“You’re sure?” Tiffany asked.
Nodding as he leaned back in his chair. “Yes, one of those werewolves disappeared and reappeared a few feet away. He teleported, no joke,” Kenneth told her. “I tried to link with him because I thought that would come in handy, and I’d promised I wouldn’t drink to take in abilities.”
“You’re sure it was teleportation?” Tiffany gasped.
Shrugging, “Hell, if I know,” Kenneth admitted. “One second he was in one spot and the next, he was in another. As I was ripping its heart out, I pushed my thoughts in its mind and ‘she’,” Kenneth stressed, “would concentrate and jump to another spot. But I felt where she was going to ‘jump’. When she appeared, I drove my hand through her back, severing her spine and grabbed her heart.”
Reaching over, Tiffany grabbed Kenneth’s hand. “I’m not saying that wouldn’t be a useful power, but thank you for not taking it in,” Tiffany sighed with relief. “The last thing we would need is for you to teleport a thousand feet up in the air or the middle of the ocean in a fight.”
“That’s what I figured,” Kenneth chuckled softly. “If I can have an ability, I want precognition. I think seeing into the future would be helpful.”
“I’ve met one that could see a few minutes into the future accurately. The future changes too rapidly for long term predictions,” Tiffany said.
Pushing back from the table, Kenneth picked up his phone. “Let’s go see Maliki. I can rest there while he tells us what he knows.”
Shoving her phone in her pocket, Besseta nodded. “Yes, he will, or I’ll pull his lungs out his ass.”
Standing up, Tiffany laughed. “Little Besseta, you are going to have to do that one time just for me, but please, not on Maliki.”
When they headed for the door, the manager ran over and held it open. “I called several of the men who complained, little sissies,” he told Tiffany with a big grin.
Walking past the manager, Tiffany patted his cheek as she slung her small pack over one shoulder. “That’s good, dear. When we come back through, we’ll stop by,” Tiffany told him.
The manager smiled as the three climbed on the sport bikes and zoomed out of the parking lot. “Glad I came in today,” the manager mumbled, heading back into the store and patting the wad of change.
Chapter Twenty
Riding down a small paved road, Kenneth looked at the white board fence on each side of the road, with lush green pastures over the rolling hills dotted with large single trees. He could see the fields were subdivided out and horses were everywhere.
Reaching a driveway that was twice the size of the road and had huge brick columns with iron gates standing open, Kenneth slowed and turned into the driveway. “Whoa,” he mumbled, seeing the ranch over a mile away. There were several horse barns and arenas, along with a racetrack.
There was one massive house, and another almost as big set closer to the horse barns. Kenneth steered for the large brick home and saw a lone figure standing on the second-floor balcony. Before they reached the house, the figure vanished and Kenneth pulled into a circular driveway.
Shutting off his bike, Kenneth put the kickstand down. “Shit, I thought Besseta’s house was big,” he said out loud.
“He’s definitely rebuilt since I’ve been here,” Tiffany said, pulling her helmet off.
“When were you here?” Kenneth asked, getting off his bike. “All I know is, cars weren’t around.”
“Right after the Spanish-American war,” Tiffany answered and one of the massive double doors opened.
Dressed in a black silk suit complete with black gloves, Maliki stepped outside and came down the steps. His long straight black hair blew in the slight breeze, and Kenneth realized just how pale Maliki really was. In all reality, Maliki was what Kenneth had always pictured as a vampire: pale, slight build, and black eyes; basically creepy-looking.
Hearing Kenneth’s thoughts, Besseta dropped her helmet as she busted out laughing. Heading for Tiffany, Maliki stopped when Besseta started laughing. “You laugh at such odd times,” Maliki said, looking at Besseta.
Turning to Tiffany, Maliki inclined his head and looked at the leather riding outfit she was wearing. “I have to say, I like the outfit,” Maliki told her.
“Thank you,” Tiffany said, hanging her helmet on the bike and Besseta slowly stopped laughing. She turned to see Kenneth sniffing the air. “Yes, Kenneth, that’s why he has a horse ranch. Of all the animals, they mask our scent very well. That’s one reason I miss riding them.”
