Realms of Eden Book 03: Whirlwind

"You!" the man hissed.

"Cassandra was my friend too, Jerome. Not in the last lifetime but before that. I have known her and Clinton for a long time."

"Who are you?" asked Jerome. The man before him frightened him like nothing else he had ever experienced.

"Enyalius," replied Sydney and he walked into the darkness. "Goodbye, Jerome. Remember, watch his back!" The footsteps echoed off the walls for a few more steps then there was silence.

Jerome sat at the entrance to the underground tunnel for many hours until he heard the footsteps of a man moving beneath the ground and a light reflected dimly into the darkness of the hole. He retreated further into the lane and watched as his commanding officer climbed from the hole and with quick movements dumped the bodies through the entrance. Jerome heard the thud as the bodies hit the ground beneath then watched his captain pull something from the backpack that was on the ground beside him.

"No Sir, no need for that!" Jerome called as the man appeared ready to drop an explosive down into the pit. "I will get a clean up crew in here and seal the entrance. You never know, we might need a place to hide ourselves one day. I will also arrange for some fucking lights down here, no shadows for the bastards to hide in anymore!"

"Very good Sergeant Adeane. Bastard beat me to them anyway!" Southey grinned as he watched his Sergeant come out of the shadow and into the dim light at the mouth of the lane. They pushed the manhole cover back over the hole and without looking back walked out to the walkway around the harbour proper.

"Who is Enyalius, Sir?" Jerome asked the older man as they walked.

"An ancient warrior, Jerome, a man who if you are on the wrong side of him you will never know," he replied and turned towards the younger man beside him, "because you will be dead!"

* * * * * * * * * *

Kelsey Gilroy found herself almost ready to bite her nails as she watched 'Rocket' Rodney Jamieson polish the ball on his trousers at the top of his run up. Rod was bowling the last over of the final match and Australia needed six runs to win. Sydney stood at the other end and tapped his bat on the ground and waited. The Australians were on their feet around her and no sound came from any of them as they too waited to see what would happen.

Sydney was hurt. Hit on the elbow by a nasty ball from Eric Clarke in the last over, he could barely move his left arm. Eric had apologised profusely and Sydney had simply smiled at him and told him that things happen. It had made the rest of the team feel very sick as the man that they had loved to hate on the field was taking the game on and they were proud of him. Only Joe Donnelly was left to bat with him so Sydney could not retire hurt, he had to continue.

Jerome Adeane let him have as much time to get treatment on the field as he needed, even telling the umpires to go away when they suggested that Sydney should leave the field. Jerome had not been polite in his words and he knew that he would be facing a disciplinary hearing for his actions and words.

The Kiwis knew that the game was still on when Jerome threw the ball to Rod for the final over, Sydney had called out, "You slow down one bit Rocket and I will jam my bat so far up your arse your spine will straighten!"

The whole team had clapped and quickly they had gotten themselves into position ready for the last six balls. Rod began his run in. The ball flew wide of off stump and Sydney raised his bat and let it go past. His arm felt numb and he found he could only feel the handle in his right hand. "Bugger this," he thought and walked down the wicket towards Joe.

"Mate, I am going to try and get a single or something, think you can get us home?" he asked the big fast bowler as they met in the middle of the pitch.

"I'll try my best mate," came Joe's deep voice. Sydney nodded and went back to his crease.

Rod's next ball pitched on middle and was short coming up to his throat. Sydney swung across it and his scream of agony was heard by everyone at the ground as the ball flew from his bat. He dropped to the ground clutching his elbow. The ball flew high into the night sky and continued to fly over the boundary and into the crowd on the second tier.

Jerome Adeane was beckoning for a doctor the moment he saw Sydney collapse and rushed to the big man's body. "Fuck me dead, mate, I keep telling them all that you could beat the world with one arm behind your back but to flog a 145 k bouncer into the crowd with one arm is a bit too fucking literal, even for you!"

Kelsey found herself clutching her niece tightly as she wept for the man now being carried off the field on a stretcher surrounded by everyone from both sides as they clapped and waved to the crowd. Suddenly the movement of the stretcher stopped and Sydney slid off and planted his feet, a little unsteadily, on the ground. He waved people away until only he and Rod Jamieson stood in the middle of the group.

Sydney held out his hand and the microphone's held by several media reporters picked up the conversation between the two men.

"Thank you Rocket, for not taking it easy on me," said Sydney.

"It was hard mate. I remember what you did for Tuartie when he got hurt, but I guess the threat of a bat up my arse focussed my attention!" the big man smiled.

The crowd around the ground exploded with laughter as the two men hugged awkwardly before the rest of the teams gathered around them. Dr Lock hovered protectively beside Sydney's injured arm and wanted to get him off the field. "Just don't hit me with anymore drugs Gwen," whispered Sydney, "and I will get through the rest of this!"

The doctor nodded, though she wasn't so certain that he would when an opened bottle of wine cooler was passed to him by Peter Bond. "No beer for Sydney!" he yelled at the rest of the crew around him. The announcement was met with cheering as the two sets of combatants raised bottles of wine cooler all around him.

The presentation of the ancient Hadlee-Chappell trophy to the Australian captain Peter Bond for the first time in over twenty years was met with raucous noise from the 90,000 strong crowd. It was a moment that everyone would remember for a long time as Peter broke down in tears as he thanked his team, the Kiwis, the sponsors and the crowd. He found he could not find the words to express his admiration and feelings for his vice captain and the courageous way he fought to the very end. Jerome Adeane jumped up on the podium beside him and told the crowd that he could and began to chant, "Whirlwind! Whirlwind!" The noise afterwards was deafening as every voice took up the chant in a full throated roar.

Sydney sat on the ground and wept unashamedly as the vid recorders and cameras focussed on his reaction. It only made the crowd sing louder and longer until the man himself rose unsteadily to his feet and approached the podium where the two captains stood together winding up the crowd. As Sydney stood in front of the microphones he waited until the noise ceased. "My friends," he began, "it has been a long journey. One that still has a way to go, but today I feel like a true citizen of the world, I am proud to be here in the Shaky Isles to tell you that."

The crowd clapped madly but Sydney raised his good arm to stop them from beginning to chant again. "For now I say goodbye but I do so knowing that I will see many of you again soon and I hope that you take this as my promise to you!" He stepped down from the stage and into the arms of Kelsey, Thelma, Jenny, Bonnie and Jo who gathered around him as the crowd began to sing, "Champions of the World."