Releasing Chaos

by Lexi Ander

  Giving Stan my phone, I walked into the middle of the large room. There were so many dolls, I kicked a few out of my way. I recognized the style from ancient times, figures with large eyes, long wavy hair, bell-shaped robes. There were also turban topped serpents with female bodies. When I stretched out my senses, the power trapped within each one pulsed softly, waiting for Marduk to draw from them. Once the prayer was depleted, the statue crumbled to dust. But if the figurine was broken, the prayer would be released, becoming nothing but a breath on the wind.

  I released control and my beast burst free, both of us delighting in the act we'd soon perpetrate. I'd become the proverbial bull— well, dragon—in a china shop. We let loose, swinging our tail. The noise of the ceramic shattering sounded like music to our ears.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Stanley Kendall

  Could a dragon laugh? I was certain Brian was getting some kind of sadistic glee out of demolishing the room. He was like an adult with bubble wrap, and couldn't just leave it alone with one pop. Using his cell phone, I snapped a couple of pictures and even recorded almost a minute of him in his dragon form, big black feet tap dancing as if he was Fred Astaire. His tail swished around, gleefully smashing clay figurines to a tempo that almost sounded like cymbals in a big band.

  "I thought you guys were human, some kind of special forces to break us out," Adam accused, taking a step back, the revulsion clear in his expression.

  As far as I knew, Marduk had given him no reason to believe those different than humans were good individuals.

  "He is special forces," Leora snapped from the doorway. Blood dripped from her temple and was smeared across her face, but she seemed whole, if battered.

  At her sudden appearance, Adam and the others hastily withdrew and clustered together in the farthest corner.

  "We need to leave immediately." Leora eyed the group, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

  "Let me clean up here." Pointing a finger at the humans, I said, "Help me destroy these vessels and the sooner we can get out of here." I tipped over the table next to me to demonstrate what I meant.

  Disgusted or not over our lack of human status, the nine men and women desperately wanted to leave. A couple went about the task with relish. I would too if I'd been kidnapped and kept against my will to do the bidding of an arrogant God I knew nothing about. Their entire world had been disrupted, irrevocably changing their life. Yeah, I'd be fucking pissed.

  While we worked, Leora and her hunters dragged Maressa and her guards into the room and secured their limbs, taping their mouths shut. They had a front row seat to watch Brian make short work of the pottery in the next room.

  Taking Brian's phone out of my pocket again, I snapped a couple of pictures of the bound guards and the humans. I couldn't help but take more video of Brian because no one would believe me if I told them he pranced and pounced like a puppy at play. And because I was an ass, I sat on my heels next to Maressa, ignoring the hatred and the fear in her eyes.

  "You better think long and hard where your loyalties lie once The Voice, The Heart, and The Sword free your people. Because if I ever see you act the way you did today, I'll kill you myself so they don't have to deal with you."

  "Adon Kendall," Leora said, approaching, "the Sword has finished his work. If you're done, we need to flee."

  The guards with Maressa flinched at the title Leora used, peering around me to catch sight of Brian striding back into the room with a pleased expression, his scale silk clothing and armor none the worse for wear. I rose to my feet and approached the humans. A couple retreated a step or two.

  "You shying like sheep will get old really fast. We aren't monsters. A monster would leave you here to deal with the consequences, taking the fall for the broken dolls." Half the eyes staring at me widened in horror. "So get a handle on yourselves and your reactions because they could get your friends killed." Sweeping my arm back, I beckoned to Leora. "If you want to get out of here and go back home, you'll listen and obey her every command. If you give her any problems, we'll leave you behind."

  Leora stepped forward and gave a series of easy-to-follow instructions. Brian and I took our weapons back from the hunters and confiscated additional firearms from the bound guards. We formed up at the door, keeping the nine humans within our circle. Brian and I brought up the rear with two other hunters.

