Eyes of the World (Gray Spear Society Book 10)

by Alex Siegel

  He saw odd physical attributes all over the room. One man had blue skin and slits in his neck. A woman had fingers that wiggled like snakes. In this crowd, they didn't look out of place.

  The ballroom was a nice setting for the grand occasion. The roof was painted gold, and three giant chandeliers made of white crystal provided ample light. The wallpaper had a metallic yellow and charcoal gray pattern. Blue velvet curtains hung in the corners. Aside from the stage, there was no furniture. With so many people in the room, there wasn't space for tables and chairs, and the meeting wouldn't be that long. All the bodies made the air warm.

  Aaron squeezed Marina's hand and whispered, "Wesley was wrong. I'm going to die of fear when I get up there."

  "You'd better not." She shook her head. "A wife doesn't like to see her husband drop dead on their marriage day. It's embarrassing."

  "Thanks for your support."

  "No problem." She smiled prettily.

  Wesley climbed a short staircase and walked onto the stage. As usual, the boy exuded confidence, but he looked small among the adults. Aaron wondered how much child was left in him these days. He had already seen many lifetimes worth of violence.

  Wesley was handed a microphone, and he spoke into it. "I'm the Voice of Truth, the Child of Destiny, and the Beacon of Light."

  His amplified voice filled the room like orchestral music. There was no denying the truth in it. Other voices followed as the words were translated into different languages, but they almost didn't need translation.

  Most of the audience appeared astonished. They had only heard rumors of Wesley's existence, and some probably doubted he was real at all. Even many of the North Americans were startled.

  "This is Bethany and Leanna," Wesley said. "The twins."

  The twins climbed onto the stage. Their metallic skulls gleamed in the bright light. A pattern of swirls in the metal looked like frozen smoke. Golden structures deep inside their black eyeballs were barely visible.

  The audience was astonished a second time. The entire Society knew about the twins. Their security software was used by every cell. They had designed the secret computer network that tied the cells together. The latest generation of phones used their technology. However, very few people had ever seen them. They were legends.

  Bethany took the microphone from Wesley and said, "Hello. It's very nice to see all of you. Thank you for coming."

  Her voice was obviously artificial, and Aaron wondered about that. The twins clearly had the ability to reproduce natural voices. Jack the computer sounded exactly like his human namesake. Perhaps the twins were proud of their synthetic nature.

  Wesley took the microphone back and said, "And last but not least, it is my pleasure to introduce the new Lord and Lady of the Society, Aaron and Marina. They are now your supreme commanders. I would like everybody to bow as they come up on stage."

  He waited while his words were translated.

  Aaron saw looks of confusion in the audience. Some of the legates in particular appeared offended. The Dragon had her arms crossed and was standing stiffly.

  "Bow!" Wesley repeated.

  The word bounced around the room like a commandment from God. A few at a time, the audience bowed until everybody's head was lowered.

  That's my cue, Aaron thought.

  He and Marina climbed up to the stage, hand in hand. The audience straightened up and looked at him. He thought he was going to have a heart attack. There were too many eyeballs pointed in his direction.

  He noticed Sheryl in the audience. She gave him two thumbs up and an encouraging smile.

  "Be strong, my love," Marina whispered.

  Aaron realized failure wasn't an option. The Lord of the Society had to show he could handle the pressure. Somehow, he found the willpower to move forward.

  He took the microphone and said, "It's wonderful to see all of you. I know it was a difficult journey. I'm sure the lousy weather and the military occupation didn't help."

  He paused as his words were translated. It was strange and intimidating to hear them spoken in other languages. He felt even more pressure to not make a fool of himself.

  Wesley whispered, "Tell them only what they need to know."

  Aaron covered the microphone. "You're keeping secrets even now?"

  The boy nodded.

  Aaron faced the audience again. He tried the trick of imagining them in their underwear, but it didn't help.

