“But she’s just a girl,” I pleaded.
“And soon she will be a God— and the earth will shake at the force of Her word, and a single breath from Her mouth shall destroy the wicked… I have seen it, Reaper,” The Righteous said ominously.
The room fell into silence as I clenched my jaw and glared at him in disgust.
“I’ll stop you. I’ll stop you if it’s the last thing I do,” I warned as my cell door suddenly opened, allowing one of the huge Anokian guards to step in.
“The time for idle threats has long passed, my son. Whether you like it or not your world is changing and you must adapt lest you find yourself destroyed,” The Righteous said ominously.
“I won’t stop,” I said, shaking my head as I glared into his eyes. “I’ll never stop.”
“Then I suppose I’ll have to kill you,” he said flatly before glancing toward the guard who had just entered.
“The Suspect has arrived, Sire,” the guard said.
“Very well. Have him brought to the First Quadrant’s Sanctuary and send word that I shall join him shortly,” The Righteous said before turning back to me.
“What did he say about The Suspect? Is P.J. onboard this ship?” I demanded as my entire body grew tense.
“This matter does not concern you, boy,” The Righteous said dismissively without even bothering to look up at me.
“No, answer me! Where is my brother?!” I demanded, but instead of replying he simply ignored me and headed towards the exit.
I gritted my teeth and once again tried to free myself from my virtually unbreakable restraints while the Anokian guard watched me in silence.
Any time now, Howie, I thought to myself as I gave up and hung my head in misery. I was still doing my best to hold onto the hope that Howie and Ace were out there somewhere cooking up an elaborate plan to rescue me, but in the back of my mind I was starting to wonder if I was completely on my own. A sudden wave of depression washed over me as I realized how helpless I truly was and I was just about to abandon all hope when the strangest of things happened. As I glanced at my cell’s door just as The Righteous and the Anokian guard were preparing to exit I could have sworn that the guard glanced over his shoulder and winked at me— and it wasn’t the taunting kind of wink that I would have expected. It was that wink— that same wink you’d give your buddy if he was the only other person in the room who knew what was about to go down. A wide smile spread across my face as I realized that something must have already been in motion and the anguish that had once gripped my heart began to melt away as I thought of what I’d do once the boys got me out of those chains.
19. THE MORTAL SIN
THE RIGHTEOUS:
- 2 HOURS TO DETONATION
THE SUSPECT WAS STANDING IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM flanked by three armored Anokian Knights when I walked into the large candle-lit dome that served as the Sanctuary for the First Quadrant of The Pillar of Eden. This elaborately decorated shrine was a place where we gave thanks to the Goddess who had pulled our people out of the barbarism of our ancestry. I found it strange that The Suspect had asked to meet me in a place that the humans would equate to a church, but since I was ultimately planning to take his life I figured it was only fair to allow him to select the venue for his last moments.
He was dressed in light weight all-black body armor and wearing his typical frowning white mask as he stood a few feet away from the golden Altar of Eden that stood in the center of the shrine. The three Knights of Eden that towered over him were each seemingly large enough to crush him with little to no effort yet he stood amongst them with no apparent fear while I approached him from behind.
“Leave us,” I ordered the Knights as I walked past The Suspect and stopped on the other side of the Altar, opposite from him.
“Together again, at last,” he said in an electronically distorted voice as the three Knights exited the dome and left us alone.
“Indeed, we are. Though I can’t help but feel that you will leave this place… disappointed,” I replied as I looked up at the golden Altar before me instead of making eye contact with the dead eyes of his eerie mask.
“That has yet to be seen. Tell me, my King, how was it that the Anokians came to possess a ship of this magnitude and power? One with technology that even the Equillians would come to envy,” he asked as we both slowly walked around the Altar at the same methodical pace.
“It was a gift. Many years ago the Most High bestowed upon our Goddess the knowledge to build this craft and She in turn passed that knowledge to our ancestors. It was they who first used this vessel to bring her into this plane of existence and just like my forefathers I will now use it to do the same,” I replied as I stroked my long grey beard and continued to eye the shimmering Altar that stood between us.
“And what does this ritual entail?” The Suspect asked, curiously.
“As you know, my former protégé, a great sacrifice is required to open a portal large enough to accommodate the Goddess’ immense spiritual form. Once that portal is opened The Pillar will channel a tachyon beam across the veil in order to draw the Goddess’ form into this world. This ship will serve as a conduit for her spiritual essence, and myself along with a number of our priests shall channel that essence into Her vessel that She may finally be reborn,” I confirmed.
“And what if you fail. What happens then?” The Suspect asked as we both stepped away from the Altar and paused roughly ten feet apart from each other.
“We cannot fail, for our plan is already in motion. Surely you must know by now that the bomb was moved the second you boarded this ship. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that you wanted the ritual to be completed this entire time. Why else would you have set the timer for exactly seventy-two hours? Which is precisely how much time we needed to gather the Tachyon particles necessary for the ritual,” I explained.
“Moving the bomb was never a part of our agreement,” The Suspect protested.
