Where Gods Dare (Divine Protector Book 4) Read online

  “Or inside the moon, most likely,” Daryn said. “Since no telescope or probe has ever found anything on the surface.”

  Brandon Strong kept pace alongside them. “I guess it doesn’t really matter now where their base is. They’ve pretty much won. I don’t know what they hit us with, but we’re powerless to stop them now.”

  “It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” Jaysin reminded him.

  CiCi raised a defiant fist. “That’s right! We’ve still got our powers, and a battleship! We can still fight them.”

  “A ship?” Freya said with astonishment. “Do you mean the Midgard?”

  “Yeah,” Ev said. “We managed to take it over after we beat the Zero Grade team. I’m the new captain, by the way.”

  Bethos whirled around to face him. “Where is this ship? It’s not hovering outside, is it?” He sounded almost panicked.

  Ev replied casually, “Yeah. Don’t worry; we engaged the cloaking device. Man, I always wanted to say that!”

  “Listen to me!” Brandon said urgently. “Even cloaked, Zero Grade might still be able to detect it. We have no idea what kind of technology they possess. Until a few hours ago, we didn’t think they could hit us with a light from the sky and take away our powers.”

  Freya agreed. “Ev, you’ve got to get that ship away from here before Zero Grade finds us.”

  “What are you saying? I can’t just abandon you…”

  Bethos dismissed his concerns, saying, “You won’t be abandoning us. Just… lay low until we come up with something.”

  Ev reluctantly admitted they were right; the Midgard was too dangerous to leave in their front yard. With that in mind, he turned around and headed back to the hangar.

  “Wait,” Maya said. She, Jaysin, Daryn and CiCi trotted after him.

  “Shouldn’t you four stay here and guard the Academy?” Ev said.

  “I’m more worried about you,” Maya said. “You could be a big target in that ship. And if Zero Grade does launch a full-scale attack, I doubt all of us combined would be able to fight them off.

  Daryn said, “I agree. We’ll present the strongest force together aboard the Midgard. If our enemies attack, we can rush back here to fight them off as one.”

  “What he said,” Jaysin added.

  Ev grinned. “All right, then. We’ve got ourselves a big-ass ship to move.”

  * * *

  They gathered aboard the bridge. Ev remained seated in the captain’s chair while everyone else stood around him.

  “Looking real good, mate,” Jaysin said to him.

  Ev shrugged happily. “It feels real good.”

  “That’s all well and good,” Daryn said, “but now what are we going to do?”

  Ev thought about it for a moment before something occurred to him. “I just realized… what happened to my mother’s body? I got so caught up in our battles with Zero Grade and Carnaval, I completely forgot.” It shamed him to forget like that; it almost felt like an insult to Anni Bannen.

  Maya replied, “We weren’t sure what you would want to do with her, so we took her to Upton General and put her in storage at the morgue. Morovian authorities have since taken charge of the entire town.”

  “Will they know whose body it is?” Ev asked.

  Jaysin nodded. “We left a note in case… well… in case you never came back and someone else had to deal with it.”

  “All right, then,” Ev said. “Let’s head to Upton and get my mother’s body.”

  His friends gave their assent; they were more than happy to help Ev in these dark times.

  * * *

  Upton General Hospital was located several miles north of the Bannen house in the northernmost part of Upton on the crescent-shaped continent of Morovia.

  Built about fifty years ago, the hospital was a seven-story, compact brick structure. Ev had been born in this building, and he held it in some regard.

  As Maya had said, Morovian authorities had recently taken over the town after its liberation from Zero Grade. The military had gone from house to house and street to street, picking up bodies left over from Zagreus’ senseless slaughter. Initially, the government bigwigs kept the bodies for study—and to make sure they didn’t contain any pathogens or deadly chemicals from the blanket of smoke that had enveloped the town. Even after they had determined the bodies were safe to handle, they still refused to release them to the victims’ families. Only after much public outcry did they relent. Now, family members from all over Morovia poured into Upton to collect their loved ones’ remains.

  Ev and friends walked into the main lobby of the hospital and found a huge crowd of people inside. Everyone was doing so much talking, crying and shouting that Ev couldn’t even hear his own thoughts. And in the midst of all that, there were prayers. These prospective gods heard the pleas loud and clear, though they presently weren’t in a position to answer them.

  Soon, though, a man in a navy-blue suit stepped out of the elevators, flanked by members of Exodus Squad, the anti-god unit of the military established by the late president Joe Lambda. Wearing their distinctive exo-suits, they were a force to be reckoned with, even to full-fledged gods. Ev and Maya had previously fought alongside them during negotiations with Zero Grade, but due to recent events, Ev was glad they showed no signs of recognition today.

