“Please! Send him up to see me.” Bari told the man.
“But, Your Grace, he is quite filthy and in need of a…” the major began to protest. Bari was a stickler about cleanliness.
“Send him, Major!” Bari frowned at the man whose eyes grew wide.
“Yes, Your Grace.” The man snapped a salute and started down the hall. Bari stepped out into the corridor and looked in both directions.
“Major!” He called the man back.
“Yes, Your Highness?” The major stopped.
“Did he bring back the… package?” Bari was confused. These things were not known to him until now. Suddenly his head was filled with bits and pieces of conversations. Naomi’s voice. Jozsef’s voice. Others. Abaddon. Obed. Nicole. All run together. He had been present when Naomi had given Colonel McGuffy his orders. Strict orders. Secret orders. Not even Jozsef knew of them. Not even the emperor knew of them until this moment of clarity.
“He did, Your Grace.”
“Tell him to bring it.”
“What about the Prophet? Should I summon him as well? And the Empress?” The major asked.
“No! Don’t bother them. She in the bath and he is working on another problem.” Bari resumed his smile.
“As you wish, Your Highness.” The major saluted again and hurried away.
Bari stepped back in his room, closed and bolted the door. He leaned against the lacquered door and felt his heart racing. The colonel had retrieved the child from Wewelsburg. At Ruth’s insistence. Not his. He had changed his mind entirely about the child. He no longer wanted to see the abomination he had created with his mother and had made it quite clear that it was not to be brought back to New Babylon. An abomination. The child that had been born almost nine months after she had died. Why had he not seen the horror of it sooner? Had he been completely deranged? Why was he now suddenly remorseful and regretful about his past? It was as if a door had opened in his mind and he had stepped through into a new light.
Bari crossed the room to the bar and poured himself a glass of water. Instead of drinking it, he poured it on his head and allowed it to run under his sweaty collar and down his back. He heard many voices from the past including the voice of Simeon who had been so very kind to him and Simeon’s wife, Constance who had visited him when he had been incarcerated on the island. Such gentle people. And Reuben! The healer’s eldest son who had taken him in without question and loved him as of he were his father. Yes, loved him even when he had been a stranger in a strange land. He longed for Joey and Reuben and Simeon and Constance. If only he could go back to the Isle of Ramsay. If only… if only… He knew that they, at least, would welcome him in spite of everything.
He drew himself up and made his way to the bathroom to check his face. His eyes were red and his cheeks smeared with the insidious dust that had permeated the palace. He scrubbed at his face and then went to find clean clothes. No time for a bath, but he had to be presentable when the colonel arrived. He had to think. To plan. To be careful. Very, very careful! He jumped as a knock sounded at his door.
(((((((((((((
Jozsef summoned Abaddon immediately to his presence in his quarters. The dark angel stepped out of the foggy mist emanating from the brass brazier in front of the Ancient Evil and obediently bowed low before his Lord and Master.
“Abaddon!” Jozsef grabbed his servant by the arms as soon as his form solidified in front of him. “I have work for you.”
“But, Master! I have not found the palace of the Djinni. You said…” Abaddon began and Jozsef held up one hand. He had sent Abaddon to search for the mighty Djinni’s fortress shortly after the third fire had struck the palace. The war had intervened and interrupted the search, but Jozsef had sent the dark angel again and again as time and circumstances permitted to seek out the new dwelling-place of Mark Ramsay’s son. He was convinced that Lemarik had set the fires and stolen the vessel containing the rabbi and his wife. The rabbi was still necessary for the opening of the Ark. He would not repeat the mistake he had made so many years ago now and end up in the Abyss again… or worse. Jozsef was convinced that the magick that held the rabbi imprisoned could not have been broken by the Djinni or else he would have received word that Levi d’Ornan had returned home to his people in Scotland.
“Never mind the Djinni. We may have bigger problems. It would seem that Ramsay has recruited some of Lucifer’s minions to his aid. You remember Lucifer, do you not?” Jozsef asked him.
