The Black Madonna (The Mystique Trilogy)

by Traci Harding

  ‘Where are you off to?’ I asked, thinking he must be going out.

  ‘Nowhere. I was just feeling a bit grungy.’ He noted my astonished expression. ‘What?’

  ‘Grungy? You! I didn’t think you knew the meaning of the word.’

  Albray laughed. ‘Well, aren’t you pleased I finally learned?’ He embraced me in a very amorous fashion.

  ‘Aren’t you going to tell me what Mrs Labontè had to say about our daughter?’ I asked, trying to put him off without making my concerns obvious.

  My husband was discouraged by my choice of topic and let me go. ‘She just needed reassuring that our girl is very chaste and so her son isn’t going to wind up being charged for having sex with a minor. She suspects that Killian’s only dating Tamar to infuriate his parents.’

  ‘And that took half an hour?’ I asked, trying not to sound like the suspicious wife, somewhat unsuccessfully.

  ‘Mia!’ Albray placed both hands on his hips, sounding perturbed. ‘I thought we had put all our jealousies behind us.’

  I was immediately suspicious. Instead of answering my question, he’d turned the subject around to my faults—a sure sign that he was hiding something.

  ‘I have reason to believe you have been compromised,’ I informed him calmly.

  ‘Compromised!’ He was furious—he was definitely hiding something.

  ‘Sabine Labontè has acquired the ringstone your soul mind is attached to,’ I told him, staring him in the eyes to gauge his true reaction and in them I saw horror, relief, sorrow and remorse. ‘What happened?’ I asked.

  ‘I don’t know what happened,’ he blurted out, relieved not to have to try and hide the fact. He took a seat and tried to recall what he could. ‘I felt horrible afterwards,’ he looked up at me in pain, ‘as if I’d—’ He caught his breath on the recollection. ‘As if I’d been close to her.’

  ‘You had sex with her?’ I choked on the question in horror.

  ‘No! Maybe? I don’t know!’ He was close to tears.

  I had only ever seen Albray cry in joy, and felt ashamed that I was so quick to assume him guilty. ‘Well, that explains the shower,’ I said.

  ‘I know she hypnotised me with the ringstone. After that, all I recall is waving her goodbye. She may have just implanted the idea that I…’ He chose not to complete the sentence.

  ‘Holy mother, she could have instructed you to do anything!’ I said, realising that a sexual encounter with the woman was a minor inconvenience compared to some of the missions she could have instilled in Albray—and very probably had!

  ‘I need to probe your memory,’ I said. ‘It’s the only way.’

  ‘No,’ Albray said quickly. ‘You’ll only perceive what she wants you to perceive. The only way to truly be sure what happened is to be there when it happens.’

  ‘That’s impossible.’

  ‘Not for Polaris,’ he retorted.

  It was true that Polaris was a time lord, but I couldn’t allow Albray to seek out any of the Amenti Council in case he had been hypnotised into killing them or ambushing the Amenti scheme. He was a major security risk now and I had to take him out of the equation until I could brief the Council on what had happened and they could decide how best to deal with the situation.

  ‘Wait here a second,’ I told him.

  I grabbed one of my shoulder bags and made my way to the bathroom. Inside the bag was a weapon I had procured from a Dracon in battle. It shot debilitating darts that could keep even one of my kind motionless for hours. I had never thought to use the weapon, so it was buried deep in the bag, hidden inside the old hollowed-out book in which I had once found Albray’s ringstone. I remembered the ringstone with sorrow now; what I would give never to have lost it.

  Weapon in hand, I paused a moment to gather my will to shoot my own husband. Then I burst into our room, took aim and found nothing to fire at. Albray had fled.

  Fortunately it was a Sunday and there were very few people on site. I tucked the stun-gun into my backpack and headed down into the major excavation area. I needed to contact my fellow Council members and make them aware of the situation with Albray. I was able to go into a deep trance state and connect with my sisters, but if Albray had been programmed to do me harm, he would predict this action and my body would be a sitting duck whilst my consciousness was in flight.

