Annihilation

by S. C. Mitchell

  “Breakfast,” Anna said quietly as she pushed into the room. She balanced a tray heaped with scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and whole wheat toast. Salina’s stomach growled.

  “What? No waffles?” Salina stifled a giggle as she waited for Anna’s response.

  “After yesterday? Seriously?” Anna lifted one eyebrow, and the giggle burst out of Salina. “Someday you will have to tell me how you two went through an entire bottle of pancake syrup.”

  Ryan rolled over in bed and opened one eye. “All I will say is, it was sweet.”

  Salina’s giggle turned into a full, rolling laugh. Anna just put her hands on her hips and glared, which only made the whole situation funnier. Anna shook her head, but she did break into a smile. “Maybe I don’t want to know.”

  Ryan sobered, grinding his fists into his eyes. “How’s it going upstairs?”

  It was easy to forget there was a war going on above them.

  “We think they’ve given up…at least for now.” Anna turned her back as Ryan slid from bed and reached for his robe. Salina, on the other hand, enjoyed the exhibition to its fullest.

  “Casualties?” Ryan was suddenly all business. Salina knew he longed to be up there, in the thick of things. Well, he had a more important job down here. So did she. Was it bad she was enjoying it so much?

  “Casualties have been light. You’d be proud of how well the Templars and Arcanists are working together. They’re really watching each other’s backs.”

  Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as he sat at the table and started dishing up some food. His foot slid under the table to touch Salina’s. The contact was warm—intimate.

  Anna grinned and shook her head when Salina giggled again. “Nathan has called a meeting in about an hour, and he wants you two there. It sounds like he has a big announcement to make.”

  She left, still shaking her head.

  Ryan slid his foot up Salina’s leg. There was a twinkle in his eye. “We do have a whole hour to kill.”

  * * *

  They arrived only slightly late for the meeting. Nathan seemed amused as he greeted them. “Glad you could make it.”

  Around the large meeting table sat JJ, Anna and Jack Hughes with little Callista, and the Templar second in command, Benjamin Butler. Standing behind Nathan at the head of the table were Kelly Grant, with her new-born son, Grant, and Geoffrey le Court. The baby was fussing and they were pacing nervously. Salina got the impression a bombshell was about to fall.

  Salina sat next to JJ, and Ryan took the seat next to her. As he sat, Benjamin slid an envelope across the table to Ryan. “Success,” was all he said, but the man smiled.

  Ryan peeked in the envelope and smiled back. “Thanks.”

  “We had hoped to stay for the birthing of the Seeds of Gaia and the High Lord,” Nathan said once everyone settled, “but events are moving on the other side. Kelly and Geoffrey need to return to the demon dimension today, and I’m going with them.”

  Salina felt a wave of surprise go through the room. None of them had ever lived in a world without Nathan Gray in it. Arcanist and Templar alike looked to the old man for leadership and guidance. She knew Ryan held the man in high esteem.

  “I feared this day was coming, old friend.” Ryan rose as he spoke. “Without the shimmer to bring you back you will probably be stuck over there.”

  Nathan nodded. “I doubt another shimmer will be recovered in working order any time soon. The demons seem to destroy them if they can’t be protected. I see no hope of a way back for at least a generation. Sometimes foreknowledge is not a blessing.”

  Nathan was a powerful precog. His knowledge of future events was usually accurate.

  “It is another vision I wish to speak of today.” Nathan turned to Anna Hughes. “As I have stated, I have seen little Callista as a leader in the fight against the demons here, in a decisive battle with the evil forces. What I have also now seen is Grant le Court fighting at her side. I am only offered brief glimpses and little context, but I must conclude a way back will exist at some point, and also that your battle continues at least into the next generation.”

  “Nathan.” Jack Hughes stood. “It’s just us, less than five hundred people, hiding in a cave underground. How are we going to survive, let alone fight back?”

  Salina had been wondering the same thing. The world was getting more dangerous by the minute. Senator Stanton had just announced his bid to become President of the United States. Gaia and the High Lord were gone. Shimone pulled more believers to her daily.

  “Nine months.” Nathan’s words reminded Salina of the life growing inside her. “Salina and Ryan have proven they can produce adequate power. Survive and keep the demons at bay until the children are born. With that birthing, Gaia and the High Lord return to this world, more powerful…and hopefully wiser. Believe and spread the word. You will become as much evangelists as warriors.”

  Nathan put his hand on Salina’s shoulder. “Much has been laid on you, child.”

