Nando’s eyes opened wide as the lab-made substance twitched, behaving like it was agitated by something. He glanced over at Rand and watched as he sneered in disgust. Then, like he’d seen a few times before, the Architect’s eyes flashed brightly and the plasma burst into a ball of odd chrome-colored flames. It was strangely pretty but deep down Nando knew that the stuff was…well, wrong.
The result of madmen playing God.
Flinching, Nando quickly dove to the ground as Rand’s hands launched out in front of him. Like before, he clenched his fists and ripped the false Elixir from the remaining man’s bodies, setting it and their corpses ablaze. Getting to his feet, Nando stepped away from the heated Atlantean elder.
“I am okay, my friend,” Rand said, releasing his hold on their would-be killer’s ashes. Dropping his hands his sides, Rand turned to Nando. “Contrary to what you may be thinking, I am in complete control of myself and my actions. It is very important to destroy everything associated with the false Elixir.”
Nando could only bob his head up and down in quick gyrations, his eyes still wide in terror. “Sure… Okay…” Both men turned back to the battle behind them and watched as green flashes of light lit up the still darkening sky. The fog had thickened and was quickly enveloping those battling Apophis, almost completely blotting out the sun.
Like one of the biblical plagues, Nando thought. The ninth, I think.
“Will they survive?” he asked.
Not looking away from the scene before him, Rand replied. “Honestly… I’m not sure. But from what I’ve heard about Hank, I believe it would be wise to have faith in him. Though it may look bleak, I have a sneaking suspicion that he may surprise us yet.”
“Let us hope,” Nando said, worried. “Let us hope…”
* * *
Every time I think I’ve seen it all, something else equally or more bizarre comes along and smacks me in the face. Sometimes quite literally. As Nicole and I leap into the air, the Apophis incarnate opens its gaping mouth and swallows us whole. Our bodies are pulverized by a swirling vortex of bones and other debris it’s sucked up into its body.
But we aren’t physically assaulted more than that—which is odd. Anepou needs us out of the way to continue his pursuit of Rand the Elixir of Life. We’re now its guardians to a certain extent and therefore officially in the Order’s crosshairs.
“Why hasn’t he done more?” Nicole asks.
“No clue,” I reply, looking around. Our bodies are suspended within the slithering column of wind and bone, being kept aloft by an internal pressure of some kind. I try and burn my way through it, but all it does is sear a layer of the swirling storm away where it's quickly replaced by another.
And then another.
And another.
That’s not doing anything…
“Any ideas?” I ask.
But before Nicole can answer me, another voice does.
“Yes…” the speaker says, “you can die.”
My head fills with visions of death and the pain associated with each. It’s similar in the way Enki attacked me but at the same point not. This feels personal. Enki’s mental assault was cold and calculated—emotionless at times. Whoever is behind this latest attack wants me to suffer internally.
My eyes narrow. I know who this is.
“Gwyn,” I say, getting a nod of recognition from Nicole but also a laughter as it mixes with the cyclone encompassing us.
“Yes,” she says, “it is I.”
“How is this possible?”
“Anepou’s presence increases my power exponentially. Wherever he is, I am.”
“So he’s just a lackey then?” Nicole asks. “He’s nothing more than an extension cord for you to use—to manipulate as you see fit.”
Our living cage rattles around us, compressing the air tighter. If we were normies, we would’ve been crushed. But thankfully, neither of us so much as flinches. All I feel is an annoying pressure in my head, like being on a plane.
“No,” she says. “Anepou is much more than that.”
“Nannot fooled around with someone he shouldn’t have and you can see how that turned out,” I say, egging her on more. While always one to add in a jab here and there, Kane has also taught me to test my enemies under duress and see how they react. Some foes will crack under the weight of circumstance.
Gwyn, however, is not one of them.
“Good try, Mr. Boyd,” she replies, snickering, “but I have lived too long to be influenced by a peasant such as yourself.” Then, she softly laughs to herself like she just thought of a funny joke.
