Rock Hard (13 page)

Marduk’s men wended their way through the crowd, entreating and cajoling their neighbors to stop and go home, but it was too little too late.

An army of Puritans suddenly swarmed the common, meeting no resistance. The citizens were completely surprised in their debauched state. Everyone was rounded up in short order, sharpened stakes and blunderbusses putting the revelers at a distinct disadvantage.

Myles Standish wielded the ax that brought down the Maypole and, when Thomas Morton stepped forward, he was arrested on the spot.

“Dagon!” The god’s name was called by Standish as Morton was clasped in irons. “Tell the good people of Merrymount,” he sneered the town’s name, “the crime for which their leader is being accused.”

Here was the serpent in the garden, Marduk grimaced. Dagon, evil now overwhelming his beauty in the glow of the firelight, stepped forward and smiled.

“Morton has been supplying guns to the local Algonquians,” he proclaimed over the immediate protest of the citizens. He caught Marduk’s eye and gloated. “I have proof that is irrefutable.”

Standish took over at this juncture. “Thomas Morton, I hereby arrest you in the name of King Charles of England. May you be brought to a swift justice!” And just like that, Merrymount met its downfall.

Tess saw Morton tried, convicted and banished to an island off the coast of Maine. She saw Merrymount renamed Mount Dagon, watched it succumb to famine, and eventually burnt to the ground. But worst of all, when Morton had been dragged away that night, she saw her brave and courageous men, who had stood by their leader, walk away from their home and become…nothing.

At first, Tess believed their disappearance was just the end of her vision, but when she realized she was still aware of the landscape around her, still aware of people to her back, and still witnessing Dagon in all his glee, she understood that her twelve—not her thirteen men any more—had lost some kind of a battle and had been…relegated to the mist?

She opened her eyes, not knowing what to say. What was it that she had just seen? Marduk and Enlil looked totally drained. Tess licked over dry lips.

“You can call the men in the little white coats now,” she muttered wryly. “Only this time, they’re for me.”

Chapter Eleven

Marduk and Enlil sat back, waiting. A myriad of emotions played across Tess’s face. Wariness eventually won out.

“So you guys expect me to believe this.” It was a statement edged in skepticism. “Don’t get me wrong, it was a wonderful show, and I’m sure any audience would appreciate such great hypnosis. But you’re really asking me to buy this?” She shook her head incredulously, then paused.

“Okay. Let’s just say I go along with you for a moment.” She glanced skeptically at the two, unable to believe she was cutting them any slack. “Why would you bother to show me this stuff? What does it matter, and why should I care?”

Marduk silently gave Enlil the “go” on this one.

“Because somehow,” Enlil looked beseechingly at Tess, “for the first time since 1628, Marduk and I are…we have…hmph,” He cleared his throat. “Because of you…our bodies are once again tangible.”

“No shit, Sherlock. We’re all tangible or we’d be dead. Spirits. Ghosts. Poof! You want me to conclude that you’ve been…what…around but invisible for longer than anyone on Earth has been alive?” She blew air between clenched lips. “You guys are fucking nuts!”

She’d expected instant rebuttal or maybe even a “ha-ha, the joke’s on you.” What she didn’t expect were two stoic males, arms folded calmly across their chests, quietly staring at each other as if she suddenly didn’t exist.

How much more of our past does she need to hear?
Enlil asked Marduk silently, but Tess heard him.
Does she need to know what we are? What we are capable of?

She’s far too suspicious to believe anything else without a demonstration of our powers.
Marduk sighed.
It’s important that she understand us and that we gain her trust. Follow my lead.

Ironically, it seemed to Tess like this was the first time in forever that the two had gotten along, when, once upon a time, they’d used their powers together and acted as one. Were they going to attempt that again?

“Hello… I’m still here, you guys!” Tess wasn’t sure why she was putting up with this. She should have told the cops earlier that she was being accosted by two fruitcakes and had them locked up for assault. But no! Something inside her…yearned…well maybe “jonesed” a little for the dark-haired cutie and felt unnaturally protected by the blond. So it was beyond comprehension, but she was going to listen a little more.

“There is something we’ve left out,” Marduk began, “a couple of things, actually.” He strummed his fingers nervously on his bicep.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Tess answered smugly. “Continue.”

