The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  Jenko’s mouth was a firm line of discomfort as he scooped Reya into his arms, but when he turned and walked towards the cover of a nearby boulder, he gazed upon her sleeping face with softened eyes. He placed her down upon the grass gently and as he stood up once more with his gaze still fixed upon her, he swept a hand onto the back of his neck, trying to digest the enormity of what had just happened.

  “She’s mortal, she shouldn’t have that ability!” He blurted out, for there was no other way of articulating how dumbfounded he had become.

  There was a moment of silence, nothing within the night air but the whirring of hidden insects and hush of distance waves, before Tellan finally answered with a soft voice, “Why she has the ability is irrelevant, Jenko. Reya’s safety is the most important thing.”

  “Yes, I get that, Tellan.” Jenko responded impatiently. He then turned back towards his comrade and held his hands out in emphasis of his worries, “But think about what this means! None of us have the ability to walk the planes any more; that’s pretty much one of the major drawbacks of Falling, if you’ll recall.”

  “I am aware of the implications, Jenko.” Tellan responded coolly, his eyes narrowed in a glower that challenged Jenko’s impudent tone. Aggravation shone brightly in Jenko’s own as he railed against what he presumed was Tellan’s lack of comprehension.

  “Are you?” He asked with an ominous rumble. He then took a step forward and continued meaningfully, “If you are indeed aware, then have you considered that maybe Belial has come out of hiding because of this? That he plans to return to the Abyss? Or worse, bring the War Beyond to Midgard and renew his campaign on Asgard?”

  “Yes, I have.” Tellan rapped as he sprang to his feet, “Which is why we must keep Reya safe!”

  Jenko’s face pulled into a grimace of agitation; he couldn’t help but think that Tellan’s paternal instinct towards Reya had blinkered him against the full gravity of things. “Belial will never stop coming for her, Tellan, not now he has seen her ability for himself.” He growled deeply, not in anger but to press his point home past the blinkers that constricted Tellan, “And when he finds her, he will take her and use her to open the gateways! It will kill her!”

  “We stand fast in our duty, Jenko!”

  Jenko openly grunted in exasperation then and he gestured hopelessly towards the sky. “Listen to yourself, man!” He fumed and as Tellan sighed in equal exasperation, Jenko turned once more and stood before him, “Look, I’m all about the glory days and ‘for the Light of Asgard’ as much as you are. But we have to have more of a plan at our back than the pride of the Legion!”

  “Watch yourself, Jenko.” Tellan warned and his tone became a growl of intimidation as he finished, “We follow our orders and keep Reya safe from harm.”

  Jenko snorted and as he looked away, he muttered, “Just like Baldur.”

  An icy cold silence emanated from Tellan then and he stiffened with barely controlled rage. “What did you say?” He challenged, his voice holding a dangerous calm.

  But as much as Jenko respected his lieutenant, he cocked his head and pressed on. “You’re sticking your head in the sand just like he did.” He argued, albeit with a quieter tone than before, “Baldur’s death could have been prevented if he had just had an ounce of sense and brought us together when he should have!”

  “That’s enough!!” Tellan roared, angered at Jenko’s cutting words.

  Jenko’s jaw clenched at Tellan’s indignation and the air burned terribly between them as their anger amplified like a reflection caught between two facing mirrors. But eventually Jenko relented and he murmured meaningfully, “Belial knew where to find her, Tellan. Even after all these years of playing it safe, he knew where she was and he came for her. You know as well as I do that the girl is fated now; you can’t save her.”

  Tellan’s eyes flashed at the conviction within that last statement and a red heat flared within his heart that spoke of how dangerously his rage teetered on a knife’s edge. “Are these your words, Jenko? Or are they Belial’s?” He challenged through dangerously ground teeth.

  Jenko narrowed his eyes at the deathly insult, but in spite of how firmly he clenched his fist against the flash of anger that seared him like magma, he hissed fiercely through teeth, “My loyalty has always lain in Baldur! I was proud to Fall for him that day and I would have stayed by his side had he asked me.” He stepped forward a little closer into Tellan’s personal space and added with a heated snarl, “Do not presume that by being chosen to stay, you are the only one who loves Reya! Every day I wished I could have been there to watch over her, to just be with her…but I accepted that Baldur needed me to protect Reya by keeping my distance.”

