Wake up dead (Chapter Five)

"You have a death wish Bunmi" Clarence said as he opened his office door and walked in.

My hands in the pockets of my long, grey over-coat jacket, I followed him into the well trimmed office, watching him closely as he dropped the books and his baseball hat among a scattered pile of A4 papers, pens and random soft cover books in binds on his office desk. He went over to the curtained window and pushed the slide sideways, letting in tiny remnants of cold, rain and new rays of gold into the old office. He moved away from the window, sank into his leather back chair and rotated halfway left, stopped, and reversed the action, never removing his hard eyes from me.

I remained standing, hands still in my pockets.

We stared at each other.

His eyes danced in speculation of my surprising presence, then it fell into slits that studied me. He chewed his tongue, swallowed, and shifted in his chair.

"Sit" he said

"I don't need your courtesy. I will not stay long."

"I will not harm you if you get comfortable, but standing there, with your hands in your pockets is not wise. You're at a disadvantage here so its best you do as I say- though doing what I say won't stop me from killing you. Besides, you've met my assistance downstairs. She's a loose canon, self righteous and very very thirsty for apostate blood. She probably has eyes on you right now, waiting for an excuse to attack you. So, instead of standing there as if you're poised for battle, sit."

"I'll remain here Clarence. Even if the whole society comes down here now you won't touch me. You're not enough."

I studied the room, letting the idea of the contrasting designs roam mildly in my head.

"So, is this library now Suppressor property?"

Clarence did not reply. He just watched, and waited.
For a while it seemed the air in the room became heavy, and I couldn't inhale the weight.

"Sit" he repeated.

"I am here for the stone you used against my Sango wand the last time you attacked me in Father April's Church."

Clarence' face contorted. Disbelief hung on his face. He couldn't believe I just said that. And the fact that I said it quickly and casually made him burn with anger. I saw the fury in his eyes, and he clutched the arm of his chair as he shook with vex.

"Is this some kind of joke?!  Are you......." he stopped suddenly.

For a while he seemed struck with sudden thought, and his gaze dropped upon the books on his desk. He murmured something so fast his lips barely moved. I was sure it was not a spell, or message. No magical transmission flew out of the room.

Suddenly his eyes darted back to me. They were calm.

He smiled.

"So what do you plan to do with the stone, if, let's assume, I give you."

I did not want to tell him the truth I kept to myself all this while about his misplaced suspicions against me but I needed Clarence to understand the gravity of delay. Time was against all of us. His actions and mine regarding who would possess the stone after now is crucial to my mission. I needed him to know the truth. If he knew he might see things from my perspective and work with me to stop the destruction closing in on us.

"Father willed his weapons to you hoping you'll discover the truth of his path but you failed to see the bigger picture because you were young and stupid. The Suppressor society knew he suspected them of wicked plots and actions that violated both Suppressor code and the code of The Fates, so they made arrangements to stop him from leaking their sinister plans. Death was the only answer they had. After I was ordered to kill father they planted a spy on me; You. It was killing three birds with one stone. They knew one of us would be charged with his secrets and new legacy and the society wouldn't risk any holes in their secrets surviving. They thought they took the family apart with one strike. You thought you saw me kill our father. I did not. I rejected the mission, and I was expelled. Israel took the mission, but he was made to use an illusion spell that let him use my skin. You saw him kill our father with a magically crafted illusion of me. You hate me for what I did not do. Ever since that time, I have been researching our father's hidden work with mother. He planned to leave you with his legacy, not me. But you're still too shallow to understand everything I just said."

"Interesting. So you were old and wise to know this much about the society's hidden agenda and father's so called heroic underground activity before Israel framed you up by killing my father with an illusion of your body. Wow." Clarence laughed.
"That's a really really great story Bunmi, probably cooked up to make me feel sorry and soft and give you the stone for the greater good of man and your blind mission which you've still, not told me. Answer my question. What do you need the stone for?"

I did not reply.

He laughed again for a while, spinning around in his leather back chair, and after he had his fill, he stopped and stood up.

"You can't stop the end of the world Bunmi. Even though you saw the Judges in a vision tearing our world apart what we should do is prepare ourselves for our fate. Humanity lost a long time ago. We can't fight the heavenly forces."

"As I suspected, somehow, the Suppressors have an eye on us. I told you nothing about what I saw, or plan to do with the stone, and even if you guessed, it is too spot-on to be a guess. Only one eye can see what I see, and according to my suspicions, you're not just trying to kill me because of vengeance. You're driven by something else. It doesn't change the fact that you're useless. A diplomatic conversation with you would end in war. Just shut up about what we cannot do as humans to change our fate and give me the stone......","....I won't give you the stone!" Clarence cut in and advanced towards me. I removed my hands from my pockets and balled them into fists.

"I won't give you the stone because I know you!"

A powerful jolt threw the room into a violent shiver.
I staggered and steadied myself.

The room continued vibrating, and the light penetrating into the room through the window cracked and faded in sparks, darkening and brightening the shivering room fast in static-like motion.