  We'd have to retrace our steps and I was under no illusion leaving would be as easy as getting in. There was a suspicious lack of servants as we headed back to the stairs. For a fleeting moment, I thought my original assessment had been wrong and we wouldn't be accosted. Then we rounded the corner to the corridor outside the room with the pool: a contingent of guards blocked the double doors. There were so many, I didn't even attempt to count heads. The number before us were more than we could overcome. Unless… I glanced at Brian from the corner of my eye. If the dragon were to show himself, the possibility of us getting through rose exponentially. But even though the hallway was wider and taller than average, there was a good chance we'd be buried alive if the structure was damaged by Brian's rampage.

  In the group before us, half the people wore their alternate forms. There were men with lion's heads; transformed scorpion-men with their large, black, plated bodies, arching tails with venomous stingers, and strange wings with feathers made up of hard exoskeleton plates; and great hairy beasts that towered over their brethren but had no visible facial features. One of the Kusarikku, the human-headed bull-men, broke from the group. The body of the bull was adorned with a close-fitting wrap bedecked with semi-precious stones, his hooves were the size of dinner plates, and gossamer feathered wings looked particularly delicate against his large, solid body.

  Stopping midway to us, the bull-man tucked his foreleg back and bowed his head. "Captain Niamh, we have heard the strangest rumor."

  We didn't have time to chitchat. I pushed my way through our group, Brian following in my wake. Why couldn't the brat stay back? Once we'd reached somewhere safe, I'd chew his ass out. I was sent to protect him, not get into trouble with him at my side.

  "Leora, you want to stand around and talk, be my guest, but we need to leave, now," I snapped, breaking through the last of our guards.

  "I know this well, Adon Kendall, but they have the upper hand."

  The bull-man raised from his bow. "If I may, milord." His gaze raked over me then Brian. The look was not sexual but assessing. "If one of Tiamat's three is with you, we only wish to speak to him."

  Behind me, Brian cursed.

  "No," I hissed back at him in a low voice.

  "We don't have a choice," he replied, pushing by me.

  Before I could follow him, sections of the wall wavered as if immense heat came off the stones. As the illusion gave way, Ladon, along with his jewel-toned snakes and dragonets, were revealed.

  Hurrying, I caught up to Brian and snagged his elbow in a firm grip before he could reach the bull-man. Ladon sprung from the wall to Brian's shoulder, hissing menacingly. Those behind the bull-man murmured excitedly, backing up a couple of steps. Their speaker's skin turned gray and he gulped audibly.

  "We mean you no harm, Tiamat's Chosen. We only want to confirm for ourselves that what we heard was true: Tiamat's three have been awakened and soon our freedom will be given to us." Exhilaration burned in the bull-man's eyes.

  Foolish-fucking-Brian nodded his head. I swear, his earlier rampage addled his brain when he gave away his identity. "Soon you'll be free."

  The bull-man bowed again. Upon closer inspection, his bovine body was riddled with scars, old and new. "I am called Apkallu, the Sage of my people. Even though this news brings me great joy, I must warn you. Until we are free of the God Marduk, we have no option but to do as he commands. For us, there is no free will. It is impossible for us to tell him no, and we cannot strike him. Do you understand what I'm saying? If we meet on the battlefield, he'll command us to attack and we'll have no other recourse than to obey him. Please have mercy on us afte
rward."

  The bull-man had yet to take his eyes off the floor. The tension went out of Brian's body and he pulled from my grasp to cross the last couple of yards and placed his palm on the back of Apkallu's head.

  "We will give mercy," he promised. "Now take your brethren and be gone. I can guarantee you Marduk will awaken, if he hasn't already. I have no wish to fight you this day."

  I clearly saw the people's reluctance. Many stared hard at Brian as if to burn his image into their memory. I couldn't imagine the life they lived and I truly hoped the one they gained after freedom would be better.

  Leora ushered us into the pool room, shutting the doors firmly after the last hunter. The placid waters we'd first witnessed upon arrival were no more. Leora swore a string of inventive curses. "Stay away from the water's edge. Run for those doors." She pointed across the way to the entry of the stairwell.

