“There’s always old farmland for sale around here,” Alex suggested.
Abbie nodded. “Yes, we might need that.”
“And in regards to Prometheus helping us,” Liz added, “it shouldn’t be a problem. Jeremiah never represented himself to many people as the owner of the company, just an enforcer. None of the people who would know have any reason to suspect his demise, and I can definitely make it look like he’s still giving orders—at least for a little while. If Kinsfield is still alive, we might be able to use his influences too.”
“All right,” Abbie said, impressed, “we will use Prometheus to fund our operations here until someone stops us. Then, the Elder Prophets will take over if we have to. Liz, as you know the most about Jeremiah’s businesses, may I trust in you to secure the resources to build on this property and buy more?”
“Sure,” Elizabeth agreed.
“Garrett, of the League of Hunters, will speak next,” Abbie declared as she sat back down.
“When do I get to speak?” Nathan demanded.
Abbie glared at him. “Do you actually have something worthy to contribute?”
Taking this to be an invitation, Nathan stood up. “If we got cable, we could watch the news to find out where they’re going to strike next,” he announced sardonically, tacking on, “and I wouldn’t have to be bored out of my mind while you loonies devise master plans to take over the world...or whatever it is you do.”
“Elizabeth?” Abbie pleaded desperately.
Liz smiled. “Yeah, if they’ll run cable out this far into the country, I’ll get it. Otherwise, we may have to get a dish. Didn’t Marla come here with you?”
“Yes,” Abbie affirmed. “She’s sleeping now, but I’m sure she will want to help as soon as she wakes up.”
Liz nodded her understanding, and Nathan sat back down, satisfied with himself. Garrett looked questioningly over at Abbie who smiled and said, “Any further miscellaneous business should be taken care of after Garrett has had his chance to speak.” With that said, she waved him up.
“Friends,” he began, rising slowly from his chair, “the League of Hunters has come to answer the call of its allies. Your fight against Metatron must not leave you weakened for the more important fight against Lucifer. To that end, we hope that we can help. I had hoped to see more of my hunters by now, but we can’t afford to wait. With your permission, I would like to form demon hunting parties. Leading each will be a demon hunter or Elder Prophet. I think we need at least six groups, comprised of a leader and five to ten prophets. There will always be three groups patrolling Kingstone at any given time. The purposes of the hunting parties would be to hunt. As such, we should only seek out the strongest prophets to help us.”
Matt spoke up, “I would like to volunteer to lead a group.”
Garrett appraised him for a moment. “Gregor speaks highly of you. We may have had our disagreements in the past, but I think you would be competent to lead a hunting party. Of course, it’s not my call to make.” He looked at Abbie.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Matt, Jeremiah’s hope was that you would protect Alex. You were supposed to be his bodyguard, and I think we should honor his wishes.”
Alex laughed. “That’s interesting because I was about to volunteer to lead a group too.”
“Out of the question,” Abbie retorted with finality. “You, Elizabeth, and Matt will work from a secure location. We have risked our lives and everything we have to see to your safety and success. Going out to battle demons will jeopardize too much. Besides, we have many people who are more than able to fill these roles.”
“With all due respect,” Alex replied softly, “I have proven myself to be quite good in combat with demons, and so has Matt. I want to make them pay for what they’ve done.”
Abbie’s eyes narrowed. Again, she was reminded of a conversation she’d recently had with Jeremiah. He had claimed that even Alex, Matt, and Liz were corruptible, that they would kill to get what they wanted. She hadn’t believed him. She’d thought him to merely be cynical and pessimistic. Now she peered very closely at Alex, wondering what was going on inside his head. Was his heart filled with compassion for the people of Kingstone or hate for the demons? If both, which was stronger? Whatever it was, she could not tell. It seemed that his ability to shield his thoughts had become quite effective. Without a deeper and noticeable scan, her questions would just have to go unanswered.
“No,” Abbie replied thoughtfully, “I don’t think that you are needed most on the front lines quite yet. However, I’m sure the time will come. Right now, we need someone who can deal with the mortals and organize the prophets. The media will want to talk to someone with authority. Yours is divine, and the people who matter most are going to believe you. They may not like it, but they’ll know you speak the truth. Matt and Elizabeth were meant to stand by your side, and so they will. The rest of us will make sure you have what you need.”
The Elder Prophets, with the exception of Nathan, nodded their heads in concurrence. Garrett looked on without committing himself one way or the other. Alex and Matt still seemed unconvinced.
Elizabeth’s hand on Alex’s brought him back to a rational state of mind. Of course he wasn’t needed on the front lines. He was needed right here. He was needed to greet prophets as they came to Missouri to settle. He was the one the media and government wanted to hear from. And, if he could keep all of his friends and family in one place, he might even be able to protect them from Metatron and Lucifer at the same time.
“All right, Abbie,” he conceded. “I’ll stay.”
***
“You’re talking about martial law,” Governor Parks protested loudly to Attorney General Albert O’Riley over the phone. “I’m sorry, but I’m just not seeing this.”
“I assure you, Governor,” O’Riley responded coolly, “that this town, Kingstone, represents a very serious threat to national security. I am ordering you to lock it down.”
