The Unforgiven Sin

by R. Twine

  ‘All right, then,’ Agella said, softening. ‘I can say that we benefited only from Phil’s death, not from the death of Michael’s wife. Secret services began poking their noses in our business. Mind you – in our business, not in yours. They know that these deaths are somehow interconnected. To tell you frankly, I cannot see who needed them at all. Michael’s wife wouldn’t have stood in our way either now or later, nor even after he becomes the inheritor. Just the other way around – after her mysterious death her father, who’s close to the secret service community, has been incessantly after Michael and his acquaintances. Now he’s capable of tracking down the origins of Michael’s wealth and this path will eventually lead him to us.’

  ‘Michael’s father-in-law was hit by a car,’ Samuel said.

  ‘I hope you don’t expect me to have masterminded this accident, son.’

  ‘That wasn’t an accident. And his wife’s death wasn’t either,’ Samuel insisted.

  ‘I had nothing to do with it,’ Agella said firmly. ‘It would be far more convenient for us if Michael had remained bonded in wedlock, and Miriam wasn’t mulling over the idea of marrying him instead of you. But you must remember one thing: if someone gets removed from our way, this is beneficial for all of us. You must behave as you did before. You’re the only heir and master; don’t forget that first you and then your son will be the owners of everything. You’ll only have to wait a little while longer for this to happen,’ Agella said, almost tenderly, and patted her son on his cheek.

  ‘I’ve been waiting for this to happen for many years but so far all I have seen is death and scheming!’ Samuel declared.

  ‘Several years is quite a short period of time, Sam!’ said Agella, smiling. ‘You have to be patient, my boy. I spent several thousand years hoping to find the first Book of Shadows but I’ve never seen it! Satanail’s been hiding this Book from all of us and from its real owner. I’m set on finding out who he is. I need this Book and I have to become its owner, whatever the cost! I don’t want to fail in what we’ve been striving to implement for so many years. If our task remains unaccomplished, these problems will go on forever, Samuel.’

  ‘Aren’t you afraid that Satanail will only frustrate your plans? If he is keeping you away from the owner of the Book it is because he senses that you pose a threat, and he will likely get rid of you, too,’ Samuel warned.

  ‘Son, he’ll never be able to get rid of me because I’m immortal. And I’m powerful. I’m one of those angels who followed Satanail after his expulsion. I’m a demon in human disguise. And I will live forever! I’ve been living for hundreds of years, reincarnating into Agella, whose body I have taken hold of. I have been helping the Prince of Darkness build his Kingdom long before man set his foot on Earth. It was I who – after the first ever woman and her first-born son – became the incarnation of womanhood by generating innumerable quantities of the creatures who faithfully serve Satanail. And he has no right to hide the owner of the Book from me! In fact, I think that this book must belong to me and me only!’

  ‘Yes, I see,’ said Samuel and drank up his whiskey.

  ‘You know that the feelings that Miriam and Michael have for each other are genuine, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I do. Michael’s attached to Miriam as strongly as I am; so I can understand the feelings he has for her. But she has some feelings for me too; otherwise she would have broken up with me a long time ago. I’ll continue moving towards my goal while turning a blind eye to her affection for Michael for the time being. Do you know Michael well enough to be able to get rid of him, according to your plan?’

  ‘Michael shuts me out, just like you do, my son. I know almost nothing about him and this is quite natural. But I’ll do what I’d planned to do all the same.’

  ‘This is so strange,’ Samuel said. ‘It turns out that Michael and I are in love with one and the same woman and this woman – I’m sure – loves both of us. I’m confident that you had a hand in creating this love triangle.’

  ‘No, Michael has never been part of my plan!’ Agella hurried to reassure him.

  ‘Can it be true?’ he asked in astonishment.

  ‘Yes, it can, Samuel. But there’s always the possibility of something unforeseen cropping up, something capable of wedging into the life of any person. Even angels and demons are not immune to this. It was you who gave Miriam Phil’s address!’

