Pursuit of the Zodiacs (78 page)

Ecor made his final statement. “Let this Blood Moon represent the dawn of a new Super breed of Vampeers, named after their forefathers: Dark Mosqidou. Dracuul was certainly right about one thing before he became incompetent. In the end, it all comes down to the blood.”

Chapter 34

THE MOSQUITO WITH THE EARTH IN ITS ABDOMEN

“As long as the Zodiacs continue to exist, there will forever be a Pursuit of them.”

— P
ISCES

“A
t times I dreamed about a mosquito that carried the Earth in its abdomen. It stayed in view, but hovered shy of my reach. I followed it throughout the remainder of my dream, from all corners of the Earth. However, my attempts to seize it ever ended in failure. I followed it everywhere until it became my personal Demon. What does it mean? And, what would be the result of its capture? I feared those last two questions the most during the many dreams that followed.

“The dreams occurred every time a Full Moon spawned. What was the connection between the two? Another added disturbing question. I was frustrated while asleep, angry when awake, disappointed and unaccomplished all the time. Each dream proved more unpredictable than the next. Surprisingly, the closer I got to it, the larger it became. My latest dream frightened me to the point where I rejected sleep altogether. It grew so large that I was no longer the pursuer. Rather, it pursued me. Something I had been so eager and determined to catch, I had become terrified of its very existence. Its sound followed by its promising Sting of Death pursued me from those same corners of the Earth, with deep purpose in only achieving one thing: total dominion.” - Sabrina

“Hmmm, interesting. I see we are not the only ones who share the encumbrance of this abnormal dream,” Ariel, loyal to Bishop, shared with his group.

He ripped the documentation out of Sabrina’s journal, which had been confiscated from her corpse shortly after her death. Ariel crumbled the piece of paper and tossed it aside where it landed with the rubbish found on her colleagues’ bodies.

Ariel logged in on the craft’s mainframe and checked out a star map. He pinpointed a navigational route that would avoid detection from enemy satellites. He was accompanied by Bishop’s top remaining Master Archangels: Exodus, Leviticus and Ezra. They toured back to their Kingdom after having successfully defeated Sabrina and her small fleet.

“Did you find anything? Plans? Scrolls? Star maps?” Ezra asked as she walked past.

“No, they must have destroyed everything before we engaged,” Ariel replied.

“Over there!” A soldier pointed out a skirmish within view from the window.

“It appears the Dark Graduates are under fire again,” Exodus confirmed as their ship passed the conflict.

Leviticus added, “Either they are fools to attack the Dark Graduates, or they must know something we don’t. We must forward the news to Bishop at once.

Prometheus, Lucas, Taurus and Virgo fled the pursuing god. Bishop unleashed an electrical discharge into the halls of the cave. It bounced from wall to wall, hitting
multiple fleeing targets. Everyone except for Lucas and Virgo, courtesy of her Virgin Light force field, had been hit.

Prometheus took the worst of the blast. “Go! Save yourself, Lucas!”

Stubbornly, he went back for his comrade, but Bishop’s great speed altered his judgment. He sprinted further down the dark cave … past the blood and human remains on the floor, past the encrypted writings on the walls, and past the aggravating thick spider webs that challenged his pace. The kingdom had to be informed.

The Mover of Suns raised Prometheus in the air with his gift of levitation, where he spontaneously combusted.

The sound of his cry echoed in the halls of the cave loud enough for his fleeing colleague to hear and understand the message.

“If there had been at least five of you, maybe you would have stood a chance. If all twelve of you had been in this cave, I would never have entered it at all. All this talk of an alliance is nothing more than dust. You have failed.” Bishop laughed to himself.

With no escape, they approached Bishop. Stay and look death straight in its third eye or receive death absent from sight. These silent terms presented themselves clearly without the need of speech.

Taurus took it upon himself to negotiate. “You haven’t killed us yet, so I figure you have brought along opportunities for barter?”

Bishop replied, “Very clever. Let me guess. You must be Taurus?”

Taurus answered, “Yes, you are correct.”

After locking eyes with Virgo, he felt her trying to control his mind telepathically, and he warned her. “Try that again, Zodiac, and I will remove your eyes from your head.”

Virgo calmly sat down on a nearby boulder, awaiting Bishop’s proposition.

Bishop continued, “This alliance is not going to work. Lucifer wants me out of his way just as much as I want him out of mine. Regardless of what happens here, Lucifer will fail. You can choose to fall with him, or you can join me. I’ve admired your loyalty to him for quite some time. You’ve done him great service, but with me you can reap real fruits from thy labor and gain Immortality. I will have you as my Master Archangels. You will have thrones and kingdoms for your own. You will command your own armies.”

