by Bo Luellen
The company made its way through the crowd and up the stairs to the top of the platform. The pungent fumes from several gallons of kerosene wafted up from under the wooden stage and caused Richard to feel a little light-headed. As the night sky crept in over the woods, torches burned in the hands of the surrounding Brotherhood members and illuminated the area in flickering amber.
Richard passed by Henry Jekyll, who was tied to the cross, with his hands and feet bound to the beams and half-conscious. The Master looked over the Vessel of Hyde and then turned to address those gathered. He raised his hands, and at once, the collective chanting stopped, leaving only the sounds of the crackling torches and singing cicadas.
A voice amplifier from the headdress blasted out the Master’s electronically altered voice, “You have been patient and faithful under my watchful gaze. As I promised when I became the leader of this Sect, a weapon of power has come to us, and now I will fulfill my contract with The Dark Lord. Cthulhu will grant us all our rewards for this mighty gift. Tonight he is restless in his slumber, but we move one more step towards his awakening in these closing days of this Aeon! Soon, the Herald will awaken, and once again, the Great Dreamer will walk upon the land, purifying it and delivering us from pagan gods.”
The High Mage walked over to Richard and held his hands out expectantly. Richard withdrew the Athame Dagger and placed it in the fat man’s hands. Walsh took the blade, moved over to Henry, and, with a precise cut, sliced Jekyll’s brachial vein at the elbow. Blood quickly poured out of the new cut and flowed down onto the wooden flooring. Steam raised up from the hot fluid as it made contact with the cold air.
The High Mage turned to those attending and announced, “The Demon is subdued inside the Vessel. Look upon the sacrifice and bear witness that it no longer heals, it is weak and is ready to be given to Cthulhu.”
Walsh handed Richard back the Dagger as the Master announced in a robotic voice, “I dedicate the blood of this Vessel and the soul of Hyde to Cthulhu! Vulgtmah Cthulhu”
Everyone assembled screamed back, “Vulgtmah Cthulhu!”
The High Mage came up from behind his mystical teacher and carefully removed several of the latches that secured the mask. The surrounding crowd went silent at this unexpected moment of revelation. With the final buckle unclipped, Walsh lifted the octopus headdress up and away, and a young man’s face stared out triumphantly over the crowd.
Richard almost laughed inside his mask as he thought, This is the Master? This guy couldn’t be a day over 25.
Walsh stepped up next to the Master and shouted, “The time has come!”
The unmasked leader of the sect turned his youthful face towards Richard and held out his hands. Richard gathered up his calm and courage, turned the heavily coated dagger sideways, and approached. Moving right past the Master’s open hands, he placed the blade only a few inches away from the leader's chin. A momentary point of shock and confusion registered the face of his Sect master. Before anyone could react, a tremor twitched on the left side of the Master’s face, and the almost seven-foot man rapidly seemed to levitate downwards to just over five feet tall.
Richard was now taller than the mystical leader by almost a foot, and he saw the man’s knees wobble right before he began to topple over. The High Mage quickly put a hand out in an attempt to grab him, as the crowd let out a gasp. The Master, the mystical innovator of the Tulsa Sect’s High Mages, and the person who led them to Hyde crashed hard onto his back and snored.
Richard shouted in his head, Now you fool!
The ghost of Samuel shot from beside Richard and then dove headlong into the body of the Master. Richard watched as the ghost was stopped by something, and it took several seconds of struggling before a large ball of light was pushed out of the Sect leader. In a flash, Samuel was in control of the Master’s body. Whatever was there, had been cast out.
Richard beamed under his purple head covering, Samuel was right! Something was controlling the Master! Now we have him and all his little secrets!
Samuel stood the possessed body up to his feet and quickly spoke to the horrified Brotherhood members, "My name is Juste Theriot. In truth, I'm a simple man from New Orleans, and I was never truly meant to be your Master. A year ago, I was given a task by The Great Cthulhu to harvest the soul of Hyde and to find the next leader of the Tulsa Sect. I was given this divine purpose by Cthulhu, and today I have found your rightful leader. As of tonight, I name him the Master, and when the sun dawns tomorrow, you will kneel at his feet. His name is Richard Enfield."
