Merciless

by Robin Parrish

  "The Flood ravaged the earth and exterminated the human race, but the Flood did not reach the Secretum's home, so perfectly sealed off it was, and so we continued to multiply and survive in our underground home. But over time, Cain's people became aware of the Flood, and we believed it to be confirmation of what we were called to do.

  "You see, from its inception, the human experiment was flawed. The Creator imbued His creations with free will. He set out to see if a self-aware, sentient species that had the ability to choose its own path would willingly choose the path of light. The Secretum watched from a distance as the depravity in Noah's time led the Maker to resolve that He would wipe away humanity with a great disaster. It was the answer to the experiment-cold, hard evidence that man is incapable of choosing the path of light for himself.

  "But God loved Noah, so much so that, after the Flood, he promised Noah that He would never again wipe out earth's populace with a disaster. God, being perfect and existing outside of time, knew from the very beginning of His creation that He would make this promise to Noah, just as He knew that binding himself by this promise would make himself incapable of violating it.

  "Which is why He provided the children of Cain with a prophecy, to guide our actions. You know the prophecy; seven thousand years ago it was inscribed on the object known as the Dominion Stone, which is a piece of the Hollow itself."

  "But where did this prophecy come from?" Daniel asked.

  "Cain's wife. She was a seer possessing insights into the nature of the universe that made sane men tremble. Her most important prediction was recorded on the Dominion Stone and preserved there for millennia, and the Secretum began the difficult task of gathering the resources necessary to ensure that everything in the prophecy came true."

  "That's why you've been interfering in human history for thousands of years," Alex observed.

  "Of course," Devlin replied. "The prophecy states that the Secretum will guide the coming of the Bringer, and the Bringer will set free the Angel of Death, giving him free reign and dominion over the earth. This is precisely what we have done."

  "But why?" Alex pressed. "If humanity's free will is the problem, how does bringing forth Oblivion fix it?"

  "Oblivion will annihilate mankind. Without man, there will be no free will, and all of the pain and trouble it has wrought will finally, beautifully, be wiped away."

  "So let me see if I understand this," Daniel began thoughtfully. "You took a being whose sole purpose is to end life ... You took this creature and you shoehorned it into a Grant Borrowsshaped wrapper, giving it the powers of the Bringer. You essentially provided it with a lifetime supply of steroids and energy drinks. Oblivion is an all-powerful killing machine with the ability and the will to destroy the entire planet ... and you made it infinitely easier for him to do that." He paused. "Are you people out of your minds?"

  "By your standards, perhaps we are."

  "By our standards," Payton spat, "you're not even people."

  "You're an intelligent, civilized human being," Ethan said, bitterness etched into his voice. "How can you allow this? We're talking about billions of innocent lives!"

  Devlin snorted.

  "What's funny?" Alex asked.

  "'Innocent.' How casually your people use that word to describe yourselves. One could choke on the irony."

  "You should be so lucky, you miserable git," Payton threatened, a hand on his sword's hilt.

  "Death is a necessary part of our task," Devlin explained with horrifying calm. "It's unfortunate, we do not relish it, but it is required. The Creator's promise to Noah prevents Him from wiping out all life on earth again, or surely He would have already done so-look at how far mankind has come since Noah's day! Human sacrifices and slavery. Mass ritual suicides. Torture and violence celebrated in art! Child predators! Sexual degradation at your fingertips! We've fallen further into depravity than even those in Noah's time. Can you imagine how much lower mankind will go, given time?"

  "You actually believe you're the good guy here, don't you?" Ethan asked, incredulous.

  "The Secretum of Six worships Jehovah, the God of Cain. Our purpose is to carry out His greatest work-the work that He cannot and will not carry out himself."

  "The Angel of Death," Payton replied, scoffing at the words. "Oblivion is the Angel of Death?"

