by Han, George
Lord Barbatos returned to the woods that lined Victor’s residence. Within seconds, he heard the familiar beating of wings. Eberhard descended from the dark skies, looking beaten and jaded, the usual streak of hatred missing from his murderous demeanour as he kneeled before the lord of darkness.
Barbatos rested his hands at his waist like an arrogant hunter pissed that his hound failed to return with the game, and queried. “What happened?”
The creature shook his head and instantly received a slap on the cheeks.
“Fool! You did well for Leo Kenyon. How could you fail with Walter Johnson?”
The creature snorted in feeble weeps as Barbatos strutted around him. There was a long pause as the monster whimpered.
“Eber, I will give you a chance to make amends,” Barbatos said and stroked his pet on the head. “I have good news for you.”
“What is it master?”
“Our pawn, our key piece on the chessboard, is falling to our side. We are going to seize the most important institution of the humans.”
The gargoyle grunted a chuckle.
“Someone we could count on,” Barbatos continued, but his lips quickly straightened in a thin line of aloofness. “Save your celebration until he will do our bidding.”
Eberhard nodded and returned to his one-knee kneel.
“Don’t fail me again.” Barbatos’s soft whisper was like a crack of the whip and Eberhard nodded eagerly.
“There are critical battles ahead,” Barbatos continued. “You have an important mission, my friend.”
“What is that, Master?”
“Ambush.”
“Who is the target?”
Barbatos sniggered, and then uncontrollably chuckled.
#
“Governor, I am ready,” Guardian Angel Jin said as his eyes engaged the governor’s.
“Ready?”
“Your questions.” Jin smiled
Walter swallowed hard. The attack had take blood off his face and he looked a decade older.
“Perhaps you should just breathe and get a grip on your erratic senses.”
“You can read my pulse?”
“Not just your pulse, Governor. I can read your thoughts and senses like I read a book.”
Walter was wide-eyed “After these ridiculous events, my heart needs an explanation. My soul needs an explanation. I am sorry, not being difficult.”
“Governor Johnson, no apology is needed. You deserved an answer.”
“You are reasonable.”
“The truth that you must learn is the sole reason for my arrival.”
“Do I call you angel?”
Jin chuckled.
“Jin will do, Governor.”
Walter Johnson noticed the men in black robes armed with guns.
“Jin, who are these people?”
“An ancient guild, a group that was tasked with the defense of leaders of mankind, those we called Kings.”
“Kings? We are done with monarchy for a long time, Jin.”
“Governor, Kings of Men is that collective group of men and women who had been born into the race of man and would one day lead the human civilization. These are people who are like you.”
Walter frowned and Jin continued. “Kings, leaders of mankind, in all fields, from politics to medicine to culture and to military, are always the source of your history.”
“I get it now. Kings are the leaders of human civilization, those who weaved ur history.”
Jin nodded “Your favourite subject-history.”
“How did you know?”
Jin smiled
“I guessed you been watching me for a while. Well, history my favourite because if you do not know where you came from…”
“You will not know where to head for…”
Walter winced and then smiled.
“You read my speeches? That one is for the university alumni and continued with his story. Some speech about greatness.”
“ I am impressed.”
“Greatness recognized no boundaries. It can occur across the spectrum. My sense of admiration recognizes no barriers, no political affiliation,” Walter explained. “Please continue with your story.” Walter said.
“Walter, they all belonged to the group of special people who were chosen to be leaders of the human civilization, the standard bearer of the human civilization. Without them, the race of man will retrograde, resort to the baser instincts of greed and violence, and degenerate into a spiral of incessant self-destruction. ”
“Please continue.”
Jin explained his identity as a Guardian Angel, soldier of Heaven, allies of mankind.
“The ancient myths of Angels’ mentorship are true then?” Walter interrupted.
“Direct intervention by Angels is strictly forbidden by God. Even the Archangels are not allowed to alter God’s plans. Mankind must shape its own destiny on the basis of free will, that fundamental liberty to make decisions and choose. Free will is the essence of the entire history of mankind. It is always up to the Kings to make the choices that will decide the course of history. There are so many examples, a recent one like President Kennedy in 1961 over Cuba. His decision changed history. A wrong move could bring us back to the stone ages. He did not falter.”
“And you played a role.”
“We played our part, in subtle ways.”
“I can only imagine.”
“Your imagination is much appreciated, Walter.”
“What about the attack tonight?” Walter turned grave.
“You have been targeted for obvious reasons.”
“I am a King of Men?” Walter said dryly.
“A future leader of human civilization.”
Walter cranked his neck in discomfort.
“You this cat out of the bag that is making me uncomfortable?”
“We foresee enormous danger ahead for you. The time for the insight has been brought forward. If I, in your own words, keep the cat in the bag, the information will be worthless if you are dead in the next 24 hours.”
Walter rubbed his forehead. He had been bitten by the anxiety bug.
“What is next, Jin?”
“You have to make a decision, governor.”
“What decision?”
“Your future, dummy,” a voice interjected. The governor jerked his head around. Robin had interrupted Jin’s soliloquy.