  My mission—to activate my station and then secure it from discovery—was now seriously compromised. I half-expected that Albray had fled into the labyrinth. Still, only I knew where the entry point to my Signet station was, and I was the key that granted access and activation. If I succeeded in activating my station and drawing down the Triogenes pyramid attached, then I could access Giza via Signet Station Four, whose pyramid, Thoth, had already been activated by Lilith. This course of action would kill two birds with one stone. For when I had completed this mission, I would collapse the outer labyrinth to ensure that my Signet station could not be entered from surface Earth. After that I could gain access from any of the other Signet stations, Giza primarily.

  I dearly hoped that my hunch concerning my husband was wrong and I would not encounter him en route to Meridan station. Albray’s travel sword was missing from our luggage and his skill with his chosen weapon was a primary concern for me. I could only hope that we were not forced into a position of discovering who the swifter warrior was.

  CHAPTER 6

  THOTH—GIZA

  At Giza is the pyramid of Thoth,

  the trickster,

  the Keeper of Time and

  Master of the Game.

  Within the Hall of Records

  human consciousness is calibrated

  and higher experience stored

  to fuel the planetary consciousness

  for the return of the Sphere

  and the opening of Amenti.

  The first of the twelve pyramids,

  Giza is the base station to all the matrix.

  It is the geographical timepiece of Earth

  that perpetuates the illusion of the cycles of time.

  TAMAR DEVERE—KALI

  My rescued kinsman, Ishkur, accompanied Polaris and me through the porthole from Mamer that led to the outer chamber of the Amenti complex beneath Giza. This chamber contained three inter-dimensional passages: one to the cavern of Mamer in the physical world; one to the Otherworldly realm of the Anu, which existed in the higher astral plane; and the third to the Underworld, frequented by the Nefilim and Dracon, which existed in the lower etheric realms. This last porthole only permitted passage into the Underworld as the vibratory rate of the chamber was too high for any low-grade entity to pass through it and survive. The vibratory rate inside the Giza complex would have to drop dramatically for any of the Nefilim and their lowlife minions to gain access to Amenti, especially now that the Hall of Records had been opened. The Giza ante-chamber also provided entry to the Amenti complex, which my parents had opened before I was born.

  This was as far as Ishkur could go, for none of the Nefilim were ever permitted to enter Amenti, even though the primary entrance to the Hall of Amorea was situated therein. In order to reach Sirius B, where the rest of the Anu race were evolving their emotional beings, Ishkur would have to take the porthole siutated within the realm of the Anu to the Hall of Amorea and pass through the Earth’s core. Thus it was that we found Lugh Lamhfada awaiting us to guide Ishkur on that journey.

  Lugh was a great prince among my people. He too had once been one of the fallen, but as a son of En Ki he had secretly studied the teachings of Kianism and, like Mathu and me, had eventually overcome his Orme addiction to become a leader among the Anu on Earth. He had led many of the fallen away from the Nefilim centres in the Near East and settled them in Ireland, where they became the mighty Tuatha Dé Danaan.

  Tumaz! Ishkur was amazed to see his long-lost cousin. As they were both composed of the same astral matter, they embraced as brothers.

  I have not gone by that name in a long, long time, Lugh said, h
olding his cousin at arm’s length and looking him up and down, pleased to see him restored to his former Anunnaki self.

  Ra then? Or Marduk? Ishkur scanned his memory for his cousin’s many identities, but Lugh shook his head. What then?

  I am known as Lugh Lamhfada. The Anu warrior knew the news would sting a little.

  You are Lamhfada! Ishkur could barely believe he was standing before the leader of the Anu, who had been ambushing the Nefilim agenda for all recorded history. They have no idea who you are, he assured Lugh and then laughed. Heaven help you if they ever find out.

  Heaven does help me. Lugh motioned to the captain and me. Heaven helps us all, even those as lost as yourself.

  Ishkur smiled at the truth of it.

  Are you ready to go home now, cousin? Lugh motioned to the porthole that led to his dominion.

  If I can be of no more aid. Ishkur looked to us and we assured him he was free to go.

  Lugh bowed to me. Excellent work, Your Highness.

