Spiral of Silence (The Unearthed Series Book 3) Read online

  Halewyn Creedbond (Ludian) – The Eldest of the Neraphis Society. Bonded with the souls of his father and grandfather, he is the only living Neraphis able to manage triple consciousness. His ancestry bestows great strength within him, and his long line of leadership grants him the throne within the Citadel. Mentor to the great Orin, he finds new purpose in Blague’s journey, and leads the Neraphis out of a long history of confinement and into the fight, sending Blague off with Aslock and Valor at his side… into war.

  Felicity (Terasdian) – A Keeper of the Neraphis Society. Bonded with the soul of her closest friend, she is responsible for the Western Wing of the Citadel and oversees laboratory and scouting functions.

  Dendrid – Hiezer prisoner of use, unnaturally talented at killing, insane, and coined the “Mentis Shade,” he is debatably the deadliest person (though some would argue Lesh) currently walking the earth. At eleven years of age, he carved out his brother’s eyes and set his parents aflame, earning him a home in solitary confinement for most of his days. He bides his time with the conjured sound of orchestra playing in his head, counting the seconds until he is called on again to slay. But that stint is over; his sentence has been served thanks to the second coming of the Quake, and now he wanders free.

  Aldarian (deceased) – Sabin’s father, Blague’s oldest friend, and the undercover leader of the Templos Rogues. He abandoned all connections to his life and hid half-way across the world to drink himself into an early grave. But death didn’t want him. His grandkids drew him out from the shadows and back into the only thing he was good at besides drinking - strategic planning for the Rogues. Blague kept his secret, until Aldarian revealed himself to his son in his dying days. Sabin erupted at the betrayal, both his friend’s and his father’s. But Aldarian worked to make amends, until the moment his heart gave out.

  Al (deceased) – Sabin’s nephew. A captain within the Templos Rogue ranks. Energetic, brazen, and buzzing with his uncle’s wit, his life was cut short on a Hiezer sting to thwart the rebellion.

  Tessna (deceased) – Sabin’s niece. A captain within the Templos Rogue ranks. Ambitious and selfless to the end, her life was stolen by Volaina while undercover as a Hiezer.

  Coe Delrick – Overseer in the Templos Rogue rebellion. Hardened, stoic, and weathered beyond his years, he mourns the deaths of Sabin’s kin, and fights for the lives of his kidnapped relatives. Thought to be the leader of the Rogues, he’s become a prime target for the Hiezers.

  Jayce Dannon – Overseer in the Templos Rogue rebellion. A lust for fire with a short fuse of his own makes for a deadly combination. Equipped with a flaming harpoon, he stands watch beside the helm, skeptical of outsiders.

  Vleece Manas – Overseer in the Templos Rogue rebellion. Brawny and bald, she charges into battle wielding a two-handed hammer. In her mind, every bludgeoned victim is one step closer to rescuing her mother from the ruthless Hiezers.

  Endok – The Sin scientist and a valued member of the rebellion. His sharp mind helped to identify the first real leverage the Sins had seen since they’d stumbled into the fight - an Ayelan capsule. He worked to split the chemical and keep his people alive. Close counsel to Blague on all things logical and outlandish, he thirsts for knowledge of the world’s anomalies.

  Melissa Brink – Champion of the Dactuars. She sits at the head of the Tribunal, a select group of judicators, to hear cases and act as the wall to climb over before being inducted into the first elite sanction of the hierarchy. Once revered in battle, two soldiering bodies still heed her calls, remaining faithful to their Champion - the Dactuar Crescent and the Vacal Wings. They march behind her giant shield since it’s clear the Hiezers have turned their backs on their faithful citizens. Now, thanks to Biljin’s leap of faith, they follow the Sins to redemption.

  Nemura – The ruthless jester. Vile and punishing, he comes alive in the face of others’ pain. He betrayed the Sins and cost them innocent lives, only to be turned over by his new faction, the Aura.

  Knowing he was a false token of good faith kept him laughing all the way to Asura’s betrayal, and to the side of victory once more.

