Ancient Blood: The Fallen (14 page)

Barely an hour had passed and I again sat, my eyes narrowed at the words I was hearing.

However, I managed to hold my tongue as Dante murmured
,
“the Bible speaks of an Angel named Satanael, Gods highest Angel, who became different than all the other Angels, for he became self-realized of the fact he was separate from God, a being unto himself. Satanael became envious of God…wanted to
be
God…a supreme being, a ruler.

In his jealousy to over throw God and acquire his kingdom, Satanael illuminated other Angels of their own self-hood, which caused a war to erupt within Heaven. However, the Angels that remained subservient to God, overwhelmed Satanael and the illuminated ones, forcing them to depart the Heavenly Realm, to go beyond the boundaries of the Cosmos, and onto the plans of Earth, becoming for ever known as fallen angels or…dark ones.”

After a slight pause, Dante continued
,
“God eventually created man, giving this man the name of Adam. In time he gave Adam a mate so he would not be alone, and Adam called this mate Eve. Satanael found a way to entice Eve into becoming enlightened by partaking of the fruit from the Tree Of Life, telling her that to do so did not mean death, but rather, self-awareness, and as her eyes were opened, she brought the fruit to Adam, whom after partaking of the fruit as well, became illuminated.

This so angered God, that he drove Adam and Eve from Eden and sent Watchers…the sons of God…to guard the Tree Of Life, and to watch over Adam and Eve.

However, as man began to populate the earth, these sons of God, became envious of mans self-hood and his freedoms, for man was unbound by the sterility of Heaven and these watchers begun to lust for this freedom as well after the daughters of man.”

Then, after another slight pause, Dante began again, “the Watchers…these sons of God…went against God’s will and began to procreate among humanity.

Because of this, they too became f
allen
angels, producing offspring that were half-divine, half-human, offspring that were claimed by the darkness of evil, just as God indicated in his words of,
my spirit shall not always strive with man for that he is also of flesh.

When God saw what was occurring and the evilness discharging upon the planet and within man, he flooded the earth, destroying what had been created.

Destroying all of man that was, except the one called Noah, and as well Noah’s family, for to him God sent Uriel, one of his Archangels to inform him of the coming flood, for Noah had remained pure of heart, not sinking into the evilness around him as had others of his kind.”

After a slight pause Dante continued
,
“the Greeks, as well believe that the earth was created by a primordial being, a God named Chaos, and out of Chaos was born a daughter called Gaea, the earth mother whom married a God named Ouranus, and they began to populate the planet.

They believe Gaea gave birth to several children that were malformed, as well five others that were perfect, and it was these perfectly formed five whom became known as the Uranides or rather…the Elder Titan Gods…and they ruled the Cosmos, responsible for the original ordering of time and the establishment of fixed heavenly cycles.”

Here Dante paused to draw a breath, then continued
,
“these Elders were named, Cronus, Crius, Coeus, Hyperion, and Iapetus.

Cronus was the god of destructive time, Crius the god of the heavenly constellations and the measure of the year, Coeus the god of the intellect, Hyperion the god of light and of the cycles of time measured by the lights of heaven, the sun, the moon and the dawn, and Iapetus…the god of mortality.

Their farther, Ouranus, entrapped the Elder's malformed brothers within the prison Tartarus, the ultimate of prisons, as it was the prison for the Gods themselves, a place that is unpleasant and inaccessible, for these sons embarrassed him.

However, at his mother’s urging, Cronus slew his father to free his brothers from their entrapment within Tartarus, and then became ruler of Mount Olympus, home at the time of the Gods, and married Rhea, the goddess of female fertility.

Then, fearing that his children would do to him as he had done to his father, who had predicted they would, he had them entrapped within Tartarus as well.

That was all except three, three sons that were born upon earth, the event of each arrival being hidden from him. The names of these children were, Zeus, Poseidon and Hade, three of the twelve that were to later become known in Greek Mythology as the Olympic Gods.

