her good eye. It was as blue as a summer sky, its beauty in violent contrast to the obscenity of the empty socket. Replacing her sunglasses, she sat back in the shadows. “The men in grey suits are a cabalistic society, dedicated to the dark forces. They follow an entity they call The One. It is an ancient society, older than the Rosicrucians, though not as old as the entity itself, which is older than time.”
Caddy touched her safe stone with her bandaged hand. “What does this have to do with my father?”
The girl motioned to Red again. He gave Caddy a thick, leather-bound tome. It was deadweight heavy and seemed to whisper in a near-audible voice, like it was trying to speak to her, like it had a life of its own. The pages were thick—made of some kind of skin—and smelled of must and antiquity.
“Open it,” the girl said.
Caddy opened the book with one hand, the other still holding her safe stone. The pages were illustrated with ancient block prints of the most disturbing scenes. People bound and hanging by ropes. People impaled on stakes. It made her feel sick to look at them. The girl studied Caddy’s reaction as she flipped through the pages, the whispers growing louder with every turn. At the image of a decapitation, Caddy slammed the book shut. The thing should be burned. The girl motioned for Red to take it and Caddy practically threw it at him. She felt lighter the second it left her hands.
“Satanists?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” the girl said. “But their goal is similar—to assist the dark energies on the earth plane. They desire total annihilation.”
She’s talking about the Emptiness, Caddy thought. Hadn’t her visions warned her of something like that all along? Was this the connection to her father? It was clear the girl was deranged, though, some kind of radical who’d gone off the deep end. The last thing Caddy wanted was to trigger her or add fuel to the fire of her delusions. Who knew what she was capable of?
“Why would anyone want that?”
The girl folded her hands together. “To create a world where the forces of evil enjoy complete control. Power is their prime directive. Power over the Light and those who serve it.”
“People do all kinds of crazy things,” Caddy said. “Evil has always existed. So far, the earth is still here—as messed up as it is.”
“Look around you. It doesn’t take a genius to see that things are unravelling faster than ever before. We’ve reached critical mass.” The girl tilted her head slightly. “Are you aware of who’s responsible for the current state of affairs?”
“The men in grey suits?” Caddy answered innocently.
The girl gave a small smile. She paused, no doubt assessing Caddy’s sincerity. “The Company.”
“The Company …” Caddy repeated.
“Yes. The men in grey suits work for the Company. They dress in the image of The One. The Company is in league with dark forces. It’s funding the war—a perfect cover for its activities. The war is simply a sleight of hand, a distraction on the world stage from the real trick, the systematic divestment of governmental power, the systematic control of global wealth. When that is achieved, they will usher in The One and his dark armies, and their dream of annihilation will be closer to reality.”
Caddy slowly righted herself in her seat. God knows she’d heard her father say enough bad things about the Company. Butthe idea that it was in league with dark forces hell-bent on total annihilation was insane. Not even her father had pushed it that far. She judged the distance to the oil lantern. She could throw it at the girl if she had to.
“So, the Company men are killing people, and this is allowing dark forces to take over on earth.”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“There have always been wars and destruction,” Caddy said.
“And the planet can no longer sustain the abuses,” the girl continued. “The Dreamers have been struggling for centuries to push back
Caddy touched her safe stone with her bandaged hand. “What does this have to do with my father?”
The girl motioned to Red again. He gave Caddy a thick, leather-bound tome. It was deadweight heavy and seemed to whisper in a near-audible voice, like it was trying to speak to her, like it had a life of its own. The pages were thick—made of some kind of skin—and smelled of must and antiquity.
“Open it,” the girl said.
Caddy opened the book with one hand, the other still holding her safe stone. The pages were illustrated with ancient block prints of the most disturbing scenes. People bound and hanging by ropes. People impaled on stakes. It made her feel sick to look at them. The girl studied Caddy’s reaction as she flipped through the pages, the whispers growing louder with every turn. At the image of a decapitation, Caddy slammed the book shut. The thing should be burned. The girl motioned for Red to take it and Caddy practically threw it at him. She felt lighter the second it left her hands.
“Satanists?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” the girl said. “But their goal is similar—to assist the dark energies on the earth plane. They desire total annihilation.”
She’s talking about the Emptiness, Caddy thought. Hadn’t her visions warned her of something like that all along? Was this the connection to her father? It was clear the girl was deranged, though, some kind of radical who’d gone off the deep end. The last thing Caddy wanted was to trigger her or add fuel to the fire of her delusions. Who knew what she was capable of?
“Why would anyone want that?”
The girl folded her hands together. “To create a world where the forces of evil enjoy complete control. Power is their prime directive. Power over the Light and those who serve it.”
“People do all kinds of crazy things,” Caddy said. “Evil has always existed. So far, the earth is still here—as messed up as it is.”
“Look around you. It doesn’t take a genius to see that things are unravelling faster than ever before. We’ve reached critical mass.” The girl tilted her head slightly. “Are you aware of who’s responsible for the current state of affairs?”
“The men in grey suits?” Caddy answered innocently.
The girl gave a small smile. She paused, no doubt assessing Caddy’s sincerity. “The Company.”
“The Company …” Caddy repeated.
“Yes. The men in grey suits work for the Company. They dress in the image of The One. The Company is in league with dark forces. It’s funding the war—a perfect cover for its activities. The war is simply a sleight of hand, a distraction on the world stage from the real trick, the systematic divestment of governmental power, the systematic control of global wealth. When that is achieved, they will usher in The One and his dark armies, and their dream of annihilation will be closer to reality.”
Caddy slowly righted herself in her seat. God knows she’d heard her father say enough bad things about the Company. Butthe idea that it was in league with dark forces hell-bent on total annihilation was insane. Not even her father had pushed it that far. She judged the distance to the oil lantern. She could throw it at the girl if she had to.
“So, the Company men are killing people, and this is allowing dark forces to take over on earth.”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“There have always been wars and destruction,” Caddy said.
“And the planet can no longer sustain the abuses,” the girl continued. “The Dreamers have been struggling for centuries to push back
Similar Books
