"Fine," I stated. "But tell me the story from the beginning. It seems like I've been living a lie for a long time, and I need to know why."
The blood bags I had retrieved sat in my lap. I took one and started feeding, realizing that my strength was too low for the approaching situation.
"Thank you and I can do that. Back in the 1800s, Samael tricked Ra into a false truce and later, using the Eye of Ra, created a virus that nearly killed Ra." In the center of everything seemed to be the Eye of Ra, the most powerful machine on Earth, possibly in the Universe, used to create Gods and apparently other aberrations, too.
"And?" I picked up another bag.
"Before Ra was infected, he bit me so that I would appear human and Samael wouldn't find me."
I withdrew my fangs from the bag, my appetite suddenly dead. "Wait a minute," I said. "When I confronted Samael over a century ago, just after Ra went missing, he said that Ra's wife ran off screaming when Ra was infected and turned into a diseased monster. He thought she was a human, but…she was you?"
"Yes." I felt numb. "Samael's virus has a short lifespan so he rigged the Eye up to constantly pump it into Ra. He's alive, Michael! You can heal him! That is why Ra brought us together all those years ago in France, but you ran off and took the potion again before I could get you to his body to heal him. This time though, we will succeed, if we can beat Samael there."
"You are Ra's wife?" She was silent. "That explains how you got his venom. You probably have gallons of it stored, don't you?"
"No, Ra gave me just one vial, in case of an emergency, before he bit me. I drank it after you abandoned Andre and me so I wouldn't attract the attention of the Nazis."
"I didn't abandon you! You were taken!"
"You ran off to get more venom. I thought you would at least have the courtesy to talk to me as you did your family when it wore off this time. I changed just hours after you left, we could have saved Ra then. Instead, I had to wait another seventy years."
"Fuck this. It's all a lie. You're married to Ra, and perversely enough, your husband introduced us when he possessed my friend. You used your venom to defeat Ra and now you use him like everyone else."
"What do you mean?" I knew the innocence in her voice was a charade.
"You're Hathor! You murdered thousands of people in Egypt trying to take over! Ra had to drive you out. He went to war with his own wife…you!" My head was spinning, but a clear thought came to me: I must continue to drink. The woman that sat next to me was vicious—and very strong. I worked my way through the last bag of blood as fast as possible.
"We reconciled," she said, both hands gripping the wheel so tight I thought it would break. "And I understand now that killing isn't the way to power. With Ra's abilities, I can have a wonderful empire. He saw the future and said that the world would be mine. He is never wrong. Join me."
A brown sign approached: Stonehenge ten kilometers. I paused, thinking, silent.
"Together," she continued. "You and I, we can use Ra's powers to our advantage. You heal Ra, he kills Samael, and the world is ours. Ra loves me you know, and will do anything for me." She sounded every bit like a woman who had cracked or, worse, a demented demon.
"Your appearance," I said. "I've only seen flawed creatures that change as drastically as you have."
"You're talking nonsense."
"Tell me the truth, are you flawed? A demon?" She glanced at me, and I was startled to see her blue eyes once again, along with a deep tan washing over her skin. "You are."
Looking back at the road, she said, "You overestimate your brilliance. I am every bit like you, but better. Evolution is a series of flaws before perfection is reached. I am that perfection. While I can't change quite as drastically as the demons, I can always be the girl you love, even without losing my memory."
"The girl I loved died in the war. What lies did you tell our son to make him go along with your plan for world domination?"
"I told him the truth."
"Which is?" I asked.
"That we are the gods from the past who have returned to help humanity."
"Did you mention that you would help them by enslaving them?"
"Stop it. We can make this work. You really did fall in love with me once you got to know me. That hasn't changed." She took one hand off the steering wheel and placed it on my thigh. The coldness of it seeped through my pants to my skin, making my flesh crawl with disgust.
