Sword of the Gods: Prince of Tyre (Sword of the Gods Saga) Read online

  Sword

  of the

  Gods

  Prince of Tyre

  Book Two

  of the

  Sword of the Gods Saga

  Anna Erishkigal

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events portrayed in this novel are products of the authors’ imagination or used fictitiously.

  Sword of the Gods: Prince of Tyre. Copyright © 2013 by Anna Erishkigal. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Published by Seraphim Press, P.O. Box 440, East Sandwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts 02537-0440.

  www.seraphim-press.com

  ISBN-13: 978-1477486252

  ISBN-10:1477486259

  Cover art: ‘Prince of Tyre.’ Copyright © 2012 by Rochelle Green aka Caelicorn. All rights reserved. No part of this cover art may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the artist or the rights-holder, Seraphim Press.

  caelicorn.cgsociety.org

  Contents

  DEDICATION

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Cast of Characters

  List of Species

  The Chess Game Thus Far…

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Chapter 85

  Chapter 86

  Chapter 87

  Chapter 88

  Chapter 89

  Chapter 90

  Chapter 91

  Chapter 92

  Chapter 93

  Chapter 94

  Chapter 95

  Chapter 96

  Chapter 97

  Chapter 98

  Chapter 99

  Chapter 100

  Epilogue

  Preview

  Angel of Death: A Love Story

  A Moment of your Time, Please…

  Other Books by Anna Erishkigal

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST:

  DEDICATION

  I dedicate this book to all the brave men and women who serve in the armed forces. To you I dedicate the biggest, baddest superhero to ever walk the earth. The Archangel Michael. A soldier … like you.

  You are the wind beneath our wings. Thank you!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’d like to thank the people without whose support this novel would have died a plot bunny hopping around on a hard drive.

  To my wonderful husband … who tolerates my nocturnal writing bouts and strange musings about ‘I can’t talk now … my bad guy is talking to me…’

  To my lovely children … whose response when they come home from school to find their mother running around the house thwacking things with a real sword is an unblinking, "another battle scene, mom … can I please have a cookie?"

  To Cindy Leppard Green, who patiently corrected every single stubborn, wrong-minded possessive apostrophe. Lucifer has submitted a bill to Parliament decreeing all nouns are hereby emancipated from possession and shall henceforth be free of all pesky apostrophes. Unfortunately, his vote was cast down, so instead I fixed them all! Thank you so much!

  To my writing critique group, Plot Bunnies and Edit Demons, who helped beta-read and made large swarths of my manuscript bleed more red ink than Shay'tan's Sata'anic Royal Navy. As for that guy at Starbucks who packed up his things and hurried out of there that night we discussed our favorite ways to kill somebody… those people we gruesomely tortured and buried in a cranberry bog are not real! And special thanks to the Barnes & Noble in Hyannis that hosts us every week … and Jules for setting up our favorite table!

  To Rochelle Green aka ‘Caelicorn’ my wonderful cover artist who masterfully brought to life the Lucifer I had created in my mind. I hope readers will visit her digital gallery at http://caelicorn.cgsociety.org

  To Sensei Donna and my fellow karate students at the Feisty Lion USA Gojudo Karate studio in Wareham who’ve tolerated my conscripting classes into live re-enactments of battle scenes so I can reality test the action. Oooh … weapons!!! Bling!

  To my patient friends, who tolerate my launching into conversations about fictional characters who do not really exist and do not call the police when I fade off mid-sentence and mumble ‘excuse me … I have to go home and kill somebody now…’

  And to all my fellow authors at the WG2E who've given me education, encouragement, a sanity check, and support. Thank you!

  Cast of Characters

  List of Species

  Humans: a species that went extinct after an asteroid hit their homeworld, Nibiru, approximately 74,000 years ago. All attempts to reseed humans onto other planets failed and they died out. It is rumored this is the species which spawned the Eternal Emperor, but the Eternal Palace has refused to comment.

  Angelics: genetically engineered super-soldiers spliced together from a genetic base of humans and the keen eyesight and wings of eagles. They carry the highest percentage of human DNA. They act as the Alliance's air force. Due to inbreeding to maintain their animal features, fewer than 7,500 Angelics remain in existence today.

