Of Gods and Goddesses: Book 3 (Lords and Commoners Series)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  “No one knows about it?”

  “No, not even Lord Alexandru knew.”

  “Perfect. The Court has a better chance of surviving if we go our separate ways. We’ll head back to New York and salvage what we can. We’ll send a messenger when we get settled in a new place.”

  “Just like old times, eh? Before the convenience of modern technology,” Samuel said.

  “You can’t stay in New York, it won’t be safe,” Hector said.

  “You’re right, we won’t stay there long. We’ll retrieve the blood from our banks and stock up on supplies, weapons mostly.”

  “And then what?” Hector said.

  “I don’t … know.” Elijah hated to admit it but he didn’t know if he could fully trust Hector. He may be the spy who is informing Elda of the Court’s plans. Elijah felt guilty for thinking this. Hector was an old friend. Yet, someone who was once close to them had to be providing Elda with information. Secondly — and equally discomforting — Elijah honestly did not know where they would go after New York.

  “Good luck, my friend,” Hector said.

  “I wish you the best as well.”

  They did not waste any time. They parted ways quickly as there was much work to be done.

  The New York City streets were hardly recognizable. No one walked along the usually crowded sidewalks. Many of the subway entrances were filled with water, as the humans who maintained the water pumps were imprisoned or on the run or dead. Sonia sobbed at the sight of the once prosperous city.

  They continued to fly north. The safest time to be out was in broad daylight. The daylight would keep new vampires indoors as well as the vampires who had had too much blood the night before. Vampires who drank to excess became intoxicated, not much different than humans who over-drank alcohol. Upon awakening, an overindulgent vampire would have unclear thoughts and the sun would be incredibly painful to the eyes. It was an advantage to the Court that this described a good number of Elda’s supporters as well as the rogue vampires.

  It was November and winter had fully set in. Elijah was relieved to see this as the cool weather helped to keep their blood supply cold. When they drew close to their main blood-bank distribution warehouse, Elijah kept an eye out for refrigerated semi-trucks to transport the blood. With the region being abandoned this turned out to be an easy task. Samuel and Aaron quickly hijacked a number of semis. If the trucks were full of goods, the contents were dumped in the street. Soon they were fully loaded with boxes of blood bags. One semi was reserved for weapons, ammunition, generators and anything else that might come in handy. They set out in a long cavalcade for the nearest military base.

  “It’s a good thing it’s not the middle of summer or all our blood would have been spoiled,” Samuel noted.

  “Yes, so far we have luck on our side. Let’s hope it holds out. I’ll meet you at Fort Drum,” Elijah said. He took a handful of men and flew home. It was all but destroyed. The multi-story mansion was collapsed in on itself. In some places it had been largely burned to ash. Elijah went to where the entrance to the basement had once been and they dug out the stairs. He went to a large safe hidden behind a fake wall. Out of the safe he took only one small wooden box. He left the crowns, jewels and gold behind. They would only be a burden in this new world.

  Elijah locked the safe and they reburied the entrance. “I suppose the treasure will be as safe here as anywhere.” Elijah took flight, leaving his home behind.

  The carnage at the Fort Drum army base indicated that a battle had ensued. Any humans who remained were dead. They rounded up more supplies, including military guns, ammunition and camouflage for their base camps. Anything that looked like it might be useful was quickly loaded into a semi. Machine-gun-mounted Humvees became the lead and rear escorts for the long convoy of semis.

  Riddick drove, while Elijah sat in the passenger seat rubbing his forehead with his thumb and index finger.

  “You don’t know where we’re going, do you?” Riddick said.

  “No. I only hope to avoid Elda and her supporters until we can get the blood to safety.”

  “Yet you have no idea where to find safety.”

  “If only Val would tell us Elda’s whereabouts — that would be rather useful. Then we could avoid her until the blood is secure.”

  “Then we could find her and rip her heart out,” Riddick said.

  “For now, we need to hide at night. We’ll travel during the day. This will lower the chances of running into Elda’s forces.”

