Synarchy Book 2: The Ascension (2 page)

"Wrong question, Lucien," Vasco
Terenzio said quietly as he slowly walked to their grandfather’s
side. "Why?"

Marcello smiled, unmasking his pleasure
with Vasco's question. "When you get there you will know." He
dropped his head back against the propped up pillows, raising his
eyes to the ceiling. "I almost wish I could live to see it. Well,
with these eyes at least."

"See it?" Simone asked.

"The Ascension."

§

"I am Menes."

Shirley and Derek looked up
simultaneously, eyes widening. Abe was glowing. A gentle green
light surrounded him and the man they had "found."

Menes smiled at the other two and began
to speak through Abe. It was easier this way; he had not spoken
English in several decades. "A great age is upon you. You are
closer to the truth than you have ever been." He hesitated,
choosing the words carefully. "I warn you that what you uncover
will shock you, anger you, and terrify you. It will also soothe
your souls, and you will know come to understanding why the
knowledge has been withheld from you. You must find the Cave of
Creation before the next winter solstice. It is this final step
that will bring man into full consciousness. The Ascension must not
fail again." He drew in a shaky breath, his energy wavering. He
willed it to stay with him a little longer.

“
Loki—you must find him. He
will alert the Anunnaki, and they will try to stop you. Those you
work for have means to protect you, to help you lift the veil so
all will know, as above in heaven, so below on Earth. Do what you
will. Love is law."

§

"What…what do we do now?" Abe
whispered.

Derek swallowed hard and shook his
head. He was at a complete loss. "I don't know."

Shirley turned to both of them. "Call
Terenzio. As bizarre as this all is, we've still got work to do.
And if Menes is right, we're going to need backup."

§

“
And we’re going to finish
it,” Olivia said firmly. Terenzios were not Robin Hoods; they never
had been. For a century now, they had done as they pleased, and
more often than not their actions were in no way honorable. The
sudden desire to change didn’t make any sense. Why empower the rest
of the world when they could control the slaves? Why become equals
when they could sit higher up the ladder? Now that the family had
the opportunity to align itself with the Powers That Be and reap
the real benefits, Olivia thought, fuck the rest of the world.
Marcello had lost his mind. Her plans, along with Amadeo’s, would
not be compromised, and they were not the only members of the
family who thought that way.

“
There’s not going to be
anything to finish if we don’t get caught up. You heard the Seer
last time we were in Denver; the triplets could pull this
off.”

“
Stop. They won’t. Period.
There will be no Ascension.” Olivia held up her hand to emphasize
her words. “Now, I want you to lean on Vic. Find out if Leone has
mentioned what his brother is working on. Nicholas tracked the
triplets to Madeira but lost them after that. Kayla might know
something, I’ll find out. If I don’t hear anything by nightfall
I’ll go see Marcello myself.”

Amadeo raised a brow at her. “That’s a
serious offense if you’re caught, Olivia.”

She sighed at him. “We are way past
that now, don’t you think, cousin?”

He opened his mouth to answer her but
was forced into silence by the sudden appearance of a man standing
in his doorway. Automatically, his hand went for the gun at his
side, but his fingers never touched the metal. Seeing the look on
his face, Olivia whirled aro-und, and then gasped softly. Their
unexpected visitor had long light blonde hair, with random streaks
of white. His eyes were a deep indigo that seemed to pulse with a
life all their own. Even odder, in his hand he carried a long
golden rod with a crystal on top that radiated in quiet
power.

Loki smiled at the shocked expression
on their faces. Slowly, he spoke in their language. “Do not be
afraid. I will help you stop the Ascension.”

§

It was a lot to swallow all at once; to
realize that something you didn’t even believe in might be true.
The fact that the memories were in his head so clearly was chewing
up at Vasco’s sense of reason. He was positive that if he started
searching the shelves he could confirm every event that he’d just
felt like he’d lived through a century ago. But did that really
prove the existence of past lives?

