Apocalypse Cult (Gray Spear Society) by Alex Siegel Read Free Book Online

threw the knife this time, straight at her face, but the result was the same. She seemed to have phenomenal reflexes.
    "Challenge me," she ordered.
    He reared back and used all the strength in his arm. She snatched the knife out of the air with an impossibly quick reaction. Her hand moved faster than his eyes could follow.
    "That was a miracle," she said. "To me, that knife moved quite slowly and was easy to catch."
    "How?" he whispered.
    "Join my team and you'll find out. Sit."
    She sat at the table. She spun the dagger between her fingers with such speed it looked like a black disk. It made a whirring sound which was unsettling. The absolute darkness in her eyes was even more unsettling.
    He joined her at the table. "That's a magic trick."
    "No."
    "Then I'm on drugs or asleep."
    She shook her head. The blade continued to spin at an insane speed. "For the first time in your life, you're getting a glimpse behind the curtain that surrounds the natural world. You're seeing things God doesn't permit ordinary people to see. I could show you more, a lot more. Are you interested in joining?"
    "Joining who?" He raised his hands. "I don't know who you are!"
    "We're a secret society, and unfortunately, I can't tell you anything else until you commit. You stand at a precipice with your toes hanging over the edge. Step forward, and you're one of us forever. Step back, and you'll never see me or my people again."
    "That's ridiculous. You're asking me to make a choice in a vacuum."
    She shrugged. "Those are the rules. You have to walk through the curtain blind."
    She abruptly threw the dagger at the wall just above the kitchen counter. The sharp tip sunk two inches into the wall, and the dagger quivered.
    He swallowed. "What will I get paid?"
    "As much as you need. Money won't be one of your concerns."
    "Sure." He snorted.
    She took a white envelope out of her jacket pocket and handed it to him. He opened the envelope and discovered it was stuffed with hundred dollar bills, at least five thousand dollars worth.
    "What's this for?" he asked.
    She snatched the envelope back, walked over to the window, opened it, and threw the cash outside. It fell three stories to the city street below. Aaron heard the sound of cars screeching to a stop.
    He tried to appear unimpressed, but five grand was a substantial amount of money. He had heard of people getting killed over less.
    "Money isn't important," Ethel said. "It's an illusion. The rewards we seek are more eternal in nature."
    "I've heard priests use that line. I didn't buy it then, either."
    She strolled around the room aimlessly for a moment. She eventually stopped in front of an electric piano in the corner. Aaron was a good pianist thanks to a childhood spent practicing every day for at least an hour. His mother had demanded he become a competent musician despite a lack of enthusiasm or real talent. He still owned a piano because he felt obligated to have one.
    "Do you have a plan?" Ethel asked.
    "For what?"
    "Your life. What do you want to do with it?"
    "I planned to be a police officer," he said. "I planned to marry my high school sweetheart and maybe have kids someday."
    "That was before." She turned to look at him. "What are your new plans?"
    "Pay the rent and keep the fridge stocked with frozen dinners."
    "That's sad."
    He shrugged. "It's my life."
    "I'm offering you an opportunity to help a lot of people. You'll never be famous, and only a select few will even know you exist, but the work we do is extremely important. Our responsibilities are enormous."
    "That's easy to say, since I have no idea what you're talking about."
    "Aaron," Ethel said, "I'm giving you twenty-four hours to think about this. It's unfair for me to force you to make such an important decision on the spot. Keep one thing in mind though. Once you join, there is no backing out."
    "What happens if I try to quit?"
    "We have a retirement package. It's called a pine box, six feet under. Good bye." She quickly left the