Instead of hitting a numbered button, Tobias placed his hand on a hand scanner and the elevator descended at a quick but safe speed. It dropped about fifty feet underground before it stopped. The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into a bright white hallway that seemed to go on forever in both directions with intersecting hallways popping up every few yards. A pretty young lady wearing a white sun dress pulled up in a golf cart.
“The Council is waiting for you,” she told them.
They climbed in the gulf cart and the young lady drove through a maze of hallways lined with doors sprinkled here and there.
Nat asked, “What are those doors?”
The young lady answered, “Living quarters, training rooms, meditation rooms. We’re basically a self-contained city. Grocery stores, movie theaters, basketball courts, you name it, we got it. And nobody pays for anything. We call it Light City.”
“How many people live here?” Nat prodded.
“Not many at the moment, but we have accommodations for over a thousand,” the young lady replied. “There are larger pods that hold up to 2500 people, but their living quarters are not as big as ours. All the big wigs live here.”
They stopped in front of a set of double doors marked, “War Chamber,” which had a hand scanner where the door knob should have been.
“Here you go,” the young lady announced.
Tobias, Nat, and Makeda hopped out the cart and the young lady drove off. Tobias placed his hand on the scanner and the door opened. They walked into a narrow corridor that led to another set of double doors. Tobias pushed the doors open and led Nat and Makeda in.
It was a huge room the size of a full length basketball court. The wall to the left of the entrance was covered with large servers for a super computer. Six desks, each equipped with two computer screens and a keyboard, sat spread out in the center of the room facing eight huge plasma screens that covered the wall directly across from the entrance. There was another set of double doors in the far right corner.
The six desks were manned by three men and three women—all appeared to be in their mid-twenties. From left to right, the first desk was occupied by Bret, a tall guy with spiky hair. The Second desk was occupied by Sue, a tall, model-looking woman with high cheek bones and mesmerizing eyes. At the third desk sat Sean, a stocky guy with a baldhead. At the next desk was Mya, a beautiful woman with large breasts, thick hips, and a round backside. Bill, a jock-looking guy with red hair and freckles, sat at the fifth desk. And at the last desk sat Alice, a bubbly young lady with a body made for a bikini. They were busy tapping away at their keyboards and chatting having no idea that anyone stepped into the war chamber.
Tobias shut the door behind him, cleared his throat, and the six youngsters jumped to their feet and hurried over to Tobias, Nat, and Makeda.
Tobias told Nat and Makeda, “I present the High Council.”
The six council members introduced themselves to them, and Nat said, “I’m Nat, and this is—”
Alice cut him off. “We know who you are Nathaniel.”
Nat looked at them suspiciously. “You’re the High Council?”
Bret and the others laughed, then Bret said, “You were expecting a bunch of old men in monk’s clothing?”
Nat shrugged. “Kind of.”
Sue explained, “We are way more than we appear. For now we are to provide technical support and strategize and coordinate attacks against the devil’s seed.”
Makeda bluntly asked, “And what is the strategy?”
The six council members returned to their desks. Bret hit a few keys and the eight plasma screens displayed a huge satellite image of the planet.
Mya said, “Demons that possess a human vessel give off a unique heat signature. We’re utilizing satellite technology to locate humans giving off that signature. We should have a database of those locations within twenty-four hours. Then we will gather intelligence about the identities of the demons’ human vessels and build profiles. At that point we will develop a strategy for direct engagement.”
Alice hit a key on her keyboard and the image of the planet switched to thermal imaging, displaying clusters of pink dots all over the globe. There were high concentrations of the dots in New York, DC, LA, London, Germany, and the Middle East. The screen also displayed two counters. One read “3929” and the other jumped to “42” as dark red dots popped up near the concentrated areas.
Nat sighed, “Does that mean there are over three thousand demon lords here on earth?”
“Yup,” Sue nodded. “Compared to only a few hundred last week.”
