The Lie (The Seekers Book 2)

by L R Clarke

  “That is still a mystery but they are both in grave danger. Oliver less so than Millie, for should they discover Millie is human it could change everything.”

  “Why?”

  Quark sat down next to Winston, not something he did very often and made a steeple with his fingers, gazing at them for some time. Winston wondered if he was praying. Finally he spoke, “They desire the Seed of Divinity. Each human being carries it within them from the moment of conception. Life’s experiences from the womb onwards can seriously interfere with its germination, nurture and growth, but it is there whether they know it or not. It is given only to humans as they partake in the Father’s nature. Even the angels do not possess it, but should the Fallen combine it successfully with their Essence, then their immortality will also hold the designer’s creative genius. That would be a disaster. So far they can only counterfeit, they cannot create life. On your planet they have been successful in many areas using the demons that were left without bodies after the Great Flood. The Fallen are forbidden to visit the Earth, but they break through occasionally and they still despise humanity. They have attacked it since Eden using legions of demons to do their bidding. The nature of evil is to kill and if they cannot kill the body they will take life in other forms, health, joy, purpose and meaning. The enemy is a thief and always comes to rob and steal. Many do not even know the battle they are in.”

  Winston for once had no words; he could detect the depths of Quark’s ruminations even if he did not understand them.

  Quark continued, “It is possible they could seriously delay or even try to thwart the End Times. No human has ever been where the twins are now and I fear it may be my fault. I should have stayed away.”

  Winston shook his head, “Everything happens for a reason, I am sure Michael can sort it out.”

  Quark smiled, “Your faith is well-placed, for Michael is Captain of the Host and a great warrior, but the opposing forces will have the advantage in their own lands.”

  Quark stood as Michael entered the room but he too was distracted, poring over celestial charts and checking ancient records. When he saw the two small companions he grinned with pleasure, “Have you heard the latest? We have five-hundred extra divisions and are ready to go. They won’t know what’s hit them; they will be so surprised at being suddenly hit in all four quadrants they won’t suspect an infiltration unit. Hah!”

  Quark bowed his head and Winston sniffed. Sensing the mood Michael put down the recorder, “Look I know you are worried but it won’t be long now.”

  “I still don’t see why I can’t come,” moaned Winston, “after all it is my job to look after the twins.”

  Michael and Quark exchanged a mountain of information with their eyes and the silence deepened until finally Quark relented, “Oh, very well, but Michael can assign a monitoring angel to babysit you as I really will be too busy.”

  Winston couldn’t wait another minute, “Well, come on then, let’s go. The sooner we get out of here the sooner we can get home.”

  Michael spread his huge hands in front of him and laughed, “What? The whole of paradise is not enough for you?”

  Winston waddled towards the door, “More than enough time for that later, the twins need me now, I can feel it.”

  J ack’s mood was darkening with every step. In his mind the old insults were playing on a continuous loop, he had stored every one until they festered. He had his top three targets in his mind’s-eye and blew them away with imaginary recoil of his fingers.

  He was so preoccupied he failed to notice the little old lady bending down near the gates and as he collided with her outstretched walking stick, they both fell to the ground in an untidy heap. Jack swore and then saw who it was.

  “Oh, sorry Mrs Benton, are you okay?”

  Sitting in the middle of a small pile of Coke tins and McDonald’s bags she was somewhat shocked to find herself on the ground, but she was otherwise unhurt.

  “Oh Jack, it’s you! I am so sorry, all my fault, silly me. Could you pass me the stick dear and help me up.”

  Jack looked around for the offending article, it had rolled into the gutter and as he bent over to pick it up his grandad’s gun clattered to the ground. He made a show of picking up some plastic bottles and throwing them in the bin while slipping it back in his pocket. He turned back to Mrs Benton, “Are you sure you are okay?”

  “Yes, yes, nothing broken, just a dent in my pride.” She held up her hands and Jack was surprisingly gentle, making sure she could support her own weight before finally letting her go and handing over the stick.

