The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix (100 page)

The gist of what Zadar divulged was somewhat
common knowledge, but what followed stunned the crowd. “Lo, through
the visions given me by the wrathful grape, I behold there is
another stricken by this demon plague who down to this day remains
ignorant of the evil hiding within. If this secret is known at all,
I believe it is to only a few of the gods who walk among us.” He
stared into Gabrielle’s face. She quickly looked away, her eyes
glancing upon another face in the crowd before seeking the
floor.

“What I have learned poses many troubling
questions: Does the demon virus reside but in one host once to the
brain it has reached, Rachel merely having drunk our sister-king’s
elixir when the virus remained still in her blood? I, too, as a
mere babe, drank my fill at our sister-king’s breasts and perceive
no monster within me, nor have I been warned of such a thing. Or is
the demon virus only dormant, awaiting an hour to release its army
of spawn upon this world?”

He lifted a hand, shaking a finger. “This, I
do not know for sure. But I do know that it was revealed to the
Wicked Worm at the Prisoner Exchange that his demon-child of sorrow
does indeed live, and in a most peculiar place - someone other than
his chosen victims. And I am certain that by now he has realized
the prizes he had in his possession and allowed to slip through his
fingers. Rachel is no longer a stranger to him. Yes! I dread that
she does not stand alone in the crosshairs of Asotos’
attention!”

Zadar revealed Asotos’ current abilities to
give the virus to others. “Now I do believe that the Evil Worm has
lost his powers to conjure up such a living disease to infect his
fellows with, Mother taking them from him when she realized what he
had done to our sister-king. That being the case, I believe he will
seek the capture of anyone carrying his virus spawn in an attempt
to replicate that virus so that he can accomplish a most diabolical
plan… to infect all the children loyal to Mother, delivering us all
to eventual damnation! Or will it only be the women of this
universe? I have no answer for this.”

Excited whispers like that of a rushing
breeze filled the room. The very thought of Asotos’ ultimate
diabolical plan was so inconceivable to even the most ancient of
Lowenah’s children - for that matter, even to Lowenah - that it had
never come up into their hearts to fathom such a thing. To think
that any person, no matter how evil, could perpetrate such villainy
was beyond the children’s comprehension. Yet, here was the youngest
of their siblings revealing it to be so.

Zadar confided, “I saw into the Wicked
Worm’s mind, he exposing his true nature of purpose when he probed
Rachel’s soul, believing the woman so witless that she would
mindlessly surrender to his wiles. The man was so absorbed, finding
secrets hidden within, that he did not bother to cloak his dark,
sordid desires as he raped my sister. Yes!
Rape, I say!
For
that was the manly violence he attempted on Rachel’s mind. But my
sister is strong-willed, more so than many, and she resisted his
attacks and drove the man away, humiliated.”

He lifted a finger, shaking it. “Debate you
may wish to make in your councils regarding my revelations, but
give ear, please, to my suggestion offered here. The blood grape is
a powerful elixir that cares not for strength of disposition or
willpower of the mind. Should it fall into enemy hands, I do
believe that it could be weaponized and used for mind control or
worse, it being used to probe minds of hapless prisoners to obtain
secreted information. The possible threat of this happening is far
too great considering this is the year of the Tucklebow Berry’s
fruiting.”

“And…should the Beast ever reunite with any
of his spawn - which I hope is contained in but a few souls - he
may well realize the power of the blood grape in spreading this
loathsome infection, thus damning all our worlds! The demons being
released upon an opened mind, drugged up by that berry, well… well,
I dare not even guess the torture suffered by the victim of such an
attack!”

The silence in the room was deafening. Fear
and doubt crept into many a stalwart heart. To face the Dragon upon
the sordid field alone, without Mother’s assistance, well, that was
something they could fathom. But to stand a battle line against a
silent virus transmitted by the most innocent of touches?!
Biological warfare was not new to the people of this world. But how
would one deal with a living spirit designed to entrap and enslave
the mind and soul, quietly growing within that mind, all the while
spewing its infectious spawn to countless others? The thought was
too intense. With pleading eyes, the crowd looked to this messenger
of doom for answers to assuage troubled hearts.

