The Sorrow Anthology

by Helen Allan

  Sorrow felt all the blood drain from her face.

  “How do you know of our plans?”

  “Tefnut does not know I am here. He has no idea an enemy sleeps in his bosom. But he has been here, at The Finger, bolstering security and asking questions. Reports went to him that several slaves had disappeared – in 900 years, I have not seen him here, but three times he was present over recent weeks. I must leave before I am discovered.”

  “You haven’t answered my question,” Sorrow pressed her gun to the woman’s temple.

  “I only know the rumours, that an attack on the portals will be made, perhaps the biggest yet, and that Tefnut is prepared. He will lead the army himself to secure his gates. They are ready for you this time, but he will not expect you to rescue his tiny red leaders, and he will not expect to see me. When he does, I want it to be the last thing he ever sees.”

  Sorrow sat quietly, thinking through this new information. They had been compromised, that much was certain.

  “Where is your daughter?” she asked quietly.

  “Dead,” Nephthys said bitterly, “she killed herself when she realised what she was going to be used for. She was dead long before I arrived here.”

  “And yet, you’ve been here 900 years? Working for the freak who stole your children and used you as an incubator?

  “He never knew I was here,” she snorted, “I came to find my daughter. When I found out what had happened, I determined to wreak my revenge. I have a long memory Sorrow, and nothing else to live for, and besides, had I left before now he would have known and hunted me; he is all-powerful in this galaxy. Now though, I feel I have done all I can on this planet, I wish to go with you, to join Osiris and move ahead with our plans.”

  “Does Osiris know where you are?”

  “Yes, we work to a common cause.”

  Sorrow said nothing. Osiris was on Earth as a prisoner of her mother, and from what she had been told, his will was bent on the destruction of Seth – if anything he said could be believed. But there were too many unanswered questions here.

  She considered her prisoner. She had a long memory too, and her memory was crystal clear when it came to who Nephthys son was, hadn’t she watched his head get chopped off on Heaven – hadn’t she been married to him for two years? Hadn’t she feared him for just as long?

  And if Nephthys was in contact with Osiris, they must have known the Gharial were coming to Heaven. Was it she who warned the Earthborn? And if Osiris and Anhur and Nephthys were working to a common end, why had Anhur tried to kill Osiris and to undermine him on Heaven at every turn? No, something didn’t add up, but she had no time to try and fill in the pieces of the puzzle now. She knew this woman was a viper, as all the gods were, to have raised such a son she could not be anything else – yet part of her also wanted to know more about the gods; Could this woman help her utterly destroy them all?

  ‘Shit, what do I do? What do I do? Mum would tell me to trust my instincts. This god has Anhur’s eyes…’

  “Why would I trust you?” Sorrow frowned, “you are working in the nursery. You, who know what it is like to have children taken from you for evil purposes – you know where these boys are destined, you know they are using the eggs of other gods to undertake this filthy breeding program.”

  “Yes,” she nodded “I know all that. So did you.”

  Sorrow hissed.

  ‘Had Nephthys known she was working in the infirmary as a spy all this time? And if so, who had she told? Could their entire plan be in jeopardy?’

  As if reading her thoughts, Nephthys continued.

  “You also know, Sorrow, that some of the red leaders question Tefnut’s war. Some of their findailes also question, some dissent, some work actively against him from the inside – why do you think that might be? Who might have orchestrated that, daughter of Amun?”

  Sorrow caught her breath.

  “I do not answer to that name.”

  “And I do not answer to the name of great-granddaughter to Amun, yet his blood runs in my veins, as it does yours; we are related, I seek to help you if you will help me – daughter-in-law.”

  Sorrow froze.

  “You know I was married to Anhur?”

  “I know he loves you.”

  “He is dead.”

  “No,” she smiled, “he lives, and he forgives you, as do I. Let us work together, Sorrow. Free the galaxy from the tyranny of those who seek to destroy the likes of you and my darling boy.”

