Annihilation

by S. C. Mitchell

  “We will name him Grant, with your permission,” Kelly said. It seemed an odd request, them asking Nathan Gray if it was okay to name their child. What was this all about?

  Nathan took the child and cradled him in his arms. “It is a good name…a fitting one. Both your families have a rich heritage.”

  The baby reached one small hand toward Nathan’s face.

  “Oh child.” Nathan shook his head. “This should have been your moment, your ascendance. I am so sorry. It must wait, now, until we are back on the other side. I promise you, though, your day will come.”

  The child never uttered a sound.

  Nathan handed the babe back to Kelly.

  Geoffrey narrowed his gaze. “Then we must return to the demon’s world?”

  Nathan nodded. “Soon, but there is something I must do here first.”

  He turned to Ryan. “Go wake Salina and bring her here. I need to speak with her and you as soon as possible.”

  Ryan nodded, heading toward Salina’s room. He hated waking her—she’d certainly needed the sleep.

  What was going on? And why was Nathan being so cryptic about it?

  The betrayer strikes from behind to protect his identity. – A Templar Strategy Guide by Sir Rodger Hillary, 1737

  Chapter 12

  Ryan’s strong arms crushed her to him. His teeth nipped at her earlobe as his hot breath seared her neck. He’d been unquenchable, rousing her again and again to new heights of passion.

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  Through the haze of Ryan’s lovemaking, an irritating knock persisted. Was it all in Salina’s mind?

  Then Ryan’s touch was less gentle. He grabbed her shoulder and shook her. “Salina, I’m sorry. You have to wake up.”

  He wasn’t lying next to her. He was standing over her. Still, he was naked. Those incredibly ripped abdominals held her focus. How did a man train such taut muscle, with such enticing ridges? She reached out to run her hands down his chest and stomach, but the stretched fabric of a polo shirt didn’t match the vision her sleepy head was visualizing.

  “Salina, please, wake up.” The voice was all wrong too, and the face began to shift as her hazy head cleared.

  Tom Johnson stood over her, his hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake.

  “I’m sorry, Salina. I know you need your sleep, but I thought you’d want to hear this right away. Someone has destroyed the shimmer.”

  “What?” Salina shook the sleep from her head. A quick glance at the clock told her she’d only had four hours of sleep—not near enough to recover from the grueling two prior days.

  But probing the shimmer, discovering its secrets, was her project. With the distraction Ryan presented and the birth of Kelly’s baby, she’d all but forgotten it. Still, it was her responsibility. “Who? How?”

  “I don’t know,” Tom said, shrugging his shoulders. “I was just walking by the storeroom and noticed the door was wide open and the lock was smashed. When I went in, the storeroom was a mess. Lots of stuff was broken, but most of that stuff can be replaced. The shimmer’s in like a dozen pieces and there’s no power in any of it.

  “Shit!” Salina pulled herself up off the bed and stuffed her feet into her shoes. “Show me.”

  The storeroom was on the other side of the complex, deep in the bowels of the Arcanists complex. Who could have gotten into it?

  The spy. She didn’t need any further evidence that there was a demonic agent among them.

  The pieces of the shimmer lay lifeless, inert, amidst the wreckage of the room. The door’s lock had been blasted by a spell. Traces of the arcane magic lingered. The spy had to be an Arcanist. She tried to track the power back to its source, but the trail was confusing.

  Shit, there’s an easier way!

  She blamed her fatigue for not thinking of it before.

  “Tom, run back to my room and grab my crystal ball. I can wind back time and see who did this.”

  “Sure, Salina. Anything you want.” Salina could hear the heavy trudge of his feet as he raced away. The poor man was still trying to impress her, but at least today it would work to her advantage.

  She knelt down by the shattered shimmer and started to collect the pieces. She wanted to preserve whatever was left of it. Was there any way to put it back together? What would their chances be of ever recovering another one? Certainly, they were rare among the demons, or they’d have recovered more of them over the years.

  A sick feeling seeped into the pit of her stomach.

