Shadow Seed (12 page)

Marduk emerged from the shadows near the
door. “By my count, that would be the fourth time you let him
escape.”

Nibiru let out a small sigh of agitation.
“Why did you go to the Netherworld?”

“Forgive me,” Marduk said. “I sent a
Corinthian with the order to retreat. We’ve lost many soldiers, and
I believe we’ll need as many as possible for the battle ahead.”

The openings in the ceiling opened up,
revealing more of the sky.

“Why not simply capture and torture Leon
until he decides to join?” Marduk asked.

“Vesuvians don't feel pain like some other
creatures,” Nibiru replied. “And I believe poor Leon is about to
receive more scrutiny than he would like, now that his little
secret is out.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

In New Haven, the Pelasgians had to fight
hard for every yard of ground gained. Human soldiers wearing armor
similar to the Corinthians were proving themselves to be just as
tough.

The fighting had gone several blocks beyond
the city wall. Buildings were ablaze and dead bodies littered the
streets, making it difficult for Arthur and Richard to
navigate.

“We better pick up the pace,” Arthur said,
turning into a narrow alley.

“How do you know where they are?” Richard
asked. “They could be dead, for all we know. I mean, I don't think
they're dead, but they could be anywhere.”

Arthur had to kick his way through a small
mound of empty baskets. “If I know Thomas, he'll be falling back
toward the Citadel. Plenty like him who think it's the most
important building in the city.”

Pelasgians walking past the alley spotted the
men, and ran in after them.

“Move it,” Arthur said, going as fast as he
could.

Richard knocked over crates and barrels to
slow the Pelasgians down while trying to keep up with Arthur.
Dividing his attention between the two in the maze-like alley, he
soon lost track of his partner.

“Arthur?” Richard called, stopping for a
split second with the Pelasgians only yards away. He made another
turn into an alley with an exit.

On the street, Richard found Arthur waiting
with a line of archers several houses down. He was only halfway
down the street when the Pelasgians bumbled out of the alley.

“Get down!” Arthur yelled.

Having a clear line of fire, the archers
brought down any Pelasgian standing in the street with a hail of
arrows.

When the coast was clear, Richard got back to
his feet. “Sorry, I lost you back there in the alley.”

Arthur shrugged. “If it makes you feel any
better, the route we took only had two exits. Both leading to this
street.”

“Thanks. I'll try to remember that.”

One of the archers approached Arthur. “Sir,
we're needed elsewhere.”

“Thanks for the assist.” Arthur saluted.

Richard said inspecting another alley. “I
hope the guys are close.”

With so much going on, it was hard for Arthur
to tell where any of the noise was coming from. “Why don't we try
sticking to the streets this time? It sounds like there's a lot of
fighting over there.”

Peeking around the corner at the next
intersection, they could see human soldiers clogging up the street
with heavy resistance against the Pelasgians.

“I don't see them,” Richard said. “Doesn't
look like we can get through, either.”

Arthur was growing anxious. “Nothing we can
do here. Let's go around and see if we can help.”

“What about the guys?” Richard asked.

“We can't spend the whole day searching. Not
with this going on. Cross your fingers, maybe we'll run into
them.”

As Arthur and Richard ran further, a group of
four Corinthians on griffins descended upon them, landing in front
and behind.

“I've got these two,” Arthur said, circling
around as he parried. When one of the griffins jumped at him, he
rolled out of the way and stabbed it in the heart.

The creature rolled over, giving Arthur his
chance to kill the rider.

Richard dispatched one of the griffins and
its rider in a similar way, then immediately killed another griffin
by tossing his equinox into its neck. As the animal fell, the
Corinthian hopped off.

Richard grabbed a sword and exchanged several
swings with the Corinthian before striking the final blow from
behind.

Arthur was backpedaling from the last
griffin. “Come on,” he muttered. “Just one opening.”

The griffin lunged sideways, giving Arthur
what he thought was his chance, though Corinthian swung out with
his sword deflecting Arthur's attack and giving him a small cut
across the cheek.

