The Sloth of Heaven, page 24
part #2 of The Fallen Angels Series
But her time was up, she would have to return to her world, her coronation was rapidly approaching for spring was more than half over.
She encircled his neck with her arms, running her fingers through his hair. She was finally comfortable at Court, she felt like she belonged now. She had gifted the Fae with Unicorns and earned her entrance into the Court. She was gaining ever more control over her powers and had used her learning to build bridges with the Fae species. She had earned their respect and they had come to see her on her own as opposed to just being his political wife. For a relationship that had been forced on them for political reasons it had certainly come a very long way.
She loved him.
She loved spending time with him, waking up next to him, lying in his arms. There were so many things that he did to make her happy in their relationship and that was just outside of the bedroom. Inside it was a whole new level, they craved each other, they needed each other. It was something more than just sexual hunger.
She kissed him again, and she felt his lips curl into a smile. She felt his hands run up her back and pull her closer to him, felt his hands curl into her hair, pulling her head back to expose the neck. He loved going for her neck, a trait common in many of the Fae and Daemon races she had found. A quirk of their predatory heritage, not that she cared he was an excellent lover and going for her neck was a sure sign of what was to follow.
“You understand that I have to return to my world in the morning?” Victoria rolled over to face Cathair.
“Yes, we have held you for too long, your people will be worried. But I didn’t want to let you go” he brushed some of her hair away from her face with gentle fingers before tracing her ear.
“Yes, my staff have been most agitated about my whereabouts and Winston keeps telling me I am neglecting my duties.”
“He wouldn’t understand that you have been completing other duties. You had to win over the Fae and learn to use your magic. You will continue to practice your magic.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“But did I win over the Fae?”
“You won my heart and mother’s approval. That is no mere feat. Your time in the Academy has won over the Atlanteans and many of the Fae as well. There is still animosity and distrust to you because you are Human but you and James are not at all like they expected and together you have won a great deal of respect. The fact that you have struggled with your magic, that you have sought out Fae help and have trained with them have endeared you very much to them. The Atlanteans are very fond of you both, all else will fall into place with time.”
“Will you be coming back with me to London?” she asked even though she felt sure she already knew the answer.
“I wish I could, but I have my duties. I have to prepare the Court for your coronation, after your coronation, the Fae will become public. It requires a great deal of planning, but I will be there for your coronation.”
“But not before?”
He shook his head “I will not miss the coronation. Nothing in this world will stop me from being there to see you change history.”
He pulled her close to him, encircling her with his arms. She smiled into his chest “After my coronation we will have to start arranging our wedding.”
He looked down at her smiling “Indeed we shall. Indeed, we shall.”
He kissed her gently and tenderly. For them both it was strange that they were so happy together, but happy they were, and a bright and turbulent future lay ahead. But for now, all there was, was each other until the morning.
The land’s thirst had been slaked, its hunger sated. It required no more sacrifice, the land would awaken. Eisheth could already feel it, faster than she would have thought but then the Minotaurs had not been shy in shedding blood when they conquered Heraklion. Hundreds, if not thousands had been slaughtered by the Minotaurs when they had marched down from Knossos. And the land had drank up the blood and spirits. The whole of Crete would flourish for the loss of a few. It was the way of life.
She watched the new river flush debris and the occasional body part out to sea. It wasn’t a mighty, powerful river but it was a river, a new river in a time of hardship and suffering. Since the conquest of Heraklion the river had grown stronger. To the Daemon races that understood it was a gift, even the Humans who did not understand recognised its worth. In a world where fresh water had become perhaps the rarest commodity, they had a flowing river through their city.
But that was where their good news ended. They were now under the control of Asterion and his Minotaurs, and unlike Hera’s creations they had all been Hell Cursed. They were hard and unyielding creatures. They might be mortal, but their endurance and resistance to harm was straight from Hell. Of course, the Humans had not been expecting Hell-spawned creatures of myth to come charging into their city. The police had futilely tried to fight them off with their guns, but they were so few compared to so many.
Hera had not been reserved in her conversions. The Minotaurs currently had no fear of extinction.
It was the Humans who were most concerned. The Minotaurs had not conquered Heraklion cleanly, they had pillaged, raped and looted. Humans sat tied up in rows while their capturers battled each other for ownership. Women huddled together, their vacant eyes bright with tears, and tried to offer some small comfort to each other. The bodies of young and old lay strewn across the street. She had already stepped on the skull of a baby by accident.
She had no idea where Asterion was, she just hoped he was bringing some order to his troops. The world was not the same as it had been when they had last walked it. Societies had changed and progressed; slavery did not exist, women stood as men’s equal in most places. In Crete, men did not own women, and raping one was an extreme violation of the law. The Minotaurs could not carve a new niche in the world if they behaved like this. The city was wrecked, its potential wealth lost.
