Shadow Seed

by Jose Rodriguez

CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Nibiru sat motionless on his throne, admiring the night sky through one of the large openings in the roof. The insignificant light from the tiny stars entranced him, but when a perennially eclipsed sun came into view, his eyes ever so slightly twitched.

  The moment was disturbed when Marduk opened the doors and casually strolled in.

  “Marduk, what news do you bring?” Nibiru asked.

  “Rhea is under siege,” Marduk said. “Reinforcements are awaiting your command.”

  “Assessment?” Nibiru asked.

  “There's some good news, and a bit of bad,” Marduk said, “Which would you like to begin with?”

  Nibiru walked to a giant balcony with only a rail to keep one from going over. At a mile high, he peered down along the city's stacked, multi-ring-shaped structure. “Give me the good news,” he said.

  “We've breached the Hegiran city, Siriso,” Marduk began. “The fighting is back and forth right now, but that should change soon. At Vesuvia, the battle is going according to plan. I expect it will fall within a month. And our armies are closing in on the human cities.”

  Nibiru leaned against the rail. “The bad?”

  “The humans' smaller cities should be easy,” Marduk continued. “But the bigger one, New Haven, may pose a challenge. It's along the coastline and appears to be well-fortified with thick walls and several towers. It may be a week before we take it. At Tiamat, we're suffering heavy losses. If something doesn't change by the day’s end, we may need to send one or two waves of reinforcements with the new weapons we are making. And, our army in the Netherworld is-”

  “Lost,” Nibiru calmly said.

  Marduk said nothing for a moment, afraid of speaking out of place. “The army may yet survive. But it simply won't be able to accomplish the campaign. I was going to recommend either sending reinforcements, or attempt to pull them out immediately.”

  Thinking, Nibiru returned to his throne and went back to his stargazing. “No need, really. It was a fool's errand. A simple miscalculation. The Netherworld nulls my Shadow Seed somehow.”

  Marduk shifted with concern and said nothing as his eyes darted back and forth at the floor.

  “You may speak freely,” Nibiru said. “It's not every day I have a conversation with another. Tell me what you are thinking.”

  Marduk chose his next words carefully. “I feel it prudent to remind you that we've never abandoned an army before. We have never lost.”

  Nibiru almost laughed. “True, but they can be easily replaced. There's been a change in plan, so don't think of it as abandonment, or losing. I never planned on their returning anyway.”

  “Very well,” Marduk said. “If I may, what is the change in plan?”

  “Same as last time,” Nibiru said, “Terrorize, murder, raze. You know, the usual.”

  Marduk was disappointed. “I see. All in the name of one man.”

  Nibiru couldn't hold his laughter this time. “Are you jealous?”

  “I'm not jealous,” Marduk said. “But I fail to see the logic of...”

  “Of what?” asked Nibiru.

  Marduk lowered his head. “Nothing,” he whispered.

  Nibiru stood, placing his hands on Marduk's shoulders. “Do you remember the last time you saw a sunrise or sunset?”

  Marduk looked up at the eclipse. “Vaguely.”

  “Don't you want to see that again? Don't you want to be able to stand and bask in the sunlight again?” Nibiru asked.

  Slowly stepping away, Marduk's demeanor suddenly turned to anger. “I despise him more than anything.”

  “Oh my,” Nibiru said curiously. “Come now, you shouldn't let your feelings get the better of you. If all goes well, Leon will be your brother and we shall be one step closer to immortality.”

  “I don't believe he's worth it,” said Marduk. “Forgive me for saying, but Leon has made this much more trouble than is necessary. Valuable time and resources have been wasted, no thanks to him. Surely there must be other worlds.”

  Nibiru rolled his eyes dismissively. “Time and resources are two things we have plenty of, and I can assure you that Leon is quite unique. You, of all people, should know that, having seen the wonders of the universe I have shown you.”

  “Of course,” Marduk said, giving up any further argument. “I stand ready for your next command.”

  Nibiru waved his hand in the direction of the doors, causing them to open. “Have the armies at Siriso and New Haven withdraw before sunrise and head to Vesuvia.”

  Marduk headed for the door. “It shall be done.”

