Cophu took Elder Stow down to the Elenar ship after lunch since he was the only other person who knew anything at all about advanced electronic systems.  Boston and Katie came along out of curiosity, though Katie also came to keep one eye on the Gott-Druk. 

            “Elenar?  No wonder everything is backwards.  Primitive junk.”  Elder Stow complained the whole time, but he did  a good job checking the systems, especially since Cophu said he would be taking the Gott-Druk into space so he had better be sure everything worked.

            “I can’t imagine the Gott-Druk systems you saw in the past were much better,” Boston groused right back at the Elder.

            The Gott-Druk frowned before he nodded.  “It is a wonder my ancestors dared to go into space with such junk.”

            “Wonder or not, we need to check the screens,” Cophu interrupted.  “I’m detecting some variation in the negatively charged ion screen.”

            “Let’s see,” Elder Stow went to look.

            “I would think the particle screen would be the important one,” Boston suggested.

            “Not in deep space,” the Gott-Druk explained.  “Well, yes, but you don’t want to arrive at your destination dead from radiation poisoning.”

            “Don’t want to show up glowing in the dark,” Cophu said from beneath the panel.  “Loose wire.”

            “Good,” Elder Stow pronounced the patient cured.

            “Scanners are good too as far as I can tell,” Katie stepped up to the group.  “Still just fancy radar equipment to me.”

            “About right,” Cophu agreed and lead the party back outside in time to see the gnomes coax the last of the horses into the cargo hold.  He turned to Elder Stow.  “Oh, I forgot to mention the travelers will be going with us as well.”

            Elder Stow reacted as expected.  He looked like he might have sabotaged something if he knew, but then he shrugged in a very human way.  “I am not the suicide type.  Besides, three of the tribe are still missing.”

            Katie and Boston looked at each other, wide-eyed.  “Good to know,” Katie said.

            The evening went well enough.  The Gott-Druk behaved himself.  There were Little Ones – Dark elves posted to watch him and his things in the night, but he was allowed his tent which was good because certainly no one wanted to invite him in.

            The Gott-Druk only made a passing stab at the deer Roland brought in for their supper.  He liked the elf bread well enough, but found the local bread too gritty for his tastes.  The others all told Ranna how much they liked it to make up for Elder Stow’s rudeness.  That was good, considering Ranna spent the afternoon carefully grinding the grain between two well worn stones, without the need to touch the stones, of course.

            The only difficult thing that evening was trying to keep the wolfman calm around the smell of blood, and to feed him.  He wanted nothing to do with the greens or bread, and cried a little when he was offered cooked meat.  Lockhart was the one who figured it out.  He found the most undercooked portion of deer on the spit, added some raw, stringy guts tossed over on the fertilizer pile, and the wolfman ate it like a dog.  Then they tied him for the night and set a troll to watch him.  The troll gladly finished eating the guts the wolfman did not eat.

            When the morning came, Cophu hurried everyone aboard the Elenar ship.  They barely got the door closed and the engines warmed before he drove them straight up to the clouds.  He raced them two miles from Jericho and his home and found a clear field to set them down.  Then he spoke.

            “I measured the wall of Chaos.  It is like a ring, only eighty feet high.  I don’t suppose she imagined we could fly to our freedom.”

            Signs of understanding spread across the faces of the travelers and Elder Stow responded.

            “Still, she is a power and we better move on while we can.  As long as we are in her territory, she can always fetch us back.”

            They stepped outside and any number of waiting Elenar drew their weapons on sight of the Gott-Druk.  Lockhart, Katie and Roland immediately stepped between the weapons and Elder Stow.  Lincoln and Boston went to retrieve the horses and Lincoln yelled first.  The wolfman ran off into the woods.

            “Damn it!” Lincoln swore.  “Now we will never find him.”

            Cophu came out and yelled second.

            “Stop it!  Put your weapons down.  You and the Gott-Druk are allies against the Balok.  Save your weapons for the serpent people.” 

            Several of the Elenar hesitated and lowered their guns while they looked at the pilot, their ranking officer.  “It is true,” the pilot said as he holstered his weapon.  “We have made an ill-advised alliance with the beast men against the serpents.”

