…
Blake pushed one of the galla away from a bloodied servant. The creature stripped away Blake’s shield and tossed it on the deck. Blake choked up on his mace and brought the flanged steel across the galla’s face. Its nose and jaw came off and left a gnarled mass of bloodless pulp. It pounced on Blake before he could recover from his swing. The hard impact disarmed him. The disfigured creature smacked his helmet. His ears rang. He grabbed its arms in desperation, trying to stop it from turning his face and neck into shredded meat. It pulled its arms free with ease, as if Blake was nothing more than a toddler pawing at an adult. It cocked one hand back. Blake twisted and jerked, but it was too strong. A glint of bronze lit the thing’s bluish face. After Jesse’s axe tore cut through the galla’s neck like paper, the headless creature fell over. Jesse extended his hand. Blake grabbed it and let Jesse pull him to his feet.
“You dropped some stuff,” Jesse said. He was gone before Blake could respond.
…
“Jesse!” Tim yelled, “Get over there!”
Jesse stormed in to the fray. As he neared Danielle, one of the galla lunged for her. Jesse planted a foot in its chest and pushed hard. It staggered, but corrected itself in time to lock its knees when the axe blade came down on its shoulder. The axe went straight through the creature and split two of the hardwood boards of the deck. The creature dropped onto the deck in two halves.
“Shit!” Danielle yelled.
Jesse wrenched the axe free and headed toward Blake and Nathan. He could see Tim taking careful shots at the galla, but they ignored the arrows as they stuck into their dead flesh. Off to the starboard side, Inanna was felling the galla like trees, but it seemed to Jesse that as soon as one dropped another would jump over the walls of the ship. Ahead of Jesse, two galla brought Nathan down with a cooperative tackle. Jesse lunged in and beheaded one with an upward slash. Nathan pushed its headless body off of him with a quick shove and wrestled with the other one. Jesse raised the axe above his head, but before he could bring it down Nathan put a dirk through its skull. Jesse helped Nathan to his feet.
…
“Ah fuck!” Tim yelled as a galla ripped away his bow and tossed it at an oarsman. The bow smashed the oarsmen in the face and he went down leaking crimson from his nose and mouth. Tim swung his axe hard at the galla. Another galla swooped in from the port side and pushed him. His swing was interrupted and he lost his footing. The creature latched on to him. He tried to scramble away from it, but it was stronger. Tim saw Danielle send the other galla crumpling to the deck with a perforated skull. A half-dead oarsman fell into her and they both went down. Tim tried again to get to his feet, but the galla slammed his shoulders down onto the deck. It opened its maw and descended toward his face. Its head jerked hard to the left. Jesse battered it with the butt of his axe. It fell backwards, but its grip on Tim was strong. Tim was forced into a roll. He ended up on top of the creature.
“It won't let go!” Tim yelled.
“Move to the right,” Jesse said, and Tim repositioned himself. Jesse brought the axe down and it severed the creature's arm at the elbow. Now free, Tim grabbed his small axe and split the thing’s skull.
…
Jesse joined the oarsmen in the furious skirmish. In front of him, a galla was on top of a fallen crewmember, ripping him to shreds. Jesse kicked the creature in the back of the head causing it to fall forward. He stepped in and swung the axe downward. The axe's blade struck the thing in the middle of its back collapsing its spine. The crewmember looked up at Jesse with a shocked expression. His neck had been cut and each time his heart beat a torrential flow of blood came out of the ruby crevice. It was too late to save him. Jesse lifted his axe and looked to find his next target. To his left, a crewmember was bashing a fallen creature with heavy strikes. To his right, Inanna was slashing and stabbing with expert precision. Jesse decided she did not require his help, so he turned away from her. As he did, he saw a galla tearing out the throat of a female crewmember. Jesse raised his axe high. The creature shot a glance his way. It stared at him and dropped its prey. It darted at him. Jesse swung, but instead of carving flesh, his axe glided through the air. He tried to recover for a backhanded swing, but the creature slashed him across his arm. Jesse dropped the giant bronze axe. With unnatural speed, it raked him across the face, chest, and shoulder before he could counter. He closed his eyes and lurched forward, locking his arms around the creature's torso. He lifted it off the deck and squeezed with all his might. The creature began to scream, but the horrid sound was cut off by a series of crunches and pops. Jesse slammed the creature into the deck headfirst. Its neck snapped like a dry branch as its forehead smashed into the boards. It cracked from the impact. Jesse released the limp galla and picked up his axe. He looked around with frantic rage only to find that the battle was over. The last of the creatures had been put to rest by Inanna, the warriors from Eureka, and what was left of the crew.
The deck was littered with corpses. Inanna's crew had been halved and the dozens of galla had been silenced. Inanna wiped off her sword and sheathed it. She looked at Jesse with relief. She walked over to him and touched him where he had been cut. The cuts closed like they were being zipped shut. When her hands left an area, only smooth skin remained. She kissed him on his lips and she moved to the bow of the ship. Groans of the injured crewmembers filled the deck. Blake was crouched over a mauled servant. Her face and chest were dark red and riddled with deep gashes. Her breathing was sporadic and weak. Jesse ran over to Inanna and grabbed her by the arm. Jesse pointed to the dying crewmember. Inanna frowned and shook her head.
