Realms of Eden: Book 5: Hyak Anali

Kelsey collapsed into the chair beside the bed. She screamed that they were wrong that he had to live, had to make it through. Her sobs wracked her body and did not cease when her daughter's arms wrapped her tightly to her breast. "He has to live Jenny because if he dies so do I!"

Sydney's eyes had closed. He had not wanted her told but knew that Jennifer had had to tell her mother the truth. He prepared himself to speak to her on his mind but found that he could not bring his thoughts to focus, and then he could not seem to feel anything at all.

Chapter 3 – Rings in the fire

"Walk with me Enyalius," said a voice he did not recognise. He turned to the sound from where he was standing at the top of a cliff looking out over the dark-blue sea where he could make out the shape of a large boat sitting motionless on the water. The boat, he thought, did not belong there; it was not from this time. He cast his thoughts outwards towards the boat and an overwhelming sense of loss rebounded towards him, every soul on the boat was reeling from the loss of a great man, someone who it seems held all of their hearts in thrall.

The blackness of utter despair pervaded his thoughts and he traced its source to the mind of a graceful woman with brown hair and deep brown eyes. "She is going to kill herself," he said into the air as he turned around to search for the source of the voice that was speaking to him. "Can you not stop her?"

"No, my brother," said the voice sadly. "But you can!"

"How can I stop her! She has just had her heart broken and her life's love taken from her! No-one but the man she loves can stop her now no matter what that doctor just did with that strange medicine. He can only keep her asleep for a little while. To make her sleep forever is pointless, he may as well let her die!" The warrior, dressed in his warm leather coat rested a hand on his great sword, turning back towards the boat he spat onto the ground beside his feet in disgust.

Jebidiah was heartbroken as sat in his tower. All of his plans, his hopes and his dreams were shattered in a single stupid moment when an ancient enemy had clawed his warrior's unprotected back in a world where it should not have existed!

Jove sat beside him, his eyes burning into the back of the little man's head as he held it between his hands and bemoaned the unfairness of it all. "Jebidiah you cannot blame yourself for this. Retsam Elam has been a servant of the darkness since the beginning of the universe! He is nearly as strong as all of us combined and you took him on by yourself. You could not have expected to win," he said gently.

Bacchus looked at the leader of the Realm Council, his eyes blazing, belying his reputation of merriment and frivolity. With fierce determination he stared at Jove and cried out, "We should not have been so quick to stifle his attempts to at least win one planet either Jove! For too long we have cowered in our realms, making rules to restrict ourselves saying that we leave the humans to make their own decisions when the darkness enters their dreams and their lives. Pushing good men and women into the ground to allow the ruthless, the loveless and the pitiless to walk over their corpses to bring about chaos and death! Well I for one have had enough!" He stood and swept his flowing red robes around himself and disappeared.

"What would you have me do brother?" said Enyalius as he looked at the shrunken shrivelled shell that lay in state on the beach. Driftwood and heavy timber brought by the Hyak Anali to the beach at the request of the Goddess Siti lay ready to receive the body to commit it to the flames.

"Take my place," said Sydney as he stepped from the shadows of the cave behind the warrior.

"I do not have your memories. I could not easily slip back into the beds, the minds and the hearts of your comrades! What of my life here, granted it is not a time of war but I do have things to do here!" he argued.

"Do? What things Enyalius? Screwing virgins, that are becoming less and less easy to find and fucking Siti are not doing anything my brother!

"You end up travelling north to take on the Picts and Vikings just for fun and end up getting yourself killed by the poisoned knife of a jealous husband as you sleep beside his pregnant wife! Admit it you are bored even now!" laughed Sydney.

"Tis true," laughed the warrior with him. "But how do I take your place. I can see in your mind that you have things inside you, what you call nanny bots or something; you have changes in your body that I do not understand. You play games with others that I cannot comprehend and your mind sees the world so much differently to me.

"We may come from the same father but there are many things that make us different between now and when you came back from the banks of the river Phlegethon this last time."

