The Glooming (Wrath of the Old Gods Book 1) (3 page)

BOOK: The Glooming (Wrath of the Old Gods Book 1)
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Within a few minutes, they had arrived to the edge of the security perimeter.

It looked like a scene from Hell. Gyle could see that the desert plains at the sides of the highway were glowing with some sort of illumination, it was as if the sand of the surrounding desert was on fire. He could see a smashed MRAP, it was as if some giant hand of God had grabbed it and tossed it on its side by the road. A few soldiers were outside of their burning vehicles and shooting wildly in all directions, their faces contorted in fear and hysterics.

As he traversed the turret to the right flank, Gyle noticed some sort of movement at a nearby sand dune. He quickly zeroed in on the sights of the grenade launcher and was ready to fire when his target finally came into view.

For the first time in his life, Gyle finally saw what it was they were fighting against.

He screamed in terror even as he pushed the trigger.

2. Strength of Stones

England

 

“And as Joseph Campbell said, ‘Tear off the mask of God and you will find man.’ The myths we dismiss as fiction these days had very profound meanings in ancient times and still shape our lives even today. There is substantial evidence there may have been indeed a Trojan War and it wasn’t just an invention by Homer to amuse the Greek youngsters. He may have, in fact, been retelling an age-old oral tradition, and while he may have embellished a few things here and there, much of these oral myths have a basis in historical fact. Even the myth of the Gorgon, you know the hideous woman whose face could turn people into stone, may have been in fact, a proto-Greek matriarchal religious cult that was conquered by the Mycenaean tribes and then later was incorporated into their own myths and legends. Don’t believe me? The Gorgon aspect of the hideous face with bulging eyes, fanged teeth, and outstretched tongue has been recorded in other cultures of the world. It is a universal symbol of fear and dread to the point where some cultures used that power as a form of protection rather than intimidation….”

Dr. Paul Dane, Professor of Anthropology and world renowned mythologist, was in the middle of his lecture as a special guest of the University College of London’s Institute of Archeology at their main auditorium. There was much publicity about Professor Dane’s latest speaking tour across Europe for the past several weeks, and this was his final stop before heading back to Harvard, where he was an emeritus of their Anthropology Department. In academic circles Paul was treated as a sort of celebrity, he had appeared in numerous TV shows and documentaries and was hailed as the successor to the late, great Joseph Campbell. The audience was composed of not just students, but fellow academics, media people, and even some celebrities who wanted to bask in Paul’s popularity and charisma.

There were several reasons for Paul’s popularity with the masses. As a writer, he had runaway successes with several bestsellers in both the New Age and self help sections in bookstores. His brand of blending in ancient myths with pertinent advice for today’s world drew a following among people who were disillusioned with their traditional religious values, and those seeking a new meaning in spirituality by going back to ancient folklore and legends. With his salt-and-pepper-colored beard, steel-rimmed glasses, and eloquent speaking voice, Paul was a constant fixture on cable TV and internet documentaries on just about anything that had to do with ancient history.

“There were depictions of Gorgons in the Minoan palaces at Knossos. Even the Humbaba, a mythical monster that was described in the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh was said to have such a hideous face, its gaze would kill anyone who dared to look at it. The Gorgon myth may be very well related to the evil eye, the superstition that if one looks at another in a malevolent manner, it would then bestow a curse upon its victim. An evil stare was considered to be so powerful that many cultures all across the world have their own variations of charms and spells to protect themselves from it. Even animals that stare back at human beings, like cats, owls, and goats, were considered to be cursed beasts, or familiars to witches and sorcerers and sadly many of these poor creatures were killed because of it. These myths can be found in practically every human culture all over the world….”