The Minotaurs should have been smarter, they were from America, they understood the modern world and its differences. But crack through the veneer and mortals really were little more than animals.
Still one good thing had come from it all. The excessive bloodshed so soon after her claiming had fed the land. Crete would awaken, Heraklion would be a fertile paradise, once it recovered. She saw its potential. It was their access to the sea, it was the head beneath the crown of Knossos. She would give it a day or two, then she would summon the Lilin. They would help her bring order to this madness and create something worthwhile.
Part 2:
The Declaration of Empires
Chapter 17
Victoria looked up as the news came on, interrupting her before she had even opened the magazine. It was her brief respite in all her coronation planning, the only reason she was getting the time was because she was mentioned in the magazine. She was curious to know what they were saying about her absence. She had been gone for quite some time in her mourning, which admittedly hadn’t contained much mourning. But for now, the news held precedence.
Today John Worthington was sworn in as the first gay President of the United States of America. It is seen as a momentous occasion that many believed they would never see in their lifetime. His election campaign has been dogged by homophobic slurs from his competition and attacks from various church groups. Many thought he had very little chance of winning, lead up to the polls placed him well behind, but voters came out in droves to vote for him. More than half the population of America turned out to vote either way, an unprecedented number in any modern election.
But his success has already been marred with bitter protests among the conservative and Christian groups. Various militia across America have refused to recognise their ‘Hell Spawned’ president, even sectors of the state and federal governments are refusing to recognise him. Despite an independent recount that has confirmed his landslide victory, there are mutterings that the election was fixed.
The election is but the first problem facing the new president, he comes to America’s helm during its most desperate time in centuries. The country has never been so divided since the Civil War and is plagued with problems on an unprecedented level. Murder and disappearances are running unchecked through all the states. Drought, poverty, hate crimes, religious tensions and toxicity, are all on the climb while arable land and fresh water continue to disappear. The noticeable exceptions are New York State and California which are enjoying a resurgence of fresh water and the return of some arable land. Both of which have been claimed as a blessing of Hera by her followers. Thousands have flocked to both states seeking to cash in on the current prosperity.
Religious tension is tearing many of the states apart and testing government powers. Muslim hatred is at an all-time high, many have been murdered in their homes and mosques. Various Christian groups have claimed responsibility but have not escaped retaliation. Churches all across America have been burned to the ground, whole compounds have been slaughtered and destroyed. The different sects of Christianity have turned on each other as well as attacking Jews and the Servants of Hera. This new religion has appeared from seemingly nowhere but has jumped up into the limelight with remarkable speed, but this has not saved them from the backlash of mounting religious tensions.
Above it all is the underlying fear that America is no longer safe. Video footage from Congress shows several senators being attacked by strange Demons, as they have been termed. What they are no one knows. Theories range from Demons to genetic experiments and robots. All that is known is that they are behind many of the killings in America, they are the paedophile killers that have eluded police and FBI for months. Where they have come from and why they target only paedophiles is unknown, other than that they cannot seem to be stopped.
The rest of the world will watch with bated breath. Is America going to be the next nation to collapse? If so, how many other countries will be affected? Full analyse of the possible consequences at seven.
The news anchor turned to her co-anchor dark times ahead for the world.
Indeed, Amy but all this talk of the presidential elections draws focus to the rapidly approaching coronation of our own Queen Victoria. Perhaps bright days lie ahead of us, England and Britain have always done well with a queen in charge, and we could do with all the luck we can get.
That led into their next story on the problems plaguing Britain, and they were numerous though not as abundant as usual. There were snippets of stories from around Britain of land becoming useable again and some of the waterways flowing again with the unexpected spring thaws. But not much, Brigid was holding a tight leash on the healing of the British Isles until Victoria was crowned. It was to add to her power that Britain would be healed at her coronation.
She flicked open the magazine her mind elsewhere as she thought about her approaching coronation. It was in less than a fortnight, on the first day of July. Not that it would make much difference, the world’s weather was broken and had been for decades. The Scottish Highlands were completely buried beneath decades of unmelting snow which was only getting worse. It had spread to blanket most of Scotland and the northern third of Ireland. Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh were not only struggling to keep their ports open but to stop their streets from disappearing beneath metres of snow. While in the south of England, Wales and Ireland were sweltering in unending droughts. Forest fires had become a real problem as of late and much of the farmable land had become unusable. But it was the same story the world over.
Except for certain spots. The island of Newfoundland in Canada was thawing amid claims of a new city and Goddess. Victoria knew that Hecate was sorting out Canada in Brigid’s name. America despite ever growing problems was experiencing a return to normal weather in New York, California and a couple other selected states and cities. India was really beginning to flourish under Brigid’s healing hands, though the religious tensions were as bad as in America. Australia too was starting to bloom but very slowly, Brigid was having difficulties consolidating her power there. There was also the token return to normal weather patterns in a few other nations she had claimed.
