‘Of course,’ he conceded without hesitation, to put the Lord Dumuzi’s mind at ease. ‘As soon as I address the Pantheon, I shall —’
Please, Dragon, I truly fear for her welfare if we delay. Dumuzi fidgeted in his stance, desperate to achieve his goal. We have a day and a night to kill before the Pantheon will withdraw to the Senate chambers.
Although a day and a night on Nibiru added up to about thirty-six hours, Kila time, Maelgwn still felt they would be cutting their journey a bit fine. ‘I cannot risk angering the great Pantheon by keeping them waiting,’ he reasoned. But what if Inanna withdrew from reality altogether in the interim?
The wormhole to Tarazean is clear of etheric leakage. There will be no delay, Dumuzi promised. If we left now we’d be back before tonight’s feast is consumed.
Although the chances of the long wormhole remaining clear of leakage weren’t good, Maelgwn felt disposed towards aiding the Lord. He figured that while he had him on the spot like this, he may as well milk the situation for all it was worth. ‘And do I get to ask a favour in return?’
Absolutely, Dumuzi agreed without reservation. Provided I get my wife back.
‘Deal.’ Maelgwn held high his right hand and Dumuzi gripped hold to seal their pledge. Then, at the sight of Brian striding down the corridor towards them, Maelgwn realised he still had some fast-talking to do before he could leave.
I’m in dock seven-twenty, east wing. Dumuzi began to back off to go and ready his vessel for their getaway. I’ll see you there pronto, yes? He paused in his retreat only long enough for Maelgwn to nod in confirmation.
‘What was that all about? I didn’t give you permission to leave the planet!’ Brian protested.
‘I shall be back before the Pantheon sits in council tomorrow,’ Maelgwn told him, but Brian shook his head to disagree.
‘You cannot promise that, and you know it! I will not grant permission and that is final.’ Brian attempted to assert his authority over his brother-in-law for the first time.
‘There is more at stake here than just a seat in the Senate.’ With an apologetic look on his face, Maelgwn moved off in the direction Dumuzi had gone. ‘You have my recording should anything go amiss with me, and Rhun shall not steer you wrong.’
‘Don’t do this, Maelgwn. I have never been insubordinate to your command,’ Brian appealed.
‘If you were in my position, you’d do the same thing.’ Maelgwn continued to back up.
‘I am in your position, goddammit!’ Brian was infuriated as Maelgwn turned his back on him and continued to walk away. However, as Maelgwn had never let him down before now, Brian swallowed his pride, and called after him, ‘I am relying on you, Dragon! Come see me as soon as you return.’
With a wave of appreciation, Maelgwn turned down an adjoining corridor and out of sight.
Please Goddess, don’t make me face the Pantheon alone. Brian gave a heavy sigh.
Although Brian had brushed up on his psychic self-defence before leaving Kila, neither he or Maelgwn had ever been granted admittance to a Pantheon meeting. The thought of addressing the council was more than a little daunting, and Brian much preferred the idea of Maelgwn being given the honour before he was.
Back at the reception, Aya had gone out of her way to introduce herself to the new Vice-Governor of Kila and was giving him the lowdown on all her relatives, some of whom Rhun was already familiar with.
‘And who is that Lord over there?’ he queried, pointing to the one remaining Nefilim male in the room that he could not pin a name to.
That is my older brother and Nergal’s only blood son, Micah. Aya leant closer than necessary to advise him. Did you know that he knew your mother back before the demise of the Atlantean civilisation on Gaia? As Rhun shook his head, none the wiser, Aya nodded. He did a lot of missionary work around the spiritual evolution of the mortals there.
‘I see.’ Rhun found the information rather curious. ‘Well, if Micah is Nergal’s natural son, then why is Nabu next in line to head the Pantheon?’
Because Nabu is a firstborn son of the firstborn son of Enlil, Ninurta, who met his demise during the time of the great Pyramid Wars. Aya moved closer still to whisper her opinion. But they say Nergal adopted Nabu because Micah did not complement the family business, being too soft on the human labour.
‘So … Nabu isn’t then?’
