by Deena Remiel
Namirha raised his arms and reached out over the crowd as if to touch them. His eyes glowed fiery red, and he babbled in what she could only describe as gibberish. She shuddered and Michael grabbed her hand in comfort. She knew he was having no real affect on the two of them, but what was happening was so unnerving, and they couldn’t do anything but play along.
Almost at once, everyone in the audience gasped, so they gasped. Then the rest of the group spoke in unison, “Our souls are yours to command. We live to serve The Source, our one true Master.”
“Well, isn’t this just great,” she whispered. “We’re now surrounded by hundreds of people that share a collective mind. And all who are here will serve that lunatic up there. Not very comforting at all.”
“Don’t worry. The Brethren will take care of it. Trust me.”
On stage, Namirha had collapsed and the six people that shared the stage with him collected him and whisked him away.
“Whoa, what’s that all about? Curious,” she pondered aloud. “He has weaknesses. Weaknesses can be exploited.”
“Mark my words,” Michael responded fervently. “They will be.”
The service was over and everyone was filing out of the prayer tent. Although they looked the same from a distance, Emma and Michael could tell that there was a distinct difference between the people that walked in an hour ago and the people that left now. Their souls were corrupted, taken, absorbed into a collective that would think what Namirha wanted them to think. Emma and Michael mimicked the people’s behavior, and made their way back to their campsite.
Safely in their tent, Michael shared first. “We’ve got to tell the others about everything we saw and heard. What we’ve just seen shows me we’ve got a better shot than originally estimated.”
“What does that mean? Are you telling me we didn’t have a chance in hell of winning here? Cause if that’s so, I’m really going to lose it,” she spewed, ready for a fight.
“Whoa, easy there, Mama.” Michael raised his hands in defense. “You know there are no guarantees here. It’s gonna be a hard fight to be sure. He’s no slouch in the war department. But he’s shown us a weakness we can use to our advantage. We’re still gonna have a hell of a fight on our hands but this is good news.”
“Well, that’s something then.” She was mollified for the moment and feeling a bit embarrassed over her sudden violent outburst. Actually being here at the compound was ripping her emotions to shreds. Emma looked at her watch. It was only eleven in the morning. What the heck were they supposed to do now? Just as she was going to ask, their tent door swung open and in walked Cassiel and Raphael. By the time Zadkiel came in there wasn’t enough room to even breathe.
“Hey, let’s go to our tent,” suggested Zadkiel. “It’s bigger.”
“Great idea. We’ll follow you.”
Once inside the Saviors’ tent, they all sat down comfortably on the cots. Zadkiel started in right away. “So, are we ready to do some de-programming?”
“I’m up for it.” Raphael slapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously.
Cassiel unsheathed his sword and swung it high above his head. “Let me at ‘em! I’m ready.”
Michael stood up to cool some hot heads. “Wait, wait. Easy does it. Before we go, Emma and I have some important information to share.”
“Oh really? What do you have for us?” Raphael asked.
“You wouldn’t believe what we saw at the prayer service. Namirha needs amulets to keep his people in control. How about that! He never needed that before. He gave them out at the prayer service. The people are now wearing them around their necks. He now commands their souls through them. Take off their amulets and I’ll bet anything they are free.”
“That means Namirha is weaker than we thought. Excellent. He must be craving Hannah’s powers something fierce by now.”
“Right Cass, plus after he put the whammy on everyone, he actually collapsed on the stage. His helpers had to carry him off.”
“Whoa, he collapsed? That’s awesome. We’re going to have such an upper hand come showdown. All right, anything else, or can we go set some souls free? I’m dyin’ over here!” Cassiel whined like a petulant schoolboy and his knees shook with nervous energy.
“You really are too much.” Emma shook her head. “No, that’s everything.”
“Then let’s go!” Cassiel jumped to his feet, nearly sending a small camping table flying across the tent floor. “Time’s a wastin’ and I want to get as many people out of here as possible before the next group comes in.”
“Oh! Wait a second. What are Nathanael and the other Warriors doing since they can’t guard Hannah?”
“Oh, they’re guarding her, Emma,” Raphael assured her. “They’re keeping a very low profile, blending in with the scenery, if you will. They’ll be keeping tabs on all of her movements.”
Cassiel held the tent flap open. “All right then, my brothers. Let’s go free some souls.”
***
As Emma and Michael walked, a thought occurred to him that was not sitting well. Namirha was definitely in a weakened state, but they still had Agremon to contend with. And he was in rare form these days.
Just how powerful had Agremon become? Michael hadn’t sensed his presence in a long time. What if Agremon was somehow able to completely shield himself from Brethren detection? That required a tremendous amount of power and if true, definitely cause for serious concern. What if he knew the Brethren were already there? Only time would tell. Michael filed his thoughts away for the time being, and focused his attention on the hundreds of people needing to be relieved of their amulets. It was quite satisfying to know how many lives would be saved this time around. Some of the younger Brethren had concluded that this war would not produce the kind of bloodbath the past war had delivered. But this war hadn’t even begun, and Michael, with his vast experience, knew conclusions made too early could spell disaster later.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The six members of the Inner Sanctum had taken Namirha to his tent, where they sat him upon his chair.
