Shadow Seed

by Rodriguez, Jose

  A guard peeked over and, with the wave of his hand, a section of the wall rapidly melted into the earth.

  Caycee gawked at the display of power. “Not much need for technology, is there?”

  “I'll show you around,” Gillan said. “But we have to find Melkor.”

  “Welcome back,” the guard said.

  “Brown scales. Cool powers. You’re a Komodo, right?” Caycee asked.

  The guard held one hand out toward a torch and made the flame jump to his palm. “I do have a hint of Typhon from my mother’s side.”

  “Do you know a lot about our castes?” Gillan asked.

  “Not really,” Caycee answered. “I can tell you apart though. Your blue scales mean you’re a Leviathan. That Perak guy is a Draco, and Khothu with red scales are Typhon.”

  “Not bad, but keep your eyes open, `cause it’s getting a little harder nowadays.”

  Walking at a fast pace to keep up with Gillan, Caycee’s head darted back and forth to see what was happening. Some of the Khothu greeted her and others simply ignored her.

  At a kiosk surrounded by children of all castes, a Komodo used his abilities to turn blocks of clay into small figures.

  Gillan approached him. “Excuse me. Have you seen Melkor?” he asked.

  “Sorry,” the toy man replied.

  Continuing down the street, there were three Typhon females putting on a display of fire, spraying it from small openings in the wrist just under the hand.

  One of the Typhon women made a series of rings with a wyvern flying through them.

  Another had seven balls of fire darting around, changing colors.

  The last female created what looked like a large lump of fire in the sky. It then opened up like a hand, and grew even larger, appearing to the people on the ground as though it were coming down to grab someone. The adults laughed as their children screamed in terror.

  Caycee tugged on Gillan’s shirt. “Why is it called ‘spit’ if it comes out the hand?”

  “It’s nasty,” Gillan explained. “It sticks to everything, even water, and they can make it so hot you can’t breathe.”

  Caycee cringed a little. “That does sound nasty.”

  Perak suddenly landed his wyvern in the middle of the street and hopped off shouting. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Grand Champion!”

  “Have you seen Melkor?” Gillan asked. “It’s really important.”

  “I saw him on East Island,” Perak said, looking around. “Where’s Kamala?”

  “She…didn’t make it,” Gillan answered.

  “No way!” Perak said, stunned. “Not Kamala.”

  “Don’t say anything,” Gillan pleaded. “Melkor has to know, and I have to be the one to tell him.”

  Perak wiped his tear before it could run down his face.

  “She was like a sister to both of us,” Gillan said. “I'll tell you everything, but right now I need a real big favor.”

  “Name it,” said Perak.

  “It won't be easy, but I need to see the Chiefs. Just tell them it involves the Pelasgians. I’ll be there shortly.”

  “I’m sure they’ll want to see you,” Perak said. He turned back, taking a few steps towards his wyvern before stopping. “I can't believe she didn't make it. Good luck with Melkor.”

  “Thanks,” Gillan said, hurrying with Caycee down to a small boat anchored at the shoreline.

  The owner was a Leviathan. “Where can I take you?” he asked.

  “East Island,” Gillan said, as he and Caycee jumped in.

  Using his ability to control water, the Leviathan made the boat take off. Within minutes they reached the island. It was teeming with people moving between kiosks.

  Caycee couldn’t take five steps without bumping into someone.

  “Is Melkor around?” Gillan asked numerous times. A tall, muscular Komodo male suddenly grabbed him by the arm.

  “Looking for me?” he asked.

  Gillan turned. “Melkor!”

  “Still jumpy as ever,” Melkor laughed. “How did everything go?”

  Gillan stood frozen with nervousness.

  “Hello,” Caycee said. “You’re bigger than I thought, but it makes sense Kamala would marry a strapping man like yourself.”

  Melkor laughed more. “Yes, but I must say I’m the lucky one.”

  Gillan’s voice trembled. “We…uh…ran into serious trouble, in the Shadow Realm. There were so many of them.”

  It didn’t sink in at first, though Melkor’s joyful face slowly turned to one of uncertainty. “Where’s my wife?” he demanded.