Turning to Besseta, “We are getting horses,” Kenneth announced.
Walking over, Besseta squirmed under Kenneth’s arm and put an arm around his waist. “Whatever you want,” she smiled up at him.
Holding out an arm, Maliki waved it toward the house. “Please, come in.”
“When did you rebuild?” Tiffany asked as Maliki escorted them inside.
“After the second world war,” Maliki answered.
Walking up the steps, Kenneth glanced back and could see people working with horses and tending the property. “No, they don’t know, baby,” Besseta told him.
“I know, and that just reaffirms why we have help now,” Kenneth said, walking inside and Maliki closed the door behind them. “No, save the tour for later,” Kenneth told Maliki’s thought.
“You are very extraordinary,” Maliki said, but even Tiffany could see uneasiness on Maliki’s face. “Then, let’s sit and talk,” Maliki told them and led them into a large room that had chairs arranged in a circle around a low table, with books lining the wall.
“Nice library,” Tiffany said, glancing at the books.
“My real one is still downstairs,” Maliki told her as they all sat down.
“Maliki, what the hell is a leviathan?” Kenneth asked bluntly and wasn’t prepared for Maliki’s reaction.
Leaping up from his chair like he was about to run, Maliki looked at Kenneth in abstract panic. “First, I have to ask, how do you know about them?” Maliki shouted.
Leaning back in his chair, “Heard it from your mind in Vegas, right before we were interrupted,” Kenneth told him, and Maliki’s pale complexion became almost transparent. “Then, we go to Iowa to check out that property and let me tell you, there are some big werewolves there and a lot of them. I heard a thought in one’s mind about a leviathan coming, and it was terrified of it.”
Panting hard, Maliki stared at Kenneth for several minutes, then quickly spun away and walked over to a small bar in the corner. “Kenneth, you need to keep those thoughts from your mind, as all of you do,” Maliki warned. “If the cubus realize you know about the leviathans, they will stop this war and hunt you down.”
“You’ve never mentioned them to me,” Tiffany said as Maliki poured himself a drink.
“Tiffany, if I would’ve told you about them, you would’ve studied them like you have everything else. Leviathans are the cubus’ most trusted guardians and secret weapons,” Maliki told her and drained his glass, then refilled it.
“So, you haven’t studied them?” Tiffany asked with scorn.
Picking his glass up, Maliki walked over and sat back down. “Oh, yes. I’ve studied them and the cubus in detail, but I do my research in private. I don’t capture subjects and dissect them, or approach them and sit down to talk to them.”
“I can’t run fast, but I knew I could outrun that Incubus,” Tiffany said with a small sigh. “He’s the one that killed Herotho.”
The glass in Maliki’s hand slipped out as his hand went numb. “How did you find that out?”
Looking over at Malik as the glass hit the floor, “I’ll tell you in time, but first, what are the leviathans?” Tiffany asked.
“Beings not of earth,” Maliki answered. “No, they aren’t demons, or they may be, but they aren’t from here,” Maliki said, getting up and heading back for the bar. As Maliki poured another drink, Tiffany looked at the spilled drink and glass on the floor.
The glass flipped upr
ight, and the brandy leached out of the carpet into a sphere, then dropped in the glass. “Nobody will ever be able to match you in telekinesis,” Kenneth chuckled as the glass floated up and sat on the table.
Returning with another drink, Maliki smiled at Tiffany. “I was going to clean it up.”
“You’re welcome. Please continue,” Tiffany said, taking off her leather jacket.
“Leviathans were the true rulers of our kind, including the cubus,” Maliki said, sitting down. “You’ve all read about them. There is even mention in the Bible Kenneth gave me to send our messages back and forth. Humans have always referred to them as giants.”
“Hold up,” Kenneth said, holding up a hand. “Leviathan, in all literature, is a water-borne creature.”
Maliki turned to Kenneth with a straight face. “Because they are shape-shifters,” Maliki told him, and then gave a shiver. “When they change, they look like a ball of jelled blue water. That is when they are the most vulnerable, but they can be killed after assuming another form.”
