MILLENNIUM (Descendants Saga) Read online

  Chairs had been set for us behind Donatus and Laish. “Please sit,” Gladstone offered.

  We took our places and waited to see what was going to happen. The last thing I wanted to do was automatically begin with a tirade raging in my mind. After all, considering we were dealing with a citizen of Xandrea, Donatus was the man to handle this situation.

  “Have we missed anything?” I asked politely, not meaning to intrude on any conversation that was already begun without us present.

  “Nothing whatsoever,” Laish said. His tone told me and everyone else in the room that he was tired of waiting to hear what he clearly expected to be very bad news for our people who had journeyed to London in order to escape the destruction of the spiritual world.

  Gladstone waited another brief moment before beginning. This was long enough for Donatus to take up the subject first.

  “Explain why our people—your people, William—have been placed under arrest,” Donatus said with thunder in his voice.

  “No one is under arrest, at the moment,” he replied.

  “Soldiers surround Hyde Park,” Laish interjected. “Descendants arriving all over London have been intercepted by your soldiers and placed in the park under the watchful eyes of armed guards. That’s not freedom.”

  Gladstone laughed. “And where would you all go, if you had this freedom?”

  “To our homes,” Donatus said. “You know very well that Descendants have long held property and homes and wealth in this world. We’ve been forced from the spiritual lands, William.”

  “Whoever told you about our arrival must have also told you why we were coming,” I said. “It would have been impossible for your response to our arrival to have come about so quickly. London’s citizens are protesting something they’ve been told was coming.”

  Laish and Donatus turned back to Gladstone.

  “Is this true, William?” Donatus asked.

  “There is no room for your kind in England,” Gladstone said.

  “Our kind is also your kind,” Laish answered.

  “I am the prime minister,” Gladstone said. “The interests of this country are my priority. What has happened to your homes on the spiritual plane is no longer my concern.”

  “Then you did know,” I said.

  “That doesn’t matter,” he retorted. “You’re not welcome in England. You’re all going to have to leave.”

  “We have homes and property,” Donatus said.

  “I don’t think he cares,” I said. “Gladstone’s soldiers were ransacking our home before we even left the property.”

  Gladstone smiled. “Call it reparations,” he said. “All of your property is forfeit to the British Empire.”

  “Reparations for what?” Donatus asked, standing to his feet.

  Gladstone slowly rose to his feet as well. “For the great destruction you and yours have caused this city,” he said. “Your war nearly destroyed London. You set the empire back five hundred years having to rebuild after your battles. Lycans and vampires running through the streets, killing our citizens, destroying our buildings, even killing our beloved Queen Elizabeth.”

  “That wasn’t our fault,” I said.

  “Then who?” Gladstone asked. “Of course, it was your fault. In fact, Mr. West, your arrival a decade ago only escalated the conflict. Because of the Descendants, London was nearly destroyed. Finally, I’ve been able to rebuild it. We’re very near to a full recovery. I’ll not allow it to happen all over again. Not on my watch.”

  “I can’t believe you would turn on your own kind, like this,” Donatus said. “What has happened to you, William?”

  “Your endless war happened to me, Donatus,” he said. “I got tired of the conflict. I just want peace.”

  “Siding with the enemy won’t bring you peace,” I said.

  “Really, Mr. West?” he said. “Do you have peace? Does your family? You’re fighting a war you can’t win against an enemy that cannot die.”

  “I don’t have to win,” I replied. “God has already won the war. I just have to be willing to stand and fight.”

  “Spare me your religion,” Gladstone said. “I know very well the message of hope and acceptance you’ve tried to spread among the Descendants. I’m not buying it.”

  “And I’m not forcing you to,” I said. “However, that still doesn’t change the problem we have here.”

  “I see no problem at all,” Gladstone answered. “I’m not here to negotiate with you. I’m just giving you a peaceful way out of this.”

  “You would threaten us?” Laish asked, genuinely surprised by Gladstone’s bravado.

  Gladstone smiled. “This is a sovereign nation, gentlemen,” he said. “Would your God approve of you fighting the powers that be here? Tell me, Mr. West, if your Apostle Paul would have approved of you taking up a war against the innocent men serving in this nation’s military.”

  I sat in my chair as all eyes fell on me. There was nothing I could say, but the truth. It was true that Paul had long ago written that Believers should be subject to the governments set over them. We were to trust the Lord and obey the ordinances of the land as unto God, knowing that, ultimately, He was in control.

  “He would not approve it,” I said.

  “Brody, what are you saying?” Laish asked.

  “Gladstone is right,” I said. “We cannot rise up against our government in this matter. If the law will not protect us here, then we should leave peacefully.”

  Gladstone laughed out loud. “I can’t believe you would actually stand by that,” he said. “You would sacrifice your own happiness to uphold what that book says?”

  “Because it’s right, whether I gain by it or not, Gladstone. The obedient don’t pick and choose. They simply trust and obey.”

  He laughed again. “Then I guess our business is concluded, gentlemen. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out. I’ll expect you to gather your people and leave our shores, posthaste.”

