Incident 27
Page 20
In the afterword to God School, I talked a little about the process of creating the world of Narska and how the world itself is perhaps the biggest character. I tried to map it out before starting the story, but discovered it wasn’t so easy. For instance, on the crude map I drew, there are only a handful of land masses, and the Tru Kingdom is a warm Antarctica-size place at the South Pole. I got to thinking about the planet’s rotation and orbit around the sun, and I couldn’t come up with a satisfactory way to make it work. Therefore, rather than being at the pole, the Tru continent is now simply located south of Mt. Orleia. I have opted to let Narska evolve organically as time goes on, and I may add islands or continents should the need arise.
I’ve been talking a lot about the other characters here, but now I want to go back to the person it all began with: Ev Bannen. It has been my goal to gradually show his evolution into a full-fledged god. In the first book, he started off as a weak human who couldn’t defend himself, and by the end he was taking on Belial. He failed miserably, but still. Despite his growth, though, he was stuck using his fists. I knew I needed to give him a proper weapon, but which one? He sucks at conjuring them, so I opted for a more defensive set of tools that could also be used offensively, and now Ev has his full-length gauntlets. He continues to grow as a character, and by the end I’m hoping you’ll be pleased with the results.
As always, thank you for your patronage, and please continue reading my work.
--August 2014
Thanks go out to my editor Heather for bearing with me on this.
First Look
Until We Break
Maya and Jaysin arrived at Freya’s office that evening. “Thank you for coming,” she said from behind her desk.
Maya’s face was still marred by fresh tears. “Have you heard from Ev?”
Freya leaned forward, hands folded. “I’m afraid not. Please, sit down.” They did so. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now, but earlier today his hometown was attacked by Zero Grade. We believe he went there to fight them off.”
“We already figured that out,” Maya snapped. “Where is he now?”
Freya replied, “Maya, I’m not going to insult you by pretending everything’s OK. It’s not. Right now, we fear the worst. We have reason to believe Ev may have had a run-in with a member of the Flawless Few. We haven’t heard from him at all since the attack, so…”
Maya found her self-control disintegrating. “No! He’s not dead! He can’t be! Why aren’t we out looking for him?”
Freya explained, “Bethos has decided to wait until we have reinforcements before going to Upton.”
“That’s easy for him to say!” she said, hot tears rolling down her face. “There isn’t anyone he cares about in Upton, no one who saved his life and means everything to him.”
Jaysin tried to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be OK, Maya.”
She swatted him away. “No, it won’t! Didn’t you hear her? Ev could be dying in Upton right now, and these professors don’t give a damn about him!” With Ev missing and CiCi facing her own crisis, Maya firmly believed she was at her emotional limit. She saw her life crumbling before her eyes, and no one was doing anything about it.
“How can you say that?” Freya said. Maya looked up and was astonished to see tears in her eyes. “Have you forgotten? I’m a goddess of love; I feel the pain known only by lovers. I know exactly what you’re going through, so please don’t say I don’t care. It’s just that…sometimes we have to make choices that could kill us because any other choice will kill many more people.”
Maya stared at her. “I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I was only thinking of myself.”
Smiling, Freya said, “You weren’t just thinking of yourself; you were thinking of the bond you share with Ev. Love is selfish, Maya, and that’s OK. We do what we do because we want to be happy with someone else, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
She nodded. “Thank you, Professor. But I can’t just stand by while Ev faces his execution. I’m going to save him.”
* * *
He was in darkness. Absolute darkness. He didn’t know how much time had passed since getting absorbed into Hades (or whatever had happened), but he did know he was in a world without light, sound or hope. The darkness wasn’t just everywhere; it was everything. He could feel it all around him like thick sludge. It made him claustrophobic as it pinned him down, yet it felt as if he were moving freely through this terrifying world.
He cried out for someone to hear him, to find him, to help him. He was ashamed of his weakness, but he couldn’t help it; he desperately wanted to be anywhere but here.
Maya. He wanted to see her again. He didn’t deserve it, though; he had failed, and he knew he should die here as penance. He believed this with every fiber of his being.
Nevertheless, selfishness won out, and he found himself wishing he could be with Maya one last time. If only I could hear her voice…
Suddenly, he heard something in this desolate void: “Thank you, Professor. But I can’t just stand by while Ev faces his execution. I’m going to save him.” It was far off, yet distinct. Someone was speaking.
He moved his arms and legs to swim through the gulf that separated them. Further and further he went—as least, he thought he was moving—until he spotted a light up ahead. He reached out. He could almost touch it…
* * *
“Please don’t do this, Maya,” Freya said as Maya got up to leave.
“I won’t change my mind,” she said.
“Ev wouldn’t want you getting yourself killed.”
“It doesn’t matter what he wants,” Maya insisted. “You said it yourself: Love is selfish. We both know you’d do the same thing for Professor Strong. We’ve all seen how you look at him.”
“That has nothing to do with—”
Maya held up a hand to silence her. “You know it doesn’t matter what you say to me. I’m going.”
Sighing, Freya said, “Jaysin, please talk some sense into her.”
He shrugged. “That would make me quite the hypocrite, dontcha think? Me, who risked my life to save her, telling her not to do the same for someone else? I’m afraid I can’t do that. In fact, I’m inclined to go with her.”
“This isn’t a game!” Freya said, her emotional control almost gone. “You can’t just go running off to die! If you die, how will that make Ev feel?” He hands were shaking.
After an awkward silence, Maya said, “This has happened to you before, hasn’t it? Someone you loved went on some mission and died, didn’t they?”
Freya explained, “I have loved many people during my life. Mortals, they think they have to do something grand to impress a goddess. In those days, they would go off on epic adventures, risking their lives to win my favor. It’s not like the old tales; instead of succeeding and living happily ever after, they inevitably got themselves killed. I didn’t want to burden you with my problems, Maya, but you’ve left me no choice. I know I said love is selfish, but there is such a thing as being too selfish. Think about what it would do to Ev if you got butchered by Zero Grade. Think of what it would do to your friends. What about CiCi? She’s counting on you being there for her during her recovery.”
There was another uncomfortable pause. Maya balled her fist, doubt wracking her soul. What should she do? It was an impossible choice.
Finally she said, “I—”
Her words were cut off by a figure falling from the ceiling. Her eyes went wide as she saw who it was. “Ev!”
Catch all the action in Until We Break, coming next year.
About the author
Scott Kinkade lives in Oklahoma where he struggles to put words to paper. He graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a BA in Arts. His major was English/Writing. He enjoys reading, writing, TV, anime, videogames and comic books/manga. He has an unhealthy interest in history which is sure to get him in trouble one day.
Scott runs a science fiction-themed blog at
www.thegamecalledrevolution.blogspot.com. You can follow him on Twitter @SK_Author, and friend him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/otakuscott.
Please take time to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.