Chapter 19

Kevin’s point of view

I managed to stay awake the next time I woke up.

The bad thing was that I could hardly lift up my arms. I didn’t want to look at my chest either. It was encrusted with dried blood around my wound. The others had tried to clean it up for me but it hurt too much, so they stopped.

Looked like it would leave a scar too. Half of us now looked like war veterans with all these injuries. Most were minor bites and scratches, but this spear wound was nearly as bad as my original knife wound.

Yeah, I know I could have gotten rid of it with my abilities, but I brought it back after Anubis hid it anyway. It didn’t seem right to not have a scar after such an injury. Besides, I needed it for a constant reminder of who I really was and where I really came from.

I had considered trying to borrow energy from Brian again, but I couldn’t for two reasons: firstly, I was too weak to mentally reach out to him; secondly, I had told him to stop listening, and if he had, he wouldn’t hear me.

“Flyer…” I breathed weakly.

“Ughh… Kev.. Kevin?” he moaned groggily, obviously half asleep.

I hadn’t noticed it, but he had been asleep, perched on my shoulder as usual.

“Flyer…. I won’t make it…” I claimed.

“Yes, you will! You have to!” he begged.

“I’m at Bodai’ran: the Frontier between life and death. Flyer, my energy keeps draining faster than I can regenerate it.” I explained. “Tell Skyir and the others that they can get going and find a way off this planet without me. I’ll be a burden.”

“Kevin….. we don’t leave anyone behind.”

“Even if its what they want?”

Flyer scowled, but Old Quinn’s voice jumped in from the right.

“Ach, less o’ th’ moral issues, Sonny Jim!” he sided with my young companion as he approached. “Soul Creatures ain’t like us, ‘n ah dain’t know how ter help yer, Kev, lad.”

“Then don’t. I failed my own mission. I’ve pretty much got killed.” I moaned in self-pity. “Now I’ve got even less chance of reaching home!”

Thwack!

Quinn’s hand hit my face firmly.

“Nae more o’ that!” he threatened angrily. “Yer’ve come too far ter be talkin’ o’ death an’ doom, Kevin!”

Flyer looked astonished. Quinn continued: “Yer get some rest. Nae slippin’ into yer little pit o’ depression again either, lad.”

I blinked, feeling a trickle of energy suddenly enter me. But the hit had brought me back to my good frame of mind.

“Thank you Quinn. I … I just got a bit carried away there.”

He nodded, satisfied, and left Flyer and me alone.

“Please don’t give up, old friend!” Flyer begged.

He gently placed his wingtip on my hand, and I felt strangely comforted. I exploited that last trickle of energy to lightly grip his wingtip as a return gesture, and a soothing sensation of a small stream of energy came to my arm. I let go in surprise, and Flyer sighed sadly.

“I’ll let you get more rest.” He stated. “Don’t worry: you’ll get back to Kristin yet!”

I smiled, feeling hopeful. Flyer tried to take off, but seemed to falter at first.

“Anything wrong, Flyer?”

He shook his head, confused. “No, I just lost the feeling in my wing for a second there. Never mind. Goodbye for now, Kevin.”

I watched him leave, a strange idea coming to my mind: did I just take some of Flyer’s energy? Was that why his wing went numb?

Another discovery…… I’ll test that theory later

I awoke later, feeling weak, yet enlightened. Maybe I could drain energy from someone or something to help heal my wound and save myself?

I spotted Skyir moving from creature to creature, checking if they were in good health and nearly ready to leave.

I felt suddenly compelled to surge forward at him. Go on, he’s never accepted you completely! Now’s your chance to pay him back for rejecting you! You need that energy!

I narrowed my eyes and moved to try and stand. I began to try and lift up my arm, but I stopped myself, and quaked in horror at what I was just about to do:

Damn you! What are you trying to do? Skyir’s on our side! He led these guys for years, and rejected me ‘cause he thought I was a danger to them! How could you even think about murdering him?!

