by C. M. Kane
Screw Vesh, and screw Zeus. No-one is taking her from me. He thought, he was beyond caring, he was beyond thinking, all that mattered was her and her death. He reached the cliff face and began to climb swiftly, pushing his already tired and aching body hard as he easily outdistanced the much slower Wolven. About halfway up he saw her reach the top and disappear over the edge, it didn’t matter, he was gaining on her rapidly. He continued up, forcing his tired limbs to keep their pace. She looked back over the ledge, as if studying him. Does she know her fate? Is she scared? Does she finally realise that death will soon be upon her? He thought triumphantly.
She dropped something over the edge. Her water bottle whizzed past, just missing him.
She’s still toying with me. Damn Bitch! At the attack his rage intensified, driving him to climb even faster. He was almost to the top now, his arms and legs trembling with fatigue, one hand reached the top then the other. Now, he thought, smiling. Now we get to see how clever you are, you little bitch. He used the last of his fading strength to pull his head up, only to see two boots coming directly at his face.
The force of the double booted kick snapped his head back making him lose his grip on the rock, he felt himself falling backwards his arms cart wheeling frantically as he fell. The last thing he saw as he plummeted to the ground was Tae’s grinning face as she looked over the edge and waved to him.
Oh hell no, NO! He thought, just before he hit the ground.
***
Vesh had awoken from his light sleep at the sound of movement.
He was finding Tae Rames and this hunt to be uniquely fascinating, added to that, the smells and sounds of the encompassing forest soothed something inside of him. He had forgotten how much he had missed the simple act of running through the trees, feeling real ground shift under his feet, smelling the forests air with all its myriad scents. The simple everyday sounds that the natural world made. He leant back against the rough bark of the tree he was in and waited silently for her to wake up and resume her trek, determined to make the most of this short reprieve from ship duty.
He watched silently as she shimmied out from under the ferns and drew her knife. He climbed down from his perch in the tree and followed at a distance until she reached the escarpment and started to climb.
Now what the hell am I supposed to do? He couldn’t follow closely because she would see him. He decided to wait until she cleared the top then follow as quickly as he could.
She was about three-quarters of the way up when he saw Jaden sprinting toward her. What the hell is that idiot doing? Well, either way, she’s going to see me because I have to stop the fool. He ran after the thalien, shouting at him to stop in the name of Zeus. When Jaden ignored him, Vesh yelled that the girl was under Zeus’ personal protection. Jaden had looked back once but continued on, it was then that Vesh knew the thalien intended to kill her.
Panic gripped him, this must be who he had been sent in to protect her from, and he was about to fail in his missions objective. He sprinted as hard as he was able to, but was falling behind rapidly. While Vesh knew he could kill Jaden easily in a fight, the Thalien, like their Elven cousins, were vastly swifter than the Wolven. Jaden was already climbing the cliff at a phenomenal rate before Vesh even reached it. He climbed as fast as he could, pushing himself dangerously, taking risks he normally wouldn’t. He looked up and saw her clear the top, the next minute her water bottle came pelting past him, she had lined it up with Jaden but just missed him. Damn.
He watched helplessly as the thalien reached the top while he himself was not even halfway yet. He had failed his God, he had lost her. He watched as the thalien hoisted himself up, the next minute he saw Jaden’s head snap back as a pair of boots connected with his face. Vesh saw him lose his grip and start to fall, the girl’s grinning face quickly popped over the side and she waved to the freefalling thalien.
Here he was, hanging off the side of a precipice, watching an orange thalien hurtle to his death soundlessly past him while she waved as if to say, ‘bye, bye’. He couldn’t help it, he started laughing his head off. He wondered what the thalien’s last thought was, and that made him laugh even harder.
To think he had worried about her. The idiot hadn’t known what hit him, literally, until it was too late. He looked up again to find she had turned her gaze to him, he sobered slowly, but still smiled while looking at her. She pursed her lips, put a raised finger in front of her and waggled it from side to side as if to say, ‘naughty, naughty, naughty.’ Then she winked at him and disappeared.
