Abdeen sat up to check on his wounds. He twisted around, trying to reach the arrow lodged in his back. The bleeding had stopped, so he left the arrow alone. It didn’t seem like the arrow had pierced any vital organs, so he left it up to fate. But he still was in need of medical care.
In case of friendly fire, he feared using his gift in the Judgment Realm, but that left him defenseless. The mysterious horse entities scurried off as the loud footsteps of something immense headed towards the shore. Sensing the danger and too injured for conflict, Abdeen hid behind a tree. Unbeknownst to him, he trekked in the forbidden, elusive, winged Planet of the Giants, the Nephilim. He remained calm, still, and as silent as he could be.
The Giant settled down to make a meal of his Lions of Fire. He had loved them like Brothers, but he could do nothing about it. Honorable companions, his Lions of Fire served their purpose. In time, he will have the strength to summon another pair who will be even stronger.
The Egyptians would’ve taken months to build something close to this Giant’s size. Its elongated skull complemented its overall mass. The Giant’s razor-sharp teeth easily ripped through the Lions of Fire. Abdeen heard slushing entrails and crushing bone. It could hold at least three men in each hand; and his footprint, threatening enough to clear a battlefield. The multiple scars all over its body marked him a lone wolf, a banished outcast.
While the Giant feasted, Abdeen took his leave. “Farewell, my Brothers. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.”
He treaded through the tall grass.
Blessed with power over water, Abdeel used it to break free from Lucifer’s ring of fire. “I’ve had enough with these games, Lucifer. Come out of hiding and face me.”
Lucifer answered, “You will cooperate, Archangel?”
A strange woman removed herself from one of the corners of the room waiving both her arms. With a soft, but elevated, voice she said, “Please stop!”
She was beautiful beyond words.
Lucifer backed down and locked Abdeel and the woman in the strange room. Great power sealed the door.
Abdeel yelled after Lucifer. “Come back here!”
He heard Lucifer’s laugh fading away the further he got down the hall.
“Damn!” Abdeen turned to the woman, who happened to be equally upset.
“I suppose that we are both prisoners?”
Abdeel answered, “Yes, I’m afraid so.”
The woman asked, “When did you get here?”
Abdeel answered, “I’m not sure. I don’t remember.” He sat on the bed to think.
The woman continued, “What is your name?”
Abdeel really didn’t want to continue the conversation, but answered, “Abdeel, and yours?”
“Saraii. I don’t remember how I got here either. You seem to know your name, but do you know who you are? My memory escapes me.”
The innocence in her eyes made him open up. “My name is Abdeel. I’m an Archangel on an important mission to stop an alliance from forming. An alliance orchestrated by the same Devil who has imprisoned us here.”
Abdeel avoided eye contact. He found himself battling against the flesh due to her stimulating beauty. She moved closer to him. “Woman, leave me be. Your advances seem questionable.”
Saraii implored him, “But please, I am scared and all alone.” She moved closer to him on the bed.
He ignored her advances and got up to think. “Where were you this whole time? And why did you hold your tongue for so long?”
Saraii said, “I was afraid, so I hid myself over there.” She pointed to a spot across the room.
The only means of escaping would be to rattle the walls with his gift, but that would surely kill the woman. “I don’t understand … why didn’t he just kill me?”
Saraii replied, “Maybe he has something else in store for us?”
“Whatever it is, coming from him, it’s not going to be of any benefit to us. We need to leave this place at once.”
She got up to walk around. Abdeel made the mistake of watching her. He surrendered to her beauty. They locked eyes, spiraling the Archangel into a deep trance.
While boarding a plane, a flight attendant initiated protocol. “Hello, my name is Mary, and I’ll be your flight attendant today. As a reminder, this is Flight 118 heading to Kenya, Africa. Passengers are advised to turn off all cell phones, computers, tablets, and any other electronics. Put any luggage in the overhead compartment or under your seat. Fasten your safety belts.” She demonstrated how to fasten a safety belt and continued giving further instructions.
