Chapter Twenty-Four
Ritual
It was strange how the best things in life could move with such speed, one could get whiplash trying to see through the blur while the worst things slowed down as if making some effort to ensure the experience was endured with agonizing clarity.
Such was the case when Chris Larabee and his companions emerged from the depths of Eridu to be confronted by Adashir Shah and his Erran. It took but a second for Chris to process how things had played out when he saw his friends, Ezra, Buck, Nathan and Josiah, forced to their knees and guarded by the Erran, before he, Vin, JD and Orin were forced into the same position beside them. Judging by the amount of Erran surrounding them and the number of bullet holes riddling every surface he could see, it was clear his men had put up a good fight before they were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
In truth, this had been a possibility looming in Chris's mind ever since they landed in Riyadh. Mary might not be exaggerating the reach of the Erran and they did indeed have contacts in key positions across the city, preventing the Seven from sneaking into Eridu without notice. He supposed it mattered little now, the Erran were here and thanks to Chris not heeding Vin's warning about what it would take to stop these fanatics, the Tablet was now in their hands.
Not just the Tablet, but also the two daughters of the men who had first uncovered the Four Pillars.
It took every ounce of control Chris had to hold his temper when he saw Alex and Mary being separated from them, dragged fighting and kicking away by the Erran. One if not both of the women were needed to conduct the ritual of Uncreation, a ritual the Erran had every intention of performing immediately now the pieces they needed for its completion were finally within reach. Not that it kept the Shah, as Chris heard him being referred to by his followers, from extracting his pound of flesh from the men who caused him so much trouble since the night at the museum.
"You have the Tablet!" Orin spoke up, perfectly aware it was a useless effort, but compelled to make it because his and William Styles's worst nightmare was unfolding before his very eyes. Not only was the Tablet in the hands of those who would use its power for evil, but the lives of their daughters were now terribly connected to its fate. "Let the girls go."
Shah, who was flanked by his sister and his henchman Krestos, stared at Orin for a second before bursting into laughter.
"You must be joking. You know the ritual as well as I do, I am certain. If not better," he gave JD a look of pure contempt, his ire at being tricked by the boy still fresh in his mind. "Thanks to Mr Dunne here. You know that the ladies are required for Tiamat to make her entrance into the world. This one," he walked over to Alex who was being restrained by an arm around her throat and waist, "will suit the Goddess well."
"GET YOUR GODDAMN HANDS OFF HER!" Vin growled, eliciting the response Chris was certain the Shah was aiming for. No doubt the man was still smarting from being chased out of the Styles's home by Vin during his rescue of Alex. No sooner than the sharpshooter had spoken, he was struck on the back of the head by the Erran standing closest to him. As Vin was thrown face first into the ground the rest of the seven reacted in kind, their rage rippling through them as they were forced to watch helplessly, held at bay by the guns pointed at them.
"Don't hurt him!" Alex pleaded despite the arm pressing against her windpipe, the fear in her eyes as she saw Vin's assault, revealing to the men present the true depths of her feelings for Vin Tanner. "I'll do what you want! Just please, stop!"
Vin raised his eyes to Alex, an expression of anguish crossing his face because he had promised to keep her safe and now he was powerless to do anything, as these bastards prepared to use her for God only knew what. Since meeting her on top of that roof at the museum, Vin knew he was lost. The minute she told him he could stay, he had known subconsciously, she was the one he was waiting for all his life and now he was about to lose her without being able to do a damn thing about it.
"I don't blame you for your passion Mr Tanner," Shah remarked approaching Alex while relishing the emotion being traded by the two which made his vengeance all the sweeter. Running his fingers down Alex's tear-stained cheeks, she flinched at the contact and sent a surge of fury through every member of the seven, seeing the way she was being touched against her will. Shah's fingers traced a line down her neck and down her breast, perfectly aware it would send Vin Tanner into a rage and give his men the excuse they needed to dole out more punishment to the infidel who had humiliated him.
"Vin, he's just trying to goad you," Chris said to the younger man, who was fairly shaking with rage at the way the man was touching her. His feelings for Alex had displaced his normally unflappable demeanour making him exceedingly unpredictable, enough to throw caution to the winds and get himself killed. "He can't hurt her. He needs her alive."
Vin's blue eyes flashed and Chris could see that was killer rage in the sharpshooter's eyes. When the time came, he suspected Adashir Shah was going to know the full vent of it. Swallowing the bile of anger down his throat, Chris saw Vin nod almost imperceptibly, a promise to keep his head despite the clench fists at his sides showing otherwise.
"She is very beautiful, in fact, they both are. Miss Styles here will be an appropriate offering to Tiamat, a worthy receptacle for a goddess and Miss Travis here," he said turning his eyes to Chris and Orin. "I will keep for myself. A golden-haired trophy for my efforts to remake the world."
