The Sorrow Anthology
Page 17
“Why not?” Shu replied, boredom leaching into each word. “She has asked every day for a year; I grow tired of her whining.”
“Very well, little breeder niece,” Tefnut giggled. “Our boys go to a planet, one of the 12, where they are forming an army for Shu, and I. One day we will leave here and go to our army, one day before Malachi comes and guts Father. When we go, we shall be welcomed by our children.”
“And the girls?” Nephthys asked quietly, “what becomes of my daughters?”
“Oh, they go into Daddy’s little breeding program,” Shu sneered. “His Earthborn half-breeds; we have to keep up appearances you see, he has to believe we are following his orders.”
“So, they are alive then, somewhere on Earth.” Nephthys breathed a sigh of relief. She had only given birth to one daughter since being held captive by her uncle and aunt. The child had been taken from her a month prior, she missed her, and her first born, Anubis, with a pain so deep it kept her bent double and gasping most days.
“Alive? Yes, some of them,” Tefnut smirked, “but we didn’t say on earth. Did we, sister-wife dearest?”
“No, we didn’t brother-husband dearest.”
Nephthys looked to the man standing awkwardly in the centre of the room.
“Thoth is it?” she asked quietly.
He nodded.
“Come, let’s get this over and done with.”
Tefnut and Shu turned to leave the room.
“Twenty minutes,” Tefnut said over his shoulder. “Don’t dally.”
Nephthys turned to the bed and sighed. But she needn’t have worried that they would be interrupted before the time was up. Thoth came quickly and, telling her he had no desire to meet with the twins again now that he had done what they desired, departed through the window, still naked.
Nephthys followed to close the curtains and gasped when she saw who was hiding behind them.
“Osiris, brother dear,” she sighed, racing into his arms.
Osiris smiled and held her close.
“How keep you, sister?” he asked quietly, entering the room and drawing the curtains tightly back to hide them both from prying eyes.
“I do not fare well, Osiris,” she sighed, looking down at her stomach which she knew would once again now carry a child. “Once all I wished for was a baby. Now, I fear every birth, for my children are taken the moment they are born, I am never to feel the warmth of their skin against my own, the suckle of their mouths upon my breasts.”
Osiris held her tight and breathed into her hair.
“Sister mine, I offer you an escape. Isis and I are leaving via the portals tomorrow; Horus is to take over as ruling God on Earth. Anubis will support him. Come with us to Heaven, depart this fearful planet.”
Nephthys smiled sadly and shook her head.
“Should I try the twins will kill me,” she said sadly, “and I cannot risk the babe I carry.”
“The twins,” Osiris growled, stalking from her and pacing the room. “They have kept you, prisoner, using you to breed with human men and half-Gods like you are some kind of incubator. Do you even know the lineage of some of those you have bedded?”
Nephthys shuddered. “I did not wish to know,” she sighed, “many looked strangely familiar…”
Osiris cracked his knuckles and stared at the ceiling, his expression thunderous. “Abominations, the twins, their plans, disgusting little genetic scientists, treating their own niece like a broodmare. Had I known earlier where you were, what was happening to you, I would have killed the psychotic pair myself.”
“How?” Nephthys asked, sitting down, “How did you find me now? After all this time? So long brother, so long have I looked out the window, gazed at the stars, called and wished for you to come and save me.”
“Isis,” Osiris spat. “While I love my sister-wife, she is vengeful and deceitful, as ever you know. She did not forgive us for our night, the night we produced Anubis. She knew the twins kept you for their own purposes, but she hid this knowledge from me. For some time I believed you dead. When I found out this was not so, I began my search. If it was not for Seth, I would not have found you even now.”
“Seth?” Nephthys shuddered, “how could he have helped you find me.”
“He didn’t,” Osiris sighed, “his Druse priests, the immortal army of humans he has created to serve him, led me here. They are charged with killing all half-Gods. Seth believes them to be an abomination, a Sin. He believes only pure Gods should be allowed to live. It is why he never killed our son, as much as he wanted to.”
“So, he is killing my Earthborn children?” Nephthys cried.
“Yes, he hunts yours, and he has killed mine for many, many years,” Osiris growled, “my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and those of Amun. Many have survived, gone on to disappear around the globe, blend with the humans – those that look more human than not. But the twins’ plot to create a new race, or whatever it is their twisted minds have come up with, have not been thwarted as often as Seth would like. Still, ever he hunts our half children.”
“You have others too?” Nephthys asked quietly, considering her brother in a new light.
“I freely admit, I have loved Earth women,” Osiris sighed. “I have many, many Earthborn descendants. But this brings me to my urgent quest, Nephthys,” he said, sitting beside her and gathering her warm hands in his own.
