The Black Madonna (The Mystique Trilogy) (46 page)

‘Long story.’ He grabbed hold of my hand and began dragging me back through the palace.

‘Ill plans to melt the South Pole today,’ I yelled over the din of the battle.

‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ Taejax said, and continued to pull me along, at the same time fending off the human bodies falling all around us, who, despite their frenzied bloodlust, were dropping like flies under the more seasoned attack of the Dracon.

‘But he’s going to—’

‘It doesn’t matter what he’s going to do,’ Taejax insisted, ‘as we are going to undo it.’

We passed through the Dracon front line and into the part of the palace they had already secured.

‘We are?’ I said hopefully and Taejax nodded.

‘Provided we can get you out of here before our exit door gets fried!’

‘Tamar!’

I heard my father’s voice, and saw him standing up ahead. I pulled free from Taejax’s grasp and ran towards him. ‘Father!’ I cried, wanting to throw myself into his embrace and revel in the comfort and peace of it as I had when I was young. But Arcturus drew his sword in warning and I slowed. ‘Father?’ I couldn’t stop my welling tears from choking my voice.

‘Is it true that you lured Lugh, Mathu and Killian to their deaths?’ he demanded.

‘Yes, it’s true,’ I spluttered, ‘I killed them myself.’ I lost my breath at the memory, overwhelmed by grief. Eventually, I managed to continue. ‘I had to do it, to get into Irkalla and wait out your return. I thought the Rod and Ring of Power could get us back to the past, but they were rendered useless after the SAC alignment…’ I collapsed to my knees before my father, weeping uncontrollably—there were so many painful memories I had suppressed. ‘I killed Lugh and Mathu for nothing!’ I sobbed. ‘I’d planned to go back and change everything, but now…you may as well kill me.’

‘You know I cannot kill you, I have to take you back with us,’ Arcturus said.

‘But I’ve just got through telling you that I have no way to get us back!’ I wept.

My father’s response was to sheath his sword, and when I ventured to look at him, his smile filled me with joy.

‘You’ve found a way,’ I said, and with the realisation I summoned the energy I needed to stand up again. My actions had been supported and to me that was the universe’s way of saying ‘we were with you all the way’.

‘I’ve missed you, Father,’ I said, my voice hoarse with the relief of being in his presence again.

He embraced me and stroked the back of my head. ‘I will always believe that your intentions are the best, child, but that’s not to say the rest of Amenti’s staff will see it that way.’

‘I know.’

‘The chit-chat can wait,’ Taejax said, urging us to keep moving.

As I was still a little unstable, my father swept me off the ground and carried me in his arms. I allowed my weary head to rest upon his shoulder. It was heartening to know that there was still one place on this screwed-up planet where I felt safe.

‘I’m so sorry if I’ve been a worry to you,’ I said.

‘Sweetheart, you are one of the very few souls on this planet who isn’t a worry to me.’

He kissed the top of my head as we stepped into the elevator and descended to the labyrinth of Ereshkigal.

The porthole back to surface Earth was being guarded by Dexter and several Dracon.

‘Since when have the righteous had such a large contingent of Dracon?’ I asked.

‘Since the time of the RRT,’ Taejax informed me, ‘when I returned to Earth as a Dracon and started enlightening my kindred from within their Underworldly ranks.’

I gasped as I realised something. ‘That would have been another contributing factor to the success of the RRT—no one would have expected the excess of high frequency on Earth at that time to be coming from the Dracon quarter.’

‘Indeed,’ Taejax concurred, ‘the Nefilim consider reptilians to be mindless, souless and so unevolved that they have never attempted to bring my species under the influence of their frequency fence.’

The Dracon around him were amused by this, and I was amused to see Dracon laughing. Beneath their harsh exteriors they were Dracon no longer; they were my people—or at least they were Anu who would one day evolve into the Anunnaki. I knew these Dracon from my time in Irkalla—they were all of high rank—and yet I had never seen Taejax in the Underworld until today. Obviously our ally had been operating behind the scenes, where there was less danger of him being recognised, and these highly placed Dracon had been reporting to him. I was so proud of them all for fighting for their right to evolve despite the long, miserable, lonely plight of
their race. I had always felt one of Ill’s cruellest curses was his decree that all Dracon be male. For the hundreds and thousands of years these warriors had survived on Earth, forced to sustain their existence by the most violent means or to perish as a species, they had never known a loving moment—not the love of a mother, lover or child! What a miracle it was that they could still choose to pursue a path of compassion.