The Greeks belief states that Zeus revolted against
his
father Cronus, and the Elder Titans, defeating them and banishing them to Tartarus.

With this banishment, the brothers then drew lots for one of the three realms to rule. Zeus got the Heavens, Hades the Underworld and Poseidon the Seas and the landmasses within them.”

Dante followed the statement with, “now, listen real close, for you should hear a few similarities in the Christian and the Ancient Greeks beliefs, such as that they both had
sons
who fell for the daughters of man, and their offspring were born half-divine, half-human, for in the Greeks belief, the God Poseidon, as well, fell in love with a mortal woman called Cleito, whom gave him children that, as well, would have been half-divine, half-human.

The Greek Philosopher Plato speaks of a landmass in the Dialogue Of Critias, where he reveals the history of an island called Atlantis and its people. He states that he learned of this place and people through Critias. A politician who claims that his accounts of ancient Athens and Atlantis stem from a visit to Egypt by the legendary Athenian lawgiver Solon in the 6th century BC, where in Egypt, Solon met a priest of Sais, who translated into Greek the history of ancient Athens and Atlantis that was recorded on papyri in Egyptian Hieroglyphs….” Dante stated, pausing before he continued with, “Plato goes on to say in the Dialogue that Poseidon named the land Atlantis after his eldest son, Atlas. That upon Atlantis, he carved the mountain where his human wife dwelt into a palace, enclosing it with three circular moats of increasing width, separated by rings of land proportional in size.

There were bridges built to create a route to the rest of the island, and a canal dug to the sea. As well, there were tunnels carved into the rings of rock, allowing ships to pass into the city around the mountain and docks carved from the moats for the ships. The island was supposed to be a paradise, with rich fertile soil and an abundant source of water and food for its people.

On the Island were built wonderful temples and palaces, and at the heart of Atlantis stood the temple of Poseidon, where in its middle stood a pillar with the laws of Poseidon inscribed upon it.

Beside the laws written upon the pillar, it also held an oath invoking severe curses on those that were disobedient and the kings of the various regions of the island would gather around this pillar and pledge to obey and uphold the law.

This perfect state of living lasted for many generations, as the Kings and their people obeyed the laws of Poseidon, then a war broke out about ten thousand years ago over world domination between Zeus and Hades, a war that was so destructive, it started events rolling that destroyed the surface of the earth by an explosion so powerful it threw the earth off its axis by some degree, resulting in a polar-shift and instant climate change that caused  violent weather outbreaks so fierce there was worldwide catastrophic flooding, which left everything covered in a layer of sediment and ice.

To sum up this long story into a few short words, the Greek God Zeus, is the Christian's God,
and Sataneal, the fallen angel, is Hades,

Though there is no longer concrete evidence that proves this, due to the catastrophe, which over time has brought about change to the
names, places, and things due to a language bearer, choice of religion, or lack of understanding and knowledge in translations, some of Zeus's offspring did manage, however, to escape the catastrophe, and as the world once again became repopulated, his descendants have co-habituated  with the humans that exist today.

They did not escape the ruination alone though, for there are also descendants of Hades that exist as well, yet even among
them
all,
an oddity exists.”

Here he paused before continuing
,
“a child was born that is a descendant of Hades's bloodline and that of an Invoker, whom are special being's even among the Gods.

This child wields the gift of power and hope…yet as well, holds the ability to bring forth damnation upon the earth…”

Drawing a breath Dante stated, “
you
are that child Kira…and the stone you gave me for my birthday is your amulet.”

Unable to help myself, I just stared at Dante, and then murmured sarcastically, “wow, you sure have a hell of an imagination!”

At that Dante hissed, “you still doubt what I’m saying as truth?”

With a censorious laugh I snapped back, “and you expect me to believe I’m what…the child of…”

However, I was unable to finish the word devil, for a hiccuping sob over took me.

While Dante had relayed his tale, Arreon had remained silent, but with my sobs echoing around us, he finally spoke, “yes, you were born with the blood of darkness within you Kira, yet, as well, with that of light and magic, creating within you…a soul, a spirituality that something born only from the dark bloodline can never have.

