Oh boy…
“Youuu can’t essscape, me,” Gerard hisses through his snake lips. Watching an oversized, mythical serpent speak is a new one—and that’s saying something.
“You’re not the boss of me,” I say, looking around for a place to go. Seeing nothing I’m confident in, I instead turn back to Gerard and reignite my hands, looking very Human Torch-like.
Except, I’m in jeans, a t-shirt, and ‘not’ part of the Fantastic Four. But I ‘am’ fireproof.
I cover myself in a crackling green aura and step towards the edge of the wall, stopping once the tips of my sneakers find air. I lift a fiery, but smokeless, middle finger into the air and make kissing noises and quickly dive off the back of the wall, nearly getting beheaded as I do.
Landing hard, but in a squat, I spring to my feet and take off running, heading back the way Gerard entered. I make the corner in a blur and skid to a stop, seeing the turquoise colored monster slither up and over the wall in pursuit. Just as that happens, Rand stumbles towards me, blinking hard and shaking his head.
Killing my fire, I reach out and steady the old man. “You okay?”
He nods, breathing hard. “It’s been a long time since I changed into something that size. Hard to hold it during a fight. I’m very out of practice.”
“Won’t he burn out too?” I ask.
Rand nods. “Yes, even someone such as Gerard can’t stay in that form forever.”
“No…I can’t.”
We turn together, watching in silence as Gerard steps out from behind the rear corner of the wall I rounded only moments ago. He’s sweating, possibly overexerted, then again…maybe not. Whatever’s in the concoction that was pumped into his body, it’s keeping him on his feet. He looks strong too—winded, but strong.
But not as strong as me. Rand attacked him directly, albeit from behind, while I defended and stayed back. Hmmm… I wonder how long it’s been since he’s had an up-close-and-personal brawl.
I leap, surprising the killer, tackling him to the ground. I burst into flames and push them outward, engulfing him as well. He shrieks in pain and then growls in anger. His skin melts and then heals, all the while still trying to resist my power. I’m not entirely sure where my confidence is coming from, but I bet it has something to do with Rand unlocking my inner guardian.
It’s the first time that I can truly feel the power flowing through me. It’s like it was freed—let loose from my internal prison. I was afraid to let it go fully, too scared of what I’d become.
What I ‘did’ become, I think, recalling the monster I became beneath Eridu. I turned into a creature similar to Enki. My mouth sealed over and I grew in height and bulk. My skin darkened into pure night and the blood in my veins ran and pulsated in the same green as my fire. Now, everything is the same except the color of my blood. It’s gold like Rand’s—and Thoth’s I bet. I can see it flowing just beneath my skin.
But…I was close to unstoppable. Maybe I was?
“You…cannot…defeat me,” Gerard growls inbetween screams.
Kneeling over him, I shrug, getting an awful idea. “Maybe not, but I know someone that can.”
“Who?” he asks.
I lean in close and focus. “Me…”
It’s then I feel it—a pulling sensation. My entire body feels like it's shifting out of place and I do my best to keep my weight on top of Gerard as it happens. My body then pulsates with energy and I feel myself growl—but not in pain or rage. No… I snarl like a predator that has its prey is right where it wants him.
Gerard’s eyes open wide and I smile, knowing what he’s seeing. Even Rand takes a step back as I stand tall over my foe. My skin is as black as the deepest void beneath the sea. Claws replace my finger nails and my muscles pulsate with pure energy.
I speak with my mind, unable to voice my words. I have no mouth. “I am the guardian of this world, and thanks to you, I know that now. Those that threaten it will answer to me.”
Holding out a single hand, I send forth a column of energy and blow a hole straight through Gerard’s chest and trace a line up straight through his neck and head. Then, as I wait for him to reform, something happens…
“How?” Rand asks, staring at Gerard’s quickly disintegrating body. But I don’t answer…my eyes are also locked in on the killer’s remains.
But then they’re gone…dust. Just like Coaxoch.
“Hank!”
