Sword of the Gods: Agents of Ki (Sword of the Gods Saga) (107 page)

"Perhaps you should have asked her to come more nicely," Abaddon said. His smile disappeared. "Once you target somebody's children, all bets are off. You're lucky she didn't turn the
Eternal Light
around and use it to wipe this building right off of the map … with all of
you
in
it!"

The vultures in the balconies began to boo. The Speaker of the Commons shouted:

"This lawfully elected body hereby orders you to take your fleet,
general
Abaddon, storm the Eternal Palace, and take the Emperor hostage until he
reveals
the location of that renegade Angelic, Jophiel!"

Abaddon laughed.

"While most of Parliament is young enough to be forgiven for forgetting that Hashem is a god," Abaddon said, "you, of all people, should remember what happens when you anger the Emperor to the point of retaliation."

"Are you threatening us?" the Speaker asked.

"
You
are threatening yourself," Abaddon said. "Or have you forgotten what happens when a mortal tangles with a god?"

He gave a mock bow, so deeply that the delegates could not help but stare at his charred wings, reminiscent of how Lucifer had looked after
he
had been taken prisoner by Hashem.

"I don't care if you have to batter down the Great Gate," the Speaker shouted, jabbing his finger at him like some television preacher screaming his congregation was damned. "The continued existence of this Parliament depends upon Lucifer's prodigy being found alive. We believe that Jophiel
knows where that offspring can be found!"

Abaddon had had enough of this three-ring sideshow. He flared his charred wing nubs, a centuries old habit of intimidation.

"Go to Hades!" Abaddon growled.

Parliament erupted into chaos. A shoe flew down off the balcony, and then another, all aimed at
him
, the general who had put them into power. Abaddon turned and limped towards the door.

"Who votes to strip Abaddon of his title of Supreme Commander-General?" the Speaker shouted.

"Aye!" the delegates all shouted.

Nobody bothered asking who voted 'nay.'

"Guards! Place that man under arrest!"

Six guards moved to block the exit. Had he possessed his sword, and been uninjured, they would have been no match for him, but no matter. Abaddon had
learned
from his ambush by the dragon. He turned back towards the television networks and paused, just like Lucifer would have done, until the hall quieted, waiting to see what he would do.

Abaddon spoke clearly into the cameras.

"Engage."

The crystal on the chandeliers began to vibrate until the entire building began to shudder. A dark shape eclipsed the sunlight which streamed through the atrium seven floors above, the
Emperor's Vengeance,
the command carrier which had saved his hide.

Parliament grew deathly quiet.

"What is the meaning of this, General?" the Speaker demanded.

Abaddon met the Muqqibat dragon's gaze.

"It's a history lesson," Abaddon said. "About what happens when the
people
forget they are kept safe by the men who carry the guns."

The glass atrium shattered.

Glass shards fell down onto the delegate's heads with a light, almost tinkling sound.

The delegates screamed.

Zip lines dropped down from the sky like long, black serpent's tails.

Large, golden shapes appeared as a platoon of Leonid soldiers rappelled down from the ceiling, followed by their enormous Spiderid brothers who walked right down the walls past the terrified delegates. The soldiers hit the floor, and then moved to surround him, disarming the guards who thankfully had enough common sense to realize that all he intended to do was escape.

'Thank you, Lucifer,
' Abaddon thought quietly to himself. They had concocted this plan one night when the Prime Minister had still been very young, a discussion about a scenario which had unfolded in a popular television movie. It had not been a real life problem, but a lesson for a young prince about the concept of coup d'état. A lump rose in Abaddon's throat. It was too bad Lucifer wasn’t here to see this. He would have been amused.

"This isn't the end of this, General," the Speaker of the Commons said.

"No, really," Abaddon said, "it is."

He gestured upwards at the arrogant vultures who now cowered in the balcony like domestic waterfowl netted for consumption.

"You just took a vote to put Re Harakhti in my place," Abaddon said. "He's a good man." He gestured at the Leonids who now defended him. "Just remember one thing, Mr. Speaker. With Harakhti's species teetering even closer to the brink of extinction than
mine
is, if you want his support, you'd better come up with a more creative plan than ordering him to bash down the Great Gate so you can look good for the cameras."

"Then we'll just vote another general to replace him!" the Speaker said.

'Sir," Abaddon said wearily. "Lucifer is dead. And when he died, his wives and offspring were on that ship, which means he died without an heir, which means that
YOU
no longer exist as a governing body." He turned back to face the cameras. "Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Emperor," his men echoed into the video cameras which broadcast this fiasco live throughout the entire Alliance."

Abaddon hobbled out through the entrance he had come in, past the empty throne where the broken little statue of Hashem stood, waiting for somebody to come and glue back on its head. The moment the door shut, he leaned heavily upon his cane. Gods, he was tired! He was getting too old for this kind of shit!

