Carl Chang loved his work, that was no
secret. He was one of the ‘first in,
last out’ guys because he really enjoyed what he did. That he got paid for it was a bonus. He didn’t have to come in on Saturdays, especially during the
summer recess, but he liked to. Yet,
that Saturday, Merlin was in the office before him.
It
wasn’t a surprise to see her standing by the window, gazing out over the
campus. He’d spotted her 4x4 parked
outside. He would have to be blind to
have missed it – it had been the only vehicle in the lot when he pulled in.
“I
thought you were on summer recess too,” he greeted as he came in.
“I
am. It’s just a favor I’m doing Derek,”
Merlin replied, turning from the window with a smile. “Plus .. I wanna pick your brains.”
“Hey,
any time,” he agreed. “Let me just get
a cup of coffee and you’ll have my full attention. Sit down. I won’t be a
moment.” Carl headed for the door. “You want coffee too?”
“Yeah.”
“Black. No sugar.”
“S’right. Thanks.”
She sat down and crossed one long, lean leg over the other. As soon as Carl had left the room, the tiny
frown had crept back.
When
I was here last, at the faculty party on the fifteenth, there was .. something. Not close.
I can’t even say for a fact that it was evil I was sensing. It was .. just something. But I felt it. Here. And now I
don’t. Because .. whatever it is has
moved elsewhere. Or been moved. To the island.
The
frown deepened.
Let’s
not run before we can walk, huh? Let’s
.. review what we know. Evil. Evil is, despite what people think, not an
invader. Evil is a resident. It’s either native in that something is born
evil, or it’s a permanent guest in that it was invited in and asked to
stay. Devils, demons, creatures from
downstairs, they’re all natives. People
who have crossed the line or willingly sold out, they’re courteous hosts to the
guest.
Yeah,
okay, sometimes, evil is an invader
in that a native spirit or force takes up residency in an unwilling, innocent
host. It’s called possession. Whatever, she shrugged tightly. Just to be clear on that point.
The
critical factor in all this is that the native or the host is organic. It lives.
Breathes. Has sex. Does all the regular stuff which qualifies
it as living. Plus it can die, she
added with a brief smile.
I
can recognize evil. I know whenever the
critical factor is present.
Okay
so far. Now, what about things. Inorganic material. Artifacts.
Are they evil? Can they be evil
in and of themselves?
All
thru history, there are examples of artifacts being used for evil
purposes. To draw out life force and
transfer it to another. Does that make
an artifact evil? I’m not so sure it
does. Evil person uses artifact, no
problem there. There’s historical
evidence that it has happened. Innocent
person picks up artifact .. would it make the person commit evil? Or .. is there a germ, a seed just waiting
for the right type of contact? Can a
thing, made of glass or crystal or .. baked clay, thru use and association
absorb evil from an organic being?
Crystals can be charged with power, after all. Does that make an inorganic thing evil in itself?
If
it does .. I didn’t get the usual feeling.
Aquila didn’t surge to the surface, hunt it down and .. kill it. That would’ve livened up the party, for
sure. Now, maybe I didn’t get the usual
feeling because this evil isn’t organic.
Maybe evil bits of pottery just make me feel twitchy, and that’s all I
should feel. I mean, what can they
do? Jump up and attack people? I just can’t see that happening. But perhaps they’re more subtle …
Carl
came back. “Sorry. Had to wait for the pot to filter. One of the drawbacks of being the first in
on a Saturday. Here you go. Now .. what d’you wanna pick my brains
about?”
“Let
me get the favor outta the way first – you told Alex a letter came with those
artifacts. Derek wants to take a look
and he’d also like to examine the original packaging if you’ve still got it.”
Carl
leaned forward very slightly, as if to impart some hugely scandalous
secret. “Peri, this is the History
Faculty. We never throw anything away.”
“Should’ve
guessed,” she grinned. “Okay .. brain
picking time.” The grin vanished and
Merlin fell silent, wondering where the hell to start. “Carl, you’re pretty experienced. Do you believe those things are from Sodom?”
