Dark Rain: Book 1 of The Aetherium Saga

by Jilly MacKenzie

  The ex-Tiamatians rose to their feet, smiling nervously and bowing low to Marduk as they joined the ranks. Nergal and Erishkigal smiled appreciatively as they greeted Namtar’s return, and Marduk watched on in pride as the Anuzi welcomed back their friends and kin.

  Chapter 20

  Deliverance

  The city of Eden was in widespread celebration. With injured Anunnaki being tended to in the temples, the victorious Anuzi were rejoicing, with humans and Anunnaki alike enjoying the festivities.

  Marduk's determined mind and surge of fighting spirit had finally began to relax and recede, when suddenly sharp bursts of Anubis' pain broke through, startling him. And he remembered.

  I had been so occupied with battle, I had forgotten her pain! I'm sat around celebrating! I'm such a fool!

  Marduk rose from his seat abruptly, and immediately aetherated, using the little amount he had left. He appeared at the edge of an aether-pool, an accumulation of concentrated aether, channelled in from the cosmic aetherium by Nibiru’s conductive climate-towers.

  Over the past few days Marduk had to ignore Anubis' struggles and suffering, as he and the Watchers prepared for the battle for Nibiru. He could feel the abuse she endured, but it had not felt life-threatening. Just interrogations, he had to tell himself. He could not use his aether to go to her. He needed every atom for the battle. And now, the battle was over.

  He stood shaking with anger at himself, and he hurriedly undressed, letting his black and grey Nibiran clothing fall at his feet. How could I have been so stupid! I’ve been so neglectful. I should have done this straight after battle. Forgive me.

  His muscles rippled under his magnolia skin, as he moved into the liquid aether, wading deeper and deeper until he was submerged in the luminous azure substance.

  He waited patiently as his body absorbed the energy like a sponge. It filled him, reaching places that had been devoid of its divine touch for too long. His impatience grew the more he felt her suffering. What he felt now, was different to the other times. Not life-threatening, but it was causing her such emotional agony, he feared she could indeed die from it.

  Come on.... Come on! He gritted his teeth, waiting.

  Finally he felt aether begin to escape through his pores, and he erupted from the pool in an explosion of electric blue. Huge black wings unfurled from his back, and he spun high up into the air, flicking the luminous drops of aether off him in a glowing blue mist.

  He hovered above the aether pool, a pale, nude vision of renewed celestial grandeur. His eyes glowed as he materialised his armour upon himself, leaving only his head unclad. I want her to see me this time. See my face. My apology.

  ***

  Anubis lay motionless, resigned into herself. Her head weakly turned to one side and she eyed the white wall emptily. Tears and blood converged into a diluted watery mess upon her colourless face.

  She was all too aware of the way air touched her unmasked face. Icy breath upon tender, broken skin. Her defiant soul was no longer her cathedral, and she was torn open, weak and crying, for all to see.

  She felt vulnerable, and naked. But most of all, she felt lonely. No longer attached to the only thing that reminded her of her son. And abandoned and forsaken by her shadow man who had stolen her rightful death from her.

  Just let me die here and now. I am done. I can't bear to live one more second. I want to be free… I want to be nothing.

  Richard's face slid into view as he once again demanded her to divulge her knowledge on her shadow man. But she did not know. How could I possibly know? I’ve hardly spoken for more than a minute to him. I don’t know his name. Or what he is. And I no longer care.

  He struck her hard in her wounded face, aggravating her stinging lines all at once, and causing her groan pitifully. Suddenly two fizzing bursts were heard, followed by heavy thumps on the ground. Tuning her head slowly to the noise, she could see her guard, locked and loaded. He had shot the other two with his energy pistol, which was now aimed confidently at Richard Lloyd.

  The guard momentarily eyed Anubis with sorrow, unable to witness any more of her mistreatment, and then he stepped intently towards Richard with anger.

  ‘That’s enough, old man,’ he American accent clearer than ever. ‘Undo her restraints,’ he commanded, ‘now!’

  ‘An insider? I should have known. You were always too soft, Daniels,’ Richard laughed as he fumbled on Anubis' straps, undoing them one by one.