Nat asked, “What are those dark red dots?”
Just then one of the dark red dots disappeared and the second counter dropped to 41. “We’re not sure,” Sean said. “They’ve been fluctuating all day. They’ve been as high as 75.”
Sue added, “The heat signature suggests they’re not taking human form. We’ve deployed surveillance teams to each of the concentrated areas. It won’t be long before we know exactly what we’re dealing with.”
Makeda walked over to the screens and studied them. “Keep in mind that the devil has three seeds on earth.”
The six council members looked at each other in disbelief, and then Mya asked Makeda, “Are you sure?”
Makeda looked directly into Mya’s eyes. “Of course I’m sure. I saw them in the spirit world. It appears the older brother and sister are at odds with the devil’s chosen seed.”
Bret rubbed his hands together. “Maybe we can use that to our advantage.” “Whatever,” Makeda said dismissively. “I’m just ready to get started.”
Bret stood and told Makeda, “Good. In the meantime, maybe we should show you to your living quarters.”
Tobias said, “That’s a good idea”
Sue stood and walked over to Bret. “I’ll go with you.”
“Yeah,” Nat nodded. “I need to get to my quarters too. I need a shower.”
Bret and the others giggled like Nat said something amusing.
“Did I say something wrong?” Nat asked defensively.
Makeda walked over to Nat and told him, “My quarters are your quarters.”
The women looked at Nat and blushed and the guys chuckled. Nat cut his eyes from one council member to the next and a light went off in his head. “You’re all couples, aren’t you?” Nat blurted.
Bret put his arm around Sue’s waist, “We were created for each other, much like you and the Host.”
Sue added, “Like soul mates.”
Mya strolled over to Sean and sat on his lap while Alice rolled her chair over to Bill’s desk, and then Mya explained, “We weren’t born in the pod. Fate, the Will of God drove each of us to our mate and guided us to our destiny with the Order of Light.”
Tobias told Nat, “The Host is God’s gift to humanity, but you and the Host are God’s gift to each other. The power of the Host lies not only in God’s love for humanity, but also in the Host’s emergence into what it means to experience the love God has poured into humanity.”
Makeda looked into Nat’s eyes. “The message was not in the sword alone. The message was also in what I felt when I first laid eyes on you. Your destiny is not limited to delivering the message of the sword. It is also your destiny to assist me, stand with me, and love me until my mission is fulfilled.”
Nat’s eyes filled with understanding. “A hundred years.”
Tobias smiled. “Back at the monastery you asked how I knew the Host was winning in the spirit world. I knew because if she falls, you fall.”
Sue added, “The six of us are tied in too. If you and the Host fall, we fall. The eight of us are locked in together for the next century, if we play our cards right.”
Nat motioned to Tobias. “What about you?”
Pride filed Tobias’ eyes. “The council has full control of the other five pods and all of the Order’s manpower and resources
. God selected all of you to execute the fight against evil and restore hope to humanity, and I have no doubt you will do just that. My job here is done.”
Nat pressed, “And what exactly was your job?”
Tobias answered, “Build up the Order of Light, consecrate the Host, and deliver the nature of your mission to you.”
Before Nat could respond, Tobias turned and walked out the war chamber. “Hold up,” Nat yelled as the doors closed.
Nat hurried through the door and was blinded briefly by a great ball of light that faded away, revealing that Tobias was gone. Nat stepped back in the war chamber in a stupor.
Makeda kissed him on the cheek. “Sorry, I thought you already figured out that he wasn’t human.”
Bill said, “He went back into the light.”
Nat threw his arms in the air. “Everybody knew he was an angel but me?”
They all nodded and said, “Yeah.”
A loud alarm went off and Mya hurried back to her desk and pulled a headset from a drawer. “Talk to me,” she said into the headset and hit a key on her keyboard.
A man’s voice came over a loud-speaker. “We have a situation at the Pentagon!”
