Mortality Bites - The COMPLETE Boxed Set (Books 1 - 10): An Urban Fantasy Epic Adventure

by Ramy Vance

  “Of course they are,” I said. “What about the noro community on the island? They’re going to kill them, too?”

  As soon as I’d said it, my mind flew to Blue, and my chest clenched. Seems once you love someone, you never stop worrying about them.

  Jean shook his head. “Actually, that’s our rendezvous point and the only reason why this place hasn’t seen the full fury of their wrath yet. They’ve sent a few boats to get the priestesses off the island. Once evacuation is done, then …” He whistled a bomb dropping.

  “We’re screwed,” I said. “They bomb the hell out of this place, stopping us from stopping the gods. They’ll rise from their tombs and enslave the world. We are literally dead people walking.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I know you’re right. But I’m out of options. They won’t listen to reason because they don’t believe in gods anymore—gone, dead or rising.” Jean lowered his head in exasperation. Then he chuckled to himself. “That’s not exactly true, what I said.”

  “Which part?”

  “The options part. I have one option and it’s a pretty good one. Go home, hug my wife and not let go until our overlords arrive. But even then, I doubt I’ll let go. You know, cold dead hands and all.” Jean was serious. That was exactly what he intended to do.

  “It can’t end like this. It can’t. There’s got to be another way. There’s got to be something—anything—we can do.”

  “There is one more option,” Keiko said, standing from the fallen log she had been sitting on. Her face showed resolve and deep contemplation as she considered her options. “It will mean breaking a sacred pledge I have taken as a noro priestess, but it may also mean salvation.” A single tear fell from her eyes. “There is one who may help us. He is a being of considerable power and we noro have offered him sanctuary. We have also sworn that we would never ask anything of him. That he could live the rest of his time in peace. This was our oath to him … an oath I am willing to break.”

  Others and their oaths. They took them very seriously, and so too did their proxies. No matter how good Keiko’s intentions were, to break an oath would mean ex-communication from her noro home.

  Still, when the alternative was no home at all … well, therein lies human practicality.

  I nodded deeply at her sacrifice, knowing that if she had offered to do this, she had already thought long and hard and made up her mind. “Right now the only option we have is to ask,” I said. “Who is he?”

  “Chronos.”

  “The Titan?” Jean and I asked in unison.

  “They’re still around?” I asked, giving Jean an I got this look. If anyone was going to express exasperated confusion, it was going to be me.

  Keiko shrugged. “I don’t know anything about the Titans … and you’re thinking Cronos. I’m talking about Chronos.”

  Sadly, as is oft the case in the GoneGod World, clarification only served up more questions. “And he is …?” I eventually said.

  The noro priestess pursed her lips and then, without a hint of irony or humor, said, “Father Time.”

  TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A YELLOW WOOD

  “T here’s an Other called ‘Father Time?’ ” I asked in disbelief.

  “He isn’t an Other exactly,” Keiko said. “And to call him an Other is strange. It is like calling a lion a cat. Or a zombie a human. He is more of the physical representation of the concept of time than anything else.”

  I had heard of these creatures before … Others so powerful that they weren’t created by a god, but rather came into being as the laws that governed the universe began to establish themselves. Even the gods feared them.

  “And he lives here?” Jean asked.

  Keiko nodded. “After the gods left, we had many travelers come to our island for sanctuary. Most wound up living in Celestial Solace Hotel, finding refuge there. But some of particular power and ability asked for seclusion and separation from the rest of the world. They did so because they feared that they would be seen as the new gods in this GoneGod World. Others, because they are creatures of such immense power that they did not wish to be used by humans or Others alike for purposes that did not align with their desires.”

  “And Father Time is one of them.”

  Keiko nodded.

  “Who else?” Jean asked.

  Keiko narrowed her eyes in suspicion by way of an answer.

  Jean lifted his hands. “Hey, I’m only asking in case Father Time says no. I mean, if you have another Other there that could be of use, don’t you think we should play the field a bit?”

  “No,” Keiko said with finality. “Father Time is the only one I believe can help, and thus the only one with whom I am willing to break my oath.”

  “But there might be another who—”

  “Jean,” I said, “I’ve seen that look on her grandmother’s face before. There isn’t a force in this world or any other that will get her to budge, so cut your losses and move on.” Turning to Keiko, I added, “So let’s go speak to Father Time.” I gestured for Keiko to lead the way.

  ↔

  KEIKO TOOK the lead as we walked through the thick brush in silence, and Jean walked far enough behind that he was … what? Dilly-dallying, watching our rears? I really had no idea why he was so far behind. Not that I cared; as far as I was concerned, the farther away he was, the better.

  Keiko must have sensed my anger, because she subtly slowed her pace so that before I knew it, I was basically walking next to her. When our strides finally matched up, she put a hand on my shoulder. “You know, you are being unduly harsh on the soldier behind us. You were gone a long time. At first the nio and shisa were content to just stare across the bridge, like unmoving, unthinking sentries. But something happened and they started to—”

  “Attack you and Jean again?”