  Kelly had been talking about returning to the demon dimension like it was some sort of duty they had to the people over there. It had all been fine and good, as long as they had the shimmer to communicate and bring them back. Without the shimmer, sending them back would mean they were trapped over there once again. Worse, it meant Salina would probably never see Kelly again.

  She wasn’t ready to accept that. She started to arrange the pieces of the shimmer. There was no power generating around it but maybe they could pump some in. She doubted just shoving the pieces back together would bring the thing back to life, even if she could find all the pieces.

  She was so intent on her task, she didn’t feel the presence of the other person in the room until he was right behind her. She wasn’t happy she’d allowed Tom to sneak up on her like that, but she was absorbed in the puzzle of the shimmer before her. He could have said something at least, but that was Tom. The man would quietly wait until he was noticed—not saying anything because he was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

  “Hand me the crystal ball,” Salina said, reaching one hand back, while still concentrating and arranging the pieces of the shimmer with her other. At least she’d be able to find out who did this.

  The hands that came around her head held a smelly rag. Salina gasped as the rag was held against her face. Too late she realized that was the wrong thing to do. The cloying fumes entered her system and instantly she became groggy. Her brain was foggy enough from lack of sleep. The drug hit her quickly. Before she could even turn and try to see who was behind her, everything went black.

  Belief comes from within. First and foremost, believe in yourself. – A trial by Faith by Rev. Roy Holland, 2016

  Chapter 13

  Ryan shot a side glance toward Nathan Gray. The old man radiated worry and fear. Ryan couldn’t recall Nathan ever showing fear before. Worry, yes, but never fear.

  “Salina is nowhere in the complex?” Joyce said.

  She sat on the other side of Nathan at the round conference table in one of the Arcanist’s meeting rooms. She was rubbing her hands together—an action Ryan had come to associate with the Arcanist leader at her most concerned.

  Anna and Jack Hughes, Kelly Grant and Geoffrey le Court rounded out the small group meeting quietly to assess the situation. Anna and Kelly held sleeping babies in their arms but listened attentively.

  After discovering Salina’s room empty, Ryan had aided in the search of the Arcanist’s underground compound. He’d only caught a hint of her, a lingering essence, in the storeroom where they’d discovered the shattered shimmer.

  “This is most dire,” Head down, Nathan shook his head slowly. “They are, no doubt, taking her to Shimone.”

  “Why?” Ryan shifted his gaze to Nathan. “What is it they want from her?”

  The old man avoided Ryan’s eyes and his question. “Finding her will be most difficult now.”

  Within the past hour, every power pool, both Templar and Arcanist, had gone dark or turned demonic. The Arcanists were in a panic, with no magical energy to draw on. The Templars were faring better. They’d become more of a paramilitary organization over the past century and were not as reliant on magic. Still, the loss of power greatly weakened them as well.

  Ryan could feel Nathan’s inner turmoil. “You know more than you’re telling us.”

  Nathan raised his eyes, finally meeting Ryan’s gaze. “I usually do. As always, though, your perception is sharp, young man.”

 
He pursed his lips. For a long, breathless moment the room fell silent. Then Nathan sighed. “What I am about to share with you is dangerous knowledge—something the world at large must not learn. This is a perilous time for the people of Earth.”

  Everyone at the table leaned forward.

  “The power pools have died because Gaia and the High Lord are no longer among us.”

  A cold knot formed in the pit of Ryan’s stomach.

  “They’re dead?” Joyce asked.

  Nathan shook his head. “Not exactly. Gods do not die, but they can cease to be, if they have too little power in the world. Gaia and the High Lord are gone, at least for now, because they had too little power to sustain their existence.”

  This was wrong. It had to be. Ryan had seen God—he’d seen Gaia. “How can that be? There is still faith in the world. There is still belief in God. The churches are strong.”

  Nathan nodded. “True, but God is a nebulous concept, easily shaped and distorted. Of the billions of inhabitants of this world, there are not two that have exactly the same beliefs. The faith—the power—goes to the god most in line with the belief. Over the past century Shimone has positioned herself as that god, not by sending out a new calling, but by bending and corrupting the messages of love and compassion sent from Gaia and the High Lord.”

