by S. S. Segran
Leaving the conversation in the kitchen, Aari headed to the living room. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small glass container that Marshall had tossed into their car a month ago, triggering their memories to return. He juggled it between his hands for a bit, then stuck it back in his pocket as he plopped between Kody and Mariah.
Jag entered the room, having stepped out to take a call. He looked anxious. “Is everyone—Mom! We need you in here!”
“Coming!” Mrs. Sanchez called from the kitchen. She and Mrs. Ashton hurried out a few seconds later and joined their families in the living room.
“I wish you kids would tell us what this is about, because this meeting’s got us on pins and needles,” Mr. Tyler jested as Jag peeked through a curtain at the street outside.
None of the five friends answered him. Then Aari saw Jag stiffen, heightened tension in his eyes. He was about to ask what was wrong but Jag was already running toward the door. The bell rang before he reached it. As the others waited inquisitively, Jag could be heard greeting Marshall. Aari smiled briefly to himself—the five had missed the Sentry during their time apart.
Then another voice drifted into his ears, quiet but strong. A curious yet startlingly familiar scent wafted into the room; pine needles and mountain air.
The friends quirked their brows at one another as Jag walked back into the living room. Marshall followed him, looking fresh-faced in a black t-shirt and dark jeans. He greeted them with a tight grin and a small shake of his head, as if telling them not to say anything just yet. He stepped aside, then, and revealed a tall figure adorned in a black-and-silver cloak whose mere presence commanded attention.
With sharp eyes and a warm tone, Elder Nageau moved past Jag and the Sentry. “Good evening,” he said. “It is my honor to finally meet the families of the five Bearers of Light.”
List of Characters
The Five:
Aari Barnes
Jag Sanchez
Kody Tyler
Mariah Ashton
Tegan Ryder
The Elders of Dema-Ki:
Ashack [Ay-SHAK]
Nageau [Nah-GO]
Saiyu [SAY-yoo]
Tayoka [Tah-YO-ka]
Tikina [Tee-KEE-na]
The Villagers:
Aesròn [Ay-zuh-RON]
Akol [AY-cole]
Hutar [HYOO-tar]
Huyani [HOO-ya-nee]
Magèo [Ma-JAY-oh]
Sentries:
Gwen Mboya
Marshall Sawyer
Related to the Five:
Hugo Sanchez — Jag’s paternal grandfather
Julia Sanchez — Jag’s paternal grandmother
Roberto Sanchez — Jag’s father
Jennifer Sanchez — Jag’s mother
Tristan Sanchez — Jag’s older brother
Camilla Sanchez — Jag’s older sister
George Tyler — Kody’s second-youngest brother
Roshon Tyler — Kody’s youngest brother
Samuel Tyler — Kody’s father
Krystal Ashton — Mariah’s mother
Supporting Characters:
Elwood McAllister
Roderick Davis
Kenzo Igarashi
Rosemary McDowell
Phoenix Corporation:
Adrian Black — CEO, Phoenix Corp.
Dr. Albert Bertram — Chief Scientific Officer, Phoenix Corp.
Elias Hajjar — Head of Security, Quest Mining and New Mexico Sanctuary
Jerry Li — Chief Financial Officer, Phoenix Corp.
Luigi Dattalo — Chief Executive, Quest Defense
Dr. Nate — Director of Human Resources, Global Sanctuary Projects
Tony Cross — Personal Assistant to the Boss
Vladimir Ajajdif — Chief Executive, Quest Mining and New Mexico Sanctuary
The Boss — Owner and Founder, Phoenix Corp. and all subsidiaries
Aegis League Book Three:
AEGIS EVOLUTION
by
S.S.Segran
Dedication
To my mom and dad once again,
because one can never thank their parents enough times.
I love you.
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.”
~ Plutarch 46-120 AD ~
“Just as we have faith in the rising of the sun at dawn, we must believe that darkness cannot prevail, for truly, darkness is but the absence of light.”
~ Elder Nageau ~
Prologue
Judea, 74 A.D.
Screams shredded the warm evening of the Judean Desert. “Run!”
A massive force threw the girl to the ground as a colossal rock crashed mere feet from where she’d stood a second ago. Reverberations shook the earth. The nearby walls crashed into a pile of rubble and dust swirled into the air, mingling with smoke. The girl wheezed in pain; the small wooden box she was carrying had jammed into her ribs.
Before she could catch her breath, she was hauled to her feet. Two hands grabbed her head and she found herself looking into a pair of turquoise eyes identical to her own under a carpet of honey-colored curls.
“Carmel!” Her brother, only a few years older than herself, frantically examined her face. “Carmel, are you alright?”
The girl gently removed his hands and picked up the box, then squared her shoulders. “I’m fine, Ezra.”
As she adjusted the shawl over her head, she sized up the giant rock in its shallow crater. It was one of a few that had breached the fortress walls on top of the plateau that rose a thousand feet above the desert floor. The Romans’ main objective appeared to be to penetrate the Jewish rebels’ western gate, but often their ballistae would also land a boulder inside the walls.
