by T. R. Lester
At least he has manners, I thought.
“What can I do to assist you?”
I repeated everything Luke had told me. Alfazon sat there and listened only asking a couple of questions for clarification.
“What I need to know is do you have any idea who may have been the seal bearers all these centuries. Luke said they were direct descendants of the Father.”
“Well, not descendant, but rather creation of the Father. The seals were entrusted to Uriel. He then gave the seals over to a person of his choosing, a lamb of God, to be guarded over the years. Uriel is the only one who knows who the bearers are. Through the centuries, they have been handed down and Uriel continues to observe and protect those seals. They have stayed in the same family for millennia.”
“How am I supposed to talk to Uriel? And will he even tell me if I ask?”
“He will tell you. They all know about you. He knows what you are to do.”
“How can I see him?”
“He will come to you when the time is right.” Alfazon says.
My phone rings at that time and I look to see Detective Jackson calling.
“I need to take this.”
“Kas here. What’s up Jackson?”
“Kastor, I’m at the park. A call came in from a citizen reporting strange behavior. She said there’s a man in the park drawing in one of the pavilions. She said he has a woman with him who looks to be drugged or something. I took the call and when I got here, I see a man, dressed in all black, black hair, six feet tall, about 220 pounds, dark complexion, drawing a circle in the pavilion just like the ones at the murder scenes. He has a huge ass dagger and the woman looks like she’s been slapped around and drugged. I need you here, now.”
“On my way.”
“Come on Grey. We got a problem in the park.”
I went over the details of the call.
“I’ll speak to you later.” I tell Alfazon.
“Be safe.” He tells me.
“I will.”
Grey and I head to his truck to see Taz sitting there waiting to get in.
“Fine. Load up.”
I open the door and Taz climbs in. I see Ava sitting on the porch railing, looking intently at us as we leave.
“Who do you suppose it is?” Grey asks.
“I don’t know, but I need to alert Luke.”
I open a link with Luke and relay the details of the call with him.
“We’ll be ready.” He tells me.
“When you get to the park, go to the back drive so we can walk up behind the pavilion. He will still sense us, but I’m hoping he is too deep in concentration to notice us too much.”
Grey nods.
He parks in one of the back lots of the park, we get out and get our weapons together. Taz jumps out and begins sniffing the ground. He rumbles a growl and looks to where the pavilion is we’re heading for.
We start our short trek and as we get closer, I can see the woman slumped over on the bench in the pavilion. I also see Jackson across the little duck pond hiding behind the children’s slides.
The man in the pavilion looks to have his circle done and is now adding sigils. The sun has almost set and the park lights will be popping on soon. The pool is full of ducks and the wind is softly blowing.
“Ah, Kastor Blackwood. I knew you would come.”
I look at Grey and shrug.
“Since you know my name, tell me yours.”
“Now you know there is strength in a name. I can’t tell you that.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“To get back what belongs to us.”
“And that is?”
“The mundane world.”
“They were His favorites. His children, until He created humans. He gave you all free will, He gave them nothing. He allowed you to choose, and even when you make the wrong choices, He continues to love you humans. When they made the choice they felt was best, He cast them out and never looked back.”
“They rose up against Him. What did you think He would do?”
“He could have forgiven them, but He preferred not to. He sent them away from Him and their home. He threw them away like trash.”
“And what is your role in this?”
“We will be the rulers over the human world. We will be claiming our rightful place as we make humans bow before us.”
“Are you not human as well? I mean, you look human.”
“I am a summoner you fool.”
“But, summoners are human you idiot.”
“I do not claim to be human.”
“You will be a toy for them. A slave to their wants and desires. You will be used up and tossed like so much trash.”
“You lie!”
Grey and I look at each other. He shrugs as if asking is this real.
“Was it you that tried to run us off the road? That sent the hell hound? That killed Lucius?”
The man nods with a sneer.
I open a link to Luke and feed him the details.
“He won’t stand for it.” I say.
“Who? Lucifer? He’s not able to stop us. He's so weak. He was cast away and preferred to lie down and accept his fate. He chose to be the lord of the fiery pits of hell, never being allowed back in His heavenly home.”
He picks up the woman and places her in the circle.
“You know your flunkies aren’t coming, right?”
A look of anger flashes over his face.
“And why is that?”
“Sorry. They’re tied up at the moment.”
“Tied up?”
“Yeah. Luke took care of them.”
He growled.
“Why do you even need them?”
He doesn’t answer.
“He needs them to summon a higher-level demon. He isn’t a strong enough summoner to accomplish that alone.”
I look over to my left and see Luke standing there with a look of pure hatred on his face.
“You know nothing Lucifer!”
“Hello Nivel.”
“However did you escape your prison?”
“That’s not for you to know.”
“Nivel here, was contained in a small prison created especially for him in Gadreel’s realm. He was never to be released due to crimes committed when he was actively summoning demons. Did Gadreel set you free?”
“I’ll never answer that.”
