Chapter 18: Proselytizing Prophets

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006, Arlington, Virginia

I sighed and tossed another book onto the pile; it’d been steadily growing since we’d arrived early this morning. I’d scanned two-thirds of the way through it before realizing that I’d already read almost the exact same thing the previous week. I shook my head in disgust at the time-consuming redundancy. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my bleary aching eyes, and slumped back in my chair. I was tired of sitting in this goddamn library day after day, the gorgeously built architectural marvel had lost its charm for me, and if I never set foot in it again, I wouldn’t be upset. Luckily my girls loved it and tackled this monstrous project with relish.

<Damn, Malachar! We’ve been reading through books on ancient myths, cultures, and mystical treasures for over two weeks now! We’ve found basically nothing! Not a single clue that even remotely hints at your rings or the Hydra set! Zero, zilch, nada! I mean, sure, we have quite a few spots where treasure has always been rumored to have been hidden, but even you doubt that any of those spots are likely.>

You never know, m’boy. Unlikely, perhaps, but I would never have picked an underground reservoir or a crumbling church basement as likely places either. We’ll simply have to make the best-educated guesses that we can.

Sigh.

<I guess we’ll have no choice but to travel to those many obscure places that we’ve singled out then.> I grumped.

I don’t see any other choice. Now you know why I was constantly telling you that time was of the essence! A year is not a long time when searching for a needle in a haystack.

I snorted out loud, startling a skinny guy that was sitting nearby from what he was reading.

<More like four needles in every fucking haystack ever made!>

I know that the research is tedious, but don’t let yourself fall into a depression. Hopefully, we’ll find a clue soon, and then we can be off.

<Yeah, off where? To Rosslyn Chapel? Or the secret chamber under the Sphinx? How about the Ethiopian church of St. Mary of Zion? Hell, we might as well search for the legendary city of El Dorado or King Solomon’s Temple while we’re at it! Don’t forget, then there are all of the Indian myths, the Arab stories from ancient Persia, and obviously, we can’t overlook the Greek ones—it’s fucking endless!

So should we start in India with the Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah’s hidden treasure that’s supposed to be buried somewhere in the famous Charminar Tunnel? Or how about the suspected secret vault under the Padmanabhaswamy Temple? Or what about the supposed copper treasure map found with the dead sea scrolls in Israel? Maybe we can be the first to decipher its meaning.

Or shall we start with the lost Arabian medieval city of Julfar? Plus, then, of course, I’m leaving out all of the Chinese, Japanese, Polynesian, Native American, and Australian Aborigines legends and myths. We haven’t even scratched the surface of those! Damn! There’s just so much! Where the fuck do we even start!? How in the Hell did you manage to find any of the rings in the past!?>

I heard him sigh in my head, and that he did so left me filled with dread.

<What, Malachar? What aren’t you telling me? Level with me, Dude!>

Magic.

<Magic? What do you mean? How so?>

Look, son, I was hoping that in your technological world that your vast Libraries would perhaps hold a clue. Obviously, they don’t, but without the ability to cast spells, it was the best chance that I could come up with, which is why when Sheila suggested it, I was only too happy to agree. Before the council hid the artifacts here on Earth, my hosts were capable of using magic in their own right, and if needed, could seek out higher skilled Mages to help us. We cast auguries on the rings, quickly narrowing down our search even if we didn’t get a precise location...

<Wait a minute ... I thought that you said that they couldn’t be tracked!>

They can’t, not after they’ve bonded with a wearer, but when they are dormant, then their location can be discerned within a certain radius.

<Okay, so why can’t we do the same thing? And why did you make them trackable at all anyway? Didn’t you just make them and then immediately bond them with yourself? I mean, they’re bone-fused!>

Yes, but I couldn’t know what an enemy caster might’ve conceivably come up with that possibly could have separated them from me. No magic is one-hundred percent infallible, even if some spells may seem that way. I was pretty sure that my spelled artifacts couldn’t be broken and that it would be nigh impossible to divorce my creations from me, but I would never take such a foolish chance simply based upon pride. That’s how you lose, m’boy. Remember that. Regardless, it seems that my doing so is a moot point because you can’t cast auguries.