  Narene – A loving nurse. Upon laying eyes on the somber sniper, Eugene, there was an instant connection. Over time, they grew closer and wound up spending nights in each other’s arms. That is, until a ghost from his past returned to flip the tables.

  Jeck Stone – A loyal Hiezer of the High Council, he advises on the Sin rebellion after being rescued from their captivity.

  Alek (Exdian, deceased) – A highlord of the Hiezers, he often found himself at odds with Mulderan’s decisions, and worked to make sure all orders were adequately challenged… until Mulderan snapped his neck.

  Veer (Exdian) – A highlord of the Hiezers who is respected for his reason, he proves to be a valuable member of the council.

  Uldan – A builder shipped off to Bulchevin. Tasked with armoring an untrained crew of Sins and preparing them for a battle led by Lito, he helped to win their new home.

  Wes – A brutal Hiezer quartermaster who runs into battle heavy with armor and without the usual armaments; his fists are the weapons of choice.

  Part I

  The Earth Shaker

  Chapter 1

  Terror plagued the crowded fortress. Walls vibrated for hours, days on end. No matter where they turned, fixtures rattled, wagons rolled out from their snug alcoves, and furniture was chucked from higher floors. Sins were lifted and dropped as if on a rug being shaken clean. It was madness. The earth simply would not stop thundering beneath them.

  And every lull in tremors was a tease, leaving nothing but a spectacle of traumatized dwellers. People on all fours, hair a mess, quivering, faces wet with tears and bile, all of whom were unable to accept that the ground had stilled. Tightly shut eyes refused to open… because it was like being forever drunk. No amount of vomit, no amount of water, nothing could stop the world from spinning. All they could do was hold one another, to provide some semblance of support. Ironclad grip around loved ones couldn’t be undone.

  Seconds of silence passed, then minutes. Finally, a shred of hope peeked through dizzy vision. Nervous laughter and reserved smiles. Could it be?

  Then a whipping crack sparked the next round. Onward the carousel went, and a collective moan echoed inside the mansion’s walls in protest once more. The sound was eerie, like a hymn being sung by dying drunkards. But no one could hear them. Mother nature simply did not care, because the maddening rumble resumed in full force. Shockwaves tested sanity.

  Through all of it though, one collective idea piqued past fear, one thought pushed through their vibrating skulls: a reminder that they were still alive. Even after the ground ruptured beneath them and waves as high as mountains dug up the shore and clawed to consume the Senation homes, the fortresses continued to stand, valiantly enduring nature’s trial.

  Another hour or so until the next lull.

  Lesh peered forward, walking tall with two boys at her back and a one-handed Southerner at her side. Dark-rimmed eyes offered no pity for the cowering souls in the main hall, only grit for what she had set out to do. Her march was purposeful. She had a mind to heed Farah’s call for help from Death Valley as was once done for her.

  Preparations had been made out back days earlier - to preserve their armada at the first sign of thunder at their feet. Now they were left to wonder if Hiezer technology would hold true, if seized Ordinate anchors would keep the submerged ships intact under the ocean’s wrench.

  It was suicide to leave now, though, and all of them knew it. But every passing moment of the Quake’s wrath diminished the chances of Lesh keeping her promise. And for her crew waiting out back, disobeying their commander was a fate less questionable than death.

  She roamed the enclosure in search for counsel, and thankfully the distraught crowd had wits enough to part from her path. Finally, over the clutter of useless exiled bodies, she glimpsed the Sin Leader, who appeared tall and bright among the somber bunch.

  T
here he stood – arms folded at his chest, neck hunched, likely dealing with the pain the best he could. Perhaps he was trying to uphold some kind of vigor amid a storm, like a captain for his ship. His mates beside him attempting to do the same: an eager Champion and an impatient genius.

  “I’m surprised this planet, here, hasn’t cracked in two,” Morn’s voice quivered.

  Blague and the others turned to face them, their mannerisms meant to maintain some sort of equilibrium – arms used as balancing beams by Biljin and Melissa. But not Blague… it was clear by his blank stare and closed up body language that he was far away, in some meditative haven.