“Are you okay, my Lord?” asked one of the Inner Sanctum members, still wearing his robe.
“Yes, Robert, I’m fine now. My powers sometimes even overwhelm me. All of you should leave me so I can meditate and prepare for the other services.”
“Of course, my Lord. If there is more we can do, we will,” he replied. He and the rest of the Inner Sanctum left the tent to tend to their duties around the camp.
“Hannah! Helena! Where are you?” Namirha called out.
“Here, Father, here. We are in the corner.”
“Whatever are you doing there? Why are you hiding from me?” he asked, his cheeks puffed out and reddened.
“I couldn’t get Hannah out from the corner, my Lord, so I stayed with her, as you commanded,” Helena simpered, crawling out of their hiding spot.
“I was scared, Father. So I ran to get out of the way. Please don’t be angry, Father, please. Are you all right?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Don’t ever run from me, Hannah. You don’t need to fear me or for me, my child. Helena, take Hannah to our home. I need to be alone now.” His voice lacked the strength of conviction, and his hands were shaking with need for Hannah’s powers, so he hid them within the folds of his robe. Now was not the time to take her. He would have to wait. Although each day closer to her birthday strengthened her gifts, it was her birthday when she would come into her full potential. That’s what he needed, nothing else would do.
With Hannah gone, he meditated and restored his energy, though it was not as replete as before. If he collapsed again at the other services, he didn’t care. It added to the drama. There were over a thousand people this morning. If this kept up, his army of mortals in this region would certainly be a force to be reckoned with. Combine that with the millions around the world ready to defend evil. He was sure to take over the world this time and send the defenders of the Good to Hell. His waning power had giv
en him pause, though. He wasn’t sure if the charmed necklaces would be enough to keep the foolish mortals under his control for the amount of time he needed. And it was getting harder and harder to keep from sacrificing Hannah before she came into her full powers. His plan would only work if he waited until the precise moment of her birthday. Nothing short of perfect would do. Nothing.
***
Agremon had some time on his hands. That never boded well for whoever wound up in his thoughts. Right now, he was thinking about Namirha. Oh, he was happy that he was back in his good graces, but Agremon would never forget the punishment he’d endured yesterday. He had seen Namirha collapse on stage and that gave him pause. Ever-scheming, he devised all sorts of ways to undermine Namirha and reign supreme in the end.
He had a plan coalescing. He was confident he could do it, too. Kill all the Brethren, sacrifice Hannah for her powers and absorb them himself, and take Namirha’s place as ruler of all evil. He deserved it after all the time he spent acquiring the girl. Namirha sat on his ass spewing orders all the time. Agremon was fed up and wanted revenge for his fickle Lord and Master.
Pleased with himself, he decided to check on the security cameras. Although Namirha had all the followers in thrall, sometimes a rogue thought flashed through a person that made them take pause and doubt their involvement. It was Agremon’s duty to reinforce the idea that they should stay, by any means necessary, lest they create a panic in others and start a domino effect of people leaving the compound. As he walked down the trail that led to the security tent, nobody seemed to be concerned that there was a grotesque monster stalking about. That was part of the thrall in action, and made his job easier. He couldn’t very well hide out and do his various tasks effectively, nor did he relish manifesting a disguise that pleased others. He didn’t like making people happy or comfortable, and it took valuable energy away.
“Get out of my way, assholes!” he roared as he entered the tent. He immediately shoved the two security officers out of the way, and began looking at the wall of monitors, twelve in all.
“Yes, sir!” they both yelled and scuttled to a corner of the tent farthest away from him.
“Now let me see what’s happening. We have lots of newbies here, I see. I wonder how strong that medallion necklace is that Namirha gave ‘em. Might be that some folks need a little attitude adjusting. Hmmm, all looks good. Wait a minute, what’s this? Son of a bitch! Hey you, Grunt Number One, how long have you and Grunt Number Two been watching these monitors?”
“We got on duty at twelve, sir,” Grunt Number One responded.
“And didn’t anything look a little strange to you two fuck-ups?” Agremon roared.
Grunt Number One cowered back into a corner. “I—d-don’t know what you mean s-s-sir,” he stammered.
“Don’t you guys know a fucking video loop when you see one? The same people keep passing by every ten or fifteen seconds! Same walk, same motions, same everything! Damn it! You guys are useless. Look, watch the monitor. See anything peculiar?” he asked impatiently.
“Uh, well, no.”
“Wait for it,” Agremon growled.
“Oh.”
“Oh. That’s all you can say is, oh. You idiotic shit for brains! Get your genius partner over there and get the fuck out before I rip your throats apart and burn you both from the inside out!”
The two men scrambled and fought with each other to be the first out of the tent. This served to make Agremon even angrier, and he wound up incinerating them both on the spot with a quick and strategically targeted, “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.”
