The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix (47 page)

Asotos replied with winsome, soothing words.
“Doth the sun set only upon an empty land and not a desolate heart?
A world filled with distress and sadness so distressed that my own
heart burns with a pity long it has not felt. Look about and see
another friend or companion who loves an ailing heart for the sake
of love any greater than I, brother to all these people.”

Trisha looked into Asotos’ eyes, confused.
“Tell me, please, what foolishness does the breeze carry upon it?
We are here to moot, not to draw up troublesome waters that are too
bitter to drink. Let us be on about our business.”

Asotos countered, waving apologetic. “Oh,
but I am about our business. I am responsible to all the people in
this universe. Ever is my tent open to listen to a troubled heart.
Lo, the women in this land have all known my love and tender ways.
You - you are a warrior - that I can tell - great and mighty, no
doubt. But I see behind the plates of steel and helm of gold the
fair face and shapely figure of a woman creature. Yet I see in your
eyes a storied tale of rejection and pain, scorn from the very ones
you wish to love.”

Trisha took a small step forward, lifting
her hands, palms up. “What is pain that burns a forest when it is
the river that must be crossed? We have a moot to finish, then this
day can pass into forgotten shadow and the peace of dreamless sleep
will come.”

Smiling with compassion, Asotos also took a
small step while extending a hand. “Shadows and dreams? Look about.
We - you and I - control the hour and the day. A moot is of such
little importance when I see someone struggling so from the
suffering within. Please, I do not know you, yet all the women of
this world I do know. Who are you, and why do you suffer the
indifference of this rabble so?”

Sighing as she cast her eyes toward the
sand, Trisha answered, “I am the child of a lost world long buried
under the drifting sands. ‘Trisha’ is the name given me by the
lords of this world meaning, ‘the lowly one who rises from the
dust’. My birth name that no one here has cared to learn, a very
beautiful name, is ‘ElaiaKallos’…”

“The beautiful olive tree!” Asotos
exclaimed. “It is such a wonderful name, so… so… earthy.” His face
filled with curiosity. “So earthy... It’s in the tongue…”

“The tongue of the powers of my day. My
peoples’ speech was a mix of that and the eastern desert trader,
from which I’m descended. That man...” Trisha pointed at Paul, who
had remained behind at her request, “that man traveled through my
region, coming within three days’ long walk from my little village.
I remember him, but even he does not recall me. He spoke about
obeying the great Caesar of my day, though only have I read about
the man after my arrival here. My home is lost to me, its location
buried under the shifting sands of the eastern desert.”

She sadly shook her head. “My world was very
small. It was hot and dry, except when the winter rains set it
afire in all its beauty. It was all I knew. Up to this day, its
location has not been of enough concern for these people to bother
searching it out for me. So I cannot tell you where I am from,
other than to say its name was ‘QaShaibJal’.”

Quickly recovering from being taken aback
over the inconceivable notion that Erithia had really managed,
somehow, to deliver earthy life into this world, let alone life
that had long since passed into death, Asotos smiled
compassionately, tapping his cheek with a finger. “QaShaibJal?
QaShaibJal? Now I have heard that name before.”
He lied
.
“Somewhere to the east of the land of the Greeks as I recall...”
He guessed
.

Trisha nodded hopefully, her eyes betraying
an aching desire to rediscover the home of her birth. “Yes, yes, it
was off to the east, far off, or so I was told by my mother long
ago.”

Silently studying this Trisha closely,
Asotos became intrigued, his heart filling with trepidation and
curiosity. Why, if this creature were a new invention of Erithia’s,
would she have been implanted with a memory of preexistence,
especially one in the Realms Below? Should she not be designed to
believe herself of a greater, more superior race, possibly greater
than even he? The latter made sense, but not the former, unless…
unless it was to trick him into thinking Erithia truly had the
power to raise up the long dead, which he did not believe.

But then there were the strangers
accompanying this woman creature. They were disconcerting to say
the least, their very demeanor indicating little or no real
knowledge of him, like that big oaf and the man off to his right
who showed such disregard - or even possible contempt for him.
Something was up, the trickery of that
witch
at work here,
and it could not be ignored.