            “Gee, prejudiced much?”  Boston asked as she and Lincoln brought out the horses.  “Here, Stowy, you get Decker’s horse.”

            “No, I,” The Gott-Druk started to back away.  Cophu had to put a hand on Elder Stow’s shoulder and move him forward.  He spoke while Boston shortened the stirrups.

            “Use your knees.  Your butt and legs will probably hurt for a week, but you will get used to it.  Next time zone, I’ll try and borrow Wlvn and properly lay hands on you to pass along relevant horse care and riding information.”

            “Why not now?”  Lincoln asked.

            Cophu shook his head.  “That would attract too much attention.  AhnYani and KimKeri and some others have the woman,you-know-who preoccupied for the moment, but you better ride fast to the time gate.  Fool her once, shame on her.  We won’t be able to fool her twice.”

            “But what about you?  Why didn’t you bring your family with you?  You could have escaped, too.”  Boston, Lincoln and Katie all had something to say.

            Cophu shook his head.  “I need to go back.  I need to liberate my Shemsu people.  We have a destiny in the Tigris-Euphrates valley turning Anenki’s towns into Sumarian Cities.”

            “You mean go back behind the wall?”  Katie asked.

            Cophu nodded and turned to the Elenar for some final instructions.  Lockhart saluted, whether Cophu saw or not, and rode.  The others followed, at a gallop when the land allowed it.  The sun was set and the last of the daylight was fading when they reached the next gate and paused.

            “I hope all goes well for him,” Boston said as she looked back.

            “So do I,”  Elder Stow said to everyone’s surprise.  He wanted to stretch the time they stopped to rub every muscle that hurt, which was every muscle.

            Then they did something they had hoped never to do again.  They went through the time gate into the dark.

 ### 

Next Time:  Avalon 2.3 The Dark of the Sun

            Roland nosed his mount forward, wary, eyes wide open.  He came to a clearing.  There were a few trees there, but several had been crushed and Roland guessed this was where the Elenar ship landed.  “Hello!” he called.  He got the expected answer, but it was from behind a tree.

            “Are you friend or foe?”

            Roland instantly recognized the voice.  “Alexis.”

            Alexis walked her horse into the open and mounted.  “How do you know my name?”

            “You don’t know me?”  Roland had to be sure.  If she was enchanted, sudden information contrary to what she had been told might be as dangerous as waking a sleep-walker.

            “I have never seen you before,” Alexis confirmed his fear.  “But I see you are an elf, like my father, and a wise one to have up a glamour to make you appear human in this place.  Perhaps you know my father.  Mingus is his name.”

            “Yes, I know your father.  We have been close all of my life.  Is he near?”

            “No,” Alexis said.  “He is in the camp and probably being very cross right now for my sneaking away.  The geis of the Kairos came upon him as it fell on all of the little spirits who were near.  They took the alien ship behind the forbidden wall so it might be fixed.  I snuck away because I was curious to see it, but I see it has already been taken behind the wall and the geis has been removed.  That is why I said my father is likely cross with me, for sneaking off.”

            “Alexis, can you take me to your father?”

            Alexis paused.  “I like your face,” she said.  “You remind me of someone I love very much, only I cannot think of who.”

            “It will come to you.  Remember my face whenever you wonder where your father is taking you.  Whenever something does not feel right, think of me and it will come to you.”

            “What a strange suggestion.”

            “So can you take me to your father?”

            “I think not.  You see, we are escaping from the terrible thing that is following us.  Father will not explain it, but he says it wants to take my life and I am much too young to be destroyed in that way.  You see, that was why I asked if you were friend or foe.  I believe you are friend, but I feel for safety sake it is best not to take any chances.”  With that word, a mist came up from the ground and enveloped Alexis.  It spread out and would have enveloped Roland, too, if he did not turn around and move away quickly.  He knew there was no way he could follow his sister or even find her when she did not want to be followed or found, so he thought it best to report back to the others.  Unfortunately, the others were just then returning to Cophu’s house.