Aya shook her head. My daughter wouldn’t stand for it. She hates pets. No offence. Aya patted Rhun’s hand. That Pantheon term is probably a little tasteless in present company.
‘No offence taken,’ Rhun smiled politely, knowing she was having a dig to see if he’d bite. ‘We ferals didn’t really prove suitable for domestication anyway. Our owners found us to be a bit too … unpredictable.’
Ferals! Aya was sincerely amused by the term. That’s a good one, she chuckled again. You must let me use it.
‘Feel free,’ Rhun granted, finding the term more preferable to pets. It’s nice to know what they truly think of us. He looked away in order to maintain his indifferent facade, expecting to be patted on the head at any moment. But it was his shoulder that Aya tapped.
Your new Governor … Aya set her eyes on Brian, who stood at the door looking around for Rhun. Is he really the brother of Lamamu? she asked, sounding aroused by the notion. They say he is a warrior who is second to none.
‘Except me,’ Rhun boasted in jest, and Aya smiled.
Seriously … are the rumours true? She appealed for an answer. Is he the brother of your infamous mother?
Rhun cocked an eye, intending to keep her in suspense. ‘Haven’t you had dealings with Brian in his capacity of Vice-Governor before now, Nin?’
Aya sighed. He won’t have anything to do with me, she concluded with a slight pout.
‘Well, of course he won’t,’ Rhun advised, surely. ‘He’s a happily married man.’
Aya laughed. There’s no such thing.
‘I beg to differ,’ Rhun claimed, standing tall, and the Goddess laughed again.
Rhun appeared so confident about this that Aya fixed her seductress gaze upon him in challenge. But surely you crave a little variety?
Rhun raised his brows and shook his head, indifferent to the offer. No … we ferals mate for life.
Aya reacted as if most insulted, and the demeanour of an aloof snob overshadowed her enchantress’ gaze. An infinity of boredom. How drab for you, she retorted.
‘Indeed.’ Rhun found it hard to keep a smile of satisfaction from his face, for the Goddess was truly riled. ‘Eternal love really sucks.’
‘Love’ was a word that every Nefilim hated, for they had yet to fully grasp the concept. Inanna’s dispute with Tory Alexander had taught the Nefilim females that they could not compete with a human woman for the love of her man. Try as she certainly did to steal Maelgwn’s affections from his beloved, Inanna had failed miserably.
But how tragic it must be for one of your kind to lose his mate, the Goddess said sorrowfully, but she managed to make it sound more like a threat. Would you then opt for a lifetime of loneliness? she wondered playfully, her sights returning to rest on Brian.
‘He would,’ Rhun stated sharply, and Aya looked back to him, momentarily angered.
Realising she’d gotten a rise out of the young Vice-Governor, she chose to gracefully take her leave of him. ‘Interesting,’ she said, slipping away into the crowd.
‘Making friends?’ Brian queried as he finally reached Rhun, who was startled by the question.
‘I don’t think so,’ he replied, and then nudged Brian’s arm to make light of his own bewilderment. ‘She thinks very highly of you though.’ Rhun thought it best not to tell Brian just how deep her admiration ran.
‘Really.’ Brian appeared to be flattered. ‘Why, what did she say?’
‘You don’t want to go there.’ Rhun was desperately trying to think of a way to get the Governor off the subject of Aya, when fate stepped into the room in the form of Dumuzi.
‘What the hell
is he doing back here?’ Brian mumbled as he caught sight of the Lord, and moved off in Dumuzi’s direction.
Rhun trailed him, giving silent praise to the universe.
Brian confronted Dumuzi. ‘I was of the impression that you were accompanying Maelgwn somewhere?’ He didn’t know or trust the Lord as much as his brother-in-law did.
There you are, Brain. Dumuzi shook his hand.
‘The name is Brian,’ he corrected. ‘Brian Alexander.’
Yeah, whatever. Dumuzi moved on to shake Rhun’s hand. The Dragon insisted that I stay here and show you two around.
‘Father has gone?’ Rhun questioned, most inspired by the news.
‘Only for the remainder of the day,’ Brian advised, attempting to convince himself of the truth of the statement in the process.