"I'll kill you first," Orin growled and was shoved to the ground with the Shah's laughter ringing in his ears.
Chris, on the other hand, knew if the Shah laid one hand on Mary, it would be the last thing the bastard ever did in this life.
"I'm nobody's trophy and I need a man, not an impotent little boy with delusions of grandeur." Mary snapped, never being able to tolerate such posturing.
Chris winced inwardly, adoring the woman for her moxie, even though he knew what was coming even before she finished the sentence.
The blow came not from the Shah or his men, but from Aisha, no doubt in retaliation for the indignity of her defeat at Mary's hands at the museum. She struck Mary across the face hard enough for the blonde woman's head to snap back. Orin tried to go to his daughter's aid but one of the Erran moved in quick, pressing the barrel of a gun against his temple, making sure he knew the consequences if he made one more move forward.
Once again, he saw the outrage on the faces of the others, as they watched this display with impotent fury. Buck, in particular, could never stand any threat made to a woman and Chris glared at him to be still because they had to bide their time and wait for an opening. All that would happen if they reacted now, would be to get themselves killed and be no good to either Orin or his daughter.
Mary recovered from the blow with magnificent poise, shaking it off like a dog shaking water off its back. Her eyes met Chris's briefly and even without saying a word, he got her message loud and clear. I'm all right. While it did not assuage Chris's worries for her, particularly since the injury to her cut deeper to the bone than Shah's pathetic posturing, it did give him some comfort knowing she wasn't badly hurt.
Mary faced front again, her chin raised in defiance, not at all cowed by Aisha's violence or Shah's threats. She moved her jaw from side to side as if testing its flexibility before spitting a mouthful of blood right in the woman's face.
While an audible gasp ran through the Erran at the insult to their Amira, a soft snigger move through the seven as Aisha let out a squeal of disgust, when blood and spittle splattered across her cheek. Krestos moved in to strike Mary, his large bulk standing over her like the proverbial beauty and the beast, as he raised his large hand to deliver revenge for the slight to Aisha who was wiping her face with her veil.
"Mary," Chris said sharply, drawing all attention to him. He met her blue-grey eyes and wanted to tell him that he thought she was goddamn perfect for what she did, but her defiance was going to get her killed. "Enough."
Mary was about to respond when she saw his warning for what it was, an impassioned plea not to provoke them any further because any harm to her would cause Orin to react strongly and most likely get her father killed. She saw Aisha's eyes blazing in fury about to lash out again and braced herself for it when suddenly the Shah spoke.
"A man who knows how to handle his woman," Shah smirked, more amused by Mary's action despite the slight to his sister. "I'm afraid we cannot dispense with Miss Travis yet, my dear. We may need her if the ritual doesn't work. Once Tiamat is satisfied, she will be a gift to us both."
The answer seemed to satisfy Aisha who looked at Mary and hissed, "I shall take great pleasure in that."
You smash it so it can't be used.
Never had any sentence haunted Chris Larabee as much as the words uttered by Vin Tanner, did right now. Still, in the power of the Erran, surrounded by cultists who would shoot him and his comrades down at first opportunity, Chris could do nothing as they were marched to the middle of the eroded ruins of the ancient city. Thanks to the Shah's need to gloat, they were going to get ringside seats to the ritual about to take place.
They were in the middle of what appeared to be a square, framed by ruined stone constructs which Chris suspected might resemble those at Stonehenge and Rujm el Hiri before time had broken them down. Occupying the middle of this circle as if it was the centre stage for its participants. Chris cursed himself again for not destroying the Tablet while he had the chance, instead of bringing it to the surface where it was now in the hands of the Erran who would make William Styles's worst fears for his daughter a reality.
Vin was standing next to him, his breathing hard, almost in panic because the sharpshooter could do nothing but watch while the girl he cared for, was being used as the sacrifice for their ritual of Uncreation. A ritual that would begin once the Goddess Tiamat was resurrected in Alex Styles's skin.
As it was, seeing Alex stripped of her clothes, wearing a dark shift that clung to her body, her black hair swirling about her in the wind, made her look very much like a receptacle for divine possession. Her wrists were shackled by heavy manacles attached to chains connected by two hooks driven into the ground. With the drums pounding in slow halting beats in the background, Alex didn't look too unlike Fray Wray in that movie about the giant ape.
In the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Mary who was being watched closely by Aisha, who had no intention of letting Orin Travis's daughter out of her clutches. One way or another, the woman intended to have her vengeance on the blonde.
"Chris, this can't be real right?" Buck hissed, staring at the fervour in the eyes of the Erran as the Shah stepped forward, about to begin this insane ritual.
"Of course not!" Chris hissed, refusing to believe this was any more than delusion. He was more worried by the Errans' reaction when the world wasn't uncreated, proving their pursuit of the Tablet was a fool's errand. It was likely all of them, Alex included, would be killed out of sheer spite.
