by Jack Castle
“Yes,” the Mook said. “Are you here to pay homage to the greatness that is Atum-Khaos?”
“No. Well, yes. Well, not really.”
“You seem confused.”
“You have no idea.” Harry looked around for Asha, but she was playing the role of ambassador with a portly king from another province.
“Well, maybe you could ask the great Atum for guidance,” the waiter said.
Harry frowned. “I doubt Khaos will make time to speak to an insignificant speck like me.”
The Mook smiled broadly, something Harry did not think Mooks were capable of. “Atum-Khaos loves all of his children. Just love him back with all of your heart and soul, and he will grant you what you desire the most.”
Harry shoved his hands in his pockets and pretended to ignore the annoying waiter. He hoped the waiter would just go away.
But he didn’t. Instead, the Mook asked, “Do you know what it is you want the most?”
“What? Yeah, uh, sure. For starters, how about helping me find my missing crew and the pilots I was sent out to find? And, oh yeah, help us all get back home to Earth and our families.”
“I sense your pain,” the Mook said.
“Yeah, well, there’s really not much you can do about it,” Harry said irritably.
“Certainly there is.” The Mook’s voice grew more calm and loving by the second.
“Really, and what’s that?” Harry asked.
“Just know that you are not an insignificant speck,” the waiter said, seemingly reading his thoughts. “I love all my children. I am that which you seek. I am the creator of your forefathers and of all things. And yes, I will send you home to your children. All that I ask is that you worship me above all others.”
Harry couldn’t believe his ears. When he looked back down at the waiter, he noticed that the waiter’s eyes did not resemble the normal goldfish-like eyes of a Mook but rather the eyes of the twelve-foot being floating on the dais. Harry decided that this was definitely not some run-of-the-mill Mook slave. Can it really be? Can I really be standing before God himself, who has taken the form of a Mook waiter just to talk to an inconsequential dot in the universe like me?
Harry was nodding and about to say ‘yes’ when he heard an announcement that drowned out even his innermost thoughts. “Dan-Sai Asha from the Kingdom of Mukara!”
Harry looked up and saw that it was Asha’s turn to present Khaos with a fitting tribute. When he turned back to the waiter, the Mook’s eyes had returned to their normal dull yellow color.
“Who are you?” Harry asked.
But the waiter responded in the rubber-band-like Mook language, and Harry couldn’t understand a word. When Harry didn’t take an hors d’oeuvre from the waiter’s serving plate, he shrugged his shoulders and sauntered off. Whoever or whatever the Mook waiter had become, it was that no more.
A feeling of elation washed over Harry. Was there really a chance that this Atum-Khaos would take him and his men back home to their families? Heck, why not? He had helped the Awumpai safely deliver the Dan-Sai to the gods, after all. Harry decided he would take a glass of wine from a passing waiter’s platter. He even felt like dancing. He didn’t. But he felt like it.
Instead, he decided to join Asha. He was working his way to the tribute pen, where he had last seen her, when the music died down and the lights in the chamber dimmed. The only lights now visible came from Khaos’s scepter and from Asha.
Pushing his way through the crowd, Harry saw Asha’s tiny form crumpled on the floor before Khaos. She had a glowing aura about her that resembled the one Harry had seen when she conversed with the SongBird Goddess above the river.
A hush enveloped the audience as Asha slowly and delicately lifted her head and began to sing. Her song resembled the one Harry had heard that night by the river, but it was sadder and more poignant. Then, just as she did at the river crossing, Asha slipped her terrestrial bonds and rose above the adoring crowd, singing with even more fervor. She was truly an angel among mortals, and the crowd sighed as she sang.
This must be what Ba-Tu meant by ‘offering’, Harry thought. He had been worried that Asha herself was going to be the tribute, but maybe it only meant that she was going to offer Khaos a song.
The crowd’s adoration for Khaos began to transfer to tiny Asha. Even Harry, a mere mortal, felt the energy in the room shift from one god-like being to another.
Harry was just as captivated by Asha’s singing as the rest of the crowd, but because he had heard her sing twice before, once by the river and once in the post office, he alone noticed that something strange was happening to Atum-Khaos. The god’s white-hot aura deepened into a reddish-purple. The god fidgeted, and the more the people adored Asha’s angelic singing, the more the god’s aura deepened. It became a dark, venomous red.