  “Thank you dear, how’s your grandad? George is looking forward to their next game of dominoes. Keeps him out of mischief for an hour or two it does.”

  Jack knew the old man was dying and like most young people did not really want to talk about it, but he liked Mrs Benton. She was kind to him and made him cakes, real homemade cakes. “He’s fine, he’ll be round as soon as he can, I reckon.”

  The smile said it all. “Well dear, I’ll leave you to pick up the rest of this mess if I may; George will be ready for his cup of tea. See you soon I hope.”

  Jack watched her slowly shuffle down the road, if anyone else had asked him he would have laughed in their face, but for her he picked up the two remaining bins and sorted the rubbish.

  O liver searched all the other huts in that quadrangle but they were all the same, stuffed full of zombies or whatever they were. It was too depressing to look at anymore. Where was he? Where had Alana gone and how was he going to get out of there? Even though he had only known her for a short time he felt responsible for her.

  He sat down on the step and stuffed his hands in his pockets again to keep them warm. Finding the cylinder still there he took it out once more to look at. As he rolled it in his hands he saw nothing new, but his fingers were more sensitive and every now and then he could feel a tiny recess. He looked closer. There was a minuscule join near one end, but what was it for? Oliver tried getting his nail inside, but it wouldn’t work, his hands were too big. Frustrated he tapped his chin with it, had the cylinder brought him here? If so why?

  He had to get back to Millie too, anything could be happening in that library, and Quark had sent him to help after all. She was relying on him.

  “Why aren’t you something useful?” he snapped, banging the cylinder hard against the step. To his utter amazement one end burst open to reveal a small antenna and a tiny, but familiar face appeared at the top of the cylinder.

  “Destination?”

  Oliver couldn’t help himself, he laughed with relief, “Quark, is that you?”

  “Affirmative.”

  Oliver was bemused, “It’s me, Oliver.”

  “Destination?”

  “What do you mean destination? Come on Quark, take me to Millie.”

  “Where is Millie?”

  “Don’t mess about Quark, get me out of here.”

  “Destination?”

  Oliver looked more closely, the face was certainly a lot like Quark’s but maybe it wasn’t his Quark.

  “Where can you take me?” he asked finally.

  “Anywhere within the Planes of Kyrie of course.”

  Great.

  T he overlord raced through the darkened corridors, the small vial in his hand; he had requested a rare audience with Lucifer because he wanted all the glory. He knew he had to be careful, however, he had managed to stay in his cosy niche for some time now, it was best not to be noticed when assignments were handed out. But this was beyond his wildest dreams! His pride would not let others steal it from him. He approached the beautifully carved wooden door and hesitated, he could hear calming music coming from inside, that was a good sign. He knocked.

  The music continued for a lengthy period. He dare not knock again. His hands trembled so much he nearly dropped the vial but at last the door opened and he was shown in. Lucifer was on the balcony, silhouetted against the evening sky, the four red moons of Shemitah hanging low in the s
ky behind him. He held his instrument loosely by his side. He did not turn around.

  The silence was shredding his nerves but the overlord held it together, it would be worth it to see his face. Finally the four red moons disappeared under the horizon, Lucifer sighed and walked away.

  “What do you want Dracul?”

  The overlord did not yet dare to make eye contact, he studied the ground at his feet, head bowed.

  “If it pleases My Lord, I have apprehended a prisoner who may be of interest to you.”

  Lucifer sneered, “What could possibly interest me? They are all the same, useless, inferior by-products. The quadrants are heaving with production but they are all useless.”

  “This one is different, My Lord.” Dracul lifted his head a fraction and held out the vial as an offering, “She has Adam’s blood.”

  In an instant Lucifer was there by his side, snatching the vial he hurried over to a lightstone and examined it, and then he poured it into his outstretched hand and tasted it.

