The Apocalypse Script (33 page)

Lilian, unseen, recoiled. The
scream extinguished her fury instantly. She held the rod in one
hand, as still as a statue, suddenly uncertain what to do. She had
expected the rod would cause Fiela pain, but nothing like
this.

Do not be weak,
she told herself. Have you not spectated at
marathon tortures of your enemies? Have you not laughed at their
cries for mercy? Would you be alive today if you had not instilled
fear in your opponents? Surely you have heard louder cries than
this?

“
But this
is your sister
,” another voice whispered
to her.

No, she could not stop at one
strike. To do so would amount to surrender. Fiela would know that
she had not done what she set out to do. She would never be able to
reassert her authority.

She raised the rod and brought it down a again on
the left foot, and then, wading through a nightmarish other-world
that consisted only of Fiela’s screams and sobs and tremblings,
struck the girl’s right foot twice in the same manner.

The scream that resulted from the
fourth strike made Lilian drop the rod and stumble backwards, her
hands over her face. The girl on the bed was sobbing
uncontrollably, taking in deep, gasping breaths as her body shook
from the affects of the four blows. She was babbling something
unintelligible, seemingly half out of her mind.

“
You’re a
sadistic monster, daughter of Sargon,”
came the voice.
“See what you have
done to the only person who truly loves you?”

It was just four
strikes
, Lilian protested,
and Fiela is so strong! How could I have expected
this?

The voice said,
“You lie! She is Nocte Sicarius - how could you
not? You chose the most vulnerable part of her body to attack. Why
not just thrust red-hot pokers into her eyes?”

Her hands shaking, Lilian sat down
in nearby chair so that she would not do what she wanted to do,
which was to fall down next to the girl and tell her how sorry she
was for being such a beast. That, she could not do. It would defeat
the entire point of the abominable, misguided exercise.

Instead, she waited for Fiela’s
sobs to subside and then went to the bathroom and ran a rag beneath
warm water. Fiela watched her with horribly fearful eyes. When the
rag was ready, Lilian climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged
next to Fiela’s shoulders and ran it tenderly over the girl’s face,
cleaning up the spittle and tears and mucus that had collected
there.

“
Please no more,” gasped the Peth,
saliva dripping from her mouth. “Forgive me.”

Fiela weakly reached out and took
hold of one of Lilian’s exposed feet, and for a moment the woman
was alarmed because she knew the Peth could, even in this sorry
state, kill her effortlessly. The fear was unwarranted. The girl
lowered her trembling lips and kissed Lilian’s foot in a ritual act
of repentance. She kissed it repeatedly, tears streaming down her
cheeks.

The woman let her because
protocol
required
an act of contrition and because she knew the rite comforted
Fiela. When Lilian finally rose, the girl’s panic
reappeared.

“
Shhh,” sounded the other woman,
trying to sound imperious when in fact her voice was close to
faltering. “I am done with the rod, Sister. I do not wish to damage
the tools of your trade, not when my House depends on them. Though
truly, you deserve far more than four strikes.”

“
You are merciful,” said Fiela.
She turned her face away and began to cry again.

“
Please don’t cry,” said Lilian,
distraught. “We are done.”

The girl gasped for air. “I’m
sorry, I have…”

“
What?” asked the woman mystified,
but then she knew. At some point during the punishment, Fiela had
lost control of her bladder.

“
You are a witch, Lilitu! A witch!
You should have been murdered with your father!”

“
It is my
fault,” the older woman said, hurriedly untying the girl’s legs. “I
stopped you…never mind. It is easily fixed, Fiela. Stop
crying,
please
.”

“
A witch! A devil! A
WHORE!”

Freed, Fiela rose to her knees on the bed and
frantically tried to pull the sheets from the mattress.

“
No, Sister, no!” said Lilian.
“The fetches will attend to that. I will tell them that a guest
brought an infant here in error. There will be no
questions.”

Fiela, the wadded sheets in her arms, said, “They
will know.”

“
Nonsense. What will they know? Do
the walls have eyes?”

“
Please,” pleaded the girl, who
held the sheets to her chest in a death grip. “I can wash them in
the tub.”

“
No,” said the other
woman.

The Peth bowed her head as the tears returned.

Lilian sighed. “Oh, very
well,
I
shall
attend to the linen. Go to the bathroom and clean up.”

Fiela reluctantly released the
crumpled sheets and delicately placed her feet on the floor, yet
winced as if it was covered in broken glass. After only two
exploratory steps she fell to her knees with a guttural sound. As
the girl began to crawl forward -
to crawl
you wretch!
- Lilian, now in tears
herself, rushed over and helped her up, lifting and leading her to
the toilet and there waiting on her.

Concealing her face by looking at the floor, she
said throatily, “Is it very bad?”

“
It is not so bad,” Fiela answered
stoically, but she winced as Lilian massaged one of her
feet.

“
I will get you some pain killers
and run you a bath.”

“
Thank you, Princess.”

“
Sister
, Fiela.”

Several seconds passed. “Are we
again sisters?” Fiela asked hopefully.

“
Would your sovereign kneel before
you while you relieved yourself?”

This, at last, made Fiela laugh,
though it was a choking, wheezing laugh. She said, “You must not do
so, though. What if Ben should see you?”

“
Oh, what does he care about our
ways? He would roll his eyes and mumble some useless Ardoon wisdom
and go back to his precious tablets shaking his head.”

Fiela sniffled, laughed again.
“You are right. But truly, I have learned my lesson.”

