Chapter 1: Embrace the Truth

1982 AD
October 6
Taylorville, South Carolina

Joshua was having that dream again. He was on a mountaintop somewhere. Joshua knew that it was a tall mountain because he was above the tree line.

As always, it was night, and the lights of a village were visible in the valley far below. As always, Joshua felt a strong desire to go down to the village. He knew without looking that there would be no visible path down from his perch. Right on schedule, a female voice called out. It wasn't speaking English, but somehow Joshua understood the words.

"Why do you hesitate, Joshua? T'is more comfortable down here. I wait for you down here." There was always something comforting about that last sentence. This was the point where Joshua would be overcome with longing to reach the village, and the naggingly familiar voice, and jump off of the mountain. This time would be different.

"If you're waitin' for me to jump, you can give it up. Last night, that fallin' business scared me so much, I fell out of bed when I woke up. If you want me so bad, come and get me!" A few seconds passed, and nothing happened. Joshua smiled defiantly. Then, the clouds parted and the full moon shone through. That hadn't happened before.

"Time is running out Joshua. You must embrace the truth or be destroyed by it." With that grim announcement, the ground crumbled out from under Joshua's feet. He plummeted into the valley, the ground rushing to meet him.

Joshua jumped with a start and fell out of bed, hitting his head on the nightstand. The teen bit back the curse that formed on his tongue. He didn't know what time it was, and he wasn't going to risk waking the whole house over a stupid dream.

He listened a moment. He could hear only the still quiet of a house asleep. Joshua breathed a sigh of relief.

The youth was climbing back into bed when the lamp on his nightstand came on. It was rigged to his clock as an alarm. It was a slight eccentricity that Joshua had never been able to sleep in anything less than total darkness. His room was sealed against light as well as any photographer's darkroom, and the lamp was the surest way to wake him in the morning.

"Six o'clock comes early," Joshua said, quoting his stepfather. As the boy got out of bed, he heard the alarms begin to go off in the other rooms. He slipped on his bathrobe and walked to his bathroom. He had selected his clothes the previous night and hung them in the bathroom.

Joshua showered with quick efficiency. He brushed his teeth and checked to see if he needed a shave. He noted that his face was still smooth from the last shave, and proceeded to comb his hair.

Joshua's hair was thick, soft and fine; making it a real chore to comb. The teen performed his other morning hygiene rituals with speed so that he could have time to beat his unruly hair into submission.

The battle of the scalp won for another day, Joshua dressed and went downstairs. The mahogany double staircase descended into the entry hall. Joshua turned right. He ignored the door to the formal dining room and entered the small dining room the family used. He walked through the dining room and into the kitchen. The cook was taking a pan of scones out of the oven. Joshua waited until she had set them down before speaking.

"Good morning, Miss Flowers." The plump middle-aged woman jumped and turned.

"Blast it, Joshua, why do you always sneak up on a person?" Violet Flowers liked young Joshua. Unlike the twins, he was polite and respectful to her. He also helped her with her work when he could. She knew that he didn't mean to sneak up on her. Some people were just quiet. No one would accuse the rest of the Ward family of being quiet.

"I'm sorry, Miss Flowers," the boy said sincerely. "I was just wondering if I could help you with anything."

"Could you run those oranges through the juicer and get the butter out of the refrigerator?" Ms. Flowers asked as she transferred the scones to a towel-lined basket. Joshua set to work on the oranges, quickly and deftly cutting them in half before placing them in the juicer.

"You're a dear boy, and I'll dance at your wedding." Violet said as she carried the scones into the dining room. Between them, Ms. Flowers and Joshua had all of the food on the table before the rest of the family arrived.

Joshua's mother and stepfather were the first to arrive. Ben Ward saw his stepson standing beside the cook, and knew that he had been helping her again. He frowned disapprovingly.

The 'help' were paid for their work. They weren't paid to let the family do the work for them. Ben had spoken to Joshua before about how the 'help' would take advantage of him, but the boy wouldn't listen. Why can't he be like my own kids? Ben wondered for not the first time.

