by Karl Morgan
“Faith, I created a portal from this universe to another, and used it to send those creatures away. I’m no scientist, but I don’t think the membranes of the multiverse can be arbitrarily connected by anyone, even an angel. Everyone is so worried about closing the portals before the membranes move apart, but there is no risk of that. It’s all an illusion, or as Bill here says, a construction.”
“Let’s think about this logically,” Faith replied. “How could anyone but my father do such a thing? Do you think he did it and forgot or something?”
“No, but that reminds me of another oddity,” Bill noted. “I rescued your father, the second Dom Emmanuel I have met, from a dungeon on your planet, Faith. How did that happen? And now we are in his office in orbit over Las Vegas in yet another reality. That isn’t possible either, is it?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so, but it did. What’s your point?”
“If there are two Doms, then perhaps there is a separate one in each of these phony membranes, and probably a separate Lou as well. I’m not the most religious guy in the world, but that is definitely not possible. There can be only one God.”
Faith looked confused and muttered, “Go on.”
“It stands to reason that a normal mortal could not have created more universes, so it must be a demon of some kind.”
“But you just said there are multiple Lucifers, so that can’t be right.”
“Somehow, someone other than Dom or Lou split our universe into many copies. That split created at least 308 Bills. I have to imagine there are the same number of Lous, Doms, Faiths and everyone else. Somehow the split left each of us unaware of the change and we figured our reality was still the same, but under attack by separate membranes in the multiverse. That also explains why we are all the same in each reality. The change must have occurred after I was born, and that probably means the one who did this knew the threat Mary and I were to them,” Bill concluded.
“You are kidding me, right?” Faith gasped.
“She’s right you know,” Seventeen agreed. “That seems very unlikely if not impossible too.”
“Perhaps you’re both right, but what other explanation is there? I certainly can’t think of any other reason all of the contradictions have occurred.”
Chapter 13
Audrey Watson and her daughter were sitting at a small table drinking coffee. The building around them looked like a typical small house, except there were no external doors and the windows looked out onto such different landscapes that they knew the images were projections. In the living room, the view outside was a large formal garden with fountains and a high fence. From here in the kitchen, they looked out onto a broad beach. In the bedrooms, rugged snow-capped mountains dominated the views. “What are we going to do, Mom?” Sandi asked.
“I’m not sure what we can do, sweetheart. We’ve been locked up in this place for days and no one has come to see us or explain anything about what is going on.”
Sandi stood up and walked over to the window, looking outside. “Why this elaborate hoax? I just don’t get it. If whoever wants to imprison us, why did they go to all the trouble to make this look real? What do you remember about the night in Cody?”
“Sandi, we’ve been through this a hundred times . . .”
“Mom, please!”
Audrey sighed and began, “I just remember kissing, you, Tommy, and the kids good night and going into my room. I fell asleep there and woke up here.”
“I just keep hoping one of us will remember some new detail about what happened to the kids and Tommy. I’m sorry for all of this,” Sandi replied.
Before Audrey could answer, an odd sound made them both turn around to see that a door had suddenly appeared in the wall. It opened and the emperor walked in. He was dressed in normal street clothes, and of course, looked exactly like Bill Watson. Both women jumped to their feet and rushed over, putting their arms around him and hugging him tightly. “God, honey, it’s good to see you. How did you get here?”
“Yes, Daddy, are we free to go now?”
“No, I think not,” the emperor replied.
“Bill, what’s going on? Are you responsible for doing this to us, Bill?” Audrey growled as the women backed away.
He grinned and replied, “Yes and no. Yes, I brought you here, but no, I am not your husband.”
“Bill, cut the crap. I know who you are!”
“That is where you are incorrect, Lady Audrey. I am Emperor Gaius Claudius Caesar, ruler of the multiverse. I kidnapped you as a warning to your husband and his ilk that do not approve of my methods.”
“Daddy, I think you need help. You are saying some very strange things. If you let us out of here, we will make sure you get the medical help you need.”
He laughed and waved his arm at the window and the image of the beach was replaced with the exterior of the structure. Giant winged demons stood there watching them. The two women screamed. When they looked back at Gaius, he was wearing his royal robes and a gold crown was on his head. He waved again, and the image of the beach returned. “So, you see that I am not insane. As long as I have you two, Bill Watson will be impotent to stop me.”
Audrey looked stunned and said, “Mr. Emperor, why do you think an accountant is a threat to you? That’s all my husband is, you know. And why is it that you look exactly like him?”
He chuckled at them and sat down at the small table, motioning for them to join him. The women just stared back without moving. “Please sit down. I promise I won’t bite.” When they were seated, he continued, “As a son of Satan and grandson of God, your husband is most definitely not just an accountant, my dear. Insofar as our similarities are concerned, it is due to our parents being the same, although from different realities within the multiverse.”
“Grandson of God?” Sandi asked. “Sir, certainly you know that is impossible.”
Gaius laughed out loud. When he recovered, he looked back at them staring at him blankly. He took Sandi’s hand in his and she struggled to pull free. “Sandi is your name, is that correct?” She stopped struggling and nodded her head. “I have wondered what my own daughter would be like, and I suppose now I know. Are you happy with your life, Sandi?”