I screwed my eyes shut in shame. Maybe this Soul Creature deal wasn’t such a good thing after all. It was clouding my judgement; maybe even bringing out my dark side. I secretly was wracked with grief from actually killing other creatures during the rebellion: that was the first time I had intentionally killed a living thing.

C’mon, kill him! I’m the voice of reason here!

I closed my eyes angrily and partly from surprise. That wasn’t my dark side speaking. That voice was…….

I transferred my consciousness to the theatre of my mind, and saw whom I expected to see.

“Anubis!” I exclaimed.

He rapped his staff off the floor impatiently. “You are a fool, Kevin!”

“I’m a fool?” I gasped, insulted. “You’re the fool! You kept me prisoner!”

“To protect you!” he snapped. “You betrayed me! You disobeyed my instructions!”

I was astonished. I couldn’t believe his arrogance. “I don’t belong to you. I’m not a slave for you, for the Valedron Empire, or anyone else!” I retaliated. “Your rules drove me away!”

“You DO belong to me! I created you. You are a Soul Creature – you are MINE!” he declared.

“You son of a bitch!” I yelled at him. “So this was all a plot to make me your little tool of destruction? You’re making it clear enough; thats why you want me to kill Skyir!”

“He’s always been bitter towards you. I know that you’re dying – you need that energy, don’t you?” Anubis sneered. “It’s him…. Or YOU!”

“Is this a little trap you devised for me?” I accused.

Anubis looked mockingly innocent. He pointed a black claw at himself:

“Me?” he questioned defensively, yet guiltlessly. “Don’t forget, you were the one that started the rebellion: you brought this down on yourself! But you are partly right: this is a trap of sorts that you have stumbled into.”

He walked around me in circles, and I eyed him suspiciously, ready to retaliate. I guessed he was studying how I’d changed since I was at the Hall of the Ancients. I knew what was new: I had my old scar back, and my new scar, along with whipmarks on my back and slash marks on my palms. It was evident I’d not had an easy time.

He stopped observing my appearance, and stood face to face with me.

“Let’s call it a two-sided coin. You could let Skyir live, but then you’d die – it would be inevitable. On the other hand, you could kill Skyir by draining his soul energy, and live on yourself to complete your personal mission.”

He seemed to have a valid point. Two sides, only one choice.

But then a reckless idea came to light. I grinned slyly – Anubis wouldn’t know what hit him.

I stared levelly as he waited for an answer or solution. His black fur bristled with impatience, and the light reflected on his deep, dark eyes.

“But consider this, Ancient:” I began, insultingly refusing to call him by his name, “what if I found a third option, that would allow both of us to live?”

Anubis gripped his staff in anger.

“How many brain cells do you have, human? Coins only have two sides!” he stated.

I ignored the insult, confident of myself now. It was working.

“Watch carefully!” I instructed. He obeyed, curious yet cautious.

I made an illusion of a table, and a coin, appear next to us. I went over to the other side, and picked up the coin.

“If you throw a coin enough times……” I began, flipping the coin in the air.

It landed on the table, and my coin illusion was not lying flat as most coins do. I gestured to it.

“….. one day, it might land on it’s edge.”

Anubis waved his paw over the balanced coin, and the kinetic wave on energy knocked it over.

“But how likely is that? Consider the likelihood before using it as a solution!” he stated cleverly.

“Maybe as a mortal human, it would be nearly impossible to get a coin to land on its edge. But I’ve learned over the past year that when you’re a Soul Creature, things aren’t all as they seem.”

I leaned closer to him, and he became clearly nervous.

“Because this third option,” I concluded. “…. Is well within reach!”

Anubis realised a little too late that I wasn’t using the term ‘well within reach’ metaphorically. I clamped my hands around his throat, feeling the energy begin to fill my body. I could almost see the glowing blue strength of the energy pulsing through my arms at I drained Anubis.

