4.7

Chapter Seven

Final Hour

I

In a hundred different worlds, a thousand dimensions he searched for that one thing his heart desired.  It was not love, for this he could not touch.  It was not wealth, for this he could not hold.  It was an object.  A chain of legend, an artifact handed down from the gods, an object with the strength and the power to unmake any and all things.  It was this that he craved.  This power, this chain was all that he desired in his existence.  For with it he would remake everything as he saw fit.  He would be what he truly knew himself to be: A God.  The God.  But his heart was not pure and his possession of such power would be devastating and would bring ruin to all things.  Not just the world he inhabited, but all worlds, because all things are connected, all dimensions, all life; everything is connected by a chain.

Setting the mood…

“What are you going to do?”  She asked.

“I’m going to make everything right.”

how will we smile ever again
i’m asking you sincerely, my dear old friend
what do you say, is there a way
my dear old friend

how will we laugh just like before
when there’s water rising up to our door
and we may never see each other again
my dear old friend

will there be someone to remember
a little place that we loved
how the music played all night and day
through the windows up above

how the birds sang in the morning
how the dog barked in the yard
i guess that’s nothing much but everything to us
and that’s what seems so hard

how will we smile ever again
i’m asking you sincerely, my dear old friend
the moon on the hill says we probably will
my dear old friend

The Final Hour is only days away…

4.6

Chapter Six

Evanescence

I

No time

There is no time

There is no

Time

No time

Tiko sat up quickly. He could feel the cold sweat covering his entire body. He was lying near the embers of a dying fire. The dawn was creeping up in the distance. He saw Tomas, Adia, and Alexia asleep nearby. Nyhm and Damian were nowhere to be seen.

Tiko glanced down at his hands. His fingers were seemingly fading away. He clenched his fist tightly and looked again. His fingers looked normal. Solid. Real.

4.5

Chapter Five

Comes a Pale Horse

I

The wind crept through the tall grass, whispering its way to the two riders at the hill top. The sun had lowered itself closer to the ground with every moment and still they waited. One of the riders, the taller of the two, sat unmoving in his saddle. His horse stomped its foot impatiently and he only patted the beasts long dark neck.

His companion was even more impatient than the horse. He looked again at his master spoke hesitantly.

“We should go now. The men are ready. We can decimate this village and be back in time for supper.”

“Not. Yet.” The tall man said. He looked at his companion, his red eyes seemingly glowing in the rapidly dimming light, “You aren’t questioning my judgment are you, Phillip?”

Phillip felt his heart beating hard and fast in his chest. He had seen this man behead someone for less. He suddenly feared for his life.

4.4

Chapter Four

The Badlands

I

Tiko saw the first plume of dirt before the crack exploded in the sky. He was nearly asleep, his eye lids fluttering closed when the bubble broke inches from his face. He rolled over and leapt to his feet just as the crack sounded.

“Nyhm!” He leapt over the fire and yanked Nyhm up. The small dirt mound he had been resting his head on exploded.

That was the beginning of the barrage. The ground began exploding around them as the thick heavy bullets slammed into the dirt. Tiko felt a bullet wiz past his arm, tearing into the flesh as it past. He spun around and stumbled. He saw one of the horses rear up onto its legs and fall over backwards as a bullet tore into its neck.

4.3

Chapter Three

The Dream Life of Adia Silverblade

I

The laughter of the little boy echoed in the air. He skipped across the lush green grass chasing a dark winged butterfly. His dark hair seemed to float in the air as he played. His green eyes sparkled brightly with each laugh.

A young woman stood at the door to a small cottage watching as the boy ran through the fields. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her. The wind carried a slight chill that her linen gown failed to keep out.

She shivered slightly and called for her son. He looked at her and waved. She could not keep the smile from her face when she looked at him. So pure. So innocent. She felt a warmth in her heart that defeated the wind’s cool chill.

4.2

Chapter Two

Lesser Demons

I

The citizens can feel it. Some profound wrongness that hangs heavy in the air. The world is dying and the citizens know they are powerless to prevent it. They simply continue to go about their lives. Living and dying as fate would have them. There has not been a child born in this land in a year. No one can explain why. The same way no one seems to have memory of anything before that time. Almost as if they all were born at the same moment as they are now.

Some people look to the Badlands for answers. Yet they all fear going there. A land of large stone structures of steel and glass. A land of decimation and destruction. The citizens believe their salvation lies in this place.

Only one person knows the truth. He was standing at the edge of a small tent village staring out across a vast desert. His dark hair hung down around his ears and a cloth was tired around the lower half of his face to keep the sand from his mouth. His green eyes sparkled in the darkening night.

Book Four: Bloodline

Chapter One

A History of Violence

Another world, another time…

I

“This is a gift I give to you. Accept it, and you live. Deny it and you die.” The woman pulled back her hood and revealed her porcelain skin and crystal eyes. Her raven black hair cascaded down her slender neck and spilled over her shoulders. She looked up at the dark haired man with his hands bound behind his back. Her mouth was not moving but he could hear her words as if she was speaking directly into his mind.

A large hulking man stomped over to him and placed the thick noose around his neck. The large gathered crowed roared.

“Kill the bastard!” They screamed with glee.

“Make your choice!” The woman begged him.

The man looked down into her eyes.

“Do I not deserve this?” He asked, “Is this not a just punishment for my actions?”

“You have a destiny greater than your past.” The woman’s voice echoed in his head, “Choose to accept my gift and you will be released!”

3.10

Chapter Ten

The Darkened Dawn

Damian and Nyhm walked out of the forest and found themselves on the outskirts of a small village. It was still dark as they approached the village gates. The sun was struggling to pull itself into the sky. They stopped as the reached the gates.

“What ever happened to just walking into a town?” Damian muttered and pounded on the steel gates.

A moment passed before a small peephole opened in front of them. A largely magnified eye peered out at them. The peephole slammed shut and a larger door opened. A small hairy man stepped out and beckoned them in.

“Hurry now before the wolves gitcha.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about wolves anymore.” Nyhm said.

3.9

Chapter Nine

The Darkness

There is a point for a person where everything seems at once lost. Unrecoverable. Destroyed. For Cecil his moment had come. He felt his breath slowing. Smelled the soft scent of the grass beneath his face, felt the last of his life oozing from his wound. Unrecoverable. Destroyed. His eye sight dimmed as he watched Damian and Adia rushing towards the Dark One. It grew dimmer as his eyes closed and he called out for Nyhm with his mind. He heard Nyhm respond as he sluggishly made his way over to Cecil. He felt Nyhm take his hand.

“Protect them.” Cecil whispered to Nyhm. He reached forward and clamped his hands against Nyhm’s head. A blast of white light traveled along his arms and surrounded his hands before being absorbed into Nyhm.

“Now my knowledge is yours and you know everything. I am sorry.”

With that, Cecil was gone and the clash of steel filled the night sky.