  Tellan’s jaw clenched guiltily when Jenko dropped his eyes painfully and muttered through ground teeth, “You’ve no idea how hard that was. To follow those orders when all I wanted was to–”

  Jenko’s passion seized abruptly when he jerked his gaze back upwards and the stunned expression within Tellan’s eyes told him how much he had let his mask of neutrality slip. And as quickly as Jenko realised how his true adoration of Reya had been exposed, he blinked once and stepped back.

  “But Baldur is dead now.” He continued bluntly, a crude overcompensation against the emotion that had exposed his true sentiments, “And what I’m saying, Tellan, is that you have become the commander. Baldur’s plan only took him as far as keeping the girl anonymous, but he didn’t count on how much of a prize she would become. There’s only two of us to protect Reya now; even when we were at full strength, we couldn’t take Belial and now he has an army of brainwashed humans at his beck and call. So the question is: what will you do? What are our orders now?”

  Tellan stared at him in stern silence, surprised and dismayed that Jenko was the one to offer such wise council that he should have seen himself. All he saw was his personal promise to Baldur that he keep Reya safe and he knew the truth in Jenko’s words, that such an objective was an infinitesimal part of a grander issue.

  I’ve lost my edge, been too long among the humans in Midgard. He thought sharply. He then blinked when he realised the falsity of his own thoughts, no – it’s more than that. I’m too close to this. I…I love her too much. I feel as though she really is my own daughter.

  He swallowed heavily as Jenko stared at him with unwavering resolve and realised that his close proximity to Reya had softened him over the years. It had been a steady, sweet corrosion that dulled his sense of duty and it had been morphed into something so blinkered that he knew now could potentially impair Reya’s safety. He needed to remember what he was, an Asgardian being who had sworn an oath to protect this plane and all who lived within it…and remember that before all else, he was a warrior of Asgard.

  “She is still an innocent,” he said decisively and scowled darkly at the derisive roll of Jenko’s eyes. But he continued on regardless, “and we will protect her! But you’re right, Jenko…it’s not enough to just keep running.”

  “Now you’re talking some sense.” Jenko murmured approvingly and, satisfied that they were no longer in danger of coming to blows, he stepped a little closer and asked, “So what do you propose?”

  “First of all…” Tellan began with a grunt and he gently lifted his dislocated arm for Jenko to take, “Reset this and plug up that hole in your side. We won’t get very far if we’re hanging by threads.”

  Jenko grinned wryly as he took his new commander’s arm and a swell of pride bloomed within his chest at how silently Tellan shouldered the pain of his joint being set back into position. Tellan experimentally rolled his arm without so much as a wince, for the resolve in his eyes were stronger than they had been in fifteen years and the sight of pure, Asgardian pride warmed Jenko’s heart.

  Tellan thought silently before he nodded firmly. “And then…” He continued gravely, “If Belial is intent on throwing human lives at us, we’ll need help of our own. But we need to make plans for keeping Reya out of danger first.”

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nbsp; Jenko made a sound of relieved enlightenment and nodded as he replied, “In that case we should make for Dahlia as soon as we’re able. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”

  Tellan weighed up this suggestion in his mind with thoughtful wariness. “What’s in Dahlia?”

  “Not what; who.” Jenko said and upon Tellan’s curious squint, he continued, “I sent Vella there on a wild goose chase when Reya showed up shouting to the world that she was looking for me. I’m glad I’m the suspicious type. If we can get a hold of her before she leaves, she can help us smuggle Reya out of the country at least.”

  Tellan hesitated; he didn’t like the idea of entrusting anyone else but himself with Reya’s wellbeing…but he also knew they couldn’t just stand about on a cliff for the rest of their days.

  “I trust Vella well enough to watch my back on my more adventurous endeavours.” Jenko said in astute response and he raised his hands in placation of Tellan’s worries, “Don’t fret, Tellan. I wouldn’t bring in anyone you didn’t know.”

