Ashlyn Chronicles 1: 2287 A.D. (41 page)

A few minutes later she called out, “There’s home!”

Her eyes went wide as she beheld the glistening diamond wall of the castle. Landing outside the wall, Steven changed form.

“Keeper, I have returned with my daughter.” In Steven’s eyes, Christie saw his love for her. Her hand tightened upon his.

“Enter, my children!
”

Four weeks later, Ash was still unconscious. Physically, she looked perfect, but The Keeper explained that though she might appear healthy outside, it was inside, that the real damage had been done. Steven hardly needed the Keeper to apprise him of her condition though, for as Ashlyn grew stronger, so had the life force within Steven returned and grown strong.

Steven used the time to train, to strategize, and let The Keeper guide him.

Christie was like a butterfly, spending much of her time fluttering about the garden exploring. She’d even found a pet turtle that she’d named Max, after her father. The Keeper loved talking to her. He was genuinely intrigued by her innocent view of life.

Steven had often questioned The Keeper about Enlil’s extended absence, surprised that he had not yet returned. Nevertheless, when the day came that The Keeper notified him that Enlil’s ships were inbound to Hades, Steven felt nervous, anxious. He wished Ashlyn were at his side.

According to The Keeper, Enlil once again had a full complement of fighters and thousands of ground troops. He’d gathered every resource at his disposal.

Over the next week, Enlil’s forces built up in the valleys and on the mountainsides. Fighters made numerous strafing runs over Eden, occasionally laying down laser fire, seemingly just to be annoying. Belying Steven’s concerns, The Keeper assured Steven that the attacks had no effect on him.

Steven wasn’t so convinced though. Over the last weeks, he’d noticed a decline of the bubbles in The Keeper’s blue containment tubes. And now, with the Keeper under siege, the bubbles were non-existent. There was even a subtle, sluggish, tiredness in his speech.

He needed a straight answer. It was the wrong time for a problem to be developing. “Keeper, I ask again what is happening to you? You are my friend, and if you understand humans at all, then you must know that when you say don’t worry, that is precisely when we do worry.”

“That is not logical.”

“Not everything is logical. It is one of the things that makes being human, interesting. I demand an answer. I want to know what is happening to you.”

“My systems are decaying.”

“It’s Ashlyn, isn’t it? She’s receiving the regeneration instead of you?” Steven suddenly felt very selfish for not recognizing the sacrifice The Keeper was making.

“Yes.”

“You were wrong not to have told me. I wouldn’t have let you do it.”

“It was my choice.”

“Still, we should have discussed it.”

“Your answer would have been no. The bond you have with this woman is beyond all value. It was only a small risk to me, and I made the choice, a choice that friends often make for friends.”

Steven winced, knowing he was right—it was often a choice that friends made for friends. “Keeper, I wish the Anunnaki were here to witness your selflessness.”

“I only did what I felt I must.”

“We need to get you well, Keeper. Can we remove the regenerator from Ashlyn for a while?”

“No. It cannot be removed until she is fully healed. To do so, at this point in time, would leave her with permanent damage.”

“Do you have the reserves to withstand the continuing attacks?”

“I have reserves, but my decaying functions are not distributing the energy properly.”

“Is there any way that I can repair them?”

“I wish there were, but, no.”

“Then there’s no choice, I must face Enlil now!”

Without warning, a jarring blast shook the valley. Everything around Steven stirred to life. Machines, big and small, raced around the room. Electrical panels surged, lit dials that held no meaning to Steven spun in odd patterns, running millions of calculations a second. A dozen computer holos came to life—the Keeper shifted through hundreds of screens, redistributing power and resources to where it was needed most. The hum of surging energy rose, pulsing through the complex.

A large cracking sound reverberated through the wall, followed by a groan. Above, the ceiling shifted fluidly, sending molecular resources to form structural supports where they were needed. The noise had awakened Christie in her bedroom nearby, and she came running, jumping into Steven’s arms. A thundering shudder rumbled beneath their feet as blast after blast assaulted them.