The quiet way she asked made him
swallow his response. ‘That’s what I
want you to tell me’ wouldn’t go down well.
“I
believe they are, yes,” he replied.
“But, even if they aren’t, they are, I hope, still very old and a great
acquisition.”
“Why
do you believe they are?”
“Because .. I’ve never seen anything
like them before. With most finds, an archaeologist
can look at the style, the shape, the .. decoration, and know whether it’s
Greek, Egyptian, Minoan, Babylonian, Hittite, Mesopotamian, Syrian .. wherever,
and, to plus or minus a decade, the period in that culture’s history from which
it dates, just by the shape an’ the decoration, the colors used, the overall
look of the thing. But this .. is, in
my experience, unique. Nothing has ever
been found from that particular area of the Plain of Sidon. The letter said it was found floating on the
shore of the Dead Sea at the place consensus believes to be the approximate
last location of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.” Carl sipped his coffee and shrugged slightly. “It could turn out to be a crock – no pun
intended – and, if it is, I apologize for wasting the Luna Foundation’s
time. It could be of modern material
and recent fabrication. My gut say it
isn’t. Your people will confirm or deny
it. I will be .. disappointed if it is
a hoax but at least the university did not pay cash dollars for it and that
will be the only compensation.”
Merlin
nodded slowly. “Okay.”
She
frowned again and Carl frowned too. She
seemed unsettled about something and he wasn’t sure if he liked that. He preferred Peri to be strong, settled and,
above all, one hundred per cent sure.
“Whatever
it is, Peri, just come out with it. You
an’ I have had some pretty weird conversations during our time together.”
She
smiled quickly. “All right. This may sound off the wall but .. let’s
assume your gut is right and these things are
from Sodom. Biblical history states
that God annihilated Sodom and Gomorrah because they were evil. Sinks of depravity, sin, you name it, they
did it. Is it possible that .. the
items used there would have soaked up some of that evil?”
“Are
you afraid that, if they have, it can .. rub off again? That I’ve unwittingly put Derek an’ Nick an’
Alex in danger of spiritual corruption?”
He asked it in a serious voice.
“I
didn’t ask that but, no, I’m not afraid.”
Carl
considered. “I can’t give you a firm
answer on these particular items. I
haven’t physically touched them, Peri.
I’ve always worn gloves. But I
have traveled quite a lot and .. yeah, I have .. felt energies sometimes in
certain items I’ve handled. I can’t
explain it more than that. It could be
race memory kicking in. I’ve never felt
anything bad. I’ve only felt .. awe,
wonderment. Is a sacrificial dagger
evil because it’s been used for blood sacrifice? Is a crucifix blessed because it’s carried by a priest? I believe artifacts are artifacts, and it’s
the people who used them who were good or bad.”
“You
say you have felt energies. Awe,
wonderment.” She shook her head. “You felt this when you handled a ..?”
“It
was a scepter. I was on a dig in
Constantinople.”
“How
do you explain that?”
“I
don’t think I can. Some things are not
meant to be explained.”
“What
about crystals then? They can be
charged.”
“Sure. Scientific fact. How many people are walking around wearing a watch with a quartz
crystal in it? If you’re referring to
the more esoteric use of crystals .. for divination, for healing and so forth,
I think what you’re wondering isn’t so much if these terracotta pieces have
absorbed some kind of evil influence than have they been imbued with magic.”
Merlin
blinked. Her thinking shunted sideways
onto a completely new set of tracks.
“Magicians
are mentioned in the Bible. So are witches. Daniel was seen as a master of magicians,” Carl continued. “The concept of magic was very widely
accepted in prehistory. In Ancient
Egypt, there were priests serving the gods and who made sure people obeyed the
gods, and there were magicians who found ways around what the gods told the
priests to say. Magic is as old as
religion, Peri. Magic was the old
science, and .. while I don’t personally believe in magic per se, it is always
possible that some kind of .. mystical energy has seeped into the clay.” He shrugged. “Evil is down to people.
