The Black Madonna (The Mystique Trilogy) (26 page)

‘I’m fairly well read on the subject,’ Emmett offered, urging Killian to spit out what he knew.

‘Well, they said the Montauk wormholes could be extended further back in time by using a time rift created in 1923 as a bridge between the wormholes of the past and those more recently created.’

Killian shrugged, perplexed, but Emmett and I both nodded, greatly interested.

‘What happened in 1923?’ I probed.

‘Some Nazis apparently tried to create a time hole back to the time of King Arthur. They were seeking the Grail for Hitler—’

‘Project Phisummum,’ Emmett broke in. ‘It’s said they harnessed all natural and supernatural forces, from modern technology to medieval black magic, from the teachings of Pythagoras to the pentagram incantation, to create a wormhole back to the time of King Arthur’s final battle.’

This confirmed my belief that the Nefilim were seeking the Rod of Power, for it had made its final appearance in the physical world at the battle of Badon Hill.

I was deep in thought when Killian spoke up again. ‘Now can I know who this prince is?’

‘He is my soul mate in the next dimension above Earth’s evolution,’ I explained. ‘We consented to come to Earth together with the sole purpose of redeeming our lost kindred. However, as with all the lost souls banished to this lowest dimension after the catastrophe on Tara, only by evolving through many lifetimes did we remember our soul quest and our connection to each other. As punishment for the sins of our fallen brethren, Mathu and I were only permitted to incarnate together twice. Once, when we first incarnated into the dying line of the Anunnaki here on Earth, and the second time in this, our final lifetime as human beings. The only problem is…I’m yet to find him in this lifetime.’

Killian appeared enchanted by the tale and smiled winningly to realise he was suspected of being my prince.

I glanced at Emmett and was surprised to find him in tears. ‘No, that’s not right,’ he said.

‘What’s not right?’ I asked, but he was engrossed in his own contemplation.

‘That note,’ he muttered, ‘I’ve heard you sing it before.’

‘You think
you
’re her prince?’ Killian scoffed.

Emmett’s gaze suddenly became focused on me and I saw the truth in his eyes. ‘In a cathedral filled with great works of art—’ he began.

‘Oh, come on!’ Killian rolled his eyes but I hushed him.

‘The Hall of Time Codes,’ I said, completely transfixed by Emmett’s words.

‘—you sang that note,’ he went on, tears flowing down his cheeks, ‘and the sonic drove me to my knees.’

I gasped as I too recalled the event he described, for indeed he spoke a truth that even I had forgotten. Mathu’s spirit had been present the day we took down Pintar, leader of the Dracon, for Pintar was the embodiment of Mathu’s alter ego—all that was evil about him from his time as one of the Nefilim. Mathu had used an incantation of the dark arts to separate this evil alter ego from himself and had transferred it into one of the Dracon. He planned to kill the Dracon once the purge was complete, thus destroying his dark side forever. But after the purge, Mathu had no bad will left in him at all and let the Dracon go, and the evil thought form, Pintar, became Mathu’s nemesis throughout the ages. Until, in the Hall of Time Codes, as I sang my enlightening song, Mathu’s spirit bonded itself to Pintar and, in claiming his dark half and forgiving himself, Mathu finally defeated his adversary.

Emmett was shaking violently, overwhelmed by the sudden waves of awareness. ‘What is happening?’ he stammered as I gripped his shoulders.

‘Sorry,’ I apologised in advance, ‘but I have to do this.’

As our lips met, my heart exploded in my chest. I felt a stream of light energy burst forth from my heart centre into Emmett’s heaving chest, and vice versa. His kiss lost all its reserve and became as hungry
as my own. I felt his young body transforming in my arms. The teenager matured into a being equal in stature and maturity to myself.

‘Hey, guys, there’s something going on,’ Killian called out.

My eyes were closed but in my mind’s eye there was light everywhere. Being in Mathu’s arms felt like coming home after a long and perilous solo voyage, and I wasn’t prepared to cut short this sensation for anything!

‘I’m serious, folks!’ Killian’s tone was more desperate this time. ‘I think we’re being gassed!’

