Semper Invictus Ch. 03 - Family Ties

"I had almost forgotten all about that," he said. "What do you think you know about that?"

"What I know is that you were possessed by an inter-dimensional being," I said. His face registered shock as I spoke. "A colleague of mine disposed of that being."

"How do you know about that?" he asked.

"I spoke to my colleague about it yesterday. Besides, you're not the first in your family to be possessed by one of those things," I said. "And you're not the last," I added, looking at Noei. Max looked at his daughter, surprised.

"You had one of those things in you as well?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "But Arte got rid of it."

"Arte?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "That's the shortened version of my birth name, Artebudz."

"Artebudz?" Max asked. "What kind of a name is that?"

"It's the name my mother gave me over 2,000 years ago. It's Noric," I said.

"Two thousand years? Noric?" Max asked, confused.

"Yes," I said. "Your family came from Salzburg, right?"

"Yes," Max said. "They lived there for centuries. Until just after the First World War, when the old Austro-Hungarian Empire fell."

"I was born in that general area, but the city called Salzburg wouldn't even exist for another 800 years," I said. "Before Salzburg, before Austria even existed, there was a Celtic kingdom called Noricum. It later became a Roman province. That's where I'm from."

"But... that's impossible," Max said. "That means..."

"That means the legend your mother spoke of is true," I said. "There's something else you should know. Your daughter carries the exact genetic makeup of the woman I was married to over 2,000 years ago. Her name was Noei." He looked at me, shocked.

"How..."

"The explanation is quite... complicated," I said. "But it plays a role in what happened to you in Munich all those years ago. The last time we spoke, you talked about things as if you had some kind of... inside knowledge. I believe that came from the thing that was inside you. The beast selected you for a reason. I believe you know what that reason was, and I'd appreciate it if you would tell us."

Max put his head in his hands and began shaking his head. Then he started sobbing.

"No, I can't tell you," he sobbed. "Please don't make me. I can't bear to think about it." Noei and I looked at each other, shocked. This wasn't the reaction we expected. She knelt next to her father and tried to comfort him.

"It's okay, Daddy," she said. "We're here to help."

"You'll hate me if I tell you," he said.

"No, Daddy, we could never hate you," Noei said. "Could we, Arte?"

"No, Max, we won't hate you," I said. "Whatever it was, you can tell us." Max blew his nose and wiped the tears from his face. Then he looked at his daughter and held her face in his hands.

"You were such a beautiful baby," he said. "From the time you were born, you had me wrapped around your little finger. And you've grown into a wonderful young woman. You have no idea how much

I love you."

"And I love you, Daddy," she said.

"You're right, son," he said, looking at me. "It did pick me for a reason. I fought it as hard as I could, but it was just too strong. It wanted me to... kill... my baby girl. And it nearly succeeded. It made me think that it was the right thing to do. If that man hadn't come along, I might very well have done it." He looked at Noei, tears falling down his face.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he cried. "You have to know I would rather kill myself than hurt you."

"I know, Daddy," Noei said, holding him in her arms.

"I never understood why it wanted me to do that," Max said. "Do you know why?"

"Yes, Max, I believe I do," I told him. "The creatures knew that once Noei and I were reunited that their days were numbered. They've been targeting members of your family for generations. We know of at least ten possessions over the last 150 years."

"So the legend is really true, then?" Max asked.

"Yes," I said. "Every word of it is true." Just then, Noei's tracker dinged. She pulled it out, and her face went white as she looked at it.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed.

"What?" I asked.

"One of the creatures is at Dad's house," she said. "It's possessed Mom."

"What do we do?" Max asked. I looked at Max before speaking.

"We'll take care of this," I said. "Why don't you stay here?"

"No, this is my family. I'm coming with you," he said.

"Alright, but you need to do as we say," I told him. "And stay out of the way. You understand? That thing inside her is extremely dangerous."

"Oh, I know," he said. We left his office and jumped in our rented sedan. I followed Noei's directions and got to Max's country estate in good time. Noei pulled out her makeup kit and began applying blue paint to her face.

"What are you doing?" Max asked when he saw her face.

"This is my war face," she said. "Those things have attacked my family, and I'm getting ready to kick some ass." I opened my briefcase and handed Max one of Svan's rings.

"What's this?" he asked.

"A device to keep the beasts out of you," I said. "It'll work as long as you wear it. We have enough for the rest of your family." I handed Noei her transector and checked mine, then looked at Max. "Remember, stay out of the way and follow our lead."

"Of course," Max said. I looked at Noei.

"Remember our training. Don't let the transector blades touch," I said. She nodded her head.

"What about the Rule of Six?" she asked.

"We'll have to forego that," I said. "There's no choice." We got out of the sedan and entered the house. Diane and Max's mother were in the front room. Diane glared at us when we entered the room, and I could see the beast in her eyes. Max's mother sat on the couch, and I could see the fear in her face.

"Diane, Mom, look who came to visit," Max said.

"Yes, I see," Diane said. Even the tone of her voice was different, and Max spotted it right off the bat. I motioned for Max to get behind me. "Look, mother. The Celtic warrior and his little plaything have come to visit." The older woman looked at us with a tear in her eye. "I love what you've done to your face, dear," Diane said sarcastically. "Is that a new fashion trend or something?" Noei and I held up our transectors and activated them.

"Oh, look," Diane said gleefully as she clapped her hands. "The children have brought their little toys. Isn't that nice, mother? Haven't you two heard?" Diane asked as she looked at us. "You shouldn't mess with dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!" She laughed maniacally at that, sending a chill up Max's back.

I saw the creature start to unfurl its deadly tail and looked at Noei. I nodded my head slightly, and she returned the gesture.

"SEMPER INVICTUS," we both declared at the same time. Noei crouched down and struck low as I struck high, aiming for Diane's neck. The Diane-Beast tried to avoid us, but Diane was not a trained warrior and was too slow. Both our transectors sliced through Diane's body, rending the creature into three pieces. We followed through with another swipe, slashing the beast into even more pieces.

The beast screamed in pain as we cut it into small chunks, filling the room with acrid smoke. Noei saw the red, beating heart of the creature and stepped on it as if squashing a bug. The thing broke open, and the remains of the beast disappeared. Diane wavered on her feet for a few seconds, then fell to the floor.

Max rushed to her side as we turned off our transectors. I handed Noei a powder packet as she ran into the kitchen to get some water. Diane's eyes were somewhat glazed as she looked up at me. I could tell she wanted to say something, so I knelt down next to her.

"What is it, Diane?" I asked. She moved her mouth, but no sound came out. I helped Max lay her on the couch and propped her head up with a pillow. By then, Noei returned with a bottle of water. She had already mixed the powder and helped Diane take a drink.

"This will help, Mom," she said as she held the water bottle. Diane took a drink and looked at her daughter.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said with a slight smile. Then she looked at me.

"That was just the first, Arte," she said weakly. "More are coming. Many more." She took another sip and passed out.

...

More to come...