“Lucifer!” Abaddon’s eyes widened at the mention of the angel warrior’s name. If any other name in the Universe could have struck more fear in Abaddon’s heart than perhaps Adar or Marduk, it would have been Lucifer. Lucifer whom he had betrayed and imprisoned. Lucifer, whose name he had helped to malign and equate with the dark powers. It was he, Abaddon, who had caused the world to think Lucifer was one and the same with Satan. Satan! Ha! Now there was the myth of the ages. Satan had never existed! It had been the Old One, the Ancient Evil who had masqueraded as God, who had brought the world’s woes upon it and turned men against each other! And he, Abaddon, had helped. If Lucifer ever got his hands on him, it would be the end of Abaddon, Lord of the Scorpions.
“Tell me about you and Lucifer, Abaddon.” Jozsef narrowed his eyes at the frightened creature.
“My Lord, please.” Abaddon bowed his head and backed away, but Jozsef was on him in an instant. As Jozsef learned what he wanted to know, Abaddon relived that dark and shameful time in the past when he had traveled with Lucifer and the others. The great warriors of old. He had been there with them and then the woman had come to his master and everything had changed. It had been he, Abaddon, who had begged Lord Lucifer not to linger in the garden where the woman had lived in oblivion, tending the flowers and the animals much as the faery creatures inhabiting the underworld did in this age. But Lucifer had been overcome by her beauty, intrigued by her innocence, appalled by her ignorance and taken in by her charming curiosity. And it had been he, Abaddon, who had betrayed Lucifer’s indiscretion to Yaldabaoth. Abaddon shrieked again in terror just as he had wailed and moaned when Yaldabaoth had imprisoned the mighty Lucifer and his warriors in crystal prisons. In his desire to save his master, he had betrayed him to the Jealous God.
When the dark angel opened his eyes again, he was looking directly at Jozsef’s boots from his position on the floor where he had fallen in his distress.
“Well, well, my little friend. You have quite a history of betrayal.” Jozsef knelt on one knee and looked closely at him. “And who would you betray me to, Abaddon? Who will be your next master when the tides of fortune turn yet again?”
Abaddon hid his head under his arms expecting to perish any moment.
“Get up!” Jozsef yanked him roughly to his feet. “Get hold of yourself! You are a general in the Emperor’s army. I suggest you act like one.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” The General tugged on his cuffs and straightened his belt. “Your pardon, Your Grace.”
“Some of his warriors are in Scotland. That would mean that they have been released. If they can release him, they can release the rabbi. I need you to go to Scotland. I don’t care how you do it, but you must learn if this is true and, if possible, find out if Levi d’Ornan is free. We need him. If not the rabbi, then someone else who might be able to help us with the Ark. If we are to defeat the Templars we will need to open the Ark. We must have the instruments of Yaldabaoth or else we will find ourselves banished or destroyed.”
“But who else can help us?” Abaddon asked him. “Who of the Templars could open the Ark?”
“Surely Edgard d’Brouchart could do it. He is the rabbi’s grandfather, Nebo, Lord of the Second Gate. Or his son, Simon of Grenoble, perhaps. Even Mark Ramsay himself could do it, I’m sure. The Watchers were most powerful. Some of them were once Archangels. It is no wonder that Lucifer and his minions have joined with them.”
“Lucifer is very dangerous!” Abaddon cringed. Even Yaldabaoth had had great diff
iculty capturing the angelic warrior and his companions. “The Lords of the Abyss are most powerful. How could I possibly capture Nebo or Adar? Even the healer calls on the powers of Heaven to help him.”
“Tell me, Abaddon, how was it that this creature’s mighty grandfather became captured by two women in America?” He held out his hands, indicating Jozsef Daniel’s body.
