Daywalker chronicles com.., p.58
Daywalker Chronicles Complete Series Boxed Set, page 58
I made sure I was thinking Babylon when my body was petrified into a statue. That was the best and most efficient way to appear where you wanted to go when your consciousness was transferred to the void. I was holding the lump of clay that contained Wrath. We needed it to bring Enkidu back with us.
When we appeared in the void we weren’t in total darkness. We were facing a vast black expanse. Behind us was a single bridge. On the other side stood Hammurabi. We were where Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon was before, the last time I’d been there.
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
King Hammurabi didn’t move. “Nebuchadnezzar and the other Babylon is gone.”
“What do you mean, it’s gone?”
“Poof!” Hammurabi shrugged. “It was a few days ago, now. At least from my reckoning. Probably not so long ago from Earth’s perspective.”
“Can we still find Gilgamesh and Enkidu?” Dracula asked.
Hammurabi grinned. “Certainly. They’re closer to my era than Nebuchadnezzar’s. Follow me, friends. And you! Young lady with the dark hair and the tall skinny one…”
“That’s Zoey and Dracula,” I said.
Hammurabi reached into his cloak and handed each of them a scroll. “Please examine our laws, my code, before entering. I’d have to toss any of you into the river or have to execute you out of your ignorance.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“How the hell does an entire realm disappear from the void?” Zoey asked.
Hammurabi shrugged. “If the gods responsible for manifesting the place left, I suppose it’s possible.”
“Marduk is only one of the Babylonian gods who had temples there, right?”
Ninurta grunted. “There were six demons in total within Marduk’s golem.”
I pressed my lips together. “You aren’t in a golem. Not technically. Your golem is a statue in Hades. Where is Sin?”
“We were separated when we entered the void,” Ninurta explained. “That was the plan all along. To leave Sin here so that we could return with Enkidu.”
“Of course,” I huffed. “What if Marduk had a way to send the other demons here to bring more of his pantheon with him to Earth?”
“It’s possible,” Ninurta said. “Though with the collective power of the other gods, there’s no telling what they might have done.”
“How could Marduk send the other demons here?” Dracula asked.
“I have a hunch,” Zoey put in. “A hellhound, like Cerberus, can move freely between realms. What are the powers of that pet that accompanies Marduk?”
“I suppose he’s not unlike the hellhounds,” Ninurta allowed. “The hellhound with three heads is attuned to various realms.”
“That’s right,” Zoey went on. “Depending on which realm Cerberus enters determines which of his heads becomes the alpha within his singular body.”
“Mushussu is also a chimera of three distinct ethereal beasts. If Mushussu was possessed by more demons, it’s wholly possible that he brought several of them back here. All Marduk needed to do was use the Archeus crystal to create golems for the other gods to inhabit.”
“How many gods are we talking about?” I asked.
“That depends,” Ninurta mused. “The gods don’t need the demons after they’re on Earth. I don’t know enough about the golems that Marduk created. Perhaps he made them better suited to fully integrate with a demon, allowing the demons to flee faster from the golems than they might a human host. It’s possible, given the timeline disparity between realms, that nearly every god in Babylon has since taken possession of a golem on Earth.”
I shook my head. “We should stick to the plan. If Marduk is still in a golem infected with the werewolf curse, at the very least we can thwart him using Enkidu.”
“If you seek Enkidu,” Hammurabi added, “we must go see Gilgamesh.”
“I will not return with you,” Ninurta cautioned. “If the demons can return and continue bringing gods back and forth, I must stop them and bind them here. I will need more power to do that. Without Marduk, binding them and sending them straight to Hades might not be easy.”
I pinched my chin. “Even if we reap the gods back here, and the demons with them, they’ll just come back to Earth again.”
Zoey sighed. “I still have Zeus’ crystal. I can wield his power. Would that be enough, Ninurta, to bind the demons again?”
Ninurta grinned. “That might work. We’d have to act fast.”
