Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) (21 page)

Jedek thought his arms were going to be torn from his body as Ahnon shot upward. His legs slipped off Ahnon. With his hands still tied and around his sho-ka’s neck, he followed Ahnon like a cape in the wind as Jedek was sure his stomach was still back on the balcony. Jedek’s vision started to go black around the edges, and then they hit the apex of the jump, and his body felt much better without the world of Thanos on his chest.

Then they started the fall, and unable to help it, Jedek, screamed as they descended to the fourth floor balcony. Ahnon held onto Jedek’s hands so he wouldn’t slip off, gathering what he had left in him. Ahnon pointed at the balcony and couldn’t get his mind to focus on the words. “Salma teno!” he shouted, and they jerked to a slow descent ten feet above the balcony.

When they touched down, Ahnon couldn’t breathe as Jedek was choking him. Falling to his knees, Ahnon threw Jedek over his back unintentionally. Jedek hit the floor and rolled then jumped up. He looked down the hall and noticed the dead bodies of many soldiers, a few bhari, and a lot of kytensa in the hall. Moving toward Kenna’s apartment, he stopped and turned around, seeing Ahnon vomit up blood on his hands and knees. “Ahnon,” he said, running over to him.

“Just give me a second, sire. I need to breathe.”

“I’ll be right back; just wait here,” Jedek said, and Ahnon grabbed his arm.

“They are in her room, sire. I have to go,” Ahnon said, forcing himself to stand.

“How can you tell?” Jedek asked, looking down the hallway.

“I can hear them talking to Kenna, and Minos is in a locked room, wanting out. I’ll go first. If I’m not successful, let Minos out, and run,” Ahnon said, stumbling down the hall, pulling his staff sword. “Hold up your hands.”

Jedek did and watched the blade slice the rope off with a swing. “Not to sound ungrateful, but you could’ve given me a knife.”

“Sorry, sire,” Ahnon said, stopping at the door. Closing his eyes, Ahnon faced it, and Jedek could hear Minos barking. Then, he heard Kenna scream. “Open the door, and remember what I told you,” Ahnon said, crouching down.

Jedek pushed the door open as Ahnon rushed into the room. A man was holding Kenna up by her throat, and two others were standing beside them. Seeing the door open, they turned, but Ahnon was already on them, moving as a blur to the eye. He swung at the one holding Kenna then brought the blade back around, passing it through the other two as they slumped to the ground.

Jedek was looking at the man holding Kenna, and when Ahnon swung his sword, the man lowered Kenna back to her bed. But the man was still holding her by the throat. Seeing the other two fall, Jedek charged the room, heading to the man holding Kenna. As he ran at the man, Jedek watched his head tilt forward and roll off his neck. Then, he watched the body follow the head to the floor. Kenna jumped off the bed and ran over to him.

It was only then that Jedek noticed the bodies everywhere in the room. The furniture was destroyed, and there were black marks all over the walls. Karme was a few feet away, still holding her sword but covered in blood with a pool of it around her head. Looking further, he saw only part of Akene, and tears filled his eyes. Moving over, he looked behind Akene and found his mother holding a sword with another through her chest.

Jedek’s world crashed as he hit his knees, pulling Kenna with him to the floor. He couldn’t think, and he slowly looked at Kenna. He could see her talking but didn’t hear anything and tried to focus on her. Then, like she was coming from a long way off, he heard her voice getting closer.

“Jedek, I tried. I promise I tried, but I couldn’t do anything. I grabbed a sword, but they just knocked it out of my hands. I jumped on them and tried to bite and claw them, but they just hit me, knocking me out. When I came around, they were dead, and I heard Minos attacking someone in the other room, and these three came!” she wailed.

Ahnon shook his head, hearing the kids but also other loud noises getting closer. “So it starts here,” Ahnon said, pulling his body up using his staff. He walked over and pulled both of the kids up. “Listen and be quiet; they’re coming.”

“Kenna, get what you can,” Ahnon told her. “Jedek, let Minos out.” He walked over to the bed. “I can do one more,” Ahnon said, throwing a pinch of powder on the floor. Clearing his mind, he snapped, “Gadtendza,” and drove the end of his staff into the powder, making sparks shoot up.

