Conjuring Darkness (19 page)

“There! Now that pistol has some protection.”

Abraham and Lexi doubled over in laughter at the very sight. “What’s so funny? It keeps the saltwater, sand, and any dirt from getting into the barrel and slide. When I shoot it the bullet will bust right through it, no problems.”

“Nothing ruins the mood like a busted condom when you’re unloading.” Abraham joked and then Lexi joined him in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

“Alright, alright, I get it. Well we could also blow up some of them like balloons and have targets.”

“Or, we could use some of these inflatable beach balls and other things I’ve found.” Lexi held up new beach balls, still in the clear plastic packaging. Everyone readily agreed, and soon they had brightly colored targets floating in the water behind the yacht. “So what is with the weapons, Ryan? Level with us here. You are expecting some trouble. It’s pretty obvious.” Lexi walked up to the display of weapons and picked up one of the pistols.

“Alright. Right before we left Haifa, Ben gave me some news from what his contact had observed. Kate has been busy crossing the Syrian border back and forth. She was seen traveling with a group of heavily armed thugs. I just don’t know who. I’m pretty sure she isn’t on a tour with a church group. I think it would be best if you and Abraham stay on the boat once we dock, and let me go and pull her out of there by myself. I can bury the amulet also. I won’t be able to do any of that if I am too busy protecting you two.”

Lexi looked over the pistol and walked toward the edge of the boat. “You mind if I give it a try, Ryan?”

“Ah, sure. But let me show-” He spoke, just as Lexi instantly assumed a perfect close-quarters combat stance. Her feet were positioned apart from each other and her knees were slightly bent. She appeared to be in a partial crouch. Both of her arms were out in front of her, and her elbows were bent. Her hands firmly gripped the pistol, which she had pointed out toward the sea. Two loud gunshots punctuated Ryan’s sentence. Out in the water, the farthest two beach balls laid helplessly deflated from Lexi’s expert assault. Ryan looked at Abraham and then back to Lexi. “Wow! Good shooting, Lex.”

Lexi turned to Ryan. “I’m going with you, Ryan...and I’ll be carrying this. If you guys would like a Judo demonstration, we can do that also. Back home in Montana, my skills are legendary.” She spun around, and with four more shots, she deflated four more of the targets that had drifted sixty yards away. Abraham was awestruck and only mumbled. “Holy Cats.”

Chapter Fourteen

Jakub awoke to the sound of a loud knocking at his door. Somewhere among the distant backstreets a dog sounded an alarmed bark. He reached over to his bedside table and pulled the small digital clock a few inches closer. The blurred red numbers became clearer to him as the rapping noise repeated
.

Who could this be at midnight?
“Hold on!” He shouted in Hebrew to the unknown visitor. Jakub sat up on the bed and shuffled his feet to find his slippers in the dark room. He slowly walked to the doorway of the front room and turned on the switch by the wall. Jakub growled when he realized the door had not been locked after his visitors had left. A voice from behind the door called back. “Doctor Meier? Hello?” It was a female voice. The accent was American. “Oh, please come in.” Just as he finished his words he remembered that Lexi had a British accent, not the American one that he heard from the voice. The door opened and a young woman about the same age as Lexi entered, quickly pushing the door closed behind her. Jakub didn’t recognize the smiling girl with loose red curls. Her red dress had a very revealing low cut.

Her tone was mockingly pleasant as if she were talking to a small child. “Hello Jakub. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

“Who are you? I don’t know you.”

“Maybe JAKUB wouldn’t remember me. No. You’ve been a very bad boy, Jakub. Giving away my amulet like it was nothing, tsk tsk. Did Shandor try to stop you?”

“Shandor? Shandor is dead. I saw his body. In Warsaw. I-”

The woman put her hand out and uttered a forceful command. “Shandor! Come forth. Shandor!” Jakub’s face went blank and his features drooped. Within a minute he was revived. “Shandor. You don’t recognize this body, but I assure you it is I.”

“Marcella!” The voice of Shandor spoke from Jakub’s body. “Marcella, I am sorry. When you put me in the body of the boy Jakub, I couldn’t stop his spirit. He is very strong. I—I tried. He finally locked me away when he gave away the amulet.” 

