He shall light the way through the darkest hour,
And restore the path of Light…
And if these measures should someday fail,
And Ki’s protections fall,
The Dark Lord shall seize his vessel,
And protect the Light by destroying them all.
Kasib pretended to claw at something on the final verse to give the song an ominous flare, the way he had been taught as a hatchling. The children stared at him wide-eyed, their mouths open. Kasib gave them a toothy grin. He had given the song just the right amount of dramatic enhancement.
"Alright!" Nipmeqa ordered his offspring. "Off to bed!"
With groans of 'we want another story,' Nipmeqa and his wife herded their children into the upper loft of the house, tucking them in and leaving him some privacy to speak to Taram alone. Her eyes reflected in the soft green light of the glow stick he had brought as a gift, seeing him as no other human did, even though she could not see. It was forbidden to look a female directly in the eye other than one's mother, sister, or wife, but Kasib could not help but look, captivated by her eyes.
"We have songs of She-who-is on our world," Taram said. "And even her husband, He-who's-not, although in our culture we simply call him Death. But who is this other god you sing of? Moloch? I have never heard of him."
"Oh," Kasib's heart palpitated even though he knew this story was little more than a legend. "The Evil One is a terrible god, even more ancient than She-who-is. We call him the Devourer of Children."
Chapter 40
Galactic Standard Date: 152,096.07
Haven-1: Eternal Palace
Young Lucifer - Age 15
225 Years Ago…
Young Lucifer
"Lucifer," Mama called. "We're going to be late."
I gave my Nehru jacket one last tug to make sure the collar was straight and hurried out of my room. Mama wore that frazzled, overscheduled look she'd been wearing ever since I'd convinced Father to put her to work. Tending to the details of Father's lesser diplomatic missions kept her too busy to sit in her room and pine away for some loss she refused to speak of. She wore black, as she had every day of my life that I could remember, but she looked pretty today, with a bit of pink in her cheeks to draw attention to her unearthly blue eyes, so different from my own.
I puffed out my chest and jutted my chin into the air the way a man would and forced my voice, which still cracked like some out-of-tune bassoon, to remain steady as I checked out my appearance through the lens of my mother's sharp fashion sense.
"How do I look?"
Tears welled in Mama's eyes. For a moment I feared she might slip back into that sad place she always went on my birthday, but she brushed back a lock of my silver-blonde hair and smoothed it into place. The fingers which touched my forehead trembled.
"You look just like your father," Mama's voice warbled. She touched my cheek as though for a moment she looked at someone else. Her dark wings drooped, beautiful and graceful in their sadness.
I shot her that grin I knew melted her heart and chased away the ghosts that always made Mama sad, projecting happy thoughts into her mind of sitting together beneath the Eternal Tree, reading aloud some ancient history tome I had pilfered from Dephar's secret library as the tree bent down her branches to listen and the Happy Bird warbled in her branches.
If there was anybody in the world I wanted to be like, it was Father, although long robes got in the way whenever I climbed the Eternal Tree so I never wore them. Nor did I have Father's bushy eyebrows, golden eyes or his wild, white hair. But I must look good today or Mama would not have told me that I looked like him.
Her mouth curved into a wistful expression as she handed me the briefing tablet naming all of the dignitaries who'd been invited to today's event, what they looked like, who they were connected to, and things I should and should not discuss with them. At last she was treating me like an adult!
She dabbed her finger at the edge of her mouth to moisten it and then scrubbed a bit of lunch off my chin I'd missed when I'd inhaled my sandwich.
-Almost- an adult…
I decided I'd better make her busy again before she remembered today was my birthday and the sadness came over her.
"Come, Mama!" I tugged her towards the Great Hall. "This will be the first time Father lets us attend an awards ceremony!"