  “She...she didn’t make it!” Gillan answered, covering his face with his hands. “I’m sorry. There was nothing we could do for her.”

  Melkor suddenly cried out in anguish, shoving Gillan hard to the ground and encapsulating him from the neck down with dirt.

  The amount of earth on Gillan was so much he could hardly breathe.

  “Hey, it’s not his fault!” Caycee said.

  In a fit of rage, Melkor upended the ground at Caycee's feet, throwing her to the ground. Several Khothu immediately tackled him.

  “No!” Melkor cried. The ground trembled as he struggled with all his might to break free, until he had nothing left but tears. He fell to his knees.

  Caycee quickly began digging to free Gillan until another Komodo easily unearthed him.

  “You okay?” Caycee asked.

  Gillan gasped for air. “Yeah...I'll be fine.”

  It was difficult for Melkor to speak as he sobbed. “Forgive me, Gillan. Kamala...”

  After catching his breath, Gillan got up with Caycee’s help. He knelt beside the powerful Komodo.

  Gillan’s mouth slightly opened with an overwhelming need to say something, anything, but it all seemed so trivial.

  It was Caycee who spoke. “Kamala wanted you to know that she loves you very much.”

  Tears fell down Melkor's face. “I'm sorry. I lost control.”

  “It's okay,” Caycee assured him. “I can sense your pain. Kamala is an incredible woman. You should have seen the way she fought. She was very brave. Before we left, she asked that you finish reading The Tale of Fyodor to Kemik.”

  Melkor smiled. “His favorite story,” he said. “She read that to him every night.”

  “Caycee's right,” Gillan said. “You would have been so proud of Kamala.”

  Melkor sank his fingers into the ground. “The Pelasgians. I will avenge my wife. No matter what.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Thousands of dead Rheans and live Fenrir tepidly moved through a Netherworld forest. Countless ravens perched on the lifeless trees.

  Stig was leading the way for Kamala, Darek, Hurok, Rona and Doradus.

  “Oy, know what I heard back in town?” Darek asked. “Bunch a folks around here have taken to callin' themselves Inferi.”

  Kamala didn’t think much of it. “Sounds like something an Anubian would come up with.”

  Stig laughed. “No one actually knows who or how that came about. It started ages ago. Lately, it seems more and more hop on everyday. I may be dead, but I'm still a Fenrir.”

  Darek swung his sword around. “And how did we get stuck with scouting? Just because we're new to this being dead thing doesn’t mean we can’t be in the thick of it.”

  “Will you relax?” Kamala said. “There's no front line. On top of that, we're not scouting. Arloff needs us to skirmish with the Pelasgian rear guard.”

  “Yeah, cause enough of a ruckus that we get the lot of them chasing us back to him, hopefully.”

  “It doesn’t get much thicker than that,” Kamala said. “Unless the Pelasgians decide to smash the city, and we have to run in after them.”

  “Speaking of which,” Darek said, continuing to swing his sword. “Does it have a name? The city everyone’s running off to.”

  “Hasn't been given a name yet,” Stig answered. “Lilith conjured it several days ago. It's her biggest one yet.”

  Hurok ran up bes
ide Kamala. “What are these black birds doing here?”

  “Someone said they were animals of Rhea,” Kamala answered. “Or something like that.”

  “Yes,” Stig said. “They were your food, your pets, anything large and small. These birds are Lilith's eyes and ears. They've been watching everything ever since the invasion.”

  A Fenrir in wolf form came running from a group further ahead and stopped in front of Hurok.

  “What is it?” Hurok asked.

  “There’s a small ridge,” the Fenrir pointed out. You can see the Pelasgians from there.”

  Everyone approaching the ridge had to drop down on their belly and crawl to get a peek.

  Kamala was worried when she saw how close the Pelasgians were. “It looks like they forgot to post sentries.”

  “Careful, it may be a trap,” Doradus whispered.

  “Maybe,” said Rona. “But if it's not, that means we have the element of surprise.”

  “Then I say we hit them now and plow straight through the middle. I bet we can take out half of them before they realize what’s happening.”

