Lord of Legions

by T. R. Hamby

  Michael….listen….

  Father’s voice again.

  When the pyre was fully alight, he walked back into the trees. He approached a brook and knelt at its edge, washing his hands in the cool water.

  He could see his reflection, could see the face that looked so much like Abi’s.

  God. What the fuck was going on?

  “Goodbye,” Michael said, cocking his head, “Benjamin.”

  And then he was awake.

  He glanced at the clock--five in the morning. He got up, careful not to disturb Gilla, and went out into the hall.

  This required attention now, and the only person he could talk to was Mel.

  He didn’t knock; he didn’t want to wake Nora. He crept in and found Mel asleep in bed, Nora behind him.

  “Mel,” he whispered.

  Mel jumped a little, then swore quietly. “Fuck, Michael.”

  “We need to talk.”

  He didn’t argue, apparently sensing the urgency in Michael’s voice. He threw on a shirt, and the two went downstairs to the kitchen.

  Mel switched the light on and grabbed the kettle from the cupboard. When the kettle was settled on the stove he leaned on the counter, arms folded, and waited.

  Michael cast around for what to say first. “Does the name ‘Adel’ mean anything to you?”

  Mel frowned, bewildered. “What--the singer?”

  “No, not the singer,” Michael sighed. “It’s a name. It--I had another dream.”

  Realization crossed Mel’s face, and he nodded. “All right.”

  So Michael told him the whole thing--the pyre, the people, Father’s voice. Abi’s startling resemblance to him, and Mai’s feminine resemblance to Mel. Mel’s body, Michael’s reflection in the water. Benjamin.

  By the time he was finished the kettle was whistling.

  Mel took it off the stove. He looked troubled. “It’s….”

  And he took a deep breath. “It’s definitely detailed.”

  “You know I don’t dream like this.”

  “I know.”

  “What do you think it means?”

  “Just because I die in it doesn’t mean I know what it means,” Mel said, pouring them a cup of tea. “Cream or sugar?”

  “Neither. I know it means something,” Michael insisted, beginning to pace around the kitchen. “Benjamin. Benjamin. Do we know anyone named Benjamin?”

  “It’s an Angel name. There are probably thousands of Benjamins,” Mel replied, handing him his cup. “Benjamin was you?”

  “Yes, and I called you ‘Adel.’ There was another body--that looked like me--that I called ‘Abi,’ and a woman who looked like you that I called ‘Mai.’ And then there was the woman I Created. I called her ‘Reina.’”

  Mel frowned. “Like ‘queen?’”

  “I guess so.”

  He sipped his tea thoughtfully. “In your other dream you Created her and called her your wife. Now you’re calling her ‘Reina’….like you’re a king, and she’s your queen.”

  “She didn’t reign very long,” Michael muttered dryly.

  “And Abi looks like you, and Mai looks like me,” Mel continued, disturbed. “Like they’re our mother and father.”

  “Could we have parents after all?” Michael asked, disturbed.

  He definitely didn’t want that can of worms to be opened.

  Mel shushed him. “No, of course not. We were never children.”

  “What if it’s a premonition?” Michael pressed, worried again that he was seeing into some sort of warped future.

  “It’s not a premonition,” Mel replied firmly. “You would never kill me, and our names are different.”

  “Where would I get all this stuff to dream up?” Michael sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It feels so real. I even feel some of his emotion….it’s bizarre….”

  Mel frowned. “What do you feel?”

  Michael hesitated for a small moment.

  Then he looked at him. “I feel power.”

  It was an impressive statement, and Mel looked worried.

  “And Father calls your name,” he said.

  “Yes. Every time.”

  Mel stared into his cup. “He always speaks to you in your sleep.”

  “You think he’s trying to speak to me? With everything going on?”

  Mel looked at him. “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  Mel thought for a moment.

  “Well,” he said dryly, “there’s the fact that you’re the favorite. But more likely….he’s trying to get you back.”

  Michael folded his arms. “I betrayed him.”

