The Black Madonna (The Mystique Trilogy) (28 page)

‘Forget about me,’ he said, ‘your primary concern must be Tamar.’

The way he spoke, with such insistence, led me to believe he was inferring more than he could say.

‘Understand?’ he insisted.

Only semi-sure that I knew what he was asking of me, I nodded.

‘I want him where I can see him,’ I insisted, ‘before I leave and when I arrive back.’

‘If you arrive back,’ Levi chided Killian, doing nothing to boost my confidence. But then I realised what he was saying: he didn’t want me to return to Montauk, not even for him.

Forget about me; your primary concern must be Tamar.

Once I had the Rod of Power in my hands, Levi was suggesting I head straight back to 2017 to Tamar’s aid. But what about our other stranded Amenti team members—they were sitting ducks here in 2003 with the
Klieo
out of commission.

‘Take him to the general observation deck,’ Erragal instructed his guards, and Levi was removed from the room.

‘You won’t succeed,’ I told Killian and Erragal, but they just smiled.

‘We knew you’d say that.’ The Nefilim motioned to Killian, who pulled a copy of the third book in my trilogy from a backpack sitting on the same table where Tamar’s tolls lay. He slung the pack over his shoulder.

‘I’ve already read the book, you see,’ he told me.

‘Then you know my prediction is correct.’ After all, if I wasn’t victorious, then I’d never get to write the book in the first place.

Erragal gave a hearty laugh. ‘You’re in for a few nasty surprises.’

I wanted to grab the book from Killian and read it myself. ‘You’re bluffing,’ I said.

‘Am I?’ He shoved me towards the door. ‘We’ll see about that, won’t we?’

I was escorted, under guard, back to the Montauk Chair chamber. One floor below the timewalkers platform, Erragal and his Dracon guards exited the elevator, and Killian and I were left alone to wait for our cue.

‘Once Ill takes you over, nothing will remain of you at all,’ I said, wanting to see what reaction I’d get.

‘I hold all the true power,’ Killian assured me. ‘Ill has no power over me that I do not allow.’

‘That might be the case now, but—’

‘You think they control me?’ he snarled, obviously threatened by my lack of belief in him.

‘Of course they control you,’ I said frankly, ‘or else you’d be on the side of humanity and not in cahoots with the fallen!’

He scoffed. ‘Where was humanity when I needed it? You overvalue our species. For the most part, they’re all fucked!’

‘So you go and join forces with the beings who corrupted our evolution in the first place?’ I tried to fathom his reasoning.

‘I am on
my
side!’ Killian emphasised, as the lift began its ascent towards the timewalkers platform. ‘Whatever works!’

The calm smile on his face was so odd, and in such contrast to the situation unfolding, that I suspected his mental programming allowed him to completely detach from his emotions, which made him very difficult to read.

On the platform, the first thing that struck me was the wind sweeping around the circular chamber. The air was alive with electromagnetic energy, which was being drawn from the Earth’s natural energy grid via the huge inverted antenna extending into the void beneath the chamber. The Montauk Chair sat suspended in the null field at the centre of the disturbance.

I glanced over to the observation deck and spied Levi, under guard. He waved me goodbye and I returned the gesture.

‘Come on, we haven’t got all day!’ Killian swung me around to face the huge inward-swirling porthole. It extended so far out ahead of us that it was impossible to perceive where it ended. ‘To Camelot, my lady,’ he said, making light of our situation.

‘Via a bloodbath orchestrated by your friends,’ I chided. ‘What fun.’

‘You’re Aryan-looking—you’ve got nothing to worry about.’

Killian pushed me ahead of him, and I was drawn into the vortex of light and energy and transported another huge leap away from my home time in 2017. As I felt myself swept up in the quantum flux of the time phenomenon, I closed my eyes and focused all my will on contacting my Dragon sisters.

As I projected my thoughts across time and space to my fellow Dragon Queens, something amazing occurred: my spirit separated from my physical form in transit and soared beyond the phenomenon that held me captive. I had experimented with astral projection in the past, but it usually required great concentration and willpower. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I might use this talent to my advantage in this instance.

