Sword of the Gods: Agents of Ki (Sword of the Gods Saga) (165 page)

February: 3,389 BC

Earth: Village of Assur

Mikhail

He buried them at sunrise in a single grave, hands clasped together in death as they’d always been in life, his two longest feathers placed lovingly in each one of their hands. He searched the village, but he could find no sign of Zhila’s spear, so he asked the Chief for
his
best spear. He buried it between them so Zhila could catch her husband’s eye and protect her sister in the next world just as she had done in this one.

He knelt beside the grave, wings held low, and nobody bothered him as they buried their own dead. Out of all the people killed, Yalda and Zhila were the only non-combatants. Why kill two helpless old women? Shay'tan was a brutal oppressor, but the old dragon had rules, and killing the elderly wasn't usually part of his repertoire.

He fingered the strange, golden key which Yalda had given him moments before she'd expired. What did it mean? Bring the two Emperors to Jebel Mar Elyas? Where was this place, exactly?

He looked over to the unadorned pile of rocks where Immanu's brother had been unceremoniously buried. In what had to be the bitter old drunk's last act of revenge, Merariy had taken the location of that temple with him to the grave. Immanu didn't know. Neither did any of the other villagers, though they had a rough idea it lay west of the Buranuna River. He had no idea where
that
was, but thanks to Dadbeh, they now knew in which direction to search for the Sata'anic base so he could steal a shuttle.

The sun set. He could hear Yalda's last words echo in his mind…

“Not
-her-.
The Other One..."

The Other One…

The Other One…

He put his hands over his ears and shrieked until he drowned out the noise of his own heart breaking.

And then he looked to the heavens.

"Ninsianna," he whispered. "I am coming to get you."

~ * ~ * ~

February: 3,389 BC

Earth: South of Assur

Gita

She feared he might not come, but the chitter of a ground squirrel alerted her that a predator was on the prowl. Gita faded back into the rocks, but it was just Dadbeh. As she'd hoped, he'd come back to retrieve his witness. Gita stepped out from where they'd buried Taziq alive.

"I was kinda hoping you might have already dug him out for me," Dadbeh grinned. His eyes sparkled, and for the first time in months he seemed a little happy.

"It was my intent to leave him there unless his life served a purpose," Gita said. There was no mirth in her
eyes; she'd decided to give Dadbeh three days: one to rest; one to bury the dead; and a third for him to hike back out to the place they'd set up their last encampment. She'd been about to leave when Dadbeh had arrived.

"Mikhail has decreed they will listen to any witness I care to bring," Dadbeg said. "If Taziq testifies, the Tribunal shall declare Shahla was innocent of any crime, for even the least sophisticated villager knows that tincture of ergot causes hallucinations."

"Who is the third adjudicator now that Yalda is dead?" Gita asked.

"Behnam is lead, Rakshan is now the second, and old Liwwaresagil shall be the third." Dadbeh said. "She is not as sharp as Yalda was, but she is kind, and everybody in the village respects her."

"Liwwaresagil was one of the few people who acted kind after Shahla lost her baby," Gita said. She gave him a smile which did not reach her eyes. "With
her
on the Tribunal, perhaps Shahla will get a fair hearing?"

They dug in silence and dragged out Taziq, who'd run out of water two days ago. Gita had not dared dig him out because the urge to kill him was so strong. What had once been a small, dark whisper had grown into an all-consuming hunger. Dadbeh forced water down Taziq's throat while Gita divided between them the spoils they'd retrieved from the Uruk raiders; more for him because there was only so much she could carry, but in return Dadbeh had brought food and three goatskins filled with water.

"What of Siamek?" Gita asked. "Did he survive?"

"Pareesa swears she saw your ghost save him," Dadbeh said.

"She still protects me?" Gita asked.

"I don't think she's certain
what
she saw," Dadbeh said. "But once I bring back Taziq, all shall know you survived."

Gita's cheek twitched. She hadn't
deliberately
thrown herself off the cliff, but she had felt relief when the waters had closed over her head.

"And Mikhail?" She asked this last question tentatively, pretending she was not as interested in the answer as she truly was.

"He no longer speaks to anyone," Dadbeh said. "If Ninsianna is not retrieved, I fear he will leave our village and, if he can, our world."

"The world will be a poorer place without Mikhail here," Gita said.

"Yes," Dadbeh said.

They both stared west into the desert, the uncrossable desert from whence she'd originally come.

"Where will you go?" Dadbeh asked.

"The Kemet said they would linger in Sippar, and then head north to the headwaters of the Buranuna Ruver." Gita shrugged, causing her too-large Kemet robe to slip off her shoulder. "I shall head west and try to catch up with them in Mari."

"Nothing lies that way but open desert," Dadbeh said. "Without a guide, you shall never survive."

