“The celestial has a point,” Judge Busiris said. “If nothing else, her report does show the current stress levels on Earth. The humans exaggerate everything, but if there is a modicum of truth to her exposé, then it may be worth considering in our deliberations.”
Grace rewarded the judge with a subtle twinkle of her eye. “Your Honors,” she continued, “the Academy’s own profile depicts a sorry situation. Taken together with what I have gathered, along with the horrifying latest intel—”
“Excuse me, Madam,” Judge Minos interrupted, as Grace expected he would. “What ‘horrifying intel’ are you speaking of?”
“But of course, I speak of the alliance between the fear demons and Anteros.”
The hall exploded into an uproar of astonishment and incredulity.
“Madam!” Judge Pelops cried, his pink face flushed crimson with indignation. “That is preposterous! How dare you come here and speak of such absurdities. That you would mention that cursed name on these premises is bad enough, but then to insult our intelligence by ludicrously suggesting that Anteros could ally themselves with fear demons is sheer insolence.”
“You mean you don’t know?” Grace said innocently.
“We don’t know,” Judge Laban said, “because what you speak of is impossible.”
“And yet,” Grace rejoined, “I have a cupid in the field who witnessed this alliance first hand—Captain Volk.”
“Captain Volk?” Judge Danaos clucked. The uproar had awoken him from one of his narcoleptic reveries.
Danaos was a pale, frail-looking, wrinkled old judge, and a longtime friend of Minos. Together the two of them established the Academy after the Civil War. Despite being the most decrepit of the judges, he was also the most petty and intransigent.
“Captain Volk is a lunatic,” Danaos said. “Surely you don’t give any credence to his word.”
“I grant you he is…unorthodox, but he is also, as we all know, an exceptionally fine soldier with a remarkable military record. He came to me a couple of days ago with his story. He said he encountered a number of Anteros soldiers, some of whom were riding upon trained fear demons. He barely escaped with his life.”
Grace’s story had Sett’s attention. He moved closer.
“Riding on fear demons?!” Judge Danaos squawked in incredulity.
Grace remained composed, refusing to be intimidated. “Like Hannibal and his men rode on elephants against Rome is how the captain described it. Anteros soldiers were even on the backs of flying yetz—fear demons.”
“Why didn’t you come to us with this immediately?” scolded Judge Minos.
“Although it was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing, I assumed that surely the Academy was already aware of this troubling situation. I must admit that I find your shock at this revelation more than a little disconcerting.”
The judges erupted in anger, shouting and quarreling among themselves until Minos silenced them with the pounding of his gavel.
“Madam,” Minos said, “have you any proof of this fantastic story?”
“Just the captain’s word. But I have no reason to doubt it, and neither should you.”
“We have plenty of reason,” Judge Laban declared. “Captain Volk’s history of quirks and borderline heretical ways is well known. Furthermore, his connection to the disgraced Captain Cyrus is additional cause for doubting his story.”
“Excuse me, Your Honors,” came Commander Sett’s gravelly voice from the back of the room, “but I think the celestial is telling the truth.”
“Commander Sett,” Laban said, “have you witnessed such a thing yourself?”
“No, Your Honor, but I am aware of the incident that the madam is referring to.”
“Approach the bench,” Minos said.
Sett strolled to the front of the room and halted alongside Grace.
“Continue,” the judge said.
“A cupid on a routine mission to match a couple of coeds at a university stumbled upon the remains of a mutilated cupid in a local burger joint near the university campus. Our coroners say the body had been savaged by fear demons only a few hours earlier.
“What was strange,” Sett continued, “was that when a cupid dies in the field he goops and disintegrates. This body, or what was left of it, had not done so, which means it was eaten alive. We sent down a forensics team to investigate and learned that a struggle had certainly occurred, and that the fallen cupid was not the only one. We established that three cupids had been killed, the other two having dispersed into ectoplasm.
“However, after a head count back here it was concluded that the two expired soldiers were not our cupids, but must have belonged to Anteros. Furthermore, it was discovered that a segment of a tattoo had been found on the chewed remains of an arm. The tattoo was determined to be that of a bleeding heart, a favorite symbol of the Anteros cult, and outlawed, of course, here.
“Scarring around the door revealed that there had been a gun fight, but the marks were not of a weapon produced by Academy ballistics, again attesting to the appearance of Anteros soldiers.”
“What you are telling us, Commander,” Judge Pelops said, “attests to Anteros soldiers clashing with fear demons. Rather than being alarmed, we ought to rejoice at the news. Furthermore, it refutes, rather than validates, the madam’s claims of collusion between fear demons and Anteros.”
“So it would seem,” Sett agreed. “However, further investigation of the premises turned up other peculiarities in the alley behind the pub. More Anteros pockmarks around the kitchen entrance and a pile of demon dung with a boot print in it, the sole of which was not Academy issue. Numerous foot and hoof prints found in the alley also show that demons and Anteros soldiers were walking in tandem.”
