Iron Rain Pt. 20

Sorry for the long delay on this piece. Health issues slowed me down more than I anticipated. I am taking a short break from the Iron Rain series to work on Evil Bitch and Sex in a Bottle. But Nick and Akira will be back soon in the next installment.

If you have any suggestions on the next part of the storyline feel free to drop me a line.

As always I hope you enjoy and please vote and comment.

*

December 15th, 2012

Voodoo Bayou:

The roar of the air boat drowned out any possibility at communication aside from pointing and other hand gestures. The little old shack out in the middle of nowhere appeared on the horizon and the boat would reach it in a few minutes time. The last time Marie Dubois had set eyes on this feeble structure was twelve years ago when she had been accepted into the Silent Shadows. The ramshackle building had been falling down slowly back then now nothing short of a miracle kept it erect.

Marie hopped out and tied the rope that would anchor that air boat to the tiny outcropping of dry land until their departure. The pilot never left her seat. She had been told before they had left that this would be a short visit. She just never knew how short it would be. There was no sign of life detectable from the exterior of the building and the way the front door hung at a precarious angle Marie was not holding her breath that anyone was at home. She gave a polite knock and the door came crashing down and onto the damp soil. The cloud of dust kicked up eventually settled and Marie peered in and found the interior as void of life as the outside. No one had been here for many years and this place was good for nothing short of kindling.

"Let's go," Marie said as she turned to leave.

"Before you get what you came for," wheezed a voice like a sigh from the desert.

Marie turned to face the diminutive figure that had appeared as if by sorcery. She could not have been even five feet tall when she stood erect which she wasn't. The bent over wreck of a human being was so ancient that her skin might blow away from the next strong breeze.

"I thought that you were long dead old woman," Marie said no love or joy to see the old witch.

"It's good to see you too Marie Dubois," the wizened figure replied with a cackle.

"Where's my mother you old crone?"

"She is not here, that is obvious, but oh where could she be?"

"Don't play games with me or I'll..." but before Marie could finish her sentence a clawed hand gripped her by the throat.

"I don't play games little girl," the old woman snarled tightening her grip and pinching off Marie's air supply.

The younger woman's knees struck the ground and her face turned blue before the witch would release her death grip. As Marie gasped for breath the older woman looked down and spat on her.

"Don't ever mistake old for weak," she advised. "Your mother as you well know is still in my employ and will be for the next ten years. If you want to see her, come back then unless you have something to offer me in exchange?"

"I have information concerning the long count," Marie whispered her voice still not restored.

"Oh do you now," the witch glared at her. "And what would that be?"

"I want to see my mother first," Marie growled.

"Tell me offspring of an unhallowed coupling or you will never see her again."

"I will give you this much," Marie said getting to her feet. "It is not what you think; it's not what anyone thinks it is."

"Interesting," the old woman said considering the words carefully. "You can have five minutes with her then you will tell me all that you know."

"I will tell you what I know about the long count and nothing more," Marie said.

"Clever girl, agreed," the witch smiled and motioned for Marie's mother to step forward.

They were much alike mother and daughter both in appearance and in personality. Compared to the witch they were both tall and beautiful beyond words.

"You shouldn't have come here," her mother said upset but happy to see her daughter.

"I had to, so much is going on and I needed to know that you were okay."

"I am fine and it is good to see you Marie. I hope you have lived a great life."

"Each day is sacred and every moment a gift," Marie recited the family motto.

"That's my girl; I don't suppose I am a grandmother yet? No, you have plenty of time for that."

Suddenly there was a change in the atmosphere and the three figures on the shore looked over to the old shack where a young man sat watching the family reunion. Marie smiled and nodded while her mother gazed at the tired young man with curiosity. However the old crone snarled and spat angered by the presence of a man on sacred land.

"You defile this place by being here man," the witch cursed.

"As you can see my feet aren't touching the ground. I have a certain amount of respect for the old ways. Now how about we come to an agreement for the release of Marie's mother," Nick asked nicely.

"There is nothing you have that I could possibly want," snarled the old woman.

"Knowledge never goes out of style or so I am told," Nick countered.

"There is nothing you know that I have not already discovered," she said with a shake of the head.

