The Sons of Destiny (The Reluctant Hero Trilogy Book 3) (8 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Daniel

There was a steady rain coming down now. All had gone temporarily quiet. Daniel’s heart was broken. “Why, Dad? Why?”

“You know how difficult you were to raise. When you didn’t follow in my footsteps, I had to cut my losses,” he said. “Fortunately for you, Daniel, I found some value in your bedroom closet, even if in a limited capacity.”

Dante removed a small leather pouch from inside his coat pocket that was tied shut with wire. Daniel recognized it as a keepsake from his boyhood. “How did you get that?”

Dante tossed the pouch to Daniel. Even though he wasn’t expecting that, he managed to catch it with both hands.

“Hah!” exclaimed Dante. “I knew your reflexes were bad! Your woman did much better when she caught it with one hand.” He glared at Daniel with disdain. “Now open it.”

“Okay, Dad!” Daniel looked cautiously at his father as he slowly untwisted the wire. “You don’t have to be mean about it.”

“I’ve figured out how to use you, whether you want to work with me or not.” Dante did not stop talking. “What you have been a part of is groundbreaking in the realm of virtual reality. I own the program, of course, but it is not ready to go public. This isn’t something for the general masses. It’s more of something that could be utilized by our very own government… or any other government with enough capital to support it.”

“What does that have to do with this pouch?”

“When Old Jim told me about the Jewels of Jezebel, I thought it was all superstitious nonsense, so I declined.” He had a proud smirk on his face. “But once I realized he was on to something, I researched it. You would be surprised what the government has in the way of software for this type of thing. Colleges already use it as a course of study. This is the prototype. It’s so new it hasn’t even been named yet. Of course, it won’t be available for the general public. Just the elite.”

Daniel was not listening. “You didn’t go with Old Jim, Dad. But you sent me instead,” said Daniel. “I remember.”

“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said. You are so stupid.”

“Tell me about Old Jim.”

“All right. When you two came back from your camping expedition, I knew you had saved a treasure from that trip. Whenever I asked about it, you would not tell me a thing. You never told me a thing.” He cleared his throat. “I had to find out on my own.”

“There was a reason why I didn’t tell you, Dad,” said Daniel. “That is because I forgot the details.”

“Why would you forget? That is what I want to know.”

“I don’t know, Dad. I just had no memory of what Old Jim and I did.” Daniel choked up. “But I did have a souvenir from that trip that I kept in this pouch. Now you stole it.”

“You had no right to keep that from me.”

“Just leave me alone, Dad.” Daniel turned and walked away.

To keep from showing his pain, he went off by himself. He needed time to think. Memories flooded his mind. For the first time in his life, he now remembered that fateful trip into the wilderness with Old Jim. His father sent him on an expedition with the guy because he did not want to go himself. Daniel recalled that the man said that he had proof of the whereabouts of the Jewels of Jezebel. Dante did not believe him, so he sent Daniel on the treasure hunt.

Sitting on a stump under a tree, he let the raindrops fall on his face, washing off the dust. Daniel looked down at the pouch. It felt empty. He untwisted the wire and opened it. There was a smell of the past coming from inside. Maybe the coin on Yasmeen was different. He reluctantly reached inside, hoping to find the coin he found when he was young. No! It was empty. Yasmeen had it. It was some kind of trap from Dante DiBenedetto.

He thought back to the early days. When he was young, he would go into his closet and pull out the coin that barely had visible markings of the image of a woman—a queen from the past. He guessed it was worthless. But it was a treasure to him.

He leaned forward and placed his face in his hands. Now he remembered why he kept it a secret. Old Jim had told him the treasures they found were cursed. He said that ancient Babylonians had once been in possession of the land. They had supernatural powers and had cursed the land. Daniel had already put the coin in his pocket when he was told that. So it became his hidden secret.

As Daniel sat alone on the stump being drenched in the rain, he thought about Magena. She had done nothing wrong. Yet, his evil father had harmed her. He wanted to see her again. But realized the possibilities were slim.

