Synarchy Book 2: The Ascension (18 page)

“
And you three—” Isabella
eyed the triplets. “—will keep me in the direct loop of your
activities. I will not fish around, nor come hunt you down for
answers. Understood?”

Simone’s mouth twitched. “Crystal
clear.”

There was a faint curve to Vasco’s
mouth. Isabella was so much like her mother. “Yes,
ma’am.”

“
You will be the most
in-the-know member of this family.” Lucien gave Isabella a little
salute.

“
We’ve got a lot to do and
not a lot of time, so everyone keep their phones on, please.” Vasco
looked around the table. “This meeting is adjourned. Aunt Isabella
and Uncle Christopher, please stay. We have a few things to go over
with you.”

Chapter 9

"The absence of darkness in a person
does not suggest an abundance of light, for to know the light you
must have known the darkness."

-Anonymous

June 20, 2012 - 11:11 PM

Vatican City

Catacombs

What is ours we take
tonight; As ring of fire burning bright; We stand behind the
burning light; and cast no shadows in the night.”

The golden blade of the knife was
stained red. Crimson crawled down metal, dripping soundlessly onto
the stone slab. The chant continued around him, a hypnotizing
melody that fed the dark energy of the ritual sacrifice.

Tony stared down into the face of the
dead child. The boy could have been no more than eight or nine, and
so closely resembled his nephew that Tony couldn’t stop the tremble
that ran down his spine and made his hand shake. He was one of
them, now. A blood brother. He was one of the privileged few that
would rule over the slaves of Earth and worship the great gods, the
Anunnaki.

Catacombs intertwined under the world’s
Holy Empire, where this darker secret laid in wait. The air was
thick and heavy with the lowly vibrating energy that crawled
through it. Candle light flickered off the old walls, and Tony
closed his eyes, seemingly to draw in the energy of the moment. In
truth, it was to control his tears. No one would believe that such
atrocities could be committed, especially not underneath the
Vatican, with the Pope sitting on a stone throne watching over the
ritual.

For anyone who understood how to
condition a human mind—how the deepest layers of cult programming
worked—this was a simple means to an end. Part of the Brotherhood’s
success over the centuries, despite the occasional leak, was
because of this conditioned loyalty. The killing of another human
adult could be easily justified in a target’s mind. They could
rationalize that he deserved death, for numerous reasons, or simply
dismiss it as their right over a slave. But to kill an innocent
child, especially one chosen to look like the initiate’s own child
or close relative was a lot harder.

The ritual was proven to produce trauma
and an almost mind-numbing denial in those who witnessed it, even
if it wasn’t their first time. It brought fear, and fear was what
They wanted. It brought about a slow decrease for the love of one’s
self. Self-worth and self-esteem were reduced to nearly nothing,
replaced by group think. After doing something so horrible, where
would the participants be without the group? Who would they be
without the support of their brothers? Humans were just as afraid
of their darkness as they were their own light, because they knew
that they were capable of both. A human was not born either good or
evil; they simply were. Time and their own lives would thrust them
into the game of duality. An imbalanced society would make them
choose.

“
We welcome our Brother with
perfect love and perfect trust,” the Grand Master said.

Tony opened his eyes, slowly
turned and placed the bloody knife back on the red velvet sash. He
knelt down in front of the Grand Master so the final rites could be
recited, and he could get the fuck out of there. Lifting his eyes
to the Roshaniya’s, he kept his expression both humble and reverent
and let his thoughts keep him sane
. I
really can’t wait until we kill you
.

§

June 20, 2012 - 11:11 PM

Alcyone Island

Dion Corporation
Headquarters

“
Our Agents were about to
enter Amadeo’s house when they realized someone was in
there.”

The triplets, Isabella, and Christopher
set their eyes on Caleb, who stood in front of the conference
table. “Who?” Vasco asked.

Caleb shook his head. “We have no idea.
Our Agent was able to get a picture of him, and we’re running it
through our facial recognition software. What they told me was a
little odd, though. They reported that he was blinking in and out
of existence. They also reported he was holding a long golden rod
with a diamond-shaped crystal attached to the top of
it.”

The triplets looked at each other.
Simone frowned. “Maybe two people got away from whatever happened
underneath the Antarctica?”

Christopher arched a brow, looking
between the three. “Care to fill us in?”

“
Long story. The cliff notes
are that Atlanteans use to live underneath Antarctica. The
scientists at the Think Tank found a guy named Menes, who was
carrying a gold rod with a crystal attached to the top,” Lucien
said.

“
For every hero there is
also a villain,” Isabella mused.

“
All right. So, we’ve got
nothing on Amadeo.” Vasco clucked his tongue. “What about Olivia’s
flat in New York?”

“
That’s done. Her office
here, as well,” Caleb said.

“
One out of the two isn’t
bad,” Simone said.

“
Amadeo, Olivia and their
guest left the island right after the meeting. Do you want us to
try it again?” Caleb asked.

Vasco shook his head. “No. If he’s got
aliens, for lack of a better word, around his property, we don’t
know their capabilities. We might have already been made. Do we
know where they’ve gone?”

“
Sort of.” Caleb looked over
at Vasco. “Worthington trailed them to Loyalty's airport. They used
Nicholas to screw with their flight manifest, but he says their
destination was Rome.”

A wry smile touched Lucien’s mouth.
“Gone to meet with The Brotherhood to tell them what we’ve
done.”

Simone glanced at her brothers. “Think
any of the DeMarcos will be able to give us a heads up about what
goes on in that meeting?”

“
Possibly,” Vasco said.
“When you talk to Xavier, Simone, find out,”

“
Caleb, there is a security
center underneath the mansion, in a chamber off the cellar. All
information collected from those bugs goes directly there,”
Isabella ordered.