“We’re actually, umm, both of us…and so are the other eleven guys you saw in the vision…we’re, ah, gods.” Marduk expected more disbelief, perhaps some verbal abuse, but what he got instead was a rich peal of laughter that filled the room.

“Gods!” Marduk watched Tess’s mirth overflow. She had trouble catching her breath, and tears sprung from her eyes. “You guys are merciless,” she panted. “Knock me out, stitch me up, and then feed me the biggest line of bullshit I’ve ever heard!”

Marduk scowled. “Has anyone ever told you that you have a seriously nasty mouth?” He wasn’t all that bothered by her vocabulary, just perturbed that it was aimed at him.

“Sooooo sorry!” Tess gingerly wiped the moisture from her face. “But you must admit you deserve it. Feeding me all this crap and expecting me to swallow it.”

“We can prove everything to you.” The thunder god was not used to being doubted or questioned.

“I can’t wait!” Tess expounded. “More hocus pocus?”

Marduk sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Think of something obscure,” he demanded. “Something I couldn’t possibly know about and I will tell you what you’re thinking.”

“Yeah right,” scoffed Tess. Marduk quickly picked up that she wanted to shut him down, but was intrigued despite herself, to test his…magic skills. She settled in and he watched her bring up a picture of a dog, Archie, her border collie in Maine, and also herself, a little younger, with her arms wrapped around the dog’s neck. It was a cherished, but slightly sad memory. Had her dog passed away?

“All right, I’ve got it,” he nodded. “First, you thought not to acquiesce to my ‘game,’ but decided it might be humiliating for me, therefore you decided to continue. Am I correct?”

“Like that takes a genius to figure out.” Tess curled her lip at his response. “Come on, Kreskin, stop stalling.”

He launched right into it. “You’ve got your arms wrapped around a very pretty dog—medium in size, colored white, black, and brown. I believe it’s the breed known as border collie. One of his ears sticks up and the other is half flopped over. Wait…wait.” Marduk paused, troubled now. “It looks like you…but it’s not.”

He was puzzled at the image. The little mouse in Tess’s head looked fuller through the face, her hair was curly not straight, and it was cropped short around her neck. It could have been Tess from another time in her life, perhaps a picture she carried of a happy past, but the thing that dissuaded him from this was the color of her eyes.

“Why do you have ice-blue eyes in this picture?” He was inordinately upset at the disparity in the image. “Why have you altered your appearance to confuse me?”

Tess sat, stunned. Had Marduk really been able to see into her mind, hear her thoughts? She remained silent and thought “twin sister.”

“That explains it,” Marduk crowed. “You weren’t trying to fool me.” He stopped short. “My gods!” He turned to Enlil, who was ghostly pale. “That means you have two…two…”

Tess was fully freaked out now, but not enough to have missed Enlil’s distress. “Two what? And you better be straight with me,” she demanded. “Are you a mind reader, as well? What do you think my sister and I are to you?” It had been a long day, and Tess was more than ready to explode. She didn’t know how much more her beleaguered brain could take.

“You are my…great, great, great, and a whole lot more greats, granddaughters.” Enlil searched her face, as if looking for bits of himself.

“I’ve got news for you,” Tess spat back, really not buying it this time. “In that ‘vision’ you gave me, I saw you guys in England and then in the good old US of A. Both my parent’s ancestors came from Italy and arrived at the turn of the twentieth century. So what do you think of that,” she ended smugly. “Physical impossibility!”

“I don’t know what to tell you, little one,” Enlil came back gently. “But blood doesn’t lie, and the blood you shed today has my essence, and strongly too, as in direct lineage.”

“Well, a DNA test will clear that up,” she snapped. Tess was not believing them for one minute. No way someone could just…what…sniff blood and know where it had come from. “And it’s time to get this other stuff straightened out, too! I get it that you might be really good mind readers, but you better show me something that will knock me out of my sneakers if you want me to believe anything coming out of your mouths.” She sat back and crossed her arms across her chest, mimicking their stance from earlier.