Judge Laban said, “Circumstantial evidence at most, and nothing about the madam’s claim of Anteros soldiers riding fear demons into battle.”
“No, Your Honor, but the evidence does back up Captain Volk’s story to a large degree. I suggest you call him in for debriefing if you deem these events worthy of further scrutiny.”
“Debriefing is your department, Commander,” Minos reminded him.
“Yes, Your Honor. And if I find his report credible?”
“Then we’ll have a new problem on our hands, won’t we?” Minos replied. “We want a full report on our desks by the end of the week.” He turned to Grace. “Madam, you are to limit your curiosity to Academy standards. And Commander Sett, I order you to keep a short leash on Captain Volk and insist that every mission he goes on is followed by a complete report.” He slammed his gavel. “Dismissed!”
“But Your Honor,” Grace said, “there are many issues that have yet to have been discussed. Also, we needn’t burden Commander Sett with Captain Volk. I can have Captain Volk write up the reports and give them to me. If there is something in them that deserves follow up, I can go to Commander Sett myself.”
“You are out of order, Madam. I have spoken.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
The judges rose and exited through a drawn curtain to their chambers. Grace and Sett bowed reverentially.
Sett turned to Grace. “That didn’t go so well.”
“Something stinks,” Grace whispered. “And I don’t mean Judge Busiris’s cologne. Commander, do you think that Captain Volk was telling the truth about Anteros’s trained fear demons?”
“I said as much, didn’t I? Why would he make up such a wild tale? Also, I recall that our own scientists once tried to develop a similar program. They had only limited success, but they did not conclude it was impossible, just impractical.”
Grace said, “The judges didn’t seem very concerned about the possibility of collusion between the fear demons and Anteros. The very thought of it should have made the complacent curmudgeons sit bolt up in their chairs. Are you as sanguine as they?”
“‘Course not, Celestial. It’s hard enough fighting fear demons. And don’t forget that I have been through one civil war alread
y, and we barely survived that. The Anteros cult is fanatical. They never stop, never give up, never say die. They must never be underestimated.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Grace asked.
“Me? There’s not a damn thing I can do. My job is to make matches and hunt and kill fear demons. Everything else is up to the judges…and Eros, of course.”
“Of course,” Grace said evenly. “Tell me, Commander. What do you know about the Solow Accords?”
“Rumors mostly, same as you.”
“Does that mean you don’t think they are for real?”
“They’re for real, but I know next to nothing about them. The only thing I’ve gotten so far are the new rules of engagement.”
“Do you think they are a good idea?”
“I’m a soldier, Madam, of course I don’t. I think they stink.”
“Captain Volk said that the Solow Accords are a desperate attempt by the Academy to cut their own deal with Anteros. He thinks that the judges at the Academy believe the war with the fear demons is already lost, and so they are just trying to buy time to save us from complete extinction.”
Sett looked around warily. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
“Hear what?” Grace smiled. “But tell me, do you believe the war is lost?”
“No, never!”
“But you’re concerned.”
“Hell, yeah, I’m concerned. Would I handle things the same way? Hell, no. But that is not my call. I follow orders, just as you must, Madam. Now, as much as I enjoy speaking with a hot celestial, I have work to do.”
“Yes, thank you, Commander.”
Sett turned to leave.
“Oh, Commander,” Grace said. “One more thing.”
Sett sighed. “What is it?”
“Do you believe in the Swerver?”
“I believe in myself, lady. And I believe in my troops.”
“I mean, do you think such a person exists now on Earth?”
“What do you want from me, Celestial? How the hell should I know? I hope so, ‘cuz we’re gonna need all the help we can get. What are you, a reporter? We don’t have reporters up here.”
“I’m just trying to do my job, like you.”
“What is your damn job anyway?”
“I’m a liaison between the cupids and the Academy. I look out for the best interests of our cupids.”
“In other words,” Sett said, “you don’t do crap.”
Grace’s eyes hardened. “There is no need to get testy, Commander. We are both on the same side here.”
“Lady, I can remember a time when there was no such thing as a side.”
“The good old days, eh?” Grace said with a smile.
“You laugh,” Sett said, “but a few of us still remember.”
“But apparently not our illustrious judges?”
Sett stepped closer to Grace and said in a gruff whisper, “I don’t know what you’re up to, Celestial, but I don’t want any part of it. I’ve got enough problems to deal with. I don’t need you creating any new ones for me. Got that?” He turned and marched off.
5
Brothers
“In here, Virgil,” I shouted.
The heavy wooden door to the archives laboratory creaked open and Virgil stepped in. “How did you know I was out there?” he asked, walking over to me.
I was sitting at a table in the corner of the room beside a window where the light was best.
“I could hear you,” I said, peering into a microscope.
“But I was quiet as a mouse.”
“Your thoughts weren’t.”
“You can read my thoughts?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Baloney.”
“Think of a number between one and a thousand,” I said.