  “At last,” he exclaimed in triumph, “you say she is female – is she still alive?”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  “Bring her to me now and send Samael for the Scroll. You have done well Dracul, I will remember this.”

  The overlord walked backwards to the door, bowed and made to leave, but Lucifer was already engrossed in the Sacred Texts, he still didn’t know exactly how to extract the Divine Seed, but he would find out.

  R uth Benton took out the mobile phone her daughter had insisted she carry for emergencies. Well, she thought, this certainly constituted an emergency even if she didn’t know who to ring! She turned around and made her way back to the corner, Jack hadn’t got very far as he was quite unsteady on his feet. Well that made two of them. She gripped her stick firmly in one hand and held the mobile in the other. She checked the battery indicator and signal, all good there, now all she had to do was find out why Jack was carrying a gun. She hoped she wouldn’t have to walk far, and yet she knew, “They that wait on the Lord shall soar with wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not grow faint...”

  T he dressing was useless, blood was still slowly dripping and Millie was fairly sure she needed stitches, but it clearly wasn’t going to happen. She pressed her fingers on the bandage. Thank goodness the idiot didn’t seem to have severed any major arteries or anything. For all their technology and innovation they didn’t seem to know what to do, or did not care. She had been dumped back in the same room for ages now and she was thirsty and hungry. Millie couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten and she felt quite faint.

  Amanaki was crumpled in the corner, completely lifeless without his control panel; initially she had felt sorry for him but now she tried to look upon him as a glorified robot. It wasn’t easy.

  The silver door rotated to the right and the two guards returned. They didn’t speak but indicated with their weapons that it was time to leave. Millie glanced at Amanaki one last time and followed the first guard. She was struggling to keep up when they finally halted and stood to attention. Millie looked at the carved wooden door in front of her. Was she supposed to knock? She was getting fed up with doors. Before she could do anything, however, it seemed to open of its own accord, so she stepped inside.

  The room was beautiful. There was no other way to describe it. Rather too flamboyant for Millie’s taste, but it certainly made a statement. Millie assumed all the gold on show was real. Even the drapes on the windows seemed to contain gold thread. It was everywhere. She didn’t see anybody at first, the room was so large and badly lit, but her eyes finally came to rest on a small table near a window. A seated figure was studying her.

  Millie wanted to turn and run. Her every instinct told her to get out of there, but she was rooted to the spot. Weak as she was she recognised the evil clawing at her soul. Her usual courage failed her but the man gestured for her to come forward. Millie dragged herself onward but it was like some awful dream, she felt compelled to go forwards while longing to leave. As she got nearer she could see his features more clearly. It was a handsome face, surrounded by shoulder length, jet-black hair, but the dark eyes were devoid of warmth. He was dressed in a black robe that tumbled to the floor but underneath bright colours shone through somehow. Millie had never seen anything like it before.

  “Please be seated, you must be tired.”

  The voice terrified her. Millie realised he was making a conscious effort to be calm. She would hate to see him angry. She found herself seated.

  “Please, eat and drink, you are mortal and need refreshment.”

  On the table was a golden tray, of course, with a golden goblet and a pitcher of water. There was something that looked like bread, cheese and fruit. Millie wanted to have the water first but she knew her hands were trembling and she didn’t want to show him she was afraid. He smiled as if he had just read her mind, reached across and filled the goblet, and then passed it to her. Millie took it with her good arm. It was delicious. She drank it all down and he refilled the cup.

  He studied her every move. He seemed in no hurry to talk. Millie dared to try a small piece of bread, she found she could eat if she didn’t look at him and she needed to get her strength back if she was going to get out of there.

  But his first question surprised her, “So Millie, what can we do for you?”

  Millie decided to bluff it out but her mind was swimming as her very thoughts seemed to fill her head. “Well, er... as an envoy from Kalos I thought you had already chosen me for something?”

  “Your companion will fulfil his task, but we both know you are from Earth.” He looked pointedly at the blood soaked bandage.

