by Karl Morgan
Mary was petrified. Maggie told her she was to meet the emperor that evening and that her brother had been acting even more erratic than usual. The princess warned her to be careful and not upset him or she might find herself at the Place of Desolation. She had been alone a long time since she was separated from J.C. Her meeting with Dom and Lou was in another reality and seemed long ago as well. Somehow, Maggie had ignored their identical appearance and passed it off to chance, never suspecting she could be another version of herself. Mary did not think that would happen with this Bill. Somehow it had been her Bill that helped her out of her shell to discover the demon within her. She was about to face another who was more evil than she could imagine. She wore a harem outfit with a sheer covering over a tiny bra and panties and shivered from the cool air in the room. Two guards stood ten feet away guarding the ornately decorated doors that led into the emperor’s private quarters. They leered at her and whispered comments to each other, making her even more uncomfortable.
The doors behind the guards opened and they snapped to attention. Councilor Lucius walked out with two other women. He saw Mary and his eyes opened wide. Then he led the others to another couch and had them sit. He walked over to Mary and looked down at her. His eyes showed his pain. “I’m so sorry, Mary. I know this is my fault.” He sat next to her and pressed his mouth to her ear and whispered, “If you’re not one of them, who are you?”
As she was about to speak, the doors opened again and another man stepped out and said, “Lord General, His Majesty requests your presence again.” Lucius stood and walked back inside and the doors closed. Mary dropped her head and covered her eyes with her hands.
The older of the two women across from her stood, walked over and sat beside Mary. “Are you okay, Miss?”
Mary looked at her and smiled. “I guess I’m okay. What happened to you two in there?”
“The emperor just wanted to know how our day was. I’m guessing you aren’t going to be that lucky.” Mary shook her head slowly from side to side. The woman put her arm around Mary’s shoulders and said, “What’s your name?”
“Mary.”
“Well, Mary, this is just one day out of your life. You will get through this and things will be better tomorrow. Sandi and I were locked up for a long time and now we’re free. You have to hope for the best. That’s what my husband Bill would say.”
Mary smiled weakly and dropped her head to her chest and sighed. Suddenly, her head shot up and she stared at the younger woman and then at the one next to her. “Is your name Audrey?”
She smiled and said, “Why yes, how did you know?”
“I’m Mary, and I’m your husband’s sister,” she replied. “I can’t believe I found you. Bill and I have been looking all over for you two.”
“Is Bill here?” Audrey gasped.
“There’s no time to talk!” Mary exclaimed. The two guards had become concerned about the elevated voices and began to approach. Mary jumped to her feet and was instantly the beast. The guards dropped their weapons and began to pound on the inner door for help. Audrey and Sandi were screaming in horror at the demon in front of them. Mary smashed the outer doors and threw the debris through the plate glass windows on the other side of the hallway. She turned and grabbed Audrey and Sandi and jumped out the window and began to fly away. The women were screaming and struggling to get free, but Mary held them tightly. Sirens sounded all over the inner and outer city and searchlights scanned the sky for them. She flew down to street level and followed the streets toward the dome, hoping against hope to find an open passage to the outer city. She looked down several streets and saw the passages blocked. Audrey screamed even louder and Mary looked behind to see several more demons pursuing her now. She glanced down the next street and saw several workers feverishly working to free a truck that had been jammed under the closing mechanism. The slot was only a few feet wide and she did not know if she would fit.
She rolled over and wrapped her wings around Audrey and Sandi, sliding down the roadway on her back. Just after she slid under the door, it slammed closed. Mary had become human again and raised her head to see the trail of her blood from the door and several demons working to open it. “Come on, we have to run!” she shouted, pulling the women to their feet and yanking them along.
“What the hell are you?” Sandi screamed, desperately trying to pull her hand free.
“Please, for the love of God, we have to run!” They glanced back and saw the door was opening slowly. All three rushed away with Mary at the front. Mary was calling out with her mind for Jonas, Bill or Faith to help her. She was slowing down and weakening from loss of blood but would not give up. She pulled the others into the alley where she thought she had arrived with J.C. A demon was standing in front of them, shaking its head. The sound of laughter made her turn her head. Three more demons stood there with battle axes at the ready.
“You have failed, Sister,” the beast in front of them said. “Now, you will all have a cross in the Place of Desolation.”
Faith shot out of the sky and smashed the single demon into the ground. She raised her arms and lightning bolts shot out, tossing the other demons hundreds of yards away. “Mary, you did it!” she said. Mary smiled and then her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell forward to the ground unconscious.
“What’s happening here?” Audrey screamed. “Is this hell?”
“No, Audrey, it’s time to take you home,” Faith said and a feeling of warmth and happiness flooded them. The angel walked over to the wall and pulled open a hidden doorway where a man’s face appeared.
“This has got to be a dream,” Sandi gasped.
Jonas smiled at her and said, “No, sister, this is a miracle.” He helped the two women through the opening and then Faith carried Mary through and the door was sealed.
Chapter 16
“Master, how many more of my children must be slaughtered in vain?” Proctor complained.