<No, I can’t.> I replied. My brain started churning with what he’d just said when it suddenly clicked. <Like I said ... I might not be able to—but what’s stopping us from finding someone who can? Why don’t we see if we can find a good fortune-teller? I always thought that they were all frauds before, but hey, maybe there’s something to it? I mean, after all, magic is real, right? So couldn’t they be real too? At least some of them? No? Is that not possible? I don’t imagine it would be all that different from what Violet does with her lie-detecting ability, so someone HAS to be able to help us. I’ve seen where the police will even use them to help find missing bodies or lost people sometimes.>

<Yeah, this library shit has had me at my wit’s end! I love reading, but holy fuck! I’ll go let everyone know, and we’ll start first thing in the morning. I’m bushwacked, and we could all use the rest of the day off. Besides, it’s lunch-time, and I’m hungry. We can order or make something at home, plus I wanna swim while the suns out if we have the afternoon to do whatever. In the meantime, I’ll get one of the girls to make a list of all of the psychics in the area so that we’re ready.>

If this works, you have to celebrate, m’boy! You know how, right?

<Lemme guess, I fuck some assholes?>

Winner winner chicken dinner! Give the man a prize! Bullseye! Cornhole in one! You should go get some strange, and not just one, go pick up like half a dozen plus one and then nail ‘em all in a row while they each eat one of your girls! One for every day of the week! And on the eighth day, God created anal! I’m sure that if you wandered through the mall, you’d be able to pick up seven hotties within an hour! I’d appreciate it more than you could know! Plus, your guards could use some new pussy, too!

Fuck ‘em all in their asses, those dirty, dirty lasses! They want it hard, they want it deep, they want it raw, they want to shriek. Slap their butts and make them yours; after all, they’re just slutty whores. Tie them up and spank them rough, plug their holes, and triple stuff. You know, and they do too, that they’ll love whatever it is you do! So take them hard and take them fast! Go out and get some goddamn ass!

<Damn, you’re excited! We’ll see; I’m not opposed. I bet one of the first things that you’re gonna do when you get resurrected is to find a sexy ass to stick your face in.> I laughed at his craving.

Damn straight!

“Hi, Jake! You guys are back early! Can I make you something to eat?” Alejandra asked as she watched us all traipse into the foyer.

Everyone dispersed around us except for Kelly and Sheila, who was holding a restless Billy in her arms.

“Yeah, that’d be great!” I said appreciatively as my stomach growled hopefully. “I’d love a couple of those roast pork sandwiches you made the other day with the avocado; those were damn good!”

“Sure thing, Jake! I got great news today! Well, we all did. Our families all received their green cards thanks to you! ¡Gracias, estamos siempre en deuda con usted! You are a blessing from God! I can’t wait until I get to see my Mamma and Papi!” Alejandra beamed at me as she bounced up and down with excitement.

“That is great news, Ally! Sweet! I know that I made my contact in the FBI use his resources to get it expedited, but wow, that was damn fast!” I exclaimed happily. “Just remember what I told you three about leaving here. Now that you all have enough money hidden in various bank accounts—if anything happens, I want you guys prepared to get your cute little butts down to California as planned...”

“Do you really think that you’re in danger here?” she asked curiously.

“Yes,” I reaffirmed. “I told Bernita and Eva the same thing—as you well know. I don’t want you harmed, and the only reason I haven’t made you three flee yet is that I think we’re relatively safe here for the moment. Still, keep yourselves ready to scoot at a moment’s notice, and don’t look back if you do. If anything does happen, don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. If all goes well, I promise to look you guys up in the future, and we’ll reconnect. Hopefully, we’ll find the information we need so that we can leave ourselves soon too. Oh, and are you three staying armed like I asked you to?”