“They used Nebo’s powder on him!” Abaddon shook his head. “The Tree of Life. They threw it in his face. My former Master told me this. Marduk said that when Adar traveled to America in search of Nebo’s apprentice, one of the humans there threw an elixir made of the powder into his face. He suffered complete loss of his faculties of recall. He did not even know himself, Your Grace. He wandered about for years, thinking he was nothing more than a man. Even now he may still be affected by the potion. The Tree of Life is devastating to such celestial creatures as Nebo, Adar and Marduk. If we had some of the powder…”
“But we don’t!” Jozsef pressed one hand against his forehead. “Hubur is very upset that these angels have been decimating her children in Africa. I am afraid that she may have said too much in front of the Emperor. It is possible that he may be suspicious of her now. I don’t know. And she is jealous of Nicole. She is driving me crazy. It was a mistake to bring her here!”
“Surely not, Master. You need all the help you can muster. She seems only to be quite fond of you and that is good. You should be flattered that she is jealous of you.” Abaddon told him.
“Oh? Hmmm.” Jozsef frowned thoughtfully. “I suppose you are right.” He smiled and shook back his long hair. “But what if Bari becomes suspicious and causes trouble?”
“We will simply have to replace the Emperor. No one would notice if his body… changed hands, so to speak?” Abaddon raised both eyebrows. He rather liked Bari’s handsome face. He would have gladly exchanged Ernst Schweikert’s body for that of Omar’s son.
“Ahhh!” Jozsef nodded his approval of the plan. “But first, you must go west and bring back the rabbi or some other that we might use as leverage. I don’t care how you do it, just do it. Make sure you capture someone of real consequence. Perhaps you might take Louis Champlain again for us. He is to be crowned King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor in a few weeks. He would certainly be a good tool to use and his capture would demoralize them. Or perhaps you could pass through London and pick up dear Uncle Luke, beloved King of England and his lovely Queen.”
“I doubt seriously that the Templars would trade the rabbi for anyone, Master.” Abaddon shook his head. “They know what you have in mind. They also know that if you succeed in opening the Ark, victory will be yours.”
“But they will want to save themselves to fight again. That is their weakness and their strength. They may do more than you think.” Jozsef assured him. “If you can bring back one or two more of them, we will have possession of at least six of their kith and kin to bargain with. What do you suppose Mark Ramsay would do if he learned that we had publicly executed his lovely daughter? Cut off her head in the town square? What do you think the mighty Djinni will do if he is given the opportunity to ransom his beautiful son, Omar? If you could capture the Golden Eagle again, Adar would come. He came before.”
“I see your point.” Abaddon smiled. “I will do what I can, Master.”
“Good! Now get on with it.” Jozsef jerked his head around as someone knocked on his door.
Abaddon left him and he found one of the servants standing nervously in the hall.
“The Empress is requesting your attendance in her chamber, my Lord.” The servant bowed before him.
Chapter Eighteen of Twenty-Two
from everlasting to everlasting you are God
Mark Andrew sat with Lucifer and several of his warriors on the floor of the barn while Il Dolce Mio’s people danced and sang around the blue fire. The elves had been very reluctant to take up their usual practices in front of the strange visitors, but Mark had finally convinced his Royal Son that Lucifer and his troop meant no harm and would not cause problems for them. Luke Andrew had joined them after seeing to the needs of Levi and Menaka, but Luke had refrained from drinking any more of the mead or the cherry wine. He did not want to go back into the same reckless mode that had gripped him earlier in the evening. He sat watching the elves while Mark and Lucifer conferred in low tones about Jozsef Daniel and the growing threat from New Babylon. Mark told the warrior chieftain about Lavon’s discoveries concerning the urim and thummin. Mark had no recollection of the source of the ancient artifact and Lucifer had no prior knowledge of it other than the fact that he recalled that Urim and Thummin were actually a pair of twin creatures of light named Urim and Thummin from lost eons in the past. He had never worked with them, nor had he ever actually seen them, but he had heard their names spoken long ago. It was Lucifer’s opinion that the two angels had been imprisoned in the crystal device much the same as he and his warriors had been captured by the dark powers. If that were the case, then they could assume that the Ancient One, himself, had probably imprisoned them and then passed them along to the wandering Hebrews to use in conjunction with the Ark of the Covenant, since the device was to be used whenever the Ark was to be opened or ministered unto by the priests. If Lucifer and his angels could be released from their prisons, then so could Urim and Thummin, theoretically. If they could use magick to release the twin angels, then the device would no longer be of any use to Jozsef Daniel. The problem was, of course, getting in close enough proximity to the device to invoke the magick effectively. Very dangerous. Mark questioned the wisdom of doing such a thing on two grounds. First, that Urim and Thummin might not actually be prisoners and second, if they released the two creatures from the stones, there might be some difficulty when they finally needed to open the Ark of the Covenant. Lucifer, on the other hand, thought that this Urim and Thummin would be more than willing to help them if they released them if for no other reason than a show of gratitude. Mark quickly pointed out the apparent lack of gratitude on Lucifer’s part when he had been released from his own crystal prison. Lucifer had conceded the argument at that point and they had agreed that Urim and Thummin should be recovered intact until more knowledge could be gained considering the true nature of the trapped entities.
