Conquest: Rise of the Fifth Horseman (The Fifth Horseman Series Book 1)

by Richard M. Mulder

  “The what?”

  “Yea, it was foretold that the King’s successor should bring destruction unto both worlds. Many wanted to thwart that prophecy. When we didst finally find thee, thine powers had already manifested but thine amulet had not yet been established. Thus thou could not be killed. The Elders elected to lock thee away despite the protests of the King’s counselor. This counselor adamantly warned that such a decision would guarantee their destruction. They ignored his warnings, and not long afterward the counselor vanished.”

  Timur had a pretty good idea who that counselor was. No doubt it was the old man who had been consistently overthrowing his plans until Timur locked him away in his own dungeon back on Earth.

  “But that doesn’t make sense.” Timur suddenly sputtered, “If the King truly was a Seraph as you suggest, how did I kill him? I thought you just said that a Seraph couldn’t be killed.”

  “Alas, but I didst not say that.” Abner corrected, “Just before thou didst kill him, didst thou overturn his table?”

  “Yes.” Timur was getting agitated, “But what does that have to do with anything?”

  “Yea, it doth have great significance.” he smiled, “Upon that table sat a pair of balances, did they not?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “When thou didst overturn that table, the pair of balances fell and cracked. Unbeknownst to thee, this object was his Amulet. ‘twas the very supernatural object that focused his powers to allow him to travel between worlds. When thou didst break the Amulet, in that moment he became very vulnerable as his powers had been shaken. It was then that thou didst stab him through the chest.”

  “So what you’re telling me is that I need to break Allan’s Amulet, whatever it is?”

  “Better yet, thou should destroy it.”

  “But how will I find it?”

  Abner smiled as he walked over to one of the stone slabs. He instructed the four young priests to remove the cover. After many strains, the cover slid slowly with a screeching sound as stone ground upon stone. Timur joined them, and he looked inside to find the skeleton of a man with a corroding gold breastplate upon his chest.

  “Verily, this is the resting place of King Elijah, the very same Seraph of whom thine Bible from Earth hath described as the prophet who rode upon a chariot of fire and ascended into the heavens in a whirlwind.”

  Abner reached his hand behind the breastplate, and pulled out two white stones.

  “And these art seer stones.” he placed them ever so gently in Timur’s palms, “They shall guide thee in thine quest to find this young Seraph’s Amulet.”

  Chapter Thirteen: Unbridled Powers

  And all the Malakhim of heaven wept: Lo, he is fallen! Is fallen, even a Morning Star! And this Satan follows the direction of that great darkness, the greatest of God’s enemies - the Leviathan, and doth continually make war with the Malakhim of God…

  – Methuselah 8:5 –

  High above their damp dungeon through multiple layers of cement, the sun was dipping below the horizon. Allan’s head was still throbbing from being knocked unconscious several hours earlier, and he found it extremely difficult to keep his eyes open. Without warning, he had fallen asleep on the cement floor. Another nightmare had engulfed him, of which he couldn’t escape. He was very much aware that he was dreaming, but yet he couldn’t force himself awake no matter how many times he tried.

  “Kill him.” the dark voice echoed in his mind, “Kill him now!”

  He found himself hovering over an unfamiliar fallen opponent, holding a knife high above his head. It took every ounce of his will to restrain the muscles that desired to plunge down to finish the deed. The terrifying voice grew louder and louder, but he forced himself to concentrate. With a surge of willpower, he dropped the knife and stared at his unfamiliar chubby hands.

  In the real world, his hands fidgeted uncontrollably as he struggled to awaken. The nightmare was causing such intense anguish and rage that a small sliver of light escaped from his glowing closed eyelids. Slowly a silver aura began to encircle him about as more and more light seeped from between his eyelashes.

  Without any warning, his eyelids flew open with an explosion of light. Just as suddenly a loud crash echoed off of the walls as a large radius of the barbed-wire fencing shattered into dust. Around the edges of John’s cage was a gaping hole where the remains of the barbed wire glowed red with an intense heat.

