by Dinia Steel
It seemed that the tall blond American man's attention turned to myself and the other armed outer guards. What happened next was unbelievable, we all became extremely angry without any reason. Arguments lead to fighting between us and eventually we began shooting at each other until there was no one left standing.
The blond American then turned his attention to those inside the audience chamber.
That idiot Stefan must have come under the American's influence because he pulled his brace of Glocks from his shoulder holster and began firing at the members of the Inner Council, for no apparent reason. Our Leader, Sarah was the first to fall, followed by the rest of the High Council, until he'd murdered everyone except the Americans.
Stefan then proceeded to put the barrel of the Glock he held in his right hand into his mouth and pulled the trigger.
Since there was no one to stop them, the Americans calmly walked out of the building and were gone.
I was barely able to hold my head up enough to see where they went. I must have passed out and only came to again, when I was being loaded onto a gurney and into the back of the EMT vehicle.”
Oscar was now totally awake and heading into his kitchen to see if his mother had already gotten the coffee going. He was in desperate need of caffeine. The pot was empty. Of course it was. He turned the coffeemaker on while listening to Vivian's report. When she'd finished Santiago's story, Oscar asked. "Did Esteban have any idea who the three Americans were?"
"No, he didn't know their names, but he managed to get the footage from the security cameras in the waiting room much later that night,” Vivian answered. “It seems the authorities were not exactly alerted to what happened. Another mystery."
"Well?" Oscar's patience level was nil.
"Esteban emailed me the footage. It was James Franklin, Josephine and Leo Jordan."
Nodding to himself, "That story actually makes sense now Vivian. They, all three, are members of the Brotherhood that's in direct opposition to ours," Oscar sat down at the breakfast bar and sipped his coffee. "Ok. Has the scene been cleaned?"
"Yes, Santiago's training kicked in. He rescued all of the important ritual artifacts and set the building ablaze. There's no trace now of what happened. The bodies are all ash and only a memory," Vivian sounded glad she could report that much.
"What about the EMT personnel. Did he take care of them too?" Oscar asked.
"Yes, Esteban said he cleaned everything, so I assume he took care of them also."
"Did you have Esteban taken care of as well after the Ritual items were collected?" Oscar was pretty sure Vivian had this much sense.
"No not yet, Oscar. I don't have that authority," Vivian sounded aggravated and terrified.
Sighing he spoke, "That's right, you don't, but you have it now. Take care of it! Call me when it's done and have it done now!" Oscar used his full voice of authority.
Whimpering, Vivian acknowledged in the affirmative.
"And Vivian? Don't worry. You're too valuable to us to have you eliminated." There was a smile in Oscar's voice, "Just see to it that you stay that way."
That was six months ago.
Oscar woke up his mother and told her what he'd just been told. Together, they worked out what needed to be done next.
~o0o~
Chapter 44
Both Oscar Ryker and his mother were members of the American Die Zauberei; high enough within its ranks they would be in on the planning of the revenge moves against James Franklin and the rest of his merry band of interferers. They were also low enough in rank to be chosen to participate in the coming action, a fact Oscar was looking forward to. Too long Franklin and his ilk had run roughshod over the Die Zauberei and kept the great organization from their goal of leadership in the world.
This was an age old battle, with the lines shifting back and forth between the Darkness and the Light trying to eliminate the other. However, Oscar did know, without the Darkness there would be no Light.
When Oscar reported to his High Council what he'd been told, it’d taken only about an hour to have it all physically confirmed. The German High Council was gone. Only the American groups were left. In general, the membership thought it was actually a good thing. A huge battle of wills would eventually have come into play between Europe and America.
All that needed to be done was to locate James Franklin and his minions, then take care of them.
Through their spider web of connections, it didn't take too long to discover that James Franklin had purchased a house large enough to house himself a nurse and Reggie herself. He would need a housekeeper and others to help with the large house and property he'd just bought.
"Carol, get your cookbooks out and dig up your housekeeping resume," Oscar told his mother.
He immediately got hold of his hacker friend to make sure that Carol Ryker got hired by James. The agency used generally for the placement of housekeepers and other domestic staff was hacked with a set up, so Oscar's friend would be alerted when James Franklin or his representatives made a request for staff.
It never occurred to James anyone would want to tap his telephone conversations. If it had, he would have made sure he used a "burner" or throwaway telephone when he talked with Josephine and Leo about anything. After all, Josephine would see anything coming, right?
When it became known that James had been in contact with Suzanne Young in regards to a Harry Jones whose condition was similar to Regina Adams', Oscar had a quick background check run on her.
Ms. Young seemed perfect. She wasn't overly sharp and a born do-gooder who would probably already think she was in love with James Franklin. It seemed all the girls couldn't wait to drop their panties for Mr. "C."