  Donatus and Laish walked out of the room angrily. I allowed my wife and the children to follow them. I started for the door, but turned before leaving.

  “I can promise you that I and my family will leave England, as you’ve requested,” I said. “However, I can’t speak for the thousands of angry Descendants waiting in Hyde Park to see what this meeting holds for them. Most do not hold my beliefs. They might think like you, Gladstone. And, in that case, you’ll have more trouble than you’ve bargained for.”

  I turned and walked out. A soldier at the door closed it behind me, and then he and another soldier walked us out. Sadly, I felt like the prime minister had missed the fatal flaw of his argument. My last glimpse of Gladstone saw his expression change from triumphant to horrified.

  Gladstone pondered his predicament while he awaited his servant. Brody West had not been wrong in his assessment. The situation could turn into a fatal miscalculation, if he didn’t do something about it. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure what could be done. Only, one idea had come to him.

  A knock came at the door of Gladstone’s office.

  “Send him in,” Gladstone answered.

  One of the soldiers opened the door. A Japanese man stood on the other side. His hair was jet black and pulled back into a braid which trailed down his back.

  “Toshima, come inside and close the door,” Gladstone said.

  The Japanese man did as he was bidden and then came to stand before his master’s desk. Gladstone had won the man in a game of cards from a Japanese diplomat. He had never revealed the fact that he had cheated in order to do so. However, he had not been able to resist the stakes once Toshima was offered.

  He was not simply a manservant. Toshima was one of the most highly trained assassins in all of Japan. He had been a loyal bodyguard. When necessary, he was the one sent to eliminate political or military opposition.

  “You saw the men who left my office ten minutes ago?” Gladstone asked.

  Toshima nodded. “I am ever watchful, my lord.”

/>   “The last to leave…after the women…you remember him?”

  “I have his face memorized along with the others,” Toshima said.

  “He’ll be heading back to Hyde Park with the elder gentlemen and his wife and daughter,” Gladstone said. “When that wagon reaches the entrance to the park, I want Brody West to die before everyone.”

  Toshima nodded. “Is there a particular way you would like this carried out?”

  Gladstone considered it momentarily. “You’re one of the finest sharp shooters I’ve ever seen, Toshima. That should do nicely. Just keep it quiet, so that you aren’t discovered.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “I’m hoping his death will serve to spark fear in the hearts of the refugees in the park,” Gladstone said. “Maybe when they see one of their own leaders fall, they’ll think twice about rebellion and leave peacefully.”

  Toshima waited a moment to be sure that his master had no further instructions, then he left by the same door. Gladstone considered going down to the park, but it was probably better that he not be seen in the vicinity when it occurred. Better to have a clear alibi, if any questions were asked.

  Switch

  Lucifer watched and waited patiently.

  He happened to be watching the situation unfolding at London’s Hyde Park. The cherubim had been released just as Black had intended. However, while this might have first been thought to spoil Lucifer’s plans, he had recalculated and found that these events might be made to serve his purposes after all.

  The Descendants had been forced to flee their spiritual realms for the human world. Though shielded by glamour in order to make them appear human, they were still subject to the British government and its military. Gladstone had obviously been expecting something to happen. His response to the refugees pouring through dimensional portals had been surprisingly quick. Thousands had been rounded up and herded into Hyde Park. The situation would approach a boiling point the longer they were forced to endure such treatment.

  He waited for his associate, Southresh, to arrive in order to do something about the ghastly condition he was in. His host body had come into dreadful condition over the years the mad god had indwelt poor Arthur Craven. There was absolutely nothing left of the Craven’s mind anymore.

  Even Lucifer found Southresh intolerable. However, he was, for the moment, a necessary evil. Henchmen were hard to come by, especially those as powerful as an angel. He would put up with him for as long as he remained loyal and useful.

  Lucifer felt the tremor of his brother’s arrival, just before he actually appeared beside him on the roof of the newly rebuilt Crystal Palace. The building was all iron girders and thick plate glass—beautifully rendered, but impractical. It was all for show—a part of Gladstone’s plan to hold the allegiance of the citizenry. If he kept them happy with gestures attesting to Britain’s continuing supremacy as a world power, then they might let him remain in control indefinitely.

  Southresh appeared in his ragged form. The skin was almost hanging off of Arthur Craven’s body now. Clearly, Southresh didn’t feed him as much as he should. The man was skin and bones. Not only that, but he also smelled terrible. Hygiene had never been the strong suit of the mad god.

  “Are you ready?” Lucifer asked.

  Southresh nodded. “Which one?”

  Lucifer had surveyed the crowd, but he hadn’t found anyone particularly appealing, so far. Then something caught his eye. A man was standing concealed upon a building down the street. This wasn’t a place where anyone should have been standing—particularly since he was Japanese.

  “That one looks promising,” Lucifer said.

  Southresh followed his brother’s gaze. “The Asian?” Southresh asked. “Why him?”

  “Multicultural possibilities,” Lucifer said. “That could be useful in the future. We must move quickly. He’s alone.”

  Two seconds passed. Lucifer appeared on the roof next to the Asian man. He seized the man’s head, bending him to his will. He could not resist.