            “I was afraid this would happen,” Cophu spoke calmly but they could all see his frustration beneath the surface.  “The wall makes you turn back the way you came and won’t let you leave.”

            Ranna smiled since it seemed impossible for her husband to do so.  “Well, I am glad to have you back.  I enjoy the company, and so do the children, but where is Roland?”  She looked up at Boston

            Boston turned her head to look back while Lincoln spoke.  “He probably made it through the wall.”

            “Chaos said she had no use for the elf,” Katie added.

            Ranna walked up to Boston as Boston dismounted and she helped the woman walk to the house.  “I am sure he will come back,” she said.  Boston said nothing and managed not to cry.

            “People!”  There was a sound of thunder which startled the horses badly but certainly got their attention.  It was Tiamut and she had two people with her that caused them all to stare.  “These do not belong here.  I assume they are yours,” Tiamut said.  “And I trust you had a pleasant journey.”  The goddess vanished but let her laughter linger.  Clearly she thought it was funny.

            One of the men was naked, filthy, bruised, cut in any number of places and showed only fear and distrust in his eyes.  “The werewolf,” Katie said as she stepped up beside Lockhart.

            The other, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, eyed a pile of equipment Tiamut left half-way between him and the travelers.  He was the Gott-Druk from the future that followed them since the days of Odelion.  He rushed for his things, but Lockhart drew his police pistol and shouted.

            “Don’t you dare.”  The Gott-Druk stopped, his hand outstretched but still too far from his things to touch.  Lockhart noticed Katie drew her pistol a smidgen faster than he did.  He nodded to her, and she stepped up and used her foot to move everything a bit further from the spaceman.

            “Careful,” it was Cophu who shouted as he came trotting up with a shoulder bag.  “I made this for when my Shemsu people left this place to travel to the young cities along the Tigris and Euphrates.  Now, you see, Tiamut has us trapped and will not let us leave.”  He handed a bit of bread to Katie without explanation before he bent down and carefully examined everything in the pile.  He put it piece by piece into the bag.

            “Yes,” Lincoln stepped up having finally calmed his and Captain Decker’s and Boston’s horses.  “And she won’t let us leave either.”

            “Ahhh!”  The Gott-Druk reacted when Cophu touched a particular piece.  Cophu had made sure it was shut down, but with that reaction he looked more closely.

            “No need to go invisible now,” he said.

            “It has other properties,” the Gott-Druk said.

            “Yes, of course.”  Cophu turned it on and considered the readout.  He held it up to Lincoln and then waved it past Lockhart and Harper.  “I see.  Good little scanner.”  He shut it off again and put it in the bag.  The Gott-Druk responded by tossing his hands in the air and grunting.  “No doubt how he followed your trail through the various gates,” Cophu added.

            “Neanderthal, got a name?”  Katie asked and Lincoln and Lockhart spoke at the same time.

            “Gott-Druk.”

            “Elder Stow,” the Gott-Druk responded.

            “Katie Harper, Robert Lockhart, Benjamin Lincoln, and Cophu,” Katie made the introductions.  “Boston is the redhead that went inside with Cophu’s wife, Ranna.”

            “Elder?”  Lockhart interrupted with a question.

            “Yes,” Cophu answered for the Gott-Druk.  “They travel in small groups and their ships are designed that way.  The Captain and first mate are called “Father and Mother,” the officers are “Elders and Youngers,” and the crew are their children, at least in name.  It is all very familial.”

            “Actually, Father and Mother share equal duties in captaining a ship,” Elder Stow said.

            “Indeed,” Cophu went back to his last few pieces.

            There was an awkward moment of silence until Cophu finished, stood and spoke again.

             “Elder Stow, why are you here?”

            “You are the one they call the Watcher?  You are the one who sometimes becomes other people in time?”

            “I am.”

            “I have watched you.”

            “I have watched you watching me, even when you thought you were invisible.”