Things can only be made powerful by magic. Now, whether that is good magic or bad magic .. I have no idea
and I would not want to offer an opinion.”
“Yeah.”
“Has
that helped?” Carl inquired.
“Yeah. It has.”
“Okay. Drink your coffee. I’ll go find the letter and the packaging.”
She
nodded. “Thanks, Carl.”
“No
problem. Glad I could set your mind at
rest.”
*****
“Good
morning, Kat. Did you sleep well?”
Derek inquired as he entered the kitchen.
“Uh
huh.”
“Oh
dear, that doesn’t sound good. Are we
.. overworking you?”
She
shrugged. “It isn’t that. I like helping out. All the stuff you do, I can’t do much cos my
Mom won’t let me. She says it’s too
dangerous.”
“She’s
right. It is.” Derek sat down so he wouldn’t tower over
her. “You’ll grow up fast enough. We don’t want to hasten that.”
Kat
nodded, knowing he was right. “But
doing all this,” she went on,
indicating the kitchen, “I know I’m helping.
I’m doing good.”
“You
are, absolutely,” he smiled. “I haven’t
said thank you for volunteering to step into the breach. It is very kind of you to give up your
summer recess in this way, and we all appreciate deeply what you have
done. I know you were volunteered but
.. I believe some payment must be in order.”
“You
don’t have to do that,” Kat protested.
“If
you hadn’t agreed, we would have gotten in a contract employee and I would have
to pay for that. I’d prefer to pay
you. We’ll discuss it, agree a mutually
satisfactory amount for your labor.”
Kat
smiled shyly. “Okay. We’ll discuss it.”
“So
.. why the rather reluctant ‘uh huh’?” Derek asked.
“My
Mom’s going out to dinner with some guy,” Kat related in a flat voice.
“And
you don’t like that.”
She
drew a deep breath. “I try not to let
it get to me .. but sometimes, when I’m on my own, I feel she’s cheating on my
Dad. I know, that’s a dumb thing to say
cos my Dad’s dead an’ all, and I know she gets lonely sometimes so I try real
hard not to let it show. I still feel
it though. Does that make me a bad
person?”
“No,
I would say it makes you a human being.
The day you stop caring is the day you should start to worry. I’m not going to tell you what you should or
shouldn’t feel, or do, but I can share some of my own experience. When my father died, my mother eventually
began .. dating again. I was a little
older than you are right now. I
resented those men who took her away from me as I saw so little of her anyway
but I never said anything to her about my resentment.”
“Why?”
Kat asked, sinking onto a chair opposite him.
“Well
.. as I say, I was a little older than you when this happened and, when you are
older, you’ll see it in a slightly different way as well. I didn’t ever feel that my mother was
cheating as such. But I did feel she
was dishonoring my father’s memory. I
didn’t say anything to her because I knew that, while I had my life, she had
hers and she had the right to live it as she wanted. I would always love her, I would always be her son. And, if I told her how I felt about her
seeing these men for dinner, or visits to the opera or the theater, she would
be quite within her rights to object to the people I wanted to see. That would
have been intolerable .. so I kept quiet.
“Now,”
he said quickly, “you are still quite young so your mother does still have some
kind of say about your friends. You
know she loves you and that she would never do anything which would
deliberately cause you pain. Your
mother is an adult, Kat. She needs to
make her mistakes, just as you do, and she needs to explore her life, just as
you do. Rachel allows you certain
freedoms. You must make the same
allowances for her.”
Kat
nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”
“I’m
glad you think so. I can also tell you
.. my mother never remarried. Those men
were only ever .. social partners.
Friends. Company for her.”
“I
just wish … ” Kat began and stopped.
“What
is it?” Derek inquired.
Kat
blushed. “I just wish it was you,” she
said quickly.
He
smiled as he looked down at the table for a moment. “You didn’t always feel that way,” he remarked.