I shook my head. “How are we going to kill the gods without Zoey? If she had to be here to help you bind the demons again, I’m not sure this will work.”
“We could bring a gorgon with us back to Earth,” Zoey said. “I reap the gods and the demons, then come here to help Ninurta bind them.”
Ninurta sighed. “That won’t work. The temporal disjunction between realms makes it untenable. Even if there’s only a few seconds between the time you reap a god and you return here to help me bind the demon there’s more than enough time here for the demons to simply bind themselves back to the gods and go back to Earth all over again.”
“We have to split up,” Dracula decided. “It’s the only way.”
I agreed. “Zoey, you’ll have to stay here and work with Ninurta. I still have the lunar power that can cast the demons out. All I have to do is touch the gods and exorcise their demons one-by-one. You and Ninurta can harness them and bind them back to Athena in Hades.”
“Are you sure you can reach all the gods?” Zoey asked. “They’re powerful. If they catch you before you finish the job, I won’t be there to back you up.”
“Sin is here. That means he can’t force the wolves to shift. With Enkidu, and my lunar power, we may be able to use the wolves, including Marduk, against the others. With my brooch, I can go astral and work with Dylan, Marduk, and the other wolves to take them out one at a time. It won’t be easy, but when is battling ancient deities ever a walk through the park?”
“Or in this case, a walk through the swamp.” Dracula chuckled to himself.
“If that’s where they are. We don’t have a clue. If Wrath is in Enkidu, though, we should be able to find the demons.”
“Provided Wrath is willing to help,” Dracula reminded me. “We trusted Sloth, before, and now it’s not clear if he was on our side or betrayed us just so he could get back to Babylon.”
Ninurta looked doubtful. “I wouldn’t rely on Wrath. With Enkidu, you should be able to find and control Marduk. If Marduk is still possessed by Sloth, and if there’s any chance at all that Sloth is still loyal to you, he might be more willing to help.”
Dracula sighed. “It still involves trusting a demon. You know how the saying goes. Fool me once…”
Ninurta waved this off. “Either way, Marduk will know where the other gods are. If he’s in Enkidu’s thrall, he’ll lead you to them. With or without the demon’s help.”
“This is as good of a plan as we’re going to come up with,” I admitted. “Be careful, Zoey. Are you sure you’ll be able to handle this?”
Zoey nodded. “I’ve reaped demons and gods before. With Zeus’ power and Ninurta’s help, it won’t be a problem.”
“You better be sure,” I pressed. “I’m not going to call Kevin to let him know baby Josephine’s mother is gone. You have to come back to them.”
Zoey smiled. “Of course I do. Getting back to my family is my motivation. Besides, Euryale will have to send me back here after she brings us back to Hades. My body will be safe there. No matter what happens in the void, all Euryale has to do is call me back to my body and I’ll be good. Once the demons are back in hell where they belong, and under Athena’s control, I’ll meet you back in New Orleans and we’ll go god hunting.”
“All right, Hammurabi. Can you take us to Gilgamesh and Enkidu?”
The ancient king smiled at me kindly. “Not a problem. Follow me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Hammurabi led us through several alleys in old Babylon before we reached a small rectangular building built from what looked like sandstone.
Hammurabi knocked on the door. “Gilgy. You home?”
Gilgy?
The doors swung open. “Hamm! You’ve brought guests!”
“Straight from Earth,” Hammurabi confirmed. “They’ve come seeking our help.”
“From Earth?” Gilgamesh asked. “How long has it been since anyone from Earth visited us? Not even our gods have heard a single petition from the living in millennia!”
“We have a werewolf problem,” I explained. “We’re told the first werewolf is a friend of yours.”
Gilgamesh nodded and turned back toward the inside of his abode and shouted. “Enkidu! We have visitors!”