Rearing its head up, the griffin knocked
Arthur to the ground. The creature squawked, about to pounce, but
Richard's equinox slammed into its side.

From the opposite direction, another equinox
sailed into the Corinthian’s chest.

Arthur turned to see Thomas, William and
Jacob running toward him. “Look who's here.”

“You're welcome,” Thomas said, retrieving his
weapon.

William and Jacob helped Arthur.

“What happened to you guys?” Richard
asked.

“What happened to you?” Thomas shot back. “We
fell back with the army toward the Roivas Estate. I thought you
were ahead of us.”

“Yeah,” Jacob added. “Thomas wanted to go all
the way back to the Citadel.”

A Satyr's loud battle cry down the street
drew several Pelasgians to the scene.

“Get ready!” Arthur said.

Within seconds, human soldiers ran into the
street and joined the fight as the Pelasgians clashed with Arthur's
men.

On their own, Richard and Thomas skillfully
dispatched any Pelasgian that came at them. They used their
equinoxes as mostly defensive weapons, parrying blows long enough
to eliminate their enemies with talons.

William and Jacob fought with a style that
was not necessarily back-to-back, but neither of them had to worry
about it. One locked up with his opponent as the other moved in
from an angle and quickly dealt the killing blow. It required fast
movement in unison. One slipup and the result could be less than
satisfying.

Arthur disposed of a Corinthian before
setting his sights on an incoming Cyclops. He leapt in, slicing the
creature's neck with his halo.

The sound of a loud horn filled the air,
sending the Pelasgians into retreat. Centaurs and Corinthians,
however, stood their ground from a distance as they began to
unleash volleys of arrows. The friendly fire was unavoidable, but
many managed to break away from the fighting.

Richard took cover around a corner, looking
for his friends.

On the opposite side of the street, Arthur
took a Satyr down, before being struck from behind by an arrow.

Witnessing this, Richard made a mad dash for
Arthur with no regard for his own safety. There were still plenty
of Pelasgians in the way, and he showed no patience or mercy.

Thomas knew something was wrong when he saw
Richard fighting in a berserk state. And in the next second he,
Jacob and William saw why, as Arthur weakly fought off a Corinthian
and was struck by two more arrows.

As Arthur fell, the men joined Richard in
slaughtering the remaining Pelasgians. All of them pressed on hard
with everything they had, suffering cuts and bruises they normally
would have avoided.

Soon the area was clear of the enemy, and the
soldiers moved on after those running away.

Richard dropped to his knees picking Arthur
off the ground.

Arthur's breathing was very shallow as he
opened his eyes slowly.

“Hang in there,” Richard said. “We're gonna
get you help. You're going to be okay.”

William cried, feeling it should have been
him lying there.

Thomas and Jacob knelt beside their Arthur.
All of them knew Richard was lying.

Arthur coughed. “Got a lil’ careless
there.”

“Don't talk,” Richard said. “Save your
energy.”

“I'm done,” Arthur uttered, handing his
equinox over. “You give this to Sara. You understand?”

Richard reluctantly took the equinox. “Yes,
Sir,” he said, watching in sorrow as Arthur passed away.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“I wish it were that easy,” Gavin said, as he
and Marus entered the Council's building. “But the rite of passage
is a secret.”

Both stepped onto a platform.

Marus tugged the rope to begin their ascent.
“I don't believe you, Gavin. There's a good chance we could all
die, and you'd rather keep your most powerful form to your House
instead?”

Gavin laughed. “Really? Come on, mate. We had
this discussion before. Remember, about a hundred years ago? You
know well it's not possible for anyone outside the House of Liro to
attain it.”

“But I hear things.”

Gavin was getting annoyed. “Folks always
start to hear things at times like this. If I was lying, the Orloks
would have discovered it, the Siena would sense it, and the Kanara
would've ripped it from somebody's bloody mind by now.”

“Okay,” Marus said conceding. “Sorry. I get
caught up in the gossip sometimes. But, can't you put more Liros
through the rites?”

“Of course I am! I'm trying everything.
Problem is, when you're not ready, you're not ready, and my lads
just aren't ready.”

