The Cosmic Logos

by Traci Harding

  ‘Whoa!’ Viper’s arm fell backward. ‘Forget it, fairy, it will re-bond as soon as the hole is uncovered.’

  Avery removed his hand to discover Viper was right. ‘Damn it!’ He flew back to look into Viper’s face. ‘Will yourself out of here. I’ll will you out!’ Avery gripped Viper’s arm and willed them to Lynn Cerrig Bach.

  ‘There’s too much electromagnetic disturbance in here.’ Viper explained the problem and forced a smile. The rod at the top of the gun head blackened with its electric charge and he knew that death was imminent. ‘I’ve played my role and as expected, I failed.’

  ‘No! You took all the hard knocks for us,’ Avery told him. ‘I’m the one who failed.’

  ‘Go!’ Viper didn’t need to hear this now. Tears were welling in his eyes. He’d never had someone stand by him, ever, but there was no way he was going to die crying like a baby.

  ‘I’m not leaving you.’ Avery turned to shield Viper from the dark force of energy that was about to explode forth from the weapon above.

  ‘There’s no way to stop it, you crazy son of a bitch!’ Viper yelled, shocked that Avery wasn’t flinching.

  Avery suddenly realised why the Count had insisted on training him before he charged off to face Viper, for the Master Ray’s tuition had revolved around the conversion of dark matter to light matter. ‘Never say die, my friend, we still have a few tricks up our sleeve.’

  ‘What are we going to do?’ Viper was sceptical. ‘Will it to disperse?’

  ‘Better than that, we are going to will it to return to light.’

  Viper laughed, seriously amused by the notion. ‘You’re really not right in the head, are you?’

  ‘All you have to do is be light of heart for one moment,’ Avery looked imploringly over his shoulder at Viper, ‘and we can pull the plug on the entire Orion project.’

  ‘Well, that sounds peachy, but I’m not exactly feeling jovial right now.’

  Avery turned to face Viper. ‘There must have been one moment in your life when you felt happiness and love? Just one thought of pure love, that’s all I ask.’

  ‘Fallon’s breast on my lips felt pretty good.’ Viper tempted fate, as was his way.

  Avery ignored his impulse to be jealous and angry; he could not afford such a mistake. ‘She’s pretty fine, our girl.’ He grinned, recalling Fallon’s memory of the brief encounter, and when Viper returned the grin, Avery knew he had him on side. ‘Don’t allow Aris to defeat us. We can do this.’

  Viper nodded, determined. ‘Here goes nothing!’ he warned his superhuman shield, and Avery spun around to confront the dark energy beam as it shot forth into the funnel.

  ‘Avery!’ Rhun slammed the glass observation window with both his fists, as the laser activated and all the dark energy in the chamber was sucked up into the weapon head and beamed forth into the funnel. He willed himself to Avery immediately but there was no response. ‘Where the hell is Gwyn ap Nudd?’ he seethed.

  ‘I’m right here.’

  Rhun and Zabeel looked at Zero, who transformed into the Night Hunter. His presence instantly infuriated Rhun.

  ‘You could have prevented this!’ He charged on a collision course with the Otherworldly lord, who vanished. Rhun nearly collided with a control panel, but flipped over it to land on his feet. ‘Coward! Traitor! Cheat! You’ve been playing both sides all along.’

  ‘Even so, there is only one cause. I played both sides,’ he granted, ‘because that was my service to the great plan. And now, they are ready for the challenge.’ He motioned back to the funnel where all was now quiet and still. ‘Although it will be a whole new ball game once I leave.’

  ‘You expect Avery and Viper to survive that? They’d have to transform eons of negativity into light matter.’ Rhun cocked his head, considering this a big ask, but as it was his only chance of seeing his little brother again, he was praying the Night Hunter was right.

  ‘I expect a transformation, to be sure.’ Gwyn approached the windows, when a deep rumble was felt and then heard.

  Either the dark matter was sucking up everything in its path, or Avery had managed to repel the force — Rhun and Zabeel weren’t leaving until they knew.

  A great burst of etheric light, that would have been invisible to the naked eye, shot from the funnel. The force blew the weapon head to bits as it forged onwards through the ceiling and the earth above to find daylight. The glass observation window shattered inward upon those in the control room and the dust and rubble falling in the huge metallic pit beyond showered down everywhere.

