Apocalypse Rising (5 page)

"Oh, I'm not above killing a few people to keep a secret, and if you do it early enough you can avoid all of the rest, it's just that the window is so much smaller than it was even fifty years ago."

"Well I am certainly glad you haven't lost all sense of perspective." Haden said with a laugh. He did not question Albert's abilities or his ruthlessness. The man was utterly devoid of true humanity. Everyone, including Haden, were tools for Albert to use and throw away as he saw fit. He was not wasteful or overly cruel, he was simply practical to the point of malevolence, which was a trait Haden's masters could truly appreciate: Evil through apathy. "So how do you want to proceed from here?" Haden favored simple assassination over more complex schemes, but it was Albert's call.

"I want the Light Touched caught and brought here. The other one can be killed and disposed of." Albert walked to the window and looked over the city. "Are we sure it was just the two of them?"

"There was the third one, David was his name, but he has been taken care of." There was no need for Albert to know that the boy was not dead, as long as he stayed quiet.

"Good. I want to keep this in house, Haden. This little event would not be easy to smooth over in the media no matter how much control I exert."

"I understand, Albert. I'll play it close and keep it clean," Haden said. "I expect Hector to report back to me in the next hour or so. If he hasn't caught them I'll take a more direct hand in the hunt." Haden hoped Hector would be successful.

"No, I need you here this morning. I have some visitors coming and I want your take on them." Albert turned back to the center of the room, facing Haden. "I don't trust the Orpheans one bit, but their cooperation would be invaluable in the coming days, and your advice here would be invaluable to me."

"I have had dealings with the Orpheans in the past and they can indeed be a little slippery in their negotiations," Haden said before he took a drink of his scotch and let out a slow breath, "and in holding up their end of any bargain struck."

"So I have heard which is why I want you here. I do not want any protocol loopholes left exposed. I'm not worried about them using their music to manipulate things since I had the white noise generators modified with a disruptive component, but they have a gift for finding the chink in any binding armor."

"Very well, I'll be in my study until I hear from Hector. I need to set some more bindings on my new thrall too." Haden had picked up a soul touched by darkness on his way to the tower. He had left the drug dealer with Peter watching over him as the demon seed took hold. It was always easier to turn the twisted than it was to convert the pure, though conversion was so much more fun. "He won't be fully ready until after your meeting with the Orpheans so the timing should be just about right."

“Another thrall, Haden? How many is that this month?” Albert laughed and smiled.

“This will be the fourth I’m afraid.” Haden sighed and sat in one of the overstuffed chairs placed before Albert’s desk. “Honestly I’ll be surprised if this one lasts the month. He was a drug dealer.” Albert raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “I know, I know, but I was in a hurry, again, and he was available. He might make a good one once his own product is out of his system, but I have my doubts.” Peter had been a thrall for years, but he was an exception.

"Well make sure he doesn't cause any problems. Remember that last drug dealer you took? The moron had been snitching on the mob before you took him and they were none too happy about that." It had taken weeks to get that mess cleaned up and still the thrall had ended up dead along with a handful of lesser hirelings. "I am too busy right now to put down another crime boss or an angry drug dealer who feels cheated. See if you can do something to modify his appearance so that old acquaintances will not recognize him."

Haden stroked his chin in thought, a habit he had picked up while intending to mock movie villains but now he could not shake it. "Yeah, I suppose I could manage something like that. It will hurt like hell and he'll be all but useless for about a week, but it can definitely be done."

"Good. I know it is inconvenient to be down a thrall for that long, but maybe this guy will last more than a day or two." The two men laughed together, their dark humors happily compatible. "Go see to him then get back here. I want to review some points."

"Most certainly, give me an hour and I'll be here, ready to go." Haden turned back toward his sanctum. His face held a half smile as he waited for the response that he knew was coming.

"See that you do, Haden. No more than an hour." There was a moment of silence marred only by the sound of Haden's shoes hitting the floor with each step. "And, Haden, bring one of the girls. No, two. It is going to be a long insufferable day and I'll need all of the distraction they can manage."

I reach for Lilly's hand but she pulls it back as if my touch will burn her, and perhaps she is right after a fashion. I have been without my powers for too long and I had lost control while I was trying to ease her discomfort. I could see it in her eyes hidden behind the fear and shock: clarity. For the first time since I had known her Lilly was not seeing the world through a chemical haze. I had put her through the world’s fastest withdrawal without trying. I shortened the physical process from a week to five minutes.

The problem with addiction is that there is usually more than just a physical component. There is a reason why someone wants to hide behind the fog of drugs and alcohol. I do not know if Lilly is ready to deal with her inner demons, and I am not sure if I am ready to help her. If this had been a couple of days ago, I would have sat her down and talked through everything. Unfortunately, it was not a couple of days ago, and today there are some seriously scary people looking for us. I cannot take the time to help her the right way, so I do what I must.

"I just gave you a little help is all, Lill." The words taste bland in my mouth, a lie of omission that feels unnatural to me.

One of the downsides of using my powers is the nagging guilt it creates over little things like lying. The more power I use, the more I feel the pull of my conscience. The Light Touched are capable of lying or doing horrible things, but they suffer internally for it.

"A little help?" she asks. Her voice is edged with panic as it gets louder. "I feel sick, Justin. What did you do?"

I think about how best to answer. The truth might upset her more than a lie right now, but I will eventually have to tell her the truth. "I...I helped you detox is all."

"Detox? How? I am a junkie, Justin, and I have been for years. I know it takes more than a morning without a fix to detox. I should be crawling up the walls right now for just a little hit, but I'm not! Now tell me what you did!" The fear in her eyes is rapidly being replaced by anger. It is an improvement of sorts.