“Enlil’s heavy assault vehicles are laying siege to the wall. He stands outside, taunting you to face him. He challenges you for the right to own The Sword of Truth.”

“I have to give him credit; he does know how to make an entrance.”

“Lord Steven, you cannot take on his forces by yourself.”

“We don’t have a choice. Besides, at this point—there isn’t anything more that I can do to prepare.” Steven took a moment to explain to Christie why he had to leave, finishing it with a big hug.

Exiting through the wall, he found Enlil waiting for him on the other side.

With a raised hand, Enlil called for a ceasefire.

As The Keeper had shown him weeks earlier, in recounting the Anunnaki historical timeline—Enlil in his true form had flowing white hair, silver-blue eyes, like Steven’s own, and light skin. His long white robe was meticulously spotless.

Steven clenched his teeth. “You shall die this day, Enlil.”

“I like you, Tin Man! You make me laugh. After I’ve killed you, I shall hang your skin in my palace, so that I may look at it and remember how funny you were.

“But I am kind and forgiving, and I offer you one last chance to do obeisance to me. That—or you will die like your whore.”

Steven caught sight of a meteor streaking through the night sky. It was a fitting symbol for the battle over humanity’s future to begin.

Steven took an aggressive posture; his legs spread wide, his fists raised.

“Then let the challenge for the Sword of Truth begin. Should he win, he will become your leader. You shall not harm him. Such is the way of the Anunnaki,” said Enlil to the forces behind him.

Enlil changed form, again becoming the Griffin. Drawing in a large breath, Enlil lit up the night sky. Bright and yellow flames danced around Steven, not affecting him. His clothes were on fire, smoldering.

Steven had learned from The Keeper that the larger the form was, the less dense, the molecular structure. It was the reason Ashlyn’s knife had managed to hurt Enlil in his snake form. The reverse was also true. In Steven’s smaller form, he was resistant to things such as the flame. Enlil of course knew this, but his actions were meant to instill fear, not to kill.

Steven laughed at the Griffin, inciting his wrath. Enlil dove at Steven, claws extended. Steven dodged, rolling easily off to the side, and like a bull fighter, gave a loud, “Toro! You look foolish, Enlil. In your arrogance, you have actually come to believe in your own lies, thinking that you are God. Enki saw this flaw in you, and now, even insolent humans have surpassed you.”

Enraged, Enki responded, “I will eat you bit by bit, while I keep you alive to watch—you are not an Anunnaki. You are defiled, an unclean abomination.”

Steven picked up a rock. After tossing it casually into the air a couple of times and catching it, he threw it at Enlil. It bounced off Enlil’s chest harmlessly.

“Are you so foolish, Tin Man. Do you think such things will hurt me?”

“Then why are you afraid of me?” Steven asked.

“I, afraid of you? What foolishness do you speak?”

“If you are not afraid, then take the form of an Anunnaki. Let us fight like the Anunnaki great ones of long ago. Let us fight with our hands! I give you my word I shall not change form before you do.”

“So be it! It will be interesting to feel your neck snap when I break it.” Enlil then changed into the naked form of Ashlyn. “Is this Anunnaki enough?”

Steven suddenly felt a lump in his throat. It seemed sacrilegious.

He saw Steven’s consternation. “How pathetic you creatures are! You still mourn the loss of your whore.” Then with lightning speed, Enlil in Ashlyn’s form vaulted toward him, giving Steven a roundhouse kick to the mid-section. Enlil swiveled around preparing for a second strike.

Steven ducked below his right cross, delivering a knee to Enlil’s stomach. Enlil winced in pain. Steven had to remind himself that it was not really Ashlyn, that it was only a guise.

“You were right. I am enjoying this. I can hardly wait to pull you apart, piece by piece.” Ashlyn’s visual image, combined with her voice was as malignant as cancer. For the briefest instant, it stole Steven’s sense of reason. Enlil somersaulted forward and did a backflip, which launched him over Steven’s head, where he landed on the ground behind him. A leg sweep brought Steven crashing to the ground. A second downward leg kick to his abdomen, robbed him of his breath.

