Bringer of Chaos_Forged in Fire

by Kayelle Allen

  Six slid his canteen off over his head. As if approaching a feral beast, the man lifted it toward Pietas, easy, by small degrees, unhurried.

  For long moments Pietas stood there, unmoving, unspeaking.

  The image blurred. Joss wiped away tears.

  At last, he reached out, accepted, and took a deep drink. Without a word, he walked to the edge of the cliff and sat, legs over the side.

  Six settled in beside him.

  When Pietas offered the canteen back, Six smiled.

  Epilogue

  An afterword from Pietas

  Our master engineer, Lig, and his three-person crew have set sail in two small pods-turned-boats lashed together.

  The day before, Tiklaus and Pretosia came before me. With great patience and many false starts and stops, they conveyed the message that Pretosia wanted to go with them. Koliga, Dessy, Mahikos, and Helia would need protecting. Tiklaus made it clear this was not for Helia's sake, but for Dessy's. Though my parents were kin, the panthers only considered my sister such.

  Dessy was my blood, therefore part of the tribe.

  Tribe protected tribe.

  Pretosia would not go without my permission. Tiklaus had not assigned the duty, but approved. Who was I to argue?

  My father had no patience with children. No reason to assume he'd tolerate a cat. Claws and fangs are no guarantee of protection against treachery and deceit. The fact that Pretosia is immortal does not make me rest any easier. The party will cross an enormous inland ocean. It is a long swim to shore.

  Michel, Marjo, Six and I helped carry the boats down the outer side of the caldera and through the forest to the river. There, we stood on the shore until the party was out of sight.

  They're heading for a vast, inland sea my father swears harbors a hidden city on its farthest banks. Left by the planet's terraformers, it holds tech and machinery which he promises will provide release for our people.

  If anyone will know how to make use of tech or repair it, it's Lig.

  When terraformers leave a world, they take everything, erase every vestige of their presence. Except on Sempervia? Why, unless it was planned?

  Which proves what my sister and I believed. Our father conspired to come here. How else would he know about such a treasure?

  I don't trust the man when he's in full sight, let alone out of it, but once again, the Council has overruled my wishes.

  His complicity will be brought up at his trial, after he returns. If his promise is true and he can save our people, it might win him lenience from the Council.

  Not me.

  If he doesn't return as promised, I will hunt him down like the dog he is and kill him.

  Every day.

  Until his suffering bores me.

  How I wish I could imprison him in a pod and seal him up in the middle of the stack. I'd let him rot there. A fitting end.

  My mother would never forgive me.

  I long for the bliss of ignorance, of being special to her, of holding esteem as her son, but thinking you are loved when you are not is embracing a lie. I must be as honest with myself as I am with others.

  I must accept the truth: Trust is a lie when the person you trust is faithless.

  For days before he left, I'd seen my father sneaking looks at me, one hand at his neck. Realization that I'd noticed him watching would show on his face and he'd drop his hand and look away. Right before he left, I happened to catch his eye and mimicked a bobblehead. His immediate fury was a delight to behold.

  My wish for him is to never forget the sight of me hovering above him, ripping out his spine through his ravaged throat.

  I don't want my dear Father to worry I'm coming for him.

  I want him to know it.

  Because he lacked the benefit of the Mingle, his wounds will scar him all his immortal life.

  One day, perhaps the pain in my shoulders and arms will heal. But the wounds hidden within my heart will scar me forever.

  Lig and Dessy have each sworn on their honor they will make him return, and they've promised to watch over Pretosia. Joss says I should trust them and Six agrees, but trust was never something I gave easily. Now, not at all.

  Enemies do not betray you. Betrayal is reserved for family and friends.

  Meanwhile, my people bake in the sun, awaiting release from their cryopod prisons. We are manually dragging away the damaged pods, stacking them the way Lig directed.

  Six works beside me with as much fervor as if these honored dead were his own people. The work is backbreaking, but the memorial we build will stand for all time.

  When each pod is placed, I commit the name of the person within to my memory. Most are people I know. Each time, I call out their names to the universe. The saying goes, no Ultra has a soul, but the universe is eternal and a life force given to it must surely rest once released.

  It is as close to faith as I can go.

  Yesterday, I read the name of my senior lieutenant, who served me faithfully for the past hundred and fifty years. At my side, he helped lead my finest soldiers, trained to the utmost in the art of combat. Soomus Bellum. We Are War.The elite of the elite. None better.

  I pressed one hand to his nameplate and the other to my heart, too overcome with grief to continue. I know not how long I stood there before Six spoke, concerned I was unwell. All I could do was shake my head. Go back to work.

  Today I found the other members of the cadre. All fifty perma-dead. Dropped from a great height, their delivery unit burst open and spilled its contents onto the sandy floor, shattering the frozen occupants.

  Gone. Forever.

  I will not forget any of them. Forgetting is not within my power.

  I understand now, in a way I never had before, why humans mourn when a loved one dies. The finality of loss is crushing. How do such weak creatures survive it?

  Six stopped work and looked at me, questioning.

  I grabbed him and held on. I felt his hesitation, but he didn't pull away and after a moment, he hugged me back. When I released him, he stared up at me.

  Not trusting my voice, I tapped a fist over my heart.

  My friend echoed the salute, and at my side, went back to team-lifting the pods.

  That my entire battalion was in this unit was no accident.

