by Dan Decker
The heat was nowhere near as bad as Adar had experienced when escaping from the fire the previous day, but he wouldn't want to be in Neare's position. The afterimage of the blast from where he was on the ground made it difficult enough for him to see what was going on.
Adar blinked and focused just ahead of the blast, which hurtled through the air until it connected with the ship.
At first, Adar thought it was just going to be absorbed like the smaller blasts, but it ripped a hole through the side of the ship. It seemed like the blast was expanding, but the ship exploded before he could tell, pieces of it flying everywhere.
“We did it!” Neare dropped his end on the ground as a large piece of shrapnel whizzed by overhead. Adar shrunk to the cobblestones and felt it whip over him too and collide with the ship behind him. When he looked up, he saw Neare sprawling beside the blaster. He thought Neare might have been hit by another piece of shrapnel until he saw Neare had a big stupid grin on his face.
Within a few minutes, it was all over, and they could get to their feet again.
“Good thinking there at the last,” Neare said, clapping Adar on the back. “I'd have been blind for sure.”
“Don't mention it.”
“I thought you'd lost your mind, wanting to bring down a ship! I ran off, figuring you for dead. I’m still not sure why I came back.”
“I’m just glad you did.” He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if Neare hadn’t returned.
“If somebody would have told me that there was a man that could fight the Hunwei. I would have doubted it. If they had said it was you, I would have been even less likely to believe them.” Neare pounded Adar on the shoulder again. “Do you realize what this means? We can fight them! We can save my family and Ka—”
He stopped short, but Adar already knew what he had been about to say. Karany. Or whatever the name of Polaer's wife had been.
“I'm going to form an army,” Adar said. “I need a second in command. You interested?”
Neare turned serious. “You bet. We can rescue the others. I'll even bring Erro around. You'll see he's not a bad kid.” He looked away. “By my count, I owe you more than I could ever pay. My foolish boy gave you at least two opportunities to—”
“I find myself hesitating to kill you.” The words cut Neare off.
Adar spun towards the ship, cursing that he'd let his guard down. Isak stood behind him, a sneer on his face and his sword bare. He had two men on either side of him, and three behind. One was Billy, but Adar didn't recognize any of the others. He was relieved that he didn’t see the man who had stolen Barc’s blaster.
“But the weapon seems simple enough,” Isak said. “I’m sure we can figure it out.”
“You have one chance to walk away,” Adar said.
“If you would have given my brother that same opportunity we wouldn't be here right now.
“I've been in a mood to give second chances today. Walk away.”
Isak's sneer grew, and he motioned to his men as Adar whipped out the blaster from his belt. His first shot would have taken Isak square in the chest except for one of the men pushed Isak out of the way. The blast ripped off that man's arm instead. The man cried out as his severed arm banged against the side of the ship before flopping to the ground. Adar's next blast hit a charging man and sent him flying back into several others.
Adar took a step back as Isak charged. When Adar pulled the trigger of his blaster, nothing happened.
“Bleeding Melyah,” he muttered as he dove at the last moment, stuck a foot out to send Isak sprawling to the ground, and rolled back to his feet. From the corner of his eye, he saw Neare engaged in a fight with one of Isak's men, their swords flashing in the morning sun.
A turncoat emerged from the hold of the ship. He was followed by another. The first out finished off the man Adar had wounded while the second aimed a blaster at Adar.
Cursing as he moved, Adar hit the ground again, rolled to his feet and charged the turncoat while pulling out his black tipped dagger. The turncoat had switched his attention to another of Isak's men and didn't see Adar coming until it was too late.
Seeing that the turncoat's clear faceplate was up, exposing the man’s face, Adar shoved the dagger into the turncoat's eye. He was glad the healing metal wouldn't be able to do anything about that. He ripped it out as the turncoat screamed and clutched his face.
