The sands of the golden light shifted in everlasting cascades upon the undulating dunes. A song of sweet harmony played across the dreamscape of a barren sundrenched desert of some distant thought. The call of crows, in the distance, could be heard.
I stood there watching as the Sons of Araek gathered, decrepit and withered, already almost skeletonized. Their jeweled crowns shone as flashes of colored sunbeams and their long bony fingers traced the outlines of colored light into runes that stayed glowing in the air. They were combining the last of their waning power to bury themselves alive, beneath the desert, in the Temple of Araek, their tomb. They had their prize and would take it to worlds beyond. They had the fourth pillar, the crown that commanded the flames, the magical element of fire. It would belong to Man, to the worshipers of petty gods in unbuilt houses. The posterity of magic belonging not to those for whom it was intended; Lilith's magic, divided again and again until it was no longer the power over life and death, but merely an allusion to it.
"If their father steps upon this sand it will become as many deaths as are there are grains in this dune." I heard Eibon's voice from someplace deep within the Earth. The undying sorcerer was neither awake nor asleep, neither with me in dreams or in some distant cavern.
"If Araek is called from the distant void where it drifts timelessly?" I quoted the Book of Sercil. Some of the words from the prayer that would guide the being back to Earth. If it heard the calling it would come, bringing ultimate destruction with it. Even in dreams I felt ominous dread at the memory of words that could destroy all of Creation, as I knew such words.
"I cannot remember." Eibon stated and drifted from my consciousness, distracted.
I watched as the Sons of Araek lay resting for hundreds of millennia. I learned the names and forms and membership of the cabal of sorcerers as each era they grew weaker and forgot more secrets. By the time they fought the Coven, mere centuries ago, they were finally no match for them. Again they warred on the powerful sisters and failed. Then, three years ago, they fought a final and desperate battle against them and were nearly wiped out. They had spent the last two years gathering the descendants of their many ancient families, anyone with any amount of magic left in their blood. Even I was related to them, as so many unknowing persons were. They found and collected as many as they could and the ones who refused to take an oath into their fraternity were assassinated. The task of recruiting and culling their own had occupied them for two whole years, a mere moment in the antiquity of their history.
"What do you see, my Lord?" Cory asked.
"I am watching the history of the cabal of sorcerers. They are all descended from the servants and spawn of the Sons of Araek. They are more ancient than history and have kept the secrets of magic for as long as that. They now call themselves the Illuminated. They have gone by many names and have changed their ways many times for theirs is a history that is too long to remember." I told Cory.
"I see nothing but the desert." Cory complained.
"I began to see them as I stared into the mirage within this dream. Then it was as though I could see all of it from the very beginning and up until now. Time has little meaning here. Centuries might be swept away like a breeze and a single moment might last as though carved into stone. I can see the past and present all at once, as though these dunes were as many lives and as many memories as numberless as sand itself. And as look and notice each one I can also see the whole desert at once. All of it the same." I told Cory.
"Then this memory is also yours." Cory pointed out.
"It is among the more disturbing details of what I am witnessing." I agreed.
"Is it the darkness that came before? Something you cannot look at? Something hidden too far back in time for any memory? Is it the being from which all of this became as a desert?" Cory wondered. I nodded, my face a frown and sweat and tears running, at the thoughts his words conveyed.
"Verily it is that darkness and the dweller within." I felt my soul quake to know that the will of a destroyer of worlds was in my blood.
"It is time to wake up. There is nothing more here except thirst." Cory then stamped his little feet in the sand and as he made his footprints the dream shimmered like a cloud vanishing in the heat and ended. It was such a deep dream that we stood in a misty place of slumber, still dreaming, before we actually woke up. There I said:
"Thank you for coming for me. I almost forgot everything." I cried. I woke up still crying and sat up.
