Lord of the Ministry: Chapter Three - Slight Revelations

Chapter Three – Slight Revelations

Caligo watched as Mark stared up at the sky longingly. She looked up as well, wondering why she couldn’t see many stars. They had driven a few miles out of the city, and stopped on a gravel road with an unkempt barbed-wire fence to one side, and a grassy field on the other.

“I grew up in the country, you know,” he said. “There weren’t city lights to outshine the stars. I miss it.” She stared at him, hoping suddenly that he wasn’t reading her thoughts.

“I want to show you something,” she said. “But I don’t want you to be frightened.”

His green eyes were both curious and hesitant. She simply waited, and then he nodded. Raising her palm, she closed her eyes and focused her energy, visualizing as her father had taught her so long ago. A ball of electric fire about the size of a small stone began to glow and rise from her skin. When she opened her eyes, Mark had taken several steps back.

“How are you doing that?”

“It is mostly because you are here,” she admitted. She was trying desperately to control the steady, powerful flow he was somehow providing her. It was astounding how he couldn’t know what he was doing.

“Me?” he asked.

“Take it,” she offered, extending her hand toward him.

He jumped back. “Don’t!”

“It won’t harm you, I swear it.”

“Stay away from me!”

“Just take it!”

Before he could argue further, his back was against the black truck and she had forced the ball of energy into his hand. His breath caught as the power surged through him. The energy grew from the size of a pebble to about the size of a man’s head in an instant. Caligo stepped back, her mouth gaping as she stared. And something changed in his eyes, his expression, even his posture. He suddenly seemed even taller, more intimidating and powerful. Abruptly he closed his hand into a fist, and the energy seeped into his skin. He was breathing hard, and sweat dripped from his brow. For a moment she was afraid he would faint, but when he looked up at her he jumped, as if she had appeared from nowhere.

“Are you alright?” she asked. Inside she was praying he wasn’t about to kill her, just as he had killed her brother. Her legs were trembling, the image of her brother on the funeral pyre flashing through her memory. Her imagination replaced his body with hers, and she could hear her father sobbing…

Abruptly he turned and jumped into the driver’s seat of the truck, and kicked up gravel as he sped away. Immediately she collapsed to her knees, letting out the shuddering breath she had been holding. She was so relieved to see him go that she didn’t worry about having a ride back to the city. In all the time she had been with him on the surface, she had never been so afraid. She had never been so terrified in her life…

________________________________________

Mark was shaking as his fist rammed against the hotel door. He had nearly shrugged off the experience by the time he had pulled into the hotel’s parking lot, but after discovering that he had driven all the way there without a key in the ignition, his insides all seemed to flip. There was no explanation for it all. He was even trying to convince himself he’d been abducted by a UFO or something, but it couldn’t explain the feeling he had when he held that energy… Like it was a treasure he had suddenly found… A purpose for his existence… Like something he had spent centuries looking for…

Pounding on the door again, he pushed himself into the room when it finally opened.

“You look like you need a drink,” Glen said as he shut the door.

“I don’t know if I could stomach it right now,” Mark answered. Going to the small table, he dropped into a seat and spread his fingers over his face, trying to slow his breathing.

Glen calmly sat down across from him. “What happened?”

Mark shook his head. “I… She… It…” He sighed and let his hands drop to the tabletop. “She took me out to the country and made this ball of energy and forced me to take it and it changed something in me and the whole thing scared the shit out of me and then I drove all the way here with no keys and… and… God, I left her out there all alone.” He had been talking very fast, but slowed at realizing that he really had left her out there, in the middle of nowhere, completely defenseless - or was she really that defenseless? He’d stay away from her if she suddenly had a ball of fire in her hand. His head dropped onto the table and he tugged at his braid with hands that were still shaking.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” Glen asked with interest.

He nodded against the wood. “There’s just something about her… Like I’ve been waiting for her my whole life… I’ve completely lost it, Glen.”

