The War for Mare (The Fall of Man Book 3) (15 page)

“Washington state? What’s there?” Davis
asked.

“Apparently enough people to control. They
plan not to wipe that area out. That is and will be the feeding
base. The new slave camp to Anubis.”

“Even if what you say is true to you,” I
said, “how do we know that they told you the truth?”

“Because,” Nito stated arrogantly, “I am
that good and I am also more intelligent than anyone in this room.
My mother now has your blood, Vala, running through her veins. Your
blood.” She reached out and placed her hands on my arms. “Find your
blood. Tap into it, search it. What do you see?”

The second she said that, I briefly thought
‘Find my blood’, and I was no longer in that room, I was staring at
Anubis. He leaned toward me, opened his mouth, and extended his
tongue. I felt it on my neck and I snapped out and jumped back.

“What did you see?” Nito asked.

“Through your mother’s eyes.”

Nito smiled. “We’re in.”

It had been
decided that I would travel to Hopeland alone, but no one even
thought about how I would get there. Hopeland was closer to the
Ancient City and I had to cross a desert. It was going to be
impossible.

Boss was a friend of Davis and they knew
each other before the Event. He was in charge of finding boats.
Problem was, any type of boat that remained was far from seaworthy.
They had only a few days to get them ready.

Garret had a similar problem. He had to get
explosives ready. What exactly we were blowing up was beyond me. We
didn’t know where the Savages were or were heading first. He was
told to plan on blowing up a city.

“I need to find a nuke,” Garret said.

“A nuke?” I asked. “What is that?”

“A ridiculous notion,” said Boss. “Not only
will we not find a nuke, even if we did, do we need that kind of
residue remaining? And who knows? Maybe the Ancients are immune to
radiation. People aren’t. We need to figure out how to fire up a
city.”

Boss made it sound simple. I still didn’t
know what a nuke was. Going by how they spoke, I gathered it was
some sort of bomb.

Since the day was already half over, I
decided to wait until sunup before leaving for Hopeland. I took my
guard position by the ocean, waiting on a Savage attack or even a
Day Stalker attack. A part of me knew neither would come.

The peace of the evening gave me time to
devise a travel plan. There was enough fuel for a vehicle to take
me nearly three hours out, then I’d have to walk the rest of the
way. A part of me looked forward to returning to Hopeland. It
wasn’t a bad place at all.

Snake brought up Brea. I did like her, but I
didn’t see her like I saw Vala. Besides, it wasn’t like there
weren’t any girls to choose from, there were plenty. I just had my
sights set on Vala.

That would have to change.

Everything I started to plan in my head was
no longer a valid plan. Whether I liked it or not, she was on the
side of those I lived my whole life believing were the enemy,
another train of thought I had to recalculate.

I was just about to doze off when,
surprising me, I heard Vala’s voice.

I thought maybe she had returned. Snapping
my head forward, she stood before me in a vision. She was
projecting.

“I thought you weren’t allowed to reach out
to me,” I said.

“For this I am. I must be careful of what I
say. My words may travel through the universe. Just know we are
aware of the path of attack. Hopeland needs to know of the danger
in four days.”

“I plan on telling them.”

“They needn’t leave, but they need to know.
We need any and all firepower they can get, and volunteers to help
move people.”

“They don’t have that many people
there.”

“I know. I have to go, Tanner.”

“I understand.”

“How are you?”

“I’m doing.”

“Be well on your journey.”

“Vala, before you go, I have to know. Did
you… did you ever feel anything for me?”

“Yes, Tanner. More than you realize...”

Then she was gone.

Before she left, I saw the husband, the
educator, reaching for her.

It didn’t make anything better knowing that
she at one time cared, but it helped. I needed to focus. A war was
on the horizon, one I had been training for my whole life.

I was ready.

Snake truly loved
the Ancient City. He told me that at one time it was known as the
city that never slept. It was still that way.

While the others slept, he drank fruity
beverages tainted with alcohol and I broke down and had some honey.
He and I waited through the evening alone.

