Paradise Awakened Trilogy

by Mackenzie Morris

  A red light shines down on the metal altar where a black cloth is covering an object that Doss can only surmise is some kind of idol. Velex did say something about them worshiping an idol. Something about this entire place sends a chill up Doss's spine. It could be the icy silence as the masked faces surround him, the eyes behind the disguises of people who could be his worst enemy and he'd never know it, or the uncertainty of what could happen if they are found out. The burning bundles of dried plants and human skulls hanging on the walls only make his mind wander more. These people seem to be very dangerous. Part of Doss's religious training years ago down in Paradise has made him want to be as far away from things like this as possible. Idol worship, what appears to be witchcraft, and dark rituals are not activities that he should even be in the same room as. He instinctively clutches his rosary and says a prayer, asking for protection around his soul.

  Once all the spies are gathered around the altar, one of them steps forward and raises his hands above the idol while the others begin to chant in some tongue that Doss has never heard before. It sounds demonic, but that is probably just him being paranoid about things like that. Are they trying to summon a demon or offer prayers to the devil? Is a portal to hell going to open and suck them all in then keep them there in eternal damnation?

  The leader pours a bright green liquid from a silver pitcher into an elaborately craved silver cup. He takes a drink then passes it to one of the spies. They continue to drink from it and pass it around. When the cup comes to Doss, he takes a sip and passes it to the next spy. Takes like soda. The chanting continues until the cup is placed back on the altar.

  When the black cloth is removed from the idol, Doss recognizes the figure. The golden idol is Isidore Williams. The pieces start to fall into place. Kazimir created Isidore as well as the original Shadow Spy organization. Isidore was android 42 and there are forty-two members. They worship Isidore? How will they react when they find out that their god is dead?

  His unrest and endless questions don't stop there. The leader pulls back his hood to reveal braided silver hair. He's seen that hair before. It can't be. As soon as the leader removes his mask, Doss's heart leaps in his chest and Katarina gasps. How is this possible? The leader is Isidore. He knew that voice sounded familiar. And it's not just a passing resemblance, either. It is him. There's no doubt in Doss's mind that this man is Isidore Williams. Velex and Zach don't seem to be concerned. Even Katarina is emotionless. Don't they see this?

  Isidore walks up in front of them and stops when he reaches Katarina. Every person in the room watches intently as he lifts his hand and touches the green feathers on Katarina's mask. A bright spark of light jumps out as strange violin music starts playing. As much as these developments disturb Doss, no one else seems to notice. The room begins to spin and he feels anxious as he hears his heartbeat and he begins to sweat. Something sharp pokes him between his shoulder blades and he tries to draw his sword when a red dragon appears in the corner of the room. When he can't find his sword, he holds up his fists in preparation to fight.

  Velex nudges Doss in the side as he leans close and whispers to him. "What are you doing?"

  "Don't you see that dragon over there?"

  "No. Oh dear God. Did you drink the soda?"

  "It was tasty."

  "Just breathe and try to stay calm."

  "It's raining."

  "We're inside."

  "This room is going to flood and we're all going to drown!"

  "Shut up."

  Everyone in the room stops what they're doing and turns to Doss. The leader points at him and everyone draws daggers from their belts. Doss screams and runs through the crowd. He reaches the top of the stairs before slipping and falling.

  * * *

  Katarina takes off her mask and tosses it on the dresser after Blice flies over to the window. The other guys come in behind her with the addition of Zerachiel and Kazimir who carry Doss through the door of his apartment. She gets a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and sets some out for her renegade group of guests.

  As he and Zerachiel place Doss on the bed, Kazimir looks him over. "What's wrong with him?"

  "He almost got us all killed. If it wasn't for me having soldiers stationed around that building for reinforcements, we would have quickly been sacrificed to their idol. Doss drank the soda that was laced with hallucinogens and freaked out." Velex says.

  Zerachiel pats Doss's chest. "Doss, never drink the soda."

  Zach grabs a bottle of water and leans against the wall. "Cult infiltration rule number one: Don't drink the magic liquid. It never ends well."

