by David Wind
“What comes will be hard.”
Areenna gave a short laugh. “What else could it be?” Her smile turned into a frown. She stared deeply into his eyes. We have changed again.
We have. We are closer.
We are one, she corrected.
Almost.
She closed the few inches that separated them, slipped her arms around him even as he did the same with her. Their mouths met and their minds joined. The kiss deepened into something far more than a simple kiss. When it ended and Areenna drew back, her breath came in short spurts, which matched the sudden pounding of her heart. She could not help but feel the thundering of his blood as well.
“Soon,” she whispered.
He nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. He stepped back, breaking the embrace. “So much is expected,” he said. “So many have pinned their hopes on you.”
Again the heaviness spread. “On us.”
“No, Areenna, on you. It has always been you.”
“What bothers you?”
He shrugged. “The future. The Eight of the Island, the Master Jalil, even the Masters of the Circle are manipulating us. Each day I feel more like a pawn.”
A sad smile quirked the corners of her lips. “I understand; it has been the same with me since I touched Duke Yermon’s hand in Freemorn—since we fought the first wraith she released upon Yermon and us—and on the Island when the Speaker commanded us to take this journey.”
He started to speak. She stopped him with a single finger across his lips. Listen but speak not. They manipulate us because we are the hope the people of Nevaeh need. You, you are my hope. Without you, I am nothing. Without you, the Masters of Afzal win. Without you—
—Do you not have this backward? Without you, all is lost.
No, Mikaal, without you I am lost. It is the two of us, not just me. As to the manipulation, how else can we reach the point we must attain? I know what they do, but what they know not, is that when the time comes, we will end the manipulation. You and I have a purpose. What it ultimately is, I know not, but when it is time, we will know.
The gray of his eyes deepened to the color of steel. He raised his hands and grasped her face between them. “So certain are you?” he asked aloud.
She sighed. “As certain as my love for you. As certain as I know our children will change not just Nevaeh but the very world itself.”
Before her last word was finished, everything around them vanished. They rose bodiless; below them was the plateau, in front of them rising through a cloud was the Island surrounded in reddish mist. A shimmering vision of the black face of the Speaker of the Eight floated before them.
So finally, you begin to understand the truths of who you are, the truths of your lives…and not just your lives, but everyone’s. The Speaker’s eyes flared red when they locked with Mikaal’s eyes. Remove doubt from your mind, Man-Child, for you serve a greater purpose. The red flaring eyes faded and turned a softer shade of amber. And you, Child of Power, how else would you have grown into the woman you are without the manipulation necessary for you to become? Being born to magic means nothing! It is the understanding of your power, the learning of your abilities and the acceptance of them that makes you a woman of power. Come to us soon. There is much to learn and more to do before they arrive. The Speaker’s face dissolved, replaced by another vision—it was of a huge fleet of ships sailing toward Nevaeh.
This vision disappeared as well, and Areenna and Mikaal were once again standing on the plateau, Mikaal’s hands still clasping Areenna’s face. Reluctantly, he lowered his hands, stepped back and shook his head. His lips twisting with a terrible semblance of a smile. “What choice is left?”
<><><>
<><><>
<><>
TRINITY:
The Battle For Nevaeh
Tales Of Nevaeh, Volume III
The Epic Dystopian Sci-Fi Fantasy
Trilogyof our World’s Future
David Wind
Copyright © 2016 by David Wind.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact David Wind.
First Edition February 2016
ISBN-10: 10:0-9900035-7-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-9900035-7-1
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and events are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places or incidents are coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover design: Erin Dameron Hill / EDH Graphics
Map by Jamie Noble
Editorial: J. Lacie Redding / Pelican Proofing
Formatting: Rich Meyer / Quantum Formatting Service
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me on this journey into the future. To my wife, Bonnie for all her support and love, and to my fabulous beta readers, Terry Vanlandingham, Amanda Tibbets, and Mike Kaufman.
To My Trinity
Zach, Devon & Alana
“May your feet be swift, your sword true, and your way safe.”
— The traditional farewell between Nevaen Warriors.
“…I wish I knew not, as a Women of Power , those things
I was unaware of as a powerless child.”
—Areenna of Freemorn, musings.
PROLOGUE
AREENNA AWOKE AN hour before daybreak. Turning on her silks, she stretched out her arm to Mikaal but found his silks empty. She reached out with her mind.
Here, he responded.
Closing her eyes, she joined with him. He stood at the edge of the plateau looking west. Rising, Areenna walked to him. Charka was next to him, the kraal’s head pressed to Mikaal’s arm. Gaalrie was perched on Charka’s saddle.
She took his hand. As always, the spark leapt between their palms when they touched, and a rush of warmth spread through her. “We are almost done.”
“Yet so much is still before us,” Mikaal replied.
She searched his face. A strange feeling settled over her. There was a heaviness wrapped around Mikaal. It took her a moment to understand the doubt she sensed was the weight of Nevaeh’s future pressing upon him. “It matters not, as long as we do it together.”
