The Nephelium

by Nathan Parks

  He was gone.

  *****

  Leah paced back and forth as she looked at all the reports coming in from the Alliance spread throughout the city. There was no doubt there was a large massing of Fallen converging into this area, and she had no idea what to do. She believed Eve was a total loss right now. She would worry about trying to get her back later. As far as Leah knew, no one had heard from Isaiah; and right now she didn’t know if she wanted to hear from him. She didn’t know where his heart was; and she couldn’t afford a traitor in the mix, if that was what he was. She didn’t have time to find out right now. Out of her core team, she had Ki and Troy, and they were trying to locate Alfonso. There had been no word on their success as of yet. She felt like a duck sitting in a frozen pond, nowhere to go.

  “This is happening too fast! There is no way that I can do this alone. If this kicks off here, we will be mowed over,” she thought to herself. “Why this? Why now?”

  “The answer to that really doesn’t matter . . . or does it, Leah?”

  Her head shot up. She knew she couldn’t hold back the look of surprise on her face.

  “Evan? What? I . . .” she stammered.

  “You said you needed help, right?”

  “But what about . . .”

  “Listen, I got a message from Gabriel, and she told me that they had enough Alliance in my area to function. The Arch Council believes that you need help more than I needed to worry about my area for now.”

  Leah was amazed. She should have known that Gabriel wouldn’t let her hang out to dry.

  “Well, welcome to the Sanctum.”

  Evan walked over to Leah and placed his hands upon her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. “Leah, no one expects you to do this alone, and there is no one that expects you to be invincible in this. We know there will be casualties, and this very well could go on for awhile. There will even be mortals that will be affected by this. What we can do is all we can do.”

  Leah nodded as she spoke, “Let’s get started.”

  *****

  Kadar walked into the very center of the warehouse and looked all around him. He never imagined they were this strong in number.

  “My brothers and sisters! Welcome!” He lifted his hands up in the air in a show of strength, and a roar echoed off the metal beams and sheet metal.

  “Look around you!” his voice boomed. “I believe it is safe to say that there is not a single one of us here tonight that would have thought we had the numbers that stand here tonight! We have been Outcasts and at the whim of the Family for too long! We have been their ‘dirt dogs’ and puppets, dancing to their desires, but never allowed a voice of our own. I know that no longer do I wish to be silent! No longer do I wish to have the clans pulling my strings until I am no longer able to dance with dignity!”

  This brought a round of shrieks, yells, and roars. They were feeling this tonight! They were ready. He could feel them eating from his hands. It was time to make his statement of power.

  “Tonight we will make a shout so loud that the ages will rumble with its vibrations! Centuries will come and go, and they will clearly take note of what happens here tonight! Are we willing to stand on our own again, led by a fresh strength, power, and plan; or do we wish to bow once again to the old traditions that caused our clan to be pushed into the shadows?”

  “It’s time for a new generation!” someone shouted from over to his right.

  “This is our clan, Kadar! Ours, not the ancient’s,” still another yelled up from somewhere in front of him.

  Eve was speechless. This was like Hollywood, but right in front of her; and it was real! She was a part of something very big! She watched as this man, this being whom she barely knew, stood before her strong and confident, guiding the masses. She had for so long wanted to feel strength like this!

  “Then you, my Family, make the choice. Tonight you choose.”

  Kadar nodded to two of the Nephelium who were standing close to his left. Eve watched as they disappeared into the shadows. There was silence in the building. The air was thick. A high-intensity energy could be felt pulsing through the warehouse--only for a moment, though. In an instant, it was all shattered with the sound of a voice. The voice pierced Eve’s soul, and she felt it tighten a noose around her. It was as if she was being separated in two, and yet called as one to allow the voice to take over her. She fought this feeling and felt panic start rising in her throat. She was breaking out in a sweat. Looking around, she noticed that there were many who were experiencing the same. The voice was in her and around her.

  “Kadar?”

  He turned and looked at her. “Hold on, Eve. Everything will be fine.”

  “Blasphemy!” the ancient voice shouted out. “This is against everything that even makes you who you are!”

  There was a large crash, and the two Nephelium whom Kadar had motioned toward came flying through the air like rag dolls. In an instant, Eve had never seen so much weaponry come flying out so quickly--all forms of weaponry from low end, hand-to-hand, all the way up to very high-tech, space-age-looking weapons. She was sure Troy would like to get his hands on some of this.

  Kadar’s voice rang out again, soothing Eve’s soul and chasing away the anxiety and the ripping sensation she felt from the unseen individual.

  “No matter who you are, the ancient text requires that if a clan stands as a unit against you, that you must face their law. You cannot go against what is written.”

  From out of the shadows and into the center, facing Kadar, walked a creature. He had the anatomy of a man. He stood as a warrior with muscles ripped. His long, silver hair hung down around his face. His eyes . . . well, they were ancient; that was about the only way they could be described. They held the history of the world in them. His skin was tight, not wrinkled. His fingers were long. He stood very straight. Out of his back was a white, expandable series of bones and joints that were covered in almost transparent leather. He wore a long tunic, or robe, of ancient royalty.

