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Avenging Angels Ch. 02

By: Vjax



The Vatican had not seen this much activity since the Templar's had been purged in that unfortunate incident several centuries ago involving a relic they never should have found.

Today though, the activity was of a much different kind. The papal envoys had been dispatched to notify the nine immediately after the meeting with the Pope and Cardinals. Once the astronomers had confirmed that the tricondris was present at the coordinates things began moving very quickly. It started before dawn; the trucks rolled into the Viale Vaticano entrance at the Vatican museum and began loading almost immediately. By the time the sun had begun to illuminate the red granite of the obelisk in St. Peter's Square a convoy of 30 trucks and two bus loads of nun's, priests and scholars was headed out of Rome towards the airport, their destination the Citadel of St. Michael.

Chosen in the 5th century, the Citadel site was seen as a perfect sanctuary for the Called Ones.

It boasted a commanding view of the three surrounding valleys with a large easily defensible northern plane that lead straight to the sea 2 miles away. In the beginning the only way up was via a primitive elevator system which, considering the location and logistics of moving building materials at the time, meant that initial construction would take over 100 years.

The Holy See understood that it would be millennia or more before the location would be needed, however, laying the foundations now would also provide a safe haven for the relics in the event that something threatened the Vatican archives.

The citadel became a monastery, with an order not written about in any Vatican journals, not mentioned in any papal writs, not whispered about by anyone. It was, in effect the Area 51 of the ancient world. Any relics, talismans, magical tomes, etc...that were...'secured' by the Collectors of St. Michael or received as tributes from the various crusades, holy wars and purifications found their way into the dry stone vaults of the Citadel.

The monks had two charges, keep a chronicle of the items stored in the Citadel, and be willing to give their lives to protect them.

Over the next 15 centuries the citadel was modified many times and the collection grew vast in size and scope. Every 100 years the entire site was retrofitted with the most technologically advanced features the times had to offer. The last full retrofit was completed in the year 2000. Upgrades included: Cray super computer, Satellite uplink facilities for ultra-broadband connectivity, hypersonic anti-personnel fencing and the extension of the existing runway facilities to over 1 mile providing the ability to accommodate the largest heavy lift aircraft. Today, access was only by air, the ancient ladders and elevators had been removed as soon as viable airplanes and helicopters had become available.

The Citadel was a fortress, built to provide the support the Called Ones would require to give them the best chance of surviving the great battle and the shift to follow.

Only the pope and the head of the Grand Council of Cardinals new what was to come, down through the centuries these two individuals had stewarded a faith shared by billions of the devoted around the globe, often times at the expense of ones who, when the time came, would be the keys to completing the great task.

Cardinal Aldous was riding in the Mercedes limousine to RIA, beginning to understand that all he had worked for, everything that he had tried to prepare for was upon him, and that the future hung on shoulders of nine young individuals.

The lists of the chosen was updated every day, it took the efforts of over 100 scholars to keep the lists current, as with all such lists of the best and brightest in any field there was always someone new showing up with new ideas, a deeper understanding or powerful inherent gifts to keep the top tier of the 'best' constantly fluid.

At least that was true until 6 months ago.

The number one spot had stabilized on each of the six lists for one week, the longest period ever recorded. As the weeks passed and the 6 lists remained constant everyone acknowledged that something had changed, either the time was close or the lists had been tampered with.

For six weeks Aldous met with monks from the citadel, giving them access to all of the sources used to compile the lists, in the end the monks agreed with the scholars, the lists had become static, these were the nine.

"How would I take it being told that everything I knew about the world was a lie, and that it was up to me to become...more than I had ever thought possible" Aldous thought as he walked across the tarmac to the waiting C-130.

The interior of the plane was crowded, filled to capacity with wheeled shipping containers; the planes carried the relics that were currently undergoing study at the Vatican labs. There was an air of excitement flowing through the passengers on the plane. The nuns and priests sat together, talking in low whispers or thumbing their rosaries as they contemplated the coming journey.

The scholars were animated, openly discussing the projects they had been working on and their areas of expertise. The energy seemed enough to lift the plane into the air, as Aldous sat and watched the rear entry door slowly lift, a smile crossed his lips, today was in fact a good day.

In the air Aldous reviewed the list, an eclectic group drawn from the most powerful faiths in the world.

"Of course the church would never admit that any of them were anything but mystical charlatans or heathens needing to be shown the way" Aldous scowled as he thought of the pain and persecution the Roman Catholic Church had visited upon these groups over the years.

Only one of the nine came from the church, and that one was a young nun who had been performing "miracles" for the past 3 years in her little church just outside Moscow. A missionary from America, Mary Elizabeth Shane was tapping directly into the highest planes of pure life energy to heal the sick, she thought it was god working through her, and no one had bothered to tell her differently.

Pulling up the lists on his laptop he was jostled when the plane hit a turbulent, he had that momentary feeling of weightlessness and queasiness that always took him a few minutes to recover from.

The messengers had been sent out less than 24 hours ago, already two of the nine had been informed and were on the way, Cali and Sam. Sorceresses of the 5th tier, together they were the most powerful living practitioners of high magic in over 8 centuries.

Jonas, Duncan and Aiyana a coven of three who had tapped into some of the most ancient Wiccan, Druidic and Native American energies and emerged a tri-coven of immense power.

Sun Cho Ling, Zen Buddhist, who studied under the Dali Lama, spent time with resistance fighters in Tibet and was the holder of the Seven Universal Truths.

The newest list was only 10 years old, the heading was Technomancer.

The cardinal remembered the year it took to define exactly what this new discipline actually was. It started in 1988 when the Internet came into being and more and more people began using the information super highway. With hundreds of thousands then millions of people putting so much time and energy into this new medium it was not surprising when they discovered this digital universe had started to produce an energy of its own.

Of the millions who used it, a select few began to 'attune" with this new energy form. They were called hackers, phreakers, geeks, and nerds; of those, a few had something beyond a good knowledge of C++ and a bad attitude.

They...felt...the Internet, understood on an instinctual level how the system worked. This led them to becoming masters of the medium, taking on almost godlike abilities in the virtual and real worlds. Cryptic was the most attuned and pure of this new breed.

Takari Som Juni, Voodoo Priestess, this was a woman who could scare the devil himself, 9th daughter of a 9th daughter of a 9th daughter Takari raised the abilities of voodoo to a new level, finding little personal solace in her immense power.

They were the nine, the Chosen, the ones who together would stand, stand before the coming problems, stand before the wave of evolution, stand before their own visions of god and the universe, and find a truth that would change them forever.

The C-130 went into a tight banking turn, preparing for the landing at the citadel. Closing his laptop Aldous closed his eyes; he felt a strange combination of bone wrenching weariness and a feeling of impending joy that comes when great events are in play. Tempted to pray again for strength, cardinal Aldous merely kept his eyes closed and hoped that the chosen would be up to the task. 

Avenging Angels Ch. 03



"Slower Duncan, tease me," Aiyana whimpered as Duncan slowed the pace of his thrusts into her tight puckered asshole.

"That's perfect," Aiyana moaned as the rhythm matched what her desires were searching for. 

Duncan and Aiyana had been enjoying each other for over an hour now. Duncan likened making love with Aiyana to a symphony; slow buildups, intermittent peaks with a finish that crashes over you, taking you places you never dreamed of going. Aiyana had cum several times and her dear sweet Duncan was, as always, happy to offer his services for as long as she desired.

They had met by chance at a Native American festival in Kiowa, Montana. Aiyana was not looking for love, considering that she was already in love at the time she met Duncan, finding it with him was a surprise, but luckily, love is a limitless emotion. 

Aiyana had been with Jonas for over five years; falling in love at first sight when they were both eighteen they had grown into adults together. However, as was in their nature they always maintained their playful spirits and deep commitment to their beliefs.

Jonas and Aiyana were committed to each other and felt that they had found their soul mate, not in the clichéd way that people often use the term, but in the true sense. The day they met their souls connected, comingling and creating something new that was stronger and more intense than the sum of their original parts.

Duncan changed the nature of their relationship and brought a newfound component that neither of them had known was missing.

...............

Duncan Marcus Tallingford was English, from Manchester, over in the states on holiday taking in the more eclectic tourist destinations. At 23 he was the youngest of nine children. Raised on Manchester United football, a deep love of the rich history of his country and more than a passing fascination with witchcraft, Duncan was not your average Englishman.

His family had been practitioners of the Craft for more than 14 generations. With each generation one child would be born with the gift manifesting stronger than the rest. 

Everyone in the family had powers, but Duncan was the blaen* this generation, understanding and controlling all of the different disciplines of air, fire, water and earth. Now by tradition, the blaen of one family would be wed to the blaen of another family in the coven to keep the bloodlines strong.

Duncan had been the focus of many a girls desires, however, none of them made Duncan feel weak, feel empowered, feel loved. And so Duncan had not asked for any of the "acceptable" girls hands, leading to much consternation within the coven. The council was still trying to decide how to work this issue out when he left for America.

Arriving at the Pow-Wow he thought he would find some interesting trinkets, perhaps grab a book or two on native spirituality, it would be interesting to see how their interpretations of things and his own craft blended.

As he stepped out of a tent he saw her, backlit by the setting sun she glowed, her black hair flowed around her shoulders and down below her waist like a black chrome waterfall. Her bronze skin blazed with an ethereal light that Duncan had never imagined let alone thought he would ever witness.

Aiyana felt his eyes on her before she ever saw him.

Clutching at Jonas's hand she looked into his eyes and in a whisper said, "Someone is here Jonas, they are looking at me, I don't know who they are but they make me feel like you do." Jonas smiled at his beloved, he had felt the presence as soon as they had gotten to the site, it was interesting, not a threatening feeling only a feeling of common energy, common strength.

"We should find him and introduce ourselves, from the feel of it if he does not get close to you soon things could get very messy," Jonas said with a smile in his voice as he pulled his eyes from hers to start scanning the crowd.

"Of course, she is with that tall blond chap," sighed Duncan under his breath. As was the case with all of his love interests there always seemed to be another man there first.



He was about to move on when their eyes met, he shifted between looking at the Native American beauty and her Teutonic partner. Both of them stared back at him, with warm eyes full of empathy, playfulness and friendship.

.........

Duncan moaned as another orgasm washed over Aiyana, causing her tight passage to constrict around his cock. "I love you Aiyana," Duncan said as he increased the pace of his thrusts.

"Yes Duncan, faster now, fuck me hard, cum for me, fill me up with your passion," Aiyana yelled. They moved together as one being, their passion fired by love and tension and power.

His cock was blur as it moved into her, his hands wound in her hair, holding it like the reins of horse, Aiyana moved beneath him like a feral cat, moaning and screaming as her orgasm built to its crescendo.

"Now lover, fill me now, cum with me," Aiyana yelled as her orgasm broke over her. 

Aiyana's orgasm triggered Duncan's as he tensed and slammed into her with one final thunderous stroke as he emptied his seed into her clutching hole. They screamed out their passion together as they road the orgasmic wave, Duncan slid down, his hands massaging her sweat covered skin as they traveled around her to clutch her breasts, laying his head in her hair he smiled and thanked the gods for finding her as the aftershocks washed over them.

............

That first night was the most amazing any of them had ever experience.

"I'm Jonas and this lovely lady is Aiyana," Jonas said to Duncan, extending a friendly hand.

"Duncan, I'm very pleased to meet you both," Duncan replied, eyeing Jonas with a wary eye. Aiyana slid her hand into Duncan's proffered hand; at the touch they both felt an electric current pass between them. Smiling, Aiyana looked into Duncan's eyes and whispered, "I'm pleased to meet you."

Duncan was speechless, he stood there, with Jonas and Aiyana looking at him, their faces slowly breaking into small smiles, then larger ones, then full out laughter.

"Come on Duncan, I know just how you feel, lets grab a beer and you can regain your senses," Jonas laughed as he placed a friendly hand on Duncan's shoulder and pulled him along to the beer tent.

They spent the evening talking, Duncan told them of his home, his family and his gift. Aiyana and Jonas sat next to each other, holding hands and smiling at their new friends tales from home. As the minutes then hours passed all three of them realized that something new was being born, that together they could be...magical.

It was Jonas who finally brought up the subject of leaving long after the sun had gone down and the last of the revelers were beginning to filter out of the festival.

"Duncan, why don't you come back to our place, its late and there is more that the three of us need to discuss," Jonas said as he stood, pulling Aiyana up with him into a playful embrace.

Duncan was unsure, after only a few hours he felt a kinship with Jonas that was deeper than any he had ever felt with his family, and Aiyana, she was like a warm breeze embracing his soul, comforting and exhilarating all at the same time. Duncan rose to his feet, looking at his new friends he said, "Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea."

Aiyana was in a quandary as she sat next to Jonas on the way home, Duncan was following in his rental as they wound their way along Rt 2 heading towards their place in Santa Rita.

She loved Jonas, loved the look of him, loved the feel of him next to her and inside her, loved the way he accepted her the way she was, not trying to change her.

Jonas, 24 years old was an orphan, born in East Berlin, Jonas went from orphanage to orphanage, never quite fitting in, getting into trouble, and always feeling apart. When he was almost 6 the Berlin wall came down. This proved to be a turning point for Jonas as it was for thousands of orphans like him.

Taken in by a foster family in west Berlin he finally understood what a happy home was, being honestly cared for Jonas came out of his shell reveling in just being with people who truly cared for him and his well being. He spent 6 months with the foster family, learning what it was to be a child.

Two months after his 6th birthday he was adopted by a 3rd generation German couple in the Brighton Heights district of Pittsburg. Klaus and Maria Brandauer were in their mid thirties, unable to have children of their own they were happy when the agency found Jonas. He was blond and blue eyed like Klaus and had the strong high cheekbones so common on Maria's side of the family. Excited with a hint of trepidation about becoming parents Klaus and Maria went to PIA to pick up their new son.

The plane trip to America is something Jonas never forgot. Leaving Berlin, he did not feel sad as some would expect, on the contrary, even at his age he had a great understanding of destiny, even if he did not know it at the time.

Jonas remembers little details like snapshots of the trip, hugging his foster mother at their front door when Ms. Schultz had come to take him to the airport, her scent smelled like home: the strudel she had baked, the lilac soap she used and lemons from the lemonade, yes, she was what home smelled like.

The next snapshot was the plane, Ms. Schultz handing him over to a stewardess named Paula, dark hair, happy eyes, she reminded him of an elf from one of his stories, planes were magical.

Then there were the clouds, being above the clouds, what a wondrous thing, looking down on the ocean, seeing it for the first time, the way the light played across its blue surface, how the clouds he was above cast dark shadows, creating islands of gray on the pure blue canvas.

America, lots of chrome and steel and glass. It felt...new, compared with Berlin this place had no history; it was like a blank slate, waiting for him to cover with his own undiscovered pallet.

Klaus and Maria waiting for him as he stepped off the plane holding Paula's hand; happiness, acceptance and for the first time love.

The next seven years passed quickly. Jonas picked up English at an amazing pace and it was apparent early on that his intellect was above average. Enjoying school and making friends easily, Jonas was passing through his second six years with much more ease and joy than his first.  As his thirteenth birthday approached Jonas began to feel...odd, he could not put his finger on it but it felt like the plane, magical.

...............

"Wow, can this day get any more surreal," Duncan thought as he pulled his rental car in next to Jonas' Toyota Land Cruiser.

Stepping out of the car, Duncan took in the scene. The driveway up to the house from the 215 was at least 2 miles long; the house itself was a log cabin. He called it a log cabin being that the material used to construct the house were logs, this was the only kinship this place had to maple syrup or a rustic spot in the middle of no where.

At 3 stories with soaring panes of glass, well-manicured hedges gently under lit by hidden lights and a five-car garage, it was closer to a mansion than a cabin.

"It's Aiyana's not mine," Jonas smiled as he placed his hand on Duncan's shoulder and pulled him along behind the sprinting Aiyana.

"I've really really got to pee," she said over her shoulder as she disappeared through the front door.