  The man held up a bull horn and spoke into it, immediately grabbing the throng’s attention. “Attention, family members! If your loved one’s last name begins with A through N, they have been moved to the fairgrounds. There simply isn’t enough room here at the hospital to store all the bodies. I repeat—everyone here is O through Z.”

  “Dammit,” Ev said. “Guess we have to go to the fairgrounds.”

  * * *

  The fairgrounds were located on the southern edge of Upton. They consisted of several buildings around a fenced-in dirt field used for livestock exhibitions and rodeos.

  On this day, countless large tents had been set up all over the fairgrounds, making it look like some sort of music festival. However, there was nothing festive about it; crying family members were everywhere, and dry eyes became hard to find. As they waded through the crowd of people, Ev felt as if he were walking through a disaster area (which he was).

  They soon learned that each tent and building housed people with particular last names. A’s were in one building/tent, C’s were in another, etc. After a while, they found the “B” tent and got in line. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting in the sun, they finally managed to get inside.

  It was very cold inside the massive tent, and countless body bags were piled atop one another in macabre stacks. In addition, numerous large machines seemed to be keeping the place chilly.

  It took a while more to get to the center of the tent where a man in a heavy fur coat sat behind a desk. “Name?”

  “Ev Bannen. My mother was Anni Bannen. B-a-n-n-e-n.”

  The man had a laptop in front of him and he typed in Anni’s name. “Got it.” He turned to a fresh-faced boy sitting next to him. “It should be near the back. Block 9-F.” Despite the grim, cluttered appearance of the place, it seemed it did indeed have some system of organization. The teen went to retrieve the body and soon returned with a filled bag over his shoulder. “I’m really sorry for your loss.”

  The man behind the laptop simply said, “I’ll need to see some ID.”

  Ev handed him his driver’s license. It was ironic; Ev hadn’t driven at all since he learned to fly. The thing was practically coated in dust.

  The man looked it over before handing Ev a clipboard. “Now, we can’t just hand over bodies without confirming they’ll be properly… err, taken care of. Mass graves and cremation are being prepared for the unclaimed deceased; lots of bodies are too badly damaged to be identified, you see. That’s one option. But perhaps you’ve already prepared a proper burial?”

  “That’s right,” Ev said.

  “OK, then. Just sign these papers stating as much and you’ll be good to go.�
�

  Ev did so, and they handed him the body bag. A wave of dark emotions washed over him as he took it, and he felt as though he might break down on the spot. Nevertheless, he managed to take Anni’s body and proceed out of the tent. On the way, they passed many more people who had come to collect their loved ones. Ev recognized several of them, but they were so engrossed in their sorrow that they either wouldn’t or couldn’t acknowledge him.

  He couldn’t wait to get out of here to some place less bleak.

  * * *

  They took Anni’s body back to the Bannen house and buried her in the front yard. The group talked about giving her a proper burial in a cemetery, but Upton Meadows was currently swarmed with people looking to do the same and would probably run out of spaces real soon. Then they discussed the possibility of putting her in cold storage aboard the Midgard, but Ev was intent on putting her to rest as soon as possible. The thought of having his mother’s body with them on the ship made him uneasy, and he really just wanted to be done with this.

  When they had filled the grave, Maya whispered to him, “Is it really OK putting her in the same place as your abusive father?”

  Ev shrugged sadly. “He’s in the back yard. And anyway, it’s not like he can hurt her anymore.”

  “Does someone wanna say a few words?” Jaysin asked.

  “I will,” Ev replied. He then cleared his throat. “Anni Bannen was born in this town about fifty years ago. She was raised here, went to school here, and worked as a secretary at Upton High. She also met my father here…” He decided to skip any further mention of his dad. “Later, I came along, and she raised me with all the love a kid could ever want. Despite her circumstances, she was the perfect mother. And even after I did something horrible,” he said, reflecting on the night he killed his father before the bastard could kill Anni, “she still loved me. And I loved her. I don’t think any son loved his mother any more than I loved mine. She was… an angel…” He felt a lump in his throat, and his control threatened to shatter that very moment.

  Maya decided to take over for him. “I only met Anni Bannen a few times, but to me, she was every bit the mother Ev says she was. She was kind, thoughtful, and above all, caring. She reminded me of my own mother before my parents were killed in that car crash. I know Ev went through some tough times with his father, but I wish I had had the chance to grow up with my parents the way he did with his mother. And I know she was so proud of her son becoming a god of justice.” She turned to him. “Ev, your mother would be even more proud to know how you fought for all of us during this war.”

  He nodded, his eyes becoming watery. “I wish she was still here.”

  Maya took his hand in hers. Despite the embarrassment of his friends watching, he let her. “So do I,” she said.

  “Here, here!” Jaysin said.

  “Thank you, guys,” Ev said. “I never would have gotten this far without friends like you.”