"No one loves you, not unless you poison them with your venom and hide behind masks. The way I see it is I heal Ra, he kills Samael, and then you have him kill me. Goodbye, Elizabeth," I said, releasing the woman of my dreams to the ether.
With a powerful thrust, I shot upwards, ripping through the metal roof of the hearse. I heard her scream maniacally, harsher than ice against warm naked skin. I cringed at the sound, and then found myself wanting to swoop back to her. I needed her. I hungered for her. I started to turn around as her scream faded away, but stopped myself. Her venom somehow was controlling me, and if I didn't fight it, my daughter would die. I turned back towards the direction of Stonehenge and willed myself forward. It seemed the further away I got from her, the less influence I felt. I worried my heart would explode for defying her, but it didn't, and although my pain was still deep, I had to let her go.
I didn't know if she would follow by air or not, but I suspected that she wouldn’t. She seemed content to have others do the dirty work for her, and while she had slaughtered many humans, fighting one of her own kind would probably be too much of a risk.
As for me, by drinking Ra's venom I had opened myself up to manipulation by an unscrupulous bunch. I decided never again to seek out his poison, even though that would curse me to nightmarish memories for eternity. I also determined to rid the world once and for all of demons and vampires. They had lost their moral compass in an ocean of power. Samael was first on the list, and I would deal with Monique later. I wondered if I was capable of looking into her eyes and then taking her life. I had serious doubts.
Chapter 43
Stonehenge was gone, replaced by an enormous hole in the ground that yellow excavators were widening and deepening ever further. I soared low, observing from a safe distance, searching for a discreet landing site. The monolithic blocks that once majestically outlined the ancient ruins were piled haphazardly fifty yards from the hole like a child's forgotten Lego set. None of the dozens of workers appeared to show any interest in them, so approaching from the backside, I eased myself down amongst the discarded debris.
Peering around the edge of one of the larger fifty-ton blocks, I had a good view of the excavation site. The excavators encircled the gaping hole, dug deep enough that their long booms had to dive to the hilt to retrieve loads of dirt. As they worked methodically, I scanned the skies for Samael's helicopter, hoping that Captain Thomas had been correct in his itinerary. Having lost my watch at some point—most likely the nuclear blast—I pulled out the cell phone he had given me and checked the time. It was a little after one, meaning Samael was late. I pocketed the phone and just as I was about to peer around the block again, I heard a heavy metallic thud. I looked quickly at the dig and saw a man running around the edge of the hole, frantically waving his arms in a downward motion, telling the tractor operators to stop. All of the excavator booms came up and their engines died, leaving an eerie silence to settle over the landscape. Workers grouped together at the edge of the dark pit and gazed down.
"What the hell is it?" my exceptional ears picked up one saying.
"You got me," another replied.
Now that it was quiet, I could hear a helicopter approaching. I breathed a sigh of relief, and then inhaled in anticipation of what I faced next.
With the depths of the hole out of my view, I could only watch as the construction workers puzzled over whatever rested on the bottom. Their curiosity quickly abated when a corporate-sized black helicopter approached. The men seemed to go into a fearful panic, and all but one huddled in the shadows
of their giant machines. The lone man must have been the supervisor, and looked as if he were walking to his execution as he made his way to an open flat area where the helicopter intended to land. He held his arm over his eyes as dust swirled up from the heavy backwash caused by the whirring blades, but once the helicopter landed, the rotor quickly powered down and slowed enough for the man to relax, at least a little. The way he furtively looked down and shuffled from side-to-side told me that he was nervous.
The door on the aircraft opened, steps unfolded, and two soldiers stepped out to assess security, brandishing their machine guns in wide arcs. Satisfied that all was clear, they waited on both sides of the steps for the occupants to exit. The first was Karen, wearing a black dress that looked better suited for an evening dinner date. She was gorgeous in every way, but when the supervisor caught a glimpse of her blood-red eyes, he stopped in his tracks and looked away. She carried a small briefcase, handcuffed to her wrist, which I knew should be the satellite phone. I would have to disable that first.