Richard couldn't contain himself any longer and slipped off his mask as both cheers and boos came from the crowd. As predicted, not everyone was happy with this transition. Two members rushed the stage, yelling protests and pulling firearms from under their robes. A dozen Elders all shouted objections over Richard’s appointment, which was echoed by their die-hard Apprentices.
Samuel pointed at Richard and shouted, "The honor of taking the Fallen Angel Hyde goes to Richard! Do it now, Elder Enfield!"
The Brotherhood rushed the stage, and The Leviathans were unable to keep everyone at bay. Two of the mob slipped past the purple-robed guardians and headed straight for Richard. A pair of shots rang out from the distant treeline, and both pitched forward on the steps with a large pair of matching bullet holes coming out of their chests. The murdered members caused the violent swell of angry cultists to go silent.
Samuel took advantage of the lull and yelled, "Have you forgotten what the punishment is for betrayal?"
Richard’s jaw dropped as he watched a nude man with coke-bottle thick glasses stand up behind the crowd and take a prideful stance on the hood of a black SUV. He was wearing a strange necklace and nothing else and held a gnarled staff adorned in feathers. From under an oversized gut, a flaccid one-inch micro-sized penis poked out from a thick layer of dark pubic hair. He repeatedly pounded his oak staff against the window of the vehicle until everyone in attendance turned towards him. The nude intruder’s last hit on the windshield busted the glass, and the bottom of the staff was inside the cab.
An anonymous male voice sprang out from the Brotherhood, “Hey, that’s my car!”
The man picked up his right foot and hiked it up on the cracked window, exposing more of his scrotum as he yelled, "My name is Thomas Booth! I'm the Arch Druid in charge of caring for the woods of Oklahoma. You desecrated this land in the name of an evil cosmic prick named Cthulhu!"
Several of the members took out firearms, as a red laser dots crawled across the Druid's bare milky chest. Members flanked the vehicle and took up firing positions behind cars. Richard forgot about Hyde and Henry as both he and Samuel stared dumbstruck at the spectacle before them.
The nude man blared, "By the authority of the protector spirits and Cernunnos, the Green Man, I order you to release your captive and leave this land immediately!"
Over two dozen pistols and machine guns cocked and pointed at him, as Booth looked around and continued meekly, "I am, however, a fair man. I'll give you ten minutes to pack up.”
Richard was taken by surprise, as the High Mage whipped around towards him with glowing blue eyes. He floated ever so slightly off the wood floor of the stage and sailed towards Richard. The newly anointed Master back-pedaled at the toupee-wearing Mage as he bent reality. Maxwell stepped in between the High Mage and Richard, with his hands at the ready to fight. Before the Leviathan could strike the oncoming threat, Maxwell was knocked back by some invisible force that threw him into the air fifteen feet and off the stage.
Walsh’s teeth and ears were bleeding as he congratulated with a twisted voice, "Well played, mortal. I congratulate you. It has been so long since I’ve had a human outmaneuver me and defy the will of God. I should be mad, but I’m feeling entertained by your guile. I will give you your life and the leadership of these minions of your dark god. In exchange, I want Hyde."
Samuel cautiously walked to Richard’s side and whispered, "Make the bargain! That thing possessing the H
igh Mage is the entity I pushed out of Charley! I discovered everything when I possessed this body. She’s an Angel of the Order of Virtue named Miniel. She tricked Cthulhu and worked her way up the ranks of The Sect just so she could use us to capture Hyde. She is incredibly powerful and is still counted as one of the Hebrew God’s servant Angels. Richard, my boy, our pact was to deliver Hyde to the Master. Technically, Miniel is still The Master. Hand her the Dagger and back away! Once she harvests Hyde, our pact is completed. I’ll be free, and you’ll be the new Master of the Tulsa Sect!”
The possessed Mage curled a wicked smile and remarked, “Listen to the ghost. He isn’t everything he seems, but does give wise counsel.”