Ahnon dropped to the floor, and his pack, his other spell pouches, and Jedek’s pouch and sword landed with him. Grabbing his pouches, he reached in and pulled out a bottle of green, glowing liquid and drained it as the kids came over. Kenna was in a night gown with a bundle over her shoulder. Jedek was standing beside her with Minos, who was covered in blood.

“How bad is he hurt?” Ahnon asked.

Patting Minos on the back, Jedek said, “It’s not his blood.”

“Are you two ready?” Ahnon asked.

“Ahnon, you’re going to die if you keep it up,” Jedek warned. “That’s why you keep throwing up blood.”

“I know, but I just got a second wind,” Ahnon said, holding up the empty bottle, already feeling his body getting energized. “Use double and half on you; then, do one on Kenna,” Ahnon said, jumping up.

“Ahnon, they took my pouch,” Jedek said, and Ahnon pointed at the bed, where the pouch lay. “How?” Jedek asked.

“I made it; I can call it. Don’t rush, but don’t dilly dally. The three brothers are coming, and they sound really mad for some reason. I’m not going to lie; I’m too tired to face them. They will kill us if they get close. I can’t stop them. I’m moving to the door to set the hallway up. Then, we leave,” Ahnon said, moving past them.

He grabbed a handful of foot spikes then sprinkled them with some powder and waved his hand, speaking and watching the spikes disappear from sight but still felt them in his hand. “Bet you never saw this before,” he said and threw them down hall. Grabbing a handful of glass balls, he threw them further. Hitting the floor, they shattered, filling the hallway with the thick, green smoke. 

Closing the door quickly, he moved over to the bodies. Karme was surrounded by a wall of kytensa. “You took more than five,” he mumbled. “You fought with honor. It was my honor to know you and call you friend. We will meet again as warriors and fight side by side once more.” He smiled and leaned down, cutting a lock of her hair. Then he did the same for Akene then Eira.

Walking over to the bed, he ripped off the sheet and tied two large slings that he crossed over his body. Seeing the kids standing at the balcony, he walked over. “Okay, Jedek on my left and Kenna on my right. Minos, kill anyone that comes in that’s not a friend.”

“Okay, I will. Protect the little ones,” he said, panting.

“You can’t leave him!” they both shouted.

Ahnon stood. “You do realize we are going to fly over the ocean. I really don’t recommend dropping in the middle of it. We can’t swim it.”

“He can fight. We need him,” Jedek said, motioning to him and Kenna.

“What am I here for?” Ahnon asked.

“To save us,” Jedek said in a low voice.

Ahnon let out a sigh. “Do a double and half on me,” he said, turning around to the leftover sheet on the floor. He made a sling for Minos and called him over. “Minos, you will not move until we touch land, or you will kill us. We are flying, so you must be still,” Ahnon said, tying the sheet around him with his four legs sticking out.

“I be good but don’t fall,” Minos said, standing rigid.

Ahnon put the sling on and stood up, grunting. “Sure you don’t want to take the bed? We could use it to float on,” he said, walking over.

“Thank you, Ahnon,” Kenna said, kissing his cheek.

“Put your sack on your back,” he said as Jedek did the double and half. Feeling much stronger, and Minos wasn’t taking him to his knees, Ahnon smiled at both of them. “They will be here soon. We have to leave, but we will be back one day; I promise you. Once we leave, don’t talk to me. I’m going to have to concentrate really hard.”

“Ahnon, you fly with me all the time, and we talk,” Jedek said.

“I don’t have time to explain, Jedek. We have to go.” To drive the point home, they heard coughing and gagging in the hallway followed by howls of pain. The kids jumped in the slings on each side of his body as he pulled out a packet, standing up and feeling the weight. “Amu kima essuru,” Ahnon said, rubbing the packet across his chest. It was turning gold as he walked over to the balcony and stepped up on the handrail as pounding started on the door.

Ahnon stepped off, and they plummeted toward the ground with Kenna screaming and Jedek squeezing him tight. Minos was standing like a statue, wondering if he should have stayed behind as the gold disappeared on Ahnon’s chest, and they stopped falling. Lifting up over the castle, Ahnon moved over the city.

