The Animus - sample page
The 'Animus' is the second book in the Apprentice Angel series (link to the Apprentice Angel main page). The following is a sample chapter from the book entitled 'An uneasy alliance'.
Luis Garrido sat in a small Tapas bar in the Pelazza Neranja in Fuengirola in Spain. A wealthy Madrileno he often came down to the Coast to spend his weekends when the pressure at work became too much. This was one of those occasions. He and his colleagues had been working for several agonising months to try and close a deal on the purchase of a shopping Centre in Seville and the effort had taken its toll.
For the moment though, he took the rare opportunity to try and relax as he sat in the warmth and beauty of a typical summer evening on the Costa Del Sol. It was around 8pm but still bakingly hot with no Levanta to bring its cool breezes to provide some relief. Though dressed impeccably in designer trousers and shirt he steadfastly refused to perspire consoling himself in the coolness of a splendid Rioja. Despite his best efforts, though, a beading of sweat had formed on his upper lip and a small trickle ran down the small of his back.
Luis sat alone on a stool on the outside of the bar where we could turn and watch goings on both outside and inside – people watching being one of his habits when down on the Coast. The place was a crossroads for so many people of different countries and persuasions. Of course at this time of year there were many, many tourists including those who frequented this place from Madrid. There were also many British people though they tended to frequent the bars and pubs along the waterfront.
It was whilst trying to enjoy the goings on around him (for some reason tonight there seemed to be a strange tension in the air – perhaps an impending thunderstorm he thought) that he noticed the couple sitting not far from him at an outside table of a neighbouring bar.
From the half consumed glasses of wine sitting in front of them it was clear that they had been at the table for some time though he was slightly amazed that he had not noticed them before now. For there was something about the couple that instantly drew ones attention to them though in a way that he could not quite explain.
Of course one regularly saw beautiful couples when visiting the coast. There were lots of people with lots of money, of course, and it was to places like this that they were often drawn. Their carefully crafted tans alongside their designer clothes and accoutrements helped them to stand out from the crowd. Yet with this couple this the same could not be said.
If asked to guess Luis would have said that the man was in his mid forties, of about average height and build for a Spaniard. He had brown hair and quite square features that marked him as a German perhaps or maybe Finnish. He was well dressed though the dark suit he was wearing was a bit out of place and old fashioned. Yes they tailoring looked impeccable to Luis eye but the style was old and far too heavy for wearing on a night as warm as this. Despite the suit the man did not appear to be perspiring in the slightest. All in all the man was quite unremarkable except for one particular feature – his eyes. It was to his eyes that one was drawn for they were sea green and seemed to have the most amazing depth. For some reason Luis found himself thinking of wisdom and knowledge when he looked into those eyes.
Directly across the table from him was a woman. Now there were many beautiful looking women that frequented the tapas bars and restaurants of the Coast and at a glance she would not have drawn your eyes away from any one of them. Slightly shorter than the man and with black hair pulled back in a severe bun (making her look fierce and for some reason suggesting to Luis that she had a military background) from a face that was only just pretty, with a suggestion of perhaps Slavic features, she was anything but remarkable. She was wearing a very white dress which was fringed at neck and sleeves and hem with what looked like gold and silver flowers. Whilst not a peasant dress it was of plain design and material suggesting at economy and not wealth. Nevertheless, as with the man, it was to her eyes that one was instantly drawn once noticed. The colour, well the colour was actually pretty hard to describe and though he was not close enough to be sure Luis would have sworn that they were a silvery gold and that they seemed to twinkle and change from one colour to the other.
For a moment Luis was a bit stunned until he remembered an article he had read in a magazine on a flight between Madrid and Barcelona about advancements that had been made in contact lenses. Yes, that would be it, fancy contact lenses.