Richard looked down for a moment, then stepped back and replied, "We’ve served Cthulhu in revealing your presence. You’re outnumbered, Angel, and weak while on the hallowed ground sanctified to Cthulhu. No deal! Hyde will be my prize to give Cthulhu! I shall have the leadership and the reward for myself!”
Samuel’s thoughts screamed in Richard’s mind, You Fool!
Chapter 16: Amanda IV
Muskogee, OK - Thursday, October 18th, 2018 – 4:55 p.m. CST
Amanda Lanyon and Josh Dyer sat outside in her car and waited on Booth to return. This was the third house they had visited in the Muskogee area, and the Druid was no closer to finding any answers. She glanced at her watch and sighed at the dingy looking man finally exited the rundown apartment building.
As Booth hopped in the back seat, Amanda asked, “Well?”
Thomas put on his seatbelt and replied, “Nothing, but I did manage to score an ounce of weed.”
A text came through as Josh exclaimed, “Jesus, we’re going to get arrested with this idiot.”
Amanda read the message out loud, “We found the owner of the license tag you gave me, as one Marcus Holmes. Holmes told his wife he was hunting in Taft, but our people found his phone active in a wooded area in Tahlequah. I’m sending you the coordinates of the tower, and I’m on my way there now. I’ll message you if I find anything.”
Josh pulled out his laptop and within minutes, found the tower on a map. The area was heavily covered in woodland and was surrounded by a hiking trail. Booth gave them a surprisingly efficient briefing on the terrain and vegetation of the area.
Dyer leaned back in his seat and observed, “Well, I guess we wait and see what the police find out.”
The professor looked ahead and remarked, “John couldn’t possibly search that entire area on his own. Not with a broken ankle and ribs. He’s going to need help.”
Her college friend warned, “Mandie, listen, we aren’t cops. He has resources, and to be frank, I’m the only one outfitted to hike in deep woods right now.”
The scruffy Druid gave a short, “Screw you, Crocodile Dundee.”
She reached back and grabbed her gym bag and replied, “I’ve got clothes in here I can wear. I say we go take a look before the sun goes away.”
Booth raised his hand and celebrated, “I’m with her, and that’s two out of three. Looks like low rent Steve Irwin is outvoted.”
Josh glared back at him as they sped off in the direction of Tahlequah.
Tahlequah, OK - Thursday, October 18th, 2018 – 5:32 p.m. CST
The three watched the sun lower in the sky as they started their hike down one of the trails in the backcountry of Tahlequah. Fortunately, Josh provided her with some hiking sandals from his pack, and she had on her gym shorts and shirt. This ensemble looked drastically out of place as she wrapped her blue dress coat around her shoulders to keep her warm. It wasn’t long until the smelly Druid insisted they go off-trail, observing that cultists wouldn’t be anywhere close to a well-used path. Amanda paced far behind Booth, to keep from inhaling the pungent smell of his body odor and fertilizer. With Booth leading the way, Josh and Amanda followed. They discussed the particulars of the day, and the likelihood of this being a waste of time.
During their long walk into the woods, Larry’s mother, Eve, called her, “When are you going to be back?”
Amanda moved a branch out of her path as she answered, “Sometime tonight. How are the girls?”
The elder Lanyon gave a disgusted, “What do you care? The girls are worried sick about you. I’ve decided to keep them out of school tomorrow! There is no reason for them to have to put up with unwanted attention.”
Before she could reply, the phone rustled, and Larry’s hoarse voice came on, “Where are you?”
She stopped dead in her tracks and replied, “Honey, I’m out following up on a lead.”
Larry’s raspy sounding mother tried to shout, “This isn’t all about you!”
Booth strolled past her and egged Amanda on, “Tell him, no man tells you what to do!”
She gave Booth the finger and walked away from the Druid, saying to Larry, “This isn’t about me, it’s about preventing more loss of life. I can’t understand why you can’t see that! Look, this is happening.”
Her husband took a calming breath and replied, “This is your call. I can see that what I want doesn’t make a difference to you. This isn’t a partnership anymore. This is you making our family's decisions for us. When you get home, we need to have a talk.”
She closed her eyes in anger and reminded him, “You risked your life for a stranger today, while I screamed for you to stop. What gives you the right to make that decision and not me?”