  “How, exactly does one hide an entire convoy of trucks?”

  “We’ll have to find warehouses or very remote locations and camouflage the trucks.”

  This was what they did. During the day they only stopped long enough to fuel the trucks. This had to be done by siphoning the diesel directly from gas station supply tanks.

  “You still don’t know where we are going, do you?” Riddick asked.

  “As a matter of fact, o ye of little faith, I do.” Elijah had been searching his memories of his travels for a good hideout. He and Val had toured the Amazon a very long time ago. Some local villagers spoke of secret tunnels that ran through the jungle. Elijah was going to see if he could find them. Yet he was not about to tell Riddick that he was relying on an old legend being true. Elijah had never seen these hidden passageways. Either way, the Amazon was remote, provided lots of cover and hopefully was far away from Elda. This was only a hunch but he did not know what else to do. He was not about to divulge this to his comrades.

  Chapter 34 South America 2021 A.D

  Elijah knew that crossing the Panama Canal would be dangerous. It was a bottleneck, the perfect place for a trap. If not an outright trap, then it was a strategic place for Elda to have guards stationed. Up until that point they had avoided major cities but soon their path would be limited to one of two crossings.

  “We’ll use the inland crossing to get over the canal. It is best to avoid Panama City,” Elijah decided.

  “I have a bad feeling about this. Must we cross?” Riddick said.

  “It’s the fastest way to get this much blood across while keeping it refrigerated. What else could we do, sneak it over in ice chests?”

  Riddick nodded as he pondered the idea.

  “I was being facetious! That would take entirely too long. We would be spotted for sure.” Elijah could hardly contain his irritation. They had been cooped up together in the semi cab for far too long.

  They hid the trucks under green camouflage and Riddick led a recon team to scope out the canal crossing.

  Upon their return, Riddick announced, “It’s not good. The canal is closed to all transport, water and land. There are a handful of vampires guarding the area. They wear dark green armbands with a tarantula insignia.”

  “Elda’s men,” Elijah whispered.

  “We could blow up the guard tower.” Cosmin’s eyes glowed with the light of adventure.

  Elijah clenched his fists and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It didn’t work. He spoke softly and slowly … at first, as if he were speaking to a small child. “We cannot blow up the tower as that would also destroy the bridge.” Now he yelled, “The one we have to get across!” He turned to Teller. “Shut your boys up, will you?”

  Teller was leaning against a truck with his arms crossed. He turned a hard stare to Cosmin who quickly closed his mouth and diverted his eyes to the ground.

  “Thank you,” Elijah said. “We’ll go in full force at dawn and attack the guards. We greatly outnumber them so an ambush should work.”

  “That’s a much better plan than yours,” Costel whispered to his brother. “But, I’ve always wanted to blow up a bridge.” A bit louder he ventured to say. “Perhaps, My Lord, we could blow up the bridge after we’ve crossed.”

  “Shut the hell up ...” Elijah rubbed his forehead; this always helped him think. “That may not be such a bad idea.” Elijah looked to Riddick and then Teller for confirmation. Riddick and Teller were old and wise.
They had vast experience in the ways of combat. Elijah trusted their counsel.

  “I don’t see why not,” Teller said.

  “It could lessen traffic from the north to us in the south, or at least make it easier to control the route if the need arose,” Riddick added.

  “Very well. You two,” Elijah pointed to the twins. “You blow up the bridge after we are over.” Elijah turned to Teller. “I will hold you personally responsible if they screw this up.”

  Teller grinned. “I’ll look after them.”

  With a jump, Cosmin gave his brother a high-five. “We’re checking off that to-do list like crazy now.”

  Elijah could not help but give the slightest of smiles. Could it be that after all these years the twins were beginning to grow on him? He shook his head. No, certainly not.

  At dawn they made their way to the Centennial Bridge. It looked like giant sailboats back to back, as the suspension cables made two large triangles across the long bridge. The bridge rose high over the water, so large ships could pass under it with ease.