“You are such a fool Shandor, and you will be a bigger fool if you try to deceive me. You had one job Shandor. One job. When you found the amulet in the desert so long ago I told you to guard the amulet and to be prepared to bring it when you were told. You abused it. You used magic that you didn’t understand and you let Jakub throw it away. Listen to me now the time is coming, soon. Finally it will be time for the alignment of the star of Inana and the stars of The Seven.”

“Yes. I know. A woman named–”

“Silence Shandor. I know about the woman named Lexi. I know that she has brought the amulet here.” Marcella sat down and spoke quietly. “I’ve been watching the girl Lexi. I’ve been with her in this body, and she knows me as Marcie. I took this body to get close to her because as the cycle of the stars took their first steps to the alignment, I was drawn to her. I felt her connection to the amulet. Now I can understand why I let her live. Is she with her protector still? The man named Ryan Kidd?”

“Yes, he is taking her and they also have an old Rabbi who knows about many ancient things.”

“Ancient things? Ha! How can he know what happened so long ago. Even I cannot. You call me Marcella, but that is the name of the woman I took when my spirit finally found a place to rest after drifting on the wind for so long going from body to body. So many years that I don’t even remember the name I was given when I first walked this earth. I only know that I’m in the service of my master. I serve her dark needs until the alignment when we will destroy her enemy The Seven, and the Seven Witches of The Seven.”

“Tell me, who is your master?”

“My master is Lilitu.”

Shandor feigned ignorance. He did not want to alert Marcella to the truth of the matter. “Lilitu?” Shandor was in a precarious situation. He continued to withhold information from Marcella. He wished that he could have succeeded when he almost trapped the demon on the Polish border so many years ago.

“Yes, you probably know her by the name of Lilith. The demoness of the darkness. The demoness who screeches in the night and feeds her hatred with the bitterness of man. I am her servant, powerless against her will and you Shandor, are
my
servant. We must get the amulet. You will need a new body for our journey. Wait here until I return.”

Marcella slipped away through the door and as soon as Shandor was sure that she had left, he sat down on the bed
. Jakub? Jakub? I know that you are in here with me. When the monster returns I will be leaving you. If you wish to save your soul, you must do something. You must stay quiet and let your body lie still. Do not resist anything. I will implore her to leave this place with me. Remember what I once said, that sometimes you have to play dumb? Dumb like a fox. That has helped me many times.

Marcella walked down the street and looked at the few people still out at the late hour.
Hmm what should I find for Shandor? If I have to travel with the old fool, I might as well get him into something nice. A little exotic perhaps? I ought to put him in the body of a woman to punish him for being so incompetent. No, I think I would rather have a nice hunk of man to play with if I feel like. I have this nice young body for now. I might as well have some fun.

A young man caught her eye. He was walking up the sidewalk from the port.

There. That one. I think he would be perfect.
Marcella strategically sat down on a bench and waited for the man to walk by.

Ben had just left the port area and was making his way up to the hilltop nightlife district. A girl like Ryan had found, that’s what Ben wanted. Someone real. Someone who wasn’t afraid to just be herself. There on a bench just a few yards in front of him, he saw a beautiful young woman in red. Her copper curls rolled down on her bare shoulders and he couldn’t resist stopping to say hello. “Hey there. You aren’t from around here, are you?”

The girl looked up at first and smiled when she saw the owl perched on the nearby lamp post. She looked at Ben. “No, actually I’m a little lost, and I think I may have sprained my ankle. Would you mind helping me up the hill?”

“An American! Wow! Sure, it would be my pleasure.” Ben leaned down and extended his arm for her to grab onto. Marcella took his arm and he gently pulled her up. The instant that she touched him, she began whispering a spell and in moments Ben was completely under her control. They walked up the hill together and into Jakub’s house.

Marcella opened the kitchen window and looked around the house, quickly finding exactly what she needed. “Shandor! Come here.” She tilted Ben’s head to the side, exposing the large artery on his neck. Ben was powerless, not a single muscle in his body could heed his silent pleas. He helplessly watched in horror as he saw her lift the blade over his neck and uttered a short chant in a strange language.

With a lightning quick jab, she punctured his artery. A crimson stream shot out like a macabre fountain that sprayed Ben’s blood through the kitchen. Marcella placed her open mouth over the wound to let the warm liquid fill her. She stopped the spurting rupture with her finger. Her human body gained nothing from this form of food, but Marcella was after something much more nourishing to her master. Mankind had an infinite supply of hate, fear, envy, and cruelty. Some humans had less, some had more, but each one held the precious poison deep in their soul. Each human that walked the earth had the ability to provide Lilitu with dark energy that she so desperately craved.