  Leonids: genetically engineered super-soldiers spliced together from a genetic
base of lions and humans. They are the most animalistic of the four branches of the Alliance military. They act as multi-purpose situational forces. When the going gets tough, the Emperor says, 'Send in the Leonids!' Due to inbreeding to maintain their animal features, fewer than 3,500 Leonids remain in existence today.

  Centauri: genetically engineered super-soldiers spliced together from a genetic base of horses and humans. They act as the Alliance's cavalry. Due to inbreeding to maintain their animal features, fewer than 4,000 remain in existence today.

  Merfolk: genetically engineered super-soldiers spliced together from a genetic base of humans and aquatic mammals. They were engineered to act as the Alliance's navy. Five hundred years ago their species merged with a sister-species, Leviathans. Only a handful of purebred Merfolk still exist today. The hybrids are known as Mer-Levi.

  Leviathans: a genetically enhanced species of sentient aquatic mammals originating from the same homeworld that humans came from, Nibiru. They evolved separately after being successfully reseeded on a remote planet. Many of their species merged with Merfolk.

  Mantoids: a naturally evolved species of sentient six-legged insects. They have supplemented Angelics in the Alliance Air Force.

  Spiderids: a naturally evolved species of sentient eight-legged insects. They have supplemented Leonids in the Alliance Air Force.

  Delphiniums: a naturally evolved species of sentient frog-like amphibians. They have almost totally replaced Merfolk as the Alliance's Navy.

  Saori: a naturally evolved species of gazelle-sized sentient mammals. They supplement and support the Centauri Cavalry, but due to their small size, have not been able to replace them.

  Muqqibat: a naturally evolved species of sentient serpent-like creatures with short arms and legs and a head that resembles a dragon. They are an 'old species' and many of their number teeter at the threshold of becoming ascended beings.

  Cherubim: a naturally evolved species of fierce, ant-like creatures which dwell in hive-like colonies of Monks ruled by a single queen. They are the personal guard of the Eternal Emperor and teeter at the threshold of becoming ascended beings. Their population has remained stable at exactly 1,000 for the past 15,000 years.

  Seraphim: an sub-species of dark-winged Angelic which was wiped out 25 years ago by unknown aggressors. Only one member of this species survives, Colonel Mikhail Mannuki'ili. The Colonel went missing 7 months ago and is presumed dead.

  Grigori: a species of fire-breathing dragon which disappeared from the galaxy approximately 150,000 years ago. It is rumored Emperor Shay'tan was once a Grigori, a true dragon, a question which always elicits a toothy, enigmatic smirk.

  Sata'anic Lizards: a species of sentient lizard which make up the largest portion of Shay'tan's armies. They suddenly appeared 74,000 years ago to replace Shay'tan's predecessor species of soldier, the Nephilim, a species which is now extinct.

  Marid: a naturally evolved species of blue-skinned humanoids which had begun to spread out in the uncharted territories until the Sata'an Empire annexed part of their territory three generations ago. They are now divided into two sub-species: the Sata'anic Marid, who serve in Shay'tan's armies, and the Free Marid Confederation, whose homeworlds still remain free.

  Catoplebas: a naturally evolved, boar-like species that makes up part of Shay'tan's armies. They are known for their pugnacious disposition.

  Tokoloshe: a sentient, bear-like species infamous for it's aggressive nature and their disgusting habit of cannibalizing their enemies to increase their social position. The Tokoloshe have spread across the uncharted territories like a plague to carve out the Tokoloshe Kingdom and all species fear them. Rumor has it they are a science experiment gone terribly wrong, but whenever asked, Emperor Shay'tan and Emperor Hashem point their fingers at each other and say 'he did it.' It is rumored this is the motivation behind the Eternal Emperor's strict 'seed world' policies prohibiting interference with emerging pre-sentient species.

  The Chess Game Thus Far…

  (synopsis of Book One: The Chosen One)

  Mikhail awakens in his crashed ship with no memory of his past. He is saved by Ninsianna, a young woman who can speak to the goddess. With a broken wing and no way home, he is forced to integrate into her stone-aged village, a task made difficult by her jilted lover, Jamin. When young women start disappearing, Mikhail must organize her people to fight back. He trains eight archers, including Pareesa, a young woman with a preternatural ability to master any weapon, and later trains the village warriors, including Gita, a peculiar young woman who happens to be Ninsianna's cousin. But leadership does not come easy to the reclusive Mikhail.

