His father sat up in bed. “It’s important to get as many sacraments as you can. Be close to God.”
“But that won’t save you!” he shouted at his father. “This will!” He turned. There was a gun in his hand. He pulled the trigger and the Charlie-draugr exploded.
“Look what you did,” said the priest. “Your father only had two sacraments. Now he’s dead. Probably in Hell.”
Jae-Hoon turned back to his father. He was still. Lifeless. “What? No!” Fear crept through him. It emanated from him and devoured him.
“He wants you to join the church. You need to be close to God. You need to find His love,” said the doctor-priest.
Yes. It made sense. God had the power to save him when no one else could. He wanted love. He wanted to love God. “How?”
“Join the Church. The Theocracy will give you God. All you have to do is climb.”
“Climb?”
“Climb.”
So he climbed. He understood that he must learn all religions, not just his own. That was the law of the Theocracy. So he climbed.
He was in a valley in the Bukhansan mountains. Tired, sweating. He had climbed. And here was the monastery. He would now learn from the Buddhists.
He would become closer to God by learning their philosophy.
A draugr with a shaved head came to him. “Put your things down,” he said. “Buddhists aren’t materialists.” Jae-Hoon was carrying twelve packs, each filled with cake. He didn’t need them, so he started throwing them into the woods below him. When he ran out of packs, he threw in his clothes, too.
“Good,” said the draugr-monk. “Come with me.” He led the young boy to a room where a man sat at a computer.
“It’s a new game,” said the man. “You play as an army. You fight monsters. Wanna play?”
“But I had to throw my clothes into the valley! Why do you get a computer!” Jae-Hoon shouted.
“Relax,” said the draugr-monk. “The war is over.”
“And the Church?”
“There is no more Church,” said a voice. He turned to see a man in a mirror, dressed like a general. Jae-Hoon was scared. The soldiers killed God. What could he do now? How could he find Him without the Church?
“What happened to God?”
“You killed him,” said the man in the mirror, who was now a dead draugr. There was a spike in Jae-Hoon’s hand. He threw this into the mirror. “You can’t find him. He’s dead.”
“There’s another Church,” said the computer-monk.
“Then that’s what I need,” said Jae-Hoon.
“But it’s the wrong one,” said the dead draugr. “Do you want to betray your God with the Armageddonists?”
“You already killed him,” said the computer-monk. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“You’ll be okay,” pleaded the draugr in the mirror, who had come back to life. “Just wake up.”
“Wake up,” said the computer monk, who was now dressed like the Supervisor. “Jae-Hoon . . .”
“Wake up! It’s okay!” Dumah pleaded, bringing him back to consciousness.
Jae-Hoon screamed then gasped for air.
The dream reeled through his head. He sat there for a moment, his heart racing, trying to pick the reality out of the surreal. His father’s dying wish that he find God. Joining the Church to fulfill that wish. Being required to study Buddhism, only to find the monks using computers and playing war games. The end of the war and the distraught feeling that God was lost to him with the downfall of the church.
And the draugr.
Killing all those draugr. All those people . . .
“It’s okay,” shouted Dumah again. Jae-Hoon realized he was making noises. How long had it been? He was in jail. Why? He sat and thought. The mission. The Karellan’s laboratory.
The draugr. Killing all those people.
He let out a disparaging cry. He heard his voice. He understood the sound. It was the first time in nearly two weeks. “The laboratory,” he said. His voice felt thick, his throat wet and full of phlegm. He hadn’t spoken words since that night. “What you wanted me to see . . . it was . . .”
Dumah put a hand to his mouth to stop him. “Shh. Not here.” He helped Jae-Hoon to his feet. “You are correct. Now it’s time to atone. Together.”
Traveling west of Nifelheim was difficult. There were two choices when traveling on foot. They could either climb through the rocky terrain of broken roads or feel their way through tall grasses and dense bushes. Neither one had been properly maintained since the draugr appeared.
Considering the ever present danger of draugr, Zeke thought it best to stay out of the tall grass. The road was difficult to travel, even for a strong person, but it was safer than walking blind.
He was worried, though, that Ariel may not make it. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he kept asking as he carefully guided her around the rocks.
She smiled. “You’re very sweet, but I told you I’m getting stronger.”
“It’s okay if you need help,” he offered.
“It’s been ten years since I was hurt. I think I can handle walking by now.” To prove her point, she broke free of his grip and took several steps on her own. “I’m a little tired, but I made it this far, didn’t I?”
Zeke looked back. Only the shadow of upper Nifelheim was visible in the distance. They had made progress, but they still had far to go. They needed to be completely out of sight of the city to safely board an illegal transport ship.
He looked ahead. Nothing but wilderness. He could handle himself, but if draugr attacked, could he protect Ariel? “You brought the gun, right?” Before they left, he had searched Charlie’s house and picked out a small 9mm pistol for her. She was a good shot, but her derringers wouldn’t be enough. Not if they were attacked by draugr. But he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Could she even handle herself, knowing they were humans?
Yes, he decided. She had been a soldier, just like him. She had killed men before. Men who tried to attack her. It had been ages, but she knew how to stay alive.