Joshua was a square peg. Blake, Sara and Amy listened to their father and stepmother, but Joshua wouldn't. They enjoyed normal sports, like tennis and football. Joshua studied karate and fencing. Ben's kids listened to popular music and watched MTV. Joshua spent hours in his great-grandfather's library, reading old books and listening to music written before electric light. Blake collected baseball cards, Sara collected jewelry, and Amy collected stuffed animals. Joshua collected bladed weapons.

Even in appearance, he stood out. His mother had square, Nordic features with blond hair and sapphire eyes. Ben and his kids had Anglo-Saxon features with brown hair and green eyes. Joshua looked like a bust of a young Julius Caesar, having Mediterranean features with black hair and fathomless black eyes.

Ben was momentarily surprised that he had chosen the word 'fathomless'. It was not a term he had associated with his stepson's gaze before, but this morning it seemed chillingly appropriate. Ben found himself a little frightened of Joshua. He was forced to admit that he had always found the boy a little frightening. Just lately the feeling had grown enough that he had begun to notice it.

"Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Father," Joshua said.

"Good morning, Joshua," Julie answered her son.

"Have a seat, Joshua," Ben said gruffly. The rest of the family came in, and after an exchange of greetings, everyone sat, and Ben led his family in the blessing. Then, everyone began to eat.

"Decided to go a little light on the blue berries in the scones I see," Blake complained.

"These sausages are overcooked and this orange juice is full of pulp," Sara added.

Joshua watched how the twins attacked Ms. Flowers. He watched how his stepfather seemed oblivious to their petty cruelties. He would have offered the cook a compliment or two, but the twins would have then increased the ferocity of their attack.

The teen knew that his stepfather thought of him as disobedient. The fact was that Joshua obeyed his parents in nearly all things. However, if no one would stop the twins from their hateful campaign, Joshua would at least counterbalance them with kindness.

"Your sixteenth birthday is in one week, Joshua," Julie said to her son. "Have you decided what sort of present you might want?" Joshua drained his teacup and stood. He kissed his mother on the cheek.

"Well, I'd better be off," he said. "Those of us who bicycle to school need to leave early."

"I could give you a ride to school," Sara offered. It sounded like an offer of kindness, but Joshua knew that she only did it to remind him of the fact that she owned a car and he didn't. Besides, Joshua was uncomfortable with the idea of being alone with Sara in her car.

"No thanks, sis. I need the exercise," Joshua said jauntily as he left. He knew that this mother had understood the not-so-subtle hint. He knew likewise that Sara wouldn't get a hint if it fell on her head.

Joshua collected his coat and book bag from the entry hall and walked out to the garage to get his ten-speed. The teen set off down the private road, between the twin rows of oaks that had been planted before the Revolutionary War. Joshua loved the feel of the wind blowing in his face as he rode along. In truth, it would be something he would miss if he was given a car.

The sensation made the youth think of flying. Not jet piloting, but flying the old biplanes. They were made of wood, cloth and wire, and had open cockpits. In those old planes, the pilot didn't lose touch with his environment. Flying in them was almost... Joshua's mind came up short. Almost what? He thought to himself. That had happened a lot over the past several weeks. These thoughts that wouldn't finish themselves were as annoying as the recurring dream. "Zounds!" The youth said out loud at a sudden realization. The dream and the stuck thoughts started at about the same time! Is there a connection?

Joshua dedicated as much thought to his puzzle as he could without causing an accident. He was about halfway to school when the royal blue Trans Am pulled around him and stopped, blocking the road. Joshua skidded to a stop, managing to not fall or run into the car.

The youth recognized the car even without looking at the vanity plates, which read:

FBALL GOD

Blake Ward climbed out of his sports car and walked back to his stepbrother.

"Hey, little bro, you should be more careful about how you ride that baby bike of yours," Blake said, smiling. Blake was the captain of the football team and an exemplar of virtue... when there were witnesses around. When he could catch Joshua alone, Blake was happy to bully him.

Joshua never told when Blake acted on his sadistic impulses. He knew that Ben Ward would take the side of his 'real' son. Joshua knew also that his mother would come to his defense. A wedge would be driven between husband and wife. Whatever Ben Ward's failings, he had married Joshua's mom -something Joshua's biological father hadn't bothered to do- and he gave her happiness. Happiness had been in such short supply before his mother married Ben, that Joshua would endure anything to avoid endangering what his mother had now.