  ‘I never would have thought she would have gone to Phil’s funeral. I was hoping that he would calm down her fears, but instead he just fed the fire of her obsession to the point that she almost went crazy!’

  ‘See? This you proved unable to predict too!’ Agella said.

  ‘If I had known that everything would turn out the way it did and she would meet Michael, I, naturally, would have acted differently. For example, I could have invited Phil to Los Angeles or come up with some other idea. Overall, their meeting could have been arranged differently.’

  ‘It was my fault, too: I shouldn’t have delegated you to do such things, I should have done them on my own!’ Agella shook her head.

  ‘You don’t trust me, do you?’ Samuel asked.

  ‘Samuel, you’re not yet ripe for many things, and such mistakes may cost us dearly.’

  ‘Maybe, things will work out all right,’ he mumbled.

  ‘It came as a weird and unexpected surprise for us that Michael wedged himself into this story,’ Agella said thoughtfully. ‘Is there anything behind it, I wonder? I’ll try once again to sound him out about the matter.’

  ‘You won’t be able to learn more about him than we already know.’

  ‘I’m confident Phil had been keeping us in the dark about something concerning Michael. Far too many things don’t fit together.’

  ‘We should focus on Miriam, not Michael. It’s her opinion that counts. She has to become my wife because it’s what I want!’ Samuel declared.

  ‘Don’t worry, my son, if she wanted to reject your offer, she would have done it long ago,’ Agella said reassuringly, reluctant to interrupt her own train of thought.

  ‘Miriam doesn’t like men who bulldoze their way forward, so I will have to find another way around. You know, lately, she’s been constantly wearing the ring I gave her. This is a very good sign. Maybe, I should find a necklace with earrings to go with it? Women love that kind of stuff.’

  ‘I’ll give you something as a gift for Miriam. Something rare and vintage… You’ll give her a diamond necklace with emeralds. It will go well with her green eyes,’ Agella said with finality.

  She laughed out loud, her entire body shuddered, and she turned into a demon. Her beauty vanished without a trace.

  ‘Please, stop it…’ said Samuel, clearly frightened, covering his face with his hand. ‘I don’t like your demonic appearance. It gives me the creeps.’

  Samuel’s heart raced, his breathing quickened. Agella scared the hell out of him.

  ‘Samuel, nobody’s going to get away from us! No word that’s being uttered will escape my ears!’ screamed Agella, whose hellish image hovered in the air in front of Samuel.

  She guffawed maniacally baring her sharp brown teeth. It seemed that even the air was desperate to leave the room if only to avoid being beside her. Samuel shuddered…’

  Chapter 43

  We came back to Paris. Michael had decided to stay in France for a few days longer to be by my side.

  ‘What are you going to do about Samuel, Miriam?’ he asked as we were having breakfast.

  ‘I’ve made up my mind to let everything be as it is, Michael. I’ll play along by saying we’ve found the documents compromising the secret society and then I’ll hint that these documents will go public in case something bad happens either to us or to our relatives. Naturally, I’ll say nothing about the letter Phil left for you.’

  ‘All right, have it your own way – if that’s what you want,’ Michael agreed and then suggested, ‘Would you like to fly with me to New York?’

  ‘I’ll stay in Paris,
Michael. I’m going to accept the rules of the game Samuel’s been trying to impose on us. I’ll give my consent to marrying him. I’ve done a lot of thinking before making such a decision. I’ll try to find something out about the Book. And I won’t rest until I’m sure that you and your children are completely safe.’

  ‘Have you really made up your mind to marry the man who’s been treating you so dishonestly, Miriam?’ he asked in a sad voice.

  ‘I’ll marry Samuel only to teach him a lesson. He fully deserves it because he wants to take possession of something that belongs to you by right.’

  ‘Miriam, by and large I don’t need any of those treasures hidden in the bunker. I’ve got enough money of my own. If you marry him, I’m going to lose the motivation I’ve had since you appeared in my life. By marrying him you will not avenge yourself on him – just the other way around: you’ll give him the opportunity to further ruin your life. Please, think before making such a momentous decision.’ Michael spoke so quietly and his eyes were so sad that I felt sorry for him. He was sincere in his desire to help me and himself.