“We will, Jake. We’ve all got bags packed and ready to go,” she informed me while smiling indulgently. She’d told me a few times not to worry about them, but I did. They had no clue what was out there hunting for me. “And yes, we’re always armed, just like you ordered, Jake! See?” she raised her skirt, showing me quite a bit of nice tanned thigh where she had her Sig Sauer P320 subcompact comfortably strapped to her leg.

Brock had recommended them for all of the girls, so I’d sent Sharif and Alan out to purchase one for each of them, including my new Ecuadorian friends. Apparently, the Sig Sauer’s were able to be changed easily from compact to full size, and they still held twelve plus one rounds. It had been days before my twin energizer bunnies got tired of flashing me right before pulling their pistols out like some hot double-agents from a Bond flick. They’d be credible if it weren’t for the incessant giggling, though they were both super sexy.

“Good,” I grunted as I admired her sexy legs. I hadn’t fucked any of them yet, and probably wouldn’t, although they were certainly good-looking enough. “Oh, by the way, did Anal Bitch give you the title to his Lexus yet?”

“Yeah, he did yesterday! Thanks for that. I always admired that car! Bernita wants to drive it, but she’s way too loco and would kill us. Eva and I have forbidden her to take it out and hid the keys! She’s a speed demon!” she gushed out boisterously. “And you just keep YOUR promise too, señor Jake! You mean the world to us, and we want to know that you’re safe when your troubles are over. So you’d better look us up in California when you can! You’ve done so much for us. We wish we could someday pay you back,” she admonished sternly.

“You can pay me back by taking care of yourselves and your families,” I replied with a smile as she darted in for a hug.

“Do you know where David is? Billy wants to go swimming after lunch, and he wants his Dad to take him...”

“Daddy! I swimz with Daddy, Mamma! Peease!”

“After lunch, you squirmy little Billy-goat!” Sheila laughed.

“Uh, yeah, he’s downstairs with the house Slut, I think. He usually gets with her after you guys leave since you told him he couldn’t get naughty while Billy was here,” she shrugged.

“Thanks,” she nodded at her. “Kelly, would you mind taking Billy while I go find my ex?”

“Sure,” she agreed, reaching out and taking him from Sheila’s arms. “Come on, my little cutey-pie, let’s get you some lunch, and then you can go swimming!”

“I swimz! Ima Goat and I swimz with Daddy! Canz I has Ice sceems after?” he asked adorably as he hugged Kelly tight with his chubby little arms.

“Only if you eat all of your lunch first, Honey-pie,” Kelly quipped as she tickled him, making him squeal in laughter.

We made our way to the kitchen, where we found Alan and Sharif sitting at the table eating some Chinese leftovers.

“Hey, Bossman!” Alan greeted me with a nod while Sharif merely grunted as he shoveled another mouthful of chicken fried rice into his piehole. “I finally finished up with the bullets. I made five-hundred for you. If you want more, then I’ll need to find silver bullion somewhere. I scoured the pawnshops clean. Oh, I also bought everyone a couple of extra clips and filled ‘em up, figuring you’d like that.”

“Awesome, and good thinking,” I praised. “I assume the clips are with our mini-arsenal in the sunroom?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled as he scarfed down some more food.

“Crusty, tell him the one that you just told me earlier; it was too fuckin’ funny,” Sharif said between mouthfuls.

“A’right,” he agreed, giving us a wolfish grin. “An old couple in their seventies was seen shagging furiously up against a fence. For forty minutes, they shagged like bastards. Their arms and legs going everywhere until finally, they fell to the floor. The old woman looks up at her husband in disbelief, Jesus Christ, she said—you didn’t even fuck me like that fifty years ago! To which the old man replied—fifty years ago, that fence wasn’t fucking electric!”

We all busted out laughing; Alan certainly deserved his nickname. If Bruce ever met him, we’d all die from laughter. Alejandra made us some delicious sandwiches, and we ate, joked, and enjoyed each other’s company. Today was a great day—we potentially had a path forward, and everyone’s spirits were buoyed from that knowledge. I couldn’t predict the future, but I had a gut feeling that we were on the right track now.