The owl had followed them to the house and flew in through the window that Marcella had opened for it. It transformed into the creature that Shandor had seen many years before. Its wings spread to an enormous size and shimmered as if they were covered in tiny diamonds. “Come master. I offer you this blood.” 

The great wings wrapped around Ben and Marcella. The hideous creature opened its gaping jaws and gnashed dozens of razor sharp teeth in anticipation of a fresh meal. Marcella removed her finger from Ben’s neck, letting the blood gush into the mouth of the monster. The creature quickly drank its fill before shifting back into the owl, and making a speedy departure. The stream of blood clotted into a gooey mass on Ben’s neck. Marcella put her hand on the body of Jakub. She chanted a spell and the spirit of Shandor passed quietly to the body of Ben.

Jakub stumbled back into his room and collapsed on the bed motionless, just as Shandor had advised. Marcella wiped the blood from her face and looked at his new strong and healthy body. “Much better, Shandor. The time is close and we have no time to waste. We need to be on our way to the ancient place tonight.”

“How will we make it before the others?”

“You forget that I still know much of the old magic. We have time for one more thing.” 

She forcefully pushed the body of Ben to the ground. Lilitu had received her nourishment and now it was Marcella’s turn to get what she needed.

Marcella tugged and pulled at the tight pants that covered what she wanted, what she desired. It had been far too long since she let her need, her power, take over. What better way to sate herself than with a young, virile male.

It had been many decades since Shandor felt the pleasures of a woman, but truth be told he had no desire to bed Marcella. However, this body had cravings of its own and quickly responded to her need.

Shandor looked back into the bedroom and saw Jakub laying there, shaking from everything he had just witnessed
. Rest now my old friend. Your nightmare is over and mine is just getting warmed up.

He probed the memories of the body he now occupied and realized who Ben was and his relationship with Ryan and the others. Shandor had to figure out a way to use this to his advantage.

Chapter Fifteen

It was late afternoon and the sun was now behind them as the yacht cruised through the calm waters toward the Turkish coast. Ryan sat back in the comfortable chair at the controls of the yacht and silently calculated the time left before they would arrive at the port. Abraham was in the other seat, engrossed in a book. “Well Abraham, five hours and we’ll be tied up in port.”

“Excellent!” Abraham looked at Ryan and noticed how he seemed to be thinking about something more than controlling the boat. “I wouldn’t worry too much, Ryan. I seriously doubt there will be any problems with Kate. When I met her she seemed very level headed and dedicated to her work. She would be the last person to get mixed up with criminals.”

“Oh, I wasn’t thinking about Kate. Not at all.”

“Then of course, you are thinking about Lexi. Talk to me boy, I’m a good listener.”

“I am thinking about her. I guess I’m just sorting out some things in my head. You know, for the longest time I’ve been chasing after what lies beyond the horizon. For the last year or so I’ve been kind of re-evaluating where that has taken me.”

“Ah, yes. You are wondering if maybe it’s time to settle down. You may feel that way now, but you have to ask yourself a question. Can you do it without longing for the adventurous life you’ve led before?”

“Well, I know for certain that it’s time for a change. I’m excited now about a new kind of adventure. It’s no secret to you, I suppose. I’m really thinking about how I would like to just drop everything and ask Lexi if she would want to be with me. To live our lives together. The thing is, I’ve never been very good at any sort of commitment in a relationship, until I met her. This is the only part of me that lacks confidence and experience. With Lexi, everything is completely new. I’m like an open book. I have no qualms about letting her in. Will that change? Will I start to clam up and push her away like I’ve done with everyone else?”

“Ryan, what you don’t realize is that you have already changed by letting Lexi into your heart. It may be unchartered waters for you, but you’re not in this alone. She feels the same way about you. What’s the slogan? Just do it. She is waiting for you to ask.”

“I think so too, Abraham. The thing that is stopping me is that I have to consider the fact that I don’t know if she has reached the point where I am at. I know she might feel that way right now, but look at how things are going in her life. She just moved out to her own house. She has her own business, and she needs to experience life on her own terms. I feel like I would alter all of that for her somehow. After all, I was kind of a wild card that she was dealt. If somehow her own dreams faded away—well that would break my heart. I think she would always resent it and quite possibly me. Don’t you think so? I’m thinking it would be better if we just try to keep enough distance between us so she can keep on with her dreams.”

