The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Burning Phoenix (102 page)

Waiting for no reply from the man struck
speechless, Lowenah turned her attention back to Darla. “Major, you
have accepted your position in the Marines and have been assigned
one of your staff officers. Do you have anything you wish to
say?”

Darla stood there, struggling with her
monster within, the veins in her neck turning purple. After several
breathless moments, she choked out,
“I will obey you in this
matter, but be warned: Should this man become a threat to the
welfare of the others in my charge, I will put him down, killing
him if necessary! There is no place for fools in my command. Have I
spoken clearly enough?”

Lowenah took a step back in surprise. What
were her youngest children about? This was a day of revelations for
everyone. Looking into Darla’s eyes, she could clearly see that the
woman was speaking without bravado. Oh yes, contempt and vehement
hatred had spewed forth with her words, but honesty also. This
woman cared as much for the people in her charge as a mother for a
newborn child. Ardon must play it straight or he might fall victim
to Rachel’s violent wrath.

“Leftenant Ardon, step forward!” Lowenah
called.

Hesitating at first, Ardon dutifully
obeyed.

Lowenah pointed at Darla. “See your new
commanding officer!” She then quietly warned, “If you wish to
survive, I suggest you carefully heed your commander’s orders...”
At that, Lowenah adjourned the meeting, thanking the people for
staying, offering refreshment in the dining hall.

Few lingered in the Theater that night,
quietly shuffling out through the double doors and down the
staircase to disappear into the late night shadows along the
Northern Concourse. Those remaining found secluded corners to
conduct unfinished business. Lowenah quickly slunk away to private
rooms beyond the auditorium. Silent and empty the dining hall
remained, its tables piled high with scrumptious dainties
untouched.

Ardon remained, nervously waiting to be
assailed by his new commander only to see her assisted away from
the room by Chasileah and Euroaquilo, the woman hunched over in
fitful sickness. Breathing a sigh of relief, he hurried off to find
Lowenah in hopes of convincing her to have a change of mind by
emphasizing his importance to Mihai and her Council.

The Theater was hidden in deep shadow as
Ardon made his way through the catacomb of passageways and
antechambers in his search for Mother. Surely she must be
squirreled away in one of the many rooms exiting off the main
gallery. In time, he came to a room with its door slightly ajar.
Peeking inside, Ardon could see Lowenah standing in the distant
corner, facing the far wall, her arms wrapped about herself.

Slowly opening the door, Ardon softly called
out, “Mother, it’s Ardon. May I…”

A caustic response chilled the air. “What do
you
want...?!”

Ardon hesitated. “I… I’m sorry if I may have
offended you. I didn’t mean…”

Lowenah whipped around, glazed eyes in a
tearstained face glaring at Ardon.
“Sorry?! Is that all you are?
Sorry? Why didn’t you just take a knife and murder my child this
night?! Sent her to Hell, you did, have always done! The prattle of
your mouth is excrement to my ears! My daughter! Oh, my little
Rachel! What did she ever do to you that you should hate her
so?!”

She shook her fist at him.
“All she has
ever been to you is an abortion that lived to ruin your perfect
little world. Do you think my Rachel has no soul, no feelings?”
Gripping her head she cried,
“More love does my little child
have for me than all my other children combined! You
ass
, ruthless,
evil
ass!
Murdering my child is not good enough for you, no! Bring her down
and drag her through the dirt, rape her heart in the public square,
tear her soul apart to extol your own wisdom!”

Lifting her hands high while pointing a
finger back toward herself, she mockingly chided,
“‘Oh, the
great
and
wonderful
Ardon am I, filled with wisdom beyond normal.’”

Lowenah angrily poked Ardon’s chest.
“
Fool!
My daughter
cracked?!
Should
you
be as
sane if Heaven and Hell had conspired against you as it did her!
Not one day of peace has
my
Rachel known, yet to see the
dreams and visions of her
thankless siblings
fulfilled, she
has consigned her soul to the fires of Gehenna’s altar,
surrendering her virginity up to the gods of war.”

She then pounded her chest.
“My child
loves me!
Loves me!
And for some reason
that makes no sense to me, she loves you, too - you and all your
uncaring brothers and sisters!”