  ‘Samuel’s being manipulated by Agella,’ I said. 'She needs the first Book of Shadows; probably, this is her main goal.’

  ‘Are you accusing me of having something to do with the Book, Miriam?’ Michael asked in astonishment.

  ‘This is exactly what I am saying because only you can be the legitimate owner of the Book even though you don’t know about it! But Agella does know and that is why she’s been after you all this time. She’s confident that the Book’s been looking for its master and this master is you!’

  ‘Have you learned all this from your dream last night, Miriam?’

  ‘Agella told me that everything belongs to the Master, meaning that this “everything” includes the Book of Shadows, too! This is why they’ve been hunting you down! If the members of the sect succeed in taking you out, they’ll put Samuel on the throne in your stead, and the Book will become theirs,’ I surmised.

  ‘I think this clique of scoundrels needs only one thing: the bunker packed with gold. If they’d laid their hands on the treasures, they would have left us alone once and for all. They’d even have forgotten our names. They don’t need any books, it’s just a pretext,’ Michael said.

  ‘They need both the treasures and the Book, I’m confident about it,’ I objected. ‘This is why I’m going to give my consent to marry Samuel.’

  ‘I’m going to die grieving…I won’t be able to get over another loss of the woman I love!’ Michael said with a sad expression on his face.

  ‘Please, Michael, don’t say such foolish things! When the game’s over, we’ll be able to get back together. I promise you this. I love you, Michael,’ I said, trying to persuade him. ‘And no intrigue on the part of Samuel or Agella will ever again stand in our way. You know, thanks to the Book man becomes most powerful and capable of changing his fate since the very beginning of creation! I’ll obtain the ability to get rid of Satanail’s influence, while you will be able to get rid of the influence of your ancestors who’d been serving him through generations. Mind that Phil’s Book didn’t disclose even part of the secret of who’s who. We have to find out the truth on our own and this is precisely the task we’re facing.’

  ‘The task you are facing, not me,’ Michael objected. ‘By running after myths and searching for the truth which ruins your life, you actually stop living! This quest for mysteries has become the main occupation in your life. And you sidetrack the people who really love you!’

  ‘Please, Michael, don’t say such things,’ I said, offended. ‘We really need this Book! Please, don’t stumble; we’re already close to our goal!’

  ‘Miriam, I’ll miss you so much,’ Michael said, sadness in his voice. ‘It’s a pity you won’t listen at all to what I’m telling you.’

  ‘Why are you being so pessimistic, Michael? I can divorce Samuel, after all. I only want to play along…’

  ‘You don’t hear me, nor do you understand me, Miriam. You’re out of bearing not only with regards to yourself, but with regards to the surrounding world, too. You seem to have become possessed. And…you don’t seem to need me any more,’ Michael said quietly and left the room. I heard the front door slam.

  When I found myself all alone, I began to have a foretaste of the fireworks display I was going to stage.

  Michael and his daughter went to New York by plane. Samuel kept ringing me constantly but I wouldn’t answer.

  Let’s play once the game is on, I thought. Life is like a play – we merely go through the stages of our life, acting it out. I sensed I was already not far away from my goal and was determined to go only forward. Some invisible force was guiding me. I had no idea how things would eventually play out but I was in no mood to retreat.

  My telephone rang again. After making a credible pause, I picked up the receiver.

  ‘Hello, darling, please forgive me for not calling you, I’ve been hellishly busy,’ I said.

  ‘How was your trip?’ Samuel enquired.

  ‘Michael has formally become Phil’s inheritor and filled out all the necessary documents,’ I answered readily. ‘We also had the opportunity to get familiar with some documents Phil had gathered concerning the members of The Star of Baphomet. You know, we saw many of them at the estate belonging to Agella and Robert. Michael said if something bad happens to any of us, these documents will go public immediately.’