Sue ran to her desk and frantically typed, prompting a close-up satellite feed of the Pentagon onto the screens. About twenty heavily armed soldiers fired at four eight-foot tall, red skinned, extremely muscular, super strong demons. The soldiers’ machine gun fire bounced off the demons without affecting them at all. The soldiers attempted to back pedal and regroup, but several of them were grabbed by demons and torn apart like paper.
“What the hell—” Bill muttered.
Alice sighed, “Now we know what those dark red spots were.”
A tank pulled up on the scene at the Pentagon and fired its cannon at one of the demons. The blast knocked the demon off its feet, but the demon got back up and rushed the tank. The demon grabbed the tank’s cannon and snapped it in half. The demon then yelled to the other demons, “Destroy the system!”
The other three demons punched their way into the side of the Pentagon.
Mya yelled into her headset, “What’s going on!”
The man’s voice shouted over the sound of gunfire and commotion, “They’re headed for our computer system.”
Makeda said, “You have to get us there now.”
“Us?” Nat asked.
“Yeah,” Makeda nodded. “You’re just as much a warrior as I am. You scared?”
“No,” Nat replied, poking his chest out. “I just always thought I would deliver the sword to you and watch you do your thing.”
Makeda pointed to Sango’s sword. “Well, you delivered my sword to me, and Sango delivered your sword to you, and now it’s time for the council here to watch us do our thing.”
Bret punched a few keys and said, “We have a jet fueled and ready to go.”
Alice pointed out, “They might be gone before you get there.”
“Track them,” Makeda ordered. “Direct us to wherever they go.”
Sean jumped up. “I’ll take you to the hanger.”
Sean headed for the double doors in the corner, and Makeda and Nat followed.
“Good luck,” Mya told Makeda.
Makeda stopped in her tracks, turned, and confidently declared, “I’m the Host. Those demons are the ones who need luck.”
“Cocky,” Nat muttered and followed her and Sean out the chamber.
***
Several hours later, Nat and Makeda sat in the cabin of a Lear jet wearing headsets with their swords lying across their laps and their eyes glued to a laptop that displayed the satellite view of the Pentagon. The four demons had destroyed the Pentagon’s computer system and now stood atop the Pentagon’s roof like they were waiting for something. The Council had contacted its assets in the military and convinced them not to engage the demons and promised that help was on the way.
Nat eyed the screen closely. “What are they doing?”
“Waiting for us,” Makeda stated.
The pilot yelled from the cabin, “We’re approaching the Pentagon.”
“We’re here,” Makeda said into her headset.
Mya responded, “Do what you were born to do.”
Makeda took off her headset and unsheathed her sword. She then yelled to the pilot, “Fly back around and bring us in low over the Pentagon.”
“You’re jumping?” Nat asked in disbelief.
“No,” Makeda corrected. “We’re jumping.”
Makeda walked over to the door and pushed it open, letting in a gust of wind.
“Are you crazy,” Nat shouted. “You can’t fly.”
Makeda exhaled in frustration. “Did you or did you not use my sword to block bullets.”
“Yeah, but—” Nat started.
Makeda explained. “Our swords emit powerful force fields. Trust in your sword to keep you from crashing to the ground the same way you trusted it to block the bullets. We can’t fly but we can manipulate the force fields of our swords to function like thrusters to help us land safely.”
Nat unsheathed his sword. “This is crazy.”
Makeda kissed him on the lips. “We stand together. We fall together.”
She held the handle of her sword in her right hand and rested the sword’s blade against her right leg before diving out the plane head first. Nat took a deep breath, rested the blade of his sword against his right leg, and jumped feet first out the plane.
***
Back at the war chamber, the council members’ jaws dropped as they watched Makeda dive head first from the plane fifty-feet in the air and flip four times before she landed on her feet in front of two demons and raised her sword in a fighting stance. Nat didn’t flip but his sword released the force field and slowed him down as he approached the roof, allowing him to land safely on his feet on the other side of the roof in front of the other two demons.