“No. Once I hated you. I .. guess I resented you, like you said. But I know you now, an’ I’m older. And if I’d want anyone to be like a Dad to
me .. it’s you. I was seven when my Dad
died. I’ve known you almost as
long. I mean, I can talk to you about
stuff, stuff that I couldn’t ever talk about with my Mom. You don’t see me as a little kid,
Derek. You don’t see me as grown up
either,” she qualified, “but you do
treat me as the age I am. To Mom, I am
always gonna be her little girl.”
“That
is true and as it should be. Even when
she is ninety years old and you are in your sixties, you will still be her
little girl.” He put his hand over
hers. “I appreciate your .. affection,
Katherine. It means a great deal to
me. Thank you. And .. if you ever want to talk, you know
where my office is and you have my cell phone number. Know that I will always be here for you.”
“As
a kinda Dad?” Kat ventured.
“However
you want to see me,” Derek replied solemnly, “I would consider it an honor.”
“Thanks,
Derek,” Kat said with a brilliant smile.
“You want some breakfast?”
“That
would be most acceptable,” he replied.
*****
Nick
ran up the drive and saw Alex waiting for him by the front door. She could have been waiting for anyone but
Nick somehow just knew that she was waiting for him. She held her jacket tight around her body to ward off the early
morning coolness.
“Morning,”
he said, jogging to a halt. “Something
I can do for you?”
“I
need to talk with someone.”
“Rachel’s
your best bet,” Nick remarked.
“I
know, an’ I have but Rachel’s a woman.
You’re not.”
“Right. You want the inside track on the way a guy
thinks.”
Alex
gave a wan smile. “Would you mind?”
“Course
not. I should warn you though, the
inside track of this guy’s mind isn’t exactly typical.”
“It’s
near enough,” she accepted. “Can we
walk?”
“Sure.”
They
set off, back down the drive, the mist curling around their ankles, and,
despite her request, Alex didn’t say a word.
Nick didn’t push. He had never
been the type to make conversation just to fill a silence. He knew she’d talk when she’d gotten her
thoughts in order.
“It’s
Mark,” Alex said at last.
“Figured
it might be,” he commented.
“And
it’s me,” she went on. “When he left ..
at the airport, he said, next time he was out here, he was gonna ask me to marry
him.”
“Way
to go, Alex,” Nick grinned. It didn’t
get him a smile in response.
“He
told me because he wants me to think about it.
Be ready with my answer. And I have thought about it, Nick. I’ve done little else in my spare time. And .. I don’t know. When he asked me before, we were both so
young … I said no. I loved him dearly but I wanted to
experience life. Not necessarily guys,”
Alex added, “but life. I felt .. if I’d
said yes .. I would’ve come to regret it and then to resent it. And then, after college, Mark went one way,
I came out here, we lost contact for such a long time. Over ten years of total silence. Then he called, outta the blue. I went to Wilmington and .. I rediscovered
what I liked about him. Then, silence
again till Hidden Valley, and then he came here. Two weeks, Nick, over seven months. Now he’s talking about marriage and .. I just don’t know. Y’know?
I feel .. I’m rushing in where angels fear to tread. I feel guilty for feeling that because I
know it hurts him. There’s this ..
subtle pressure in the background, like a deadline looming on the horizon. I don’t know if it’s my biological clock
ticking, if it’s summer fever or being in this glasshouse atmosphere, if it’s
just general cold feet at giving up my independence, genuine doubt .. or what
it is.”
She
sighed, shaking her head. Nick waited
patiently.
“When
you met Peri, you were so sure. How did
you know you were making the right choice?” she asked.
“If
I said I just knew, it wouldn’t help you much.”
Alex
glanced at him. “You don’t like talking
about your personal life, I know – ”
“It’s
okay, Alex. You asked for the inside
track and this is important to you.”
Nick considered. “For one thing,
it never came down to choice. I never
felt that I could marry her or that I could let her go. I had to have her. It was a driving force.
I’d do anything. I couldn’t
imagine my life without her in it and not as just a friend. I needed her closer than that. All the other women .. an’ that sounds worse
than it is .. I’d always been scared of taking that final step. We’d talk about getting married but I never
could quite go the distance. It wasn’t
that way with Peri. I was scared, yeah,
but I was scared that I’d lose her. You
were talking about obsession last night.