The masked man sat in silence for a long minute. “You should get some sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“What’s going on, Glen?” Mark asked, looking up at him. “You have to know something. I know she would have preferred to never see me again after we met the first time. Why did you convince her to go with me tonight?”

Glen leaned back in his seat. “What do you want me to say?”

“I want the truth.”

“It’s all real.”

Mark’s head dropped to the table again with a loud thump. “She’s convinced you too.”

“Caligo doesn’t know shit. And if you ask me, your people have become pretty damn helpless because of you.”

Mark lifted his head and gave him an extremely confused look. “What?”

“Nothing,” Glen said, shaking his head. “Like I said, get some sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

Mark stood furiously. “I can’t sleep! I don’t even know what the Hell is going on around here anymore!”

With a frustrated gesture, the masked man spoke a single word in some unknown language, and Mark’s whole world went dark.

________________________________________

Kane watched as his brother abruptly fell down, knocking over the table. He laid there, completely oblivious to the world around him, dead to the world… Sighing, Kane reached down and picked him up easily. Let him rest. Tomorrow, if Mark had more questions, he may try to help him. And Kane would need to have a little chat with Caligo. She could have ruined everything. On the other hand, he was beginning to see that she could be the key help Mark to remember who he really is, and for that Kane would tolerate her. It would be difficult, even now, for some unknown reason, her Ministry was watching his every move. He could sense them sensing him. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

Once Kane had Mark settled in his own room, he paused in thought. He was having an epiphany. Grinning under his mask, the big man suddenly disappeared with a sliver of black smoke.

________________________________________

Caligo sighed and stood as her Ministry’s van appeared down the road. She waited until it pulled to a halt in front of her, and hopped in. She looked curiously into the back and realized that only Ferus had come to answer her distress call she had sent to them. When he handed her Aeternitas, the sword her father had enchanted for her when she became a Lady, she knew there was trouble.

“What’s happened?” she asked.

“Lord Furor and his Ministry are on the surface.”

“What?!”

“They were trying to break into Lord Undertaker’s room. Lea had one of her visions and we made it time to stop them, but we did not manage to take any prisoners…” He paused.

“Go on.”

“Mistress… They are much too powerful for being on the surface. When they fought us, they’re energy just wasn’t quite right. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“That is enough explanation for me, Ferus. I may have a word with Kane about it later.”

Ferus nodded, and timidly cleared his throat. “My Lady… Why isn’t Lord Undertaker with you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it and I don’t want you mentioning it to the others either,” she commanded.

“Yes, Mistress,” he replied faithfully, and turned onto a main road.

As they made their way into the city, Caligo kept her senses open, trying to detect any sign of Lord Furor or his followers. There could only be one reason why he was here – to get Undertaker before she did. What he would do with their Lord after that was beyond her. He may only try to make her fail her mission, or he could have more sinister plans. A part of her really didn’t want to know what he would do, but Undertaker was now in serious danger and she could not afford to let him out of her sight. After tonight, that may be a hard task to accomplish.

“When did they attack?” she asked when they got out of the van at the hotel.

“Not long after you left, my Lady,” Ferus answered. “We have been keeping a close watch since then.”

“Good.” She paused when she saw Mark’s truck across the lot. “Did you see him return?”

“We had not seen Lord Undertaker when I left, Mistress, but the others may have not expected to look for him alone.”

She kept her smart remark to herself as they climbed the stairs. As they approached her room, Dens was immediately at her side.

“It is good to see you well, Mistress. We were worried, especially when we saw Lord Undertaker return alone,” he said.

“Did he appear alright?”

“No, he looked very distressed. He went to that other man’s room, I think you called him Glen, first. Then the other man carried him out and to his own room.”

“What do you mean, ‘carried him’?”

“Lord Undertaker was unconscious, Mistress.”

“Stay here,” she ordered, and immediately went back to the stairs. She wanted to trust Kane, but when it came to Undertaker she had to know for herself.

