Attrition of the Gods: Book 1 of the Mystery Thriller series Gods Toys.

by P. G. Burns

  “Do not be alarmed. This pope, like many of your leaders and their predecessors, is a pawn in a game. He has supported a Djinn called Reuben Lupas, the aforementioned ‘mankind’s worst enemy’. I will replace him with a more benevolent and less accepting man, someone who is not aware of our presence, if I can ever find one is this den of iniquity. So, back to the book.”

  Leo’s mind seemed to transcend from his body as he witnessed a new scene.

  “This is 1944 and Italy has recently signed an armistice with the Allies.”

  Leo saw a tall man with tight black curls sneaking through the streets of Rome. He carried a parcel under his arm that Leo guessed must be the book. The man entered St Peter’s Square, looking around as if worried he was being followed.

  “This is Isaac,” Simeon explained.

  Isaac entered the church and shouted, “Raphael, are you here?”

  From behind the altar stepped a man wearing a very loud turquoise zoot suit, a fedora hat and French-style pointy shoes.

  “Shush, we will be heard! You know the rules. I shouldn’t be meeting with you and this place is full of Reuben’s spies,” said the strangely dressed man.

  “As if you don’t stand out enough,” said Isaac as he looked Raphael up and down. “I have a book. You must hide it.” Isaac pulled the book from the parcel he carried.

  “What’s in it?” asked Raphael.

  “This is an account of transactions and loans I have made with countries all over the world, financing wars and revolutions, industrial growth and loans to both sides in this skirmish.”

  Raphael laughed at Isaac calling the Second World War a mere “skirmish”.

  “Amitiel told me you had a network of Jews running all that for you. She says you were on the brink of winning the Host.”

  “Yes, very nearly, but now Reuben has his little dictator slaughtering every Jew in Europe. He is gassing millions to make sure he wipes out anyone allied to me. Surely you must interfere?”

  “Killing humans is not against the rules, Isaac. You are in danger of sounding like Simeon.”

  Leo frowned. Simeon? The same Simeon as the man in front of him now? And what were they saying? Discussing the near extermination of the Jews as if it was a mere petty violation of rules in some perverse game!

  “However,” continued the turquoise-clad Raphael in the church, “I agree that six million Jews killed to assure he gets the handful working for you could be considered overkill – in the truest sense of the word. But I suspect he may have an alternate reason for this genocide, a suspicion I cannot share with you at this stage. I guess your claim is that he will have too much of an advantage if he has your book.”

  “The book. What was so damned important about this book,” thought Leo.

  The vision seemed to pause and as if in answer to his question Simeon cut in. “Let me explain. Over the last two hundred years Isaac has used his knowledge and bloodline to create the world banking system as we know it. In that book is not only the location of tons of gold, but also numbers that correlate to accounts in Switzerland and South Africa. By 1936 Isaac controlled fifty per cent of the gold and diamonds in the world. Every nation, every international company, every bank owes Isaac money. The Allies and the Axis have funded their war by borrowing money from one institution or another, all owned by Isaac.

  “Isaac has a great mind but still he can’t remember everything, so he needed a record and certain people to keep it. By 1936 he’d created the ‘global collateral account’, which governs the world’s wealth so he could then undermine a whole country’s economy simply by calling in a debt. He uses corporations such as the central banks, the Crown and, due to a shaky alliance with Reuben, the Holy Roman Catholic Church to elicit his operation.”

  “But how could one man, or whatever you call yourselves, have that power and remain anonymous?” asked Leo.

  “For any of us to operate without revealing ourselves the Djinn have had to recruit, and sometimes create, secret societies that have been doing our work for centuries. Most famously the Templars and the Freemasons.”

  Leo asks, “Like the Illuminati?”

  “Ah yes, the Illuminati, the ‘enlightened ones’. They were actually a group of learned men who discovered clues of our existence. They opposed us and tried to save mankind so we used our propaganda tools to turn them into the evil puppet masters. I suppose they played a part a long time ago but they haven’t actually existed for two hundred years. Still, it keeps the conspiracy theorists off our backs.