"Look Lilly, I used an old fashioned remedy, something I picked up years ago from an old friend. He always swore it worked but I have never seen it done before. I gave you some while you were sleeping. You were tossing and moaning and I knew you'd wake up jonesing so I gave it a try." The lie comes easy, a skill that life with the dregs cultivated, but the lies make my head throb with guilt. "I should have asked first. I'm sorry." I look at her, watching the lie filter through her mind as the human tendency to fear the unnatural convinces her that my story is plausible.

"I don't know, Justin. I’ve taken quick fix mixes before and none of them left me feeling like this." She rolls up the sleeve of her tattered grey shirt and gasps while I lower my head and moan. "The tracks are gone," she whispers. An odd combination of astonishment and fear infects her words. "It’s like I have never used, but I know I used. I remember using and I remember needing it." She looks up and draws my eyes into hers. The words come out haltingly slow, filled with hot determination and anger. "What did you do to me?"

I take a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying not to let my shoulders slump in the process. She needs the truth, and to be honest I need it too. The lies made me uncomfortable and living with my secret amongst the mortals has left a hole in me that I desperately need to repair. Since I had surrendered my position I had told no one who or what I really was. I do not think most people would believe me and those that did would expect more from me than I could give. Lilly has been a friend for the last couple of years and she needs to know.

"Okay, Lill, I'll tell you the truth, but I need you to calm down a bit because this is going to be hard for me."

"Hard for you?” Lilly shouts. “I'm fucking clean Justin! I haven't been clean since I was a kid! This is hard for me too damn it so don't you tell me to calm down!"

"You're right Lilly I'm sorry. Now..."

"You're sorry? Do you have any idea how much this hurts? God damn..."

"That is enough!" I let my anger show as I spoke. "It’s hard for you, I get that, but if you don't shut up right this second I won't be able to tell you what you want to know."

Lilly glared at me, but I did not let my gaze waver. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Fine, I'm sorry." She said and she sounded it too. Lilly is pretty mellow, but when she loses her temper she loses it big.

"All right, now tell me this,” I say. “Do you believe in God?"

"What?”

"Do you believe in God?"

"You mean like THE God? Like from the Bible?" One of her eyebrows rises and her mouth takes a little twist. "I suppose I do. I learned about it in Sunday school when I was little, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"What if I told you he was real?"

"Well sure, I mean if you believe in all of that."

"No, Lilly, it is not about belief. He is real. I have knelt before Him on the throne of heaven and been touched by the light and majesty of His glory."

"Right Okay, so you somehow managed to steal the drugs from my body and sucked 'em all up yourself, huh? Well I never thought you were a user and I am going to suggest you just stay away from the stuff.” She leans closer and whispers. “It’s making you sound crazy." She thinks I am insane.

I look her straight in the eye and keep my voice level. “Lilly, I am serious and I am not high.” I could have added a little bit of energy to the words, but I do not like doing that. Faith is something earned and a conversion taken through power is false in my eyes. Not all the Host believes the same way I do, and that is fine. We all have our roles to play and our own methods to get the job done.

Lilly looks at me, confusion and concern plain on her face. “I know he exists because I was part of his Host. I was an Angel.”

“You are an Angel?” Lilly’s mouth hangs open, disbelief writ large upon her face.

“I was an Angel. I haven’t been in the Light for some time now.” I cannot disguise the sorrow in my voice. My fall was voluntary and most of my memories were locked away from me as part of the price, but my memory of the Light is strong and I miss it dearly. Standing beneath the midday sun, my face bearing the brunt of the solar light and heat gives me the barest connection to the rapture of my past, but it is a pale reflection. “A very long time indeed, Lilly, but it is a burden I’ve learned to bare.”

“Wait, so you, ‘were,’ an Angel. Does that mean you worship the devil or something now? Doesn’t that make you a bad guy?” Lilly backs away from me slowly, scooting back across the floor.

“No, not at all,” I say as I wave my hands in front of me, warding off the notion. “All it means is that I vowed to forgo my rank and station in Heaven so that I could live amongst mortal man.” I take a deep breath before continuing. “God gave us tremendous powers to do great works in his name, but I chose to give them up to come to earth and help in my own way.”

“So you thought you could do better than God and quit?”

“Uh, well…”

“Wow. That is some serious ego, Justin. It’s not like you’re setting out to make a better pizza or something.” She mocks me so easily and part of me wants to be mad, but there is the sting of truth to what she says. I went against his judgment, ultimately because I thought myself wiser or more compassionate than God himself. What monumental hubris. I had lost my faith while still bathed in his perfect Light. What did that say about me?

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right, but it’s not like I pulled a Lucifer and tried to rebel or anything. I did not understand why we could not get our hands dirty. Why did we have to work in the background especially at a time when people needed us?” I catch myself looking upwards and force myself to look at Lilly. “The answers didn’t satisfy me. I thought I could do more here on earth, so I asked if I could fall, to walk amongst men and do some good. They said I could, but that I could not use my powers. So I gave them up and came to earth to help those in need.”

Lilly cocks her head to the side ever so slightly. “Okay, so let’s assume that I believe you, which I don’t, but if you’re an angel, where are the wings, the halo, and the robes? You know I love ya, Justin, but you are the least angelic looking dude I know.” She scratches her dirty brown hair for a second. “Maybe not the LEAST angelic, but you don’t even have a good Michael Landon thing going on here. If you really wanted to sell me on the whole, ‘I’m an Angel,’ thing then maybe you should have worked on the presentation a bit.”