Holdin' On for a Hero

by Ciana Stone

  The sound was sickening. Like a melon splitting. Once she’d started she didn’t seem to be able to stop. Long after Lucien had released Richard and fallen face first into the water, she continued to beat on him with the object.

  Blood blossomed in the water, spreading out like a red halo, Richard grabbed her and she jerked away…

  Max opened his eyes. “They started screaming at one another, each hurling obscenities. My father tried to grab her arm and she screamed and threw the object at him. It missed him by a mile and hit me as I watched from the side of the bar.

  “I knew it was going to be a mess. The only thing I could think was that I had to get rid of the object. Hide it. I grabbed it and ran upstairs. Once in my suite I wasn’t sure where the safest place would be. If the estate was searched where would be the least likely place to look for it?

  “It hit me. One year while I was at the Citadel, Grandfather had sent me a collection of the entire Beatles’ library on tape. The case was a hand crafted wooden affair, with a false bottom, ample room for the object. I hid it there and left it in plain sight beside the stereo system.”

  “Is it still there?” Nikki asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’m going to find out,” she announced and jumped up.

  “No!” Max bolted up and grabbed her arm. “You can’t take a chance on being discovered.”

  “I won’t be,” she argued. “Max, I can do this. Trust me, okay?”

  “Let her go,” Simon encouraged.

  Max hesitated for a moment then released her. Nikki hurried from the room.

  “Do you remember anything after that?” Simon’s voice prompted him to turn from the door.

  “Yeah, I do, but if it’s okay with you I’d rather not talk about that just yet. I’m still trying to get a handle on this.”

  “I cannot believe that at long last you can speak. You have no idea how much I have wished for this day, Maxwell.”

  “About as long as I have, I imagine,” Max replied. “And would you mind calling me Max?”

  Simon smiled. “Ah, it seems our Miss Morgan’s influence is rather profound.”

  “That’s one word for it. I love her, Grandfather, and I plan on marrying her. If she’ll have me. But before that can happen we have to sort out this mess.”

  “Yes, we do indeed. Have you any ideas?”

  “I think I might. But let’s wait to see what Nikki finds.”

  * * * * *

  Nikki’s heart was beating triple time as she closed the door to Max’s suite behind her. She ran to the cabinet housing the stereo system. Sure enough, there it was, a boxed collection of the Beatles music, sitting on a shelf in plain view.

  She grabbed it and sat down on the floor with it, dumping out all of the tapes. Even empty it had substantial weight, far more than its composition would provide. Excitement welled inside her. Could it be that she was about to view a piece of history that until now had been regarded as myth?

  Max had said it had a false bottom. She fiddled with the box, pushing and pulling on every corner and panel. Nothing. She frowned and studied the box. There had to be a way to open it.

  A few more minutes in which she had no success had her cursing under her breath. She slammed the box on the floor and pressed down on it with both hands, wishing she had the strength to just crush it.

  And felt the box give. Her eyes widened and she released the pressure. Sure enough the release mechanism was pressure activated. The entire shell rose from its base, revealing the hidden compartment.

  Nikki pulled it open and inside lay an old cloth bag. Her palms grew damp as she removed the bag, feeling the heavy weight within it. A vibrating hum emanated from the pocket of her shorts the moment her hand closed on the bag.

  The sound was coming from the small pouch containing the stones. She’d been carrying it on her at all times, loath to part with it. Fortunately neither Simon nor Max had any problem with her keeping the Stones.

  She longed to open the bag to see the device, but sitting in Max’s room wasn’t the most secure location. While no one should bother to enter, knowing he wasn’t there, she didn’t want to take a chance.

  She quickly replaced the tapes into the case and returned it to the shelf where she’d found it, then went to the door and eased it open a bit. There didn’t seem to be anyone around.

  As fast as she could, she left the room and raced to the stairs at the end of the long corridor.

  She was breathing hard by the time she reached the landing on the top floor and tapped lighting on the door.

  A few moments passed before it swung open to reveal Simon in his wheelchair, with Max standing beside him.

  “I found it!”

  “Then let’s have a look,” Simon said.

  “Here?” Nikki asked. “I don’t have any gloves. And if this is what was used to kill Lucien…”

  “Smart,” Max commented. “Let’s take it to Grandfather’s work room.”

  They all hurried to Simon’s work room. “Top drawer of the armoire,” he directed. “A box of gloves. And get a cloth to place beneath it. There’s a stack of specimen cloths beside the gloves.”

  Nikki quickly got the disposable gloves, slid on a pair and passed the box to Max. While he and Simon gloved up, she grabbed a specimen cloth and spread it on the table in the center of the room. She turned on the lamp above the table and placed the bag holding the device on the cloth.

  Simon and Max joined her at the table. Nikki took the pouch holding the Stones from her pocket and placed it beside the device bag. “The Stones vibrated and hummed when I removed the device from the case.”

  “Fascinating,” Simon commented as she carefully undid the worn cord holding the bag closed.

  “Oh my god,” she whispered as she carefully removed the device, and placed it on the table. It was incredible. A work of art. Highly adorned with symbols that predated even the earliest form of written language, it was fashioned with a stout hilt that fanned out on both sides at the top, in a shape reminiscent of a crescent moon.