I turn as Nicole slides to a stop, followed closely by Nando. Her hands go to her face but I raise my hands in a calming, non-threatening posture, showing her I’m in control.
“I’m fine,” I say in her head.
Her hands are shaking now, but she nods her head and watches as I focus again. I breathe out in one long puff of air and grin as my skin lightens. Next, I feel my body start to shrink back down to size and even laugh audibly as my mouth reforms and my clothes reappear, just as dirty as they were before.
When I finish becoming me again, I fall to one knee and am quickly caught by my fiancée. She just holds me and cries, but they aren’t tears of sadness, they’re those of joy.
I need to figure out a way to stay in this form permanently…
“I’m…okay,” I say, again reaffirming my condition, “just tired.”
“I…” Rand says, helping me up, “I’ve never seen that before.”
I smile. “You weren’t in the Citadel.”
“I was,” Nicole says, “but he didn’t choose to change then.”
“My rage…got the better of me… It turned me into a monster.”
“You can say that again,” Nando says, squeezing my shoulder hard.
Thunder cracks overhead and the sky darkens with storm clouds. It reminds me of something Nannot would do, controlling the elements around him. But he’s dead and so are his kids, minus Terra. Needing answers, I look to Rand. He only steps forward and looks to the sky, turning in a full three-sixty.
“We need to leave,” he says quietly. “He’s close.”
I see something etched across Rand’s ancient face that I’ve yet to see so far. Fear. He’s afraid of what’s about to happen. We run for the back entrance we used earlier, moving as quickly as we can. Halfway across the property, the wind dies down to nothing, leaving us in a disturbing stillness. The sky continues to rumble and flash, but now with no wind.
Oookay…
“Keep moving!” Rand shouts over the cacophony of thunder claps. “We must vanish before Anepou finds us.”
“Anepou?” I ask, looking back. “Your old Order buddy?”
All I get is a nod in return.
“The one from Africa?” I ask, putting together his name’s origin and the continent in which the myth originated from. Ancient Egypt equals Africa.
Another nod.
“But how?”
This time all I get is a shoulder shrug. “Not sure. He must have been closely following Gerard.”
Great…just great.
13
The Great Ballcourt, Chichen Itza, Yucatan
Storm clouds intensified over the ball court, looking very much like the eye of a hurricane. But like before, there was no wind accompanying them as it moved slowly into the park—ominously so. Instead, the only thing moving in or above the area was a thick veil of fog as it rolled in unannounced as if it was created from nothing.
In truth, it was. It was the precursor to something even more extraordinary.
The court’s playing field shook with an unnatural furor and splits in random areas. What came out of them would have freaked out the most in control military man. Bones rose out of each fissure as if they were plucked out of the ground by a digger. It was, in essence, the truth.
Someone was, in fact, digging up the remains of the dead, buried deeper than anyone had yet to look.
Then, in unison, the bones were drawn to the fog. Once entering, they begin to piece together to form what they had once been. A man. Once in their proper places, tissue grew over every square inch of
the corpse. The muscle bulked and was quickly cover in skin, also growing a simple kilt-like garment—a shendyt. They were common in ancient Egypt, worn in various styles among all classes of people. Those that ranked the highest—royalty or military personnel mostly—would have them made from the finest materials. The figure knelt as he finished his reanimation, head down and eyes closed in what could be perceived as prayer. While of such hierarchy, he was most definitely not praying. He was listening…for them.
They’ve gone, he thought to himself, frowning.
Standing, Anepou Ansah, formerly holding the position of Commander of the An’talean Army, surveyed the grounds in which he now found himself. Moisture from the fog clung to his exposed upper body, neck, and face, as he turned in a slow and methodical circle. His silver eyes flashed brilliantly as he absorbed the landscape, stopping at an anomaly in the floor to his left. Calmly, he walked over to it, his simple leather sandals slapping the hard earth as he walked. Kneeling again, he wiped a strong hand over the… “Ash?”
