by Dan Decker
As he lay in pain last night, he’d realized the deaths of Thon and Gorew were partially the result of his desire to protect Soret. Erro’s lies had caused the problem, but there still might have been a different solution if he hadn’t been focused solely on getting her safely to the arch. Thon would have been a good ally. If Jorad had taken the time to reason with him, would he have been able to get Thon to come around? He snorted, remembering what it had been like back in the boarding house. There had been no opportunity to reason with Thon.
There were also the people that they’d saved yesterday and more importantly, those that they hadn’t. Jorad had always known that the reason to make his decision was to help other people, but it wasn’t until last night as he lay with his body wrought in pain, that he truly understood that his desire to protect Soret wasn’t enough.
If he were to succeed in Rarbon, he’d have to think clearly. The decision hadn’t been easy, but he’d realized that he’d have to set aside his fear for Soret. In of itself, his fear was selfish. Focusing on helping everybody he could was different, especially when he was able to put the face of little Noal on it. Jorad would make a claim for Noal and all those like him.
“I’ll see this through to the end.” Jorad meant it without reservation. Oh sure, he’d still try to look out for Soret along the way, but she was now part of a much larger group that had claim for his help, and she would no longer outweigh everybody else on the scale.
“Do you think we’ll live through this?” Soret drew closer but didn’t touch him. She’d been avoiding contact all morning. He hadn’t worried much about what it meant. She probably didn’t know herself what to make of things between them. He couldn't blame her. After all, he had killed two people that she'd grown up with and come close to killing her father. Perhaps it would be for the best if she distanced herself from him. Many people around him were going to die in the days ahead; maybe things would go better for her if she wasn’t constantly by his side.
“I hope so.” Jorad smiled as confidently as he could. The truth was he doubted he would live. Many died during the trials, and that was during times of peace, it would be a different game during war. He’d kill Hunwei for as long as he could but figured he’d die along the way. Until then he had work to do.
Epilogue
The rising sun flashed off the large metal tower as it disappeared into the sky and Vuri Lusitan looked up at it and smiled. He had often wondered what Zictar looked like and now that he saw it firsthand, he realized that none of the descriptions did it justice. As he approached the tree line, he guessed that he was still three weeks behind the other Ou Qui armies and he wasn’t closing the gap quickly. He’d been away from Wasat when the Hunwei had attacked, but thankfully, his wife had been among the many survivors, and he hadn’t felt the need to push as hard as the others ahead of him. That meant that he noticed things they didn’t because he took the time to examine things they did not.
His men started to mutter as he halted at the edge of the forest, they had already stopped several feet back and left him to continue on alone. They were afraid, and he couldn’t blame them, but he could not pass this close to Zictar and Melyah’s impure ground and not take a look. He looked up as the tower disappeared into the sky, lost in its majesty. Behind him, the men continued to murmur, but he ignored it. The impure ground didn’t taint Zictar as many thought. Zictar was a gift from the gods.
“Vuri,” Nisal said from behind, he had managed to only go a few steps beyond the others before his fears had stopped him. “Let’s leave this place.” He pointed. “Even the Hunwei can’t survive Melyah.”
Vuri looked where Nisal was pointing and was glad the men behind him couldn’t see the expression on his face. Thousands of Hunwei lay rotting in the sun, their bodies stretched off to either side, surrounding Zictar. Vuri took a step out of the trees and onto the impure ground to the sound of gasps from those behind him; he didn’t look back as he continued walking. He’d heard of reports of Hunwei in the area, and he’d sent scouts ahead to Neberan, which was less than a couple miles away, but he knew what they’d find. The Hunwei had already been there and done their work. This was a surprise, though; he’d never expected to find something like this.
While he was approaching the Hunwei, he imagined the fear his men must be feeling and he wished again that his people better understood Zictar and Ou Qui customs. It was forbidden for an uninitiated Ou Qui to walk the impure ground, but Vuri had been cleansed. He could cross all the way to Zictar if he wanted and would be fine.
