The Castrator, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov [free romance novels .TXT] 📗

NO DOUBT THAT YOU MUST BEWARE OF THE REST. SOON YOU WILL SEE THROUGH AND ...

AT THAT MOMENT A BLUE BIRD CRASHED TO THE GROUND - HE WAS DEAD - AT EXACTLY THREE O'CLOCK AND FIFTEEN MINUTES IN THE MORNING.

IT'S SAD THAT SOMETIMES YOU MET GOOD PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE THAT FATE TAKES AWAY FROM YOU. AND THOSE SAME PEOPLE WERE HIDING SCARS IN THEIR SOULS. AND THE WHOLE POINT OF THEIR LIVES WAS TO MAKE OTHERS HAPPY, AND WAS THAT HAPPINESS NOT DECEPTIVE? AND HOW LONG DID ONE HAVE TO SEARCH FOR IT BEFORE FINALLY REALIZING THAT IT WAS AN EXTREMELY SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION!

HIS GESTURES SEEMED TO GO UNNOTICED BY ARLO AND THE ZONAR - AS IF AN INVISIBLE CAPE HAD DESCENDED AND SEPARATED US BY AN UNIMAGINABLY GREAT DISTANCE.

HAVING PREPARED OUR LUGGAGE, WE LEFT THE INDIAN TEPEE AWAITING OUR ESCORT.

 

[1]   The Ojibwe is one of the Indian tribes of North America.

[2] The song was recorded in 1941 by teacher Leah K. Hicks. (Note - the translation is the author's.)

THE MORTAL ENEMY

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE MORTAL ENEMY

 

FATHER TOBIAS HAD RETIRED TO THE ABBEY, WHERE HE USUALLY MINISTERED AND ATTENDED TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS CONGREGATION. THIS ABBEY WAS IN THE NORTHWESTERN PART OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI. THE BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE OF THE BUILDING WAS IMPRESSIVE AND PROVOKED REFLECTION AND PRAYER AND SERVED TO PRAISE THE CREATOR. THE MOTTO WAS "ORA ET LABORA ET LEGE[1]".

BUT HE HAD HEARD OF DONOVAN'S DEMISE AND HAD SEEN IT ALL - SO HE DEFINITELY HAD INFORMATION ON THE CASE.

HE WAS ALSO AWARE THAT THE STORY WAS UNLIKELY TO STOP THERE. HE HAD A THOROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF EXORCISM AND DEMONOLOGY AND FELT A REAL DESIRE TO UNRAVEL THE CASE - NOT JUST FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS, BUT BECAUSE HE BELIEVED HE COULD SAVE MANY LIVES THROUGH HIS INTERVENTION.

BUT HE HAD BEEN ORDERED FROM THE HIGHEST PLACE TO STAY AWAY. YES, ONE HAD NO INTEREST IN CERTAIN DETAILS COMING TO LIGHT AND MOREOVER BEING ...

HE DREW HIMSELF UP IN A SPLENDID ARMCHAIR - AS ORNATE AS IT WAS A FAMILY HEIRLOOM.

THE PRIEST WAS AWARE THAT THE INVASION OF THE FELISTER FARM BY DETECTIVE DONOVAN WAS PROBABLY PATRONIZED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, BUT IT WAS UNCLEAR WHAT THE CONNECTION WAS BETWEEN THE DEMONS IN HIS HOME AND THE WHOLE STORY OF THE STRANGE GRIMOIRES.

SOMEWHERE IN THERE, FATHER TOBIAS REALIZED THAT DETECTIVE DONOVAN HAD MADE A WILLING SACRIFICE THAT WOULD GIVE HIM THE RIGHT TO GUIDE OTHERS WILLING TO FOLLOW THE PATH OF TRUTH.

MORALLY SPEAKING, DONOVAN HAD FOREVER LOST HIS RIGHT TO PASS INTO THE SPIRIT WORLD, AND WOULD BE WANDERING THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ASTRAL, TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF THE STRANGE SERIES OF EVENTS THAT HAD LED HIM HERE.

BUT TOBIAS HAD ALSO TOLD HIM THAT THERE WERE NO COINCIDENCES, AND THAT BEFORE ENTERING THIS REALM THE SOUL HAD AGREED TO A CERTAIN BARGAIN WITH THE CREATOR THAT IT WAS OBLIGATED TO FULFILL IN ORDER TO FURTHER ITS SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE AND GROWTH.

