Synarchy Book 2: The Ascension (39 page)

Looking down at her cousin, Simone
reflected that same emotion back to her. “Checkmate, bitch,” she
whispered and put two in Olivia’s head. Simone stood motionless for
several seconds, realizing the cold sense of satisfaction she felt
was overshadowed compared to the pain ripping up her heart because
Caleb was gone too. And that just pissed her off even more. “Get
her off my train,” Simone said to the Cadre handing him back his
gun. She pulled the headset out of from the front pocket of her
fatigues, placing it in her ear. They still had one last base to
hit. “Let’s go.”

§

December 20, 2012 - 11:44 PM

Underground Ruins

Piedras Negras

“
Oh, my God, it’s
magnificent.” The new trio had landed in a small room, found a hole
in the stone wall they could pass through, and then found
themselves in a gigantic chamber. Grams cracked two cyalume light
sticks, and even their light couldn’t fully illuminate the room.
The stone walls were marked with Mayan glyphs and another vastly
different language. Three massive stone doors provided more options
than they wanted on which way to go next.

“
I know those are Mayan, but
what language is that?” Derek waved his flashlight over the
walls.

“
It’s not Sumerian.” Shirley
stood next to Derek, studying the strange symbols.

“
It’s Leumerian,” Grams
suddenly answered.

Derek and Shirley looked over at her
curiously. “How do you know that?” Shirley asked

Grams looked down at the golden rod in
her hand. It was then that Derek and Shirley noticed the crystal
seemed to be glowing faintly. “It just told me,” Grams
said.

“
Grams…” Shirley stepped
over to her grandmother, trading glances between her and the
crystal. “Are you okay?”

“
Of course I am. I’m not
crazy, either.” Grams patted Shirley’s cheek, and then walked over
to the doors.

“
Crystals do store
information,” Derek reminded Shirley, watching Grams.

“
This way.” Grams was
standing in front of the door on the left. She touched the crystal
she carried to the small circular cerulean crystal embedded in the
wall next to the door. As soon as the crystals touched, the door
swung loudly open. As if expecting them, the dozen torches lining
the golden walls burst into flame. The same mixture of language
marked the walls, but most impressive was the gigantic marble
statue of the dragon standing in the center of the room. He was
facing the doorway, his stern, knowing gaze fixated on the same
spot the three scientists stood.

“
That’s amazing,” Derek
whispered.

“
Breathtaking.” Shirley took
a step closer, cautiously, as if she expected at any moment the
statue would suddenly come to life.

“
His name is Anataboga. A
long time ago, the Draconika, as they are called, guarded the
Akashic Records for us,” Grams said, staring up at the statue with
a childlike smile on her face.

Neither Derek nor Shirley bothered
asking her how she knew that. Apparently, the crystal had a direct
download button.

“
Where’s the next doorway?”
Shirley asked, finally taking her eyes off the dragon to look
around the room.

“
Good question,” Derek said
and glanced down at his watch. “We’ve got to hurry.”

“
Grams?” Shirley turned to
her grandmother, but the older woman was already in motion, walking
right towards the statue.

“
Give me a boost, Derek,”
Grams said.

Curious, Derek walked over to her, and
Grams pushed on his shoulders to get him to kneel. “I need to get
on your shoulders.”

“
What for?” Derek asked,
even as he knelt. Shirley came up behind them to help.

Grams climbed onto Derek’s shoulders,
and as he stood back up, she gripped his hair a little too hard to
keep her balance.

“
Ouch!”

Grams looked sheepish. “Sorry, lovey.”
She gave his head a little pat. “And to answer your question, I’ve
got to give him this.” She waved the rod at the dragon. Derek
walked closer so Grams could reach, and she slid the golden rod
into the Dragons slightly curled, clawed hand.

The claw snapped shut, Derek stumbled
back a step, but Shirley pressed a hand against his back to steady
him, and he bent down, letting Grams back on her feet.

Just as Derek straightened, the statue
started moving. The dragon’s wings flapped once, clouds of dusts
jumping into the air and falling back to the floor as the statue
reared back on its hinds legs. A stone slab in the floor underneath
it slid open, and a dim, welcoming light pulsed from
within.