“Come with me. I leave to start a new life on a new planet. Where our Earthborn half children can thrive. They are smart Nephthys, smarter than any of the other hybrids we spawned on our long traverse across the planets seeking germplasm. You might not know this because you do not know your children, they are just babes. But many Earthborn are strong, brave, beautiful. Come, come with me to this new planet, birth your babe, raise your children in safety. Leave this place to those who seek only power and death.
Nephthys gasped. “You have found my daughter?”
“No,” he shook his head, but I will. You know though, Nephthys, Anubis must stay on Earth, he and Horus will be the light that balances the dark of Seth and the twins.”
Nephthys nodded. “I will come to the portals, brother-mine, and birth my child. Then I will begin the search for my daughter. But I do not travel with you alone. Lately, I have been visited by another, someone we both know and love. He has asked me also to travel, to escape this hellish planet and traverse the stars, to help him find someone very special to us all.”
“Mother,” Osiris said.
“Yes,” Nephthys laughed gently, “how could you know that our Father, Geb, was the one of whom I speak?”
“Because he has given Horus the eighth scarab,” Osiris said simply, “it was gifted to him by Nu, to pass on to one he deemed worthy. Nu initially offered it to me, but I could not, would not make that decision. Geb knew who to trust; we must all pray he is right.”
“Well then, it is very fortunate indeed that you have arrived this night, brother dear.”
“Why?” Osiris frowned.
“Because do you not see? I wear Tefnut’s scarab so that I might conceive. Would it not be a fine joke if I were to disappear with you now, and still, one scarab is lost to our dear grandfather.”
Osiris smiled a broad, genuine smile, and put his arm around his sister.
“But,” Nephthys said, shrugging off his arm. “I come with you on one condition.”
“What?” Osiris asked, heading for the window.
“That you discard Isis, marry me, travel with me.”
Osiris turned back to his sister and considered her carefully, from the top of the head to her toes and back.
“We would have to kill her,” he said quietly.
“Yes,” Nephthys said, “we would.”
10
Malachi smiled as he triangulated the distance to the planets from which the message had been broadcast.
He could not believe his good fortune.
All these years he had probed the universe seeking Gaia and the scar
abs. His son, so disappointing in the end, kidnapping the Council children, conspiring against his own father. Still, he had always believed it was only a matter of time before he would outwit them both. And now it seemed Amun’s own grandchild was the seed of his destruction.
When she had first called, Malachi had found it difficult to keep a straight face.
“I know you have been speaking to Seth,” Isis said, “but I can offer you a better deal. I can tell you where Amun is, where the scarabs are.”
‘Seth? Never heard of him,’ Malachi thought. He hid his grin; “Of course,” he lied smoothly, “Seth and I have a long association. And you are?”
“I am Isis, Amun’s granddaughter, your great granddaughter.”
“Indeed,” Malachi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “And where are you calling from, child?”
“As if I would tell you that,” Isis sighed, rolling her eyes. “I want a deal.”
“Very well,” Malachi pretended nonchalance, “what is it you want?”
“There is a planet. A particular planet, called Heaven, that my husband and I plan to settle on. In exchange for Amun’s location, we wish to rule this planet, without interference, forever.”
“I’m sure this could be arranged,” Malachi intoned.
“Very well,” Isis said, her tone clipped. “I will tell you, wait, someone comes.”
She blanked the screen but did not shut off the signal, just as Amun entered the control room and fired his laser chainsaw at her.
She fell to the floor, gasping, one hand amputated, cauterised instantly. Reaching for her own weapon she screamed as her second hand was lopped off, followed by both her feet.
Amun watched as she squirmed, amusement in his eyes.
“Did you really believe I would make it so easy for my children or my grandchildren, to betray me?” he drawled, “trust is not something that I find comes naturally to me, you know.”
Isis groaned. “It is too late, I have told him where you are,” she spat a mouthful of blood, “you are fucked.”
“No, my dear,” Amun laughed, “You offered to tell him, but you, unfortunately, never actually managed to reveal my location.”
Isis gritted her teeth against the pain, saying nothing. Clearly, Amun had not noticed the line was still open. But her malicious joy was short-lived as she watched him pick up her amputated hands and throw them into a nearby portal, her feet through another.
“And now, for your treachery,” he smiled gently at her wide eyes as he turned the dial on the laser to disperse, “I imagine your brother-husband would seek to put you together again, as you once did for him. We can’t have that, now can we?” he mused, pressing the button and disintegrating her body into dust.
Quietly, carefully, he took a lung-full of air and blew her body through all 12 portals.
As he turned away from the gates, he narrowed his eyes and swore at the little green light still flickering on the console. Slamming his hand down on the light, he cut the line.
Thousands of light years away, Malachi laughed as he traced the signal from Isis’ brief call to a set of distant planets.