“Loves me?!” Ardon cried.

Lowenah spat, “
Yes! Loves you, too!
Or you wouldn’t have lived to be standing here. That child could
cut you down in the blink of an eye with her bare hands. Had she
not loved you, her monster would have torn you asunder this very
eve. But, no! With strength beyond normal, the child forced it into
retreat.”

She turned and walked away, staring at the
wall. “And you worry about her demon...” Throwing her hands up,
Lowenah lamented, “Oh, for the counsel of AsreHalom...”

Ardon was taken aback as though slapped.
“Mother...?”

Lowenah groaned, resigned, surrendering up
the moment. “You crossed the line this day! Deserving death, you
are! Tortured will the dreams of my children become during the
approaching darkness. It had been my desire to give to them a small
gift, a tiny remembrance, a little glimmer of refreshing light to
recall when Hopelessness crept about their door. You, such a
respected and highly favored courtier murdered the moment, leaving
empty their hearts on coming bitter nights.”

Smarting from Lowenah’s previous insult,
Ardon could not comprehend where he had failed. He extended his
hands, shrugging in innocent puzzlement. “Mother, how have I failed
you? A counselor I am and counsel I gave.”

Lowenah turned around, grasping Ardon’s
hands, her face filled with consternation, countering, “How have I
failed you?! Can you not see?! No… No, you cannot...”

She looked away, sighing, sad. “I must do
what is right for my daughter-child if it should cost me all the
souls in my universe. I must do her right.”

Looking back into a perplexed face, Lowenah
smiled, dismayed. “I do not send you away as a punishment. Lessons
there are for you to learn if the other side of midnight is yours
to possess with understanding. Yet more…”

She softly stroked Ardon’s arm. “My Rachel
is most precious to me, and I am sending her into the Devil’s
cauldron to save both Heaven and Earth. You must protect my child
from the witching hour when the
stormwind
dies and the
demons rise from Satan’s abyss. In that hour, the Fates will submit
to your decisions, trusting to the wisdom of my counselor. To
survive, you must face the necromancer who will taunt you from the
other side of the looking glass. To defeat the pursuing demon
hosts, you must find the rabbit hole… and to save the world, you
must lead my child down it. There, in your secret wonderland far
from the ravenous wolves, harbor my child safe until her healing
hour.”

She lovingly squeezed Ardon’s hands, looking
into a troubled face. “Protect my Rachel’s spirit, for it will one
day assist you in discovering your own soul.”

Lowenah stood up on her toes and gave Ardon
a gentle kiss on his lips. “Remember that I love you. Goodbye,
son...” Stepping back, with a lonely smile, Lowenah turned and
faded away silently into the dark shadows.

* * *

(Author’s Note:
I gleaned a great deal of
information regarding the Council of Eighty from Volume II of the
yet to be published
Lukas Diaries
,
authored by MarkusLukas. Following are excerpts from notes I took
while perusing those writings, I wishing to include them here for
the added insight of the reader.

MarkusLukas was witness to the Council of
Eighty, and his account of it in the
Lukas
Diaries
is his first-hand recollection, which he liberally
splashes across the pages of his account.

MarkusLukas is a rather reclusive fellow,
finding pleasure looking out from the shadows rather than standing
in the light. His exploits during the King’s War are obscured by
stories of the flamboyant and colorful characters that dance across
the tapestry of history immortalized, yet exploits they were, and
valuable to king and cause.

Though being a man from the Realms Below,
MarkusLukas faithfully served the King’s Council throughout the War
as Secretary Delegacy to the Archival Temple –library - in Palace
City, he being responsible for organizing and cataloging all
governmental communications and documents. His position also opened
doors of entry to Mihai’s secret wardroom and council meetings,
making him privy to events going on throughout the Children’s
Empire… thus the extreme value of his soon to be published
memoirs.

An important point the author made to me was
that the term ‘Council of Eighty’ (80) is a misnomer, the true
number of those invited never revealed. From the best information I
have received to date, it appears that the ‘80’ did not include any
of the attendees from the Lower Realms, Mihai and other leading
officers or council members, and that the number itself was only
representative as to having the meaning of fullness… filled to
full, leaving Lowenah flexibility in choice of invitees.)