Taking a chance on breaking the spell he was
weaving over this woman creature, he turned to the man she had
earlier pointed to. His face filled with helpful desire, Asotos
asked, concerned, “This woman says your journeys took you near her
home city. Do you recall where that possibly might have been?”

Surprised that Asotos was speaking to him,
Paul hesitated. Trisha looked approvingly at him, giving Paul the
slightest of nods. He answered, “Many were the missionary tours I
took in those latter days before my arrest and imprisonment in
Rome. One journey to that area I do recall was when I departed a
ship at Ephesus, spending several weeks with my friend Symeon, and
then traveled east as far as… as, what is today called the
‘Daganhisar Tuzlukcu’ territories. I made many stops on that
missionary tour, and met countless people, instructing fellow
believers as well as making converts. I do not recall the field
marshal here at all.” He looked at Trisha, frowning. “Sorry...”

Asotos was clearly distressed, and could not
help asking. “So you are…?”

The man replied, nodding politely as he had
done many times before when addressing Roman magistrates. “I am,
was, Saul, Saul of Tarsus, later become known as ‘Paul’,
‘PaulNomikos’ as I am known today.”

Asotos was stunned. Could this really be the
man he had long ago attempted to destroy, and finally succeeded at,
only to have his troublesome presence delivered here, into
his
world? Wheels of uncertainty were beginning to whirl
about in Asotos’ head. If these truly were creatures from the
Realms Below, returned from ages past, then Erithia’s twisted magic
was very powerful and dangerous! An army of such
monkey
children
could turn the battle, the war, even if they were only
used as cannon fodder.

Little could he chance allowing any more of
these miscreants being delivered here. Something must be done to
stop it, today, but later. First, he must finish this most
important business. Asotos smiled ever so slightly. If he was
successful, he might need not worry about the other pressing
issue.

He eyed Trisha. Field marshal? Troubling…
but he mustn’t become distracted and lose game. “Well,
ElaiaKallos,” Asotos smiled sadly, “I am so sorry that your arrival
here has not been celebrated with greater enthusiasm. I assure you
that had I known of your presence and needs, I and my people would
have scoured the planet until we could have found your lost home.
It is such a pity this little thing was not already done for you.”
He glared disapprovingly at Lowenah and the diplomatic troop
surrounding her.

Trisha took another step forward, her hands
gesturing in concert with her mournful expressions. “But you are
said to be such an evil dark lord, the Great Satan, usurper and
reviler of all good things. How can I trust to the words you
speak?”

Tears grew in Asotos’ eyes, running down his
face. “As with you, this world has been cruel and deceitful
regarding me, my reputation tarnished by lies, my home stolen from
me, and the very children I so dearly love driven from my
company.”

He stepped forward, hands out, voice
pleading. “As with you, I am so lonely, seeking to have the
injustice served against me revealed, and those responsible for it
properly disciplined.”

The man wiped a tear from his cheek, shaking
his head. “But I care little of that, seeing this dear child from
other worlds being so distraught over the malfeasance committed
against her. Oh, how the villainy and dastardliness of this lot
distresses me! What can a humble man as I am do to provide succor
for my cherished sister?”

Tears now filled Trisha’s eyes. She was
caught up speechless, searching for words to make reply.

This was easier than Asotos had calculated.
Just how stupid was Erithia anyway? Surely no common sense at
all... Here she delivers the dullards, the misfits of lost worlds,
to pollute these glorious realms, thinking that somehow they will
succeed where her own children have miserably failed, and she never
bothers to contemplate the consequences. Oh, what folly!

A sigh carried upon the breath of despair
flowed from Asotos’ lips. Spreading his arms, he beckoned Trisha,
“Oh, my darling little sister, come and weep with me, and we shall
find the answers we both seek.”

Trisha hesitated, contemplating.