“Peasant?” I ask. “Who you calling a—”
Without warning, Nicole and I are dropped from within Apophis. In fact, his entire monstrous form just falls to pieces in an instance. And we along with it… Together, we plummet to the earth and crash into the sea of bones, burying deep.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t freaking out. Being covered in a thick blanket of body parts isn’t exactly what I would call having a good time. Reacting as such, a fifty-foot wide section of the ground around us burns bright, turning the rotted remains to ash and dust. I sit up and Nicole does the same, both of us smoldering from the heat, but unharmed. We quickly look for someone to fight but find…
No one.
“Um, Gwyn?” I ask, confused.
A cracking and popping sound answers me, spinning the both of us around. Quickly standing, the two of us freeze in place as bones begin to separate themselves from the rest. Through the surrounding darkness, we watch as they begin to form into two humanoid figures.
“Really?” I ask, looking up into the empty sky. “That’s it? Shoulda just stayed Apophis and gone all kaiju on the city like Godzilla or something.”
Nicole elbows me. “Don’t give him any ideas!”
Bones explode from behind us. Anepou, back in his normal body, steps out, grinning ear to ear. “No,” he says, “she has something far worse planned.”
More pressure builds in my head, but nothing painful.
“Yes,” Gwyn says, “I see your greatest fears Mr. Boyd—and yours, Ms. Andersson. Yes, these will do just fine.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, getting angry at the games being played.
“This…”
The voice isn’t Gwyn’s, or Anepou’s, and while coarser and deeper than usual, it’s one I know well. It’s one I grew up idolizing and one I wish I could hear again. But not like this…
This is wrong.
Skin and tissue begin to form as Anepou further manipulates the dead, turning the body to my right into the one person that could bring me to tears.
“Hello, Harrison.”
There is only one man who got away with calling me that throughout the years. I know that the rotted corpse shambling towards me isn’t him, but the shock of the sight and sound has me frozen in time and fear.
“Dad?”
19
Valladolid, Yucatan
“Hello, Nicole.”
Through blurred, salt-stung vision, I watch as the other humanoid grows short blonde hair and develops a strong, chiseled chin. He’s handsome and confident, even though he’s still missing the left half of his face.
“Tomas?” Nicole asks, falling back on her butt. “No… It can’t be!”
Tomas… I think, holding my head. As Nicole’s deceased husband shambles towards her, my zombified father does the same to me. Both stopped reforming at the 66-percent mark, giving them just enough human qualities to make the illusion work.
And that’s what this is, a trick. I know the cadaver in front of me isn’t actually my dad—just as the other isn’t really Tomas. I also know that Gwyn is using our memories against us as is Anepou. The two of them together are just as dangerous as Rand said.
“You bastards,” I say, standing straighter. Well, trying to anyway. Emotion is pouring out of Nicole and me and it’s becoming harder and harder to focus on the real fight.
Them.
&n
bsp; I turn away from my Not-Dad and stare down Anepou. His confidence and award-winning smile falter just enough to tell me he hasn’t seen anyone regain themselves like I’m attempting to do. Directly fighting someone that can just turn to bones and then rebuild themselves again won’t work. Instead, I’ll have to do something different.
Like before. I kneel and place a hand on the ground. Terra, I think, hoping my mental abilities still work. I hope you’re still with us.
I scream and will the bones surrounding us to catch and burn. Green fire erupts around us, covering us like it did when I fought Susanoo, the water-controlling Judge. But instead of shrinking it in on us, I send it outward in an electric-green tidal wave, incinerating everything on the property. Thousands of small pops fill my head as each and every one of the bones explode into ash, returning permanently to the afterlife.
The only things not obliterated are Nicole and me, Anepou, Terra, and the Dad and Tomas copycats. Anepou’s stunned expression makes me smile a little, but exhaustion quickly takes over and I fall from one knee to my hands and knees. Breathing hard, I look up as Dad’s hand reaches out to me.