  Ryan had heard the hate. Thought it only a sign of the times and political climate. He’d even felt the compulsion to accept concepts he knew were wrong. The pieces were falling into place, but there was so much more Ryan needed to know.

  “You said Gaia and the High Lord were gone for now. How do we bring them back?”

  Nathan’s visage grew grim. “We find and protect Salina.”

  Kelly Grant rose then, a shocked look crossing her face. “Salina holds Gaia’s Seed of Immortality?”

  Nathan closed his eyes and bowed his head. “She holds both Gaia’s and the High Lord’s Seeds of Immortality.”

  Kelly looked first to Geoffrey le Court, then down at the babe in her arms. Ryan could feel the concern radiating from them. They also knew more than they were telling. Something about their child?

  “What are Seeds of Immortality?” Ryan was determined to get to the bottom of all this. “And what has this all to do with Salina?”

  Nathan Gray drew a deep breath.

  “When a god’s power is threatened, they have the ability to sow their Seed of Immortality in one of their staunchest believers. If a woman, she will bear a child of great power. If a man, the seed passes to the woman at the conception of the child. The child becomes the avatar of the god on earth—a demigod—and is used to revitalize belief and faith. Gaia and the High Lord have done this, on occasion, throughout history, though never at the same time before.”

  “When their power, their very existence, was threatened by the sudden loss of belief from Shimone’s machinations, Gaia and the High Lord both sowed their Seeds of Immortality. Gaia chose Salina.” Nathan looked directly at Ryan. “The High Lord chose you.”

  Ryan’s head spun with the realization of what Nathan was implying. “But we used protection…”

  “Modern science and arcane spells are no match for divine providence.”

  Ryan shook his head in disbelief.

  “The High Lord’s Seed no longer dwells within you. Salina is pregnant…with twins. And they are the most important young lives in this world right now.”

  Ryan shook his head in disbelief. “How does Salina being pregnant bring back the gods?”

  Nathan’s gaze traveled across the room, to Kelly Grant and her sleeping child. “Gaia and the High Lord used the last of their power to sow their Seeds, giving up even their existence to sustain them. The divine energy generated by the births will resurrect them and give them power once again. Enough, at least, to begin to fight back. But if Salina dies before giving birth, Gaia and the High Lord will be lost forever.”

  Anna Hughes rose and began to pace. “What do we do? Who do we look to—believe in?”

  “For the time being,” Nathan answered, “you will have to believe in yourselves.”

  A power has entered our world, more powerful, more evil than the Ballor. It moves under cover, hidden from mankind. – The Tunguska Chronicle by Templar High Commander Royce Chamberlain, 1911.

  Chapter 14

  “Why couldn’t you have just moved in with me?” Tom Johnson was pacing, pulling at his hair.

  Salina tried to pull free from the ropes that tied her to the chair. She found no give anywhere. “Tom. Be reasonable. Just let me go.”

  “We would have controlled the Seed of Gaia. You could have lived. Do you have any idea of the power we would have wielded? Why didn’t you listen to me? Why did you have to cheat on me…with him?”

  It was the third time he’d mentioned the Seed of Gaia. What was he ranting about?

  And he was ranting. Out of control, he paced, fists clenched tightly.

  Goddess, this was crazy.

  “Tom, there was nothing between us. Why the hell can’t you get that?”

  He swung. The slap connected solidly with her cheek, knocking her head back.

  “Whore! You were meant to be mine. She said you’d be mine.”

  Her cheek stinging from the slap, Salina reached for power. This bastard wasn’t getting away with that.

  But there was nothing. The power pools within reach of wherever she was were completely dark.

  “Don’t damage the goods, human.” The voice was cold and familiar. U. S. Senator Robert Stanton, a Ballor demon. “The goddess wants her intact…for now.”

  Dread chilled her heart. Tom was the spy.