  "He has many names," Devlin replied calmly. "The Destroyer. The Destroying Angel. The Angel of the Lord. The Angel of Death. Now, for the first time ever, he lives within human flesh, and in that form he is known as Oblivion. But he has existed since the beginning of time. He entered the houses of the Egyptians and smote their firstborn sons. He struck down some two hundred thousand Assyrian soldiers when that conquering nation threatened Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. He delivered the plague that David chose as punishment for his sin of pride-a plague that killed seventy thousand in just three days. And he is the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse, who will ride a pale horse at the end of time."

  "But time has ended, hasn't it?" Nora spoke up and asked. "Is this the Apocalypse-what's happening now?"

  "I rather think that time has merely ... taken a breather. Once Oblivion has finished his work, the Creator will create life on this planet anew, and time will resume."

  "What do you mean, `create life anew'?" Alex asked.

  "Do you still not understand?" Devlin observed, mildly surprised. "Like the Bringer before him, Oblivion wears the Seal of Dominion. And the Seal unlocks the Gates."

  "What gates?"

  "The center of the earth. Another dimension. A dark spiritual realm. Whatever framework you think of it in, it's a real place that exists. And it's not the `fire and brimstone' prison you were taught about in Sunday school. The simplest definition for it is that it is the place where evil lives. Thrives. Grows. And from which it spreads.

  "Evil infests that place, and like all that is vile, it lusts after more of everything. It is confined there, but it eternally rages against its bonds like a caged animal. And it grows ever more restless. The Gates are all that keep that terrible place from pressing in on our reality. The Seal is the only known object in existence that can peel back the boundaries between dimensions and let Gehenna loose to consume our world. Which is precisely what Oblivion has done. Look around you. Does this place now not contain the physical properties of all that is bad, all that is wrong and cruel and impure?"

  "So earth is being ... annexed by Hell. Wonderful. But why would Oblivion unleash this if he's just going to kill us anyway?" Alex asked.

  "He cannot do otherwise," Devlin replied. "Revelation 6:8-1 looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.' Where Oblivion goes, Hell must follow."

  "That's why the sky is burning and the land has turned to volcanic rock and why there are wildfires spread out all over the place," Daniel said, more to the others than to Devlin.

  "Where you see Hellfire," Devlin corrected, "I see the very fires of creation."

  "So why did time stop?" Alex asked.

  "Time did not `stop'; it has simply been ... removed. Time is a scientific law imposed upon mortal reality. Its forward motion defines our existence. But we are no longer existing in a realm defined by the strictures of mortal science. When Oblivion was birthed into human flesh, the Gates were opened and that terrible place began to spread into our reality. This place is earth no more. It is the DarkWorld, possessing the same properties as that place of suffering and torment-a place that exists wholly outside of time and space."

  "You haven't answered my question," Alex said. "What did you mean when you said Oblivion was making it so that the Creator can `create life anew'?"

  "Oblivion has come to earth," Devlin replied. "He is the Unmaker. Everything that is living, he will turn to death. And he will not stop here. Once he is finished with our world, he will spread his reach into the very cosmos and render all of the stars and other planets as nothing but ash. If any other life exists in
the universe, he will destroy it as well.

  "He will lay waste to existence itself, and once he has consumed the mortal plane and everything within it, once the earth has faded into primordial ash, it will be a void, formless once more. Just as it was in the beginning. And the Creator will have a blank canvas upon which to start again.

  "He was bound by his own promise to never again exterminate the human race, so we have done it for Him. Now, He will be free to create a new race who will always do that which is right, and in whom He can delight without regret."

  "You mean a race without free will," Daniel said.

  "Precisely," Devlin replied.

  "So that's it, then," Daniel said with finality. "That's what all of this has been about? The Bringer, the Dominion Stone, the Rings, the prophecy, every single way you've manipulated all of our lives ... It was about you pressing some kind of cosmic reset button."

  Devlin merely looked at him, but there was a hint of triumph upon his face.