“Boy, if you take that approach, you will lose her for sure. What is that saying about absence making the heart grow fonder? Bullshit! That is nothing more than stringing her along. Everything you hoped she would be able to achieve in life on her own, is actually better accomplished
WITH
someone at her side. If you weren’t so far away and I wasn’t so old, I would smack that big dumb head of yours.”

“Ha ha Abraham, I think I’ve been doing that to myself enough.”

“I want you to seriously think about every one of those little things that happen in the course of a day. Imagine being able to share a laugh, a smile, or steal a kiss. Imagine when things are going bad as they often do in life. Wouldn’t it be good for you, or for her, to be able to have someone to turn to? Someone that you can always count on? Those are the things that make it worthwhile. Just be there to support each other when you need to. There are no written rules on how relationships should work, except for one. To love each other. You want an exciting adventure? Go to her and tell her that you want to spend your life with her.”

“Still, doesn’t it just seem so sudden to you, Abraham?”

“Listen to me, boy. I’m a romantic. I believe there is such a thing as love at first sight, and I believe in fate. You may have just met a short while ago, but I’ll guarantee you that you two have spent more time together and have experienced more than most people do, before taking a leap like that. And another thing, if you are worried that she will change, or you will change in the course of a relationship, well you need to accept the fact that people
DO
change. The key to happiness is to let that change grow out of your love for each other and not because you are imposing change on each other. Too many people try to transform their partners into what
THEY
think they should be like, and that is when things go sour. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I’ve seen miserable couples like that. You two on the other hand, want nothing more than to
NOT
change each other in anyway, because what you see in each other, is perfect just the way you both are. You both have the winning lottery numbers right there, boy. Any changes will be because you will grow together. Believe me, you won’t regret it.”

“You are pretty good at giving advice, Abraham.”

“Really, you both worry too much about the same thing. One last thing. Imagine again, that from this moment, you will never see her again. How does that make your heart feel?”

“It aches, it hurts like a hunger.” He couldn’t imagine going through another day without Lexi in his life and he decided that he needed to tell her exactly that. “Abraham, could you handle things up here for a bit?”

“Certainly Ryan. Going to find Lexi?” Abraham was genuinely excited at the idea of Ryan and Lexi finding each other.

“Of course!” Ryan beamed back.

Abraham stood up and took over the captain’s chair for Ryan.

Ryan made his way down to the main lounge of the yacht. It was exquisitely finished with highly polished exotic woods and a marble counter for the bar. There were half a dozen pieces of oversized, red leather upholstered furniture over a teak wood floor. The designers had spared no expense in every detail, from the lighting fixtures to the artwork on the walls.

Ryan assumed that Ben must have borrowed this yacht from a very powerful friend. Perhaps, it was a prize that was confiscated by arresting some well-to-do weapons smugglers. He looked over to the couch and spotted Lexi sprawled out, fast asleep. The book she had been reading, had fallen to the floor. He picked up the book and looked at the scantily clad lovers embraced on the cover and smiled. He flipped through the pages and nearly blushed at an intimate scene described in lurid detail.

At least I know where she gets her wild ideas from!

She was dressed in shorts and a flimsy tank-top that did nothing to conceal the hardness of her rosy nipples. He found a soft throw and with a light kiss on her cheek, he covered her up. Lexi opened her eyes half way.

“Hey, Ryan. I’m sorry. I just wanted to relax a little and I guess I relaxed a little too well.”

“Oh, go right ahead. I was wondering what you were up to. You looked like you were getting a little cold, so I covered you up. Do you mind if I sit here with you?”

Lexi smiled and sat up half way. She patted the spot where her head had been resting and Ryan sat down. Lexi laid back down, so that her head was cradled in his lap.

He combed his fingers through her silky auburn curls with one hand. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Lexi finally spoke. “So...you look like you have something on your mind, Ryan. Is there something you want to talk about?”

“Actually there is. Remember back in Haifa? I asked you about where you saw us going after this is over. Well I have to be honest, I just don’t think it can work out.”

Lexi’s heart stopped and Ryan noticed her face had turned completely pale.

“No! I meant that I can’t see it working out with us being so far apart and being apart isn’t an option. I can’t imagine going through another day of my life without you in it.” He said, in one quick breath. He desperately needed to correct the path of the conversation.