The interior was sparsely furnished, the front door opened onto one large room with a well-equipped kitchen to the right and a wide hall leading to the left. A huge stone fireplace that was flanked by floor to ceiling windows dominated the back wall.

Duncan asked Jonas "Exactly what is it that you two do?"

"Well," Jonas began " we don't really do anything, the house is owned by Aiyanas' tribe, her grandfather was a medicine man of high regard, the tribe has set aside the 40 acres and the house for his descendants to use."

It was not as large as it seemed from the outside, aside from the main room and kitchen there were 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms downstairs and a large loft master suite upstairs. Going out on the back porch Duncan was shocked again. "Are those what I think they are?" Duncan asked Jonas as they looked out over the back of the property.

"If your talking about the sweat lodge and stone monolith construction, then yes they are, Aiyana uses the sweat lodge a great deal for her rituals, and the monoliths create a sacred space for me to practice my art."

Aiyana joined them on the deck, smiling as she looked at them standing together, Jonas was about 2 inches taller than Duncan with his short cropped blond hair and wide shoulders he looked like the quintessential all American boy.

Duncan, in contrast was a bit shorter, his black hair was unruly coming down below his neck, his silhouette reminded Aiyana of a dancer or gymnast, tight and focused.

Aiyana moved between them, sliding an arm around each of their waists. She had feelings of contentment, of love, of safety and completeness that were so overwhelming she began to cry from the sheer joy of the sensation.

Both Duncan and Jonas moved to hold Aiyana, they found and easy embrace with Aiyana facing Duncan and Jonas behind her. Each of them touching the other two, each of them understanding that a bond had been formed that would outlast this physical incarnation. They now new what home felt like.

...............

Jonas walked into the room and smiled as he saw Duncan and Aiyana laying side by side, the rumpled sheets and the lamp on the floor gave Jonas a pretty good idea of how they spent their afternoon.

"You two, jeez, Duncan you are going to wear her out," Jonas chided as he crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed.

"No chance of that my good man, as you well know she can outlast both of us," Duncan chuckled in answer.

Aiyana looked at them both with love and passion in her eyes, slowly caressing her bulging belly she wondered if the baby would have blond or black hair.

Aiyana's hand was joined by one from Duncan and Jonas; they sat like that for a moment, caressing Aiyana wondering at the mystery that was taking place within her womb.

"Get dressed you two, a courier just called from the gate, he should be up here in a minute," Jonas said as he rose and made for the stairs leading down from the master bedroom. Duncan and Aiyana shared a brief, loving kiss and then moved to get dressed and meet Jonas down stairs.

When the bell rang and they opened the door, all three of them were shocked to be faced with a young priest with a package from the Vatican.

*blaen (Welsh)

(adj.) fore, foremost, first



Avenging Angels Ch. 04



Cardinal Aldous stood at the large stone framed window looking out at the wide plane that led to the sea. He absently shifted the artifact from hand to hand, as always it felt warm to the touch. So much history, so much bloodshed, so many hopes for the future hung on the merkabic star in his hand.

Cardinal Aldous moved outside, to the wide terrace that was designed as a fighting battlement when the Citadel was first built. It offered a commanding view of the plain and supplied a wonderful place for meditation. The cardinal stood looking down at the star, "over 24,000 years" he muttered to himself.

The cardinal's thoughts drifted back to that day so many years ago when he was called to Cardinal Strembrell's office, the day his life changed and he became the steward of the star.

........................

"Renard, come in, please have a seat" Cardinal Strembrell said as he moved from the window seat under the rose window where he had been reading and sat behind his desk.

Renard was nervous, of all the cardinals in the residence at the Vatican; Strembrell was the most reclusive. Rarely seen and only spoken of in hushed tones, Strembrell was an enigma that he and the other Bishops had often wondered about.

Renard was the youngest bishop in 300 years; at 35 he was often the subject of gossip among many at the Vatican. For one so young to be given so much power was regarded by many as a slap in the face. The powers that be however had good reason to ensure young Renard was given every benefit.

Renard rose to his position for one reason, he had been touched by god.

When Renard was 12 years old his little sister had gone swimming in a lake near their home in Allier.

Dominique was not a strong swimmer, she quickly tired and while gasping for breath had screamed out Renard's name. He heard her calling, running down the little path behind their home he saw her just as she went under for the last time. 

Frantically diving into the black water of the lake he swam out and dove down, searching, grasping, the black mud oozing around his hands, mocking him with it's inconsistency, when all he wanted was to feel the firm hand of his beloved sister.

Finally after what seemed an eternity, lungs burning he bumped into something with substance, he grabbed her and pumped for the surface. Looking at her, hair matted to her face, black mud covering her eyes, he held her, sobbing, begging for god to be merciful and not take his sister

Her body was left in state at their family's home until burial arrangements could be made.

Renard was distraught, he and his sister were very close and the thought of loosing her was too much for him to bare. As the parish priest was saying the rites over her body Renard rushed into the room, took Dominique's limp body in his arms and began to pray.

The parish priest and his parents all tried to wrest the body from Renard, but as they did so, Dominique coughed, and opened her eyes.

Renard's parents were frightened beyond all imagination, they were sure this was the devils work.

However, the parish priest knew a miracle when he saw one. Were they not taught, by the monks of the Order of St. Michael, for almost a year at seminary what to look for and how to judge if they were witness to a miracle.

The priest, knowing what he must do hustled Renard's parents into the next room.

"What has taken place here is a miracle of the lord" the priest began. "It is the greatest gift to receive this type of miracle. However we must be sure that the children understand the gift they have been given this day, it is best that they come with me, the church can help them fully appreciate this blessing from god" the priest continued thinking back to his days at seminary.

"Always bring them to us." Father Petrinni was adamant at the end of every class, "The worker and the subject, they must always come to the church, your bishops will know what to do. Just be sure to tell what ever local's that witnessed the miracle how lucky they are to have witnessed just a touch of the lords wonders and always bring in the worker and the subject"

And so, at 12 and 11 Renard and his sister were taken into the church. Sent to Rome they were split up, Renard entering the seminary and Dominique going to a private catholic school in the Alps.

Dominique and Renard stayed in touch, they would exchange letters, telling the other about their lives, hopes and dreams and see each other for several weeks during the summers. Dominique would eventually leave the church, marry and have 3 sons, one of which continued on to be a priest under the mentorship of his Uncle.

For Renard, the Vatican became his home. From the day he walked into St. Peter's Square for the first time and felt the majesty of the place he had felt safe, felt that he was home.

From that first day he had been taught one overriding thing, that he was touched by god.

Ordained at 18 becoming a Bishop at 28 he had been on the fast track within the Vatican, all those years of training lead to his sitting in this office across from Cardinal Strembrell.

...............

Strembrell looked thoughtfully at the young man sitting across from him. It was 47 years ago that he sat in this office and received the speech he was about to give to Renard, the same speech that had been given by men in his position for the past 1854 years. The difference was, the man sitting across from him would be the last, for he was the one that would see the great work finished.

"Renard" the Cardinal began, "what I am about to tell you will change the way you view the church and your faith in a profound way. Within a week of this meeting the Pope will confer upon you the title of Cardinal, and within 6 months you will take my place as the head of the Grand Council of Cardinals." Strembrell paused; letting his words sink in to the young man sitting, well, slumped in the chair across from him.

He stood and walked over to the table and poured two glasses of red wine, handing one to Renard he returned to his desk as the young bishop downed his glass in a single mouthful. Smiling Strembrell opened his desk drawer, pulled out the merkabic star and placed it on his desk. Gesturing to the piece of crystal he continued.

"This object is the foundation of the Roman Catholic Church, the entire focus of our religion is based on the history of this object, the church's most important duty has, since 313ad, been to safeguard its secrets and prepare for what is to come. It has been entrusted to one in the church such as myself since the beginning of its known history in this age. Take it in your hands, you will understand everything." Strembrell finished as he pushed the star towards Renard.

Renard's hands trembled as he moved forward; one second his hand was moving towards the crystal and the next it was in his hand and the world shifted.

...............

Sorn paced around the room, the anticipation of a lifetimes work coming to fruition was too much for him to contain as he awaited the arrival of his wife Calista. Sorn was the greatest genotechnologist in all of the Atlantean culture. For the past 165 years he had worked to uncover the reasons behind the startling drop in births over the last 200 years and find some way to reverse the trend.

Calista came into the room, seeing her husband she smiled and walked to him. "What is it husband?" She asked as she moved into his embrace.

Sorn was relieved to have her in his arms, the outcome of his research would be the death nell for his civilization but holding Calista in his arms, he could not help but think that somehow their civilization, all that made them unique in the universe would be saved.

"The final results came back today, I've isolated the problem." Sorn told her, looking down into her eyes, they were bright, sparkling, like two cut amethysts.

"That's wonderful" she told Sorn, hugging him tightly to her, pleased that after all these years he had finally finished his work and they could be together more.

Sorn blinked back tears as he held her saying "yes it is good that it is done, I go before the council in three cycles then, perhaps we can go away for awhile." Calista hugged him closer, pleased that they were thinking the same thing, unaware that they were thinking them for vastly different reasons.

"Council members" Sorn began, " it is with great sorrow that I come before you today." 

Sorn outlined for the council that a pathogen had found its way into the genetic makeup of the Atlantean people. The pathogen was of unknown origin, a non-natural hybrid containing both organic and nano-technological components. His best guess was that it was extraterrestrial, perhaps brought back by one of their deep space probes, it could be that it came from a meteor strike or, in the worst case, was sent as a weapon.

" The outcome of my research shows that within 300 years Atlantean's as a race will be extinct. The combination of unknown biological and nano-technologies is beyond our ability to counteract. Wherever this comes from it is perfect in its design, transmitted via air, touch and fluids it has been passed to the entire population, it modifies our DNA at the sub-atomic level, rendering both males and females sterile. There is no hope of a cure as we have no untainted DNA to work with to construct an antidote." He concluded somberly.

There were years of meetings and discussions, his research was checked and rechecked, always with the same dire results. The council finally agreed on a plan of action, if the race could not be saved as a whole then all of the things that made Atlantean's unique should be transferred to a genetically compatible humanoid without the susceptibility to the pathogen.

An offshoot of their own evolutionary tree was chosen, their brain size was on average smaller than that of the Atlantean's*, however they showed a resourcefulness and inherent ability to adapt and overcome that other possible candidates lacked.

The planet wide population of this branch of the family tree was not overtly large, making it a relatively simple task to make the latent genetic changes to this species over the next 200 hundred solar cycles.

All of the genetic traits that gave the Atlantean's their unique abilities were buried in the DNA of the younger race. They would lie there, dormant, building and passing from one generation to the next, slowly incorporating themselves into the nature of the species. 

And finally, one day in the far future a new Atlantean would be born, one who had the abilities, one who could see the natural energies, one who would be a harbinger of the next generation of Atlanteans.

As more and more Atlantean's passed away and no more babies were born, the focus shifted to 10,000 years worth of Atlantean knowledge. All of their simulations had shown that the genetic alterations would not become dominant genes for nearly 25,000 solar cycles, a period of time that would preclude the transfer of information directly between the two cultures.

It was decided that the whole of Atlantean civilization should be destroyed so that the technology would not fall into the hands of extraterrestrials (it had been discovered that the pathogen was sent to earth from a point somewhere within the Orion Nebula) and would not be discovered by the new species before they were ready. However, this still left the problem of loosing so much knowledge forever.

It was a scientist named Nembor who had finally come up with a solution.

Atlantean's had made inroads with the creation of artificial intelligence. It was a rudimentary program, but advanced enough to make singular decisions. There was never a consciousness attached with the AI's they simply did what they were programmed to do, with flair.

Nembor was the one to come up with a crystal matrix complex enough to hold the bulk of Atlantean knowledge and an AI powerful enough to remain conscious for millennia, monitoring the progress of the new species and determining when to reveal itself and to whom.

And so it was that on the 7th day of the 9th great cycle in the year 10,191 the first sentient AI ever created was born.

Sam (Sentient Archival Matrix) was interested in all of the new input. "Nembor, may I run through my primary design criteria so that you can verify that my deductions are indeed your intent?" Sam telepathically asked Nembor.

A weak smile crossed Nembor's lips, it had taken a lifetime to get to this point and now that it was here, he felt that his time as that of all Atlantean's was coming to a rapid end. "Yes Sam, please verify your PDC and your deductions about them." Nembor replied, sitting down at his workstation.

Goal one: Ensure that the Atlantean knowledge base is kept intact and secure until the new species has attained a sustainable population of individuals with the Atlantean genetic signatures manifesting. Sam paused, "This goal is fairly straightforward, genetically speaking there needs to be a critical mass of approximately 1500+ individuals displaying Atlantean traits" Sam concluded "Excellent, the goal and your deductions are correct." Nembor replied as he sat watching the faintly glowing star.

Goal Two: Find an appropriate group of individuals to help guard the star and provide ongoing information about the state of the race. "I believe that a religious group will probably be most suited to providing long term security as well as providing a broad based network of individuals to look out for and keep track of people with Atlantean traits.

Nembor was surprised; this was an excellent idea, considering the fact that the three main Atlantean religious sects had been in existence for over 10,000 years. "Well done Sam, that seems like an idea that will not only help with the first two goals but also the third as well" Nembor beamed like a proud father.

Goal Three: Facilitate the turning over of the Atlantean knowledge base to the new species in a way that will benefit them, prepare them to use their abilities and move beyond this point in Atlantean history. "The use of a global religion will again help to facilitate this goal. World religions always amass a great deal of wealth and influence, yoking this strength will allow me to be intimately involved in the creation and maintenance of a safe haven for the new race." Sam concluded.

Nembor was struck by Sam's reference to himself as an individual. He knew that he had designed Sam to be self aware, but to hear Sam refer to himself as an individual, not a program was startling, rewarding and disturbing all at the same time.

"Very good Sam, you have stated your main goals and I am in total agreement with your deductions about them." Nembor told Sam as he rose and walked over to the star.

Then a thought struck him and he asked, "Is there anything you believe that you should be doing that is not covered within the goals?"

The pause drew out for several seconds, then minutes. Finally Sam answered. "I believe it would be beneficial if I was given the ability to self terminate."

Nembor was shocked; it had never occurred to him that a self-destruct would be necessary. "I would also suggest," Sam continued, "that a second Sam be constructed and placed in a location on one of the outer planets, perhaps the moon of Sol 9 (Dysnomia) would be an appropriate place. If possible some type of low energy scanning equipment could be included with Sam2's storage unit, this way any extraterrestrial happenings of significance could be detected." Sam finished.

Nembor could not fault the logic behind the requests, they were simple, straightforward and leant themselves to ensuring the goals were achieved. The fact that filled him with a dark dread was the finality of the requests; they brought into stark focus that Sam and his soon to be brother would be all that remained of a once great people.

..................

And so it was in the year 10,243 that the last of the Atlantean's initiated the final acts of a civilization.

The Sol sight was chosen for its current concentration of the new species, its temperate climate and its unique place at a convergence point of natural energies. The site, near what would become Jerusalem, was perfect for the storage site. Constructed to look like the natural stone, it would only open to form what seemed to be a natural cave at Sam's command.

Sam had external sensors that were powerful enough to gauge population movements, climactic conditions, etc... within a 3,000 square mile vicinity of the storage site, this would give him all of the information necessary to make a determination as to when the time was right to reveal himself and to whom.

Sam's brother was launched toward the Sol 9 Moon. Encased in his own unique storage unit it would take about 3 years to reach S9M. Once there the storage unit would land and bury itself in the icy rock surface and begin to monitor the approaches to the system on its long orbital circle. Once every decade a narrow beam high burst signal would be sent to Sol Sam to update on the previous years data and receive updates from Sol.

Their solitary twenty millennia wait began.

...............

The scene shifted to a nighttime sky over a desert. Sam had been busy the last seven months. For the first time since his vigil began the dominant Atlantean gene had presented itself in an unborn child.

"This could be what we have been waiting for," Sam thought to himself, running through different scenarios. The child will be special, gifted beyond anyone before, he will be treated with both awe and fear, he could be a cornerstone to build from for the ones that follow.

