The Ardent Saga Omnibus

by Nathan Howe

  On the tablet, a video showed a place. Cyberhex stood waving at it. Gravitation Woman screamed. “She’s standing in front of my house!”

  Then on the screen, it blew up. Cyberhex turned and waved. ‘More to come.”

  “How’d she know my home,” Gravitation Woman said.

  It took a moment. “She has all our homes,” I said. “From her hack.”

  “Oh noo,” Gravitation Woman said.

  I was in full on panic. I didn’t know whose place she was going to attack next. We rushed out of the room. The others were startled by our fast exit. “She is attacking our homes,” I said. The team wanted to rush to the places.

  “I have to save my home,” Heldonhaft said.

  “We can’t,” I said. “Contact HQ sent out the troops.”

  “Steve,” Gravitation Woman said. “We aren’t troops,”

  “Whatever,” I said. “Get the force out. To all our homes.”

  “I’m going to my place,” Violet said.

  “Me too,” the other said.

  I wanted to stop them, but it didn’t feel right. They deserved to go to their homes and try to help. This was part of her plan. To split us up and take us one on one. It was a good plan. I wished the others would see it too, but they were in total panic mode now. Not too reassuring coming from a group of Ardents who serve and protect. But this was different, this was their homes. They had to feel vulnerable right now, and I un-derstood that. On the streets, they are just another Ardent with no family or friends. They hid behind a mask in more than one way. Now Cyberhex took that mask off, and there was nothing I could do for them. “Fine.”

  Since the others were all going to their places, I would too.

  “Wow,” Jack said. “I can’t believe she did that.”

  Steve shrugged. “Neither can I. I mean I expected an attack, but not that.”

  As much as Steve loathed to admit it, he should have known. It was a predictable outcome. She had the information and the ability to use it. Why he hadn’t thought of it was beyond him.

  “I’m sorry,” Ambrosine said. “If that Ardent needs anything, please let me know.”

  Steve nodded. “I will. I’m sure the Coalition will go above and beyond for her.”

  “I know dear,” Ambrosine said. “But it isn’t the same.”

  I rushed to my place as fast as I could. Luckily, since Gravitation Woman could fly, I had the car to myself. Again, I said screw it and broke as many traffic laws as possible. Horns rang in my wake. I was a man on a mission. Cyberhex wasn’t going to blow my place up. I wasn’t going to have it.

  When I arrived, I was the first there. I saw no signs of the heroes that were supposed to be sent out. That didn’t mean that they weren’t on the way, but I beat them. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

  I saw no signs of Cyberhex. That didn’t mean she wasn’t around. The only Ardent that I knew that was sneakier than her was the Butcher. Unlike Cyberhex, the Butcher could teleport. That allowed her the abil-ity to sneak up on anyone without warning. She was a crazy one.

  Before I entered my place, I hesitated out front. The hairs on my neck rose with fear. Of all the Ardents around, I was the one that Cyberhex had tried to kill the most. I did stop her the first time. She wasn’t pleased about that.

  She had to be here. It made the most sense. It was odd that she started at another house. But I was her nemesis or whatever villains called heroes who opposed them. Not that I wanted the job. I only took the first one to make some money to help Djinn Park. It needed all the help it could get.

  I was up for that job, but not this one. Tracking crazy hackers wasn’t something that applied to me, not the slightest.

  On the top of the steps, I stopped. At the last moment I backed away, there was something about the air. As I backed down the steps, I heard a voice behind me.

  “You’re smarter than you look.”

  I turned to see Cyberhex. Her face was covered with a sneer. She clearly despised me. The feeling was mu-tual. I couldn’t stand her. She made every fiber of my body tingle. She oozed hate and disgust.

  In another life or world, some might find her attractive. To me, she was the pain of my life. I was going to get rid of her. I wanted to get back to my life and my real goal.

  “Give up,” I said.

  She laughed. A bitter one, that scared me. Everything about her terrified me. I couldn’t help it. She was a freaky person. Her ability was one that I never wanted to deal with again.

  “Why would I do that?” she asked. Her voice shrill. “I know what you were doing.”

  “So why are you here?”

  “For fun,” she said.

  I quickly pulled my Sig’s again and fired. She moved faster than a cat, She moved with the grace of a dancer, and the agility of a professional athlete. If I didn’t know any better, I would have expected her to be an Ar-dent with super reflexes. I’ve met a few of those in my day.

  I replaced my gun since the last thing I wanted to do was lose it. Getting it done over and over again was getting old. My body still hurt from the last time. She rushed at me, with her own weapons pulled, knives. That was something I could handle. I had both swords and knives on my body. I decided on my daggers that matched hers.

  Before she reached me, an explosion filled the air behind me. I staggered at her, and she sliced me down the side. Blood poured from the wound. I pushed her away and saw that my office had been blown to smithereens.

  “You bitch,” I said.

  She hissed at me. ‘You wanted to play rough. I’m playing rough.”

  I staggered away from her. She lunged at me with her knives. Slicing me again, this time on my arms. She was faster than I was. I had to keep her away and up my strength. I practiced with both my swords, knives, and fist every day. If I could regain my composure, I would be able to handle her.

  Cyberhex was relentless with her assault on me. Diving in and out of my range as we danced on the street in front of my now ruined home. My life had been in there, and she destroyed it. I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

  “You’re pitiful,” she taunted me.

  My body was covered in slices and gashes from her attacks. I wasn’t going to last much longer. She reached towards me and stabbed me in the side.

  “Ahh!” I screamed in agony, but I held on to her.

  She squirmed in my grip. Her knife still penetrating me.

  “Let me go.”

  There was no way I was. I could hear the sirens, they were getting close. I held on for dear life, it was my only hope.

  A minute passed, but it felt like years before the tires squealed behind me. I heard a voice and around us. And one that rushed over to us.

