by Joe Vadalma
Melody eyed him suspiciously. “How do you intend to do that?"
"Hold a seance."
"By using occult methods such as a seance, you're putting yourselves in danger from Morgaine and her demons."
"We'll take precautions."
Melody addressed the entire company. “You're idiots if you go along with this."
"I'm with you,” said Westcott. “A seance is nothing but foolishness. I'm leaving. I want to get a hold of Doctor Lazslo.” He kissed Raven, grabbed his jacket and left the apartment.
Melody rose and walked him to the door. After he was gone, she turned to the company. “I'll be in my bedroom reading the Bible and praying for you. If you need candles for your witchcraft, there are a few in that drawer.” She pointed to the highboy. “Knock when you're done.” She took her half-finished beer into her bedroom.
Deju said, “Shall we get started?"
Raven replied, “First we must cleanse the room of evil spirits."
"I've come prepared,” said Longfeathers. He reached into a shopping bag he had brought with him. He took out vials of dried and crushed rosemary, juniper and thyme. He placed a few tablespoons of each in an earthen bowl and lit the mixture. He waved at the ensuing smoke so that the fragrance was sent throughout the room. He held a charred stick that he had brought with him and slowly traversed the room while he chanted in his native Oneida tribal language.
Meanwhile, Deju set up a card table in the middle of the room. He placed a candleholder in the center, retrieved a fresh candle from the highboy and lit it. When Longfeathers finished cleansing the room of evil spirits, he switched off the lights. The only illumination was from the candle, casting dark and looming shadows throughout the room.
The three men and Raven pulled up chairs. Deju said, “Hold hands, stare into the flame and concentrate on Michael. Michael Ellul, we wish to contact you in whatever plane of existence you abide at this moment.” He repeated this several times, sometimes changing the intonation or the phrasing slightly. He fell into a trance. The candled flickered and flamed as though someone or something a breathed on it.
Michael's voice came from Deju's mouth. “Rhami, I hear you calling me. You should not do that. You and whoever is with you are in great danger."
Raven said, “We have taken precautions. Each of us wears an emblem to ward off evil spirits. Tell us of your condition and how we may help you."
"I'm fine. Although Morgaine keeps me prisoner and from time to time forces me to have sex with her, I have the run of Lilith's castle. Tell Melody, that I am sorry for the sorrows I've cost her. I love her very much. Nonetheless, she must get on with her life and forget about me."
Raven thought, Apparently she's already done that. Ah Michael, if you return, you'll also be free of Melody. And ripe for the pickings. She smiled at the thought of having him for a lover.
Lance said, “But Michael, we want to rescue you. There must be a way. Perhaps you know of some weakness of Morgaine's."
"She has no weaknesses. Please don't try. You'll only suffer for it."
The timber of Deju's voice changed to a feminine one, one the friends recognized immediately. It was Morgaine's. “So, you've found a way of communicating with Michael. That's good. If he can talk to his friends, perhaps when I'm not around he won't be so restless. As far as rescue goes, take Michael's advice and don't even try. I'll be harsh in my punishment of anyone who interferes with my plans."
"Tell me,” Raven said, “what are your plans? Are you simply going to keep Michael as pet for eternity?"
"That's for me to know, my priestess. Perhaps some day I'll share him with you."
Oh crap, Raven thought, she's reading my mind. I hope the others didn't catch that innuendo. I'm glad Jack isn't here.
Morgaine continued to speak through Deju, “And Raven, as an Omega priestess, you know that eternity is not that far away.” She laughed raucously.
Deju's eyes fluttered, and he moaned as he came out of his trance. The seance had ended. Longfeathers turned the overhead lights back on. “Should I ask Melody if she wants to join us for a discussion of what we just heard. She may want to know what transpired."
"Of course,” said Deju. “Since I was in a trance, you can tell me too."
Lance said, “Michael was channeled through you. But so was Morgaine."
"Really."