Down below, Michi and the last six bhari had been making a last stand against the kytensa. Knowing the garrison on the other side of the city would never make it, the group was preparing to die in magic. Then they heard a loud roar from a crowd and looked up see admiral Gither leading all the sailors in port in a charge. With tens of thousands behind him, the admiral ran to Michi, and they swarmed over the kytensa with sheer numbers.

Moving toward the castle, Michi looked up and saw a figure flying overhead with two kids and a dog. “Admiral, they live!” Michi shouted, and the crowd looked up, letting out a huge cheer upon seeing the figure fly off over the city. “Kill them all, and take no prisoners!” Michi yelled, and the mass of sailors surged forward with bloodlust, killing as they went.

Chapter 16

Kenna looked at the city below them and could tell they were picking up speed. Looking forward, she watched as they raced up and over the mountains, and in a few minutes, she saw Jaclom in the distance. She had flown with Michi several times, and they had gone fast but not for very long, and the wind was starting to make it hard to keep her eyes open. What worried her was they were still picking up speed and a lot of it.

The air in front of them started getting hazy then started shimmering, and the wind quit, but they were still flying and getting faster, blowing over the city and coves of Jaclom in less than a second. To Kenna’s horror, she noticed they were getting closer to the water but stopped about twenty feet above the surface. When she looked to her side, the world was just a blur and made her sick, so she just looked ahead. As an afterthought, she looked behind them.

She squeezed Jedek’s arm to get his attention and nodded behind them. The water behind them was shooting up in the air in their wake as they flew. “How fast do you have to go to do that?” she whispered.

“We probably don’t want to know,” Jedek said, seeing the water shoot up behind them higher than they were flying.

“Whisper,” she told him in a whisper.

“We just can’t bother him,” Jedek said in a normal volume, looking around the vast expanse of ocean. Suddenly, he understood what Ahnon meant about not being able to swim. He was always on a boat, and they had life boats. Out here, it was just see how long you could swim.

“Jedek, we couldn’t leave Minos,” Kenna said.

“How did you know that is what I was thinking?” he asked, stunned.

“You were looking at him,” she said and felt Ahnon change direction. Straight ahead on the horizon was a ship, and they were heading straight for it. “Are we going to land on it?” she asked Jedek.

“No, we’re going too fast,” Jedek said, and the ship that was on the horizon was suddenly in front of them, and Ahnon dropped down to the water’s edge just before they struck the ship. The impact was only a split second, and they were over a mile away before either one turned around. The ship split in half just as it disappeared from sight. Then they felt Ahnon change directions again and lift back up to twenty feet.

Out of nowhere, a sea gull slammed into the shield in front of them and was pinned by the air holding it in place. “Ah, poor bird,” Kenna said.

“He should’ve moved,” Jedek said.

“Jedek, I don’t think anything can move out of our way.”

“Yeah, I’m just wondering why he wanted to destroy that ship. I can’t even imagine how fast we’re going, but we have to be far from land, and those sailors can’t swim that far. They never had a chance to even get the life boats.”

“That was a Multar ship.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, it had a Multar flag,” she said.

“I hope they all drown then,” Jedek replied.

“I was kind of hoping they would get eaten by sharks or a sea dragon,” Kenna admitted.

“Oh yeah, that’s much better,” Jedek said, looking at the suns.

“What are you looking at them for?” she asked.

“We’re going just a little southeast, and we left Gratu over an hour ago.”

“How long can Ahnon fly?” she asked slowly.

“I don’t know?” Jedek answered.

“Jedek, Karme—” Kenna stopped and closed her eyes, and Jedek squeezed her hand. “Karme was teaching me maps and countries. If we are going southeast, we are heading toward Brant or Racor, and that’s over a thousand miles.”

“I was looking at a map with my dad when they attacked,” he said. “It’s almost fifteen hundred miles.”

“Your dad?” she asked with tears running down her face.

“Yes—” he stopped. “He fought them as best he could, but there were just too many of them. I was worried they had gotten Ahnon,” Jedek admitted, nodding to his sho-ka.

“He wasn’t with you?” she asked, shocked.

“He leaves me alone, Kenna, plus Dad and Theobald were there,” Jedek replied, feeling his throat tighten. “Ahnon was going to see what Michi wanted at the west wall.”

“Well, one of the kytensa that came in my room said they lost over a hundred kytensa around the gardens,” she said. “Then they were worried about the brothers getting mad about a bunch of kytensa getting killed in the great hall. I figured you and Ahnon had escaped over the west wall.”

