Artificial Light (Evolution of Angels Book 3)

by Wall, Nathan

  Horus was relieved that some systems still had power. Khnum must be trying to draw him out and had to know something was coming his way. Horus crept down the new route, both hands gripping his sword. He reached a dead end, perplexed. He remained as focused on any enemy ahead as he was on the potential foe to his back.

  “You have us lost,” Bastet grumbled. Her words were ignored.

  The wall behind them closed off and slowly squeezed in. Gravity returned. He pinned his back to one wall and pressed his feet against the opposite, trying to keep the walls from coming together. Bastet did the same. It was a futile effort. The floor opened up. His wings expanded but hers did not. She impacted like a brick, barely bouncing. He landed softly and in a back stance for defense.

  The hole in the ceiling sealed and lights came on. Two sets of footsteps made their way toward them. An arrow of crystallized light struck him in the torso, blowing him off his feet. He propped himself against the wall, trying to stand straight and readjust his hazy vision. Bastet crawled out of view. Khnum’s large fist struck Horus in the face and knocked him to his back.

  “You and your retarded cousin try and play me?” Khnum yelled, kicking Horus in the ribs. “I fight for our survival, you spoiled brat.”

  “For our imprisonment.” Horus tried to push up but was met with another fist to the face.

  “You no longer have authority to speak to me in such a tone,” Khnum said.

  “That’s enough.” Shiva snapped his fingers. “Pick him up.”

  Khnum did as commanded.

  “Like a dog.” Horus slammed his armored forehead into Khnum’s unguarded face. Blood smeared across his helmet. “Do you sit, speak and roll over too?”

  Shiva crushed Horus’s chest with a Spartan kick. Horus slammed into the wall with a momentum he’d never felt before. Falling to the ground, he wondered how a mere kick could pack more force than he’d ever experienced from the blow of any weapon.

  Horus grabbed his sword, about to lunge at Shiva. Khnum raised a hand, his eyes wide, shaking his head as he implored Horus not to follow through with the attack.

  “He’s an Alpha Level Guardian,” Khnum said through his left palm. Blood seeped through his fingers. “Don’t be stupid, Horus.”

  “Yes, Horus, don’t be stupid,” Shiva taunted, grabbing Horus by the back of his torso plate. He dragged the Angel-born down the corridor. Bastet stepped from the shadows, and instead of pursuing them to help Horus she retreated. Shiva tossed the prince to the ground and moved over to the main helm of the large space fortress. “We have no time to spare, Khnum. We must detach.”

  Even though the plan hadn’t gone as intended, he was now at the bridge. He could disengage the locks on the chariot hangar. He kept a careful eye on the codes Khnum was typing.

  Khnum flung the blood off his hands and stood at the helm. Holographic constructs of lavender, yellow and cobalt sprouted up from the control panel. Like a maestro, he placed the spherical and oblong hard-light constructs in exact positions. Horus tried to crawl away, but was really hoping to keep Shiva’s attention. It worked. Shiva stood on him. Any moment now Anubis would be powering into the bridge with Sobek’s men, since Horus had successfully distracted Shiva and Khnum.

  “Please, be our guest.” Shiva kicked Horus onto his back. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the party,” Shiva laughed.

  A door split open. The light in the hallway outside was blinding, but several silhouettes took form. They marched forward and the doors closed shut. Skanda, leading a group of fighters, had corralled all of Sobek’s men. Anubis wasn’t among them.

  “There, I’m finished.” Khnum spread his fingers and swiped his arms apart like he was swimming underwater. His right hand hovered over the system lock and a white light scanned it. The display screen relayed the progress for launch.

  The ship’s gears rotated for the first time since it had landed on the planet. The clamps which clung for life deep in the planet’s crust detached and the force of the thrusters rocked them back and forth. Shiva stepped off Horus and held firmly to the control panel.

  Anubis, who was hiding in the shadows, caught his cousin’s attention. His index finger was upright against his lips. Horus nodded in reply and then looked toward Khepri, Sobek’s first lieutenant. He was incoherent, but perhaps once the fight was underway he and the others would join.

