Heckel Casey (37 page)

"Miss Madeline, the men are ready," a voice said.

A rush of adrenaline bolted throughout her body; she could feel her face flush and the hairs on her arm stand up. Energy was building in her veins, igniting every pore in her body. She jumped off the sofa and went to the door. She inhaled deeply and reveled in the power.
My mojo is brewing!

As she passed the driver's seat to go down the steps of the motor home, a picture of Quincy sitting at the wheel flashed across her eyes. She touched the wheel tenderly.

Stop it!
a voice in her head commanded.

Barker?

She turned quickly and immediately descended the steps out of the motor home.

A deafening roar greeted her as she walked to the edge of the crowd. Men raised an assortment of weapons in the air and shouted her name.
What a frickin' rush!
She took several minutes to soak it in as well as let the men marvel at her badass appearance.

Madeline walked to the steps of a small platform raised off the ground a few feet. Two men held out their hands to assist her climb. When she reached the top, Madeline struck a commanding pose. The crowd roared even louder. She put up her hand to silence them.

"Good morning," she shouted. Her voice sounded amplified even without a microphone. It surprised her at first and then she thought of Barker.
Obviously, his doing
.

"You men are the future of our world." A roar ensued with more fists in the air and weapons waving. "Tomorrow, we will take the world and it will be ours."

More shouts and cheers.

Madeline went on for about fifteen minutes more, giving them a speech that rivaled any would-be dictator. Hitler and Hussein came to mind as well as a host of other selfish assholes. All she needed was a funny hat like some of them wore. Gaddafi, in particular.

It was time.

Slowly, she elevated off the platform. Her body went up into the air a good ten feet and hovered. The sea of people in front of her went completely silent.
Awesome.

"Do not be afraid for I am your goddess who will lead you to victory. Along with your fists and your will, the power I bestow on you will render our enemy defeated."

A roar erupted from below her as she glanced across the field. The cheers from five thousand men were more addictive than any drug. Madeline felt her insides seethe with power.

"With a wave of my hand and powerful words, I will make you stronger, bigger and meaner than the most vicious predators on the planet. You will be gods among men."

More cheers. She was sure they all thought she was speaking metaphorically. Slowly, she lifted her hands and raised them high above her head. Little by little, the palms turned bright red and small spikes of lightning flew outwards. The adrenaline-soaked, testosterone-filled mass in front of her stared in awe. Grinning, she closed her eyes and as the force in her hands built to a crescendo, she uttered the words that Barker taught her. They sounded like gibberish to the men below. Either the recitation was some ancient language or it was a language unknown to mankind or maybe it was all for show and simply just nonsensical rants. Madeline spoke them as if they were her mother tongue. With each phrase, she waved her hands from one side of the crowd to the other.

At first, Madeline heard soft groans, then gradually louder snarls. Slowly, she opened her eyes. What she saw almost made her stumble backward. All five thousand men had been transformed into grotesque demons. Each man had grown to a height of nearly seven feet. Their muscles had clearly been strengthened and enlarged as though they had been injected with an enhanced steroid cocktail. Their facial features were turned into a distorted, monstrous appearance that rivaled any Hollywood Rick Baker creation.

Initially, Madeline just stared in part shock and part awe until a thunderous roar erupted. It was menacing and intimidating; it sent icy waves throughout her body. "Now you are invincible!" she exclaimed, lowering her hands. "You are my warriors!"

This time the roar from below her caused her to throw her hands up in the air and discharge two massive blue energy balls high up in the sky, initiating her own fireworks.

More roaring!

Without hurrying and definitely milking the moment, Madeline lowered herself back down onto the platform. The general that had bothered her earlier with his questions was now a formidable demon himself.

His grunts, along with generous spittle, confirmed his enthusiasm. With some difficulty because of the large fangs, he said groveling, "I apologize for questioning you, my goddess. You have blessed us with your power. The men will fight to the death."

"Good. I would expect nothing less."

"When does the battle begin?" he asked.

"Tomorrow at dawn."

Chapter 35

Sela tossed and turned. She was sure the baby wasn't too happy as she shifted position for the umpteenth time. Sela looked over at Heckel lying next to her and was astonished to hear him snoring gently.
It's the eve before an epic battle to save mankind and he's dead to the world. Oops, bad choice of words.

"Heckel, you awake?"

Nothing.

"Heckel?" she asked a little louder, touching him softly on the shoulder.

Still nothing.
This man could sleep through the end of the world. Damn, stop with the doomsday references. Sheesh,
she said admonishing herself.

"Heckel, you aw—"

"I am now," he said, stirring ever so slowly. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I just need to talk to you."

He rolled over, facing her. Sela placed a kiss tenderly on his mouth. His scent washed over her and it lifted her spirits.

"That was pleasant. You can wake me anytime to do that," he said with a smile.

No words came to Sela. She inched her body closer to him and put her arm around his chest.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, followed by a huge yawn.

"No. I keep thinking—"

"Stop thinking, relax, and you'll fall back asleep."

"Not that simple. Aren't you the least bit troubled by what's going to happen tomorrow?"

Silence.

Sela waited for a response.

After another large stretch and yawn, he hugged her and assured her that all was well.

"Heckel Casey, I simply don't believe that you aren't the least bit…um…scared. Talk to me. This could be our last night together."

"Bullpucky! Not gonna happen."

She looked at him with a penetrating stare that begged him to open up.

"Sela, that's just not an option. This is not going to be our last night together. I refuse to let that thought even enter my head."

