“Yes.”
“So they are in Germany?”
“No.”
“Then where are they?”
“The Otherlands,” the demon said wistfully.
“So this Temple has somehow relocated to the Otherlands? How many members of this cult are out there?”
“As of this moment, there are about one hundred and two members of the Temple that are still living. Although I have a distinct feeling that number will go down once the boy and the warrior reach their castle.”
“This warrior that you’re talking about, is he from Earth too?”
“Yes.”
So he must be a soldier then, Paul thought. “What is his name?”
“His wife calls him Patrick.”
“What is he called by his superiors?”
“Gyle.”
Paul had hoped that the people watching them heard all that and that they would be researching his name right away. “How did he get into the Otherlands?”
“He met the oldest man in the world.”
Paul paused for bit as he tried to remember the myths of Sumer. “Gilgamesh?”
Dantalion snorted. “You are a poor man of knowledge. Gilgamesh died many, many millennia ago.”
Paul tried to think about it again. “Noah?”
“About time,” Dantalion said. “I doubt you will recognize the warrior, he has transformed his mortal form …into something else.”
Paul nodded. “The girl, what is her surname?”
“That, I do not know,” Dantalion said. “She never mentioned it.”
“And the boy’s surname?”
“Well, he mentioned it to Radegast. It’s Volkhov.”
“Radegast, he’s a Slavic god,” Paul said aloud. “Are there any pantheons that have not returned to the world?”
“The Norse gods,” Dantalion said. “For obvious reasons.”
“Because they were killed in Ragnarok?”
“You catch on quick.”
“But there have been reports of giants in Northern Europe. Didn’t they all die in Ragnarok too?”
“There are plenty of giants,” the demon said. “Not just the northern ones.”
Paul nodded. Now for the ultimate question, he thought. “Alright, so where is God in all of this?”
“God? I’ve been telling you the names of many gods that are already present. Have you gone all stupid all of a sudden?”
Paul shook his head. “Not them. You know, the one god- goes by the name of Yahweh, the Lord, and Allah. And Jesus too, where is he in all of this? With all that’s happened, why hasn’t he showed up yet?”
The demon laughed so hard that even the walls shook slightly.
Paul frowned. “Well? You didn’t answer my question.”
Dantalion kept giggling. “You already know the answer to that.”
So Jesus wasn’t real then, Paul thought. I kind of expected that.
Valerie was livid. “Are you going to tell us, or not?”
“I am compelled to give you the answer,” the demon said. “And I did.”
Valerie turned to look at Paul. “He’s just spinning us around. Talking half-truths and puzzles.”
“It’s in his nature,” Paul said softly to her before looking at the creature again. “Will the Aztecs invade us?”
“Soon enough,” the demon said.
“Why haven’t they done it yet? What are they waiting for?”
“They are consolidating,” the demon said. Paul could see a hint of a smile coming from its shadowy form. “But they shall be here quite soon.”
Valerie narrowed her eyes. “How do we defeat them?”
“The usual way,” the demon said. “Blood and sacrifices. Plenty of them.”
Valerie grimaced. The monster wasn’t telling them anything new. She hoped that the others that were listening would know that the demon wasn’t on their side.
Paul remembered something else all of a sudden. “The separatists in Kansas, are they truly the Lord’s chosen? Is Jesus really helping them?”
The demon laughed again. “They certainly believe so, don’t they? How I admire their convictions.”
“You’re saying that they’re just delusional? That the Christian god really isn’t on their side?”
“They have been quite successful so far without any divine help. If they can keep it up then your question becomes rather irrelevant.”
Paul turned to Valerie and started whispering in her ear. “I’m going to try a different approach, maybe we can get ahead of this game if we try something daring. Just be ready to get the hell out of here if anything goes wrong.”
Valerie’s grip on her gun began to tighten. “Are you sure about this?”
