Paternus: Wrath of Gods (The Paternus Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  “Paternus: Wrath of Gods is what a sequel should be -

  bigger stakes, bloodier action, and even more mythological madness.”

  -Fantasy Book Critic

  PRAISE FOR BOOK ONE

  Paternus: Rise Of Gods

  “Epic, innovative urban fantasy. A great read!” -Mark Lawrence, Gemmell Award winner and international bestselling author of Prince of Thorns and Red Sister.

  “An imaginative...exhilarating ride - highly recommended.” -Anthony Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of Blood Song and The Legion of Flame.

  “A crucible in which myths are melted and remade to thrilling effect.” -M. R. (Mike) Carey, author of The Girl with All the Gifts and the Felix Castor series.

  “A really unique novel.” -Anna Stephens, author of Godblind.

  “Intelligent, intricate, suspenseful, and epic.” -Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld.

  “Expansive, ambitious, and engrossing.” -Josiah Bancroft, author of Senlin Ascends.

  “A mighty debut.” -Jonathan French, author of The Grey Bastards.

  “Fast-paced, gloriously intricate” -Kirkus Reviews.

  WRATH OF GODS

  (The Paternus Trilogy, Book 2)

  Paternus Books Media

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  FURTHER READING

  IN THE WORLD OF PATERNUS

  “BERSERKER”

  A stand-alone short story framed as a “missing chapter” from Paternus: Rise of Gods. It tells of the time when Bödvar Bjarki finally met his father, many centuries ago. Kindle eBook available for 99 cents through the title link above, or free by subscribing to the Paternus Books Media Newsletter.

  LOST LORE

  This free fantasy anthology contains “Deluge,” a short backstory in the world of The Paternus Trilogy concerning the adventures of Myrddin Wyllt and Fintán mac Bóchra in ancient Ireland at the time of the Great Flood.

  ART OF WAR: ANTHOLOGY FOR CHARITY

  Includes “Valkyrie Rain,” a short backstory in the world of The Paternus Trilogy that takes place during the great battle of Ragnarok. Forty of your favorite fantasy authors contributed to this anthology. All proceeds go to Doctors without Borders.

  Paternus: Wrath of Gods is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  2018 Paternus Books Media eBook Edition

  Copyright © 2018 by Dyrk Ashton.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Paternus Books Media, DBA

  P.O. Box 1027

  Perrysburg, OH 43552

  www.paternusbooks.com

  Paternus/ Dyrk Ashton. -- 1a3 ed.

  ISBN 9780997173734

  Cover Illustration: John Anthony Di Giovanni

  Cover Design: STK-Kreations

  Author’s Photograph: Lee Fearnside

  To:

  Richard & Harriette Ashton

  Nelson Sr. & Alice Campbell

  Ralph & Maggie Ashton

  And

  Tom Oldham

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  The Story so Far

  The Characters so Far

  Glossary

  Quotes

  PART ONE

  Ch. 1 Wake

  Ch. 2 Chinatown

  Ch. 3 Highlands

  Ch. 4 Chinatown: Slip

  Ch. 5 Highlands: Box Canyon

  Ch. 6 Chinatown: Mac’s Gym

  Ch. 7 Highlands: Slip & See

  Ch. 8 Nagalok

  Ch. 9 Highlands: Mine Eyes

  Ch. 10 Nagalok: Naga’s War

  Ch. 11 Highlands: Poor Fellow-Soldiers

  Ch. 12 Nagalok: Moddey Dhoo

  PART TWO

  Ch. 13 Highlands: The Lake

  Ch. 14 Highlands: Siege Perilous

  Ch. 15 Highlands: Parley

  Ch. 16 Highlands: Bad Zeke

  Ch. 17 Highlands: The Wheel

  PART THREE

  Ch. 18 Norway

  Ch. 19 Norway: Fi’s Big Run

  Ch. 20 Norway: New Vanaheim

  Ch. 21 Norway: The Healing of The Bull

  Ch. 22 Norway: The Mother of Cats & Dogs

  Ch. 23 Norway: Sifu

  Ch. 24 Norway: Maha Yuga

  Ch. 25 Norway: Pratha’s Confession

  Ch. 26 Norway: A Plan

  Ch. 27 Norway: Crickets & Baths

  Ch. 28 Norway: Galahads

  Ch. 29 Norway: Jinn

  Ch. 30 Norway: Paterna

  Epilogue

  Latest News, More Info, Share & Connect

  Further Reading in the World of Paternus

  Songs

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  THE STORY SO FAR

  (WARNING: Book One SPOILERS)

