Master of Plagues, D. B. Reynolds [best books to read fiction .txt] 📗

and the pink and blue tiles. Before climbing inside the glass-enclosed shower, he wiped away the steam from the magnified mirror. The spiritual reflection of Rabbi Irwin Wedemeyer stared directly at him.
“Rabbi Wedemeyer,” Stuart spoke favorably, a big smile tacked to his sweaty face.
“Stuart, my son,” Rabbi Wedemeyer replied, always happy to visit with his beloved Earthly son. “I see you have come to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
“Yes, it’s true, Rabbi Wedemeyer.”
“Have you not come to seek vengeance on yet another one of your enemies?”
“Rabbi, it is not vengeance. What the egomaniacal eight did to me in that sleazy motel in the South Bronx, there still must be retribution for them to pay. I have not embarked upon this journey to destroy them, but I have been given permission by the supreme powers of the Universe to bring them back to their normal state of humility.”
“Have they not learned any state of humility?”
“They’re getting there, Rabbi. In due time, they will learn to treat their brethren as they treat themselves.”
“My dearest son, Stuart. Has the young lady that you met in Las Vegas continues to seek you out as her possible lifetime mate?”
“I believe so,” Stuart regarded. “Laura has become a persistent woman. In all my thirty-one years on this planet, no woman has sought me out like her.”
The divine, celestial glow around Rabbi Wedemeyer’s spirit intensified. “Stuart, my grandest son. The word of God speaks the holiest truth. The book of Proverbs, the twelfth chapter, says: ‘A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rotteneness in his bones’.”
“Interpret that further. Break it down for me.”
“Son, Laura can become a virtuous wife for you. She will not maketh ashame in any way for you.”
“Are you saying that I should marry her?”
“The One Most High will guide you. Read The Torah and The Holy Bible more often.”
The spiritual form of Rabbi Wedemeyer dissolved from the smoky mirror. The rabbi sure left Stuart with something to think about.