"We have not drunk from the river Lethe," said Sydney. "I remember my time here. I remember the battle at Megiddo in 2,000 years' time. I remember the ancient battles with the invaders in Atlantis and the minions of darkness that destroyed this world a million years ago when they descended from the blackness of space like spiders from a silken web.

"We have a chance this time my brother! We are actually starting to make the future a better place and the woman who so desperately wants to join that husk on the fire is one of the keys to making that future happen." Sydney's voice was desperate, passionate and full of the fire of a man who should not be lying waiting to be burnt on one in a primitive world.

"Then I ask again Sydney, how do I take your place?" said the warrior turning to the essence behind him. The essence surrounded him and softly urged the man to relax and lie back upon the warm rocks at the top of the cliff.

Bacchus chuckled with delight as he observed the interaction of the essence of Sydney and his ancient self on the cliff tops above the funeral pyre that burnt brightly below. He watched the woman who sat in the sand watching the fire burn hotly, sitting close, where no others would sit with her. Brown tear-filled eyes staring deep into the white hot coals. "Hurry up Sydney," Bacchus rumbled, "much longer and she is going to leap into that fire and no-one is going to try to stop her!"

Suddenly the fire exploded upwards in a column of white hot light blinding the group that stood around it well away from where the solitary woman sat. The woman herself had sprung from her seat and leapt into the fire just as it exploded upwards, only vaguely did she hear the scream of her daughter and the girl's father.

"What do you think you are doing Kel?" said a voice in her ear as fiery arms wrapped around her without burning or hurting her.

"Sydney? Please, take me with you, I can't live without you," she sobbed as the white hot flame consumed her.

"Only if you promise to love and obey me forever," he teased holding her spinning in the air letting the fire hide them from the group below.

"I am yours Sydney, to do with as you will, as you know I have always been, ever since you were a little boy."

A fiery kiss took her breath away and she felt as if she was actually being burned alive from the inside.

A hot silver band was placed around her head burning into her skin. She lifted her hand to feel it. A thin metallic strip that reached from temple to temple and as she touched it it seemed to be absorbed into her forehead until she felt nothing.

A hand grasped her left hand and she looked into a face that was flame surrounding the darkest blue eyes. Eyes that were as familiar to her as her own. "Do you love me Kelsey Margaret Simmons?"

"Always Sydney Whirlwind Douglas," she grinned as she saw the eyes twinkle as she changed his middle name.

"Then please wear this as a sign of my love for you to show the world that we are one," he said placing a glowing white gold ring on her bare ring finger.

"Oh my goodness Sydney I do not have -," then she froze and looked at her right hand. Opening it she found a broad white gold ring. She looked hard at it noted that there was an inscription on it 'My Life My Soul' and she turned back to the eyes and the face that was beginning to solidify behind the white flames.

"Do you love me Sydney?"

"You are my life and my soul Kelsey, forever."

"Then give me your left hand." She grasped it gently and placed the band onto his ring finger.

Sydney looked at it strangely then grinned. "Who gave you this?"

"I don't know, it was just here when I needed it," she replied still feeling somewhat stunned.

"Then I pronounce you husband and wife," intoned a voice above them. The deep authoritative voice carried to the startled audience below as the flames disappeared leaving two naked figures spinning slowly around each other in the night air.

"By the declaration of your love, the exchange of the rings and cleansing of the fire you have joined in death and returned to begin your lives anew with the living. I wish you both the best of luck and may the darkness tremble before you both!" The voice ended and a light breeze carried the scent of vines, flowers and music as the two gently landed on the sand where the funeral pyre had been but no longer showed any signs of ever having been there.

Sydney and Kelsey turned hand in hand to face the group. Jebidiah was the first to address them. "Enyalius who is this woman with you?" he intoned formally in a loud clear voice.

The rest of the group stopped frozen on the beach. Sydney could almost hear their thoughts without the need to scan them. "It's Kelsey you stupid man, our Mum!"

He looked at the woman beside him and he turned back to the Realm Master. "Jebidiah, may I present you my wife, Kelsey Margaret Douglas!"

Jennifer screamed aloud her voice bouncing from the cliffs in joyous chorus with Siti, Serenity and the other women as they realised what it was that Jebidiah had asked.