  Tellan remembered Vella well from the various, questionable schemes Jenko had involved him in: as well as having honed the shrewd intelligence of a smuggler, she was fiery of spirit and a formidable fighter. Her particular style was not quite as…honourable as Tellan was used to, full of dirty tactics and cunning strikes, but it was undeniable that these vicious talents were effective. He had never seen a human wield a crossbow with such impressive accuracy and, more importantly, he trusted her abilities. If the worst came to it and he or Jenko were ever separated from Reya, he knew that Vella would do better than most humans in keeping her safe.

  “I can’t deny that Vella’s aid would be invaluable.” Tellan acquiesced reticently.

  “Yeah…but she still knows nothing about…well, everything.” Jenko muttered guiltily, “And I reckon I pissed her off pretty well before she left.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Tellan replied and with a weary sigh, he continued, “Very well, let’s make contact first and take it from there.”

  “That’s a good start at least.” Jenko agreed as he shifted his feet. He then frowned uneasily and added reticently, “Did you see their eyes?”

  Tellan grunted apprehensively. “Aye, I did. A human shouldn’t have that amount of Dark within them, it’s…” He shook his head as he sought the words, “It’s unnatural.”

  “That’s one way of putting it. Personally I thought it was really fucking creepy.” Jenko retorted and he shivered as he thought of the momentary silver flare within that soldier’s eyes, “God knows what they had to give up in return.”

  Tellan thought on the implications before he answered gravely, “Perhaps they didn’t know either.”

  Jenko stared in shock at this idea and his eyes flickered sightlessly in distaste of the soldiers’ fates, the very foundation of why the Legion defended the planes so valiantly. “Demon bastards.” He snarled, “They just can’t leave well enough alone, can they?”

  “Another reason why we need to put an end to him once and for all.”

  Jenko flashed a crooked smile at the resolution in his comrade’s voice and quipped, “Now that’s possibly the most sensible thing you’ve said all day.”

  “Remember yourself, Jenko,” Tellan scolded mildly with a glint in his eye, for he detected the new levity between them that spoke of Jenko’s desire to make amends, “I’m the commander now.”

  “In that case it was possibly the most sensible thing you’ve said all day…my Lord.”

  Tellan huffed a laugh at the roguish grin upon Jenko’s face and his eyes followed his comrade’s path as Jenko wandered across to Reya’s form still in slumber. The blood that seeped from the deep wound in Jenko’s side had mercifully stopped, but Tellan couldn’t deny how closely the pair had come to death at the hands of Belial and his minions. He knew in his heart that they really would need more than the pride of the Legion, even if they did manage to find Vella in Dahlia. Jenko was right: even at full strength the Line of Baldur had never defeated Belial…Tellan could only hope that they could hide Reya before they inevitably came face to face with their eternal enemy.

  He watched in silence as Jenko stooped before Baldur’s daughter and the hand that brushed golden hair away from her face was so gentle and so familiar in its sentiment, that Tellan finally realised how truly blessed he had been. Being chosen to stay close to Reya was a wonderful gift Baldur had bestowed upon him, and in time Tellan had forgotten that she was the miracle baby all four of them had felt the love of a parent for. He tried to imagine then what it must have felt like for Jenko and Timran; loving someone with such entirety that they were a constant presence upon your soul…but you could never see them and they had no idea that you even existed. A heaviness suffused his heart then…it must have been a terribly beautiful burden for them both to bear.

  When that thought snuck into Tellan’s mind Jenko turned his head briefly in his direction, but he didn’t meet his gaze. His hand dropped abruptly from the soft embrace he offered Reya’s sleeping cheek and, when he stood up sharply, he cleared his throat self–consciously

  “I’ll, um…I’ll gather some firewood from somewhere, yes?” Jenko announced with a roughened voice, but still he didn’t lift his gaze to meet Tellan’s and walked away into the gloom of sunset to see to his self–imposed chore.

  Long after Jenko had left, Tellan walked softly across to Reya, shrugging his harness and overcoat off with a slight wince of pain at the other injuries that needed to be treated. He then laid the overcoat across her to keep her warm and as he sank onto the ground beside her, he fought against the images of Belial that roved threateningly through his mind.