  "So now we know that Doss has no tolerance for mind altering drugs." Velex says.

  "Then he shouldn't go to clubs with me." Zach says as he laughs and kicks off his boots.

  Doss continues to mumble from the bed. "Did you see Isidore?"

  "Just go to sleep." Velex says.

  "Isidore was there. We have to go save him!" Doss screams and waves his arms.

  Katarina tries to contain her laughter. She sits down on the bed and wipes the sweat from Doss's forehead. "Baby, calm down. It's okay. It wasn't Isidore. You're high and having hallucinations."

  "No. I know it was him. You are demons trying to keep me from helping him. I will kill you all!"

  "Okay, that's enough of that." Kazimir slips a syringe out of this bag and holds Doss down on the bed while he injects the fluid into his arm. Doss stops screaming and closes his eyes. Kazimir pets his hair. "Good boy, Doss. Just relax."

  "Is he going to be okay?"

  "He's fine." He sits on the bed next to Doss and continues to pet his dusty brown hair. "Give him a few hours and he'll be back to himself. Velex, did you at least get the plans and our research documents back?"

  "No. I don't think they had them there. My fear is that they were with the agents who were on Strafe."

  "That would mean that all our plans and maps are gone."

  "That's true, unless Blice made backups. But then why would we have just risked our lives to get back the originals?"

  "I don't have them."

  "Well, we will look more later." Kazimir says as he removes Doss's shirt and massages his shoulder muscles. "Just relax, Doss. You didn't know what was going on."

  Zerachiel leans against the wall and sips a cup of hot tea as he watches them. "It's been a long time since you've cared."

  Kazimir sighs and gently kisses Doss's forehead. "It's been a long time since Doss let me care. I love each of my creations with all of my heart. You are all my dearly loved children. Yes, I have to be harsh with you and yes, I'm not the best father, but I never stop caring. I love Doss. He just responds better to orders and punishments than calm reasoning and affection like you, Zerachiel."

  "Does that make me weak?"

  "Not at all. You are each individually unique so I have to discipline you each differently so you can flourish and thrive to the best of your capabilities. Doss craves structure and discipline. You need tranquility and harmony with a firm balance of submission and companionship. Like right now, I know that you're feeling a bit lonely and hungry for my attention."

  "I missed you." Zerachiel says.

  "I know. I missed you too, but I'm here now. If you hadn't sided with Gabriel and Michael years ago, then we wouldn't have been away from each other for so long. Come sit with me."

  Zerachiel pours a cup of tea and hands it to Kazimir before sitting between his legs on the bed. "It's chamomile. It will help you sleep."

  "Thank you." Kazimir sets his cup down on the table and puts his arms around Zerachiel's chest and underneath his wings. "You care again, too."

  "About Doss?"

  "Yes. I've noticed."

  "I do care, but he's going to die soon." Zerachiel says.

  "Why would you say that?" Katarina asks.

  "I have a feeling."

  "Don't talk like that." Kazimir says. "I've lost far too many of my children as it is."

  "I may be wrong.
I simply don't want to lose anyone else and it scares me to think about."

  22

  "Stop pacing."

  Doss's heart is racing as he tries to continue breathing. He examines his reflection in the mirror. His armor has been recently polished and his uniform is pressed and he looks perfect. Well, except for the gash in his cheek and the eight stitches. But that is his fault. He checks himself over one more time. "What am I going to do?"

  "You're going to marry the woman you love." Velex says. "You do love her, don't you?"

  How is he supposed to answer that question?

  When he doesn't answer, Velex sighs and opens another beer. "Why are you doing this, then? What could possibly drive a pious, chaste, and normally uninterested man like yourself to get married?"

  "I promised Isidore that if anything happened to Byron, I would marry Katarina."

  "But do you love her? I want a yes or no answer."

  "I guess." Doss says as he tosses the ring to Velex.

  Velex slips it in his pocket. "You guess? You're about to marry the woman. Oh, come on. You can say it. I see that look in your eyes."