He remembered the day he met her in the airport. She was both beautiful and clever. She wanted pictures of the Shroud of Turin so badly that he chose to help her while doing research at the same time. The priests and nuns that they met seemed nice enough. But then when they were sent to a church building to search for the shroud, everything went crazy. Maybe that was when they first entered the virtual world. How could he know?

It got worse when he and Magena drove down the Yitzhak Rabin highway to Samaria and to the ruins. That was when they met Adana: a suspicious character. Adana led them deep into the Samaritan Mountains. It was so scary. She then abandoned them to their fate.

That was when he first met the members of the Hive of Baal. All were followers of the demon-possessed idol dedicated to Baal. They claimed to be out in the cavern, away from people, so they could not be accused of the evil things that went on in the city. They had no desire to associate with anyone outside of the hive. Now Daniel knew why. They were still being invented by his father, Dante.

Daniel had to let it go, and not get furious. What he needed now was to find Magena.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Magena

Reuben drove Magena to what she called a hot spot. “It is a place where I feel the orbs,” she said, as they bounced along in the truck.

“How did you get yourself in this predicament?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but I do know Alan Cranston had a lot to do with it. He is an evil man.” She looked him in the eye. “I must be gullible.”

Reuben laughed.

“Tell me about yourself,” said Reuben. “We know very little about you.”

“I’m a college graduate,” she said. “Majored in photography.”

“Photography? Where’s your camera?”

“It got lost in the shuffle.” She laughed nervously.

He said, “Interesting.” They then bounced along on the graveled road for a while in silence. “Does this look right?” asked Reuben.

“Yes, we are almost there. I can feel the negativity in the air.” Magena looked around. “Take that dirt road down there.”

Driving past trees and boulders, Magena said, “I just want to find Daniel.”

“That is why we are here.” Reuben entered the valley of the virtual world. “It is like being in an amusement park,” said Reuben.

“True,” she said. “Nothing is real.” She had a sick feeling in her stomach. The horrible fear she had earlier hit her. The feeling of having been there before all came back.

The sky was filled with black clouds; the air was moist. A chill was in the air.

Reuben was looking around as if he was a child on his first trip to Disneyland. She felt great concern over his wide-eye approach. “You have an advantage over me,” she said. “When I first came here, I didn’t know I was inside a virtual world. In fact, after I was removed, it was hard to distinguish real from make-believe. Don’t let this place overwhelm or distract you that way.”

“I won’t. We have a job to do and then we are out of here.”

“Glad you understand.”

Reuben smiled, with a sparkle in his eye. “I know,
boss
. I wouldn’t be here if I thought I couldn’t handle it. It will just take a little getting used to. That’s all.”

She forced a smile back. “I get it, Reuben and I’m sorry for being a jerk. My nerves are jumpy and I just want to make sure we get out of this alive. Thinking about seeing Yasmeen-
slash
-
Jezebel
again sends a cold chill down my spine and shivers all over my body. Plus, we have to deal with the demon possessed Hive of Baal.”

He nodded while losing his smile. “I paid close attention when you told us about the Hive. It sounds like something that would exist in Jezebel’s time. I would really like to find out who gave this program to DiBenedetto. Once we find that out, it will be easier to learn where they created it and find out how many more copies exist. There could be other scenarios in play as we speak.
That’s
what sends chills down my spine. The possibilities are endless.”

Reuben parked the van out of sight behind a large boulder and under drooping branches. “That should do it,” he said.

Magena led the way to the underground cavern where she had once been. She looked around to see if evidence of Daniel remained. She saw nothing.

She walked over to a wall. That was where she was just before she reappeared back into the real world. No one was around now. She stepped over to the secret opening in the middle pillar. It was open and all of the treasure was gone. She gasped. “Oh my.”

“What is it?” Reuben asked.

