The Sons of Destiny (The Reluctant Hero Trilogy Book 3) (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

Daniel

Meanwhile, in a mountain range near the Judea
Hills of Israel
,
Daniel was trying to figure out what was going on in his life.

He believed he was between the West Bank and
Jerusalem. That was all he knew.
Even though Daniel DiBenedetto used to be good at getting what he wanted with verbal manipulation, it wasn’t happening now. He was not prepared for the situation he was now in. He literally had his back against the wall.

Usually, when in scenarios where he was in danger, he would switch to automatic mode and let his inner con man out to correct his situation. In this case, his mind just went blank as he faced Yasmeen, who claimed to possess the spirit of historical Queen Jezebel. Daniel believed she was probably possessed by the same demons that had possessed the wicked queen three thousand years ago, but Yasmeen was a phony.

If that was not enough, an army of Baal worshipers now surrounded him. He had no visible means of escape.

“I want this sorry excuse for a man dead,” Yasmeen ordered with an evil grin. “I will give one of my precious jewels to the person who brings me his head in a bag.”

Daniel didn’t have a lot of time to remember what Magena had said about the ancient Jezebel, so he strained his memory for information he might have picked up along the way. His forte was faking it through life, until recently when he teamed up with Magena.

He had to find a way to fake it again, to save his life.

Several Hive members danced toward him while raising their arms in the air and waving them about wildly. They also emitted the weirdest primal screech he had ever heard in his life. “
Aye yi ya ya
.”

He did not dare take his eyes off of Yasmeen. That’s when the idea hit him. For the first time since he was in that predicament, he smiled. It was a knowing smile.

He didn’t know if it would work, but he had no other choice. “Stop, infidels!” he shouted with a faux confidence. “How dare you attack me!”

Several of the Hive members stopped short with the booming command. They turned back toward Yasmeen.

She rolled her eyes. “Are you seriously stopping because that guy told you to? No wonder you are in serious need of leadership!” She clenched her teeth and her fists, as she angrily glared at Daniel. Pointing, she screamed, “Tear him apart or answer to me!”

They prepared to attack again, and with more intensity. They obviously did not want to upset their queen. She looked extremely vexed as it was.

Daniel knew that he had to exude more of a commanding presence if he wanted to stay alive. Otherwise, he would be dead in another few moments.

He shouted, “You dare to question my orders, Jezebel?” His confidence even impressed himself. “You dare to question… your king?”

Even Yasmeen winced at that proclamation. The anger fled rapidly from her face, as it was replaced with curiosity and confusion.

The army of Baal stopped once again with wide eyes and mouths dropped open. Again, they looked back at Yasmeen for direction. Daniel fully expected her to be even angrier that they halted again, but she wasn’t. The Baal people were only confused.

Daniel smiled. That was good.

When his targets were confused in the past, that’s when he knew it was time to strike quickly before they had time to think. “Has my absence made my followers lazy in bowing to their king?” He strutted forward, looking over the Hive members with disdain and his fingers crossed behind his back. He growled loudly, hoping for them to obey. It was all he had.

“Woman!” he bellowed at Yasmeen. “What have you done to my subjects? Does the lack of male leadership turn them into mush? Are they that much in need of their king?”

Yasmeen glared at Daniel. “Do you expect me to believe that your body now houses my former husband’s soul?” He guessed that she was trying to trip him up to see just what he was up to.

He strutted toward her without hesitation, even though his heart was pumping fast enough to explode out of his chest. He could not show the fear. “Is it any less believable than my queen has taken command of another mortal vessel as well?”

He was starting to get the hang of being a king. He didn’t know how long he would have to keep up the charade, but it had to be long enough for him to escape.

He couldn’t tell if Yasmeen was buying it or not, but he knew the Hive members were. They all knelt down and bowed in front of him. He nodded his approval.

He looked at Yasmeen. All he could do was smile at her.

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head like she was trying to figure him out. He assumed that she made the decision to play along because of her doubts about herself and because of what he had just said.

So he looked at the Baal worshipers and announced, “Your king, Ahab, is here!”