Caleb nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Backups make
the same flight to the compound?” Twice a month all information
collected at Phoenix Isle was taken, by hand, to the compound where
the triplets had had their past life session. Leone Vaughn, chief
of the island’s military police, made those secretive
trips.

Isabella nodded.
“Absolutely.”

“
You know, if it wasn’t for
those fuckin’ mooks, I could be playing poker with a hot redhead in
my lap right now.” Lucien sighed wistfully.

Simone smirked. Vasco stifled an eye
roll. Isabella smacked Lucien upside the back of his head, and
Christopher glared at him. “Glad to see you’ve got your priorities
in order. Let’s get to work.”

§

June 21, 2012 - 7:11 AM

Vatican City

Offices of the Papal
Gentlemen

Religion had been a powerful control
mechanism for centuries. More people had been killed in the name of
some “God” than in any war fought over politics. It should come as
no surprise then, that Vatican City was one of the most powerful
places in the world.

When someone didn’t speak the same
language, or understand the symbolism that surrounded them, it was
ridiculously easy to hide in plain sight. Cathedral Square was rife
with symbolism, and none of it Catholic. The most significant was
the huge statue that resembled a pine cone. It was called the Court
of the Pine Cone, and in front of the massive statue, an open
sarcophagus laid at its base. The statue was a symbol for the
pineal gland: the open sarcophagus representative of the journey
one took to open up the potential power that lay hidden in the
brain. The awakening of the potential of the human mind was often
linked to a death, then rebirth, an intense metaphysical
transformation brought about by the activation of the pineal
gland.

Standing in one of the Papal
Gentleman's offices, Enlil stared out the window, twilight draping
itself over his view of the square. He was in full human form, the
epitome of an aristocrat; what everyone expected the Vice President
of the United States to be. It was the perfect position for an
Anunnaki who wanted to keep a close eye on his disciples. Very
little attention was paid to the Vice President, and that allowed
Enlil the freedom to move about unnoticed. His actions were rarely
questioned, and there was little risk of becoming a possible
highlight in one ambitious reporter’s news reel. Of course, the
Roshaniya controlled the most popular, well-known media outlets.
Nothing was shown on any major news channel that didn’t have
someone’s stamp of approval. Regardless of that iron-fisted
control, Enlil was always careful, especially since the silly
spiritual awakening had taken hold of the planet.

More people questioned instead of
blindly accepting. Less people read the newspapers or put their
complete faith in mainstream media. The internet was the
Roshaniya’s biggest problem, but censoring it would have caused a
backlash they wanted to avoid. On the positive side, the internet
provided the means to take advantage of the free information the
humans gave away. The conspiracy theorists were usually partially
correct. If the slaves had ever learned to piece things together
from different sources, they might have seen the full, terrifying
picture. Even that would have been acceptable, though, provided
they bought into the Us versus Them mentality and stayed locked in
Duality.

But they weren’t.

The humans weren’t arming themselves
with weapons or holding onto anger and hate. They were quietly
educating themselves and pulling their support –more importantly,
their energy—from the thought-controlling systems. They abandoned
organized religion, choosing a more direct, personal route to
“God”. They became the change they wanted to see in the world, and
while certain atrocities angered and saddened their souls, they
didn’t cling to such darkness. They loved, they forgave, and they
continued on their journey. The problem with that sort of energy
was that it didn’t require a majority of the population to be
effective, and it riled Enlil’s anger to no end.

It didn’t matter, though. Their little
spiritual revolution wasn’t going to help them anymore than the
Galactic Federation was. Earth belonged to the Anunnaki.
Period.

“
Sir?” One of Enlil’s Secret
Service agents came into the room. He, too, wore a false human
skin; one of the Zetas. Centuries ago, the Anunnaki and Zetas
formed a treaty. The working class Zetas served the Anunnaki on
Earth, while Zeta scientists were allowed to abduct humans in
Anunnaki-designated areas for whatever purpose they so
chose.

“
Yes?” Enlil didn’t turn
from the window.

“
Amadeo and Olivia Terenzio
are here.”

Enlil smiled. “Send them
in.”

§

After the meeting with the triplets,
Dominic pulled Olivia and Amadeo aside and told them they were
going to Rome. He didn’t say who they were going to meet with, only
that they needed to bring Loki. A car would pick them
up.

Olivia and Amadeo hadn’t been
surprised, until they arrived at Vatican City. That surprise grew
when they were shown into the suite and saw the Vice President of
the United States standing there.

The moment that Loki walked across
Cathedral Square, he could feel what had happened beneath them. A
very dark, heavy energy rolled underneath his feet. He didn’t like
sensation, but his options were limited. He could not allow the
Ascension. Clutching the crystal in one hand and staring at the
Vice President, Loki narrowed his eyes. He could see beyond the
disguise to the true form of the Anunnaki underneath.

“
You’ve done well, bringing
an Atlantean to me,” Enlil said, his dark eyes on the
crystal.

Olivia smiled. Amadeo nodded. “And in
exchange—”

“
Yes, we know what you want.
But your acceptance into our folds will come at a higher price than
what you’ve brought us. Though, I have heard very good things about
you from Kayla.”

“
It is a sad fact that you
are the lesser of two evils,” Loki said quietly.

Enlil’s smile sharpened. “Where is the
other crystal, Atlantean?”

“
Destroyed with Rainbow
City,” Loki said.

“
How are you so
sure?”

“
If one of them had taken
it, they could have used it to escape and I would still feel their
presence.” Loki paused, his jaw tensing. “I am the last
one.”