  Mel sipped his tea, troubled. “You also know a lot about Them. How desperate is he to get us to help him destroy her?”

  Michael thought. That made a lot of sense.

  “And in the end,” Mel continued darkly, “when it’s all over, he can get rid of us.”

  “Only if he’s willing to risk losing more power.”

  Mel shrugged.

  “But it doesn’t explain my dreams,” Michael said.

  “It can’t be coincidence.”

  “No….”

  “We should ask Them,” Mel finally said, draining the last of his tea. “She could know.”

  Michael nodded. “We need to tell her our theories about Father, too. Gilla guessed you didn’t tell everyone else last night.”

  “No,” Mel sighed. “We wanted to give them a break. And we didn’t want Andreas and Roone distracted.”

  “Are they back yet?”

  They went and checked; Michael poked his head in Roone’s room, feeling his Presence, and Mel did the same in Andreas’. Both were passed out in bed.

  “They probably won’t be up for a while,” Michael said.

  Just then they heard footsteps on the stairs. Down came Gabriel, looking half-asleep.

  “What’s this secret meeting we’re having?” he joked, opening the fridge and retrieving a slice of leftover pizza.

  “You should save that for someone who actually gets hungry,” Mel replied.

  Gabriel looked at Michael. “You all right, Mica?”

  “Yeah. Are you?”

  “Fabulous.”

  Michael rolled his eyes, and Mel chuckled.

  “What are you talking about?” Gabriel asked. “It sounded serious.”

  Michael hesitated. He didn’t want everyone to worry, especially his son. But it was difficult to keep it secret with Gabriel standing right there.

  He looked at Mel, before telling Gabriel the whole thing--the dreams, the dead people, the names.

  Gabriel looked troubled. “That is strange. Not a surprise about Father trying to contact you, though….he would want you back especially.”

  He thought for a moment, before saying, “Maybe you have a twin. Both of you. In another….I don’t know, another dimension, maybe. Maybe you’re tapping into his mind.”

  “Right now? Of all times?” Michael said.

  “And I’m not having any dreams like that,” Mel added.

  Gabriel shrugged. “Better idea than none. But you should tell everyone. More minds means more ideas. And you should tell Them.”

  “Already ahead of you on that one,” Michael replied.

  “I’d get Barry, but he’s out hunting.”

  “Let’s make breakfast,” Mel sighed. “At this rate everyone will be up before seven.”

  So the three made a Swedish breakfast again, laying out toast, herring and salmon. Gabriel wasn’t fond of Swedish food, so he made a pile of pancakes too.

  Slowly everyone began to trickle into the kitchen, smelling the food, and bemused by breakfast being made so early. The sun was just starting to rise--it was going to be a sunny day for once.

  “What is it?” Gilla murmured, slipping her arms around Michael’s neck.

  “I had another dream,” he whispered, and he heard the worry in his voice.

  She nodded gravely. “Okay. We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”

/>   Michael smiled, soothed by her words, and loving how gorgeous she looked, with her hair mussed and her eyes hooded from sleepiness. She would never believe that he would strangle someone with his bare hands, stab another to death. No, something else was going on, something….

  They ate first. Andreas and Roone emerged from their rooms, still half-asleep. Neither was hungry, and sat at the table quietly.

  Once most of the food was gone everyone turned their attention to them.

  “Anything?” Mel asked.

  Andreas shook his head, rubbing at his eyes. “No. We got picked up a couple times, but both vans were cluttered with equipment. No space for killing or sex.”

  “I hope it’s not an Angel,” Nora said suddenly.

  “We can’t possibly have any more coincidences,” Gabriel said. “An Angel in a small town of nine hundred? We’re not even close to Halifax.”

  “What if it’s one of the Demons?” Gilla asked.

  Everyone looked at each other darkly.

  “When did Claire Jansen go into hiding?” Nora asked Mel.

  Mel looked pale. “Not long after we did. A couple days.”

  “Hudson said the first body was found the day after we arrived,” Barry breathed.