DONOVAN HAD ACCEPTED WHAT HE HAD BEEN TOLD WITH PROFESSIONAL RESPECT, BUT HE WAS NOT A TRUE BELIEVER - HE HAD ENLISTED THE SERVICES OF THE PRIEST TO REVEAL SOME OF THE FINER DETAILS OF THE LIFE OF A FELISTER AND WHAT EXACTLY HE WAS UP AGAINST, BUT HE HAD NOT SHOWN THE ATTENTION HE SHOULD HAVE.

THE PRIEST MENTALLY DRIFTED BACK TO HIS BRIEF BUT FATEFUL CONVERSATION WITH THE DETECTIVE AND REMEMBERED ANOTHER PART OF WHAT HE HAD TOLD HIM:

- THE CONTRACT OF EVERY SOUL COMING TO EARTH CONTAINS CERTAIN DETAILS RELATING TO ITS STAY AND EXPERIENCE HERE. AND THE SO-CALLED SYNCHRONICITY OR COINCIDENCE OF EVENTS ...

HERE THE DETECTIVE DONOVAN LOOKED AT THE PRIEST WITH A VAGUE UNEASINESS - IT SEEMED TO HIM THAT THIS CLERGYMAN KNEW MORE ABOUT HIM EVEN THAN HIMSELF.

- "BELIEVE ME, DETECTIVES, THESE LITTLE SIGNS OF FATE ARE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE," THE CLERGYMAN GRUNTED, "AND THEY ARE NOT COINCIDENTAL BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION - THEY ARE JUST LITTLE GUIDANCE FROM OUR GUARDIANS."

DETECTIVE DONOVAN WAS PLUNGED INTO THE TWILIGHT OF THE BEAUTIFULLY FURNISHED, IF SLIGHTLY SPARSE BY MUNDANE STANDARDS, ROOM.

- "IN FACT, OUR WHOLE JOURNEY IS ONE ENDLESS BIRTH," THE CLERIC CONCLUDED.

DONOVAN THANKED HIM AND POLITELY DECLINED HIS INVITATION TO TAKE SOME OF THE DELICIOUS BISCUITS AND SAMPLE HIS TEA. HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE TAKEN FOR AN INTRUDER - AND ALL THE WHILE HE WAS TAKING THE MOST CAREFUL NOTES ON THOSE THEOLOGICAL COMMENTS THAT MIGHT HAVE ADDED SUBSTANCE TO HIS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION OF THE CASE.

INCIDENTALLY, THE ABBEY WAS IN A RATHER PICTURESQUE LOCATION, AND DONOVAN HAD GONE THERE INCOGNITO SO AS NOT TO ATTRACT UNDUE ATTENTION.

AFTER THE CONVERSATION WAS OVER, DONOVAN SHOOK HANDS RESPECTFULLY WITH THE PRIEST AND LEFT. AND THE TWO SAW NO MORE OF EACH OTHER.

THIS EPISODE PASSED THROUGH THE MIND OF FATHER TOBIAS.

ON HIS WAY OUT, THE FATHER TURNED TO THE DETECTIVE:

- TAKE A WORD OF ADVICE FROM PROFESSIONAL TO PROFESSIONAL - DON'T GAMBLE WITH YOUR FATE DETECTIVES. THESE THINGS ARE BIGGER THAN US.

ZONARA PREPARED TO LEAVE AND TURNED TO ME:

- LET'S GO PACK OUR BAGS - THEY'LL PROBABLY BE HERE ANY MINUTE AND THEY'RE HARDLY IN THE MOOD TO WAIT FOR US.

YES, SHE STILL HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF CASH IN THAT SUITCASE-BAG - THERE WAS PROBABLY ABOUT TWO MILLION DOLLARS IN CASH, AND IN THE OTHER ONE - WERE HER CLOTHES AND ACCESSORIES, WHICH WERE NOT MUCH AT ALL - BUT STILL, SHE WAS A LADY WHO WAS USED TO SPARTAN LIVING CONDITIONS.

ARLO, LIKE EVERY HIPSTER, WORE ALMOST ONLY THE CLOTHES ON HIS BACK AND HAD HIDDEN THE MANY BILLS FROM THE SALE OF MARIJUANA IN SPECIAL SECRET POCKETS.

