It was fortunate that the Indian Empress had berthed in Adelaide, for it was only a short hop to the River Murray, the life river of Australia. And she would claim it as she had claimed the Ganges, bringing Australia under her patronage. After her success in India, she knew she could do it, and she would be less affected afterwards. Australia despite its huge size was a sparsely populated country compared to India. Or any other large country when she thought about it. Even the small island nations of Japan and Britain had populations far more than Australia. She would change that.
India was the site of her rebirth, it had to be protected. It was the place where already millions were converting to her, and there wasn’t even a real religion in her name. She would need to visit and sort out the problems she had created. But for now, she needed to distract the Angels and gather as much power as she could. After this, the Angels would be desperate to find and capture her. She needed to be able to defend herself and increase her strength. Which she had, but even with the millions of worshippers, she would never be complete without returning to and claiming Britain. Which had brought her to Australia.
She walked into the deep, thin ravine between high sand banks that were all that served as the river mouth these days and instantly felt the hunger of the river. The closest thing Australia had ever had to a God was the Rainbow Serpent, all rivers were his but the Murray was especially strong with his dead powers. The Angels had hunted him for sport before the British had even colonised Australia.
She unfurled her powers, utilising all the new powers gifted to her. She felt it surge up the river, flowing along the dusty, polluted riverbed, up all the hundreds of tributaries. As it went it burst through the dams choking the river, spreading throughout the Eastern states, sinking her claws in very deep. The land sighed in gratitude as she summoned rain saturated with her Mother Earth powers.
She called up such rain unseen in Australia for decades. The very seas around Australia surged upwards to meet the demand for rain.
It didn’t take long for people and satellites to notice the strange phenomenon. TV stations quickly started reporting on the strange disaster.
Rain fell. And it fell in a volume the sunburnt land had never seen before. More than the dry earth was able to soak up despite its intense thirst. Rivers swelled and burst their banks, dams and weirs were obliterated as the water surged savagely downstream. Boats, bridges, buildings and people were swept up in the deluge, but as with the Ganges while the devastation was beyond comprehension there was not a single fatality.
Brigid kept rigid control of the river even as it sprayed past her, connecting her to more than half the country.
All over Australia her voice was heard “I claim this land and river as mine with the promise to protect and aid the mortal stewards. I Brigid accept Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea into my embrace. All their territories are mine by Divine law. May my children enjoy this gift of rain.
All across Australia churches, mosques and synagogues shook as though caught in an earthquake. Symbols fell off roofs and walls. Only the truly faithful were not afraid.
Brigid smiled as she allowed the waters to sweep her once again out to sea. The Angels could not find her in an ocean. She laughed, closing her eyes and letting her powers spread out, letting her body combine with the planet. She would spend some time within the Lifestream to strengthen them both. Australia was in dire need of it.
When she awoke, she would be intrigued to see how pissed off the Angels would be.
Hera sat glued to her TV screen watching as picture after picture of devastated river basins flashed across the news. India and Bangladesh but now Australia as well. The scenes were of wrecked buildings, clean-up operations, newly erected temples and the sea of tents to accommodate all those that had lost their homes. Scientists were at a loss to explain it but both river systems were the healthiest they had ever been in memory. Torn river banks were already transforming into picturesque swathes of nature, plants growing far faster than their usual pace. Any attempts to dam or build irrigation canals off of either river were failing abysmally.
The two regions were baffling logical scientific analysis. Both had become beacons for occultists and believers. Both rivers had attained Divine and Demonic connotations.
But connecting it all was Brigid. Both rivers were now hers, not that the Humans fully understood, and along the Ganges banks, temples were being erected in her honour. Christians and Muslims were claiming both areas possessed by Demons. The Pope and Catholic church were insisting it was a miracle of Saint Brigid.
Brigid was blatantly pissing off the Angels, she was spitting in their eye, but she was also avoiding them. What had happened to the shy Goddess that had very rarely ventured beyond her beloved isles? She had been a Goddess of relatively little power compared to the rest, but then she hadn’t patronised a huge empire. She had never had the powers to compare with Hera, but then Hera had been supplemented by the various Greek city-states, then Alexander’s Empire then finally the ever expanding Roman Empire.
Now she had almost no supplementation to her powers. She had been in New York for several months now and had expanded to San Francisco and Chicago, but they were not hers. She had not claimed them. Brigid, on the other hand, had claimed the holiest river in the world, two ancient countries as well as managing to claim three young countries.
She stood up and started pacing. She had slowly been increasing her presence in the three cities and had been planning on extending her influence to Houston and Los Angeles. Which was why she was currently in Houston.
How had Brigid done so well for herself? This was nothing like the Brigid she had vaguely known. It was so out of character for her, she had always been so cautious. Now she was suicidally reckless.