  “So we could have a Demon who figured out where we are, wandering around Elle Road, trying to find the estate,” Roone spoke up, “and killing humans for amusement.”

  There was a silence.

  “Makes sense,” Barry said quietly. “I’ve flown over the estate a hundred times; you can barely tell where the entrance is.”

  “If he left Samuel Gene’s body on the edge of the estate, then he’s either an idiot, or he’s getting close,” Michael said, glowering.

  “My vote is idiot,” Mel said. “If he had an idea where the estate was, then he wouldn’t have dumped the next body on the Crampton property. He would have been focusing on spying on us.”

  “Maybe,” Nora said slowly. “It’s a risk assuming he doesn’t know where we are.”

  “But our only chance of tracking him down is to continue what we’re doing,” Andreas said. “And keeping on alert here. Maybe keeping a watch, taking shifts.”

  “I agree,” Gabriel said, nodding. “I’ll go--”

  “Except for you,” Michael growled. “Not you.”

  Gabriel tutted. “I have to do something, Mica; I can’t just--”

  “How are we protecting you if you’re out in the open?” Barry demanded. “This is all for you, Gabe.”

  “Maybe I don’t want it,” Gabriel shot back, angry now. “Might as well let them take me.”

  Michael felt the color drain from his face, and Barry looked a mixture of sick and furious.

  “Don’t say that. Please don’t say that,” Michael heard himself say, his voice hoarse.

  Gabriel looked at him, and deflated, looking guilt-ridden. “Shit, I’m sorry--I’m sorry.”

  “Please try to be patient, Gabriel,” Gilla whispered, looking pale. “We know you’re not being a coward.”

  Michael held his head in his hands for a moment. An image of Gabriel, bloody and stabbed, flashed through his mind, and he felt sick enough to vomit.

  “I’ll take the first watch,” Mel said quietly. “They can’t kill me.”

  “We’ll go at night,” Gilla said. “You go as soon as it’s dark, and we’ll switch at midnight. I’ll go until it’s light.”

  “Then I’ll go,” Barry said. “I’ll fly around.”

  “Then me,” Nora said, nodding.

  She looked at Andreas and Roone. “You two will stay in and rest. You need to be fully awake at night.”

  Roone and Andreas looked reluctant, but nodded.

  There was a long silence. Gabriel picked at the scraps on his plate, moody. He went to take Barry’s hand, but Barry took it off the table, apparently still pissed.

  Michael tried to relax, get that image of a dead Gabriel out of his mind. He thought of Lilith, and he sighed.

  Mel was sitting beside him, and he caught his eye. He looked worried, and he quickly grasped Michael’s shoulder, squeezing, before dropping his hand and looking away.

  It was unlike Mel to show him affection so openly--unless Michael was losing his head, of course. Michael was heartened, and he straightened in his seat, ready for the next subject to discuss.

  Gilla went first. “We were talking last night,” she said, looking at the four men who had not been part of last night’s conversation. “And we….”

  She glanced at Michael. “We have some theories.”

  Slowly, painstakingly, they detailed all they had discussed last night. The four were both captivated and troubled.

  Barry got up and fetched a pen and a notepad. Everyone watched silently as he sat back down, and began to write.

  “One,” he said, “God can’t control what happens to us.”

  There were murmurs of agreement.

  “Two: He can no longer control us. He could at one time, but not anymore. We all have free will.”

  “He pushed the limits, until that power broke when Lilith ate the fruit,” Michael said.

  Barry nodded, continuing to scribble on the notepad. “And three: He can kill us, but shouldn’t, because he’ll lose more power.”

  “You said he lost power when Lilith ate the fruit,” Andreas said, frowning. “The fruit from the Good Tree, that you were supposed to guard. Why would God plant a tree that would break his hold over you?”

  They were quiet. It was a question Mel had often asked, and one that Michael had ignored, before he had killed Lilith. He had been so eager to serve Father, to be part of his plans for his new Creation, that he had been reluctant to raise questions.

  “He didn’t plant the Tree,” Roone suddenly said, and everyone stared at him.