Nick plucked a stick from thin air and drew on the ground before him. The arcane characters taking form and drew the witch in like iron to a magnet. Her toothless mouth opened in shock recognizing the formulae that he was inscribing.

"Not possible, that is Faust's own alchemical recipe for the transmutation of base metals to gold. How did you learn this?"

"Is this enough for the release of the mother or should I just scratch it out and stop now?"

"NO, that has been lost for centuries... I am sure such a cunning man as yourself and I could come to an understanding."

"I am sure we can," Nick agreed.

"What else have you brought to bargain with," she asked.

"I need your permission to set foot on the land before I can show you."

"You have it now show me what else you have learned," she said licking her lips now.

Nick bowed and using the stick began to draw more arcane formulas on the ground the next more esoteric and rare than the one before. After five were completed he stopped and looked at the witch.

"Surely this is more than enough for one puny woman," Nick said.

"Indeed it is," the crone agreed.

"Release her and they are all yours or," he lowered the stick to rub them out.

"No wait," she looked at the elder Dubois and then back at the inscriptions on the ground. "You drive a hard bargain Mister..."

"You want my name old woman? It would burn you to hear just the first syllable," Nick's demeanor changing abruptly at the crone's attempt to ensnare him.

She looked up and narrowed her eyes as if looking directly at the sun.

"Who are you," she asked.

"Me, I'm just a friend of the family. So do we have an understanding?"

"I doubt you are so simple a creature but yes we have an accord," the crone agreed.

"Release her and we will be on our way," Nick said.

"I release you Genevieve Dubois from my service," the witch said.

"Forever..." Nick added.

"Forever," the woman spat.

Nick turned to face the trio piling into the air boat.

"Go on I'll catch up in a bit," Nick said.

The air boat roared to life and in a few minutes was gone from sight.

"Now young man who are you really?"

"My name is Nick Shaw," he told her and she grinned her serpentine smile. "But that name will do you little good it no longer holds any power over me."

"Why is that Nick Shaw?"

"I have another name, a secret name that as I warned you before would burn you to hear it."

"Look at this pitiable form you think I fear being burned?"

"No and mores the pity you should fear it," Nick told her. "I have urgent business elsewhere better start copying that down the water is rising."

Even as Nick opened a portal back to the Numenor the swamp water began to lap at the edge of the first inscription.

"Wait, I need time to copy them down," she begged.

"Time is something you and the rest of the world don't have the luxury of anymore."

"What, wait what do you mean by that?"

"The Long Count comes to an end and then everything changes," Nick said and then was gone.

Grav Bikes and Elder Gods:

My name is Nick Shaw and I have done some very terrible things. I am not apologizing for them but just stating how the majority of people would view my actions. Of course what I have done was for the greater good, but isn't that the excuse every mad man uses to condone mass murder? Madness, in the days of the old gods, madness was seen as a sign of being touched by the divine. They had seen too much for mortal men to handle and went insane. Is that what has happened to me? Have I just seen too much? Have I lost it and made horrific decisions on the blind ideal that I am right in my assessment for what is good for sentient life on this world? I look up and shake the doubt from my thoughts. No I made the right call. What I did was for the betterment of everyone. Violence and overcrowding were killing this world and I made the hard decisions. I stand behind them and will face whatever fate is laid out before me. Fuck it!

"Open the hanger Surfer," I said with a smile.

"Are you sure it is ready for a test flight Master?" Surfer asked even as he opened the hanger.

"It's been gathering dust for weeks now; it is time to see if all that hard work for worth it."

"Hanger door opened, have you given it a name yet?"

"I was thinking Nighthawk, what do you think?"

"Compared to the other names you were pondering it seems... more appropriate," Surfer said with a smile.

"Okay so Ebony Death Strike was a little extreme," I admitted.

"I am fond of Black Talon myself," he said powering up the gravity pulse drive.

"Ooh I forgot about that one," I said.

"So we are no closer to a name that when you started are we?"

"Ummm... no... but I will keep Black Talon in the running, that is a cool name."

"Thank you Sir, am I copiloting or will one of the others be required?"

"Do you really think I'd take anyone else out on the virgin flight Surfer?"

"No," he said with a grin as the cockpit slid open revealing the redesigned seat.

"Nice, okay let's get this baby off the ground."