  The story told in book one, Paternus: Rise of Gods, takes place today, in this world, but the veil of normality is gradually peeled back to reveal that the gods and monsters of myth and legend really did exist, all sired by one being, The Father (The Pater), and born of various natural animals throughout the history of life on the planet. They are called Firstborn. Those who sided with their father to protect humankind in ancient wars are the Deva, and those who opposed them, the Asura.

  First, we were introduced to Kabir, a bodyguard in Detroit, who was attacked in an alley by a creature named Maskim Xul (The Spider), also known as Max. In Toledo, Ohio, we then met Fiona Megan Patterson, Fi for short, and her (possible) boyfriend, Zeke Prisco. While talking on the sidewalk outside her uncle’s home where she lives, Fi’s uncle’s enormous dog, Molossus (Mol) showed up. Fi experienced a seizure in which she had a vision of a baby floating in a red ocean on a world with shooting stars and erupting volcanoes.

  Fi had the creepy feeling she was being watched by the moon, but attributed it to her being crazy—which she really wasn’t, just a bit high strung. In the house we were introduced to her stuffy British Uncle Edgar.

  The story shifted to South America, where Baphomet (The Goat), Ao Guang (The Gharial), and Idimmu Mulla (Dimmi for short, The Hyaena) had a run-in with a frightening lizard-beast in a cave—whom we later found out was the legendary Prathamaja Nandana, The First Daughter, one of the oldest of all living Firstborn.

  Meanwhile, in the Mendip Hills of England, a big fellow named Bödvar Bjarki (The Bear) was spotted by Fintán mac Bóchra (The Falcon) trying to find the cave where Myrddin Wyllt (Merlin) had been trapped 1,500 years ago. In subsequent chapters, Bödvar found Myrddin and released Lamia (The Leech), who nearly killed Myrddin before Fintán arrived to save him.

  We also followed the story of Tanuki, Arges (The Rhinoceros, also the armorer of the gods in many myths), and Asterion, (The Bull), who all lived in a mountain dwelling above the Order of the Bu
ll monastery in Turkey. They were attacked by Asura Firstborn Ziz (The Quetzalcoatlus) and Xecotcovach (Xeco, The Terror Bird). Arges was killed and Asterion fell from the cliff, while Tanuki escaped to a safe room on the other side of the mountains.

  Fi was an intern at a local hospital for the aged. Her best friend, Billy, was an orderly, and Zeke played guitar for the old folks there. Fi’s primary job was to take care of a catatonic old man named Peter. The hospital was attacked by Kleron (The Bat, whom we found out later was Lucifer and Master of the Asura himself), a gang of wampyr and werewolves, Max, and the Cerberus brothers—Cù Sìth (red eyes), Wepwawet (blue eyes), and Surma (with yellow eyes and only one arm). Mol, Uncle Edgar's dog, arrived unexpectedly and killed a bunch of wampyr and weres, but was driven off. Billy, revealed to be Samson, fought back and was killed. Peter “slipped” Fi and Zeke to other worlds until they came to the white sands and milky ocean of World Memory, where Peter was transformed into a man who appeared to be in his early forties, and who we later learned is The Father of the Firstborn (though not God the Creator—who or what that is remains a mystery). He has been known by many names by different cultures around the world, not the least being Odin, the All-father.

  Fi and Zeke followed Peter to retrieve his spear, Gungnir, identification, and cash from a bank on another world, and we found out Zeke also has the ability to slip—a rare thing for anyone, especially a human. While at the bank, Zeke spotted a man outside and followed him. He was shaken and pale upon his return, but divulged nothing of what had happened.

