“Do not underestimate Athena because she is a woman,” Isis chimed in. "She tricked you as a child and again a few days ago when you let her escape.”
Horus glared at his mother. He hated her sly, chiding remarks.
“A temporary escape," Azazel said and then laughed. "We have a surprise for them, don't we my son?” Horus nodded and then smiled.
_____
Caelan opened his eyes slowly and saw Carissa asleep in the chair next to his bed. He was lightheaded, weak and his throat and lips were parched. “Wa—ter” he whispered.
Alissa, a young chambermaid, woke Carissa, yelling “My lady, my lady!”
“What is it girl?” Carissa asked.
“His Majesty is awake!”
Carissa jumped out of the chair and leaned over Caelan. She took his hand and looked into his barely open eyes. Caelan managed a slight smile. “Wa—ter” he requested again.
“Bring him water!” Carissa snapped.
Alissa poured water from a silver pitcher into a gold, jewel-encrusted cup. Carissa snatched the cup and pressed it to Caelan's lips, spilling a good deal on his thick beard. She helped him lean forward and take several more sips before he laid back. Carissa sat on the bed next to him and then laid her head on his chest as tears streamed down her cheeks. Alissa began crying as well. Carissa sat up and stroked Caelan's long black locks. “I feared we had lost you my love,” she said, then placed her hands on Caelan's face and kissed him. Using what little strength he had, Caelan placed his hand on Carissa's cheek. “You almost did,” Caelan said.
She held his hand tightly, and then turned to Alissa. “Bring my sons and daughters. Now we turn our attention to traitors.”
Caelan placed his hand on top of hers. He thought about what Lucius had told him. He gazed into the fireplace across the room and watched the crackling fire and embers. He burned for vengeance, but should he forgive Azazel's treachery? He had the power to plunge the world into war and terrible violence or choose the path of peace. The fate of humanity was in his hands.
19
WAR
Caelan stood on a twenty-foot platform holding his ten-foot golden spear as he stared across the battlefield at Azazel’s approaching army. His brass helmet and breastplate glistened in the hot August sun as his long, red cape flapped in the wind. He was temporarily distracted by how much hotter the summer was here in Egypt than in Bethyir. The cloud dissipated slowly as the enemy army slowed and moved into formation.
“How many?” Caelan asked.
“One hundred thousand,” Hemanes said.
Caelan pounded the wood banister. “Where did he find so many men this quickly?”
“Our spies say he used the tribute left behind to hire thirty thousand African mercenaries and twenty thousand rebels. The rebels were promised amnesty if they joined him. The rest are Egyptian conscripts. He took every man under forty and boys above twelve that could hold a spear. Some of them are as young as twelve.”
“My God,” Caelan said.
“Don’t worry brother. Today, free men will prevail,” Hemanes said confidently.
“Of that I have no doubt Hemanes. With only forty thousand of our own, the battle will be rough.
“Our plan is sound.” Hemanes said. “Besides, we have faced greater odds before and been victorious.”
“They are outnumbered father,” Anubis said, his voice muffled through the large, black mask resembling a jackal’s head. Over the past few months, his brothers, father, and mother began wearing animal masks in public to play up their mythological status as gods. His chest was bare and he wore a green linen towel around his waist, covering a half-white, half-yellow loincloth. He, Horus and Azazel were so confident of victory that they wore no armor. They sat aboard a large litter carried by twelve dark skinned Nubian slaves.
Azazel sat in the center chair of the litter, his arms crossed, holding a gold heqa scepter with black stripes in his left hand and a golden flail in the other. A gold nemes headdress with black stripes covered the crown and the back of his head to the nape. A gold necklace with three extending rings of turquoise, rubies, and emeralds covered a white, knee-length robe. His face was clean-shaven, except a two-inch black beard tied with a gold band. He was the image of Egyptian royalty. Azazel peered through khol-darkened eyes at his prey across the battlefield, eager to begin. To his right sat Horus, wearing a large white mask resembling a falcon. A gold, shoulder length head cloth with blue stripes hung from the back of the mask. His chest was also bare, except for a gold necklace covered in turquoise stones around his neck. A thick black belt and yellow linen loincloth girded his waist.