Taurus replied, “Hmm, sounds like an official plan to me. Where do I sign?”

Virgo responded, “You stupid, stupid example to be made of. What makes you think I will ever join an arrogant shit such as yourself? You and your army will be nothing more than wood set ablaze by his mighty Hellfire. You and your army will burn for Eternity with all those who opposed him. We will laugh and fuck to your torment. You will forever regret not putting your ego and greed for power aside to let a true King and leader rule this Universe!”

Her words held meaning. Bishop motioned to Taurus to step aside. He did so while shaking his head, anticipating what was about to occur.

Virgo mocked, “As easy as that, huh, Zodiac? You are a disgrace.”

Bishop yelled, “Silence! So, you are Lucifer’s whore? I wonder how valuable you really are to him?”

Highly offended, Virgo unleashed a surge of energy from the Earth capable of removing limbs. However, Bishop raised his arm and, with his fist curled in front of his face, split the rushing energy in two. They went in separate directions punishing the walls of the cave. Seconds later, pieces of its foundation began to crumble. Unscathed, Bishop countered with a burst of energy of his own, knocking her unconscious.

“What now, Bishop?” Taurus asked. Bishop remained silent.

Bishop said, “Eventually, after some convincing, she will be as loyal to me as she was to Lucifer.” He pointed at Taurus to emphasize his thoughts. “You, on the other hand, were willing to throw away centuries of work. And worst of all, betray your own leader to avoid your own death. Your loyalty seems to blow with the very wind inside this place. Death will soon be a mere illusion when my victory comes. You only stand as an opportunist … a liability. It’s your life that will be forfeited this day, Zodiac!”

Taurus yelled, “You bastard! Fuck you, you sorry motherfucker!”

Taurus assumed his true form and charged at the Mover of Suns. Like a Brahma Bull, he penetrated Bishop’s force field and rammed his horn into Bishop’s shoulder. Bishop realized he had underestimated the Zodiac. “Ha! You are strong, Zodiac!”

Taurus was overconfident, certain that he had lethally wounded Bishop. However, Bishop grabbed the horn, removed it from his shoulder, and threw Taurus hard against the wall.

The cave wall gave way, and Taurus landed hard outside. Luther and the Nephilim surrounded him. He slowly got up, brushing away the debris from his body. Bishop yelled, “Do not harm him! Luther, go inside and apprehend the other Zodiac.”

Taurus recovered enough to yell at Bishop. “You Son of a bitch! You cannot do this to me!”

Bishop replied, “But here we are. Where is your god, Zodiac?”

Taurus answered, “I thought gods were not allowed to touch Mortals? You are breaking Covenants!”

Bishop laughed. “Coming from someone serving a Master who’s been breaking Covenants for centuries. Where was your quarrel then? You have the audacity to complain when you’re on the other side of your own injustice!”

Bishop curled his fist, filled with fire. He threw a punch at the distressed Zodiac. Solid roots emerged from the Earth and seized the Mover of Suns.

Taurus spoke to an immobilized Bishop. “It seems you are nothing without your Sun, Bishop. You cannot risk the lives of your Nephilim atrocities.”

The roots thickened and grew stronger, but Bishop ripped and burned them from the ground.

Taurus charged. The Earth danced as his hooves dented the ground, fire and smoke blew from his fully flared nostrils. Once at a distance, his charge was unstoppable. Neither man nor supernatural being could stop him.

Bishop released himself from the roots. The Mover of Suns grew in size and used his gravitational pull to pick up an off-balanced Taurus. He threw him halfway across the field and into a Pyramid.

Pieces of the Pyramid flew everywhere. Bishop hovered over a broken Zodiac. He summoned a miniature meteor from the Sun; and as it hit the Earth, he removed his Sun Sword from its core to deliver a final blow through Taurus’s heart. But a flickering flame caught the corner of his eye, and he had very little time to use the
Sun Sword to deflect Hell Rising Fire from Lucifer himself. He was knocked into the rescuing arms of one of his Nephilim Giants.

Lucifer shouted, “Does this mean our alliance is over, old friend?”

Bishop replied, “Lucifer, how good of you to join us! We were just finishing up here.”

Lucifer motioned his minions to take Taurus away for immediate medical treatment. “Is this what you must resort to? Fighting Mortals, Bishop? You know I can fucking care less. But you? I thought you were better than that,” he joked.

Bishop answered, “Times have changed. Rules were meant to be broken. This same technique has given you an advantage for decades. If you think the battle has been unfair, Lucifer, then restore parity to the battlefield. Why don’t two gods engage in a match for the record books? We both know The Watchers are currently undergoing their protocol.”