‘Thank you.’ I placed a hand on Taejax’s shoulder to convey my appreciation. ‘Thank you all—you will be rewarded for your devotion and bravery.’ I looked back at their leader. ‘If I were to contact you in the past, Taejax, would you meet with me?’

‘But, of course, Your Highness,’ he said and bowed. ‘I am at your service. However, I had not secured a huge amount of support from among the Dracon before the SAC alignment passed, and it took many hundreds of years to convert so many. I fear—’

‘Fear not,’ I assured him. ‘I have something that should speed the troops to your cause rather more swiftly.’

Taejax looked baffled by my claim. ‘I look forward…or should I say, I look
back
to our meeting with great anticipation.’

I smiled, then thought to ask: ‘How shall I find you?’

‘Lamhfada knows where to find me.’

The name took my breath away. I could hardly wait to get back to the past and find safe and sound all those I had betrayed and mourned so long.

When we returned via the porthole to the control centre of Signet Station One, the station was being rattled by the deep resounding pulses of an imminent electromagnetic blast.

I was all too familiar with the sound, as the last time I had heard it was the last beautiful sunny day on Earth. It was also the last day any being on the planet had known freedom—any being who did not drown, freeze or get burnt to a crisp.

‘We’re never going to make it back to the surface before that fireball gets here,’ Dexter said, leading the sprint to the exit anyway.

‘Run!’ I heard the waiting Amenti staff members yelling at the top of their lungs from just beyond the ice forest of the outer station.

My father picked up speed, swept me up on the way past and delivered me to the
Klieo
in seconds flat.

‘Oh my God!’ I looked at him, stunned, as he put me down.

‘Yes, my child,’ he replied with a grin, then headed off to see what Polaris was doing about getting us out of here.

‘Kali, child, you had us worried.’ Denera hugged me tight.

‘You certainly did,’ Ashlee said, joining our hug, followed by Talori, Thana and Vespera.

‘Meridan wanted to go into Irkalla after you again, and she wanted to be here to welcome your safe return,’ Denera told me.

‘But she’s being a battery for the ship—’ Talori stopped mid-sentence as the drone of the electromagnetic pulse reached a deafening crescendo.

I looked outside to see Taejax standing alone on the ice, watching our departure.

‘Come with us!’ I implored him, unable to bear that in a moment he would die a horrid fiery death.

‘I am already there,’ he replied.

The hatch door closed and bolted itself, and the blue-green weblike light field of our vessel’s time-shift function engulfed our surroundings. The force and noise of the fireball explosion that erupted in our wake disappeared as the
Klieo
made a quantum leap that reversed the event on our way back to 2017.

The Amenti team had made a decision to return to 20 December 2017 rather than exactly the same time we had left. If we could bring the sphere down shortly before the SAC alignment ended, that gave the Nefilim no leeway to go forward in time and change the outcome. This also minimised how long we’d need to keep Killian safe from Ill.

I received a grilling about my future conduct from my fellow staff members, all except my mother, who was still unconscious after powering the
Klieo
back in time a thousand years, and my father, who had been despatched, at my insistence, to fetch Killian to safety. I was also demanding to see Lugh and Mathu.

Denera flatly refused. ‘Not until we’re convinced you are no longer a threat to them.’

‘I have to make contact with Taejax as well,’ I told her.

She frowned. ‘Why?’

‘Because he’s the only Dracon I know and trust.’ I thought this obvious.

‘Yes, I understand that,’ Denera was getting frustrated too, ‘but why do you need a Dracon at all?’

Ereshkigal entered the conference room in Signet Station Four where I was being questioned. ‘Arcturus said to let you know that he has Killian with him.’

‘Are they here?’ I needed to know that Killian was secure within the Amenti complex.

‘It’s best that you don’t know his whereabouts,’ Denera cut in, before Ereshkigal could answer my question. It hurt to think I was no longer a trusted part of the team—if, indeed, I ever really was.