            The Gott-Druk considered this before he dipped his head in a small bow and spoke.  “It was some years ago when my children and I found ourselves in a whirlwind that picked us up from our place and deposited us in the deep past.  At first I feared we landed before the flood, but I soon came to see the land was dominated by humans.  We avoided them.  We lived apart until one of my children discovered a door to another time.  We moved then, not knowing if we were going forward or backward in time until we came at last to the island world where we found ancient people – our people.  We set ourselves to help them become masters of that world, but you intervened and my children were killed.  After that, I followed you having scanned and isolated your being.  At first I was seeking a way to destroy you, but then you helped my people against the ghoulish ones and I became very confused.”

            “Their job is to find their way home,” Cophu said.  “And not interfere with history if they can help it.”

            “So I have perceived,” Elder Stow said.  “You are seeking to return to the future where I also belong.  I would rather go with you than follow you.”  He looked at Lockhart.  “You are the father of your tribe.  May I be as one of your children.”  He bowed his head and waited.  Everyone turned to look at Lockhart.  Based on the encounter he had with the Gott-Druk in the future, Lockhart did not trust this one.  Add to that the fact that they killed Stow’s crew and it was not advisable.  But then, it might be better to know where this one was and stranding him in the past was out of the question.

            “Human parents in my day have a saying for their children,” Lockhart said.  “We’ll see.”  He was not going to commit to a yes or no since as far as he knew the matter was moot.  They could not escape Jericho anymore than Cohpu or his Shemsu people could escape.

            “Fair enough for now,” Cophu said, and he looked up as Boston came tumbling back out of the house and Katie used the bread and tried to coax the wolfman to move toward the house at the same time.  The wolfman stepped back again when Boston yelled out.

            “Roland!”  Roland was still some distance away, but coming on.

 

Avalon 2.2:  Escape … Next Time

            Lockhart explained for Katie, and Roland if he did not know.  “The Elenar are one of the two primary elder races that survived the flood by moving out into space using Agdaline technology.  The Elenar are like proto-humans or Cro-Magnon.  The Neanderthals, that is the Gott-Druk you have already met.

            “And this is an Elenar ship?”  Katie was just checking.  When Lockhart nodded she asked her real question.  “Why don’t they repair it themselves?”

            “They lost a section of the bulkhead,” Cophu interrupted.  “Space got their engineering staff and most of the technical staff as well.  They still have their pilot and he can take the rest of the crew home if they have a working ship.”

            “Will you be able to fix it?” Boston wondered.

            “Replacing the bulkhead is easy.  We just use some of their inner walls and double reinforce them.  My little ones about have that done already.  And as far as I can tell, the actual explosion that blew out the bulkhead did not really damage any of their systems.  I’ll spend tomorrow doing a systems check, but I expect no problems.”  He looked over at the ship where the fires burned and the sound of the night shift could be heard in the clang of metal against metal.

            “Where is home?”  Lockhart had his head pointed up at the stars.

            “About there.”  Cophu pointed at a star, though it was hard to tell exactly which star since after the rain the sky had turned perfectly clear and cloudless and it was covered with millions of stars.

            “These are the same stars Abraham looked at,” Lincoln mused.  “And he was told his seed would number more than the stars in the heavens.  Looking at this sky I can understand why that was so hard to believe.”

            “If you don’t mind,” Cophu gave Lincoln a hard stare.  “That has not happened yet so I would appreciate you keeping such things to yourself.”

            “Right, sorry.”

            “We have broken that rule a few times so far.  Sorry.”  Boston apologized for them all as Ranna came out from the house.

            “All asleep,” she announced quietly.  She stepped over to the fire and sat beside Cophu.  She took his hand which he was happy to give her.  “I thought the boys would never get to sleep with all the excitement today.”

            Lockhart looked at Katie.  It was the first time he looked at her all evening.  She did not seem to notice, but when he turned back to the fire, she looked at him.  “Well, we have had some excitement today as well,” Lockhart said.  “We should also get to sleep if we hope to get an early start in the morning.”  He got up, said goodnight and went to the tent he shared with Roland.  Katie stood as well.

            “Coming Boston?”  Boston let go of Roland’s hand and followed.  Lincoln had his own tent at his insistence, but sometimes he slept by the fire.

            Cophu said nothing.  He did not want to jinx them.  He took Ranna quietly into the house and to bed.