“ENOUGH!!!!” Khaos bellowed, jumping to his feet. “I AM NOT PLEASED!” His booming voice shattered windows, goblets, and chandeliers. Many worshipers screamed and fled the room and his wrath.
Asha abruptly ceased her singing but continued to hover before Khaos.
“THIS IS THE SEED OF THE SONGBIRD GODDESS AND WOULD DO HARM TO YOUR GOD!”
The remaining followers cried out at this statement, and the Tripods slammed their pikes into the floor.
Harry was dumbfounded. The throngs of loving worshipers, who only moments ago were sighing with admiration for Asha and her singing, turned into an angry mob filled with murderous rage. Even Asha’s bowmen screamed obscenities at her. When Harry looked into their eyes, however, he saw that their once multi-colored orbs had become all black, like Atum’s.
As the crowd continued to yell at little Asha, Khaos ignited his scepter of power, causing it to glow even more powerfully, and silenced them all. He lifted his scepter and held it outstretched toward Asha.
The vibrant colors swirling about the tiny princess first dimmed and then began moving toward Atum’s outstretched hand. As the energy transference took place, Asha weakened, and her small body slowly descended toward the floor. Her aura turned from the color of autumn leaves to black, and her beautiful icy-blue skin faded to gray.
Harry stepped forward, “Stop it! You’re killing her!” But Harry’s warning fell on deaf ears. The god was in rapture as Asha’s life force drained from her body to his. Harry turned to Fu-Mar. He was certain that the Awumpai would protect Asha, no matter what the odds.
To Harry’s surprise, Fu-Mar instead signaled that it was time to leave. The Awumpai spun on his heel and started toward the exit. Ba-Tu followed him through the mesmerized followers.
Harry pushed his way through the crowd and quickly caught up with him. “Fu-Mar, stop!” He blocked the Awumpai’s path. “Where are you going?”
Fu-Mar easily shoved him aside.
“Ba-Tu,” Harry pleaded.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but this was our purpose. We were charged to deliver Asha to the Atum, and we have done so.”
“So he can kill her?” Harry asked.
Ba-Tu hesitated.
“Look at her, Ba-Tu. She’s dying. Look at her!”
Ba-Tu began to turn her head, but Fu-Mar pushed her toward the exit.
“I’m sorry.” She walked away without a backward glance.
“Well, to hell with this,” Harry said. He attempted to draw his pistol, but Fu-Mar quickly restrained him. Harry saw tears well up in the Awumpai’s eyes, but Fu-Mar held fast.
“You bastards!” Harry said. “You bastards! I’ll kill you all for this!”
Fu-Mar again attempted to lead Harry to the door but suddenly seemed to notice that Hu-Nan was missing. He turned. The big red Awumpai had remained near Asha. Fu-Mar growled at Hu-Nan, but the shaggy Awumpai ignored him. When Fu-Mar repeated his command, Hu-Nan shook his head in defiance and refused to look the older Awumpai in the eye.
Harry had neve
r seen Hu-Nan (or anything else for that matter) disobey the old warrior. Fu-Mar immediately shoved Harry aside and moved toward Hu-Nan. But before Fu-Mar could stop him, Hu-Nan stepped forward and growled thunderously at Atum-Khaos.
Hearing Hu-Nan’s roar, Khaos lowered his scepter, and Asha’s nearly lifeless body collapsed to the floor. Atum glared at the big red Awumpai and shouted at his Tripod guards, “REMOVE THOSE FILTHY AWUMPAI FROM MY SIGHT!”
Hu-Nan rushed to Asha’s side with surprising speed. Two mighty swipes from his oversized arms sent the approaching Tripods flying. He then reached down and scooped up Asha’s body. He held her in the crook of his arm, as a parent holds a newborn.
The crowd gasped in bewilderment. Some fearful worshipers darted for the doors, while others were rooted to the spot, paralyzed by their surprise.
Hu-Nan held Asha protectively to his chest. Two Tripods with long pikes moving toward him, and he released a deep, throaty growl that stopped the duo in their tracks. The Tripods shuffled their hoofed feet nervously before moving away from the large Awumpai to wait for reinforcements.
