"I saw you," she says into my ear. "In the Office of Record, when I was crying."
"Yes," I say, anxious for her to know. "I saw you too. You were beautiful. You...are beautiful."
"I applied for a northern visa. It took two years to process." Maria pauses, and the darkness feels as if it's spreading out around us. We're like two people floating in infinite space, with only each other to hold onto. "Today it was denied."
I run my hand across her face and feel tears stream down her cheeks. "Why do you want to go north? It only makes it easier for them to enlist you in the camps."
"The West is off limits for a foreigner like me. And I'll do anything to escape the South. It's my only hope for a new life. Or at least it was." Maria's hands are now on my face, her fingers exploring my nose and lips. "But then I saw you. I can't explain it. Your eyes...they were so gentle, so...kind. You cared about my pain. I saw it in your eyes."
"My eyes told you that?" I whisper. "If you hadn't been there, just now on the street, I'd...I'd be dead. No doubt about it. You risked your life to save me. How do you thank a person for something like that?"
Maria kisses my forehead, and I can no longer feel the ground beneath my feet. We're fully suspended in the darkness of space, our bodies pressed together as one.
"Where have you been?" I say, fumbling for the words to express my ineffable heart.
"In places I pray you'll never go."
"I'm here now. Wherever you've been, Maria, whatever you've suffered, that's over now. I can take you away from this place. I'll get you out of the South."
"Tell me your name," she says.
"Deacon. And you have me now, and it's all you'll need."
Maria stiffens, and I fear she can see straight through me, understanding how preposterous my pledge is. I want it to be true, and maybe I even believe it will be true. All these feelings are so new, so unexpected. I'm speaking without thinking first.
But the truth is I haven't come home to fall in love. I've come home to fight in a war, and my destiny will take me north, if I live that long. And when I go north, I won't be traveling with a lover. I'll be marching with other warriors, men prepared to fight and die for the cause. It's foolish and unfair for me to promise Maria freedom and safety. Yet I can't bring myself to recant my promise. I want it too dearly.
"Maria?" I say. "Do you believe me?"
Before she can answer, a blast of cold air rushes toward us. The hair on my neck and arms prickles to attention. Then a voice, which can be described only as infernal, slithers out from the dark.
"Welcome home, Maria."
push Maria behind me, shielding her from whatever lurks in the abyss.
"Who's there?" I say.
My question is answered with the laugh of a madman.
"He calls himself 'Legion,'" Maria says quietly. "But his real name is Alejandro. We must talk to him. Alejandro controls access to the tunnel, the only way out of here. He's also one of the reasons the Centurion Guard won't venture too far underground."
"He's that dangerous?"
"Every bit," Maria says. "He killed three centurions last month—by himself."
"He has weapons?"
"He doesn't need them. He killed all three with nothing but his hands. But his army does have weapons—weapons not even the centurions possess."
"His army?" I say, certain I've misunderstood her.
"Yes. Alejandro controls an army of a thousand men."
I can't imagine how an unarmed man could take down a single centurion yet alone three of them. Centurions are the most well-trained soldiers on the planet. Their lethality is legendary. What's even harder to understand is how a man living hundreds of feet below ground has managed to assemble an army.
I'm suddenly eager to meet Alejandro. I say, "Well...that might be a good thing actually."
"No, it's not good. Nothing about what has become of Alejandro is good."
"But he's built an army to resist the Kingdom. How can that not be good?"
"You want nothing to do with him," Maria says flatly.
"Why not?"
"Because it's not the Kingdom that Alejandro's interested in warring against."
"But I thought you said the Kingdom was afraid of him. I've never heard of the Guard backing down from anyone. I was under the impression the Kingdom controlled every region of the South, afraid of no man."
"They do...and they aren't. This underworld is the single stronghold left in the South. The Kingdom leaves Alejandro and his men completely alone, as if they have some sort of unspoken deal."
"Just because he managed to kill a few mercenaries?"
"No," Maria whispers. "Because they share a common enemy."
Alejandro's voice rolls forth from the void. "I've been waiting for you."
A fresh chill dances up my spine.
"What do you want me to do?" I ask.
"Precisely as he says."
"What if I don't?"
"You don't want to know."
"You keep saying that."
Maria leans close to me, and I smell the lavender on her skin. She says, "You said you'd trust me."
"That was before I knew about Alejandro."
"He won't harm us."
"What...is he?" I say.
"Just a man," Maria says sadly. "Just...a sick man in need of a doctor."
"How do you know all of this?"
"Because," she says, her voice choking on the vinegar of a bitter memory, "Alejandro was my husband."
A harsh light bursts forth, momentarily blinding us. It lasts for only a second before vanishing. Then a much softer light slowly illuminates the cave we've entered. The walls are craggy, and the air is frigid, without a trace of the heavy humidity from the surface above. It's like we've journeyed down into an entirely different world.
Alejandro stands in the center of the circular space with his arms wide, as if we're lost friends returning home from a perilous journey. Like the men guarding the entryway, whom I suspect are demon possessed, Alejandro wears a dark robe. His hood is pulled over his head and casts a shadow across his face. I can't see what he looks like.
