TWENTY-TWO

The destruction of the once sumptuous room was nearly complete. The heavy leather chairs and sofa laid clustered in a pile, scuffed, torn and broken. The pile in the corner of the room looked as if a powerful hand had swept them aside. Like a child no longer interested in playing with his blocks.

The hand carved and polished desk of rare zebrawood sat askew in the pile of other furniture, one leg crumpled beneath the heavy top. The rich colors of an expensive Persian rug were now muted by smoke and dust, crumpled in yet another corner of the room. The deep lustrous tones of the mahogany paneling were now infused with raw black burn marks as if a raging inferno had started its devastation and suddenly decided to stop, half finished. In the center of the hand laid parquet floor, the remnant of a pentagram, the intricate sigils, cliffs and ancient runes still partially visible, desecrated the hours of intricate and loving pattern building the floor required to honor the rest of the room.

Devlin sat broodingly in the only chair which remained upright, waiting. He was tired of waiting. He had done far too much since his arrival in Phoenix. He had little choice now but to await the alignment of the planets, so all his intricate details for the opening of the Gate would take place. The Dark Gate would open as planned.

Excited anticipation raced through him at the thought of just the Gate opening. No longer would he have to hide his greatness in the dark, maintaining the low profile he had this last half century. Soon he would come into his true powers. He would step out of the darkness as the savior to the world’s growing problems. He would act as if he was quelling the fear as he took the reins of power from other leaders. When it was too late for rebellion, he would rule with an iron fist of terror; like the world had never seen before.

The masses would bow before him. The populace would worship him as a god. As was his due for the enslavement of the people and opening the Gate. It was his destiny. It was what was promised by the oath he took to the Dark Lord. Be faithful and open the Gate at the proper moment. Oh, how faithful Devlin had been. Now, he would have his power, wealth and dominance over the weak and innocent.

He was tired of waiting for the idiots that Kirkland had sent to Las Vegas to retrieve Mr. Cooper, alive. That may have been a mistake. Evan Cooper was his only real problem before the opening. A problem he would and could take care of. The Dark One wanted this Cooper alive, but Devlin knew in his heart of hearts, Cooper posed a threat to the opening.

Theoretically.

Theoretically a lot could happen, but nothing was going to stop Devlin claiming his destiny, not even the Dark One’s desire. He would find Cooper and crush him, as he would a bug under his shoe. Then he would take his vengeance on the traitorous Kirkland for his disloyalty and disobedience. He was fully aware now of the meeting at Lake Mead on the end of Hoover Dam. Let them plot and plan, and when the time was right, I will strike them both down. Two birds with one stone, or bullet.

At the very least, Kirkland would be dead, and Devlin would have the woman, Cindy Williams. Cooper’s Other. He could use her to lure him into another trap. It was a good, reasonable plan of action. The only problem, he had to wait.

A smile curled his lips into what was supposed to be a smile, but more closely resembled a sneer, to show his happiness. He remembered how the three men had twisted and groveled at his feet. At his request, Morgana asked the men to him. He wanted to question them himself. What had happened in Las Vegas. How had they failed to kill one man, six of them and one of him. With twenty men at his disposal, it was hard to believe that by noon they had lost their man in Vegas. Sammy, the little weasel of a man, had been the most co-operative. Telling everything in graphic detail. Devlin knew exactly what he was going to be dealing with at Hoover Dam.

With Morgana standing behind him, the three men standing inside of the pentagram. The questioning had been very satisfying, even pleasant as he remembered their discomfort. No discomfort was the wrong word; terrified, that was it. Terrified what Devlin was going to do to them if they did not answer his questions. Terrified what Kirkland was going to do to them when he found out about their betrayal to Devlin. Terrified of what Cooper might do to them when he learned of his betrayal too.

It was a no-win situation for the three men. So Devlin told them to take the situation as it came, and right now he had their balls in the wringer. Devlin believed that you get a man by his balls, and his body and heart are going to be there with you. He reached out with his mind, and exerted pressure on the delicate orbs. Increasing the pressure and the three men were all trying to be first to describe what happened in Vegas.

It was an interesting story. Not terribly exciting to hear it recounted, but it gave enough information about his mediocre foe who lacked any originality. It also proved he was vulnerable in his love and care for other people. Devlin could have ‘found an enemy’s weak spot, what he loves the most in life, then stab him in the back with it.’ etched upon his tombstone; he used the tactic so many times. For good measure, more pressure was exerted on their little orbs until all three of the men were writhing on the floor in pain. He gave the men a few minutes rest before starting on the incantation.