  Keiko shook her head. “No, I believe they were trying to stop you from escaping. One moment they were still, the next, frantic. Desperate, even, as they tried to get across the chasm. Many fell to their deaths, but the few that managed to jump across immediately turned their power against the door, as if they were trying to destroy the entrance … or, rather, your exit.”

  I thought about this, and from what I knew, that move made sense. I was winning against the gods and up until I produced the spear, the three dead gods and I had been in a stalemate, with neither side able to kill the other.

  Certainly I wasn’t under any threat of death, and the best the gods could hope for was trapping me inside with my soul still in the void. That’s what they needed to do if they wanted a chance to rise again: keep my soul, no matter the cost.

  Commanding the nio to seal off the entrance was a desperate move, but it was also their best option. Then they could do whatever they needed to keep me at arm’s length while they used my soul to power their resurrection.

  Of course, that had changed as soon as I pulled out the Lance of Longinus out of … well, out of me. Of course, by then Jean had already made his way into the museum and, well, things went belly up from there.

  But Jean and Keiko didn’t know about the spear. From their perspective, the nio were doing them a favor by blocking the entrance. After all, that had been our original plan: lock the door, keep the bad gods inside.

  “Why did you come inside?” I said. “They were doing your work for you.”

  Keiko nodded in agreement. “That would have been my choice,” she said. Her voice betrayed no emotion—just the cold, hard fact. “Your death in exchange for the lives of so many. But Jean insisted that such a sacrifice was unacceptable. He risked all to save you and …” Her voice trailed off, like she was debating whether to tell me what had happened next.

  I remained silent. Keiko didn’t owe me anything at this point. I had chosen my soul—my happiness—over trapping the gods. Sure, that plan wouldn’t have worked, but we didn’t know that at the time.

  At the time, I was operating under the assumption that locking the gate was the best we could do, and me going in an
yway betrayed my own selfishness.

  If Keiko wanted to tell me more, she’d have to do so without selfish me pushing her.

  We traversed the island for several minutes until the noro priestess broke her silence. “You know, Benkei did everything in his power to prevent us from entering the museum, but as soon as you went inside, he stopped. Then, when the nio sought to destroy the entrance, again he did nothing. He only animated the second Jean’s intention to save you became apparent.”

  “Humph.” I thought back to the warrior monk. He really didn’t want me to get in and had done everything he could to stop me. “Why do you think that is?”

  “I do not know,” she said, “but I suspect that uncovering his motivations will do much for helping us undo what is being done.”

  “Good,” I said, lacing the word with as much sarcastic venom as I could muster, “more mysteries to solve.”

  “More mysteries to solve,” Keiko agreed with resignation.

  ↔

  WE MARCHED FORWARD UNTIL DUSK, when finally we came upon a narrow path barely wide enough for us to walk on. The path led up the side of a rocky hill before we came upon a gateway where two old noro priestesses sat.

  If either were troubled by the appearance of strangers, they made no show of it, smiling at us as we crossed under the threshold of the stone gates. We might as well have stepped through a time portal, because the village that met us didn’t belong in a world with airplanes, cars and smart phones.

  Hell, it didn’t even belong in a world with steam engines.

  We stepped onto a cobblestone road that led to a courtyard surrounded by old stone cabins with thatched roofs. From the activities going on up ahead, it was obvious that the courtyard served as the village’s heart, where everyone flowed in and out as they brought in crops and other goods necessary to sustain life.

  The courtyard itself had a smart marketplace that, from the way the vegetables, fruits, fish and fresh cuts of meat were displayed, required no money to purchase the goods. The foods were there for anyone to pick up as needed. And from the amounts still sitting on the tables, it was clear that the people here only took what was needed and no more.

  Also in the courtyard was a small clearing with a blackboard and chalk (probably the most modern amenities in the whole place). It looked like a small school where children and the newly mortal Others would be taught about the world they lived in.

  Quaint, efficient, welcoming. This village was everything a community needed to survive.

  But it wasn’t what was here that made this place feel ancient—it was what was missing. There were pipes and wires to govern the flow of water and power, but there was no soft hum or drone echoing in the background. Nothing was illuminated by the false hues of man-made light. And nothing was branded with the marks of commercialism or ownership.

  I stood in awe as memories of my own village flooded my being. It had been centuries since I’d seen a place like this, and given the way the world was going, I would never see anything like this again.

  “Here,” Keiko said, welcoming us into a large courtyard, “is where I was raised.”

  She guided us to the main building standing opposite of where we had entered, and if I had been worried that we would be showing disrespect to a culture and community older than any existing organized religion, that fear was short-lived …

  … and replaced by blinding fury. This peaceful village that had served as home to the priestess class for thousands of years was overrun by soldiers.

  HOME NO MORE

  A pparently we’d taken the back-door entrance, because as soon as we walked into the main courtyard, we were affronted by the hustle and bustle of activity.

  Human soldiers flooded the village, forcing human and Other refugees alike from their homes and down the path toward the seafront. From the village’s hilltop vantage point, I could see several boats waiting for their unwilling passengers.

  And they weren’t being nice about it, pushing the women down with apathetic vigor as they made them leave their homes. Homes, might I add, that they were planning to bomb the hell out of in a few hours.