It was almost too easy to get to Ms. Young. There was a sandwich bar across the street from the offices that housed her employers and Ms. Young without fail went there every day for lunch either alone or with the other idiot females who worked in the same office. To say Oscar Ryker had no respect for females - including his mother - would be putting it mildly. Women were to used to service men. That was generally their only use.
Reggie Adams might have been the exception to the rule however, but she was gone - her mind burned out. Another thing to make getting James Franklin attractive. Regina Adams could have been Oscar's, but now he would never know.
According to their plan, Carol Ryker was hired through the agency that'd been hacked. The so called background check was nothing with only her "last employer" being contacted for the verbal acknowledgment of employment and reason for discharge. Now they had a way into James Franklin's home. As his cook and housekeeper, it was only natural Carol's son would come to visit his mother as often as possible.
The next part of the plan was simple. Making contact with Suzanne Young and getting her attention away from James Franklin. It actually wasn't very difficult especially after that oaf Franklin made it very clear he was deeply and madly in love with Reggie Adams.
Suzanne practically fell into Oscar’s waiting arms.
The next part was a little more difficult. Suzanne had already gotten all the pertinent information on James Franklin and his wealth, i.e. how much and where it was located. So, Oscar needed to come up with an excuse to get it all down again.
Spending a little bedtime with Suzanne had been easy to get. Oscar found her boring as a lover, but he was a fair actor. His "little man" didn't seem to mind and it wasn't really necessary for Oscar to be actually involved in the act. He knew he wasn’t a nice man in this respect, but he really didn't care. His goal was the destruction of Franklin and his merry band of interferers. Women were to be used and disposed of.
It became evident Suzanne was falling in love with Oscar, which he thought a good thing and used what he needed to get information from her.
"Honestly Suz, Franklin's got more money than God. He won't miss a couple hundred thousand! Come on Baby. Please?" He'd just finished telling Suzanne what his plan was for getting the bank account numbers and codes, so
they could steal the money they'd need for their get-away out of the country. He told her also it wouldn't hurt if they could get a couple of properties transferred into their names, so they could sell them out from under Franklin. Oscar was gleeful, as he'd explained how easy it would be. Mentally he was rubbing his hands together.
Finally, after a good bit of pouting on Oscar’s part and denying Suzanne sex for a couple of weekends, she agreed to do as he asked. She knew it was wrong, but she was in love with Oscar... he was just too dreamy.
What never occurred to either of them… both Josephine and James knew something was going on. It’d been proven over many times, that in order for good to defeat bad, good had to be very, very good.
~o0o~
Chapter 45
Past memories flooded the minds of those present within the small temple on the hill.
Reggie had always been special in her abilities to visualize and be specific enough, so those exercises she participated in always managed to come to pass. Her influence made things work smoother for the group in general.
This group of Keepers were tasked to absorb as much information about the past history of the work and the path they would all come together on; all the esoteric knowledge which had gone on before them. All the previous generations had projected their group memories into the Akashic Records just for this purpose.
Reggie and James were the leaders of the group of Keepers they worked with. James possessed a vast talent in that he could read the mind of every member of his group and in this way was able to head off any difficulties that might occur within the group.
Except for Reggie.
When it came to Reggie, James was deaf, dumb and blind. Of the group, only James and Reggie had become truly mated with each other. They complimented each other with a huge difference. James already reached his goal within the group. What he accomplished he was happily content with.
Not so for Reggie. Though she was deeply in love with James, she was jealous of what he gained and felt. She wanted something more, something for herself and herself alone. She wanted to be the one in charge, the one with all the power. James wielded the power within the group - that was fine. Reggie just wanted to be the High Priestess in charge of everything and everyone.
It didn't matter that this desire only proved how she was far from ready for such a tasking position within her Order.
James and the rest of their group might have been blind to Reggie’s growing ambition, but one of the other priests in their temple was not. His personal desire for power was as strong as Reggie's, if not stronger. He finally approached her, praising her for her abilities and telling her she had been misplaced in the hierarchy of the Temple. She should have been placed in a higher position, where she would have a larger say as to what happened. He was playing into her wants and desires. Eventually, he managed to convince her to do some work with him to pull themselves to the fulfillment of their desires.
It was discovered too late, what the pair had been up to. The effect was causing a shift in controlling the forces of the volcano the Temple was perched beside. The Elders of the Temple Order knew exactly what was happening. They could not stop it. The choices of only two people would eventually cause the destruction of the island, and the eruption of the volcano would cause a worldwide wave that would bury hundreds of smaller islands and much of the coast lands of other places in the world.
They would all, everyone involved, have Karmic consequences for the events that were unfolding. They had chosen this path, and non-action as well as action created debts which created Karma they would have to deal with in their futures.
The only current course of action left was to save as many of the Priesthood as they could and that included every Keeper of the Flame because the Keepers were the vessels of Knowledge for the future.
James' group would be the last ones to leave the island along with the Chief of their Order, The Merlin.