CHAPTER—37

RETURN OF THE STINGER CREW

Entertaining guests for a dinner party delighted Dana Potts-Briscoe and her husband, Dr. Michael Briscoe. The best servers and caterers were hired to keep everyone eating and drinking. A deejay was discovered by Michael to spin some tasteful music from the seventies, eighties, and nineties. From inside their elaborate Coconut Grove home in the exclusive section of Miami, people from the upper-eschelon of society dined on the finest food and drank the best liquors.
Dana couldn’t resist inviting some of her colleagues from the Miami television station of WNSV. Anchormen and weathermen, along with technical crews, were handed their invitations there at the station. Michael went around to some of his constituents at The University of Miami and told them about a party they couldn’t refuse. The president and top professors were jubilant about the gathering.
Guests mingled with food and drinks in either hand. A big gathering in the open first floor plan allowed most to become acquainted. Dana pulled Michael by the hand and led him across the room. Her co-anchor from WNSV, Tino Fernandez, and his wife, the gorgeous Maria Fernandez, stood in the middle room munching on good food and sipping down drinks.
“Michael, this is my co-anchor from the station, Tino Fernandez. This is his wife, Maria Fernandez.”
Tino returned a gracious smile. “Michael, the pleasure is all mine’s.”
Michael took a strong look at the latin beauty. His corrupt heart thumped with lust. Maria possessed the type of beauty men killed for.
“Tino, it’s a pleasure, as well as a privilege,” Michael reciprocated. “You’re a very lucky man.”
“The same could be said for you, Michael.”
Maria broke into an appreciative smile. Michael had his eyes on Maria while Tino had his eyes on Dana.
“So, you’re a professor of sociology at the University of Miami?” Tino asked, trying hard to keep his eyes off Dana’s deliciously-shaped backside.
The form-fitted evening dress she wore turned many heads.
“Actually, I’m the dean of sociology at the university,” Michael bragged in the most discreet way.
His curious eyes still admired the complete package of Maria. She could’ve easily been labeled a true “latin spitfire”.
“You have a beautiful home here in Coconut Grove.”
“Why, thank you.”
Both Dana and Maria loved being married to professional men. Mixed signals were sent into the air.
Dana reached over and rattled the arm of Tino. “Michael, Tino and I covered the story about the gang members in Liberty City who claimed they were attacked by the giant killer bees that spoke English.”
“Bet the station’s ratings went through the roof with that story.”
“Through the floor, the roof, and the walls,” Tino added, recalling the story much too well.
“You guys, what’s this story about these killer bees that supposedly came from outer space?” Michael interrogated, thinking about the tragic fate Dana suffered at the station.
“Those gang members are out’a their minds. Giant killer bees from outer space? Ones that could talk? C’mon, give me a break.”
Dana jerked on the hand of Michael. “Tino and Maria, you guys enjoy yourselves. Honey, let’s go around and greet some of the other guests.”
“Fine.”
The deejay played classic tunes from the middle eighties. This really pumped up the party. Half or fully-intoxicated, the guests worked their bodies across the slippery tile floor. It didn’t take long for their fine evening wear to become soaked from sheer energy.
From out of the cracks of the shiny floor tiles, and through the opening of the windows and the doorway, came hundreds of very tiny killer bees.
Tino pointed up towards the ceiling. “Where’d all those little bees come from!”
Michael grabbed Dana and held her in his protective grip. “They’re all over the place!”
The eighty plus guests ducked and barricaded themselves behind furniture and doorways. Many ran hysterically around the open first floor plan.
Right before their confused eyes, the small killer bees quickly expanded to sizes of colossal killer bees. The growth transformation was rather astonishing. The brightest golden glow engulfed the room. Queen Devorah emerged from the midst of her mighty hive. The entrancing glow had generated from her antennaes. Her long sharp stinger produced non-consuming flames.
“Michael!” Dana yelled in her greatest outcry. “That’s the same giant bee that attacked me at the television studio!”
Michael just couldn’t believe what flashed before his eyes. Speechless best described his present demeanor. He was in a suspended state that was unbreakable.
Queen Devorah pointed her antennaes around the entire room. “Hive, attack all of them!”
Upon command, workers from her esteemed hive obeyed their orders.
Colossal killer bees swarmed every inch of space inside the crowded room. Guests threw objects at them. They raced for the doorways for a clean escape.
There were more than enough hive members to intercept anyone from leaving the Briscoe home. Using their powerful stingers, the killer bees inflicted pain on anyone they desired. There was no escaping the wrath of Queen Devorah and her hive.
An outpour of yells and screams echoed from every single guest throughout the home. Up and down their arms and legs, and all along their backs and chests, they bore the red puffy stings of the vigilant bees. Dana and Michael were made sole exceptions from the vicious attacks.
Were the guests paying for the wrongdoing of Dana?
Queen Devorah flapped her sturdy wings and swooped down on Dana. “My master has ordered me and my hive to pay you another visit. It is evident that you have not considered the proposal presented to you in the break room at the hospital.”
Dana shook with extreme fright. “Proposal? I do not know what you’re talking about.”
“For such an offense to my master, it is in your best interest to offer an apologetic gesture to him.”
“For God’s sake, please tell me who your master is.”
Michael trembled from being in the presence of the super-sized, queen killer bee.
“The secrets of the Universe will not permit me to reveal who my master is.”
“Will you tell me the offense that I’m being accused of?”
“The answer lies deep within you. You will continue to be plagued.”
“Can you deliver a message back to your master?”
“Only if your message is acceptable for my master to receive.”
“Whenever I find out who he is, only then will I apologize. How can I apologize to someone or something who I don’t even know. Furthermore, I still don’t know what I’m apologizing about.”
“As mentioned to you before, you will come crawling on your hands and knees to beg for my master’s forgiveness. For his mercy, you will feel privileged for him to bestow upon you.”
Queen Devorah flapped her wings and took center stage near the ceiling. “Come hive, we have further work to perform for our master.”
Seconds was all it took for the queen and her hive to disappear. Dana and Michael released a strong sigh of relief. Their guests stumbled out of their home moaning and groaning from the severe stings. They left with severe stings all over their bodies. Ten minutes was enough time for everyone to clear out of the Briscoe home. Michael witnessed everything for himself. He escorted Dana to the master bedroom suite for a serious pep talk.
“Dana, I want you to be upfront with me,” Michael insisted, calming down from the sudden killer bee castastrophe.
“Michael, never would I keep secrets from you,” Dana said, shook up from the recent invasion of their home.
“At first, I didn’t think bees could grow bigger than human beings. Nonetheless, I didn’t think they talked just like humans talk. But, I saw it for myself tonight.