He sat down again, his feet slowly tapping a rhythm on the side of the cistern. He was lost in thought.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
‘Now this place’ he said. ‘This is a wonderful corner of our little world. It’s so significant to our race. Yours and mine.’ He was determined to tell her all about their combined origin. To make a connection. Somewhere inside, he still hoped he could change her mind and convince her to join him. He didn’t want this to end in her death. But if that was inevitable, then so be it. It would be such a lot better though if she would come around to his way of thinking. She was new to this kind of life, having only been a force for about a century or two, it was still a bit unreal and difficult to grasp. Aze hoped he could take advantage of her confusion to liberate her from the influence of the Watchers. It was such a bummer that he couldn’t read her mind. Or manipulate it. He had tried, but her mind was a brick wall to him. Impenetrable. It frustrated him. He was used to being able to convince people. Either voluntarily or not. But influence them he would. With her—there was nothing. Nothing. It was so irritating. The one person he wanted to get on his side was unapproachable. Impervious to his talents. Such a waste.
‘Like I said, this is where it all started. At least for the Watchers. For us, well we were around a lot longer. How old are you anyway? Oh yes, your real life began in the year 2000, didn’t it? When the other Anadi died. Her real name was Ashanti by the way. Her death was your birth. Quite poetic really. Now me, I was around before Christian times. I’ve seen it all. I suppose that’s why I’m so cynical about humans. I’ve seen them at their worst. Ok, to be truthful, I’ve helped a bit to get them there. But hey, it sure livened up my life. Twenty-six hundred years is a long time.’
The lack of a reply didn’t faze him. He continued his monologue unperturbed.
‘The Watchers were one with Nature. They conversed with her. To be able to make contact they needed to leave their bodies and enter an enlightened state. For that they required a special substance. They called it Omeyocan after the most important Mayan heaven. It was—and still is—distilled from a fruit that can be found here in this specific part of the Amazon. It’s indigenous to this spot. That’s why they chose this location. It’s so rare that they decided to live where the Omeyocan was. Quite practical. Anyway. It’s a very powerful hallucinogenic. Though not addictive in some strange way. It transported them to a place where they could convene with Nature herself. Now that would be something to do, wouldn’t it? I’d love to come face to face with the old gal. I’ve got a few questions I want to ask her. Like “Why me?” You probably have the same questions knocking around in that brain of yours. How could she be so cruel as to choose us without our consent or prior notice? What gives her the right to screw up my life and then make me immortal? Make it so that it never stops.’
He was right. These were questions that had plagued her from the moment she found out she was immortal. It wasn’t focussed on Nature then, she didn’t have that piece of information. But still, the questions were the same. The anger too. She shared a resentment to whoever had created her new life and sentenced her to live it forever. She could relate to that.
‘Shame that Omeyocan doesn’t work on me, probably not on you either. Makes you think that our mother doesn’t want to communicate with us, what do you think?’ Another question she didn’t need. She had enough on her mind, like how to stay sane.
‘We’ll have to do without her. But I’ve never been the mama’s boy, so why start now. I never knew my real mom, but that’s another story for another time. Be that as it may, the Watchers communicated, or so they believed, and that set them on the path that they still wander. They watch. They let us bleed, hurt, suffer, but they never intervene. They just watch. That’s what really got to me most. That they just stood on the side-lines and let me undergo all the debilitating, crippling, and completely unnecessary anguish that I endured in my life time. They could have helped. Made me understand at least. Given me some support. But nooooo. All they do is watch. What use are they to me, to us, if that’s all they do?’
He was getting riled. Old hurt was seeping to the surface. Twenty-six hundred years of resentment bubbled up and exploded in a fountain of bitterness. He had been hurt. The physical side was nothing. It was the emotional deprivation, the abandonment. That was what had formed him. That was what had expelled any feelings of empathy. Their policy of non-confrontational behaviour was the root of his rebellion and of his sociopathic behaviour. They could have helped.