Suddenly they were surrounded and not just by the crew on board the ship but the missing others were on the beach with them. Robert pumped Sydney's hand before wrapping his friend up in his arms kissing him on the lips much to Siti's delight.

All in all nearly 100 people surrounded them. Many did not know where or when they were. They didn't care, all they knew that they were present at something extremely special and for the rest of their lives they would remember the wedding of Sydney and Kelsey Douglas.

Chapter 4 - Worm Alert

With deliberate slowness Kelsey softly slid down upon the erect cock under her body. She had thought of nothing else for the past eight weeks since Sydney had been attacked. Well not really nothing else, but certainly only his older self had been allowed to comfort her in the early hours of one moonless night.

Half-heartedly she had offered herself to Keith Richardson but he being the gentleman that she knew he was she was not surprised when he declined the offer of her bed. Now her warrior, her life, lay beneath her and his physical presence was more of a comfort to her than just the centimetres of flesh that penetrated her body.

It was hearing his laugh, his voice and his madcap singing with Robert and Paulie. The three of them had stood at the bar singing "I will always love you" in high falsetto voices each grabbing the other's crotches in attempts to reach the super high notes. Their shining eyes had made her feel so special.

Jennifer had tried to voice her joy at her mother's happiness. Kelsey had shushed the girl's, and her sisters', drunken congratulations by telling them that they would celebrate properly in the tomorrows to come. When they had a world that allowed them to love freely and safely.

The biggest surprise of the night was the appearance of Jove, Bacchus, Ea, Ceridwen, Freyr, Freya, Nugua and Belenus who were the Realm Masters' Council. All of them had come to bless the union and pledge their support for the fight against Retsam Elam.

Their brilliant personages gave the gathering an awe filled boost as they mingled among the huge crowd on the beach. When a drunken President Greg Weir had told Ceridwen that he wouldn't mind bouncing her on his lap, her kiss upon his lips left the little man gasping. His protests that he was married were smothered with giggling joviality as the little Celtic goddess had her way with him on the beach in the firelight of the huge bonfire.

Sally Weston spent the night in awed bliss as she suddenly found herself face to face with the actual entities that she had taken aboard as her everyday points of reference. To say that she was astonished that the personages actually called her by name, and not only that, knew all about her, was an understatement.

At first shyly, as Bacchus allowed the bubbly woman to sit with him and talk, she asked about their legends and how much she had researched about them was true. By the end of the night she had Jove showing her his lightning eyes as they laughingly proved or disproved her questions.

She was not surprised to find herself in Bacchus's arms and being lovingly laid upon one of the big beds on-board the Majestic. Gently he made love to her with skill and finesse as the music of an ancient era played in her mind as he did so.

The morning found the beach littered with bodies in various states of dress. Some wound intimately with partners that could not find a bed but simply coupled where they were on mats and blankets that had obviously been found at some time through the late night and early morning. Lucy O'Dowd was still dreamily kissing Jebidiah when a sudden nip at her toe sent her shrieking into the air stamping her foot as a worm of around one metre long chewed at her digits.

"Enyalius!" screamed Jebidiah as he grabbed the little monster. The naked pair saw the beach erupt around them and the other sleeping guests as dozens more grabbed at fingers, toes and also the penis of the unfortunate Simon Kinsdale as he lay beneath Jo Jepson.

Sydney was beside him in seconds his long sword scything the sand. The monsters, ranged in size from the one metre specimen that Jebidiah still held wriggling in his hands to one that Belenus had pinned with his long spear that appeared to be at least three metres long though most of its body was still under the ground. "Into the water!" shouted Jennifer at some cursing and stomping guests that had no weapons and were screaming as the worms appeared everywhere around them. Despite the chilliness of the early morning water the forty or so mortals were soon standing in hip deep water as they watched the battle on the beach.

The rides appeared, their beam weapons cleaning up the beach. Jove screamed a warning not to cut the monsters up as he found the other half of one of the beasts he had chopped the head from disappearing back under the sand.