“A major highway runs through that town. It’s about twenty miles from Kansas City. It won’t go unnoticed. How am I supposed to explain this?”
“Give the people military escorts out of town. In a few days or a week, we should have the situation under control, and they can return to their homes. But you must do this immediately. Otherwise, the entire town may have to be quarantined.”
Parks couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You talk like they’re diseased.”
“They may be,” O’Riley returned. “Oh, they don’t have a virus, but what they are and how they think could be very contagious. Then, you would have quite a problem on your hands. This is not a polite request. You will do this expediently, or I can have someone do it for you.”
“All right,” Parks said quickly. “You don’t have to threaten me.”
“Good. Thank you.” And with that, the conversation was discontinued.
Parks looked at the receiver he still held in his hand in total surprise. Something was very wrong with this situation. The concept of martial law notwithstanding, Parks didn’t trust the Attorney General for some reason.
He had been watching the news about Kingstone in earnest and had even spoken to Mayor Harper on two separate occasions in regards to what was happening in her town. Reginald Parks was a God-fearing man, raised on a farm in northern Missouri. Something told him that there was truth to be found in Kingstone, and he had no intention of carrying out O’Riley’s order. That, of course, could not have been communicated to the Attorney General because Parks was sure that he could be nullified somehow with relative ease. So, for whatever time he had left as a respected governor, he had to fight the good fight.
He pushed a button on his phone that would connect him with his secretary. After two rings, she answered.
“I need to contact Mayor Catherine Harper urgently,” Parks informed her. “Tell her that it’s an emergency.”
“Yes sir.”
In minutes, his phone rang. Mayor Harper was on the othe
r end.
“Catherine,” Parks said, “listen carefully. I just received a call from the Attorney General of the United States. He wants to evacuate the people of Kingstone so that he can move a military force in to exterminate your little problem.”
“What?” Harper asked, shocked.
“I told him I would take care of it to buy us some time, but I’m at a loss. I just feel like there might be something to these prophets. We need to speak with this John person. Is there any way you can arrange that?”
“With all due respect--” she began.
“I can tell that you’re skeptical,” Parks replied. “But, for the sake of your town, humor me. Let me speak with him before I make any kind of decisions. If he turns out to be a nut, we need to deal with him, but if he isn’t.... Well, we just need to find out.”
After a short silence, Harper finally said, “I’ll do what I can, but it may not be much. They keep to themselves, and we haven’t decided how threatening they are yet.”
“Do you know where they stay?”
“We have a pretty good idea. They seem to be building a compound of sorts a little north of town.”
“And you haven’t confronted them?”
“We only discovered it a couple of days ago. They’re hiding way out in the country. It’s only barely in Kingstone’s city limits.”
“I’m on my way. I need you to locate and arrange a meeting with this John character, or whoever their leader is. Try to gauge whether or not they’re legit. Call in your city cops to go with you, and I’ll call the sheriff to send you backup. I need this to be done soon, though, because every minute of inaction on my part is another chance for the situation to be taken from my hands. We can’t afford that. The Lieutenant Governor would do whatever he was told by any kind of authority. And I don’t know why they haven’t made this a federal case yet, but they could. Then, I wouldn’t have any control.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Harper replied after some thought.
“That’s all I expect.”
***
“Salmar has kept me informed as to what Sara Card has been doing,” Abbie told the gathering. “I’m impressed by how far she’s come in so little time. She’s used her special talents to find a lead to Lucifer’s drug operation. She’s set up an emergency telephone line that I plan to make use of. And she seems to be quite enthusiastic. I would like to meet her some time.”
“I’m sure that could be arranged,” Salmar replied.
“In the meantime,” Abbie continued, “we need to use what she’s created as groundwork to protect this town from all the influences of demons. And, on that note, I would like to speak to Alex about how he would like to address Attorney General O’Riley’s accusations.”
Alex thought for a minute. In all of the recent action, he’d forgotten about O’Riley slandering the prophets. He’d forgotten how Abbie explained that the United States Government had been often sympathetic to demonic concerns.
“It’s going to be hard now, without Jeremiah and Prometheus,” Alex admitted. “I don’t know if anyone’s going to listen to me if I don’t have that kind of support.”
Abbie smiled patiently at Alex as she reminded him, “The Elder Prophets still have ties all over the world. You will be heard; I guarantee it. The Attorney General has challenged us, and you need to decide how you would like to respond—not at all, of course, being an option.”
“No,” Alex said, a little more confident, “I want to respond.”
“I’m glad because the people will need to know why we’re here and why their lives and freedom are in peril.”
“Will they listen?”
“Oh,” Abbie replied slowly, “I’m sure they’ll have their doubts at first, but we’re doing something that has never been tried. We have never stepped out into the public’s eye and revealed our abilities and intentions. Naturally, we have been caught from time to time, and when we’re slow to respond, witch hunts have occurred. John opened a door that had to be opened. If a war is going to happen, neither side will have the ability to hide it from the mortals. Marshaling the prophets together, now, to make a stand against the demons may be our only opportunity to end this forever. And you are the one everyone will want to hear from.”
