Chapter 27: Illuminant Darkness Order
“So, what’s the news?” a vile chuckle sounded from a throne in a dark hall.
The guy to whom this question was addressed took his hood off and revealed his short blond hair and shining blue eyes.
“So far all good… I’ve checked her out”.
“Did she prove to your brother’s expectations, Jan?”
Thunder sparkled through the dark night sky.
“She did. She is strong. I think after some training sessions she’ll unlock her spirit too. Then, I’ll be able to take over her body and unseal my brother at last…” Jan muttered with a sorrowful tone.
“Oh, that’s quite good news indeed…”
“But we’ve got several problems”.
“Huh?” the boy on the throne jumped down, revealing his brown hair and hazel eyes full of inner rage and sadness. He wore black clothing, carried a Saturn medallion with a brown gem in its center, and had tailed goat tattoos on arms. “What problems, Jan?”
“First of all, what Fiorette Wagner, the daughter of your founder, has told you, is true – Tamie indeed possesses a powerful muse. She even raised five ranks in a single fight when he first emerged. I fear that, at the Rank Six, when she reaches the level to summon the muse by herself, I won’t be able to take over her body anymore. That muse seems quite powerful and he will throw me out. So, we must operate as fast as we can”.
“And the other problem?”
“The other problem is that the Silver Venus Celestial Lord is actually Georg Braun, as far as one of the girls in the Rose Cruce has told me. Georg Braun is the Bearer of the Taste. He’s the only one of those five Bearers who survived after sealing my brother and still hasn’t been found by Gustav Jaeger, who’s hunting Bearers down. Georg might cause me a problem in falsifying the Zariel archives about my brother, which will lead us into a huge disaster – if the Rose Cruce members find out Erik is sealed and what they had been seeing was only his telepathic projection, they will hasten to finish locking the seal (you know Edmund is a Bearer too, so it won’t be a problem for him to gather other Bearers). I will fail to finish my job and unlock the seal completely. Our whole work will be in vain”.
The brown-haired young man snarled:
“I can’t let that jerk recreate the alliance of Bearers and lock even that small portion of Erik’s seal that you’ve already unlocked during your life. Ugh, those bastard Jaegers always stick their noses into others’ affairs! Even Fiorette’s father, Lord Marvin was defeated by him. I will shortly run out of my funds. Ugh, damn that Edmund!”
They heard a sarcastic chuckle. Both of them looked at a dark corner. Erik stepped out of there, his arms crossed. Both of the boys widened eyes:
“Erik?!”
“I’ve overheard your conversation. Those problems aren’t really problems, Jan. First of all, you are now considered a Rose Cruce friend, so Tamie will naively trust you as she always does. You go on and work on her Zen and spirit powers, not the Writer Craft ones, so she won’t be able to raise a rank. As for Georg Braun,” his eyes flashed in anger once he remembered one of the people who had sealed him, “dispatch your finest Zodiac Masters, Goldmund,” he glanced at the brown-haired guy, “and get rid of him before Edmund, Lord Nick, and their friends find out. It’s easy”.
Both of the boys widened eyes. Goldmund grinned:
“Good idea…”
He whistled. Three people with wrapped in black cloaks, with their faces hidden in their hoods, jumped down the ceiling:
“Yes, Magister!”
“Ninja Trio, you are the best of the Illuminant Darkness Order. Go and get rid of Georg Braun the Silver Venus Lord!”
“Yes, Magister!”
The three Ninja vanished in dark smoke.
“Well, I’ll be going now. I hope you’ll wake me up soon,” Erik smiled.
“Don’t you worry about that, you’ll get free soon enough. Oh, and you remember our promise, right? That you are to wipe out Rose Cruce Order once you awaken”.
“Heh, I don’t forget anything. I have my own grudge against those fools. It was Wilhelm Jaeger who gathered those five Bearers to seal me, after all”.
“Then I guess it’s decided”.
Goldmund smiled with a vile sense of triumph. Erik and Jan disappeared since one was an Illusionary Clone and the other – only a Ghost Clone. Once they vanished, Goldmund sighed, sat back onto his throne, and took out a small locket. A tear streamed down his cheek: “Damn! Oh, Auntie Luna…”
He opened the locket, closed his eyes, and began to listen to the soft, melodic tunes:
“Hear my voice,
My powerful chant,
That’s my lullaby...
Baby, baby, sleep on tight
Under the starry sky…[1]”
The voice from the locket continued singing – the one of his beloved aunt. He, just like in his deep childhood, fell into a deep slumber under the chant.
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[1] A passage from the song ‘Edmund’s Lullaby’. It is an exclusive song for the Zodiac Circle book. It is written by the author, and sung by a French singer-songwriter Lisa Schettner. Lisa’s website: www.lisaschettner.com