  Doss can't stop smiling now, despite the growing fear in his mind. "Okay. Yes, I love her."

  "Then why are you so nervous? Everything's gonna be all right. It's just a wedding."

  "It's not the wedding I'm worried about." Doss says. "I'm absolutely terrified of what happens tonight."

  "Oh, yeah. You'll have fun with that, buddy."

  "Any advice? Can you explain what happens?"

  "Really? You don't know?" Velex asks.

  "I'm not human, remember? I don't have that instinctual drive to mate."

  "Um . . . you get naked."

  Doss rubs his face. "Ugh."

  "Shush. Let me explain. No comments. You're not a child, Doss."

  "Does it hurt? From what I've been able to learn from other people, the entire process seems very painful."

  "Yep. It's pure torture." Velex says with a grin. "You'll hate it."

  "Really?"

  "No." Velex grabs Doss's shoulders. "Look at me. Here's what I want you to do. When you're alone with Katarina tonight, you relax and let her teach you what is going on. You listen to her and be nice. You be obedient, gentle, and don't freak out. God help me, if you cry, I will kill you. Okay? No crying. You're the vice admiral of the IGR for Christ's sake. Got that? Man up and soldier through it."

  * * *

  When the footsteps approach the door, Samuels readies his pocket knife and Jarred finds his makeshift weapons he made from the utensils in the MREs. They'll fight with these crude weapons if they have to. Dead or alive, they are getting out of this place today. Neither one of them can take much longer in these conditions. Not only that, but the anger in Jarred's heart has been growing to levels that he can't contain any longer. He will kill and he will fight for freedom, not just for himself and for Samuels, but for the one man this is truly for. Jayce. He will find Jayce and save him from whatever horrific things they have been doing to him. Jarred swore long ago that he would always be there for his husband and he doesn't plan on letting him down now. They've come through so much, so many difficult and trying times. This won't end any differently. It has been Jarred and Jayce and will forever more be Jarred and Jayce.

  The electronic lock is activated, but instead of the door opening, there is a click and an explosion as the room fills with smoke. Jarred doesn't waste any time. As the soldiers cough and call for help, he lunges into the hallway, his sharpened plastic spoon connecting with the elasticity of human flesh. Hot sticky blood splatters on his arms. He drops down to crawl under the billowing smoke as another explosion shakes the cavern. Something else must have caught on fire. Jarred can't see anything, even down here on the ground. His other senses are quickly overwhelmed as people shout and alarms sound around him. But he must continue crawling into the blinding smoke.

  When his shoulder brushes up against slick metal, he stops and stands up. The smoke isn't as thick over here. There's a glass panel on the door and he peers inside the small room. On a metal table, hooked up to monitors and computers, with large crystalline purple wings, is Jayce. His long black hair has been cut short above is shoulders, but Jarred knows it's him. The jagged pale scars resembling the branches of a tree on his shoulders and neck from where he was nearly electrocuted to death by his creator prove it's him. Even without that, Jarred would know Jayce anywhere. He pounds on the glass, trying to get his attention or wake him up. Is he okay?

  Jayce eventually sits up and he pulls the wires off of his chest then runs to the door. "Jarred!"

  "Jayce! Come out here."

  "Je ne peux pas ouvrir la porte. It's locked. Qu'est-ce qui se passe?"

  "We set the place on fire and-" Jarred is hit between the shoulder blades from behind by something heavy and he falls back down to the cave floor.

  Copper wings glisten in the light from the growing flames on the far side of the hallway. Burly arms pick Jarred up by his hair. The archon slams him against the rough rock wall. His breath is hot and reeks of alcohol as he leans close and his thick red beard scratches Jarred's face. "Fifty feet to your left. 16924."

  Jarred slides to the floor as the archon lets him go and runs off down a side passageway. He takes off running to the left and he's met by Samuels.

  "I found a control panel." He guides Jarred to the metal keypad. "It takes a five digit numerical code."

  Jarred wipes the sweat out of his eyes and tries to focus on remembering what the archon had told him. His fingers tremble above the buttons.