  Fi and Zeke left Peter at a restaurant and ran into Fi’s Uncle Edgar and Mol, who had escaped the hospital. Edgar took them to his employer’s manor in the country along the river. Peter was there and they discovered he had been Edgar’s employer all along. Kleron and his posse showed up, leading to a battle which included Asura brought back from the dead—Mahisha The Buffalo Demon, and Tengu-Andrealphus The Peafowl.

  Zeke inadvertently slipped Fi, Edgar and Mol away, and they saw that other worlds had been overrun with swarms of infernal locusts. Peter at one point went to save Zeke and saw the locusts as well.

  Back at Peter’s house, Cù Sìth defied Master Kleron by killing his Cerberus brothers and saving the life of Kabir, brought as a bargaining chip by Kleron and Max.

  At the end of the battle, Edgar, Mol, Fi and Zeke escaped into tunnels beneath Peter’s home, and Kleron’s minions detonated bombs that destroyed the house, burying Peter. Fi and Zeke were saved from the collapsing tunnels by none other than Mrs. Mirskaya, Fi’s old babysitter and owner of a Russian market where Fi once worked. Together in a chamber in the tunnels, Edgar and Mrs. Mirskaya told Fi and Zeke who Peter was and what the Firstborn were. Edgar revealed he was actually Thirdborn and Sir Galahad, and Mrs. Mirskaya Firstborn and the ancient Slavic deity Mokosh. They then revealed to Fi she herself was Firstborn and therefore Peter was her long-lost father, who abandoned her mother before Fi was born. (Fi’s mom died in a plane crash when Fi was seven, which was why she lived with Edgar).

  Kleron and Max showed up again, and not even Edgar/Galahad and Mrs. Mirskaya/Mokosh could fight them off. Kleron was about to bite Edgar’s face off when The Prathamaja Nandana arrived with Baphomet, Ao Guang, and Dimmi as her prisoners. Kleron and Max were no match for her, so they fled—but not before Kleron had Max bite Fi with his poisonous fangs.

  Peter finally made it to them, and Pratha did her best to save Fi, while Zeke panicked. They took her, unconscious but still alive, to a boat, then downriver toward Lake Erie, but not before Peter tossed an old coin on an islet in the river below his home for Kabir and Cù Sìth to find.

  Fintán and Myrddin left England to locate their father, and Myrddin vowed to find his estranged grandson, Galahad. Asterion arrived, gravely injured, in the safe room where Tanuki had been grieving. Kabir and Cù Sìth swam to the islet where Peter had told them to meet him, but Peter and the others had already gone. They found the coin, which Kabir knew was a call for a gathering of the Warriors of Old—the Deva Firstborn who fought in the ancient wars they called the First and Second Holocaust, but we humans know as the mythic battles between gods and giants, light and darkness, heaven and earth. Though Kabir didn’t trust Cù Sìth, he agreed to take him with him, and headed off to wherever it was Kabir knew they needed to meet the other Firstborn (though there weren’t that many of them left). At the end, the motif of the moon watching the events taking place on earth was repeated.

  THE CHARACTERS SO FAR

  (WARNING: Book One SPOILERS)

  In Order of Appearance:

  Kabir - Bodyguard, Truename Zadkiel. Alignment: Deva

  Maskim Xul (Max) - The Spider, The Ambusher, The Lier in Wait. Alignment: Asura

  Fiona Megan Patterson (Fi) - Young Woman

  Zeke Prisco - Young Man

  Molossus (Mol) - Uncle Edgar’s dog, Fifthborn.