Adar was surprised to find all of Isak's men were dead except for Billy—who was running away—and the one Neare was fighting. Adar had caught several glimpses of the two dueling men while he fought and was impressed with the skill of both. Neare was better than he'd given the man credit for, but so was the man Neare was fighting.
The first turncoat spun as Adar charged and pushed the man up against the ship. While the turncoat struggled to bring his blaster around, Adar stabbed him in the neck. The silvery metal oozed out from the armor and moved to cover the wound.
Adar was about to push the dagger in further when he felt the cold metal of a sword press against his throat.
“Turn around.” Isak's voice was cold.
The turncoat made a gurgling sound as Adar pulled his black tipped dagger out with a small movement and let it fall to the ground. The bloody gash was covered by the liquid metal when Adar turned to see Isak's triumphant grin.
It disappeared as Adar ducked and ran, the turncoat behind him screaming out a battle cry. Adar lunged towards the second turncoat, scrambling to take hold of the blaster that the man had dropped when he had reached for his wounded eye. Adar came up in time to see the turncoat he'd stabbed in the neck burn a hole through Isak.
Adar put a blast in the chest of the turncoat. The body fell against the ship and slid to the ground, leaving a red streak on the shiny surface.
It was still weird to see red when he’d become accustomed to seeing blue.
When he was certain the turncoat was dead, Adar focused on the one he had stabbed in the eye, prepared to do the same thing. The turncoat held up his hands and went to his knees. The good eye pleading for mercy, though Adar couldn't understand a word the man was saying.
Grabbing the man's shoulder, Adar shoved him to the ground, mostly to remove the temptation to shoot him anyway. The turncoat was a man and Adar granted men mercy when he could. Hunwei, and whatever that creature he’d seen projected back in the command center, would receive no such thing.
It was difficult to see the value a wounded turncoat could bring in his frenzied state, but in the back of his mind, he knew he could take advantage of this.
Adar put a foot on the man as Neare ripped his sword from the body of his foe. Neare bled in several places, but it wasn't anything life-threatening. As Neare opened his mouth to say something, he was cut off by a low rumbling.
Adar looked towards the sound, expecting to see another ship descending. He had been on the verge of shouting out for Neare to grab the large blaster when the tower was engulfed in a massive wave of dirt and rock that sprung up into the air behind it. The explosions continued in a large circle around the tower. Adar cursed when he caught sight of some small square packages around the front that hadn’t yet exploded.
He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched one disappear in a cloud of dirt and rock. The grass was ripped to shreds as large chunks of the ground were thrown into the air, obscuring his view of the tower. The wave continued until the rest of the boxes had also exploded. As the dust settled, Adar was glad he could still see the tip of the tower peeking up out of the smoke.
The final shred of hope he'd been clinging to was torn away when there was another explosion, far louder than the previous ones and the tower was blown to pieces. Large chunks fell around them onto the town square. He watched as the top quarter of what had been the tower slammed down onto a large piece of the ship they had blown out of the sky.
“That was close,” Neare said when the dust settled, the import of the moment lost on him. “Glad we weren't any close
r. That could have been real bad.”
Adar stared at the place where the tower had stood. It had been his first real hope for fighting the Hunwei. And now it was gone. He didn't have the heart to tell Neare what they had just lost. Others who had been here when the tower had killed the Hunwei might put it together. If he was going to have any chance of rallying the people to his cause to form an army, he couldn’t let them focus on that. He needed to kindle as much hope as he could.
Focus on what we did accomplish. They had blown a ship right out of the sky. That was something. Adar looked down at the large weapon and wondered how many shots it would be good for before it too stopped working. If he wore a Hunwei gauntlet, would it start working again or would he have to be wearing the full armor?
When he felt the turncoat shift beneath his foot, a small smile crept onto his lips. It might take some time before they would be able to communicate, but he would have his captive explain to him how to get the blasters working again. Crude signs should be enough for that.