“No matter. You’re coming back with me anyway.” Luke says, as he extends his hand towards Nivel.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I am protected you know.”
Apparently, he’s not protected from the King of Hell because Lucifer closed his hand a jerked, really hard, and Nivel lost his jacket and shirt. Torn clean from his body. I believe Luke is pissed.
“You aren’t protected from me and if you believe that, you’re going to die here today.”
“They won’t stand for it! Ga..”
He cuts that sentence off as if a light was switched off.
“Gadreel won’t stand for it? Is that who you meant Nivel? So, I was right.”
Nivel wisely kept his mouth shut.
Gadreel. The fallen who led the others into copulating with humans in order to produce the Nephilim. A condescending ass who thinks he’s owed something.
“Come with me Nivel.”
“No! I won’t.”
Nivel walks over to the woman, lifts her head from the floor of the pavilion, places the blade against her throat, and starts to pull it across. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jackson, who has left his hiding place and is heading to the pavilion on the trail that leads around the small pond. He must have started over here while Nivel was talking.
Jackson makes it to and steps onto the pavilion. Nivel looks at him, raises his dagger, and brings it down to stab right into Jackson’s heart. Nivel goes stiff, starts convulsing, and falls to the ground. Apparently, a side effect of Luke’s black aura engulfing him.
“Oh fuck man.” I scream.
<
br /> I run over to Jackson and see the dagger protruding from his chest. He’s struggling for breath and I can hear the gurgles deeps in his chest. I see Grey from the corner of my eye checking on the woman Nivel had in the circle.
“He missed his heart and hit the lung.” Luke says.
“Call an ambulance Grey. Now.”
“You can help him boy.”
“What? How? Tell me how.”
“You can heal him.” Luke says.
“Tell me how.”
“I cannot tell you. That is a gift you received from the angelic side. But you can heal him.”
Well, isn’t this a bitch?
“Help me Kastor, please.” Jackson gurgles.
“You will have to remove the dagger first boy.”
“He’ll die if I do.”
“He’ll die of you don’t.”
Fucking hell. I can’t believe none of these asses ever thought it would be a good idea to tell me of my heritage so I would know how to use it when the time came. Self-serving bastards.
“I’m going to pull the dagger out. Ok? I need you to try to lie as still as possible. Can you do that?” I ask Jackson.
He whispers a yes.
I put my left hand around the blade of the dagger and press down on his chest to prevent a spray of blood when I pull it out. I grab the handle with my right hand and look at Jackson, who seems to be getting paler by the moment.
“Here we go.” I tell him.
I pull firmly on the dagger and hear a wet sucking sound as it exits his chest. I throw it down, place both hands over the wound and send out tendrils of indigo from my fingers and into Jackson’s wound. As I send them in, I imagine his lung fully formed and functional. I imagine it as a whole, with no injuries and functioning as his right lung does. Jackson coughs and struggles under my hands as I try to hold him down.
Luke walks over and places a hand on Jackson and he stops moving.
I continue my ministrations, letting the tendrils go in and out of the wound. Burrowing down deep, I’m able to see the place his soul rests. Buried deep in his center, wrapped in a soft glow of white light. Finally, Jackson’s color seems to be improving and his heart beats stronger and when there’s no rattling sounds coming from his chest, I slowly start pulling my tendrils from his chest.
Nivel still lies convulsing on the pavilion floor.
“What about him?” I ask Luke.
“He goes back with me.”
“Will you kill him?”
“No. I won’t. But I can’t answer for Asmodeus.”
Oh, yeah. He’s in for a world of pain and suffering.
I can hear sirens coming. The ambulance Grey called is almost here. Jackson is asleep? Passed out? Not awake anyway.
“Gadreel has to be stopped.”
“I agree.” Luke says.
“Grey and I have a lead on the bearer and will start searching tomorrow. Alfazon gave me some answers in finding the bearer lineage.”
Taz walks over to Nivel, who’s still twitching, and sniffs, rumbles a growl, then sneezes snot on him.
“Sucks to be you.” I tell Nivel.
“Let me know what you need. I will assist when I can.” Luke says.
I nod.
A portal opens behind Luke, Taz picks Nivel up in his massive maw and with a shake of his head, slings him through the portal. Luke bows to Taz and Taz presents his version of a toothy hell hound grin to Luke.
Luke steps into the portal and it closes with a loud pop.
“This is some fucked up shit dude.” Grey says.
“You’re telling me.”
The ambulance arrives and loads Jackson and the woman up.
“What happened to them?” The paramedic asks.
“I really don’t know. He just started shaking and convulsing, then dropped to the ground. He did that for about thirty seconds, then it stopped. I gave him some water and he’s been out ever since. About fifteen minutes I think. She looks to have been an intended victim of an assault or something until Detective Jackson surprised the attacker. We saw someone running away from the scene when we got here.”
The paramedic gets into the back of the ambulance with his patients and they leave.
“Is he going to remember what happened to him?” Grey asks.