THEN I WONDERED HOW WELL I ACTUALLY KNEW MY COMPANIONS - YES, THEY HAD HELPED ME THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. YES, THEY HAD EVEN PARTICIPATED IN THE DREADED ASTRAL JOURNEY TO THE REMOTE INDIAN CEMETERY ON MADELINE ISLAND. EVEN ARLO HAD CARED FOR A BLUEBIRD TO PROVE HIS AFFECTION FOR HIS TEACHER, AND HAD CHANGED THE BANDAGES AND BANDAGES THAT COVERED HIS .38 CALIBER SMITH & WESSON WOUNDS.

ARLO HAD NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT HAVING TO TREAT THE WOUNDS TO PREVENT WHAT HE CALLED PRIMARY TISSUE NECROSIS FROM FORMING, WHICH WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN AMPUTATION OF THE LIMB IN QUESTION.

THE TRUTH WAS THAT BLUEBIRD HAD A SOUL - STRONGER THAN A LARGE PRAIRIE BISON, FOR AFTER SIX GUNSHOT WOUNDS - TWO OF THEM TO THE SUFFERER'S TORSO, HE HAD MANAGED TO SURVIVE.

- "HE HAD BEEN PURSUED BRUTALLY. HIS PICKUP HAD BEEN HIT REPEATEDLY BY THE VILLAINS," ARLO REPEATED THIS MORNING, SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE. "HIS ARMOR WAS HORRIBLY DENTED. IT'S A MIRACLE HE'S STILL WITH US. HE HAS THE SOUL OF A STERN WARRIOR! BUT HIS SPIRIT WILL NEVER ... HE TOLD ME THAT ON THE WAY TO LITTLE CREEK[2] THEY HAD CAUGHT UP WITH HIM AND THE SHOW HAD BEGUN. SOMEWHERE IN THERE, A BRUTAL SHOOTOUT WAS TIED UP. EVEN BLUEBIRD HAD TO USE OKICHITAU[3] TO DEFEND HIMSELF, BUT ONLY PROVIDENCE GOT RID OF THEM AFTERWARDS. THAT'S WHAT HE TOLD ME. HE OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T WANT TO REMEMBER THE WHOLE INCIDENT, BUT PREFERRED TO SHAKE OFF THE PAST."

I THOUGHT ABOUT ARLO'S WORDS - LITTLE CREEK WAS A PICTURESQUE AND RATHER PLEASANT PLACE. A PARADISE FOR THE FAMILY. WHY HAD THOSE THUGS ATTACKED HIM THERE? AND WHO HAD INFORMED THEM THAT A BLUEBIRD WAS GOING TO DROP BY?

UNLESS... BLUEBIRD KNEW EVERYTHING BEFORE WE DID - THAT IS, HE HAD DONE THE JOB...

THE NOISE OF THE ONCOMING MOTORCYCLES DROWNED OUT HIS VOICE. THE ROCKERS WERE RAISING A FOGHORN AND COULD BE SEEN FROM MORE THAN A MILE AWAY, BUT WHO KNOWS WHY I HAD THE VAGUE FEELING THAT SOON THINGS WOULD GO COMPLETELY WRONG AND NOTHING WOULD BE ABLE TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE ANY MORE.

ARLO WASN'T HIGH, NOR WAS HE DRUNK, AND FROM WHAT I'D SEEN, HE'D MASTERED ASTRAL TRAVEL ON A GOOD BASIC LEVEL, AND MAYBE EVEN A MORE ADVANCED LEVEL, BUT WE SHARED A DIRTY SECRET BETWEEN US, THAT OF HIS BETRAYAL.

IT WAS A MATTER OF TIME FOR ANOTHER REARRANGEMENT OF THE DECK OF CARDS. AND THEN EVERYONE WOULD FIGHT FOR THEIR OWN SURVIVAL. AND THE RIGHT TO LIVE!

ZONARA WAS THE MOST INSCRUTABLE OF THE THREE, BUT I SUSPECTED THAT SOONER OR LATER HER SHELL WOULD ALSO CRACK AND THE TRUTH WOULD EMERGE - LIKE A PEELED ONION, ON WHICH WHEN YOU GRADUALLY REMOVE ALL THE LAYERS - IN THE END THERE IS NOTHING LEFT. PERHAPS THERE WAS AN OVERWHELMING EMPTINESS RAGING IN HER SOUL, OR PERHAPS SOMETHING EVEN WORSE. PERHAPS SHE WAS SEEKING TRUE SALVATION FOR HER OWN SOUL AND HER SOUL ALONE?