A massive beast appeared at the doorway. He lowered himself to all fours and squeezed through the doors. He was adorned with golden fur, like the wolves that emerged from the golems before. When he was clear of the door he stood on his hindquarters to stretch and yawn. “Vampires and a reaper?”
I chuckled. “You can talk?”
“Of course I can. Why does everyone think the wolf part of the werewolf is stronger than the were?”
I shrugged. “My boyfriend is a werewolf, one of your descendants I guess. He can’t talk when he’s shifted.”
Enkidu chuckled and shook his massive head. He was at least twice my height when standing on his hind legs. “I still have children who roam the Earth even after so many years?”
I nodded. “You do. It’s a long story, but Marduk possesses a golem that was subsequently turned. We need your help to rein him in.”
Gilgamesh grunted. “You want to defy Marduk? If you help them, Enkidu, what do you think Marduk will do to you after he returns?”
Enkidu yawned. “That’s a fair point. Why should I help a couple vampires and a reaper, anyway?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because you do have children on Earth?”
“Wouldn’t you like to meet your offspring?” Zoey asked.
“My time on Earth is done. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself back in the real world.”
Gilgamesh shook his head. “I’d miss you, Enkidu. But if you have an opportunity to live again, it has to be your choice. Know this, though, that if you do this, you may not be able to return to me so long as Marduk has dominion over our realm.”
I cleared my throat. “If you help us, you can stay as long as you like. Provided you can behave and don’t eat people.”
Enkidu chuckled. “I don’t eat people. Funny standard, though, coming from a vampire, a child of Sin and Ennigaldi.”
“I have no loyalty to the Akkadians. They’re the ones responsible for this mess.”
Enkidu raised one of his back paws off the ground and scratched himself behind the right ear. “Tell me, apart from seeing the descendants of my bite who I do not know, why should I help you thwart the plans of a god?”
King Gilgamesh ran his hand across the werewolf’s back, tangling his fingers through Enkidu’s fur. “I value your companions, and I have for my entire existence, old friend. This is a chance to live again. Do you not grow tired of the same things, the confines of this city, and the politics of a dead empire?”
“I don’t want to go without you!” Enkidu cried.
Enkidu dropped to one knee. Gilgamesh raised his hands to either side of Enkidu’s long snout. The old king’s head was craned back as if he’d taken a seat in the first row of a movie theater. Even kneeling, the werewolf was several feet taller than any of the rest of us. “I was and always have been but a man. My days were supposed to be numbered. You were made an immortal. Were it not for an unfortunate arrow, dipped in silver, you’d still be running through the deserts and splashing through the Euphrates as you did in my time. If your offspring still thrive, think of the great things you could do and all you could add to the world, even if it be thousands of years after the fall of Babylon.”
Zoey and I exchanged glances. What did Gilgamesh mean by the great things a werewolf might do? How could a beast like that forced into hiding do much to affect the world? Perhaps more than I suspected. Five or six years ago I never would have thought that vampires were real, much less that if I became one I’d be in a position to make a difference.
“I will do it,” Enkidu turned to me. “However, you must promise me, that if I desire to return, you will allow me my leave.”
I nodded. “Certainly. If you help us, I will be in your debt.”
“Even if it means a silver dagger to my chest?”
I shrugged. “You wouldn’t be the first thing I’d killed. Probably won’t be the last. If it comes to that, I mean.”
“We’ll need a golem. A body he can possess.”
Ninurta shook his head. “Allow him to take mine. I’ll remain here. When the gorgon brings us back I will not return.”
“You can do that?” I asked.
“It is but a golem. It is not my natural body. I can resist the call to return to the flesh in ways you cannot.”
“We’ll still need a way to bring you to Hades so you can possess the golem.”
Zoey summoned her scythe. She removed the blade from the end of her staff and retrieved the crystal she had locked into it. She took another from her pocket and set it into place. “I can send you there now. Find us in Athena’s castle.”
Enkidu narrowed his wide eyes to two slits. “How do I get there? I’ve never been in Hades before.”