Zadar looked toward the floor, sighing. “I
suggest that a trusted guard be sent to those mountain valleys
where the berry grows. For future generations, the fruit must be
preserved but, for the moment, a defense to the death must be
mounted to keep that plant out of the hands of our enemy.”

A voice called out from the crowd, “But what
of our sisters already infected? Should we not find fortified,
secret keeps for them until the witching hour passes?”

Zadar answered, “No, and for good reason.
First, we must not reveal to the Worm that the secret of the demon
virus has been discovered. This will cause him to try that much
harder to return his offspring to him. As long as he believes he
has time, the
fool
will remain cautious, not wishing to
raise suspicion, he also wanting to keep such knowledge secret. Few
will be the confederates he will dare confide in unless he is
pressed with need. Let us not press him. For this reason, I
recommend that we do not interfere with those who may have the
demon spawn residing within them. Proof is that they are not yet
infectious, and there are those of us who have the power to detect
those demons and what they might be doing - Paul, Garlock, PalaHar,
myself and others. I assure you, the Watchers will remain alert,
protecting the souls of all of Mother’s children.” Zadar glanced at
Lowenah. She smiled reassuringly.

“Secondly,” Zadar put a hand to his head as
if in pain. “whispers in the dark morning hours have warned me to
allow freedom to the Fates. ‘Fingers in the pie, fingers in the
pie...’ How often have we heard Mother speak those words? Well, I
believe
many
fingers are playing in the pie, and those
fingers
are up to some mischief that they do not want us to
meddle in.” He again looked at Lowenah and she innocently cast her
gaze toward the shadows.

Turning to the crowd, he cautioned, “Do not
speak a word of this to any living soul! Carry to your death what
you have heard here this day! Let our sisters be, to do whatever
duties they have been destined to do. Give them freedom to choose
good or bad for themselves. The Whisperers who watch on in secret
will allow no lasting harm come to them until the darkness has
passed by. All souls must pass through Hell to attain Heaven. Do we
view ourselves as any better than the warriors who have already
gone before us? So shall we lead our sisters through those fiery
gates of eternal torment. If needs be, we all will perish to
preserve them alive until the ending hour!”

PalaHar stood, shaking a fist, shouting,
“So shall all our souls pass through Hell to save Heaven! Look
and see! Sharon rises and the all the oceans turn to blood.
Rejoice! Rejoice! The wind is at our backs as we chase the Boatman
on the swelling seas across Avaddohn’s Abyss! Rejoice! The ending
hour calls to us and we will obey its voice!”

“
Amen! Amen!”
came the
exultant reply to PalaHar’s proclamation. The room filled with a
deafening response as the crowd stood in support. This was going to
be a fight to the finish - no armistice or negotiated peace. It was
all or nothing. They would take up the helm and chase Death all the
way to its end, whatever that might be. For some strange reason,
that understanding filled weary hearts with peace. One more battle,
one more war - only one, just one - and then it would be over.

When the room had quieted again, Lowenah
stood, addressing Zadar. “My son, wisdom beyond the ages has been
surrender up to you. ‘And so does good fruit burst forth from a
rotten tree.’ Legs you have, but also wings to carry you over the
rim of the universe into unreachable lands.” She bowed, gracefully
extending a hand, taking Zadar’s.

Standing while keeping her grasp, Lowenah
looked into Zadar’s face, hers filled with searching questions.
“Oh, wizard sublime - for I perceive you are become a wizard - can
you answer for me a most perplexing riddle that has haunted my
dreams for countless nights, one that my closest of counselors have
found no solution to?”

She waited for no reply. “Long has the
Serpent of Despair stolen from me my heart and soul by casting
humiliation upon me through deceit and treachery. And yet, even now
I cannot bring his everlasting demise until my heart is satisfied -
but this time not for love but for vengeance...humiliating
vengeance. Tell me please, my squire-prophet and whispering prince,
how shall I execute my humiliating vengeance against this Evil Worm
to the full so that my heart may rest eternal in peace?”

