Betrayal of Cernunnos

by Matthew Fish

  “Yes, back on topic,” Henry said as he avoided a particularly bloody cylinder. “Mr. Kent did track down and capture this Perpetual. He planned on keeping him as a secret weapon he hoped to unleash upon council members that crossed him or rubbed him the wrong way.”

  “Yeah, that’s great, sounds like a great guy,” Christopher said as he interrupted. “What kind of sick shit are you doing to these people by the by?”

  “These people were already like this when I arrived,” Henry said as he paused near a woman who had stripped herself naked and lie dead upon the floor. “I kept everything as it was—this is a testament to fourteen years of failed experimentation, all because of one man who gained the power to kill other Perpetuals, but he could not do so without a weapon.”

  “I will speak to this man now,” Cain said as he narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth together. “Enough talk, take me to this Perpetual and I will find a place for you on the new council.”

  “A man of action rather than words,” Henry said as he bowed and began to lead the way. “That will be a first for the council.”

  “What the shit did we just get ourselves into?” Amelia whispered to her sister as they inched their way past horrible sights.

  “I don’t think this is a normal mission,” Felecia spoke as she sidestepped to be a few feet clearer of a man screaming and kicking with broken toes at the glass. “This definitely wasn’t in the breakdown…Christopher.”

  “This is definitely not…normal,” Christopher said as he looked back to the three girls and frowned with wide eyes deeply troubled with what they had seen. “We were here for one man. Definitely didn’t expect any of this sick shit.”

  “This kinda thing just shouldn’t surprise me anymore, not these days,” Jenna said as she removed a flask from her jacket and took a large drink. “But fuck me if it doesn’t get under the skin.”

  “And here we are,” Henry said as he turned to Brian. “May we excuse Brian, he is not responsible for this, and he was brought onboard after I discovered it.”

  “Of course,” Cain said impatiently.

  “Just through this door,” Henry said as he nodded. They entered a smaller room with a long glass cell. A man sat, shirtless and muscled. He had a scruffy face and short black hair. He rested his arm against the glass as he stared to the newcomers with his piercing blue eyes. He had a thin, long face and sad features. His eyes looked as though he had been through a great deal of torment and he wore an emotionless look as his thin lips were tightly pressed together.

  “That is the man?” Cain asked as he began to pace in front of the long glass cage.

  “He is not of the most interested,” Henry spoke as he pulled a long metal case from a nearby operating table. He flipped the clasps and revealed a simple looking iron axe with an aged and worn wooden handle. “This is the key to his ability.”

  “It looks like nothing more than something one could acquire at any tool store,” Cain spoke as his hand hovered above the object.

  “Do not touch it,” Henry spoke as he quickly shut the case. “It is not as innocuous as it might seem.”

  “How is it dangerous, I mean aside from like, how all axes are inherently dangerous in some way?” Christopher asked.

  “The man is broken; he would not cooperate with Oliver’s plans. He claims to have no family, no reason to live—in fact the only reason that Oliver Kent kept the man alive is because he is the only one to survive wielding the axe.” Henry answered as he rested against a large window that displayed a view of the many tortured people encased in glass. He gestured with a thumb towards the window. “That mess out there, that’s Oliver’s attempts…all failures to find a suitable replacement. There are more, this is a very large building. He brought them in, all against their will, and forced them to pick up the axe in the case. The results were always similar; there was extreme rage, self-harm, and eventually—a permanent madness. I’ve got video, but I’ll spare you the first attempt when woman was not secured. She killed about fifteen Perpetual scientists before she went into a violent seizure and the axe could be collected and put back into the case. They needed to use a bomb defusing robot to get the cursed thing put away.”

  “Why keep trying with such a horrible thing?” Amelia asked as she looked at the case and felt a strange ominous feeling welling up deep within her.

