Order of the Black Sun Box Set 9

by Preston William Child

  He gave it a long look, the paper trembling in his nervous hands. He slowly nodded and started laughing with utter joy. It was clear as day from Jean's reaction.

  They did it. They finally found the final missing page of Mona Greer's book of shadows.

  Purdue and Jean hauled themselves out of the grave. Felicity was waiting for them, staring voraciously at the paper in Purdue's grasp. She held her hand out to see it for herself. Purdue hesitated a moment, but then handed it over. As obnoxiously unhelpful as Felicity had been in finding this page, she had done most of the heavy-lifting by acquiring the majority of them.

  And even if she ran off with it and left them in the grave, she still didn't have Jean's. If she was the kind to take the pages for herself, she wouldn't do that until she had all of them. She stood over them looking over the mess of scribbles as the two men climbed out of the hole they dug. Purdue got out first and helped Jean to his feet.

  “There it is,” Jean said, looking over Felicity's shoulder. “The last page we needed.”

  “Not that it will do us much good,” Purdue said. “It's just another page of doodles for the moment.”

  “But not for long.” Felicity reached down into the bag she brought and pulled out the black bindings of Mona Greer's journal with the pages she'd collected wedged inside. “Well? Take out your page, Jean-Luc. Let's see what Mona really has to say.”

  Neither Purdue or Jean moved a muscle. They just watched Felicity look more excited than she had been during the time they'd been working together. That newfound excitement faded, as she waited for them to make a move that didn't come.

  “What are you doing? We can complete the book!”

  “And we will...” Purdue shrugged his shoulders. “But not here and not now. We will complete the book at my house.”

  “Your house? No! We can put the pages together right here and now!”

  “Actually, we cannot,” Jean said firmly.

  “I'm not going to Scotland!”

  Purdue again shrugged his shoulders. “You'll have to. Especially given the fact that Jean's page is there.”

  “Excuse me?” She glared at Jean with wide, confused eyes. “What the hell is Purdue talking about? What is going on!?”

  “Calm yourself, love,” Purdue said to no avail.

  “You sent the page across the ocean? Out of sight where anything could happen to it? Are you crazy?”

  Jean didn't flinch. “It was the smart thing to do. You are a fool if you do not see that.”

  “He's right,” Purdue said. “Why would we take the only page we had to someone who wanted it more than anything? We would have been morons to bring it here? For all we knew, you could find a way to bring us down once we had all the other pages and then you'd have Jean's too ... everything you would need. Smarter to send it far away. Keep our leverage to make sure you see this through to the end.”

  “I was going to!” Felicity hissed.

  “But we didn't know that for sure. Can never be too careful.”

  Felicity looked ready to push them both back in the grave and maybe even bury them alive. They understood her anger. In their caution, they had duped her and made sure that they finished this search on their terms rather than hers.

  Purdue continued. “After all, once we complete the book, it will be staying at my home, safe in the vault anyway. Might as well get used to going there if you want to see the book, as we agreed upon.”

  She could fight them on it. She could demand they bring it back or she wouldn't help them any further, but she also wanted to complete the book sooner rather than later. She didn't want to go to Scotland, but she would if she had to. Her anger subsided and she finally relented.

  “Fine! Fine! We'll go to your damn house.”

  12

  INSANITY AND TYRANNY

  Julian didn't like Galen Fitzgerald when they first met. He imagined that very few people did. Galen's ego and his narcissistic traits made him a difficult man to respect. During their first encounter, he'd nearly beaten Galen to death and almost drowned him in the murky waters of a swamp. They were enemies at the time, and despite all of that violent history, all of the pain that Julian caused him, Galen was now his subordinate and taking orders from a man who he so obviously held a grudge against.

  Galen had seemed less than pleased by Julian's resurrection. He might have only joined the Black Sun with the knowledge that he would never have to worry about Julian again. It must have been a shock when he saw him crash that meeting.

  Then again, Galen was desperate enough for power that he joined the order after being asked by the woman who blew out his kneecap only days before. Galen had no self-respect despite how much he liked to pat his own back. He would sink to any level if it made him feel more important.

  And that was how Julian knew he was already winning Galen over to his side. Galen followed the power. He liked being close to people who could give him even more of it. So, despite his worry and anger that Julian had come back and was now in charge, he was already showing signs that he would put aside their differences if it meant gaining more status.

  Julian summoned Galen to the audience chamber that the meeting had been held in. It was just the two of them, and Julian sat in one of the inner circle's empty seats when Galen came limping into the room, his cane tapping loudly against the marble floor.

  “What do ye want, Julian?”

  “Ah, Mr. Fitzgerald, please join me.”

  He held out his hand to the empty seat beside him. Galen didn't come forward at first. He looked at the seat like all of this was some kind of trap. He probably thought that Julian wanted him dead and this was all some long-winded way of killing him.

  Finally, Galen walked up and took an unsteady seat in the chair.

  “Why the hell am I here, aye? Shouldn't you be preparing for the big mission everyone's talking about?” Galen asked, still sitting uncomfortably in the chair, like he was afraid to put too much weight on it or it would explode.