With a slow shake of his head, Dante followed Arreon’s words with a muttered, “and that is why they want you, so we
must
get you back to your birth place, back onto hallowed ground…so you can be instructed and taught, for now that they have found you, you’re in danger of being taken…taken so they can…use your inherited blood to generate a new, more powerful, army of darkness…”

My mind had been swimming from all the information that had been plugged into it, and I abruptly interrupted his words as I breathed “…and you two…what are
you
?” 

A sound ripped loose from Arreon as he stared at Dante, as if waiting to see how he would answer, and with a warning glance in his direction, as well as a small shake of his head at him, Dante muttered “you might say we’re…protectors…”

I wanted to deny it, deny what had been occurring, deny who I was as well, who
they
were.              

Yet, I realized there honestly
was
no other explanation.

With stomach tied in knots from the onslaught of nauseating fear of what could no longer be denied, I dropped my head into my hands, forced to accept the impossible, then, after a few minutes of self-pity, I slowly raised my head and straightening my shoulders breathed “then I believe its time we left for this...hallowed ground, don't you?”

              A week filled with a flurry of activity followed. A week that had started with the removal of the Crystal on Dante’s key ring, and placed instead on a long golden chain, that was then hung around my neck.              

A stone I was to wear at all times, for it was an aid in my protection against the evil that sought me, and being out of its presence, even for the time frame I had, had only aided in the dark ones quest.              

Now another week was ending, deep in the Amazon Jungle, where I sat on a huge rock, sweat pooling around my neck and armpits as I unhappily stared at the water bottle I’d pulled from my backpack.              

Tipping the water bottle, I took several large swallows, then poured some over my wrists, sighing as the moisture puddled on my flesh before silently sliding off.

I sucked in an exhausted breath, only to let it out on a groan, Jesus Christ I grumbled silently, Dante hadn't been kidding when he'd said he was going to push, as this was the first time in five hours he’d allowed a break.

The brush we were chopping and whacking our way through with the sharp blades of machetes seemed to have never ending relatives. No sooner had we chopped a way through one batch, than another sprang forth to take its place, slapping us in the face and causing tempers to flare.

The brush seemed determined to slow progress with frustrating regularity, and now to my utter dismay, as I’d barely even begun to cool down and catch my breath, Dante appeared to be ready to resume the fight as he stood and began, again, to hack at the thick foliage.

Staring at him in stunned disbelief I hissed, "holy shit Dante, are you trying to help me, or
kill
me!"

Arm pausing in mid strike, Dante whipped around, and blowing out a breath as he pinched his eyes closed against the sweat dribbling into the corners snapped, "why don’t you stop being such a sniveling whiny ass and get your rear-end up and help!"

Arreon, who had climbed to his feet shortly after Dante, and was attacking the brush with just as much intensity as his brother, stilled at the heated words.

Whirling around he barked, “that's
enough
Dante, there’s no reason for you to be so nasty to her, she doesn’t
have
our strength, and she’s been fighting this brush every bit as much as we have” then with a disgusted snort he turned and began hacking again at the dense growth, mumbling vile insults under his breath at Dante.

Three hours later I was squaring off against Dante again as I shouted "I said I have to pee!"              

Letting out a frustrated breath Dante growled, "Jesus, you just went!"

"Excuse me, that was
hours
ago…" I began, only to come to an abrupt stop as, crossing my legs I panted, "damn you," trying to gain control of a bladder that was in such a volatile state that I didn't even protest when Dante's arm brushed against the back of my legs while the other encircled my back.

Then scooping me up, he carried me into the brush before lowering me back to my feet as he snapped, "just get it over with" before turning and stepping a little further into the brush, allowing me some privacy, but remaining within earshot.

A few minutes later, I made my way back over to Dante’s side, and as we began to make our way back out of the brush and onto a path that was only slightly less over grown, Dante snapped, "you should have told me before it got so bad!"