Going up one floor, she went down the hall to his door. Powerful protection spells had already sealed the room, and she patiently went through the steps to break them, recognizing them as ones Susurrus had placed. When she was finally able to open the door, she held her breath as she looked inside. Mark was lying facedown on the bed, which was still made. Kane muse have just dumped him there. Slowly stepping around the room, she checked the seals on the spells. Susurrus was very good with these kinds of charms, and she was satisfied with the new security.

Not really knowing why, Caligo sat down next to Mark’s sleeping form on the bed. Briefly she remembered the first time she had seen him, when she had been scrying for him. The Darkside was so far away, but sitting so close to him almost made her feel home again. It was hard to believe that less than an hour ago he had been so terrifying. As she stared at his relaxed expression, she suddenly realized what she was feeling: admiration. Caligo stood, fully intending to walk out of the room and forget about it. This was dangerous ground. But before she could get to the door, she turned back. Then, being as quiet and careful as possible, she untied his boots and pulled them off, placing them next to the bed. How could he sleep properly with his shoes on? She was going to leave then, but continued on to remove his jacket. Grabbing a pillow, she placed it under his head. And finally, she pulled up one side of the comforter and tucked it around him, knowing she would never be able to get him under the covers. Standing back, she couldn’t help to smile. He looked even more ridiculous, with his feet handing over the edge of the bed, but at least he appeared more comfortable. Then she was able to walk out the door, redoing the charms for the protective spells, giving them her own twist so even Furor would not be able to pass them.

Yawning, she was beginning to think it was time for bed herself.

________________________________________

Caligo enjoyed sitting next to the announcers during the events. They always said the most strange and silly things, but she couldn’t help joining in when everyone around her laughed. Not to mention she was beginning to learn a lot about this sport, wrestling, that Mark seemed to enjoy so much.

Mark had not attempted to speak to her again since that night nearly a month ago. She couldn’t blame him, but at least she had been able to keep a close guard. Only a week after Furor’s first attack, she had caught sight of him in the streets as they followed Lord Undertaker on one of his many solitary outings. At least Furor and his Ministry had not tried again, but Caligo knew it was a matter of time. One from her Ministry was always posted at the stairwell door of whatever floor of whatever hotel Mark was staying at, and she had Lea in a constant state of awareness. They often meditated together, just to welcome any vision that may come to the young woman, but so far they had been unsuccessful. Lea felt that Caligo was disappointed in her. In reality, Caligo had never been so proud of her. She knew being a prophet wasn’t an easy task. This gift was something natural, and so it was uncontrollable. However, she could not bring herself to tell Lea what she really felt. It was important that Lea was allowed to let her emotions flow unhindered.

Caligo’s attention was brought to the present as the lights dimmed in the arena. Closing her eyes, she searched yet again for any presence of Furor’s Ministry. There was a flash. Immediately she reached behind her and grabbed Fremo’s sleeve.

“There is one up there, to the right, on the balcony, close to the edge… Take Dens with you,” she ordered.

“Yes, Mistress.”

“I will go, my Lady,” Fallo said urgently. She knew he was desperate, feeling as though she never gave him a job to do, as though he had disappointed her.

“No, you will stay,” she directed. Caligo had never come to fully trust Fallo. Something about him just made her nerves itch.

“Are there any more?” Ferus asked her.

Opening her eyes, she stared up at the dark man with interest. “What do you think, Ferus?”

He narrowed his eyes, seeming hesitant. “My Lady… I think there are two more, waiting by an exit in the locker room.”

Stretching her senses, she tried to prevent her smile when she sensed them as well. She would seriously need to consider his release once they returned to the Darkside. Her mind sobered – if they returned to the Darkside…

“You may take Susurrus with you…” She glanced behind her. “Take Fallo as well. Lea, you will stay with me.”

Ferus motioned for the two men to follow him as Lea came to Caligo’s side. Turning her attention back to the ring, Undertaker was already bringing up the lights. When he stepped into the ring, he looked directly at her. It was a sign, although she didn’t know what for. She was beginning to worry. Had something happened?

