Into Eden: Pangaea - Book 1 (40 page)

For a long time Jesse was silent. Then he said, “I’ll help you in your revenge. Do you know where he lives?”

“Yes,” Chronus replied. “And I know how to get to him. Anubis is still suffering at his mansion from injuries he received on his foray into Atlantis.”

“I know of his injuries,” Jesse replied. “I gave them to him.”

Chronus smiled at hearing this, “Perhaps I have underestimated you. You are a very lucky boy. I know of no one who has ever harmed Anubis and lived to tell about it.”

“Next time,” Jesse replied, “I will finish the job.”

“Jesse!” Enoch interrupted. “You must not do this! There is still time to reconsider. I have been with you this whole journey in hopes that you’d come to your senses! You...”

“Shut up!” Chronus snapped at Enoch.

“Don’t listen to him!” Chronus went on. “You hate Anubis as much as I! It will feel so good when you plunge your sword into his chest!”

“Jesse! Listen to what he’s saying!” Enoch was now pleading with Jesse.

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll rip your throat out, you sick mutt!” Chronus countered.

At this Jesse turned on his new partner in revenge, “If you harm one strand of fur on my uncle, I’ll chop your head off!”

Enoch then turned to Perez, “Perez, you have to stop this madness! It’s gone on too long!”

“I’m with Jesse, Enoch. He’s my brother. Whatever he chooses, I’m with him all the way.”

“Good! Good!” said Chronus. “A wise and loyal brother! Now, let me get you what you’ll need.” With that Chronus started to dig through the hay. In a moment he produced a small white grain sack.

“Here! Open it up!”

Jesse opened the sack but could see little in the darkness of the stable, so he upended the sack and shook it. Out dropped a key and several links of sausage.

“What is this?” he asked Chronus, holding up the key.

“That key will get you into Anubis’ room.”

“How did you come it?”

“Anubis has many enemies.”

“And what about these?” Jesse asked, pointing to the sausages.

“If there is a dog in the room with Anubis, give them to it. They’ll help distract the mutt!”

“Jesse!” Enoch pleaded one last time.

Jesse ignored his uncle’s plea. “Let’s go,” he said. “I came too far to turn back now.”

“Just one more thing,” Chronus said, and then barked an order to Perez. “You! Get a good long length of rope off the wall by the stall and bring it over here!”

Perez did as he had been told, and then Chronus had him cut off two lengths about four paces long.

“Tie one of these around my neck and hand it to your brother. Then tie the other around your uncle’s neck. We need to look like patrol dogs.”

At first Enoch protested, but when he saw that Jesse was determined to go through with the killing he permitted Perez to put the leash on him.

They moved on through the city, Chronus leading the way down back alleys toward Anubis’ mansion. When they met an-nef on the way the an-nef would step aside and let the “Secret Police” and their patrol dogs pass. They hadn’t gone far when the four came across a body of a lion-head lying in the street. The head lay in a pool of blood. Chronus ignored it and trotted on up ahead.

“You didn’t seem too concerned over that body back there,” Jesse remarked.

“Why should I? New Sodom Corpse Removal will pick it up in the morning. Likely just another victim of gang violence. Maybe a domestic dispute, though. Never can be sure,” Chronus casually remarked.

As they walked Jesse’s conscience was starting to have the slightest flicker of life. The words that the wolf-head Lawrence in the carriage on the road to Mountain Shadows read kept coming back to him. Without realizing it, he spoke them aloud, “It is mine to repay…”

“Don’t go getting religious on me Jesse!” Chronus snapped. “We have a job to do! I don’t need you quoting the writings of the Prophet now. You’d better forget that stuff until we’re done! You with me?”

“Yeah,” Jesse replied. But Chronus could tell Jesse was beginning to waiver.

Soon they reached Anubis’ mansion. It was surrounded by a five-pace high wall, with iron gates that barred entry. “C’m on!” Chronus chided Jesse. “I’ll show you how to get in!” The dog ran along one wall to a giant peach tree whose branches spread over the wall.