This was mostly lost on Anadi. She felt his pain, his frustration and his anger, but his thoughts were as unreadable to her, as hers were to him. Had she known the reason why, she would have sympathised. The animosity that he experienced was an exact replica of hers. The revelation that the Watchers had observed her in the lab and not intervened had almost caused her to break with them. But now, all she could do was concentrate on her own predicament. How was she going to get out of here? And how sane would she be if she did?
‘I’ve found a way to use the Omeyocan though. Quite inventive if I say so myself.’ He continued. ‘You remember Shiva, the all-powerful drug, kills every user, and anyone who happens to be close? Well that’s part Omeyocan, and part opiate. Seems the opiate enhances the destructive side of the drug, makes it super addictive too. Strange stuff that. Did I mention that I was not amused by your interference with Bharat and my plans? You really screwed that up. But no worries, there are enough greedy megalomaniacs around, I’m sure I’ll find another one. There’s another use for the substance, one that makes Joseph a very happy and youthful man. It seems that prolonged use of pure Omeyocan slows down the ageing process in humans. Makes you wonder whether you and I were dropped in a vat of the stuff at some point. To make us immortal. Ha ha.’ He continued to laugh at his own jokes. But some of what he said registered with Anadi. So that was why Joseph’s time line was so screwed. He wasn’t growing old. At least not like a regular human being. That would make him much more dangerous if it was true. People who lived longer, learned more from their mistakes, became more devious.
‘The ageing process is slowed down to a ratio of about twenty to one. Every twenty years they age one. Not bad I guess, if you’re satisfied with mortality. He isn’t by the way. Our friend Joseph. He isn’t satisfied with being a common mortal. He compares himself with us. The impertinence of that man knows no bounds. How can he be on a level with us? We are basically Gods. He doesn’t come close.’ His anger was increasing with every mention of Joseph.
‘You have probably noticed that he rubs me the wrong way. I can’t stand him. It’s time he was taken down. I think that will be my first priority after we finish the unfortunate business.’
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
‘Has he told you about how we met? Him and me?’ he finally said. When she didn’t answer he continued.
‘Well… a while ago, when he was about thirty-ish, I captured him. He was quite the naive one then. Totally adhering to the old Watcher’s doctrine. Watch and don’t interfere. He was a puppy really.’ Aze was re-living the moment by the looks of it. ‘Anyway, I digress, but it is so much fun educating you. I did the same with your friend Panat. He was very surprised, didn’t want to believe that what I told him was true. He really fought against the idea.’
‘I really change subjects all the time, don’t I? Hope you don’t mind. But hey, that’s me. I guess it’s the excitement of finally being able to talk to someone like me. Maybe that is the reaction I have to you being near.’
‘I am nothing like you’ Anadi growled. Her voice distorted by the constant facial changes.
‘Ah that’s where you are wrong.’ Aze was completely unfazed. ‘You see, we are very much alike. We are two of only five of our kind. All the other people in the whole world, all of them, are nothing compared to us. We are Gods. They are insects.’
‘I am nothing like you’ she repeated.
‘Yeah right, still in the denial stage, are you? Well you are
reasonably new to all this, so still optimistic. So full of morality and trust. So let me educate you.’
Taking a deep breath, he continued. ‘Now where was I, oh yes, I caught Joseph. At that time, I was quite depressed. Disappointed with my life. When you’ve been around as long I have, things tend to get boring. “Been there, done that” gets a whole new meaning and depth. And at that time, I’d already been around for more than two thousand years. I was really bored. Completely, utterly and totally bored. Anyway, I needed some excitement in my life. I started to observe everything around me in more detail and noticed that I was being followed. They were not using high tech electronic surveillance gadgets then, just honest investigations and tails. One day I ambushed the tail and it turned out to be our friend Joseph.’