            Come the dawn, there was quiet down by the Elenar ship.  The travelers packed quickly and as quietly as they could, but were not surprised to find Cophu and Ranna up to see them off.  The two held each other in the morning mist, and Ranna whispered in Cophu’s ear.

            “Will they be able to get through?”

            “I don’t think so,” Cophu admitted while he smiled and waved.

            “The trail is clear enough,” Boston said from the front.  “All we have to do is follow the trench made by all those ogres that dragged in the Elenar ship.”

            “I just hope none of those ogres stuck around after the job was done,” Lincoln said.  Boston and Roland looked back and Katie and Lockhart looked up as well.  “What?  It’s my job to say things like that.”

            “So when do you think we will reach the wall of Chaos?”  Katie asked quietly.

            “We should feel it, like coming in.  You remember, that static electricity feeling,” Lockhart answered with equal quiet, and then they rode in silence.

            The way was in truth easy to where Roland only had to ride out front a few times to check sounds in the distance.  It was all farm fields at first, mostly wheat and some rye.  The sky remained clear, and the sun came out so it got warm, but not too hot.  In all, it was a pleasant ride and all went well until Roland called the group to halt.

            “Hold your horses quiet,” Roland said softly.  He had his elf ears tuned to something.  He turned after a moment and looked at Lincoln.  “It sounds like a horse up ahead, but you better let me check it out first.”

            “That’s an order.”  Lockhart quickly spoke from the rear.  Lincoln turned with his face full of hope that it might be Alexis, but he was good and waited.  Boston, who was up front, kept her eyes on Roland for as long as she could.  She shrieked.  It startled everyone.

            “He vanished,” she said, and raced forward.  With one “damn,” from Lockhart since the others were obliged to follow her.

            “Roland?  Roland?”  Boston began to call out as she rode.

            “Roland?”  Lockhart added his voice to the call and Lincoln and Katie echoed him, but at last he forced Boston to halt.  “We may have passed him,” he said.  “We might need to turn around and check off the trail for signs of him.”

            “No.  I looked at the grain on either side as we went by.  It hasn’t been disturbed.”  Boston was in a fretful state.

            “I have to say I checked, too.” Katie spoke up.  “If he left the trail, I missed it.”

            “Wait,” Lincoln made Boston pause.  She already had her horse turned.  “What is that?”  He pointed.  It was the Elenar ship.  It could be seen even if the houses near it were still hidden by the grain.

            “We can’t have gotten turned around,” Lockhart said.  Again, Boston did not wait.  She turned away from sight of the ship and spurred her horse to a run.  Again the others were obliged to follow.

            “Roland!  Roland!”  She called, but there was no answer, and in less than ten minutes they were back at Lincoln’s spot, staring at the distant ship.

            “But we never turned around.” Katie insisted and no one argued.

            “Roland!”  Boston stood up in her stirrups and shouted as loud as she could.

            “Look here,” Katie was being practical.  Lincoln looked as did Lockhart, but Lockhart kept one eye on Boston.  “I can see where our tracks galloped off from here.”  Katie pointed in the direction that would take them away from the ship.

            “What does the amulet say?”  Lockhart asked.

            Boston paused.  She pulled it out and stared at it.  She looked up and looked bewildered and a little afraid.  “It doesn’t say anything.”

            “Tiamut’s wall,” Lincoln said.  “Apparently she did not want the elf.”

 

Avalon 2.2:  Forgotten and Unexpected … Next Time

 

            The sun was just rising when a man stepped out of the house next door and found six large and strange beasts in his barn and seven strange people sitting around a table out front having a breakfast fit for a king and a pleasant conversation besides.  He responded as anyone might.

            “Hey!  What the Hell are you doing on my property.  Who are you people?”

            AhnYani and KimKeri got up immediately and Roland ventured a comment.  “Don’t look.”

            The others were distracted, but only for a second as AhnYani and KimKeri began to glow with power and holiness.  The man fell to his knees as they neared, and he threw his hands to his trembling face to cover his eyes.  He looked afraid for his life, but all KimKeri did was bend down and kiss the man on his balding forehead.

            “Love your wife and be content,” she said.  “And stay away from the prostitutes.”