Between watching for more signs from Undertaker and keeping her senses open to make sure her Ministry disposed of Furor’s followers, she hardly paid attention to the match itself. When it was over and the cameras stopped rolling, Undertaker climbed out of the ring and approached her. The other fans were clamoring around her, squeezing her closer to the rail. He leaned in close to her ear as he let the others shake his hand.

“Can you meet me in the back?” he asked.

She nodded, and then he moved away. Turning her head, Caligo looked down at Lea, who appeared to be in shock. Mark had probably not even realized that the woman was one of Caligo’s Ministry.

“Let’s go, Lea,” Caligo said, giving her a small push to get her started.

The smaller woman seemed in a hurry to make it out of the arena. Caligo sent a telepathic message to the rest of her Ministry, so that they would all meet at the van. Before they reached the outer doors of the arena, Caligo paused.

“I have to leave you now, Lea. Find the others and tell them that I have gone to speak with Lord Undertaker,” she said.

Lea grabbed her hand. “A messenger will come tonight,” she said quickly. “When Lord Undertaker came and stood before us, I had a vision that a messenger will come to you while you are together.”

“What kind of messenger?” Caligo asked.

“He was from your father’s regiment.”

Caligo felt her stomach twist. “What did it say?”

“I don’t know, my Lady.”

Taking a deep breath, Caligo nodded. “Go on, return to the others. Tell them about this vision, and I will speak with everyone tonight when I return.”

When Lea had finally gone, Caligo walked away from the mass of people exiting the main doors. Leaning against a wall, she reached down to her boot and pulled out her father’s letter just an inch or two, making sure it was still there. Whenever she felt that their cause was lost, or that she would never see the Darkside again, she reread his letter.

Dear ancestors , I miss him so much …

Regaining her composure, she marched to one of the closed doors that led to the locker rooms. A man in uniform confronted her, and she remembered the first time she had tried to pass one of them.

“You can’t exit this way, ma’am,” the man said.

“I’m supposed to meet someone,” she replied.

“I’m sorry, but –“

“I asked her to come.”

Both of them turned to one of the doors that had opened slightly to reveal Mark’s tall figure. The guard stood aside quickly.

“Sorry about that, sir. You can go on in, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” Caligo said quietly.

Mark held the door open for her, and then she followed him down to a room. She noticed that a towel was draped over the lamp again as he zipped up a black bag. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, smelling strongly of soap, with his braid still wet. She couldn’t imagine how he had bathed so fast.

“Are we going somewhere?” she asked.

“I need a drink,” he muttered.

She followed him again as they made their way further into the back. Then a man approached him. Caligo recognized him as another wrestler.

“Hey Mark, I saw Nathan a minute ago. He said he dropped your bike off just outside.”

“Thanks, Dennis. Tell him that I really appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. Let me take your bag for ya.”

After Mark handed over the gym bag, Dennis smiled and held out his hand to Caligo. “Hi, I’m Dennis.”

“Hello, Dennis. My name is… Callie.” The name tasted like rot in her mouth.

“Callie. I’m glad to see a beautiful woman hanging around with Mark again. See if you can’t get him out of this funk, will ya?”

“Thanks again, Dennis. We gotta go,” Mark said quickly. Dennis laughed and waved as Mark pushed Caligo ahead of him.

Once they were outside, Mark led her over to a contraption with two wheels. She smiled.

“I thought you would get this one,” she said.

“What?”

“The other day, when you were looking at a bunch of these, I pointed at this one and told Ferus, ‘I bet he picks that one’.”

Mark stared at her for a moment, and sighed. “Come on, then.”

Caligo watched him sit on top of it and twist the key. It roared to life, making her jump. When Mark looked at her again, he suddenly broke a small smile.

“Will you get on the damn bike?”

Without anymore hesitation, she climbed on behind him. He reached down and positioned her legs correctly, making her skin tingle, and began to back out.

“You might want to hold on a little tighter than that,” he said.

Feeling more awkward than ever, Caligo removed her hands from his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his waist, scooting closer to him. Suddenly he released the brake and they were speeding out of the back parking lot.

