Conquest: Rise of the Fifth Horseman (The Fifth Horseman Series Book 1) (7 page)

Chapter Eleven: Undetermined Fate

Among
the Morning Stars of heaven, a certain Malakh succumbed to the influence of the
Leviathan and rebelled against God. There was a war in heaven: the Malakhim of Lucifer
fought, and prevailed not; and didst lose their place in heaven…

–
Methuselah 8:3 –

As she pulled into her
apartment complex late that afternoon, Lily recognized the style of the
unmarked van parked across the street.

They sent out the IT
Repo crew already?

The reality of her
circumstance was starting to set in. She had spent all afternoon driving around
town looking for Allan in all of his usual places. She found his car in the
parking garage near his office, but Allan had left no signs as to where he
could have gone after he left Grant Park. She was worried sick about him, and
was absolutely convinced he was in some sort of trouble. Several times she had
suppressed the urge to try to call his cell phone, knowing fully that it had
been confiscated by the police as evidence against him. She was overwhelmed by
a deep depression knowing that she would get on that plane in the morning and
would never see Allan again.

She climbed the stairs
to the third floor. As she opened the front door to her soon-to-be forsaken
apartment, she was nearly run over by a couple of crew members who were
carrying out the sliding panel from her study.

“Excuse us!” one of the
men apologized.

She found several more
crew members inside busily removing NSA computer equipment that had been hidden
behind the wall. She watched them remorsefully for several minutes as they went
about their work. Though she had very limited time available to pack her
belongings, she couldn’t bring herself to start working on it right away. She
knew she had wasted several precious packing hours in a fruitless search for
Allan, but how can you possibly pack up five years of your life in only a
single evening anyway?

After a few more
minutes, she accepted the fact that she needed to at least get started. She
left the crew to do their work, and went upstairs to her bedroom. From the
closet she pulled out a large suitcase. Her beautiful maroon dress stood out
brilliantly in the closet. Though she had purchased it years ago, it was still
covered with the store’s plastic garment bag. She had been secretly hoping that
she could finally wear it tonight for her delayed acceptance of his proposal.

Unwilling to part with
it, she removed the hangar and carefully laid it in her suitcase. From her
drawers she pulled out enough clothing to last her a week knowing that the NSA
would provide her with a new wardrobe once she settled into her new assignment.
On top of the dresser stood a picture frame with a photo from over four years
ago. She picked it up and cradled it in her hands as the memory flooded back.
Allan had invited her to join him for a business conference in Atlanta. During
their free time, she insisted on going to the beach. They spent an entire
afternoon on Tybee Island, and in the photo Allan was carrying her on his back.
Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his bulky arms held up her slender
legs. She admired his chiseled chest and tight abs, regardless of the fact that
Allan had gained several pounds since this photo had been taken. Tears continued
to flow as she acknowledged that this was the moment she truly fell in love
with Allan.

She added the photo to
her suitcase, and went into the bathroom. As she gathered her toiletries, she
found her favorite nail polish. She wasn’t too fond of the color, but she wore
it often because it reminded her of Allan. Two years ago for Valentine’s Day he
had purchased it and had spent that evening learning how to paint her nails.
The overall finished product appeared to have been done by a child, but the
memory was distinct. Since then, for any special occasion that arose she would
choose to wear that shade of nail polish.

I have to stay strong.

She stared at her forlorn
reflection in the mirror, a thought creeped from the back of her mind. Though
she would probably get reprimanded for her actions later, she knew she couldn’t
just leave him without an explanation. Returning to the bedroom, she pulled out
a notepad and a pen from the nightstand:

My dearest Allan,

I want you to know that
I love you immensely, but I can’t marry you. I’m sorry I can’t be the woman you
want me to be. I know this will be difficult for you to understand, but I must
leave now. I hope that someday you will find a woman worthy of your love.

Love always, Lily

She tore the message
out of her notepad and placed it in an envelope.

“Agent Wilson?” one of
the crew members asked from the doorway.

Lily jumped in surprise
and hid the envelope behind her back, “Yes?”

“I’m James, the project
manager. We should be out of here within about ten minutes. A few of my men are
bringing in the pre-painted replacement wall, and we should have it up and
secured in fairly short time.” he paused and extended his palm, “But there is
still the matter of your cell phone.”

She stared at him
incredulously. She had entirely forgotten it was NSA issued.