  “My dear boy!” John exclaimed, “You’ve done it!”

  Allan moaned in pain as John staggered over to him. Placing his hand on Allan’s shoulder, he carefully turned him over. The silver glow was dissipating from his eyes while his face portrayed a look of intense pain.

  “What happened?” he groaned as John helped him sit up.

  “You’ve Awakened.”

  “I know, but what happened?” his left hand moved to cradle his forehead.

  “No, I mean you’ve truly Awakened as the Final Seraph.”

  What’s that supposed to mean?

  “It means that your powers have finally manifested.”

  “Get out of my head!”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t help it.” he explained as he dragged Allan to his feet, “We need to get out of here. I’m surprised Timur hasn’t come for us yet.”

  Together they staggered toward the entrance of the chamber. Cautiously, John peeked around the corner. No guards. The next room opened up to a series of dimly lit hallways that followed multiple large pipes attached to the ceiling while several smaller pipes with various valves ran down walls.

  “I think we’re in the underground pump room of Buckingham Fountain.” Allan guessed.

  “Buckingham?” John stammered, “We’re in London?”

  “No, Chicago.” Allan corrected as they moved down one of the hallways.

  John looked confused, but didn’t comment. Allan recognized the distant humming sound of the pump. As they traveled further along, the humming sound grew louder. Before long the hallway opened up to a familiar large chamber. It was here that Allan had been knocked out cold earlier. This time however, there were no cloaked men within it. It was as empty as if the event had never occurred.

  After a few minutes they were able to locate an opening to a large overflow drain with sunlight peeking through the end. John led the way though the dark tunnel. It was fairly difficult to maneuver because of its slippery downward slope.

  Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, John sloshed ahead and quickly climbed the rungs of a ladder with ease and dexterity. He waved to Allan when he reached the top, and didn’t even look the slightest bit winded. By the time Allan reached the surface of the Chicago boardwalk, John was out of sight.

  “Psst!” he whispered from behind a trash can, “Come on! Let’s go!”

  Allan scrambled to keep up with John. When he finally caught up to him at Lake Shore Drive, John was standing on the side of the road with his thumb out: hitchhiker’s style.

  “No need for that.” Allan began crossing the street, “We can just take my car.”

  Judging by the orange and pink hues of the sky, Allan was surprised how long he had been trapped down there. As Allan neared the spot where he had been attacked, a cold chill spread down his spine. Surrounded by yellow police tape was a small crew of men from the fire department. Each of them had a badge on their left shoulders that stated they were members of the Hazardous Incident Team. It looked like they were cleaning Allan’s blood spill.

  “Leave it alone.” John advised, knowingly.

  But Allan couldn’t resist. As he began to approach the yellow tape, John grabbed Allan’s arm forcefully.

  “I said,” he repeated, “Leave it alone. You’ve got blood all over your shirt. You’ll only attract suspicion.”

  “Who do you think you are, anyway?” Allan ripped his arm away.

  “Can I help you gentlemen?” an officer approached them.

  “Now you’ve done it.” John murmured.

  “Yes, as a matter of
fact.” Allan stammered, “I’d like to report an attempted murder.”

  Chapter Fourteen: Unturned Stones

  And Lucifer didst yield his soul unto the Leviathan to be consumed, and Lucifer became Satan evermore. Satan and his Malakhim didst retreat unto the Earth, cursed forever as Watchers of and not partakers of the glory bestowed upon man…

  – Methuselah 8:6 –

  Allan was somewhat of a neat freak, so his home was typically kept in pristine condition. This afternoon however, the place was a disaster. As Timur toppled another set of books from the bookshelf in the front room, he roared in frustration.

  Where is it?!

  He had spent the first twenty minutes searching carefully for something unique to jump out at him, because he didn’t exactly know what he was looking for. The only clues Abner had given him were that Allan’s Amulet would be ancient and that Timur would subconsciously recognize it immediately.

