EIGHT
The tower stood draped in the clouds at the edge of the cliff, high above the rock shoreline below. Gazing down, he stood on the narrow balcony that encircled the whole room. He felt before seeing the neon blue lights radiating from his fingertips to open the door to the room.
The odor of burnt sulfur assailed his nose as the shuttered doors opened outward. He walked into the room choosing to no longer breathe the fetid air. It was empty, but the presence of what had been lingered; permeating the floor, walls and ceiling. The silver pentagram still pulsed with heat. The names of the dark powers still glowed along the rafters and around the room with their hatred of this world. Every detail of the room was fixed in his mind; from the pentagram with sigils and runes to the incantation in the wooden mantel above each hearth. He would be able to reproduce every nuance with vivid details later when he committed his memory to paper.
Then he heard the knocking. An insistent knocking at some door in a distant place. He flew through the air towards the pounding noise. The sound of the knocking was intrusive. Try as he might, the pounding would not stop nor go away.
He roused himself from his slumber. His body felt sore and stiff, as he moved into a sitting position at the edge of the bed. Valarie stirred next to him. He knew that she would awaken soon to rush off. Who was trying to beat his door down?
Tying the belt on his robe, he started to feel stronger; the stiffness dissipating as he moved the ten yards to the door. At the door, he remembered the guards he had set the previous night. With a sure swift movement of his left hand and fingers, the guards evaporated into the air. The knocking continued unabated.
Opening the door he saw his best friend, David. Worry had etched fine lines around the corners of his mouth and eyes. Instinctively he understood that he was responsible. He reproached himself for not having foreseen it.
“My god,” David gasped as he stood in the doorway. “What's happened to you? Where have you been?”
“Keep your voice down,” Evan said. Just as the words were passing his lips, Valarie appeared in the doorway to the bedroom.
“I can’t believe how tired I feel.” She yawned and asked,”What time is it?”
“About twelve-thirty,” came the automatic response from David, stunned by her presence.
“If she’s been here the whole time with you, then she missed a lot more than a half day at work,” David said as he watched her go into the apartment next door. “You haven’t answered a text or a call in the last three days. That’s why I came over. Mr. Lewis, for one, is really pissed. He has that contract with the penalty clause, and it looks like it just might kick in since we’re so far behind. How could you do that to him? Or just ignore my texts and calls?”
“There are good reasons why I’ve done what I’ve done. If I could have done it differently, I certainly would have,” Evan said as he turned to head back into the bedroom.
“If I could explain it better I would. All that I can promise is that Mr. Lewis’ contract won’t be late. It might take up to the very last minute, but we won’t be late.”
“Evan, you’re his best welder but even you aren’t that good. And why can’t you tell me these good reasons for disappearing for two and a half days? We’re supposed to be best friends, and that means we tell each other everything,” David said as he followed Evan into the bathroom.
The robe came off and was rehung on the back of the door. David was always a little envious of Evan’s strong muscular body. He knew that Evan didn’t do any exercise or go to a gym. Ever. Still he had the body of an Olympian. In the reflection of the mirror over the sink, David saw the raw, red splotches on his chest and both sides of his neck.
“What the hell have you been doing? Those look like burn marks! How in the hell did you get those?”
Evan looked at himself in the mirror. His fingers lightly grazed over the tops of the raw red marks. He jerked his hand away, as if burnt from the heat radiating from those marks. He knew that those spots were where the lightning struck his body.
Knowing that they were there, his body would now start to heal, and by tomorrow, they would be gone. He also noticed the new gray hair at his temples. He’s changed once again, and the physical changes are more prominent than usual. Each journey to a Gate had brought changes, physical and mental.
In the past the changes had always been subtle. His movements had become more graceful; dexterity had greatly increased. Another journey had brought stronger, more defined muscles which he falsely attributed to working out. He never explained how or where he had been working out.
Another Gate had given him perfect skin, blemish free and even old scars disappearing. If he injured himself, he would heal within a few days.
Mentally, each journey had increased his understanding of how the universe worked. Inter-relationships between different factors, all dependent upon the other for a harmonious balance. Each trip allowed access to greater portions of his brain; telekinesis being one of the simpler tasks that he quickly mastered.