Then, it grins exactly like how Dad did and falls to pieces, as does Tomas. I crawl over to Nicole and embrace her, all the while glaring at Anepou. He takes a small step back but regains some of his fortitude and stands tall again, clenching his fists tight.
I’m about to re-engage the asshole as he heads towards us but someone else beats me to it.
“No,” Nicole says, eyes closed, facing the opposite direction.
Anepou freezes in place, a look of bewilderment slathered across his face. Even I’m unsure of what is happening.
Nicole pushes out of my arms and wheels around, her eyes ablaze with fury. Anepou fights against an invisible force and takes a hard-fought step forward.
“I said…no.”
He stops again.
“You will not harm us again today,” she calmly says, holding out both her hands. “Leave us.” She rips her hands out to each side, gritting her teeth as she does.
Anepou shouts in frustration and explodes into pieces. Small shards of his earthly body fly into the air from the blast, silencing both Anepou and Gwyn. Where they are now, I have no idea. Whether back to Africa, or even Antarctica, I don’t care. I’m just happy they’re gone.
I place a hand on Nicole’s shoulder and feel her shake. Her body slowly morphs back into its normal form, clothes and all, and she turns and falls into my arms, sobbing uncontrollably. “Oh, my God, Hank. What…? How…?”
I squeeze her tight, intent on never letting go. “It’s okay now. You sent him packing Nicole. I don’t know how, but you did it.”
She sniffs. “I was so angry. Then, something inside just clicked. I knew what I needed to do. I just wanted him to go away and leave us alone.”
I tilt her chin up to me our lips impossibly close. “And you did.”
The ground shakes as Terra comes running through the expanse of ash. Her stone body is smoking and her skin red hot. But as she nears, she begins to shrink back down to size, stopping in front of us in her usual human body, looking very concerned.
“What is it?” I ask.
“He was very close—too close. We need to find Rand and leave immediately.”
“Where do we go?” Nicole asks, wiping her eyes.
Thinking, I can only come up with one solution. “Nowhere.”
“No,” Terra replies, shaking her head. “He will find us there. Anepou has connections in every government around the world. Eventually, he will come for the Elixir again.” Her eyes sadden.
“What is it?” I ask.
“And when he does,” she replies, “he won’t just use your past against you. He and Gwyn will use your present lives too. They will kill everyone you hold dear to get what they want.”
I breathe in deep and blow it out my mouth. Our friends will be sitting ducks if we go back to Virginia. We need another place. My eyes go wide. A safe…unknown…location.
“Kunlun,” I say.
“Shangri-La?” Nicole asks, looking to Terra for confirmation. “Didn’t you specifically tell Hank never to go there?”
Terra nods. “Yes, but that was before the Order surfaced. Now…we will need all the help we can get.”
“Where is it, Terra?” I ask, stepping forward, now only inches away from the much shorter woman.
“I will show you.”
“And Rand?” Nicole asks. “What about him?”
Terra smiles. “He is already on his way…as are we.”
And with that, the ground beneath us opens and swiftly swallows us whole. With no time to waste, Nicole, Terra, and I begin our adventure across the globe to Asia. I’ve been to China a few times before, but never to the Kunlun Mountains. While there, I heard of the legend of Kunlun Mountain and the magic that supposedly resides there.
Does Shangri-La truly exist, or like Atlantis, is the mystical kingdom something else entirely?
I’m not sure, to be honest, but something obviously does.
Will Dohna, the founder of the reclusive kingdom, agree to help us, or at the very least, shelter Rand until we defeat the Order? I sure as hell hope so. I mean, I’ve got things to do and ATLAS to oversee. The last thing I need right now is to die a horrible death. I grip Nicole tightly and smile as we continue our plunge beneath the ground.
On the other hand, I’m already going to die that horrible death.
I’m about to get married after all.
From what Kane says—jokes, really—marriage is like giving up your balls, your freedom, and your soul all in two words. Until now, Kane hasn’t had a lot of luck with the ladies.
Squeezing my fiancée harder, I whisper those two words to myself.
“I do.”
