Darkness Awakens_Chronicles of Hunter
Page 18
*~*
Gabe stepped forward and turned to his brothers, deliberately showing his unguarded back to the warriors facing them, "All of us has gone through untold pain for a long time now brothers, but nothing in this universe has been made that can keep us apart. Between us, we've vanquished countless people and even kept an entire species of evil from spreading."
Levelling one of his arms, he pointed back towards the assembled might ready to battle, his sword appearing in his hand, "These, are nothing but a little warm-up to get us all back in the groove. Try not to make them suffer, too much."
As if the words themselves had opened the gates, every warrior before them leapt into the fray, battle cries sounding across the arena. Their only options; life or death.
Hunter laid back on the bench searching the surrounding darkness, his wounds still throbbing. The undertaking before him seeming insurmountable with Michael's defection to aid his brother. It still confused Hunter that after everything they had been through the previous few days that he would willingly agree to do so.
Gabriel had shown them how callous and bloody-minded he could be. While he hadn't been the one to plunge the knife, the blood of Ren was still his to bare. His own mother, siblings and Luxfer all fell in one way or another under the plans he'd put into motion.
Sighing, he eased his battered body into a more comfortable position, No use dwelling on it, for now, better to spend the time thinking about his own next moves.
The quietness of the environment within the dark plane was soothing, allowing him to think and work through the process of where he was. He would have been overwhelmed in moments if he'd stood and fought. On instinct he'd taken a direct hit on the side of his body from Michael, allowing them to believe that he was seriously wounded. Sheltering it from direct view, he'd moved through space to the one spot he was certain they would not think he'd go-the dark plane where the damned souls were being shunted off to; Hell.
The power surrounding him began to work its magic, the tenseness leaving his body; the healing had begun. Being healed for what though? He started listing things off in his head;
Ren was no longer around, dead at the hands of Gabriel.
Michael it seemed has taken his brothers side against me.
The Goddess lies dead.
Bonnie still trapped with the Brethren, who would soon be free of the barrier.
And let me not forget; I've made a new enemy; A God!
‘Funny,’ he thought ‘To think that of all places in the universe, the one I feel most comfortable and safe within is the realm that I refused to take charge of’! Closing his eyes to allow his body to heal, he added, ‘This might not be such a bad place after all, now all I need to do is sort out the rest!’
Epilogue
Bonnie dreamed.
She remembered feeling tired at school during math’s class, her eyelids dropping. Constant nightmares had been keeping her awake for so long now that she was almost always walking around in a half-dream state. The last nightmare that she'd had was one of the worst. The devil creature had found her and was coming to get her. She was really mad at herself. I'm seven and a half years old now - practically eight! I shouldn't be getting scared of some stupid boogie man in my dreams! And yet the nightmares continued, getting worse. She had thought that she was going crazy, so she'd tried to keep the worst of it from her mum.
And now she dreamed again. It had begun with the nightmare creature once again coming for her. This time actually almost taking her until the white lady had appeared. She was beautiful like her mum but in different ways. She had brilliant white skin and blonde hair where her mother had mocha-colored skin and dark eyes. The love that shone from the lady's eyes, however, was identical to her mothers'. She felt safe.
The lady had taken her by the hand and looked deep into her eyes, “Fear not little one. You’re safe with me. That little devil can’t reach you here.”
Bonnie believed the lady.
There was something about her that was just right. Her seven-year-old mind not fully able to comprehend A Goddess and instinctively knowing who she was. The lady reached out with her hands and placed one on each side of Bonnies' face, the same way that her mother always did. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Sleep now little one. All will be as it should be when you wake up."
She was only a memory of herself at the moment, but for a Goddess, that was enough to have a physical presence when needed. D'HarmaSan smiled to herself as she watched Bonnies' eyes close at her words. The young girl was perfect for her purposes and it had taken one of the Brethren to bring her to my attention.
Strange how those who are considered evil by most can still bring about changes for the other side! She took the small child in her arms and sat back down, ensuring that the force that she had erected around them was maintained. The other Brethren could never break through it. She had intervened when the Kraxus had captured the little girl, on a whim. That whim had turned into a hunch which had morphed into the reality that she now found herself in. She had allowed the Brethren to take them both to their home-world.
The experiment had taken her into some new directions that had been totally unanticipated by her. Not only was every species in the universe a part of it but now The Gods’ themselves had been dragged into it. In the beginning, it had all been about whether enlightenment could be attained by others. Of that she no longer had any doubt.
The events that had taken place over the last few millennia though had meant that the rules of the experiment had now changed. It was now left to see whether The Gods' themselves, could fall from the grace of enlightenment. She looked back down at Bonnie's face, it would also answer whether a Goddess could be reincarnated. The dream that had once been D'HarmaSan continued to rock the sleeping girl in her arms at the same time allowing pieces of her entire being to filter through and merge with the girl's own presence.
I wonder how long this will take? She thought to herself as she hummed a tune into Bonnies’ ear.
*~*
Padre Toby’s eyes glazed over and rolled back into his head. Only the whites were showing. He dropped the spoonful of soup that he had been about to place in his mouth. His thoughts, a million miles away from his current location.
Visions borne of The Goddess swam over his consciousness. He sat prone in this position for only a moment and then lurched forward, reaching for his notebook and pen.
He wrote;
All people dream, this is a natural state. Some dreams are made of bright colors and rainbows. Hope & Happiness. Others are much darker in nature. Tales of Woe & Despair.
What do you think would happen, Dear Reader - when a Goddess dreams?
When a being of infinite power is dreaming, what are the consequences of their dreaming thoughts?
Do they create entire worlds with their dreams? Worlds full of hope & joy? Instant gratification and satisfaction, filled with rainbow-colored unicorns and endless Nirvana? Perhaps.
But as with everything else in life, what would the consequences be if the same powerful entity began having a nightmare?
Rivers of blood? Plagues? Destruction of worlds? A Swarm of Demons?
Fall on your knees and pray, Dear Reader; For the Goddess stirs in her sleep and only time will tell which type of dream She may have.
Still in slumber, She weeps.
Her Children scattered and the war still rages.
Limited awareness whilst She sleeps, yet awareness is still there.
She reaches forth plucking souls from the very fiber of the Universe.
Limited awareness whilst she sleeps.
Yet awareness is still there.
She lends hope & protection to those that are most in need.
She will lend fury & fire when awareness comes back to her.
Fall on your knees and pray, for The Goddess slowly moves from a state of total slumber to a state of restless dreams.
The memory that had once been D’HarmaSan gav
e a small smile. She reached out and found the waiting soul she was looking for, plucking it out of the air with a gentle motion.
One more soul saved. The experiment would roll on.
*~**~**~*
Here ends Darkness Awakens
Chronicles of Hunter 1.
Thank you for reading my book.
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Thanks,
Frank
Discover other titles by Frank J Perez:
Chronicles of Hunter
Darkness Awakens
The Seventh Seal
Other Titles
Pushing Fifty, Still Pushing
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