  “Yes, yes, but as the new sole leader of the Black Sun, I need to make sure that our society is all on the same page. That means all of us. Your displeasure with my return was hardly hidden when I came back, especially when I took charge. You probably were not expecting to have to work with me when you joined the order, is that right?”

  “Well...” Galen shifted in his chair. “Obviously. You were dead. Dead as a door nail. We all saw that spear go right through you. We all saw you fall over that cliff with the blade poking through your front and your back.”

  “Must have been hard seeing the Spear of Destiny go over the edge with me. You had tried so hard to get it.”

  “And I would have if all of you just got out of my way. But you and Davy's tug of war lost me that spear.”

  Julian reached over the side of his seat and pulled the long shaft of the Spear of Destiny up from where it had been placed on the floor. He let his rest in his hands, so long that it stretched across the seats, even in front of Galen.

  “Did you lose it? By joining us, you have actually acquired it in the end. The items that are found by the Black Sun don't belong to a single individual. They are shared by us all. This spear is mine and this spear is now yours. You managed to find it after all.”

  Galen stared at the weapon before him, his eyes wide with disbelief. He'd spent so much time and effort trying to get it, only to see it fall into a chasm with a man trying to kill him. It must have been a shock to suddenly have it back, and not only that, but to be told that it was also in his possession now too.

  “Would you like to hold it?” Julian asked, fully aware of the answer.

  “Aye,” Galen said. “Of course, I want to.”

  Galen rested his cane against the seat and instead took the Spear of Destiny in his hands and held it proudly like he was receiving an award. He started chuckling in baffled amusement at how things had worked in his favor after all. He brought the blade tip up to his face and looked it over in amazement.

  “It's
mad to think that this right here brought you back to life ... but it did.”

  “Fascinating, isn't it? But that's real power. The power this order now has. The power you now have.”

  Galen looked beyond pleased that he was holding something so rare and impressive. He was probably thinking all about how he was holding something that even David Purdue had never had the honor of holding.

  “You want to know why I joined the Black Sun?” Galen asked, not taking his eyes off of the spear in his grip. “I got sick of being looked at as a third wheel ... and I want to see Davy's face when he sees me with the Black Sun. When he sees that he should never have looked down on me.”

  It was the petty, vindictive answer that Julian expected from Galen. Of course he had only joined to spite the man that he was so envious of. That was already clear, and making Purdue the immediate target of the Black Sun was perfect for making Galen an ally.

  “Your chance to show him will be very soon,” Julian said. “But I need to know that you're willing to follow me to get there. I can't have infighting in the order. You need to be standing behind me—no—beside me in the future of this order. You were powerful before joining us. You had wealth and you had resources, a career of looking for rare items.”

  Galen looked pleased by the acknowledgment, just like Julian knew he would be.

  “But with us, you've become one of the most important people on the planet. You will help dictate the future of the world with us. And as the new leader, I need to make sure I have people I can trust by my side.”

  Galen sat in the chair, still looking over the Spear of Destiny, and was obviously replaying everything that had just been said in his mind. He nodded with approval at all of the praise he was receiving and even more at the prospect of being given more importance than he ever had before.

  Julian knew his words were sinking in exactly like he wanted them to. He was going to turn Galen from a potential enemy to one of his most loyal allies. All he needed was to press the right buttons and pull the right strings. Luckily, Galen was a simple human being and it was easy enough to figure out exactly how to play to his ego.

  The Spear of Destiny was a show of good faith, and a reminder that the Black Sun could give things to him that he never was able to get on his own. And Julian's compliments were just an easy way to gain Galen's favor. He just needed to be pampered a little, here and there.

  “Are you ready to help me bring the Order of the Black Sun into a new era. I believe you are one of the only people who can help me. So, the only question I have for you, Mr. Fitzgerald, is are you willing to be one of the architects of this new world? Are you willing to put aside our differences and become as crucial to all of this as I believe you can be?”

  The two men sat in the chairs at the center of the chamber, but to Galen it might as well have been the very center of the world. The entire future was sprawled out around them, for them to shift and bend to their wills. He wanted that kind of influence. He wanted to prove to everyone just how great he was. He would finally be given the recognition he always deserved.

  The pair of them seemed like kings sitting on thrones. Rulers of an invisible kingdom that the rest of the nations of the world had not become fully aware of yet. Galen finally seemed to get comfortable in his seat.

  Julian smirked and knew that the fool was now completely under his control. Just like most of the Black Sun, he had the Irishman's loyalty. He had extinguished any spark of mutiny that had probably been forming in Galen. Their past didn't matter now. Galen needed to feel important and Julian had just given him that importance. His loyalty was bought, but not with money. His loyalty came just because Julian gave him a pat on the head and told him he was a good boy.

  “Aye,” Galen nodded, still admiring the spear. “Aye, I'm with you. One hundred percent.”

  “Splendid,” Julian said. “Then you will be at my side during this next trip. Are you ready to finally show David Purdue just how wrong he was about you?”

