45. Chapter 45
Chapter forty-five
Alex
Alex sat at the table in the boardroom, replaying the siege at the hospital in his head. Galen and Ryo sat at the end of the table, listening to the television news report.
“A terrorist group named the Sons of Enyaluis,” said the commentator, “has taken responsibility for releasing an airborne biotoxin at Mass General, which resulted in thirty patients and staff members being exposed. Currently, there are no medical updates available.”
“Turn it off,” said Alex. “I’ll tell you how it ends; we lose!”
“Alex,” said Ryo, “we need to know if there are any updates.”
“Turn it off now!” yelled Alex as he slammed his fist on the conference table, resulting in the table splintering.
Ryo turned off the TV.
“Where’s Bruno now?” asked Galen.
“He’s in the medical wing under armed surveillance. Alex shook him up good when he threw Bruno across the hospital roof,” said Ryo.
“Giving him to the authorities?” asked Galen.
“Eventually. That depends on the quality of information he provides,” said Ryo.
“Wuz information provided by Bruno about the SOE accurate?” asked Galen.
Ryo said there was an old warehouse in Albany, New York, used as a home base for SOE. However, the building was now vacant.
“The helicopter?” asked Galen.
“Found in upstate Massachusetts––they ditched it for road vehicles as soon as possible,” added Ryo.
“Can ya track them, Alex, as ya did before? Looking for voids in the electromagnetic field?” asked Galen.
“No,” said Alex. “The bastards have learned from that experience, and were now scattered in different directions like cockroaches. I have no idea where to look or who to search for to find the serum. It’s over; Danyal only has hours to live, and I have to be here with him.”
Galen motioned for Ryo to leave the conference room. Galen walked over and sat in the chair next to Alex.
“Alex, know what yu’re feeling. Please don’t give up.”
“You know what I’m feeling? Is a man you love near death? If I recall correctly, you ran away from all your relationships.”
“Damn it, not fair. Ya don’t have the exclusive right to suffer. Amara has been unconscious in a hospital for eight years, and now Zoe’s dead.”
Alex stood, and Galen followed suit.
“Do ya need an emotional or physical punching bag, Alex? Suggest ya try someone else, because I’ll fight back,” Galen said as he puffed out his chest and stepped forward until he came up against Alex’s chest. “Come on, mate. Too afraid to get yur hands dirty as usual.”
“Galen, I’m warning you, don’t do that again.”
Galen stepped forward and shoved Alex once more.
Alex reached out and wrapped both arms around Galen, pulling him tightly to his chest.
“Let me go!” yelled Galen.
“No. Please stop fighting. I’m sorry, you’ve been with me from the beginning. I’ve no right to take my anger out on you. You’ve suffered more than any person should.”
Galen placed his head on Alex’s shoulder as he began to sob.
“Sorry, too. Wanted to punch someone to make them hurt like I do inside.”
Their embrace was interrupted by a knocking at the conference room door. Alex looked up to see Wynn standing on the other side of the glass door.
“What the fuck? I don’t have the energy to deal with him today,” said Alex.
“I got him,” said Galen, wiping away his tears as Alex released his bear hug. “Ya go be with Danyal.”
Galen stepped outside the room but quickly stepped back in before Alex left. “Alex, Wynn says he has information to discuss with ya that can’t wait. Think he’s serious.”
Alex sighed and sat back down at the undamaged end of the table. He nodded to Galen to send him in.
“Ya want me to stay?” asked Galen.
Alex shook his head.
“Will be back in a sec,” said Galen.
“I don’t have the energy to fight, Wynn,” said Alex. “I want to be with Danyal in his final moments.”
“I’m not here to fight, Alex,” said Wynn, sitting a file on the table. “But I’d like to start by saying I deeply regret what I said to you at our last meeting. I was insensitive about you and Danyal, and that was inexcusable. No one should have to suffer the way Danyal has suffered. I don’t know how you’re holding it together; I’d be devastated if Shae suffered this way.”
“Thank you for the apology, Wynn. I owe you a long overdue apology, too. I’m sorry I panicked and left you alone in Egypt. There’s not a day that I’m not ashamed of how I acted, and I can’t fathom the suffering you endured because of my actions.”