  ‘Miriam honey, I have no idea what documents you are talking about.’ Samuel’s voice didn’t even shake.

  ‘Phil had been working for a secret service gathering the evidence of complicity of the members of this organization in wheeling and dealing,’ I explained calmly.

  ‘Holy Hell!’ Samuel exclaimed, sounding much surprised.

  He was an actor so I couldn’t grasp whether he was really surprised or if it was just a new trick designed to fool me. At this stage of events this was of no great interest to me, though.

  ‘Please, Sam, keep mum about it,’ I said, playing along. ‘It’ll be our mutual secret.’

  ‘Miriam, honey, you can totally count on me,’ he assured me. ‘Not a word to anyone! And don’t forget, that my life’s empty without you, and I love you very much.’

  ‘I miss you, too, my darling. Hope, we’ll soon be together and will never part again!’

  ‘Sure, it won’t be long before we are together, my love. Kiss goodbye,’ Samuel said and hung up.

  He had swallowed the bait.

  Suddenly something akin to a moral fatigue engulfed me. The events of the past week had derailed me. Earlier I had had work to do which diverted me from dark thoughts but now I had nothing to do at all. All I did was a lot of thinking. I fished out my diary and tried to enter something into it but I wasn’t in the right mood. Then I took – yet again – the small key wrapped up in paper, the one I’d found in the bunker, and stared at the long line of digits for a few minutes, completely unaware of what it might mean. I was restless, my soul ached and moaned. I had to relax somehow, had to be closer to ordinary people living ordinary lives.

  I went to the park, sat down on a bench and started observing my surroundings. There were a lot of holiday makers: careless kids on skateboards, their parents closely watching their children; there were touching elderly people engaged in unhurried talk, and lovers kissing stealthily in shadowy alleyways.

  I longed for peace of mind, too; I wanted to be happy – as I had been back in my childhood when my parents were alive. My grandparents were excellent people, they taught me a lot of things, and I was infinitely grateful to them. But only my parents were capable of creating the aura of carefree happiness around themselves, and I wanted to immerse myself in it again. Natalie’s death had been a huge blow to me; it had destroyed my small and fragile world I’d been building up brick by brick during the past years.

  I was very tired of the kind of life I’d been living lately. I had no motivation left: my career ambitions had disappeared, money had lost it
s importance, power and glory didn’t attract me any longer either. This wasn’t depression. The time I had spent searching for truth in parallel worlds drained my soul. I felt like an elderly individual who’d lived a long life and now was engaged in preparations for passing into the hereafter. Only my mind remained quick and alert and my body remained the same. I would stay in my current state forever. My body would always remain young and my face – beautiful, but I didn’t know yet what awaited my soul.

  The voice that was dear to me intruded into my inner monologue and woke me from the trance.

  ‘Miriam, it pains me to see you grieving. Remember: you’re not alone. Higher forces have never abandoned you. The thing is that now you’re facing a tough choice. You have to make your decisions all on your own, without any outside help, because you have unlimited freedom of choice and actions,’ said Natalie, quietly looking at me lovingly with her beautiful eyes. ‘You had to find out on your own what you’ve learned now. You still have to reveal what’s been hidden from you.’

  I felt her love for me and wished she were by my side, as before.

  ‘Nat!’ I called, reaching out for her. I wanted very much to feel the warmth of her body…

  ‘The Threads of Light protect you and enable you to advance in your search. You’ve done a good job! But the thing is that we have different rules here according to which we have neither the opportunity nor the right to tell a human being what fate awaits him or her. Besides, not everything is predetermined, Miriam. We don’t know how your current incarnation will end. There are a lot of factors making it impossible for us to intervene in the process. For the time being, you can act as you wish. I think you’re already aware of that.’

  ‘Yes, that’s why I had a feeling of complete loneliness. I saw that everybody had turned their back on me.’

  ‘Not exactly, Miriam. We are watching you from a certain distance but we are not intervening at all. There can only be one exceptional situation…’