by Joe Vadalma
He looked at Isaac in a questioning manner. “What do you think?"
"I do not actually think in the human sense, but my software can cogitate in a rational manner. Inside this artifact is where the machine hum is coming from. It seems to be a portal to another dimension. Perhaps it is the one where Master EIlul is being held. I believe we should investigate."
"You may be right. Let go."
Macrome stepped through the portal, followed by Isaac.
An elderly man in a white lab coat yelled, “Aliens from the other dimension. Esmeralda's concerns were real. Quick, throw the emergency shutoff.
Macrome gazed around. They were in a human appearing laboratory. The machine suddenly stopped humming and the portal that he and the robot had walked through disappeared.
CHAPTER 25. MORGAINE'S PLAN
Michael Ellul paced the room. Morgaine was off somewhere on one of her many mysterious errands. He wondered just what she was up to. When she first imprisoned him, he thought that all she wanted was to make him fall in love with her. But now he was not so sure whether that was her only motive. For one thing, the drug she put in his food and drink from time to time, although it worked like an aphrodisiac and made him lust after her, did not cause him to fall in love with her. In fact she no longer seemed enamored of him anymore either. She was around less and less. Most times, when she returned from wherever she had been, she went about her business and ignored him. It was as though whatever she was about occupied her mind so thoroughly that she had no time for him.
Another thing that puzzled him was that she seemed determined to bring all their old friends to this otherworld. When he asked about any of this, she waffled or plain ignored his questions. He had a premonition that something big was up, something that had to do with the entity he knew as Asmodeus.
Another thing he wondered about was the location of the castle he was in. He recalled that when she and he had traveled back in time to change the outcome of the Armageddon that Asmodeus had cooked up, she told him that an entire new universe had been created by that action. She said that she and he were on a different time track that was parallel to the one where humanity was destroyed. But, the parallel universe was extremely close to that one and could easily converge at some point in the near future. Whether it did or not depended on events put in motion by powerful alien entities such as Asmodeus, Lillith and the one she called Chthulu. The war through space, time and other dimensions was still on and probably would go on forever. It had no possible end since the warring parties had the ability to travel through space, time and other dimensions as easily as a human being could take a stroll. Apparently, to them it was a source of amusement as they plied their godlike powers against each other and whatever beings happened to be in the way. It made him dizzy to contemplate such enormous occult power.
Morgaine was most certainly involved in that war, but in what capacity he had not a clue. He could not even be sure whose side she was on. Somehow, although she took orders from Asmodeus, Michael's instinct told him that she was doing something else while pretending to aid that monster. She seemed to be something of a double agent. It was a puzzle.
But why is all this worrying me, he thought. There is nothing I can do to affect what these alien powers do. I should try to devise a plan of escape from this place. A few months earlier he had given up, but the note from Westcott gave him hope. He wondered whether there was a way that he could use Doctor Lazlos’ machine to leave his prison.
At this point in Michael's mental meandering, Morgaine appeared in her usual abrupt manner. This time she was not alone.
"Raven,” he cried.
"Oh Michael.” Raven ran to him and hugged him.
Morgaine gave them a wry look. “How touching. You'd think you two were lovers the way you fell into each other's arms."
Raven blushed and turned away.
Michael said, “So, you've captured another of my friends. Where are the others?"
"Safe enough, although a little uncomfortable. Don't worry. You'll be reunited with them soon enough. Right now, I need to explain a few things to you two. Please sit down. This may take a while. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"
Raven said, “I could use a smoke.” Morgaine produced a pack of Camels and a lighter out of thin air and handed it to her. “Magic no less. Are you going on the stage with that act, Morgaine?"
After Raven and Michael took their seats, Raven crossed her legs, tapped out a cigarette, lit it and said, “Okay. What's up?"
"Raven, do you recall the world coming to an end due to Victor Legion and his army, and a great meteor breaking up and hitting the earth?"