  Elda’s guards had made a makeshift post out of corrugated tin in the center of the bridge.

  Elijah and his men were as quiet as lions stalking their prey. Elijah and Riddick were in the lead with Samuel directly behind them. This was an old habit. They came from a time when rulers were at the forefront of battles. If a king expected his men to follow him into war, then he had to be willing to lead the way. If the fight was not worth risking the king’s life then others should not make the sacrifice either. It was a more noble time, in some ways, Elijah thought. He despised leaders today, who hid in bunkers while their infantry was slaughtered.

  Hiding in the shadows, Elijah and Samuel watched two guards patrol the bridge. Samuel aimed his .45 at one of the sentries.

  Elijah pushed Samuel’s arm down. “You and your modern technology. That’s entirely too noisy. You’ll alert the others. Not to mention it will not kill them. This is how it is done.”

  Elijah moved forward without a sound and with the speed of light. After only a couple of heartbeats the guard’s headless body wavered. Elijah caught him and lowered him silently to the ground. The other guard opened his mouth but Elijah’s whip went through his neck. Again he caught the body before it hit the ground.

  “Silent and effective, unlike your gun.” Elijah whispered. “Stay downwind so the others don’t catch your scent.”

  On Elijah’s signal, they flew under the bridge and ambushed the lookout station and the guards on the other side of the bridge. When all the guards lay motionless and headless, Elijah gestured for Aaron who had remained back.

  Aaron moved quickly to the convoy. They were free to move the trucks across the bridge. The twins went to work rigging the bridge with explosives. In no time the bridge was full of the Court’s food supply.

  “You see? There was nothing to worry about,” Elijah said.

  “Look!” Riddick pointed.

  Pairs of vampires flew toward the semis at full speed. They hit the trailers broadside and pushed the trucks into the low railing. The scraping of metal was all that could be heard. The trucks where being tipped over the edge of the bridge. In no time they would be tumbling into the water below.

  Machine-gun fire rained from the Humvees.

  “Save the trucks!” Elijah yelled and with the sweep of his right arm, the men on his right side took flight. They began to stabilize the semis by pushing from the side opposite Elda’s men. Elijah took flight as he beckoned for the remaining men to follow.

  While speeding past one of Elda’s men, Elijah snapped his neck. Two others had hoods covering their heads — for protection from the sun — no doubt. Elijah ripped their hoods off on his way by. This caused them to fall to the bridge screaming in pain. He readied his whip in order to finish them off. When the first whip cut through the air it did not find the soft skin it was intended for. It wrapped around something hard instead.

  Elijah was face to face with an armored vampire. Elijah’s whip was wrapped tightly around his metal-guarded arm. With one jerk of the enemy’s arm the whip was yanked out of Elijah’s hand. Elijah swung the second whip around the vampire’s leg. Elijah tried to pull the winged creature down but, with one kick, Elijah’s second whip was torn out of his hand. The vampire dived for Elijah who braced for the impact. But the sound of rocks crashing down on metal could be heard as Riddick tackled the armored man.

  Chapter 35 South America 2021 A.D

  Riddick and his adversary landed hard on the pavement of the bridge. With one blow to the head from the metal covered arm, Riddick was sent flying off the bridge.

  “No!” Elijah yelled. He knew his gun would be of no use against this enemy. I don’t know why I even carry the stupid thing. He landed and drew his double-edged straight swords. “Who are you?” He yelled over the chaos around them.

  “That’s why I have the advantage. You don’t know who I am but I know everything about you. That’s how I knew how to protect myself against you. Honestly, ya oughta get some new tricks.”

  “I don’t need tricks. I have a millennium of experience. How did you know we were here?”

  “We’re on the lookout for you all over the world, in every major port or border crossing. One of our lookouts was able to hit the alarm and warn us that they were under attack. And now I have you. Our queen will reward me greatly for finding you.”

  “Your queen is the Lady Vallachia and she is not behind this,” Elijah spat.

