The Awakening (The Judas Curse Book 1)

by Angella Graff

  Mark stared down at the god-occupied doctor with a curious frown. It was interesting to see the transformation, the utter and complete shift in consciousness between man and god. Greg was reserved, quiet, and reasoned. This thing inside him was desperate, bored, and clinging to corporeal form with a sort of reckless abandon.

  “Asclepius is fine with me,” Mark said. He took the chair near the sofa and smiled. “How long are you staying with us?”

  “Not long,” Asclepius said, checking the watch on his wrist. “The drug Greg took isn’t going to last much longer. The moment the body starts to become conscious, his consciousness starts to fight me off. It’s quite involuntary, believe me. Greg has allowed me to occupy his body while he was awake, and although we can accomplish it to some degree, it’s a challenge. This is easier.”

  “That’s why he drank that liquid,” Ben muttered from his place beside the door.

  “Have a seat, Benny-boy,” Asclepius said, sitting up and patting the cushion beside him. “Room here for you too, sweets,” he nodded at Abby, giving his lap a pat.

  “If I kill Greg, you won’t have a body, and that will be fine with me,” Ben hissed as he crossed the room.

  “I’m kidding,” Asclepius said with a short laugh. “That one is definitely off limits. Too open.”

  Ben’s face got a bit red, so Mark quickly cut in. “That must be why others focus their attentions on comatose patients.”

  “Indeed,” Asclepius said. He fished into the pocket of his work-out pants, pulled out a thin cigar and lit the end of it with a silver lighter. “If there isn’t a consciousness fighting us off, we’re free.”

  “How long can they stay in? Indefinitely, I’d imagine.”

  “Two weeks,” Ben muttered from his spot next to the smoking god. “Two weeks and then the person dies.”

  Asclepius touched his nose with one finger, and used the hand holding his cigar at Ben. “Right in one, kiddo. The human body can only sustain the consciousness of a god for so long until they break down. You see, in basic scientific terms, the human soul exists at a particular frequency, as does ours. We’re all souls, you see, on a particular evolutionary level. The god soul is more evolved in our lifespan, and the humans are on their way. The vessels we inhabit naturally are built to sustain the particular frequency in which our souls exist, so when you cram a god soul into a human body, the human body can’t keep up. Takes about two weeks and the human body just sort of gives out. So while it’s a convenient vessel, per se, it doesn’t last long.”

  Mark sat back, his eyebrows raised. It made sense, it really did, and the pieces were all fitting together nicely. “So I take it they’re trying to find a way to inhabit human bodies for longer periods of time?”

  Asclepius threw his head back. “Oh no, no my friend, not at all. You see, we used to be corporeal, eons ago. We had form and we could manipulate matter and energy at our will. As we aged, a lot of us moved on to a higher realm, our purpose on Earth long past. However, some of us, myself included, decided that the humans were nice. It was nice being worshiped, and the pleasures of the flesh are very tempting. However, it wasn’t the natural order, and eventually our corporeal forms broke down, leaving us just a bit of consciousness, attached to the world, yet not part of it. Limbo, as the term is so widely used now.

  “While a human body can mimic our previous corporeal form, it’s not our natural form. Humans exist in a constant state of pain and anguish, mortality looming over their heads. Anything, and I literally mean anything, can kill them. It’s stressful, really, and not at all what we desire. I can tell you for certain they are not looking for a way to sustain human form.”

  “They took Yehuda though, didn’t they?” Mark asked, his voice low and concerned.

  “They did,” Asclepius agreed with a nod. “I’m not sure which ones, and I’m completely confused as to why, but they did.”

  “We’re immortal,” Mark said slowly. “Do you think they’re going to try and find a way to inhabit our bodies?”

  Asclepius scratched his chin and frowned. “Possible, but unlikely. The thing is, there are only two of you in all existence. You both are humans infused with god-powers, and not the powers of our kind, but something much older, a being so old they were nameless and ancient even by our standards. You have their powers, and because of that, there isn’t a way we can take over your bodies. Even in a state of unconsciousness, your bodies are inaccessible to us.”