“What form?” Besseta asked.
Shrugging as he took a sip, “Anything they want to,” Maliki answered. “If it’s an animal, it’s always bigger than a normal version, but I’ve seen one change into, for lack of a better term, a monster. It had tentacles and a round mouth with more teeth than you could imagine. The body, which looked like an eel, was over a hundred feet long and about twenty or so feet around.”
“When did you see that?” Tiffany asked in shock.
“Twenty-nine years after Herotho died,” Maliki answered. “That’s when I started hunting down cubus and researching them.”
“How many leviathans have you seen?” Tiffany asked.
“Four,” Maliki told her with a shiver. Turning to Besseta and Kenneth, he found them staring at him with gaping mouths. “Let me give you a condensed version of what I’ve learned.”
Leaning forward, Maliki set his glass down. “The island of our birth is true, but I’ve been able to confirm that it was much earlier; like over a hundred thousand years ago. Leviathans were the first rulers. There weren’t many of them, to begin with, only a few thousand. Leviathans bred with early humans and that’s where cubus came from. From everything I’ve found out, leviathans couldn’t reproduce themselves. I haven’t been able to find out why.”
Maliki paused when Kenneth pulled a small notepad from his jacket and started writing. “Leviathans are beyond powerful, mentally and physically. The development of cubus, from what I’ve gathered, was engineered. Leviathans used them to stay strong, like cubus use vampires and werewolves, draining their life force. From my research, werewolves were the next spawn of leviathan and cubus. Werewolves, like the cubus, were engineered to some extent but I have no idea how. Our kind was the last and we came from cubus breeding with humans. I’m sorry to say, our kind is at the shallow end of the gene pool, but for some reason, our kind have more of the abilities of the leviathans. Werewolves have some, but not in the dispersal that vampires do. One in six vampires has a special ability. Werewolves, it’s like one in thirty, but they continue to get stronger and bigger as they age, like leviathans. We don’t.”
“Hold up there,” Kenneth said, looking up from his notepad. “If leviathans are so powerful, then they are over all this, not the cubus.”
Shaking his head, “You haven’t let me finish,” Maliki said, grabbing his glass and draining it. “Cubus have more abilities among their ranks than vampires but thankfully, there aren’t many of them like there are of us. Before this war, there were three hundred and eighty-one cubus, and I know a few have been killed.”
Going back to writing, Kenneth nodded. “Yeah, Tiffany told us how cubus breed.”
Glancing over at Tiffany, Maliki just gave a sigh and then continued. “All cubus have the ability to wipe the mind and instill what they want. That’s why the leviathans created them. Three out of four cubus have other abilities. I’ve found every form of psychic ability, and hundreds of physical attributes. Another thing all cubus can do, is change their appearance. Granted, it’s always human, but they can look like someone entirely different, even the opposite sex.”
“Yeah, found that out,” Kenneth mumbled as he continued writing. “Have you ever heard of a vampire that could shapeshift or change their appearance?”
“Nope, and I’ve searched long and hard,” Maliki answered and turned to Tiffany, and she also shook her head, ‘no’. “We are the only spawn from the leviathans that didn’t inherit that ability.”
“You wouldn’t, by any chance, know how many leviathans are around, do you?” Kenneth asked.
“I can’t get a hard count, but I know it’s less than a hundred now,” Maliki answered. “Now, I don’t know when, but it was long before the island was destroyed, that the cubus rebelled against the leviathans. Somehow, they were able to use the power of their minds to take control of some of the leviathans. Most of them, in fact. There was a very large war, but the leviathans that weren’t controlled lost the war and dispersed over the planet. The remaining leviathans are protectors of the cubus. Then, the cubus ruled the island over werewolves and vampires.
“As you’ve pointed out, werewolves are pack creatures and a cubus only has to take over the pack leader to control a formidable force. Our kind, are loners and that’s why there has always been animosity between werewolves and vampires. We are the ones that started the revolt after the island was destroyed and the remaining leviathans around the planet converged, hopeful to retake command. That war is when so many cubus were lost. Thankfully, they have never been able to reestablish their numbers because all of them are very egotistical,” Maliki said, getting up to refill his glass.