  “We call these groups our brethren. We select one or more senior members to be our contacts. These brethren are pawns but they are well rewarded to follow instructions and front our operations. Isaac used the Jewish Zionist brethren as his chosen people to run his financial institutions.

  “Keeping secrets is easy within a secret society, especially one with a secret language or at least an ancient language only understood by a select few. Isaac allotted code numbers to each operation. These codes and other data would reveal vast stores of wealth, such as gold dumps storing over 360,000 tons of the stuff, in hidden tunnels all over the world. Then there are many promissory notes signed by kings and emperors. He has land deeds for whole territories, even priceless artworks and other plunder from wars, all in the book.

  “But since Isaac disappeared sixty years ago these debts have lain idle and the people running the societies have started to believe the debts are void. That is a problem on its own but what will be worse is if one of the surviving Djinn gets their hands on the book. With the codes and accounts they could control the whole world’s economy. I need to find that book and then you need to help me decipher the codes so we can get hold of this wealth.”

  So far Leo had not seen or heard anything that would lead him to willingly assist this man to acquire such extreme wealth.

  “Surely you are one of the Djinn you talk of? I have no desire to help you obtain this wealth!”

  “Trust me, I have no use for the money, but you want to know why you should help me, Leo? I will show you.”

  A short sharp flash plunged Leo back into the vision. Raphael and Isaac were still talking about the book and Reuben Lupas.

  “What he has done to root out my brethren is beyond belief!” said Isaac “I put up with his pogroms and ghettos but this extermination is vile. He must be stopped.”

  “You really are beginning to sound like Simeon,” sighed Raphael. “They are only humans after all.”

  “Maybe Simeon was right, this game is becoming a farce. It should have ended centuries ago. Humans are different now. We can’t treat them as insignificant.”

  Raphael looks disapprovingly at Isaac.

  “And how many died throughout the Crusades when you aligned with Reuben to wipe out Ben’s tribe?”

  Isaac shakes his head. “I am not saying I’m a human lover but they deserve better than this. If you could see what my eyes see you would understand.”

  Isaac and Raphael shared a vision, one that Leo was also privy to. The pictures in Leo’s mind focused on a macabre event. He was witnessing two nurses and a doctor operating on beautiful twin girls no more than three or four. The girls were unconscious, side by side on the same bed. Leo assumed these would be victims of war and he prepared to witness horrendous injuries. He took in a deep breath and then… his fists clenched; a far worse scenario was unfolding. The two perfectly healthy and formed children were having their arms amputated, one her left, the other her right. The surgeon then sewed the two bodies together at the open wounds, creating a Siamese-type join. It was an experiment even the surgeon did not understand the purpose of but he seemed happy enough to follow the instructions of the man known as Reuben.

  At this point Leo realised who the surgeon was. Chillingly average looking, a dark-haired man with a small gap between his teeth. He would not be recognised by everyone but Leo had his face engraved on his memory by his father’s teachings, a man he referred to as the Angel of Death. This was the infa
mous Joseph Mengele.

  As if his mind had a fast-forward mode Leo now saw these poor children post op, screaming in pain as the stitching that fused them together pushed poisonous pus from the wounds. Still, Leo felt someone else close by was in even more pain. A scan of the room showed a distraught woman tied to a chair, forced to watch her children suffer without the chance to offer comfort. A young nurse entered in a white uniform with shoulder-length hair and lovely blue eyes. Leo guessed she was mid-twenties, quite pretty really, and hope rose in his heart that help was at hand. The nurse looked at the children, inspecting their wounds. She smiled at them, and it was a kind smile, before she filled out the board by their bed. She then turned to leave.

  “Why? Why are you doing this to my babies?” pleaded the woman. Her words were barely audible, but she managed to speak loudly with her eyes and they were begging.

  The pretty little nurse with the blue eyes sneered at the pitiful mother.