  Sorrow gritted her teeth.

  “I watched Anhur die, not 24 months ago.”

  Nephthys shook her head.

  Etienne poked his head in the door.

  “Sorrow, the babies are stirring, it must be time for a feed or something. We need to move.”

  Sorrow rose, nodding, and slipped Nephthys gag back onto her mouth, ignoring her muffled, angry cries.

  Stalking back into the corridor, she firmly shut the door behind her and turned to the skinless.

  “Each of you must carry one baby in a baby carrier strapped to your back or front, and one small boy. It will not be easy – we must tell them it is a drill, a test, and they must stay silent.”

  The skinless nodded, some looked absolutely terrified, others resolute.

  “When we get to the hangars, there is a possibility there may be gunfire. Stay down and hidden until I signal, then run to the aircraft I indicate. Do you have any questions?”

  None of the women raised their hands. Sorrow could see the hearts beating madly inside the chests of those nearest to her.

  “What about Nephthys?” Raphael asked.

  “She will burn with those left behind,” Sorrow said, her voice and eyes cold. “Nothing these gods say can be trusted – nothing.”

  Etienne looked concerned but stayed silent as Sorrow opened the door to the first baby room and ushered the skinless in.

  “Ten minutes,” she whispered urgently to them as they walked through, “we have ten minutes to clear this entire building of children – hurry.”

  More skinless ran upstairs to the toddler wing, returning with time to spare with sleepy little boys, most silent, some wriggling and fighting the women holding them, most though, compliant.

  “Come,” Sorrow said when they were all once again crowded in the foyer and hallway of the nursery entrance, “to the spacecraft.”

  “What did she say to you, to make you so determined for her die, ma minette?” Etienne whispered as they ran.

  “She said Anhur was alive.”

  Etienne growled low and said nothing else.

  “Who is Anhur?” Raphael asked, keeping up easily with their strides.

  “My husband,” Sorrow spat.

  Judge and his small team had exceeded expectations in capturing not one, but two spaceships with no resistance lives lost, and Sorrow watched as the last of the skinless and their young charges ran up the ramp and into the belly of the first.

  The plan had been to take one craft to rescue the skinless and act as a backup escape craft should something untoward happen to the first. The first, the resistance already had hidden in the mountain and loaded up with some 300 fighters, their trainees and findailes, ready to raid the armaments factory and storage shed and take hold of a nuclear weapon, or two, the moment the portals opened.

  Now though, the plan had changed.

  “Since we were successful in stealing two aircraft, one will fly to the mountain and transfer on board those findailes and trainees who will not take part in the raid for weapons. The other containing these skinless and children will hover, cloaked and shielded above the mountain. When the portals open and the battle begins, both will shoot to space, to safety. The third will take the nuclear team to raid the weapons and return to pick us up at the portals and drop the bomb from the air. If the worst happens and our nuclear team or those of us fighting around the portals go down, some at least, the findailes, skinless and children, will be spared,” Judge said quietly.

  Sorrow nodded. />
  “Thank you, Judge.”

  He nodded curtly, but she knew this change in plan was for her sake. She was happy knowing Jury would be safe, no matter the outcome of their crazy scheme and she knew that despite his confidence that all would be well, Judge had tried to force Ib to stay with Jury – securing his findailes safety. But the creature had resolutely refused.

  As Judgment exited the craft, he walked straight to Raphael and nodded. The birdman would fly the resistance leader to join his troops, hidden in the secret shafts close by the portals, ready to attack, and then return for Sorrow.

  They would storm the gates, their laser fire the signal to start phase two of the plan, aimed at creating yet another diversion while the aircraft left. Micah was already underground near the portals waiting with the resistance, ready to strike.

  As Sorrow waited, tense, nervous lest they be discovered and everything go to shit, she looked through the cockpit window at Etienne’s serious expression.