  I didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing Brian's arm, I pulled him behind me as I darted along the wall. The dark waters roiled and frothed. Halfway around the room, the first smooth serpent head broke the surface. Ladon chirped from Brian's shoulder. The humans on the other side of the pool screamed. Several more heads rose from the water and Leora wasn't the only one cussing.

  The Exalted Serpents, Musmahhu, came in two forms. The males were a hybrid serpent, something crossed between a snake, lion, and bird. The females were seven-headed serpents that lived in fresh waters. What challenged us now was female, and she wasn't as friendly as the ones we'd met in the hall.

  Ladon's chitters brought more dragonets and serpents out of hiding. The potbellied dragonets hop-flew with their small wings across to the Musmahhu, swarming around a couple of the heads trained menacingly on the humans.

  I shoved Brian ahead of me. "Remember your promise to Ushna and just run."

  With a spike of adrenaline and a rush of excitement, I drew my sword and belt knife. Sprinting, I jumped on the Musmahhu, thrusting my sword to the hilt into the long sinuous neck below the horned serpent's earhole. The head hissed and shook, attempting to dislodge me or in pain, I didn't know which. I simply held on, wrapping my legs around the neck, thankful for the increased leg strength from months of horseback riding. Between Ushna's dragonets and me, we distracted the Musmahhu enough the hunters were able to lead the humans across the room without serious injuries.

  From the doorway to the stairwell, Brian yelled at me. "Stanley Kendall, quit horsing around and get your ass over here!"

  I huffed out a laugh because that was easier said than done. I made my way up the neck by climbing the barbed horns along the nape. The heads not preoccupied with the dragonets hissed their putrid breath at me, attempting to pluck me off my perch. I was covered in blood, most of it not my own, as I searched for a way to disengage myself from the mad beast between my legs. Ushna had made Brian promise he'd stay his hand, but I wasn't bound by such an oath. Though it pained me to contemplate causing the Musmahhu permanent harm, I knew she wouldn't allow me to walk away.

  Already lamenting the loss of a good sword, I stabbed downwards into the spinal cord at the back of the serpent's head. The neck I sat upon immediately dropped like a ton of bricks. There was barely enough time for me to leap to the pool's edge. I'd forgotten about the belt knife I held as I rolled. When I tucked my arms against my chest I nicked my forearm with the blade.

  "You crazy bastard!" Brian barked, but I heard the fondness there. He gripped me under the arms and hefted me up.

  "You're only jealous because you didn't get to do that yourself," I shot back as I staggered to my feet, my legs feeling a bit unsteady. I was not looking forward to the climb.

  We ran, hurrying to catch up with Leora and her hunters. Even with the adrenaline, weariness plagued me. I'd spent too many months on the ranch watching over Justus, Neoma, and Dawn, and not enough time working on my strength and endurance. If we made it home in one piece, I promised myself I'd work on that.

  As we climb the stairs, the lack of commotion below worried me. There was no way the loss of the prayer statues had gone unnoticed. Leora had mentioned many times Marduk slept much of the day, which made sense. Some Sumerian Gods fell into a deep sleep when absorbing power. The scrolls recounted how Enki slept in the waters of Kur after he defeated the God Abzu, siphoning the old dragon's powers and taking on his grandfather's responsibilities. As Enki's son, Marduk inherited the need to sleep in order to soak up energy from the prayer statues. He'd notice their loss sooner, rather than later.

  The further up we climbed, the more worn and crumbled the stonework became, the mudbricks not faring the centuries well. When we came to the blocked portion, Leora gathered us as close as possible. The humans fared worse than Brian and me, their heavy panting filling the stairwell, and several collapsed to sit.

  "When I move the soil aside and open the way, I need all of you to run as fast as you can. The gate is a hundred meters from the bottom of the hill." Leora's expression was stern, daring the humans to complain.

  More than one person groaned, the sound turning into screams when the ground shook below us.

  Marduk was awake.

  "Come, there is no time to rest," Leora barked, lifting the human closest to her to their feet. "Hunters, take a human. A couple of you will have to double up."

  "Stan and I will bring up the rear," Brian interjected.

