Nichelle stepped forward cautiously. “What did he promise?”
“He promised that if I brought Calum to him, he would use him to destroy every last Gnol on Terrest, thus freeing my people.”
“And you believed him?” Nichelle questioned. “Dorange would never follow through on that promise. He will use Calum to translate the plates in order to rule the Galaxy.”
“No!” Ariauna shrieked.
Nichelle reached up to place a hand on Ariauna’s shoulder. “Listen—”
As soon as Nichelle touched her, Ariauna thrust her right arm into Nichelle’s chest. Nichelle flew backwards into another palm tree. Stunned, she looked up at Ariauna, who was standing over her, her chest heaving up and down, her fists clenched, and an expression of sheer rage on her face.
Ariauna laughed again. “This power is intoxicating. It’s amazing what gene therapy can do for a human body, especially for a body like mine, ravaged and weakened through years of servitude.”
“So this is what you get in exchange for betraying Adrian. You get to become one of us - a Gnol,” Nichelle said, standing up.
“I will never become a monster like you!” Ariauna bellowed as she threw a right hook at Nichelle.
Nichelle side-stepped the punch, hooked Ariauna’s wrist in her own right arm, and thrust her palm toward Ariauna’s elbow, expecting to break it and end the attack before it even started. But to her astonishment, Ariauna, using catlike reflexes, spun away out of her grip. “I see you have been practicing as well,” Nichelle added.
Without a response, Ariauna flung both of her arms forward. The telekinetic force hit Nichelle and flung her backwards, this time away from the grove and onto the beach. The muddy sand cushioned her fall, and she sprang to her feet, thrusting her own arms forward. She invisibly caught hold of Ariauna and flung her out of the grove and onto the beach.
Calum began to cry again, and Ariauna staggered to her feet, then rushed toward Nichelle like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey. Nichelle stood her ground. Ariauna reached her in attack mode like a skilled ninja. Stunned for a moment by Ariauna’s newfound skills, Nichelle didn’t attack back but parried against her kicks and punches. After a few strikes against her forearms, Nichelle released her full array of self-defense skills.
Ariauna blocked several of Nichelle’s blows, but Nichelle managed to land a punch across Ariauna’s right cheek. Ariauna flew through the air, landing on the muddy sand. Realizing that she was no match for Nichelle, Ariauna staggered to her feet and darted toward Calum, stumbling in the wet sand. Nichelle took off after her. Just before Ariauna reached Calum, Nichelle grabbed the back of her collar and heaved her into a nearby palm tree. Ariauna’s head slammed hard against the trunk, followed by a loud crack. Her body slumped down onto the muddy sand, unconscious.
Nichelle then ran to Calum, sweeping him up in her arms. His cries began to subside as she stood within the small grove, comforting him. Just as she was about to leave and head for the bunker, she felt a sharp pain on the side of her neck as if she was being stabbed. In an instant, her strength left her body, her knees buckled, and she stumbled forward. The weakness that reverberated through her body was powerful. It was the weakest she had ever felt in her life. Her arms became jelly. Just as she was about to drop Calum, two arms came out of nowhere and caught the baby before he hit the ground.
Nichelle fell forward, hitting her head on a palm tree in front of her. Her body began to quiver from lack of strength as she turned around, leaning her back up against the tree. Ariauna stood above her, holding Calum in one arm and a syringe in her other hand. Blood trickled down from a gash that zigzagged across her forehead. With a smile of victory, she said, “Now you know what it feels like to be human.”
*****
“I-I thought you were dead?” Celeste asked, dejected, as she stood to her feet.
The glowing sword in Koroan’s hand slid back into its hilt, making a screeching sound as it did so. He walked toward her slowly. The shock and fear when Celeste saw him again began to subside. As he approached, she noticed that there was something different about him, something softer. Nonetheless, she could still perceive the hunger for power that he possessed, which was the root of his evil.
Celeste stood her ground. As soon as he reached her, he grabbed her arm and squeezed. “Do not resist, or everyone that you hold dear to your heart will die.”