"You alright, Lord?" Detective Winters was there with me in our room at La Cucharacha. I shook my head and looked out the window at the early sunrise. The black trails of smoke carried the souls of the dead from the smoldering ruins beyond. "I have good news. I was on watch last night when half a dozen FBI agents and twice that many townspeople came here, having survived and escaped."
I smiled at the revelation. Somehow the thought of meeting survivors was both terrifying and uplifting. Terrible in sympathy for what they had suffered and uplifting that they were still among the living. "It is good to hear."
We went out to find that a silent meal was being had and some of the survivors sat wrapped in blankets or receiving first aid from National Guard medics. Cory ate off of my plate when I finished breakfast without an appetite. I looked around and counted all of Agent Saint's team among the living. Agents Heller, Nomak, Gilbery and Pyresh sat with her and quietly spoke of their exodus. The other two FBI that had made it out alive were Agent Meroë and the wounded Agent Grayson.
"Maia, you weren't there." Agent Meroë said in a deep, but respectful, voice.
"I could say nothing to stop the rest of you from going. I made a choice." Agent Saint told all of the FBI gathered.
"From now on, you are in-charge. I'm staying behind you. It was a miracle anyone made it out of there alive." Agent Meroë's voice trembled. He was done talking. He buried his face in his hands, unable to contain his morbid regret.
"Agent Iscariot is dead. The Sons of Araek killed him, that was his reward. We can only presume that other members of their cabal were also destroyed. The Sons of Araek are like a force that can only kill and destroy. They have no mind to do otherwise. All they offer is death." Agent Saint revealed.
"The cabal are not all dead. They call themselves Illuminated. They are almost as ancient as their gods and have gone by many names and lived among the people of every age. Their blood is diluted and scattered, but they still exist." I spoke up and told part of what I had learned.
"I am to understand:" Said Agent Pyresh with reptilian perception. "that one of their blood sits and tells us this. That he has heard their call and known them."
"My Pyresh has a wit like none other." Cory didn't hesitate to recognize the bold assertion with candor. "And understands correctly."
At this there was a gasp of surprise and even glances of suspicion. I bore it all before I assured them:
"I am with you. As far as Agent Iscariot, I think material motivation was all there was. After seeing how closely they guard their own I doubt he was truly one of them. For the silver coin and nothing more."
"I am glad he is dead." Agent Meroë grimaced, saying something cruel and hearing himself. It hurt as much as the betrayal, to wish harm on the traitor. He got up and left, knowing that the sleepless and shocking ordeal was breaking him apart and not wanting to be seen in pieces.
"I trust you." Agent Nomak told me. "I know when someone can be trusted, I can tell."
"I also trust Mr. Briar." Agent Saint proclaimed. "I have seen him in a vision taking a stand against these oppressive occultists. It is what is in his heart."
"I'm following you, whatever you decide." Agent Grayson spoke weakly from his injuries from an inner strength that could never grow tired. His words ended the discussion of my loyalties and he rested.
Medic General Lothstone entered with several of his staff and announced some good news. "Lieutenant Colonel Scipio will be bringing a battalion here. We need to hold out for two hours."
"His soldiers won't be able to stand against the Sons of Araek." Cory spoke. Medic General Lothstone looked at my speaking crow and then at me and then said:
"They are bringing enough firepower to deal with the terrorist threat. They will have support from the Air National Guard and Homeland Security forces as well as undisclosed measures of defense. We are expecting heavy resistance as satellite images have shown the devastation surrounding enemy positions." Medic General Lothstone reassured us.
"Undisclosed measures of defense?" I asked.
"There are classified units that are prepared for this kind of terrorist attack." Medic General Lothstone commented freely. He knew what they were and had requested them. If they were of any use, we were lucky he had survived with us and also that he happened to know of the existence of something like that. I shrugged.
"Gaylord Briar is our specialist. I wouldn't be alive if not for him." Agent Saint said to Medic General Lothstone.
"Nor would I." Detective Winters swore.
"And I have the same story, that I would not be alive if not for my Lord." Cory added.