David had a little idea of what Evan’s mind could do, but nothing approaching his full abilities. He had watched as he did a simple transformation and baffled David’s eight year old son, Grayson. No one had any idea that when he made something disappear he was simply moving it to another place in the universe for safe keeping. David kept encouraging Evan to try to become a professional magician. He was now more than equal to all the greats.
Now he wondered what new abilities would manifest themselves. How would he find the two people who could aid in his quest to save mankind. The mysterious person who would help and guide. The equally mysterious person who was aiding in the opening of the Dark Gate. Would he be up to the task set before him? Would he gain his new knowledge and understanding fast enough to stop the Gate from opening?
“I’ll bet it’s got something to do with your magic,” David said, interrupting Evan’s thoughts. He watched as Evan slipped out of his robe and into the shower. Steam immediately began to fill the small room.
“Evan you owe me an explanation. What’s really going on? For months both Judy and I have worried about you and your behavior.”
Evan knew that if anyone would understand it would be David. How do you tell someone about the horror, fear and torment that was so integral to the story? As he showered and over the sound of the shower,
Evan said,
“About nine months ago do you remember saying that I had a haunted look?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I had a series of dreams; no, I take that back, a series of nightmares. Terrible dreams of unbridled horror and suffering. I didn’t know what they meant other than they were somehow tied to my own future.”
He stopped as the vividness of the nightmares came to mind. David stood stiffly by the door, his breath came in ragged gasps as he watched the images flash into his mind, somehow projected from Evan’s. Images of a burned out city. A little girl playing with a human head, as if a new toy. A woman slaughtering a baby, then turning the knife on herself. Pain, horror, torment and anguish washed over his mind and tears began to run down his cheeks. It took all of his strength to raise his hands to his head.
“Stop it,” he yelled. “Stop it please.”
His cries echoed off the tile and into the apartment. Evan quickly turned the water off, and grabbing a towel from the rack, stepped out of the shower. He saw David on his hands and knees, head almost touching the floor as he rocked back and forth.
“What’s the matter?”
“I can’t stand the pain and suffering.”
“What pain and suffering? Why does it hurt?”
“It’s your dream. I saw your dreams, your nightmares. How have you been able to cope? Where did all the horror begin? Oh god, you have to make it stop.”
In an instant Evan realized what had happened. One of his new powers: the ability to transfer his thoughts to other people. Everything from the imagery to the raw emotions associated with the pictures. Placing his hands on both sides of his head, Evan recited a simple incantation. David raised his tear streaked face, as the pain dissipated. His eyes still reflected the panic he felt moments ago.
“I’m so sorry David. I had no idea I could do that now.”
“Those were your nightmares. How do you deal with the pain and anguish?”
“I’m still living with it. Everyday, all day. It’s part of me now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me or Judy?”
“How?”
“Well you did a hell of a job just a few seconds ago.”
“I guess I did, and I’m so sorry.”
Helping David to sit on the edge of the bed. Evan quickly dried and dressed. It was time for David to know the whole truth. Making certain the physical pain was gone, Evan slid into some jeans then sat next to David.
“I’m going to show you what I’ve done and learned about real magic, not the slight of hand or distraction that show magicians use. Real magic is very different. What you are about to see is what happened to me, but it may look and feel like it’s happening to you. Nothing can hurt you. The images are only shadows of the past. Are you sure you want to do this?”
David nodded. Evan placed his hand on his shoulder. Instantly, David sat up straighter and his eyes closed.
He was traveling at a tremendous speed. Stars zipped past. Around him the universe moved by as if traveling at close to the speed of light, his body felt as if it were standing still.
Now he stood in what looked like dense fog. It was hard to distinguish shapes or directions. Color lights of varying heights passed by as he sought one with a specific light combination. Finally the light was before David, and a conversation ensued that David did not understand. The language was old and almost forgotten, but the conversation flowed freely.
David recognized Evan’s dinette, the bottles of ink, quills and sheets of parchment scraped so thin to form sheets of paper. Perfect for the creation of a book. The smell was horrendous, but he watched in fascination as the desiccated body sat and wrote the book, page after page. After weeks of work, it was completed. Evan bound the pages together, sewing them first and encasing them in a thick leather binder. The book had been created anew.
Months were spent reading and rereading the book. The arcadic words form complete ideas in his brain. Finally he felt confident in the words and himself. He crafted the first amulet and chain from copper with careful precision.
