Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes (The Nephilim Chronicles) (25 page)
Read Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes (The Nephilim Chronicles) Online
Authors: Jonathan Yanez
they all went up in the flames of the explosion. He wished he could come up
with a witty one-liner or a cool phrase to say. Instead he just smiled and
said, “I don’t think we’re going to the same place. And you still owe me a pair
of slippers.”
Dominic placed his hand directly
over Alan’s chest, where muscle and bone protected his heart. The swirling
power of red energy exploded. The world went black.
Chapter 70
Michael was covered in both is own
blood and the blood of his enemies. Since the arrival of the Death Angels, the
battle had turned in their favor. All around him, his men and women took heart.
A passion for victory possessed his warriors as they witnessed the most
powerful beings in history take the battlefield on their side.
battlefield, the Fallen and their Nephilim either fled or met their end.
Michael grinned and said a silent prayer of thanks to the Creator who, contrary
to Ardat’s beliefs, had not forsaken them in their hour of need.
The fight was nearing its end. In
all directions, the enemy lay dying or fleeing. Michael knew Ardat would not
surrender. He knew that she would not, could not endure another defeat. It was
for the love that still beat in his heart for her that he forced his broken
body to flight. Pain seared across multiple wounds that still oozed his angelic
blood. His armor was punctured and torn in a dozen different locations. The
once royal blue cloak that trailed behind him was reduced to tatters.
to a standstill, Michael gained altitude in the hot desert air. The sight below
him confirmed what he already expected to see. The enemy army was in full
retreat. All but one of their giants lay dead on the field of battle. Small
pockets of resisters still struggled against the Death Angels but were dealt
with in a brutal and swift manner void of any quarter or compassion.
Panic began to wrap its cold
fingers around Michael’s hopeful heart. He couldn’t find Ardat anywhere. A
voice told him that he was too late. It whispered images of Ardat lying dead and
alone on some forsaken corner of the battleground. Michael was burdened with
guilt.
Had he done everything he could to save her? Should he have tried
harder to stop her during her secret visit to his tent?
Before more doubts
could tear his heart asunder, Michael heard a familiar shout in the distance.
searched for Ardat. His eyes scanned the scene below him and stopped on a group
of four Death Angels surrounding a single foe. Without hesitation, Michael
headed for the conflict. As fast as his wounded wings could carry him, Michael
raced to stop the fight. Ardat was in the center of the four warriors, a sword
in either hand. She was not going to go without a fight.
“Stop!” Michael screamed as he came
to a less than graceful landing next to Ardat. He shouted the command to all of
them as once. Faces recognized him as the Archangel and stopped midstride.
Ardat still stood crouched and ready for her final clash.
himself. She was bruised and bloodied. Her eyes darted to him first but refused
to linger long. She was shifting her stance trying to take on the other four
Death Angels at once.
Michael wiped the sweat that
dripped into his green eyes as he recognized the familiar faces of the Death
Angels who had fought alongside him during the first conflict in Heaven.
“Enough,” he said. “Brothers and sisters, you will always have my thanks and
gratitude for your assistance this day. However, the fight is over. Thanks to
you, the day is won. Whatever Fallen or demonic Nephilim remain will be taken
prisoner.”
Michael turned to look at Deborah,
she was one of the fiercest female warriors in the Death Angel clan, only second
to Sera herself. Michael chose to ignore the jab at his relationship with
Ardat. He knew that the stakes were high and everyone’s nerves were at the breaking
point. Instead of replying to Deborah, he turned to Ardat. “It’s over. I know
you see that. There is no victory to be won here.”
second. Michael could see the gears turning in her head as she considered her
options. “How? How?” she asked. “How did you convince them to join the fight?
They haven’t taken part in our war since we fell centuries ago. How did you get
them now?”
Michael shook his head. “I didn’t.
I’m looking forward to hearing that story just as much as you from a Nephilim
named Alan Price. But now the how is not important. Right now I need you to
make a decision.”
Ardat stop her shifting stare and look into his eyes. “I need you to put your
weapons down and give us another chance. No matter how small that chance is.”
Ardat’s weapons lowered the
slightest bit. “They will kill me for what I’ve done or sentence me to a life
worse than being condemned to this world.”
affection. “They might. No matter what, I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
Ardat swallowed hard. “You’d still
stand by my side? With all that I’ve done?”
the wind and stood next to Ardat with open arms. “The path that you chose was
one I could not follow. That was your choice. Despite that, I never stopped
loving you. No matter what happens now, I won’t stop loving you. Just give us a
chance. Stop this.”
In a very unlike Ardat fashion, she
dropped her weapons. Still too strong to cry in the presence of others, Michael
could see her fight back the tears that pooled in her eyes. “I’ll surrender,
Michael. I’ll surrender for you. For us.”
Chapter 71
beneath him, all around him was nothing but a void, blackness. He looked down
on himself. Still dressed in the same suit of armor with his white cloak and
blue wings behind him, Alan knew he was dead – at least he thought he
was.
As he remembered the events that
led to this moment, his thought process was interrupted by a familiar voice. “You’ve
done so well, Alan. You’ve surpassed any limitations I though you would
encounter.”
was just as he remembered. Behind him and all around him the darkness ran in
fear of the light. Brilliance surrounded Jacob and with every step, the blackness
dissipated. As Alan witnessed the wondrous change of scenery, he also realized
what these events meant. “Jacob, am I dead?”