  “Filthy Jew, your snivelling, selfish kind deserves everything they get!” Her words spat out; her face, no longer pretty, was contorted with absolute hate.

  The image thankfully faded away and Leo tried to speak, to beg Simeon to stop, but he was still in the first vision with Raphael and Isaac. It was obvious Raphael had witnessed the scene of the twins for the first time as well as he shook his head in disgust.

  “Okay, I see. Reuben must be reeled in. But it has to be within the rules.”

  Isaac was aghast. “Reeled in! For fuck’s sake, are we actually demons? Reuben thinks he can create some sort of mutant human for him to occupy. I have heard he plans full-scale dehumanising, even crossbreeding! And along with these sick experiments there is the mindless slaughter!”

  “These things are regrettable and unsavoury but not against the rules,” remarked Raphael, sounding embarrassed.

  “Okay, well, I am also sure he took Joseph’s amulet and then killed him… and he must have killed the others too. Surely killing Djinn is against the rules! This must stop! You are a Watcher, you can remove him.”

  “I am an Arc Hon. I can do anything. Can you prove that he took it? Or that he is the one killing Djinn?”

  “No, of course not, but you know it is him. He is killing Djinn and stealing their amulets so they don’t return to testify. I always believed we made up the myth of Satan to scare the humans but now I think maybe he really is amongst us.”

  Raphael was pondering. Leo realised he was obviously no fan of this Reuben character.

  “Amitiel told me of Simeon’s plan for a human competitor,” Isaac continued. “I believe he was right. Only a few Djinn remain and we will all surely suffer the same fate as the rest. Simeon was smart enough to renew and now I understand why.”

  Raphael looked concerned. “Surely you are not thinking of doing the same?”

  Isaac didn’t answer; instead he lobbied Raphael. “Will you do this for me? Will you hide the book?”

  “Yes, okay, I will,” replied Raphael and in return handed him a small star-shaped gem. “Here, you will need this when you want it back. I will hide the book well.”

  “Thank you, Raphael. I am to head for Venice. I can only hope Reuben does not break with our sanctuary rules.”

  The vision passed and Simeon spoke out loud to Leo again. “The gem he passed to Isaac is called a spell. It is Djinn technology. I am guessing it will be a divining tool to find the book, or maybe a key to open the place it is hidden. We need to find that gem.”

  Leo was beginning to feel a bit hysterical.

  “You keep saying we. Why am I involved? What has all this got to do with me?”

  “The thirteen came here to compete in a game. The victor could stay and rule humankind, lead them into enlightenment as the Arc Hon led us. I realise how this sounds but we are eons more advanced than you. We looked upon humans the same way you look at animals.”

  Leo felt anger stir in him. “Yes, I can see that.”

  “I understand how you feel and as time went on some of us realised our mistake. I am not trying to convince you that I am any different, but trust me, we need to stop the Djinn known as Reuben Lupas. If he wins the game and becomes the Host it will bring more misery and pain to the human race than they have ever known. You have seen what happened the last time he made his play, which is nothing compared to what will occur if he ever triumphs.

  “I realised this centuries ago and proposed that your race should have an opportunity to win the game themselves. I was denied then but you’ve just heard Isaac second that opinion. With two Djinn agreeing to it, the High Council and the Arc Hon have had to allow this. The humans now have a chance to win their world back but it may be too late if Reuben gets that book.”

  Simeon paused to look at Leo intently. “Can you really say no to helping me?”

  And so this was how it began. Leo was sacrificing everything he had in life: his home, his marriage and his family. He knew that soon it would also be his freedom and one day his life. But the more Simeon taught him about the Djinn and the Arc Hon, the more he knew he had no other choice.