When Melody came back into the room, she had on pajamas and a robe. She opened a cigarette box and put one between her lips. Longfeathers lit it for her. She took a deep drag and blew out a cloud of smoke. “I should give these up. How did the seance go?"
Raven said, “We were successful in contacting Michael, but he was not optimistic. In fact he told us not to try to rescue him. That we would suffer for it. Morgaine said the same thing."
"Morgaine?"
"Yes. Apparently she was eavesdropping and put her two cents into the conversation. She threatened us with severe punishment if we tried."
Longfeathers said, “Michael also said that he loves you."
Melody frowned. “And I love him for all the good that it does either of us. What else did he say? What's Morgaine making him do?” The friends looked at each other, but said nothing. “It's obvious from the look on your faces. She's forcing him to make love to her. Well, I'm not blaming Michael. She's a demon, a succubus. At least he has gained some pleasure from contact with her."
She turned away. Raven saw the tears on her cheek and felt guilty for her own lustful thoughts regarding Michael.
Melody said, “I'm tired and am going to bed. Whoever is the last to leave, make sure the door is locked.” She went back into her bedroom.
Raven said, “I'm tired too. Do we have anything more to discuss tonight?"
Nobody spoke up. She wished them a good evening and returned to the apartment that she and Westcott shared. He was already there, sitting on the sofa in his underwear nursing another drink. A half empty whiskey bottle rested on the coffee table. It was the one thing that Raven disliked about their relationship, his drinking. She decided to break it off soon.
Raven poured a drink for herself, kissed him on the cheek and sat next to him. He flipped off the TV. “Did you contact Michael with your seance?"
"We did. You should've been there. You would've seen that it's not nonsense.” She told him most of Michael and Morgaine had said. She asked, “Did you call your college chum?"
"Yep. He might be onto something. I won't know for sure until I see for myself. But Hon, it means going to Cambridge for awhile."
"How long?"
"That depends on what he's got. It might be a couple of days, or it might be several weeks."
"You'll have to go by yourself. I'm returning to Israel."
"To the Church of Omega?"
"Yes. After tonight, I'm sure Morgaine is up to something. I want to find out what it is."
Westcott put his arm around her. “I'll miss you terribly."
"And I'll miss you. When you're finished fooling with your buddy's invention or whatever, come there."
"I will.” He snuggled up close to her, kissed her and squeezed her breast. She did not resist. He slowly undressed her and slid off his briefs. They made love on the sofa.
CHAPTER 6. THE CRYSTAL
Mandy slept until bright sunlight was in her eyes. She groaned, coughed and stretched. She looked around the room to orient herself. Her eyes fell on the robot standing by the door. In the harsh light of day, it did not look at all human. Its face was that of a mannequin. Its eyes glowed red. Slowly all the craziness of the day before came back to her. Did she really meet the Frankenstein monster, become introduced to a vampire and see ghosts? “Nonsense,” she cried. Nonetheless, there stood the android who was supposed to guard her from the vampire.
She held the sheet up to her chest as she slid her legs out from the bed. “Hey,” she cried. “You, I forgot your name."
"Good morning, Mandy,” said the robot. “My name is Isaac. Is there anything that I can do for you?
"
"Yeah, Isaac. Do you know the time?"
"It is precisely eleven oh eight and thirty-five seconds A.M."
"Oh shit. I shouldn't have slept so late. I meant to get an early start to look for a job.” She tapped out a cigarette from the pack on the night stand and lit it. After taking a deep drag, she coughed again.
Isaac remarked, “You should not smoke, Mandy. It is bad for your health."
"Oh crap, not another mother, telling me what's bad for me."
"I don't understand. I'm not your mother."
"You're damn tooting you're not. So stop telling me what to do."
Isaac became silent.
Mandy took a few more drags off of her cigarette and stubbed it out. “Is there anywhere nearby where I can get breakfast? Or do I have to walk all the way back to town?"
"You might try the kitchen downstairs. I believe Olivia often goes to the market and stocks up on groceries."
"Olivia? Who is Olivia?"
"Mr. Legion's special friend."