“Umm...” she cringed, “I
think not.”

“I have my orders.” he
spoke sternly while still extending his palm.

Flustered she asked, “Can
I at least save my personal items first?”

He frowned, “You have
ten minutes.”

She nodded as he turned
away. She raced downstairs and squeezed past several crew members in her study.
She pulled her personal laptop out of the desk, and began booting it up while
she approached the sofa in the living room. Sitting down, she realized to her
frustration that her computer was installing several updates.

“Come on!” she rolled
her eyes in annoyance, “Stupid computer.”

By the time the computer
finally allowed her to log in, seven precious minutes had already passed.

“All right, we’re done
here.” the project manager approached her again with his palm extended.

“Just give me a minute!”
she shrieked as she plugged in her USB cord.

He began tapping his
foot impatiently as he stared at her. She ignored him, and dragged over the
files of old pictures and music. The progress bar indicated the process would
take about four minutes to complete.

“Agent Wilson,” he
huffed as his tapping became louder, “Your time is up. I need to report back to
the office immediately.”

“Well then, I guess you’ll
have to go without my phone.” she glared at him.

His eyes remained
stern, “You know I can’t do that.”

He suddenly made a move
to grab the phone, and she swatted his hand away.

“How dare you!” she
yelled at him, “Back off!”

He raised his hands in
surrender and took a step backward, “You’re making my job difficult.”

She ignored him. The
progress bar indicated she would need about another minute for the files to finish
moving over.

“Sir,” one of the crew
members stepped inside, “We really need to go. People will be arriving home
from work soon, and we might get spotted by a nosy neighbor.”

He nodded in agreement,
and without warning he suddenly grabbed the phone and yanked the USB cord free.
An error box appeared on the screen indicating that the file transfer had
corrupted. The project manager took off at a run, and Lily dropped the laptop
on the couch and launched after him. She raced out the front door and was halfway
across the yard by the time he and his crew member had gotten to the van. With
a screech of the tires, they were gone.

Lily screamed in rage
as she hopelessly ran a block down the street. The van disappeared around a
corner, and she slowed to a stop. She stood there in the middle of the road
feeling defeated, and without warning she started sobbing uncontrollably.

“Lily, sweetheart?” an
elderly woman called from her porch, “Is everything okay?”

It was Evelyn Morris,
her neighbor. Lily had come to know her pretty well at church, and had learned
that her husband had passed away a few years ago.

She continued to sob
uncontrollably as Evelyn approached her from her yard.

“There, there child.”
Evelyn wrapped her arms around her, “Tell Grandma Evelyn all about it.”

“He took…” she sobbed
without realizing what she was saying, “my phone…”

“The men in that van…”
Evelyn looked slightly alarmed, “My dear child, did you just get robbed?”

Lily shook her head ‘no’
while she continued to sob into Evelyn’s shoulder.

“Did they hurt you?”
she asked in a panic.

Lily shook her head ‘no’
again. She felt powerless to stop the tears from flowing.

“Is it Allan?”

This time she nodded.

“He dumped you for
another girl, didn’t he?” apparently confirming a previous suspicion, “I thought
it was odd this morning when I looked online and his profile indicated that he
is ‘in a relationship’ but your name was no longer listed. Now it makes sense.”

The NSA removed my
profile already?

“No...” she shook her
head again as she regained control of herself, “He asked me to marry him.”

“That’s wonderful!” she
beamed, “When’s the big date?”

“There won’t be one.”
her eyes were far away.

Evelyn’s face contorted
in confusion, “I don’t understand.”

“I’m leaving.” she
moaned, “Today.”

“But you love him.” she
tried to console, “Everyone gets cold feet sometimes.”

“I do love him, but I
can’t stay. It’s too complicated to explain.” she then gave Evelyn a hug, “I’ll
miss you.”

Chapter Twelve: Mists of Darkness

And
Lucifer was cast out, called the Devil, and Satan, which doth deceive the whole
world: he was cast out into the Earth, and his fallen Malakhim were cast out
with him. They were thrust down from the presence of God, and were called the
Watchers…

–
Methuselah 8:4 –

Falling to his knees, Timur
cradled his head in his hands and scrunched his eyes in anguish. Mists of
darkness swirled around him as the whispers inside his head gained volume and intensity.
A dark cloud entirely engulfed him, and he moaned in agony as he struggled to
regain control. His eyes were still glowing from the transport, and an aura of
sickly green light began to form around him. With a guttural roar, he silenced
the voices in his head.