Damn, now what should he do?. He stared at the spot she had disappeared from while he thought about his next move. He didn’t know if she would still be there, ready with the same trick for him. Deciding it was better to play it safe, especially now that Jaden was dead, he spent the next fifteen minutes travelling sideways as quietly as he could, before slowly and silently resuming his climb. By moving sideways he hoped she wouldn’t figure out where he would make the top.
When he finally did reach the top he listened carefully for a good couple of minutes before quickly peeking over the ledge and withdrawing his head again in case she was waiting, but there was no sign of her. He climbed up and rolled forward, his legs still trembling from the exertion of the climb. Standing slowly, he looked around until he spotted her. She was about two kilometres ahead of him and heading toward the Pyre. He didn’t know what else to do, she obviously knew he was following her now, and there was nowhere to hide out here anyway, just a few sparse clumps of grass here and there. Vesh started following her at a slow jog while he recouped his lost energy from the climb.
CHAPTER 30
Tannan escorted Kresley and Jason back to the Olympus, he could tell the youth needed to talk, his mother had tried to engage him on several occasions but he had just sat there sullenly, ignoring her. Tannan had been going to put them both in the same room, but Jason had asked him if he could have somewhere by himself so he could think. After a subtle glance at Kresley who nodded in agreeance he had put them in adjoining quarters, to give the boy some space.
When he ushered him in to his small room he asked gently, ‘Any questions?’
Jason turned to him, frowning in thought. ‘Will I get fangs like Tae?’ he asked curiously.
Tannan stepped forward. ‘Open your mouth.’ Jason opened his mouth and Tannan looked under his top lip and felt around. ‘I don’t think so. I can neither see nor feel anything. Do you have body hair like other terrans?’
Jason nodded.
‘It looks like your sister may have inherited the traits of the Vampire and you the traits of the Terrans.’ Tannan smiled easily.
Jason nodded, feeling somewhat reassured that at least some part of his world was still as he had always thought it to be. He looked at Tannan again. ‘He wants her, doesn’t he?’
Tannan was surprised that the boy had seen through Zeus so easily and he reassessed his opinion of him. He may be a terran, but the boy had a keen insight into people, just as his mother had. Tannan had not missed Kresley quickly undoing the buttons of her dress before her plea to Odin. Yes, this boy had potential if guided in the right way. After his study of the boy he answered carefully and truthfully. ‘Yes, for the moment. They all do though, and for basically the same reason. Yes, your sister is beautiful, but the gods have access to men and women far more beautiful than she is.’ He held up his hand as Jason was about to interrupt. ‘Do you want the truth or not, boy?’
Jason nodded, remaining quiet.
Tannan continued. ‘The gods are fickle because they are old. Ancient, actually. They have all seen and done so much in their vast lifetimes. Your sister Tae is like a breath of fresh air to them. She makes them laugh again, she amuses them with her antics, more importantly, she intrigues them. The gods have had more fun in the last few days since she has been on the Island than in centuries. I, for one, haven’t seen Poseidon genuinely laugh since Loki’s death.’ He stared hard at Jason. ‘That’s over nine hundred years. So y
es, boy, of course they all want her, whether they know why or not is another question … she’s an unexpected gift to them.’
Jason looked lost in thought for a while before asking, ‘Will they hurt her?’
Tannan shrugged. ‘It depends what she’s up to in there. They may enjoy her antics, but never forget that they are gods and they can be fickle when tested. Do you know why she’s there?’
Jason shook his head, dejected. ‘No, but I can feel an urgency inside me, like I need to do something desperately. I think it’s coming from Tae.’
Tannan frowned. ‘We will find out soon enough. Now, try to rest and think a little about what Isis said to you before you talk to your mother. Food and wine are on the table.’ Jason nodded, retreating into the room, and Tannan went to gather the nymphs.
After herding the excited women to the shuttle he contacted the hunter, Martin, on Terra and told him to bring the warrior, Brohan, to the Pavilion of the Gods. Still troubled over the events that had been occurring he contacted the captain of the Olympus, making sure he was still on full battle alert and ordering him to guard the pavilion at all costs.