  “Intact?” Tom spun on the demon lord, anger dripping from his every word. “She is far from intact.”

  “I don’t like this, Stanton.” Richard Frale stepped from the shadows. “The human is becoming unbalanced.”

  Frale, one of the Ballor Lords she’d seen with Stanton at the casino, wore an expensive-looking business suit. He crossed his arms and leveled his gaze at Tom.

  Tom advanced on the two Ballors. “Back off, both of you. The goddess put me in charge. Me! I don’t care how much money or influence you have. She gave me the power!”

  Salina fought to keep her voice even. “Tom, Gaia doesn’t work with demons. You’ve been tricked.”

  “Gaia?” Tom turned toward Salina, his eyes wide with insanity. “Gaia’s dead!”

  Something lurched inside Salina’s stomach. The goddess…dead? What was he talking about?”

  “Shimone is the only power left to worship.” His eyes narrowed. “I saw it coming…knew she’d win. Shimone is the power…the glory…everything!”

  Energy flashed behind Salina. Whatever it was, she couldn’t see it, but she felt it. Dark essence drenched with demonic energy.

  “You see, Frale, humans can be brought around to the right way of thinking.”

  The feminine figure that slunk into sight from Salina’s peripheral vision looked completely human to the naked eye, but the aura of demonic energy surrounding it was so intense it almost blinded her.

  “Shimone.” Tom went instantly to his knees.

  Salina’s skin crawled as the demon goddess strode slowly but determinately toward Tom. She couldn’t shake the image of an adder about to strike.

  She’d only encountered the demon goddess before in her human illusion of Selma Fairbanks, the leader of the Arcanists until she’d been discovered. Shimone had infiltrated and taken over the Arcanists, almost destroying the organization from the inside. Salina had been there when Nathan, with the aid of both the Earth Mother and the High Lord, had confronted and defeated the goddess.

  Shimone’s human illusion was much different now. A mane of fiery red hair hung to the middle of her back, framing an exotically beautiful visage. The sleek body dripped sensuality as she slunk toward Tom. Tight, black leather accentuated more than it concealed.

  “Such a faithful servant.” Tom raised his eyes from the floor to look at her. “I did not
give you permission to gaze upon me, mortal.”

  The command was light, teasing, but held a razor’s edge. Tom instantly lowered his eyes.

  “Such obedience must be rewarded. You may now look upon me, mortal.” She was playing with him, like a cat with a rodent. Couldn’t he see that?

  Shimone turned. “And you’ve brought me such a wonderful gift.”

  Her intense green eyes gazed directly at Salina, but Salina refused to lower her eyes.

  Damn her to hell, I will not show weakness.

  “Both Seeds…Amazing!” Salina felt Shimone’s gaze bore into her very soul. What was the demon goddess seeing? “I would never have believed, even they, would have been so foolish.”

  Stanton and Frale joined the goddess, one to each side.

  “We should kill her now, goddess,” Frale said. “End the threat of the gods returning forever.”

  Shimone seemed to ponder Frale’s words. “Should we?”

  She turned quickly to face Tom. “Mortal, the honor is yours.” In her hand, a wicked looking dagger appeared. “Plunge this into her heart. End her existence and the lives she carries. Do so for the honor of your goddess.”

  Tom moved woodenly toward Shimone. His hands trembled as he took the blade from her. “I…I…”

  The goddess turned back, crossing her arms as an evil smile slid across her lips. “Play with her a bit, if you like. Remember how she rejected you.”

  Tom held the dagger in both hands, straight out, pointing at her heart. “Salina…I…”

  She’d be damned if she would make this easy for him. “If you’re asking for forgiveness…fuck off!”

  The blade was razor sharp. It slid easily through the thin fabric of her blouse. Tom’s shaking hands caused a thin slash, in the skin between her breasts, that began to seep blood. But then he stopped, looking back over his shoulder at Shimone.

  “Oh,” Shimone taunted. “He can’t do it.”

  She took a step toward him and Tom lowered the blade from Salina’s chest.