“Jezebel’s jewelry is gone, along with all the treasury.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “It may not have been real anyhow.” Reuben pointed down at the many footprints around the pillar, and how they went off to one side.

Her eyes widened. “Those are fresh. Maybe they have Daniel.”

“Count on it.”

He took the lead as he crouched and slowly followed the tracks. Magena stayed close behind him. He whispered, “We need to be quiet, just in case someone is here.”

She recognized the path they were on. They followed the footprints until they suddenly stopped. They were now at the side of a dirt wall of the pit where Daniel was trapped. She remembered how she found a hidden passage down to him. Motioning, she brought it to Reuben’s attention. Creeping slowly, they inched their way to the spot.

Reuben inspected the area, pressing on the wall until part of it cracked. They heard a click and then the wall opened inward to reveal a lit passageway. Reuben asked in a low voice, “How many more passages are in this area?”

“I have no clue.” Her voice was trembling. “I was kidnapped before grasping what was going on.”

“I know what to do.” Reuben closed his eyes tightly and held out his hand. After clenching his teeth for several moments, a flashlight started to fade into his hand from nowhere. It came close enough to him that he grabbed it.

Magena was shocked. “How did you do that?”

“Virtual reality. Ha ha.”

Quietly, she said, “You mean Daniel and I could have done that while we were in here?”

“Sure,” he whispered calmly. “Remember, though. You had no idea you had entered a virtual world.”

“True.”

“You might have suspected it, but you didn’t actually know for sure. Since we know where we are now, we just have to remember that since we are hooked up to this unreal world, we can control certain things.”

“I don’t know how much control we will have, but it will be fun trying to figure it out.” She laughed.

He clasped her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“I’m with you.” Clinging to him, she followed.

“By the way, the flashlight is in case we lose the light in this passage. You can never be too prepared.”

Magena shrugged and wondered if there was anything else he needed to tell her. “Are we now prepared to find Daniel?”

“I hope so.”

They moved forward in the snug passageway until they saw a small opening letting the sunlight in at the end of the structure. Heading in the direction of the light, they were guided to the small opening on the side of the dirt wall. They went to it quickly and looked out.

Reuben put a finger to his lips, to make sure Magena made no noise. She nodded that she understood. Right after he did that, she could hear voices coming from the left side of the outside opening. She raised her eyebrows. “Listen.”

“I can hear it. Let me see if I can pinpoint the location.” Reuben stepped on a rock and stretched his neck. Slowly, he stuck his head out. Magena carefully leaned over to look out as well.

They both gasped at the same time when they saw what appeared to be an army of Hive members spread out through a lush green valley.

Off to the right was a pile of ornate boxes and cases.

“That has to be the lost treasure,” Magena whispered as Reuben nodded in agreement.

Standing tall and confidently in front of the pile was Yasmeen. Facing the other way, she stood with her back to the duo with her hands placed on her hips, as she apparently admired her treasure.

Magena whispered, “Daniel is not with them.”

“Let’s get out of here, then.”

Outside, Yasmeen was prepared for action. “It’s almost time!” she bellowed, as the Hive members cheered. “Prepare to march.”

She turned to face the crowd of devoted and loyal followers, as she raised her hands over her head. “You all have your orders! We will travel as one!”

As soon as she said that, all of the Hive members grabbed another member’s hand and gripped it. Yasmeen appeared to be impatient. She was tapping her foot on the ground. After a few moments, she then crossed her arms in front of her and huffed noticeably, which caused her disciples to stand to attention.

“Get ready,” Magena again whispered to Reuben “This is our ride back out of here.”

“I agree.” She sensed that Reuben was tense.

Fortunately for the two of them, the Hive members now had their backs to Magena and Reuben. That made it easier to sneak forward without being noticed.

There was still the matter of Yasmeen thinking she was Jezebel. Who knows what she would do? But she was so engrossed in what she was doing next to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Magena had the advantage as to what Yasmeen was going to do, because she did it herself earlier. She saw the closed tube that contained the Shroud of Turin lying at the feet of Yasmeen and knew that the degenerate female must have touched it.