  Silver and gray aurascales assembled over Anubis until his face looked like the animal he was forced to wear like a scar: a jackal. Horus rolled and jumped to his feet when Anubis attacked. The prince boxed with Khnum. His youth and agility proved too much for the older angel. He spun into a roundhouse, knocking Khnum onto all fours.

  “You deserve whatever fate Vishnu has for you,” Horus said, kicking Khnum in the gut. He leapt for the control panel and undid the lock on the hangar so he and the others could escape in the chariots. He grabbed Khnum by the breast plate. “But I won’t let you take the rest of us down with you.”

  “You forget that I helped train you.” The seasoned vet wasn’t done yet, propping a shoulder under Horus and lifting him off the group. “I know all your moves.”

  Khepri and the others attacked, even though their hands were bound. Skanda moved like a flash, laughing as now he had an excuse to behead those who revolted. Anubis took him by the throat and choke-slammed him onto the floor. Skanda fell unconscious. Anubis broke the shackles off Khepri and the others.

  Horus positioned himself behind Khnum and placed a blade to the traitor’s neck. Khnum’s aurascales shifted and grappled onto Horus’ extremities. An electric surge threw Horus backward. He pushed off the ground, but Khnum twisted the prince’s ankle, keeping him on the floor. Anubis drove Khnum’s head into the wall and then threw him backwards with unforeseen power and fury.

  “Go!” he yelled at Horus, but his cousin refused as he staggered to his feet. Anubis looked over at Khepri. “The royal line is all that matters. Sobek would agree.”

  “Indeed,” Khepri replied and was assisted by a few others in wrangling in Horus.

  “No,” Horus screamed, having flashbacks of the time Sobek dragged him away so he wouldn’t share in the wretched lashing Anubis was to receive. He broke free of their grip and attacked Khnum again, savagely beating him.

  “You think the numbers are in your favor,” Shiva laughed. He put two fingers up to his lips and whistled. More than half of those who were fighting on Khepri’s side halted and then turned on their own kind. “The influence of the Eastern Corner is far-reaching.”

  Anubis attacked Shiva and rained down with ferocious haymakers. The blows were chaotic and relentless. He took the invader by the throat and slammed him through a wall. His strength and force lifted Shiva off the ground with one arm. The enormous Angel-born roared like a wild beast as his free hand battered the Alpha Guardian like a jackhammer.

  Shiva conjured a knife from his aurascales. Blades protruded from the toes of his boots. He kicked Anubis under the armpit, sticking with the toes, resulting in his release. The knife penetrated Anubis’ ribs and twisted. Shiva dug an elbow into Anubis’ throat and followed with a flurry of strikes to the head. The final uppercut fractured the jackal helmet like dried clay. Pieces of aurascales fell to the ground. Anubis’ bare face followed. Shiva grabbed Anubis by the arm, lifting the limb, and kicked down on his foe’s shoulder, dislodging it.

  Anubis screamed in agony. Khepri and those still loyal jumped in to help, but Shiva quickly muted their resistance. Anubis crawled forward with his one good arm. His eyes watered as he tried to yell for his cousin.

  “There’s no time for this.” Shiva kicked Anubis’ face and rendered him motionless. He walked through the holes in the wall and back to the main helm.

  Soon, all that was left was Horus. He was surrounded, stilling fighting with Khnum and a few others. By this time, Skanda had come to. The group was just about to take Horus down when Shiva halted them.

  “Stand your ground,” Shiva commanded. He looked at Khnum. “Cont
inue. Prove your worth.” Khnum swung but was no match for Horus’ stamina. The Angel-born grabbed the jab and twisted Khnum to the ground. “Are you going to finish him, already?” Shiva asked in a bored tone.

  “I’m working on it,” Khnum replied.

  “I wasn’t talking to you.” Shiva’s eyes remained forward.

  Horus pulverized Khnum in the diaphragm causing him to expel all air. Horus’ battered armor repaired while he turned to face Shiva. He looked around. The situation wasn’t good. The two manifested their weapons of choice and stared holes in one another. Horus’ grip on his weapons wasn’t as tight as it once was.