Seconds later, the Tripod’s reinforcements appeared, and a dozen of the creatures encircled Hu-Nan. The Tripods jabbed their long pikes at him, and one blow slashed his arm and grazed Asha’s head.
The small cry that escaped Asha’s lips sounded like a crack of thunder to Harry where he stood frozen between Hu-Nan in the center of the room and Fu-Mar near the door. The small sound seemed to reach Fu-Mar’s ears as well because the old Awumpai stopped dead in his tracks.
The Tripods continued to jab and strike at Hu-Nan with pikes and axes. The big Awumpai was losing blood from several wounds. Nonetheless, Hu-Nan remained defiant and clutched the princess to his chest.
A Tripod with a double-bladed ax stepped behind him and prepared to deliver the killing blow. Free of his paralysis, Harry drew his gun, but before the blow fell or he could fire a shot, the Tripod’s head was severed from its shoulders. The severed head flew through the air and landed in the overhead aquarium while the body took a few halting steps and collapsed to the ground.
The crowd parted to reveal Fu-Mar, who stood in a samurai stance with his hand on the hilt of his sword. Most of the remaining audience members fled for the exits while two Tripods charged toward the old Awumpai
Neither of the Tripods saw the black Awumpai leap through the air behind them while firing bolts from her projectile weapon at the backs of their heads. The thick-shafted bolts protruded from their faces; alien centaurs turned into grotesque three-legged unicorns. Ba-Tu landed between their bodies, paused for a moment, and moved off before their lifeless forms even toppled to the floor.
Simultaneously, a third Tripod leaped before Fu-Mar and hoisted his mighty battle-ax. He confronted Fu-Mar with an impressive ax demonstration and took a mighty swing at the older Awumpai. Fu-Mar dodged under the swing and bolted past the Tripod with a burst of speed. The Tripod’s body split in half at the waist and crumpled to the floor in two pieces behind Fu-Mar.
A fourth Tripod drew back its arm to throw its pike into Fu-Mar’s unprotected back, but Harry’s .45 rang out five times. All five shots made a pulpy mess of the Tripod’s face. The creature fell to two of its knees, but the third limb remained extended and kept the inert body at an odd angle.
Harry moved over to Hu-Nan’s side to relieve the Awumpai of the princess. He scooped the princess up in his arms, and Hu-Nan rose painfully to his feet. The Awumpai nodded in thanks.
The red Awumpai roared as he joined the fight. The battle turned in the Awumpais’ favor, and they more than held their own against the seemingly inexhaustible supply of Tripods that surrounded them. Harry did his best to stay between the three giant protectors and, because he held the princess, could only watch as Fu-Mar and Hu-Nan kept the Tripods at bay.
As he jumped back from a pike thrown at him, Harry turned to find a Tripod rearing up on its front two legs in order to trample him. Before Harry could so much as cry out, Ba-Tu appeared on the Tripod’s back, reached around to the front of its throat with a captured knife, and slit its throat. As before, she was gone before the Tripod’s body ever found the floor.
Harry didn’t see Khaos signal the Mukarian archers to attack, but the god must have done so because scores of arrows suddenly hit each of the Awumpai protectors.
The Awumpai cried out in pain. Fu-Mar, roaring at this newest threat, grabbed a nearby set of chairs in each hand and flung them at the archers, who were reloading their bows.
The missiles struck three of the bowmen to devastating effect, but several more archers took their places.
Fu-Mar and Hu-Nan overturned a heavy banquet table and motioned for Harry to duck behind it. As he did so, the long tabletop was struck by a score of arrows.
Harry gently laid the tiny princess on the floor behind the table and reloaded his pistol. Seconds later, Ba-Tu joined him and they stood up together to gun down several more members of the bowmen infantry: he with his pistol, she with her crossbow.
More enemies took their places.
Harry removed his second pistol from his waistband with his left hand, needing to double his effort to keep the archers busy. Aiming at the nearest archer, Harry saw that it was the same bowman who had nodded to Asha earlier. Like the other worshipers, the archer’s eyes now resembled Khaos’s, and he aimed his bow directly at them. Harry fired left-handed. His first two shots went wide, but the third hit the young Mukarian between the eyes.