“I wish we didn’t have to lose this place,”
he said.

“We will rebuild.”

“You know, Madge,” he said, “you’re a pretty
hot woman right now, but I liked you better in the other form. You
just were more natural.”

“As did Davis.”

“Um, yeah.” Snake sipped his drink. “I just
wish you hadn’t done the things you did. I want to like you. I
really do.”

“I may not be able to make up for it or make
it disappear from your minds, but I will try. I really will.”

We spoke through the entire night, indulging
in substances that made us feel good. Snake talked much about the
past human world and things that I would have loved, like the
Internet and a drink stand called Starbucks. I spoke of my old
world and of things I knew he would have loved, like harems of
women, wine, and architecture only alien worlds could deliver.

Aside from talking about the past, we spoke
of the future and in our inebriated state we broke down a plan. A
few sobering hours later, that drunken plan was still a good
one.

We went to the king.

“It’s a pretty good plan,” Snake said.

I showed my father the map. “We need to pull
every gatekeeper that is in place from the Straits and
strategically put them around the city.”

“That leaves the Straits vulnerable,” My
father said.

“There are no Savages to attack them right
now, they are north of here. If we lose this battleground then the
gatekeepers can concentrate their powers back on the Straits. But
we cannot lose this battle, it happens here, in the Ancient City.
We draw them in, we destroy them here.”

“How are we to draw them in if we are
veiling our city?” my father asked.

“Our gatekeepers are not projecting a barren
veil, they are projecting normalcy, a city that is unaware of an
attack. While we evacuate, the gatekeepers will project that the
city is full. In fact, let’s make it double full. The Savages will
come, they will invade, and we destroy them.”

“Madge said your seer Yaku can work like an
old radio,” Davis added, “and send messages to those waiting to
fight the Savages. I want to put him on Mt. Charleston. It’s west
of here, but still high enough that he’ll see the wave coming.”

“How many warriors will we need inside?” my
father asked.

“Four or five,” I answered. “Vala, I, and
three of the strongest Ancients can create a wall and battle until
the explosives take hold. It will have to be fast. Once the Savages
land, it will be no time at all before they realize they are
attacking only projections and not people, so we need to get them
into the city, and move fast.”

“You realize,” my father said, “all of you
inside the city could die.”

I nodded. “I do.”

Davis said, “Can we not only set explosives
here, but break the dam?”

Snake laughed. “Aside from the fact that the
Hoover Dam is six hundred plus feet deep of concrete, and there’s
not a bomb that can break it, we’re upstream, higher, and water
flows downstream. What I don’t get is, Moses was a Mare, right? He
wasn’t pregnant by an Ancient, so he wasn’t as strong as Vala. Yet,
he parted the Red Sea. Why can’t Vala just bring Lake Mead
here?”

The corner of my mouth rose. “She can. But
it will take more than just a wave of her hand. She will need to
work on that.”

“Yes,” my father added, “Moses didn’t just
lift his arms and say ‘part’. He had lots of practice.”

“One of the pyramids was never finished
because of him.”

Davis scratched his head. “The Bible left
that out.”

“Yes,” I said. “Moses was quite accomplished
in his abilities. As my father will attest, I am one of the most
powerful Ancients. I can train her. What would really be perfect is
if there were another Mare. Two would not only cast protection
around the projection of the gatekeepers, but that would surely
assure our victory.”

My father cleared his throat and that caught
all of our attention.

Davis asked, “Is there another Mare that you
know of?”

“Yes.” My father stood. “As a favor, the
Mare was returned to human form and granted a human life outside
the Ancient City walls. The Mare is very powerful, but will also
need training to regain the skills.”

“Another Mare?” I smiled. “That’s wonderful.
Who? Tell us. We will find the Mare.”

<><><><>

I did not think he’d be happy to see me,
even in my Ancient form, but Burt grinned widely when I arrived in
Hopeland.

“Madge, you must have made up for what you
did wrong.”

“I did, I think. I’m trying. Burt,” I
grabbed his hands. “You look wonderful.”