“Here,” said Chronus. “Climb the tree to the wall. You can crawl along the wall to that other tree, on the inside of the estate.” Jesse looked down the wall in the darkness. The top of another tree could be seen about fifteen paces away.

“That other tree,” continued Chronus, “is in a courtyard in the back of Anubis’ mansion. His room overlooks the courtyard from a balcony. The room may be reached by some lattice that reaches the balcony. That’s where you’ll need your key. You’ll know what to do when you get there. I’ll be waiting for you right here.” The dog trotted off and hid under some shrubs that lined the alley. Perez and Enoch crossed the alley to join Chronus. Now the waiting began.

The first branch of the tree was just within reach. Swinging one leg over the lowest branch, he pulled himself up and began to climb. A large, sturdy branch grew out across the wall, and Jesse carefully crossed over to the top of it. Next he gingerly crawled along the top of the wall to the tree down the way. All the while his knees hurt from the hard surface, and he wobbled nervously—afraid that someone—or something, would see his approach to the mansion. Finally, he was to the other tree.

The second tree was shorter than the first, and Jesse had some difficulty climbing onto the smaller branches, but once in the tree he quickly climbed down to the courtyard. In the darkness above, he could see Anubis’ balcony, dim light coming from the room. Jesse crouched low as he quickly crossed the courtyard toward the lattice beneath the balcony. Midway across the courtyard he ducked down behind a small arbor as voices came from the shadows. Turning, he saw perhaps a dozen cages housing large, black dogs. Only two of the cages were empty.

“Have you come for Anubis?” one of the dogs whispered.

“We won’t tell!” said another.

“Kill him!” growled a third, so loudly that Jesse feared someone in the house would be alerted.

“Better hurry!” warned another of the dogs. “They say he’s very weak from his injuries. Don’t let him die in peace. Kill him like he killed us!”

Jesse shuddered at the words that came from these animals. Each had the spirit of at least one—maybe more—an-nef that Anubis had killed. They were demons now—possessing the dogs, but imprisoned within the cages. He wondered if Chronus had occupied one of he empty cages. Perhaps, he thought, that was how he had obtained the key. Jesse moved on—no one from the mansion had come out to see what the demons were talking about. All the while the demons kept whispering, “Kill him.... kill Anubis....we won’t tell....climb the lattice....kill him....”

Jesse climbed up the lattice and pulled himself onto the balcony. He looked back across the courtyard below him. Across the courtyard was a stable, and parked beside the stable was a buckboard with a seat too low for any an-nef. That’s my wagon, he thought. The one that they stole when they fled Albion! Bet my horse is inside that stable, too. Suddenly he was angry again, and the second-thoughts that he had been having dissipated. He reached into his pocket and removed the key and inserted it into the door-lock and turned. The door opened easily and he stepped inside.

Jesse found himself in a large bedroom with high ceilings. In the center of the room, on a huge bed, the ancient jackal-head Anubis lay motionless, surrounded by innumerable candles. But the thing that caught Jesse’s immediate attention was the large black dog that lay chained at the foot of the bed.

The dog looked up at Jesse as he entered. “Do you talk too?” Jesse whispered to the animal. The dog replied with a “woof!” and stared up at him.

“Here boy,” Jesse whispered softly as he tossed the sausage to the animal. The dog began to gobble up the treat and Jesse cautiously approached the ailing jackal-head.

Anubis lay motionless on the bed. His one eye was closed and his breathing labored. Slowly Jesse approached Anubis’ bed. He leaned close to the jackal-head, and drawing his sword—whispered into his ear, “Wake up, Anubis, it’s time to die.”

Anubis slowly opened his eye. For a moment he stared at Jesse in confusion, as if wondering if it were really a human that leaned over him, or another dream of delirium. Suddenly his eye grew wide in recognition.

“You know who I am, don’t you?” Jesse asked.

Anubis attempted a nod, then closed his eye—the effort being too much for him.