“If your family is here, I am not sure you will call me dumb.”
“This is the moment when you take the leap of faith,” Robin said in a grave tone.
Jin nodded. “Your friend is very perceptive. Walter, the Demons wants to destroy you because they understood the significance of your existence. The Demons will stop at nothing. They will eliminate you and your bloodline to shut down the threat.”
“They will return.” Walter murmured.
Jin nodded. “Yes. They are emboldened by their earlier success. I have hidden you well away from the clutches of darkness in the past. However, there will come a time when you have to make a stand and flexed your freewill to defeat them.”
“Hidden me?”
“The Demons have always tried to seek out and destroy potential Kings when they are just in their childhood. They never found you because of the efforts we made. You were as inconspicuous as a child so that no Demons noticed you.”
Jin’s words seemed to awaken Walter. Memories of his past flowed back like gushing waters. His history of illness was infamous, as a child—malaria, yellow fever, and bronchitis had almost killed him in one way or the other. His maternal grandfather, Financier Roger M. Banks, once remarked to his daughter that he did not foresee the frail grandchild living beyond his sixth birthday. That pessimism.
Jin smiled and nodded. “I am deeply sorry for your pain but the short-term suffering you undergone served the long-term mission. The Demons would never notice a dying child in the hospital.”
For a moment, Walter felt as if he were a tiny child in front of a towering giant who
had watched him for decades. “You have my gratitude, Jin.”
The Guardian Angel bowed.
They were abruptly interrupted by some unexpected changes in the weather – a breeze and sheets of lightning. Walter cringed and his security agents shielded him, all flashed their weapons.
However Jin bade them to stay their fingers.
There was whizz in the air and a ring of light descended. Then the flapping of wings was heard, and a figure landed. It was Eugene the Healer, the lithe warrior who had battled his way through the mayhem.
Jin smiled at the arrival and they hugged.
“My brother”
“Jin, it was not easy.”
“I understand. Look at what we have here.” Jin nodded in the direction of the governor.
“Another of your warriors?”
Jin nodded “Eugene was one of our youngest. He was raised to the ranks two hundred years ago.”
“Two centuries? Young?”
“Relatively.” Eugene answered firmly
“He is a product of the American civil war.”
Walter was speechless and nodded at the dark-skinned angel whose character is accentuated by the white eyebrows and glimmering wings.
“I am sure you have been through many battles.” He asked
“Enough over the last two centuries and had the honour of witnessing such incidents when the true leaders of mankind are blooded through intensive struggles.”
“Leadership is a trial.”
“Leadership is a noble sacrifice,” another voice offered. Father Norman Bellator had just emerged from the woods and bowed in deference to the Governor.
“You are?” Walter asked.
“I am a member of the Order of Defenders.” the priest explained and continued. “Making a sacrifice for your civilization is a great act. Governor, wasn’t that your goal when you joined politics?”
Walter nodded and Bellator added, “Great men have accomplished great tasks because they are capable of making that supreme act that never fails to defeat all Demons through the ages. It was a supreme quality.”
“What is that quality, Father?”
“Sacrifice,” Jin whispered. “That is a common thread that runs through human civilization and formed the cornerstone of all great creations of man. Without that quality, all great achievements will fail. Sacrifice adds the quality of durability and permanence that Demons cannot destroy. Sacrifice is based on the quality of selfless love, the bane of all Demons. The thought of that concept can whittle a demon.”
“Sacrifice.” Walter repeated the word.
“Whenever a man carries out a selfless act, Demons are helpless. They have no powers to undo or overcome the strength of a selfless sacrifice.
Walter smiled “The sacrifices of our Founding Fathers ensure this great nation carries on through the years of trials and tribulations.”
“George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin secured the foundation of greatness for this nation.” Jin explained. “You have that opportunity to carry on that tradition, Walter. Every generation of mankind has looked for a hero, Governor. You have to decide whether you are ready for the historic mission.”
Jin continued. “If you choose to fight, all the forces of good, the armies of the Angels, will stand by you. There is no dishonour in failure, only shame in not trying, and trying hard enough.”
Walter shut his eyes and deliberated.
“The choice, the first choice that will initiate you march towards your true destiny as a King of Men, Governor,” Jin said.
The Guardian Angel’s voice was calm and, like the sea waves of the night, it beat against the perimeters of the woods and sent the trees swaying.
The rustling of the leaves echoed in Walter’s mind as he rubbed his palms. They were wet. I must decide.
“Free will, my friend, Jin said. “Your decision will decide the future of mankind,”
Chapter 25
Unfavourable Discovery
After Gwyneth parted with Maganus, she confronted the unpleasant insights which spun in her celestial mind alone. Solitude was her best ally in quelling the turbulent emotions. In another part of the woods, she spent a good hour to negotiate with her debilitating prophetic abilities.
When she regained her calmness, she set off in her search. There were no destinations; her instincts were her only guide.
Gwyneth had originally assumed her instincts were related to the fates of the endangered kinglings who were stranded in the nature reserve of Delaware. Then she had one of those rare catastrophic insights that drove her to leave Maganus alone to find and rescue the trapped kinglings. The vision of towering darkness and deaths was not to be ignored.