  ‘Crude, but effective.’ Gwyn raised his eyebrows and gave a smile of pride. ‘If they’d just centred their energy in the etheric world, it would have been perfect.’

  ‘But …’ Rhun straightened up and looked about as he brushed off the glass splinters and dirt. ‘Where are Avery and Viper?’

  Avery floated up to stand on the top of the funnel, feeling a little out of it in the aftermath of his ordeal. This event had been his initiation and Avery felt empowered — as if he was somehow more than he was before. ‘Not bad going for a supposed Dark Lord,’ Avery commented down the funnel to Viper, who he figured was still flying his way up. Avery knew Viper had survived the ordeal as they’d kept communicating through the blackness of the event.

  ‘Where the hell are you?’ Viper queried, looking about, unable to see his brother in arms from where he stood on the top of the funnel.

  ‘Hang on.’ Avery felt himself over and Viper did too. ‘We’re … one?’

  Suddenly, all of Viper’s horrendous memories went flooding through Avery’s mind. Alternately, Viper was bombarded by the happiness of Avery’s life. ‘Oh, my …’ Avery felt giddy as he slowly put his hands up to his shoulder blades, and began to sway when he realised he had wings.

  Rhun observed the winged figure wavering on the top of the funnel, which he assumed was Viper, even though he currently looked more like Avery. Rhun figured the ordeal had sent the Falcon-Nefilim’s brain into a whirl and so had confused his identities. ‘Where is Avery?’ He looked to the Night Hunter for an answer, but the lord only shrugged, directing Rhun’s attention back to the winged man, who swayed and suddenly fell back into the abyss of the funnel. ‘Do something!’ Rhun appealed to the Night Hunter.

  ‘I’m not at your beck and call, dragon boy.’ Gwyn became agitated when expected to do everything. ‘I cleared the base and led you straight to Viper. Now you’re on your own.’ He proceeded to fade from Zero’s person, wearing a broad smile on his face. ‘I suggest you get off your lazy butt and try something new, I’m going home. Ciao, boys.’ Zero was returned to his normal form and fell unconscious to the floor.

  Rhun looked at Zabeel, bemused. He’d never learned how to fly. He’d tried a few times in private, envious of Avery’s ability, but Rhun had never succeeded. ‘We should have brought Sparrowhawk.’

  ‘Well, we didn’t.’ Zabeel gripped Rhun’s upper arms tightly. ‘The Night Hunter would not have suggested you do it, if you weren’t capable. So try, damn it! Try now!’

  Rhun willed himself to Avery and found himself plummeting through the darkness. Above, the speck of light grew smaller. Reaching out, he gripped someone’s arm and pulling the free-falling body close, he began willing himself towards the speck of light above. To his great surprise, it began to grow larger.

  Rhun …?

  Rhun telepathically perceived his brother’s groggy query. ‘Yeah, I’ve got you.’

  Avery’s body vibrated as he gave a slight chuckle. But who has got you?

  ‘You’re not the only wonder boy in existence, you know,’ Rhun scoffed and he felt Avery chuckle again. ‘You’re pretty damn elite though,’ he granted, for he felt Avery’s weight intensify as the exhausted Otherworldly lord passed out once more.

  23

  A CHANGE OF HEART

  Back on the Aten, Gazelle’s people were keen to take Lahmu up on his offer. After what they’d all been through, even if Gazelle was lying, whatever Lahmu
did with them all would be far more humane than their lives to date.

  ‘We were fools not to integrate ourselves into the new federation when asylum was first offered by Lahmu twenty years ago,’ one of the older members of the crowd said, and it seemed odd that he had physically aged. Everyone else, besides Viper’s diehards, was still under the youth enhancing influence of the dark Orme.

  Perhaps he was one of Viper’s diehards? Bast, who had dropped her Tareena disguise, looked to the men they’d hit with a light Orme dart and they were all still cowering before Sparrowhawk.