She was still struggling to keep her sanity. His words were only barely registering. She forced her breathing to slow down, closed her eyes and attempted to control her wayward body. The constant fazing in and out of the change decelerated. She held the human form for longer, only specific parts of her physique still warped to feline form—her hands and the fur on her back. She gradually managed to gain control and concentrate on what Azazel was saying.
‘He was in awe of me.’ Aze was unflustered by her lack of reply. He just continued his monologue. ‘Almost reverent, really weird. Not that I haven’t experienced that before. It’s just that I’d never met this guy and he knew so much about me. He didn’t say much to start off with. He was sworn to secrecy, you see. That’s quite a thing with the Watchers. But when I, shall we say convinced him that it was ok, because I could read his mind anyway, he became a fountain of information. His dad was the leader of the clan. So he knew a lot. More than most of them. His sister was being groomed to take over the leadership, and he was to be her right hand. It was quite enlightening. And very, very frustrating. Finding out that I had been manipulated for so many years made me very angry. Joseph I’m afraid, got the brunt of that. You know the limp he has? Well that was from then. I kind of shattered his leg. I have a temper, you see and well—they pissed me off. I like having control. Don’t follow orders very well and hate—absolutely hate—being manipulated. Anyway, he survived, as you noticed. We had a good talk. Came to an agreement. He had ambition, I liked that, so I cultivated it. Suggested even more ideas and soon we formulated a plan. He would talk to his dad about me, tell him what we had discussed and convince the old man to—well frankly to commercialise the whole deal. There was no reason why the Watchers should have to be destitute. They had the means and the, shall we say—talents, to make money on a major scale. And they deserved it. Doing all of Nature’s dirty work.’
He paused for a minute. Lost in thought.
‘His dad went ballistic. Ranting and raving about morals and ethics, that they were there to serve Nature and her balance. All that crap. I’m sure you’ve heard it by now. He was not to be swayed. Tradition and all that, blah-di-blah-di-blah. Joseph was very disappointed and came back to me. We discussed the next steps. He had managed to convince quite a lot of the younger Watchers of his new ideas and had so lain a basis for a new regime in the clan. There was only the issue of his father and the other elders. All stuck in the Stone Age. Needless to say, I helped him there. Took care of the problem.’
‘You killed them.’
‘It speaks!’ he was delighted that there was finally another reaction to his monologue. He clapped his hands like a child, then became serious again.
‘Yes, I killed them. It was the only way to take the clan into the twenty-first century. It was necessary. Ok, ok. Maybe it was a little excessive. We did kind of exaggerate. But hey, it was fun. And the result is what counts—we got rid of all the old thinkers. Joseph’s sister Esther became the next leader. Initially she warmed to our ideas and we continued on our quest to make it a commercially viable business. Didn’t last very long, her upbringing and morals got the better of her. Once we really started making money she balked and wanted to discuss other options. I was having much too much fun by then, but guessed that meeting her couldn’t do any harm. She looked me up, with Joseph in tow and we talked. I don’t think she really got the mind reading thing. Cause what she said and what she thought were two completely different things. Her thoughts were clear as day to me. There was no way she was getting on board with our plans. Not with the real ones. So, I had to kill her too. I didn’t want to. After all she was the only close relative that Joseph had left. But there was no other way. Besides, Joseph asked me to.’
‘Our business took off after that. Joseph climbed the leadership ladder inside the clan and extended his influence to the other clans. The power went to his head. He tried to manipulate me, in his blood I guess. We had a falling out of sorts. That was when he managed to convince your predecessor to help him solve his little problem—Me. You’ve probably heard the story, or at least their version of it. She went after me and wounded me badly. It was a hell of a battle. I had been wounded before. You don’t get through my years without a scratch here and there. But I had always healed quickly. This was new to me. I was badly hurt. Thankfully someone took care of me, but I’ll get to that later. Your predecessor however came out unscathed on the outside, and totally messed up on the inside. She’d killed her lover in the fall out of the battle. That broke her up. That and the truth I told her about Joseph and the Watchers. She went mad. The end you know. She killed herself and about half a million people around her. Now that’s what I call going out with a bang. And then you were “born” to the cause.’
