WHEN SHADOWS EAT THE MOON

TO TOUCH STRANGE FIRE NO ONE READS BLOGS ANYMORE? IWSG Post

WHEN SHADOWS EAT THE MOON

Nazi wolves are at the door; Fallen Angels are in the sky. What else could go wrong for Major Richard Blaine?

WHEN SHADOWS EAT THE MOON

“Life is a long preparation forsomething that never happens.”

― W.B. Yeats

I stiffened as the Voice Ithought I left behind me rumbled in my mind.

‘The love that rose on strongerwings,

Unpalsied when he met with Death,

Is Comrade of the lesser faith

That sees the course of humanthings.’

“You read poetry?”

Again, that strange laughter. ‘Iam poetry.’

I felt an invisible finger prodmy chest.

‘And only fools think they canleave Us behind, Richard Blaine. You are no fool. Now, is the time for you tostop acting as one. Your Spartans are waiting for you to speak. Chop. Chop.’

The Voice was right. My Spartanswere looking at me as if they were dogs hearing a kitten bark.

‘Oh, tell our Rabbi Stein he isone of the very few blooms We have planted that make Us smile. We especiallylike his “God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means ofopposite’ s, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.” Now, chop,chop!’

Theo and Amos had finishedrunning down the stairs and went to either side of me. Amos elbowed Daraelaside … politely. Smart of him.

I flicked my eyes to him. “Elohimsays you make Him smile.”

“Wh-What?”

Theo didn’t give me a chance to reply,for he gruffed,

“What the hell were those disgusting mounds of steaming flesh back in thatoffice?”

“The remains of König’s guards.Guess they needed their own sentries against his madness.”

I turned to Porkins. “What’s thisabout me being back? I never left.”

Reese scoffed, “The hell you ….”

He stopped mid-sentence as SisterAmeal suddenly appeared in front of me. I could only imagine the look she wasgiving him.

I imagine Medusa’s would have been gentler.

“Ah, yeah, you did, Major. Oneheartbeat, you were looking up at that angel there flying away. And the next, youwere a column of smoke being blown away by the breeze.”

Sister Ameal said, “Smelling ofburnt flesh reminiscent of Auschwitz.”

Amos grunted, “That last was notnecessary, Sister.”

“Yes, it was, Rabbi … to remindall here of the depth of depravity against which we fight.”

I tried to soothe Amos’ ruffledfeathers.

“I always imagined if I did go up in a puff of smoke, it would smellof cinnamon.”

Rachel sniffed, “As a matter offact, you do smell of cinnamon now.”

André looked uncomfortable. “Onlythe power of suggestion.”

His face said even he did notbelieve his words.

Helen abruptly went from angel tomortal again, snaring their attention better than if she yelled,

“Are you waiting for the shadowsto eat the moon? Two hundred SS commandos are right at our door, and theirthree Tiger tanks will do the knocking for them.”

Johnny Knight nervously asked, “Whatabout them Neah, Neim, … them hybrids whatevers?”

Darael scoffed,

“They are laggingback to see if the psychotic Nazi troops with their clanking tanks can sparethem the ignominy of having to soil their tentacles with our flesh.”

Vincent grunted,

“Just let themget within rifle range, I’ll show them humiliation.”

Evans said,

“That nun over therewas going to give us a slideshow or something to show us just they all were doingwhen you showed up.”

I turned to her. “Slideshow?”

She snorted, “Simple language forsimple minds.”

“Kit” Carson huffed, “We loveyou, too, Nun.”

Sister Ameal met my eyes. “Igather you would hold it against me if I killed that one?”

Carson swallowed, “I know I would,Lady.”

I shook my head. “Play nice.”

“This is me playing nice.”

“Slideshow, remember?”

Her brilliant white habit noddedonce sharply. “Holographic projections of events in real time like so.”

She waved her open right palm infront of her and a flickering vista of the village as if seen from an airplaneappeared across the blackened cement of the shattered road.

“Oh, man,” groaned Pablo Dimitri.“Oh, man. Oh, man!”

I didn’t blame Pablo.

The villagewas surrounded by bristling troops. They seemed to number many more than twohundred. Many, many more.

Sister Ameal frowned disappointedat me. I was used to that look … kind of. All right. Not at all.

“Your Party Line filled with thosetribal chieftains had quite an effect on Colonel Verner as he listened in. He nowknows you were playing him for a fool. The increased troops are a direct resultof his fury at that.”

Rachel gave me a wry “I told youso” look.

Helen sighed, “Richard will thinkof something. He always does.”

I was glad she thought so. I wasn’tso sure.

Sister Ameal said,

“I can giveyour Spartans weapons that will deal with even this many troops. But they arecruel, savage, inhumane.”

Amos, still rubbed raw by the gasoven remarks from her, uncharacteristically said in a husk, “That is all right withme, Sister.”

She locked eyes with him. “I willremind you of that later.”

Sister Ameal drew in a deep, deepbreath.

“These are terrible weapons. The Naziare experimenting with crude versions of these on the Eastern front.

Ironicallyenough, one hundred and ten years from now, the Russians themselves will haveperfected them into a handheld version much like your Stinger missiles.”

I fought a shiver. What kind ofweapons were they that they could affect the avatar of Sentient so?

She was still talking. “They callthem Solntsepyokm, Blazing Sun.”