Jacob stood in front of Alan with a
wide smile. The last of the darkness was gone. “Well, sort of. You’re in a kind
of limbo right now.”
words that Jacob spoke with such a relaxed attitude. Witnessing the confusion
on Alan’s face, Jacob picked up the conversation. “I know it’s a lot to understand
and there is much I can’t tell you. What I can tell you is that your work on
earth is not done. I was sent here to give you a message. He’s very proud of
you, Alan. He needs you to continue to discover and learn who you are. You are
special, Alan Price. I hope you can see that by now. It won’t be easy but everyday
you can choose to grow and evolve into the person you were always meant to be.”
A sense of calm and peace penetrated every pore of
Alan’s body. “And you?” he asked. “Can you come back with me?”
Jacob smiled and shook his head. “My work on earth
is done. Yours on the other hand, is just beginning.” Jacob’s handsome features
took on a tone of worry. “This wasn’t the end, Alan. The Colossus was just the
beginning. Look to the other six Ancient Wonders for answers. Train. Learn. You
will be needed desperately very soon.”
The peace that held and rocked Alan only a moment
before began to dissolve at Jacob’s foreboding words. “What do you mean? What’s
going to happen?”
“Nothing. Nothing is going to happen as long
as you choose to fight for what you know is right. We are all capable of a lot
of good and a lot of bad, it’s up to us to decide what we become. There is
always a choice, Alan, never forget that.”
“I don’t know if I can, Jacob. If
there’s more coming, I don’t even know how I’m managing to keep it together
now. I don’t even know what I am. Nephilim aren’t even supposed to have wings.”
the absence of fear. It’s victory over fear. I’ve divulged too much already. I
have to go now. Remember what I said and always know that you are not alone.”
“Jacob, Jacob, wait.” Alan extended
a hand to grab the man that had played such a brief yet powerful role in his
life as a mentor. Only air filled his palm.
Alan sat bolt upright breathing
hard. Angelica sat beside him with a smile. “Easy there hero.”
“You’re safe. We’re in one of the Angels’
secret bases called Haven. It was too long of a trip to take the wounded back
to the warehouse. We’ve set up a kind of triage center here.”
his head. He was wearing a light blue pair of pants with a matching blue shirt.
His body ached but he had more important things on his mind than his own wellbeing,
“Did we win? The war, I mean. Is everyone okay?”
Angelica grinned, “Yes, thanks to
you and Danielle we were victorious. We lost many in the battle. If you are
asking about Danielle, she’s fine.”
Alan let a gasp escape his aching
chest. For the first time he took in his surroundings. They were in a large
long room set with a clean white bed every few yards. Supernatural healers
gifted with abilities similar to Danielle, walked from bed to bed,
administering treatment and checking patients. As Alan’s gaze panned across the
room, his eyes stopped on a man and woman walking toward them. It was Danielle
and Michael.
“Hey there, look who’s awake,”
Danielle smiled and threw a light punch that connected with Alan’s chest and
sent a bolt of searing pain through his entire body. Alan grunted as Danielle
winced, “Oh, sorry, sorry, probably not the best idea.”
transformed to a laugh, “It’s okay. I probably have you to thank for me being
alive in the first place.”
“You do,” Michael said with a grin.
“We all have both of you to thank for convincing the Death Angels to side with
us. Danielle told me about what you did, Alan. Everyone is talking about it.
You two are heroes. However, there is still much to be done. Prisoners need to
be sentenced and guarded, there are still hundreds if not thousands of escaped
Fallen and dark Nephilim to be captured and, if it’s possible, we need to make
the Death Angels see eye to eye with us. If we can get them to agree to an
alliance, their help will be invaluable in the future.”
work that still had to be done. “What I’m trying to say is you’ve proven yourself
more than I could ever ask: we need you.”
Alan again remembered Jacob’s gloom
warning of the days to come. “I’m in. We need to take a closer look at the remaining
six Ancient Wonders of the World. I need to know everything you know.”
now rest. You’re not going to do anyone any good from that bed.”
“Yeah, seriously,” Danielle said,
“we just saved the world from a demonic invasion. I don’t think things can get
much worse than that.”
was right.
Chapter 72
eyes remained lowered, staring at the dark stone floor. It was only hours since
she escaped the battle. With the arrival of the Death Angles, she realized the
day was lost and was among the first to flee. She was responsible for reporting
on Ardat’s actions and it seemed that this would be the last report ever made,
Ardat’s death was all but certain. “Ardat has failed.”
Triana didn’t dare look at him. Still with her
eyes pointed to the floor, she was able to catch his strong form glide across
the room and look out the arched window to the coming night. “Ardat may have
failed at her personal plan but, unbeknownst to her, she has only aided in
progressing our own. She has revealed one of the Four Horsemen in this Alan
Price. What is better is that Michael still has no idea what power lies within
this Nephilim.”
Triana squinted as she struggled for
understanding, “But in doing so, she has given them the Colossus and revealed
the secret to one of the Seven Ancient Wonders.”
“Widen your vision, Triana. Six more remain;
each with their secrets of the past still intact.”
Triana let her swollen tongue play over the rows
of sharp bones she called teeth. “When do we make our move, Gabriel? When do we
emerge from the shadows and strike?”
“Soon, patience is a virtue. The
component of surprise is still with us; they have no idea that I have returned.
They have no clue as to the power that I have begun to amass. We will strike when
we are ready and Alan Price will join us, whether he knows it yet or not. Fate
itself will dictate this to be true.”
Alan Price will be back in the
second installment of the Nephilim Chronicles,
Alan Price and the Temple of
Artemis,
coming soon. Until then, stay informed by visiting
www.jonathan-yanez.com
and be sure to
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