The gods of the four base directions paid their homage as the incense was set afire in the four small braziers at the edge of the round table. A few drops of blood fed the larger central brazier and the call for a watcher was cast. The giant black flat headed dog appeared to emerge from the dark corner as he barked to acknowledge his existence.
The command to keep his corporal body safe was said in the ancient tongue. Darkness enclosed David as he sped through the cosmos. Then he stood before the Gate that stood so mammoth to his stature. The Gates were constructed of the deep blue od lapis lazuli. He recognized the same sigils around the gate that he had seen on the table in that room so far away. A voice challenged his presence. There was a response and the Gates opened inward. Passing through the Gates, the feeling of great knowledge flooded his mind and body. He felt it grow deep inside.
New amulets and wrist bands were forged. Instead of the inscription of ancient sigils, this time hieroglyphics were meticulously inscribed. The Gate was made of a dull silver material. Another challenge and another correct response. The Gates slowly opened and an old man with long flowing gray hair and beard beckoned him to enter. Upon his head was a crown adorned with a hundred horns. The edges of his robes glowed with the same hieroglyphics on his wrists and chest. His voice was soft and comforting. As he spoke images of what he said appeared in his mind. David grew to understand more than the basic workings of the universe. Strength flowed through his mind and body.
For the first time circlets for his ankles were slowly made, along with the large breastplate and circlet for his head. Twice he had to start over due to a tiny scratch made as his hand slipped along the delicate sigils and runes.
Finally the copper tower loomed in front of David. The Gate was hard to look into directly. From various angles he saw the beautiful array of flowers and foliage, the color of the rainbow. Animals from the world and mythology roamed the magnificent fields. The soft challenge arrived as expected. The answer given and the Gate opened inward. Passing through the Gate, he rose as if standing on a soft cloud. At the top, in a field of flowers stood the most beautiful woman David had ever seen. She was dressed in a long flowing gown. A soft wind blew to uncover the same breastplate Evan had created as part of the complete armor made of
silver. At her left foot laid a lion and lamb side by side. By her right foot lay a griffin. Over her right shoulder was a startling amber unicorn. She smiled, a beneficent smile filled with love and tenderness. Calmness encompassed David and he felt serene as his body grew stronger and love filled him for all creatures of the universe.
Now wearing the silver armor beneath his own breastplate, David felt himself falling and almost panicked until he heard Evan’s voice in the back of his mind telling him to relax and breathe deeply. His descent abruptly ended before a wall of fire. The heat threatened to melt the skin from his body. The silver armor provided safety for his body.
Walking along the wall of fire, he finally came to a Gate constructed of the blackest jet stone. Carefully David read the sigils and runes without speaking the words in his mind. The Gate opened and he was invited to enter. David refused and a creature of scaly skin covering thick muscles and having four red glowing eyes appeared to ask “why?”
A longing for his life palpitated from the creature. Waves of hatred, terror and pain wafted from the open gate to beat against his armor. As a Master would interrogate a slave, arrogantly and savagely, question after question was asked of the creature. Satisfied he had learned the nature of what resided inside the Gate, he understood the vile nature. His first instinct was to banish this creature from existence, but that would create unwanted hostilities. With a wave of his hand, the creature was flung inside and the Gate closed. Rapidly and with great relief he began to rise.
David saw how Evan detailed everything that he did and learned as it happened in volume after volume of his diaries.
The new amulet had a center of pure copper and an outside of pure gold. The new circlet for his head was a braid of both metals. With the finest of engraving points he slowly and carefully crafted the talisman to the Fourth Gate of the Stars. The sun rose as he walked, as he neared the next Gate. The Gate held the brilliance of the Sun. The challenge was issued and after careful compilation for what seemed like hours. The answer was given: Me.
The Gate opened and David crossed the threshold. On a throne of gold, the man sat wrapped in material of finely spun gold thread. Upon his head was a crown of gold with two golden horns. In his hand was a staff,
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the shaft of twisted gold and the head a polished disc of gold which radiated a scintillant light. A voice commanded him to look into the heart of the disc and golden light. His eyes watered and burned as he stared at the brilliance. Life. The one word consumed his mind. He understood the myriad interrelationships of organisms and their life with others and the world. Life. Nature was understood, and the key: life was precious.