‘As long as
you
know where he is,’ I insisted. ‘The same goes for Lugh and Mathu.’

‘Shall I chase them up?’ Ereshkigal offered. ‘I believe Lugh is in his city of Murias, and Mathu is there also.’

‘Let me go with her,’ I pleaded as Denera gave her the nod. ‘Technically I won’t be leaving the Otherworld or your jurisdiction.’

‘Give me one good reason why I should let you go,’ she challenged.

‘I’ll give you six good reasons.’ I took a deep breath in preparation for all the fast talking I had to do.

It was odd to have a smiling Ereshkigal escorting me to Lugh on this mission, for in the future she hated me and had been something of a nemesis; not that I blamed her for getting the wrong impression.

We gained access to Lugh’s city through one of the three portholes in the outer chamber of the Giza complex, and emerged from it into the altogether more vibrant and supple realms of the lower astral world. Everything was spectacular here: sounds were more melodic, colours more vibrant, smells more aromatic, touch was a stronger physical sensation, and taste…well, if you belonged to the physical world it was best not to eat or drink anything here lest you never leave. This was the heaven that we could have on Earth any day now.

The city was beautiful and tranquil. Nobody rushed, as time meant nothing. Nobody worked—they played, they imagined, they learned, experimented, theorised and thrived on the one thing that was truly important in life:
creation.
Be it the creation of family, fine food, great art, scientific invention or beautiful music, everything here was crafted with the greatest of care—it was the exact opposite to Irkalla. Every long-lost Earth species still survived here, in perfect harmony with the Anu residents and the ascendant masters of the human race. There was nothing required for life here that could not be manifested by will; hence there was no need to fight with another or make war. If only the humans of Earth understood that the same principles of intention and manifestation applied on that plane too. All one needed was a fully
functioning emotional body filled with compassion—for compassion generated love and created the will and wisdom to manifest what those on surface Earth considered miracles. Here, in the Otherworld, such miraculous occurrences were everyday life.

In Lugh’s palace, however, evidence of the Otherworldly alliance with the humans on surface Earth was more visible: we saw Anu warriors donning battle armour.

‘It looks as though they’re gearing up for battle,’ I said.

Ereshkigal was amused that I hadn’t foreseen this. ‘They are gearing up for the war to end all wars; the only battle in history that will ever really count.’

I smiled. ‘They seem to be expecting a lot of resistance, but they won’t get it—not if I can help it.’

The doors to Lugh’s council chamber were open, and we slowed as we approached for he was speaking with one of my long-lost ancestors, Ninlil. I was delighted to see her back on Earth.

‘I must be able to help in some way,’ she was saying to Lugh. ‘I feel so responsible.’

‘Lady, you do not have the constitution for war,’ he told her honestly.

‘I can command the elements as well as any.’

‘To the detriment of your own family.’ He implored her to consider what she was asking of herself.

Ninlil hesitated, frustrated.

‘Trust me, everything will be fine,’ Lugh told her, and drew her into an embrace to reassure her. As he did, he saw us waiting by the door.

‘Your Highness! You are back from Irkalla?’ He let go of Ninlil and they both bowed to me. Lugh looked confused. ‘Have I lost track of time?’

‘Pardon?’ I had no idea what he was on about.

‘I have the rod and the ring right here,’ he said, and moved to fetch them.

‘Oh!’ I realised that he was preparing to go to the meeting where I would murder him. ‘There’s been a slight change in plan. I need to find Taejax.’

‘Taejax!’ Lugh halted in his tracks and turned to me. ‘How did you know he was back?’

‘He told me in the future where I never made it back from Irkalla,’ I said, and his face melted in empathy.

‘I am so sorry if I failed you, Your Highness,’ he stated with all sincerity and I wanted to cry.

‘You certainly did not,’ I assured him. ‘It was I who failed, and I had to, in order to be here today, so no regrets.’

‘It is an honour to be in your service, my queen,’ he said, and bowed again, before getting back to the point. ‘Taejax is deep undercover at present, but I can get word to him. What is it you require?’

‘I need him and some of his faithful to join me on a salvage mission.’

Lugh was stunned. ‘Now, Your Majesty? But it is the eleventh hour!’