That stamp topples me into a well-lit basement. A woman in all black takes my hand and slashes it then smears blue blood from my hand at the four corners of a white wall. A portrait, in the pattern of a family tree, appears. But it doesn't appear to be generational. It's more like hierarchy with three levels. There are pictures scattered across the portrait of people I don't know. Oh, except for this one. There's that guy, Marc, I saw earlier. But wait! Isn't that Molly? And me too?
"What's this about?"
"Blood calls to blood," is all she offers, and then, "I'm Jarka."
"What's this about?" I ask again, more determined this time.
"That's your job."
"What's my job?"
"To awaken the sacred ones and bring them home."
"Look, I've been dealing with too much. You've got to do better than that. Be more specific."
"These are your brothers and sisters. They're all in a coma, waiting for you to wake them."
"A literal coma?"
"The worst coma there is," she confirms. "They don't know who they are."
"What the hell am I going to do? I don't even know who I am half the time."
"You're Mary-the-Great!"
"Forget Mary-the-Great!" I shout. "Brothers and sisters? Again, I'm an only child."
"Blood calls to blood," she repeats, and then. "You better get your head together before the war."
"What the hell! Look, woman! Whatever's going on with you people, I want out."
"Too late." She laughs. "Should've never uncovered the black box. Now it's live or die."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"Fail to unlock all the doors and you die."
"That old man never said anything about dying."
"Perhaps demons lie?"
YOU ARE READING
NINE TIME MACHINES: Do you want to undo your entire life on planet earth?
FantasyThere is a war coming! In it, Lilith and the impostor God must battle for all human minds on earth. But one girl can stand in the gap for all humanity. However, to prove worthy for this feat, Mary must begin shadow work to take the mark upon herself...