‘King for a day then,’ Rhun mumbled, pleased to have a chance to prove his worth.
‘Don’t go getting any wild ideas,’ Brian cautioned as Dumuzi smiled at Rhun, seeing in him a kindred party spirit.
‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ Rhun defended in all seriousness. ‘I am here to be of aid to you, dear Uncle.’
As his nephew placed an arm over his shoulders Brian knew he was in trouble.
‘And I do believe that the very best way that I can be of aid to you at present,’ Rhun continued, ‘is to help you relax.’
Now that I can help you with, Dumuzi concurred, eager to help out.
‘Oh no.’ The Governor made a weak attempt at resistance, but Rhun took hold of Brian by one arm and Dumuzi took hold of Brian by the other.
Brian didn’t take too much convincing to allow his company to lead him off towards the feasting chamber of the Great Pantheon, commonly known as ‘the Arena’.
On the way they had words with nearly all the Nefilim representatives. The Pantheon members were eager to get an insight into the man the Dragon was putting forward to join their ranks. Obviously, all the Pantheon members had seen Brian in the company of Marduk and the ex-Governor of Kila, but none had had any direct association with the man.
A low-key confrontation took place when Brian addressed the Head of the Pantheon, Nergal, who, at over eight feet in height, made a joke of kneeling down in order to shake the hands of Kila’s new officials. Maelgwn had never been the brunt of this kind of joke as he was exceedingly tall for a human. Brian and Rhun, who were average height by human standards, did not appreciate the action.
‘My dear Lord Nergal.’ Brian maintained his pleasant demeanour. ‘Such veneration overwhelms me. I was under the impression that you knelt before no one.’
‘Whoa!’ gasped the onlookers, suspecting Nergal would take offence at the comment.
The Head of the Pantheon rose to look down upon Brian and Rhun, his expression blank. Well, it is nice to be in the same hemisphere as the person you are addressing, is it not?
As Nergal and his entourage broke into laughter, Brian and Rhun forced themselves to laugh along and avoid any further unpleasantness.
So. Nergal became serious. You are to be the new Governor of Kila?
‘I am the new Governor of Kila, yes,’ Brian responded with assurance.
A very pretty planet, that one, the Lord recalled. I hear the poaching is mighty fine there.
‘Only for our game protection wardens,’ Brian assured him, suddenly enlightened as to why the poaching problem had become so bad recently. Was this yet another form of Nefilim sabotage?
And what do you think of Nibiru? Nergal queried Brian, as they began to make their way into the banquet hall.
‘I always find my stay on Nibiru rather exhilarating,’ responded Brian. ‘Rather like living on a fault line.’
Nergal pretended to find the comment amusing when, in fact, he was vexed by Brian’s response and changed the subject completely. What has become of the Dragon? Did he not arrive with you?
‘He has pressing business elsewhere, but will be present to address the Pantheon tomorrow,’ Brian assured Nergal.
Nergal appeared to be satisfied with this. Well then, do enjoy this evening’s festivities, won’t you? He gave Brian a peculiar grin as they entered the huge banquet chamber with its large sunken pit in the centre.
‘I greatly look forward to the experience.’ Brian gave a slight bow in parting. As Nergal moved off to his reserved table, Brian took the opportunity to gape at the huge banquet room. ‘So what is the pit for?’ he inquired of Dumuzi.
Why, gladiators, of course, he announced cheerfully. It’s our favourite spectator sport.
‘What do you do for a support act … feed a few lawbreakers to the lions?’ Rhun made jest of their entertainment preferences.
Hardly, scoffed Dumuzi. That went out of vogue ages ago.
At each table belonging to a Pantheon member, besides servants to serve food and refreshments, there were several masseurs to aid the delegates to relax before their day in the Senate. The tables sat low to the padded velvet floor that was covered with cushions on which the guests could lie whilst feasting.
‘Now this is not so terrible, is it … a little jaunt back to ancient Rome, with all the mod cons?’ Rhun put the question to Brian as a couple of lovely Leonine women rubbed their backs and shoulders.
‘I could think of worse things I might be doing this afternoon,’ Brian conceded, before he was fed another huge purple berry.