Gwyneth had maneuvered along the northeast coast to locate the source of darkness that usually indicated the presence of a congregation of demons or a single powerful Demon Lord. As she flew from state to state, the robust darkness intensified and her anxiety deepened. Gwyneth was prepared to turn up every inch of earth until she located the source of darkness.
She is not going to repeat a critical mistake that she had made before. It was the 1920s, right after World War I, when she was mandated to search Europe after an alert on subversive activities of the Demons. She failed to weed them out and, consequently, lost a group of key individuals to moral corruption and seduction by the Demons. That group of individuals went on to seize power and set in motion the chain of events that precipitated the Second World War.
Gwyneth could take no chances now.
When she finally reached New York, she detected a monstrous miasma. A huge cloud of darkness hung over the City of New York like a suspended blanket.
With lightning speed, Gwyneth swooped into the city and perched herself on the crown of the Statue of Liberty to ascertain the situation. The miasma seemed to have originated from Manhattan. Gwyneth moved to the State Empire Building to position herself for a better view.
Angels, their allies, and a few selected mortals have the ability to see supernatural phenomenon like a miasma, a crescendo of dark light, the darkened pupil of the eyes of demonized humans, and the halo of light over noble characters.
The miasma of darkness was a clear indication of the presence of Demons and their associated elements. Men who had been infected by the Demons were also known to emanate these vibes, a result of the base emotions in their hearts—greed, jealousy, and hatred. The strength of the darkness corresponded to the strength of the demons. In this case, a Demon Lord of high rank was in the city.
Gwyneth eventually landed at Nassau Street, where the clouds of darkness were thickest and hung like a canopy. With great caution, she stepped into the streets, which were particularly crowded on that Friday evening. As usual, Angels were invisible to all humans, and Gwyneth walked the streets without being spotted. If she was spotted, she would have found her target.
After an hour, Gwyneth could pinpoint the hub of demonic activity. It was the New York City Hall, and there was a social event, with a huge congregation, on the premises.
Gwyneth determined it was charity ball being held in conjunction with UNESCO and the City Council to raise funds for victims of an earthquake in Turkey. The sight of numerous luminaries—politicians, celebrities, and sportsmen worried Gwyneth. The presence of the miasma coincided with the presence of members of the establishment. Does a Demon walked amongst them? It might be an individual, or a group of them, who are under the influence of the Demons; or it might simply be the presence of a Demon Lord.
Gwyneth mingled in the crowd and checked every face. The undercurrent of emotions churned in her chest and attempts to master it failed. She heard a wave of murmurs and Gwyneth realized something. She looked out a window and found it snowing! The sight of snow elicited cries of surprise and amazement from the congregation. Many had not expected snow that early.
Her search was not easy as it was synonymous to the proverbial finding a needle in the haystack. There were so many beautiful individuals, all well-endowed
, self-assured and accomplished in their respective arenas.
Gwyneth transported herself to a higher floor for a better view. Her senses had registered the solid presence of glimmering darkness, a sure sign of Demons. Gwyneth scanned the floor with vigilance and stopped abruptly. She spotted someone—or rather she had been spotted. She felt eyes on her.
Cautiously, she turned and spotted the source of darkness. A familiar silhouette. It was dressed to the hilt, resplendent in a purplish gown with overflowing tresses and fair shoulders. She was outstanding.
Their eyes locked on each other. After a moment of mutual study, which felt like an eternity to Gwyneth, she moved in, but the purplish seductress turned and fled, disappearing into the crowd.
Gwyneth raised herself airborne and spotted the lady in an alley on Chambers Street. The White Angel dove immediately into the dark and damp alley.
“Stop!” the White Angel ordered and was surprised when the lay stopped. She had expected the Demon to flee.
Without uttering a word, the demonic lady turned around and unleashed a bolt of purplish lightning. Gwyneth shut her eyes and murmured a prayer, and the purplish lightning crystallized and fell to the ground, shattering upon impact.
“I should have known it was you,” Gwyneth said. “The hair, the look, and the posture; they were so familiar.”
“Gwyneth.” The lady spoke in a silky voice, tinged with resignation.
“Seraphina, your attraction is undiminished. What are you doing in New York?”
“Gwyneth, you are beautiful as always. The aura, the grace, and …” Seraphina sniffed. “You knew it was me, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t until I saw you. The City Hall is not a place for you, Seraphina.”
The demonic dame looked away, subdued and uneasy.
“That’s not like you; it’s a far cry from your usual disposition.” When Seraphina remained circumspect, Gwyneth was suspicious. “Do you no regard for the rules of engagement set by God and your overlord?”
Seraphina was silent.
“Explain your exact purpose.”
“Lady Gwyneth, let me remind you it is my mandate to tempt the feeble-willed amongst the human race. Do not make it sound like I came here to start a new war. The fault lies with the humans and their leaders, whom you call the Kings. They are all the same, strong in the head, but soft in the groin!”