“I’ve always felt like there was something missing in my life, until I met you. You fill the empty space in my heart and it’s a perfect fit. I love you and I’m not going to let go of this feeling.” He took her in his arms and lifted her closer to his face while she jubilantly threw her arms around his neck.

“Ryan, please don’t look at me. I’m starting to cry. Just keep talking. Tell me. Tell me what you want.”

“Well, I was thinking about how you have this new business started, a house you’ve bought, and a new life that you are getting off the ground up in Montana. I was hoping it would be okay with you if Buddy and I were to come up there with you. I can give you a hand fixing up that house. I’ve stashed away more loot than I know what to do with, so I know I won’t be holding you back. Who knows? Maybe we’ll find some other business ventures to dream about. I just want to be with you, Lex. What do you say?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Lexi looked him in the eye and asked him about her concern on a light-hearted tone. “What about your little bungalow on the beach? Will you still have to go off into the jungle and get yourself shot at?”

“Oh the house? That belongs to the company. I was planning on quitting the business I’m in anyway. The plan was to have them buy out my stake in the company. If you’re worried that I’ll go off chasing the call of the wild, let me ease your mind. I wouldn’t even ask you any of this if I didn’t intend on being there with you. Unless of course, you toss me out.”

“Not likely.” Lexi said in a low voice as she covered his lips with hers.

What started off as a small light kiss, quickly turned into a devouring hunger for both. They licked and nipped at each other’s mouths, the heat flared between them. Ryan quickly tugged her shirt over her head. His mouth slowly ran over her neck and chest, stopping only to suck each hardened bud into the heat of his mouth. He flicked the tips of her breasts with his tongue while gently squeezing each mound with his free hand.

Lexi moaned aloud as he continued his sensual torture. Her hands reached for his waist, pulling and tugging at his shirt. She desperately needed to remove the offending article of clothing. He broke free from her just long enough for her to remove the shirt.

Not wanting to stop again, Lexi quickly peeled off the rest of her clothing and watched as he did the same. She pushed at his chest to let him know that she wanted him to sit back down. Lexi straddled him and began teasing him. She rocked back and forth along his length, kissing him softly, slowly. He was hard to the point of bursting, but she wanted him begging for her.
Payback
. She thought and chuckled, when he started to squirm beneath her in a desperate attempt to bury himself deep inside of her wetness. She loved knowing she had that sort of power over him. It was completely erotic, yet foreign to her.

Lexi raised herself up before sliding back down onto his throbbing length. She needed him to be inside of her. She rose slightly, quickly bringing herself back down again, feeling every thick inch of him. Her body shook in delight as his patience ran thin. He grasped her hips firmly pushing himself up into her at a rapid pace. She moaned in bliss as an orgasm washed over her body. She wound her arms tight around his neck and held on for the ride of her life.

Eventually, they went up to the bridge, both looking every bit of just having had incredible sex.

Abraham looked at them and broke out in a hefty laughter. “Fate!”

Lexi winked at Abraham and quickly changed the subject, asking him about her parents. “Abraham, could you please tell us a little more about what types of research my parents and you had in common?”

“Oh yes, it’s quite interesting actually. Your parents and I were of the same school of thought on a matter that sort of pushed us to the brink of acceptance in the weird world of academia.” 

Once Ryan assumed the control of the yacht, Abraham took out some of the books and papers he had been looking over earlier. He spread them out on the chart table. “It meshes right in to the situation we are dealing with, in regards to the demon called The Seven.” Ryan looked over and winked at Lexi, to acknowledge how well she had diverted Abraham’s commentary about fate.

“Okay class, let’s start by defining antediluvian. Literally it means before the deluge, before the great flood. I’m going to be very general because I don’t know what faith, if any, you believe or what creation story you follow or any of that. Just about all of the ancient civilizations had a story about a great flood that pretty much cleaned the slate for civilization to restart with modern humans, and the other living creatures we have today. The bible, of course, has the very well-known story of Noah and the Ark, but all of the civilizations of Mesopotamia had various flood stories as well.

So we have the Great Flood that all of these different groups of ancient people believe had happened. Scientifically we have found evidence also of a Great Flood, as well. The difference between all of these stories and the evidence really comes down to exactly when it occurred. Your parents as well as I agreed that the flood that impacted the civilizations of the Middle East happened around 5,700 BCE. All of the oldest civilizations, like Sumer seem to be around four thousand years old. So these civilizations rose up after the great flood.