"I am nearly finished with the preflight checklist," Surfer said then after a long pause. "She is ready to fly Master Nick."

I slid into the pilot's seat and the cockpit slid closed around me. I was safely cocooned in cutting edge alloy armor with enough speed at my fingertips to make any pilot green with envy.

"Inertial dampeners online," Surfer said his voice coming over the internal communications array now. "Avatar interface complete... she is ready to go. Light speed at your discretion Mr. Shaw."

"Funny... I like that..." I said as I pulled the controls into a comfortable position and brought her to one thousand feet slowly.

She handled smooth as glass and there was no sense of motion within the cockpit whatsoever. Unlike modern aircraft the Grav Bike possessed two gravity bubbles. The internal bubble kept the g forces normal pilots would face to zero and the external one was strictly for propulsion. I was hovering silently over the Numenor at a thousand feet and the view was spectacular! It was time to see what she could do; so I slowly moved forward picking up speed as I went. The silence and utter lack of vibration made it difficult to judge how fast I was going until a faint 'boom' told me we had just broken the sound barrier. The Atlantic Ocean raced below me as I throttled her up and shot arrow straight towards Europe. The heads up display showed me that I was travelling at Mach 3 and still my speed was climbing. By the time I hit Mach 6 the world outside was a blur.

"We are being tracked by a destroyer class warship Sir they want to know who the hell we are," Surfer informed me.

"Ignore them," I said and ratcheted up the speed to Mach 8 leaving the destroyer and her crew far behind.

Then I decided to see how she handled high altitudes and brought her nose up and put her into a steep climb, so far so good.

"Warn me before we hit orbit," I said.

"At this speed we will achieve orbital insertion in approximately..."

"Just give me a heads up will ya?"

"Yes Sir," Surfer said.

"How is she holding up," I asked to make conversation.

"She is operating well within acceptable parameters."

"Could she achieve space flight?" I asked.

"I do not know if the gravity pulse field would provide sufficient protection from radiation beyond Earth's magnetic field. She was not designed for that Sir."

"Just a thought," I said seeing the sky darken.

"We are very close to... slow down Sir."

I brought the Grav Bike to a more leisurely pace and hovered at the edge of the atmosphere. What a sight! What kid doesn't have dreams of flying and here I am on my own looking down on our fragile world.

"Take over Surfer," I said and waited for the inevitable.

"Me Sir, oh thank you!"

The craft dove downwards at hypersonic speed and I think he planned on trying out every aerial maneuver his little crystalline heart could imagine. I enjoyed the ride while my thoughts drifted elsewhere. More dire decisions for me to contemplate and soon but I tore myself from the dark and watched Surfer do his magic. We dove and spun and shot upwards at ballistic speeds all while he played some of my favorite heavy metal songs. I think at his core Surfer, like me, is a dreamer and tied by fate to a Master who could not have accomplished half of his goals without him. After long minutes of playing Surfer leveled out the craft and our speed grew and grew as I watched the readout pass Mach 12. At this speed we could go around the entire planet in less than an hour. Mach 13 and climbing as Surfer monitored all of her systems. Then we began to slow and we reached a mere Mach 6 for a comfortable cruising speed.

"Why did you slow down," I asked him.

"If I continued our passage through the atmosphere might have caused havoc on the people below by altering weather patterns with the extreme heat we were creating."

"Good answer," I replied. "Set our course for Cairo and let's keep her below radar if we could."

"Roger that Captain," Surfer said.

"You did not just say that."

"I did."

"Too funny, just fly the damned thing," I told him with a smile and a laugh.

Cairo, city of mystery and one of the cradles of civilization, what a shit hole! The Aries Virus had ripped this poor place a new one and what had once been crowded marketplaces and vendors hawking their wares was now a near ghost town. Guided by my sense of wrongness I walked down back alleys drawn down crisscrossing streets until I came to the center of the distortion. I should have fucking known... the sign was so weather beaten as to be nearly illegible but there in Arabic, English, German and Russian were the poorly painted letters Akhmed's Bar and Grill. I stepped inside and saw the burly swarthy skinned patrons who could have been either diggers for some archaeological dig or mercenaries. I wasn't sure but I was about to find out.

"You are not welcome here," the nearest man said without ever raising his eyes from the drink he was nursing.