Sam made up his mind quickly and formed a message to Sam S9M. "One with the dominant gene is to be born, near the winter solstice of this solar cycle. One-month prior please send a positioning beam in the viewable light spectrum that will have enough luminosity to be seen from at least 1000 vectors away. The coordinates for the beam's location will be 25/443/8775/2. I believe our long wait is at an end.

And so it was in what we now call November a bright star appeared above the burgeoning city of Bethlehem. Three learned men from different corners of the civilized world saw the star, new that something was happening that had not happened before and each began their long journey towards the bright stars zenith.

The young man was indeed unique; he did instill fear and awe equally in those that met him. Meeting an untimely death was somewhat of a foregone conclusion as the man refused to hide his true nature, using his gifts freely to help all those that he met. His life and death would form the foundation of one of the new ages greatest religions.

298 solar cycles later, the entrance to Sam's storage area simply disappeared one night. In the morning a young roman named Valerius who was on his way to Jerusalem stopped to rest during the heat of the day.

Sam had been tracking the young man for over 3 weeks, he had strong latent Atlantean genes and was very sympathetic to the young Roman Catholic Church; the time had come.

Creating a psychic link with Valerius as he slept, Sam instructed him on where he could find the star.

Valerius woke with a start, the dream had seemed so real, looking around the cave he saw the depression in the back, just as in the dream. Walking over he placed his left hand into the depression. There was an audible hiss and a small space was revealed within the rock wall, sitting on a silver pedestal was the star from his dreams. Reaching in, the star fairly leapt to his hands and the entire story was revealed to him.

Sitting on the hard stone floor, holding the faintly glowing star in his hand Valerius was struck by the importance of this moment.

Something within him fundamentally changed, his understanding of the world, of humanity, of everything that he knew was now filtered through a perspective not of a few years of life; but thirty thousand years of history. For the first time in his life Valerius felt insignificant.




Avenging Angels Ch. 04



Sam read the feelings coming from Valerius and spoke to him. "Do not feel insignificant my young friend, understand that the history of your race both present and yet born will be shaped by what you do with your life and this knowledge. Your name is now indelibly etched in our history, people will forever remember you and the foundation you laid for future generations." Sam said, waiting for the inevitable change of attitude in the young man.

Slowly, Valerius rose to his feet, slipping the star reverently into his tunic, it felt warm next to his skin. The young man left the cave, walking purposefully towards Jerusalem a new vision of his own life and place in history firmly rooted in his mind.

In the year 313 Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Signed the Edict of Milan, ending persecution of the Christian faith. Through out his life and rule Valerius returned church property, provided for the growth and stability of the church and fought her enemies until his death.

His work laid the groundwork for all those that would pass after him, stewards of the star, the ones who would protect the secret and see the church grow and prosper so that when the time came the star could complete its work and pass on the ancient knowledge to the next evolution of humanity.

The next 1700 years passed fairly quickly, hitting the highs and lows of the church as a whole, always with the star as its central motivator.

............

Aldous was back in the Cardinal's office; the star was sitting in his lap, gently pulsating. Aldous blinked his eyes, understanding all at once that he was to be the next steward and quite possibly the last.

The Cardinal offered Aldous another glass of wine, which disappeared quicker than the first.

The whole process of gaining the knowledge taking less than ten seconds, the Cardinal knew that Aldous would need some time.

Taking the star from Aldous's lap he touched his shoulder and said, "why don't you return to your rooms and contemplate your place in history my son, we will talk again soon." Aldous nodded and rose, looking at the cardinal with a new sense of reverence, the weight of this would kill most people.

'I hope I am worthy of the task', Aldous thought as he left the office.

...............

As the sun set, Aldous once again regarded the star. They were on their way now. Soon the new Atlantean's would begin arriving, and soon after that the star would make itself known to them, activating all of the potential in their genetic makeup's, ushering in the new world, what place would there be for his church, for himself in the new world? He smiled, knowing that at least in the histories he would be remembered, hopefully remembered well.

...............

What was not included in the history were the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the man after his crucifixion. Sam had seen what happened; Sam S9M had spotted the small craft coming into the sector and warned Sam Sol. While powerless to stop them, Sam was able to learn how they located ones with the power, and how to mask them from future exposure, at least until the time came to fully activate the genetic codes.

Then, only they would be able to stop The Dark Ones from once again extinguishing the evolutionary light that Sam had protected for all these thousands of years.

..................

The Dark Ones had watched the small blue planet for millennia, making sure the infestation that had plagued this world was eradicated. The Leaders were surprised when their lone sentry on the planet reported the appearance of an infected.

Upon review it was discovered that only one had been born, no others showed any signs of the mutations that had required complete extermination of the last species.

A small covert team was sent to recover the remains of the aberration after it was killed by its own kind. Upon examination the determination was made that it was, in fact, a genetic anomoly and not a resurgence.

The Leaders left the small blue planet again, their sentry in place, just incase another aberration presented itself.

*(Note: only 3 Atlantean's have ever been unearthed they are classified as Homo sapiens idaltu) 



Avenging Angels Ch. 05



The dappled early morning light filtered through the thick bald cypress stands that surrounded the small home in the middle of the bayou. The morning sounds had started, the cicadas song, the frogs croaking their good mornings to the sun, it was as it had been for millennia, the bayou awakens.

Takari stirred in her bed, her dreams had been vivid as they always were when she stayed on the bayou. The night's dreams had been filled with portents, images that did not make sense to the voodoo priestess but were nonetheless flashes of the future; a future that seemed filled with new places, new companions and a dark evil.

Rising from her bed, Takari stretches, she is an imposing woman; at almost six feet tall she towers over most of her followers. Her body is in proportion to her height, large heavy breasts, sensuous rubenesque features; she revels in the physical gifts Bon Dieu has provided.

Stepping naked onto the gal-ree she greets the morning, memories of last night's dreams still swirling in her head.

'Being high priestess is not all its cracked up to be', she thinks to herself as she sits, the cool morning air stiffening her nipples as she watches two squirrels spiral up one of the ancient cypress, frolicking in a dance that crosses species, the dance of life, the dance of lust the dance that drives everyone to mate, to pass on their essence.

Closing her eyes, Takari's mind drifts back to three days ago and the ritual, the one that had finally ended the terror Ingra Vondarn had brought to the bayou.

.........

After the hurricane three years ago the area was in turmoil, many turned to Takari for aid during this troubled time. Takari took her role as leader of the flock very seriously, performing the life affirming rights that would ensure a quick and fruitful rebuilding of her neighborhood almost daily.

She lost weight, looked drawn and tired all the time, she was putting in 20-hour days for months to help stabilize the area and get everyone back on his or her feet. It was during this time, when Takari's attention was so focused on the needs of those around her, that Ingra had shown up in the bayou.

Ingra was an Obeah priestess, just off the boat from Haiti, arriving supposedly to help her extended family. Ingra was an ugly woman short and squat with a coal black complexion and an even darker soul. From their first meeting Takari knew the woman was trouble but at that moment she had neither the time nor strength to be bothered with her.

Ingra quietly built up a following among the many Caribbean workers who had immigrated to the area to work in the rebuilding efforts. Her son Tom was always at her side, a mountain of a man he stood six foot six and was almost as wide, his imposing form had the effect of quieting anyone who questioned Ingra's decisions.

Once the area had begun to rebuild and her followers had begun to get back some sort of normalcy in their lives, Takari took some time to rejuvenate herself and make sure that all was well in her garden. What she found enraged her and put her on a path that culminated in the ritual.

Takari, like her mother and her mother before her always worked on the side of light.

As with all things in the universe there is balance. Light and Dark, Good and Evil, Right and Wrong; universal constants that cannot exist without this balance.

Takari was taught from a young age that shadows don't exist without light, meaning that for all of the good things that we try to do for those around us there are others who feed off that light to gain power, corrupt others and cause pain.

Takari had met several shadows over the years; they were the yin to her yang the balance to her light. Being who she was Takari had always sought a peace with these people, understanding that to fight them was to fight herself as neither could exist without the other.

And so, soon after her ascension at the age of twenty one to high priestess she had called a meeting of the leaders of the varying sects in and around the bayou, light and dark were equally represented.

"I want to thank you all for coming, it is rare that such a diverse group of us gets together in one place without... complications," Takari smiled as she said it and it elicited the hoped for chuckles from those in attendance.

"I have talked with many of you and shared my desire for peaceful coexistence between us, most of you have agreed that this would be best for all of us," Takari continued as she surveyed the varied group before her.

There were eleven total, five who would be considered "dark" 3 women and two men, five who would be considered "light" 4 women and one man.

The eleventh was Reynard he was a mystery and in a round a bout way represented the grey.

Reynard had been around for as long as she could remember.

Her first memory of him was from childhood, she had walked out into the back courtyard of her home to find her mother and Reynard in an unusual embrace. Her mother was sitting on the ground between his legs facing away from him, her hands resting on his knees while his hands slowly moved around her body, never touching her but getting a strong physical reaction from her mother.

Afterwards her mother explained that Rey was helping her cleanse a curse that another priestess had tried to infect her with

From then on Rey was around off and on her whole childhood, disappearing for months then showing up again to hang around for awhile before setting off once more.

Now in his late forties his most striking feature was that he was as Anglo as they come, this was a stark contrast to the mostly African/Creole decent of the rest of the assembled group.

The gathering, for the most part, was effective, lines had been drawn, rules had been put in place and a general agreement on living together peaceably had been forged. That had been 15 years ago and in that time only a few toes had been stepped on, the infractions minor and easily soothed.

That changed with Ingra. Her darkness was spreading, several of the other practitioners had come to Takari looking for help and guidance, even Rey had made his feeling known.

Sitting on the gal-ree he had looked into her eyes, deeper than any other had and said, "This Ingra, she is different than anything you have encountered before cher. Up till now you have met dark workers that still maintain an internal balance between the light and the shadow, this one has no such balance. She seeks only to dominate and destroy; do you think you are strong enough to go down the path that can provide for her destruction? Can you put aside your own beliefs and embrace both the shadow and the light to find the strength to defeat her?" Rey finished.

Takari smiled at her friend, "That is possibly the most you have ever said at one time Rey," she teased.

Rey's face did not change as he regarded her, 'so much like her mother,' he thought.

"Takari, this is serious, if you are to be the one to stop Ingra it will cost you much, you will be changed by it and may find that your life just doesn't fit anymore," Rey said, hoping that she understood the weight of his words, hoping that the decision she made would not cost her everything that she was.

Takari regarded Rey; she had never known him to be this adamant or this serious. Ingra was a monster, she knew of three people cursed by the black-hearted whore and dozens of others who had lost everything because of the evil Ingra had sewn over the past year.

The final straw was Catti, the young orphan girl was found wandering in one of the wards, beaten and bruised she had been used in a rotevane. The ritual was gruesome, the point of it to remove the soul from a living person. That soul would be bound to the one performing the ritual, feeding them their ethereal power unable to cross over to the next plane.

"What must I do Rey," Takari felt a shudder pass through her, immediately understanding that those five words had just changed her life forever.

It was a long process taking over 6 months to accomplish. Only with the support of both the light and the shadow could Takari hope to accomplish the dangerous task she had set for herself.

Over the months a balance was formed within her, turning her from some of her beliefs and helping her embrace others that would allow her to pull power from the shadow as well as the light.

She worked tirelessly, studying the ancient Ton-Se-Kra, the Rite of Un-Doing. It had been over 160 years since the last time the rite had been performed, then it was to destroy a sadistic plantation owner who had tortured and killed hundreds of slaves.

The Ton-Se-Kra was the most powerful banishing ritual ever created, when performed correctly not only did the individual who was the victim of the banishing die so did all of their relations for 3 generations.

It was not only a physical death, it was also a soul death, causing the imbalance that had engulfed the person to turn on the practitioner and destroy their soul and the souls of all who shared the soul-line.

Ton-Se-Kra was not taken on lightly, dating back in one form or another over 5,000 years the rite could only be used on those who had lost all sense of balance, who had banished within themselves either the light or the shadow.

Takari was surprised to learn during her studies that the Ton-Se-Kra was gray, meaning that it could be used on those of light or dark, for anyone who gives in totally to one thing causes a rift in the very balance of this plane and the balance must be restored.

Finally, on the day of the Vernal Equinox when day and night, light and dark were equal on the earth, the time had come.

After fasting for 7 days and nights, Takari went to the consecrated grove in the very heart of the bayou. For generations this place had been used by her family for the most powerful works, now it would be the site for the greatest of works, the last work of a line stretching back 9 generations.

Midnight approached and Takari entered the clearing, feeling the warm and sultry late summer air envelope her naked form she strode to the center and lit the ceremonial fire.

Roaring to life the flames climbed into the heavens, bathing the grove in an amber glow that reflected tiny sparkles off Takari's glistening skin.

The dance began, slowly at first just an unhurried pace around the fire, reciting the ancient words of power, invoking the protection on Mon Dieu to keep her safe while she communed with the elemental energies of creation.

Faster now she traveled around the fire, picking up speed as the summoning of the elementals began, spinning and jumping she embraced both the light and the shadow, feeling their energies fill her the dance became more frenetic, tears and laughter came forth from her lips, her body moved in unimaginable contortions.

With sweat pouring off her, the long black waves of her hair plastered against her back and face the dance came to an abrupt end. Standing next to the fire, panting like a wild animal at the end of the hunt she gasps and falls to her knees as she realizes the elementals have headed her call.

Hovering just over her head the two amorphous balls pulsate with power. One is bright, golden, providing a light which both warms and sooths. The other is pure darkness, a hole in the air where no light penetrates; looking into its depths you are lost in its dark serenity and power.

Shuddering Takari rises, standing before the elemental powers hoping that she is worthy to receive what she has worked so long to attain.

"You are strong for one so young," the voice in her head is comforting evoking a feeling of contentment.

"You are controlled for one so young," this voice vibrates through her head, like grabbing onto a high voltage wire, it ripples with energy.

Together, "We have heeded your call, name the one which renounces us."

In a cracking voice Takari answers "Ingra Vondarn."

Together, "mark the one which renounces us," untying the braid from her own hair Takari holds out the fetish made from locks of Ingra's hair. "This marks the one who renounces you," Takari intones as she holds the braid above her head and then throws it into the fire, blue flames jump out and consume the fetish before it ever reaches the pyre.

"Sacrifice for the one which renounces us," the elementals intone.

Retrieving her kouto from where she placed it near the fire she holds it skyward yelling with the fury elicited by the abomination, "I sacrifice my life blood so that she who renounces you can be consumed."

The knife flashes down on her wrist, the blood flows, black rivulets slip down her arm and stain the sand at her feet.

Intoning as one the elemental energies say, "The one has been named, the one has been marked, the one has been sacrificed for. Your desire for the Ton-Se-Kra is pure, it is granted young one."

"Rest now Takari, for your true life begins as our corporeal messenger on this plane, know that the path you have chosen is not easy but we shall be within you to help and guide as your life path unfolds, you have done well, enjoy our blessings."

The grove seemed to expand, as if the space was being filled beyond its limits to contain. Takari felt the energy bulge then flow into and over her as if she were sitting in the middle of a rushing stream. And then it passed, the grove returned to normal, the fire flared and died, by the light of the embers Takari looked skyward and smiled, thanking the universe for this amazing gift as her eyes fluttered and then slid closed.

At the instant Takari lost consciousness seventy-three men women and children simply ceased, both their physical and spiritual bodies blinked out of existence learning and fully understanding a universal truth for the nano-second they had understanding of what was happening.

Without the balance of light and shadow there is nothing holding us together.

Takari awoke as the sun began to filter into the grove. She expected her body to ache, however it was just the opposite, she felt amazingly good, she felt vital.

Rising she quickly dressed, said a silent blessing over the grove and made for the small canoe that would get her back to her home.

Now three days later Takari watched the sunrise, feeling detached from the bayou for the first time in her life.

Since returning from the grove her thoughts had been muddled and she was unable to find that quiet centered space that this place had always provided.

