CHAPTER 11
Accident and Emergency
Dia had stared for several minutes at the corpse of the Lord before feeling satisfied that he was indeed deceased. A bizarre mix of emotions came over her; relief blended with disbelief. She had ended the life of a terrible man: The general of a God and the cause of so much personal strife. It would be a long time before Dia could truly appreciate that Kae was gone.
She removed herself from her creation and returned to her Earth house where she collected her thoughts, washed the blood from her face and wrapped her damaged knee in tight bandages. She had to find Daniel. He was still weak, she could feel it. She also felt him on Earth, reasonably close if she was not mistaken. ‘Daniel?’ She attempted to contact his mind. No reply came. She tried a few more times, still without receiving a reply.
It was early morning, the sun was yet to rise over the rooftops across the street and nobody was awake besides Dia it seemed.
She found herself heading towards the end of her street where there was more chance of seeing someone who may have noticed Daniel and Kae when they first arrived. Only a couple of cars passed by. There were no pedestrians.
Dia then turned her efforts towards any place Kae may have considered a good hiding place. He would have wanted somewhere close from which Daniel could not escape. He would have wanted to ensure Daniel remained weak, but alive; he may have needed him as a bargaining chip.
But then again, perhaps Kae had attempted to kill Daniel and failed. Perhaps he was merely incapacitated and could therefore not reply to Dia’s thoughts. Perhaps she had arrived on Earth before the Lord had had a chance to finish him off. ‘The hospital.’ She thought and set off sprinting along the roads leading to the town centre.
She arrived, minutes later, at the main entrance to the A&E wing. Entering the reception she approached the closest official-looking person. It was a nurse, wearing a confused expression as she looked Dia up and down. “Fancy dress.” Dia made up, quickly. “Did a black-haired man come here in the last few hours? Wearing white…? His name is Daniel.”
“Yes that sounds like the man in ward two. Came in at the start of my shift. Down the hall, through the double doors, take a right and it’s the third door on the left.”
“Thanks.” Dia muttered as she had already begun to walk away. She followed the nurse’s instructions and, when she came to the third door on the left pushed it open tentatively, hoping she had not raised her own hopes falsely.
She had not.
Daniel looked peaceful under the white hospital sheets. His face had been cleaned, but several butterfly-stitched wounds covered his face. Some of the cuts were still bleeding slightly, leaving tiny trails of red down his cheeks and neck.
Dia grabbed the chart from the end of his bed and flicked through it. He did not seem to have sustained any life-threatening injuries. She slid into the chair by the bed and delicately took his hand in hers, feeling herself both physically and mentally relax. Daniel was OK. Waves of relief washed over her and soon the adrenaline from moments ago had given way to melatonin, making the desire for sleep irresistible.
When Dia awoke it was to the sound of a voice. It was a nurse asking her to leave the room while she tended to Daniel’s various wounds. Dia complied sleepily and returned later with two cups of coffee in case Daniel was awake.
Her eyes met his as she entered the room. He smiled broadly. “About time you showed up.” He laughed, wincing slightly at the pain it caused, “So... You managed to tame it then?”
“Yes... Here I got you a coffee.” Dia placed the cup on the side table. “But you first. What happened?”
Daniel shrugged. “Kae was there, waiting. He wanted you, but I saw him first. I managed to take half of the Spire’s power before I saw him falling towards you in the distance. I cut off the connection and fell after him... Or maybe I flew. I’m not quite sure.
“Eventually, I caught up with him and we fought for what felt like hours until I began to tire. He got me in the back with a dagger then brought me here, to Earth. That’s when I attempted to contact you but as I made a connection, Kae seemed to realise what I was doing and used some kind of torture technique on me. It was quite unpleasant and I was forced to break the connection.
“We fought some more but by this time I was losing a lot of blood and I was exhausted. He did not seem to weaken; he just kept coming at me relentlessly. Then suddenly he was distracted by something. Something I felt too. It was you. You were nearby. I tried to keep his attentions for as long as possible but eventually he caught me with a sharp blow to the neck, I blacked out, then awoke here with a familiar hand in mine.” He grinned again. Dia beamed back.
“Well my story is much of the same...” Dia went on to explain her final battle with Kae, realising the relief she was now enjoying with every word she spoke. She was happy, almost ecstatic as her emotions whirled about inside her, contrasting against the terrible feelings from before she found Daniel here, in this hospital bed. He was safe. And she was safe too, by his side.
At least for the time being.
CHAPTER 12
A Prelude to War
A green tinged sun lowered in the yellow evening sky on a planet with no name. A herd of grazing, goat-like animals steadily moved their way across a huge open plain of grasses, occasionally stopping to eat or nip at other members of the herd in a playful manner.
Behind the grassland was a forest of golden trees whose leaves sparkled as they danced in the wind.
In stark contrast, towering above the treeline was a sharp-edged, ominously dark mountain. It was an ugly thing; looming monstrously over the scene below.
Near to the highest of the terrific peaks was something like a man; he was unlike any standard for a human being. He stood with legs which bent outwards at his thighs then inwards again at his heels. His head was set upon an unusually long neck and his shoulders were low down by his sides. His face, though relatively normal in general appearance, hosted no expression or emotion upon it.
The man’s eyes closed and the world suddenly altered around him. Opening his eyes again he stood amidst thousands of humanoid creatures. All of which had long brown hair growing all over their bodies; some had plaited this in various places creating a weird, bedraggled effect. The man looked over them and spoke in a voice which boomed deeply over the enormous crowd.
“Standing before you is Ssus. I am Deus. I am God. Follow me or forfeit your life. Follow me to war.”
There was a terrifying, growling cheer from the creatures which shook the earth. Ssus looked over them without even a flicker of feeling crossing his face. Then his eyes closed and he was gone.
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