That was how it was. I was
obsessed with her. The future, our future .. wasn’t terrifying. I never saw it as a minefield. It was .. exciting. A challenge and we’d take it on together. She didn’t wanna marry me. She thought she was too tough, too strong,
that she’d scare me, that I was just like all the guys she’d known before. The more she pushed me away, the more I knew
I was right to keep on the case. Like I
said, there was no choice.
“For
a second thing, she’s good for me.
Sure, Peri can be wild an’ I need that.
But she completes me in a way I never thought was possible. I’m better for being with her. When we first got together, we both had ..
spaces, gaps, things missing. Now we
don’t. We feed each other and we fit
perfectly. She isn’t scared of me, and
we had some stand up, drag out fights at the start. I mean, physical fights.
She’s seen me in every mood.
Doesn’t faze her at all. For me
to find someone like that … No
choice. I never had any doubt about her
or about me. First time I saw her .. I
lost it, an’ I never found it again.”
“So
you never spent hours agonizing ..?”
“Nope. I just knew. I think what you have to ask yourself, Alex, is .. how do you see
yourself in a year’s time. Five years. Do you see yourself as a wife an’ mother, or
are you alone? Which image gives you
the most satisfaction? It’s your
life. You gotta live it for yourself,
not for others. What they want is
important to them. What you want is
important to you. And, don’t forget, a
proposal can be accepted and lead to a long engagement. It doesn’t have to mean a quick
wedding. It doesn’t even have to end
with a church service at all. You can
always back out, call it off. See how
it goes. Give yourself time to
decide. You can’t really do anything
else. At least you’ll know in your
heart that you tried an’ it didn’t work out, or that it did.”
“What
about love?” Alex ventured in a small voice.
“What
about it?” Nick frowned.
“You
haven’t once said ask yourself if you love him.”
“Do
you?”
She
hesitated. “I did. I do .. but I don’t know if I love him
enough.”
Nick
glanced at her. “If you can say
that, you don’t,” he replied quietly.
Alex
closed her eyes. “Thanks. I needed to hear that from someone else ..
because that’s what I’ve been telling myself.”
He
pulled up. “Alex .. don’t decide right
here, right now. Okay, so maybe you
don’t love him enough now. That could
change. You gotta be honest, with
yourself and with Mark. You both need
time. Don’t rush into anything.”
She
nodded. “Thanks, Nick.”
“Don’t
mention it. Glad I could help.”
*****
Joseph
jumped violently at the sound of a fist pounding on his door. He’d spent a practically sleepless night
and, getting into the .. routine of life on this side of death, he was still in
his pajamas, robe and slippers. He’d
managed one cup of tea but hadn’t yet been able to face breakfast.
Warily,
swallowing, he went to answer the summons.
He feared he would see the dark haired woman. But he didn’t. He saw a
slight, white haired woman with an intense gaze and a broadly smiling
face. No one else was with her so that
frail boned hand must have been the one pounding on the door. He wondered giddily if she’d broken it.
“Hi,
remember me?” she asked.
Joseph
peered closer. There was something
familiar about her. The memory slotted
neatly into place.
“You’re
.. one of Peri’s family. You came to
the house once and stayed several days.”
“That’s
right!”
“Maude
.. isn’t it?”
The
smile widened. “That’s one hell of a
good memory you got there, Joseph. Can
I come in or shall we talk out here on the stoop?”
He
flushed. “I’m so sorry. Yes, please, come in. Can I get you anything?”
“Breakfast ..? You look like you could use something to
eat.”
“Me
..? Well, yes, I suppose … I’m sorry, Maude. I’m a little disorganized today.”
She
slapped a hand to his shoulder and then steadied him. “Joseph, don’t let it get to you. Happens to us all when we make that journey. It’s perfectly okay to be confused an’ a
little muddled for a while. You gotta
learn to pace yourself. Otherwise,
hell, eternity’s only gonna be half over an’ you’ll have done everything.”
Joseph
nodded weakly. Peri and her family were
like that. They blasted in .. and
things were never quite the same afterward.