"It don't matter," Vin said icily. "They believe it!"
"Then again," Josiah drawled, taking the opportunity to speak since the Erran were preoccupied with what was happening to allow them to talk without consequence, though not enough to escape. "There might be something to it if they've maintained their faith for so long."
"Surely you do not believe this nonsense is going to result in the remaking of the world?" Ezra exclaimed, staring at the older man in shock as he watched the proceedings in disgust, feeling his southern sensibilities truly provoked at being unable to help the young lady in the centre of all this. "It is nothing but fiction! We have travelled the globe for the last four years and not once have we seen anything that proves the existence of a supernatural force behind any of the artifacts we've collected, beyond blind superstition and wishful thinking."
"Belief is a powerful thing," Orin stated, his voice strained because what was happening was something he had never wanted to see. His eyes were fixed on his daughter, who while not intended to be apart of this dark ceremony, would still suffer for his sins. "Will believed it and there's no denying we only had daughters and no other, after that one child. That may not be a coincidence."
Vin listened to none of this because he was staring at Alex, wanting to break free but knowing if he made one move towards her, he'd be dead before he could even finish the thought. After all the trouble they caused, Vin had no doubt the cultist were waiting for an excuse to end them once and for all, now the Erran were within reach of their goal. Alex was struggling to escape, trying to squeeze her wrists free of those cruel shackles, her eyes meeting his in fear, pleading for help even though she knew he was just as trapped as she.
There was something else, he realised then. The fear in her eyes that this ritual might be as real as the Erran were claiming, that despite the refusal of her logical mind to believe any of this, the possibility that Tiamat may actually claim her soul, was starting to impress itself upon her mind.
"We gotta stop this Chris," Vin said suddenly, anxiety dripping from every word. "We gotta stop this before..." Before what? The possibility was too unbelievable and yet Vin found himself on the cusp of belief as he questioned what exactly did he mean. What would happen? Was Alex actually going to become the receptacle for Tiamat? It was crazy!
Anything he was going to say next was silenced by the Shah finally stepping up to address his followers. Even the drum beating in the background had paused, giving Shah everyone's undivided attention, his captives included. Behind him, Aisha had stepped forward, holding the Heart in her hands, now fashioned into some kind of necklace with a leather cord, which she promptly slipped over Alex's head to be worn around her neck.
"It has been a long road my brothers," Shah addressed them all and though Chris could still feel the barrel of a gun pressed against his spine, his guard, like all the other Erran, made themselves heard in a rumble of agreement that moved through the crowd like a dissonant wave.
"We have waited since the beginning of history to return Tiamat to her rightful place, to have her rise and destroy the infidels who have taken over the world, denying prosperity to all but a select few. Infidels have crushed our spirits, kept us silent while forcing us to accept the truth of their jealous god, who would have us bow to no other, for fear of death. Well, we will now show them a true god, one who created the world and the stars, before she was wrongfully struck down. Tiamat, will rise in the flesh and walk amongst us again," he looked at Alex.
"YOU'RE INSANE!" Alex shouted, her nerve finally failing her. She had tried not to buy into this nonsense but the fervour she saw in the eyes of her captors was making her believe it was more than her life she was about to lose, but her soul as well.
"Fear not," the Shah walked back to her smiling, "your pain will disappear. Your doubts will vanish. When Tiamat takes you, you will be mother of all, the Queen of Forever."
"Alex!" Vin called out to her, trying to will her his strength even if he could do nothing else. "It's gonna be okay! Just look at me Darlin'. Just look at me!"
It was breaking him inside to see her terror, even if they still had trouble accepting that Tiamat might be coming down to possess her. Yet there was no doubt in either of their minds, something terrible was about to happen.
Alex could feel it pressing down on her, making her feel like the sands of her life were running out. She stared at him, thinking about how perfect their first meeting had been, how he had chased away the despair threatening to overwhelm her in the wake of her father's death. Whatever happened, she wanted him to know that, wanted him to remember what they could have been to each other.
"Whatever happens Vin, I'll never forget what it was like to share Sugar babies with you on that roof."
"Me neither Darlin'" Vin replied, ignoring the fact they were being watched even though he was certain the Shah was watching their exchange with smug relish.
Chris saw Vin's anguish and gritted his teeth, feeling his senses damn near overload from the fury at being unable to do anything to stop this...whatever it was...from happening. He didn't have to look at the others to know they were similarly furious while the pain on Orin's face was indescribable, just as the sorrow on Mary's face at what was happening was reflected in her blue-grey eyes. Once again, Chris cursed himself at not destroying the Tablet when he had the chance because now it was going to rip Alex's soul from her.
Even as his mind railed against the impossibility of it, something in the last few seconds had started to feel very real about the Shah's belief in the Tablet.
