Rise of the Beast (2 page)

“You gotta be kidding,” said the youth, brandishing the blade in the businessman’s direction. “Maybe I ought to cut you up a bit, just to teach you some manners.”

“Bad decision,” replied the man, reaching over his left shoulder and drawing a three-foot sword that must have been hidden somehow behind his back. He went to business on the gang members at lightning speed. Within seconds, the leader’s head had been parted from his neck by a single, swift slash of the shimmering blade. The arms of the headless body reached for the neck, which was spouting blood like a fountain. Then the body collapsed.

Another tried to grab for the other man in black, but barely laid a hand on him before being pushed back. He was run through by the man’s sword before he had time to react. Another of the youths tried to flee, yet it was already too late. Two swift slashes to the abdomen sent his entrails tumbling out of him, even as he tried to contain them with his hands. He tried to run, yet was unable to hold his own guts in. He tripped over his own intestines, screaming in a shrill, terrified voice.

The fourth youth, who had hardly moved a muscle, just fell to his knees begging for mercy, as the sword-wielding businessman stood over him. “Oh please, don’t hurt me,” he pleaded.

“And what am I to do with you, young man?” asked the businessman. “You would have shown no mercy to these nice people. Had they pleaded with you for mercy, your black heart would have been closed. Let me tell you something, boy; I have listened to more than a few people like yourself pleading before me,
many more than a few. I have dispatched them in ways that you cannot even begin to grasp.” He looked to Leland and Krissie. “But, I will allow this gentleman and his lady friend to decide your fate. Those whom you would have done harm to shall decide your destiny, not me. What shall it be, kind people?”

The youth gazed up into the stranger’s eyes. They were so dark, so cold. There was something terrible there, something indescribable. They were like a dark, infinitely deep pools of nothingness. He clearly wanted to flee, but he couldn’t seem to will his body to move. Then he looked to Leland and Krissie, as if to plead for leniency.

For a moment there was total silence. It was Krissie who spoke up first. “Please, let him go.”

The businessman’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Indeed. And what say you, sir? Do you agree?”

“Yes,” said Leland, hesitantly. “Let him go. I think he’s suffered enough.”

“Very well, then,” said the man, sheathing his sword. Again he looked to the youth. “It would seem that your life has been spared, for the moment. Run, if you can. Yet, I tell you this; you will be mine in the end, no matter how far you run. You can’t escape from me, boy; you can’t run from Lusan.”

The young man didn’t have to be told twice. He fled in total panic, even as the other businessman put the disemboweled youth out of his misery with a quick thrust to the heart.

“Are the two of you unharmed?” asked the businessman.

“Yes,” replied Leland, “thanks to you and your friend.” He gazed about at the incredible carnage around him. One thing was certain; these people weren’t a couple representatives of the guardian angels. He prayed that Krissie and he had not just passed from the frying pan into the fire.

“But forgive me,” said the businessman. “We have not been properly introduced. I am called Lusan, and my associate is Duras.”

“Happy to meet you,” said Leland, who didn’t know what else to say.

“I think that we should depart this place,” suggested Lusan. “Bodies tend to attract attention and unwanted questions, especially bodies in the state in which these are in. I don’t think we desire either on this night. Anyway, we have important business to discuss.”

Leland nodded. “Maybe we could go to my place.” He almost regretted the suggestion the moment he posed it.

“An excellent idea,” said Lusan, a slight but devious smile coming to his face. “You must have been reading my mind. I was about to suggest it myself.”

“Please, sir, this way,” said Leland, pointing the way to his home.

Leland and Krissie walked side by side while the two dark-clad strangers followed some steps behind. Krissie looked back at their newfound benefactors, then at Leland. “Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, taking them to our home?” she whispered. “We don’t know what sort of people these guys are. They just killed those men.”

“I really don’t have a lot of choice,” whispered Leland. “But, after all, they did save our lives. Anyway, I’ve got to find out what these guys are all about; I’ve got to know who they are.”

“I’m not sure I want to know,” replied Krissie. “I have this terrible fear about them.”

“You’re nearly in shock,” replied Leland, placing his hand around her. “That’s all it is.”

“Is there a problem?” asked Lusan.