“Why can't you save her?” asked Jesse.
“Even a god's powers are limited. The most powerful of us can't bring back someone from the dead.”
“Didn't your sister bring back the dead?”
“No, she can only make more death.”
“What about when you died and came back to life? Why can't you save this woman?”
Inanna placed her hands on Jesse's chest and stared into his eyes.
“Do you wish to take her place?” Life for life: that is how resurrection works. My husband and his sister paid for mine. Who will pay for hers? You?”
Jesse did not say anything else. He turned around and his head dropped.
“More will die before this is over, Jesse.”
“I know.”
“You need to understand that.”
Inanna put an arm around his torso.
“It's been awhile. We all made it out of Eureka alive. I haven't seen anyone die since Adam.”
“Jesse, I need to know that you will continue no matter the cost. Otherwise, we might as well keep sailing the seas and bide our time. If you are not ready....”
“I'm ready. Let’s just end this.”
She kissed his cheek and left him there. She shouted orders to the still-living crew. They threw the galla overboard and piled their dead onto the small boarding raft at the aft of the ship. Blake protested when they began to drag the woman he was trying to help to the raft. Jesse walked over to him.
“There's nothing we can do for her,” Jesse said.
“She's not even dead yet,” Blake said. His lip was quivering, and he strained to hold back tears.
“She's lost too much blood,” Jesse said. She was laid beside the raft until she drew a final breath. Shortly after, two crewmembers grabbed her and put her on the raft. Once all the dead were gathered, the crew dumped a barrel of pitch into the raft and lowered it into the ocean. One of the men used a long pole to push the raft away from the ship. Inanna said some words in her ancient tongue. The crew raised their hands in the air. The women wailed and the men pounded their chests. Inanna handed Tim an arrow. The tip had been wrapped in a pitch-soaked cloth. He nodded and nocked the arrow. She set it ablaze with a candle, and Tim let it fly. It hit the raft, and the makeshift funeral vessel was at once engulfed in flame. They all stared in silence as the raft burned. Orange and yellow light danced acros
s the waves. The fire sizzled and diminished as the raft sank into the water. The crew bowed their heads for another moment, and they went back to their duties. Two of the women began scrubbing the blood off of the deck. Jesse leaned against the starboard wall of the ship. He watched the crew clean up and his party argue.
“It just doesn't seem right,” Blake said to Nathan.
“There's nothing to be done about it,” Nathan replied.
“So people die and it doesn't mean anything anymore?” Blake asked.
“It means something, but not as much as it used to,” said Nathan. “Life is cheap these days.”
“No it's not,” said Danielle. “It's worth more than ever. We're practically extinct. Don't you get that?”
“Of course I get that. How could you think that I don't? But let's get real. We just lost nearly half our numbers in a single attack. I don't think there's much of a chance of us getting out of this alive. At least their suffering is over. She doesn't have to fight anymore. They're in heaven, or hell, or whatever passes for an afterlife these days, and we are stuck in this nightmare.”
“OK, Nathan,” said Danielle, and she drew a knife and pressed it sideways against his chest. “Why don't you just end my suffering then? So I don't have to fight anymore either.”
Nathan pushed her arm away.
“Stop that. That's not what I mean. It's just — it's the way it is now.”
“Well, I don't accept that. Isn't that why we followed Jesse all this way, because we had hope?”
“We followed him because we had to. Or did you forget that our castle got attacked by a fucking army of the dead?”
“OK — OK,” she said, and she sheathed her knife. “At first, yes, we followed him because we had to. I know I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave what safety we had, but we followed him a lot longer than what was necessary. We could have stopped in the forest or any number of places, but we didn't. We kept going. We kept following him. So let's not get all defeatist just yet.”
“I’m done talking about this,” said Nathan. He patted Blake on the shoulder and they walked to the bow of the ship.
Jesse walked to the portside of the ship. Tim was staring out into the ocean. Jesse looked at the area where the raft had sunk. The waters had calmed and there was no evidence left of the quick funeral, just ripples and waves. Danielle came up and held Tim for a moment. She looked him in the eyes. He was shaking, but he reassured her that he was all right.
She put a hand on Jesse's shoulder.
“I know I didn't give you much of a chance in the beginning, but I think you've done more than enough to prove yourself. If any of us has a shot at getting out of this, then I think you're our best chance. I'm sorry for doubting you.”
“I understand your doubts. I would have doubted too. But I don't want to give you false hope.”
“It's real — real hope. That's all we have right now. Hope.”
“Not for us. It's for people — humans — the rest of the world.”
“What do you mean?”
“Inanna thinks she knows where this all started, and she thinks that we can end it. We can stop this shit from continuing.”
“Save the world, you mean?”
“Yeah, something like that, but it sounded too ridiculous to say. Sounds like something from an action movie.”
“I think it's fitting in this case. What are we supposed to do?”
Jesse explained everything that Inanna had told him.
“So we're supposed to kill a god? How are we going to do that? I mean, you saw Inanna fight. I don't like our chances if this other god has half of her moves. I could barely hold my own against those damned screaming things.”