“It’s not all your fault, Alex. I’m in therapy, and I understand I blamed you for a situation you couldn’t control. Both of us in a prison cell wouldn’t have changed the outcome. What hurt the most is I loved you, and that circumstances forced you to abandon me.”
“I recognized your feelings were deeper than mine, and I panicked. You deserved better,” said Alex.
“We can’t change the past, Alex. I’m trying to move forward with Shae, but it’s a daily battle. I wish the pain could magically go away.”
Alex nodded and looked at his hands, holding them before his body. “I don’t know how my abilities might work on psychological trauma, but are you willing to try?”
“Are you serious, Alex? Please, take the edge off so I can sleep without nightmares. It may be the help I need to be the man Shae needs me to be.”
Alex said, “I need to place my hand on your heart, and I need your consent to touch your core energy.”
Wynn nodded.
Alex lifted his hand, but was surprised when Wynn wrapped his arms around Alex to hug him. “This will work, too,” said Alex as he returned Wynn’s embrace. “You might feel some tingling.” Alex drew the cosmic energy around them to form a pulsing orange, blue, and pink cocoon. Alex stepped back from Wynn’s embrace to look at his spark.
“The good news is your spark is brighter. However, you’ll still have to do the heavy lifting in therapy, but hopefully you’ll now have a better chance of succeeding,” said Alex.
“Boris, Shae, and I thank you, Alex,” said Wynn as he leaned in and gently kissed Alex on the cheek.
Alex smiled as he wiped a tear from Wynn’s cheek. “Consider it a thank you for saving Boris.”
Wynn turned and picked up the file he had placed on the table. He said the information he was about to convey was top secret.
“Many years ago, Ditta developed contingency plans to help her recover if she was physically injured.”
“Injured?” said Alex. “I thought she was invulnerable.”
“Nearly,” said Wynn. “Over the years, she was involved in several battles with the other gods, especially Thanatos. Several ancient weapons could injure her, and by her account, Thanatos nearly succeeded in killing her once.”
Alex asked how she survived. Wynn said she could survive by healing herself via two methods. The first was to gather the Earth’s healing energies at natural power sources or vortexes on the planet, such as Mount Shasta, Giza, Sedona, G?beklitepe, and Tiwanaku. He added this method was the most powerful and immediate way she could heal herself.
“And what about the second?” asked Alex.
“This method is more frightening, and only to be used as a last resort,” said Wynn.
“Go on,” said Alex hesitantly.
“She could temporarily extend or supplement her life force by draining the life force from a mortal.”
Alex sat in silence before responding, “So, are you telling me she’s the basis for the vampire myths?”
“I’m not sure, Alex,” said Wynn, “but she could drain the life from humans to ensure her survival.”
“Why are you telling me this now? I don’t need healing,” said Alex.
“I can’t predict it would help, but if you wielded pure healing Earth energy, could it give you a chance to heal or improve Danyal’s survival chances? It’s at least worth considering.”
Alex sat up in his chair. “So the only other option is to try to heal Danyal by supplementing his life force, by killing another human?”
Wynn nodded.
“That’s not happening,” responded Alex. “Who else knows about these protocols?”
“Only three people: me, Hoko, and Bruno.”
“The more I learn about Ditta,” said Alex, “the more I understand how cunning and calculated she was.”
The two were interrupted by Galen knocking on the boardroom door.
“Sorry to interrupt, but ya need to see this,” said Galen.
Galen placed an elongated box about a foot long and six inches wide on the table. He opened it to reveal the dagger Ditta had given him for safekeeping.
“So, you bring me a dagger, Galen? Can I use it on Bruno?” asked Alex.
“Ms. Dea gave me this dagger on the night ya ascended. Swore me to only give it to ya when all hope appeared lost. Now feels like the right time,” said Galen.
“May I inspect it?” asked Wynn. He looked over the knife carefully and said he’d only ever encountered one other dagger like this in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun had a similar dagger. He said the dagger was unique because it originated from a meteorite that fell to Earth and was composed of cosmic materials. If he had to date it, he told Alex he’d bet his career this dagger predated Tutankhamun’s.
“So how does this help me, Wynn?” asked Alex.