In
the end, it was Maude who fixed breakfast for Joseph and made him eat. She talked about nothing very much while she
cooked and he ate, then she nodded.
“That’s
better. Feel better?”
“I
do, yes. Thank you.”
“You’re
welcome. Okay, well, the reason I’m
here,” she said, refilling his coffee cup, “is that I wanted to say hi, an’ I’m
sorry you’re over here so soon. Now
that’s outta the way, this ain’t a bad place to be, Joseph. It’s always a little sad at first when you
see someone you know because you realize the world’s lost another good soul an’
it needs as many as it can get, but then it’s nice cos you can spend as much
time as you want catching up an’ doing new things. Sky’s the limit over here.
You can .. set up a school, or
you can take lessons, do all the things you never had a chance to do
before. Me? I took up painting. I
love it. Now you? You could very easily set up a cookery
school. My Lord, we could use someone
with your talents in the kitchen.
Meatloaf would be a thing of the past.”
Joseph
smiled with professional pride. “That’s
very kind of you to say so, Maude, and it is certainly something to think
about.”
“No
rush. You ever been to a tea dance?”
“Several
times,” he nodded.
“They
hold them every seventh day. We don’t
use Monday, Tuesday, that kinda confuses people after a while cos we tend to
lose track of time over this side. We
count ’em, it’s easier. Today’s Day
Six. If you’re interested in going to a
tea dance, let me know. We can go
together. I’ll introduce you to a lotta
friendly folks.”
“Thank
you. Is there a .. a Ramblers’
Association?”
“Say
what?”
“A
… It’s a club where people who enjoy
walking in the countryside get together and go on organized walks. Study the wildlife, the plants and so forth. Usually .. they stop off at a pub for lunch
and then walk back.”
Maude
swallowed her coffee and set down the cup.
“Never heard of one .. but you could always start up a club like that.”
“Mmm. I might.
Tell me,” he went on, “how did you know that I was here? Is there some kind of list of new arrivals?”
She
shook her head. “Reason I know is that
Peri called to see you yesterday, you weren’t here so she went to visit her
folks instead, an’ they told me.”
Joseph
sat up. “She was here yesterday? Damn!”
Maude
regarded him. “She gets over as often
as she can, Joseph. She does have a
life, and a very important job. And
she’s married. That all takes up a
whole lotta time.”
“I
do realize that, Maude. It’s just
… Damn. I needed to speak with her.
Something very unsettling occurred yesterday. Of course, if I’d been here to speak with Peri, I wouldn’t have
been out walking .. and I wouldn’t need to speak with her.”
Maude
refilled his cup again and her own.
“Well .. I’m not Peri but I am here.
You can speak with me.” She
considered. “Unsettling isn’t a word I
get to hear very often .. at least, not when it’s connected to this side.”
“If
you don’t mind? I didn’t get much sleep
last night, thinking about it all.”
“Go
ahead,” she invited.
“Well
.. as I say, I was out walking. I
wanted to get to know the area, meet my neighbors and so on, and it was a nice
day so I walked quite a distance. The
day started to cloud over, then it looked like it was going to rain and I
hadn’t taken an umbrella so I sheltered in a wood. There .. there was a woman there as well. It sounds strange but I think she was
waiting for me. I’d never seen her
before but she knew me and .. she gave me a message. She made me promise to pass it on, exactly as she’d told it to
me. The thing is .. I don’t know how to
do that. I can’t go back.”
“No,
you can’t. Not once you’ve crossed that
river. Unless you’re summoned back, of
course, by a séance,” Maude agreed.
“What she look like?”
“Quite
tall. Around five eight or nine. Slender.
Dark haired. She had a .. a kind
of timeless beauty about her. But she
was terribly anxious. Kept looking over
her shoulder the whole time, and wringing her hands. I didn’t know her but she knew me. How is that possible?”
“You
worked for the Legacy. Well .. for
people who worked for the Legacy. It
kinda marks you. And there are souls
over here who were sensitive in life and who’ve kept the gift. Names are important. They’re usually close to the surface.”
