The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  Jenko’s mouth trembled at the soul destroying grief that flooded her soulful eyes then and as she helplessly collapsed in on herself with a sob that sounded so painful to utter, he vaulted to her side. He gathered Reya up protectively in his arms and as he squeezed her as tightly as any father would have, her sobs wracked her body devastatingly.

  “Please, sweetheart…” Jenko choked as he rocked her protectively, “please don’t cry…”

  Reya’s forehead convulsed in a betrayed anguish that pushed her indignantly from Jenko’s embrace and in her grief, she beat her fist forcibly upon his chest. “You let him go!” She cried accusingly.

  “No, Reya…” Jenko whispered in hoarse defeat as he rocked from Reya’s strike, “He ordered me to take you, I–”

  “How could you?” Reya wailed through the weeping sobs that shook her body and as she pounded her fists upon him again and again, she chanted, “How could you? How could you?”

  Jenko hauled her against him once more, if only to stop the beating upon his chest that struck as deeply as any blade, and as he held her tightly, Reya collapsed in his arms into anguished sorrow. Jenko held her head against his shoulder, helpless of his own tears that scalded down his cheeks at both his own grief for Tellan, and the sheer sorrow that broke Reya so completely.

  “He did all he could, Reya. Please, my love, you have to know that.” Jenko sobbed as he held his niece as much for his sake as for hers, “He did all he could.”

  Reya clung to Jenko desperately and as the two shared their grief that was built so fragilely upon the death of Baldur, Vella shed her own tears for Tellan’s courageous sacrifice. She shook her head then and cleared her throat for clarity of thought; they needed to follow Tellan’s last request and Vella knew Jenko was too lost in his own grief to see it through on his own.

  “But he told us to take you somewhere safe, and that’s what we’re going to do. Somewhere no one can get to you.” Vella said thickly as she kept her tear flooded eyes on the road, determined that she would stay strong for Tellan’s sake.

  Reya froze in Jenko’s arms then and as she pulled back from his embrace a little, she stared in stunned trepidation at Vella’s hair that blew softly in the night breeze. “Where…where are we going?” She asked quietly.

  Jenko looked down at Reya’s tear streaked face and as he gently tucked her hair so lovingly behind her ear, he said, “There are hidden coves along the coastline we use for overseas smuggling.”

  Reya slid her glance towards Jenko’s face and the trepidation that knocked a warning within her heart yawned into a chasm of apprehension when he continued, “If we can get you on a ship, hidden from sight and off any records, Belial won’t be able to get to you.”

  Reya’s open mouth trembled as her eyes searched Jenko’s and even though she could see the pain that filled his being, she whispered in horror, “’If’? There isn’t a boat there already?”

  Jenko’s face ticked against the expression of her face and with a slight gulp he admitted, “There’s not…but if you and I stay hidden in the cove, then Vella can make arrangements for us.”

  “And then what?” Reya whispered in trepidation.

  Jenko swallowed against the expression of wounded disbelief in her face and murmured, “Then we can get you out of the country at least. You can start a new life, Reya.”

  Reya breathed in disbelief as she pulled away from Jenko’s embrace entirely and as she stared at him incredulously, she shook her head. How could she possibly start a new life? Her father was dead…her uncle…all the suffering she had endured, all the nightmares…and as she blinked through hot tears of anguish, Reya realised how out of control everything had become. She knew in that moment that it would always be like this, every day a battle for survival from Belial’s hunt until the end. A constant chase, a never ending battle for a freedom that she knew instinctually would never be granted her. He would always hunt her and, what worried her most of all, she would always be looking for him in the crowds.

  Reya looked away with the numb gravity of her own thoughts, the insidious knowledge that came with each flashing fragment that told her she would always be a prisoner of her own life. Start a new life? She thought despairingly, Is looking over my shoulder at every turn a new life? Frightened to walk down the street in case I’m seen? Wondering if it would be safe to sleep for fear of telling Belial where I was–

  Reya gasped then when the last thought flared a burning line across her instincts and as she looked desperately into Jenko’s eyes with pleading solemnity, she feared the answer she already knew. “Jenko…where is he? Where is Tellan?” She asked numbly.