"Whoa. How do you know about that? It was simply a vivid nightmare that I had."
"It was a nightmare all right, but one that all of humanity and other beings shared. It all actually happened just as you remember it. Michael and I traveled back in time to change the outcome of that scenario. Right now, you, I, Michael and everyone else that you know is living in a parallel universe."
"Holy Chaos. That's crazy. What you're saying is like something out of a bad science fiction novel. It can't be true."
"Nonetheless, it is true. Ask Michael if you don't believe me."
Michael nodded. “Despite the fact that it sounds like fantasy, everything she said is true. I was there."
Raven cocked her head and grinned skeptically. Nonetheless, she said nothing.
Morgaine continued, “Reality is much more complex than you believe. You are familiar with the concept of parallel time though?"
Raven took a deep puff on her cigarette and blew out a smoke ring. “Yeah. I've read my share of science fiction and fantasy. Okay. I believe it really happened. So what?"
"Well, due to the machinations of Asmodeus—and I have to admit I was involved—the parallel universes may converge soon. The result of what we did is that the end of the world is again possible. Here's why. I was ordered by Asmodeus to help him produce a son, a son who was half human and half the same kind of alien being as Asmodeus. If you recall, Michael and Melody hired a contractor named Tom Bongiglio to fix up Moonwood. He and his wife lived in the mansion during the repairs."
"Yeah, I remember them. Nice couple."
"Well, using sex magic I created a nasty little creature called a homunculus. Asmodeus possessed the homunculus and raped Bongiglio's wife, causing her to become pregnant with Asmodeus’ son. Being half-alien, once born, the son grew to manhood at a prestigious rate and had occult powers. That son's name was Nicholas Bongiglio."
"The president! I should've known that evil son-of-a-bitch was part demon."
"Did you know that he's now dead?"
"No. The last I thing I saw about him in the news was that he had declared himself emperor of the world and had moved into a palace that the Omega church built in Jerusalem. I figured the Children of Aquarius were involved somehow. Who killed him?"
"A woman by the name of Amanda Blake."
"Why?"
"So that her lover, Victor Legion, could take over."
"Victor Legion? The Frankenstein monster?"
"That very one. He hopes to wipe out humanity."
"Just like in my nightmare."
"Precisely. And that's why the two universes will converge unless something is done about it."
"But what has all this have to do with Michael and I?"
Morgaine chuckled softly. “You two are going to save the world."
"You're kidding."
"Not at all. There's something that needs to be done, but I cannot do it myself. Asmodeus watches me too closely."
Raven snuffed out the butt of her cigarette. “I'm on pins and needles. What is it?"
"I need you to travel to a planet circling a star a thousand light-years away and negotiate with its leaders."
"Just Michael and I.” Raven hoped that the pleasure she felt at being alone with Michael during a long journey did not show on her face. “Aren't you taking a big risk sending two humans?"
"Not in this case. Besides, you two have the special abilities needed for this job. Oh, there will be one additional person going along. I use the term ‘person’ loosely."
"Who?” asked Michael.
"Isaac, the robot that you helped Westcott steal from the TURC corporation."
* * * *
All hell broke loose as Isaac and Sylvan Macrome stepped through the gate into the laboratory.
Doctor Lazlos yelled, “Aliens from the other dimension. Esmeralda's concerns were real. Quick, use the emergency shutoff."
An assistant immediately pressed the Emergency Off button. The machine shuddered and screeched to a halt. Smoke came from its interior as the sudden power surge blew a circuit. Lazlos grabbed Macrome by the arm. The vampire retaliated by tossing Lazlos to the side. A second assistant called for security and ran from the room. Two security men entered with drawn pistols. When Isaac saw the pistols, it snatched one from the man's hand. The other guard shot at the robot. The bullet ricocheted off his chest and went into the machine, causing more damage.