  Daniel was unmoved. "Alex isn't the only one who heard Bible stories as a kid. My mom even sent me to Sunday school once upon a time. And in all this time, for all your centuries of preparation, I can't believe you missed the point," Daniel said, shaking his head bitterly. "I understand it better than you do, and I don't even buy in to it. It couldn't be more obvious: The Creator wanted us to have the choice between right or wrong. Because in our choosing, we prove not only His goodness, but His very existence. He has no interest in mindless robots-He wants those who choose to do what's right."

  "But we cannot!" Devlin cried. "If allowed to proceed unchecked, humanity will only dream up newer and more deplorable subversions of what the Creator intended!"

  Daniel looked upon the older man with loathing. He stood and casually removed a pistol from the back of his pants-a gun no one knew he had-and pressed the muzzle against Devlin's right temple. Everyone reacted in shock-some almost cried out-but no one made a move.

  "I should kill you where you sit," Daniel said coolly, "but would that really end this debate? Would that action be right or good? It would feel good, after what you-" His voice broke, and he couldn't finish the thought. Tears burned behind his eyes.

  "Daniel, I'm not sure you're thinking clearly," Alex said softly, alarmed and trying to feed calm into him. But his emotions were much too strong for her to overcome now.

  "How do you know that, Alex? How do any of you know what the real me is like? Maybe the real me isn't a scientist at all, but a cold-blooded killer. I wasn't lying when I told Yen Wei I was a murderer. Did you know it was me who killed Matthew Drexel? I shot him in the forehead with a gun just like this one."

  "Don't expect any tears over that death," Payton scoffed. "Drexel was a predator who deserved a far worse fate than a quick demise."

  "But that was different," Alex argued.

  "The only difference is that this time, Lisa's dead!" Daniel thundered, face red and eyes bulging. "We're all going to die anyway-what difference would it make if Devlin went a little early? Not a soul here could argue that he doesn't deserve it!" Daniel said, facing Devlin. "You might just deserve it more than any single individual in recorded history. If the full extent of your crimes were known, any jury in the world wouldn't just convict you, they would personally tear you limb from limb! And no one would feel bad about it after! Just like I won't."

  He pressed the gun so hard into Devlin's temple, the weapon nearly broke the old man's skin. Devlin never flinched or even closed his eyes; he simply watched and waited.

  Daniel's damaged body was taut, a coiled spring. He gripped the gun viciously, as if pouring all of his sorrow into its gleaming black form. He gazed into Devlin's unconcerned face with malice, anger, pain, and grief ...

  Slowly, as everyone watched with breath caught, Daniel pulled back the gun and released the magazine, allowing the bullets to fall out of it. There was a single bullet still in the chamber, and Daniel held stiffly to the weapon as if unable to separate his hand from it.

  At last he released his grip on the gun, but flipped it in the air so that he was holding the barrel. With a move so fast it made even Payton blink, he reared back with the same hand that held the gun and swung it horizontally so that the butt of the handle collided with Devlin's head. He released the gun as he ended his follow-through. It clanked and rattled as it settled on the floor several feet away.

  "That was for her," Daniel whispered.

  A purple egg rose instantly on Devlin's forehead. His neck bowed and he struggled to maintain consciousness.

  "Why ... why didn't you kill me?" Devlin slurred.

  "Because the choice was mine to make," Daniel replied. "And I made it. I don't expect you to understand."

  As everyone watched, uncertain of what Daniel might do next but unwilling to stop him, he put a hand in his inner jacket pocket and withdrew a small baggie, inside of which waited sixteen Rings of Dominion. He retrieved one from the bag and tossed the rest to Ethan. Out of another pocket, he dug a piece of the Dominion Stone and pressed it into a gash on the neck he'd suffered at Devlin's hands.

  It was eerily quiet inside the tiny house, all alone in this deserted neighborhood. There were no sounds of life, traffic, or nature outside. Inside, all that could be heard were the sounds of breathing.

  As everyone watched, Daniel clung tightly to the Stone that touched his own blood while sliding the Ring onto the middle finger of his right hand.

  Daniel stared at the Ring as it slid into place and said aloud his answer to the unspoken question on everyone's lips. "I think ... she wanted me to."