  The evening before he had argued himself hoarse over Sorrow’s intention to be at the portals with Judgement and Micah when they opened. She would fight with the resistance until the nuclear-armed aircraft arrived to airlift them to safety. The aircraft would drop she and Micah off near the entrance to his world before it shot into orbit and released the bomb. If anything went wrong with this plan, she and her lover would drop down into the underground shaft beneath the portals and run to the mountains, where Micah was confident he could find a way to his world.

  But Etienne did not want her on the ground fighting at all.

  “No,” Sorrow had shaken her head at his insistence she join him on the spacecraft. “I have to be on the ground, visible. The Fist knows the resistance has humans and others with them, they must know by now. If I was not there, they would suspect a ruse. It is obvious I would try to take over the portals and either blow them or jump through. My presence, Judge’s, Raphael’s and even Micah’s will impress upon them that the entire resistance is in one spot – exactly what we need them to think while the nuclear team pulls off the real heist. Etienne, you should be happy I’m not with the nuclear team - stealing the bombs and getting them set to explode is going to be the hardest part of the raid – a part you are playing a big role in. Battling Gharials is the easy gig.”

  “Ma cherie,” he groaned, running his hands through his hair, “you promise me you will stay safe. Promise me when we hover above those portals you run up the first ramp we drop as soon as you see us. Promise me,” he shook his head at her soft laughter, “that you will not do anything stupid.”

  “She can’t promise that,” Micah said as he approached them where they argued softly in the shadows. “You know her better than that by now. “But so do I, and I can promise we will be running up the gangway the moment we see your ship – period.”

  “You have to keep a promise too, Etienne,” Sorrow smiled at him and punched his arm softly, “promise that after you drop Micah and I off, and leave this planet, that you assure my mum I am happy – let her know she will be a grandma shortly. Tell her I love her,” she whispered the last words, all laughter dissipated.

  “And you need to promise me,” she said, her eyes now soft as she turned and wrapped her arms around her lover, “that you will keep your head down and stay at the back of the troops until I get there, no heroics.”

  “This is your fight, Earth woman,” he laughed, “I’m simply there to observe my fiancé’s prowess in battle – and I can best do that by staying alive. Although I can’t say I’m looking forward to seeing you potentially get hurt – you know what your favourite cadets would say about this whole plan.”

  “Shit on shit,” they said together, bursting out laughing as they linked arms and headed to her small partitioned room, to snuggle and wrap around each other, and whisper plans for their future.

  Just thinking about their night together made her feel warm, and smile, taking some of the edge of the seriousness of their situation now as she waited for the battle to begin.

  Hearing her name called, she looked across to Raphael where he had landed softly, arms out, wings gently flapping.

  “First lasers have fired,” he said, “ready?”

  She nodded and stepped into his arms.

  14

  The noise was deafening, the swirling dust blinding, as the aircraft hovered above the battlefield and lowered its platform for Sorrow and the rest of the resistance to escape.

  Lasers and soup guns fired all around them, diminishing their numbers by the second.

  Sorrow gritted her teeth and fought on.

  Gharial shot ferociously from all angles, spurred on by Tefnut, and taking no heed of the humans and others who poured in through the gates from other worlds. They died in their hundreds in the crossfire, some attacking all around them blindly in panic and desperation.

  “Keep moving,” Micah shouted from behind Sorrow as they both hacked at Gharial all around them and tried to lurch roughly forward.

  Sorrow nodded as they fought their way towards the platform where Etienne and his men battled the Gharial who tried to swarm up and take over the aircraft. Every second they waited for their comrades on the battlefield put their entire plan in jeopardy.

  “I think we are nearly there,” Sorrow shouted back, “but I can’t see clearly,” she coughed, her voice coming out as a mere croak as she choked on the dust and dirt whipping all around them and hacked out at the enemy.

