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Display a printable version Beginnings & Endings
Karen nodded. She drank her coffee without tasting it, wondering what Corelli was going to ask of her. It had been a promise to save Sebastian. Help him! Get him away from me. Please! I'll do anything! She meant those words when she said them. Now, she was wondering if she was going to regret it. "Are you all right now?" Corelli asked. Karen looked at her blankly. "All right?" Corelli gestured at Karen's throat. "Uh. That." "Oh. That. Yes. I'm healing." 'That' referred to the fact that one of the elder members of the Order of the Sacred Eye had almost strangled Karen to death in a ritual designed to take all of the magical energy in the city and redirect it to the Order. "This isn't going as I planned. I'm sorry." Corelli said. She stuck out her hand. "Hi. My real name is Mary. I'm pleased to meet you." "Karen. Nice to meet you." Karen shook Mary's hand. "You have to understand that what my Order was doing; it wasn't what we were told. The purpose of the Order is to protect and help the people of Kendrick. That's what I was told. That's why I was recruited." "Yet, you were going to just watch them murder me." The flat tone in Karen's voice expressed her anger better than shouting would have. Mary grimaced. "I wish I could say no. But, I was scared. I didn't know what to do. The people I looked up to wouldn't look at me. They wouldn't look at you. They were just as scared and confused as I was. I wish I had spoken up but..." "You were afraid you'd end up in my position." Mary looked away and nodded. "Yes." "You saved Sebastian. I owe you for that. But, I'm not going to forget or forgive what your Order did to me." Karen kept her voice calm despite the nervousness that mixed with her lingering anger and fear over the incident. "I know. I don't blame you. I don't expect you, too." "What do you expect? What do you want of me?" "I want you to help me make the Order into what it is supposed to be." That surprised Karen. "What? You want me to fix - lead - the Order that just tried to kill me? How am I supposed to do that?" "Help us mend the fences and broken alliances. Help us to be the good Order I know we were created to be. Most of the old leadership of the Order is dead. The rest are confused and don't know what to do. This is the time to take charge and set the Order's path. Most of the members are looking for a leader. A lot of them are looking at me because I keep speaking up. I can't do it alone. It's better that we do it before someone with a less altruistic motive comes along and does it for us. When one bad guy falls, there's always another one to take his place and sometimes the new bad guy is worse than the old one. I believe in the Order. I don't want that to happen." "I might be able to help you, Mary. But I'm not going to lead. I'm not going to be part of your Order. I already have my obligations to the Master of the City. The Order of the Sacred Eyes is yours. You're going to have to set its path. You're gonna have to lead. I just hope you do a better job than your predecessors." Mary frowned, looking down at her tea cup. It was not the answer she wanted but it was better than the flat out "No" she had expected. Hope for the best, expect the worst, and all that happy crap. "So, what happened that night?" "What?" Mary looked up at Karen again. "The night of the ritual. What happened?" "You don't know?" She frowned, wondering if Karen was being sarcastic. "No. Not really. One moment, you were all chanting while I was being strangled. The next, Armageddon had erupted in the middle of Colonel's Park. What happened in-between?" "Oh." Mary thought about it. "It's a little weird. I know some of our people had put up wards so we wouldn't be interrupted. And some of our allies had been contracted to protect them. We were told that our enemies would try to stop us. I guess, in a way, they didn't lie to us. We were chanting in the silence, then there was this ripping sound and suddenly there was noise everywhere. It sounded like people fighting and screams and all of it was headed our way. Then, I saw the statue moving. It ripped itself out of its foundation and went after Todesengel. I panicked and climbed a tree." "Climbed a tree?" Karen did not laugh at the absurdity of the statement despite the fact that she wanted to. "Yeah. Well. I didn't know what else to do and trees have always been safe havens for me. They were that night. All the bloodshed and fighting. I did a spell to make me an innocent, unnoticed. But you saw me and I saw you. That's how I was able to help you and Sebastian. Is he ok now?" Karen shook her head. "I'm sorry. I really am." "So am I." Again, they paused to drink their drinks, think their own thoughts and avoid each other's eyes in the awkward silence. "Tell me about the Children of Anu." Karen asked when she could stand it no longer. "The Children? What do you want to know?" "What do you know of them?" Mary shook her head. "I don't know much. I know the Order owes them. I know we're gonna have to pay because the consequences of not living up to what is owed to the Children is death and worse. I know their territory is in the Camden district off the docks and that we were not allowed to go there unless specifically invited by the Children or ordered to go there by the First Circle. Why do you want to know?" Karen shrugged. "Mostly because I've recently heard of them and know nothing about them." "Some things are better left unknown. The Children of Anu is not a group to mess around with. They're small, secretive and vicious about keeping their secrets. They make great allies but their alliance costs. They make worse enemies." Mary leaned towards Karen. "They are better left alone. Seriously. They scare the crap out of me and they're on my side. For now." *** Karen thought about Corelli (Mary was too familiar a name for comfort) all the way home. She could not believe that she had just been offered leadership of the mystic Order that had just tried to murder her. Then again, Corelli was young and inexperienced and obviously scared. However, she knows more about what is going on than Karen did when she started. Corelli was going to have to go it alone for now. Karen would try to help her mend some of the fences between the Order and the rest of Kendrick's supernatural societies but it would not be easy. Everyone lost someone in that battle in Colonel's Park. The wounds were still fresh. But, anything to keep it from returning to open bloodshed was worth it. She unlocked her door and stepped inside. At her