“So am I crazy,” Neare asked, “or did I see one of those men in Hunwei armor continue to fight after you stabbed him in the neck?”
“The armor has an ability to heal some wounds.”
Neare processed what Adar had said and smiled. “I may have a way to get us a big recruit and bring Erro around to fight for us.”
Adar didn't have a chance to ask Neare what he meant because there was a choking sob. He was surprised when he saw Kura standing over Isak's body.
She turned on him. “Did you do this?”
Adar shook his head as he pointed at the dead turncoat, ignoring the look he got from Neare. He wasn't certain it would do any good to explain to Kura that he'd put the turncoat in a position to shoot Isak. “He did. I'm surprised you're mourning the death of this man. Isn't this the same man that has been sending men to kill us?”
“Not us, just you. I accompanied you because I didn’t want him to kill you.” Kura left and Adar let her go.
During the exchange, some of the townspeople had approached. By the way they moved without fear, he figured they had seen what had happened.
He recognized Helda, Melynda, and the other women from the ship. Hucky was pulling on his mother's hand, trying to break free from her grasp. Melynda took in the scene with cold eyes and met Adar’s gaze. He would have to keep an eye on her. For Hucky’s sake, he would be careful to have solid evidence before he accused her of anything. Even then, he would try to turn her.
Lars struggled against the woman that held him, but she didn't put him down. Erro was there as well, scowling at Adar. The number of onlookers continued to grow, and along with it, the murmuring as people beheld the wreckage of the ship.
Adar looked around, trying to see it with fresh eyes. Dead men and turncoats. A ship that had been blown apart. He was surprised to see much of the attention focusing on him until he realized it wasn't him they were staring at, it was the turncoat he had under his foot. The man had stopped squirming and had planted his face in the ground. He was whimpering quietly.
The crowd had swollen to a substantial enough size that Adar decided he had better take advantage of the situation. If he were hoping to form his own army, he wouldn't find a better recruitment opportunity than this. He suppressed a growl as he opened his mouth, he not only hated giving speeches, he was terrible at doing it.
“Citizens of Zecarani, I am Adar Rahid from Rarbon. The Ghar in exile.”
Neare raised an eyebrow.
Adar paused, regretting the words as soon as they escaped his lips. If that ever got back to the Rarbon Council, it wouldn’t just be Adar’s father Abel that was looking for his head. “The Hunwei have left, but they are not gone. They will return. You may have thought there is no fighting them, that they are impossible to kill. You might have also figured this is the end of our world.
“And some of you may have already come to terms with that and accepted it. But what of the rest? Would you rather wait to die or prefer to fight?
“I can kill them, but I can't fight this war by myself. I have led armies and trained soldiers, I have killed men and Hunwei and can teach you to do both. Today I call for recruits.
“Join with me. I offer you a way to fight. If this is the end of the world, then let's make it the beginning of something new.
“Maybe I’m wrong, and we're already doomed. What does it matter then? You may ask. I say if we're already doomed let us share it with the Hunwei so that we all burn together!”
A cry came from the gathering multitude. It wasn't a hoot of derision or scorn. No, it was a show of support. Others took up the cry, and it spread through the crowd like wildfire.
Adar waited for a break in the noise. “Join me, and together we'll bring this war to them. We'll kill until they sue for peace or we have destroyed every last one of them. Like clouds at night, we’ll descend upon them, raiding their weapons, destroying their supplies, turning them to ash as they would do to us. We'll show them what it means to be doomed. They've loosed the nine fires on us, but we'll bring it back upon them.
“What of it? Are their volunteers to join me? Our sole mission will be the destruction of this scourge upon humankind.
“The gods have smiled on us today. With the blessing of the gods, we'll reduce the Hunwei to dust. They’ve tried to destroy our hope, let us now destroy theirs instead.
“Come join with me, and together we’ll vanquish our foe.”
He finished, afraid the crowd would disperse.