Enlil rose, squaring his stance. “At least give me a challenge, hybrid.”

Feinting a rise from the ground, Steven gave a returning leg sweep that caught Enlil off-guard and brought him to the ground, facedown.

“Finally, he plays!” Enlil bellowed as a small trickle of blood escaped the corner of his lip.

Over the next few minutes, the two of them gave exchanging blows, intermingled with hand-to-hand grappling for dominance. Steven got a momentary advantage and brought Enlil’s arm down across his knee, breaking it backward. Enlil reeled away in pain. A strange, gray bubbling fluid spurted from his severed arteries. “Enough of this, I tire of you.” He then became molten and turned into an exact replica of Steven.

“You are a coward, Enlil! You have broken the agreement.”

Unexpectedly, from the thousands of guards behind Enlil, who had moved closer to watch the battle, came the sound of coughing and gagging cries of garbled pain. Thousands of shrill screams could be heard as Enlil’s army began to collapse to the ground.

Enlil gazed upon the horror around him, watching his warriors turn into dissolving heaps of oozing mush to the ground.

“What sorcery is this?” Enlil turned to look at Steven.

Only a second passed before Steven understood what was happening. The meteor he had seen minutes before had been one of Defender’s missiles carrying the virus that Renee and Victor must have succeeded in finding.

“No sorcery, Enlil! Just some good old-fashioned human ingenuity. You’re finished, Enlil—my warships have arrived and they have seeded every world in this system with a plague designed to destroy your monster children.”

“Not all, human!” With a waving arm, Enlil signaled his ship that hovered high above and behind him, to destroy the wall. It cut loose with a devastating attack upon the wall, scorching it with their every touch. Volley after volley of missiles raced away from her.

In that moment while Steven was distracted, he was given a hard blow in the face that sent him tumbling. Rising slowly from the staggering blow, Steven shook his head, trying to gather his wits. Throwing a quick glance up the valley to the wall, he saw that it was cracking.

Calling upon all the rage within him, he pictured his dead son—he envisioned all the billions of Earth’s dead. He recalled the pain of seeing Ashlyn sliced open by Enlil and the glee with which Enlil had done it.

Rising to his feet, with a mighty scream of encompassing all the rage within him, Steven charged at Enlil, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat.

Steven knew that time was against him, that the heavy pounding being given to the wall was going to bring it crashing down atop Ashlyn and Christie.

It was then that the Cherubim came walking out through the wall. Their wings opened wide, and they flew across the valley to Enlil’s hovering ship. Their swords hummed, radiating massive amounts of raw power as they shone with all the brilliance of a sun. They struck quickly, their swords slicing through the ship’s shields with unbelievable ease. Her hull ripped open like a shattered melon allowing the virus to enter her.

Her crew dying, the ship no longer under control, she rose high into the air before she listed to the side. In a steep, slicing descent, she headed back to the ground. A violent concussion rocked the valley as the vessel exploded on the other side of the ridgeline of mountains. The noise was near deafening and the mountains were set ablaze, turning the night sky a bright orange.

Enlil gasped in horror.

The Cherubim flew to stand behind Steven. The hum of energy pulsing through their swords vibrated through the ground at his feet. “As I told you, Enlil. Your time is at an end.”

“You are confident, because the Guardians stand ready to rush to your aid.”

Steven nodded to Enlil. “Guardians, I ask that you do not interfere! Should he win, I order that you let him go to live in peace, contingent that he causes no more trouble for any other people, ever again!”

They bowed their heads in acknowledgment.

“Satisfied?” asked Steven.

“I am!” Enlil then changed into the form of Phillip. “I thought so!” said Enlil reading the dismay on Steven’s face. “I wish I had known he was your son when I ate him! He would have tasted so much better.”

Steven’s stomach churned.

“Even with his last breath, he had your look of rebellion in his eyes,” Enlil added.