Beyond the light and turbulence of the wormhole, I was drawn through darkness until I found myself in a grand and ancient chamber. It did not appear to be of the physical world, yet the architecture borrowed from many of the different cultures throughout human history. The room was round, with pale yellow ethereal walls, and a floor and ceiling that glowed like sunshine. Huge pillars of jade green were carved with different dragons representing the varied civilisations across the globe. The dragons were not stationary depictions, however; they clung to their pillars, tails swishing, heads cocked, guarding the chamber below. In the centre of the room was a round table of emerald surrounded by seven tall-backed chairs cushioned with deep green velvet.

Meridan.

I looked around and was relieved to see Denera.
Praise the universe!
I embraced her spirit with my own.
Where are we?

This is the true Dragon Court
, she said.
It is a place of telepathic interface for the Dragon Queens, a conclave that only we may enter.

As I recovered from my awe, my thoughts turned to why I had sought out my sisters; and in the next instant I was sitting at the table addressing them—bar one, for Kali’s seat remained empty.

I advised of what had befallen Levi at Montauk, what I knew of our enemy’s plans and the sad news of Tamar’s imprisonment in Irkalla after finally finding Mathu.

I am sure Levi does not wish me to return to Montauk with the Rod of Power, so what should I do?
I finished.

Killian has Tamar’s invisible ring, you said?
Solarian queried.

When I nodded, she, Thana and Vespera looked very concerned.

Then they already have the Ring of Power,
Thana stated.

No,
I objected,
that can’t be, it’s still safe inside Mount Serabit.

But when Solarian filled me in on what had happened at Mount Shasta, I realised their claim was completely justified.

Oh my…
I said as everything around me swirled into a blur and then back into focus.
I feel giddy
.

Meridan, listen, your transmission’s breaking up,
Denera said urgently.

What about Tamar and Levi?
I protested as the dizziness washed over me again.

Leave them to us,
Denera said.
Only you can unbeach the
Klieo.
You must use her…to…

My perception blurred completely and I was drawn away from the warm glow of the sunny chamber, through the darkness and into the vacuum of the wormhole back to the past.

A
SHLEE
G
RANVILLE
-D
EVERE
—SOLARIAN

After we lost Meridan, my consciousness lingered in the Dragon Court long enough to hear Denera’s advice on what she felt to be our best course of action.

As soon as the
Klieo
’s conference room doors opened, Arcturus was upon me, demanding news.

‘Denera confirms that your plan is sound,’ I said. ‘We must use the Inner Earth transit system and the already activated Signet stations to reach and open the remaining stations.’

‘And to get to Montauk,’ Arcturus added.

‘Montauk is no longer your destination,’ I replied.

He objected, wanting to go to his wife’s rescue.

‘Arcturus,’ I took hold of his hands to calm him, ‘Meridan is no longer there, nor anywhere you can reach her. Your daughter, however, is being held prisoner in Irkalla and is being used to blackmail Meridan into doing the bidding of the fallen.’

Arcturus was floored by the news. Before he could voice the many questions he had, I relayed all Meridan had told us.

‘So the Nefilim have the Ring of Power,’ Arcturus said, glancing at Polaris who had insisted on giving the ring to Tamar. For once my husband was humbled.

‘She wasn’t to know what she was giving away,’ I defended her.

‘Great goddess!’ Castor was looking pale too. ‘They’re going to attempt to take the rod right out of my hand!’

‘Meridan won’t relinquish the treasure to anyone, but she is relying on us to free Tamar so she won’t suffer for her,’ I explained.

Arcturus’s mind boggled at his task, desperate as he was to take action. ‘How the hell do I get into Irkalla?’ he said.

Dexter held his hand up. ‘I can get you there. It’s a fairly dark time on Earth at present, so my Signet station should take us directly in the back door.’

Arcturus was confused. ‘But your station leads to Parallel Earth in the future. How will that help Tamar now?’

‘Parallel Earth and Irkalla exist outside of time,’ Dexter pointed out. ‘If Tamar is being held there, then we’ll find her.’

‘I’m up for an adventure,’ Castor piped up.