  I’m sure that in these guys’ minds, they were saving lives. That they were taking these people away from the mounting army of hostile Others who lurked nearby, away from the island before the bombs started to drop.

  But that’s not how these women saw it; all they understood was that they’d lost their homes.

  Now and forever.

  A soldier pushed a young woman in a hurry-it-along gesture. The woman turned on her heel and kicked the grunt in the chin. He went down with a yelp as his buddies laughed. Out of sheer malice or thinking that somehow he was saving face, he got up and lifted a fist in the direction of the rebellious woman.

  I didn’t know if he planned to hit her or just wave his balled-up hand in her face. Either way, I wasn’t standing for it and before he could get any closer to her, I stepped forward and kicked him in the back of the knee.

  He dropped down to one knee like he was proposing to her and before he could stand up, I put a heavy hand on his shoulder and squeezed as if I was digging for his collarbone. If you squeeze just right that spot hurts the most, and when he gave me a satisfying yelp, I knew I was pinching the right nerves.

  “Apologize to her,” I growled. “Now.”

  He twisted his head to get a look at who was talking and when he saw a five-foot-nothing girl with impossibly beautiful auburn hair (hey, I’m pretty and I know it), I’m sure he thought this was some kind of joke. He started to stand and I pushed down with my hand, kicking him in the back of his knee once more. That forced him down again.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “ ‘Here’s some dainty girl who got in a lucky shot.’ That you outweigh me by fifty pounds and you’re a good foot and a half taller. You think you can take me. Let me assure you, this is a miscalculation on your part. So do the smart thing and apologize to her. Right now.”

  I don’t know if it was the venom in my words or fire in my eyes that scorched his will to resist, but he turned to the rebellious noro priestess and said, “I’m sorry.”

  “In Japanese,” I said, squeezing his collarbone.

  “Ahh, I don’t speak Japanese.”

  “Then repeat after me. Gomen nasai.” I said each syllable slowly, deliberately, just to make sure an idiot like this guy got it.

  “Go men nasai,” he said, mimicking my cadence.

  “Good,” I said, nodding to the woman and letting him go.

  ↔

  KEIKO STEPPED FORWARD, grabbing her noro sister by the hand and reassuring her that this wasn’t the end of their home. That she would do everything in her power to reverse what was happening this day.

  And as she spoke, several soldiers stepped forward, looking to back up their chum in a throwdown with moi. “Good,” I said to the advancing squad. “Five against one. I could use the exercise.”

  Keiko, leaving the young noro, took a step forward. “Oops, looks like your guys are going to—”

  “Enough,” Jean groaned, as if bored. Making sure that his sleeve stripes were in full view, he said, “Step down, soldiers—they’re with me.” Then he looked at me. “Hulk much?”

  “You should thank them,” I said as they walked away. “I redirected a good portion of my rage at you toward them.”

  “Ahh, I see. In that case: thank you, boys,” he said with a patronizing wave.

  With the soldiers gone, Keiko surveyed her home that was emptying of life. A single tear flowed down her cheek as she said, “Katto-san, I have something to show you.”

  She gestured me out of the courtyard into another part of the village.

  “I’ll just hang out here,” Jean said, “keep the boys in line.”

  I followed Keiko through the courtyard and toward a cluster of homes in the more residential area of the village. She brought us to the doorstep of one of those homes, sliding the door open. “This one has already been vacated.”
<
br />   We took our shoes off as we stepped into the traditional Japanese home. Keiko led me through the hall, lit only by the afternoon sun, to a bedroom with a series of tatami mats spread across it.

  “This is where the priestesses-in-training sleep,” Keiko said as we stepped into the room. She waved her arm around the space. “This is where my grandmother grew up.”

  I stepped through the doorway, my gaze sliding across the tatami mats as though they were occupied. As though the young priestesses slept on them even now.

  I turned to Keiko. “She was safe here.”

  Keiko nodded. “Yes, Katto-san. As safe as a girl could be.”

  I had suspected as much, but hearing Keiko confirm it—and standing in this room where Blue had grown up—filled me with relief.

  And even though she wasn’t here, and hadn’t been here for decades, something about knowing that Blue had spent years and years of her life here reminded me of my own humanness.

  It reminded me that everyone who lived here right now was at risk of losing their homes, their history, their lives.

  And I might be able to stop that from happening.

  I turned to Keiko, bowed deeply. “Thank you.”

  She returned the bow. “After all this, I will take you to see her, if you like.”

  I smiled faintly. “Yes,” I said. I wanted to carry the promise of seeing her again, even if I wasn’t likely to leave this island alive. “I would like that.”

  ↔

  WHEN WE CAME BACK into the courtyard, Keiko left my side to talk to another noro priestess.

  Ahead, Jean stood with his back to me, his arms folded as he watched the soldiers evacuating the village. I stepped up beside him, my gaze following his. “No more shoving the locals?” I asked.

  “Not after your display,” Jean said, chuckling. “I think they’re more afraid of you than they are of me.”

  Good; I didn’t want to have to send any more soldiers to their knees today.