The Seventh Age: Dawn

by Rick Heinz

  The tenth fragment was his coup de grace, recovered by someone on the council after they stole his research. Removed for so long, it was hidden from his senses. It’s why bait was needed. The deepest portal into purgatory lay just below the Library of Deus. All he needed to do was locate a descendant of Lazarus that would inevitably come calling. After all, lineages can carry powerful magic through them.

  CHAPTER 35

  The convoy of vans raced along the expressway. Mr. Bollard was an aggressive driver when he needed to be, and despite the snowy weather conditions, he made sure every car moved out of his way. Mike sat in the passenger seat, pointlessly trying to make the window fog up with the thick wet snow on the outside. Mike knew they had enough of an arsenal in the three vans behind them to ensure they would go to prison for a very long time. The engine made a loud clanking noise and sputtered out every time Bollard floored the accelerator.

  “You’re gonna stall us out,” Mike said. Man, O’Neil needs to hire better drivers for his personal militia. They were coming up on the Twin Cities any moment now. Through the snow, Mike could not see anything on the horizon. Like driving in a snow globe.

  The car ride had been near torture for Mike. Bollard was a dick who wanted silence and slapped Mike’s hand every time he reached for the radio. Meditate on the mission, my ass. Mike decided to tempt his fate for the thirteenth time and used his speed to attack the volume bar with zeal only to have Bollard swat it like a cat playing with a mouse. Son of a bitch. Should’ve brought some headphones.

  “All right. Fine. You want to focus on the mission. Tell me again what the hell this plan is,” Mike said, banging his head on the window in frustration.

  Mike could almost feel Bollard roll his eyes before he responded. He revved the van up close to a poor sedan, almost running it off the road. “For the seventh time, in your language, there is a bad guy who did a bad thing and we are going to stop him,” Bollard said at last.

  “Yeah, let’s go over details. You have this guy Vryce. What’s he doing that’s bad compared to you guys specifically? You Unification guys want to bring back Lazarus from the dead, so you ripped holes into hell to do so. This guy Vryce was one of your guys who was tasked with doing that job. He did it. What’s the problem?”

  “He is violating divine law. Not that you would understand. It is above you anyway.”

  “Try me, genius. You know, maybe your personal problem comes from the fact that you guys need to take a few management classes and focus on branding.”

  Bollard gave Mike a sideways look and smiled. “Very well. God, the big man, the big bang, the creation of the universe, made the heavens and the hells. They govern the earth, and each performs specific tasks. The sun rises because angels move it. The wind blows because there are angels who make it so. Demons were created with their purpose as well. They deal with and test human-made concepts. Without them, the world would be a static picture, never changing. Do you understand this concept?”

  “You know that things like gravity, evolution, and friggin’ dinosaurs existed, right?” Mike replied. “Yeah, I know what you’re going to say, they are both right and true, divine will accounted for all of it and that the religions are all wrong. We’ve covered that.”

  “God himself rested when he was done, and the universe was created. He did this by creating humanity. He made them in his own image is the phrase, but what this means is he died, and humanity was born to live within his creation. Demons and angels are doing their part behind a veil that separated their world. We call this the Innocence. Since humanity is divine, they still have the ability to add to creation through their dreams. Look to history for examples, but even other gods were made at times.” He flashed the van’s lights on another slower-moving vehicle and sent the message to move. “You follow?”

  Mike grabbed the handlebar above the passenger window to brace himself. Good thing for oh-shit handles. “Yeah, we are God, and we messed things up pretty damn well. Why didn’t everyone wish for a better life and hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’ to create a utopia?”

  “Irrelevant. Some men are weaker than others. You are no longer part of that equation either. Once a human drinks or eats of the forbidden fruit, they choose to kill that tiny part of themselves that was once divine in exchange for power.” Bollard swerved the van and almost slid off the road. His lips pressed thin as he focused, the only sound in the cabin was the thumping of windshield wipers.