As we draw closer, I regard Alejandro's formidable size and surmise that he's nothing short of an absolute building. He's not an inch below seven feet; his shoulders are wide; and his legs look more like tree trunks than mortal limbs. If there was ever a man who could handle three centurions, it's Alejandro.
Maria and I stop walking, keeping our distance from Alejandro. We've finally arrived at our destination. It's odd, but I feel strangely safe in the presence of this dark figure.
Without warning, a guttural noise springs out of Alejandro, reminding me of a wild pig being led to slaughter. It's a nauseating cacophony of what it must sound like to hear the angel of death strangling life from a person not ready to surrender his soul. When he's finished emitting this unholy tumult, he says, "This took longer than I'd expected. But I knew you'd be back."
"I'm not back, Alejandro," Maria says curtly. "We're just passing through. We need access to the tunnel. I need you to give it to us."
I'm lifted from my feet and sent flying backward at a hundred miles an hour. My back slams violently against the sharp angles of the craggy wall, and pain explodes throughout my body. A force I can't see or fight keeps me paralyzed against the wall, suspended a good ten feet above the cave's floor. Then, slowly, a pressure builds on my chest. It feels like a boulder has been set atop me. I try to speak, but I can't; I'm being crushed to death.
Calmly Alejandro says to Maria, "You should call me 'Legion.'"
Maria runs to me and tries to pull me down from the wall, but it's useless; I'm trapped within an invisible body cast. My head pounds from the lack of oxygen. I have maybe thirty seconds, at best, before I lose consciousness.
Realizing there's nothing she can do for me, Maria turns back to Legion and says, "Let him down! He's done nothing to you! Please!"
Legion laughs, his voice turning another shade darker. "Where
did you find this one, Maria? Did the Teacher send him? He's quite green."
"I won't answer a single question until you let him down. There's no reason to hurt him."
My brain begins to slide offline. Maria's voice takes on an underwater hush, making it hard to understand her garbled words.
Legion says, "Are you still following the Teacher?"
"Release him, and I'll tell you anything you want to know. Please...Legion."
"We are many now," he says, sounding pleased Maria has addressed him by the proper name.
"Legion, please, he needs to breathe. He'll die!"
Legion flicks his head, and I drop to the ground. The weight is immediately lifted from my chest. I roll onto my back and fill my lungs with cold air, which shocks my throat as it descends into my body. I try to stand, but my body buckles beneath me, and I fall to the ground. Every ounce of strength has been drained from my body. I roll onto my back and suck air. I feel like I've run a hundred miles.
Maria returns her attention to Legion. "We need to travel through the tunnel. This man is wanted by the Centurion Guard, and we can't go back the way we've come."
"Has the Teacher lived up to your lofty expectations?" Legion says, ignoring her question about the tunnel.
Maria draws a deep breath and steels herself for whatever is coming next. Finally she says, "He shattered them...if you want to know the truth."
Legion laughs. "I knew it. No man will ever accept you, not after what you've done. You'll never be clean in the eyes of a man. You're dirty and worthless."
With warm eyes, Maria says, "He shattered them with acceptance. The Teacher treats me like all the others—no different. We're friends."
"What does he demand in return?"
"Nothing," Maria says. "He asks only that we continue following the way."
Legion laughs harder. "What way is that?"
"I'm still learning."
"Then why do you follow?"
"You know what I used to be. You saw my torment." Maria steps closer to Legion. "Look in my eyes now and see the difference." Legion grunts and turns his back to her. "He still asks about you," she says. Legion emits another sound that comes directly from the pits of hell. "You can have this too, Alejandro," she says tenderly, taking a few more steps closer to him. "You don't have to live this way. There's life outside this cave. Turn around and see the difference."
Without turning, Legion says, "This man who accepts you and makes all you rejects hopeful will soon be knocked off his throne. Then what will you be left with? Who will protect you?"
"The Teacher has no throne, nor does he want one."
"We all want a throne!" Legion barks. "And yes, he sits on a throne. But not for long."
Maria takes another bold step toward him and places her tiny hand on his wide back. She looks like a child standing next to him. I scramble weakly to my feet and prepare to lunge at him.
"What are you planning to do?" she asks Legion.
"Stay and find out."
"You know I can't do that," Maria says.
"Can't...or won't?"
"Look at me," Maria says.
To my great surprise, Legion obeys, turning slowly to face Maria.
He listens to her.
"Leave this place," Maria says. "Come with us to the park. It's never too late to start over. It doesn't have to be this way. You have the power to change your life."
There's a pregnant pause before Legion responds. It's the sort of silence that can exist only between two people with a lengthy and storied past. It's a pause that holds a thousand words, a thousand memories, and a thousand heartaches. It's a pause that makes me insanely jealous.
Finally Legion says, "The tunnel is yours. Go."
"Legion, you should come—"
"Go!" he roars. "Before I change my mind and throw you both to the wolves."
Maria moves quickly around Legion, and I follow after her, but he strikes me hard on the chest, stopping me in my tracks. "Boy," he says slowly, "the next time we meet will be the last day of your life."