They’re here. I bet the Brethren are here. But why the loop? Obviously they’re shielding themselves or I would have felt their signatures by now. So what is the loop for? In any case, how fortuitous for me. I can step up my game plan. Why bother waiting for Hannah’s birthday?
He was already stronger than anyone realized. He’d been absorbing the energy of others for centuries now. Nobody knew exactly everything he could do, and nobody would. It was best to keep certain things secret. Whether Hannah’s powers were at full strength or not, they were still strong enough for him to take over the world. After all, what difference could four days really make in the scheme of things?
Agremon made his way out of the security tent and back on the trails around the campgrounds. He was determined to find out why the Brethren had set up a loop on his security cameras. It didn’t take long to find out.
As he walked the trails, he noticed some empty campsites—sites that previously had been filled with campers and tents. He walked on nearing the registration area and noticed hordes of people driving out of the compound.
What the hell is going on? Why is everyone leaving? How could everyone leave if they’re wearing the amulets Namirha gave out at the prayer service?
Furious, he walked up to a station wagon that was inching its way down the driveway towards the main road, and planted himself in front of it with his hand out signaling to the driver to stop. The man behind the wheel and all of his friends looked at him in horror and screamed like girls. The driver put his foot on the gas pedal and floored it, heading straight for Agremon.
Damn it! Agremon thought. He’d forgotten to change his appearance in his haste and anger. Oh well, what’s a few more mortal deaths, anyway? He stood his ground and when the vehicle reached him, he simply put his hand on the front bumper and immediately stopped its advance. Tires spun uselessly. He lifted the raging rust bucket, raised it over his head, and threw it to the side like yesterday’s trash.
The other cars quickly sped around the horror and even broke gates to get out, not wanting to be the next to suffer the same fate. He walked over and carelessly grabbed one of the broken bodies. He looked around the neck. No necklace. He carelessly threw the carcass aside. He grabbed another battered soul, and again, found no necklace. Where were the amulets?
The Brethren. They’re getting to these people and removing them! Brilliant!
He would have applauded their audacity if he weren’t so fucking pissed. He needed those people as a shield, to keep The Brethren at bay until he had accomplished his goal. Well, at least he had the followers who needed no such trickery to do as commanded. But now he knew his timetable had changed absolutely. He would take care of things tonight.
Namirha won’t know what hit him! The Brethren will be destroyed and he will rule the world! Not bad for a day’s work.
Agremon flashed to his cavernous hideaway not far from Namirha’s own lair. He had plans to solidify and immortals to rally to his side. And they would rally. They wouldn’t care whose side they were fighting on as long as it was the winning side. He’d promise them world domination and they’d be like moths to a flame. And in the end, they would die the same way, for there was no way he would actually share the glory.
***
The Brethren were able to free nearly all of the people who showed up for the first prayer service, and they considered it a huge success. Now Gabriel was assessing the population controls they had in place for the next registration and prayer service. While he was out, the rest congregated in the Saviors’ tent.
They were going over numbers while Emma linked in to Hannah’s thread to check in on her. Hannah relayed that Namirha had seen the necklace around her neck and looked very pleased. Beyond that, he paid little attention to her. He was preparing for the next prayer service. She was to return to his tent.
Gabriel entered with a major scowl on. “Houston, we’ve got a problem,” he disclosed in a hushed tone.
“What’s happened, Gabriel?” Michael stood up.
“Well, I checked the population controls. All’s in working order and it’s doing a great job. But as I walked down the driveway, I noticed some heavy duty ruts, like those you’d find when tires went spinning madly. Directly in front of it were footprints that were not human. I looked around a bit more and found broken windshield glass lying all around on the grass and blood in that same grassy area. No car, no p
eople.”
“Agremon must have noticed the loop on the security cameras and gone investigating,” Urie spewed. “Gabriel, what’s going on here? Why the hell aren’t we sensing him?”
“He’s gaining strength and power.” Gabriel rubbed his stubbled face and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“So, now what do we do?" Emma asked, feeling way out of her league as the Brethren plotted.
“We alert the Warriors,” said Urie. “We need their troops at the ready. Have them move closer to Hannah. Agremon could be disguised as anybody or himself. They have to keep a close watch on who’s going into that tent. We also need a team in the Prayer Tent with Namirha. We don’t know if Agremon’s told him yet. Beyond that, I think we should wait and see if either makes a move.”
“I agree. We don’t know for certain that Agremon’s found us out,” Zadkiel concurred. “I mean, we’re shielded. He can’t trace a thread to any of us. If anything, he’s going on suspicion. He’s going to have to do some searching, and we all know he won’t find us.”
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss his intellect,” Michael warned. “You know Agremon is near genius. I wouldn’t put it past him to have put two and two together even without tangible proof of our existence here. We can’t afford to be complacent. Might I remind you of our last war waged?” The Brethren all dropped their heads down. “Complacency lost many lives for us, mortal and immortal alike. I say we assume the worst case scenario and plan accordingly.”