Wynn leaned the dagger forward. “There’s an inscription I can’t make out.” As Wynn turned the blade, the weight shifted and fell out of Wynn’s hands toward the floor.
Alex instinctively reached out to catch the dagger, but abruptly jerked his hand back before the blade bounced on the wood floor.
“Ouch,” said Alex.
“Ya, right?” asked Galen.
“Yeah, I think it nicked me.”
“How’s that possible?” asked Galen as he handed Alex the cloth used to wrap the blade. “Alex,” said Galen, “ya need to look at yur hand.”
Alex looked down. “Shit, my blood’s golden. That’s new.”
“Galen,” said Wynn, “quickly hand Alex the empty water glass on the counter.”
“You want to drink my blood, Wynn?” responded Alex.
“No, you handsome idiot––did you not learn anything in my lectures? What does gold blood mean in mythology?”
Alex thought momentarily, and his eyes widened.
“Gold blood means ichor. The pure blood of a god.” Alex, with his other hand, carefully tried to catch the dripping blood in the glass. “It appears to have stopped bleeding,” said Alex. “The cut has healed.”
He lifted the glass, holding the drops of pure ichor to eye level, and turned the glass to inspect it from every angle before smiling. “Someone get Veronica here now––we’ve got work to do if we’re going to save Danyal,” said Alex.
Galen jumped up to dial Veronica’s number on his cell as Wynn picked up the dagger to inspect it again after Alex had ensured it was safe.
“Careful,” said Alex, “don’t get any ichor on you. It can kill you.”
Wynn nodded. “I think I can read the inscription now.”
“What does it say?” asked Alex.
“It says rebirth. This is the knife of Eros.”
“May I ask you a favor, Wynn?” asked Alex.
Wynn nodded.
“If you were to pick an Earth power vortex to try to heal Danyal, which would you choose?”
Wynn stroked his beard with his right hand as he considered the question. He said Giza was obviously out of the question, while Sedona and Mount Shasta were too public. That would leave the most ancient sites of G?beklitepe and Tiwanaku. G?beklitepe was the oldest known temple on the planet, but the province in Turkey was so war-torn it wouldn’t be safe, and they’d have difficulty moving freely. Known for its monoliths and the Gate of the Sun, he said he’d choose Tiwanaku and the Lake Titicaca area in Western Bolivia. Wynn said all these sites were too far away, however, given Danyal’s condition, as he handed Alex another file.
“Boston is located on one of the most powerful vortexes in the northern hemisphere. It’s why Ditta picked it for the company headquarters. This file contains the exact coordinates of the energy vortex needed to tap into pure Earth energy. It’s very close,” said Wynn.
“How close?” said Alex.
“It’s only twelve miles away under the Old North Church, the oldest church in Boston.”
“The same church that was the location for the signal sent for Paul Revere’s midnight ride, one if by land and two if by sea?” said Alex.
Wynn nodded and said many churches were built on top of pagan or spiritual sites of native cultures. He cautioned there was one problem: Ditta sealed the vortex decades ago to limit the flow of energy, because it was amplifying negative human emotions that led to more conflicts, and the open vortex served as a beacon, drawing Thanatos to Boston.
“So, how do I reopen the vortex, and what would be the consequences?”
“Unfortunately, Ditta took that information with her. All I know from her records is that it can be accessed in the catacombs beneath the church.”
“Would you be willing to help us with this quest, Wynn?” asked Alex.
“Yes, it’s the least I can do for the gift you gave me today. I’ll meet with Ryo and get the ball rolling.” Wynn left the room as Galen finished his call with Veronica.
“She’s on her way,” said Galen. “Ya looked pretty chummy with Wynn.”
“It was long overdue. You afraid of graveyards or crypts, Galen?”
“No,” said Galen, “why?”
“We’re going to be headed to the catacombs beneath the Old North Church to open an energy vortex.”
“Would follow ya anywhere. Promise me one thing, mate.”
“What, Galen?”
“Promise me we’ll never fight again.”
“I promise,” said Alex, “our faces are too pretty for fighting, so we must settle our differences with video games or wrestling.”
“Remember how well ya wrestle. Michael’s nose is still healing,” Galen said as he rolled his eyes and pushed Alex down the hall towards the penthouse elevator.