Cheers rang out from Caelan's army. Those on his front lines turned and looked backward, cheering, and shouting. A messenger came running to Azazel's litter and stood in front of Varus and royal guards. Azazel waved his hand to allow the man to pass.
The messenger knelt beside the litter and paused to catch his breath. “My lord, Sam—” he began, and then stopped abruptly.
“Speak servant!” Anubis shouted.
“My lord, Caelan is . . . is alive.”
“What!” Azazel shouted. He pounded his fist into the chair. A month had passed and he thought Caelan was dead. Azazel’s chest heaved as he breathed heavily. He stood and hurled the heqa at the messenger, striking him in the temple and knocking him to the ground.
The man struggled to his knees. Blood ran through his short black hair, down his forehead and into the sand. “I’m sorry my lord, forgive—”
“This should have been reported earlier you fool!” Azazel shouted. “Guards, execute him.”
“N—No my lord!” the man screamed as he backed away.
Two muscular Nubian guards grabbed the messenger by his arms and dragged him ten feet away. Another large Nubian guard stepped in front of the messenger and shoved him to his knees, and then drew a curved khopesh sword. With one slash, he beheaded the man.
Azazel watched the man’s body fall to the ground. “Horus, order the war elephants forward,” he said.
Horus shook his head. “But father, we should wait until—”
“Order them forward now!” Azazel screamed. He then flung himself back into the chair.
Horus pulled a small white flag from the basket next to him and waved it at the four-man signal corps. A red flag went up and waved from side to side, followed by three, long trumpet blasts. The ground soon trembled as forty North African war elephants rumbled forward through the center of the army. On their backs were wooden carriages containing three soldiers each, one driving the elephant, one carrying javelins, and the other armed with bow and arrows. The elephants lined up in front of the main army in two long rows, twenty across and two deep.
_____
"Hemanes bring the towers forward!” Caelan ordered.
“Go now!” Hemanes shouted to his son, Hermes.
Hermes disappeared in a blur, leaving only a haze of dust as he sped past surprised soldiers toward the rear of the army. The trumpeter sounded and the elephants moved forward, slowly gathering speed until they were charging. Caelan’s archers fired a volley of arrows, which did little except anger the beast. Six legions on the front line nervously raised their shields and spears, then braced for impact. The elephants surged into the front line, pushing it backward as they gored, trampled and tossed men into the air like rag dolls. Confident of victory, Azazel ordered ten legions forward to finish his foes.
Caelan watched nervously as the center of his battle line nearly collapsed. “Tell them to hold the line!" he said.
Hemanes hurriedly motioned to a messenger to come forward. “Where are my towers?” he yelled.
Thoros prepared to leap off the platform and join the battle, but Caelan grabbed him. “Where do you think you are going?” he asked.
“The men need me,” Thoros responded defiantly.
“Wait a few moments more, Thoros. Just a few moments more.”
A frustrated, Thoros stepped back.
Fiv
e twenty-foot wooden towers slowly rolled forward through the middle of the ranks, pulled by two elephants each. Caelan had hidden them to the rear of his army by laying them flat on the ground. At the top of the towers were three men inside booths operating ballistae with four-foot wooden bolts.
“What are they waiting for? Tell them to fire! ”Caelan screamed.
Hemanes signaled the ballista towers to fire. The first elephant struck reared high as the bolt tore into its left side, causing the men inside the carriage to fall out. The animal then fell backward, crushing all three men. As several more elephants were killed, the remaining soldiers in the elephant carriages stopped throwing javelins and shooting arrows to see what was causing the havoc. A few tried turning their elephants around and charging the towers, but were immediately targeted and felled by the towers. Within minutes, the elephants began panicking.
Caelan clenched his fist. “We have them,” he whispered. "Hemanes, tell the men to drive forward!”
Seconds later, drums began to sound. Four of Caelan's frontline legions reformed into a phalanx and pressed forward, driving their long spears into the elephants. One by one, the elephants went berserk before turning and running back toward their army.
