Mr. Alexandrov said, “Enjoy your vacation.”
Taurus said, “Yeah, well, that’s completely up to you. Do not disappoint me.”
Flashing lights cascaded throughout the limo. “What the Hell is this shit? “Taurus said. “Pull over. Let’s see what this asshole wants.” The driver turned on his blinkers and pulled over. The officer parked a few feet behind. The officer stepped out of his squad car, and an observant Taurus surveyed him. The tall, dark mysterious man cloaked in a police uniform introduced himself. “My name is Jephat, and I have a message from Prince Hareem III, heir to King Asad’s throne. I’ve come with an important message from the Prince himself. He says King Asad has something of importance to you. I’m sure these coordinates will grant you everything you desire.”
He passed the driver a map containing coordinates to the Secret Mountain of the Seven Moons. Taurus said, “Hmm, so that is where these bastards are taking the Scroll. I’ve heard of this damn place, but never thought it existed.”
The Mercenary replied, “Yes, they plan on destroying it in the Water of Ruins.”
Taurus said, “So, your Prince wants us to do his dirty work, so he can inherit the throne ahead of schedule. Nevertheless, the results would’ve remained the same. I’ll make sure these Three Kings rule no more. Go back and tell your Prince, or your future King, ‘Congratulations.’ His betrayal will be met, and he owes me countless favors.”
The Mercenary departed.
The month of May came, Taurus’s season. As a new Moon settled, he became the strongest out of all the Zodiacs until the cusp.
The giant illuminated logo of a Scorpion from the Scorpion Sun Casino in Japan resonated through the night sky. It could be seen for miles ... hard to miss if you’re a new resident here.
“You’ve been counting cards haven’t you?” The casino owner, accompanied by seven big men, approached a man who had just cashed out.
“No, Sir. Just had a lucky night trusting my instincts,” he replied.
The casino owner said, “Hmmm, your instincts must be telling you to drop that suitcase if you want to leave here with your arms and legs still intact. It would be a grave error if you were to even think about entering that car with my money.”
The mysterious man replied, “No, I don’t think so, because my Horoscope this morning informed me that I would enjoy my coin after leaving here.” He walked out of the casino.
The casino owner responded, “We seem to have ourselves a wiseguy here. Let’s show him that I mean business.” They followed him out to his car.
Once outside, he lit his cigar as his men tightened the circle. The high roller placed the suitcase full of money in the passenger side of his car. He took out a silver card with a dragon symbol engraved on the outside and threw it. The card found its mark in the kneecap of one of the casino owner’s security. He collapsed in pain.
The six remaining security guards advanced towards the stranger. One lobbed a punch, and the man caught it. As he crushed his hands, the security guard fell to his knees. The crushing noise of his bones paused the others’ advances. Thick scales and spikes rose out from the man’s hand and ripped through his clothing. His whole body was reinforced with an impenetrable scaly coating. The casino owner backed up in horror. His jaw dropped, and his lit cigar fell to the ground after witnessing the half-man, half-dragon. The security staff tried to run, but met its fire and were mauled … at first, one-by-one, and then in twos. The men pleaded for their lives.
After the Man-Dragon finished, he retrieved the same silver card and tossed it in front of the casino owner. He reverted back to his humanoid form and shared some parting words, “After you get yourself together, pick it up and read it.” He walked over to his vehicle and drove off.
Grateful to be alive, the casino owner picked up the bloodstained card and read the fine print:
“YEAR OF THE DRAGON”
Chapter 14
MEANS OF ESCAPE
A child’s giggle startled Abdeen. “Whoa! You’re sooo small.”
He looked up to see a curious young boy climbing down from his tree house, obviously a native among the Giants, playing in his backyard. Unfortunately, for Abdeen, his condition proved no contest even for a child Giant. He felt helpless, like a calf without its Mother in a den of lions. He had only one option: to talk his way out.
Abdeen spoke in a friendly voice to the young boy. “You’re right. I’m so small you could squish me like a bug if you wanted to. But you’re a good boy, and you wouldn’t do that, right? What is your name, my new friend? And how old are you?”