“No, not at all,” assured Leland. “My companion is just a bit shook up.”

“I’m not surprised,” was the reply. “She has had a dreadful fright on this night. I fear that my compatriot and I did little to calm her nerves.” He turned his gaze to Krissie. “I assure you, young woman, you have nothing to fear from me or my associate. I assure you, we are friends.”

“I’m not afraid,” replied Krissie, though her quivering voice betrayed her.

A few minutes later, they were crossing Central Park West. It was quite nearly deserted at this hour. They walked through the great glass doors on the ground floor of Leland’s condominium complex. The rather large concierge looked at the two dark strangers suspiciously.

“It’s OK, Henry,” assured Leland. “They’re friends of mine.”

“Yes, of course, sir,” confirmed the concierge, giving the strangers a wide berth.

“My place is on the eleventh floor,” said Leland, leading the way to a wide
hallway, with three elevators on either side.

They only had to wait a few seconds for the elevator, and they were on their way up. Within the confines of the elevator, Krissie was shivering. Leland noticed it right away. He drew her close; it didn’t seem to help.

What was it about these men that so disturbed her? He couldn’t say. If someone should have been afraid, it was him. He had seen them materialize out of nowhere. Krissie hadn’t.

“I feel like I’m suffocating,” she whispered.

What a strange comment. Leland just didn’t get it.

On the 11th floor, it was but a dozen yards or so from the elevator to the door of Leland’s place. He opened the electronically activated door lock with his hand control and disarmed the security system within. The group beheld a plush domicile, just about the best New York had to offer. It was 1,500 square feet of pure heaven.

“I picked it up during the worst year of the meltdown a few years back,” announced Leland, “when property values had really tanked. It’s worth twice what I paid for it now.”

“Leland, you shouldn’t go on like that,” said Krissie.

“No, it is quite all right,” assured Lusan. “There is nothing wrong in having a measure of pride regarding the victories of one’s life. Treasure them, my friend. Your King Solomon spoke wisely when he said that the pleasures of this Earth are fleeting. Enjoy them while you yet live.”

“Can I get you something to drink?” suggested Leland. “Maybe a glass of wine?”

Lusan smiled. “Yes, I believe that I would like a glass of wine, thank you. We have had a busy day, and refreshments would be welcome.”

“Please, have a seat,” said Leland, motioning to a sofa and several fine chairs by a large window that offered a lofty view of the park.

The strangers made their way to the sofa and sat down, gazing out at the park. The site of their previous activities was just visible from here, though, judging by the quiet darkness, it appeared that no one had come upon their handiwork just yet.

Krissie was still shaking a bit, yet she didn’t sit down. She shadowed Leland, as he made his way to the bar.

“I wanted to thank you again, both of you,” said Leland, as he offered to pour an additional glass of wine for Krissie, who declined. “I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t happened by.”

“It was my pleasure to be of assistance this night,” said Lusan.

Duras nodded in agreement, but said nothing. It seemed to Leland that Lusan was the leader. Duras seemed to be little more than a servant, who likely spoke only when spoken to.

Leland walked over to the sofa, Krissie at his side, and handed a glass of wine to his two benefactors, then sat in the chair next to them. He paused; who was he kidding? This wasn’t just a casual meeting on the street, and these weren’t ordinary people. “But I saw what you did. I saw the two of you step out of thin air, in the middle of blue, sparkling lights. People don’t just come and go like that.”

Krissie became suddenly pale. “What?”

Lusan chuckled. “No, people don’t, but angels do.”

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” gasped Krissie, looking toward the strange visitors and back toward Leland.

“We don’t usually put on such a spectacle, but it was unavoidable,” continued Lusan. “We are here on a mission. Rescuing the two of you was only part of it.”

“Rescuing us?” asked Krissie. “Why would angels rescue people like us?”

“You shouldn’t talk like that,” said Lusan, his tone suddenly stern. “Think you that your choices in life, your lifestyle, your chosen profession, are reasons for the Father of us all to love you any less? I tell you that this is not true. His love for you is undiminished. Surely, our presence here should assure you of that.”

There was a pause. Neither Leland nor Krissie said a word; they were just too overwhelmed.