From that moment on, Sam, Tony and Ted were his unwitting slaves. They would do anything to be in Devlin’s graces. His first task was to send them back to Vegas and bring him Cindy Williams.

TWENTY-THREE

Valarie watched in silent fascination. She sat in Indian fashion matching Evan and Edgar who held Cleopatra in his lap, ten feet above the ground. Behind her the Winnebago and trailer were also ten off the ground. Evan held everything with his mind. In the center of their little circle, three feet above their heads spun a large yellow ball of pure energy. The glistening translucent ball was a dozen feet across. Inside was a smaller blue ball of greater power, compressed down to a diameter of only four feet. Both balls rotated in opposite directions at an amazing speed.

“Now without reducing the amount of energy in either spheres, compress the central orb and shoot off six one foot diameter spheres with a red amount of energy,” Edgar said in a melodious voice.

She watched as the polar ends contracted causing the equator to bulge. One by one the six red orbs of energy erupted from the blue orb and took up an independent orbit within the yellow orb.

“How do you feel?” Edgar asked.

“Great,” Evan replied, when what he actually felt was exhilaration.

“You don’t feel tired?”

“Not at all.”

“Excellent, now you see how you can tap into the natural lines of energies surrounding the world without interrupting the flow, AND without depleting your own body’s supply. Control is essential to everything.” He absently stoked the cat’s back. “Now take everything back to the ground; gently.”

They descended gracefully to the ground. The trailer rattled a little as it set down on its two wheels. The rotating orb of energy settled three feet above their head still.

“When can I try this?”

“You have to train your brain to do as you desire, before you can attempt something like this,” Edgar said.

“Be patient,” Cleopatra meowed.

“You can release the energy now.”

The six red balls of energy sped through the yellow orb, followed closely by the blue to a height of about seven hundred feet and exploded. Showering millions of particles of color light to drift down to the earth as they dispersed. The noise of the explosions would have been deafening except for the height.

“Show off,” Valarie scolded with a smile. “What if there are other people camping close by, and saw your little show?”

“They’ll attribute it to flying saucers,” Evan smiled. He rose to his six foot one inch height and stretched, before reclining on the ground resting his head on his hand. He looked over at Valerie. “Now it’s your turn. I’d like a beer please. Edgar would you care for anything?”

“Nothing just now, thanks.”

“Your wish is my command,” she answered. A moment later the door to the RV opens and a can of beer floated out to Evan.

Evan looked at the can of beer for a minute, then the can vanished.

“Hey? What did you do with the can?” Valerie exclaimed.

“I put it back. This time don’t open the doors.”

“Then how do I think I’m going to get it?”

“Bring it through the doors, thinking that each has a hole you can reach through to pull it out. You can do it.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Valarie sat trying to visualize the can of beer sitting on the wire shelf in the refrigerator. In her mind she saw the can hovering over the shelf, then gently moved to the door where it stopped. She tugged harder and felt the refrigerator door tugging to open. ‘Think hole.’ Another tug and the can passed through the door to hover over the floor of the RV. Quickly she opened her eyes so she could watch as the beer can appeared outside the Winnebago door. Then it floated over to Evan.

“Thank you,” Evan said as he reached out for the can. He popped the top and was immediately showered with foamy beer.

“Ooops, sorry. The can must have gotten shaken a little by tugging it through the door.” Then she began to laugh at her prank.

“Very funny,” as he passed his hand over his body. He was instantly dry, but the yeasty smell of beer lingered, “I’ll get my own beers in the future.”

“No, I’ll get you another.”

“No shaking it this time,” he admonished.

“I promise.” A new can of beer appeared outside the door, drifting over towards Evan. “I am getting good at this, so when do I get my next lesson?”

“Good isn’t good enough. You have to be perfect. The harder the magic, the greater the risk of mistakes and the pain and consequences you’ll have to deal with. “Have you been practicing the spells for casting down and drawing the proper pentagrams?”

“All day, and I can probably do it in my sleep.”

“Well, when you can we can proceed. You can’t make a mistake, it’s too dangerous.” Concern etched the corners of Evan’s eyes.

“He’s right, Valarie. A tiny imperfection in the pentagram could have disastrous consequences. To the user and the innocent. You never summon anything you don’t have complete control over inside a pentagram, and that you can’t banish back to wherever it came from. Perfection is not an aim for a product, it is a guaranteed product each and every time,” Edgar said.