Even though her transfigured body was capable of so much and could withstand way more than the average Gnol, Celeste found herself exhausted beyond comprehension. Without a word, she nodded and allowed her father to guide her to the other end of the tarmac where their attack shuttle was just beginning to land, its reverse thrusters firing from underneath as the landing platforms touched down.
Nearby were two other figures, illuminated in the darkness by the fires devouring the surrounding buildings. Once they arrived near the shuttle, the cargo hold opened and the back-landing ramp extended. The two figures came into view. The first was Jake, held paralyzed in midair by the other. He made eye contact with Celeste with defeat in his eyes.
When the other figure came into view, Celeste dropped to her knees in pure consternation. “M-mother?” she muttered.
An evil smile spread along the woman’s face, and then she laughed nefariously. “No, my dear Celeste.”
Celeste ripped her arm from her father’s grip. “Macaria,” she uttered.
Macaria released her invisible grip upon Jake. He dropped to the ground. Celeste watched helplessly. Something was wrong with him. His face was pale and he was too weak to stand. It was if the newfound strength of his transfigured body was gone. “Jake, wh-what did they do to you?”
Jake couldn’t speak, but his eyes told her everything.
Macaria approached Celeste, grabbing her under the chin with a gloved hand. Celeste tried to resist, but Macaria’s physical strength was unbelievably strong. “Oh, Celeste, come now. You must have figured it out by now. After all, you are your father’s offspring. It is simply a matter of gene therapy or DNA altering. That’s what you and Jake are, all of us here,” she said, referring to herself and Koroan as well. “That’s all that we are: genetic improvements because of the fruit from the Tree of Life.”
Celeste glowered at the body of the woman who was once her mother. “So what. . . . You’ve come up with an antidote?”
Macaria smiled at her knowingly. Without leaving her glare, Macaria stretched forth her right arm toward Jake. His body levitated and flew through the air at a rapid speed toward Macaria. His momentum stopped abruptly a few inches right before her hand. She then looked at Koroan. “Koroan?”
Koroan pulled a dagger from his belt. Instinctively, Celeste tried to rescue her husband from imminent danger, but Macaria stretched out her other arm, holding her in place telekinetically. Koroan then slashed the razor-sharp edge of the danger down, slicing through Jake’s right bicep.
Celeste watched, astonished as crimson blood began to drip from the wound. “What did you do?” she asked, exasperated.
Macaria dropped Jake back to the hard, wet blacktop. He landed with a thud and in obvious pain from the fall. She then pulled a syringe out from a pouch on her belt. “Don’t worry, Celeste. Jake came back from the dead, just like all of us. His body is already healing itself. Soon, he’ll be the strong, powerful man you have come to love - a god, really. Not this despicable, feeble being before you,” she proclaimed, holding the syringe next to Celeste’s face. “Even so, inoculations of this serum every four hours or so will keep the power of the fruit at bay, making him what he once was.”
Celeste clenched her jaw in sheer hatred toward the woman before her. Even though she had loved her mother dearly, the being possessing her mother’s body was dreadful, a horror beyond description. She tried to lash out, using her own powers, but Macaria was too strong. “So, what do you want - to make Jake human again . . . make me human too?”
“It’s not that simple, my dear. You know what I want.”
> Celeste’s heart skipped a beat, knowing the answer too. She then looked at her father. “Father, you can’t. . . . Calum is your grandson. . . . I-I am your daughter—”
Rage exploded over Koroan’s face like hot lava erupting from a volcano. He landed a vicious backhand across his daughter’s face, cutting her lip, causing the glowing liquid surging through her veins to drip from the wound. She quickly wiped her lip, and it immediately healed.
“You gave up your birthright when you joined them and married this human!” he seethed as he kicked Jake in the ribs, cracking one of his ribs.
Jake moaned in excruciating pain as Celeste tried to reach for her wounded husband after the blow, but Macaria’s invisible grip on her was too strong.
Macaria sneered at her as she raised Jake to his knees with her powers. She nodded toward Koroan, who withdrew his swords. The blades ejected and the plasma cracked and popped as it snaked around each blade. He crossed the blades and rested them on the back of Jake’s neck. The plasma burned his skin, causing him unbearable pain. Celeste could smell the smoldering of his skin as tears began to well within her eyes. “Please, I beg you. Let him be.”