After a moment of silence, Marus softly
banged his fist on Gavin's chest. “By the way, I owe you big time.
Thanks for saving my skin back there.”

Gavin shrugged it off. “It was nothing. You'd
have done the same.”

The platform finally reached the top. Marus
stepped out and found the Council waiting.

“Marus,” Denzso called. “Has Leon
returned?”

“No. I haven't seen him since he went after
Sara.”

Denzso laughed a little. “The Pelasgians are
regrouping on the outskirts of our city and he's busy chasing after
a human.”

Marus gave Denzso a sideways look. “Could be
worse. He could be watching from the safety of the Council building
while his men do all the fighting.”

“Watch your tongue,” Denzso said with a
scowl. “Leaders lead. They don't fight.”

“You're the strongest, fastest Vesuvian,”
Marus said. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Denzso slammed his fist into the table.

The arguing wore thin on Alexia. “Enough,
both of you! We have enough problems as it is without you two at
each other's throats.”

Marus glared at Denzo with contempt as he
sat.

Gavin took a seat. “Oy, what's the deal with
the Pelasgians?”

“It's like Denzso said,” Helen answered.
“They're regrouping on the outskirts of the city. In some areas
they advanced as far as borders of the urban sections. The rural
parts have been mostly overrun.”

“More Pelasgian portals have opened up.”
Jaren added. “Guess what's pouring through.”

Marus took his hat off and ate another blood
marble. “We should take this time to solidify our defenses. If the
Pelasgians get a foothold of any part of the city, we're in big
trouble.”

Sagan rolled out a map of the city across the
table. “The Turin's section of the city was largely spared, and the
Underground seems to have gone unnoticed for now.”

Alexia studied the map. “Obviously the
Pelasgians want to avoid low visibility and narrow spaces.”

“Which may be to our advantage,” Sagan said.
“We should try and draw them into these places, or if need be, we
can use these as escape routes.”

Denzso was baffled. “Escape routes?”

“In case,” Sagan replied.

“Retreat,” Denzso scoffed. “Leave it to an
Orlok. There will be no retreat.”

Sagan flashed his teeth as he leered at
Denzso.

No one said anything for a moment. The
tension in the room was high.

Alexia placed several wooden tokens on the
map. “That's a decision we will all make.”

“I say we attack,” Denzso declared. “Attack
now, when they least expect it.”

Gavin smiled. “Ah, so now you're an expert in
Pelasgians, eh?”

Denzso stood, moving several of the tokens
around on the map. “Laugh all you want. I've been studying the
enemy. It may interest you that their tactics have changed very
little.”

“Denzso, aren’t you being a little bit
presumptuous?” Helen asked.

Jaren started chuckling. “We’ve only fought
them once before. It’s not enough to draw on.”

“I agree,” Sagan said. “We should exercise
caution and consider our blood supply.”

Denzso folded his arms across his chest. “So
you all want to wait here until the next attack?”

“Sagan is right,” Alexia said. “If we're not
careful with our blood supply, we could end up in a worse situation
than last time. Already we've begun issuing rations.”

In a fit of rage, Denzso tossed his chair
across the room. “If we wait for the next attack, we will be in a
worse situation! Our couriers to the other Rheans have just
returned. All of the reports are nearly identical.”

“What's the verdict?” Gavin asked.

“We're screwed!” Denzso answered. “Remember
the first time the Pelasgians invaded. They would attack and fall
back. This did this over and over again. After several times they
gathered outside the city, like they're doing now.”

Even Marus couldn’t argue. “So you think this
is it? The big one.”

Denzso nodded. “We haven't even seen all of
the Pelasgian units from last time, and our courier to the Khothu
reported new ones more powerful than anything we have ever
encountered.”

Alexia's eyes were fixed on a window with a
good view to the city. “Denzso, have you sent for any help?”

“As soon as I read the reports,” Denzso
answered.

It was hard for Alexia to maintain her
composure. Of the Council she was the most scared for her people.
“Then it's decided. All of Rhea will gather here, at Vesuvia. And
we will either conquer the enemy as we did before, or we will fall
as one.”