Kenneth paused while Maliki refilled his glass. “You found all this out from written text?”
“Some, but I’ve talked to more ancient vampires than any dozen of our kind,” Maliki told Kenneth when he’d returned to his chair. “If they didn’t want to tell me, I have other means,” Maliki smiled.
Seeing the smile on the pale face, Kenneth pushed the creepy thought from his mind and Besseta tried not to laugh again. “Maliki,” Besseta said and he turned to her. “I trustyou won’t let Kenneth look into your thoughts?”
Taking a sip, Maliki shook his head. “Not willingly,” Maliki answered. “Sorry, he seems good enough, but after what I’ve seen, nobody goes in my mind without a fight.”
“Have you seen a leviathan here in America?” Kenneth asked, still writing.
“Yes, not far from here, in fact. It was during the Civil War,” Maliki said. “November 23, 1863, outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, three cubus with a leviathan were chasing me. I’m not even counting the werewolves or few vampires. That was the first time they tried to take over the North American League. I was able to hide among the armies, since there was a battle going on. It took me two days, but I finally gave them the slip. The next day, at Lookout Mountain, I got my closest look. I swear, they knew I was close and one of them suddenly started looking around, so I eased off and found a break in the lines of werewolves.”
“If leviathans are so powerful, why are the cubus having so much trouble?” Besseta asked and was shocked when Kenneth answered.
“Numbers make a really good equalizer against superior strength,” Kenneth said.
Raising his glass in a toast, “So right you are, sir, but at that time, there were three very ancient vampires on the council. All of them were from the island and had fought against those with the cubus and with leviathans, trying to regain control. They killed it and the cubus, when the group headed west. At the time, I was the junior member,” Maliki explained.
“So, you chop off their heads or rip out their hearts to kill them?” Besseta asked.
Shaking his head, “Nope,” Maliki said, then drained his glass. “They may have a head, but there is no brain there. Same for a heart.”
“How in the hell do you kill them?” Besseta gasped.
“Dismember them and burn them befo
re they reform,” Maliki said. “Of course, you could use mercury, but it’s just as deadly to us. That’s how David killed Goliath; the stone he used from the riverbed had mercury in it.”
“Whoa, Goliath was a leviathan?” Kenneth asked.
Nodding, “Like I said, you’ve heard about them in the ancient tales,” Maliki told him. “Mercury is the only thing all of us can’t regenerate from.”
Clearing her throat to get Maliki’s attention, Besseta asked. “Maliki, are there any leviathans not controlled by the cubus?”
“No, after the last war, the cubus hunted them down slowly. Granted, it took a millennia, but I haven’t been able to find or hear of rumor of one,” Maliki said. “Besseta, even if there was one, I wouldn’t suggest an alliance. The arrogant attitude the cubus have, it came from leviathans, but I assure you, cubus are nothing compared to leviathans. Leviathans are beyond narcissistic.”
“Have you ever heard of a vampire or werewolf that the cubus couldn’t control?” Tiffany asked.
“Again, no,” Maliki told her. “Only some of the cubus were able to take over leviathans, not all of them. But I’ve never heard of anything else that has been able to thwart a cubus from taking over its mind.”
“I trust you’ve made notes on this,” Tiffany huffed, flopping back in her chair.
“Yes,” Maliki nodded. “Now, will you tell me what you found in Iowa?”
For an hour, Kenneth told Maliki what had happened after they’d left Vegas, omitting saving Mickey, and up to the battle in Iowa. When Kenneth finished, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to go,” Maliki said, getting up. “I just attacked a large group of Strong Hands outside of Miami and told my troops to disperse for several days, so I could talk to you. We should’ve checked it out.”
“No, you would’ve died,” Kenneth said finally and stopped writing. “Sorry, but you’re too important to me right now.”
Taken back, “Well, I’m fortunate to be of use to you,” Maliki said and then laughed. “So, how am I useful to you?”
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