“Wow, this is really odd hearing this form
of you talking like this. What’s up with the life jacket?”

“You’re not mad are you?” I asked. “Davis
gave it to me. I know you and we sparked.”

“Not mad at all. Still holding out hope for
us. You’re a knockout.”

“Burt, you flatter me. I will create many
garments for your people once this is settled.”

I expected him to ask questions, but then
the boy Tanner appeared from behind him.

“What is she doing here and that form?” “I
am here for Burt,” I said, then squeezed Burt’s hands. “You are
needed. I know you were granted a fresh start, but we need you, the
Ancients and the humans.”

“I’m out of shape.”

“Father will give you the shape, and you
will be transformed again, temporarily if you like. But it is
imperative. If the boy is here, you know what awaits.”

“I do.”

“Wait. Wait.” Tanner held up his hand. “Why
do you need Burt? And what is so special about him?”

“Like your Vala,” I said, “Burt is a
Mare.”

I did not think I
would ever wear them again, but it felt good to pull out the
clothing I wore when I lived in the Straits. The cowhide pants,
thin white shirt, and boots. I felt like the old Vala, the one that
went to school and dreamt of leaving Arkana. Now I wondered, what
if I never left? Would we have been victim to a sneak attack by
Anubis, never seeing it coming?

I stood before the mirror fixing the braid
in my hair.

“Are you ready for training with Nito
today?” Iry asked me.

“It makes my skin craw and my stomach
ache.”

“You will be fine. I am sure it will not be
difficult.” He kissed my shoulder.

“The first convoy has left. Why are you not
packed?” I asked him.

“I’m not going.”

“Iry, you must. You are to take Sophie to
the boats in Angeles City.”

“I have a better protector for her. The
king. He will see to it she is safe, and should something happen to
you, Davis, or Tanner, if anything, he is a good father. He will
keep her safe.”

“What about you?”

“I am a strong Ancient. I am staying. I will
fight beside you, Vala. You are carrying my child. If something
should happen to you, then it happens to my child. What reason is
there for me to continue my existence?”

“Iry…”

“I am well aware that you are not on the
same page as me. But one day, maybe, with the birth of our child
you will be. If anything we are a great pair. We both like
ALF
.”

I smiled, leaned up to him, and kissed him
on the cheek. “I have not dreaded our moments.”

“Gee, that’s good to know.”

“Iry…”

“Go. Go say goodbye to Sophie. I am putting
her on the next convoy with the king. She needs to be at a safe
distance.”

“I will do that and I’ll see you after
training.”

“Vala, who knows? Maybe you and Nito will be
best friends after all this.”

“Please tell me you are joking.”

“I am joking.”

I left Iry to find my sister. I hated that
he was not going with her, I trusted Iry with her life, but I
understood why he wanted to stay behind. After I said my farewell
to my sister I would head to training. Whatever that entailed, I
was sure I was ready.

<><><><>

For some reason, I believed training was
going to be indoors. I had no idea I would be so far from the
Ancient City in a dry desert. What exactly Nito had planned, I
didn’t know.

When she arrived she wasn’t dressed as she
normally did in ceremonial attire. She was wearing the oddest of
clothing. She had on tight cloth pants that came to just about her
knees, and perhaps her maiden had washed her clothes in too hot
water, because her shirt exposed the skin on her belly. Thankfully,
the life jacket covered her breasts.

“What are you wearing?” I asked.

She gave a flirtatious look to Davis who
came to observe, then looked at me. “I asked Maggie the vendor
woman what human women wore to train. She described this outfit,
and I made it last night. It is quite comfortable.”

“Are you aware it shows every outline of
your body? Is nothing sacred? It’s nearly obscene.”

“This body will not be mine for too long, I
want to flaunt it.”

“Will you please leave Davis alone?”

“Jealous?”

“No,” I answered. “I am not. Not even of
your life vest.”

“Why mention it then?”

“Ladies!” Davis called out. “Are we going to
train or what?”