Before the pang of guilt could
mature, Lilian said, “Good. What else can I get that will comfort
you?”

“
Him,
”
Fiela
said without hesitation.

Lilian faced her at last, no
longer caring if Fiela saw her remorse. She swept away the moisture
from her own cheeks. “I shall bring him here and tonight you shall
sleep next to him.”

The Peth looked at her doubtfully.
“It is not allowed.”

“
Because you are serretu? Fiela,
we are our own House, and in this House, it is allowed, if I allow
it.”

“
And he allows it.”

“
Do you really think he will be
opposed to sleeping next to you?”

The girl managed a small grin that
warmed Lilian’s heart. “I do not think so. I
think
he would
like
it.”

“
Then so it shall be. Now, are you
almost done? How much wine did you drink, woman? You have peed an
ocean!”

Part 5 - September 25th
- Dawn

Anu granted him the totality of all Knowledge

He saw the Secret and discovered the Hidden

He told stories from before the Flood

He went on a distant journey

Pushed himself to exhaustion

But then was brought to peace.

The Epic of Gilgamesh (1300 B.C.)

Moros bore a triumphant
expression. “The Families have directed that Lilitu be stopped.
Tonight we assault Ridley’s abode.”

Nizrok was flummoxed. “Stopped,
Lord Moros? From what?”

“
From whatever she is planning,
obviously.”

Nizrok was baffled. “But surely
you are wrong,” he protested. “I have read today’s scripts. There
is no reference to such an attack.”

“
Nor would there be, because those
scripts are sent to the very people who must be killed. This will
be ‘off the radar.’”

Nizrok held his arms out. “Then
how shall the attack be orchestrated? How shall the Ardoon be
manipulated without a script?”

“
There will be no script and no
Ardoon,” said Moros. “This will be an internal action. That is why
you are here, Lord Nizrok. How many Peth-Allati are at your command
in this region?”

Wide-eyed, the other Peth said, “We cannot attack
another member of the Seven!”

Moros pulled a large envelope with
a wax seal from the other side of the table and slid it toward the
other man. “As of this morning, Lilitu is
Maqtu
, as are any who willingly
associate with her. The Families have said so.”

“
Really? Why has Lilitu been
designated as Maqtu?”

“
That,” said Moros, less
triumphantly, “I do not know. But it gives credence to my suspicion
that the whore and her associates are planning something. I do not
say that their plan would have worked - in truth, I cannot imagine
what it is. Yet if the Families are aware of it and concerned, it
is a matter that must be dealt with immediately.
Tonight.”

Nizrok was troubled. “This is most
unusual.”

“
These are unusual times,” replied
Moros solemnly. “How many troops do you have?”

“
Here? Only my personal guard and
commanders. Fifty-three Peth. You?”

“
Fifty-nine.”

Nizrok frowned, not liking where
this was going. His personal guard consisted of elite Peth whom he
had hand-selected for their loyalty. The senior Peth of each
kingdom, which included not only him but also Moros, Disparthian,
Belusmar, and three others, were allotted up to sixty such guards.
While well concealed, they were always near their master. These
elite guards also protected the
praetors
, the commanders of each
Peth lords’s legions. Five praetors orbited each lord, and each
commanded a thousand Peth around the globe at their master’s
behest.

“
Are you using Peth from any of
the other kingdoms?”

Shaking his head, Moros said, “No.
I can’t chance word reaching Lilitu, and the larger the operation
the greater the chance that might occur. In truth, I have doubts
about Belusmar, who seemed
unenthusiastic
when we last met.
Disparthian is too insubordinate and there is no time to summon
Peth from the other kingdoms. This mission will be carried out by
you and me, old friend. But do not worry – you will not need to
commit your praetors. The guards will suffice.”

“
But do you think it prudent for
us to send our personal guards on a combat mission? The Maqtu might
be crushed as a fighting force but many of their assassins still
roam the streets. With the collapse approaching, they will be
particularly zealous. Besides, our guards are trained and equipped
to protect us and defend our abodes - not to conduct
assaults.”

Moros shook his head. “Do not
underestimate our protectors. They were in the field conducting
combat missions for many years before they became our guards.
Granted, they won’t have the efficiency or coherency of a unit
trained to conduct assaults, but consider our opponent!
A hotel full of academics and blue bloods.
A hundred seasoned Peth are more than adequate
for such a small operation, guards or not. Even with the bitch
present,” he added, referring, the other man knew, to
Fiela.

“
Wouldn’t it be easier,” asked
Nizrok, unconvinced, “to simply plant a bomb or two and set them to
detonate during the reception?”

“
Yes, but the
Families desire the
capture
of Lilitu and her followers.”

“
Capturing is far more difficult
than killing.”

“
True, but keep in mind that we
have a particularly docile and lethargic target group. They will be
like sheep in a pen once they have gathered for the
reception.”

“
What shall be done with
them?”

“
They are to be turned over to the
Families for trial. Most will be executed while others, the
politically useful ones, may be allowed to live. Deals will be
made.” The Peth sighed. “The politicians have spoken. Even Lilitu
must be kept alive – for now. She is to be executed publicly, with
much fanfare.”

“
What of Ridley and Lilian’s
husband?”

“
They
are to be killed on sight. The
Families plan to remove the Ardoon from our history so a public
execution is counterproductive, and the Sage is too well-loved to
execute, so must be ‘collateral damage.’”

“
I assume Fiela will be turned
over with Lilitu?”