Magena’s mouth dropped open when she realized what Yasmeen was trying to accomplish. She was going to attempt to take herself, her treasure, and countless Hive of Baal members out of the virtual world and into reality all at once. All of it.

Magena didn’t have time to tell Reuben what she had figured out. So she waited for Yasmeen’s outstretched hand to reach over to the Hive member who started the line of hand-holding. Yasmeen was also close enough to the treasure, so that when she touched it and held the closest minion’s hand at the same time, she could successfully transport everything and everyone into reality.

Magena’s first thought was to find some way to stop the fake queen from bringing anything or anyone into the real world. She then wondered why that wasn’t an option when the situation was being discussed before with the Sons of Destiny.

She felt unusual fear.

She tried not to let the new panicky feeling out. She didn’t want Reuben to see her paranoia.
She can’t take that stuff into the real world.

“We have to find some way to stop her or at least slow her down,” Reuben said quietly, almost as if he could hear what she was thinking. “I wanted to wait until the last minute to try to disrupt, well… everything. I’m not sure how. If you have any ideas, I’m open to them.”

Magena gazed at him. “You mean to tell me you knew how to create a flashlight, but you have no idea how to get home, or what we’re going to do about Yasmeen? Are you serious?”

“We didn’t have the time we needed to plan something like that. You know that,” he responded with a defensive tone. “That would have taken at least a full day. Possibly longer.”

“Longer than a day?”

“Probably.”

Magena almost lost her cool but realized she needed to keep her voice down. “
Probably?
Remember when I said I didn’t know if I could trust the Sons of Destiny? Yeah, well, I think I’m closer to not trusting you now.”

Reuben did not answer her. He just winked at her.

She stared at Yasmeen as hope of stopping her faded. “We can’t stop her. As soon as we do anything, her army of the blind and the bald will overwhelm us. Do you realize what’s going to happen if she successfully gets her army and the treasure into our reality?”

“Of course.” Reuben gulped signifying his answer. “I’m not stupid.”

Magena took in a deep breath and gritted her teeth as she watched Yasmeen grab her minion’s hand, while at the same time, reaching out to touch the treasure.

“She’s got it,” said Reuben.

Magena’s heart sank as she realized that if there had been a way to stop the event, now was too late. “I hope the Sons of Destiny are prepared for what’s about to happen here,” she said with disdain. “Once the ball starts rolling, we’re going to be knee-deep in doo-doo. Are you ready for that, Reuben?”

“Stop it.” He looked at her, and his lips turned down into a frown. Magena couldn’t tell if he felt as helpless as she did. Or did he have that supernatural knowledge that most Jews had? Either way, she knew that her biggest battle was about to begin and she didn’t even know how to fight it.

She placed a hand gently on his shoulder and forced a smile. As she looked in his dark eyes, she realized that she needed to be comforted. She needed him to be her friend, not an enemy.

Magena had always stepped up to the plate before and had become the strong one. She recalled several times in her life where loved ones passed on or something happened that affected more than just her. She was always the one who comforted the rest of her family. Always.

She thought that she had stumbled into another situation where she had to be the strong one. She had come to terms that God would be the only one to give her strength. She had slight comfort in that fact, knowing that she needed support from His children as well. At least one of them.

She needed Daniel!

Even though she had grown close to him during their time of searching for the shroud and jewels, she knew that she had been the one in charge. Daniel often had trouble adjusting to the extreme situations they had gone through.

It would have been difficult for anyone to have adjusted to what they went through. She might not have been fair to him. She had adjusted every time, or so she thought.

Now Magena realized that she had assumed what she believed to be her rightful role—she was
the strong one
. Maybe she didn’t give Daniel a chance. Not enough of one, anyway.

“Are you alright?” Reuben asked as he studied Magena’s face.

“Not sure.” She had been lost in her thoughts. “Dealing with memories.”