            “What’s wrong with the prostitutes?” AhnYani wondered.  KimKeri just grabbed AhnYani’s hand and brought her back to the table.  The man stood like one in a trance and went back inside his house.

            “That was very interesting,” Lincoln said.

            “I can’t eat another bite,” Lockhart suggested, and KimKeri looked at him and nodded to his wisdom.

            “We should go,” she agreed and the table and all vanished while the travelers readied their horses.

            The walk through town was uneventful.  There were times Katie imagined the goddesses made them invisible, but then there were times when they were clearly seen.  People gaped at them, jaws wide open, but no one imagined getting in their way, and probably would have let them pass without incident even if they were not being escorted by goddesses.

            When they reached the other side of the city, there were some small open fields, like public parks, and the architecture changed.  Most of the city was wood structures with thatch or clay and wood roofs that had a post-neolithic look about them.  Here, the houses were stone, and stone without mortar to hold them together, no less.  The stones looked to be fitted perfectly like they were machine crafted and surely nothing primitive.

            “These are Shemsu people, like Qito’s people,” Lincoln explained as he read from the database.

            “So they know how to work the stones,” Katie surmised.

            “And levitate them into place,” Lincoln nodded.

            “Probably built the city walls,” Boston suggested.

            “No doubt,” Lincoln agreed as they moved through a gate in that wall.  They had reached the other side of the city. 

            A small group of huts extended beyond the wall, well into the fields the people farmed like a hamlet.  “Just as well,” Lockhart verbalized his own thoughts as he looked back at the massive stones in that wall.  “I would rather have the wall between us and the city people.”  Katie, who walked beside him, nodded.

            In the very last house, as far from the city as one could go, they found two boys, seven-year-old twins   They were having a contest to see who could hold the stone in the air the longest, using only their minds, of course.  When the travelers became visible, the stone plummeted to the earth because the travelers were not all strangers.

            “KimKeri!” The boys shouted and ran up for hugs, and Kimkeri hugged them like a mother might hug her own.  They hugged her back with equal fervor before they turned to AhnYani.

            “AhnYani!”  They shouted her name in unison, too, and the goddess grabbed them and tossed them both up in the air – about twenty feet.  She caught them, of course, as they plummeted like their stone, screaming their joy and giggling like babies.  It had to be better than a roller coaster.

            “Ranna,” KimKeri called ahead toward the house.  A little girl of maybe five years came out first, and she ran as well as she could, her arms outstretched, but she caught her foot on a stone and fell.  She skinned her knee and looked up at KimKeri with tears in her eyes.  KimKeri was there and picked up the girl before the travelers could blink.  The girl’s skinned knee was instantly healed and, there is no other way to say it, KimKeri mothered all over the girl.

            A round but good looking woman came from the house with a two-year-old on her hip.  “Ladies,” she said with a slight, temporary lowering of her eyes.

            “You have company,” KimKeri pointed as she came up and exchanged kisses on the cheek.

            AhnYani bounced up with the two boys, one in each hand.  “They are Cophu’s friends from the future.”

            The woman looked at the travelers for the first time and gave them the same sort of reception she gave the goddesses.  She lowered her eyes for a moment and dipped her head ever so slightly before she spoke.

            “My husband is out retrieving some great thing, I know not.  It is outside the wall Chaos erected so he had to ask his little ones to bring it in.  He says he must fix it for the ones from far away.”  Ranna took her free hand and waved it at the sky.  “While we wait, you are welcome here.  We do not have much, but you are welcome to share in all that we have.”

            Lockhart and Katie stepped up and with a look at the side of the house, the others nodded and went to tie their horses off while Lockhart spoke.  “It seems to me if you have these two lovely ladies as friends you have everything a person could want.”

            Katie put her hand up to pat his shoulder, to encourage him.  She thought that was very well said.

            “But we see so little of our friends,” Ranna replied as she gave AhnYani the same sort of kiss on her cheek.

            “Chaos does keep us busy,” KimKeri admitted.  “El and his court can be very demanding.”

            AhnYani said nothing,  She was busy tickling the two-year-old while the five-year-old hid in KimKeri’s shoulder.