Just when it seemed as though the Awumpai, Harry, and the princess could make a break for it, a ball of kinetic energy appeared out of nowhere and struck the table barricade with a horrific BOOM. It left a small crater in the floor and knocked all of them off their feet.
“ENOUGH!” Khaos yelled while holding the scepter of power.
His ears ringing, Harry said, “Wow, that thing really packs a punch.”
He’d lost count but knew there had to be nearly fifty more Tripods clipclopping into the room and just as many archers aiming their bows from the walls. Before any of them could recover from Khaos’s blow, the Awumpai, Harry, and the princess were surrounded once more.
Fu-Mar pulled Harry to his feet, and the group quickly formed a circle around Asha. They kept their backs to one another and faced the enemy, who, for the moment, held their fire.
Harry and Fu-Mar exchanged a grin. “Hell of a way for an Awumpai to go out, don’t ya think?” Harry asked. The old Awumpai grunted in reply.
“KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!!!” Atum ordered.
The Tripod’s moved in but halted at the sound of a quiet voice that was so lovely, so pure, it demanded attention.
“No,” Asha pleaded.
The Awumpai unwillingly parted to reveal the princess. Harry noticed that her normal ice-blue color had turned completely gray. She held her side with one arm and leaned heavily on Ba-Tu with the other.
She started to say something else but coughed up crimson blood. Ba-Tu steadied her, and she tried again. “Please, Atum, let them go,” she begged.
Harry realized that the jealous god had already delivered the fatal blow. Asha would die whether they managed to escape the palace or not.
“Mercy, Atum!” a worshiper in the crowd cried out. When Harry tried to identify their benefactor, he was surprised to see that some of the eyes of Khaos’s followers had returned to their normal colors.
“Mercy!” shouted another.
“Mercy!” shouted Queen Apsu, who was flanked by her honor guard.
Although ready to strike, Khaos considered the audience’s cry for mercy. His sinister, murderous grin was replaced by a brief look of confusion over this latest development, and then his smile took its place once more.
“My Atum,” Asha said, “I will give my life willingly if you will but spare my friends.”
Atum thought this proposition over and responded, “I WILL BE MERCIFUL AND
SPARE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS, BUT YOU MUST CHOOSE WHICH OF YOUR BELOVED AWUMPAI SHALL DIE IN YOUR PLACE.”
“I’m sorry, my liege, but I can no more choose one of my Awumpai than I can choose a favorite star in the night sky.” The small princess trembled.
“IF YOU DO NOT CHOOSE ONE, I WILL KILL THEM ALL,” Khaos warned.
Asha turned and looked at her battle-weary protectors, who now helped each other to stand and to remove the well-placed arrows from their bodies.
Asha turned back toward the jealous god and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I cannot choose.”
“BUT YOU HAVE ALREADY CHOSEN. IT IS THE AWUMPAI WHOM YOU LOVE MOST, AND THAT LOVE HAS NOW BETRAYED IT.”
Without another word, Khaos formed another kinetic fireball with his scepter. This one was larger and more menacing than before. It burned brighter and brighter and was accompanied by a shrill sound that crescendoed in volume and pitch.
Before releasing it upon the chosen Awumpai, the angry god turned again toward his audience of followers. “ALL KNOW THIS: HER BETRAYAL KILLED THE ONE WHOM SHE LOVED MOST.”
Hu-Nan stepped forward and braced for the blow. It was Hu-Nan with whom the young princess played, laughed, and cried the most. She tied ribbons in his hair, slept on his mighty chest at night, and ran to him when she had bad dreams. He dropped his weapons to the ground, outstretched his arms, and waited for the inevitable.
Atum held the kinetic ball of power on his scepter for a few more seconds and then flung it toward the Awumpai.
But the mighty fireball streaked past the red-haired Awumpai … and struck Ba-Tu instead. The blast tore open Ba-Tu’s chest and created a cavernous wound that exposed her ribs.
Tears streamed down Asha’s face, and she rushed to the fallen Awumpai’s side. Ba-Tu could not move her head, but her eyes focused on the princess.
It took Hu-Nan a moment to realize that he had not been hit, and then he instinctively bared his teeth at Khaos and moved toward the angry god, flinging the nearest Tripods out of his way.