  A dark stain covered one side of the crescent and was splattered on the handle. She shuddered to think that something so rare and beautiful had been used for so violent a purpose, for surely the stain had to be blood.

  There were three holes in the crescent, one at each tip and the third at the top of the curve, which was slightly larger than the other two. Nikki dumped the Stones from the pouch into her hand, and carefully placed the Stones into the depressions at the tips of the crescent.

  “Did you see that?” she exclaimed as the metal tightened around the Stones to lock them into place.

  “Indeed,” Simon commented in a voice filled with awe.

  “What is this thing supposed to do?” Max asked.

  Nikki looked up at Simon across the table who nodded. She turned her attention to Max.

  “Some say these are the supernatural stones of the Sumerian creator god, Enki, or Ea,” she said, pronouncing Ea. as aya. According to myth the Stones have the ability to open star gates as well as bring enlightenment.”

  “Star gates?” Max asked and looked at his grandfather. “You subscribe to that theory?”

  Simon pursed his lips for a moment. “Provisionally. The Stones do hold a prominent place in the mythology of the Sumerian and the Danaan.”

  “The Danaan?”

  “The Tuatha Dé Danaan,” Nikki said. “They’re thought to be the direct descendants or in some instances, reincarnations of the biblical Shining Ones, or Elohim, who were the creator gods.

  “Some describe them as a race who are human in form, but divine in nature, and are divided into two separate classes—those who are shining and those who seem lit from within.

  “The Sumerians called them Annunaki, while the Ish called them the Lords of Light. According to myth they were led by E.A. and when they came to earth they brought with them four treasures, the Sword of Destiny, the Cup of Destiny, the Staff or Spear of Destiny and the Ston
e of Destiny.”

  “Supposedly the treasures were housed in what was called the Cave of Treasures, inside the Mountain of God where a perpetual flame burns.”

  She paused and Simon took up the narrative, impressing her with his knowledge.

  “In the early Nineties an archaeological lecturer at the National University of Ireland announced that he’d located a subterranean temple at Tara. He found it using an underground radar device.

  “What they uncovered on the Hill of Tara was incredible. An enormous oval-shaped monument that measured one hundred and seventy meters at its widest point. There are three hundred post holds, two meters wide each, encircling it. Archaeological evidence supports that at one time three hundred oak posts of towering proportions surrounded the hill.

  “Tara was regarded as being the Mountain of God, and the Ish-Tar Gate to the Otherworld. There are passage tombs catacombing the surrounding countryside, these passage tombs are called Sidhe.”

  “She?” Max asked, pronouncing the word the same way Simon had.

  Nikki chuckled. “Probably a pun on the She People or Shining Ones, the She-Ning Ones, those who worshipped Ana, the Great Mother of all things living. Tara is very important. From the beginning of Irish mythology, Celtic rites were performed there.”

  “And the Stones?” Max asked, directing the topic back to what lay on the table before them.

  “According to the myths, the Danaan possessed the ability to control the light of the sun through the power of a magical blue stone, a Stone of Atlantis. This stone forms the basis for Irish mythology.”

  “And interestingly,” Simon added, “the Stone of Ana found at Tara Hill is believed to be none other than the Stone of Luz.”

  “Luz?” Max asked, his brow furrowing slightly. “Wait, I know that. Luz was the stone of light. The Stone Jacob placed on his head and saw the ladder leading to heaven.”

  “Exactly!” Nikki said enthusiastically. “Now, the Sumerian myths tell us that the Stones symbolize the exotic matter of the universe. Some call it missing, hidden or black matter, and it’s been referred to as the Philosopher’s Stone in some traditions. Supposedly, the Stones were originally black, but when crystallized into Earth’s density, the stones shifted their vibration into blue stones—well, actually tones. We see symbols for them throughout history, a cluster of three orbs. And this symbolizes the Life Force of God. It’s said that when a human is in resonance with the Life Force of the stones they are transformed from human to god.”

  Max looked down at the device. “So not only does this device supposedly enable travel between stars, but it bequeaths immortality.”

  “In a nutshell, yes,” Nikki said with a smile at his succinct summation.

  “And that makes it something more dangerous than a nuclear bomb,” Max said and looked from her to his grandfather. “If true, this thing could incite a war. Do you realize what people would do to get their hands on something that promised such power?”

  “All too well,” Simon answered. “We of the Society have worked for centuries to prevent such an occurrence.”

  “I think it’s time for me to learn more about this Society,” Max said. “But first, we have things closer to home to deal with.”

  “And I believe you said you had an idea?”

  “Yes, but I need your help and your contacts.”

  “Everything I possess is at your disposal, my boy.”

  Max nodded. “Okay, I need to see a judge.”

  “A judge?” Nikki asked.

  Simon chuckled and she looked at him in perplexity. “Forgive me, my dear. I simply understand where Maxwell—forgive me—Max is headed.”

  “And that is?”

  “Liberation,” Max replied with a grin at his grandfather.

  Simon nodded. “Time to prepare, children. We have a journey to make.”