‘Hey, Dumuzi …’ Rhun called to the Lord, who was underneath the table getting more than just his back massaged by the Leonine woman in his company.
The Lord stuck his head up above the table to view the men he was chaperoning.
‘You’d best watch yourself,’ Brian warned him, as sexual relations between immortals and mortals was strictly forbidden.
I’m not doing anything illegal, he defended. My lady friend here is just exploring the possibilities. He grinned broadly at Rhun, although he was dying to give the Leonine his fullest attention once more. Is there something you wanted?
‘When does the fighting get started?’ Rhun motioned to the arena, where some acrobats of the Falcon breed were defying gravity with their stunts.
Soon. Dumuzi managed to respond while experiencing much pleasure from what was going on beneath the table.
‘And who shall be fighting?’ Rhun kept the conversation going, just to be annoying.
Um? Dumuzi’s eyes rolled back into his head. He was so distracted, he had to rack his brain to even fathom the question. A Lahmuian mutant most likely.
Brian and Rhun looked to each other, perplexed. ‘A what?’ They looked at the Lord, curious to hear his response.
Dumuzi held up a finger to postpone their conversation a second, and disappeared beneath the table, groaning with delight. Holy mother! His thought projection seemed to fill the huge chamber and echo around it a few times.
Rhun and Brian smothered their amusement, which stemmed half from embarrassment and half from shock — the Lord had an abundance of gall, daring to practise in public what his relatives would only risk behind closed doors.
Brian chanced a glance in Nergal’s direction, but the Overlord appeared to be ignoring his little brother’s impropriety, as were the rest of his kindred.
Right! Dumuzi sat up, having regained control of his wits. Where were we? he queried, doing up the belt on his trousers and then reaching for his drink.
‘Lahmuian mutant,’ Brian and Rhun reminded him in unison.
Ah, yes. The Lord raised both brows, surprised. I can’t believe you’ve never encountered the species. After all, they were spawn in your original star system.
‘Lahmu?’ Rhun racked his brain to think of which planet in Gaia’s system the Nefilim had named thus. ‘Mars,’ he nudged Brian as he informed him. ‘They’re Martians!’ Both he and the Governor grinned in amusement.
They are only one species of creature that developed on the planet, but they are by far the most hideous and nasty. Dumuzi raised his eyebrows a couple of times to heighten his listeners’ expectations.
‘So who fight
s these creatures … or do they fight each other?’ Brian queried, as Dumuzi’s masseur emerged from under the table wearing a mischievous grin on her face.
No, no. Anyone who fancies themselves as a personal guard to one of the Nefilim may prove their skill, their guide explained. There is nothing so admired by the Pantheon than a warrior who can defeat a Lahmuian mutant.
‘How to win friends and influence people.’ Rhun raised his brow thinking the system somewhat extreme.
‘What if no one volunteers?’ Brian figured the Nefilim would not go without their entertainment.
Then someone will usually supply enough incentive for a worthy warrior to oblige. Dumuzi shrugged. The nominator seldom has to pay up the reward, so we still get a free show.
‘So what do these mutants look like?’ Rhun left his masseur to move closer to Dumuzi, for he was most interested to hear about these creatures.
Ah! The Lord smiled, having anticipated the question. I wouldn’t want to spoil the spectacle. In the interests of his own amusement, Dumuzi felt it best to keep them in suspense.
Tarazean was a beautiful purple planet in the binary star system of Sirius under the governorship of Pantheon members, Narnar and Ningal. The planet’s extraordinary appearance was due to dust storms churning up the purple particles of sand that covered most of the planet in desert. The sheer rocky mountain peaks were the same rich colour.
Inanna had taken up residency on her parents’ planet by order of the Pantheon. After the discovery of the Chosen Ones and Inanna’s crimes against Marduk and his children, she had lost her place in the Twelve and was on probation under the watchful eye of her mother, Ningal, for many years.
After Inanna had once again been deemed fit to rejoin intergalactic society, she had continued to use Tarazean as a home base. Her brother, Shamash, had used her previous home planet for target practice, and she no longer had a capital city to call her own.