Eye of Balor: Wrath of the Old Gods (Young Adult), #3

By John Triptych

The Fomorian war reaches a stunning climax in the sixth overall book in the Wrath of the Old Gods series.

Steve Symonds is back. And this time, the odds against him have never been greater. What was to be a routine rescue mission turns into disaster when Steve and his allies uncover an alliance of mythical proportions: one that is about to be unleashed upon their supposed safe haven in Valhalla.

Betrayed and exiled to the dreaded Aztec underworld of Mictlan, Steve must use his wits and tenacity to escape the latest trap that his enemies have sprung upon him. All that stands between ultimate victory by the demonic Fomorians is a 13-year old boy- can he succeed when even the gods have failed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Triptych
• Release date: Nov 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540162243

John Triptych

John has varied interests, and his love of everything is reflected in genre-busting novels ranging from real world thrillers all the way to mind blowing science fiction. A consummate researcher, he derives great pleasure and satisfaction when it comes to full spectrum world building and creating offbeat characters based on the real life people he meets in his travels. Website: https://ko-fi.com/johntriptych VIP mailing list: http://eepurl.com/bK-xGn

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Since the narrator of this story is from the United Kingdom, certain words will have a different spelling as well as meaning when compared to the same words written in US English.

One should not inquire too closely where ancient legends about the gods are concerned; many things which reason rejects acquire some color of probability once you bring a god into the story.

-Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander

Chapter 1

Colonel Ewan Bodie slammed his hand down on the thick oaken table in front of him. This is absolutely outrageous. We cannot just depend on a thirteen-year-old boy to save us from these hordes of monsters! The military must take a more active role in leading this war.

My dad couldn’t stand it any longer. Amid the cacophony of whistles and protests, he stood up and waved his arms around, gesticulating for the others to be quiet. Might I remind you, Colonel, the only reason why you’re here with us right now is because of this thirteen-year-old boy that you are maligning! he said, glancing at me.

I looked down onto the floorboards, feeling somewhat embarrassed. A crowd of people gathered just outside the meeting hall to hear about the discussion. I must admit, it felt like one of those televised debates in parliament that my parents would sit through, only this time we were talking about much more important matters, like how to take back our country while sitting around in one of the many hallways of Valhalla. The government liked to call this a COBR, which stood for Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms—the kind of high-level meetings that would have been set up in underground bunkers in the event of a national crisis, but Dad and Gareth had insisted that everyone should be able to hear what was being discussed. A few months had passed since I was able to rescue a fair number of people using the black mirror of Tezcatlipoca, and transport them into the safety of this otherworldy dimension. Valhalla was once the abode of the Valkyries, angel-like beings who served the Norse gods, and they chose the most valiant warriors and transported them to these very halls after they had died on Earth, in order to wait until the final battle of Ragnarok. Since the Norse gods never reappeared on Earth, unlike the other pagan deities, I figured that this world would serve as a safe haven for the people that I was able to rescue from the Fomorians.

Lord Billington raised his hand before standing up from his chair. Unlike the others, he was wearing his peer’s robes that he once sauntered around parliament in. Mr. Symonds, I am sure that we are all very grateful for what your son has done, and we are not disparaging his courageous accomplishments whatsoever. All we are suggesting in this discussion is the possibility of a more streamlined structure—a chain of command, if you will. After all, your son operates alone, and if anything were to happen to him, then we will not only lose our only way of ever returning to the United Kingdom, but we shall also lose our only weapon against these so-called Fomorians.

Gareth Urquhart had been sitting beside me, but he too raised his hand and stood up in order to be heard. What Steve has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous. He has done it on his own, and without any guidance from anyone. There are now over a hundred thousand inhabitants in this safe haven of ours, and there is no doubt in my belief that Steve will continue to strengthen our position here. I see no reason why this arrangement needs to change.

Colonel Bodie shook his head. The current ways of doing things will simply not do. This lad, he said, pointing at me, has done well, but most of the people he has rescued are ordinary civilians. He needs to recover more of our friends in the military, so we can build up a force that can retake the country from those foul beasts. We need arms, we need supplies and we need vehicles. But most importantly, we need more soldiers!

The entire room erupted in chaos again. Catcalls, whistles and sarcastic insults were hurled from just about every corner. Gareth’s daughter Erin was standing by the door and acted as both an usher and guard in case things got rowdy, and she had to stand in the open entryway in order to block a large number of angry people from entering.