“
Do you really think we
reincarnated as those three?” Vasco asked

“
The way things are shaping
up…” Simone had her own cup of coffee and had sucked down the
caffeine boost like it was a shot. “…I don’t know, V. Is it really
so strange? Especially in comparison to the Anunnaki? It’s
obviously true. You’ve got memories of it, and grandfather sparked
the war against them.”

§

“
Tell him what we found,
Simone,” Lucien said.

“
Combined with what we
remember…” It was still weird as all hell to say that. “…and the
information down here, it’s all falling into place.” She paused as
they both sat down at the table, and pulled her hair back into a
messy bun. “The Anunnaki and the Brotherhood are about the same as
you remember them, Vasco, and, no surprise, they are the ones
standing in the way of us allowing the Ascension.”

Vasco figured she would say that.
Thirteen bloodlines, all fanatically loyal to their “Gods” and for
good reason. Thirteen bloodlines with which, he’d known a lifetime
ago, his own family couldn’t afford to war. “Tell me about the
Ascension we’re allowing,” Vasco said.

Simone motioned her head at Lucien who
picked up his own notepad. It wasn’t nearly as organized as his
sister’s, but he could read from it. “You’ll love this. Humans are
Gods and Co-Creators of the universe.” He had to shake his head a
little every time he read it. It was nuts, but so was lying between
two pyramids and remembering your past lives. “I don’t really
understand a lot of the details on this, but all that crazy
metaphysical talk about multiple dimensions and the universe as a
mind, and all being one, it’s all correct. Atlantis was actually a
planet once, now it’s the asteroid belt. That’s what happens when a
planet goes boom, a destruction we as humans caused because we
didn’t ‘ascend’ correctly. Imagine having godly powers, but being
an asshole so all you do with those powers are bad things. Quantum
Mechanics, whatever that is, proves on a scientific level that
intent creates reality.”

Vasco stared hard at his brother. It
sounded insane, utterly and completely. But that didn’t mean it
wasn’t true. Still it was a lot to handle while still trying to
deal with the fact that you’ve lived multiple lifetimes and aliens
who could shape shift really did live on the same planet.
“Understood, sort of. Keep talking.”

“
So, because of this failed
experiment, per se, we tried again. Welcome to Earth. According to
what’s down here--and I have no idea how the hell we got this
information by the way--it’s actually the destruction of Atlantis
that knocked the Anunnaki home planet into our solar system.
Conditions were set to keep us from accessing our power until the
time was right. That is the purpose of the elite and the Anunnaki.
So, now the time is right, we’re supposed to be released, and get
our knowledge back, but the powers that be are acting like a bunch
of stingy bitches. Regardless, it’s going to work this time. So
says everything I’ve read. Oh, and end date is December 21st,
2012.”

§

Kayla didn’t understand Marcello
Terenzio. He had known she was not his; that she was an enemy, the
bastard child of his raped wife, but he looked at her like he loved
her anyway. She knew this for certain. He had looked at Demetrius
and pictures of Amanda the same way.

“
Why? Why would you ask
me…?” Kayla whispered the unanswered question into the rain that
crashed down around her. The letter Marcello had written her was
crumpled up in her closed fist. A father’s last request of his
daughter.

Except, she was not his daughter. Never
mind that she loved him like the father he wasn’t. She’d never
admitted that to him; she didn’t know if she ever would
have.

Kayla bent down to set the single red
rose on top of the freshly dug wet dirt. Her head bowed, her dark
blonde hair soaked and coming loose from the pins that held it back
in place. She closed her eyes, fighting a losing battle against
emotions she didn’t want to feel. She would disappoint her
step-father. Choices weren’t given to things that were
owned.

“
I’m sorry, Dad,” Kayla
whispered. Her cell phone rang. She knew it was Caesar. She flipped
it open. “Yes?”

“
Get ready to rid the world
of your family, baby. I’m on my way home.”