Paul winked at her before looking at Dantalion again. “Demon, since you have been commanded to do what I ask, then you must bring someone here to me, now!”
Thirty feet above, Sheila Giraud stuck her head out from beneath the sandbags. Wait a minute, she thought. This wasn’t part of the plan!
Mary Arctor stood up from her chair as she was watching everything from the security room. “What?”
Agent Lawrence Johnson immediately drew a Glock 22 pistol from his shoulder holster and had his hand on the door knob. “Should I go down there, ma’am?”
Mary held her hand up, palm forward. “No! Let’s see this play out.”
The swirling, misty form that faced them began to coalesce. “What? This wasn’t part of the agreement! I have answered your questions and you will release me from the binding ritual now!”
“This ritual will only cease when I wish it,” Paul said. “Now I compel you to fulfill one more task for me.”
They could see that there were now two glowing eyes from where the head of the creature was supposed to be. A palpable sense of anger began to manifest itself like some invisible force all around them. “And if I refuse?”
“Then I will not release you,” Paul said softly. “You shall be bound to that cage. I will have the people here seal this place so that no one from the outside will be able to discharge you, not even Seth Solomon. You will be trapped here for a long, long time.”
Dantalion hissed with rage. “CURSE YOU, PAUL DANE. YOU HAVE MY ETERNAL ENMITY. BY ALL THE HELLS, I SHALL STOP AT NOTHING UNTIL I HAVE YOUR SOUL, THIS I PROMISE YOU.”
Valerie could feel a chill in her very soul as she looked at Paul., but she could see that he was unmoved by the demon’s curse. There was a certain sense of stoicism in him and it gave her some courage as she too stood her ground, just as a mysterious wind began to manifest itself in the entire building. A shrill, grating noise that seemed to be coming from all directions was also heard by everyone. A few FBI agents looked towards the exits as some of them thought the entire museum was about to collapse but so far, nobody panicked and ran.
Paul chose his next words carefully. “As a final task for this ritual, I compel you, Dantalion. I compel you, o Duke of Hell. I compel you to bring forth one mortal to my presence here, in this very place. He is to be of a safe and sound body, completely unharmed. I shall not accept simulacrums, or changelings, or doppelgangers. It is to be this one person, and it must be truly him. Once he is to be brought forth and of these conditions met, then I shall grant you your release. Of this task there is to be no deceit. You must use your utmost power to succeed. There will be no tolerance for failure.”
Dantalion’s voice had turned into a low rumble. Everyone could still sense the malice in it. “Of this task, it may well be beyond my power to make such a feat without a cost in blood. You know this. All works require payment of equal cost.”
Paul bit his lip. The demon was right. He was reaching out too far ahead and playing with powers he did not understand, but he was so close now, he needed results. Paul made a decision and pulled out a small pocket knife from his pants pocket. “I shall give you a little of my life essence, but not my soul.”
Valerie grabbed Paul’s shoulder. “Paul, what are you doing?”
The demon’s form appeared to be shaking its head. “If all you can offer is your partial essence, then all I can do is to give you a glimpse of your desire.”
“It’s a start,” Paul said as he moved forward until he was just a few feet away from the glass enclosure. He then pulled back his shirtsleeve from his left arm and held his wrist near the circle of glowing oil. Paul grimaced as he made a cut on the inside of his left wrist and the droplets of blood began to fall onto the oil. The moment the blood began to conjugate with the glowing ring, the demon’s form began to solidify once more.
Dantalion seemed to be enjoying himself. “Aaah, it has been a long time since I have tasted the blood of a righteous mortal who voluntarily satiates my eternal hunger. Name the person that you would like me to provide a glimpse of.”
Paul’s face was contorted as he continued to bleed but he maintained his focus. “Show me the President of the United States. Reveal his current state.”
“As you wish,” the demon said. Within seconds, a darker cloud began to form in the same cage at the edge of the glass. The mist began to take shape and an image of the president appeared. He seemed to be tied to a chair and was moaning in agony but no sound could be heard from his lips.