THE ROCKERS ARRIVED ON THEIR IRON HORSES-EACH OF THEM ARMED-AND EXPRESSED THEIR WILLINGNESS TO ACCOMPANY US, BUT NATURALLY DEMANDED A SMALL ADVANCE-APPROXIMATELY TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

THE ZONE HAD ANTICIPATED SUCH A REQUEST ON THEIR PART AND HAD PREPARED THE KESHENA.

THE ROCKERS DECIDED THAT WE COULD FOLLOW THE MAIN THOROUGHFARES, AND IN ORDER NOT TO BE SO CONSPICUOUS SOME OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FORMATION WOULD LINE UP AND SWITCH PLACES - THAT WAY THE THREE OF US WOULD REMAIN RELATIVELY UNNOTICED. THE IDEA WASN'T BRILLIANT, BUT IT WASN'T THAT BAD EITHER.

WE ALSO HAD A FEW SECONDS TO LOOK AT THE SKULLS, WHICH WERE A DISTINCTIVE FEATURE IN THE SYMBOLISM OF THE HELLS ANGELS. THEIR STORY WAS INTERESTING AS THEY EXPRESSED REBELLION AND RENEGADEISM. THE RENEGADE WAS A KIND OF APOSTATE WHO LIVED BY HIS OWN RULES.

THEN SUDDENLY SOME ARROW STUCK IN THE HEART OF A BLUEBIRD. HE CLUTCHED AT HIS CHEST AND HIS LEGS BUCKLED. IT WAS FROM A CROSSBOW, BUT WE COULD NOT SEE THE ARCHER; HE WAS HARDLY MORE THAN THREE HUNDRED TO FIVE HUNDRED YARDS AWAY. OF COURSE, ZONARA COULD HAVE RESURRECTED HIM AGAIN, BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH HARDER THIS TIME.

BLUEBIRD TURNED TO HER AND ANSWERED:

- DON'T WASTE YOUR STRENGTH WITH ME! YOU WILL NEED IT! WALK THE PATH OF YOUR OWN SALVATION!

AND FELL TO THE GROUND DEAD.

WHOEVER HAD FIRED THE SHOT WAS EXTREMELY TREACHEROUS AND BRUTALLY VILE. THE ROCKERS INSTANTLY DUCKED BEHIND THEIR VEHICLES AND DREW THEIR WEAPONS, AIMING AT THE UNSEEN ENEMY.

I NOW THOUGHT OF THE FEDERAL AGENTS WHO MIGHT WANT TO MAKE SOME SPECIFIC ATTACK AND SOAK THE ROCKERS FOR IT. THAT SOUNDED PRETTY WHACKED OUT, BUT WHO WOULD BELIEVE A BUNCH OF POGROM MONGERS? WHO WAS GOING TO JUSTIFY THEIR SHOWING UP ON AN INDIAN RESERVATION IN THE EARLY WINTER MORNING - ESPECIALLY SINCE BLUEBIRD WAS SHOT WITH A CROSSBOW - THE GOAL BEING THAT THE WEAPON COULD NOT BE USED TO IDENTIFY THE CRIME.

THE KILLER DID NOT PRODUCE THE SO-CALLED CONTROL SHOT PERHAPS FEARING THE NOISE OF THE POLYSPASTIC BOWSTRING WOULD GIVE HIM AWAY. HOW DID I FIND OUT, YOU ASK? WELL, THAT KIND OF SHOT POWER JUST COULDN'T BE ACHIEVED WITH A REGULAR ONE. THE ARROW HAD A SPECIAL CUSTOM CARBON TIP REINFORCED WITH TITANIUM. IT WAS DESIGNED TO BURST THE VICTIM'S HEART.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN LIKE A FUCKING RAMBO[4] MOVIE, BUT IT WASN'T. THIS WAS THE SITUATION WHERE WE FELT THE NOOSE TIGHTENING AND JUST KNEW THE MOMENT TO FACE THE TRUTH WAS COMING.

I THOUGHT THEN