They did not move, as he walked past the kneeling followers and right up to Yasmeen. He then embraced her tightly and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. He shouted for all to hear, “My queen! It is good to see you after all of these centuries!” He looked down and studied her body. “You picked an appropriate vessel in which to display enough of your beauty.”

She pulled back just enough to study his face. She appeared to be somewhat repulsed by his forwardness, especially since just moments before she wanted him dead. “Ahab? I would have assumed that you would have picked a shorter and more portly vessel. As far as I’m concerned, I did not have the choice that you obviously had. I was stuck with whatever I could get.”

She continued to look him over and gave him a questioning look. She then smiled as deviously as he was smiling. “Alright,
King Ahab.
How did you originally die?”

He was afraid she might test him. He didn’t know if Jezebel was ever known for her intelligence, but she was showing a lot of it at that moment. “You question your king? Fine!”

He didn’t want to stall too long or she would know he was an impostor. Daniel tried hard to remember the Sunday School stories of how Ahab died. He saw that she was getting suspicious. “It was an accident, really. I was hit by a stray arrow which eventually killed me. So tell me, Jezebel. Do you now have a fear of wild dogs?”

By the look on her face, he knew he hit a nerve.

An angry wave washed over her as her eyes turned black as coal. “You would be careful not to bring that up if you care to spend any length of time in your new body!”

She backed up and looked around at the kneeling followers. “Get up! Ahab has been paid homage long enough!”

The followers got to their feet and waited for further instructions.

Yasmeen turned to Daniel. “Well, my king? What do you command us to do next?”

CHAPTER THREE

Magena

Magena had eaten her food quickly.

The young server gathered the food trays and left, closing the door behind her. Magena noticed how diligent everyone was to make sure that she and Daniel’s father had their privacy on a consistent basis.

Magena continued to refrain from responding to the grilling of the older man. She did everything in her power to maintain the control that she had been taught. The same control which was now sorely tested.

“Thank you for the meal,” she muttered.

He smiled. “I’m sure it’s been a while since you’ve eaten like that. You’ve been fed by I.V. for weeks now.”

“I know,” she muttered under her breath. Tears popped into her eyes. She couldn’t hold back her disgusted look. Being controlled like that made her feel violated, but still she remained quiet.

“I understand,” he continued. “You don’t want to say the wrong thing until you find out what’s going on. That’s perfectly acceptable, my dear.” He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair while putting his hands behind his head. He interlocked his fingers and sighed with contentment.

“I wish I could apologize, Miss Nightcloud. The fact is, I’m more pleased than sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry at all. To be in my position, you have to be able to do what needs to be done to accomplish your goals without letting something as trivial as feelings get in the way.”

She gripped the arms of the chair and waited silently. He was just upsetting her more.

“I’m a businessman first and foremost. I spent many decades working harder than those around me to establish the kind of contacts I now have. It’s because of those contacts that I stumbled across the new virtual reality program. My government contacts are those that I prize the most.”

Her mind kept wondering where Daniel was, while still trying to pay attention to the elder DiBenedetto, just in case he said something important. But she still was distracted.

He continued, “You would be surprised what the government has in the way of software for this course of study. This is the prototype. It’s so new, it hasn’t even been named yet. Of course, it won’t be available for the general public just yet. In fact, you knowing about it may cause you some problems.”

“Then why tell me about it?” she snapped.

“I thought you might like to know since my son is still inside the virtual world.”

I don’t believe you.” She became quiet again but was growing more and more impatient.

“First, let me explain that my son has always done everything in his power to dishonor the DiBenedetto name. He chose never to follow in my footsteps and began to con his way to where he wanted to go. Mind you, I have no problem with lying to get what I want, but the way he did it repulsed me. He became nothing more than an item and was no longer an asset. Do you know what I do to things I determine are no longer an asset to me, my dear?”

She sat motionless as blood drained from her face. She wasn’t about to play his game and get caught up in the charade.

“I cut my losses,” he said, unaffected that she wouldn’t respond. “Fortunately for Daniel, he has some value, if not in a limited capacity. You see, when he was younger, he went on an expedition with a former business colleague of mine. This colleague told me that he had proof of the whereabouts of the Jewels of Jezebel. Now I’m not one to jump into treasure hunting. I prefer sure bets. Ones where I can make money fast. I thought it was all superstitious nonsense, so I declined.”