  Eve thought the building would collapse at the sound of hatred and vileness that the Nephelium spewed out upon this being. He stood defiant, staring down Kadar; yet Kadar never backed down or even blinked. He stood against him in all superiority.

  “You are hereby challenged! The ancient text states that if at any time a clan Overlord’s authority to lead is in question or challenged, then it goes before the clan. You are challenged, Marduk!”

  Eve braced herself for this ancient relative of hers to speak. She wished that Kadar would just shut him up here. She didn’t know everything about him, but she did know that he hadn’t been around for awhile. So why should the clan not go with Kadar? Kadar was meant to lead this clan.

  “Listen to yourself, Eve. You have fully taken on who you are,” Eve thought to herself.

  She didn’t know how to respond to her reactions to all of this, but she chose to keep with the moment and just ride the momentum to see where it took her. It didn’t even hit her that a few days before, she knew nothing about all of this; so the strangeness of it actually making sense now didn’t even register. It was as if everything didn’t even matter right now. All that mattered was Kadar and the clan. They had to rise up.

  Marduk couldn’t believe what he was seeing before him. He thought that his children would rally around him and stand strong beneath his leadership. He imagined they would come from the corners of the world to claim their rightful place; and they did, but behind this small Halfling.

  “My children . . .” Marduk started.

  “Who are you? You are not our father!” The yelling and prodding started.

  “I knew my father, and he was Nephelium! You are a Fallen! You are one of them,” another remarked, throwing it out into the mix.

  Marduk stood amazed. He never would have imagined that they would take on their very own identity. He had done exactly what he had hoped to do through his offspring, but even better. There was no way anyone could have predicted that his children w
ould create a race that would stand outside of everything, to challenge the very threads of time itself. He just stood, staring at them all.

  “You are correct. You are not Fallen. But you are a part of the Family. You were born out of the Family,” his voice rang out.

  It was smoother now; and it flowed, piercing the hearts of many there. It was the voice of a father calling to his children, and they were listening. Various ones began to feel a completeness that only the love of a father can bestow on someone; and with power, he smiled inside as he watched many begin to lower their weapons.

  “Yes,” he thought to himself. “Answer my call, my children. Rise to me.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Yes, Marduk was the origin of the clan, but he was not the future. Kadar would not let this chance be stripped from him. He had suffered for too long as the puppet of Arioch and Adremalech! No! He would lead!

  Eve was watching the scene play out in front of her and saw Kadar’s hand drop to his side. She noticed that, as it did, his fingers hit a slip latch on a pouch fastened to his belt; a hard object dropped into his hand. It was as if it was in slow motion. Kadar leaped into the air with tenacity, and his right foot kicked out with force into the chest of Marduk. There was a spring-loaded dart on Kadar’s ankle that fired into the chest of the demon, and he staggered back. Whatever it was, it only affected him for a split second. Marduk had leaped back to his feet, catching the back-up punch from Kadar in mid-air and sending the would-be leader flying across the floor. The demon’s wings unfurled, and he flew up about eight feet and pulled out an ancient-looking sword.

  “Then let it be noted that the challenge has begun,” Marduk said in a level tone.

  “It started before the first blow was ever thrown, Ancient One,” Kadar hissed.

  He stood with his arms outstretched like wings. With a powerful thrust, Kadar shoved his arms downward, shooting himself skyward toward the patriarch. His wings were not visible, the uniqueness of an Assassin.

  Marduk swung his sword downward, but it didn’t make its mark, as Kadar managed to avoid it. Kadar slammed himself into Marduk. The two crashed to the ground and rolled away from each other.

  Kadar didn’t know what he expected--maybe for Marduk to be rusty because of being in the abyss for so long. However, this giant was showing no sign of decrepit bones or slow movement. They both were moving around each other like caged animals, sizing each other up. This was not just a battle for power and pride, but for existence. They knew it, and they could see it in each other’s eyes.

  Kadar knew he was out of his element, because he was used to the sneak approach as an Assassin. Marduk saw the hesitation that he needed. With a quick movement, he swung his sword and caught Kadar across the chest. He followed up with a thrust that impaled the Assassin.

  Marduk held Kadar close to him and sneered, “You will never be fully what I am, and that means you had no chance to win against me. This is my clan, Kadar, and I am its father!”

  Kadar felt the blade as it slipped through his ribs and cut through the meat of his body. He felt his blood began to pour over the demon’s hands, and he looked past the bared fangs to his brothers and sisters. Many of them stood shocked at what they were seeing. This was supposed to be simple. They were supposed to bring Marduk out; they would banish him as a clan; and then Kadar would take over to lead them to strength. This was to be a new beginning, an uprising. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

  Eve was going to be sick. She could see a look in Kadar’s eyes as reality hit him. This was it.

  “Marduk!”

  The demon turned his head and caught sight of Eve.

  “Rephaim’s daughter?”

  Marduk had not realized that she would be here. It had been told to him that there was a survivor, but he hadn’t thought . . .