feet was an envelope with her name written on it. She had a bad feeling about it when she picked it up. Instead of immediately opening it, Karen set it on the kitchen table and did the normal things she did when she got home - checked voicemail, checked email, watered the plants and got herself something to drink. Then, she sat down at her kitchen table and opened the envelope. It was a letter from Aaron. She had not seen him since the night of the ritual in Colonel's Park a couple weeks back. Most people had kept to themselves since that night. She began to read. Dear Karen, I wanted to talk to you in person but something told me that would not be a good idea. For you or for me. We are both special people in a world where special often means duty, obligation and separation. We both have been set upon our own paths. I am thankful that our paths crossed at least once in this lifetime. I am still sorry that I did not tell you about me or my obligations until it was too late. I was, and still am, a man torn by duty and emotion. I am loyal to my Brotherhood, believing in our cause, and I love you with all my heart. These two things cannot stand side-by-side. I know I have a destiny. The oracles within the Brotherhood have foreseen it. But, I no longer can see the path that I need to walk to fulfill it. Because of this, I am leaving Kendrick. I am going to Europe to native lands of the Brotherhood where I hope I can find myself and my path again. I am not being sent away. I am choosing to do this for myself, the Brotherhood and for you. I suspect if I stayed in Kendrick, I would make things complicated for both of us because of what I feel for you. I cannot have that for either of us. I do not know if I will ever be back and I did not wish to leave without saying good-bye. I will always hold sacred the time we had together in happiness and peace. I hope you will forgive me my transgressions against you and yours. No harm was ever meant. I wish you the best of my heart as you walk your path in the future. May the way be clear and bright. Love, Karen put the letter down on the kitchen table and wiped at the tears that had begun to fall. In truth, Aaron leaving the city really was probably the best thing for both of them. There were too many secrets and not enough trust between them anymore. But, his good-bye still hurt deep inside. David was dead. Heather was dead. Sebastian's condition was still unknown. Now, with this letter, Aaron might as well be dead. She wondered how many more would fall by the wayside before all of this was done. For how many more deaths and good-byes would she be the ultimate cause? She laid her head in her arms on the kitchen table and finally, after weeks of being strong, allowed herself to cry and to grieve for what was now lost to her.
In the back end of a refurbished warehouse, three dozen teenagers and young adults knelt in reverent prayer. Each worshipper wore a set of bull horns; either as part of a hat or sewn onto their clothing. Beyond that, their clothing and dress varied from homeless street kid to well-to-do but slumming "rough and tumble" weekend warrior. They chanted the names of their deity over and over. "Anu. Marduk. Enlil. Bel." The object of their prayer was an altar. The centerpiece of the altar was a set of bull's horns still attached to the top part of the animal's skull. Placed upright just before the skull and centered between the horns was an ancient spiked mace, still stained with its latest victim's blood. Around this centerpiece, on the altar, were a myriad of other brutal blunt weapons. All of them were also stained with the dark red-brown of dried blood. When the forward center person stood, the rest immediately fell silent. He was a tall man with short black hair. He wore a crown with bull horns and heavy cloak of bull hide. He raised both hands in the air, his palms facing the altar. "Great god Anu! Father of Heaven, creator of the stars, lord of the constellations, king of gods, spirits and demons, your Children have not forgotten you. Your Children remember this is the prophesied year of your return. Your humble servant, Reagan Lee Mordecai, has gathered your believers here on this night to beg of you a sign, a sigil, a vision. This is the year of your return, Great god Anu! Instruct us in your wisdom. Judge us worthy with this task. Tell us what we must do! We are your Children and your servants. Guide us in this holy year." The high priest of the Children of Anu stopped speaking aloud but continued his prayer and plea to Anu for instruction and blessing in his mind as did the rest of the congregation. They could all feel the presence of Anu. They knew he was there, judging them, weighing them, finding them worthy or not. The next few moments would tell. He found them worthy. There was no sound. No light. No show of force. Suddenly, every one of Children of Anu collapsed in an ecstatic vision of blessing and instruction. They knew what they were meant to do and the knowledge was overwhelming. Slowly, one by one, they came to their senses. A small teenage girl with teal hair wearing an old fashioned pilot's leather helmet crawled over to the high priest. "Reggie! Did you see? Did you see it?" Her eyes shown as she gazed with fanatic delight at her brother. "I saw, Vic. I saw it all. I know what we need to do." He paused and then added. "X marks the spot." The two of them, and those close enough and aware enough to hear, broke out in peals of ecstatic laughter at the newfound inside joke.
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| Last updated on 1/3/2008 9:06:35 PM by Jennifer Brozek |
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| Other documents at this level: 01 - Caller ID: Unknown 02 - Eye of the Engraving 03 - Arbiter 04 - Forgotten School Days 05 - Sacrificium Memoriae 06 - The Inspiration of Insanity 07 - The Running Feeling 08 - Afternoon Tea 09 - Sins of the Brother 10 - Burning Bridges 11 - Betrayal 12 - Warfare & the Rite 14 - Heart's Desire 15 - Burn 16 - Many Happy Returns 17 - Many Unanswered Questions 18 - Concessions 19 - Blue Moon Revelations 20 - First Blood 21 - Transcript 22 - Ultimatums Part One 23 - Ultimatums Part Two 24 - Too Little Too Late 25 - Shades of Grey 26 - Broken 27 - Keystones 28 - Observations 29 - May Day 30 - Entropy 31 - The Past and Present Collide 32 - Absorption 33 - Candle Flame 34 - The Cost of Redemption 35 - Breaking Point 36 - The Righteous Hand |
"Thanks for meeting with me." Corelli said as she sipped her tea, looking around at the interior of Kalihi's Coffeehouse. "This is an interesting place. I like it."