“What comes next will be hard.”
Areenna gave a short laugh. “How else could it be?” Her smile reversed, the corners of her mouth tugging downward. She stared deeply into his eyes. We have changed again.
We have. We are closer.
We are one, she corrected.
Almost.
She closed the few inches that separated them, slipped her arms around him even as he did the same with her. Their mouths met and their minds joined. The kiss deepened into something far more than a simple kiss. When it ended and Areenna drew back, her breath came in short spurts, which matched the sudden pounding of her heart. She could not help but feel the thundering of his blood as well.
“Soon,” she whispered.
He nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. He stepped back, breaking the embrace.
“So much is expected,” Mikaal said. “So many have pinned their hopes on you.”
The heaviness spread through her. “On us.”
“No, Areenna, on you. It has always been you.”
Her brows furrowed as she studied him. “What bothers you?”
He looked out at the sea. “The future. The Eight of the Island, Master Jalil, and The Masters of the Circle manipulate us. Each day I feel more like a pawn.”
A sad smile quirked her lips. “I understand; it is how I have felt since touching Duke Yermon’s hand in Freemorn—since we fought the first wraith she released upon Yermon and us—and on the Island when The Speaker commanded us to take this journey.”
He started to speak. She stopped him with a finger across his lips. Listen but speak not. They manipulate us because we are the hope the people of Nevaeh need. You are my hope. Without you, I am nothing. Without you, The Masters
of Afzal win. Without you—
—Do you not have this backward? Without you, all is lost.
No, Mikaal, without you I am not completed. It is the two of us, not just me. As to the manipulation, how else can we reach the point we must attain? I know we are being…handled, but what they know not, is that when the time comes, we will end the manipulation. You and I have a purpose. What it is ultimately, I know not, but when it is time, we will know. No matter what The Eight say, I think they know not our true purpose.
The gray of his eyes deepened to the color of steel. He grasped her face between his hands. “So certain are you?”
“As certain as my love for you. As certain as I know our children will change not just Nevaeh but the world itself.”
Before her last word was finished, everything around them vanished. They rose bodiless; below them was the plateau, in front of them, climbing through a cloud, was the Island surrounded by reddish mist. A shimmering vision of the black face of The Speaker of The Eight floated before them.
So finally, you begin to understand the truths of who you are, the truths of your lives…not just your lives, but everyone’s. The Speaker’s eyes flared red when they locked onto Mikaal. Remove doubt from your mind, Man-child, for you serve a greater purpose. The flaring eyes faded and turned a softer shade of amber. And you, Child of Power, how else could you have grown into the woman you are meant to be without the manipulation necessary for you to become such? Being born to magic means nothing! It is the understanding of your power, the learning of your abilities and the acceptance of them that makes you a Women of Power . Come to us soon. There is much to learn and more to do before they arrive. The Speaker’s face dissolved, replaced by another vision—it was of forty huge ships sailing toward Nevaeh. A moment later, they saw hundreds behind those.
This vision disappeared, and Areenna and Mikaal were once again standing on the plateau, Mikaal’s hands still clasping Areenna’s face. Reluctantly, he lowered his hands, stepped back and shook his head. “What choice is left?”
CHAPTER 1
“THE DARKNESS WAITS not for us to act.” Master Jalil looked from Areenna to Mikaal. “It is time.”
Behind Areenna, illuminated beneath the yellowish light of the mountain, the buildings of the village of The People were empty for the first time in twenty-five hundred years. Silence fell over those standing in the center square. The probability that they would never again see the village was as high as was the possibility of the Dark Masters’ forces overrunning Nevaeh and turning the world’s last surviving humanity into their feeding ground.
To one side, Mikaal spoke with Roth, while Neleh and Sirod waited near Enaid. Areenna took the dozen steps necessary to reach Enaid. ‘The People’ of the village, had boarded the huge ship an hour before, taking with them their most important possessions. All had gone willingly; proud to be the generation who had accomplished the mission given their ancestors, three millennium before.
Areenna stopped before the High Queen. “It will not be easy for them.”
“Hard it will be, yes,” Enaid agreed, “but we will make sure the transition brings them gently into our world. There is much they can teach our people, and as much to be learned from us.”
I know not how long we will be gone, Areenna said silently.
As long as they require. “Our own trip must be made quickly. All of Nevaeh must prepare.”
“Gaalrie…” She stroked the giant treygone resting on the thick leather of her shoulder pad.
“I will care for her.”
Areenna nodded. “She will stay close to Charka, as will my own Hero. Be aware.”
“Always. You must focus on what comes next.”
Lifting the large cinnamon, black, and gray treygone from her shoulders, Areenna cradled her in her arms. Bending, she pressed her lips to the top her aoutem’s head. Stay with Charka, he will need you. And with Enaid until I return. Gaalrie wrapped and locked her tail around Areenna’s arm.
Gaalrie’s wash of sadness was hard to accept, but she knew it had to be this way. “Go to Charka.” She raised her arms; Gaalrie hesitated, her tail tightening momentarily before she lifted and flew the short distance to the blue-coated kraal, landing on the saddle bar.