Paul Dane made a short pause. It usually happened during these times, when he was right in the middle of a lecture, in front of an audience and the heat of the spotlight was on him, was when he thought of Elizabeth, his wife of thirty-three years. They first met when they were undergraduate students in Harvard. They both liked the same things: ancient history, the study of dead languages, and a fondness for pistachio ice cream. The first time he laid eyes on her was right after their anthropology class when they ran into each other in the library. Both had attempted to grab the same book and when their eyes met, it was nothing but bliss. Although they had similar tastes, he was the more “laid-back,” “down to earth” kind of guy and she was the passionate romantic, their debates about the origins of the Sea Peoples had kept them awake for weeks at a time, and they both wrote completely opposite theses on it for their postgraduate studies. Paul was given tenure first and Elizabeth, not to be outdone, went over to get her tenure at MIT after what she believed was an unfair decision by the Harvard faculty in choosing Paul over her. Ultimately, they patched things up and got married, but she never forgave him for it. Every time they disagreed (which wasn’t often), she would bring up the point she was passed over because she was a woman. Paul would have none of it even though he knew it was all in jest. Although they never had any children, they soon became renowned experts in folklore and mythology because they would frequently contradict each other in public, even though they remained deeply in love in private. All that time, they taught and lectured, traveled the world, and enriched their experiences to further hone their talents. It was only in their thirty-second year of marriage when tragedy finally struck: Elizabeth had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. She bravely fought on, but the sickness had spread and she died within the year. Grief-stricken, Paul quit the faculty and remained in seclusion for a number of years before turning out his latest bestseller,
The Myths in All of Us
, which rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists for months. Although he felt like he was only half a man now, Paul dedicated his life back to his work, in memory of his wife. As he had paused but a few short seconds ago, Paul feigned a cough and sipped on a glass of water before continuing once again.

“In conclusion, I must say that everyone has a myth to tell. Everyone has a myth to experience. Why should we put any importance to these old legends at all? Because these myths are what keep us grounded in this world, without these age-old stories, our very existence would be relegated to acquiring nothing but material possessions. It also proves that myths are universal and it shows that there are more similarities to all cultures and ethnicities than there are differences. Myths provide meaning to both our history, and to our future. Thank you.”

With that, the audience rose up and applauded loudly. Some whoops and cheers were shouted out and there was even a short chant, but Paul would have none of it as he cheerfully waved them away and just smiled before walking down the stage.

A small crowd of well-wishers, fans, and friends gathered in front of him as most of the audience began to file out. Megan Abramson, his graduate assistant, introduced two students from the university with copies of his latest book.

Paul smiled as he signed them with his autograph and posed for pictures. He sighed with exhaustion after the students thanked him and left. “I hope that was it. I am bushed and I’d like to go back to the hotel soon,” he said to her.

Megan had been with him for three years now and knew his exact itinerary. “I’d like to introduce you to two more people,” she said as an old man in a tweed suit stepped up to shake his hand. “This is Sir Wilfred Pyles, Professor of Anthropology here at UCL.”

Paul smiled as he shook the old man’s hand. “How do you do, Professor Pyles?”

“I must say that was a splendid lecture you gave, I was absolutely entertained for three hours, better than going to a concert with some strange bands that you don’t even know what kind of music they play nowadays,” Sir Wilfred said, smiling.

Paul laughed. “Thank you, Sir Wilfred.”

“And this is Brian Farrar, from the Associated Press,” Megan said as a younger man in a dark suit stepped up from beside Sir Wilfred and offered his own hand.

“Mr. Farrar, how are you?” Paul said as he shook his hand.

“I’m doing well, thanks.” Brian said. “Can I get any comments from you on the situation here in Europe, Professor Dane?”

Paul arched his eyebrows. “What situation are you referring to?”

“The refugee crisis,” Brian said. “My sources tell me the blockade against the refugees that are trying to pour into the Eurozone from both Syria and Iraq has been ineffective due to the fact that the number of displaced persons coming over to the shores of Greece and Italy have more than quadrupled in the past few weeks, they say. There’s also large scale rioting occurring in Turkey.”

Paul shrugged. “I think you’re asking the wrong person about this. I’m a professor of anthropology. Shouldn’t you be asking the EU ministers instead?”

Brian smirked. “Well, as a matter of fact, my sources tell me that the refugees are fleeing some sort of new cult that has arisen from that region, and that this new religion seems not to be Muslim in nature but is in fact ancient Babylonian.”

Paul was shocked. “What?”

Even Sir Wilfred was surprised. “Excuse me, Brian, but did you just say that there is a new faction in the civil war over there and that they worship Babylonian gods? Surely this must be some sort of joke.”