  Here in the infinite quiet, every detail stood out as he slipped the Ring on. The same blinding white light, shining from the Ring's burgundy gemstone. A light so complete that it enveloped Daniel until he himself was glowing. Faint and distant, there was a sound of tearing and rending, as if reality itself were confused and revolting against such an unnatural act.

  When the glow subsided, Daniel touched the Ring to find that it had bonded to his skin and would not come off.

  And then he vanished where he stood.

  Daniel reappeared standing next to Alex, at almost the same moment he'd disappeared.

  "Whoa. . ." he said, placing a hand to his head and shaking out the cobwebs.

  "Did-did you just teleport?" Ethan asked.

  Daniel didn't reply. He was leaning over, holding one knee for support.

  A wave of nausea and discomfort washed over Alex. She glanced at Daniel, who was still doubled over. Whatever he was feeling, she was feeling it too.

  But she wasn't using her powers on him ...

  "I think he's using my empathic powers, spreading his anxiety to me," Alex said.

  "I feel it too," Nora added, moving to the far end of the couch as if to get out of range of the effect.

  Hector raised his hand in agreement, then reached around to touch Daniel on the hand, alleviating his queasiness. Testing a theory, Alex placed her own hand on Daniel's shoulder after Hector had turned loose of him. The anxiety she felt vanished as well.

  "How could he be using your powers?" Ethan asked.

  "Before that, was that Payton's speed, when he disappeared and reappeared?" Alex asked.

  "Yeah, maybe . . ." Ethan replied. "It looked just like Payton when he enters superspeed."

  "Daniel," Alex said, "I think your power is to mimic what other Ringwearers can do."

  Daniel nodded, seemingly having already arrived at the same conclusion. "Proximity seems to trigger it. Fascinating. . ."

  "Indeed it is fascinating. And pointless. You act as if your deaths are not foregone conclusions," Devlin said. "You are fools. We are all going to die, just as it was meant to be. Oblivion is nearing the city limits of Jerusalem as we speak. He will walk to the Old City, and once he's there, he will put into action his endgame. And everything will end, once and for all."

  "What will he do in Jerusalem, exactly?" Payton asked.

  "You are familiar with the Bringer's ability to send out a b
last wave of pure energy, yes?" Devlin replied. "According to the prophecy, Oblivion will use this final stopgap to let loose a blast of extraordinary energy, a wave so powerful it will envelope the earth and obliterate everything-and everyone-in its path. The skies will open and fire will pour out and cleanse the land, wiping away anything that remains."

  No one knew what to say. What could anyone say or do in the face of such awesome primordial power?

  "So what do we do?" Ethan asked.

  "What would Grant do?" Alex asked, though it wasn't really a question.

  "Grant is gone, my dear," Devlin said with sincerity. "There is nothing left of him. You should try to remember that."

  "You're wrong," Alex replied, even though she felt no deceit in him.

  "Alex ..." Ethan began. "We're at the end of the world here. Maybe it's time to finally let Grant go."

  Alex looked around, and everyone was watching her in a similar fashion to Ethan, as if she were a starry-eyed idealist clinging to some romantic notion.

  "I don't believe that," Alex replied without hesitation. "Julie wouldn't believe it. And neither would Morgan."

  "Oblivion has total control over his body," Ethan went on. "If Grant is somehow still in there-and that's a huge 'ifnone of us knows how to draw him out again."

  Alex looked to Daniel, who merely nodded his head in agreement.

  "Then we won't try," Payton said.

  The others turned to him and waited.

  "Oblivion is a threat. Our job is to eliminate that threat. If one must die so billions can live, then that one will die."

  "No!" Alex cried, jumping to her feet as well. "Grant has saved your life a dozen times over, and this is how you'll repay him?"

  The edge in Payton's voice grew harder and more savage by the moment. "Yes, it is. I have known from the first time we met that the Bringer and I would end this-all of this-in a confrontation between the two of us. And only us."

  "Don't you even think about it," Alex nearly whispered.