Chapter 54

The damage to the camp had all but been repaired when we arrived via the portal and we all scattered with Arch’s approval to shower, feed and rest up whilst he waited for Morgana to return and begin planning our next operation. I did ensure Róisín made it to the healers section and they gave her an all clear after a deep scan. After that we wandered with Abi towards where Adok was remonstrating with some of the wolves over where they’d gone wrong.

“He’s coming on a bit strong,” I said in an aside to Marja who was leaning against a vehicle watching.

“He’s worried that the pack members here are too inexperienced and taking too many chances,” she replied.

“He’s not exactly experienced himself,” I said.

“His father was an Alpha and taught him well, tactics that is, unfortunately not so much wisdom,” she acknowledged. “Still now he’s finished with the bad cop stuff, it’s my turn.”

As Adok approached us she then stepped forward and began going over the things the wolves had done right.

“Think they’ll learn?” I asked him.

“They’d better. We’ve been far too lucky and God alone knows what the Sidhe might have done to us had they been better prepared,” he said mildly.

“You appear less stressed, Adok,” Róisín said.

“This ... campaign is what I was born to do. Life with the pack is too restricting, you Mages make sure of that,” he replied.

“Just protecting our own as any Alpha would,” I said.

“I know. My frustrations are not with you, but with the encroachment of our way of life by humanity’s expansion and growth,” he replied.

This was a very different side to Adok from when we’d first met and he’d tried to impose his will on me and Mage Ludmilla, to impress Marja I suspected. I could also understand his frustrations as there was less and less wilderness for the various packs to hunt in without running into humanity.

“You need to impress on Alpha Jacob the need to remove yourselves or gain access to an empty world,” I said.

“He would consider such?” Adok asked looking surprised.

“He would and it would give your pack new challenges as these worlds have good hunting, a young Alpha need not be restricted and could seek out a new hunting ground with a pack mate and friends,” I said watching his eyes narrow as he considered it.

“Assuming she would go with me...” he replied slowly his eyes watching Marja as she built up the morale of her pack mates.

“Do well, be brave and fight with your head as well as your heart and who knows what the future may bring,” I said.

Adok nodded, his eyes never leaving Marja as he contemplated a possible new future for himself.

Róisín, Abi and I then wandered over to the canteen to eat and then hopefully get some rest before we moved out the following morning to the area the Sidhe and Nephilim were holding.

The sun was just above the horizon when Goibhniu, weapon master of the Sidhe, returned and scowled as the servile prey scurried about their task of defending this encroachment against the approaching magic using enemy. He’d already eviscerated the messenger who had brought the news that the attempt to seize the high ground had ended in abject failure with the majority of the serviles having been eliminated by a much smaller force. Even more worrying was the fact that earlier one of the adepts who had been supporting the attack on the prey of this world had been taken down in the attack on the enemy’s camp. Often the Sidhe would boast about facing a glorious death (whilst having no intention of actually endangering themselves) but being torn apart by an animal seemed a terrible and ignoble way to go.

Still, he thought, the serviles were now fighting behind prepared positions and they’d surely cost the enemy dear to overrun them. Or at least delay them till the Sidhe could escape. Still, Goibhniu thought, his scowl turning into what no one in their right mind would consider a friendly smile, the raid had netted them thousands of slaves for food and sport and if the serviles couldn’t hold, well there were plenty more where they came from.

‘I know you.’ The voice sounded clearly in his mind startling him.

‘Pah! Show yourself coward!’ he blustered as he couldn’t detect the sender.

‘Soon, ‘ the voice replied.

‘Hah! You are but one of the enemy who believe they can resist the might of the Daoine Sidhe, ‘ he mentally snarled.

‘Easily, ‘ the infuriating voice returned with a hint of contempt.

‘We are here now and you cannot stop us!’ he replied with greater contempt.

‘You could not even mentally dominate me when I was on Tír na nÓg. What makes you think you can stop me now?’ the voice asked curiously.

‘You are the Seer! The one we duped into carrying my spirit as a spy, ‘ he mentally spat back.

‘Duped? Oh no. We knew all about your spirit. We simply wished to question it away from the rest of your psyche, ‘ the voice infuriatingly chuckled.

‘It matters not, you are doomed, ‘ he snorted.

‘See you soon ... little elf, ‘ the voice replied as it vanished without a trace leaving a maddened and slightly fearful Goibhniu to curse and cut down with his adamantine blade the first of the lesser breeds he saw.

‘Well done, Abi, ‘ came the serene (not)voice of Seer Jemima via their mental gestalt. ‘We now have a track upon him and we’re able to leech from his mind the details of his defences and the necessary commands to overwhelm them.’ ‘Thank you, my Seer, ‘ Abi replied. ‘I do not know why but it seemed far easier than it did when he attacked me in the past.’ ‘You are much stronger now, Abi, and we were able to resist him by keeping his probes away from your psyche, ‘ Jemima replied along with the others in the Gestalt.