  ‘Any moment now, more guards will arrive. And you'll be very, very sorry,’ goaded Richard.

  The guard stepped forward pressing the pistol to Richards head with force. ‘Nah, I don’t think I will.’

  ‘Traitor!’ Richard growled, overcome with irritation at the brash young guard that had fooled him for so long. ‘You won't get away with this,’ he warned as the guard pushed over to a corner of the room.

  ‘Neither will you,’ the guard stated, as he lifted Anubis out of the restraint seat and supported her with one arm. He kept his weapon aimed at Richard as he backed out of the room with Anubis.

  In the hall, the young guard steered Anubis quickly around a corner, and through sections she had never seen before. The sudden rush of adrenaline was beginning to energise her, and she walked more steadily beside him.

  ‘That’s it,’ he praised, ‘Quickly now.’

  He shot a guard, then another. The obvious upside to energy weapons over traditional ballistic weapons, is the almost silent burst of piercing laser.

  The guards did not hear the previous ones die, as her saviour made his escape through the corridors. They quickly dropped dead to floor, one by one. The young guard's quick and fatal aim was exceptional.

  All of a sudden they were both thrust against the wall, and she saw that a sentry was grappling with hers, fighting for control of his pistol. It fired a couple of random shots in the ceiling during the wrestling. ‘Run!’ her guard bellowed. ‘Go!’

  She wasted no time, and she continued quickly down the way they were heading. She heard the soft fizzing of more shots, and then heavy footsteps bursting out of a doorway and pursuing her. Closer and closer. She dared not look back, and instead relentlessly following the exit signs, racing and twisting and turning. She was amazed by her sudden will to live after all. The footsteps behind her stopped suddenly with a screech on the smooth flooring, and she reactively turned around.

  Anubis looked upon the gloriously armoured back of her shadow man, as he held a guard up by his face. In one strong clench of his large hand, he squashed the guards head, cracking it open in various places as brains and eyeballs emerged from between his fingers.

  The body dropped to the floor and he flicked the bloody matter from hands as he turned to face her.

  His beautiful face was apologetic, but she was unfazed, eyeing him hatred. He rushed forward and scooped her up in his arms, and she writhed and struggled in anger and protest.

  Their surroundings suddenly disappeared, and in their place was a dark snowy forest. The freezing air that enveloped her bruised and battered body was a welcoming surprise.

  He clumsily dropped her wriggling body into the snow, and looked down at her, frustrated.

  ‘I told you I would come back for you,’ he explained, ‘I cannot take you with me kicking like that. It's hard to concentrate.’

  I’m not going anywhere with you! She sneered.

  He was taken aback, his pale, statuesque face took on a hurt expression as he regarded her in disbelief. I didn't ask for you. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't want you to heal me. Everything I’ve just endured for the past five days is because of you!

  Victoria... he thought, softly.

  Don’t you dare use that name…

  ‘Please, if you would only listen-.’

  No! You left me to be butchered by that monster!

  ‘There’s a reason for everything, please, let me explain. I…’

  ‘GO!’ She screamed into the freezing night, her mouth billowed out a stream of mist li
ke a furious dragon. ‘Away,’ she hissed with a swipe of her arm.

  His core ached at her words and the loathing she sent out to him, at least let me heal you, he offered, stepping forward, then a fist cracked him hard in the side of his pristine face and he groaned in pain. His wings folded up defensively, and he looked to her in shock. She was snarling at him, full of hate, rubbing her knuckles from the impact.

  She was the only one in the whole universe who Marduk never wanted to see looking at him like that.

  ‘I'm truly sorry,’ he breathed out, mournfully, before disappearing in a wispy disturbance of powdery snow.

  Chapter 21

  Lost And Found

  Anubis was unsure of where she was, and was thankful for the thick Drakestoke jacket she still wore. It still bore her blood, and Deryk’s blood. Laser holes were remnants of injuries that were no longer there, and the navy fabric smelled like fire as she hugged herself tightly to minimise chill.

  She trudged through the deep snow, following a wide river upstream. The bright night sky helped illuminate the land around her, and the dusty scar of the Milky Way reactively brought him to her mind. The sorrowful face of her shadow man.