  “The first Quake had the same roars, like a storm was ransacking the mantle beneath us. An underground tornado that could rip through solid rock… can you imagine?” Blague shook his head. “It felt as strange then as it does now.” His eyes turned to Lesh.

  He seems different. More resolute, like he’s found something he’s been looking for. Good… good, because we can’t afford any more mental breakdowns, oh fearless leader, and no way in hell I’ll be the one babysitting these hopeless civilians in all that’s to come.

  A deafening bellow rang deep from within the ground, causing more groans to escape the groveling Sins. A split-second later, the ground jerked, testing everyone’s stability once again.

  “The first Quake claimed billions, cutting our population in two in the span of a week,” Blague said, regaining composure. “And likely will cut us in two again. Think of all those who aren’t protected by Ordinate walls… think of all of the lineages wiped from existence. That’s what our Mother takes from us now.”

  Melissa, Champion of the Dactuars, rested armored hands over her shield for control. “It didn’t have to be this way, you all know. There was room for all of us in there, but the Hiezers chose to sit pretty and alone behind the Gates of Eternity, shunning us like insects, while we, the rest of the world, all of those they promised to protect, are left to squander. Unforgivable.”

  Biljin’s face twisted in annoyance. “Are you truly surprised? The writing was on the wall for decades. Are all of the Dactuars in such dire need for remedial teaching?” he challenged his new ally.

  Just then, a loud thump sounded at the fortress doors, startling the guards into ready position, begging the commanders and crew to turn in puzzlement. Everyone wondered what unworldly entity could be wandering outside now, in the midst of Armageddon.

  A sole strike startled them once more, the sealed entranceway pounding inward. Imaginations flew off the rails – a monster? Deserters from Clestice seeking refuge? What?

  Blague inched closer with a furrowed brow, gently pushing down on the large lever and proceeding to crack open the door. A moment of hesitation unfurled, uneasiness spreading as the planet’s muffled cries became clear.

  Lesh hugged herself, reaching for two south-side knives strapped to the ring on her back. Dizzy fighters lifted their rifles into place, and the Champion raised her shield. They were ready for the devil, then found anything but.

  The Sin Leader drew open the tall construct to reveal a man wrapped in dirt-stained cloths and eyes that reflected the clouded sky. Biljin and Endok were both drawn to the world beyond the mysterious man, while the rest were fixated on Blague’s father.

  “The shockwaves will ease,” Orin said, making his way into the mansion.

  Melissa stared at the man who’d rescued her troop from the red smoke just a battle ago. “How can you be so sure?”

  Orin lifted a hand to present what lurked behind him. “Flares have broken through the mantle. That was the grand finale of the Global Quake years ago, I am sure this will be the same. Feast with your own eyes.”

  The two scientists lingered, watching with marvel while arched waves of yellow plasma ripped through the ground and sped into the atmosphere.

  “Only the centermost layers of the planet could cause such a phenomenon. The earth’s unstable core likely reached some sort of limit,” Endok hypothesized. “And these fissures… they must be shattering the tectonic plates as we speak.”

  “Is this the planet’s heart murmuring, or failing, I wonder?” Biljin added.

  Orin turned to face his son, and on cue, there was silence. Sin fighters manning the entrance slammed the door shut. It seemed even the planet had awaited his message.

  “I meant to take Asura from this world,” Orin admitted. “She grows like a cancer, similar to your brother.”

  “What stopped you?” Blague asked.

  “The resistance of a familiar face. I peered through the clouds of crimson to see a demon I had encountered on our trip to the island of Vicissitude.” Orin folded his arms into his cloths. “It mattered not how many times I cut him down… he only continued to reform, and still does to this day. Another head to the cancer, my son.”

  “Jason…? Jason Brink?” Blague couldn’t believe the name as he voiced it.

  “That would be the one.”

  The Champion nearly lost grip of her shield, eyes narrowing in confusion, almost sure she’d heard a name that had long been forgotten. “Excuse me gentlemen, but why did you just speak the name of my brother?”

  She was ignored, not from rudeness, but from the sheer shock this information bestowed.