“No, Ahnon agreed with me that we had to check on you and mom,” Jedek said, fighting the tears.

“You can cry. I won’t tell.”

Jedek shook his head. “No. Dad told me to be strong and don’t let them get the pleasure of making me cry. I’ll see them again,” he said, sounding sure.

“You really think so?” she asked.

“Yes, I do. My dad told me life is a journey, and this is only a stop.”

“I can’t wait to see them,” Kenna said, wiping her eyes, determined not to cry again. “I like my family, but I loved yours. Thank you for sharing them with me.”

“I just have Ahnon now,” Jedek said, laying his head on Ahnon’s shoulder.

“What about me? We did get married,” she reminded him.

Jedek sighed. “Kenna, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I really don’t want you in danger. It makes me feel…funny,” Jedek admitted.

“Jedek, I wanted to puke when one of the first kytensa came in saying they had the prince,” Kenna stated.

“Hey, that’s what I felt like about you. What’s that mean?” he asked her.

Shrugging her shoulders, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the marriage vows. That monk did say something about sickness and not being apart.”

Jedek looked at her with a guilty face. “I didn’t hear what he said. I was looking at your hair,” he admitted.

“You said ‘I do.’”

“Ahnon stepped on my foot, and I remembered.”

“You like my hair that much?” she asked.

“Yes. It’s very beautiful,” he said, blushing.

“Well, I’m not leaving. Whatever you do, I’m going with you.”

“Kenna, let’s get you to Nazar till this is over.”

With a determined expression, Kenna shook her head. “Only if you stay.”

Jedek sighed. “Let’s just see if Ahnon gets us to land first.”

“I hope so because this hair you like weighs a ton when it’s wet.”

“It will only weigh half a ton till tomorrow,” he reminded her as they flew over the vast expanse of nothing. They briefly caught sight of a sea dragon, but they saw it, flew over it, and were out of sight in seconds. “That didn’t look like a dragon,” Jedek said.

“It looked more like a really big snake,” Kenna admitted. Suddenly, they noticed they were getting higher. “What’s he doing?” she asked.

“Don’t know, and I’m not going to ask him,” Jedek said, looking at Ahnon. In the whites of Ahnon’s eyes, Jedek could see the small vessels bursting. Then he noticed Ahnon’s nose bleeding but didn’t say anything to Kenna as Ahnon lowered them back down to twenty feet. The next time Jedek looked at the sun, he wanted to complain. They had now been flying for several hours, and he was wiping the blood off Ahnon’s nose with regular frequency.

“Jedek, can I tell you something and you promise not to get mad?” Kenna asked.

“I won’t get mad,” Jedek promised.

“For the last hour or so, Ahnon’s had a little blood coming out of his ear,” she said with a worried tone. “I’m sorry; I should have told you, but I didn’t want to worry you,” she apologized.

“I know. He has it in this ear too, and his nose is bleeding. The white parts of his eyes are turning red.”

“What’s that mean?”

“He’s using up all of his body’s energy to keep us flying. Remember; if we go down, you only weigh half of what you did and are twice as strong,” he reminded her.

“I don’t know which way to swim,” she admitted.

“We’ll swim east,” Jedek said as he continued watching Ahnon. It was only thirty minutes later he started coughing blood. “I love you, Ahnon,” Jedek told him, laying his head on his shoulder. “Thank you for saving me and then going to get Kenna and check on Mom.”

“Jedek, we’re slowing down. The water isn’t shooting up behind us anymore,” Kenna said.

“Yeah, he’s coughing blood now.”

“Jedek, I love you. You’re my best friend,” Kenna said with a soft voice.

“Thank you, Kenna. I love you too, and you are my best friend like Ahnon.” He felt them slow down more. “Remember to try to stay together.”

“I will stay on this side, and you stay on that side. We should be able to keep Ahnon up. We just have to turn Minos loose and hope he can stay with us.”

“Okay,” he said, squeezing her hand when the wind suddenly blasted them in the face. “Don’t scream, Kenna. You can break his concentration.” The wind wasn’t bad enough to hurt their eyes as Ahnon continued on.

“We are getting real low,” Kenna said with alarm. Jedek looked down to see they were only a few feet from the surface. “Jedek, look! It’s land!”