The familiarity of the emperor along with his uncanny appearance caught her off guard and she replied, “Usually, yes I am, but of course, everyone has ups and downs.”
He released and then patted her hand and said, “Well, to the extent I am at fault for the downs, I do apologize. You know, I did all of this so at least you would be comfortable.” She thought about thanking him, but then just sat quietly. Gaius turned his attention to Audrey and said, “I can see the attraction your version of me took in you, Audrey. You seem a very strong, brave, and beautiful woman.” She blushed and turned her head. “Please tell me about my sister in your reality.”
Audrey looked back at him blankly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Emperor, but Bill doesn’t have any sisters, at least not that we know of. He was adopted.”
“So, you do not know a woman named Mary Stewart?”
“Her! She’s his sister?”
Gaius rubbed his chin and said, “That is very curious. How do you know this woman and not know she is your husband’s sibling?”
Audrey looked back and forth between her daughter and this other version of her husband. “Bill told me she just started at his work the day before the nuclear attack on our home city.”
“Very curious indeed,” Gaius replied. “Do you know where either of them is now?”
“No. After we were kidnapped, we found ourselves here. For all we know, Bill is still trying to find us in Wyoming.”
The emperor jumped to his feet and began pacing around the room hurriedly. He kept his head down and was muttering under his breath. Audrey and Sandi held hands and watched him carefully, not certain what else they could do. “Mom, this must be a dream,” Sandi whispered.
“Shush!” Gaius demanded. “Please let me think for a moment. I don’t know what’s h
appening to me. I used to be able to figure things out instantly!” He continued pacing and mumbling. After another minute, he looked up and said, “The enforcer, of course!”
“I’m sorry,” Audrey said.
He looked at her angrily with his eyes glowing red, and then kept pacing. After another few moments, he stopped and smiled broadly. He sat down with the women again and said, “My dear ladies, it would seem I have been the victim of improper counseling. I must apologize for all of this. Please take my hands.” They just stared back at him. “Audrey, Sandi, please trust me this one time. I swear I will not harm you.” He smiled again and they gingerly took his hands.
Audrey blinked and now the three were sitting at a small marble table in a monstrous kitchen where dozens of chefs and other workers were busily preparing a large feast. “What happened?”
“Lucius!” the emperor shouted. The kitchen workers froze. Less than a minute later, the Councilor rushed into the room, stood in front of the emperor and bowed deeply. Audrey and Sandi just stared, not knowing what to think. “Lucius, of course you remember the enforcer today?”
“Of course, milord, I am still horrified that one of them dared to invade your body.”
“And I shall forever be in your debt for discovering it, Lord General Lucius.” The other bowed deeply again. “It would seem the creature was influencing my thoughts as well as spying on me. Now I can see it was he who forced me to imprison Ladies Audrey and Sandi.”
“It was an incredibly heinous crime, milord.”
“Lucius, please find appropriate accommodations for our two new ladies of the court. They should be treated as though they were my wife and daughter.” He patted their hands as they stared back at him. “Of course, they are not, but they must be treated as so.”
“By your command, milord.”
“Audrey and Sandi, you shall have adjoining suites here in the palace. As well, you may have free run of the imperial grounds and inner city. Lucius will find someone to train you in our protocols. Neither of you will want for anything. I swear it.” He smiled and gently held their hands. “Lucius, please take them to their quarters now. I need time to think.”
“As you wish, milord,” Lucius replied and led the two women out of the kitchen.
When they had left, he shouted, “Everyone out!” and the kitchen staff hurried out of the room. Gaius looked around and confirmed that the kitchen was empty. He went over to a cabinet and extracted a bottle of brandy and took a long drink. He thought about the enforcer that called itself Proctor, and wondered how long that thing had inhabited his body. “How could such a vile parasite control an immortal like me? I am the son of Satan and grandson of Almighty God, and yet that thing was feeding on my thoughts and perhaps my blood and flesh. How could that be?”
“It was just a bug,” a faint voice said.
Gaius jumped to his feet, grabbed two chef’s knives and began turning around looking for the speaker. “Who is there? Show yourself! I command it!”
The voice was next to his left ear and he could feel its warm breath on his cheek, “No one is here. I am in your head.” He spun around, slashing the air where his ear had been. “You can’t kill a ghost, Bill,” the voice said into his right ear.
Gaius was enraged and morphed into demonic form and began to fly around the room, smashing cupboards, appliances and spilling the contents of refrigerators and ovens on the floor. He was screaming like a lunatic and striking out at everything within reach. Two stovetops burst into flames and he added his own fire to the inferno until at last the sprinklers turned on, dowsing him and the fires. He fell to the ground spent. He was lying on a pile of rubble panting for air and choking on the pouring water and smoke. After a moment, he was human again and sat up exhausted as a dozen firefighters rushed into the room.
“I’m glad you got that out of your system,” the disembodied voice whispered. Gaius held his head in his hands and began rocking back and forth.