“If you cannot find us, Athena will find you,” I assured him.
Zoey shoved her blazing scythe back onto its handle. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
Gilgamesh hugged Enkidu. The old king shed a tear. “Perhaps we’ll meet again, old friend.”
Enkidu nodded. “Hopefully not for many years.”
“Not for many centuries!” Gilgamesh laughed.
Enkidu nodded and stepped away from his former master and companion. Zoey swung her scythe and caught the werewolf across the chest. In a blast of golden energy, Enkidu disappeared.
All that was left for us to do was wait until the gorgon pulled us back into our bodies.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Euryale’s timing was as good as it could possibly be. We only had to wait with Gilgamesh and Hammurabi for about ten minutes before the world of old Babylon faded from view and I felt my limbs crack as I broke through my stone form.
Euryale was already wakening Dracula.
“Zoey is going to stay,” I said.
“Why would she do that?” Athena asked. She was standing on the opposite side of the room, her long golden locks flowing over her shoulders and cascading around her bosom.
“She’s going to help Ninurta bind the demons after I use my power to send them to the void. Your deadly minions will be back in your service soon. That’s the plan, anyway.”
“Very well,” Euryale said as she placed her hands on Dracula’s statue. A half second later his body cracked and he broke through it. I looked around. “Where’s Ninurta’s golem?”
“We revived it first,” Athena said. “I helped the werewolf take his place within it.”
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
“Fifteen or twenty minutes, I suppose. He wanted to go for a run while he waited for us to bring you back. He said it had been a while since he’d seen anything apart from old Babylon.”
“You let him leave?”
Athena waved her hand through the air dismissively. “He’s in my domain. I can find him at any moment. All I need to do is call him.”
“Do it, then” I prodded. “We don’t have any time to waste. I fear Marduk might already be using the demons within him. There’s no telling what kind of hell—no offense—he might be raising back in New Orleans.”
Athena snapped her fingers. “The werewolf will be waiting for you outside. Happy trails.”
“Happy trails?” Dracula asked. “Can’t you give us a ride back to the River Styx?”
Athena laughed. “He’s a big wolf. That golem more than doubled in size and got a little hairier the moment Enkidu possessed it. He can give you a ride on his back.”
I snorted. “Riding on a werewolf?”
Dracula winked. “You’ve ridden a werewolf before.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Dylan is never shifted when we do that!”
Dracula grinned. “Just saying!”
“How is he going to know where to go? Hell is a big place.”
Athena laughed. “It’s only as large as I want it to be. Head due east of my castle. You’ll find the shore in seconds.”
“In seconds?” I asked.
“Trust me.” Athena led us out of her castle. Enkidu was waiting on all fours by the castle steps.
I scratched my head. “Athena said you’d give us a ride to shore. She said to head east.”
Enkidu chuckled. “Climb aboard and hold on tight. Don’t worry about pulling my fur. I don’t feel much pain.”
“Is that a werewolf thing?” I asked.
“It has to do with this golem. Pain receptors weren’t a part of its design, it seems.”
We climbed on Enkidu’s back. Dracula rode behind me and held on to my waist as I clung to the wolf’s fur. He took off fast—almost as fast as I moved when I went astral. Athena was right. At his speed, we made it to shore in only a few seconds.
We only had to wait a minute or so before Roy brought his fishing boat back to shore. He dropped off a few souls. They escaped from a crystal he held into hell’s atmosphere. Roy waved us aboard.
When Enkidu hopped on the boat it dropped the hull to the point that the water nearly capsized it.
Roy fired up his outboard engine. Since the trip back to the underworld was downstream, the extra weight didn’t put as much strain on the motor as I thought it might.
“Until next time!” Roy laughed. “I’m sure it won’t be long before you’re back in hell again.”
I nodded. “Probably sooner than you think. We’ll have to come back for Zoey.”