“
Oh, my God,” Shirley
whispered, amazed.

“
And I really thought I’d
seen everything.”

The trio whirled around to see Abe
standing behind them, one arm clenched against his side, his
machine gun slung over the other shoulder.

“
Abe!” Grams looked
delighted. That emotion and her relief were shared by Derek and
Shirley as they rushed over to their friend.

“
You’re hurt.” Shirley
looked down at his bleeding arm.

“
Flesh wound. I’ll be okay,”
Abe assured her.

“
What about Robert?” Derek
asked, fearing the answer.

Abe sadly shook his head. “He took a
few out on his way, though.”

“
Are they still back there?”
Shirley asked him.

“
No.” Abe’s brows pinched
together, “There were uh, well…” he finally just shook his head and
start laughing nervously. “I swear to God, guys, Angels came out of
the sky and helped us.”

Grams just smiled. Derek and Shirley
blinked in surprise. “Angels?” Derek repeated.

“
Yeah. Angels. I still can’t
believe it, but honest to God, wings and all.”

The group was silent a moment,
processing that information. Finally, Shirley shrugged. “Stranger
things have obviously happened.”

That earned light laughter. “Ain’t that
the truth. C’mon, let’s see what’s down there.” Abe led the way.
Slowly, they descended a staircase. The room at bottom was easily
as wide as the one above, and filled with crystals—on the floor,
walls, even the ceiling. They were various shapes, and they all
pulsed with the seven colors of the rainbow.

“
It’s so beautiful,” Shirley
whispered, a tear forming in her eyes.

“
Yes, it is,” Derek agreed,
then reached out and took her hand in his own. Shirley smiled up at
him and put her head on his shoulder.

“
Now what?” Abe
asked.

“
Wait. They’ll make everyone
remember when it’s time. It will free us to be reconnected with the
Great mind,” Grams said.

“
How much time we got?” Abe
looked over at them.

“
Five minutes.”

§

December 20, 2012 - 11:44 PM

Switzerland

CERN

Charred broken metal, blocks of
concrete and rubble, and black wisps of smoke littered the inside
of the building. Lucien came awake with a disoriented start, only
to feel nearly immobilized by pain. He looked down at himself, and
saw the jagged piece of metal protruding from his left side, just
under his ribs.

“
That’s gonna fuck up my
whole day,” he pushed himself to an upright position and saw a hand
sticking out from underneath a mess of debris next to him. Rolling
in that direction, he grunted, and released a few growling shouts
of pain, but pushed the debris aside, exposing Amadeo’s open,
lifeless gaze.

Lucien’s face twisted; a mixture of
grim triumph and the sadness of losing family to the stupidity of
their egos. “Mate, asshole,” he whispered to Amadeo then fell back
against the partially intact wall.

It was then that Lucien realized
something was making noise in his pocket: the communications
device. Pulling out the headset, Lucien sucked in a breath and
placed it over his ear. “Lucien here. In case you didn’t realize, I
blew that shit up.”

“
Jesus Christ, Lucien, where
have you been!?” Simone’s voice came through. “Are you all
right?”

Lucien smiled at the sound of his
sister’s voice. “I won, that’s all that matters. Did you take care
of you?”

“
We did.” Simone’s voice
cracked, and Lucien heard her suck in a watery intake of breath.
“Where are you, Lucien? I’m sending a team—”

“
Don’t bother, sis,” Lucien
interrupted, wincing. “I’m done this lifetime.”

“
Don’t say that. Goddammit,
Lucien, don’t you dare. I’m sending someone—”

“
Si, I’m done. It’s cool,
kiddo. I went out the way I wanted to. You take care of yourself. I
love you. I love V, too. Tell him for me, will yah?”

There was brief silence on the other
end of the line, and when Lucien heard his sister’s trembling,
tear-filled voice again, it was both soothing and sad. “I love you,
too, Lucien. I’m so proud of you.”

Lucien smiled slowly and closed his
eyes because his lids were heavy as hell. “As you should be. As… as
you should be.” The headset fell from his fingers.

