Chapter 10

Byzantium, the walls were alive with a soft combination of white, hot pink, and dark blue lights glowing all over. The city backdrop from the enormous windows made the metropolis appear like a live painting, like something from Stephen Wiltshire. Most of the couches were the perfect shade of brown, every table adorned in scented pillar candles, and purple orchids. Complete with a touch of intimate lighting from above, to say I was impressed would be an understatement.

Aries cleaned up good, me, well, I just went in my least wrinkled work clothes. I had some apprehension about going in, but the serene atmosphere beguiled me. I opened a tab with the bartender downstairs, intending to drink before and after this so-called 'Meeting of the horsemen.'

When we walked in, the room was eerily somber. Every face more blank than the last in the all-black crowd. It's like when you buy a car, soon after, you notice everyone else with that same vehicle. I saw pieces of myself in all of them. Except for one, his eyes conveyed hunger for my own. Patchy beard man, I'd like to describe him as, with eyes darker than a dead cell. Discomfort would've been the lowest qualm I caught in the glare, but strangely, I received his optical memo. He was saying 'Get Out.'

I could also see, aside from patchy beard man, that the rest of the misfits hadn't been out the house in a while. Dressed as if going to a job interview, and one person even wore a skimpy dress. You could guess who that was, her face wrinkled when she spotted Aries there next to me. Helen's anger was satisfying and eased me even more as I melted into the soft chair, watching the flame dance on the candlewick.

The eerily timed coughs and sneezes proved that this indeed was the anti-group. Anti-social, anti-people, it didn't take a genius to see that all the 'Black Horse' supporters present shared a common characteristic. But I'm diverse.I thought you were a ghost Off the gridSo was Aries, so I crushed the awkwardness while we waited for direction.

"Has anyone ever been here before"

"Define here. Do you mean the city Do you mean Byzantium If byhere,you mean the first step to freedom. Then no, none of you have until now. And thank you for coming. The time for atonement has begun, we will all leave here free and happy. Something you know nothing about, Dimitri," scowled Ankh.

His voice boomed like thunder in the vacuum of space created by the muteness of the anti-people. Like lightning, out of nowhere, his presence washed over us all. This charismatic leader of the forgotten, the prisoners, the slaves. The meeting had finally begun. The Black Horse creator, the voice of the resistance, has arrived.

He was dressed in all black, and two other men circled into place behind him. One of the men was Apollo from 'The Achilles Heel' restaurant. They both dressed similar to him, like a twisted family photo. The other one even looked like him, but an older, more rugged version. They possessed stone faces and practiced movements, almost military-like. The self-help seminar theory was out the window.

Ankh scanned the room, a breeze of disappointment crossed his face when he noticed the low numbers. Not including Aries, Helen, and I, only six people showed, and of them, only one woman. He delivered his speech nonetheless, and effortlessly.

"Peace onto you gods and goddesses. Rejoice, you selected few have now come face to face with me, The Black Messiah. The alpha, the undisputed leader of The Black Horse. Voice of the Resistance. This moment is second to your very birth into this world. And make no mistake, you are MY children now."

My heart sank to my feet.Is this seriousI felt a snicker bubbling up from Aries, and I rocked her gently with my foot to keep quiet. When delusions of grandeur escape the mouth of a serious man, dampening that mood with a laugh can lead to dangerous consequences. Even if everything he says rest on a bed of lies. I observed quickly that Ankh was interested in building a cult.

"You will be my disciples, my offspring, as I lead us all into a new world. Free of chains, free of evil."

I don't sweat often, but I felt the beads forming right above my eyebrows. My perspiration was followed by Ankh's diatribe against white people in America.

"We all know the truth. Who are we really at war with Who was Willie Lynch at war with Who are the police at war with The only thing me and Charles Manson agree on is Helter Skelter. There will be a race war, an uprising, sooner than you think. Because we, the select few, are going to start it. The Black Horse of the apocalypse, appearing on earth holding a pair of scales, to finally bring balance to this wretched dungeon of oppression…"

I saw some head nods and low muttering 'mmhhmms' erupting from the anti-crowd. Believing every word, even I agreed with some of it. I wished that by the end of the evening, we'd all leave hopeful, inspired, fired up to make a change. The revolutionary spirit reawakened from the depth of every day minutia. I hoped for a lot of things.

The other two men, sporting black leather gloves, hovered to everyone's table, holding a reddish liquid in a wine glass. There was something striking about the associations of black gloves merged with a dainty mold of elegant glass. Like Hitler sitting in the park sniffing daffodils, unusual imagery. The fancy decanter was empty, all the refreshments were pre-poured, odd. I eyed the drink as if Jim Jones made it in his basement, sweating over a cauldron, dropping in ingredients from a box with skulls and bones on it. Finally, everyone had the same freak out moment. Something beyond was occurring.