He had a nasty feeling there was far more going on here than even he had first thought, and if he was right in that assumption, then it was dangerous, having so many gods in one place. Thinking of which … He ordered another two power crystals to be taken down to the pavilion and fitted immediately to shore up the force field, just in case something untoward should occur. Feeling a little more at ease, he went back to the jumper to ferry the excited nymphs back down to the pavilion.
Zeus turned as the three nymphs came hurrying excitedly through the door. As expected, Thor pounced on the first to get within arm shot. My favourite redhead, Zeus sighed inwardly. With an excited squeal the nymph returned to a settee with him. Zeus moved to the food and absently took an apple, while the other two nymphs paired off with Poseidon and Odin. Baste was pouting, whining about a lack of male companions and of the boy, Jason, being taken back to the ship. He ignored her and settled back on his settee. He was taking another bite of the apple, just as an orange thalien burst from the trees and ran straight for the escarpment Tae was climbing.
‘What the hell?’ he shouted in surprise.
Everyone turned to the large three-dimensional screen, to see a Thalien running flat out toward where the girl was climbing. Obviously Vesh was chasing him, they heard his yell to stop but the thalien merely glanced over his shoulder. Vesh yelled again, that the girl was under Zeus’s personal protection, but he was once again ignored. When the thalien reached the escarpment he started to climb with incredible speed.
Zeus was speechless, rage slowly replacing surprise. That orange shit ignored a direct command, basically from me. And, by the look on his face when he turned back, he’s going to try to kill the girl.
Zeus turned to Tannan and said in a quiet, deadly tone, ‘Bring me Pan. Now!’
The other gods shifted uncomfortably and returned their eyes to the screen to watch the thalien as he climbed. A few minutes later Tannan returned with a dishevelled looking Pan who was clutching his now re-growing ear as if in protection. Zeus drew his sword slowly, never taking his eyes from the younger god.
‘Tell me, Pan,’ he said, walking forward, ‘you have personally hand-picked each member of the Terran WLE Hunter Squad, have you not?’
Pan nodded, eyeing the sword warily, but somewhat reassured by Zeus’ soft controlled words.
‘So why, pray tell, is one of your hand-picked soldiers disobeying a direct order from me, both his, and your, superior?’
Pan looked at the screen, his ear hurt and he was tired of being treated like a fool. He was used to respect and deference from people. For Zeus to treat him in such a shabby manner, cutting off his ear, ruining one of his best brocade coats and, worse still, making him look like a fool in front of the other gods instead of their equal, well, he’d had enough. The other gods stood up to him and were respected for it, it was time he did too. It was time for Zeus to respect him. ‘How in Hades name should I know? You’ve had me locked up!’ He leant forward with a contemptuous look on his face as if speaking to a dullard, ‘REMEMBER?’ he shouted.
No-one even saw the sword move it was so fast. Pan’s head simply dropped to the ground. Zeus leant over it, smiling at the glassy eyes now staring up at him as if in surprise. ‘Yes, now that you mention it, I do.’ He turned his stare to Tannan. ‘Put that,’ he gestured to Pan’s still twitching remains, ‘into a jumper, and set its course directly into the sun. And get someone to clean up the mess it made,’ he said, gesturing to the blood still oozing from the corpse.
Tannan nodded and called some warriors forward to gather the remains as he tapped in some commands at a com-panel, several cleaning bots immediately emerged from an opening in the pavilions far wall and set to work. Within three minutes there was no trace of a god having died on the spot.
Zeus turned to the assembled gods. ‘I have just broken the most fundamental law of our kind, that of never killing another of our race. Is there any here who will charge me with the crime?’ He looked to the others seated beside the now terrified nymphs.
Much to his surprise Isis stood. ‘We have all seen and heard the thalien treachery. We have also heard, with our own ears, Pan’s acknowledgement that this creature was hand-picked by himself. Hence Pan seems to have been creating a force loyal only to him, perhaps as a precursor to challenging one of his superiors. The law of never killing another of our race has two exceptions: if one of us has directly caused the death of another god, for no valid reason, or if one of us is planning sedition against their superiors. I say Pan was planning sedition against his superiors from the evidence we have all seen.’ She looked to the others who all nodded in agreement.