  Blague disengaged eye contact, thinking back to the Aura’s invasion, and to Eugene’s ultimate betrayal. He quickly pieced together the puzzle. “It all makes sense now. Eugene has been overthrown in his own body…”

  The Champion fidgeted impatiently inside her armor, making it clink in place. “Red smoke, preserved life, Cryos weapons, and now my brother returns from the dead? Biljin, what alternate reality have you taken me to?”

  “A reality without veils,” Biljin responded.

  “I know not of your past, Melissa, but your brother is not the man he once may have been. He is a terrible threat to this world,” Orin assured.

  “Hmph, I guess we’ve both been blessed with adoring siblings,” Blague commented.

  “So what happens now?” Lesh was eager to get to the bottom line.

  Orin turned his head away from the group, his white hair fluttering from the vibrations at his feet. He contemplated the next best course of action, and finally deemed it so. “We will journey to the Society, my son, and we will compel them to encore their study of the crimson smoke. We can no longer afford to be naive to its will.”

  Straining at the thought, the Sin Leader’s fanned scars peeked from his sleeveless combat wear. “Doubtful. They hold strict to their code.”

  “Yet somehow you have lured them from their cave,” Orin said, keeping a curious eye on Blague while turning to dismiss himself from the group. “When the ground settles for good, we will fly with one of the birds left standing.”

  The gathering disbanded after Orin’s departure. Melissa marched away in frustration, shaking her head at all that was just revealed to her. “That smoke rendered me useless in combat… it paralyzed me, attacked my mind. It feels like I never came out of that fog,” she cooed to herself under her breath.

  The scientists conversed behind her on their way upstairs, deliberating the cause of the earth’s current state.

  And once everyone else had gone, Lesh signaled for her group to await her at the back entrance. There she lingered, forcing herself to recall the abnormalities that the Neraphis presented to her in the Battle for the Dome.

  Blague stared back curiously, patiently waiting for her clinched mouth to spit out the words.

  “I’ve mastered the art of bloodshed. I’ve trained and executed my entire life, with the most talented slaughterers. I was taught to be keen, adaptive to my surroundings. How, after all of that, could I have made such a glaring oversight?” Lesh’s raspy voice cracked on her step closer to him. She grabbed Blague by the elbow and held up his arm, forcing him to look at his glowing tattoo. “Our brands are weapons, and I intend to use them. No, don’t shake your head at me. Maybe Lito would still be alive if we’d known sooner.” She threw Blague’s
arm back in annoyance.

  “We were both blind to it, Lesh,” he bowed his head in sorrow. “Only few know how to harness such a delicacy. It’s only in this strange underworld where these things can be surfaced.”

  “Not anymore. You will wait for my return from Death Valley, and you will take me to this Society,” she demanded, letting her shadowy eyes speak to her ferocity before walking away.

  Blague remained, watching the assassin take a few steps before informing her. “He made it to the Centric Crater before the shockwaves ensued. Even though we had to part ways with a dear friend… Sabin still lives.”

  Lesh halted her step for a moment, then went on to depart alongside her crew.

  The Aura traveled far to the outskirts of the planet, where the arctic winds ruled and desolation, solitude, home all rang true for them. The crimson island. Auront they called it… that’s where their aircrafts slowed to a hover, gathered like a cult around its grail. Pilots let jet engines idle to a purr at their god’s command. Yes, all of their minds were still tethered and ruled by one. Some would say a kind god. They tried to conserve as much fuel as possible in hopes of outlasting the Quake. To rebuild anew. But based on the show, even at high altitude, no one was safe.

  A loud crack, then an insurmountable tear, thunder beneath them. Bodies jumbled to one side of the jet, allowing Asura to get a better view. She, Jason, and every one of their subordinates all gawked in disbelief – a tire mark of blackened abyss suddenly expanded deep into the horizon like the whole world was caving into itself, parting the ocean on either side, threatening the sanctity of their precious homeland. But there was more immediate danger at this moment, because as the mouth of the planet stretched into a toothless smile, cool sparks of electricity bolted from the dark depths, startling the Aura members back from their watchful embrace.