“I don’t know man. Maybe? Not really sure. He might. The woman is drugged so she probably won’t remember anything.”
“So, are you ready to find these seals?” I ask him.
“I thought you would never ask.”
I snort.
Chapter 14
We get back to Grey’s house and see Ava is still there, waiting. I give her a head scratch as I pass and go on in the house. Heading into the kitchen, I grab the books I got from Luke and continue to walk out to the patio.
As I put the books on the table, I hear a rustle to my left. Looking over, I see Ava settling in on the patio railing, Taz’s fire red eyes glowing softly in the woods and Grey is standing in the doorway looking at me.
“You hear the whippoorwill.” I ask.
“Yeah, I hear.”
If you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing one, you are missing out. They have a haunting, ethereal song. They nest on the ground in shaded areas among dead leaves. You can generally only hear their haunting song during the night hours.
“I love to hear them.”
“Did you know the song of a whippoorwill is said to be heard when a soul is departing? They can capture the soul as it flees and guide it to the right place?” I say.
“I had heard that before, but I wasn’t sure if it was an old wives’ tale or not. I do believe it though. I’ve also heard sparrows can do the same thing, however, they tend to get somewhat violent with evil spirits.”
“Alfazon said Uriel is the only one who knows the lineage of the seal bearers. And, he said Uriel will come to me when the time is right. I don’t know if it can get any righter, but I wish he would come on. I need to know how we can find this person. It’s said when the bearer is born, the seal is embedded deep within their souls. When the time comes for that person to die, they are then passed on to the next person in line in the lineage. They don’t know they are a seal bearer. It’s the only way to keep the seals safe.”
“How would one open the seals?”
“By killing the bearer. That would set everything in motion for the apocalypse.”
“Then we need to start looking man.”
“I agree with you on that.”
“But, we can start tomorrow. I need rest. I’m running on fumes and feel like I’m going to fall out if I don’t sleep.” Grey says.
“Me too. Go ahead. We can start in the morning.”
Grey heads back inside to his bedroom and I continue to sit and stare at the books opened in front of me. I have to find a link between the demon dumbasses trying to take over the world. I don’t think Gadreel is alone in his quest. I don’t think he could take Lucifer out alone. So, that means he has help. When I find Gadreel, maybe I’ll have those answers. On the other hand, he is a deceiving demon, so I may never get an answer from him.
Still sitting at the table, I prop my chin on my hands. I stare at the book as if it is going to speak to me. I can feel the tiredness weighing down on me. Damn this was a long day.
I open my eyes to look around and see light. A light flowing light coming from… where? I can’t tell. A soft blue nuance blends in with the light, causing a serene, peaceful feeling.
“Welcome Kastor Blackwood.”
I spin around to see a tall man with a golden tan skin, white knee length boots, white leather pants, a white shirt with intricate golden stitching, huge white wings, a short sword attached to a belt on his side and long blonde flowing hair with jade green eyes.
“Who are you? Where am I?”
“I am Uriel and you’re in my dream.”
“How?”
“Because I pulled you into it.”
“Oh, well that explains everything.”
“Do I detect sarcasm?”
“Who me? Nah. Just making a statement.”
Uriel smiles.
“I see that the time has come to tell you how to find the seals. I do have to say it’s not something I’m fond of doing. The fewer people who know, the safer the seals are. However, since you will be the one responsible for the protection of them, it's time you knew.”
“Believe me, I didn’t choose to be the protector. I didn’t choose any of this.”
“You are correct. It was chosen for you. And the seals must be protected at all costs.”
“So, where do I find them?”
“You will find the first four in New Orleans.”
“So there is more than one?”
Uriel nods.
“The first four are contained by one soul. Since the first four are the harbingers, it only makes sense to put them with one soul.”
“Where in New Orleans?”
“The home of the blessed after their death and the resting place for the souls of the pure.”
“Ok. And just how am I supposed to know what that even means?”
“Come now, Kastor Blackwood. I know you are very capable of finding that information. I apologize that I have to be so vague, but it has to be that way. You have to figure it out. I am not allowed to tell you the precise location.”
“And when I figure out what your little riddle means, how am I supposed to know who the person is that I’m looking for?”
“Use your talents my son.”
You can really tell that angels and demons are of the same ilk as both have the characteristic of being as vague as hell. Why oh, why?
“Fine. When I find this person, I am to protect them from death and from being taken by anyone with malicious intent?”
“That is right. You must also collect the other three bearers and protect them.”
“What if the first seal gets opened? Can we come back from that?”
“Perhaps. You have to remember, when that first seal opens, the other three harbingers will follow in quick succession. There is no stopping them when they are summoned. You would have to work quickly to stop the fifth seal’s opening.”
“I’m not feeling too good about this Uriel.”
“You will have help my son. Trust yourself and those who assist you.” Uriel says.
“I must go now. You can find more answers from your sire. He will be able to assist you through this as well. And although it pains me to say this, Lucifer can assist you too.”