Kayla was not a Terenzio. She was a
child of the Project, loyal only to the Brotherhood. “I
understand.” Her face hardened and her fingers opened, Marcello’s
crumpled letter fluttering into the mud as she walked
away.

§

His eyes were not human, though they
appeared that way when he wanted them to. Manipulation of the cells
in the human body was so ridiculously simple, it was laughable that
humankind didn’t know how to shape shift. This news angered him and
his eyes flipped, exposing the reptilian irises. “What of the
Terenzios?”

“
They continue as expected.
Our insiders have found an Atlantean, a survivor of Rainbow City.
They wish to bring him to us in exchange for full membership into
the Brotherhood.”

A serpent-like tongue flicked out of
his mouth, darting across his lips. “I’m sure they do. Bring them
to me.”

“
Yes, sir. What of the other
Terenzios?”

“
Continue as planned. We
will still launch Alternative Three ahead of schedule.” His hand
extended, switching erratically from dark green scales to smooth
white skin as he pressed the button to end the
conversation.

It would be close, but the Brotherhood
would not fail. They had held control of this planet for too long
just to give it away because the Galactic Federation claimed it was
time. Let the vibrations rise. He didn’t care how many of the
slaves, “awakened.” Let them think the planet would Ascend. They
had tried before. They would fail again.

A sharp knock came at his office door.
It took a mere thought to return his eyes and the texture of his
hand to their hidden state. “Come in.”

The uniformed officer saluted sharply.
“Mr. Vice President, they are ready for you now.”

“
We're villains, as much as
we are capable of being heroes. When the moments come that we can
we soften the blow of our sins, we've got to take them."

-Stefano Vasco
Terenzio

Prologue

December 20, 2012- 11:44 PM

Vacherie, Louisiana

Oak Alley Plantation

It came down in thick heavy sheets,
bulleting from the sky, drenching the ground that could only absorb
so much before it leaked up from the grass, and quickly became the
swamp that was so common in the area. The glare of headlights cut
through the rain, illuminating the porch of the antebellum mansion
that was now empty.

Caesar climbed out of the car,
whistling. He snapped open the trunk and stared with vicious glee
down at Vasco, whose hands Caesar had taped behind his back. Caesar
reached inside and hauled the other man out, half dragging him
through the puddles of water, and shoved him in front of the
stairs, facing the house. “I thought you‘d want to see it one more
time before you died.”

Vasco’s eyes traveled slowly
over the elegant, old fashioned structure. It had once been
her
home, before
she—

His jaw hardened. A lifetime ago, he
had made love to her against those columns, often after he’d shot a
few people out among the centuries-old oaks. For a fleeting moment,
his eyes softened at the phantom images.

“
You know, she and I had
some good times here after you got popped.” Caesar
grinned.

Vasco’s eyes narrowed, jealousy and
fury coiling hotly in his gut. His fingers fisted around the piece
of glass hidden in his palm, and sharp edges cut into the tape and
his skin, the blood washing away with the force of the
rain.

Caesar turned him around so they were
facing each other. “I don’t get you, Vasco.” He took a step back,
pulling the gun out from the waistband of his pants. “Why? Out of
all of them, I never thought you would choose this.”

The hatred in the depths of
Vasco’s eyes was unhidden as he regarded Caesar. It was their
destiny to be enemies, their agreement for this lifetime. He was
fully committed to honoring that agreement. “Choice, Caesar,” Vasco
said over the noise of the storm. “I never made anyone do anything.
They always had a choice. You—
Them
—you take the fun out of the game
when you take that choice away. But the better, less noble reason
is I just don’t like you. Or your masters. I never
have.”

Caesar shook his head. “I’ll never
understand you Terenzios. I won’t miss you, either.” The thunder
growled, a flash of lighting exposing the malevolent gleam in
Caesar‘s eyes as he pressed the muzzle of the gun against Vasco’s
temple.