  Jenko shook his head in horrified guilt, “Reya, I–”

  “Where is he?” She insisted as she came forward on her knees and grasped Jenko’s shoulders, “Please, Jenko, where did he go?”

  “He…” Jenko began and with the wounded furrowing of his brow, he dropped his head heavily, “He stayed at the ruin. He wanted to give you more time.”

  “Oh no…” Reya whispered despairingly. She then shot her eyes towards Vella and shouted, “Stop! Vella, stop!”

  “Reya, we can’t go back!” Jenko argued even as Vella brought the horses to a stop and when Reya vaulted from the safety of the wagon, Jenko followed with his hands held out impotently, “Reya, stop!”

  Reya did indeed stop and as she spun with her frustrated fists pressed against her temples, she shook her head at Jenko’s pleading. “No, you don’t understand, Jenko!” She rushed out in alarm, “He knows! Belial knows where we were!”

  Jenko approached Reya carefully and within his eyes came the unspoken knowledge that Tellan knew he had welcomed his own death at the hands of Belial. Reya closed her eyes in sorrow then and turned from Jenko, so helpless within her wounded grief that she couldn’t articulate the severity of her words. She hissed in anger at herself, the fumbling of her tongue that couldn’t frame the real warning she needed to tell Jenko. He stood behind her back with such careful attention and reached for her shoulder, so caring and strong an action that her mouth trembled in frustrated anguish.

  “We need to keep moving, Reya.” He murmured thickly.

  Reya turned again and her reddened eyes burned into Jenko’s as her mouth fought for the words she needed to speak. “I…I can’t…” She whispered.

  “It’s alright, my love,” Jenko comforted as he gathered her towards him to lead her back to the wagon, “I’m here.”

  “No, you–” Reya began and as she shrugged from his hand, she finished with a frustrated sob, “You don’t understand; I can’t leave him.”

  “I know, sweetheart, I know.” Jenko soothed, “But we need to go.”

  “No! Please!” Reya cried and she stared at Jenko and Vella in turn as her words finally found its voice, “My dream; I told Belial where we were. He himself is coming to the ruin! I can’t walk away knowing that I’ve left Tellan to that fate–”

  “Reya, Tellan knew what he was doing. He knew he wasn’t coming back!” Jenko blurted against his grief, “The longer we stay put, the less his sacrifice means anything! Now come on; we have to go!”

  Reya’s anger burst from her like the eruption of magma then and the sheer force of her rage coursed through her veins as she screamed, “No, Jenko!! This time you will listen to me!!” Her breath heaved painfully from her chest as she continued a little calmer, “I won’t leave him! Not like I did Papa!”

  Jenko’s own grief broke in the face of Reya’s anger and as he remembered who he was in the fire of her words, he brought his shoulders back imposingly. “We can’t!” He barked in return, “He gave us an order!”

  “He gave you an order, Jenko, not me!” Reya argued and even though her heart hammered in her chest, she returned Jenko’s stare with her own and continued resolutely, “All my life he’s protected me, shielded me from harm. But now I have to protect him! He needs me!”

  Jenko blinked suddenly in horror. “What?”

  Reya gasped in exaspera
tion; how could he say that she was the naïve one. “If we don’t save him, Belial will hollow Tellan! I have to get to him before that happens!”

  Jenko’s eyes flared widely at the unbelievable implication of her words, that she would go against his wishes and unwisely open a gateway for the sake of her uncle’s salvation…undoing everything Tellan had sacrificed. “I won’t allow it!!” Jenko roared.

  “Whether you allow it or not is irrelevant, Jenko!!” She screamed in retaliation and within that moment she felt as strong as she should have always been, as strong as her father as she pulled her shoulders back and continued steadfastly, “I am Baldur’s daughter and I will not be told what to do any more. I won’t be kept in a cage and I won’t live my life in fear. I’ll go without you if I have to, Jenko, but I will go. You can’t stop me!”