  ‘I know you will see our cousin safely home,’ I said, proud of my one-time brother. ‘Your assistance is always greatly appreciated, Lugh Lamhfada.’

  I am your humble servant. Lugh’s smile was full of cheek and flirtation.

  He was just like his younger brother, Mathu, and my desire to find my prince spurred me into action. I headed into the Amenti complex.

  ‘We have your father contained here,’ Polaris told me, now that we were alone.

  ‘Why here?’ I thought this a grave breach of security.

  ‘Arcturus handed himself in as soon as he realised he’d become a risk,’ Polaris said, defending my father, which was one for the books. ‘And now that I know for certain Sabine Labontè did not instil in him a command to ambush the Amenti Project, he is no longer a danger to us.’

  ‘What about next time Ishtar decides she wants her toy boy?’ I said. ‘Is this perverse arrangement you have with my father to be ongoing?’

  ‘Ishtar!’ Polaris hadn’t been able to recognise my kin as easily as I did. ‘Are you sure?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Oh dear.’ Polaris feared for Arcturus’s ability to resist the seduction techniques of the goddess of desire, who was once the very embodiment of beauty.

  ‘And what about my mother?’ I asked. ‘When does she get told about this?’

  ‘Ah yes.’ Polaris scratched his head. ‘We need to speak with you about that.’

  ‘I’m sure you do. But right now I need to see Denera. I want her to consult the Hall of Records for me,’ I finished, answering his query before he could ask it.

  He pointed down past the glowing limestone walls of the labyrinth towards where the Hall of Records was located.

  The hall was shaped like a keyhole, rounded at the entrance end, with a long passageway extending from the opposite side of the chamber. The walls, floors and ceiling appeared nonexistent upon first viewing, and touching them felt like dipping your hands in thick tepid water.

  ‘Liquid light,’ I said in recognition. The substance was a medium for a good part of the time-space technologies of the Ceres, along with their huge crystal generators.

  All of Amenti’s staff had been chosen from among the Ceres race, bar myself and my absent mate, who were both Anunnaki. Back on Tara, the Ceres race had evolved beyond material existence to become guardians to humanity—as above then so below. My people, the Anunnaki, were seen as the enemy of humanity as a few rogues among them were deemed largely responsible for the catastrophe on Tara and the fall of humanity into this lowest harmonic universe. To atone for this wrong, and those continuing it on this planet, I, Kali, Queen of the Anunnaki people, had volunteered to join the Amenti Project to aid in bringing home all the fallen souls of our people.

  I could roughly judge the height of the chamber by the long oblong porthole inset in the wall at the far end of the hall opposite. The portal was deep green in colour, partially reflective and still—like the undisturbed surface of a pond. In the centre of the rounded part of the chamber was a circular mound of solid emerald that rose to waist height. Inset in the milky-white crystal floor of the chamber in front of the emerald mound was a black metallic circular plate. When anyone stood on the plate, a band of emerald green light enclosed them inside a light tube—this was the telepathic shield that ensured only one person controlled the Hall of Records at any given time.

  Denera, keeper of the Higher Akasha, and her partner, Zalman, who maintained the Lower Akashic, were deep in conversation when Polaris and I entered the Hall of Records. The instant they saw us, they stopped and gave me their full attention.

  ‘Welcome, Kali, to Signet Station Four, host to the Hall of Records and the Amenti complex,’ said Denera. She had once been known as Lilith, but went by her Ceres name since joining the staff of Amenti. ‘I am mistress of this station whose pyramid resonates to the frequency of Thoth, the master of illusion, and therefore the cycles of time.’

  My heart skipped a beat; Thoth was one of the names my prince had been known by in Earth’s ancient past.

  ‘I know what you are thinking, Kali,’ Denera cautioned, ‘but Mathu borrowed the name of this station’s pyramid during the thousands of years he worked, studied and taught here. It was from this very control room that he shut down the Signet Grid and banished the Hall of Records to the astral realms before the demise of Atlantis.’

  ‘So the soul of my prince is in no way connected to this station?’

  It was difficult to suppress my disappointment when Denera shook her head.