David stood in the vastness of the universe looking down upon two flowing rivers of time. To the right flowed what had been. To the left flowed a possibility of what will be. David suddenly understood that it was only a possibility as too many factors determined the actual flow. Sadness and despair filled his soul as he looked upon the river as it flowed past generations to come of destruction, pestilence, tarot and evilness unparalleled in millennia of human history.
Nightmares competed to cause the greatest disturbance in the river of time. His name was called from an unseen place. Desperately calling demanding an answer.
Hours upon hours, weeks upon weeks, months upon months were spent trying to answer the call. Six frustrating times circlets had to be melted and begun again for the merest of imperfections. Time dragged as the nightmares continued and the voice called him forward.
The work is done. New questions plagued his mind. What of the knowledge of the Fifth and Sixth Gates? With each Gate the knowledge was gained as to how to ascend to the next. Now? Now he needed power, and lots of it, raw power, to transcend.
From the vastness of space, light hurtled towards him. It struck in the center of his chest and his neck. Awesome, unbridled, raw power of a magnitude he had never felt before. The power struck, propelling him to the Seventh Gate. No challenging question upon his arrival, only the slowly opening of the Seventh Gate of the Stars. He crossed the threshold and was instantly moved to stand before a handsome man dressed in silver armor and crown and a beautiful woman in flowing gold. This time as never before was his Other with him, side by side.
Explanations of the most intimate working of magic was explained. Greater enhancements were given to the abilities of Gates One, Two, Three and Four. His mind grew as did his abilities. It was explained to him that only the Ancient One selected him to come to the Seventh and highest of the Star Gates. At the table laid with the banquet of foods and drink, a banquet of life, things were explained. They were the Chosen Ones. He held the Power and the Keys to unlock that power for the two of them. She was his Other and He was her’s. Stopping the opening of the Dark Gate was his and her destiny. Fail and the stream of time will remain unaltered from the vision of horrors he had witnessed. Succeed and visit a new Dawn for Mankind.
Evan removed his hand from David’s shoulder. David fell back on the bed exhausted. Slowly David opened his eyes and quietly rose from the bed. He now understood Evan’s entire journey through magic to date. Evan possessed powers no man has ever had before, in David’s mind. Powers that made him more than man, but maybe just short of a god. David moved away from the bed. He edged towards the window and looked down into the asphalt parking lot twenty feet below. Was this new Evan still the same man? When no man can stand before you, are you more than just a man?
Fear filled David’s eyes. His stiff posture by the window told of his insecurity being in the same room with Evan.
Evan wondered if he had shared too much, too fast with his best friend. He had a Herculean task before him, and if he had lost his best friend, it would be even more difficult.
“How did you do all of this,” David asked, breaking the silence in the room.
“Years of study, practice and imagination. The more I read and learned, the more I wanted to know. When I knew and realized it would work, I said to myself, ‘Why not?’ As I got closer to the higher magic, more and more of it worked. Taking me to heights that very few humans throughout time have been. In three or four more years, I would have traveled to the Fifth and Sixth Gates, ending in the Seventh Gate. But they called me sooner; time became a luxury I no longer enjoyed.”
“I know,” David said. “I saw everything you did and how it changed you more and more. I felt it happening to me; which was really you.” Silence filled the room for a minute as they stared into each other's eyes.
“Are you still human? Are you still the Evan that grew up with me?”
“I guarantee that I’m still human. Only a human can prevent the Dark Gate from opening. Am I still the same Evan? No! My experiences of life have made me different, just as the experiences in your life make you different than who you once were. Everyone always continues to experience life and grow from those experiences.”
“Those were not normal life experiences. I could never change as you have.”
“That’s not true. You can go through the same steps that I have and gain the same understanding and abilities. I have not done anything that others of like mind couldn’t do. If you wish, I’d be happy to mentor you; if we get past the Opening of the Dark Gate.”
“You can do so much more with your mind. You’ve evolved beyond what evolution has in store for mankind. You can do things that nobody else in the world can do.”
“No, I know there are other people who have traveled the same or at least similar path that I have chosen. There is one who is aiding in the opening of the Dark Gate. I’ve also been told that there is someone who will seek me out to assist and to help train me.”
Again David looked out the window, feeling he had to escape to think.
“Use the door please. You’ll only hurt yourself if you try to jump,” Evan said. With the hurt audible in his voice,
“You really think I wouldn’t let my best friend leave? We have always been there for each other, no matter what. If you want to leave, then just leave.”
