Ebony Lion

Chapter 8: Revelations

                        Long ago

Dante quickly packed the rest of his equipment into his bag. He had to hurry, because if he was late Demetri would skin him alive. "Talia, have you seen my carving knife?" He called out. A beautiful woman with long light brown hair and a slightly extended belly entered the room with a Pearl handle knife in a leather sheath. "You left it on floor along with a generous pile of wood chips for me to clean." She said as she kissed his cheek. "Forgive me my love, I will clean it upon my return. I want you to rest, how are you feeling?" He said as he placed his hand lovingly on her stomach. "I'm fine dear, you worry too much. When it is I who am concerned for you. Must you leave?" "I'm sorry but I must. This will be my final mission before I am finally accepted into the inner circle. Meaning no more grunt work, and no more dangerous missions that will keep me away from you and our child." The baby kicked in Talia's stomach. "Did you feel that?" Dante asked excitedly. "Yes it seems our child is excited at the opportunity to spend more time with you." Talia said with a smile. "Then she and I are in agreement, but I must go. Demetri is doing all he can to hinder my efforts." "Then go my love. We will be waiting for you on your return." He kissed her softly on the lips, then ran out of the house.

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"Dante! Secure those trunks properly in the netting! I'll not have you bungling my mission before it has even began. The rest of you make sure your weapons are secure. You don't want to lose them on the drop." Said Demetri harshly. He was in command of a covert team, on a drop plane over the coast of Namibia. Their mission was to procure an ancient artifact that the locals called Izinyo leNgonyama, translated as the Lions tooth. "Sixty seconds to drop!" Yelled Demetri over the roar of the engine and rushing winds as the cargo bay door opened. The two supply crates were the first to go, seconds before the final countdown. "3. 2. 1. Go go go!" Commanded Demetri. The team leaped from the plane one after another plummeting to the land below. At 1200 feet Dante opened his chute. As he floated down he took in the view of the land, it was just after dusk and it was beautiful. The forest just off the coast with it's lush green vegetation was in stark contrast to the red dunes and desert sands that lie beyond. The team landed a few feet from their supply drop. They wrapped their chutes and took the supplies they would need from the supply crates. There where six men in total. "I'll take point. I want two man teams behind me, Dante you bring up the rear. Our Intel says the artifact is in a cave within a rock formation half a klick away. I want all of you alert, this is said to be Inkanyamba territory." Said Demetri. The Inkanyamba were vicious serpent-like creatures with the head of a zebra. Legends said that the violent seasonal storms in the area were cause by Inkanyamba's anger, and anyone that disturbed it's slumber invited it's wrath in the form of heavy rains, tornadoes and floods. The men were cautious as they journeyed the distance through the forest but met with little resistance, other than the occasional wild boar which usually ran away in their presence. As they reached a clearing they saw a large pond that ended at a rock wall. There was a single opening at it's base that the water made it's way into. This was the only water source that they had come upon, but strangely there was very little sign that many animals ventured here. "That must be it, let's go." Said Demetri as he ordered the men into the waist deep water. Dante noticed a rather large slide trail in the mud going into the water. "Demetri, it appears there may be crocodiles in these waters. Perhaps we should deploy the raft. Said Dante. "I have no time for your cowardice Windsor. You may have the council's ear but I know you are not worthy to join the inner circle. If you attempt to undermine me or disobey my orders again I will kill you where you stand." While Dante did not fear Demetri, he knew that Demetri still had some sway within the inner circle. He couldn't risk the opportunity for a better life with Talia for his or Demetri's ego. So he said nothing more. The men made their way through the water with Demetri in the lead and Dante in the rear. Halfway through something grabbed one man and pulled him under, and then another. "What the hell! Yelled Demetri as he fired his crossbow randomly into the cloudy water. One of the the men's head popped up from the water with just enough time for him to yell help, before he was pulled under again and for the last time. Demetri ran through the water leaving his team behind. "Quickly, to the cave!" Dante yelled to the two remaining men. They made a mad dash for the cave in an attempt to escape the deadly waters. As they entered into the cave the water level dropped from waist deep to knee high. Demetri was inside bent over, trying to catch his breath with a panicked look in his eyes. Dante struck a flair which immediately illuminated the dark cave. The two other men followed suit. The cave was about twenty feet wide and went back deeper than their flairs could illuminate. "What do we do now?" One of the men asked. "We should stay close together and explore deeper into the cave. We must find the artifact, or the deaths of our teammates will have been in vain." Said Dante. "You are not in command of this mission Windsor." Demetri said as he finally pulled himself together. "You stay here and guard the entrance." He pointed at one of the men. "The rest of us will explore the cave." The men looked to each other unsure of Demetri's command but ultimately did what they were told. The three men went deeper into the cave, the wind at their backs. There was a smell of something rotting, and it got worse the further they went. "Leave this place mortals." A whispered voice hissed as it echoed off the cave walls. "Who's there?" Said Demetri visibly shaken, looking from left to right. There was no answer. "Windsor take point." Demetri commanded moving himself to the rear of the group. They continued on with Dante in the lead. The cave opened up into a large chamber, and in the center raised up on a dais was a sword embedded in a human skull. "There it is." Said Demetri excitedly as he pushed Dante out of the way and headed towards the sword. "Foolish mortals." A voice hissed, reverberating off walls causing the chamber to shake. "You seek what is beyond your grasp, and it will lead you to death." Out of nowhere a mini tornado formed between Demetri and the sword. As it died down what was left in it's place was a giant black snake with the head of a zebra. Panicked from the sight of the creature, Demetri fired a shot from his crossbow. The creature slithered to the side and a gust of wind threw Demetri back into a wall. "Go for the sword, I'll try to distract it." Dante said to his remaining teammate. "Over here beast!" Dante yelled as he ran to the left waving his hands in the air. His teammate ran to the right, hoping to circle around the beast and grab the sword. The creature slithered slowly towards Dante and looked at him quizzically. "You think to defy the Gods? I see your future mortal you will regret coming here this day." Dante's teammate had come around and was about to reach the dais when the creature reached out with it's tail and wrapped him in death grip like a python. It brought the man around for Dante to see as it squeezed the life out of the man. "No!" Dante yelled in anguish as he ran toward the beast with his tomahawk in hand. The beast created a wind vortex that lifted Dante into the air and sucked all the oxygen from his vicinity. Demetri finally pulled himself together in time to witness the creature discard the lifeless body of the man it had squeezed to death, and to see Dante floating in the air gasping for breath. Terrified Demetri turned tail and fled from the cave. Visions of Talia flooded Dante's mind as his life flashed before his eyes. He couldn't leave her, not yet. He channeled all of his ch'i and fired it in the form of a lightning bolt at the stalactites on the roof of the cave. Several dislodged and fell upon the beast, one piercing it's neck. Dante dropped to the ground, filling his lungs with life giving air. The creature lay pinned to the ground, the life draining out of it. Dante removed his carving knife from it's sheath on his waist and plunged it through the beast's eye and into it's brain, ending it's misery for good. Then he walked to the dais and dislodged the sword from the skull it was embedded in. He looked it over, it was a pristine Damascus Katana that hummed with energy. He fastened the sword to his back and left the cave. At the entrance Demetri and the remaining teammate had deployed the life raft and were preparing to leave when Dante stepped out of the darkness. "I thought you said they were dead sir." The remaining teammate said. "Quiet!" Demetri said, angry and embarrassed at his own cowardice. He looked upon Dante and noticed he had the sword. "Give me the artifact." He commanded. Reluctantly, Dante relinquished the sword to him. They radioed for evac and within hours they were back at the headquarters of the Ninth circle. The three men met with the Council of elders to give an account of the mission. Demetri took all the credit for leading his men safely through the jungle, saving his men from vicious crocodiles and defeating the legendary Inkanyamba. Dante stood silently content to let Demetri revel in his lies. "Excuse me Elders but that's not what happened. It was Dante who warned us of the dangers of the pond and Demetri would not listen, and it was also Dante that defeated the Inkanyamba and retrieved the Lion's tooth." Said the third team member. "Why you mutinous little piss ant how dare you..." "Enough Demetri." Said a council Elder halting Demetr's tiraid. "Is this true Dante?" Asked an Elder. "Yes Elder." Dante said simply. "It seems we were correct in considering you for the Inner circle. You have more than earned your place. Demetri you should be ashamed, belittling your subordinates and taking credit where it is not due. We will talk to you privately. You two are dismissed, good job." The Elder said to Dante and his teammate.