The dark mists slid across
the ground like fluid water from all directions. Another dark cloud rose up directly
in front of him as the mists gathered in a mushroom until it formed a massive
creature.

“Mine anointed.” A
voice hissed from the cloud, “Why hast thou not brought me any fresh souls to
devour?”

“Forgive me, my Lord.” Timur
stood at his full stature, “I have come to seek thy council. It would appear
that another Seraph has Awakened.”

The red glow from the
creature’s hollow eyes ravenously grew brighter, “Bring him unto me! I must devour
him!”

“I shall, my Lord.” Timur
nodded, “But it appears I am unable to control him.”

“Go unto thine Oracle
for council…” the Leviathan seethed, “…for I am too weak.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“And do not return
hither without a fresh soul to consume!”

Timur shuddered, “You
have my word.”

Slowly the dark cloud
dissipated, and Timur could now see Atlantis rising up before him. Though once
vast and glorious, the ruins could hardly be called a city anymore. Many of the
grand spires were now charred towers of teetering rock, and the once-populous
land was now sparse and barren. The only life stirring inside the City of
Atlantis now were the rats and Timur’s corrupt priests.  Surrounding the city
were hundreds of make-shift huts that housed the remains of the peasant
population which had been reserved as human sacrifices for the Leviathan. Since
Timur’s reign had begun, most of the population had either been killed or had
long ago escaped into the dense forests. Many raids had since ensued to
eliminate any survivors. By now, Timur was quite confident that the rebels had
been crushed.

“Your holiness,” a
priest bowed in reverence, “a chariot awaits thee.”

Timur reached forward
and touched the crown of the priest’s head and spoke in pure mockery, “Blessed
are ye.”

Upon discovery of his return
to the planet Zion, he had been clothed in the most exquisite of robes fit for
a King. After all, he was the ‘god’ of this other world, at least according to
that which was being preached. Only a few peasants stood as his chariot flew
by. Their eyes betrayed pain and loathing, and every face looked sickly.

Only the cawing of
crows announced his arrival as the chariot entered the gates. As he ascended
the levels of the city and approached the summit, a grand cathedral-like
building rose in grandeur. The edifice had stood the test of time against all
of the wars and pestilences that had afflicted this cursed land. Long ago it
had once been a glorious temple wherein the people had worshiped their God.
Today, it was Timur’s home away from home.

The chariot slowed as
it pulled up to the grand staircase. Waiting at the bottom was an elderly High
Priest with white hair and a long gray beard. As always, an iguana sat oddly
perched on his shoulder. He bowed in reverence as Timur stepped out.

“Rise.”

Timur approached him, “Abner,
it’s good to see you. You look well.”

“Thou art too kind, my
holiness.” they ascended the stairs together, “I doth become more feeble by the
hour.”

Two younger priests
grunted as they pulled open the colossal doors.

“Pray tell, for what
cause dost thou grace us with thine presence?” High Priest Abner spoke, “I dare
say, ‘tis been many years.”

“I have a problem.” Timur
explained, “I need your counsel.”

They stood beneath an
archway as Timur explained in hushed tones the events that had transpired over
the past few days regarding Allan’s awakening.

“I feel that my powers
are growing weak.” Timur explained, “and I’m afraid that somehow Allan has
found a way to drain them from me. I need your direction. I have already tried
to kill him, but for some reason I can’t.”

Abner laid his palm on
the back of the iguana and stared ahead blankly for several minutes in silence.
His eyes appeared misty and glazed over. Timur didn’t interrupt him, for he was
accustomed to Abner’s visions.

After a few minutes, a
sudden look of concern stumbled across Abner’s face and he began muttering, “Alas,
this cannot be!”

Timur was growing
impatient.

“Come with me.” Abner
suddenly released his hand from the iguana’s back and motioned Timur to follow.

They entered the great
temple and Abner led the way through several archways until they reached the
furthest end. There stood a large round slab of stone, which Abner ordered four
younger priests to remove. After many grunts and groans, a dark passageway
revealed itself and from it escaped a putrid stale odor.

“Where are you taking
me?” Timur stammered.

“Unto the tombs of our
ancient ones.” Abner spoke as one of the priests handed him a lit torch.