  “So what could they want with him?”

  “Obviously it’s something to do with the nature of his powers,” Asclepius said through a lungful of smoke. He blew it out in a great cloud and yawned. “My time is almost up, lady and gents. I can tell you this before I go, however. There are humans behind this. If you want a lead, check the records of the employees who had a lot of contact with Judas.”

  Mark opened his mouth to ask if Asclepius had seen anyone in particular, but suddenly, the god’s head hung limp and the cigar tumbled to the ground. Ben dove to retrieve it before it burned a hole in the carpet, and by the time Ben sat up, Greg was awake, groggy but rubbing his eyes.

  “Jesus,” Greg moaned, looking around. “I should have warned you he wouldn’t want to stay in the office. Did he at least lock up?”

  “Honestly I don’t remember, I was busy trying to keep him from going into strip clubs,” Ben snapped at Greg as he crushed the cigar out in the nearby ashtray.

  Greg blushed a little and rubbed his face. “I’m sorry, I wish I had warned you better. He can get a little over the top sometimes, especially when it’s been a while.”

  Ben tossed the ashtray onto the table with a loud clang and crossed his arms. “So what? Your schizophrenic? Is that what this is? Or what’s that other one? Split personality?”

  Greg gave Ben a sad smile, but didn’t respond to his questions. “Did he offer any helpful information?”

  “No,” Ben said. “Unless you call drinking, smoking, and hitting on my sister helpful information.”

  “Actually,” Abby said, speaking up for the first time, “he did say he was pretty sure that someone who works at the hospital, someone who had close contact with Yehuda, might be helping whomever took him.”

  Sitting back, Greg frowned in thought. “I had considered that option. In fact, I’d been looking into it before.”

  “It might be worth looking in to further,” Mark suggested.

  “Have the hospital run a check for anyone who worked with John Doe, who stopped working there around the time of his disappearance,” Ben piped up. “Have them focus mostly on the jobs with high turnover. Housekeepers, people who deliver meals, things like that. If we can get a list, we can narrow down our suspects. I’ll call detective Horvath once we have a list of names and have her do a database check.”

  “Detective Horvath?” Mark asked.

  Greg glanced over at Ben and then said, “She’s the new detective assigned to the case. Good news for you two, you’re no longer suspects. The bad news is that she’s a host.”

  “Host?” Mark asked.

  “Vessel. She’s someone with the god gene. Not sure if she’s a willing host or if she’s a potential host, but she reeks of their powers.”

  “You’re effing paranoid,” Ben said, his voice raw and irritated. “Either way, she’s been able to get this circus back on track, and now I can focus on my homicide case and hopefully this missing persons case can get solved before your little unconscious, crazy friend gets killed.”

  “He’s not…” Mark started, but realized there was no point and stopped. “I think we should call it a night and figure out where to go from there.”

  Greg stood and stretched. “I will call you in the morning and discuss what time to meet.”

  “You’re not staying?” Abby asked.

  “I think it’s time for me to take my leave of you,” Greg said with a slight smile. “I apologize if Asclepius offended anyone, but I assure you, he’s relatively harmless, and didn’t mean to be cruel.�
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  “He was fine,” Mark said as he rose to show Greg to the door. The two men shook hands, and before long, Greg was on his way, and Mark was seated on the sofa next to Abby.

  “So did he have any powers?” Abby asked Ben, who had taken residence by the open window.

  “No,” Ben said, but his abrupt answer and anxious eyes betrayed the lie. “I’m going to shower and get some sleep. I haven’t had a proper night’s rest since this whole thing started, and I’d like to get back on track.” He didn’t want for Mark or Abby to respond before disappearing into the bathroom and shutting the door with a loud click.

