Ragnarok: The Fate of Gods (21 page)

             
“I’ll admit it’s no Millennium Falcon, but I find it smells better without wookie hair all over the cockpit.”  His humor was lost on Zeke, who didn’t feel like laughing.  Jack continued.  “I’ve made a few under-the-table modifications.  It’s all illegal, but this should be faster than any ship out there—except maybe the Karellan’s Adramelech.”

             
No one believed him.  “Can a ship shaped like this really be all that fast?” asked Ariel. 

             
Before he could answer, Daniel interrupted.  “Speaking of illegal . . .”  He gave an urgent nod toward the shadow of the city behind them. 

             
“Right.”  Jack turned to address the group.  “The Nifelheim flight logs read that I’m carrying cargo to Pretoria, so we should probably be well out of the way before they realize that’s not happening.”  He boarded his ship, followed by Daniel. 

             
The others remained standing in disbelief.  “This thing is supposed to fly?” asked Ariel.

             
“I guess.  It got this far, didn’t it?” 

             
“But all the way to Rome?”

             
The ship lifted off the ground.  Jack’s voice boomed over a loud P.A.  “I’m taking off.  We’ll throw down a ladder.  Come on!” 

             
“Hold on tight,” Ariel advised.

              The Karellan was once again standing at his window. 

             
Jesus, how does he find the time for this? 
Hugin thought to himself. 

             
As if responding to his thoughts, the overlord spoke.  “Yes, Raven Hugin?” 

             
“Sir, Uzuki has released Branderlief from prison.  We believe they are now headed for . . .”

             
“Rome.  I know.  And for the time being, he is still a Raven.  Please don’t allow your personal feelings to undermine his efforts.”  He sat down and began straightening loose papers lying on his desk. 

             
“His efforts?”  Hugin was outraged, but he strained to sound respectful in the presence of his boss.  “Sir, he’s
betraying
you!”

             
“A dishonest man, you can always trust to be dishonest.”

             
“Sir?  Should we prepare to retrieve them?”

             
“Of course not.”  He laughed cheerfully, as though his subordinate was simply cracking a joke. 

             
Hugin, however, was not trying to be funny, and found his lord’s behavior these past few weeks quite unusual.  “Sir, I’m afraid I don’t understand.  Uzuki is most likely taking them to Sandalphon.”

             
“Well of course he is.  I asked him to.” 

             
“My lord?”

             
The Karellan stood and calmly approached the ninja.  He leaned against his desk and explained, “Raven Uzuki is not yet sure of whom he serves.  For the time being, his decision is simple.  As long as my goals coincide with Sandalphon’s, young Daniel will serve both masters with fealty.  Only when we no longer follow the same purpose will he be forced to choose one master over the other.”

             
Hugin took a moment to think.  “Do you mean to say you want Branderlief to make contact with Sandalphon?” 

             
“He is of no use to me until he does.”  He gave another cheerful laugh.  “Only by recovering the remaining pages of the book will he become strong enough to fill the role I have created for him.” 

             
“So we are to do nothing?” 

             
“Do not question my methods.  You may not understand them, but I ask that you trust they are necessary. 
You
are to do nothing.  I will send Metatron to deal with Mr. Branderlief.  I have another task for you.” 

             
“Yes, my lord?”  He stood at attention, ready to receive orders.

             
“Not one hour ago, Supervisor Dumah came to the upper city to retrieve the priest Jae-Hoon Lee from jail.” 

             
“Do you want me to stop them, sir?” 

             
“Of course not.  I want you to help them.” 

              “We should arrive in Rome by sunset.”  The pilot set the ship to auto-pilot and swiveled his seat around to face the others.

             
“I’m in no rush,” said Zeke unenthusiastically.  As he slouched in the chair, he mindlessly fingered his sword. 

             
“You actually use that thing?” asked Jack. 

             
“I don’t carry it around for the exercise.” 

             
“I gotta say, that’s pretty impressive.  A sword in this day and age.  You any good with it?”  He sounded like a little boy. 

             
It was a quality Zeke found irritating.  “It kept me alive for ten years, didn’t it?”

             
“Can you . . .  you know . . .  deflect bullets?”

             
“Don’t be silly.” 

             
Ariel put a hand on his shoulder.  “He’s only trying to be friendly.”

             
“I know, but did he honestly think I could deflect bullets with my sword?”  He whispered, but in Quetzalcoatl’s small cockpit, it didn’t matter.  Everyone heard him. 

             
Jack took it well.  “Hey, look.  I’m not one to cause trouble.  It’s all . . .”

             
A blinding light flashed through the cockpit.