Samael came down behind her, dressed as always in his Nazi-like uniform consisting of a black suit coat, and black pants tucked into black boots. He had even taken the time to adorn himself with silver medals and a red armband that looked to have the image of a fang on it. He seemed to be modeling his new movement off the Third Reich, which was not a comforting notion. No one else exited the aircraft, so I assumed that the other demons had stayed behind to tend house. In a way, that was good; less to deal with now, and I could take care of them later. Through the side window in the helicopter though, I saw a lone girl, blind and mute, sitting stone still, oblivious of the world outside her mind—Samael's portable restaurant; always fresh and warm. Her heart had to be crying out in agony, and once I finished my business, I made a note to go to her and give what comfort I could before Samael's venom took its toll on her frail body.
Together, Samael and Karen approached the supervisor, who no doubt was trembling in his boots at the sight of these creatures from Hell.
"Why aren't they working?" I heard Samael ask.
"We have found something, Sire," the supervisor replied.
"What? Show me." With one of the armed guards trailing, the three of them walked to the edge of the pit.
"There," the supervisor said, pointing into the hole.
"Has anyone gone down to investigate?" Samael asked.
"Not yet."
"We do not have time for delays. I suggest you check it out now," Samael said to the confused-looking man. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go." Without a hint of what he was about to do, Samael pushed the supervisor over the edge. There was a brief yell and then silence.
Madness had begun, and time was running short. I pulled out the phone to see if there was any indication that my daughter was safe. Nothing. There was about thirty minutes until the American forces would attempt to take back Washington, which meant I had to act soon. I heard another man yelling as I was putting the phone away, and I looked up in time to see Samael drag a young worker to the edge and throw him over as well.
"Find out what is going on with your boss!" he hollered after the falling man.
"That's incredible!" Karen exclaimed. "They're floating above it."
Just as she finished speaking, a low, almost imperceptible hum started to vibrate in the air. At first filled with harmonics beyond human hearing, it quickly grew in volume to the point that dirt and small pebbles started vibrating to its rhythm. The men standing in the shadows placed their hands over their ears due to the sound's increasing intensity. Samael and Karen continued to gaze into the opening with curious wonder, the three of us able to block out the noise due to our nature.
With both of them distracted, I saw my chance at removing the satellite phone from Karen's wrist. Knowing that Samael's hearing was just as acute as mine, I stealthily made my way forward, hoping what sound I did make would be lost in the tortuous symphony coming from the hole. Cheetah-like, I eased into the cover provided by a pickup truck that sat ten yards closer to them. From there on, I knew that blinding speed would be essential so that Samael would not be able to use his own speed to get the phone and order the destruction of the world.
The deep thrumming intensified even further, sending the construction workers to their knees. The truck vibrated on its shocks, the excavator booms swayed. Much more of this, and I knew the humans would die, crushed by sound waves like a Navy ship's sonar killing fish.
During the cacophony, a glow emancipated from the hole, casting a blue pallor over the nearby landscape. Karen and Samael leaned forward for a better look. Opportunity struck. I lunged forward, turning into a blur, keeping my eyes on the briefcase dangling in her hand, but then like the climax of a classical masterpiece, a shockwave erupted from within the hole. It was powerful enough to throw me off kilter and send me sprawling into a mound of dirt.
Brushing dust out of my eyes, I frantically searched for the whereabouts of Karen and Samael. They were no longer at the edge of the pit, but before I could take my eyes off the hole to search for them, an amazing sight manifested. The two men that Samael had nonchalantly tossed over the edge hovered in the air, arms and legs flailing, drenched in blue light so deep that they could pass for members of The Blue Man Group. Below them, a deep-blue translucent orb the size of a large house rose up. In the center of the giant bubble-like thing there appeared to be a man. I looked closer, staring in fascination, and realized that it wasn't a man at all, but some sort of creature with the general shape of a man. It hung suspended and naked like Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, except coiling tubes came out of its skin and vanished into invisible walls.