  Rona hit Doradus' arm. “Idiot, in case you forgot, some of us are still alive.”

  “It only hurts the first time,” Doradus grinned.

  Rona then rolled her eyes. “If you and the dead want to go charging in, be my guest.”

  “Since when are you scared?”

  “Oh, I'm not scared,” Rona said.

  Annoyed, Hurok covered his ears. “Will you two halfwits please stop thinking? We’re to skirmish with them, nothing more.”

  Kamala looked back. “I’m not so sure about that, Hurok,” she said, seeing an army of Prometheans.

  Arloff crawled next to Kamala. “Change in strategy,” he said. “We’re going to hit them now.”

  “Why the change?” Kamala asked.

  “Even if we got half of them away from here there’s still more coming through a portal near the camp. Lilith didn't think so many would be pouring in.”

  Kamala gawked at the Pelasgian camp. “So what, we just do what Doradus said and charge in?”

  “Yes, but no matter what, do not get captured. If you are captured, do whatever it takes to get right back here into the fight.”

  The ravens among them suddenly took off, almost blacking out the entire sky. They flew low, squawking and pecking at the Pelasgians.

  Badly distracted as they were, very few of the Pelasgians even noticed the ground slightly trembling, with the call to arms coming just as the Rheans and Fenrir began to slash through them.

  Arloff punched a Corinthian with such force that it sent him crashing through several others like a cannonball.

  A Cyclops eager for a challenge, growled as he ran full speed at Arloff. Both locked hands in a display of strength, with Arloff losing some ground from the impact.

  Everyone around them knew well enough to keep a distance and stay out of it.

  Arloff pushed hard, appearing to have the upper hand as his opponent fell to one knee.

  Knowing that he wasn't going to win, the Cyclops freed one of his hands and socked Arloff in the gut. As the Promethean buckled, the Cyclops twisted his other hand as he pulled and flipped Arloff over on his back.

  The ground trembled with dirt and rocks shooting in all directions.

  Arloff quickly turned over and got to one knee, catching a punch from the Cyclops in one hand and grabbing him by the buckle. In a burst of energy, he easily stood back up while tossing the large, one-eyed creature to crush a few Pelasgians.

  When the Cyclops tried to get up, Arloff jumped on him and snapped his neck with both hands.

  Kamala chopped a Satyr down with her battle-axes before noticing that Darek was having some trouble with a Corinthian.

  Darek swung his sword clumsily, missing the target and stumbling forward. The Corinthian slashed him across the back. And though Darek felt no pain, it was still unsettling. He barely managed to block the next attack that sent him down on his rump.

  Kamala threw one of her axes, striking the Corinthian in the back. She ran to help Darek up. “Not too handy with the sword, are you?” she asked.

  “Bugger,” Darek said. “Never used one, actually. Never had to. I sure fancy my final form.”

  “Yeah, I miss my bag of tricks, too,” Kamala said, failing to see an Eriny toss a black ball of slime that turned itself into a net ensnaring her and Darek.

  “Oy! What’s this?” Darek cried, struggling to break free.

  Before Kamala could think of what to do, the Eriny hauled her and Darek into the air.

  Hanging underneath the creature, Kamala could see the battle raging below, and several others who'd been caught in a similar fashion. She still had one axe, but it was pinned in such a way that she could do nothing. With her free hand she pulled at the net, which didn't give much at all.

  The Eriny flew fast, approaching a rocky field ahead.

  “Where's he taking us?” Darek asked. His arms were free of the net, but it was still difficult to move.

  Kamala looked in the direction they were flying and saw a Pelasgian portal open. “Darek, do you have your sword?” she asked.

  Darek was almost afraid to answer. “Yeah…”

  “Cut the net, or kill this thing!”

  “Are you mad? Do you know how high we are?”

  “Do it now!”

  Darek swung his sword, slashing the Eriny across his midsection and causing him to let go.

  Screaming in terror as they fell, Kamala and Darek landed on a huge slab of rock, breaking almost every bone in their bodies. For several moments neither moved.

  Darek opened his eyes. “Kamala?” he called, barely able to turn his head.