The sound of his men dwindled as he got closer to the Hunwei corpses. He readied his bow with an arrow that had been dipped in the black tar the metal gods had given them, just in case some were still alive. Their gods and the aid they provided were the reason why the Hunwei hadn’t completely laid waste to Wasat and Vuri wished that he could have been there to witness it firsthand, but the story of the battle was miraculous enough.
When he reached the Hunwei, he almost vomited at the smell of the burned flesh, but he continued forward to examine the bodies and was amazed to learn that every single one he examined had the flesh burned away to the bone. He continued into the field of dead Hunwei, checking as many as he could until the smell drove him away. The Hunwei were dead, but this hadn’t been done by any mortal weapon.
Nisal chastised him when he returned. “Vuri, you shouldn’t have done that. There’s no telling how Melyah would have reacted if he found you on his land.”
Vuri ignored the doctrinal error in what Nisal had just said. Melyah couldn’t touch one of the initiated, the cleansed. “A Scathen walks the earth again, these Hunwei are dead by his hands.” As his men cheered, Vuri smiled and clapped Nisal on the shoulder.
Lord of the Inferno
Immediately after Adar Rahid activates an ancient weapon that kills the Hunwei in Zecarani, he discovers the Hunwei have humans fighting for them. As he fights these traitors and tries to capture his wife’s murderer, he finds death waiting for him wherever he turns.
After Adar kills a human in Hunwei armor, he realizes he still doesn’t know the full extent of the Hunwei technological capabilities. His blood boiling with rage over the death of his wife, he barely thinks about the consequences as he rushes after her murderer.
Adar’s character is put to the test as he is forced to choose between seeking revenge or the very fate of the human race.
Adar goes through the fires of hell as he struggles with his own demons while fighting off an enemy that has no mercy and unclear intentions in this tale of epic fantasy and science fiction. This action packed story is the second volume in the War of the Fathers series.
Turn the page to get started.
Chapter 1
1,192 Years Since the Severing
Neare Paler ducked behind a cart as thunder rolled through the sky. He could feel its reverberations in his chest and shook his head in confusion because there hadn’t been an accompanying flash of lightning. He didn’t normally feel thunder unless a lightning strike was close.
He doubted it had been caused by the storm and wondered if one of the Hunwei bombs had gone off while he’d been watching Thon pummel Jorad.
Neare tried yelling to get his son Erro’s attention, but it wasn’t a surprise the boy didn’t hear him over the din of the Hunwei invasion. It would have been too easy if Erro had heard him. Or better yet, just come to his senses and got off the open road.
It's not my fault, Neare thought as Jorad plunged a knife into Thon's chest. The sentiment didn’t help. The confounded bleeding fight was happening because of him. The absurdity of the situation was almost enough to make him laugh except for his own son Erro stood close by as Jorad and Thon tried to kill each other.
Never mind all the Hunwei swarming around! Neare thought. Stare at them instead of running towards cover like any person with half their wits would do.
If it hadn't been for Erro, Neare wouldn't have moved. As it was, he was still hesitant to go out into the open
and took his time to check the way was clear before leaving the temporary safety of the cart.
The full force of the wind hit him once he was in the open. He squinted, baring his teeth against the storm. It was better to face that than deal with the Hunwei, but not by much.
It is all too likely that I'll have to contend with both simultaneously soon enough.
The closest group of the fire-stricken monsters was several blocks away corralling a large number of people before them. As Neare approached, Jorad pushed Thon off.
Erro put his sword to Jorad's neck.
Neare was surprised enough that he stopped, curious about what Erro would do next. It was no secret Erro had an ax to grind with Jorad. Neare would be very surprised if his son would have the will to see this through.
Jorad looked up as he grasped one of the Hunwei's weapons.
Bleeding fool of the nine fires, Neare thought as he burst into a run. Erro's sword was no match for a Hunwei blaster. Unless Neare acted quickly, Jorad would put a head sized hole through Neare’s son.