  Ryan took her hand. “She won’t be alone…ever.”

  Salina’s heart leapt. She knew Ryan was committed to her, and she loved him for it. She felt the life growing inside her—two distinct beings. Were they really the Seeds of Immortality of Gaia and the High Lord? Would her children be demigods? It all seemed so fantastic, yet she believed. She had to.

  She saw Kelly holding Grant. Blue wisps of power continued to flow from the child, and a sudden realization hit her. She pushed back from the table and made her way toward her friend. The meeting had disintegrated into small discussions around the room. As she approached Kelly the woman’s face became an unreadable mask.

  “You’re really leaving again?” Salina had to know. “Going back over there?”

  Kelly sighed. “I don’t have much choice in the matter. I have to go. The people over there need us. They need Grant. But Geoffrey will be with me…and Nathan…and Grant.”

  Salina hugged her friend lightly, the baby cradled between them. “He’s a Seed, isn’t he?” She kept her voice low.

  Kelly stiffened and Salina knew she was right. The child was beautiful. She could feel the power in the small frame. Her children would be like this…special.

  “I never could hide anything from you.” Kelly relaxed and smiled.

  “At least I know there’s a god over there looking out for you.” It still broke Salina’s heart to know that Kelly was leaving her again. “And you’ll have Nathan too.”

  A strange look crossed Kelly’s eyes as she looked over at Nathan Gray. “Yes, Nathan too.”

  Kelly leveled her gaze back on Salina. “I worry about you guys over here more. I do wish we could stay longer.”

  Salina had to accept that. It appeared it was all Kelly was going to offer. “I know there are things you aren’t telling me. I won’t press. Nathan said that at least Grant would be coming back. We’ll make sure he has as good a world as possible to come back to.”

  Ryan dragged Nathan toward them. There was a determined look on his face. “I had hoped for a better, more private, situation to do this, but events have moved too fast. Nathan has agreed to his part before he leaves us…if you agree.”

  Salina had no idea what Ryan was talking about, and was taken completely by surprise when Ryan went down on one knee. From the envelope he carried, Ryan pulled a golden ring with a glittering white gemstone. “This ring has been in my family for eight generations.” He handed the ring to her. “Marry me. Right now.”

  Her stomach dropped as Salina looked first at the ring, then into Ryan’s intense eyes. Around the room she noted everyone had stopped talking. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for her answer.

  Time slowed and her heart beat faster, pounding in her chest and in her ears. The silence was deafening. Ryan’s eyes were reticent—pleading. Warmth washed through her. Thinking back on the past few days, she realized she’d already had her honeymoon, but also that this was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life making love to.
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br />   “Yes! Yes! Most definitely yes!”

  Ryan was up in a flash, and crushing her in his arms. The passion of his kiss filled her core with fire.

  * * *

  An hour later, everyone in the compound who could attend assembled in the upper, open-air casting chamber. It seemed right both the bright sun and full moon filled the open sky above. Nathan officiated and Salina had Anna Hughes, Kelly Grant and Kim Wakefield at her side. Geoffrey le Court, Benjamin Butler and Jack Hughes stood by Ryan as he repeated a simple vow to always love and cherish her.

  Magical energy swirled through the air and music swelled around them. Flowers appeared out of nowhere, bursting into bloom and filling the chamber in various arrangements filled with floral fragrances. United, the Arcanists and Templers stood intermingled—a single force set to fight for an uncertain future.

  Salina knew she would always remember this moment. Hope in the midst of the deepest gloom the world had ever known. She knew, with Ryan at her side, she couldn’t fail…they couldn’t fail. The demons would fall and it was love that would conquer them.

  After the ceremony, the group said their goodbyes to Kelly, Geoffrey, Grant and Nathan. The old wizard opened a shimmering portal and with a suddenness that shook Salina to her core, they were gone.

  Through the pain and loss of her good friends, Ryan held her—supported her. She knew he would always be there. Her husband…her lover…her friend.

  At times I’m frightened. Raising two demigods? There’s really no playbook for this. – Diary of Salina Chamberlain, 2023

  Chapter 21

  Salina’s head fell back onto the pillow as little Tengri Chamberlain filled his lungs for the first time and let out a wail, announcing to everyone in the birthing room he had, in fact, arrived. His sister, Ceres, born just moments earlier, lay in Ryan’s arms. A look of wonder graced Ryan’s face as he cradled his newborn daughter.