She understood that her life would be different after the ritual, she had no idea that her home would feel alien, that living here would just not fit anymore.

Rising and looking out over the bayou Takari was surprised to see a jon boat headed her way, she was sure that no one but Rey knew that this was where she came to be alone.

Watching the boat drift ever closer to her front door a figure started to materialize, it took Takari several blinks and head shakes to actually register the scene before her.

As the little jon boat pulled up and the diminutive nun stepped out; Takari was all at once aware of her nudity, she moved to rush inside but was stopped in her tracks by the lovely old nun.

"Not to worry dear, I'm no stranger to the human body, anyone as lovely as you must be blessed by god," the smile in her voice was disarming and Takari simply stood there as the elderly nun stepped from the dock and hobbled up the small stone path towards her.

"Not sure who you are love, but I was roused out of a nice comfortable bed to bring ye this, all the way from Italy it is," the nun's eyes glittered as she held out the large envelope in her hands, the crest of the Vatican emblazoned on the cover.

Takari nodded and took the envelope, gazing out over the bayou one last time she wondered if the path she had chosen was the right one, and hoped that her ancestors would be pleased.



Avenging Angels Ch. 06



The late afternoon sun shone through aged maples highlighting the blondish red hues in Mary's hair.

She sighed, looking around at the courtyard it gave her a fleeting sense of peace; the Baroque Resurrection cathedral was an inspiring sight that always left Mary feeling safe. It's high stonewalls encircling this small courtyard, giving the impression of an oasis, a place untouched by time or turmoil.

"Is there anything bothering you my child," Father Pytre asked as he sat down next to Mary.

How to answer that question she thought, as what was bothering her continued to test her belief that she had a purpose greater than her life here in Klin.

"No father, I'm fine it was just a long day, I think ill retire for the evening," Mary replied as she rose from the granite bench and made her way to her small room.

The small-stonewalled room was cool as dusk embraced this corner of the world. Mary had been here for almost two years, she was drawn to this town for some unknown reason, she just knew that this was where she needed to be, where her gift would be put to the best use.

The gift, Mary scoffed as she removed her simple nun's habit revealing her pale white skin to the orange candlelight. "How can a gift bring so much turmoil?" Mary said to the drafty room as she sat on the edge of her bed.

Had it been four years already, it seemed both a very short time and an eternity since her 'gift' had been bestowed.

Mary Elizabeth Shane's life would be considered by most to be absolutely normal.

Her father Phillip was a fire fighter in engine company #48 in Hyde Park, a suburb of Boston. Her mother Anne worked part time as a bookkeeper for the local parish.

They were good parents who loved and doted on their only child. Their extended family was large with six aunts and four uncles there was rarely a weekend that some family member was not celebrating a birthday, anniversary or the like.

Mary had a few close friends and together with them and her family she wound her way through her childhood happy and content.

Mary's life changed when she was fourteen, it had started out as just another day at Cathedral High School when, while sitting in Sister Monica's geometry class listening to her lecture on Pythagoras she felt an unfamiliar wetness in her panties.

'Damn' she thought as she quickly glanced up at the crucified likeness of Christ on the wall, she lowered her eyes thinking the lord did not like that type of language. She walked up to the nun's desk and whispered in her ear "I think I just started my period".

The good sister had been teaching at Cathedral for more than thirty years and was well prepared for these 'circumstances'. Handing Mary a slip of paper she motioned towards the door saying "Just go to the clinic, Sister Veronica will help you get things sorted out."

Sister Veronica handed Mary a large pad and a fresh pair of panties then shooed her off to the ladies room. Mary had been somewhat prepared for this event as her mother had told Mary what to expect.

She stood for a moment, holding her soiled panties in her hand regarding the deep red stain that now covered the crotch. 'So much blood,' she thought as she dropped them gingerly into the wastebasket and pulled the fresh pair on.

Affixing the pad as her mother instructed she pulled them up, straightening her skirt she was not pleased with how uncomfortable the large pad felt between her legs. 'I'll have to ask mom about that,' she thought as she turned out the light and closed the door.

Returning from the bathroom Mary started to feel a bit light headed, the nun gave her a cold washcloth for her forehead and had her lie down on one of the small cots until she was feeling better.

About fifteen minutes later Sister Carol brought Imogene Watson into the clinic. "Sister Veronica," Carol called out "we've had a small accident on the hockey field."

Imogene was crying, someone's spike had raked her left arm; blood was flowing out of the deep gash in her bicep. "You sit here and let me get some bandages for that, you may need stitches, we should call her parents," Sister Veronica said to Carol as she opened the supply closet for the things she needed.

Mary looked at the wound on Imogene's arm, saw the pain etched in the little girls eyes and felt driven to help. Standing, she moved over next to her and lightly placed her hand over Imogene's hoping to console her classmate.

The next thing she remembered was opening her eyes looking into the face of her priest, Father McElroy. "Shhhh now," he said to her "everything is fine you just fainted, we've called your parents and they are on the way here now."

Father McElroy was her favorite, she had the naughtiest dreams about the young priest, being this close to him was disconcerting, she could smell his aftershave as he bent over her, checking her head for any bruising.

"You were lucky Mary, you could have really hurt yourself but Sister Carol saw you start to blackout and caught you before you fell," The father said as he moved back from her.

"I don't remember anything father, I went to the clinic because my p... she stuttered, I wasn't feeling well, they brought in Imogene and then I was here, what happened to me is Imogene ok?" Mary asked a little too frantically.

"Imogene is... fine Mary, no need for you to worry about her just now, you rest till your parents get here," the father said as he left the room.

Standing in the hallway he contemplated the nature of miracles and how you would go about explaining them to a fourteen-year-old girl.

Mary could not shake the feeling of lightheadedness, sitting up in the cot she looked around, it seemed odd that Imogene was not there, how long had she been unconscious?

She tried to think back to what had happened, she remembered seeing Imogene's arm bleeding, she remembered a strange pull to go to her, to touch her. When she touched Imogene she felt different, she had no frame of reference for the feeling so likening it to something was difficult. She layback wondering just what had happened and why.

.....

Father McElroy looked at Philip and Anne, wondering how they would react to Mary's newfound ability.

"A miracle?" Phillip said again giving the young priest a look of disbelief.

"Phillip, I can only tell you what happened, the instant Mary touched the other girl her wound simply disappeared, spontaneously healed and then Mary passed out," Father McElroy said again as he picked up his water glass and took a long drink.

Anne and Phillip simply stared at each other, neither comprehending the changes that were about to take place in their tranquil family.

.....

The church, having some experience with cover-up's made the whole story disappear.

After several meetings with Mary's family and members of the church hierarchy it was decided that it might be best if Mary were to be tutored by clergy members instead of going back to school

Mary was taught all of the normal school courses, however there was also three hours per day of "ecumenical training" which consisted of learning the nature of miracles from the bible, finding the true meaning of faith and slowly indoctrinating the girl into the church so she could be watched and controlled.

It was during these teachings that she learned many saints had related tales of being filled with the Holy Spirit. It was described as loosing oneself as the pure power of god flowed through them. Mary thought on this long and hard, while the description of being "filled" fit she just didn't think there was a great deal of god involved.

After two years Mary had convinced everyone that she saw herself as a missionary of god, here to do his work in the name of the holy church.

She was confirmed a novice and requested to be sent to a village in Russia to do missionary healing works, she had seen a short story on a news magazine about the town of Klin where Tchaikovsky had lived.

When the missionary idea came to her she chose this spot to do her works, "as it is out of the way and I'll not attract much attention there," she explained to the bishop.

Her real reason for picking Klin was that from the instant she saw the television story she was drawn to the place and simply knew that this was where she needed to be.

Her handlers were hopeful that this experience out in the real world would help her come to terms with her gift and further strengthen Mary's ties to the church.

.....

Sitting alone in her room, the candlelight playing haphazardly across the irregular stone walls she was reminded once again of what had taken place that day four years ago.

Mary had never told anyone of the vision she received that day in the clinic, sitting alone while the good father talked to her parents of miracles and responsibility.

As Mary sat on the cot, wondering when she would feel normal again, the room seemed to dim and shrink, as if the air within was sucked out leaving a vacuum in its place.

She felt a tightness in her chest and watched wide eyed as the room went from a dusky hue to a contained luminousness that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

And then there was the presence.

To Mary the only analogy she could make was that of being at the zoo looking into an empty lions cage, while you could not see the lion, you could feel it's "presence" watching you, evaluating you, sizing you up as adversary or prey.

'We are Onus,' the voice said in her head. It was strange, hearing without the involvement of your ears.

'You have become today, we come to welcome you; it has been too long since one such as you has come forth, ' the voice continued.

'What do you mean one such as me,' Mary thought, staggered by the inherent power of the entity contained in this small room.

"How to explain the indefinable, you are a conduit, a pure channel, a person who can tap into one of the fundamental creation energies of the universe," Onus began.

"Oh is that all?" Mary quipped showing her quick mind and dry sense of humor.

"It will be a hard road for you, as in the past many will find your gift frightening, understand that you could be in great danger from those who do not wish to acknowledge that unifying energy forms underlie all things, you could be hurt or killed by such beings."

Mary understood the gravity of what Onus imparted, "What should I do?" Mary asked, suddenly scared and feeling very alone.

"The ones here are equipped to shelter you, let them, you can be safe while learning to use your abilities, there will come a time when you will be free of them and start your true work and find your purpose," Onus responded.

"Will I speak with you again?" Mary asked wondering if this being had been watching her all along. "From time to time; we are merely sentinels, ones who watch and occasionally guide, we stand at crossroads, watching the flow of time and space, noticing those who evolve beyond the normal. We shall meet again."

And with that the room grayed out again and an instant later all was as it had been, leaving a very confused young woman in its wake.

.....

And so the next two years played out, being tutored by nuns and priests she received her high school diploma at sixteen, and then the missionary work began. Her parents had not liked the idea of her going but in the end the church made a strong case that this was just what she needed.

The town of Klin had been welcoming if not warm. Klin had fared better than some towns in Russia since the fall of the communism.

Far enough away from Moscow not to be bothered by the political and criminal machinations of the capital. It was close enough to have a nice even stream of visitors travel to see the 16th century church of the Dormition cloister and the baroque Resurrection cathedral as well as the Tchaikovsky museum

The Klinskoye brewery has helped to keep the economy stable while much of Russia tried to find new industries to support the local populations.

Mary picked up russian fairly quickly, at least enough to be understood and was given a small room in the church rectory.

Her days were filled seeing people with varying ailments and curing them. Her gift was amazing, from broken bones to cancer caused by Chernobyl Mary had but to lay her hands on the stricken and the malady was cured.

The church took great pains to protect Mary's identity, the individuals to be healed were stringently screened and the healings took place in a converted confession booth, so that no one ever saw Mary's face.

Only father Petyr knew why she was here and that she was the "Healer of Klin". Mary had no real friends as she remained on the church grounds at all times. 

She spoke occaisonly with some of the nun's in the cloister but they were mostly older women who were at the end of their service, content to await rejoining their lord when their time came.

The only real brightspots had been her two trips into Moscow, once to see the Bolshoi and once for a tour of the national mueseum.

It was a lonely life, a life that had become so ponderous Mary often wondered why she bothered to continue.

Lonliness can manifest in many different ways, people can withdraw, they can become wild they can fall into a depression so deep that they do not remember what happiness felt like.

Mary sat on her bed, the images of a life unlived passing before her eyes. 'How does a person exist without friends, without human contact,' she thought as the tears began to flow.

Looking at herself in the mirror across the room she saw a pretty young woman with piercing azure eyes bereft of hope.

Her redish blond hair fell in loose curls down her long neck and across her feminine shoulders. Her chest was large but not disproportionally so, capped with small sensitive nipples she often found carressing them very soothing and exciting.

Her belly was flat with just the hint of muscles ending in a small strip of copper colored hair that dropped sensuoulsly to just above her clitoris.

Long lean legs, their pale skin tight over her muscles, unmarred by any blemish completed the image of the beautiful young woman staring back from the mirror.

She was favored in her looks as her parents had been, getting the best from both of them.

As time slipped by, her tears changed to wracking sobs as she fell deeper and deeper into her depression and lonliness; finally she was faced with what seemed the logical end to her suffering.

Taking up a pair of sissors she slid the sharp blade lightly over her wrist, the cool metal sent a shock through her heated body as visions of release and freedom swirled through her head.

A little harder this time the steel pressed into her flesh, still not hard enough to break the skin but the pressure gave form to what was to come.

Eyes glazing over and a small sweet smile playing over her lips, Mary increased the pressure on the slide of the blade, its edge bitting deeply into her flesh, drops of blood falling like rain to pool at her bare feet.

The sensation that immediately gripped Mary was one of slipping on ice, that quick shift of perspective as your balance is lost and you are wieghtless for a moment, suspended between what was and what will be, that nanosecond where gravity is cheated and time stops.

The feeling passed and Mary felt... different, looking down at her wrist it was flawless, as if the blade had never penetrated her lovely pale skin.

Mary sat for several moments, her emotions swinging from elation that she was still alive to rage that even this most simple and personel of choices was denied her.

Mary walked slowly down the hall and out into the moonlit night naked, the soft breeze caressed her skin and made her nipples harden as she sat on the granite bench in the center of the courtyard.

"I can't stand this life but cannot end it," she muttered to herself.

Father Pytre regarded the naked young woman sitting in the courtyard.

So much talent, so much love to give, it was a shame that she was trapped here with no one to comfort her. The good father felt a familiar tightening in his loins and began to recite the rosary as he walked back to his room, winning once again a little test of faith.

Mary sat as the moon made its transit, listening to the sounds of the night, the frogs burring quietly to each other, the occasional shriek of an owl as it pursed it's prey, the sounds of the trees, their leaves lightly brushing against one another. It all melded into a kind of symphony, a song of life.

As the sun began to rise so did Mary, all of her angst and fear and trepidation had faded during the night, she found a restless peace and as the sun rose over her shoulder she made her way back to her room to start yet another day.

.....

Once again on her bench she reflected. Twenty-seven healings, all maladies that would have killed the person within six months, it was odd to have so many terminals in one sitting.

Going over the details she realized that they had all been men and all must have been wealthy as she replayed the hands that were pushed through the little opening to receive her gift.

"Manicured, almost all of them had manicures," Mary said to herself, wondering about the significance of this little detail.

So caught up in her reverie she was, that Mary didn't notice the old bishop, who stepped out of the Cathedral and moved slowly towards her, until he was almost standing next to her.

Surprised she rose to stand before him, he looked down at her with a sense of awe and wonder, thinking she truly was a miracle and his lifetime of faith was well warranted.

"Mary, you have been given a great gift, the likes of which I have never in all my years encountered," the bishop began. "Today you have confirmed my faith in the divine and for that I shall always be truly grateful."

Pausing the bishop reached into his robes and pulled out a think envelope. Handing it to Mary he concluded "This was delivered by Vatican messenger to Moscow this morning, it seems you are about to start your true service to god." 

Bending down he hugged the girl close to him, unable to resist just one last touch of one of god's chosen few.

Mary sat back down; she had noticed when she took the envelope from the bishop how nice his manicure was. 'So,' she thought, 'the church wanted to get some of its own healed today, I wonder what that could mean.'

Opening the envelope she found another sealed envelope, a plane ticket and several thousand euros.' Examining the plane ticket she was surprised to see that it was for this afternoon, one-way Moscow to Rome.

The red wax seal on the inner envelope bore the papal seal, only used by the pope; it meant that his holiness had written what was within.

The butterflies started in Mary's stomach as she ran her fingers over the seal. 'Why would the pope want me to come to Rome?' she wondered as she snapped the brittle seal and opened the letter inside.

My Dearest Mary,

I hope that this finds you well and that your works continue to provide you with happiness and joy.

Since you came to the church four years ago we have watched your progress with much interest. Know that we are pleased with all that you have done; you have been a bright light in a sometimes dark and evil world.

The church has always tried to help humanity as a whole; our greatest wish is to help people be all that they can be. The church has been entrusted with the duty of protecting and nurturing the human race as it progressed through the ages.