Azazel leaped out of his chair. “Curse you Caelan!” he yelled, swinging his fist into the air. The frenzied elephants rumbled into Azazel’s still marching legions, causing panic and disarray. Caelan’s cavalry then attacked on each flank of the panicked legions, causing further disarray and confusion. Heavy infantry units then crashed into the front of the confused legions, grinding and hacking their way forward.
Azazel panicked. “Release the Aan,” he ordered. He glared angrily and gripped the flail in his right hand. Horus sighed and reluctantly gave the signal. The frightened signal bearer slowly lifted a green flag. A fifty-foot high wooden cage pulled by four elephants and obscured by a large brown drape rolled forward. The cage rolled to a stop one hundred feet behind Azazel’s disintegrating front line. Two Nubian soldiers pulled the drape from the cart. A large black gorilla with his hands bound by a thick rope roared and shook the cage violently. A soldier hacked at the rope with an ax until it split. The gorilla smashed the cage door to splinters and leaped out to all fours, roaring, spewing spittle, and pounding its enormous chest. In one sweeping stroke, the gorilla knocked two of the elephants pulling the cage to the side and killed them. He roared and stood into the air, then smashed the other two elephants.
A hush came over the battlefield as soldiers on both sides looked with terror at the towering monster.
“What manner of evil is this?” Caelan said.
“Father, we will handle this,” Thoros said, eager to prove himself.
The gorilla jumped across the battlefield, hurling and smashing soldiers on both sides. Bodies flew in every direction each time it swung his huge fists. Thoros leaped off the platform and maneuvered himself behind the ape. He whirled his hammer in a circular motion by its strap until it reached full speed, then hurled it with all his might into the beast’s head. The gorilla screamed and grabbed the back of its head before turning and looking down at Thoros.
Thoros grabbed the spear of a nearby dead soldier. As he leaned back to throw, the gorilla smashed his fist down. Thoros dodged right and avoided the blow, but fell and lost his footing from the impact. The gorilla quickly scooped him up and squeezed.
“Son!” Caelan screamed.
Artemis and Athena jumped from the platform and ran toward the gorilla. Every arrow they shot bounced harmlessly off its thick, leathery chest. They were forced to seek cover after the gorilla hurled a body at them. Thoros screamed in agony as the gorilla squeezed while fellow soldiers looked on helplessly.
Caelan grabbed his spear and jumped from the platform and onto a waiting horse. Still holding Thoros, the gorilla roared, and beat his chest. As Caelan galloped toward the gorilla, it jumped forward and swung. Caelan dove to the ground just before the horse was knocked a dozen feet across the battlefield. He rolled and then stood with his spear raised. The beast swung again. Caelan ducked and maneuvered to the gorilla’s side. With a shout, he hurled the spear into the gorilla’s side and through its heart. The wounded monster dropped Thoros and lumbered backward several steps before crashing with a loud thud to its side. hunderous cheer rang from Caelan’s army.
Azazel screamed before clenching his fist and uttering expletives. Caelan raised his broadsword and turned toward his army. “Now!” he shouted. Ten horse driven carts covered with drapes rolled forward. Soldiers ripped the drapes from each cart, revealing four-foot boxes filled with rows of bronze tubes. The soldiers set fire to wicks, igniting a stream of rockets that sailed over the battlefield and into the ten reserve legions surrounding Azazel. The soldiers panicked and shrieked in horror as explosions and shrapnel tore through their ranks. They had never seen anything like this before. Next, five hundred of Athena’s women warriors charged onto the battlefield riding horses and carrying long lances. They surged past Caelan and into the right flank of Azazel’s army, driving them backward in disarray.
Caelan smiled and stared at Azazel. He then raised his sword and shouted, “Where are my Immortals?”
Five thousand Royal Guards from the palace at Bethyir quickly marched forward and lined up behind Caelan and Thoros. Next to Thoros were fifty of the Nephilim, including Athena, Artemis, and Hermes.
Caelan turned to rally his soldiers. “I call on you to destroy this army of oppression. Lend me your courage for one more charge!” he shouted.