It only took a few seconds more for the
pain to stop, and Lucien Terenzio to journey home.

Chapter 23

“
I will die to see my will
done. And it will be done.”

-Stefano Vasco Terenzio

December 20, 2012 - 11:44 PM

Vacherie, Louisiana

Oak Alley Plantation

It came down in thick heavy sheets,
bulleting from the sky, drenching the ground that could only absorb
so much before it leaked up from the grass, and quickly became the
swamp that was so common in the area. The glare of headlights cut
through the rain, illuminating the porch of the antebellum mansion
that was now empty.

Caesar climbed out of the car,
whistling. He snapped open the trunk and stared with vicious glee
down at Vasco, whose hands Caesar had taped behind his back. Caesar
reached inside and hauled the other man out, half dragging him
through the puddles of water, and shoved him in front of the
stairs, facing the house. “I thought you‘d want to see it one more
time before you died.”

Vasco’s eyes traveled slowly
over the elegant, old fashioned structure. It had once been
her
home, before she
—

His jaw hardened. A lifetime ago, he
had made love to her against those columns, often after he’d shot a
few people out among the centuries-old oaks. For a fleeting moment,
his eyes softened at the phantom images.

“
You know, she and I had
some good times here after you got popped.” Caesar grinned at his
own memories.

Vasco’s eyes narrowed, jealousy and
fury coiling hotly in his gut. His fingers fisted around the piece
of glass hidden in his palm, that he’d luckily found in the trunk
of the car. The sharp edges cut into the tape and his skin, the
blood washing away with the force of the rain.

Caesar turned him around so they were
facing each other. “I don’t get you, Vasco.” He took a step back,
pulling the gun out from the waistband of his pants. “Why? Out of
all of them, I never thought you would choose this.”

The hatred in the depths of
Vasco’s eyes was unhidden as he regarded Caesar. It was their
destiny to be enemies, their agreement for this lifetime. He was
fully committed to honoring that agreement. “Choice, Caesar,” Vasco
said over the noise of the storm. “I never made anyone do anything.
They always had a choice. You—
Them
—you take the fun out of the game
when you take that choice away. But the better, less noble reason
is I just don’t like you. Or your masters. I never
have.”

Caesar shook his head. “I’ll never
understand you Terenzios. I won’t miss you, either.” The thunder
growled, a flash of lighting exposing the malevolent gleam in
Caesar‘s eyes as he pressed the muzzle of the gun against Vasco’s
temple. He should have squeezed the trigger, but Caesar’s motions
paused. Over Vasco’s head, standing just to the right of one of the
tall columns surrounding the house, he swore he saw—
“Cleona?”

The tape cut close. If Cleona’s spirit
was standing on that porch, it was for one reason. Vasco didn’t
look over his shoulder. He smacked the gun away from his temple and
launched himself forward, crashing into Caesar.

Caesar grunted, and the gun fell from
his fingers as he landed hard on the gravel. Vasco reared back his
fist, slamming it repeatedly into Caesar’s face in blind fury.
Blood forming, Caesar released a frustrated sound of pain, grabbed
a handful of the muddy earth, and flung it right into Vasco's face.
Vasco shouted in fury as the dirt landed in his eyes, blinding him.
Caesar took advantage and shoved Vasco off. Scrambling onto his
hands and knees, Caesar peered through the darkness, around the
blinding glare of the headlights, for his gun. He abandoned his
search just in time to see Vasco’s leg come flying. He rose up to
his knees, lifting his arms to deflect the kick, and threw Vasco
off balance. Vasco stumbled back into the car and Caesar was on
him, throwing short, hard punches into Vasco’s ribs, every strike
sending a sharp pain rocking through Vasco that took his breath
away. Vasco batted away the next jab and punched Caesar right in
the throat. When Caesar choked, Vasco stepped into him, grabbing
him by the front of his shirt and shoving his knee into his gut,
cutting off air again. Relentless, Vasco slammed Caesar’s head into
the hood of the car, releasing Caesar to watch him collapse onto
the ground, groaning.