Dred stopped pacing and stood behind Alexis.
Drew opened his mouth, but held back what he really wanted to say. He’d noticed that Dred consumed negative energy; he seemed to grow stronger when causing unpleasant emotions. He apparently thrived on the fear of his opponents—ran on it like a fuel. As Drew regained a state of centered detachment, he could swear he noticed a slight decrease in the size of Luzveyn Dred.
“What do you want me do?”
“Calm her. Soothe her. Help her regain focus to channel her anger and fear. She has the power to draw down the dreamers en mass and help link the Spatium Quartus with your world.”
Beneath her gag, Kat struggled wildly against her restraints indicating her objection.
“Between that, and the collective fear, anger, and resentment generated by the events surrounding Vesuvius’s eruption, the two planes of existence will form a permanent and powerful bond.”
“And what do I get out of it?”
He floated closer, his sulfuric stench invading Drew’s nostrils. Luzveyn Dred evaluated him, cocked his head to the side, and smiled. The shadowed lips parted to reveal the absolute darkness inside. Drew glimpsed, for a moment, the universe that existed inside the demon. He felt sick.
“You killed my girlfriend, Nadia,” Drew said, exhibiting as little emotion as possible.
“Oh, no. I most certainly did not,” Luzveyn Dred stated. “Lopez must have told you that lie. Did you see me kill her?”
The response and Luzveyn Dred’s question caught Drew completely off guard.
“No, I didn’t see it.”
“Ah, then would you admit it is possible that an incompetent man, a failure in his life, responsible for a terrible tragedy of a dead mother, would attempt to blame it all upon me?”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“That is not what I asked. His intentions, sick as he is, the poor man, are irrelevant. I merely ask, Drew, is it possible I did not kill Nadia?” Luzveyn Dred moved his face closer.
Given a choice between hanging from a cross, and being trapped in a Luzveyn Dred conundrum, Drew would choose the cross. Fear crept in. Had engaging in debate led him down a path from which he could not escape? Did Luzveyn Dred have him right where he could use him?
“Fine,” Dred said. “No need to answer. We both know that it is possible. In fact, let us leave causes and effects out of this whole equation. What if, I had the power to bring Nadia back to you?”
Kat’s stifled grunts made clear her protestation.
“It’s true, Drew,” Dred assured him. “You help me and I shall bring Nadia back and save the life of Alexis. Are we agreed?”
Drew struggled to keep his emotions in check while Dred examined him. No longer knowing what to say, he remained silent, but it felt as though information were being extracted from him.
“No, I am missing some facet of what you need,” Dred continued. “You would do it for them and your friends’ lives.”
“Yes, of course I would—”
Dred’s serpentine tail wiggled with delight. He backed up and turned again toward Alexis.
“But you’re a liar,” Drew continued, “so I won’t.”
“Drew, Drew, Drew. Do you expect a grand display of anger from me? Despite what Lopez may have told you, that is not what I do. I am for us working together for a solution. Everyone has a price. What would you help me for?”
Drew waited a moment and then shouted as loud as he could.
“I would help you… when hell freezes over!”
Eons must have passed since the demon’s ego had undergone such an insult.
Luzveyn Dred flung back his head and released a roar that shook the entire Spatium Quartus. The castle began to implode. Each level, one after the other, collapsed on itself, becoming an icy spray of swirling darkness. All traces of the castle and its surroundings disappeared. They were at ground level on a barren stretch of dirt. The army of gray beasts surrounded the small group.
Alexis’s face remained vacant and expressionless.
The shadowy outer edges of Luzveyn Dred frayed. He shriveled slightly, and the fringes of his figure dissipated further. A small cyclone of dirt and dust swirled between Dred and the beast army. When it calmed, a tall black woman stood before them.
She bowed her head to Luzveyn Dred. “I’ve arrived for the ceremony as instructed, Master.”
Her presence seemed to refocus him.
“Dr. Ponterosso, where are Lopez and the old man?”