  “The power,” Henry said as he folded his hands against his lap and looked at the man who stared at the group blankly. “It was all about the power to kill any Perpetual without the need of a Conductor and a Spotter. To bypass all the hoops that prevents our kind from doing away with each other. Oliver was very thorough with his experimentation, he tested many Mortals, countless Perpetuals, and he even managed to injure a White Stag and forced him to pick up the axe. It was always the same result, no matter the victim. That, however, did not ever stop him from trying. In fact, I do believe, it was you, Cain, that brought his experiments to an end.”

  “Why did he keep them like this?” Christopher asked as he shook his head. This was far too gruesome for him. The thought of there being more chambers filled with maddened peopled churned his stomach.

  “Wanted to know if they’d ever snap out of it,” Henry answered as he let out a short sigh. “I don’t believe they ever will. All of the Mortals have died. Now it’s just the Perpetuals…they beat themselves up, but by morning they’re healed. It’s like a hell to them. I’ve held up a skeleton crew to just keep this place running until I could tell its story. I would ask of you, now that I have supplied you with what you’ve asked—that you put an end to this hell they’ve been forced into.”

  “Christopher,” Cain spoke as he kept his attention upon the man who met his eyes. “I believe the glass should be no obstacle for your coins, take your Spotter and do what must be done. Everyone else, please give me a moment with this man.”

  “Not too pleased about it boss,” Christopher spoke as he straightened his Heart Sash and followed Felecia and the others out of the room. “But, this is your call…”

  “He may not answer you through the intercom,” Henry spoke as he stood in the doorway. “A more direct interaction may be necessary, but do not release him.”

  “I shall speak to him face to face,” Cain spoke calmly as he projected the short distance into the glass cell, startling the man.

  “Wa…water…” The man pleaded as he outstretched an arm. “Always thirsty…”

  “I’m afraid I do not have any,” Cain said as he pulled the man up from the ground and stood him up. “I’ve been looking for you for a very long time. To be honest, I had all but given up until I found some old blueprints to different possible facilities regarding a special Perpetual.”

  “I’m not…special, I’m cursed,” the man sobbed as he placed his arms on Cain’s shoulders for support.

  “I know,” Cain whispered as he nodded. “I know it has been a very difficult time for you—but you must answer a question for me.”

  “Then…you will get me some water?”

  “Of course,” Cain said as he placed a hand upon the man’s rough hair in an attempt to keep him calm. “Fourteen years ago—do you remember killing a woman, she would have had dark hair, blue eyes—beautiful blue eyes, if you saw them, you would never have forgotten them.”

  “I…killed so many that night,” the man said as a tear streamed down from his eye. “I was homeless…I slept in a park. That afternoon I got drunk and I had a strange dream, something about a burning axe. When I woke up early evening it was there in the distance, halfway buried in a tree. I didn’t have much. I picked it up and it burned my hands and made me so angry that I thought I had lost my mind…”

  “Do you remember her though?”

  “I killed some children playing nearby. A woman was walking, yes; she turned as I brought the axe down upon her. I saw beautiful calming blue eyes—they weren’t enough though. I killed three men who rushed towards me and then more…then I was captured, knocked out…unconscious. W
hen I woke up the next day I felt normal and the axe was laying against my chest…axe was covered in blood. A man in a white suit, so many white suits around here…he picked it up and went crazy and killed more. I took it from him. I set it down. I never picked it up again. They wanted me to, the angry man. He kept hurting me because I wouldn’t.”

  “Her name was Amity,” Cain said as he gripped the back of the man’s neck tightly and began to squeeze. “She was my beloved.”

  “I…am sorry,” the man spoke as he attempted to release himself from Cain’s grip. “You cannot kill me though.”

  “I too, am sorry,” Cain said as he felt a deep surge of adrenaline fill his veins. “I will not let you live to see another day.”

  “You…need me.”

  “How could I possibly need you?” Cain said as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. “What could you possibly offer me, in return for what you have taken from me?”

  “I’ve had visions…dreams…a pale white man, glowing blue eyes. He carries…a white strange scythe. He will bring an end to many lives, millions of lives. I can…kill him. The axe—it can kill him. I’ve seen it.”