“How do we set it up?” Alex asked.
“That’s easy,” Liz was quick to respond. “I can contact any news agency you want. We can have them meet at a certain place for a news conference. I can still control Prometheus for a little while and use what resources they have to promote you. As for the local broadcasters, I could just email them anonymously or call them, about thirty minutes before you’re planning on showing up. They’ll all come if they know you’ll be there.”
“Right,” Matt agreed. “And you can teleport there, can’t you? As long as you can get in and get out, there shouldn’t be a problem. If you pick a place, we’ll create a perimeter to give you room to move. We’ll get some prophets to wait and watch undercover. If something turns out to be fishy, we just call it off. I would want to be there too, since, as Abbie pointed out, I’m supposed to be protecting you.”
Abbie nodded approvingly. “Alex, you were absolutely correct about bringing Liz and Matt to this meeting. It seems that their input and strategy have been remarkably valuable. How does this plan sound to you?”
“It sounds dangerous,” Alex confessed.
“We can do a lot to minimize that,” Matt countered. “Trust me, Alex. I’m pretty good at this sort of thing.”
Alex finally shrugged his shoulders half-heartedly. “Okay. If Matt says we can do it, then I believe him.”
“This decision doesn’t belong to anyone but you,” Abbie told him. “We may all have our areas of expertise, but you were the one chosen to be the rallying point. The prophets who are coming to Kingstone are not just fleeing demons; they’re trying to find you. Prophecies of you preceded your birth by fifty years—some say much more than that. And, now that prophets are being forced from their homes, you are giving them hope.”
“Abbie, I can’t be that person for them,” Alex protested. “Everyone thinks so much of me, but that’s only because they don’t realize how scared I am.”
“Why are you scared?”
“Because I’m afraid I’m going to let them all down. I’m afraid I’ll get them killed.”
Abbie smiled sagely. “That is precisely why you are the right person for them.”
***
“Yuri...” the disembodied voice of his master called to him.
“Yes, my liege?”
“I am in need of your service again.”
Yuri dropped to his knees in the middle of his small kitchen. “My life for you.”
“That will not be necessary at this time,” the voice replied. “You will mingle with the prophets in Kingstone. When the time is right, I will have you perform some tasks for me. In the meantime, just meet and get to know some of them. I don’t want you to become too involved. Do not go to their safe house until I give you an order to do so. Many people there will have the ability to detect my influence over you, and they would kill or imprison you. Therefore, we must wait until the optimum moment to strike at them, when there is no one around.”
Yuri didn’t want to go back to Kingstone; he didn’t want to even think about Kingstone. After he had created Lyubov and planned the party, he’d gotten in his car and driven around five hundred miles, to River Falls, Wisconsin. He hadn’t heard from his master in almost two days by that point, and he didn’t want to stay to find out what the prophets thought of his little get-together. At River Falls, Lucifer caught up with Yuri and ordered him to stay put. Since then, they had been in contact many times.
Despite his reluctance, Yuri answered in the only way he could: “Of course, Master.”
“Leave a substantial portion of your new drug with some of the local dealers in River Falls—after all, it is a college town—and get to Missouri as soon as possible. You can begin working on a new supply once you ar
rive.”
“As you wish,” Yuri replied as he stood out of his kneeling position. “Would you like for me to begin mass production of the stronger version—the one that will affect prophets?”
“Yes, but remember: This is all about timing. Right now, you can best serve me by being discreet. It would do me no good for you to be captured this early in the game. I still have an important task for you to undertake.”
Yuri nodded and, knowing his master’s dislike for long goodbyes and wasting time, gathered the few necessities he thought he would need between River Falls and Kingstone. He also picked up three racks that contained vials of Lyubov. Even in the short amount of time he’d spent in River Falls, Yuri had managed to make a few connections through whom he could sell or give away his supply. He could drop the racks of vials off with them on his way out of town. In less than five minutes, he was walking out the door of his small apartment.
***
“I have one more matter of interest before we conclude this meeting,” Abbie announced. “I have recently been in contact with Raul Habsburg, a member of the Society of Minds and a very dear friend. I find it unlikely that they would want to have anything to do with us, but I think, as long as we’re uniting supernatural beings against demons, it’s only fitting to open the door for them to join us. I don’t believe that they will accept our offer at this time. In fact, they probably won’t respond at all. Nevertheless, it’s important that we make the attempt because they are in just as much danger as we are, even if they may not think so.”
“The Society has always shied from dealings with the Elder Prophets,” Zeng Wei replied. “You and I, Abbie, are the only two Elder Prophets in this room who sat on the Council the last time we spoke to a confirmed member of the Society. They may be completely different now.”
“True,” Salmar agreed. “And the fact is: There may not be much to the Society of Minds anymore. They had a heyday during the Renaissance, but most of their elusive elders have been confirmed dead. Raul is probably their oldest and most powerful member—and very powerful indeed,” he was quick to add. “He is probably his people’s only protection against the storm, and most of us in this room have known that feeling before.”
Legends (To Absolve the Fallen Book 3) Page 15