  Somewhat self-conscious of the wound Millie tried to cover it with her other hand. She could think of nothing to say in reply.

  “Who is Oliver?” he asked.

  Through the window Millie watched the evening sky turn crimson, she could see several planets in the distance but she could not identify them. She thought she could actually see them turning, was that even possible?

  The man raised his voice slightly, “Who is Oliver?”

  Fortified by the bread and water Millie tried to ignore him, she figured he wasn’t used to it and it might buy her some time to think. There was a knock on the door and another man entered. He looked very nervous. He bowed his head and waited for permission to speak.

  “Well?” the anger in his voice was definitely showing now.

  “It is not there, My Lord.”

  Before the sentence was complete he had left the table and seemed to have doubled in size. Millie had never seen anything move so fast. He grabbed the man by the throat. “What do you mean it’s not there, you idiot, it’s been there since the beginning of Time.” He let him fall to the ground so he could speak, towering over him in his rage.

  “My Lord,” he spluttered, “no-one has access to the Archives except me but when I arrived the Great Serpent was dead and the Scroll was gone.”

  “But that’s impossible, unless...” He ignored the prostrate figure on the floor and returned to Millie. “Where is Oliver now?” he demanded.

  Millie couldn’t believe it. Was it possible that Oliver had found her after all? Hope flared in her heart and she dared to meet his eyes with her own, “My brother is too clever for you.”

  “Is he? Well thank you Millie, now you have confirmed both his existence and his humanity. Take her away.”

  Chapter 23

  O liver was about to give up when he remembered what Alana had said to the creep in the doorway, it was a long shot but it was the only name he had. “Take me to the Arena.” he ordered.

  “Arena: quadrant three. Section number?”

  Good grief why can’t technology make decisions, thought Oliver.

  “Er ... section one?”

  “Affirmative. Section One – High Command.”

  Oliver was about to object but it was too late, in an instant he encountered the slightly dizzy sensation
of transportation and he had arrived. Unfortunately the High Command was somewhat well guarded and he came face to face with a wall of soldiers. On the good side there were only six of them, on the bad side they all had their high specification weapons pointing straight at him. Before Oliver could say anything the nearest one walked over, grabbed the cylinder and returned to the line. Oliver noticed that the antennae on the cylinder had disappeared again. No- one else moved.

  He took a quick look around. There was little to see, he was clearly in some kind of main thoroughfare and all around him people were on the move. Some were being escorted; others were simply travelling in groups. There was no sense of urgency but it was busy. Perhaps he could blend in after all? The soldiers were still staring at him. Their uniforms gave nothing away, they looked like the standard issue from Star Trek, but their faces intrigued Oliver – they were all the same! Still nobody moved. Oliver thought he would make a break for it anyway when his eyes recognised a different face. Coming towards him through the crowd was Millie!

  Unfortunately she was not alone; she was surrounded by a most unusual escort. They were twice as tall as Millie and seemed to glide along next to her, ethereal black beings with no facial markings at all. How did they see? The group were not armed but their purposeful approach seemed to suggest they did not need to be. Others scattered before them and they were heading straight for him.

  Millie looked exhausted and he rushed towards her. The nearest of Oliver’s guards tried to stop him but Oliver passed straight through him. He tried to hug Millie but the same thing happened again. Millie gasped in shock.

  Oliver spoke gently, “I’m okay – Quark arranged it so I could come and help you.”

  “How touching,” said a sinister voice, “but we are the masters of the spiritual world here.”

  Oliver turned just in time to see the nearest of Millie’s escort reach for him, the outstretched black hand transformed into a whirlpool of malevolence and engulfed him. It continued to trap Oliver in its essence and he felt himself being pulled away. How could that be? He had only just found Millie and now he was losing her again. He tried hard to resist but the force was too great and he had no means to fight. He was just close enough, however, to reach out, so he grabbed the cylinder back from the stationary guard. Then he was gone.