“Well then, you have been deceived, my protégé,” I said smugly
“Then I suppose that makes two of us,” The Suspect said just as his entire body suddenly began to flicker and fade away, as though his physical form was nothing more than a fading illusion. In a matter of seconds The Suspect had completely disappeared and in his place stood the last person that I ever expected to see.
“Ezekiel!” I growled as a potent wave of righteous anger reverberated throughout my entire body.
“Yes, my King. It is I— and I think we both know why I have come,” The Elder replied as we gazed into each other’s eyes from ten feet apart. His long stringy hair and full-faced beard were as white as snow and he was wearing a dark red and black robe that was similar to the one that I too used to wear when we both served as Elder Priests hundreds of years ago.
“How dare you disgrace these hallowed walls with your treacherous presence,” I snarled as I glared at him.
“Call it treachery if you wish, Solomon, but I did what I did to save our race,” The Elder scoffed.
“You joined forces with our enemy, Ezekiel! How exactly does that amount to the salvation of our people?!” I demanded.
“You were driving us towards extinction! What was I supposed to do?! Stand by your side until our empire was reduced to nothing?” The Elder shot back.
“I trusted you,” I snapped.
“And I you, but look at where that got us! We were never meant to be Kings, Solomon. We were priests… servants of the Goddess, not harbingers of war!”
“To think that I once considered you a friend... how could you just forget all that we had been through, Ezekiel? How could you even be capable of such betrayal?” I demanded.
“I did not betray you, Solomon,” he argued.
“Who are you trying to fool, Ezekiel? Me or yourself? Do you really think I don't know what you did? I figured it out the moment I discovered that you were working for the United States government. After that it didn't take much effort to deduce that it was you who divulged our locat
ion to the greys all those years ago. You're the reason my son and I were captured,” I grumbled.
“I did you a favor, Solomon! You and The Greater would have died if I had not turned you over to the Equillians. Even the Goddess herself could not contend with the power of their Guardians, so what makes you think you wouldn’t have suffered the same fate?”
“So I suppose I should thank you for stabbing me in the back in that case. Is that it, Ezekiel? Is that what you expect me to believe?” I scoffed.
“It was either that or watch you die and I did what I thought was right,” The Elder replied.
“You are pathetic, Ezekiel, and after all these years… you would still lie directly to my face— still pretend as though your treachery is rooted in anything other than envy. I know my path was initially meant for you, Ezekiel, but as I recall you turned it down. And now you resent me because I had the courage to do that which you were afraid of?!” I growled.
“This again?!” The Elder scoffed as he threw his hands in the air out of frustration. “I thought it was a test, Solomon! How could I have known that She was serious when She asked me to… violate Her in that way? And to think that you would lower yourself to—”
“I did what was asked of me by the one whom we both swore our allegiance to! How can you fault me for that, Ezekiel?! What gives you the right?!” I demanded.
“Spare me the noble rhetoric, Solomon. You leapt at the chance to sleep with Her, and if I had known that the Goddess’ advance was much more than a simple test of my faith you would have never had the chance!” The Elder said smugly.
“Is that what you think, Ezekiel?! You think I chose this path out of some preposterous desire to bed the Goddess?! The sheer enormity of Her power literally stopped my heart over thirty times, and each time she brought me back to life I felt more insignificant than the last. Even now I question my worthiness when it comes to what has happened but never have I questioned my faith in Her! Your bitterness is derived from the fact that you believe me to be unworthy of Her company— but she was not testing our worth, Ezekiel— she was testing our faith,” I said firmly.
“Now you would question my faith? You? Solomon, The Defiler?” The Elder growled.
“Everything I’ve done was in service of the people! In service of the Covenant!” I rebuffed.
“The Covenant is a lie, Solomon! You and I both know that! It was written by mortals, not Her!” The Elder protested.
“But look at the good that has come of it! Our people were virtually barbarians before our ancestors scribed the sacred texts. Would you prefer that we revert to the times before the Covenant?! To a time when our entire world was constantly locked within war?!”
“How is that any different from now, Solomon? How are the wars of old any different from your Great War?”
“At least now we’re not fighting each other,” I said as I crossed my arms in front of me.
“Oh, yes we are,” The Elder said as he opened his cloak and revealed the longsword that was sheathed at his right hip. A cold shimmer traveled down my spine as I eyed the blade and remembered that his sword too had been blessed by the Goddess.
“A.I., lock the doors to this Sanctuary and keep them closed until I say otherwise,” I ordered The Pillar’s A.I. system as I kept my eyes locked on The Elder.
“The First Sanctuary doors are now locked, Sir. I should also mention that my systems are detecting a disturbance on the detention level of the lower hemisphere,” said the A.I. system.
“Lock down that entire quadrant,” I ordered.
“Unfortunately I cannot, Sir, Many of my functions have somehow been overridden in that portion of the ship,” the A.I. system replied.
“Then send in The Redeemer. He’ll know what to do,” I said firmly.
“Right away, Sir,” the A.I confirmed just before the room fell back into uneasy silence.
“When my son gave me the news that you were still alive and that you had betrayed us I wanted nothing more than to see you suffer, Ezekiel, but I cannot deny that some small part of me wishes that things could end differently,” I said as I opened my white and gold cloak and withdrew the Fifth Blade from the sheath on my right hip.