  “Your cousin yet lives. As do your friends and uncle.” Shiva smirked, but still spun his weapons around his fingers. “I do not care what happens with you, your mother, or the rest of your slowly dying Corner. The many we have yet to slay will be freed, and you can carry them away to wherever you wish. What we want once dangled around your father’s neck. I assume you know what I speak of.” Horus remained silent, drawing a chuckle from Shiva. “I admire your steadfast resolve despite the mounting odds. You and your cousin would be a beloved addition to my platoon. Just know that I will not kill you, for your life holds too much value. I will merely cripple you and sew your eyes open as those who are innocent, and the ones you hold most dear, are savagely raped and slowly killed in front of you. Do you understand, child?”

  There were three exits, but all of them blocked. Horus continued to glance around, drawing up routes in his head. A puddle of blood grew around Anubis’ face. The three angels behind him could easily be dealt with. No, that route wasn’t an option. Anubis would be left behind.

  “He disrespects you, Father, by not speaking,” Skanda yelled, squatting in an obvious preparation to attack.

  “So do you, by assuming I need the situation dictated to me.” Shiva glared at his son and then at Horus. “What’ll be?”

  “All of us are free?” Horus asked, lowering his weapons. They vanished.

  “Every last one.” Shiva nodded.

  “It is yours.” Horus reached inside his armor and retrieved the necklace Isis had placed there. The chipped triangular medallion dangled from the gold chain. Shiva’s eyes grew large. Two of his angels placed their hands on Horus’ shoulders and reached for the medallion. Before their fingers could touch it, his weapons sprouted forward and he severed their hands.

  Skanda attacked. Horus jumped into a butterfly kick and snapped his heel across Skanda’s face. He landed and thrust his blade immediately through another of Shiva’s men. Shiva’s focus zeroed in. He and Horus lifted for blows, but the cruiser’s display monitors to the right showed meteors puncturing the ship’s hull. The artificial gravity was warped. Everyone was thrown off balance and floated off the floor. Shiva took hold of the control panel and pulled himself down, working quickly to rectify the problem.

  Horus pushed toward Anubis while Shiva was preoccupied, but stopped when six enemies blocked his path. There was no way to rescue his cousin. He knew if the situation were reversed he would tell Anubis to run. He cried out and took the opportunity to leave. The gravity systems restored, and everyone hit the ground.

  “Bring him back,” Shiva calmly ordered, not bothering to look at Skanda.

  The thrusters kicked online underneath the ship, shifting the center of gravity. Horus lifted into the air, slammed into the ceiling and rolled along onto the wall. The axis of gravity realigned, making the right wall the new floor. He grabbed his aching ribs and hobbled down the shaft. Skanda gave chase.

  The hull rumbled, warning of another shift in thrusters. Horus leapt as gravity spun again. He kicked off the wall to his left, flipped, and landed on what was once the ceiling. Skanda wasn’t as prepared and was thrown about.

  Flashing arrows in Horus’ vision guard led the way back to the hangar bay. The halls screeched with a deafening roar. Horus covered his ears. The force of the black hole must’ve been stripping away the ship’s outer layers while it struggled to leave the singularity’s gravitational grip. Horus felt the Armada cruiser swivel beneath his feet. The only explanation was that Shiva was pointing the bow back towards the center of the planet, but there was no way he’d be crazy enough to try and travel through the planet to get away from the black hole, unless he was hoping to use the planet’s dying gravitational pull to sling the ship away from the void.

  Horus made it to the hangar and locked the door behind him. He jumped nearly fifty yards to the feet of the escape chariot. Hathor put her face to a side window, waving for his attention. She opened a hatch and tried to crawl out of the shuttle before Tawaret corralled her back in.

  “Horus…” she yelled before her voice was muffled.

  “Get back in.” Horus cleared larger crates out of the chariot’s launch path.

  “You need my help.” Bastet hobbled over to a light panel. After a few quick swipes of her fingers over the glowing buttons, a mechanical arm latched onto the chariot from underneath. The ship was moved onto a rail chute in order to launch it out of the hangar. “I’m entering the coordinates.”

  “How do you know where we’re going?” Horus asked.

  “I have the crystal,” she replied and shoved the crystal back into her breast plate. She scurried back to the chariot but stopped in place when an emphatic thud echoed through the chamber. To her left a large mallet-shaped dent protruded through the door. “We’ve got company.”