“My name is Aaron, and I’m seven. What’s your name?”
Abdeen said, “I go by the name Abdeen. Aaron, where are your parents?”
Distracted by Abdeen’s size, the boy missed his question. He walked around him as any curious child would. Soon, an adult would check on the little boy, so Abdeen had to act fast.
Abdeen asked, “Hey, would you like to play Hide and Seek?”
A frown appeared on Aaron’s face. “I don’t like that game. The last time I played it, my friend was eaten.”
Abdeen stepped back. “Huh? Eaten?”
“Yes, by Emim. He’s a very bad Giant.”
Abdeen had traveled for miles, injured while eliminating oversized bloodthirsty insects. By far, distancing himself from the massive Nephilim that had consumed his companions by the seaside trumped all victories.
Abdeen replied, “Ah yes. I believe I’ve met him, and I don’t miss him at all.”
Aaron inquired, “You saw him? I’m going to get my mommy.”
Abdeen yelled after him, “Whoa, wait! Aaron.”
Aaron stopped and ran back to Abdeen.
“I need a doctor or a nurse. Can you help me?” Abdeen asked.
Aaron answered, “Yes, my mom, she knows magic.”
“Great, his Mother’s a Witch. A Giant Witch,” Abdeen said to himself. “God help me.”
Aaron motioned to Abdeen. “Come on, I’ll take you to her.”
“All right, but take it easy. I’m hurt.”
Aaron went back, picked up Abdeen, and carried him very delicately, as if he were glass.
The massive back door alone unsettled the Pursuer. In the boy’s arms, he witnessed oversized vases, cups, paintings on the tall walls, fixtures and fortifications ranging from stairs to wooden beams.
Aaron’s Mother noticed an object in her Son’s arms. “What do you have there?”
Abdeen thought, “Here we go.”
Aaron replied, “Look, Ma, it’s a little man. I found him.”
The Mother ran towards her Son, frightened. Her footsteps deafened Abdeen, she knocked him out of the boy’s arms. He tumbled across the room. All the commotion awakened their dog, and he came scurrying down the hall.
Aaron cried, “No, Mom. He’s my friend!”
Aaron and his Mother argued briefly. In desperation, Abdeen fought the pain and pelted the dog with fire. Its jaws extended, revealing its menacing teeth. The cry of their dog diverted Aaron and his Mother’s attention. It ran out the room with its tail on fire. Abdeen thought, “That was a bad idea.”
The Mother grabbed the kitchen broom. In his own defense, he set the broom ablaze as well.
The Nephilim Mother grabbed Aaron and ran out the back door of their kitchen.
More of the kitchen caught fire. He climbed up the kitchen sink and extinguished the fire with the hose.
“So much for that. I’d better get out of here, fast.”
He heard the Mother outside yelling. “Help! Help!”
Her bellowing cries alerted her neighbors. Abdeen felt the ground shake while her neighbors gathered in the front and back yards. Their elevated voices became a nuisance to the Pursuer.
Abdeen thought to himself, “All right, I’ve had enough of this. Everyone here is in my way.”
He noticed an oil pipe leading to the kitchen stove. The flames would fuel his gift, give him strength, and he could leave. He wasn’t
going to open the valve inside the house. He didn’t want to burn the little boy’s house down.
Abdeen twisted the valve and mustered enough of a spark to ignite the gas coming out of the valve. That’s all he needed. He ignited into a Supernova. All the infirmities dissipated as the flames gave him strength and rehabilitated him. The Giants could only stare at the Supernova briefly before having to avert their eyes. Temporarily blinded, the stubborn ones held on to fixtures and anything they could get their hands on as leverage to avoid falling.
He summoned two new Lions of Fire and a Chariot for them to pull. The sky opened and out they came with golden chains around their necks hauling an unoccupied Chariot. The sight instilled fear in all those who looked on, and they fled, leaving Aaron and his Mother to fend for themselves. The Lions of Fire landed, and Abdeen wasted little time. He boarded the Chariot and flew up over the Giants as they dispersed.
Abdeen let out a yell of praise, “God, give me strength.”