Wednesday, August 16th, 2006, Arlington, Virginia

I heard a siren, glanced out of the tinted Limo-Bus windows, and watched impassively as an ambulance raced by on our left. We were on our way to another psychic’s shop, searching for anyone who claimed the ability to foretell the future, hoping to actually find one that had the spark. We’d looked at three so far, but none of them could tell me what the next five minutes would bring, let alone someone’s murky path for the coming months or years ahead.

Violet was my ally in this venture—her ability allowed her to weed out the liars almost instantly, which came in super handy as both a verification tool and a time saver. I was hesitant to use my magic on them in case they were able to resist it like she could. I didn’t want to raise any undue suspicions without knowing their capabilities. So we went into each establishment pretending to be a couple looking to get a reading done, a self-serving cover story which just happened to work. She’d laughed amusedly when I’d first claimed that we had to hold hands to give authenticity to our lie. I’d shrugged at Abby’s amused eye roll that she directed at my obvious ploy, but Violet offered me her dainty calloused hand anyway.

Earlier, right before we were about to leave the Limo for our first attempt of the day, I tried to get a cuddle and a kiss or two to no avail. She’d slapped me playfully and turned her cheek, telling me that we didn’t need to kiss, grope, or to fuck each other to demonstrate our devotedness. She laughed uproariously when I asked her if that meant a blowjob was out of the question then. When her laughter had finally died down, she’d told me straight-faced that if I really felt the need, that she thought that maybe Brock would let me give him one. My girls had all guffawed at that and then cackled hard—even I had to grin stupidly in amusement at her playful barb. At least she genuinely seemed to like my flirtations.

I earnestly hoped that she’d decide to stay with us when we eventually left DC. I knew that I was falling hard for the girl, most likely because she wasn’t falling hard for me in return. After all, we always want what we couldn’t have, forbidden fruit and all that. I was probably emotionally retarded for chasing her, or maybe it was just because of what my sister accused me of being—terminally male. I had six women that loved me to death and one that hated loving me or loved hating me, or whatever it was, and I wasn’t satisfied with only that—I needed just one more.

I’d been growing even more infatuated with her daily, especially after watching her demonstrate her martial arts over the past two weeks. There was something incredibly sexy about a tiny girl who could throw a man around that was twice her size, as if they weighed little more than a pillow. Watching her in my Mom’s yoga class was almost as bad. I never had a limp cock during those sessions, and not just because of her either, but because of all eight of my girls. Even Bernita and Eva’s tight bodies looked hot in the lycra shorts that were commonly worn. Thanks to the Twin Serpents ring of Libido welded to my hand, I was in a constant state of horniness even without their unintentional help.

On a side note, I was amazed at how fast my women were becoming competent shooters and fighters. I guess my magic was helping in spades with the simple instructions that I had given them to learn well. I had told them all, one at a time, that they were naturals and that it was as if their bodies were made for hand-to-hand combat and firing guns.

It worked exceedingly well, much to the private astonishment of Violet. She said that they were progressing faster than she could even teach them and that after two weeks, they were as good as a dedicated two-year student would be. Brock said the same for both their shooting capabilities and their JuJitsu techniques.

Meanwhile, I was progressing at a normal mundane Human pace. I was a decent shot, but my martial arts skills were at the level of what one would expect after two weeks—that of a white belt. I figured that if any physical confrontations were to happen that I’d leave the fancy shooting and martial arts skills to the ladies, I’d just turn into Hulk smash!

Let’s hope that this one isn’t another charlatan, m’boy. I’m wondering if any of them actually possess any magic at all, even in such a minor form.

<Hmm, I’ve gotta have faith that there will be at least some that are real. There’s way too many of them around the world who claim to have the skills of farsight, foretelling, the ability to speak with the dead, and stuff like that. I even saw a documentary once on VooDoo, and let me tell you, what they believe that their practitioners can do is crazy nuts—it’s some seriously spooky stuff, especially if it’s real.>

“Hey, Boss,” Brock said, his voice crackling through the intercom, “we’re here.”