Serenity changed her twin swords to twin flame throwers has she washed the length of the beach, carefully avoiding the wedding guests. The battle lasted no more than a few minutes and at the end charred worm carcasses, along with some bedding, was all that remained. That was apart from the worm that Jebidiah still held tightly in his hand and the one Jo Jepson had removed from her lover's penis when they had hit the water.

The worm had bitten Simon hard as he had jumped and sprinted into the water with Jo. However, on contact with the water it had died almost instantly its teeth the only thing that allowed it to remain in place until Jo gently pried it off the sobbing man.

Jo had examined his wound, carefully washing him in the salty water despite his protests at the sting. "You are going to be fine Simon," she reassured him gently. Giggling she kissed his ear and said, "Though I am going to be the first to try him out when he is better cause those teeth marks are going to cause a very interesting entry!"

Simon examined his cock seeing that there were some rather ugly looking tears and punctures around his favourite piece of anatomy and couldn't help replying tearfully, "That's if he ever works again."

Jo waved Wendy over in the Go-go mobile as she asked if there were any injuries. Soon they had Simon loaded into the vehicle and back in the sick bay were Alfred and Xavier hurriedly reassured him that nothing a few days inactivity wouldn't fix. Their neat stitching and application of clear skin protective coating had banished his fears a little by the time they had finished.

There were only a few other minor injuries with nipped toes and fingers the only other concerns. Freya ruefully rubbed the cheek of her delectable bottom showing a small ring where a worm had suctioned her before she had moved like lightning preventing its bite.

Suddenly dozens of voices told her that if she stayed like that they would kiss it better. Sniggering she wiggled her butt and was surprised as the first hot kiss planted on it came from the tall blonde woman beside her who whispered, "You would be surprised how well it works!"

The realm mistress looked at her in question. Penny turned her bum towards her dropping her wrap around skirt to show a small scar. Seriously she told the goddess, "If I had not told them to stop kissing it after two weeks I don't think even that would still be there!" She yelped a little as her own bottom received an unexpected kiss.

Freya giggled and thought, This lot would have been a perfect court when I ruled the north! She sighed as a procession of hot lips and the occasional tongue caused shivers down her spine.

Sydney watched, chuckling with Jove and Ea as they watched a procession pass the two delectable bums delivering their homage. They called a halt when Sydney noticed Ben and Wilbur lining up for their third pass.

Jove sent to Sydney, "I have watched your troop grow as you moved around the place, Sydney. But I have to admit you have picked up some very uninhibited people. Aphrodite would have loved this lot!"

"I sometimes wonder if she has not already touched some of them, Sir," he replied in kind.

Jove looked at the beautiful women that stood talking around the group. Their unconscious grace and poise causing him to lustfully grin at the big man beside him saying, "Sydney, I take that back. Aphrodite would have been jealous of some of them and she probably would have made life hell!"

Siti's pure white hair made her stand out in the crowd and she called for silence in the big room as all eyes turned towards her. "I have swum in these waters and frolicked on that beach for years with my people and never have these worms appeared. That leaves me to suspect that something or someone brought them here! I want to know who or what!" she demanded.

Alfred and Xavier began to speak together then Xavier's silver haired head bowed to her male counterpart. All heads turned to the doctor as he began to speak. "It appears Siti that they were brought here, but not as the worms but as a poison. I ," and he paused and amended it to, "We," as he touched Xavier, "need to know where you had Sydney before Jennifer rescued him and brought him back to the tower in Jebidiah's realm."

Siti walked to the stern of the boat and waved her hands. Up on the cliff face above the beach a cave was suddenly revealed. "There," she said, "it is a cave that has tunnels leading to many places between here and my palace. I use them to escape my people and sometimes," she grinned wickedly, "to entertain."

"Syd can you take red team up there and have a look. Be sharp there could be some uninvited guests up there?" asked Alfred.

"Too late Alfred," smiled Sydney as he nodded to blue and green team's machines exiting the deck below.

Serenity be careful up there, he sent and received an acknowledgement from the woman as she sat her team around the cave's entrance.

"My word!" exclaimed Freyr. "How many thousand years did you say you were training this lot Ian?" The former Norse God of the Sun watched the precise movements of the craft and cautious entry of the green team with amazement.