David saw the hurt in his face and the disappointment in his eyes. His own mind was a confused mess. It was exciting, even thrilling to have relived what Evan did as himself. Never would he have had the courage to try any of the things he was shown. But then again, Evan was always the adventurous one of the pair. David never met a rule he didn’t like or obey. Trouble, as kids, was always at the insistence of Evan instigating an event. While David would never think of the things that created the trouble, David did love following along. He was the willing accomplice.
“Prove to me you’re still Evan Cooper.”
“Now you’re being totally irrational David. Do you want to see my drivers license? That answer makes as much sense as your question. I love you, Judy and little Tommy. I would lay down my life to protect all
three of you. I have never lied to you. I’ve lied for you, but you know the difference. We’ve always trusted each other, which is the only reason why I showed you what I did. We’re friends. We’re brothers. We help each other in times of need, and that time is now. David, I’m going to need your help very soon.”
“With your powers, you don’t need anybody’s help. You could go out and tell people to bow down and pray to you. You’re their new god, and you have the ability to back up the claim. With very little effort on your part, people would believe and flock to the new Messiah.”
“Is that what you really think this is all about? I want to be the new Messiah? You think that little of my integrity, and responsibility to my fellow man? I might as well help with the opening of the Dark Gate. Go David, get out now! I think we’re done!”
David was shocked at Evan’s words. ‘They were done.’ Memories flooded back. The secret clubhouse they built with the other boys in the neighborhood. Camping trips to the Misty Mountains and the time they scared each other into thinking they had seen the ghost of Chief Red Hawk. The first time they got drunk. The first time they had sex with a girl, the little football cheerleader they had shared behind the shed in his parent’s backyard. The death of Evan’s parents and him coming to live with David and his family. David’s father had insisted. David’s father would have slapped him upside his head, and told him to act his age and remember who he was dealing with here. You never turn your back on your friends, even if they could scare you to death with their abilities. He knew his current attitude would have made his Dad so mad at him. Don’t even get him started on what his Mom would say or do. He was still Evan. Their Evan and that was all that mattered.
David took a couple of steps back towards the bed.
“I’m sorry. It’s just so much to wrap my mind around. I imagined Dad slapping me upside the head to shake some sense into me.”
“He’d be slapping both of us. Me for going out and getting involved with saving the world. The arrogance of it all.”
They both laughed and the tension in the room evaporated.
“There is still so much I don’t understand, and I have dozens of questions. But you can still rely on me to be by your side to help.”
“Wonderful,” and they hugged. “Let’s go get Mr. Lewis out of trouble, then I’ll try to explain what's happening.”
NINE
The cabin of the executive jet was decorated in rich polished mahogany, deep brown Moroccan leather seats and sofas, gold trim and royal blue accents with tiny white dots. It was a cabin designed to essentially please masculine preferences. Idly he wondered if they had Gulfstream G650s decorated in much softer tones to appeal to the feminine clientele. In this day and age, could this jet rental company afford to come off with such a chauvinistic attitude?
Image was more than just important at this time in history. Image was necessary in creating the tone for how business was going to be carried out. With the right image and mass communications, political lives were made or killed. Billions could be sold on the proper image of a product or disenfranchised from a group.
With Devlin’s abilities and his obsession for power, Edgar wondered why he had held himself back. Why had he not created the illusion of a holy man? He could have tens of thousands of fawning followers, making millions in donations. To not follow this route had to mean he was engaged in something he thought would have a higher return. Definitely something with a higher risk factor. One way or another he hoped that everything would be answered quickly and quietly. No fuss, no muss, no publicity.
Could they really get that lucky?
“Too many people could become involved in this matter, Cleo,” he said softly as his right hand absently scratched the cat’s ear. “Whatever happened to the days when one man called out another? One on one, never dreaming of involving other people.”
“The good old days?” the cat meowed softly. “Time keeps moving forward, good or bad.”
“True, times change, but I can still wish they didn’t. Life was so much simpler a century or so ago. You only had to think about controlling your own life. Today you have to think about what the man next door is going to do.”
The soft purring was replaced by harsh meowing.
“Alright, so I long for the old days, the good old days, but it’s not because I can’t control my world. I still have my powers, and I can summon the extra power I might need at will. I’m not some doddering old
fool that can’t do what has to be done!”