            “What are these wonderful beasts.” The boys were right there with Boston, Roland and Lincoln who looked trapped into answering.  The two boys had the three grown-ups surrounded.  Lockhart laughed at the sight as Katie spoke.

            “Chaos has threatened to use us as well, be we hope to move on in the morning.”  She looked at Lockhart to be sure and he nodded.

            “That may not be so easy,” Ranna said.  “Even Cophu is trapped by the wall outside the wall that Chaos has put up.”

            “You mean Tiamut?”  Lincoln escaped the boys and caught up with the conversation.  The two goddesses and Ranna looked at him and frowned.  Even Lockhart and Katie had avoided that name, even if just on principle. 

            “Best not to say her name,” KimKeri said.

            “She will hear you,” AhnYani whispered.

            “Ah, but here comes Cophu now,” KimKeri pointed toward a rise in the distance.  All the people could see was something was coming and it looked terribly big.

            “The ship we saw plummeting to the ground when we first arrived,” Katie said, and her hand went again to touch Lockhart’s upper arm as if vying for his attention.

            “Not a stick ship, nor Agdaline nor Balok,” Lockhart said and he looked at Katie who quickly removed her hand.

            “No, don’t you dare,” KimKeri said, firmly, but she was talking to AhnYani and did not explain what she was talking about.

            Lockhart, Katie and Lincoln watched for a moment before they turned to figure out overnight accommodations for the horses.  They pitched their tents, not wishing to crowd the home where six already crowded in.  They built a fire, and KimKeri and AhnYani provided a late afternoon feast before they said their good-byes.  It was actually several hours before Cophu arrived, and when he did he was not in a good mood at first.

 

Avalon 2.2:  The Wall … Next Time

            The travelers settled in for a bite to eat.  With Boston’s careful tending, the fire roared well for such a wet and dreary night.  The priest watched and tried the bread, but was non-committal about it all.  He stayed quiet and appeared content to listen while the travelers talked among themselves.  Roland and Boston sometimes whispered to each other.  Katie and Lockhart included Lincoln in their conversation. 

            The rain drifted away at sunset, though the cloudy night would take some time to clear.  Lincoln suggested they might see the stars by midnight, and Lockhart was ready to set the watch through the night when a group of twenty or more men arrived and Asspurbinal the priest stood to greet them.  This was what he had been waiting for.

            “Now I think you will give me everything from the future,” the priest said.  “Including your clothes that you change with a word, as I have seen.”

            The travelers stood, their weapons ready.  The men were armed with spears and clubs and several held torches against the dark.  Roland pulled his sword, pointed it at the priest and let him feel how sharp it was while Lockhart spoke.

            “Don’t make us kill all these men,” Lockhart said.  “Because we would have to kill you first.”

            “The future is not for you to take,” Boston added as she pulled her Beretta and stood close to Roland’s side.

            The priest touched the sword, looked at the travelers and thought about it while the men in the street awaited orders.  In that moment of hesitation, a woman appeared in their midst.  She was seven feet tall and glowed in the dark with an awesome presence that made her hard to look at directly.  The men stepped back and several ran.  The priest trembled and fell to his face.  The travelers recognized her and growled, having met her before.  Katie named her.

            “Tiamut.”

            “Marine,” Tiamut responded and reached out her hand.  Lockhart’s shotgun broke free of his grip and flew to the woman.  She shouldered the weapon, not expertly, but well enough to turn it on the crowd of men.  She shot three of them before they scattered and vanished back into the darkness of the city.  “I have to get one of these,” Tiamut said and tossed the weapon back to Lockhart.

            “Do you expect our thanks?”  Boston asked.

            “Elf lover,” Tiamut turned her eyes on the redhead.  “What a disgusting thought.  I like it.” 

            “Mistress,” Asspurbinal the priest could barely manage the word through a throat constricted by fear.  Tiamut bent down to him as if to whisper, though her words were loud enough for all to hear.

            “These people are mine.  You leave them alone.  Now I suggest you run for your life.”  She backed up to watch.

            The priest looked up once at the travelers, dared not look at the goddess, leapt to his feet and ran off screaming into the night.