“I’ve
been in dread that she’s been stalking me.”
“Nah. Not this side. She could’ve been waiting there for .. hours, weeks, months. Waiting for someone to just stroll along so
she could pass on her message. It was
you. Don’t sweat it.”
“I’m
not sure it’s that simple, Maude. The
message is for Dr Rayne.”
“Now
that’s unusual,” Maude commented, frowning.
“What’s
more,” Joseph continued rather heavily, “from the way she spoke .. I got the
distinct impression she knew him.”
“Hmm. Someone from Derek’s past, with a message for
him. Seems you’ve gotten yourself into
a mystery, my friend. Bet you imagined
death was gonna be feet up beside the fire, pipe an’ slippers, huh? Can you tell me what the message is?”
He
frowned. “I’m not sure if I can. She was very insistent, and persistent, that
I tell it exactly. Peri said she could bring people across, to
visit. I was going to ask her to bring
Dr Rayne. Now that I’ve missed her, she
may not be back here for weeks and .. by then, it could be too late.”
Maude
leaned forward. “I take it this message
isn’t the ‘I miss you, can’t wait till we’re together again’ type of deal?”
“No,
it isn’t,” Joseph confirmed. “It’s the
‘be careful, you’re in danger’ kind of thing.
Life and death important.”
Maude
finished her coffee and stood up.
“Going
so soon?” he remarked.
“Joseph,
you’re right. Peri may not be back here
for a while. But she is my family and
we’re all the same kinda people. I’ll
go get Derek, fetch him over. Like you
say, if we wait, it could be too late.”
She
headed for the door then paused. “While
I’m gone, don’t suppose you could bake some of those almond cookies? They go real
nice with a cup of afternoon tea.”
“I’ll
make a start straight away,” he smiled.
*****
“Do
you miss it?”
William
glanced across at him. Such a mild,
academic face. He would never have
guessed so much black malice was hiding behind those pale, gentle eyes.
“Miss
what?”
“The
mother country. The good ol’ US of
A. Home.”
William
smiled. “We’re neither of us exactly
exiles. It’s a huge country. It is quite possible to go back whenever we
want and not run into someone we’d prefer to avoid.”
He
turned away from the small window.
Below, clouds were patchy and the ground was visible as an expanse of
brown.
“I
realize that, William. The fact is that
I’ve never returned because I know I would want to .. run into someone and,
until I was ready, I had best stay as far away as I could.”
“But
you’re ready now ..?” William quietly probed.
He
smiled. “I contacted you, didn’t
I? We’re .. not exiles, no, but we’re
not where we should be, are we? Men of
our caliber, of our experience and insight, we should be sitting high at the
top of the tree. Instead, we’re ..
nomads. Wanderers. Forced to stand outside in the cold and peer
thru the window at what might have been.”
“That’s
a little fanciful,” William commented.
“Perhaps. But .. soon .. one dream can become
reality.”
“What
will you do then?”
He
drew in a quick breath and released it as a long sigh. “I’m not an ambitious man, William. My needs are few, my wants fewer still. I would have been happy, content, to serve
my calling … I never wanted to become
Precept. But this .. this has driven me
for more years than even I care to remember.
It has kept me alive, given me a reason to continue. To answer you, I honestly believe that, when
this is finally over, I will die. My
purpose in living will have been achieved.
And I will be free .. and I will, at last, know peace.”
“You
have taken into account the armed guard, factored her into your plan? She isn’t someone to cross lightly. Her kind have been around a very long time.”
He
stared, blinked and let out a gasp.
“From the first times?”
“I
would say so, yes,” William confirmed.
“Then
this is better than even I dared hope.
We need do very little, William.
Simply .. sit back and watch them self-destruct.”
“So
I could’ve stayed home?” William wondered.
“You
want to savor the triumph, don’t you?
You want your revenge just as much as I do.”
“I
needn’t have argued with my wife?”
His
face clouded, the light in his gentle eyes was quenched. “You should be grateful you have a wife.”