  Bollard continued when they were back on the road. “That material power can serve to bend the masses to someone’s will, thus grant said person, by proxy, the ability to control the world. Egyptians were the first to put this into practice, and look what they did with it? It is summed up by the choice that humanity makes with its own fate. This is humanity’s world, after all. If they choose to follow a monster, that is upon them.”

  “So back to the bad guy?”

  “Right. Throughout history, humanity has always needed a prophet every millennium to guide them, or they would ravage themselves to the breaking point. Everyone knows Jesus and Muhammad, but there was also Isis, Thor, Buddha . . . the list goes on. Ones with the backing and support of the Unification tend to stick around. You don’t hear much about Mithras or Ukko. They’ve effectively been stomped out. The Unification is going to return Lazarus to serve as a new prophet to reset the wheel and start the next age. Vryce and others like himself have figured out the game. Watching the world turn for a few centuries does change your outlook.”

  “A few? This isn’t rocket science. More like a fairy tale,” Mike said, checking behind them to make sure the rest of the crew was still there.

  Bollard ignored the comment. “Warlocks have found a way to take the blood, hearts, and souls of demons and angels, claim their power and work magic that remains among the most guarded secrets in the world. The magic of manipulating the barrier between the worlds and souls themselves. Then, on top of this, Vryce wants to steal back his soul, his divine spark. That is a violation of divine law. Even worse, since warlocks are aware of how to use that spark more than any, reality itself can almost be bent to their very will in certain areas, provided they know the correct names and words of creation.” His gloves creaked on the steering wheel as if he tried to strangle it. “A necessary evil, we only allow those warlocks chosen by the Unification to exist.”

  “That sounds pretty hopeful, actually. So there is a way back for all of us?” Mike asked, pausing for a moment before slapping his head. “Wait a minute! You guys are fucking idiots. Talk about classic inequality. Let’s just erase anyone else who doesn’t want to play ball?”

  Mr. Bollard snarled at him and raised his hand to threaten Mike. “Fool. Becoming a lich breaks the very foundation of creation. It opens cracks for things-that-should-not-be to enter. It turns angel, demon, and man against you alike. It binds you to this plane of existence, unable to pass through the gates of heaven or hell for eternity. You would wander this land, cursed and immortal, unless you are physically dragged and imprisoned elsewhere.”

  “Yeah, but with awesome powers.” Mike held up his hands. “Whoa. I get it, tough guy. Don’t worry. You’re all a bunch of monsters who are tired of being second fiddle to the Kardashians. Stings, don’t it? Closing the rift here does immediate good. I’m down.” Mike watched as they raced past a car that spun out. “This has been done before, hasn’t it? I mean, there are already”—Mike switched to his best impression of Tindalos—“things that were never born.”

  “Yes, it has. More than we would like to admit. We have a chance to stop this one. It is a long process. Vryce must reclaim fragments of his soul before seven days. If we kill him before then, it stops.”

  “You know we are up here to seal that rift, right? Let’s not lose sight of the mission at hand, Mr. Bollard.”

  “We’ve already killed the main source of energy for that. Vryce will do whatever it takes to keep the rift open for a day or two. This is why the Unification used two cities. In case we needed t
o end a ritual early. But you’ve given me a bolder and better idea. We are also going to dive into purgatory as well. Like it or not, Lazarus can seal all of the rifts. This is the best place to do both at once.”

  “So why not just drop a bomb on him if it’s that big of a deal, or shoot him with a sniper rifle,” Mike mused.

  “Because he never comes out in his real body. You’re dealing with a warlock who has survived in the shadows for centuries, studying the occult for his entire existence for this chance. Shredding the Innocence is something that can only be done on a certain date, by certain people, in coordination, around the world. The Unification had no other choice but to use him, and him them.”