  "All of you were summoned here for one reason," Aaron said into the microphone. "To protect the twins. They are engaged in a project of enormous significance. Over the next day or two, God's enemies will try to destroy them. We must keep them safe until the project is done. If necessary, we will sacrifice our lives to achieve that goal."

  As he spoke the words, their significance struck him. Wesley had warned, "The path to the future is a river of blood." Many people in this room would die. Aaron would make decisions which would determine who those people would be. A lot of lives were in his hands. The weight of that responsibility was crushing.

  Aaron wondered if it was too late to back out. He had never asked to be the Lord of the Society. The whole thing had come as a surprise. He could ask God to appoint somebody else to the job. There were plenty of qualified candidates in the room.

  Aaron looked at Marina's freckled face and realized he wasn't alone. When he needed the strength to make a difficult decision, she would be there.

  "I have a plan," he told the audience, "but I can't share it with everybody. You will be given your orders individually." He paused as his words were translated. "We will now divide into three groups. Marina will command Group A, I will command Group B, and Leonardo, the legate of South America, will command Group C. The Voice of Truth will decide who goes where. Marina and Leonardo, please move to the corners of the room."

  Marina and Leonardo took up positions in the corners on Aaron's left and right. Wesley walked out into the room and began choosing teams. He looked at every person's face for a moment and pointed in a direction. Aaron wondered what attributes the boy was looking for. Was there a certain facial expression or physical characteristic that told Wesley where a person belonged? Perhaps it was an inner light only he could see.

  Even though Wesley moved quickly, it took a long time to separate the large crowd. Aaron became impatient but remained quiet. It was obviously important to get this right.

  All of the legionnaires from Chicago and San Francisco were assigned to Marina. Smythe, Sheryl, and even Odelia went to that corner. Aaron became annoyed when he realized he would have to work entirely with strangers. He had wanted at least a few familiar faces around him.

  The Dragon was assigned to him which was hardly a consolation. He would have to deal with her fiery personality. Charles stayed with Aaron the entire time.

  As the selection process dragged on, Aaron walked off the stage and went to Leonardo.

  Aaron took the legate aside and said quietly, "Get organized and get out there. Anybody wearing an Army uniform is an enemy. Your objective is to cause chaos."

  "Yes, sir." Leonardo nodded.

  "Stay in the vicinity of the hotel at first. I may need you to run interference."

  "Why? What's going on?"

  "You don't need to know the rest of the plan," Aaron said. "Just be nearby if I call for you."

  "Yes, sir."

  Wesley was still picking teams, so Aaron hurried across to the opposite corner of the room. A crowd of fans surrounded Marina. Some were congratulating her on her promotion, and others were talking about her marriage. She was smiling broadly and seemed flattered by all the praise.

  A pattern struck Aaron. All the legionnaires with obviously freakish physical attributes were being assigned to Marina. He guessed that Wesley was picking the top talent for her group because it was by far the most important. They were the last line of defense around the twins. Aaron and Leonardo were getting the second-tier players. Seems fair, Aaron thought.

  He was inundated wit
h enthusiastic congratulations as he approached. He smiled and nodded in response even though the attention made him uncomfortable.

  He pulled Marina aside and said, "Your first objective is capturing the supply convoy. I need the weapons and ammunition. You need the trucks to move the aperture to Chinatown. But you have to wait until the twins are done packing."

  "I know the plan, dear." She rolled her eyes. "You told me five times."

  "I'm a little anxious."

  "I would never have guessed."

  Aaron spotted Nancy in the group, and he waved for her to come over. She had cut her brown, frizzy hair to an even, practical length all around. She wasn't fat, but her body was generously proportioned. Baggy, blue coveralls contrasted against the much more formal attire that everybody else had chosen. She was wearing work boots and knee pads. A bandage was taped to her palm. At least she didn't have grease under her fingernails like usual.

  "Congratulations, sir!" she said. "Both of you!"

  She gave Marina an awkward hug and shook Aaron's hand.