“I’m afraid it’s serious, Sir Wilfred,” Brian said. “I have a colleague in Iraq and I just got this piece of information a few hours ago. I’ve been told the US military has lost contact with an entire division of its own troops near Tikrit. Both Baghdad and Washington are on high-alert and they are putting a muzzle on all media personnel down there. There’s a massive sandstorm that’s blanketed the entire region as well, and this new cult is sweeping everything before it.”

“I heard some rumblings about it on the internet earlier today, but nothing’s confirmed, it’s all just rumors, CGI and conspiracy theories,” Megan said.

Paul shook his head. “That’s impossible. A religion takes years, even decades to convert people into their cause. The Muslim conquests of that region took over four hundred years to complete. You’re saying that this new religious group just came out of nowhere, swept the Islamic insurgency away and is now threatening the whole country in just a matter of days? I just can’t believe it.”

“It’s not just that region,” Brian said. “There have been reports of large scale riots in both China and in India. The Chinese have been arresting every foreign journalist in the country and their own government controlled news agencies are in complete denial mode. Something is happening all over the world and it’s happening fast.”

As the four of them were talking in the now nearly empty auditorium, they didn’t notice a dour-faced, grey-haired man in a dark grey suit flanked by two armed policemen by his side walk up to them. The man cleared his throat and the four of them stopped talking and turned to face him.

“My name is Malcolm Pryce and I’m with the MOD,” he said before looking at Sir Wilfred. “Are you Professor Pyles?”

Sir Wilfred looked at him with equal astonishment. “I am indeed. What can I do for you?”

Malcolm remained impassive. “Will you come with me, please.”

Paul arched his eyebrows. “MOD?”

“Ministry of Defence,” Brian said before turning to Malcolm. “May I ask what this is about, Mr. Pryce?”

Malcolm looked at him with cold, grey eyes. “No, you may not. This is a D-Notice affair so I must kindly ask you to leave, Brian.”

“But, this is absurd!” Brian protested.

“Now,” Malcolm said.

Seeing he wasn’t going to win, Brian swallowed his pride and walked out of the room in a huff. Malcolm watched him silently until he was gone.

Paul frowned. “D-Notice? Ministry of Defence? What’s going on?”

“A D-Notice means there’s a government news blackout,” Megan said to him before looking at Malcolm. “Do you want us to leave as well, Mr. Pryce?”

“Not just yet,” Malcolm said to her before turning to Paul. “I understand you are an expert in anthropology and folklore, Professor Dane?”

“I have had some experience in researching it and I wrote a few books about it,” Paul said. “But I don’t even know what you want.”

“Yes,” Sir Wilfred said. “What is it you want with us?”

Malcolm’s face remained impassive. “Professor Pyles, I understand you have been at the forefront of ongoing research on Stonehenge, is that true?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid I don’t see how this relates to a D-Notice, or to you,” Sir Wilfred said.

“You will need to come along with me to the site right now,” Malcolm said before turning to Paul and Megan. “You two are American citizens, so I cannot compel you to join us, but I would like to request you do because we may need your additional expertise, Professor Dane.”

Paul looked at Sir Wilfred, who merely rolled his eyes, before answering. “I have no idea what this is about, but from everything I’ve just heard in the last few minutes, this is far more interesting than having a bubble bath back in the hotel.”

 

The drive from the heart of London towards Amesbury was less than a hundred miles and would take a couple of hours on the road, they estimated. Paul sat with Sir Wilfred in the backseat of the sedan while Megan took the front passenger chair beside the driver, who was a uniformed policeman named Steve. Malcolm was riding in another police car ahead of them. The small convoy was using their sirens to get ahead of the busy London traffic. It was early evening and the city seemed calm. The weather was a different matter. When Paul began his speaking tour a few weeks ago, most of Europe had been experiencing strange weather phenomena. There were cloudy days and almost daily rain showers and blankets of fog across entire regions, the meteorologists were divided as to what the causes were. The economic effect of the rains and storms was devastating as many airlines had at first rescheduled and then later on cancelled flights due to the danger. Meanwhile, international trade between countries was also disrupted as ships mostly stayed in port.

BOOK: The Glooming (Wrath of the Old Gods Book 1)
2.89Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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