“How many different pentagrams are there to learn?” Valarie asked.

“Thousands,” Edgar said casually.

“But if she knows five or eight of the basic pentagrams and how to write the ancient sigils, glyphs and runes you should be able to look up anything else you need.” Evan expressed. He turned towards Edgar, “Last night you explained about the convocations and the Guardians or Keepers. You told us how other Keepers are training an apprentice or even two, but you failed to talk about yours. I take it that there is a reason for this omission. Such as, you once did have someone that you were training. But that person decided to stop your tutelage and break away. He or she is now trying to help open the Dark Gate, and is the person I have To fight.”

“You’re right, in part,” Edgar said softly. “I’ve actually tried to train two apprentices. The first one was what, Cleo, about a hundred and fifty years ago?” The cat meowed softly, not even bothering to lift her head, or change her position on his lap. “Thank you, one hundred and forty-six years ago. His name was Samuel Hestner. A good boy, but as it turned out, absolutely terrible luck. He was in a stable with a friend of his who was cleaning his rifle. It went off by accident, the bullet hitting Samuel in the head. He died instantly. He would have made a fine magician. Seventy years later I found Devlin McGuier. As you’ve surmised, he is the one responsible for trying to open the Dark Gate from this world.”

Edgar told the story of almost one hundred years ago, how he found Devlin McGuier at a traveling circus as the resident magician at the side show. His repertoire of tricks ran the gamut of cutting a woman in half to producing pigeons from a pan of fire. The trick that caught Edgar’s eye was when he summoned a spirit. It’s white ghostly form terrorizing the half tent full of people. A week later, Devlin had left the side show to move into Edgar’s Boston brownstone. He was a great student, taking everything in, absorbing the tiniest details to prevail at the higher magical arts. The years passed and it was finally time to introduce him to the Gates on The Ladder Of Light, and the Star Gates. The years passed and Edgar would first take Devlin to a Gate, then later allowing him to cross through the Gate himself. Devlin had become the son that he and his long dead wife had never had together.

After taking Devlin to introduce him to the Guardians of the Gates, they would return and Devlin would learn how to construct the amulets necessary for travel by himself so that he may gain the knowledge and physical enhancements. Somewhere along the way Devlin understood that he was leaving mere mortals behind in both his physically enhanced body and intelligence. Now he only needed money, lots of money and he could enslave a vast populace as the new Messiah. One night he left, taking several grimoires, but not the Ladder of Lights, so he was never able to travel to the last three gates.

Edgar chased after Devlin to convince him to return to the Convocation. To continue his tutelage, and stay on the path of light. Finally, they did meet again and before Edgar could even say a word, Devlin attacked his former mentor. The attack was sudden and vicious, leaving Edgar weak and almost defenseless, but Cleopatra stepped between the two adversaries. She returned a vicious attack on Devlin and while he was preoccupied, transported herself and Edgar back to their Boston brownstone. Immediately, she placed guards throughout the house so no one could enter or leave. That had been thirteen years ago, and it had taken Edgar more than two weeks to return to good health.

“How could Devlin become so evil, to be willing to kill you?” Valarie asked. “How do you try to murder the man who treated you as his own son? I just don’t understand? There were no prior signs to demonstrate that he was changing?”

”Good and evil is not something as easily defined as black and white.” Evan cut in as he tried to explain. “Man and woman are born with both, and I guess is in constant struggle to do the right thing, For most people, it’s multitude of positive and negative emotions that play in our subconscious and conscious mind, like pity, love, tenderness, hate, revenge, greed, avarice, lust, all combine to make us what we are, and the quality of the humanity found in all of us. Sometimes good outweighs evil and you have saints. Other times it’s evil that wins and you have people like Devlin and Kirkland. Usually we’re in between, struggling to keep the balance, showing compassion to others, and that's what keeps us all human.”

You have to understand that Devlin was a brilliant student, very adept and clever in the arts. Since his change though, his capacity to show empathy and compassion has become null and void. I don’t for a moment believe he would hesitate to kill either you or Valarie if you get in his way. It might now be just a viable threat to his goal is enough to sentence you to death. From what you said though, it sounds like he doesn’t know that Valarie is your Other. That is a factor which is huge for us.”

“Why?” Valarie questioned.

“Because you ARE Evans greatest weakness. If Devlin knew about you he would most likely concentrate all his efforts on destroying you to get to Evan. You’re weak, magically by any stretch of the imagination. Through you destruction he takes away a good portion of Evan’s stability, It will distract him and stop him from concentrating as he should,”

“What are Devlin’s weaknesses?” Evan asked.