As he stared into Lowenah’s eyes, Zadar’s
face filled with consternation, his answering words grave and
ominous. “The firelight of days gone by will light the path of
times to come. You walk upon a jagged sky, in search of all the
reasons why.” He then asked, troubled, “Do you truly wish to
satisfy your heart by deceiving your own laws into believing that
the Great God of all things may set the very elements ablaze and
not become burned by them?”

Lowenah’s face paled, she stepping back as
if being struck. An audible gasp of shock rose from the crowd. What
was this all about? How was it that a child borne of Mother’s flesh
dared to question her? Should the Spirits strike him down for such
callous insubordination? But, no! As a god he stood, bold, Mother
surrendering to his glory.

Lowenah’s heart burned with an uncertain,
lonely ache. Had she really come to the end, only to surrender up
to the evil herself? Was she not the Creator of all things, matter,
life, emotions… love, joy, hate, fear, revenge? Had her oldest
merely succumbed to his own genetic defect, one inherited from her?
From her mouth came the title ‘Maker of All Things’. Had she made
the evil also, somewhere in the secret places of her mind, only to
have it eventually rear its grotesque head once it attained
maturity? Had Chrusion only reached that maturity before the
others?

For an instant of time, the doubt of
Rhiannon filled Lowenah’s soul with sickly dread. Still, she knew
her heart
, had suffered its passions and desires for ages
unbounded. It was
her heart
that brought forth the
Whispering Voices, the universes filled with mortal life, her
children. It was
her heart
… not her mind… that drove her
ever on, always on, to greater and more wondrous possibilities, to
this very moment. It was
her heart
that must be satisfied,
not soul or mind. Right or wrong, its ravenous belly must be filled
or all would be lost.

Right now, Lowenah’s heart desired
redemption, absolution from the pain and agony heaped upon it by
the Wicked Worm. Future’s consequences be damned! For there would
be no future should her heart go unsatisfied.

Bowing her head, Lowenah answered through
quivering lips, “Vengeance is mine. I shall repay.” She looked into
Zadar’s eyes. “
I am the Queen of Darkness
! I bring the
night, but also the morning. Feed the vulture, so that the earth
may be cleansed of its putrid sickness.”

Tears grew in Zadar’s eyes as he replied.
“Very well, but listen, please. I warn you if you choose this road.
A child born on a summer day shall fire his heart, your soul to
save. And by his brutal strength of might, he’ll bring you harm
then do you right. A Queen to him you’ll come to be, surrendering
your heart, your throne to he. His heart will be bound with a
ruthless passion to protect the one he loves. Your vengeance waked
will his banner be, a jealous rage consuming both his heart and
soul. Never will blissful innocence be found in this or any of your
worlds again. Should your heart become satisfied, its desire
fulfilled, then Holy Evil shall ever reign
. Now I ask again, do
you wish me to continue?”

Lowenah reflected but a moment, yet in that
moment she examined all things past and present.
Blissful
innocence?
Had there ever been a time when it truly existed?
For that matter, was anything certain? The universe was built upon
a whim, a dream - a very flawed dream at best, if one was to look
at this current dreadful age. Oh yes, peace had ruled for so long,
but never had it been guaranteed, though she wished not to think of
it during those blissful times. Even now, every step taken forward
was into an uncertain future, no assurance that good was
everlasting. She trusted the Whispering Voices. Now she would have
to trust her soul to a man of flesh.

Closing her eyes and then slowly opening
them she softly answered, “Yes...”

“Very well, then…” Zadar softly replied.

Lowenah slowly returned to her chair,
surrendering the floor to the youngest of her children. Zadar
turned his attention toward the others, lifting his arms. “Here I
stand, speaking to this great and honorable assemblage. So many
wizards, witches, seers, and wise counselors do I see. Yes! And
even the Inventor of life and breath itself respectfully stations
herself at my feet to listen to what revelations my mouth may
offer. Do you not see the folly of it all, that you should
surrender up your ears to my words?”

Zadar shook a finger. “No! Why? Because your
humble hearts know that I speak only with permission of One greater
than I and that I do so out of love and concern for all the company
gathered here.”