  “You can’t! Reya, you know what will happen if Belial takes you!” He retaliated impotently, for as much as she had found a new strength within herself, she was still the only thing that kept Midgard from the true wrath of the Abyss. The things Reya had been shown in her dreams were barely a fraction of the true tortures that awaited in those Abyssal depths and when the fell demons clawed their way through Reya’s gateway that would ultimately kill her…Jenko knew all too well the hellish suffering that would be unleashed upon Midgard.

  “Yes, I do…” Reya whispered with such gravity that Jenko gaped silently, “But I know what will happen if he takes Tellan!”

  Jenko stared at her in stunned shock; he knew she was right, that she could leave without him now that she knew how to open her gateways at will, and he truly was powerless against her decision.

  “Reya, please, don’t do this to me! I’ve already lost too much…I–I can’t…” Jenko pleaded and as he dropped onto his knees before her, he held his hands out pleadingly, “I have to keep you safe! You’re too important!”

  “You keep telling me to grow up, Jenko, to be stronger, more confident. I can’t do that if you keep treating me as some fragile little girl, hiding me away from the world and all the demons within it!”

  Reya looked pleadingly upon Jenko as he ducked his head dejectedly, but the gentle hands she placed upon his cheeks raised his head once more, and he could have wept at how wonderfully she smiled at him. “I won’t leave Tellan now. Not after everything that’s happened.” She murmured softly.

  Jenko looked upon his niece in wounded adoration and blinked with heartache at how strong she stood, so steadfast and sure in her decision. Whether it was selfish or not, she would go without him and Jenko’s heart froze with the thought that if anything happened to her, her death would be on his hands for the rest of his days. After he had watched her fall so willingly from the wagon with her arms wrapped so resolutely around Timran’s body…Jenko knew her will had a new strength that was utterly unbreakable. He could never live with himself knowing that he hadn’t done all he could.

  “Shit…” He muttered in overwhelming defeat. He then took her hands in his and as he stared at how fiercely beautiful she had truly become, he whispered, “Baldur would be so proud of you, Reya.”

  Jenko’s voice was so heartbroken that Reya impulsively flung herself against him and for the first time, Jenko embraced her with everything he had, entirely unencumbered by the reticence he had so carefully armoured himself in. He pressed her tightly against his chest, not wanting to let her go, but he knew that the girl in his arms had become so much more than the frightened child he had met in Ilema.

  Everything in the world faded away into nothing at that moment; all that existed was Jenko and Reya, together in this wonderful embrace that was so powerful, Vella wept at the innocent beauty of it. And as Reya reciprocated his powerful embrace with one that spoke of her acceptance of his love, his heart soared in anguished happiness.

  “I wish I could take you away from all of this.” He whispered into the softness of her hair, “Somewhere safe and free, far away where angels and demons could never touch you.”

  Reya smiled sorrowfully against the warm protection of his voice and replied softly, “I know exactly where we would go…my favourite tree back home. I wish I could show it to you, Jenko. I used to sit under it for hours…just letting everything bad slip away.”

  Jenko closed his eyes with a trembling in his face and whispered knowingly, “The big oak tree in the back garden?”

  “Yes.” She said a she pulled away a little from his embrace, “How did you know?”

  Tears pooled unashamedly in Jenko’s eyes when he squeezed her hands and told her, “Before I left for Ilema, I sat under that tree with you in my arms and sang to you. I still remember how you smelled, that soft, milky smell babies have…letting you go that day was the hardest thing I have ever done.”

  “Oh, Jenko.” Reya whispered as she embraced him again, taken with how he had made her wonderful tree even more precious. The familiar memory that was always conjured whenever she sat beneath its wonderful canopy; the strong arms that had held her, the deep voice that had sung to her softly…Reya‘s heart soared with the realisation that Jenko had always been with her.

  “I love you so much, my girl.” He whispered into the golden crown of her hair and with his gentle utterance came a fiercely protective squeeze from Reya’s arms.

  “I love you too, Uncle Jenko.”

  Jenko nearly cried at how wonderful it was hearing her say those words he had longed to hear for sixteen years. And to call him something he never thought he would have ever been to her…Jenko’s heart soared on wings of wounded joy.

