Pursuit of the Zodiacs (48 page)

They ended up on one of the balconies of his fortress, tall enough to be one with the clouds. Crusix couldn’t help but to gaze upon Bishop’s beautiful group of domesticated flying reptiles encircling the skies of this beautiful World. Bishop caressed the massive beak of one that alit upon the balcony. “Ahh, Lexi, return to the others while I speak with my guest.” Crusix watched the reptile beast depart. Its wingspan alone defied the laws of gravity.

Bishop interrupted a distracted Crusix. “I already know what news dwells within that Scroll of yours.”

“You do?” Crusix replied, as he returned it to one of his containers.

Bishop answered, “Yes. Your presence alone justifies the severity of Lucifer’s proposal, not the letter in your possession.”

Crusix replied, “So, you know who I am?”

Bishop answered, “Yes, Crusix, I’ve heard countless things. I’m surprised our friend Lucifer hasn’t awarded you with a Kingdom of your own, judging by all the great work you’ve accomplished. You’ve even defeated some of my best men centuries ago … something worthy of my respect. I’m surprised he insults you by making you his courier. Unlike him, I know the true worth of my most trusted Brethren.”

Crusix responded, “My time will come. Whatever path he chooses for me, I’m content with it until the end.”

Bishop said, “Spoken like a true Master Arch. Sadly, there aren’t many like you. It would be a shame for me to reject his offer by sending him your head. It would be a waste of a good soldier.”

A humbled Crusix said, “It would be an honorable death coming from a god such as yourself. If it is to be anybody, again, I would be content with it being by the hands of Bishop, the Mover of Suns. It is settled. If we will not stand side-by-side on these battlefields, it is only destined for us to be eternal enemies.”

Despite knowing that he faced certain death, Crusix prepped himself for his final fight.

Bishop spoke, “Crusix, don’t be a fool. On the day of Lucifer’s expulsion, we had the opportunity to trail and finish him and his remaining army, putting an end to any potential threat. But we did not. He and others named as traitors who also disapproved of God’s guidelines were spared. The reason for this has been revealed to me this day: Destiny. Return to Lucifer and tell him we will be an unstoppable force. The Universe will tremble over the rumor alone. Ha, Michael will regret the day he refused to listen to me. Letting Lucifer live will be considered the greatest mistake he ever made.”

Crusix handed the Scroll over to Bishop who signed and impressed it with his own seal.

Crusix, somewhat relieved, continued, “Excellent. It will be an honor to fight along side you, Bishop.”

Bishop said, “Yes, it shall. I will have my men escort you out safely. When the time is right, we will meet at a convenient Dimension to go over war planning and mission campaigns.” He handed back over the signed and sealed Scroll to Crusix.

Crusix took the Scroll. “Yes, much appreciated, Bishop. We shall meet again … soon.”

Crusix left Bishop’s Kingdom with one of the most powerful Scrolls anyone could be fortunate enough not only to set their eyes upon, but also to read.

Chapter 26

ART THOU SIRIUS?

“And there shall be signs in the Sun, and in the Moon, and Stars.”

– LUKE 21:25

L
evi chopped down Capricorn’s Dead Rising minions left and right while advancing towards a defiant Zodiac. While his comrades were busy fighting inside and unaware of the danger outside, Levi moved in before Capricorn completed his sinkhole.

Levi knocked Capricorn into a tree. The impact somehow brought life to that same tree due to his gifts. It extended its limbs around and grabbed him, holding Capricorn tight against its bosom, awaiting the Zodiac’s command as if it was a mindlessly obedient machine.

“Interesting,” an impressed Levi commented, notwithstanding certain death gazing upon him. The Pursuer switched into his signature rock-humanoid form and hoped to survive the ultimate punishment.

The flesh-eating Devils that arose from the massive hole in the floor of the training room diminished. Justus pressed two against the wall and decapitated them. He joined Daniel and Goliath as more fiends approached. Dracuul descended from a
portal aperture in the ceiling. He grabbed Justus by the throat and threw him across the training room into a stack of bookshelves.

Dracuul ordered, “Come, it is time. Your service is required.”

“A Vampeer?” Justus said, struggling for breath.

Under his authority, and without pause, Daniel and Goliath obeyed the Vampeer. Both followed him into that same portal that had opened up in the ceiling.

Justus yelled, “Wait! Daniel! Goliath! What are you doing? Where are you goi—“

Justus dropped his guard, and Dead Rising minions savagely bit into the Pursuer. Their numbers proved too great. They consume his flesh.

“No!” Natenal saw the portal closing. To his left, Dead Rising minions sunk their teeth into his Brother’s flesh. Enraged, Natenal blasted the dead with a series of Hellfire and Lightning from his two-handed “Hevil” sword. The walls and floor were plastered with scalded ligaments.

After clearing the training room, Natenal grabbed the blood-battered body of his dying comrade and removed his hybrid mask from his head. He still held breath. Yet, Justus’s injuries were too severe. He started shaking erratically while coughing up blood. Natenal drew his ear closer to Justus’s mouth in time to gather his Brother’s last words, “A, a Vampeer took t-tooo-k-k them, bee-ee str-rr-oonngg, Broo-thers.” His struggle to speak ceased. Justus was dead.

A devastated Natenal remained calm as he closed his comrade’s eyes. “We will meet in Paradise, my Brother.” He left his dismembered body there after hearing Devils regrouping in the hole in the ground. A brief Earthquake occurred. And, judging by its intensity, he knew that the safehouse was on the verge of collapse. He went in search of the remaining Pursuers.

Outside, Levi held his ground. He couldn’t quite figure out how to overcome the Zodiac child’s offense. Nonetheless, he had succeeded in staying alive.