“I'm not certain any more. What I do know is that Devlin only traveled through the first four Gates. I took him to the other three Gates, but he shall have help from no gate since he has turned his back on the Code. As you have never passed through a Gate, Devlin is lacking the skills and knowledge to apply those skills just as you are Valarie. It is a huge advantage that Evan passed through the Seventh Gate.”

“Does he have a copy of the book?” Evan wanted to know.

“No, as I said all copies are accounted for at the moment, and I doubt he reconstructed the book as you did. As you know, once you’ve passed through the Gate, you do not need the book to return, The difference is the Guardians will not speak with him nor help him in any manner.”

“Can he draw from the power of the first four Gates?”

“No, definitely not. I’ve seen to that myself. He will be aided by any of the Gates.”

“Except for the Dark Gate.” Evan said softly.

“Yes,” Edgar conceded softly. “I’m tired and old. It’s been a long day, and tomorrow you go to meet Kirkland. I suggest we all get some sleep.”

“I still don’t understand why we can’t stay in the Winnebago,” Valarie whispered. Her voice sounded like a petulant child not getting their way. “It’s our RV and I’m cold and the ground is cold and hard, and rocky.”

“The tent will warm up quickly and will be very comfortable. As to the ground being hard, cold and rocky, it is. So why are you sleeping on it?”

“Because that’s where most people sleep when you’re camping. Or did you pack an air mattress?”

“No air mattress, and we are not like other people. Think about it,” and Evan’s voice drifted off as he thought about other things. Last night, it was late when they reached their isolated campsite. The tent and everything else was secured for the night by just before nine. Then as they heated something for dinner they started talking, which lasted until almost four in the morning, so Evan had no time for the thoughts he was entertaining now. Thoughts about how he would like to use his body to keep her warm tonight. Thoughts about the softness of her lips, he soft body pressed against his, the curve of her hips, and the smell of her hair.

“Hey, it’s like a waterbed,” Valarie said excitedly from floating a foot off the ground.

“Would you get down from there and stop playing around?”

“But this is what you meant, we can sleep in the air.”

“Exactly, but not a foot off the ground. You could forget where you are in space as you’re sleeping and fall to the ground. Now come down here to a couple of inches off the ground. You get the same effect. Just safely.”

Evan used his mind to bring Valarie next to him and then began to unzip both sleeping bags. Fortunately, he had the foresight to purchase single bags that could be combined for multiple people. He turned the light down to a soft golden glow.

Reaching into the newly combined sleeping bags he reached for Valarie and pulled her to himself. Their lips touched tentatively, and then with more confidence and passion.

“Valerie,” he whispered, “do you remember in the suite when I said 'later' to you?”

The images and sensations of those kisses standing next to the bar in the Vegas hotel suite overlooking the Strip came rushing back to her with the full impact of when the kisses had actually occurred.

“Yes,” she whispered as the cool air momentarily cooled her skin as the zipper continued to close.

“I’m sorry that it took two days, but it is later now,” He started to unbutton her blouse.

“Yes, it is,” and she felt his right hand grasp her breast over her bra. His head dipped to kiss the top of her breasts.

She pulled his head up to kiss urgently as their hands remained busy undressing each other and pushing the clothes to the bottom of the bag. Evan gently bit and suckled the lobe of her ear as his hands were busy removing her bra.

As his head dipped below the edge of the sleeping bags to kiss the nipples of her now bared breasts, his hands moved to pull her jeans and panties over her feet. Valarie for her part nuzzled the side of his neck, her hands busy too. First the tee shirt over his head and thrown in the corner of the small two person tent.

Soon Evan’s jeans and jockey shorts laid cramp at the bottom of the sleeping bag. Their lips parted as their tongues met to complete their kiss. Hands roamed up and down bare backs. They finally stopped the lower curve of their ass. Valarie pulled Evan to her and felt his hard penis trapped between their bodies. With a few contortions Evan turned so he was astride Valerie and on top. A gentle nudge pushed his penis home.

Valarie was surprised how deep and thick Evan felt inside her. For ten minutes Evan pumped, and brought her to a shattering climax. She forced herself on top and began to ride Evan until she brought herself to another shattering orgasm, several minutes later.

Now on her side, Evan pushed into her knowing that his climax was only moments away. He was positive that this woman in his arms was more than just his spiritual Other. She was his life. He was her life. They were one and would be for eternity.