Dark Rain: Book 1 of The Aetherium Saga

by Jilly MacKenzie

  Anubis stifled back a chuckle. She knew this was a good idea. They had to meet. Lenore and ECIT, and Marduk and the Anuzi. If they can work together, a great alliance can be made. Then maybe we stand a chance.

  ‘Lenore Falkirk,’ Marduk announced as he sat in an armchair, almost dwarfing it with his great form. ‘I come here as a representative of the resistance known as the Anuzi, and also at the request of my chosen, Anubis. I wish to form an alliance with you and ECIT,’ he declared with serious and purposeful intent. ‘I hope we can be bonded by the mutual purpose of protecting humanity, from the foes which seek to destroy all that we built and love.’ He leaned forward, and extended his pale arm out towards her.

  Lenore could feel the emotion behind his proposal, and eyed his hand for a moment, hesitant. I’m about to shake his hand... Meeting an Anuna is unheard of, let alone touching one. Would Deacon ever believe me?

  She grasped his waiting hand and his fingers encased hers in a strong, but warm and comforting grip. ‘ECIT will be most honoured. I will let my superiors know as soon as possible,’ and they met eyes in mutual understanding and agreement. I just made a deal with a god. Or the devil, she mused.

  An audible sigh of relief was released by Finn, ‘Thank god for that!’ and he settled back into his chair, exaggerating his relief. Cat trilled a songlike giggle.

  ‘I second that!’ she concurred, batting Lenore’s leg in a show of frustration at the previous tension.

  Marduk and Anubis exchanged joyful expressions, it looks hopeful, don’t you think? Marduk thought to Anubis.

  Yes. But you have yet to meet with the leader of ECIT, whoever that is, Anubis mentally pondered.

  Marduk’s mind chuckled, you can’t rush these things, my love. Negotiations takes time.

  ‘I can hear you, you know,’ Lenore exclaimed, looking mischievously at the couple, and they both turned and stared in surprise at Lenore, who quickly burst out in laughter.

  ‘Only joking!’ she exploded, ‘Your faces!... I know about the telepathy aspect of your tether.’

  Marduk and Anubis smiled in relieved amusement at each other. And Finn looked in amazement at Lenore. It was the first time he had seen her laugh wholeheartedly, and he wished she would do it more often.

  ***

  The fleet of Saboteur skycrafts descended upon their target destination. The Nordvik Eugenics Centre. It was the closest IGS facility to the Saboteur base, located many miles west, along the frozen north Russian coast. And it had been long due for eradication.

  The facility was the usual uniform hexagonal shape of all IGS genetics centres, and Axel had never forgotten his own place of creation in Stockholm.

  The skycraft swerved to the right, ‘Hold on!’ Wyatt yelled, as he avoided a stream of lasers which flashed by, narrowly missing them. An IGS skycraft then hurtled past them, smoke plumes billowing from its rear, closely followed by two other Saboteur crafts shooting it relentlessly. Axel could tell that Wyatt wanted to join in with the aerial battle, but their skycraft was one of two which carried the ground fighters. They needed to land and get inside.

  Wyatt lowered the craft to the ground, blowing up a cloud of snow which momentarily obscured the windows. Their crew of ten readied their weapons and jumped down from the craft, into the soft powder of the Russian tundra.

  The second skycraft landed beside theirs, and its team exited and joined Wyatt's. The combined groundcrew waited outside of the large reinforced doors of the compound, and Axel couldn’t help but look up as the aerial battle raged on above them. Lasers flared through the clouds like coloured lightning bolts. And the occasional resonant clashes of metal against metal could be heard, followed by the distant boom and vibration of a skycaft crashing to the ground.

  Suddenly, the compound doors opened, and four IGS guards emerged with their arms raised in surrender, upon which they wore red bands of fabric tied around their upper arms. There was a collective rustle of weapons being lowered, as the groundcrew rushed forward greeting and praising the guards. Insiders. Our own, Axel realised, as the exhausted and injured insiders assured that the automatic security is currently down.

  ‘Nice work, you've done enough. Stay and guard the crafts,’ Wyatt ordered, much to the gratitude of the wounded insiders as they helped each other to the skycrafts.

