BONDED
Warriors of Light, 1
April
Zyon
Copyright
© 2016
Prologue
On a knee before the dais, the
hooded figure whispered in a gruff voice, “We have another.”
“Already?” Shock was clear in
the words of the woman who sat in a golden shaft of pure light. “I thought we
had eradicated the menace?”
“We have failed you, m’lady.”
Resignation and sorrow were evident in his tone.
“No. No, you didn’t fail me.”
Standing, the woman stepped a golden-shod foot from the dais and into the
normal light of the golden chamber. “Rise, Guardian, you did not fail me,” she
assured him with a touch of her hand on his shoulder. “However, this means that
there must be more.”
“I know, m’lady.”
There was such heavy distress on
his face that she touched his cheek. “You won’t be alone this time.”
“I wasn’t alone last time.”
“No, you weren’t. Still, you
were outnumbered and … what is the word?” She tapped a finger to her apple-red
lips, then said with a smile, “Outgunned.” Seeing the odd look on his face, she
laughed. The term would not exist for about another hundred years.
“I do not understand that word.”
“And you won’t. Not for a very
long time.” Standing before him, she pushed the cowl to his cloak back and
whispered, “I am going to ask you a question. Weigh your answer with care,
because this will change everything that you know … everything that you
believe.”
“What more could change for me,
m’lady? I know of the monsters that haunt the night. I know of the evil that we
had thought we had beaten.” Raising his glittering green gaze to her eyes, he
added, “I saw it with my own eyes. What more is there?”
She traced the scar that went
from his hairline, across his eye, and down to his chin. “You have seen so very
much, Guardian. Yet what I have to ask you, what I wish to give you, is so much
more than you could comprehend.”
“Will it help me defeat the
monsters?”
“Yes.”
“Then ask your question. Ask the
question you already know the answer to.”
“Will you become the first? Will
you search out guardians such as yourself? Will you start an army of your own
to combat the forces that are gathering to end humanity? Will you accept my
gift and pass it to each man that you come across deserving of the title guardian ?”
“Yes, m’lady.” He stood taller
and his chin lifted in response to the praise.
“Then you should call me by my
true name.” She whispered close to him now. “For I am about to show you the
truth of what you hunt, the truth of reality, the truth of your world. Mercury,
I am about to show you the reason you were born and the reason the army you
will raise is needed.”
It was the first time she had
called him by name. The look on his face showed his stark confusion, for he had
never given it to her. “How?”
“Oh, my dear, dear Mercury.” She
smiled. “I am, or will be known, by many names. I am the Queen of Heaven,
Mercury. Whether I be called Anat, Isis, Hera, or even Astarte.” She felt him
startle. “I am life. I am more. I am all in one. There is another, however,
because for every one thing, there has to be a balance of the complete and
opposite thing. This is what we battle.”
“But, but, you are…” The man was
clearly stymied by these claims. Peering into his thoughts, she saw the
questions he wanted to ask. He knew just who Anat was—a goddess. But she had
touched him. She lived among their people. She was a part of their culture. He
was simply wondering—how? How had this woman gone so long acting as a human and
she was actually a goddess.
So, she answered his unspoken
question. “Because I am who I am. Because I am a goddess. I am a goddess who
needs a royal army, a guard that will beat back the rising darkness. Will you
lead my army, Mercury?”
“And how do I know that you
aren’t the cause of the evil?” The question was one that she would have
expected.
Warriors of Light, 1
April
Zyon
Copyright
© 2016
Prologue
On a knee before the dais, the
hooded figure whispered in a gruff voice, “We have another.”
“Already?” Shock was clear in
the words of the woman who sat in a golden shaft of pure light. “I thought we
had eradicated the menace?”
“We have failed you, m’lady.”
Resignation and sorrow were evident in his tone.
“No. No, you didn’t fail me.”
Standing, the woman stepped a golden-shod foot from the dais and into the
normal light of the golden chamber. “Rise, Guardian, you did not fail me,” she
assured him with a touch of her hand on his shoulder. “However, this means that
there must be more.”
“I know, m’lady.”
There was such heavy distress on
his face that she touched his cheek. “You won’t be alone this time.”
“I wasn’t alone last time.”
“No, you weren’t. Still, you
were outnumbered and … what is the word?” She tapped a finger to her apple-red
lips, then said with a smile, “Outgunned.” Seeing the odd look on his face, she
laughed. The term would not exist for about another hundred years.
“I do not understand that word.”
“And you won’t. Not for a very
long time.” Standing before him, she pushed the cowl to his cloak back and
whispered, “I am going to ask you a question. Weigh your answer with care,
because this will change everything that you know … everything that you
believe.”
“What more could change for me,
m’lady? I know of the monsters that haunt the night. I know of the evil that we
had thought we had beaten.” Raising his glittering green gaze to her eyes, he
added, “I saw it with my own eyes. What more is there?”
She traced the scar that went
from his hairline, across his eye, and down to his chin. “You have seen so very
much, Guardian. Yet what I have to ask you, what I wish to give you, is so much
more than you could comprehend.”
“Will it help me defeat the
monsters?”
“Yes.”
“Then ask your question. Ask the
question you already know the answer to.”
“Will you become the first? Will
you search out guardians such as yourself? Will you start an army of your own
to combat the forces that are gathering to end humanity? Will you accept my
gift and pass it to each man that you come across deserving of the title guardian ?”
“Yes, m’lady.” He stood taller
and his chin lifted in response to the praise.
“Then you should call me by my
true name.” She whispered close to him now. “For I am about to show you the
truth of what you hunt, the truth of reality, the truth of your world. Mercury,
I am about to show you the reason you were born and the reason the army you
will raise is needed.”
It was the first time she had
called him by name. The look on his face showed his stark confusion, for he had
never given it to her. “How?”
“Oh, my dear, dear Mercury.” She
smiled. “I am, or will be known, by many names. I am the Queen of Heaven,
Mercury. Whether I be called Anat, Isis, Hera, or even Astarte.” She felt him
startle. “I am life. I am more. I am all in one. There is another, however,
because for every one thing, there has to be a balance of the complete and
opposite thing. This is what we battle.”
“But, but, you are…” The man was
clearly stymied by these claims. Peering into his thoughts, she saw the
questions he wanted to ask. He knew just who Anat was—a goddess. But she had
touched him. She lived among their people. She was a part of their culture. He
was simply wondering—how? How had this woman gone so long acting as a human and
she was actually a goddess.
So, she answered his unspoken
question. “Because I am who I am. Because I am a goddess. I am a goddess who
needs a royal army, a guard that will beat back the rising darkness. Will you
lead my army, Mercury?”
“And how do I know that you
aren’t the cause of the evil?” The question was one that she would have
expected.
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