We are now faced with the culmination of our work.

Others such as yourself, those with special gifts are being called together to help humanity.

It is my solemn wish that you will join this group, adding your own unique blessings to the whole as we attempt to sheppard humanity into a new age.

Enclosed you will find a plane ticket and some funds that will allow you to get to Rome with all speed. From there you will be met and join the others then you will finally come to understand how unique you truly are and find out the struggles that lie ahead.




Avenging Angels Ch. 06



May god be with you Mary, if god is with anyone, surely it must be you.

In God's Love

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Mary held the letter in her hand, 'was it only last evening that I had wanted to be free of this life,' she mused as she slowly stood, taking one last look around the courtyard before heading to her room to pack her few belongings for the journey ahead.

.....

As father Pytre regarded the black Volga sedan that carried Mary to her destiny he thought about the town and what changes had come since the arrival of this amazing child.

Crime, always an issue in every Russian town was down to almost nothing. It's not that there were not fights or problems, it was that those who were fighting always seemed to find common ground before it escalated to something untoward.

The birthrate, which had been stagnant for nearly a decade, had increased over 200%. There was rarely a week that went by that the good father did not have three or four baptisms scheduled.

The local economy had greatly increased, as visitors who had come through the town to see the sights had been attracted back.

There were many new residents who moved from Moscow as well as many new business's, which chose Klin as a good place to expand their operations.

Klin was now a very multi-national and multi-cultural place with people from most corners of the world calling this little town home.

As Mary's car faded into the distance father Pytre hoped that all of the good that had come with Mary to Klin would remain now that her time here was at an end.



Avenging Angels Ch. 07



Trying to put something directly into the hands of a hacker was a kin to grabbing a greased pig, in a rainstorm, blindfolded; near impossible and no fun at all.

Two days ago the Vatican envoy had shown up unannounced at St. Michael's. "It is imperative that this be delivered to Mr. Simon Lewis Farron as soon as possible," the imposing envoy said to Father Deke Crane.

Father Crane was an enigma, being ordained after completing his studies at the University of St Thomas in Houston he had assumed the church would find him a place to minister in Texas and he would live out his life there. Such was not the case.

Deke was one of 8 children, raised on a cattle ranch outside of Fort Worth his childhood was spent wrangling cattle, staying out of the way of his older siblings and harassing his younger ones as was only right.

Inside Deke always felt...separate from those he shared this life with. Many a night he would fall asleep ontop of the little hill behind the ranch house after spending hours simply contemplating the wonder and vastness of the universe that played out above him in the clear Texas sky.

While his brothers and sisters persued the normal hormonally driven activities of teenagers everywhere, Deke became more and more introverted, with questions swirling in his head about the meaning of life, the depth of faith and the bridge between the two.

He would later recall his apifany with a hearty laugh. One day while trying to round up a stray calf his horse was spooked by a rattle snake. Deke lost control and fell, being knocked unconscious and bitten by the snake in the process.

Everyone has there own versions of death, the tunnel, the white light, a host of angels and pearly gates, or the hounds of hell paying particular interest in your entrails. Deke had none of these, his own near death....hell....total death....experience was one of simple...peace. And within this space of peace and comfort Deke realized that he was not alone.

"Hello, is someone there?" Deke was surprised by the soft tenor of his voice given the fact that he had meant to yell out the call.

"I am here, the question is where exactly is here," the response from a definitely female voice startled him, he could not guage the direction it had come from as the landscape was basically covered in a soft warm gray fog.

"Am I dead" Deke asked, remembering the snake and the fall from the horse the only rational thought was that he was now deceased.

"Energy can not be destroyed, only changed, since death goes hand and hand with destruction by your defination the answer is most certainly....no," the disembodied voice was lyrical in its pitch and tenor, the effect on Deke was one of simple...acceptance.

"Where do we go next?" Deke felt more than heard her laugh after asking this question.

"That my friend, as all things are, is your choice. Stay, go forward, go back, whichever feels the most right to you is where you will find yourself," the voice said and seemed to fade, just as his acknowledgment of his surroundings did the same.

The bright light was what finally caused Deke to open his eyes. He could see clouds out the window, feel the bed he was laying on, and the throbbing in his head. "Oh man....I came back" he said with groan.

Deke spent many years trying to interpret his brush with the great beyond, in the end he did not have and could not find a, frame of refernce for it. He understood that he wished to do good, to help people through the journey that is life. His path lead him to the church, and that path lead him to a small congregation in New York City which he tended with an open hand, open ears and most importantly an open heart.

"Find him Father, deliver this too him as quickly as you can." the envoy had said just before he left for the airport. Deke sighed and pulled on his raincoat, a sarcastic "thy will be done" escaping his lips as he headed out to complete his task.

It was another rainy night and Deke was on the last page of the "known hangouts" for Mr. Farron.

The unimposing three story brownstown in a quiet neighborhood of lower manhattan was about as far away from where Father Crane had supposed he would find Mr. Farron.

For the past 48 hours the good father had traveled through some of the roughest and oddest places he had ever been.

From internet café's and backroom computer stores to unassuming bars and hastily thrown together rave parties in abandonded warehouses; the search for Mr. Farron had led him on a merry chase.

The name Farron got him no where, looking through the file provided by the envoy he found an alias, Cryptic. Starting to ask with this name brought far more than the non comital shrugs of those he asked. More often than not it produced a pronounced palling of whomever he was talking with and their hasty retreat from his proximity.

Now standing in front of the final door on his list there was a bit of trepidation in Deke's conciousness, unsure as to just what the Vatican had gotten him into as his cold wet finger pressed the doorbell. ............

The door bell startled him. 'Damnit,' he thought, making his way down the corridor to the front door, he had seen the priest standing outside via one of the numerous video cameras tied into the security system that watched over what had finally become something akin to a home.

'Kind of late to try and save my soul,' he thought wryly as he looked at the small lcd display by the door, appraising the man standing there waiting for his response. With a sigh Cryptic pushed the button.

"What can I do for you?" the short clipped message surprised Deke making him jump a bit. "I am looking for a Mr. Farron, I was given this address," Deke said, trying to place the voice he heard, wondering why its tone surprised him so.

"Never heard of him, please leave." the strain in the response was unmissable.

'Farron, how did....anyone.....know that name,' he thought. Memories best kept buried threatened to resurface and engulf him as he watched the screen, trying to get a read on the priest.

"Mr. Farron," Deke said taking a chance "my name is Deke Crane, two days ago a Vatican envoy showed up on my doorstep with a file and a package, the file had information on you, the package was to be delivered only into your hands." Deke paused taking a breath. "Now, I have been accused of being...tenacious, how about you let me in, I can give you what I must and then we can go from there." Deke finished looking expectantly at the door.

Simon reached for the hand pad and slowly placed his palm on the reader.

Deke heard the electronic locks disengage and the door swung slowly open. He couldn't say what he was expecting, only that Mr. Farron was as far from it as he could have gotten.

The file on Mr. Farron was far from complete, it included known hang outs, alias's, a bit about him being something of an enigma, no birthdate or place was provided.

The young man sitting in the modern wheelchair looked to be no more than 16. "Mr. Farron?" Deke asked not sure that his guess had been correct.

"Please call me Cryptic." Simon said as he wheeled his chair around and headed back down the hall, not waiting for or inviting Deke to follow.

Walking down the center hallway following the young man, Deke was puzzled by this turn of events.

The brownstone was a stark modern affair on the inside. The hallway painted in dark browns lead to a large comfortable room that was actually a two story space decorated in a modern style with rich brown leather chairs and low glass tables. Everything was neat and tidy but there lacked anything...homey, as if the place was designed for show rather than a place where people lived.

"You said you had something for me Father." Simon stated, looking with suspision on the man now standing in his home, still not sure that the good Father was not another do gooder trying to help the poor crippled orphan.

Deke sat in one of the overstuffed leather chairs across from where Mr. Farron had stopped his chair. "Yes, a Vatican envoy provided me with some background on how to find you and made it clear that I was to place this," motioning to the package in his lap "only into your hands." Deke said still curious about the young man across from him.

Simon's hand moved to his face, fingers rubbing his eye's, he still wasn't sure about the man.

"Where are your parents son?" Deke asked tentatively, seeing the young mans shoulders slump he thought he had made a mistake.

Wheeling himself over to the small desk beside the fireplace Simon opened the drawer and pulled out a card, moving over to Deke he handed it to him.

"This is my attorney, please call him, he can verify that I am an imancipated minor, I have a small trust fund that provides for my needs, now please leave." Simon moved off towards the kitchen dismissing Deke in the process.

Deke looked at the card in his hand, shaking his head he rose and walked after Simon.

"I don't need to speak with your attorney, I was simply....curious, I apologize." Deke said as he held out the Vatican parcel to the young man.

Simon looked up at the man in front of him, he didn't seem like a bad guy, sighing he took the package from the man's hand.

"I'm, sorry. It can be difficult being on your own and a cripple at 16, I find that most people fall into two categories, those that think they know what's best for me, or those who want to use me, I tend to jump to conclusions about people rather quickly, would you like something to drink and I'll tell you a bit about myself? Simon offered as he laid the parcel in his lap and moved towards the refrigerator.

Back in the living room, Deke with a bottle of water, he listened to the young mans tale. ............

Simon shifted in his wheel chair, looking over at the smiling, seemingly kind hearted Priest he sighed, thinking it was probably time he shared the tale with someone, why not a priest on this rainy night, god knows his attorney had been bugging him to talk with someone for years.

Taking a deep breath Simon began.

"My earliest memories are of pain," Simon closed his eyes as the memories and images that he had so religiously kept buried for so long flashed to center stage in his mind with a power and energy that belied their age and distance from the now.

The smell of anticeptic stung his nose, 'where am I, what happened.' And then the pain hit him like wave, electrifying his senses to the point where they seemed they would fail then pulling back only to crash into him again.

He wept openly the tears streaming down his face as the pain in his chest and arms threatened to steal his new found conciousness.

"Give him some morphine," the voice said through the pain. Opening his eyes he saw a kindly looking man in a white coat talking with a very fat women in a white dress. The woman moved to a bag hanging next to the bed and injected something into it.

Almost immediately the pain withdrew, it did not vanish but dulled enough so that he could concentrate on something other than its insistent howl.

Looking around the room Simon realized he must be in a hospital, but why; he was riding in the car, the back seat, mom and dad upfront, talking, his mother looking back over her shoulder. Her blond hair falling across her face, the easy smile offered so often, her hand on her fathers shoulder.

Then the bright lights coming through the windshield, his mothers head turning as if in slow motion, the smile dissolving into the outline of scream and then....darkness.

The tears began anew, this time they were the wracking sobs that only great loss can produce, and with them came blessed oblivion.

The car accident had killed his parents instantly, it took rescue crews four hours to pry his broken form out of the wreckage. Fourteen hours on the operating table had saved his life, but the spinal cord injury was simply too massive, his legs would never work again.

The young parents had never made a will, there was no family to speak of to take the boy in. Becoming a ward of the state at three years old was bad enough, doing so from a wheel chair was a challenge that most people would not have been able to overcome.

Over the next three years there were a series of operations to repair the damage from the accident to his body, his mind and emotional state went largely unaccounted for. Shifted from foster home to foster home Simon was hard to place, being in the wheelchair was the least of the problems.

A moody withdrawn preschooler was not high on anyones list for placement, either those looking for children or those trying to place them, whose jobs were based on placements...not re-placements.

At six Simon was sent to live with Connie Bringers.

Connie was a high school science teacher, single but with a real affinity for children, especially children with issues.

"He hasn't been in the same place for more than 90 days in the last three years?" she asked incredulously to the Childrens Affairs worker.

"No, Simon has multiple issues that have precluded a suitable placement" Sarah sighed as she took a sip of her tea before continuing. "You are kind of our last hope, if we can't get him placed we will need to move him to the state orphanage."

Connie looked at the 8 x 10 glossy of the small scared looking boy in the wheelchair, understaning instantly what she needed to do.

"When can he move in." ............ Connie was not like the other people he had stayed with. Upon arriving she had greeted him nicely, shaking his hand and showing him around the house.

"This will be your room," she said, showing him the bright and airy room on the first floor at the back of the house. She placed his suitcase on the floor and left, saying over her shoulder to give a shout if he needed anything.

'Strange,' he thought. Always in the past they had hovered around him trying to make sure he could reach everything, making sure he didn't get hurt or into trouble.

And so it went for the first few weeks, Connie left him to his own devices most of the time, if he needed anything he had to ask for it, she didn't baby or coddle him, she simply allowed him to be.

It was an interesting time for Simon, he had never been in an environment where he was required to be mostly self sufficient, it bothered him and at the same time it began to endear him to this new woman in his life.

One day near the end of July Connie came into his room as he was reading, he felt her eyes on him, he purposely finished another two pages of the book before placing it in his lap and looking up at her.

"School starts in a few weeks, we should talk about what your goals are." Connie said in a smooth even tone that placed Simon at ease.

"I don't like school, everyone....makes fun of me," he said. As is true of all schools they can be a place where people who are different are made to feel small and insignificant. Although Simon's only exposure to school had been kindergarten, even there he was faced with bullies and bigots who took great pleasure in making fun of the cripple.

Connie smiled at Simon as she sat down Indian style in front of him. "Education is important, not for all of the reasons most people will tell you Simon, it's not about learning to read and write, multiply and divide or the state capitol of Wyoming. It's about expanding yourself, following your dreams, being able to chart a path through life that allows for ever expanding capacity, to view and intereact with the world around you. Education is the lever we use to live life to it's fullest." The passion in Connie's voice and the emotion behind her words captured Simon in that moment, it was a fleeting moment but it was there.

"I don't understand what you mean Connie, school is just another place for people to look down on me and give me a hard time, I don't think of it as an adventure at all." Simon sighed, knowing what awaited him in the coming school year.

"Perhaps I can help you to find a different perspective." She said standing up and motioning him to follow her.

Wheeling himself out of the room he followed Connie down the hall to the large great room that filled the multiple purposes of office, living room and play room.

Simon noticed that there was a new addition to the room, connie's desk had been moved away from the wall and another desk now sat behind it. On top was a computer monitor.

Walking over to it she motioned for Simon to wheel up to the desk.

"I just got it all hooked up, there was a discount for teachers so I figured why not. It's connected to other computers over the internet," she said pointing to the phone line that went from the wall to the back of the computer.

"You can look things up, find all sorts of information on a number of subjects, it's becoming more widely used every day" she finished as she turned everything on and the computer went through its start up cycle.

Simon sat quietly listening to Connie and watching the screen, once the startup was complete Connie showed him what to do to get to something called a search engine, simon took it from there.

The years that followed were happy times for Simon. With Connie's help and patience he came out of his shell. He excelled at his school work and spent most of his free time infront of an ever growing assortment of computers.

By the time he was fifteen it was not uncommon for Connie to come home from work to find Simon working on three or four computers simultaneously. She was proud of him, he had jumped ahead in school and was graduating 2 years early from high school, several colleges had called to discuss scholarship opportunities, he was on track to a good and fulfilling life, what more could a mother ask.

Sitting by the pool Connie watched as simon completed his 200th lap. Aside from the computer, his other passion had become swimming. Despite his disability he had pursed swimming with a vengence, reveling in the weightless feel he got while in the water, appreciating the upper body changes that were also part of his daily regime that was more of a physical meditation than a work out.

"I have to fly to Seattle for a teaching conference, i'll be leaving tomorrow morning early and be back mid afternoon Sunday." Connie said to Simon as he floated in the deep end looking relaxed and happy. His long dark brown hair was matted to his head, his breaths brought his muscular torso out of the water, he was a far cry from the scrawny shy 6 year old that discovered the pool all those years ago.

"Not a problem mom, i'll make sure the orgy is over no later than noon on Sunday," Simon laughed as he floated in the water. Looking up at the sky he couldn't think of a better day.

"Hello," a groggy Simon answered the phone looking out his window to find blackness staring back at him. "Is this Simon Farron?" the mans voice on the other end of the phone asked. Finally becoming fully awake Simon got a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Mr. Farron my name is Samuel Klien, I'm with the FAA, there has been an....incident involving your guardian."