“Both are dead. They put up a fight, but I killed them myself.” Her ebony skin, barely detectable in the darkness, gave the illusion of invisibility.
“How goes the plan for Naples?”
“It’s progressing exactly as we’d hoped. The other group, in Rome, awaits our return.”
“Excellent. Everything is in order?”
She nodded.
“Then,” Luzveyn Dred said turning toward Drew and Kat, “I will torture them until the child’s fear escalates to the point of critical mass. Even absent her conscious cooperation, her power will extract thousands from their dreams, and summon them here. It will be all the energy that we need to breach the Spatium Quartus.”
Drew had but one stall tactic left.
“That’s not free will. God offers us free will to help each other, to help Him, or not.”
Ponterosso stared at him. Creatures of the sky gathered overhead and circled like vultures above dying bison.
“Free will? You call the disease, the pestilence, the fear, and the poverty that he bestows upon your world, free will? You call babies in Africa dying of AIDS, free will?”
“You don’t give a damn about babies in Africa. Are there babies from Africa represented here?” In lieu of a wave of his hand, Drew stretched his neck, scanning the wasteland of the Spatium Quartus.
“Do not mock me!” Luzveyn Dred screamed. “You are nothing, and when you are dead, you will be less than nothing.”
“Ewww. Strong words from such an enlightened being that cares so much about dying African babies!”
Luzveyn Dred erupted in a rage. Exuding a deafening shrill, he raised his hands to the black firmament as though trying to inject it with his pain. The sky turned deep crimson as if preparing to rain blood.
Three massive cyclones emerged from the dirt and climbed toward the sky. They spun madly, like a child’s set of tops, and collided with the dream images, dissipating them on impact.
Drew hoped that by creating chaos, Alexis would shake from her spell, or at least he’d generate enough distraction to allow escape from his shackles.
Overhead, the cyclones slammed into each other and, with a whirling hum, crashed to the ground.
“Know this,” Drew yelled to Dred. “You will be trapped in this dimension for eternity.”
As Luzveyn Dred’s wrath intensified, he flickered rapidly. Even when visible, he became partially translucent; his shadowy outline was unmistakably visible, but a large clear spot floated around his torso.
Alexis did not wake up, and Drew could not pull his arms free of the metal ropes shackling him to the cross.
Ponterosso looked on with bemused detachment. She edged toward where Alexis stood.
Drew struggled while the inexhaustible fury of Luzveyn Dred towered in his face.
“How dare you?”
The overpowering smell of sulfur mixed with the stench of rotted flesh and evil. It hit Drew square in the face, causing his eyes to water. Dry heaves overtook him. Anything left in his stomach came out in acid spurts that ran down his chest. He struggled to breathe. Then, as realization dawned that he might become Luzveyn Dred’s next victim, Drew spied Ponterosso. She’d begun to glow, her black skin emitting a soft, warm light.
“Well, Toto, I guess we ain’t in Tijuana no more,” she said but it was clearly in Hector Lopez’s voice.
The radiant figure moved in front of Alexis before starting to vaporize within the gentle glow. The illumination flashed, briefly resembling a st
robe light, and then a radiant Lopez appeared before them.
His incandescence began to fade, but his medallion continued to exude a bright white light. He directed it toward Alexis’s heart.
Luzveyn Dred turned his fury on Lopez.
“Now, Drew! Now!” Kat shouted.
During Dred’s tantrum, she’d succeeded in loosening her restraints. She struggled to break the other arm free.
Alexis hadn’t moved, but Drew thought he saw in her eyes the glimmer of recognition.
It’s not a question of time; it’s a question of will.
He closed his eyes.
A feeling of release stretched from his chest outward beyond both outstretched arms. It felt cold, and yet oddly warming. He took a deep breath and visualized a golden light of power, love, and knowledge shooting from the tips of his fingers out to the infinite universe. And then, he said the Serenity Prayer. When Drew opened his eyes, his medallion was glowing. His shackles gave way at his request, and he dropped down from the cross.
Lopez was slowly backing away from Luzveyn Dred, drawing him farther from them. Dred took a swipe at Lopez, causing him to flinch.