Sitting back now (he had not noticed at first that he had been leaning far forward as he watched the two) he took a sip of his drink and resumed his scanning of the square. Yet he found himself constantly drawn back to the two. That they were not a couple, was obvious from their body language. They were also not business partners and colleagues – again that was obvious from the formal distance that they kept from each other. Almost, except for the absurdity of the thought, he would have said that they were enemies of a sort – leaders perhaps of two opposing armies. But that simply made no sense. Perhaps divorcees? No, that did not feel right either.
It was whilst contemplating this that he noticed something rather unusual though in truth it completely tied in with his contemplation of their strange relationship. Having worked on a number of large projects with some interesting organisations that were perhaps often not 100% legitimate he had dealt with some very powerful characters. Along with the gathering of that power, he quickly learnt, often came enemies. Some of these enemies came in the form of politicians who did not agree with a companies policy or those of an individual within a company. Some of these enemies came from organisations or interest groups such as the ‘green groups’ as they were often known who disagreed with how a business was conducting itself and its operations – particularly in construction. Some of the enemies though came from rival companies and or individuals with whom there was competition for work or resources or whatever. He had noticed that sometimes, however, these enemies were very serious individuals or organisations who for one reason or another formed direct and real threats to a company or some of its individuals.
His company had done business with a number of organisations, particularly in Russia, that had enemies of the last type and as a result he was used to attending meetings where bodyguards were in attendance. At first, well at least when he was younger and much more naïve he had not noticed the bodyguards who were often very good at blending in to the background. Once it had been pointed out to him, however, (and he had gotten over his astonishment) he been able to start recognising them particularly if they were in a crowd such as a restaurant or function.
To say that he was surprised when he noticed bodyguards for both the man and the woman would be an understatement! Unobtrusive like most bodyguards Luis only noticed them because he had seen this scenario a number of times before. 2 and 2 (2 for both the man and the woman) they sat together slightly away from the person they were protecting but close enough to be able to move in quickly should there be any trouble. What surprised him even more (this was something that he had never seen) was that one of the bodyguards was actually a woman.
Eyes everywhere the bodyguards seemed to be looking for threats from every angle, not just each other, and were as nervous as he had ever seen anyone. Clearly, whatever this situation was between the two it was very serious indeed!
Although he had been about to finish his drink and move on (he almost always limited himself to a single alcoholic drink) so intrigued was Luis that he ordered himself another and sat watching as the two conversed…..
The waiter approached the man and woman when he noticed that the glass of Fino that the man had been drinking was nearly empty. Normally, he would wait till the person called him over but for some reason he found himself looking for an excuse to come back to the table.
‘Lo mismo.’ Botis asked for another round in impeccable Spanish.
‘Would you care for anything to eat with that?’ The waiter asked politely but for some reason desperately hoping that they would take the offer.
‘No, nothing else for the moment thank you.’ Botis answered though he changed his accent slightly when he noticed that the man was from up north.
‘So.’ He said turning to look at Dinael once more. They had been talking for a good 10 minutes now but had done nothing but skirt around the issue.
‘So.’ She said running a finger casually around the outside of her glass whilst she considered the fact that they had made little progress. ‘The Animus.’
‘Yes the Animus.’ Botis answered. ‘We are at least in agreement that appears that this thing is being driven by entities outside both our organisations?’ He asked. They had spent a good deal of time go and back and forward on this subject.
‘Yes.’ Answered Dinael slowly. ‘At first we were convinced that it was your lot…’
‘As were we with you!’ Botis interrupted.
‘But it would not serve our interests, this thing! The woman said heatedly
‘Nor ours as I have said many times!’ The man said matching her tone.
For a second they sat staring at each other, fierce looks on their faces. When you have spent several millennia attempting to kill each other, it is difficult to instantly drop the habit that no matter how convincing their circumstances, nor how nice the wine is.
‘Oh for goodness sakes, this is getting us nowhere.’ Dinael said sitting back in her chair. ‘If we are going to have any chance at dealing with this thing we must put aside our enmity for a while and pool our knowledge.’
‘You are quite right of course.’ Said Botis also calming himself and relaxing his posture. ‘It is a clear this is a risk to us all.’