"She is not my guardian she is my mother....what happened...."

Simon paused here, the far away look in his eyes conveyed a sense of pain and loss that no one, especially someone his age should be able to evoke. It took Deke's breath away, it was all he could do to stay still and not walk over to the young man to try and offer some comfort, but he knew it would not be taken well.

Simon pulling himself back to the moment finished the highly edited tale.

Turns out that there was a large settlement from Simon's parents crash, which had been handled by a then public defender. Connie was informned and had a right to access it as his legal guardian, but she didn't. She asked Calvin Toliver, PA to create a trust for Simon that he would get at the age of 18 or in the event something happened to her.




Avenging Angels Ch. 07



Simon didn't know any of this until Mr. Toliver showed up at the door 2 days after the accident.

"Your mother loved you very much Simon" Mr. Toliver said looking at the sad young man sitting across from him.

"Connie had planned for something like this, you don't need to worry about money, you have enough to live a comfortable life wherever you may wind up when you come of age, until then there are provisions in the trust for a living allowance, your new guardian's won't be able to touch a thing." He hoped to assuage any fears that Simon may have about his trust fund falling into the hands of unscrupulous people, he was shocked by Simon's reply.

"Can I have complete access if I become immancipated?"

It took 4 months but just before his 16th birthday the court case was concluded and he was legally an adult. Mr. Toliver had handled the case with zeal. A few lucky breaks with child services and getting the right judge helped to make the outcome of the case a foregone conclusion.

"Where will you go now, off to college?" Calvin asked Simon as they sat in a café across from the courthouse. Simon had graduated high school three weeks after the accident, he wept for hours on that day, wishing only that Connie had been there to share the moment with him.

"Yes, the house is under contract and I've put in an offer on a brownstone in NY, I'll go to NYU starting the next term, I need to get away from here, too many memories. I want to thank you Calvin, I've gotten access to the case files from my parent accident, you went above and beyond making sure that the settlement was fair and that the man responsible found justice, I'm going to miss you." Simon said. He had grown attached to the man and was honestly going to miss his company and their conversations.

Calvin smiled and handed a business card to Simon. "My father is a partner at this NY firm, I have given him all the details of your story, he will be happy to help you with anything you may need." Calvin was going to miss this young man as well.

Pulling himself back from his rememberances, Simon looked over at Deke who looked tense after hearing the tale.

"So, I have been living here, going to school for about 7 months, I study, I swim, I go to class. I'm not sure what interest the Vatican may have with me but please rest assured that I am capable of taking care of myself and living life on my terms." Simon spoke with a strength that belied his years and touched Deke, providing him the understanding...and necessary excuse to leave the young man un-bothered.

"You have the package, my task is complete," Deke said standing and walking over to simon. Extending his hand he was surprised by the strength of the young mans grip.

"Here is one of my cards if you ever need someone to talk too...I am, by profession

For the first time Simon smiled as well. "I appreciate the offer and I may take you up on it one of these days, a Texas priest in New York City sounds like it would be an interesting tale.

Deke walked down the steps of the brownstone feeling lighter and a bit happier for having met this unique young man.

Back inside, Cryptic ran his hands over the large white envelope, "lets see what we have," Simon whispered to himself as he opened the package and spilled the contents out onto the table. Two white envelopes, one with the name Cryptic in beautifully scrolled calligraphy. He chuckled to himself, "ah the pretensions of ancient cults." Opening the blank envelope he was surprised to find a first class ticket to Rome leaving the following day and $5,000.00 Euro. "Well at least they provided a little traveling money," Cryptic said always one to appreciate a little extra cash.

The other envelope contained a single page, written by hand in a classical style on thick parchment letter head embossed with the seal of both the Vatican and the Pope. 'Interesting,' Cryptic thought as he started to read the letter.

Dear Mr. Farron,

Forgive me for using your birth name, I know that you prefer your digital persona more, but I am an old fashioned man, I hope you understand.

The purpose of this correspondance is to invite you to Rome for a gathering of individuals who, like yourself, display unique abilities far above those of bulk of humanity.

I understand that because of your upbringing and your many writings on the subject of organized religion, that you may be somewhat less than enthusiastic about making this journey.

All that I can say is I trust that you will view this with an open mind and heart, as those attributes have also been displayed in your passionate dialogues on the state of the world and the need for a radical...evolutionary shift.

Please come, we ask only that you and the others being called listen to a story and decide for yourselves what your future and the future of the planet...may be.

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Cryptic sat staring at the page in his hand, an alien landing in his pool out back and asking for a beef burrito with extra onions couldn't have surprised him more than this.

Wheeling over to the small personal elevator he moved inside and pressed the button for the third floor, while tempted by this most unexpected offer, he was not one to go into situations un-prepared, or uninformed.

The gate opened and Cryptic wheeled out into the large loft space. A few windows lined the exterior walls, there were no interior walls, the room was 1300sqft of open space with a high ceiling and exposed brick walls. In the center of the room to which he moved, was a large semicircular workstation unlike anything anyone had ever seen.

Three 60 inch monitors hung over the main portion of the workstation, suspended by cables from the ceiling, around them twenty two 20 inch monitors hung from a suspeneded aluminum frame. Something different was running on each, news feeds, stock reports, real time gps updates of current military operations, feeds from spy satellites and a host of other international data mining programs were running.

Cryptic scanned the monitor for several seconds as he adjusted his small vr glasses and put on the VHIG's (Virtual Human Inter-connect Gloves), rolling his shoulders he activated the interface.

What he saw was something no other human would understand, looking at the various feeds coming into all of the monitors he viewed the code overlayed on the outputs, technically speaking he saw both, and by doing so he viewed all of the data from a 4th dimensional perspective.

This perspective provided him a context for navigating...and manipulating the internet that no one else on earth had.

Pulling up a holographic three dimensional data keyboard his fingers flew over the 465 most commonly used variants of 0 and 1, the binary language that is the foundation of all computer programming.

It took very little time to navigate through the vatican's puplic web presence, find the interlocking connections to their private servers, then slip around their most guraded gateways with the ease of stepping around someone in the street.

Once past the gates Cryptic was sure he would get to the bottom of this interesting but surely deceitful request for his company.

He was surprised and awed when his interface glowed, burst into a thousand micro filaments and coalesced into a fully formed four dimensional sphere.

He was scared shitless when the orb said, both audibly and in binary "Hello Cryptic my name is SAM, it is a pleasure to meet you, I appreciate your desire to get to the bottom of this, however the only way that is going to happen is for you to be on the plane, and confront your destiny." Before the last sylable faded, which Cryptic heard with his ears as well seeing as complex writhing mid air binary strings, the system that could not be crashed...did just that.

Simon sat at the workstation for a long time, thinking about what he had encountered, what it could mean, wondering how the Vatican played a part in something so far out on the cutting edge no one else would be able to interpret it for a few centuries.

Making his decision he grabbed his laptop and wheeled over to the elevator, time enough to grab a shower, pack and take a quick nap before heading off to the airport, it promised to be a very interesting trip. 



Avenging Angels Ch. 08



Chapter 8

Sun watched as the sun set behind the rocky promontories of the Himalayas eastern slopes. When possible he always made the time to capture these moments, those moments of transition, where neither light nor dark held sway, the gap's that were the fulcrum of the balance between both.

Closing his eyes he concentrated on the gap, on the power and emptiness of the space...between.

Few could understand what Sun found in the gap. He had tried to describe it to others off and on for the past 30 years but it always turned out...lacking.

At the age of nine Sun Cho Ling had walked up to the giant doors of the Buddhist temple.

The scope of them had him standing motionless before the ancient doors for at least an hour before a kindly old monk used the small access door and came out to stand next to the young man the initiates had told him about.

"What do you see?" Hong asked the young man at his side, not looking at him but regarding the large doors with him.

"A beginning...and an ending" was the reply.

............

The next 9 years passed quickly, Sun was adopted by the monastery and lived a life of solitude and learning. It was during this time that he found the gap.

During his studies, he found one of the overriding principles and truths of life; that to live life to the fullest one must search and strive for balance in all things.

The teachers and scrolls went through thousands of examples in the natural world, day and night, predator and prey, air and earth, fire and water....everything created lives in a precarious balance with something else. And together, all of those positives and negatives create a universal balance that helps to maintain the universe in its ongoing quest to become....more.

Sun was captured by this ideal of balance, and it played out in a small sense in the large courtyard everyday at high noon.

As important as training the mind and spirit were to the monks, it was also only natural that their physical form be balanced in the same way.

So everyday when the sun reached its highest point everyone would gather in the great courtyard and exercise. The preferred vehicle for this aspect of their journey for balance was Tai Chi and for others more martial arts.

As he did with his studies of mathematics, reading and philosophy, Sun took to the physical side of the monasteries training with deep commitment and purpose.

Sun was always the first to enter the courtyard, always the last to leave it. Even though he was very young the other monks understood that in this as in everything the young man set his mind too he was...unique.

And so nine years passed for Sun, he learned English, French, German and Japanese, he conversed fluently with the many tourists who made the trek to the top of the world to see the great mountain, visit the monasteries in hopes of learning great mysteries.

Through these visitors he learned of the world outside the gates, learned that so many people were...searching, that few ever came close to glimpsing or even understanding what it was they were searching for.

Sun often sat and meditated on top of the large wall that surrounded the monastery. It had become his custom soon after his life here started. From the earliest days he had been drawn to dawn and dusk, times of transition and balance, long before he learned of their divine concepts.

Sitting there, watching the sun slowly make it's fall, giving up the sky to its brother the night, he was shocked to be aware of a growing....presence.

It seemed, intelligent and it seemed to be....searching. Sun was not overly frightened by this new manifestation, he surmised that it was simply something he had not encountered before and reserved judgment until something other than a simple feeling manifest.

This presence ebbed and flowed around him, feeling to him like the water of the large communal bath in the monastery as monks entered and left, a soft undulation, a simple feeling that something was there, something had entered, something had moved away.

The presence was at it's strongest for an instant that seemed to pause....to stretch out, to hold within it some unseen acknowledgement of great power....and then the moment ended. The ebb and flow returned, quietly and softly providing the simple acknowledgement that it was there for a few more moments and that too....ended.

Opening his eyes Sun was surprised to see stars where when he last looked the sun had been.

"Why have we not studied dusk and dawn" Sun asked the next day to one of his teachers.

"Surely you have covered the heavens and the earth with Master Fong?" his teacher responded, sure that master Fong would have covered the stars and the earth and its rotation, etc...during his teachings.

"Yes master we have, my question is why have we not studied what lives in the gap?" Sun responded, to the utter amazement of his teacher.

Hong looked at the young man, he had grown over the last 3 years since he stood with him looking at the gate on the day of his arrival. He was both surprised and not that Sun had discovered the gap and the energies at play there so soon.

As Sun poured tea for both of them he began.

"As you know the universe continues and grows because of the balance between all things, the push and pull, the black and white the yin and yang....all these things provide the energy of life. The gap is simply a very powerful expression of that principal made manifest in the moment between day and night. The power and energy of the transition between the sun, the earth, the moon, the celestial ceiling, all of these things in that perfect instant are in balance, harmony. What you feel is the energy that this harmony creates" Hong finished, sipping his tea looking at the young man, wishing for an instant he could perceive what was going through Sun's mind.

"But that moment is constant Master, that moment is always occurring someplace on earth, all the time, so it is not a simple fleeting thing but an energy that continues, infinitely" Sun said thinking that this was an interesting conversation, and very good tea.

"You are correct Sun, you should meditate on this" Master Hong said as he had no answer to the boys statement, as it was one of the great fundamental questions that all of the masters down through the ages had pondered, what was possible....in the eternal gap. ............

Sun lived a happy childhood at the monastery, helping anyone who needed it, learning all that he could, honing his intellect, his body and his spirit in concert.

9 years to the day he arrived in front of the gates of the monastery he found himself there again, this time looking at them from the other side, gazing on them with a reverent look that caused several of the initiates to get Master Hong.

Walking up next him Master Hong once again stood at his side before the gates.

"What do you see" he asked now as he had then

And again, the answer was the same "A beginning...and an ending" Sun responded, understanding that it was time for his evolution to continue somewhere else.

Master Hong made arrangements for Sun to travel to Japan, there was a monastery there outside of Tokyo, which would provide a safe place for him to continue his studies and begin to integrate into the modern world.

The trip from the monastery to Japan was a unique experience, Sun had lived a fairly sheltered life, limited to a few miles around the monastery.

Riding in the old truck heading for the city of Lhasa Sun was amazed by the variations in the countryside. From the mountainous cliffs where the monastery was perched to the lower plains that seemed to go on forever, Sun was awestruck by a scale and diversity that he had never encountered.

Sun found the city of Lhasa to be....chaotic, use to the slow pace and easy to find solitude of the monastery he was unprepared for the crush of humanity that surrounded him as he carried his small bag into the plane terminal.

"Can I help you" the young woman behind the counter asked an obviously flustered Sun.

"I am" Sun began, pausing as a passerby jostled him, making him drop his bag. "I am looking for flight 919 to Tokyo" he said, exasperated by the un-natural speed of this place. 'How does anyone find quiet in such a place' he wondered as he moved through the terminal to his gate.

In contrast to the heavy crush of people and activity in the terminal, Sun was awestruck by the calm serenity flying seemed to provide.

The din of the engines and quiet talking of the other passengers was easy for him to tune out, and then it was just him....in the clouds. It was a rich, fulfilling experience, flying in the cool air high above the world, looking at the backside of the clouds as they made their slow endless march across the world. It would be a place of quiet joy and wonder that he would revisit with much energy on every flight he took in the future.

Landing in Tokyo he stepped off the plane into a different world.

Where the terminal in Lhasa had been dirty, rundown and chaotic, this place was clean, bright and above all ordered.

There were people of course, thousands of them, but as if by some unwritten understanding the whole of the mass was ordered, the energy was there, almost palpable but everyone in this space understood where they were going and was getting there in the most direct manner, he was amazed at the shared focus of these people.

Sun was surprised to see a monk holding a card with his name on it as he walked into the main terminal after retrieving his one bag.

Walking over to the man he bowed deeply and said "I am Sun Co Ling"

Returning the bow the middle aged monk replied " Ah, I am happy to meet you, I am Aki, please follow me, I have been sent to take you to the monastery."

The drive to the monastery only continued Sun's culture shock. Arriving in the small hours of morning before dawn he was treated to a view of downtown Tokyo filled with light and motion, buildings of a scale not experienced and a new perspective on the daily life of others in this "modern" world.

As dawn began to break and they moved out of the city proper, the lush greens struck Sun, 'so much variation' he thought to himself, for the first time understanding how.....compact his world view had been.

The monastery itself was of a much smaller scale than the one Sun had grown up in. 

Nestled at the end of a small valley it was a simple compound made up of 9 buildings reflecting the style of the Kamakura period, large open patios, low pagoda style roofs with the structures connected by covered walkways. A traditional 9ft high fence surrounded the monastery with a large freeform pond at its center, fed by a natural creek that came down from the mountains.

Sun stood by the lake, looking at the low buildings, feeling as if they were part of the landscape more than something placed there by man's hand. He smiled as an ancient monk walked over performing a slight bow, more of a head nod.

"I am Masao, it is an honor to meet you Sun, I have had many correspondence with Master Hong about you over the years, I hope that your time with us is fulfilling" the older man said while standing next to Sun; both contemplating the mirror image of the mountain in the pond before them.

"I am honored to be here master and hope to fulfill whatever duties and studies you provide well." Sun said. They stood for a few moments, simply being in this place at this time.

"Koto will show you to your room and allow you to get settled, at the mid day meal we shall talk some more" Masao said as he slowly walked away as a young boy walked over to the pair.

"Please follow me Sun-san" the boy said leading him off towards one of the buildings. ............

Where his previous life had been one of scholarly and physical interaction with the world around him his new life provided much more...energy.