Interesting.
He brought his hand to his face and sniffed, inhaling deeply, closing his eyes as he did. As he took in the scent, his body involuntarily quivered, causing the bones within his body to flash and spark like his eyes. If someone had been there to witness the reaction, they may have compared it to a skeletal Halloween costume where only the bones were visible.
The scent was strange, yet, familiar. The last time he smelled something like it was when his hound was in for his latest injection.
“Gerard,” he said aloud, taking in the charred aroma again. His assassin was dead, that he was sure of. “Something else.” There was a secondary odor within the ashes. What it was exactly eluded him. It smelled of home—An’tala. What it was he couldn’t recall.
Interesting indeed.
He stood, looked to the sky, and waited. The fog returned and dove to him like a cresting wave. Once it contacted him, his newish body began to fall apart, but his mind was lifted into the skies above. He would have a bird’s eye view of the grounds for a few more seconds until it returned from whence it came and again reconstituted. His spirit was always forced to return to its previous location. It truly was his only weakness, one his enemies could exploit if found out.
Airborne, he waited and watched, hoping to see them.
Where are you?
The park was deserted, vacated after Gerard’s noisy entrance. Anepou would have gone about the attack in a different way and used the innocents here as cover for his approach. He would have, at the very least, slaughtered a few to draw the others out. Gerard, on the other hand, liked to go about things in a more theatrical way.
He was a reckless show-off.
But, as unpredictable as he was, Gerard the hunter had been effective nonetheless.
Until now.
His death meant little to Anepou. He had more men and women looking for other things of interest, including a race of people throughout the known world, and unknown world in some cases.
Until the last three Order members who opposed him were eliminated, he and his cohorts wouldn’t be able to proceed as planned. He needed them taken care of, just in case they decided to stick their noses in his business again.
And I still need the Elixir.
The night Thoth sided with Rand, Anepou decided that the king had overstayed his rule. Thoth needed to die. Gwyn was the only other member of the council that openly voiced her opinion on the matter. Like Anepou, she wanted what she believed was rightfully hers…the world. Together, it would be theirs.
Anepou, like Nannot, a man he admired greatly, was forbidden to be with the woman he loved. Their status within the Order deemed it so, potentially causing friction between the other members. Unlike the black-hearted priest, however, Anepou and Gwyn were able to be together in the end. Once An’tala was left behind and then devastated, the two senior councilmembers reconnected and lived in harmony as one, planning—waiting for the opportunity to reveal themselves as what they truly were. Gods among men.
The world would tremble before them.
Those who didn’t bow at their feet would burn, and like Gerard, turn to ash.
A soft voice beckoned him home and he assented, willing the murky fog to carry his consciousness away. Once he reformed within their Central American facility, he would be with his love once more, enveloped in her arms.
It will come to be, he thought. Our time is finally here.
* * *
“This isn’t good,” Rand says, seeing Anepou vanish into thin air. “He got here too quickly.” While I didn’t see anything, Rand said he could sense him in the air above us. “You’ll be able to do the same in time,” he added after my initial question.
“He was close,” I say, nodding in agreement.
“Too close,” Rand adds, glancing to me. “He must have been shadowing Gerard, waiting for his chance to strike while I was weak.” He stands from his kneeling position and lets the low tree branches fold back into their rightful spot. “Thankfully you took care of Gerard before that could happen.”
I shrug. “I don’t even know what I did.”
“Look at it this way… Your power was as confused as you were the last time you wielded it. You weren’t sure what you were capable of—”
“I still don’t.” I’m not sure I’ll ever truly grasp my abilities.
“Yes,” he says, “but your soul does.”
“My soul?” I ask.
“After all you’ve seen, you still need more proof that there’s something beyond death? The power of those who called An’tala home never fades entirely. Nannot’s resurrection was all the validation you should need. His mortal body was destroyed by Thoth, and yet, he still lived and took another form.”
