The Resistance waited days for a response. It was now the fourth night—Water’s Night—and it grew late. The stars were hidden behind a thick cloudy sky.
For hours, Sir Simon Atikan paced along the river’s shore staring across the flowing water. His focus was undivided. Burton’s son would be the first to notice Demitri’s fleet approaching. The knight’s discipline and dedication to his mission was unmatched.
As Anna and Rayne walked out of the makeshift canopy she held his arm and rested her head on his chest. Burton could tell that she never wanted to let go. But it was too dangerous for her to be exposed to the events that were about to take place.
“You’ve done wonderful, my dear,” said Burton. “Now, you must lead everyone to the Illyrium castle and barricade the doors.”
Anna looked to Rayne.
Rayne nodded. “Go.”
Before running off, Anna pressed her lips onto his for a long moment. “I love you,” she said to him wholeheartedly.
Burton was touched. This life had taught him more about human emotion than any other. He recognized the power of affection and the depth at which it could bond people. Now, after finding his son, the angel felt again this thing people called love.
Rayne followed Burton and joined Montague by a small fire set about a hundred yards away from the shores that the enemy would be landing. That was, if the Merns failed to sink Demitri’s fleet before they reached the shore.
“If the Merns succeed Glassinger agreed to bring Demitri to the shore,” said Burton. Freed from the confinement spell, he was once again in telepathic connection to the Mern city. “This is the end. Once Montague takes the marble, we can break the quarantine and crash the Nekrum mothership. Its passengers will be judged by divine council.” He huffed.
“I’m going to stay here,” Rayne said.
Burton smiled. “Of course you are.” He was glad that Rayne had changed his mind. “Love is what people live for. Start a new life with Anna. You didn’t get to finish the last one together.”
“Are you sure that you are strong enough to do this alone?” asked Rayne.
“I’m sure. Besides, the people will need you here to protect them. Planet Naan isn’t as advanced as the other realms.”
“You can always come back; reincarnate,” said Rayne. “When the quarantine is broken, I won’t have to remind you of who you are. The Nekrums will be gone.”
Montague chimed in. “You must not harm Demitri. The real Demitri, my friend, has nothing to do with this. Promise me.”
“I wouldn’t dare hurt Demitri. He is my friend as well. The future of this civilization needs him,” Burton said.
“You have my word,” said Rayne.
The hour without moonlight had come. Sir Simon stopped pacing along the river shore. He lit a torch and held it high.
In the distance, Burton could now see the shadows of long masts through the fog like a forest on the water. The ships sailed north, against the river’s current. Demitri’s armada was now in the middle of the river, at its deepest point; a perfect opportunity for the Merns to make their moves.
For a moment there was a strange silence—no wind, no chirping of crickets—even the river’s current seemed to stop completely. In the stillness, Burton could feel the coming chaos. As the enemy grew closer, the mist above the water’s surface crawled upon the pebble shore like an amphibious creature. Sir Simon unsheathed his sword. His soldiers assembled.
The river began to glow. The light was so bright it even lit the gloomy sky.
When Burton heard the sounds of high frequency clicking and whistling, he knew that, along with the Merns, a pod of backfin whales had arrived. They were the largest and smartest whales on the planet, even capable of understanding human sign language. Weighing over forty tons each they used thick skull domes to crash into the hulls of the ships, sinking them one by one.
An army of aquatic humans and sea creatures followed, attacking the dark fleet from the river’s depth. Schools of waterbirds circled the ships in unison, creating massive whirlpools that swallowed them whole.
Soldiers of the new Resistance began cheering. But Burton knew that it was too early to claim victory. “Save your celebration,” he said sternly. “It’s not over.”
The lights in the river dimmed. Three dark ships burst through the ambush before the Merns could take them down. The largest of the fleet, secured with a thick steel bottom, sailed into the Origon River’s pebble shore at full speed, digging deep into rock and clay. Its momentum drove all three ships, fifty feet into land, nearly toppling before they stopped. The collision caused the largest ship’s prow to shatter. Its bowsprit had snapped in half. The only extending spar left standing upright was an empty crow’s nest.
The old wizard anticipated Demitri’s army to be made of hybrids. He’d seen what the Nekrums could create. Their sciences were superior to all realms. To many, they were considered the gods of technology. They even had the technology to annihilate an angel. But they couldn’t use it. The weapon would split a world in half. And they needed to find the Volpi gene first.
Suddenly, locust-like creatures that resembled the stone gargoyles of the temple smashed out from the smaller ship’s bow and took flight. Except these gargoyles weren’t statues; they were alive with tags clipped into the bulbs of their long ears. Cuffs with broken chains hung from their wrists and ankles. Burton thought they must