The black cat nestled more comfortably in his lap. The soft deep purr returned. She was very satisfied with herself that she had gotten his spirits back. There were times, especially lately, when a little nudge was not enough with Edgar. She sometimes had to use a cattle prod to get him heading in the right direction.
“I still have my powers,” he said in a barely audible voice, “But not like this new one. He could surpass anything we’ve seen in a century or more. This one could receive real power from the Ancient One.” His eyes closed. His hand had stopped along her back. “We’ll know soon enough,” he mumbled.
The convocation was held in the same house for the last one hundred and twelve years, in Wichita, Kansas. As head of the Keepers it had been his right to call the group together outside the semi-annual meetings. It had actually been his duty. Each had felt his presence. All were aware of the tremendous power this one had wielded. All were now aware that they had to take action, immediately. The wait and see method of management was over.
Seven was their number, although most had a trainee that sat in a chair behind theirs at the table. Seven had been the number for the last one thousand six hundred forty-eight years. Five men and two women currently composed that number. The number of Star Gates on the Ladder of Light, seven. Each was a keeper of a Gate.
Edgar Franklin Goodman was the Keeper of the Seventh Gate, the highest Gate, so therefore the leader of the Keepers. He had chosen three of the remaining six Gates, but all obeyed his commands. Such was the Code of the Gates.
One did not arbitrarily command the powers of the other Gates, so the convocation was called. Each changing their schedule to attend. Akwasi Dlamini and his student, Jabari Khumals from Lagos, Nigeria
Keeper of the Sixth Gate. Elizabeth Bailey with her apprentice, her niece,
Katelynn Pomeroy, Keeper of the Fifth Gate, from Sheffield, England. The Fourth Gate was represented by Carlos Borges, and Tomas Sousa as his apprentice from Sau Luis in Brazil. Li Zhang and his daughter Biyu from Frachau in Nanchang province, in China were the Keeper for the Third Gate. Elijah Merridew and Lucas Whitelock from Mandan, North Dakota, represented the Second Gate. Finally, the keeper for the First Gate is Aanan Chatterjee with Saanvi Gupta from Jaipur, India.
Tapestries, now ancient with time, covered the rich paneling of the
room. Four huge wrought iron floor candle holders along with the candelabra above the table was the only illumination in this room of the house. The large oak table inlaid with the sigils and runes of the Gates occupied the center of the room. The individual sigil for each Gate was embroidered into the back cushion on the high back chairs. Potted palms filling in the spaces not taken with the extra chairs along the walls. In the thick, soft richness of the carpet below the table and chairs, the stars of the Universe twinkled and swirled.
“There is one who has passed through the seven Gates, and until last night we knew not of his passage.” Edgar looked at each Keeper in turn. “I am as responsible as each of you for last night he traveled through the Seventh Gate. My Gate and I take full responsibility.” His last statement broke the tension in the room, as his hand stroked the cat in his lap.
“This person is strong, and unaligned, posing the first of the problems. Whose volume of the Gates on the Ladder to Light is missing? What is their name and where do they reside? The urgency is unmistakable. So we need to join together as one to search.”
There was the general murmur of agreement as each remembered how they had experienced the rapid changes in the world’s energy lines.
“When we do find this person,” Edgar continued, “I shall approach him to make him one with us. The dangers are too great to have him remain unaligned.”
“And if he chooses not to join us?” asked the tall, red-haired lady, Elizabeth Bailey.
“We still need to be assured of his allegiance, that the Code prevails,” Edgar answered.
“No,” snapped Elijah Merridew, “he will have to be destroyed, but not before he answers where he received his copy of the Ladder Of Light, and how he was able to pass through each of our Gates without one of us noticing his coming or going.”
“It will take the combined effort of all of us to beat this one, if that is possible,” Edgar responded.
“And if he does join us? How is that going to work? As an acolyte? There are already seven at this table, with more waiting for their chair.” Carlos Borges asked, Keeper of the Fourth Gate.
“Then he will take his appropriate place at our table, in the seat of the Seventh Gate. He has ascended the Seventh Gate with no help from any at this table. An extraordinary achievement for any of us, ourselves. There is little question that his arts and power warrant this seat.”
“And you?” the two words representing the question in each of their minds, voiced by the eldest in their group, Li Zhang.
“When the time is appropriate, I will take my place on the other side of my Gate with my beautiful Roxanne. I’ve been ready for decades, so there is no debate necessary.”