            “We are not yours,” Lockhart said.

            “But you are,” Tiamut turned on him.  “I have a mind to keep you for a time.  Maybe not the elf.  I have no use for such.”

            “But our journey,” Lincoln was afraid to protest too strongly.  He was learning that in the ancient days it was not wise to cross the gods.  They were all learning.

            Tiamut looked at him which caused him to look away.  “Yes, your human wife and her elf father.  They were wise enough to perceive my wall outside the wall and went around.  But no, you will never see them again, not the father you fear nor the abomination you married.”

            “But my wife,” Lincoln started to speak, but Tiamut interrupted.

            “My priest is unscrupulous, greedy, manipulative and full of many such admirable qualities, but do not worry, I will set a guard for the night.  Now you must sleep and rest while I decide how I will use you.”  She waved her hand and the travelers fell to the ground where they were.  As they fell into a fitful, nightmare-filled sleep they heard the laughter of Tiamut, goddess of chaos, float away on the wind.

            Katie was the first to wake, and she found herself very comfortable in Lockhart’s arms.  In a way, she hated to wake him.  After the rough start to the night, everyone slept wonderfully well, or at least she did.  Lockhart looked to be very comfortable as well.

            “Robert,” Katie backed up a bit and shook him.  With that sound, Roland sat up on the other side of the fire.  As Katie and Lockhart separated with looks of uncertainty, Boston pulled Roland back down so she could snuggle a bit more.  She wasn’t finished sleeping.

            Lincoln in the middle had his arms around two unknown women and both Katie and Lockhart were surprised to see such a smile on Lincoln’s face.  Everyone was fully dressed, but Lincoln was grinning as wide as his face could go.

            “He is dreaming about his wife,” the blond woman spoke up. 

            “She must be very nice,” the dark haired woman added, and since the two women were awake they both sat up and then stood up.

            “I’m KimKeri,” the blond intoned in a voice deep and filled with promise.

            “I’m AhnYani,” the dark haired, well tanned woman spoke in a devil-may-care tone.

            “Young goddesses of love,” Roland was up again, and this time he stood and bowed.

            “Of the lesser variety,” AhnYani sighed like a child who was not allowed out to play.

            “And just as trapped here as you,” KimKeri also sighed like a woman who only wanted to satisfy her man.  The men heard that, but so did the women.  Katie and Boston both stepped in front of Lockhart and Roland.

            “Don’t fret,” KimKeri continued.  “We have no interest in your men.  We were sent to guard you in the night.  That is all.”

            “But our mistress did not say anything about the day.”  AhnYani spoke with glee in her voice and a twinkle in her eye.  “If we happen to be going to visit our friend Cophu, I suppose we can’t help it if you happen to follow us.”

            “Give us a minute to get our horses saddled and ready,” Lockhart replied.  He had no doubt in his mind these lesser goddesses meant what they said.

            “More than a minute,” KimKeri said.  She waved her arm and a table full of food and all sorts of delicacies appeared.  “I would hardly be worthy of the name, goddess of satisfaction if I let you go hungry.”  She waved her other arm.  “And grain for the horses.  Let them enjoy the morning.”

            “And what are you goddess of?” Katie asked AhnYani as she stepped up beside Lockhart.  Without thinking, Katie slipped her arm around the man’s waist.  He let his fall across her shoulder.  They turned their heads to each other and let their lips touch.  Then at once they separated, though it was clear that they both needed to think about what just happened.

            “Wait a minute,” Boston shouted and turned Roland to face her.  She kissed him, she did not just touch his lips, and to be fair he kissed her right back.

            “Now, AhnYani that will be quite enough,” KimKeri scolded.  “Spontaneity.  She is spontaneous joy and love,” KimKeri described her friend as she looked down at Lincoln.  He was stirring, still dreaming before he bolted upright.

            “Alexis!”  He looked around and saw Roland and Boston, the two strange women, the table filled with breakfast and Lockhart and Katie Harper who seemed to have no eyes for anything but each other, but no Alexis.  “What is going on?”

 

Avalon 2.2:  Goddesses … Next Time