I gaped at him, my face a study in astonishment as I hissed; "before it got…" then I roared, "are you fucking
kidding
me…I started nearly an hour ago telling you I needed to stop!"

Nodding Dante sneered “all-right…so you did, but you never said it was because you needed to pee, for all I knew you were just whining some more…as that’s about all I’ve heard from you all damn day!"

"Oh,
excuse
me for not telling you every time my body has a natural urge, you want me to tell you when I'm on my period too" I spat.

"Are you? It sure as hell would explain that waspish mouth of yours!" Dante snarled back.

* * *

I'd begun to think we'd never break through the thick vegetation, and now that we had, I found myself two days into our journey, quarrelsome, exhausted, and sharing my tent with a horde of pesky mosquitoes that had, somehow, had the wherewithal to find their way through the insect netting.

I found as well, that I wanted answers. Something was wrong, quite wrong in fact, if the way Dante and Arreon were behaving was any indication, and though it was something neither had spoken about vocally, they might as well have stood on a mountain top and shouted it down at the world below, for their demeanor spoke volumes of an unseen trouble brewing.

After having observed both separately, yet continuously shooting superstitious glances behind us and at the trees through out the last twenty-four hours, I'd had enough.

Jerking up the zipper of my tent, I pushed aside the flap and stepped out, then standing, swung my eyes about the small camp locating Dante, and after only a slight debate with myself, I marched over to where he sat and exclaimed, “all right, what is it, just what the hell are you two expecting to happen!”

Dante paused, lifting his head from where he’d been cleaning the wicked looking blade he’d begun wearing in a sheath attached to his hip and stated, “we’re being followed” just as nonchalant as if he were telling me it was going to rain later.

Eyes rounding, I shot an apprehensive glance at the trees around us and breathed, “we are?” then exclaimed “by…them?”

Dante shrugged before answering, “can’t really say, it might be….might not.”

Though I continued to cast nervous glances at the trees, I uttered in frustration, “what the hell kind of answer is
that
?”

With another shrug Dante muttered, “it's the only one I have right now, because I’m not sure of exactly
what
or
who
is following us yet.”

Then on a breath of air, my frustration oozing out in the sound of my voice I mewled, “I thought you just...you know, somehow, just...sensed them, or something.”

“I'm highly trained Kira, with above normal strength, speed and I need little to no sleep, but I can't just
sense
them...I
smell
them” Dante rasped sardonically, still keeping his voice in a lower register.

Shaking my head I laughed, “you
what
? You mean angels really
do
smell, like in the movie Michael, with John Travolta and Jean Stapleton?”

“Yes Kira, angels do have a smell, and yes, just like in Michael, they smell like cookies and it just gets stronger when we're in heat!” Dante informed me.

Ignorance was bliss, I realized, though a little too late.

However, minutes later I was fuming, God the man must have a set of balls bigger than the state of Nebraska, as he hadn’t even bothered to ask me how I felt about reporting my every movement like I was a child!

No dammit, he hadn't, in fact, he'd told me that until there was a handle on just who was following us, I was to make clear my every intention!

Glancing at Dante as he hadn’t so much as moved an inch from where he continued to lounge after dropping his bombshell, his back resting against a large boulder as he continued to clean at his knife, I made my decision.

There was a shallow creek not far from the camp that was well within shouting distance, should any trouble arise, and I wanted, no
needed
a bath, for I smelled. Besides, it wasn't as if I were a two year old that needed supervision, insuring I stay out of trouble now was it?

Spurred on by righteous indignation over what I felt to be unfair treatment for my age and the situation that was at hand, I stood from where I’d flopped angrily down on a fallen log some yards behind Dante and, as noiselessly as I could manage, I took inventory of anything that might raise an alarm, informing my newly acquired, and unwanted parent, of my plans.

Arreon hadn’t returned from where he was looking around deeper within the jungle, so I knew I was safe where he was concerned, and as the path before me was clear of any fallen limbs or rocks that might trip me, the only true menace that made a threat to my plans sat behind me, and he, it seemed, was totally absorbed in the task he was performing.