  He was frowning, troubled. “I think the Tree grew on its own. He had been controlling his Creations for so long that it sort of….appeared. An aftereffect.”

  “He was slowly losing control of us anyway,” Mel said slowly. “Losing control of me. Losing his power. The Tree was what helped us break it.”

  “So now he’s Raising these Demons,” Nora murmured. “And Them said that felt wrong….another rule he’s breaking. What are the consequences of that?”

  Barry made a noise, and everyone turned to him eagerly.

  Them was here.

  Barry

  He couldn’t believe what Gabriel had said. Maybe I don’t want it. Might as well let them take me. Was he trying to break Barry’s heart? Not to mention Michael’s.

  It was a pigheaded thing to say, and Barry sat in his chair, seething.

  You’re angry, Them’s voice suddenly said, and he looked up.

  He sighed, feeling everyone’s eyes on him. “It’s that obvious, eh?”

  I’m sorry. I’m not trying to upset you more.

  “You’re not. This is….a bit much.”

  It is for me too. But I’m ready to talk. I’m sorry I’ve been so far away….I’ve been searching.

  “For the Demons?”

  Yes.

  Barry relayed her answer. “Have you found any? Any near here?”

  It’s difficult to see. They’re all split up now.

  Mel sighed impatiently. “So we have nothing.”

  He still doesn’t trust me, she said sadly, and Barry shot Mel a look.

  “Them, do you know anything about the laws governing God?” Nora asked, ignoring the two.

  A pause. I don’t know. I’m still learning, too.

  “Well, we’ve been talking,” Nora said, and they caught her up on their conversation.

  Them was intrigued. That makes sense….a lot of sense.

  “Are you….” Nora said, hesitating. “Could you have to follow the same rules?”

  There was a pause. Andreas looked upwards too, and Barry realized he could hear Them too.

  Finally she spoke. For a long time I promised myself I wouldn’t Create a single being. Nothing that was conscious, that coul
d suffer.

  Her voice was almost bitter. But then I realized that I had Creations all around me. Every person, every Angel that I give life to--that I Ascend--becomes something different from what they were.

  Andreas relayed her words, and said, “Like me. I was human once, but after I Ascended I became something new. You gave me some of your power. I’m rather like your child.”

  Everyone absorbed this, including Barry, who frowned.

  “What does that make me?” he asked.

  I never Ascended you, Barry, Them replied gently. You’re still human.

  “But you gave me life,” Barry insisted, not bothering to repeat her words. “You can speak to me.”

  We’re connected now, she said, again gently. I’ve never been connected to a human like this. Don’t be afraid--I won’t leave you.

  Barry nodded. He felt a little silly, feeling such a need to be connected to her. But they had talked so much. He felt like he knew her--at least a little.

  He supposed in many ways she was like his mother, or an older sister. A friend.

  There was a pause, and Barry knew everyone was giving him a chance to get himself together.

  Finally Nora asked, “Can you control your Creations?”

  Them’s voice was low. I’m very sure I could, she whispered. But I would never do such a thing. To take away my people’s free will would kill me.

  “And you can’t control what happens in your world?”

  It was Andreas who answered. “No. Children are conceived and born--she’s never had control over that.”

  Everyone looked shocked.

  “There are children?” Mel breathed, looking a cross between amazed and horrified.

  I didn’t know it would happen, Them said quickly, sounding anguished. I didn’t even think there would be….relations. When the first woman became pregnant, I didn’t know what to do.

  “It’s all right,” Andreas soothed, while Barry reported her answer. “You didn’t know. And there haven’t been any goblins yet; don’t worry.”

  There was a weak chuckle.

  Mel cleared his throat. “What about killing?” he asked gravely.

  Them took a long time to respond. I can do it. I know I can….I feel my power; I feel it in my bones. It’s enough to kill. But I would never….I’d rather die myself….

  There was a silence.

  Barry studied his plate, troubled. Them seemed to have all the power God had--just weaker, in certain instances. She still needed to practice, build up her strength.