‘That is very true Botis. And I think that the sooner we discover exactly who is behind this abomination the sooner we can try and counter it.’
‘Also true Dinael. So what do we know about it? Those who drive this thing would need to be very powerful for a start.’
‘Yes and senior.’ Dinael added.
‘Yes and old. Old and originals no less I would say.’
‘Yes, definitely originals.’
‘Which in itself presents us with problems.’
‘Yes and clues as well.’
‘You have suspicions?’ He asked her arching one eyebrow and focussing his gaze intensely upon her.
‘Do you?’ she countered sitting forward again.
It was clear that neither was prepared to take the lead.
‘Oh for goodness sakes.’ Botis said with a great sigh. ‘It is clear my dear that we both do. Would you agree?’
‘Yes.’ Dinael agreed also sitting back and running a hand through her hair. For a moment they sat again in silence as each considered their position.
‘Assuming we both do have strong suspicions then what do we do?’ she asked.
‘Indeed, that is the question – what do we do?’
There was silence again for a while before they both started to talk at exactly the same time. They paused and then did the same thing again. When this happened a third time they both began to laugh.
‘Please, you first.’ Said Botis politely.
Suddenly the mood in the square had changed. Luis Garrido sat back and relaxed properly for the first time that evening. It seemed that the approaching storm that he had felt earlier had dissipated. He decided that he needed another glass of wine.
‘Before I start, I don’t suppose you would join me in having something to eat?’ Dinael asked almost shyly.
‘My dear, that would be the most sensible thing we had done so far this evening!’ said Botis with enthusiasm. ‘Shall I?’ He said pointing to the menu.
‘Please do!’
For a while Dinael sat quietly as Botis ordered food for them. Of course she could as easily have done this herself being capable of communicating in any language but it was obvious that Botis had a particular understanding of the food itself. She could feel her mouth watering. Once he had finished and some bread had arrived she continued.
‘It is clear to me that the actions of this thing, this Animus serves neither the cause of the Angels nor the Demons.’ She said as though pulling things together in her mind for the first time. ‘In fact the actions of the Animus seem to indicate an allegiance to nothing – no cause, no definable agenda. It is though it’s very reason to exist is for no other purpose than……’ and here she sort unsuccessfully for a word.
‘…chaos?’ Botis completed for her.
‘Yes chaos and given how powerful it is I cannot get over the feeling that it is a threat not only in the way it is currently being used but to all entities on all planes of existence and it must be stopped.’
‘I completely agree.’ Said Botis around a mouthful of calamari that had just arrived. ‘The question my dear is how? I have never seen anything like this. It is like walking down to the Playa and grabbing a handful of sand and bringing it back to your table. No matter how hard you grasp it little bits start to fall out. You could put it into a container but you can only see those bits directly visible to you. And everyone of those bits that you look at look the same. It is impossible to discern anyone of the countless souls that somehow seem bound up in it, far less those beings that are directing it.’
‘Yes Botis and there we come to the nub. If only we could work out who those beings are that directing this energy, this force?’
‘That would allow us to confront and out them. But my assessment of this thing so far is that finding those entities within this collective aura is going to be very hard to achieve. I think if we are going to find those behind it we will need to look for clues elsewhere rather than a direct approach.’
‘How do you mean?’ Dinael asked intrigued and forgetting for the moment the plate of sardines that sat invitingly in front of her.
‘Well, its seems to me that any senior Angel or Demon involved in the Animus would leave certain clues along the way.’
‘What sort of clues.’ This question came out along with a fair amount of spittle as Dinael, finally succumbing to the temptation, piled a forkful of food into her mouth.
‘Indeed, what sort of clues. For a start, I am fairly sure that whilst part of the Animus, the aura of any entity involved would not be able to be found on the Flow.’ He said shovelling a an heroic amount of seafood paella into his mouth.