From what I could see, the creature's skin sagged off its bones, drooping several inches down the inner thighs, arms, and cheeks. The face in particular appeared horrid, starting from the top of the hairless head where patches of skin were missing, revealing partially scabbed-over bone beneath. A black opening gaped where the nose cartilage had rotted away, as was the cartilage from the ears missing. There were no lips either, building upon the skull-like appearance of the head. But the teeth caught my attention the most. The oral cavity was void of regular teeth, containing instead just two sharp fangs protruding from the upper jaw all the way down to the sagging chin. The effect reminded me of a saber-toothed tiger, but this diseased and hideously evil looking thing was a saber-toothed monster.
The creature's eyes were closed and it didn't stir, seeming oblivious that its home had risen out of the dirt. Other than the two men in midair above it crying out for help, everything was still and silent like the Universe had paused in awe. To the relief of the many workers, the deep hum had ceased with the rise of the Eye of Ra, now floating stationary a dozen feet over its former grave.
I stood up and saw that Samael and Karen were recovering some distance away near one of the excavators after the blast had toppled them as I had been. At any moment, I realized that Samael might look back and see me. It also had to be just a few minutes until the satellite phone would ring with a panic-stricken soldier informing him that Washington was under attack. I had to act now, but why hadn't Captain Thomas called me yet to inform me of Lori's fate? To save the world, I knew I had to push thoughts of my daughter aside. Once again, I focused my energy on the speed required to get the phone from Karen.
"We need to rescue those gentlemen before they get hurt. They must be frightened to death," a voice said next to me. Startled, I nearly tripped just as I was about to run. I turned, clawed hand raised, prepared to behead the stranger. My hand froze in place when I saw who it was.
"Henri?" I asked, amazed. The old pastor stood next to me, looking with concern at the men floating above the orb.
"Hello again, Michael." This time his mouth didn't move, but his voice filled my head. "So Samael doesn't hear, we should talk like this. But first, I would like to take care of these gentlemen."
Stunned by his invasion of my mind, I watched as he raised an arm and pointed an outstretched hand towards the men. Sl
owly he swung his arm to the right, and to my astonishment, the men floated in the same direction. Once they were over solid land, he lowered his arm, causing the men to come to a gentle landing on the ground. The second their feet touched, they scurried off towards a group of parked vehicles, no doubt done with this line of work forever.
"Thank goodness," Henri said, once again with lips sealed shut. "It so distresses me when humans are in danger, especially if we cause it."
"How are you doing this?" I said mentally, not convinced he would hear. All fear of Samael spotting me was washed away by this turn of events.
"As I told you before, you are my champion. I created us connected."
"You…you are Ra?" I stumbled, already knowing the answer, having witnessed him take over the soldier in France and then perform a vanishing act at the church. "How can you talk mentally and manipulate things with supernatural powers while occupying a human body?"
"That," he pointed to the creature in the orb. "Is me. At one time my best incarnation. By far the worse now. I have been trapped there for almost one-hundred-and-fifty years, which has given me a lot of time to perfect my ability to possess humans. This body is the one I occupy when not required elsewhere. He wanted to kill himself, so I intervened and made his body my own. Its close proximity to the Eye gives me access to great powers since part of me is still in the machine, as you can see. I send desire for an action and what's left of me inside the Eye directs the machine to perform it."
"The drive from the helicopter wreckage and the church…those were illusions created by the Eye?"
"We did not drive. Actually, we didn't go anywhere. You were a visitor inside my mind. Again, I apologize for the clutter." He chuckled. "The reason I came to you after the wreck was to encourage you not to fight the soldiers, but to go with them so that you could end up here today. You must be careful though. The mind of my true body is full of rot; it is nothing but an animal until you cure it, but use caution, for it is starving."
Venom of the Gods Page 29