However, Abdeen sensed a bad aura. The immediate silence brought discomfort. Aaron, his Mother and the other natives had vanished. Now in a ghost town, he descended from his Chariot and investigated, confident that his gift would protect him.
Abdeen headed towards the front of the house. He locked eyes with Emim, the massive Giant. The descent of his Lions of Fire sparked Emim’s interest, and he had come to investigate, which led him right into the leery metropolis.
Emim stood greater than all the Nephilim within the region.
TODAY’S HOROSCOPE
Your ruling of the Sixth House will come into play as you will grasp your role as the analytical information specialist. Use your gifts wisely and attain all the information you will need from your enemies.
In another Dimension, two women laughed amongst themselves while walking down a hall.
The larger of the two asked, “Is the Pursuer dead?”
The other one replied, “Silly girl, have you forgotten where you are? I think he’s just unconscious.”
The first one spoke, “Hmmm, let’s see if we can wake him up. I know just the thing.”
The two Demon girls exchanged kisses and fondled their vaginas just over the head of a chained and unconscious Pharisees. They underwent orgasms, and their fluids squirted upon him. It was just enough to wake him out of his vulnerable state.
“Why isn’t he with the rest of the damned?”
The second one answered, “I’ve heard this one is special. There’s another Archangel down the hall with Virgo. Our lord has special plans for them.”
“Ha-ha. I told you it would work!” After witnessing Pharisees coughing and shaking his head, the two Demons rejoiced and continued kissing each other.
His memory slowly returned. After his capture in the Judgment Realm, he’d been stationed in one of Lucifer’s quarters, beaten, and chained. He had minutes before the same aggressors returned from their break, and the two Demon whores left.
He overheard one of the Demon whores mentioning another Archangel’s whereabouts. Realizing that he had a colleague nearby gave him renewed hope. Although the special chains deprived Pharisees of his teleportation abilities, his oppressors failed to uncover his mind control capabilities.
He said, “Free me from these chains at once.”
Without any self-control over themselves, they stopped their foreplay and did exactly as Pharisees had commanded.
Pharisees dropped to the floor in pain. His arms and legs still numb from the confinement.
They helped him up. He ordered the Demon whores to slaughter his torturers. He pointed to their shadows thrown on a wall in front of him, courtesy of the support lights they carried.
He heard the echoing cries of his torturers and he headed down the hall in the opposite direction in search of the other Archangel. First, though, he had to arm himself. He saw his weapons on a table in a side room and retrieved them.
Pharisees arrived outside the room and saw Abdeel. He witnessed another occupant in the room. With her back turned, her long hair caused him to struggle with his view. She seemed to be giving Abdeel a massage.
Pharisees noticed something odd about the woman. He teleported into the chamber and pushed her off Abdeel. As he touched her, a chill went through his veins. Virgo revealed herself. Her beauty was tantalizing, her hair was of water, and her eyes were of diamonds. Her skin illuminated as if it was gold. By the time her observer witnessed all of her wonders, she had already rendered him powerless against her will.
Glaring deviously while hitting the floor, she entered Pharisees’ mind, but he blocked her with his own secured telekinetic gift. He engaged with the Zodiac, but immediately heard and felt the floor-pounding cacophony of hundreds of Demons racing towards the room. Pharisees backed off. He threw a blade at Virgo. The blade pierced her chest. With not much of a reaction, she pulled it out, and her gift of healing went to work as her wound closed. She gazed upon Pharisees while licking the blood from the same blade. She cut her own hand, and the poisons seeping through her body disintegrated the blade. Pharisees grabbed Abdeel and they escaped, vanishing into thin air.
Virgo yelled, “Damn! Lucifer will not be pleased.”
The Demons arrived just after Abdeel and Pharisees escaped. They encountered an angry Virgo.
She ranted, “You idiots! How am I going to explain this? Go! Search the halls!”
On a quiet and peaceful mountaintop in Ireland, Pharisees sat Abdeel down on a nearby boulder. By the emptiness in Abdeel’s eyes, his mind underwent a great ordeal. Pharisees assumed that under the influence of Virgo’s dark supremacy, Abdeel must have given up vital information. With the whole campaign at risk, the others had to be warned.