‘I never trusted the slimy little prick anyway,’ Odin said. The others all nodded in agreement.
‘So, now that’s settled are we going to watch her get killed? Because he’s nearing the top’ Poseidon said as he gestured towards the com-screen.
Zeus wiped his blade on his cloak and re-sheathed it, feeling slightly better now that he had at least killed something. Still, losing the woman without ever knowing what she was up to came as a bitter blow.
The thalien reached the top and Zeus sighed, about to comment on what a shame it all was when, just as he lifted his head above the rim, a pair of boots struck out hard and fast straight into his face. Everyone gasped as he flew backward and plummeted to the ground. Just as quickly it seemed, her grinning face appeared over the edge and she waved the freefalling hunter a merry goodbye.
No-one in the room even heard Vesh as their own raucous laughter erupted, building to a crescendo in the room after she turned her gaze toward Vesh and waggled her finger at him.
Tannan rushed to Zeus, ‘If it may please you, my lord, may I send a copy of this to a few of my closest friends?’ he begged.
Zeus grinned and nodded, his rage of a few minutes ago transformed to euphoria. Might as well get the Vampire onside, he thought this little vid would be doing the rounds of Salernis and the fleet for quite a while.
Isis wiped tears from her eyes. ‘What do you think he was thinking as he fell?’ She giggled.
Poseidon looked over, smiling broadly. ‘Probably something along the lines of: Oh shiiiiiiiiit, thump,’ he clapped his hands together hard at the last word and the room erupted into laughter again. ‘Seriously though, Zeus,’ Poseidon said, turning to him. ‘I think I speak for all of us here when I say that this little mortal should be able pick who she wants to work for if she survives whatever it is she is up to. After all, it’s only fair, all things considered,’ he added slyly as he glanced at the spot where Pan had so recently died.
Zeus knew Poseidon’s words were a thinly veiled aside as to what had occurred, and how they had all agreed he should face no charges, he now owed them for their support and he knew it.
The others in the room turned to him. ‘He’s got you there.’ Thor grinned. ‘I
know I want her on my staff,’ he said with a sly wink at his deliberate double entendre.
Zeus pouted. Damn them, I saw her first, but he also knew he owed them. If this was the price he had to pay then he would count himself lucky. Still, I do have the biggest most powerful ship in the fleet, as well as being leader of the gods, and I’m also quite handsome, he thought smugly, given the choice between me and the others she’s sure to pick me. Feeling much more cheerful he nodded, smiling.
‘If this is the wish of all of you then I agree. I do hate feeling like I have a debt between us, so this is the perfect solution,’ he said, making them realise he considered his debt to them wiped clean.
Baste, Hades and Persephone frowned a little at being outmanoeuvred but still agreed happily, mainly because no-one really liked Pan anyway, and now they all had a chance at gaining this amusing little terran. This was the most entertainment they had seen in centuries, and now they might even gain their own little prize at the end of it.
They watched as Vesh finally made the top without incident. Tae was now about two kilometres ahead of him and moving toward Loki’s Pyre.
Zeus glanced over to Odin and Thor. He knew this would be difficult for them, the loss of their son and brother had hit each of them extremely hard. What is she up to? He thought as he watched her slowly jogging in the distance. Zeus nodded to Tannan. ‘Tell him to get within a half kilometre but no closer unless she stops.’
Tannan nodded.’ Yes, my lord.’ He went back to his com-panel against the wall to issue the orders.
Zeus smiled and raised his wine to his lips, coming here was the best idea he’d had in years. He sat back, now content to just watch.
Tannan turned from his panel. ‘My lord, I have just had a report from Martin. He has the warrior, Brohan, and a woman who says she is Miss Rames aunt. His jumper has blown a crystal and he is awaiting a replacement before bringing them both to the pavilion, if that is your wish.’