Silence hung on the line as she added, “I’ll call you later.”
After she hung up, the three continued on in silence, and she did her best to go through some calming mental routines. She didn’t notice until she nearly walked right into Josh that they had been stopped by a small gathering of pine trees. She went to say something, when Booth put up a hand up, signaling them both to not talk. They looked confused at one another but decided to stay still. The motionless Druid stared at the massive nest of trees in front of them and seemed dumbfounded, with his jaw slightly agape. After a full minute, Amanda crept up alongside him, and reached out for his shoulder, when the tree line exploded with movement. An armed man and woman wearing black tactical garb were on them in a flash. The man hit Josh with the butt of his crossbow, toppling the blonde man to his knees. As she went to protest, the woman hit her with something solid, causing Amanda to blackout.
Tahlequah, OK - Thursday, October 18th, 2018 – 5:55 p.m. CST
When she came to, the three of them were sitting in a circle on the freezing ground and leaning against a large oak tree. Their ankles and hands were zip-tied together, and Amanda was flanked by Thomas Booth and Josh on either side of her. Booth had a look of complacency on his face and stared at their captors through his thick glasses. Josh noticed she was awake and gave her a worried expression. Amanda stayed quiet and took on a strategy to observe her captors and hope there was room for negotiation.
The woman nudged the man in the shoulder and blurted out, “Hey, the bitch is finally awake. I thought I’d killed her.”
They were both in their mid-forties and dressed in black from head to toe. The man was sporting a crossbow that was lying on the ground and aimed right at Dyer. She had a hunting rifle slung over her shoulder and had a large hunting knife at her hip. Both of them had a large armband with a white octopus-headed symbol of Cthulhu on it.
Amanda had been looking them over as the pair circled them. She noticed a white ring around both of their tanned ring fingers. She looked at their clothing and shoes, which both looked less than worn.
Lanyon took a calming breath and thought, They are married, but most likely not to one another. They might look the part of seasoned killers, but everything screams store bought.
Dyer cleared his throat and announced, “Now, there’s no need for any of this. My name is Josh Dyer, CEO, and owner of The Dyer Foundation. I’m extraordinarily wealthy and very fluid on my values. My company can pay for my release, no questions asked.”
The woman smiled and jested, “Did you hear that, Frank? He says we will be rich. Do you think
we should take him up on that offer?”
Frank took out his phone and did some searching before replying, “Well, I’ll be damned! This fella is somebody. You know honey cat, I’m thinking we should. I bet if we sent his company his finger, they would pay anything to get the rest of him back in one piece.”
A cold look came over Amanda’s face as she thought, Bad play, my dear.
Booth broke his silence, “Send them his pinky finger.”
Josh gave him a horrified look as the Druid continued, “In Japan, they would cut that off when they dishonored their superior, then present it as an apology. Since Dyer is a self-serving prick, it seems appropriate.”
The two shared a smile as Frank decided, “You know I do like that idea, but we don’t need all of you. We could kill the other two, carve up Dyer to send to his company, collect a ransom, and keep our oaths to Cthulhu. We’ll be rich.”
Josh shot a look over to Booth and spat, “What in God’s name, do you think you’re doing?”
Booth sat calmly and replied, “I’m saving the Line of Merlin lots of time. Those druids you trained under are sturdy people, from a long line of Knights. You’re a horrible Druid and a coward.”
The Druid looked up at Frank and urged, “Cut away, my good man!”
As she shot a hard glare at Booth for his asinine behavior, Amanda noticed that he was tapping the trunk of the tree behind him with his fingers. Lanyon couldn’t’ decide if the man was bored, displaying manic behavior, or dealing with a stress-induced response.
Frank crouched over Josh and pulled the blonde man’s zip-tied hands up. Sliding the buck knife between the last and ring finger of his left hand, a red stream of blood trickled down from where the blade sliced some flesh along its journey. The cultist angled the saw teeth of the knife towards the second knuckle of his pinky. Josh let out a scream, as the teeth dug into his soft flesh. The woman hit him hard with the butt of her rifle, and it caused Dyer to go limp against the tree.