  The names had come to both Ryan and Salina in a flash of insight. It was as if they weren’t so much naming their children, as acknowledging their already given names. Salina was okay with that, though. There was so much else to think about.

  Senator Stanton seemed unstoppable in his bid for the presidency of the United States. The prospect of a Ballor in the most powerful position in the world frightened everyone in the compound. New laws and regulations were already coming into effect that reflected the demon’s growing control of the world’s governments. Economies crashed, as more and more of the world’s wealth funneled into the coffers of the demon lords.

  The Arcanists’ underground compound remained one of the few bases of resistance against the demon’s power grab, but there was little they could do outside their immediate area. The power generated here could only be accessed within a range of a few miles.

  But they did have plenty of power. Salina never tired of making love with Ryan. The demons knew they were there and had attacked dozens of times over the past nine months, but had always been repulsed with minimal casualties.

  Still, because Sheboygan and the surrounding communities were fast becoming one of the major areas of resistance, the demons had worked hard to impoverish the city, closing plants and destroying commerce. People suffered or moved out. Everyone worried what the future portended.

  But the energy Salina and Ryan generated allowed the compound to thrive, and the alliance sent aid to the local communities whenever they could.

  Salina noted the deep green tendrils of power drifting off her daughter. Ryan trailed a finger through them. “It’s so pure.”

  JJ wrapped little Tengri in a blanket and handed him to Salina. The boy instantly quieted in her arms. A bright white glow surrounded him and thin wisps of power flowed from him as well.

  As the power coalesced, Salina felt the return of Gaia and the High Lord.

  Well done, daughter! Gaia’s voice spoke clearly in her head.

  “It’s happening!” JJ declared. There was wonder in her eyes. “Power pools all over the world are coming back to life.”

  Ryan bent down to kiss Salina. The power, that had become so much a part of their lives the past nine months, no longer flowed from the kiss. The Seeds had been born. Everything had suddenly changed.

  “So, handsome, what now?” Salina couldn’t hide the trepidation in her voice.

  There was new determination in Ryan’s eyes. “Now…we fight back!”

  Ryan’s eyes glazed over. He was probably already making plans to strike at the demon lords. His eyes cleared and he gazed down at her. “But if you think, now that we don’t have to, that I’m going to stop making love to you…you are gravely mistaken.”

  The glint of mischief in his eyes spoke volumes.

  Postlude

  Nathan Gray delved the fog that existed between the two dimensions. At times he could get images from the other side.

  Two months earlier he’d felt the return of his parents. Salina and Ryan had prevailed. The children—his parents’ seeds—had been born. To a certain extent, the twins were his brother and sister. It would have been nice to see them, at least once, before they grew up.

  If they were allowed to grow up. They faced a dark world.

  Here on Ballor, things were brightening.

  Geoffrey and Kelly continued to lead a community of humans that continually grew and strengthened. More worship, more power for Nathan to funnel into making this dimension a better, safer place for them.

  Still, Nathan wasn’t ready to face Shoth yet. Thank goodness the Ballor god seemed to be distracted by something else, some other conflict. Nathan had yet to discover the source of that conflict.

  Little Grant grew stronger every day. His innate power linked with Nathan’s, adding to what was available to the humans for magic.

  Planting his seed had been worth it. Hopefully, his parents were finding out the same.

  Time would tell.

  In the mist between dimensions, an image formed.

  Salina sat at a desk in front of her crystal ball, young Kim Wakefield at her side, learning, growing more powerful in the craft.

  Yes, Kimberly, learn all you can. The young Arcanist had no idea how important she was to the future or how important she’d been to the past.

  He’d almost pulled her aside. But he hadn’t dared. The past had already happened. The future had to play out as it must, without his interference.

  Behind the two women, sitting in highchairs, sat the two children. Demigods. They were the hope of the future. Too soon, Earth would require their aid.

  * * *

  Footnote: The demons have risen to power and a dark future looms on the horizon, but the Arcanists and Templars continue the battle in the upcoming novel, Atonement.

  Bio: Adventure in Fantastic Worlds.

  S.C.Mitchell is a writer of paranormal, sci-fi, and fantasy romance, who crafts unique and wondrous worlds where characters explore, romp, and fall in love. Whether traveling through demon-filled dimensions, deep space, or ancient mythological heavens, heroes and heroines face fantastic challenges on their pathway to enduring love.

  You can find him online at: https://scmitchellauthor.com/

  S. C. Mitchell’s Award Winning

  Xi Force

  Hearts in Orbit

  Heavenly Wars