Yet it was paying dividends. She was managing to avoid the Angels and at the same time gather enough worshippers that temples were being built dedicated to her. Temples in the Age of Angels, she never thought she would see the day. Perhaps she had been too hesitant, too afraid of the Angels’ reach and power to truly claim anywhere. But if Brigid could do it she could damn well do it. She was a Goddess of Power after all. It was time she started acting like one.
She would not be afraid of the Angels anymore.
She left the apartments with the intent to head to New Orleans and Washington DC. It was time to spread her net wider, particularly over the capital. Houston, she could come back to. She wasn’t sure why she was really here in the first place, it was incredibly populous but she had felt compelled to be here. She trusted her instincts but apparently she would be empty handed this time.
She descended the stairs ignoring the people she passed but she stopped once she got out onto the street. An ambulance sat next to a truck and a crane. Being lifted into the truck via the crane and several paramedics was the fattest man she had ever seen. He was grotesque, roll after roll, he was a bloated mockery of a man. Completely unable to move, unable to fit in the ambulance. He was revolting.
He was why she was here in Houston, this is what her uncanny instincts had led her to. Her curiosity was spiked and she quickly sent a probe into his brain as she joined the crowd of gawkers. His brain functions were normal, all his nerves were properly working. His circulatory system was under extreme strain, not unexpected, but still functioning. Except his excessive fat and decayed muscles, he had a functioning body.
Nothing a little magic couldn’t fix.
The paramedics jumped backwards as he suddenly sat up. It was the most movement they had seen out of him. Strangely enough, his eyes seemed to have rolled back into his head. With a sudden roar, he lurched up awkwardly into a standing position. He then ran, fat rolls bouncing, straight into a brick wall. He fell backwards, dead on the pavement, mortar and brick chips raining down on him.
She smiled savagely in satisfaction. She would have to come back to Huston to experiment further, but now she had a pressing appointment in Washington DC.
She knew her insti
ncts were still sharp. It was the same instincts that had led her to Sparta and to Rome. Her instincts had guided her to have the biggest empires of the ancient world, to train some of the best warriors and generals.
Now she had plans for a whole new type of warrior.
She snapped her fingers and an obese woman walking down the street suddenly screamed and started running. She crashed into a shop front, shattering the glass and battering down the metal frame. She also crushed the several tables and their inhabitants.
Seems she had a new siege weapon. Humanity really was surprisingly useful in the modern era. She wondered what else her instincts would lead her to.
A couple of hours later Hera was reclining as her plane descended into Washington DC, the capital of the United States of America. At least while it was still a free nation. New York would be the capital of her empire.
It was here that she would make her mark on America, where she could leave her marks without the Angels tracing her back to her lair. She admitted to herself that she was scared of the Angels and she was scared even more so of the Arch Angels. She knew what could be done to her again if she was captured. She had suffered for centuries. She especially knew Ariel’s taste for cruelty and that of her Inquisitors.
But she was not going to let fear or anything else hold her back.
Which was why she was in the capital, the centre of government was here. She planned to get her claws very deep into Washington and start claiming vast tracts of America. And what better place than a city modelled after Rome. Reading had offered some delightful insights into the modern era. Rome had once been the capital of her biggest empire. To date.
It seemed prophetic that the capital of the country that would form the foundation of her new empire was modelled after Rome. It almost seemed a pity that it wouldn’t remain a capital.
Senator John Worthington was flicking through the news feed in the back of his black SUV as it sped through the city streets. It was horrible to admit it but he was glad for the flooding in India and Australia, it had drawn away a lot of the attention away from the government. Unfortunately, Americans were very insular, uncaring and ignorant of the outside world, so there was still a strong focus on the latest revelations to shake the government.
And it had not been a good few weeks; Senator Twain had been caught in a sex scandal, the president had insulted the Mexican president, they were still bogged down in three foreign conflicts, the economy was in a mess, unemployment was at its highest and the environmental ruin continued to spread. Yet despite all these other more significant issues the revelations that he was gay were hogging the news time. Ever since he had been outed a week ago, the news had fixated on little else. It was the end of his political career, already members of his own party were calling for his resignation. There had also been a public outcry, prayer session and demands for his removal from the bible bashing south.
He looked up as the car slowed to a stop, codes being muttered over his security detail’s earphones. They had been assigned to him ever since the death threats had started flowing in. It saddened him, America prided itself on being the land of the free and was obsessed with believing it was the greatest country in the world. But it was such a flawed and backwards first world country. Sexism, racism and socioeconomic inequality were all clearly prevalent. There were such extremes in beliefs and opinions. But what he found saddest of all was the extreme homophobia very much prevalent in America, in its government and in its media.
Outside his house was the usual picket line of Bible protesters, with signs saying ‘homosexuality is a sin’, ‘God can forgive you’, “Jesus Saves’, “Jesus died for our sins’, ‘Choose redemption’. They all stood there yelling and jeering, waving their pickets around behind the security line. They weren’t a very attractive bunch, dressed in fairly horrible clothing. He forgave himself the shallow thought considering they were personally attacking him for something they didn’t understand. Why did so many Americans ignorantly believe that homosexuality was a choice?