  Edgar - Fi’s Uncle, Truename Galahad, Thirdborn, grandson of Myrddin Wyllt. Alignment: Deva

  Ao Guang - The Gharial. Alignment: Asura

  Baphomet - The Goat. Alignment: Asura

  Idimmu Mulla (Dimmi) - The Hyaena. Alignment: Asura

  Prathamaja Nandana - The First Daughter. Alignment: Deva

  Fintán mac Bóchra - The White Watcher, The Falcon. Alignment: Deva

  Bödvar Bjarki - The Bear, Truename Matunos. Alignment: Asura

  Tanuki - The Tanuki (a wild dog from Japan that looks like a raccoon). Alignment: Deva

  Mrs. Mirskaya - Fi’s former babysitter, owner of Matryoshka Russian Market and Café, Truename Mokosh. Alignment: Deva

  Asterion - The Bull. Alignment: Deva

  Arges - The Rhinoceros, armorer of the gods. Alignment: Deva

  Billy - An Orderly, Truename: Samson. Alignment: Deva

  Ziz - The Quetzalcoatlus (largest of the pterosaurs/pterodactyls). Alignment: Asura

  Peter - The Pater

  Kleron - The Bat, Truename Lucifer, Master of the Asura

  Xecotcovach (Xeco) - The Terror Bird. Alignment: Asura

  Wepwawet - Cerberus Brother (blue eyes). Alignment: Asura

  Surma - Cerberus Brother (yellow eyes, one arm). Alignment: Asura

  Cù Sìth - Cerberus Brother (red eyes). Alignment: Asura

  Myrddin Wyllt - a.k.a. Merlin, The Madman. Alignment: Deva

  Lamia - The Leech. Alignment: Asura

  Mahisha (Mahishasura) - The Buffalo Demon. Alignment: Asura

  Tengu-Andrealphus - The Nightingale Robber, The Peafowl. Alignment: Asura

  The rest are supporting, incidental, or fodder.

  GLOSSARY

  Parvulus: n. human [negative; derogatory]. pl. parvuli.

  Mtoto: n. human [neutral; affectionate]. pl. watoto.

  Firstborn: n., adj. children of The Pater (a.k.a. The Father).

  Deva: n., adj. (Sura). Firstborn who have supported The Pater and fought for humankind.

  Asura: n., adj. (anti-Sura). Firstborn who have opposed The Pater and fought to enslave or eradicate humankind.

  Brahmastra: adj. highest class of weapon, of which there are very few. Capable of mass destruction.

  Astra: adj. very high class of weapon, capable of harming even the eldest Firstborn.

  Mighty: adj. lower class of weapon, also capable of harming Firstborn if used with sufficient force.

  Mortal: adj. weapons of the type used by humans.

  “Who really knows? Who can declare it? Whence it was born, and whence came this creation? The Deva were born later than this world, so who knows from where it came into existence?

  He who surveys it in the highest heavens, He alone knows—or perhaps does not know.”

  Hindu Rig Veda 10. 129.

  * * *

  “I looked over Jordan, and what did I see?

  A band of angels coming after me.”

  “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”

  (traditional lyrics)

  Wallis Willis

  * * *

  “One, two, three and four

&n
bsp; The devil's knocking at your door.”

  “Heaven Knows”

  The Pretty Reckless

  PATERNUS

  WRATH OF GODS

  PART ONE

  CHAPTER ONE

  WAKE

  “He is dead.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “He looks dead.”

  “Stop it. He’s not dead!”

  “Glupaya devochka, I am meaning ‘dead to world,’ not dead dead.”

  Zeke hears the voices, but it’s like they’re speaking from another dimension, in slow motion, through a garden hose.

  He extricates himself from the sucking black sediment of deepest sleep, relief dawning in his sluggish mind—relief to be emerging from the hellish nightmares that plagued every moment of his slumber. He struggles toward the light of consciousness, then becomes aware of movement below.

  Inky black tentacles swell from the void. One lashes out—slap, sting and burn. Another grabs his ankle and he’s dragged back into the depths, ears ringing with a whine, whir and squeak like the sound of changing channels on an old-fashioned radio. He screams, soundless, swallowed by darkness.

  * * *

  Cheap booze. Abandoned buildings. Filthy blankets, flea bites and vomit. Playing guitar with strung-out bands in shitty bars reeking of piss and sour beer. Sticking needles in his arms with shaking hands. Fever sweats and hunger. Ribs cracked by boots in a cold alley. Despair.