Synarchy Book 1: The Awakening

by DCS

  When they reached the porch at the top of the stairs, Amadeo pressed his thumb to the keypad on the front door to unlock it. “Don’t start that shit with me. One of us has to worry about the consequences if we’re not able to contain our family, and prevent them from allowing the Ascension.”

  “Energy follows thought, you know. You really ought to control yours,” Olivia said as she stopped in front of the small mirror hanging on the wall in his foyer, checking her appearance in the reflection, fingers adjusting the short mousse-filled strands of her bleached white hair.

  He sneered at her words despite the truth of her statement. The front door closed, and he walked over hardwood floors, down two short steps into his living room. He picked up a remote control, pressing a button to open the blinds hiding windows.

  “You look so much like Papa Julian,” Olivia said randomly, looking over at him. Papa Julian was the affectionate term they had used for their grandfather, Julian Terenzio, little brother to Stefano Terenzio. Julian, also known as JT to his friends, had been a notorious playboy, and what Stefano had often called his best kept secret. From its conception JT had run the baby of the Dion Corporation, S.V.T. Securities. Since she could remember, she had been attached to her grandfather’s side. Olivia had loved Papa Julian more than her own father.

  Amadeo glanced over at her, his temper lowering to a quiet simmer. “Think he would be on our side?”

  “You read the letter; S.V.T. would have so Papa Julian would have been there too. You heard the way he used to talk about his brother. The god Stefano.” Olivia said the latter with mock grandeur.

  “Don’t knock him. He did start all this.”

  “And we’re going to finish it,” Olivia said firmly. Seven years ago Olivia had discovered a letter, written to Julian from Stefano. Then Kayla had approached them. Ever since they had waited for the right moment to take over. Terenzio’s were not Robin Hoods, they never had been. For a century now they had done as they pleased, and more often than not their actions were in no way honorable. The sudden desire to change didn’t make any sense. Why empower the rest of the world when you could control the slaves? Why become equals when you could sit higher up the ladder? And now that they had the opportunity to align themselves with the Powers That Be and reap the real benefits, fuck the rest of the world. Marcello had lost his mind. Her plans along with Amadeo’s would not be compromised, and they were not the only members of the family who thought that way.

  “There’s not going to be anything to finish if we don’t get caught up. You heard the Seer the last time we were in Denver; the triplets could pull this off.”

  “Stop. They won’t. Period. There will be no Ascension.” Olivia held up her hand to emphasize her words. “Now, I want you to lean on Vic. Find out if Leone has mentioned what his brother is working on. Nicholas tracked the triplets to Madeira but lost them after that. Kayla might know something, I’ll find out. If I don’t hear anything by nightfall I’ll go see Marcello myself.”

  Amadeo raised a brow at her. “That’s a serious offense if you’re caught, Olivia.”

  She sighed at him. “We are way past that now, don’t you think, cousin?”

  He opened his mouth to answer her but was forced into silence by the sudden appearance of a man standing in his doorway. Automatically his hand went for the gun at his side, but his fingers never touched the metal. Seeing the look on his face Olivia whirled around then gasped softly. Their unexpected visitor had long light blonde hair, with random streaks of white. His eyes were a deep indigo that seemed to pulse with a life all their own. Even odder, in his hand he carried a long golden rod with a crystal on top that radiated in quiet power.

  Loki smiled at the shocked expression on their faces. Slowly, he spoke in their language. “Do not be afraid. I will help you stop the Ascension.”

  Chapter 8

  “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

  -Galileo Galilei

  June 8th, 2012

  Undisclosed location

  Undisclosed location time unknown

  It was not a commonly known piece of history that Derek Vaughn the first had designed and then participated in building the compound, all without knowing he was doing so. This place had been the first assignment handed from S.V.T. to his son and the greatest task Marcello could complete. It was the ultimate safe house for the family if the game went wrong and checkmate came from the other side. The escape plan had been set up so elaborately that family members would not know the location until that time came.