Officially, anyways. After the 200th time Father had caught me sneaking into the Great Hall to eavesdrop, I finally convinced him I'd find a way in no matter how many security measures he put in place, so he might as well invite me. Father's defenses weren't so tough to breach when the Cherubim Masters viewed your antics with amusement, the Pillars of Fire were programmed to only alert Father if I got caught and not incinerate me, and the Eternal Tree itself was in cahoots, bending her branches towards little-used upper rooms so I could crawl in without alerting the flight sensors an Angelic had taken to the air.
At last, Father would let me attend for real!
"Remember what Father said we have to tell people if anybody asks," Mama said.
"I'm from the Gamamene-6 Youth Training Academy here on a biology scholarship," I rattled off the name of an academy so remote that nobody would be surprised they had never heard of me before, a nameless, faceless cadet chosen from Father's countless anonymous ranks.
Father's work into splicing together new life forms was interesting, but what really fascinated me was listening to the conversations that went on between the dignitaries seeking favor. Because I'd been forced to lurk under tables and hide behind curtains, on more than one occasion I'd prevented Father from making a terrible mistake when some courtier came asking for one thing and had some nefarious intrigue going on the side.
Nefarious. I liked that word. A smile came to my lips as I not so much walked, but hop-skipped in a most un-adult manner, my wings fluttering to hurry up and get there so I could help Father for real!
"Just remember that a wise diplomat keeps their ears open and their mouths shut," Mama gave me a stern look. "What people don't say is often more important than what they do say. Listen … and pay attention."
"I know," I gave her a grin. "Do you think they know I can peek into their thoughts?"
"Shhh…" Mama gave me a cross look. "You must never reveal to anybody you possess this gift! As far as everybody is concerned, you are merely here on a scholarship to study recombinant DNA."
Father was obsessed with learning why my DNA had a nearly complete third strand called TNA and Mama's didn't. Mama's, he said, was broken, and he was trying to 'fix' it. He begged me not to squeal when he sent me to steal hair from her brush or pilfer an unwashed glass where she'd sipped her morning nectar. Mama was adamant she did not wish to be one of Father's experiments.
Personally, I thought Father's work was tedious. It was much more interesting to figure out what made people tick and get them to do what I wanted.
I shot Mama a grin. Father wasn't the only one experimenting on Mama, only unlike Father's forays into her genome, my experiments were working! Beating Shay'tan at Galactic Chess was easy compared to making Mama happy, but I had made some headway. I was determined not to blow it today and make her proud. Maybe then she'd smile?
Mama paused before the elaborately carved doors to the Great Room, waiting for Master Ubicha and Master Higahoni to open the doors and announce us. She took my hand and squeezed it, her palms sweaty.
"Are you ready for this?" She seemed as nervous as if it had been her introduction to court and not mine.
"Ready, Mama!" I tucked my wings against my back the way old Dephar had shown me was the proper way for an Angelic to wear his wings at court. She sighed as I let go of her hand and forced them to my sides. I must pretend Mama was just a tutor. Father had made me repeat the story again and again until I got all the details right.
The doors opened into the Great Hall. Light streamed into the darkened hallway, nearly blinding me. A peculiar thought that had been bothering me lately danced th
rough my mind. How come Father never introduced me as his son? Was he ashamed of me?
Whenever I asked Mama such questions, she told me to hush, so I pushed the question out of my mind. I had gotten my wish to be introduced at Father's court. I should be happy with whatever Father was willing to give me.
"Cadet Lucifer," the Master Ubicha called out into the Great Hall. "Recipient of the Eternal Microbiological Science Scholarship from Gamamene-6, and his tutor."
My heart swelled with pride as all heads turned, glanced our direction, and then turned right back to whatever they were doing with little more than a shrug. It was almost anticlimactic. Whatever dire occurrence Father had feared upon allowing me to make my way into the world was for nothing!
Father winked as we approached the throne and then pretended not to notice us.
"What do we do now, Mumm.. um … Mistress Asherah?"
"Master Higahoni will announce the recipients in a few moments," Mama said. "The orchestra will play the Alliance national anthem. The soldiers will march in and line up. Then I will read off their names so the Emperor can personally pin medals on their chests."