"That is good to know. Right now our defenses are still classified. Surely you can appreciate confidence." Medic General Lothstone sounded like he would consult us if he could without divulging a secret.
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"No secret is safe from the mind's eye. Speak it not and no words shall it be known by." Cory recited a crow proverb in English.
After breakfast I went outside and sat alone for a time. I was shaken by the night's events and my corrupted sleep. While I sat there I heard a meow in Felidaen and turned, wide eyed and beholding, out of habit. The farm cat stood there watching me, it was Mister Melt.
"Hail Mister Melty Cheeses-Good Lovin' Jesus-Mittens." I greeted the feline ally.
"I see you did not heed my warning. I suppose my news and my message are also spoken in vain." Mister Melt sounded disdainful.
"Your news that the war has begun? That is apodictic. As to your message, you said to restore the fallen pillar." I recalled.
"Good enough. You must also cause no further harm. Should another pillar fall and then another, well, the collapse of this world would be inevitable." Mister Melt meowed.
"I have learned that to restore the pillar is possible with the actual crown of flames." I divulged. My candor made Mister Melt look pleased. Momentarily he had concluded what that meant:
"I will help you then by telling you where that crown is." Mister Melt purred.
"That would be incredibly helpful." I stammered in English and then repeated myself in Felidaen.
"Yes except that it will be very dangerous to take it. The last of your mortal enemies have it and they are holed up in a cave outside of town. Follow the road leading to Brenbury Farm and take a right to the hills to the north of there. They will use magic to conceal themselves and if that fails they will use weapons to defend themselves. If you make them desperate and they have a chance then they will use the actual crown of flames against you." Mister Melt informed.
"I get it." I nodded.
"No, I don't think you do. They are far more dangerous than you think they are. It wasn't their error that raised the dead. The ones who did that paid with their lives. The survivors are the best among them and they will not surrender and they will not die easily. It will be a fight to the death!" Mister Melt insisted.
"If I see you again I will have many thanks for you." I promised.
"Please don't thank me. It gives me no pleasure to send you to your death." Mister Melt sounded affectionate. I wondered that, as a cat, he actually liked me. It fit his second name: Good Lovin' Jesus.
"Then your reward will be to see me again and with the crown in friendly hands." I swore. To that he blinked a dismissal and vanished into the shade.
I went back inside and told Agent Saint all about what I had learned. She didn't even bother to ask how I knew. She accepted that the mission was so perilous it was a suicide mission. She commanded the remaining FBI and chose to risk their lives, telling them they could choose to stay behind if they were too scared to act in the face of certain doom. All of them decided to follow her into battle.
Medic General Lothstone watched us go with grim resolve. He had realized we were undertaking our own quest and also that there was nothing he could do except to hear Agent Saint's disclaimer as she found where we were going on the map. She told him: "If we don't come back then we are all dead and this is where we went."
He had issued us a radio that would also broadcast our position saying: "I need to keep track of friendly operations."
We arrived at the turnoff and stopped. It was getting hot out and the desert was in bloom after the rains. Everything had a fresh, muddy look to it and flowers were opening everywhere and sprouts of green were quickly fulfilling their moment. I sniffed the air and knew that the world cared nothing for our petty battles. The conflict between good and evil meant nothing to Nature.
"How will we find them? They will try to hide." Agent Saint thought out loud.
"Magic can be seen through. It just takes a little technique. Always look twice at everything, always imagine it is not what you are seeing. You can catch a glimpse of whatever is real beneath any illusion. Look first out of the corner of your eye and then turn your head and see it, pretend it is what you are looking for. If it is, you will pierce any illusion." I told her. I had known this for a long time and I had practiced it throughout my adventures. I was confident that their magic wouldn't fool me.
The three vehicles we were taking turned and drove through the mild dust towards the hills to the north of the road to Brenbury Farm. Our arrival was followed by the cloud of dust we had kicked and we sat in the vehicles while it drifted past. I stared at a pile of rocks that had slid from the hill before and after the dust cleared. I was sure it was the cave entrance.