“Spirit scum!” he managed to yell.

He held out his paws and a wave of strong kinetic energy blasted me away from him. But it was too late. I had drained enough to revive myself now to my former strength. Anubis held his throat, still stronger than me, but shocked and half-choked.

“Smart – yet poorly superficial!” Anubis commented, before disappearing into the darkness.

Flyer’s point of view

“YEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”

I fell off my perch on a mangled, dead tree at the cry. It sounded as if a poison arrow had just shot something. Others ran to the source of the sound, and I flew over them curiously. I noticed Skyir up here too, in the sky, and Monsoon.

“Skyir, Monsoon, what was that?” I quizzed.

“Don’t know, Flyer, buddy!” Monsoon replied, worried and confused.

“Look down there, Flyer. I think you were right when you said Kevin was strong!” Skyir stated.

We all looked below to the ground.

“Kevin!!” I exclaimed happily. He was standing up!

I shot down to earth like lighting. As I descended, I saw Dommur curiously wander too close to Kevin. Kevin picked him up and swung him around in jubilation, laughing heartily. He set Dommur down again, and the surprise on the Gecko’s face was evident, as well as his dizziness. He staggered about for a few paces, cheerily signing one of Kevin’s songs, off key.

“Hahar, Backstreet’s… Back… yaaargh!” he groaned as he toppled over from unbalance.

“Flyer!” Kevin exclaimed. He hugged me happily. “You were right buddy! I did make it!”

“Kev, you’ll crush me,” I laughed jokingly.

He let go and I sat on his arm like an….. what was the simile that Kevin had used? ….an eagle, that was it!

Skyir descended and landed on Kevin’s other arm.

“Creatures of the Dragon Faction: the elders, Grapper, Rembrandt and I, have decided that now everyone is fit enough to travel, it is now time to find a new home! We leave tomorrow at dawn!”

Cheers went up, and I joined in. Everything was working out for them after so long. It must have been a miracle for them. And for me: now I had the chance to actually make it home. Yet, I had other things to sort out. I could help them rebuild their community.

Rembrandt and Grapper came up to the three of us.

“From now on, we take up th’ ould war cry o’ wor cultures as our declaration o’ freedom!” Rembrandt stated.

“Let it fill our ‘earts with new ‘ope!” Grapper shouted.

They threw back their heads, crying out at the top of their lungs:

“ZAKKAR DRACONIS!!!!”

Anubis’ point of view

“Well that was interesting!” Sehkmet chuckled.

“Interesting? He attacked me!” I exclaimed.

“That’s what I mean!” Sehkmet grinned, mockingly.

Amon-Ra stood up, “Anubis, we have observed this Soul Creature for you. It is clear he is no longer under your control. I doubt he ever has been.”

“Amon-Ra, I created him, like all of them! He will eventually fall under my sway!” I insisted.

“No, Anubis!” Sobek joined the others against me. “None of the others did. And he is far stronger than you anticipated.”

“Ancients, he is dangerous alone! He will alter the balance of the universe!” I stated pleadingly.

Thoth, ever the wise one, intervened. “But who are we to alter it, if he has no right?”

No answer came.

“He is a troubled soul, this Kevin Richardson. He has much potential for good or for evil, true, but all he wants is to go home!” Thoth stated. “We argue like monarchs of a great realm. Yet we are not. The era of the Ancients in the mortal realm ended three millennia ago. Who are we to deny the wish of a Soul with a long journey to begin? Let him go back to his family.”

“As ever, Thoth, your wisdom is unparalleled.” Amon-Ra claimed.

“No more tricks then, Anubis!” Sehkemt chided mockingly.

As the council meeting was adjourned, I couldn’t help but notice the smile slowly spread across Horus’ beak. He had remained strangely quiet during this meeting, and had an air of superiority about him. What was he up to?

It was as if he knew something that we didn’t……….

***

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