I forced a grin of apology. ‘You have to stay with the
Klieo.
’

‘Why?’ he demanded, frustrated to be left behind again.

‘Because Meridan is currently screwing with the events of your past, which means your reliability will be in question until she returns.’

Castor didn’t like it but he couldn’t refute the reasoning.

‘Tell Meridan to deliver the
Klieo
back to my station, and we’ll meet you in Nova Scotia after we’ve retrieved Levi,’ Polaris instructed.

Castor nodded.

‘Not to worry, my love.’ Talori moved to console her partner. ‘There’s plenty of action awaiting you in 2017.’

‘Keep in touch,’ Castor said to his male colleagues, tapping his finger against his temple. They had a telepathic interface, just as we Dragon sisters shared our own communication network.

‘Fingers crossed we’ll hear from Levi soon,’ Polaris said, heading towards the door. ‘Every hour counts,’ he reminded us. ‘The longer we’re here the more we’re prone to change the future.’

‘Beat you back here then,’ Arcturus challenged.

‘My friend,’ Polaris said with a grin, ‘in your dreams.’

M
IA
D
EVERE
—MERIDAN

As the draw of the wormhole lessened, its already ominous frequency increased dramatically, warning me that the most nefarious energy I had ever felt lay dead ahead. With every ounce of my being I wished to flee in the opposite direction; not because I feared confronting the source, but because the extremely low vibratory frequency made me feel physically ill and weak.

When my consciousness rejoined my physical body I was standing in the midst of a horror that completely shattered my hope in humanity; for although there were reptilians and Nefilim present, disguised as human beings, most of the willing participants were human. This evil gathering was taking place in a huge underground grotto, its walls hung with the symbols of the Third Reich. There was a deep pit in the centre of the space, piled high with tiny human skeletal remains, rotting corpses and the mutilated bodies of the dead from this day’s activities. Around me, an orgy involving the rape and torture of young children was in full swing, along with several blood sacrifices including the murder and consumption of newborn babies. I have no desire to describe this horrendous scene any further; suffice to say that only the most debased human acts have the power to attract and excite demons to such a level that they will cooperate in creating a tunnel through time for their conjurors.

The master of ceremonies overseeing the proceedings had the darkest aura of any human being I had ever seen. He was focused on channelling the empowered demons, which were feeding off the fear being generated by the mass victimisation, into a whirlwind over the pit of death in the centre.

I looked at Killian, who appeared impassive. ‘Feel pride in your associations now, do you?’ I asked.

‘I don’t feel,’ he replied.

The master of ceremonies remained focused on his evil creation, but all other eyes diverted with awe to Killian and me as we made our dramatic appearance. The porthole we had come through had rocked the chamber on arrival and again on departure.

I held my breath, sure we were the next targets for the bloodthirsty gathering. I longed for an excuse to end this horror for all involved.

Killian noticed my itchy fingers. ‘Take action and Tamar dies,’ he warned.

I tried to calm myself but the rage built inside me. The demons were penetrating my aura—but if I allowed hatred to become my motivating force, I was little better than the lost souls I wanted to punish.

‘The proof of our power,’ shouted the master of ceremonies. ‘Behold the timewalkers I promised you.’

They are expecting us?
I was stunned by this as we had just come from the future. Was this dark human a prophet? Or had this event been planned since the early 1900s?

‘Mercy, be gone!’ he cried, turning my way and grinning horribly to reveal a mouthful of teeth sharpened to razor-like points. ‘Damn those who pity! Drag down their souls to awful torment, laugh at their fear…spit upon them!’

Upon his instruction, the debauchery resumed with a vengeance.

‘Get ready to move,’ Killian instructed. ‘They’ll only manage to open this porthole for a few seconds.’

The dark master raised his hands in the air and the wind tunnel in the centre of the room reached maximum momentum. ‘I am the god of war and vengeance! I will give thee a war engine and none shall stand before thee!’

The wind tunnel fell on its end, a huge burst of energy crackled through the room and a passage through time opened.

‘Go!’ Killian grabbed my arm and charged us forward, taking a flying jump over the pit of death and into the wormhole that was already collapsing in on itself.