"We need not waste time in this silly place, let us move forward to the next phase. If you all would enjoy this drink, we can continue," Ankh commanded.

An older black man with a sensible face, dark complexion, salt-and-pepper hair, and puppy-dog oval eyes scanned the whole situation over. He decided to use his own judgment.

"What's in this Is it Red Wine"

"It is the blood of the Black Messiah. From here, we travel to the River of Styx," replied Ankh in a soothing voice.

"Your blood isactuallyin this" screamed a twenty-something black woman. Sharp retroussé nose and soft eyes, jungle green eyes to be exact, with a desert sand complexion. She was lovely. Later I would discover that her name is Raena. It shocked me that I took so long to notice her appearance. Then again, with Aries nearby, my eyes were trained to scout a certain way.

Relief rushed through me, and I finally felt at home with the strangers amongst me. Funny how the 'Black Messiah, race war' quote skated by with no problem, but let there be blood, and well… The older black man wasn't having it.

"I joined my first rally in '87, protesting social injustice in the heart of Memphis. I was pepper-sprayed, handcuffed and beat in 100-degree weather. Not a shaky bone in my body as I stood tall the entire time. I spent a week starving in jail. I ain't all that I used to be, but I know a leader when I see one and you son, well…you got a few qualities missing. I don't think you thought this all the way through. I stayed quiet at first, like the rest, out of kindness. Allowing you to speak, but I'm afraid this 'Black Horse' meeting isn't for me."

The solider that resembled Ankh agreed with his eyes, and no one noticed that but me. Ankh's shoulders bounced up and down as he laughed and opened his palm. A Beretta 84FS Cheetah filled his hand, provided by Apollo, and he gripped it tight.How did I recognize the gun so easilyThat model gun isn't even imported to the states anymore.Where is this information coming fromWhatever connections I thought he had just escalated. After a big sigh, he pointed the barrel to the man's face. Echoing a sheepherder putting down one of his flock. The other soldier watched Ankh jadedly, something inside him shattered, but he remained in his perfect posture, not moving a muscle. If eyes really are the window to the soul, his blinds were way up, and I could see his living room decor.

"Old man, I was born when you attended your first rally, and I have experienced ten times more than your entire life. Blindness will have no place in the River of Styx. Know your place!"

BOOM!

The gunshot reverberated in the lounge, accompanied by the thud of the older black man's body dropping to the ground. Aries nearly broke my arm from squeezing it tight, consumed by terror. Screams occurred all around me, and I felt like I was going to faint, watching the older man's last moments. His hand slowly twitched as Ankh put another one in him. Nail in the coffin.

BOOM!

The second one seemed muffled to me, I hadn't accepted reality yet. One person stood up and attempted to flee.

BOOM!

The third one I didn't hear at all, maybe my eardrums were busted. The other soldier reluctantly forced people back into their seats. Aries and I hadn't moved an inch, too scared to breathe. Apollo removed the gun from Ankh's hand. If Helen wasn't trying to be half her age, I imagined her clutching her pearls by now, working on a faint pseudo performance. Thinking to herself, 'Why do I fall for the psychos'Everyone loves a good psycho.

When the replacement wine glass appeared, the first having been knocked off by Aries hitting the table, I heard the low thump on the tablecloth. My hearing returned.

"I am the first to be born in God's consciousness, let no action you see from me scare you. He was more dangerous than you'd think. Now, indulge in my offering to you, or more blood will shed."

The ripple rings on the surface of Ankh's blood cup formed as Apollo dragged the second body out of sight. When I glanced up, Aries was nearly halfway done swallowing the whole thing in one gulp. Fidgeting, shaking, blood spilling on both sides of her cheeks, like a malnourished vampire. I followed suit quickly. The liquid felt heavy in my gullet. Followed by a great pressure crushing me, molding me inside. My neck struggled to stay up as I saw Ankh's hard-bottom shoe approach me. The expensive John Lobbs were so shiny. I saw my face in them. He picked up my head in his hands and looked into my eyes.

"Don't listen to yourself. Just listen to me. You will learn, Dimitri, that I am the messenger. You will soon learn to call me Zeus."

The foundations of the club structure within Byzantium began to lose form. Squares could now fit in circles, I'd entered a hallucinating state. Primary colors attacked my senses from all angles.His blood is LSD.Zeus' body held a pearl white aura shining through him, his eyes lost pupils, and his sclera transitioned to black. He tilted his head to get closer, and a river of red drained from below his eyes. Nothing could convince me otherwise, I watched Zeus cry blood.

"Whenever a man cries, he wished he bled instead."