  “Hello?” he heard Lily suddenly call hesitantly from the doorway.

  Timur froze as several more books toppled from the bookshelf.

  What is SHE doing here?

  “Umm…” Timur stammered in consternation, “Good evening, Lily.”

  “How did you get in here?” she looked around frantically, “And why are you destroying Allan’s house?!”

  “That’s a bit complicated…” he searched his mind for a valid excuse, “When does Allan get home?”

  “I’m not sure…” her eyes betrayed utter confusion, “Why are you here?”

  “I might ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be locking up the office about now?” he redirected the questioning.

  “Well, about that…” she fumbled with her words, “I was going to talk to you a little later, but I guess now is a good time too.”

  He picked up a few books and placed them carefully back on the shelf, “Talk to me about what?”

  “I quit.” she gave him a nervous smile, “Today.”

  “Excuse me?!” he erupted, “I don’t think so. Besides, you haven’t given me proper notice.”

  “On the contrary, Illinois follows the rule of Employment-at-will,” she cited, “which means that an employer or employee can terminate the relationship at any time, without any reason or cause, with or without notice.”

  “Oh, come off it.” he rolled his eyes, “This is about what I said this morning, isn’t it?”

  Her eyes lit up suddenly as if the thought hadn’t previously occurred to her, “Yes. Exactly.”

  “You can’t be serious.” he huffed, “We’ve had this mutual playfulness for years. Why are you throwing a tizzy fit now?”

  Her eyes narrowed defiantly, “There’s been nothing mutual about your constant harassment!”

  Timur forcefully grabbed her chin and shook her face violently, “I demand respect from my employees!”

  “In that case, I guess it’s a good thing that I’m no longer one of your groveling employees!” she mocked.

  “You stupid worthless wench!” he screamed in her face.

  He shoved her angrily and she toppled over the backside of the couch. Her face collided with the hardwood floor in a resounding crack. She moaned, unconscious.

  Good. I’m through with listening to your whining.

  He ignored her lifeless body and returned to ransacking the home. The amulet had to be somewhere in this house, he could feel it. He had half expected that Allan owned a hidden safe behind a photograph or within the numerous bookshelves that overcrowded the home. The man owned far too many books, that was for sure.

  An hour passed, and it had turned dark outside. Despite the efforts he had spent ransacking the home, his search had turned up fruitless. Exhausted, he slumped down upon the couch. A small puddle of blood had formed by Lily’s face. He kicked her limp body, and she let out a moan once again.

  Good. You’re not dead. I’m not done with you yet.

  As he stared at her, a sudden realization hit him. Allan must have the Amulet with him.

  Brilliant.

  Passing through a shadow, he reappeared in the underground pump room of Buckingham Fountain with Lily in tow.

  “Your holiness!” he was greeted by one of the creed members.

  He dropped Lily’s body roughly onto the floor, “Take this woman to the main chamber.”

  “I assume you want me to send this body down the drainpipe like all of the others?”

  “No!” Timur insisted, “No, she’s not dead. I need her alive.”

  “As you wish.” he bowed slightly and carried her away.

  Timur began walking toward the dungeon chamber when another creed member stopped him.

  “Your holiness,” he spoke hesitantly, “You’re back so soon!”

  “Yes…” Timur looked around the empty chamber, “Where is everyone?”

  “Well…” he cringed, “they are all out looking for Allan.”

  Timur stared at him blankly, “I don’t follow.”

  “It seems John helped him escape…”

  “WHAT?!” he shrieked in an outburst of rage.

  The creed member recognized the sickly green light seething from Timur’s eyes and took off in terror, but it was already too late. Suddenly, an explosion of light erupted from Timur’s core as he screamed in rage. The creed member was caught within the blast radius and became incinerated on contact. Only a small pile of ash remained.