  The pilfering scabs who robbed us meant it as a sign: The rule of Ultras is over. On the contrary, this act, above all others, sealed the doom of mankind.

  The Ultra people will endure. Mankind will not.

  Whether hot or cold, vengeance is delicious. I am known for my patience. I am immortal. Waiting means nothing. Treachery will be repaid a hundredfold.

  I will avenge my people.

  ~ Pietas

  ---

  Bonus: the Forged in Fire lyrics

  This is the full battle song Forged in Fire performed by Pietas.

  Sung slowly in a minor key

  Cast out upon a barren world, all hope of home forsaken now.

  The rage of war has here begun. The vanquished cry as victors rise.

  An Ultra's life is borne in grief.

  Raise high the shield. Cast out all fear. Our honor's choice will be revealed.

  No dead to mourn. No debt to pay. The battle's won upon the field.

  An Ultra's fate is built by strife.

  There is no hearth. There is no home. No child to rock.

  No love to lose. No peace to gain. The endless war becomes our own.

  An Ultra's will is set in stone.

  We can't forget. We won't forgive. We must return. We shall avenge.

  We never quit. We do not sway. Our enemies--we will repay.

  An Ultra's heart is forged in fire. An Ultra's heart is forged in fire. An Ultra's heart is forged in fire.

  Don't forget to pick up Endure, Illustrated Quotes of Pietas!

  https://kayelleallen.com/bro

  The End -- or is it?

  Thank you for taking time to read Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire. If you enjoyed it, plea
se consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author's best friend and much appreciated.

  Where else you can find Pietas

  Pietas will be back in Bringer of Chaos: Watch Your Six

  He has a fan page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lordpietas/

  He has his own board on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/kayelleallen/bringer-of-chaos-pietas/

  Download and print a Pietas and Six bookmark

  Download a printable PDF bookmark from Bringer of Chaos. For Page Sizing and Handling, select "shrink oversized pages". (original art by Jamin Allen)

  https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bookmark-double.pdf

  Disclaimers

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author's imagination, or are used in a fictitious situation. Any resemblances to actual events, locations, organizations, incidents or persons – living or dead – are coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas

  Book 1 of the Bringer of Chaos series

  Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas shelved on Goodreads as Military Sci Fi, Sci Fi, Soldiers, Bad Boys, Adventure, Angst, and 6-Stars.

  One reviewer wrote, "Watching Pietas and Six grapple through this deep dilemma was nothing short of beautiful for me. If these adversaries can navigate the chasm of hatred, distrust and male ego between them, maybe there's hope for our own fractured world. I called this a bromance, but it is much more. I highly recommend you read and find out why."

  Why should Pietas end the war with humans?

  His people are winning, yet they insist on peace talks. The Ultra people want to grant humans a seat on the Council. Pietas ap Lorectic, Chancellor of the High Council, War Leader and First Conqueror, disagrees. What's best for mortals is oppression, control, and if necessary, elimination.

  Pietas seethes with rage at the idea of human equality. Humans might have created Ultras, but the creation has far surpassed the creator. Humans die. Ultras are reborn, no matter how grievous the injury. They have no equals.

  His people permit him no choice. He must attend these insipid peace talks on Enderium Six and what's worse, be polite. To humans.

  When a human special ops warrior is killed in battle, he's resurrected in a secret process and inducted into the Ghost Corps. He's given enough strength to perma-kill immortal Ultras. Ghosts are the most hated and feared of warriors.

  When the ghost entraps and captures Pietas at the peace talks, the two begin a long journey toward Sempervia, an isolated and forgotten world. Once there, Pietas is marooned and the ghost abandoned alongside him. The two must either fight to perma-death, or join forces to survive. As Pietas comes to trust the human, an unlikely and awkward friendship begins.

  Until he discovers how ghosts are resurrected...

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  Reviews and Quotes

  To request copies for review, or for permission for quotes and all other inquiries, contact the author via email at kayelle.allen@yahoo.com or via the website http://kayelleallen.com

  Connect with Kayelle Allen

  Kayelle Allen did a tour in the US Navy, where she climbed around airplanes (on the ground, thankfully) fixing black boxes that helped pilots find their way home.

  She wrote her first science fiction novel at 18 and to this day, it's hidden under the bed, where she vows it will remain. Gems from it, however, launched several series in her galaxy-wide universe of stories.

  From childhood, Kayelle was the victim of an overactive imagination and inherited the Irish gift of gab from her mother. From her father, she got a healthy respect for mechanical things.

  No wonder she writes Science Fiction and Fantasy peopled with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's been married so long she's tenured.

  Have a question? Want to know more about something or someone in the book? Found an error or typo? Pop an email to Kayelle author@kayelleallen.com

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  Cover, Copyright, Publisher

  Cover art, cover design, and book layout by Kayelle Allen

  Courtesy of Depositphotos.com

  Original art by Jamin Allen of Nimajination Studios https://www.youtube.com/user/Nimajinationstudios/about

  Story Editor: Patricia S Cook

  Editor: Barb Caffrey

  ---

  Copyright ©2017 Kayelle Allen

  Thank you for protecting my work. I appreciate it.

  ---

  Published by Romance Lives Forever Books

  http://romancelivesforeverbooks.com

  Released in the United States of America

  Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without prior written permission of the copyright holder of this book.

  Before You Say Good-bye...

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