I opened my eyes and saw my beloved standing before me. His eyes were deepest violet, and his hair was like snow cascading over his shoulders. I wanted to greet him, but a stinging chemical aroma invaded my nostrils and throat. My eyelids closed again, as heavy as lead, and my body collapsed beneath me.

My last awareness was of Mathu whispering ‘My queen’ as he fell to the ground alongside me, and fate stole us from each other once again.

M
IA
D
EVERE
—MERIDAN

I was very grateful to be a master of etheric matter as I headed into such hostile territory; I was invisible before I even entered the facility located deep underground beneath the Montauk Air Force Base, Long Island.

When the vacuum of the porthole died away, I was left standing on a platform inside a massive, almost completely spherical metal chamber. Before me was a pod suspended over the void at the centre of the chamber via a long walkway. It held one seat and was entirely enclosed. Its shield window was facing me and so I could see it contained one occupant, but, due to the ambient lighting inside the pod and the outer chamber, I could not define his or her features. There were large metal umbrellas attached to the top of the pod and its underneath—most likely a transmitter and receiver, I deduced—along with many coils and other conductors coating its exterior.

The Montauk Chair?

I looked around the chamber. There was another control deck set higher up in the structure, where several military men and a few Dracon were obviously overseeing the proceedings in the pit below. Behind the control panel I could see two small alien beings, known as Greys.

The platform I was standing on overlooked the deep dark void where the floor should have been; an antenna dropped from it an
indeterminate length into the darkness. An enclosed observation deck circled the rim of the entire room, its transparent tubelike structure ensuring an unhindered view of all areas of the chamber. Behind me was a huge white cement screen, the wormhole now fading on it like the ending to a film.

I was horrified to see that Levi had followed me through the porthole. He stood with Killian Labontè on the landing platform, looking bemused not to find me there too.

A trapdoor opened in the platform between Levi and myself, and one of the Nefilim, accompanied by several armed Dracon, rose up through it.

Levi bowed his head to the new arrivals. ‘My Lord Erragal, Timewalker 456143 returning to report on Project Horse.’

‘What the hell?’ The towering Nefilim looked baffled and turned to those at the control deck above. ‘Why do I have an operative returning from a mission in AD6037, when all I ordered was a wormhole to the other side of the planet?’

Everyone looked confused.

Erragal turned to Killian, who was standing as far from the aliens as possible. ‘Is he one of the Amenti staff?’ he demanded.

‘I don’t know.’ Killian was puzzled. ‘This isn’t the man I persuaded to follow me.’

‘So where
is
the Amenti staff member you were instructed to bring back?’ The demi-god was beginning to lose patience.

‘How should I know?’ Killian spat back. ‘He was right behind me, then…’ He shrugged. ‘Look, I did what you said. Now I want to see Tamar.’

My heart skipped a beat. How on Earth had the Nefilim got their hands on my daughter? And how had Killian Labontè ended up back in the year 2003? Was
I
still in 2003? They were all good questions and only Killian had the answers.

‘How many life forms came back through the porthole?’ the Nefilim lord asked the control tower above.

‘Three,’ came the response through the speaker system, and the Dracon snapped to attention, realising there was one unaccounted for.

‘Fucking shamans!’ Erragal hissed. ‘Castor can change form.’ The lord’s dark eyes scanned the huge void before him for any sign of movement. ‘If there is so much as a flea within this chamber I want it caught!’

Dracon and military personnel alike jumped into action all around the observation deck.

‘And you, Timewalker 456143, are coming with me,’ Erragal said, sounding disbelieving of Levi’s claim. He gripped Levi around the neck and pulled him onto the moveable platform, followed by two Dracon hauling Killian. As the lift appeared to be the only way on or off the launch platform, I was quick to hitch a ride too.

I was surprised to find it no effort to hold my breath all the way through the descent—just one of the many perks of being an Amenti staff member that I was discovering on a daily basis. The lift continued past the observation deck and down several floors to the correctional facility—I really didn’t like the sound of that.

‘Humans…you literally make me feel sick!’ Erragal complained to his captives.

The doors opened behind me, startling me, and I leapt backwards into the corridor to avoid being steamrollered by the other occupants. Thankfully, there was no one waiting for the lift or I would have surely bowled them over.