Reluctantly, Timur took
a second torch from the young priest and followed Abner down a steep declining
stairway. The four young priests trailed behind him. He started to breathe
heavy as flashbacks from his imprisonment threatened to engulf him. The dark
passageway flickered with terrifying shadows as light from the flames of their
torches danced across the walls. Thick cobwebs hung limply from the corners as
Abner tore through them with his torch.

Finally, they reached
the bottom of the stairwell which opened up to a large tomb. Within the large
damp room were just over ten thick slabs of concrete. Each one contained the
decaying body of one of the ancient kings of this once great city. Upon each
slab were engraved names and accomplishments in an ancient language that Timur
couldn’t decipher. Abner walked around the room and lit several torches that
protruded from the walls. As he went, he wiped away dust and cobwebs from each
wall to reveal multiple ancient hieroglyphs painted on them.

“These,” Abner paused
in reverence, “are the prophecies of the ancients. You must understand your
purpose before you can understand how to destroy this man called Allan.”

“My purpose?”

“Thou art a Seraph,”
Abner explained, “a holy angel anointed by God.”

“I knew that already.”

“Ah, but thou dost not
understand thine heritage.”

“Abner.” Timur chided, “I
don’t have time to listen to a history lesson. I feel myself growing weaker by
each passing minute. Just tell me how to destroy him.”

Abner’s face fell, “Then
I shall give unto thee a brief version. The man thou didst kill five hundred
years ago wast thine predecessor.”

“That’s ridiculous.”
Willam stammered, “You told me he was the King of this land.”

“Verily, he was.” Abner
agreed, “Yea, ‘twas also the last known Seraph before thine awakening. He also
was born upon the other world you call Earth.”

Timur was stunned. He
had no words to express.

“Thine ignorance dost
cost thee precious time.”

“But that means…” Timur
stammered, “I would have become King regardless of whether or not I overthrew
him.”

“Verily, ‘tis so.”

“Then why was I locked
up in that dungeon for all of those many years?!” Timur practically screamed.

“Alas, ‘twas because of
the Great Prophecy.”

“The what?”

“Yea, it was foretold
that the King’s successor should bring destruction unto both worlds. Many wanted
to thwart that prophecy. When we didst finally find thee, thine powers had
already manifested but thine amulet had not yet been established. Thus thou
could not be killed. The Elders elected to lock thee away despite the protests
of the King’s counselor. This counselor adamantly warned that such a decision
would guarantee their destruction. They ignored his warnings, and not long
afterward the counselor vanished.”

Timur had a pretty good
idea who that counselor was. No doubt it was the old man who had been
consistently overthrowing his plans until Timur locked him away in his own
dungeon back on Earth.

“But that doesn’t make
sense.” Timur suddenly sputtered, “If the King truly was a Seraph as you
suggest, how did I kill him? I thought you just said that a Seraph couldn’t be
killed.”

“Alas, but I didst not
say that.” Abner corrected, “Just before thou didst kill him, didst thou
overturn his table?”

“Yes.” Timur was
getting agitated, “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Yea, it doth have
great significance.” he smiled, “Upon that table sat a pair of balances, did
they not?”

“I have no idea.”

“When thou didst
overturn that table, the pair of balances fell and cracked. Unbeknownst to
thee, this object was his Amulet. ‘twas the very supernatural object that
focused his powers to allow him to travel between worlds. When thou didst break
the Amulet, in that moment he became very vulnerable as his powers had been
shaken. It was then that thou didst stab him through the chest.”

“So what you’re telling
me is that I need to break Allan’s Amulet, whatever it is?”

“Better yet, thou
should destroy it.”

“But how will I find
it?”

Abner smiled as he
walked over to one of the stone slabs. He instructed the four young priests to
remove the cover. After many strains, the cover slid slowly with a screeching
sound as stone ground upon stone. Timur joined them, and he looked inside to
find the skeleton of a man with a corroding gold breastplate upon his chest.

“Verily, this is the
resting place of King Elijah, the very same Seraph of whom thine Bible from
Earth hath described as the prophet who rode upon a chariot of fire and
ascended into the heavens in a whirlwind.”

Abner reached his hand
behind the breastplate, and pulled out two white stones.

“And these art seer
stones.” he placed them ever so gently in Timur’s palms, “They shall guide thee
in thine quest to find this young Seraph’s Amulet.”