“I think I'm the one that's supposed to kill Ereshkigal,” said Jesse and he pointed to the large bronze axe that was leaning up against the starboard side of the boat.
“Inanna gave me that before the fight,” he said. “I think it's some kind of magic axe or something.”
“It doesn't look magical,” said Tim. “It just looks like a big ass bronze battle axe.”
“It's not even heavy,” said Jesse. “Pick it up.”
“Bullshit it's not heavy,” said Tim and he went over to the axe. He placed both his hands on the handle. He jerked to pull it into the air, but as he pulled the axe head crashed to the deck splitting one of the boards.
“Fuck!” Tim yelled. “That thing's heavy as shit. Not heavy my ass.”
“It feels lighter than that axe you guys gave me,” said Jesse.
“Either it's magical,” said Tim, “or you are.”
Jesse felt a cold rush through his body causing him to shudder and twitch. He exhaled and dropped his head.
“What's wrong?” asked Danielle. “Aren't you happy to be superman?”
“No, not at all. A couple months ago, or whenever I met you guys. Fuck! I don't even know what year it is anymore. I was just trying to stay alive, if for no other reason than to deprive those abominations of another hot meal. I had no purpose, and now I've got too much purpose. What if we make it to this place and I meet this goddess and she rips my heart out in two seconds?”
“Then I'd say that we did our best,” said Danielle.
“Our best? That's what my opponents told their coaches back when I used to wrestle. 'Coach, I did my best.' Well, their best wasn't good enough. And now — now I think mine might not be good enough.”
“You are standing next to two people whose asses you saved more than a few times. I didn't even get a scratch in this battle thanks to you,” said Danielle.
Jesse shook his head, “Saving you from a handful of these things isn't on par with what is waiting for us.”
“OK, maybe so,” said Danielle, “but what about that battle at our castle. You ran into that mess like a man possessed and you tore those things to shreds. You didn't see yourself. I had trouble focusing on what I was doing because of what you were doing. It was intense. I half expected you to get eaten within the first couple minutes, but you just kept going. It was amazing. Jesse, you are amazing. So, when I say you give me hope, or give the human race hope, or whatever, then take the damned compliment. OK?”
“All right,” said Jesse.
“If anyone can do it, man, you can,” said Tim.
“Let me tell Blake and Nathan about all this,” Danielle said. “They don't need any fuel to feed their doubts.”
“Yeah,” said Jesse. Danielle kissed him on the cheek and walked to the bow of the ship. Tim patted him on back.
“So you're telling me that isn't heavy?” Tim said pointing to the axe.
“I’m telling you. It feels light in my hands,” said Jesse. Tim laughed.
“I feel like we need to change your name. Jesse just doesn’t cut it anymore.”
“To what?”
“Something more inspiring, especially with that axe. Your name should be something like Gargax the Eater of Dreams. Maybe Jesse of — ah, I don't know.”
“Please don't call me Gargax.”
“I won't. I'm just saying, when this is all over you'll need a more fitting name.”
Jesse shook his head and picked up the axe. He walked into Inanna's cabin.
She had changed into another set of lavish robes. She sat on her bed with her chest plate in her lap. She looked up at him when he entered. Her eyes were red and puffy.
“I didn't think gods cried.”
He sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulder. She ran her fingers across his brawler's hands, her index finger going over each knuckle.
“If I told you this was my thousandth battle, you would have to believe me. I have seen more death than one should see in hundreds of lifetimes.”
“But you've seen more life and beauty than anyone else. That must be the upside of being immortal.”
“I'm not immortal. I have not even lived one hundred lifetimes. It is not so many generations that separate you from my first people. But, I had to watch them all die, them and so
many others.”
“You couldn't have stopped it?”
“I tried, but I failed. I am afraid my powers are limited, as is true of the other gods. I had champions before, but my people suffered long droughts and famine. There were no champions during those hard times. Soon, raiders came and laid my people to waste. In time, a new empire rose up from the waste of Sumer, and I was worshiped again. Those people had a different tongue. They called me Ishtar. They were sometimes a cruel people, but I loved them all the same. They too fell in time. We gods were helpless to stop the whims of the humans. We could turn the winds against an army, shake the earth, or set the wild brush ablaze with a single thought, but we cannot stop the will of so many people that have decided on war. It pains me to say, but a united people are more powerful than the gods. That is why I needed you. You see how you inspire people, in ways that I do not. They love you, and they do not love me. My time has passed. I am irrelevant.”
While she talked, Jesse envisioned the rise and fall of peoples over the course of centuries. He pictured their cities, their cultures, and their temples emerging, only to be smashed out of existence by an encroaching group. The whole of human history played out before his eyes in a waking dream. He saw them raise Inanna and the other old gods up, only to abandon them for new gods and new leaders. He saw Inanna helpless as her temple was destroyed, and her priests and priestesses were put to the sword. He saw her flee and wait. She watched as the world shifted between powerful hands. All those powerful men and women were long dead. The dream dissolved. Inanna hunched over with her head in her hands: her confidence diminished.
The Lost Gods Page 21
