Mystery's Choice (Vengeance Of The Fallen Book 1) (42 page)

27

Lily spent her last day as a human cop, patrolling Capitol Hill with her reason for living. They had viewed the horror of the world gone mad together. She had gone back to the station house to finish up their paperwork and Sam had gone to say goodbye. A few hours later, she straightened her desk, turned in her paperwork, and walked through the double doors for the last time. She turned to look at the building where she had been a homicide detective and was surprised to realize she would miss it. She would miss her fellow officers, the noise, and the bad coffee. She would miss living as a human. She smiled at herself, got in her car and squealed out of the parking lot. After all if they gave her a speeding ticket, she wouldn’t be around to pay it.

As she drove home, she looked at the closed stores and burned buildings and tried something she had never even thought of trying in eight thousand years. She bowed her head and prayed to God in his Heaven.

“I know I have no right to speak to you, let alone ask you for anything. But I will risk your wrath to ask anyway. Please, if we should fail, spare your children from a thousand years of Satan’s rule. Please, God, give them peace and end their suffering. One more thing, God please spare Sam. I know he made a pact, but he is a good man, who is willing to die for what is right. I beg you, God, on his behalf to bring him home to you and his family. Thank you.”

Lily pulled into the driveway, wondering if she was the first one back. She got her purse and strolled to the door. She unlocked it and slowly opened it. She stepped in and stopped in her tracks, something wasn’t right. Smoke hung in the air. She dropped her purse and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“Sam! Sam!”  She threw open the bedroom door. She covered her mouth with her hand. The bedroom had been trashed. The mattress and pillows had been shredded. The walls had been sprayed with fecal matter. The curtains hung in tattered ribbons over broken windows. Nergal. Nergal had done this. Lily turned, her face ashen, Nergal never left anyone alive when he made a house call. She went to search the other rooms for the bodies.

“Felicity!”  She checked the closed bathroom door, turning the knob; she slowly pushed it open; the room was empty and clean. “Mary Kate!”  She checked the guest room; it looked like her bedroom, except the walls were covered in blood. Tears began to slide down her cheeks as she went in. She found no body, no pieces, just blood. She stumbled back into the master bedroom and out onto the terrace and checked the yard below. Seeing nothing, she went back downstairs. The living room, dining room, and guest bath were all trashed. “Ryan!”  The kitchen was fine, the dishes were clean, and the counters glistened. Not finding anyone, she went back to the living room and sat down on the floor and hugged herself. Where were the bodies?  And what could she do alone? Lily jerked when someone touched her shoulder. She slowly turned, half expecting to see Nergal, and stared into Sam’s tired, worried face.

“Sam!”  She sprung up and flew into his arms. “I thought Nergal had killed you. He killed someone, there’s blood all over the guest room, but no bodies.”

“Are you alright?”  He kissed her hair. He tightened his hold; she was still trembling.

“I thought you were all dead and I would have to stop Cain alone.”  She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “It’s time.”

Sam shuddered. “So we go tomorrow, like we planned. We should have until Saturday. If we go tomorrow, we should get there before guests arrive for the happy occasion.”

“We should be there at dark, my love. The Ascension is on Saturday because of the full moon and Saturday is Satan’s day; it is when his power is at its fullest. He will use the power amp to help his son perform the ceremony. So if we stop Cain from living to see Saturday, we will stop the Ascension, if we fail, we die, because we cannot stop Satan once he ascends, and once he is on the Throne he will be omnipotent.”  She gently cupped his face. “Remember Ryan, Mystery, and Jeremiah are the only ones coming out of the aerie. We will both burn in the fires of Acheron when this is done.”  She kissed him breathless. “Let’s go clean up our bedroom, so, we have a place to be alone tonight.”

“I love you, Lily.”  He took her face in his hands. “May God bless and forgive you.”

“May God Bless and save you, my love. I love you and I wish I had not made a deal. But, I did and I must honor it.”  She raised her hand and a jar of mentholatum appeared in it. “Here.” She tossed him the jar. “You’ll need this; it smells up there.”

They had just started up the stairs when Felicity and Mary Kate walked in, with their weapons drawn, Sam had left the door standing open, in his haste to get to Lily.

“We had a visit from Nergal.”  Lily was relieved to see them both alive. But it could mean they had lost Ryan.

“We’ll start down here.”  Felicity picked up a chair and sat it upright.

“I’ll get dinner going; and I’ll do the dining room.”

“Okay.”  Felicity wrestled the couch to an upright position.

Everyone sighed with relief when Ryan walked in. He just shook his head.

“This is just petty, Cain!”  Ryan yelled.

He noticed they were all smiling.

“What?”  Ryan put his bag down.

“There’s blood all over the guest room. You were the only one missing. We’re just relieved you’re okay.”  Mary Kate explained as she continued down the hall to the kitchen.

“I’ll clean up the guest room.”  He pushed Sam and Lily up the stairs, he followed them.

By dinnertime they had everything cleaned. All the broken and shredded stuff they placed in the dumpster at the end of the alley; and Felicity had worked a charm which banished the smell. She lit white candles made of anise, cinnamon, and clove and placed them in the outer corners of the room. She lit black candles made of clove, peppermint, and pine and placed them at the door into the house and in front of each window. She lit orange candles made of ginger, tangerine, musk, and patchouli on the table. Then she placed onyx and snowflake obsidian above the front and back door frames. Moonstone, jet, and green jasper went under each pillow. In an empowered bowl, she tumbled garnet, fluorite, emerald, amber, beryl, and rubies; and she sat it on the table. She placed a centerpiece of rosemary on the table. Mary Kate arranged the food and they all sat down.

“Ryan, will you say the blessing, please?”  Mary Kate bowed her head and the others followed suit.