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Dante arrived home to the smell of something wonderful cooking on the stove. Talia had made stir fried rice with chicken and vegetables as well as shrimp toast, Dante's favorite. He wrapped her gently in his arms and kissed her passionately. As they sat down to dinner he told her of his mission and his assured seat on the Inner circle. "That is wonderful my love. Having you home will ease the worry from my mind. I cannot begin to imagine what I would do if I were to ever lose you." Said Talia. "You have no need to fear my Angel. Hades himself could not keep me from you. We will be together forever." That night as they slept wrapped in each other's arms there was a loud banging on their door. "Who could that be at this ungodly hour?" Said Dante as he rose from the bed. "Maybe something is wrong." Said Talia as she sat up rubbing her eyes. "Go back to sleep my love, I will see to it." Said Dante as he left the bedroom and went to the front door. He opened the door and there stood Demetri. "You have ruined me! Constantly undermining my authority, disobeying my orders, and calling me a liar in front of the Council! Because of you I have been removed from the circle!" "Demetri, it is late, and you are the cause of your problems not me. I suggest you take this time to reflect, now good night." Dante began to close the door but Demetri pushed it open. "No! I told you what would happen if you crossed me, now that time has come! Demetri pulled out the Lion's tooth from behind his back. He swung but Dante jumped back avoiding the attack. "What's going on?" Said Talia stepping out from the bedroom. "Talia stay back!" Said Dante. "I will kill you!" Said Demetri hysterically as he swung again, this time slicing Dante's arm and leaving a deep gash. "Dante!" Yelled Talia as she ran towards Dante. Just as Demetri thrusted forward with the blade Talia stepped in front of Dante taking the blade into her chest. "Talia, no!" Screamed Dante taking her in his arms. "She was foolish to stand between us, but worry not you will join her soon." Demetri said. Dante was furious with grief. He lost all sense of his surroundings as his eyes began to glow bright red. The walls began to tremble and the floor began to shake. "What's going on?" Said Demetri nervously. When suddenly his right arm broke at the elbow followed by his left. Then his back bent backwards at an impossible angle as he fell to the ground screaming, and his legs folded up his sides towards his head. Dante stood above him with Talia in his arms, dark energy radiating from his body and fury in his eyes. Then Demetri's body burst into flames. "I will bring you back to me my love."