  “Bullshit. What a load of motherfucking bullshit.” Mike leaned his seat back and put his boots on the dashboard. “You assholes had a choice. A choice to not do any of this. But just like every other group of self-entitled pricks, you want to rule the world. Only it came back and bit you in the ass, and now it’s up to us to try to save a part of it. You know what I could have been doing today? Eating some terrible Chinese food and crying in a bowl of ramen over the Iron Giant movie.”

  Mike let the silence resume between them. He really didn’t feel like talking anymore. The orange lights of street lamps fluttered past, and he watched the thick, heavy snow fall. He didn’t give a crap about what Bollard had said. He knew he was alive deep down inside. Now he just had the ability to make a difference.

  As they were getting closer to the cities, Mike began to squint his eyes and shot up out of his seat as he rolled down his window for a better look.

  A massive wall built from green pulsing bricks at least fourteen stories tall loomed ahead of them. Mike knew he was seeing the world for what it really was, not what everyone else saw. To him, the snow appeared as falling ash now. His ashen world. Atop the wall, chains as thick as cars hung leading up to a floating island that hovered above the city, right over the top of a tall white building with a W stamped on top of it. As they rode through a tunnel in the wall, Mike gauged its thickness. He could swear that he heard the sounds of distant screams as they traveled underneath.

  “Oh, you can see that?” Bollard said. “No wonder O’Neil wanted you recruited. You already had one foot in the door. That’s rather interesting. Welcome to the Society of Deus, personal domain of Vryce.”

  Mike still had his head out the window in awe when he replied. “So how do we kill this guy?” He brought himself back in.

  “That will be covered when we are safe at the hotel. Everyone needs to know that, and I hate repeating myself.”

  CHAPTER 36

  They pulled up to a shady motel outside downtown St. Paul that advertised free cable TV. Bollard had rented the entire place, given the staff a weekend off, and passed out room keys to everyone.

  Mike had just enough time to fight with a vending machine for some gum and a pack of smokes before they all were to meet in JJ’s room. The lot of them crammed into a room that smelled of sex. Cases of assault rifles were stacked on the single bed. Winters and Matsen had been stealing gear from the Chicago PD for a while. The look on Winters’s face suggested he was pleased with his collection, but Mike suspected he’d kept the best for himself. Once they had gotten cozy in whatever corner on the stained rug they all chose for themselves, Bollard began to unfold the plan.

  “We have only three days to complete our objective. You have allies here within the city who will serve as reinforcements. The Unification has their own array of agents who have been working within the walls. They have so far been waging a covert war to identify key personnel within the Society of Deus.” Bollard pulled his own tablet out, flashing a devilish grin as he caressed it.

  Shaking the feeling off, he continued, “The Society of Deus has been building an army of vampires from the rejected, eliminated, or criminals of the Unification. They were sent here to be reconditioned so they could be useful. The Society of Deus commands roughly three hundred undead warriors.”

  Matsen chimed in. “Sir, there are only twenty of us.”

  “That won’t be a problem. They may have high numbers, but most of them are so brainwashed that they cannot act without their commander. It’s a master-slave arrangement. Our objective is not to fight them head-on, but to eliminate their key personnel. Within the society there is a position known as the ridari. Each ridari commands a small squad of undead, and each of the undead in turn commands a small squad of blooded soldiers. I am one of the ridari myself. I hope that my cover is still intact, as it will allow me access to their communication networks.”

  “I should’ve brought more sniper rifles,” said Winters. “Any chance we can just get them all in one location and then blow them up?”

  “That would be ideal. There are, of course, complications. Vryce has a few apprentices, sorcerers of high potential that serve him. The first and most dangerous among them is Gabriel D’Angelo. He is new, a wild card. He has been given the strength of many from his master, but he is an easily goaded and provoked hothead. This is his weakness. He is a deadly instrument of war, though I would not rate him as highly intelligent or savvy.” JJ held up a photo of Gabriel. His fleece turtleneck sweater and blue jeans did not appear to be that of a mass murderer.