             
“Whoa!  What was that?”  The pilot swiveled his chair back to the controls and started checking the sky. 

             
Daniel leaned forward.  “Zeke, is it . . .”

             
“I don’t know.  It could be.” 

             
“What the hell?  A malak?”  Jack’s confused shouting confirmed their fears.  In the distance, floating in the sky was Metatron. 

             
The malak raises his hand.  It glows purple.  Tiny bolts of electricity arc between his fingers.  Then a bolt of light blasts forward, hitting the ship. 

             
The control panel sparks.  Wisps of smoke rise into the air.  Electricity arcs across the hull. 

             
“What happened?” shouts Ariel.

             
Jack furiously hits buttons and pulls switches.  “I don’t know.  Nothing’s responding.” 

             
“Did he shoot us down?”  Daniel asks. 

             
“We’re still in the air, aren’t we?”  His statement doesn’t come across as reassuring. 

             
“I can’t tell, but I don’t think there’s any physical damage.  It’s more like we’ve been hit with an EMP.”

             
“What does that mean?” 

             
“It means he took out everything electrical,” Jack shouts.  “Lights, navigation, fuel generators, everything but the basic mechanical operations.  We can go left, right or down.  Emphasis on the down.” 

             
“Is it bad?”  asks Zeke.

             
“Not if you’ve lived a life with no regrets.  This ship doesn’t have wings.  We’re falling pretty fast.” 

             
“Can we land?”

             
“We’d need
land
for that.  There’s not much below us but the Adriatic Sea.”

             
“What can we do?”  Daniel asks.

             
“Change into a swimsuit?”

             
Zeke scowls.  “Not helpful.”

             
“There’s always hydroplaning.” 

             
“What?”

             
“It’s like skipping a stone.  Bouncing off the water.” 

             
“Could we . . .”

             
“Just sit down and we’ll see!” he shouts violently. 

             
The water is visible through the window.  They fall fast.  Jack struggles with the controls.  The ship levels out slightly.  The sea rises to meet them. 

             
They hit. 

             
The ship bounces.  Jack, buckled into his seat, stays at the controls.  The others are thrown off balance.  Objects tumble around them.  They cover their heads.

             
“Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.  At this time will you please observe the ‘impending doom’ sign and buckle your seatbelts.  Please place all heavy objects and razor sharp swords in the overhead compartments as we may experience turbulence which would turn such objects into deadly projectiles.” 

             
The ship hits the water again.  More objects are tossed into the air.  Zeke clutches his chair, glaring at Daniel.  “Found a real winner here.  Does he always do this?”

             
“How the hell should I know?  I’ve never even met the man before yesterday!”

             
“You don’t know him?”

             
“Of course not.  But he was the only one crazy enough to take us to Rome.”

             
Jack’s voice was calm, as if nothing were happening.  “We realize you have a choice of illegal cargo freighters, and we hope that your fiery death does not discourage you from flying with our airlines again.” 

             
“Just land this thing already!”  Ariel screams.  The ship hits the water again, jostling the cockpit. 

             
“You may want to know, the shore’s up ahead,” Jack says casually. 

             
“Are we going to survive that long?” 

             
“Sure.  We’ve built up enough speed to impale ourselves on anything.”

             
“Impale?  What?”

             
The slowing ship hits the water at an odd angle.  Quetzalcoatl begins to spin.  They grab their seats, holding tight.  “I think we’re still heading for shore,” Jack says, staring out the window at the sea behind them.  No one cares.

             
The ship is caught by the water.  It drags on the hull, bringing them to a fast halt. 

             
The group, recovering from the fall, rests for a while.  The ship glides through the waves then hits something.  They hear sand drag on the ship. 

             
Quetzalcoatl stops moving, save for a slight bobbing in the waves.  Jack stands up triumphantly.  “Welcome to Italy!”

Chapter Fourteen: Italian Wilderness

              The fire was warm, but it was attracting bugs.  There weren’t many options, though.  The ship wouldn’t fly, they didn’t know where they were, and they stood no chance in the wilderness at night.  So they sat around, swatting mosquitoes, and waiting for morning. 

             
Jack had been crawling around Quetzalcoatl ever since they crashed.  When it got dark, he continued his work by flashlight.  But he didn’t seem to be making any progress. 

             
Ariel stared at the pinpoint of light just off shore.  “You figure that thing out yet?” she called. 

             
“I can’t understand it.  I don’t even know what’s wrong,” he called back.  His voice carried across the water. 

             
“Doesn’t anything work?” asked Zeke. 

             
“Of course something works,” he called. 

