by Brian Rella
The Watchers knew. They had always been and always would be the only counter to the forces of the Second Death that fought to reenter and conquer this realm. The Watchers were the only guardians of this world and had been since before recorded time.
Tarek thought of all these things as he ascended the winding stairwell from the bottom of the plant. By the time he reached the top, his legs ached. He slipped on his leather jacket and headed outside.
Gravel littered with the colors of fall lined the road to the power plant. Tarek mounted his motorcycle, kick-started the engine, and pointed himself toward the main road. Chicago was a little more than an hour away.
His Fatboy rumbled down the hill, kicking gravel from under its treaded tires until he reached the paved road. The crisp air of October on his face invigorated him as he opened the bike’s throttle and sped along the winding road.
Falling leaves swirled on a gentle breeze along the road like the thoughts swirling around in his mind. A girl, but not a girl. A woman traveling under the name Jessie or Karen. The pictures Brennan had sent of the mother and daughter played like a slide show behind his eyes. Blond hair and blue eyes, the both of them. No real description of what the girl might look like now, but somewhere in between the two, he imagined. She carried the book of Arraziel and was likely here in search of Pasmet. Who was this girl, and why was she trying to open the Realm of Second Death to this world? Why now? Regardless, she had to be stopped.
If the Fallen were planning an attack, the impending assault was overdue, he supposed. The Fallen always tried to escape, but their bonds held them contained for the most part. It had been too long since they had launched a major assault from the Realm of the Second Death. The world had become complacent and had forgotten about the Fallen that the Watchers imprisoned long ago. Nightmares were wantonly forgotten. The governments of the world, once allies of the Watchers, chose to ignore the cosmic threat to the world. They relegated the Watchers to the fringes of society, forgetting that their guns, bombs, and conventional weapons would not work against the Fallen. Watchers were considered more a cult than an ally these days and the world did its best to keep them in the shadows away from the public they defended. And why not? The Watchers did their job well. How many decades had it been since the last attack? Were any of the people in charge back then still around?
This battle had gone on before him and would continue after he was gone. If the world had forgotten about the malevolent forces from the Realm of the Second Death, they might be due for a reminder. The Fallen would always try to break free from their prison and enter this realm of life and light to rule it and devour it once more. At some point, some time, they would gather enough mass for another assault.
Perhaps that time was now. Perhaps the place was here.
22
JESSIE
October 17, 2015
Chicago, Illinois
Jessie exited the elevator into the plush, ambient-lit hallway. Even the hallway had her in awe with its wainscoting and elegant-looking valances lighting the hall to room 3209.
She swiped her key card in the door, opening it, and was greeted by a formal entranceway as she stepped into the penthouse.
A dimly lit chandelier reflected softly off the polished marble floor, bathing the room in elegance. More pristine wood paneling adorned the walls and smelled of fresh wood oil. Subtle classical music came from hidden speakers in the sitting room beyond the entranceway.
She entered the sitting room, the heels of her boots clicking on the glistening floor. Across the room was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows with a magnificent view of Lake Michigan that took her breath away.
From a distant place behind her, the door closed and she strolled, trance-like, to the windows. She pressed her hands to the tinted glass and her breath fogged it as she took in the autumn foliage surrounding the crystal-blue lake that seemed to have no end.
Jessie walked the length of the windows, around the plush furniture, and toward the double doors that led to the bedroom, never taking her eyes off of the view. She’d never experienced a northern city like this before, nor had she ever seen such extravagances. Places like this were out of reach for a girl like Jessie. Even her imaginative mind had never dreamed such images of breathtaking beauty. She was in awe of her surroundings. Just a few days ago, she had been in Beauchamp with her neglectful mother and abusive surrogate family. How things had changed. Stumbling upon the old woman Olga had changed her luck. She no longer needed books to escape her miserable existence. Olga and her books of magic allowed her to conjure Arraziel, avenge her tormentors, and embark on a new leg of her life’s journey.
Not luck, princess. Destiny.
Jessie pushed open the double doors to the bedroom and fell into the soft luxurious bed. She closed her eyes and instantly fell into a deep, dreaming sleep.
In her dream, she walked along a black and barren land. Scorched earth lay beneath her bare feet. She glanced down and saw gray-black dust on her pale white feet and ankles. It felt powdery, soft, and warm between her toes.
In the distance, she heard a familiar cadence. A rhythmic beat that grew louder as she wandered the desolate land. The setting sun turned the sky to pastel colors and cast long, dark shadows over the land in front of her. A large shadow emerged from among them, ten feet tall, surrounded by an amethyst hue. As she drew closer, the beat in her ears grew louder and quickened. The shadowy shape vibrated in sync with the thrumming beat and the ground reverberated with the thunderous pounding.
Light faded and darkness covered the land as the sun dipped below the horizon. The only light came from the tall beating shape she was approaching. Awash in its purple radiance, the shape took form, and became the enormous heart she had dreamed of before. Her pace quickened as it tugged on her, pulling her in. Standing in front of it, she wrapped her arms around and felt its warmth and vibration move through her. She closed her eyes, the drum of the heart making her skin quiver. Her body and mind relaxed into its rhythm and something stirred within her soul. She ached for it.
