Revelations - Rise of the Inquisitor

by R. E. Graham

  Revelations

  Legal Notice

  “Revelations: Rise of the Inquisitor”

  Copyright © 2018 written by R. E. Graham. All rights reserved. Published by White Light Media LLC.

  This book may not be copied or duplicated in whole or in part via any means including electronic forms of duplication such as audio or video recording or transcription. The contents of this book may not be stored in any retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for any use whether public or private, other than brief quotations contained in articles or reviews which fall under the “fair use” exception, without express prior permission of the author.

  First Edition: October 2018

  This book is dedicated to Jesus, for without Him I wouldn’t even be on this path of being an author in the first place…

  Acknowledgements

  I want to take a quick moment to thank a couple of people that have specifically helped to make this book you have in your hands possible. Without a doubt, my biggest support has been my amazing wife Erin. She has put up with a lot from my creativity in this project and has been more than happy to help in any way she can. She truly is a companion that any man would be extremely blessed and fortunate to have alongside through life. The next person would be my best friend Jerry. Even when he has had crazy things going on in his life he still found time to read early drafts, help with online discussions on our Facebook page and more. He is a true friend and has helped to motivate me to continue when I have been discouraged.

  “You have brought down the Republic’s fury upon us! An inquisitor isn’t someone you want on your tail. We better get out of here and fast!”

  - Dorso Eldra, crime boss on New Prime just before his sudden death

  Chapter 1

  Cycle: 412 Month: 7 Rotation: 1

  Prefecture: Quarry

  Planet: Assembly

  Location: Outside the town of Alachua

  A long green lizard ever so cautiously crawled under a patchy bush stalking its prey. The bright red shell of the cricker beetle reflected the late afternoon light of Assembly’s orange and red star off its hard exterior. As carefully as it could, the lizard leaned in close. Clueless to the danger, the cricker remained motionless upon its rock. Now within striking distance the lizard opened its mouth, the muscles in its body tensed for the impending attack. Just then a large black hovercar raced down the street sending dust and small rocks into the air trailing behind it. The lizard dashed to safety as the hovercar continued down the dirt road.

  Inside of Debby’s diner two old timers enjoyed their lunch at their table next to a window. They both watched as the vehicle drove down one of Alachua’s only roads leading to the outside world.

  “Sure is a fancy ride” Gretchin said as he took a sip of his dark brew.

  The two older men watched the car as it drove passed the diner’s windows and stopped in front of the town sheriff’s office. The hovercar came to a quick stop blowing a cloud of dust out from underneath the vehicle as it carefully rested on the ground before the engine was cut.

  “I’ll betcha a dinner that its some prissy investor from the capital looking to buy the town again.” The other old man said glancing over at his friend.

  “I’ll take that bet” Gretchin said before he took another bite of his burger.

  A tall man wearing all black stepped out from the driver’s side. He moved his belt cape to the side so that it covered the pistol on his right hip. Even from under his black body armor and leather outfit the newcomer clearly was in peak physical condition. He closed his door so hard that the two onlookers could hear the muffled whump inside the diner despite the dull roar of the other patrons.

  Chuckling at his victory, Gretchin smirked. “Looks to me like it’s another one of those government inquisitors.”

  Tossing his fork in frustration the other man shouted, “Dammit all!”

  Inquisitor Damien Varius took a moment to look around at the town, examining and taking everything in with his trained eyes. Various shops and establishments lined the main road, some made of old wood, others of durable stonecrete. Several signs with neon lights sat patiently awaiting nightfall. A handful of people about the town stared intently at the Inquisitor.

  Clearly they don’t get too many visitors in this small dustbowl of a town.

  As he continued to survey the town Varius saw the two old timers watching him from across the road, the pair looked down at their plates to avoid eye contact.

  Varius’ jaw clenched as he turned to the sheriff’s office. The small gray rocks that made up the driveway grated together under each step of the Inquisitor’s boots. After stepping up onto the wooden porch, a loud voice broke through the noise of the townspeople going about their day. Varius stopped before opening the front door and looked over to see a tall slender man shouting on a sidewalk across the street.

  “Judgement is coming to Alachua. Judgement is near!” He spoke vividly with his arms as a man full of passion. “Repent now before it is too late!”

  Several people were beginning to form around the tall man but Varius became distracted by the sound of a conversation coming from inside the Sheriff’s office.

  “I am sick and tired of all these confound missing animal posters. This town knows well enough where they are! From now on, I want you to take any of ‘em you see down.”

  “Yes Sheriff” replied another voice.

  Varius didn’t bother knocking. He opened the door to see a very gruff looking man behind a small desk, papers and all sorts of other garbage covered its surface. The other man, clearly one of the town’s deputies, jumped from the door opening.

  “And who the hell are you?” the Sherriff asked with a very annoyed look on his face. He leaned forward on his desk and pointed at his unwelcomed guest. “Don’t you know it isn’t polite to just barge in to someone’s place?”

  Without saying a word, Varius closed the door behind him and turned back to the two men. His leather belt-cape squeaked as he twisted. He stood up to his full height and dusted off his left armored shoulder. “I am Inquisitor Damien Varius.” He pulled out a device from his pocket and a hologram projection displayed his rank, name and badge.