Many in the crowd called out. As he looked around, he was hard pressed to see a man who hadn't been worked into a fit of rage, shouting that he would join. Many of the women were doing the same.
Adar waved the crowd to silence. “All that would join, come forward and take an oath. I'll take all men and women and children, seventeen or above. We will all fight together.”
Neare nodded his head at Adar as the crowd began to shift, but nobody stepped forward. They hesitated and Adar wondered if he'd read them wrong. Silence descended as Adar frowned. He never had been good at speeches.
Somebody moved near the front as Helda stepped out and walked forward. She gave Adar a challenging look as she came to rest in front of him.
“Keep an eye on that one!” Neare said in a whisper. “Well, I better do this too, just to get things going or we'll be here all day.” Neare joined Helda in front of Adar. “I already said I'd join, this is me making it official.”
Barc was next, and he was followed by several others Adar didn't recognize. The area in front of Adar swarmed with people, they naturally started to form into a disheveled rank and file.
“As destroyers,” Adar cried out, “we'll take the fight to them.”
The men and women in front of him began to chant the word destroyers. Slowly it spread through the rest of the recruits until they were all saying it. The people that hadn't come forward, the stragglers that looked as though they wanted to but hadn't been able to fully commit, now came up as well, until the area in front of the ship was filled with more than five hundred people. The numbers continued to swell as the chant grew louder.
“Destroyers. Destroyers. Destroyers.”
Enemy in the Shadows
The fate of many rests on Jorad Rahid’s shoulders as he arrives in Rarbon to make his claim, something he swore never to do. As he faces new enemies and old, he is thrust into a position of responsibility that brings unforeseen difficulties that threaten his life, direct reports he cannot trust, and a bureaucratic process that is likely to drive him mad if it doesn’t leave him dead. As he navigates these problematic waters, he faces off with a jealous grandfather in a political battle for which he is ill-prepared.
Hoping to spark a fire in the people of Rarbon, Jorad boldly asserts that the Hunwei have returned, but his words are met with disbelief and open hostility. As he strives to find a way to convince the people of the truth, he becomes increasingly impatient with those who stand between him and the Rarbon Portal.
; Despite it all, Jorad prepares for the Hunwei invasion of Rarbon while fighting unseen enemies from the shadows that will kill him if given a chance.
Jorad is pitted against his grandfather, his own men, and unseen foes as he struggles to either bring down his enemies or recruit their help in this tale of epic fantasy and science fiction. This action-packed story is the third volume in the War of the Fathers series.
Turn the page to get started.
Chapter 1
The wind coming from the mountains was cold and bitter, the type that killed with prolonged exposure. It froze the tips of Jorad Rahid’s ears even though he wore a knitted woolen hat. He shivered as he tossed the broken tree branches onto the bonfire before putting his gloves back on and stepping away. The searing heat felt good, even though it was hot enough to make his face burn during the few seconds he was close to it.
People swarmed around him from all sides, closing in on the fire and getting as close as they could to the heat. An old woman wearing little but rags thrust her hands toward the flames. Jorad feared she might be burned, but she didn’t appear to care. Kivin and his baby brother Noal, shuffled closer at the urging of those behind, getting dangerously close to the heat.
The lad was doing his best to be strong for young Noal. As Jorad watched them struggle to keep warm, it stoked his resolve to make sure this wasn’t all for nothing.
Melyah! What I saved them from was worse, wasn’t it?
Even though he knew the answer, it was hard to rationalize while watching the refugees freeze in the dark night. The sudden change in temperature had been unexpected. The night before last had been cold, but nobody had been at risk of dying from exposure. He couldn’t say the same about tonight. He feared they would have dead to bury in the morning.
He gritted his teeth, wishing he hadn’t taken a moment to lie down upon arrival.
Stupid, he thought. People have had worse wounds and gone further while doing more. His back didn’t seem to be doing any better, and the knife wounds he’d received from Barc in his shoulder and back were red and inflamed.