“Father God, please bless this food we are about to receive for the nourishment of our bodies, for Christ’s sake. Lord, please bless each and every person sitting here, the aerie, and around the world, who will fight to end the evil Cain has wrought. Protect and guide them, Father God. Aid them in their battle, shine your countenance upon their faces and give them peace. It is in your Son’s most holy name I ask these blessings. Amen.”

“Amen.”  Everyone around the table said in unison. They ate in relative silence, each lost in their own personal thoughts. The only sound was the tinkling of silver on china, the rustling of napkins, and the occasional sigh. The candles sparkled off the glassware and china, their scent mingling with the potted rosemary. When they had finished, they cleared the table and spread a clean white linen sheet across it. Lily waved her hand over it and a map of the aerie appeared. Mary Kate whistled.

“The place is huge. And all this time it has been there undiscovered. It’s amazing.”

“They have been building it for 300 years. It houses the largest and most powerful coven of the Roodmasi. There are hundreds living inside. Most of the children have never even been outside of the compound.”  Lily leaned in and blew over the map, hundreds of glowing red dots scurried around the map.

“Wow. How do they stay hidden?”  Felicity asked.

“There’s a spell. You can only see it if you know its there.”  Lily pointed to a large cluster of dots. “They are having evening prayers.”  She pointed at another grouping. “Those are the kitchens, laundry, and delivery areas.”  She pointed to an area where there were small groupings. “Those are the family chambers. Over here are the magical supply and public ritual room areas. Also, on this floor are the servant’s quarters and medical supply.”  She pointed at another small grouping of rooms. “This is medical. Over here are the prisoner cells. Here is Malcolm’s playroom. He’s Raevanne’s personal henchman; his quarters are behind his room.”  She pointed to a staircase. “Up here is Raevanne’s office and her private ritual room.”  She looked at Ryan. “These are Mystery’s office and ritual room.”  She pointed at another staircase on the other side of the aerie. The library is up here and it covers the entire floor on this side. Over to this side and up a heavily guarded staircase are Cain and Raevanne’s chamber, Mystery’s chamber, the nurseries, and Mystery’s maid Juliet’s chamber.”  She pointed at another staircase leading down. “Down these stairs are the dungeons, where lawbreakers are left to die slow painful deaths, and somewhere behind them is Serafina’s labs and chamber. She was Raevanne’s assistant, very secretive and manipulative. She found her way into Samael’s bed and is his current consort. She reeks of power, because she hoards it, like it was gold. If she is in attendance, I believe her only concern will be to protect the infant.”  Lily stopped to give everyone time to take everything in.

“One question.”  Mary Kate held up two tiny fingers. “Who is Samael?”

“Samael is a devil and head of all iniquitous beings. He is the first incubus and we are of equal power. We have always hated each other. He is politically minded and now is one of Satan’s favorites. He is here to attend the Ascension, he and Cain have been friends for as long as Cain has existed in his current form, so we have to add him to the mix.”

“Outside the aerie what are we looking at?”  Sam studied the map and the red dots outside of the aerie.

“There are nine of the Roodmasi Red Guard, elite forces, like Seals or Rangers, at the entry gate. Booby traps and magic guard the fence around the perimeter. Red Guard with hell hounds patrol the fence. The rear of the compound is almost impenetrable; it is against a steep mountain. The maze of tunnels leading to the base of the mountain inside the aerie and the entrance to the aerie are being guarded by nine of Baal’s Infernal Army. They will be his best troops because of how important it is for Cain to be unharmed. Once inside the aerie, there are patrols of two roaming at intermittent intervals. Cain owns a giant hellhound named Dante I’ve seen him snap a man’s spine in his jaws, but he seldom leaves Cain’s side. Oh!  And everyone inside will feel our presence because we are not of like mind and allegiance.”

“So, we are screwed.”  Felicity smiled a mischievous smile.

“Pretty much.”  Lily smiled back.

“I say we enter from the rear, using our three magickals to guide us around the booby traps. We will only have to take out the nine guards to get inside. We evade or kill anyone we encounter inside who isn’t who we are looking for. After which we rig the tunnels to blow at a certain time.”  Sam studied the map. “Everyone who isn’t magic goes in armed to the teeth. Felicity, I think you should still carry.”

“I will.”  She looked at the map. “I think Sam’s right; explosives are our best shot.”

“I’ll rig the explosives and guard our exit point.”  Mary Kate added. She realized everyone was staring at her. “I had a boyfriend who used to be a Navy Seal, and I think he is or has been a mercenary. He has a subscription to
Mercenary Today
magazine. I was trained in demolitions, while I was active duty. He believes in being prepared for defending yourself from an invasion at all times, so I made a trip to his house today. He gladly parted with more than enough C4 to blow those tunnels and everything in a mile radius, if we want to.”  She opened up her pack and began to take things out. “He also gave me a mini-Uzi, AK47s, two Browning Hi-power semi-autos, a sawed off shotgun, a sniper’s rifle and…” She dug into the bag with a smile. “And four grenades.”

Felicity smiled. “Maybe we aren’t screwed.”  She got her bag and came back to the table. “My turn.”  She passed a small vial with water in it to everyone. “I bought about 20 of these vials of holy water, use them like grenades. Lily, be careful; it will burn you, I think.”  Lily nodded. “I brought these.”  She reached into the bag and brought out a few vials with red liquid in them. “Use them like grenades; they repel any unclean spirit, like Minion or Legion. I’ve made bags of herbs, oils, flowers, and crystals for everyone.”  She passed them out and sat down.

“I have a cross for each of you.”  Ryan handed them out. “If you don’t want to wear it, put it in your pocket, but keep it on you. “That’s all I’ve got, the rest is for me.”  Everyone laughed as he sat down.