Blake and Sara had figured this out, and took advantage at every opportunity. Blake's specialty was physical brutality. In the three years that Ben and Julie had been married, Joshua had lost count of the bruises he had been forced to hide and the injuries he had been forced to explain.

To make matters worse, Joshua knew that he could beat Blake. He didn't just study the martial arts; he absorbed them just as he did all of his studies. Joshua dismounted his bike and let it fall to the ground. Blake would just knock it down anyway. He assumed a defiant posture. Just once, I'd like to show you what I'm capable of. Joshua thought angrily. You'd wet your cowardly pants.

At that anger laden thought, Joshua felt something stir deep within him. He felt a resonance within his very core. The anger seemed to take form, reach out and momentarily touch Blake. Joshua was stunned to see all of the color drain out of his stepbrother's tan face. He was even more surprised to see the stain that formed and spread down the front of the older boy's khakis.

Joshua didn't understand what had just happened, but he couldn't help being happy to see Blake humiliate himself. Suddenly, Blake turned and started to get into his car. Joshua knew that the bully would run home and tell his father that Joshua had attacked him. It was not something Blake would be able to prove, Julie would challenge his word, and things would deteriorate from there.

"Stop!" Joshua shouted desperately. He was surprised when Blake actually froze in his tracks. Joshua didn't say anything for several seconds, and Blake didn't move a hair in that time. "Come here," the teen commanded the bully. Blake turned and stumbled to Joshua. The football captain was crying now.

"P-please don't... , " he whimpered.

"Please don't what?" Joshua asked sharply.

"Please don't h-hurt m-me," Blake whimpered. Joshua had to smile at that.

"That's up to you, 'bro'." Joshua said.

"W-whatever you want. J-just don't hurt me," the older boy promised. Joshua quickly seized the opportunity he had been offered.

"You will never speak of what just happened, not to anyone." The older boy nodded shakily, like one of the head-bobbing toys that could be attached to a dashboard. "I can't hear you Blake."

"I promise I-I won't tell anyone!" Blake sobbed, as his legs began to wobble, and he abruptly fell to his knees. Joshua felt a rush of power. After three years of being beaten like a punching bag, he had his stepbrother at a disadvantage. Joshua decided to push as far as he could.

"You will never attack me again. You will never speak against me again. If I give you an order, you will obey."

"YES! P-please, whatever you want! Whatever you say; just let me go!" Joshua nodded.

"Remember this conversation, Blake," he said, his voice full of menace. "Now go."

Blake jumped to his feet, fell, picked himself up and jumped into his car. He stomped the gas, and Joshua heard gears grind as his stepbrother pulled away. Blake fled like Satan's hounds were on his heels.

When Blake was gone, Joshua picked up his bike and continued his ride to school. He felt different from the way he had felt minutes before. Joshua was pleased with his new influence over his hateful stepbrother. The fact that he didn't understand how he had done it frightened Joshua a little. He was also concerned by the fact that the strange feeling hadn't fully subsided. It was as if something that had been sleeping within him had been forcibly awakened and hadn't completely returned to slumber.

Joshua was about twenty minutes early to school. It was his custom to arrive at least a half hour early, but on days that Blake would 'detain' him, Joshua was lucky to arrive on time.

Francis Marion High School was set up as a 'campus school'. Instead of one large building, the school was divided into shoebox shaped 'halls', with an auditorium, library, and office building separate from the classroom halls. Joshua locked his ten-speed to the bike rack in front of the library, and went in.

To all appearances, Joshua went to the library each morning to review his notes. It wasn't common knowledge that he found learning nearly effortless. He absorbed and retained information like a sponge. The only time he would get a less than perfect grade was when he would deliberately flub it. Joshua reasoned that he was already unpopular enough without getting a reputation as a nerd.

Joshua's real reason for going to the library, aside from making the impression that he needed to study, was to see Kelly Wilkes. Before his great-grandfather had passed away, and left nearly everything to his mom, Joshua had lived next door to Kelly. He had always had a crush on her. But then, what boy with eyes wouldn't have a crush on Kelly Wilkes, Joshua thought.