  “That sounds so strange.” He muttered peaceably against her hair.

  “Which part?” She joked softly.

  Jenko chuckled and opened his gleaming eyes towards the heavens helplessly, taken with how in this poignant moment, she would utter such an absurd sentence as he would have done. He pulled back slightly from the loving warmth of her arms and when he took her cheeks tenderly in his hands, he kissed her forehead with all the adoration she had known from her father.

  “Alright then.” He said as he rose onto his feet and inhaled deeply, an action that brought his shoulders back with such pride and strength that Reya felt bolstered. He then pinned her attention with a squinted eye as he ordered, “We’ll go and help Tellan. But you do as I say; follow my lead and stay out of combat. I can’t fight off Belial’s men and rush to your aid at the same time.”

  Reya nodded determinedly at her Uncle Jenko, strengthened by the glint of valour in his eyes that had at last regained their identity. His woe had become so strong that it had all but overpowered his tenacity, that strength which made him the fearsome warrior he was. But now, as he stood with a ferocious glower in the direction of where they had come from, Reya could see the Asgardian soldier he needed to be.

  “Vella!” He called and Reya looked at the woman as she strode forward with a purposeful gait.

  “Yes?” Vella answered, her eyes reddened and voice roughened by the emotion that had choked her.

  Jenko looked down at the human woman he had befriended over everyone else and within her freckled face, he saw such determination that spoke of absolute trust. He could have smiled at her unshakable expression; ten years of near constant bickering and insults that would have infuriated anyone else…how peculiar humans were in their choices of friendship.

  “It looks like I get to say goodbye to you this time.” He said fondly and smirked as he added wryly, “I would hate to think I hurt your feelings.”

  “Don’t talk soft, I’m coming with you.” Vella replied with an obvious expression as she adjusted the fit of her crossbow behind her poncho.

  “No, Vella.” Jenko insisted as he held out a hand that stopped her checking the quiver at her belt, “The people we’re going up against aren’t like most humans. It’s too dangerous for you to come.”

  Vella blinked at him momentarily. “Too dangerous? Away and shite, Jenko!” She cried hotly, “You can’t find your own arse without me! Besides you said it yourself: you can’t figh
t Belial’s men and keep a watch on Reya.”

  “And what good are you to me?” Jenko asked darkly as he surged forward into Vella’s immediate space and within that familiarly brusque tone, Reya watched the woman’s reaction carefully, “You’re only human. Flimsy, breakable, too easy to kill. You won’t last seconds against Belial.”

  Vella’s eyes darkened in warning as she stepped closer towards Jenko in a refusal to let his size intimidate her. She looked up at him defiantly and replied, “I’m also hard to see, difficult to catch and the best damn scout you’ve ever worked with. Reya stands a better chance with me than she does with you, and you know it.”

  “Oh, really? And what makes you so confident?” Jenko snarled, a sentence that would have once frightened Reya in its threat, but she could see the glint in his eyes that spoke of his favour of Vella’s tenacity.

  “Because you trained me. Reya and I can stick to the shadows and do something useful, like find out where Tellan is.” Vella endeavoured with unshakable confidence. She then looked Jenko up and down and added derisively with a flip of her hand, “While you pub–brawl your way through the fight, like you always do.”

  Jenko chuckled at Vella’s blunt reasoning and quipped, “I like to think I have a little more grace than ‘pub–brawling’.”

  “Only sometimes.” Vella shot back with a smile, “Besides I’m not fucking stupid enough to go after Belial, that’s all on you.”

  “Your opinion of me never ceases to wound, Vella.” Jenko joked wryly with a hand clutched upon his chest, but Vella wasn’t going to allow his sudden humour to mask his worries this time.

  “Jenko…” She began with such grave solemnity that he balked slightly and when she took his hand in hers, he reticently met her gaze, “It’s alright. We’re partners, aren’t we?”

  “Aye…” Jenko said with a solemn nod, “We are, Vella.”

  “Then I’ve got your back. Anyway…” Vella sniffed as she adjusted her stance, “A kick in the balls will bring anyone to their knees, whether you’re human or demon.”