Tail of the Dragon
Tim & Chad Reihm
www.fallenangeltrilogy.com
Copyright © 2012 Tim Reihm
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1481806181
ISBN 13: 978-1481806183
For Dawn and Michael-
who made this possible
The Fallen Trilogy
Book 1- Tail of the Dragon
The first book in the Fallen series begins with the creation of a new group of arella. Two of the new creations, Ariel and Gadreel, become fast friends as they embark upon their seven years of training at the Angelic Academy. They live in a paradise and spend their days in contented camaraderie.
But there are whispers of a rebellion and rumblings of discontent against the Kings. One of their housemates, Helel, becomes involved in a secret group that is engaged in specialized training. When Gadreel, too, becomes involved, their friendship, and the Kingdom itself, is threatened.
Book 2- By Demons Be Driven
Helel and his demons become the princes of a newly created domain through trickery. With stolen artifacts from the Kingdom, Helel and his army use dark matter, possession and manipulation to corrupt and influence the natives. The battle escalates over the eons as a desperate rescue operation is attempted by the Kingdom. (available Winter, 2013)
Book 3- Oceans of Fire
After a devastating defeat at the hands of Michael, Helel is forced to rethink his strategy as he struggles to regain control over Gaia. He begins a campaign that is more successful than anything that he has been able to achieve prior. Famine, persecution, exotic diseases, genocide, world wars and nuclear holocaust decimate the population. An insidious propaganda campaign eliminates guardian influence from large swathes of the planet.
But the time is coming to an end. The power of chaos is rising and Helel's desperation grows as he nears the final battle, one that will result in great oceans of fire and a conclusion to the celestial war. (available Fall, 2014)
And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
Prologue
She carefully carried the urn up the treacherous trail toward the overlook. She made her way slowly, watching each step with a caution that bordered on terror. In her hands she held life, and she understood that a misstep would be fatal. Her smooth emerald skin glistened with exertion and she paused, set down her burden, and sat on a large boulder to rest.
Her eyes looked out lovingly over the land below. From this elevation, she could survey the entire span of the valley. She saw the rolling hills, the scrub trees, the gaunt flocks of harn, searching for small shoots and branches. Her eyes located the small home where her two offspring would be resting from the mid-day heat. Her mate would be preparing their evening meal while they slept.
Her gaze swept over the rows of clay-roofed dwellings, naming their inhabitants in her mind and reminding herself of the reason she had come. They were depending on her. A small group from her clan was walking toward the bank of the river. This had become a ritual, however fruitless, that occurred regularly throughout the day. Desperation forces one to cling to hope.
That desperation forced her to turn from the arid landscape before her and resume her trek. She had made this journey before, and each time had come back perplexed and agitated, with no resolution for her and her people. Today would be different. She would stand firm. Just thinking of standing up to them made her stomach tighten. She wanted to flee, but pressed on, determined.
She was aware that she was being followed, but was afraid to turn, afraid of tripping, afraid of failing. She could sense the little one's presence, scurrying from boulder to boulder, staying hidden, but watching. The knowledge that she was not alone on her journey was strangely reassuring. The little one offered no protection, but knowing that another shared her quest was a comfort, nonetheless.
Quemel watched the creature approaching up the narrow path carrying an urn of some type.
‘Here we go again,’ he said to Maleyan, smiling.
‘You have to respect her persistence,’ his friend answered.
‘I grow rather weary of persistence,’ he replied, his smile disappearing.
'Perhaps we allow for a small divergence,' Maleyan ventured.
'That defeats the purpose. They are so hardhearted and are not able to comprehend the bigger picture. They hang onto their primitive ways out of ignorance. I agree that it's difficult to see them live this way, but we have to force their hand. They have to move and rid themselves of their superstitious avoidance of civilization,' Quemel answered, determined.
As she rounded the final bend, the path opened up onto the great plateau. She spotted them immediately, standing massive and bathed in a soft glow. She stumbled slightly and almost dropped her burden. Recovering her balance, she continued deliberately toward the representatives. They stood on the edge of the cliff, surveying the work that was being done below.
Massive machines hoisted large, perfect cubes of rock through the air, deftly placing them atop the ever-growing wall. That wretched dam was the cause of their misery. Behind it stood the life that her people needed, but it cut off sustenance from her land. She looked at it with hatred, wishing that she had the power to smash it to bits. An explosion from further up the valley reminded her that she had none.
