CITY OF THE GODS: FORGOTTEN (80 page)

“Only the souls of dead mortals pass through its gates,” Konohana added. “Do you have any other theories as to what she was, D’Molay?”
 

Despite their disbelief, he held firm to his own truth. “I don’t think Aavi came here on purpose. Someone, probably Set, perhaps even with the help of others -” D’Molay could not resist turning his gaze towards Quetzalcoatl. “ - used their powers to intercept Aavi as she was taking that beast to Earth. The Oracle told her that was where she needed to go. She and the beast appeared here on the same day. Surely that cannot be mere coincidence.”

“Yet you have no proof to offer us to back up this claim,” Zeus commented. D’Molay would not allow his head to nod in the negative. He had to convince them.

“Eros mentioned her purity, something an angel would surely have. She abhorred violence and never did a violent act, even when doing so might have saved her life. Aavi could see the souls of many of those she’d met. And what about the explosion itself?
 
It was just like what happened to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah on Earth. Angels visited those cities too.
 
And it ended with huge explosion turning the people into salt. So many things she did and said hinted at what she was.”

“Are you saying that beast was a heavenly being too?”
 
Shiva asked incredulously.

“There are many strange and dangerous creatures spoken of in the Bible. Dangerous creatures let loose on Earth by angels as part of the turmoil of the end times. I believe Aavi was one of those angels, and her mission was to take that creature we caught to Earth.”

“You seem very well informed about the Earth we left and a realm we are forbidden contact with,” Quetzalcoatl said accusatorily. D’Molay stood a little straighter. He was not going to be intimidated.

“I was . . . I am a Knight Templar. In fact, I was the last leader of the Knights Templar.
 
Long ago I escorted pilgrims and priests safely across the Holy Land. I swear to you that events here led me to escort an angel across your realms. Everything about Aavi points to her being an angel.
 
I can see no other explanation. I only wish I’d put all the pieces together sooner.” D’Molay’s voice trembled, heavy with regret. Looking down he said nothing more to the assembled gods.

Konohana leaned back in her throne and considered his words for a moment. “We will take your claims into consideration, but until we have more proof than just your personal observations, I believe we should withhold any final judgment. She looked to the others to see if they agreed.

“For now, we can only say this woman was an unknown mystical being. Personally, I would guess she was a Celtic deity, perhaps, or an unusually powerful nymph,” Shiva interjected.

“Yes. I agree,” Quetzalcoatl added quickly. Zeus, however, was frowning with impatience.

“Where is Set?
 
He knows the truth of this. I’ll squeeze that jackal’s neck until he tells us what we need to know!”
 
He held out a fist clenched so tightly that sparks flew out of his hand.

“Set has vanished” Quetzalcoatl said, “He was either destroyed in the explosion or he is hiding somewhere out of our reach. I wish my forces could have found him before he escaped. I was lucky enough to learn of his plans and try to stop him. I was glad, too, for the help that Lamasthu gave us. I am sorry that in the heat of battle your Greeks mistook our pursuit of him as an attack on you, but that is past.”

From the other side of the room, Ares began to object to Quetzalcoatl’s spin on events, but was drowned out by his father.

“He must be caught! He invaded my realm, killed my servants and destroyed my property. I will not forget that anytime soon!” bellowed Zeus.

Konohana was annoyed by his outburst. Everyone knew Olympia had been attacked. “Enough. We have sent agents to find Set. He has probably fled to the Lost Realm.
 
No gods hold dominion there, so flushing him out will take time.”
 

“We should have destroyed that cursed realm during the last great war,” Zeus grumbled. “Now every wanted criminal and deity in trouble hides out there.”
 
Konohana, Shiva and Quetzalcoatl stared him down until he retook his seat, a dejected, angry expression on his face.

“Honored Council, if there are no other questions for D’Molay then we should dismiss him pending any new evidence that may arise at a later date,” Shiva proposed.

“Agreed,” Quetzalcoatl and Zeus said together.

Konohana looked at D’Molay and the rest of the assembly. “None of the testimony you have given or heard today should leave this chamber.
 
You’ll be unable to discuss any matters concerning these events.
 
The rules of secrecy are in effect, unless we lift them.”
   

D’Molay bowed to the goddess and took a few steps backward.
 
“Yes, I understand.
 
If I find new proof, I promise I shall return to present it.”

“You may go. Call in Lamasthu.”

D’Molay walked away in frustration. He had tried to tell them the truth, but they refused to believe. He should be used to it by now.

*
       
*
       
*

Several hours later the four Council members sat together around an ornate cherry wood table in a darkened room. A flaming brazier hung by three chains from the ceiling, its light casting a muted glow on the gods. The rest of the room was blanketed in the deep darkness of a spell that kept out prying eyes and ears.

Zeus rested his arms on the table, hands cupping a silver goblet in his hand as he scrutinized Quetzalcoatl who sat directly across from him.

“So, what say your stars? Do you think it was some kind of accident, or did the Heavenly Host send her?”

“We must hope that it is an accident. Otherwise it means that they sent her with a purpose, perhaps to check up on us.”

“If the Host do check, they will find discrepancies that we dare not explain,” Konohana said.
 