  "Thanks," he said. "You're going to guide Marina's group to the Chinatown building. Show her how to get into the basement."

  "I know, sir," Nancy said. "How long are we going to be there?"

  "Days, possibly."

  "We'll have to set up some toilets and showers. I'll bring tools and plumbing supplies with us."

  Aaron nodded. "Good."

  He looked at her smiling face. He wondered how much he would see her in the future. He wasn't the commander of Chicago anymore. The Chicago cell might not even exist when the mission ended.

  Aaron noticed Yule standing in the crowd around Marina. His gigantic, yellow eyes were hard to miss.

  Aaron came over and said, "Hey! I'm glad to see you made the A team."

  "Thank you, sir." Yule shook Aaron's hand firmly. "Congratulations on your promotion and your marriage. I always knew you had greatness in you, but I never suspected there was so much. Wesley told me God Himself appointed you."

  Aaron smiled. "I'm afraid I have another annoying errand for you. I need a commander I can trust to take care of it for me, and you're at the top of the list."

  "I'm honored." Yule bowed slightly.

  "We need buses. Leonardo and his group are going to be driving around the city, and Marina might need a few, too. It seems like twenty should be enough."

  "That's a whole convoy. I'll need twenty drivers."

  Aaron nodded. "We have a great abundance of legionnaires for you to pick from. My team knows Chicago, so you'll certainly want to use them. I'll find out where the city keeps its buses."

  "Consider it done," Yule said.

  It looked like Wesley was finally finishing the selection process. Aaron went back onto the stage and grabbed the microphone.

  A little more than a hundred people had been assigned to Marina. Leonardo had an assault team of around three hundred. The largest group, around four hundred, were under Aaron's control. Marina and Leonardo took their respective groups to other conference rooms so they could get organized separately. Wesley and his bodyguards went with Marina.

  When the commotion died down, Aaron looked at Group B. An intimidating sea of unfamiliar faces looked back at him. They were waiting for orders.

  "The specific objective of this group is to protect this hotel," he said.

  The Dragon climbed up onto the stage. She was wearing the elaborate robes of a legate, and they had been embellished even more. Beautiful, Chinese dragons were drawn with silver thread. Small dragons made of solid silver held back her hair. Wisps of smoke puffed out of her nose whenever she exhaled.

  "I thought our objective was to protect the twins, sir," she said in a tone of annoyance.

  "That's the objective of Group A."

  "Having two separate groups suggests the twins won't be staying here."

  Aaron considered lying to her. His group might fight harder if they believed the twins were in the hotel, but if he got caught in the lie, it would diminish his ability to lead.

  "You're perceptive," he said.

  "Where will they be?"

  "In a safe place. Not here."

  "Then I'm a little confused," the Dragon said. "Why are we protecting an empty hotel?"

  "Because the enemy thinks the twins are here. We will defend this ground and make the war last as long as possible. The twins will use the time to finish their project."

  The Dragon sneered a little. "In other words, we'll be risking our lives just to be a decoy."

  "That's correct." Aaron nodded. "The good news is this hotel can protect itself very well. I recently upgraded all the defenses. It's truly a fortress. All of us will remain safely inside for at least the early stages of the engagement."

  "I don't like being a sitting target. What if the enemy bombs us?"

  "If that was their intention, they would've done it already. My theory is they want to know what the twins are doing. Simply destroying this place doesn't achieve that aim. They're curious."

  She raised her delicate eyebrows. "You're betting all our lives on a flimsy theory."

  He shrugged. "It's my choice. I'm in charge. We can always leave if things get rough. Besides, a few bombs won't knock this place down. It was built very tough."

  She glared at him. Smoke puffed out of her nose. "It's a great shame Ethel isn't in charge. I think she would make a different decision."

  "That's irrelevant."

  "Her absence is inexcusable. She should be here. I'm forced to question her loyalty to the Society."

  "Are you done complaining?" Aaron said.