Soret stood beside Erro, her face a match to the raging storm. Erro wasn’t going to make good on his threat to kill Jorad while she watched. Neare wasn't surprised to see that Erro was hesitating now.
Erro pulled away his sword and Jorad stood as Neare slowed to a stop.
Surprisingly, Jorad didn't look angry with Erro. Neare was now close enough to hear Jorad invite Erro to come with him.
Neare couldn't help but smile grimly as the others left while Erro remained. Hate could be a powerful thing. Not even the Hunwei were enough to make Erro team up with Jorad.
Well, Neare could understand that. If it had come down to Neare going along with Adar, Neare would need a very compelling reason.
Erro bent over Thon just as Neare approached.
“Leave him,” Neare said.
“No!” Erro cried. “I'm not letting Jorad get away with another murder.”
Neare was glad his son's back was turned. It was getting harder with each passing day to keep his face passive when Bram's death was mentioned. Neare was reaching a hand out to Erro when he saw Gorew lying several feet away, dead with a large hole burned into him. The frenzy of the crowd had kept Neare from seeing him before. Neare thought of Jorad's blaster and assumed this was Jorad’s handiwork.
Anytime Neare had spent more than several minutes with Gorew, the man had rubbed the scar on his neck and spoke of his oath to make sure Jorad paid for what he'd done. The idiot had probably charged before he noticed Jorad was carrying a Hunwei weapon.
Yet another death to add to all the mess. And it had all been for nothing. Bram alive or Bram dead, Neberan would still have fallen. Neare's family would still have been ripped apart, one way or another.
Neare grabbed Erro’s arm, but his boy shook it off and put a hand to Thon’s mouth.
“He’s still breathing! It’s faint, but I can feel it. We need to bandage his wounds, do something!”
“No! We go now.” It was an effort for Neare to keep his voice steady and calm, the last thing he needed was Erro accusing him of not caring. “He must have half a dozen wounds. If he's not dead yet, he will be soon.”
“Thon's not going to die! That confounded liar won't be that lucky.” Neare noticed the determination on his son’s face and recognized it was the same look that Erro's mother Phelia sometimes got. There was no reasoning with her when she got that way. The same was true with Erro.
Neare sighed. He could either knock Erro unconscious and drag him away, or he could move Thon. Given the way Erro stared at him with condemning eyes, Neare figured lugging the heavy body of Thon off the street would be the easier of the two and take the least amount of time. One of these days, he would have to bring his son in line. If he only had the slightest idea how to do that.
“See for yourself,” Erro said. “He's alive.”
Frowning, Neare glanced around and was happy to see there weren’t any Hunwei close by as he knelt on the muddy ground. He held the back of his hand up to Thon’s mouth. A slight stir of air tickled his skin as Thon exhaled. Neare had figured Erro had imagined it, but he could not deny that Thon still lived.
If I don't do something now, Neare thought, this will not only be another death over my head, but I'll have to face the anger of my son as well. It would have been an easier decision if it had been Polaer bleeding out on the ground. Bleeding Melyah, this wouldn't even be an issue if I didn’t have Erro hovering over me.
Thon’s chest was covered with more wounds than Neare had previously thought, but now that he got a closer look, he realized none of the wounds were close to the heart. He might have a punctured lung, but it was possible Thon could live through this if the blood loss was stopped.
And a miracle occurred.
Lightning flashed. A blast from one of those cursed weapons went buzzing by overhead.
Thon exhaled again. Jorad had done this, not Neare. But Thon had been convinced that Jorad had killed Bram.
It was Neare’s fault as much as anyone’s, he couldn't deny that, fighting it would get him nowhere.
He realized as he stared down at Thon he couldn’t have the death of another of his townspeople on his hands. Melyah, there were so few of them left as it was.