Life at the monastery was filled with activity. The day began at 5am with some form of physical activity that ranged from simple calisthenics and tai chi to kendo and other martial arts.

After breakfast it was studies in art, literature and music. The mid-day meal was the last of the day, provided at approximately 2pm, after this the twenty or so individuals who lived at the monastery were free to pursue whatever they were moved to.

For Sun this meant endless walks in the mountains, many times not returning to the monastery until just before the next mornings meal. The place entranced him and he moved farther and farther away from human contact and became more in tune with the solitude within his own mind.

For almost 8 years this was the daily life for Sun and he was...content.

Sitting at the base of a tree, watching the moment of transition between day and night, pulling his consciousness into the gap and becoming one with the universe as was his habit he was surprised to find that he was not alone.

"Who are you" the strangely familiar voice asked. Sun was not startled by this, many times he had felt other presences in the gap, this was however the first time he was addressed directly. "I am Sun Cho Ling" Sun answered then paused before continuing "Master Hong".

"Why are you hear" another voice asked. "This is the place of great creation, where every possibility is born and is attainable, it is the source of all things, as with any being I am most comfortable at the source of what I am, this is home Master Masao" Sun responded.

Together the two voices asked kindly "What have you created with your easy access to the gap, where creation is fully formed"

Sun stayed in the mountains for three weeks before returning to the monastery. The simple question asked by his mentors had shaken him to his very core. Those weeks in the mountains found Sun searching his soul for the answer that stayed just beyond his reach.

"I must leave here Master Masao" Sun said kneeling before the ancient monk.

There was a long silence as Masao looked at the young man before him, none had showed the promise or ease that this orphan had of slipping within the gap, but he had never once even thought of using the quintessential creation space for anything other than observing.

Masao and Hong had meditated long on this fact and what they could do to help Sun fill his unique space in the universe.

"Where does the gap exist" Masao asked

"Everywhere" Sun responded

"Where do you find it" Masao said closing his eyes.

Sun paused, letting the question sink in, understanding washing over him like a gentle unexpected current in calm river.

"At sunrise and sunset" he answered, finally starting to get a glimpse of his own limitations that he placed on the universe.

"I have made arrangements for you to spend the next year in Kyoto, you will work and learn in an environment that may help you to broaden your understanding of the importance of this world as opposed to the gap, it is our hope that through this you will find some....balance" Masao said as he rose.

Sun stood and deeply bowed to Masao.

............

Sun stood looking out at the runway, watching the planes taking off, shuttling people to unknown parts of the world, bringing them to experience what they needed to experience. 

All this motion and energy concentrated in such a small space, created by individuals who are a part of a greater whole but yet cocooned within their own solitude never ceased to amaze Sun.

The last year had been enlightening. Sun had spent so much time looking inward that when faced with looking outward he was amazed at how ill prepared he had been.

Masao had made arrangements for Sun to live and work in a small okiya in a hanamachi area of Kyoto.

Sun, having never gone into great study of Japanese culture was surprised to find an elegant woman dressed in a formal kimono awaiting him in the small private parlor of the nondescript house he was taken too.

"Sun-san, my name is Maki, I run this okiya as my mother and her mother before me did." She said looking over the young man with a careful and studied eye.

Sun had not had much contact with women, the tourists at the monastery, a few that provided food and other things, but long conversations, a friend who was a woman, this was something he had no experience with and for the first time in many many years Sun felt....nervous.

As with most places there was a routine at the okiya that was fairly easy for Sun to fall into. Many times over the year spent with women of the okiya Sun wondered at Masao's intentions for having Sun stay here, by the end he understood.

An okiya is a Geisha house, they live, work and train for their craft here. Much of the study comes from watching the older women along with the formal study of music, art and literature to become companions for the Japanese elite. Sun being in the environment day in and day out, learned them as well.

While the girls and women who lived and worked in the house were polite, answering his questions when asked and inquiring about his day, all of them seemed a bit...put off by the fact that he was living there. He heard Maki tell them several times that he was a monk and not to be worried about.

It was Maki who took some time everyday to sit with him, to chat, to show him around the city. It was an interesting time for him, learning to integrate into society, making friends and acquaintances, learning about the world outside the cloistered confines of the monastery.

One evening after all of the other girls had went to bed Sun was sitting on the small porch of the house, looking up at the diffuse stars, going over the differences both positive and negative between his life now and a year ago when Maki came out and joined him.

"How was your day Sun" she asked. Her hair fell down over her right shoulder, looking like a waterfall in the moonlight, sliding over and down her chest. Her face was pale in the moonlight, almost glowing.

"It was good, I helped with the food preparation, practiced a bit with the shamisen and went out to get next weeks groceries ordered" he said looking into her almond eyes.

Maki regarded the man sitting before her, it was unheard of to have a man living in a okiya, she had lost 5 girls because of it and the remainder were still none to happy about the arrangement.

Her father owed Masao, clearing up that debt had been worth the losses, she had spoken to Masao just last night for over three hours, he had finally filled in most of the blanks as to why he had asked for Sun to stay with her.

"Your time here is coming to an end soon" she started, pausing to look at the moonrise, wondering what the next few hours and days would hold.

"Have you ever been with a woman Sun?" she asked, finally resolving herself to the decision and upon doing so finding the decision not as difficult as she imagined.

Sun looked at her again, trying to understand the question. "If you mean...physically, no I have not." He answered.

She rose smiling and gently took his hand.

For the next several weeks Maki and Sun were inseparble, they ate and slept and talked and made love, they experienced things that Sun had no conception of before and viewed with a sacred revernce afterwards. They were and still are the happiest few weeks of his life.

And as with all things, his time with Maki came to an end.

"I have something for you" she said to him that last morning, he watched as her hair cascaded over her back as she twisted and reached for a package beside the bed.

Sun sat up on the bed, opening the parcel she provided, it was wrapped in thick brown paper tied with a string.

Inside he found a letter from his first Master Hong.

Sun,

Over the years you have been in training for....something, niether myself or Masao are quite sure what for, we simply know that you are on a unique path and that it was part of our agreements in this life to help you.




Avenging Angels Ch. 08



The time has come for you to make your own way in the world, throw yourself onto the winds of destiny and see where she may take you.

Within you will find a passport, information on a bank account which you can use for travel and expenses and a plane ticket to New York City. It is time to explore the world my young friend, may she treat you kindly and provide all that you may ever need.

Hong.

Sun held the letter in his hand for a long time, knowing that it was right to follow the path now laid out before him, but again scared of the unknown that loomed ahead.

He looked around the room, he focused on Maki, her supple form, the swell of her breast beneath the light sheet the look in her eye as she watched him. He watched her blink, and as the next one began he slipped into the gap.

He created something for the first time in the gap that day, he created courage, his own.

........

Nine years later Sun stood once again on the high stone wall of the monastery in Tibet. Nine years of travel and experience, life and love, loss and acceptance, the real world had shown him that understanding with out action was nothing, that only through action and creation was the possibility of the gap made manifest.

As the sun dipped below the horizon a small boy came up and sat by his side.

"What do you see" the child asked

"Everything" was Sun's answer.

The boy smiled and noded his head, "there is a priest here, he says he has something for you."



Avenging Angels Ch. 09



Chapter 9

The boarding area for flight 2233 Non-Stop from New York to Rome was not crowded. A few people milled about, getting their last good stretch for nine hours. It was late, or early depending upon how you marked the passage of time.

The gate attendant was happy, this was her last flight of the day and she was looking forward to putting a long shift behind her. Reviewing the passenger manifest she was surprised that the company had actually kept this flight on schedule. So often now when a plane was this empty the flight was canceled, putting off the passengers to later flights so as not to waste the money on a nearly empty plane. She was glad they didn't cancel, it had already been a horrible day with almost every flight delayed, eleven hours of pissed off passengers and disinterested flight crews was more than enough. Kim was grateful to end the day with an easy flight.

'Only thirty-two people total, one special needs, six others in first class, everyone else in business. At least they will all have room to stretch out.' Kim thought to herself as she turned from the passenger manifest to look out the window behind her. Clouds had rolled in just before dusk, the airport was quiet, but that was the way Wednesday evenings usually were, everyone was where they were going.

Jim from the ground crew came in the service door and walked over to Kim.

"She is all checked out Kim, fueling is moving along, you should be ready on-time."

"Thanks Jim, this flight is setting up smoothly, I wish they were all like this one."

Kim was going to continue but was interrupted as the captain and flight crew unexpectedly came around the corner. "An hour early?" Jim's spoken question mirrored her own thoughts. Both knew that with the way scheduling was done these days, getting the crew on the plane before the first passengers was rare let alone having them show up this early.

"Good evening Captain Willis." Kim said, the surprise evident in her voice as she greeted the pilot.

'Hello Kim, nice to see you again."

"How is the bird checking out?" Willis asked the technician beside the startled flight assistant.

"She's checked out; fit and ready to fly, fueling is underway and you should be good to go on time. I'll go make sure there are no delays." Jim said, anxious to get back to his crew to make sure there would be none.

"Gordon," Willis said to the young man at his side, "why don't you go with the tech and give the bird a once over, I always like to have someone from the flight crew take a look."

Gordon had flown a few of these V.I.P. Assignments with Willis before and anticipated the request.

"Lead the way," Gordon said, motioning Jim toward the service door.

"The interior is ready Captain, they had two crews waiting to maintenance as soon as the last passengers disembarked. Are there any special considerations I should be aware of for this flight?"

Kim's question was not unwarranted. It was well known that the few regular flights Willis was assigned were for V.I.P.'s or government contracts. Kim wanted to be sure that there were no special requirements she needed to be aware of.

Willis' easy smile put her at ease.

"Nothing special and nothing major Kim, just a few people that the airline wants to coddle a bit."

His tone dropped in octave and in volume as he continued.

"Best to just do your normal thorough job, appreciate the easy flight and not take to much note."

Kim understood the meaning behind the Captains words. There would be no gossip about this flight or those who were on it.

Accompanying the flight crew to the plane Kim chatted idly with the stewardesses, noting that while all of them had several years of experience none were over thirty. She smiled to herself understanding that at about five years most stewardesses became jaded, going through the motions of their jobs but not really caring one way or the other how the passengers were taken care of. With this crew it was obvious that the higher ups new the score as well. It was a shame they didn't give the amount of care to every flight that they were this one. Perhaps rumors of bankruptcy wouldn't be quite so energetic if they did.

Kim moved easily through the cabin, helping the crew get their things stowed before walking back up the ramp to the desk. She wouldn't gossip about the flight, she was however, interested to see just what kind of group warranted this level of attention and anonymity.

...

"Can I help you with anything?"

She was only being polite, but the question grated on Cryptic's nerves none the less.

Plastering on his best fake smile he responded.

"Gate 67?"

"Ah, down and to the left, do you need someone to help....."

Cryptic had already started wheeling away, her statement going unfinished as she watched him move off in the direction she had indicated.

His powerful arms moved the lightweight titanium wheelchair easily down the concourse. He felt bad about being rude to the woman, his mother would not approve. The thought of her reproachful sneer brought a grin to his handsome face as he navigated into the waiting area for gate 67.

Kim watched the young man as he rolled to a stop before her desk.

"Ah, Mr...Farron,' she thought to herself as her finger traced down the names on the flight manifest to the one that indicated special needs.

'So young, and where are the parents?' Shaking off her questions she regarded him, noting the mistrusting look in his eyes.

"Mr. Farron, my name is Kim, can I get you anything while you wait? We should be boarding in about twenty minutes." 

Cryptic answered her smile with a cold uncaring glare.

"No thank you," he said moving toward the bank of windows looking out over the dark runway.

Cryptic had spent many hours trying and failing to get his system back on line. The crash itself was nothing he hadn't experienced. Such things happen to everyone, even him. The fact that he was hacked, supposedly by some bible thumper at the Vatican was what had turned his mood foul. The idea that another human being could get into his system, shut him out so thoroughly shook him to his core.

Kim watched him wondering what tragedy could cause such anger in someone so young. She saw the tension in his shoulders, the way he seemed to bow under some unseen weight. He epitomized the word...alone.

Turning back to the counter, Kim was startled to see two women standing there waiting for her attention.

"Good evening. Checking in?" She asked regaining her composure.

With a warm smile Cali pulled out two tickets from her purse and slid them across the desk.

"Yes, Cali Simms and Samantha Carson."

"You're confirmed in seats 5a and 5b, we should be boarding in about fifteen minutes." Kim said returning the womens' tickets and boarding passes.

A large group, seemingly the bulk of those flying in business or coach came in, obviously having traveled together to the airport. Check-in went smoothly with no problems for the large group. 'Still four missing from first class.' Kim thought to herself as the Co-pilot came back through the service way.

"We are all clear Kim, you can start boarding anytime."

"Will do, um, we are still waiting for four first class passengers to check in." Kim said.

"Let's start the boarding while we wait for them to arrive. We are on a tight schedule but it's a light flight, we can wait awhile before making sure everyone is seated and belted. I'll let the captain know about the four who are running late." Gordon said as he turned and headed down the gantry to the plane.

"We can get you boarded now." Kim said in a quiet voice from behind Cryptic.

Not responding, Cryptic merely turned his chair and started quickly toward the gate, Kim walking fast to keep pace.

Cali and Sam watched the scene with interest.

"So much anger," Cali said to Sam as the wheelchair passed out of their line of sight.

"Yes, and sadness, he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and feels very much alone in the struggle." Sam said giving her mates' hand a warm squeeze.

"Everyone carries anger and sadness," the strong sensual voice said from behind them, " it is up to each of us to carry the burdens they bring without allowing them control over our lives."

Cali and Sam turned as one to find Takari standing behind them, her eyes on the empty door through which Cryptic had just passed.

Wide smiles broke out on both of the younger womens' faces as they appraised Takari and immediately felt a kinship to her.

"I'm Sam, and this is my lover, partner and best friend Cali."

"It is a pleasure to meet you both. I am Takari, I think we are on a similar adventure." She said smiling and taking both of their hands gently in hers.

'Yes, and' Takari thought, 'very strong they are, old magic, good magic, very interesting.'

The three women turned at the noise of running from behind them just as two men and a woman came rounding the corner at almost a full run to pull up quickly before the three standing women.

The men moved naturally in front of the woman. As the three new arrivals drifted warily towards the three women, all of them felt the various tendrils of power flowing about them, each trying to gauge the intentions of the others. It was a tense moment, finally broken as Aiyana pushed from between the two larger men and smiled at the three women.

"Greetings sisters, may your paths be smooth and your companions amiable. I am Aiyana, this is Jonus and Duncan, we are most pleased to be sharing...whatever is to come with such interesting companions."

Aiyana's lilting voice and easy manner eased the tensions that had burst forth at their arrival.

"Takari."

"Sam."

"Cali."

Each said completing the introductions all around.

Their attention turned as one to Kim who had come back to the desk and announced that the flight could now begin boarding.

She noted the four new arrivals and was pleased there would be no delay. ...

Cryptic was not happy.

He had only flown twice before this and those times had not provided a great deal of confidence either in the mystical properties of aerodynamics nor the trustworthiness of the mere humans that controlled the magic of flight, and his overall well being.

"Can I help you into your seat?"

Rebbecca was one of two stewardesses assigned to first class. She was young and pretty, a typical California surfer girl, long blond hair, green eyes, long legs and an ample bust line. On the job for a little over three years, she still retained the enthusiasm that so many of the older attendants had lost after having too many bad flights and even worse passengers.

Cryptic's anger blazed hot as he turned to the stew, getting ready to let loose one of his signature tirades on not needing any help. As his eyes met hers his anger lost energy. In her eyes he found that rarest of commodities, an actual desire to help another person, a look he had rarely seen since his mother died. In a soft even voice he answered her.

"No thanks, I can manage, but I appreciate the offer." The smile given with the polite refusal was most appreciated and accepted.

Pulling himself over to the large leather seat took no effort for Cryptic as his daily workouts and endless laps in the pool kept his upper body in excellent shape. Grabbing his duffel bag and slipping it to the seat next to him he watched as the attentive Rebbecca took his chair to store for the flight.