“We are not going to last much longer here, are we?” she asked.
“I do not think so.” Ezra jumped out of the path of two women, both carrying small children, who pelted away from the mounting conflict. He watched them go, then turned back to his sister. “We must find a way to leave before—Carmel! What are you doing?”
With the brass-clad case tucked protectively under one arm, the girl had taken off toward the western end of the fortress that loomed above its surroundings. There she found the Romans feverishly battering the wall with a ram. Torches and flaming arrows had set ablaze the rebels’ hastily-made wooden barrier behind the outer stone fortification. Despite loathing them, Carmel grudgingly admired the legion’s tenacity and engineering prowess.
Access to the mountaintop stronghold was limited to a narrow, zigzagging pathway. The Romans’ solution had been to construct a circumvallating wall to seal the mesa in before beginning work on a massive ramp on the western side. Using Jewish slaves and Roman masons, they’d completed its construction in the span of three months.
Nearly four-hundred feet tall, the ramp held their siege tower and battering ram. The men and women holed up in the stronghold had been powerless to do anything but watch helplessly in growing horror as the legionaries laboriously pushed their siege tower onward and upward.
Carmel hopped up to the wall to join the onlookers as they threw stones at the besiegers, who in turn fired arrows. There wasn’t much the rebels could do to defend themselves from the onslaught, but there was a lot of yelling from both parties; the Jews hurled insults at the legion, and she heard the Romans respond in kind.
The setting sun behind the colossal siege tower cast a bloody hue on the legionaries’ burnished armor and bright red cloaks. She watched as soldiers under the tower used ropes and chains to swing the large battering ram back and forth, smashing the wall; fervor fueled their movements and rage burned in their voices as their eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
Carmel shuddered, then hastily dropped to avoid another volley of arrows. She waited for a count of five, then peered over the wall once more to glimpse the archers provide covering fire for the soldiers working the wooden ram.
Why can’t they just leave us all be? she screamed
silently, hugging the box to her chest. The bravado she carried when away from the action had dissipated. She felt small now, as she always did whenever she peeked past the barrier. The nine-hundred-and-sixty souls trapped in the fortress were outnumbered ten to one.
As she dodged the projectiles that zipped overhead, she spied a peculiar sight. Amongst the horde of uniformed monsters, a young soldier stood still, staring blankly up at the line of rebels behind the wall. His bow was drawn but he never fired his weapon.
Their eyes locked, and for a brief moment the two were frozen in time. He looked as one dead to the world but when their gazes met, emotion flitted across his handsome face—was it pain? Guilt?
Captivated, Carmel didn’t register that another hail of arrows had been released until they were already rocketing toward her. She watched, rooted to her spot, a gasp caught in her throat.
The next thing she knew, she was flung flat on her back behind the wall; the volley whistled harmlessly overhead. Ezra looked down at her, face flushed, a vein throbbing at his temple. “You almost got yourself killed!” he hissed. “You are far too senseless, you know that? Where would you be if I weren’t around?”
She smiled weakly. “Probably not on the dirt as often.”
Ezra grabbed the box from her and inspected it for damage. “Next time you want to run off toward danger, at least leave this with me. We cannot afford to let it fall into Roman possession. Or anyone’s, really.”
“They would have no clue how to properly use it even if they did possess it.”
“And that’s the danger. It should not be out of our hands. You and I are the only ones left entrusted to take care of it.”
The wall beside them shuddered as the battering ram pounded against it. A few stones broke loose and dropped to the ground. With his free hand, Ezra gripped his sister’s arm and pulled her away. Before they could get far, a deep bellow stopped them in their tracks. They turned around to see a striking, muscular black-haired man thrust his dagger into the air from where he stood atop the stone wall.
“They will soon break through!” he warned the multitude of people before him. “Now listen, all of you! Listen to me!” He jumped down into the throng, who watched him raptly.
Ezra’s jaw tightened. “What does he want now?”
“We should find out.” Carmel made her way over to the group. Her brother was far from a loyal supporter of the man who stood before them—with reason, she supposed. But in a time of conflict, they needed to band together and he was the best they had, a resilient leader.
“They will break through the wall by the first light of morning!” The black-haired commander surveyed the hundreds of men, women and children looking to him. “We will not make it through this. We have known that since the beginning. They cut off our routes of escape, and though we may have food and water, our end is nearing. Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God Himself—Who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind—the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice.”
As he spoke, Carmel saw the faces of those around her darken. She swallowed.
“We were the very first that revolted from them,” continued the commander, “and we are the last that fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor that God has granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely and in a state of freedom, which had not been the case of others.” His voice shook slightly. “It is very plain that we shall be taken within a day’s time. But it is still an eligible thing to die after a glorious manner, together with our dearest friends. This is what our enemies themselves cannot by any means hinder, although they be desirous to take us alive.”
Beside Carmel, Ezra stared at the man with deep, unmasked loathing. She nudged him, temporarily tuning out of the speech. He glanced at her, his demeanor softening minutely and tainted with sorrow. She squeezed his hand, then turned back to the leader.