  Chapter Fifteen: Interrogation

  And it came to pass that these Watchers began to tempt man insomuch that man might also yield up their souls as fodder for the Leviathan; but when the sons of men had increased, in those days there were born unto them fair and beautiful daughters…

  – Methuselah 9:1 –

  As the door slammed shut, Allan could hear the bolt turn. His stomach growled again as he stared at the empty plate lying on the table he was handcuffed to. In the past twenty-four hours he had only eaten a measly sandwich for lunch. He sat alone and stared across at the two-way mirror where he knew his every move was being monitored from the other side. The female officer who had just left the room had been his third interrogator since he had been booked last night. Though he had repeated his story again to her, she too didn’t seem to believe him.

  Resting his head on his arm, he replayed last night’s events in his mind. After he had approached the officer back at Buckingham Fountain, there was a sudden flurry of panic as the officer abruptly grabbed his radio and issued a set of orders. Within seconds, a crew of paramedics rushed over to Allan and forced him down upon a stretcher. One of them tore open his shirt and several buttons ripped off. She scrambled to feel around the dried blood to find his wound. After a few seconds, she stepped back in consternation. She slowly stepped backward in confusion as another paramedic reached down and attempted to find his wound, assuming his colleague had suddenly felt lightheaded. After he too felt around and found nothing, he suddenly instructed the other two to hold Allan down as he struggled to break free. The man then rushed over to where his colleague was sharing a heated discussion with the officer who Allan had originally approached.

  By this point, John had made himself scarce. Before Allan could blink, he was being handcuffed by a pair of officers despite his protests of innocence and dragged to a squad car. As one of them placed his hand on Allan’s head and roughly forced him into a sitting position in the back seat, Allan caught a glimpse of John’s silhouette hiding behind a bush near the street. He screamed out in rage at the coward, but his screams fell upon deaf ears.

  After booking, he sat in a cell for over an hour despite his multiple demands to speak with an attorney from his law firm. He was then brought into the same interrogation room where he now sat. With his left ankle cuffed to the metal chair, his lower back and buttocks had become very sore over the past several hours. Though an accusation had not been expressed, it was implied by all three of his interrogators that Allan was the murderer of an unknown entity. Though frustrated, he was certain that during his most recent interrogation he had fin
ally gained some ground. The female officer had agreed to take a blood sample from Allan and compare them to the samples collected from both the crime scene and Allan’s shirt.

  He snapped his head up as he heard the familiar click of the deadbolt. In strode a heavyset woman dressed in scrubs carrying a small bag of medical supplies. He smiled at the woman, who seemed to be a bit uneasy.

  “Mr. Young, My name is Patricia. I’m a Medical Assistant, and I will be drawing some of your blood today.”

  “No need to be so formal.” Allan smiled, “It would be nice to have a normal conversation today without having to worry about being harassed about every word that comes out of my mouth.”

  “I wish I could be more casual, sir.” she responded kindly, “But you must remember that everything you say in here is being recorded and can be used against you in a court of law.”

  “Of course.” he sighed as she donned a pair of gloves.

  As she tied a tourniquet on his left bicep, his thoughts turned to Lily. By now she had to be panicking. By the time he was offered the opportunity to make a phone call, it was already outside the allowed calling hours. Being forced to wait until morning, he was disturbed that so far Lily didn’t seem to have gotten his message. Knowing her, she would have dropped everything and come running to the precinct.

  Unless she doesn’t care about me anymore…

  “That just about does it.” Patricia announced as she loosened the tourniquet.

  He looked down to see the last bit of the syringe filling with blood. He had been so preoccupied that he hadn’t felt the needle prick.

  “I’ll take this up to forensics immediately.” she spoke as she packed up her gear, “We should get the lab results shortly.”

  “Thank you.”

  With that, she turned and left the room. The door closed and bolted once again with an audible click.

  Chapter Sixteen: Attempted Divination

  And the Watchers saw these fair and beautiful daughters of Eve and desired them. And they said to one another: Come, let us choose for ourselves wives, from the children of men, and let us beget, for ourselves, children…