Page 1 of Asmodel

Chapter One

TheAkurnscience/miningoperationin South Africa, circa 5000 BCE

An earth-shattering boom erupted, causing the very ground beneath Asmodel’s feet to convulse violently. He pinwheeled his arms, then put his back against the wall to hang on. Even with his knees bent, the turbulence made it hard to stand upright. Debris from the adobe room rained down from the ceiling onto him as the stench of seared metal mixed with smoky ozone that burned his nose. Wide-eyed, he glanced at his three brothers, who were also scrambling to stay upright in the violent earthquake.

Arakiba was flung face-first onto the dirt floor, his blond hair flying loose from its tight queue.

Azazel floated above the ground from the cross-legged position he’d been in on the floor.

As for Abalim, their dark-skinned brother stood tall with his arms crossed, glaring out the tiny prison window as he rode out the next wave of blasts with his knees bent and a frown creasing his full lips.

“What thefrukis that?” Arakiba pushed up from the floor.

An earsplitting whine pierced the air, followed by a blast of heat as the ground viciously rumbled.

Asmodel raised an arm to protect his eyes from the dust and chunks of the roof that continued to fall around them.

Cracks in the dusty ground ripped apart, creating a vast chasm in the middle of the room.

“Goddessdamn it! ThatzihuiPrince Murduk must be attacking!” Abalim’s voice rose against the noise. “We’ve got to get to theZikiaright now!”

“But that ship isn’t ready…” Asmodel didn’t finish his sentence. Caught and yanked into a teleportation stream, he hurtled until he landed outside the lab compound where he and his brothers had lived as prisoners.

The ground outside wasn’t any better than the inside. A massive earthquake ramped up between laser blasts from the Akurn ship swooping through the air and aiming its massive weapons at the surrounding buildings, disintegrating them into a cloud of silt and fine dust.

Under Asmodel’s feet, the ground tore apart, and he leaped to the other side. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his older brother, Adapa, running to the ship's hangar with a tight grip on his lover, Inanna’s, hand. The man sprinted so fast, the poor woman had to run double-time.

“There!” Asmodel raised a finger at their retreating brother on the far side of the compound as he and Inanna entered the open hangar door where the spaceshipZikiawaited for them.

“We’ll never make it in time!” Arakiba shouted.

“We’ve got to try.” Abalim turned to run, but Azazel grabbed his brother’s forearm before he moved.

“Wait.” Azazel spoke in his normal soft tone, regardless of the mayhem surrounding them. “Adapa must’ve already started the ship by now.”

A massive, thunderous noise rumbled and shook the ground harder.

Asmodel and his three brothers fell to the ground as a savage earthquake shook them. A mind-numbing roar became louder and more chaotic, like a continuous thundercloud touching Earth.

“By Tiamat’s titties, what was that?” Arakiba wobbled as he swayed when the ground beneath his feet rumbled.

“We’re out of time,” Azazel’s voice quivered. His normally calm demeanor was long gone. “Quick, everyone in a circle now.”

No one said a word as they formed a small circle. In unison, they tilted their heads back and closed their eyes, with their hands at their sides, palms facing forward.

Asmodel sensed the psychic heat gathering in the middle of the circle as their psionic energy merged in power. Even without Adapa’s commanding presence, their combined forces should be enough.

“Envision the interior cargo bay of theZikiaand I’ll teleport us there. Hurry, my brothers, our future depends on it.” Azazel's soft tone rose in inflection as the background noise boomed closer.

Asmodel took a sharp breath as the teleportation started by Azazel tore him apart. His consciousness remained intact while the rest of him splintered into an infinite number of molecules before getting slammed into his cohesive form once again. He opened his eyes, his head still tilted back so all he saw was the metal roof of theZikia’scargo hold. He released the breath he held.

“Thank the goddess we made it.” Arakiba whooshed out a breath, planting his palms on his upper thighs.

“See, Adapa? I told you to stop nagging. We were just outside.” Abalim crossed his arms and widened his stance as he glared at their elder brother.

Adapa sat on the floor in the middle of their circle next to Princess Inanna.

“Abalim?”

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