  ‘Instead of chastising Cordella and Gazelle, we should have been praising them for showing us a way out of the hell we created for ourselves.’ The elder continued to state his view. ‘By clinging to our divine ancestry and the perverted ways of our common ancestor, segregating ourselves from humanity, we have forgotten what it is to be human … and that wondrous capacity to love and trust that we inherited from that half of our family tree.’ The old Leonine walked over to stand by Gazelle, who was still on the bar, to show his support of her cause. The hooded figure standing alongside the Leonine-Nefilim elder followed him when he moved.

  It took a moment, but Bast finally figured out where she’d seen the man before. Horace? Her eyes moistened upon seeing him so aged. No wonder he hadn’t wanted to give up his dark immortality and she knew damn well that she was the reason he’d made the sacrifice. How did he get here? Her curiosity turned to the hooded figure alongside Horace.

  ‘All those in favour of surrendering this stolen craft to its rightful owners, and giving Lahmu’s Chosen our full co-operation, raise your hands.’ Horace prompted an almost unanimous show of support and all those in favour cheered as they lined up to be fired upon by the Chosen and relieved of the effects of the dark Orme.

  Gazelle jumped from the bar to hug Horace. ‘You’re a pretty cool cat after all. Thanks for the support.’

  He nodded to let her know she was welcome, although it was a sad smile he wore.

  Gazelle fired upon her kindred to aid with the conversion and before long all her people had been returned to their mortal state of being.

  I think you’re all forgetting one very important factor. The growling voices of the wizard brought the festivities to a grinding holt.

  Lahmu’s people were rather unnerved, as they had never heard the wizard speak before. All Viper’s people cowered, knowing the voice all too well.

  I don’t wish to cause any alarm, the unseen entity advised.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ Bast scoffed on the quiet.

  But I thought you might like to know that an alien force has commandeered this ship.

  ‘You haven’t got any power over us.’ Sparrowhawk raised the amulet En Noah had given him to ward off evil. Bast flashed hers too, to help comfort the uneasy crowd.

  I wasn’t talking about me, the wizard was heard to chuckle.

  Then Fallon appeared in the doorway under the restraint of a tall man dressed in a black suit. One hand was around Fallon’s throat; in his other hand was a gun of sorts, with a transparent barrel filled with a slimy black ooze.

  ‘Damn it, Fallon.’ Bast was panicked and angered. ‘Will yourself out of there!’ She didn’t expect to have to point out the obvious, but maybe Fallon had gone into shock and wasn’t thinking straight.

  Fallon served Bast a look of apology.

  ‘If she disappears,’ the dark agent advised in a monotone voice, ‘we kill the girl.’

  Several men in black suits filed into the room, one of them towing the traumatised seven year old. Tareena strolled in behind the force, looking very pleased about their arrival.

  ‘If you do not drop all weapons and withdraw,’ the man who had hold of Fallon droned, ‘I pump your girlfriend full of this stuff and you can all watch her disintegrate … body, mind and spirit.’

  Lahmu’s team saw no choice but to do as he asked. None of them wanted to risk willing the weapon from the man’s hand, lest they cause him to fire. And no one wanted to ask what was in the gun, as it sure as hell didn’t look very pleasant.

  As they threw down their arms, the apparition of the wizard and his pets manifested near the ceiling and hovered over the thwarted crowd laughing hysterically.

  So, who was the darkest of the dark,

  to the end, one step ahead of the rest?

  The warlock raised his arms in the air and every weapon in the room hit the roof, including the one at Fallon’s neck.

  It was that cunning sorcerer,

  who defied the Yahweh, Aris.

  The Chosen snapped out of their shock and an all-in brawl erupted — the MIB agents, Tareena and Viper’s diehards versus everyone else in the room.

  From under his hood, Noah watched the pandemonium with a broad smile on his face. ‘A stroke of genius,’ he commented, feeling satisfied that his plan was coming together well.

  ‘What are you playing at?’ Sparrowhawk flew up to confront the evil abomination, once the bad guys had been overpowered and restrained. ‘Where is Yahweh Aris?’

  The wizard shrugged in response to the first question. I believe the Yahweh fancies himself as the next Antichrist. And as he finally managed to con the entity, Power, into disclosing the seal that will summon the leader of the Fallen Ones, I suspect that you’ll find the Yahweh in Viper’s room of summons, dancing with the devil, as it were.