Macrome hit that guard hard enough to render him unconscious. He cried, “Isaac, let's get out of here.” He rushed out the door. Isaac followed. The vampire and the robot ran up the stairs to the roof of the building. There was a fifty foot drop to another building. Without hesitation, Macrome and Isaac leaped the distance. One of Isaac's legs became slightly twisted due to the impact. Nonetheless, he was able to limp along. They entered the building and took its elevator to the ground floor.
When the guards arrived at the roof of the Omega building, the duo they had chased were nowhere in sight. They leaned over the parapet, but saw no sign of them below. They scratched their heads. One said, “If those two were aliens, they must've had a flying saucer up here."
The other poked him in the ribs. “Yeah. Or we were chasing hallucinations.” Nonetheless, he wondered how he could have missed shooting the guy at such short range.
* * * *
As Macrome walked and Isaac limped along the sidewalk, Macrome said, “I wonder what time it is. I need to find somewhere to rest before dawn.” They had traveled north as far as the Bronx. The streets were almost deserted and the bars were closed, which told him that it must be past two in the morning.
Isaac said, “It is three forty-two EST. Sunrise is at five fifty-five. You have two hours and twelve minutes until you must be underground or in a coffin."
Macrome said, “You must have a map of New York City on your hard drive. Where's the nearest cemetery?"
Isaac stopped and closed its eyes for a couple of minutes. When he opened them, he said, “Two blocks west and four more blocks north."
Macrome patted him on the back. “Boy, am I glad you're with."
After they found the cemetery, they broke into a mausoleum. Macrome removed the corpse from a vault, carefully laid it on the floor and crawled into the coffin. “Goodnight, Isaac.” He closed the lid.
Isaac did not know what to do. It wondered whether it should simply wait until the following evening when Macrome woke from his deathly sleep, or whether it should continue towards Moonwood. The latter option would take days if it kept traveling on foot, especially with its damaged leg. Also, the robot still wanted to rescue Michael Ellul. Its other friends also needed to be rescued. But it had no idea of how to proceed to do that. It could not return to the laboratory. It would probably be incarcerated for breaking and entering or trespassing. The man in the lab coat was very upset about Isaac's and Macrome's arrival from that other dimension. The only other gate to that dimension was at Moonwood.
Perhaps if I repair my leg, I can find a way to return, Isaac thought. It sat on a sarcophagus and put its leg up to examine it. It pulled his trouser leg up and ripped away the pseudoflesh around the area where the leg was bent. The metal below it was twisted. Isaac found a stone that had broken off the wall of the tomb and pounded it until it was almost straight. It wrapped the pseudoflesh around it and tied a strip of cloth around it to hold it in place. It stood up and paced around the mausoleum. It still had a limp but it was not as pronounced as before.
Isaac was about to leave the structure when it realized that it was not alone. It was so pitch black that even its night vision could not see who was in there with him. “Mister Macrome, is that you? Have you left the coffin? It's almost daybreak. You had better return to it."
The robot heard a feminine giggle. “I'm not Sylvan. It is I, Morgaine."
"Ms. Fabiano! How did you get in here? I did not hear the door open."
"I did not come in that way."
"Is there a gateway to the dimension where you are keeping Mister Ellul in here?"
"No. Would you like to go to Michael?"
"Yes. It is my duty to rescue him."
Morgaine laughed again. “Very well. I'll take you there. Take my hand."
Isaac felt her hand touch its fingers. The robot grasped it gently. A moment later, it and Morgaine were somewhere else.
CHAPTER 26. THE UFO
"Does Morgaine always vanish like that?” asked Raven.
Michael chuckled. “Yes. And she doesn't hang around here much anymore. Lately, she's off on some secret mission most of the time."
"I see she keeps you here in her bedroom, but no longer in chains. I suppose when she's here you two spend a lot of time in bed,” Raven smirked.
"When she's in the mood, she adulterates my food or drink with a strong aphrodisiac. I can't help myself. Lately, she hasn't been in the mood much."