"You never know Mr Tanner," the Shah said almost grinning. "Tiamat may need a consort."
"Go to hell!" Vin barked and this time he did move, but before he could take a step forward, was struck against the back of his head once more. This time the tracker did hit the dirt and the look of triumph on the Shah's face made Chris swear to kill the bastard himself, no matter how this turned out. If the world was going to be uncreated, Chris Larabee was going to make damn certain the Shah never got to enjoy it.
"Vin!" Alex cried out. "I said I'll do what you want! Don't hurt him!"
The Shah ignored her, throwing a smile at his sister and Krestos respectively, before lowering his eyes to the Tablet in his hands and beginning to read the gold inscribed words that had waited for four millennia to be recited.
"GEMEGANZA OD CNILA GEMEGANZA NOSTOAH OIAD OL OIAD LONCHO GEMEGANZA. GAHA OIAD NANAEEL OL!"
"What's he saying?" Nathan asked no one in particular.
While both JD and Orin were listening carefully, it was JD who made the translation.
"Great Tiamat, Creator Goddess, this is your legacy to the world, your instrument of creation, use its strength and return from your place of exile. Ride the winds that took you from us and be whole again."
As he said those words, the sun which had been shining glaringly overhead in disapproval, suddenly vanished behind thick, heavy clouds that seemed to appear in the sky out of nowhere. Chris had to blink at the sight of them because he distinctly remembered seeing it blue and cloudless only a few seconds ago. Now all traces of it had vanished, concealed by heavy, pregnant clouds that promised a storm of some intensity when it arrived.
No sooner than the overcast sky was registered, he heard the whistle of a strong wind dragging the sand across the dunes as if someone were pulling the covers over the desert. The powerful winds began tugging on their robes, causing it to billow and Chris caught sight of Buck's eyes and saw the puzzlement on the face of his old friend. He could well understand why. As a pilot, Buck had a better sense of the weather than anyone in the Seven and he could tell that this sudden change disturbed him.
"What is it?" Chris hissed.
"I don't know," Buck shook his head. "But this don't feel right."
In the background, the Shah continued to recite the ritual, his voice growing louder and more fevered, the more he read. "OBZA OIAD OL TELOC OL GEMEGANZA LOAGAETH MAD OD COMMAH OIAD NOSTOAH one. NANAEEL GEMEGANZA NOASMI AG NOSTOAH CORSI IP NANAEEL. OD NOROMI IP OL BRGDO CRCRG OL!"
"Come to us from the Vault of Heaven, from the stars in the cloudless sky and from the blood of the great twin rivers, we call to you oh Tiamat! Come and be whole again, come and take your place as Queen of the Universe. Mother Creator!"
A bolt of lightning flashed across the dark sky behind Alex, creating spidery tendrils of blue against the grey cumulus. It was followed by a sharp crack of thunder that made Alex stiffen where she stood, her spine suddenly becoming ramrod straight. The wind was blowing harder and the shadows caused by the overcast sky, surrounded Alex like a shroud until her golden skin seemed almost black and only her eyes could be seen. Except they weren't the soft, brown pool that so captured Vin Tanner's heart.
Now they were totally white, without irises.
"Jesus Christ..." Vin hissed.
She wasn't listening. The fear and sorrow in her face had melted away and her expression was one of vacancy. She held out her arms as if waiting to receive something unseen and the shadows swirling around her felt almost alive, like dark tongues of black that coiled around her arms and around her waist. Her hair was blowing in the wind, the strands taking on a life of their own and being shaped into something that seemed ominous and terrible.
"What's happening to her!?" Buck demanded, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
"It's taking her!" Vin started to get up but the Erran behind him forced him back into place. "Tiamat is taking her!"
Hearing the name, Alex's eyes moved in his direction briefly but if she recognised him, she did not indicate it. Instead, her chin jerked up suddenly, her white eyes staring into the sky above. The Shah was still reciting his words, invoking the power of the Tablet as the clouds above them opened up, revealing not the blue sky, but a vortex of black spewing out flecks of diamond dust whose shape bore the resemblance to a dragon.
"She comes." Shah laughed. "Tiamat is coming!"
Then suddenly, without warning, the loud crack of a gunshot was heard and the skull of Adashir Shah, a descendant of Sassanid king Adashir the First, exploded.
"There," the woman lowered the Russian Mosin–Nagant sniper rifle and did not need to use her binoculars to know she made the shot. "That ought to give Mr Larabee some room to maneuver."
"You think that will do it, Miss?" Captain Francis Riley who was observing the aftermath of the shot through the telescopic sight of his own rifle, asked even though he had to admit, she was a bloody good shot.
"Yes, but you can assist them if you like," Julia Pemberton replied, getting to her feet before she dusted the sand off her breeches. "I think that will satisfy my account with the Shah's father very nicely."