Mandy laughed. “Special friend, huh. Probably some gold-digging floozy. She wouldn't look twice at that ugly puss if he wasn't supporting her."
"I would not know about that. She is nice to me."
"Well, I could care less about big old Vic and his girl friend. You may leave now, Isaac. The vampire has long since gone to his coffin."
"You are correct. Good bye.” He went out the door.
"Arrivederci, mechanical man."
Mandy went into the bathroom and relieved herself. There was a bath with a shower. “I wonder whether the water is turned on. Must be. The toilet flushed.” She turned on the bathtub faucets. “I'll be damned. There's even hot water. Maybe after breakfast I'll take a shower if I can find some towels and soap."
She put on her jeans, slipped on her T-shirt, not bothering with a bra, and went downstairs. When she entered the kitchen, two people were at the table drinking coffee. One was Legion. The other was a blonde woman, good looking with a fine figure, but big, like Legion. Holy crap, Mandy thought, no wonder she went for an ugly guy like Vic. She's almost the same size.
"Hi,” she said to the couple.
Legion got to his feet politely. “Good morning, Mandy. I want you to meet my friend, Olivia."
Mandy came over and shook Olivia's hand, which was so big, she felt like a small child shaking hands with an adult. “Pleased to meetcha, Olivia."
"Same here,” Olivia responded. “Would you like breakfast?"
"You'd better believe it. I'm starving."
"We had pancakes earlier. Would you like me to fry some up for you?"
"You bet. Thanks. Uh, do you have any bacon and eggs."
"Sure."
"I'll have two over easy."
"No pancakes then?"
"Oh, I'll have the pancakes too. Coffee too."
"I see. You've got an appetite like Victor's."
When I get something to eat, I eat a lot, Mandy thought. She sat down at the table and poured herself a mug of coffee which she sipped while Olivia made her breakfast.
"So, how come you two are living in this rat trap?"
Legion said, “That should be obvious. Look at the size of us. We're freaks in this society."
"So, how do you live?"
"Doing odd jobs. I work in construction sometimes. We also have a small business using computers. What about yourself?"
"At the moment, I'm unemployed. I was hoping to get something locally. I understand that there's a Walmart and some other stores around here."
"You'd need a car to get there. If you intend on staying here in Moonwood, we could use an extra hand in our business, someone to deal with customers."
Mandy scratched her head, mussing her already unruly hair. “What's your business? And how much does it pay?"
"It pays well. We could start you out a five hundred a week. But it's illegal. Does that bother you?"
"That depends. What the penalties are if I get caught?"
"Up to twenty years in the slammer. With a decent lawyer, you could probably cop a plea and get off with less. We're smugglers."
"And what would my part in this operation be?"
"Our front person. You would meet with customers."
"In other words, I would be the most exposed to a possible FBI sting. To take that kind of risk, I'd need four grand a week."
Legion grinned. He held out his hand. “It's a deal."
By then, Olivia had Mandy's breakfast prepared. As Mandy dug into the meal with gusto, Olivia asked her, “How long have you been on your own?"
"Ten years, ever since I turned fifteen. My mom didn't care. She was a junky. I never knew who my dad was. It could've any number of guys who lived with us from time to time. Or not."
When she finished, she said, “All this crap about vampires and you being the Frankenstein monster was a bunch of bullshit? To scare me off. Right?"
"Yeah. Just a bunch of shit. We didn't want anyone nosing in our business,” replied Legion.
Mandy lit up and asked, “When do you want me to start?"
"Soon. But you'll need better clothes. Olivia, why don't you take Mandy to the mall and buy her something decent to wear."
Olivia raised her eyebrows. “Later. I've got chores to do right now."
Mandy got out of her chair and said, “Say, do you have some bar soap and shampoo? And towels? I could use a nice soaking bath."
"Sure.” She went to the pantry. “I put everything I buy from the grocery store in here. I bring things upstairs when we need it."
"Thanks. I'll buy my own stuff after I get my first paycheck. I'm broke at the moment."