Enaid drew Areenna into an embrace. She kissed her forehead. “Travel safe, keep Mikaal safe.”
Enaid nodded to Roth, who gave Mikaal a final squeeze on his shoulder and joined his wife.
Neleh went to Mikaal, who scooped her up as if she were a doll. “Charka will need you while I am gone. You will watch over him?” he requested as he set her down.
“I would go with you and Areenna.” Folding her arms across her chest, she drew her shoulders back.
“I know, but you must stay to help your mother with your people. It will not be easy for them.”
She lowered her arms. You do not take me because of my mother’s illness. Is this not true?
In part only… but we know not how long we will be gone. It would be wrong to take you with us. Your mother needs you now more than ever. She will need your strength and your power. Do not forget, you will soon have to accept responsibility as Woman of the Village.
A shadow of sorrow crossed her young features, yet her eyes, so much older than the girl herself, showed understanding. I fear for you.
I fear for all of Nevaeh. We do not have a choice in what comes next: our choice is in how we face what we do not yet know. Do you understand?
Neleh reached up and touched Mikaal’s face. Her small fingers rested on his chin. “I understand.” She dropped her arm to her side and walked toward her mother.
I will watch over Charka, she added.
And Gaalrie.
And Gaalrie.
Hand in hand, Neleh and Sirod walked to where Roth and Enaid stood. They turned to watch the three leave the village. Behind them, Charka let out a wailing call; Gaalrie’s high-pitched cry joined Charka’s.
With the keening of the aoutems tearing through her, Areenna grasped Mikaal’s hand. We will see them soon.
<><><>
It took three hours to reach their goal. Do you feel that? Mikaal asked Areenna when they entered an area dense with triangular shaped yellow leaf bearing bushes.
Areenna closed her eyes. How could I not? There is much power here.
“It is a portal,” Master Jalil informed them. “A portal created by the terrible weapons used in the past. The scientists of the time called it a wormhole—a place where time and space became… melded together.” He lifted the lower part of his cloak, and folded it twice. “One fold is the Island; the other is where we stand. In this manner, time and space are compressed, where the two folds come together, a hole, a doorway, is opened, which allows us to move through.”
“This is not of magic?” Mikaal asked.
“No, it is of the old science, from the terrible destruction my ancestors unleashed upon the world. The creation of this wormhole came from the weapon that exploded on the Island.” The grief in his voice was unmistakable. “Only two may go through at a time.” He grasped the Staff tightly. “I go first. Follow quickly, do not hesitate.”
Jalil stepped forward, his left hand holding the Staff of Afzal high. There was nothing to see before him, just the cavern’s pale yellow light. Then, he disappeared.
Areenna stared at the empty spot. “We must go.” Mikaal took her hand and walked them to where Master Jalil had disappeared. They took another step forward and the moment they did, a mist caught them and spun them madly about.
<><><>
Standing at the ship’s rail, watching as the boat left its moorings, Neleh froze beneath a wave of rushing darkness. She grasped the railing, but sank to her knees. Behind her, Sirod and Enaid ran to her.
“What happened?” Sirod cried as she drew Neleh into her arms.
Neleh’s eyes opened, she blinked several times and then swallowed. Her pale yellow eyes went from Sirod’s face to Enaid and back. Mikaal and Areenna. They are gone...they took them.<
br />
<><><>
It seemed but a fraction of time from when Master Jalil went into the opening until he arrived—barely enough time for a breath. When he lifted his head, he found the eight sorceresses kneeling in a circle around him, each staring at the red-misted sky. Their strange faces vacant of any expression except shock. A sense of dark dread filled the air.
“They have been taken,” The Speaker whispered.
Kneeling, Jalil sank his fingers into the ground. His eyes glazed over, his vision turned red; a moment later, his eyes returned to normal. He stood, using the Staff to help him, and stared at the eight sorceresses. “Areenna and Mikaal have been intercepted by The Masters.”
The half-women, half-snucks shifted their bodies back and forth, touching their heads to each other for brief moments before settling back. The Speaker rose from her position to face Master Jalil. Her eyes flashed with anger. “How did they do this?”
Jalil leaned on the Staff. “Emanations from the Staff. There is no other explanation. I went through the wormhole seconds before Areenna and Mikaal. If The Masters were aware, then it was enough time for them to do this.”
“They are where?”
Jalil closed his eyes. A moment later, the lids snapped open. “Within the wormhole, held there by The Masters, unable to move forward. Trapped there by the Dark Ones who feed their minds with their most wanted desires, making them believe all is real. The Masters fabricate a world within which they keep Areenna and Mikaal trapped, much in the way they drain the life energy from their slaves. For them, time will not exist. They will hold them prisoners, isolated and living within a dream, until their ghazi forces overruns Nevaeh. Only then they will kill them.”
The Speaker rose, her snuck-like body reaching skyward until she towered over the Master. “We must free them.”