  “It’s Steven and Cyberhex.”

  In a blink of an eye, they knocked her out cold and dragged her away. Looking at me they rushed for aid. “I’m good,” I said.

  “You’re bleeding from head to toe,” an Ardent that I didn’t recognize said.

  I reached into my trench coat pocket and took out my healing potion. I used every last drop of it. But it wasn’t enough.

  “You’re lucky,” Jack said.

  Steve shrugged. ‘I don’t feel lucky.”

  “What if you had entered your place. You’d be dead.”

  “I know,” Steve said. But it was clear that he wasn’t happy.

  Ambrosine gave him a knowing look. “It will be okay,” she said.

  Steve sighed. “In time. They are taking care of it for me. But still, it sucks.”

  The three of them were silent for a moment before Jack spoke. “What did they do with Cyberhex?”

  “Tossed her into the deepest darkest hole,” Steve said. That made Steve happy. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. A moment of hope and clarity.

  They all nodded. In the middle of the country was a prison that was designed for Ardents, and it had special parts for Ardent that had abilities that were even more powerful. Cyberhex was one. She was never going
to see the light of day again.

  Notes from the Author

  Nothing would make me happier of you left a review. Let Mortal, Broken, Steve, Burning, Inferno, and more know what you think of them. They’d love to hear what you think of their stories.

  Derek and I loved writing these stories for you. They were inspired from our City of Hero characters. We both started playing the game back in 2007 and played until it closed in 2012. It is both of ours favorite game of all time.

  Without that game, neither of us would be writing. It inspired us to let out creative talents out.

  Also by Nathan Howe

  Cyber Chronicles

  Cyberpunk and Romance

  Modified

  Modified Beginning

  Adjusted Course

  Altered Assignments

  Refitted Conduct

  Unveiled – Coming Soon

  Magical Awakening with Nicole Zoltack

  A journey to find magic

  A Magical Sickness

  A Magical Adventure

  A Magical Misadventure

  A Magical Awareness

  A Magical Journey

  A Magical Odyssey

  A Magical Scheming – Coming Soon

  A Magical Disaster – Coming Soon

  Smuggle Life written with T S Paul

  Just like thug life only better.

  Double Cross

  Politics Equals Death

  Cut and Run

  A Grand Affair

  No Tech, No Fun

  Smuggle Is – Box set Books 1 – 3 with bonus short story Nicole’s Adventure

  The Elementalist

  Young Adult Elemental Magic

  The Prophecy – Part of the Prime Fantasy Anthology

  Scheme of the Wind - Part of the Flight of the Phoenix Anthology

  The Draft and her Mother – Part of the The Goblin and the Grocer Anthology

  A Silenced Breeze – Part of the Prime Fiction II Anthology

  An Absent Gale

  Whirlwind of a Summer

  Breath of Disaster

  Tenderness of Clay

  Whiff and Scar – Part of the Shadowed Light Anthology

  Distorted Gust

  A Fiery Wind – Coming Soon

  Mystic Blast – Coming soon

  The Badger Hole Bar with Taki Drake

  Grand Opening

  The Ardent Saga

  Not all heroes are equal

  Djinn Park

  Burning Out

  Power Sink

  The Gadget King

  Frozen Aura

  The Stone of Azuria

  The Butcher of Djinn Park

  The Ascension of Natalia

  Remy’s Aghast

  Enter Assassin

  Assault of the Mechajunks

  Even Superheroes Fall in Love – Collab with Kris Endicott- Part of the Mysterious Hearts Anthology

  Proving Grounds

  Hacking Djinn Park – Part of Cyberwar: Byte Conflict

  Haunted Date – Part of the Haunted Hearts Anthology

  The Ardent Collection

  Emerge

  Origin. Superheroes. Apocalyptic.

  Emerge: Cataclysm

  Emerge: Evanesce

  The Towers

  Young Adult. Survival. Adventure.

  Harper – Part of the Phoenix Galactic Anthology

  Aiden

  Mason

  Leah – Coming Soon

  Centurion with Kris Endicott

  Centurions – Part of the Phoenix Galactic II Anthology

  Time Marshal

  Time Travel. Cops. Protection.

  Time Marshal

  Preventing a War – Cyberwar: Digital Battlefield

  Beyond a War – Cyberwar: Byte Conflict

  Ending a War – Coming Soon

  First Trip – Part of the Prime Peeks

  The Shattered Veil

  Supernaturals running for their lives

  The Shattered Veil

  The Veiled Love

  Supernatural running for their lives and finding love

  First Dawn – Part of the Prime Fantasy II Anthology

  Other

  Saving the Storm – Part of Journal with a View: July - August – September

  Scale of Seduction – Primed for Action Anthology

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank my family. They are with Derek and I every step of the way from our first book Aiden to the most recent and the next. Thank you. We love you all.

  My friends are a great help as well. Nicole, Tiffany, and Brian have been there in more ways that one. I wouldn’t be able to write if it were for their support, guidance, editing, and covers.

  Thank you for reading my book and taking the time out of your life to enjoy my story. That means the world to me. Each and ever book sold and read makes me smile. Each review makes me happy. If I can just make one person smile, I am pleased. I hope I gave you a smile as you read.

  About Nathan Howe

  I am a writer of science fiction and fantasy stories with my brother Derek. For as long as I remember I have wanted to write stories and share them. I spent years burying myself in the works of others. Reading was a passion of mine. Several times I began novels and failed to complete them until I started Aiden. That story clicked for my brother and me. We've been hard at work ever since.

  It means the world to me that people enjoy my stories. I appreciate it when someone takes the time to read my creation. Nothing brings me greater joy.

  For more information

  www.Nathanrhowe.com

  nathan@nathanrhowe.com