  Abby sighed and shifted so her back was against the arm of the sofa and her legs were crooked up so her toes brushed the side of Mark’s leg. “He was lying.”

  “I know,” Mark replied softly.

  “Do you think he’s ever going to admit it?”

  “I think it would take a lot for him to admit it, and frankly having someone with that mentality might be a good thing. There are a lot of things we can’t explain the world, and having someone hyper rational around will help keep everyone grounded.”

  “I never thought of it that way,” Abby said and yawned. “Sleep sounds like a good plan, though.”

  “I’ll take the sofa, if you want the bed,” Mark said and stood up to grab something to sleep in.

  “We can take the bed together. I promise to keep my hands to myself. Mostly.”

  Mark smiled and shook his head. Had it been any other life, any other time in his many years on Earth, he probably wouldn’t have been able to resist her. However right now just wasn’t it, and while she ducked into the wash area to change, Mark took a pillow and spare sheet to the sofa.

  What they all really needed was a good sleep, and hopefully with the morning, they would finally get some information and start on the path to finding his lost friend.

  Thirty

  Ben found himself pacing in front of the hospital doors. It was sunny out, but the wind was chilly and he was waiting for the recipient of his phone call to answer. By the fifth ring, Ben expected voicemail, so he was surprised to hear the voice on the other end pick up.

  “Go for Horvath,” was the sharp answer.

  “Detective Horvath, it’s Ben Stanford.”

  “Ah, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” she said. “Is there something I can do for you?”

  “I need a warrant, actually,” Ben said, cutting right to the chase. “I have reason to believe that someone involved with the John Doe kidnapping may have been an employee who worked for the hospital around the time of the disappearance. I need access to those records, and I need someone who works in this county to get them for me.”

  There was a long pause before Stella answered again. “I have a favor I can call in. You’ll need to give me a few hours, but I can get the records for you by the end of the day. Unless,” she added, “you were heading back up north before then?”

  That had been Ben’s original plan, and he hesitated. “I can postpone my trip back another day, however I have to get back to the office by tomorrow. I’m really behind on this case. I haven’t had a single moment to go through each victim’s file individually and right now I feel like I’m chasing a ghost.”

  “No problem. Look, why don’t we meet for lunch and we can put together a game plan. I’m going to officially bring you on to this John Doe case, to give you free access to all of the information, so I have a few files to give you and I just need you to sign the paperwork agreeing to work out of your district.”

  “Look I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Ben said slowly.

  “I’m not going to call you in on anything; I’m perfectly capable of handling a missing persons case on my own. Frankly, it’s not top priority, and the only reason I’m suggesting it at all is because you were on to something when you suggested the cases may be related.”

  Ben frowned, trying to remember if he had suggested it, or if Stella had. Either way, she was right and he could use all the information available to him. “I’m going to give you a tentative yes, and we can meet for lunch. Unfortunately I have Mark Roman and my sister along with me, so any sensitive information will have to be discussed at a later time.”

  “Over dinner, then,” she said, and in the moment Ben thought he heard something a little unprofessional in her tone.

  He cleared his throat and said, “Let’s meet at the little Italian place across from Asclepius’s hospital around noon.”

  “I will be there,” she promised and with that, the line went dead.

  Confused, Ben slipped his phone into his pocket and sighed. Stella was different, and from what Ben remembered about her, she was cold and intense, frosty even. The thread of warmth he thought he’d heard in her voice intrigued him.

  Either way, it was his only chance at the records, since he had no conclusive evidence that the John Doe case was related to his homicide cases and no judge he knew would issue him the records warrant.

  Fighting off the urge to pull out a cigarette, Ben plopped down on a bench under a tree and hung his head. It wasn’t until someone sat next to him that he looked up. It was Mark, glasses on, white cane in hand.

  “What are you doing?” Ben asked, irritated to see the disguise again.

  “Trying not to rouse suspicion,” Mark replied with a shrug. His heavy accent was back in full force. “I’ve been at this hospital many times, it would not look right if I suddenly could see, would it?”