  “It was our pleasure!” CiCi happily declared. The others nodded.

  Looking around the property, Daryn asked, “So, what’s going to happen to this place?”

  Ev said, “I honestly have no idea. The entire town’s population was wiped out by Zagreus, so every house might soon be for sale. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to live here after what happened, though. Maybe Upton’ll be abandoned.

  “That’s awful!” CiCi said.

  “There have been a lot of casualties in this war,” Daryn said. “Every country with an Ultimus Point’s going to need time to heal.”

  Ev said, “That reminds me. Let’s get back to the ship. I want to check something.”

  Chapter II

  Back aboard the Midgard, they reconvened on the bridge. “So what did you want to check?” Maya asked Ev.

  Sitting in the captain’s chair he told her. “I want to know if there are any more gods left on Narska besides us. Did Zero Grade’s attack remove everyone’s powers?”

  “Good thinking,” Daryn said. “You want to search for potential allies.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Great plan. But how exactly do we do that?” Jaysin said.

  “Simple, really. Ragnarok?”

  The ship’s AI promptly responded. “Yes, Captain Bannen?”

  Ev grinned. “It still feels good to be called that. Now, then; Ragnarok, have you been scanning the planet like I asked you?”

  “Yes, Captain. I have been running periodic scans.”

  “Good. Besides us on this ship, how many gods are left on Narska?”

  “Sensors show only one being with high levels of Ultimus energy.”

  “Great,” Daryn said. “Only one person left. This just keeps getting better and better.”

  “I wonder if they’re friendly,” CiCi said.

  Ev sighed. Zero Grade had done a thorough job of ridding themselves of their enemies. He wondered if any of their own had been caught in the blast; he didn’t know if the Flawless Few cared about collateral damage. “Fine, then. Ragnarok, can you identify the one remaining god?”

  “I’m sorry, Captain Bannen. The person in question is too far away.” After a pause, she declared, “Strange. The person has disappeared from my sensors.”

  “What do you think that means?” Jaysin asked.

  Ev shrugged. “Hell if I know. Ragnarok, what was their last known location?”

  The computer responded, “Approximately four hundred miles northwest of Seraphim City in Morovia.”

  To Ev, there was only one thing to do. “Take us there.”

  * * *

  The area in question turned out to be Flowerstone National Park, a mountainous area with a deep network of subterranean caves. Over the past several decades, only a small percentage of those caves had been mapped, and once the place became a protected site, strict regulations made further explorations prohibitively difficult.

  Looking out the bridge windows at the beautiful green landscape below them, Maya asked Ev, “Have you ever been here before?”

  “Once,” he replied. “My class went on a field trip here in junior high.

  Daryn said, “Ragnarok, are you sure this person is down there?”

  “Yes, Crewman Anders.”

  Daryn gave Ev an accusing look. “‘Crewman’?”

  Ev shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to call you.”

  “Anyway,” Daryn said, returning his attention to the ship’s AI. “Do you have visuals on this person?”

  “Negative. They seem to have the ability to mask their energy signature. That may explain why I lost them earlier. However, I am still detecting their presence somewhere in the park below. We are now above their last known location.”

  “All right,” Ev said. “Let’s go down and have a look. Ragnarok, lock down the ship after we leave. Only open back up when you see us returning.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  * * *

  They wasted little time setting foot down in the park. The location they now found themselves in was a green valley flanked by mountain ridges. A large mountain stream ran to their right and continued on ahead to the base of nearby mountain, and fur trees could be seen all around.

  “It’s beautiful,” Maya said.

  “It sure is,” CiCi added.

  “We didn’t come here to sightsee,” Daryn reminded them.

  “Nothing wrong with taking in the magnificent view,” Jaysin argued.

  “Jaysin’s right,” Ev said. “Besides, we won’t find this person if we don’t look. And if we happen to see some breathtaking sights along the way, so be it.” He didn’t want to gush over the scenery like Maya and CiCi, but neither could he deny its beauty.

  “Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

  “Ah,” Jaysin said playfully. “Could it be you don’t like this place?”

  “I’ve actually been here before. Joss likes to drag me here.”

  “Who’s Joss?” Ev asked.

  “Isn’t that your roommate?” CiCi said.

  Now that Ev th
ought about it, Daryn had to have a roommate, though he had never mentioned him. “You never talk about him.”

  “Here’s not just my roommate,” Daryn said. “He’s… well, it’s complicated.”

  “What do you mean?” CiCi said.

  Daryn let out a sigh and continued. “After Maya’s betrayal, he was there for me. Things kinda developed quickly.”

  “What… ‘things’?” Ev said.

  “Serious things. Heavy things. I didn’t think I could trust anyone ever again, but he proved me wrong. That’s one of the reasons I agreed to bury the hatchet with you all.”