  “I have him.” Horus’ aurascales sizzled. Two crossbows formed over the top of his arms and hands. Another thump erupted at the door, this time breaking a small hole. Skanda’s face shone through. Horus lifted each hand in succession, shooting two arrows of crystallized energy. The first arrow blew through the door. The second liquefied Skanda’s breast plate, eating away at his skin. A third arrow cut through the air, but Skanda raised a shield to absorb the shot.

  Bastet limped up the back hatch of the chariot and Horus followed. He reached a hand for Taweret but she slapped it away and kicked him in the face. Horus rolled across the ground while Hathor screamed for him.

  The airlock opened. Everything not bolted down was sucked into space. Horus drove his sword into the floor, holding on for dear life, and watched as the mechanical arm slung the chariot through the chute. The rear thrusters kicked on and soon the shuttle was out of view. The airlock closed.

  “Mother,” Horus screamed, crouching over.

  Everything had come to ruin. The dream of succeeding where his father could not shattered to pieces and stuck in his heart. At least Osiris found victory in death. There would be none for Horus. He lowered his hands, kneeling down, and looked at his father’s piece of the Forge in one hand, and the crystal he’d constructed to leave for Earth in the other.

  Skanda and his minions soared toward Horus. The seconds seemed to span an eternity. The words of Sobek rang loud in his head. Surrender is a state of mind settled on before battle. If you’re truly done then you never had a chance.

  Just then he remembered the arrogant determination of his younger self and embraced it. Just as he’d kicked his mentor’s legs out from under him during that training session, he would do the same to Vishnu’s men. It was time for a bold strategy. He only hoped this potential new ally wouldn’t be his death.

  His fingers curled around the crystal. A pink vapor trail sprouted around him. In an instant, with Skanda merely inches from delivering a killing blow, the walls of his only home vanished and a dense, cold forest somewhere on Earth appeared.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Set II

  Three pairs of shining armored boots pattered up the marble steps. The chromed feet lifted in unison and lowered again onto the salmon and crème swirled pathway. The sky was a baby blue and the air smooth and devoid of any humidity, like always. Golden buildings towered over the streets and steps, adding to the perpetual feeling of walking in a maze. Despite the grandiose nature of new Zion, in which new homes were built every day in preparation for their future tenants, to Set it seeme
d more like a prison than an actual dwelling for believers. After all, the many things he’d grown to enjoy while on Earth were nonexistent here.

  Though seemingly perfect in every detail, Heaven remained silent. The souls of mankind chosen to spend eternity protected by its gates awaited their new form inside the Light of Souls. Whether that would actually happen or not was still to be determined. That was all contingent on whose belief system was right.

  “Found out a bunch of nothing while in Moscow, if you ask me,” Hermes grumbled.

  “I didn’t.” Set followed a signal beamed into his aurascales, directing him where to go. After eons of doing their dirty work, the Archangels had finally extended him an invitation to their council room. Perhaps this was it and the deal he’d struck with his silent partner the day he killed Osiris was finally coming to fruition. Of course, it could just as likely be another grunt mission to incinerate some changeling or half-breed, something he regarded as nothing but busy work. “We report what we find and that’s the extent of our duty. It is not for us to decide the information’s validity.”

  “Since when do you care when opinions are expressed?” Hermes folded his arms and squinted with contempt at Set.

  “Since we started getting invited to the high council, and there is more than one of them willing and able to sever my head.” Set couldn’t tell if Hermes was really that stubborn or just playing the fool. Mocking the wisdom and intent of the higher angels, serious or not, was typically met with a flaming sword through the neck.

  Set had always found something fishy about Hermes’ version of how the Western Corner fell and the fate of Athena—especially since they didn’t match Set’s own recollection of events—but he couldn’t ever say as much aloud. As far as everyone else was concerned, he was never there.

  Set’s prominent brow ridge gave his dark eyes a sunken look as he stared at the ground. Stubble dominated his face and neck, and his hair was buzzed short. His skin was a reddish-tan, almost copper in tone, and it cracked around his knuckles, elbows and other joints due to its dry nature.