"I am expected," I told him in fluent Arabic.

"Says who," another man asked beginning to take his feet.

"I do," I replied. "I am expected everywhere."

"Who the 'fuck' are you," the first man spat emphasizing the word fuck.

"I am Death, maybe you've heard of me?" I said.

"You are not death you are crazy," the second man said reaching for something behind his back.

"That is true I might be insane but you my friend," I said turning on him and catching his gaze with my eyes and triggered the Aries Virus sleeping inside of him. "You are dead."

The body crashed to the ground and then I had everyone's attention after that. I turned on the first man and he wouldn't meet my gaze and pointed to the bartender.

"Bunch of fucking pussies," the man wiping glasses said. "What can I do for you Mr. Shaw Sir?"

"I need to speak with Him," I said with a smile and the placement of a coin from Iram on the bar.

He picked up the coin turned it this way and that then looked at me.

"He's waiting in the back," the bartender said pocketing the priceless coin.

"Thanks," I said and headed for the bed.

I pushed through the beaded curtain and in the fog of tobacco smoke like the caterpillar from Wonderland sat Osiris. He held the stem of the hookah pipe in one hand the other rested on the table's top in plain sight. I held up my hands showing they were empty.

"Hehe says the man who can kill with a look," Osiris smiled. "Sit my friend."

"You look good for a dead man," I told him as I sat down.

"Thank you even a man my age has his vanity. So what brings you to the Necropolis that was once the great city of Cairo?"

"I need to speak with Ra," I said bluntly.

"Oh is that all," he said with a narrowing of his eyes and another slight smile. "You don't expect much for a Death God."

"Is that what they are calling me?"

"In certain circles yes, they are calling you Shiva the Destroyer or as you so aptly put in when you came in Death. Can you blame them Nick? You are responsible for the largest loss of life short of an extinction level event."

"All true but that is why I need to speak with Ra; I have been trying to avoid one believe it or not."

"You are talking about the Mayan Calendar aren't you? Everybody knows that is just bullshit. The world is not going to end on December 21st."

"That is true. But the Mayan Calendar isn't a countdown to the End."

"Wait... what are you saying? If it isn't for that reason then what the fuck is it for?"

"Are you going to tell me where Ra is hiding out?"

I brought up the wall of gravity just in time to shield me from Ra's wrath, thank you Akira.

"I am NOT hiding Death God!" he roared pulling back the quivering scimitar that had been aimed for my neck. "Why are you here?"

Ra was in his full divine aspect and it was truly awe inspiring seeing the snarling hawk head and the blazing solar disc hovering behind it. He was built like a warrior and was clad in his full war regalia. I dropped my defenses and lowered my neck for a killing stroke and he glared at me. Then I tugged my kimono top aside showing him where 'she' had touched me. The phoenix emblazed upon my skin over my heart. I no longer considered it a tattoo any more. I was marked and I felt, no I knew that no matter how many lives I lived I would bear her mark.

"Go ahead and try and kill me... or we can talk," I said waiting until he lowered his weapon arm.

"Talk Shaw," he said a little more in control now.

"You heard about the Mayan Calendar," I asked and he nodded. "It's a countdown to the only day that the world can be saved, not destroyed."

"Bullshit," Ra snorted. "I don't believe you."

"Do you think I would come empty handed?"

His eyes become thoughtful and he nodded and turned to leave.

"Follow me; the others will want to hear what you have to say. Osiris, are you coming?"

"Are you not part of the hip crowd Osiris," I asked.

"I was once the head of the Pantheon," he said. "When Ra took over after my little incident with my brother well things have been tense."

"Speaking of Loki," I said and saw his eyes widen in shock. "Yeah I've figured out most of his divine aspects over the last few months. Anyway I take it his Set aspect is still causing problems?"

"You could say that," Osiris replied softly.

We followed Ra down a long stone hall until it opened into a large cathedral like area. There arrayed in all their glory was the Egyptian Pantheon excluding Set and his lackeys. I took in each and every one of them and even got a smile from Bast and Isis. Bast's avatar was right on the mark personality wise. Well she was the fertility goddess after all. Ra took his place on his golden throne while Osiris sat next to Isis. Horus the Avenger struck his staff on the floor and spoke.