Magena positioned herself in the chair as visions of her exploits with Daniel kept popping up in her mind. She did her best to concentrate on the present, but her mind wouldn’t let her.

DiBenedetto studied her face, nodding. Her inner turmoil was noticed by DiBenedetto, through her pained facial expressions. “I see you are experiencing Mental Backlash. I was warned about that. If I am to understand correctly, that should pass. Although, I can’t tell you when. Have you started feelings of nausea yet?”

Almost as if on cue, Magena felt sick to her stomach. She shrugged.

“If you desire anything to drink, please let me know. Anyway. Where was I? Oh, yes. My son has always had a sense of adventure. He gets bored easily. Well, he overheard me talking to my colleague. When I refused to take part of the expedition, Daniel came running up to me, begging me to let him go. I assumed that all would be fine, since nothing beneficial would come from it and it would occupy him as well.”

DiBenedetto placed his fist over his mouth as he started to cough violently. There was a harshness to the rough cough. His eyes watered and his face turned beet red. When he was finished, he took in a deep breath, as he wiped his hand off with a nearby napkin left over from lunch. There was some blood on the napkin.

Magena couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, in spite of everything that she knew he was putting her and Daniel through. She wouldn’t allow herself to wish ill of her captor. No matter what.

She wanted to ask what was wrong with him, but she assumed he would use that to his advantage. She couldn’t help but ask anyway. “Are you alright?”

He looked surprised at her concern. “That’s why you’re a good person, Miss Nightcloud You care that I am sick. Very sick. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, I don’t have much time left.”

“I’m sorry.” She sighed. “You were saying about your son going on an expedition?” She had no choice but to go back to the virtual reality program since he was being vague about his illness. She wanted no part of pushing him into an uncomfortable conversation.

He was noticeably physically uncomfortable anyway, after his coughing bout. “My colleague took Daniel and several other members of his team into Israel and a few other places that I never bothered to remember. I do remember the day that Daniel came back like it was yesterday. I was notified by the only other surviving member of the expedition that they had just arrived back in town. In a state of panic, his voice quivered as he begged me to come get my son.”

Magena could almost see tears forming in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure if it was real or a trick of the light.

“I went to the disclosed location with several of my employees. The ones I used in times like that. I saw that Daniel was in shock and unable to talk. Other than being pale, he did not look injured. The man he was with was in bad shape. Barely able to talk, he told me that the rest of the team was lost. Sitting on the ground in a pool of his own blood, he said that they had not expected what they found.”

DiBenedetto now had Magena’s full attention.

“The man was severely wounded and died before he could explain what happened. Daniel had blocked the entire episode out of his mind. Literally. He remembered nothing. All I knew was that they had stumbled into a rich find. They found the jewels of Jezebel.”

He took a sip of water and gulped hard. His breathing became erratic as he pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked one of the drawers in his desk. He looked down at the contents and smiled.

He removed a small leather pouch that was tied shut with wire. He looked at Magena, then tossed her the pouch.

Even though she wasn’t expecting it, she managed to catch it with one hand.

“Hah!” he exclaimed. “I knew your reflexes were astounding! Now open it.”

She looked cautiously at him as he nodded.

Magena looked down at the pouch. It felt warm in her hand. She untwisted the wire and opened it. She couldn’t describe it but there was a smell of the past coming from inside. She reluctantly reached inside, expecting some sort of trap from DiBenedetto, but she found something else instead.

Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened, as she pulled out a coin. An old coin. There were barely visible markings, but there was the image of a woman on it. She raised her eyes and looked at the older man. “Jezebel?”

“Jezebel,” he calmly repeated.

Magena was in shock. “I don’t… ever recall hearing of a woman of any stature being put on a coin in her time. I’m not saying it didn’t happen…”

“It’s never been reported,” he interrupted. “No documentation of any kind for this. Anywhere. I believe that this is one of a kind.”

She looked up at him as she remembered seeing the hidden treasure trove of Jezebel. She recalled that none of the treasure looked to be worn. It was all as if it had just been made. “If this is the only one, that makes it priceless.”