Anadi was concentrating on Azazel’s voice. On what he was saying. She had always had her doubts about the Watchers. Her questions were mainly about where the money came from, who was in charge? If what Azazel was saying was true, and that was by no means a given, then it needed to be investigated further. But her first order was to get out of here. How she could do that was beyond her, but she would have to find a way. In the meantime, she would listen and learn.
‘I’ll cut to the current time shall I. The story gets a bit boring after a couple of decades. I recovered, though it took me more than a year. And even if you’re immortal that is a long time, with a lot of pain. Joseph and a woman took care of me. Once again, he manipulated me, took advantage of my weakness, of the fact that I was recuperating. Somehow, he’d found a way to shield his mind. Not like you can, but enough to stop me from seeing his true intentions. Even though I tried to read him, I didn’t find out that he was the one who had sent her to wound me. Not until much later. It was never his intention to kill me. He just wanted to get me back under his control. Your predecessor on the other hand, he needed to get rid of. She was so righteous. Like you, incorruptible, and that meant of no use to him. She was actually a threat. And he got two birds with one stone. I was back “in the fold” shall we say and the Primal force was gone. All was well again. At least for him. It took me a long time to get out from under his manipulations—more than eight decades. And now history is repeating itself. He sent you to bring me back. To get me to behave. Oh, and you of course. This time he doesn’t necessarily want to kill you. He wants me to wound you, so that he can get into your mind. Control you. He feels stronger now, that he can assert his will on you, maybe through your little friend Panat. But he is wary. Seems you scare him more than I do. And that’s quite an achievement.’
It was silent. She could hear the birds in the background. The cistern amplified some of the sounds. Made them seem quite eerie.
She was still struggling to keep control, even with her meditation. The longer Azazel stayed here, the more difficult it was. His proximity was unnerving. And it was exciting. Being so close to another of her own kind was new to her. It made it difficult to keep to the plan. She was here to kill him, but, how could she? He was like her.
No, no, he wasn’t anything like her. Not on the inside. He was immortal, true, but he was evil, if something like that truly existed. She had to remember that they were adversaries. He was immoral, a psycho if anything. She had to fi
ght this.
‘Anyway … he is quite the manipulator. You should think about what he told you. How he has been playing you, because he has. There is no doubt about that. It’s what he does. We started out with me being the master and look what happened. He turned the tables on me. Not that it’s going to make any real difference what you think about him. You’re not going to see him again. Such a waste.’
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
The bloodlust was winning. I was losing it. And Aze knew. He had seen it all before. He was intimately familiar with my powers. Ashanti had wounded him severely many years ago and he was the type to hold a grudge.
I was completely contained in the cistern. He had successfully trapped me. The proximity of another force was fuelling the Primal bloodlust. As the Watchers had warned me, I was close to losing control.
Keep calm. I said to myself. Breathe. Don’t let him get to you. Breathe.
‘You have astonishing self-control.’ He was standing on the lip of the cistern again. Gloating. Looking down at me. ‘I had expected you to go berserk much sooner. Ashanti lost it a lot earlier in the process. She really went on a rampage. It made my day.’ He laughed at the memories, then became serious again. ‘The bitch hurt me. Badly. And that aggravates me. What’s the use of being immortal if you still have the pain, not that I’m always adverse to that, but then I like to be the one who inflicts it. Me, I’m here for the fun.’
He walked around the rim, taunting me. He knew I couldn’t get out. He had seen me try and fail.
‘You know we could have a lot of fun together, you and me. If you weren’t so uptight, so bloody righteous, we could rule the world, and we could have a hell of a blast. You could let rip whenever you felt the urge. Kill whatever, or should I say, whomever you want. No restraints. But no, you have that stupid guilt and even worse, you have loyalty. Loyalty to a force that condemned you to this shadow life.’
The Beast Inside Page 23