"Do all soldiers get to see the Emperor when they get medals?"
"Only the bravest," Mama said.
"What great battle did these soldiers win?"
"One they should not have had to fight," Mama's expression darkened. "And we lost. These men simply held the line long enough for our forces to retreat! Your father … one of these days his pride will be his downfall."
Prideful? I glanced up at Father on his throne designed to convey the proper authority, but not be so high as to be unattainable. Father wasn't prideful!
I turned to contradict her, but already she had moved to attend to her duties. Her list of soldiers was displayed on her electronic tablet, ready to call their names. Father invited Mama to stand beside his throne, but she shook her head and took her place on the floor. Father looked hurt, but he was distracted when Master Higahoni announced the recipients were ready to enter the Great Hall.
Father gestured for me to come and stand beside him, instead. I could not help but flutter my wings as I leaped up onto the right side of his pedestal, ignoring Mama's disapproving look. The courtiers eyed me with curiosity, but these were internal diplomats from worlds within the Alliance, not like the day the emissary from the lizard-people had come.
Horns blew revelries. Four abreast, the heroes marched in and lined up in rows in front of his throne, the Great Hall so large as to hold them all. Father stepped down from his throne, gesturing for me to stand beside him. Leonids moved to the left of the line, Centauri to the right, and Angelics stood in the middle, all lined up in neat little formations on the beige-and-russet tiles, looking very much like chess pieces waiting to be played as they stood there at attention. There were no Mer-Levi here today as the Eternal Palace had been built before Father had created them, but Father said there would be a second, smaller ceremony on their ships to give them their medals.
“They all look so bold and brave, Father!”
"They are," Father said. "These men were surprised by a devious enemy, but they held the line until they could retreat safely and kept key assets out of our enemy's hands."
"Retreated?" I asked. "How is that a victory?"
Father put his arm around my shoulder, his golden eyes glowing bright as he gave me a look that could only be called appraising.
"Because I've had the prize all along and my enemy doesn't even know it."
"Attention!" the brave Leonid commander called. "Salute the Eternal Emperor."
"Hoo-rah!" the armies shouted as they saluted then slapped their hands back at their sides in an audible snap.
"Can I join the military someday, Father?"
A thundercloud danced across Father's brow and was gone, replaced by a benign smile.
"No," Father said. "Your role is meant to be a civilian one. It is not good to place all of your trust into your military commander's hands. Sometimes they will betray you, and then where will you be?" His golden eyes had that intense look which, truth be told, rather scared me.
Father moved faced the soldiers to make his speech. I tried not to fidget as he droned on and on. Someday, when it was my turn to make speeches, I would make sure they were never boring! At last he finished.
“Let’s go give them their medals,” Father nudged me towards the lines of troops. I tried my hardest to copy Father's regal walk.
“Can I help pin the medals on?”
“Not today, son,” Father said. “It is their honor to have me do it personally. But someday, when –you- are their leader, -you- will be allowed to do it.”
One by one, Father moved down the line of first Angelic Air Force, soldiers who stood stiff and proud as he pinned medals on their chests. Then he gave awards to the brave Centauri Cavalry. They were so tall each one had to kneel so Father could reach. Then the Leonid multi-situational forces received their medals. I had seen them in pictures a thousand times, but they were my favorite soldiers to play against Shay'tan on Father's chessboard. The boldest and bravest soldiers of them all, Father sent into the worst battle situations. Leonids never stopped fighting until they won, or died.
Father stood in front of his throne to make another speech about how brave these soldiers were. I noticed one of the pins which held his elaborate cloak of state affixed to his robe had come undone. I moved to fix it before it jabbed him in the shoulder.
A pain shot through my chest milliseconds before there was a crackle of a pulse rifle firing and knocked me into Father's arms. I looked up into Father's golden eyes, my mouth trembling as the scent of burnt flesh assailed my nostrils.
"Molechu akbhar!!!" someone shouted.