  Kamala's body lay just a few feet away. Her eyes were open with a blank stare, and she wasn’t moving at all.

  Darek became scared. “Kamala?” he whispered. There wasn't much he could do, being paralyzed from the neck down, and his fear turned to panic with the sound of footsteps approaching.

  “I hope that never happens again,” Kamala said, shaking her head in a daze.

  “Thank goodness!” Darek cried in joy, turning his head to see her standing as if she'd just rolled around in dirt. “Kamala, I'm in trouble. I can’t move. Be a lass and help me, please.”

  Kamala kicked around some of the rocks before picking up a hefty one and kneeling beside Darek. “Close your eyes.”

  Terror filled Darek's body. “Why? What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Helping you,” Kamala said, raising the stone above her head.

  Darek screamed. “No!”

  Like a hammer, Kamala brought the stone down, crushing Darek's skull. She ran back in the direction she came from, searching around the boulders until she found Darek squirming out of the ground, laughing hysterically.

  “I'm alive!” Darek shouted, before remembering otherwise. “Or...close enough, I suppose.”

  “Good as new.” Kamala winked.

  Darek brushed some dirt off and looked across the valley where the battle was taking place. “Between you and me, do you think we can win this?”

  “We don't have a choice,” Kamala answered. “But it sure would be a lot easier if we were alive.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  As Nedim and Janah trekked the sand dunes of Hegira, a constant gust of wind and sand pelted them from the side. Both were wrapped from head to toe in robes.

  Janah smacked Nedim on the arm. “We should have reached the city by now!” she yelled.

  Struggling with each step, Nedim reached over and pulled Janah close. “Siriso can’t be far. If it weren’t for this sandstorm.”

  “This is unbelievable,” Janah complained. “The one time we run out of water, we get hit with this. We should have brought kalecs with us, at least then we wouldn’t have to walk.”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  “Not that bad?” Janah said, leaning into Nedim. “When was the last storm you were in?”

  “A few months
ago,” Nedim answered. “I was with a group of new trainees coming in from the north. Now that was a storm.”

  When they reached the top of a dune they could see the enormous, triangular silhouette of Siriso filling the horizon.

  Dismayed, Janah fell to her knees scowling. “This is going to take forever.”

  Nedim grabbed Janah’s arm. “An hour…and a half,” he said, pulling her up. “Maybe.”

  “Sure…” Janah said, before quickly falling to her knees again.

  Nedim raised his hand above his head and formed a protective sphere of energy around them. “I can’t hold this for long, so listen. You’re just tired, Janah. You need to gather your wits. That’s not some mirage out there. It’s Siriso. What will people think when they hear you died within reach of the city?”

  Janah only thought about it for a few seconds before quickly getting back to her feet.

  “You can do this,” Nedim said. “Before you know it, we'll be inside the city.”

  Janah clasped her robes tightly around her body. “Just keep going. I’m right behind you.”

  Trudging onward, they eventually came to one of the great doors of Siriso. A hundred feet high and wide, there was no moving it by force.

  Spotting Nedim and Janah, a keen eyed Persian guard signaled from his high post to several Anubians standing below.

  One of the Anubians placed his hand on a star-shaped glyph on the wall and charged it with energy, causing the door to slowly slide open.

  Nedim and Janah ran through into a long, dark corridor lit by torches.

  Two Persians ran up and handed over canteens of water. One had a muscular build with the skin of a tiger, while the other resembled a black panther.

  “Kadir, Talik. Thank you,” Nedim said.

  Janah leaned against a wall, drinking as much as she could.

  “You two went out to Vesuvia, right?” Kadir asked.

  Nedim took a quick drink before answering. “Yes.”

  “Congratulations,” Talik said. “You must have been successful. Vesuvian emissaries left not long ago and we haven’t had any undead trying to pass through here for almost a week.”

  Nedim wiped his chin. “I'm sorry to say we weren't.”

  “What do you mean?” Janah snapped. “You know the alliance is going to be reformed. Lilith is probably gathering her forces, and by tomorrow we’ll have the Vesuvians, the Fenrir and the Khothu in our front line ready to kick the living daylights out of those wretched Pelasgians!”