I scooted down the long plush leather seat and picked up the phone, letting him know that I’d heard him.

“Ready, wifey?” I quipped at Violet, giving her an exaggerated leer.

“Always, husband dearest, especially if it involves mentally or physically sparring with you,” she replied with a cheeky crooked grin.

“I’ve got something that I can spar you with,” I boasted as I cupped my crotch and jiggled it.

“Mmm, he certainly does! And if you don’t wanna do the horizontal spar with him, I’ll take a go right now!” Abby growled throatily. “You REALLY don’t know what you’re missing girl, his cock is simply the best, and trust me, I’ve had a lot!”

“She has! Abs was a massive slut!” Heather piped in as she broke out, giggling.

I was surprised that even our Mom started laughing at that one as she simultaneously joined the rest of the girls in confirming that yes, my cock was the best and that yes, Abby had been a bit of a slut before. Although at least Kelly did defend her daughter by clarifying that she’d been searching for her soulmate back then, and now that she’d found him, those days were long gone. I was glad that I’d taken Malachar’s advice and had gotten my girls involved with trying to breakdown both Violet’s and Angie’s defenses.

“I’ll get you for that!” Abby hissed as she jumped onto our baby sister and started to spank her mock seriously. “But it’s true, I was a pretty big slut,” she agreed, her gaze seeking out Violet’s as she grinned.

“Oooh, spank me! I love it, and JJ doesn’t spank me enough!”

“At least he’s spanked you! He hasn’t done it to me once, the big meanie!” Stacy pouted.

“Not true! He slapped your butt a couple of times when he devirginized you, Stace!” Heather blurted out.

“Yeah, well ... that doesn’t count! You had a real spanking!” Stacy argued while blushing furiously at the same time.

“Me either!” Sheila growled, shooting me a wanton look.

“Okay, enough with the shenanigans, we’re all starving, and I’ve watched enough cartoons to last a lifetime,” Kelly ordered with a laugh. “If this one doesn’t pan out, we still have another two on the list for this afternoon, and I’d like to be done sometime this decade!”

“Cartoofs! I luv cartoofs!” Billy threw in half-distractedly before getting absorbed right back into Monsters Inc.

“Good luck, mi Gato,” Maria said as she flashed me a brilliant smile.

I grabbed Violet’s hand and pulled her out of the Limo into the overcast, muggy, mid-August early afternoon. It was supposed to rain later—I hoped it would; maybe it’d cool things off.

“Pretty seedy neighborhood, it reminds me of back home,” Violet observed as we took a look around, orientating ourselves.

I swiveled my head, checking out our surroundings. I saw a few street bums sitting in alcoved doorways, a couple snoozing, and a couple more drinking from a brown paper bag. I quickly spotted our destination—Madame Daniella’s Psychic Readings. It was in a narrow, nondescript storefront with grimy windows that were covered over with faded posters of what looked to be tarot cards and horoscope diagrams. Next door, to the right, was a Chinese restaurant that I wouldn’t eat at if I was dead drunk and starving by the filthiness of its facade. On the other side of our destination was a boarded-up business, its signs long ago having been smashed out and spray painted over by the faded look of the graffiti. Glancing around again, it seemed that the whole street was just as bad.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty rough street,” I agreed with her, shrugging in disgust. “Kelly was right; I’m starving too. Let’s get this over with, my gorgeous sexy wife,” I said with a smile as I squeezed her hand, enjoying the feel of it.

“Your sisters are right—you’re such a goof,” she laughed as we started to cross the refuse-filled street hand in hand.

“Yup, at your service, until death do us part!” I quipped, earning another giggle.

It was hard to imagine that in this city, some of the most powerful men and women in the world made decisions that affected everyone. Yet, just blocks from them were filthy roads, filled with derelict buildings that were surrounded by the disenfranchised and unwanted dregs of society. I shook my head in disgust at the blatant disregard for basic human needs. Here you could see people living in the type of squalor that you’d expect in a third world country—not in the capital of the mightiest nation in existence. I pushed the negative thoughts out of my head and concentrated on the task at hand, hoping that we’d finally find what we needed.