So tossing one final glance over my shoulder in his direction, I began to stealthily creep my way over to my tent.

Reaching the flap, I silently slid it aside and crawled into the interior. So far, so good, I thought, as I began gathering the needed supplies.

I'd just grasp a bar of soap when I felt my ankles encircled by iron shackles, and suddenly I was being hauled backwards on my stomach from the tent, then, in one swift, fluid motion, I found myself rolled over onto my back, and glowering up at Dante who, with black brows drawn tight across his forehead in a dark, sideways exclamation mark, glowered back.

Jerking into a sitting position, I kicked away the hands at my ankles, and launching upwards until I stood toe to toe with him, I spat, "never, ever, manhandle me again, you got that, and while we're at it, let's get something else straight here and now…you want me to do something, you
ask
!"

Dante in return roared, "well I'm not asking, I'm
telling
you, let someone know of your plans…got it?”

Then with eyes still spitting unholy fire, he glanced down at the small assortment of items scattered on the ground at our feet and growled, “and stop acting like a sniveling brat, just tell someone when you want a bath!"

Staring at him I snarled, “try and
make
me” then turning, I made to crawl back inside my tent.

From behind me I heard a low grunt, and suddenly was again being jerked back through the flaps, only this time I found myself being tossed in the air as Dante threw me over his shoulder, and giving an incensed hiss, I growled, "put me down,
now
!"

In response Dante sneered, “try and make
me
” before turning, and with me precariously balanced on his shoulder, he began making his way out of camp, and into the thick growth of the jungle.

Clamping my jaws tight, I ground my teeth in an effort to hold back the words that fought to come forth.

However, it seemed the effort was in vain for nothing could stop the flow that blasted forth when, standing before a small creek hidden within the abundance of trees, Dante suddenly came to a stop, and in one swift motion leaned forward, deliberately dropping me like I was nothing more than a sack of feed towards the ground.              

Sucking in a breath as my rear-end impacted the jungle floor I screamed, "you …you…slimy sleaze ball, gutter rat…"

However, my rant extinguished into non-existence, when the trees around us began to quiver, the leaves and branches setting up a cacophony of noise that had me sucking in a startled breath of alarm before it came whooshing back out in stunned shock as Arreon came bursting through the trees.

His features projected a menacing threat of violence. His eyes avidly searching the area for whoever was threatening our well-being.

Then, seeing the area devoid of anyone but Dante and I, he skidded to a stop, jerked his eyes in Dante’s direction, quickly summing up the situation, and with features darkening further he glared at Dante, his thoughts clear in his snarling voice as he barked "what the hell did you do to her Dante!"

Dante visibly stiffened, before eyes narrowing he snapped, "
excuse
me?"

Ignoring the low warning tone of Dante's voice, Arreon continued shooting a look at him that, aimed at a lesser man, would have brought him to his knees in fear.

Then slowly returning his gaze to me, he reached out and helped me to my feet before hissing, "hell Dante, can't you just lay off her for one second!"              

Glowering in Arreon's and my direction, Dante snorted, then turned and walked several feet away, peering out into the darkness of the jungle, then voice carrying to us like a whiplash he snarled, “I'd advise you Arreon to get the hell out of my sight!”

Glaring at Dante’s back, a snarl curling up the edges of his lips, and without removing his eyes from Dante’s back Arreon hissed, “and
why
pray tell should I do that brother!”

Before I could comprehend what had happened, Dante was standing before Arreon, his shirtfront wrapped within his fist, as having lifted Arreon off the ground he snarled at him, “really? You
really
wanna go there?”

Arreon's chest visibly puffed in a defensive manner. Then face turning nearly molten red in his anger, he doubled his fist and swung in Dante's direction.

However, contact between flesh and fist never came about, as suddenly Arreon was flying backwards through the air. Landing some ten yards away, he skidded backwards on his haunches for several seconds before he came to a stop, then making to surge to his feet he stilled, motionless as Dante snarled, “I
wouldn't
if I were you!”