  The groundcrew entered the facility, and proceeded to systematically traverse the corridors. The sound of Saboteurs executing IGS members could be heard fading away, as everyone split off into smaller and smaller groups, penetrating the numerous corridors and rooms.

  Axel made his way purposefully towards the Resident Chambers, following the wall signs to where he knew the splices were housed. Suddenly a white-coated man moved in a doorway and immediately cowered when Axel swung round and aimed his pistol at the stranger.

  ‘Please, don't sh...’ he pleaded, but Axel interrupted him, forcing the man back inside the room.

  ‘Back up,’ Axel growled.

  The room looked to be some sort of medical examination room. ‘You enjoy being the real monster, old man?’ Axel snarled, the familiar sterile scents igniting his anger.

  ‘No! No...’ the man implored, sliding his hand along the ground, towards a bench to his left.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Axel demanded, pressing his pistol into the top of the man’s head.

  ‘Dr Kedrov!’ a woman called from behind a cabinet, ‘Don't do it, please!’

  Axel was momentarily torn between aiming at the unseen woman, or the quivering man before him, when Wyatt quickly entered the room, pointing his pistol at the cabinet.

  ‘Come on out!’ he commanded, ‘no metal door is going to keep you safe from a laser ray, dumbass.’

  A tall blonde woman stood up from her hiding place, eyeing her trembling colleague with disdain.

  ‘Don't do it, Doctor,’ she begged.

  ‘Do what?’ Axel probed, kicking the man’s compulsive hand away from the bench, ‘What's he trying to do?’

  ‘I...I have a choice now... I'm sorry,’ he cried, before leaping towards the bench and slamming his hand under it. Axel fired a laser through his head, and the old scientist fell to the ground.

  The woman cried out in shock, staring at her lifeless colleague, as his blood pooled around him, drenching the pristine whiteness of the floor and his coat. A distant explosion echoed through the hallways, shaking the walls and causing the laboratory glassware to rattle.

  ‘We have got to go, now!’ the woman begged, as Axel peered under the bench.

  ‘No kidding…’ Wyatt muttered as he eyed the woman cautiously, ‘Axel? What are you doing? Let’s go!’

  Axel discovered a small red failsafe button, which confirmed his suspicion. Self-destruction... An IGS speciality. Just like Drakestoke....

  Wyatt gestured to the woman, with his pistol, ‘Come here,’ he demanded, the woman obliged and cursed in Russian as Wyatt grasped her arm and twisted it behind her back.

  ‘Oh sorry, did that hurt?’ he asked sarcastically with a smirk, maneuvering her out of the room.

  ‘Where are the splices?’ Axel demanded, grabbing the woman roughly. She gestured to the corridor ahead, ‘Down there, on the left.’ Axel raced onwards, and burst through a pair of double doors.

  Saboteurs were there already, hauling people out of rooms, trying desperately to control the ensuing chaos, as the terrified splice prisoners were forced into orderly lines, some were resisting, demanding answers. Another explosion sounded which further fed the panic. Wyatt caught up with Axel, still holding IGS woman.

  ‘We have to go!’ he called into the room, but nobody listened, despite Wyatt being their commander for the mission. Axel strode forward into the panic.

  ‘We must leave, now!’ he roared with bared teeth, his hair standing viciously on end. The splices stopped and regarded him with surprise and confusion, momentarily allowing the Saboteurs to remove the last of them from their rooms, and form more stable lines of people.

  The cautious eyes of the sp
lices studied Axel, assessing his pointed ears, and sharp canines. His eyes met some amber gazes that matched his own.

  ‘Come with us, or die here,’ he growled, ‘Caged. Like you were all fated to,’ then he turned and left the room, followed by a tide of avid escapees.

  They raced the raging fires, fleeing down the long corridors and emerged out into the freezing air, where numerous landed skycrafts awaited them. We won, Axel noted with relief, as he identified the crafts as their own, and scanned the skies and surroundings.

  No IGS in sight. For the first time, Axel was surprised by the might and will of the Saboteurs, and he was proud to be counted among them.

  More explosions denotated while everyone boarded the skycrafts, and as they pulled away up into the clouds, Axel saw the great hexagonal compound collapse, reduced to a ring of dark rubble amongst a sea of endless white. Soon to be covered by snow, and its horrors erased from the world.