  It was the perfect place for the Vault.

  The journey had been conducted as if they were being followed. They had traveled from Madeira by boat to the coast of Morocco. From there they had taken two short helicopter rides to destinations in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. The end leg of their journey had been with a string of non-English-speaking guides that had driven them through extremely beautiful ancient country. The triplets were a little more than exhausted by the time the dusty black Explorer came to a stop in front of the gates of the stone-walled compound.

  No guards were present, no visible intercom, but someone obviously expected them as the gates opened. Their current guide, a bald dark-skinned man who had not given a name, drove the car down the two mile paved driveway. It ended in a spacious circular courtyard, a fountain in the center with a small pyramid inside of it, water cascading smoothly down each side.

  “No shit, Castle Terenzio.” Lucien rolled down the backseat window, pushed up his sunglasses and squinted in the hot desert sun up at the massive stone compound before them.

  The estate was elevated, sitting in front of a high desert hill of rock. Terraces wrapped around the house and two imposing statues of phoenixes about to take off in flight perched in front of the double door entrance.

  Their tour guide wordlessly got out of the vehicle and began unloading their suitcases at the base of the stairs. All three heirs climbed out of the car as the bags were unloaded. Then without looking twice at the three, the man got back into the car and drove away.

  Lucien blinked at the turn of the events. “Huh. No tour?”

  “No need.” The voice came from behind them. A five-foot tall woman with tangled gray hair and a multitude of colored robes tossed onto her tiny frame came wobbling towards them carrying a bucket of water.

  The triplets turned towards the new stranger and Simone smirked, watching the woman. “Don’t tell me this place doesn’t have plumbing?”

  “Grandfather wouldn’t do that to us, I don’t think,” Vasco said unconvincingly.

  “Do you need some help?” Lucien offered as the woman walked right past them, up the short stone steps to the front doors.

  “Help? Me?” The woman paused then started laughing hysterically. “No. You do though. Come now, come on.”

  “Guess that means follow.” Lucien half grinned and along with his brother and sister picked up their bags and followed along.

  Their strange bucket-carrying host had little to say to them as she pushed open one of the doors, almost slipped on the polished marble floor in the grand foyer, muttered to herself and kept walking.

  The rooms were typical for an estate of its size, bright, airy and suited to the environment outside. Soaring beamed ceilings, alabaster and gold light fixtures, artist murals, Greek statues and floor-to-ceiling stone fireplaces decorated the rooms they passed. After navigating through what seemed to be a maze of hallways, the little old woman finally came to an abrupt halt in front of a wooden door. She set her water bucket down and pulled out a key tied around her neck with an old piece of string to unlock it. On the other side, a pair of closed elevator doors with a keypad on the left waited. She muttered something unintelligible under her breath and flipped open the cover on the keypad, pressing the number three, three times. A quiet computerized voice confirmed “code accepted.” Instead of allowing access to the
elevator the keypad pushed out from the wall and flipped itself over to reveal a bright blue screen. Opening her right eye unnecessarily wide the little old woman leaned into the light, allowing the retinal scan. Once more a computerized voice confirmed:

  “Scan Accepted. Hello Rosa. Please state your last name.”

  “Mercia.” Rosa said it proudly. Vasco shrugged at the curious looks Simone and Lucien gave him after they heard the name; he didn’t have any idea who she was.

  “Accepted. Welcome back, Rosa.” As the computerized voice spoke the keypad flipped back into the wall and the elevator doors opened. Rosa picked up her bucket and waddled into the car, looking at the triplets impatiently as they followed her in.

  “So Rosa, does this elevator go up, down, sideways and zigzag like Willy Wonka’s?” Lucien asked with a grin, noting there were no buttons to press.

  Rosa looked up at him oddly. “There’s no reason for elevator to go zigzag,” she mumbled. “Stupid Terenzio.”

  Vasco and Simone laughed. Lucien blinked and then chuckled, shaking his head. “Touché, Rosa.”