  The distraction did the trick. Marduk loosed his grip on Kadar. The Assassin’s spark relit in his eyes. Kadar’s fist was still clutching the round object which he had withdrawn earlier from a pouch. He threw an arm outward. Instantly, a spring-loaded blade hidden within his sleeve came flying forward. With violent force, Kadar shoved the blade upward. The Assassin felt his blade slice through the demon’s skin. His fist followed, penetrating deeply into the chest cavity of his opponent. Kadar let go of what he had been holding and shoved himself away, withdrawing the blade from Marduk as he did so. The Assassin looked up to those around him.

  “Take cover!” he yelled.

  All those around him dove, searching for safety, not sure what was about to happen. Marduk looked down at the hole in his chest and back at Kadar in shock.

  “What did you do?”

  “What an Assassin does best: attack when it is least expected.”

  There was a large explosion of light as the grenade that Kadar had deposited into Marduk’s chest released its power and destruction. The body of the ancient Overlord exploded violently, and it was like a small nuclear blast. Eve felt herself being sucked toward the nucleus of the blast, and then thrown backwards as the blast flew outward.

  Among the Nephelium there was one who stood, not sure how to feel. Was that considered to be a traitor? Was providing Kadar with some of Troy’s technology being a traitor if he took out one of their biggest enemies?

  Isaiah moved himself so that he could see what had happened to Eve. He had not expected her to be here, either. What was she doing here? Had she turned against Leah and the Alliance?

  *****

  Evan had brought a few of his top Alliance members, and they had fallen right into place at the Sanctum. Leah had gone back to her quarters for about two hours, trying to get some rest before they started getting things in order and installing members around the city. Leah and Evan believed that they only had a few hours before the big names in the Family would be arriving in town, and that could mean a number of things. They had to make sure they were ready for just about anything.

  She splashed water on her face and figured that she would just put her hair up in a ponytail. There was nothing she could do with it right now, and there was no reason to go into a battle all done up. This would be war.

  Leah went to her closet and pulled out a tight-fitting, black tank top that moved with her and allowed her skin to breath, as well. She pulled on a pair of her favorite black pants and then chose to put on her fingerless leather gloves. They had great texture on them so that her sword or bow would not slip from her grasp very easily; and they had also been proven useful when she would need to scale ledges.

  There was a knock at her door, and she walked over and opened it. She motioned for Gideon to come in as she finished getting everything set.

  “Any news?” Leah asked.

  “Troy and Ki just got back. They are currently unpacking some of their gear and getting some food. Then they will meet us in the conference room.”

  “Alfonso?”

  Gideon shook his head as he answered, “No luck, it seems.”

  “Eve or Isaiah?”

  “Neither of them.”

  “Then we move forward. Evan has brought several of his people with him. I want them integrated right along with our team. Get Troy to double check the inventory at the armory before he comes to the conference room. I want to be sure of exactly what we have and what we can set the teams up with.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Gideon responded.

  “How many teams do we have right now throughout the city?”

  “We have currently three cells that are activated and two that are alerted.”

  “Ok, let’s get the other two activated,” Leah instructed. “Tell Evan that we will meet in the conference room in fifteen. I believe we have less than 24 hours until the Gathering. We need to do everything we can in these 24 hours to find Alfonso, Eve, and Isaiah and to prepare for anything that might happen. I want the Arch Council notified that we are going into countdown mode, and then activate the clock in the conference room.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Gideon turned qui
ckly and was gone before she could think of anything else.

  “Wow.” Leah let the words just escape from her lips. “This is it. We are on.”

  Leah took a look around her room to make sure she didn’t leave anything behind. She didn’t plan on returning here until everything was back in working order. Just as she was about to walk out, she thought of something. She quietly and methodically retrieved Joan’s pendant and let it rest around her neck.

  “Let’s do this, Joan!”

  Leah made her way down the long hallways of the Sanctum and passed members of the Alliance who kept the place running, as well as kept the Fallen at bay. Each had played important roles in the past, but they were about to really find out of what they were made. She made her way to the conference room and sat down at the head of the table. She looked up above the screens. The countdown clock had been set, Gideon having started it just as she had asked.

  “Twenty-three hours, 46 minutes, and counting,” Leah stated. “Well, let’s get this thing going.”

  A few minutes later she was joined by Evan and two of his people, as well as Troy, Ki, Gideon, and a couple of others. They all walked in with purpose, and no one was joking or outlandish. They all were just very “matter-of-factly.” The door closed behind them.

  *****

  Kadar stood, looking down at where his wounds would have been; but with the rush of claiming Marduk’s power had also come healing. Kadar was surrounded by several of the best and strongest Assassins within the clan. They had come together after a quick and rough breakdown of security around the warehouse. Many others were divided into groups in order to start setting up some kind of structure in this long-forsaken clan. He could not have been more pleased, and even somewhat surprised, at the lack of “power hunger” there was. It was as if everything fell right into place. The weaker members gave submission to the stronger. He was satisfied.