“However, I’m not sure what we can do about it one way or the other. It may be that D’Molay is mistaken, or if he is correct, that this Aavi saw nothing worth notice.”
 

“I still hope that she was something other than an angel,” Shiva said. He kept a watchful eye on the darkness as if wary that the spell might suddenly fail.

 
        
“Even if she was an angel, what could she have seen?” Zeus began to rationalize, his interest drifting from the aggravating mystery to his nymphs and other pleasures. “The Freeman said she spent most of her time as a slave in a cage or in Ares’ Fort.”
 
He drained the last swig from his goblet and put it down on the table. “There’s probably nothing to worry about. Olympia awaits me. Are we done for now?”
 

“Yes, I suppose we are,” Konohana decided. “Just remember that there is to be no mention of this alleged angelic visit. There’s no point in spreading rumor and fear.”
 

A consensus reached, Quetzalcoatl waved his hands in the air. The blackness withdrew like an octopus swimming away from a predator.
 
Each god departed in their own way.

Quetzalcoatl was the happiest of the four as he turned into his feathered serpent form to fly down the hall and out into the night sky. As he flew higher and higher he began to laugh at his good fortune. He had managed to avoid blame or suspicion from the other Council members thanks mainly to Set’s flight. His absence screamed of guilt. It was unfortunate that Lamasthu also knew the truth. Quetzalcoatl knew that she would extort something from him at the first opportunity in exchange for her silence. But, having successfully rid the City of an angel, Quetzalcoatl assured himself that removing a goddess was also well within his abilities. When all were busy hunting down Set, he would consider a strike at Babylon. In the meantime, he had sacrifices to oversee.

Tomorrow D’Molay would leave the City and join Mazu in the search for Circe.
 
But tonight he was home seated on the floor in front of his hearth, ready to try his hand at a new skill: metal work. He picked up the hard plaster block he had carved and looked at it again. His ability to cut and shape leather had proved quite useful, as carving the plaster was much like carving leather in many ways. He ran his finger along the deep grooves he had incised into the block then carefully placed it on the stone floor. Glancing at the flames in the hearth, he checked on the thick iron pan he had placed directly on top of the burning logs. D’Molay could tell by the thin layer of oil in the bubbling pan that the temperature was almost ready.

Carefully unwrapping the lump of metal that he had discarded in this very hearth only a month or so ago, he stared at it for a moment, hoping that some hint of Aavi’s presence might emerge, though none came. He held the metal to his lips and kissed it. “Thank you Aavi, for returning to me that which I had lost. My faith,” he said, hoping she might hear his words. He dropped the misshapen lump into the pan.

Much like the first time he had put this metal to the flames, it seemed to relax. A few minutes later, gray liquid bled from the edges, and soon the entire lump melted. D’Molay put on heavy leather gloves before picking up the blackened iron pan. Carefully, he held it over the plaster mold on the floor and poured the metal into it. The hot liquid seemed almost eager to flow out of the pan and inhabit its new shape. He put the empty hot pan into a nearby bucket of water. It hissed as its heat met the cool water. Steam rose. The pan rested quietly in the water, its job done. Leaning back against the table leg, he took off his gloves and breathed a sigh of relief that the job was almost done.
 
He could see that the metal was already starting to cool as it began to take on a grayish hue.
     

D’Molay got up and poured himself a drink of rum from the bottle on his table. He had not had any liquor in weeks, but decided it was time to drink a toast to all those that had fallen defending the fortress. “May the gods grant you safe passage to the afterworld, as I hope mine will grant me the same one day,” he said aloud, raising the goblet in his hand.
 
Just before he took the first sip, he added, “And I’ll see you again, dear Aavi, when I go through the gates.”

D’Molay stood there in the dark, the room lit only by the flames of his hearth. The flames no longer hypnotized him. His new spirit no longer had room for the controlling dread they previously wielded. Fire was now only a useful tool and no longer an obsession.

Finally he went back to the plaster casting by the hearth and crouched down. Picking the block up, he found the metal still warm, like a living thing, and noted that it was now solid. He flipped the block over and picked up a hammer, raising it high. D’Molay struck quickly. The plaster shattered with a heavy cracking sound, small cloud of white dust rising in the air. He rummaged through the debris and pulled out the metal object he had put so much effort into creating. It was a cross, the sign of the Christian god.

D’Molay held it close and gazed upon his handiwork carefully as he removed the remaining plaster debris. He was genuinely pleased for the first time in ages by his success in reforming that lump of metal into what it had once been. It had been his own cross for many years until that night when he had completely abandoned his faith in God and thrown it in the flames.

Realizing he’d never had the chance to confide his life story to Aavi, he chose to tell her now. “Well, Aavi, I thought I was done with God and I was sure he was done with me. Back on Earth, he’d left me to burn in flames. I was sure the Pope would save me, but he let the King of France burn me alive. But then pride goeth before a fall. Now I know I was wrong, wrong about everything.” Examining the cross, he said in almost a whisper, “I melted this down while I was drunk and angry and desolate. Then, the very next day I met you. The only Knight Templar in the City of the Gods to meet the only angel? That was no coincidence. You needed a guide and I was called to duty, without even knowing it.”

She had been the answer to a question he had long ago stopped asking: Did God care?
 
Now he was sure he knew that answer.