‘Hopefully when Mage Morgana attacks, as she must, we can cause disarray in their ranks, ‘ Abi mused.

‘Let us hope so, sister. For these Sidhe are a formidable mental challenge when they set aside their personal animosity and arrogance, ‘ the Gestalt replied after a few microseconds of introspection.

‘I believe we have the power, ‘ Jemima added, mirroring Abi’s confidence.

‘We also have journeyman Mage John, although he has yet to come into his power or destiny yet, ‘ the Gestalt added. ‘You must never mention this to him, Abi.’ ‘I know, sisters, I know. For to know the path is to deviate from it, ‘ Abi replied.

‘Indeed, yet many of us envy you for your proximity to his heart, ‘ the Gestalt replied with a hint of wistfulness from many of her sisters.

‘He is infuriating at times, ‘ Abi admitted.

‘Only because he follows his own path. For him, thought becomes deed at the same instant as your Seer observed during the attack on the London building, ‘ the Gestalt replied.

‘Marcus says he has protection from some of the higher powers, though not all, ‘ Simone added. ‘His destiny is clouded from all who see such in humanity.’ ‘I fear for him, ‘ Abi confessed. ‘I fear that he will not survive his destiny.’ ‘A fear we all have, ‘ the Gestalt admitted.

‘Is there not more we can do?’ Abi asked.

‘No Abi. We are forbidden from such. The higher powers know we can see part of their plan, but they do not act against us so long as we do not interfere with those chosen to influence its path, or tell others, painful as this can be at times, ‘ the Gestalt sighed.

‘I know, my sisters. Yet it breaks my heart at times to feel the evil that lives amongst humanity which is permitted to exist by those upon whom is given guardianship, ‘ Abi sighed.

‘As do we all Abi, as do we all, ‘ the Gestalt replied before turning their senses back towards the planet they scanned and protected.

I had noticed Abi’s eyes go blank as she presumably communicated with the rest of the Seers, but knew well enough not to ask. The explanations usually didn’t make sense or when they did were highly unsettling. The communication or whatever it was lasted less than a second and Abi returned to her normal sunny self and ate breakfast alongside the rest of us. I also noticed several young Nephilim women eating with the rest of us looking very nervous and in one or two cases fearful. I saw no sign of the Malakha Telqua and presumed he was being debriefed by Jerhz or Mergna as I could see no sign of either.

“Don’t worry, you’re amongst friends here,” I said to them in Azuranic.

“We are Caddiysh. We do not fear you,” one said with fear writ large in her eyes.

“There is no need for false bravado,” I replied. “We know what you were forced into and we do not judge you on it. Indeed we admire you for sticking to the old forms and words of Caddiy.”

“You know the book of Caddiy?” one blurted out, getting hostile looks from her compatriots.

“I have read it and taken time to ask the Malakha Jerhz about it,” I replied.

The women were looking at each other in some consternation now.

“Then you know we will be fed to Irin simply for being captured by you, should we ever be ‘liberated’ by our people,” she said miserably.

“What makes you think we would ever hand over our guests?” I said quietly.

“We are prisoners, are we not?” she asked.

“No, we lock up our prisoners elsewhere,” I replied. “You are guests, saved from the Azurans who saw you simply as meat to do their bidding.”

“Truly?” another asked with a confused tone.

“Truly, now eat and drink. Ask questions if you like, and when Jerhz or Mergna get back, talk to them and see what is available on New Azurana for you,” I answered.

A few of them began eating carefully as if unsure of the food, a few watched them to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, yet soon even they began to eat and drink as they saw the Mages all getting food from the same source, a few British Army cooks we’d ‘borrowed’ to assist with our endeavour.

“My name is Ansua. Why would you help us?” one of the women asked.

“Because it was the right thing to do and we do not make war on women if we have any other option,” I replied.

“Is that why you killed the men with us?” she asked.

“Yes. We’ve found that most Caddiysh men are violent and arrogant,” I said.

“You got that right,” Ansua sighed. “We had to fight to protect ourselves at night as even our guards attempted to take ... liberties with us, despite such being proscribed in the book of Caddiy. We are Azuran women. We answered the call to arms from the high Malakha to come and fight for what was supposed to be ours. Yet all we found was bondage and cruelty.”

“And you never questioned if the fight was just?” Róisín asked.

“No, never,” Ansua replied, looking ashamed. “We’d been taught that we would return as liberators to the worlds the demons held, to free their peoples and make them Azuran.”