  The deputy looked to the Sheriff with a stunned look on his face.

  Looking equally shocked, the Sheriff rapidly tried to smooth things over. “Oh well, uh, welcome to Alachua Inquisitor.” The Sheriff attempted to stand and shake Varius’ hand but hit his knee. Several pieces of trash fell off the desk and onto the ground from the impact. “Ow! This rotten desk.” He mumbled as he rubbed his knee to be rid of the pain. His old chair wobbled slightly from the cycles of torment under the heavy-set man as he leaned back. “I’m Sheriff Tome and this is my deputy, Jansen Trice.”

  Deputy Trice raised his hand to a half wave.

  “Sheriff, I am here to investigate the disappearance of Inquisitor Kopen.”

  The Sheriff and Deputy shared a quick glance at one another. “There was another inquisitor here about seven rotations ago but…” Tome trailed off in thought.

  “He left after being here for a day sir” Trice said resting his hands on his hips.

  Varius looked intently at the Sheriff and then at the Deputy. “I see. We lost communication with him about five rotations ago.”

  “Well, uh…” the Deputy said trying to search for the right response.

  “That’s correct Inquisitor Varius. He was here for two rotations and then left.” Sheriff Tome stated, jumping back into the conversation. “He was looking for some girl from Javen, a small town up on I-67. As we understood it, he didn’t find a good lead here in Alachua.”

  “That girl is the Governor’s niec
e.” Varius said, as he observed the Sheriff.

  “I do believe he did mention that” Tome replied shifting uneasily in his seat. He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped away the sweat building on his forehead.

  The Inquisitor gently rolled his head, his eyes expertly trained to scan the room without onlookers really noticing. Resembling the town outside, the inside of the Sheriff’s office looked ancient with the old wood interior. It was almost pathetic how these townspeople had to live compared to the living conditions of the capital or other wealthy worlds in the Corre Republic. “I need to know what his leads were in your town Sheriff. An inquisitor going missing is not something we take lightly at the bureau.”

  “No doubt. Well…” Sheriff Tome said as he looked to his lone deputy. “I believe he only had one lead here in town, but I don’t believe he ever mentioned it to us, did he Trice?”

  “Uh no sir, I don’t think he did.”

  Varius looked to the side in thought, “I see, well thank…” a knock at the door interrupted the Inquisitor.

  The door opened to reveal a short little man in a clean white suit. He smiled happily as he extended his hand, his dimpled cheeks accentuated by his neatly trimmed light gray mustache. “Howdy. I am Mayor White.”

  An awkward moment passed as the Mayor’s hand hung outstretched with Varius never extending his own.

  “I am Inquisitor Varius, here on a special investigation into the whereabouts of Inquisitor Kopen. He came to your town about seven rotations ago.”

  The Mayor quickly lowered his arm and laughed off the personal offense. “Ah, yes. I do remember him. Wore all black, same as you haha... kind fellow. I’m sorry to hear about his disappearance.”

  “I never said he went missing” Varius said, his left eyebrow raised slightly. The rest of his face was like stone.

  “Ha, well…” White looked to the Sheriff and then back to Varius. “I only assumed that he was missing or else you wouldn’t have come visit our little humble town so far from the capital.”

  “I see” replied the Inquisitor as he straightened back up. “Do you happen to know if he had any leads here in town?”

  “No, I’m sorry I don’t. I only spoke with him twice, but he didn’t seem like he wanted to divulge much.” The Mayor said, putting his hands into his vest pockets. “I did know that he was here looking for a Lilly Aurelius. Sadly, a lot of people have gone missing in the nearby towns. Dreadful thing.”

  “It’s those damned thugs out in the valley!” Sheriff Tome shouted. “I called the capital about two months ago askin’ for assistance. Me and one deputy can’t take on a whole group of vagrants!”

  “He is right Inquisitor Varius. Ever since this terrible drought has set in, gangs from all over the place have been a real problem for not just our little town, but several in these parts” the Mayor shrugged slightly before continuing. “They have been kidnapping folks and using them for ransom money to buy food. Terrible thing people do when they are starving.”

  “And this drought has been the worst we have had in generations” Deputy Trice said as he leaned up against the wall.

  “Hunger or not, illegal activity will be met with the full extent of the law” Varius said looking about the room. “I am certain the capital is aware of your situation and will allocate resources to deal with these criminals. In the meantime, I am here on business for the Bureau of Central Intelligence.”

  “We would sure appreciate any help you could give us by putting in a good word for our little town” Mayor White said cheerfully.

  Varius looked back to the Sheriff, “Thank you for your time Sheriff Tome. Mayor, today has been a long trip, where would be the best place to get a room?”

  The elderly mayor’s face lit up brightly as he responded, “Oh that would be over at the Gorj’s inn just up the road. It is quaint, but the alcohol is good, and the beds are clean!” Varius squinted slightly at the emphasis of “clean”.

  Noise from outside became very loud as a large crowd had gathered around the tall man. Varius watched through a small window that overlooked the street while a pudgy guy wearing suspenders grabbed the tall man by the collar and yelled something indiscernible at him.