Looking ahead, Jedek saw a coastline on the horizon. “Come on, Ahnon. We are almost there,” Jedek pleaded. Then he felt Ahnon’s legs moving and looked down to see his boots dragging on the water. “Come, Ahnon. We’re almost there. You can do it!” Jedek shouted, and Ahnon lifted them higher, getting his feet out of the water. “It worked,” Jedek said, amazed, and felt them slow down and get lower. “Ahnon, we’re almost there. Just a little more, and you can rest!” he shouted encouragement.

Kenna joined in, and the two yelled and cheered him as the coastline came closer. With their voices getting sore, they could now see the trees and the white sand on the beach. Flying along at a snail’s pace, the kids continued to scream and yell encouragement.

“Come on!” Jedek yelled, hearing the surf rolling onto the beach. “Oh crap,” he said.

It wasn’t a gradual descent or getting slower. They went from snail’s pace to straight down, hitting the water. Coming back up to the surface, Jedek started untying Minos. Minos lost all sense of being a statue when they hit the water as he yelped and barked. Kenna was looking around. “Hey look,” she said. Glancing at her, Jedek saw her floating at her waistline in the water. Even Ahnon was only at the bottom of his chest. “It’s still going to take some time to get to shore though,” Kenna said.

Finished untying Minos, Jedek looked at the shore then saw even Minos was floating with only his belly in the water. Then he noticed Minos was swimming around them in a circle. “Minos, go to shore,” Jedek said, pointing.

“Play,” he said, doing another lap around them.

“I mean it, Minos! Get to shore now!” Jedek shouted.

“Ah, come and play,” he said, doing another lap.

Jedek shook his head. “Ahnon, I’m sorry. You were right; my dog is stupid,” Jedek said.

“Minos, go now,” Kenna snapped.

“Long fur, catch me,” Minos said, doing another lap.

“Minos, I can beat you to the dirt,” Jedek told him.

“No, I win,” Minos said, leaving a wake as he headed to shore.

“Maybe Ahnon had a point that Minos is not the brightest candle in the room,” Kenna said, holding Ahnon’s head so he didn’t tilt into the water. “Jedek, he’s not breathing so well.”

“We got bigger problems,” Jedek told her. “Were going out to sea.”

Kenna looked at the shore, and it was further away. “We’re caught in a riptide. Maybe if we get Minos to pull us, we can make it,” she asked hopefully.

“He’s barely making progress, Kenna. He’s going to make it but not with us.”

Thinking for a second Kenna looked over at Jedek. “Well, you swim to shore find some help and come back.”

“No, how about you?” he said, crossing his arms, keeping his torso above the water. Jedek looked down at his waist. “Kenna, keep holding Ahnon up,” Jedek said, coming over.

“I only have to hold his head up so he doesn’t tilt. He’s floating great.”

“No, I’m going to climb on him.” He was already climbing up on Ahnon. When Jedek stood on his shoulders, Ahnon’s chin was touching the water. Pulling out a spell packet, Jedek mumbled, holding it over his head. Kenna watched him glow for a second.

“Jedek, that’s brilliant!” she yelled as he stepped off of Ahnon’s shoulders onto the surface of the water.

Ahnon popped out of the water, and Jedek grabbed his head, making sure he didn’t put his face in the water. “Kenna, climb up on my back and hold your head over my shoulder,” Jedek said, and she climbed him like a cat climbs a tree. Pulling out another spell packet, Jedek put his hand on her head, concentrating then speaking the words. Then Kenna climbed off his back, standing on the water.

They each grabbed an arm and started tugging Ahnon toward the beach. After twenty minutes, Jedek shook his head. “The current is too much. We have to get him out.”

“Let’s take this pack and stuff off,” she said, reaching for the pack, and he grabbed her hand.

“We are going to need that, and if Ahnon doesn’t make it, we’re going to need it more.”

Kenna nodded. “Okay, and you can’t levitate yet, can you?” she asked, and he shook his head. “All right. We lay down and pull him up on us, then you can make him stay on top too,” Kenna said, and Jedek laid in front of Ahnon, pulling him out of the water. Then Kenna struggled to pull his legs out. “There. Out,” she grunted. After Ahnon glowed, Jedek was really lightheaded.