“Oh my god,” Valerie said as she quickly moved and stood beside Paul. She could see that he had lost a lot of blood as he strained to hold out his left arm. She quickly held him by the elbows to keep his knees from buckling.
Paul could barely concentrate. It seemed as if his blood was being drained out of him by some unseen force; he could see that there was now a steady line of blood running from the slit on his wrist, and it connected with the oil on the floor like a crimson colored string. “Is that really him? You are commanded not to lie to me!” he yelled at the demon.
“That is indeed him,” the demon said. “That is his true self as of this time in the land of Kansas.”
Paul groaned from the pain and weakness. “I command you, make his form material so that I can see his true flesh and body!”
Valerie’s mouth was open as she looked at her lover. “Paul, are you sure about this? You’re getting too weak! You need to break it off! He’s drawing the life out of you!”
Paul violently shook his head as he struggled to concentrate. “No! We must keep going! Dantalion, open a conduit to him in Kansas!”
“As you wish,” Dantalion said. For a few brief seconds, it looked as if the president was halfway through as his body had now solidified. They could see the beads of sweat on his pale forehead and the wrinkles on his face. The president’s eyes were closed and his mouth was in a contorted, painful grimace. There was no mistake that they were looking at the actual person, it was as if he was in two places at once.
Paul realized that it was now or never if his trick was to succeed. Quickly mustering his remaining reserves of willpower, he lunged forward and pushed through one of the side panels of the enclosure. The glass paneling was meant to be only a divider and so the hinges that had held it in place quickly gave way and it fell on top of Dantalion, pinning the solidified demon down to the floor. Paul quickly got his hands onto the president and began to pull him out of the magical circle.
Valerie stood in momentary shock as Paul brushed past her and knocked out part of the cage. But when she realized what he was doing, she quickly ran over and started to help him.
Several special forces operators that were upstairs quickly reacted. Two of them got out of their firing positions and started running down the ramp to see if they could help while four others sighted their scopes until they had the best shots at the demon and waited for the order to fire.
“Go!” Mary Arctor shouted as the FBI agents in the security room ran outside to see what they could do to help.
The NSA technician who ran the video monitors listened to her headset briefly before looking at Mary. “Delta is asking for clearance to fire at the monster.”
“Wait until Dr. Dane and Mendoza are clear,” Mary said tersely.
Dantalion roared with anger as he realized what had happened. With supernatural strength, it instantly shattered the glass that was on top of it and stood up. Just as the demon turned its attention to its mortal enemies, it quickly saw that Paul had succeeded in getting the president to fully materialize into the area. Dantalion quickly grabbed onto the president’s ankles, the only part of him left that was still in the magic circle.
Both Paul and Valerie screamed as they were knocked to the ground. Just as they were about to heave the president out of the glass cage, the demon quickly grabbed onto the old man’s legs and immediately began to pull them back. It was a brutal tug of war and the president cried out in pain as the sudden jolt on his spine was unbearable. The two of them didn’t want to hurt the head of state and so they began to slacken their grip as the demon pulled the president back into the circle once more.
But just as the tide seemingly turned, one Delta Force operator disobeyed orders and began shooting at the demon with his M-4 rifle. The first two shots hit Dantalion in the lower torso and the demon wailed in pain as it loosened its grip on the president. Paul instantly saw what had happened, and he used all of his strength as he stepped forward to use his own body as a pivot to throw the president out of the circle.
“Damn you!” Dantalion screamed as he saw that the president was now lying outside of the ring. That was when the demon noticed that Paul had accidentally stepped inside, past the protective glyphs. That was all he needed.
Paul saw the two soldiers running towards him, and he had just begun to reach out to them when some terrific force pulled him backwards, and he was suddenly engulfed in a black mist that blinded him. He cried out in terror as he began falling into a cold, lightless abyss.