“It’s right here,” she said, patting a small bulge under her coat.
“Good.”
“So why are we going to Rome?” she called over her shoulder. She leapt from rock to rock. Harshly. Ungracefully. Each time Zeke thought she would fall, but she never did.
“Daniel said there’s something there. Someone who might help me fight the Karellan.”
She stared back, not believing him. “You may have fooled the others, but not me. You didn’t just decide to fight. Why are we really going to Rome?”
He hesitated. Had he been lying to the others? They had all wanted him to fight. It was natural that they’d stop asking questions once he agreed to help.
Ariel was different.
“I had a dream, too.”
“About Micah?” she asked hopefully.
“Yeah. We were in Rome.” Zeke dashed lightly, catching up to her.
“I knew it!” She sounded excited. Youthful. “I just feel like he’s going to come back. Soon.”
“But there’s more. It felt like something was showing me the dream. Like there was something I was supposed to see. Something I needed to learn.” As an afterthought, he added, “And the Karellan has the book.”
“What book?”
Zeke’s eyes widened, trying to tell her without words. “You know. The book. The one from Rome. The Book of Razael.”
She lost her balance and nearly fell. “What? How? Wasn’t that lost with the city?”
He reached out his hand to steady her. “Daniel says the Karellan visits Rome all the time. He must have found it there.”
“So what does it mean?”
“It means our mission may not be over.”
The sound of an airship engine blasted in their ears. The grass at the side of the road began to blow. They looked up. A large, blocky ship floated overhead. It awkwardly floated to one side and set down in the grass by the road.
“Are you crazy, gunboy?” He pointed at the city. “They could see us.”
“That’s all right. We’re not staying long. This is our pilot.”
The second man stepped forward and offered his hand. “Name’s Jack. You must be our passenger.” He was slightly shorter than Zeke, with short brown hair. The pilot was dressed in clothes that had once been nice, but were ruffled and uncared for. Above these, he wore a leather bomber jacket. Zeke shook his hand reluctantly.
He turned to introduce himself to Ariel. She ignored him and stared at his ship. “We’re flying in that?”
Either Jack ignored the extreme doubt in her voice, or he didn’t notice it. “Sure is,” he said affectionately. “I call her Quetzalcoatl.”
“We’re going to Rome in this?” asked Zeke. He stared at the ship. It must have been a ship. There were no wings, so it wasn’t a plane. But other than that, it didn’t resemble anything he knew was capable of flight. It didn’t resemble much of anything at all. It looked like a large metal box with one end raised up.
“I’ll admit it’s no Millennium Falcon, but I find it smells better without wookie hair all over the cockpit.” His humor was lost on Zeke, who didn’t feel like laughing. Jack continued. “I’ve made a few under-the-table modifications. It’s all illegal, but this should be faster than any ship out there—except maybe the Karellan’s Adramelech.”
No one believed him. “Can a ship shaped like this really be all that fast?” asked Ariel.
Before he could answer, Daniel interrupted. “Speaking of illegal . . .” He gave an urgent nod toward the shadow of the city behind them.
“Right.” Jack turned to address the group. “The Nifelheim flight logs read that I’m carrying cargo to Pretoria, so we should probably be well out of the way before they realize that’s not happening.” He boarded his ship, followed by Daniel.
The others remained standing in disbelief. “This thing is supposed to fly?” asked Ariel.
“I guess. It got this far, didn’t it?”
“But all the way to Rome?”
The ship lifted off the ground. Jack’s voice boomed over a loud P.A. “I’m taking off. We’ll throw down a ladder. Come on!”
“Hold on tight,” Ariel advised.
The Karellan was once again standing at his window.
Jesus, how does he find the time for this? Hugin thought to himself.
As if responding to his thoughts, the overlord spoke. “Yes, Raven Hugin?”
“Sir, Uzuki has released Branderlief from prison. We believe they are now headed for . . .”
“Rome. I know. And for the time being, he is still a Raven. Please don’t allow your personal feelings to undermine his efforts.” He sat down and began straightening loose papers lying on his desk.
“His efforts?” Hugin was outraged, but he strained to sound respectful in the presence of his boss. “Sir, he’s betraying you!”
“A dishonest man, you can always trust to be dishonest.”
“Sir? Should we prepare to retrieve them?”
“Of course not.” He laughed cheerfully, as though his subordinate was simply cracking a joke.
Hugin, however, was not trying to be funny, and found his lord’s behavior these past few weeks quite unusual. “Sir, I’m afraid I don’t understand. Uzuki is most likely taking them to Sandalphon.”
“Well of course he is. I asked him to.”
“My lord?”
The Karellan stood and calmly approached the ninja. He leaned against his desk and explained, “Raven Uzuki is not yet sure of whom he serves. For the time being, his decision is simple. As long as my goals coincide with Sandalphon’s, young Daniel will serve both masters with fealty. Only when we no longer follow the same purpose will he be forced to choose one master over the other.”
Hugin took a moment to think. “Do you mean to say you want Branderlief to make contact with Sandalphon?”
“He is of no use to me until he does.” He gave another cheerful laugh. “Only by recovering the remaining pages of the book will he become strong enough to fill the role I have created for him.”