“Okay…”
I repeated the numbers that flew through his mind: “522 … 67 … 901 … 2 … 6743.218 … XYZ … dog … tree … Grace in a bikini…”
“Okay, okay,” Virgil said. “That’s creepy. I feel violated.”
“Don’t worry. I rarely use it.”
“Will I be able to do that?” Virgil asked.
“If I can do it, you can do it.”
“So you’ll teach me?”
“Sure,” I said, putting another specimen under the microscope.
Virgil leaned in to see what I was looking at. “What’s that?”
“Captain Cyrus’s sweat.”
“His sweat? It looks like a diamond.”
“It does, but it isn’t. I’ve been testing it. It is like no known element.”
“Angels sweat?” Virgil said, dipping his fingers into the small bowl of crystals on the table.
“Under certain circumstances.”
He picked one out and held it up to the sunlight streaming in through the window. “Where did you get these?”
“Off the floor of the Midrashic Cave.”
“What the heck could he have been doing in there to have produced such things?”
“He was downloading Midrashic records into his brain. Millions of them.”
“We can do that?”
“You can’t. I can’t. But someone of Cyrus’s level can. He knew he was being banished and wanted to take as much Heaven with him as he could. It almost killed him.”
“Does the Academy know that cupids can sweat?”
“I doubt it. So, like everything else we do here, keep it to yourself.”
“You don’t have to keep telling me that, Kohai.”
“I’m sorry, Virgil. I won’t remind you again.”
“So, what are you looking for in this stuff?”
“I don’t know, but it seems to me that something so rare must have a purpose. Everything in the universe has a purpose, right?”
“Got any ideas?”
“Not yet. I’ve tested its make up. It’s nearly as hard as a diamond. I dropped it into many different solutions. It seems to be impervious to alkaline and acid, heat and cold. It’s nearly indestructible, except by sheer force.”
“A hammer?”
“Yeah, a hammer crushed it.”
“What about the dust, then? Maybe it has some use. Did you test it for anything?”
“Not yet. I’ve only been working on it for a few days.”
“Let me help,” Virgil begged.
“You can’t do everything at once, Virge. You still have a lot of studying to do to catch up, and you just said you want me to teach you telepathy. That requires much time and meditation too. Plus, you can’t go falling behind with your Academy work, else they might suspend you, or worse, grow suspicious.”
“Don’t worry about me, Kohai,” he said, pounding his chest. “I’ve got more energy now than ever. You’re the brains, just tell me what to do.”
I thought for a moment and then said, “Okay, Virgil. I have a job for you, but it’s dangerous.”
“Go on,” he said, oblivious to my warning.
“My resources here are limited, but the Academy lacks for nothing. What I need is everything you can find about a molecular biomarker called Q-dusha. You’ll have to sneak into the medical lab and go through their files.”
“Q-dusha?”
“That’s right.”
“How will this help you?”
“Maybe it won’t, but I can’t know until I know more about it. My hunch is that there will be data related to it that I could use to formulate further testing. Do you think you can do it?”
“I’ll do it,” he said confidently.
“Virgil, I know you have learned cloaking, but you’re still new at it, so be very careful. And remember, you can’t fight while cloaked and you must remain calm. If you get excited you’ll lose it.”
“I know. I’ve been practicing, eavesdropping on cadets at the Academy. Man, you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff that goes on behind closed doors—drinking, drugs, snatching celestials and having their way with them. Man, was I naive!”
“I believe i
t, but don’t want to hear it. And I suggest you knock it off because it isn’t meant to be used in such a way.”
“I know, I know. I was just practicing. But, good grief, you think you know some people…sheesh. Anything else you need while I’m snooping around?”
“Captain Cyrus’s medical file if you can find it. There might be something in there that can help. I know they checked him out after they apprehended him.”
“I’ll see what I can find.”
“Good man,” I said. “And please—”
“Be careful, I know.”
“Because we don’t—”
“Don’t want to chance blowing our cover. If they catch me, we’re all headed for banishment, or worse.”
I chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t know telepathy already?”
“I just know you, Kohai,” he said, slapping me on the back.
Virgil left and I tried to get back to work, but I had begun to have misgivings about sending him off alone on such a dangerous mission. I knew he was a very capable soldier, but he was inexperienced, and sometimes a little too cocky for his own good. I was really no more experienced than he, but I had had the benefit of having trained for a long time one-on-one with the captains. Most of what Virgil had learned he had gotten from me, not the most reliable of sources.
Virgil was an extremely fast learner, especially in the fighting arts, but he hadn’t spent enough time with the books and in prayer and meditation. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to; there just hadn’t been enough time in his day.
My reflections made me realize that our friendship had ascended to a new level. I no longer saw Virgil as just a friend; I thought of him as a brother.
“Be careful, Virge,” I murmured, and whispered a prayer.
6
Pastrami on Wry
“Well, hello, stranger,” Malkah said, setting a menu down in front of Cyrus.
Shooting Eros - The Emuna Chronicles: Complete Boxset: Books 1 - 3 Page 35