He snapped his fingers and slapped his hand. But Abdeel remained in a robotic state. In order to reverse whatever Virgo started, Pharisees entered his mind.
Pharisees spoke, “Brother, if you can hear me, let your mind be free.”
More than half an hour passed, and nothing worked. He went back to what he believed might do the trick. “Sorry my Brother.” He slapped Abdeel off the rock and watched him roll on the ground. After lying face-down in the grass and dirt, Abdeel coughed and gasped for air after inhaling dust.
With a huge sigh of relief, Pharisees spoke, “Welcome back, old friend. God bless.”
Abdeel, holding his face, spoke, “Did you just slap me?”
“I had to resort to something that required some thought. My apologies, Brother.” He helped him up. “I hate to burden you with this troubling news, but it must be disclosed. Your Brother has gone missing, and everyone is in immediate danger. Lastly, I must return to the Judgment Realm, for I am no longer a suitable candidate for this mission. I’m sure I’m breaking Covenants just by being here in the Mortal realm. Sagittarius has taken my life and still remains in the city. I can take you anywhere you need to go, but afterwards we must part ways.”
Abdeel’s head gradually cleared. “Troubling news indeed, my friend. Yes, I remember the abandoned building. And I remember being apprehended by Demons as well. Everything is coming back. God help us all, but what of my Brother. Do you think he escaped?”
Pharisees continued, “Abdeen tried to free me in the Judgment Realm, but Lucifer’s followers overran the Realm. The Judgment Realm is currently lost, but somehow he managed to escape. I have no idea where he is.”
Abdeel said, “I must find him and the rest of The Pursuers and complete this mission. Wait Brother, if the Judgment Realm is lost, you still have a chance to redeem yourself until order is restored there. You cannot return.”
Pharisees walked towards a cliff to think about Abdeel’s theory and the consequences of breaking mortality Covenants. Lucifer’s greed to overturn the Judgment Realm and control everything had backfired.
Pharisees said, “You’re right, Brother. I cannot return there or risk being captured again.”
Abdeel replied, “Let’s not waste any more time. Let’s find our Brethren.”
ISOLATION
> Ithiel said, “Judged by Mortals? This is deplorable.”
Timius answered, “I’m forced to agree, Brother. However, we cannot harm them. There must be another way of redemption without bloodshed.”
Justus added, “It’s a shame Pharisees has gone missing, his gift was superb.”
As public enemy number one in the eyes of a whole city, Timius, Ithiel, and Justus sat there confined in a small four-cornered cell, awaiting their judgment.
Meanwhile, back at the secret safehouse, Irisan went over strategy with the Guide to save their confined colleagues. They had to take human casualties into account.
Irisan said, “There’s no other way around it. This setback has taken a huge toll on our mission. Mortals will have to fall tonight.”
The Guide replied, “Oh no, there must be another way. What do you plan to do? Just march in there and start butchering people?”
Irisan countered, “If the opportunity presents itself, yes.”
The Guide spoke, “Have you gone mad?”
Irisan responded, “I have made my decision. You’re just …”
A bright light formed in the hallway. They armed themselves with laser-powered weapons and inspected the disturbance. As they prepared to engage, sighs of relief set in. It’s none other than Abdeel and Pharisees descending from the light.
“Thank God. Abdeel and Pharisees. Where on Earth have you been?” Irisan asked.
They filled each other in on information. Pharisees parted to retrieve Timius, Ithiel, and Justus.
The power went out at the police headquarters. However, back-up systems initiated, a few emergency lights and cameras illumined.
The detectives surveyed the monitors and saw a flashing light and a man descending from it. He confiscated all three of their detainees and vanished into thin air.
One of the detectives yelled, “Did you just fucking see that shit!”
The power came back on, and dozens of police officers ran down the hallway with their guns drawn, only to find the cell completely empty.
Timius spoke, “Pharisees? We thought you were dead?”
Pursuit of the Zodiacs Page 10