“Pursuer, you have a hard time dying,” a frustrated Capricorn said while kicking Levi a few yards into a nearby toolshed. Blood seeped through fissures in his weakening rock-humanoid form.

Abdeen intervened, loosing a meteor shower that set the enormous tree ablaze. Capricorn escaped the tree just in time before it was fully engulfed in flames. He fell into the arms of his departing bloodthirsty minions; and to Abdeen’s surprise, they did not harm him.

“So you are the one responsible for these Devils, Zodiac?” An angered Abdeen shouted.

He descended into the Underworld unleashing a few more Dead Rising Minions as sacrifice to guarantee an escape, while the rest of The Pursuers prudently vacated the safehouse, which they watched surrender to the Zodiac’s sinkhole.

Adam asked, “Now what? Do we pursue?”

Abdeen replied, “There could be millions of those monstrosities down there waiting for us to make that mistake.”

After seeing his blood-stained armor, Ozias ran to Natenal and inquired about his health. Natenal responded, “I am all right, but I have troubling news. Justus has fallen.”

The remaining group didn’t take the news well. They prayed and hoped for Justus’s safe passage through the Judgment Realm.

Zodeen asked, “How did this happen? And, where’re Daniel and Goliath?”

Natenal answered, “I won’t get into too much detail, but he’s fallen to the same Devils who attacked us. As concerns Goliath and Daniel, the very same Vampeer who’d given them their new gifts has taken them away. Before his passage, Justus mentioned them both being taken into a portal in the ceiling of the training room. I believe that Vampeer has other plans for them and is in need of their service. Our fears have been met with those two.”

Abdeel added, “They might as well be added to our list of fallen, also.”

Vincent said, “You could be right, Abdeel. They are lost unless their Host is eliminated. Only then will they be of service to you once more. Eliminate the Host and you’ll be able to continue your mission without any more uncertainty.”

“You seem quite knowledgeable about these Vampeers, don’t you Vincent?” Abdeen inquired.

Vincent answered while Irisan finished restoring his arms. “Yes, I do. You’re not the only one who has obligations. I have my own campaign that I must attend to. Now, if you’ll excuse me ...”

Ozias interrupted, “Wait, someone’s coming.”

They hid amongst the trees and braced themselves for more company.

“What? What the Hell happened here?” Cancer said while descending from his meteor. He investigated the devastating sinkhole.

“Have I gotten the coordinates wrong?” Cancer rechecked the locational information.

Natenal removed himself from cover. “Worry not, Cancer. You were correct.”

Caught off guard, Cancer surveyed the damage. “What happened here? Is everyone all right?”

They brought him up to date. However, Vincent was not quite convinced that they should let a Zodiac join their unit.

Cancer, devastated over the news, said, “Capricorn? I’m sorry for your loss, Brother. I know this must be hard for you.”

Irisan said, “No need. Our Brother is on his way home. I envy him.”

Vincent interrupted, “What do you care? Natenal, can you trust this Zodiac? After our experience, I don’t think any of these Zodiacs can be trusted.”

Cancer replied, “Don’t you judge me. I’ve proven my loyalty enough already.”

Natenal added, “Yes, Vincent, don’t worry yourself any further. Go and finish your assignment. I believe we’ve kept you from it long enough. Thank you for the help you’ve given us thus far.”

Vincent left, but not without some parting words. ”Pursuers, may God be with you all.”

The Bookkeeper recorded the events that took place, recorded their losses, and updated his notes.

“An hour and a half left before we reach our destination,” Libra announced, while putting the craft on autopilot to go check on her inventory. Aquarius took over the controls. Minutes later, the radar displayed something heading towards them at a rapid speed.

“What is it?” Sagittarius asked.

Aquarius warned, “I don’t know, but brace for impact.”

Sagittarius yelled, “Libra, we have company. Brace for impact!”

Libra returned, but not in time to safely fasten herself in a chair. Aquarius grabbed the craft’s controls, taking it off autopilot. She maneuvered the craft, but it met firepower from several other warcraft.

Aquarius shouted, “Damn it! We’re going down!”

The engines failed. Aquarius fought to guide the heavily damaged craft to safety. However, their assailants continued firing upon them. While putting her gift of balance into use, she avoided being thrown around. Libra raised a force field around the battered craft, but it was too far gone. It plummeted from the sky, bounced off a city skyscraper, down into a busy city street, off a bridge, and finally came to rest under it all. Despite a rough landing, they had all survived; but Libra’s ability to walk on walls failed her. She fell hard against the fortifications of the craft. Stunned and with bruised ribs, Sagittarius and Aquarius had little time to recover her. They knew that their attackers were on their way to finish the job.

Sagittarius grabbed Libra and set the craft ablaze in hopes of fooling their enemies.

In disarray, Aquarius stumbled over logs and other objects in her path. They all headed into the woods as amazed onlookers approached the burning alien craft. They weren’t the only ones. Four more craft hovered over the site and shined their lights for survivors. Two of the four craft landed for an even more thorough search. They did not care who observed, which further proved the importance of their unknown objective. The other two craft scanned the area for any fleeing Zodiacs.

Libra, though still in pain and being held up by Sagittarius, asked, “Who’s trying to kill us?”

She didn’t receive an answer as they treaded through the rough wooded terrain as stealthily as possible.

“Wait! Stop!” Aquarius whispered.

They paused and hid behind an abandoned, beat up old van buried underneath a fallen tree. One of the alien craft slowly hovered not too far from them, beaming a light towards the ground. The craft landed, and they impatiently waited to mark the identity of their shooter.