“Edgar, you’re still so young, not even seeing your half millennium
yet.”
“Age has always been a relative thing to us, just an adjunct to time. I have accomplished more than I set out to do, both succeeding and failing. I am ready to pass through one last time, and that is all that really matters.
The most crucial thing at this time is that he joins us.”
“Edgar is ready to pass, so am I, and as a few of you are also,” said the eldest of the group. Wisps of long white hair thinly covered his scalp with more brown age spots than hair. His skin is dry and wrinkled, but his voice is strong and alive. All new he was over sixteen hundred years old, but exactly? “We have all seen much while doing too little recently. We all know that another great conflagration will be upon us very shortly, and the time for speculation has long passed. We need this one, as part of the group or at least honoring the Code. It is true that once he has developed the fullness of his powers and understands how to use them, he will not need us for any reason outside the logic of belonging. But there is so much he doesn’t understand or control. The last one with this type of power went insane and killed himself. We must strive to make sure he and his Other survive and succeed.”
“The Ancient One has decreed that there be only seven,” Elijah Merridew, the youngest and Keeper of the Second Gate. “The law has been set at seven, and that law shall not be broken. As the new head of the Gates, it would be up to him as to who could sit at this table. If not us, then hopefully our apprentices, and if not them, then who? There must be only seven, but seven at all times. That is the Code, and obedience and honor must be given the Code. We have all sworn to uphold and honor the Code.”
The deep base sound of Akwasi’s voice echoed through the room,
“This one needs us as much as we need him. He lacks control and control of the elements is what is needed if he is to have even a prayer of defeating the Dark One when the planets align. Our moon leads the way for Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn which would allow the Gate to be opened from our side. We all know who is meant to open the Gate from our side, and until now his destruction could not be assured. This person’s needs are now more important than ours. He must be taught quickly and more importantly, they must survive.”
The timeline is set,” Edgar said, ending any further commentary.
“Three weeks to gain their trust and enlist their aid in keeping the Dark Gate closed. If Devlin should be destroyed in the process, so much the better. Now we must join for a name and their location.”
Silence enveloped everyone in the room, as minds were expanded to join with others in search of a common answer. A glow encompassed the group at the table growing brighter and brighter. Eventually, the glow was so strong, nobody could look directly at the members or the table. As each shared their power with the others, the glow became so bright, it was as if the sun had moved into the room. It was almost two hours before any of the seven moved and the glow began to diminish. In another quarter of an hour the solar glow was almost gone.
“Tucson, Arizona,” the heavily accented voice of Carlos Borges said.
“Evan Cooper,” Aanan Chatterjee added.
“His powers are indeed immense. How has he mastered it without help,” Li Zhang asked.
“He is far from mastering his powers,” Edgar responded, “but they are indeed immense. Stronger than I have personally ever seen. The Dark One must surely know of his existence by now.”
“McGuier is searching for him. He is already in Arizona,” Elizabeth said softly. “He still has no idea of either his name nor address, but that won’t last for long. We must hurry.”
“If he chooses not to join us? Do we have the power to destroy him?” Elijah Merridew asked.
“We do as a group,” Li answered.
“He has the True Power,” Edgar said softly. “He was selected by the Ancient One himself. Us having the power to destroy him may be very dubious.”
“What of the girl we saw?” Elizabeth asked.
“She is his Yin,” Li said. “He is aware of her position in his life and stands ready to protect her.”
“She is his weakness,” Carlos said. “If McGuire figures this out, then she is in great jeopardy.”
“Then that just hastens my need to find him first,” Edgar said confidently.
“There is the Code which works in our favor. He has passed through the Gates and thus must honor the Code of the Gates.”
“We believed that McGuier had to honor the Code also.”
“That was different, I took him to the Seventh Gate. He never passed through himself. He might only be able to command the first three Gates, and that is in serious contention.” Edgar argued. “But the fact remains that one can ignore the Code with impunity, or so it would seem.”
“Does that mean he doesn’t have enough power to open the Gate himself?” Elijah asked.
“There is no such thing as impunity from the Code,” Li said fervently. “He will reap what he sowed in his life, and he will have enough power to just barely open the Gate. But open is open.
Edgar promised the convocation that he would hurry, and would prevail. When the Gulfstream G650 lands in Tucson in fifteen minutes, the quest for the sanctity of the Gates would start.