Once they were away from the noise and excitement of the city, Caligo felt herself begin to relax. She was starting to like this bike of his. The wind flowed through her hair, reminding her of Custos, her ancestor. Without thinking, Caligo laid her head against Mark’s back. She felt so close to home, and yet so far away at the same time.

When will he be ready ? she thought.

After a short but pleasant ride, he pulled up in front of a busy pub. Caligo was beginning to wonder also how he always knew where to find bars and pubs. She had followed him for weeks as he shopped alone, ate alone, checked in and out of hotels alone… It worried her to a degree. Sliding off the motorcycle, she let those thoughts slip away. They were dangerous.

When they first entered the pub, no one seemed to notice, but as she followed Mark toward the back, he was stopped by several people for autographs and pictures. He gave her a nod, gesturing for her to go ahead and grab a table for them. Without hesitating Caligo went as far back as she could, trying to find a spot away from people. She must have waited a good fifteen minutes before he joined her.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized quietly.

“Why did you ask me to come here?” Caligo asked immediately.

He glanced at her, drumming his fingers on the table. “I thought I was ready to talk about… all this…”

“Are you?”

He shrugged as an excited bartender came by to ask if they needed anything. She allowed Mark to order them a couple of drinks, and the man hurried off back to the bar.

“You understand that I cannot wait forever for your decision,” Caligo mentioned coolly. He didn’t respond. She sighed, leaning back in her seat and trying to relax. It wouldn’t do any good to her cause to mother him. She needed to be close, to be someone he could speak his mind to. “To be honest,” she began, unsure of herself, “I don’t really know what I’m going to do.”

He glanced at her again. “What do you mean?”

“If I don’t return you to the Darkside, there is sure to be war… War that could extend here to the surface... But I don’t know what to expect if I do bring you back…”

Mark leaned back in his seat as well. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Caligo bit her lip, wondering if she should really reveal the possibilities to him. Their drinks came, and she delayed it further. He didn’t continue, and she had nothing else to say.

“Mark,” she said quietly, waiting for him to make eye contact. “Do you know… that all this has happened before?”

He narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“This is not the first time someone has come to retrieve you.”

Breathing deeply, he leaned his elbows on the table. “Go on.”

“This has been done several times. A long time ago, you decided that you wanted to go and be on the surface. You promised the people of Darkside that you would return, and you did, many times in fact. But once, years ago, even before my grandfather was born, you did not return. A man named Revenio was chosen to go to the surface to search for you, and only a week later he returned with you. It had been a celebration, and you stayed with us for several years. Then you disappeared again. When the time came for you to return, once more you did not come. Another man was chosen to find you – his name was Ultor. He was gone a week, then two, and then a month had passed. When he returned, bringing you to the Darkside once again, something happened. To this day no one quite understands it. Yet it is said that something changed in you, and in a rage you killed Ultor and his Ministry, and set a Great Destruction upon the Darkside. For years nothing would grow. There was no wind, no rain, and this unbearable heat took over. And you were gone again. The magick was never fully restored, and the Great Destruction had made us weaker than ever. People became angry. They turned against you, saying that we should all hunt you down. And there were some that were determined something had just gone wrong, that we had done something to anger you. These people, people like my father, and like me, swore allegiance to you even in your absence, and vowed to keep you safe from the traitors. So, the War of Proditor began.” He stiffened when she mentioned this, and she wondered briefly if he remembered her saying something about it when they first met. “My father was the General, Commander of the First Defense. I was Commander of the Second.” For a moment she was taken away by the memories. “I was only nineteen.”

“A nineteen-year-old girl could not run an army,” Mark suddenly argued.

She gave him a bold look. “I was twenty-five when the war was finally over, when all the traitors had been killed or run off. I have scars like any other soldier. I have nightmares like any other soldier. For my service I was given the title of Lady and granted my own Ministry. Everyone in the Darkside knows my name and will not hesitate at my command. If I had been so incapable, I would be dead and perhaps Furor would be in this chair instead of me.”