‘Take him back to the holding cell,’ Erragal instructed the Dracon holding Killian. They went one way, and Levi was dragged by Erragal and the remaining Dracon guard in the opposite direction.

Levi knows what he’s dealing with
, I thought quickly
. I need to get some answers from Killian Labontè first
.

The young rebel was tossed into a corner of the cell. He didn’t get up and retaliate as I’d expected; it seemed his will to fight had abandoned him. His dark fringe fell over his bruised face, and his long lean body looked rather beaten too. I could see why young women the world over were going nuts over this guy; even ‘victimised’ looked good on him.

‘Where’s Tamar?’ I asked. I expected to hear Castor’s voice coming out of my mouth, but it was my own. I reached around to check on the auric simulator and found it was missing.

‘Mia?’ Killian moved to rise.

‘Stay as you are, in case you’re being watched,’ I said.

He returned to his slouched pose. ‘They could be monitoring sound too,’ he pointed out.

‘This is a large correctional facility, they’d go insane trying to monitor audio in every cell.’

Nevertheless, I crouched low to speak with him softly. He reached out and made contact briefly.

‘You’re fucking invisible!’ He was flabbergasted. ‘You’re one of them, aren’t you? Those Amenti angels that have got the freak show around here so shit scared.’

‘An eloquent assessment,’ I said. ‘Still, let’s talk about you. How you ended up in 2003, for example?’

‘I’m in the past?’ Killian suppressed his shock. ‘When I saw the setup they have here, the control deck and all these fucking
aliens
, I thought I was surely in the future!’

‘Bugger,’ I muttered, realising he wasn’t going to be much help. ‘How did the Nefilim get hold of Tamar?’

‘She marched naked into Irkalla and confronted Erragal and his bitch directly, demanding to see Ill.’ Killian’s eyes filled with admiration. ‘Even though it seems I’m not her prince, I’m really grateful for what she did for me.’

‘Tamar found her prince?’ I was breathless with anticipation for more information. ‘Emmett Rich,’ I realised, before Killian could say it. He nodded and I grinned. So Albray and Sinclair had been right about that after all. ‘Where are Tamar and Emmett now?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know. I don’t know where
I
am! If it’s 2003…damn, there’s an eight-year-old version of me here somewhere.’

Then a thought hit him like a meteor falling from on high. I saw it land in his consciousness and ignite his being into action. ‘I could warn my parents about the Nefilim and they could—’

‘Oh no.’ I was quick to squash any such thought. ‘The repercussions of changing history—’

‘—would be great for my family!’ he interrupted.

‘No, Killian, nothing would change. Don’t you see? Your parents, love them as you do, were driven by power and money. And unless
that were to change, the same fate awaits them no matter how you try to get around it.’

Killian gave a defeated sigh.

‘That was their way,’ I said on a more encouraging note. ‘But it doesn’t have to be yours.’

‘What can I do?’ he said despairingly. ‘I rebel…that’s all I do.’

‘Rather than rebel against an enemy, I find it better to outwit my foe.’

‘How am I expected to do that?’ He waited for a response that never came. ‘Mia? Mia! Don’t leave me here! They’re going to feed me to the Dracon!’

‘I’ll be back,’ I assured him, then melted through the metal wall and into the corridor.

I heard Killian run to the door and slam up hard against it. ‘She just moved through a solid wall,’ he mumbled,’ and gave a half-laugh. ‘Fucking unreal!’

I retraced my steps to the lift where I’d last seen Levi, and continued down the long corridor that stretched in the opposite direction from Killian’s cell. It was deathly silent, but not a peaceful hush; it felt more like the repressed quiet of an awful secret.

Some way ahead a door opened and the sound of hundreds of children screaming shattered the stillness. A Dracon stepped out into the corridor, the door closed behind him and the eerie silence returned.

As soon as the guard had passed me, I hastened to investigate the source of the disturbing cries. Through the observation window in the door, I saw rows of medical cots with young boys strapped to them. Electrodes were attached to their eyes and genitals and they were being subjected to some form of shock treatment. I had to look away as my empathy sensor went into overdrive and I felt a rush of pain.
I have to stop this.

A Dracon guard emerged from a door opposite and interrupted my potential heroics. ‘You can’t do what you plan to,’ he advised, looking directly at me.