  ‘Oh, my stars.’ Sparrowhawk was shocked by the information and suspicious of a lie. ‘Why are you aiding us?’

  Because of what’s in it for me, the creature hissed, so wanting to rebel and screw everyone, but knowing he would damn himself in the process. The wizard didn’t intend going back to the sub-planes. I’ve been cutting a few deals of my own, birdman. And if you don’t believe me, then why don’t you ask your mentor to verify our arrangement?

  ‘En Noah?’ Sparrowhawk queried with disbelief.

  ‘It is the truth, we have struck a deal that is beneficial to both parties.’ En Noah removed the hood from his head to expose himself and get their force moving. ‘So let’s not waste time chewing the fat.’ He looked to Gazelle to lead them. ‘Where is this room of summons?’

  ‘How did you do it?’ Sparrowhawk asked on behalf of all Noah’s students, as they made their way to Viper’s room of summons. ‘How did you contact your damned self without knowing his name?’

  ‘Some old mutual friends put us in touch,’ Noah replied, a little secretive. ‘And now I do know his name, which might explain how I got the wizard to agree to aid us.’

  ‘You’re going to free him from the elementals,’ Fallon came forward to guess, ‘and send him back to join your soul-mind.’

  ‘Only if he’s good,’ Noah replied loudly enough for the wizard, who was trailing along behind their party, to hear.

  You won’t damn yourself, the creature growled, hating to be obliged to anyone.

  ‘I would make that sacrifice to save my kindred,’ Noah stated in all honesty and the wizard snarled, annoyed, knowing that the Sage spoke the truth.

  Easy to say when you’ve never resided in the sub-planes.

  ‘I have experienced Density.’ Noah shocked one and all with the claim. ‘What is meant to be, will be.’

  Esoteric claptrap, the creature grumbled to itself, having no choice but to play along. You had just better hope that you can keep that bloody Yahweh away from me, or we’re both up the creek.

  ‘This is it,’ Gazelle announced as they arrived at huge double doors.

  ‘Let’s take a look and see what he’s up to,’ Doc came up front to suggest to Gazelle. ‘We’ll pop back to security and use the cameras —’

  Gazelle shook her head. ‘Viper had all surveillance removed from these quarters.’

  ‘It’s all right.’ Noah placed a hand on Doc’s shoulder to reassure him. ‘I don’t believe we have anything to fear here. Why don’t you go back and check on what has become of your sons?’ Noah knew this was Doc’s underlying concern. ‘We’ll take it from here.’

&
nbsp; As the rest of the gang supported Noah’s call, Doc gave a nod and smile of gratitude and vanished at once.

  ‘Shall I go in first, En Noah?’ Sparrowhawk felt obliged, as he was the only male warrior left among them.

  ‘I believe our first problem will be getting the door to open,’ Noah commented. They may have appeared like solid timber doors, but being activated via the telepathic plate on the wall, the door would not be kicked in.

  Gazelle tried her luck with the control plate but there was no response. ‘Only Viper had entry.’

  ‘Then how did Yahweh Aris get in?’ Sparrowhawk asked, and everyone looked to the wizard.

  Am I expected to do everything? With a wave of the apparition’s hand, the door vanished and Lahmu’s party was granted a view of the goings on within.

  A force of dark Otherworldly power blasted the team off their feet and into the wall opposite. A dark elemental being filled the doorway, snarling and growling to discourage any thought of entry.

  ‘Oh goddess, what is it?’ Fallon rose, her back hard pressed to the wall. Bast, Sparrowhawk and Gazelle slid up to stand on either side of her.

  Noah looked to the wizard to urge it to respond with an answer.

  A density shield. Dark Lords cast them to prevent forces of a good nature from listening in on, or interfering in, their business dealings.

  ‘Can you overpower it?’ Sparrowhawk insisted upon a response. ‘Or can we?’

  Nope, no one but the caster can dismiss it. The apparition of the wizard laughed, as did all his extra appendages. Nothing to fear, eh? He mocked Noah’s claim.

  Noah rose, unfazed by the development or the mockery.

  ‘Do you get the impression he knows something we don’t?’ Fallon uttered aside to her sister, who would have responded had she not noticed the dark elemental extending its ugly head and upper body towards them.