Kat stood by Alexis, one hand on her shoulder, the other arm extended. Her palm emitted an energy force that kept the beasts encircling them at bay.
Drew went to Alexis.
“Drew, Drew!” were the only words she managed to choke out between sobs.
He dropped to one knee and held her close. As the glow of his medallion began to fade, he mentally channeled it into her.
“Angel–”
He moved his face to hers until their noses almost touched. He felt bursts of her quick, hot breaths on his cheeks.
“Angel, I need you to be a brave girl. I’ve got to help Kat and Hector.”
Dred’s soldiers had tightened the circle around them.
“But what about the dreamers?” Her face looked disorientated and confused.
Drew assumed the question had something to do with Luzveyn Dred’s role for her in the apocalypse.
“Angel, don’t worry about that now. You just—”
“But Drew, they want to help—the good ones. They want to help us!”
He had no idea how to respond. Lopez was now pinned to the ground by Luzveyn Dred’s bony claws. Dred’s tail poised above, ready to strike Lopez’s head. Kat’s protective shield was slowly diminishing as she struggled to hold the hoard of beasts back. They grunted and snarled, possibly sensing her weakness.
“Drew,” Alexis whispered. She moved her mouth close to his ear. “We really need the dreamers to help us now. I think I can get only the good ones.” She pointed up, where frenzied nightmare images dimly illuminated the sky.
Winged creatures descended and converged on Kat. She tried to fight them off but there were too many.
“Drew, can I –”
“Yes, all right, okay.”
Lopez, pinned by Dred’s left foot, swung his arms wildly to fend off the demon’s blows.
“Drew,” Kat shouted. “Maintain this energy field!”
Drew focused. He spread a wall of energy to isolate Dred from his army. The energy perimeter Kat had created kept the beasts at least fifty feet from them.
Kat flashed a “thumbs up” sign. A flying serpent swooped from the sky, its beak ripping at her shoulder. She tomahawk-chopped it to the ground. It let out a screech and flew off.
With growing confidence, Drew extended the energy field that protected them from skyward attacks.
Dred shot a bolt of lightning in his direction. Kat threw a dagger that diverted the beam. The bolt struck the protective orb, creating a small hole. A winged demon squeezed through and dove for Alexis. Kat leapt at it. They collided in midair and spun to the ground. She tore free and got to her feet. As she swung her arms overhead, an axe materialized in her hands. It came down, slicing the creature’s head off.
Luzveyn Dred tried to drag Lopez and move toward Drew, but Lopez kicked and clawed to slow him down. Kat darted to help.
At first, through the chaos, Alexis’s small voice sounded like a faraway choir singing a Christmas carol. Drew couldn’t make out her words. The rhythmic chant grew louder.
What is that song?
Then, a key phrase made it obvious.
Imag’ry tree stretched to hea-ven,
United, we’re invisible roots.
Normally, Turksen Tet’s low voice would grind out the lyrics of track number two, Invisible Roots. In contrast to much of the CD, its tune was simple and peaceful. While driving, Drew had often let the song play through before backtracking to re-listen to Stomach Her Pain. He’d never closely paid attention to the words.
We are all here together,
In time we will deliver the truth
Like a father im-prisoned,
For a crime you know he never would do.
Drew struggled to maintain his focus on the protective field. From everywhere, it was under attack by the beasts and demons.
Alexis had lost it. She was singing the chorus, hands raised to the sky as if extending an invitation.
Light and One
Light from One
Light the One
When we are – One –
Flickering pus from Luzveyn Dred’s skin shot at Drew. Some sort of acid, it burned his forehead and arms. Kat stood between Drew and Dred, continuing to fight despite being bombarded by a steady spray of the deadly liquid. Droplets seared through her clothes, leaving holes of reddened skin peeking out over her torso. She dodged it as best she could and continued to fight to save Lopez from Dred’s stranglehold.
Luzveyn Dred turned toward Kat and blasted fire from his mouth, followed by a shower of acid. The liquid pellets ignited as they passed through the flames and ripped into her, propelling her backwards.