  Twice my saviour, and twice I've scorned his help, she thought sullenly, then anger and bitterness rose once again, no, he stole my death from me. He left me. At the hands of Richard fucking Lloyd. And now... she reached a numbed hand up and touched her naked, painful face. And now it's gone.

  She could not see any lights of civilisation, but the area looked familiar. Am I back in the Loire valley? Was the IGS compound I’ve just left, near Drakestoke? Anubis gazed ahead up the river bank she was following, and a large stone bridge loomed in the darkness over the icy water. As she got closer, the forest opened up into an expansive clearing, and her field of view improved.

  Once the outskirts of a city, the area had been occupied by houses and other buildings, which had since been destroyed or left to decay into low-lying rubble. Old roads lay beneath the blanket of snow she walked upon. Across the bridge, on the opposite side of the river, spires and snow dappled slate rooves of a hill city dominated the skyline. Long abandoned, and domineering.

  Anubis needed refuge from the freezing night, and time to heal and recover from her ordeal. However, she knew that the city may not be as silent as it seemed, and she was extremely cautious of the chance of conservators and wandering machines that may reside within. I will not be taken back to IGS hands ever again.

  Keeping low, she snuck silently along the side of the bridge and hopped off the side, avoiding the main road. Traversing the perimeter of the city's edge was difficult, as the many ruined buildings and snowdrifts she had to overcome pushed her to near exhaustion.

  Her ribs were still bruised and tender from her abuse, and she slumped against a stone wall, panting heavily, as she assessed her entry to the city.

  A dark narrow road, with no sign of patrolling AI, or any sounds of life. Then, as if contradicting her thoughts, a mournful, guttural howl sounded from the forest far behind her. She spun around quickly, staring across the snowy clearing, straining her eyes hard into the darkness between the trees.

  She could not distinguish anything out of place, except a strange lump within the clearing, breaking the uniformity of level, white snow. An animal? It wasn't until a cloud moved away from the moon, that the sudden flood of light illuminated details of the mass. Fair hair, navy clothing.

  Anubis strode through the snow towards the unmoving shape, warily eyeing the forest as she got closer, keeping the dark fingers of trees in her periphery as she regarded the form in front of her.

  The little one, she identified as she gazed down at the bitten and bleeding body of Cat. Anubis noticed the faint frosty mist of Cat's weak breath. Still alive, then she looked about frantically, what did this to her?

  Anubis looked upon the dying girl. She wasn't used to helping people, but the feeling of mercy comes surprisingly easy to Anubis, yet most of the time she suppressed it, finding most people underserving of it. She knew that the dying girl was good, and innocent. And I find myself once again, in a position to try and help.

  Anubis lifted Cat over her shoulder. The deadweight of her small frame upon Anubis, was bearable, and she was able to sustain a good stride back to the shelter of the city. Taking a sharp turn upon entering, Anubis kept to the narrowest alleyways, avoiding main roads and open squares, minimising the chance of being seen by anyone.

  However, her foresight seemed greatly flawed as she burst straight into somebody, hard. Finn stumbled backwards a few steps, trying to steady himself on the snowy cobblestones. It took him a moment to realise that the bedraggled and disfigured obstacle in front of him was a woman. And not only was she wearing the unmistakable Drakestoke clothing, but she was carrying another.

  ‘Cat!’ he sighed, relieved, ‘We had begun to wonder...’

  Anubis eyed him warily as he rounded her to get a better view of her cargo.

  ‘What happened?’ he exclaimed, but he did not wait for an answer, and he raced back down the alleyway. ‘Quick! Come on!’ he motioned, before disappearing into the door of a house.

  Anubis jogged after him, ignoring her aching back, and the warmth of the house bit and pricked her frozen skin as she entered. Following Finn into a glowing room, she was met with the shocked faces of two others.

  Lenore stepped forward and regarded Anubis with shocked relief and confusion. Finn quickly took Cat from Anubis and laid her down, putting pressure on her neck wound. The loose flap of skin, made by Axel’s teeth, had closed over the wound. Blood still trickled from the edges, though it was fortunately beginning to clot.