He stared up at the fresco on the ceiling, the one which depicted She-who-is smiling down onto a map of the entire galaxy. The broken spiral arm beckoned to him, the one he'd seen when he'd been dead. There. Earth was somewhere there.

He turned to his savior, who'd been the only vessel close enough to respond without arousing suspicion. The only reason the
Emperor's Vengeance
was even here was because it had sustained heavy damage in the fighting and put in for repairs.

"Thanks," Abaddon said to Rahotep. "I owe you one."

"You owe me
two
, actually," Rahotep rumbled. He flexed his claws and snarled as they passed through the courtyard and then through the larger Parliamentary office building which ringed this complex like a fence. Landed on the front lawn were two shuttles,
his,
and a shuttle to carry the men of the
Vengeance
back to their ship. Surrounding that shuttle were people, ordinary people, Alliance citizens, the ones he'd given his entire life to defend.

While some stood in shocked silence, too afraid to boo, some shouted
'Lucifer!'
and others shouted
'Long live the Emperor!'

A guard ran out of Parliament, carrying a long, slender object. The Leonid and Spiderid soldiers whirled and aimed their pulse rifles at the man. The guard froze, his tentacles frozen in fear.

"S-s-sir," the guard said. "I t-thought you m-m-might want this?"

The man kneeled and placed Abaddon's sword upon the ground.

Some of the citizens remained quiet, but the greater part of them cheered. It had been
his
testimony which had swayed the people to follow Lucifer. His life of service still carried some weight to those of them who remembered what it had been like to live underneath the shadow of Shay'tan. One of the Leonids retrieved his blade and gave it back to him.

"Thank you," Abaddon said to the guard.

He kissed the blade, and then slid it back into its sheath. It felt good there, where it belonged. He swore that so long as he was still alive, never again would he let anyone ever take away his sword.

"Where to, Sir?" his pilot asked as soon as he buckled in.

"Set a course for the
Jehoshaphat,
" Abaddon said. "Make no stops. We can't be sure at this point who will be loyal to whom."

The news feed which was still broadcasting live from inside Parliament showed the vote as the Speaker of the Commons issued a writ to strip Abaddon of all command and arrest him, just as they had done to Jophiel.

"Where will we go, Sir?" the pilot said. "We are all now criminals."

The shuttle breached the atmosphere. Abaddon stared out across the stars, towards the Orion-Cygnus spiral arm.

"Earth. We go find Earth. Ki has given me a clue."

~ * ~ * ~

Time: Indeterminate

Ascended Realms

Bishamonten

The Infernal Palace was a very different place when
SHE
was in residence. Whereas when only
HE
was there the abode of the two gods who ruled the universe was completely dark, when
SHE
was there, it was a bright, sunny place, with vines growing up the black walls covered in white flowers, birds singing, and a variety of critters who peeked out from amongst the chess pieces.

Just because the Infernal Palace didn't
appear
quite so intimidating as the last time he had been there, Bishamonten wasn't fooled. She-who-is could be far more fickle and capricious than the Dark Lord ever was, and whatever
SHE
wanted, He-who's-not usually gave her.

Even if it was
his
head…

Both gods were seated at the smaller chess board, the one which had been placed over Hashem's Milky Way galaxy. He-who's-not lurked like a great, dark presence, dwarfing his mate with his massive bat-like wings. She-who-is, on the other hand, was a petite, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, with sharp features and gossamer wings.
SHE
stared forlornly at her little white queen, her expression tearful as He-who's-not fiddled with his dark knight.

Bishamonten gave the two gods who ruled the universe a respectful bow.

"You summoned me, Your Graces?"

"
HE
did!" She-who-is jabbed her finger at her husband. "I don't see how you can help."

She-who-is was infamous for her temper tantrums, and Bishamonten had known her long enough to see that he had arrived at the tail end of one. But unlike her usual fits of anger, which were often motivated by not getting her own way, the goddess appeared to be genuinely aggrieved, her eyes puffy and red-rimmed from crying.

"Ki needed to save him," the Dark Lord said gently. "So she did. Now the Champion can go find your Chosen One."

"He
abandoned
her!" She-who-is blurted.

"He has
not
abandoned her," He-who's-not said. "He was never supposed to be with her in any capacity except as guardian.
You
interfered in his life's path."

"You did too!"

  This was a marital dispute which Bishamonten intensely wished to avoid getting sucked into. There were never any winners when the two gods fought … only losers. Huge, galaxy-shattering, planet-destroying losers. She was an endearing, generous deity …
when
she wasn't worked up into a fit of temper. Bishamonten could only pity the Dark Lord, who forever had to endure her mood swings.

She-who-is began to weep. Around them, the white flowers wilted and the small animals and birds twittered around her, anxious to see
HER
in this mood.

"First I lost my Morning Star, and now I have lost my Chosen One," She-who-is wept. "What good is it being a goddess if everything you care about always gets destroyed?"

"The Champion will go looking for her," He-who's-not said. "And then he will find her."