The Marenon Chronicles Collection

Chapter Eight





The Stühocs had just suffered another crushing defeat. Maroke was dead. Silas Ainsley, the so-called Deliverer, had killed him and taken away the valuable prisoner, Kaden Osric. Ward Holden had been killed and none of the Sleepers had heard from Spencer in days, though Hroth had informed them that the new Human king, Julian, had imprisoned him.

Anithistor had called Marcus, Theron, Saul and Damon to the meeting. The Nestorian Sleeper Mintuk was still in Voelif of course. Little of what happened in Mudavé had to do with him. It was just as well. Damon hated to consider Mintuk as one of them. Disgusting. He had to be reminded by Hroth that Mintuk was a Sleeper regardless of how Damon felt.

“Silas is more of a threat than I imagined,” Anithistor said grimly. “We need to fix this quickly.”

“Silas will seek out the Gatekeeper,” Marcus said. The others nodded in agreement.

“Then we should kill them both,” Anithistor said. “Losing Maroke does not bode well for us, but we will recover. I have word from Mintuk that the Sphere will be working soon.”

“We don’t need the Nestorians,” Damon said. “Why can’t we do this without them?”

“I am not surprised by your hatred of them,” Anithistor said. “But it stems from experiences you had before you became a Sleeper. You need to suppress it.”

They are a necessary ally, the voice told him.

They are nothing more than a mistake, Damon thought back to him. He knew about their history. Only a handful of Stühocs knew the mystery of the Nestorian’s origins; the majority of people in Marenon knew nothing about them. They had come about as a result of forced breeding between the Stühocs and captured Erellens thousands of years before. The Stühocs had thought they could create a super species, but the result had been quite different. They quickly learned that Nestorians couldn’t expose their skin to the sun, or they would begin to deteriorate. Their skin would burn easily and peel until bone was exposed. Their bodies would become weak because of this, and they would eventually die. Naturally they would have gone underground, but the Anwyns commanded the only caves that were remotely inhabitable, and no one waged war underground. Nestorians had no place to go, and were forced to the most undesirable part of Marenon.

They had to adapt to the desert land by wearing masks, and covering every inch of their bodies, which added to the mystery of what they looked like. Throughout the years, most of the other groups stayed away from Nestorians and their history had become mostly forgotten.

Thinking about them made Damon sick. He hated that Anithistor relied so heavily on their weapon…this Sphere.

“The plan may sound simple,” Anithistor continued, “but I assure you, it will be complicated. Saul will track Silas and try to find the Gatekeeper. Right now, Silas remains safe within the confines of Jekyll Rock, but the Dunarians will not keep him there long.” He nodded to Saul. “You will wait until the time is right.”

“Why Saul?” Damon asked. “I can do it. You have trusted me with very little, but I am ready.”

The other Sleepers looked at each other. One or two of them smiled, but Damon ignored them. Damon had been useless to them so far, and hadn’t been given a chance to prove himself. He had told Hroth that he should have tried to take Silas when he was near him in Canor. The Stühocs could have avoided the death of Maroke and Holden. But Hroth stood by his decision – even if he had known the result, he would have tested Damon all the same. It was too dangerous for Damon to get near Silas. Of course, Damon knew their reasoning, but it had been so long ago. He had never even met the boy personally. Damon didn’t think he would have a breakdown should he get too near Silas.

“You handled yourself well in Canor,” Anithistor said. “However, I don’t want to take any chances yet. Saul will track them and he will have the support of Marcus and Theron at his disposal.”

“Some help they’ve been,” Damon said almost to himself.

Marcus and Theron snarled at this, but Anithistor held up a hand to keep them calm.

“You will be needed if the three of them fail,” he said.

The usual answer, Damon thought.

An answer you should be proud to hear, the voice whispered in his mind. We are saving you because of your tremendous power. You must not forget this.

“If Silas ever reaches the Red Gate, we will need you,” Anithistor said. “You have a gift that should not be wasted early in our operations. We will need you in our darkest hour.”

Damon sighed deeply. This is what they kept telling him. He wondered if they just said this to him to make him feel included – to make him feel like he had a real purpose.

“Do you think it is wise to simply kill Silas?” Saul asked. “We could capture him, make him the eighth Sleeper.”

“That had been the plan at the beginning,” Anithistor said, looking at Marcus and Theron. “Killing him will be your first priority now. If by chance his capture becomes an easy possibility, then so be it. But I don’t want any of you to take chances. Silas is dangerous.”

A heavy silence fell in the room. There was nothing left to be said. Damon would remain in Mudavé and wait for his day to shine, fully knowing that day may never come. He feared that if Silas made it far enough to attack the Red Gate then it might be too late. It would take tremendous ability for the boy to make it that far into Mudavé again. The Stühocs would be ready this time. He would not take them by surprise. If Silas made it to the Red Gate that would mean all the other Sleepers had failed, and the only ones left to fight would be Damon and Anithistor. He was their last resort.

Nevertheless, Damon would be waiting for Silas. He would meet him, and destroy him.