  “Right, whatever. So did you guys find anything?”

  “Not without the warrant,” Mark replied with a shrug. “Any luck with your detective friend?”

  “She’s meeting us for lunch,” Ben said and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. “She said she can help me with the warrant, but we won’t be able to get the records until tomorrow. The best thing you can do is take my sister back to San Francisco. There’s no sense in sitting around here, and I can almost guarantee you that whoever took your friend didn’t stick around to get caught.”

  Mark sighed and turned his face up to the sun. “You’re right, I’m certain he’s not here.”

  “I’ll see what I can find, and hopefully our search will turn up something. You and Abby need to head home and wait for me to figure this out. I appreciate the PI stuff you’ve been doing,” Ben lied, “but if we’re going to have any shot at finding your friend, you need to let me do this the correct way.”

  Mark laughed and shook his head. “It’s okay to hate me, and hate the way I’ve handled it. I appreciate that you’re being so cordial about it, but we both know you don’t appreciate me all-but kidnapping your sister, breaking into a hospital, and introducing you to a man who thinks he’s an ancient Greek god.”

  That took Ben by surprise, and after a second, he laughed. “All true.”

  Mark extended his hand and Ben took it. “Thank you for helping me, even if this ends up nowhere.”

  Ben squeezed Mark’s hand, not painfully, but hard enough to make his point. “I know you think you’re immortal. Hell, maybe you are, and I’m never going to try and understand that. I’m only asking that you get my sister home and you let me do my job.”

  Mark gave Ben a sad smile and pulled his hand away. “Fair enough, Ben. I promise to take her home and go back to my job long enough to give you time. Just remember that while Yehuda and I may be able to live forever, time isn’t on our side.”

  With that, Ben watched Mark stand up and make his way back into the hospital, his white cane swishing back and forth, his head turned up slightly. Ben was frustrated, and more than that, he was tired. He was tired of this entire situation, and he was tired of sitting around waiting.

  He decided that a cup of coffee would probably help, since they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere with the hospital, and Greg, for all his influence, was tied up with patients for the day. The little cafeteria was nearby on the first floor, and Ben walked in to order something.

  “French roast,” he ordered, an
d out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sister. She was sitting in a booth near the cashier, a cup of coffee untouched on the table, and her face in her hands.

  Ben paid for the coffee quickly, grabbed a couple of sugar packets and slid into the seat across from Abby. “What’s up, kiddo?” he asked.

  Abby’s head snapped up and Ben noticed his sister’s eyes were surrounded by dark circles, and her skin was a bit sallow. “I just haven’t been feeling so hot,” she said and punctuated her sentence with a loud yawn. “I swear, I’m sleeping but I feel even more tired when I wake up.”

  “This entire situation is stressful,” Ben said, but he was worried about her. Since his sister had found herself involved with all of this, she was looking more and more tired. “You need to get home and get some actual rest.”

  “I know,” she said and took a sip of her coffee. She grimaced and set the cup down. “Home where there’s drinkable coffee.”

  Ben chuckled and nodded his agreement. “I just want you to be careful, okay? Whatever the hell is going on right now, it’s not safe.”

  “I know you don’t believe in any of it,” Abby said slowly, keeping her tone even, “but it’s really important that we find Yehuda.”

  Ben grimaced at the name, but at the sight of his sister’s exhausted face, he couldn’t bring himself to correct her. “I’m doing everything I can, I swear. Detective Horvath is bringing me on to the missing person’s case officially, so I can have full access to the files and witness statements. We’re getting a warrant for the employment records, and the moment I have names, I’m going to be checking backgrounds and doing interviews.”

  Abby let out a little sigh and smiled. “Thanks, Ben. This is asking a lot, I know.”

  “This is also my job,” Ben replied with a shrug. “Whomever took this guy, probably also had something to do with my murder cases, and I’m not about to let that go.”