Page 190 of Stars in Umbra
The sound of his full name sent a jolt of fire lacing through Mo’s spine.
Still, Mo sensed that the being in front of him was ailing, leaking starlight and motes of gold from his skin, as if he were excoriating one molecule at a time.
‘You’re not well,’ Mo noted, his voice strained.
‘I have eons left before I get snuffed out,’ Sulfiqar scoffed, his utterance a thunderous rumble that was a whisper at the same time. ‘I hold on to my immortality with a vengeance, even though some would like to rip it from me. Which is why I am grateful for your mother’s efforts in keeping you alive for such a time as this.’
‘How dare you speak of -.’
Sulfiqar interjected with a raised palm. ‘Your mother, Sayonna Ikjhaol Mithandri Iqal, was one of my most favored concubines. However, she got kicked from heaven and fell to the planets below when the Deific Council found out about our affair and her pregnancy with you. The scandal was so immense that I had to let you both go.’
Mo’s heart hammered against his ribs like a war drum.
His anger built, a red-hot fury that threatened to consume him. ‘What do you want?’ he growled.
‘To reconnect with my son.’
‘Bullshit,’ Mo shot back, his voice thick with a lifetime of resentment. ‘You had years to do it. Why now?’
‘You see through me. You have theSsignakhtsight, a true Sacran gift,’ Sulfiqar said, a flicker of genuine appreciation in his gaze. ‘I won’t beat around the proverbial bush. I require your assistance to take back Sivania.’
‘You what?’
‘I need you to regain my sovereignty. A colluding pair of high deity gods betrayed me and flung me down from the heavens. Now I must return. You will fight for me in this cause. You and your brother.’
‘Myfokkin’ what?’ Mo asked, the words catching in his throat, heart pounding.
‘Naam,Simi’Ren. He, too, got cast down in disgrace, but he will soon be free. Together, the three of us will storm the seventh heaven, Sivania, and we will retake my throne, which belongs to me. You and he have powers that might even eclipse mine.’
He paused and tilted his head as if a curious thought hit him. ‘Tis the irony of an affair baby; sometimes it amps up the abilities you inherit.’
‘Fokkoff, I don’t know you,’ Mo snarled, his built-up rage stripping away all of his civility. ‘I’m not interested in your little plan. I have a woman and child to focus on.’
A thin, cold smile stretched across Sulfiqar’s face. ‘Ah, but you were trained for this. I paid Thrall well to hone your skills, for such a time as this.’
Mo’s mind reeled. He whirled, close to losing his senses in the dizzying vortex of anger and betrayal. ‘Thrall did mention you crossed paths. He says you pointed me and my abilities out to him.’
‘Indeed,’ Sulfiqar said with a casual air. ‘I paid him well so he’d whip you into shape as a mercenary, a soldier, and an assassin. My precog visions told me it would come in handy one day. He made poor choices, trying to come up against you and these so-called Riders you cherish. I care nought for them, just that when the time comes, in a year to two by humanoid chronology, you will answer the call and come to my aid. You have no choice because you wouldn’t want any harm to come to that precious family of yours now, would you?’
Mo’s vision went red with rage. ‘You wouldn’t dare.’
‘Try me,’ his father said, his tone chillingly calm. ‘Or help me, and you will have your freedom, as soon as I have my throne. Now I must leave before your wife wakes and spots me. Do let her know how radiant she looks carrying my grandchild. I’ll reach out soon.’
With a nonchalant wave, Sulfiqar shimmered away.
The glowing vortex collapsed, and Mo’s body plummeted back to his home like a fallen star.
He crashed back to his feet on the terrace, his body shaking with a primal, white-hot rage. His mind churned, a maelstrom of thoughts and emotions swirling through him.
His father was a living god, a cold, manipulative monster who orchestrated his entire life for this moment.
He’d colluded with Thrall, the man who haunted his past, to mold him into a weapon.
His brother, a stranger with a shared divine bloodline, was out there somewhere.
This was a doomsday scenario, a celestial war waiting to happen, and he was at the center of it.
At some point in the future, he needed to find his brother and devise a strategy to mitigate this impending catastrophe.