“For Caelan!” the soldiers shouted as they surged forward and shattered the center of Azazel’s army. Simultaneously, the right flank collapsed under the assault of the now dismounted Athenian warriors. Pressed from the front by Caelan’s surging legions, berserk elephants running amok and Athenian warriors on the flank, Azazel’s front line cracked and then retreated. The reserve legions soon broke under the continuous rocket bombardment and fled with the other retreating soldiers.
Anubis looked to his father Azazel and his brother Horus, whose heads were hung in shame. Anubis removed his jackal’s headdress and threw it to the ground in disgust. “Order the retreat!” he shouted and then walked down from the litter. Horus removed his headdress as well and tossed it aside. Azazel watched the retreating soldiers and continuous salvos of exploding rockets and then pounded the armrest. “Its over,” he whispered.
“Father, we must hurry!” Anubis called. “They are closing in."
Full of despair, Azazel turned to walk down from the litter. He caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and looked up in time to see a hurtling ax coming at him. He ducked just in time. The ax flew over his head and into the chair behind him. He recognized the gold, embroidered handle; it was the one he had given Caelan. He turned and saw Caelan, drenched in blood, glaring and beckoning him forward. Furious, Azazel drew his swords.
“Father, we must retreat now,” Horus said and grabbed his father. “We can kill him another day.”
Azazel shot Caelan an angry look before stepping off the litter and fleeing.
Caelan, Thoros and the rest of the Nephilim were in the middle of Azazel’s Royal Guard, fighting their way through. They made easy work of the other soldiers, but the elite Royal Guard was better trained and more loyal. They fought to the last, protecting Azazel and his sons. After seeing Azazel flee, Thoros fought harder to get through. He smashed his hammer into the shield of one soldier, breaking his arm and sending him reeling backward into several others. He kicked another soldier, spinning and smashing several more. Still seventy-five feet away and heavily outnumbered, there was no way of preventing Azazel’s retreat.
Two chariots driven by four horses each arrived to take Azazel and his sons from the battlefield. Anubis boarded the chariot as Azazel watched Thoros spinning his hammer. “Anubis!” he yelled, just as the hammer struck his son in the face, breaking his jaw and neck. Anubis fell from the chariot and into the sand.
“No!” Azazel shoute
d as he reached toward his son. He looked at Thoros with rage-filled eyes. Athena readied an arrow, aimed at Azazel, and fired. Horus pulled his father back as the arrow struck him in the shoulder. The driver snapped the horse's reins and sped away in a cloud of dust. Caelan looked up in time to see his former friend escape. As his victorious soldiers cheered and rallied around him, he shouted, "Run, but you cannot hide. East to west, heaven to hell, I will chase you wherever you go Azazel!"
20
NOAH
Thoros covered his nose and mouth to mask the smell of excrement, urine, and burning pitch while steadily swatting flies and gnats. Noah’s once immaculate vineyards had fallen into a dreadful state. Thoros felt embarrassed that the four Royal Bodyguards accompanying him had to witness such a spectacle. Despite the smell, Thoros was impressed by Noah's ability to gather such an amazing assortment of animals from every part of the world. His friend was nothing if not persistent with everything he set his mind to. As they rode onto the property, dozens of servants scurried about cleaning and feeding the caged animals throughout the well-organized avenues.
Thoros’ face brightened when he saw Noah running out to greet him. He jumped from his horse and embraced him. “Noah my friend, how are you?” Thoros said.
“Well your majesty,” Noah said, nearly suffocated by the squeeze of the nine-foot giant.
Thoros was finely dressed in his black leather armor, blue, knee-length linen robe, and long, red cape. As he surveyed Noah’s lands, his shoulder length blonde hair and red cape whipped in the brisk afternoon breeze. He chose each step carefully, keen to avoid animal excrement. An embarrassed Noah looked around and tried to assuage his concerns.
“I know, the place is a mess your majesty, but—”
“Nonsense old friend, as long as you continue sending me the best wine in the province, all is forgiven,” Thoros joked.
Sons of God Daughters of Men Page 12