  The elevator lurched then began what felt like a slow descent. Simone asked, “Okay, so how far does it go?”

  “Not far, about the middle.” Rosa began alternating her weight between her feet, always fidgeting.

  The triplets exchanged curious glances, which ended in unanswered shrugs at the strange answer. The elevator ride lasted three minutes and every second that passed seemed to re-spark the excitement in the three heirs as a grandfather’s cryptic message sat forefront in their minds. Even Vasco was slightly surprised to find himself holding his breath as the elevator dinged and the metal doors slid open.

  §

  June 7th, 2012

  Mayan Ruins

  Piedras Negras 6:22 AM

  Dr. Angela Knoxx, though a woman of science, had always been a little bit of a New Ager. Traditional religion had never sat well with her, so she’d gone on her own path and studied Hermeticism for years. Its teachings that inner transformation was the key to the outside reality, and that anyone willing to turn their mind to contemplate “the things that are” could master it, made strange sense to her. Recently, Noetic Science had emerged and she’d bought a mound of books on that too. She found it fascinating that science seemed to be merging with mysticism. The Noetic Institute was devoted to studying the effects of consciousness and how it related to the outer world. While she couldn’t call herself a devout follower of any religion or spirituality, after sixty-two years of the bullshit called life, a person had to find something that made sense to believe in or, in her opinion, spend the rest of ones existence a very grouchy, lost individual.

  What had happened to them these last few weeks drastically challenged the thought process of the rational scientific thinker. Even so, Angela couldn’t contain her excitement at their recent discovery. Her own dream and those of the two men working with her, Scott Meyers and Dr. Phil Nichols, hadn’t left much doubt in her mind that they absolutely had to come here.

  Deep in the heart of the Guatemalan jungle the site was accessible by either a five-hour walk from the Mexican town of Corregiadora Ortíz or a two-day rafting trip down the Usumacinta River. The ruins weren’t a secret; they simply hadn’t been given too much attention by archeologists over the years. They would be getting a lot of attention soon, if she had anything to say about it.

  “Try us.” Derek smiled through the screen.

  Angela grinned widely down at her phone. “All right. Scott called a friend of his, I can’t tell you who, but long story short we got satellite imaging. Longer story short...” her voice pulsed with excitement, “...there’s a world underneath this mountain.”

  Shirley and Abe came to stand on either side of Derek when they heard her. Derek responded, “Send me what you’ve got?”

  “Tech Geek Phil, gods’ love him, is sending all that to you now.”

  “Where’s the entrance, Grams? Is it where the A.R.E. claimed it was when they visited the site?” Shirley asked in an excited voice.

  Abe blinked at her. “Since when do you follow all that stuff?”

  “Since some guy floated up from the bottom of the ocean,” Shirley answered quickly.

  “Exactly where they said it was, lovey. We’re also sending you our wish list so we can start getting in there. From the imagery it looks to be a rough start but it opens up pretty soon,” Angela said, then added, “Our mysterious, Cave of Creation could be down there. Something definitely is.”

  “Send me your list. Terenzio has given us a green light on anything we need. I know that area isn’t the safest so if you want security we can get you that too. We actually might come down there and join you,” Derek said, his mind reeling with the implications of it all if they did find it.

  “We hope you do!” Angela smiled. “Before I ask what’s got you all looking as if you just saw Jesus the Christ himself, have you ever heard of the Brotherhood of Light?”

  There was a collective pause, Derek, Shirley and Abe exchanging curious glances. Derek answered, “We haven’t. What is it?”

  “Thought not. I’ll tell you later. Share your news first.”

  §

  They looked like mosquitoes. The military called them HI-MENS, beautifully hi-tech unassuming spying devices that had been following Angela’s team since they landed in Guatemala. Caesar Medici had let the bugs go ahead, and stayed behind in Corregiadora Ortíz with running water, and showers.