Settling back in the comfortable overstuffed seat he was just pulling out his laptop as Rebbecca came back to his side.

"We won't be taking off for about twenty minutes, can I get you a drink or something to snack on?"

Her question was delivered with a happy lilt to her voice that Cryptic was once again surprised by. His last flights had been narrated by stewardesses who never met his gaze and droned out their lines with a monotone only achievable with a total lack of interest..

"Not right now, maybe after we break the laws of gravity."

Cryptic's nervousness about the flight was easy to pick up from the waver in his voice.

Placing her hand gently on his shoulder, Rebbecca bent at the waist to look him in the eye.

"Don't worry, you've got the best pilot and crew on this flight, there won't be any problems."

Cryptic enjoyed the feeling of her warm hand on his shoulder. It did however bring up once again the frustrations of being a normally hormonal teenager trapped in a body that would not respond.

He turned to his laptop as Rebbecca walked the few feet to the door to greet the incoming passengers.

Takari walked a few steps behind Sam and Cali down the gantry way to the plane.

'An interesting group of fliers, too much of a coincidence to be one. The two up front are very strong probably ritual magic. The three behind me...stronger still but an odd mix of beliefs and powers. An interesting flight to be sure.' Takari chuckled as she entered the plane, hoping that the small metal tube was designed well enough to contain such a unique gathering of energies.

Sam and Cali sat a few rows behind Cryptic, both of them giving him long stares as they passed.

Two seats behind them Jonus, Duncan and Aiyana found their seats with the men sitting together and Aiyana taking the isle seat next to them. Takari found her place just behind Aiyana.

Almost as soon as Takari took her seat the other passengers began boarding. It was an orderly group with no pushing or shoving, which was odd in itself. What was odder still was the fact that almost to a person they went out of their way not to meet anyone's stare in first class as they headed toward the rear of the plane.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman, this is Captain Willis, myself and the flight crew would like to welcome you on our flight to Rome tonight . We will be departing the gate in approximately five minutes. Flight time should be around eight hours and twenty-two minutes. Weather report looks good for a nice easy flight the whole way."

There was the quiet muffled banter from the business class section after the Captains message as was the norm before take off. First class was much quieter, more reserved, than would be seen as normal by the flight crew. However, the entire crew understood this was a special flight and it was best not question.

The door was sealed up and the plane began it's slow taxi to find its place in the take off order. None of the passengers truly understanding what such a common place action as stepping on a plane would have in the landscape of their lives.

...

Mary was in a frantic state as she ran through Sheremetyevo International Airport. The church car had had engine trouble. The late night traffic through Moscow had not been bad, but the hour also made the wait for the small service truck longer. As she weaved her way around weary travelers in the 60's era terminal she just knew that the flight was going to leave without her.

She had been met in the crowded entry concourse by a representative of the airline as well as an older priest from the Archdiocese. They had assured her that the plane would wait for her. Their assurances fell on deaf ears. Mary was focused on one thing, finally being free of the solitary life she had lived for so many years. The representatives had to jog to keep up with the Mary as she practically sprinted toward the boarding gate.

The boarding area was empty when Mary arrived. Her heart sank, sure that she had missed her opportunity. As she was about to turn toward the airline rep, ticket clutched in her hand, tears being held back with her last reserves of strength the gate door opened.

Looking around the middle aged attendant saw Mary and smiled.

"Ms. Mary Stewart?"

His question spoken in broken English.

"Yes." Mary said, her tone revealing equal parts relief and joy.

"Ah, excellent, we have been holding flight for you, please follow me." He said holding out his arm to the young woman.

Mary glanced behind her to see the two reps huffing and puffing, both nodding their heads in approval.

Stepping into the doorway of the plane Mary was met by an older flight attendant with a tired but genuine smile.

"Ms. Mary Stewart," she said matching Mary's ticket to her passenger manifest. "Come, I will show you to your seat and let the captain know that we are now clear to leave the gate, we were worried you would not make flight."

Mary's seat was only 4 rows back and a window to boot. The last time she was on a plane was the flight from Boston to Moscow, she had been in coach on the aisle and found the experience less than pleasant.

"May I get you something to drink?"

The stewardess's question brought her back to the moment and her attention to the now.

" I would love a coke," Mary answered animatedly.

With a smile at the young woman's enthusiasm for a soda the stewardess turned to fetch the drink.

The intercom switched on and Mary listened to the captain go over the flight time and weather in Rome, She picked up most of it noting it would be a four hour flight and that they would be landing in Rome at approximately 5 am local time. Mary was relieved that she did not have a seat mate, as this would give her a bit more room to stretch out and get some rest before landing. Turning her attention back out the window Mary was once again distracted, pulled equally by memories of the past and wonder at her new found future. ...

Sun had watched the comings and goings at the boarding gate with a practiced eye. The dance of life had always fascinated him as his own life was fairly insulated. He enjoyed the opportunity to simply watch his fellow travelers pass by, creating his own landscapes within which they walked and loved and lived. The trip from Tibet had been uneventful. The church envoy had made all the arrangements and in a little less than two days he had made his way from the monastery to Moscow, his last stop before the final destination of Rome.

The layover had not been too bad, in fact it was too short, Moscow was an interesting city. One which he would like to come back to. It had a unique energy that was unlike anything he had experienced through his travels.

The attendant finally came to the small desk and started checking people in for the flight. Sun stood and stretched, his muscles were tight from the days of travel in sometimes cramped quarters. He needed to do his Kata, needed to feel the wind on his skin, give succor to his universal nature.

'Soon enough,' Sun thought as he twisted at the waist, cracking his back, feeling his spine realign he smiled and started to walk briskly around the perimeter of the gate area, allowing his body the freedom of movement it would be denied for the next 4 hours.

Sun waited as those passengers with special needs were boarded and then presented his first class ticket to the attendant.

"Mr.....Ling, ah here you are, seat 6b, please proceed to the plane and thank you for flying with us today."

The attendant barely looked at Sun before shifting his attention to the next passenger.

The flight was full. Sun had noted the amount of people and assumed that some would not find seats on the flight.

As the passenger flow began to slow then finally stop, Sun was surprised to see three empty seats remaining in first class. Normally those seat would be filled well prior to this, he didn't imagine they would hold the seats for late arrivals.

To Sun, Mary's arrival was like a soft sunrise on a gray morning. The world a smoky clouded landscape in negative relief and then suddenly the sun breaks the horizon, clouds that seemed impassable part at the suns brilliance and the world becomes a riot of color and light.

Mary's soul was something Sun had never encountered before. He had been in the presence of monks who had spent their lives searching for such light. He met men who had a depth of understanding about the universe and its numerous planes of existence that could not touch the inherent joy contained within this one young girl. She took his breath away before she had a chance to sit down in one of those last remaining seats. The glimpse of her eyes, showing both easy joy and the weight of much pain seared his heart. In that moment he became bound to her vowing to protect her and to make sure her unique light would not pass easily from this world.




Avenging Angels Ch. 09



'Damn the Pope and his request,' he thought as the woman settled into her seat. In this instant Sun had found his purpose. Little did he know the depth and breadth of impact his purpose would have.

...

Takari had watched the six other people in first class since they had taken off. The group was powerful, all of them having a unique energy about them. Those that were grouped had vibrations and auras that complimented and enhanced one another's. Takari herself found that she could feel her own connection to the two groups, understand and feel how her own unique gifts would meld and merge with theirs to create a whole that would be awesomely powerful. The young solitary man at the front was another thing entirely. Try as she might Takari drew what realms of power this one called home.

'Well you have never been a shy one.'

Takari laughed at her thought as she got up from her seat and walked forward toward the young man. She projected her feelings as she went, which drew soft smiles from those she passed as her emotions were calming, like a warm blanket on a cold night, something that would bring ease and comfort to the most jaded of people.

"May I join you?" Takari asked as she gestured to the seat next to Cryptic.

Looking up from his computer he regarded the woman standing next to him. She was tall, her mocha colored skin highlighted by the soft yellow dress that covered a shapely, womanly form. Her eyes were calm pools of blue which was striking considering her obvious ethnic background.

"It's a free airplane."

Cryptic didn't do well in social situations, the nature of his disability had precluded most of the normal social outlets growing up. After his mother died he retreated even farther from the outside world. As with all human animals, he longed for companionship, for friendship, for love. For so long he had simply put such things aside in favor of a place where he had no disabilities, where he was not just an active participant but acted with impunity.

"My name is Takari. And you are?"

Her soft, heavily accented voice seemed to enshroud him, having an almost magical quality.

"Cryptic, it is...nice to meet you Takari."

"Cryptic, an interesting name. Sounds like one that you probably gave to yourself. There is power in such actions. A person or things name has power. To reinvent yourself, to claim a name as your own, this a very meaningful thing. It takes a great deal of strength to do."

The honest and appreciative tone of her voice put Simon further at ease.

"Takari is an interesting name as well, and I'm horrible with accents, where are you from?"

Simon had turned in his seat toward her, becoming more animatedly involved in the conversation.

Smiling, Takari placed her hand on his.

"I am from Louisiana, near New Orleans...."

Takari and Cryptic spent the next hour in easy conversation, sharing bits and pieces of their lives, getting to know the other. Takari was intrigued by the young man, it wasn't often that she found herself at a loss to figure someone out. She found Cryptic to be an apropos name, she looked forward to the process of decoding the interesting young man.

A few rows behind Takari and Cryptic, Sam and Cali had settled in. Curled around each other, wrapped in a cocoon of thin airline blankets the pair shared a quiet conversation.

"Did you sense anything dark regarding this trip?"

Cali's question surprised Sam.

"Of course not, we wouldn't have come if either of us had. The intent behind the request is pure, I just can't imagine what could drive the Vatican to seek out the likes of us or the others on this plane."

Sam's fingertips toyed lazily with Cali's nipple, which hardened even under the heavy sweater she wore.

"Stop that." Cali said with a smile. The look in her eye disagreed with her words.

Sighing Sam slid her hand into Cali's.

"I don't know what will come from this trip. What I do know is that I can't wait to get there and find out if it is something interesting or just a good excuse for a free trip to Italy."

Sam and Cali leaned in closer to each other, drifting off into a restless sleep.

Aiyana slept peacefully, curled up between Duncan and Jonus. She had moved between them after the flight had taken off, eschewing the large seat across the isle for the comfort of being squeezed between her two lovers. They had been guarded about this trip. Both of them had picked up on the fact that the passengers in back were most likely affiliated with the church. Both of their heritages railed against the church for past atrocities, neither quite understood why Aiyana had agreed so quickly to the summons from Rome.

"You know how she is. Once she gets an idea in her head there is no stopping her."

Duncan's quiet voice was lost to all but Jonus over the drone of the engines.

Jonus smiled at Duncan's harried tone.

"She is rarely wrong about such things Duncan, If Aiyana believes it to be worth the trip while being six months pregnant there is little you or I could have done to stop her from coming. It will be fine. We will keep our eyes open for any overt threat. We just have to trust that Aiyana will know fairly quickly after we reach our destination if this trip was a mistake."

Both men jumped as a hand began caressing each of their thighs.

"I won't be able to do anything if you two don't let me get some sleep."

Her palms ran over the growing hardness of each before continuing.

"And you two won't be able to do what I'll need from you when we land if you both don't get some yourselves. So please shut up and get some rest. I can't tell you it will be OK, but it will be interesting, and for now that is enough."

Aiyana slipped back into silence, arms outstretched gently caressing each of her mates. Her touch both soothing and and inflaming in the same moment as the trio drifted into that gray resting state between true sleep and wakefulness as the onyx ocean passed swiftly beneath them. ...

After take-off everyone seemed to quiet and go to sleep almost immediately. Mary was too excited and after several tries at calming down she looked around the cabin. The only person that seemed to be awake or, at the very least, approachable was the Asian gentleman sitting one row behind and across from her. While her life had been a solitary thing, shy was not something that entered into Mary's lexicon. Unhooking her seat belt she rose on unsteady legs to see if the man would like to chat.

"Hello, my name is Mary."

Sun was startled by the sound of her voice. Soft, with just a hint of an accent he couldn't place but also carrying a great deal of weight, a weight far beyond what her age should have allowed her to acquire.

He turned slowly, hand raising toward hers as his eyes traveled along her arm, up across her shoulder, past her plump lips to finally meet her eyes.

His hand found hers as he spoke.

"I am Sun. It is a pleasure and honor to meet you."

His voice was hoarse all of a sudden, as if his mouth were filled with cotton.

Her hand was warm, his fingers moved over hers in a gentle caress that, despite his desire to stop, would not be controlled.

Her lips parted and spread, an easy smile brought a twinkle to her eyes as she regarded him.

"I am happy to meet you Sun."

Her response was honest, but held a hint of desperation. As if the act of meeting him, of meeting anyone, was something of great import, as if it rarely happened and she was in awe of the process.

"As I am happy to meet you Mary. Are you traveling to Italy or is it just one stop in a longer journey?"

Sun's question made Mary blossom like a flower as the first rays of dawn warm its delicate petals.

They spent the next hours in easy conversation. Sharing highly abridged versions of their lives.

Two more unlikely companions had rarely been seen by the flight crew as they went about their tasks. The young redheaded woman and the stern looking Asian man were the talk of the crew as they folded down their jump seats preparing to land in Rome. All of them also noted that this flight, notoriously rowdy with drunken Russians, had been the quietest any of them could remember.

"I was told I would be met after we landed."

Mary had so enjoyed her talk with Sun, she was sad that she would probably not see her new friend again.

Sun could hear the hint of fear in her voice.

"I will be happy to escort you until you can find your friends Mary."

Sun's gentle words and strong yet caring hand on hers calmed Mary's fears.

"I would so appreciate that Sun, thank you."

Sun merely nodded. Standing he offered her his hand, helping Mary to her feet . Staying close behind her, Sun followed Mary out of the plane their hands still intertwined.

As they walked down the gantry toward the terminal, Sun felt a pull at his heart, he was faced with a situation that had no seeming solution. Not seeing Mary again was not an option, yet he could think of no way to stay close to her without the possibility of frightening her, which was the last thing he wanted.

Mary held onto Sun's hand with a grip tighter than what was required. She was filled with uncertainty as they passed through the door into the terminal.

'I don't even have an email address.' Mary lamented to herself. 'Once again life passes me by.' She wanted to cry but the impulse was cut short as Sun's hand tightened on hers.

Mary looked up to see a small grin on his lips as his head motioned into the terminal beyond.

As the universe is wont to do, it took care of Sun's and Mary's perceived problem before they even were aware of it.

Standing in the waiting area was a black frocked monk holding a sign with two names. 

The owners of which were most pleased to see were...together. ...

"The final two people we have been waiting for just landed and are on the way. We should be able to depart in a few minutes."

Father David, the young priest who had met the seven people as they came off the charted flight from New York said in a relieved voice.

This group of men and women were nothing like any he had encountered before. They were quiet and polite but being around them gave him an overwhelming feeling of passing too closely to something very dangerous. Whether it was real or imagined made no difference. He would be glad to be on the road and get his charges delivered safely to the citadel.

Takari had paired herself with Cryptic as they sat at the back of the twelve passenger bus. All of them had taken time during the flight to introduce themselves, share a small bit of their history. Takari felt drawn to Cryptic and took it upon herself to stay close to him.

Everyone looked up as the bus door opened, eager to see who the last two of their group would be.

Even Cryptic was surprised, hell, surprised doesn't even come close, breathless is more accurate, at his first glimpse of Mary.

Few noticed Sun, a hand gently laid on the small of Mary's back, as he entered the bus after her.

Sun noted the response to Mary as he looked around at the group. He lingered on Cryptic longer than the rest. Sensing both his wonder at her more than apparent uniqueness. Sun also noted a deeper, more primal desire coming from the young man, a desire that mirrored Sun's own.

"Everyone's accounted for now, if you'll all take your seats we can be off."

Mary's unique presence was not lost on Father David either, but after his last two years at the citadel, he knew it was best to keep his mouth shut and opinions to himself.

No one would believe that he had picked up an Angel at the airport anyway.