Sue said, “Now this is must see TV.”
Sean pointed out several news choppers circling the Pentagon. “And the world is watching.”
Major news networks all around the world were broadcasting what would be the first of many battles between Makeda and Nat and a network of demon lords and demon warriors that sought to crush the hope of humanity.
“Are we recording this?” Bret asked.
Sue nodded with a bright smile. “Of course. This is going to be a classic.”
***
Simon and Saleena stood in his office watching live news footage of the scene unfolding at the Pentagon. Simon punched something into his keyboard and switched to a live satellite feed of the action.
“Let’s see what those demon warriors are made of,” Simon said.
“Are they ours?” Saleena asked.
“No,” Simon replied. “But they’ll still give us an idea of what we can expect from them.”
Saleena nodded. “If we’re lucky they’ll wipe out the Host before she even gets started.” “Yeah,” Simon said doubtfully with his eyes glued to the screen.
***
Tess and Wille Von Macht stood in their war room watching a satellite feed of the Pentagon. All of the personnel in the room silently watched the screens. You could hear a pin drop.
***
Back at the Pentagon, Makeda rushed at one of the demons she landed in front of while the other demon stood back and watched. The demon charged back at her with his hands reached out to grab her, and she jumped in the air and chopped his arms off at the elbows and then dropped into a split and cut his legs off at the knees. The demon yelled in pain and fell onto its back. Makeda flipped onto his chest and sliced her sword across his throat before ramming the tip of her blade down into his heart. The other demon rushed at Makeda and she ran at him and flipped into the air over him, tapping a foot on his head and twisting in the air to face his back before slicing into the back of his should
er as she landed on her feet. The demon turned to face her and she sliced her sword across his chest. She then jumped in the air to swing at his neck and he punched her in the chest and sent her flying off the roof. Makeda flew through the air and smashed into a tree forty yards away, dropping her sword upon impact. The demon jumped off the roof and ran after her.
Meanwhile the other two demons had Nat on his heels. He nervously dodged the demons’ attacks as they stumbled and knocked each other over trying to get at him. Every time the demons swung at him, he held up his sword and blocked their blows with the force field. One of the demons punched down on the force field so hard that it knocked him to his knees.
“Damn,” Nat muttered.
Nat looked over to check on Makeda and realized she was no longer on the roof. He looked out below and saw her demon kick her sword away as she struggled to get to it.
“Sheba!” He cried out with his sword lowered at his side.
His two demons took the opportunity to attack him while his guard was down, but rage took over him and he swiftly launched an attack of his own. He jumped high in the air and spun while swinging his sword at the first demon’s neck, chopping his head off, and then jammed his sword into the other demon’s heart and let it go before landing on his feet. The wounded demon stumbled back with the sword sticking out of his chest. Nat jumped back in the air, grabbed the sword and sliced deep into the demon’s torso before landing on his feet again. The demon dropped dead.
Nat then ran full speed and dove off the roof with his arms outstretched with the sword in his right hand. He flipped through the air and effortlessly landed on his feet. Makeda was about thirty yards away dodging and flipping away from a series of blows from the demon, who blocked her from getting to her sword.
“You’re never going to touch me,” she taunted the demon.
The demon swung at her and she flipped through the air and playfully smacked him on the forehead before landing. Nat sprinted to her aid, grabbing her sword along the way. The demon lunged at Makeda with no idea that Nat was running up behind him with a sword in each hand. Makeda spotted Nat approaching and back flipped away from the demon.
“Toss me my sword,” Nat heard Makeda say in his head.
Nat was a little stunned but he tossed the sword over the demon’s head. Makeda caught the sword just as the demon reached out to grab her and she cut his hands off. Nat then jumped up behind the demon and cut off his right arm at the shoulder while Makeda sliced her sword through his right knee. The demon toppled over to his right, and Makeda sliced his head off before his body hit the ground.