...They're
bonding with us in family ways and we have no idea who they are.... Mina's
words echoed through Neter's mind loud and clear as he tossed another log on
the fire, they were haunting him now, now that he was witnessing the damage
Josh had done to so many hearts already. He studied the flames as they lapped
the logs, searching for answers. He was able to sense dark energies just not so
good at sensing where they are coming from. Was this feeling of unrest
inside simply left over from the trauma of war? He reached for another log and
tossed it on the flames, noticing the pile was getting low and wandered outside
to gather some more wood, hoping it would help clear his mind.
But
outside, the sounds of children could be heard, chanting down the street.
Through the dark haze he could see them, marching, waving
sticks... Flags... Was that Bell? He narrowed his focus,
it was! He was teaching them again... What were
those flags for?
He
walked closer to take a better look, it looked like the officer had taken a
particular liking to the boys... Especially Cane. This was becoming a pattern,
he wasn't the only one who had noticed it, either. He wasn't blind, he could
tell Zara didn't like Bell, nor did Bell seem moved to woo her. There was an
unspoken, tarnished history between the two. Which raised the uncomfortable
question: Was Bell's interest in her boy genuine or a power play?
Troubled
on so many levels, he returned to the wood pile and his fireplace concerns.
What had become of Vikkar and the Dogon tribe? The supernatural forces that
Torus had channelled through the sword were a brand new can of worms, the truth
was that as long as the Firmary gods were alive in Lemuria, they would be in
danger of an encounter. Torus was an Archonic being, he had learned that much,
and now he was the owner of the sacred Sword? Where did they go?
It
wasn't a good reality they faced at all. What hideous creature had Malodon
unleashed into the world?
The
network of ancient Aquillan passages and underground caverns stretched far
beyond the collapsed swiss cheese of the Atlan Empire, future mining
destinations were in abundance, it was only a matter of knowing where they were
and choosing the best place to begin. Now that Ku was gone, Ra-Ku took
leadership position over the Nefilim tribe. He agreed to work for Torus and
help him build his colony in exchange for a share of the goods that were to be
shipped over from Ebar. More informative than Halki's maps, the Nefilim
knowledge of the mines and tunnels in Lemuria gave them a solid head start.
Once they discovered that Anur was indeed a seaside town, they could discard
all their expensive and elaborate harbour solutions and focus on staking out
their claim. Up on the northern slope of the An Valley was an old gold mine,
close enough to the river to make a comfortable camp with a lookout over the
remains of Anur.
Now
that he had the Sword of Lightning, Torus’s transition to power had been
seamless, as if destined to be. The Nefilim were put to work setting up the
mine, the Dogons were worked the camp, and the Panthers were employed to teach
the gods all that they knew, to translate the messages from the carvings on the
walls, from the stars, to help them transition into their new Lemurian world in
such a way that the knowledge of their sorcery could once and for all be
properly harvested
"Now
all you need is that family!"
"A
Family?" Malodon's remark caught Torus off guard. Malodon put his arm
around the young god, still naive in so many ways.
"Your
New Tribe needs to grow. Your blood is like a tree, it needs to take root and
branch out. You want the Lemurians to accept you as one of them, don't
you? All Lunies have families."
Ears
were burning, Bella could hear every word of their conversation. Family?
Although she was glad to be alive, the transition from Vine Goddess to Torus'
bride had been a rough one. Forced to live on a diet of Expiree flesh, she had
to remind herself that she fared much better than the Elders on her dinner
plate, and being Torus's bride gave her a special security, at least she wouldn't
die.
There
weren't many good opportunities to make a move on the god of Death. Dena
watched him stoke the fire from the shadows, then watched as he played with his
dog, seemingly alone with his troubled thoughts, even his dog was freaky. She
scanned the room, the time was as good as ever, everyone was busy with whatever
they were doing, if she failed no one would notice. She undid the top button of
her blouse and sauntered toward him, doing her best to garner his attention
immediately upon arrival.
"Hi
there" she cooed, taking a seat in front of him by the fire, just a bit
too close. "Are you okay?"
"Hi"
Neter smiled, welcoming her attention. "What's up? How's the pregnancy
going?"
Caught
off guard, Dena blushed, conscious once again of her figure. She sat up,
reminding herself to keep focused on the goal. "I love being
pregnant" she lied, smiling, gracefully massaging her tummy, exposing a
little more skin by accident. She flipped her hair around her neck,
incidentally dropping the shoulder of her dress then leaned forward to pull it
back up, at just the right angle. Noticing his eyes dart down towards her
cleavage, she knew the time was ripe to pop the question. "Um.... I was
wondering if we could, like, maybe, talk?"
"Sure"
Neter replied, he knew she was trying to seduce him, it only added to the
accumulation of clues that she was Archonic trouble. "Let's talk."
"In
private?" She leaned forward dropping her voice to a whisper, eyes wide.
"It's sort of... personal."
"Personal?"
"Uh-huh…"
She leaned in closer, whispering in his ear, channeling her warm breath down
his neck. "I feel like I can trust you.... It's
about... Nepheus."
"Nepheus?"
Neter looked around the room for his friend. Nepheus was on stage, already
looking their way, smiling.
"You'll
need to ask Nepheus about that I'm afraid. He's right over there, see?"