The sneer on Macaria’s face transformed to disdain mixed with joy. She was taking pleasure in Jake’s torture and the anguish that it caused Celeste. “Now, Keileni,” she snarled, “tell me where you are hiding Calum, or Jake will die.”
With the tears now trickling down her face, Celeste was confused for a moment before responding. Keileni? she wondered. Why would she call me by that name?
“Tell me!” Macaria roared.
“I-I don’t know,” she replied, desperate for Jake’s life and the whereabouts of her newborn son.
Macaria stepped forward, a few inches within Celeste’s face. “Do not lie to me!”
“Don’t tell her, Celeste!” Jake interrupted weakly.
The anger and hate surging through Macaria boiled over, and she squeezed her right hand into a tight fist, squeezing until the veins popped.
A loud pop erupted from Jake’s body and he wailed in pain as Macaria telekinetically snapped his right humerus bone.
“I d-don’t know. Ar—”
Celeste was interrupted by one of the Gnol pilots who came jogging down the ramp of the attack shuttle. “My Queen,” he said, reaching her and kneeling down before her on one knee.
“What is it?” Macaria spat, noticeably annoyed that she was interrupted.
“The spy has made contact,” the pilot said, standing but not making eye contact with Macaria. “She has the child and another prisoner.”
“Good. We are finished here. Go and retrieve them and be sure the cells on the shuttle are secure, so that the spy is not aware that Koroan and I are present. Make the spy believe she will be meeting with Dorange soon.”
“Yes, my Queen,” the pilot responded, bowing in reverence. He then turned on his heels and ran back up the landing ramp.
With Macaria momentarily distracted, Celeste, desperate to save her family, broke free from Macaria’s invisible grip. Reaching out, she invisibly ripped one of Koroan’s swords from his grip. She caught it and pointed it directly under Macaria’s chin just as the landing ramp closed, the plasma now burning the skin under her own chin.
“Let Jake go!” Celeste demanded.
As the shuttle lifted off of the ground, Macaria laughed insolently with the rush of air from the shuttle jets whipping about them. “You dare defy me!” she erupted, nodding toward Koroan.
Koroan then raised his sword and sliced it through the air toward Jake’s neck. Celeste spun on her heel and blocked the blade with the sword in her hand just before it sliced through Jake’s neck. The two blades crackled and popped upon impact. Jake slumped to the ground, too weak to move and in unbearable pain.
Koroan spun on his heels and swung his blade toward Celeste’s own head. Celeste, not trained in the art of sword fighting, managed to block his attack, stopping his blade right in front of her eyes. Before Celeste could counterattack, a sharp pain emanated from her neck. Instantly, she felt her body become frail, too weak to even stand. She dropped the sword and fell to her knees, reaching at her neck to where the pain was coming from. To her horror, she pulled the syringe that had once been filled with the antidote from her neck. She then fell forward, only able to lift her head as Macaria stepped in front of her.
Koroan then pulled Jake up to his knees by his hair and swung his blade down hard.
“No!” Macaria yelled, halting the blade with her powers. “I want them alive. I want their bodies to heal and for them to live out their miserable existence for however long their transfigured bodies will allow on this wretched planet, whether that’s for hundreds or for thousands of years,” she said, kneeling down so that she could look into Celeste’s eyes. “I want them to know what it is like to live knowing that their son will be raised as my own on Terrest.”
“No!” Celeste cried, looking at her father with pleading eyes.
Koroan turned his stone cold gaze away from her and dropped Jake back onto the wet tarmac. He then picked up his other sword and walked slowly toward the attack shuttle, which was returning from collecting its package.
Macaria, still glaring at Celeste with her mother’s bright blue eyes, stood back up. Her eyes then flashed red before she turned and made her way to the shuttle as well.
Helpless and unable to move, Celeste couldn’t control the desperation that set in. Just a few short minutes before, she had possessed the strength of a goddess with the ability to help her family. But now, she lay hopelessly on the tarmac. The rain beat down on her hard as she watched the shuttle carrying her son take off and fly out of the atmosphere.