“But, allow me to come to the point,” continued Lusan. “In order to accomplish our mission, we will need your help.”

“Our help?” echoed Krissie. “What could we possibly do for you, an angel?”

“Offer us shelter, a place to stay first of all,” came the reply. “Lot did just that when angels came to his door so as to deliver him from the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Still others have entertained angels unaware.”

“You can stay here,” said Leland, not the slightest hesitation in his offer. “I have two guest bedrooms, very nice ones.”

“Thank you,” replied Lusan. “We shall accept your kind hospitality.”

“You spoke of a mission,” continued Leland. “Can you tell me what it is?”

Lusan shook his head, then took a sip of wine. “This is really quite good. It has been some time since I have partaken of the fruit of the vine. I am not at liberty to discuss all of the details of our mission. I will tell you that I and my friend are in need of your assistance. We are strangers here. You have contacts in high and low places. You have business associates who could make clear the way for our venture.”

“I have a business,” replied Leland. “I guess you know that. It gives me important contacts in business and government. I even have an associate’s degree in accounting. But there are so many others with more experience. It’s not that I’m not grateful; I am. I just don’t know how much help I can be.”

“You can be of immeasurable help to us,” assured Lusan. “You have run a very risky business for many years. You have been discrete, even gentle. You have provided a port of refuge to those women. You have taken good care of them in all ways. I happen to know that you have even provided well for their future, though many of them are unaware. Yes, I know even that. Your employees trust you, even love you. You are a good man, Leland James, despite what you might think. But allow me to come to the point.”

Lusan took a moment to open his briefcase. Within it, Leland and Krissie beheld many bars of shimmering metal. It looked like gold.

“It is gold, if that is what you are wondering,” confirmed Lusan. “Specifically, it is gold from Heaven itself. Gold is of no value to me, but it can buy influence and commodities, which we shall require to complete our mission. I need someone familiar with people and business who can convert some of this gold to American dollars. I will also need a human identity that will allow me to establish a bank account and a foundation to do the master’s work here on Earth. I need someone to manage my affairs. I need you, Leland James.”

“Manage your affairs?” gasped Leland. “Why me?”

“Have you so little faith in yourself?” asked Lusan. “That is the second time you have told me why you are not worthy. Please, don’t continue. When the Nazarene walked this Earth, he didn’t choose kings and princes, priests and scribes, to further His Kingdom. No, He chose people that society looked down upon, common people. He chose people of the streets, even prostitutes.”

Lusan turned his gaze toward Krissie. She seemed to shiver.

Then Lusan turned back to Leland. “Your William Shakespeare put it this way: ‘Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, others achieve greatness, while still others have greatness thrust upon them.’ Need I continue, my friend?”

“No,” replied Leland. “I get the picture. I’m sure I can find a way to convert your gold to cash or establish a bank account with it, if that’s what you want. I don’t know exactly how to do it, but I know people who do. You get to know plenty of people in my line of work. I’ll help you; I’ll be honored to.”

A broad smile came to Lusan’s face. “Yes, I knew that you would say these very words.” Lusan turned to Duras. “Did I not say that he would be as this?”

Duras smiled. “Yes, indeed you did.”

“Then it is settled,” said Lusan. “You will begin tomorrow.” Leland nodded.

“Then there is a Heaven,” interjected Krissie, who seemed to have overcome her fear of this strange being.

Lusan only nodded.

“Please tell me about it; what is it like? I mean, is it a spirit realm, or is it solid like here? Please, tell me what it’s like.”

Lusan laughed. “Tell you about Heaven? That might take some time. It is so big, much bigger than your Earth. It is a world of both humans and angels. It is seven different worlds in seven different realities, joined by bridges of a sort, bridges that you yourself form as you need them, bridges that allow you to travel from one to another freely. Each of these seven worlds has its own unique beauty. In one, there is a city of grandeur beyond description, a city that covers over a thousand square miles, a city with buildings of marble and glass
and streets paved with gold. On other planes, there are forests beyond compare, mountains that reach to the sky, and warm oceans of pure sweet water. And, I assure you, it is very real, Krissie, more real, more vivid than this world; of that you may be sure. I have been away from it for but a few days, and I already miss it terribly.”