“My boy, I realize that you and your clan are doing the best you can. It would seem this particular Bill Watson is more talented than I could have imagined. I do not understand how I missed that in the construction,” Moloch replied. “Times are especially dangerous for us right now. If he locates the keystone, all is lost, and the suffering I will endure will make yours seem trivial, and your entire species may blink out of existence.”
Proctor bowed his head in respect and noted, “Master, such things are far beyond my ability to comprehend, and I swear we will do everything we can to prevent that from happening.”
“Thank you, Proctor.”
“Master, may I ask you a question about my most recent demise?” Moloch nodded. “Master, you told me I would be the only white enforcer and as such would have hegemony over the masses, and yet, there were several others with me when we attacked. Have I not pleased you, milord?”
Moloch leaned over and kicked up Proctor and set him in his lap and then began to pet him like a dog. “Poor little Proctor doubts my love. Nothing has changed. I understand your confusion, but each of those white enforcers was you as well.”
“How can that be, Master?”
“I doubt you’ll understand, but I am able to split your spirit to suit my needs, much in the same way as the constructions you monitor. Every being in each believes they are the sole expression of their spirit, and few realize they are somewhat degraded facsimiles.”
Proctor looked up at his master and said, “How many of me are there now, Lord?”
He patted the enforcer on the head and smiled. “Let’s just say there are enough. Are you ready for your next mission, Proctor?”
The enforcer bowed graciously and replied, “By your command, my lord.”
“I have already sent another incarnation of you along with several million of your children to the planet where we exiled all the Bill Watsons and Stewarts. They are to kill all of them as quickly as possible.”
“But Master, aren’t they immortal?”
“First, that is an exc
ellent question. I must say I am pleasantly surprised how your intelligence has grown through this experience.” Proctor blushed and bowed his head. “In the real universe, the immortals cannot be harmed. However, these worlds are not the real universe. As long as one instance of each immortal is alive, the others can believe they have died. If their faith in their immortality is strong, then they can survive in the construction as well, but the moment they lose faith, they can die. These men on that Earth have no experience as demons or angels. Until that particular version appeared, they believed they were mortals, and I have to imagine they still feel weak and human. As long as that particular Bill Watson is alive, they can die, and that is why our army must act quickly.”
“I understand Master.”
“And you my friend must guard the keystone. You must guard him with all your lives. I don’t know if Bill knows about him yet or has any idea where to find him, but if he finds the keystone and the two of them get together, all is lost.”
“That is a concern, Master. That man knows his immortality and has no fear of fighting and killing us. How can we possibly win?”
Moloch began petting the enforcer again. “Dear Proctor, do not forget the emperor. He is also Bill Stewart. If Bill Watson attacks you and somehow you can make him lose hope, he will die.”
“But Master, what if that doesn’t work?”
“If necessary, I will be there as well. Either we win together or we will certainly die together.”
“Master, I certainly hope we win, but knowing we will be together lessens my fear of my ultimate death.”
“What do we do now?” Faith asked. She was seated behind the desk in Dom’s office. The two Doms sat on the couch looking alternatively at Faith and each other. Bill stood by a window looking at the planet below them and the mass of dead enforcers slowly descending toward the atmosphere. “Bill, I’m talking to you!”
He turned back to her and replied, “I know we have to be missing something.”
One of the Doms noted, “Well, I would imagine that is the fact there are two of me.”
“Actually no, and I was expecting to find more than one of you. I already know of two others and expect to encounter hundreds more.”
That Dom stood up and turned to face Bill, saying, “Excuse me, but do you have any idea who I am? If you did, you’d know that’s impossible.”
“Excuse me, are you Bret or Brad?”
“Bill, that’s not helping,” Faith interjected.
Bill sighed and walked over to the couch and sat between the two men. “I know none of this makes sense. You two are the third and fourth Dom Emmanuels I’ve met. No doubt you both believe you are the only one, but you are both here. I’ve been on a different version of Earth where there were more than a hundred versions of me in the same room! Is that possible?”
“Faith, is all of this true?” one of the men asked.
“Yes, I’m afraid it is. This reality is not mine. On my Earth, your grandson Bill is a ruthless dictator, expanding his territory and using those horrible enforcers to kill his enemies.” She motioned toward Bill and continued, “This man was an accountant in his reality. He was sent to my Earth to stop the emperor. There he even rescued my father from a dungeon along with my sister Prudence.”
“Now wait just a minute,” the Dom who had been Brad interjected. “You’re telling me that another version of me was locked in a jail? That’s crazy! Certainly you understand that is impossible?”
“Just as you two were trapped in the illusion of a bar in the Wynn Hotel,” Faith replied. Brad was about to say something but thought better of it and looked at Bill and Bret. He slumped down on the couch and sighed.
Bill jumped to his feet and said, “Well, sitting here and arguing isn’t getting us anywhere. Let me ask you both a couple of questions. What was the last job that I had in your reality?”
Bret said, “You were an accountant until the nuclear war broke out. Then you joined the army to help defeat the terrorists.”