  Leora obviously wanted to argue, but another tremor hit us, causing the sand and soil above us to shift, filling the air with a cloud of dust, and making us cover our mouths and noses with our collars. I lifted the red cowl over my head, wrapping it securely and hiding the lower half of my face.

  Leora lifted her hand to the debris above us and chanted. Instead of beseeching the Earth as the Magi did, Leora used magic derived from a force of will—her will, to be specific. Tristan had attempted to explain the concept to me once, but it was hard for me to understand something so foreign. Even now, I didn't recognize the power she used. I could only sense the intensity. The energy crawled over my skin with an unnaturalness that almost had me hissing aloud at how perverse the magic felt.

  The sandy soil shifted, moving up and outwards, revealing the night sky about ten feet above us. The hunters started up the incline, pulling the stumbling humans along behind them. The progress was ridiculously slow. Even though I understood the humans were tired, we were all going to die if they didn't move their asses.

  Brian turned to me and began undressing.

  "What the fuck are you doing?" My outraged question was stifled when Brian threw the breastplate over my head. I had no choice but to lift my arms and fit them through the sleeves.

  "When we get outside, I'm going to change into my dragon form. I don't need these because I'll have my own dragon scale."

  "I'll be fine." I managed to pull the plate armor over my head. Brian thrust the greaves and cuisses at me before turning to scramble up the incline butt-assed naked. Quickly, snapping the pieces around my thighs and shins, I was surprised when the material adjusted to fit me like a glove.

  A not-quite human roar came from below.

  I wasted no time scrambling to the surface. When I reached the top, the humans and hunters were working their way down the side of the mound. As an Ophidian, I could sense the pulse of the nearest Anunnaki Gate. Brian waited for me, his massive black dragon taking up a good portion of the top of the mound. He laid his spiky head on the ground next to me, the demand there in his large reptilian eyes: get on. Like I'd tell him no.

  A childlike glee took me over once I straddled his scaled neck. Brian leapt into the air, the flapping of his huge wings stirring the dust before he gained altitude. The God Marduk was hunting us. We had innocent humans to protect and guide to safety. Even with the danger stalking us, I let out a bellowing yeh-hah that would have made Tristan proud.

  After circling over our fleeing party, Brian returned to the mound and, with a precise movement, hovered over the exit. Peering down, I could make out shadows shifting at the bottom of the tunnel. Brian ble
w a stream of fire so hot even I felt the immense heat. The roar sounding from below preceded an explosion of dirt and stone. I hunched over Brian's neck, wincing as I was hit with a couple of bricks. When a dark figure climbed from the broad opening, my mouth went dry and my stomach cramped with sudden fear. The figure—the God Marduk—was huge. His form was human, with long, flowing black hair and a beard to match. Brian in his dragon form was colossal, his body alone bigger than a heavy-duty military tank. And yet, Marduk's height would have towered over Brian if we'd been on the ground. I imagined this was what David felt like when facing down Goliath.

  I was almost insulted when Marduk only spared us a cursory glance. Instead, he sought out the fleeing hunters and humans.

  "Dammit!" I immediately recalled what the sage had said. If Marduk commanded, the children of Tiamat had to obey as if they were automatons without a will of their own. He only needed to demand she return the humans and Leora would immediately comply.

  Brian must've had the same thought because on our next pass, Marduk had opened his mouth to speak and Brian flamed him right down the throat. I almost lost my seat as Brian suddenly dove away from the frantic swipe of Marduk's hands as he attempted to bat Brian out of the sky. Pulling the fifty caliber I'd taken from one of Maressa's guards, I took aim. I wasn't under the illusion anything I did would accomplish much more than annoying Marduk. Hell, I'd need a bazooka to do any damage. I filed that thought away for later; perhaps Tristan would buy me one.

  Swiveling in my seat, I shot at Marduk's weirdly human face. His curly hair was ratty and his insanely long beard unkempt. Even with my Lycan strength, the kick of the fifty caliber was nothing to sneeze at, and my hand bucked with the kickback.