"You mean to say you have no doubts or fears."

"No, of course not. However, I am convinced that good will prevail and we will restore our planet to be focused on the right path. For the longest time, mankind has been stuck. We were supposed to become more and more enlightened. Instead, evil and corruption gained a foothold that eventually led to our downfall. The journey toward enlightenment peaked maybe somewhere, and then we started sliding. Sliding toward darkness, hatred and indifference. Jerky told me—"

Sela put up her hand to stop him. "What? Jerky told you? Since when does your cat talk?"

Heckel looked sheepish as if he had just swallowed a canary. "Well, I should have told you this earlier. Jerky and I shared a wonderful bottle of Zinfandel the other night."

"Huh?"

He told Sela about his ride with Tempest out to view Madeline's forces and how Jerky had transformed into a young woman.

"Why a woman?" she asked, trying to hide her jealousy.

"Yeah, I asked the same question. Jerky asked me if I'd prefer a young man. I—"

"Why didn't she just talk to you as a cat?" Sela interrupted, feeling a little pouty and ridiculous for being jealous of his guardian angel.

"I have no idea. Wait. Are you jealous?" Heckel asked as he stroked her cheek.

Sela didn't reply, but she did enjoy his touch.

"Jerky is my guardian angel. You don't get jealous over an angel," Heckel said, giving her a reassuring hug. She felt him laugh slightly.

"You're right as usual. Sorry. It was just a sudden burst of emotion from a woman who has way too many hormones racing through her body, not to mention that the father of her child is leading an epic battle against evil tomorrow."

Heckel laughed and hugged her tighter.

"So, what did she say?" Sela asked.

Heckel went on to describe the whole encounter. He became a bit more animated when he was recounting the appearance of Barker. When he was done, she hugged him tighter. She just didn't want the moment ever to stop. They lay there for the longest time just enjoying each other's warmth. He stroked her hair and she fell asleep.

"What is that heavenly smell?" Heckel said as he leaned on one elbow.

Sela took a whiff of the air and immediately was treated to the aroma of bacon. They both inhaled simultaneously picking up a new scent and together shouted, "Cinnamon rolls!"

Heckel threw the covers back and quickly started to get dressed. Arms were flailing as they bumped into each other. It almost appeared as if they were racing to see who could get dressed the fastest. Heckel won. He unzipped the tent and stuck his head out.

"Oh…my…God," he exclaimed slowly as he took another huge sniff after each punctuated word.

Sela pushed him out of the tent. As soon as he stood up, he reached in to help her out. They both stood there with their mouths open, feeling as if their lower lips were touching the ground. Their salivating glands went into hyperdrive.

"Good morning you two," a young woman said as she stirred a frying pan full of scrambled eggs. Sela looked at the other large pan that had strips of bacon and several small steaks. Sitting off to the side of the campfire was a pan of large aromatic cinnamon rolls that practically had a tractor beam on her. When Sela finally yanked her eyes off the rolls, she looked over and saw Rose pouring two cups of coffee.

Heckel and Sela just stood there with goofy, wide-eyed expressions.

"This must be a dream," Heckel said and Sela nodded.

"Would you like some coffee?" Rose asked.

Heckel finally returned to consciousness and replied, "Yes, thank you very much. Um…how...a…where…um…"

That's Heckel for you, a man of many words,
Sela thought. She walked over to Rose and took the two coffee mugs. "What our great leader here is trying to ask is where did you get all this food?"

"It's a gift," Rose said softly. Sela motioned for Heckel to come get his coffee. He finally discovered how his legs worked and came eagerly to accept the mug.

"We hope you like scrambled eggs. We wanted to have everything ready when you got up and timing eggs over easy is a bit more difficult," the young woman said as she turned over the steaks.

"Who are you?" Sela asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Jerky," Heckel said proudly, sipping his coffee.

Sela nearly dropped her coffee mug. Jerky stood up and came over with outstretched arms. They embraced and Sela told her what an honor it was to meet her. Sela started babbling ovations and admirations.

"Oh, stop," Jerky said. "You're making me blush."

For the next few minutes, Sela just went on and on about how much she was in awe of her and the many times she warned or protected them, not to mention her great hunting skills.

"That's my job," Jerky said as she started to plate the sumptuous breakfast.

"And you are very good at it," Heckel said.

Just before Sela was about to sit down, she looked over the campground and was awestruck. Her hand went up and seized the back of Heckel's neck. Slowly, she turned his head to look at what just struck her.

"Holy shit," Heckel exclaimed. "Oops, sorry. Is everyone getting the royal treatment?" he asked as he continued to stare out across the campground.

"No problem. I'd probably say the same thing if I were you," Jerky said as she finished putting a steak on the plate. She handed it to Sela and she just stared at it. It felt like she had just won the lottery and someone was presenting one of those humongous cardboard checks.

Before Sela sat down, she noticed that family after family, as well as individuals without a family, were getting the same breakfast. It was then Sela noticed a soft murmur hovering over the campgrounds. Moans of delight as well as oohs and ahs could be heard. For a moment, she thought she was at a fireworks display.

"How is this possible?" Heckel asked as he took his plate and sat down next to Sela.

Rose and Jerky just grinned.

After more prodding and begging for an answer, Rose simply said, "God."

"It was important everyone was well fed and given lots of energy," Jerky added.

"After eating all this, we're gonna be in a food coma. We'll need a nap." Heckel stuffed a large chunk of steak into his mouth.