The Sorrow Anthology
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“To all intents and purposes, this is a planet completely underwater.”
“How on earth could he raise an army there then?” Raphael asked.
“I don’t like to swim,” Khalili said brusquely, nibbling on Tefnut’s head and spitting out a bit of ear gristle, the rest of the god’s torso at his feet.
“I don’t either,” Judge said, his voice deep, eyes still on the controls, “hence this spaceship. It can go underwater or in the air. Either way, it can serve as our home and our base if need be – we need to stock up on supplies, and this is the nearest planet.”
“I don’t want to live underwater in this,” Raphael shuddered, “when we get there drop me off in the sky. I’ll sort myself out.
“We stay together,” Judge said brusquely, “but as soon as we fuel up and stock up, we must journey to the land of the skinless, to return their women and the children – and to kill any Gharial we find there.”
Sorrow heard nothing. It was all white noise to her as she sat cradled on Etienne’s lap.
She had said nothing since Ib dragged her aboard by the scruff of the neck, her face as white as a sheet, eyes dark with pain.
Etienne had dressed her wounds as Judge dropped the bomb and nuked the surface of Galapo, and they had flown straight up to space to join the other two aircraft. About fifty men had made it on board, but many of the resistance had been left behind, unable to reach the craft in time. Many hundreds more had died in the battle before the gates. The lucky ones had fled through portals to unknown planets.
“A mon coeur, tell me what is wrong, please, you are worrying me,” Etienne whispered now, into her hair. “You are safe, if that is why you shiver. You have here four men, well of sorts,” he quipped, “who would gladly lay their lives at your feet – your own private army to accompany you on your next crazy quest. And Micah, I am sure, is safe; I did not see his body; we flew over the site several times. I feel sure you were simply separated in the battle. We can return to him - we can do so any time you ask once the initial burst of radiation has passed and the aircraft can once again enter the Galapo atmosphere. He is smart; he would have dropped down the underground escape shafts, I am sure of it. We will return; it will be a few years at most, I promise.”
“If you talk of the thing she was with,” Khalili looked up from his snack, “it is dead.”
“Oh, mon ange, I am so sorry,” Etienne sighed, pulling her tighter into him.
Sorrow pushed her face into his shoulder and gripped his shirt with white fists. The shudders would not stop, her teeth chattered uncontrollably, her hearts felt as though they had both stopped in grief.
Her mind said the same thing over and over, the words her mouth could not yet form; ‘He is gone; my future, my love, my children, all gone.’
“I need Mum,” she whispered. “I want my mum.”
“There will be no time for that,” Judgement said, his voice deep with worry, “if I am not mistaken, that is a Gharial starship heading directly towards us, and it doesn’t look friendly.”
He spun to the telecommunication screen.
“Determination, Tribulation, get your ships down to the planet, cloak and hide until you hear from me.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Spinning back to the room, he caught Raphael’s eye.
“Tell the men below that we are in for a fight.”
Raphael nodded and left at a run, just as the Gharial ship opened a communication channel, and a red leader’s face came into view.
“What is your mission?” he asked, his eyes scanning each of those present and coming to rest upon Khalili. “Is that my lord Tefnut?”
Judge groaned and looked across to where the Sin continued to nibble on the god’s head.
“That would be him,” he drawled, turning back to face the man on the screen.
“Prepare to be boarded.”
“Can’t a man eat in peace?” Khalili groaned, frowning at the oncoming ship.
Etienne gently unwrapped Sorrow’s arms from around his neck and lowered her to the seat before turning and firing into Tefnut’s corpse, liquifying him instantly.
“What did you do that for?” Khalili bellowed.
“Because,” Etienne said quietly, walking to stand beside Judge and stare towards the planet in the distance, “things are about to get ugly, and I wouldn’t like to risk that psychopath being regenerated. Not to mention the fact that your track record of disposing of gods isn’t that great if Anhur’s return is anything to go by.”
“Good call,” Judge said as the ship shuddered, the Gharial ship’s docking mechanism locking onto its side.
“Cunt,” Khalili spat, rising and strapping on his weapons.
“Be that as it may,” Etienne smirked, heading out towards the docking bay and drawing his guns, “I am a cunt on your side.”
“You better hope our enemies are made of meat,” Khalili snorted, following him out, “or you will be on the menu, and I don’t care which side I eat first.”
Etienne laughed.
Judge watched as the second two aircraft carrying the children and the bulk of the resistance entered the planet’s orbit safely, as commanded, before turning to Sorrow.
The sound of gunfire and shouting already echoed through the craft as he kissed her gently on the top of the head and vaulted out the door.
DEAR READERS,
The story continues in Sorrow’s Revenge.
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Helen Allan
Table of Contents
SorrowJAN14FINALKINDLEVERSIONA
Sorrow’s Sin
For Alastair
Books by Helen Allan
The Tears of Heaven
Note to readers
PREFACE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
SORROW’S FLIGHT
Gods of Time
Sorrow’s Fall
Dear Readers,
Etienne’s Endearments
Before Sorrow, Came Megan.
GodsofTimeAugust2019
The Gods of Time
Family Tree
Books in the Series
In saeculum saeculorum;
PREFACE
Always and forever the Gods had guarded the universe.
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7
8
9
10
Dear Readers,
Before Sorrow, there was Scarab.
SorrowFlightupdatedJuly2019KINDLE
Sorrow’s Flight
For Alastair
Books by Helen Allan
Locksley Hall
PREFACE
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2
3
4
5
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7
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The story continues…
Dear readers,
Etienne’s Endearments
Before Sorrow, Came Megan.
SorrowfinalKINDLESeptember2019
SORROW’S FALL
For Alastair
Books by Helen Allan
When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.
PREFACE
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&nbs
p; 10
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Dear Readers,