  Cain let out a short little laugh as he shook his head and pressed his forehead against the man’s. “Little too late, we’ve already dealt with that threat.”

  “No…” The man spoke as his body began to vibrate and tremor. Cain kept his grip firm upon the man as his body began to tear apart. A terrible scream filled the air as the man was ripped away from existence and turned to ash at Cain’s feet.

  “For you, Amity,” Cain whispered as he closed his eyes and allowed all of the anger to flow from his body. He looked down to the small pile of ask and kicked it away with his foot. Cain then projected back out of the room to be confronted by Christopher who stood there with his arms folded beneath his chest.

  “Didn’t like what I just saw in there,” Christopher spoke as he looked to Cain with narrow, disapproving eyes. “You’d be smart to remember that I don’t follow money, I follow morals.”

  “That was justice,” Cain said as he averted his eyes from Christopher and looked to the empty cell. “That was what needed to be done. Just as you needed to do for the others who had gone mad…”

  “Hadn’t started actually,” Christopher spoke as he shook his head. “Something didn’t feel right…didn’t look quite right either, to be honest.”

  “That man killed Mark’s mother,” Cain said defensively. “He killed children, lots of others…”

  “He was under the control of the axe,” Christopher spoke as he picked up the case. “How many people did you kill to get into your position? How many did you kill when you let your anger overtake you when you worked with my father? Perhaps if this was Mark’s problem as well, shouldn’t he have been here?

  “I know it looks bad, but it was necessary—he could not control his power,” Cain said as he reached for the case. “We will keep this buried away at the Perpetual Council. It will cause no further harm to anyone.”

  “This will go to Red Manor,” Christopher said as he shook his head. “If you will not agree to that then…well, consider it my terms for leaving the council.”

  “I am sorry that you feel that I have done wrong in your eyes,” Cain said as he nodded. “That was not my intention. The case is free to go wherever you deem it will be safe. Your opinion and counsel is always…necessary and appreciated. I do apologize. Part of that was wrong, I admit that. I could not stop myself.”

  “Your obsession with the man has not gone unnoticed,” Christopher said as he secured the large case and wrapped a black band around his shoulder. “I know what it is to hate, I know we have to tear this horrible place down…but, I can’t help but feel like we’ve done something wrong.”

  “I do have an odd feeling,” Cain said as he looked to the empty cage and let out a heavy sigh and pressed his back against the cold glass. “Perhaps, Mark was too forgiving…a trait I fear will be his downfall someday, just like my emotions will be mine.”

  “Come on, boss, let’s clean up here—have Jenna cause a little cave in when we’re done and we’ll feel a bit cleaner when were rid of this place,” Christopher said as he placed a hand upon Cain’s shoulder. “We’re all only human anyway…even if we’re not exactly all really that. Just keep it together and do the best you can. Remember…if I ever see anything like that again, I’ll be gone before you even know it, Jenna will come too.”

  *

  Lily stared up to the evening sky, she watched as an airplane streaked across her view leaving a white trail behind it. She wrapped herself up in her dirty, dusty blanket. The air here was chilled—she figured early spring, the leaves were still bare of leaves but small sprigs of grass jutted out from the moist soil beneath her. She kept herself low to the ground, camouflaged against the thick trunk of an oak tree. Sun lay beside her in the form of the stag. They had safely managed through many difficult passages through time—however, it was taking much longer than Lily had expected.

  “It will not be too much longer, he will come,” Lily spoke as she rested her hand upon Sun’s head and gently stroked his ears. She reached into a sack and pulled out some bread and cheese, a grateful prize she had won from the man she killed in another time. She took small bites as she pressed a canteen full of water to her dry, cracked lips. The water felt good against her dry throat.

  A sound of crushed leaves beneath swift feet raised Sun’s ears as Lily quickly got to her feet and pulled her antler adorned bow from her back and nocked an arrow. She pointed it towards the sound of the approaching footfalls.