Dred stopped and swung his tail toward Lopez, pinned below. The thorny appendage snapped off a triumphant wiggle. Then, the tip penetrated Lopez’s head at the temple. The blow contorted his face. The tail emitted sparks as it drilled its way through Lopez’s skull.
Drew screamed. “NOOO!”
Barrier weakened, the surrounding creatures converged. Drew struggled to maintain the energy field but it was impossible to focus. The army outside steadily pushed it smaller.
Kat rushed Luzveyn Dred, but it was too late.
She impacted at the same moment Lopez screamed. Bolts of electrical current ran through his body.
Lopez vanished.
Kat landed punches on Luzveyn Dred’s throat and face. Her rage empowered him to grow larger, stronger. With a flick of his wrist, he shoved her backward.
Tiny fragments of floating light began appearing outside the shrinking energy field. Alexis had stopped singing and started talking to the swirling, glowing embers.
“Yes, yes, do it,” she said, excitement, almost delight, in her voice.
Howls rose from beyond the protective shield. The beast’s shrieks grew louder as thousands of glowing flecks descended like snowflakes lit by a harvest moon. Rather than fade as they neared the ground, they swirled about, exuding a golden light. They spun, sometimes in conjunction with each other, like fireflies on a late summer evening. They left behind tiny rings of light that encircled, then collided with the beasts.
Alexis giggled. “Drew, let them in, let them in!”
Dozens of them bounced up and down near the top of his energy sphere as if anxious to fulfill a promise. Drew released the field.
Locked in a death-match with Luzveyn Dred, Kat didn’t notice this development. Dred was distracted, and she almost drove a sword into his belly.
Lost in the moment, Drew marveled at the sight. The Spatium Quartus sky became millions of small holographic dream images—some vibrant, others faded. The tiny lights emanated from them.
Alexis is harvesting energy from people’s dreams.
Floating down, the dream-lights spiraled and converged around Luzveyn Dred.
Kat stepped back.
With a massive groa
n, Dred unleashed a torrent of pus that extinguished the nearby golden embers. He glared at Alexis and exhaled a wicked cackle. Transforming into a mammoth figure, Luzveyn Dred burst into the sky. One by one, the pellets of light began streaming into him – streaming into him by the thousands.
Alexis started singing Invisible Roots again, her voice amplified by the dream-lights. Drew walked over and held her hand.
The beasts had all fled.
The tiny illuminations continued to collide with Dred, each causing a small electrical shortage in the giant shadow-thing. With each impact, Luzveyn Dred flashed and shrank. Sometimes a parade of dream-lights collided at once, forcing him smaller and smaller.
In the sky, the dream images steadily shrank in number.
And then, there were no more lights, no more embers.
The blitzkrieg had shrunk Dred to his previous size. He stood in repose, a silhouette on a barren landscape.
“You cannot defeat me here,” he said finally. “You have failed to destroy me.”
“No, you have failed,” Kat said, her jaw set with resolve. “You cannot and you will not breach the dimension tonight.”
She turned towards Drew, “Get Alexis out of here. Without her, he’s trapped!”
Drew pressed the medallion to her chest, he visualized projecting her back to Lake Arrowhead.
Sparks surrounded them.
“Wait, Drew!” Alexis said, “There’s one more!”
“One more what?”
“Drew, it’s a big one. He’s trying to get in to help. Wait!”
Kat was between them and Dred and was slowly backing away from him. Dred had grown larger and appeared to be regaining his power.
“Go, Drew!” Kat yelled over her shoulder.
“Wait.” Alexis said. “He’s almost here!”
She closed her eyes and whispered the chorus. After a slight hesitation, Drew joined her.
Light and One
Light from One
Light the One
When we are – One –
A flaming meteor appeared in the sky. It buzzed toward Luzveyn Dred with the steady hum of a held trumpet note. As impact neared, facial features appeared on the burning rock, and it transformed into white-hot light energy.
Dream War Page 27