“Yes,” he agreed with a smile. “I spent years trying to find out from Daniel where they found this coin. Nothing I tried succeeded. His memory had been locked up so tight that all my attempts did was hurt him. I couldn’t afford to destroy his brain, so I waited. I knew that eventually, something or someone would come along and be able to crack the code needed to find the treasure. This coin is only a teaser to what’s out there. I saw it all when you two found the treasure underground. I must admit that Jezebel isn’t how I pictured her.”

“She is not really
Jezebel
.”

“I know.”

“She is your invention, isn’t she?” Magena looked at him suspiciously. “You made this coin.”

He tossed his hair to one side. “Maybe.”

“You were watching us the entire time?” She didn’t hold her anger back. Another violation. That one was apparently planned.

He laughed. “Of course, my dear. I’ve been watching you from the very first time you two met. From the beginning of your first trip to Turin. It’s all been a wonderful adventure for me, watching what was taking place in the deepest and darkest recesses of my son’s mind. Ha ha! What fun it’s been from this end. Although, I must admit it probably hasn’t been much fun for you.”

“That explains why things felt forced. Nothing felt real,” she said, more for her own benefit than anything else. “Italy? The Sabotinis? The Cardinals? They were all part of you testing Daniel’s mind?”

He cleared his throat. “He saw things and met people to stimulate his memory. I was hoping he would be stimulated on a subconscious level to bring to the surface what had been buried for so long.”

“You are cruel.” She felt furious once more and glared into his eyes. “Didn’t you ever think of the ramifications of what it would do to his mind, by setting him up to dig that deep into his soul?”

“Of course I did,” he replied, nonchalantly. “That is why I brought you here. Hooking you up to an EEG has been by far the best method to extract what you know about him. Next, I must bring him here so that he will remember what happened at that ill-fated event.”

“I just hope you don’t cause irrevocable damage to his brain.”

He chuckled. “I won’t.”

“You’re a monster!” she screamed, as she got up and practically jumped onto his desk to get at him.

He backed his chair up against the wall and laughed even harder. “My dear! That’s the spirit! I wish my son had half the spirit you have! Bravo!”

He started to cough uncontrollably again. At the same time, a loud siren blared through the complex. She looked out the window. Red lights blinked off and on in intervals. DiBenedetto popped his head around and looked out the window. “No! Not when I was so close!”

He glanced at her as he stood quickly, and made his way to the door. “I’m sorry, Miss Nightcloud, but story time is over. We seem to have intruders.”

She looked shocked. “What is it? What’s going on? Is it Daniel? Is he still alive?” She decided not to be patient anymore.

“I must go now.”

“Tell me! Is Daniel in danger?”

“Your questions will wait, indefinitely,” he said as he opened the door and ran across the carpet to the outside door. “I have no more time for you!” As he was going through the door, he looked back at her. “Someone will be along shortly to tie up the loose ends for you. After all, we can’t have you running to the authorities. Can we?”

He went out and slammed the door behind him. He was gone before she could learn about Daniel. After hearing several clicking sounds, she knew she was locked in. Then the lights went out. She let out a scream of pure frustration.

Desperately, Magena looked all around for something heavy enough to break the doorknob off, but found nothing. She thought,
I could use Jezebel’s lock picking kit about now.

She realized that someone would come in soon to tie up the loose ends and kill her. She needed to hide somewhere and get the drop on them before they got to her.

She was still standing in the middle of the carpeted floor when she heard gunshots and people screaming from the other side of the door. She froze and said a quick prayer with her hands clenched tightly together.

The door flung open and she looked up, realizing that it was too late for her to hide. It was still semi-dark, so all she could see was the shadow of someone holding a gun.

“I will not leave this life quietly, you animal!” she screamed, as she ran toward her apparent attacker.

“Magena Nightcloud,” came a soft-spoken male voice, with a hint of nervousness in it. “We mean you no harm. Please believe me.”

She stopped short, as she could make out the figure a little more. He didn’t look like anyone who would have been working there. He was dressed in black dress pants with a black turtleneck; clean shaven and a fresh haircut. As she squinted, she could barely make out that he had a strong nose and was of Israeli descent. He looked safe, so she wasn’t going to rush him.