Kelly had naturally bouncy, flame-red hair. Her aquamarine eyes sparkled with good humor and intelligence. She didn't have the largest bosom in school, but, from what Joshua could tell, her tits were firm and well-proportioned. Her legs were long and athletic, and Joshua was endlessly thankful that tight jeans were in fashion. The designer jeans didn't just show Kelly's legs to good advantage, they showcased her firm ripe buttocks and nice hips. She was the sort of girl a teenage boy's dreams were made of.

There was more than physical appearance to recommend Kelly, however. She was one of the most popular girls in school, yet she never used that popularity for cruel ends, unlike Sara. Back in Junior High, Joshua had seen some of the other popular girls try to pressure Kelly into picking on Carol Tubbs. Kelly had not merely refused; she had actually pressured the other girls into giving up their own attack on Carol. She lost a little of her position with the 'in crowd' that day, but she stood firm all the same. Joshua admired her mettle.

Of course, Kelly was popular. All of the popular boys wanted to date her, including that jerk Blake, so why would she notice Joshua? He was one of the commoners and she was a princess. Joshua was not content with the situation, but until he could find a way to alter the equation, he was resigned to it.

"Hi, Joshua," Henry Merrik called, waving from one of the tables in the back of the Library. Henry was a skinny fellow with coke bottle glasses and a tendency to suffer migraines. He was another unpopular kid. Joshua thought of Henry as the little brother he never had. It didn't matter that Henry was two months older than him. The fact that he hung out with Joshua was the only thing that kept him from being classified as a nerd. It wasn't as if Joshua was incredibly cool, just that all of the 'true nerds' found him a little frightening, though he didn't know why. Joshua waved to Henry, and was on his way to sit with him when he felt eyes on his back. Joshua turned to find Kelly Wilkes looking right at him.

Kelly was talking to some of her friends from the cheerleading squad, when she heard the voice of Henry Merrik say, "Hi, Joshua." She turned to look. Her eyes quickly locked on Joshua.

Kelly had always had a crush on Joshua Hawkins - well, Joshua Ward now -. He looked like a sculpture of a Greek god. She had never actually seen Joshua dressed in less than a t-shirt and jeans, but she could tell he was in good shape and she sometimes fantasized about how he would look if he were as nude as the statues she compared him to.

It wasn't just Joshua's good looks that drew Kelly's interest. He was quiet and polite, and Kelly sensed that he was a lot smarter than he let on. He didn't seem to worry much about what people thought of him. Kelly admired Joshua for that.

As always, Joshua wore his black frock coat. Most of the students wore brightly colored jackets with the logos of their favorite sports teams or similar decoration. Joshua never wore bright colors. Today he wore a gray and white striped shirt, black jeans and black Nikes. Many of the students found Joshua a little spooky, and it wasn't just his monochrome wardrobe that spooked them. There was something about his eyes that tended to make people a little uncomfortable.

As if on cue, Joshua turned his mysterious onyx eyes on Kelly. Those eyes seemed to have a great depth to them. When Kelly met Joshua's gaze, she felt as if she might fall into those deep, dark pools. It would have been frightening, except that Kelly had a feeling that she would find comfort there. It was as if that was where she belonged, and she would never be truly happy anywhere else. Kelly could lose herself in those eyes forever.

It suddenly dawned on her that she had been standing there, staring like an idiot for several seconds. She quickly pulled herself back to the real world and waved.

"Hello Joshua." She said shakily. The object of her attention nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Good Morning, Kelly," he said cautiously. Kelly felt like a fool and turned quickly to avoid showing Joshua her blush. I am such a twit! Kelly thought. He must think I'm an air-headed cheerleader. He's so cool and mysterious. He'll never want anything to do with me! Kelly was too upset to consider the strange new effect Joshua's gaze had on her.

Joshua had been disturbed by the stunned look Kelly had given him. He was even more disturbed by the speed with which she turned away when he returned her greeting. Oh no, she must've seen something in my expression. If she knows what I was thinking, she'll think I'm a pervert! Joshua thought, alarmed. Now she'll never want anything to do with me!