She carried on while Mr. Clarendon adjusted his seat and unfolded his newspaper. A strange man several seats in front of him placed his luggage in the overhead compartment. Mr. Clarendon had a keen sense and read the man’s every move. Ozias, completely unaware of the danger, sat down in his window seat and promptly went to sleep. As ordered, he took the Mortal route by boarding a plane to see if he would hear or see anything unfamiliar in regards to their mission. Enemies travel in various ways.
OZIAS’ DREAM
A week passed by since their children’s kidnapping. Ozias and his wife London hardly slept since. The detective on the case wrote down their statement and proceeded towards the door. “I’ll contact you as soon as possible if I get any leads. Please get some sleep, the both of you.”
London let the detective out the door; she then fell down the hall. Detective Bishop reached for his gun only to have his hand chopped off by a man with fire in his eyes, wearing a Zodiac mask and wielding a samurai katana. He approached Ozias. “My name is Sagittarius. I am aware that you are no ordinary man. What is your business on this plane?”
A confused Ozias tended to his unconscious wife. “You’re going to wish you never had the gift of entering dreams, Demon!”
He altered into a two-headed water dragon and blasted his hallway with aqua-meteors. He forced a deceived Sagittarius to retreat. Sagittarius evaded all but one, blocking it while his boots gripped the dirt. He laughed in his success.
Ozias said, “Your laughter will be stopped shortly.”
Ozias attacked. He shot more water-filled meteors in midair. Sagittarius, abruptly blocked every attack with his special shield. He shot rising Sunrays. Ozias was unable to maneuver and escape them all. One entered his shoulder and he crashed into a nearby fence. With a piece torn out, he held onto what remained of his bloody shoulder. Sagittarius smelled blood and approached. Ozias regained focus and altered his appearance into a water beast in the form of a grizzly bear whose paws contained enough power to end the fight with one strike. Caught off guard, Sagittarius covered up with his wings. He was knocked from cars to fixtures and walls. Desperation settled in, his wings grew weak. He forced Ozias’ luck to run out as the Pursuer swung and missed one of his attacks. Sagittarius capitalized and cut Ozias clean to the point where the pain caused him to wake up from his dream.
“My God! Sir, are you ok? You’re bleeding!” A passenger asked a wounded Ozias. A beaten up Sagittarius headed towards the bathroom, but collapsed in the aisle. The fight injured him more than he thought.
“What the Hell is going on? This one over here seems to be in trouble as well! Is there a Doctor on board?”
The flight attendants instilled calmness on the plane by instructing everybody to remain in their seats.
“He was fine a second ago, and all of a sudden I heard a tearing noise or something, and now he’s bleeding profusely,” the passenger testified.
“Apply pressure to the wound!” Came orders from a flight attendant.
Another passenger a few rows down came forward, identifying herself as a registered nurse, and tended to Ozias. She motioned for her Brother to get her luggage out of the overhead compartment. “I have some medical supplies in my bag.”
“What’s going on back there?” A few onlookers from first class yelled.
Someone yelled back, “We need to make an emergency landing. This man is in serious trouble and in need of a hospital!�
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The nurse responded, “I’m not sure I can stop the bleeding in time to save this man’s life.”
Despite being in enormous pain, Ozias struggled to speak. “The man that collapsed in the aisle, is he still alive?”
The nurse glanced down the aisle. “I’m not aware of his condition yet. You seem to be in more jeopardy than he is at the moment, Sir, so just relax. We’re going to get you some help.”
He saw a huge gash running from his chest all the way down to his abdomen.
LEVI’S DREAM
“This is a true testimony of what is to come and what shall be.
My name is Master Levi Marcus, an instructor at a Private School for the Gifted. Despite our secrecy, we did not discriminate. All beings that had gifts to share were welcomed. It was not long before all classes of species and humanoids from near and distant Galaxies attended our school. We’ve had children spanning all ages, including orphans and runaways. Secret organizations also got involved by enrolling individuals with special abilities in hopes of learning their associate’s full potential. And lastly, people who simply wanted to control their gifts.