Gunshots erupted.
Mama screamed.
The soldiers leaped into action. A red stain erupted onto my white Nehru jacket, ringed by the precise black burn mark of a laser-pistol, the tool of an assassin.
"An agent of Molech has crept into our midst!"
The air charged with electricity. Father shoved me aside and waded out into the sea of soldiers as he changed visages from that kindly, elderly man he liked to impersonate into the form he sometimes showed my mother, the one carved into the Great Gate. Energy built in the room as Father pulled down the power She-who-is had sent him here to safeguard, but to never use, unless it was against HER enemies.
I slid down to the floor. Father loomed mightily above me as he pulled down the powers of the universe to smite the man who had done this to me. The room grew dark and began to spin. More gunshots rang out, but they sounded far away.
"The boy is shot!" a voice roared. More gunshots. Warm, golden fur pressed me to the ground, shielding my body with his own.
"Lucifer! Lucifer!!!" Mama screamed.
"Molechu akbhar!!!"
It hurt! I gasped for breath, but nothing came into my lungs.
More gunshots, clomping hooves, the sound of wings beating, and cries of pain. A flash of lightning burned through the room as Father turned into his -true- form and smote the man who had shot me with his godlike powers. The sound of thunder was deafening, but not loud enough to fill the sudden vacancy of the sound I -should- have heard … and did not. The beating of my own heart.
“Look at me, son!” Mama slapped my cheek. “Listen to my voice. You must follow my voice. Listen for the song underneath my voice. I want you to follow my voice into the song.”
The room with the shouting soldiers and scent of burnt flesh faded and grew dark.
A bright room opened up in front of me, but it was empty. No family or loved ones waited for me at the gateway to the Dreamtime as was promised in the old legends, only emptiness. Alone? I would die alone? I began to cry even though I was supposed to be too big to cry.
Beyond the room, a great black chasm yawned. I had looked into this maw once before, the day the Dark Lord had expressed surprise that I could already see into the dark, but no black man waited for me at the entrance to Etern
ity, only a putrid green fire that tried to pull me in.
"Mama!" I screamed, but Mama could not hear me because I was already dead.
The flames grabbed me and I knew I was a goner, but then I heard it. The song of the Happy Bird singing its prettiest song, but it was no mortal song thrush which sang that mournful note, but my mother. My mother, so beautiful and sad, sang her song into the darkness until I thought her grief would break my heart. She took that grief and reached into that horrible green flame to slap it back, more fearless, even, than Father in her determination to keep me from its grasp.
"You cannot have my son!" she shrieked at it. "Shemijaza! Please! This is why I left you!!!"
Not dead?
Waves of hatred came out of those green flames, accusations, anger, and then surprise as Mama sang the song of sadness to make the person she sang to understand.
A son?
The green flames wavered as a second consciousness fought its way out of the flames. An answering song sang hesitantly at first, and then grew stronger. Anger … then wonder … and then acceptance. Forgiveness. A white-winged man stepped out from that putrid green flame, tall, burly, his face scarred from battle, white-blonde hair and silver eyes just like my own. He sang his own song, deep and sad that Mama had abandoned him. He reached across the emptiness and took my Mama's hand.
I have a son…
The green flames shrieked in rage. The Dreamtime shuddered as it did battle with the man who asked the question and then lost, leaving nothing but the white-winged man standing in the darkness, singing the song. He picked me up and carried me to the roots of a great tree, his square features softening as he placed me in its branches. Just as the Eternal Tree bent her branches to sneak me into the palace, that tree in the world between took me from his arms and carried me back to my mother, the song growing stronger the closer it carried me back to her.
I stared up into the branches and saw the stars. Unlike the Eternal Tree in Father's garden, this one was filled with fruit. It bent one of its branches and pressed a fruit to my lips, the branches caressing me as though it were my mother. Sweet juices burst into my mouth and whispered my name.
Sword of the Gods: Prince of Tyre (Sword of the Gods Saga) Page 44