  Ninsianna's people have prophecies of a winged champion who will defend her people against an Evil One. Mikhail swears he is no demi-god, but his sword and his uncanny ability to kill says otherwise. Love blossoms and they marry, but each night the goddess sends Ninsianna nightmares of lizard demons and a white-winged Evil One who will cut their child from her womb. As her power grows, Ninsianna begins to view her people from the godlike perspective of She-who-is.

  Jamin wanted to marry the woman of his dreams, but then Ninsianna broke off their engagement and took up with the winged demon who fell from the sky. Believing Mikhail harbors dark magic, he seeks proof it is Mikhail's own people buying human women from the whispered lizard demons. But in the course of dancing with his enemies, Jamin makes a terrible mistake, one the village trollop, Shahla, holds over his head to blackmail his affections.

  The Eternal Emperor may be a god, but neither his knowledge of genetics, nor his godlike powers, have enabled him to fix the inbreeding which has rendered his four species of genetically engineered super-soldiers sterile. If only the human root race had not gone extinct! Little does he know Mikhail was shot down onto a surviving colony which lies within the grasp of his ancient adversary, Shay'tan.

  Shay'tan is thrilled when his Sata'anic navy discovers humanity has survived on a remote planet. Whoever controls access to humans will control the fate of the galaxy. He orders his armies, including the lowly Lieutenant Kasib, to annex the human homeworld into his Sata'an Empire, but it's been a long time since hybrids diverged as a separate species. Has enough genetic drift occurred that they are no longer genetically compatible? He orders Ba'al Zebub to find out and, in the process, why not tweak his ancient adversary's nose? The old dragon knows just which Alliance citizen would sell his soul for the chance to sire an heir. A certain disgruntled adopted prince, perhaps?

  Unbeknownst to either emperor, Lucifer cuts a deal with Ba'al Zebub to purchase not just one human female, but hundreds of them. Marriage is illegal, and so is fraternizing with pre-technological cultures. Fearful his adopted father is more interested in winning his pissing contest against Shay'tan than saving his species, Lucifer secretly match-makes humans to other sterile hybrids, including General Abaddon and General Kunopegos while he works behind the scenes to stage a coup d'état.

  But lately, Lucifer has been experiencing blackouts. The behavior his loyal guard Eligor and Ba'al Zebub's delivery boy Apausha witness during these lapses differs drastically from Lucifer's recollections of humans as being little more than stupid, non-sentient mhoncaí, a delusion fed by his sycophantic assistant, Zepar.

  Raphael continues searching for Mikhail long after the others have given his best friend up for dead. Supreme Commander-General Jophiel allows this search because it keeps Raphael far enough away to not tempt her to defy the Emperor's anti-fraternization laws. With so few hybrids capable of reproducing, the only way their species will survive is if those who can reproduce beget offspring to introduce genetic diversity, the reason hybrids are forbidden to marry. But when their son almost dies, Jophiel begins to rethink the policies which forbid her species from ever knowing love.

  Then Mikhail gets out a distress call, and the Emperor knows what Shay'tan has hidden up his ermine robe … but not where…

  As intrigues roil the heavens and the two great empires race to secure the planet whic
h will determine the fate of the galaxy, no one notices a far more ancient Evil is pulling Lucifer's strings or manipulating the factions to go to war.

  No one, that is, except for Ninsianna, and her goddess-sent visions of the Evil One. Whether he wants to be their leader or not, Mikhail is the goddess's champion, and it is up to him to save them.

  How art thou fallen from heaven,

  O Lucifer, son of the morning!

  How art thou cut down to the ground,

  which didst weaken the nations!

  For thou hast said in thine heart,

  I will ascend into heaven,

  I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:

  I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,

  in the sides of the north:

  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

  I will be like the most High.

  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell,

  to the sides of the pit.

  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee,

  and consider thee, saying,

  Is this the man that made the earth to tremble,

  that did shake kingdoms;

  That made the world as a wilderness,

  and destroyed the cities thereof;

  that opened not the house of his prisoners?

  All the kings of the nations,

  even all of them, lie in glory,

  every one in his own house.

  Isaiah 14:12-22