I want to recall an event that proves there is an active Zodiac program. An old friend of mine named Ethan, was very gifted and seasoned. For reasons of his own, he was not an attendee at the school. Some of my best students were in need of a good lesson in humility, so I invited Ethan for a friendly sparring session with my students. He kindly accepted my invitation, especially seeing that we hadn’t spoken in a while.
As he made his way inside the training hall, I watched him through the window of my office. He’d taken up smoking since the last time we met and was putting out one cigar as he was lighting the next one. The students did not expect such an older man, nor was he intimidating. They pretty much ignored him and continued with their training. But little did they or I know at the time that we were all witnessing an Elder Zodiac.
“Ah there you are Ethan,” I said as we embraced as Brothers.
“Are you serious? This is who we will be sparring with today?” One of the students joked.
The rest laughed. Some debated on who should spar with him first.
“Yes, his name is Ethan. He will be your sparring partner for the day, so prepare yourselves. Please, everyone gather around.” I motioned everyone over to one side.
The first student looked at me as if this was all a joke. “Old man, at least remove your cigar,” the student said arrogantly.
“No need,” Ethan replied.
The student dispensed fire upon Ethan. The flames had no effect as it encircled the Elder. Like a rope, Ethan grabbed and pulled the fire generating from the students body. The fire obeyed as he molded it in to a giant circle, and it hovered beside Ethan as if it was the Sun. The student could no longer produce fire; nothing but smoke surfaced from his core. “How is this possible?” He said.
Ethan replied, “Seems like you’ve lost something. Here, I’ll return it to you.”
Ethan pointed towards his sparring partner and under his authority, the circled flame returned and imploded into its own carrier. The student suffered a few bruises. It was the impact that had shaken him up. The match was over, and the room grew silent. In shock, the students looked on while some carried Ethan’s first victim away.
Student after student challenged Ethan, and one-by-one, the students were carried off the floor. Ethan had yet to finish his cigar. Even I didn’t know what to make of it all.
“Brother, what have you been up to since the last time we’ve met?” I probed.
“I will explain later. More humility is needed here.” He faced the remaining students.
As much as they needed this, I had developed some concern for my own students. I’d come close to stopping the whole session until I saw the results. The students were learning. The defeated had humbly returned to observe. I was pleased. Without question, they would never forget this day. Someone who looked as if violence had never crossed his path humbled all eighteen of my best students without ruining his cigar.
“If it’s not us Brother, it will be that cigar that kills you,” I joked.
Each student, one-by-one, embraced Ethan. He earned their respect and they wanted to learn more.
“I think you might have taken my job, old friend.” We laughed.
Without pause, he hit me with it. “I’m afraid I have some troubling news, Brother.”
He warned that there was a Pursuit of the Zodiacs. He brought to my attention that he was one of them. He went on to say that his real name was Capricorn and that the ones responsible for financing this school were the same ones who considered my students nothing more than weapons … pawns for Lucifer. He also added that the Vampeers had a common interest in my students as well. This whole time they kidnapped and recruited mercenaries with extraordinary gifts while young and enlisted them to my school.
I said to myself, more than to Capricorn, “How did I not see this?”
“Do not blame yourself, Brother. You meant well. It’s these Devils who I will be sharing words with next.”
Just as Ethan and I feared, it wasn’t long before the school came crashing down. Like a deep fatal wound, the truth bled beyond repair. There were too many watchful eyes observing from the outside in. After reaping the benefits of recruiting students willing to obey, the evil forces that funded this school ordered the eradication of all those who invested their time teaching.
I was at the top of the list of those who had to be removed. My mission in reporting this atrocity to the members of the Dark Graduates ended in failure by the hands of the same students I’d taught in the past. In addition to my own teachings, unknown sources outside the school had finely tuned their gifts. As instructed, the ones I’d managed to save from corruption had taken refuge. Some had become mercenaries in secret societies and organizations, including the Dark Graduates.