  ‘However, what is connected to this station is five other Signet stations,’ she said with a grin.

  Gaia was the primary Signet station to which all the other stations needed to connect. The labyrinth here housed the Arc of the Covenant porthole passage, which was currently hosting the Sphere of Amenti, inside which burned the Blue Flame. The Blue Flame resonated to the frequency of the higher harmonic universe that Tara belonged to. It protected the evolutionary blueprint of humanity and fed the high-frequency energy through the Earth’s natural grid to the other Signet stations. Once a Signet station was activated, the celestial pyramid attached to it was as well; and each pyramid contained the stargate to the home planet of the guardian council assigned to protect that Signet station. If anyone but the true key-holder attempted to activate a station, the portal would be shut down by the guardian council, or could even be remotely destroyed as a very last resort.

  My fallen kindred, the Nefilim, were well aware of the Signet Grid and, having failed in their attempts to activate one of the stations, had since been developing ways of damming the matrix in places. To do this, they had developed the dark arts, using the blood sacrifice of innocents to summon demons from the lower planes of awareness into focused areas on the globe. The evil forms then spread evil thoughts and deeds among the Earth’s inhabitants, which lowered the harmonic frequency of the area and created a dark blockage in the Earth’s natural grid system through which light and energy could not flow.

  ‘You have opened half of the Signet stations already?’ I said, pleased they were so far advanced in their mission. Inwardly, however, I was concerned to learn I had less time to make good on my promises of finding Mathu and steering my fallen kindred back towards their soul source.

  ‘That is correct,’ Denera replied. ‘And you are here to consult the Hall of Records with regard to your search for Mathu.’ But instead of helping me as I’d hoped, she shook her head.

  ‘I need a clue,’ I implored her.

  ‘I would help you, child, if I could. I have tried!’ she said. ‘But so far as your Mathu is concerned, there is a void.’ She sounded frustrated. ‘It is as if the planetary records have been altered and all traces of Mathu’s existence removed.’

  ‘Please, no.’ My first horrid thought was that my prince had incarnated, and that the Dracon had got to him first with one of their soul-shattering devices.

  ‘I did it,’ a voice announced. It was Levi, overhearing our conversation a
s he approached with a replacement for the weapon I had lost to Erragal. ‘I hacked into the planetary consciousness on Thoth’s—or rather, Mathu’s—behalf.’

  Denera looked shocked. ‘When?’

  ‘In a past life, before the Hall of Records was elevated beyond the physical world,’ Levi explained casually and handed me my weapon. ‘Try not to lose this one.’

  ‘Why didn’t you mention this before now?’ Denera sounded annoyed; finding Mathu was a high priority.

  ‘To tell you the truth I’d forgotten all about it until you mentioned it just then,’ Levi said, and then he broke into a smile. ‘The scribe probably planned it just so.’

  ‘Then how am I meant to find my prince?’ I implored the technologist. ‘I thought I would know in my heart when I’d found him, but I do not.’

  Levi was staring at me with a dazed look of revelation. ‘Déjà vu,’ he said, recovering his wits. ‘Thoth said he would leave a marker by which you could identify him.’

  I was filled with hope, and took hold of Levi’s arm. ‘Please tell me you know what this marker is.’

  ‘It’s a pendant,’ Levi said with a smile, happy to help, and from his mind’s eye I perceived an image of the said treasure. It was covered with hieroglyphs that I recognised: ‘He awaits beneath the lotus,’ I read aloud. It made little sense to me.

  Levi nodded at my translation. ‘Miss Koriche gave it to me before I entered Amenti,’ he said.

  ‘Vespera,’ I gasped, for it was she who had been Miss Koriche in a past life. ‘I need to speak—’

  ‘Vespera is on her way,’ Denera said, having already telepathically requested her presence.

  I recalled reading of the pendant in Ashlee’s journals; according to her account, Thoth returned the pendant to Miss Koriche, following Levi’s departure for Amenti.

  ‘The pendant contained a small fragment of Thoth’s original form,’ Levi explained while we waited. ‘It harnessed genetic information about the great scribe that could be accessed by anyone of high psychic aptitude, such as ourselves.’