  But when he stared down at how peacefully Reya slept, Jenko’s words ghosted through his ears, spoken in Belial’s voice: ‘You can’t save her…’

  She was already exhausted and weary from the war that raged so ferociously above and as the pair struggled together, strength against strength, metal against metal, Reya lifted her eyes into the silver glare of her mortal enemy with a snarl of defiant wrath. Within her periphery she saw the dark clouds that flitted along a black starry canopy and when the ghost of her father’s voice flitted through her mind, a cold shock claimed her with a realisation that was not her own: Baldur had Fallen to Midgard.

  Reya gathered all her father’s strength into his powerful back and as she ferociously pushed the demon prince’s blade away with the might of her double headed axe, she felt Baldur’s awareness of how heavy his limbs had become. Her father’s internal curse shocked her within her dream; she had never heard him swear before, but with that stark utterance came the instinctual and inexplicable knowledge that a great sacrifice had been made when he had chosen to Fall after his eternal enemy. And even though it was a sacrifice that left Baldur staggered himself, Reya couldn’t ignore that a strange sense of acceptance lay heavy within his heart.

  Reya rolled with blinding speed to evade the leaping blow that would have split her asunder and as her attacker crashed to the ground with the gravity of a comet, the Abyssal sword slammed into the earth with such a force that the very ground shook. Reya watched from inside her father as the double headed axe was lunged forward on the immediate offensive and the demon prince thwarted the swing that was intended for his stomach. Reya watched the exchange with a horrified curiosity and within that moment, she realised that she was no longer a prisoner of her nightmares; that this time she was aware enough that she could detach herself from her father’s actions like the observer she should have always been. Even as her arms swung powerfully and her legs manoeuvred swiftly within this ferocious battle, Reya understood with a sudden clarity that this fight was one that had been fought many times, on many battlefields…and the concept that it spanned centuries was one that left her perturbed beyond anything she could have ever fathomed.

  A tremendously deep boom burst through the sky and as Reya lifted her own eyes towards the sound that had pulsed a deep tattoo within her
father’s breast, she gasped at the sight of the huge comet that streaked across the sky above. White hot and blazing flame as it ripped the very fabric of the stars, the comet crashed devastatingly into the ground and with it, came a resounding thunderclap that resonated through the field in which her father battled with Belial. But still her father and his nemesis fought on furiously, heedless of the smoke the comet’s arrival billowed thickly through the air. Reya stared agape at the impossibly enormous channels that had been scored through the ground, deep ragged wounds within the soil that hissed steam and crackled ice. But her curiosity was ripped from her harshly when an unexpectedly deep slash across her father’s stomach sucked her forcefully back behind his eyes, and Reya gasped in fear of how frighteningly real the sensation had felt to her. She looked down with her father’s hands, heaved for breath with her father’s strained lungs and when she registered the painful burning in the muscles of her father’s legs, she realised then with a shock of true fear that Baldur was in far more danger than she had anticipated. Her own mouth quivered as her father staggered from the injuries he had sustained during this desperate fight and within that moment, Reya senselessly blamed herself that she hadn’t given this battle her full attention.

  Baldur snarled in grim defiance of the wounds that bled him and as Belial raised his sword in a deadly rush, the smoky steam from the comet’s descent swirled with a sudden flurry of internal motion. Reya gasped in shock when a leaping figure burst through the billowing cloud with a roar of challenge, and when Tellan’s ferocious bastard sword thwarted Belial’s rush with a tremendous scream of steel, Reya felt her father’s knees buckle.

  The fight that ensued between Belial and Tellan was a terrifying one, full of an incredible strength and speed that would have left Reya breathless. But Baldur’s injuries were so severe that the agony within his body kept her captive and she wept at how helpless she was to save him. A sharp panic consumed her then, for she instinctually realised that death was quickly upon her father, and it felt to her as though she would die with him within this awful dream. Reya wept uncontrollably as her father’s pain flooded through her overwhelmingly; she couldn’t witness this again, not now…Please, she thought with her own voice, please get up, Papa!