“There is no other way, Solomon,” The Elder said solemnly.
“You would dare stand against this sword?” I asked as I held my shimmering blade before me.
“I will do what I must,” The Elder said as he drew his longsword and held it firmly before him.
“As will I!” I said emphatically as I struck out towards him with my sword held above my head.
In a blur he sidestepped my sweeping blade and swung his sword toward my chest. I quickly blocked the attack with my blade and returned fire with a lightning quick flurry of sword sweeps. A lesser fighter would have been instantly cut to ribbons but The Elder’s defensive prowess proved to be just as good as I remembered as he whipped his silvery sword about and blocked all of my attacks before any of them could land.
“You haven’t lost a step, have you?” I marveled as we each took a step back to regroup.
“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough,” he answered as he gripped his gleaming sword with both hands.
“Indeed we shall,” I replied as I tightened my grip on the handle of The Fifth Blade.
His remark may have seemed insignificant but he and I both knew of its true implications. Long before my ascension to High King of the Anokian Empire I was but a priest who studied within the same order as Ezekiel, The Elder. Our order was comprised of men of absolute faith and the only facets of our lives that rivaled the strength of our devotion to the Goddess were the combat skills that we developed in order to serve Her. It was no secret that The Elder was the greatest of us all and much of the knowledge that I had obtained was acquired directly under his tutelage. We had sparred many times during our days as priests but never was I able to defeat him— but back then I did not have The Fifth Blade.
“It was foolish of you to come here, Ezekiel,” I said as I slowly raised my enchanted sword above my head.
“What choice did I have, Solomon? I’m the only one who can stop you,” The Elder replied with both anger and sorrow in his voice.
“You will try,” I said as I watched him lunge toward me. I planted my feet and concentrated as the grip of my enchanted sword pulsated beneath my fingers.
Sparks filled the air as The Elder and I clashed blades once again and despite our combined age of well over a thousand years the two of us blazed a trail around the Altar at almost unnatural speeds. Despite his edge in overall combat knowledge our battle was evenly matched, but as the fight wore on his superior strength began to take its toll on me.
The Elder used his uncanny combination of speed and power to interrupt my usually flawless rhythm and I suddenly found myself forced to back pedal and use my sword to repeatedly parry his onslaught of ferocious attacks. I gritted my teeth and cursed as I blocked one of his devastating power attacks but I lost my balance due to the sheer force of the downward blow. He had already lunged toward me by the time that I regained my footing and he was inches away from slicing me in half when I managed to quickly spin out of the reach of his blade just before he could finish me.
Blood filled the air around us as we both turned and unleashed our swords once again, and The Elder’s entire body stiffened as I finally fell to my knees before him. His enchanted sword had found its mark and the blade remained lodged within my chest, but as his reddened eyes suddenly widened with dismay he soon discovered the mortal wound that my sword had left within his neck. My bloody blade fell from my hands as The Elder too fell to his knees in front of me.
“Goodbye, old friend,” I whispered as we fell to the floor in unison and The Elder’s severed head rolled away from his lifeless body as I coughed up blood and struggled to call out to the A.I.. “Open… doors… and get… help,” I choked out as my consciousness slowly faded away.
“Right away, Sir,” The Pillar’s A.I. replied as a dark puddle of my
own blood spread out beneath me.
20. EARLY RELEASE
AUDREY:
- 1.5 HOURS TO DETONATION
SIRENS WAILED THROUGHOUT THE HALLS AS ACE AND I zipped down a long hallway inside The Pillar of Eden’s lower detention level as we headed to rescue Reaper. I was wearing my usual black and red body armor and my half-smiling/half-frowning Stranger mask as I rushed to catch up to Ace, whose jet-black tactical ninja gear and cybernetic right arm blended into the dark grey walls so perfectly that he was barely visible as he glided along a few steps in front of me. His long headband and the tail of my dark red and black trench coat fluttered in the air behind us as we dashed closer and closer toward the cell where they were holding Reaper.
“You're a hell of a lot faster than you look, you know?!” Ace exclaimed as I pulled next to him and matched him stride for stride.
“You should have seen me in college!” I replied as we dashed onward. “I used to average about a 10.7 in the one-hundred meters back then!”
“Damn, you're even faster than I am in that case!” Ace replied.
“Try not to act so surprised,” I grinned as I accelerated down the hall and began to pull away from him.
“Dammit! The Elder’s dead!” Howie suddenly cursed in our earpieces as we neared the end of one of the many halls.
“What about The Righteous?” Ace asked as we stormed forward.
“The Elder managed to wound him quite severely but it looks like their medics are trying to resuscitate him,” Howie answered.
“Can’t you shut down their equipment?” I asked as Ace and I quickly pressed against the wall as a metallic thump rang out from just around the corner.
“I’ve tried but the ship’s A.I. is putting up one hell of a fight! It’s taking everything I have just to keep your quadrant locked down!” Howie replied.
“10-4. How long do we have, Echo?” Ace asked as he unholstered an automatic pistol from his right hip.
Savior Part 3: Legion of The Godhand (The Savior Series) Page 17