  “Okay, so we send in Lucy to talk to him for an hour. I’m sure he’ll be raging at the end of that.” Mike flashed a wink at Lucy, who answered with a murderous smile.

  “The next group of threats is Captain Mitch Slade, a fire sorcerer and also the leader of the Twin Cities Masonic police force. He will be armed and most likely traveling with Gabriel and a squad of blooded Special Forces soldiers.” A swipe on the tablet revealed a stocky individual with muttonchops and aviator shades.

  Phoebe dived over the mattress and swiped Mike’s pack of gum. A quick wrestling match ensued for the fate of the Juicy Fruit. Phoebe emerged the victor.

  Bollard waited for the tablet to be passed around the room and moved on to the last apprentice worth noting. “Cael McManus, a druid, controller of plants and wildlife. He is a solitary figure, usually restricted to the society’s libraries.” The picture of Cael dressed in dirty robes with a gnarled wooden cane did not impress anyone.

  Bollard gave them a predatory smile. “The rest of Vryce’s apprentices are sorcerers that haven’t finished their training. He will put them in harm’s way. After the ridari are eliminated, if Vryce wishes to command his armies, he will have to do so himself. In his real form. There is no way he could command that many creatures and still maintain possession.”

  “So, Phoebe, any visions on how this is going down?” Doc asked as he pulled at his neck skin.

  A pop of bubble gum broke the silence. “Yeah, this will be down to the wire. Some doctor’s office is a risk, a better place is near a pyramid with a lot of books. You’ll have to be invited in. One way gives you a better shot of killing Vryce, the other a better chance of finding Lazarus. As long as Vryce is killed and Lazarus is freed, there will always be a chance. Siding with one side over the other is also a choice,” she said, chewing on the hard-won gum. “I know, it’s all pretty vague, but hey. Prophecy.”

  “I think we need to flank them. Sir, you mentioned we had allies in this? Are these the same allies that worked with Frank? If he was killed, how do we know that they are still in play? Or even trustworthy?” Matsen asked.

  Bollard kept his cool demeanor. “They are the same ambassadors that Frank was dealing with under the table. Their work of smuggling out artifacts and copying texts has been under way for a while. It’s how we got Daneka Jr. some of his dad’s journals. Since they are Unification loyalists, I’ll keep you and them separate so nobody gets hit with friendly fire. It is unwise to place all our assets in one basket. It is only at the final moments that they will strike. Chicago is our fallback point. Once the society falls, Chicago will serve as the hub of operations.”

  “So when do we begin the party?” Mike asked. He had folded a paper airplane out of a steno pad after writing, “They
are using us as cannon fodder. Be ready.” I was gonna send it to Phoebe, but no, thief of gum, Doc gets secret classroom notes. He let it fly in Doc’s direction.

  “We’ll rest for now and begin tomorrow night,” Bollard said.

  Doc unfolded the paper airplane and read the note as they left the room. Doc gave Mike a nod, and they headed out into the night. Mike lit up a smoke and took in the skyline, still in awe of the massive walls surrounding the city. The island was still there above them. It billowed black clouds of smoke into the sky. The Twin Cities was far calmer than Chicago. If I’m going to fight here, I need to walk the streets. Feel this city’s pulse. Mike hopped over the second-floor railing and wandered off into the night to explore this new battleground.

  CHAPTER 37

  The crew was still filing from his room when Bollard reached out and grabbed Phoebe by her shoulder. She spun around and glared at him as she moved a purple streak of her hair behind her ear.

  “Hands off, chief,” she said.

  “I need you to stay here. You are in charge of that entire biker crew. We need to go over the mission planning,” Mr. Bollard responded. He took his hand off her and moved with catlike precision between her and the door, shutting it.

  Phoebe plopped down onto JJ’s bed and made sure that her boots, still wet with snow, made a nice puddle as she curled up her legs and began to rock back and forth. “All right, plan away. What’s the scheme?” She took off her leather jacket.