Another blast flew by, and Erro flattened to the ground without regard to the muddy street. The blast hadn’t been anywhere close to either of them, and the action hadn’t been necessary, but Neare was glad his son was starting to be cautious still the same. Maybe his son had a chance of surviving in this crazy new world after all.
The Hunwei were still further down the street. Neare and Erro were becoming more and more alone. Before long, the Hunwei would come for them if they continued to wait here. The closest structure was an older home that was about forty feet away. If Neare had known he would need to move Thon today, he would have brought more men.
By Veri’s head, if he would have known about any of this he wouldn’t have come. He looked around, hoping Barc hadn’t gone far, but the man was nowhere to be seen. With so few left, their sad little group would feel the loss. His eyes fell on Gorew, and he shook his head. What a waste.
“Come on,” Neare said grabbing one of Thon’s arms and motioning to the other with a nod of his head. “We’ll drag him in there and see what we can do.”
Thon stirred as they moved. His eyes opened, and he stared into Neare's face. When their eyes made contact, Neare found himself hoping Thon never learned the truth that it was Neare who had killed Bram.
Chapter 2
A piece of gravel crunched under Adar Rahid's foot as he twisted and scanned the town square while looking for Hunwei through the smoky yellow haze that hung in the air. It was starting to dissipate in most places, but it was still dense where the Hunwei had been congregated before the tower had done its work and burned them to death.
Adar spotted a mound of Hunwei where they had collapsed on to some people. He looked away without examining it too closely. It wasn’t a pretty way to die and had likely been quite painful. He tried to avoid thinking about how many people had died in that spot but found he couldn’t help wonder if there had been children in the still burning mass.
He frowned, a low growl rumbling in his throat. He supposed he should have been glad for the people who had been saved by the tower, but it didn’t make the thought of those that had died any more palatable.
When the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, the smoky haze gave the area below it a brownish tint, causing him to squint. The burning mass wasn't the only such pile of Hunwei and humans.
Movement from a pile of dead Hunwei caught Adar’s attention. One of the dead Hunwei’s legs had moved. The body lay on the ground, but the leg had twitched.
Another Hunwei lay next to the first. It was easy to see by comparison that the first was considerably smaller.
Humans in Hunwei armor, Adar thought, I thought I was prepared for anything, but I never considered this. He didn't know what to call these humans, but h
e supposed they were as much Hunwei as those who were a couple of feet taller. Still, he wanted to distinguish between the two.
Turncoat was as good of a word as any. It was difficult to think of the turncoat humans as Hunwei, but he’d get used to it with time.
The implications of these turncoats were still beginning to dawn on him. He guessed these traitors to humanity were descendants of those whom the Hunwei had taken captive. A thousand years was enough time for the Hunwei to raise a whole society that had been turned to their side. He clenched his hands at the thought, wondering if any of his ancestors had been among those who were kidnapped.
The turncoats would likely have a hard time blending in with other people or even communicating. Their language had to have become corrupt during the intervening time, but he figured it was best to act as if they did know how to communicate until he knew otherwise.
In the area surrounding the turncoat, Adar saw other dead Hunwei. He could tell by the size of their helmets they weren’t human. He figured the Hunwei turncoat’s armor must have protected the turncoat from the flames of his fellow Hunwei as they had died.
The turncoat moved again, this time lifting up its head.
Cursing, Adar cast about, looking for a dead Hunwei so he could pick up a blaster, but there wasn't anything close that he could quickly reach. Adar’s last blaster had stopped working while he’d been shooting at the departing ship the Hunwei turncoats had taken. He’d picked a blaster up off a dead Hunwei, but unfortunately, the ship had already been far enough away that he doubted he’d hit it.
He took a deep breath and gagged. He hadn't noticed the smell of the burned Hunwei bodies at first. Once he had, it had seemed like such a trifling matter compared to everything else that had been going on. He hadn’t realized how bad it was until now. It was a struggle to keep from covering his mouth as he anxiously searched for a nearby blaster.