"Up there on that hill." I said.
"I've got an idea." Detective Winters said and he used his phone's camera to look at the pile of rocks zoomed in. He could see through his phone's eye that it was the entrance to the hidden cave. He looked with his own eyes and then looked back at the screen on his phone. "Neat."
"A clever idea, my Winters." Cory saw what he was doing and complimented him.
"Let's go." Agent Saint frowned.
"Is this it?" Agent Meroë asked her. He looked to where we were looking. Squinting he shook his head. "I don't see it."
"Those rocks are not there. It is an illusion to hide the entrance to their cave." I explained.
"What are we going to do?" Agent Meroë asked.
"We are going to attack them and try to take the crown." Agent Saint said slowly.
The FBI agents readied themselves. They put on vests and Agent Pyresh hiked away with a sniper rifle. Agent Meroë offered a bullet proof vest to Detective Winters. He put it on grimly.
"All ready?" Agent Saint asked. Everyone signaled that they were ready. She called Medic General Lothstone on the radio and mentioned that we were on location and taking immediate action. It was affirmed and we left the vehicles and wound our way up the hillside, hugging boulders and advancing tactically. Cory and I stayed back, behind everyone.
Without warning there was rifle fire from all over the top of the hillside, driving everyone behind cover. We were pinned down from the high ground of Illuminated gunmen. Agent Pyresh had a position that out ranged them and returned fire. Numbers of the enemy were hit and we heard some of them cry out while others died from a single shot. They retreated to new positions and we continued to advance towards the cave, taking intermittent fire from enemy positions all around us.
Agent Saint was in the lead and she was hit in her armor and fell down, rolling under a bush and coughing out some blood. "I'm hit." She said weakly. "Continue the assault."
Agent Meroë took the lead and everyone followed. When we neared the cave entrance we could all see it clearly. The illusion was broken and had ceased. Agent Heller was hit several times in his armor and fell backwards, rolling down the hill and grunting as he struck rocks. "Take them!" Agent Meroë commanded. The remaining FBI shot into the cave and killed the cabal members inside.
Detective Winters turned on the flashlight on Streetsweeper and took point, walking into the cave in front of everyone else that stood back reloading. I followed him inside.
I was trembling in fear of the fighting and shooting. Inside the cave it was dark and dripping and there were many places for enemies to hide. My nerves rattled until we were surprised by one of the enemy. He came running out with a scimitar raised to slice Detective Winters asunder. The automatic shotgun blasted like crashing boulders in a rockslide and flashes of brilliance lit up the target. He staggered and spun away with pieces of him blown off and splattered everywhere.
"Winters?" Agent Meroë called into the cave from behind us.
"Enemy down." Detective Winters confirmed. We stepped over the shot apart remains and saw candlelight ahead. One of the sorcerers sat with his back to us and a stone painted in sacrificial blood was adorned with the crown. It looked like a golden miter with many orange fiery jewels set into it and a rune that looked like a backwards capital 'R' with two horizontal lines crossing it and a hyphenation above it. The rune was glowing red like it was heated and charged with energy.
"Kill me and take the crown." The Illuminated said with his back to us. "You won't get very far."
"I'll take my chances." Detective Winters shot him in the back of his head, executing him. "Get the crown."
"Cover me." I said as I stepped forward and went for the crown. Before I could reach it my blood froze. Smoke was rising from what appeared to be a naked body, covered in a layer of oil and curled up kneeling face down on the floor of the cave. As it slowly rose, moving in a way that was unnatural for its vaguely human shape, it began to smolder. Then, as its eyes opened, the creature suddenly burst into flames, white and bright yellow.
From where I stood I could almost get around it to get past it and reach the crown. A few steps to its left would place it directly between me and my goal. Detective Winters began unloading his weapon into it and it took no damage from the gun. Instead it seemed annoyed that he had attacked it.