  “Gah, this blasted fella just won’t get the hint!” Mayor White blurted out as he too watched the crowd grow restless.

  “Is he a local?” the Inquisitor asked.

  The Mayor crossed his arms. “Certainly not. No, he’s just some…Stranger. Some scruff that came into town a few weeks back. Day after day he shouts to the wind about judgement, repentance, and other nonsense.”

  Varius looked at Sheriff Tome as things were escalating outside. “Aren’t you going to break this up before a citizen gets injured?”

  Tome shrugged. “Nah. I’ve tried to reason with the guy, maybe it’s time for some street justice.”

  The Inquisitor squinted. “Hmm.” Without another word Varius exited the Sheriff’s office and walked towards the crowd.

  Seeing Varius approaching the crowd the Stranger shouted out, “The Creator’s judgement is at hand!”

  “We already told you buddy, you aren’t welcome here” shouted the suspender man as he brought his fist back to punch the other man.

  Varius caught his forearm in the air.

  “Who the…” the man looked back at Varius’ icy stare and instantly lost some of his vigor.

  The Inquisitor flashed his badge to the crowd while he held onto the man’s arm. “Leave this man be and go about your day.”

  Finding some inner confidence, the pudgy man yanked his arm free and pointed at the drifter. “Inquisitor, we don’t need his kind in our town frightening everyone.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that” Varius said as he turned to the Stranger. “Why are you being a burden to this town? It would be best for you to move on from here.”

  The Stranger smiled and seemed incredibly calm considering the crowds anger towards him. “I only do as I am told Damien. Now that you are here I will be on my way” he said as he walked away and down the nearby alley.

  It took a second, but the Inquisitor called out to the Stranger. “Wait, how did you know my name?”

  Varius walked over to the alleyway but the man was gone. It wasn’t worth chasing after him. Even on a remote town on a world like Assembly it wasn’t impossible that someone knew who he was. He had been in the order for many cycles and had traveled to many worlds on many missions.

  He went back to his car and as he approached it unlocked itself. The Inquisitor slid in, and once again a cloud of dust blew out from under the hovercar as the fans lifted it off the ground.

  Several minutes later he pulled up to the Gorj’s inn and parked next to an old faded green wheeled truck. As the hovercar came to a rest on the dust covered stonecrete parking lot the trunk hatch opened. Varius stepped out of his vehicle and went to the trunk to grab a large black duffle bag. He slung it over his shoulder and approached the front of the inn.

  Before he even reached the porch, the door swung open causing him to stop in surprise and reach for his pistol. A homely looking woman in a red checkered dress stood in the doorway with the biggest smile he had ever seen extending from ear to ear. “Welcome to the Dust Devil Inn!” she exclaimed.

  He slid his pistol back in its holster before the woman noticed.

  “Nice to meet you Inquisitor Varius, I am Misses Deborah Gorj. The Mayor called us up and said you would be heading over.”

  As Varius approached, Mrs. Gorj extended her hand, but the Inquisitor walked right passed her and entered the inn. Trying not to look insulted, Deborah pressed her hand tightly against her dress and closed the door.

  Varius stopped several steps into the inn and looked around. A large wooden bar counter, several tables and chairs took up most of the large open area. The stairs to the second floor were in front of him across the room, and the main counter was to his immediate right. He noticed an assortment of knickknacks and other country decorations all about the wall
s and shelves. It had a very rustic and simple feel to it even though the capital was much wealthier and far more sophisticated. Varius felt like he had taken a step back in time the moment he drove into Alachua, and the inn certainly continued this feeling.

  Mrs. Gorj began to walk around Varius and motioned with her left hand to the other side of the large room. “We have our own bar downstairs, got some real good local liquors if you are interested.” She walked behind the front counter before continuing. “We don’t have any food, but the beds are very clean.”

  Again, Varius squinted at the use of the word “clean” to describe a bed.

  A tall gentleman came down the stairs as Varius continued to inspect the foyer. “Ah, you must be Inquisitor Varius! Mayor White just called me. I’m Jonnt Gorj the owner here. Sorry I couldn’t have introduced myself earlier, I was getting your room ready.” The inn keeper made his way across the room and extended his hand in good country manner. It hung there for a moment before Mrs. Gorj leaned over from behind the Inquisitor and shook her head. Jonnt lowered his arm awkwardly.

  “I’m sure you are mighty tired from your long trip in from the capital. But as I’m sure my lovely misses mentioned we have a-mazing liquor that will help you sleep like a baby. And if you are up for it…” Jonnt leaned in closer to his visitor and lowered his voice. “I can arrange for a “special guest” to meet you in your room later on.”

  Varius tilted his head slightly to the right. “I don’t think that will be necessary. I just want to get some sleep this evening.”

  Jonnt clapped his hands together and smiled widely. “Then you have come to the right inn my friend!” The inn keeper took a step to the side and motioned to the stairs. “After you.”

  The Inquisitor took several steps towards the staircase but stopped when he noticed a hollow sound in the floor under his feet. He tapped the floor with his boot’s metal toe and looked at Jonnt.