“Alexis. Lockhart.” Lincoln called, and they came to the door. Lockhart helped Atonis carry his dead wife out into the open where she got put with the others. Alexis and Lincoln brought the children who looked like they might never stop crying. As they walked past, Lockhart heard Mingus utter two words.

“Only nine.”

The survivors slept outside by the fire that night to be near their loved ones one last time. Not one moment in the night passed when crying could not be heard. The travelers stayed with them out in the open and left their tents packed away. Over supper, Boston read from her database for any who cared to listen.

“Ghouls, a type of lesser spirit of the family of Djin. They feed off the fear and terror they induce in their victims and in the end, suck out the life force. It is said, where there is one, there are ten and where there are ten, there are a hundred.” She looked up at Roland before she turned her eyes to Lockhart. “There may be more of them out there.”

“I think maybe one more,” Mingus said. “I think these are ten from the group Ashtoreth let loose in time. That was a number of years ago, when the demon goddess invaded Avalon and got access to the Heart of Time.”

Alexis apologized. “I’m sorry. I remember the story. It gave me nightmares when father told me about them. But they got sent to a thousand year before Christ—more than three thousand years in the future from here. I did not think they could come this far or I would have mentioned them.” She looked at her father and wondered why he did not mention them either.

“Probably still looking for the way out,” Lincoln said.

“The family of Djin?” Lieutenant Harper interrupted.

“Genies,” Roland and Boston spoke together.

“Tell me about these ghouls,” Lockhart said, and he looked at Mingus.

“They can play with the mind,” Roland answered. “They can make you see things that aren’t there.”

“I may have mentioned that glamours are hard to cast on others,” Mingus spoke openly. “It would be hard for Procter, Roland, Alexis and I to make everyone here look African to blend in with the locals. But Ghouls can easily cast illusions over others and over things to make you see and hear all sorts of things and literally frighten you to death. We caught these by surprise and unprepared, but there is likely one still out there.”

“We need to set up a watch in the night,” Captain Decker concluded.

“A single ghoul can only affect one or at most two minds at a time. Normally only one,” Mingus added. “What do you think, Procter?” He looked over, but Doctor Procter was sound asleep. He did not appear to be adversely affected by all the death around him. Mingus just shook his head.

“We will help to watch in the night,” Atonis volunteered the survivors in the camp and Lockhart nodded while Alexis spoke.

“You don’t mind?”

Atonis looked back at his people. Six had died, but there were eighteen survivors. “We will not sleep well in any case,” he said, and turned again to look at Alexis. “And without your help we would all be dead.”

Iris came up to Boston and knelt beside her. Her older sister, Hespah kept back just a little, but Iris came right up close. “Boston?” When Boston turned her head, Iris cried all over her. What could Boston do but hold the young girl, pat her back and say, “hush” and comfort her.

~~~*~~~

“Did you hear that?” The man picked up his spear.

“Hear what?” The other man squinted into the dark beyond the wood. “A predator of some kind?”

“No. Hush.” The first man crawled slowly over the wood, crouched down low and began to inch forward.

“Oleon. Wait, shouldn’t we wake the strangers?”

“No. It may be nothing. Just wait here.”

The second man waited and waited. He was about to go for help when he heard the rustle of the grass in front of him. “Oleon, is that you?” The man whispered before he saw the ghoul rise-up right in front of him. He barely had time to grab his spear and thrust. He caught the ghoul dead center even as he looked down and saw a spear thrust into his own chest.

The sun rose hot, but by that time most of the tents and things the people would carry were already packed and ready to go. They found the two dead men at first light. Lockhart pieced together what happened.

“It is just the ghoul’s way of reminding us that he is still here, watching,” Mingus said.

“I’d rather have my bokarus back,” Lincoln said.

“I’d rather have him here than running back to warn the other ninety,” Captain Decker said. “You did say a hundred.”

Mingus nodded. “And where there are a hundred, there is a chief who controls and directs the others. They may not know exactly what we did, but you can be sure, whatever time zone they are in, they already know we are here.”

“Cheery thought,” Lockhart said, and he looked over to where the girls had gathered. Iris stood in the middle, and Hespah had warmed up to Katie, Boston, and Alexis. Iris spoke.

“Hespah said I can keep mother’s comb. Isn’t it beautiful?” She held up the comb, white and clean.

“Ivory,” Katie identified it.

“Yes, it is beautiful,” Boston confirmed.

“Now you will always have your mother with you,” Alexis said, and she reached for Hespah’s hand, which the girl willingly gave. “Both of you. And you will always have each other.” Alexis smiled.

Iris was ten and still a girl. Hespah was thirteen and had the look of a young woman. But when the two hugged and a few more tears fell, the others remarked how much they looked alike.

“I don’t understand how she can look so much like her sister,” Boston wondered.

“Because she is her sister,” Alexis responded. “I mean Hespah is her sister. But what I don’t understand is why she doesn’t look more like Amri, or Pan for that matter.”

Katie raised her hand. “I understand that much. Outward appearance is a very small portion of a person’s genetic makeup. I suppose she will always look different, especially when she is a he, which is the part I still don’t really get.”

“Won’t always look different,” Alexis said. “There are the reflections.”

Katie looked at Alexis with curiosity etched all over her face, but she said nothing because Iris and Hespah finished crying for the moment.

The people, with the help of the travelers, piled all the remaining firewood on the bodies and set them on fire. Then the people headed north while the travelers headed south.

“We will go to Neamon’s village by the sea and seek to live among them,” Atonis said.

“I am sure everything will work out well.” Lockhart shook the man’s hand. He paused, then, because Iris tugged on his sleeve. “Yes Iris?”

“The gate should come up quick since we will be moving in opposite directions.” Iris said it and turned her back immediately to stand beside Hespah and take her hand.

An hour passed before anyone spoke. A mass grave will do that.

“We are making excellent time.” Doctor Procter looked at his amulet.

“Shut up.” Captain Decker got rude, and people stopped to look at the man. “Something in the bushes following us.”

“Can’t be the ghoul. They are creatures of the night,” Roland said.

“They are not bound to the night,” Mingus countered.

“Ahh!” Lieutenant Harper got startled and Captain Decker fired his weapon. The ghoul stood there, but also in three other places.

“What are you firing at?” Lockhart yelled.

“Close your eyes,” Mingus commanded. “The ghoul has your eyes.” Lieutenant Harper did not hesitate, but Captain Decker took a second before he closed his. They heard the ghoul let out a sound of frustration, and Doctor Procter took several steps in that direction.

“No!” The doctor shouted at the creature. “You cannot have them.” With that, they all saw it just ahead, but only glimpsed it. The thing made another sound. It sounded hesitant and uncertain before it melted right down into the solid ground.

“It has gone underground,” Mingus said. “It will rest. Quick. Now is our chance to put some distance between us.”

“Could we dig it up?” Captain Decker asked as he opened his eyes.

Mingus shook his head. “They are insubstantial underground. There is no way we could hurt it.”

“Too bad,” Lockhart said, as they made for the gate. “And I noticed it went first for the marines, so they are not just dumb beasts following instinct.”

“Neither is the bokarus, which I assume is still on our trail,” Lincoln said, and Alexis took his arm. He worried too much, but at least this time there were things to worry about.

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Monday

Episode i.2 is another one week episode: Beasts in the Night, but not all bests are monsters. Until then, Happy Reading.

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