  A white wide-brimmed hat shielded his dark-skinned face. A pair of wide black sunglasses covered his eyes, but they weren’t to block out the sun. Images relayed from the HI-MENS filtered through the lenses, allowing him to both watch, and listen to what was going on at the S.V.T.T. camp. It was just about that time. Caesar knew the Anunnaki, Terenzio’s team wouldn’t be allowed to get any closer. Caesar took off the sunglasses, setting them down on the table and picked up his beer bottle. Rising from his spot on the tiny balcony, he went back inside the hotel room. Sharp brown eyes set­tled on the gray, leather-like skin of the creature sitting on the bed, its wings tucked in against its back. A remote control was held in its four-fingered hand, its wide black eyes set on the television. This one liked watching Jerry Springer. Go figure. The Brotherhood called them Igigis; humanity thought of them as the mythical gargoyles.

  When you wanted to talk to the Brotherhood, a cell phone would do. When you wanted to talk to the Anunnaki you needed an Igigi.

  “Go back and let them know Knoxx is close. I’ll need instruction,” Caesar told it.

  The Igigi didn’t move immediately. The animal-like eyes remained glued to the TV until a commercial flashed on. Only then was the power button on the remote control pressed. It snapped its eyes to Caesar, and without a noise hopped off the bed, teeter-tottering unevenly on two stubs for legs through the open balcony doors, and jumped off. Its wings extended, shooting the beast out of sight.

  Caesar eagerly watched the creature depart. He was hoping this new information would send back an order that would allow him to leave this third world country baby sitting assignment, and make the move against Terenzio. Reincarnation was a beautiful thing, and he had a score to settle.

  Two generations ago, a man named Stefano had a mortal enemy. As cliché as it sounded, two men could not have hated each other as much as Stefano Terenzio and Roman Moretti.

  In the late 1920’s, the Moretti crime family operated out of Miami, Florida. Because of its close proximity to Central America, Roman also did business with Stefano’s second wife. When Stefano began his quest to solidify control of the American Mafia, Roman not only opposed his efforts but tried in vain to steal Stefano’s wife out from underneath him. Always one to play on the desires of men to get what she wanted, Stefano’s wife encouraged his advances but never let them go anywhere. This only served to increase the tension between the two men, and it boiled over to the point that they could not be in the same room together without coming to blows. They never drew guns and never
let their men get involved. It was personal.

  Eventually, crunch time came for the Moretti family. Terenzio, with the help of the DeMarco family, who were running New Orleans and Baton Rouge, were poised to remove the Moretti’s from Miami if they did not submit to the new order of things. Roman’s family fled, and Roman went into hiding, which infuriated Stefano. Stefano died before he could track Roman down, and the feud was left unfinished.

  That was something Caesar intended to rectify this lifetime. If the Seers were correct, Stefano was back on Earth and in his family in some new body. And when Caesar found him, Kayla wouldn’t be the one pulling the trigger.

  That happy thought foremost in his mind, Caesar flopped down on the bed, picked up the remote and turned Jerry back on.

  Chapter 9

  "It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but only retire a little from sight and afterwards return again. Nothing is dead; men feign themselves dead, and endure mock funerals… and there they stand looking out of the window, sound and well, in some strange new disguise."

  — Ralph Waldo Emerson

  June 8th, 2012

  Undisclosed location

  The Vault time unknown

  The cave they found themselves in was manmade, bits of crystal and limestone causing what could be seen of the walls to glimmer. Bright overhead lights illuminated certain parts of the room, shadows still lurking in others. The area was circular shaped and appeared to take up as much square footage as the house. Steel shelves had been built into the walls, everything sitting on them protected by the locked Plexiglas front. They started a foot off the ground and from best guess stretched up about twenty feet in height.

  Every transmission S.V.T. Securities had ever picked up, every document copied, photograph taken, video recorded, the history of the family and each person they had touched, it was all here. There was so much it would take years to physically go through every piece of information. All that, while impressive, was expected. What was not, were the three bizarre structures in the middle of the room.