Doleful, Joshua turned to go to Henry's table. He sat down across from his friend. Joshua started to say some pleasantry, but he noticed that Henry was looking at him with the same shocked expression as Kelly. Joshua was less than amused.

"It hurt to see that look on Kelly's face, but not as much as this joke is going to hurt you if you don't knock it off." Joshua felt the thing inside flare again, and Henry's eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets. His face froze in a grimace of terror. Oh shit! Joshua thought, frightened. What have I done? He desperately willed the thing to stop. In a moment he felt it diminish and retreat back to its state of semi-dormancy.

Henry's tetanus-like paralysis disappeared. His muscles relaxed, causing Henry to fall forward onto the table and start breathing again.

"Oh Lord, Henry! Are you all right?" Joshua asked his friend with alarm. Henry Merrik looked up from the table. The soul searing terror was gone, but his face still showed a lot of fear. Henry grabbed up his books and fled the library, nearly running over Mrs. Whittaker. Joshua snatched up his book bag and hurried after his friend.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Whittaker said in alarm. "Mr. Merrik, what's wrong? Mr. Ward?" Then Joshua was out the door.

Henry had swung around the library and was running flat out for the edge of campus. Joshua was much more athletic than his friend, and he caught up quickly.

"Henry, wait!" Joshua called. The other boy continued to run. "Henry, for pity's sake, please stop!" Henry abruptly stopped and turned to face Joshua just short of the boundary.

"Damn it, Joshua, what's gotten into you?" the skinny boy shouted in fear and anger. "You've never done your Lord Vader bit on me and Kelly before! Did you just decide that you didn't need friends anymore?"

"Look, Henry, I don't understand what just happened, but... , " Joshua had just started his apology, when the importance of Henry's words hit him. "Um Henry, what's that about Darth Vader?" Henry's expression shifted a bit, taking on the beginnings of concern.

"I'm not out to spill your secret man, but I'm not so stupid that I haven't noticed," Henry said, trying to inject some calm into his voice. "Before you started hanging out with me in the eighth grade, I used to get bullied all the time and beat up at least once a week. Then the bullies started to avoid me. If one of 'em decided to pound me after that, you'd show up like you'd sensed a disturbance in the Force. The smart bullies would split like an Imperial Captain who wanted to see retirement. The dumb ones would get a beating, and they would stay away after that." Henry shook his head. "Do you think I can't see the way crowds part so you can pass? Do you think I don't see the way you look at boys who get too close to Kelly, or the way they back off afterwards?"

Joshua had an excellent memory. He thought back to the events Henry described and applied Henry's point of view to them. Pieces quickly fell into place, and a pattern that Joshua had never noticed was suddenly clear.

The thing within him had always been there. It had been far weaker in effect, at least where Blake was concerned, but it had been getting stronger. Joshua realized that he had also somehow sensed when the people he cared about needed help. He couldn't read their minds, apparently, but he could sense distress. Joshua had 'had a feeling' that he should hurry home the time his mom fell down the stairs at the old house. He 'had a hunch' that Troy Hildergarde was going to try to beat up Henry after school. He had 'been in the doldrums' the day Great-grandfather Davis passed away, and he had 'gotten worried' about Kelly the day Joey Garner had tried to force himself on her.

"Zounds." Joshua said in little more than a whisper. Henry realized that his friend really was surprised by what had just been said.

"You mean you didn't know?" Henry asked, surprised. The first bell rang then.

"Can we talk at lunch?" Joshua asked.

"Sure, Joshua," Henry answered cautiously. "Take it easy 'til then."

October 6
Lear's Cove Maine

William Morgan Drake III knelt in a circle of silver inlaid in the floor of the secret room in his basement. The outer edge of the circle was marked with the runes of the Norse alphabet. Three binders lay before him. One was a text on a new computer language. Another held plans for the army's new air defense vehicle. Both of the binders were stolen, of course. The third binder held the names and social security numbers of twenty of Drake's employees he had chosen at random.

The three notebooks represented knowledge. They were William's offering to Grimir, the aspect of Odin who ruled over secrets. The sorcerer called upon the ancient god to aid him in his quest of twenty years.