That was the last time I saw my old friend Ethan, or any Zodiac for that matter. He warned me to leave the school. But a stubborn Master, concerned for his remaining students, brought forth his own demise. By the time I realized that it was past time to leave, misfortune unearthed herself. Hence, this recording today as I lay here in a pool of my own blood. By the time anyone finds me, I will already be gone. I’ve come to terms with death and made peace with God. May He be with you all in these coming times.
Chapter 11
UNTIMELY MEMOIRS
TODAY’S HOROSCOPE
As Ruler of the Fifth House, try to avoid too much work today; you will encounter a very strong and powerful man from the North. His visit will not be a pleasant one. The exchange of gifts will be inevitable, and one’s ego will be forever altered. Continue to be self-aware; trust your instincts, and may the Sun give you strength.
It was midnight in Sendai, Japan, and a man headed home after a long night of drinking and conversing. He slowly walked to his vehicle, parked not too far from the bar. A bit buzzed, but not completely out of it, he realized that he had a follower and stopped.
He spotted the camera-wielding pariah and spoke, “Okay, okay, you got me. Prepare to earn your payday, because you’ve caught me in a good mood. I’ll offer only one autograph to go with those pictures.”
The man in pursuit spoke, “I am not with the media, nor am I paparazzi. I know who you are, Leo.”
Instantly, the stranger’s words sobered up the drunken actor. His follower opened an umbrella. Seconds later, it rained.
The street was absent from the watchful eyes of spectators. The alleyway was slightly lit by a hovering balloon lamp.
Leo spoke, “Judging by my Horoscope this morning, my guess is that you came a long way, my friend.”
The stranger answered, “Yes, indeed.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but it mentioned you were very strong, and I must not underestimate you.”
The stranger replied, “Yes, indeed.”
“Hmmm, a strong man from the North, huh? Well, well, you made it clear you’re not h
ere for an autograph; so let’s just see how strong you really are.”
The stranger answered, “Of course not. And for the record, not only are you a horribly over-rated actor, but after I’m done with you, I will destroy your golden god and the secret society that issued you that lump of evil.”
Those statements struck the Zodiac’s nerve, and he replied, “Just who the Hell are you anyway!”
The stranger said, “Don’t fret about that. But if my identity is somewhat of importance to you, I will satisfy your inquiry. My name is Giloh. I am an assassin, a Mercenary, one of many sent to take out the Fallen.”
Giloh unleashed lightning bolts from a storm cloud hovering just above them.
Leo walked towards his striker, his true form intact. Lightning ricocheted off of Leo’s indestructible mane, doing a number on nearby cars, street lamps, trees, and other random fixtures.
As Leo advanced, Giloh went to Plan B. He disconnected the canopy and ribs from the shaft and handle of his umbrella. A round shield and sword sparked the Zodiac’s interest.
“Impressive,” Leo replied. Giloh violently slashed at Leo with strikes, but not enough to put Leo away. Leo’s indestructible mane strengthened, offering protection from each blow. And he let out a fiery roar that forced Giloh to dispel the cloud over him, which Leo realized was the source of his power. The echoes of his roar caused a brief Earthquake. Leo grabbed the Mercenary, breaking both of his arms. He sunk his mighty jaws into the face of a stunned Giloh, almost ripping his head from his body. Leo clutched his chest while he choked on his flesh. He bent over to vomit. After hurling the remnants of his enemy onto the pavement, he transitioned back into his humanoid form.
“Your sender should have warned you, the Zodiacs are no ordinary Fallen. Look at you as your body twitches and squirms in its last moments. Go now. And may your disappointment settle within while you await sentencing in the Judgment Realm.”
Leo left the twitching assassin in a pool of his own blood for the World to see. Sometime thereafter, the assassin’s twitching ceased.
Pursuit of the Zodiacs Page 7