  Stoke Prison

  “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

  Oscar Wilde

  Shane has been listening to Leo’s fantasies for nearly six months now. He is amazed at the old man’s imagination: Djinn, amulets, global conspiracies! Shane never questions the stories that Leo spins; in fact, he enjoys listening to them. As far as he is concerned everyone in the slammer seems to be a bullshitter so he might as well listen to good bullshit. Not that he thinks it is all bullshit; he knows Leo genuinely believes what he is saying, but by the fact he is here at all it’s clear he’s had some sort of breakdown and lost his grip on reality. Shane knows that the bit about working for the Pope is true. He is also aware that Leo was a very intelligent man, who spoke several languages and was some sort of maths genius, although surprisingly not too good at chess. But the stories were definitely becoming more far-fetched.

  “We should write this all down in a book,” says Shane. “Get it published and make a few bob.”

  The otherwise perfectly sane Leo loses it. “Are you fucking crazy?” Leo screams at Shane, jumping out of his chair and accidently throwing the table over, chess pieces spilling all over the room. Shane leaped up, startled by the old man’s sudden wrath.

  “Wow, hold on there, bald eagle! I was just joshing with you. Fucking hell, calm down.”

  The guards walk over but Shane waves them away as he tries to calm Leo.

  “Don’t panic, just a little misunderstanding.”

  The two guards nod, leaving the men to sort out their dispute. Leo sits timidly as Shane picks up the chess pieces.

  “I know you think these are the ramblings of a madman,” says Leo. “But one day, probably soon, you will know what I say is true. I pray that it will not be too late for you when your eyes finally open.”

  “I don’t think you’re mad, old man, well, I didn’t until this little sissy fit, but look, I’m sorry, I wouldn’t purposely offend you.”

  Leo accepts the apology and offers his own. He is truly sorry and knows it is a lot to ask of Shane to believe these outlandish accounts without the evidence he had seen first-hand. He is aware that Shane is just humouring him, too polite to tell him that he is a mental case. However, Shane does listen and can repeat every event Leo describes. This is the best Leo can expect for now at least when the time comes he will have some idea. That is, once he recovers from the shock that it is all true.

  Shane decides he must be more considerate with what he says. He likes the old man and doesn’t want to upset him. Anyway, who knows, it might all be true… He thinks for a minute then makes a note to himself: You got to start hanging out with some other dudes.

  But he didn’t. Instead he began asking questions. If he was going to listen to the old man he might as well test him.

  “How is it that these Djinn guys live all these years? I mean you’re talking thousands of years in human form? They got to have a
face like Keith Richards’ ball sack, if you know what I mean. All fucking wrinkles and that!”

  Shane laughs at his own joke in a juvenile display, his shoulders bouncing involuntarily as he holds his side.

  Leo ignores his childish giggles. “They possess different human bodies. The Djinn may seem magical but really it is just advanced science. They are sentient beings with no carbon form so to live among us they take over a male body….”

  “Does it have to be male? I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a woman for a day. Imagine the possibilities!”

  “They choose males because men can sire more children in a lifetime than a woman can give birth to.”

  “Why are they bothered about having children?”

  Leo rubs his face. “It appears that part of the game is to spread their DNA as far as possible. If you carry Djinn DNA in your bloodline then they have a certain amount of power over you.”

  “So they just fuck all our women, spread their seed and rule our minds? That’s how they win this game? Jesus!”

  Leo smiles at how Shane simplifies things. “Yes, in a nutshell that seems to be it. And the boys need to be pre-teen, between ten and thirteen.”

  “Really?” says Shane. “Because that is starting to sound a bit dodgy.”

  “Not really. Simeon told me this is because the Djinn life-form is contained in the pineal gland of the body it possesses. Apparently this is where the human connection to the metaphysical life force resides. Under ten they would be too immature to retain the Djinn memories and over thirteen they enter puberty, which causes certain changes in the gland, such as calcification, making it inhospitable.

  “Yeah, nobody wants to live in a lime scaled house. So then what happens?”

  “The Djinn will keep the body until it gets too old or becomes ill or perhaps they just get bored of it, then they simply transfer to another. Simeon says it is actually rather a complicated procedure, one he couldn’t really explain to me. Strangely, though, he did tell me that the rules specify that the body must be offered by the child’s parents.”