  Concentrating on one Gharial at a time, she fought to clear a path for them, but their sheer numbers had dramatically slowed down the resistance ability to get to the area where the spacecraft hovered. And the time delay had impacted on Sorrow more than she thought, as the lack of oxygen began to impact upon her reaction-time and stamina.

  Spinning once again to ensure her lover was behind her, she looked back to see him at least ten metres away, fighting to reach her but blocked by the crowd of humans surging out of a nearby portal.

  Turning back to help, she started towards him, her head whipping to the right as she thought she heard her name called. Eyes squinting, she stared into the distance and shook her head when she saw Khalili exit a nearby portal at a run and head towards her, frantically pointing to her left.

  Spinning, she saw Anhur, head and shoulders above the Gharial, steadfastly making his way towards her also, face intent. Between her and the god she had once called husband, were half a dozen Gharial, and Micah, but Khalili was gaining swiftly. Sorrow gasped when she realised Micah would be caught between the two, and that Khalili would think he too was an enemy.

  Despite her fear of Anhur, despite every atom of her body urging her to run in the opposite direction, she ignored the approaching Earthborn and threw herself towards Micah, intent on shielding him. She reached him just as Anhur came within striking distance of her, and Khalili fired, narrowly missing the god.

  “Sorrow, I have come for you, and for my mother. Do not resist me,” Anhur shouted as Sorrow grabbed Micah’s hand and tried to pull him behind her, to shield him with her body.

  She didn’t have time to answer as Khalili dove over the heads of the surrounding Gharial and rammed straight into Anhur.

  Sorrow lost sight of them as she and Micah were once again surrounded by Gharial and the fighting escalated viciously for what seemed like an hour but could only have been twenty to thirty minutes.

  Finally, the gangplank in proximity, her strength all but gone, she saw Khalili out of the corner of her eye as he roared in anger watching Anhur sprint away towards the Finger.

  Seeing he was going to follow, she screamed a warning.

  “Khalili, no, this whole planet is going to blow – follow me,” she pointed to the aircraft, still hovering just a few hundred yards away, waiting for her.

  She saw his indecision turn to intent as he focused his eyes on someone behind her.

  “He’s with me,” she screamed, seeing the Sin hacking his way towards her, his weapon raised, attention firmly on Micah. He nodded and grun
ted as he was tackled from behind by a Gharial.

  It seemed to Sorrow an interminable distance they had to cross to get to the safety of the ship as she, Micah, and Khalili battled and pressed forward.

  “You said you ate him,” she shouted to Khalili, in between kicks, punches and sword thrusts,

  “Long story,” Khalili shouted, punching a Gharial in the face and throwing himself towards two more.

  “Sorrow, you need to run,” Micah shouted as he fought.

  She nodded and surged forward, gasping in pain as she was struck hard by a Gharial sword, the blade cutting deep across one shoulder. Reeling from the blow, she fell back against her lover, the force of the blow, her weight and their exhaustion tumbling them to the ground, her atop him.

  “You are hurt,” he shouted, his hand pressing her shoulder to try and stem the blood. She nodded, looking into his eyes.

  “I’ll be OK,” she said, trying to pull away, not understanding as his grip tightened painfully and he groaned, his eyes turning wide, before he turned to liquid in her arms.

  Sorrow screamed and looked up incredulous at Tefnut standing above her, grinning maniacally as he turned his weapon from where Micah had lain, to her. But she made no move to defend herself. Instead looking away from him and back down in horror as the water that was once her pregnant fiancé and her babies, leached into the hot desert sands.

  She lay silent and still, not breathing, her mind screaming in denial at what she had just witnessed as the air was knocked out of her and the god landed on top of her, rent in half by a laser shot from the spacecraft. The weight of his corpse pushed her body and face into the wet sand where she lay, unmoving as his blood pumped out all over her and disappeared into the sand, just as Micah had.

  She turned her head to the side, pressing her face into the damp sand, her tear-filled eyes meeting the god’s now unseeing orbs.

  “You won,” she whispered, “you won.”