  Galen laughed and clutched the Spear of Destiny tighter.

  Julian was practically giving him everything he ever wanted. That was how you made a man-child like Galen Fitzgerald happy. You spoiled him with gifts and compliments. He was a fool, but Julian knew it was better to have a fool at your side than a fool trying to usurp you.

  “You're ready to step up, aren't you? To show them all.”

  Again, he simply said, “Aye.”

  Nina Gould sat in the middle of her cell.

  It was strange to think that only days before, Nina had been sitting comfortably on her couch, safe and sound in her own home. The world could be so quickly upended by the ghost of a psychopath knocking on your door. She wanted to be back on that couch more than anything. She'd take her collection of dusty old textbooks over her current circumstances any day.

  All of Julian's talk about getting rid of Purdue ... Purdue had no idea what was coming his way. He had no knowledge of an ambush that would, according to Julian, get rid of him for good. Purdue wouldn't stand a chance against something he wasn't even aware existed. The Order of the Black Sun had been any enemy for some time, but they were never such a direct threat before. With Julian in charge, they would show no mercy.

  Purdue had to be warned, and Nina was the only one who could do it ... but there was no way out.

  She grabbed the bars on the door and started pulling at it violently, Rattling the door in her efforts to break free. It was no use, of course. She knew it wouldn't be. She would only get out if her captors wanted her out. Purdue wouldn't get the heads up that he needed to survive. He would be killed because Nina was incapable of getting free.

  She kept pulling at the bars, even if it was useless. She needed to try; try until she physically couldn't anymore. She needed to save everyone from the man she was supposed to have already killed. Julian was her fault and she didn't want Purdue, and possibly even Sam, to suffer for her inability to make sure Julian stayed dead.

  Nina let out a tearful wail while she kept trying to break free. She shook the door harder and harder, depending on the fleeting hope that she could tear it off of its hinges and get free. If she could even just make it to a phone, anything.

  The corridor door beyond her cell opened and Sasha approached. The mercenary looked at Nina's white-knuckled fists wrapped around the bars and shook her head.

  “There's no point throwing a tantrum. You're not getting out of here. No matter how much you try. Julian was clear about that.”

  “And how are you just okay with this? That man is psychotic. You know that. I know you do ... but you're following him anyway.”

  Sasha looked to the ground. “I'm a soldier. I follow orders. It doesn't matter who is in charge.”

  “Of course, it does. Otherwise, you're just blindly following authority. Your intelligence astounds me. He's a monster. We all saw that when we were looking for the Spear of Destiny. You knew even before that. You're letting a mad dog pull the leash. His first act as leader is to settle old vendettas. That can't be a stable environment to work in. I thought the Order of the Black Sun was about more than that.”

  “You and Purdue made this personal. You kept getting in the way. Clearing you out of our path is a good decision. It's a necessary one for the order to move forward, from both a business, and yes, a personal standpoint. He's doing what we should have done a long time ago. He's killing two birds with one stone.”

  “How did this happen?” Nina said. “From how he made it sound before, all of you in the Eclipsed group were frowned on by the Black Sun's leadership. He came back to life, sure. He brought the Spear of Destiny to them. But how is that enough to completely exonerate him from how they felt about him before? How is that enough?”

  Sasha's expression tightened. “ ... It wasn't.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean it wasn't their decision. I don't know what their decision was exactly and no one ever will. Julian and his followers slaughtered the entire inner circle of the B
lack Sun. Massacred them in a meeting room when they were supposed to be deciding what they were going to do with him. If he has the support and the confidence to kill our leadership and then immediately take over ... why would I speak out against him? Why would I resist? That's an easy way to get myself killed.”

  “Because it's the right thing to do,” Nina said. “You just said it yourself. He overthrew your leaders. An insane tyrant has taken over a group you call home. Don't get me wrong, I've always hated all of the Black Sun, but with him in charge, it'll only get worse.”

  “As much as he's playing the part of a dutiful sycophant right now, Galen wasn't happy with Julian's return at first either,” Sasha said. “But the moment he took charge, Galen fell in line. He recognized that it was better to be on Julian's good side than his bad. I'm doing the same. I'm not thrilled about it, but at this point, there's no going back.”

  “You're wrong,” Nina said. “You still can.”

  Sasha stepped toward the door but turned back. “You and your friends are really going to lose this time. There's not going to be any quick escape, and there's not going to be any sudden loophole for you to climb through. You and David Purdue are really done. I hope you're ready for the fallout. Now, come on.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Sasha unlocked the cell door. “I mean you're being moved. Transported to a better location.”

  “I thought you said I wasn't getting out of here.”

  “I didn't mean here—this cell—I meant that you weren't going to be able to get away from the Black Sun. Smarter, stronger, and overall better people than you have tried. So, don't bother. Now come on. No dillydallying.”

  Nina was happy to be out of that cramped little cell, but that happiness faded quickly since she had no idea where they were taking her. For all she knew, they were just going to dump her into an even darker and smaller room with a locked door. Another horrible little prison for just her, and her alone.