Gita stared across the empty, ochre-yellow landscape which bore nothing but dust and rocks and the ever-present wind.

"I was five years old when I first walked across the desert," Gita said. "If I could do it then, somehow I will do it now. For this time, there is no village for me to come back to."

Dadbeh did not contradict her, for he had heard the warriors blame her after they had welcomed him back into their midst, and no one had spoken up for her. Not even Mikhail.

The sun shifted west beyond its apex to settle behind a hill, giving the illusion that the sun radiated out of it as though it was the doorway to a temple. A shape took form within that sunlight and moved towards them. Behind them, Taziq cried out, for although he was still disoriented from his lack of water, even
he
could see the ghost which came to greet them.

"Be gone!" Taziq shrieked. "And do not haunt me anymore!"

Gita met Dadbeh's gaze. From the tears which welled in the skinny man's mismatched eyes,
he
could see Shahla as well.

Shahla looked the way she had before she had gone insane; beautiful, graceful, and sophisticated. In her arms she carried a plump, swarthy-skinned baby, her hair curled with ringlets and matching eyes just like her father. Although Gita could see the resemblance to Qishtea, she kept her mouth shut, for Dadbeh had wanted that baby to be
his
baby, and even if it wasn't, what did it matter so long as the baby was loved?

"Why is she here?" Dadbeh's voice choked up with tears.

"She has something she wishes to give to you," Gita said.

The ghost of Shahla shifted the baby to her hip, and then she reached out with something in her hand.

Dadbeh stared at the fruit.

"I wanted
you
to have it," Dadbeh said, "in this life or in the next."

Shahla's eyes welled with tears, but they were happy tears, and even though when she spoke her words could not be heard, Gita somehow understood.

"She wants you to find love and be happy," Gita said. "She wants you to marry and have many fine sons; and if you have a daughter, she would like you to name that baby Rimona, which means pomegranate, in memory of her."

Tears welled in Gita's eyes, and she could see that Dadbeh wished to weep as well.

Dadbeh reached out and took the pomegranate from Shahla's hand. It was insubstantial, for the pomegranate was a thing of spirit, but it was also a promise. That Dadbeh would not forget her.

"How can I let you go?" Dadbeh cried aloud. "For all along I was in love with you, and you did not notice me until the end!"

Shahla stepped backwards with her baby, and the sunlight grew to surround her, and then it enveloped her until she was nothing but a shape. And there she stayed. Waiting for him to join her. Just but on the other side.

The sun dipped beneath the hill. The illusion disappeared.

Dadbeh gathered his things, and then forced Taziq to his feet to begin the march to Assur. If he left right now, they would reach the village shortly after nightfall, for the days had begun to grow longer, and already spring was in the air.

"Where will you go?" Dadbeh asked. "In case I need to get a message to you?"

"I shall ask the Kemet traders to bring me to Ugarit," Gita said. "And sell me to the first lizard person they see because they cannot afford to pay a dowry to get rid of me."

"But the lizards will sell you to the Evil One!" Dadbeh exclaimed.

Gita gave him a small, dark smile which did not meet her eyes.

She waited until they disappeared over the hill, her hand splayed protectively across her womb. The desert stretched in front of her, an inhospitable land, and yet, because of Mikhail, somehow this time she knew she would find the strength to traverse it. She picked up Zhila's spear and began her journey west.

~ * ~ * ~

Galactic Standard Date: 152,324.02

Earth Orbit: Prince of Tyre

Prime Minister Lucifer

Lucifer

The
Prince of Tyre
spun just outside of Earth orbit, she and the Sata'anic battle cruiser which had no idea there had just been a coup d'état. Could it truly be a rebellion if he had only seized back what was already his? Lucifer had no idea. All he knew was this ship was the only thing he had which had not been given to him by the Eternal Emperor or the Alliance. That, and the man who lay unconscious in his bed.

A light tap rapped upon the door. Lucifer flapped the crick out of his wings, and then lowered his voice so he would not wake his sleeping lover.

"Come in," Lucifer said,
projecting
the command more than speaking it.

Eligor strode in, a stern, silent wall of watchfulness and guarded emotions. Three guards shadowed him, but Lucifer signaled them to remain outside. Eligor's pale wings settled against his back in a sloppy facsimile of 'dress wings.'

"Report?" Lucifer asked.

"We could find no sign of Zepar, Sir," Eligor said. "Neither him, nor his two goons." His white wings flared like a bird with ruffled feathers, betraying the anger which Eligor otherwise hid.

"Did they steal my shuttle?" Lucifer asked.

"No, Sir," Eligor said. "I pulled the ignition interface when we landed so that wouldn't happen, but it appears they stole your needle."

Lucifer hissed with irritation. If they'd taken the needle, they could be anywhere in the universe right now, but he feared from his mother's warning the three hadn't gone very far.