  “As for Tiamat,” Nibiru said. “Tell the army there to retreat outside the city in a short while. I have something special in mind.”

  Marduk stopped. “Special?”

  Nibiru smirked. “The Khothu are long overdue for their introduction to the Caidoz.”

  Marduk was confused, “I thought the Caidoz wouldn't cooperate.”

  “They'll cooperate,” said Nibiru. “I just have to give them the right push.”

  Marduk turned to leave before pausing again.

  “Is there anything else?” Nibiru asked.

  “Eris,” Marduk replied. “I could execute your commands more efficiently if she didn't keep running off. I fear she's a liability.”

  Nibiru rested against the throne. “As long as she opens the portals as needed, she may do as she pleases. She knows the futility of resisting me. If there is any discord, I will deal with it. That is all. Leave me.”

  “As you wish,” Marduk said, then exiting the room.

  After watching the eclipse disappear from view, Nibiru stepped out to the exposed, inner section of the city.

  On every tier, hundreds of Pelasgian women and children were hard at work on siege weapons. Among them were shackled prisoners from the Netherworld being forced to help.

  Nibiru shook his head with some disappointment before teleporting, bursting into small streaks of black liquid that quickly dissipated. In an instant, he arrived at a cavern so big the ceiling could not be seen.

  Magma permeated much of the rock. Stalactites, stalagmites, and columns were plenty, and the ground was littered with glowing crystals.

  Nibiru could see a large waterfall feeding a river that disappeared around a bend and into the shadows. There was a sudden strong gust of wind that blew against him for a brief moment.

  The distraction did not fool Nibiru. He quickly turned, dodging a six-foot staff that had dual-headed axe blades on both ends.

  The man welding the staff was donned in gothic-style armor and a helmet that covered most of his head.

  Nibiru dashed backward for some distance. “Nice try, Bilar. You didn't think that was really going to work, did you?”

  With a burst of wind at his back, Bilar leaped forward, swinging his weapon.

  Nibiru evaded and quickly materialized his sword out of thin air. He countered, impaling Bilar through the chest before grabbing him by the neck and tossing him to a nearby woman.

  “Rovgi, what a pleasure,” Nibiru said, bowing in a show of courtliness.

  Unharmed, Bilar got back up ready to attack until Rovgi stopped him.

  Nibiru discarded his sword. “Not the welcome I was expecting. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there twelve of you? I distinctly remember the little tussle we had last we met.”

  Bilar hit the ground with his staff, and in a flash of flame, an eruption of dirt, a splash of water and a gale of air, the rest of the Caidoz emerged, surrounding Nibiru.

  Like Bilar and Rovgi, the others wore similar clothing with armor and a form-fitting helmet. Their appearance was humanoid, but various parts of them resembled an animal. This was especially true of their heads.

  The males had semblances of a ram, hawk, lion, horse and eagle. The females looked like a bizarre mix of a bull, crab, scorpion, goat and fish.

  Nibiru held his arms out and slowly turned. “That's more like it.”

  “Why are you here?” Rovgi asked.

>   “To get what I want,” Nibiru answered. “I require your assistance in dealing with the Khothu. An inferior species that possesses abilities you may appreciate.”

  “We have no quarrel with the Khothu or anyone else for that matter.” Rovgi said.

  Nibiru held up his hand with the thumb and pointer finger close together, “All I need is for you to throw a tiny scare into them.”

  “No!” Rovgi declared.

  Nibiru placed his hands behind him. “I'm not exactly asking you.”

  Rovgi grabbed the hilt of her sword. “We exist only to serve the balance of power in the cosmos. Everything has its place. Even you.”

  “Quite right,” said Nibiru. “And I intend to reclaim mine. In fact, you should think of me as an uncle of sorts.”

  “We know what you are.” Bilar said.

  Nibiru held his hand out. “Then you know what I'm capable of,” he said. A small shadow seed formed, floating above his palm with inky black streaks swirling around it.

  The Caidoz stepped back.

  “You do not have the power to kill us,” Rovgi said.

  “True,” Nibiru grinned. “But I can always erase your power and make a slave of you.”