance of the mountain, spotted them and started walking over. As they got close, Ricky, Tony, Jamal, Mrs. Shadowitz, Mr. Diefenderfer and Mr. Young followed.
Nick said, “Breaking news, ammunition production has just ground to a screeching halt. No one can get the materials needed to make gunpowder.”
Ray said, “Sulfur, that’s the one thing that is common to all formulations. There are other explosives. Maybe I should write another book.”
Mark said, “We knew this was coming, they bought up all the sulfur mines, and it is irrelevant to us. It only matters to normal militaries since they rely on large amounts of bullets. Law enforcement will turn to other means. It’s just a first step in Benrah’s plan to create instability in the world, to make people want to go to his cities. Speaking of which, have we determined where they are?”
Ricky said, “The first reports are in, and now that we know what to look for, the others will be easy enough to find. Kansas City was the first one found. Dream stones are already in place at the top of every utility pole and out into the surrounding counties. That’s the key to locating the cities, finding the dream stones.”
“That’s different than we expected, but it makes sense. He doesn’t have time to build from scratch. James, get blueprints and whatever else so we can figure out how to exploit this.”
The second group approached and Mrs. Shadowitz said, “I hope you don’t mind if we join you.”
He said, “I’ll enjoy your company. It looks like events are starting to pick up speed and I always value your input.”
Mark took out the scroll and handed it to Cap’n Ben. “I need your opinion on this: is it the original or a copy?”
“I’ll examine it when we get back.”
“Okay then, let’s get this inspection underway.”
* * *
Twelve beings walked into the chamber and surrounded Benrah. They each held a glowing crystal before them as they moved to form a circle around him. When the circle was complete, they held the crystals above their heads and Benrah knelt low, separating his heads to face all the members of this council.
This race of creatures was known in ancient times as The Watchers, the sons of God that came down unto the daughters of men, who bore unto them men of renown. In Mesopotamia, they were known as the Anunnaki, Neteru in Egypt, Annodoti in Greece and Nephilim in the Hebrew tongue. They referred to themselves as The Council of Twelve. Their leader was Lucifer and they were his generals. They answered only to him then. They answered only to him now.
They were a race of beings similar to humans in most respects, except for their large heads and dull orange hair, a color that did not occur naturally among humans. They raised the crystals higher and Benrah lowered his seven heads to the floor.
The twelve spoke as one, “You have failed. What have you to say?”
“My opinion differs.”
“The staff called Bands still remains in the hands of that boy. He destroyed your prisons.”
“The staff was not whole. I could not take half and leave the remainder. Even you did not know that it could command the labyrinths.”
“The Sunstone remains.”
“It was destroyed.”
“That was a ruse and you failed to discern it.”
“Then in that, I failed.”
“The staff called Beauty remains as does The Prophet’s Eye. These three will defeat you. We have seen it.”
“They will not! My plan is unfolding and they will be neutralized. This world will bow at my feet and serve my father.”
“Your plan is pathetic and we will not let you fail. Your father’s life is in the balance, so we will intervene.”
“Yes, my lords.”
“You will open the pit and bring forth the army of Apollyon. They will rid you of your problem.”
“It is not yet time.”
A large key hit the floor and slid to Benrah’s feet. The council filed out one behind the other.
When they were gone, he picked up the key and stood. There was so much that had to be done, so much that wasn’t ready. It would take months to become even remotely organized enough to control so many. He had counted on having another couple of years to prepare. Project Oros would have to happen now, except the location would have to change in order to blow away the mountain that covers the pit. That would start people flowing into his cities to seek protection. Apollyon’s army followed by Project Apsinthion would likely send more running in when anything that could explode did. Project Elaion if the first two didn’t drive enough into the cities; the cities would be the one place that had food and water freely available. Mark and his minions would be all too busy to interfere when he, as the messiah, made his appearance.
Benrah’s heads came together and he walked out.