After they returned to the imperial grounds, Mary was busily ironing Maggie’s clothes and putting them back into her dressers and closets. Princess Maggie sat on a long couch on the other side of the room watching her. Mary tried not to pay attention to the other woman but was unnerved by the constant attention. “Mary, please let me ask you a question.”
“Of course, milady.”
Maggie frowned and said, “Mary, I know we’re back here where I’m the princess and all and you’re supposed to be my slave, but honestly, didn’t Las Vegas mean anything to you?”
Mary put down her work and approached Maggie, got down on her knees and bowed deeply. Then she looked up and said, “Princess, it meant the world to me. Honestly, I don’t want either of us to get into any trouble, that’s all.”
A big smile filled Maggie’s face. She got on her knees too and hugged Mary and then kissed her lips gently. “Thanks, Mary, you are a good friend. I really do appreciate what you’re doing and I don’t want my crazy brother doing anything to you, but you don’t have to worry about me. He can’t hurt me. I am the same as him.” She hugged Mary again and then asked, “Can I ask you a few questions, best friend to best friend?”
Mary hugged Maggie and replied, “Of course, Mags.”
Maggie smiled and cupped Mary’s face in her hands. “Please don’t take offense, but these things are really bothering me. You said that Jonas didn’t have sex with me, right?”
“Mags, I wasn’t there, but I don’t think he did.”
Maggie looked down, sighed deeply and then looked up. “Mary, did you have sex with Jonas?”
“No! Geez, Mags, Jonas is like my brother. I wouldn’t do that!”
“I believe you, bestie. Mary, did you have sex with J.C.?”
A horrified look passed over Mary’s face and she said, “No! Absolutely not. I couldn’t do that. It would be totally wrong.”
Maggie sighed deeply and continued, “Whew! I’m glad that part is over. Can I ask you why you wouldn’t sleep with him? He is very cute.”
Mary replied, “J.C. is like a saint to me. I would feel like I was defiling sacred ground with him.”
Maggie giggled and said, “I know what you mean. I think that’s part of the reason I like him. But anyway, we can agree on that. Next question, do you think we look alike at all?”
“No,” Mary replied and Maggie looked back at her as though she was crazy. “Mags, we don’t look alike. We are freaking identical twins! In looks, that is.”
Maggie hugged her tightly and said, “I can’t think of anyone else I would like to be like, Mary.”
The two Bills and Faith decided to sleep in the office as the terminator had passed over Las Vegas, not to mention the stress of their day. Faith was lying on the couch with the two dogs. Seventeen pushed two chairs together and slept as best he could. Bill could not sleep. He sat on the chair behind the desk staring at the door. His desperation to find Faith had made him forget an important question. Where was the Dom Emmanuel from this reality? The office had been in shambles and Bill had just assumed this Dom had been captured like the one from the emperor’s realm. He wondered if he could open that door again and rescue him as he had Faith. A wave of terror passed over him as he imagined the demon who could have done all of this, even confounding the forces of Heaven and Hell. It had been Bill number seventeen who suggested all of this was a construction. Is it possible all of this was a test for him? He discounted that idea due to all the death and destruction going on throughout the different realities. He began to tremble as he imagined opening that door and finding the culprit, some horrendously evil beast that would sacrifice all life to gain dominion. He blinked and noticed that red light was visible around the edges of the door. The wood of the door began to move and bubble like the surface of a boiling pot of water. He opened his eyes and realized he had fallen asleep in the chair with his head down on the desktop. He stood slowly and rubbed his stiff neck, still focused on the door. Bill walked around the desk and moved slowly toward the door. “This is what I
was born for,” he said to himself, a bit less than reassuringly. As he approached, the red light began again around the door and the panels began to warp and tremble. He heard deep guttural growls behind him and turned to see his two dogs had become the hellhounds again. The hair on their backs was on end, and they looked ready to pounce onto whatever was on the other side. Bill reached out for the doorknob that was now glowing red. He heard a yip and turned to see both dogs shaking their heads slowly from side to side. Heat was emanating from the door and sweat beaded his forehead. He stopped with his hand inches from the door. He reached for the doorknob just as a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
“Bill, what the heck do you think you’re doing?” Seventeen shouted. Faith was standing ten feet behind him in angelic form with her sword raised for attack.
“Bill, this is what we were born to do,” Bill argued. “We have to go through that door sooner or later. I vote sooner.”
“For Christ’s sake, we’re not ready for that yet,” Seventeen replied. “You have some theory about a special demon, and the first thing you want to do is face it. We don’t have any freaking idea what it is. Open that door and all three of us could be dead in a second.”
Faith moved forward and positioned herself between Bill and the door, which had returned to normal, as had the two dogs. “He’s right, Bill. You and Mary may be the ones who have to face that thing someday, but we need help. We need to discover its weaknesses so we can fight and win.”
Bill’s brush with fate was too much for him. He felt suddenly faint and sat on the floor holding his head in his hands. “I’m sorry. I just have to do something!”
Faith sat next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. “Did you get any sleep at all, Bill?” He shook his head but did not look up at her. “Bill, we all saw that this office had been ransacked and my father from this place was gone. Do you know where he might be or if he’s alive?”