  The Dragon looked down. "Yes, sir."

  He raised his voice and addressed the crowd, "I want everybody to stay on the lower floors. Be prepared to mount a strong defense, and also, to move quickly if I give the order to evacuate. This is a fluid situation. We'll have to adapt to circumstances as they arise."

  The Dragon huffed, and a little spurt of flame shot out of her mouth. She walked off.

  Chapter Ten

  Ethel looked at the boxy and plain houses of Linville, Virginia. The walls were made of simple wood painted pale colors. Most roofs used cheap asphalt shingles. In her opinion, Linville hardly qualified as a town. It was just a collection of rural homes on either side of a narrow highway. The solitary gas station/grocery store was the commercial hub.

  Tawni was driving slowly down the highway. Everybody in the van was looking for road signs. It was a dark night, and there were no street lights.

  Atalanta pointed at an intersection and said, "That must be it. Turn right."

  Tawni turned the van onto an even narrower road. They passed through a wooded area and eventually came to a dead end.

  A two-story home stood there, and it was far nicer than the other houses in Linville. This one had red brick walls and a two-car garage. Classical pillars framed a front door with stained-glass windows. Three satellite dishes adorned the roof. Decorative, blue, wooden shutters were used extensively.

  Tawni parked down the road and turned off the headlights.

  "We'll enter as a team," Ethel said. "Atalanta is on point. Tawni will watch our backs. Let's get ready."

  The team took turns changing their clothes in the back of the van. They had brought gray duffle bags full of standard field supplies, weapons, and light body armor. Boreas went last, and the huge man had a lot of trouble dressing in the tight space. His female companions politely looked the other way as he grunted and strained.

  When he finished, everybody was wearing vests and helmets over skintight elastic suits. The outfits used a black and gray, striped camouflage pattern which was typical for a Society night operation. Ethel's machetes were strapped across her back, and she also had a pair of light target pistols. Tawni and Atalanta both carried Japanese swords and large handguns. Boreas had an assault rifle in his hands and an automatic shotgun on his back.

  The team got out of the van and slipped into the dense, dark woods by the road. Ethel had a hard time seeing a
nything until she turned on her night vision goggles. Electronic light amplification made the world a ghostly white. She glimpsed a raccoon prowling through the brush.

  The team approached the house silently. The lights were on inside, but Ethel didn't hear any noise. Atalanta crept up to a window and peeked inside.

  "I don't see anybody," she whispered.

  They worked their way around the large house and checked all the windows on the first floor. The house appeared empty, but it was possible somebody was on the upper floor.

  "Let's go in," Ethel whispered.

  She picked the lock on a back door. It was an expensive lock, but her supernatural speed allowed her to accomplish the task in seconds.

  The team silently entered a kitchen. A stainless steel, gas stove looked like it belonged in a fine restaurant. A vent above the stove was made of forged copper. An oversized refrigerator had a door with real wooden panels. Black and white marble tiles covered the floor.

  "This is nice," Tawni whispered. "Nathan Forrest has money."

  "Tinker told us his father is a senator," Ethel replied.

  They proceeded into a dining room. Crystal chandeliers hung over a polished, wooden table big enough to seat twelve. The chairs were upholstered with green velvet.

  There was a stack of white brochures on the table. Ethel picked one up and examined it.

  She was immediately offended. Phrases like "racial purity," "white rights," and "genetic dilution" were printed in bold letters. She had seen this kind of material so many times, it made her more sad than angry.

  "Racism is a favorite tool of God's enemies," Ethel said softly. "Fear, hate, and ignorance strengthen their cause. You often hear about religious sects in the Middle-east killing each other. They always claim they're fighting for the Lord, but nothing could be further from the truth. If they truly loved Him, they would treat each other with compassion. We are all God's children." She looked at the back of the brochure. "The Fraternal Order of Honor and Pride. I'm going to call Todd. Search the house while I'm on the phone."