Ardon looked up at Lowenah, consternation
growing on his face. She chanced him a stern glance that told him
to stay out of matters. This was Trisha’s moment. The woman must
choose for herself what was good or bad. Her choice might well
decide the future fates of this universe, but it was hers to make.
Lowenah had purposed it to be that way.

Trisha, too, reached out, slowly advancing,
tears streaming down her face. “May it be so...” She sobbed.

Asotos grinned. In only seconds, the woman
would be close enough for him to inject her with the venom hidden
in his ring. In moments, she would be his prisoner to have and to
keep. What a treasure! What a
priceless
treasure! He spread
his arms wide to receive her embrace.

Trisha carefully listened to the harmonics
as she approached Asotos. Long had she studied the brain patterns
and signals of thought process, and how they disturbed the
harmonics. Every physical action must first be preceded by action
in the brain, the energy released causing a fluctuation in the
surrounding harmonic field. Trisha was birthed into this world with
the uncanny ability to feel the slightest of these disturbances,
and her studies helped her with their interpretations.

Trisha stepped in under Asotos’ outstretched
arms, staring into his eyes, which were only inches away. She
waited, breathless, peering deeply into his ocean-blue orbs. Then
she felt it, the signals being sent from Asotos’ brain to his
nervous system, commanding it to close his arms about her.

Still staring, she cooed sinister, “It is
time...”

In an instant, Asotos went from
contemplating the total naivety of this creature to puzzling about
her to abject confusion. The gaze of a child forlorn was now
disappeared, replaced with the savage glare of a maddened beast
filled with vengeful rage. Simultaneously he felt a hand grasp his
belt, yanking him forward, while an explosive pain tore through his
groin.

“
Keep ‘em up!”
The woman snarled, her
face only inches from Asotos’. “Keep your arms high or I’ll slit
you clear to your chin and let the dogs eat your guts for
dinner!”

What?! What was this?!
Asotos hands
shot high, his mind attempting to grasp what was happening. This,
this creature had a weapon hidden, maybe up her sleeve, a derker
blade possibly. Whatever it was, his armor had been no match for
its power. Gone was the woman’s lonely remorse and forlorn
demeanor, now replaced with bitter hatred. How was it possible? Her
rejected sadness had been real, he knew for a fact that was so. How
had she tricked him into not seeing what else lay deep in her
heart?

As the stark reality became clear to Asotos,
he realized that he had been set up. This creature was cold and
calculating, her simmering hatred for him openly revealed. She
wanted him to know that he was the one who had been played.
Everything the woman had done was for a purpose - a cold,
calculated purpose. But what purpose?

A wicked smile grew across Trisha’s lips,
her hand shuddering ever so slightly. Asotos felt the blade’s point
painfully jabbing deeper into his flesh. Long had it been since
fearful uncertainty grew in the man’s heart. This could not be
happening! He cried out in disbelief, “How
dare
you treat
the king of this…”

Trisha shoved the blade deeper as she
hissed, “Give me a reason, and you won’t be going home this day...
Give me a reason...”

This was impossible! It couldn’t be!
“The
very Law of Lowenah has forbid any harm be delivered against
me!”

Trisha snarled. “
I’ll feel guilty in the
morning!
Since when have you cared for anything my God has
spoken? I am not come across Death and Time to worry about the
consequences over removing a piece of worthless slime from this
world the likes of you. I’ve already been delivered here to Hell!
What penalty might I face? Death? Oh, what a blessing...”

“What do you want?!” Asotos wailed, “I’ve
given you back your people.
What do you want?!”

Pulling Asotos so close to her face that he
could feel the woman’s hot breath and wet spittle, she answered, “I
want a
bull’s purse
, you
worthless worm!
I want to
make a woman of you...”

Desperate, Asotos shouted, “Does the mother
of all living things not see the travesty being committed?!”

Shocked silence! No one could believe what
Asotos had just uttered. The King of the Rebellion calling out to
the Maker of Worlds for help?

Trisha laughed. “Do you think begging will
save you now? You have cast your savior away by forcing an oath.
Now you suffer the will of my heart, for the souls of my kind you
have murdered.”