“Let our wives die before they are abused, and our children before they have tasted slavery,” the man roared. “And after we have slain them, let us bestow that glorious benefit upon one another, and preserve ourselves in freedom, as an excellent funeral monument for us.”
Carmel bowed her head, shoulders trembling. They’d all known they were good as gone from the very start, and had held out on hope alone that they’d make it through.
No, she realized bitterly. Not hope. Denial.
“We are leaving,” Ezra whispered fiercely into her ear as the man persisted in his speech, flaming arrows soaring overhead and landing around them to create pockets of fire.
Before Carmel could register his words, he was already dragging her away. “Ezra!” she cried. “What are you doing?”
“I will not kill myself, nor will I let that happen to you!” His tone was firm, befitting the twenty-year-old he was. “Whatever happens, this must be protected.” He let go of her and held up the wooden box. Carved into the cover was an intricate pattern laced with gold thread plaited into a clover-leaf design.
Carmel stared at it for the longest time before steel infused her spine. She nodded. “Shall we find a place to hold out, then?”
“Nowhere within the fortress,” he said immediately. “We will have to climb down and find a cave in the mountainside.”
She let out a long breath. She’d rather race down the mountain, but they would have never gotten past the circumvallating wall. Soldiers in the watchtowers would also surely pick them off with their arrows if they tried to climb over. And if by some miracle they did scale the wall safely, the legion’s eight camps around the base of the fortress left no path to freedom save an arrow to the head or a sword through the chest.
Taking one last look at the hundreds of people they had lived with for the past few years, Carmel skulked away with a heavy heart, following her brother. He led her around the enormous, once-lavish palace by the western gate. She skimmed her hand over the stones of the building as she moved past, remembering stories some of the women had shared with her about the fortress. Decades ago, a king known for his paranoia turned the mountaintop plateau into what it was now, with its extravagant palaces, swimming pools, bathhouses, a synagogue, and more.
He made history in his own way here, she thought. What of us? Will we all perish as stories, or simply perish?
The sun had already set; in its stead an army of stars glittered luminously as if following the lead of the moon. They shone down upon dwellings that were both standing and torn, and those that had been stripped of their roofs. Carmel’s heart grew even heavier. This was as close to home as she’d ever had since she and her brother were orphaned years ago. She was not ready to leave it behind, but she had an obligation and it rested within the box Ezra carried.
The siblings traversed toward the fort that perched on the southern edge of the mesa, weaving between residences, cisterns, and a columbarium tower. Walking ahead, Ezra irritably kicked loose rocks from his leather sandals and cursed under his breath at the atrocity that was about to happen to the people they’d left behind.
As they approached the fort, a surprising sight met them. A group of over twenty people were preparing to scale down the side of the mountain. They eyed the newcomers warily. Most were young men and women in long-sleeved garments, and a few were small children. A couple of tense moments passed between the siblings and the group before understanding dawned in either party. One of the men dipped his head at the pair before disappearing over the edge of the cliff.
Ezra brought his mouth close to Carmel’s ear. “They must be taking refuge in the caves below, too.”
She tightened her shawl. “If this many of us have thought of the caves, surely the Romans will think to look there as well?”
“Perhaps not. And if they do, there are many openings in the mountainside, and some are better hidden than others. In either case, it’s the best option we have.”
She gritted her teeth, bracing herself. “Lead on, the
n.”
They were the last ones to scale down; the others had already disappeared into openings in the declivity. Thank the heavens above we grew up with this kind of terrain, Carmel mused. Bless that old, beautiful tribe.
Ezra’s voice reached her from below. “In here!”
Gripping the rock face, she glanced down. Her brother’s head jutted out of a cave. He held a hand out to her and helped her in. She landed roughly on her hands and knees, grimacing. “Ouch!”
“I’m sorry.” Ezra rubbed her back. “But look, Carmel. Safety.”
She squinted in the darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she made out seven huddling shapes—three men, two women and two children. Acknowledging them with a nod that she wasn’t sure they could even see, she moved to the farthest side of the small cave. Ezra joined her, holding the box tightly. She rested her head on his shoulder and stared out of the opening to the neighboring mountain.
Nothing we can do now but wait. She shut her eyes tightly. God help us.
Carmel was roused by the sound of bloodcurdling cries. Her eyes flew open. A hand quickly covered her mouth. Ezra, a finger to his lips, shook his head. She nodded and he removed his hand. The screams were coming from near their hideout.
Oh, no. Oh, please, no. She pressed against her brother, her breaths coming out short and ragged. They must have found the others.
Ezra put an arm around her, pulling her closer. The group watched the opening of the cave fixedly. The women hugged the young ones, tears trickling down their cheeks.
The last cry was abruptly cut off. Carmel buried her face into her brother’s chest, feeling his arm tighten further around her.
A sudden scream sounded just above them. One of the children let out a yelp before being hurriedly shushed by the terrified woman holding him.
Ezra withdrew from Carmel to look at her properly. “This is not looking good for us.” He rested his forehead against hers. “We need to hide the box. Do you understand me? We need to bury it and let the Elders know of its location.”