The Bishop of London was the only other member of the House of Lords that I had rescued so far, and he too stood up. There must also be a concerted effort to rescue the royal family. Our last intelligence reports before London fell place most of them in Scotland, along with our prime minister and his cabinet. We need to get our government back so that we can have some real leadership for once!

My dad leapt up from his chair. I could tell he was very angry since his fists were clenched tightly. You talk about leadership? Where was the prime minister when the Fomorians rolled into London? He was being evacuated, that’s where! We had to get by ourselves! For shame!

The military was trying its best to evacuate the city, but the Fomorians moved too quickly, and we couldn’t even slow them down, Colonel Bodie said.

If the military couldn’t stop them then, what makes you think they will stop them now? Gareth said.

Heidi Hill held both her hands up in the air to indicate that she needed to be heard. She was from the constituency of Salisbury, and the only member of the House of Commons that I had rescued so far. All these pronouncements are really getting us nowhere. I think it’s best that we all hear from young Steve as to how he would proceed, and then we can debate his points in a more orderly manner, she said while giving me a smile. Steve, what do you think our current course of action should be?

I’m not really sure, to be honest, I said meekly. I just try and get to whoever I can see in the black mirror.

A few gasps were uttered and incredulous looks were shared all around. Heidi held her hand up and glanced at everyone to make sure they kept quiet. Steve, are you telling us that it is the mirror which is telling you what to do?

I shook my head. No, it doesn’t work like that. You see, when I look into the mirror, I am sometimes able to look at what is happening in England, and if I notice anyone who I can get a hold of and bring back here, then I do so.

Colonel Bodie’s eyes narrowed. So you’re guided more or less by your instincts, then?

I nodded. Now they were getting the picture. Sort of. Yes.

Heidi leaned forward while looking straight into my eyes. Is there a way you can get that mirror of yours to work for you, say, if you had a photograph of the prime minister, would you be able to locate him and his cabinet, then bring them all back here?

I shrugged. I hadn’t thought about it. I guess it could be possible.

Lord Billington rolled his eyes. This is exactly the reason why we need to establish a chain of command. This lad does not have the experience for new ideas, or how to prioritize the ones that need to be rescued. We need someone with a more practical knowledge on how to deal with this problem.

It was now Gareth’s turn to get angry as he stood up. Now wait just a minute. Can you please tell me, Lord Billington, who has any practical experience on how to use a magical mirror that can transport groups of people across countless dimensions?

My dad wanted to have a go too, so he stood up right before Gareth could sit back down. Let us be clear and remember one very important fact. My son is the only one who can use the mirror because he was chosen by Tezcatlipoca. If the mirror was to be given to anyone else in this entire settlement, then it would not work. So to even pursue this line of thinking is utterly ludicrous.

No one is suggesting that we take the mirror away from your son, Mr. Symonds, Heidi said calmly. All we are looking at is perhaps an additional layer of coordination, so that the right decisions can be made as to how to proceed with this war.

The Bishop of London stood up. And how do we know that this god Tezcatlipoca can even be trusted? I have done my own readings on the background of this Aztec god and he is a monster, an otherworldly being that is as terrible as the Fomorians. These Aztecs engage in human sacrifice and very nearly conquered the Americans.

Heidi glanced over in my direction once again. While the others mostly talked as if I wasn’t even present, she went out of her way to ask me questions directly. It was something that I appreciated. Steve, has this mirror ever commanded you to do things that you feel were not right in any way?

A part of me wanted to tell them all about the time that I transported an American shaman to the great temple in the heart of the Aztec empire, in order for him to do battle against the avatar of Xipe Totec, but I had this feeling that it would arouse instant suspicion since I never told anyone about it before. Gareth and Erin suspected I was up to something since I had returned from that journey in an exhausted state, but I quickly changed the subject when they brought it up with me. The last thing I wanted to happen was for any of them to lose any confidence in my judgment. No, I said softly.

Heidi noticed that I looked away when I answered her and was instantly suspicious. Gareth also gave me a skeptical glance, but he said nothing. The whole room seemed to have suddenly gone quiet. It was as if many of them were afraid that if I had said something else, then it would have opened a Pandora’s box of all new problems and concerns.