EPILOGUE
Location Unknown
Rage wasn’t the right word for what Anepou Ansah was experiencing. No, he knew rage all too well. He was rage. This was something close to unbridled fury. Rand was THIS close and he still slipped away into the night. Someone needed to pay. Gerard would’ve been his first choice, but Boyd had taken care of him somehow. He was more powerful than Anepou could comprehend. If Boyd ever fully understood his abilities, he’d be able to best anyone who came across his path.
“Hank Boyd… You will be the first to die. I cannot let you become anything more than you already are.”
Before he was the General of the An’talean Army, Anepou was the leader of one of the most ruthless tribes in his homeland. Blood was his tea. Screams of pain, his lullaby. He was never one to follow another, and was used to people resisting him. But he pushed aside those natural instincts to become something more than a savage tribal dictator.
He wanted to be a god.
And now…he was a god.
Seated with his legs crossed, Anepou smiled as he breathed in deeply, speaking aloud as he released the air. “But you Hank Boyd… You are a fraud.” Keeping his eyes closed, he did the breathing exercise twice more, opening them when finished.
The room around him was destroyed, violently so. There wasn’t a piece of furniture left in its proper spot within the large atrium-like office. Every wall had multiple holes, inflicted during his most recent fit of passion. It was a passion Gwyn knew all too well. She even saw her husband obliterate things not made of concrete and wood. Multiple lives had been lost during his vengeful hysterics, none of which mattered in the least. They could always find more…servants.
Slaves, he thought, narrowing his vision. They are nothing more than that. He pictured the blonde woman accompanying Boyd. How she fought beside him, he had no idea. He knew Rand must’ve helped in some way. Curse you and your secrets Architect.
Anepou wanted the Elixir more than anything. He and Gwyn, along with the other two members of their group, needed it above all else. If it took him another century to acquire it, he’d wait and bide his time. Gwyn, on the other hand, wanted it yesterday. Patience wasn’t exactly something she practiced regular
ly. Yes, Anepou was a bloodthirsty warrior at heart, but he also understood the need to wait things out. Once, he held off attacking a rival tribe, starving them into concession. After the white flag was waved, Anepou and his men moved in and slaughtered everyone, taking the land for themselves.
They all tasted wonderful too.
Blood really was his tea in those days and not just a metaphor for his warring ways. He badly wanted to taste Rand’s blood—Boyd’s too. Maybe even the blonde’s.
Like his infatuation with his enemy’s blood, pain was also something Anepou enjoyed. Not his own, mind you, but that which he inflicted on those he fought. Fought wasn’t an apt description of what happened when someone stupidly opposed him. No, it wasn’t a fight when he battled…
It was a one-sided bloodbath.
It’s how his reputation was born—a reputation Thoth thought valuable as leader of his empire’s army. All that was asked of Anepou was that he only released his fury against those who were truly An’tala’s foes. Unfortunately for Anepou, there weren’t many adversaries worthy of such battle, and as the years waned, the army was needed less and less. That’s when Anepou turned his influence onto those within the kingdom’s walls, slowly setting up a future coup.
An’tala and all its power would be his. That is, until Nannot mercilessly destroyed its foundation. Anepou’s many plans were squashed that day. While impressed with the black-hearted priest’s results, Anepou was distraught over losing his chance to rule. Shortly after fleeing with the others, he turned his sights on the world around him. But he could only do so much without the constant refueling of Elixir. Without it, Anepou was still strong—otherworldly so—but he needed to be at his best to do what he needed. The Order’s current formula was potent, but not good enough.
Standing, Anepou knew where they’d be going. There were only two places on Earth that they could hide. One was a longshot, hidden away within the Amazon and guarded by hordes of monstrous beasts. The other was fairly easy to get to but was likewise protected by something even Anepou cautioned. Dohna’s abilities defied logic. They were borderline magical. She was truly frightening if provoked.
Elixir of Life: A Novella (A Hank Boyd Adventure - Book 4) (The Hank Boyd Adventures) Page 13