What had been Iraq was enjoying consistent rain, both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were flowing for the first time in eighty years. But that was accompanied by all manner of strange rumours. China and Japan had received much-needed rain and both were thawing at a rate that clearly indicated a God or Goddess. The River Nile had flooded, destroying the Aswan Dam and causing a great deal of devastation except to ancient monuments. It too was clearly marked by one of the Gods. But the world’s most startling weather patterns were around the Caspian Sea. It was more than half full, reclaiming territory lost decades ago to drought and was now beginning to reclaim areas that had been lost more than a century ago. Its shores were coming to life at an unprecedented rate causing worldwide confusion and hope. They were however paired with rumours of a giant shape in the sky.
It was about time that the world started returning to normal, even if it took the reappearance of the Gods to do it. She was glad now that she had put her lot in with Brigid, for she was probably the most benevolent of all the current Gods. She would never return to the Angels after what they had done to her father. Brigid had ambitious plans for Britain and its resurrected empire. Britain would be powerful on a truly global scale once again and she would be its Queen and Empress. Under their rule parts of the fractured world would be put back together again.
She turned back to the magazine as she came across the picture of her. It had been taken at a charity event raising funds for the Falklands, it was suffering under metres of snow and bitter Antarctic storms. Her left hand had been enlarged to focus on her engagement ring with the words ‘is our queen engaged?’ There was some small comment about no one knowing if she was or wasn’t, though sources (she wondered what sources) believed that she was engaged to a guest of hers from before her father was killed. No one knew any more details, including his name or if they were really engaged. She smiled as she put down the magazine and stood up. She had more important things to do than read a silly gossip magazine article about herself.
She looked at her ring smiling at the princess cut emerald and the line of diamonds on either side. Cathair had done really well bringing together both Fae tradition and modern style. It was a ring she was very proud to wear, for a man she was extremely happy to be engaged to. And in less than a fortnight she would be able to see him. And she would be Queen.
Her future was racing towards her.
Sariel looked around in wonder as they landed on the Moon. She had never contemplated coming here, she hadn’t even thought of the Moon as a destination, and yet here she was with her Primordial Dragon great-great-grandmother. Her life had gotten so strange but so incredible. She scrambled down off of Tiamat, who gave her a fond snort before hunkering down to snooze. Gods didn’t need to sleep but they took pleasure in it just like eating, sex and even breathing to a degree. This was Sariel’s time of discovery, Tiamat had been here many times, she didn’t want to see what had become of her memories.
Remember to be careful of the Dark Side of the Moon, Chaos will be very strong even within Selene’s protection. Then she closed her eyes and was to all intents and purposes asleep, though Sariel wasn’t fooled.
This was Sariel’s time to explore. She had spent the last couple of months coming up into space frequently with Tiamat to slowly gain control of her Chaos powers. It was so easy to summon up here that she had to be careful. Her ease at channelling Chaos troubled Tiamat greatly, who was very worried that the two of them could be obliterated if Sariel did things wrong. But just as Nyx and Nemesis had told her, Tiamat had come to tell her she was a careful and patient student. Her smile faltered as she thought of her Underworld family, she wondered how they were. She wondered how angry Hecate was with her for running away. She wondered if they were still looking for her.
It made her wonder if her parents were looking for her.
Any such thoughts of family were driven clear from her mind as she jumped over the lip of a crater to see a sprawling palace sitting in the middle of nowhere. It had no defensive walls, moats or towers, it had needed none for its greatest protection had been the Moon itself. Few had dared venture beyond Earth, but those who had had built this palace as an escape from the political intrigues of Heaven
Now it was but an empty building on an empty moon. Well not quite empty there were a handful of test colonies by the Chinese, Russians, Japanese, Americans and Europeans. But even then there were less than forty people on a whole moon, and she was miles away from the colony zones. Even though she knew this palace was hidden by magic, she wondered how no one had found it. She was surprised that a satellite or rover hadn’t found it, even accidently. The palace’s spells had been laid long before advanced technology and yet somehow hid it from them. She was impressed.
She walked into one of the wings curious to see things as they had been before the War of Heaven. Well not quite, she could feel the lingering traces of expired spells, probably the breathing spells for any of the mortal lovers the Gods had brought with them. White curtains floated around windows, trapped between fading wind spells and the Moon’s own weak gravity. Everything else sat as it had before the Gods had gone away. Fruits sat on places, not rotten but certainly not fresh or inviting. The cold dry of space had stripped them of their appeal.