             
“What is it?” 

             
“This flashlight.” 

             
Zeke quietly turned to the others.  “I swear, if he doesn’t shut up soon, I’m going to kill him by morning.”  His frustrating stint in jail with the ever-cheerful pirate ran through his mind.  Now he was stranded in the wilderness with someone even more irritating.  He was not looking forward to this trip.

             
“You don’t have to play the tough guy,” said Ariel softly.  “It’s not always helpful to have people fear you.” 

             
He was going to speak, but Daniel cut him off.  “So what’s our next move?” 

             
“What?”  Zeke was incensed.  “
You
dragged us out here.  Didn’t you have a plan?” 

             
“My plan involved landing in Rome.  I’m not familiar with this region.”  He was defensive, but calm. 

             
“And you think
I
am?” 

             
“Ezekiel,” Ariel interjected softly, motherly.

             
Zeke closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down.  After a moment, he thought of a plan.  “I guess we go west.  It’s a start.  Might take us a while to find Rome, but we know it’s on the other coast.  We’ll leave at dawn.” 

             
Daniel smiled impishly then called, “Jack, you coming to Rome with us?” 

             
“What?  Hey!  Doesn’t he have to stay and fix the ship or something?”  Zeke was frantic.  Ariel and Daniel smiled in the darkness.

             
“Sure!  Sounds like fun,” the pilot called back.

             
“What?”  His voice echoed in the night.  The others snickered quietly.  He glared at them, but knew that objecting was useless.  “Fine.  We leave early, so I’m going to sleep.  Someone should stay awake and keep watch.  There are more dangerous things than draugr in the forbidden regions of the world.” 

             
He laid down in the sand and closed his eyes. 

              “Why did you bring that thing?” asked Daniel as they marched through the Italian wilderness. 

             
Of all the items on the ship, Jack had chosen to take a crow bar with him.  He now held it like a minuteman carries a rifle.  “What, this?” he asked.  “It might be useful.” 

             
“Most of us tend to think food is slightly more important,” suggested Zeke, trying to stay cool.  It was he who was saddled with the task of carrying their food and water. 

             
Jack tried to defend his choice.  “We’re going to Rome, right?  And no one ever bothered to rebuild it?  It could be useful for digging through ruins or something.”  He held the crow bar like a shovel and pretended to dig with it. 

             
“Jack,” said Daniel with a bad-news tone in his voice.  “We’re not going to be digging through anything.” 

             
“We’re not?” 

             
“We’re not even going to the city.  We’re looking for someone who lives near Rome.” 

             
“Oh.”  He was silent for a moment.  “Well, it still might be useful.”  His voice was weak, doubtful. 

             
The two of them started discussing the merits and drawbacks of crow bars. Zeke, wanting no part in it, hung back a few steps.  The Italian countryside was peaceful, almost serene.  He felt strangely calm being there.  It was easy to forget how dangerous it was.  The government had declared the entire Italian peninsula a disaster area and a DMZ.  No one was permitted to go there.  It was the only forbidden zone outside of North America and a haven for monsters.

             
Whatever the Karellan was doing there, he didn’t want anyone to see. 

             
But Zeke wasn’t too concerned with the overlord’s plans.  At that moment, he felt good.  The weather was nice.  Warm, but with a cool breeze.  The wilderness was quiet.  It was a vast improvement over his last visit to Italy, marching through the same countryside in full battle gear. 

             
But at least then, he had been with Micah. 

             
“Are you all right?” came a voice interrupting his thoughts.  Ariel seemed to have grown tired of the crow bar debate as well.  Daniel and Jack were now a good distance ahead of them.

             
“Yeah.  I’m fine.  How about you?”

             
“It’s nice here.  I’m loving this.” 

             
“Yeah., me too,” he answered, half to himself.  “You’re not tired at all?” 

             
“Well, maybe just a little,” she confessed.  “But more than anything, I’m happy that I can get around more easily than before.  Marching through Italy makes me feel strong again.  Like everything is the same as it was ten years ago.” 

             
“Except for Micah.”  His statement was followed by a somber silence.

             
“I miss him too.  But you know you can get by well enough without him, right?”  She smiled hopefully. 

             
“I made it through the last ten years, didn’t I?” 

             
Her smile changed to a smirk.  “I was hoping you’d notice.”

             
“It’s not easy though.  I can’t help but think I’ll never measure up to him.  He was strong, intelligent.  People respected him.” 

             
Talking to Ariel was easy.  She already knew Zeke.  She had witnessed his secrets.  He could confide in her without giving up his identity. 

