Harbinger of Change - 1. Chapter 1

Damian Thorn faced his cousin, Mark Thorn, who had forced him to admit the truth to him. Mark had overheard Dr. Charles Warren, the museum curator, and learned the truth that Damian Thorn was the antichrist, the child of the devil. However, Damian did not kill Mark outright, because he had developed feelings for him over their years of shared experiences in the military academy and other boarding schools. He knew Mark shared the same feelings for him and offered the mortal boy a chance to join him. Mark steadfastly refused.

Damian was about to cause a brain aneurysm to kill the person he loved most in the world, but something stopped him. It was a warning echoed backward through time and space with flashes of events appearing before his eyes, including his eventual defeat at the hands of a bereaved mother. It was an impossible and illogical defeat after decades of planning and mastery over all human institutions, a cheat created by God himself.

With his dying breath, the future Damian decided to wait until his destiny came upon him and then take over the world, not just for himself, but also for Mark, whom he still loved even years after he was forced to kill him. He would use his power and authority as the antichrist to bring back the one person he loved by warning himself to not follow through with his original plans.

"This is what I get for loving a human," Damian thought to himself as the memory faded and he stared at Mark, who resisted him still, but there was pleading in his eyes.

"I love you, Mark. Why won't you join me?" Damian asked.

Mark's eyes became resolute and hard, and he looked Damian in the eye and said, "I would rather die than cause misery upon so many. Damian, you don't need to do this. Reject the devil, part of you is human, too."

Damian Thorn sighed and said, "It is because I love you that I cannot let you suffer anymore. I cannot kill you, but I cannot leave you alone."

Damian snapped his fingers and Mark collapsed into a deep sleep. Damian gently picked him up and carried him to a park bench.

Damian stood there watching him sleep and caressed his hair.

"Soon, Mark, soon we can be together," he whispered.

Then Damian Thorn went to kill Dr. Charles Warren before he could warn his uncle, Richard, and his Aunt, Ann.

He knew that he was the only person capable of defeating him.

He thought, "I wonder if this is how the devil feels with Lilith."

***

The next morning, Uncle Richard and Aunt Ann sat in the living room with a cup of tea and watched the news.

"In an accident, Dr. Charles Warren, noted museum curator and director, was found dead."

The newscaster continues, "While running down a street, a car slammed into him. Police suspect the driver may have been drunk. In unrelated news, Mark Thorn, son of billionaire industrialist Richard Thorn and Ann Thorn, was found unconscious in Central Park. There were traces of hallucinogenic compounds within the teenager, he was released from police custody back to his parents."

Richard angrily yells, "What got into Mark? Why did start experimenting with drugs?"

Ann tries to calm him down, saying, "Don't worry. He's just a boy and the lure of drugs can be strong."

"I can't believe my son would be caught dead with those damn things," Richard replies.

"Well, he's safe now," Ann says.

"We must make sure this never happens again. I will talk with him," Richard stated.

Ann nods.

Just then the doorbell rings and a boy in a black suit enters the living room.

"Hello, Uncle Richard. Aunt Ann. I heard about Mark and had to come by and see how he is."

"Oh, Damian," Ann answers, "We were worried about you as well, do you know what happened to your cousin?"

"No, Aunt Ann, I heard from the newspapers. I was busy preparing for an important exam and had no idea until now."

"Oh, Damian, you must stop overworking yourself. You know that the most important thing in the world is family," Ann said.

Damian smiled and nodded, and the smile never reached his eyes.

He looked around and said, "Where is Mark?"

Uncle Richard frowned and replied, "He's upstairs. He's resting after the drug ordeal. We're going to talk with him later today."

"Oh, well, I guess I will have to talk with him some other time," Damian replied.

"I am sure he would love to see you," Ann said.

Damian shook his head, "Well, if you insist."

Damian headed towards the stairs as his uncle and aunt walked away.

He smiles to himself, "Everything is falling into place. Soon, the whole world will fall into place. All will worship me, even the Thorn family. I will rule the whole world."

The smile on his face never reached his eyes, which were filled with rage and a hint of insanity.

When he enters Mark's room, he locks the door and makes a magical ward to hide any sound from escaping. Mark was beginning to awake from his enforced slumber.

"Mark, wake up, darling, I'm here to talk to you."

Mark stirs and opens his eyes, he is startled at the sight of Damian.

"Damian, what are you doing here?"

"I heard about the accident and came by to check on you," Damian replies.

"It wasn't an accident," Mark replies, "You're the antichrist."

Damian smiles, "Who will believe that Mark? They found drugs in your system and you were passed out on a park bench. It would sound like a delusion of someone having used brain-altering chemicals."

Mark's head sinks low, "What do you want Damian? Why am I not dead? If you wouldn't turn away from the Devil and you have killed so many people already, you should just kill me."

Damian kneels before Mark and puts his hands on his shoulders.

"Mark, Mark, don't you understand? I will not let you die. I have a plan. With your help, we can change the future, a future where the world will end under my terms. A future where you can reign beside me as my consort."

"I will never help you destroy the world, Damian," Mark says, looking into Damian's eyes.

"You will, Mark, because you love me," Damian replies.

Mark laughs "Love you, I do love you Damian that's why I begged you to stop. I would be fine to be disowned, live on the streets, and be one of the gay hustlers in the village because I loved you. However, what would you have me do, Damian? Murder people, poison them, or even worse because you have to fulfill the devil's need for power through you. Don't you see, it is wrong?"