“Don’t die on me yet!” Jesse snapped, clenching his teeth and pressing down on the sword that now rested on Anubis’ chest. Jesse looked down on the weakened creature. What was it that he felt towards this monster? Hate? No: pity. This creature, so old and so renowned by those of his race, was ending his life in the same way as many mortals on Pangaea: alone, gasping for every breath, and confined to a bed.

The jackal-head again opened his eye. His lips moved slightly, as if attempting to speak. Jesse again leaned close to his dying enemy, “Go ahead,” Anubis said, “and do it.” Jesse looked down on Anubis in pity. The words of the Prophet came back to him, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” He removed the sword as again the jackal-head struggled to speak. “I’ll be back!” he whispered, and a grin appeared on his fur-covered face.

Anubis closed his eye and Jesse could hear a soft rattle as air escaped the jackal-head’s lungs. Jesse stood for a moment, staring at his fallen enemy. Suddenly a chill filled the room—an inexplicable feeling of another presence nearby. Jesse turned, expecting to see someone, but save for the corpse and the dog, there was no one to be seen. He could feel the presence now, a feeling of evil, and he knew he had to leave. He limped to the balcony door, but turned when he heard the dog’s chain rattle.

The animal was now standing at the foot of the bed where moments before it had lain, eating the sausage Jesse had offered him. The dog looked up at him and growled, “I’m back!” Then, without warning, it lunged at Jesse.

Jesse raised his sword, catching the animal in mid-air. It howled and fell to the floor with a thud. He could hear voices in the next room and the sound of running feet growing closer. He raced onto the balcony sheathed his sword and flung himself over the side, grabbing hold of the lattice. Below he could hear the dogs in the cages barking, howling and yelling as he climbed down the lattice, “Stop him! Stop the human! He’s getting away! He’s on the lattice! Stop him! Stop him!”

The lattice gave way and Jesse crashed to the ground in a clump of shrubbery. He jumped up and hobbled past the cages to the stable. Once inside, he peered out through the stable door and could see jackal-heads standing on the balcony. He knew that he didn’t have much time, and looked around in the dark stable. Sure enough, in one of the stalls he saw the horse that had been stolen from his father’s estate on the night that his father had been murdered. Across from the stalls was a chariot. Jesse hitched up his horse to the chariot and then paired it with one of Anubis’ own. He threw open the stable door and drove across the courtyard to the front gate at a trot. I’m going to have a fight, he thought, but at least he had the element of surprise. But his heart sank when he saw not one, but four an-nef guarding the gate to the general’s mansion with crossbows. They raised their crossbows at his approach, leveling them on him, but instead of ducking for cover he yelled, “Make way!” As he had heard the real Secret Police do on the Green Highway. Immediately they lowered their crossbows and raced to open the wrought-iron gate. Jesse’s chariot charged through as the gates swung open, and he turned the chariot down the street and steered them down the first alley that he approached. Reigning in the horses by some shrubbery across from Anubis’ mansion he brought the chariot to a halt.

“I know that you’re there,” Jesse spoke into the darkness.

“Jesse?” came Perez’s voice from beneath the shrubs.

“Get in, gentlemen, we don’t have all night!”

Perez and Enoch emerged from the shadow and joined Jesse in the chariot.

“Where’s Chronus?” Jesse asked.

“He took off running as soon as you cleared the wall. Seems that he didn’t have as much faith in your success as he let on,” replied Enoch.

“What about Anubis?” asked Perez.

“Dead. I’ll fill you in later.” Then, turning to Enoch he said, “I could sure use your sense of direction right about now.”

“Where we headed?” Enoch asked.

“Back to the Green Highway and then out of the city!”

“Fine with me,” Enoch said. “Straight ahead and turn right at the next alley.”

Within minutes the three of them were driving down the Green Highway and headed for the city gate. It took them an hour to reach it—even with the streets empty late at night. All the while Jesse wondered how they would get past the guards, but when they approached he discovered that his fears had been for naught.

“Hail Canaan’s Own!” the guards yelled at their approach.

“Hail legionnaires!” Jesse called in reply, and with that the guards opened the gates and the three rolled through in the chariot.