"I understand. You'll find towels in the linen closet at the end of the hall upstairs."
After Mandy went upstairs, Olivia said, “Why did you tell her all those outrageous lies?"
"To keep her here. She's under the protection of that demon witch, Morgaine. I want to find out why. Whatever the reason, it can't be good. If it's another end-of-the-world scenario, I want to be sure that I'm on the winning side. Not like last time."
"What last time? What're you talking about?"
Legion winked at her. “Some of us remember things that never happened. Chalk it up to a vivid imagination."
* * * *
As Mandy was getting towels out of the linen closet, she noticed double doors where the hallway took a jog to the right. Curious as to what was behind them, she tried to open them. They were locked. This made her even more curious. She used an expired credit card to open the old fashioned lock and peered in. The doors led to a long dusty hallway. Some broken furniture was piled up along the walls. Apparently the wing had been closed for some time.
She went back to her room, laid the towels on the bed and retrieved a flashlight out of her backpack. She returned to the closed up wing and walked down it. As she navigated the hallways, she glanced around curiously at ancient portraits, medieval armaments and shelves of curios that lined the walls. Suits of armor stood guard with pikes and broadswords. She tried a couple of doors. They led to good sized rooms, some of which had furniture covered with dusty sheets and cobwebs. Others were empty. At the end of the hall was another set of double doors. She opened them and entered what seemed to be a chapel..
The chapel was all shadows, being lighted only by Mandy's flashlight. As she walked toward the altar, she peered around. In the niches where she would have expected statues of saints were goblins and gargoyles. The stained glass windows, instead of illustrating scenes from the bible, showed mystical symbols, pyramids and pagan deities. I'll be damned. This is a fucking pagan or Satanist chapel, she thought. No wonder the place is haunted. I wonder whether they killed chickens, or even babies, to sacrifice them to the devil.
On the altar were four items, an elaborately decorated cup like those used in a church for Communion, a scepter or wand, a human skull and a large crystal. The crystal seemed to glow from inside. As Mandy stared at it, she saw images. She bent down for a closer look. The cry
stal was made up of hundreds of pentagon shaped facets. Her eye caught one in particular. By staring at it, she could see the inside of a colossal ancient building.
Suddenly, she was there, standing between huge columns in the enormous building. On the curved paneled ceiling twenty feet above her head were beautiful murals that portrayed scenes from Pagan mythology. The columns themselves were artistically carved and painted with leaves, vines and fruit. Carvings of small animals and fairy folk peered between the foliage. There were hundreds and hundreds of these columns stretching for a long distance in every direction. The floor was tiled in gold and silver, each tile embossed with a different magical symbol. In addition there was gold and jewels everywhere in the decorations on distant walls.
Two monks in black robes appeared and waved her forward. They passed through an archway into a room filled with murals depicting scenes from the Bible and of Dante's Inferno. Ahead was a dais where a handsome man with dark curly hair topped by a golden crown rested upon an elaborately decorated throne.
Above his head was a mural which depicted a nude woman bathed by the light of the sun; under her feet was the moon; on her head rested a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and crying out in the agony of giving birth. Next to her was a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail swept down through a night sky filled with stars. The dragon gazed hungrily at the place where the child was to be born. The figures in the mural were made to move somehow, like a short film playing over and over.
Mandy decided that she had fallen asleep and was experiencing an extremely vivid dream. As she approached the throne, the two monks, one at a time, kneeled before the man with the crown and kissed his ring. They stood on each side of the throne and beckoned Mandy forward. Since this seemed to be the thing to do, she also kneeled and kissed his ring.
The man smiled at her. “Welcome to the Capital of the World, Mandy. You may rise."
Mandy rose and asked, “Where am I, and who are you?"
"I am Emperor Nicholas, ruler of the world. This is my palace in the capital city of the world, Jerusalem. My power is absolute. No parliament or congress can overrule my commands. I summoned you here to invite you to be my queen. I wish to have you rule by my side."