  Southresh appeared next to him, kneeling before Lucifer. He placed his other hand on Arthur Craven’s sweaty forehead, so that he could now act as a conduit for Southresh to leave Craven’s body and takeover his new host.

  A cry of agony rose from the mouths of Arthur Craven and the Asian man. People on the street heard the sounds, but they saw nothing when they searched for it. Craven cried out as the mind and will which had dominated him for ten years left him alone and helpless to keep his body functioning. The Asian man cried out as his will was usurped by a mind and will too powerful to stand against.

  The matter was over in moments. Southresh stood in the body of the Asian man. “His name—my new name—is Toshima,” he said.

  Lucifer looked down at the ground for the first time. A bolt action rifle with a sharp shooter’s telescopic lens lay there. A wind gauge sat on the ledge next to the place where Toshima had just been standing.

  A noise came to him from the street. He turned to see a wagon coming down the road. Brody West, his wife and daughter, as well as Donatus and Laish were riding in the back of the wagon. They were driven by a group of soldiers escorting them to the park where the other refugees from the recent disaster had come.

  “An assassin?” Southresh wondered.

  Lucifer closed his eyes. “And we stopped him.”

  “I could still kill them,” Southresh said. “This host has many abilities. His mind is nearly mine to use.”

  “I would, if he was not protected,” Lucifer said.

  Southresh stood still, watching, looking disappointed.

  “However,” Lucifer said, grinning darkly, “I have a better idea.”

  Our meeting with Prime Minister Gladstone had gone less than spectacularly. I had honestly hoped for much more. But it was clear that Gladstone meant to use this situation to his advantage.

  I had no intention of causing a rebellion. However, watching the thousands of our people waiting expectantly in the park, I wondered if that was ever up to me at all. They were about to learn the bad news. We were expected to leave and we weren’t allowed to take anything we owned in England with us.

  Many fine properties would be left to the British Empire. Vaults full of gold and silver and precious stones would also remain. A fortune had been stolen from us today, but none of the Descendants in Hyde Park realized it yet. What would they do?

  No one had said anything on our ride back to the park. Even as the wagon stopped and the soldiers allowed us to disembark, Donatus and Laish remained silent. It was difficult to know without asking, but I suspected they might be angry with me. After all, I had agreed with Gladstone about whether we should fight against the government.

  I hadn’t sided with the prime minister, but I had confirmed his interpretation of God’s word. There had been no choice. There still was no choice.

  The soldiers allowed us across the barricade. We were quickly met by other Descendants. Lycans came to Sophia. Sadie remained by my side. Cole stood nearby.

  “Daddy, what will we do now?” she asked quietly. “Will we leave like the man said?”

  I squeezed her shoulder. I had hoped she wouldn’t ask that right now. We were with Descendants. Lifting my gaze to the Lycans, I saw it on their faces. They had heard every word.

  “Leave?” one of them said. “Is that what the prime minister said?”

  “We have homes in England,” Someone else noted.

  “I’ll not leave my property!” another cried out.

  The indignation escalated with every passing second as word spread quickly from one to another. The crowd stirred to a fever pitch within minutes. Donatus and Laish looked at me. I was hoping they would speak, but they didn’t appear eager to do so.

  “You’ve chosen our path,” Donatus said to me finally. “Now, tell them what you told Gladstone. Tell them they should go and leave everything they own behind.”

  “Donatus, I did not side with him,” I said, realizing his anger. “What’s
right for us isn’t always the easiest way.”

  “You’re a leader now, Brody,” he answered. “For whatever reason, you set the cherubim free. I warned you not to do it, but it happened anyway. Now, they’ve driven our people from their homes. Don’t you think you should accept your responsibility for that?”

  I was stunned by his words, but he wasn’t finished.

  “You said it yourself, doing what is right is not always the easy thing to do. But we still must do it.”

  I stood frozen before him. There was a restrained anger in his voice—frustration and sadness as well. But there was also truth.

  Sophia looked at me, as did Sadie and Cole, wondering how I would respond. Even I was wondering. Then I had an epiphany. Donatus was right. I had to tell them. I had been party to all of this happening, and now I had put forth the truth about rebellion. I had to take responsibility as a leader in this. I owed our people that much.

  I teleported to one of the trees, standing on a branch above everyone so that they could see me. Amplifying my voice supernaturally—a trick I had learned from Donatus—I spoke to the Descendants assembled in Hyde Park.

  Lycans, elves, trolls and even a very few vampires listened as I called for them to be still and listen to me for a moment. “Friends, we have spoken to the prime minister, as many of you are now hearing,” I began. “Gladstone has seized our property in England as reparations for the destruction of London ten years ago and he has ordered the military to see us out of Britain.”

  Almost instantly, the tumult erupted. There were cries for war, cries of despair and anger, and just plain old crying. They had just lost everything on the spiritual plane, now it seemed we would lose everything we had here.

  I called out again, trying to get control of the situation before a mob mentality took over completely. The soldiers were growing wary on the outskirts of our refugee camp. Their rifles were held at the ready. Gladstone may have already given instructions to fire, at the slightest provocation.