Then the deep, ominous voice of her King, spoke to her.
My princess.
My King. Where am I?
You are in my dream, and I in yours.
How can I be in your dream? What are you?
I am He who will free you, princess.
But I am free. I am away from—
Beware, my princess. You are not safe. Others seek to harm you, but I will protect you.
Who? Why?
Watchers. The ones that have exiled me and my kind. They are watching you too, Jessie. They think you are dangerous and wish to harm you. They think you are weak and can be controlled. But they are wrong. They do not know you as I do.
But why? Why me? I am no one.
You don’t realize the power you have, princess, but I will help you realize your abilities and fulfill your destiny.
Together we will destroy those that wish to harm us and reclaim your world for our kind. But we must be strong and fight. We must build an army to combat the usurpers. With your help, I will return, and together you and I shall rule over them all…forever.
What army? How can I raise an army? I’m just a –
You have already begun, princess, by awakening Arraziel. You must continue and raise more of my spawn so I may return.
Arraziel. He takes my life from me. He makes me old.
He needs to feed, princess, but not from you. You will let him feed on those that wish to harm you.
What is he, my King? What are you?
I am the Heart of all Ages, the Leech of the Aeons. I am the father of giants and demons of all times. Arraziel is my spawn, as is Pasmet, and the others you shall free from this prison of the Second Death.
Why have you been imprisoned, Nalsuu, my King? Who has done this to you?
In time, my princess, you shall know all. For now, remember I am with you, watching over you, protecting you, and when I return, we will rule together as one.
&n
bsp; But how? You are here, in my dream. This is not real… This is a dream…
The heart’s tendril-like veins squirmed and coiled around Jessie. They held her gently in an eerie, sensual embrace, pulling her closer to the throbbing heart. They slithered against her skin and dozens of tiny pins pinched her, breaking the skin on her arms, legs, back, chest. She gasped and moaned as she felt something enter her.
I am with you always, princess.
Yes, my King.
Rest now, Jessie. Lie with me, and let me fill you with my vitality and strength.
Impassioned cries escaped Jessie as Nalsuu’s many mouths kissed her deeply.
When you awake, you will find Pasmet and free him.
Yes, Nalsuu. I will, my King.
In her dream, Jessie slept, wrapped in the coiled embrace of Nalsuu. She dreamed within her dream of an endless embrace with her dark King and felt at one and at peace with him.
Jessie opened her eyes, suddenly awake, back in her room. Three days had passed, she knew, and she felt revitalized and renewed. The image of the Heart stayed with her. She could still feel Nalsuu’s grip on her and the places on her body where her King had kissed her. She knew what she had to do. The plan had been bubbling in the back of her mind since the day she had left Beauchamp and now her King had confirmed in her dream what she knew she must do all along.
Find Pasmet and set him free.
23
TAREK
October 20, 2015
Chicago, Illinois
Tarek’s Harley rumbled off the I-90 exit for Ohio Street East. He was nearly to North Michigan Avenue, but he hadn’t heard from Brennan since they spoke over an hour ago.
The 800 block of North Michigan Avenue. Where would she be?
Tarek racked his brain trying to figure out where a fourteen-year-old girl in the body of an older woman would go on the Magnificent Mile. It was famous for shopping and food and other attractions, but he had no idea where she might go. All he knew was she had gotten out of a taxi in the middle of Chicago.
Brennan and Frank seemed to believe she was after Pasmet; that she was unlocking doors for the Second Death to enter this world. But how did they know for sure?
What if she was under the influence of some dark force from the Realm of the Second Death? What if that force was manipulating her like Amon-Gorloth had done to him so many years ago?
Or what if she wasn’t here to retrieve Pasmet at all? What if Brennan and Frank were wrong? What if she was just an abused girl that had found her way out of a bad situation using whatever means she had? Could it be possible? Could it be that she had used Arraziel to get out of her abusive home and left, not to resurrect another Fallen, but to live a new life? What if she went far away to Chicago not to find Pasmet, but to start over?
She would look different and not like the fourteen-year-old girl everyone knew. It would be easy to disappear and reinvent herself. Tarek tried to remember what it was like to be fourteen. Fourteen-year-olds were not so calculating, were they? They were rash. They made decisions based on emotion and feeling and instinct. What if Jessie had snapped and used Arraziel to free herself from a life of victimhood? What if she was not completely psychotic, and was just a troubled girl?
As Tarek made the left turn onto North Michigan Avenue, he decided he would give her a chance at absolution like he had been given. He couldn’t just destroy her. He had to know for sure. He had to know she meant to bring forth the Second Death to this realm before he would destroy a child.
I will give her the chance that was given me. A chance for redemption.
There was a church on East Chestnut that used to be a safe house for Watchers. He turned right onto East Chestnut and parked in front of the Presbyterian Church. The Gothic building stood out among the high-rise, high-end hotels and restaurants around it. Green ivy grew up the sides and front of the ancient building, holding onto the old concrete and mortar of the Church, its leaves fading with the season.