“No!” Valerie shrieked as she tried to make a grab for him. She was able to grasp his outstretched hand and it was like clutching an iceberg. The cold was so intense it felt like her hand was burning but she quickly got her other hand on Paul and refused to let go no matter how intense the pain had become. Within seconds, the darkness unfolded over her as well.
Mary Arctor had gotten down the ramp and into the basement area in less than five minutes after she told everyone to move. All she could see now was the medical team looking over at the president, who was lying on the floor. The glass cage had collapsed in on itself, and all that remained were some black ashes where the magic circle was. Almost everyone had their guns drawn, but the demon was gone. Paul and Valerie were nowhere to be seen as well.
Sheila Giraud let out sob as she pulled out her handkerchief.
“I shot it twice, but all it did was piss it off,” a Delta operator muttered to no one in particular as he just stood there with his rifle pointing downwards.
Mary walked over to Sheila. “Can you tell me what exactly happened here?”
There were tears in Sheila’s eyes but she kept her composure. “Professor Dane tricked the demon into bringing the president over to us. But that thing took its revenge by taking him back to whatever hell it came from. Val tried to help him and she ended up being taken with him too.”
One of the medical technicians who was crouching on the ground nearby looked up. “He’s waking up! The president’s alive!”
A loud cheer erupted in the room as Mary made her way to where the president was. Task Force Omega lost its leader, but Paul had succeeded in taking back the head of the country, she thought as she looked down at the old man lying on the floor.
The president wore a slightly ripped undershirt and dark trousers. His hair was a mess and he started blinking his eyes. His mouth was slightly open and he had two-day stubble on his chin. He looked somewhat emaciated and tired but was otherwise normal it seemed.
“Mr. President,” a medical technician said as he kept shining a penlight on his eyes. “Can you hear me, sir? How are you feeling?”
The president mumbled somethi
ng softly, then closed his eyes.
Mary leaned over closer. “What did he say?”
The president opened his eyes again. Only this time his irises seemed to have changed color, they went from light brown to blue. Then he opened his mouth. “Omnes aeternis maledicam … the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy shit! My fellow Americans, we must …ut omnes manducare prandium forngs! Someone help me …non proderunt tibi iram dei diabolo! Can you not see the truth? Nisi mortale et caducum, et faciem. Make war upon the blasphemers in Kansas! In nostro mundo est…”
“He’s hysterical,” a physician on the medical team said.
“I don’t think it’s circulatory shock,” a second medical technician said as he took the president’s vital signs. “Blood pressure, heart rate are all normal.”
“Must be an acute stress reaction,” the physician said.
The president then tried to sit up and started flailing his arms. The medical team had to hold him down as he began talking in gibberish again, saliva and bile streaming down his mouth.
Sheila shook her head. “It’s not anxiety.”
Mary looked at her. “What else could explain that?”
“Look at his eyes,” Sheila said. “They keep changing color every time he blinks. He’s been possessed by something.”
25. The Raid
Wewelsburg
Before the crack of dawn, a hand-picked force was on the move as they made their way through the forest. Hours before, the strike teams had already dismounted from their vehicles and made rapid sweeps of the area using their night vision equipment for any signs of movement. So far, they didn’t encounter anything at all, not even a small animal. It looked like the entire town was deserted. By the first crack of dawn, the advance teams had already made their way along the nearby streets and were now right beside the castle grounds. They were dressed in black from head to toe and wore heavy body armor, their silenced rifles at the ready as they remained hidden in nearby alleys and houses.
Colonel Anton Wegener of the German Army and Colonel Mike McGrath of EUCOM slowly made their way to the edge of the forest. It was now first light and they could see the triangular facade of Wewelsburg Castle, less than half a mile away to the east. Moving right behind them were two radio operators carrying portable communications units as well as a squad of bodyguards.
Canticum Tenebris (Wrath of the Old Gods Book 2) Page 33