"Are you in love with her?"
Michael scowled. “Absolutely not. I hate her for all the things she has done to Melody, myself and others. If I had a choice, I would stay as far away from her as possible."
Raven wrinkled her brow. “What about Melody? Do you miss her? Will you go back to her if Morgaine lets us go?"
"I don't think so. Melody and I are over. She was never right for me. I'm too devoted to the occult. We've both moved on. If I ever get back to our world, we'll probably get divorced. But what's with all the questions about my love life?"
She put her hand up to his cheek. “I think you know. I don't mind telling you that I've had the hots for you almost from the time we met. But I knew you were loyal to Melody, and there was always all this stuff going on."
He gazed into her face with his hypnotic eyes and put his arms around her. Raven's heart thumped. “Y'know, I often wondered what it would be like if you and I got together. I guess there's no reason why we couldn't try. To tell the truth, I can't say that I'm in love with you or anything but..."
She put a finger to his lips. “That's enough for now. Up to this moment we've been with other people. Let's simply get to know each other and see what happens. One thing worries me though—Morgaine. Will she get horribly jealous and turn us into frogs or something?"
"I don't think so. In fact, I believe she's thrown us together for reasons of her own."
"Perhaps she wants to possess me, like she did with Melody. She'd have you through me.” Raven shuddered at the thought. It was a distinct possibility. She had been possessed by Morgaine once before. It was not something to be desired. Nonetheless, it was worth the risk to have Michael. She put her arms around his neck, lifted her chin and closed her eyes in anticipation of that kiss that would send her to paradise.
His lips pressed against hers. The hairs of his mustache tickled her slightly. She opened her mouth to receive his tongue. One of Michael's hands pulled her blouse out of her jeans and reached under it to squeeze her breast. She tingled all over. Michael was going to be hers. He wanted her. In time she could turn his lust into love. She unbuttoned his shirt and put her hands on his manly chest. He reciprocated by unbuttoning and removing her blouse. Together they slipped out of their jeans.
They stood facing each other toe to toe, he in his boxers, she in her bra and thong. Moments later these garments were discarded, and they were in bed. His hard body was on top, pressing against her flesh, his member hard against her thig
h. He kissed her breasts and sucked on her nipples. She moaned with pleasure. He licked her stomach and what was below. He moved up again and entered her. She panted and cried, “Oh Michael, how I've waited for this moment."
As she was about to go into ecstasy, she heard Morgaine's voice say, “When the cat's away, the mice will play. So this is what you two do when my back is turned.” She sounded angry.
Michael pulled away. Raven gasped and trembled with frustration and fear. She wondered what the witch would do. To Raven's relief, Morgaine laughed.
Morgaine said, “I've brought you company. We've been watching your display. Quite a nice porno show you put on."
Raven sat up, covering herself with the bedding as best she could. Standing besides Morgaine was Isaac, the robot.
Michael said, “Okay. You caught us. What are you going to do about it? And why did you bring Isaac here?"
"I'm not going to do anything about you and Raven. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Michael, but since I've become a different sort of entity, love is not an emotion I feel any longer. I can lust, but not love. In fact, I wouldn't mind getting into bed with the two of you. But that will have to wait for another day. As for Isaac, the robot is going with you on your mission. I think you'll find him a great help."
Raven said, “Mind if we get dressed then?"
Morgaine raised her eyebrows. “Don't tell me that you're embarrassed at being naked before me and a robot?"
"Not in the least. The hell with it.” Raven threw the covers back, got out of bed, gathered up her clothes and began to dress. “So, what's this mission to save the world?"
As Michael donned his clothing, Raven glanced with admiration at his tall, muscular body. The thought of what had transpired a few minutes before made her feel warm and full of smiles. If they survived whatever task Morgaine has set for them and she let them go, Raven was sure that there would be many, and more intense, such times for them.