  "What are you waiting for? We have to get out of here. What did Raguel tell you?"

  His mind goes blank. "I . . . I don't know. I can't remember."

  "Then we'll have to leave Jayce." Samuels says.

  "No! I'll go find Raguel and ask him."

  "You can't. This entire place is going to collapse. Don't you hear the fire? We've created much more than a little distraction. There must have been some fuel source to produce a fire that hot."

  Jarred screams at him. "I'm not leaving Jayce!"

  * * *

  Blice hops around on the counter as Katarina does her makeup. "Your father would be so proud. You're a beautiful bride, Nika."

  Katarina begins to cry as she puts on her pale pink lipstick.

  "Hey, no crying. You'll ruin your makeup."

  "I miss him."

  "I know." Blice says. "We all do, but he's watching you. He sees you right now from heaven and he's smiling the biggest smile because you're so beautiful. He loved you, Kat. He still does. I know he does. Isidore is happy to see his daughter continuing to blossom into a strong, loving woman. You look like your mother."

  She puts down her powder brush and sighs as she looks at herself in the mirror. "Is he angry with me because of what happened?"

  "Not at all. He knows it was a mistake. No one blames you, Nika." Blice brings her a tissue. "Now dry your tears and put some more blush on your cheeks. You're looking a bit pale."

  As Katarina sweeps on some blush over her cheekbones, she suddenly becomes overwhelmed with anxiety. "I can't do this, Blice."

  "Yes you can and you will. Doss is a good man who loves you despite what you've done to him. You're going to walk down that aisle, say your vows, and marry that man. Then you're going to go with him to his apartment and be a good wife. You will obey him, love him, and make him the happiest man on Himmel. Do you understand me? You are the first and only woman he is ever going to sleep with. It is your job to please him and be perfect. He has a long, hard, and dangerous mission coming up in a few days so you need to be the perfect wife for him. Do anything he asks of you. Let him enjoy this time with you before he goes out to fight for you and everyone else. Is that clear?"

  "Yes, Blice." She says obediently.

  "Good girl, Nika."

  Then she asks a question that she knows Blice wouldn't lie to her about. "Where are Jarred and Jayce?"

  "They . . . are . . . they'
ll be here." Blice says. "They're just taking care of some last minute things."

  * * *

  "Jarred!" Jayce cries out from behind the door down the hallway that is now pitch black aside from the blazing fires. "Aidez-moi! Ne me quitte pas!"

  There's no way in hell that Jarred is going to ignore those cries for help. He pushes past Samuels and dives back under the collapsed support beams. Another tremor sends a shower of stones and slabs of concrete down in front of the door to Jayce's room, blocking off the hallway. No. "Jayce!"

  There's no answer.

  The flames are growing higher now, but even above the sound of the crackling fires and crumbling walls, Jarred hears the growl. A chill runs down his spine. He holds up his sharpened spoon just in time to slash at the giant black wolf that jumps at him from the shadows. The razor sharp claws slice through his chest, leaving four thick gashes above his heart and knocking him against the wall. He rolls out of the way of another lunging attack then jumps towards the wolf, grabbing onto the thick fur and stabbing twice into its neck. The wolf whimpers, but quickly turns around and bites into Jarred's arm, causing him to drop his weapon.

  Jarred frantically searches in the darkness for the spoon, but the full force of the wolf pins him down on the floor as burning chunks of wood fall from the ceiling around him. The glowing red eyes reveal the animal's instinctual and voracious hunger. No. It's beyond a hunger. Whatever this is, it isn't natural. He kicks at it and holds his hands as steadily as he can around the wolf's neck to prevent it from biting his face. "Samuels!"

  Footsteps approach from the left and there's the glint of a blade then the wolf takes off running back down the hallway it came from. Samuels holds out a hand to Jarred and helps him to his feet. "Get running towards the entrance."

  "No. I have to get Jayce."

  "Leave him, Jarred. We can't stay in here any longer. This entire place is coming down. With that demon wolf around, he'll just come back to finish you off."

  "No! I can't leave him."