  “We’re going somewhere?” Nikki asked, feeling lost in the conversation.

  “Indeed. I’ll make arrangements immediately. We leave tonight. Nikki, please wrap the device and prepare it for our journey.”

  “We’re taking it with us? Won’t that be dangerous?”

  “Not nearly so dangerous as letting it out of our sight. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have much to do.”

  Nikki watched him leave the room then turned to Max. “Okay, you’ve lost me. Where are we going and why?”

  “We’re going to Washington, and when we get there I’ll reclaim what is mine.”

  The way he said it gave her a sudden vision of an ancient ruler, setting out to do battle and take back what had been taken from him. Reclaim his power and his rule. It sent a thrill racing through her. The continued emergence of Max’s true nature was exciting to witness. And not just intellectually.

  “I don’t suppose we have time for a nap and a shower,” she suggested, moving to run her hands up his chest to circle his neck.

  Max’s smile was part predator and all smoldering sexuality. “We’ll make time,” he said before he claimed her in a kiss that had her vibrating every bit as much as the device on the table behind them.

  * * * * *

  Nikki sat in a waiting room with Ben. Both of them were nervous as cats surrounded by water.

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Ben said. “Testifying that I hacked into sensitive material is admitting to hacking, after all.”

  “Simon explained it,” she argued. “As head of IT security for all of Weston Enterprises, it’s your job to make sure everything is secure and that none of the employees are secreting sensitive material where it could be leaked.”

  “But the data I hacked has nothing to do with security or business, Nik.”

  “No, but it has to do with illegal activities of officers and associates of Weston and it’s your duty to report what you found to Simon.”

  “Who isn’t an active officer of Weston.”

  “But who is still Chairman of the Board and majority stockholder next to Max.”

  “True, but still.”

  “Don’t worry,” she said and reached out to take his hand. “Max and Simon will protect you.”

  “You trust them that much?” he asked. “After all, your head is on the chopping block too.”

  “I know, but they’ll protect us, Ben. Max will. I’d stake my life on it.”

  “Which is just what we’re doing. You’re really gone on him, aren’t you?”

  “Completely.”

  He grinned and squeezed her hand. “I just hope all this works out.”

  “It has to,” she whispered, then stiffened as the door opened and the clerk for the judge addressed them.

  “He’ll see you now.”

  Hand in hand, Nikki and Ben rose and followed the clerk to the judge’s private chambers. “Here we go,” she whispered.

  “Yep,” he said and released her hand. “It’s show time.”

  Judge Everett Moore was seated behind his desk when Nikki and Ben entered. Max was seated on a leather couch on one side of the room, beneath an oil painting of the Revolutionary war. Simon sat in his wheelchair beside the sofa.

  “Miss Morgan, Mr. Marshall.” Judge Moore looked up at them and gestured to the two leather wing-chairs sitting in front of his desk. “Please, have a seat.”

  Nikki cut her eyes over at Max who smiled at her. She sat down and focused her attention on the Judge. And for the next two hours answered honestly to every question he asked, while managing to evade revealing anything about the devise or the stones other than them being ancient artifacts belonging to a private organization to which Simon belonged.

  The judge had fewer questions for Ben once he finished with Nikki. He had just asked what he called his final question when a tap sounded on the door. The door opened and the judge’s clerk entered. “Excuse the interruption, your Honor, but I believe there is something on the news you’ll want to see.” He headed for the television in one corner of the room, adding, “All of you.”

  Nikki and Ben turned in their seats to see t
he television as it came to life and the clerk changed to an all-news channel. There was a newscast already in progress with a graphic banner at the bottom of the screen announcing “breaking news.”

  A female reporter was on camera. Nikki gasped as she recognized the gate to the Weston estate in the background. “All that is known at this time,” the reporter was saying, “is that Richard Weston, president of Weston Enterprises, apparently died of a heart attack here on the Weston estate sometime between the hours of four and six a.m. this morning.”

  The screen cut from the reporter to various news clips showing Richard at social and political functions and with various politicians. The reporter’s voice droned on about Richard’s position, power and social standing. Nikki didn’t really hear any of it past the announcement of his death. She whirled around to look at Max and Simon.

  Both of their faces wore looks almost identical. Nikki could sense Max’s thoughts and felt certain that could she hear what was going on in Simon’s mind, his thoughts would mirror Max’s.

  You don’t think they really did it? she thought.

  Max’s mental reply was immediate. Yes, I do.

  Then what do we do?

  Simon provided the answer when he turned to look at the judge. “I believe this substantiates our position quite clearly, your Honor. As evidenced on the video footage we showed you earlier of Helen Weston and Mark Robinson plotting the demise of my son and grandson.”

  “So it would seem,” the judge commented and turned his attention to Max. “Based on the reports I have here from multiple physicians and psychiatrists who have examined you in the last week, and the evidence produced by yourself, your grandfather and Mr. Marshall, and supported by the testimony of Ms. Morgan, I am granting your petition, Mr. Weston. Effective immediately.”

  The judge scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to his clerk. “See that this is filed immediately.”

  He stood and walked over to Simon. “My condolences, old friend. If there’s anything I can do, say the word.”