There was a burst of smoke accompanied by sparks behind Clarence. As Clarence drew closer to me his eyes turned black. Something was taking shape behind him, forming slowly from a powerful, unfamiliar black magic. There were sounds of bones cracking and a loud repeating screech of iron against iron, and a familiar........

.... mad chuckle.

My feet gave way and I tumbled as the entire room dashed forward, accelerating at full speed.

A power had seized control of sanity.

I tried to listen for clues but the gush of crazy breeze and the vibration of the speeding room distorted my senses. I tumbled again on the cracking tiled floor as I was thrown about from the room's wild intoxicated speed.

"You cannot escape this time Bunmi!" Clarence screamed a wild one. I had a short glimpse of him. He had a wide lunatic smile plastered on his twisted face and black emptiness in his eyes. I never expected things would go this sour but there was no mistaking it. Behind Clarence, standing seven feet on the edge of rebirth, clad in dark iron armour burning in red endless flames, was a Judge, one of the four I saw in the vision of puzzles, and somehow, Clarence had made a pact with it.

I stood no chance.

Clarence pointed towards me and the supernatural fighting machine buckled, and in lightening speed the Judge appeared inches from my wet face. Gurgling growls poured its black breath against my face..........then it screamed like a wounded child.

....an explosion.

I close my eyes.

White light.

I was falling, my jacket flapping wildly everywhere as I fell in rocket speed through clouds.

I suddenly realized I was falling.

There was no sign of the demon Judge or Clarence, only sky and wind, and the dots of buildings and tarmac closing in to welcome my fall.

I battled viciously, suddenly terrified, screaming, trying to clutch the air hoping I could hang on, unaware of how the scenes changed.

"Hold on!" A voice shouted and I crashed through glass and water.

Mint's heavily beaded clay drum cracked, then gave way and I oiled out with coloured water, splinters of glass, roots and herbs. My concerned mother had followed me again with her body of light.

"I contacted The Fates. They denied the existence of the items of clarity." She pulled me up as I rubbed water out of my eye.

"Then it means we're alone" I replied and squeezed my hair locks. My over coat was soiled.

"We should do something Bunmi. Our world ends if the all four Judges complete resurrection."

"No mother. I only fought against the system because I had the support of The Fates. If they deny the existence of the items of clarity, they've been infiltrated by suppressor. Clarence has a Judge, and even though I have no idea if he is in control of that demon or under its control, I am blessed with enough sense to understand that fighting him now is suicide. It is over ma."

My mother studied me through old eyes for a while.

"Is this how your father's legacy ends? In fear?"

"I see the irony ma, so Yes!, I am sitting out what he stood up for. I choose life, he made his choice. This is mad! There is no point in fighting for an ignorant world. Our actions go unnoticed every time we protect the world from these shadows. There is stupidity in this charity ma! The five gods of pain and a Judge are two different things ma! And I've met only one Judge!"

I was beginning to shake in anger and fear. The Judge my mother saved me from had left me with a broken spirit. Its supernatural vibrations felt both divine and twisted. There was no mask for its lust for blood. Its thirst for death burned in its wake. It was pure evil.

"I understand. You have no attachment to this world. No children, no friends, no lover to fight for. I fight for my late husband's legacy, for vengeance, to protect my the children of my sisters, and because of you my son. You're free to do whatever you like Bunmi. I will continue this fight on my own."

My mother knew I wouldn't dare back out from the mission now, even though she said I could. She was guilt-tripping me, using every mother's emotional blackmail trump card, and we both knew it.

"If I die, its your fault!" I spat in vex.
"If you die, it is because you wanted to" my mother threw back the move expertly and moved towards a corner of the old hut. "We all make sacrifices for the truth. Your father played his part and left the rest to us. We have only tonight to finish what he started."

She dragged pieces of partly burnt wood out of the corner of the hut. She counted seven and beckoned me over. Still indecisive, I moved towards her.

"Take the seven arms of darkness and bury them with prayers from your heart. I forged them for your father, before he died. He planned an allied war against the society but he was betrayed by those he called friends. I cannot tell you what this arms do. If you know, the knowledge would ruin its purpose. Take them, bury them with faith and prayers from your heart. Truth will trigger its purpose. Leave Clarence and his Judge to me. Take the arms and go to The Fates. Try to convince them about the Judge you saw. If they don't believe you......." she paused and searched me with her old, keen eyes, ".......kill them."

I was startled.

"Kill them?"

Fire burst through the thatched roof in an explosion and I was thrown back.

"Hurry! Take the arms and go to The Fates!" she yelled and ran out of the hut to the commotion outside. I heard distant screams and more explosions as I picked myself up. We were under attack, and I suspected Suppressors. I took off my over-coat jacket and hurried towards the pieces of wood. The society had become desperate. They probably had sealed the attack on the compound from public sight with illusion charms, but it did not change the fact that they had attacked in broad daylight. I wrapped the pieces of wood in my jacket and snatched the calabash containing the ritual items I collected from Father April, then I cast a teleportation spell. As wall exploded from another blast of fire, I jumped through space, disappearing in time, hoping my mother didn't survive the attack. If she did, she would notice the missing calabash, and realize I never had her back from the start.