Tarek went inside and walked up the aisle to the front of the church, the aromatic scent of incense filling his nose as he settled into the quiet of a middle pew. Back home, under the Great Lake where he guarded the imprisoned Pasmet, he was able to sense shifts in the energy that were far away. Here in the middle of the city, his psychic senses were bombarded with images and feelings of the people and forces around him. Focusing his energy, he opened himself to what he was sensing, concentrating on the image of the girl, hoping to pick up something that would lead him to her.
He closed his eyes and reached out with his feelings. Jessie. Where are you?
24
FRANK
November 2, 1983
Hudson Highlands, New York
“Jason,” Shizu said, “your son has the gift. His visions will only become more vivid and powerful as he matures and his power grows. He must be trained to control his abilities. If he does not train, he may fall into the hands of the followers of the Second Death. I have seen it before. Please let us help him.”
“You understand how mad this sounds? The Realm of the Second Death, sorcery. This is…is…unbelievable.”
“And yet, you have seen it with your own eyes. Glak'xhohr failed once, but he will try again. He will not stop. None of the Fallen will stop until they return to this world and conquer this realm. We stand between them and humanity, preventing their chaos and destruction.
“Their desire to return will not stop. If it is not Glak'xhohr, it will be another. The threat is real. Please, for the boy, you must allow us to train him.”
“And what about us? What are we to do? I have another boy, Shizu. Shall we all live here inside this mountain in the woods? Or would you have me leave my oldest son with you? Maybe I could get a weekend visitor’s pass to the Watcher’s Training School?”
“Jason,” Robin said. “I won’t leave him here. If he stays, I stay.”
Frank shifted in his mother’s lap and squeezed her neck. “Sorry, Mama,” he said.
“This is not your fault, baby. This is… It’s no one’s fault… We just…” She didn’t finish, she just pressed him to her chest and he burrowed into her bosom, blinking away tears. He didn’t want to close his eyes. When he closed his eyes, he saw the enormous beating purple heart and the veins with the scary mouths, and he didn’t want to see that anymore.
“You are all welcome to stay,” Shizu said. “But you should know that the training will be hard on him and you. You will see things few humans have seen. You will feel frightened for your son and want to protect him, but his learning is his only protection. You must trust us.”
The room got quiet and Frank felt the tension around him. He snuggled his mother as the tears continued to fall.
They wouldn’t leave me, right? They wouldn’t leave me here. Shizu is a nice man and so are the others, but I want Mommy and Daddy and David to stay with me. If they go, they wouldn’t be safe from the monsters either. Only Shizu and his friends can keep us safe. My family should stay here with me if I have to stay so they’re safe too.
“Mama, you have to stay,” Frank said. “The monsters would get you out there.”
Robin glanced down at Frank, her face a frown of emotion. She tried to say something to him, but her lower lip quivered and no words came. She squeezed him instead and he squeezed her back.
David stirred in the other bed. Jason went over, sat down on the floor next to the bed, and stroked his youngest son’s hair.
“He’s right,” Jason said. “If we leave, what’s to stop those things from coming after us to get to Frank?”
“Nothing,” Maza said. “And they will come. We can protect you here, but out there you’re on your own.”
Shizu looked around the room and his eyes fell on Frank. There was hope in his expression. The blue energy around him pulsated as he and Frank stared at each other. Frank felt comfortable and safe in the Temple, but he needed his family to stay too.
“You will all stay then,” Shizu said. “And you, young one,”
he said, bending down on one knee, “training starts tomorrow. Wait until you see what you can do,” he said, smiling.
Frank stared back at him and felt his stomach turn over. He leaned over, and vomited on the floor.
25
JESSIE
October 20, 2015
Chicago, Illinois
Jessie glanced at the alarm clock next to the bed. It was 7:01 PM. She was rested and ravenous. She walked to the bathroom to get a glass of water, her hand unconsciously moving to her arm, where she felt an itch. Her finger touched something soft and moist just above her wrist. She glanced down at her arm.
Bite marks.
Gazing at herself in the bathroom mirror, she took off her shirt. Small bite marks covered her arms, chest, shoulders, and back. Specks of lime-green liquid were dried around each bite.
“The kiss of Nalsuu,” she said, trance-like to the mirror.
Nerves gripped her stomach. She felt queasy and needed to clean herself off. She stripped, flipped on the shower, and jumped in while the water was still cold. The cold water ran over her body, making her shiver, and waking her from her dazed state. The water warmed. She grasped the soap and half-heartedly washed her arms and chest, her mind focused more on her dream than on what she was doing.
She dried herself and went to the bed, still naked. Images played in her head, distracting her, and getting in her way. She bumped her leg on the side of the wooden bed frame, winced in pain, and hissed. “Ouch, damn it!” The jolt of pain pulled her from her daydream and her mind was finally moving again. She had to find Pasmet. Free him, her King had said. From where, and from what? Another book? Wait… The book of Arraziel. The map!