He got me there. I have no doubt that there is an afterlife. I just kind of figured it wouldn’t be something that could affect this one. That is, unless Dad can be my Yoda and help me when I need guidance.
“What of Anepou?” Nicole asks.
“He has many supporters around the globe,” Rand replies. “Most are mortal, some are not.”
“Like other council members,” I say.
“Exactly, but also those like Gerard. You really think someone as knowledgeable in the old ways as Anepou would only have one bulldog roaming the Earth?”
“No,” I say, my shoulders falling a little, “but it was nice to think it.”
“We can’t win this fight on our own,” Nicole says.
“What can we do?” I ask. “Kane and Olivia are MIA and Ben can barely walk still.” We hoped the enchanted vine we took from Enki’s ship would do something more for him, but like the Elixir in me, it came back with no results when it was first examined. Its healing properties were gone.
“I didn’t mean from ATLAS,” she says, turning to Rand. “I meant from you and your allies. We need their kind of help.”
I nod. “She’s right. While I may be stronger than before, I still have my limits as far as a global conflict is concerned. It’s not like I can fly…” Rand eyes me. “Right?”
He only smiles and turns.
“Come,” he says, stepping out of the shrubbery. “If I am to help you, we must prepare for your journey.”
“Our journey?” I ask.
“Yes. You must confront the empress and plead for her help. She will not listen to me.”
“Empress,” Nicole asks, “what empress?”
“Dohna,” he replies, “she will be more approachable than Meicuchuca. He’s, what you’d call, difficult.”
I look at Nicole and Nando and shrug. Turning back to Rand, I ask, “Okay, then…where is she?”
“Her kingdom is hidden within the Kunlun Mountain.”
“Wait,” I say, choking on my own air, recognizing the name. “Do you mean the Kunlun Mountains or the actual Kunlun Mountain?”
“Mountain—singular.”
“What’s the difference?” Nando asks, leading us out of El Castillo’s grounds.
�
�The Kunlun Mountains are in central China,” I reply. “They run east and west straight through the country. But Kunlun Mountain…that’s something else altogether.”
Nicole is thinking, but Nando just stares at me with a blank look, still not understanding the significance. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. Nando has fully engrossed himself in the local flavor and has had no real reason to turn his tastes global.
I breathe in and out and answer his unasked question. “Kunlun Mountain is a mythological place supposedly filled with gods and goddesses, living forever in peace.”
“Filled?” Nando asks.
I nod. “It’s also referred to as the ‘Cavernous’ or ‘Hollow’ Mountain and is believed to be completely void of, well, mountain.”
“Hence why it has never been found,” Rand adds, smiling at my intimate knowledge of the subject…and there’s a good reason.
Nicole gasps at some sort of revelation.
“What is it?” I ask.
We stop just inside the front gates. “Gods and goddesses, Hank. We’ve heard about this from someone else.”
My eyes go wide. “The Immortal Mountain, just like Terra said.”
“Yes,” Rand says, “they are one in the same, but there is also one other name that everyone knows—one that has been used in many tales. I have even written some of them in my more enlightened years.”
Everything that has transpired suddenly punches me in the face like Kane’s after-work-out body odor. With the mysticism surrounding Atlantis, Babel, and now this…
Terra’s warning.
The location in the mountains of China.
What I know about Atlantis and immortality.
And how they’ve influenced every major culture.
“Oh my god,” I say, looking at Rand as he again smiles at me. “I know what Dohna’s Kunlun kingdom is.” I look at Nicole and Nando and then back to Rand. “It’s real—it’s actually real...”
“What’s real?” Nando asks.
I look at Nicole and Rand and then back to Nando. “You know it as Shangri-La.”
* * *
Following Hank and the others out of Chichen Itza was easy enough. People were crowded everywhere outside the park, frightened and ranting about what they think they saw. She easily slid in and out of the crowds all the while keeping a close eye on her targets.
Elixir of Life: A Novella (A Hank Boyd Adventure - Book 4) (The Hank Boyd Adventures) Page 9