He remained quiet for a moment. “Who is Furor?”

Caligo sighed and picked up her glass. “Trouble, and that’s all he ever will be.”

The glass filled with amber liquid never made it to her lips. Thinking about Furor made her stretch her senses, feeling for any presence of him or his Ministry. That was when she suddenly realized she was being watched. Sitting at the bar was a wind-battered man, looking tired and defeated, staring carefully at the two of them. She knew immediately that this was the messenger.

“Excuse me,” she said quietly and stood. Her steps were quick as she made her way to the man’s weary form. He stood instantly when he saw her approach.

“Lady Caligo,” he murmured when she was in front of him. “I was sent by General Fautor…”

“Yes, I know,” Caligo replied. His black hair was dirty, and there were holes in his jacket. She wondered how long he had been on the surface. “Come with me.”

“Oh no, I… I can’t…”

She grabbed his arm and began leading him back to the table where Mark watched curiously. “You will address him as Mark. You will not bow and you will not gawk, understand?”

The young man could only nod his head anxiously, and at the table she pushed him into a chair. Calmly, she sat next to him. Mark looked confused.

“I said not to stare.”

Visibly shaken, the messenger turned his attention to her. “From General Fautor,” he repeated, and reached into his jacket to pull out a letter. The seal of her family crest was on the back: a feather crossed over a sword. She opened it quickly.

Caligo ,

I hope this message reaches you in time . The Jury is restless . There are even rumors that they have considered going to the surface themselves to fetch both you and the Lord of Darkness . I pray that by now you have found him and are able to keep him safe . I would wish that you would return as soon as possible , but I know you understand the risk . I only felt that I needed to warn you .

If you can spare it , please send a message back with Munio . He is a faithful soldier and I trust him wholly .

Go in Darkness ,
Fautor

Caligo sighed. First Furor, and now the Jury. Everyone wanted Lord Undertaker, and wanted him now. She looked up at him. He wasn’t ready yet.

“What is that?” Mark asked.

“A letter from my father.” After a moment, she slid it across the table to him. He read over it carefully, and examined the paper and seal.

“What is the Jury?”

“A group of elders. They are supposed to keep order in the Darkside, but I think they are a bunch of old aristocrats hungry for power and wealth. They even refused to fight in the war, saying that their position was too important… The Jury sent me here.”

Munio was staring back and forth between them. Caligo was sure he was shocked that Lord Undertaker did not know about the Jury, and also shaken from what she had to say about them. It was not a wise idea to speak ill of those old men in fancy robes.

“I need something to write with.”

Mark immediately handed her a pen, and she also took the letter from him. On the back of the note, she wrote her own message.

We have another problem . Lord Furor and his Ministry are on the surface . They attempted to break into our Lord ’ s room , not knowing that it was empty . My Ministry ran them off , but I have seen them a number of times since . I do not know Furor ’ s purpose for being here , except that it does not bode well for me or my Ministry . We are safe for now , and Lord Undertaker is under our protection .

She paused in thought.

As of this moment , I am unsure of our return . Precautions , of course , are necessary . There is so much that I want to tell you , but right now it can wait .

Until I see you again ,
Caligo

“That guy tried to break into my room?” Mark asked.

“Tried,” Caligo answered as she folded the note and returned it to the envelope. “Munio, return this to the General.” She held out the letter to him, but held fast when he grabbed hold of it. “You must be very careful. If Furor discovers that you are here, he will not hesitate to kill you in order to see what message you carry. Be as quick as possible in your return.”

He stuffed the letter in his torn jacket and stood, ready to take off. Caligo grabbed hold of him again, and glanced at Mark.

“Mark, would you do something for me?”

“What?”

“Just shake his hand.”

Narrowing those intense green eyes, Mark reached out his hand to the young man. Nervously, Munio grasped it. His eyes widened as the power flooded him.

“Have a safe journey, Munio,” Mark said uncertainly, completely unaware of the strength he was giving this man so he could make it home.

Munio nodded, and in seconds he was out the door.