  The three Drakestoke survivors were knelt around Cat, rummaging in bags, ripping material, and tending to their fallen friend. Looking around the room, Anubis noticed they were missing someone.

  She felt pressure on her arm, and bringing her attention back to the group she noticed Lenore had reached out, touching her arm with a soft expression.

  ‘Thank you,’ Lenore declared, gratefully, ‘Please, tell me what happened… later,’ she urged.

  A strange feeling washed over Anubis, with Lenore’s gentle touch, and the prospect of divulging everything she had been through was a relieving thought. She wanted to release her inner turmoil. Her hurt. And she wanted to know what Lenore knew. Yes, I’d be glad to.

  ***

  ‘You were born in a cloud,’ Nanaya reminisced, ‘A few months before me,’ and she settled beside Marduk on the roof of the Temple of An. He nodded slowly, leaning back on his elbows as he regarded the fluctuating artificial morning above him.

  ‘I remember,’ he smiled, ‘Somewhere up there,’ he pointed to the undulating clouds bursting from a climate-tower deep within the sprawling gardens.

  ‘Yes, your mother chose a beautiful spot,’ she sighed.

  ‘Fireflies descended, and covered me. The light of them hurt my new eyes,’ he chuckled. ‘That's one of the first things I remember. And the smell of this place,’ he breathed in, gratifyingly, ‘I've never forgotten it.’

  ‘My first memory is you,’ she revealed. ‘You were already in existence when I was born. It is impossible for me to imagine a universe without you in it.’

  He looked at her, bemused, ‘Nanaya, I’m not going to die, if I can help it.’

  ‘Your Chosen-.’

  ‘Is strong,’ he interjected. ‘Stronger than even she realises…’

  ‘You should bring her here, for assured safety.’

  ‘She would not come,’ he frowned. ‘And I will not abduct her against her will.’

  They gazed out at the curved skyline of Eden, bathed in the soft pastel light of the sun, Kak-shisa. Beautiful, but like a giant cage, he noted.

  Nibiru, technically ‘New’ Nibiru, was a huge spherical mothership, fuelled partly by photovoltaics from the red supergiant Antares, and partly on aether, the energy of the universe, filtered in via hundreds of towering super-conductive climate-towers.

&
nbsp; Planet Nibiru, the original homeland of the Anunnaki, was unfortunately, long gone. Devastating warfare, and unsustainable abuse of its resources, had left the planet a desolate, lifeless place. The Anunnaki had no choice but to become cosmic castaways, abandoning their homeland and continuing their civilisation elsewhere.

  Creating the new Nibiru was considered the greatest feat of Anunnaki engineering. Even more so than the creation of the Igigi and humankind. The aether concentration was so great on Nibiru, that aether-sensitive beings such as the Anunnaki are revitalised while aboard, and mortal beings such as humans have a much prolonged lifetime.

  Marduk was not surprised at the absence of Igigi on Nibiru. They gained their freedom from the Anunnaki many millennia ago, and obviously have not reconsidered an alliance while I've been indisposed.

  ‘Marduk,’ Nanaya began, and his wandering thoughts snapped back to the present.

  ‘Do you wish you were human?’ she quizzed, with genuine wonder on her face.

  He was momentarily taken aback by the abruptness of her question, but understood that she still found it hard to accept he had changed. He smiled and sighed at his childhood companion.

  ‘No,’ then he took a moment to try and explain himself, so she may finally understand.

  ‘I am Anuna,’ he began, ‘As you know I am. I am of royal blood, and divine right, and nothing can change that. Yet, I stayed behind on Earth when all the rest of you had left.

  ‘Yes, I could have been a better king. I abused my power, and I paid for it. I have walked the land of humans, almost as if I were one. Grounded, and powerless. I befriended them, and learnt from them. They experience so much during their fleeting existence. Faith, love, hope, struggle. They can be saints, and demons, or both. And it's beautiful. I am Anuna, Nanaya, but I feel like my soul dances a between two lives, and it matches the steps of only one other.’

  Nanaya pursed her lips, digesting his revelation, and trying to ignore her aching heart.

  ‘She really saved you, Marduk?’ she enquired.