*

(**Originally, I had included a great
deal of the following information in the narrative on the Council
of Eighty , but later chose to remove it to better retain the
continuity of the account. Deciding these details might be of added
value to the determined reader, I have included the original draft
of this portion of the Council of Eighty here, at the end of this
chapter
:

They began with projected, three-dimensional
maps of the Empire. Gabrielle offered, “For ease of explanation, we
use Palace City to define location. Through it runs the center
matrix, or starting point of all quadrants. North, south, east,
west, are easy to comprehend. For the third dimension, we use the
term Q-North for up and away from the Palace and Q-South for the
opposite direction. That understood, allow us to inform you of our
strategy.”

“Far to the east-northeast by Q-South, lays
our most vulnerable territories, with the Trizentine just beyond.
It is a sparsely populated area, maybe a few hundred thousand
inhabitants, but it is among the oldest of the territories. The
Stasis pirates are quite troublesome in this arena and a
disproportionate number of our ships have been stationed there to
protect the scattered colonies.”

“To the north, Q-North to Q-South, sits the
Northern Rim. The Kalahnit Straits are located on the inner hip of
the Rim. There are several planets here that we have use of to
maintain control of this jump portal, Avery being the most notable
of them.”

“In the west, Q-North to Q-South, the Fourth
Fleet patrols as far as the Chrusion Star System. There are only a
few known jump portals in all these quadrants. The risk of invasion
from this area is slim, but not impossible. For the time being, we
will leave about half the Fourth Fleet in the area and move the
remainder into the southern sphere where immediate support will
most likely be needed.”

“The Hindly Page...Stargaton holds sway over
this portal. We currently have in our possession this planet and
its star system. It will not be easy to defend. During the six
major wars, it has changed sides fourteen times. The fortress,
Mordem, is our key city on this miserable rock. Yet, without the
use of the Hindly Page, we lose our defense of the entire eastern
quadrants north, past the Frontier. And to the south, our hold on
Eden’s gate, which is already tenuous, would be dangerously
threatened.”

“This brings us to our most important
strategic point of defense...Eden’s Gate. As many of you already
know, this was the most hotly contested arena of the last war. The
reason for our victory over Asotos’ armies was the taking and
holding of this one jump portal. We realize how great his desire is
to take it back and, should he accomplish it, our forces may have
to abandon all things, save our local star system. The enemy would
then have virtual reign over the entire Middle Realm and most of
the First. Once he entrenched in those new positions, I doubt that
even massed assaults could drive him away.”

“At the present time, we have too few
properly fitted ships to even adequately patrol our territories and
trade routes. The fleet is aging, with over ninety percent dating
from the Great War or before. The bulk of our fighting force is
made up of cutters, barks, and smaller frigates...about three
thousand in total. Large frigates, cruisers and small capital ships
amount to about two hundred seventy-five, while all remaining
capital ships and carriers are less than forty.”

“Now, for our fighter squadrons little can
be said. The newest fighter is still based on the TKR-series, with
some version of the ‘17’ being our best frontline ship. These are
still very good craft. Trouble is, there are too few. The backbone
of the fighter force is still the TKR-14, and most of them are as
old as the fleet. The total number of all fighter craft, including
the heavies, amount to fewer than twelve thousand, and most of them
are scattered across our countless outposts and small bases.”

She summed up the dismal numbers. “The
Empire is too vast for us to successfully defend it all. Our forces
are not sufficient to protect the entire Empire. Asotos will strike
us somewhere, and he will strike fiercely, having the advantage of
surprise as to where and when. It is unlikely we will receive more
than scant warning to gather our fleets and armies to stave off the
attack, and even if we were to do so, I feel it would be of little
value. Like the giant octopus, Asotos’ military machine is powerful
and has many limbs, allowing it to attack on many fronts. His first
forays shall be done to probe our defenses or excite us into
chasing shadows. We must not allow him the pleasure of finding an
exposed flank we opened by doing such a thing.”