James hunted until he found Reggie with the dark priest within the Temple itself. His pleas for her to come with him fell upon deaf ears. Reggie was so certain she was right in what she and the dark priest were doing that she wouldn't listen to what James tried to tell her.
Finally, James saw no other way than to try and carry Reggie off with him to the awaiting boat. He scooped her up and headed outside.
The dark priest stood in the doorway, blocking James' exit. The dark priest was holding an ax. He wasn’t about to let Reggie leave. He needed her power to add to his and if he had to kill to accomplish that, he would.
James put Reggie down and stood alone in front of this dark priest. The next thing James knew, he was crumpled on the floor. Blood was trickling from the wound inflicted on his head.
The dark priest had the ax raised above him again, ready for the next and killing blow, when he was suddenly frozen into place.
The Merlin stood in the doorway behind the dark priest, chanting a spell that disabled the man.
Two members of James’ group rushed into the Temple and helped James regain his legs. His mind was clouded and confused. While in this state, he was ushered into the boat waiting for him and the others.
When James finally regained his senses, they were leagues away from the island. He immediately panicked and argued to return to the island to get Reggie. It was then when the volcano exploded.
When everything settled down, the island was gone and nothing remained but falling ash, steam, and toxic smoke.
James knew Reggie was lost to him for the rest of this life, but he also knew their connection was such that they would find each other again, and until they did, they would only be half of what they could be together.
Reggie was swaying within the circle of the current day Keepers and would have fallen to the tiled floor if James hadn’t caught her and pulled her onto his arms.
She opened her eyes and gazed deeply into his. "James?"
"Yes, my Love. I am here."
Blue mist covered the ground. When it cleared, they were all back in the library, sitting as they had been before they'd gone into their collective trance.
Reggie was still in James’ arms. Her eyes were still looking into James’, but as the physical world became more concrete, the new light in her gaze dulled once again.
Harry stood first and came over to where James sat still holding Reggie in his arms. James was weeping. Harry knelt in front of James and laid his hand on Reggie's cheek. "She’s much warmer than she has been, James. That's a good sign. It shouldn't take too much time before she's back with us. Then your work to restore her to the level where she should be will begin," Harry paused. "That is if she wants to come back. I think the love that you two shared will be what saves her, James. You have to play to that."
"Love is what the Lady of the Lake said would save her as well," James said almost to himself.
Harry stood, moving toward the door and motioned for the others to do likewise.
Josephine and Leo were the last to leave and before she was totally out of the room, Josephine turned. "I can see you and Reggie walking hand in hand on the pathways you've created around your property, James. It’s going to happen. It's just going to take time. We can help you do this, but it's mostly going to be you."
"Am I strong enough for this, Josephine?" James asked, his face streaked with tears.
"You are strong enough for anything. Yes, you can do this. We'll help all we can, you know that," Then Josephine was gone and the door closed once again.
Josephine said he could do this. James rested his forehead on Reggie's. The contact between them felt so comforting. He loved her with all his heart and soul. He felt complete again in her presence. She had to get well. She would get well.
~o0o~
Chapter 46
James
His suspicions about Oscar Ryker continued to multiply. What had brought Oscar into his life? Was it just a chance meeting through the cook and housekeeper, Carol Ryker? Why was there this nagging doubt in James’ mind about Ca
rol Ryker. How did she actually come to be an employee in his home?
Thinking back, he remembered it was through an agency. That particular agency, however, had an impeccable reputation for being thorough.
Going into the library, James looked for the fake book which contained a burner phone he’d been compelled to purchase after Roger discovered the fact that some things weren’t right with some of James’ money accounts. This phone would be what James used now to contact Roger when he wanted more investigation done on anything - just in case.
"Stapleton" Roger answered.
"Roger, it's James," Not waiting for acknowledgment James continued, "I'm having suspicions about Carol Ryker. Can you double check and make sure there's nothing about the background and reference check that aren’t right? I'm not a believer in coincidence and if she was hired to give Oscar Ryker a foot in the door, I want to—no make that I need to know."
"I understand James. I'll put my computer guy on backtracking all entries on her resume and background then get back to you as soon as I can." Roger then disconnected without further conversation.
James sat back and began to contemplate what was known about the whole situation with Ryker, or maybe the Rykers. There was just something so familiar about Oscar...then like a bolt of lightening, out of the blue, James knew exactly what, where and who Oscar Ryker was.
Thinking back, James remembered the lifetime so long ago on Atlantis and his trying to leave the Temple carrying a struggling Reggie. There, in the doorway, stood the dark priest. Always before, the face of this man had been a blur. This hadn't bothered James much before, but now his facial features were very clear—Oscar Ryker.
This revelation answered so many of the things plaguing James' unconscious and finally, conscious mind. Revenge was such a potent and long standing emotion. Oscar, and probably Carol Ryker, were members of the American Die Zauberei. With this new information, James stood, went to the library door, locked it, and then returned to his chair and dropped at once into a deep meditative state.