‘Yes, I see what you are getting at.’ Replied Dinael. ‘Oh, could you pass the Tomato’s please?’ she asked before continuing. ‘If we could isolate any entities who disappear at the same time as the Animus is operating….’
‘It would make for compelling evidence.’ He said slurping some wine before piling a mountain load of patatas bravas on his plate.
‘I like it.’ Said Dinael approvingly before a frown (not related to the fact that Botis had just finished all the fried peppers – well maybe related just a little) came over her face. ‘But that could take us a very long time. We would have to factor in both the number of originals that would need to be ruled out against the frequency of the appearance of the Animus.’
In response Botis shrugged his shoulders.
‘I did not say it would be easy. Unless you can think of any alternatives? Oh, pass the champignones will you?’
‘Short of finding those behind this abomination the only alternative is to destroy the thing itself but I am guessing that this would be no ordinary feat?’
‘No, not if my assessment is correct. It would take a number of very powerful demons….or Angels, to achieve this. That is assuming the numbers could be found…..’
‘I don’t suppose you have those numbers do you?’ she asked in an off-handed tone of voice whilst at the same time pretending to still be interested in her food. In fact she was concentrating very avidly on his response.
‘Even assuming I could get on board all those that I trust and I mean really trust, I do not think so.’ He responded now absently pushing his food around his plate before asking in a very casual voice. ‘How about you?’
‘No, I do not think so and if what we believe to be true about who is behind this thing then I need to be very careful with whom I entrust this information. Somewhere there are some very dangerous and powerful entities playing a very serious game and I think they would stop at nothing if they found out that you and I had become suspicious of them and the Animus.’
‘That is true.’ Botis said pushing his plate aside, his hunger fully sated. ‘But I guess we might just have the numbers if we could combine forces….’ He did not look at her directly but rather looked up from under hooded eyelids.
Dinael too pushed her plate aside and casually (perhaps too casually) dabbed at the corners of her mouth whilst agreeing.
‘I suppose that could work….as long as the entities involved could be trusted….’
‘Yes fully controlled warrior entities under the command of those whom they owe complete and utter allegiance…..’
‘True and it would take two very committed and powerful commanders……..’
‘Doing something that has not been done since before the expulsion………’
‘…working together for a common cause……’
For a moment after this they both fell silent content within their own thoughts.
‘…but what a cause!’ Said Botis eagerly.
‘Yes and a uniting of those who have been sundered for so long…..!’ responded Dinael a little breathlessly.
For a moment they looked wistfully at each other as thoughts of what they were proposing filled their heads.
‘So, where to from here?’ Dinael asked.
‘Well, I would suggest a two pronged approach. Whilst we agreed it would be time consuming I still think it is worth beginning narrowing down the field on our list of suspects. Can I suggest that we each mentally draw up a list of potential Demon and Angel candidates for those who might be behind the Animus and we begin ticking them off?’
‘Agreed and during this time we could both start cautiously approaching those entities loyal to us in order to start building up the numbers of warriors should we need to carry out a combined attack on the Animus. Agreed?’
‘Agreed.’ Said Botis.
‘Good.’ Said Dinael and it seemed that they had exhausted both the current topic as well as their appetites.
‘Well, I guess sitting here and indulging in this fine food and wine is not going to get the job done.’ Said Botis finally drawing the meeting towards its conclusion.
‘Indeed not – though it really was good food.’ Said Dinael looking down at her empty plate and back at the Demon lord again. ‘Would seem a shame not finish it off with a desert……’
‘Oh a real shame indeed. What exactly did you have in mind….?’
Before they left the physical plane the Demon Lord and Warrior Angel indulged a ridiculous rich sugar laden desert. They were followed back to the Celestial plane by a group of largely forgotten and by this time very miffed and absolutely starving bodyguards.
It was at around about the same time that a completely drunk Luis Garrido who was now clearly having hallucinations (he had started seeing wings on the back of the man and woman) collapsed under the table. He wouldn’t come back to this particular restaurant for quite some time!