He had never heard of Seth, had no contact with anyone from Amun’s ship in the thousands of years since his son had departed. But this one message, this one signal, was all he needed. Twelve of the planets were relatively close in terms of travel distance and the time he had already waited. He would explore them first. The 13th and most distant he would leave for last.
“Only a few thousand years,” he laughed, ‘you have a few thousand years to enjoy yourself Amun. Daddy’s coming!”
Dear Readers,
Find out how humans became aware of Amun and his Alien overlords in the Scarab series.
Then continue into the Sorrow series and join the battle for the 12 worlds.
www.helenallan.com
Before Sorrow, there was Scarab.
‘An eternity as an immortal in slavery was not what she had in mind.’
Desperate and alone, sixteen-year-old Megan uses a powerful and ancient talisman to escape modern-day life and make a new start in ancient Egypt. But powerful enemies lie in wait seeking her destruction and the magical scarab necklace she wields.
Will an alliance with another immortal, the handsome and secretive Franklin, help keep her from harm long enough to learn the secrets of the scarab? – Or will he cause her to lose everything – including her heart?
She thought he was going to kiss her and her breath caught in her throat, but his lips barely brushed hers as he smirked and whispered: “I will take you to my bed again, Little Slave when you beg me.”
Now 18, Megan journeys on a dangerous and desperate search to discover who seeks her Scarab necklace before another in her close-knit circle is killed. And she will soon find that some she thought were friends are not, and some she thought were enemies may be the only hope she has.
Ancient Mystery – Timeless Love
Hitting the dirt with a thud, Megan drew her swords and raced across to her lover, reaching him just as the beasts did. She turned to fight with him, back to back, as the crowd roared for their blood.
Trapped, and having lost everyone she ever loved, Megan must find a way to journey back in time, and through space, to rescue the one she can’t live without. And this time, she will seek her revenge on those who have, for too long, used humans as playthings.
The final in the Scarab Trilogy will leave you breathless.
Then came Sorrow
Twelve enslaved planets – one woman to free them all.
Hunted and reeling from the destruction of one she loved, Sorrow must find refuge amid the human survivors of a planet in turmoil.
Taking shelter in the fortress her mother once built, Sorrow hides from the Sin who prey upon humans for their flesh and those Earthborn that seek her death.
Seeking to create peace between the species she resolves to take control of the time gates, to enable the enslaved humans to return to Earth and break the power of the Earthborn.
But a new enemy is coming, one none of them anticipated.
Sorrow’s Flight
Sorrow’s Fall
SORROW’S FLIGHT
Helen Allan
Copyright © Helen Allan, 2019
Published: 2019
Hell West Press
ISBN: Paperback Edition: 978-0-6484559-3-6
All rights reserved.
The right of Helen Allan to be identified as the author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
Cover art by Mario Wibisono
Sorrow’s Flight
For Alastair
Books by Helen Allan
Locksley Hall
PREFACE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
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The story continues…
Dear readers,
Etienne’s Endearments
Before Sorrow, Came Megan.
FOR ALASTAIR
Books by Helen Allan
Books in the Scarab Series
Scarab: Falling Through Time
Scarab 2: Fighting Time
Scarab 3: The Chains of Time
Books in the Sorrow Series
Sorrow’s Sin
The Gods of Time novella
Sorrow�
�s Flight
Sorrow’s Fall
Other books by Helen Allan
Gypsy Blood: Love Bloody Hurts
Gypsy Blood: I walk the bloody line
Gypsy Blood: The future looks…bloody
Nixie Blood: A bloody little monster
Nixie Blood: Prepare for bloody battle
Nixie Blood: The Bloody Queen
The Vampire Knights Series
Lancelot’s Lilly
Arthur’s Rose
The Bastard’s Briar
Sir Bor’s Belle
For a full list of books visit: www.helenallan.com
LOCKSLEY HALL
Mated with a squalid savage – what
To me were sun or clime?
I the heir of all the ages in the fore-
Most files of time.
(Alfred Lord Tennyson, Locksley Hall 1827)
PREFACE
He advanced upon her, just as he had done on Heaven, swords drawn, eyes intent.
She lay, unable to move, helpless.
“Anhur,” she whispered, casting her eyes around for her weapon, any weapon. “How did you find me?”
“I will always find you,” he drawled.
“I,” she swallowed the lump of fear rising in her throat, “I haven’t done anything to you to deserve this, Anhur.”
He sheathed his swords, his eyes lighting up with promised pain.
“Deserve what? Oh, death?” he smiled, a sinister smile as he squatted down beside her, studying her face, “no, that is too good for you. You are not going to die, dear wife.”
“I’m, I’m not?”
“No. I have much greater plans for you. You see, I have learned you have something here,” he pressed his hand hard against her stomach, pushing painfully, “that I find I want.”