While they were talking, Paddy Puffingtowne and Seamus Stagmaster arrived with several more clurichauns. The clurichauns paid their respects to Mark Andrew and Il Dolce Mio and then were introduced to Lucifer and his angels. Afterwards, they separated themselves from the others and set up an impromptu band across the barn and began to play a lively dance tune on their bagpipes and drums. Mark was in the process of telling Lucifer that he did not think it would be wise to involve Sophia in any of their plans because he was unsure of who or what she might be. Lucifer was convinced that Sophia could use the same magick to release Urim and Thummin as she had used to release him. He also suggested that she might be able to free Omar, Jozsef and Anna as well. Mark was about to list more reasons why he was against the proposition when Paddy’s band began to play a much slower and sadder tune that he recognized as one of Meredith’s favorites. The beautifully haunting Shule Aroon. Mark fell silent as the memories of his lost love overwhelmed him with a sense of regret and grief. It was at that moment Sophia wandered into the barn and sat down next to Luke Andrew.
Mark leaned forward slightly and looked at her in surprise. He had never known her to come here and he wondered why she had chosen this particular time to show up, but she simply smiled at him and returned her attention to the dancing elves. Luke exchanged a brief greeting with the woman and then subsided into his own depression, sitting glum-faced next to his father. He could find no joy in the music or the dancing or the company. His thoughts were still on the situation in New Babylon and Sophia’s presence did nothing more than add to his depression. Lili had disappeared and he was in no mood for pleasant conversation.
“You will stay for a while?” Mark returned his attention to Lucifer. “We should discuss this
more tomorrow.”
“We have time.” Lucifer assured him. “I would like to learn more about these delightful creatures.”
Mark nodded and got up. He did not want to remain this close to Sophia. He left Lucifer to Il Dolce Mio and headed into the section of the barn that was still a barn where the horses were kept. He saddled his favorite mare and thought to take a ride over to Luke Matthew’s old house, take in the fresh night air and collect his thoughts. Luke Andrew’s mood was contagious and he was depressed enough already.
He rode the horse out of the barn and around toward the open expanse of meadow on the north side of the building, intending to ride east to the chapel and then turn back up the road to the house. He was surprised when Sophia overtook him halfway to the chapel. He was further surprised to see her riding his favorite horse without benefit of saddle or bridle. Mark had had no idea that she could ride at all, much less control the spirited stallion without a bit and bridle.
“Where are you off to?” She asked as she rode alongside him, guiding the big horse with only her knees and two handfuls of mane.
“Nowhere in particular.” He told her and glanced back at the barn. No one else had followed. “Apollo is not used to such treatment.” He warned her.
“How would you know?” She smiled at him and leaned forward over the horse’s withers, patting him on the neck. “Apollo and I are good friends.”
“Oh?” Mark did not understand it. “You ride my horses often?”
“More than you would think.” She told him. “You are avoiding me?”
“That’s ridiculous! I haven’t had time to avoid you.” He shook his head and then had to laugh at the absurdity of the statement.
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“But you came through just fine.” He smiled and looked up at the thin veil of clouds between them and the stars. “I think Lord Lucifer was quite pleased with the fare after all.”
All That Is Fallen Page 23