I screamed in terror as it took strides towards Detective Winters. He reloaded the weapon with a spare drum of ammunition and began firing at it as he backed away, leading it from where it stood guarding the crown. I was sweating and cowering where I stood, staring at the burning horror. Every shotgun blast rocked it and slowed it but did no visible damage to it.
"Get it! Get it!" Detective Winters bellowed a command at me as I stood frozen. I went for the crown and suddenly the creature turned with unprecedented speed and darted to intercept me. I realized it was only driving Detective Winters back and had not abandoned its guarding of the crown. A wave of scorching heat struck me and blazed my clothing in flames. I stopped and threw myself down, rolling until I was extinguished. I had minor but painful burns on my chest and biceps where it had struck me.
"I command you to silence!" Cory's voice echoed in the vibrating cave after the shotgun blasts ceased. I looked up and saw he stood gripping the rim of the crown, almost wearing it. "In the name of Pheriel: I invoke the regency of all fire and I do command your light to dim and your attack to stop!"
The burning creature halted and knelt, its flames dying down until it was smoldering. It folded itself back up the way it had looked when I first saw it and then it stopped smoldering and it became as an oily body that was smoking. Then, without a magical will designing its form, it became as a heap of ashes and coals. I coughed and climbed painfully to my feet. The burns made me moan in pain and I staggered from the cave and fell down. Detective Winters captured the crown and emerged a moment later with Cory on his shoulder, the crown in one had and his weapon in the other.
"It is time to retreat." Agent Meroë decided. The wounded were helped back to our vehicles and when everyone was loaded in, Agent Pyresh arrived and got into the last car. We drove out of there leaving the dust going the opposite way.
Agent Saint had to let Detective Winters drive, as she had cracked ribs and was in a lot of pain. She manned the radio, telling the National Guard that we had acquired our mission objective and were heading back.
Not long after we returned, and received care for our injuries, we were debriefed by the arriving Lieutenant Colonel Scipio. We all sat around exhausted and bandaged. The crown sat on a table in the lobby of La Cucharacha. "I was told you have fought the terrorists here twice now. You captured this artifact of theirs."
"This artifact is what this is all about." Detective Winters appreciated the fact he was saying.
"The National Guard responded to an unknown disaster, arriving eight hours ago. Turned out this was a terrorist attack. Except we still don't know what we are dealing with, is that correct?" Lieutenant Colonel Scipio asked.
"Calling the Sons of Araek terrorists is incorrect. They are actually powerful Lemurian gods that want nothing and will destroy everything." Cory spoke up.
"The crow speaks." Lieutenant Colonel Scipio seemed unsurprised.
"You are aware of our special designation?" Agent Saint coughed.
"I am. I am going to tell you all something that is strictly confidential, need-to-know-basis. I am trusting you with this information because I am expecting you to help me if I tell you what I brought to this battlefield. Am I acting on good faith." Lieutenant Colonel Scipio told us. "Advanced Response To Hostile Unknown Species was specifically requested by Medic General Lothstone. How he knew of a classified unit is actually, itself, classified. Under the circumstances, battling Lemurian gods, you need to know. He knew of it because part of the unit consists of personnel that were recruited from under his command. In other words: ARTHUS is partially hand picked by Medic General Lothstone." Lieutenant Colonel Scipio divulged.
"That is incredible that such a thing even exists." Agent Heller commented.
"It is nothing compared to the off-books in the Army. Psi Research began in the Army back in the Sixties. The unit we have in the National Guard is very new. They were formed under my command and I am the one who classified them. Keeping the details of ARTHUS from you reduces their combat effectiveness. I want to deputize you as volunteers to accompany them into town on a search and destroy mission." Lieutenant Colonel Scipio briefed us.
"We accept the mission, right guys?" Agent Saint smiled painfully. Everyone agreed. Lieutenant Colonel Scipio looked around and had a proud look on his face when he commented:
"Good. I expect flying colors."