I slowly back away from him and allow Maria to lead the way to the tunnel. When we arrive, it appears to be better lit than Legion's cave and similar to the first space we entered. A line for a railway track cuts down the center.
As we make our way through the tunnel, Legion's threat echoes in my head. If another man had uttered those words, I'd have attacked him right there and then. But Legion possesses dark powers. I've come home for a fight—make no mistake about it—but I want no part of that. I came here to fight men...not monsters.
Maria hurries me along for another hundred yards before she slows down. "I'm sorry for what happened in there," she says. "Are you OK?"
"It'll take more than a giant freak with anger issues to stop me."
Maria laughs, and her voice is throaty and full. It's a laugh I want to hear many more times, a laugh I'll work hard to earn.
She intertwines her fingers with mine. "Alejandro was always a jealous man," she says, "even before he became as he is now. He'd fly off the handle if a man so much as looked at me sideways. He was always crazy like that. But I've never seen him show that kind of aggression so quickly. And his powers are clearly growing. He detested you the moment you entered the cave."
"I tend to have that effect on people."
She laughs again. It's even better the second time.
Maria grins. "Not on me."
This time I laugh. "Just give me time. I'll drive you all kinds of crazy."
Maria smiles widely, gazing at me in a way I never dreamed a beautiful woman would. Looking at her is like having bright electricity course through my veins. It's the cardinal energy of men who topple empires, liberate slaves, and move mountains. She's a drug so potent that I already know I'll stop at nothing to get it. It's taken no more than an hour to find myself irrevocably hooked on Maria.
In fact I've been so enmeshed in our conversation that I haven't paid any attention to our walk, making the waiting train seem as if it's materialized from thin air. A man stands on the back deck of the caboose with his arms folded, watching us grimly as we approach. He wears the cap of an engineer, the black bill listing far to the left. His mustache is thick and covers the entirety of his mouth; I wonder how he manages to eat.
The caboose is attached to a single compartment, and the engineer motions for us to climb aboard. We ascend the short ladder and crawl into an empty shipping container that smells of ammonia and bleach. We slide across the floor until our backs are flat against the wall. There are no seats inside.
"You've done this before?" I say.
Maria laughs as our train heaves and lurches forward. "Relax," she says. "We made it. You're safe now."
Without asking, she takes my aching hands into hers and blows gently on them. Her touch is simple yet intimate in ways I've never known. My mother's touch carried with it the magic of solace, but this is different—very different. It's both calming and exhilarating. Somewhere deep in my soul—too deep for me to draw fully into the light—I'm aware that my life is changing. Instinctively I know I'll look back on this moment and think, There. Right there.
Maria licks her thumb and rubs dried blood from my chin. "This needs to be stitched up."
"I don't mind a scar."
"Do you have many?"
"Scars?"
She nods.
I nod.
"Where?" she says, sliding her body closer to mine, our hipbones touching each other.
"They're the kind you can't see."
She nods again.
The train gathers speed, and I feel a sense of peace knowing we're moving out of this dark place. I peer out the open door of the container and spot small pairs of lights running along the walls. I point to them. "What are those lights for?"
Maria presses her body so close to mine that I feel her heart thumping in her chest. She whispers, "They aren't lights. They're eyes."
he tunnel walls resemble a country night's sky; there are thousan
ds of brilliantly shining stars. But they're not exploding balls of hydrogen; they're eyes, and not the kind you want watching over you from the heavens. These eyes have the cold, sharp glow of demons, and they can only mean one thing—the Evil One has seen you; he knows you exist, and he will come for you.
I run my hand across Maria's knee and fantasize about caressing her thigh. "I don't believe in these creatures." I say. "Or at least I didn't. I thought they were a figment created for children. A monster under the bed to scare little ones into minding their parents."
Maria sighs. "It turns out the creatures under the bed are real."
"How did you get mixed up in this? I can't imagine you living down here. You're nothing like those people."
"You didn't know me then. I thank God for that."
"Yes, but..." I start to ask her about Legion, but a lump gathers in my throat where my question belongs. The answer, no matter what it is, will devastate me. If she's still married to that man, I'll die. But she can't be, right? Alejandro is simply...not human. Not anymore.
But they were married. She said the words. Maria loved him once, and perhaps she still does. I can't bear the thought of it. I've never felt such radical jealousy. All I know is I want Maria, and I want her to myself.
"I'm not married to him anymore," she says, as if reading my hot thoughts. "Alejandro was a good man, a very good man. But he—we—got involved in a way of life we never should have. The fall from grace is easier to come by than one thinks." Maria cries softly as she speaks, the memories like sharp barbs in her brain, injecting each word with pain.
"You don't have to talk about it. It's all behind you."
"No," she says thickly. "I want to tell you. I'd rather it be me than one of the others in the park. I know how they like to talk."
"I don't understand."
Maria speaks slowly, deliberately; she seems sad but not ashamed. "The way Alejandro is now is how I used to be."
It's an incomprehensible idea, the notion that precious and petite Maria could ever resemble anything close to the nightmare that is Legion. "Not possible," I say. "You couldn't possibly—"
Centurion: Mark's Gospel as a Thriller Page 5