Ishtar's Curse (Daywalker Chronicles Book 5) by Theophilus Monroe & Michael Anderle

Author:Theophilus Monroe & Michael Anderle [Monroe, Theophilus & Anderle, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2023-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

The shadows lengthened as dusk fell over New Babylon. Zoey raised her hood while Ishtar touched my brooch. I felt my body go astral, and Zoey and I approached the gates of New Babylon, invisible.

“This is more difficult than I anticipated,” Ishtar remarked as she struggled to get her footing.

Keep focused, I told Ishtar from within my mind. The trick in the astral plane is suspending disbelief. Imagine the world under your feet is real, while anything you need to walk through isn’t really there. Because it isn’t.

“Got it.” Ishtar chuckled. “To think I, a goddess, could learn something from you!”

I would have rolled my eyes if I could have. Ishtar was a goddess which meant her divinity was accompanied by hubris. I’d yet to meet a humble god.

We walked through the gates, Ishtar stumbling a bit, but soon getting the hang of it.

“This is tedious,” Ishtar grumbled. “When do we get to the fighting?”

Patience, I told her. We need to find Ennigaldi first.

“You and your patience,” Ishtar scoffed. “It’s rather annoying.”

I bit back a retort. Arguing with Ishtar would get us nowhere. We made our way through the winding streets, passing under arched gateways and by towering ziggurats. The closer we got to the palace, the more soldiers we saw. Macedonian soldiers with their bronze helmets and shields, spears at the ready.

Ishtar clenched my hands into fists. “I want to rip them to shreds.”

Not yet, I told her firmly. We continue as planned. Find Ennigaldi, get her out of here safely. There will be a time to fight later, don’t worry about that.

Ishtar sighed dramatically but acquiesced. For a goddess supposedly skilled in the art of war, she was impulsive and reckless. “Now where?” she asked, not hiding her impatience.

“I don’t know,” Zoey admitted. “Ennigaldi could be anywhere.” She looked all around. “I don’t know my way around this place.”

“Follow me. This isn’t like the Babylon of old, but Sienna knows where we’re going.”

I directed Ishtar from within the confines of my mind as we led and Zoey followed.

We approached Marduk’s temple. We had to pass it on the way to the castle. Alexander—not our Alexander, but the Macedonian conqueror—stood on the steps and was speaking to a crowd of Babylonian citizens.

Alexander the Great’s voice boomed through the air, demanding submission from the New Babylonians who had gathered in the square below. The sun glinted off his golden armor, casting an imposing shadow on the ancient stone.

Ishtar, still possessing my body, stood beside Zoey on the astral plane, our forms invisible to the crowd below. Despite our ethereal state, I felt the weight of Ishtar’s anger as she watched Alexander exert his dominance over her people.

“Enough!” Ishtar hissed through clenched teeth. “I will not stand idly by while this brute oppresses my people!”

“Ishtar, we have a plan,” Zoey reminded her. “We can’t just charge in there and start fighting. We need to be strategic.”

“Strategic?” Ishtar scoffed, her eyes blazing with fury. “He has no right to be here, let alone demand the submission of my people.

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