Realm of the Malach

Chapter 15: A Traitor in their Midst

Ulu was not much for company, Eirik decided. It was just as well. The silence lent him the time to contemplate what he needed to do next.

What became of the Master Lucifer was unknown. Some survivors said he had been taken hostage, others claim he was beheaded in the siege. And others still held on to the thought that their Master had managed to escape and were harbored somewhere in safety. Nour had said that Lucifer was still alive, if the revelations of the parchment were true. But it would not matter, alive or dead, Lucifer was no longer a force to be reckoned with. His House fallen, his malaika all but gone, the Redeemer would find little resistance left in the Overworld.

Everything that Eirik was told had come to pass. And now the key to it all was in the palm of his hand. The power he held in this very moment made him swoon. He had already made his choice from the moment the Redeemer presented himself not too long ago with an offer he could not refuse – the covenant be damned.

He wandered off to the far side of the ruin on the pretense that he had to relieve himself. Human biology came in handy at certain times. Eirik typed out a hasty message on his cell phone. God forgive him for what he was about to do.

Sacrifices, we all must make them.

"It's here," Ulu called out to him. She had activated the transporter they used for short distance travel, mostly for supplies and communication. A shortcut to the Earthenworld that Hadifa now feared would be compromised. Ulu stood in front of the bluish mirage of space and time that distorted the boulder behind it. Closing it was not a two person job but Eirik had volunteered to accompany Ulu for safety. Hadifa agreed this was prudent. Ulu was insulted. Eirik made his way over to her and just short of where she stood he stumbled and almost fell headlong into the transporter. Ulu grasped a hold of his jacket collar and managed to leverage him backward on his feet. His gesture of thanks was ignored. She proceeded to take out a small mercurial sphere from a pouch secured to her holster.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Eirik asked her in alarm.

"The transporter is to be destroyed," she replied, eyeing him carefully.

"Hadifa said to deactivate it," he reasoned.

"Same difference," Ulu said curtly, still watching him as she tossed the sphere into the bluish mass, which immediately imploded with a low suctioning sound before disappearing.

"Planning on going somewhere, Eirik?" she cocked her head to one side, slow and deliberate, her question sounding more like a dare than an inquiry.

"Of course, not," he stammered before turning around and walking toward the direction from which they had come. Ulu stood where she was until he was a good distance ahead of her. She took out her communicator and scrolled through various readings until she came to the one she was looking for, beside it a blue light blinking in slow succession. The transporter was in hibernation. Ulu smiled to herself.

Somewhere in a city 30 miles away, a cell phone materialized and dropped to the concrete sidewalk. In the shuffle of the early morning commute, a harried grocery store worker kicked it into the street inadvertently. Before it was crushed by a bus full of people, the tone of a message  sounded. 

Author's Note:  I know it's super short but Friday will be a good one.