  “No further,” Lily spoke loudly.

  “It is Leaf,” Leaf spoke meekly as he approached. He was in human form. His dark curly hair was messy and a twig was caught in the mess. He had dark grey eyes that contrasted sharply above his small, pointy nose. He was much shorter in stature to Sun. He was wearing a tan and white hunting uniform similar to Sun’s and he carried a simple dagger with him for protection, though it did not seem like much protection at all.

  “It is good to see you, Leaf,” Lily said as she embraced her old friend.

  “I bring news from Cernunnos’s time,” Leaf whispered as though even the trees might be agents of the enemy listening in.

  “Speak freely,” Lily said as she placed a hand upon Leaf’s shoulder. “I have scouted the area, Cernunnos would never think to search this time—we are so far from where we need to be that even I find it foolish at times.”

  “I tracked him, he is headed east with his army,” Leaf said as he hung his head down low. “After wiping out a major city, a great battle ensued with a large army. They had rifles, and vehicles, many different kinds—though I do not know them by name, fiercely large ones with big guns, loud flying warplanes. I watched from afar, I had hoped that Cernunnos would fall to such a large force, since he chooses to arm his forces with swords and spears.”

  “It did not go so well?” Lily asked, though in her heart she already knew the answer.

  “It did not,” Leaf spoke as he sat against the soft earth and pressed his hands against his knees. “When the large army aimed their weapons at Cernunnos’s force, he lined them up in front of a road. He turned the passage through time into a mirror…how he did this, I do not know—but when the guns fired from the soldiers the bullets fired back at them and they fell. The vehicles destroyed themselves. Warplanes growled loudly overhead and dropped fire down upon their own forces. Cernunnos emerged once most of the force had been destroyed. He then set his scythe upon the survivors. None were spared.”

  “How many of our kind still stand against Cernunnos…?”

  “Sixty or so,” Leaf answered.

  “We cannot win in that time,” Lily whispered as she closed her eyes tightly and searched her soul for some form of answer. Her only plan was to reach Red Manor and get help from her friends. However, to what end, she did not know. “I must ask of you a great favor.”

  “Of course, Lily,” Leaf said as he nodde
d confidently.

  “Sun and I will remain here,” Lily said as she handed Sun’s long antlered spear to Leaf. I will ask of you to go and gather those of our kind that will come…as many as are willing to make the trip through the long passages. Return here with everyone you can muster. We will have to face him in another time—I just do not know yet when. But we will need as many as we can get to fight alongside us.”

  “It will take time,” Leaf said as he took the spear and fixed it upon his back. “I will return with as many as I can.”

  “Be swift, Leaf,” Lily spoke as she embraced her friend once more. “Before you go—my parents?”

  “They are still safe,” Leaf said as he got to his feet and dusted the earth away from his bottom. “If I do not return by the sunset of the seventh day of this time, then you must go on without me.”

  Chapter 3

  2015

  “You know what’s pretty retarded?” Emily asked as they pulled off of the highway and headed towards Utica. A light snow began to fall, each snowflake turned to tiny droplets as they hit the windshield.

  “I know…we’ve arrived just in time for it to get really cold.” Mark said as he let out an exhaustive sigh. He had heard the complaint occasionally ever since they passed through Colorado. Mark had thought about staying, the urge was definitely there. However, he felt that he was needed back at Red Manor. He did not have any dreams nor any visits from Caesar—it was just something he felt inside. He attempted to explain this to Emily and Maddie; they both thought he had just gotten a bit too much sun. He did have a rather nice tan going, even if it did start out as a rather painful burn.

  “A girl just…gets used to the warm sun on her skin. You can’t spend so much time by the ocean without wanting to never leave it, lady-boner killer.” Emily said as she wrapped her black hoodie around her tightly. She brushed a hand through her hair. It had grown a bit longer and tended to cover up her right eye. She had dyed it with purple and teal streaks that added another dimension to her pink hair which was now more of a very faint pink against her naturally blonde hair.