“So we are to do nothing?”
“Do not question my methods. You may not understand them, but I ask that you trust they are necessary. You are to do nothing. I will send Metatron to deal with Mr. Branderlief. I have another task for you.”
“Yes, my lord?” He stood at attention, ready to receive orders.
“Not one hour ago, Supervisor Dumah came to the upper city to retrieve the priest Jae-Hoon Lee from jail.”
“Do you want me to stop them, sir?”
“Of course not. I want you to help them.”
“We should arrive in Rome by sunset.” The pilot set the ship to auto-pilot and swiveled his seat around to face the others.
“I’m in no rush,” said Zeke unenthusiastically. As he slouched in the chair, he mindlessly fingered his sword.
“You actually use that thing?” asked Jack.
“I don’t carry it around for the exercise.”
“I gotta say, that’s pretty impressive. A sword in this day and age. You any good with it?” He sounded like a little boy.
It was a quality Zeke found irritating. “It kept me alive for ten years, didn’t it?”
“Can you . . . you know . . . deflect bullets?”
“Don’t be silly.”
Ariel put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s only trying to be friendly.”
“I know, but did he honestly think I could deflect bullets with my sword?” He whispered, but in Quetzalcoatl’s small cockpit, it didn’t matter. Everyone heard him.
Jack took it well. “Hey, look. I’m not one to cause trouble. It’s all . . .”
A blinding light flashed through the cockpit.
“Whoa! What was that?” The pilot swiveled his chair back to the controls and started checking the sky.
Daniel leaned forward. “Zeke, is it . . .”
“I don’t know. It could be.”
“What the hell? A malak?” Jack’s confused shouting confirmed their fears. In the distance, floating in the sky was Metatron.
The malak raises his hand. It glows purple. Tiny bolts of electricity arc between his fingers. Then a bolt of light blasts forward, hitting the ship.
The control panel sparks. Wisps of smoke rise into the air. Electricity arcs across the hull.
“What happened?” shouts Ariel.
Jack furiously hits buttons and pulls switches. “I don’t know. Nothing’s responding.”
“Did he shoot us down?” Daniel asks.
“We’re still in the air, aren’t we?” His statement doesn’t come across as reassuring.
“I can’t tell, but I don’t think there’s any physical damage. It’s more like we’ve been hit with an EMP.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he took out everything electrical,” Jack shouts. “Lights, navigation, fuel generators, everything but the basic mechanical operations. We can go left, right or down. Emphasis on the down.”
“Is it bad?” asks Zeke.
“Not if you’ve lived a life with no regrets. This ship doesn’t have wings. We’re falling pretty fast.”
“Can we land?”
“We’d need land for that. There’s not much below us but the Adriatic Sea.”
“What can we do?” Daniel asks.
“Change into a swimsuit?”
Zeke scowls. “Not helpful.”
“There’s always hydroplaning.”
“What?”
“It’s like skipping a stone. Bouncing off the water.”
“Could we . . .”
“Just sit down and we’ll see!” he shouts violently.
The water is visible through the window. They fall fast. Jack struggles with the controls. The ship levels out slightly. The sea rises to meet them.
They hit.
The ship bo
unces. Jack, buckled into his seat, stays at the controls. The others are thrown off balance. Objects tumble around them. They cover their heads.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. At this time will you please observe the ‘impending doom’ sign and buckle your seatbelts. Please place all heavy objects and razor sharp swords in the overhead compartments as we may experience turbulence which would turn such objects into deadly projectiles.”
The ship hits the water again. More objects are tossed into the air. Zeke clutches his chair, glaring at Daniel. “Found a real winner here. Does he always do this?”
“How the hell should I know? I’ve never even met the man before yesterday!”
“You don’t know him?”
“Of course not. But he was the only one crazy enough to take us to Rome.”
Jack’s voice was calm, as if nothing were happening. “We realize you have a choice of illegal cargo freighters, and we hope that your fiery death does not discourage you from flying with our airlines again.”
“Just land this thing already!” Ariel screams. The ship hits the water again, jostling the cockpit.
“You may want to know, the shore’s up ahead,” Jack says casually.
“Are we going to survive that long?”
“Sure. We’ve built up enough speed to impale ourselves on anything.”
“Impale? What?”
The slowing ship hits the water at an odd angle. Quetzalcoatl begins to spin. They grab their seats, holding tight. “I think we’re still heading for shore,” Jack says, staring out the window at the sea behind them. No one cares.
The ship is caught by the water. It drags on the hull, bringing them to a fast halt.
The group, recovering from the fall, rests for a while. The ship glides through the waves then hits something. They hear sand drag on the ship.
Quetzalcoatl stops moving, save for a slight bobbing in the waves. Jack stands up triumphantly. “Welcome to Italy!”
Chapter Fourteen: Italian Wilderness
The fire was warm, but it was attracting bugs. There weren’t many options, though. The ship wouldn’t fly, they didn’t know where they were, and they stood no chance in the wilderness at night. So they sat around, swatting mosquitoes, and waiting for morning.
Ragnarok: The Fate of Gods Page 17