As if coming to some kind of silent agreement, Marduk answered for them both. “Fine, you’ll need to join us outside.” Without waiting for her agreement, both men pushed to their feet and left. Marduk re-entered before she had a chance to move, scooped up the bag from lunch, and deposited it in her trash, then turned again and slammed back out the door.

She let loose a snort of laughter. A polite and gentlemanly psychopath. How endearing.

Tess followed them outside and sat on the front steps. Dusk was rapidly approaching. Her guests stood a small distance away, conferring and pointing down the street.

“You stay there,” called Marduk, “and watch carefully.” Tess did as instructed and Enlil marched off toward Beale Street. There was no one about, it being a fairly cold Saturday in April, and Tess had a good look at the “god” as he walked away. She snickered.
Hmmm,
she pondered,
Grampa sure has a nice ass.

This earned her a glower from Marduk, and she remembered that he could read her mind. She stuck her tongue out, which reaped the benefit of a fast, white grin, before she turned her attention back to Enlil…Enlil who suddenly misted into tiny particles and disappeared from sight.

“There.” Marduk looked at her in that superior way again.

“There, what?” Tess questioned. “You’ve already proved that you guys are good magicians. So he pulled a vanishing act. Lots of magic guys can do that.”

“I’m going to go after him. I will also disappear from your view, and when that happens, I want you to come after us.” He looked at her with hardened eyes.

“Fine, whatever.” Maybe she’d have more patience if her cheek wasn’t throbbing again. Could it be time for more pills already?

Marduk walked away and, in exactly the same spot, did exactly the same misting act.

Fine. So much for that illusion. There must be some kind of curtain or something set up at the end of the street. She rose from her seat on the stairs and took two steps in their direction. Instantly, the two men appeared, standing side by side. That was kind of odd. She hadn’t seen them step out from behind anything.

“Keep your eyes on us and back up a little,” Marduk ordered.

For once, Tess did as she was told without a flip answer. One step, two and, sure enough, they fizzled out of sight again. Two steps forward, and there they were, unmoving.

“Okay,” she called, “that’s just creepy.”

The two jogged back to her position and Marduk grasped her elbow. Once again, she could swear the ground gave a tremor.

“You see, Tessa-mouse? You are the one responsible for giving us substance,” Marduk explained. “Without you, we are nothing. But within 100 yards of you, we are flesh.”

Once again, Tess tried to assimilate some damned strange shit. “Does this mean my other men…” She blushed to the roots of her hair as Marduk raised his eyebrows. “I mean the rest of your guys get bodies, too, when I’m around?”

“That’s the most puzzling thing,” Enlil stated. “When Marduk saw you at the baseball stadium, he was with Anshar, who never regained substance. We know that you’re my descendant, and we assume that is why I am affected. However, there is no reason for Marduk to become corporeal.”

“Let’s say I’m still on the fence where all of this is concerned.” Tess was trying hard to keep her sanity. “Do you guys have other powers? Can you do stuff like comic book superheroes?”

“I enjoy those characters immensely!” Marduk now obviously wanted to show off. “We have super strength like some, but we also have super healing powers.” He indicated his jaw, which earlier had sported a bruise but was now just covered with an appealing five o-clock shadow. “And we can control the elements,” he bragged further.

Tess remembered the vision they’d given her; the storm on the ship, and narrowed her eyes. “Oh yeah,” she taunted, “then make it rain.”

Both gods turned as one to focus on the sky to the northeast, raising a quick storm squall from off the bay. Tess tasted the salt on her lips as the rain drops began to fall. Yup, this was one pretty strange day. She called a time out. Game over.

“You know, god-boys, I’m really tired right now. Do you think we could pick this up again, in say…maybe a year?”

Although both were reluctant to leave, Enlil finally took off, literally. She learned from Marduk that, after becoming invisible, they actually flew through the sky, really quickly…if he were to be believed.

Marduk led her to the steps, where they sat companionably.

“So now what?” Tess wondered aloud.

“Good question, little mouse. We need to bring you back to our home to see if you affect any of the other gods the way you influence me and Enlil. After that, we should look into your roots a little deeper with the help of our resident computer genius, Shamash.” Tess recognized the name as belonging to a curly haired, gold-highlighted brunette, his mop of long ringlets enough to make any woman jealous.