  “She was our queen but she has unfortunately disappeared.” The sarcasm in his voice could not be missed. “We have a new queen and she’s not the weak patsy that used to keep us suppressed because of her love of humans. We have a powerful queen now and we’re finally free of your oppressive rule.”

  Elijah had heard more than enough. He moved to attack. The vampire shot several rounds into Elijah’s chest but it hardly slowed Elijah’s advance. Elijah attacked hard and swift with both swords, searching for the weakness in his armor. “I don’t go into battle without armor either,” Elijah said. They always wore bulletproof vests when there was a threat of any kind.

  Elda’s vampires managed to push one of the semis off the bridge. This caused Elijah to momentarily back off his attack.

  “What is in the trucks that is so important? All your precious gold?” the enemy said as he advanced on Elijah. He raised his arm to strike another blow.

  That is it! Elijah thought. In order for the vampire to have any mobility in his arms the armpit of his metal suit was made of cloth — no metal. Elijah found his mark. He drove one sword horizontally into the enemy’s armpit. He forced the weapon all the way through his opponent’s torso.

  The man fell to his knees.

  “No,” Elijah said. “Those trucks carry something that will soon be far more precious than gold.” He swung the butt of his second sword so hard it knocked off the head of his attacker.

  Elijah quickly surveyed the scene. Teller, Abdullah and the twins were salvaging what they could from the truck that had been pushed over the bridge. The rest of his men were finishing off any of Elda’s vampires who remained. Things appeared to be under control. In a flash, Elijah dived off the bridge.

  When he hit the water his gills and webbed feet took over. He searched for Riddick and soon spotted his body drifting face down in the current. Elijah sped toward him. Riddick’s gills were slowly moving in and out as they sucked what oxygen they could from the water. He’s alive! Elijah pulled Riddick out of the water. Once Riddick lay on his back on the shore, Elijah saw his face. It was smashed to pieces by the metal blow he had taken.

  “No!” Elijah yelled.

  Samuel heard Elijah’s cry. He could recognize Elijah’s voice from a mile away. Samuel spotted them on the shore and called for their medic.

  The medic injected Riddick with a heavy dose of anesthetic. “He needs to remain asleep while I reconstruct what I can of his face before his accelerated healing kicks in any more than it already has.”
r />   Elijah locked his fingers behind his head and paced.

  “It will be okay. Riddick will be fine,” Teller said.

  Elijah locked eyes with Teller’s then went back to pacing. He would not be content until Riddick was awake and well. He had lost Vallachia, he’d lost his kingdom and he’d lost John — the only constant in his entire life. All he had left were Samuel and Riddick. He could not lose anyone else and keep up this fight. Elijah gave a knowing nod to Teller.

  Teller knew exactly what it meant. It meant that Elijah needed Teller to take over. Elijah needed to be by Riddick’s side. Riddick was all he could focus on.

  Teller took flight for the bridge. “Get the trucks off the bridge at once! Make sure none of Elda’s supporters survive! Hunt them down if need be! Elda mustn’t get word from her men that we were here! Don’t leave any evidence behind.”

  Three hours later, the trucks were across — all but the one at the bottom of the canal. They were dented but still drivable. Elda’s guards were accounted for and dead. The bridge was blown, along with the bodies of the fallen.

  Riddick began to stir as the drug wore off. Elijah was relieved as he watched Riddick’s face heal. Riddick almost looked like himself. There was still some swelling, which would be gone soon. A thick red line remained across his cheek, which would become a scar. One side of his jaw was also slightly deformed. Yet otherwise, he was fine.

  Riddick slowly sat up. Elijah pulled him to his feet by the forearm and gave him a one armed hug. Riddick moaned and scratched his mostly-healed cheek. He stopped short as he notice the bridge was no longer there. “You blew the bridge without me!”

  Elijah laughed. It was a good sign if that was what he was most worried about. “Maybe sneaking the blood across in ice chests was not a bad idea after all.”

  “You should listen to me more often.” Riddick went back to rubbing his mostly-healed face.