"Lord Grimir, keeper of secrets, I offer these secrets to you." William said. "A new language, a new weapon, and the true names of twenty; all this I offer you. Accept my offering and grant me your wisdom. Show me how I may obtain that which has evaded my grasp. Show your servant where he can find the child of the sixth name."

Drake knelt on the hard, cold floor for several minutes. He continued to call upon the Norse god and offer his sacrifice. Finally, there was a cold draft that seemed to come from nowhere, and a raven landed in front of him. William blinked and the raven was gone.

The sorcerer didn't question how the bird had gotten into his secret room or where it had gone. He knew it to be one of Odin's servants, and thus a sign that his offering had been accepted. William bowed low.

"Thank you, Lord Grimir," he said. Then he stood. He wobbled a bit because his legs had fallen asleep. I'm getting too old for this, he thought. After he stood a moment, William took the notebooks and tossed them into the incinerator he kept for the disposal of sacrifices. William knew it would burn the books to ash. He had burned much more resistant things there.

Drake stepped through the secret door hidden behind the wine racks. He was whistling the final movement from Beethoven's fifth symphony. For twenty years he had pursued one of the Hetsiuib. William would have asked the aid of Grimir sooner, but it had taken a lot of time and effort to gather a fitting offering. Besides, He had nearly caught the quarry on two occasions. Now Grimir would give him a sign, showing where his target could be found. He could handle the rest.

Drake had learned of the Hetsiuib from the twelfth scroll of Flavius Rufus the Mad. Flavius had learned of them from secret Egyptian writings that he had found while in Alexandria with Caesar. The original scrolls were destroyed only days later, when the great library had burned, but Flavius committed all he remembered to his tenth through twelfth scrolls.

The Hetsiuib were the warrior-assassins of a Hyksos mage, whose name was lost to history. There were originally twenty Hetsiuib and the mage used them in a personal war against Egypt. The Hetsiuib were unbeatable in battle. According to Flavius, the Hetsiuib killed Pharaoh, and would have brought about the end of Egypt if not for the timely death of the Hyksos mage. When she died, her hold over her superhuman servants died with her. They ended their campaign and scattered to the corners of the Earth. The Egyptians scrambled to obtain and hide the secret names.

Flavius claimed to have found and enslaved a Hetsiuib using one of the twenty secret names. Contemporary accounts by his fellow Romans supported this assertion. In the later years of his life, Flavius was always accompanied by a beautiful young woman who acted as his bodyguard. One account credited her with defeating five gladiators that had been sent to kill her master. Another account spoke of the way enemies of Flavius Rufus tended to have strange, fatal accidents.

Flavius met his end in the bout of insanity that gave him his moniker. He declared himself immortal and drank poison to prove it. His mysterious bodyguard disappeared afterward.

The fifteen scrolls of Flavius were filled with arcane lore and were sent to the library of Alexandria. Being the greatest storehouse of knowledge in the ancient world, the great library was a real firebug magnet. It was deliberately put to the torch at least twice more. Untold knowledge was lost, including almost all of Flavius' work.

The incomplete copy of the twelfth scroll that Drake had found held the account of the Hetsiuib, but it only contained three of the twenty secret names. The secret names were the key to controlling the deadly creatures. They weren't names in the true sense. They were more like a set of command codes. Speak the proper name to the proper Hetsiuib and it would be bound to your will.

William Drake loved power for its own sake. The thought of controlling such a powerful slave, and using it to accumulate more power, overwhelmed Drake. He began to search for one of the creatures. The use of minor divinations led the sorcerer to a Hetsiuib in 1962. William divined that it was of the sixth secret name, but it realized that it was being hunted, and fled. Drake nearly caught up with him in 1965 and again in 1973, but the Hetsiuib had found a way to defeat Drake's scrying. Drake was confident that he would not be able to hide from Grimir.

The first three class periods were a trial for Joshua. He had never been prone to panic, and he kept his cool now, but Joshua knew what he could do wasn't normal. If the facts weren't disturbing enough, there was also Joshua's feeling of guilt for all the fear he had caused. He had thought people were spooked by an inflated reputation for collecting weapons and their own imaginations. Now that Joshua knew that he radiated the fear, he felt like the biggest bully in school. Joshua loathed bullies.