  Chapter 33

  Echoes Of The Past

  Laughter carried on the chilled wind as Emile and Johnny raced their horses over the open heathland, to the west coast of Lundy Island. A small herd of ponies galloped alongside them and then peeled away, trotting to a stop and resuming their grazing. Emile had braided her long dark hair, and it billowed behind her like the ebony tail of her steed, Gwynn.

  Johnny kept looking behind, memorising the sight of her as much as he could. Her grinning face, her warm brown eyes. He wanted to see her happy forever, but she still sometimes was gripped by bouts of sadness. Perhaps it was a part of her that even he can never heal.

  Halting, Emile noticed a strange rock formation. Johnny reigned in his horse and circled round to join her.

  ‘The Devils Slide’ he informed with a grin.

  ‘Marduk should give it a go,’ Emile suggested, and they both burst out in laughter, as they imagined the serious alien prince sliding down the smooth cliff, and into the sea below.

  The group had become well versed in accepting strange happenings and weird news of late. From Anubis’ mysterious disappearance one night, and Lenore revealing that she was an agent for ECIT, to Anubis then returning with an alien lover in tow. In fact, Anubis’ return had hailed a revitalised atmosphere on the island. Beatrice was finally at ease, and Lenore had quizzed Marduk about Earth history, Anunnaki ways, and everything in between. Mealtimes had taken on a buzzing atmosphere, and days were filled with good natured chatter and deep conversations. So it was no surprise that over the last few days, Marduk was accepted as a valued addition within their close-knit circle.

  Emile and Johnny filled their time mostly with each other, and the pursuit of the wistful things in life. They read poetry and novels by the fire, and explored Lundy’s many secrets, above and below the waves. Caves, abandoned buildings, animals, and shipwrecks.

  Johnny looked to the sky and noticed a shift in the atmosphere, ‘Rain is on its way,’ he uttered with a frown.

  ‘Race you back!’ Emile yelled as she urged Gwynn into a gallop back to the mansion.

  They passed the open door of the grounded Cirrus, in which Lenore was sat, dangling her legs out as she spoke with Deacon over her OBdevice.

  ‘So have we got an agreement yet?’ Deacon asked.

  ‘Not yet, he hasn’t returned to Nibiru yet to explain our case.’

  ‘Still? Why?’ demanded Deacon.

  Lenore sighed with a smile, ‘I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. Much more deeply than we do,’ she lied, knowing that he and Anubis has been busy together, exploring the local area. The entire group were just contentedly enjoying themselves over the last few days. It had been a much needed time of rest and recreation for everybody.

  ‘As you say,’ Deacon accepted.

  He had been overwhelmed after first learning of Marduk’s arrival to Lundy, and he had pried every fathomable detail from Lenore, that he now seemed to be all out of questions relating to Marduk.

  Rain started to patter onto the grass outside and Lenore tucked her legs up and under herself, in the shelter of the Cirrus doorway.

  ‘I’m still invited to Nibiru, right?’ Deacon quizzed.

  ‘Of course, you’re the leader of ECIT, aren’t you?’ she jibed. He snorted in amusement.

  ‘True,’ he confirmed, ‘But I’m beginning to feel a little inadequate compared to you, ambassador Falkirk.’

  Lenore paused with momentary surprise and elation.

  ‘W-what did you say?’

  ‘You heard me clearly,’ he chuckled. ‘We have all agreed that you’ve more than earned the title. You are now Ambassador Lenore Falkirk.’

  ‘Deacon… I don’t know the first thing about being an Ambassador.’

  ‘Oh you do,’ he cooed. ‘You do, what you have been doing, just perfectly. You speak and negotiate on our behalf, with the leaders of other organisations. In this case, other worlds,’ he explained.

  She could not believe it. What a responsibility!

  ‘I’m honoured, thank you Deacon,’ she acknowledged, breathlessly.

  ‘You were born for the task. You’re emotionally intelligent, morally adept, and a balanced and confident decision maker. You could be a leader if I wasn’t standing in your way,’ he laughed.

  She snorted a retort, ‘I can’t imagine anybody else overseeing ECIT,’ she praised. ‘You’ve made it what it is. The beacon of hope for our planet, resistance against the grain, and reclaiming freedom for humanity, because of you and your guidance. Your vision.’,

  ‘Thank you, Lenore,’ he purred.