‘I will be strong and do what I can,’ she whispered quietly.
As she approached, Maleyan said, ‘Do you bring us gifts this time?’
‘I bring you life. I bring you the last trace of life in my land and ask what you would have me do with it?’ she replied with a quavering voice, laying the urn on the ground at the feet of the representatives.
'Do you bring us life tainted by stubbornness and pride?' Quemel asked.
'I bring you the last water in our land. I come to beg you, as arbitrators of justice, to allow life to return to our land. I beg you not to kill us.'
'You kill your selves if you refuse to leave. We have a place set aside for you and your clan. This dam is the key to your evolution. It will permit you and your people to live without the dangers that you currently face. Your crops will be irrigated. Your flocks will have water. We have made provision for you and you continue to defy us,' Quemel answered and gave a slight push against her will.
She looked up and met his eyes with alarm, but determination. She had been through this before and knew it was coming. She had spent days preparing herself mentally, but the suddenness of it still surprised her.
'We cannot be separated from our land. It is our birthright and that which unites us with our history, with our past and future selves. You think that you know what is best, but forcing us to move will kill a part of what we are. Please understand,' she pleaded and again sensed the push, harder this time.
Quemel was surprised by the newfound strength in this one. Previous visits from her had been easily dispensed with. She would come begging and with a little nudge, a mere suggestion, she would be quickly on her way home to explain why it would be best to move. The problem was that these suggestions never held for more than a few days. Then she would return and they would repeat the exercise. But it seemed that this ritual had strengthened her. As he pushed harder, he could feel the steely determination, like a stone wall that refused to yield.
He looked at Maleyan and saw a faint look of amusement on the other's face. Suddenly, the ember of frustration exploded in a conflagration of rage. This pathetic creature and her kind stubbornly ignored reason. He could crush her without any effort and she stood looking him in the eye. He gave up restraint and truly pushed. The wall flexed, straining against t
he pressure, then collapsed like a poorly constructed dam. Her defenses disappeared as if they were nothing but a wisp of smoke on the wind. But he didn't stop. He poured himself through the breach, sating the fury within.
Abruptly, his vision doubled and he was looking at his own face, and that image filled him with disgust, and anger, and fear. He just wished to be allowed to live his life as he chose. He only wanted to protect his clan; no, her clan. He looked down at his hands noticing how small and fragile the bones were beneath the sleek greenish covering of the skin. And he understood. This was not simple manipulation. He had taken over completely.
She understood that something had happened, but didn't know what. She pushed hard, but there was nothing there. One moment his weight was crushing her and the next minute it was gone, he was gone. Yet, she knew it was all wrong. Her thoughts were no longer hers. It was as if she had been shoved into a corner and forgotten inside her own head. She watched her hand go out and stroke the leg of the less frightening representative and heard her own laugh, but she hadn't laughed. What had he done to her? She was seized with impotent horror.
Quemel quickly adjusted to the sensation of occupying two bodies at once. He was exhilarated at the feeling. In an instant he understood all that drove these frustrating creatures, and he understood how to change them to his will. This would solve all of their problems in dealing with these puny beings.
'Do you know what this means,' she said to Maleyan.
For several minutes after reordering her thoughts he lingered on. It was such an incredible sensation to experience through her. All of those memories and impressions were now his. His throat burned excruciatingly. How long had it been since she had something to drink? She bent and picked up the urn, drinking deeply. When the thirst was gone, she picked up the remainder of the water, held it above her head, and poured. She laughed loudly.
It took all of his resolve to let go, but eventually he withdrew. Again the disorientation came and his vision was split. His mind lost touch with her.
Instantly he could see that something was wrong. She no longer stood resolute and challenging. Her eyes looked blank and dull and her neck refused to support the weight of her head, which hung to one side of her. He glanced at Maleyan, but his friend seemed unaware of the change. She began stumbling rapidly toward the edge. Quemel jumped forward to grab her, but as his hand touched her shoulder, she lost all sense of balance and fell backwards. He looked on, helpless, as her head exploded on a jagged protrusion of the rocky wall and her lifeless body cartwheeled out of the reach of help and life.