*****
The heat of the noonday sun awoke Celeste as the smell of burning buildings infused her nostrils. With her strength returning, she staggered to her feet. She saw Jake to her left. He was still unconscious. She stumbled over to him. “Jake?” she said, shaking him.
Jake, with his eyes still closed, mumbled something she didn’t understand. Relieved he was still alive, she reached down and picked him up, grateful that her normal Gnol strength was returning. Carefully, she draped him over her shoulder and meandered her way toward the bomb shelter, which was the only edifice not destroyed by the single Gnol attack shuttle.
“Y-you can p-put me down,” Jake mumbled as she drew closer to the shelter.
Celeste stopped and lowered her husband to the ground, holding him up as his knees wobbled from weakened legs. She then buried her head into his chest, seeking his comfort. “O-our baby,” she cried. “H-he’s gone. They took him.”
Jake caressed her, doing his best to comfort her. “I know,” he replied, his own voice full of emotion.
“M-Macaria. How did she. . . How it is possible that she is possessing my mother’s body?” she asked, her bright blue eyes looking into her husband’s, pleading.
Tears rolled from Jake’s own eyes, evidence that the emotion of losing his only son was beginning to tear through his heart like a hot knife. “My guess is that Macaria and your father had a plan all along; to poison your mother so that her body could be used as a vessel for Macaria.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Remember when we were in the garden within Mount Resumpsi, there was that hidden cave?”
Celeste nodded.
“My guess is that your mother’s body was being prepped for Macaria.”
“What about my father? Adrian saw his ship explode into that cliff face on Gnolom. H-how? . . . Oh, Jake, our son,” Celeste sobbed. “He’s gone.
“We will get him back,” Jake proclaimed.
“H—”
Before Celeste could respond, she was cut off by the rumbling of jet engines approaching. Turning around, she saw the black outlines of two space-capable Nighthawks approaching fast. At first, her heart jumped into her throat, fearing that Macaria and her father were returning to finish them off. But as they drew closer, she could see that they were American with the American flag emblazoned on
each wing. She and Jake continued to watch as each jet hovered and landed on the airstrip a few meters in front of them.
After landing, the back-landing ramps on each jet opened. After a few more seconds, Celeste’s diminished hope that she would never see her son again began to take a turn for the better. The first man to walk off of the first plane was Kevin, followed closely by General Christopher Peterson. Two other men that she did not recognize walked out of the second jet.
“Uncle Kevin,” Jake shouted with the zeal of a young boy reunited with the man who raised him. With his own energy returning, Jake rushed for his uncle and grabbed him in a huge bear hug, lifting him off the ground.
“Whoa there,” Kevin said, wincing in pain. “You’re crushing me with your new super powers.”
“Sorry,” Jake said, lowering him to the ground. He then embraced Chris while the other two pilots waited behind them.
Celeste embraced Kevin and Chris as well and then glanced at the battle worn jets they arrived in. With her voice still full of emotion from the loss of her son, she said, “I take it things aren’t well throughout the rest of the world either?”
Kevin shook his head in disappointment. “The Gnols have fully invaded with a force larger than the first attack of Earth. We had to fight our way here.”
“Where’s Ashley?” Jake asked with immediate concern.
“She’s safe in Zion right now. John was able to figure out the Gnols were in orbit, but we couldn’t reach you here because they jammed our communications. We evacuated Scott Air Force base before it was completely destroyed with a nuke.”
“They’re using nukes now? Well, it’s obvious their intentions aren’t to stay,” Jake said.
“What about Zion?” Celeste asked.
The despair on Kevin’s face changed to one of hope. “Oh, believe me, they have tried, but God is good. In the short time I have been helping to build the city, I have seen wonders and miracles that I never could have imagined, even after your miraculous resurrections. The city is completely impenetrable with unbelievable technology; the kind of technology that you only see in the movies. The city is protected by a giant plasma dome. Every missile and plasma blast the Gnols threw at it was absorbed into its energy field, strengthening the shield even more.”
Worlds Without End: The Prophecy (Book 3) Page 25