“I’ve noticed that Angie seems to be glaring at you a lot less. That’s something, isn’t it? She’s been dealing with her grief a lot better since you made her believe that she actually went to her family’s funeral...”

“Hey! I did that for her own good! Do you even know just how guilty I feel about it!? I would have loved it if she could have gone for real! But dammit! The risk to the rest of us was simply too goddamn great!” I growled vehemently, feeling super defensive about it.

“Whoa, Tiger! Down boy! I was just gonna say how nice that was of you!”

“Oh ... Sorry,” I muttered sheepishly.

“No problem, I understand, Jake. I really do. I’m no dummy, and I realize just how much danger we’re in here, let alone if we went back there to Boston. You did the best that you could do—I just hope that it doesn’t blow up in your face one day, even if you can control minds,” she said sweetly and sincerely while grabbing my hand again. “Now come on, it’s probably almost as dangerous standing out here in the middle of the street, waiting to get run over, as it would be back at the Four Seasons,” she laughed as she tugged me forward.

Thinking about my thorny Rose had me feeling conflicted. I was severely tempted to give in and just take her again; I missed the feel of her. My patience was being strained; perhaps I’d been too cocky. I was genuinely surprised that she hadn’t begged me to fuck her yet, especially because she’d been so thankful that I’d let her go to her family’s mass funeral. It had been shockingly easy to create the false memories I needed inside of her head. When she’d received the information about the where and when from one of her aunts, I had set my plan into action.

After she’d told me the details, I’d had her immediately misremember the date so that she thought it was one day after when it really was. Then I watched the news coverage of the funerals on the television; it was quite detailed. I scoured every clip that I could find and watched them repeatedly on the internet until I felt confident that I had so many details that it would be utterly convincing. I owed her that much, at least. From that, I slowly built up the images in her head as if she’d seen them herself first hand. It had required some tricky wording, but with careful thought, it wasn’t that hard. Unfortunately, I was forced to block her from being able to call her aunts; eventually, I’d allow it, but only after I’d broken her resistance and made her entirely mine.

I cleared my head of errant thoughts for the second time and focused on the task ahead. Walking swiftly, we reached the alcoved entranceway—I pulled open the frosted glass door and heard the distinct tinkling of an old-fashioned chime when it struck the edge. It was dark compared to outside, and we had to let our eyes adjust. Just like the other shops we’d visited already, we were both instantly assailed by the thick, cloying scent of incense.

“Be right there,” a woman’s voice yelled out from somewhere behind a thick purple cloth that served as a door to a back area.

Violet let go of my hand and walked over to check out a bunch of books that were marked for sale on a nearby shelf while I slowly turned in a circle, taking a look around. The place was small, maybe fifteen by twenty feet, and it was haphazardly stuffed full of all things supposedly mystical or arcane. I saw shelves full of incense burners to go along with the various scented cones and sticks. There was a humungous selection of candles in a variety of sizes and colors, plus a small choice of holders—everything from brass to glass.

One wall was dedicated solely to horoscopes and had a multitude of books, calendars, and posters—each with their own interpretations of the zodiac, as believed in by the various cultures that had created them—they covered every inch of space available on that side. Kitty-corner to that was a wooden display filled with different teas, each with a placard proclaiming their medicinal and well-being properties.

On the opposite side from where we’d come in was a glass counter that held an antiquated cash register and a tip jar that had a couple of bills in it from what I could see. Sitting next to it, covered in dust, was an Ouija board and a few tarot card decks marked for sale. Through the counter’s glass panes, I could see a variety of crystals accompanied by small cards detailing their many uses.

“Look, a book on modern-day witchcraft,” Violet giggled as she held it out to me, “maybe I should buy one.”

“Go ahead, Dear, buy whatever you’d like,” I replied as I blew her a kiss. “But I doubt that you’ll need it ‘cause you’ve already put a spell on me, Babe!” I laughed.