Colonel Bodie tapped his fingers on the table. Speaking of our cousins from the other side of the pond, wasn’t there an American girl who visited you here some days ago?

I nodded. Yes, her name is Tara. She was from Arizona.

Heidi crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. Did she tell you what the situation is in that part of the world?

She was part of a group that was able to stop the Aztecs from advancing, I said. They did take losses though. She told me that two of her friends were killed.

Did she say how the rest of her country is doing? Heidi asked.

Their president was possessed by a demon of some sort, but she was able to cast it out, I believe. They have set up a special task force to try and combat these magical monsters, but I forgot the name of it, I said.

Task Force Omega, Gareth added. The yanks still have most of their government intact and their military can still deploy, though on a very limited basis due to the fact that they incurred massive casualties against the Aztecs.

Did you talk to her as well? Colonel Bodie asked Gareth.

Gareth nodded. I did. For a short time before she left.

Surely you could have asked her to relay a message to request that their government come and help us, Lord Billington said. We have been allies for a long time after all.

Gareth shook his head. The Americans are hard pressed, just like us. They have to deal with a Christian separatist movement in their heartland in addition to the Aztec threat, and a whole lot of other things. I doubt they can send anyone to help us even if they wanted to.

Lord Billington snorted. So all we have is a young boy with a mirror. Can anyone actually tell me how we can achieve a military victory against an endless horde of Fomorians with what we’ve got?

That’s quite enough of that! Dad said. My son may just be thirteen, but he’s overcome even worse odds than when the Jerrys tried to blitz us into oblivion! I am confident we will prevail in this.

Your optimism is noted, Mr. Symonds, Heidi said to him before she looked at me. But we need help. Steve, why did she visit you, and why did she leave?

Tara was searching for her brother, I said. He was killed and she believed she could find him in one of these other dimensions. Tara just happened to be exploring when I met her. She also said that she was going to help a Russian friend find his mum.

Heidi nodded. How was Tara able to travel here to Valhalla? Did she have a magic mirror as well?

I’m not quite sure, I said. She did have the trickster as a companion, so he might have been the one who gave her the ability to travel across other worlds.

Colonel Bodie looked confused. I’m sorry, a what? Did you say trickster?

There was a raven on her shoulder, I said. When I asked her about it, the bird started talking in English. It was apparently some sort of god and it sided with her when all these pagan gods returned to the world.

Gareth placed his hands on the table. The trickster is a very common god in mythological stories. Practically every pantheon in world mythology either has one, or shares a common set of characteristics that define a god as such. The Norse gods had Loki, the Greeks had Hermes and Prometheus, the Celts had Lugh, and the Native Americans had Raven and Coyote. A common trait with tricksters is that they are rebels against the other gods, and would steal their secrets in order to give them to humans. The trickster has also been known to change its form into anything it wished.

Colonel Bodie looked stunned. So the Americans have a god as an ally?

Sort of, I said. When I asked Tara about it, she told me that the trickster wasn’t completely reliable. It would often talk in riddles and stay out of the way when it came to a battle. She seemed to think it was more of a guide than an actual ally.

Lord Billington scratched the back of his head. Well, if there is a way to go about this, then perhaps we ought to talk to some of these other gods and see if any of them could become our allies and help us fight the Fomorians.

Easier said than done, Gareth said. Steve hasn’t encountered any gods as of yet. All that we’ve seen so far in England are either the Fomorians, assorted ghosts, or the faeries.

Perhaps it might be prudent for us to negotiate with the faeries since Steve here has encountered them before, Heidi said while looking at me. What do you think about that suggestion, Steve?

They’re not very trustworthy, Mrs. Hill, I said. Any sort of deal you make is usually not made with the best intentions. They will twist words and renege on promises on the slightest of whims in order to give themselves the advantage.

The Bishop of London let out a very big sigh. He was clearly uncomfortable when talking about these gods. We need to find a way to get the Christian God to answer our calls. We mustn’t be dealing with these other, wicked gods for they are nothing but guises of the devil. Perhaps Steve ought to find a way to communicate with our God using that unholy mirror of his.

Dad looked away and sneered. He was an atheist and proud of it. I remember him having many heated discussions with Mum’s family about religion and whether it was real and all that. I hadn’t really had a talk with him about what he believed in now since the Glooming began though. "We don’t even know if the Christian God even exists, so