  ‘I will see your will done, Deacon. As ambassador, I vow it.’

  Deacon laughed, ‘Get me to Nibiru, and I’ll believe you,’ he quipped, and they both chuckled as the rain beat down on the Cirrus with soothing, rhythmic taps.

  ***

  Anubis had spent her time haunting the places of her childhood, accompanied only by the howling wind, and a contentedly silent Marduk. He allowed her to walk the much needed footsteps of nostalgia, unhindered. Only replying to her occasional brief mental queries and statements. He could feel her heart swell as she dragged her cold pale hands along the jagged stones of Marisco Castle, just a short walk from her Overlook Mansion on Lametry Bay. The freezing rain was like a weeping welcome for her.

  Take me to Morwenstow, she asked sullenly, and Marduk gladly obliged, scooping her close and lifting off with a couple of strong wing beats. The rain drops seemed stationary as Marduk flew at speed through the grey sky, clutching Anubis close to his body, nestling her in his warmth. She closed her eyes in bliss as the cold air rushed past her face, feeling completely safe in his strong arms, and inhaling his familiar scent.

  The grey waves of the Bristol Channel moved below them in a blur, and before she knew it, she was looking upon the small church of her baptism.

  As ancient and timeless as she remembered. The leafless trees were contorted fingers, shielding the tilted headstones fiercely below them. The rain drummed the dampening ground, and she inhaled in the euphoric smell of wet grass, and salty sea air. She just wanted to see it, and feel the nostalgic pull of her childhood. A return to her innocence. Thank you, she breathed to Marduk’s mind.

  He smiled, ‘I’d like to show you something,’ he suggested, ‘It’s not very far from here.’

  ‘Of course,’ she agreed wholeheartedly, and allowed herself to once again be enveloped by his firm grasp.

  He took to the pouring skies, and sped along the rugged cliffs, past Hawkers Hut, and the large white satellite dishes of an abandoned intelligence facility. Following the jagged south west, they passed the empty town of Bude, and then legendary Tintagel came rushing into view. Marduk landed onto a soft sandy beach, outside of the grand entrance of a cave.

  I know this place, she pondered, approaching the darkened maw, ‘Merlin’s cave,’ she chuckled.

  ‘I stayed here for many years,’ he began, Lost in reclusive isolation. I wanted to forget the world, like it had forgotten me.’

  She watched him enter the cave in solem
n thought, and followed him inside, the hammering rain reduced to a dull echoed lullaby.

  ‘I saw you for the first time here,’ he revealed, turning around to face her. His black hair hung in damp tendrils, making his face seem whiter than usual, and his eyes seem bluer than sapphires.

  ‘I came here often as a child,’ she admitted, her heart skipping a beat at the thought of him seeing her, all those years ago. ‘I don’t remember seeing you…’ He approached her and grasped her hands, pulling them up to his mouth, which was tightened in concentration.

  Vivid images suddenly flooded her mind. Visions of her life, seen through Marduk’s eyes.

  She saw herself as a small child. Yellow dress. Collecting shells outside of this very cave. You saved my life, he narrated in her mind, as her six year old self gently handed him a cockle shell. You fanned a flame which had been long extinguished. She experienced Marduk’s fury as he bellowed to the sky for purpose, and his swell of victorious amusement at being summoned up to the Ùruv by the Watchers.

  Since that moment… she saw herself as a young teenager, climbing the great oaks on Lundy …I’ve watched you. She was reading, cooking with her mother, playing the violin, and being kissed goodnight by her father. Every moment… she was feeding ponies apples, laughing, and running. Trees, rain, sandy feet …I’ve been there with you, Victoria.

  Through your triumphs… her childhood years flashed before her eyes, then her wedding, and her son …and your tribulations. Deryk, striking her out of anger, her tearful escapes with Leo in the skycraft to Lundy. Her mother’s shattered body, at the base off a cliff after losing her footing. Her father’s retreat and torment in the darkened rooms of the mansion.

  In those moments of darkness… Marduk’s soothing voice continued, I wished I could have let you know… she was crying, singing a shaky lullaby, clutching baby Leo …that you were not alone.