Brad noted, “Well, you were an accountant, but after the attacks, you found a hideaway in the Arizona desert. What does this all mean?”
Bill put his hand on Bret’s knee and said, “I’m pretty sure this is your world. Faith and I met the me from this reality and he is a soldier.” He turned to Brad and continued, “And you are from the place where all the versions of me are located. You are exactly the Dom Emmanuel I was hoping to find.”
“Why?”
“I have to imagine if you had been there and found hundreds of copies of me arriving, you’d get suspicious. Since whoever is behind this was able to exile you here, he could act with impunity.”
“What do we do now?”
Bill stood and turned to face Brad. “I would like you to return to that reality with me. I’ve asked the other Bills to think about how this false multiverse could have been constructed. But more than that, a part of me believes they are stranded there without a God so that they can be more easily slaughtered.”
“But they’re immortals like you.”
“I don’t think so. The Bill who calls himself One told me that many of the Bills there had already died from illness or predation. Just like it was possible for you two to be controlled by mortal monsters, I think they can be killed if they think they are mortal.”
Brad stood up and said, “It would seem all of our powers are spread amongst all of our iterations, and I suppose that would allow someone to feel weakened. Let’s go before it’s too late.”
Bill walked over to the door and thought about One and the park in Mexico City. He pulled open the door. The city was in flames and they sky was black with smoke and flocks of flying enforcers. Bill and Brad were instantly angels. Bill rushed through.
Brad turned to Faith and said, “Daughter, I need you to stay here and protect Dom. There are billions of enforcers still on this world.” He stepped through the doorway and closed it behind him.
“Sister dear, you must know I am very disappointed in you,” the emperor said. “How could you not know this doppelganger was another version of you?” He stood in the hallway outside the walls of Cell One. He watched her writhing in pain on the cross inside the cell. Her body and face had been severely beaten and her eyes were swollen shut. She wore only a ragged and filthy tunic and struggled against the spikes that pierced her wrists and ankles.
Maggie coughed up blood as tears fell down her bruised cheeks. “Your gray purchased her for you, brother! And your beloved Councilor Lucius took her from your kitchens to make her a spy! You were taken in as much as I was. This is your fault Bill, not mine!”
“You have been warned about using that mortal name, sister, and please rest assured that Lord General Lucius has already found his new home in the Place of Desolation along with all of his lieutenants and your house staff. You would be there yourself except for our lineage. Out in the open, you’d flee. Here, your brothers will keep you in the cell and in this form.”
“You bastard! This is your fault!”
He pressed a button and the metal plates slammed shut. He laughed and went back to the elevator for the long ride to the surface. When he reached the upper level and the doors opened, Julius was looking at him sternly. “What’s wrong with you? I suppose you are on her side?”
“Brother, please, you must reconsider,” the beast replied. “We serve you by choice, and some of our siblings are very concerned about this. She is our sister and did nothing so grievous to deserve this fate.”
“She aided and abetted an enemy who stole two of my slaves. I will not allow anyone to compromise the empire, not her and not you!” Gaius growled while poking his brother in the chest. “Is there anything else on your mind, brother dear?”
Julius shook his head and Gaius walked away, leaving him and two others to watch over their prisoner. Julius looked at his brothers, who slowly shook their heads and turned back to their monitors. Julius sat down and wondered where his father could have gone. They had witnessed the transformatio
n of Bill Stewart into Gaius Claudius Caesar, the imprisonment of their father and uncle, and the rise of the enforcers.
One of his brothers turned to him and said, “Julius, do you remember our brother Moloch?” The other looked up from his screen to face Julius as well.
“It’s been a long time since I heard that name, Asmodeus. Do you know where he is?”
“No, not really, it’s just that I felt him hours ago. Perhaps it was just a memory, but he felt nearby.”
The third beast chuckled and said, “It’s funny how we lost track of one of our own. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Like seeing our sister beaten and crucified by our brother,” Julius grunted.
Mary Stewart woke up screaming. Blood was gushing from her wrists and ankles. She jumped out of bed and collapsed to the floor. She opened her eyes to see Bill Watson growling at her. Suddenly, he kicked her in the face and she flew across the room and slammed into the wall. He picked her up by the throat and continued beating her until she passed out.
She opened her eyes to find herself in a hospital bed. She immediately looked at her wrists but there was no sign of injury. She tried to move her legs to look at her ankles and felt intense pain in her back and groaned out loud. Faith ran into the room and held her down. “It’s okay, Mary. You’re safe. You’re home!”
“Faith, why did Bill try to kill me?”
“What? When did that happen?”
“Just before I woke up here,” Mary replied.
“It had to be a nightmare, Mary. You, his wife and daughter escaped from the emperor and fled the city center. You called for my help and I rescued you and brought you home. That was last night, and I’ve been here with you ever since.”
“A dream? Are you sure it was just a dream? It seemed so real.”
Faith held her hands and replied, “It had to be a dream, Mary. I swear you saved Audrey and Sandi and escaped the city where I found and rescued you. You slid under the gate on your back and now we bandaged you up and you’ll be well soon.”