What was different though was the stunningly beautiful woman standing behind them. She made him think of a Greek Goddess or something similar, dressed in a flowing purple Grecian dress. Her eyes met his and he felt as though she stared right through him and saw everything about him. Then to his horror, she picked up one of the protesters and threw him into the wall.
A woman screamed and jumped at her “burn in Hell.”
She laughed as she picked the woman up by her throat. With one hand. “Hell? The greatest torture was being in Heaven with the Angels, Hell would have been a haven by comparison.”
The gates finally opened and the car sped in, he cast one final glance back at her as she threw the woman onto the road. Then she walked through the gate, the closed gate. She didn’t slip through, she literally walked through solid metal.
“Stop where you are lady” one of the guards yelled.
She laughed, sending a shiver down John’s back “Or what you’ll shoot me? Go ahead if you have the balls.”
Sure enough, there was the sound of a single shot being fired. But she didn’t collapse to the ground, there was no blood, the bullet didn’t even connect with her. It deflected off of some shield or something. All Hell broke loose as more guards opened fire. But she just kept walking towards him.
One of the guards hauled him out of the vehicle, dragged him through the house then stuffed him in the panic room and sealed it. John quickly turned on all the TV screens as the door sealed shut. She wasn’t on any of the screens, on one, it showed the guards running about and examining a spot on the grass.
“Looking for me John?”
He jumped and turned around to find her lounging on the bed.
“How did you get in here? He gasped in amazement. The room was completely sealed within a metre of solid steel.
I have my ways” she smiled as she sat up.
“What do you want with me?”
She flicked her hair as she stood up and walked towards him with the predatory grace of a lioness. He was prey, he was sure of it.
“I’m here to help you John and make all your problems go away.”
“Problems, what problems?
She raised one perfect eyebrow, her violet eyes full of amusement. He had never seen anyone with eyes so stunning. “The lunatics outside, the divisions within your party, the calls for your resignation, your dreams of becoming president.”
How did she know he wanted to be president, he had shared that with no one. “How can you possibly help me with those?”
“I can do anything I like John. After all, I managed to get within this room.” She did have a valid point.
“Who are you?”
“Hera” he waited for her last name but she didn’t provide one.
“As in the Greek Goddess?”
She smiled at him “See you do know me.”
She disappeared in a coil of smoke and reappeared behind him, her fingers walking up his shoulders “See John you already know of me, I can see you know my myths. And I already know everything about you.” She put a distinct emphasis on everything which left him with no doubt that she did. “I’m offering to help you and in return, you will give me what I require.”
At last, the catch “What do you require?”
“To break the Angels’ hold on the world, to destroy their religions, to break Christianity’s stranglehold on America?”
“Break Christianity’s stranglehold?”
“It hasn’t done you any favours, or America for that matter. It has held back this country, stagnating progress and development. The power of this country is being decayed by traditionalists who hate change and hate difference. They are still caught up in their sexism, racism and their homophobia. It is time for a change and you John are the president that will lead America into a new future.” Its days of freedom were limited. Her empire would be born from the ruins of old America.
“How do I know that you’re all you say you are?”
“I can do anything John, remember that” then she disappeared but her voice lingered “I will find you again soon my dear. Do not resign, you hold so much potential.”
He was nervous waiting for his press conference. Everyone was expecting him to resign but he couldn’t, Hera had forbidden it. While he was still in doubts about her being a Goddess, he was sure that the power she had could help him. Or harm him.
He had done some research on the Goddess Hera and what he had read made him very wary of angering her. Her husband had chained her to Mount Olympus because he was scared of her fury. But the old philanderer really had it coming. Even if she wasn’t actually the Goddess, then she clearly had an affinity for her. Hera had been a powerful, cunning and wrathful Goddess. Paris had pissed her off and the city of Troy had paid the price.
It was evidently clear no one should ever anger her.
“It is good to see that you understand who you’re dealing with” he jumped out of his skin when she appeared next to him. “Oh did I scare you?” she didn’t seem sorry in the least.
“Now John today is the first step in changing your future and achieving what you deserve” there was a solemness to her words, the weight of destiny. It was weird the way she spoke changed so often. Maybe he imagined it but he heard other things than just her unusual accent when she spoke- soft thunder, rain, fire, the crack of a whip, the baying of hounds. Perhaps she really was a Goddess or some powerful sorceress.
No magic didn’t exist. He was imagining things.
“Doesn’t it John? The world is a miracle that science struggles to explain and even the Gods cannot explain. All that we know was that it was birthed from Chaos, there are physical laws in the absence of magic but there is also magic. Humans are not the only species that inhabit the Earth, there are Vampires, Werewolves, Incubi, Succubi, Maenads and Sirens all walking through these city streets. There are places where the unexplainable happens, when you feel someone watching you but no one is there, when you are drawn to a person for no reason other than they aren’t Human. Of course, you wouldn’t know that.”
The Angels' Pride Page 27