             
“You don’t think you’re strong?  You use that sword just as well as Micah did.  Maybe even better.  And strength isn’t everything.  You couldn’t have survived this long if you weren’t intelligent.” 

             
“Respect.  What about that?  I’m not the easiest person to get along with.”  Zeke was arguing, but secretly hoping to be proven wrong. 

             
“Are you really that blind?  Look.” 

             
She nodded ahead.  The others were still arguing about the crow bar.  “How about camping?  You could use it as a very small tent post?”  Jack suggested, sticking the crow bar into the ground to illustrate his point. 

             
Daniel seemed like his head was going to burst.  “Okay, new deal!  I’ll pay you
double
if you shut up for the next ten minutes.  Okay?” 

             
Zeke actually laughed. 

             
“That boy looks up to you.  He’s trying to make you notice him.  He dragged you out here and elected you leader.” 

             
He shook his head.  “I’ve noticed.  I don’t understand why, but I’ve noticed.  Weird kid.” 

             
“Of course,” Ariel continued, “You could always try to be more . . . shall we say, receptive, of other people?” 

             
He took a long look at the two men ahead of him.  “I guess Jack isn’t such a bad guy.” 

             
“And Daniel?” 

             
“I’ll try to be nicer to them.” 

             
“And Micah?” 

             
“Be nicer to Micah?” 

             
“Not that.  But don’t fret about him so much.”  It was a funny statement, coming from the woman who dreamed of him coming back to life after ten years.  “You don’t have to live up to any standards.  You
know
what he’d say about that.” 

             
Zeke smiled, remembering the oft-repeated lessons of their absent friend.  “Heroes are humans, but most people forget that.  It’s easy to view the world in black and white, but heroes make mistakes and villains accomplish great things.  Living your life by another’s lead is just an excuse for not making your own decisions.” 

             
Ariel smiled warmly.  “It’s sound advice.  You’re not Micah.  He was a great man, but you still have to find your own way.”

             
Suddenly, a large ball of energy falls from the sky.  It smashes into the ground, throwing up an explosion of dust, soil, and charred plants.  The small group, blinded by the cloud, begins to cough. 

             
The smoke clears.  Zeke looks up. 

             
Metatron floats gently down into the crater he just made.  He holds a huge broadsword in each hand. 

             
“You again!”  He drops his bags, draws his sword, and rushes to attack.  The malak crosses his blades, catching the blow.  He kicks forward, knocking Zeke back. 

             
Daniel pulls out his shotgun.  Jack holds out his crow bar.  Daniel gives him a doubtful look.

             
“No, no.  Not yet,” the malak states condescendingly.

             
Zeke stands.  “Just fight me!”

             
“And how do you expect to defeat me when you can’t summon the power to touch me with your blade?  You do not yet have the strength of will to fight a being of the Ether.”

             
“Why do you care?  Why do you want me to be stronger?”

             
“You have been chosen.  Your soul will become the will of God.”  Metatron’s voice is deep and ominous.

             
“What is he talking about?” asks Ariel.

             
“I have no idea.”

             
“You will understand in time,” booms the malak.

             
“Not if I kill you first.”  He leaps at Metatron, his sword extended.

             
The monster flicks his right hand gently, twisting his massive sword to stop the attack in an instant.  He swings his left sword low. 

             
Zeke leaps over the blade and attacks.  Once again, the malak blocks effortlessly with one hand and attacks with the other.  But Zeke is fast.  Their blades lock.  He is still alive, but he gets a strong feeling that Metatron isn’t fighting with all his strength. 

             
The malak breaks free of the lock.  He launches an assault on the small human.  Right sword.  Left sword.  Right.  Right.  Left.  Right.  Zeke blocks furiously.  He begins to sweat, but the demon’s attacks don’t touch him. 

             
Then he sees an opening. 

             
He swipes his sword fast across Metatron’s waist.  The blade passes harmlessly through the ghostly body.  The malak steps back.  “You seem stronger, but you have clearly not learned from our last battle.  You can not defeat a god with a weapon of man!” 

             
He holds his blades crossed in front of him then swiftly swings them back.  The stroke creates a small shockwave that knocks all four humans to the ground. 

             
“You’ve done well against men and their evolved form.  Now you will fight a lesser denizen of God!”

             
“A denizen of God?” repeats Daniel to himself. 

             
Metatron hears him and explains, “The physical form of the Destroyer.” 

             
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” says Jack. 

             
The malak stabs his swords into the ground.  He draws an invisible symbol in the air with his hands.  The ground glows with a strange glyph.  Zeke recognizes it as the Metatron’s cube from his dream.