Damian sighs, "You are so pure and good, Mark. So perfect and beautiful, but it is that same goodness that makes you so weak and incapable of ruling the world with me. That's why you need my help."

Mark says, "If you love me, why are you not willing to let go?"

Damian smiles and says, "Because I'm a selfish, arrogant, and proud man and I know what is best for you. I know that you will never be happy with anyone else but me."

Mark sighs, "If that is what you think, why should I help you?"

Damian's hands squeeze his shoulders, "Mark, I don't want you to be unhappy."

Mark shakes his head, "No, Damian. You are doing this because you don't want to be alone. Because you think the world revolves around you and that I'm a weak person, incapable of deciding for myself."

Damian rattles his head in response, "I know the real Mark Thorn and the real Mark Thorn is a beautiful and good person, and you are capable of so much, but you need my help."

"What are you doing to me, Damian?" Mark said.

"I am going to help you decide to accept the path I have chosen for us, and together, we will make the world ours," Damian replied. Damian bites into his radial artery and he begins to collect black blood in his fingers. With a wave of his hand, he strips his thirteen-year-old cousin completely naked and shoves the comforter covering him away from the bed.

"You see, Mark, I will show you what it means to be a man, to rule the world," Damian says.

Mark gasped as his body began to become erect, and the blood from Damian's fingers, tinged with dark magic, dripped onto his body, causing a sigil to form in the shape of a reverse cross.

"I am the son of the devil, and with my blood, I will give you a sign of my affection and your acceptance of my plan for you," Damian says.

Damian's finger traced a line of dark blood from his navel up to his neck, then to his cheek, and finally to his lips.

"Drink," Damian commands.

Mark looks at Damian and then down at his own aroused body, and then, unable to stop himself, he drinks Damian's blood, and it tastes like the most exquisite chocolate.

Mark moans, and as his eyes glaze over, his mouth opens Damian's tongue enters his mouth, and the kiss becomes deeper and more passionate.

However, something mysterious begins to occur as the blood changes color from black to red to vibrant white. The kiss that had at first been so sinful and seductive was becoming warm and virtuous.

Mark's mind is reeling as he feels a strange warmth envelop him. He broke the kiss, and as he gazed into Damian's eyes. Damian could not help but notice how handsome Mark was, and how Mark's darkening eyes sparkled with light. Mark was rejecting his demonic magic, no, his demonic magic and admonition of love had awakened something far more dangerous to Damian than what his alternate future self faced in the form of a lone believer. Mark was emanating light as radiant as his darkness, Damian could hear the choir of angels singing, and smell the perfumes of ambrosia in the air. Mark had been given the gift of purity and virtue, a gift only possessed by God.

It is a gift that only no one could grant, it has to be born within. In succumbing to his desires, Damian had done the one thing his future self was able to avoid, wake his opposite.

In an instant, Mark is freed of the restraints, and with a wave of his hand, Damian Thorn is slammed against the wall, and Mark floats before him.

"Mark," Damian says, his voice trembling.

Mark smiles his eyes now a brilliant silver, and says, "Thank you, Damian. Thank you for releasing the truth."

"No, you can't be him. Why did you not come out earlier? Why did you not come out when I killed you before?"

Mark's face is sad as he replies, "Because my essence was asleep and Mark died. You gave up your one chance at love, my cousin, and sealed your fate in the final conflict. This time, however, I am free."

"No, it cannot be, not the Son of God," Damian shouts.

Mark's smile grows wider, and he replies, "Yes, Damian, the Son of God has awakened within Mark. However, as the son of the Devil, you must know that the final conflict is not yet over. However, I do not wish to destroy you as I know you do not wish to destroy me. You know that love offers a different path forward."

"You speak like a fool. The Devil loves nothing and no one, but himself," Damian says.

"The Devil loves nothing and no one, but himself," Mark replies, "However, Damian Thorn, the son of the Devil, has proven he can love. You can be better than what you were destined to be."

Damian argues, "Mark Thorn, my cousin, can also sin as well. He would defy his parent will, my path of destruction, and your God to be with me. Tell me, Is that not also why you did not wake the first time around, because Mark chose to die for me."

"Yes," Mark says, "but the difference between you and me is that I am the Son of God, and as such, I can only love unconditionally. No matter what happens, no matter what choice you make, I will always love you."

Damian contemplates his options, he knows it is futile to challenge God for control of the Earth since God would simply pull out a cheat like he did in the other timeline to win. That's why he chose to come back and attempt to grant himself a little happiness in the futile struggle with the one being he loved. He did not know that Mark was his greatest foe, nor did he realize that Mark willingly sacrificed himself for his love for Damian. Despite his apathy for humanity, Damian did feel something for Mark, his cousin in the temporal and spiritual worlds. It was a love of equals, not of opponents.

Mark looks at Damian and asks, "So, what will it be, Damian, will you join me?"

Damian smiles, "Mark, we both know what my choice will be. I can't be good, just like you can't be evil. However, neither of us wanted to kill each other either as destiny and our otherworldly father's demand. The question is, what do we do now?"

"I propose a truce," Mark says, "We don't try to destroy each other, and we work together to ensure a brighter future for the world."

"Drop the brighter future for the world and add in a few more blowjobs between us as installments, then you got yourself an antichrist."

"Really," Mark asks.

Damian nod.

"Ok," Mark says.

They both laugh.

"You are such a dork, Mark," Damian says.

"Well, I had a good teacher," Mark replies.

Damian smiles, "Now, why don't you come back to bed and we'll figure things out from there?"